A piezoelectric actuated device includes one or more areas of piezoelectric material coupled to a substrate. The piezoelectric material may be placed on regions of the substrate that exhibit the greatest curvature and stress when the device is vibrating according to a desired structural Eigenmode of vibration. The piezoelectric material may have a non-uniform density.

Various structural systems have parts that move when actuated. For example, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices may include resonant structures that oscillate when actuated with a forcing function. For any actuator working on a structural system, the forcing function can be decomposed into orthogonal subcomponents that act on the set of all structural Eigenmodes. The amplitudes of each subcomponent describes how well-suited the actuator is to stimulating the corresponding Eigenmode. For resonant systems, the forcing function is used to cause the structural response to be dominated by vibrations corresponding to one Eigenmode.
Piezoelectric unimorphs are common MEMS actuators. An electric field within the piezoelectric film produces a mechanical stress. Attaching the film to another material creates a stress gradient through the composite structure that induces a curvature. FIG. 1 shows a piezoelectric material 110 deposited on a substrate 120. When a voltage is applied to piezoelectric material 110, the resulting stress gradient induces a curvature in substrate 120.

Piezoelectric actuated device, method and system


An air compressor of a pneumatic system in a vehicle includes a piston pump that is fitted with at least one piston and a crankshaft which are located in a crankcase. At least part of the crankcase is cast from aluminum and includes an integrally formed coolant duct.

The invention relates to an air compressor of a compressed air system of a vehicle, including a piston pump with pistons, which are guided in working cylinders of a crankcase, and a crankshaft which is guided in the crankcase. At least one part of the crankcase is cast from aluminum. The crankcase includes at least one coolant duct for conducting coolant, which coolant duct is formed by at least one tube which is at least partially integrally cast into the crankcase.
Air compressors for utility vehicles conventionally have a cast steel crankcase which has no coolant ducts. In contrast, the cooling takes place in the cylinder cover, which is placed onto the crankcase, by means of air or liquid depending on the power required from the air compressor. The inlet and outlet valves, the mounting arrangement of the valves and at least one coolant duct and, if appropriate, a heat exchanger, are arranged in the cylinder cover.
With regard to installation in a vehicle, it is desirable for the air compressor to have the lowest possible weight. A generic air compressor is known from EP 0 470 021 A1, with the crankcase being cast from aluminum or from an aluminum alloy, and with the coolant ducts being formed as integrally cast aluminum tubes.
WO 2004/048765 describes a cylinder crankcase which has guide ducts for cooling, which guide ducts are formed by pre-shaped tubes which are concomitantly integrally cast during the casting of the crankcase.
The operating temperature prevailing in the crankcase is a significant factor with regard to the service life of the air compressor.
The invention is, in contrast, based on the object of further developing an air compressor of the above-mentioned type such that the air compressor has a longer service life. The longer service life is to be obtained by an improved cooling. Furthermore, it is intended to specify a method for producing an air compressor having these properties.
According to the invention, the crankcase is cast from aluminum. This results in a significant weight reduction in relation to cast steel crankcases. A weight saving of approximately 40% to 50% is obtained in relation to a crankcase produced from cast steel. The weight of the vehicle carrying the air compressor is, therefore, also advantageously reduced, which has a positive effect on fuel consumption.
Furthermore, the specific thermal conductivity of cast aluminum is approximately sixty times higher than that of cast steel, such that the heat generated during operation can be better dissipated, in particular to coolant which is conducted in at least one coolant duct of the crankcase.
The crankcase also includes at least one duct for conducting coolant. This measure reduces the operating temperature of the air compressor, such that the air compressor has a longer service life. The coolant duct is formed by at least one tube, which is at least partially integrally cast into the crankcase.
According to the invention, to supply coolant to the region of the crankcase between the working cylinders, the tube is bent into a plurality of windings in the shape of a figure "eight". In this way, this region is also cooled, which has an advantageous effect on the service life of the compressor. Here, the bending of the tube into the shape of a Figure eight is a simple measure for supplying coolant to the region.
Advantageous refinements of the invention are described and claimed herein.
If the coolant duct were to open outward at a contact surface with respect to a cylinder cover in order to permit a continuation of the coolant duct through the coolant duct in the cylinder cover so as to provide a common coolant circuit of the crankcase and cylinder cover, this would lead to sealing problems at the contact surface. The coolant duct of the crankcase therefore preferably opens outward at a surface, which is not a contact surface with respect to a cylinder cover, of the crankcase, and may then be connected to the coolant duct of the cylinder cover by way of a separate connection.
For example, that surface, which is not the contact surface with respect to a cylinder cover, of the crankcase at which the coolant duct opens out is formed by an end surface, which is arranged substantially perpendicular to the crankshaft, with a supply pipe and a return pipe of the coolant duct being formed on the end surface.
According to one refinement, it is possible for at least one coolant duct of the crankcase to be integrated in a coolant circuit, which also includes a coolant duct which is assigned to the cylinder cover. The two coolant ducts may be connected in parallel or in series in the coolant circuit.
It is particularly preferable for the coolant duct to be formed by at least one tube which is produced from a non-aluminum material. Such a tube is preferably composed of steel and is cold or hot worked.
The crankcase is particularly preferably split into two crankcase parts at a parting plane which encompasses a central axis of the crankshaft. This firstly results in simple assembly and production of the crankcase.
Secondly, it is possible for a peripherally open oil duct to be formed in a contact surface of one of the crankcase parts, which oil duct connects a crankshaft bearing to at least one further crankshaft bearing for the supply of oil. Furthermore, it is then possible for the peripherally open oil duct to be peripherally closed off by the connection of the two crankcase parts and, on the one crankcase part, to open out at the end side into ports for a supply of oil. A core is therefore used to produce the oil duct during the casting process, which core can be removed in a simple manner after the casting process. The assembly of the one crankcase part on the other crankcase part serves not least to sealingly close off the oil duct at the periphery. The two crankcase parts are, for example, connected to one another by tension rods and centered with respect to one another by centering pins.
It is particularly preferable for all of the crankshaft bearings to be formed on the end side of the crankcase and to be divided by the parting plane.
Optimally, an upper crankcase part is provided with the at least one coolant duct and with the, in each case, upper part of a crankshaft bearing, and has at least one cylinder which guides a piston. In contrast, a lower crankcase part has the at least one oil duct and the, in each case, lower part of a crankshaft bearing.
The method for producing an air compressor having a crankcase into which at least one tube is integrally cast as a coolant duct includes at least the following steps:
a) shaping at least one tube according to at least one section of the coolant duct of the crankcase of the air compressor,
b) bending the tube into a plurality of windings in the shape of a Figure eight in order to supply coolant to the region of the crankcase between the working cylinders via the tube,
c) placing the at least one tube in a casting mold for at least one crankcase part of the crankcase; and
d) casting the at least one part of the crankcase from aluminum such that the at least one tube is at least partially integrally cast into the at least one crankcase part of the crankcase.
This approach has significant advantages in relation to coolant ducts which are integrally cast directly into the crankcase, that is to say by providing corresponding cores. This is because, in such a case, it is necessary when designing the profile of the coolant duct to make allowance for an arrangement of casting cores which is possible from a casting aspect, such that the coolant ducts cannot be designed with regard to the criterion of optimum cooling of the crankcase. In contrast, the method described above makes it possible for the tube to be shaped or bent so as to have an optimum coolant duct profile.

Air compressor having a cast aluminum crankcase

KNORR-BREMSE Systeme fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH


A method includes driving a first transistor to conduct a first current into an inductor when conductive and driving a second transistor to conduct a second current into the inductor when conductive. A first sense current is generated in response to the first current and a copy of the second current. A second sense current is generated in response to the second current and a copy of the first current. The first sense current is adjusted in response to the copy of the second current when the first transistor is nonconductive. The second sense current is adjusted in response to the copy of the first current when the second transistor is nonconductive. On times of the first and second transistors are controlled in response to a sum of the first and second sense currents.

DC-DC converters are used to provide output voltages in a variety of power supply applications. A form of DC-DC converters is the switched mode power supply that creates a direct current (DC) voltage by switching current through an energy storage element such as an inductor. The duty cycle of the switching is controlled to regulate the output voltage to a desired level. An example of such DC-DC converters is a buck converter using a high-side power transistor, a low-side power transistor, and an inductor. Buck converters typically use a feedback signal representative of the output voltage and a current sense signal representative of a current through the power transistors to control the conduction times of the high- and low-side power transistors. They can have two current sensing circuits, one for sensing current through the high-side power transistor, one for sensing current through the low-side power transistor. In order to prevent shoot-through in the power transistors these buck converters use a non-overlap time between conduction times of the power transistors.
An issue in DC-DC converters in the known art is current sense staggering. Current sense staggering occurs because when one power switch is in an ON state, the current sensor for the power switch in the OFF state gets completely de-biased and cannot turn ON instantaneously because the current sensor takes time to reach its operating point. Since the total current sense alternates in between the high-side and low-side current sense signal without overlap, the time delay for the de-biased current sensor to reach its operating point causes the current sense staggering.
The use of the same reference symbols in different drawings indicates similar or identical items. Unless otherwise noted, the word "coupled" and its associated verb forms include both direct connection and indirect electrical connection by means known in the art, and unless otherwise noted any description of direct connection implies alternate embodiments using suitable forms of indirect electrical connection as well.

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


A display stack-up for an electronic device has: multiple layers that include a display layer and a second layer; and an outer seal. Each layer has first and second base surfaces and a thickness therebetween defining a height of a lateral surface at a periphery of the layer. The multiple layers are stacked along an axis perpendicular to their base surfaces and parallel to their lateral surfaces, and the outer seal is positioned along the lateral surface of at least some of the multiple layers. The outer seal is composed of a flexible material and is arranged to bind the second layer and at least one other layer of the multiple layers. The outer seal also contains a non-adhesive liquid between the second layer and the at least one other layer to allow relative sliding between at least two layers of the multiple layers.

There is a strong interest in foldable electronic devices to enable larger displays within a pocketable form factor. However, the ability to bend a structure is limited by its stiffness and stress to failure. For example, the stiffness and stress to failure creates a challenge in integrating a display with additional layers such as a touch panel and protective layers.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present teachings. In addition, the description and drawings do not necessarily require the order presented. It will be further appreciated that certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.
The apparatus and method components have been represented, where appropriate, by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present teachings so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Flexible display stack-up and method for arranging


An improved resistive touch panel is disclosed. The improved resistive touch panel includes a first plurality of stripes of a resistive coating on a front sheet running in a first direction and a second plurality of stripes of a resistive coating on a back sheet running in a second direction. The overlapping regions between the first and second plurality of stripes are scanned by a controller circuit to detect voltage drops at these regions. Because the overlapping regions are independent of each other, the controller circuit is able to detect the individual regions involved in the touch area. In this manner, the controller circuit is able to determine between small and large areas of contact by detecting adjacent contact areas.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional resistive touch panel. The panel includes a front sheet 101 and a back sheet 102. To both front and back sheets 101-102 are applied a continuous resistive coating. The front sheet 101 is typically composed of a clear flexible material, while the back sheet 102 is typically a clear rigid piece material. The front and back sheets 101-102 are separated by insulating spacer dots (not shown). Pressure applied to the front sheet 101 causes its continuous resistive coating to contact the continuous resistive layer on the back sheet 102. The point of contact closes a circuit. The voltage drop across the back sheet 102 between the Y edge and the L edge of the back sheet is used to measure the position of the contact in the Y direction. The voltage drop across the front sheet 101 between the X edge and the H edge of the front sheet 101 is used to measure the position of the contact in the X direction.
FIG. 2 illustrates a controller circuit for the conventional resistive touch panel. The controller circuit 200 includes four analog-to-digital converters (A2D) 201 and a microcontroller 202. The controller circuit 200 drives a current through one of the resistive coatings by connecting one edge to the drive voltage and the other edge to ground. The controller circuit 200 switches between driving the current through the resistive coating on the front sheet 101 and the resistive coating on the back sheet 102. The voltage level of the points of contact between the front and back coatings is continuously converted by the A2D's 201 and monitored by the microcontroller 202 for voltage drops by measuring the voltage on the un-driven coating.
However, the microcontroller 202 assumes that any touch of the panel is a single touch with a small point contact. Thus, when the touch has a large contact area, such as when a user places a palm onto the panel, or when the touch is a multiple point touch, the value measured s from the large contact area or the multiple points is an average, resulting in a single touch coordinate result.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved resistive touch panel. The improved resistive touch panel should be able to determine between small and large areas of contact and multiple point contacts by detecting adjacent contact areas. The present invention addresses such a need.

International Business Machines Corporation


An information processing device, a method of saving and loading data, and an information recording medium are provided. A volatile memory means of an information processing device of this invention stores data in a volatile manner. A nonvolatile memory device stores data in a nonvolatile manner. A determination unit determines a cause of a reset which has been generated. A saving unit saves the data stored in the volatile memory device into the nonvolatile memory device when the cause of the reset is a specified cause, and operation of the information processing device is stopped by a stopping unit. A loading unit loads the data stored in the nonvolatile memory device to the volatile memory device when the cause of the reset is not a specified cause, and operation of an operating system of the information processing device is started by a starting unit. A program which implements the information processing device is recorded on an information recording medium.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an information processing device, a method of saving and loading data, and an information recording medium. In particular, this invention relates to an information processing device, and a method of saving and loading data, which determines the cause(s) when reset is generated, and saves and loads data between a volatile memory device and a nonvolatile memory device depending on the cause(s), and further relates to an information recording medium which has recorded a program implementing this device and method.
2. Description of Related Art
Today, information processing devices such as widely-used business computers, portable information terminals, and computer game devices are wide spread and widely used.
In this type of information processing device, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) processes various data using a volatile memory device (main memory device) such as a RAM (Random Access Memory). A program which implements the processing executed by the CPU is stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory). When a power source of the information processing device is turned on, the CPU reads and executes a stored program called a bootloader from a fixed address of the ROM.
When the data processed by the CPU needs to be held, a method is used in which, even when the power source of the information processing device main body is turned off, the power source is supplied to the RAM, and a refresh clock is given. Furthermore, there is a method in which, by using SRAM as the RAM, a supply of a refresh clock is not needed. In addition, a method is also used in which data stored in the RAM is stored in a nonvolatile memory device (second memory device) such as a flash EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), a hard disk, or a floppy disk.
For example, in an OS (Operating System) such as Windows CE (Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation) which has been currently disseminated, there is a principle in which data is stored in a RAM, and even when the power source of the information processing device main body is turned off, electricity is supplied to the RAM, and the data which is stored in RAM is maintained.
Meanwhile, there are cases such that, due to malfunction of an application program itself managed by the OS of the information processing device, the operation of the program runs away in the middle of the program, the program falls into an infinite loop, or reset is generated by an address of the main memory device which cannot be used being accessed. Furthermore, there are cases such that as the user of the information processing device voluntarily presses a reset button, an SMI (Software Management Interrupt) is generated, the program which has run away is stopped, and the operation is restarted by resetting.
When the reset is thus generated, the CPU executes the above-mentioned bootloader and initializes and clears the RAM as part of the bootloader processing.
In particular, in an OS which provides a non-preemptive multi-task environment, such as Windows 3.1, a plurality of application programs can be simultaneously operated, but if any of the programs runs away, the entire information processing device has to be reset and the OS has to be reactivated.
In addition, in some information processing devices, a shut down function is provided which is not managed by the OS. An SMI interruption is generated by pressing and operating a suspend button, for example, data, application programs, programs of the OS main body, and/or the like stored in the RAM are saved in a hard disk or the like, in this interruption processing, and then the power source of the information processing device itself is shut down. After this, when the power source button is pressed and operated, the data and program(s) stored in the hard disk or the like are loaded into the RAM, and interruption processing is completed, and the system moves to the OS management. This is known as a hibernation function.
In addition, depending on the information processing device, there are cases such that the OS informs the application program of the shut down message, and the program which has been thus informed saves data, and then the power source is turned off.
However, the following problems exist in conventional information processing devices.
First, when a reset is generated for some reason, there is a problem such that in an information processing device in which the CPU executes the bootloader, because RAM is initialized and cleared, the data which has been processed by the operation up to that point is all erased, and the operation has to be reexecuted.
In particular, in an OS such as Windows CE, which has a format in which data is maintained in the RAM as a rule, there is a problem such that the information stored up to present was all erased. Furthermore, in an OS such as Windows 3.1, which provides a non-preemptive multi-task, there is a problem such that the data processed by an application program(s) which are operating normally, in addition to data processed by the application program that has run away, is all erased.
Furthermore, there is a problem such that a transition to the SMI interruption processing is needed during the OS operation in the information processing device with a hibernation function, and there is a possibility that the system might become unstable, and particularly when the pressing operation of the suspend button is performed while the OS has access to the hard disk, there is a risk that data on the hard disk might be erased.
Additionally, there is a problem such that if there is an abnormal condition in the middle of the application in a state in which the OS sends a sequential shutdown message to the application, the following application cannot save data, and the OS cannot voluntarily turn off the power source of the information processing device.
This invention reflects the above-mentioned problems, and an object of this invention is to provide an information processing device, and a method of saving and loading data, which determines the cause(s) when reset is generated and which saves and loads the data between a volatile memory device and a nonvolatile memory device according to the cause(s), and also relates to an information recording medium which records a program which implements this device and method.
In order to accomplish the above objects, the following invention is disclosed according to the principles of this invention.
An information processing device of this invention is provided with a volatile memory device, a nonvolatile memory device, a determination unit, a saving unit, and a loading unit, and
the volatile memory device stores data in a volatile manner,
the nonvolatile memory device stores data in a nonvolatile manner, and
the determination unit determines the cause of a reset which has been generated.
When the cause of the reset is determined by the determination unit to be a specified cause, the saving unit saves data which has been stored in the volatile memory device in the nonvolatile memory device, and when the cause of the reset is determined by the determination unit not to be a specified cause, the loading unit loads data which has been stored in the nonvolatile memory device to the nonvolatile memory device.
Here, specified causes include cases in which a user wants to stop the information processing device in a normal manner, such as a pressing operation of a suspend button or a shutdown instruction to the OS by the user, and also cases in which the reset is abnormally generated in the information processing device, such as by a pressing operation of a reset button or a reset generation by an erroneous memory access or the like.
Meanwhile, non-specified causes include cases in which the power source of the information processing device is turned on by a pressing operation of the power source button of the information processing device.
Furthermore, the determination device of the information processing device of this invention can be structured so as to perform determinations based on whether the data which is stored in the volatile memory device is valid.
Additionally, the loading device of the information processing device of this invention can be structured so as to determine whether the data stored in the nonvolatile memory device is valid, and load the data to the volatile memory device when the data is valid.
Furthermore, the information processing device of this invention can be structured so as to be provided with a stopping unit and a starting unit.
The stopping unit stops the operation of the information processing means when the data has been saved by the saving unit.
The starting unit begins the operation of the operating system of the information processing device when the data has been loaded by the loading unit.
Furthermore, the saving unit of the information processing device of this invention can be structured so as to save data in a format that can be managed by the operating system of the information processing device.
A method of saving and loading the data of this invention can be implemented by an information processing device which is provided with a volatile memory device and a nonvolatile memory device, and the following steps are provided.
A determination step is provided which determines a cause of a generated reset.
A saving step is provided which saves data which has been stored in the volatile memory device in the nonvolatile memory device when the cause of the reset is determined in the determination step to be a specified cause.
A loading step is provided which loads data which has been stored in the nonvolatile memory device to the volatile memory device when the cause of the reset is determined in the determination step to be a non-specified cause.
The determination step in the method of saving and loading data of this invention can be structured so as to determine based on whether the data stored in the volatile memory device is valid.
The loading step in the method of saving and loading data of this invention can be structured so as to determine whether the data stored in the nonvolatile memory device is valid, and to load the data to the volatile memory device when the data is valid.
The method of saving and loading data of this invention can be further structured with the following steps:
a stopping step which stops the operation of the information processing device when the data has been saved in the saving step, and
a starting step which begins the operation of the operating system of the information processing device when the data has been loaded in the loading step.
The saving step in a method of saving and loading data of this invention can be structured to save data in a format that can be managed by the operating system of the information processing device.
A program which implements the method of saving and loading data and the information processing device can be stored on an information recording medium such as a compact disk, a floppy disk, a hard disk, a photomagnetoelectric disk, a digital video disk, a magnetic tape, or a semiconductor memory.
This program is a so-called bootloader, and is executed when the information processing device is reset, and can be stored in the ROM of the information processing device. This program can also be arranged in a server computer of the WWW (World Wide Web), and the operator can appropriately download the program and store the program in the information processing device, and the program can be updated.

Information processor, method for saving/loading data, and information recorded


In an embodiment, a data processing method comprises: a computer obtaining occurrence data representing one or more performance measurements collected for a network device and associated with one or more data metrics; monitoring the occurrence data; determining one or more current trends that are reflected in the occurrence data; determining one or more predicted trends for the network device; determining, based on the predicted trends, one or more future events that are predicted to occur at the network device at a future time; determining, by applying a site policy to the one or more future events, one or more preventive actions for the network device to prevent occurrence of the one or more of the future events.

The approaches described in this section could be pursued, but are not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
Network performance monitoring applications may collect network communications information, process the communications information and display the processed information in various forms, including charts, panels and other displays. Typical monitoring focuses on past and present states of the network and provides characteristics of the network devices based on historical and current performance data.
Conventional monitoring applications trace past and present performance of network devices and communications links, and display various characteristics of the past and present configuration and utilization for the network. While such monitoring may be useful in detecting problems that have already occurred in the network, such monitoring rarely provides enough information for predicting network problems that may occur in the future.

Managing network devices based on predictions of events


A device and method for building life cycle sustainability assessment using probabilistic analysis method, the device and method being capable of assessing and predicting building life cycle sustainability, and a recording medium storing the method. The device includes: a first storage unit storing a reference environmental impact assessment value of a reference building, and first and second environmental impact coefficient groups; an input unit receiving area information, amounts of building materials and energy sources; a probability distribution calculating unit storing a set value, and deducing probability distributions of the building materials and the energy sources; a first arithmetic unit calculating probability distributions of first and second environmental impact assessment values, and a probability distribution of a life cycle environmental impact assessment value; and a first output unit deducing a probability distribution of an environmental impact index, and outputting the deduced probability distribution of the environmental impact index.

Buildings affect the earth in several ways. Building construction causes side effects such as depletion of natural resources, destruction of ecosystems, contamination of air and water, generation of garbage, etc. In addition, many design factors of buildings affect the environment. However, although design is performed in consideration of the environment, it is difficult for a designer to understand various types of information on a general environment correctly and to proceed with the design accordingly.
Selection of building materials on the basis of an environmental impact is available by performing analysis using life cycle assessment (LCA). Herein, a life cycle means all stages including a material collection stage, a material supply stage, a material transport stage, a construction stage, a running stage, a demolition stage, etc., and life cycle assessment means performing quantifying all substances described above (input substances, energy, discharged substances) and performing assessment for the entire impact on the environment.
However, in a conventional life cycle assessment method for a building, although analysis of uncertainty for environmental impact, cost, and social impact assessment result of a building is important, a deterministic analysis method is used, and thus reflecting uncertain conditions of a building project in an assessment result is difficult and calculating an expectation value for an analysis result is not available. In addition, a conventional building life cycle assessment method is limited in that there is mathematical limit that an average trap can occur when reflecting variables of asymmetrical structure.    [Prior art document] Korean Patent No. 1390237

Device and method for building life cycle sustainability assessment using probabilistic analysis method, and recording medium storing the method

INDUSTRY-UNIVERSITY COOPERATION FOUNDATION HANYANG UNIVERSITY ERICA CAMPUS


Disclosed herein is a power supply device for supplying power to a pickup device for a guitar. The pickup device includes a battery casing detachably provided with a battery for supplying power to a pickup unit and a TRS connector configured such that signal lines are connected thereto. The power supply line of the battery is connected in parallel to two of the signal lines between the battery casing and the TRS connector. The power supply device includes a pickup connector connected to the TRS connector, an external device connector connected to an external device, and a step-down transformer configured to step down commercial power and supply the stepped-down power to the pickup device via the TRS connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a power supply device for a guitar and, more particularly, to a power supply device for a guitar that is capable of smoothly supplying the requisite power to a pickup that detects the mechanical vibrations of a guitar and converts the vibrations into electrical signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
A device that functions as a transducer for detecting the mechanical vibrations of a musical instrument and converting the vibrations into electrical signals is referred to as a "pickup." After the vibrations have been converted into electrical signals as described above, the electrical signals may be amplified or recorded.
A pickup device, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a pickup unit 110 configured to convert mechanical vibrations into electrical signals, a connector unit 120 configured such that signal lines for transmitting the electrical signals obtained by the pickup unit 110 to an external mixer, amp, recorder or electronic medium (hereinafter referred to as the "external device") are connected thereto, and a battery casing 130 configured to supply power to the pickup unit 110.
The pickup device can operate only when the battery casing 130 (which is configured to supply power to the pickup unit 110) is included and also a battery is installed in the battery casing 130.
An expensive alkaline battery is commonly used as the battery that is installed in the battery casing 130. The battery should be always charged sufficiently with power because music being played cannot be transmitted to the outside when the battery is not sufficiently charged with power. Therefore, even when power remains in the battery, the battery should be replaced with a new battery for a long period performance. As a result, problems arise in that batteries are unnecessarily wasted and also an environment is contaminated with the batteries.


A method for segmentation of a point cloud includes receiving a first frame of point cloud from a sensor; segmenting the first frame of point cloud to obtain a first set of point clusters representing a segmentation result for the first frame of point cloud; receiving a second frame of point cloud from the sensor; mapping the first set of point clusters to the second frame of point cloud; determining points within the second frame of point cloud which do not belong to the mapped first set of point clusters; segmenting the points within the second frame of point cloud which do not belong to the mapped first set of point clusters to obtain a second set of point clusters; and generating a segmentation result for the second frame of point cloud by combining the first set of point clusters and the second set of point clusters.

Automatic vehicle driving has long been the subject of research efforts designed to improve the safety and efficiency of automobile transportation. In recent years, increasingly sophisticated sensors have brought automatic driving systems closer to reality. For example, 3D scanners (e.g. lidar, stereo-camera, time-of-flight camera, etc.) are now widely used in automatic driving systems. Such 3D scanners measure a large number of points on an object's surface, and often output a point cloud as a data file. The point cloud represents the set of points that the 3D scanners has measured. As is known in the art, the point cloud may be used for many purposes, including creating 3D maps, object recognition and object tracking. In order to achieve these purposes, point cloud should first be segmented based on some attributes of the points within the point cloud to obtain clusters of point cloud. The resulting clusters of point cloud can then be described using a suitable model so as to represent a particular object.
Due to some reasons such as the limitation of the field of view of the sensor, one frame of point cloud may not obtain the point cloud of the whole object. Therefore, a plurality of consecutive frames of point cloud, which are obtained by the sensor sequentially in time, are typically used for processing. Conventionally, a point cloud is segmented directly for each frame of point cloud. For example, for the first frame of point cloud, the entire point cloud is segmented using a specific segmentation method. For the second frame of point cloud, the entire point cloud is segmented using a same or different segmentation method, and so on. This approach is not efficient, since for each new frame of point cloud, all points within the point cloud should be calculated for segmentation. Such calculation may consume many hardware resources. In addition, this may lose some potential correlated information among frames of point cloud.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to have an improved method for segmentation of a point cloud which is computationally efficient and resource-saving.

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


An improved device and method for measuring the amount of liquid to be discharged that is present in an apparatus, such as a nebulizer. A first member has holes through which the liquid passes to be nebulized. A second member is spaced from the first member so that a volume is defined in the nebulizer by the area of mutual overlap of the first and second members and the amount of spacing between them. The first and second members are formed to establish a mutual capacitance that reflects the amount of liquid in the volume. A measuring circuit measures the capacitance existing between the first and second members and hence the amount of liquid in the nebulizer. The capacitance measurement can be used to control the supply of liquid into the volume in the nebulizer.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus, such as a nebulizer apparatus, for discharging liquid, Nebulizem, or atomizers, are devices that generate a fine spray or aerosol, usually of liquid. A particularly useful application for nebulizers is to provide a fine spray containing a dissolved or a suspended particulate or colloidal phamaceutical agent for administration to a subject by inhalation. Such inhalation treatment is highly effective for conditions affecting the subject""s respiratory organs. Further, since the lungs are close to the heart and the blood circulatory system of the body, drug administration by inhalation provides an effective and rapid delivery system to all organs of the body. Other applications include dispensing insecticides, paint, deodorants, water for humidification, etc. Other apparatuses which may incorporate the present invention include printers in which ink is discharged onto paper.
When dispensing a pharmaceutical agent, in many cases, a nebulizer is placed directly in the mouth or nose of the subject so that the spray can be entrained in the respiratory gases inhaled during normal, spontaneous breathing of the subject. In other cases, the subject breathes with the aid of a respiratory ventilator. A typical ventilator has a breathing circuit comprising an inhalation limb and an exhalation limb connected to two arms of an Y-connector. The third arm of the Y-connector is connected, via a patient limb, to a mouthpiece, mask or endotracheal tube for the subject. The ventilator provides a complete or partial supply of respiratory gases to the subject through the inhalation limb during inhalation. The contraction of the subject""s lungs discharges gas through the exhalation limb during exhalation. When a nebulizer is employed in conjunction with a ventilator, it is typically placed in the patient limb but can also be placed in the inhalation limb.
Nebulizers currently in use for ventilator applications generate the spray either pneumatically or by means of ultrasonic vibrations. Pneumatic nebulizers are typically used with a liquid, such as an aqueous drug solution. High pressure driving gas is conducted through a nozzle to draw the drug from a drug supply for the nebulizer. The drug is discharged against a baffle or other means in a gas space of the nebulizer, breaking the liquid into a fine spray. The gas space is in fluid communication with the inhaled gas pathway of the breathing circuit so that the gas flow expelled from the nozzle along with the nebulized drug is conducted to the breathing circuit and ultimately to the subject.
Disadvantages in the use of pneumatic nebulizers include the following. If the nebulizer adds a significant quantity of gas, for example, up to five liters/minute, into the breathing circuit, the breathing gas composition may be affected. Due to passage of the driving gas through the nozzle, impingement of the drug on the baffle, etc., pneumatic nebulizers are noisy. Also, controlling the commencing and stopping of a drug agent spray is difficult and not very accurate, resulting in wastage of the drug.
The foregoing shortcomings of pneumatic nebulizer have led to the use of ultrasonic nebulizers employing a vibrating element, such as a piezoelectric crystal. Breathing gas composition and the on-off operation are easier to control with such nebulizers than in a pneumatic nebulizer. However, ultrasonic devices may require a large, bulky electrical power supply to power the ultrasonic vibrator and may not be able to nebulize colloidal or particulate suspensions.
In one type of ultrasonic nebulizer, the fine spray is produced dropping the liquid on, or otherwise applying it to, the vibrating element. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,059. U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,854 describes another type of nebulizer, for use in inhalation therapy, in which the spray is generated on the front surface of a vibrating, porous body. The pores of the body form a network of passages that enable the liquid to flow through the body. The liquid to be nebulized is supplied under pressure to the pores on the rear surface of the body, and forced through the pores to the front surface of the porous body where it is discharged as a spray. U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,378 describes a nebulizer in which the aerosol is formed using a mesh plate instead of a porous solid body. The mesh plate has a plurality of orifices for the liquid. The liquid or the nozzle assembly is vibrated ultrasonically by a piezoelectric element to nebulize a dose of liquid as it passes through the mesh plate. The supply of each dose through the nebulizer is sensed by a dose gauge.
A specific difficulty with nebulizers in which the liquid or the orifice assembly is vibrated ultrasonically, as by a piezoelectric element, to nebulize the liquid is control of the supply of liquid to the nebulizer so that the right amount necessary for proper operation is present in the nebulizer.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5, 518,179 and 5,299,739 describe nebulizers in which capillary feed is used to supply liquid to the vibrating element. A further alternative for liquid supply is achieved by condensing a liquid vapor on one face of the membrane, the liquid thus condensed being dispensed in droplet form. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,179.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,938,117 describes an apparatus for dispensing liquids as an atomized spray and having a fluid supply system that transports fluid to an apertured oscillating surface. The fluid supply system is connected to an electronic flow control valve. The valve is connected to an electronic circuit. In the event of excessive delivery of liquid, the oscillation amplitude decreases and the current draw by the piezoelectric element decreases. A current sensor senses the reduced current draw and transmits an overflow signal to the flow control valve to reduce the delivery rate of liquid to the surface until the amount of fluid returns to a normal level.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved device and method for accurately controlling the supply of liquid in an apparatus discharging liquid. One such apparatus can comprise a nebulizer in which the accurate liquid supply enables the liquid to efficiently transformed into an aerosol. The invention may be employed with other types of apparatuses, such as those discharging ink for printing purposes.
The invention is particularly suited for use with a nebulizer employing an ultrasonically vibrating element but can also be extended to other type of nebulizers in which proper functioning and efficiency are dependent on control of the liquid into the nebulizer.
The above objects are obtained by an improved device and method for measuring the amount of liquid to be discharged that is present in the apparatus discharging the liquid. To this end, in a typical embodiment of the invention, a nebulizer includes a first member having holes through which the liquid passes to be nebulized. A second member is spaced from the first member so that a volume is defined in the nebulizer by the area of mutual overlap of the first and second members and the amount of spacing between them in the area of overlap. The first and second members have electrically conductive properties, as by being formed of conductive material or having an electrically conductive coating. The first and second members are electrically isolated from each other. The liquid to be nebulized is provided into the volume between the first and second members and circuitry is coupled to the first and second members to measure the capacitance between the members. The capacitance between the members indicates the amount of liquid in the volume defined in the nebulizer. A vibrator, such as a piezoelectric element, vibrates the liquid, as by bowing one of the first and second members, to carry out the nebulization of the liquid. The capacitance measuring circuit may be coupled to a liquid supply to cause the latter to, preferably intermittently, provide additional liquid to the volume as the nebulization of the liquid proceeds.
Various other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be made apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings.

Device and method for detecting and controlling liquid supply to an apparatus discharging liquids


A flexible sunshade includes an elastic element having a lower end mounted to an upper end of a pole. A hub is fixed to an upper end of the elastic element. A canopy is mounted to a plurality of ribs each having an end pivotably connected to the hub. A runner is slideably mounted to the pole. A first end of each of a plurality of stretchers is pivotably connected to the runner. A second end of each stretcher is pivotably connected to one of the ribs. When the canopy, the ribs, or the hub is subjected to a force at a non-parallel angle to a longitudinal axis of the pole, the elastic element flexes to cause the hub to flex in a direction of the force, absorbing at least a portion of the force acting on the flexible sunshade.

The present invention relates to a sunshade and, more particularly, to a large sunshade that is generally used outdoors and that can flex to reduce damage possibility of the components of the sunshade.
A type of outdoor sunshade includes a pole having a bottom end located on the ground and a plurality of ribs each having an end pivotably connected to a top end of the pole. A runner is slideably mounted to the pole. A plurality of stretchers is pivotably connected between the runner and the ribs, allowing the sunshade to move between a folded state and an unfolded state. A canopy is provided on the ribs. When the sunshade is subjected to wind, the components of the sunshade are liable to be damaged, because the canopy has a large area. The sunshade may even fall to the ground if the wind is strong, causing damage to the components, particularly at the pivotal connections of the components.
In an approach to avoid damage to the components, the pole includes spaced upper and lower pole sections. The ribs are pivotably connected to the upper pole section. The runner is slideably mounted to the upper pole section. An elastic element in the form of a coil spring or the like is mounted below the runner and includes two ends respectively coupled to a lower end of the upper pole and an upper end of the lower pole. When the sunshade is subjected to strong wind, the upper pole section, the ribs, and the stretchers flex to reduce the damage possibility. Even if the sunshade falls to the ground, the elastic element flexes and deforms while the sunshade impacts the ground, absorbing the impact to reduce the damage possibility. However, since the elastic element is mounted below the runner, the head of the user under the sunshade may be hit by the distal ends of some of the ribs that move towards the ground when the sunshade bends under a wind load.
Thus, a need exists for a novel flexible sunshade avoiding injury to the user while reducing damage possibility of the components when the sunshade falls to the ground under a wind load.


An air induction system for an internal combustion engine comprises an air intake tube and a thermal pump coupled to the air intake tube. The thermal pump comprises a bladder that defines a variable volume gas chamber. Following engine operation, the bladder is inflated to draw air containing hydrocarbon vapors from the air intake tube and prevent their escape into the atmosphere. A preferred mechanism for the thermal pump comprises bimetallic springs that expand and contract in response to changes in temperature to inflate and deflate the bladder.

This invention relates to an air induction system for supplying air to an internal combustion engine through an air intake tube. More particularly, this invention relates to an air induction system that includes a thermal pump having a variable volume gas chamber operably coupled to the air intake tube and responsive to temperature for drawing hydrocarbon vapors from the air intake tube to prevent escape of hydrocarbon vapors when the engine is not operating.
In an automotive vehicle, air is supplied to an internal combustion engine through an air intake tube, referred to as a zip tube, connecting an air cleaner canister and an air intake manifold of the internal combustion engine. When the engine is turned off, residual fuel may produce hydrocarbon vapors in the intake manifold. There is concern that the hydrocarbon vapors may diffuse through the air intake tube and become emitted into the atmosphere. It has been proposed to include a material, such as porous carbon or zeolite, within the air induction system to absorb vapors diffusing from the intake manifold. The absorbed vapors are then desorbed into the air stream when the engine is again operated, whereupon the vapors are consumed in the engine. While various arrangements have been considered, it is desired not to restrict the air flow path through the air intake tube so as to provide the needed air supply during engine operation. As a result, while the hydrocarbon absorbing material may be located to absorb a significant portion of the hydrocarbon vapors, it is nevertheless possible for some vapors to flow through the tube and be emitted into the atmosphere:
In addition to the concern over residual fuel vapors in the intake manifold when the hot engine is turned off, there is also concern about emission of hydrocarbon vapors that may occur when the engine sits idle for an extended period of time and is exposed to variations in ambient temperature. For this purpose, it is common practice to measure hydrocarbon emissions that occur during a diurnal test that cycles the ambient temperature between 65xc2x0 F. and 105xc2x0 F. Under these conditions, vapors that were absorbed by the vapor absorbing material may be desorbed into the air flow path and migrate into the atmosphere.
Therefore, a need exists for an air induction system for an internal combustion engine that is effective to draw off air containing hydrocarbon vapors that is attempting to migrate through the air intake tube when the engine is turned off to prevent the vapors from being emitted into the atmosphere and to return the vapors to the air intake manifold when the engine is restarted for combustion in the engine. In addition to capturing residual fuel vapors from the air intake manifold immediately after the hot engine is turned off, it is also desired that the air induction system draw off air from the intake manifold during periods of fluctuating ambient temperature to capture any hydrocarbon vapors therein and so prevent their emission into the atmosphere.
In accordance with this invention, an improved air induction system is provided for an internal combustion engine that includes an air intake tube. The air induction system includes a bladder that defines a variable volume gas chamber. The gas chamber is coupled to the air intake tube for drawing gas into the gas chamber. The volume of the gas chamber varies in response to temperature between a deflated condition at a first, relatively low temperature and an inflated condition at a second, higher temperature. Thus, as the temperature increases, the bladder inflates to draw off gas from the air intake tube that may contain hydrocarbon vapors and thereby prevent the vapors from escaping through the air intake tube into the atmosphere.
In an aspect of this invention, the gas chamber is also variable in response to the operation of the internal combustion engine, regardless of temperature. When the engine is operating, suction produced by the engine to draw air through the air intake tube and the intake manifold also draws air from the gas chamber to deflate the bladder. As a result, when the engine is turned off, the bladder is in a deflated condition despite the elevated temperature due to engine operation. Thereafter, because of the elevated temperature, the gas chamber inflates to draw air from the air intake tube. In this manner, hydrocarbon vapors migrating from the intake manifold through the air intake tube are drawn into the gas chamber and prevented from emission.
In another aspect of this invention, the air induction system includes a hydrocarbon vapor absorbing material, and the gas chamber is operatively coupled to the hydrocarbon vapor absorbing material for expelling gas thereto. Thus, during temperature cycling, the gas chamber inflates as the temperature increases to draw gases from the air induction tube and prevent vapor escape therethrough. Thereafter, as the temperature decreases, the gas chamber deflates to expel gas to the hydrocarbon vapor absorbing material so that the hydrocarbon vapors may be suitably absorbed.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, the air induction system includes a thermal pump that comprises the bladder and means for inflating and deflating the bladder. This includes at least one element having a variable length responsive to temperature and attached to the bladder for flexing the bladder between the deflated condition and the inflated condition.
In still a further aspect of the preferred embodiment of this invention, the bladder includes at least one panel that flexes to vary the bladder between the deflated condition and the inflated condition. An arm is attached to the panel and includes an outboard portion. A first bimetallic spring is pivotably connected to the outboard portion at a first point and extends in a first direction. A second bimetallic spring is pivotably connected to the outboard portion at a second port outboard to the first point and extends in a second direction generally opposed to the first direction. The first and second bimetallic springs have lengths that vary in response to temperature, preferably so that the springs expand at higher temperatures. As the temperature increases, the springs cooperate to swing the arm between a first position corresponding to the bladder in the deflated condition and a second position corresponding to the bladder in the inflated condition, thereby inflating the bladder and drawing vapor-containing air into the gas chamber. Thereafter, as the temperature decreases, the bimetallic springs cooperate to swing the arm to deflate the bladder and expel the vapor-containing air, for example, for combustion in the engine or absorption by a storage media.

Air induction system comprising thermal pump for hydrocarbon vapor control


A creping aid comprising the reaction product of a polyamide of a dibasic acid or of the ester of an aliphatic dibasic acid and methyl bis(3-aminopropylamine) with epichlorohydrin in a mole ratio of the polyamide to the epichlorohydrin between about 1:0.1 and about 1:0.33, and a composition comprising an aqueous solution of the creping aid.

In the manufacture of certain wet-laid paper products, such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, or paper towels, the web is conventionally subjected to a creping process in order to give it desirable textural characteristics, such as softness and bulk. The creping process involves adhering the web to a rotating creping cylinder, such as the apparatus known as a Yankee dryer, and then dislodging the adhered web with a doctor blade. The impact of the web against the doctor blade ruptures some of the fiber-to-fiber bonds within the web and causes the web to wrinkle or pucker.
The severity of this creping action is dependent upon a number of factors, including the degree of adhesion between the web and the surface of the creping cylinder. Greater adhesion causes increased softness, although generally with some loss of strength. In order to increase adhesion, an adhesive creping aid is used to enhance any naturally occurring adhesion that the web may have due to its water-content, which will vary widely depending on the extent to which the web has been previously dried. Creping aids also should prevent wear of the dryer surface and provide lubrication between the doctor blade and the dryer surfaces and reduce chemical corrosion, as well as controlling the extent of creping.
In order to provide a coating that is durable enough to withstand the mechanical forces under the conditions of heat and/or moisture at the doctor blade, it is desirable to use a resin having some ability to thermoset, i.e., to lose solubility and fusibility by crosslinking. However, the ability to impart wet strength to paper also depends on the thermosetting nature of the resin. In wet-strength grades such as facial tissue, napkin stock, toweling, and the like, it is known that some wet-strength resins can function concurrently as creping aids. However, in non-wet-strength grades such as bathroom tissue, it is desirable to restrict the thermosetting ability of the resin, so as to provide a durable coating on the dryer while limiting the potential development of wet strength in the paper.
An adhesive creping aid, as an aqueous solution or dispersion, is usually sprayed onto the surface of the creping cylinder. Alternatively, it can be added at the wet end of the paper machine, e.g., to the pulp before formation of the sheet, by spraying onto the wet web, etc. Spraying on the dryer surface will minimize the chance that a durable, relatively highly thermosetting resin could transfer to the sheet during creping, to impart possibly undesired wet-strength to a non--wet--strength grade. However, any corrosive ions present in a resin would be concentrated on the dryer surface by this technique. Conversely, adding resin at the wet end of the paper machine would increase the wet-strength development by the more reactive thermosetting resins, but by diluting any corrosive ions in the white water, it would minimize their concentration at the dryer surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,640 discloses a creping adhesive comprising an aqueous mixture of a polyvinyl alcohol and a water-soluble, thermosetting, cationic polyamide resin that is the reaction product of epichlorohydrin and a polyamide having secondary amine groups derived from a polyalkylene polyamine and a saturated aliphatic dibasic carboxylic acid containing from 3 to 10 carbon atoms. The patent states that the polyvinyl alcohol is necessary to avoid hardening of the resin by diluting it. The resins employed by this patent are thermoserring wet-strength resins, made with relatively high ratios of epichlorohydrin to amine groups in the base polyamide. If they are added at the wet end, they will impart wet strength. If they are sprayed on the dryer surface, they will carry a relatively high content of potentially corrosive chloride ion into the adhesive film.
Canadian Patent 979,579 discloses a creping aid that is the reaction product of epichlorohydrin and a polyaminopolyamide containing secondary amine nitrogen atoms, such as adipic diethylenetriamine polyamide, that has been alkylated with an alkylating agent or with a combination of formaldehyde and formic acid. All of the resins it describes require the additional alkylation process step in their manufacture, and some of its versions have the disadvantage that some residual formic acid or formate ion is carried over to the final resin. Such resins, if sprayed on the dryer surface, would carry residual formate ion as a component of the dryer coating.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,311,594 discloses a wet-strength additive for paper comprising the water-soluble reaction product of epichlorohydrin and a polyamide prepared by reacting a polyamine having at least three amine groups of which at least one is tertiary, with a saturated aliphatic dibasic carboxylic acid containing from 3 to 10 carbon atoms. The reaction product is water soluble but becomes crosslinked and insoluble on drying. The operable polyamines disclosed include methyl bis(3-aminopropylamine), usually referred to as MBAPA. These thermosetting wet-strength resins are made using a ratio of about 0.8 to about 2.0 moles of epichlorohydrin per mole of amine in the polyamide, or preferably about 1.0 to about 1.7 moles of epichlorohydrin per mole of amine. These resins are stabilized for storage by treatment with hydrochloric acid to convert the epoxide functional groups to chlorohydrin groups, which are then dehydrohalogenated to epoxide by an alkali treatment before use. The resins of this patent are thus highly functionalized, effective wet-strength resins, containing substantial amounts of chloride ion under conditions of their intended use. They would impart substantial wet-strength to the sheet if added at the wet end of the paper machine, and could potentially contribute to corrosion problems if applied to a Yankee dryer surface by spraying.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,841 discloses the manufacture of paper using as an adhesion aid, a polyaminopolyamide made from an aromatic or aliphatic dicarboxylic acid and a polyalkylene polyamine with two primary amino groups and at least one amino group which is either secondary or tertiary. The resins of this patent are described as having substantially no effect on wet strength of the paper, and as being easily soluble in water. Although their lack of wet strength makes them usable by wet-end addition to grades where wet strength is not wanted, they thus lack the self-insolubilization that is desired for durability of the coating on the Yankee dryer.
It is recognized in the industry that there is a need that is not met by the known compositions for a creping aid that does not contain undesirable residual chemicals and helps to produce paper with the right balance of strength, stretch ability, softness, and absorbency.

Synthesis of creping aids based on polyamides containing methyl bis(3-aminopropylamine)


A method for coating zinc or zinc plated article with a polymerized molybdate protective coating by coating a cleaned zinc or zinc plated article with a chromium-free polymerized molybdate composition having a pH of about 1.0 to 5.0. A passified zinc or zinc plated article having coated thereon a polymerized molybdate composition that will allow the article to be painted with an appropriate paint.

This invention relates to a zinc coating composition and a method of providing zinc with a protective coating. More particularly, the present invention provides a zinc coating composition having as its essential ingredient the isopoly and heteropolymolybdate acids and alkali metal and ammonium salts thereof at a pH that ranges from 1.0 to 5.0. The isopolymolybdate acids consist of clusters of seven or eight molybdenum atoms and associated hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The heteropolymolybdate acids consist of a cluster of seven or eight molybdenum atoms, hydrogen, oxygen and one or two atoms of another element.
Untreated zinc metal quickly develops a white film of zinc oxide or hydroxide. These corrosion products will cause many deleterious effects. For example, zinc oxide prevents paint from adhering to the metal. In addition, the oxide accelerates further corrosion of the metal.
Passivating the metal prevents the formation of zinc oxide or hydroxide (see British patent No. 592,073; Wendorff, Z., Zolnierowicz, A.; Ochronaprzed Korozja, 13,1 (1970); Ostrander, G. W.; Plating, 38,1033 (1951); and British patent No. 594,699). Typical passivating solutions utilize a dichromate or chromate composition. The composition is generally applied to the metal via immersion (see Fishlock, D. J.; xe2x80x9cProduct Finishingxe2x80x9d, 12, 87 (1959). Increasing immersion times up to 300 seconds will generally produce a more effective coating. Immersion times beyond 300 seconds typically do not produce more effective coatings. An untreated surface will show signs of corrosion after 0.5 hours of exposure to a neutral salt spray according to ASTM specification xe2x80x9cB 117xe2x80x9d and a thin chromate film produced by a dip procedure will show signs of corrosion after 12 to 24 hours of salt spray exposure (see; ASTM-xe2x80x9cB201xe2x80x9d).
Reliance on hexavalent chromium has many drawbacks. Hexavalent chromium is extremely toxic and as such more costly to work with. For instance, hexavalent chromium will require special disposal procedures. I have a unique chromium-free zinc coating composition which is superior, in part, because it does not have the toxicity and cost associated with hexavalent chromium. My zinc coating composition utilizes isopoly and/or heteropolymolybdates as its essential ingredients.
The present invention concerns a method for the coating of zinc or zinc coated articles with a composition containing isopolymolybdate or heteropolymolybdate acids, or a mixture of them, at a pH of about 5.0 to 1.0. This invention also concerns a passified zinc or zinc coated article having coated thereon a chromium-free polymolybdate acid protective coating.
Another aspect of the invention is directed at a chromium-free polymolybdate coating composition for coating zinc or zinc plated articles.
Still another aspect of this invention is directed at a manufacture of an article of zinc or zinc coated material having a polymolybdate protective coating thereon.


A soft tissue defect repair system for approximating defects, such as defects in the annulus fibrosus of an intervertebral disc, includes a cannulated rod through which is disposed a suture retrieval device. A strand of suture includes a locking or ratcheting knot pre-tied around the outside of the cannulated rod and a free end that is guided in and out of the soft tissue. A knot pusher fits around the cannulated rod, which is used to push the knot off of the cannulated rod after the stitching of the tissue is accomplished. The defect is approximated by tensioning the free end. Various suturing methods or patterns are disclosed for defect approximation.

A discectomy is a procedure that treats back pain, radiculopathy and/or myelopathy by surgically removing herniated nucleus pulposus to achieve neural decompression. Discectomy techniques involve removing intervertebral disc material through a hole in an annulus fibrosis of the disc, however such techniques typically do not repair the annular defect that is formed during the discectomy procedure. During the procedure, the surgeon may elect to remove only a herniated portion of nucleus impinging on the nerves, which treats the radiculopathy, but may increase the risk of post-operative reherniation of the remaining nucleus within the disc. Alternately, the surgeon may elect to perform extensive debulking, in which most of the remaining nucleus material is removed in addition to the herniated portion to minimize the risk of post-operative reherniation; however, the risk of post-operative disc height collapse and subsequent lower back pain may increase. Clinically patients tend to return to normal daily activities more quickly and suffer lessened disc degeneration when a limited discectomy is performed versus an extensive debulking of the disc. With current standard surgical practices, a hole or breach in an annulus is created, either pathologically due to a disc herniation, or by the surgeon during a nucleotomy or partial discectomy, and remains at the end of the procedure, leaving a pathway for future herniations.

Threadable knot soft tissue defect repair system


A rack for storing billiard balls including a base having a first engagement surface. The rack also includes an elongated billiard ball holder defining an elongated central space configured to support a plurality of billiard balls in contact with one another in a row. The billiard ball holder includes an opening to the elongated central space such that billiard balls can be inserted into the central space through the opening. The billiard ball can be tilted to roll the stored billiard balls through the opening. The billiard ball holder has a second engagement surface configured to removably engage the first engagement surface of the base and retain the billiard ball holder in a generally upright position wherein the elongated central space extends generally vertically. The billiard ball holder is removable from the base to facilitate transport of the billiard ball holder and stored balls to an associated billiards table.

The present invention relates to a billiard ball rack, and in particular to a billiard ball rack that can be used to store and transport billiard balls.
Billiard balls are commonly stored and/or transported utilizing a plastic billiard ball tray having a plurality of generally hemispherical indentations, each of which receives and supports a billiard ball. The game of eight ball utilizes a total of sixteen billiard balls, such that billiard ball trays designed to support such a set of billiard balls generally include a total of 16 indentations arranged in a square pattern formed by four rows of indentations, each row including four such indentations. However, ball trays may include more indentations if required. For example, a standard set of snooker balls includes a total of twenty-two balls, such that a snooker ball tray would include twenty-two indentations. However, a smaller number of snooker balls may be utilized for smaller than full-sized snooker tables. For example, a standard set of snooker balls includes fifteen red balls. However, ten red balls may be utilized for smaller than full-sized tables rather than the standard fifteen red balls.
Although known billiard ball trays are generally functional for holding and transporting billiard balls, existing billiard ball trays support the billiard balls in a flat, generally planar configuration such that the tray has relatively large horizontal dimensions. Accordingly, existing billiard ball trays take up shelf space or the like, and are also generally not aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, if the billiard ball tray is inadvertently knocked from a shelf or other such storage location, the billiard balls will generally roll around upon impact with the floor surface, thus requiring the user to retrieve the balls from about the room.
Accordingly, a billiard ball holder relieving the above-identified shortcomings is desired.
One aspect of the present invention is to provide a rack for storing billiard balls. The rack includes a base having a first engagement surface. The rack also includes an elongated billiard ball holder defining an elongated central space configured to support a plurality of billiard balls in contact with one another in a row. The billiard ball holder includes an opening to the elongated central space such that billiard balls can be inserted into the central space through the opening. The billiard ball can be tilted to roll the stored billiard balls through the opening. The billiard ball holder has a second engagement surface configured to removably engage the first engagement surface of the base and retain the billiard ball holder in a generally upright position wherein the elongated central space extends generally vertically. The billiard ball holder is removable from the base to facilitate transport of the billiard ball holder and stored balls to an associated billiards table.
Another aspect of the present invention is a rack for storing billiard balls and pool cues. The rack includes a base including at least one holder configured to support a pool cue. The base also includes an upwardly opening aperture. The rack includes an elongated billiard ball holder defining a lower end and an elongated cylindrical cavity having sufficient size to receive at least fifteen billiard balls. The cavity has at least one opening of sufficient size to permit billiard balls to pass therethrough. The aperture and the billiard ball holder are configured such that the lower end of the billiard ball holder can be removably received in the aperture to retain the billiard ball holder in an upright position.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is a rack for storing billiard balls including a billiard ball holder configured to retain a plurality of billiard balls. The billiard ball holder defines an upper end and a lower end. The rack also includes a base having a lower portion including an upwardly opening lower aperture with a support positioned in the lower aperture. The base has an upper portion including a downwardly opening upper aperture located above the lower aperture and defining a vertical distance between the upper and lower apertures. The billiard ball holder has a length between the upper and lower ends that is greater than the vertical distance, such that the billiard ball holder can be installed to the base by inserting the upper end into the upper aperture, followed by rotation of the lower end into alignment with the lower aperture. The billiard ball holder is then shifted downwardly onto the support, and the support positions the billiard ball holder with the upper end at least partially within the upper aperture such that the billiard ball holder is retained in an upright position.

Brunswick Bowling and Billiards Corporation


A road milling machine includes a sensor mounting system having a first mounting member, which is attached to a first machine component and supports a portion of a position sensor, and a second mounting member attached to a second machine component having a pivotable attachment to a machine frame. An extension member has a first end attached to the second mounting member and a second end including an attachment flange. A unitary ski member has a first end attached to another portion of the position sensor and a second end pivotably attached to the attachment flange. The unitary ski member includes a ground engaging surface that is positioned inboard relative to first and second side plates, which flank a rotor, and has a pivot movement compensation curve. A controller is configured for determining a milling depth of the rotor from measurements obtained by the position sensor.

A road milling machine includes a plurality of ground engaging members supporting a machine frame of the road milling machine. The ground engaging members may include wheels or tracks, and may be connected to the machine frame through lifting columns. The lifting columns allow independent adjustment at each corner of the machine frame to facilitate various orientations of the machine frame relative to a ground surface to be treated, such as, for example, a paved surface. A rotor is supported by the machine frame and oriented perpendicularly relative to a longitudinal centerline of the road milling machine for treating or, for example, milling the paved surface. Typically, height adjustable side plates are positioned at opposite side ends of the rotor and define outer walls of the road milling machine. The side plates rest on the paved surface being treated and, thus, are raised relative to the machine frame as the machine frame is lowered during the milling process.
Due to the close proximity of the side plates to the rotational axis of the rotor, position sensors are often positioned to measure vertical movement of the side plates relative to the machine frame, or one another, to arrive at a milling depth, and/or inclination, of the rotor. Although acceptable in most circumstances, the measurements obtained by these position sensors may be inaccurate in particular scenarios. For example, when milling an edge of the paved surface being treated, one of the side plates may rest on an unpaved surface, which may include grass, rocks, or soil, rather than the paved surface. As such, the calculated milling depth at the edge may be inaccurate and may necessitate measurements by hand during the milling operation.
Wirtgen GmbH, a company headquartered in Windhagen, Germany, offers hydraulic milling depth sensors that capture the level on the sides and in front of a milling drum, as shown in the Wirtgen publication page submitted herewith. In particular, the Wirtgen hydraulic milling depth sensors positioned inboard relative to side plates flanking the milling drum appear to be supported near the ground surface by a pair of pivotably connected linear arms. Although the inboard hydraulic milling depth sensors of Wirtgen may provide one solution to the edge surface treatment problem described above, there is a continuing need to provide highly accurate sensors and sensor mounting arrangements for calculating milling depth.
The present disclosure is directed to one or more of the problems or issues set forth above.

Sensor mounting system for road milling machine


A rocket multi-nozzle grid assembly includes an insulator grid, a plurality of refractory nozzle fittings and a grid support plate. The grid support plate braces the plurality of refractory nozzle fittings and the insulator grid. The insulator grid includes insulator orifices, each of the nozzle fittings includes a fitting orifice and the grid support plate includes a plurality of plate orifices. The rocket multi-nozzle grid assembly includes a plurality nozzles. Each nozzle includes a plate orifice aligned with one insulator orifice and one fitting orifice. Exhaust gases are directed through the plurality of nozzles. The multi-nozzle grid assembly substantially maintains its surface area throughout operation of a rocket motor.

Missiles and rockets use combust propellants within combustion chambers and rely on thrust generated through a nozzle to propel the body of the missile or rocket. In some examples, rocket motors use nozzles with contoured surfaces on one or more of the nozzle inlet or outlet to funnel exhaust gases from the combustion chamber and achieve supersonic exhaust flow with corresponding high thrust. The supersonic exhaust flow is generated with pressurized but subsonic exhaust gases generated from combusting propellant within the combustion chamber. The use of long contoured nozzles provides an efficient system for generating supersonic exhaust flow from these otherwise high pressure but subsonic exhaust gases in the combustion chamber. Long contoured nozzles however require large amounts of space within the volume of a rocket. The long contoured nozzles are correspondingly heavy and thereby reduce the performance of rockets because of their weight and large volume.
In other examples, rocket motors include multiple nozzles in grids that use thermally resistive refractory materials. The multiple nozzle grids provide a series of nozzles in a compact short configuration. Refractory materials such as Tungsten are not structurally robust and lack the integrity to withstand the high pressure generated within a combustion chamber. Alternatively, the multiple nozzle grids including Tungsten are constructed with enhanced thickness to withstand the high pressures within the combustion chamber. The added refractory material makes the grids heavy (with corresponding increases to the overall weight of the rocket) and reduces the performance of the rocket motor.
In another example, brittle refractory materials are sometimes used in single nozzle rocket motors. However, brittle refractory materials lack the structural integrity needed in a grid to withstand impinging high pressure exhaust gases. Instead, the brittle refractory materials fail allowing uncontrolled release of exhaust gases. The desired thrust and pressure profiles for the rocket motor cannot thereby be maintained.

Rocket multi-nozzle grid assembly and methods for maintaining pressure and thrust profiles with the same


The invention relates to a method for marking a wrapping paper for smoking articles, comprising the following steps: (A) providing a wrapping paper for smoking articles, and (B) producing register marks on the wrapping paper by treating the surface of the wrapping paper with laser radiation having an energy density y in J-m-2, to which the following applies: y=k·x, whereby x is the enthalpy of combustion per volume of the wrapping paper in J·m−2·μm−1, and k is at least −8 μm and at most −1 μm.

A smoking article comprises a smokable material and a wrapping paper, which wraps the smokable material and thereby forms a typically cylindrical rod. Usually the smokable material is tobacco or another material which generates an aerosol upon application of heat, and the wrapping paper is a cigarette paper. The smoking article can be a conventional cigarette, in which the tobacco is burnt, but also a smoking article, in which the smokable material is only heated and an aerosol is released thereby. In many cases, the smoking article also comprises a filter, which can filter components of the aerosol and is wrapped by a filter wrapping paper, and a tipping paper, which connects the filter and the rod to each other.
For some smoking articles the wrapping paper has repeating structures in the longitudinal direction of the rod. These structures can be purely optical features such as printing, water marks or also functional features such as bands to control the ignition propensity of the smoking article ("LIP"), a variable composition of the wrapping paper in the longitudinal direction of the smoking article, in particular with respect to the burning additives, or any other features which may be visible or invisible.
For such smoking articles, there is a need for the structures to be at a defined position on the smoking article. In common processes for manufacturing smoking articles, a continuous rod of smokable material is wrapped by the wrapping paper and is later cut into short pieces of nominally identical length. The position of the cut thereby is a random result of the requirement that the pieces should all should be of equal length as far as possible. The position of structures on the wrapping paper does not play a role, so that the structures are then located in a random position on the smoking article.
Some machines for the manufacture of smoking articles are equipped with sensors which can detect structures on the wrapping paper and can synchronize cutting of the continuous rod with the structures such that the structures are on a nominally fixed position on the smoking article. To that end, however, the structures have to be detectable by means of sensors at the usual processing speeds of such machines. If this is not the case, that is, if the structures cannot be detected with economically reasonable effort or at sufficiently high speed, it is an option to print marks, so-called register marks, on the wrapping paper, which are located in a fixed position relative to the structures and can be detected easily and reliably by a sensor. The cutting of the continuous rod is then synchronized with these printed register marks.
It is known in the prior art to print register marks on paper. This is mostly done for multi-color printing machines, for which the prints in the different colors need to be correctly positioned relative to each other. The printing of such register marks on wrapping paper for smoking articles, however, is problematic, because the substances used in printing inks are often not permitted in wrapping papers for smoking articles. In addition, the printing inks and the solvents used during printing can have an influence on the taste of the smoking article, in particular during the first puff. Such an influence can even exist, if the printing ink itself is neither burnt nor heated during use of the smoking article.
In some cases, lasers are also used to apply register marks to paper, wherein a laser beam burns the paper in a small area and thus causes a dark discoloration at a defined position. Such methods are, for example, disclosed in WO98/35096, WO 2007/122284 or WO 2011/026693. There, however, certain pigments are provided in the paper or in coatings on the paper, in order to obtain good marking by a controlled color change, which is often not possible for wrapping papers for smoking articles because of the legal requirements regarding their components.
Even without such pigments or coatings, the goal of methods according to the prior art is generally to produce a register mark which is as visible and detectable as possible without perforating the paper.
In contrast to printing, however, no new substances are applied to the wrapping paper by the laser, but combustion and pyrolysis products are still generated that remain on the wrapping paper. Thus, even when a laser is used to apply register marks to wrapping papers for smoking articles, new substances are present which can influence the taste of a smoking article manufactured from this wrapping paper. Furthermore, the application of register marks to wrapping papers is a special problem, because these papers are comparatively thin and can easily be accidentally perforated, and often contain burn additives which influence the thermal degradation of the wrapping paper.
A negative influence on the taste of a smoking article caused by treatment with a laser is known, for example, from filter cigarettes, for which a perforation track in the circumferential direction in the area of the filter is produced by means of a laser. Although the laser perforates the tipping paper and the filter wrapping paper as intended, it also penetrates into the filter material so that evaporation and combustion products of the filter material remain in the filter and are perceived as irritating by the smoker during the first puff.
Thus, there is a need for a method to generate register marks on the wrapping paper of a smoking article so that the influence on the taste of a smoking article manufactured from this wrapping paper is as small as possible.

Method for applying register marks to wrapping paper for smoking articles


Provided is a piezoelectric ceramic with a wider operating temperature range capable of obtaining a larger amount of displacement and being easily sintered, as well as being superior in terms of ultra-low emission, environmental friendliness and ecology. A piezoelectric substrate 1 comprises a composition including a perovskite-type oxide (Na1−x−y−zKxLiyAgz)(Nb1−wTaw)O3 and a tungsten bronze-type oxide M(Nb1−vTav)2O6 (M is an element of Group 2 in the long form of the periodic table of the elements). The values of x, y and z are preferably within a range of 0.1≦x≦0.9, 0≦y≦0.2, and 0≦z≦0.05, respectively. The content of the tungsten bronze-type oxide is preferably 5.3 mol % or less. Thereby, a higher Curie temperature and a larger amount of displacement can be obtained, and sintering can be more easily carried out.

An actuator using a piezoelectric ceramic uses such a piezoelectric effect that when an electric field is applied, mechanical strain and stress will be generated. The actuator has such characteristics that a very small displacement can be obtained with high accuracy, and generated strain is large, and, for example, the actuator is used to position a precision tool or an optical device. As a conventional piezoelectric ceramic used for the actuator, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) having excellent piezoelectric properties is used most often. However, lead zirconate titanate contains a large amount of lead, so adverse effects on global environment such as lead leaching due to acid rain have become controversial. Therefore, the development of piezoelectric ceramics not including lead instead of lead zirconate titanate is desired.
As the piezoelectric ceramic not including lead, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic including barium titanate (BaTiO3) as a main component is known (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 2-159079). The piezoelectric ceramic is superior in a high relative dielectric constant ∈r and a high electromechanical coupling factor kr, so the piezoelectric ceramic holds promise as a piezoelectric material for the actuator. Moreover, as another piezoelectric ceramic not including lead, for example, a piezoelectric ceramic including potassium sodium lithium niobate as a main component is known (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 49-125900 or Japanese Examined Patent Application Publication No. Sho 57-6713). The piezoelectric ceramic has a high Curie temperature of 350° C. or over, and an excellent electromechanical coupling factor kr, so the piezoelectric ceramic holds promise as a piezoelectric material. Further, a compound including potassium sodium niobate and a tungsten bronze-type oxide has been recently reported (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 9-165262).
However, the piezoelectric ceramics not including lead have such a problem that they have lower piezoelectric properties, compared to lead-based piezoelectric ceramics, so a sufficiently large amount of generated displacement cannot be obtained. Moreover, in the piezoelectric ceramic including barium titanate as a main component, barium titanate has a low Curie temperature of approximately 120° C., so there is such a problem that an operating temperature range is limited to 100° C. or less. Further, in the piezoelectric ceramic including sodium lithium potassium niobate as a main component, sodium, potassium and lithium are easily volatilized during sintering, so there is such a problem that it is difficult to sinter the piezoelectric ceramic.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to provide a piezoelectric ceramic with a wider operating temperature range capable of obtaining a large amount of generated displacement, and capable of being easily sintered, and being superior in the point of ultra-low emission, environmental friendliness and ecology.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Piezoelectric porcelain and method for preparation thereof


An information transmission system in which an information signal supplied from a base station is automatically edited at relay stations and retransmitted to terminal stations according to a retransmission schedule assigned to each relay station. The transmission schedule is transmitted together with the information signal from the base station to the relay station which in turn records portions of the information signal directed to the station itself onto a rewritable recording medium (e.g. an optical disk) and retransmits it to its terminal stations according to the retransmission schedule.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information transmission system for use with a communications satellite, for example.
2. Description of Related Art
There is an information transmission system widely known as a CATV system in which an information signals carrying video and audio information are transmitted from a base station and relay stations receiving the information signals from the base station where those information signals is retransmitted to a plurality of terminal stations via coaxial cables or fiber-optic cables. In such a known information transmission system, the retransmission of data from the relay station to the terminal stations is carried out in real time. This results in difficulties in making out a schedule for distributing prearranged information signals to the terminal stations and the information signal from the base station. Thus, a drawback has been encountered, in practice, that retransmission of the information signals cannot be executed following a schedule laid out minutely.

Information transmission system retransmitting information signals according to retransmission schedule