A motor vehicle transmission is shiftable in a track pattern with a selector track and shift tracks. A shifter element moves along the tracks when the transmission is shifted from one gear ratio to another. The shifts are directed by a control device sending command signals to an actuator device which, in turn, applies an actuating force to the transmission. A main position-detecting device detects the position of the shifter element relative to the selector track and shift tracks, and a redundant position-detecting device performs an additional, redundant determination of the shifter-element position.

The invention relates to a transmission including devices for controlling and actuating the transmission, as well as a method of operating the transmission.
A transmission in the sense of the present invention is a mechanism that can be shifted in steps or in a continuous, step-less range into different shift positions corresponding to different transmission ratios between two shafts of the transmission. The transmission can be configured as a gear-shifting transmission or a cone-pulley system, or any other transmission that may benefit from the present invention. The transmission can be shifted automatically or manually, or in a partially automatic or automated mode with the possibility of manual intervention. Depending on the design of the transmission, the shifts from one shift position to another may or may not cause an interruption in vehicle traction.
A transmission in the sense of the present invention is configured in particular as an automatic transmission or as an automated shift transmission.
An automatic transmission in the present context is a transmission in which the shifts are controlled automatically and occur without interruption in the tractive force. The term xe2x80x9cautomatic transmissionxe2x80x9d in the present context specifically refers to transmissions with a planetary gear mechanism.
The term xe2x80x9cautomated shift transmissionxe2x80x9d relates to a transmission that allows automated shifting between different shift positions and is characterized by an interruption in vehicle traction during the shift processes. The automated shift transmission can be equipped with at least one electric motor to actuate the shift movements.
The term xe2x80x9cshift transmissionxe2x80x9d as used in the present context generally relates to a transmission with a track pattern, i.e., a shift pattern with at least one selector track and several shift tracks, with a first shifter element such as a shift finger that is movable along the tracks.
In the context of the present invention, a selector track or shift track can be a physically existing track or a virtual track.
The term xe2x80x9cvirtual trackxe2x80x9d refers to an arrangement where a control device or an actuator device generates signals that allow the first shifter element to move or be moved only along certain track-like paths.
A shift track in the sense of the present invention consists either of one branch that runs in one direction essentially from a defined position on the selector track, or two branches that run in opposite directions from a selector position on the selector track. Movement along a shift track brings the first shifter element to a predetermined position in which a predetermined gear level or a predetermined transfer ratio of the transmission is engaged.
A transmission in the sense of the present invention is equipped with an actuator device, i.e., a device that can apply a force to at least one shifter element that is part of a shift mechanism, so that the shifter element is moved in predetermined ways to shift the transmission into different shift positions.
The actuator mechanism contains in particular at least one electric motor. A preferred arrangement has a first motor used as a selector motor to move the first shifter element along the selector track, and a second motor used as a shifter motor to move the first shifter element in the direction of the shift tracks.
A transmission includes a control device which transmits control commands and/or supplies power to the actuator device. The control commands or the power transmitted from the control device determine the nature, timing, duration, direction and intensity of the action to be exerted by the actuator device on the first shifter element. The control command signals can control the actuator device alone, or they can also control a further device such as a clutch, more specifically an automated clutch device. With preference, the signals transmitted from the control device to the actuator device are in the form of electric currents or voltages.
A transmission in the context of the present invention is also equipped with a position-detecting device.
A position-detecting device is a device that can detect a position or a change in position in absolute or relative terms. In particular, the position-detecting device can measure a travel distance or an angle of rotation or a change in distance or angle from one point in time to another.
The position-detecting device can be based on a principle of absolute or relative measurement. The position-detecting device is configured in particular as an incremental position sensor or an angle-detection sensor.
Preferably, an incremental angle-detection sensor is arranged on an electric motor, specifically the aforementioned shifter motor or selector motor.
Automated shift transmissions are known in which a control device transmits output signals in the form of electric voltages to a selector motor and a shifter motor. The signals can have the effect that the selector and shifter motors actuate a shifter shaft which, in turn, causes shift processes to be performed in the transmission. In a transmission of this kind, incremental displacement sensors are arranged at the selector motor and shifter motor to detect position changes and thereby determine the current shift position of the transmission.
The transmissions of the foregoing description are proven in practical use.
Nevertheless, there have been instances of malfunctions in transmissions of this kind. In particular, the malfunctions were related to the gear-shifting process, causing in some cases damage to the transmission, loss of driving comfort in the vehicle equipped with the transmission, or dangerous traffic situations.
The present invention therefore has the objective of providing a transmission, a control device for controlling the transmission, as well as a method of operating the transmission with the purpose of improving operating safety in a simple and cost-effective way and also offering the possibility of improved driving comfort.
To meet the foregoing objective, the invention proposes a transmission with one or more first shifter elements movable in a track pattern with a selector track and shift tracks and one or more second movable shifter elements. Moving the first and/or second shifter element will set the transmission into different shift positions.
The transmission according to the invention further includes: an actuator device which acts on at least one of the shifter elements, a main position-detecting device to detect the position of one of the movable shifter elements in the directions of the selector track and shift track, and at least one redundant position-detecting device, which can under certain predetermined conditions detect the position of one of the movable shifter elements.
In short, the invention proposes a transmission with a main position-detecting device as well as a redundant position-detecting device.
The main position-detecting device within the context of the present invention is in particular a primary position-detecting device not restricted to any specific configuration.
The shifter mechanism that is part of the transmission has a first shifter element movable in a track pattern, and also a second movable shifter element. Moving at least one of the shifter elements will set the transmission into different shift positions. Specifically, the first shifter element takes the form of a so-called shifter finger, and the second shifter element takes the form of a so-called shifter shaft.
The main position-detecting device, configured in particular as an incremental sensor device, is designed to detect the position of a movable shifter element with regard to the directions of selecting and shifting, i.e., the two coordinates of movement along the selector track and shift tracks.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the main position-detecting device indicates the position with a higher degree of accuracy than the redundant position-detecting device.
The invention shows a way to avoid a continuing use of erroneously detected position data and thereby avoid the risk that the control device will generate erroneous output signals based on the faulty detection data. Furthermore, driving comfort can be improved in a vehicle equipped with the transmission according to the invention.
Preferably, the redundant position-detecting device includes a sensor device capable of generating a sensor signal that is indicative of the position of at least one shifter element, e.g., the first shifter element, and can be transmitted to the control device.
The sensor device can be an electromechanical contact sensor, a Hall-effect sensor, an inductive sensor, an optical sensor, a capacitative sensor, an acoustical sensor, or an electrical slider contact cooperating with conductive tracks, or any other suitable device.
Preferably, the sensor device is based on a digital concept, so that it provides a digital signal. The digital signal indicates whether a predetermined movable shifter element such as the aforementioned first or second or another shifter element of the transmission is positioned in a first or second range of possible shift positions. The first and second range can themselves be subdivided into partial ranges that may be adjacent to each other or spatially separated from each other.
With preference, the sensor device is configured with at least three steps, so that the sensor device can generate a distinctive sensor signal in each of the three steps to indicate the range of shift positions where the shifter element is currently located. The sensor output signals for different shift positions can be identical or different from each other.
The sensor device may work in a continuous, step-less range or in steps, indicating the shift positions of the transmission in discrete steps or in a continuous, analog format.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least a part of the shift positions that the transmission device or a shifter element can be set to is associated with corresponding positions of a field, a field-like area, or a curve profile or surface profile.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be presented schematically, using the concept of the field, field-like area, or surface profile. Each of the embodiments according to the invention can comprise a field as well as a field-like area, or also a surface profile.
A field in the sense of the present invention exists either as a material or non-material field in one, two, three or more dimensions. The term xe2x80x9cfieldxe2x80x9d in the present context means one or more physical quantities that vary as a function of location, i.e., of the spatial coordinates in an area where the field is defined. If the field is defined by more than one variable physical quantity, such quantities may or may not be dependent on each other.
With preference, at least one shifter element of the transmission is subjected to a field, with predetermined shift positions of the shifter element being assigned to predetermined field locations.
The field can in particular consist of an acceleration field, or an electrical, magnetic, or other kind of field.
A preferred kind of field in the sense of the present invention consists of a surface profile arranged in particular on the surface of the second shifter element. The profile has raised and depressed portions.
The surface profile is preferably configured in a manner where different points of the surface have different distances from the longitudinal axis of the second shifter element.
Preferably, the field has the effect that the movement of one of the shifter elements is opposed or assisted by a variable force.
A field in the sense of the present invention is preferably a potential field in which different positions are associated with different levels of potential energy. Preferably, the potential field is a force field. Further within the scope of the present invention, the term xe2x80x9cfieldxe2x80x9d can also mean a signal field in which different signals are generated by way of a field-sensing element or contact element that connects to different positions of the signal field. The signals are generated either by the field itself or by the field-sensing element.
The different signals are generated in particular by an arrangement where a spring-biased feeler element follows a surface profile on the second shifter element so that the compressive spring force varies as the feeler element moves over raised and depressed profile portions.
A field-sensing element in the sense of the present invention can be any element that has a connection to different locations of the field.
A connection between a field and a field-sensing element in the sense of the present invention means that the field-sensing element relates to a predetermined field location, with or without physical contact between the field-sensing element and the field location, so that the field-sensing element can in particular detect and transmit an attribute of the field location, such as a characteristic value. With preference, the field-sensing element communicates in each case with the field location that is situated in relation to the field-sensing element according to a predetermined characteristic.
The signal field is configured in particular as a binary signal field, meaning that the signal generated by the field alone or in cooperation with the field-sensing element can take on two different values.
Preferably, the redundant position-detecting device makes use of the field in order to determine the shift position of the transmission.
Also with preference, the redundant position-detecting device includes or is connected to a sensor device and/or a computer device. The sensor/computer device determines a field location and/or characteristic values of the field location according to a predetermined characteristic. Based on a correlation characteristic, the field location allows conclusions to be drawn with regard to the shift position of the transmission.
The field-sensing element is preferably part of an arrangement in the form of a retainer or holder containing the field-sensing element as well as a switch and/or sensor or the like. The switch/sensor can respond to or communicate with different positions of the field and will therefore also be referred to herein as a position transducer.
The position transducer can in particular be designed to detect a translatory movement of the field-sensing element as the latter follows the surface profile or other variable of the field.
The position transducer preferably generates a switch signal that is indicative of the shift position and/or a domain or delimited portion out of the overall range of shift movements. The term xe2x80x9cshift positionsxe2x80x9d specifically refers to predetermined positions of the gears or synchronizer elements or to a neutral position of the transmission.
The switch output signal is transmitted preferably to the control device or the actuator device. With preference, the control device takes the switch output signal into account when outputting command signals. With particular preference, the control device generates output command signals by taking into account the switch signal as well as signals of a primary position-detecting device, all of which are indicative of the current shift position of the transmission.
With preference, the surface profile of the second shifter element is configured so that a predetermined level of potential energy is assigned to each gear position and the neutral position of the transmission; and/or a predetermined level of potential energy is assigned to the selector track and each shift track.
The surface profile representing the level of potential energy is preferable measured or detected by a contact sensor or a field-sensing element that is part of the redundant position-detecting device. The level of potential energy is determined in particular by the distance of each surface point from the central axis of the second shifter element.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one predetermined shift position such as a gear position or the neutral position or a track of the shift pattern is associated with a local extreme of the potential energy or of the surface profile. When the sensor or field-sensing element detects the local extreme value, this can be taken as an indication that the transmission is in the shift position associated with the local extreme.
Preferably, the field-sensing element is a sphere or spherical contact head that is spring-biased against a profiled surface, or the field-sensing element may be based on a non-contacting sensor principle.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the field is configured so that the transmission has a tendency to move towards a local minimum of the potential energy even in the absence of a command signal from the control device, or without an actuator force being applied. In particular, the second shifter element can be arranged and configured so that it will seek a position where the energy stored in the biasing spring of a field-sensing element bearing against a surface profile of the second shifter element is minimized, i.e., a position where the field-sensing element bears against an area of minimum distance between the surface and the central axis of the second shifter element.
Preferably, the field is a scalar field or a vector field.
The field can be variable or invariable over time. A variable field may depend in particular on characteristic operating values of the motor vehicle or its constituent devices, which may change during the operation of the vehicle.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the field or, more specifically, the field-like area or surface profile of the second shifter element correlates to a signal pattern which could be interpreted as a projection or a transformed image of the field that is overlaid on the track pattern of a selector track and shift tracks. The signal pattern is composed of different domains. A predetermined signal value is assigned to each domain, so that different signal values are generated depending on which domain the first shifter element is positioned in at a given time.
The signals associated with the different domains are at least in part different from each other. Preferably, there are two or three different signals assigned to the different domains.
The signal pattern is preferably used to determine which of the tracks of the shift pattern the first shifter element is positioned in at a given time.
With particular preference, the signal pattern is used to detect a movement of the first shifter element from a predetermined track to another predetermined track or from a predetermined gear position to another predetermined gear position. Preferably, the signal or signal value does not change within a domain.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the signals that are associated with the domains of the signal pattern are used to determine
which of the tracks the first shifter element is currently positioned in;
whether the first shifter element is being moved from one predetermined track to another predetermined track;
whether the shifter element is being moved from a predetermined gear position to another predetermined gear position;
which of the gear levels is currently engaged.
The foregoing determination is made preferably on the basis of the number of signal changes that are detected in the course of a movement of the first shifter element and/or on the basis of the signal values that are assigned to the different domains of the signal pattern.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the field is used to determine when the transmission is in a position of synchronized gear engagement.
The domains of the signal pattern are preferably configured or arranged in such a way that at least one boundary between adjacent domains runs either parallel or perpendicular to a track of the shift pattern.
Preferably, a domain of the signal pattern covers the entire width of the track in which at least most of that domain is arranged.
A change in the signal detected by the sensor device occurs preferably when the first shifter element moves across a boundary between adjacent domains of the signal pattern. Preferably, the change consists of a jump from one signal state to another.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the domains of the signal pattern are arranged in a chessboard-like configuration.
Preferably, the transmission is equipped with a computing device in which the topography of the signal pattern is stored. Based on the stored topographical data and the detected sensor signals, the computing device determines whether or when the first shifter element is moving to a different track of the shift pattern or the transmission is being shifted from one gear level to another.
With preference, the redundant position-detecting device has the capability of distinguishing certain predetermined shift positions of the transmission from other shift positions. Specifically, the distinctive shift positions include the fully engaged gear positions and/or the neutral position of the transmission.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a movement of a first shifter element across a boundary between adjacent domains of the signal pattern is detected from the dynamic behavior of a predetermined characteristic operating value.
The characteristic operating value is in particular an electric current that is transmitted from the control device to an electric motor such as the selector motor or shifter motor.
With preference, the field or the surface profile is configured in such a way that the characteristic operating value, specifically the aforementioned electric current, undergoes a change, for example a jump from one level to another, at the time when the first shifter element is moved across a boundary between adjacent domains of the signal pattern.
Preferably, the field or profile on the second shifter element is configured in such a way that it has field portions in which a movement of the first shifter element is opposed by an essentially constant amount of resistance. In particular, the field or profile is shaped so that adjacent field portions are distinguished by different slope angles of the surface profile, but the slope angle inside each field portion is constant. The projections of the field portions coincide essentially with the domains of the signal pattern. Preferably, the electric current supplied to the selector motor and/or shifter motor by the control device is of a constant magnitude within a given field portion. Thus, an essentially jump-like change of the current will be detected at the transition from one field portion to another, which can be used as an indication that the shifter finger has crossed the boundary between adjacent domains of the signal pattern.
Preferably, the control device receives signals from the primary position-detecting device as well as the redundant position-detecting device to indicate the shift position of the transmission. The control device evaluates the signals for plausibility.
The invention proposes in particular for the case where the primary and redundant position-detecting devices are functioning correctly and their signals confirm each other, that the control device will control the transmission according to a normal operating mode, i.e., that the control device will generate output signals to the transmission in accordance with a normal operating characteristic.
In a particular embodiment of the invention, the system is shut down and/or a process of stopping the motor vehicle is initiated, if the primary and/or the redundant position-detecting device gives a faulty indication of the shift position. A predetermined characteristic can be used to detect whether the values furnished by one or both of the position-detecting devices are faulty. A condition where the primary position-detecting device is functional and the redundant position-detecting device is functionally impaired manifests itself in particular by the fact that the two position-detecting devices give different indications for the shift positions. In this case, a warning signal is generated to bring the malfunction to the attention of the driver of the vehicle.
If a condition is detected where the primary position-detecting device gives a faulty indication of the shift positions and the redundant position-detecting device gives a correct indication, the invention proposes with preference that the control device generate output signals according to a predetermined substitute characteristic. The substitute characteristic is designed to allow only shift processes that are compatible with the movement of the vehicle. In particular, shifts into certain predetermined gears are avoided.
The layout of the domains and/or domain boundaries of the signal pattern is designed preferably in accordance with the movement of the first and/or second shifter element. As a particular feature of the invention, the second shifter element is designed with a surface profile that is contacted by a spring-biased field-sensing element or feeler element. A switch in the signal from one state to another occurs when the feeler element is at a predetermined contour level of the surface profile, corresponding to a predetermined level of potential elastic energy of the biasing spring of the feeler element. As a particular feature, the direction is taken into account in which the threshold of the energy potential is crossed. In other words, a signal change is triggered if the second shifter element is in a position and moves in a way where the energy threshold is crossed in the direction from a higher to a lower potential, i.e., to an area of the surface profile closer to the central axis of the second shifter element. Alternatively, the signal change could also be triggered if the energy threshold is crossed in the direction from a lower to a higher potential energy.
The scope of the invention also includes a control device which performs the control functions required to operate the transmission according to the invention. The control device issues output signals in the form of commands to an actuator device that actuates the shift movements of the transmission according to a predetermined characteristic.
Also included in the scope of the invention are methods of operating a motor vehicle including a step of utilizing the transmission according to the invention, as well as methods including a step of utilizing a control device performing the control functions required to operate the inventive transmission.
The invention further proposes a method of shifting a transmission from a currently engaged gear level to a new gear level. The shift is actuated by a shift motor and a selector motor according to a predetermined characteristic. In the course of the shift process, the signals of a sensor device of the redundant position-detecting device are monitored and analyzed to determine the position of the first shifter element in relation to the track pattern. The shift from a given current gear to a given new gear determines a specific number of signal changes or a specific sequence of signals that will occur in the course of the shift process. Under the inventive method, the shift and/or actuator motor are activated dependent on the detected signals or signal changes.
As a linguistic formality, where the names of features are connected by the word xe2x80x9corxe2x80x9d, this should be understood in the broadest sense, i.e., either as a logic type of xe2x80x9corxe2x80x9d (meaning xe2x80x9cone or the other or bothxe2x80x9d) or an exclusive or (meaning xe2x80x9cone or the other but not bothxe2x80x9d), whichever fits the context.
The terms xe2x80x9ccontrolxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cregulationxe2x80x9d and their derivatives are used herein with a broad range of meanings encompassing closed-loop as well as open-loop control of devices, functions and processes, including in particular the DIN (Deutsche Industrie-Norm) definitions for regulation and/or control).
The novel features that are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The improved apparatus itself, however, both as to its construction and its mode of operation, together with additional features and advantages thereof, will be best understood upon perusal of the following detailed description of certain presently preferred specific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing.

Transmission, shiftable in a track pattern

LuK Lamellen und Kupplungsbau Beteiligungs KG


The anti-angiogenic functions of a polysulfated, cyclic compound, ST104P, were investigated. ST104P exhibited excellent water solubility and low cytotoxicity to endothelial cells. ST104P potently inhibited the secretion of matrix metalloproteinase (MMPs) by endothelial cells. Moreover, ST104 also perturbed the migration and tube formation of endothelial cells. Application of ST104P abolished the neovascularization in chicken choroiallantoic membrane (CAM) in a dose-dependent manner. Besides, repeated administration of ST104P into Lewis lung carcinoma resulted in delayed tumor growth and prolonged the life span of tumor-bearing mice. These results indicated that ST104P inhibited angiogenesis and may hold promises for treatment of cancer and diseases or conditions caused by excessive angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis, the recruitment of new blood vessels, is an essential component of the metastatic pathway (Zetter, B. R., Annu Rev Med, 49: 407-424 (1998)). Persistent, unregulated angiogenesis occurs in a multiplicity of disease states, tumor metastasis and abnormal growth by endothelial cells and supports the pathological damage seen in these conditions. These vessels provide the principal route by which tumor cells exit the primary tumor site and enter the circulation. For many tumors, the vascular density can provide a prognostic indicator of metastatic potential, with the highly vascular primary tumors having a higher incidence of metastasis than poorly vascular tumors. Tumor angiogenesis is regulated by the production of angiogenic stimulators including members of the fibroblast growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor families. In addition, tumors may activate angiogenic inhibitors such as angiostatin and endostatin that can modulate angiogenesis both at the primary site and at downstream sites of metastasis. The potential use of these and other natural and synthetic angiogenic inhibitors as anticancer drugs is currently under intense investigation. Such agents may have reduced toxicity and be less likely to generate drug resistance than conventional cytotoxic drugs.
In addition, angiogenesis has been associated with blood-born tumors such as leukemias, any of various acute or chronic neoplastic diseases of the bone marrow in which unrestrained proliferation of white blood cells occurs, usually accompanied by anemia, impaired blood clotting, and enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen. It is believed that angiogenesis plays a role in the abnormalities in the bone marrow that give rise to leukemia-like tumors.
Excessive angiogenesis or abnormal growth of new blood vessels has also contributed to a variety of other diseases or conditions that are commonly known in the art to be associated with or otherwise mediated by angiogenesis. One such example is ocular neovascular disease. This disease is characterized by invasion of new blood vessels into the structures of the eye such as the retina or cornea. In age-related macular degeneration, the associated visual problems are caused by an ingrowth of chorioidal capillaries through defects in Bruch's membrane with proliferation of fibrovascular tissue beneath the retinal pigment epithelium. Angiogenic damage is also associated with diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity, corneal graft rejection, neovascular glaucoma and retrolental fibroplasias. Other diseases or medical conditions associated with angiogenesis known in the art include, but without limitation to, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, polyarteritis, sickle cell anemia, osteoarthritis, vein occlusion, artery occlusion, carotid obstructive disease and atherosclerosis. Therapies directed at control of the angiogenic process could lead to the abrogation or mitigation of these diseases and conditions. Clinical trials are now underway to develop optimum treatment strategies for antiangiogenic agents (U.S. Pat. No. 6,518,298).
ST104P {(tetrameric cyclic compound of 4,5-dihydroxynaphthalene-2,7, disulfonic acid linked by methylene bridges (Poh B.-L., et al, Tetra. Letters 30(8):1005-1008 (1989), Poh, B.-L., and Lim, C. S., Tetrahedron 46(10):3651-3658 (1990a), and Poh, B.-L., et al, Tetrahedron 46(12):4679-4386 (1990b)) is a synthetic polysulfated-, cyclo-, tetrachromotropylene macrocyclic compound containing four naphthalene units in its cyclic structure. It is a water-soluble compound with marginal cellular toxicity. The functions of ST104P as anti-viral agents and anti-thrombotic treatment have been indicated in previous studies (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,166,173, 5,196,452, 5,312,837, 5,441,983 and 5,409,959). However, ST104P has never been indicated to be an anti-angiogenic agent exhibiting anti-angiogenic functions useful for treatment of various diseases or conditions caused by or in association with undesirable angiogenesis including, but not limited to, cancer therapy.
It is theoretically possible that a compound exhibiting anti-viral and anti-thrombotic activity may also possess other biological activities either by a similar or an entirely different mechanism. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a composition comprising ST104P exhibiting a remarkable anti-angiogenic activity suitable for cancer therapy.
It is a further object of the invention to provide for a method of providing therapeutical benefits for a human patient in cancer therapy employing a composition comprising ST104P
It is a further object of the invention to provide for a composition comprising ST104P exhibiting a remarkable activity against diseases or conditions mediated by or in connection with angiogenesis including, without limitation, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, atherosclerosis, corneal neovascularization, retinal/choroidal neovascularization and systemic lupus.


The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for pulse generation, having a capacitor, to which a charging current and a discharging current may be supplied in succession. To generate the charging current and the discharging current, there are provided a current source, a first current mirror circuit and a second current mirror circuit complementary to the first current mirror circuit. The current mirror circuits each comprise a plurality of output transistors, which each constitute an output stage for the charging and discharging current, which is connected to a regulator, and for a circuit for controlling the tail current of a differential amplifier forming the regulator. A current output of the differential amplifier is connected to the output of the second current mirror circuit.

The invention relates to a circuit arrangement for pulse generation.
Circuit arrangements having a pulse duration dependent on the charging current of a capacitor have, inter alia, the advantage that the pulse duration may be set within wide limits. To achieve stability of the pulse duration set in each case, it is important, in addition to the stability of the voltage rise at the capacitor, also to keep constant the offset or the voltage at the capacitor between the pulses. This lower threshold is especially necessary if a semiconductor layer serves as capacitor plate in integrated circuits and the capacitor exhibits constant capacitance only from a minimum voltage.
It is an object of the invention to provide a circuit arrangement in which this offset is kept constant.
This object is achieved according to the invention in that
a charging current and a discharging current may be supplied in succession to a capacitor, with a threshold value switch connected to the capacitor and a bistable circuit connected to the threshold value switch, the output of which bistable circuit outputs a switching signal during supply of the charging current,
a current source, a first current mirror circuit and a second current mirror circuit complementary to the first current mirror circuit are provided to generate the charging current and the discharging current,
the first current mirror circuit comprises an input transistor and three output transistors connected with the gate electrodes thereof, wherein the first of the output transistors comprises a larger area than the second and third output transistors,
the drain electrodes of the first output transistor and an input transistor of the second current mirror circuit are connected together,
the drain electrodes of the second output transistor of the first current mirror circuit and an output transistor of the second current mirror circuit are connected together, to the capacitor and to an input of a regulator in the form of a differential amplifier,
the third output transistor of the first current mirror circuit and a further output transistor of the second current mirror circuit are connected together to form an output stage and are connected to a circuit for controlling the tail current of the differential amplifier and
a current output of the differential amplifier is connected to the drain electrode of the output transistor of the second current mirror circuit.
With the circuit arrangement according to the invention, pulses of adjustable width may be generated, wherein the width is adjustable via corresponding control of the current source. The circuit arrangement according to the invention further exhibits the advantage that it may be easily integrated with conventional technologies. Accordingly, the circuit is preferably produced with MOS field effect transistors. However, implementation with bipolar transistors is not ruled out in principle.
In order also to keep an offset of the differential amplifier small, provision is made according to a further development for the circuit for generating the tail current of the differential amplifier to consist of a third and a fourth current mirror circuit, wherein the current supplied to the circuit is doubled.
In still a further development, particularly advantageous introduction of the control signal into the output stage and advantageous switching of the charging current are achieved in that the differential amplifier takes the form of two source-coupled transistors, wherein the switching signal may be supplied by the bistable circuit to the drain electrode of a transistor of the differential amplifier and wherein a fifth current mirror circuit is provided in the output circuit of this transistor, the output of which fifth current mirror circuit is connected with the drain electrode of the output transistor of the second current mirror circuit.
In the case of the circuit arrangement according to the invention, the current mirror circuits are assisted in functioning more accurately by an advantageous development which consists in the fact that the output transistors of the first and second current mirror circuits are each supplemented by a further transistor in cascode connection.

Circuit arrangement for pulse generation


An image scanner for reading a document optically with a CCD image sensor or similar line image sensor, and electrically processing, e.g., amplifying and digitizing the resulting image signal. When an error occurs in the scanner, it can be located easily and rapidly.

The present invention relates to an image scanner for reading a document optically with a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) image sensor or similar line image sensor, and processing, e.g., amplifying and digitizing the resulting image signal electrically.
It is a common practice with an image scanner to construct a CCD circuit and an image signal processing circuit independently on separate circuit boards. However, the problem with this kind of arrangement is that when the output of the signal processing circuit is faulty, there is no implementation for determining which of the CCD circuit and image signal processing circuit has failed easily and rapidly, i.e., the two circuits have to be tested one by one. A digital copier, for example, is made up of a CCD circuit, a signal processing circuit, an image processing circuit (IPU), a write processing circuit, etc. Assume that a pattern generator is built in each of the signal processing circuit and write processing circuit. Then, the write processing circuit can be tested if the output of the pattern generator built therein is written and then printed. When the write processing circuit is not faulty as determined by the test, the signal processing circuit can be tested if the output of the pattern generator built therein is processed and then applied to the write processing circuit to be printed thereby. Hence, when the reproduction of a document is defective despite that the write processing circuit is normal, it can be determined that the scanner is faulty. However, which of the CCD circuit and signal processing circuit included in the scanner is faulty cannot be determined. As a result, a fault cannot be located without consuming a substantial period of time.

Image scanning and processing apparatus with error checking


A data conversion processing unit converts a second group including a plurality of reflection point data units in which a reflection point corresponding to each reflection point data unit belongs to a three-dimensional object among a first data unit group into a third group including a plurality of projection point data units by projecting the second group onto a horizontal plane in a world coordinate system. A clustering processing unit clusters the plurality of projection point data units of the third group into a plurality of clusters based on positions of these units on the horizontal plane. A space of interest setting unit sets a space of interest for each cluster by using the plurality of reflection point data units corresponding to the plurality of projection point data units included in each cluster.

An object recognition apparatus that recognizes an object using a range-finding point group acquired by a laser radar has been proposed (e.g., Patent Literature 1).
Further, an object identification apparatus that identifies an object in a captured image based on a feature value has been proposed (e.g., Patent Literature 2). However, if occlusion has occurred in the object captured in the captured image, the accuracy of an object identification may be reduced.

Object identification apparatus, object identification method, and nontransitory computer readable medium storing control program


A self-adjusting striker assembly, for use with a box having a lid, a box body and a latch, includes a striker bar mounted to the lid which is operative to move linearly relative to the latch in the event of misalignment between the lid and box body.

One of the most popular accessories for trucks and recreational vehicles is a truck tool box used to store and secure a variety of tools and other items in the bed of the vehicles. There are a number of different types of truck boxes, including cross-over boxes, side mount boxes, chest boxes, top mount boxes, RV boxes and others. Each truck box is typically formed of aluminum tread plate, and comprises a front wall, a back wall, a bottom wall and opposed end walls which are interconnected to define a hollow interior. The truck box interior is closed by a top lid that is pivotal on one or more hinges, usually with the assistance of gas springs.
In many truck box designs, one or more latch mechanisms and striker bars are provided to maintain the top lid in a closed and locked position to secure the contents of the box. The latch mechanism(s) may be mounted to the front wall of the box, for example, in which case the striker bar(s) is mounted to the top lid. When the top lid is closed, each striker bar engages a latch mechanism to lock the top lid in place. In order for the striker bar and latch to properly engage one another, they must be in alignment, which, in turn, depends on appropriate alignment of the top lid and the body of the truck box. Many factors can contribute to altering the relationship between the top lid and box body, including rough handling during shipment, improper installation on the vehicle, damage to the body panels of the box during off-road adventures or the like and other factors. If each latch does not align with a striker bar, adjustment must be made in order for the top lid to properly close and lock.
Many striker bar—latch constructions in the prior art permit manual adjustment of the striker bar with respect to the latch. Typically, the position of the striker bar may be altered by loosening nuts securing the striker bar to the top lid or front wall of the box and then manually shifting its position relative to the latch. This can be a tedious exercise, and seems to invariably occur when the vehicle owner has the least amount of time to correct the situation.
Self-adjusting striker bar assemblies have been suggested in the prior art as a means of providing at least some adjustment of the position of the striker bar relative to the latch without the need for manual intervention. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,416,228 and 5,342,103. In these patents, the striker bar is pivotally mounted to the top lid or box body and can move in a swinging, pendulum-type motion relative to the latch mechanism which is mounted on or adjacent to a plate formed with a notch. In the event of misalignment between the striker bar and latch mechanism, the striker bar contacts a side of the notch and pivots to a position in alignment with the latch mechanism.


The disclosure describes, in one aspect, a method for changing a direction of a machine that is moving in a first direction. The method includes the step of receiving a signal indicative of an intention to change the direction of the machine to a second direction. The method also includes the step of determining whether a signal indicative of a speed of the machine is greater than a threshold based at least in part on an electric motor parameter. Finally, the method includes the step of applying a braking torque to at least one travel mechanism of the machine in response to a signal indicative of an accelerator pedal position until the speed reaches the threshold.

Electric drive machines may be designed to provide combinations of electric and/or internal combustion power to the machines' drivetrain. Machines increasingly use electric drive systems to provide propulsion for the machine. For example, passenger vehicles may use a hybrid drive system in which a traditional gasoline powered engine and an electric motor are both used to provide propulsion for the vehicle. Machines, such as, for example, off-highway vehicles, may use a diesel-powered engine to drive a generator, which provides electric power to an electric motor. The electric motor is typically configured to provide propulsion for the machine by driving the wheels or travel mechanisms of the machine.
In addition, braking systems may take advantage of components in electric drive systems, including the electric motor, to provide braking for machines. Electric drive machines may require the use of systems for controlling the power produced by the electric motor and/or the engine. Conventional control systems for electric drive machines use various machine operating conditions and parameters to adjust the operations of the machine's motor to increase the performance efficiency of the machine. For example, the control system may allow an operator to interface with the electric drive machine to perform various machine operations, including driving the machine in forward and reverse driving directions.
In certain situations, the operators operating the electric drive machine may desire to change the driving direction of the machine when in motion. For example, the operator may want to change the driving direction of the electric drive machine moving in reverse to forward. In some circumstances, the operator may want to change directions relatively quickly. The electric drive system, however, encounters problems when attempting to change the driving or propulsion direction of the machine if the power required to change the direction of the machine is too high. For example, attempting to change the driving direction before the power required to change the driving direction is appropriately low may lead to comparatively high currents passing through the electric drive system, which may damage some of the electric drive components. To overcome this problem, the operator may have to engage the brake system, for example, by depressing a service brake pedal, wait for the machine to stop, then engage an accelerator pedal while releasing the service brake pedal.
There are prior art systems that include control systems for controlling a method to reverse the driving direction of a vehicle in motion. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,988 to Carlsson (hereinafter, "Carlsson"), which discloses a method and apparatus for reversing the driving direction of a vehicle in motion. Carlsson's system, however, which is essentially a mechanical drive system, does not address the problems encountered when attempting to change the driving direction of the electric drive machine before the power required to change the driving direction of the machine is appropriately low.
The methods and systems consistent with the disclosed embodiments are directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art.

Method and system for controlling a driving direction of an electric drive machine


Methods and systems are disclosed herein for a media guidance application that recommends media content based on activities recently performed by a user. For example, in response to determining that a user recently finished the laundry, the media guidance application may recommend a movie that other users accessed after finishing the laundry.

Media content delivery systems such as cable, satellite, and Internet systems provide users with a plethora of available media content. However, users are often not aware of all the media content available to them. Moreover, even if users are aware of media content, they may not know whether or not the media content will appeal to them.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and systems for recommending media content related to a recently completed activity


The present invention provides a method and apparatus for preprocessing a page image reproduced from a storage medium in a holographic system. The present invention calculates pixel sums for each lines in the page image to select a maximum sum, calculates a modified maximum sum using the modified maximum sum and its neighboring sums, determines a compensation location for distorted pixels using the modified maximum sum and performs over-sampling a data image with reference to the compensation location of magnified pixels, to thereby compensate the data image with high precision in sub-pixels.

Recently, with the remarkable development of a semiconductor laser, a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) and a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), research on a holographic digital data storage has been actively conducted everywhere. In a holographic system, interference patterns generated when signal light derived from an object and reference light interfere with each other are recorded in a hologram storage medium. For example, such a storage medium includes photorefractive crystal sensitively reacting to the amplitude of the interference patterns. By varying an incident angle of the reference light on the hologram storage medium, the holographic system is capable of recording the amplitude and phase of signal light, thus displaying a three-dimensional image of an object, and storing several hundred to several thousand of holograms on a single storage medium.
In a recording mode of the holographic system, laser light generated from a light source is divided into reference light and object light. The reference light is reflected at a preset deflection angle and then generated in the form of reference light for recording to be incident on the hologram storage medium. The object light is modulated into signal light representing page image of binary input data to be recorded on the hologram storage medium. The modulated signal light and the reference light interfere with each other to generate an interference pattern. An image of the interference pattern is then recorded on the storage medium as hologram data corresponding to the binary input data. The hologram data to be recorded has a size of N×N pixels (for example, a size of 240×240 pixels) and is subject to a series of pre-processing processes (for example, an insertion of an error correction code (e.g., parity code) therein and a border generation for over-sampling, and then is modulated into the signal light through a SLM (a spatial light modulator) before being stored in the storage medium.
In a reproduction mode of the holographic system, an interference pattern recorded on the storage medium is converted into a page image through the use of an imaging device such as a CCD in a manner that a pixel in the SLM is mapped into 3×3 pixels in the CCD. For example, FIG. 6a illustrates an exemplary page image having a 1024×1024 pixel size reproduced from the storage medium and represented through the CCD. Such page image includes a data image with a size of 720×720 pixels and 3-pixel-sized upper, lower, left and right borders surrounding the data image.
In order to obtain an original data image with a size of N×N pixels, i.e., 240×240 pixels, it is needed to perform an over-sampling process wherein one pixel is extracted and then two pixels are skipped from the data image having a resolution size of 720×720 (i.e., a center pixel is extracted from each of 3×3 masks). FIG. 6b illustrates an exemplary data image having a 240×240 pixel size extracted by way of performing the over-sampling for the page image shown in FIG. 6a.
For this end, it is necessary to detect the borders, thereby to define the data image. One of methods of detecting the borders is to obtain the sum of pixels arranged on each row line in the page image and the sum of pixel values arranged on each column line in the page image, each pixel has a binary value to represent pixel brightness.
FIG. 7 is an exemplary histogram showing the results of obtaining the sums of pixels arranged on each column line in the page image, wherein X-axis denotes column locations of pixels and Y-axis denotes pixel sums. As known from FIG. 7, there are two relatively higher sums (indicated by circles), on Y-axis, that are placed on two opposite sides on X-axis in the histogram. Coordinates on X-axis corresponding to the two relatively higher sums represent locations of left and right borders. The reason that the sum of pixels at the borders is relatively high is because pixels forming the borders have the same binary value of approximately "1", instead that pixels having value of "1" or "0" randomly exist together in the data image. In FIG. 7, the left border corresponds to a 140-th pixel location, and the right border corresponds to a 877-th pixel location. In this case, a region of the left border occupies eight pixels ranging from a 140-th pixel to a 147-th pixel.
After detecting the locations of the borders as described above, each center pixel is extracted for three pixels using the over-sampling process while sequentially moving a mask from an upper left corner to an upper right corner in the data image surrounded by the borders, as shown in FIGS. 8a and 8b.
As described above, if the location of the left border is a 140-th pixel, a theoretical location of the right border should be an 875-th pixel. However, an actual location of the right border is an 877-th pixel as indicated in FIG. 7, which means that there is a magnification of 2 pixels in comparison to the theoretical result.
Thus, in order to compensate distortions of the magnified pixels, the prior art divides an entire data image (i.e., every row and column line) into three equal portions, and performs over-sampling in such a way that three, instead of two, pixels are skipped only at the start positions of the second and third equal portions. For example, the over-sampling process is performed to skip for every two pixels in the data image having 720×720 pixel and to skip three pixels at locations of 389-th pixel and 630-th pixel which correspond to ⅓ division and ⅔ division from the 140-th pixel to the 877-th pixel. As a result, it is possible to achieve compensation of distortions in the data image on a pixel-by-pixel basis.
However, since the locations of the borders are measured on a pixel basis, it is impossible to precisely compensate the distortion on a half-pixel basis, which causes a problem in that a high quality data image cannot be obtained.

Method and apparatus for compensating data image reproduced from holographic system


This invention is directed to a process for treating biomass. The biomass is treated with a biomass swelling agent within the vessel to swell or rupture at least a portion of the biomass. A portion of the swelling agent is removed from a first end of the vessel following the treatment. Then steam is introduced into a second end of the vessel different from the first end to further remove swelling agent from the vessel in such a manner that the swelling agent exits the vessel at a relatively low water content.

Biomass is generally composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The cellulose portion of biomass is particularly desirable in that this portion can be converted into individual sugar components, which can then be converted by microorganisms into various useful chemical compounds. As one example, the individual sugar components can be converted by microorganisms into ethanol, which can be used as a fuel or fuel additive for combustion engines.
The cellulose and hemicelluloses portions of the biomass are tightly bound to the lignin. Unless the cellulose and hemicelluloses are at least somewhat unbound from the lignin, conversion to individual sugar components, and into various chemicals by microbial action, can be highly inefficient. Biomass treatment processes such as dry milling, wet milling, steam explosion and ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX™—pending use and registration by MBI), however, have been used to unbind or break apart the various portions of the biomass, and thereby increase efficiency of conversion to individual sugar components, and ultimately to the various chemicals produced by microbial action.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,915,017 (Dale), for example, discloses a biomass treatment process that renders the structural carbohydrates of the biomass more accessible and/or digestible. The process uses ammonia to swell or rupture the biomass. The ammonia is recovered as ammonia vapor from an ammonia column, ultimately recycling the recovered ammonia in relatively dry form.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,592 (Holtzapple) discloses an ammonia biomass treatment process. The process includes recovery and recycle of the ammonia using superheated ammonia vapor to strip residual ammonia from the treated biomass.
AFEX™ type processes have been found to be quite effective in treating biomass. However, recovery of the various swelling agents used in those processes have been less than desirable in that substantial steps have been involved to recover the swelling agents for reuse. In order to increase efficiencies of the overall treatment process, it is therefore desirable to increase the efficiency of recovery and reuse of the swelling agents.


A center-cutter with cutting jaws mounted swingably around bearing pins, the mounting being formed by means of straps connecting the cutting jaws in the back of the cutting-jaw region and of a tooth-space engagement connecting the two cutting jaws to each other. While retaining the known cross-over overlapping of a single piece formation of handles and pliers jaws, handles cross over without joint increasing the cutting output.

The present invention relates to center-cutters in general, and to center-cutters with cutting jaws mounted swingably around bearing pins, in which the mounting is formed by means of straps connecting the cutting jaws behind teh cutting-jaw region and of a tooth-space engagement fastening the two cutting jaws to each other, in particular.
Side-cutters are known (for instance, Federal Republic of Germany OS 28 39 942), in connection with which the crossover overlapping of the plier arms, which is typical of pliers, is present in the region of the joint, i.e. the right arm of the pliers forms the left cutting jaw and the left arm of the pliers forms the right cutting jaw. The cutting jaws are mounted on a common joint pin. The cutting performance of such tools is adapted to the normal case.
Tools which apply a higher cutting force, so-called bolt-cutters with center-cutter, are available on the market. They operate with a lever transmission. For this purpose, the cutting jaws are each mounted on a separate pin. The handle-side jaw ends are pivotally connected to handles which are mounted one below the other via a joint pin. In this connection, the handles form double levers. The shorter lever acts on the end of the cutting jaws. Corresponding developments are relatively expensive. The cutting jaws are mounted or connected with respect to each other by straps and a tooth-space engagement. From Federal Republic of Germany OS 34 27 990 it is known, on such a bolt-cutter, to develop the shorter lever arm of the handle double lever, and therefore the handle heads, as cam-like crank parts which act in pairs and rest against each other. The handle heads are connected via a transverse strap. The latter engages on end bearing pins of the handle heads. This solution is found even more expensive.


An electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit for dissipating an ESD current from a first pad to a second pad during an ESD event. The ESD protection circuit includes a first bipolar transistor having an emitter coupled to the first pad. A second bipolar transistor having a base and a collector coupled to the second pad is used. Zero or more bipolar transistors are sequentially coupled between the first and second bipolar transistors in a base-to-emitter manner. A collector of the first bipolar transistor and the sequentially coupled transistors is connected to a base of a subsequently coupled bipolar transistor for helping to turn on the first, second and sequentially coupled bipolar transistors to provide a current path from the first pad to the second pad during an ESD event.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuit (IC) designs, and more particularly to electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuits for ICs.
Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can enter an integrated circuit (IC) through bond pads, which are connections from outside circuitry to the IC. They are usually used for supplying electric power, electric ground, and electric signals. These electrostatic discharges can be created in many different ways. For example, when parts of an external pad leading to an IC are touched by a person, he or she can create static electricity strong enough to destroy circuitry of the IC. In a metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor, the gate oxide is most susceptible to damage. A voltage slightly higher than the supply voltage can destroy the gate oxide of the transistor. ESD created by common environmental sources can carry up to tens of thousands of volts when it occurs. Such voltages can damage the circuitry even though the charge and any resulting current are extremely small. To avoid these voltages damaging an IC, it is important to discharge any static electricity at the moment of its occurrence. In order to protect the IC from ESD, protection circuits are necessary.
An ESD protection circuitry needs to allow an IC to operate normally while providing protection for the IC during ESD events. ESD protection circuitry is typically implemented to the IC at its bond pads. The protection circuit can isolate itself from normal operation of the IC by blocking current from flowing therethrough. During operation of the IC, electric power is supplied to a VDD pad and electric ground is supplied to a VSS pad. Many other pads are assigned to carry electronic signals that are supplied from outside or generated from the IC. During an ESD event, the protection circuitry must quickly conduct current so that the electrostatic charge is conducted to VSS ground, and thus dissipated, before damaging the IC.
One of the commonly used schemes for ESD protection circuit is to implement a string of diodes to provide the necessary voltage drop to prevent normal operation voltage opening up the current path for dissipating ESD charge. The diode string is designed to provide the dissipating path for ESD charge when the high voltage of ESD reaches the diodes. However, the diode string tends to have a high turn-on resistance while also susceptible to current leakage and over voltage issues.
Therefore, desirable in the art of ESD protection circuit designs are additional designs that can provide a dissipating path for ESD charge with a low turn-on resistance.

ESD protection circuit using a transistor chain

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


Integrated passive devices for silicon on insulator (SOI) FinFET technologies and methods of manufacture are disclosed. The method includes forming a passive device on a substrate on insulator material. The method further includes removing a portion of the insulator material to expose an underside surface of the substrate on insulator material. The method further includes forming material on the underside surface of the substrate on insulator material, thereby locally thickening the substrate on insulator material under the passive device.

Passive devices can be formed on BULK substrates or with Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) technologies. In any of these scenarios, the passive devices can be formed with active devices, on a semiconductor substrate. The passive devices can be, for example, electrostatic discharge (ESD) diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc. Diodes can be used, for example, to block the current in one direction, and allow current to flow in the other direction. There are many different types of diodes including rectifier diodes, detector diodes, zener diodes, etc., all of which can be fabricated using semiconductor processes.

Integrated passive devices for FinFET technologies

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A manual window regulator in which a pinion rotatably carried by a window glass and driven by a manual handle is held in engagement with a rack which is fixed to extend in the direction of movement of the window glass, so that a manual rotation of the handle causes the pinion to roll along the rack in meshing engagement therewith so as to drive the window glass thereby opening and closing a window. The transmission of rotation from the handle to the pinion is effected through a tape stretched between a drive gear rotationally driven by the handle and driven gear coaxially fixed to the pinion. The rack and the pinion are usable also as the parts of a power window regulator. The manual window regulator therefore can be easily converted into a power window regulator by using an electric motor for driving the pinion in place of the unit including the handle, the drive gear and the tape.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a manual window regulator, particularly to a manual window regulator for vehicles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various types of manual window regulators have been proposed and put into practical use. On the other hand, nowadays, power window regulators which drive the window glass by the power of a motor have become popular. In general, it is desirable that a manual window regulator and a power window regulator have substantially the same basic construction so that either one of these two types of window regulator may be obtained through a simple replacement of some of the parts.
A window regulator which meets such a requirement is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-25933. This window regulator is designed to be easily changed to either a wire-driven power window regulator or a manual window regulator. When assembled as a manual window regulator, the window regulator is provided with a handle to which is fixed a pinion meshing with a toothed wheel capable of winding and unwinding a wire thereby driving a window. In contrast, when the window regulator is intended for use as a power window regulator, the abovementioned pinion is driven by a motor through a worm reduction gear including a worm wheel coaxially fixed to the pinion.
This window regulator, assembled as a power window regulator, can be easily modified into a manual window regulator. In the power window regulator configuration, the motor is fixed to a stationary part on the door so as to transmit the driving power to the window glass which is to be moved. The transmission of power is conducted through a transmission mechanism which employs a large number of parts and, hence, occupies a considerably large portion of the space inside the door panel.
To remedy this problem, in recent years, a so-called self-drive type power window regulator has been proposed as in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 60-68282 and 60-286485, in which a driving motor having a pinion is mounted on the window glass with the pinion meshing with a rack which is installed to extend in the direction of movement of the window glass, whereby the window glass is propelled directly by the power of the motor.
This type of power window regulator is advantageous in that the number of parts is reduced as compared with an ordinary power window. In addition, the space inside the door panel is not substantially occupied because only the rack is fixedly mounted in this space.
This type of power window regulator, however, incurs the following problem when it is to be modified into a manual window regulator. Namely, a mechanism which is entirely different from that in an ordinary manual window regulator is required for the purpose of transmitting the torque of the handle to the pinion on the motor which moves, for example, up and down together with the window.
Thus, modification of the self-driving type power window into a manual window regulator is not easy.


A vehicular error detection system is provided, comprising: a plurality of light circuits in a vehicle, each light circuit including a light and being associated with a corresponding unique identifier; a system controller located in the vehicle and configured to control operation of the light circuits; a plurality of wires connecting the light circuits to the system controller such that at least one wire is attached to each of the plurality of light circuits; a plurality of lighting error detectors each configured to detect a malfunctioning light from among corresponding lights in the light circuits, and configured to transmit an error message to the system controller when the malfunctioning light is detected, wherein each of the lighting error detectors transmits an error message to the system controller when the lighting error detector detects the malfunctioning light, and the error message includes the corresponding unique identifier of the malfunctioning light.

Many vehicle lighting systems include a plurality of lights connected to a central hub or system controller via a plurality of wires or harnesses. For example, some conventional trailer lighting systems include a 7-wire harness in which multiple lights (or lamps) such as tail markers, stop lamps, turn lamps, clearance markers, and the like are connected by means of seven wires connected to a central hub (or nose box). These separate harnesses provide important assistance while driving the trailers on the road and are necessary to comply with laws pertaining to the operation of tractor trailers.
However, there are currently no systems provided to automatically detect a malfunctioning light in such a vehicle lighting system aside from visual inspection of the vehicle by a human being. This can lead to an undesirable situation in which the eventual detection of a malfunctioning light may result in a sudden downtime for the vehicle as steps must be taken to repair the faulty light without any warning. During such downtime the vehicle cannot be driven on the road, which can result in significant financial losses for the driver or the owner of the vehicle.
For example, current regulations in the United States impose certain requirements for the lighting of a tractor trailer. If one of the required lights on the trailer is burned out, the trailer cannot legally be driven until the defective light is repaired. Thus, if a burned-out light were identified during a visual inspection immediately before a trailer was scheduled to depart on a delivery, the trailer could be forced to delay its departure until the defective light was repaired. This delay in departure could upset delivery schedules with resulting financial losses for the driver or the owner of the trailer.
Typically, the driver or operator of a trailer will have to periodically survey all the lights on their truck to determine that they are functioning properly. If they identify a nonfunctioning light, then they must take steps to repair or replace that nonfunctioning light even if it is not convenient to do so (e.g., they have a shipment that needs to go out immediately). This can cause unnecessary delays as the trailer operator must immediately address the issue of the nonfunctioning light, since regulations require that all lights be operational for the truck to legally be driven.
Furthermore, since the trailer operator cannot constantly monitor the lights on their truck, there is also the possibility that a light will burn out in between times when the trailer operator monitors the lights on the trailer. This can result in the trailer being pulled over by a police officer for operating with a nonfunctioning light, and the trailer operator having to pay a fine.
Moreover, even if the trailer operator avoids being caught by the authorities for driving a trailer without all its lights operating properly, there remains the risk that the lack of proper lighting may cause the trailer to get into an accident. This could have the undesirable effect of causing injury to person or property. In addition, the trailer operator likewise runs the risk of being found at fault for such an accident because they were driving a trailer without its lights functioning properly.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a vehicle lighting system and method that could automatically detect the failure of an individual light and could warn the operator of the vehicle lighting system of the need to take corrective action.

Error detection system and method in a vehicle lighting system


Biological fluid collection. At least some of the illustrative embodiments are systems including a sleeve of elastomeric material and a receptacle coupled to the sleeve. The sleeve may include: first and second ends, each end comprising respectively a first and a second orifice; and a passage extending between the first and second orifices. The receptacle may include: a side wall and a bottom that define an interior volume and a height; and an entrance portion that defines an internal diameter, wherein the height of receptacle is at least half the internal diameter. The receptacle may mechanically couple to the sleeve such that the interior volume is fluidly coupled to the passage of the sleeve.

A variety of biological fluid collection devices and systems have been developed to assist with or otherwise aid in the production and collection of biological fluids. Included are systems and devices that aid in the stimulation and therefore production of seminal fluid such as masturbation sleeves and other such systems. Examples of such devices are disclosed in: U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,818, issued Jul. 21, 1998, titled "Device for Discreet Sperm Collection"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,523, issued Sep. 15, 1998, titled "Prophylactic and Prosthetic Device"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,807,360, issued Sep. 15, 1998, titled "Device for Discreet Sperm Collection"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,466,235, issued Nov. 14, 1995, titled "Female Functional Mannequin"; all to Steven A. Shubin, Sr. and all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The collection of seminal fluid, whether in humans or animals, can be problematic and difficult. Whether, as is the case with human males collection can be an embarrassing and awkward experience, or as can be the case with male animals, collection can be problematic when attempting to obtain the sample. Further, and in the cases of large animals such as horses and the like, the collection can be dangerous due to the size, unpredictability, and un-cooperation of the animal.
With respect to humans, the procedure is still quite archaic and comprises the individual masturbating into a specimen receptacle, which can lead to discomfort. That is, the erect male penis is generally upwardly oriented, while the collection device must be held or situated lower or downwardly thereto. As such, the donor must force the erect penis downwardly in order for the ejaculate to be received in the specimen container. Forcing the erect penis downwardly not only can be difficult and uncomfortable, but in some cases can also be painful. Further, conflict between the position of the specimen container with respect to the erect penis can then lead to loss of ejaculate and/or inadvertent loss of more sperm rich ejaculate due to improper timing of the onset and/or ejaculation of the male. Whether due to discomfort that may occur during use or the difficulty in the simultaneous angulation and alignment of the specimen container and the penis, improvements are desired.
Yet further, the specimen containers that are used in today's facilities are designed for utilitarian purposes rather than comfort. For example, the specimen container itself functions strictly as a receptacle and offers nothing in the way of comfort, ease of use, or other assistance to and/or for the donor. Still further, the size, shape, rough edges and screw threads of today's specimen containers can actually cause the donor discomfort and even pain if contact with the genitalia is made.
Yet further, the collection of seminal fluid in animals is also problematic and difficult. For these specimens, collection can pose physical dangers to personnel engaged in the collection. As such, devices, systems, and methods that reduce the unpredictability and increase the cooperation of the animal are desired. Further, as the acquired semen specimens are not only used in the diagnoses and treatment of the animal, but may also be sold to breeders and the like, such specimens can be profitable and thus, the owners of these animals seek to have the specimen fully captured with the least amount of waste.
Moreover, doctors say prostate health may benefit from the stimulation of the production of seminal fluid and thus systems that facilitate the process while mitigating the disadvantages previously described are desired. Recent studies have found that prostate health in human males may be related to frequency of ejaculation. In particular, infrequent ejaculation can lead to swelling of the prostate, known as congestive prostatitis, and may also increase the cancer risk in human males. Some medical sources suggest an ejaculation frequency of three to four times per week to ensure good prostate health. One study found a 14% lower lifetime prostate cancer rate for men who ejaculate between 13 and 20 times per month, and a upwards of 33% lower lifetime prostate cancer risk for men who ejaculate 21 times or more each month. Devices for stimulation and collection of seminal fluids may aid achieving higher ejaculations rates among men, particularly the unmarried and long-married.
Beyond assisting with respect to prostate health effects of ejaculation, devices for stimulation and collection of seminal fluids through ejaculation may also assist in reversing desensitization issues. That is, repeated masturbatory stimulation of the penis using the hand or rough cloth can lead to desensitization of the penis, particularly in the absence of lubrication in some form. Desensitization can then result in erectile dysfunction during copulation. Use of properly lubricated devices designed specifically for the stimulation and collection of seminal fluid may help reverse the desensitization issues, and thus reduce the occurrence of erective dysfunction related to the desensitization issue.


The invention relates to a high-temperature stable, one-part, aqueous tooth bleaching composition for contacting a tooth surface. The composition comprises a bleaching agent comprising a high level of a aqueous hydrogen peroxide. The bleaching agent is derived from multiple components within the composition and comprises at least about 15% by weight of the total composition weight. The Composition also comprises a bleaching agent stabilizer comprising from about 0.01% to about 1.00% by weight of the total composition weight.

Tooth bleaching typically involves the application of a peroxide containing composition to the surface of the tooth enamel to achieve a desired whitening effect. The most common peroxide donor ingredients are, but are not limited to, carbamide (urea) peroxide and hydrogen peroxide. The latter has become the tooth bleaching material of choice due to its ability to whiten teeth faster than higher concentrations of carbamide peroxide. Additionally, aqueous tooth whitening gels have proven desirable due to the hydrating effects on the structure of the tooth, reducing the likelihood of tooth sensitivity. As such, it is desirable to achieve stable aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening gels for commercial preparation.
Aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth bleaching formulations have their limitations however. Until recent years, stable aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth bleaching gels have been virtually non-existent. Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidizing agent and an unstable compound that decomposes readily over time into water and oxygen. Certain chemical and physical influences can accelerate the rate of decomposition and need to be controlled for a stable tooth whitening gel to exist. Temperature, pH and errant metal ions all have a profound effect on the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, particularly in an aqueous formula. Aqueous tooth whitening gels comprising high levels of hydrogen peroxide are defined as comprising an available hydrogen peroxide concentration equal to or greater than about 15% of the total composition weight up to and including about 40% of the total composition weight. Generally, these high level hydrogen peroxide compositions require the gel to be refrigerated to reduce the rate of decomposition, thus enabling an increased shelf life. This process is difficult as well as expensive for commercial distributors to maintain adequate shelf life for salable product.
To combat these limitations, high level hydrogen peroxide bleaching compositions are generally delivered to the end user in a two-part system packaged form that maximizes peroxide stability. Packaging stabilized hydrogen peroxide solutions separately from other formulation ingredients is one method that enables manufacturers to meet required shelf life parameters. Two types of separation methods are dual barrel syringes and liquid hydrogen peroxide/powder systems. The disadvantages to these types of packaging are that the hydrogen peroxide must be mixed at the time of placement in the dental operatory, thus resulting in a loss of valuable chair time and the unwillingness for patients to prolong the tooth whitening experience. Additionally, due to hydrogen peroxide's highly corrosive properties, peroxide burns from the splatter resulting from the spatulation of the mix process are always a concern. There also exists the potential for a non-homogeneous mix
In office bleaching by dentists is the primary end use for high level hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening compositions. Therefore, it is imperative that the whitening compositions be formulated as one-part (no-mix) systems and maintain adequate shelf stability in order to guarantee efficacy at the time of placement by the dentist within the patient.
Most distributors of in-office dental products require that a suitable shelf life be maintained for any given product. Further, most distributors rely on a product to maintain a two year shelf stability. Shelf stability is generally determined amount of time to ensure a abnormal or exaggerated storage conditions for a predetermined amount of time to ensure a product's stability under normal storage conditions. Room temperature storage conditions, for a single component tooth bleaching composition, are desirable in order to eliminate costly and inconvenient storage problems. To a greater degree, a two year room temperature storage guarantee is what is required for distribution of a single component aqueous tooth bleaching composition.
The pH of an aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening composition also has great bearing on the stability of the gel. Hydrogen peroxide solutions are strongly acidic and maintain their stability in acidic pH formulas. Stable aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening gels can be formulated in the acid pH range. However, bleaching compositions in the acidic pH range (pH 2.0-5.5) are prone to the demineralization of dental enamel by the solublizing of calcium ions from the tooth surface. This reduction in surface enamel leads to tooth sensitivity and discomfort for the patient.
Additionally, it has been shown that peroxide containing tooth bleaching compositions are more effective at whitening teeth at higher pH levels than at lower pH level. Therefore it is desirous to obtain a single component, aqueous tooth bleaching composition with high levels of hydrogen peroxide that can maintain a non-refrigerated, two year shelf stability while exhibiting a neutral or basic pH or a pH of greater than about 5.5. Unfortunately, to date, no such commercial formula exists.
Recent technology has shown single component, high-level aqueous hydrogen peroxide gels to be stable for short periods of time at room temperature. It is known that the presence of stabilizing agents within the aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening formula can extend the life of the formula by slowing or eliminating the rate of peroxide decomposition. Decomposition of the peroxide within the formula can result in viscosity loss of the composition, expansion of the composition due to the evolution of oxygen gas and/or the loss of available hydrogen peroxide content.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,020 to Chadwick et al disclose stable aqueous tooth whitening compositions containing high levels of hydrogen peroxide. Chadwick teaches the utilization of aminocarboxylic acid/salt stabilizing agents to prolong room temperature shelf stability and to maintain the gel characteristics of the composition. The stabilizing agents are selected from a group consisting of CaNa2EDTA, Na4EDTA, and CDTA. However, Chadwick discloses that the greatest shelf stability is for a term of 84 under room temperature storage conditions. While 84 days (12 weeks) is a significant stability period for an elevated hydrogen peroxide level tooth whitening formula, it fails to show long-term stability under exaggerated conditions and can only be translated into a 12 week stability period for the composition. Thus, it falls considerably short of a desired two year shelf life required to become a salable product through commercial distribution.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,858,332 to Jensen et al. teach of a stable, one-part, premixed hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening composition that utilizes a bleaching agent stabilizer that ties up errant metal ions that can result in decomposition of the bleaching agent within the tooth whitening composition. Jensen et al. describes a bleaching agent selected from a group consisting of aqueous hydrogen peroxide, carbamide peroxide, sodium perborate and mixtures thereof. Additionally, the whitening composition comprises a single thickenening agent, a carrier, and a bleaching agent stabilizer selected from a group of edetate disodium, EDTA, oxine EDTA, calcium disodium EDTA, adipic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, tin nitrates, tin phosphates and mixtures of the foregoing.
Jensen et al. claim a stable one-part dental bleaching agent that maintains at least 95% of its original strength 1 month after its manufacture and at least 60% approximately 3 months after the compositions manufacture. However, Jensen et al. makes no mention of the stability under exaggerated and/or accelerated storage conditions and it is understood that the stability occurs under room temperature conditions and for a maximum of 60-95% available hydrogen peroxide content after 3 months storage time.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,488,914; 6,331,292 and 6,221,341 to Montgomery detail aqueous tooth whitening compositions with neutral or alkaline pH levels. Montgomery teaches one-part, aqueous tooth whitening compositions that are formulated to be stable at high pH levels (6-10). The significance of this teaching is the ability to detail an aqueous hydrogen peroxide tooth whitening composition that is stable under neutral or alkaline conditions with a high water content within the composition (>70%). However, Montgomery claims an available hydrogen peroxide content of less than 15% of the total weight of the composition, which falls far short of an elevated or high hydrogen peroxide concentration within the composition. Additionally, Montgomery makes no mention of extended storage stability as well as the stability of the compositions under exaggerated or accelerated temperature conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,408 to Chen details a tooth bleach that utilizes Polyvinylpyrrolidone as a thickening agent in combination with hydrogen peroxide. However, Chen stipulates that the PVP must be present in the formula at a concentration of 25% or greater. He makes no mention of multiple thickening agents within the composition, nor is the PVP thickening agent a cross linked, polyplasdone polymer/hydrogen peroxide complex, contributing synergistically to the available hydrogen peroxide within the total bleach composition. Additionally, Chen makes no mention of long term elevated temperature stability of the tooth bleaching composition.
In contrast, the present invention relates to stable one-part, aqueous tooth whitening composition that utilizes high levels of hydrogen peroxide bleaching agent in a neutral gel formula (pH 6-7). The stability of the composition is proven under accelerated and/or exaggerated storage conditions which translate into at least a two year shelf life for the composition under normal room temperature storage conditions. The stability of the composition is a critical function of known tooth whitening ingredients combined under unique parameters including weight percentages and ratios, for the elevated temperature stability to occur. Deviation outside the controlled composition window, results in predictable failure of the composition.

Stable one-part aqueous tooth whitening composition


Assisted global positioning system (AGPS) information is retrieved from mobile devices and employed to facilitate antenna location. Measurement information, including AGPS information, can be received from a plurality of mobile devices dispersed over a geographical region. The measurement information can include location and timing information for the plurality of mobile devices. A timing difference between co-located antennas of a base station associated with the plurality of mobile devices can be computed. The location of the co-located antennas can be determined based on evaluating errors resultant from estimations based on a plurality of test locations. The measurement information can be aggregated over time and can be employed to update the antenna locations.

Accurate antenna location information can enable a wireless communications system to provide locating systems and location-based services that rely on antenna location information. For example, location-based services that aide parents in locating children via handset location can be provided. Further, accurate antenna location information can also benefit network modeling tools that rely on antenna location information to accurately model signal coverage. As antenna locations change on a tower or rooftop, antenna location information can be determined and employed to adjust network modeling tools for improved consistent accuracy.

Facilitation of determination of antenna location


Systems, methods, and computer program products are disclosed for improving ease in initiating information transfers between devices. A user of a communications device accesses an image of a target recipient. With that recipient in view in the image, the user selects the portion of the screen where the recipient is displayed in the image. Pattern recognition is performed to extract one or more features of the selected portion of the screen as a recognized pattern. That recognized pattern is compared against multiple stored patterns that are associated with contacts in contact lists and/or other types of databases. Once a match is found, the user is prompted to confirm the identified recipient corresponding to the matching pattern and the data to transfer. Once confirmed, the data transfer is initiated based on the automatically determined recipient information.

Transferring information between devices typically involves entering an address for the targeted recipient, e.g., an address that some device associated with the target recipient is able to access, or by locating the address in a contact list, followed by entering in details of the information that is sought to be sent. Further, the information may be sought to be sent to one or more targeted recipients within a close proximity to the transferor. Entering in (or looking up) the address for the one (or more targeted recipients) can be cumbersome and subject to more opportunities for error such as in manual address entry.
Thus, there is a need for techniques to improve the ability for multiple communications or computing devices to determine targeted recipient addresses and initiate/complete the transfer of information with greater ease.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

Enhanced data transfer initiation using image recognition