In a fuzzy controller comprising a fuzzy inference device for subjecting one or a plurality of input signals to fuzzy inference operations using membership functions in accordance with a predetermined rule and outputting a non-fuzzy value determined on the basis of the results of the inferences, there are provided an input signal level converter for converting signal levels of the input signals on the input side of the fuzzy inference device and an output signal level converter for converting a signal level of the output signal on the output side of the fuzzy inference device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuzzy controllers used in fuzzy control.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fuzzy controller is used for inputting one or a plurality of signals representing controlled variables obtained from a system to be controlled, implementing fuzzy inferences using predetermined membership functions in accordance with a predetermined rule, and outputting a non-fuzzy value derived from the results of the fuzzy inferences as a manipulated variable relative to the system to be controlled.
The fuzzy inferences are implemented in accordance with a Modus Ponens, which in many cases, is expressed by an IF-THEN rule (control rule). For simplicity, when there are two types of input variables, this rule is expressed as follows:
"If x is A and y is B, then z is C."
or
"If x=A and y=B, then z=C."
Here x and y are input variables, z is an output variable, and A, B and C are fuzzy sets or membership functions. If x=A and y=B" is referred to as an "antecedent", and "then z=C" is referred to as a "consequent". A and B are also referred to as membership functions relative to inputs (input variables), and C is also referred to as a membership function relative to an output (output variable).
In the fuzzy controller, a plurality of rules are prepared. In addition, a plurality of types of membership functions are set. The membership functions frequently used include PL (Positive Large), PM (Positive Medium), PS (Positive Small), ZR (almost Zero), NS (Negative Small), NM (Negative Medium), and NL (Negative Large). The symbols PL, PM, ZR, NS, NM and NL are membership functions expressed by linguistic information, which are also referred to as fuzzy labels.
Input and output ranges of the conventional fuzzy controller are fixed. On the contrary, input and output ranges of a sensor and an actuator respectively connected to input and output terminals of the fuzzy controller are various, for example, 0.about.5 V, 0.about.10 V, 1.about.5 V, 5 V, and 10 V. Accordingly, the conventional fuzzy controller has the disadvantage in that a range converter is required for each sensor and for each actuator.
Furthermore, in the conventional fuzzy controller, a controlled variable (an observed value) obtained from the system to be controlled is used as an input value without any modification and a fuzzy inference value (a value converted into a non-fuzzy quantity) is used as an output value without any modification. Accordingly, the conventional fuzzy controller has some disadvantages. For example, the system to be controlled is slow in response at the time of controlling of the start and the stop thereof if the membership functions relative to the inputs and output remain fixed. In addition, the offset of the system to be controlled from a target and the vibration thereof are liable to be produced in the control in which a target value is fixed. The disadvantages occur due to the fact that the scale of the membership functions is fixed. In other words, the relationship between the inputs and output and the membership functions corresponding thereto is fixed, thereby making it impossible to ensure considerable input and output gains.
Additionally, in the conventional fuzzy controller, the range in which the input variables vary is generally covered by 7 to 11 membership functions. When such a small number of membership functions are set, resolution is decreased. Therefore, even if a high-precision input value is obtained, it is difficult to exercise precise control corresponding to the precision. In particular, it is desirable that the output is controlled with higher precision in the steady state where the inputs are stable. However, this goal can not be satisfied.
The fuzzy controller the input and output dynamic ranges of which are fixed has the disadvantage of being unable to deal with a case where it is desired to execute adaptive control by varying the input and output dynamic ranges in real time.
In the fuzzy controller, the input variable in the antecedent are generally output values of the sensor, and the output variable in the consequent is, for example, a quantity of displacement of the actuator. The offset of the output value and the gain differ for each sensor and for each actuator. Accordingly, the fuzzy controller has the disadvantage in that data representing the membership functions must be adjusted, the work thereof being laborious.

Fuzzy controller for selecting an input signal


Technologies for performing security monitoring services of a network functions virtualization (NFV) security architecture that includes an NVF security services controller and one or more NFV security services agents. The NFV security services controller is configured to transmit a security monitoring policy to the NFV security services agents and enforce the security monitoring policy at the NFV security services agents. The NFV security services agents are configured to monitor telemetry data and package at least a portion of the telemetry for transmission to an NFV security monitoring analytics system of the NFV security architecture for security threat analysis. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Network operators and service providers typically rely on various network virtualization technologies to manage complex, large-scale computing environments, such as high-performance computing (HPC) and cloud computing environments. For example, network operators and service provider networks may rely on network function virtualization (NFV) deployments to deploy network services (e.g., firewall services, network address translation (NAT) services, load-balancing services, deep packet inspection (DPI) services, transmission control protocol (TCP) optimization services, etc.). Such NFV deployments typically use an NFV infrastructure to orchestrate various virtual machines (VMs) to perform virtualized network services, commonly referred to as virtualized network functions (VNFs), on network traffic and to manage the network traffic across the various VMs.
Unlike traditional, non-virtualized deployments, virtualized deployments decouple network functions from underlying hardware, which results in network functions and services that are highly dynamic and generally capable of being executed on off-the-shelf servers with general purpose processors. As such, the VNFs can be scaled-in/out as necessary based on particular functions or network services to be performed on the network traffic. However, traditional means of accessing exposed interfaces (e.g., access interfaces via probes) for monitoring the processing of the network traffic between the functional components of the traditional, non-virtualized deployments are not as distinct for access in VNF deployments. For example, the Industry Specification Group for NFV of the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) has published a number of virtualized models wherein such access/monitoring interfaces may be obscured. Further, the number of different access interfaces available in the various deployments (e.g., within a VNF, between VNFs, etc.) may make it difficult to probe for desired information about the VNFs. For example, some deployments may implement vendor-proprietary, non-standardized interfaces in order to optimize processing power and reduce latency attributable to signaling, which may limit access availability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Technologies for scalable security architecture of virtualized networks


A number of synchronized low-cost camera nodes sharing a single cable to reduce cost associated with wiring, installation, cameras, video multiplexer and mounting is provided. Each camera node is individually addressable through a single cable to transmit an externally frame synchronized video signal onto the cable. A plurality of camera nodes can thus be wired along a single cable with each camera node individually selectable for receiving its video signal on the cable.

Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to video surveillance systems and more particularly to video surveillance systems using motion video camera arrays.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several shortcomings in the current video surveillance systems that need to be overcome before complete video coverage becomes commonplace. Generally, installation and materials cost of individual video cameras is prohibitively high to permit complete video coverage of an installation or facility to be placed under surveillance. Motion video cameras used for video surveillance generally use CCD based technology, expensive lenses and enclosures. Therefore, in one solution, cameras are strategically mounted to cover thoroughfares and sensitive areas. In a retail store, for example, a fixed mount motion video camera may be placed over the main entrance, another strategically placed to cover the cash register and countertop, and another to cover expensive or easily concealed merchandise. These placements may be foiled because line-of-sight is not ideal for a particular event, or an irregular activity occurs elsewhere in the store where coverage does not exist.
In another solution, servo-controlled movable cameras are used in which line-of-sight may be remotely altered by a human operator or tracking algorithm. Movable cameras have the ability to be steered and even zoomed into an area of interest. However, each movable camera is significantly more expensive than a number of fixed mount cameras, and generally requires a human operator.
In all of the present solutions, cabling costs for each camera typically requires a power cable as well as coaxial cable for the video signals. Servo-controlled movable cameras also require cabling to support the remote camera control interface. The cabling and mounting costs may often exceed the unit cost of individual cameras.
In addition, when a number of cameras are placed, a device called a video multiplexer is typically added to the system to control and access the plurality of video signals. In current systems, a multiplexer provides cost saving benefits by allow several cameras to share the same display and/or video recording device. However, the multiplexer does not reduce the number or cost of individual camera placements.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,140 (the ""140 patent) discloses synchronization of a plurality of camera nodes from a single controller. The system disclosed in the ""140 patent uses a costly approach in which unique conductors are required for each video node requiring expensive wiring and a video switcher. The ""140 patent discloses the use of conventional CCD video cameras, such as the Sony model XE-75, which support external synchronization inputs and require expensive mounting hardware. Conventional external horizontal and vertical synchronization techniques are taught rather than the use of a single master frame synchronization signal driving low-cost camera chips which house digital synchronization circuitry as provided in the present invention as fully described hereinbelow.
A number of synchronized low-cost camera nodes sharing a single cable to reduce cost associated with wiring, installation, cameras, video multiplexer and mounting is provided.
In a first aspect of the present invention, a camera node for use in a multiple camera system with a common video conductor includes a sensor for converting light to an electrical video signal. A controllable driver for driving the electrical video signal onto a video conductor is enabled by an addressable output drive controller. A communication controller receives a unique address and sets the addressable output drive controller. A synchronization signal is received for enabling the controllable driver only at the start of a video frame and disabling the controllable driver only at the completion of a video frame.
The camera node synchronization can be provided externally from the camera node. The camera node synchronization enables the controllable driver only at the start of a video field and disables the controllable driver only at the completion of a video field.
In a second aspect of the present invention, a method for using a camera node in a multiple camera system having a common video conductor includes sensing and converting light to an electrical video signal; receiving the node""s unique address; synchronizing the driving only at the start of a video frame; driving the electrical video signal onto the video conductor only at the start of the next video frame; disabling the driving only at the completion of a video frame and only if a node address other than the node""s unique address is received.
The method can have the synchronizing provided externally from the camera node. The method can have the synchronizing enabling the driving only at the start of a video field and disabling the driving only at the completion of a video field.
In a third aspect of the present invention, a video surveillance system using a plurality of camera nodes includes an electrical cable connected to the camera nodes, the cable including conductors for conducting power, video, control, and synchronization signals to the camera node. The camera nodes each include a sensor for converting light to an electrical video signal, a controllable driver for driving the electrical video signal onto the video signal conductor, an addressable output drive controller for enabling the controllable driver, communication controller for receiving a unique address to set the addressable output drive controller, and synchronization for enabling the controllable driver only at the start of a video frame and disabling the controllable driver only at the completion of a video frame.
Objectives, advantages, and applications of the present invention will be made apparent by the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention.

Video node for frame synchronized multi-node video camera array


A transmission-mountable transmission cooler and method of installing and manufacturing the same is provided. The transmission cooler is adapted to couple directly to the transmission via a power take-off aperture typically found on manual truck transmissions. As a result, the transmission cooler may be made from an extruded aluminum piece to which tool and die making has provides a bolt pattern that matches the bolt pattern of a standard power take-off cover of the power take-off aperture, resulting in a cost-effective method of installation and in turn manufacture.

The present invention relates to truck transmission cooling system and, more particularly, to a transmission-mountable transmission cooler kit, the transmission cooler being adapted to mount directly to the transmission via a power take-off aperture provided by the transmission. The present invention also embodies a method of manufacturing and installing the transmission-mountable cooler kit.
The more work done by a truck transmission, the hotter it gets, and heat is an enemy of the transmission. An aftermarket transmission cooler can keep the transmission from getting too hot, facilitating optimal performance and a longer life out of the transmission.
Traditionally, fluid heated by the transmission flows to the cooler, and air moving over the fins of the cooler cools the fluid, which is then routed back to the transmission in a continuous loop through the return line. Installing a transmission cooler, however, may require special fittings just for the connection of the rubber hoses going to and coming from the transmission cooler in-line with the transmission's return line and the transmission cooler.
As can be seen, there is a need for a transmission-mountable cooler kit, wherein the transmission-mountable cooler is adapted to mount directly to the transmission via a power take-off aperture provided by the transmission, so that a cost-effective method of manufacturing and installing may be taken advantage of. Power Take-Offs (PTOs) are mechanical gearboxes that attach to PTO apertures provided on truck transmissions and are used to transfer the power of the vehicle engine to auxiliary components, most commonly a hydraulic pump. By providing a method of mounting the transmission-mountable cooler via the PTO aperture, the present invention enables a method of manufacturing and installing transmission-mountable transmission coolers that simplify and thereby lowers the cost of coupling a cooler to a truck transmission. Mainly, by obviating the need for a loop line and its associated special fasteners and replace them with a solution involving less parts wherein the replacement parts utilize Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standardized fastener elements. In other words, the transmission-mountable cooler kit of the present invention amounts to producing an extension for 6 bolt SAE PTO covers found on manual truck transmissions. Furthermore, the method of installing and manufacturing involve similarly processes involved in manufacturing and installing PTO covers—through affordable, well-established practices of extrusion and tool and die making. In contrast, die casting and CNC machining and other methods are not as cost effective as the method disclosed above of manufacturing and mounting the embodied heat-dissipating transmission cooler as, in effect, a PTO cover extension. The transmission cooler may fit manual truck transmissions through matching the bolt pattern of the SAE PTO covers typically found on manual truck transmissions.

Transmission-mountable cooler kit and a method of manufacturing and mounting the same


A method and system for efficiently provisioning a multiple service, multiple layer mesh network in a manner enabling restoration from multiple failures.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications networks and, more specifically, to multi-service provisioning and restoration functions within multi-layer mesh networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
The process of planning and provisioning bandwidth and capacity in modern large-scale mesh networks is a complicated one, even when one considers only one service that is unprotected. For example, constructing a quality routing solution of LSPs in MPLS networks is an NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem. This involves only the logical layer of the network. For networks with several tens of nodes and links and hundreds of demands, a mathematical optimization problem whose solution produces a feasible, not even optimal, routing and provisioning plan can require millions of variables to allow for possible routing combinations, thus making it mathematically intractable or computationally impractical to solve.
Real-world planning and provisioning problems are inherently much more complex, usually involving multiple services and a heterogeneous mix of protected and unprotected traffic requiring consideration of multiple layers (such as the logical and physical layers) of the network. The computational complexity of such a problem for any realistic sized network makes it impossible to formulate any type of complete end-to-end network planning and provisioning mathematical optimization problem that can be solved in any reasonable timeframe or with any reasonable expectation of quality of results. Faced with the task of solving such a problem, network designers and traffic engineers usually resort to problem decomposition in order to achieve a tractable approach to these complex problems. This includes modeling the problem by resorting to approximations to the real situation that captures the essence of the problem but whose solution does not sacrifice any meaningful characteristics or qualities of the desired solution. Getting quality solutions relies on being able to divide the problem into solvable parts, based on making certain assumptions. Thus, there is a difficult process of problem decomposition and model development to provide tractable subproblems that can be solved separately and, when the solutions are combined, provide meaningful results and a quality overall solution to provisioning of capacity and engineering the traffic in the network.
Additionally, network planning and capacity provisioning in the physical layer practice today is confined to considering protection against single node or link failures. Typically, such failures are assumed to occur randomly in a network, and with nodes configured in such a way that the probability is low of a multiple total node and/or link failure scenario. However, if failures are not necessarily random, such as in orchestrated attacks, or if node or link failures occur at a higher rate than currently assumed, then providing protection against single failures may not be adequate to provide a desired or required level of network availability. Also, critical ultra-high availability services require protection against multiple network failures.
However, due to the previously-mentioned computational complexities, provisioning for protection against multiple node or link failures is not practical and not performed in practice in complete network designs.

Method and system for efficient provisioning of multiple services for multiple failure restoration in multi-layer mesh networks


A shift register apparatus and a shift register thereof are provided. The shift register includes an input unit, a feedback unit, an output unit, and a reset unit. The shift register is made of MOS transistors, BJTs, or other switching transistors. In the present invention, an input signal is registered and shifted through specific couplings between foregoing units with two clock signals having different pulse durations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a driving apparatus, in particular, to a shift register apparatus and a shift register thereof in a driving apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional shift register, namely, a Thomson circuit, in a driving apparatus. The shift register includes NMOS (N-type metal oxide semiconductor) transistors 102˜108 and capacitors 110 and 112. The "IN", "OUT", "RES", and "COM" respectively represent an input signal, an output signal, a reset signal, and a common voltage, and the "CLK1" and "CLK2" respectively represent two different clock signals.
The input signal IN is a pulse signal. The pulse enable durations of the input signal IN and the clock signal CLK1 are the same, and the pulse enable durations of the clock signals CLK1 and CLK2 are different. When the clock signal CLK1 is at a high voltage level and the clock signal CLK2 is at a low voltage level, the shift register sustains the gate voltage of the NMOS transistor 104 with the capacitors 110 and 112 in order to maintain the turned-on status of the NMOS transistor 104, so that the output signal OUT can be output when the clock signal CLK2 is turned to a high voltage level.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional shift register apparatus. The shift register apparatus is broadly applied to liquid crystal displays (LCDs), for example, as the gate driver in a LCD. Referring to FIG. 2, the shift register apparatus includes shift registers 201˜N+1 as illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, "IN" represents an input signal, OUT(1)˜OUT(N) respectively represent the output signals of the shift registers 201˜N, and "CLKS1" and "CLKS2" respectively represent two different clock signals. In each shift register, "IP" denotes the input terminal of the circuit in FIG. 1 for receiving the input signal IN, "RP" denotes the input terminal of the circuit in FIG. 1 for receiving the reset signal RES, "CLK1P" denotes the input terminal of the circuit in FIG. 1 for receiving the clock signal CLK1, and "CLK2P" denotes the input terminal of the circuit in FIG. 1 for receiving the clock signal CLK2.
In such a shift register apparatus, the reset signal of each shift register is the output signal of the next shift register. Accordingly, N+1 shift registers are required even though only N output signals are provided in the shift register apparatus.
As described above, the shift register apparatus described above has to use an extra shift register, therefore the size thereof is large and the fabrication cost thereof is high.

Shift register apparatus and shift register thereof


An arcuate tunnel lining segment includes a precast concrete body that is divided into two angularly adjoining segment parts by a compressible strip which runs the length of the segment and throughout the thickness thereof. The segment parts are held fastened together through the strip by a plurality of connectors each having two laterally protruding ends which are embedded in the respective segment parts. The connectors are anchored in a way that permits the adjoining faces of the segment parts to move towards one another as the compressible strip becomes compressed in use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to arcuate pre-cast concrete tunnel lining segments.
2. Background Prior Art
UK Patent Publications Nos. 2004931 and 2131514 disclose precast arcuate concrete tunnel lining segments having end faces which are spaced apart by compressible packing pieces and which are secured together in compression by locking devices. The compressible packing pieces allow a very limited movement of the end faces towards one another when the ring of segments so formed is subjected to very high loading in the ground in which the tunnel lining is laid giving some relief from stress on the segments. The relief which can be provided by this means is however totally inadequate in situations where the segments are subjected to very high loadings for example in very deep tunnels in mines and particularly where the ground or rocks through which the tunnel passes is unstable.


An ornamental dispersion assembly that provides at least one ornamental portion positioned inside a dispersion assembly for engaging with a liquid or vapor that disperses from the dispersion assembly. The ornamental portion includes spherical gemstones configured to enhance the liquid by providing a smoothing and balancing effect to the liquid. The gemstones include etched surfaces for removing residue from the gemstone and providing a smooth surface to engage the liquid. The gemstones also include an aperture for enabling a siphon inside the dispersion assembly to pass through. In this manner, the gemstone positions on a nonlinear portion of the siphon, and in proximity to a central longitudinal axis of the dispersion assembly to inhibit contact with a sidewall of the dispersion assembly. The transparent dispersion assembly displays the gemstones. As the liquid passes over the gemstone, the liquid is enhanced by becoming more smooth and balanced.

The following background information may present examples of specific aspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts, or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. Some people believe that aromatherapy and ornamental portion treatments may cleanse and invigorate their energy and magnetic fields and may create a tingly charging, refreshing, and calming sensation. Some people may like to travel with aromatherapy or body sprays containing ornamental portions in order to perform ornamental portion treatment when away from home.
The following is an example of a specific aspect in the prior art that, while expected to be helpful to further educate the reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to be construed as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof, to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. By way of educational background, an aspect of the prior art generally useful to be aware of is that there are some currently available ornamental portion treated aromatherapy sprays that usually contain essential oils. Some of these sprays may only be ornamental portion "treated" and do not employ the use of real ornamental portions, which may be aesthetically pleasing. Furthermore, it is believed that the effectiveness of these sprays may dissipate over time. In current sprays that do comprise real ornamental portions, the ornamental portions are typically not sturdily mounted to prevent rolling. One may expect that when travelling with such items, the ornamental portions may bump into each other and the container, which may result in damage to the ornamental portions or may reduce the relaxation of the experience.
In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniques are not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.
Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.


In a device for feeding book blocks (2) into the infeed channel (11) of a subsequent processing arrangement with an intermittently rotating star feeder (31) that features several block receptacles (34) that are arranged on a roller divided into disks (33) in a star-shaped fashion and respectively feature perpendicularly aligned first and second locating surfaces (34.1, 34.2), it is proposed that the star feeder (31) features several clamping jaws (36) that are respectively assigned to the block receptacles (34) and arranged parallel to the second locating surfaces (34.2), as well as movable relative to the latter. The star feeder (31) can be operated with a significantly higher angular acceleration and rotational speed without risking that the book blocks lose contact in the block receptacles (34). Even loosely gathered book blocks (2) can be flawlessly processed.

The present invention pertains to a device for feeding book blocks into the infeed channel of a subsequent processing arrangement.
A feed device of this type is known from DE 71 25 313 U. Book blocks are supplied while lying flat and positioned upright by a revolving conveyor element, namely in such a way that they stand on their fore edge cut in order to be subsequently transported onward by feeders in the infeed channel of a book production line. The intermittently rotating conveyor element is also referred to as a star feeder and consists of a roller that is divided into disks and features several block receptacles in the form of cutouts that are arranged in a star-shaped fashion and respectively feature perpendicularly aligned first and second locating surfaces. The book blocks are fed to the star feeder essentially tangential referred to the roller and transverse to the rotational axis while lying flat and transported away parallel to the rotational axis after they were positioned upright. DE 71 25 313 U describes a star feeder that is divided into six segments and in which the book blocks are conveyed into the respective cutout by means of a belt conveyor that is inclined by 30° while contacting the first locating surface. As the star feeder begins to rotate, the book blocks are lifted off the belt conveyor by the second locating surface and then positioned upright. Star feeders that are divided into eight segments and position the book blocks upright from a horizontal position within an intermediate stop at a 45° incline were developed for higher cycle capacities.
When processing book blocks consisting of several loosely gathered signatures and/or sheets, in particular, it may occur that the book blocks slide apart due to the centrifugal forces and acceleration forces that act during the rotative uprighting such that the order and alignment of the book blocks is lost. The cycle capacity is also limited due to the fact that the book blocks may lift off the locating surfaces and overturn at an excessively high braking deceleration for the intermediate stop at the 45° incline.

Device for feeding book blocks into the infeed channel of a subsequent processing arrangement


A rotary operation device that can prevent misassembly of a rotary operation member and a rotational force transmission member, has a rotary operation member, a rotation detector, and a rotational force transmission member. The rotary operation member has a first gear and the rotational force transmission member has a second gear and a transmission axis. One of the rotary operation member and the rotational force transmission member has a first interference portion that interferes with the other member in a position misaligned from a proper engagement position where the first gear and the second gear are engaged in a proper phase relationship. The other member comprises a second interference member that interferes with the first interference portion in a position misaligned from the proper engagement position and an escape portion that receives the first interference portion in the proper engagement position to allow assembly with the one member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary operation device used to operate an electronic device mounted in a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
A rotary operation device is conventionally known as an operation device mounted in various electronic devices. When being mounted in a vehicle, such as an automobile, for example, such a rotary operation device is used to operate an electronic device in the vehicle, specifically, an air conditioner, a car navigation system, or a car audio system. Related Art 1 discloses such a rotary operation device, which includes a rotary operation member, a rotation detector, and a rotational force transmission member. The rotary operation member is rotated around a specific rotation axis. The rotation detector detects a rotary operation amount of the rotary operation member. The rotational force transmission member transmits a rotational force of the rotary operation member to the rotation detector. The rotary operation member has a first gear on an entire periphery of the rotation axis. The rotational force transmission member has a second gear and a transmission axis. The second gear is engaged with the first gear and is thus rotated in association with rotation of the rotary operation member. The transmission axis rotates integrally with the second gear. The transmission axis, which is reliably positioned to the rotation detector and is coupled therewith, transmits the rotation to the rotation detector. Thus, an output from the rotation detector varies in accordance with the operation amount of the rotary operation member. In other words, the operation position of the rotary operation member and the output from the rotation detector are in a constant relationship with each other in the rotary operation device.
The rotary operation device should be assembled such that the first gear of the rotary operation member and the second gear of the rotational force transmission member are provided in a proper engagement position where the gears are surely engaged in a proper phase relationship. With the gears assembled in the proper engagement position, the rotary operation member is rotated to a predetermined operation position, and then the rotation detector outputs an appropriate signal associated with the operation position or operation amount. However, in a case where the teeth of the first gear and the teeth of the second gear are misaligned from the proper engagement position even at one tooth in assembly, even when the rotary operation member is rotated to the operation position or operation amount, the rotation detector outputs a signal different from the appropriate signal or there is an error in the output signal. For instance, in a case where the rotation detector is of a variable resistance type and the rotary operation member and the rotational force transmission member are assembled in a position misaligned from the proper engagement position, even when the rotary operation member is rotated to the predetermined position, the rotation detector outputs a signal based on a resistance value different from a resistance value that renders the appropriate signal. In a case where the rotation detector is a rotary encoder that outputs pulses and the rotary operation member and the rotational force transmission member are assembled in a position misaligned from the proper engagement position, a pulse signal is likely to be output at an operation amount different from an operation amount of the rotary operation member at which a predetermined pulse signal is output. Specifically, the rotation detector and the rotational force transmission member are reliably positioned and assembled. Thus, when the rotary operation member and the rotational force transmission member are assembled with the first gear and the second gear misaligned from the proper engagement position, the malfunctions above occur.
In this regard, the rotary operation device disclosed in Related Art 1 has a confirmation mark on at least either of the rotary operation member or the rotational force transmission member. This confirmation mark enables confirmation of the first gear and the second gear in the proper engagement position during assembly of the rotary operation member and the rotational force transmission member. This facilitates assembly of the members in the proper engagement position.
[Related Art 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2007-296956
However, even when the rotary operation member and the rotation detector are assembled while the confirmation mark is being checked, the rotary operation member and the rotation detector are possibly assembled with the first gear and the second gear in a position misaligned from the proper engagement position. Thus, a concern over misassembly of the members still remains.


A switched reluctance motor has a stator with a first set of poles directed toward levitating a rotor horizontally within the stator. A disc shaped portion of a hybrid rotor is affected by the change in flux relative to the current provided at these levitation poles. A processor senses the position of the rotor and changes the flux to move the rotor toward center of the stator. A second set of poles of the stator are utilized to impart torque upon a second portion of the rotor. These second set of poles are driven in a traditional switched reluctance manner by the processor.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to switched reluctance motors, and more particularly to a bearingless switched reluctance motor.
2. Prior Art
Switched reluctance motors are typically constructed of a stator having an even number of poles, usually four or more, and a rotor having an even number of poles, also usually two or more. The poles on the rotor are typically oriented in a protruding manner crosswisely around the rotating shaft in an outward manner. The poles on the stator typically protrude inwardly with a concentrated winding thereabout in the form of a coil. The coils, which are wound on each of the pairs of opposing stator pole portions, are connected in series with each other whereby a magnetic flux is generated between each pair of opposing stator pole portions when current is supplied to the coils which are wound thereon.
In switched reluctance motors, the protruding poles of the stator attract the protruding poles on the outer peripheral surface of the rotor to generate torque and as a result, the rotor rotates. As a pole of the rotor approaches a pole of the stator, the supply current to the poles is changed, typically by means of switching elements in response to the rotational position of the rotor whereby rotatory torque is produced.
It is recognized that switched reluctance motors have advantages over reluctance, induction and permanent magnet motors due to their reliability, durability, low cost and possible operation in adverse environments including high temperatures, intense temperature variations or high rotational speeds. However, due to rotor eccentricity of rotors due to mechanical flaws during machining, conventional switched reluctance rotors suffer from vibration caused by large magnetic attraction forces on the rotor in the radial direction. Furthermore, traditional bearings are subject to wear and require lubrication.
Several patents have been obtained for improvements to switched reluctance motors including at least U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,909,071, 5,969,454, 5,880,549, 5,917,263, and 5,945,761. Few except the  greater than 549 Patent, if any, are directed to bearingless switched reluctance motors. Nevertheless at least these efforts to reduce the effects of vibration and noise in a switched reluctance motor have been made.
Bearingless switched reluctance machines, which are believed to have been achieved only in development laboratories so far, employ magnetic bearings instead of traditional bearings and are thus referred to as bearingless since there is no mechanical bearing between the rotor and the stator during operation. Of course, a mechanical bearing is usually provided should the magnetic bearing fail. By magnetically suspending the rotor relative to the stator, further efforts to suppress vibration may be employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,549 discusses a prior art switched reluctance motor construction. The rotor rotates relative to the stator while being levitated by magnetic forces. In addition to the  greater than 549 Patent, a number of papers have been authored by Akira Chiba, Masahiko Hanazawa, Ken Shimada, Tadashi Fukao, and Azizur Rahinan regarding bearingless switched reluctance machines. These individuals have studied the effects of magnetic saturation on a traditional bearingless switched reluctance motor, the mathematical formulations of forces affecting a traditional bearingless switched reluctance motor, and the addition of a feed forward compensator to adjust for the locus of magnetic centers. The studies of these individuals appear to center primarily around the use of a main four pole winding to rotate the rotor while utilizing a two pole winding to apply radial force to the winding with all of the stator poles having both windings thereon.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved bearingless switched reluctance motor.
Consequently, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a bearingless switched reluctance machine having higher load carrying capacity, higher stiffness and/or greater vibration suppression capacity.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rotor for use with a switched reluctance motor having higher load carrying capacity, higher stiffness and/or greater vibration suppression capacity.
Another object of the present invention is to utilize a single set of windings of a switched reluctance motor wherein a plurality of the poles are dedicated to levitation of the rotor while a separate plurality of poles are dedicated to rotating the rotor.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a bearingless switched reluctance motor having a stator with a plurality of pairs of poles and a hybrid rotor having a plurality of pole pairs in a laminated bundle on a first portion, and a stack of circular laminations forming a circular disc on a second portion. In the illustrated embodiment, an eight pole stator is utilized with a rotor having a first portion with six poles. Of course, other strator/rotor combinations could be utilized as well. A second portion is a disc member. Levitation may be produced and vibration may be suppressed by utilizing feed back and feed forward commands in the control software. The stator has four poles which are exclusively utilized to levitate or maintain the horizontal alignment of the rotor within the stator. The disc portions of the rotor is affected by the levitation poles of the stator. The other four poles are utilized in an opposing pair fashion to apply torque to rotate the rotor about the stator.

The United States of America, as represented by the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space Administration


The present invention relates to a method for preparing piperidine derivative compounds by converting, with a piperidine compound, regioisomers having the formula: ##STR1##. and where m is an integer from 1 to 6; Q and Y are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of O, S, and NR.sup.5 ; G.sup.1, G.sup.2, and G.sup.3 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of OR.sup.8, SR.sup.8, and NR.sup.8 R.sup.9 ; R.sup.6 and R.sup.7 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl moiety, an aryl moiety, OR.sup.8, SR.sup.8, and NR.sup.8 R.sup.9 ; X.sup.3 is halogen, OR.sup.15, SR.sup.15, NR.sup.15 R.sup.16, OSO.sub.2 R.sup.15, or NHSO.sub.2 R.sup.15 ; R.sup.5, R.sup.8, R.sup.9, R.sup.15, and R.sup.16 are the same or different and are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkyl moiety, and an aryl moiety; and A is a substituent of its ring and is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogens, alkyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, and other substituents.

Terfenadine, 1-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-4-[4'-(.alpha.-hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1'-piperidiny l]-butanol is a non-sedating anti-histamine. It is reported to be a specific H.sup.1 -receptor antagonist that is also devoid of any anticholingeric, anti-serotoninergic, and anti-adrenergic effects both in vitro and in vivo. See D. McTavish, K. L. Goa, M. Ferrill, Drugs, 1990, 39, 552; C. R. Kingsolving, N. L. Monroe, A. A. Carr, Pharmacologist, 1973, 15, 221; J. K. Woodward, N. L. Munro, Arzneim-Forsch, 1982, 32, 1154; K. V. Mann, K. J. Tietze, Clin. Pharm. 1989, 6, 331. A great deal of effort has been made investigating structure-activity relationships of terfenadine analogs, and this is reflected in the large number of U.S. patents disclosing this compound and related structures as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,956 to Zivkovic PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,526 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,829,433 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,862,173 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,878,217 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,922,276 to Duncan, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,931,197 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,795 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,022 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,296 to Duncan, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,257 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,175 to Fawcett, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,129 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,130 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,957 to Carr, et. al. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,958 to Carr, et. al. PA1 wherein PA1 or, when n is 0, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 taken together form a second bond between the carbon atoms bearing R.sup.1 and R.sup.2, provided that when n is 1, R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 are each hydrogen; PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein PA1 wherein
In animal and human metabolic studies, terfenadine has been shown to undergo extensive hepatic first-pass metabolism, and after usual dosages it cannot be detected in plasma unless very sensitive assays are used. A specific hepatic cytochrome P-450 enzyme converts terfenadine to the major metabolite 4-[4-[4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinyl]-1-hydroxybutyl]-.alpha.-.al pha.-dimethylphenylacetic acid, also known as terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite. This metabolite can be readily detected in plasma and is considered to be the active form of orally administered terfenadine.
Side effects reported with terfenadine are cardiac arrhythmias (ventricular tachyarrhythmias, torsades de points, ventricular fibrillation), sedation, GI distress, dry mouth, constipation and/or diarrhea. The most serious of these, and potentially life threatening, are cardiac arrhythmias, which are related to terfenadine's ability to prolong the cardiac QT interval, and are only reported in patients administered terfenadine with liver disease or who also take the antifungal drug ketoconazole or the antibiotic erythromycin. As a result of these adverse events, the FDA, in 1992, required terfenadine to include a warning label. Although OTC formulations of terfenadine are purportedly being developed, the potentially serious side effects seen in some patients will be a significant obstacle for regulatory approval.
Since cardiac side effects of terfenadine have been reported in patients with impaired liver function, as well as in patients also taking antibiotics known to suppress hepatic enzyme function, it was speculated that the cardiac side effects were due to accumulation of terfenadine and not due to accumulation of terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite. Patch clamp studies in isolated feline ventricular myocytes support the contention that terfenadine, and not the carboxylic acid metabolite, is responsible for cardiac side effects. At a concentration of 1 .mu.M, terfenadine caused a greater than 90% inhibition of the delayed rectifier potassium current. At concentrations up to 5 .mu.M, the terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite had no significant effect on the potassium current in this assay (See R. L. Woosley, Y. Chen, J. P. Frieman, and R. A. Gillis, JAMA 1993, 269, 1532). Since inhibition of ion transport has been linked to cardiac abnormalities such as arrhythmias, these results indicate that terfenadine carboxylic acid is likely not liable to cause cardiac arrhythmias, at dose levels at which there is a distinct risk of such a side effect being caused by terfenadine itself.
Carebastine, 4-[4-[4-(diphenylmethoxy)-1-piperidinyl]-1-oxobutyl]-.alpha.,.alpha.-dimet hylphenylacetic acid, is the carboxylic acid metabolite of ebastine, 1-(p-tert-butylphenyl)-4 -[4'-(.alpha.-diphenylmethoxy)-1'-piperidinyl]-butanol. Both compounds possess potent selective histamine H.sub.1 -receptor blocking and calcium antagonist properties and should prove useful in the treatment of a variety of respiratory, allergic, and cardiovascular disease states.
These compounds relax bronchial and vascular smooth muscle in vitro and in vivo and inhibit the constrictor influence of noradrenaline, potassium ions, and various other agonist drugs. The compounds also inhibit responses of intestinal and tracheal preparations to histamine, acetylcholine, and barium chloride and block the bronchoconstriction induced by histamine aerosol in guinea pigs in doses less than 1 mg/kg animal body weight administered orally. They also possess antianaphylactin properties in the rat, inhibit the skin lesions to a variety of anaphylactic mediators (histamine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, bradykinin, LCD.sub.4, etc.), and antagonize the Schultz-Dale response in the sensitive guinea-pig.
Piperidine derivatives related to the terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
In these patents, 4-[4-[4-(hydroxydiphenylmethyl)-1-piperidinyl]-1-hydroxybutyl]-.alpha.,.al pha.-dimethylbenzeneacetic acid and related compounds are prepared by alkylation of a substituted piperidine derivative of the formula: ##STR2##
with an .omega.-haloalkyl substituted phenyl ketone of the formula: ##STR3##
wherein the substituents halo, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, n, Z, and R.sup.6 are described in column 6 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,130.
In similar fashion, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,116 to Soto et al. describes preparation of piperidine derivatives related to carebastine by reacting the .omega.-haloalkyl substituted phenyl ketone with a substituted hydroxypiperidine derivative of the formula: ##STR4##
U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,130 indicates that .omega.-haloalkyl substituted phenyl ketones, wherein Z is hydrogen, are prepared by reacting an appropriate straight or branched lower alkyl C.sub.1-6 ester of .alpha.-.alpha.-dimethylphenylacetic acid with a compound of the following formula: ##STR5##
under the general conditions of a Friedel-Crafts acylation, wherein halo and m are described in column 11 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,129. The reaction is carried out in carbon disulfide as the preferred solvent.
Other procedures for producing terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite are disclosed in PCT Application Nos. WO95/00492, WO94/03170, and WO95/00480.
The present invention is directed toward an improved process for preparation of terfenadine carboxylic acid metabolite and carebastine derivatives.

Process for production of piperidine derivatives


A system and methods are provided for monitoring for a clogged or unclogged state of an air filter in an automotive HVAC system. The HVAC system includes a blower having a blower motor providing a driven airflow. A plurality of outlet registers is controllable to provide a plurality of circulation modes. An evaporator selectably cools the driven airflow, and the air filter passes the driven airflow. The method enters a baseline condition, wherein the baseline condition includes applying a moisture purge to the evaporator and selection of a predetermined circulation mode. The blower motor is controlled to maintain a testing speed. An energization of the blower motor is quantified while maintaining the testing speed. The energization is compared to a base value derived according to the baseline condition with the air filter in an unclogged state. A replacement action is triggered when the energization is greater than the base value.

The present invention relates in general to cabin air filters for automotive vehicles, and, more specifically, to detecting when an air filter has become clogged and is in need of replacement.
Because of the potential for airborne contaminates, cabin air filters are often included in the ventilation systems of automotive vehicles. These replaceable filters need to be changed when they become clogged with filtered particles and dirt. Dedicated sensing systems are known that can identify the filter state and provide an indication to the user to let them know when an air filter needs to be replaced. The known prior art systems have used combinations of dedicated sensors (such as a pressure sensor for determining pressure drop across a filter) and special housing design features (such as an air bypass channel). Such systems have proven costly and consume packaging space that is in short supply. They also add complexity to the manufacturing of the automotive heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Consequently, many vehicles are manufactured without any automatic monitoring of the state of the air filter. Instead, the manufacturer provides written recommendations to the user to replace the filter after a certain period of time or after a predetermined number of miles driven. These recommendations are determined based upon average conditions, so any particular user may have a clogged filter before expiration of the recommended interval or they may end up replacing an unclogged filter unnecessarily. Therefore, it would desirable to monitor the state of an air filter without dedicated sensors or special housing features.
It has been proposed to use the increased resistance to air flow through a dirty air filter to detect the need for a filter change. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,448,896 to Bankus et al. issues a command to a blower motor for a particular speed. The resulting speed is compared to a predetermined fan speed that would normally occur when the filter is dirty. However, such prior systems have been unreliable and have been found to give inaccurate results due to failures to recognize and control all significant variables impacting the air flow.

Monitoring air filter status in automotive HVAC system


A process for preparing a seam area for a PMC base fabric includes the steps of: providing a PMC base fabric including a plurality of warp yarns extending in a machine direction (MD) and a plurality of interwoven weft yarns extending in a cross machine direction (CD); removing a plurality of adjacent weft yarns from the PMC base fabric to define a window of warp yarns not interwoven with weft yarns, the plurality of warp yarns being interwoven with a plurality of weft yarns on either side of the window; folding over the PMC base fabric at the window such that each warp yarn substantially aligns with itself in the MD, and one or more weft yarns on one side of the window substantially align with a respective weft yarn on an opposite side of the window; and bonding together a portion of the PMC base fabric adjacent the window.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paper machine clothing, and more particularly, to a process for preparing a seam area for the clothing in an endless manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
A paper machine clothing (PMC) base fabric is typically manufactured with a specific set of design and quality specifications for a particular paper machine's performance requirements. These specifications include surface characteristics, open area, void volume, permeability and smoothness, among others.
It is known to manufacture a woven press fabric having a flat woven base fabric with a plurality of warp yarns forming seam loops along the ends of the fabric extending in a cross machine direction, transverse to the machine direction. The ends are then placed in end-to-end disposition in order to interdigitate the loops and a pintle wire is then inserted in the interdigitated loops to lock the ends together to bring the fabric into an endless form. For installation in a paper machine of the like, the two ends are separated such that the fabric can be pulled in its direction of movement into the machine, after which the two belt longitudinal ends can then be joined together again. The region of the seam in this case has a larger void area than the rest of the fabric, resulting in a differential dewatering in this area which may lead to marking of the fibrous web. In addition, the formation of seam loops on the base fabric results in increased production time and expense.
PCT Intl. App. No. PCT/GB89/00681, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a seam for a PMC base fabric in which a number of weft yarns are removed from the fabric at a fold location. The fabric is folded over at the fold location, sewed adjacent the fold location, interdigitated with loops from an adjacent fabric end, and a pintle wire is inserted through the interdigitated loops. There is no attempt to align the weft or warp yarns of the folded fabric adjacent the fold location. This configuration provides an effective seam, but the randomly aligned yarns on either side of the window can provide some variability of the seam properties.
What is needed in the art is an improved process for preparing a seam area for a PMC base fabric.

Process for preparing a seam area for a PMC base fabric


Overhung axial compressor, chemical reactor and method for compressing a fluid. The overhung axial compressor includes a casing configured to be vertically split along a vertical axis for access to an inside of the casing and a removable cartridge. The removable cartridge is configured to fit inside the casing and to be detachably attached to the casing. The removable cartridge includes a shaft disposed along a horizontal axis, the shaft being configured to rotate about the horizontal axis, a bearing system attached to the removable cartridge and configured to rotationally support a first end of the shaft, and plural blades disposed toward a second end of the shaft such that the second end is overhung inside the casing. The compressor also includes a guide vane mechanism configured to connect to the removable cartridge, the guide vane mechanism being configured to adjust a flow of a fluid to the plural blades.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein generally relate to methods and systems and, more particularly, to mechanisms and techniques for compressing a fluid.
2. Discussion of the Background
During the past years, the demand for various chemical products has increased. One such example is the demand for polyethylene and polypropylene products, which are used, for example, in the plastics industry, the multiphase pipelines industry, etc. The manufacturing of these products has consequently also increased. One of the mechanical components used in a plant (reactor) for producing the polyethylene or polypropylene products is a centrifugal compressor.
Compressors are generally divided into positive displacement compressors and dynamic compressors. Positive displacement compressors include reciprocating and rotary compressors, which are not discussed herein. Dynamic compressors include, among others, centrifugal compressors, axial compressors and mixed-flow compressors.
An example of a centrifugal compressor is shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 shows the centrifugal compressor 10 having an impeller 12 connected to a shaft 14. Shaft 14 is supported by bearings 16 and 18. The impeller 12 has a hub portion 20 and a blade portion 22. A fluid enters the compressor 10 at an inlet 24, along an incoming direction A. The fluid reaches the impeller 12, where its kinetic energy is increased and its flow direction is changed prior to being discharged at outlet 26 along direction B. Because the impeller 12 is not supported on shaft 14 between bearings 16 and 18, this arrangement is called "overhung" compressor as distinct from a "between-bearings" design where the impeller(s) are supported between the bearings. In addition, because a centrifugal force produced by the impeller 12 is used to accelerate the fluid entering the compressor 10, the compressor shown in FIG. 1 is called an overhung centrifugal compressor.
The overhung centrifugal compressor is widely used in the chemical and petrochemical industry. However, a disadvantage of this compressor is its large size for a given set of processing parameters, e.g., flow parameters. For example, FIG. 2 shows a graph of a head coefficient of a compressor versus its flow coefficient. The head coefficient is related to an output pressure of the compressor and it is a dimensionless coefficient. The flow coefficient is related to a volume flow rate of the fluid through the compressor. FIG. 2 shows a variation in time of the head coefficients and flow coefficients of the existing compressors developed for the polyethylene/polypropylene industry, with the points to the left being earlier in time then the points in the right. This graph indicates that smaller head coefficients and larger flow coefficients have been required by the operators of the plants over time. Following this trend, the weight of the centrifugal compressors (especially the casing) has increased in the past ten years from an average of 20 tons to an average of 40 tons with a diameter of the impeller increasing from 45 cm to over 90 cm. By increasing the weight and size of the compressors, the weight and size of associated components, i.e., diffuser, etc., has also increased.
Another drawback of the centrifugal compressor is the fact that a, polytropic efficiency of the compressor decreases as the flow coefficient is increased beyond a certain point. Mixed flow compressors have been used for addressing the deficiencies of the centrifugal compressors as the flow coefficient become too large. However, these compressors are also reaching their limits in terms of efficiency and desirable weight and are presently suffering from the same problems as the centrifugal compressors. The mixed flow compressors are similar to the centrifugal compressors but the fluid is expelled at an angle with respect to a longitudinal axis of the compressors. In other words, the direction of the outgoing fluid is between directions A and B shown in FIG. 1, being neither axial flow (direction A) nor radial flow (direction B).
FIG. 3 shows the variation of impeller diameter (for a mixed flow compressor) versus the rotational speed (curve 30) for a given polytrophic head requirement. Also, the flow coefficient is plotted versus the impeller rotational speed (curve 32) for a given flow requirement. It is noted that for a 41-in diameter impeller (point 34) the corresponding flow coefficient is around 0.172 (point 36), which is in the generally desired range of less than approximately 0.25 for mixed-flow impellers. However, when trying to reduce the size of the impeller to around 27-in (point 38), which is approximately a 35% reduction in size, the flow coefficient goes up to 0.4, which is outside the desired range for good efficiency.
An axial compressor is illustrated in FIG. 4. The axial compressor 42 has a shaft 44 to which plural airfoils 46 are connected. A fluid enters inlet 48 and is accelerated through the plural airfoils 46, along an axial direction C, until the fluid is expelled at outlet 50. However, due to dirt particles in the fluid, deposits may be formed on the airfoils 46 and on the casing 52 of the compressor 42. For cleaning the airfoils and the casing, an upper part (not shown) of the compressor is removed for accessing the parts to be cleaned. This split of the casing 52 of the axial compressor along a horizontal plane makes this compressor a horizontal split casing axial compressor. Also, the typical axial compressor has both ends 54 of shaft 44 supported by bearings and the airfoils 46 are disposed between the bearings supporting shaft 44.
The axial compressor achieves a better flow coefficient and a smaller size impeller (airfoils) than the centrifugal and/or mixed flow compressors, and thus, a smaller weight and size. However, the drawback with the existing axial compressors is the difficulty in maintaining the axial compressor if used under dirty process gas conditions, as found in the polyethylene/polypropylene industry, as the airfoils become clogged and opening up the axial compressor and cleaning its components become time consuming and expensive.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide compressors, and methods that avoid the afore-described problems and drawbacks.

Overhung axial flow compressor, reactor and method


A nano-colonnade structure-and methods of fabrication and interconnection thereof utilize a nanowire column grown nearly vertically from a (111) horizontal surface of a semiconductor layer to another horizontal surface of another layer to connect the layers. The nano-colonnade structure includes a first layer having the (111) horizontal surface; a second layer having the other horizontal surface; an insulator support between the first layer and the second layer that separates the first layer from the second layer. A portion of the second layer overhangs the insulator support, such that the horizontal surface of the overhanging portion is spaced from and faces the (111) horizontal surface of the first layer. The structure further includes a nanowire column extending nearly vertically from the (111) horizontal surface to the facing horizontal surface, such that the nanowire column connects the first layer to the second layer.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to nanotechnology. In particular, the invention relates to interconnecting a nanowire between horizontal surfaces of a device or structure.
2. Description of Related Art
A consistent trend in semiconductor technology since its inception is toward smaller and smaller device dimensions and higher and higher device densities. As a result, an area of semiconductor technology that recently has seen explosive growth and generated considerable interest is nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is concerned with the fabrication and application of so-called nano-scale structures, structures having at least one linear dimension between 1 nm and 200 nm. These nano-scale structures are often 50 to 100 times smaller than conventional semiconductor structures.
Nanowires are building blocks of many nano-scale devices, such as nano-scale field effect transistors (FETs), p-n diodes, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and nanowire sensors, to name a few. There are many techniques known in the art for growing or synthesizing nanowires. However, the techniques available for interconnecting the ends of the nanowire to respective surfaces tend to be tedious, expensive and sometimes not reproducible. For example, fabricated nanowires can be aligned or assembled using fluid flow and/or an electric field; and contacted to surfaces with e-beam lithography. As such, these techniques are limited to making contact to usually one nanowire (or one nanowire end) at a time. While these techniques are useful in a research environment and facilitate characterization studies using nanowires, they are not conducive to, and not suitable for, reproducible mass-fabrication of nano-scale devices, such as dense, low-cost device arrays, in a manufacturing environment.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a low-cost interconnection technique for nanowires that is conducive to a manufacturing environment. Such a technique would solve a long-standing need in the developing area of a "bottom-up" fabrication approach in nanotechnology.

Nanowire interconnection and nano-scale device applications

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A multi-purpose frame structure has basic frame members consisting on the one hand of an octagonal tube and on the other hand of a connector. The octagonal tube is provided on its outer sides with dovetail slots and on its inside with opposed longitudinal engaging surfaces. The connector is in the form of a support with orthogonally disposed legs that can be received in the octagonal tube, each leg having a series of transverse projections which engage the surface projections inside of the tube. A frame may be made up from a number of the tubes and connectors and numerous other fittings may be provided which fit in the dovetail slots.

The present invention relates to a structure of multifunction frame members and particularly to a structure including a frame portion and a connector portion with special configurations to be combined into the furniture with any style and specifications as required by the user so as to achieve the purpose of economy and practice.
The conventional furniture products are made by the furniture shops or by the technical personnel in line with the buyer's order or appointment. This not only confines the styles and specifications which are difficult to meet with the user's demands, but also leads to high cost which is not economical because of the involvement of manual labor. In other words, so far as the said products are concerned, as a rule, the user has to adapt himself or herself to these products; otherwise, the user has to spend more money to make these products to meet with his or her demands. In addition, the higher cost of manual techniques for manufacturing these products leads to a higher price which is uneconomical.
The present invention is designed to eliminate the foregoing drawbacks and offer a structure of multi-function frame members which can be made into the products with the styles and dimensions required by and adapted to the user so as to achieve the purpose of economy and practice.

Structure of multi-function frame members


To separate porosity from surface roughness, length scales for pore size and surface roughness are identified. These length scales are determined from surface roughness measurements and confirmed via NMR pore body calculations and pore size capillary pressure measurements. A filter removes pore contribution to surface roughness measurements and delivers intrinsic surface roughness. Additional filters and methods determine the minimum magnification on which to base surface roughness calculation, based on size of the field of view and where measured surface roughness approaches intrinsic surface roughness as magnification increases but larger magnification increase sampling time and difficulty. Sample irregularities, such as saw marks, are also filtered out or determined to be too large to remove via filter and another area of measurement is located. With the pore corrected quantification of surface roughness, surface relaxivity and pore distribution can be calculated with greater accuracy.

Pore diameter is a petrophysical parameter of importance for determining reservoir and field extraction costs. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) logging and core sample analysis yield surface to volume (SN) ratios for fluid in pores based on T1 or T2 relaxation times (or both T1 and T2 relaxation times) and accounting from the type of fluid and mineral composition of the rock. Pore dimensions can be calculated from SN ratios based on effective surface relaxivity which accounts for the geometric effect on surface relaxivity and which can be an order of magnitude different from the intrinsic surface relaxivity. Pore size and concentration—collectively pore size distribution—and surface roughness effect surface relaxivity in different ways but are often unable to be separately measured.

Pore contribution corrected quantifying of surface roughness


Disclosed herein is a solid state, directly overwritable, non-volatile, high density, low cost, low energy, high speed, readily manufacturable, single cell memory element having reduced switching current requirements and an increased thermal stability of data retention. The memory element includes a volume of memory material which is a transition metal modified chalcogen. The memory element exhibits orders of magnitude higher switching speeds at remarkably reduced switching energy levels. The novel memory element of the instant invention is in turn characterized, inter alia, by at least two stable and non-volatile detectable configurations of local atomic and/or electronic order, which configurations can be selectively and repeatably accessed by electrical input signals of designated energy levels. The memory elements are further characterized by enhanced thermal stability of data retention, which stability is achieved by elementally modifying Te--Ge--Sb semiconductor material from which previous memory elements were fabricated.

The Ovonic EEPROM is a novel, proprietary, high performance, non-volatile, thin film electronic memory device. In this device, information can be stored in either analog or binary form (one bit per cell) or in multi-state form (multiple bits per memory cell). The advantages of the Ovonic EEPROM include non-volatile data storage, the potential for high bit density and consequently low cost as a result of its small footprint and simple two-terminal device configuration, a long reprogramming cycle life, low programming energies and high speed. There are small differences in the structure and the materials employed with these two types of memory devices, which differences enhance either the binary or multi-state performance characteristics thereof. For purposes of the instant invention, the terms "memory elements" and "control elements" will be employed synonymously.
Before detailing the operation and structure of this novel and fundamentally unique Ovonic EEPROM device of the instant invention, some very important and pertinent thoughts concerning general semiconductor structures and operation will be discussed. The operation of most semiconductor devices is governed by the control of mobile charge carrier concentrations different from that generated at thermal equilibrium. Prior to the invention of the Ovonic EEPROM, only four general methods were known by which to control and modulate the concentration of excess or free (these two terms are used interchangeably throughout this discussion) charge carriers in solid state semiconductor devices. These four known methods were previously described in said parent application, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference, and need not be further discussed herein. However, a general discussion of those fundamental mechanisms of operation of semiconductor devices which are necessary in order to appreciate the advantages of the instant invention follows hereinafter.
In a perfect semiconductor lattice with no impurities or lattice defects--an intrinsic semiconductor--no charge carriers are present at zero Kelvin since the valence band is filled with electrons and the conduction band is empty. At higher temperatures, however, electron-hole pairs generated as valence band electrons are excited thermally across the band gap to the conduction band. These thermally generated electron-hole pairs are the only charge carriers present in an intrinsic semiconductor material. Of course, since the electrons and holes are created in pairs, the conduction band electron concentration (electrons per cubic centimeter) is equal to the concentration of holes in the valence band (holes per cubic centimeter). It is well known, but worth emphasizing, that if a steady state carrier concentration is to be maintained, there must be recombination of the charge carriers at the same rate that they are generated. Recombination occurs when an electron in the conduction band makes a transition to an empty state (hole) in the valence band, either directly or indirectly through the agency of a mid-gap recombination center, thus annihilating the pair.
In addition to thermally generated charge carriers, it is possible to create carriers in semiconductor materials by purposely introducing certain impurities into the crystal lattice. This process is called doping and represents a common method of varying the conductivity of semiconductors. By doping, a semiconductor material can be altered so that it has a predominance of either electrons or holes, i.e., it is either n-type or p-type. When a crystal lattice is doped such that the equilibrium carrier concentrations are different from the intrinsic carrier concentrations, the semiconductor material is said to be "extrinsic". When impurities or lattice defects are introduced into an otherwise perfect lattice crystal, additional levels are created in the energy band structure, usually within the band gap. For instance, the introduction of phosphorous in silicon or germanium, generates an energy level very near the conduction band. This new energy level is filled with electrons at zero Kelvin, and very little thermal energy is required to excite these electrons to the conduction band. Thus, at about 50-100 Kelvin, virtually all of the electrons in the impurity level are donated to the conduction band. Semiconductor material doped with donor impurities can have a considerable concentration of electrons in the conduction band, even when the temperature is too low for the intrinsic charge carrier concentration to be appreciable. Now that the reader can appreciate the significance of the presence of excess charge carriers for electrical conductivity, it must be noted that these carriers can also be created by optical excitation or they can be injected across a forward biased p-n junction or a Schottky barrier. Regardless of the manner in which the excess carriers are generated, they can dominate the electrical conduction processes in a semiconductor material.

Electrically erasable memory elements characterized by reduced current and improved thermal stability


A vehicle treatment system includes a signalling device with at least one sensor and a signal generator. The sensor can continuously detect the position of the vehicle in a predetermined approach region in front of or in the vehicle treatment system. The signal generator can output a signal which changes continuously or discretely and corresponds to a continuously changing position of the vehicle. In this case, the signalling device has at least two lights arranged above one another. A corresponding method can be used for determining and displaying entry information.

State of the art are entry lights which display three states when a vehicle enters a vehicle washing system, and thus signal the driver that the vehicle has not yet reached, has reached and/or has passed beyond a particular position. The signal remains in one state until a different state has been reached. Between the invitation to enter (=advance) and the reaching of the stop position (=stop) the driver is not given any information concerning the progress of the entering process. This means that it is possible, depending on the driver's reaction time or the vehicle's stopping distance, to pass over a switch point (e.g. stop). In this situation the driver is signalled the backing of the vehicle (=back). This process takes time, though. Some drivers will therefore enter the vehicle washing system with too much caution, which will also cause delays.

Vehicle treatment system having a signalling device, and method for determining and displaying entry information


A servo controller capable of preventing downward displacement of a gravitating axis of a machine when an excitation of a servomotor for driving the gravitating axis is discontinued. When a shutdown command is issued, a command for shifting a position of the gravitating axis by an offset amount in a direction opposing the gravitation is issued to a servo system. Also, a command for operating a mechanical brake to apply a braking force on the gravitating axis is issued. After a predetermined time period, the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued. The position of the gravitating axis is shifted upward by the offset amount within a time-lag between an issuance of the mechanical brake operating command and actual application of the braking force by the mechanical brake, and the braking force is applied to the gravitating axis at the shifted position. When the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued, the downward displacement of the position of the gravitating axis due to a backlash of the mechanical brake is compensated by the upward shifting of the gravitating axis, thereby movable elements connected to the gravitating axis is prevented from collision or interference with peripheral objects.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a servo controller for controlling a servomotor for driving a feed shaft in a machine tool or a manufacturing machine, an arm of an industrial robot, etc. and in particular to a servo controller for a servomotor for a gravitating axis to which gravitation is exerted in the machine having a mechanical brake for applying a braking force on the gravitating axis.
2. Description of Related Art
A movable element in a machine such as a feed shaft of a machine tool or an manufacturing machine and an arm of an industrial robot is driven by a servomotor and a position of an axis connected to the movable element is controlled by the servomotor to be shifted to a commanded position and maintain the commanded position. When the servomotor is turned from an operational state to a non-operational state, i.e., an excitation of the servomotor is discontinued due to an emergency stop, an outage of the power source, etc., the position of the axis to which an external force is exerted is displaced. Particularly, with respect to an axis to which the gravitation is exerted in an operating direction thereof, which is referred to as a gravitating axis, the gravitating axis always receives the gravitation and the position of the gravitating axis displaces downward by the gravitation when the excitation of the servomotor for driving the gravitating axis is discontinued.
Conventionally, when an emergency stop is commanded in an operation of the servomotor for driving the gravitating axis, a velocity command in the servo system for the servomotor is made xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d to stop the motion of the gravitating axis as soon as possible. Then, a command to operate the mechanical brake is issued and after a time period (typically 100 ms-200 ms) sufficient for the mechanical brake to apply the braking force on the axis, the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued. With the above sequential control, the down displacement of the gravitating axis is prevented in the emergency stop.
When the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued in the state of applying the braking force on the gravitating axis by the mechanical brake, the gravitational force on the gravitating axis, which has been borne by the output torque of the servomotor, is borne solely by the mechanical brake. A frictional contact part of the mechanical brake is made fixed to the gravitating axis and the gravitational force is applied to the contact part. As a result, the position of the gravitating axis is displaced downwardly by an amount of a backlash formed by a torsion between a proximal portion and a distal contacting portion of the contacting part. It has been difficult to prevent the downward displacement of the gravitating axis caused by the backlash of the mechanical brake.
An object of the present invention is to provide a servo controller capable of preventing a downward displacement of a gravitating axis on which gravitation is exerted when an excitation of a servomotor for driving the gravitating axis is discontinued.
A servo controller of the present invention comprises: brake operation commanding means for issuing a brake operating command to a mechanical brake for applying a braking force on a gravitating axis to which gravitation is exerted when an excitation of a servomotor for driving the gravitating axis is discontinued; and offset commanding means for issuing an offset command for driving the servomotor such that a position of the gravitating axis is shifted by an offset amount in a direction opposing to the gravitation exerted on the gravitating axis when the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued.
The offset amount may be set not less than a backlash in the mechanical brake, so that the downward displacement of the gravitating axis due to the backlash of the mechanical brake is within the offset amount.
In the case where the servo controller performs a position loop control of the servomotor, the offset command may be provided to the position loop control as a position command.
In the case where the servo controller performs a velocity loop control, the offset command may be provided to the velocity loop control as a velocity command to drive the servomotor at a predetermined velocity for a predetermined time period.
The excitation of the servomotor may be discontinued when an emergency stop is commanded, when an outage of a power source of the servo controller is detected and when the machine does not operate for a set time period.
It is preferable that a shifting motion of the gravitating axis due to the offset command is completed before the braking force of the mechanical brake is actually applied on the gravitating axis.
The offset command and the brake operating command may be issued simultaneously when the excitation of the servomotor is discontinued.

Servo controller for preventing downward displacement in gravitating axis


A method, apparatus, and program product applicable within a multi-drive data storage system for adaptively allocating data reconstruction resources. In accordance with the method of the present invention, responsive to a detected drive failure, a resource allocation manager periodically determines the number of pending host system processing requests. The determined number of pending host system processing requests is then compared to a predetermined threshold value. Finally, a number of processing resources are allocated to data reconstruction in accordance with the results of the comparison of the number of pending host system processing requests to the predetermined threshold.

1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to disk array data storage systems, and in particular to a method and system for reconstructing data in response to a disk failure within a disk array data storage system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an efficient mechanism for allocating processing resources during data reconstruction operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disk array data storage systems are characterized as having multiple storage disk drives that are arranged and coordinated to form a single mass storage system. Three fundamental design criteria for such mass storage systems include: performance, cost, and data access availability. It is most desirable to produce data storage systems that have a low cost per storage unit, a high input/output performance, and a high data access availability. As utilized herein, xe2x80x9cdata access availabilityxe2x80x9d is a measure of ease with which data stored within a mass storage system is accessed and the level of assurance of continued operation in the event of some system failure (e.g. a disk drive failure). Typically, data access availability is provided through the use of redundancy wherein data, or relationships among data, are stored in multiple locations.
Two of the most common means of implementing redundancy in a disk array storage system are xe2x80x9cmirroringxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cparity striping.xe2x80x9d According to the mirror method, data is duplicated and stored on separate areas of the mass storage system. In a disk array, for example, an identical data set is provided on two physically distinct disk drives. The mirror method has the advantages of high performance and high data access availability due to its duplicative storage technique. However, the mirror method is also relatively expensive as it effectively doubles the cost of storing data.
In the second, or xe2x80x9cparity stripingxe2x80x9d method, a portion of the storage area is utilized to store redundant data, but the size of the redundant storage area is less than the 1:1 ratio required for disk mirroring. For example, in a disk array having ten disks, parity striping may permit nine of the disks to be utilized for storing data with the remaining one being dedicated to storing redundant data. The parity striping method is advantageous because it is less expensive that the mirroring method, but it has lower performance and availability characteristics relative to mirroring.
For disk arrays employing either or both mirroring and parity striping, there exists the need to reconstruct data in the case of a disk failure. One such data reconstruction technique in set forth by Morita in U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,229, in which data reconstruction in response to a failed disk unit is described with respect to a parity striped system. The data reconstruction technique described by Morita, as well as other conventional data reconstruction techniques, fail to address the issue of allocation of processing resources that are shared between a host processing system and the devices and programs utilized to implement data reconstruction (referred to hereinafter as reconstruction agents).
Given the nature of the mirror and parity striped redundancy techniques traditionally utilized to provide data access availability, the speed of a data reconstruction operation is important. The faster a data reconstruction operation is performed, the less likely an interim failure on yet another disk will exposed the disk array to a complete failure. Consequently, there exists a need to maximize the processing resources provided to reconstruction agents while maintaining the disk array on-line. The present invention addresses such a need.
A method, apparatus, and program product applicable within a multi-drive data storage system for adaptively allocating data reconstruction resources are disclosed herein. In accordance with the method of the present invention, responsive to a detected drive failure, a resource allocation manager periodically determines the number of pending host system processing requests. The determined number of pending host system processing requests is then compared to a predetermined threshold value. Finally, a number of processing resources are allocated to data reconstruction in accordance with the results of the comparison of the number of pending host system processing requests to the predetermined threshold.
All objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed written description.

Adaptive resource allocation in multi-drive arrays

International Business Machines Corporation


An optical inspection system and method which uses a procedure for determining an offset between a field of view and a center or rotation of an R-theta stage, or polar coordinate stage. Determining this offset allows the precise location of a site being inspected on a wafer to be determined. The system and method take advantage of the fact that in a R-theta system there can be only two positions for the R-theta stage that will position a particular site under the lens of the imaging system of the optical inspection system. By moving the stage from a first position where a particular site is positioned in the field of view, to the second position where the particular site is positioned in the field of view, the offset can be determined.

Optical metrology systems are used for inspecting micron, and submicron level details of semiconductor wafers. The present invention relates to such a system and provides for determining the position of components of the system relative to other components of the system, so that the precise location of sites being inspected on the wafer can be determined.
Optical metrology systems are used in the semiconductor industry to image and measure properties of semiconductor wafers. Typically, the wafers are supported on a movable stage and scanned with respect to an optical probing beam. In the past, the most commonly used type of system had controls which allowed a user to move the stage in both the X and Y directions. These X-Y stages could also be combined with a rotational mounting. The optical metrology systems are typically provided with optics and imaging systems so the operator can view the wafer.
In order to reduce the footprint of the optical metrology system R-theta stages, also referred to as polar coordinate stages, were developed which can move the wafer along one linear axis (R) and rotate the wafer about a center of rotation. Such a stage can be used to align any portion of the wafer with a probe beam and the imaging system while using up less space than a conventional X-Y stage.
One problem with using an imaging system with a R-theta stage is that as the stage is rotated, the field of view also rotates. Accordingly, it is desirable to compensate for this rotation of the field of view. A discussion of one system which provides an approach for dealing with the effect of the rotation of the field of view is discussed in the European Patent Application, EP 0 971 254, published Dec. 1, 2000; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,609 B1. These references are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 1 of the ""609 patent shows a view of a prior art X Y stage, where the stage can be moved in both the X and Y direction. These prior art systems can also allow for the user to rotate the stage. By moving the stage in both the X and Y direction the user can align the center of rotation of the stage such that it is aligned with the center of the field of view of the optical imaging system. Algorithms that were used for determining the position of the field of view of the optical imaging system, or a lens of the imaging system, relative to the center of rotation of the stage took advantage of the ability to precisely control the movement of the stage in both the X and Y direction. Specifically, these prior algorithms make use of three degrees of freedom provided by a X-Y-Theta stage, and are dependent on the ability to bring any point on the stage (and a wafer mounted on the stage) to the center of the field of view after an arbitrary theta rotation.
The system described in the ""609 patent assumes that the center of rotation of the polar coordinate stage can be made nearly coincident with the center of the field of view of the imaging system. In practice, this alignment is difficult, if not impossible. When the center of the field of view of the optical imaging system is not aligned with the center of rotation of the stage in the home position, and where this offset is not accounted for, the system cannot accurately position a particular location on a wafer being inspected at the center of the field of view. Accordingly, it would be desirable to determine the exact amount of displacement of the center of rotation of the stage from the center of the field of view of the optical imaging system and correct for that offset, so that the precise location of a site on a wafer sample can be accurately controlled.
The present invention is directed to a system and a method for determining an offset between a point in the field of view of an optical imaging system of an inspection system and a center of rotation of a polar coordinate stage. The system and method take advantage of the fact that a distinctive site on a wafer being inspected can be positioned in the field of view with the polar coordinate stage being in one of two possible orientations. This is done by positioning the polar coordinate stage in a first position with a site at a particular location in the field of view, and then positioning the polar coordinate stage in a second position where the site is again positioned at the particular location in the field of view. The processor system of the inspection system is then used to calculate the offset, based on the movement of the stage necessary to change the position of the polar coordinate stage from the first position to the second position.

System and method for finding the center of rotation of an R-theta stage