A multichannel receiver for effectively receiving multichannel signals at the same time without any restrictions in the symbol timing and channel interval of modulated signals. A quadrature detector of the multichannel receiver includes first and second multipliers. The first multiplier multiplies a received signal by a real number axis signal generated from a quadrature carrier oscillator. The second multiplier multiplies a received signal by an imaginary number axis signal. The quadrature detector converts a carrier of a center signal of odd signals into a DC component of zero frequency, and converts the center signal into a complex baseband signal, and at the same time converts carrier signals other than the center carrier signal into a complex IF signal symmetrical to the DC component of zero frequency. ADCs (Analog-to-Digital Converters) convert the complex IF signals into complex IF digital signals. The complex IF digital signals are applied to a first group of complex mixers and a second group of complex mixers at the same time. The complex mixers correspond to individual channels, and their local signal frequencies have a complex conjugate relation to each other. The complex mixers perform frequency conversion on their reception signals, and thus generate complex baseband signals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multichannel receiver for receiving a plurality of different channel signals at the same time.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, there has been wide use of a FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) for simplifying a process for receiving a plurality of channel signals having different carrier frequencies at the same time. Provided that a plurality of channel signals having different carrier frequencies are simultaneously received using the FFT, a Nyquist bandwidth is divided by N/2 when a reception signal is a real digital signal, or divided by N when a reception signal is a complex digital signal, such that N signals having different carrier frequencies are divided for every carrier (i.e., is set to different channels for every carrier) and at the same time each signal can be converted into a baseband signal.
The term "channel" means a frequency domain on a frequency axis for indicating either a reception signal in the communication field and a transmission/reception signal in the broadcasting field, or a carrier frequency of these signal waves.
For example, FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a conventional receiver. Referring to FIG. 9, a quadrature detector 2 includes a first multiplier 22 for multiplying a signal received from an antenna 1 by a real number axis signal "cos" of a local signal generated from a quadrature carrier oscillator 21, and a second multiplier 23 for multiplying the signal received from the antenna 1 by an imaginary number axis signal "−sin" having a phase that is 90 degrees ahead of that of the real number axis signal "cos", and therefore, converts a plurality of channel signals into complex IF (Intermediate Frequency) signals. Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) 3a and 3b performs A/D conversion on the complex IF signals of the quadrature detector 2, such that the complex IF signals are converted into complex IF digital signals. FFT 51 receives the complex IF digital signals having different carrier frequencies from the ADCs 3a and 3b, simultaneously converts them into baseband signals, and then outputs the baseband signals to a parallel/serial converter 52.
However, when of receiving a plurality of channel signals having different carrier frequencies using the aforementioned FFT, it is necessary for symbol timings of modulated waves of individual channel signals to be synchronized with each other. Moreover, in order to separate each channel signal from the plurality of channel signals received at the same time, a frequency denoted by an inverse number of the symbol timing (i.e., a symbol synchronization) of the modulated wave should be set to a carrier interval frequency of each channel. In order to meet the above requirements, a prescribed relationship between an OFDM symbol and each modulated signal should be engaged in advance. However, provided that the modulated signals are different in carrier frequency, it is difficult for even an OFDM scheme to meet the above requirements, and moreover there is no way to solve this problem in actual practice.
Therefore, it is desirable that a plurality of receivers are arranged in parallel with one another to receive a plurality of different channel signals at the same time. The FFT scheme is especially suitable to the case where more than several tens of carrier signals are received at the same time, but it is hard to say that the FFT scheme is also suitable to the case where there is a small number of carriers. Moreover, there is no way for a conventional reception end to stably receive a small number of carrier signals at the same time.

Multichannel receiver for simultaneously receiving a plurality of different channel signals


A slicing ratio controlling circuit for controlling the ratio of a slice level used when binarizing an input signal with respect to the signal to be sliced, including a differentiating unit for differentiating the input signal; a peak holding unit for receiving the differentiated signal from the differentiating unit and holding its peak level so as to generate a slice level signal; and a constant ratio enabling unit for making the ratio of the slice level signal from the peak holding unit with respect to the differentiated signal constituting the signal to be sliced a constant ratio regardless of the magnitude of the differentiated signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slicing ratio controlling circuit for controlling a ratio of a slice level used for binarization of a signal, more particularly relates to a slicing ratio controlling circuit for controlling a ratio of a slice level and an input signal for use for binarization of a signal in a bar code reader etc.
In general, a bar code reader illuminates a bar code, detects the reflected light, and recognizes the black bars and white bars making up the bar code in accordance with the brightness. Since the brightness changes by a large degree at the juncture of the black bars and white bars, the point of change is used to find the juncture between black bars and white bars and thereby detect them.
2. Description of the Related Art
As will be explained in detail later with reference to the drawings, the amount of the reflected light received from the portions corresponding to the white bars is large, while the amount of the reflected light received from the portions corresponding to the black bars is small. Therefore, it is possible to compare the light reflected from the bar code with the magnitude of a threshold signal (slice level) to recognize white and black bars.
The amount of light reflected from a bar code changes tremendously depending on the distance between the bar code and the bar code reader and the angle between the bar code and the illuminated light (reflected light). In some cases, the amount of reflected light from the bar code received by the bar code reader may become extremely small. Therefore, if the slice level is set to a fixed value and if the amount of light reflected from the bar code is small, there is a chance that the reflected light will always be recognized as being smaller than the slice level. Conversely, if the amount of light reflected from the bar code is extremely large, there is a chance that the reflected light will always be larger than the slice level.
To solve this problem, the previous practice has been to generate the slice level based on the amount of the reflected light received by the bar code reader (signal output by photodetector). Use of this technique enables the slice level to be changed in accordance with the amount of reflected light received by the bar code reader and therefore the above problem to be eliminated. This slice level signal is generated by inputting the signal output from the photodetector into a peak holding circuit. The magnitude of the slice level signal is set to have a specific ratio with respect to the amount of the received light.
If the amount of the light reflected from the bar code is small, however, there is a chance that noise may become noticeable in the signal from the photodetector. On the other hand, if the slice level signal is generated from the peak holding circuit, there is a chance that, depending on the configuration of the peak holding circuit, the magnitude of the slice level signal generated by it will not become the envisioned ratio with respect to the magnitude of the signal to be sliced but will become smaller than this.
If this situation arises, then when comparing the signal to be sliced and the slice level signal for binarization of the input signal and detection of the white bars and black bars, there is the problem that the noise component superposed on the signal from the photodetector will exceed the slice level signal and result in erroneous detection. This tendency becomes more marked when the amount of the light reflected from the bar code is small.


According to one embodiment, there is provided an electrode for a nonaqueous electrolyte battery. The electrode includes an active material layer. The active material layer includes a monoclinic β-type titanium composite oxide. When the electrode is subjected to an X-ray diffraction measurement using a Cu-Kα ray source, a ratio of a reflection intensity I(020) of a peak derived from a plane (020) of a crystal of the monoclinic β-type titanium composite oxide to a reflection intensity I(001) of a peak derived from a plane (001) of the crystal of the monoclinic β-type titanium composite oxide being in the range from 0.6 to 1.2.

Titanium oxide having a monoclinic β-type structure has been developed as a negative electrode material for nonaqueous electrolyte battery such as a lithium-ion secondary battery. An electrode using titanium oxide having a monoclinic β-type structure has a theoretical capacity as high as about 330 mAh/g. On the other hand, the theoretical capacity of the conventionally-used electrode using lithium titanate having a spinel structure (Li4Ti5O12) is about 170 mAh/g. Then, it seems that a battery which has significantly higher capacity than that of the conventional battery can be developed by using a titanium oxide having a monoclinic β-type structure. However, a nonaqueous electrolyte battery using titanium oxide having a monoclinic β-type structure has low input-output property.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Nonaqueous electrolyte battery, electrode for the same, and battery pack


A method and apparatus for providing an instant distance and path information report on an electronic map using linked display lines from a selected point on a map to one or a plurality of preselected position markers on the map. The distance and path information are displayed adjacent to the linked lines. A global position satellite receiving circuit 50 is used to obtain the current position using ranging signals received from satellites 55, 60, and to place a current position marker on the electronic map. A computer processor 35 is utilized to perform distance calculation and to perform coordinate transfer for the electronic display 10. An external interface port 40 allows external input of preselected locations to be displayed on the electronic map. Computer memory 30 is utilized be the computer processor to perform calculations and display processing. In one embodiment, the current position marker is included as one of the preselected position markers. The selected point is selected by an operator utilizing a touch pressure application pen 15 to touch and press on a transparent touch-sensitive screen 5, which is overlaid directly on an electronic display 10, which houses the electronic map. In another embodiment, a link line is displayed on a electronic map to connect between a current position marker to one or a plurality of preselected points to report distance and path information.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to maps, specifically to a machine and method for obtaining instant distance measurement information from a map.
2. Prior Art
The most conventional method of determining or indicating the distance between two points on a printed map is to first measure or estimate the distance in small units (inches or centimeters) between the two points on the map. Then this distance is multiplied by scale factor on the map to obtain the geographical distance. However, this method does not provide an immediate and accurate report of the geographical distance. It is not practical to use this method when an instant distance measurement is required.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,063 to Shimizu; Atsuko and Akishima, (1991) shows a length measuring apparatus which is capable of calculating an actual distance by measuring length on a map and which has a display section to display the actual distance thus calculated. A length measuring apparatus is required for measuring length of a path connecting two points on a map. The length measuring apparatus may be a rolling member which rolls along the path. This method requires a user to carry around various maps, a length measuring device, computer storage, and a display. It takes substantial effort, time and much equipment to obtain a single distance measurement using this method. It is not a convenient method to obtain many distance measurements in a short time in a field location.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,167 to Kurosawa; Kazuyuki; Shibutani and Atsushi (1994) shows a display apparatus for processing distance information where scale reduction information of the map and time information is analyzed. It also requires a television circuit for displaying a television image on a display. Heavy equipment must be utilized. This is not suitable for obtaining numerous distance measurements in a field location.
Electronic maps pre-loaded in a computer with display unit are used very often in a moving vehicle for navigational purpose. To obtain a geographical distance, one must first enter the selected locations into a processing computer. The selected locations are entered by typing the addresses on a keyboard, or using an electronic mouse to click on the selected points on the map. It is cumbersome and slow to enter the selected points using these methods. It is also not practical to carry around a keyboard or a mouse in a field location for purpose of entering a selected point on a map into a computer.
3. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are:
a. Easy method to enter a location in a map to obtain distance measurement. New location is entered through a touch pressure application pen pointing directly at the location on a displayed map through a touch-sensitive screen. PA1 b. Clear indication to the operator of the links measured on the map. A linked line is displayed on the map to indicate the distance measured. PA1 c. Quick clearance of the display and to setup for new measurements. The old link and distance display are immediately cleared from the screen when the operator decides to obtain a new measurement. PA1 d. Provides instant distance measurement from a current position marker to any point on a map.

Method for providing an instant distance measurement on a map


The teachings herein present a method and apparatus that implement and use a factorized precoder structure that is advantageous in terms of performance and efficiency. In particular, the teachings presented herein disclose an underlying precoder structure that allows for certain codebook reuse across different transmission scenarios, including for transmission from a single Uniform Linear Array (ULA) of transmit antennas and transmission from cross-polarized subgroups of such antennas. According to this structure, an overall precoder is constructed from a conversion precoder and a tuning precoder. The conversion precoder includes antenna-subgroup precoders of size NT/2, where NT represents the number of overall antenna ports considered. Correspondingly, the tuning precoder controls the offset of beam phases between the antenna-subgroup precoders, allowing the conversion precoder to be used with cross-polarized arrays of NT/2 antenna elements and with co-polarized arrays of NT antenna elements.

Multi-antenna techniques can significantly increase the data rates and reliability of a wireless communication system. The performance is in particular improved if both the transmitter and the receiver are equipped with multiple antennas, which results in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication channel. Such systems and related techniques are commonly referred to simply as MIMO.
The 3GPP LTE standard is currently evolving with enhanced MIMO support. A core component of this support in LTE is the support of MIMO antenna deployments and MIMO related techniques. A current working assumption in LTE-Advanced is the support of an 8-layer spatial multiplexing mode for 8 transmit (Tx) antennas, with the possibility of channel dependent precoding. The spatial multiplexing mode provides high data rates under favorable channel conditions.
With spatial multiplexing, an information carrying symbol vector s is multiplied by an NT×r precoder matrix WNT×r, which serves to distribute the transmit energy in a subspace of the NT (corresponding to NT antenna ports) dimensional vector space. The precoder is typically selected from a codebook of possible precoders, and typically indicated by means of a precoder matrix indicator (PMI). The PMI value specifies a unique precoder in the codebook for a given number of symbol streams.
However, certain challenges arise in this context. For example, different antenna configurations can require precoder structures of one type or another, which complicates the storage of predefined codebooks of precoders. Still further, the dynamic use of Single User (SU) MIMO and Multi-User (MU) MIMO modes complicates codebook design because precoders that are optimal for SU-MIMO generally will not be optimal for MU-MIMO. As a further complication, the overhead associated with reporting precoder information, e.g., precoder recommendations, from a receiver to a transmitter may be problematic. This is true, for example, in the LTE downlink where the Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) cannot bear as large a payload size as the Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).


A tilt sunroof unit has a sunroof panel provided tiltably with respect to a plane of an opening provided in a vehicular roof, an annular frame formed so as to extend continuously along an entire periphery of the opening, the annular frame being formed of a single parts in which a peripheral gutter continuing along an entire periphery thereof is integrally formed, and a lifting mechanism for connecting the sunroof panel and the annular frame, wherein the tilt sunroof unit in a subassembled state with the sunroof panel assembled thereto is assembled to the roof

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tilt-type sunroof installed mainly in an automobile.
The present invention also relates to a mechanism for supporting a detachable type sunroof panel, and more particularly to a mechanism for supporting a sunroof panel detachably and so as to be capable of being tilted up in an opening formed in a roof of a vehicle.
The present invention also relates to a detachable type sunroof apparatus, and more particularly to a detachable type sunroof apparatus having a deflector blade for suppressing the entrainment of the wind into a vehicle compartment when a panel is removed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional sunroof for an automobile, there is a type in which an opening provided in a roof of a vehicle is made capable of being selectively opened or closed by a sunroof panel. As for its opening and closing operation, there are a slide type in which the sunroof panel is slid with respect to the roof and a tilt type in which the sunroof panel is tilted in a vertical direction. As compared to the slide type, the tilt type does not require a large installation space and its structure is simple, so that the tilt type has been used as a simple sunroof (e.g., refer to JP-UM-B-7-46572).
A sunroof apparatus has already been put to practical use in which a sunroof panel made of glass, for instance, is fitted in an opening provided in a roof of an automobile. In this sunroof apparatus, detachable hinge mechanisms are provided between a front edge of the sunroof panel and a corresponding portion of the opening, and a detachable toggle latch mechanism is provided between a rear edge of the sunroof panel and a corresponding portion of the opening, thereby arranging the sunroof panel to be detachable and capable of being tilted up.
Such a mechanism for supporting a detachable type sunroof panel is disclosed in, for instance, JP-UM-A-63-195917 which is constructed such that a male member fixed to the sunroof panel side and having a downwardly convex curved surface is engaged in an insertion hole formed in a female member fixed to the roof side.
A sunroof apparatus is disclosed in, for instance, JP-UM-A-63-195917 which is constructed such that a sunroof panel made of glass, for instance, is fitted in an opening provided in a roof of an automobile. In this sunroof apparatus, detachable hinge mechanisms are provided between a front edge of the sunroof panel and a corresponding portion of the opening, and a detachable toggle latch mechanism is provided between a rear edge of the sunroof panel and a corresponding portion of the opening, thereby arranging the sunroof panel to be detachable and capable of being tilted up.
On the other hand, in the sunroof apparatus, it is known that a deflector blade is fitted along a front edge of the opening so as to suppress the traveling wind from being entrained into the vehicle compartment when the vehicle travels with the opening in the roof open.
In the above-described tilt-type sunroof, since it is unnecessary to provide a complex mechanism such as a sliding up/down mechanism used in the slide-type sunroof, hinge mechanisms for the sunroof panel and a lifting mechanism using links are directly attached to peripheral edges of the opening. For example, bracket portions are provided by working and forming portions of a roof member (such as a roof panel) corresponding to edge portions of the opening in the roof, and fixing portions of the respective mechanisms are fixed to the bracket portions.
However, in a sunroof assembly line, the fixing portions of the respective mechanisms are, for instance, welded to the roof member-side bracket portions, and the sunroof panel is subsequently assembled to them, so that the operation in the line has been troublesome. Further, since positioning with respect to the opening is affected by the positional accuracy in the attachment of the hinge mechanisms and the lifting mechanism, there has been a problem in that its adjustment operation also becomes troublesome.
According to the conventional supporting mechanism, the female member is an integrally molded piece made of a synthetic resin, and it has been difficult to mold the insertion hole for receiving the curved male member with high accuracy. In particular, if the fitting of the male member into the insertion hole becomes tight due to such as the occurrence of deformation of the curved surface of the male member formed by press working a steel plate, the attachment and detachment of the sunroof panel become difficult. In a worst case, it can become impossible to detach the sunroof panel.
In contrast, if the fitting of the female member and the male member is set to be loose, faulty installation occurs between the sunroof panel and the roof, possibly resulting in the occurrence of buffeting and air leak noise during traveling.
However, essentially, the primary consideration of the detachable sunroof apparatus such as the one disclosed in the aforementioned publication is that it can be manufactured at low cost. Accordingly, its structure is generally made extremely simple. For this reason, if the ratio of the cost of the deflector blade to the overall apparatus is taken into consideration, it has been, in a way, difficult to say that it is realistic to apply to the detachable type sunroof apparatus the construction of such a deflector blade of the conventional type that is installed on the sunroof apparatus accommodated underneath the roof by being power driven.


A method of producing dimethoxymethane oligomers (DMMn), the method comprising: reacting a formaldehyde source and dimethoxymethane monomer (DMM1) in the presence of an acidic catalyst to produce a reaction effluent comprising DMMn and unreacted DMM1; and separating, from the reaction effluent, DMM1-2 including unreacted DMM1 and DMMn having a chain length n equal to 2 (DMM2), dimethoxymethane oligomers having a chain length n in the range of from 2-5 (DMM2-5), dimethoxymethane oligomers having a chain length n of ≥5 (DMM5+), or a combination thereof, wherein the separating comprises distillation in the presence of at least one alcohol, a distillate fuel, or both.

Dimethoxymethane oligomers, also known as poly(oxymethylene) dimethyl ethers and referred to herein as DMMn, may be utilized as components of tailored diesel fuel. The blending of DMMn with distillate fuels may reduce levels of harmful engine exhaust emissions, such as particulates, SOx, NOx and hydrocarbons, and increase levels of cetane of the resulting blended fuel. The absence of sulfur in DMMn may also reduce deleterious effects on combustion engine pollution control equipment. The addition of up to 15% DMMn in diesel oil can reduce the amounts of particulate pollutants released upon combustion by up to 80-90%. The reduction in particulates may also allow for reduction in fuel consumption at low NOx engine operation. DMM monomer (e.g., DMM1), from which DMM oligomer is produced, can be produced from methanol. The abundance in natural gas, future outlook for methanol production, and poor air pollution levels make the production of DMMn and the incorporation thereof into distillate fuels attractive. In addition, since methanol can be derived from gasification of renewable sources, the possibility exists to create a renewable DMMn fuel. The conversion of methanol through formaldehyde to DMMn as an additive of diesel can absorb the methanol production capacity by 50%, and may also provide benefits with respect to economics and environmental protection.
Distillate fuels exhibit characteristics including fungibility, pour point, flash point, cloud point, and cetane number. Fungibility relates to performance in fuel distribution and delivery systems. An indicator of fungibility is the increase of water phase volume when water is contacted with the fuel mixture. The pour point is the temperature at which a liquid becomes semi-solid and loses its flow characteristics. The flash point is the lowest temperature at which vapors of the material will ignite, when given an ignition source. The cloud point is the temperature below which wax in diesel or biowax in biodiesels forms a cloudy appearance. The cetane number is an indicator of the combustion speed of diesel fuel. Fuel compositions comprising distillate fuels and DMMn may be tailored to provide certain fungibility, pour point, flash point, cloud point, and/or cetane number.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved systems and methods for the production of dimethoxymethane oligomers.

Process for producing dimethoxymethane oligomers


A sensor for, and a method of, generating electrical signals indicating a positional property and an extent property of a mechanical interaction within a sensing zone. The sensor comprises a plurality of conductive layers. At least one conductive layer is a pressure-sensitive conductive layer comprising a quantum tunnelling conductance (qtc) material. Contact between conductive layers is allowed during the absence of a mechanical interaction within said sensing zone. The sensor may be configured to provide a three-terminal sensing functionality or a four-terminal sensing functionality. The sensing zone may be substantially two-dimensional or substantially three-dimensional. The sensor may be substantially flexible or substantially rigid.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sensor for generating electrical signals indicating properties of a mechanical interaction within a sensing zone, and a method of generating electrical signals indicating properties of a mechanical interaction within a sensing zone of a sensor.
2. Description of the Related Art
United Kingdom Patent No. 2 365 532, in the name of the present applicant, discloses a flexible alphanumeric keyboard fabricated from textile fabrics. The construction of the flexible alphanumeric keyboard utilises first and second textile fabric conductive layers. The document teaches the provision of separating means to ensure that the first and second conductive textile fabric layers are normally spaced apart, yet to allow the first and second conductive layers to make contact during a mechanical interaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,943,044, in the name of Martinelli et al, discloses a touchpad assembly and method for generating signals indicative of the location and applied pressure of an object touching the touchpad. The assembly of the touchpad includes X and Y position and pressure sensitive semiconductor resistance sensor layers. The position sensor layers are arranged to come into contact at a contact point when the object touches the touchpad.
Problems have been found with sensors that utilise separating means between first and second conductive layers. A production problem with this type of sensor is that a manufacturing overhead exists due to the requirement to provide reliable separating means. A post-production problem with this type of sensor is that false triggering may destroy the functionality of the sensor. These problems are particular prevalent with sensors that are configured to allow a degree of flexing, since the functionality of the separating means tends to degrade more quickly than more rigid sensors.

Brompton-on-Swale, Richmond, North Yorkshire


Disclosed is a seal assembly for a utility meter enclosure. The seal assembly secures together a front cover and a base of the utility meter enclosure in a way that requires breaking of the seal assembly in order to open the utility meter enclosure. As such, the seal assembly provides an indication if the utility meter enclosure has been opened or tampered with.

The usage of resources such as gas, electricity and water are typically measured using utility meters. Some utility meters include plastic seals that serve as tamper evident seals. Current seals involve insert molding a stainless steel wire. The complexity of manufacturing the current seals results in reduced production capacity and increased costs.

Seal assembly for utility meter and associated methods


Methods and apparatus for three-dimensional gaming are disclosed. A three-dimensional casino game includes additional display layers, additional game options, and additional game evaluation methods over a traditional two-dimensional casino game. The three-dimensional casino game allows a player to select one or more three-dimensional game options such as how many layers to include in the game and which game positions are “staked.” For example, in a video slot machine, the player may select three layers of reels and place a transparent stake indicator over the center reel position. The player's selections may determine one or more game evaluation methods and display modes. After one or more random numbers are generated, the outcome of the game is displayed three-dimensionally to the player based on the selected game evaluation methods and display modes. Many different game evaluation methods and payouts are possible in a three-dimensional casino game.

To maintain or increase player interest in electronic casino games, game manufactures frequently introduce new games. Typically, new games employ new themes (e.g., a jungle themed video slot machine) and/or new player pay out options (e.g., threaded paylines on a video slot machine). New player pay out options are desirable because they give the player more control and flexibility over his gaming environment. In addition, an increased number of payout options increases the variety of odds available to a player. For example, increasing the number of symbols which much match on a video slot machine from three to five allows game designers to create decreased odds and increased payouts. However, current electronic casino games suffer from a lack of new game types, new display modes, and new win evaluation methods.


A vacuum circuit-breaker including, for each phase, at least one vacuum bottle housed inside a closed enclosure, wherein said circuit-breaker includes at least one scintillation fiber disposed in the space between said enclosure and the outside surface of the vacuum bottle(s), said fiber being connected outside the circuit-breaker to an opto-electronic device.

French Patent No. 90 13,049 mentions using fluorescent plastic optical fibers for detecting the durations of arcing in circuit-breakers using gas, in particular sulfur hexafluoride (SF.sub.6).
By observing arcing durations, changes in the state of the apparatus can be assessed, and maintenance work can be planned.
Vacuum circuit-breakers require near-perfect gastightness. They are made gastight once and for all in the factory. It is therefore impossible to re-evacuate them at a later stage. Their casings are often made of ceramic, and are therefore opaque, thus making it difficult to inspect the state of the circuit-breaker visually.
A known method of verifying the internal state of the circuit-breaker is to measure its electron emission or ionization threshold, sometimes via an external magnetic field.
In practice, such inspection is performed during a scheduled period of maintenance.
The state of the apparatus is therefore not monitored continuously.
It is well known that, in the presence of a sufficient voltage, a vacuum circuit-breaker emits X-rays while it is being closed, or while it is being opened.
To this end, reference is made to the article entitled "Limiting X-radiation from a high voltage vacuum interrupter at the prebreakdown stage", by W. GORCZEWSKI, report 34-01, 7th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, DRESDEN, August 1991.
The X-rays emitted while a vacuum "bottle" is opening or closing are relatively low-level. Protective devices are provided to render them harmless.
It is also known to use scintillation optical fibers for detecting radiation from particles in high-energy accelerators.
For example, reference is made to the article "Organic Scintillators with large Stokes shifts", The Journal of Physical Chemistry, vol. 82, No. 4, 1978, or to the article "Plastic fibers in high energy physics" by M. Blumenfeld, NIM, 257 (1987).
Scintillation fibers pick up radiation via their peripheries and transform it into a light wave passing along the fiber.
The level of X-radiation depends essentially on the voltage applied, the distance between the contacts, the material, the state of the contacts, and the state of the vacuum. Loss of vacuum considerably reduces X-radiation. Therefore, the absence of X-rays, after the circuit-breaker has been operating for a certain length of time, may indicate a loss of vacuum. In the same way, a change in the spectrum of the radiation recorded may signify that there has been an operating change in the inter-electrode space, e.g. the contacts have been eroded.
As explained below, it was the Applicant who thought of using scintillation fibers to obtain continuous and effective monitoring of a circuit-breaker including vacuum bottles by measuring the vacuum inside the bottles.
This use makes it possible to solve the specific problems that arise, namely the following:
the measuring means used must withstand the voltage existing between the terminals of the vacuum bottles (in the range 6 kV to 72 kV);
it must be possible to measure the vacuum without taking the circuit-breaker apart;
the measuring means used must be compact, so as to be housed as close as possible to the vacuum bottle, because the X-radiation from a vacuum bottle is low-level;
the response time must be short; and
the measuring means must be cheap, and in particular must make it possible to use cheap components, such as photo-diodes.
These objects cannot be achieved by the apparatus described in Document EP-A-0,309,852 which advocates using a Geiger-Moller counter.

Vacuum circuit-breaker equipped with self-diagnosis means


The present invention provides passive sampling systems and methods for monitoring contaminants in a semiconductor processing system. In one embodiment, that passive sampling system comprises a collection device in fluid communication with a sample line that provides a flow of gas from a semiconductor processing system. The collection device is configured to sample by diffusion one or more contaminants in the flow of gas.

Semiconductor manufacturers continue to measure and control the level of contamination in the processing environment, especially during the critical steps of the photolithography processes. The typical means of determining the quality and quantity of contamination in gas samples in cleanroom manufacturing environments involves sampling air and purge gases, such as, for example, filtered and unfiltered air, clean dry air, and nitrogen, with sampling tubes or traps, typically containing adsorptive medium such as, the polymer Tenax®. This sampling process is followed by analysis using thermal desorption, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS). The combination of TD/GC/MS provides identification of sample components and a determination of the concentration of these components. The most abundant contaminants in these manufacturing environments are low molecular weight components such as acetone and isopropyl alcohol. The current sampling time for existing traps typically varies between 0.5 and 6 hours with total accumulated sample volumes ranging typically between 20 and 50 liters.
Further, in applications that are directed to the manufacturing of or use of optical elements such as, for example, photolithography, the detection and quantification of compounds having a higher molecular weight such as, for example, siloxanes is of primary concern. These compounds having a higher molecular weight are, however, typically in much lower concentrations as compared with the low molecular weight species. Further, the compounds having a high molecular weight can also be defined as condensable compounds with a boiling point typically greater than approximately 150° C. The current methods for determining contamination have the limitation of the sample volume being based on the total trap capacity of the lighter or lower molecular weight components, for example, compounds having typically less than six carbon atoms. As the heavier components are usually present at much lower concentrations, the collection of a significant mass of these higher molecular weight species is limited.
In addition, polluting or contaminating substances may adhere onto the optical elements and reduce the transmission of light. Currently airborne contamination is addressed in cleanroom environments with little regard for contaminants that may be adsorbed onto the surfaces of optical elements. The adsorbed contamination reduces the transmission of light through the optical elements and system.
Thus, contamination of optical systems is emerging as a significant risk to photolithography and other semiconductor manufacturing processes as shorter wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum are exploited. However, molecular films on optical surfaces physically absorb and scatter incoming light. Scattered or absorbed light in photolithography optical surfaces causes distortion of the spherical quality of wavefronts. When the information contained in the spherical wavefront is distorted, the resulting image is also misformed or abberated. Image distortions, or in the case of photolithography, the inability to accurately reproduce the circuit pattern on the reticle, cause a loss of critical dimension control and process yield.
Typically, filter systems are used to remove molecular contamination in semiconductor processing environments. Systems are in place to measure the performance of such filter systems. However, typical monitoring of filter performance includes measurement of filter breakthrough either by process failure or by detection of the target filtered gas at the discharge of the filter system. However, these measurement means detect breakthrough after it has occurred.
A need still exists for determining, accurately and efficiently, the presence and quantity of contaminants that can alter and degrade the optical systems in semiconductor processing instruments. There further remains a need to monitor the performance of gas phase filter systems prior to a breakthrough failure.

System and method for monitoring contamination


A self-excited multi-phase DC—DC converter having satisfactory responsiveness when its load suddenly changes. A control unit of the converter compares output currents of first and second converter units. Based on the comparison result, the control unit generates control signals to operate a converter unit through which a smaller output current flows. For example, when an output voltage of the converter decreases due to a sudden change in the load while the first converter unit is operating to supply current, the second converter unit through which a smaller output current flows is operated to increase the output voltage.

The present invention relates to a converter, and more particularly, to a multi-phase DC—DC converter and a control circuit for a multi-phase DC—DC converter.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. 2000-308337, 2002-044941, and 2003-284333 each describe an example of a conventional multi-phase DC—DC converter, in which a plurality of DC—DC converters are connected in parallel and each converter is operated at a different switch timing (phase).
Methods for controlling a DC—DC converter include separate-excitation and self-excitation. With separate-excitation, a DC—DC converter performs a switching operation in synchronization with a clock signal (separately-excited DC—DC converter). With self-excitation, a DC—DC converter operates based on a time constant of the system of the converter (self-excited DC—DC converter). First, a self-excited DC—DC converter and a separately-excited DC—DC converter will be described, and then a multi-phase DC—DC converter will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a separately-excited DC—DC converter 100. The DC—DC converter 100 includes a control unit 1a and a converter unit 90. The converter unit 90 includes an output transistor T1, a synchronous rectifier transistor T2, a choke coil L1, a current detection resistor Rs1, and a smoothing capacitor C1. The output transistor T1 is configured by an N-channel MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) transistor. The synchronous rectifier transistor T2 is configured by an N-channel MOS transistor.
The control unit 1a generates output signals DH1 and DL1, which are complementary to each other, and provides the gate of the output transistor T1 with the output signal DH1 and the gate of the synchronous rectifier transistor T2 with the output signal DL1.
The drain of the output transistor T1 is supplied with an input voltage Vi. When the output signal DH1 rises to a high (H) level, the output transistor T1 is turned on. This outputs an output voltage Vo via the choke coil L1 and the current detection resistor Rs1. When the output signal DL1 rises to an H level, the synchronous rectifier transistor T2 is turned on. This outputs the energy accumulated in the choke coil L1 as the output voltage Vo. The output voltage Vo is smoothed by the smoothing capacitor C1.
The control unit 1a is supplied with the input voltage Vi as a power supply Vcc. The voltage of the two terminals of the current detection resistor Rs1 is applied to a voltage amplifier 2 included in the control unit 1a. The voltage amplifier 2 amplifies a voltage generated between the two terminals of the current detection resistor Rs1 in accordance with an output current flowing through the current detection resistor Rs1 and provides a comparator 3 with an amplification signal.
An error amplifier 4 included in the control unit 1a amplifies the voltage difference between a divided voltage, which is obtained by resistors R1 and R2 dividing the output voltage Vo with the voltage of a reference power supply e1, and provides the comparator 3 with an amplification signal. The voltage of the reference power supply e1 is set to coincide with the divided voltage obtained by the resistors R1 and R2 when the output voltage Vo reaches a specified value.
The comparator 3 compares the voltage of the amplification signal from the voltage amplifier 2 with the voltage of the amplification signal from the error amplifier 4. When the voltage of the amplification signal from the voltage amplifier 2 is higher than the voltage of the amplification signal from the error amplifier 4, the comparator 3 provides a reset terminal R of a flip-flop circuit 6 with an output signal having an H level. When the voltage of the amplification signal from the voltage amplifier 2 is lower than the voltage of the amplification signal from the error amplifier 4, the comparator 3 provides the reset terminal R with an output signal having a low (L) level.
An oscillator 5 provides a set terminal S of the flip-flop circuit 6 with a pulse signal having a fixed frequency. The flip-flop circuit 6 generates an output signal Q having an H level and an output signal /Q having an L level when its set terminal S is provided with a pulse signal having an H level. The flip-flop circuit 6 generates an L level output signal Q and an H level output signal /Q when its reset terminal R is provided with an H level pulse signal. The output signal Q of the flip-flop circuit 6 is the output signal DH1 of the control unit 1a, and the output signal /Q of the flip-flop circuit 6 is the output signal DL1 of the control unit 1a.
The control unit 1a turns on the output transistor T1 in fixed cycles in response to the rise of a pulse signal provided from the oscillator 5. When the output transistor T1 is turned on, the current flowing through the choke coil L1 and the current detection resistor Rs increases, and the voltage of the amplification signal of the voltage amplifier 2 increases. When the voltage of the amplification signal of the voltage amplifier 2 increases above the voltage of the amplification signal of the error amplifier 4, the reset terminal R of the flip-flop circuit 6 is provided with an H level signal. As a result, the output transistor T1 is turned off, the synchronous rectifier transistor T2 is turned on, and energy accumulated in the choke coil L1 is output.
If the output voltage Vo decreases when the output transistors T1 and T2 are turned on or off, the voltage of the amplification signal of the error amplifier 4 becomes higher than the voltage of the amplification signal of the voltage amplifier 2. In this case, a relatively long time is required for the output signal of the comparator 3 to rise to an H level. This extends the on-time of the output transistor T1.
When the output voltage Vo increases, the voltage of the amplification signal of the error amplifier 4 becomes lower than the voltage of the amplification signal of the voltage amplifier 2. In this case, the time required for the output signal of the comparator 3 to rise to an H level is short. This shortens the on-time of the output transistor T1.
The output transistor T1 is turned on in fixed cycles in accordance with the frequency of a pulse signal provided from the oscillator 5. The timing at which the output transistor T1 is turned off is determined in accordance with an increase in the output current. The off timing of the transistor T1 is changed in accordance with an increase or a decrease in the output voltage Vo to keep the output voltage Vo constant.
FIG. 2 is a schematic circuit diagram of a self-excited DC—DC converter 200. The DC—DC converter 200 includes a converter unit 90, which is the same as the converter unit 90 included in the DC—DC converter 100 shown in FIG. 1.
A comparator 7 included in a control unit 1b compares a divided voltage, which is obtained by resistors R1 and R2 dividing an output voltage Vo with the voltage of a reference power supply e1. The voltage of the reference power supply e1 is set to coincide with the divided voltage obtained by the resistors R1 and R2 when the output voltage Vo reaches a specified value. When the divided voltage obtained by the resistors R1 and R2 is higher than the voltage of the reference power supply e1, the comparator 7 generates an L level output signal. When the divided voltage obtained by the resistors R1 and R2 is lower than the voltage of the reference power supply e1, the comparator 7 generates an H level output signal.
A one-shot flop—flop circuit 8 receives an output signal from the comparator 7 and generates signals Q and /Q, which are complementary to each other. The one-shot flip-flop circuit 8 generates an H level output signal Q for a fixed time in response to an H level output signal from the comparator 7.
The output signal Q of the one-shot flip-flop circuit 8 is provided to the gate of an output transistor T1 as an output signal DH1, and the output signal /Q of the flip-flop circuit 8 is provided to the gate of a synchronous rectifier transistor T2 as an output signal DL1.
In the DC—DC converter 200, which fixes the on-time of the transistor T1, the output voltage Vo increases when the output transistor T1 is turned on, and energy accumulated in the choke coil L1 is discharged when the output transistor T1 is turned off. When the energy accumulated in the choke coil L1 decreases, the output voltage Vo decreases and the divided voltage obtained by the resistors R1 and R2 decreases below the voltage of the reference power supply e1. In this case, the one-shot flip-flop circuit 8 generates an H level output signal Q for a fixed time so that the transistor T1 is turned on and maintained to be on for the fixed time. With this operation, the output voltage Vo is maintained to be a constant voltage based on the reference power supply e1. The on-time of the output transistor T1 is fixed irrespective of a period in which the output voltage Vo is changing. However, when the output voltage Vo decreases, the off-time of the output transistor T1 is shortened. As a result, the switching frequency of the output transistor T1 changes in accordance with the output voltage Vo.
FIG. 3 is a schematic circuit diagram of a multi-phase DC—DC converter 300 having two phases. Converter units 9a and 9b are the same as the converter unit 90 shown in FIG. 1. A smoothing capacitor C1 is shared by the two converter units 9a and 9b.
A control unit 1c includes a voltage amplifier 2a, a voltage amplifier 2b, a comparator 3a, a comparator 3b, a flip-flop circuit 6a, and a flip-flop circuit 6b. The voltage amplifier 2a amplifies a voltage between the two terminals of a current detection resistor Rs1. The voltage amplifier 2b amplifies a voltage between the two terminals of a current detection resistor Rs2. The comparator 3a compares an output voltage of the voltage amplifier 2a with an output voltage of an error amplifier 4. The comparator 3b compares an output voltage of the voltage amplifier 2b with an output voltage of the error amplifier 4. The flip-flop circuit 6a generates output signals DH1 and DL1 for controlling the converter unit 9a in accordance with an output signal of the comparator 3a. The flip-flop circuit 6b generates output signals DH2 and DL2 for controlling the converter unit 9b in accordance with an output signal of the comparator 3b.
An oscillator 5a provides a set terminal S of each of the flip-flop circuits 6a and 6b with a pulse signal. The oscillator 5a alternately provides the flip-flop circuits 6a and 6b with two pulse signals. Thus, the frequency of the pulse signal of the oscillator 5a is substantially twice the frequency of the pulse signal of the oscillator 5 shown in FIG. 8.
Each of the converter units 9a and 9b is operated by the control unit 1c at the same frequency as in the current-mode type DC—DC converter 100 shown in FIG. 1. However, the flip-flop circuits 6a and 6b operate in accordance with two pulse signals having phases deviating from each other by 180 degrees. Thus, the converter units 9a and 9b operate at a frequency substantially twice the operating frequency of their load.

Multi-phase DC-DC converter and control circuit for multi-phase DC-DC converter


The present invention provides a high-pressure piston-cylinder assembly for compaction treatment comprising a cylinder comprising a plurality of sections which are longitudinally stacked and joined to form the cylinder; a piston configured for moving in and along the cylinder; and a base configured for being coupled with the cylinder to provide mechanical support to the cylinder; wherein each of the sections includes one or more releasing channels for releasing of liquid or gas fluid generated during compaction treatment. The high-pressure piston-cylinder assembly is sealed by one seal having a helical coiled sealing ring structure tightly encircling the piston, and another seal encircling a cylindrical sealing block protruded from the base and into the cylinder. The resulting piston-cylinder assembly can be more effectively manufactured, has better durability and tolerance in high-pressure operation.

Piston-cylinder technology has been applied in internal combustion engines, hydraulic seals, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, pneumatic cylinders, and other similar assemblies. A conventional piston-cylinder assembly includes a piston moving in and along a cylinder and is made gas or fluid tight by piston rings.
When use in some applications, such as waste compaction or food processing, the cylinder may be subject to an extreme high pressure. To enhance the pressure capacity, simply increasing the cylinder wall thickness would be ineffective and impractical as at higher values of internal pressure, small increase in pressure requires large increase in wall thickness. One option may include selecting a material of high yield strength for making the cylinder. For example, fabrication of conventional pressure vessels from nickel-based superalloys allows for operation at a maximum temperature of about 550 degrees Celsius and a maximum pressure of about 0.5 GPa. However, nickel-based superalloys are very expensive and are difficult to machine, limiting the maximum practical size and greatly increasing the cost. On the other hand, the piston rings installed around the piston are traditionally rubber O-rings which may result in leakage problem at high internal pressure because the rubber will be squeezed out of gap between the cylinder wall and the piston when exposed to an internal pressure at above 450 Pa. Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved piston-cylinder assembly with enhanced pressure capacity and higher manufacturability.


A water treatment control system includes an aerobic tank in which aerobic treatment is carried out, an aerobic tank aeration device that aerates to-be-treated water in the aerobic tank, a membrane filtration tank including a separation membrane that filters the to-be-treated water treated in the aerobic tank, a membrane filtration tank measurement instrument that measures the ammonia concentration of the to-be-treated water in the membrane filtration tank, as a membrane filtration tank ammonia concentration measurement value, and an aerobic tank aeration air volume calculation device that sets the aerobic tank aeration air volume of the aerobic tank aeration device on the basis of the membrane filtration tank ammonia concentration measurement value.

One known method for treating sewage such as domestic wastewater is an aerobic organism treatment technology in which wastewater and activated sludge are mixed together, and the mixture is then air blown (aeration process), thus allowing bacteria to adsorb and biodegrade organic matter in the water. Urea, which is one of the organic matter to be treated, is degraded to ammonia by urease, which is a urea-degrading enzyme. Moreover, ammonia is oxidized into nitrite ions or to nitrate ions by nitrifying bacteria. This process is called nitrification. As urease and nitrifying bacteria consume oxygen consumption during degradation and/or nitrification of sludge, a required amount of dissolved oxygen needs to be supplied by aeration of the aerobic tank using a blower.
In addition, a membrane separation activated sludge method is used as one sewage treatment method, in which a separation membrane is used to perform membrane filtration to carry out solid-liquid separation on the sludge in the water. For the membrane separation activated sludge method, contaminants adheres to the surface and inside pores of the separation membrane as a result of continued use of the separation membrane, thereby causing clogging (fouling) in which case filtration performance will be gradually reduced. As a method for reducing such fouling, aeration is performed from under the separation membrane, using a blower to remove the material adhered to the surface of the separation membrane by means of bubbles and an updraft of the to-be-treated water.


A system for performing stroke determination and cylinder determination by using intake pressure as a parameter, in order to provide a stroke determination system for a four stroke cycle engine by which accurate determination can be achieved.

The present invention relates to a stroke determination system for a four stroke cycle engine, particularly to a stroke determination system for a four stroke cycle engine which is suitable for determining the stroke of a multi-cylinder V-type engine having ignition timings at irregular intervals.
In a four stroke cycle engine adopting an electronic fuel injector, determination of the stroke has been carried out based on both the phase of a camshaft of the engine and the phase of a crankshaft. On the other hand, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 10-227252 proposes a stroke determination system in which the phase of the camshaft is not detected. The intake pressure detected this time in a specified phase of the crankshaft is compared with the intake pressure detected one period before, and determination of the stroke and determination of the cylinder are conducted according to the magnitude relationship between the two intake pressures. By this system, the need to dispose a sensor for detecting the phase of the camshaft, in the cylinder head of the engine, is eliminated, and it is made possible to achieve reductions in the size and weight of the engine.
In the above-mentioned related art, determination of the stroke and determination of the cylinder are performed based on the subtle magnitude relationship between the two values of intake pressure. In this case, the intake pressure depends not only on the stroke of the engine but also on the running condition, i.e., whether the present condition is an accelerating condition or not, or whether the present condition is a decelerating condition or not. Therefore, there has been the technical problem that, where it is intended to discriminate the stroke and the cylinder on the basis of only the intake pressure irrespectively of the running condition, a confirmation work by carrying out a multiplicity of actual machine tests is needed, leading to an increase in the number of development steps.
Further, there is also the technical problem that, where it is intended to compensate an actually measured value of intake pressure for a value in a standard condition on the basis of a lot of data obtained through actual machine tests, the arithmetic load on an ECU is increased.

Stroke determination system for four stroke cycle engine


Systems, methods, and software for operating a mobile device to control industrial automation equipment are provided herein. In a first example, a mobile device application comprising program instructions executable by a mobile device is provided. When executed by the mobile device, the program instructions direct the mobile device to obtain industrial device information corresponding to an industrial device within an automation environment, and display the industrial device information on a display of the mobile device.

Industrial automation environments can include various machine systems, industrial automation devices, and industrial processes, such as those found in factories, milling operations, manufacturing facilities, and the like. These machine systems and industrial automation devices typically include an operation or process implemented by a mechanical or electrical device. Specific examples of these devices and systems can include various functions of machinery associated with industrial automation including manufacturing equipment, assembly equipment, milling equipment, process equipment, and packaging equipment, or other machine systems.
Typically, these industrial devices are controlled by a human operator via a control system, such as a control panel including various human-machine interface elements. These human-machine interface elements can include switches, knobs, touch panels, displays, indicator lights, or other interface elements. Intelligent control systems can be used, such as microcontroller-based control panels. Control systems can be located remotely from the industrial devices, and communicate with industrial devices over communication links. In further examples, Rockwell Automation PanelView systems can be employed to control and visualize the operations of industrial devices.

Software, systems, and methods for mobile visualization of industrial automation environments


A spin-dryer includes an external drum, an internal drum and a spinning unit. The external drum includes a containing chamber. The internal drum is rotationally inserted in the containing chamber. The internal drum includes a spinning chamber, apertures in communication with the spinning chamber, and a lower axle rotationally inserted in the external drum. The spinning unit includes a motor inserted in the external drum, a driver gear operatively connected to the motor, and a follower gear connected to the lower axle and engaged with the driver gear.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a spin-dryer and, more particularly, to a structurally simple spin-dryer for quickly spin-drying and sterilizing towels to improve personal hygiene.
2. Related Prior Art
People wet towel when they take showers. To dry the towels after the showers, people generally twist the towels to squeeze water out of them and then just air-dry them. However, the twisting is inadequate for squeezing the water out of the towels, particularly when they are large and thick. Moreover, air-drying is insufficient if a towel is left in a bathroom which is generally humid for not including a window, particularly in an urban area. Hence, the towels remain wet for long periods of time, and fungus and bacteria grow in the towels and the towels get dirty and stinky.
A washer/dryer can of course be used to spin-dry towels. However, a washer/dryer is often too bulky for a bathroom which is generally small, particularly in an urban area. Moreover, it is a waste to use a washer/dryer to spin-dry towels only. With all these factors considered, it is not practical for a user to spin-dry a towel after a shower every time.
The present invention is therefore intended to obviate or at least alleviate the problems encountered in prior art.


A locking assembly includes a guiding post and a hollow locking member. The guiding post includes a locking portion. A clamp hook is formed on a flange of the locking portion. The locking member includes an opening end. The locking member sleeves on the locking portion of the locking member, in which at least one clamping depression is formed on an inner wall of the locking member corresponding to the clamp hook, and the clamp hook is clamped in one clamping depression.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to locking assemblies, and particularly to a locking assembly for locking the circuit board in an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Circuit boards are usually locked within the housing via screws in the electronic devices. During assembly or disassembly of the circuit boards, the screws are fastened or disassembled by means of screwdrivers. The screws and the circuit boards are easily be damaged if the amount of power or force used when controlling or turning the screwdrivers is not adjustable during the assembly or disassembly of the circuit board.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Locking assembly and electronic device using the same

Fu Tai Hua Industry (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.


A wire harness routing device includes a rail in which an insertion hole is formed, a slider that is inserted into the insertion hole and that slides with respect to the rail, and a wire harness that is routed in the insertion hole and moves in accordance with sliding of the slider, and an excess length portion of the wire harness that is generated in accordance with movement of the wire harness deforms in the insertion hole and is held in a state in which it is accommodated in the insertion hole.

Conventionally, vehicles such as automobiles are provided with slidable seats, some of which are provided with electric components such as electric reclining devices, seat heaters, and the like. Wire harnesses, which connect these electronic components to devices and the like on the vehicle body side, move in accordance with sliding of the seats between the seats and the vehicle body, and thus a configuration for absorbing an excess length of a wire harness is provided between the seats and the vehicle body. In Patent Document 1, a seat leg portion and a wire harness covered with a protector are slidably accommodated in a lateral space formed by partitioning a space in a seat rail below the seat. An excess length absorption box is arranged at a position adjacent to the side of the seat rail, and when the seat leg portion is slid, the excess length portion of the wire harness is folded into a U-shape and accommodated in the excess length absorption box.


This disclosure provides a guard assembly and its individual guards for protecting a conveyor system, such as the center conveyor frame. Related methods of installing or removing the individual guards and the guard assembly are also provided.

A machine may include a conveyor system for receiving material from a source in a hopper and then transferring the material to a predetermined destination. For example, when building roadways, paving machines may be used to deposit significant amounts of paving material. A conveyor system on a paver transfers the paving material from the paver hopper for discharge onto the roadbed. A typical paving material includes asphalt or asphalt concrete.
An asphalt paver at the construction site is generally a state-of-the-art self-propelled construction machine designed to receive, convey, distribute, profile and partially compact the asphalt material. The paver accepts the asphalt material into a receiving hopper at the front of the machine, conveys the material from the hopper to the rear of the machine with parallel slat conveyors, distributes the asphalt material along the width of an intended ribbon or mat by means of two opposing screw or spreading conveyors, and profiles and compacts the asphalt material into a mat with a free-floating screed.
Each slat conveyor that moves the asphalt material from the receiving hopper to the rear of the paving machine generally consists of two parallel slat chains with a multitude of transverse slats connected therebetween. Each slat chain is pulled by one of two sprockets mounted on a common shaft which, in turn, is driven by appropriate power transmission chains, gear boxes or the like.
Asphalt itself is usually a black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid. It is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits. When used in road construction, asphalt usually functions as a binder for a gravel or rock base. The raw material mixture is referred to as a "bituminous aggregate," and the finished road surfacing material is usually called "asphalt concrete." The bituminous aggregate is typically stored and transported at temperatures around 150° C. to prevent hardening. Thus, the asphalt material conveyor system needs to withstand the high-temperature and rough gravel or rock particles bound within the aggregate the mix is being dumped into the hopper, and more particularly, as the abrasive mix moves through the conveyor system. It is also desirable to have a conveyor system with features that facilitate the transfer of the molten aggregate material from the hopper to the roadbed to minimize the amount of leftover asphalt material (which forms cold asphalt build-up) in the conveyor system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,453,939 describes two conveyors on a paver that are separated by a horizontal wall and paving material is confined thereon by shield plates inclined downwardly from the side walls and a divider wall between the two conveyors. The shield plates appear to protect the side walls and the divider walls from the paving material. But it is not clear whether or how these shield plates can be readily or individually removed when repair or replacement is needed.
For other conveyor systems, it may also be desirable to include a shield or guard system to protect certain parts of the conveyor systems from the bulk material they are designed to transfer.
The present disclosure is directed to addressing one or more needs discussed above.


A method for determining airflow to a cylinder of an internal combustion engine, such airflow passing to the cylinder through an intake manifold. The method includes providing a model of the intake manifold, such model providing a relationship between expected output airflow from the intake manifold in response to airflow into the intake manifold; determining from the model the expected output airflow from the intake manifold from a previous commanded airflow into the intake manifold; determining a compensation airflow required for the input airflow to the intake manifold to drive the expected output from the intake manifold towards the desired cylinder airflow; and providing such compensation airflow to the intake manifold.

As is known in the art, Electronic Throttle Control (ETC) offers many benefits in delivering an accurate airflow requested by the driver via accelerator pedal interaction. Matching the driver requested airflow during both steady-state and transient operation helps to give the driver a sense of a direct connection with the vehicle.
More particularly, when there is a disturbance in the system to affect airflow or a transient desiring more airflow, normally, one opens the throttle to the appropriate setting and then has to wait a few cycles for the manifold to fill up. This produces an undesirable delay to the driver. A technique for reducing the delay due to manifold filling is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,611. In this patent it is described to move outlet flow control devices, such as variable cam position mechanisms, in order to achieve a quicker manifold filling response to a step change in throttle area or angle at the inlet to the manifold. While this method is effective at decreasing manifold filling delays, it can have the potential to degrade fuel economy and emissions by placing outlet control devices, such as variable cam timing mechanisms, in transient positions.
Now that there are electronically controlled throttles, what can be done is to swing the throttle valve open farther than the steady state position and to load the system with air. Then, the throttle valve reverts back to where it needs to be to satisfy driver demand once the manifold filling transient condition is completed. A method to do this in relation to a variable cam timing (VCT) transition is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,071. This patent describes a mechanism for cancelling out disturbances in manifold outlet flow by means of the electronic throttle, however it requires a relatively high computational load on the powertrain control module (PCM) or engine control unit (ECU).
As is also known in the art, many ETC systems employ a control method called "Pedal Follower", in which a pedal movement directly translates to a requested throttle position. This method allows for a square-edged response in throttle position for a square edged input to the pedal. Another major ETC system is known as "Torque Based", in which a pedal movement is translated to a desired torque (either indicated torque or brake torque at a potential variety of points in the powertrain: engine flywheel, transmission output shaft, or at the wheels). The end result is a desired cylinder airflow, which is then scheduled via the throttle. Many existing systems directly schedule the throttle to achieve the steady-state cylinder flow that is desired. This provides for stable scheduling, but sacrifices transient response, as manifold filling lag occurs between the time that the throttle is placed in the steady-state flow position and the time when the steady-state flow is achieved.
One known method for compensating for transient inaccuracy is to use closed-loop feedback on a sensor which gives information as to the state of the manifold, such as a mass air-flow sensor or manifold absolute pressure sensor. This method certainly can give very reasonable delivery of the desired cylinder flow during transient airflow requests; however, in the closed loop compensation method the fact that closed-loop control method uses feedback will always have a delay in air-mass matching. Also, sensors used in the feedback control can experience drift, noise, and failure which can cause undesirable throttle control under these conditions.

Method and system for transient airflow compensation in an internal combustion engine


Disclosed an apparatus and method of rendering user interface for playing the broadcast program, which is effective to enable a user to view the broadcast program without being limited to the past or future time zone, in the case that a user makes the current viewing point be located in the past or future time zone compared to the current broadcasting point when the broadcast program is played.

Recently, broadcasting programs (including video, audio, data or their combinations thereof) can be viewed (or watched in other word) or played regardless of the place where he/she views or plays them through computers (i.e., PCs, laptops, netbooks, tablet PC, etc.) and mobile terminals (i.e., smart phones, pads, dedicated terminals, etc.) as well as traditional televisions (TVs). In addition, broadcasting services can be provided through On-Demand method by virtue of Internet and IP network infrastructure advancements and the streaming technology development.
Hereinafter, for the convenience of descriptions, the meanings of television in the present invention can be understood as those including every possible device to view (or watch) the broadcast programs and all software applications capable of viewing (or watching) broadcast programs.
In the conventional case of viewing broadcast programs, broadcast programs for the parts that have already been broadcasted (i.e., programs having been broadcasted in the past time zone) could become to be viewed at any time by playing the recorded broadcast programs using the televisions embedding DVR (Digital Video Recorder) features. That is, as described above, in the case that a user wants to play the broadcast programs that have already been recorded, a user can change the viewing (or playing) point to the past time zone or select a desired part of the recorded broadcast program and then view the selected part again at the desired speed.
However, it is not being supported to view the part of the broadcast program (i.e., future time zone of the broadcast program) that has not yet been broadcasted. In other words, even though the broadcast program that has been broadcasted in the past time zone can be viewed by selecting the point that was broadcasted in the past as a viewing point, the parts of the program after the current broadcasting point (i.e., future time zone) could not be viewed. That is, the conventional method could not select the viewing point in the future time zone of the broadcast program, thereby the future time zone of the broadcast program could not be viewed. Due to the above reasons, it was uncomfortable for a user to view a broadcast program.
Meanwhile, Korean patent application KR2009-0094255, as a conventional technology, relates to a method of rendering a user interface for a media status, a display apparatus where the user interface is rendered, and computer readable recording media, it just displays the current playing and viewing positions of a media contents, and provides the information related to handle and process the media contents, but there is no suggestion related to the provision and process of the information for viewing the future point of a media contents.
Recently, that is, the concept that the viewing of broadcast program should always be viewed at same time as the program is broadcasted has been being gone, and it is recognized as the broadcast program that a user wants to view can be selectively viewed at any time. Therefore, while a user wants to selectively view the broadcast program that the user wants to view regardless of the broadcasting point, the conventional broadcast program interface rendering apparatus and method did not provide the means for which a user can move the broadcasting point to the future time zone(or region, period etc.) of the current broadcasting time.
Therefore, there need a user interface rendering process enabling a user to change the viewing point to the future time zone while the user is in the middle of viewing a broadcast program, as well as considering various issues (i.e., various items including the user's viewing preferences, service policy enforcement of broadcasting service companies, and technical constraints, etc.,) accompanied in the case of changing the viewing point to the future time zone.

Apparatus of rendering user interface for playing broadcast programs and the method thereof


The present invention has an object to determine whether image data is generated by data processing such as PDL, or optically captured scan-in image, for each area.. To achieve the object, a determining table is provided for distribution patterns of pixels having substantially the same pixel value for image data area composed of plural pixels. Then a reference area designating unit designates a reference area by selecting from input image data the pixel of interest having a pixel value and the reference pixels surrounding thereof. A same pixel value distribution generating unit compares the pixel value of the pixel of interest with the pixel values of the reference pixels in the reference area to generate a distribution pattern of the pixel having substantially the same pixel value. Next, a determining unit compares the generated distribution pattern with the distribution patterns held in the determining table to determine the reference area to be the image data generated by data processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which determines whether an input data is image data generated by data processing such as PDL image data, or optically scanned scan-in image data, more specifically to an apparatus which perform such determination for each of respective regions in an image data to allow such processing as encoding and decoding of image data containing both of the image partitions.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In order to reduce an amount of data, image encoding has been carried out for images containing computer generated (CG) image created for DTP (desktop publishing), or data of character image or drawing image described by a page description language (PDL), which is referred to as PDL image data hereinbelow, and image data digitally converted from a hard copy by means of a scanner (hereinafter, scan-in image). For instance, image data of size of A4, resolution of 400 dpi (dot per inch), 256 levels of gradation by 4 colors may require a storage capacity of approximately 64 MB, whereas encoding allows a significant reduction of storage capacity or of transmission time.
For such image encoding scheme, one of irreversible general encoding methods of colored multi-value image data is JPEG-DCT method, described in "International Standard of Multimedia Encoding", pp. 18-43, Maruzen books.
JPEG-DCT method which is irreversible encoding method may achieve some better encoding efficiency for scan-in image data, while degradation of image quality may be occurred for PDL image data. JPEG-Spatial method which is reversible encoding method may not result in degraded quality of PDL image data, but compression ratio of scan-in image data will be less.
In order to overcome the problem of discrepancy, encoding methods have been studied which combines irreversible encoding scheme such as JPEG-DCT method and reversible encoding scheme such as JPEG-Spatial method.
In general, an encoding method combining reversible and irreversible encoding methods performs appropriate encoding for input image data by separating it into three types of data of: scan-in image data; PDL image data; and TAG data which is a bitmap switching between scan-in image data and PDL image data.
An exemplary image processing apparatus of the prior art is presented in FIG. 14, which performs an encoding scheme as described above.
In FIG. 14, reference numeral 101 designates to input image data, 102 to a separator circuit for separating input image data into scan-in image data, PDL image data, and TAG data, 103 to scan-in image data, 104 to PDL image data, 105 to TAG data, 106 to an encoder for encoding scan-in image data with a predetermined method, 107 to an encoder for encoding PDL image data with a predetermined method, 108 to an encoder for encoding TAG data with a predetermined method, 109 to encoded scan-in image data, 110 to encoded PDL image data, and 111 to encoded TAG data.
More specifically, input image data 101 is entered into the separator 102 which in turn separates it into scan-in image data 103, PDL image data 104, TAG data 105 which contains switching information between the scan-in image data portion and the PDL image data portion.
The scan-in image data 103 is encoded by the scan-in image encoder 106 with an irreversible encoding method such as JPEG-DCT, to output encoded scan-in image data 109. The PDL image data 104 is encoded by the PDL image data encoder 107 with a reversible encoding method such as JPEG-Spatial to output encoded PDL image data 110. Also, TAG data 105 is encoded by the TAG encoder 108 to output TAG encoded data 111.
As can be seen from the description above, scan-in image portion and PDL image portion within an input image is separated for each pixel by the TAG information in order to appropriately encode independently with an most effective encoding scheme.
More specific exemplary image processing apparatus as described above has been described in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 5-308529 (1993), which will be described below with reference to accompanying FIG. 15.
In FIG. 15, reference numeral 120 designates to input image data, 121 to a block forming circuit, 122 to a one-block-delay circuit, 123 to a histogram calculator, 124 to an extracted color determining circuit, 125 to a bitmap data encoder, 126 to a color data encoder, and 127 to a natural image data encoder.
In this image processing apparatus, input image data 120 is partitioned into 8 by 8 pixel blocks through the block forming circuit 121. For these block data, while the one-block-delay circuit 122 delays by one block, the histogram calculator 123 calculates a histogram of the pixel value in the input block data to transmit to the extracted color determining circuit 124 image data of maximum frequency of histogram. In the extracted color determining circuit 124, the input image information is compared with pixel data inputted pixel by pixel in which frequency of the histogram becomes maximum, if a match occurs then the pixel is encoded as "1", if not the pixel is encoded as "0" for transmitting to the bitmap data encoder 125. The bitmap data encoder 125 encodes such bitmap data to output TAG code data 131.
The density data computed in the histogram calculator 123 is also transmitted to the color data encoder 126 to be reversible encoded therein to be output as PDL image code data 130.
Furthermore, input image data grouped in blocks is transmitted to the natural image data encoder 127 to be irreversibly encoded to be output as scan-in image code data 129.
It should be appreciated that, in addition to the extraction of the PDL image data portion in the input image data by means of a histogram, there are known technologies extracting characters as technologies of digital copying machines for rendering high quality image. For example, a method described in the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-10765 (1992), separating an image into areas including characters and areas not including characters for providing high quality printing images, an area being determined as characters are treated such as edge enhancement and high resolution printing (400 dpi) in order to obtain high quality results.
In this method of the prior art, the process is performed by determining the distribution of density value for each respective pixel of image data and extracting areas where density value is abruptly changing as outline of characters.
However, the former method of the prior art of Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 5-308529 has problems enumerated as (1) through (3) as described below, while the latter of Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-10765 has problem as described below as (4):
(1) As the pixel having maximum frequency of the histogram is extracted, PDL image data comprised of plural color components may not be extracted.
For example, in the method above, only one line may be extracted for a PDL image data, even if there were plural lines of different colors. In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, part of image where density value of each of pixels is changing gradually as a gray scale, PDL image data cannot be extracted.
(2) Block distortion may often occur because the process is preceded by grouping of image data into blocks.
For example, as shown in FIG. 18, assuming that there are blocks A to D for determining the area in the image data, each block has 8 by 8 pixels, and that the shaded part shown in the figure is PDL image data. Then block C and block B have not enough number of pixels in the shaded area so that the shaded area may be determined to be PDL image data. However, in block A, the shaded area contains only one pixel, so that the area will be determined as a part of scan-in image data.
As a consequence, only pixels in the block A in the scan-in image data portion are irreversibly encoded. This results in that only one pixel in the PDL image of the shaded area which is a continuous drawing, and that apparently prompt degradation of image quality may be obtained.
(3) The large computation is required for determining the maximum frequency.
The worst case may require the number of computation of the determination of the equality of up to 2016 times, and the number of computation of the comparison of up to 63 times. This may cause the load of the process to be increased, as well as the processing time to be augmented.
(4) Extracted portion and PDL image area do not match because of extraction of the outline of character image.
For example, as shown in FIG. 19, an outline is extracted from character image. Since there exists areas inside a character which are not yet extracted, the encoding efficiency of the reversible encoding may be decreased when considering the entire image of that character. Also, outline is not extracted for the area of gradually changing as shown in FIG. 17, so that it will not be extracted as PDL image.


A spirometer for measuring fluid flow, particularly associated with exhalation of respiratory patients. The spirometer of this invention preferably has a fluidic oscillator wherein the fluid oscillates within a chamber of the fluidic oscillator. An oscillation frequency of the fluid flow within the chamber is correlated to a flow rate. A computer is used to process input data, such as data representing frequency of the oscillatory flow within the chamber, to a flow rate passing through the spirometer. The spirometer of this invention may have no moving parts, which results in the need for only a design calibration and no periodic calibrations throughout use of the spirometer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a spirometer, particularly a fluidic oscillator spirometer, for measuring respiratory flow rates.
2. Description of Related Art
In the United States, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) sets guidelines and standards for treatment of people with respiratory disease. ATS guidelines suggest that lung function should be monitored regularly for patients with known respiratory disease. Patients use daily home monitoring of peak flow to periodically check respiratory flow.
Patients and doctors use three main types of conventional devices to assess lung function: standard spirometers, monitoring spirometers, and peak flow meters. Standard spirometers, often used in a medical office, provide the most reliable results. However, standard spirometers are relatively expensive and require significant user training for proper operation. Standard spirometers are not portable and often require the user to own a computer to operate the spirometer.
Standard spirometers produce the most accurate results when assessing lung function. However, the cost of a standard spirometer ranges from about $ US 2,000 to about $ US 10,000, and thus are not readily available or practical for daily home use. Also, standard spirometers can become less accurate as respiratory flow rates become relatively low. Patients with respiratory disease often can achieve only relatively low flow rates during exhalation, and thus the standard spirometer operates in a less accurate range.
The standard spirometer uses a pneumotachigraph, in which fluid flows through hundreds of small tubes and the flow rate is determined by measuring a pressure drop across the tubes. In pneumotach spirometers, air that flows through the tubes is moist and often full of mucus debris. The tubes can become clogged with the mucus debris, which further reduces the accuracy of the standard spirometer. Also, such standard spirometers are difficult to clean and sterilize, primarily because they must be disassembled for thorough cleaning.
Standard spirometers require daily calibration of a pressure drop across the pneumotach. The calibration process is time-consuming and awkward.
Monitoring spirometers are relatively new for pulmonary medicine. The corresponding devices are relatively small and thus portable, and more conducive for home monitoring uses. However, monitoring spirometers are less accurate than standard spirometers. Most monitoring spirometers are used to manually record spirometry values which are typically displayed, for example on a relatively small liquid crystal display. Also, manual recording of spirometry values requires diligent compliance on a daily routine. Because home compliance is a significant problem with daily physical activities at home routines, manually recorded results are often inaccurate and result in an incorrect diagnosis.
Most monitoring spirometers simply report spirometry values. A common measurement in lung function testing is Forced Expiratory Volume in one second (FEV1.0), which relates to the volume of air that a patient can forcefully exhale during the first second of exhalation. However, information contained in the FEV1.0 value is not as useful to the physician as a graph of the time-volume curve for each day. The time-volume curve can convey to the physician the nature of the disease but in contrast, a simple number value cannot convey such information. Most standard spirometers produce a time-volume curve but most monitoring spirometers do not produce a time-volume curve.
Conventional peak flow meters can be used to assess lung function. Peak flow meters are relatively inexpensive, portable devices that set the current standard for home monitoring. Peak flow meters measure only a maximum flow rate that a patient can achieve during forceful exhalation. The maximum flow rate measurement provides relatively little useful diagnostic information. However, some physicians believe that because diagnostic results obtained using a measure of peak flow rate are not worth the time, effort and expense involved, patients may avoid use of peak flow meters when performing daily tests.
Some pulmonary physicians believe that daily monitoring of lung function is potentially as beneficial to individuals with lung disease as daily monitoring of blood sugar levels is to individuals with diabetes mellitus, particularly if the respiratory monitoring device can provide diagnostically useful information in a reliable form. It is apparent that there is a need for a spirometer that is relatively small, portable, inexpensive and that can accurately measure, process and record respiratory flow rates.