The present invention relates generally to the timber products industry, and particularly to methods and apparatus for the separation of bast fibers. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for use in the separation of inner core from outer bast of bast plants using soaking, cutting, and scrimming methods and apparatuses.

The present invention relates generally to the timber products industry, and particularly to methods and apparatus for the separation of bast fibers. Fibers and other materials from plants such as kenaf, flax, hemp, sisal, jute, ramie, bamboo, and even banana and cotton stalks, can be successfully used to create a wide range of products. These alternative plants are commonly referred to as "bast plants," or dicotyledonous plants, which are flowering plants with net-veined leaves.
Bast plants are comprised of two primary fibrous elements: the outer fiber, similar to bark or skin, referred to as "bast," and the inner fiber, referred to as "core." Both of these elements can be used for different and varying purposes, and to create a wide range of products. The core from the bast plants may be used to make paper, polyesters and other fabrics, or to create reconstituted or reconsolidated paneling and wood products, or it can even be burned as fuel. The bast of the bast plants may be used to make rope, yarn, or burlap, or to manufacture lightweight and burnable materials, preferably including car parts such as dashboards, door panels, seat linings and seat backs.
Bast plants are preferable for use for many reasons. First, as mentioned, the bast and core can both be used to create a variety of different products. Second, many bast plants have phenomenal growth rates, typically reaching a harvestable height of 12-18 feet in approximately 150 growing days, whereas other organic materials such as pine or other timber generally cannot be harvested for 7-40 years. Because bast plants grow so quickly, they are a vastly renewable resource. Also, bast plants typically contain low amounts of lignin, which is the resin that binds cellulose fibers in plants and trees together. Lower amounts of lignin makes it easier to separate the core during processing, and makes it easier to further process the core at a later time as compared to other organic materials. Additionally, bast plants characteristically yield 3-5 times more usable material per acre than pine and other timbers. Bast and core are also very lightweight, thus making them easier to transport and store as compared to heavier fibers and timber.
However, current manufacturing processes are unequipped to effectively process bast plants. The bast and core are both useful for different purposes and to create different products, but the compositions of the bast and core are such that the two components must be separated from each other to be processed effectively and efficiently. Also, this separation must be accomplished without damaging or altering the biological makeup of either component.
An inherent property of a bast plant is that the bast is extremely difficult to separate from the core. Most previous processes separated the bast from the core by a human labor process called "retting," which essentially involves soaking the bast plant for a long period of time and then hand-peeling or chopping the bast off of the core of the plant. This retting process is not only tedious and time consuming, but also inefficient as it prevents large amounts of bast fiber from being processed quickly and effectively because each bast plant must be individually peeled. Because of this long felt, but unresolved problem, industry has previously avoided the widespread use of bast plants.
Therefore, it is an aim of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus that effectively and efficiently separates bast fibers.

System and method for the separation of bast fibers


A slipform paver having a dowel bar inserter pan. The inserter pan has a plurality of dowel bar receiving stations therein. The inserter pan is movable relative to the suspended slip form such that the pan moves towards and away from the slip form during dowel bar insertion.

This invention relates to so-called slip form pavers having dowel bar inserters. More particularly, this disclosure sets for a chain feeder for a dowel bar inserter, which is contained within the transport profile of the slip form paver. This containment within the transport profile enables the dowel bar feeder to cycle once insertion has commenced and does not require unnecessary bolster extension.
Concrete slipform pavers are known. Specifically, such pavers include a xe2x80x9ctractorxe2x80x9d and a xe2x80x9cpaving kitxe2x80x9d.
Regarding the tractor, most concrete slipform pavers include a tractor, which is comprised of a rectilinear frame. This rectilinear frame has bolsters extending parallel to the direction of machine travel and cross beams extending across the paved roadway. The rectilinear frame thus straddles the concrete roadway or runway while it is paved. This frame is propelled and supported on either end by side crawler track(s). The frame supports a diesel engine driven hydraulic power unit, which supplies power to the tractor and paving kit.
The paving kit is typically suspended below the rectilinear tractor frame by mechanical means. The paving kit takes its hydraulic power from the power unit on the tractor. The tractor and paving kit comprise the slipform. This slipform passes over concrete placed in its path. The concrete is placed in a relatively even and level mass that can be conveniently paved. During this slipform process the tractor attached paving kit spreads the concrete dumped in the path of the paver, levels and vibrates it into a semi-liquid state, then confines and finishes the concrete into a slab with an upwardly exposed and finished surface. Sideforms mounted to the side of the slipform kit confine the sides of the slab during the paving process.
The tractor typically has either two or four crawler tracks supporting and propelling the frame and attached paving kit. Other kits can be attached to these tractors such as kits for conveying and spreading concrete and trimming and spreading base materials. For the purposes of this description, we will focus on the paving kit working in conjunction with a rear mounted, dowel bar inserter kit used for slipforming a concrete slab and concurrently inserting dowel bars in the plastic concrete across the slipform paved slab.
Dowel bar and tie bar inserters for such paving machines are known. Dowel bars are placed parallel to the direction of machine travel and ties bars are placed across the direction of machine travel. Specifically, three types of inserters for such bars are known. First, there is the tie bar inserter for the edge of the slab. This tie bar is placed transverse to the paving direction and enables tying of sequentially placed side-by-side slabs, one to another. This type of tie bar and tie bar inserter is not of concern here.
Second, there is the tie bar inserter for placing tie bars completely within the placed slab. A placed slab might be a two or more 12xe2x80x2 (3.657 mm) wide lane being placed concurrently in one pass. These tie bars are placed in a line transverse to the direction of machine travel. These tie bars enable a joint to be subsequently cut in the middle of the slab parallel to the direction of machine travel. Expansion of the slab across the dimension of machine travel is permitted. This type of tie bar and dowel bar inserter is not of concern here.
Finally, and the most difficult insertion problem is the dowel bar inserter for placing dowel bars parallel to the direction of machine travel. The dowel bars are simultaneously placed in a line (or row) on what are typically 12xe2x80x3 (305 mm) centers, across the entire slab being slipformed by the paver. These dowel bars enable a joint to be subsequently cut in the slab across the direction of machine travel. The dowels provide load transfer between the adjoining panels in the direction of machine travel.
This type of dowel bar inserter presents the most difficult insertion problem in any slipform paver. Additionally, this type of dowel bar inserter requires modification to be made to the slipform paver to attach the dowel bar inserter. In addition to this, great effort is required to attach or remove the dowel bar inserter from the slipform paver. It might take an additional two days to assemble a machine with a dowel bar inserter. This great effort has limited the dowel bar inserter""s acceptance on smaller paving jobs. In what follows, we first discuss the most modern pavers, which have been developed. Second, we turn to the prior art problem of dowel bar insertion. Third, we set forth the mechanical problem of attachment and removal of dowel bar inserters to known pavers, including the pavers summarized above.
In Guntert et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,977 issued Jan. 7, 1997 entitled Four Track Paving Machine and Process of Transport we have disclosed a portable slip form paver that used telescoping members in the direction of machine travel. A four track paver is disclosed having a frame which telescopes for transport to reduce the dimension of the machine in the direction of paving machine travel. A rectilinear tractor frame is provided. The frame includes four crawler tracks, one connected to each corner of the frame via a side bolster. The crawler tracks are directly supported on a hydraulic cylinder and mounted for pivotal movement about the vertical axis of the hydraulic cylinder. The frame telescopes at side bolsters between the leading and trailing crawler tracks at the sides of the machine. When expanded, the paving machine has the full dimension required for paving. When contracted, the paving machine has a profile allowing convenient transport. Most importantly, such expansion and contraction of the machine in the direction of paving travel does not require substantial paver or paver kit disassembly. As a consequence, a convenient method of loading and off loading to a hauling flatbed trailer exists. With the frame contracted at the side bolsters and the tracks pivoted parallel to the pavement spanning dimension of the frame, both frame and paving kit are elevated and a transporting flatbed trailer moved under the paver. Supports are installed to relieve the slipform paving kit from the full weight of the tractor frame, and the tracks lifted. There results a four track paver profile transportable within a maximum width envelope which can be legally transported on the highway without a pilot car (in the U.S.A. this is this is 12xe2x80x2 or (3.657 M.) This patent is incorporated by reference to this disclosure as if set forth in full.
In Guntert et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,972 issued Apr. 1, 1997 entitled Paving Machine with Extended Telescoping Members (see also U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,688) we have disclosed a portable slip form paver having an extendable width. A conventional telescoping frame on a paving tractor is provided with fixed frame cross beam extension members for insertion to and attachment with a telescoping frame member. The conventional telescoping frame includes paired forward and paired rear side-by-side female tube members. Each forward and rear tube member conventionally acts for the telescoping support of male extension members which attach directly to the side bolster, which in turn attaches to the hydraulic jacking columns and crawlers. Within the limits of expansion, the male extension members co-acting with clamps acting through the female tube members provide for both movement of the point of crawler support and expansion of the paving width of the tractor frame. Into this combination, extenders are added for attachment to the supported end of the male extension members interior of the female telescoping members. During frame width expansion, the male telescoping members are expanded to register their ends interior of the female telescoping members to attachment access ports in the female telescoping member. The extenders are inserted, supported, and registered at complimentary attachment apertures with attachment to the male telescoping members taking place. Once attachment has occurred, further extension of the male telescoping members occurs. A simple system of pinned cross bracing reinforces the extended frame with relatively light bracing members. When the telescoping members at both sides of the frame are provided with the extenders to extend the telescoping span of the paver, a tractor of greater expansion and range of expansion capability is provided. This width expansion obviates the need for fixed frame extensions, and permits frame expansion without heavy lifting equipment. This patent is incorporated by reference to this disclosure as if set forth in full.
Machines built to the specification of the above referenced patents require dowel bar inserters from time to time. Regarding such dowel bar insertion, the dowel bars must be placed parallel to the direction of machine travel. A line of dowel bars must be simultaneously inserted across the slab being formed. Typically, 12 to 34 or more such dowel bars can be inserted depending upon the width of pavement being paved. Center to center spacing of insertion between the dowel bars can vary. Variation can occur from about 12 inches (305 mm) on typical highway paving up to 18 inches (457 mm) for certain airport runways, aprons and taxiways. All such dowel bars must be inserted simultaneously by a mechanism, which remains is stationary with respect to the plastic concrete slab being continuously formed. Thus, the dowel bar inserter must be on rails, which permit dowel bar inserter travel in the direction of concrete placement by the machine.
Dowel bars are placed at relatively short intervals along the direction of machine travelxe2x80x94in the order of every 15 feet (4.57 M) of machine travel. Slipform pavers operate at speeds up to 15 feet per minute or more at times. It must be remembered that the individual dowel bars must be separately loaded at each insertion station between dowel bar insertions. In the prior art, such loading has occurred by a cart traveling across the empty dowel bar insertion stations located directly over a dowel bar inserter confining pan, which slides a top a recently formed slab. This cart has produced at least four difficulties in the past.
First, the cart may contains stacked bars or at least bars rolling against each other. As the stacked (or touching) bars are pulled across empty dowel bar insertion stations, the individual dowel bars drop into the stations. This dropping is not always uniform because of the contact between bars. For example, it is known to have one end of the bar drop from the car with the other end of the bar remaining in the cart. When such partial dropping of the bar occurs, the cart is jammed in its path of travel across the slab. Paving must stop until such jams are cleared.
Second, the cart must first distribute all the bars across the slab at a first and a lower speed (to prevent jamming) and then return to the loading side of the machine at a speed before insertion of the dowel bars into the slab can occur. Once the cart is out of the way of the insertion forks at the side of the paver, dowel bar insertion can occur with the inserters remaining stationary with respect to the slab. While the cart is in the process of returning from its distribution of dowel bars, no insertion of the distributed bars can occur.
Third, the cart protrudes from the side of the paver as the first insertion fork can be located as close as 6xe2x80x3 (15 cm) from the edge of pavement. Such protrusion must not interfere with the tracks. This being the case, the length of the bolster between tracks must be increased to accommodate that extra spatial interval required by the cart or the entire crawler track must be moved away from edge of pavement so the cart can clear the track. Furthermore, the protrusion of the cart and track for the cart from the side of the paver constitutes an obstruction to the side of the paver. Articles, such as fire hydrants or street light poles, close to the paving path of the paver must be removed. Such removal increases paving time and expense.
Fourth, the width of the cartxe2x80x94exceeding the length of the dowel barsxe2x80x94must be added to the path traveled by the dowel bar inserters during the required placement of the dowel bars to the slab. This means that the length of the dowel bar inserter in the direction of machine travel must be increased. Taking the case of a four track paver, the distance of the bolster extending in the direction of machine travel must be increased.
Placement of dowel bar inserters on existing pavers has also caused difficulty. To place such inserters on a conventional paver, substantial machine disassembly and modification must occur. First, the trailing finishing pan must be removed. Second, the conventional bolsters must be modified and extensions added to allow room in front of the rear crawler track to make room for the dowel bar inserter to work. These bolster extensions also support the dowel bar inserter kit. Third, because the rear crawler tracks have been moved back, a cross beam must be added between the rear bolsters to prevent the extended bolsters from twisting under load. Fourth, an optional spreader plow for the correcting beam must be added. Fifth, a correcting beamxe2x80x94the beam that establishes the final slab grade from the paver, after the dowel bar inserter inserts the barsxe2x80x94must be added. Thereafter, the trailing finishing pan is reattached behind the correcting beam. To fit these required pieces of the dowel bar inserter between the rear of the slipform conforming pan and ahead of the rear crawler track can increase the center to center distance between the front and rear crawler tracks by 20xe2x80x2 (6.10 M). The dowel bar inserter and its related attachments also necessitates two additional trucks to haul it.
This process of attachment of dowel bar inserters is sufficiently complex, that for relatively small paving jobs, dowel bar inserters are not used. Instead, such dowel bars are tied together and support on xe2x80x9cbasketsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cchairsxe2x80x9d and secured to the subgrade ahead of the slipform. The baskets hold the dowels in position at the center of the slab. Although, these dowel baskets assemblies are significantly more expensive than loose dowels and require significant labor to install the extra mobilization and transport cost of paver with a dowel bar inserter outweighs this extra cost on a small job.
In combination with a slipform paver, a new chain feeder is disclosed which is contained within the profile of a slipform paver and enables improved cycling time for the insertion of dowel bars. The chain feeder is used in combination with a plurality of dowel bar inserter stations. Each dowel bar insertion station includes an upper dowel bar shuttle with an upper shuttle bar opening for receiving a dowel bar and a lower dowel bar shuttle with a lower shuttle bar opening for permitting a dowel bar to fall through the lower dowel bar shuttle. A dowel bar inserter pan supports the lower dowel bar shuttle and defines a pan opening for permitting dowel bars inserted to the lower dowel bar shuttle to fall through the pan opening. A single file dowel bar path is provided immediately above the plurality of dowel bar inserter stations overlying the upper dowel bar shuttle for each inserter station. The feeder includes a plurality of feeding lugs for pushing dowel bars along the single file dowel bar path parallel to openings in the upper dowel bar shuttle. This enables dowel bars to fall into the upper dowel bar shuttle when the upper dowel bar shuttle is empty and to pass over the upper dowel bar shuttle at the upper shuttle bar opening when the upper shuttle bar opening is filled with a dowel bar. The feeder includes a plurality of feeding lugs along the single file dowel bar path to load the upper dowel bar shuttle successively with dowel bars for insertion to a slab formed under the dowel bar inserter pan. When the dowel bars are fully inserted, the upper dowel bar shuttle moves relative to the lower dowel bar shuttle. This permits the upper shuttle bar opening in the upper dowel bar shuttle and the lower shuttle bar opening in the lower dowel bar shuttle to move into registration one with another. Dowel bars fall from the upper shuttle bar opening in the upper dowel bar shuttle into the lower shuttle bar opening of the lower dowel bar shuttle through the pan opening in the dowel bar inserter pan and on to a slab formed beneath the dowel bar inserter pan. Thereafter, the dowel bar inserters place the dowel bars centrally of the recently slipformed slab.

Dowel bar inserter kit having chain feeder


A spiral wound membrane element and a method for cleaning a spiral wound membrane sheet are provided. The spiral wound membrane element comprising a perforated central tube; one or more membrane sleeves, each sleeve comprising two membrane sheets enclosed at two edges around a feed spacer sheet and wrapped around the central tube; a permeate carrier sheet attached to the central tube at a first edge opposite a second edge; and a seal on third and fourth edges of the permeate carrier sheet. The method comprises introducing two solution with different solute concentration to two sides of the spiral wound membrane sheet; establishing a concentration gradient between the first and second sides; communicating a first solvent from the first side to the second side to remove a foulant located on the second side of the membrane sheet; and collecting a waste stream that contains the foulant.

The following discussion is not an admission that anything discussed below is citable as prior art or common general knowledge.
A spiral wound membrane element is typically made by wrapping one or more membrane leaves and feed spacer sheets around a perforated central tube. The membrane leaves each have a permeate carrier sheet placed between two generally rectangular membrane sheets. The membrane sheets are typically sealed together along three edges. The fourth edge of the membrane leaves is adjacent to the central tube and open to the perforations. One or more layers of permeate carrier sheet can also be wrapped around the central tube to support the membrane leaf over the perforations in the central tube and to provide a flow path between the edge of the leaf and the central tube. An anti-telescoping device (ATD) may be attached at the ends of the membrane element to prevent telescopic unraveling of the membrane element.
Feedstock, also referred to as feed water, is introduced at one end of the membrane element and flows through the feed spacer sheets and along a feed-side of the membrane sheets. Some of the feedstock passes through the membrane sheets to form a permeate stream on a permeate-side of the membrane sheets. The remainder of the feedstock, referred to as the reject, retentate or brine stream, flows through the feed spacer sheets and out of an outlet end of the membrane element. The permeate stream flows along the permeate carrier in an inwardly spiraling flow. The permeate stream follows the permeate carrier until reaching and exiting the fourth edge of the membrane leaves and entering the central tube by the perforations. Within the central tube, the permeate stream is collected and transported towards an outlet end of the central tube.
The throughput or collection rate of permeate in a spiral wound membrane is related to the pressure applied across the membrane. However, the pressure required to drive the permeate flow through the permeate carrier, including from the edges of the permeate carrier, towards the central tube reduces the net driving pressure for permeate flow through the membrane.
Additionally, the feed-side surface of the membrane sheets may accumulate particles, also referred to as foulants, which can further decrease the net driving pressure for permeate flow through the membrane.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Spiral wound membrane element and method for cleaning spiral wound membrane sheet


The present invention provides a method and an associated time manager for managing a time relation between system times of different remote systems, including: at a first moment, obtaining a first value of a first system time and accessing a periodically updating reference counter to obtain a first count; at a second moment, updating the time relation by: obtaining a second value of a second system time along with a second count, and calculating a second value of the first system time by summing the first value of the first system time and an extrapolation interval calculated according to a difference between the first count and the second count. Thus, when synchronization with a first remote system ends, a fourth value of the first system time may be calculated according to a fourth value of the second system time and a previously stored time relation.

Modern mobile equipment, such as smart phone, wearable gadget (eye glasses, wrist watch, etc.), portable computer, tablet computer, hand-held game console, automobile navigation device, digital camera and digital camcorder, etc., is equipped with wireless accessibilities to different remote systems for various services, including mobile telecommunication systems of different generations (e.g., 3G and 4G) for interchanging voice, text messages, e-mails and/or data, global navigation satellite positioning system (GLASS) for locating, and/or local network system (e.g., Wi-Fi network system) for interchanging information.
To correctly and fully access and utilize services involving a remote system, the mobile equipment works as a terminal to synchronize with the remote system by adjusting local clock and/or local signal timing to keep on aligning timing received and/or retrieved from the remote system, e.g., aligning start, middle and/or end of symbol(s), frame(s), sub-frame(s), packet(s), beacon(s), pilot(s), header(s), delimiter(s) and/or synchronization word(s) in a remote signal received from the remote system. After achieving synchronization with a remote system, the terminal obtains a corresponding system time via synchronization with the remote system; for example, the terminal may obtain a value of the system time whenever timing alignment occurs during synchronization with the remote system, wherein value of the system will update (increase or decrease) with time, and therefore can reflect elapse of time. For example, if the remote system is a mobile telecommunication system, the corresponding system time may be valued in terms of SFN (system frame number), and timing alignments to the remote system may be achieved by performing frame synchronizations. If the remote system is GNSS, the corresponding system time may be valued in terms of TOW (time of week), and timing alignments to the remote system may be achieved by performing PVT (position, velocity, time) fixings. If the remote system is Wi-Fi network system, the corresponding system time may be valued in terms of symbol timing, and timing alignments to the remote system may be achieved by performing symbol synchronizations. When the synchronization with the remote system ends or is lost, e.g., when the terminal stops receiving remote signals from the remote system, the terminal cannot track and maintain the corresponding system time, since there is no remote signal for the terminal to align.

Method and associated time manager for managing time relation between system times of different remote systems


Continuously tunable and precisely wavelength-switchable fiber lasers combine fiber Bragg gratings and the transmissive filtering properties of high finesse fiber Fabry-Perot filters. This laser arrangement adapts to multiple wavelength ranges based on the selections of fiber Bragg grating and gain medium and their arrangement to create a wavelength-modulatable and simultaneously rapidly wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth all-fiber laser design. This laser arrangement further results in narrow-linewidth outputs with fast switching speeds between the selected wavelengths.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tunable fiber lasers.
This invention is made with government support under contract numbers MDA-972-94-1-0003 and MDA-972-98-1-0002, awarded by DARPA. The government may have certain rights in this invention.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tunable lasers have applications in a wide variety of fields, including optical communications and spectroscopy. For trace gas monitoring, compact tunable (20-30 GHz), wavelength modulatable sources with output powers on the order of approximately 100 xcexcW and linewidths better than 100 MHz are in great demand for wavelength modulation spectroscopy. The availability of high performance erbium-doped fiber amplifiers and pumped lasers allows for tunable fiber lasers. Modulation and switching of optical signals are basic functions in an optical communication system. Through modulation, the information to be communicated is expressed in one or more parameters of a light signal, such as the amplitude, the polarization, the phase or frequency of the field, or of the magnitude or spatial distribution of the power and/or intensity. Through switching, the light signal may be routed through a network of optical nodes and connections.
Precisely wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth laser sources are of great interest for many photonic applications, such as for tuning xe2x80x9con and offxe2x80x9d narrow absorption lines in spectroscopic measurements, including the monitoring of resonantly absorbing species in DIAL (differential absorption LIDAR)-type applications. Wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth laser sources are also critically needed for several applications in WDM-based (wavelength division multiplexed) fiber optic communication systems. Key requirements for such multi-wavelength switchable sources for WDM/DWDM systems are: (1) an accurate match with the wavelength channels on the WDM/DWDM ITU grid, (2) an arbitrary set of such channels, (3) a capability for switching reliably to any channel between such a pre-selected arbitrary set of channels, (4) low crosstalk, and (5) microsecond (or faster) switching speeds.
Past multi-wavelength switchable sources have in general been limited to schemes that are either difficult to scale to a large number of wavelengths, or have relatively slow (millisecond) switching speeds. Laser arrangements such as those found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,771 also require the use of stable external xe2x80x9cwavelength lockersxe2x80x9d to prevent wavelength drift from the FFPs PZT tuning assembly. Multi-frequency lasers based on integrated-optic arrays of DBR and DFB lasers, or SOA (semiconductor optical amplifiers arrays integrated with AWGs (arrayed waveguide gratings) seem to satisfy most of the above requirements. However, these are relatively difficult and expensive to manufacture, particularly in small volumes or for custom applications that may require a combination of numerous arbitrarily-spaced channels on the WDM/DWDM ITU grid.
Therefore, there is still a need for a rapidly switchable multi-wavelength source that is relatively easy to manufacture for any customized set of arbitrary channels on the ITU grid.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a rapidly switchable multi-wavelength source that is relatively easy to manufacture for any customized set of arbitrary channels.
It is a further object to provide precise wavelength switching and selectivity capable of achieving specifications needed for DWDM applications.
It is yet another object to provide continuously wavelength-tunable fiber lasers and rapidly and precisely wavelength-switchable fiber lasers.
It is yet another object to provide continuous wave output as well as pulsed laser source designs.
It is yet another object to provide for single-wavelength and multi-wavelength switchable and tunable emission.
It is yet another object to prevent wavelength drift from the FFPs PZT tuning assembly by providing stable wavelength intra-cavity filters through the use of fixed-wavelength fiber Bragg gratings.
It is yet another object to provide wavelength-modulatable and simultaneously rapidly wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth all-fiber laser design for ultrasensitive detection of single or multiple trace gas species.
It is yet another object to provide fine electronic tuning over a coarsely selected wavelength range.
It is yet another object to provide narrow linewidth outputs, superior power outputs, and lower RIN (relative intensity noise) than elaborate short cavity lasers.

Precisely wavelength-tunable and wavelength-switchable narrow linewidth lasers

Science and Technology Corporation @ UNM


An apparatus, system, and method for a communication network that includes a picocell range expansion configuration on authorized shared access. A method may include determining, in a controller, at least one allowable maximal range expansion bias value for at least one picocell within a coverage area of a macrocell. The method may also include sending the determined allowable maximal range expansion bias value for the at least one picocell from the controller to the macrocell. A further method may include receiving at least one allowable maximal range expansion bias value for at least one picocell from a controller. The method may also include updating, by a macrocell, a range expansion bias value for each picocell within a macrocell based on the received allowable maximal range expansion bias value.

1. Field
Certain embodiments relate to communication systems, such as Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE). More particularly, certain embodiments relate to a Range Expansion Bias (REB) reconfiguration method for LTE macro-pico Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets) in Authorized Shared Access (ASA)-aided spectrum sharing environments which can avoid causing harmful interference to any primary systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the evolution of LTE to LTE-advanced, carrier aggregation (CA) may be used to address wide bandwidth requirements. However, some operators have rather a limited amount of spectrum resources to be used for LTE, which conventionally makes it difficult to provide a high data rate for LTE systems. Therefore, some LTE systems are attempting to exploit more additional licensed spectrum as an extension of existing LTE licensed spectrum.
In one aspect, managing smaller cells (picocells, femtocells, and relays, etc.) in conventional macrocell networks is expected to provide better quality of service. With good deployment, capacity increases from low power nodes can be significantly improved. In another aspect, cognitive radio (CR) technology has been developed to allow unlicensed users to exploit spectrum opportunities from primary systems to enhance the spectrum utilization greatly. Authorized Shared Access (ASA) is a spectrum authorization scheme intended to solve spectrum scarcity on LTE band and spectrum under-utilization on additional licensed bands. ASA is intended to allow for a shared use of spectrum using cognitive radio technologies (for example, geo-location databases, sensing, and the like) based on an individual authorization model of spectrum rights, and can act as a regulatory enabler to making available, in a timely manner, harmonized spectrum for mobile broadband while overcoming time, resource and political constraints.
The introduction of picocells in a macro network may create an imbalance between the downlink and uplink coverage. The downlink coverage area of a Pico evolved Node B (PeNB) may be much smaller than that of a Macro evolved Node B (MeNB) due to factors such as low transmit power. However, the uplink coverage areas of different base stations (BSs) can be similar since the size of the coverage area may mainly depend on the user transmit power. On the other hand, PeNB resources may be not fully utilized due to the small number of pico users (PUE). To address these two issues, the 3GPP can use Cell Range Expansion (CRE) through biasing handover criteria between MeNBs and PeNBs on the same carriers. Using CRE, the cell association rule in the presence of picocells is based on the maximum downlink received power with a Range Expansion Bias (REB). This mechanism allows for flexible load balancing and sufficient resource utilization, and the REB values are configured by the MeNB to balance the traffic load between macrocell and picocell. Conventionally, the Almost Blank Subframe (ABS) is utilized to avoid inter-cell interference on both data and control channels of the downlink.

Picocell range expansion configuration on authorized shared access


This invention concerns improvements to gravity gradient instruments (GGI) and in particular to the accelerometers that are paired within these instruments. Accelerometers have a proof mass suspended by a spring within a magnetic field. An internal feedback loop provides a signal related to movement of the proof mass back through a reaction coil retaining the proof mass in the magnetic field, to maintain the proof mass stationary. An external feedback loop adjusts the accelerometer scale factor. The internal feedback loop provides second order compensation to the proof mass and the spring stiffness. In a further aspect the invention is a method of matching accelerometer pairs.

This invention concerns improvements to gravity gradient instruments (GGI), and in particular to the accelerometers that are paired within these instruments.
The GGI consists of two pairs of high quality, low noise, matched accelerometers mounted on a block. Each of the accelerometers has an internal feedback loop for proper operation, and an external feedback loop for trim adjustment of the accelerometer scale factor and alignment of the accelerometer sensitive axis.
The normal configuration has the accelerometers mounted in opposing pairs, and equally spaced around the circumference of a circle, with their sensitive axes tangential to the circle. In use the block is rotated about a spin axis which is perpendicular to the plane of the circle, and passes through the centre of the circle. The outputs of the accelerometers of each pair are differenced and the difference signals are then combined. The overall effect is that the large common mode accelerometer output signals cancel to a high degree of precision, so that the residual differences which constitute the gradient signal are observable.
The accelerometers must be matched in their pairs so that the current/acceleration transfer function is matched in amplitude and phase at all frequencies of interest, to an accuracy of 1 part in 1010. The mismatch in accelerometer pairs is a result of the difference of the internal feedback closed loop errors, and thus the mismatch is also inversely proportional to the open loop gain. The existing external feedback scale factor adjustment can degrade, by an order of magnitude, the high frequency ( greater than 1 Hz) lateral sensitivity for a 2% mismatch within the accelerometers. The influence of vertical acceleration on the accelerometers is an additional complicating factor.
The invention, as currently envisaged, is all accelerometer having a proof mass suspended by a spring within a magnetic field. An internal feedback loop provides a signal related to movement of the proof mass back through a reaction coil retaining the proof mass in the magnetic field, to maintain the proof mass stationary. An external feedback loop adjusts the accelerometer scale factor. Wherein, the internal feedback loop provides second order compensation to the proof mass and the spring stiffness.
The internal feedback path may include high gain to reduce errors in the accelerometer transfer function.
A compensator in the internal feedback loop may provide double pole and double zero compensation:                     m        1                          s        2              +          k      1                          m        0                          s        2              +          k      0
where:
m1 is the mass of the proof mass
k1 is the spring constant of the spring
m0 is a nominal proof mass and
k0 is a nominal spring constant.
The nominal proof mass and spring constant represent the accelerometer characteristics to which both accelerometers of a pair are to be matched in order that the two accelerometers are closely matched to each other.
In a GGI the compensation provided by the internal feedback loop may correct for the mass ratio (or Fo frequency ratio) mismatch between two paired accelerometers by providing the s2 loop gain term as a mass compensator. The compensation may also correct for the spring ratio by providing a loop gain term which lumps together variations in pick-off gain, integrator capacitors and spring constant, as a spring stiffness k compensator.
The components of the compensation network are typically resistors and capacitors. Variable components are introduced so that the break frequencies can be tuned over a +/xe2x88x925% range to match the masses m and the spring stiffnesses k of the accelerometer pairs to better than 0.5%. The closed loop gain blocks are trimmed in pairs to match the time constants to within 0.5%.
In a further aspect the invention is a method of matching accelerometer pairs, comprising the steps of:
Testing the pair of accelerometers in back to back fixtures on a horizontal shaker which is aligned to the same vertical angle as in the GGI.
Selecting the accelerometers on the basis of the best scale factor match at 0.5 Hz and the lowest lateral sensitivity at 10 Hz.
Applying horizontal excitation at 0.25 Hz, 1 Hz and 10 Hz (or higher) and detecting the system response with synchronous demodulation at the frequencies. A scale factor loop may be driven from the 0.25 Hz signal or it may be adjusted manually while the excitation is applied.
Adjusting second order mass compensation to minimise the in phase (I) and the quadrature (Q) components of the signal at 10 Hz.
Adjusting second order spring stiffness compensation to minimise the components at 1 Hz.
Iteratively repeating the adjusting steps to achieve matches better than 0.5%.
The external feedback path may provide the output signal, demodulated at the spin frequency xcexa9 by a demodulator, to correct for mismatches in the strength B of the magnets in accelerometers. This feedback loop may also compensate for some part of the mismatches in proof mass and spring stiffness.

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited


A combination clock and art set apparatus, including a clock face having a plurality of elements arranged to mark at least one time interval, and clock hands arranged for movement relative to the elements and one another to indicate a time. At least one element or at least one hand includes an artist""s implement. In an embodiment, at least one element or at least one hand can be removably secured to the face. In another embodiment, the apparatus includes a pair of adjustable straps that can be used to secure the apparatus to a back of a person.

The invention relates to artistic equipment and more particularly to painting sets that can be used as educational tools.
Painting sets are well-known and include paints, painting tools, and painting accessories that are retained and orderly stored in a suitable container. Due to the extended nature of commonly used paintbrushes and other artist""s implements, and in the interest of efficiently using available space, many containers are square or rectangular and organize the various stored components in a grid-like fashion. For example, paintbrushes and markers are lined up side by side according to size or characteristic, making it logical to store them in a square or rectangular container.
While such container shapes are efficient for the ordered storage of components, they make the containers difficult to carry unless the containers are very small. Of course, small containers can only carry small and/or a limited number of components. In order to facilitate the carrying of larger containers, the containers are typically fitted with external handles that can be gripped by a person""s hand. Unfortunately, carrying such containers in this manner eliminates the ability of the carrier to carry other items at the same time. Especially for children, who routinely visit a school or friends"" homes and wish to transport toys, games, and educational tools in additional to the painting set between such places, this can be limiting and frustrating.
Further, while such organizational arrangements enable many painting set components to be stored in a relatively small amount of space, they limit the use of such painting sets for educational purposes beyond the development of artistic abilities. Such containers typically are static containers that have no other functional purposes than to store painting set components and facilitate painting.
Therefore, there is a need for a painting set that can be easily and comfortably transported while freeing the carrier""s hands for carrying additional items or accomplishing other tasks.
There is also a need for a painting set that can be used for educational purposes beyond the development of artistic abilities. More particularly, there is a need for a painting set that can be used to teach a person how to use a clock.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a combination clock and art set apparatus. The apparatus includes a clock face having a plurality of elements arranged to mark at least one time interval, and clock hands arranged for movement relative to the elements and one another to indicate a time. At least one element or at least one hand includes an artist""s implement.
In an aspect of this embodiment, the face has twelve elements collectively marking twelve hour-long intervals.
In another aspect of this embodiment, the implement is a paintbrush or a marker.
In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the apparatus includes at least one handle that can be used to carry the apparatus.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, the apparatus includes a pair of adjustable straps that can be used to secure the apparatus to a back of a person.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, at least one element or at least one hand can be removably secured to the face. Preferably in this aspect, the elements can be removably secured to one another. Also preferably in this aspect, the apparatus includes rotateable clock hand holders mounted to the face and into which the hands can be removably secured, one into each holder.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, the apparatus includes a housing with which the face is associated. The housing includes at least one compartment that can contain at least one artist""s accessory or implement. Preferably in this aspect, the accessory is a sponge, a stencil, or a source of paint.
In another embodiment, the invention provides a combination clock and art set backpack. The backpack includes a clock body, at least one artist""s tool that can be removably secured to the body, and at least one strap that can be used to secure the body to a back of a person.
In an aspect of this embodiment, the tool is a paintbrush or a marker.
In another aspect of this embodiment, the strap comprises a pair of adjustable straps.
In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the body includes at least one compartment that can contain at least one artist""s accessory or implement. Preferably in this aspect, the accessory is a sponge, a stencil, or a source of paint.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, the backpack further includes a plurality of elements arranged on the body to mark at least one time interval, and clock hands arranged for movement relative to the elements and one another to indicate a time. At least one element or at least one hand includes the tool. Preferably in this aspect, the body has twelve elements collectively marking twelve hour-long intervals. Also preferably in this aspect, at least one element or at least one hand can be removably secured to the body. Also preferably in this aspect, the elements can be removably secured to one another. Also preferably in this aspect, the backpack further includes rotateable clock hand holders mounted to the body and into which the hands can be removably secured, one into each holder.
In yet another embodiment, the invention provides an apparatus that can be used to teach a person how to use a clock. The apparatus includes a body having a surface and a central axis, a plurality of elements arranged about the central axis on the surface at positions representing at least a portion of the numbers of a clock face, and clock hands mounted to pivot about the central axis so they can be pointed toward at least one of the elements. At least one element or at least one hand includes an artist""s tool.
In an aspect of this embodiment, the plurality of elements comprises twelve elements collectively marking twelve hour-long intervals.
In another aspect of this embodiment, the tool is a paintbrush or a marker.
In yet another aspect of this embodiment, the apparatus includes at least one handle that can be used to carry the apparatus.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, the apparatus includes a pair of adjustable straps that can be used to secure the apparatus to a back of a person.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, at least one element or at least one hand can be removably secured to the surface. Preferably in this aspect, the elements can be removably secured to one another. Also preferably in this aspect, the apparatus includes rotateable clock hand holders mounted to the surface and into which the hands can be removably secured, one into each holder.
In still another aspect of this embodiment, the body comprises at least one compartment that can contain at least one artist""s accessory or tool. Preferably in this aspect, the accessory is a sponge, a stencil, or a source of paint.
In yet a further aspect of this present invention, an art set includes artists"" implements in a case designed to provide education in the interaction of artists"" implements and the case or a portion thereof.


A failure determination system for a vehicle speed detection device, which, in a case where only one vehicle speed detection device is used, can always accurately perform failure determination of the device, and ensure a high marketability, while avoiding increases in manufacturing costs and product prices of the system. An ECU calculates an engine speed, calculates a detected vehicle speed based on a detection signal from a vehicle speed sensor, calculates an estimated total transmission gear ratio indicative of correlation between the detected vehicle speed and the engine speed, stores the estimated total transmission gear ratio, calculates a reference vehicle speed using a value of the estimated total transmission gear ratio, calculated predetermined times earlier, and the engine speed, and determines a failure of the sensor using a for-use-in-monitoring vehicle speed error which indicates an error between the reference vehicle speed and the detected vehicle speed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a failure determination system for determining a failure of a vehicle speed detection device.
Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a failure determination system for a vehicle speed detection device, disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2009-128239. This failure determination system is applied to a four-wheel vehicle of a rear-wheel-drive type, and includes a vehicle speed sensor for detecting a rotational speed of an output shaft of a transmission, four wheel speed sensors for detecting rotational speeds of the four wheels, respectively, an ABS (Anti-lock Brake System)-ECU connected to the sensors, and so forth. In the ABS-ECU, ABS control is performed based on detection signals from the four wheel speed sensors, in order to avoid occurrence of a locked state of the wheels.
Further, in the failure determination system, a first vehicle speed is calculated based on a detection signal from the vehicle speed sensor, and a second vehicle speed is calculated based on detection signals from two rear wheel speed sensors. In a case where predetermined failure determination conditions are satisfied, when the absolute value of a vehicle speed difference, which is a difference between the first vehicle speed and the second vehicle speed, is larger than a predetermined value, it is determined that the vehicle speed sensor is faulty.
In the recent functional safety standards (ISO26262), it is required to always monitor whether or not the vehicle speed sensor is faulty. To satisfy this condition, when the failure determination system disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2009-128239 is applied, two wheel speed sensors are required in addition to the vehicle speed sensor, since a failure of the vehicle speed sensor is determined by the above-described method. However, vehicles used e.g. in developing countries are each provided with a single vehicle speed sensor for detecting a vehicle speed thereof, but a large number of them have no wheel speed sensors other than the vehicle speed sensor, because of lower prices. When the above-described failure determination system is applied to such vehicles, it is required to add two wheel speed sensors, which causes increases in manufacturing costs and product prices, resulting in degraded marketability.

Failure determination system for vehicle speed detection device


An adaptive process control system and corresponding method for independent steering of plant control systems is provided, wherein a plant associated with the plant control system includes a plurality of interlocked elements of one or more operational unit of the plant. The operation of an operational unit is controlled by the plant control system by means of the elements interlocked to the plant control system, wherein the adaptive, independent process control system is accessible by a plant process engine including a plant controller unit connected via the supervisory control and data acquisition unit with at least one programmable logic controller of the plant control system. The operation of the plant and the operational units is controlled by means of the programmable logic controller and the plurality of interlocked elements.

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of computerized process control. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a secure architecture for a platform independent executing of process control operation and applications. Most particularly, the present disclosure relates to an adaptive process control system for independent steering of plant control systems, wherein a plant associated with the plant control system includes a plurality of interlocked elements of one or more operational unit of the plant. In these systems, the operation of the operational units are controlled by the plant control system via the elements interlocked to the plant control system. Finally, the disclosure is related to a generalized human machine interface based on the adaptive process control system.
In the last decade, significant advances in industrial process control technology have vastly improved all aspects of factory and plant operation. Before today's modern industrial process control systems, industrial processes were operated and controlled by humans and rudimentary mechanical controls. As a consequence, the complexity and degree of control over a process was limited by the speed with which a human could ascertain a present status of various process state variables, compare the current status to a desired operating level, calculate a corrective action (if needed), and implement a change to a control point to affect a change to a state variable. Improvements to the process control technology were enabling larger and more complex industrial processes to be controlled via programmed control processors. Control processors execute control and/or steering programs that read process status variables, execute instruction commands associated with control algorithms based upon the status variable data and desired set point information to render output values for the control points in industrial processes. Such control processors and programs support a substantially self-running industrial process. In spite of the ability of industrial processes to operate under the control of programmed process controllers at previously established operational parameters without human intervention, supervisory control and monitoring of control processors and their associated processes is desirable. Such oversight is provided by both humans and higher-level control programs at an application/human interface layer of a multilevel process control network. Such oversight is generally desired to verify proper execution of the controlled process under the lower-level process controllers and to configure the set points of the controlled process.
Manufacturing and process control systems are modified due to changes in the process control devices and the processes themselves. Thus, it is important to provide means for quickly configuring/re-configuring without touching unchanged portions of the system. It is also important to provide means for making such changes while minimizing disruptions to the operation of the industrial process, e.g., minimizing the time that the process stands idle. Further, in view of the need to continually improve supervisory process control and process/manufacturing information systems, there is a strong desire to not be locked into a single architecture for a supervisory process control and manufacturing information system. Process control systems change and it is desirable to have higher-level systems that adapt to such changes regardless of their magnitude. Furthermore, less flexible supervisory process control and manufacturing information system offerings require designers of process control installations to take into consideration the long-term requirements of an application because of the relative inflexibility of the application to modifications once it is installed. Such application inflexibility of plant control systems is undesirable though at the present point inevitable in the conservative industrial control systems market. The process control industry tends to pilot, and often the designers are not fully aware of the full extent and form of the automation that will ultimately be incorporated in a final installation. Later in the life of a plant, when new functionality is added the new control system components leverage or merge existing systems. In such instances where the process control system has changed significantly, there are advantages to incorporating a different architecture into the installed supervisory process control application. In prior art systems, the whole mostly manufacturer-specific plant control systems has to be costly rebuild by programming experts of the specific manufacturer.
An important feature of modern plant control systems are the so-called PLCs, i.e. the programmable logic controllers. The programmable controller is a electronic, digital processor unit used for automation of typically industrial electromechanical processes, such as control of machinery on factory assembly lines, steered robot production lines, or light fixtures. PLCs are used in many industries and machines. PLCs are designed for multiple analogue and digital inputs and output arrangements, extended temperature ranges, immunity to electrical noise, and resistance to vibration and impact. Programs to control machine operation are typically stored in battery-backed-up or non-volatile memory. A PLC is a so-called hard real-time system since output results must be produced in response to input conditions within a limited time, otherwise unintended operation will result. Before the development of PLCs, control, sequencing, and safety interlock logic for automated manufacturing lines etc. were mainly composed of relays, cam timers, drum sequencers, and dedicated closed-loop controllers. However, for more complex processes, there were hundreds or thousands needed of them, and the process for updating such facilities for the yearly model change-over was immensely time consuming and expensive, as electricians needed to individually rewire the relays to change their operational characteristics. With regard to the programmable aspect of the PLC, a PLC is more or less a small processor-based device with a built-in operating system. This operating system is highly specialized to handle the discussed incoming events in real time, i.e., at the time of their occurrence. The PCL is user programmable, allowing to control the operation of an associated plant or the like, whereas the PLC has said input lines where sensors are connected to notify upon events (e.g. temperature above/below a certain level, liquid level reached, etc.), and output lines to signal any reaction to the incoming events (e.g. start an engine, open/close a valve, etc.). PLC uses languages as e.g. "Relay Ladder or RLL (Relay Ladder Logic). As the name "Relay Ladder Logic" implies, the control logic of the earlier days, which was built from relays, is being simulated by the structure of the instruction commands of the RLL. Other instructions command structures for PLC of the state of the art are e.g. called "sequential function chart", "functional block diagram", "structured text", or "instruction list".
Thus, PLCs are devices for controlling or regulating machinery or industrial installations. The elements employed therefor are usually housed in what are referred to as modules, with a module being defined as a self-contained object that can in turn consist of individual subassemblies and components. A module is thus a constituent part of an industrial installation or automation system and serves, by means of its programmable logic controller, to control or regulate the relevant equipment and machinery belonging to the installation. Modules are the interfaces to industrial processes. A range of modules enables all kinds of functions to be accommodated on a modular basis. Modules thus support a wide variety of technological tasks and offer extensive communication possibilities. A module's practical deployment requires relevant components of the automation installation or system to be electrically connected to the module. For example, it is necessary for various sensors and actuators that are used for the purpose of automating an installation to be connected to the modules that are used for providing the control.
As mentioned, PLCs are typically used to control machinery. Control sequences to be performed by PLCs consists in instructional commands on instructions to turn on and off outputs based on input conditions and the internal control sequence. In contrast to normal programs, PLC control sequences are designed to be programmed once, and run repeatedly as needed. In fact, PLCs can control not only simple devices such as a garage door opener, but a whole building or plant, including switching lights on and off at certain times, monitoring a custom built security system, etc. However, PLCs normally are found inside of a machine in an industrial environment. A PLC can run an automatic machine for years with little human intervention. They are designed to withstand most harsh environments.
As mentioned above, the PLC structure still relays on the historic control of machines by relays. When the first electronic machine controls were designed, they used relays to control the machine logic (i.e. press "Start" to start the machine and press "Stop" to stop the machine). Though, a machine can need a wall covered by relays to control all of its functions, this basic technology is almost completely failure resistant. There are only a few limitations and disadvantage to this type of machine control, as (i) relays failure, (ii) the delay when the relay turns on/off, and (iii) there is a huge amount of relays needed to design/wire/troubleshoot. PLCs overcomes these limitations of relays setup by its machine-controlled operation.
However, also PLCs have disadvantages. In the recent years, PLCs were becoming more and more intelligent. PLCs have been integrated into electrical communications (e.g. data transmission networks). So, all the PLCs in an industrial environment can be plugged into a network, which is usually hierarchically organized. The PLCs are then supervised by a control center. There exist many proprietary types of networks and process control systems. One type, which is widely known, is SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition). However, most of the PLC still follows manufacture-proprietary designs. In general, a PLC is a purpose-built machine control processor driven device designed to read digital and analog inputs from various sensors, execute a user defined logic command sequence, and write the resulting digital and analog output values to various output elements like hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, indication lamps, solenoid coils, etc. As for the scan cycle, exact details vary between manufacturers, but most PLCs follow a 'scan-cycle' format. PLC's overhead includes testing I/O module integrity, verifying that the user command sequence logic has not changed, that the control unit itself has not locked up (e.g. via a watchdog timer), and any other necessary communications. Communications may include traffic over the PLC programmer port, remote I/O racks, and other external devices such as HMIs (Human Machine Interfaces). For the PLCs input scan, a snapshot of the digital and analog values present at the input cards is saved to an input memory table. For the logic execution, the user command sequence, i.e. program or algorithm, is scanned element by element, and sequentially operated until the end of the sequence, whereas resulting values are written to an output memory table. In PLCs, diagnosis and communication is used in different ways with variations in the use of logics, analytics, and experience to determine "cause and effect". Mostly, in PLC engineering, it is used to determine the causes of symptoms, mitigations, and solutions, which are then communicated to the input module and/or used to send appropriate messages to the output module for any incorrect data files variations. Finally, for the output scan, values from the resulting output memory table are written to the output modules. Once the output scan is complete the process repeats itself until the PLC is powered down. The time it takes to complete a scan cycle is called the scan cycle time ranging from hundreds of milliseconds (typically on older PLCs, and/or PLCs with very complex programs) to only a few milliseconds on newer PLCs, and/or PLCs executing short, simple code. Apart from these general features, which can be found by almost all PLCs, already the basic command instructions vary widely in their specific nomenclature and operational details between PLC manufacturers. In addition, often implementation details evolve from generation to generation. It is a major disadvantage of the prior art system, that especially for inexperienced PLC operators or programmer, it is quasi impossible to keep the nomenclature straight from manufacturer to manufacturer. Thus, there is a strong dependency to the manufacturer of the PLC to keep the operation of a system or plant, which is operated by the corresponding PLCs, running and up-to-date. So much the worst, if even only very simple parts have to be replaced, complemented, cut down or scaled, expensive operators form the manufacturer have to be paid to modify or adapt the PLC command instruction sequence.
SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition), as mentioned above, generally refers to a system operating with coded signals over communication channels to provide control of remote equipment, as PLCs, thereby using typically one communication channel per remote station. SCADA control systems may be combined with a data acquisition system by adding the use of coded signals over communication channels to acquire information about the status of the remote equipment for display or for recording functions (cf. B. Galloway et al., Introduction to Industrial Control Networks, IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, 2012, in the following incorporated by reference). SCADA refers to a special type of industrial control system (ICS). Industrial control systems are processor-based systems that monitor and control industrial processes existing in the physical world. However, SCADA systems distinguish from other ICS systems by being able to hold large-scale processes that can include multiple sites, and large distances. These processes include industrial, infrastructure, and facility-based processes, whereas (i) industrial processes include manufacturing, production, power generation, fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch, repetitive, or discrete modes, (ii) infrastructure processes include inter alia water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, oil and gas pipelines, electrical power transmission and distribution, wind farms, civil defense siren systems, and large communication systems, and (iii) facility processes occur both in public facilities and private ones, including buildings, airports, ships, and space stations. These processes can monitor and control heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), access, and energy consumption etc.
SCADA systems typically include or are connected to the following subsystems: (i) Remote terminal units (RTUs) connect to sensors in the process and convert sensor signals to digital data. RTUs have telemetry hardware capable of sending digital data to the supervisory system, as well as receiving digital commands from the supervisory system. RTUs can have embedded control capabilities such as ladder logic in order to accomplish Boolean logic operations, (ii) programmable logic controller (PLCs), as already discussed above, connect to sensors in the process and convert sensor signals to digital data. PLCs have more sophisticated embedded control capabilities (typically one or more IEC 61131-3 programming languages) than RTUs. PLCs do not have telemetry hardware, although this functionality can be installed alongside. PLCs are sometimes used in place of RTUs as field devices because they are more economical, versatile, flexible, and configurable, (iii) a telemetry system is typically used to connect PLCs and RTUs with control centers, data warehouses, and the enterprise. Examples of wired telemetry media used in SCADA systems include leased telephone lines and WAN circuits. Examples of wireless telemetry media used in SCADA systems include satellite (VSAT), licensed and unlicensed radio, cellular and microwave, (iv) at least one data acquisition server, i.e. a software driven module which uses industrial protocols to connect software services, via telemetry, with field devices such as RTUs and PLCs. It allows clients to access data from these field devices using standard protocols, (v) a human-machine interface (HMI), which is the apparatus or device which presents processed data to a human operator, and through this, the human operator monitors and interacts with the process. The HMI is a client that requests data from a data acquisition server, (vi) a so called software-driven Historian module which accumulates time-stamped data, Boolean events, and Boolean alarms in a database which can be queried or used to populate graphic trends in the HMI. The historian is a client that requests data from a data acquisition server, (vii) a supervisory processor-based system, gathering (acquiring) data on the process and sending commands (control) to the SCADA system, (ix) communication infrastructure connecting the supervisory system to the remote terminal units, and (x) typically various processes and analytical instrumentation. Thus, SCADA based systems allow providing centralized control systems which monitor and control entire sites, or complexes of systems spread out over large areas (anything from an industrial plant to a nation). Most control actions are performed automatically by RTUs or by PLCs. Host control functions are usually restricted to basic overriding or supervisory level intervention. For example, a PLC may control the flow of cooling water through part of an industrial process. The SCADA system now can allow operators to change the set points for the flow, and enable alarm conditions, such as loss of flow and high temperature, to be displayed and recorded. The feedback control loop passes through the RTU or PLC, while the SCADA system monitors the overall performance of the loop.
It is to be mentioned that digital computing units, as general-purpose programmable devices, were also applied to control of industrial processes. However, most of the plant control system have a manufacturer-specific interface and communication environment, so that accessing and steering of the plant control system typically requires specialist programmers, and stringent operating environmental control. Further, using a general-purpose computer for direct process control requires protecting the computer from the plant floor conditions. Thus, an industrial plant control computer must have several attributes: it must tolerate the environmental plant conditions, it must support discrete (bit-form) input and output in an easily extensible manner, it must not require years of training to use, and it must permit its operation to be monitored. The response time of any such system must be fast enough to be useful for control, wherein the required speed may vary according to the nature of the process. Since many industrial processes have timescales easily addressed by millisecond response times, modern (fast, small, reliable) electronics greatly facilitate building reliable controllers, especially because performance can be traded off for reliability. In summary, the prior art does not provide a generalized plant control system, which can be easily applied to any manufacturer-specific control system, platform independently, and which copes with the requirements of industrial plant control systems.
In the state of the art, OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) is know as an industrial M2M communication protocol for interoperability. OPC UA is developed by the OPC Foundation and is the successor to Open Platform Communications (OPC). OPC UA differs significantly from its predecessor. In contrast to the original OPC communications model, OPC-UA provides a cross-platform service-oriented architecture (SOA) for process control, while enhancing security and providing an information model. Thus, the OPC UA overcomes the proprietary problems of the original OPC, which was based on the Microsoft Windows only process exchange COM/DCOM, whereas DCOM is the short for Distributed Component Object Model, which is a proprietary Microsoft technology for communication among software components distributed across networked computers. DCOM, also referred as "Network OLE", extends Microsoft's COM, and provides the communication frame under Microsoft's COM+ application server infrastructure. The addition of the "D" to COM refers to the use of DCE/RPC (Distributed Computing Environment/Remote Procedure Calls), and of the modified version of DCE/RPC, the Microsoft's enhanced version MSRPC (Microsoft Remote Procedure Call).
As mentioned, the OPC UA architecture is a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and is based on different logical levels. OPC Base Services are abstract method descriptions, which are protocol independent and provide the basis for OPC UA functionality. The transport layer puts these methods into a protocol, which means it serializes/deserializes the data and transmits it over the network. Two protocols are specified for this purpose. One is a binary TCP protocol, optimized for high performance and the second is Web service-oriented. The OPC information model is a Full Mesh Network based on nodes, whereas the nodes can include any kind of meta information. The OPC UA network nodes are treatable similar to objects in an object-oriented programming (OOP). Such objects can include attributes for read access (DA, HDA), methods, and triggered events that can be transmitted (AE, DataAccess, DataChange). Nodes hold for process data as well all other types of metadata. Therefore, OPC UA provides two core elements. First of all, the Microsoft Windows-specific protocol DCOM, which was the basis of the predecessor OPC, is replaced by open, platform-independent protocols with integrated security mechanisms. Secondly, the OPC features, such as Data Access, Alarms & Events and Historical Data Access, are transported in an object-oriented model and supplemented by additional features, such as methods and type systems. As a result, the OPC UA interface can be directly integrated into systems on arbitrary platforms with different programming languages, and arbitrary complex systems can captured completely with OPC UA. The object-oriented rules according to which the address space of an OPC UA server is structured and the OPC UA interface for accessing takes a form that OPC UA can be regarded as a network-capable programming language. However, note that OPC UA becomes specialized for automation technology through specific information models such as Data Access, Alarms & Conditions, Historical Access and Programs.
OPC UA consists of a list of specifications with the described basic functions and the information models based on these functions, such as Data Access and Alarms & Conditions. Specifications that define further information models beyond that are normally referred to as Companion Specifications. In the prior art, various OPC UA Companion Specifications were developed defining an information model for special branches of industry or areas of application. Example for such Companion Specifications are the specification OPC UA for Analyzer Devices (ADI), which was created on the basis of customer requirements and developed by a working group of OPC members within the OPC Foundation, or the information model OPC UA for IEC 61131-3, which was created with PLCopen defining an OPC UA information model for a standard outside the OPC Foundation. Finally, to use OPC UA for steerable or programmable devices, there exist a model for the configuration of hardware and software components, which was created in the common working group of OPC Foundation, Profibus User Organization (PNO), HART Foundation, Fieldbus Foundation (FF) and Field Device Tool (FDT) for the standardized configuration of field devices. This base model was released by the OPC Foundation as an independent information model and, in some cases, did serve as the basis for further standards such as OPC UA for Analyzer Devices and OPC UA for IEC 61131-3. The information model defines base types for configurable components and devices, it defines concepts for the logical grouping of parameters, methods and components and it defines points of entry in the OPC UA server address space. Besides that, information for the identification of devices and the available protocols is defined. However, one of the main drawbacks of the OPC UA remains in the fact that OPC UA allows only to handle and communicate structured data from one OPC UA client to another OPC UA client. Thus, OPC UA only provides a mere data transport container without allowing to directly control or steer any remote devises, associated with an OPC UA client within the OPC UA network.

Adaptive cross plant control and steering system, and corresponding method thereof


A fluid-driven proportioning pump for dispensing precise volumes of at least three different fluids includes a drive cylinder housing a correspondingly formed drive piston which divides the drive cylinder into first and second drive fluid chambers and is propelled in a reciprocating motion by a pressurized drive fluid. The housing for the drive cylinder is comprised of two identical hollow housings mutually matingly engaged at the open ends thereof. The face of the drive piston is provided with projecting proportioning pistons which extend into proportioning cylinders that open into each drive fluid chamber. An over-center mechanism triggered by movement of the drive piston at the extremes of the strokes of the reciprocating motion thereof operates valving that admits the pressurized drive fluid into turn it of the drive fluid chambers. The over-center mechanism is activated by hoop springs and is housed entirely within the drive cylinder. A drive cylinder liner sleeve is disposed on the interior of the drive cylinder extending at least to the extremes of movement of the drive piston and bridging the engaged mating surfaces of the two identical cup-shaped halves of the proportioning pump housing.

1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for dispensing a plurality of fluids in a precise ratio to each other. More particularly, the invention disclosed herein relates to an improved fluid-driven liquid proportioning pump that effects the positive displacement in a precise ratio of an externally pressurized drive fluid and one or more constituent fluids. While adaptable to a number of diverse uses, the methods and apparatus of the present invention have ready applicability in the field of mixing and dispensing beverages.
2. Background Art
Many aspects of industrial processing and consumer merchandising require the continuous, precise dispensing and simultaneous mixing of a plurality of constituent fluids into a desired product. This is the case in the manufacture of paints, pesticides, fertilizers, and industrial sealants, as well as in the preparation of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, toothpaste, and even foods, such as margarine, syrups, and beverages.
While the methods and apparatus of the present invention finds utility in each of the above-named and other fields, an immediate application of the present invention resides in meeting the demand in the beverage industry for an improved manner by which the constituent fluids of beverages may be dispensed and mixed into a consumer product within the narrow specifications that are dictated by consumer tastes. Such beverages may be of both the carbonated and the non-carbonated variety.
In the retail area the dispensing of individual constituent fluids for mixture into a final consumable product is prominent in relation to the retailing of carbonated and other syrup-based beverages and juices. This occurs in restaurants and fast food establishments, at entertainment and sport events, and at grocery stores, where purchases of customer-dispensed beverages is on the rise.
In the production of cola-type beverages, orange and other fruit drinks, lemonade, and the like, aromatic flavoring agents in liquid form, such as syrups and concentrates, are metered and combined with predetermined quantities of carbonated or plain water. Typically, the water is pressurized and mixed with the syrups to form a finished beverage that may be dispensed either into reusable or disposable containers.
This process of dispensing and blending into a final mixture the proper quantities of each fluid in a manner capable of satisfying the sensitized tastes of the consuming public has been rendered more complicated in recent years by two developments. First, the public preference for artificially sweetened carbonated beverages has increased dramatically. Second, the perceived necessity to replace the artificial sweetener saccharin with another has resulted in a widespread shift by the food industry to the use of the artificial sweetener, aspertaime, which is commonly marketed under the trademark NUTRASWEET.RTM.. Unfortunately, aspertaime has a relatively short shelf life, after which the flavor of the sweetener undergoes markedly noticeable alteration.
This fact about aspertaime has lead to the practice in the soft drink industry of separating the sweetening element from the aromatic syrups, so that the turnover of sweetener supplies can be accelerated. Accordingly, in dispensing and blending the components of a carbonated beverage that is to contain aspertaime, it is now necessary to blend, not merely two different constituent fluids, but three: water, an aromatic syrup, and an artificial sweetener.
The effort to develop fluid proportioning devices suitable for metering more than two constituent fluids has cast in a harsher light the drawbacks of the devices previously developed toward the dispensing of only two constituent fluids.
Prior devices were complicated, requiring plural conduits, complex valving, and forms of involved linkages for effecting coordination between the operation of otherwise independent dispensing mechanisms. Devices which failed to physically integrate the dispensing mechanisms necessitated the use of additional mechanical system for coordinating the necessarily separate dispensing functions. This added to the complexity of dispensing devices, resulting in a need for increased maintenance. The resort to electrical drive motors as a source of motive power for the prior devices only complicated the proportioning pumps by adding thereto another system needing its own separate maintenance and isolation for safety and operational purposes.
Many proportioning pumps were reciprocating in nature, but were successful in dispensing all of the constituent fluids in only one direction of their reciprocating motion. This produced uneven flow and irregular ratios of the constituent fluids involved in each cycle of operation.
The actual proportioning aspect of such devices presented several problems. Many simply were not accurate, so that a user was faced with unreliability in preparing a final product. The proportioning function was frequently effected by valving external to the mechanism with which the constituent fluids were actually advanced through the system. Such external valving itself comprised a separate system of mechanical operation requiring its own maintenance and coordination.
A significant problem in prior proportioning pumps was the number of dynamic seals required to segregate the plurality of fluids involved, to preserve pressure in the device, and to prevent fluid leakage. In many cases, of necessity, one or more of these seals was exposed on one side to the atmosphere, tending to age such seals rapidly due to drying. The concomitant need for replacement and repair of such components is readily predictable.
The reliability of numerous prior proportioning pumps has been impaired by the entrapment of air bubbles within the chambers and fluid passageways thereof. Air bubbles would not of themselves impair reliability, if the air bubbles could be successfully induced to move through and out of the proportioning pump with the flowing constituent fluids. Air bubbles tend to rise to the highest point within a proportioning pump and accumulate there. Thus, both the internal design of proportioning pumps and the orientation of the mounting thereof to fixed surfaces at the location of use have tended to defeat the desirable objective of purging the proportioning pumps of air bubbles during normal use.
Some proportioning pumps have accordingly been supplied with air bubble venting stop cocks that communicate with the highest points in various chambers and fluid passageways in the proportioning pump. Through periodic operation of these venting stop cocks, entrapped air is in theory removed. Disadvantageously, however, venting stop cocks increased the complexity of proportioning pumps, the tendency to leak, and the need for additional maintenance activity, if only that of manually operating the stop cocks on a periodic basis.
Ultimately, prior fluid proportioning pumps were complicated assemblages of separate mechanical systems. Each separate component system required its own maintenance. Intervening systems were necessary for effecting coordinated operations. In the effort to streamline such devices, designers were faced with two conflicting tendencies. The subsystems additional to that used to advance constituent fluids could be located external to the advancement system, where they would be relatively easily accessible for maintenance and adjustment purposes but relatively difficult to coordinate in any simple manner. Alteratively, such additional subsystems could be integrated into the mechanical structure of the fluid advancement subsystem rendering them difficult to access, while possibly more easy to coordinate.
All such drawbacks existed in proportioning pumps used with just two constituent fluids. The need for proportioning pumps which could effectively dispense more than two fluids exacerbated known problems. Additional constituent fluids require additional subsystems for coordination and proportioning. Devices grew more complex, rather than simpler, as would have been desired.
One method and apparatus which coped effectively with additional constituent fluids and simplified the number of subsystems and components involved is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,768, which will be referred to hereinafter as the '768 Patent.
In the '768 Patent a fluid-driven proportioning pump is illustrated that dispenses precise volumes of at least three different constituent fluids, including among them a pressurized drive fluid. The proportioning pump comprises a drive cylinder made up of a tube closed at each end by a plate assembly. A correspondingly formed drive piston is disposed in the drive cylinder, dividing the drive cylinder into first and second drive fluid chambers. The drive piston is propelled in a reciprocating motion alternately toward each of the drive fluid chambers by the pressurized drive fluid itself. Passageways for admitting the drive fluid into and removing drive fluid from each of the drive fluid chambers are formed in the end plate assemblies that effect closure of the tube of the drive cylinder.
Each face of the drive piston is provided with a projecting proportioning piston corresponding to each of the non-pressurized constituent fluids. These proportioning pistons extend into corresponding proportioning cylinders that open into each fluid drive chamber toward the drive piston. Passageways into and out of each of the proportioning cylinders are formed in the end plate assemblies that effect closure of the tube of the drive cylinder.
A valving mechanism housed entirely within the drive cylinder regulates the flow of the drive fluid into and out of the drive fluid chambers on opposite sides of the drive cylinder. The valving mechanism passes rigidly through the reciprocating drive piston into value bores in each of the two opposed end plate assemblies. While the economy of mechanisms resulting from this valving mechanism is advantageous, the valving mechanism requires extremely precise alignment among the valving mechanism, the drive piston, and the two end plate assemblies of the device. Otherwise, the valving mechanism and the drive piston in undertaking to move in the respective roles of each, experience unacceptable levels of binding stress that reduces efficiency and can even prevent the desired operation of the device. This places severe constraints on the assembly precision required in manufacturing the proportioning pump disclosed in the '768 Patent.
An over-center mechanism activated by movement of the drive piston at the extremes of the strokes of the reciprocating motion thereof operates the valving mechanism and admits the pressurized drive fluid into alternate of the drive fluid chambers. The over-center mechanism is activated by system of loop springs disposed in each of the first and second drive fluid chambers and retained in different degrees of compression between the drive piston and the valving mechanism. The degree of compression in the system of loop springs varies continuously according to the position of the drive piston during the reciprocating movement thereof. This arrangement in the proportioning pump of the '768 Patent, while found to be an improvement over earlier prior proportioning devices, is still somewhat sluggish in responsiveness, particularly in any initial operation of the proportioning pump after a prolonged period of dormancy.
In the proportioning pump disclosed in the '768 Patent selective adjustment of the proportion among the drive fluid and the other constituent fluids is enabled from the exterior of the proportioning pump through the use of a complicated mechanical system. This proportioning adjustment system requires, however, that the proportioning pistons to be configured as disk-like piston heads that are slidably mounted on a turnable shaft that projects from the end face of the drive piston. The shaft has an enlarged head on the side of the disk remote from the drive piston. The head of the shaft is provided with a fitting that is manipulatable from the outside of the proportioning pump by built-in retractable tools that are provided for each distinct proportioning piston head. All elements of the proportioning adjustment system are advantageously contained within the proportioning pump.
While this arrangement affords the convenience of post-assembly adjustments to the portion among the drive fluid and other constituent fluids, the result is extremely complex mechanically, increasing dramatically the number of differing parts required in the assembly of the proportioning pump. Access to the interior of the proportioning pump for this purpose, much like the introduction of air bubble venting stop cocks, not only increases the complexity of the proportioning pump itself, but the tendency thereof to leakage.
One unexpected disadvantage of an externally adjustable proportioning adjustment system is a tendency for a proportioning pump set at a predetermined desired portion among the drive fluid and constituent fluids dispensed therefrom to deviate from that predetermined proportion during use. As a result, periodic testing of the proportions among those fluids in the output is required, and concomitantly periodic recalibration of the proportioning pump. Thus, a proportioning pump such as that disclosed in the '768 Patent which must be fine-tuned after manufacture, is one which demands ongoing related maintenance activity.
The drive fluid passageways and constituent fluid passageways formed in each end plate of the proportioning pump disclosed in the '768 Patent necessitate the attachment to that proportioning pump of at least four hoses for the drive fluid, as well as four hoses for each of the other individual constituent fluids. For each single fluid an input and an output hose must be connected to the end plate assembly on each end of the drive piston. For a single drive fluid and a pair of constituent fluids, twelve hose couplings are thus required.
Difficulties have been encountered due to competing requirements relative to the structure and material composition of which the tube of a proportioning pump is comprised. The first and second drive fluid chambers housed within that tube are separated from each other by the reciprocating drive piston. The circumference of the drive piston is fitted with an encircling sealing ring that effects the actual sealing and sliding contact with the inner walls of that tube.
When introduced into the drive cylinder one effect of the pressurized drive fluid is to distort the shape of the tube of the drive piston. This produces two adverse effects. First, the desired ratio between the drive fluid and one or both of the other constituent fluids is altered. Secondly, changes in the shape of the drive cylinder can impair the seal effected by the sealing ring on the drive piston with the inner walls of the tube of the pump.
Efforts to rigidify the tube of the drive cylinder against the effects of the pressure of the drive fluid have been numerous. Each has proved unsuccessful for distinct reasons.
The walls of the tube of the drive cylinder have, for example, been thickened dramatically resulting in a more rigid structure, but also in a more bulky device that, by consuming substantial quantities of constituent material, is expensive to manufacture. Alternatively, the thickness of the walls of the tube of the drive cylinder has been maintained at an acceptable size by forming the tube of the drive cylinder from a very strong material. If in the process a castable material is used such as steel, then the cost of manufacturing the device is still quite high.
On the other hand, efforts toward the same end have been made using inexpensive moldable materials such as resins, but to achieve adequate strength in the device these materials quire reinforcement, usually by adding thereto a matrix of reinforcing fibers. This has resulted in a marked roughening of the inner surface of the tube of the drive cylinder. Correspondingly, abrasion of the sealing ring on the reciprocating drive piston has increased, along with the need for remedial maintenance.

Fluid-driven apparatus for dispensing plural fluids in a precise proportion