A compact housing for a workstation-class computer is disclosed. The apparatus includes a structural heat sink with a horizontal base heat sink that includes an interchangeable power source housing and a hard disk drive receptacle. The horizontal base heat sink operates to conduct heat away from the functional elements positioned within the interchangeable power source housing and the hard disk drive receptacle. The structural heat sink also includes a vertical tower heat sink to support functional elements including a power converter. The vertical tower heat sink operates to conduct heat away from the functional elements. The vertical tower heat sink also includes support devices for receiving a detachable pivot display system. The structural heat sink is surrounded by a vented exterior skin that facilitates convective heat transfer from the structural heat sink.

Workstation-class computers are generally viewed as computers with more computational power than personal computers, but with less computational power than main-frame computers. Workstation-class computers may be characterized as consuming between 100 and 250 watts of power. This relatively large power consumption results in problematic heat generation at the power supply, video display, and at the central processing unit. Traditionally, the heat generation problem has been solved by providing active cooling elements, such as fans, within the computer housing. These additional components have mitigated against the construction of compact housings for workstation-class computers. Because of the large power requirements of a workstation-class computer, portable personal computer housing technologies are not readily applicable to workstations. Instead, novel housing approaches are necessary to accommodate the large power consumption associated with workstation-class computers. It would be highly desirable to construct a compact computer housing for a workstation-class computer that provides adequate heat dissipation capability without relying upon active cooling elements.
Many users of workstation-class computers desire a computer housing with a small footprint; that is, a computer housing that consumes a relatively small amount of horizontal area on a work surface, such as a desk. This problem has been addressed in the prior art by providing a vertical housing that stands as a "tower" on a work surface. The problem with this approach is that the tower is relatively unstable. To stabilize the tower, separate support structures have been used. The separate support structures of the prior art greatly increase the footprint of the computer. Since the support structures serve only as support structures, their functionality is limited. Thus, it would be desirable to provide a stable tower computer housing that maintains a small footprint and in which the support structure is fully functional.
Servicing the electronics positioned within a computer housing generally entails the time consuming use of screw drivers to remove the numerous screws that hold the housing together. It would be desirable to provide a computer housing that allows access to interior electronic elements with a minimal use of fasteners, such as screws, and the tools associated with fasteners, such as screw drivers.
Portable personal computers utilize flat panel displays. Typically, the flat panel display is connected to the computer in such a manner that it is difficult to remove the display. It would be desirable to provide a flat panel display that is readily engaged and disengaged with a computer.
Portable personal computers commonly rely upon batteries for power. If a battery is not used, then an external power supply connected between the computer and an electrical wall outlet is used. It would be desirable to provide a computer housing that internally holds either a battery or a power supply, as desired at any given time.

Compact housing for a computer workstation


A wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus capable of machining a workpiece with a machining solution to produce a work having a desired shape. The work is magnetically attracted to be held and conveyed to a desired position by one of a pair of nozzles through which the machining solution is supplied to an interelectrode gap between the workpiece and a wire-shaped electrode. Since the attraction condition is controlled to be maintained unchanged, it is possible to move and convey the work and the like to the desired position with high accuracy and safety.

The present invention relates to a wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus and, more particularly to a device for use in such a wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus for conveying and treating a workpiece, a work or a work scrap cut off from the basic material.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a structural view partly in section of an example of a conventional wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus. In this figure, reference numeral 2 designates a wire electrode, and 18 stands for an upper machining solution injection nozzle which is formed of a magnetic material having a dual structure in the diametrical direction thereof. The nozzle 18 includes an electromagnetic coil 19 incorporated into the dual-structure magnetic material coaxially with the wire electrode 2 so as to provide an integral structure. The machining solution injection nozzle 18 (a magnet nozzle) formed of a magnetic material serves as an electromagnet and is thus able to attract and convey a workpiece 10, and a work scrap or a work 9 cut off from the workpiece 10 (see FIG. 3), which is referred simply to as the "work 9" hereinafter when applicable.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 comprises cylindrically shaped inside yoke 20 having a flange 20a in the upper end thereof and forming an inside ring-shaped magnetic circuit, a cylindrically shaped outside yoke 21 disposed outside of the inside yoke 20 with the upper end thereof in contact with the inner surface of the flange 20a, forming an annular gap between the inside yoke 20 itself and forming an outside ring-shaped magnetic circuit, an electromagnetic coil 19 having a lead wire 19a incorporated integrally into the annular gap between the inside and outside yokes 20 and 21, and a seal member of insulating resin filled in the lower opening in the annular gap to prevent the machining solution entering into the annular gap where the electromagnetic coil 19 is accommodated. Also, the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 is connected directly to a Z shaft (not shown) and can be moved in a vertical direction.
The inside yoke 20 and outside yoke 21 are made of an iron material having a high magnetic permeability, or a stainless steel material for prevention of rust, or may be made of an iron material on the surface of which anti-rust (rust preventive) plating is then applied. Further, in order to prevent electrolytic corrosion during wire electrical discharge machining, the yokes are wholly or in partly coated with an insulating material. As the insulating coating, either synthetic resin or high wear-proof ceramic coating is generally used.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 designates an upper positioning guide of the wire electrode 2; 16, a lower positioning guide of the wire electrode 2; 17, a stand for carrying the workpiece thereon; and 18a, a lower machining solution injection nozzle.
Now, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams for the description about the operation of the wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus as shown in FIG. 1.
Next, the operation of the conventional apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2, when the wire electrode 2 is removed after the work 9 is machined and detached completely from the workpiece 10, the electromagnetic coil 19 is excited so that a magnetic circuit is constituted by the inside yoke 20, the outside yoke 21 and the work 9. In this case, a magnetic flux is allowed to flow in a direction of an arrow A shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, whereby the work 9 or work scrap can be attracted by the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 made of a magnetic material.
Then, the work 9, which is attracted by the magnetic force of the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 as shown in FIG. 3, is taken out in an upward direction (in a direction of an arrow B) from the workpiece 10. Thereafter, the work 9 is conveyed in a horizontal direction (in a direction of an arrow C), and is carried outside of the machining range. The transportation of the work 9 in the upper and horizontal directions is automatically carried out for means by servo controlling the X, Y and Z shafts.
Next, when trying to start afresh the machining of the work 9, after the wire electrode 2 is inserted through the upper and lower machining solution injection nozzles 18 and 18a by use of a wire electrode automatic insertion device (not shown), the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 is returned to a predetermined height position by means of the Z shaft control, the machining of the work 9 having an arbitrary shape is resumed by means of the X-shaft and Y-shaft control.
Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown a schematic structural view, partly in section, of another example of the conventional wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 18 also designates an upper machining solution injection nozzle which is made of a magnetic material having a dual structure in the diameter direction thereof. And, the following components are integrally incorporated as one within the dual-structure magnetic material: that is, a ring-shaped permanent magnet 3 disposed concentrically with the wire electrode 2; a ring-shaped movable member 4 made of a magnetic material and movable in a vertical direction; a press spring 5 for biasing the movable member 4 against the permanent magnet 3; an injection port 6 through which an oil, an air or the like for detaching the movable member 4 from the permanent magnet 3 is injected; a case 7 made of a non-magnetic material, and a sealing member 8 formed of a non-magnetic material for filling up a gap in an air pocket (space) 11 formed by the dual-structure magnetic material. The thus constructed upper machining solution injection nozzle 1 is then connected directly to a Z shaft (not shown) in such a manner that it is movable in a vertical direction.
Also, an example of the magnetic material forming the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 is an iron material having a high magnetic permeability or a stainless steel material for rust prevention, an iron material on the surface of which anti-rust plating may be then applied. Further, in order to prevent electrolytic corrosion during wire electric machining, the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 is whole or partly coated with an insulating material. As the insulating coating, generally, a synthetic resin coating or a highly wear proof ceramic coating is used.
In FIG. 4, the other portions or members which are common to those in FIGS. 1 to 3 bear the same or corresponding reference numerals in FIGS. 1 to 3.
The operation of the conventional wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 will be described hereinafter. In FIG. 4, as is similar to the operation of the above described conventional apparatus, when the wire electrode 2 is removed after the work 9 has been machined and is then detached completely from the workpiece 10, the air present in the air pocket 11 within the magnetic material forming the machining solution injection nozzle 1 is discharged. Thereafter, if the machining solution injection nozzle 18 is caused to approach the work 9 with the movable member 4 in contact with the permanent magnet 3, a magnetic flux flows in a direction of an arrow A shown in FIG. 9 through a magnetic circuit formed by the machining solution injection nozzle 18, permanent magnet 3 and work 9, so that the work 9 can be attracted by the magnetic force of the machining solution injection nozzle 18. The work 9 attracted by the magnetic force of the machining solution injection nozzle 18 in this manner, after taken out in an upward direction, that is, in a direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 4, is conveyed in a horizontal direction, that is, in a direction of arrow C shown in FIG. 4. Then, the work 9 is carried outside of the machining range. The transportation of the work 9 in the upward direction (B direction) and in the horizontal direction (C direction) is automatically carried out by means of servo controlling the X, Y and Z shafts.
After the work 9 is carried to a predetermined position outside of the machining range, the air is injected through the injection port 6 into the air pocket 11 to detach the movable member 4 from the permanent magnet 3 to thereby expand the magnetic gap within the magnetic circuit and thus reduce the magnetic flux which passes through the work 9 being attracted. That is, the work 9 can be dropped from the machining solution injection nozzle 19 at the time when the weight of the work 9 exceeds the magnetic force for attracting the work 9. The following machining operation will be carried out in the same manner as described in the above described conventional apparatus.
With such a conventional wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus shown in FIG. 1, as the upper machining solution injection nozzle 18 is attracting the work 9 to lift the same, the amount of heat generated due to the current flowing through the electromagnetic coil 19 is increased thereby resulting in deteriorating the machining accuracy of the work 9. This has been a problem to be solved in the conventional wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus. Also, when a power failure occurs while the work or work scrap is being attracted to be removed form the workpiece 10, then the magnetic force of the magnetic material forming the machining solution injection nozzle 18 is extinguished abruptly to thereby cause the work or work scrap to fall down resulting in an occurrence of damage in the work 9, which may be the surface of a table (not shown) or the like. Further, there may occur the same damage to the work 9 and the like due to the fact that the work 9 or the work scrap is incompletely attracted or held by the nozzle 18.
In view of this problem, in order to prevent such drop of the work or work scrap, it has been proposed to employ an optical sensor capable of detecting the attraction condition externally during the operation of attracting the work or work scrap. In this case, however, it is disadvantageous in that it is difficult to detect the attraction of small-size work scraps and since the position where the detection should be carried out is changeable, it is troublesome to fix or limit the detection position.
Further, in the conventional apparatus, it is difficult to detect the attraction condition with accuracy, to detect the drop of the work 9 and the like from the nozzle 18 during conveying thereof, and to detect the delivery of the work 9 and the like into a work collecting box (not shown). This may result in making it impossible to continue further machining operation.
With another conventional wire electric discharge machining apparatus as shown in FIG. 4, a movable mechanism which includes a movable member capable of being moved by oil, air or the like must be held within the magnetic material forming the machining solution injection nozzle, resulting in the complicated structure. In such structure, there are possibilities that undesired substances such as sludges contained in the oil, air or the like, water and the like may be mixed and thus a periodic maintenance is necessary to remove such undesired substances. Also, due to the provision of the movable mechanism including the movable member, it is very difficult to reduce the size of the machining solution injection nozzle.

Wire cut electric discharge machining apparatus


A method to decode linear position (“LPOS”) information encoded in a sequential information storage medium, by detecting each of one or a plurality of sequential first LPOS servo patterns encoded in a first servo band using a first servo sensor in communication with a first servo channel. While detecting that one or a plurality of first LPOS servo patterns, the method fails to detect (n) second LPOS servo patterns encoded in a second servo band. The method determines a value for (n), and then syncs the first servo channel with the second servo channel using that value of (n).

It is known in the art to encode by pulse position modulation an LPOS word comprising 36 bits of information in a non-data region of a sequential data storage medium, such as a magnetic tape. Each encoded LPOS word relates to a specific absolute longitudinal address, and appears every 7.2 mm down the tape. Using prior art methods, an LPOS word comprises 36 individual servo patterns, i.e. frames, wherein each frame encodes one bit of information. The LPOS values of two consecutive LPOS words differ by one. Therefore, a tape drive can position a data/servo head assembly at a specified LPOS address thereby achieving a longitudinal resolution of about 7.2 mm.
A read/write assembly comprising two servo heads spans a data band and two servo bands disposed adjacent that data band. In the event one servo head is rendered inoperative, then only one servo head can be used to laterally position the read/write head. Alternatively, a servo band may become damaged, or may not comprise useful information resulting from media damage.

Apparatus and method to decode linear position information encoded in a sequential information storage medium

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention is a radar system that corrects for changes in apparent reflectivity and two-way precipitation attenuation using a correction curve that includes a segment for low rain rates, a segment for high rain rates and, if desired, a transition segment for medium rain rates. The signal to noise ratio is further improved by using a sliding azimuth window during post detection integration processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an airborne weather and ground mapping radar system which improves location accuracy of weather and ground features and more particularly to a system that provides at least a two segment approximation for rain attenuation and uses a sliding azimuth window to produce an improved signal to noise ratio.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional weather radar determines the location and magnitude of weather features from the reflection of the radar signal from precipitation. Radar signals attenuate as they pass through precipitation and, as result, a return from a range cell deep in a precipitation region is attenuated more than a return from a range cell not as deep in the precipitation region, thereby causing returns received by the radar system to in- accurately portray the weather features. In addition as rain rates change from low to high the attenuation increases, further increasing the inaccuracy of the weather features shown by the radar display. Conventional radar system such as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,835,536, 4,223,309 and RE 33,152 do not take into account the increased attenuation caused by higher rain rates and only provide a linear compensation for a single low rain rate. As a result, pilots using conventional weather radar systems do not receive an accurate picture of the weather deep in or behind precipitation regions. What is needed is a system that accurately depicts the weather throughout a weather system.

Inflight weather and ground mapping radar


An image display system is provided. The image display system includes: at least one holographic image acquiring device each configured to obtain holographic image information of a scene; an image synthesis device configured to generate holographic image synthesis information based on at least a part of the holographic image information obtained by the at least one holographic image acquiring device; and an image reconstruction device configured to reconstruct a holographic synthetic image in accordance with the holographic image synthesis information. The image display system can synthesize holographic image information to combine several holographic three-dimensional display scenes into one holographic three-dimensional scene, so that the user can perceive display effects almost the same as the real scenes, improving user experience. An image display method is also provided.

In recent years, many commercial shows of holographic display are implemented in a quasi-holographic way, in which a projector or any other means is used to form an image of a light source after 45-degree refraction onto a phantom imaging film (e.g. a holographic film).
Essentially different from a pure holographic way, this quasi-holographic way is implemented with a film having both relatively high transmissivity and relatively high reflectivity. Although such a quasi-holographic display technology allows a viewer to get a feeling of some spatial effect, it is not really holographic, because when viewing the virtual images from the imaging in some angles, the viewer still cannot perceive holographic images having the same display effect as real scenes.

Image display system and image display method


A fuel cell comprising a container having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and a multi-element stack contained in the container and made up of two or more elements for the fuel cell, the element comprising an electrolyte layer, a cathode layer, and an anode layer, with the electrolyte layer being interposed between the cathode and anode layers, and a mixed gas of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas being fed to the fuel cell from the gas inlet, wherein the multi-element stack is formed of the elements stacked in such a manner that the cathode layer of one element is in direct contact to the anode layer of another element, and each of the electrolyte, cathode, and anode layers has a passage through which the mixed gas passes. A multi-element stack for such a fuel cell is also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a fuel cell and an element for the fuel cell and, more particularly, to a fuel cell to which a mixed gas containing a fuel gas, such as methane, and oxygen is fed and to a multi-element stack for the fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
A fuel cell can be expected to have a high efficiency of power generation compared to power generation in a thermal power plant, and is currently being studied by many researchers.
As shown in FIG. 6, such a conventional fuel cell is provided with an element 106 for the fuel cell, which element uses, as a solid electrolyte layer 100 of an oxygen ion conduction type, a fired body made of stabilized zirconia to which yttria (Y2O3) is added, the solid electrolyte layer 100 having one side on which a cathode layer 102 is formed, and another side on which an anode layer 104 is formed. Oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas is fed to the side of cathode layer 102 of the fuel cell element 106, and a fuel gas, such as methane, is fed to the side of anode layer 104.
The oxygen (O2) fed to the side of cathode layer 102 of the fuel cell element 106 is ionized into oxygen ions (O2xe2x88x92) at the boundary between the cathode layer 102 and the solid electrolyte layer 100, and the oxygen ions are conducted to the anode layer 104 by the electrolyte layer 100. The oxygen ions conducted to the anode layer 104 react with the methane (CH4) gas fed to the side of anode layer 104, to thereby form water (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen (H2), and carbon monoxide (CO). During the reaction, the oxygen ions release electrons, resulting in a potential difference between the cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 104. Accordingly, by establishing an electrical connection between the cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 104 by a lead wire 108, the electrons of the anode layer 104 pass in the direction toward the cathode layer 102 (the direction of the arrow in the drawing) through the lead wire 108, and electricity can be produced by the fuel cell.
The fuel cell shown in FIG. 6 is operated at a temperature of about 1000xc2x0 C. At such a high temperature, the side of cathode layer 102 of the fuel cell is exposed to an oxidizing atmosphere, and the side of anode layer 104 is exposed to a reducing atmosphere. Consequently, it has been difficult to enhance the durability of the element 106.
It is reported, in Science, vol. 288, pp2031-2033 (2000), that, as shown in FIG. 7, even when a fuel cell element 206 made up of a solid electrolyte layer 200, and a cathode layer 202 and an anode layer 204 respectively formed on one side and another side of the electrolyte layer 200, is placed in a mixed gas atmosphere of methane and oxygen, the fuel cell element 206 develops an electromotive force.
By placing the element 206 in a mixed gas atmosphere, as above, the element 206 can be enveloped as a whole in substantially the same atmosphere, and can have improved durability compared to the element 106 shown in FIG. 6, in which the respective sides of the element 106 are exposed to atmospheres different from each other.
Nevertheless, the fuel cell shown in FIG. 7 has only a single element for the fuel cell (or fuel cell element) 206 contained in a container 210, so that the voltage which can be taken out of the fuel cell is low.
To obtain a desired level of voltage from a fuel cell using the type of an element illustrated in FIG. 7, a multi-element stack comprising a plurality of fuel cell elements 206, as shown in FIG. 8, is used. In the multi-element stack, the fuel cell elements 206 are separated from each other by a separator 300 provided with complex gas passages 302a, 302b, which make, in turn, the structure of the fuel cell complicated. In addition, in such a complicated fuel cell, it is difficult to make the respective members have equivalent properties, such as a coefficient of thermal expansion, at an operation temperature of the cell, and the members tend to be largely effected by a thermal stress.
It is an object of the invention to provide a fuel cell using a mixed gas containing a fuel gas, such as methane, and oxygen, which gas a simple structure and from which a desired level of voltage can be obtained, and a multi-element stack for the fuel cell.
To this end, the inventors found that a fuel cell using a multi-element stack having a simple structure, in which a plurality of fuel cell elements, such as those shown in FIG. 7, are stacked without the use of separators, can have a simple structure, and can provide a desired level of voltage.
Thus, the invention resides in a fuel cell comprising a container having a gas inlet and a gas outlet, and a multi-element stack contained in the container and made up of two or more elements for the fuel cell, the element comprising an electrolyte layer, a cathode layer, and an anode layer, with the electrolyte layer being interposed between the cathode and anode layers, and a mixed gas of a fuel gas and an oxygen-containing gas being fed to the fuel cell from the gas inlet, wherein the multi-element stack is formed of the elements stacked in such a manner that the cathode layer of one element is in direct contact to the anode layer of another element, and each of the electrolyte, cathode, and anode layers has a passage through which the mixed gas passes.
The invention also resides in a multi-element stack for a fuel cell to which a mixed gas of a fuel as and an oxygen-containing gas is fed, the multi-element stack being made up of two or more elements, the element comprising an electrolyte layer, a cathode layer, and an anode layer, with the electrolyte layer being interposed between the cathode and anode layers, wherein the multi-element stack is formed of the elements stacked in such a manner that the cathode layer of one element is in direct contact with the anode layer of another element, and each of the electrolyte, cathode, and anode layers has a passage through which the mixed gas passes.
In the fuel cell according to the invention, at least a part of the outer surfaces of the multi-element stack is in intimate contact with the inner surface of the container, and/or the gap between the outer surface of the multi-element stack and the inner surface of the container is sealed. This makes it possible to allow the mixed gas fed to the cell to certainly pass through the multi-element stack without bypassing it, leading to the lowered running cost of the fuel cell.
In the invention, at least one of the electrolyte, cathode, and anode layers may be porous. It is preferred that the cathode and anode layers are porous, and the electrolyte layer is solid, and has a hole piercing through it from one side to the other side of the electrolyte layer, whereby the mixed gas can pass from the gas inlet to the gas outlet through the pores in the cathode and anode layers and the hole in the electrolyte layer. In this case, the cathode and anode layers may further have a shaped passage for the mixed gas, the shaped passage having a size larger than the diameter of the pores in the cathode and anode layers.
It is also preferred that the electrolyte, cathode, and anode layers are porous, so that the mixed gas can pass from the gas inlet to the gas outlet through the pores in these layers.
Preferably, the porous layers have an open porosity of equal to or greater than 20%, more preferably 30 to 70%, and most preferably 40 to 50%.
Preferably, the electrolyte layer is formed of a zirconium oxide (zirconia) which is partially stabilized by an element of group III of the periodic table, such as yttrium (Y) or scandium (Sc), or a cerium oxide which is doped with an element such as lanthanide, for example, samarium (Sm) or gadolinium (Gd).
Also preferably, the cathode layer is formed of a manganite, gallate or cobaltite compound of lanthanum to which an element of group III of the periodic table, such as strontium (Sr), is added.
Also preferably, the anode layer is formed of a body supporting nickel cermet or platinum to which 10 to 30% by weight of an electrolyte forming the solid electrolyte layer 10a, 10b is added.
Preferably, the mixed gas is selected from hydrogen, methane, ethane, propane, butane, and mixtures thereof, and the oxygen-containing gas is oxygen or air.

Fuel cell and multi-element stack therefor


The present application discloses a control circuit for controlling a noise reduction thin film transistor in a shift register unit. The control circuit includes a timer for initiating a timing process when the shift register is turned on, to obtain an operating time of the shift register; a threshold voltage calculator coupled to the timer for calculating a present threshold voltage based on the operating time, a gate voltage of the noise reduction thin film transistor, and an initial threshold voltage of the noise reduction thin film transistor; and a gate voltage controller coupled to the threshold voltage calculator for adjusting the gate voltage of the noise reduction thin film transistor during the noise reduction phase, to control the noise reduction thin film transistor in an ON state during the noise reduction phase.

A liquid crystal display panel includes an array of a plurality of pixels, and a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of data lines for driving image display of the pixels. The liquid crystal display panel further includes a gate driving circuit for outputting gate scanning signals to the plurality of gate lines. The gate driving circuit converts an input clock signal through a shift register into an on/off voltage, and sequentially applies it to the gate line.
FIGS. 1A-1B are diagrams illustrating the structure of conventional shift register units. Referring to FIG. 1A, in a reset phase and an output stop holding phase, the pull down node PD is provided with a clock signal CLKB′. The pull down node PD is connected to the gate electrodes of thin film transistors T5 and T6 for noise reduction. Referring to FIG. 1B, in a reset phase and an output stop holding phase, the pull down node PD is provided with a high voltage level signal VDD. The pull down node PD is connected to the gate electrodes of thin film transistors T5 and T6 for noise reduction. In FIGS. 1A-1B, "INPUT" denotes an input terminal, "RESET" denotes a reset terminal. "PU" denotes a pull up node, "PD_CN" denotes a pull down control node, "OUT" denotes an output terminal for gate scanning signal, "VSS" denotes a low voltage signal, "CLK" denotes a clock signal, T1 is an input thin film transistor, T2 is a first reset thin film transistor, T3 is a pull up thin film transistor, T4 is a second reset thin film transistor, T7 is a first pull down node control thin film transistor, T8 is a second pull down node control thin film transistor, T9 is a first pull down control node control thin film transistor, and T10 is a second pull down control node control thin film transistor.

Control circuit for controlling a noise reduction thin film transistor in a shift register unit and method of reducing noise


A video signal recording apparatus in which a chroma signal contained in a video signal is down-converted and then recorded on a predetermined recording medium comprises a sampling circuit for processing the chroma signal in an offset sub-sampling fashion, wherein the chroma signal sampled by the sampling circuit is recorded on the recording medium and a burst signal for detecting a phase of the chroma signal is not sub-sampled and then recorded on the recording medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to video signal recording apparatus for use with a video tape recorder (VTR) and, more particularly, to a video signal recording apparatus for down-converting and recording a chroma component.
2. Description of the Prior
In home VTRs, a chroma component included in a video signal is down-converted and the chroma signal thus down-converted is recorded together with a frequency-modulated (FM) luminance signal. In this case, the chroma signal is down-converted into a chroma signal having a frequency of 700 kHz, for example and a band width of this down-converted chroma signal lies in a range of from about .+-.400 to 500 kHz. The down-converted chroma signal having a relatively narrow band is recorded on a video tape together with the frequency-modulated luminance signal, whereby the video signal can be efficiently recorded on the video tape and a video system suitable for home use in which a tape consumed amount is limited can be constructed.
However, when the chroma signal is down-converted and then recorded on the video tape, there is then the disadvantage that the chroma component of the reproduced signal is deteriorated. That is, since the chroma signal is recorded such that the band width thereof is reduced by the above down-converting processing, it is difficult to restore the band width of the original chroma signal. Therefore, as compared with the luminance signal recorded according to the frequency modulation, the chroma signal is very poor from a characteristics standpoint.
In the real reproduced picture, the characteristic of the luminance signal is dominant apparently and the frequency characteristics of the luminance signal has been improved (high band) recently in order to improve the picture quality. In order to improve the picture quality more, it is requested to improve the characteristics of the chroma signal (i.e., improvement of color reproducibility).
To improve the chroma signal characteristic, it is proposed to shift a down-converting carrier of about 700 kHz to a slightly higher frequency by shifting the converting frequency to the high frequency side. If the down-converting carrier is varied as described above, however, a compatibility with the conventional VTRs is lost. Furthermore, if the down-converting carrier is set to a too high frequency, the frequency band of the down-converted chroma signal overlaps the recording band of the luminance signal recorded according to the frequency modulation. Therefore, the sufficiently high carrier cannot be set in actual practice so that a wholesale improvement of characteristics cannot be expected without regard for the problem of compatibility.
As a method in which characteristics can be improved only by the circuits on the playback side without changing the down-converted carrier, there is known a method which emphasizes the edge of the reproduced chroma signal. According to the edge improvement mentioned above, the characteristics are partly improved and a recording band cannot be enlarged fundamentally. Also, there is the disadvantage that a S/N (signal-to-noise) ratio is deteriorated.
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows an example of a conventional VTR 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, a video signal SV is supplied to an AGC (automatic gain control) circuit 2, in which it is corrected in signal level. The signal thus corrected from the AGC circuit 2 is supplied to a Y/C separating circuit 3, in which it is separated to provide a luminance signal Y and a chroma signal C.
Further, in the VTR 1, while the luminance signal Y is frequency-modulated to a recording signal YFM by a luminance signal processing circuit 4, the chroma signal C is supplied through a bandpass filter (BPF) circuit 5 to an ACC (automatic chroma level control) circuit 6, in which it is corrected in signal level and then fed to an emphasizing circuit 7.
Thus, in the VTR 1, the chroma signal is emphasized by the emphasizing circuit 7 and then down-converted by a converting circuit 8.
Further, in the VTR 1, the down-converted chroma signal is supplied through a low-pass filter (LPF) circuit 9 to an adding circuit 10, in which it is added with a tracking control pilot signal ATF and the recording signal YFM.
Further, in the VTR 1, an output signal from the adding circuit 10 is supplied through an amplifying circuit 11 to a magnetic head 12, whereby recording tracks are sequentially formed on a magnetic tape 13, thereby recording a video signal on the above recording tracks.
Whereas, in the reproducing system, an output signal from the magnetic head 12 is amplified by an amplifying circuit 14 and then a luminance signal is demodulated by a luminance signal processing circuit 15.
In the VTR 1, a chroma signal component is extracted from the output signal of the amplifying circuit 14 by a low-pass filter (LPF) circuit 16 and then corrected in phase characteristic. Then, this chroma signal component is corrected in signal level by an ACC circuit 17.
Further, in the VTR 1, the output signal from the ACC circuit 17 is supplied to a converting circuit 18, in which it is converted into a signal of the original frequency band. Then, this signal is sequentially supplied through a band-pass filter (BPF) circuit 19 and a comb filter circuit 20 to a de-emphasizing circuit 21.
In the VTR 1, the chroma signal is de-emphasized and then added with the luminance signal by an adder circuit 22, whereby the video signal SV is output through the adder circuit 22.
In this kind of VTR, the picture quality is improved by enlarging the frequency band of the luminance signal. Therefore, it is considered that, if the frequency band of the chroma signal is enlarged, then the picture quality can be improved more.
In this case, in the luminance signal recorded on the magnetic tape at its high band side, the frequency band can be enlarged comparatively easily while maintaining a compatibility with the conventional format. Whereas, the chroma signal is recorded on the magnetic tape at its low band side and the frequency band thereof is limited so that the frequency band cannot be substantially enlarged while maintaining the compatibility with the conventional format.


Provided are a low carbon additive for a warm-mix asphalt (WMA) mixture, in which vegetable wax based on modified palm wax is mixed into polyethylene wax so as to be able to promote high-temperature physical properties of the WMA mixture as well as solve problems on low-temperature physical properties of the WMA mixture, warm-mix asphalt produced using the same, and a method of producing the WMA mixture using the using the warm-mix asphalt. The low carbon additive contains polyethylene wax and vegetable wax at a weight ratio of 20:1 to 1:2. The modified palm wax employs palm wax that melt-reacts with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and stearic acid (CH3(CH2)16COOH). This low carbon additive enables the WMA mixture to be efficiently produced, and thus makes it possible to reduce heating energy required when the WMA mixture is produced. Thereby, it is possible to remarkably reduce the emission of carbon dioxide that is a principal factor of global warming.

With the pursuit of recent green growth, high attention has been paid to the environment. As such, the reduction in emission of carbon dioxide for preventing global warming is becoming an international interest. This carbon dioxide emission reduction draws attention because of a possibility of creating a commercial value called carbon emission rights in addition to the prevention of global warming.
In the Europe Climate Exchange located in Amsterdam, Netherlands on the largest scale in the world, the carbon emission rights were traded at an amount of four hundred million tons or more in 2006. The trade of the carbon emission rights is increasing 50% or more each year, and thus the attention to the carbon emission rights is increasing.
In the field of pavement technology of asphalt concrete (asphalt mixture, abbreviated to "ascon"), technology for reducing the emission of carbon dioxide in harmony with the atmosphere has been actively reviewed.
Among them, the most attracting technique in practicality and scale is a pavement technique using a low carbon asphalt mixture capable of reducing mixture and compaction temperatures upon asphalt concrete pavement construction.
Typically, the asphalt mixture is produced by charging asphalt, aggregate, mineral filers, etc. into an asphalt mixing plant, and then heating and mixing these materials.
In this manner, the asphalt mixture is produced by a heating process at a high temperature of 160° C. to 180° C., and undergoes cooling to room temperature in a spreading and compacting process for the pavement.
Here, the reason for which the high-temperature heating process is required to produce the asphalt mixture is that it is necessary to liquefy the asphalt such that the asphalt acts as a binder of the aggregate.
Generally, the asphalt mainly used for asphalt pavement is petroleum based asphalt (in which straight asphalt is mainly used and typically called an "asphalt binder"), which exists in a black solid state at room temperature.
As such, the asphalt is heated and liquefied. An adhesive strength of this liquefied asphalt is used for binding of the aggregate.
Thus, the asphalt mixture used for the asphalt pavement is produced as a hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixture.
To produce the asphalt mixture, a great deal of energy is required to heat the asphalt mixture to a high temperature. Even in construction, the asphalt mixture emits a large quantity of harmful gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), etc.
Further, the high-temperature asphalt mixture spread and compacted in the event of the asphalt pavement delays a time to open traffic in proportion to a time required to be cooled close to room temperature, and causes workers to be exposed to a risk of a safety accident.
To solve these problems, studies have recently been actively made of a warm-mix asphalt (WMA) mixture, which can be mixed and compacted at a lower temperature than the existing HMA mixture.
In other words, studies have been actively made for reducing the mixture and compaction temperatures of the asphalt and the aggregate to thereby reduce the emission of carbon dioxide caused by the pavement of the asphalt mixture.
Pavement technology using this WMA mixture has the following merits compared to that using the HMA mixture, because the WMA mixture can be produced at a temperature of about 110° C. to 140° C., which is 30° C. to 40° C. lower than a temperature required to produce the HMA mixture.
1) It is possible to inhibit a variety of harmful gases from being generated in the process of producing and spreading the asphalt mixture.
2) It is possible to reduce petroleum fuel as a principal component of green house gas by about 30% in the process of producing the asphalt mixture.
3) It is possible to rapidly reopen traffic by reducing a curing time after the asphalt mixture is applied.
4) It is possible to secure safety of workers because no harmful steam or odor is generated in a road construction field.
A core mechanism of the pavement technology of the WMA mixture is to improve fluidity of the asphalt, i.e. to reduce the viscosity of the asphalt as the binder of the aggregate such that an optimal viscosity of the asphalt is obtained at a lower temperature than the HMA mixture, and that an optimal compaction rate of the asphalt is obtained at a lower temperature.
This technology for reducing the viscosity was proposed in 1956 first by Ladis H. Csanyl of Iowa State University, USA, in which the viscosity of the asphalt is reduced by forcibly injecting steam into the asphalt so as to form foam asphalt caused by moisture and air in the asphalt and thus to reduce an internal stress of the asphalt.
This technology has recently been developed in Europe since 2000 to technology for forcibly emulsifying the asphalt to reduce the viscosity of the asphalt by injecting water instead of steam, and technology for producing a foam-WMA mixture that adds zeolite instead of water to discharge contained moisture into water when the zeolite reaches a predetermined temperature (e.g. about 100° C. or more), and thus emulsifies the asphalt.
Meanwhile, the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) has reported the WMA mixture in 2005 for which polyethylene wax, Sasobit, produced by a Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method, is used.
Sasobit is a compound having a molecular weight of several hundreds, which is in a solid state at room temperature and is changed into fluid at a higher temperature. This wax is added to the asphalt, thereby abruptly reducing the viscosity of the asphalt above its melting point and experiencing solidification below its melting point. As such, Sasobit is used as an additive for enhancing an effect of the WMA mixture.
Typically, the polyethylene wax may be produced in various methods. Among these methods, one may involve purifying by-products obtained in the process of producing and processing polyethylene to produce the polyethylene wax, and another method may involve pyrolizing polyethylene to produce the polyethylene wax. Further, there is a method of polymerizing a single molecular material to produce wax molecules, which is a representative example of using the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method as in Sasobit.
The following three methods are used to produce the polyethylene wax.
(1) In the first method, the polyethylene wax is produced from a low-molecular weight by-product obtained in the process of producing a polyethylene resin.
(2) In the second method, the polyethylene wax is produced by pyrolizing a polyethylene resin to reduce its molecular weight.
(3) In the third method, the polyethylene wax is produced by increasing the molecular weight of a single molecular material, for instance, in the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method.
In general, the physical properties of the polyethylene wax are known to be decided by the line shape of a main chain and a molecular weight in a chemical structure thereof.
In detail, the greater the linearity of the main chain of the polyethylene wax, the higher the molecular regularity. Thereby, crystallinity is increased, and thus the physical properties such as melting point, hardness, etc. are increased. It is known that it is possible to produce the polyethylene wax having excellent physical properties such as melt viscosity when the molecular weight of the polyethylene wax is great.
The polyethylene wax obtained from the by-products obtained in the process of producing the polyethylene resin or by pyrolizing the polyethylene resin, is low in the linearity of the main chain thereof compared to that produced by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method, and thus its molecular weight must be increased to improve its physical properties. In this case, the melt viscosity of the polyethylene wax is increased, so that the polyethylene wax cannot be used as the additive of the WMA mixture, and low-temperature stiffness of the polyethylene wax is increased to reduce low-temperature crack resistance of the binder.
In contrast, since the Sasobit wax produced by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method has its molecular structure in which a normal alkane (n-alkane) structure takes 90% or more, the Sasobit wax has a long chain aliphatic hydrocarbon structure having fewer branches than the wax produced by any other method.
Thus, the Sasobit wax has low viscosity and high-temperature physical properties, so that it shows physical properties more suitable as a low-carbon additive than any other polyethylene wax.
Due to its low viscosity, the Sasobit wax produced by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis method has been used as a low-carbon additive, which is very effective for the WMA.
However, although the polyethylene waxes including this Sasobit wax are very excellent in the high-temperature physical properties such as permanent deformation resistance (called rutting resistance), after long-term aging of the asphalt, the asphalt shows an increase in stiffness and a decrease in the rate of change of stiffness (called m-value), and thereby its flexibility is reduced. Thus, it can be seen that the low-temperature physical properties of the asphalt are overall reduced.
As such, the polyethylene waxes including the Sasobit wax have a possibility of reacting as a factor that causes a low-temperature crack of the asphalt mixture (mainly occurring in winter), which is a crack that is originated from the upper portion of a paved layer to be propagated to the lower portion by the imbalance of temperature distribution of the paved layer of the asphalt mixture, and is characterized by transverse generation of the pavement.
Thus, it is necessary to solve a problem on the decrease of the low-temperature physical properties in the WMA mixture using the Sasobit wax as the additive.

Low carbon-dioxide additive compositions and warm-mix asphalt binder and mixture production method using the additive

Korea Institute of Construction Technology


A deep nested filament winding includes a groove formed in a winding spool. The groove is disposed to provide an overall winding pitch about equal to the diameter of the filament multiplied by the square root of three (3).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a filament winding structure and technique and particularly to one that produces a densely packed and mechanically stable filament winding.
2. Description of Related Art
Many modern weapon systems utilize a launched missile in which guidance information is transferred between it and a firing platform via a data link in the form of an electrical conductor or a fiber optic filament. Present weapon systems employing such techniques include the so-called TOW missile (i.e. Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided missile). In order to provide adequate range for the guided projectile, it is necessary to store a very long length of wire or fiber optic filament within the weapon system. Typically, a winding is provided on a spool which pays out filament at an extremely high rate as the projectile is propelled toward the target.
A number of parameters must be considered in designing a winding of the type used to provide a data link for a guided missile. In order to provide efficient packaging, it is desirable to provide a winding which is dense and compact. Additionally, the winding should be structurally stable to enable it to retain its wound configuration during storage, handling and dispensing, thus eliminating or reducing the necessity of employing adhesives to maintain winding stability. Yet another objective in the design of such windings is to minimize filament payout drag.
Most high speed filament dispensers now in use employ closely spaced precision windings in which each filament turn nests between turns of the previous layer. Because such designs will not maintain regular geometry if wound against a flat radial flange surface, each layer is stepped back several turns at its axial ends from the underlying layer to maintain winding stability. These winding techniques result in tapered winding ends which reduce the volumetric efficiency of the winding. Another disadvantage of some prior art winding techniques is high drag imposed during filament payout since the windings must be displaced in a radially outward direction a significant distance in order to clear other wraps as the filament is withdrawn from the winding.


Defects in a thin dielectric layer of a semiconductor device are plugged by a discontinuous layer to maintain integrity of the dielectric without degrading the reliability of the device. In one form of the invention, a semiconductor device (10) includes an oxide layer (14) formed on a substrate material (12). Growth of a nitride layer (18), using CVD techniques, is initiated in any defects (16) in the oxide layer, but growth is terminated prior to entering a continuous growth stage. By plugging the defects with nitride without forming a continuous nitride layer, defect density in thin oxides is reduced without experiencing disadvantages associated with thick oxide-nitride stacks. The invention is also applicable to plugging defects in dielectric layers other than oxide. Furthermore, growth of a discontinuous layer may be achieved with a material other than a nitride using CVD techniques.

Dielectric layers, such as oxides, are commonly used in semiconductor devices to electrically insulate one conductive member or conductive layer from another. For example in a transistor, a gate oxide is used to separate a gate electrode from a substrate material. In a non-volatile memory application, a tunneling oxide is used to separate a floating gate electrode from a substrate material. Oxides are also used frequently as capacitor dielectrics in semiconductor devices. In transistor, non-volatile memory, and capacitor applications, the oxide layer is very thin, typically on the order of 50-200 .ANG. (5-20 nm). Since the oxide layer is thin, any defects in the oxide will have a significant impact on the ability of the film to adequately insulate one conductor from another. Defects which might be present in an oxide may also alter a device's electrical characteristics, including breakdown voltage, programming voltage, and charge storage capacity. For this reason, it is important that thin oxides be of high quality and essentially free of defects.
Achieving a defect-free, thin oxide film is quite difficult. Defects may be introduced into an oxide film as a result of forming the film on a contaminated surface, forming the film in a contaminated reaction chamber, or simply as a result of the growth process in general. Furthermore, once an oxide film is formed, existing defects may be made worse and new defects may be created as a result of subsequent processing. Process induced damage to an oxide layer may be caused, for example, by ion implantation through the oxide layer or by exposing a device to a damaging plasma. Defects and process induced damage adversely affect the reliability of a thin oxide layer.
One known method of reducing the negative effects of defects in an oxide film is to form a CVD (chemical vapor deposition) film on top of the oxide, for instance a CVD silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) film or a CVD oxide film. Depositing a CVD nitride film on a thermally grown oxide to form an oxide-nitride stack is a rather common approach to lowering defectivity. Furthermore, oxide-nitride stacks are more resistant to process induced damage in comparison to stand-alone oxides. Unfortunately, use of an oxide-nitride stack in transistors and capacitors has a significant disadvantage. Nitride films have a much higher charge trapping density than oxide films, resulting in a decrease in semiconductor device reliability, particularly as the nitride thickness increases.
A known alternative to a CVD oxide-nitride stack is a thermal oxy-nitride film formed by the nitridation of an oxide layer. Rather than being a composite of a nitride layer formed on an oxide layer, an oxy-nitride film is an oxide film which has undergone thermal nitridation, resulting in a film having a composition in the form of Si.sub.x O.sub.y N.sub.z. Like oxide-nitride stacks, oxy-nitride films have disadvantages which make the films less than desirable for use in semiconductor devices. In particular, processes used to form oxy-nitride films are not well suited for device fabrication. For instance, the thermal reaction required to form an oxy-nitride film occurs at a high temperature, usually at a temperature above 950.degree. C., although temperatures near 850.degree. C. have been reported. High temperature processing in semiconductor devices is undesirable, especially if diffused regions have previously been formed in an underlying substrate material since the high temperature will modify the diffusion profile in the substrate. Furthermore, the process tolerances for forming an oxy-nitride film are very small because parameters must be kept at levels which minimize the amount of nitrogen present at the interface between a substrate material and the initial oxide film. Too much nitrogen at this interface causes an undesirable shift in a device's threshold voltage and a reduction in transconductance.
In order to successfully scale down the size of semiconductor devices, an ongoing goal in the semiconductor industry, manufacturers must develop a method of producing thin, reliable oxide films. Each of the previously mentioned approaches to improving the reliability of a thin oxide has distinct and unfortunate disadvantages. For this reason a need exists for an improved method for forming dielectric layers in semiconductor devices.

Process for plugging defects in a dielectric layer of a semiconductor device


An automatic white-balance controlling is for controlling the white-balance of an imaged screen, by controlling the color signal level in accordance with an up-down counting result in a microcomputer. A limited area is established within a VB-VR plane, and a level adjusting operation of the color signals corresponding to the area is limited so as to render a stable white-balance adjusted operation. Judged from data in a time series, the accuracy of the white-balance controlling operation can be assured executing somewhat redundant processing.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically controlling the white-balance of a color video camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
A color imaging system typically comprises a white-balance controlling apparatus for displaying an object on the screen in colors as close as possible to those viewed through the human eye.
A human eye identifies a white color object as it is when the color temperature of light illuminating the object is within a predetermined range, irrespective of the fluctuation. The color of an object captured by the color imaging system, however, originally tends to blue proportionally to the increase of the light color temperature, while it tends to redden proportionally to its decrease. This means that the colors recognized by the color imaging system and by the human eye differ mutually depending on the color temperature of the illumination light.
A white-balance controlling apparatus has been used to adjust such a difference and to give correct levels of both colors. This apparatus acts to correct color data obtained by imaging an object in accordance with the color temperature of an illumination light.
FIG. 24 of the accompanying drawings shows an example of an imaging apparatus such as color video cameras, etc. comprising a predecessor automatic white-balance controlling apparatus, which is a lightly-modified apparatus based on the technical concept disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 43872/1979.
in FIG. 24, the apparatus includes a lens 1, an imaging element 2, and a color separating circuit 3. The lens 1 receives an optical image in a imaging apparatus such as color video camera etc.. The color separating circuit 3 separates the signal obtained by photoelectrical conversion into three color signals of R, G, and B.
These three color signals are supplied to the processing circuit 6 in the following manner respectively: the signal of R (hereinafter called tile R signal, and similarly for the other two signals), through a gain control circuit (hereinafter called as GC); the G signal, directly; the B signal, through GC5. The processing circuit 6 generates a brightness signal (hereinafter referred to as Y signal) and a color difference signal from the R signal, G signal, and B signal. There are two types of color difference signal. These are, R-Y signal representing the level difference between the R signal and the Y signal, and B-Y signal representing the level difference between the B signal and the Y signal. These Y, R-Y, and B-Y signals are encoded by an encoder 7 and output therefrom as a color video signal.
Aforementioned are a composition of signals generally not relevant to the white-balance control, which is performed by adjusting the levels of the R signal and the B signal by GC4 and GC5. GC4 and GC5 are circuits which adjust the level of the R signal or the B signal with a gain variable in accordance with the gain control signal. The gain control signal is generated by the following composition. Namely, the composition hereinafter described performs negative return control for the GC4 and the GC5 on the basis of the detected result of the integrated value of the R-Y signal and the B-Y signal, and is called an automatic white-balance controlling apparatus.
FIG. 24 shows integrator circuits 8 and 9. The integrator circuit 8 integrates R-Y signal while the integrator circuit 9 integrates B-Y signal. The integrated values of the R-Y signal and the B-Y signal obtained in the integrated circuits 8 and 9 respectively are supplied to the non-inverse input terminal of the comparators 10 or 11. The inverse input terminals of the comparators 10 and 11 receives a reference voltage Vref from a reference voltage generator 15. The comparator 10 and 11 compare the integrated values of the R-Y signal and the B-Y signal to the reference voltage Vref and output a signal representing the compared result (hereinafter, the signals output from the comparators 10 and 11 are called RchCOMP and BchCOMP respectively).
RchCOMP and BchCOMP are supplied to the microcomputer 12, which generates Rch0UT and Bch0UT based on RchCOMP and BchCOMP and outputs them in accordance with the clock pulse. Rch0UT and Bch0UT correspond to either the R signal or the B signal of the gain control signal, and are generated in accordance with a predetermined algorithm. The microcomputer 12 outputs one coupled is a D/A converters 13 and 14, where the former and the latter convert respectively Rch0UT and Bch0UT into analog gain controlling signal. A gain controlling signal for Rch0UT is supplied to GC4 for controlling the R signal level, while a gain controlling signal for Bch0UT is supplied to GC5 for controlling the B signal level. However, GC4 and GC5 increasingly changes the gains for the values of the gain controlling signals linearly.
This control is performed such that the R-Y signal and the B-Y signal become zero when an achromatic color is imaged. The reason why such a control is possible is that; when a scene is imaged, if the R-Y signal in respect of the entire scene is integrated, the conditions become the same as in the case when an achromatic color is imaged, and if the B-Y signal in respect of the entire scene is integrated, the conditions again become the same as in the case when an achromatic color is imaged. Such adjustment would assure a certain white balance irrespective of the change of the light source for illuminating the object.
Comprising such a composition, the operation of an automatic white-balance controlling apparatus has been dependent on the operation of the microcomputer 12. FIG. 25 shows an example of the operation of the microcomputer 12.
As shown in FIG. 25, immediately after the starting of the operation, the initializations of Rch0UT, BchOUT, RchUDC, BchUDC are carried out (S1). These RchUDC and BchUDC are original values for RchOUT and Bch0UT respectively, and can be obtained by the following reversible calculation. Upon completion of the step S1, a calculation loop is entered as shown in the drawing.
In this loop, firstly it is judged whether the H value or the L value should be selected from the comparing circuit 10 (S2). The case where RchCOMP from the comparing circuit 10 is the H value represents that the integrated value of R-Y signal is above the reference value Vref. The reference value Vref is set in accordance with the value of the color difference signal (near the 0V). Therefore, the case where RchCOMP from the comparing circuit 10 is the H value results from the average value of the R-Y signal for one screen being higher than the average value of R-Y signal in the case where an achromatic (white) color object is imaged. Meanwhile, on the contrary, the case where RchCOMP from the comparing circuit 10 is the L value results from the average value of the R-Y signal for one screen being lower than an average value of R-Y signal in the case where an achromatic (white) color object is imaged. After step S2, a decrement of RchUDC is executed when it is H value (S3), while RchUDC increment is executed when it is the L value (S4).
Next, it is judged whether the H or L value is selected from the comparing circuit 11 (S5). In the same manner as step S2, the case where BchCOMP from the comparing circuit 11 is the H value results from the average voltage of B-Y signal for one screen being higher than the average voltage of B-Y signal of the case where an achromatic (white) object is imaged. On the contrary, the case where BchCOMP from the comparing circuit 11 is the L value results from the average voltage of B-Y signal for one screen being lower than the average voltage of B-Y signal of the case where an achromatic (white) object is imaged. In step S5, an increment of BchUDC increment is executed when it is judged as the H value (S6), and a decrement of BchUDC is executed when it is judged as the L value (S7).
Thereafter, RchOUT and Bch0UT are output (S8). RchOUT and BchOUT are generated based on the values of RchUDC and BchUDC. Most simply, RchUDC and BchUDC themselves are used as they are. After step S8, clock pulse-input waiting is executed (S9), and the loop returns to step S2 upon receiving the input.
Thus, RchUDC and BchUDC are obtained from the information representing the level of the average voltage for one screen and on the basis of the comparison with the reference voltage Vref. Based on these values for RchUDC and BchUDC, the level adjustment for the R signal and B signal carried out. As a result, it is possible to exercise control such that R-Y signal and B-Y signal are zero when an achromatic object is imaged as mentioned above.
FIG. 26 shows another example of the operation of the microcomputer 12 where RchUDC and BchUDC are dealt as RchOUT and BchOUT respectively. Accordingly, unlike the case shown in FIG. 25, no initialization of RchOUT and Bch0UT is performed in step S1', while RchUDC and BchUDC are output in step S8' after step S9.
FIG. 27 shows another example of an imaging apparatus for a color video camera etc.. This apparatus also comprises a similar conventional automatic white-balance controlling apparatus but different in having a automatic gain controller 116 between the imaging element 102 and the color separating circuit 103. In this composition, it is possible to stabilize the white-balance adjustment by controlling the input level of the color separating circuit 103.
However, several disadvantages have arisen in such conventional automatic white-balance controlling apparatus.
Firstly, when green colored objects occupy a majority of the visual imaging field and therefore green is the major color in the screen, the GC for the R signal and the GC for the B signal cause the GC circuits to enter an excessively gained state. In consequence, the image of a white object, which should be seen in white color in the screen, would be colored in magenta. Namely, the white-balance breakes, thereby for example the blue sky would appear inclined to white, and the skin of a Japanese would appear white.
Secondly, the output value of the comparing circuit would be unstable, if noise were introduced to its input. Namely, the white-balance oscillates.
Thirdly, the white-balance tends to be unstable when there is too short a distance to the object. When the distance to the object is long, the objects can usually be within the visual field. Therefore, the integration of the color difference signal can be executed based on the many objects, providing stable white-balance control. However, when the distance to the object is short, the number of objects that fall within the visual field becomes too small, namely only one or the like, thereby the polarity of the output of the comparing circuit tends to reverse. As a result, the white-balance control tends to be unstable.
Fourthly, with the use of a zooming lens if the zooming ratio is on the tele-side, the white-balance control would tend to be unstable. This is because; when the zooming ratio is on the wide side and a number of objects can be within the visual field, the integration of the color difference signal can be executed on the basis of the various objects. However, in this case the number of objects to be within the visual field is small, one or the like, thereby the output of the comparing circuit can reverse frequently.
Further, the white-balance would tend to be unstable when the lightness of the object is insufficient. Namely, if the object has sufficient lightness and the level of the signal from the imaging element is large enough to ignore the noise, the white-balance controlling operation would stabilize. But it the lightness is insufficient, the output polarity of the comparing circuit would tend to reverse due to the noise.

Automatic white-balance controlling apparatus


Apparatuses and methods of operating the same are described. A sensor system including a sensor, a processor, and a communication subsystem. The sensor may measure a defined area of a path located below the sensor system to obtain a sensor measurement. The processor may be coupled to the sensor. The processor may determine at least one of environmental condition information within the defined area or characteristic information associated with an object within the defined area using the sensor measurement. The communication subsystem may be coupled to the processor. The communication subsystem may send at least one of the environmental condition information or the characteristic information to a communication system of a vehicle.

Autonomous vehicles are configured to navigate through an environment with little or no input from a driver. An autonomous vehicle may include multiple sensors that take scene measurements within an area surrounding the autonomous vehicle. The autonomous vehicle may use information from the environmental measurements to navigate through the environment, avoid collisions, and efficiently reach a destination. For example, if a processor uses a sensor to identify the vehicle is approaching an obstacle, the autonomous vehicle may navigate around the obstacle to avoid a collision.


An automatic stop mechanism for a tape recorder having a first rotary member adapted to rotate in connection with the feed of the tape, a second rotary member adapted to rotate in connection with the operation of a motor, and a slide member adapted to be displaced in accordance with the state of operation of said first and second rotary members. The slide member is adapted to switch the tape recorder to inoperative mode when the first rotary member stops to rotate.

The present invention relates to an automatic stop mechanism for a tape recorder.
Cassette tape recorders typically have automatic stop mechanisms adapted to reset automatically a recording push button or a play-back push button in order to stop the tape recorder automatically when the tape has run to its end during recording or play-back operation of the recorder.
Such mechanisms typically have detecting levers sensitive to a change in the tension of the tape and located at a position near where the tape leaves the reel in the cassette and runs straight or linearly, such that the path of the tape may be wound or curved around the detecting rod. When the tape is run to its end, the tension in the tape increases and tends to straighten the tape and thereby generate a force to displace the detecting rod. The automatic stopping of the recording operation or the play-back operation is effected by making use of this movement of the detecting rod.
Such conventional automatic stopping mechanisms, however, have an impractically complicated construction which oftens includes several minute or delicate gears and levers, resulting in difficulty in the production and a raised cost of manufacture.

Automatic stop mechanism for tape recorder


Drawout switchgear characterized by a circuit interrupter unit movable into and out of a cell between disconnected and connected positions of separable terminals supported in the cell and on said unit, a levering-on mechanism for moving said unit between disconnected and connected positions of the terminals, the levering-in mechanism comprising a pair of cams on a cam shaft which shaft comprises telescoping shaft segments to facilitate assembly of the operating mechanism.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to drawout switchgear and, more particularly, to a cam shaft therefor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most circuit breakers having very high interrupting capacities are designed to require a minimum amount of space. As a result, design requirements present a problem of critical space clearances which involve difficulties during assembly in a minimum-sized enclosure.

Drawout switchgear with telescoping cam shaft


A waterproof rubber plug has a through hole through which an electric wire is inserted. A terminal to which the electric wire is connected has a clamping member for clamping one end portion of the rubber plug. An inner housing has a terminal chamber for accommodating the terminal. An outer housing having sidewalls for defining a chamber provided with a bottom wall, into which the inner housing is fitted. A through hole, through which the electric wire is inserted, is formed on the bottom wall so as to face the terminal chamber when the inner housing is inserted into the chamber of the outer housing. A recess is formed on the bottom wall so as to communicate with the through hole in order to accommodate the rubber plug when the inner housing is completely fitted into the chamber of the outer housing, thereby sealing the electric wire and the terminal chamber.

The present invention relates to a small size multi-way water proof connector with an improved water proof property between a connector housing and a plurality of electric wires connected with terminals, and a method of assembling the same.
A related waterproof connector, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-329571A, will be explained specifically with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4E. A connector housing 11 of a water proof connector 10' comprises a synthetic resin inner housing 12 having a plurality of terminal chambers 13 formed integrally therewith, a synthetic resin outer housing 17 for fitting the inner housing 12 to the inside thereof, and a synthetic resin spacer 28 disposed between the inner housing 12 and the outer housing 17 for holding female terminals 14 accommodated in each terminal chamber 13 of the inner housing 12. p As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the inner housing 12 has a box part 12a with the rear side of the upper and lower faces opened, for forming the terminal chambers 13 in a space formed with the center horizontal wall 12b and vertical side walls 12c, serving also as partition walls in the vertical direction. The female terminals 14 can be accommodated in each terminal chamber 13. Moreover, engagement claws 15 are formed integrally, projecting from both sides and the center of the upper and lower faces of the box part 12a as well as flange parts 16 are formed integrally projecting from the front end of the both side center parts. Rectangular insertion holes 12d through which female terminals of a mating connector (not illustrated) are inserted are formed in the front wall of the box part 12a at a position corresponding to each terminal chamber 13. Furthermore, a pair of press-connecting blades 14b, 14b are formed by bending each in both side plate parts in the rear part of a box part 14a of the female terminals.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the outer housing 17 has a double box-like shape with the front side opened, with a substantially quadrilateral pipe-like inner wall part 17a, a substantially quadrilateral pipe-like outer wall part 17b for containing the inner wall part 17a, and a bottom wall part 17c, connecting the rear parts of the inner and outer wall parts 17a, 17b. A thick portion is provided in the center of the bottom wall part 17c. Rubber plug chambers 19 having a large diameter round cross-section for storing the water proof rubber plugs 18 by press-in are formed at a position corresponding to each terminal chamber 13 at the front side with respect to the thick portion as well as insertion holes 21 having a small diameter round cross-section for inserting electric wires 20 therethrough are formed, communicating with each corresponding rubber plug chamber 19 at the rear side with respect to the thick portion. The water proof rubber plugs 18 have a substantially cylindrical shape with the rugged inner and outer circumferential faces so that the electric wires 20 can be inserted through the inside thereof without having a gap.
Moreover, rectangular engagement holes 22 to be engaged with each engagement claw 15 at both sides of the upper and lower faces of the box part 12a of the inner housing 12 are formed at both front sides of the upper and lower walls of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17 as well as rectangular longitudinal engagement holes 23 to be engaged with each engagement claw 15 at the center of the upper and lower faces of the box part 12a of the inner housing 12 are formed at the front center portion of the upper and lower walls of the inner wall part 17a. Furthermore, a V-shaped packing receiving part 25 for receiving an annular rubber water proof packing 24 is formed integrally, projecting from the deep part of the outer face side of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17. Tapered faces 26 are formed in the front rim of the inner face side of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing at a position corresponding to each engagement hole 22, 23. Moreover, engagement holes 27 to be engaged with flexible engagement arms of a mating connector (not illustrated) are formed at the front side of the upper and lower walls of the outer wall part 17b of the outer housing 17.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the spacer 28 forms a box-like shape with the front side opened, with a substantially quadrilateral pipe-like body 28 to be fitted with the inner face side of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17, a substantially quadrilateral pipe-like brim part 28b formed integrally with the front end of the body 28a, bent rearward therefrom, to be fitted with the outer face side of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing, and a bottom wall part 28c of the body 28a.
Accordingly, the box part 12a of the inner housing 12 can be fitted into the body 28a of the spacer 28. Rib-like projections 29 for preventing fall-off of the terminals are formed integrally, projecting from the inner face of the upper and lower walls of the body 28a of the spacer 28, to be engaged with the rear end rim of the box part 14a of the female terminals 14 accommodated in each terminal chamber 13.
Moreover, notch portions 30, 31 are formed in the front side of the portion connecting the body 28a and the brim part 28b of the spacer 28 at a position corresponding to each of the engagement claw 15 and the flange part 16 of the inner housing 12. Engagement claws 32 to be engaged with each engagement hole 23 of the outer housing 17 are formed integrally, projecting form the outer face side of the upper and lower walls of the body 28a of the spacer 28 between the upper and lower side notch portions 30. Furthermore, the tip portion of the brim part 28b can hold the packing 24 engaged with the packing receiving part 25 of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17 when the fitting operation with respect to the outer housing 17 is completed.
Moreover, insertion holes 33 are formed in the bottom wall part 28c of the spacer 28 at a position corresponding to each insertion hole 21 of the outer housing 17. Furthermore, the bottom wall part 28c of the spacer 28 can hold the rubber plugs 18 inserted in each rubber plug chamber 19 of the bottom wall part 17c of the outer housing when the fitting operation with respect to the outer housing 17 is completed. As shown in FIG. 2, each electric wire 20 inserted through each insertion hole 21 of the outer housing 17, each rubber plug 18 and each insertion hole 33 of the spacer 28 is press-connected between the pair of the press-connecting blades 14b, 14b of each female terminal accommodated in each terminal chamber 13 of the inner housing 12 so that each terminal chamber 13 and each electric wire 20 are sealed with the rubber plug 18 and the packing 24, respectively.
In assembling the water proof connector 10' with the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. 4A, the rubber plugs 18 are inserted and set in each rubber plug chamber 19 inside the bottom wall part 17c of the outer housing 17 comprising the outside of the connector housing 11 from the connector housing fitting direction as well as the packing 24 is inserted and set in the packing receiving part 25 of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the body 28a of the spacer 28 is fitted into the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17 so that each engagement claw 32 of the body 28a of the spacer 28 is engaged with each engagement hole 23 of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17. According to the engagement of each engagement hole 23 of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17 and each engagement claw 32 of the body 28a of the spacer 28, fall-off of each rubber plug 18 is prevented by the bottom wall part 17c of the outer housing 17 as well as fall-off of the packing 24 is prevented by the oblique tip end of the brim part 28b of the spacer 28 so that the water proof property of the connector housing as a whole can further be improved.
As shown in FIG. 4C, the electric wires 20 are inserted through each insertion hole 21 of the bottom wall part 17c of the outer housing 17, each rubber plug 18, and each insertion hole 33 of the bottom wall part 28c of the spacer 28 from the outside. Then, as shown in FIG. 4D, each electric wire 20 is press-connected with the pair of the press-connecting blades 14b, 14b of the female terminals 14 accommodated in each terminal chamber 13 of the inner housing 12 comprising the inner side of the connector housing 11.
As shown in FIG. 4E, the inner housing 12 is fitted into the body 28a of the spacer 28 so that each engagement claw 15 of the box part 12a of the inner housing 12 is engaged with each engagement hole 23 of the inner wall part 17a of the outer housing 17 so as to complete the assembly of the water proof connector 10'. At the time, since the rear end rim of the box part 12a of the inner housing 12 and the rear end rim of the box part 14a of the female terminals 14 accommodated in each terminal chamber 13 are locked according to each projection 29 projecting to the inner face of the upper and lower walls of the body 28a of the spacer 28 as well as each projection 29 cannot deform outward, fall-off of the female terminals 14 from each terminal chamber can be prevented certainly. Besides, since the spacer 28 can hold each female terminal 14 and each rubber plug 18 at the same time, a component dedicated to prevention of fall-off of the rubber plug can be eliminated, and thus a low cost can be achieved by cutback of the number of the components. Furthermore, since the spacer 28 can be locked doubly according to the engagement of each engagement claw 32 of the spacer 28 itself with each engagement hole 23 of the outer housing 17 and the engagement of each engagement claw 15 o the inner housing 12 with each engagement hole 23 of the outer housing 17, fall-off of each rubber plug 18 and the packing 24 can be prevented certainly so that the water proof reliability can further be improved.
However, according to the related water proof connector 10', since the rubber plugs 18 are accommodated preliminarily in the rubber plug chambers 19 of the outer housing 17 as shown in FIG. 4B, the electric wires 20 can easily be bent due to the sliding friction between the rubber plugs 18 and the electric wires as shown in FIG. 5 at the time of the electric wire insertion by inserting the electric wires 20 through the insertion holes 21 of the outer housing 17 and the insertion holes 33 of the spacer 28 shown in FIGS. 4B to 4C, and at the time of fitting the housing by sliding the electric wires 20 with respect to the insertion holes 33 of the spacer 28 and the insertion holes 21 of the outer housing 17 so as to fit the inner housing 12 into the spacer 28 fitted inside the outer housing 17 shown in FIGS. 4D to 4E so that there is a risk of causing a trouble in the wire harness production. That is, there is a risk of deteriorating the assembly operativity of the water proof connector 10' due to the increased operation load by the sliding friction between the rubber plugs 18 and the electric wires 20 at the time of the electric wire inserting operation of the electric wires 20 and the housing fitting operation of fitting the inner housing 12 into the outer housing 17 side.
Moreover, since the function of preventing the fall-off of the rubber plugs 18 is provided to the spacer 28, the longitudinal body 28a for integrally forming the bottom wall part 28c for holding the rubber plugs 18 is indispensable in the spacer 28, resulting in bulkiness of the water proof connector 10'.

Waterproof connector and method of assembling the same


This invention relates to a wheel chair which is composed of a seat, a track device, a cushion device and an angle-regulate device so as to make the wheel chair can cross over the ditch or go up or down the stairs, when going up the stairs, user must lift the main wheels upwardly so as to make the track assembly contact the ground, then sliding the seat to the front slant part of the guide groove by its rollers, when the wheel chair going up to the last stairs, it can be returned to the horizontal position by means of the cushion device, when going down the stairs, user must slide the seat to the rear slant part of the guide groove, then going down the stairs by means of the track assembly, furthermore when the wheel chair crossing over the ditch, user must move first the seat to rear part of the wheel chair until the front part of the track assembly run over the ditch, then moving the seat to the front part so as to make the wheel chair cross over the ditch.

This invention relates to a wheel chair which includes a track device, a cushion device and an angle regulation mechanism to permit the wheel chair to cross over ditches or other impediments as well as negotiate stairs.
Conventional wheel chairs have the following defects: (1) conventional wheel chairs cannot negotiate stairs and the user has to rely on others to lift the wheel chair over the stairs, which is inconvenient and, (2) conventional wheel chairs cannot negotiate ditches, whereby the user must make a detour which is inconvenient and is a waste of time.


An object of the present invention is to provide an antilock brake system control device that can realize an accurate constant speed running control by cooperating an ABS control and a constant speed running. The control device includes: an ABS control hydraulic circuit that controls an ABS of each wheel; constant speed running controllers 213, 271 that supply hydraulic pressure to a rear brake 12 when a vehicle runs down a slope; wheel rotation speed detectors 13FL, 13FR, 13RL, 13RR; a monitor 67 that monitors a set speed under constant speed running control; a monitor 61 that monitors actual speed of the vehicle; a judging unit 68 that judges whether running speed is being kept constant or not based on the set speed and the actual speed; and a regulator 69 that regulates decompression by the ABS control when it is judged that the running speed is not being kept constant.

Conventionally, an antilock brake system (ABS) of a vehicle is controlled by an ABS control system to avoid wheels of the vehicle to be locked upon sudden braking and assure proper running stability.
Specifically, it is well known as a technique that a wheel speed sensor is provided on each wheel of a vehicle and outputs from the wheel speed sensor are processed by an electronic control system to control the ABS. The minimum, maximum or average output value of the wheel speed sensor is selected as a vehicle speed to calculate slipping rate based on the vehicle speed and a wheel speed of each wheel to judge whether any wheel skids or not to start ABS control (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Traditionally, a retarder is provided on vehicles such as a dump truck to avoid overrun of an engine when the vehicles run down a long slope carrying a heavy load. The retarder is controlled by a retarder controller. The retarder controller detects rotation frequency of an output shaft of an engine and an input shaft of a transmission by a sensor and the like. When the detected rotation frequency of the shaft exceeds a certain threshold, the retarder is started to be operated to avoid overrun of the engine (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Cooperation between an ABS and a retarder simultaneously realizes constant speed running of a vehicle and proper braking force for the vehicle which avoids wheels to be locked.    [Patent Document 1] JP-UM-A-7-14180 ([0019]-[0020])    [Patent Document 2] JP-A-10-198417 (FIG. 2, page 2)

Antilock brake system control device and method