In a wireless ad-hoc communication system according to an embodiment of the invention, a plurality of communication terminals transmit/receive beacons and are synchronized. The wireless ad-hoc communication system includes first and second networks each including one or more communication terminals; and one or more synchronizing terminals. The synchronizing terminals are capable of transmitting/receiving the beacons to/from the communication terminals. In the wireless ad-hoc communication system, at least one of the communication terminals belonging to the first network and at least one of the communication terminals belonging to the second network exist within a reachable range of the beacons from one of the one or more synchronizing terminals to construct one synchronized network with the first network, the second network, and the synchronizing terminals.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless ad-hoc communication system. In particular, the invention relates to synchronization architecture for communication terminals in a wireless ad-hoc communication system.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, in IEEE802.15 wireless personal area network (PAN) working group, extensive studies about media access control (MAC) of short-range wireless communications have been made.
There is no access point on the network of the wireless PAN unlike a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) complying with the IEEE802.11 series, so that data transmission/reception is directly executed between terminals as network elements. As remarked above, a feature of the wireless PAN resides in ad-hoc and peer-to-peer data transmission/reception between the terminals.
Another feature of the wireless PAN is to support synchronous data transfer (isochronous transfer) by means of TDMA (Time Division Multiplexing) as well as asynchronous data transfer (asynchronous transfer) based on access control such as CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) despite the fact that there is no access point, at the time of transferring data between terminals.
For the TDMA-based isochronous transfer, it is necessary to synchronize terminals as network elements to match phases of time slots thereof. To synchronize the terminals, for example, in the IEEE802.15.3 standards, a device called Piconet controller (PNC) has been introduced. In the IEEE802.15.3 standards, PNC and communication terminals controlled by the PNC are collectively referred to as "Piconet".
FIG. 9 shows the network structure conforming to the IEEE802.15.3 standards. A PNC 61 periodically transmits a beacon to synchronize communication terminals 62 to 64, and allocates time slots in a superframe following the beacon to the communication terminals 62 to 64. In this way, in the IEEE802.15.3 standards, network elements can be synchronized under the control of the PNC.
Incidentally, if a communication terminal belonging to a given Piconet is moved within a radio wave reachable range of another Piconet, synchronization between superframes of the Piconets is not achieved, resulting in interference of radio waves. For example, as shown in FIG. 10A, Piconet A and Piconet B approach each other and then, as shown in FIG. 10B, radio wave reachable ranges of the Piconets overlap with each other.
FIG. 11A shows superframes of the Piconets A and B that approach each other as shown in FIG. 10B. Reference numerals 601 to 603 denote beacons sent from the PNC 61, and 611 and 612 denote CTA time slots for isochronous transfer used in the Piconet A. Likewise, reference numerals 651 to 653 denote beacons sent from a PNC 65, and 661 to 665 denote CTA time slots for isochronous transfer used in the Piconet B. In FIG. 11A, transmission timings of the beacons 601 to 603 in the Piconet A correspond to the allocated CTA time slots 661, 663, and 665 of the Piconet B, respectively. In addition, CTA time slots 611 and 612 of the Piconet A overlap CTA time slots 662 and 664 of the Piconet B. As mentioned above, if interference occurs between beacons or time slots used for isochronous transfer, critical communication failures occur.
To that end, there has been proposed a method of preventing interferences among time slots used for the isochronous transfer in such a manner that the PNC that controls individual Piconets synchronize superframes and reallocates time slots to establish a cooperative relation (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-143644, for instance). As shown in FIG. 11B, the PNC 61 and the PNC 65 reallocate time slots not to overlap transmission/reception timings thereof.
Meanwhile, there have been hitherto made studies on a control method for synchronizing communication terminals necessary for TDMA-based isochronous transfer without introducing a control station such as the PNC. One of the MAC techniques to execute such control is MBOA MAC which is being under study in WiMedia-MBOA (Wimedia-Multiband-OFDM Alliance).
The MBOA MAC adopts a common beacon interval called a superframe for supporting both of the isochronous transfer and the asynchronous transfer. In this respect, the MBOA MAC is the same as the IEEE802.15.3 standards. Communication terminals adopting the same beacon interval are collectively referred to as a beacon group. The communication terminals of the beacon group execute isochronous transfer and asynchronous transfer with phase-coherent time slots in the superframe. Incidentally, since there is no control station corresponding to the PNC on the MBOA network, the communication terminals send individually beacons to achieve synchronization of the superframes.
Further, similar to the MBOA MAC, MAC for wireless ad-hoc communications without the PNC has been disclosed in S. Datta et al. "Ad-hoc extensions to the 802.15.3 MAC Protocol" at the Internet URL: http://paul.rutgers.edu/˜sdatta/wowmom.pdf (a search was made online for this specification on Apr. 14, 2005). The MAC disclosed in this publication defines a beacon period divided into plural beacon slots and set at the head of a superframe defined by beacon intervals. A communication terminal intended to participate in a working network listens beacons from existing communication terminals, and sends its own beacon at a free beacon slot. Through these operations, each communication terminal can use a common superframe to achieve synchronization necessary for isochronous transfer.
FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of a wireless ad-hoc communication system having no PNC and adopted in the above MBOA MAC. All communication terminals 71 to 74 individually send beacons and are autonomously synchronized, and eventually, the entire system can converge on a common beacon interval and superframe.
Incidentally, similar to the IEEE802.15.3 standards, in the MBOA MAC or the MAC disclosed in S. Datta et al.'s paper as well, radio wave interference occurs if beacon groups approach one another. In order to avoid the above interference, S. Datta et al.'s paper discloses such a technique that nodes belong to a given network adjust a starting position of a beacon period to a starting position of a beacon period of another network to synchronize each other's superframes.
FIGS. 13A to 14B illustrate how communication terminals operate when wireless ad-hoc communication networks having no PNC approach each other. FIG. 13A shows a state in which the network C is independent of the network D. That is, beacons sent from the communication terminals 81 to 83 constituting the network C do not reach communication terminals 84 and 85 constituting the network D, and vice versa (beacons sent from the communication terminals 84 and 85 do not reach the communication terminals 81 to 83).
FIG. 14B shows a superframe corresponding to the arrangement of the communication terminals of FIG. 13A. Beacons 811 to 813, 821 to 823, and 831 to 833 sent from communication terminals 81 to 83 constituting the network C are synchronized with one another and arranged in their superfame. In this way, the communication terminals 81 to 83 are synchronized with a common basic superframe length. On the other hand, beacons 841 to 843 and 851 to 853 sent from communication terminals 84 and 85 constituting the network D are synchronized with each other and arranged in their superfame. In this way, the communication terminals 84 and 85 are synchronized with a common basic superframe length. However, since the network C and the network D do not exchange beacons, starting positions of the superframes of the network C and the network D do not match, and time slots (e.g., CTS time slots 814 and 844) for isochronous transfer of the networks C and D overlap with each other on the time axis.
FIG. 13B shows how the networks C and D approach each other and converge on one synchronized network E. FIG. 14B shows a superframe in this case. FIG. 14B shows how to adjust a starting position of a beacon period of the communication terminals 84 and 85 belonging to the network D to a starting position of a beacon period of the network C to thereby synchronize superframes. After synchronizing the superframes, interfering time slots are reallocated.
As mentioned above, if the two networks approach, in the IEEE802.15.3 standards, it is necessary to establish a cooperative relation between the Piconets and achieve synchronization between superframes. Further, in the MBOA MAC, it is necessary to merge beacon groups to achieve synchronization between superframes. Also in the MAC disclosed in S. Datta et al.'s paper, it is necessary to adjust the starting positions of beacon periods to match phases of superframes, that is, adjust superframe lengths and superframe start timings. In such a process of reconstructing the network for synchronization, there is a high possibility of a interruption of communications between communication terminals.
In the wireless PAN, each communication terminal has high mobility. Thus, it is necessary to frequently execute synchronization process each time the communication terminal is moved. This results in a problem that network synchronization largely influences communications between communication terminals.
Especially in the MBOA MAC or the MAC disclosed in S. Datta et al's paper, even though some communication terminals of one beacon group interfere with another beacon group, all communication terminals of the one beacon group should match their phases of superframes with that of the other beacon group. Hence, an influence of the network synchronization on communications between the communication terminals is particularly large.

Wireless ad-hoc communication system and communication terminal synchronizing method in wireless ad-hoc communication system


A door handle device for a vehicle includes a first handle member made of resin and formed with a housing portion which houses an electronic component and is arranged opposing to the outer panel and a second handle member covering the housing portion and assembled to the first handle member. A first connector, which protrudes in a vehicle width direction penetrating through the outer panel, is provided at an end of the first handle member. A board mounted with a control circuit connected to the electronic component is housed in the housing portion in a state where the board is connected to a terminal of the first connector and a terminal of the electronic component.

Known door handles for a vehicle which are mounted on an outer panel of a door to protrude outwardly therefrom and are operated for opening/closing the door have been disclosed. Electronic components built in the door handle are connected to a control unit provided outside the door handle via a wire harness. For example, according to a door handle described in DE19633894C (column 3-5; FIG. 1), a connector 30 is provided on a tip end of an arm 11, which is provided to extend towards inside of the door relative to a door panel 40, to protrude in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle. A micro switch 53 for outputting door lock signals is provided in the door handle so as to be remotely operable. Terminals of the micro switch 53 are connected to terminals of the connector 30 by wire harnesses 18.
With the construction of the door handle for the vehicle described in DE19633894C, a board, which is mounted with a control circuit connected to electronic components such as a micro switch built in the door handle, is not provided in the door handle. Thus, the terminals of the electronic components are connected to the terminals of the connector via the wire harnesses and the electronic components have to be connected to the board provided outside the door handle through the connector, which complicates assembling operation.
A need thus exists for a door handle device, in which a connector is configured so that a board mounted with a control circuit, which is linked to electronic components built in the door handle, and which is connectable to terminals of the electronic components and to a terminal of the connector.


A pipe lap joint is disclosed with an improved sealing zone structure in the overlap region of the pipe. The sealing zone comprises a pair of end-to-end intersecting slots which are covered by a clamping band and which allow the sealing zone of the pipe to be collapsed against the inner pipe when the clamping band is tightened. The outboard slot extends inwardly from the end of the pipe and terminates in a transverse end wall within the overlap region. The inboard slot is circumferentially offset from the outboard slot and extends inwardly from an outer end wall thereof. The adjacent sidewalls of the slots are in substantial alignment with each other and the end walls are also in substantial alignment with each other whereby the end walls of the slots are disposed in edge-to-edge engagement with each other when the overlap region of the outer pipe is collapsed into close fitting engagement with the inner pipe.

In certain applications, especially in vehicle exhaust systems, it is desired to provide a pipe joint with a high pull apart strength and a good fluid seal between the pipes. This has been provided by a wide band clamp of the type in which the band is stretched over a butt joint with tight engagement against both pipes. This pipe coupling is disclosed in the Cassel U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,623 granted Sept. 16, 1975. This patent also dislcoses a lap joint in which the outer pipe serves as a clamping sleeve and receives the end of the other pipe in overlapping relationship. Force applying means are provided on the clamping sleeve to stretch the sleeve into tight engagement with the inner pipe.
A pipe coupling with a lap joint for exhaust systems with high pull-apart strength and good fluid sealing is also disclosed in the Cassel U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,273 granted Nov. 1, 1977. The coupling disclosed in this patent comprises a wide band clamp with a sealing ring disposed around the inner pipe and having an outer diameter about the same as that of the outer pipe. the wide band clamp covers the sealing ring and the end of the outer pipe, spanning the junction therebetween, and is stretched into tight engagement against the sealing ring and the outer pipe.
Another pipe coupling for lap joints with high pull-apart strength and good fluid sealing is disclosed in Cassel U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,527 granted Jan. 26, 1982. The coupling disclosed in this patent comprises an open sleeve which is stretched around the pipes. The open sleeve comprises a roundish sector and a channel-shaped sector comprising a pair of sidewalls extending radially outwardly from the roundish sector. Force applying means are connected with the sidewalls to draw them together so that the roundish sector of the sleeve is stretched over the pipes.
In certain applications in vehicle exhaust systems, it is desired to provide a pipe coupling of the lap type in which a fluid tight seal is provided with a clamping sleeve or band which engages the outer pipe only, i.e. which does not span the outer pipe and inner pipe. In such a pipe lap joint, the fluid seal is achieved by using an outer pipe with a collapsible sealing ring or zone at its free end which is collapsed into sealing engagement with the inner pipe by tightening a clamping band thereon. A pipe lap joint of this type is disclosed in the Wagner et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,289 granted Sept. 12, 1978.
The collapsible sealing zone in the Wagner et al patent comprises several sets of slots which are disposed circumferentially around the end of the outer pipe. In each set of slots, there is an open slot which extends inwardly from the end of the pipe and an adjacent closed slot, i.e. it does not extend to the end of the pipe. One difficulty with this sealing zone is that the slot structure exhibits a relatively high resistance to collapsing and accommodates a relatively small amount of reduction in the circumference of the pipe at each set of slots. A lap joint of the type using a collapsible sealing zone is also disclosed in the aformentioned Cassel U.S. Pat. No. 4,056,273 wherein a collapsible sealing ring forms an extension of the outer pipe but is separate therefrom. This sealing ring is split so as to form a tongue on each free end with the tongues having complementary ramp surfaces in engagement with each other and which slide relative to each other when the ring is contracted or collapsed. This sealing ring provides a good seal but the structure is not adapted to a sealing ring which is integral with the pipe end. One difficulty is that it requires a shearing operation which results in bending in the region of the shear line and then requires reforming the pipe end.
A general object of this invention is to overcome certain disadvantages of the prior art and to provide an improved pipe lap joint.

Pipe lap joint with collapsible sealing zone and band clamp


A liquid cooling system for cooling an electronic device comprising a chip or a chip package comprising a chip is described. The liquid cooling system comprises an inlet plenum comprising a coolant feeding channel oriented substantially parallel with the plane of a main surface to be cooled of the chip and a plurality of inlet cooling channels fluidically connected to the coolant feeding channel and arranged vertically for impinging a liquid coolant directly on said main surface of the chip. The vertically oriented inlet cooling channels are substantially parallel to vertically oriented outlet cooling channels and are separated by a thermally isolating material. The liquid cooling system further comprises at least one cavity wherein a plurality of inlet and outlet cooling channels end. The cavity is arranged for allowing interaction between the liquid coolant and the main surface of the chip and thus comprises a heat transfer region.

Trends in micro electronics show an increase in power dissipation as well in power density. As a result the limits of air cooling for high performance applications are reached and those of low end applications will be reached in the coming years. In order to deal with this limit, a transition to liquid based cooling techniques is gradually made.
Different types of cooling are known. Cooling can be active or passive. In passive cooling, no additional power is used and the heat is transported by conduction and/or radiation heat transfer. Two examples of passive cooling are natural convection cooling (passive air cooling) and passive liquid cooling using heat pipes and vapor chambers. In active cooling, the fluid motion is assisted by an external source, such as a fan for a forced air cooled system or a pump in a liquid cooled system.
Conventional forced liquid cooling systems consist of a separate cooling unit mounted to the chip. This cooling unit contains channels parallel to the chip surface through which a coolant is pumped. As the liquid moves through the channels, it takes up the heat from the chip and the liquid heats up.
For this conventional liquid cooling approach, some drawbacks are known.
Since the liquid temperature increases along the length of the channel, the part of the chip at the end of the channel is cooled less efficiently than the part at the beginning of the channel resulting in a temperature gradient across the chip surface. This temperature increase is referred to as the caloric thermal resistance.
The presence of the adhesive, or thermal interface material (TIM), between the chip and the cooler results in an additional thermal resistance. In the case of a high performance liquid cooler, the contribution of this TIM thermal resistance can be significant or even dominating.
In such conventional liquid cooling approach, the required pressure also scales linearly with the length of cooling channels.
Some solutions were presented that try to deal with at least some of these problems. US patent application US2009/0084931, by Intel Corporation, discloses a liquid cooling device for cooling a die. The liquid cooling device comprises a support block supporting a plurality of vertical channels transporting fluid to and from a bare die surface for removing heat. The vertical channels are formed by parallel pipes, positioned adjacent and separated by walls.
In "Microjet Cooler with Distributed Returns", Heat Transfer Engineering (2007) 28(8-9) p 779-787, Natarajan and Bezama describe a cooler made in ceramic material providing a liquid microjet array based on a manifold showing a plurality of inlet jets and outlet jets.
US patent application US2005/0143000, by Danfoss Silicon Power GmbH, a cooling device is described that comprises a heat conducting cooling plate on the side of the electronic power components to be cooled in combination with a platelike cooling fluid distributing device. The cooling device comprises a first plate in which outlets and a plurality of drain outlets are evenly distributed and further plates defining a feed channel and a drain channel connected to respectively the outlets and the drain outlets.


Catalytic system for the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkylaromatics (in particular ethylbenzene) or paraffins to the corresponding alkenylaromatics (in particular styrene) or to the corresponding olefins, consisting of:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalytic system and the relative process for the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkylaromatics, in particular ethylbenzene, or of paraffins to the corresponding alkenylaromatics, in particular styrene, or to the corresponding olefins.
2. Description of the Background
Styrene, which is an important intermediate for the production of plastic materials, is mainly used in the production of polystyrenes (GPPS crystals, shock-resistant HIPS and expandable EPS), acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene (ABS) copolymers and styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers of styrene-butadiene rubbers (SBR).
At present, styrene is mainly produced by means of two processes: by the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene (EB) and, as coproduct, in the epoxidation of propylene with ethylbenzene hydroperoxide with catalysts based on molybdenum complexes.
An alternative method for the production of the monomer is the dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene with the contemporaneous oxidation of hydrogen which can be carried out in the presence of or without oxygen.
Oxidative dehydrogenation without oxygen consists in the use of one or more metal oxides which, apart from catalyzing the dehydrogenation reaction of ethylbenzene, are capable of oxidizing, by means of the oxygen available on the oxide itself, the hydrogen produced, in order to favor the equilibrium shift towards the formation of styrene (STY) by means of the reaction
It is evident from the reaction (1) that the catalyst also participates in the stoichiometry of the reaction, by acting as reagent: at the beginning of the reaction it is in an oxidative state (catox) capable of giving part of its oxygen and becoming a reduced species (carred). In order to make the reaction catalytic it is necessary for the reduced catalyst to be able to easily recuperate the oxygen to be transformed into the starting oxidized species, useful for a new oxidative dehydrogenation cycle, by means of the reaction
This particular way of conducting the dehydrogenation has the same advantages as the traditional oxidative dehydrogenation, i.e. In the presence of oxygen, allowing the heat necessary for the dehydrogenation to be produced and the equilibrium of the dehydrogenation reaction to be shifted towards the products, without disadvantages such as the by-production of oxygenated compounds deriving from the use of an oxidation gas.
The idea of carrying out the oxidative dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons without an oxidating gas was already made known in the first half of the 60s"" by U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,007 of Bayer. This patent claims a process for the dehydrogenation of hydrocarbons without oxidating gases and with catalysts based on iron oxides which also act as oxygen transporters. It also describes the possibility of operating under fluid bed conditions to allow the continuous removal of the catalyst to be subjected to a reoxidation phase and subsequent recycling to the reaction phase.
Various patents on oxidative dehydrogenation without oxidating gases have been filed in the last few years, of which the most pertinent are the following.
EP-482276 of FINA describes a process by which a total conversion of ethylbenzene is already obtained at 505xc2x0 C. with a catalyst which acts as oxygen transporter and which once exhausted, can be regenerated in a second reactor by treatment with air. The catalyst, containing oxides of transition metals, preferably based on vanadium supported on magnesium, has a high dehydrogenating activity as well as a strong tendency to provide structural oxygen for the combustion of the hydrogen. The results specified in this patent demonstrate that combustion is the most critical phase of the reaction: at the beginning of the catalytic activity, in fact, the styrene is produced with a low selectivity together with a high quantity or carbon oxides deriving from the combustion of ethylbenzene and/or styrene. The same patent shows that a partial pre-reduction of the catalyst, by treatment with carbon monoxide, enables its strong oxidating capacity to be moderated and high selectivities to be obtained already in the first phases of activity. In this case however, the conversion rapidly drops and soon becomes stabilized at values of approximately 50%.
GB-2297043 of BASF claims the use of a catalyst consisting of a mixed oxide based on bismuth, titanium, lanthanum, potassium and treated with a noble metal, for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene without oxygen. The results indicated do not allow the catalytic performances to be accurately evaluated over a period of time. In the text of the patent it is stated that the catalyst is initially very active but not very selective with the formation of compounds deriving from the combustion of hydrocarbons. As already observed in the case of the FINA patent, as the process proceeds the catalyst becomes less active and increasingly more selective until it reaches the maximum value.
We have surprisingly found that with the use of catalysts based on vanadium and bismuth suitably supported, with respect to the know catalysts described above, in addition to there being better selectivity characteristics, mainly at the beginning of the reaction, and a higher total productivity, the duration of the life of the catalyst itself is also greater.
The catalytic system of the present invention for the Om oxidative dehydrogenation of alkylaromatics (in particular ethylbenzene) or paraffins to the corresponding alkenylaromatics (in particular styrene) or to the corresponding olefins, consists of:
a vanadium oxide;
a bismuth oxide;
and a carrier based on magnesium,
wherein
the vanadium, expressed as V2O5, is in a quantity ranging from 1 to 15% by weight, preferably from 2 to 10%,
the bismuth, expressed as Bi2O3, ranges from 2 to 30% by weight, preferably from 5 to 25% by weight, the complement to 100 being the carrier.

Catalyst system for the oxidative dehydrogenation of alkylaromatics or paraffins to the corresponding alkenylaromatics or olefins

Abstract: a vanadium oxide;

Abstract: a bismuth oxide;

Abstract: and a carrier based on magnesium,


A positive-side heat sink and a negative-side heat sink are both disposed on a generally flat plane perpendicularly intersecting a shaft, the longitudinal direction of the positive-side diodes secured to the radially inner positive-side heat sink being disposed along the radial direction of the positive-side heat sink, and the longitudinal direction of the negative-side diodes secured to the radially outer negative-side heat sink being disposed along the circumferential direction of the negative-side heat sink.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automotive alternator comprising a rectifier for converting an alternating current generated in a stator coil into a direct current.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10 is a cross-section of a conventional automotive alternator. This alternator includes: a case 3 comprising an aluminum front bracket 1 and an aluminum rear bracket 2; a shaft 6 disposed in the case 3 to one end of which a pulley 4 is secured; a Lundell-type rotor 7 secured to the shaft 6; a stator 8 secured to the inner wall of the case 3; slip rings 9 secured to the other end of the shaft 6 for supplying electric current to the rotor 7; a pair of brushes 10 moving in contact with the slip rings 9; a brush holder 11 accommodating the brushes 10; a rectifier 12 electrically connected to the stator 8 for converting alternating current generated in the stator 8 into direct current; a heat sink 17 fitted over the brush holder 11; and a regulator 18 attached to the heat sink with adhesive for adjusting the alternating current generated in the stator 8.
The rotor 7 includes: a rotor coil 13 for generating magnetic flux by passing electric current therethrough; and a pole core 14 disposed so as to cover the rotor coil 13 in which magnetic poles are produced by the magnetic flux generated by the rotor coil 13. The pole core 14 includes a first pole core assembly 21 and a second pole core assembly 22 which mutually interlock. Centrifugal fans 5 for cooling are welded to the axial ends of the first pole core assembly 21 and second pole core assembly 22.
The stator 8 includes: a stator core 15; and a stator coil 16 composed of wire wound onto the stator core 15 in which an alternating current is generated by changes in the magnetic flux from the rotor coil 13 as the rotor 7 rotates.
The rectifier 12 includes: a positive-side heat sink 24 having a plurality of fins 24a on the reverse side arranged in an arc shape; four positive-side diodes 23 secured by soldering to the upper surface of the positive-side heat sink 24; an arc-shaped negative-side heat sink 26; four negative-side diodes 25 secured by soldering to the negative-side heat sink 26; and a circuit board 27 for electrically connecting each of the diodes 23, 25 to the stator coil 16, the rectifier 12 converting the three-phase alternating current generated by the stator 8 into a direct current.
The positive-side heat sink 24 and the negative-side heat sink 26 are disposed on a generally flat plane intersecting the shaft 6 perpendicularly, and are housed inside the case 3. The positive-side heat sink 24 and the negative-side heat sink 26 are composed of aluminum which has high thermal conductivity, and the radially outer negative-side heat sink 26 is grounded by direct attachment to the case 3.
The positive-side diodes 23 and negative-side diodes 25 have square bases in both cases, and the overall shape thereof is formed by molding resin in a rectangular shape in order to protect connecting portions of lead terminals projecting from one side thereof.
In a vehicle alternator of the above construction, a current is supplied by a battery (not shown) through the brushes 10 and slip rings 9 to the rotor coil 13, whereby magnetic flux is generated, giving rise to a magnetic field and at the same time, the pulley 4 is driven by the engine and the rotor 7 is rotated by the shaft 6, so that a rotating magnetic field is imparted to the stator coil 16 and electromotive force is generated in the stator coil 16. This alternating electromotive force passes through the positive-side diodes 23 and the negative-side diodes 25 of the rectifier 12 and is converted into direct current, the magnitude thereof is adjusted by the regulator 18, and the battery is recharged.
While the alternator is generating power, the rotor coil 13, the stator coil 16, the positive-side diodes 23, the negative-side diodes 25, and the regulator 18 are constantly generating heat. For example, in an alternator with a rated output current in the 100 A class, the amount of heat generated is 60 W in the rotor coil 13, 500 W in the stator coil 16, a total of 120 W in the positive-side diodes 23 and the negative-side diodes 25, and 6 W in the regulator 18. The excessive generation of heat causes deterioration in the performance of the alternator and reduces the working life of the parts.
For that reason, the fans 5 are rotated together with the rotation of the rotor 7, external air is introduced into the case 3 from openings A in the case 3 by this rotation, and the external air flows as indicated by the arrow M in FIG. 10, cooling the negative-side heat sink 26, the negative-side diodes 25, the positive-side heat sink 24, and the positive-side diodes 23. The external air then flows radially outwards from the fans 5, cools the end portions of the stator coil 16 in the rear end, and is expelled to the outside through openings B.
External air is also introduced into the case 3 from openings C by the rotation of the fans 5, and the external air flows as indicated by the arrow N in FIG. 10, cooling the power transistors of the regulator 18. The external air then flows radially outwards from the fans 5, cools the end portions of the stator coil 16 in the rear end, and is expelled to the outside through openings D.
Similarly, external air introduced through openings E in the front bracket 1 flows radially outwards from the fans 5, cooling the end portions of the stator coil 16 in the front end. The external air is then expelled outside the case 3 through openings F.
In an automotive alternator of the above construction, the lead wires of the positive-side diodes 23 and the lead wires of the negative-side diodes 25 are disposed so as to face each other, in other words, the positive-side diodes 23 and the negative-side diodes 25 are radially aligned with each other in order to facilitate electrical connection of the lead wires of the positive-side diodes 23 and the lead wires of the negative-side diodes 25 to the circuit board 27.
In this case, a problem has been that although the circuit board 27 and the lead wires of each of the diodes 23, 25 can be connected without taking up space and the electrical connection is easily made, because the longitudinal axes of the negative-side diodes 25 are lined up radially, the radial dimension of the radially outer negative-side heat sink 26 is enlarged, and the radial dimension (Y in FIG. 12) of the heat sink 26 is the same as or greater than the radial dimension (X in FIG. 12) of the radially inner positive-side heat sink 24 (Y>X), making size reductions impossible.
Furthermore, another problem has been that after the external air passes through the air gaps between the negative-side diodes 25 as indicated by the Arrows P in FIG. 12, it passes through the air gaps between the positive-side diodes 23, but since the volume of air which can pass through is determined by the dimensions of the air gaps between the positive-side diodes 23, unwanted spaces exist within the radially outer negative-side heat sink 26 which do not contribute to increasing the passage of external air, that is, which do not contribute to improving the cooling of the negative-side diodes 25.
Yet another problem has been that the outer circumferential side of the negative-side heat sink 26 is the side from which the external air is introduced and the temperature of the external air is low there, the temperature of the negative-side heat sink 26 rising towards the inner circumferential side, but because the longitudinal axes of the negative-side diodes 25 are lined up radially, the radial dimension of the radially outer negative-side heat sink 26 is enlarged, and the high-temperature regions of the negative-side heat sink 26 occupy a correspondingly larger portion, causing certain points on the inner circumferential side of the negative-side diodes 25 to have locally high temperatures.


Perfluoroalkenoate esters containing at least two double bonds and coasting compositions, having durable advancing and receding hexadecane contact angles, containing such esters with alkyd or urethane resins are provided.

Conventional air-cure alkyd coatings utilize, as the binder or film-forming component, a curing or drying alkyd resin. By the term "alkyd coating", as used hereinafter, is meant a conventional liquid coating based on alkyd resins, typically a paint, clear coating, or stain. The alkyd resins are complex branched and cross-linked polyesters containing unsaturated aliphatic acid residues. The methods for preparing alkyd resins and formulating alkyd coatings from them are well known and are described in Surface Coatings Vol. I, Raw Materials and Their Usage (Chapman and Hall, New York N.Y., Second Edition, 1984).
Drying oils are liquid vegetable or synthetic oils such as linseed oil, soybean oil, safflower oil, and dehydrated castor oil. Linseed oil, a typical example of drying oils, is obtained from seeds of the common flax plant (Linum usitatissimum) and contains, inter alia, esters of glycerol with such unsaturated aliphatic acids as linolenic acid, linoleic acid and oleic acid.
Drying oils, and alkyd resins containing the unsaturated aliphatic acids derived from drying oils, spontaneously polymerize in the presence of air to yield a solid protective film. The polymerization is termed "drying" or "curing" and occurs as a result of autoxidation of the unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds in the aliphatic acid component of the oil by atmospheric oxygen. When applied to a surface as a thin liquid layer of formulated alkyd coating, the cured films that form are relatively hard, non-melting, and substantially insoluble in many organic solvents that act as solvents or thinners for the unoxidized alkyd resin or drying oil. Hereinafter the term "cured" is used to describe the autoxidized dried coating. Such drying oils have been used for centuries as raw materials for oil-based coatings and are described widely in the literature, e.g., in Surface Coatings Vol. I.
Conventional alkyd coatings use a prepolymer such as a drying oil alkyd resin as the film forming component in the cured alkyd coating. While these hydrocarbon polymers can give reasonable water repellency, they have little or no oil repellency. This lack of oil repellency can lead to the problem of staining by oily stains and are thus susceptible to soiling. In particular they have no resistance to wetting by oils, as demonstrated by their very low hexadecane contact angles.
Another conventional coating is the Type I urethane coating. Urethane coatings are classified by ASTM D-1 into five categories. Type I urethane coatings contain a pre-reacted autoxidizable binder as described in Surface Coatings Vol. I, previously cited. Type I urethane resins (binders), also termed urethane oils, oil-modified polyurethanes, or urethane alkyds, are the largest volume category of polyurethane coatings. By the term "urethane coating", as used hereinafter, is meant a conventional liquid coating based on Type I urethane resins, typically a paint, clear coating, or stain. Urethane coatings typically contain the reaction product of a polyisocyanate, usually toluene diisocyanate, and a polyhydric alcohol ester of drying oil acids. The cured coating is formed by air oxidation and polymerization of the unsaturated drying oil residue in the binder.
Urethane coatings give cured coatings with many desirable properties, but the cured coatings have little or no oil repellency as demonstrated by their very low hexadecane contact angles.
Certain commercial materials are known which provide oil repellency to textile and carpet substrates, such as aqueous perfluoroalkyl emulsion polymers (Fasick et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,378,609, Dettre et al., U.S. Pat. No.3,923,715, Raynolds et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,462,296, U.S. Pat. No. 3,491,169 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,518, and Pechhold, U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,039). The treated substrates have outstanding oil and water repellency, however, the emulsion fluoropolymers utilized are not compatible with alkyds and urethanes.
The use of fluoroalkyl alcohol esters of alkanoic acids generally as lubricating aids is well known. For instance, the perfluoroalkyl ethyl ester of stearic acid has been used for imparting lubricity and repellency to various plastics. Also, Nishihara et al., JP308469 (1989), disclose the preparation of aliphatic carboxylic acid esters of various fluorinated alcohols, which can contain double bonds in the acid portion, and their use as lubricants for ferromagnetic metal thin film-type magnetic recording media.
Adding perfluoroalkyl ethyl stearate, a non-curing ("non-drying") fluoroalkyl ethanol ester of a saturated vegetable oil, to alkyd or urethane coatings in suitable formulations, however, provides at best only temporary oil and water repellency because the fluorinated component migrates to the surface but is not chemically bound with the autoxidized polymer. Thus the oil repellency is not durable and is readily lost when the surface is washed or otherwise cleaned.
It would be highly desirable to be able to provide cost effective, durable oil repellency to drying oil, alkyd, and urethane coatings.
There is a need to have a fluorinated moiety present at the liquid/air interface after application of the coating and prior to curing that is chemically bound, such as by crosslinking, to the coating to provide durable surface oil repellency.

Surface coating compositions containing fluoroalkyl esters of unsaturated fatty acids


The invention relates to a shoe, especially for sport or leisure, comprising an upper, a sole and a lacing device having at least one clamping strip passing through a space arranged at the level of the sole and a clamping element. The clamping element is attached, on the one hand, to a first end of the clamping strip and, on the other hand, to a holding zone placed at the rear of the shoe. The second end of the clamping strip, passing through the clamping element comprises an attachment device on the upper, allowing the fixing of the strip. Cooperation exists between the clamping strip, the clamping element and the holding zone causing tensing of the upper at the level of the instep and the articulation above the heel.

This shoe could be utilised for indoor or outdoor activities; it could be a low-cut basket-type shoe or high safety boot especially for the practice of hiking.
Now, even though particularly provided for such applications the shoe could also be utilised in other applications, especially as a town shoe.
Two main lacing means are known for effecting clamping of the shoe around the foot of the user, specifically a lacing system cooperating with eyelets or even a clamping strip generally comprising a scratch and cooperating with a side of the shoe.
The present invention constitutes a refinement to shoes equipped with lacing means having at least one clamping strip.
In this respect, a first relatively simple embodiment is already known in which the strap is submitted to one side of the shoe and the end of which passes through an opening or an eyelet fixed to the other side of the shoe to be fixed back on the first side especially by means of scratch.
This lacing mode is particularly interesting, since it executes clamping and unclamping of the shoe which is at the same time rapid, simple and reliable.
This embodiment is especially adapted for equipping children's shoes.
All the same, this embodiment also has disadvantages and especially, because clamping is done solely at the level of the instep and also because the force of the clamping tends to decrease, the clamping strip capable of progressively loosening as a function of the movements of the shoe.
There is also the disadvantage of clamping only the upper and/or the top of the shoe, resulting in the foot being compressed on the sole.
There is also a second known embodiment with a clamping strip in which the clamping strip passes through a space made at the level of the sole, wraps around the shoe, then passes through an opening or an eyelet to reach a position on the other side of the shoe.
This embodiment enables increased clamping relative to the first abovementioned embodiment allowing more specialised utilisation of the shoe; this lacing mode especially has already been proposed for making weight lifting shoes, with proper execution of this sport requiring significant contact between the sole of the shoe and the foot of the user to prevent loss of adherence of the weight lifter during exercising.
Here too, this embodiment has disadvantages, especially the fact that this type of lacing does not prevent significant play at the level of the ankle of the user, lacing being in fact circumscribed at the level of the instep of the user, that is, at the level of the tarsus bone and does not permit efficacious clamping at the level of the ankle.
The aim of the present invention is to rectify the disadvantages of the two embodiments of the abovementioned lacing means with a clamping strip and propose a shoe especially for sport and leisure fitted with lacing means having at least one clamping strip allowing clamping on the foot of the user at the same time at the level of the instep of the user and his articulation.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a shoe, especially for sport or leisure, characterised in that the clamping strip can be positioned and fixed easily and reliably.

Shoe, particularly sport or leisure shoe


Systems and techniques are described for performing area recovery on a circuit design. Some embodiments can select a gate for area recovery in accordance with a reverse-levelized processing order, wherein an output pin of a driver gate is electrically coupled to an input pin of the gate. Next, the embodiment can determine a maximum delay value from an input pin of the driver gate to an output pin of the gate that does not create new timing requirement violations or worsen existing timing requirement violations at any of the timing endpoints of the circuit design. The embodiment can then downsize the gate based on the maximum delay value, wherein said downsizing comprises inputting the maximum delay value in a closed-form expression. Timing margin computation can be used to ensure that timing violations are not worsened when the embodiment recovers area from non-timing-critical regions of the circuit design.

1. Technical Field
This disclosure relates to electronic design automation (EDA). More specifically, this disclosure relates to numerical area recovery.
2. Related Art
The goal of circuit synthesis is to convert a high-level description of a circuit design into an implementation that meets a set of timing constraints, and at the same time optionally optimizes one or more metrics, such as area, leakage power, etc.
Some circuit synthesis approaches create an initial circuit design at a given abstraction level (e.g., a logical or physical design). Next, a cell is identified in the circuit design for optimization based on the metrics that are desired to be optimized. An optimal size for the identified cell is then determined by iteratively replacing the identified cell with functionally equivalent cells that have different sizes (this optimization process is also referred to as "sizing the cell," "sizing the gate," etc.). For each replacement cell size that is tried, the circuit synthesis approach updates timing information, and rejects cell sizes for which one or more timing constraints are violated. Specifically, during area recovery, conventional circuit synthesis tools use an iterative trial-and-error approach to downsize cells without degrading one or more timing metrics. The iterative optimization process typically terminates after the optimization process has executed for a certain number of iterations or for a certain amount of time. One aspect that further makes this process computationally expensive is that modern technology libraries have many sizes associated with each gate type with varying driving capability and/or multiple threshold voltages.
Unfortunately, such iterative trial-and-error based circuit synthesis approaches either take too long to complete and/or produce poor quality results for large circuit designs in which timing constraints are checked across many process corners and modes.
A circuit synthesis approach that is different from iterative trial-and-error approaches is described in Ivan Sutherland, Robert F. Sproull, and David Harris, Logical Effort: Designing Fast CMOS Circuits, Morgan Kaufmann, 1999 (hereinafter "Sutherland"). The cell delay can be represented using the following expression:d=R·Co+p,  (1)where, R is the output resistance of the cell, Co is the output loading, and p is the parasitic delay of the cell. Equation (1) can then be rewritten as:
                              d          =                                                    (                                  R                  ·                                      C                    i                                                  )                            ·                              (                                                      C                    0                                                        C                    i                                                  )                                      +            p                          ,                            (        2        )            where, Ci is the input capacitance presented by the cell at one of its input terminals.
The circuit synthesis approach described in Sutherland uses the following linear cell delay model:d=g·h+p,  (3)where, g represents the logical effort, h represents the electrical effort, and p represents the parasitic delay of the cell. The logical effort captures the effect of the cell's topology on its ability to produce output current. The logical effort is independent of the size of the transistors in the circuit. The electrical effort describes how the electrical environment of the cell affects performance, and how the size of the transistors in the cell determines its load-driving capability. The parasitic delay is a form of delay overhead that accompanies any gate. The logical effort g and the parasitic delay p can be normalized, e.g., they can be normalized with respect to the logical effort and parasitic delay values, respectively, of a reference inverter.
Comparing Equations (2) and (3) we note that the first term (R·Ci) represents the logical effort g, and the second term
  (            C      0              C      i        )represents the electrical effort h.
The delay model that is used by a circuit synthesis approach must be accurate, i.e., it must accurately model the actual cell delays. If the delay model is inaccurate, the circuit implementation produced by the circuit synthesis approach will likely contain many timing violations. In the above-mentioned work by Sutherland et al., the authors state that the linear delay model is approximate, i.e., it does not accurately model the actual cell delays.
One of the important problems in circuit synthesis is called the minim-area-under-delay-constraints problem. A technique for solving this problem involves a process called area recovery in which the circuit synthesis tool attempts to downsize gates (thereby reducing the area occupied by the gates) without violating any delay constraints. What are needed are systems and techniques for efficiently and accurately performing area recovery.


An electronic musical instrument of a partials synthesis type and the partials are processed in a time division multiplex fashion. One cycle of the time division multiplex sequence consists of a plurality of processing time slots, which are divided into two to four groups. Each group of time slots are used for processing partials which form a discrete musical tone. Thus two to four types of musical tones can be formed at the same time, which realizes an ensemble performance.

This invention relates to an electronic musical instrument of a partials synthesis type wherein there are provided a predetermined number of partials wave computation time slots which are allotted for calculation of respective tone partial components including a fundamental wave (basic tone) and the harmonics thereof (overtones) which in combination constitute a musical tone and wherein respective components calculated by the time slots are multiplied with corresponding amplitude coefficients and the resulting products are synthesized to form a musical tone.
A typical electronic musical instrument of the partials (harmonics) synthesis type utilizing a digital technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,786. In this electronic musical instrument each one of W (number including fundamental) harmonic components are independently calculated in consecutive time slots or time intervals t.sub.c =t.sub.x /W, where t.sub.x represents an interval of calculating the amplitude value of a musical tone waveform at a sample point. Thus, each one of W harmonic wave computation time slots is made to correspond to a specific harmonic wave component. For instance, a first harmonic wave component is calculated in a first harmonic wave computation time slot t.sub.cl, a second harmonic wave component is calculated in a second harmonic wave computation time slot t.sub.c2 and so on, so that the Wth harmonic wave component is calculated in the Wth harmonic wave computation time slot. Accordingly, in a prior art electronic musical instrument of this type, in response to a depressed key, a musical tone comprising synthesized W harmonic wave components is always formed. In this case, the resulting musical tone is a tone of a single predetermined kind and of the tone pitch corresponding to the depressed key.
Generally, when playing musical instruments, an ensemble of a plurality of musical instruments has been conducted for the purpose of enhancing the effect of the performance.
However, with the prior art electronic instrument described above, a musical tone of only a single kind is generated for one depressed key so that it is impossible to obtain an ensemble performance. Especially, it has been impossible to simultaneously generate a plurality of musical tones having different pitches in response to one depressed key. With the prior art electronic musical instrument, if it is desired to provide an ensemble performance by simultaneously generating a plurality of musical tones having slightly different tone pitches and different tone colors in response to a single depressed key, it is necessary to provide a plurality of parallel-connected harmonic component computation channels or time slots described above. This not only complicates the circuit construction but also increases the cost of manufacturing.

Electronic musical instrument of partials synthesis type


A multiple-phase electric machine provided with multiple inverter power circuits is described herein. The present multiple-phase electric machine aim at performing configuration changes while reducing the loss of torque when machines are switched between configurations. This is done by forming groups of phases defining machine portions that are powered by a separate inverter power circuit and by switching the machine portions separately with controlled switching devices.

Multi-phase electric machines are well known in the art. Often, they are operated from direct current (DC) power, for example from batteries, via an inverter power circuit that controls the flow of current in the various phases.
Grouped phases machines are also known. Often, the phases are grouped by threes that can be interconnected in so-called delta or star configurations. Each phase can also include more than one coil that can be interconnected in series or parallel configurations. In some machines, the configuration of the interconnection can be changed between the configurations during operation.

Multiple phase electric machine, drive and control


According to some embodiments, a system and method for determining a value for an error code for a program operation; determining whether the operation supports postponing a determination of an occurrence of an error for the operation; proceeding to evaluate a next operation in an instance the operation does support postponing the determination of an occurrence of an error for the operation; and checking the error code for the operation in an instance the operation does not support postponing the determination of an occurrence of an error for the operation.

According to some programming semantics and some application programs, an error code or a return code may be passed from an operation or process when the process completes its execution or task. The error or return code indicates either an error or successful completion of the task. In some aspects, error handling, that is the tracking of errors and the response thereto, may be a significant concern of the application program since error handling may consume a substantial amount of computing resources and/or time.
Some application programs may check for errors after every processing calculation or operation. While such a strategy may operate to catch all errors, this methodology of checking for errors immediately after each operation is rather time consuming.
Due to some of the foregoing realities, methods and systems are desired to efficiently and accurately handle errors associated with application programs.

Method and system for postponed error code checks


When machine elements having a large mass are indexed, i.e. subjected to short, quick rotating movements, very great acceleration and deceleration forces must be transmitted via the driving means of the machine. Due to vibrations occurring, increasing the stresses on the driving means, the driving means must be dimensioned accordingly. The present invention provides a method and an arrangement for the compensation of the forces applied and thus for reducing the stresses which occur. This is performed by combining the indexing machine element with a cam disc which is contacted by a number of spring-loaded cam followers, whereby the cam disc has such a shape that the cam follower decelerates and accelerates the cam disc following the desired movement pattern of the machine element.

The present invention relates to a method for compensating inertia forces in the indexing movement of a machine element and an arrangement for the realization of the method.
It is customary in mechanical engineering for machine elements to be moved stepwise between predetermined positions, that is to say, to be indexed. In particular a stepwise rotation of a machine element according to a predetermined pattern is frequently used. At each rotation of the machine element at least one acceleration or deceleration occurs. Occasionally there is also an intermediate period during which the machine element is driven at constant speed. If the machine member is large, that is to say, if it has a large mass, these periodically recurring changes in speed of the machine element mean that very substantial acceleration and deceleration forces have to be applied.
On indexing (e.g. wheels of a large diameter and great mass) between different stationary positions, the inertia forces will be considerable, especially if the indexing times are short. The driving of the indexing machine element therefore requires the application of substantial forces. Even if the machine element is rotated the whole time in one direction only, shocks and vibrations arise on acceleration and deceleration of the machine element. The shocks and vibrations in addition to causing noise may also bring about damage to motor, driving unit and the machine as a whole. The result will be that the driving machine components have to be constructed for a maximum stress which occurs only during a short portion of the total working time, thus making the machine unnecessarily expensive.
Since indexing driving of machine elements is customary in mechanical engineering, it is a desirable object in general to provide a method which eliminates the problem described and which makes it possible to use smaller and consequently cheaper machine elements.
This object has been achieved in accordance with the present invention in that a method for the compensating of inertia forces during indexing movements has been given the characteristic that the machine element is connected to a cam disc against which a spring-loaded cam follower is pressed. The force of the cam follower is such that the cam disc is decelerated during the indexing movement when the cam follower is moved by the cam disc in the direction against the effect of the spring and is accelerated when the cam follower moves with the effect of the spring.
A preferred embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that the cam follower, via the cam disc, accelerates or decelerates the machine element as the case may be, so that its speed in the one end position of the cam follower is zero and in the other end position the speed of the cam follower is a maximum.
A further embodiment of the method in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that on standstill of the cam disc the cam follower is moved to the one end position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for the realization of the method. The arrangement by absorbing, storing and delivering energy provides a reduction and smoothing out of the applied driving force required, and consequently also a reduction of the vibrations occurring during the driving.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an arrangement for the realization of the method which arrangement is simple and uncomplicated.
These and other objects have been achieved in accordance with the invention in that an arrangement for the realization of the method relating to the indexing movement of a machine element has been given the characteristic that the machine element is connected to a cam disc against which rests a spring-loaded cam follower. The shape of the cam disc is such that the cam follower during the movement of the machine element from standstill first accelerates and then decelerates the cam disc.
A preferred embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that the cam disc has cam peaks which are situated so that the cam follower at each stop of movement is urged against the effect of the spring force into an end position in contact with one cam peak.
A further embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that on a cam disc of the radial type the cam follower is acted on by the spring in the direction towards the axis of rotation of the cam.
A further embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that the cam follower is in the form of a pivotably supported lever rod, one end of which rests via intermediate rolling elements against the cam disc and the other end of which is connected via a spring element to the machine frame.
A further embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that the spring element is an air cylinder.
A further embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that it is provided with two cam followers which rest against the cam at a spacing of 180.degree..
A further embodiment of the arrangement in accordance with the invention has been given the further characteristic that the number of cam peaks is equal to the number of stops of movement per full revolution of the cam disc.

Method and an arrangement for the compensation of inertia forces in the indexing movement of a machine element


An inductor includes an inductor wiring made of a metal layer and having a spiral planar shape. In a cross-sectional shape in a width direction of the inductor wiring, the inductor wiring has a larger film thickness at least in its inner side end than in its middle part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an inductor and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to an inductor having a spiral metal layer on an insulating film formed on a semiconductor substrate and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Related Art
With recent popularization of cellular phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistances), there has been a growing demand for reduction in size of high frequency circuits having a wireless interface. Although passive elements such as an inductor used to be mounted outside a semiconductor device, such as on a printed circuit board portion (that is, passive elements used to be external parts), they have been increasingly mounted within a semiconductor device. An inductor is a part that is required for application to RFIC (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit) design such as a LNA (Low Noise Amplifier), a PA (Power Amplifier), and an RF (Radio Frequency) oscillator. It is relatively easy to form a resistive element and a capacitive element within a chip. However, it is not necessarily easy to form an inductor within a chip because there are various inductor structures for causing inductivity.
Related art will now be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A is a plan view of a spiral inductor. FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIb-VIIb′in FIG. 7A.
As shown in FIG. 7A, an inductor 20 is formed by a spiral coil-shaped inductor wiring 11. An outer terminal 11a of the inductor 20 is connected to a via 12 and a wiring 14 and an inner terminal 11b of the inductor 20 is connected to a via 13 and a wiring 15. The inductor wiring 11 is thus electrically extended to the outside. As shown in FIG. 7B, the inductor 20 (inductor wiring 11) is provided in an interlayer insulating film 10 formed on a semiconductor substrate 1, and the inductor wiring 11 has a rectangular cross section when cut in a width direction.
Characteristics of a spiral inductor will now be described. Q-factor (quality factor) is commonly used as an index indicating inductor characteristics. For example, in a series resonant LC circuit, Q-factor is determined by dividing an inductor value at a resonance frequency by a series resistance of the circuit as shown by the formula (1):Q=ωL/R  (1)where ω is 2πf, π is a ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, f is a frequency, L is an inductance value, and R is a resistance value.
It is considered that a higher Q-factor inductor has better electric characteristics. A higher Q-factor inductor also contributes to reduction in power consumption of a circuit.
FIG. 8 shows typical Q-characteristics (change in Q-factor with respect to a frequency) of an inductor. As shown in FIG. 8, Q-factor at first increases with increase in frequency. As the frequency becomes higher, however, Q-factor decreases due to a capacitive loss by capacitive coupling between the inductor and a substrate. The Q-characteristics therefore have a convex wave shape.
It can be seen from the formula (1) that it is effective to reduce a serial resistance component of an inductor and to suppress a capacitive loss in order to increase Q-factor.
An example of such related art is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-207602 (especially page 28, FIG. 25).

Spiral planar inductor and manufacturing method thereof


Frying apparatus including a fry pot and rack handling means for inserting a vertical stack of frying racks into and withdrawing the frying racks from the fry pot is disclosed. The rack handling means includes a frying rack assembly and a rack support assembly movably suspended with respect to the open mouth of the fry pot. The rack support assembly includes portions defining an open channel detachably engaging the frying rack assembly and means for guiding the frying rack assembly for movement from an elevated position above the open mouth of the fry pot wherein the frying rack assembly may be inserted into the channel prior to a cooking cycle or withdrawn from the channel after completion of the cooking cycle, to an immersed position inside of the fry pot wherein food portions previously loaded onto the frying rack assembly may be fried during a cooking cycle. In a preferred embodiment, the frying rack assembly comprises an open basket frame and a plurality of frying racks stacked in vertical relation within the basket frame, and the rack support assembly comprises a pair of support arms pivotally coupled to the frying rack assembly defining a pantograph structure which stabilizes the movement of the frying rack assembly as it is inserted into or withdrawn from the fry pot.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus for deep fat frying, and more particularly to apparatus for transferring bulk quantities of breaded food portions into and out of a fry pot.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern convenience restaurants feature rapid service for prepared foods such as fried chicken, fish and potatoes. According to the conventional method for frying of breaded food products such as chicken, approximately 75 pounds of frying shortening are required to cook ten pounds of chicken. The chicken is typically cut in either eight or nine pieces per head. The chicken is then breaded and loaded directly into the shortening by hand, with the loading time being from 90 to 120 seconds. The first product loaded has substantially longer cooking time than the final product loaded, requiring the exercise of judgment on part of the operator as to which pieces are loaded first, as well as speed and dexterity to insure that the loading time is minimized. After the frying cycle is completed, the pieces of chicken are removed using a previously submerged screen rack with handles which brings all the pieces out simultaneously, or the pieces are scooped out at a rate of one or two pieces at a time by means of a scoop having a perforated screen mounted on a handle, or the pieces may be removed by tongs. In each of these methods, the fried product may be damaged either by accidentally stacking the pieces on top of one another, or by abrasion or squeezing when the product is removed. If the fried product is removed one piece at a time, substantial unloading time is required which causes a variation in the cooking time if all the pieces are not removed simultaneously.
After the fried product is removed in the conventional system, it must be carefully placed in an orderly manner on some type of screen to allow draining to be completed. It is common practice to place the screen and products on a tray and transfer the tray to a warming cabinet for holding until the product is sold or served.
One problem associated with the conventional method of frying breaded food products is the preservation of the cooking oil, which is relatively expensive. A significant factor which degrades the quality of the cooking oil is aeration or oxidation of the cooking oil. The rate at which the cooking oil becomes aerated is directly related to the surface area of the pool of cooking oil which is exposed to the atmosphere, which is equal to the cross-sectional area of the open mouth of the fry pot. For a conventional fry pot unit having the capacity to cook ten pounds of chicken, the surface area or fry pot mouth cross-sectional area normally provided is typically 18 inches by 18 inches (324 square inches). Therefore it would be desirable to provide apparatus for processing the same amount of chicken with relatively less surface area of cooking oil exposed to the atmosphere.
Another problem associated with the conventional method for cooking breaded food products is the risk of burn injury. Because the cooking oil may be extremely hot, for example 350.degree. F. or higher, the operator and his co-workers are exposed to the risk of serious burn injury from the inadvertent or accidental splashing of hot cooking oil as the fried products are manually inserted into or removed from the fry pot. In some consoles in which fry pots are located side-by-side, the cooking cycle on an adjacent fryer must sometimes be interrupted to avoid exposing co-workers to the risk of being burned by splashing or splattering of cooking oil as the food portions are manually loaded or unloaded. The cost for such a delay is substantial, particularly in fast service restaurants. Therefore it would be desirable to provide apparatus in which the insertion and removal of breaded products can be accomplished automatically without exposing the operator or his co-workers to the risk of burn injury and without delaying operations in adjacent fry pots.
When frying breaded food products in bulk quantities according to conventional techniques, the individual breaded portions are manually inserted into the fry pot at the start of the cooking cycle which may take up to two minutes. They are withdrawn manually as discussed above. It is not practicable to insure uniform cooking time for each piece of breaded food product when the food products are inserted and withdrawn manually. This variation in cooking time causes a variation in the quality of the fried product, usually resulting in some pieces being overcooked or burned. This also impairs the quality of the cooking oil because the amount of food particles and bread particles which become suspended in the pool of oil is generally proportional to the length of time that the breaded food products remain in the oil. The presence of food particles in the cooking oil causes it to smoke, impairs the heat transfer efficiency of the oil and imparts a disagreeable flavor to the food portions. Therefore it is desirable to minimize the length of time that the food products are actually in the cooking oil. By minimizing the cooking time, the amount of energy required to heat the cooling oil is also minimized, and a more rigid turnover of prepared food products can be carried out in response to increased demand.


Systems and methods for braking and releasing one or more pivot joints used in an X-ray positioning device are described. The systems and methods use a support arm that extends between a main assembly of the x-ray positioning device and an X-ray imaging assembly with an X-ray source and an X-ray detector that are disposed nearly opposite to each other. The support arm includes one or more pivot joints (such as horizontal, lateral, and/or orbital pivot joints) that allow the imaging assembly to move with respect to the main assembly. The pivot joints can each be connected to an automated braking system that is capable of selectively locking and unlocking a corresponding pivot joint, as indicated by a user-controlled switching mechanism. The braking systems containing multiple pivot joints can be individually controlled by separate switching mechanisms or simultaneously controlled by a single switching mechanism. Other embodiments are described.

A typical X-ray imaging system comprises an X-ray source and an X-ray detector. X-rays emitted from the X-ray source can impinge on the X-ray detector and provide an X-ray image of the object or objects that are placed between the X-ray source and the detector. In one type of X-ray imaging system, a fluoroscopic imaging system, the X-ray detector is often an image intensifier or, more recently, a flat panel digital detector.
In addition to the X-ray source and the X-ray detector, the typical fluoroscopic imaging system comprises a main assembly, a movable support assembly, and a gantry or X-ray imaging assembly. The main assembly is coupled to the movable support assembly, and the support assembly supports the movable gantry or imaging assembly. In mobile imaging systems, the main assembly typically includes wheels for moving and/or positioning the imaging system.
Fluoroscopic imaging systems can be either fixed or mobile. For instance, fixed fluoroscopic imaging systems often include a gantry that is secured to a floor, wall, column, or ceiling. Additionally, mobile fluoroscopic imaging systems are movable so that they can be used in a variety of clinical environments, such as different departments of a medical facility. The gantry or imaging assembly of a mobile fluoroscopic imaging system may include a C-arm (i.e., mini C-arm), O-arm, L-arm, or another imaging assembly.
In some configurations, a C-arm assembly of a fluoroscopic imaging system remains stationary relative to a subject for single angle imaging. In other configurations, the C-arm assembly moves relative to the subject so as to acquire images from multiple angles. In some cases, a movable support assembly supporting the C-arm assembly includes one or more pivot joints that allow the C-arm to be repositioned with respect to the subject being X-rayed.

Electrically controlled brakes for arm joints on a mini C-arm mobile X-ray system


A connection end-fitting for a flexible fluid transport line, the flexible line includes a pressure sheath, an interlocked pressure vault and at least one traction armor layer; the armor layer includes a plurality of armor elements; the end-fitting includes: an end region of the interlocked pressure vault, an end segment of each armor element, an end vault and a cover, a front sealing assembly of the pressure sheath, a system for locking the interlocked pressure vault relative to the end vault; the locking system includes a curved holding assembly that is radially mounted between the end region of the interlocked pressure vault and the front crimping flange.

The present invention relates to a connection end-fitting for a flexible fluid transport line, the flexible line comprising a pressure sheath, an interlocked pressure vault arranged outwardly relative to the pressure sheath and at least one traction armor layer arranged outwardly relative to the interlocked pressure vault, the armor layer comprising a plurality of armor elements, the end-fitting comprising:                an end region of the interlocked pressure vault,        at least one end segment of each armor element,        an end vault and a cover fastened on the end vault, the end vault and the cover defining a chamber between them for receiving each end segment of the armor elements,        a front crimping flange of the pressure sheath attached on the end vault and arranged outwardly relative to the end region of the interlocked pressure vault,        a system for locking the interlocked pressure vault relative to the end vault.
The flexible line is advantageously a flexible pipe of the unbonded type designed to transfer hydrocarbons through a body of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake or river. Alternatively, the flexible line is an umbilical reinforced by armor elements or a cable.
Such a flexible pipe is for example made according to normative documents API 17J (Specification for Unbonded Flexible Pipe) and API RP 17B (Recommended Practice for Flexible Pipe) established by the American Petroleum Institute.
The pipe is generally formed by a set of concentric and superimposed layers. It is considered "unbonded" within the meaning of the present invention when at least one of the layers of the pipe is able to move longitudinally relative to the adjacent layers when the pipe is bent. In particular, an unbonded pipe is a pipe with no bonding materials connecting the layers forming the pipe.
The pipe is generally positioned through a body of water, between a bottom assembly, designed to collect the fluid mined in the bottom of the body of water, and a floating or stationary surface assembly designed to connect and distribute the fluid. The surface assembly may be a semisubmersible platform, an FPSO or another floating assembly.
Some of these pipes are used under very harsh conditions. Thus, the transport of hydrocarbons may have a very high pressure and temperature, for example a pressure comprised between 500 bars and 1500 bars, and a temperature comprised between 110° C. and 130° C. Furthermore, in the case where the pipe is submerged at a great depth, said pipe must be capable of withstanding a very high outside pressure, for example approximately 250 bars if the pipe is submerged at a depth of 2500 meters.
The pipes intended for great depths must also withstand very high tensions, commonly several tens of tons, to which they are subjected during use and/or during their installation at sea.
Furthermore, in the case where the surface assembly is floating and movable based on the sea conditions, the risers connecting the seabed to the surface assembly may sometimes be subject to millions of curve variation cycles. These risers must therefore also be cable of lastingly withstanding dynamic fatigue stresses.
The connection end-fittings, which are especially stressed, must also be designed to withstand such usage conditions.
However, the existing flexible pipe end-fittings sometimes have weak areas at the connection of the pressure vault of the flexible pipe to the tip. Such weak areas can cause an axial displacement, or even a separation of the pressure vault relative to the tip.

Connection tip for a flexible line, and associated flexible line and mounting method


Systems and methods for generating test information from a source code are described. One of the methods includes accessing the source code. The method further includes receiving a modification of the source code to generate a modified source code. The modification includes one or more instructions that do not affect functions performed by executing the source code. The modification further includes one or more instructions for generating test information regarding each executable line of the source code.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for generating test information from a source code.
2. Description of the Related Art
Software programming has gained popularity and is continuing to gain popularity. Specifically, software programming for games creates excitement both among players and software programmers. In software programming, a software programmer writes a computer program using a computer programming language, such as C, C++, Assembly Language, etc.
Once the computer program is written, the computer program is compiled. If the computer program compiles, there may not be an error in the computer program. On the other hand, if the computer program does not compile, there usually is an error in the computer program. However, if the computer program is large, it is difficult to debug the computer program.
It is within this context that various embodiments of the present invention arise.

Methods and systems for generating test information from a source code


A valve bushing having an actuator portion and a pin guiding component is disclosed. The actuator portion has a cup-shaped body with a stepped bore that defines a chamber in which a piston for opening and closing a valve gate disposed, and also defines a transfer bore extending through a base portion of the cup-shaped body. A stand-off member elevates the cup-shaped body from the manifold. The pin guiding component defines a sealing bore that extends between a body portion and a boss that extends rearward from the body portion. The boss is received in the transfer bore of the cup-shaped body to define a thermal transfer area between the pin guiding component and the actuator portion that is spaced apart from the manifold, and the actuator portion is located relative to the pin guiding component by engagement between the pin guiding component and the stand-off member.

Many hot runner injection molding systems use a valve bushing having a valve pin coupled to a piston that is actuated between closed and open positions when pressurized air is supplied to a piston chamber to control the flow of molding material into a mold cavity. In some known hot runner designs, for example, those used in the molding of PET preforms, the valve bushing is mounted to the hot runner manifold, and an air seal between an actuator portion of the valve bushing and a sealing surface on an adjacent mold plate through which the pressurized air is delivered is required to efficiently actuate the valve pin. In addition, to prevent molding material, and gasses created during processing of the molding material, from escaping the channels of the hot runner system, a close tolerance fit is required between many of the hot runner components. For example, a fluid seal is required between the valve pin and the valve bushing.
Failure to create an air seal between the actuator portion and the sealing surface of the adjacent mold plate will result in leakage of air to the interior of the injection molding system, which may reduce the overall efficiency of the system due to a need to continuously replace leaking compressed air, and can also result in an inability to translate the pistons, and the valve pins connected thereto, between the open and closed positions.
Since the valve bushing is mounted to the manifold, heat input to the manifold not only causes the manifold to expand, but also causes the valve bushing to expand, which may adversely affect the fit between the valve pin and the valve pin bushing thus allowing molding material and gasses created during processing of the molding material to escape the channels of the hot runner system and migrate into the piston chamber.
Heat loss from the manifold into the actuator portion of the valve bushing may also lead to additional problems, for example, premature wear of piston seals, and decreased thermal efficiency of the manifold as a result of the additional heat input to the manifold that is required due to the aforementioned heat loss.
Heretofore solutions to solve many of the problems associated with manifold mounted valve bushings have not proven to be effective, and as such, a need still exists in the art for a valve bushing that reduces or overcomes at least some of the above described deficiencies.

Valve bushing for an injection molding apparatus


A retail checkout station for purchaser self-checkout is coupled to a service terminal with a video monitor directed at the checkout. The service terminal preferably services a number of checkouts. Product codes can be downloaded from a remote location to a checkout presented with a product lacking a product code barcode label, such as an item of bulk produce. A product database having product price information stored in a memory is normally indexed to product codes which are scanned in, and also is at least partly indexed by product identity information. The checkout station can have an electronic scale for determining the weight of a product. A video image of an uncoded product in the security zone is captured by a camera and displayed on a video monitor which is viewable by store personnel. A keyboard associated with the video monitor permits the store personnel to enter a product code corresponding to the product displayed on the video monitor. The service terminal function can be met by cashiers at idle checkout lanes or payment stations. The data processor accesses product price information from memory, and if necessary calculates a purchase price of the product by weight. The purchase price is added to the price of other consumer purchases for payment by the purchaser.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of apparatus for self-checkout of products purchased by a consumer, and more particularly, to an apparatus for self checkout of produce items selected from a bulk source which have not been bar coded.
2. Prior Art
Modern retail stores such as supermarkets generally have checkout lanes with equipment for optically scanning bar codes affixed to the products being purchased. The scanning equipment includes a scanned laser for illuminating the bar code, a bar code reader for receiving light reflected from the bar code and converting the code to numeric or alphanumeric data, and a processor for retrieving stored data indexed to the product identity defined by the bar code.
Some of the checkout lanes may be designated for self-checkout. These permit a purchaser to self-scan his or her purchases using a substantially unattended checkout apparatus, thus reducing the number of store personnel that must be dedicated to checkout lanes. Supermarkets especially view self-checkout as desirable because these stores are particularly sensitive to labor costs due to their typically low profit margins.
For most efficient operation, self-checkout requires that bar codes be affixed to all items in the store. Items without a bar code require special intervention by store personnel, and this is counter-productive to the goal of self-checkout which is to decrease requirements on the time of store personnel. It is almost universal for prepackaged items to have a bar code applied by the manufacturer, and self-checkout of these prepackaged items is not a problem. However, produce items and the like, for example, which are selected for purchase from a bulk supply, present problems because only approximately 15% of produce items are bar coded upon delivery to the supermarket. Moreover, bulk produce items are often priced by weight, and it may be impractical to fully encode the stock.
In a store having equipment for self-checkout, bulk produce may be handled in several different ways enabling a product identity code to be associated with the produce item. Firstly, produce items may be prepackaged by store personnel who apply a bar code label which is translated into an item description and price by the self-checkout equipment. This method has the drawback of requiring additional labor in the produce department, namely to package and possibly to weigh the produce items. Further, consumers generally prefer to select Individual produce items from bulk, so that all the items are in accordance with the consumer's desires as to size, ripeness or the like. Retailers are reluctant to interfere with this consumer preference.
In another method for self-checkout of bulk produce items, produce items which have been selected by a consumer for purchase are presented to store personnel who then weigh the produce, determine a price and apply a bar code label which can be scanned to determine identity and price. A station for this procedure may be located in the produce department or near the checkout area at a front of the store. This system still requires additional labor on the part of store personnel, and also requires a time consuming additional step for the consumer to have the produce marked.
A further method involves applying a generic bar code label identifying the item by general description (e.g., a type of fruit). This information is applied by the produce department. The consumer scans the bar code at the self-checkout machine and places the produce on a special "scanner scale". The produce is weighed and priced automatically by the self-checkout machine, which references a stored price per unit of weight, and calculates the amount debited to the customer. This method still requires that store personnel maintain supplies of bar code labels for the produce. Further, bar code labels are difficult to apply to certain produce items, consumers may forget to apply the labels or wish not to apply adhesive labels to their food items, etc. For these and various other reasons, produce items reach the self-checkout machine without labels attached.
Another method for handling bulk produce items is disclosed in patent application Ser. No. 07/185,167, now abandoned, and the continuation thereof Ser. No. 07/420,685, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,053, granted Oct. 16, 1990, owned by CheckRobot, Inc. The method involves displaying produce icons on a video screen at the self-checkout station, whereby the consumer inputs the type of produce by selecting the corresponding icon on the display screen. This method is limited by the size of the display screen and the limited number of produce icons which can be effectively displayed on the screen, particularly since different produce items may have a similar appearance at least by outline (e.g., apples vs. plums, red grapes vs. concords, etc.).
The present invention overcomes these problems by providing a system for purchase checkout of bulk produce items which does not require that a bar code label be applied to the produce before checkout, and permits self-checkout of a full range of produce items. This is accomplished by providing a means for store intervention wherein a limited number of operators can intervene electronically to determine the nature of a product and to download pricing data to any of a number of checkout terminals which are operated by consumers in a self-checkout mode.

System for self-checkout of bulk produce items


An optical coupler is provided which includes a light source; a conduit spaced from the light source with a major axis intersecting the light source, the conduit having a circular opening for receiving light from the light source; a first reflector surface of a partial rotated ellipse positioned to place the light source at the focus of the ellipse, the first surface having an extreme end with a first angle between the focus of the ellipse and the extreme end; and a second reflector surface juxtaposed between the first reflector surface and the conduit, the second reflector surface being generated from a compound parabola with a focus along the circular opening of the conduit with a parabolic axis at an angle generally equal to the first angle from the major axis of the cable rotated along the major axis of the cable.

To eliminate the plurality of bulbs in an automobile, it is desirable to provide a central lighting system using one high lumen output light source which provides the light needed for the vehicle through a fiber optic network to operate the various vehicle lamps. One of the key elements for making a central lighting system feasible is to build a high efficiency light collecting device. To effectively couple the light from a small light source [such as a high intensity discharge (HID) bulb] into an optical fiber bundle, it is preferred that the light be converged to a very small focal spot size and a small converging angle in which the fiber optic cable is located. In general, the larger the focal spot size provided, the smaller is the converging angle that can be achieved. However, the larger the cable diameter, the more difficult it is to route the cable through the vehicle. Therefore, small diameter cables are preferable. However, very small diameter cables require much larger converging angles which lead to a high cost of fibers. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a high efficiency light collecting arrangement with relatively small acceptance angles and small opening apertures so that inexpensive small cable sizes can be utilized.


Provided is a method and device for positioning a vehicle attachment point in a vehicle environment. On retrieving a plurality of object parameters relating to an object, a determination is made for a vehicle distance value relative to the vehicle attachment point in order to accommodate an object distance parameter that was retrieved from the plurality of object parameters. A vehicle environment assessment is then made relating to accommodating the physical characteristics of the object and the vehicle associated with the vehicle attachment point. Based on the assessment, vehicle attachment point positional data may be generated for positioning the vehicle attachment point relative to a vehicle environment based on at least the object distance parameter and the vehicle distance value.

Vehicle owners have used their vehicles for recreational and functional activities since cars have available to the consuming public. From providing shelter while camping, to tailgating at sporting events, vehicle owners have made the most of their mobile possession. In the camping context, for example, vehicle owners have used the bumpers, roof racks, door hinges, etc., for tethering hammocks to trees or other objects for relaxation, for providing a quick mount for a corner of a tent for the family, or to suspend tarps for protection from the elements while enjoying a meal outdoors. With advancements in autonomous and/or driver-assist vehicle operation, a desire exists for vehicles to assess a vehicle environment for placement of a vehicle attachment point using technology otherwise assigned to autonomous and/or driver-assist operational modes.

Vehicle attachment point positioning in relation to a vehicle environment

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.