In a braking pressure intensifying master cylinder, as an input shaft (53) travels forwards in a braking maneuver, a control valve (54) is actuated to develop fluid pressure according to the input in a reaction chamber (38) and a pressurized chamber (35). A stepped spool (45) as a part of the control valve 54 travels such that force produced by the fluid pressure and spring force of a spring (51) are balanced, whereby the stepped spool (45) can function as a travel simulator. By changing the pressure receiving areas of the stepped spool and/or changing the spring force of the spring (51), the travel characteristic of the input shaft (53) as the input side can be freely changed independently from the output side, without influence on a master cylinder pressure as the output side of the braking pressure intensifying a master cylinder (1). In addition, the master cylinder pressure can be intensified when necessary with a simple structure.

The present invention relates to a technical field of a pressure intensifying master cylinder in which master cylinder pressure is intensified with fluid pressure regulated according to the input force applied through an operating means and, more particularly, to a technical field of a pressure intensifying master cylinder in which the input side and the output side are separately operated so that the input travel can be set freely without the influence of operation of the output side. In the following description, the term xe2x80x9cmaster cylinderxe2x80x9d will be sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9cMCYxe2x80x9d.
For example, in a conventional brake system of an automobile, a braking pressure intensifying device has been employed which hydraulically intensifies the pedal force on a brake pedal into predetermined magnitude to develop large braking pressure. The braking pressure intensifying device functions to provide large braking force from small pedal force on the brake pedal, thereby securing the braking performance and reducing the fatigue of a driver.
In the conventional braking pressure intensifying devices, a control valve is actuated by an input based on the pedal force applied to the brake pedal to develop hydraulic fluid pressure according to the input and the developed hydraulic fluid pressure is introduced into a power chamber, thereby intensifying the input at a predetermined ratio to output intensified pressure. A piston of a master cylinder is moved by the output of the braking pressure intensifying device so that the master cylinder outputs master cylinder pressure. The master cylinder pressure is introduced as braking pressure into wheel cylinders, thereby actuating the wheel brakes.
By the way, conventional brake systems employ various brake controls such as for controlling the braking force in a brake maneuver, for example, Anti-Lock Control (ABS), Brake Assist Control for assisting pedal force in the event of emergency braking, and Regenerative Brake Coordination Control for controlling the braking pressure produced by a service brake system when a regenerative brake system is used to develop braking pressure during the braking by the service brake system, and automatic brake controls, for example, a brake control for controlling the distance from another vehicle, a brake control for avoiding a collision with an obstacle object, and Traction Control (TRC).
Most of such brake controls are normally conducted in a brake circuit between the master cylinder and the wheel cylinders. However, when the brake control is conducted in the brake circuit after the master cylinder, it is required to prevent the input travel of the braking pressure intensifying device from being influenced by such brake controls, for instance, for obtaining better operational feel.
However, in a brake system in which a conventional braking pressure intensifying device and a brake master cylinder are combined, the travel of a piston of the master cylinder is fixed by the relation between the master cylinder and wheel cylinders. The travel of an input shaft of the braking pressure intensifying device i.e. the pedal travel of a brake pedal, depends on the travel of the piston of the master cylinder. Consequently, the travel of input side is influenced by the brake controls conducted in the brake circuit after the master cylinder. In the combination between the conventional braking pressure intensifying device and the brake master cylinder, it is difficult to securely and sufficiently satisfy the aforementioned requirement.
For changing the travel characteristic of the brake pedal as the input side to obtain better operational feel, the brake master cylinder and the brake circuit after the brake master cylinder are also influenced so that some change on the output side, for instance a size change on the master cylinder, should be required. By the change on the output side, the output characteristic of the brake system is influenced. This means that the overall change on the brake system is required, i.e. large-scale change is required.
It is further desired that the input side is influenced as little as possible by brake circuit which may differ according to the type or size of vehicle.
If the input side and the output side are just separated from each other to produce outputs regardless of the travel of the input side, the input side does not travel so that the travel of the input side can not be ensured.
For this, it has been conventionally proposed that a travel simulator is provided on the brake circuit after the master cylinder to prevent the travel of the input side from being influenced by the brake control after the master cylinder and to ensure the travel of the input side.
However, to add specially the travel simulator, many parts such as a travel cylinder and an electromagnetic shut-off valve used for the travel simulator are required, making the structure complex and increasing the cost.
There is still a problem that brakes must be securely operated in case of a fluid pressure source failure even with a travel simulator.
In an anti-lock control system, it is desired that when one or more braked wheels are in locking tendency, the braking force is controlled to cancel the locking tendency of the wheels. Further, in a regenerative coordination brake system, when the regenerative brake system is operated during the operation of the braking pressure intensifying device, the braking force produced by the braking pressure intensifying device should be reduced by an amount corresponding to the braking force produced by the regenerative brake system. In this case, it is desired to reduce the output of the braking pressure intensifying device to a value obtained by subtracting the output of the regenerative brake system from the output of the braking pressure intensifying device. In a brake system composed of a combination of a service brake system and a brake assist system, it is desired to increase the output of the braking pressure intensifying device to intensify the braking force produced by the braking pressure intensifying device in such case that brake assist operation is needed, for example, a case that a driver can not depress a brake pedal enough during the operation of the braking pressure intensifying device so as not to develop predetermined braking force.
When the brake control is performed in a brake maneuver just like the above case, the brake pedal is not influenced even with the travel simulator.
Further, in a brake system for controlling the distance from a front vehicle, it is desired to hold the distance constant by automatically actuating wheel brakes when the distance becomes short during running. In a brake system for avoiding a collision, it is desired to avoid a collision with an obstacle object by automatically actuating wheel brakes when there is a possibility of collision with the obstacle object. Furthermore, in a traction control system, it is desired to cancel a slipping tendency to ensure the secure starting by automatically actuating the brakes of the driving wheels when the driving wheel(s) is in slipping tendency at the starting.
As mentioned above, it is desired that the brake pedal is not influenced when the automatic braking is conducted even with the travel simulator.
Further, it is desired that such a system for controlling the braking force during braking operation or controlling the automatic braking can be manufactured with a simple structure.
Moreover, it is desired that the input-travel characteristic, the input-braking pressure characteristic, or the travel-braking pressure characteristic is allowed to be changed according to the condition of a vehicle or the like, with the structure remaining simple.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of which the travel characteristic at the input side can be freely changed without the influence of the output side.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a braking pressure intensifying master cylinder with simple structure which can intensify master cylinder pressure to obtain large braking force when necessary.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a braking pressure intensifying master cylinder which can securely operate even in case of the fluid pressure source failure, and which can be manufactured to be compact at a low cost.
To achieve the aforementioned objects, the present invention provides a braking pressure intensifying master cylinder comprising at least: an input shaft which travels by input applied in braking maneuver; a control valve of which operation is controlled by said input shaft to regulate the fluid pressure of the fluid pressure source to develop fluid pressure corresponding to said input; a pressurized chamber into which the fluid pressure regulated by said control valve is supplied; and a master cylinder piston which is actuated by the fluid pressure supplied into the pressurized chamber to develop master cylinder pressure, wherein said control valve is biased by biasing force of a biasing means in a direction opposite to the operational direction of said input shaft and is biased by the fluid pressure regulated by said control valve in the operational direction of said input shaft, and said input shaft travels such that the force produced by the fluid pressure regulated by said control valve and the biasing force of said biasing means are balanced.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is characterized by further comprising a reaction chamber which can communicate with said pressurized chamber and into which the fluid pressure regulated by said control valve can be supplied, wherein the fluid pressure supplied in said reaction chamber acts on said input shaft against said input.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said control valve has a valve spool which is slidably disposed to develop said regulated fluid pressure, and said valve spool is biased by the operational force produced by the fluid pressure regulated by said control valve and by the biasing force of said biasing means in directions opposite to each other.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said control valve comprises said valve spool and said input shaft, said valve spool travels such that said biasing force and said operational force are balanced, and said input shaft travels depending on the travel of said valve spool.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said control valve comprises said valve spool and said housing and said input shaft travels such that said biasing force and said operational force which bias said valve spool are balanced.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized by further comprising an electromagnetic shut-off valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said fluid pressure source and said pressurized chamber, an electromagnetic selector valve to be selectively controlled for allowing the communication between said pressurized chamber and said reaction chamber or restricting the communication therebetween by a relieve valve, and a controller for controlling the opening/closing of said electromagnetic shut-off valve and the selection of said electromagnetic selector valve.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized by further comprising a first electromagnetic shut-off valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said fluid pressure source and said pressurized chamber, a second electromagnetic shut-off valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said fluid pressure source and said reaction chamber, and a controller for controlling the opening/closing of said first and second electromagnetic shut-off valves.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said fluid pressure source comprises a pump which is actuated when necessary to discharge hydraulic fluid, and an accumulator in which pressure exceeding a setting value is stored by said pump, and that said first electromagnetic shut-off valve controls the communication/isolation between said pump and said pressurized chamber, and said second electromagnetic shut-off valve controls the communication/isolation between said pump and said reaction chamber, and the communication/isolation between said accumulator and said pressurized chamber is controlled by a third electromagnetic shut-off valve of which opening/closing is controlled by said controller.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized by further comprising an electromagnetic shut-off valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said fluid pressure source and said pressurized chamber, and a controller for controlling the opening/closing of said electromagnetic shut-off valve.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said fluid pressure source comprises at least an accumulator in which pressure exceeding a setting value is stored and is characterized by further comprises: a first electromagnetic shut-off valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said accumulator and said pressurized chamber, a second electromagnetic shutoff valve for controlling the communication/isolation between said pressurized chamber and said reaction chamber, and a controller for controlling the opening/closing of said first and second electromagnetic shut-off valves.
The braking pressure intensifying master cylinder of the present invention is also characterized in that said master cylinder piston is pressed by said input shaft to develop master cylinder pressure when no fluid pressure is developed in said pressurized chamber due to failure of said fluid pressure source even with travel of said input shaft in a braking maneuver.
According to the braking pressure intensifying MCY of the present invention having the aforementioned construction, the pressure intensifying function is contained in the MCY itself, thus eliminating the need for a booster such as a vacuum booster or a hydraulic booster as conventionally used. Therefore, the entire length of the braking pressure intensifying MCY can be shorter than the length of a combination of a MCY and a booster as the conventional one because of no booster. This also enables to facilitate the structure of the brake system and improve the flexibility for installation of the braking pressure intensifying MCY.
The input shaft and the master cylinder piston can be operated separately from each other when operated and the input shaft travels such that the fluid pressure regulated by the control valve and the biasing force of the biasing means are balanced so that the control valve can function as a travel simulator.
The pressurized chamber and the reaction chamber can be isolated from each other, whereby fluid pressure of the fluid pressure source can be supplied to the pressurized chamber independently from the reaction chamber. This enables the regenerative brake coordination control, the automatic brake control, the auto cruise compensation control, and/or the brake assist control.
The control valve has a valve spool and the input shaft travels such that the operational force produced by the fluid pressure regulated by the control valve and the biasing force of the biasing means are balanced, whereby the valve spool can function as a travel simulator.
By changing the pressure receiving area of the control valve on which fluid pressure regulated by the control valve acts and/or changing the biasing force of the biasing means, the travel characteristic of the input shaft as the input side can be freely changed independently from the output side, without influence on the master cylinder pressure as the output side of the braking pressure intensifying MCY.
Because the travel characteristic of the input shaft is not influenced by the master cylinder pressure, the operational feel is improved.
The travel simulator is built in the braking pressure intensifying master cylinder, that is, no external simulator is necessary, thereby allowing compact design of the braking pressure intensifying MCY.
When the electromagnetic selector valve is selected in the pressure-regulating position by the controller, the fluid pressure of the reaction chamber should be lower than the fluid pressure of the pressurized chamber by an amount corresponding to the relief pressure of the relief valve, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY can exhibit jumping characteristic.
The braking pressure intensifying MCY of the present invention may be applied to an open-center type MCY. In this case, when a predetermined period of time has passed after the input shaft starts to travel in a braking maneuver, the controller opens the second electromagnetic shut-off valve, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY can exhibit jumping characteristic.
The controller controls the opening/closing of the first and second electromagnetic shut-off valves based on information indicating operational condition of regenerative braking, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY is operated to coordinate the operation of the regenerative braking so as to obtain optimal braking force as a whole corresponding to the braking force generated by the regenerative braking.
Further, the controller controls the opening/closing of the first through third electromagnetic shut-off valves based on information for actuating automatic braking, information for controlling the operation of the braking for holding the vehicle to run at a constant speed, and/or information for controlling the braking for brake assist, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY is operated to conduct the automatic brake control, the auto cruise compensation control, and/or the brake assist control.
The braking pressure intensifying MCY of the present invention may be applied to a closed-center type MCY. When a predetermined period of time has passed after the input shaft starts to travel in a braking maneuver, the controller opens the second electromagnetic shut-off valve, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY can exhibit jumping characteristic. The controller controls the opening/closing of the first electromagnetic shut-off valve and the second electromagnetic shut-off valve based on information indicating operational condition of regenerative braking, information for actuating automatic braking, information for controlling the operation of the braking for holding the vehicle to run at a constant speed, and/or information for controlling the braking for brake assist, whereby the braking pressure intensifying MCY is operated to conduct the regenerative brake coordination control, the automatic brake control, the auto cruise compensation control, and/or the brake assist control.
According to the present invention, the master cylinder piston can be directly operated by the input of the input shaft when no fluid pressure is developed in the pressurized chamber due to the failure of the fluid pressure source. Therefore, the wheel brakes can be securely actuated whenever no fluid pressure is developed in the pressurized chamber due to the failure of fluid pressure source.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.
The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.

Braking pressure intensifying master cylinder


A measuring device with an integrated light beam scanning means for detecting the number of revolutions of a rotating body, contrast-coded data (bar codes) being capable of detection by means of the light beam scanning means. The measuring device includes a selecting means to select the mode of operation consisting of measuring the number of revolutions or detecting data. An analyzing means analyzes signals outputted by the scanning means (1) and automatically selects one of the modes of operation consisting of measuring the number of revolutions and detecting data in dependence on the result of the analysis.

The present invention relates to a measuring device with an integrated light scanning means for detecting the number of revolutions of a rotating member.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,901 to use a laser beam to scan reflection marks on rotating shafts in order to detect the number of revolutions of a rotating shaft.
In the maintenance of machine complexes, it is necessary to determine status data at a plurality of different measuring locations. This status data includes a number of physical parameters such as temperature, number of revolutions, oscillation strength, bearing conditions, cavitation etc. It is significant here for a later evaluation that the determined measurement data are associated with the respective measuring locations at which the measurement data was detected.
It is known for this purpose from U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,707 to equip a vibration measuring device for detecting the oscillation strength at machine bearings with a bar code reader which serves to read bar codes provided at the respective measuring locations for identification of the same.

Measuring device with an integrated light scanning means which scans both rotations of a rotating body and coded data associated with the rotating body


A portable computer has a radio function implemented by a radio set included therein. The portable computer also has a switch for selecting main power for the entire system or a radio power for the a radio set, a micro-controller for outputting a power supply selecting signal and a sound source selecting signal according to the operational state of the switch unit, a power branching unit for branching and outputting power into main power to operate the portable computer or into radio power to play the radio set according to the power supply selecting signal outputted from the micro-controller, and a sound source selecting unit for selecting and outputting a signal from the radio set or a signal from the portable computer according to the sound source selecting signal received from the micro-controller.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a portable computer having a radio function and a related method, and, more particularly, to a portable computer which enables a user to listen to the radio without use of an additional radio set or cassette recorder capable of receiving a radio signal.
2. Related Art
Typically, a personal computer includes a central processing unit (CPU), a system bus, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an audio card, a speaker, a micro-controller and a power supply. Furthermore, with respect to the typical personal computer, if the user needs a radio set or cassette recorder capable of receiving a radio signal in order to listen the radio, the user must acquire the additional radio set or cassette recorder in order to have the capability of receiving a radio signal or other external audio signal. This is an inconvenience to the user.
The further problem arises when it is necessary for the user to transport the portable computer. In that case, the user has the further inconvenience of transporting the additional radio set or cassette recorder.
The following patents are considered to be representative of the prior art, and are burdened by the disadvantages set forth herein: U.S. Pat. No. 4,545,071 to Freeburg, entitled Portable Radio For A zoned Data Communicating Message Signals Between Portable Radios And A Host Computer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,947 to Fuller et al., entitled Method And Apparatus For Loading A Software Program From A Radio Modem Into An External Computer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,334 to O'Sullivan, entitled Interface For Connecting Computers To Radio Telephone Networks, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,524 to Fennell, entitled Method And Apparatus For Over-The-Air Upgrading Of Radio Modem Application Software U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,458 to Richardson et al., entitled Virtual Pager For General Purpose Data Terminal, U.S. Pat. No. 5,604,928 to Hamano et al., entitled Portable Electronic Device With Radio Communication And Controlled Computer Status, U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,055 to Stein, entitled Modular Radio Communications System, U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,540 to Aldous, entitled Portable Computer/Radio Power Management System, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,708,833 to Kinney et al., entitled Antenna Cap, Antenna Connectors And Telephone Line Connectors For Computer Devices Utilizing Radio And Modem Cards.
Some of the system disclosed in the above patents have radio capability. For example, Aldous '540 discloses a portable computer/radio power management system. Other patents (for example, Hamano et al. '928 and Richardson et al. '458) employ radio transmitter/receiver elements to provide communication between a computer and external entities. However, none of the patents cited above discloses or suggests a portable computer having a radio function and related method comprising the combination of functions and/or steps disclosed and claimed herein.

Portable computer having a radio function and related method


A remotely mountable weatherproof bi-directional, half-duplex switching amplifier system is designed to provide maximum range for low power half-duplex radios such as Spread Spectrum radio transceivers. This invention automatically senses when to go into the transmitter amplification mode and puts all the transmit power right at the antenna. In the receive mode, it provides low noise pre amplification of received signals at the antenna thereby minimizing or even eliminating the effects of the coaxial transmission line from the radio transceiver to the remote location of the antenna. The invention is preferred to be in a waterproof enclosure adjacent to the antenna mounted to a pole and powered by a DC injector and excited by a transceiver, both pole and injector located remote from the mounting pole and also includes an improved electrostatic overvoltage protection device.

The present invention is a result of the proliferation of low power, Spread Spectrum radio modem devices in the 902-928 MHz, 2.4 GHz and 5.7 GHz bands. Popularity of these radio devices is largely due to FCC regulations that allow appropriately certified radio transceivers to be operated license free. This certification requirement restricts the transmitter output power in order to enable many users to share the band. Further, since the radios are Spread Spectrum devices, they can generally tolerate interference from other radios transmitting in the same geographical area.
Many of these prior art devices were designed and intended for short range operation (less than 1000 feet, for example, due to the low transmit power restrictions and the requirement of unobstructed line-of- site between antennas for maximum range). However, if external outdoor gain antennas are placed on tall buildings or radio towers, considerable line-of-site ranges (measured in miles) are possible. The problem here is that the losses in the typical, inexpensive coaxial transmission line between the radio and the antenna at these frequencies can be excessive unless prohibitively expensive cable is used. Putting an antenna on a tall radio tower or building would give clear line of sight to many locations, but this is largely defeated by the transmission cable loss.
In a typical RF bi-directional amplifier application, a duplex amplifier with heavy filtering, such as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,502,715 to Penny, is used. However, this is in general unsatisfactory due to the fact that not only are both transmit and receive amplifiers are on at all times, thus leading to wasteful power usage, but also heavy filtering is also necessary to keep the transmit and receive signals from interfering with each other, leading to further expense and power wastage. Still further, since each transmit and receive signal must be put to a separate frequency to avoid interference, this design is wasteful of spectrum bandwidth, a scarce commodity in many applications.

Bi-directional switched RF amplifier, waterproof housing, electrostatic overvoltage protection device, and mounting bracket therefor


The invention is directed to a method and composition for providing chemically-resistant roughened copper surfaces suitable for subsequent multilayer lamination. In one embodiment, a smooth copper surface is contacted with an adhesion promoting composition under conditions effective to provide a roughened copper surface, the adhesion promoting composition comprising an oxidizer, a pH adjuster, a topography modifier, and a sulfur-containing coating stabilizer. In another embodiment, a smooth copper surface is contacted with an adhesion promoting composition under conditions effective to provide a roughened copper surface, the adhesion promoting composition comprising an oxidizer, a pH adjuster, and a topography modifier. Then, in a subsequent step, the roughened copper surface is contacted with an acid resistance promoting composition.

Multilayer PCB's are constructed by interleaving imaged conductive layers of copper with dielectric layers to make a multilayer sandwich. The dielectric layers are organic resin layers that bond the copper layers together. Typically, the layers of copper and dielectric are bonded together by the application of heat and pressure. The surface of the copper is smooth, however, and does not bond easily to the dielectric layer.
Improved bonding can be achieved by etching or otherwise roughening the surface of the copper to provide microscopic crevices and ridges in the surface of the copper. For example, mechanical means may be used to roughen the copper surface. Unfortunately, delicate circuit patterns are susceptible to damage if mechanically roughened. Thus, there is a need for a copper surface roughening process that does not require mechanical roughening of the copper surface.
Oxide processes are also known in which an oxide having a rough surface is formed on the copper surface. The oxide may be formed by chemical treatment of the copper. One such oxide process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,818, which provides a treatment solution for the formation of black oxide layers on copper surfaces of multi-layered printed circuits. The treatment solution comprises an oxidant and a hydroxide and is characterized by the addition of a water soluble or dispersible polymer to regulate the properties of the black oxide solution.
Another oxide process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,076. The '076 patent describes a bond enhancement process for promoting strong, stable adhesive bonds between surfaces of copper foil and adjacent resin impregnated substrates or superimposed metallic sublayers. According to the process of the invention, a black oxide-coated copper surface is treated with an aqueous reducing solution containing sodium metabisulfite and sodium sulfide to convert the black oxide coating to a roughened metallic copper coating. The roughened metallic copper-coated surface is then passivated and laminated to a resin impregnated substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,492,595 also pertains to an oxide roughening process. The '595 patent describes a method for treating an oxidized surface of a copper film for bonding to a resinous layer. According to the method of the invention, an oxidized surface of a copper film having cupric oxide whiskers protruding therefrom is contacted with an acidic reducing solution containing thiosulfate to produce a reduced copper surface. The reduced copper surface is then rinsed with an acidic solution, and preferably treated with a passivating agent to minimize any reoxidation prior to laminate formation. A preferred passivating agent is 2-mercaptobenzothiazole.
Oxide processes, while well known, have many shortcomings. A typical oxide process is run at such high temperatures that the substrate is often distorted, leading to quality control problems and additional production costs. The oxidation process is also associated with uniformity problems in which portions of the copper surface are not oxidized or coated by the oxidizing solution. Uniformity problems lead to partial delamination in the multilayer PCB's. To avoid this problem the PCB is often run through multiple passes to obtain a more uniform oxide coating. Performing multiple passes adds considerably to production cost. Thus, there is a need for a copper roughening process that does not require multiple passes or high temperature, and that does not suffer from the uniformity problems of conventional oxide processes.
Another shortcoming of the typical chemical oxide modification process is that a strong reducing agent, such as dimethylamine borane, is applied to the oxide coating to obtain an even oxide coating. This type of adhesion promotion process produces an oxide coating that is fragile and prone to scratching during handling. Inspection of the circuitry prior to lamination is difficult because of the fragility of the oxide coating. Therefore, there is a need for an adhesion promotion process that permits a less problematic inspection after the adhesion promotion process and prior to the lamination step.
In response to the various problems associated with traditional oxide processes, and in particular their time consuming nature and high processing temperatures, alternative oxide coating processes have been developed. These alternative processes combine the oxidation function of the traditional processes with a controlled etch that actually roughens the underlying copper surface while oxidizing it at the same time. These alternative oxide coating processes tend to be much faster than traditional oxide processes because they form bonds with increased strength and therefore do not require multiple passes. In addition, the alternative methods do not require high temperature processing.
One alternative oxide coating process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,859. The process includes a treating step in which a metal surface is contacted with an adhesion promotion material. The adhesion promotion material includes 0.1 to 20% by weight hydrogen peroxide, an inorganic acid, an organic corrosion inhibitor and a surfactant. The surfactant is preferably a cationic surfactant, usually an amine surfactant and most preferably a quaternary ammonium surfactant.
Another alternative oxide coating process is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/479,089, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The '089 application describes a method and composition for providing roughened copper surfaces suitable for subsequent multilayer lamination. The method involves contacting a smooth copper surface with an adhesion promoting composition which includes an oxidizer, a pH adjuster, a topography modifier, and either a coating promoter or a uniformity enhancer.
While alternative oxide processes such as that described the '089 application are advantageous over conventional oxide coating processes for a variety of reasons, the roughened copper surfaces formed by such processes exhibit chemical sensitivity and thus tend to be susceptible to chemical attack. Chemical attack typically occurs during post lamination processing steps. After a multilayer copper and dielectric sandwich is formed through the lamination process, certain post lamination processing steps are performed to prepare the multilayer PCB.
For example, "through-holes" are drilled through the multilayer sandwich in order to connect the inner layers of the circuit board. The act of drilling these holes typically leaves traces of resin smear on the through-hole interconnections that must be removed by a desmear process. One desmear process involves the application of a solvent sweller and a permanganate etch which can chemically attack the bond between the copper surface and dielectric resin at the site of the through holes. The permanganate etch is typically followed by an acid neutralizer which can also chemically attack the bond and cause delamination. While other through-hole cleaning techniques are known, such as plasma etch or laser ablation, these processes generate intense heat which can also attack the copper/resin interface.
Once the desmear process is completed, the drilled holes are made conductive through direct metalization or similar processes. These processes involve numerous alkaline and acid processing steps, all of which can chemically attack the copper/resin interface. Further, the conductive through-hole is usually sealed with a layer of electrolytic copper. The electrolytic process involves alkaline and acidic baths which can also lead to chemical attack of the through-hole interconnects. The result of these chemical attacks is the delamination of the sandwich layers in the area of the through holes.
The chemically attacked area is termed "pink ring" or "wedge void" in the circuit board industry. The formation of pink rings or wedge voids represents serious defects in the PCB's, especially in an era when increasingly high quality and reliability are demanded in the PCB industry. Thus, there is a need for an improved alternative oxide coating process that provides a surface that is less susceptible to chemical attack during post-lamination processing steps.

Composition and method for preparing chemically-resistant roughened copper surfaces for bonding to substrates


A method for controlling a rotation rate of an electric motor includes the s following steps: determining if an absolute value of a difference between an objective rotation rate of the electric motor and an actual rotation rate of the electric motor is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and if yes, compensating a q axis current of the electric motor to adjust the rotation rate.

Conventionally, a rotation rate of an electric motor (such as a synchronous electric motor without position sensor) is controlled by adjusting a proportional integral (PI) of the rotation rate. By using this method, the rotation rate may vary according to a normal variation of a load, thus ensuring a correct output of a torque. However, when the variation of the load or a variation of the rotation rate is relatively large, using only the PI adjustment may lead to a low response or a large fluctuation of the rotation rate.

Method for controlling rotation rate of electric motor


The present invention is directed to a tickler impeller and agitation system for use in stirred slurry reactors and storage tanks. The tickler impeller when mounted on a shaft is effective for providing an inward and downward swirl in a slurry medium which directs solids suspended in the slurry towards the bottom of the tank and towards the shaft on which the impeller is mounted. Directing solids suspended in a slurry downwards and towards the center of the tank rather than pushing those solids away from the center reduces solid deposits on the side of the tank, facilitates draining of the tank, and reduces nozzle starving and pump starvation.

Agitation systems in stirred slurry reactors and storage tanks often include a tickler (kicker) impeller as part of the agitation system. The tickler impeller is mounted on an agitator shaft and located at close proximity to the tank bottom. The purpose of the tickler is to keep the solids suspended and eliminate settling of the solids at the bottom of the tank. Ticklers are normally pitch blade turbines (PBTs) or flat blade turbines (FBTs), see FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.
In relation to a main impeller, which agitates solids in a liquid medium, the tickler is a smaller agitator located in a spaced relation below the main impeller. While draining the tank, particularly after the slurry level has receded below a main impeller, efficiency of the tickler for solids suspension is critical to avoid solids deposition, pump starvation, and choking of the flow due to plugging of the pump suction line. Typically, PBT and FBT ticklers function near the bottom of the tank as radial impellers which tend to throw the slurry out towards the wall of the tank, i.e. away from the central nozzle or drain. As a result, solids can stick to the wall and necessitate the extra work of removal by pressure spraying them from the wall. Pump starvation and long discharge times also can result from discharge nozzle starvation near the end of draining the slurry from the tank.


Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to source separation in audio content. A method for separating sources from audio content is disclosed, the audio content being of a multi-channel format based on a plurality of channels. The method comprises performing a component analysis on the audio content for each of the plurality of channels to generate a plurality of components, each of the plurality of components comprising a plurality of time-frequency tiles in full frequency band; generating at least one dominant source with at least one of the time-frequency tiles from the plurality of the components and separating the sources from the audio content by estimating spatial parameters and spectral parameters based on the dominant source. Corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.

Traditionally, audio content of multi-channel format (e.g., stereo, 5.1, 7.1, and the like) are created by mixing different audio signals in a studio, or generated by recording acoustic signals simultaneously in a real environment. The mixed audio signal or content may include a number of different sources. Source separation is a task to identify information of each of the sources in order to reconstruct the audio content, for example, by a mono signal and metadata including spatial information, spectral information, and the like.
When recording an auditory scene using one or more microphones, it is preferred that the sound source dependent information be separated such that it may be suitable for use among a variety of subsequent audio processing tasks. Some examples may include, spatial audio coding, remixing/re-authoring, 3D sound analysis and synthesis, signal enhancement/noise suppression for a variety of purposes (e.g., automatic speech recognition). Therefore, improved versatility and better performance can be achieved by a successful source separation. When no prior information of the sources involved in the capturing process is available (for instance, the properties of the recording devices, the acoustic properties of the room, and the like), the separation process can be called blind source separation (BSS).
Conventionally, some statistical models for source separation such as Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Non-negative Matrix Factorization (NMF) have been widely applied in order to realize source separation. However, these algorithms (e.g., GMM or NMF model), only convergence to a stationary point of the objective function. Accordingly, these algorithms are sensitive to parameter initialization in terms of the following aspects: 1) the final result depends strongly on the parameter initialization; 2) the convergence speed varies significantly depending on the parameter initialization; and 3) the algorithms cannot identify the actual number of source signals, so they usually require prior information such as source number, spectral base, and the like. In a conventional system, original source information is used for oracle initializations, which is not practical for most real-world applications because such information is usually not available. Moreover, in some applications, training data may be required. However difficulties arises in practice due to the fact that the source models which are learned from training data tend to perform poorly in realistic cases. This is due to the fact that there is generally a mismatch between the models and the actual properties of the sources in the mix.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need in the art for a solution for separating sources from audio content without knowing any prior information.

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


An edge extraction unit extracts an edge image from a photographed image obtained by photographing a product with a camera. A constant edge acquisition unit acquires, as a constant edge image, an edge image in a constant surface where a positional deviation does not occur with respect to a welding point set by a processing program, the acquired image belonging to the extracted edge image. A correction amount acquisition unit performs pattern-matching between a master constant edge image and a workpiece edge image, which are acquired by the constant edge acquisition unit, and acquires a deviation amount between both thereof as a correction amount with respect to the welding point. A processing program correction unit corrects the welding point by the correction amount, and generates a corrected processing program for welding the workpiece. A welding robot welds the workpiece based on the corrected processing program.

In the case of welding a plurality of the same products by a welding machine, welding positions of the products are photographed with a camera, and the welding positions are corrected, based on the photographed images (refer to Patent Literature 1).
One of the plurality of products is referred to as a master serving as a reference, and the other products are referred to as workpieces. In Patent Literature 1, in the event of correcting the welding positions, edge images (outline images) of the products are used. By using the edge images, even when the products have stains, scratches, diffusion and the like, pattern-matching between an image of the master and images of the workpieces is performed without being influenced by these stains, scratches, diffusion and the like to a large extent, thus making it possible to correct the welding positions.

Welding machine and control method therefor


The fuel supply apparatus for a multiple-cylinder internal combustion engine is comprised of a fuel supply means through which a fuel amount is injected into each combustion chamber of the engine. The fuel amount is corrected by fuel supply amount correcting means in a controller of the fuel supply apparatus, in accordance with intake port pressure near the fuel supply means to maintain a proper fuel injection even in various intake pressure conditions. The intake port pressure is estimated by intake port pressure estimating mean in the controller to search a data map in the intake port pressure estimating means, in accordance with an engine speed, an opening degree of the throttle valve, and an crankangle at the fuel injection start time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in a fuel supply apparatus for an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to a fuel supply control apparatus which supplies an adequately controlled mixture of air and fuel to each cylinder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that automative vehicles are provided with fuel supply apparatus by which an air-fuel ratio is controlled and supplied to each cylinder. A typical fuel supply apparatus is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Provisional Publication Nos. 55-148932 and 58-23245. Such a fuel supply apparatus is provided with an opening-closing valve in the vicinity of an intake valve of an internal combustion engine. The opening-closing valve is operated to control an intake air flow rate fed to a combustion chamber of the engine to improve the pumping loss of the engine.
On the other hand, to improve the irregularity of the air-fuel ratio among the cylinders of the engine, a fuel supply apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Provisional Publication No. 62-101868. Such fuel supply apparatus includes a pressure sensor which is installed proximate each intake port to respectively detect each intake pressure. The fuel supply amount to each cylinder is corrected in accordance with the detected intake pressure. However, although the irregularity of the air-fuel ratio among the cylinders is improved by the installation of such a pressure sensor to each cylinder, the production cost of the engine is largely raised.

Fuel supply apparatus for internal combustion engine


A method includes introducing light into a glass article such that at least a portion of the introduced light is emitted from an edge of the glass article. The light emitted from an edge of the glass article is detected. An intensity profile of the emitted light is an intensity of the emitted light as a function of axial position. A first intensity boundary of the intensity profile and a second intensity boundary of the intensity profile are determined. A thickness of a layer of the glass article is determined based on an axial distance between the first intensity boundary and the second intensity boundary.

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Application No. 62/007,560 filed on Jun. 4, 2014 the content of which is incorporated hereby by reference it its entirety.
1. Field
This disclosure relates to glass Articles, and more particularly to apparatuses and methods for measuring the thickness of glass articles.
2. Technical Background
A glass sheet can be formed using a variety of different processes. The glass sheet can be severed to separate a glass pane therefrom. The glass pane can be processed further (e.g., during a cutting or molding process) to form a shaped glass article.

Method and system for measuring thickness of glass article


A light bulb remover for removing and replacing light bulbs of various sizes. The light bulb remover includes a pole portion and a claw portion. The pole portion has a first end and a second end. The claw portion includes a base plate. The base plate has a top side, a bottom side and a peripheral wall extending therebetween. The base plate is removably securable to the second end of the pole portion. A plurality of finger portions is coupled to the base plate. Each of the finger portions is elongate and has a distal portion and a proximal portion. Each of the distal portions is coupled to the peripheral wall of the base plate such that each of the fingers extends upwardly above the top side. The finger portions are spaced from each other. A first of the finger portions has a break therein. The break is between the distal and proximal portions. The distal portion of the first finger portion is hingedly coupled to the proximal portion of the first finger portion. A biasing means biases the proximal portion of the first finger portion toward the other of the finger portions. A pulling means pulls the proximal portion of the first finger portion away the other finger portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to light bulb replacing devices and more particularly pertains to a new light bulb remover for removing and replacing light bulbs of various sizes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of light bulb replacing devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, light bulb replacing devices heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,212; U.S. Pat. No. 2,766,060; U.S. Pat. No. 2,357,105; U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,939; U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,541; and U.S. Pat. No. 297,499.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new light bulb remover. The inventive device includes a pole portion and a claw portion. The pole portion has a first end and a second end. The claw portion includes a base plate. The base plate has a top side, a bottom side and a peripheral wall extending therebetween. The base plate is removably securable to the second end of the pole portion. A plurality of finger portions is coupled to the base plate. Each of the finger portions is elongate and has a distal portion and a proximal portion. Each of the distal portions is coupled to the peripheral wall of the base plate such that each of the fingers extends upwardly above the top side. The finger portions are spaced from each other. A first of the finger portions has a break therein. The break is between the distal and proximal portions. The distal portion of the first finger portion is hingedly coupled to the proximal portion of the first finger portion. A biasing means biases the proximal portion of the first finger portion toward the other of the finger portions. A pulling means pulls the proximal portion of the first finger portion away the other finger portions.
In these respects, the light bulb remover according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of removing and replacing light bulbs of various sizes.


A method of compliantly mounting piezoelectric device with a substrate. First, outer portions of a piezoelectric element are selectively metallized. Next, one layer of aluminum is selectively dispensed on the piezoelectric element. Third, an uncured conductive compliant material is placed and aligned on a substrate. Fourth, the piezoelectric element is placed and aligned on the conductive compliant material, such that upon curing the conductive compliant material forms a compliant mount connecting the outer metallized portions of the piezoelectric element with the substrate.

Piezoelectric devices, such as piezoelectric quartz filters, piezoelectric quartz resonators and the like; typically include a piece of piezoelectric material mounted to a substrate. In quartz devices, the quartz element of necessity has thin metallic electrodes attached to it through which electrical signals are coupled into and out of the piezoelectric quartz material. Common problems with piezoelectric devices are adequately isolating the piezoelectric device from mechanical shock and dealing with thermal expansion coefficient mismatches between the piezoelectric material and the substrate material.
Quite often, the piezoelectric devices, such as a piezoelectric quartz material and the substrate have mismatched thermal expansion coefficients. This mismatch can cause mechanical stresses to be induced in the quartz as time goes by during the life of such devices, as the quartz and substrate expand and contract over temperature variations. Further, mechanical shock transferred to the quartz through its mounting structure can increase mechanical stresses that in addition to the thermal stress, adversely affect the output frequency and accuracy of these devices.
Various attempts over the years have been developed in an attempt to compliantly mount piezoelectric quartz devices to a substrate. For purposes of this application, a compliant mount for a piezoelectric device, is a mounting device, apparatus or other mounting means that attempts to reduce or minimize mechanical stresses on the piezoelectric quartz element. Some prior art compliant mounting devices have used thin foil tabs that act as spring-type mounting structures that attempt to isolate the quartz element from its substrate. Other types of compliant mounting structures have attempted to use substrate materials having thermal expansion coefficients which more closely match the thermal expansion coefficient of the quartz material itself.
Most, if not all of the prior art compliant mounting schemes are difficult to use because of the small physical dimensions that modern piezoelectric quartz elements have. Using bent foil tabs alone, for example, to compliantly mount a small silver of quartz onto a substrate is not a structure that lends itself to economic mass production of quartz crystal devices.
A prior art overtone crystal mount structure is shown in FIG. 1. The crystal mount structure 10 includes a substrate 12, conductive pads 14 attached to an external portion of the substrate for electrical connection to the structure 10, a pair of C-shaped mounts 16, a piezoelectric element 18 including a left wraparound electrode 20 and a right wraparound electrode 22 coupled to the C-shaped mounts by an upper adhesive 24. A lower adhesive 26 securely couples the C-shaped mounts 16 to the conductive pads 14. The adhesives 24 and 26 are epoxy.
When an AC voltage is applied across the pads 14, the piezoelectric element 18 vibrates acoustically at a certain displacement. The resonant frequency of the piezoelectric element 18 drifts about a nominal frequency, in part due to changes of temperature, stresses, exposure to mechanical shock, microcracks in the quartz and the like.
There is a need for an improved method of mounting a piezoelectric device with a substrate, to: (i) minimize the mechanical stresses induced due to the thermal expansion mismatches between the two; (ii) provide a mechanically sufficient coupling such that the device can withstand mechanical shocks; and (iii) provide a method of crystal attachment which is adaptable to mass production.
Accordingly, a low cost, readily-manufacturable, compliant mount for a piezoelectric device would be an improvement over the prior art. A method by which quartz devices can be easily and readily attached to a substrate and which isolates the quartz element from mechanical stresses would be an improvement over the art.

Method of compliantly mounting a piezoelectric device


Programming is provided to a user. The programming includes content that the user wishes to play, and may also contain advertising. More specifically, the user controls various aspects of the advertising and earns value in return for agreeing to or allowing certain advertising actions. For example, in one embodiment, the programming contains blocks of advertising that separate blocks of streaming content, similar to current television advertising. The user pays a subscription fee for the streaming content. The user also has the power to determine which advertisements (or blocks of advertisements) that the user wishes to view. For example, the user may have a remote control with a “skip advertisement” button. Each advertisement has a value associated with it, and by viewing that advertisement, the user earns credits against the user's subscription fee.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to content delivery systems and advertising management on such content delivery systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Advertising in traditional content delivery systems, such as radio and television, has existed since the inception of these media as a viable mass-market business. Advertisers and radio and television networks routinely collect data on program and advertisement viewing, using such services as the Nielsen rating system. The collected data is used to determine statistics, which in turn are used as an aid to target advertising to the most appropriate audience. Basically, the statistics are used to develop demographic profiles for television and radio programs, and advertisers then buy advertising time on the programs likely to be watched by the advertiser's targeted audiences. However, in this approach, there is no immediate feedback concerning the effectiveness of any advertisement, nor is there any direct interaction with the intended audience.
However, new technological advances are challenging the traditional advertising model. For example, television hard disk recorders, such as those marketed by Tivo and ReplayTV, allow viewers to manipulate the manner in which they receive and view commercial television broadcasts, including truncating and skipping advertisements. This capability challenges the current content distribution model of free or small monthly fee based television broadcasting sustained by paid advertising, by changing passive viewers into active viewers who can skip and reject commercials at will, thus redefining the value of the entire programming grid and "prime time" television and making audience metering significantly harder. Channel proliferation is also making it harder and harder for advertisers to reach their desired targets, increasing the cost of delivering a given message to a demographic subset of the audience.
Furthermore, the Internet and the World Wide Web have created new types of media and media delivery systems. The new media has resulted in a need for new types of advertising. For example, on the World Wide Web, advertising banners are commonly presented along with information in web pages, and by clicking on the banner the user may direct its browser to relocate to the advertiser's website. Banner ads, however, are generally acknowledged to have less impact than television ads because of the limited ability of a banner ad to tell a story.
Furthermore, some web sites such as mypoints.com allow site visitors to earn value by clicking on banner ads, joining certain mailing lists or groups, or activating other marketing opportunities while at the site. However, these web sites generally do not have compelling content like movies, music or short animations provided at or through the site. Rather, visitors come to the site primarily to activate the ads and other marketing gimmicks in exchange for earning value. This is different from traditional media such as broadcast television where viewers tune in primarily to enjoy the content provided and the advertising is secondary in importance.
It is also generally acknowledged that traditional types of advertising are riot appropriate for the Internet and World Wide Web, in part because they do not take advantage of the interactive capability of the new technology. For example, the two-way interactive nature of the Internet allows advertisers to compile statistics on individual users and/or networks and to track the use and effectiveness of advertisements. This data can be used to increase the effectiveness of advertisements and to more precisely target advertisements to particular groups. Traditional advertising does not take advantage of these advances.
Moreover, advances in compression technology allow the creation of new forms of content delivery systems that are approaching the quality and capabilities of traditional media, such as TV and radio. Examples of such systems include the Hughes DirecTV satellite television system, the TCI digital cable television infrastructure, and the transmission of audio files as MP3 encoded data over the Internet for Internet radio applications. However, unlike traditional television and radio, these new systems transmit digital data. The digital nature of these content delivery systems, when coupled with an infrastructure capable of two-way communication such as cable or the Internet, enables applications that extend media from a broadcasting paradigm into an interactive paradigm. Examples of this new kind of application include Real Network's Real Player and Microsoft's Media Player with streaming video capabilities, which have enabled media playback for thousands of web sites, and which are starting to evolve into fully interactive content delivery networks, such as Real's website www.real.com, Atom Film's website www.atomfilms.com, Ifilm (www.ifilm.com) and Yahoo's www.broadcast.com. These new ventures are trying to use a combination of subscription fees and paid advertising in the form of short commercials attached to each video segment played by the user, but are still significantly limited by the quality and bandwidth of the current global Internet infrastructure, and are focused in small segments to be viewed in a computer, as opposed to a more general entertainment network to be viewed on a television screen.
On the animation side, Macromedia's Flash player has received significant recognition as a 2D animation standard for the web. Macromedia's content site, Shockwave.com, is another example of how the combination of interaction, content and the Internet are creating new platforms for media delivery. Companies such as Pulse 3D and Shout Interactive are attempting to create 3D graphics equivalents of the Flash player in order to enable similar experiences for 3D graphics rendering. In the animation websites, most of the advertising is still limited to banners and loading screens, but there is a rapidly evolving infrastructure for content playback that advertising will no doubt try to leverage in the near future.
Thus, there is a need for approaches that enable effective advertising over digital content delivery networks. In particular, there is a need for advertising that is compelling for the user and also takes advantage of the recent advances in interactivity and data collection.

Interactive advertising with an automated viewing reward system


A raw setter has a plate shape, is made of the same material as in a honeycomb formed body, and has a chamfered portion in which a circumferential portion of one end face is chamfered in an oblique direction and whose has a tapered cross-sectional shape by reducing a diameter of an end face portion to an outer diameter, a ratio of an area of a flat portion to an end face area is from 10 to 85%, an angle formed between the flat portion and the chambered portion is from 3 to 50°, a flatness of each of the flat portion of the one end face and a flat portion of the other end face is 0.3 mm or less, and a thickness of cell partition walls is 0.1 mm or less.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a raw setter, and a firing method of a honeycomb formed body. More particularly, it relates to a raw setter which is used for firing an unfired honeycomb formed body extruded by using an extruder, in a firing furnace, and a firing method of a honeycomb formed body.
Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, a honeycomb structure made of ceramics has broadly been used in a use application such as a car exhaust gas purifying catalyst carrier, a diesel particulate removing filter, or a heat accumulating body for a burning device. The honeycomb structure made of the ceramics (hereinafter simply referred to as "the honeycomb structure") is manufactured by preparing a forming material (a kneaded material), extruding the material into a desirable honeycomb shape by use of an extruder, followed by raw cutting, drying and finish-cutting, and then subjecting the material through a firing step of firing the material at a high temperature.
In the above firing step, the honeycomb formed body is loaded on a shelf plate in a state where one end face of the honeycomb formed body is directed downward, and the honeycomb formed body and the shelf plate are then loaded into a firing furnace. At this time, to prevent the honeycomb formed body from being adhered to the shelf plate, a firing support plate referred to as "a setter" is interposed between the support plate and the honeycomb formed body. As to this setter, a cut piece of the honeycomb structure firing the honeycomb formed body has been used as the honeycomb formed body firing setter, but when the setter is repeatedly used, cracks are generated. Therefore, a press-molded and fired ceramic raw material referred to as "a pressed setter" is used, and hence, the material can be used repeatedly (e.g., see Patent Document 1). Such a setter is generically referred to as "a firing setter". In the present description, the extruded body prior to the firing is called "the honeycomb formed body", and the fired body is referred to as the honeycomb structure.
The extruded honeycomb formed body carries out a firing shrinkage along a longitudinal direction of cells and a direction orthogonal to the cell longitudinal direction in the firing step. Therefore, when the honeycomb formed body is mounted on the above firing setter and loaded into the firing furnace, a shift occurs between an upper surface of the firing setter and a lower end face of the honeycomb formed body due to the firing shrinkage of the honeycomb formed body, and defects such as deformation and fissures of cell partition walls might be generated in the lower end face of the honeycomb structure which comes in contact with the firing setter. In addition, the lower end face of the honeycomb formed body is stuck on the upper surface of the firing setter, the shift does not evenly occur, and a shape of the lower end face of the honeycomb structure might be curved. When the curving occurs, a round pillar-shaped honeycomb structure has a roundness defect in its end face. In particular, when the honeycomb formed body is fired in which cell partition walls defining a plurality of cells have a small thickness, the above defects are remarkably generated.
Thus, when the honeycomb formed body is fired in which the cell partition walls are thin, a raw setter which is cutting an unfired honeycomb formed body made of the same material as the honeycomb formed body (hereinafter simply referred to as "the raw setter") is used in the firing step. A firing shrinkage difference is not made between the raw setter and the honeycomb formed body of a firing object during the firing, and the raw setter can carry out the firing shrinkage at the same timing and the same ratio as the honeycomb formed body along the cell longitudinal direction and a cross sectional direction orthogonal to the cell longitudinal direction. Consequently, in the firing step, any resistances or restraints are not generated between the honeycomb formed body and the raw setter, and the problem of a shape defect such as a defect of each end face cell partition wall or the roundness defect can be eliminated. Furthermore, it is known that a shape or a surface roughness of the upper surface of the raw setter which comes in contact with the lower end face of the honeycomb formed body is regulated, and hence, an influence on the lower end face of the honeycomb formed body can be alleviated even when a slight shift occurs (e.g., see Patent Document 2).
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2000-274954
[Patent Document 2] WO2006/035674A1

Raw setter, and firing method of honeycomb formed body


A friction-wheel epicyclic gear (10, 10a) is proposed. The friction-wheel epicyclic gear (10, 10a) has bevel wheels (12, 42), which roll on a friction wheel (14) and drive a gear output shaft (26). The contact pressure between the bevel wheels (12, 42) and the friction wheel (14) is variable. A detection of the slip between the bevel wheels (12, 42) and the friction wheel (14) is provided, and the contact pressure is variable as a function of the slip. In this way, the friction-wheel epicyclic gear (10, 10a) can always be operated at the slip limit, so that the wear is only slight and the efficiency is high.

The invention is based on a friction-wheel epicyclic gear with bevel wheels. One such friction-wheel epicyclic gear, known for instance from German Patent Disclosure DE196 44 133 A1, has bevel wheels which roll on a friction wheel, and the contact pressure between the bevel wheels and the friction wheel is variable. For varying the contact pressure, this reference proposes that an rpm- or moment-dependent regulator be provided. That is, a corresponding contact pressure is associated with a certain rpm or a certain torque. So that no slip will occur, the contact pressure must be set higher than absolutely necessary. The result, however, is increased wear of the bevel wheels and/or the friction wheel. Conversely, if a certain amount of slip is tolerated, then this causes increased power losses or poorer efficiency of the friction-wheel epicyclic gear.
The friction-wheel epicyclic gear of the invention has the epicyclic gear can be driven at the slip limit. As a result, the friction-wheel epicyclic gear of the invention has less wear and at the same time has high efficiency. This is because the point of departure of varying the contact pressure of the bevel wheels at the friction wheel is not the rotary speed of the torque, but the slip.
One possibility for this is for a bevel wheel to serve not to transmit power but rather, via a pinion, to drive a shaft. By detecting and comparing the rotary speed of this shaft with the rotary speed of the shaft that is in the line of force, the slip can easily be detected and as a result the contact pressure can be varied.
A second possibility for detecting the slip is to detect the input rpm and the output rpm of the gear and to assign a value that corresponds to the output rpm of the friction-wheel epicyclic gear without slip to the applicable input rpm. The contact pressure can then be varied as a function of the difference between the output rpm and that value.

Friction-wheel planetary gear with bevel gears


A highly articulated robotic probe (HARP) is comprised of a first mechanism and a second mechanism, one or both of which can be steered in desired directions. Each mechanism can alternate between being rigid and limp. In limp mode the mechanism is highly flexible. When one mechanism is limp, the other is rigid. The limp mechanism is then pushed or pulled along the rigid mechanism. The limp mechanism is made rigid, thereby assuming the shape of the rigid mechanism. The rigid mechanism is made limp and the process repeats. These innovations allow the device to drive anywhere in three dimensions. The device can “remember” its previous configurations, and can go anywhere in a body or other structure (e.g. jet engine). When used in medical applications, once the device arrives at a desired location, the inner core mechanism can be removed and another functional device such as a scalpel, clamp or other tool slid through the rigid sleeve to perform. Because of the rules governing abstracts, this abstract should not be used to construe the claims.

The present disclosure is an outgrowth from the field of robotics for the field of teleoperated mechanisms and, more particularly, to three dimensional, flexible, steerable devices.
Although there are many applications for this disclosed device, the motivating application for this device is minimally invasive surgery. There are few medical robotic systems available in the market today. These systems can be categorized into three major groups: active, semi-active, and passive robotic system. The active robotic system approach is represented by Kazanzides et al. [Kazanzides P, Mittelstadt B. Musits B, Barger W, Zuhars J, Williamson B, Cain P and Carbone E: An integrated system for cementless hip replacement. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology. pp. 307-313, 1995] and Brandt et al. [Brandt G, Radermacher K, Lavalle S, Staudte H. W, Rau G, "A Compact Robot for Image Guided Orthopedic Surgery: Concept and Preliminary Results", Lecture notes in Computer Science 1205, CVRMed-MRCAS '97, Troccaz J. Grimson R, and Mosges R, eds, pp. 767-776, 1997] where, in the first example, a serial robot actively mills the femur to optimally fit an implant for a knee surgery. This robot is a serial-type mechanism with a large work volume relative to the task at hand. Therefore, such robots are somewhat cumbersome and heavy, and suffer several known drawbacks including relatively low stiffness and accuracy, and low nominal load/weight ratio. The fact that these robots are used for medical procedures, where accuracy and safety are paramount, has motivated researchers to look for manipulators with better kinematics and dynamic performance for specific surgical tasks.
In the second example, a Stewart platform is used in hip replacement surgery. A Stewart platform is a type of parallel robot. A six degree of freedom parallel robot is composed of two rigid platforms, one used as a base platform and the other as a moving end-effecter. The two platforms are connected by ball-and socket joints to six links capable of changing their length. By controlling the length of each link, the mechanism can position and orient the moving end-effecter relative to the base platform. Advantages of parallel robotic structures include: low weight, compact structure, high accuracy, high stiffness, restricted workspace, high frequency response, and low cost. [Merlet J.-P., Les Robots Paralleles, Hermes, Paris, 1997]. Moreover, parallel robots are significantly more robust to failure than serial devices because in a serial device, one failure can cause the robot to dramatically move, whereas in a parallel structure, one failure will have little effect on the overall motion of the robot. This is important in medical applications because surgeons want the device to maintain its last position in case of a catastrophic failure. [Khodabandehloo K., Brett P. N., Buckingham R. O., "Special-Purpose Actuators and Architectures for Surgery Robots", Computer Integrated Surgery, Taylor R., Lavalle S., Burdea G., Ralph Mosges, eds, pp. 263-274, 1996].
From a robotics perspective, the main drawback of parallel mechanisms is their limited workspace. However, as pointed out by Khodabandehloo et al., limited workspace is an advantage in medical applications because the active in-situ operation volumes are limited to protect the patient and physician. Unfortunately, this advantage forces the robot to be deployed near the operation site in the operating room, which is often unrealistic because the robot would interfere with the surgeons. One of the solutions introduced to solve this problem is to attach the entire robotic system to the operating room's ceiling so that the robot works "upside down." [Lueth T., Bier J., "Robot Assisted Intervention in Surgery", Gilsbach J. M. and Stiel H. S. (Editors), Neuronavigation-Neurosurgical and Computer Scientific Aspects, Springer-Verlag, Wien. 1999]. In this way, the robot does not interfere during the standard operating procedure, and is activated and maneuvered to the operating area when required. However, this solution is not applicable in all operating rooms and requires special operating room design.
The first known robot introduced to the operating room was the Robodoc™ system (Integrated Surgical Systems, Sacramento, Calif.). This robot is used to bore the medullary cavity of the femur for cementless femoral prostheses. Other robotic systems introduced in the market are the URS™, for positioning an endoscope in a tremor free and more precise way, i.e. with an accuracy of up to 1/100 mm. EndoAssist™, used for camera support, EndoWrist™, used for instrument support, CASPAR™, used for hip replacement, AESOP™, used for camera support, and ZEUS™, for instrument support. Other available medical robotic systems are the Neuromate™, used for endoscope/catheter guidance, the MKM™, used for microscope support, and the SurgiScope™, also used for microscope support.
The semi-active robotic system approach is represented by Ho et al. [Ho S C, Hibberd R D, Davies B L, "Robot Assisted Knee Surgery", IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology, Vol. 14, pp. 292-299, May/June 1995], Kienzle et al. [Kienzle III, T, Stullberg D., Peshkin M., Quaid A., Lea J., Goswami A., Wu Ch., "A Computer-Assisted Total Knee Replacement Surgical System Using a Calibrated Robot", In Computer integrated surgery. Tatlor, Lavallee, Burdea, and Mosges, eds, MIT Press, pp. 410-416, 1996], and Harris et al. [Harris S J., Lin W J, Fan K L, Hibberd R D, Cobb J, Middelton R, Davies B L, "Experiences with Robotic Systems for Knee Surgery", Lecture notes in computer science 1205, CVRMed-MRCASD '97]. In Kienzle et al. the robot acts as an assistant during the operation by holding a tool in a steady position, accurately guiding a cutting tool, and preventing the tool from moving out of the desired operative region. A third approach, passive robotic systems, is represented by Grace et al. [Grace K. W., Colgate J. E., Gluksberg M. R., Chun J. H., "Six Degree of Freedom Micromanipulator for Ophthalmic Surgery", IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, pp. 630-635, 1993], and Jensen et al. [Jensen P. S., Glucksberg M. R., Colgate J. E., Grace K. W., Attariwala R., "Robotic Micromanipulator for Orthopedic Surgery", 1st International Symposium on Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, pp. 204-210, Pittsburgh 22-24, 1994], where a six degree of freedom robot acts simply as a guided tool, fully controlled by the surgeon.
The third category of medical robots is the passive system. This kind of robotic system supports the surgical procedure, but takes no active part during surgery, in other words: the surgeon is in full control of the surgical procedure at all times. There are also few robotic systems which fall in this category. Matsen et. al. [Matsen F A III, Garbini J L, Sidles J A, Prat B, Baumgarten D, Kaiura R, Robotic assistance in Orthopedic surgery, Clin Orthp and Rela Res 296, 1993: 178-186.] report on a passive robotic system for knee arthroplasty. For their research they use a commercial Unimation PUMA 260, who hold a three dimensional transparent template which enables the surgeon to indicate the desired position of the prosthetic joint surface. The robot then places the saw guide such that the resulting cut plane agrees with the one indicated by the surgeon, who is actually the one holding the power saw and performing the cuts. This system was never used in the operating room.
McEwen et. al. [McEwen C, Bussani C R, Auchinleck G F, Breault M J. Development and initial clinical evaluation of pre robotic and robotic retraction systems for surgery. 2nd Annual Int Symposium Custom Orthopaedic Prosthetics, Chicago, October 1989.] use Arthrobot as an assistant in the operating room. The robot is neumatically powered, electronically controlled positioner device which is used intraoperatively to hold the limb. The system has no sensing capabilities and is able to move only under explicit human control. The system was used during arthroplasties of the knee and hip.
Other passive robotic systems are reported by Grace et. al. [Grace K. W., Colgate J. E., Gluksberg M. R., Chun J. H. A Six Degree of Freedom Micromanipulator for Ophthalmic Surgery. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation 1993; 630-635.] yet these are not related to orthopedic applications. Grace developed a six degrees of freedom micro manipulator which is used for treatment of retinal venous occlusion. During procedure, the operator is watching the robot's end-effector (using a microscop) and guiding it using a multi-dimensional joystick input device.
However, the most frequent examples of passive robotic systems are surgical navigation systems, as they represent the central element in each CAOS system [Nolte L P, Langlotz F, Basics of computer assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS), Navigation and robotics in total joint and spine surgery, New York, Springer, 2004.] Basically, a navigation system refers the position i.e. location and orientation, of the acting components of the system to a global coordinate system, such that their relative position can be resolved in the global system.
The inventors of the current patent application have built many other types of robots. One of their specialties includes snake robots, formally called hyper redundant mechanisms. Snake robots can be used in an active, semi-active, and passive manner. The snake robot was designed and constructed originally to assist in search and rescue tasks. [Wolf, A, Brown, H. B., Casciola, R., Costa, A., Schwerin, M., Shamas, E., Choset, H., "A mobile hyper redundant mechanism for search and rescue tasks", Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ IROS2003]. The construction of this robot required a new mechanical design such that the robot would be stiff enough to support its own mass while consuming a minimum of power and volume. The new joints in this robot, designed and constructed in-house, have a large range of motion suitable for a hyper-redundant snake. [Shammas, E., Wolf, A., Brown, H. B., Choset, H., "New Joint Design for Three-dimensional Hyper Redundant Robots", Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ IROS2003]. The snake robot was attached on top of a mobile platform so that the snake could be semi-autonomously transported to the search area. Control of the mobile robot platform and the snake robot is performed through a joystick, to provide the user with a simple, intuitive interface. Snake robot control is performed within the reference frame of the camera, such that inputs from the joystick are converted into the camera reference frame. [Wolf, A, Choset, H., Brown, H. B., Casciola, R., "Design and Control of a Hyper-Redundant Mechanism", Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Robotics]. If this type of device can be built With a reduced cross-sectional diameter, then this type of snake robot can also be used to allow surgeons to reach areas of the body in a minimally invasive fashion and to perform operations with tools at the tip of the snake robot.
Virtually all previous work in hyper redundant robots focused on the mechanism development and end effecter placement. [Chirikjian G., S., Burdick W., J., (1995a) Kinematically optimal hyper-redundant manipulator configurations, IEEE Tran. On Rob and Aut, 11 (6), pp. 794-806] [Chirikjian G., S., Burdick W., J. (1995b) The kinematic of hyper-redundant robot locomotion, IEEE Tran. On Rob and Aut, 11(6), pp. 781-793] Most of these devices were limited to the large scale. Historically, Hirose, in 1972, developed an impressive device that mimicked the locomotion of real snakes on the ground [Hirose, S. Biologically Inspired Robots: Snake-like Locomotors and Manipulators. Oxford University Press Oxford 1993]. Research continued in the early 1990's at Caltech with the planar hyper-redundant manipulator by Chirikjian and Burdick; their contribution focused on novel end effecter placement algorithms for these robots, not the robot itself (Chirikjian and Burdick, 1995). Recently, other researchers, such as Yim at Xerox Parc, Miller on his own and Haith at NASA Ames, have duplicated Hirose's pioneering work on snake locomotion, where Yim and Haith used Yim's polybot modules to form modular hyper-redundant mechanisms. Modularity clearly has its benefits, but comes at an unacceptable cost, which manifests itself in a loss of strength and maneuverability. The electro-mechanical connection is polybot's innovation, but it also provides a point of weakness to the mechanism and it occupies space that makes the robot more discrete (increase in link length, i.e., separation in degrees of freedom (DOF)) and hence reduces maneuverability. Modularity has more value when the target configuration of the robot is unknown a priori.
The challenge of a hyper redundant mechanism is to be strong enough to lift itself in three dimensions but be small and light enough to be useful to even demonstrate basic planning. The Pacific Northwest Labs developed a three-dimensional mechanism which was incredibly strong but moved too slowly and was too large. This robot moved too slowly because it was intended to be used for bomb disarming, so that a technician could tele-operate this robot to probe the internals of a bomb without accidentally detonating it. Kinematically, the mechanism is a sequence of linearly actuated universal joints stacked on top of each other. Takanashi developed at NEC a new two-DOF joint for snake robots that allowed a more compact design. This joint used a passive universal joint to prevent adjacent bays from twisting while at the same time allowing two degrees of freedom: bending and orienting. This universal joint enveloped an angular swivel joint, which provided the two degrees of freedom. The universal joint being installed on the outside rendered the joint too bulky. Researchers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) "inverted" Takanashi's design by placing a small universal joint in the interior of the robot. This allowed for a more compact design, but came at the cost of strength and stiffness (backlash). A small universal joint cannot transmit rotational motion at big deflection angles nor can it withstand heavy loads.
For certain applications it is desired that the hyper redundant robot operate on the size of less than 15 mm diameter that is normally required for minimally invasive surgery. The many degrees of articulation that furnish the hyper redundant robot with its enhanced capabilities also offer its main research challenges. There are several critical challenges that one must address to build a hyper redundant robot. First, there is the actual mechanical design itself; constructing a device that has high maneuverability in a small confined volume. Low level control is another challenge in such small scales. The compact space inside the device envelop leaves little room for wiring all actuators and sensors on board the hyper redundant robot, hence a more advanced low level controller should be used.
One avenue of research to reduce the size of hyper redundant robots has focused on exotic actuator development such as shape memory alloys. Numerous works have been presented on active catheters and endoscopes, most actuated by shape memory alloys (SMA) actuators (Tohuko University, Olympus Optical Co). SMA spring and wire actuation has been implemented by Hirose [Hirose, S. Biologically Inspired Robots: Snake-like Locomotors and Manipulators. Oxford University Press Oxford 1993] to overcome hysteresis problem of the SMA material. The Santa Anna laboratory in Pisa Italy (Dario et. al 2000), developed an arthroscope tool which is cable actuated; a position sensor detects the tip location and a force sensor detects contact forces. Overall accuracy of the device is 2.3 mm. Other endoscope like active mechanisms are the Laboratorie de Robotque de Paris (LRP), 8 mm in diameter worm like mechanism which is formed by a sequence of segments articulated to each other by SMA actuated pin joints [Kuhl C., Dumont G., Virtual endoscopy: from simulation to optimization of an active endoscope. Proc. Of the modeling & simulation for computer aided medicine and surgery 2002, 12, pp 84-93]. The device is specifically designed to explore the intestine with a camera. An electrostrictive polymer artificial muscle (EPAM) based snake like endoscopic robot was developed at Stanford Research Institute (SRI). That device is composed of several blocks joined by a concentric spine [Kombluh R D., Pelrine R., Eckerle J., Joseph J., Electrostrictive polymer artificial muscle actuators. Proc. Of the IEEE int. Conf. on Robotics and Automation 1998, pp 2147-2154]. Researchers at Pennsylvania state university [Frecker M I., Aguilera W M., Analytical modeling of a segmented unimorph actuator using electroactive (pvdf-trfe) copolymer. Smart material and structures 2003, pp 82-91] have also developed a snake like manipulator using electrostrictive polymer artificial muscle. Their special design of the actuator allows control of the curvature.
As an alternative to an articulated probe, researchers have considered a mobile type of robot that resembles a miniature inch worm for both pipe inspection and medical procedures. Several manuscripts have been published regarding miniature inchworm-like mechanisms which are capable of maneuvering within rigid-pipes. The Kato device [Kato S., Hirayama T., Fabrication of a high speed in-pipe mobile micro machine. Proc. of the 4th Japan-France Congress and 2nd Japan-Europe congress on Mechatronics, 1998, 1, pp 429-432] is a 96 mm long, 18 mm in diameter mechanism which is capable of moving inside tubes using stick and slip strategy. This mechanism is not designed to move itself within a deformable environment (intestine). The walking work by Sanata Anna University is a 90 mm long, 18 mm in diameter SMA based worm like manipulator which clamps itself into the environment and then manipulates itself forward [Dario P., Menciassi A., Park J H., Lee L., Gorinil S., Park J., Robotic solutions and mechanisms for a semi-automated endoscope. Proc. of the IEEE/RSJ international conf. on robotic systems, 2002, p. 1379-1384.
Focusing now on basic research specific to medical articulated probes, in Geunbae L., Kazuyuki M., Keisuke Y., Masahisa S., et. al (1996) Multi-link active catheter snake-like robot, Robotica, 14, pp. 499-506, the researchers developed a 2.8 mm diameter active catheter based on silicon micromachining. This multilane manipulator is connected by joints made of shape memory actuators (SMA), fixed at equilateral triangular locations to allow bending in several directions. In this design an indirect heating was developed due to the SMA when the control system was integrated into the manipulator. Other endoscopic, SMA based, tools are presented in [Nakamura Y., Matsui A., Saito T., Yoshimoto K., (1995) Shape-memory-alloys active forceps for laparoscopic surgery, IEEE int. Cof. on Robotics ad Automation, pp. 2320-2327]; [Ikuta K., Tsukamoto M., Hirose S., (1988) Shape memory alloys servo actuator system with electric resistance feedback and application for active endoscope, Proc. of IEEE Int. Conf. Rob. And Aut. pp. 427-430]; [Ikuta K, Nolata M., Aritomi S., (1994a) Hyper redundant active endoscope for minimally invasive surgery, Proc. Of the first symposium on medical robotics and computer assisted surgery, Pittsburgh, Pa., pp. 230-237]; [Ikuta K., Nokata M., Aritomi S., (1994b) Biomedical micro robot driven by miniature cybernetic actuator, IEEE Int. Workshop on MEMS, pp. 263-268]; [Dario P., Carrozza M. C.; Lencioni L., Magnani B., et. al, (1997a) A micro robotic system for colonoscopy, Proc. Int. Conf Rob. and Aut. pp. 1567-1572]; [Reynaerts D., Peirs J., Van Brussel H., (1999) Shape memory micro-actuation for a gastro intestinal intervention system. Sensor and actuators, 77, pp. 157-166]. However, those tools have relatively low stiffness, and they require high activation voltage. Hence, heat removal becomes a challenge. A different activation concept is presented in [Piers J., Reynaerts H., Van Brussel H., De Gersem G., (2003) Design of and advanced tool guiding system for robotic surgery, IEEE Int. Conf. Rob and Aut, pp. 2651-2656]. In that work, the authors presented a 5 mm diameter wire driven two degrees of freedom snake robot tool using super-elastic NiTi [Simaan N., Taylor R., and Flint P., (2004) A Dextrous System for Laryngeal Surgery: Multi-Backbone Bending Snake-Like Robot for Dexterous Surgical Tool Manipulation. IEEE Transaction of ICRA 2004, New Orleans]. Other devices are reported in Reynaerts. D., Peiers L., Van Brussel H., Design of a shape memory actuated gastrointestine intervention system. Proc. of the int. C of. of new actuation 1997, Epacenet mechanism and Young M L., Jinhee L., Jisang P., Byugkyu K., Jong Oh P., Soo Hyun K., Yeh-Sun H., Self propelling endoscopic system. Proc. of the 2001 IEEE/RSJ Int. Conf. on intelligent robotic systems. 2002, pp 117-1122. However, wire actuation, SMA, and EPAM actuation become challenges with robots having multiple degrees of freedom due to minimal space inside the robot's mechanical envelope. Therefore, most of these systems were developed to be introduced into a confined tube-like environment or work as bending mechanisms not capable of generating a 3D curve (e.g. double non-planar "S" shape).
Robert Sturges' U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,151, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, discloses a flexible, steerable device for conducting exploratory procedures. The device includes at least one spine, each having stiffening means for selectively rendering the spine rigid and flexible along its length. A flexible sheath surrounds the spine and is axially slidably moveable relative to the spine so that the sheath will follow and conform to the shape of a spine in the rigid state and resist further flexure when the spine is in a relaxed state. A steerable distal tip is provided on the distal end of the device. Controls for the distal tip are mounted on the proximal end of the device. Mechanisms are provided on the distal end of the device for selectively activating and deactivating the stiffening means of the spine. An instrument conduit may be mounted on the sheath.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,610,007 discloses a steerable endoscope having an elongated body with a selectively steerable distal portion and an automatically controlled proximal portion. The endoscope body is inserted into a patient and the selectively steerable distal portion is used to select a desired path within the patient's body. When the endoscope body is advanced, an electronic motion controller operates the automatically controlled proximal portion to assume the selected curve of the selectively steerable distal portion. Another desired path is selected with the selectively steerable distal portion and the endoscope body is advanced again. As the endoscope body is further advanced, the selected curves propagate proximally along the endoscope body, and when the endoscope body is withdrawn proximally, the selected curves propagate distally along the endoscope body. This creates a serpentine motion in the endoscope body allowing it to negotiate tortuous curves along a desired path through or around and between organs within the body.

Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburg—Of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education