A fire alarm having in a single unit a battery and a fire detecting section energized by the battery to detect abnormal environmental conditions such as heat and smoke to provide an output signal. A voltage decrement detecting section detects a voltage decrement of the battery to provide an output signal. A warning unit such as a buzzer is coupled to a switching circuit for operating the warning unit upon reception of the output signal from either the fire detecting section or the voltage decrement detecting section through an input terminal thereof. To reduce power consumption, the system uses a multivibrator having C-MOS IC, inverters. The output of the voltage decrement detecting section is connected to a control input terminal of the switching circuit and external connection terminals and the output of the fire detecting section are connected to the control input terminal of the switching circuit through diodes, adapted to prevent the influence of the output signal of the voltage decrement detecting section.

This invention relates to a so-called single station type fire alarm system which comprises an electric source, a fire detecting section, a warning unit such as a buzzer, etc. in one housing to detect a fire and to produce a warning signal. This invention also relates to a multivibrator used in the detection circuitry.
A fire alarm system of this type is provided with detectors adapted to detect smoke, heat and flame, a warning unit such as a buzzer or a bell adapted to produce a warning signal in response to the outputs of the detectors. An electric source such as a dry battery for energizing these components is located in one housing. Such a fire alarm system is installed, as a simple warning signal producing device for home use, at crucial locations in a house such as landings or stairways. That is, the fire alarm systems are provided in rooms separately or independently from each other without having a central control device.
Accordingly, even if one fire alarm detects a fire in the respective location of a room to produce a warning signal, the warning signal cannot be transmitted to another fire alarm at another location. Since the rooms in recent houses are well insulated in terms of soundproofing and airtightness, it may be difficult for a person in one room to hear the warning signal produced in another room. Hence, at a crucial moment, such as a spreading fire, only the persons in the room where the alarm sounds can be alerted to the occurrence of the fire at the earliest moment. This may result in delay in extinguishing the fire or in evacuation from the building.
Originally, the single station type fire alarm system of this type was used as a simple warning signal producing device as described above, and therefore it was not intended to have a mutual warning signal control function. The increase in control functions leads to an increase in power requirements. Hence, a problem generally exists concerning acceptable battery lifetime without requiring large and heavy power sources. Hence, the use of circuitry having reduced power is a subject of continuing research.
This invention therefore also relates to a multivibrator employing C-MOS IC inverters, and is intended to reduce the power consumption of the multivibrator. A C-MOS IC has a variety of merits in that it is low in power consumption, may be completely operated by batteries, and is not affected by external noise. Therefore, C-MOS IC circuitry has been extensively utilized in single station type fire alarm systems using a primary battery as its electric source.
For instance, in a single station type fire alarm system incorporating an ionization type smoke detector, a DC--DC converter using a multivibrator with C-MOS inverters is employed to obtain a high voltage applied to the ionization chambers of the detector. Since the multivibrator is a load on the battery, it is desirable to minimize the power consumption of the multivibrator. Most of the multivibrators of this type have an arrangement as shown in FIG. 1. More specifically, in this arrangement, the periodic variation of a potential Va at the circuit point a due to a differentiation current flowing in a resistor 3 and a capacitor 4 is obtained as a pulse at the circuit points b or d by means of two C-MOS inverters 1 and 2.
The operation of this conventional multivibrator shown in FIG. 1 will now be described. As is apparent from a waveform diagram shown in FIG. 2, the potential Va at the circuit point a periodically varies at the time instants t.sub.0, t.sub.1, t.sub.2 and so on with a time constant defined by the values of resistor 3 and capacitor 4. At the time instant t.sub.0, the output of the inverter 1 is changed from a high potential level "H" (hereinafter referred to merely as an "H" when applicable) to a low potential level "L" (hereinafter referred to merely as an "L" when applicable), while the output of the inverter 2 is changed from "L" to "H". Therefore, capacitor 4 has been biased in such a manner that the circuit point d is negative and the circuit point a is positive. But, at the time instant this biasing state is inverted, and the potential Va is increased to about (V.sub.DD +V.sub.TH).
During the period of from t.sub.0 to t.sub.1, a differentiation current flows from the P channel MOS of inverter 2 through the capacitor 4 and resistor 3 to the N channel MOS of inverter 1. The potential is gradually decreased from "H". At the time instant t.sub.1, the potential Va, gradually decreased, reaches the circuit threshold voltage V.sub.T of inverter 1. As a result, the states of inverters 1 and 2 are both inverted, and the potential at the circuit point b is changed from "L" to "H" while the potential Vd at the circuit point d. Accordingly, capacitor 4 is reversely biased again and the potential Va is instantaneously decreased to about -V.sub.TH.
During the period of from t.sub.1 to t.sub.2, a differentiation current flows from the P channel MOS of inverter 1 through resistor 3 and capacitor 4, in the stated order, to the N channel MOS of inverter 2. The potential Va is gradually increased. At the time instant, t.sub.2, the potential Va reaches the circuit threshold voltage V.sub.T, and the same state as that in the case of the time instant t.sub.0 is provided.
As the above-described operation is repeatedly carried out, the output provided, for instance, at the circuit point d is an oscillation output having a constant period. In FIG. 2, a curve I indicates the variation with time of the current consumption of the circuit. The variation tends to increase when the potential Va reaches approximately the circuit threshold voltage of inverter 1. Accordingly, especially in the case where the oscillation period of the multivibrator is set to a short value, the current consumption cannot be disregarded if the variation occurs slowly when the potential Va passes the above described threshold voltage.
Within the prior art a number of patents are known generally relating to this technology. Typical pertinent ones are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,004,288; 4,017,852; and 4,030,086. The '288 patent discloses a battery operated detection unit for independent monitoring of smoke. A smoke detector is used to produce an output to latch circuitry and a logic gate to produce an audiable alarm. An oscillator is also coupled to the logic gate such that in the absence of an alarm signal, a light is energized at a rate dependent on oscillator frequency to indicate that the system is in an operable state. A battery monitoring circuit shown in FIG. 5 of the patent is employed to provide the audible alarm if the battery voltage drops below a predetermined level. Such a system, while workable suffers from several practical drawbacks. It is not capable of being adapted into a network and the user has no way of initially noting the difference between an alarm condition or one of low battery. Also, the system requires relatively large amounts of power for operation.
The '852 patent relates to a smoke detector having interconnect lines to couple a number of different units as shown in FIG. 2 therein. The device uses a network of silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR) and a programmable unijunction transistor (PUT) in the detector and supervision circuits. The device is not self powered since it uses line connections. Accordingly, as shown it must use a transformer (element 12 in FIG. 1) to handle the input line voltage. Such a device cannot therefore be placed at random or selective locations but must be near a power line. This leads to unsightly wires and installation problems. The convenience of installing detectors in locations specific for their function such as in stair wells is lost unless a power line is present.
Finally, the reference Salem ('086) relates to a battery operated smoke detection device with a monitoring circuit for sensing low battery condition. The patent relates specifically to a device that will provide a permanent visual alarm and notice that the battery should be replaced. This is in the form of an indicator 96' shown in FIG. 2 of the patent held in a closed position by a tab 125 biased with a spring 112 and an energizable coil 92 coupled to a latch 120. When the low battery circuit sense a condition below a predetermined threshold, the latch 120 releases the tab 125 and the indicator 96' becomes visable. Thereafter and until the battery is depleted a horn 50 will sound as a result of discharge of capacitor 82 to provide an audiable warning signal. Therefore, even if the battery is completely exhausted the visual warning will remain. This patent while showing a reliable and efficient low battery sensor is not capable of network operations.


A linear transport system comprises at least one carriage which has at least one permanent magnet and at least one roller, an energizable stator device which has multiple coils, and a guide rail which is arranged on the stator device and which serves for guiding the carriage. The guide rail comprises a running surface for the rolling of the roller of the carriage, such that the roller can roll on the running surface during a displacement, guided by way of the guide rail, of the carriage, wherein at least one electrical contacting device is provided which is formed separately from the roller and which is designed to form an electrical connection between the carriage and the guide rail during the displacement, guided by way of the guide rail, of the carriage.

Transport systems such as are known from the prior art, for example from DE 10 2012 103 378 A1, generally comprise a linear motor which can drive a carriage. Here, the carriage generally runs, by way of a roller, along or in a guide rail. In the case of non-conductive materials being used for the guide rail or for the roller, electrical charge carriers that collect on the surface of the carriage during a displacement of the carriage cannot flow off to the guide rail. This thus means in particular that the carriage can become electrically charged in relation to its surroundings. This effect is similar to that in a belt-type generator, which can also be referred to as a Van-de-Graaf generator.
Since the carriage generally forms a Faraday cage for the rollers of the carriage, the electrostatic charge of the carriage during the displacement thereof is thereby intensified yet further.
Owing to the electrostatic charge, a spark discharge can occur between the carriage and its surroundings. This can lead to electrical malfunctions. In particular, an operator can suffer an electric shock. In particular, the risk of a fire can be increased.

Linear transport system and method for operating the linear transport system


A convertible mast assembly (10) for employing a windsurfing sail assembly (200) on a sailboat (100) having a drop-in mast receptacle (101); wherein, the mast assembly (10) comprises a receptacle unit (11) which fits in said drop-in mast receptacle (101); and, an adaptor unit (11) having one end (31) dimensioned to be received in the receptacle unit (11) and having the other end (33) dimensioned to be received in the mast (201) of the windsurfing sail assembly (200).

As can be seen by reference to the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,353; 4,805,545; 4,825,792; and 4,757,778; the prior art is replete with myriad and diverse mast mounting arrangements for sailboards.
While all of the aforementioned prior art constructions are more than adequate for the basic purpose and function for which they have been specifically designed, these patented arrangements do not address the concept involved in the present invention which is the provision of an adaptor assembly that will allow the user to employ a windsurfer sail on any small sailboat having a drop-in mast and no standing rigging.
In addition, this invention is particularly useful for those individuals who sail both sailboards and either Sunfish, Laser or Zuma class sailboats.
As a consequence of the foregoing situation, there has existed a longstanding need among those individuals who enjoy both windsurfing and small class sailboats for an adaptor assembly that will allow the sailboard sail and mast assembly to be installed on their sailboat; and, the provision of such a construction is a stated objective of the present invention.


A ball ring unit, in particular for reverse movement locks and seat belt systems has a plurality of locking balls arranged in a ring. The ring of locking balls has a covering that combines the locking balls to form a module. The ball ring unit can be used in a seat belt pretensioner.

The present inventi on relates to a ball ring unit for a seat belt pretensioner and a process for the manufacture of a ball ring unit.
In seat belt systems. with seat belt pretensioners it is necessary to avoid a reverse movement of the seat belt after the pretensioning process. To this end, reverse movement locks are used in present seat belt systems. A reverse movement lock disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,997 is formed by a ball ring that is located on a cone connected to the piston of the seat belt pretensioner inside a belt tightening tube. During the pretensioning process the balls are moved in the direction of the tapering space and dig into the inner wall of the belt tightening tube and the outer wall of the cone. As a result, a reverse movement of the piston and therefore a loosening of the seat belt is reliably avoided.
In the solution outlined above, the assembly of the locking balls has proved to be difficult. As the locking balls have to be inserted individually in the intermediate space between the cone and the inner wall of the belt tightening tube, this process is time consuming and expensive.
By providing a covering or sheath the balls or locking balls can be combined to form a subassembly xe2x80x9cball ring unitxe2x80x9d before assembly of the balls. As a result the ball ring unit can be slid onto the cone of a reverse movement lock simply and in an extremely short period of time.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention a ball ring for a seat belt pretensioner comprising a plurality of locking balls arranged in a ring, the ring of locking balls having a covering that combines the locking balls to form a module.


A high strength galvanized steel sheet is provided comprising steel containing C: 0.06% or more and 0.20% or less, Si: less than 0.50%, Mn: 0.5% or more and less than 2.0%, P: 0.05% or less, S: 0.02% or less, Al: 0.60% or more and 2.00% or less, N: less than 0.004%, Cr: 0.10% or more and 0.40% or less and B: 0.003% or less, satisfying the relationships 0.8≦Mneq≦2.0 and Mneq+1.3[% Al]≧2.8, and a microstructure containing a ferrite phase and a second phase whose volume fraction is 15% or less, the second phase having a martensite phase whose volume fraction is 3% or more, a retained austenite phase whose volume fraction is 3% or more and a sum of the volume fractions of a pearlite phase and a bainite phase being equal to or less than the volume fraction of the martensite phase and the volume fraction of the retained austenite phase.

Nowadays, it is strongly required to reduce the weight of a car body from the viewpoint of improving fuel efficiency of an automobile. In addition to that, increasing the collision safety of a vehicle is also required from the viewpoint of occupant protection in a collision of vehicles. An increase in the strength and a decrease in the thickness of car body parts are being realized by the application of a high strength steel sheet to the parts in order to achieve both a decrease in the weight and an increase in the collision safety of a car body at the same time, as described above.
However, since strengthening of a steel sheet is accompanied by a decrease in press formability in terms of, for example, ductility or deep drawability, it is difficult to apply a high strength steel sheet to press-formed parts for which a high formability is required. For example, a steel sheet having a low tensile strength of from 270 MPa to 340 MPa and excellent formability has been used for automobile outer panels such as a door outer panel and a back door panel. It is necessary to maintain high formability in order to increase the strength of these parts. Total elongation observed in a tensile test is used as one of the indicators of formability. The larger the total elongation which is the sum of uniform elongation and local elongation, the more intensive the work to which a workpiece can be subjected until the workpiece is broken. However, in the case where the deformation of a steel sheet becomes larger than uniform elongation and reaches the range of local elongation in a practical press forming process, the deformation is concentrated at a portion at which local elongation occurs, which results in necking in which a decrease in thickness is concentrated at the portion. Therefore, the portion at which necking occurs can be easily broken and raises the danger of fracture in a press forming process. Moreover, there is the deterioration of the surface appearance of an outer panel in the case where necking occurs at the design surface of the panel. For these reasons, high uniform elongation is required of a steel sheet to be used for an outer panel. In addition, up to now, it has been also strongly required to suppress the occurrence of yield point elongation of this kind of steel sheet in order to prevent the deterioration of surface appearance quality due to the occurrence of stretcher strain.
At the same time, the application of a galvanized steel sheet to car body parts is being developed, because it is important to secure the corrosion resistance of car body parts from the viewpoint of prolonging the service life of car bodies. Therefore, zinc coatability also has become one of the important requirements of a high strength steel sheet.
A Dual-Phase (DP) steel sheet, in which a hard martensite phase is dispersed in a soft ferrite phase, is well known as one of the approaches to increase the tensile strength and ductility of a steel sheet at the same time. A DP steel sheet is excellent in terms of shape fixability due to having a low yield point as well as a high strength, and, moreover, exhibits comparatively high uniform elongation due to having an excellent work hardening property (refer to, for example, Patent Literature 1). However, it is difficult to say that a DP steel sheet has sufficient formability equivalent to that of a kind of steel sheet having strength of from 270 MPa to 340 MPa.
Therefore, a TRIP steel sheet, which utilizes a transformation-induced plasticity (Transformation-induced Plasticity: TRIP) effect which exhibits high ductility, in particular, high uniform elongation by having formed a retained austenite phase in a soft ferrite phase and by using the transformation of the austenite phase into a martensite phase when deformation occurs, is well known as an approach to achieve better ductility. Among TRIP steel sheets, a Si added TRIP steel sheet, in which the formation of carbides is delayed by adding Si, then concentration of C in an austenite phase is promoted and an austenite phase is stabilized, is well known (refer to, for example, Patent Literature 2). However, although a Si added TRIP steel sheet has an excellent balance of TS×EL, the steel sheet has low ductility and a small absolute value of uniform elongation, because the steel sheet inevitably has a tensile strength of 590 MPa or more when the steel sheet contains an enough amount of Si to secure the retained austenite phase, since Si is a chemical element which has a very strong effect of solid-solution strengthening. In fact, a conventional cold-rolled Si added TRIP steel sheet has a uniform elongation of less than 24%. Moreover, Si tends to form a strong oxidized film on the surface of a steel sheet in the processes of slab heating, hot rolling and annealing, which results in the occurrence of surface defects such as residual scale, uneven plating and bare spots. Therefore, a Si added TRIP steel sheet needs improvement from the viewpoint of surface appearance quality also.
Therefore, an Al added TRIP steel sheet is proposed, since Al promotes concentration of C in an austenite phase as Si does, and compared with Si, Al has a smaller effect of increasing strength and decreasing zinc coatability. For example, Patent Literature 3 discloses a method for manufacturing a steel sheet having excellent ductility and adhesion of coating, which has a certain amount of retained austenite phase produced by reducing a content of Si and keeping an Al content of from 1.5% to 2%, with a tensile strength (TS) of from 440 MPa to 490 MPa and a elongation (El) of from 36% to 39%. However, in order to produce this steel sheet, it is essential to distribute Mn beforehand by performing annealing under conditions for a dual phase, that is, at a temperature of 800° C. for a duration of about one hour prior to final annealing, and, moreover, in a process of annealing and plating, it is necessary that the steel sheet be cooled after undergoing soaking annealing of 800° C.×60 seconds and undergo annealing of a long duration of 10 minutes or less after undergoing dipping in a plating bath at a temperature of 440° C. That is to say, in this method, it is difficult to manufacture the steel sheet in a common CGL line which does not have an annealing line following a hot-dip plating line, and, moreover, there is a problem of a large increase in production cost, because it is necessary to perform a heat treatment prior to final annealing. Moreover, as described in the examples, since any of the preferred steel sheets according to the above inventions have yield point elongation of more than 2%, there is the deterioration of surface appearance quality due to the occurrence of stretcher strain when press forming is performed.
Although Patent Literature 4 also discloses a method for manufacturing galvanized steel sheet having high ductility in which a retained austenite phase is utilized effectively by decreasing a Si content and by adding Al, there is necessity of annealing at a temperature of 750° C. or more before final annealing in a CGL and tempering at a temperature of from 250° C. to 550° C.
Patent Literature 5 proposes a method for manufacturing a galvanized steel sheet which utilizes a cold-rolled steel sheet as a base metal containing Si and high contents of Mn and Al, having a tensile strength of from 440 MPa to 490 MPa and excellent ductility. However, there is a problem from the viewpoint of surface appearance quality in that the powdering property of the plating of the steel sheet disclosed in this literature is significantly poor, because the alloying temperature of the steel sheet is much higher than that in existing methods. In addition, since rapid heating is necessary, there is a significant increase in manufacturing cost in comparison to conventional CGL equipment.
Patent Literature 6 proposes a method for manufacturing a high Al containing steel sheet having an excellent TS×EL balance, other than the method in which steel having a high content of Al undergoes a heat treatment in advance of plating in a CGL, in which plating in a CGL is performed after forming a hot-rolled microstructure containing the volume fraction of a low-temperature transformation phase of 10% or more which contains the volume fraction of a bainite phase of 80% or more by coiling a hot-rolled steel sheet at a low temperature of from 350° C. to 500° C., without performing the heat treatment in advance of plating in a CGL. However, it is difficult to say that a sufficiently good zinc coatability can be achieved by using this method, because a chemical composition containing a certain amount of Si is adopted.
Patent Literature 7 discloses a method for manufacturing a high Al containing steel sheet exhibiting high EL. However, cooling ability in terms of a secondary cooling rate of 80° C./s or more is substantially essential for this method for manufacturing a steel sheet. Incidentally, the present inventors conducted investigations in a range of low cooling rate and found that the properties of some of the steel sheets according to the examples of the literature became significantly poor, because the second phase degraded into a pearlite phase.

High strength galvanized steel sheet having excellent uniform elongation and zinc coatability


For simulation evaluation of combinational logic, changes in input signals are reserved for events occurring with respect to every element of the combinational logic circuit or of a partial circuit within the logic circuit according to demand timing. To inhibit wasteful processes, when the output value of a pertinent element or partial circuit is required by an element included in another partial circuit, i.e. when a demand has been sensed, only then are the events which occurred before evaluation.

The present invention relates to logic simulation, and more particularly to a logic simulation which is well suited to simulate the behavior of a logic device in terms of register-transfer levels.
Heretofore, the selective trace technique and the selective event technique have been known for executing logic simulations at high speed, as discussed in "Advances in CAD for VLSI", Vol. 2, pp. 145-146, July, 1986. With the selective trace technique, an output value calculating process is performed for only elements whose signal values at their input pins changed, that is, as to which events occurred. Thus, it is possible to reduce the number of events to-be-processed and to sharply shorten a simulation time period. On the other hand, the selective event technique exploits the property that, in an AND gate by way of example, insofar as the signal value of at least one of the input pins thereof is "0", the output signal value thereof remains unchanged at "0" even when the signal value of any of the other input pins changes. It adopts a method wherein, even in case of the change of the signal value of any input pin, that is, the occurrence of an event, the output signal value of the element is not calculated by reason of the signal value of another input pin. Thus, it can reduce the number of events to-be-processed still more than the selective trace technique.
The demand driven simulation algorithm is stated in "24th Design Automation Conference Proceedings", pp. 181-187, June, 1987. With the demand driven simulation algorithm, unnecessary evaluations are inhibited to shorten a simulation time period by a method wherein a process is begun with any desired signal at any desired time at which a simulation result is to be obtained, and wherein signal values required for obtaining the result are successively found while the connectional relationship of a logic and the time are being backtraced or backtracked.


A method of sorting articles for subsequent treatment in an appliance. The method may sort the articles on a mobile device and the sorted articles may be treated according to a cycle of operation implemented by the appliance.

Appliances, such as a washing machine or a dishwasher, may implement a cycle of operation on articles placed therein. Each appliance may have any number of cycles of operation that may be selected. At least some of the cycles of operation may be specific to one or more characteristics of an article, leading to the need to group the articles. In some instances, it may be difficult for a user to know which articles should be grouped together within the appliance and/or to know what cycle of operation to select to achieve a desired outcome on the articles.

Method of sorting articles for treatment according to a cycle of operation implemented by an appliance


A noise-reducing hollow platen having a hard external tube filled with steel or lead spheres.

The invention relates to a hollow platen for printing devices in typewriters and booking machines, filled with sound-absorbing material.
The impact of the types of the printing device, such as type levers, type wheels or type parts, such as the printing needles in the case of screen printing, causes high-frequency vibrations in the platen, which is usually made of a very hard material. These vibrations create an extremely annoying noise which may eventually be health-hazardous, particularly when a number of printing devices are simultaneously in operation. Generally noise levels of from 70 dB to 80 dB are produced by such printing devices.
Because the impact of the type levers on the platen, being, for example, 15 kg force in the case of type levers and slightly less in the case of needle printing devices, cannot be substantially reduced, noise reduction can be realized substantially only by modifying the platen. To this end, it has already been proposed to secure the platen elastically or to provide it with a rubber jacket. However, a platen having a soft impact surface cannot be used, particularly in the case of needle printers, because the printing needles are liable to puncture and thus damage the record carrier.
It has also been attempted to reduce the impact noise by constructing the platen as a hollow body filled with a comparatively soft material. In known arrangements rubber, asbestos fibres, soft metals such as brass or aluminum, vulcanite, wood or resin were used as such a soft material. Either the complete platen consisted of the relevant material, or within a cylinder separate cylinders of the corresponding material were radially or axially arranged. It was found, however, that all these materials did not contribute to an effective noise reduction. Even a solid platen did not produce the desired effect.


A method for producing a vinyl chloride resin comprising 10 to 80% by weight of tetrahydrofuran-insoluble vinyl chloride resin gel fraction and the balance of tetrahydrofuran-soluble fraction with an average polymerization degree of 1,000 or more, characterized in that vinyl chloride alone or a mixture of a major amount of vinyl chloride and a minor amount of at least one monomer copolymerizable therewith is polymerized at a temperature of 0.degree. to 50.degree. C. in the presence of at least one polyfunctional monomer having two or more ethylenic double bonds in the molecule until the whole monomer or monomers in the polymerization system are substantially polymerized. The thus obtained vinyl chloride resin is excellent in processability and capable of forming a molded article having a small compression permanent set.

The term "tetrahydrofuran-insoluble gel fraction" used herein means the extraction residue that results from 22-hour extraction with hot tetrahydrofuran by Soxhlet's extractor with a 350-mesh (British Standard No. 410-1962) filter, and the term "tetrahydrofuran-soluble fraction" means the portion extracted by said method.
It is known that a molding composition having a soft, rubbery touch, or so-called soft vinyl chloride resin composition, can be obtained by adding a plasticizer to a vinyl chloride resin. However, such soft vinyl chloride resins are generally poor in creep characteristics and inferior to rubber in recovery from stress, so that their applications to uses where a small compression permanent set is required such as packing are limited. For example, ordinary vulcanized rubbers have a compression permanent set (measured according to JIS K-6301 under the conditions of 70.degree. C., 22 hrs. and 25% compression) as small as about 20 to 45% and have good creep characteristics, whereas general soft vinyl chloride resins have a compression permanent set as large as about 65 to 80%, and are poor in creep characteristics.
Heretofore, vinyl chloride resins having a high average polymerization degree, such as, for example, 3,000 or more, have been used for producing a molded article with a small compression permanent set. However, the molded article obtained therefrom usually has a compression permanent set as high as about 60% which is far from the level allowable in actual uses. Such moldings also involve many other problems in working, such as necessity of high-temperature melting for molding and requirement for heat stability and strong extrusion force.
General utility vinyl chloride resins normally contain no tetrahydrofuran-insoluble gel fraction, and if such a gel fraction exists in the vinyl chloride resin, many fish eyes are formed in the molded article obtained therefrom and also its surface smoothness is worsened because of poor processability, so that it is considered in the art that the presence of any gel fraction in vinyl chloride resin renders the product commercially valueless.
A method is also known for polymerizing vinyl chloride in the presence of a polyfunctional monomer having two or more ethylenic double bonds in the molecule to produce a vinyl chloride resin with an average polymerization degree (measured according to JIS K-6721) of 1,300 to 4,000 which is generally referred to as high polymerization grade. According to this method, however, a small quantity of gel fraction is often produced in the vinyl chloride resin depending on the type of the polyfunctional monomer used, the polymerization conditions and other factors, but since the object is definitely to obtain a vinyl chloride resin with a high polymerization degree, an effort has been made to not form such a gel fraction.

Method for producing vinyl chloride polymers


The present disclosure provides a composition for forming an alignment layer. The composition includes a chiral additive and polymerizable liquid crystal monomers. The composition also includes an initiator for enabling polymerization reactions in the liquid crystal monomers. Further, the polymerizable liquid crystal monomers include at least one of polymerizable cholesteric liquid crystal monomers and polymerizable nematic liquid crystal monomers.

Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, such as mobile phone displays, laptop displays, navigation device screens, and TV screens, have become widely used in modern life. An alignment layer is often set or formed on the display substrate of an LCD. The alignment layer can provide initial alignment orientations for the liquid crystal molecules. Often, the process to produce the alignment layer may be referred to as the rubbing process. The rubbing process may include the step of rubbing the polyimide layer on the substrate. For example, a liquid crystal display pixel may be divided into four sub-pixels. The alignment layer would then be produced, The rubbing process may then be applied to the sub-pixel areas, When a voltage is applied, multi-domain liquid crystal molecules with different alignment would be formed. However, the rubbing process may require specialized rubbing material and equipment, and may be costly.
The disclosed method and system are directed to solve or partially solve one or more problems set forth above and other problems.

Method and material for manufacturing alignment layer, display substrate, and display panel

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


According to the invention, fitted into the slot (20) between the suction face side (32) of a wing (6) and said ventral fairing (10) is a seal (22), the internal face (26) of the free end (28) of the lip (24) of which comprises at least one boss (30) able to keep said lip locally away from said suction face side (32) to form a controlled leakage of air passing through said slot (20).

The present invention relates to an aircraft with a ventral fairing and to a seal for such an aircraft.
It is known that certain aircraft, provided with a fuselage and with a fixed wing structure comprising two wings which are opposed with respect to said fuselage, comprise a ventral fairing, generally projecting, in the form of a cradle, which is fixed to the underside of said fuselage where the latter meets said wing structure so as to close off the landing gear compartment, while possibly at the same time increasing the downward volume, and which has two longitudinal upstands reaching up the sides of said fuselage, said upstands each being provided with an opening for the passage of the corresponding wing. Such a fairing completes the aerodynamic profile of the intersection region and its shape is designed to minimize the aerodynamic drag that it generates.
In certain known aircraft, the method of attachment of this ventral fairing to the fuselage entails forming a peripheral slot around each wing, between the wing and the periphery of the corresponding opening of said fairing. In order to plug said slot, a seal is then provided which is fixed to the periphery of each opening and which comprises an elastic lip able, via the internal face of its free end, to press against the corresponding wing.
Now, in flight, because of the pressure difference between the pressure face side (at a raised pressure) and the suction face side (at a depression) of a wing, air begins to circulate within the fairing, through said slot, between the pressure face side and the suction face side of each wing and this, particularly on the suction face side, causes the free end of the elastic lip of said seal to detach from the corresponding wing. This gives rise to several drawbacks.
First of all, the elastic lip of the seal starts to vibrate in a frequency range which is perfectly audible from inside the cabin, and this proves annoying to the passengers. These vibrations are transmitted to the fuselage and to the elements it comprises (floor, support, etc.) and introduces structural fatigue loadings into said elements. In addition, the vibrations associated with the aerodynamic forces applied to said lip lead to premature fatigue thereof, which results in rapid wear which may go so far as to tear said lip. Finally, these vibrations cause parasitic aerodynamic drag to appear.
The object of the present invention is to overcome these drawbacks.
To this end, according to the invention, an aircraft comprising:
a fuselage and a fixed wing structure comprising two wings which are opposed with respect to said fuselage;
a ventral fairing in the form of a cradle, fixed to the underside of said fuselage, where the latter meets said wing structure, and provided with two longitudinal upstands reaching up the sides of said fuselage, said longitudinal upstands each being provided with an opening for the passage, with clearance, of the corresponding wing so that a peripheral slot is formed around each wing, between the wing and the periphery of the corresponding opening; and
a seal fixed to the periphery of each opening to plug said slot and comprising an elastic lip able, via the internal face of its free end, to press against the corresponding wing,
is notable in that, facing at least part of the suction face side of each wing, said internal face of the free end of said lip comprises at least one abutment boss able to keep said lip locally away from said suction face side so as to form a controlled leakage of air passing through said slot.
Thus, by virtue of the present invention, a controlled air leak is generated which eliminates, or at the very least greatly reduces, the vibration of said lip.
Depending on the geometry of the fuselage, of the wing structure and of the ventral fairing of the aircraft, the coefficient of pressure on certain parts of the suction face sides of the wings may be highly negative, which represents a great deal of suction, which means that the vibrations of the free end of the elastic lip may, at these points, have a great amplitude. It is therefore advantageous to apply the seal according to the present invention at least facing said parts of the suction face side at which the value of the coefficient of pressure is highly negative.
Of course, the height of each boss and the number of said bosses, and also their distribution, are determined, by calculation or by experiment, so that the flow rate of the air leak resulting from the presence of the boss or bosses generates very little parasitic drag, while at the same time ensuring that the lip of seal vibrates very little.
It will be noted that, in an aircraft, sealing is a constant concern to aircraft manufacturers because poor sealing may be the source of aerodynamic drag or of degradation to materials, through oxidation for example. For these reasons, the person skilled in the art is always seeking to obtain the best possible sealing of any space where there is a risk of leaks, and to do so in particular using devices specific to the geometry of the space that is to be filled (silicone sealant, very stiff seals, seals whose precise shape is tailored to the space that is to be filled, etc.). Thus, the present invention deviates from the prior art and organizes an air leak of controlled flow rate in order to solve a lack of sealing.
The present invention also relates to a seal for an aircraft comprising:
a fuselage and a fixed wing structure comprising two wings which are opposed with respect to said fuselage;
a ventral fairing in the form of a cradle, fixed to the underside of said fuselage, where the latter meets said wing structure, and provided with two longitudinal upstands reaching up the sides of said fuselage, said longitudinal upstands each being provided with an opening for the passage, with clearance, of the corresponding wing so that a peripheral slot is formed around each wing, between the wing and the periphery of the corresponding opening,
said seal being fixed to the periphery of said openings to plug said slot and comprising an elastic lip able, via the internal face of its free end, to press against the corresponding wing and being notable in that facing at least part of the suction face side of each wing, said internal face of the free end of said lip comprises at least one abutment boss able to keep said lip locally away from said suction face side so as to form a controlled leakage of air passing through said slot.
In the known way, said seal may comprise on its internal face, between the free end of said lip and the end of the seal that is intended to be fixed to the fairing, an additional sealing member able to press against the corresponding wing. Of course, just as has been stated hereinabove in respect of said lip, said additional sealing member may, in flight, be made to detach from the corresponding wing under the action of the circulation of air between the pressure face side and the suction face side, through said peripheral slot. Here again, by virtue of the presence of the bosses on the internal face of the free end of the elastic lip, the air leaks passing through said slot can be controlled.
Advantageously, said additional sealing member may be in the form of a radially elastic longitudinal tube. Thus, when the seal is applied to the wing structure of the aircraft, the tube, in coming to bear against a wing, deforms and flattens, offering a broad bearing area.
Said seal may additionally comprise a longitudinal recess in the form of a strip, provided on its external face, at the side of the end of the seal that is intended to be fixed to the fairing, and able to act as a housing for the periphery of the corresponding opening in the fairing. Thus, said seal can provide aerodynamic continuity between the fairing and the wing.
Said seal is advantageously produced in the form of a monolithic section piece, for example made of elastomeric material, possibly fibre-reinforced.

Aircraft with ventral fairing and seal for such an aircraft


A power tool has an internal combustion engine with a carburetor with choke element pivotably arranged therein. A starter device with an actuating element has an operating position, off position, and at least one start position. A coupling element connects the actuating element with a choke actuating lever. The actuating element, upon adjustment from operating position into the at least one start position, moves the choke element into its start position. The connection between actuating element and choke actuating lever has a relative movement device which, in one position of the choke element, enables movement of actuating element relative to choke actuating lever. A holding device with guide contour is secured on the carburetor housing. In a start position of the choke element, the guide contour prevents movement of the actuating element relative to choke actuating lever from its start position into the operating position.

The invention relates to a hand-guided power tool with an internal combustion engine and with a carburetor that comprises a carburetor housing in which an intake passage section is formed, wherein in the intake passage section a pivotably supported choke element is arranged. The choke element is in operative connection with a choke actuating lever. A starter device is provided that comprises an operating position, an off position, and at least one start position, wherein the starter device comprises an actuating element to be actuated by the operator. The actuating element is operatively connected by a coupling element with the choke actuating lever. When the actuating element is moved from an operating position into a start position of the actuating element, the actuating element moves the choke element into a correlated start position of the choke element.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,511,650 discloses in connection with a hand-guided power tool a carburetor assembly for an internal combustion engine that comprises a starter device. The starter device comprises an operating mode selector to be actuated by the operator. The operating mode selector is connected by means of a coupling rod to a choke lever of a choke element. The assembly is designed such that each position of the operating mode selector has correlated therewith a position of the choke actuating lever and thus a position of the starter device. Based on the position of the operating mode selector, the operator therefore can easily recognize the actual position of the starter device.
In the operating position and in the off position, the choke element usually assumes the same position. Accordingly, between the operating position and the off position of the actuating element, a movement of the actuating element must be possible without the choke actuating lever moving. This is realized in known systems by appropriate positioning of the levers relative to each other.
It is the object of the invention to provide a hand-guided power tool of the aforementioned kind that enables a flexible arrangement of the actuating element.

Hand-guided power tool with an internal combustion engine


An actuating pedal (1) for the brake system of a road vehicle has a fastening device (6) for fixing the actuating pedal (1) in a pivot bearing (12) on a pedal block (7) of the vehicle. The pedal block is a rigid part of the body, with a pedal body (2) and with an actuating surface (3). The pedal body (2) has at least one inner metal core (8) and a plastic jacketing (9) surrounding the metal core (8).

Actuating pedals of this class described in the introduction have been used in utility vehicles and motor vehicles for a long time. The actuating pedals have to meet high requirements concerning strength and the rigidity of the connection, and it should be borne in mind that extremely high forces are applied to the actuating pedal especially in panic or full braking situations.
In addition, high torsional rigidity is also desirable and necessary because a direct, good feeling of braking shall be provided at any time for the driver of the vehicle during the application of the actuating pedal.
Based on these requirements, all the actuating pedals used at present are made of steel without exception. Such a component is usually manufactured from a steel sheet, and the entire manufacturing process comprises a plurality of shaping processes and additional components, e.g., for mounting restoring springs or for actuating limit switches, are welded to the pedal body as a basic sheet metal part. The number of individual processing steps makes the production of actuating pedals of this class particularly expensive compared with other vehicle components despite automation engineering, because a final surface treatment in the form of a paint coating is usually additionally performed after the end of the shaping operation proper. In addition, the actuating pedals used in the prior art have the serious drawback that they have a relatively heavy weight because of their design, which may have a disadvantageous effect especially in case of an accident.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Actuating pedal for the brake system of road vehicles


A device and method for removing a branch fitting from a tapped hole in a main water distribution pipeline under pressure includes a water-tight housing adapted to fit on to the pipeline over the fitting. A cutter is provided within the housing to sever the fitting and other devices include a tool holder for use in removing a part of the fitting left in place after severing. Thus, the fitment can be removed and replaced without closing off the water supply within the main distribution pipeline.

This invention relates to a tool for treating pipes and a method of treating such pipes.
It has been common practice to supply domestic water to consumers by means of one or more pipes which lead from a main distribution pipeline into the domestic premises. Generally the main distribution pipeline extends outside the boundary of a number of premises and a right-angled pipe fitting, known as an elbow, is tapped into the main distribution pipeline at a convenient point adjacent each of the premises.
If the domestic feedpipe deteriorates and has to be removed then the water supply to the main distribution pipeline has hitherto had to be shut off, i.e. the line made dead, before repair work is carried out. This causes inconvenience to the neighbourhood which is fed by that distribution pipe.
It had been, in the rather distant past, a fairly common practice to provide a main distribution pipe of iron and an elbow fitting of cast brass onto which was swaged a lead pipe, which pipe then led into the domestic premises. Various health and safety regulations are now being introduced which necessitate the replacement of lead pipes by pipes of inert material such as plastics. As a result a great number of pipe replacement operations will be taking place throughout Great Britain and other countries and there is thus a need for these operations to be performed without shutting down the water supply in the main distribution pipes.


A piston and cylinder assembly for a gas powered gun, has a cylinder containing a piston rod slidably movable between a loading position in which the leading end of the piston rod is in a withdrawn position, and a firing position in which the piston rod has moved forwardly. The cylinder has first and second chambers through which the piston rod extends, the cylinder being connectable to a pressurized gas supply supplying pressurized gas to the first chamber when the piston rod is in the loading position. The piston rod permits communication between the pressurized gas supply and the first chamber and prevents communication between the first and second chambers when in the loading position, and when in the firing position prevents communication between the pressurized gas supply and the first chamber and permits communication between the first chamber and the second chamber to cause pressurized gas in the first chamber to pass into the second chamber. The piston rod has a longitudinally extending passage extending from the front and rearwardly along the piston rod to a location where the passage communicates with the exterior of the piston rod. The location communicates with the second chamber when the piston rod is in the firing position to cause pressurized gas to pass from the second chamber into the longitudinally extending passage to the front end of the piston rod for propelling a projectile from the barrel of a gas powered gun.

Such guns are used for example in the sport known as "Paintball" in which spherical projectiles containing coloured liquid are fired at an opponent and burst upon hitting the opponent so that the coloured liquid is deposited on the opponent. The spherical projectile is propelled from the gun by a pressurized gas, usually carbon dioxide, which is supplied from a small cylinder attached to the gun.
Although "Paintball" has been popular in the United States and Canada for several years, there is still a need for a gun with improved firing capabilities, i.e. a firing gas controlled system which more accurately controls the burst of gas which fires a paintball from the barrel of the gun.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a gas powered gun with an improved firing gas control system.


There is provided a paste-type electrode for an alkali secondary cell which can suppress occurrence of internal short-circuiting, which is likely to happen when an electrode is rolled along with another electrode having the opposite polarity and a separator interposed therebetween. The paste-type electrode for an alkali secondary cell comprises a three-dimensional substrate including a felt-like metal porous member in which a plurality of hollow metal fibers are arranged three-dimensionally, diameters of those of the metal fibers arranged near the surface portion of the porous member being greater than those arranged in the inner portion, an average diameter of those of the metal fibers near the surface portion being in a range of 20 to 150 .mu.m, and an average diameter of those of the metal fibers in the inner portion being in a range of 10 to 100 .mu.m, and paste containing an activation substance filled in the three-dimensional substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paste-type electrode for an alkali secondary cell, more specifically to that having a improved three-dimensional substrate.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several types of electrode used in an alkali secondary cell such as a sinter type, paste type, and pocket type. Of all the types, the paste type electrode is most widely used, because the amount of the active material occupying the electrode can be increased, the electric capacity density can be enhanced, and the production cost can be reduced.
The paste type nickel electrode can be prepared, for example, by the following manner. Nickel hydroxide powder, an appropriate binder, and water are mixed to make paste. The paste is applied on a two-dimensional substrate such as expanded metal, porous metal, or nickel net to fill the empty spaces of the substrate. After, the substrate filled the paste is dried and pressed.
However, the paste-type nickel electrode manufactured as above entails a problem arising from the constitution of the electrode. In the electrode of this type, the distance between the particles of nickel used as the activation substance and the metal matrix constituting the two-dimensional electrode serving as a collector, is tens of times longer than that of the conventional sinter-type nickel electrode. Consequently, the paste-type electrode exhibits a conductivity poorer than that of the conventional electrode, creating the problem of a low utilization of the nickel hydroxide, as compared to that of the conventional sinter-type nickel electrode. The difference between these types of electrodes in utilization is prominent especially in the case of a large current discharge.
In consideration of the above-described problem, Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application (PUJPA) No. 50-32450 discloses a method for manufacturing a felt-like metal porous member made of hollow metal fibers comprising steps of coating the surface of organic fibers with alkali-proof metal, and baking the organic fiber. This metal porous member is used as a three-dimensional substrate. In a three-dimensional substrate including the above-described felt-like metal porous member, the distribution of the hollow metal fibers can be made uniform, thereby reducing the irregularity of the electrode characteristics. Furthermore, the three-dimensional substrate is excellent in mechanical characteristics such as tensile strength, elongation percentage, etc., and these characteristics are important to roll the electrode stably.
However, when a paste-type electrode containing the felt-like metal porous member and having one polarity, is rolled in a spiral manner along with another electrode having the other polarity and a separator interposed between the electrodes to assemble an alkali secondary cell, both electrodes are likely to touch with each other, thereby short-circuiting within the cell. More specifically, since the felt-type metal porous member is made of slender hollow metal fibers, each junction where metal fibers intersect with each other is small. Consequently, while rolling the paste-type electrode made of the felt-like metal porous member in a spiral manner as mentioned above, some of the hollow metal fibers of the porous member are broken off and cut from their junctions, and the ends of broken metal fibers are held pointed outward. As a result, the pointed ends of those broken fibers pierce the separator and are brought into contact with the other electrode having the opposite polarity, thereby short-circuiting within the cell.
Further, since the hollow metal fibers of the porous member are likely to be cut from junctions while rolling the paste-type electrode, transmission of electrons through the fibers is degraded, thereby lowering the porous member's collecting performance. Thus, the utilization of the activation substance is lowered.
In the meantime, U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,603 discloses a technique in which foaming resin is plated with metal and baked, and that in which foaming metal having a lattice diameter of the surface portion larger than that of the inner portion is used as a three-dimensional substrate.

Paste-type electrode for alkali secondary cell


The present invention relates to the use of magnetic materials in combination with magneto-optic materials to improve performance of Faraday rotator devices by enhancing the latching capability and reducing the driving current. Semi-hard magnetic materials are advantageously used in connection with some embodiments of the present invention. Placing such semi-hard magnetic materials in proximity with the magneto-optic material enhances latching and reduces the drive current required to cause switching. Encompassing both the magneto-optic material and the semi-hard magnetic material further reduces drive current requirements and enhances latching by reducing leakage of the magnetic field from its generation within the coil to the magneto-optic material. Some embodiments further include soft or semi-hard material encompassing the coil.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the general field of Faraday rotators and, more particularly, to enhancing the performance of Faraday rotators including reducing drive current and improving latching capability.
2. Description of Related Art
Certain materials exhibit the property of rotating the plane of polarization of plane polarized light passing through the material when an external magnetic field is applied. This effect is known as the Faraday effect and we denote materials that exhibit the Faraday effect as xe2x80x9cmagneto-optic materials.xe2x80x9d Devices making use of applied magnetic fields to rotate the plane of polarization are known as Faraday rotators. Faraday rotators have been employed in components or subsystems in various optical devices including optical switches, isolators, circulators, attenuators, among other devices. The importance of such devices will increase as communication networks make increasing use of light as the means of communication.
Magneto-optic materials used in conventional Faraday rotators have several limitations. For example, some magneto-optic materials are incapable of switching. Such non-switching Faraday rotators can be used in isolators and circulators but lack the full range of applications of a switchable Faraday rotator. On the other hand, many switchable magneto-optic materials are not xe2x80x9clatchable,xe2x80x9d or possess only poor latching capability. xe2x80x9cLatchingxe2x80x9d denotes the ability to retain sufficient magnetic field on the magneto-optic material when the applied external magnetic field is removed such that the functionality of the Faraday rotator is not seriously degraded. One objective of the present invention relates to providing a Faraday rotator having switching functionality with latching capability.
However, merely achieving switching capability and latching capability in a Faraday rotator may not be sufficient to produce a practical commercial device. Other performance characteristics of a Faraday rotator are also desirable (or essential in some applications). For example, it is important in many applications that the magnetic field required to effect switching not be too large. Some magneto-optic materials typically used for latchable Faraday rotators can require quite large switching fields (e.g. possibly exceeding 1000 Oersteds (xe2x80x9cOexe2x80x9d)). In general, for magneto-optic materials to be useful in practical switching applications, it is preferable to have a low coercive field Hc such that switching does not require high current and power. Present Faraday rotators often require too much driving power to permit such switching Faraday rotators to be attractive components for use in most practical optical systems. The dual difficulties of lack of stable latching capability and the need for high switching current has precluded magneto-optic (Faraday rotator) switches from being widely used in optical switches.
In addition to the general difficulties of combining latching and low power switching discussed above, some magneto-optic materials may not be capable of performing the switching operation over the entire range of temperatures to which a commercial device may be subject (e.g. approximately 0xc2x0 C. to approximately 65xc2x0 C.). Achieving a Faraday rotator that is both switchable at reasonable field strengths and capable of latching behavior is one objective of the present invention.
FIG. 1 depicts a conventional prior art Faraday rotator in a schematic, cut-away view (not drawn to scale), such as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,257 to Shirasaki. The device of FIG. 1 includes a magneto-optic material 1, electromagnet including a current-carrying coil 3 generating a magnetic field, and a semi-hard magnetic material 2. In the operation of the Faraday rotator of FIG. 1, the electromagnet applies a magnetic field, H, to magneto-optic material, 1. Current flowing through coil 3 from left to right in FIG. 1 generates magnetic field H in the direction shown by the arrow H. To change the rotation direction of the Faraday rotator, the magnetic field is reversed by reversing the current in coil 3 causing a change in the direction of magnetization in the electromagnet, 2, to Hxe2x80x2 as shown by the broken arrow in FIG. 1.
However, the Faraday rotator depicted in FIG. 1 has several drawbacks, including the following: Since the coil, 3, encircles only portion of the magnet (i.e., Part A as shown in FIG. 1), the maximum magnetic field is delivered only to the material surrounded by coil 3. The part that closes to the magneto-optic material 1 (i.e., Part B as shown in FIG. 1) is significantly less strongly magnetized due to the distance L separating the magneto-optic material from the coil 3. Leakage of magnetic field occurs as the field traverses the space from A to B in FIG. 1. Since the magnetic reluctance of the magnetic circuit is proportional to the length of the path (i.e., path L as shown in FIG. 1) magnetic flux at Part A cannot be totally transmitted to the Faraday rotator 1 since the permeability of the intervening material is not infinite (as discussed in standard references including David Jiles, Introduction to Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, 2nd Ed. (Chapman and Hall, London), pages 54-57 (1998)). Thus, part of the magnetic energy generated by coil 3 is wasted. It follows that switching requires the application of sufficient current to coil 3 to produce the field strength necessary for switching as well as allowing for leakage between A and B. Reducing the current required for switching is one objective of the present invention.
The work of Shirasaki et. al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,812,304 adds a second source of magnetic field to the coil depicted in FIG. 1. The magnetic field generated by the second magnetic unit is perpendicular to the magnetic field generated by the first magnetic unit (i.e. the coil) in order to produce a more uniform magnetic field in the magneto-optic materials. However, in terms of magnetic field leakage, this work has the same limitations as those discussed in connection with FIG. 1.
Takeda et. al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,937 a Faraday rotator depicted schematically in FIG. 2. The Takeda device consists of (a) magneto-optic material 4, (b) a wire coil 5 encircling the magneto-optic material for the purpose of changing the magnetization state of the Faraday rotator, and (c) a hollow yoke 6 surrounding the assembly of coil and magneto-optic material. Again, the coil 5 does not encircling the hollow yoke 6 pursuant to this disclosure. We note in connection with the Takeda reference that the maximal magnetic field of the solenoid coil is inside the coil (i.e., position C as depicted in FIG. 2). Since the hollow yoke is located outside of the coil, the magnetic field at the position of the hollow yoke (i.e., position D) generated by the coil is much smaller than the magnetic field at position C within the coil. Thus, this device has the disadvantage of not effectively magnetizing the hollow yoke.
FIG. 3 depicts a Faraday rotator as disclosed Shirai et. al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,046. In this design, a portion of a magnetic garnet film is exposed to a localized magnetic field. As depicted in FIG. 3, magnetic fields directed in antiparallel directions are applied in different localized portions of the magnetic garnet film by permanent magnets. A coil provides a magnetic field in addition to the field generated by the permanent magnets for the purpose of altering the total field applied to the magneto-optic material. The coil is not depicted in FIG. 3.
FIG. 3 depicts the upper localized magnetic field as directed in the positive x-axis direction, while the lower localized magnetic field is directed in the negative x-axis direction. The field applied to the magneto-optic material by the external coil lies in either the positive or negative x direction. Therefore, there is always a localized magnetic field that is directed in the direction opposite to that of the applied external magnetic field. Under these conditions the single domain structure of the magnetic field within the magneto-optic material cannot be maintained when the external applied magnetic intensity is removed. Thus, the design depicted in FIG. 3 functions mainly to remove the latching effect of magnetic garnet. However, this is contrary to one of the objectives of the present invention of enhancing the latching capability of the Faraday rotator. The present invention discloses a technique distinct to that of FIG. 3 for enhancing latching.
The present invention relates to the use of magnetic materials in combination with magneto-optic materials to improve performance of Faraday rotator devices by enhancing the latching capability and reducing the driving current. Semi-hard magnetic materials are advantageously used in connection with some embodiments of the present invention. Placing such semi-hard magnetic materials in proximity with the magneto-optic material enhances latching and reduces the drive current required to cause switching. Encompassing both the magneto-optic material and the semi-hard magnetic material further reduces drive current requirements and enhances latching by reducing leakage of the magnetic field from its generation within the coil to the magneto-optic material. Some embodiments further include soft or semi-hard material encompassing the coil. Semi-hard magnetic materials having coercivities in the range from approximately 20 to approximately 100 Oe are advantageously used.


A system for cryptographically authenticated communication, wherein an activation signal is sent from a communications device to a memory device (410). The memory device derives a random challenge from at least one physical property of the activation signal and sends it back to the communications device (420). A signature is computed using the received random challenge (440) and sent, together with a certificate, to the memory device (450).

Mobile communication devices and their environments are becoming increasingly complicated and the security demands of communication are increasing respectively.
The increase of the number of devices and services providing information or distributed content through wireless communications has created new demands for security of communications.
Moreover, the users of mobile information services are increasingly interested not only on security, but also on their privacy. The users do not generally want to adopt new services if there is doubt on the protection of the users' data. There are also differing needs depending on the service and information. Thus, it has become increasingly difficult to manage how each piece of information should be stored and shared with other devices or users.


A web crawler stores fixed length representations of document addresses in a buffer and a disk file, and optionally in a cache. When the web crawler downloads a document from a host computer, it identifies URL's (document addresses) in the downloaded document. Each identified URL is converted into a fixed size numerical representation. The numerical representation may optionally be systematically compared to the contents of a cache containing web sites which are likely to be found during the web crawl, for example previously visited web sites. The numerical representation is then systematically compared to numerical representations in the buffer, which stores numerical representations of recently-identified URL's. If the representation is not found in the buffer, it is stored in the buffer. When the buffer is full, it is ordered and then merged with numerical representations stored, in order, in the disk file. In addition, the document corresponding to each representation not found in the disk file during the merge is scheduled for downloading. The disk file may be a sparse file, indexed to correspond to the numerical representations of the URL's, so that only a relatively small fraction of the disk file must be searched and re-written in order to merge each numerical representation in the buffer.

Documents on interconnected computer networks are typically stored on numerous host computers that are connected over the networks. For example, so-called "web pages" may be stored on the global computer network known as the Internet, which includes the world wide web. Web pages can also be stored on Intranets, which are typically private networks maintained by corporations, government entities, and other groups. Each web page, whether on the world wide web or an Intranet, has a distinct address called its uniform resource locator (URL), which at least in part identifies the location or host computer of the web page. Many of the documents on Intranets and the world wide web are written in standard document description languages (e.g., HTML, XML). Theses languages allow an author of a document to create hypertext links to other documents. Hypertext links allow a reader of a web page to access other web pages by clicking on links to the other pages. These links are typically highlighted in the original web page. A web page containing hypertext links to other web pages generally refers to those pages by their URL's. A URL may be referred to more generally as a data set address, which corresponds to a web page, or data set. Links in a web page may refer to web pages that are stored in the same or different host computers.
A web crawler is a program that automatically finds and downloads documents from host computers in an Intranet or the world wide web. A computer with a web crawler installed on it may also be referred to as a web crawler. When a web crawler is given a set of starting URL's, the web crawler downloads the corresponding documents. The web crawler then extracts any URL's contained in those downloaded documents. Before the web crawler downloads the documents associated with the newly discovered URL's, the web crawler needs to find out whether these documents have already been downloaded. If the documents associated with the newly discovered URL's have not been downloaded, the web crawler downloads the documents and extracts any URL's contained in them. This process repeats indefinitely or until a predetermined stop condition occurs.
Typically, to find out whether the documents associated with a set of discovered URL's have already been downloaded or are scheduled to be downloaded, the web crawler checks a directory of document addresses. These document addresses are URL's that correspond to documents which have either already been downloaded or are scheduled to be downloaded; for convenience, these documents will be referred to as downloaded documents. The directory stores the URL's of the downloaded documents, or representations of the URL's. The set of URL's in downloaded documents could potentially contain addresses of every document on the world wide web. As of 1999 there were approximately 800 million web pages on the world wide web and the number is continuously growing. Even Intranets can store millions of web pages. Thus, web crawlers need efficient data structures to keep track of downloaded documents and any discovered addresses of documents to be downloaded. Such data structures are needed to facilitate fast data checking and to avoid downloading a document multiple times.
Typically, the set of downloaded document addresses is stored in disk storage, which has relatively slow access time. One example of a method designed to facilitate fast data checking and to avoid downloading a document multiple times is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/433,008, filed Nov. 2, 1999. That document discloses storing address representations on disk, and using an efficient address representation to facilitate fast look-up of document addresses stored on disk. The present invention provides improved storage methods, decreasing the frequency with which disk storage must be accessed.

System and method for efficient filtering of data set addresses in a web crawler

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A striding exerciser includes a frame secured on a base and a rod rotatably secured to the frame. Two posts are pivotally coupled to the base and coupled to the rod by links and levers such that the rod may be rotated in a reciprocating rotational movement when the posts are moved forward and rearward in a reciprocating action. A housing is secured to the frame. A block is slidably engaged in the housing and has a brake shoe secured to the bottom for engaging with the rod. A bolt is engaged with the housing for forcing the brake shoe to brake the rod.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exerciser, and more particularly to a striding exerciser having a resistive device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several typical striding exercisers have been developed U.S. Pat. No. 4,645,200 to Hix, U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,585 to Dalebout, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,443 to Dalebout et al. are three examples of the exercisers. However, some of the typical striding exercisers comprise a complicated configuration that may not be easily manufactured and assembled.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional striding exercisers.

Striding exerciser having a resistive device


A method has been developed for the solution-based metal exchange of carboxylato-alumoxanes [Al(O).sub.x (OH).sub.y (O.sub.2 CR).sub.z ].sub.n with a wide range of metal cations. Metal-exchanged carboxylato-alumoxanes are new, particularly those in which about 10% to about 50% or more of the Al ions are exchanged for other metal ions. Additionally, the carboxylic acid ligands can be stripped from the boehmite core of metal-exchanged carboxylato-alumoxanes at low temperature leading to the formation of metal-exchanged boebmite particles. These new material phases can be used as intermediates for preparation of mixed metal aluminum oxide materials. Thermolysis of the metal-exchanged carboxylato-alumoxanes or metal-exchanged boehmite particles results in doped aluminas (M/Al.sub.2 O.sub.3), binary (MAlO.sub.x), ternary (MM'AlO.sub.x) and even more complex metal aluminum oxide compounds, where M and M' are metal ions other than those of aluminum and are preferably those of Lanthanide metals or transition metals. The method allows preparation of pure phase materials as well as the preparation of metastable metal aluminum oxide phases. The carboxylato-alumoxanes are prepared by the reaction of boehmite (or pseudoboehmite) with carboxylic acids in a suitable solvent. Up to at least half of the aluminum cations in the boehmite lattice of the carboxylato-alumoxanes can be replaced by the reaction of metal acetylacetonates with the carboxylato-alumoxane in a suitable solvent. The metal exchange reaction can also be carried out by reaction with soluble metal salts. Reactions of boehmite with the metal acetylacetonates (or soluble metal salts) do not lead to the metal exchange reaction observed for the carboxylato-alumoxanes.

Binary and ternary metal aluminum oxides are technologically important classes of materials with applications in ceramics, optics, electronics, lasers and catalysis. MgAl.sub.2 O.sub.4 (spinel) can be hot pressed into transparent windows with an exceptional infrared transmission range. MgAl.sub.2 O.sub.4 is also used as refractory material for metal refining operations. Y.sub.3 Al.sub.O.sub.12 (YAG) is widely used as a solid state laser material (Nd:YAG), and as a high energy phosphor (blue). YAG also has high temperature chemical stability and the highest creep resistance of any known oxide, leading to its evaluation as a promising fiber material for the preparation of ceramic composites. LaAlO.sub.3 is being used as a substrate material for growth of thin film oxide superconductors. Mullite, an aluminosilicate, and cordierite (magnesium aluminosilicate) have exceptional high temperature shock resistance and chemical stability and the latter material is widely used in automotive catalytic converters.
The first requirement of a successful ceramic process is the availability of a good powder. Most of the advances in ceramic processing can be traced directly to the development of powders with controlled size and purity. Early ceramic processing used mineral based precursors that had a wide range of grain sizes and impurities. Ceramics formed from the mineral precursors often had glassy phases that reduced the performance of the ceramic. The development of solution based precipitation techniques that produced fine powders with well-defined particle size distributions and high purity significantly improved the fabrication of ceramic materials.
The traditional ceramic methods that are used to prepare binary (or more complex) aluminum oxides involves the physical mixing of the powders of the oxides (or oxide precursors), sintering at high temperatures for extended reaction times, grinding and re-sintering. High temperatures and long reaction times are necessary to overcome slow solid state diffusion since physical mixing is limited to the micron scale. The traditional ceramic approach provides a simple route to the preparation of powders, however the powders must then be formed into the desired shape by traditional processing methods (slip casting, extrusion, dry pressing etc.) and sintered to fabricate the shaped ceramic item.
In order to overcome the limitations of the traditional ceramic powder processing methods, chemical routes to the synthesis of complex aluminum oxide powders and ceramics are increasingly being adopted. The most widely employed methods are the sol-gel based techniques whose versatility, and potentially atomic level homogeneity, make them desirable approaches for the preparation of arrange of materials and forms. Sol-gel synthesis of alumina has traditionally been performed by the neutralization of a concentrated aluminum salt solution. However, the strong interactions between the freshly precipitated alumina gels and ions from the precursors solutions make it difficult to prepare the gels in pure form. To avoid this complication alumina gels are often prepared from the hydrolysis of aluminum alkoxides, [Al(OR).sub.3 ].sub.n, i.e., ##STR1##
Although there can be significant advantages to the synthesis of metal aluminum oxides via the sol-gel route (such as preparation of small particles size and good homogeneity) there are a number of significant difficulties, including: long reaction times required (often greater than 24 hours), the addition of complexation agents that are necessary for inhibition of premature precipitation, careful pH control of the sol, low yields of gels from the alkoxide precursors, and the relative instability of the sols. The instability of the sols means that the sols must be prepared freshly, since storage results in precipitation. Furthermore, the fabrication of mixed metal aluminum oxides from alkoxides can be problematic, since the alkoxides can have different hydrolysis rates leading to phase segregation in the gels. Also the significant shrinkage of sol-gel based precursors leads to extensive cracking. For this reason fabrication of large ceramic objects via sol-gel routes is not generally feasible. In combination, these issues make sol-gel routes to monolithic aluminum oxides inconvenient for many applications.
It is desirable, therefore to identify materials and processes that can be used to prepare complex metal aluminum oxides starting with stable low cost precursors. The synthetic process should lend itself to the fabrication of a wide range of metal aluminum oxides with fine control over composition and particle size. The present invention provides a method of making metal aluminum oxides that provides these benefits and avoids many of the problems of prior art processes.

Metal-exchanged carboxylato-alumoxanes and process of making metal-doped alumina


Methods of managing a key cache are provided. One method may include determining whether a given key has previously been loaded to a trusted platform module (TPM), loading the given key to the TPM and generating a key cache object corresponding to the given key if the determining step determines the given key has not previously been loaded to the TPM and restoring the given key to the TPM based on the key cache object corresponding to the given key if the given key has previously been loaded. Another method may include extracting a key from a TPM if the TPM does not have sufficient memory to load a new key, the extracted key corresponding to a least frequently used key cache object within the TPM. Another method may include restoring a key to a TPM, the restored key having been previously loaded to and extracted from the TPM.

1. Field of the Invention
Example embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods of managing a key cache, and more particularly to methods of managing a key cache for a trusted platform module (TPM).
2. Description of the Related Art
A system-on-chip (SoC) (e.g., standardized by Trust computing group (TCG)) may be configured in order to provide secure key management and platform integrity. The standardized SoC may be referred to as a trusted platform module (TPM). Applications may use a TPM software stack (TSS) to load keys to the TPM. The TSS may be a standard application programming interface (API) by which applications use the TPM.
The TSS may be divided into a TSS service provider (TSP) and a TSS core service (TCS). The TSP may be provided as a dynamic library to applications and the TCS may be provided as a system service or "daemon" to the TSP. Accordingly, applications may call the API of the TSP and/or the TSP may call the API of the TCS in order to use the TPM.
FIG. 1 illustrates a relationship between the TPM and the TSS according to conventional TCG specifications. Referring to FIG. 1, applications APP#1 through APP#n may request the TPM to load keys. Key slots corresponding to the keys may be allocated to the TPM for the requests of the applications APP#1 through APP#n.
Referring to FIG. 1, the TPM may correspond to hardware that is an SoC having relatively limited memory resources. Furthermore, increasing the capacity of the TPM may be relatively expensive. Limitations on TPM memory resources may restrict key loading functionality.
Further, different versions of the TPM and TSS may be executed at the same time because developments of the TPM and TSS, respectively, may be based upon both hardware engineering and software engineering, which may not necessarily progress at the same rate. However, it may be difficult to implement different versions of the TPM and TSS due to compatibility issues.


A process for maintaining a high rate of mass transfer of nutrients contained in a liquid feed stream to a biofilm of microorganisms supported on a bed of particulate matter. The microorganisms in the biofilm are subjected to a continuous, uniform flow of the liquid feed steam and a countercurrent flow of respiratory air so as to support biofilm growth. The bed is periodically pulsed with air at a pressure sufficient to shed microorganisms from the biofilm, and at intervals sufficient to avoid preferential channeling of the liquid feed steam through the bed and/or to disrupt and rearrange the bed of particulate matter.

Prior art biological reaction processes for the treatment of sewage suffer from the disadvantage, to varying degrees, of low efficiency in terms of the amount of resources required and the time taken to process a given volume of sewage.
Attempts to increase the efficiency of known biological reactions processes for the treatment of sewage have focused on various parameters of these types of reaction processes including the means for distribution of respiratory air to the reaction vessel; techniques for the reorientation of the support medium to prevent channelling and to introduce greater flow of air and liquid through the support medium; the nature of the support medium; and methods of controlling the air and liquid delivery rates to the system.
For example, Australian Patent Specification 528,760 describes a process for purifying polluted water by percolating it downwardly through a submerged, fixed granular bed. Oxygenated gas is fed upwardly from an intermediate level of the bed and treated water is discharged from the bottom of the bed. The flow of water to be treated and the flow of the oxygenated gas is adjusted in such a way that specific mathematical relationships are satisfied.
In the process described in the Australian Specification 528,760, the critical parameters for efficient operation are said to be the rate of flow of water to be treated over the granular bed and the volume of oxygen supplied to the microorganisms. Of these two parameters, regulation of the dissolved oxygen content of the water is the key to maintaining the process at its optimum rate.
In order to achieve acceptable results with this process, it is necessary to take the water through several pre- and post-treatment stages including pre-oxidation with ozone and filtration through sand.
The process described in Australian Specification 528,760 is described in an article by Barr K. G. in the journal Water of March 1988. In that process, it is intended that the water flow/oxygenated gas flow mathematical relationships achieve high concentrations of biomass growth on the granular bed to allow high loading rates or low hydraulic retention times.
Prior art processes for the treatment of sewage or polluted water have made a number of assumptions regarding the fundamental nature of the biological reaction process. All these prior art processes, including that of Australian specification 528,760, assumed that there is a requirement for a large mass of microorganisms in order to establish a large biofilm density to achieve increased rates of conversion of nutrients to the desired product.
There has also been an assumption that the nutrient and environmental requirements (such as optimal concentration of dissolved oxygen to all parts of the system) of the microbial species play a significant part in the efficient operation of the process.
The various elements of known biological reaction processes have all received investigation on the basis of the desirability for a large amount of biofilm which is thought to result in the highest rates of conversion and to efficient operation.
In particular, prior art processes have, in the main, tended towards finding ways of increasing biofilm quantity.
The improved processes arising from those investigations have met with varying degrees of success such that the more successful processes exhibit high efficiencies in the initial stages of operation only.
However, the nature of the improvements to date have been such that these prior art processes have not been able to maintain the high level of efficiency for prolonged periods. The efficiency gradually falls to unacceptable levels at which point the plant is shutdown in order that backwashing, cleaning, maintenance and other steps may be taken to restore the process to its initial high efficiency.
The reason for the fall in efficiency is thought to be due to the excessively large quantity of biofilm or thick biofilm created by the process which clogs the system and leads to deleterious channelling effects in the process vessel or bioreactor.
Research by the applicant has surprisingly shown that the uninterrupted growth of thick biofilms over long periods of time do not lead to the highest conversion rates but to greater inefficiencies in biological reaction processes.
It has not been found by the present inventors that the highest conversion rate of nutrients and the highly efficient operation of the processes of the invention can be achieved through interrupting the growth of biofilm more frequently than is carried out in the prior art, and particularly in AU 528,760 and that this high efficiency can be maintained for an equally large mass of biofilm as long as the particles chosen for the support medium are of an optimal size.
An object of the invention is to keep the rate of mass transfer of nutrients to the microorganisms as high as possible. This is achieved largely by minimising the detrimental effects of channelling of nutrient and air through the process vessel or bioreactor.
The mass transfer system of the invention involves the movement of dissolved oxygen and other nutrients from the liquid feed to the biofilm and the removal of products of the biological reaction process. This process can be defined as follows: EQU Nutrients+Cell Mass (microorganisms)=Cell mass +CO.sub.2 +H.sub.2 O+metabolites (products)
A high rate of mass transfer of nutrients is achieved by providing periodic pulses of air through the bioreactor to disrupt the bed of support particles and remove any localized clogging of solid matter in the bed that may lead to channelling of nutrient away from metabolically potent cell mass.
The periodic pulses are preferably of an explosive nature sufficient to disrupt the bed of support particles.
The achievement of a high rate of mass transfer of nutrients is assisted by providing support particles in the bed of an optimal size. The smaller the effective size of the support particles, the greater is the total bed surface area available for attachment and growth of the microorganisms and, accordingly, the greater the surface area of resultant biofilm. However, as the accumulation of smaller support particles create smaller gaps between particles than would the accumulation of larger support particles, the possibility of the biofilm growing to form a bridge across adjacent small sized particles is heightened, with the effect that effective surface area of metabolically potent cell mass falls. The more frequently periodic pulsing with air through the process vessel in the present invention removes these bridges and restores the high effective surface area of metabolically potent cell mass.
In addition, the pulsing occurs at a frequency so as to control the residence time of solids in the bed.


Compounds of the general formula I ##STR1## are described in which R.sup.1 is a group of the formula ##STR2## and R.sup.2 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, or. R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 jointly form an optionally substituted 5- or 6-membered ring, PA1 R.sup.3 is a hydrogen atom, a methyl group or an optionally substituted phenyl group, PA1 R.sup.4 is a hydrogen or halogen atom, a methyl group, an optionally substituted benzoyl group or a group of the formula ##STR3## n is zero or 1, X is a hydrogen or chlorine atom, an alkyl group containing 1 to 4 carbon atoms or one of the groups OA, CH.sub.2 OA, CH.sub.2 NHA or C.sub.2 H.sub.4 OA, and PA1 A is an acryloyl or methacryloyl group,. the compounds containing in each case at least one group A. The compounds are suitable for the production of photoresists and printing plates as diffusion-resistant photoinitiators in photopolymerizable mixtures.

The invention relates to novel photopolymerizable compounds, to a photopolymerizable mixture containing said compounds, and also to a photopolymerizable copying material comprising a coating base and a photopolymerizable coating which is composed of the mixture.
DE-C-2,027,467 discloses photopolymerizable mixtures which contain polymeric binders, polymerizable compounds and derivatives of acridine and phenazine as photoinitiators. Some of the representatives of this class of compound, for example 9-phenylacridine, are notable for high photosensitivity. The preferred representatives have the disadvantage that they tend to migrate out of the photopolymerizable coatings and, in particular, out of photocured photoresist coatings in certain kinds of treatment baths, for example acidic electroplating baths, and produce a troublesome yellow coloration therein.
EP-A-11,786 and 220,589 disclose corresponding mixtures which contain certain quinoline derivatives as photoinitiators. These mixtures, too, which are photosensitive like the above-mentioned mixtures, suffer from the same disadvantages.
In the photocured state, the known photopolymerizable materials often have an inadequate mechanical strength and hardness for some purposes. This is particularly true in the applications as solder masks, as permanent resist and as lithographic printing plates.

Quinoline and acridine compounds effective as photoinitiators and containing polymerizable (meth)acryloyl substituents