A machine for packaging fragile cylindrical products, particularly cigarettes or similar, has means for feeding ordered groups of cigarettes, means of transferring the ordered groups of cigarettes to a station for joining to a wrapping slip, means of picking up and positioning the slip and means of introducing the groups of cigarettes together with the associated slip into a cell in a folding drum. According to the invention, the means of collecting and positioning the slips consist of pairs of gripping suction fingers which are made to rotate in a circular movement about an axis parallel to the axis of the folding drum. The gripping fingers grip each slip along the lateral surfaces at its corner areas. The means of transferring the groups of cigarettes to the joining station are made in such a way that the transfer movement is at least partially rectilinear.

The invention relates to a machine for packaging fragile cylindrical products, particularly cigarettes or similar, comprising:
a unit for feeding a succession of ordered groups of cigarettes; PA1 a drum for folding wrapping slips around a group of cigarettes, this drum being provided with at least one and preferably more peripheral cells, each of which houses one group of cigarettes and has a peripheral opening for the insertion of a group of cigarettes; PA1 a station for joining a wrapping slip to a group of cigarettes, in which station the group of cigarettes is disposed in a position coinciding with and in front of the open side of the associated cell and the wrapping slip is interposed between the open insertion side of the cigarette-carrying cell and the facing side of the group of cigarettes; PA1 means of collecting the wrapping slip and positioning it in a predetermined position, substantially parallel to the facing sides of the group of cigarettes and of the cigarette-carrying cell; PA1 means of gripping the group of cigarettes and inserting it, together with the wrapping slip, into the cigarette-carrying cell; PA1 means of transferring the group of cigarettes from the unit for feeding the succession of groups of cigarettes to the station for joining them to the wrapping slips; PA1 means of synchronized operation of the said feed unit and the said collecting/positioning, gripping/inserting and transferring means. PA1 the means of collecting and positioning the wrapping slips have at least two pairs of gripping suction fingers which are supported movably together along an annular path about at least one axis parallel to the axis of the folding drum, and which have a fixed relative disposition such that each of them interacts with one lateral face of the slip at one of the front and rear ends of the slip with respect to the direction of movement of the fingers along the annular path; PA1 the means of transferring the cigarettes from the feed unit to the joining station are made in such a way that the transfer path of the groups of cigarettes is at least partially rectilinear.
The object of the invention is to provide a packaging machine of the type described initially, in such a way that a high operating speed can be provided without the necessity of excessively large drive motors, while ensuring simpler and less costly construction and reliable operation, with the reduction of the inertial masses and the feed movements for transferring the ordered groups of cigarettes and allowing a greater and more rapid adaptability of the machine to the different standard dimensions of cigarettes and of the ordered groups of cigarettes.
The invention achieves the objects stated above with a packaging machine for fragile cylindrical products of the type described initially, in which:
In one embodiment, the rectilinear transfer path of the groups of cigarettes is transverse with respect to the axis of the path of the gripping suction fingers, and is a secant of this axis.
According to a further characteristic, the gripping fingers are fitted on guide and support means which laterally surround an intermediate transfer channel interposed between the fingers associated with the two opposite lateral strips of the wrapping slips; this transfer channel opens onto the open insertion sides of the cigarette-carrying cells at the joining station, and is orientated in the direction of insertion of the groups of cigarettes together with the wrapping slips into the said cells, while the transfer channel is associated with linear transfer elements which are moved along the said transfer channel, with a reciprocating motion along an annular rectangular path, in other words with rectilinear transfer and return movements and transverse raising and lowering movements.
The rectilinear transfer path of the groups of cigarettes is advantageously coplanar, and laterally out of alignment, with the transport path of the groups of cigarettes on the feed unit, pushing means being provided to move the groups of cigarettes from the discharge end of the feed unit to the entry end of the transfer channel along a path transverse with respect to the transfer channel and to the direction of transport of the cigarettes on the feed unit.
The entry end of the transfer channel is disposed substantially in the median area of the annular path of the gripping fingers, the guide and support means of the gripping fingers consisting, at least on the side facing the feed unit, of an annular member coaxial with the annular path of the fingers, the said annular member being supported on a stationary annular guide which has a central aperture for the passage of the groups of cigarettes from the discharge end of the feed unit to the entry end of the transfer channel.
The annular path of the gripping fingers is preferably circular, and the transfer path of the cigarettes, in other words the movement of the transfer elements and the transfer channel may be orientated substantially radially with respect to the circular path of the gripping fingers, and may advantageously extend from the central area of the circular annular path of the gripping fingers to the area which is radially directly behind the gripping fingers at the joining station with reference to the direction of transfer.
In a preferred embodiment, the paths of the groups of cigarettes on the feed unit, in the transfer channel and at the point of insertion together with the slips into the cells of the folding drum are contained within the same horizontal plane, while the cigarettes are orientated with their axes transverse with respect to the direction of movement along the said paths and parallel to the axis of the circular path of the gripping suction fingers. Additionally, the insertion movement of the groups of cigarettes together with the wrapping slips consists of a coaxial continuation of the transfer movement, and the passage from the feed unit to the linear transfer means takes place in the direction of the axis of the cigarettes.

Machine for packaging fragile cylindrical products, particularly cigarettes or similar


A system for presenting hypermedia link information. A computer-implemented method for presenting hypermedia link information is described which relates to the user the characteristics of a data file pointed to by the hypermedia link. The computer system waits for an event to occur. This event is the user or system selecting one or more hypermedia links. The hypermedia link in this scenario points to a data file about which information is to be gathered. The computer system then requests information about the data file. Finally, an auditory cue is generated to communicate information about said data file to a user. Alternatively, this information may be conveyed to the user by visual means, such as a pop-up information box on the user's display. A powerful and convenient system for browsing hypermedia information is thus provided.

The present invention relates to a system for conveying to a user the characteristics of data files displayed as hypermedia links and to the presentation of content information about such hypermedia links via audible feedback.
Hypermedia is a paradigm for representing information as documents interconnected by "links" (references to other documents or data files). Files so referenced can (and often do) reference other files in the same manner. Using the hypermedia paradigm, large numbers of data files can thus form highly interconnected documents and file systems.
An example of hypermedia's popularity is its use on the Internet. The Internet is an enormous distributed collection of data. Use of the Internet has increased dramatically with the advent of the world-wide web (WWW). The WWW uses hypermedia concepts to allow easier access to this mass of information. In the WWW paradigm, links in a WWW document are represented by Universal Resource Locators (URLs). These URLs give the WWW address of the system (webserver) on which the information (data file) is stored. Other information in the URL includes the data file's name and location on the webserver. Data files referenced in such systems may contain text, digitized audio, digitized video, or other information, or may themselves be executable programs.
Hypermedia and the tools designed to view such information have existed for several years. Unfortunately, many hypermedia tools exhibit known computer-human interface problems. Such tools often give users little or no feedback about the characteristics of the data files referenced by the links which point to the data file's location, the time to obtain that information or the results of ongoing processes.
In many hypermedia systems (e.g., Sun Microsystem's.TM. WWW browser HotJava.TM.), the manner in which a data file is represented often allows the user to view only the data file's name and location (its URL). Information regarding the data file's size, its file type, the length of time required to download the data file and other information is often unavailable to the user, save for actually downloading the file. Such information is only available if it is included in the hypermedia page on which the data file's URL is displayed. This places the onus of providing such information on the party maintaining the WWW site. Moreover, dynamic information such as the download time cannot be hard-coded. This is because such information is not deterministic and depends upon a variety of variables such as the current load on the webserver, the current load on the network, and the network distance between the client and webserver. Thus, many WWW sites do not and, in some respects, cannot provide such information. These URL's may represent data files residing on webservers far removed from the system on which the browser resides. This is true not only for the WWW, but for any widely-distributed network-based hypermedia browsing environment. Unfortunately, a webserver's operator has no transparent method of indicating such information (especially dynamic information such as download time) to a user operating a hypermedia browser.
While visual cues may be used to relay this information to the user, the highly visual task of searching for the desired links in a hypermedia display reduces the visual bandwidth available for acquiring information regarding each link's characteristics. Visual enhancements which provide more information may compound the problem by forcing additional cognitive loads on the user. In addition, there are situations when graphical information display may be inappropriate or invasive. For example, visual cues notifying a user about progress, completion or errors tend to distract the user from the (primarily visual) task which they are currently performing.
Accordingly, it is desirable and important to efficiently provide information on hypermedia links without forcing the user to actually download the information represented by those links. Further, it is desirable to provide such information and information regarding the hypermedia browser's operations in a manner which minimizes interference with the user's operation of the computer system and even further engages the user in the operation of the hypermedia browser.

Presentation of link information as an aid to hypermedia navigation


An electronic imaging device comprises a photographic lens system, a thin half mirror obliquely intersecting with the optical axis of the photographic lens system and an electronic image pickup element having a photoelectric converting surface on which rectangular picture elements are arranged regularly in a lattice pattern. Location I of the photoelectric converting surface is determined so as to satisfy the following conditions (1) and (2) or (3) and (4): ##EQU1## wherein the plane including the optical axis and the normal to the half mirror is taken as the meridional surface, the plane perpendicular to the meridional surface is taken as the sagittal surface, the reference symbols I.sub.M and I.sub.S represent the distances from an object located on the optical axis to the images formed by the photogrpahic lens system on the meridional surface and the sagittal surface respectively, and the reference symbols M and S designate the sizes of one of the picture elements as measured on the meridional surface and the sagittal surface respectively. The electronic imaging device is capable of suppressing degradation of resolution minimizing the level of the astigmatic difference.

a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic imaging device for photographic cameras, etc. which is equipped with a photographic optical system comprising, in the order from the object side, a photographic lens system, a thin half mirror or transparent plate obliquely intersecting with the optical axis of the photographic lens system, and an electronic image pickup means which has a light receiving surface on which rectangular picture elements ate arranged regularly in a lattice pattern and arranged substantially perpendicular to the optical axis.
b) Description of the Prior Art
One of the greatest features of the camera using electronic image pickup elements lies in that it has a small imaging surface on the electronic image pickup element comprised therein and is compatible with photographic lens systems having high vari-focal ratios. The camera of this type uses not only the electronic view type finder but also the optical type finder which can provide images of high quality. As a finder for use with a photographic optical system having a high vari-focal ratio, it is adequate from the technical viewpoint to select the TTL type since it permits easy correction of the deviation between a photographing range and an observation range. For using the TTL type finder in combination with the photographic optical system, rays are led from the photographic optical system to the side of the finder by using mirrors, conventionally by using the so-called quick return mirror which is placed out of the photographing optical path only during the moment of photographing. The camera using the electronic image pickup element has another feature that it permits high-speed successive photographing operation, which is remarkably hindered by the quick return mirror having a slow operation speed. It is therefore preferable to use a half mirror in the camera using the electronic image pickup element. The camera using the electronic image pickup element is compatible with two types of half mirrors: one consisting of a surface coated with a reflective film sandwiched between two glass blocks, and the other composed of a glass plate coated with a reflective film. The former type has a high degree of polarization and is apt to produce problems in light measurement or image formation. In order to lessen these problems, it is necessary to reduce reflectance of the former type of half mirror as much as possible, or minimize the angle formed between the normal to the reflecting surface and the optical axis thereof. Accordingly, it is preferable to use the latter type of half mirror which has a lower degree of polarization with the camera using the electronic image pickup element. Further, it is possible to use a thin transparent plate which is designed so as to totally reflect a fraction of rays in place of the thin half mirror. When the half mirror or transparent plate is used, however, an image formed by the transmitted light is effected by astigmatic difference. That is to say, a certain deviation is produced between the imaging point of the components in the direction comprised in the plane including the normal to the reflecting surface and the optical axis (meridional surface) and that of the components in the direction included in the plane perpendicular to the meridional surface (sagittal surface). Since the deviation is nearly proportional to thickness of the half mirror or the transparent plate, this mirror or plate must be made of a glass plate or a plate of synthetic resin, etc. as thin as possible, but the astigmatic difference may be negligible when high resolution is demanded.

Electronic imaging device for use with photographic cameras for minimizing astigmatism


A fixture for fabricating a full width scanning or imaging array from a plurality of relatively short subunits which provides immunity from vertical misalignment of the subunits caused by particle contamination. This is accomplished by providing a clearance slot in the fixture horizontal reference edge to minimize the reference edge and subunit contact area and to provide a space for the contaminating particles to accumulate so that they will not interfere with the precision placement and vertical alignment of the subunits on the fixture.

This invention relates to abutting assembly of full width scanning or imaging arrays from subunits, and more particularly to a fixture which provides immunity from misalignment of subunits abuttingly assembled thereon to produce a full width array even with the presence of contaminating particles.
Cross-reference is made to co-pending, commonly assigned U.S. application Ser. No. 07/742,802, filed Aug. 9, 1991, by the same inventors, and reference is made to FIGS. 8A and 8B discussed on pages 19, beginning at line 37 through page 21, line 8, which portion of the application is hereby incorporated by reference.
It is well known in the raster scanning industry to assemble pagewidth raster input scanning (RIS) and raster output scanning (ROS) bars from relatively short RIS/ROS subunits placed end-to-end. Once assembled, the pagewidth RIS/ROS bars or scanning arrays have the requisite length and number of image processing elements to scan an entire line of information at once with a high image resolution. The subunits have either image reading arrays which comprise a succession of image sensing elements to convert the image line into electrical signals or pixels or image writing arrays which comprise a succession of light producing or other elements employed to produce images in response to an image signal or pixel input, such as for example, ink jet printheads.
In the precision aligning of semiconductor die for various input and output full width scanner or printing arrays from subunits, it is generally important to align the die both in the horizontal direction of the array of die or X-axis and also in the vertical or perpendicular direction relative to the direction of the die or Y-direction. The Z-direction is the direction of the width of the full width arrays while the X-direction refers to the length of such arrays. The prior art has failed to provide a convenient means for fabricating a pagewidth scanning or imaging array from subunits, which has adequate precise alignment tolerances in the XY and .theta. space. Precision alignment in the Y-direction is usually done by butting the die against a reference straight edge. It is relatively easy to acquire high precision reference straight edges for alignment fixtures. In an absolutely clean environment, precision die alignment is easy to achieve. However, most environments, including expensive class 100 clean rooms, are not absolutely clean. In addition, the semiconductor die are often contaminated in transit from the semiconductor processing area to the packaging area where assembly of the pagewidth arrays from subunits occur. For these reasons, it is important to minimize the effect of contamination on the die while being aligned and assembled on an assembly fixture.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,690,391; 4,712,018; and 4,735,671 to Stoffel et al. disclose a method for fabricating long, full width scanning arrays. Smaller arrays are assembled in abutting end-to-end relationship by an aligning tool having predisposed pin-like projections insertable in locating grooves in a surface of the smaller arrays. Vacuum ports in the aligning tool surface draw the smaller units into tight face-to-face contact with the tool. A suitable base is then affixed to the aligned small arrays and the aligning tool withdrawn, leaving a full width scanning array composed of a row of an end-to-end abutted smaller rays.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,077 to Drake et al. discloses a method for fabricating a co-planar full width scanning array from a plurality of relatively short scanning subunits for reading and writing images. The subunits are fixedly mounted in an end-to-end relationship on a flat structural member with the subunit surface containing the scanning elements all being co-planar even though at least some of the subunits have varying thicknesses. This is accomplished by forming, from a photopatternable thick film layer, one or more kegs on the subunit surface having the scanning elements and associated circuitry and positioning the keys into keyways produced from a photopatternable thick film layer on a flat surface of an alignment fixture. A conformal adhesive bonds a structural member to the assembled subunits to form a full width scanning array.

Fixture for fabricating full width scanning or imaging arrays from subunits


In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a shaft, a rotor, and a cam surface. The shaft comprises a spiral spline along a length of the shaft. The rotor comprises a blade extending from the rotor and a tubular hole extending into the rotor. The tubular hole comprises a spiral groove configured to mate with the spiral spline on the shaft. Relative rotation between the spiral spline and the spiral groove causes the rotor to linearly move along the shaft. The cam surface comprising a recession. The blade nesting in the recession to constrains rotation of the rotor about the shaft and allows linear movement of the rotor along the shaft.

Aircraft are subjected to various aerodynamic and operational forces during operation including, e.g., lift, drag, and thrust. In certain circumstances, the aerodynamic forces may increase the structural load on components of the aircraft. In general, the aerodynamic forces may be caused by airflow around the aircraft (and components thereon) while the aircraft is in motion. For example, any components that protrude from the fuselage, booms, wings, or other aerodynamic surfaces of the aircraft can disrupt the airflow and increase drag on the aircraft during flight. Excessive drag forces during operation of an aircraft are undesirable and potentially harmful to the aircraft, as they can negatively impact the structural integrity, mechanical integrity, and performance of the aircraft. For example, drag forces can cause the components of an aircraft to bend and may reduce the structural integrity and fatigue life of the aircraft. Moreover, drag forces counteract the thrust needed for (forward and/or vertical) flight of the aircraft and reduce the maximum speed and/or fuel efficiency of the aircraft.

Retractable and deployable flight rotor system


A dual IC card of the present invention includes: an IC module having a contact terminal portion contacting an external machine, a connecting coil configuring a contactless terminal portion by electromagnetic coupling, and an IC chip having a contact communication function and a contactless communication function; an antenna formed along a coil wiring path that defines an inductance and having a coupling coil portion electromagnetically coupling with the connecting coil of the IC module, a main coil portion formed along a coil wiring path that defines an inductance and connected to the coupling coil portion for performing contactless communication with the external machine, and a resistance-increasing portion provided in a section that forms the coil wiring path of at least one of the coupling coil portion and the main coil portion increase electrical resistance in the section; and a plate-like card body in which the antenna is arranged.

There have been proposed dual IC cards capable of performing contact communication and contactless communication. For example, PTLs 1 to 3 each describe a dual IC card that includes an IC module having a communication function. The IC module is electromagnetically coupled (transformer-coupled) to an antenna provided to a card body to eliminate electrical contact between the IC module and the antenna.
With such a dual IC card having a contact communication function and a contactless communication function, communication modes can be used according to the user's applications. Thus, dual IC cards have been used for various applications. In such a dual IC card of recent years, an IC module having an antenna is joined to a card body by means of an insulative adhesive or the like, with another antenna being embedded in the card body. Thus, the dual IC card is ensured to be capable of receiving power supply and performing communication between the IC module and the card body by the electromagnetic coupling occurring between the antenna of the IC module and the antenna provided to the card body. By configuring the dual IC card in this way, unstable electrical connection between the IC module and the card body can be minimized. This is because, if the IC module and the card body are directly connected via a conductive connecting member, such as solder, the connecting member may be broken when the dual IC card is bent or the connecting member will be deteriorated with age.
As such a dual IC card in which an IC module and the card body are electrically connected by electromagnetic coupling, the IC cards described in PTLs 1 to 3 are known, for example.
In an IC module for a dual IC card, a terminal (contact terminal portion) for an interface that contacts an external contact machine is formed on a front surface, while a connecting coil for transformer-coupling (electromagnetic coupling) is formed on a back surface.
The card body includes an antenna substrate having a first surface of a sheet-like resin (substrate) which is provided with a coupling coil formed of a printed coil, and an antenna coil (main coil) both of which are ensured to be resin-sealed. The coupling coil is looped to surround an outer side of the IC chip in the IC module, when viewed in a thickness direction of the sheet-like resin.
The coupling coil of the card body is transformer-coupled with the connecting coil, and hence power supply can be received and communication can be performed between the antenna coil and an external contactless machine, such as a reader/writer.
As the applications of the dual IC cards, contact communication is used for applications that need reliability and security, such as large quantities of data exchange by credit-card transactions or communication for account settlement procedures. In contrast, contactless communication is used for applications where the communication data volume is small and the main communication is authentication, such as gate control for allowing someone to enter or leave a room.


An exercise device includes a first elastic material portion having a first face and a second face disposed opposite the first face, a second elastic material portion having a third face and a fourth face disposed opposite the third face, and a plurality of joining regions, wherein the second face of the first elastic material portion attaches to the third face of the second elastic material portion at each joining region. Each joining region is capable of simultaneous multidimensional stretching when subjected to or released from an applied load. An assembly of integrally connected exercise devices includes a first exercise device integrally connected to a second exercise device, wherein a joining region is capable of separation into two smaller joining regions when the first exercise device and the second exercise device are separated.

Resistive exercising has long been incorporated into athletic training and therapeutic regimens in order to help prevent injury, enhance performance, and rehabilitate muscles after injury or surgery. Conventional isometric or isotonic exercise devices have been used to provide avenues for strength training and muscle therapy without the cost and space required with more bulky equipment. In particular, many types of single loop bands or single strip bands of elastic material have been developed that allow a user to manually exercise based solely on the resistive action provided by the band. For example, the user may exercise with an endless loop band by holding the band toward one end with a hand or a foot and attaching the other end of the band to a stationary object, such as a door, or holding the other end with another hand or foot. Often, in order to obtain and maintain a proper grip on conventional bands, a user must loop the band multiple times around their hand or foot, or tie knots at an appropriate location in the band. These methods to provide effective handles at appropriate locations along a conventional band often result in damage to the band and/or a localized pressure on the hand or foot area, i.e., a cutting in of the band, due to a significant narrowing of the band in and around the area of the knot. To avoid this digging-in effect of the knotted band, the user may rely almost entirely on a finger grip, for example, rather than mounting the band over a larger portion of an extremity, such as a wrist or ankle. Some users, such as the elderly or those with extensive damage to the muscles of the hands or feet, for example, may not be able to effectively grip the bands and thus may deviate from a therapeutic regimen prescribed by a physician to strengthen and/or rehabilitate damaged muscles and/or cause additional injury to themselves. To alleviate this discomfort, some users may rely on special handles that have to be separately attached to the exercise device, resulting in additional cost and complexity that can be discouraging to users.
There is a need for an exercise device that permits easy and efficient use without the need to reconfigure the device with knots or constricting loops, wherein an isotropic nature of the material used to make the device allows the device to easily contour to the shapes of surfaces, providing reduced slip when mounting to various objects, for example, while simultaneously being capable of shaping to the contours of a user's anatomy for added comfort.


In a method of producing a polymer composite, a polymer is provided in a liquid state such as a molten state. A plant material, such as soymeal, is provided that includes protein and carbohydrate. The plant material has a particle size less than 50 microns. A reactive protein denaturant is also provided. A dispersion of the plant material and the reactive protein denaturant is formed in a matrix of the liquid polymer. The plant material is reacted to bond with the reactive protein denaturant, and the reactive protein denaturant is reacted to bond with the polymer. The polymer is solidified to produce the polymer composite.

This invention relates in general to plant materials and methods, and in particular to methods of modifying agricultural co-products, and products such as polymer composites made with the modified co-products.
The high cost of petroleum-based fuels is resulting in increased production of biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol. This is expected to result in an oversupply of agricultural co-products, which are the plant materials remaining after the plants are used to produce the biofuel. For example, the production of biodiesel uses the oil from soybeans or other plants and leaves co-products such as flakes, stems and hulls. Finding industrial applications for the co-products would improve the economics of the biofuel industry and enhance the profitability of farmers.
Oil extraction from grains generally results in co-products that contain both proteins and carbohydrates. The current practice is to isolate and purify to separate the proteins and carbohydrates from each other for later use as surfactants, rheology modifiers, fillers, etc. However, isolating proteins and carbohydrates from agricultural co-products is a very expensive process, which has hindered commercialization of the products.
The increase in oil prices has escalated the cost of petroleum-derived polymers. If the petroleum-derived polymers can be partially replaced by other materials, this substitution would save costs and reduce environmental waste associated with the polymers. Composites have been produced in which a portion of the polymer is replaced by plant-derived materials, but the existing commercial products are either based on isolated proteins or carbohydrates as fillers.
It would be desirable to provide improved methods and products using agricultural co-products and other plant materials.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of modifying agricultural co-products


A DC to DC power converter circuit has a current fed inverter with a series connected first diode and a capacitor connected in parallel with the legs of the inverter. The diode is poled to provide current to the capacitor at the beginning of each inverter switching cycle as energy is passed from the circuit to an output transformer-rectifier circuit. A recirculation inductor and an additional diode are connected in parallel with the legs of the inverter with the additional diode poled to recirculate current in the recirculation inductor. Then a switch between the junction of the capacitor and first diode and also between the additional diode and recirculation inductor provides for discharging of the capacitor without power dissipation during the inverter operation instead of dissipating and losing the energy. Thus the recirculation is accomplished by few components to provide a lossless clamp circuit for recirculating the energy in the circuit from the capacitor back to the recirculation inductor. Each switch of the inverter has an FET with zener diode protection. The inverter is packaged in a hybrid module.

The invention here relates to improving power converters. DC to DC power converters are used in computer applications where high frequency switching is required. In the prior ad there exists U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,755 which used a zener diode to limit voltage transients across inverter switches in a power converter application. This and other approaches which have been used before dissipate power and are therefore inefficient. There is a need to improve energy efficiency, and it will be desirable to supply power supplies for computer systems which are highly energy efficient which is especially important where high power supplies are needed in computer applications.
Also in the prior art are publications. The IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 1A-12, No. 4, July/August 1976 contains the article by E. T. Calkin et al, entitled "A Conceptually New Approach for Regulated DC to DC Converters Employing Transistor Switches and Pulsewidth COntrol", pages 369-377. Our invention could be used with this topology, see page 375.
Recovery of energy in switching regulators is discussed in other applications, see IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1988, pp26-30. However, the use of some sod of energy recovery for current fed inverters is not suggested.

High frequency energy saving DC to DC power converter


A Bullet Trap and Containment Cavity which can be assembled as a modular system, requires very little space for installation on a typical shooting range, and which stops impacting projectiles by an initial, generally perpendicular impact on a steel plate and then utilizes auxiliary impact surfaces to contain the resultant splatter zone projected from the initial point of contact. Small fragments which might otherwise escape the auxiliary impact surfaces can be contained by the addition of an optional permeable curtain over the front aperture of the trap. Lead fragments and other residue may be collected by an optional containment bin or conveyor system at the base of the trap. Other options allow active removal of minute, airborne particulates in the air contained within the trap cavity.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for deceleration of projectiles, and containment of those projectiles and their fragments and particulates resulting therefrom. More particularly, it concerns apparatus in which an impacting projectile is fragmented, its forward momentum mostly stopped but partially reflected into a generally predictable splatter zone which is then confined by successive impact plates in a partially or completely contained cavity. The bullets, fragments and resulting particulate matter are then collected and confined for disposal or recycling.
2. The Background Art and Background of the Invention
It is understood that when a projectile such as a bullet strikes an object, the original energy of the projectile, which is conserved, will be transformed into one or more of several other forms including: deformation of the projectile, deformation of the object, reflected motion of the projectile, and reflected motion of the object.
When the object of sufficient inertia to retain its original momentum after the impact of a bullet, and the object is composed of a material possessing sufficient strength and other resiliency to resist significant deformation from the impact, an analysis of the impact may reasonably be restricted to the effects upon the bullet, including both deformation and reflected motion.
The term "reflected motion" is used broadly herein and refers to the new, changed momentum vector of a projectile which is a result of an impact with an object. The terms "bullet" and "projectile" are used broadly and interchangeably herein. They refer to the original body as placed in motion, as well as any fragments or particulate matter formed as a result of impacts with another object.
When the object being struck is a planar surface (a plate) and meets the high-inertia, high-strength criteria described above, the resultant reflected motion can be readily described in terms of two characteristics: exit zone, and bullet integrity. These quantities are generally related to several variables, among which some of the most significant are bullet composition, angle of incidence, and bullet velocity. Assuming a relatively constant range of both bullet compositions and bullet velocities, a relevant analysis can be derived from the angle of incidence alone.
When a bullet strikes a plate at an extremely low angle, close to 0 degrees, the bullet integrity remains essentially intact. The exit zone is also changed very little from the angle of incidence, generally running generally parallel to the surface of the plate.
As the angle of incidence is increased, the most notable effect is that the bullet begins to lose a small part of its integrity as it exits the point of impact. Because the projectile can no longer be characterized as a point, it is most helpful to analyze the now multiple exit trajectories as a zone. At relatively low angles, approximately from 0 to 25 degrees most of the fragmented matter from the bullet continues to travel in roughly the same direction as the main body of the bullet. However as the angle is continually increased, the zone begins to more closely resemble a fan shape, emanating radially from the point of impact in something generally less than a 180 degree spread.
An additional result of increasing the angle of incidence is that the exit angle, in relationship to the surface of the plate begins to increase slightly as well. It is generally not complementary to the angle of incidence as it would be in an analysis of a more elastic media. Rather, the exit angle tends to range from 0 to 20 degrees as some function of the angle of incidence, which ranges from 0 to 90 degrees.
As the angle of incidence is increased above 45 degrees, another effect begins to become evident. The fan shape of the exit zone begins to spread to angles generally greater than 180 degrees, the effect of which is that, given sufficient angle of impact, the zone begins to resemble a cone whose pinnacle is at the point of impact and whose sides extend outward from that point at the exit angle (see FIG. 4).
As the angle of incidence begins to approach 90 degrees, this effect, in combination with the increasingly complete destruction of the bullet integrity at high impact angles produces an exit zone which is almost entirely composed of extremely low-mass fragments, and forms a uniform, relatively predictable cone shape.
Target practice is an activity pursued by many to enhance shooting skills, as criteria of employment, or for sport. It is customary in target practice to provide a means of stopping projectiles after they have traveled through or by a target, and before their potential to harm persons or damage property is concluded. This is traditionally accomplished by such means as providing adequate proximity between the target and persons and property or by constructing a barrier such as an earthen berm or a wall to stop the path of the projectile. In light of modern weapons with long and powerful trajectories, proximity solutions involve massive amounts of valuable land resources and are therefore often unfeasible in all but the most remote areas.
Merely providing an earthen or other barrier may stop the bulk of the projectiles, but has no effect on the indiscriminate distribution of lead, the primary material used for bullets, into the environment. Lead is a heavy metal environmental contaminant increasingly implicated as a health risk to humans and animals.
Simple barriers may stop a projectile, but allow lead fragments or particulates to escape into the environment. Barriers without containment deflect bullets which may retain enough energy to harm bystanders, shooters, or property. Thus, these solutions still require a significant, additional proximity solution.
The term "plate" is used herein in its broadest sense as a planar sheet of material capable of stopping or deflecting a projectile and its fragments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art, that selection of plate material is made in consideration of the nature and velocity of the various projectiles to be stopped and contained. For most firearms, the material of choice may be hardened steel plate or the equivalent. Furthermore, plates intended to take primary, direct impacts will necessarily be stronger than those intended to take secondary or tertiary impacts.
For purposes of technical description, the terms "front," "back," "side, " "top" "bottom," etc shall be used as they relate to the perspective of a shooter firing a projectile into the bullet trap.
Recent emphasis has been placed on stopping and containing projectiles by the use of bullet traps and stops, and containment systems employing a variety of configurations intended to stop a projectile and contain the resultant products. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,620, to Cartee et al. (1989), it is described to provide a screen of rubber-like material followed by a deflector plate. The bullet is said to travel through the screen and be diverted by the plate down toward the collector bin at the base of the device. The close proximity of the rubber-like material to the plate, combined with the angle at which the plate is disposed, produce the particular disadvantage of exposing the rubber-like material to relatively high-energy reflections of the bullet off the plate, therefore causing the material to quickly wear out and/or to allow bullets to escape back through the screen with enough energy to cause harm to persons or property.
Others including Baravaglio in U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,585 (1985), and Pencyla in U.S. Pat. No. 3,737,165 (1973), and Nikoden in U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,092 (1954), describe systems consisting of a collection of impact plates oriented at angles to the trajectory of the bullet which direct the bullet, relatively intact, backward or downward into an area where it is decelerated in some sort of generally rounded chamber. The curved plates, the number of plates and the need for a variety of other fabricated components make these devices generally expensive to manufacture, assemble, and service. Additionally, these devices generally suffer the disadvantage that bullet accumulations in the collection bins are not easily accessible to the user to facilitate removal of the lead.
Others including Wagoner in U.S. Pat. No. 4,126,311 (1978), and Coburn in U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,763 (1991), and this inventor, Bateman, in my co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/204/682, have more effectively dealt with the problem of lead removal by describing long, generally funnel-shaped openings which direct projectiles through a relatively small aperture where they enter a containment chamber and are decelerated by one method or another. All these and similar devices require large quantities of plate material in order to form the relatively low angles required to guide the bullet into the chamber without destroying its integrity. The depth of such traps often must range from 15' to 40' in order to obtain a typically required vertical front opening of 8' to 10'. The cost of the plate required creates an obvious disadvantage to suppliers competing to produce such apparatus. Furthermore, the amount of space required for the bullet trap is a disadvantage in instances where the cost of land or surrounding facilities should be minimized or in instances where an existing shooting range only has a limited amount of space in which to place the trap.
Another problem yet unsolved by the prior art is containment of fine fragments and particulate matter created on impact without the problems associated with "deep" bullet traps or other complex or expensive arrangements. For example, Wojcinski in U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,020 (1992), describes a device consisting of a back plate and an elastic facing which form a containment chamber which is then filled with a mass of granulated rubber material. In theory, as the bullet passes through the granulated material, its velocity is slowed completely, or significantly enough that any impact with the back plate will not cause damage to the plate or the projectile. While this device appears to solve the containment problem, it can only do so at great cost. Specifically, the volume of granulated material needed in practice tends to be unmanageable. And once the elastic facing becomes destroyed, it must be replaced or repaired. In order to perform this maintenance, all the granulated material must be removed, stored, and then replaced which procedure can be time consuming, expensive, and potentially even dangerous.
W. German Patent 31-31-228 describes a similar device which, rather than granulated rubber, uses rubber-like sheets called "lamellas" hung from above in a pattern parallel to one another, all at an angle to the trajectory of the bullet. As the bullet penetrates the layers of lamellas, eventually its velocity is slowed or stopped. Spent bullets are intended to drop down between the lamellas and to the floor where they can be collected. While this device solves several of the stated problems, in practice, the lamellas soon become worn in the areas of highest bullet concentration. Because the lamellas form the primary deceleration mechanism, in their worn state, they may allow bullets to pass completely through the trap causing an extremely dangerous hazard to persons or property behind the trap.
In short, all known prior art employs a variation of one of two fundamental deceleration methods: 1) to use plates oriented at relatively low angles to the trajectory of the bullet and thereby direct the bullet, somewhat intact, into successively more controllable trajectories; or 2) to use a permeable material which gradually decelerates the projectile, but suffers its own partial destruction in the process.
Those having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the present invention is therefore unique and also meets the outlined needs as well as needs not specified herein.


A slip angle calculating unit calculates a slip angle of a vehicle body corresponding to a steering wheel angle and a vehicle speed, based on a vehicle wheel angle and the vehicle speed, by an observer of a preset vehicle motion model under a motion equation of a vehicle. A front wheel slip angle calculating unit calculates a front wheel slip angle based on the steering wheel angle, a vehicle speed, a yaw rate, and the calculated vehicle body slip angle. A self-aligning torque calculating unit calculates the self-aligning torque based on the hydraulic chamber pressure of the left side and the hydraulic chamber pressure of the right side in a power cylinder. The vehicle speed, an estimated front wheel slip angle, and the self-aligning torque are inputted to a road friction coefficient setting unit, and the road friction coefficient setting unit sets a road friction coefficient by referring to a map based on the input to output the set value. A road friction coefficient is estimated in wide ranges while reducing noises of sensors.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a road friction coefficient estimating apparatus for precisely estimating a road friction coefficient in a wide driving range and a vehicle equipped with the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various control technologies have been proposed and put into practical use with respect to traction controls, braking controls, or torque distribution controls for a vehicle. In these technologies, many apparatuses use a road friction coefficient for calculating a necessary control parameter or correcting thereof, and it is necessary to precisely estimate the road friction coefficient in order to securely perform the control.
Among such technologies for estimating the road friction coefficient, there is the one focused on the fact that magnitude of a self-aligning torque for a slip angle of a tire changes according to the road friction coefficient. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No.11-287749 discloses a device to estimate the road friction coefficient based on a steering wheel angle and a steering torque.
Further, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 6-221968 discloses a device to estimate the road friction coefficient based on a cornering force of a tire and a self-aligning torque.
However, in the former prior art mentioned above, there is a problem that a front wheel slip angle can not be detected with a steering wheel angle so that conditions enabling the detection of the road friction coefficient are limited, and thereby it is difficult to precisely estimate the road friction coefficient in a wide driving range.
Whereas, in the latter prior art mentioned above, a differential value of a sensor signal such as a differential value of a yaw rate at the time of detecting cornering force is used so that there is a problem of sensor noise, and thereby it is difficult to precisely estimate the road friction coefficient.
In view of the aforementioned, it is an object of the present invention to provide a road friction coefficient estimating apparatus which is able to estimate a road friction coefficient precisely in a wide driving range while reducing noise of a sensor, and a vehicle equipped with the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus.
To attain the object, the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus of the present invention for estimating the road friction coefficient on the road, comprising self-aligning torque detecting means for detecting a self-aligning torque of a steered wheel, steered wheel slip angle detecting means for detecting a slip angle of the steered wheel by inputting a detected value of a vehicle motion parameter to an observer formed by a motion model of a vehicle, and road friction coefficient setting means for setting a road friction coefficient based on the relationship between the self-aligning torque and the steered wheel slip angle.
And the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus of the present invention for estimating the road friction coefficient on the road, comprising a hydraulic power steering device for assisting a steering force by an oil pressure applied to a pair of hydraulic chambers of a power cylinder, oil pressure detecting means for detecting each oil pressure of the pair of hydraulic chambers, self-aligning torque detecting means for calculating a self-aligning torque based on a higher pressure of the pair of hydraulic chambers, steered wheel slip angle detecting means for detecting a slip angle of the steered wheel by inputting a detected value of a vehicle motion parameter to an observer formed by a motion model of a vehicle, and road friction coefficient setting means for setting a road friction coefficient based on the relationship between the self-aligning torque and the steered wheel slip angle.
Also the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus of the present invention for estimating the road friction coefficient on the road, comprising a hydraulic power steering device for assisting a steering force by an oil pressure applied to a pair of hydraulic chambers of a power cylinder, oil pressure detecting means for detecting each oil pressure of the pair of hydraulic chambers, self-aligning torque detecting means for calculating a self-aligning torque based on a difference of pressure in the pair of hydraulic chambers, steered wheel slip angle detecting means for detecting a slip angle of the steered wheel by inputting a detected value of a vehicle motion parameter to an observer formed by a motion model of a vehicle, and road friction coefficient setting means for setting a road friction coefficient based on the relationship between the self-aligning torque and the steered wheel slip angle.
And also, the road friction coefficient estimating apparatus of the present invention for estimating the road friction coefficient on the road, comprising an electric power steering device for assisting a steering force with an electric motor, torsion bar torque detecting means for detecting a torsion bar torque, motor current detecting means for detecting the driving current of the electric motor, self-aligning torque detecting means for calculating a self-aligning torque based on the torsion bar torque and the motor current, steered wheel slip angle detecting means for detecting a slip angle of the steered wheel by inputting a detected value of a vehicle motion parameter to an observer formed by a motion model of a vehicle, and road friction coefficient setting means for setting a road friction coefficient based on the relationship between the self-aligning torque and the steered wheel slip angle.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more clearly understood from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Road friction coefficient estimating apparatus and vehicle equipped with road friction coefficient estimating apparatus


There is provided a winding to be wound at a stator of a rotary electric machine. The winding is produced from a flat wire having a rectangular cross section along a plane perpendicular to a length-wise direction. The flat wire is coated with an electric insulating layer and is bent to have curves at given portions of the flat wire in the length-wise direction. The curves are located on an axial outer side of the stator. The cross section of the flat wire has four corners, among which mutually-adjacent two corners are lager in curvatures than remaining mutually-adjacent two corners. The mutually-adjacent two corners whose curvatures are smaller are positioned on a circumferential outer side of each of the curves and the mutually-adjacent two corners whose curvatures are larger are positioned on a circumferential inner side of each of the curves.

[Technical Field of the Invention]
The present invention mainly relates to a stator winding for use in a rotary electric machine, and, in particular, to such a stator winding which is preferably used in a vehicle alternator.
[Related Art]
A stator winding based on conventional art for use in a rotary electric machine is formed, for example, by bending linear conductors that are applied with insulation coating. In bending the linear conductors, the insulation coating is expanded in the outer surface of a curve which is formed by bending each of the conductors. As a result, the insulation coating is sometimes problematically damaged (e.g., refer to patent document JP-B-4506895).
In order to meet the recent needs of enhancing the performance of a rotary electric machine, a stator is required to increase the space factor in the slots. For this purpose, there is an increasing need of using a flat wire, as a material for forming a stator winding, which has a rectangular cross section. However, compared to a round wire having a circular cross section, a flat wire, when bent, causes a significant expansion in the insulation coating in the outer surface of the curve mentioned above, and accordingly has a high probability of suffering from damages in the insulation coating. Therefore, additional measures may have to be taken against this, such as increasing the thickness of the insulation coating of the flat wire, or reinforcing the insulation coating of the flat wire after being bent, or the like.
Further, from a standpoint of reducing cost incurred in the materials, only round wires may be purchased and rolled into flat wires only when used for a stator winding that is required to achieve a high space factor.
In this case, the coating characteristics will be impaired in the process of rolling the round wire into a flat wire. Therefore, the probability of damaging the insulation coating will become higher.

Stator winding and method of manufacturing the same


A hip protection device for the elderly which provides protection to the trochanteric region the wearer to prevent fracture thereto upon falling from a standing position. An undergarment is provided with at least one pocket enclosing a pad, or other alternative arrangements for securing the pads to the hip regions of the garment. Each protective pad defines an open-ended channel having an elongated major axis along which it is substantially linear and a minor axis which has a generally parabolic curvature. The undergarment and pad are configured such that the pads rap around and fit snugly against the trochanteric area of the wearer's hip. Each pad has a relatively rigid, thin shield on its convex side and a relatively thin layer of resilient impact absorbing material on its concave side. Upon the wearer falling from a standing position onto their hip area, the impact force is distributed generally uniformly across the surface area of the rigid shield an then to the resilient impact absorbing material, which has sufficient resilience and thickness that greater than ninety percent of the impact force is absorbed. The undergarment and pads of the hip protection device are comfortable to wear over prolonged periods and are constructed so that they do not bulge outwardly significantly during use, making them aesthetically acceptable for users. In one embodiment for incontinent persons, a diaper is detachably engageable with the undergarment.

It is well known to provide padding for protection of various body parts against injury due to impact to those body parts, such as football pads and other athletic apparel. However, such known padding arrangements are bulky. Since they are typically only used for short time intervals while the user is engaged in a sporting event, their bulkiness has not been of particular concern.
However, there are 200,000 to 300,000 hip fractures in the geriatric population of the United States each year. Up to 20% of such patients die within the first six months after the fracture, and 10% to 25% are permanently disabled. It is desirable to provide a padding arrangement suitable for use by elderly persons to protect their hips from injury associated with falls. Prior padding arrangements to protect the elderly hip are ineffective in dissipating and/or absorbing a sufficient portion of the impact force to the hip area associated with a fall; and have been found undesirable due to their bulkiness, discomfort over prolonged periods of use, and generally poor aesthetic appearance. Even if such pads were to provide the requisite protection of the hips in the event of a fall, many elderly persons are not aware of the beneficial attributes of hip pads. Those who are aware of the benefits afforded by hip pads often opt not to wear the pads due to the aforementioned shortcomings. Those who are aware of the benefits afforded by hip pads may choose not to purchase athletic pads due to the aforementioned shortcomings, leaving them at risk for hip injury. Accordingly, there is a need for a padding arrangement suitable for use by elderly persons which is comfortable to wear for extended periods, provides good aesthetic appearance when worn under conventional clothing, and yet which also provides sufficient protection to the hip area to prevent significant injury thereto upon a fall from a standing position. Other pads for the elderly hip tested only absorb up to 27 to 60% of the impact force. The acceptability of the looks of the padding arrangement and its ability to be worn comfortably for extended periods are critical in order to obtain actual compliance of doctors' orders that the pads be worn at all times when out of bed.
Post-menopausal women and elderly men are at particular risk for serious hip injury resulting from falls from the standing position to a hard ground surface. The trochanteric region of the femur at the hip area of elderly patients is weakened by osteoporosis and/or osteomalacia. Women lose bone mass at a rate of 1% per year after menopause until age 70, and then the rate of bone loss declines. Men have 20% more bone mass at age 40 than women, and lose bone more gradually as they age. Thus, the trochanteric regions are particularly vulnerable to fracture upon being subject to the dynamic forces associated with falling onto a non-resilient surface.
Most cases of intertrochanteric fracture involve a fall and impact to the lateral thigh and trochanteric region of the femur. Falling is common after age 70 due to neuromuscular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and cardiac disease with syncopal episodes or attacks of dizziness. Furthermore, disorders such as Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, and stroke are associated with high annual incidence of hip fracture.
The trochanteric region of the femur in elderly patients protrudes above surrounding atrophic gluteal and thigh muscles. This protuberant trochanteric region is a vulnerable impact site when a potential fracture victim falls on his or her side. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a protective device which can be worn comfortably by elderly persons and which will significantly reduce the impact force to the trochanteric region of the wearer during a fall to significantly decrease the likelihood of serious hip or femur injury upon a fall from a standing position.
Several prior art devices have been developed for providing protection to the hip area, but these prior art designs suffer significant shortcomings, particularly their bulkiness. One design consists of air inflated bags inserted into laterally placed pockets of a slip or undershorts. This design requires a thick air cushion to provide the requisite impact absorption, which thickness makes the device cumbersome and uncomfortable when worn for an extended period. Also, this design requires frequent refilling of the air cushions with air. A particular shortcoming of this design, is that localized forces imparted to the pads remain localized, resulting in undesirable high localized forces imparted to the body of the wearer. Thus, with the air bag cushions, a localized impact force imparted to a peripheral portion of an airbag during a fall will not be distributed across the overall area of the cushion, as desired to reduce the fracture risk to the wearer. Additionally, the posterior placement of the lateral pockets in this design is such that a fall with the leg internally rotated will allow the direct impact of the trochanteric region of the femur with the ground surface. That is, the trochanteric region of the femur is displaced 1 to 11/2 inches anteriorly when the thigh is internally rotated, resulting in uncovering of the trochanteric region and allowing for direct, inelastic impact of the trochanteric region with the ground during a fall. There is a need for a hip protection device which will provide protection to the trochanteric region regardless of the rotational position of the legs at time of impact.
Another design consists of a wrap-around padded garment that is worn over underwear and under outer clothing. Soft foam pads are provided in the hip area which do not include a hard shield associated with the foam pads. Thus, as with the aforementioned design, there is no distribution of the localized impact force and therefore localized areas of high force are imparted to the body of the wearer. This device is not designed to protect against severe osteoporosis.
Other designs having foam in the hip area have been developed, but none of these designs provide absorption of greater than 27 to 60% of the fall related impact force using the load cell accelerometer test method nor significant distribution of the localized impact force over a broader area, without adhering the hip pads directly to skin. Nor are any of the prior designs sufficiently comfortable and aesthetically pleasing to worn everyday on a regular, long term basis.
There is a need for a device for protection of the trochanteric area of the elderly which is comfortable enough to worn every day, which can be worn under the wearer's normal, unaltered clothing without creating unsightly bulges, and which can dissipate over 90% of the impact force per square inch to the trochanteric region of the femur realized from a lateral fall from a standing position.
Still further, a large number of elderly persons who may or may not require such hip protection have urinary and/or fecal incontinence. Thus, there is a need for an undergarment which is suitable for use by incontinent persons while providing, if desired, adequate hip protection.


A heat-sealable, ovenable container and method of manufacture wherein one of the components of the container, for example, the tray, is provided with a thermoplastic polyester coating and the other component, for example, the lid, is provided with a thermosetting polyester coating, said coatings cooperating to produce a self-venting, easy-tear, sanitary seal.

The present invention relates to a heat-sealable, ovenable container and to a method of manufacturing the container. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a heat-sealable container which is provided with a self-venting, easy-tear, sanitary seal which prevents discoloration during heating and decreases the bacteria, mold, and fungi levels in food sealed within such containers.
The most common containers for convenience foods which are to be heated within the containers are formed of thin sheet aluminum or layers which include aluminum foil. Because of the relatively high cost of such containers and because they generally cannot be used in microwave oven cooking, substantial efforts have been made to provide plastic coated paperboard containers which can withstand oven heating.
Presently, thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate coated paperboard trays are being used in both microwave and conventional ovens. These trays are equipped with mechanically attached polyethylene terephthalate coated paperboard lids as well as uncoated paperboard lids or alternatively, the trays are sealed with transparent or translucent films. The unsealed mechanically attached lids vent well during rethermalizing, that is, heating food stored within the container, and readily accept detailed art work. However, since the lid and tray are not a unitized sealed container, package stability and hygiene problems are encountered when trays containing food are stored and/or stacked. Thus, color changes frequently occur in food which is rethermalized in unsealed containers.
On the other hand, although translucent film lids also provide effective self-venting during rethermalization, containers or cartons containing film-type closures or lids are generally fragile and thus break easily and accordingly are not stackable. Also, such containers perform badly with respect to their acceptance of detailed art work and ingredient copy. Furthermore, since films are transparent or at best translucent, any color change or formation of condensation which may have occurred during freezing, thawing, or cooking is readily noticeable through the film. Since frozen foods in the frozen state are not very attractive until reconstituted to an edible condition, it is desirable not to package foods so as to be visible in the retail package.
The present state of the art for forming food containers involves sealing thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate coated paperboard lids to thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate coated paperboard trays with heat before cooking. However, because the polyethylene terephthalate, which acts as a hot melt adhesive, is coated on both the lid and the tray, the seal produced therebetween is too strong and thus the container cannot be readily opened after rethermalization without damaging the container or its contents. Furthermore, although the seal is strong, it is not water-tight which disadvantageous from a hygienic point of view. Additionally, present sealing methods cannot seal thermoplastic polyethylene terephthalate lids to trays in which the polyethylene terephthalate has already been crystallized by heat. This crystallization is a common phenomenon since the food is cooked in the tray at elevated temperatures up to about 425.degree. F. which is just about at the crystallization range of polyethylene terephthalate.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a heat-sealable container which protects food contained therein by decreasing the bacteria, mold and fungi levels within the container.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a heat-sealable, ovenable container which is provided with a self-venting, easy-tear seal between the lid and the tray of the container.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a heat-sealable, ovenable paperboard container which readily accepts detailed art work and accordingly can be printed by gravure, lithography, or flexography.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of achieving a seal between the lid and the tray of an ovenable container which is effective in achieving all of the aforementioned objects.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
Pursuant to the present invention, the above disadvantages may be eliminated and the objects of the present invention can be achieved by providing one portion of the container, for example, the lid with a thermoplastic polyester coating and the other portion of the container, that is, the tray with a cross-link thermosetting polyester containing coating. On the other hand, if the lid is provided with the cross-linked, thermosetting polyester-containing coating, then the tray must be provided with a thermoplastic polyester coating. It is the unique combination of a thermoplastic polyester coating and a cross-linked, thermosetting polyester coating on respective portions of a container which is effective in achieving a seal which provides a sanitary closure during handling and shipment, prevents discoloration of the food during heating, decreases bacteria, mold, and fungi levels in the food disposed within the container and is self-venting upon the substantial completion of the cooking or reheating cycles. Thus, when the sealed container is heated, an increase in internal vapor pressure acts as a barrier in preventing dehydration and caramelization of the food contained therein. When the release of the seal takes place, that is, just about the time the cooking cycle or reheating cycle is completed, the product is ready to be served. Since the vapor barrier is present in the carton or container up to this point in time, none of the aforementioned problems are produced. Thus, the use of the seal container as defined by the present invention retains heat since no steam is released during the heating process. The retention of the heat and the moisture drastically reduces the amount of bacteria, mold, and fungi levels of the prior art containers.


A glow plug for diesel engines in which a ceramic heater is supported, with the one end thereof cantilevered toward the outside, by the tip of a hollow holder ceramic heater is composed of a U-shaped heating portion and a pair of leads extending backwards from both ends of the U-shaped heating portion, both being formed integrally by an electrically conductive ceramic material. The outer periphery of at least one of the leads is bonded and held in the holder via an insulating layer. The rear end of the other of the leads is connected by a metallic lead wire to an external connection terminal. The ceramic heater and other component members are bonded integrally by a bonding material containing a reactive metal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a glow plug to be used for preheating an auxiliary combustion chamber or combustion chamber in a diesel engine, and more particularly to a glow plug for diesel engines comprising a ceramic heater that permits after glowing for long hours.
2. Description of Prior Art
In general, a diesel engine has poor starting properties at low temperatures. To assist the diesel engine in starting, therefore, a glow plug is usually provided in an auxiliary combustion chamber or combustion chamber to raise the intake air temperature or for use as an ignition source, the heat being generated by applying electricity to the plug. The glow plug is usually of a sheathed heater type constructed by filling a metallic sheath with heat-resistant insulating powder and embedding a heater coil, made of ferrochrome, nickel, etc., in the powder. In addition to this, a ceramic heater type is also known, as disclosed in Japanese Pat. Laid-open No. 41523/1982, which comprises a heating wire, made of tungsten, etc., which is embedded in an insulating ceramic material, such as silicon nitride. The ceramic heater type has been widely used in recent years because it has a better heat transfer efficiency and an excellent heat generating performance since it becomes red hot in a short period of time during heating, compared with the sheathed heater type which involves indirect heating by means of the heat-resistant insulating powder and the sheath.
The glow plug of the ceramic heater type, however, has a metallic heating wire, made of tungsten, etc., embedded in the inside of an insulating ceramic material, such as silicon nitride. The different coefficients of thermal expansion of both the members, the sharp temperature rise during heating and the repeated use of the heater tends, to deteriorate the durability of the ceramic heater and cause problems in the reliability, including heat resistance, of the ceramic heater. This also results in increased manufacturing costs.
To solve this problem, a ceramic heater construction which employs as a heating wire an electrically conductive ceramic material having a coefficient of thermal expansion substantially equal to that of an insulating ceramic material has been proposed in Japanese Pat. Laid-open Nos. 9085/1985 and 14784/1985. However, both the proposed glow plugs still have problems in terms of both construction and function, and therefore have not been put into commercial application.
For example, the former, having a construction that an electrically conductive ceramic material as a heating element is embedded into an insulating ceramic material, has better thermal conductivity than the sheathed type, but it involves a number of problems such as a poor quick-heating function because of the indirect heating type and the difficulty in molding.
The latter, on the other hand, has a quick-heating function due to its heating element exposed to the surface of the heater, but the fact that its heating element is a laminated structure of U-shaped members, with both ends being led to the rear end of the heater, makes the electrode take-off construction complex, leading to increased manufacturing costs.
To overcome these problems, the present applicant of this invention invented, filed and disclosed as the Japanese patent application No. 9933 of 1986 a glow plug for diesel engines in which a rod-shaped ceramic heater supported by the tip of a holder is composed of a U-shaped heating portion and a pair of lead wires extending backwards from the both ends of the U-shaped heating portion; both being formed integrally by an electrically conductive ceramic material; the outside surface of one lead wire being held via an electrically conductive layer, and the other lead wire held by joining to the holder via an insulating layer.
This previous invention, in which a heating portion is formed solely by an electrically conductive ceramic material containing no foreign matter, has high reliability in terms of heat resistance, and is excellent in durability such as heating characteristics, despite the repeated thermal stresses applied during use. The previous invention is also beneficial in moldability, contributing to a reduction in manufacturing costs. In addition, the previous invention has a quick-heating function as the heater tip can be quickly red-heated by the heating portion comprising an electrically conductive ceramic material exposed to the heater surface.
In a glow plug having the aforementioned construction, the space in the holder is led to the engine combustion chamber, etc. facing the ceramic heater by a slit formed in the longitudinal direction of the ceramic heater. Consequently, it is necessary to prevent the combustion pressure developed at the time of explosion in the combustion chamber from leaking to the outside. To this end, the ceramic heater of the previous invention employs a closing member made of a ceramic material, such as alumina or mullite, as a means for closing the gap or slit formed between the components of the ceramic heater. That is, a closing member made of a ceramic material, such as alumina or mullite, is inserted into the silt and integrally bonded together using glass paste as an adhesive. With this bonding means, however, pores may be caused due to the use of glass paste. This could result in imperfect air-tightness around the bonded portion, causing carbon, oil, fuel, etc. to infiltrate into the space inside the holder, posing problems, such as corrosion of internal metallic lead wires and shortcircuiting in extreme cases. The use of glass paste of a high viscosity makes automation difficult, presenting an obstacle to the improvement of productivity. In recent years, glow plugs of this type are required to have higher durability to cope with the increased operating temperature associated with the improved starting properties of diesel engines and the increased use of turbochargers. As a result, the aforementioned means for closing the slit can no longer satisfy such stringent requirements.
In the above-mentioned ceramic heater, the most commonly used electrode bonding method for electrically connecting the ceramic heater to the power source is coating the bonding surface of a glow plug with Ni powder paste, heat-treating the paste in a vacuum at 1,150.degree. C. for 30 minutes to form a metallized layer, and brazing on the metallized layer an electrode for connection to a metallic lead wire. With this method, however, the electrode formed tends to be separated due to the low bonding strength of the metallized layer formed on the bonding surface of the glow plug. This process is low in reliability and involves long-hour heat treatment, leading to high manufacturing costs.


A driver return assembly can be positioned to return a concrete nail driver of a cordless electric powered nailer to the home position. A return rack can be fixedly coupled to and positioned along a longitudinal length of the concrete nail driver The driver return assembly can include a solenoid driving a plunger in a reciprocating motion in a homeward direction and a driven direction. A return pawl can be coupled to the plunger and pivotable into a pawl raised position relative to the plunger in which the pawl is engageable with the return rack during movement of the plunger in the homeward direction, and pivotable into a pawl lowered position relative to the plunger in which the pawl is not engageable with the return rack during movement of the plunger in the driven direction.

This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Fastening tools, such as power nailers have become relatively common place in the construction industry. Pneumatically-powered nailers, which are connected to an air compressor via an air hose, and powder nailers, which employ a powder fuel source that is rapidly combusted to produce a volume of pressurized gas, initially dominated the market. Both products, however, suffer from several drawbacks.
Pneumatically powered nailers require a relatively expensive air compressor that can be relatively cumbersome to transport. Additionally, it can be inconvenient to operate the nailer while it is tethered (via the air hose) to the air compressor. Many of the nailers powered by a powder fuel source are of the "single shot" variety and require significant effort to reload. Additionally, nailers employing a powder fuel source can be relatively noisy and can produce unpleasant odors during their operation.
Despite these limitations, pneumatic and powder-powered nailers continue to predominate for those construction applications, such as steel framing and concrete construction, which employ fasteners requiring a high degree of power to install the fasteners. Hence, while cordless electric nailers have become very successful for use in conventional wood construction (i.e., framing and trimming), cordless electric power nailers of this type are presently not suitable for use in steel framing or concrete construction applications.
Cordless electric powered nailers typically use springs to return the nail driver of the tool to its home position. A cordless electric powered nailer that is capable of installing concrete fasteners, including the installation of hardened fasteners through steel framing into concrete, must impart a significant amount of energy to the concrete fastener. Such driver return springs are prone to failure when subjected to the energy required to drive concrete fasteners. Accordingly, a much more robust and capable driver return mechanism is desired to improve the reliability of cordless electric powered nailers, including those capable of installing concrete fasteners.


A micro-mechanical resonator is provided. The micro-mechanical resonator comprises two masses coupled in the direction of a common axis by a spring structure. The spring structure comprises a spring that couples at least a first bar connected to the masses and a second bar extending in the motion axis direction, said spring being arranged to bend in a direction perpendicular to the motion direction of the motion axis. A micro-mechanical resonator matrix, a sensor and a navigation device are also provided.

Central features required of sensors of angular velocity are resistance to vibration and impact. Particularly in applications in the automotive industry, for example, such as driving stability control systems, these requirements are extremely tight. Even a violent external blow, e.g. from a stone, or vibration caused by a car stereo, should not interfere with the output of the sensor of angular velocity.
In many micro-mechanical resonators, like e.g. sensors of angular velocity, designing a coupling spring between the moving masses would be preferable, which spring would enable opposite phase motion of the masses and, at the same time, would resist common mode motion of the masses. Such an arrangement is needed particularly for distinguishing various disturbances from the actual signal, such as instances of mechanical impact. Usually, the signal detected from the masses is differential, whereas acceleration influencing them equally causes a common mode displacement.
In FIG. 1, a diagram is shown of a prior art simple coupled resonator, in which the coupling spring J is an identical one-dimensional spring like the other ones. Thus, the simple coupling resonator consists of two masses m1, m2 and three identical one-dimensional springs J. The structure according to FIG. 1 efficiently separates the masses' common mode of motion from the differential mode. However, the structure is unfavorable from the standpoint of acceleration sensitivity, since the masses are more easily displaced in the same phase (the frequency of the mode being lower) than in opposite phase, because the coupling spring will not participate in the motion in the same phase.
In the U.S. patent publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,752,017 B2 particularly depicted are coupled spring structures for a Z-axis gyro, wherein the detection motion is a vibration in opposite phases of masses on a common axis of motion. A common feature of these spring structures is, that they participate in defining both the primary mode and the secondary mode frequencies, and, according to the patent publication, they are positioned between the masses to be coupled, which are located next to each other.
However, the spring structures described in the patent publication have some drawbacks. For example, sensitivity to linear acceleration, because, like the simple coupled resonator described above, they have more slackness for common mode than for opposite phase motion. Thus, blows and vibration displace the masses more easily than does the desired excitation required for the vibration mode in opposite phases. Further, non-linearity in the primary mode is hard to control, because the spring structures participate in both modes. In fact, it would be preferable completely to separate the coupling spring structures for the different modes from each other, such that the non-linearity of the primary mode suspension could be dimensioned independently from the secondary suspension.
A clearly better solution from the viewpoint of mechanical interference, when having vibrating masses with parallel axes, is a seesaw type coupling spring, since it is stiffer for displacement in the same phase than for displacement in opposite phases. Such a coupling suspension is, for example, implemented in the patent application FI 20095201, for which priority is claimed, for primary motion in the y direction of excitation frames, and also presented in FIG. 2, which shows a sensor of angular velocity for the Z axis, in which is shown an example of a seesaw type coupled spring structure in the top and bottom ends in the y axis direction.
However, the angular velocity sensor structure of FIG. 2 completely lacks coupling between the masses inside the frames, whereby, in the x axis direction, the masses operate as nearly independent acceleration sensors. Being uncoupled, they are mechanically almost as sensitive to (common mode) mechanical interference as they are to any opposite phase Coriolis force to be detected. Thus, the question remains open, how preferably to design a coupling suspension for the masses, which would prevent their motion in the same phase, but still would not participate in the primary motion in the y axis direction.
A seesaw suspension similar to the one described above constitutes a working solution with masses moving along, as such, parallel and side by side located axes, but considering a tightly packed structure, takes rather a lot of space. Such a structure provided with masses moving opposite to each other on a common axis, which in a way is even wasteful, is roughly illustrated in FIG. 3. One can clearly see from FIG. 3, that such a structure occupies almost the whole space between the masses, which previously was used for the excitation comb structures of the primary motion.
Thus, the problem remains unsolved, how to implement a structure, at the same time compact and still capable of operating in opposite phase vibrating mode more willingly than in the same phase, and how to then, as a consequence of the opposite phase mode, one could utilize the advantages offered by the opposite phase for e.g. removing interference.
With the technique according to the embodiments of the invention, a solution is obtained to the problem presented above and also to other associated problems; and, if not completely resolved, the effects of the problems will be at least alleviated.
The micro-mechanical resonator according to the invention is characterized in what is mentioned in the characterizing part of the independent claim related to the same.
The sensor according to the invention is characterized in what is mentioned in the characterizing part of the independent claim related to the same.
The vehicle according to the invention is characterized in what is mentioned in the characterizing part of the independent claim related to the same.
The navigator according to the invention is characterized in what is mentioned in the characterizing part of the independent claim related to the same.
The system of micromechanical resonators comprises at least one micromechanical resonator that comprises two masses (M1 M2) that are coupled in direction of their common motion axis with spring structure (401, 402, 403, 404a, 404b, 404c) that comprises at least two beams (402) connected to the masses and spring suspension (404a, 404b, 404c) parallel to the motion axis coupling the beams that deflects perpendicularly to the motion.
In the dependent claims, other preferable embodiments of the invention are presented.

Micro-mechanical sensor of angular velocity


A modular digital actuator is formed by interconnecting a plurality of modules. Each of the modules includes a housing having a pair of different sized axially extending cylinder sections in which is received a T-shaped piston with the top of the T mating with the larger cylinder and the leg of the T forming a piston in the smaller cylinder. The leg of the T is hollow and forms a cylinder to receive an axially extending piston forming shaft to thereby provide three preferably different sized cooperating piston and cylinder areas, one formed in the cavity or hollows of the leg of the T, a second formed between the top of the T surrounding the leg of the T and the junction between the larger cylinder section and smaller cylinder section and the third formed in the smaller cylinder section between a closed free end of the smaller cylinder section and the leg of the T surrounding the piston forming shaft. The top of the T forms a piston wall in a fourth hydraulic cavity. Several of these modules may be interconnected by positioning same in axial relationship with the end closure of the smaller cylinder of the second module forming an end closure for the larger cylinder of the first module and the large cylinder in the first module on the top side of the T connected to the cavity forming cylinder of the second module via a passage through the piston forming shaft of the second module. The areas of the different pistons and cylinders formed in the second module may be different from those in the first module.

The concept of digital actuators is known, however generally such actuators are relatively complicated to machine and cannot easily be manufactured. Further, it is difficult to change the capacity of any one such actuator since normally all of the pistons and cylinders used to provide the digital action are incorporated in a single housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,481 issued Jul. 29, 1986 to Robinson discloses a linear double acting digital system and German Offenlegungsschriftde 3836103 A1 to Damler-Benz Aktiengesellschaft discloses an axially operable multi-piston and cavity arrangement for forming a digital actuator.


A film (e.a., a paint film) transfer device includes case, a supply reel around which paint film transfer tape is wound, and a take-up reel for taking-up used tape which is supplied from the supply reel and used. The supply and take-up reels are rotatably mounted in the case. The outermost peripheries of the supply reel and the take-up reel are constantly contacting each other, such that the take-up reel is rotated as the supply reel is rotated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a film transfer device, and more particularly to a paint transfer device which transfer a paint film paint film transfer tape, thereby enabling the device to use the tape as an eraser, marker or glue.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, such a paint film transfer device has been described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 5-178525. The conventional paint film transfer device has a large gear mounted on a supply reel around which paint film transfer tape is wound, and a relatively small gear is mounted on a take-up reel which takes up the used tape, with the small gear meshing with the large gear. In operation, the paint film transfer tape is supplied from the supply reel. As the supply reel rotates, the take-up reel rotates through the large and small gears, so that the used tape is automatically taken-up.
However, such a conventional paint film transfer device is costly to manufacture due to its many components including the large and small gears.
Additionally, as the outer diameter of the supply reel becomes smaller and smaller, and that of the take-up reel correspondingly becomes larger and larger through using the paint film transfer tape, synchronization between the reels is lost, and excessive force is applied to the tape because the feeding speed becomes slower and slower, while the take-up speed becomes faster and faster. Thus, another problem is that the supply or take-up reel must be arranged to slip, which makes the arrangement unduly complicated.