A method for gripping a tubular with a tubular gripping mechanism includes the steps of moving the tubular gripping mechanism adjacent the tubular, positioning a jaw assembly of the tubular gripping mechanism around the tubular, applying a force by an actuator onto the jaw assembly of the tubular gripping mechanism such that the jaw assembly moves so as to clamp onto the tubular, removing the force from the actuator onto the jaw assembly such that the jaw assembly remains clamped onto the tubular. The clamping force is directed to surfaces of the tubular gripping mechanism away from the actuator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tubular gripping mechanism. More particularly, the present invention the relates to a tubular gripping mechanism that can be used to grip different diameters of tubular. More particularly, the present invention relates to the diversion of a load associated with gripping a tubular. Additionally, the present invention the relates to a tubular gripping mechanism whereby the tubular is properly centered regardless of the diameter of the tubular.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
The term "tubular" as used herein includes all forms of drill tubulars, drill collars, pipe, casing, liners, bottom hole assemblies (BHA), and other types of tubulars known in the art. In well drilling and well completion operations, it is necessary to lift and properly align lengths of downhole tubulars. For example, in oil or water well drilling, multiple lengths of drill pipe must often be raised from a horizontal position at or near ground level to a vertical position aligned with the centerline of the well. Such lifting and aligning operations require clamps for securely holding the pipe in place as it is lifted. When a pivotally mounted pipe boom is used, this boom must support large loads in several different orientations.
Compounding this problem is the fact that each joint of a length of a down-hole tubular must be closely aligned with a string of such tubulars after it has been lifted to the vertical position, such as when a drill pipe or casing is made up. A clamp, or gripper, for this purpose should preferably provide a necessary alignment for down-hole tubulars having various diameters, without any adjustment. Proper alignment has been a problem with many such clamps, or grippers, of the prior art, especially those employing pivoted clamping jaws. When pivoted clamping jaws are used, there is a tendency for the center of the down-hole tubular to vary as a function of the diameter of the tubular being clamped.
U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 11/923,451, filed on Oct. 24, 2007 and 12/013,979, filed on Jan. 14, 2008 by the present inventor, describe pipe handling apparatuses whereby pipe is moved from a horizontal position to a vertical position with a single degree of freedom. In particular, these devices include grippers that grasp the pipe when it is in a horizontal position, move the pipe through the interior of a frame through the use of a particular pipe handling structure, and then position the pipe directly over the well center. Through the use of this device, pipe is accurately moved without the need for adjustment actuators or other mechanisms in order to provide the proper end location for the pipe. Unfortunately, with this device, the grippers associated with the device must be changed, as necessary, so as to accommodate the particular diameter of the pipe being used. The formation of such separate grippers is somewhat difficult because the grippers must be able to properly center the pipe. As such, a need has developed to provide a pipe gripper assembly whereby various diameters of pipe can be accommodated with a single gripper assembly and whereby the pipes that are accommodated by this gripper assembly are properly centered therein.
In many circumstances, the pipe can have very rigid side walls. In other circumstances, such as installation of a casing, the side walls of the tubular are relatively thin and flexible. As such, there is a need to develop a pipe gripper assembly whereby the various thicknesses of side walls can be accommodated by the tubular gripping mechanism. It is important that the tubular gripping mechanism not bend, deform, puncture or otherwise dent thin-walled tubulars.
In the past, various patents have issued relating to a tubular gripping mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 3,280,920 issued on Oct. 25, 1966 to P. Scott, teaches a portable apparatus for drilling down hole wells. This apparatus has a mast having an open side and a means for supporting a string of drill pipes rotated within the mast. A means for raising and lowering a string of drill pipes in a rectilinear direction parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the mast is provided. This apparatus includes a hydraulic cylinder connected through a suitable arrangement of lines and sheaves so as to apply positive force upon the power swivel so as to move the swivel upwardly or downwardly in the mast as desired. This swivel is mounted on a wheeled carriage which runs on suitable tracks carried by the mast. An elongate frame is pivotably attached to the lower end of the mast for swinging movement to an open side of the mast between a substantially horizontal position and an upright position. Releasable clamps are adapted to grip a section of drill pipe mounted on the frame for a limited longitudinal reciprocating motion thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,365,762, issued on Jan. 30, 1968 to W. H. Spiri, shows a well pipe gripping structure having a slip body having a pipe gripping insert which is slidably movable horizontally into an arcuate guideway in the slip body. The slip body is retained within the guideway by upper and lower lips on the body. The lips have asymmetric retaining surfaces. The inserts are provided with teeth which advance vertically as the teeth advance circularly. The teeth of one insert are positioned out of alignment with the teeth of the other insert to increase the resistance to rotation of the pipe within the slip structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,561,811, issued on Feb. 9, 1971 to J. W. Turner, Jr., teaches a well drilling rig having a pipe racker apparatus in which a number of racker arms are controllable from a remote location to engage drill pipe tool joints and drill collars. One of the arms has a head for supporting the weight of lengths of pipe or drill collars being added to or removed from the drill string.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,702,640, issued on Nov. 14, 1972 to Cintrack et al., shows a tipping girder with a transfer of tubular elements. This tipping girder has a plurality of adjustable guide nippers movably positioned on the girder for movement transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof. There are adjustable locking nippers movably mounted on the girder for movement parallel to and transverse to the longitudinal axis thereof. The locking nippers are constructed to automatically engage and lock a rod on the girder when it is moved away from the horizontal position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,021, issued on Apr. 23, 1974 to Moroz et al., shows a pipe centering apparatus. This apparatus has a carriage with a column mounted thereon to support a pipe end jointing mechanism. The carriage has a receptacle together with the column. The column pivotally supports a cantilever member of which the free extremity pivotably supports the pipe end jointing mechanism including coaxially arranged grippers adapted to retain the ends of the pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,303,270, issued on Dec. 1, 1981 to H. L. Adair, shows a self-centering clamp for down-hole tubulars. This clamp includes first and second opposed clamping members guided along a clamping axis by first and second guide channels defined by a frame. Each clamping member defines a hydraulic cylinder in which is disposed a piston which is rigidly mounted to the frame. A rack is coupled to move with each of the clamping members. These racks are interconnected via a pinion gear which meshes with both racks so that the two clamping members move in a counter-directional manner and remain equidistant from a central point on the clamping axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,403,897, issued on Sep. 13, 1983 to Willis, provides self-centering clamp for drilling tubulars. This self-centering clamp includes first and second transverse guide rods. Two opposed clamping jaws are guided along the first guide rod. These jaws are positioned by two opposed rocker arms, each of which is mounted to a cross brace which slides along the second guide rod. The rocker arms are symmetrically positioned by a link mechanism which also slides along the second guide rod and by a hydraulic cylinder coupled between the two rocker arms. The frame is pivotably mounted to a pipe boom so as to rotate about an axis parallel to the clamped pipe and transverse to the first and second guide rods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,237 issued on Mar. 17, 1987 to R. J. Lessway, provides an automatic centering and gripping apparatus which includes a housing in which is slidably mounted on a longitudinal movable operator body. A pair of gripper arms are slidably mounted on the operator body. Each gripper arm carries a gripper member engageable with a workpiece. The gripper members are moved longitudinally and laterally into gripping engagement with a workpiece when the operator body is moved in one longitudinal direction. They are correspondingly disengaged from the workpiece when the operator body is moved in the other longitudinal direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,226 issued on Mar. 11, 1997 to V. J. Penisson, teaches a slip-type gripping assembly having an outer body defining a longitudinal through opening for receipt of the object. A number of slip bodies are circumferentially spaced about the through opening and are radially movable toward and away from the locus of the object. Each slip body is pivotable about a generally longitudinal axis and generally circumferentially centered with respect to the slip body as well as about a tangential axis. A respective force transfer formation is cooperative between each slip body and the outer body for transferring radial force therebetween while permitting the pivoting.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,647, issued on Dec. 15, 1998 to Webre et al., shows a pipe gripping apparatus for angularly adapting two misaligned pipe on one or more pipe strings. The apparatus has a housing having internal, opposing downwardly-curved surfaces therein and forming a longitudinal opening for passing a portion of at least one tubing string therethrough. A plurality of slip carriers each has an exterior surface contoured to match the downwardly curved surface and has a downwardly inclined interior surface. Each slip carrier is in movable connection with one of the curved surfaces of the housing. A plurality of slips have downwardly inclined exterior surfaces and longitudinal channels formed on an internal surface for holding gripping elements for gripping a portion of the pipe
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,801, issued on Nov. 30, 1999 to C. A. Tones, discloses a pipe gripping assembly and method. This pipe gripping assembly has primary pipe gripping mechanism and a backup and a secondary pipe gripping mechanism carried in a single tapered slip bowl. The primary gripping mechanism employs smooth surface pipe dies that set against and grip and hold the pipe without damaging the pipe surface. After the primary mechanism is set, toothed dies in the secondary gripping mechanism are automatically engaged with the pipe with only a minimal pipe gripping force. Additional slippage of the pipe through the smooth dies sets the toothed dies down against a wedging surface to grip and hold the pipe to stop its downward movement. A resilient biasing device is used to urge the toothed dies away from the pipe before the smooth dies are set.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,140, issued on Nov. 30, 1999 to A. Crippa, shows an apparatus for loading pipes onto processing machines. This apparatus has a handler arm with a first segment and a second segment disposed in succession. Kinematic members are adapted to determine a fixed ratio between the rotation angles of the segments about the respective hinging axes.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,551, issued Apr. 8, 2003 to Sparks et al., discloses an automatic pipe handling device which includes a support frame mounted on a boring device. Removable pipe racks can be placed in position on the support frame to deliver pipe to the spindle axis or to remove pipe therefrom as required. The pipe sections are removed from the pipe rack and positioned on the spindle axis by pipe grippers mounted on hydraulic cylinders mounted on a rotating longitudinal shaft. The grippers and shaft simultaneously return the used pipe sections for storage to the pipe rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,555, issued on Apr. 8, 2003 to M. Casagrande, provides an automatic loader for drill rods adapted to be used in association with a boring machine. The automatic motor has a store containing a plurality of drill rods and a movement assembly that is able to selectively remove, one at a time, the drill rods from the store to position them on the guide and drive assembly. The movement assembly is arranged in an intermediate position between the store and the guide and drive assembly so as to not interfere with the latter during the removal of the drill rods from the store.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,814, issued on Jan. 25, 2005 to Masson et al., teaches a pipe-gripping structure having load rings. In particular, a rotary slip supports a drill string having a plurality of slip segments connected to define an opening for insertion of the drill string. Each slip segment has a head region, a toe region, and an inner radial surface axially extending between the head and toe regions. The inner radial surface of each slip segment comprises a circumferential groove. A plurality of axially aligned drill string gripping inserts are attached to each slip segment between the head region and the circumferential groove. Each insert has a gripping surface for contacting the drill string.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,055,594, issued on Jun. 6, 2006 to Springett et al., describes a pipe gripper and top drive system in which the pipe gripping system is located beneath the top drive unit. The pipe gripping system has an open throat for receiving a tubular to be gripped by the pipe gripping system. The gripping system has a body with first and second jaws movably connected thereto and a piston/cylinder assembly movably interconnected with each jaw for moving the jaws to clamp and then to rotate the pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,035, issued on Aug. 15, 2006 to G. Lesko, describes a method and system for connecting pipe to a top drive motor. This system includes a top drive motor that tilts about a horizontal axis and a pipe launcher that brings joints of pipe up to the drilling platform for connection with a top drive motor at a safe and convenient height above the platform. The top drive motor further includes a clamping assembly that grasps and pulls the joint of the pipe to the motor as the connection is being made. The clamp assembly supports the motor-pipe connection as the top-drive motor is raised in the drilling mast of the rig bringing the joint of pipe up into a vertical orientation for connection with the drill tubing string.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,166 B2, issued on Oct. 17, 2006 to Drzewiecki, discloses a tong assembly that has a body and a center member slidable relative to the body. A pair of clamping arms are rotatably connected to the body. The clamping arms are connected to the center member such that as the center member slides relative to said body, the clamping arms rotate relative to the body. The assembly also comprises a plurality of die assemblies, wherein at least one die assembly is mounted to each clamping arm and at least one die assembly is mounted to the center member.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/111,907, filed on Apr. 29, 2008 by the present inventor, discloses a pipe gripping apparatus that has a first jaw with a pipe-contacting surface at one end thereof, a second jaw having a pipe-contacting surface at one end thereof, a tongue having a pipe-contacting surface at one end thereof, and an actuator connected to the first and second jaws and to the tongue. The actuator serves to move the first and second jaws and the tongue such that the pipe-contacting surfaces thereof move radially inwardly simultaneously for a substantially identical distance. A first link pivotally connects the tongue with the first jaw. A second link pivotally connects the tongue with the second jaw. The first and second links extend angularly outwardly from the tongue. The first and second pivot points of each jaw have a distance unequal to a distance between the first pivot point and pipe-contacting surface of each jaw. The pipe-contacting surfaces can be elastomeric pads, toothed dies, or rollers.
A problem associated with using the pipe gripping apparatus disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/111,907 is that a large load is imparted onto the outer surface of the pipe by the jaws of the apparatus. The large load is sustained by the actuator of the apparatus; however, the piston and cylinder of the actuator can prematurely fail due to constant application of the load of gripping to the pipe. Thus, there is a need for a gripping mechanism that reduces the load on the piston and cylinder of the actuator so as to increase the useful life thereof and avoid early fatigue and failure.
Various patents have issued relating the loads exerted by gripping mechanism. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,662, issued on Aug. 28, 2001 to Sonnier, discloses a conventional center-latch elevator with smooth slip segments of the present invention is employed to grip and suspend a pipe without damaging the pipe surface. The slip segments are made of aluminum or another material that is softer than the material of the pipe. The elimination of rough surfaces on the slip segments prevents damage to the external pipe surface. A threaded lift connector is secured to the box end of the pipe to be lifted. The lift connector forces spring-loaded slip segments down into the conical bowl of the elevator to move the segments radially inwardly into gripping engagement with the pipe. The axial forces exerted by the elevator against the bottom of the lift connector are transmitted through the connector to the threads engaged in the pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,137, issued on Sep. 26, 1989 to Slator, discloses an improved jaw construction for power tongs and bucking units wherein the jaws include a pair of gripping pads which are mounted to the jaws with a resilient insert so that loads applied through the jaw to the pipe are distributed over the gripping pads to minimize scoring the pipe or deformation thereof.
It is an object of the present invention to remove the hydraulic cylinder of the actuator of a gripping mechanism from a load path.
It is another object of the present invention to increase the useful life of the actuator of a gripping mechanism.
It is another object of the present invention to lock the gripping mechanism around a tubular in the event of a loss of power to the gripping mechanism.
It is still another object of the present invention to use the gripping power of a gripping mechanism for other purposes, such as rotating tubulars, while the gripping mechanism holds a tubular.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism that can be used as a tong.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism whereby different diameters of tubular can be gripped by the same mechanism.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism which self-centers the tubulars regardless of the diameter of the tubular.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism which includes a locking mechanism so as to prevent unintended release of the tubular.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism that can be used in conjunction with a tubular handling device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism to grip and to center any shape having three surfaces with the same radius to the center of the shape.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism to grip and to center any shape having a means for variable locking of the shape.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism to grip and to center any shape, clamping with a greater force than the actuator.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism to grip with zero centering error for any two tubular diameters.
It is another object of the present invention to use three points of contact for gripping a tubular.
It is another object of the present invention to have an infinitely variable brake position.
It is another object of the present invention to multiply the gripping force of the gripping mechanism so as to enhance the load delivered by the cylinder of the actuator.
It is another object of the present invention to lock the jaws of a gripping mechanism around a tubular.
It is still another object of the present invention to avoid elastic and plastic deformation of a tubular while gripping.
It is another object of the present invention to distribute the contact pressure of the gripper mechanism over the surface of the tubular.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a tubular gripping mechanism with a single actuator with a single degree of freedom.
It is another object of the present invention to move the tubular to the gripper.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.

Method of gripping a tubular with a tubular gripping mechanism


The present invention provides a cellulose-based propellant for generating gas to inflate an air bag in a vehicle occupant restraint system. In one embodiment, the propellant includes cellulose in combination with an alkali nitrate oxidizer, such a potassium nitrate, and Kaolinite clay for increasing the viscosity of the residue resulting from combustion of the propellant. Also included in the present invention is a method for producing the propellant and incorporating the propellant into an air bag restraint system. In one embodiment of the method, cellulose fiber in the form of pulp board or wood pulp is soaked in a solution that includes an oxidizing agent to produce a slurry, the slurry is then formed into a sheet of a desired density, the sheet is then at least partially dried, if required, and then formed into a desired shape for incorporation into a vehicle restraint system that employs an air bag.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle occupant restraint systems that employ air bags. More specifically, the present invention relates to a propellant for producing nitrogen gas to inflate an air bag, a method for producing such a propellant, and an air bag vehicle occupant restraint system that utilizes the propellant.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air bag restraint system includes a reaction canister for containing a propellant that, when ignited, produces a gas that is used to inflate an air bag. To ignite the propellant, an igniter that is responsive to a signal provided by a collision sensor is disposed adjacent to the propellant. The air bag restraint system also includes an air bag that is located across an open end of the reaction canister. Located in the canister and between the air bag and the propellant is a filter for preventing the hot residues produced by combustion of the propellant from entering the air bag and possibly coming into contact with the occupant of the vehicle when the air bag is inflated. Briefly, operation of an air bag restraint system is initiated when the sensor detects an imminent collision or a collision and causes the igniter to ignite the propellant. Ignition of the propellant, in turn, produces gas to inflate the air bag and thereby prevent injuries to the occupant of the vehicle by restraining or inhibiting their movement. Shortly after inflation, the air bag deflates to permit the occupant to move and exit the vehicle if necessary.
Presently, the propellant most commonly used in air bag restraint systems includes sodium azide (NAN.sub.3), which produces nitrogen gas for inflating the air bag when combusted. Propellants that incorporate sodium azide, upon combustion, produce a gaseous atmosphere of substantially 100% nitrogen gas for inflating the air bag. This is advantageous because nitrogen gas is substantially inert and can be inhaled by humans for short periods of time without harmful effects. The use of sodium azide does, however, present several drawbacks. Namely, sodium azide is a Class B poison and easily hydrolyzed into hydrazoic acid, which is also toxic and explosive. Moreover, sodium azide reacts with heavy metals, like copper and lead, to produce a very sensitive explosive that can be easily ignited. Due to these factors, substantial precautions are necessary in the transportation of sodium azide, its incorporation into air bag systems, and in its eventual disposal when the air bag system in which it is incorporated is discarded that add to the overall expense of such systems. For example, special precautions must be taken during transportation of the sodium azide to prevent leakage of this toxic and reactive material into the environment. Additionally, the air bag restraint systems that incorporate a sodium azide-based propellant require containers for the propellant that are designed to prevent the sodium azide from contacting heavy metals, becoming hydrolyzed, and from leaking into the occupant environment of the vehicle. Moreover, during disposal of air bag restraint systems that employ sodium azide as a propellant, further precautions must be taken to prevent the sodium azide from coming into contact with heavy metals or becoming hydrolyzed. These drawbacks are further compounded by the increasing demand for passenger side air bags in automobiles that deploy air bags with volumes three to four times that of the driver's side air bags and therefore, require proportionately greater amounts of sodium azide propellant.
A further drawback associated with the use of sodium azide-based propellants in air bag restraint systems is that the process for producing such propellants is a relatively complicated process that involves blending the sodium azide with a refractory oxidizer, such as iron oxide or copper oxide, pressing the resulting mixture into pellets, and then establishing channels in the pellets for conducting gas and for controlling the burn rate of the propellant. The complexity of producing sodium azide-based propellants, in turn, increases the expense of the resulting air bag vehicle restraint systems that incorporate such propellants.
Yet a further disadvantage of sodium azide-based propellants is that it is difficult to design and manufacture the propellant with a desired burn rate. As previously mentioned, one proposed solution to controlling the burn rate of sodium azide-based propellants has been to establish channels in the pellets. The establishment of channels in the pellets adds to the complexity as well as the expense of manufacturing the propellant. Another proposed solution to controlling the burn rate of sodium azide-based propellants has been to incorporate graphite fibers into the propellant. This also requires additional manufacturing steps and increases the expense of the resulting propellant. Moreover, the degree to which the burn rate can be regulated by these solutions has, in many cases, proven to be subject to unacceptable variation.
Another disadvantage of sodium azide-based propellants is that combustion of the propellant produces a molten sodium oxide (Na.sub.2 O) residue that is in the form of relatively small globules with low viscosity. The relatively small size of the globules and their low viscosity necessitate the use of "slagging" agents to increase the viscosity of the residue and a relatively expensive filter to be interposed between the propellant and the air bag to prevent the residue from entering the air bag and possibly burning the occupant of a vehicle in which the restraint system is employed.
Alternatives to sodium azide-based propellants have been developed that are derived from hydroxamine and hydroxylamine. Further, propellants using polymeric binders, hydrocarbons, carbohydrates, and dialkali salts of bitetrazole and azobitetrazole have also been developed. Many of these alternatives to sodium azide-based propellants have many of the same disadvantages as the sodium azide propellants or other disadvantages that have not made it worthwhile to convert from the sodium azide-based propellants.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for a propellant for an air bag vehicle restraint system that reduces the use of sodium azide to, in turn, reduce the problems associated with the transportation of sodium azide, the incorporation of sodium azide into air bag restraint systems, and the subsequent disposal of air bag restraint systems that employ sodium azide. There is the further need for a propellant for use in air bag restraint systems that can be easily and inexpensively manufactured. Moreover, a propellant for air bag systems is needed in which the burn rate of the propellant can be readily controlled or regulated. Moreover, a propellant for air bag restraint systems is needed that, upon combustion, produces a residue that reduces the need for a complicated or expensive filtering mechanism to prevent molten material or other residue produced by combustion of the propellant from entering the air bag and possibly injuring an occupant of the vehicle in which the air bag restraint system is installed.

Preparing air bag vehicle restraint device having cellulose containing sheet propellant


An image pickup unit includes: an image pickup section including a plurality of pixels, each of the pixels including a photoelectric conversion device; and a drive section driving each of the pixels to perform a readout operation, a pre-reset operation, and a main reset operation in this order, the readout operation being intended to read out charge from each of the pixels as a signal, the charge being obtained from the photoelectric conversion device, and the pre-reset operation and the main reset operation being intended to reset the charge in the each of the pixels. The drive section applies a voltage to the photoelectric conversion device, the voltage being different between in the pre-reset operation and in the main reset operation.

This disclosure relates to an image pickup unit including a photoelectric conversion device, and to an image pickup display system provided with such an image pickup unit.
Previously, various kinds of image pickup units including a photoelectric conversion device in each pixel (each image-pickup pixel) have been proposed. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-135561, a so-called optical touch panel, a radiation image pickup unit, and the like are described as an example of an image pickup unit having such a photoelectric conversion device.

Image pickup unit and image pickup display system


A variable refrigerant flow system includes one or more outdoor units and a first indoor unit of a plurality of indoor units configured to receive refrigerant from the one or more outdoor units. The first indoor unit is configured to serve a first building zone. The variable refrigerant flow system also includes a user input device configured to receive a user command requesting heating or cooling of the first building zone by the first indoor unit. The variable refrigerant flow system also includes a controller configured to receive the command from the user input device, receive an indication of a current price of energy, in response to receiving the command generate a constraint on a capacity of the one or more outdoor units based on the current price of energy, and control the one or more outdoor units to operate in accordance with the constraint.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems. A VRF system typically includes one or more outdoor VRF units that consume electrical power to heat and/or cool a refrigerant. VRF systems also typically include multiple indoor VRF units located in various spaces of a building, each of which receives the refrigerant from the outdoor VRF unit(s) and uses the refrigerant to transfer heat into or out of a particular space.
In many cases, the various spaces of served by a VRF system may be sporadically and/or irregularly occupied, such that each space is occupied at some points in time and unoccupied at other points in time. It may be desirable to provide heating and/or cooling when a space is occupied to provide for occupant comfort, while turning off heating and/or cooling when the space is unoccupied to reduce energy costs. For example, in some cases indoor VRF units may be controlled by users who turn on the VRF unit when the users enter a space and turn off the indoor VRF unit when the user leaves the space. Accordingly, sporadic building occupancy may create irregular and difficult-to-predict demand on the VRF system.
Some building systems attempt to minimize the utility costs associated with heating and cooling a building based on predictions of future system states. However, the irregular and difficult-to-predict demand on the VRF system caused by sporadic occupation of building zones may substantially reduce the effectiveness of existing approaches to utility cost optimization for building heating and cooling systems. For example, unpredictable occupation of building zones may create spikes in the load on the VRF system that prevent costs from being optimized under existing approaches. Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods that allow a VRF system to provide comfort to the occupants in sporadically-occupied building zones while also reducing or minimizing utility costs of operating the VRF system.

Variable refrigerant flow system with capacity limits


Provided is an SOI wafer manufacturing method that allows production of an SOI wafer having a high gettering ability and a small resistance variance in a thickness direction of an active layer, at high productivity. The SOI wafer manufacturing method includes a first step of implanting light element ions to a surface of at least one of a first substrate and a second substrate to form, on the at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate, a modified layer in which the light element ions are present in solid solution, a second step of forming an oxide film on a surface of at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate, a third step of bonding the first substrate and the second substrate according to a normal-temperature vacuum bonding method, and a fourth step of obtaining an active layer by thinning the first substrate.

An silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer structurally includes a support substrate, above which an insulating film of, for example, oxide silicon (SiO2), and a single crystal silicon layer used as a device active layer are formed in this order. A bonding method is one of typical methods of manufacturing an SOI wafer. The bonding method is a method of manufacturing an SOI wafer by forming an oxide film (a buried oxide [BOX] layer) on at least one of the support substrate and the substrate to be used as the active layer, and subsequently by superposing these substrates on each other via the oxide film and subjecting the superposed substrates to bonding thermal processing at a high temperature of approximately 1200° C.
Technologies have been proposed for imparting metal impurity gettering ability to thus obtained SOI wafer. Patent Literature 1 describes a bonded SOI wafer manufacturing process, including implanting ions to a substrate to be used as the active layer to form a strain region (a gettering site), subsequently forming the oxide film on the substrate to be used as the active layer or on the support substrate according to a thermal oxidization method, and subsequently superposing both the substrates and subjecting the superposed substrates to bonding thermal processing.

SOI wafer manufacturing process and SOI wafer


Hair rollers are heated and moistened by being exposed to steam. The invention involves incorporating a scent creating substance such as perfume in the liquid which is heated to create the steam so that the steam incorporates a scent which is thereby applied to the rollers.

Various devices and techniques exist for heating and moistening hair rollers or hair curlets. An exemplary device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,286,949 wherein the hair rollers are mounted so as to be exposed to a chamber. Steam is then created from a liquid to flow into the chamber and contact the hair roller. In this manner the rollers are both heated and moistened from the steam. Thereafter the rollers are removed and applied to the hair.
Since the rollers are in intimate contact on the user's head in close proximity to the nose, it would be disadvantageous if the rollers had an unpleasant aroma.

Method of applying a scent to hair rollers


A belt and belt connector is provided for forming a continuous belt loop. The belt connector includes a first element insertable into a first end of the belt and a second element insertable into a second end of the belt. The first element may include exterior threads for positively engaging the interior of the belt. Additionally, the belt connector may include a connecting link that connects the first and second elements so that the first and second elements are pivotable relative to one another. Additionally, the connecting link may be configured to that the first element is pivotable relative to the connecting link about a first pivot axis and the connecting link may be pivotable relative to the second element about a second pivot axis that is transverse the first pivot axis.

Continuous belts made of thermoplastic material, such as polyurethane, are used in a variety of conveyor applications. A common method for forming such belts is to heat fuse or weld the ends of a length of belting in order to form a continuous loop. However, it can take a substantial amount of time to prepare and weld a belt. In addition, after a belt is welded, there is a waiting time before the belt should be fully tensioned. Therefore, the welding process can create undue down time for machinery. To reduce down-time, a mechanical fastener may be used to connect the ends of the belt. However, such fasteners significantly limit the amount of tension that can be applied to the belt. Such fasteners also tend to creep during use, which frequently causes the connector to become detached.

Conveyor belt connector and method for forming a belt


An interim tail light cover has a colored translucent body of red or amber, and snaps onto a taillight when the original lens or colored cover of the tail light has been broken or removed so that the light emitted light retains its red or amber color as is appropriate.

The invention pertains to automobile tail lights and particularly relates to the problem encountered when the tail light cover, which would be a translucent red or amber, is shattered so that the white light from the bulb is emitted.
It is dangerous to be driving with a tail light that is emitting white light, confusing following drivers who associate red light with the rear ends of cars. Although there is some danger of a physical nature from accidents, the more imminent danger is that of getting ticketed for not having red or amber tail lights or brake lights, as is appropriate for the vehicle. In some states this is a non-fixable offense, that is, the fine must be paid whether or not the condition is repaired.
Although car dealers carry replacement covers for most models of cars, or at least recent models, these covers can be very expensive and in many cases are not in stock. If they are not in stock, the motorist risks being ticketed or getting into an accident while waiting for the part. However, the expense of replacing the cover can be a very great problem, especially as the vehicle gets older. As the value of the vehicle continues to do nothing but delcine over time, the cost of replacing a tail light cover will, if anything, go up. It would not be uncommon to find a tail light cover whose cost was a substantial fraction of the overall of the vehicle. Obviously, the more complex the configuration of the tail light cover the greater the cost, and the tendency in modern cars is to produce quite fancy and complex tail light cover configurations.
With all of the gadgets that are sold in automotive stores for virtually any vehicle problem known to man, surprisingly there is nothing that will provide a temporary bulb cover for a tail light bulb to allow the hapless motorist to stay out of trouble with the law and with accidents either until the cover can be replaced, or indefinitely. There is a need for a simple cover which would serve no other purpose than to provide a color filtering effect for the tail light bulb and which would be cheap and simple to install.


The present invention provides the steroidal compound 3α-ethynyl-3β-hydroxyandrostan-17-one oxime, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, for use in treatment of hepatic encephalopathy.

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a serious neuropsychiatric and neurocognitive complication in acute and chronic liver disease. HE is a significant and increasing health care problem due to the large and increasing prevalence of chronic liver disease. HE is characterized by impairments of the sleep-wake cycle, cognition, memory, learning, motor coordination, consciousness, decreased energy levels and personality change, ranging from minimal HE (MHE) to overt HE (OHE). MHE is manifested with cognitive impairment and has detrimental effects on health related quality of life and the ability to perform complex tasks such as driving. In addition, OHE is clinically manifested with mental and motor disorders and the symptoms ranges from disorientation through sedation and coma.
Naturally occurring steroids are subject to intense metabolism and are typically not suitable for oral administration. The metabolites of the endogenous steroid hormones pregnenolone, progesterone, deoxycorticosterone, cortisone and cortisol, known as pregnanolones as well as the metabolites of testosterone, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone, have all been the subject of various studies, at least partially elucidating their role in the neurological signal system in mammals. The steroid metabolites induce CNS symptoms and disorders and steroids act as positive modulators on the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor-chloride ionophore (GABAA-R) complex and are therefore called GABAA receptor modulating steroids (GAMS).
Certain steroids have been shown to be specific GABAA receptor enhancers. Examples of these steroids can inter alia be found in WO 2008/063128. Some of these steroids are potent and have e.g. been shown to have an ability to induce amnesia, sedation and anesthesia in pharmacological dose. WO 99/45931 and WO 03/059357 disclose antagonistic effects of steroids. Wang et al. 2000 (Acta Physiol Scand 169, 333-341) and Wang et al. 2002 (J Neurosci 22(9):3366-75) disclose antagonistic effects of 3β-OH-5α-pregnan-20-one and other 3β-OH-5α/β pregnan steroids. WO2006/056794 and WO2010/144498 discloses use of compounds for treatment of liver decompensation, hepatic encephalopathy and portal hypertension. There is a need to provide new and effective therapeutic treatments for hepatic encephalopathy and related disorders

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Steroid compound for use in the treatment of hepatic encephalopathy


A process for cracking hydrocarbons at atmospheric pressure includes the following steps: providing a catalyst, passing a gaseous hydrocarbon over the catalyst and exposing the catalyst to microwave energy. The hydrocarbons are broken down into lower Carbon number molecules.

Exhaust from combustion engines creates a variety of environmental pollutants that must be removed from the exhaust stream in order to protect both public health and the environment. For automobiles, the 3-way catalyst has been used for decades to convert these chemicals, primarily carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and unburned hydrocarbons into benign products, such as carbons dioxide, nitrogen, and water. However, as environmental regulations become more stringent, a higher loading of precious metals are required to purify the exhaust gases to the necessary levels.
One way to achieve higher conversion of pollutants and lower consumption of precious metals is to increase the efficiency of the catalyst. In the case of gasoline engines with 3-way catalysts, the efficiency of the catalytic converter could be enhanced if long chain hydrocarbons in the exhaust stream were broken down or cracked into smaller parafm or olefin molecules. In the case of some types of fuels (such as diesel fuel), the reduction of NOx is enhanced if fuel is added directly to the exhaust stream. Similar to the gasoline-based catalytic converter, the efficiency of the catalyst would be improved if the hydrocarbon molecules were broken down. This increase in efficiency would result in an overall decrease in emissions and precious metal consumption by the exhaust catalysts.
Catalytic cracking of crude oil using zeolite catalysts has been done in the petroleum industry for many years. In addition, thermal cracking of hydrocarbons is possible at high temperatures and pressures. The high pressure conditions needed for both of these reactions is not suitable for automotive applications.
There is therefore a need in the art for an improved process for the break down or cracking of hydrocarbons in an automotive application.

Process using microwave energy and a catalyst to crack hydrocarbons

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


In order to increase the product of the speed of rotation times the diameter of the bar stock, the inventive feed apparatus comprises, for guiding the bar stock, a plurality of bearing units constituting the non-rotary part of a hydrostatic bearing receiving oil under pressure. For introducing a fresh piece of bar stock, two rotary components of the bearing unit are capable of opening. A central passage may be either entirely closed and locked, a lever then being completely pushed back, or set ajar, for each bearing unit in sequence, so as to allow the carrier of a pusher to pass, or wide open to allow the fresh bar stock to enter, the mentioned lever then being completely pulled. The feed apparatus is particularly suitable for a computerized numerical control (CNC) automatic lathe.

This invention relates to feed apparatus for machine tools, particularly for automatic lathes, of the type having bearing units, each one of which includes a circular passage receiving an injection of oil, intended for a machine working a material supplied to it in the form of a bar capable of being driven rotatingly at high speed by the machine and which is pushed by a pusher having a carrier.
U.K. Published Patent Application No. 2,080,160 proposes feed apparatus of the aforementioned type made by disposing one behind the other bearing plates suitable for guiding a bar of material to be machined. In this apparatus, the bearing plates are axially movable during operation, and the unit which they form contracts in the manner of an accordion as the bar advances. When all the bearing plates are pushed together toward the front, in the direction of the machine tool, it is cumbersome to introduce a fresh piece of bar stock; moreover, the part forming the carrier fixed to the rearward end of the pusher (bearing plate 28d in this U.K. publication) need never pass a bearing plate because these plates recede before the carrier as it advances. It has been noticed, however, that in such a design, the bearing plates cannot be held very firmly on a frame since they must be able to slide axially. Considering the development of machine tools and the performance which this development demands of feed apparatus, as will be explained below, it would be desirable to have feed apparatus of the type initially mentioned in which the bearings are fixed firmly and non-displaceably on the support frame of the feed apparatus during operation. Fixing of the bearing plates would involve numerous problems, however, relating to the introduction of a fresh or subsequent piece of bar stock and to the advance of the carrier. It would, in fact, be necessary to have available at the rear of the feed apparatus a free space as large as the apparatus itself, first for running the bar in, then for providing the space needed for a pusher which ought to be as long as the bar of material.
The prior art also includes hydrostatic bearings, the theory of which has been thoroughly examined, particularly in an article by Professor Ichiro Inasaki of Hiyoshi, Japan, which appeared in the journal Werkstatt und Betrieb, No. 111 (1978), page 9, entitled "Optimierung hydrostatischer Axelager bei Werkzeugmaschinen." However, such previous studies and reports hardly considered the very special case of feed apparatus in which a bar of material, continuously replaced during operation, must rotate at high speed at the same time as it must advance through the feed apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,513 relates to a bearing supporting a workpiece rotating at high speed. There, however, it is primarily a question of rotatingly supporting camshafts during grinding or truing, which does not involve any axial displacement of the shaft in the bearing. The bearing disclosed in this U.S. patent is of the hydrostatic type, and the specification shows that it may be opened laterally (by sections 40, 41). However, this disclosure is remote from the problem of feed apparatus; for although lateral opening of the bearing is provided for positioning a camshaft, there is no provision (nor any reason) for satisfying the special requirements of feed apparatus, particularly the requirement for sequential operation of the bearing units, considering that some of them (at the front) must also reliably perform their function of hydrostatic rotary guidance, whereas one or more other bearing units (at the rear) must allow the carrier to pass. Very particular means for controlling the various bearing units must therefore be provided in the case of feed apparatus in order to satisfy conditions not encountered in U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,513.
In this context, it is important to note that in the field of machine tools, and especially that of automatic lathes, the speed of rotation of the bar stock has hitherto been determined by the maximum linear speed permitted by the cutting tools machining the bar, as a result of which large-diameter bars have rotated at a relatively moderate speed, whereas very high speeds of rotations have been applied only to small-diameter bars. The feed apparatus for automatic lathes proposed until now has allowed such speeds of rotation of the bar stock.
Recently, however, the situation has changed because of the advent of numerically controlled (NC) automatic machines, particularly automatic lathes, especially those having "computerized numerical control" (CNC). With such machines, the cutting speed permitted by the commercially available tools (currently some hundreds of meters per minute) tends to be utilized to the maximum in all machining situations, meaning that when machining an end nib 10 mm. in diameter on such an automatic lathe from a piece of bar stock 50 mm. in diameter, for example, the tendency is to rotate the bar so as to maintain the high cutting speed even then, which means that the speed of rotation is no longer limited by the diameter of the bar stock, in conjunction with the maximum linear cutting speed permitted by the machining tools. Briefly stated, the nearer the turning tool comes to the center, the faster the bar should rotate, even if it is of large diameter. In the example above, taking the diameter of the bar into account, this means a speed of rotation five times that ordinarily used in the past.
The development of feed apparatus for machine tools, particularly automatic latches, has difficulty keeping up with this technical evolution. A good solution for doing so is proposed by the present invention, having recourse to hydrostatic bearing technology. With hydrostatic bearings, however, the same difficulties are encountered with respect to space requirements and the passing of the carrier as have been mentioned earlier in connection with U.K. Pat. No. 2,080,160. It should be noted that the problem of space is solved on the feed apparatus known as "Hydrobar" and "Super-Hydrobar" marketed by the present assignee, where lateral displacement makes it possible to insert a fresh piece of bar stock from the space alongside the lathe. As the pusher is pushed in that apparatus by hydraulic pressure rather than by means of a carrier, the passage of a carrier is no problem. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,513 provides, within the framework of the use of hydrostatic bearings, the beginning of a solution relating to the loading space, i.e., the free space needed for loading a fresh bar. However, this prior disclosure does not provide any solution to the problem posed by the passage of the carrier through some bearing units while other such bearing units must maintain their full hydrostatic bearing effect. Moreover, according to the teachings of this U.S. patent, the clearance between the rotary inner part and the non-rotary outer part of the hydraulic bearing is at most a few hundredths of a millimeter, preferably a few microns. Now, the tolerance in the diameter of bar stock does not allow the provision of so small a clearance in the case of feed apparatus, where each bar slides along its length through the bearing, and where the bars are frequently replaced. Use in feed apparatus requires that a larger hydrostatic interstice be provided, in a manner not obvious from the prior art.
Thus, in endeavoring to produce hydrostatic bearing-unit feed apparatus of this type, numerous problems are encountered which have not been solved by the prior art. The present invention aims in general at providing feed apparatus with a very high speed of rotation of the bar stock, by means of which a solution may be found to the problems discussed above.
A further problem, likewise solved according to a particular aspect of this invention, consists in the use of bar stock having a polygonal, especially hexagonal, cross-section. It is obvious to provide for that purpose a rotary part having a matching polygonal inner shape, but then lateral opening of the bearing unit for insertion of a bar and/or for the passage of a carrier poses a problem which is difficult to solve. As it happens, the prior art, and more specifically U.S. Pat. No. 3,135,533, which is the only one to provide for a hydrostatic bearing opening laterally, does not propose or even suggest any solution. The provision of feed apparatus of the type in question for bar stock of polygonal cross-section is likewise one of the important capabilities of the present invention.
Hence it is an object of this invention to provide improved feed apparatus for a machine tool, particularly for an automatic lathe, by means of which the drawbacks, inadequacies, and limitations known to the prior art are avoided.
A further object of this invention is to provide such feed apparatus capable of working under the particular conditions which tend to be imposed by the current development of machine tools.
Still another object of this invention is to provide feed apparatus capable of guiding a piece of bar stock rotating at very high speed even though it is of a considerable diameter; this is understood to mean a speed of rotation which may reach and even exceed 6,000 rpm or as much as 10,000 rpm with bars at least 60-80 mm. in diameter.
To this end, in the feed apparatus according to the present invention includes a series of spaced, fixed bearing units, the respective circular passages of which are axially aligned for the passage of the bar stock. Each bearing unit receives the injection of oil in order each to constitute the non-rotary part of a hydrostatic bearing, the rotary part of the latter being the bar stock itself or an intermediate rotary member through which the bar passes. The bearing units each comprising several unit portions, in each of which a part of the passage is formed, each unit portion thus including a concave wall forming, along an arc, part of the circumference of the passage. No individual arc exceeds a length on the order of half the circumference. The unit portions are capable of moving away from one another to provide a lateral opening, and control means are provided, in a cooperative relationship with the unit portions of the series of bearing units, to bring about successively for each bearing unit, at the moment when the carrier approaches it, such a lateral opening of a size at least sufficient to allow the carrier to pass. The control means likewise is capable of causing the unit portions in all the bearing units to move away from one another so as to open a large lateral access route by means of which a fresh or subsequent piece of bar stock can be laterally introduced, whereupon the unit portions are put back into end-to-end mutual contact so that their respective concave walls once more form the fixed part of a hydrostatic bearing for the fresh bar.
The advantage of the various preferred embodiments of the invention to be described and claimed hereinafter resides particularly in a design which is at once reliable, simple, and effective, in very efficient use of the particularities--for many still unexplored--of hydrostatic bearings, in the achievement under advantageous conditions of feed apparatus for automatic lathes attaining performances hitherto deemed virtually impossible, etc.
The phrase "arc not exceeding a length on the order of half the circumference" as used hereinafter shall be understood to mean that the arc may be less than 180.degree., equal to 180.degree., or even exceed 180.degree., but only to an extent such that the two C-shaped extremities thus formed allow a space to remain between them which is less than the maximum inside diameter only by a few percent. In other words, it is an arc which still permits the lateral introduction of an inside part, taking into account that this inside part has a diameter slightly less than the inside diameter of the part which includes the arc.
The phrase "on the order of 1 mm." as used hereinafter with reference to a difference in diameter between a non-rotary outside part and an inside rotary bar shall be understood to mean that this difference in diameter may range from a fraction of a millimeter (at least several tenths of a millimeter) to several millimeters (at most half a centimeter). In most cases, this value "on the order of 1 mm." will be between 0.5 and 2 mm.

Societe de Vente et de Fabrication pour le Decolletage Lns SA


A coincident phased dual-polarized antenna array configured to emit electromagnetic radiation includes: a plurality of electromagnetic radiators arranged in a grid, the plurality of electromagnetic radiators defining a plurality of notches; a ground plane spaced from the electromagnetic radiators; a conductive layer disposed between the electromagnetic radiators and the ground plane, the conductive layer having a plurality of slots laterally offset from the notches and being spaced apart from and electrically insulated from the electromagnetic radiators; and a plurality of feeds, each of the feeds spanning a corresponding slot of the slots and electrically connected to a portion of the conductive layer at one side of the corresponding slot.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to antenna arrays.
2. Related art
Dual polarity flared notch antennas arrays are commonly used, for example, in radar systems. For some applications, it is desirable for the two polarities of the dual polarity flared notch antenna array to have coincident phase centers.
FIG. 1A is a cross sectional view of a conventional flared notch antenna 100 having two flares 110, a feed 120 crossing a notch 130 located between the two flares 110 and backed by a cavity 140. Due to the location of the feed 120 across the notch 130, a conventional flared notch antenna 100 cannot be operated in a dual polarity arrangement with coincident phase centers because the flares 110 and the feed 120 of the second polarity would interfere (e.g., intersect or cross) with those of the first polarity.
FIG. 1B is a cross sectional view illustrating a conventional flared notch antenna 100′ having an alternative feed scheme including an alternative feed 120′.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross sectional views of alternative flared notch antennas which can be used to provide a coincident phased dual polarity flared notch antenna array. FIG. 2A is reproduced from FIG. 2 of W. R. Pickles, et al. "Coincident Phase Center Ultra Wideband Array of Dual Polarized Flared Notch Elements" Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, IEEE 2007. In the antenna arrays shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the feed 220 is split into a first and a second feed 222 and 224. Similarly, the notch 230 is split into first and second slots 232 and 234 which are backed by their respective cavities 242 and 244. The first and second feeds 222 and 224 extend across their respective slots 232 and 234. Because the feed 220 no longer crosses the center of the structure (e.g., in the middle of the space between the flares 210), this structure makes it possible to arrange flares and feeds for both the first and second polarities without the use of an offset in the z-direction.
In addition to a balun, an impedance transformer is generally used as part of a radiating element in order to provide impedance matching between the source impedance (generally, 50Ω) and the free space impedance (approximately 377Ω). In the conventional flared notch radiator 100 illustrated in FIG. 1A, the flares 110 are used as the impedance transformer to provide this impedance matching. However, because the flares 110 are directly connected to the feed 120, the flares must provide all of the matching from 50Ω to 377Ω and therefore are relatively long.

Short coincident phased slot-fed dual polarized aperture


An electronic device including an antenna is provided. The electronic device includes a housing, a radio frequency (RF) circuit located within the housing and configured to output a first RF signal and a second RF signal, at least one processor located within the housing and configured to electrically connect to the RF circuit, a first radiating body electrically connected to the RF circuit, a second radiating body electrically connected to the first radiating body, and an RF switch located within the housing and electrically connected to the processor and the second radiating body, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the RF switch to emit at least one of the first RF signal and the second RF signal output from the RF circuit to at least one of the first radiating body and the second radiating body.

In general, an electronic device (e.g., a smart phone) may have an antenna for wireless communication. At least a portion of a housing of the electronic device may be made of a metal, and a portion or the entire of the metal housing may be used as an antenna of the electronic device.
An electronic device of the related art includes an antenna and a power supply unit that applies a radio frequency (RF) signal to the antenna. It is difficult to form resonance of a low frequency band to a high frequency band, i.e., a broadband with an antenna and a power supply unit.
Further, in the electronic device of the related art, even if a desired frequency of resonance occurs, there is a problem that a performance of additional other necessary frequencies is deteriorated.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.


Integrated circuit memory devices include a control circuit that generates an active first control pulse (e.g., PR) having a first duration, in response to an active strobe pulse (e.g., /RAS) that may be generated during a data reading operation. To improve the reliability of the data reading operation and any subsequent data restore operation, particularly when the duration of the active strobe pulse is relatively short, a pulse width extension circuit is provided. The pulse width extension circuit converts the active first control pulse into an active second control pulse (e.g., PAIVCE2) having a second duration greater than the first duration. This active second control pulse is then provided as a control input to an internal voltage generator. The internal voltage generator is provided to drive a first supply signal line (e.g., AIVC2) at a first supply voltage in response to the active second control pulse. The first supply signal line may be provided as an internal supply line to one or more active circuits within the memory device. The first supply signal line may power a differential sense amplifier during data reading and data restore operations (i.e., when data is being sensed and amplified on a pair of differential bit lines). These reading and restore operations may be performed with higher reliability if the additional pulse duration provided by the pulse width extension circuit is sufficient to enable a complete recharging of the differential bit lines of the sense amplifier while a data restore operation is being performed.

Increases in the integration levels of integrated circuit memory devices may result in concomitant increases in the power consumption requirements of memory devices. Accordingly, attempts have been made to improve the power consumption efficiency of circuits that make up an integrated circuit memory device. Unfortunately, such attempts to improve power consumption efficiency may cause a reduction in the reliability of highly integrated memory devices.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional integrated circuit memory device (e.g., DRAM device). As illustrated, the memory device includes control logic 80, an internal power supply voltage generator 90, a row address buffer 10, a column address buffer 20, a row decoder 30, a memory cell array 50, a sense amplifier 60, a column decoder 40, a data input buffer 70a and a data output buffer 70b. As illustrated by FIGS. 1-2, the internal power supply voltage generator 90 generates an internal supply voltage signal AIVC in response to an external supply voltage signal EVC. In particular, the internal power supply voltage generator 90 operates to actively pull up signal line AIVC when signal line PAIVCE is set to a logic 1 level, however, when signal line PAIVCE is set to a logic 0 level, the internal power supply voltage generator 90 does not supply pull-up current to signal line AIVC. The logic 1 pulse width of signal PAIVCE is typically directly related to the active pulse width of the row address strobe signal /RAS. As illustrated by FIG. 2, increases in the external supply voltage EVC above a predetermined clamping level (e.g., 2.5 volts) will not result in further corresponding increases in the magnitude of the signal provided to signal line AIVC.
Referring now to FIG. 3, an operation to read data from a memory cell within the array 50 includes the step of driving a corresponding word line WL to an active level (i.e., logic 1 level). In response, charge from within the memory cell will be transferred to a corresponding bit line BL and the bit line will rise slightly in potential. If the sense amplifier 60 is active (LANG=1, LAPG=0), the sense amplifier will use current provided by signal line AIVC to amplify and drive the differential bit lines BL and /BL to opposite logic levels, as illustrated. During this amplification operation, the voltage level on signal line AIVC may drop. Moreover, because the internal power supply voltage generator 90 may only operate to actively pull-up signal line AIVC while signal line PAIVCE is at a logic 1 level, the signal line AIVC may not return to a voltage level of 2.5 volts at the time the signal line PAIVCE transitions from 1-0. The reduction is illustrated by the amount ".DELTA.V". If this happens, the differential bit lines may not be driven to their full rail-to-rail levels and the reliability of data restore operations (when charge is transferred back into the selected memory cells to restore the data therein) may be reduced. This likelihood of reduced reliability may also be increased if the duration of the active row address strobe signal /RAS is decreased to achieve higher frequency of operation. Thus, notwithstanding attempts to develop more highly integrated memory devices, there continues to be a need for memory devices that can be more reliable when operating at relatively low voltage levels and at high frequencies.

Integrated circuit memory devices having improved sense and restore operation reliability


A pulse action facial massager apparatus including a headset assembly for mounting to a user's head. A pair of flexible extension fingers extending from opposite sides of the headset assembly each of which is operably coupled to a vibrating device each generating an independent vibrating action. A tip portion of each extension finger is manually movable for selected contact at independent portions of the user's head. Hence, the respective vibrating device transmits the vibrating action thereof along the extension finger to the respective tip portion. Each vibrating device includes a motor that is controlled by an electronic controller mounted on the headset assembly. The controller permits user-variation of the repetition rate and duty cycle of the motors. This permits the user to vary the vibrational patterns produced by the present invention. In an automatic mode, duty cycle is automatically varied by a sawtooth waveform to produce a dynamically changing pattern of massage intensity. The control also includes a timer that after a preset time gradually diminishes the duty cycle and thus the intensity of the vibrations.

Pulsating massage devices are commonly used to relieve muscular pain, to relieve stress, and to produce a generally pleasant sensation. Such device is usually applied directly to the area being massaged, for example by holding the device against a user's neck.
Electric massage units include an electric motor, a mechanical element coupled to the motor to communicate motor-produced vibrations to the user, and an electronic circuit that controls the motor. The control circuit permits a user to turn the massager on and off, and perhaps to vary the intensity or strength of the massage.
Prior art control circuits operate the motor at 100% duty cycle, which is to say that when the massage unit is turned on, the motor is always running. Because the duty cycle is fixed, the intensity or strength of the vibrations is fixed. Prior art controller circuits also operate the motor at a single vibrational rate or frequency. Unfortunately, the fixed duty cycle and fixed motor frequency produce an unvarying pattern of vibrations that can become annoying to the user after a short while.
The control circuit for some massagers includes a timer to turn-off the motor after a preset amount of time, for example after the user falls asleep. Unfortunately the sudden cessation of massage action after the preset time can be so abrupt as to awaken the user.
Vibrations produced by the motor are coupled by the mechanism element to a tapered point that focusses the vibrating action on one region of the user's area being massaged. Some massage units provide a widearea head that contains tapered heads that move up and down to communicate the vibrating action to a large area of the user's skin being massaged.
Further, prior art massage units are generally designed for hand-held use so that the vibrating head or tapered point can be manually manipulated to contact the desired region of application. Because they are hand-held, at least one of the user's hands is precluded from simultaneously performing another task during self-massage. Further, prior art massage units generally preclude simultaneous massage of multiple regions of the user's body. In addition, such massage units are generally inappropriate for application on the user's face, due in part to the size of the massaging head.
It is known in the art to mount a vibrating facial massage unit to an eyeglass frame, proximate the bridge of the user's nose. While this configuration frees the user's hands for other tasks, only those regions of the user's face in direct contact with the eyeglass frames receive direct massage. Hence, this configuration does not provide for selective massage of other areas of the face, and has limited application for facial massage.
In summary, there is a need for a pulse action massage unit that need not be hand-held while massaging a user. Preferably such massage unit should provide massage to different regions of a user's body simultaneously, including different regions of the user's head. Such a massage unit should provide vibrating focal surfaces that can be selectively positioned by a user to massage different regions of the user's head.
Preferably the controller for such a unit should permit a user to vary the intensity and the pattern of the vibrations produced, as well as the repetition rate of the vibrations. Further, the controller should provide a timer mechanism that permits gradual diminishment of the strength of the vibrations. Preferably the entire massage unit should be self-contained and mountable on a user's head.
The present invention provides such a massage unit.

Head mounted pulse action facial massager


The disclosed method analyzes cardiac electrophysiological signals, including ECG and internal cardiac electrograms, based on multi-level symbolic complexity calculation and multi-dimensional mapping. The results may be used to objectively identify cardiac disorders, differentiate cardiac arrhythmias, characterize pathological severities, and predict life-threatening events. Multi-level symbolization and calculation of the electrophysiological signal is used provide better reliability and analysis resolution for identifying and characterizing cardiac disorders. Adaptive analysis of the cardiac signal complexity enables calculation efficiency and reliability with high SNR, and with low calculation volume and power consumption. One dimension (time or frequency domain) and multi-dimension symbolic analysis is used to provide more information of cardiac pathology and high risk rhythm transition to doctors.

The timely identification of cardiac arrhythmia can be an important tool in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of abnormal heart activity. Current waveform morphologies and time domain parameter analysis of the depolarization and repolarization of the heart, such as P wave, QRS complex, ST segment, and T wave, are used for cardiac arrhythmia monitoring and identification. However, the waveform morphologies and time domain parameter analysis involves with these techniques are sometimes subjective and time-consuming, and require expertise and clinical experience for accurate and proper cardiac rhythm management. Recent efforts have aimed to apply more sophisticated mathematical theories to biomedical signal interpretation, such as frequency analysis, symbolic complexity analysis and nonlinear entropy elevation. Most of these efforts have focused on generating a new pathology index for qualitative cardiac arrhythmia characterization. There are several shortcomings with these clinical investigations and biomedical research strategies.
For example, morphology and time domain index evaluation of the electrophysiological signals are subjective, and can result in inaccurate interpretation and delayed cardiac rhythm management and treatment. Furthermore, there are no criteria of signal morphology evaluation or parameter analysis for intra-cardiac signals and arrhythmia characterization. For example, the threshold of the ST segment changes during intra-cardiac myocardial ischemia/infarction are not 0.1 millivolt (mV) as that in surface ECG signals. Thus, current criteria for ischemia identification and detection is ineffective for intra-cardiac electrograms, and thus new methods are needed for cardiac arrhythmia analysis and detection.
Also, recent research has focused on techniques such as frequency and symbolic analysis to calculate the irregular index of the cardiac signals. It is difficult, however, to map an irregular index onto the severity of the cardiac pathologies, and thus, cardiac arrhythmia analysis and related irregularity calculations have not been successfully used to diagnose and interpret the level and severity of the cardiac pathologies. Furthermore, these research methods have not combined the waveform morphology information, time domain and frequency domain analysis and calculation.
In summary, current clinical methods and research approaches cannot efficiently and automatically differentiate arrhythmias, categorize/map cardiac pathological severities and predict life-threatening disorders. Current clinical methodologies for cardiac arrhythmia calculation and evaluation also may generate inaccurate and unreliable data and results because of unwanted noise and artifacts. Environmental noise and patient movement artifacts, including electrical interference, can distort the waveform and make it difficult to detect R wave and ST segment elevation accurately.
Further, current cardiac applications and methods also cannot efficiently analyze and achieve real time growing trend and prediction of cardiac arrhythmias, such as the pathology trend from low risk to medium, and from medium risk to high risk (severe and fatal) rhythm (especially in one arrhythmia, such as ventricular tachycardia (VT) growing from low risk to high risk).

Cardiac arrhythmias analysis of electrophysiological signals based on symbolic dynamics


The present invention is an article carrier for a vehicle including a plurality of slats fixedly secured on a generally horizontal extending exterior vehicle body surface. The plurality of slats extend generally longitudinally of the vehicle. A pair of brackets are disposed upon selected slats and a crossbar extends laterally between and secured adjacent its opposite ends to the pair of brackets. The slats include a channel member for permitting sliding movement of at least one of the brackets along the length thereof. A locking structure on the brackets cooperates with the channel member of each of the selected slats for simultaneously engaging and disengaging the channel members for detachably securing and allowing longitudinal adjustment of the crossbar and brackets at predetermined positions along the slats.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to article carriers for vehicles, and more particularly, to an adjustable crossbar for an article carrier on an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Vehicle article carriers frequently employ two separate subassemblies or portions: a rectangular framework which surrounds the load to be carried and a plurality of slats which rest on the roof or other vehicle body portion and carries the weight of the load. In such constructions, the framework and the slats are often secured to the vehicle body independently of one another. In still another vehicle article or luggage carrier, a crossbar replaces the framework as a means for confining articles upon the slats.
In prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,182,471, an article carrier for an automotive vehicle was disclosed having crossbars which are easily removed, interchanged or adjusted in position on the slats in accordance with the needs of the user. This construction has achieved significant commercial success. Nevertheless, a need exists to provide a crossbar having a locking structure adapted to engage and disengage the slats by actuation of an operator on only one side of the vehicle to allow adjustment of the crossbar at various locations along the slats. It is also believed that a need exists for an article carrier which has an attractive appearance of modern article carriers but which possesses a greater degree of adjustability and ease of operation. It is further believed that a need exists for a crossbar having a locking structure which can be power operated to allow adjustment of the crossbar by an operator on only one side of the vehicle at various locations along the slats.


A suspended hopper apparatus is adapted to dispense a flowable product. Three supports, a vessel, and a valve mechanism are provided. One of the three supports is a scale-support, and the other two supports are pivot-supports. A scale-support is a support which comprises a scale, wherein the scale is of a type which resists translation in only one direction, and does not resist translation in any lateral direction and wherein the direction is vertically-upward, and resists by providing upward support with respect to the vessel. The pivot-supports are supports which comprise pivots, the pivots resisting translation and are arranged to resist forces that are applied to the apparatus in the lateral direction. The pivots define a common axis of rotation, the axis extends in a horizontal direction and the pivots do not resist rotation about their axis. The vessel has centerline that is offset laterally from its axis and the product has a product centerline that is offset laterally from its axis. The apparatus is arranged such that the valve mechanism does not generate a moment about the axis by its center of mass being located in a vertical plane passing through the axis.

Solid particulate products, such as grain, animal feed (barley, corn, wheat, and animal by-products), cereals, cat litter, and other particulate materials, are normally converted from bulk material into smaller portions for sale. As part of the packaging process, a bulk quantity of product is placed into a hopper. At the exit end of the hopper is a valve that controls the rate of product flow out of the hopper. To accurately and efficiently fill units of such products, manufacturing technologies have developed techniques to continuously monitor product flow.
In some manufacturing processes, it is either necessary or desirable to suspend the hopper from above, and in this case the strict minimum number of scales or load cells required is one, but, if the hopper must be stationary (as many manufacturing processes require), the hopper requires support against translation and rotation in multiple planes, three supports are usually employed, one for each scale.
Employing multiple scales has a number of disadvantages, such as cost, difficulty of installation, and maintenance. In addition, measurement errors may occur as the result of scale miscalibration, or the malfunction of any scale can affect the entire system.
In view of the foregoing, it would be an improvement in the art to provide a scale system for a suspended hopper that employs a single scale.


A process is disclosed for the removal of chrome from waste water containing chrome in addition to at least one chelating agent for trivalent chromium. The chrome-containing waste water is treated at low pH with both a reducing agent suitable for converting hexavalent chrome to trivalent chrome and with a ferric or aluminum sulfate or chloride salt. Following the reduction step, the pH of the now acidic solution is raised, using an inorganic base, to a pH sufficient to cause the formation of chromic hydroxide. The process of this invention is particularly suitable where rapid sedimentation processes, such as are achievable by the use of the lamella separator, are contemplated.

Chromates, including sodium chromate or chromic acid, as well as many other compositions containing the chromium moiety are often referred to generically as "chrome". Chrome-containing compositions enjoy widespread industrial usage but their residues are objectionable from an environmental standpoint to the extent that they form a constituent of the waste water effluent. The use of chrome, especially as chromates, is, however, essential in many industrial operations. For example, their use is very important as an after-rinse for metals which have been subjected to a so-called "conversion coating" for the purpose of enhancing the metal's corrosion resistance and paint bonding characteristics. Examples of conversion coating processes may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,819,193, 2,928,762 and 2,936,254. An example of a chrome after-rinse process suitable for use in conjunction with a conversion coating process may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,877. Spent chrome rinse baths and wash water rinse solutions contain small (usually less than 100 ppm) amounts of the chromate CrO.sub.4.sup.-- or dichromate Cr.sub.2 O.sub.7.sup.-- ions. Chrome as part of these ions appears with a valence of +6, in which condition it is both toxic and soluble. To remove the chrome, which in the +6 valance state is known as chromyl, it is necessary to reduce the valence state to +3, referred to as chromic. In the lower valence state chromic hydroxide, Cr(OH).sub.3, may then be precipitated. The reduction of the chrome ion from +6 to +3 may be accomplished satisfactorily at a low pH of below about 5.0. The reducing agents for this purpose are well known and include metallic iron, ferrous sulfate, sulfur dioxide and the potassium or sodium sulfites, bisulfites or metabisulfites. Following reduction of the chrome ion to its +3 valent state, caustic soda or lime has been disclosed as suitable to precipitate chromic hydroxide.
The removal of chrome from chrome-containing waste water by precipitation of chromic hydroxide is known in the art. By way of illustration, copending U.S. application Ser. No. 917,506 discloses a process for the purification of chrome-containing waste water by treating the waste water with both a reducing agent suitable for converting hexavalent chrome to trivalent chrome and a magnesium, calcium, ferric or aluminum sulfate or chloride salt. Following the reduction step, the pH of the now acidic solution is raised with caustic to cause the formation of a chromic hydroxide precipitate. As a further example, Japanese Pat. No. 47-17697, issued Sept. 9, 1972, discloses precipitating chromic hydroxide from waste water by the process of (a) reducing hexavalent chromium in the waste water to trivalent chromium at a pH of about 2 using a reducing agent; (b) neutralizing with alkali at a pH of at least 8; and (c) adding magnesium ions (either prior to or after the reduction and neutralization steps) to precipitate the chromic hydroxide. As another example, Japanese Pat. No. 71-16389, published May 6, 1971, discloses a process for treating chromium containing waste water comprising reducing hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium and adding to the resulting solution of reduced chromium a mixture of aluminum sulfate and sodium hydroxide or calcium hydroxide in order to effect precipitation of chromic hydroxide.
Special problems are associated with chrome-containing waste water solutions which also contain a chelating agent for trivalent chromium such as, for example, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Once the hexavalent chromium is neutralized to trivalent chromium, the chelating agent will tend to complex the trivalent chromium, thereby making removal of the chromium from solution difficult. It has now been found that ferric and aluminum (added as ferric or aluminum chloride or sulfate) are surprisingly effective in producing the precipitation of chromic hydroxide from waste water despite the presence of a chelating agent for trivalent chromium.


A projector in which light emitted from a light source is made incident upon a transmission type picture panel and is projected onto a screen through a projection lens system having a condenser lens and an imaging lens. The condenser lens and the imaging lens are relatively movable with respect to the transmission type picture panel in an optical axis direction. Thus, when a projection distance from the projection lens system to the screen is varied, both the condenser lens and the imaging lens are relatively moved, with respect to the transmission type picture panel, to adjust a focus of the emitted light on the screen. A focusing method for the projector is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projector such as a liquid crystal projector, and the focusing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
In a liquid crystal projector, in general, a light beam emitted from a light source is made incident upon a liquid crystal panel (referred to as an LC panel), so that the light transmitted through the LC panel is projected onto a screen through a projection lens system which consists of a condenser lens and an image forming lens. In a conventional LC projector, the condenser lens is secured to the LC panel and gathers the light transmitted through the LC panel. Consequently, it is necessary to move the imaging lens (image forming lens) in the optical axis direction in order to vary the projection magnification (projection distance).
In the type of LC projector mentioned above, the projection magnification range is small, and accordingly, focusing can be effected by the movement of the imaging lens. The assignees of the present application are developing an optical system for an LC projector in which a super wide angle projection lens system is used to reduce the projection distance and thereby make the LC projector smaller, while at the same time making it possible to vary the magnification between a few times and several tens of times. Through the attempt to provide a new LC projector, it has been found that if only the imaging lens is moved in the optical axis direction, in accordance with the change in the magnification, no collimated light perpendicularly incident upon the LC panel can reach an entrance pupil of the imaging lens. Consequently, neither a high quality image can be projected, nor desired characteristics of quantity of light can be obtained. In other words, only light incident upon the LC panel at an incident angle which is not zero, i.e., light other than that normal to the LC panel, can be made incident upon the entrance pupil of the projection lens system. The contrast of the LC panel has a reliance upon the angle of light incident thereon. Namely, the contrast decreases as the deviation of the incident angle from the normal incidence increases (incident angle=0) and no high quality image can be obtained.


A first lead provides therapeutic stimulation to the heart and includes a first mechanical sensor that measures physical contraction and relaxation of the heart. A controller induces delivery of therapeutic stimulation via the first lead. The controller receives signals from the first mechanical sensor indicative of the contraction and relaxation; develops a template signal that corresponds to the contraction and relaxation; and uses the template signal to modify the delivery of therapeutic stimulations. In another arrangement, a second lead, with a second mechanical sensor also provides signals to the controller indicative of contraction and relaxation. The first mechanical sensor is adapted to be positioned at the interventricular septal region of the heart, and the second mechanical sensor is adapted to be positioned in the lateral region of the left ventricle. The controller processes the signals from the first mechanical sensor and the second mechanical sensor to develop a dysynchrony index.

Implantable devices for pacing, cardioversion, defibrillation and resynchronization of cardiac electrical and mechanical function are widely available to prevent and treat arrhythmias and dysynchronous myocardial mechanics. These disorders can impair cardiac performance by altering electrical conduction patterns or by changing myocardial contractility or compliance, both of which result in mechanical dysfunction.
For example, conduction abnormalities may occur between the atria and the ventricular chambers. When atrio-ventricular (AV) timing is shortened, ventricular contraction may prematurely terminate the atrial kick produced by the contracting atrium. When AV timing is prolonged, increased ventricular loading from the atria may be lost due to regurgitation during prolonged diastole. Thus, both shortened and prolonged AV timing intervals can affect cardiac output.
Conduction abnormalities between right and left ventricular chambers (inter-ventricular) or within the right or left ventricles (intra-ventricular) can also result in dysynchrony. Dysynchrony occurs when forces generated in specific regions at inappropriate times cause bulging of the chamber walls into adjacent relaxed wall segments, or against prematurely closed heart valves. This lack of coordination during myocardial contraction may cause a reduction of forward blood flow and lead to reduced contractile efficiency.
Conduction abnormalities may also result in contractile and compliance abnormalities with cardiac function. For example, conduction delays may cause the left ventricular myocardium to continue to contract even after the closure of the aortic valve. This persistent contractile effect creates post-systolic wall thickening that can reduce left ventricle compliance and cause a reduction in ventricular end-diastolic volume (pre-load). The reduction in pre-load will reduce stroke volume and cardiac output through the Frank-Starling mechanism. Post-systolic wall thickening and post-systolic myocardial motion are also indicative of inefficient cardiac effort occurring against a closed aortic valve.

Cardiomechanical assessment for cardiac resynchronization therapy


Chopsticks formed by two separate chopsticks that during their use are detachably joined to each other, whereby the combination thereof is formed by two blanks called the joint portion blank (1) and the picking portion blank (2). The invention is implemented through having the joint portion blank (1) fabricated by providing at least one of sticks with a notch (3) on which the other stick is superimposed thus allowing the sticks to function as pincer-like pair.

The present invention relates to chopsticks or pickers. In the text of this application, the term blank is used for making reference to chopsticks/pickers of different breadth and/or length.
Conventional chopsticks traditionally comprising separate sticks are clumsy to those not skilled in their use. Further, conventional chopsticks/pincers of jointed or permanently fixed type have found limited use or required coupling the sticks to each other by means of a third, additional piece making the technical implementation clumsy and costly (cf. GB Pat. No. 2,288,320A). The embodiment disclosed patent publication PCT/GB97/01206 uses a joint whose structure is limiting to the dimensions of the sticks, makes them wide and disadvantageously dissimilar with each other. The structure of the joint limits the reach offered to the user and weakens the strength of the sticks.
It is an object of the present invention to provide chopsticks or like utensils that are free from the above-described drawbacks. Chopsticks according to the invention are characterized in that the joint portion blank is fabricated by providing at least one of the sticks with a notch on which the other stick is superimposed thus allowing the sticks to function as a pincer-like pair.
The pivot joint according to the invention facilitates the use of the sticks entirely separately, as a pair of separate sticks in the same manner as conventional chopsticks or, through connecting two sticks by means of the pivot joint to each other, as squeezable pincers that even an unskilled user finds easy to handle. In the pincer position, the picking ends of the sticks open automatically when the squeezing action of fingers is released, thus making it easy to use the jointed chopsticks for eating. The dimensions of the entire stick blank, its joint end and/or its picking end can be varied according to intended use thereby assuring a positive grip with the sticks on pieces and food of different nature and/or dimensions; examples of such pickers being chopsticks, salad tongs and barbecue tongs. The structure and location of the joint are nonlimiting to the shaping of the picking portion of the blanks. Advantageously, the chopstick pair is formed by two blanks having an identical design of the joint portion, wherein other portions of the chopstick pair can be shaped to meet the needs of the intended use without being limited by the design of the joint portion, thus making industrial production of the chopsticks easy and cost-efficient. The structural details of the joint portion allow relatively large manufacturing tolerances. These improvements over the prior art can be attained according to the invention by virtue of a pivot joint that facilitates the connection of two separate blanks into a pincer-like pair, however, without limiting the use of the blanks as two separate pickers in the same fashion as conventional chopsticks or food tongs.