A power aware front-end unit for a processor may include a UOP cache that disables other circuitry within the front-end unit. In an embodiment, a front-end unit may disable instruction synchronization circuitry, instruction decode circuitry and, optionally, instruction fetch circuitry while instruction look-ups are underway in both a block cache and an instruction cache. If the instruction look-up indicates a miss, the disabled circuitry thereafter may be enabled.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the process of program execution in a conventional processor. Program execution may include three stages: front end 110, execution 120 and memory 130. The front-end stage 110 performs instruction pre-processing. Front end processing 110 typically is designed with the goal of supplying valid decoded instructions to an execution core with low latency and high bandwidth. Front-end processing 110 can include branch prediction, decoding and renaming. As the name implies, the execution stage 120 performs instruction execution. The execution stage 120 typically communicates with a memory 130 to operate upon data stored therein.
FIG. 2 illustrates high-level processes that may occur in front-end processing. A front-end may store instructions in a memory, called an "instruction cache" 140. A variety of different instruction formats and storage schemes are known. In the more complex embodiment, instructions may have variable lengths (say, from 1 to 16 bytes in length) and they need not be aligned to any byte location in a cache line. Thus, a first stage of instruction decoding may involve instruction synchronization 150—identifying the locations and lengths of each instruction found in a line from the instruction cache. Instruction synchronization typically determines the location at which a first instruction begins and determines the location of other instructions iteratively, by determining the length of a current instruction and identifying the start of a subsequent instruction at the next byte following the conclusion of the current instruction. Once the instruction synchronization is completed, an instruction decoder 160 may generate micro-instructions from the instructions. These micro-instructions, also known as "uops," may be provided to the execution unit 120 for execution.
The process of instruction synchronization and instruction decoding can be a time-consuming process. And, because many program instructions are executed repeatedly during processor operation, many modern processors also include UOP caches 170. The UOP cache 170 may store decoded uops in "blocks" for later use. If program flow returns to an instruction sequence and corresponding uops are present in UOP cache 170, the UOP cache 170 may furnish the uops directly to the execution unit 120. Thus, UOP caches 170 are known to improve performance of front-end processing.
Various techniques are known for improving the throughput of front-end units 110. These techniques consume tremendous amounts of power. Implementation of a block cache, for example, requires power for the block cache itself. It also requires use of circuitry to observe decoded instructions from the instruction decoder, to build blocks, to detect block end conditions and to store the blocks in the block cache. The block cache must be integrated with other front-end components, such as one or more branch predictors. And, of course, as implementation of blocks becomes more complex, for example, to employ concepts of traces or extended blocks, the power consumed by the circuits that implement them also may increase. The front-end of the IA-32 processors consumes about 28% of the overall processor power.
As mobile computing applications and others have evolved, raw processor performance no longer is the paramount consideration for processor designs. Modern designs endeavor to provide maximize processor performance within a given power envelope. Given the considerable amount of power spent in front-end processing, the inventors perceived a need in the art for a front end unit that employed power control techniques. It is believed that such front end units are unknown in the art.

Power reduction for processor front-end by caching decoded instructions


A method and apparatus for controlling a microgrid load. In one embodiment, the method comprises measuring at least one grid parameter of a microgrid transmission line coupled to a load in a microgrid; computing, using the at least one grid parameter and a droop control technique, at least one virtual set-point; determining a modification to operation of the load based on the at least one virtual set-point; and modifying operation of the load based on the modification.

Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to droop control and, more particularly, to using droop control techniques to control microgrid loads.
Description of the Related Art
In an electricity distribution grid, maintaining both grid frequency and voltage within an acceptable range is a necessary requirement for the stable operation of power systems. Accordingly, energy consumption and production must be balanced at all times; any significant imbalance could cause grid instability or severe fluctuations that result in failures within the grid.
AC generators coupled to the grid may employ droop control for managing grid fluctuations. Droop control is an industry standard technique for autonomously sharing load among parallel AC generators proportional to their power ratings. The technique relies on using small changes in grid voltage and frequency to dictate changes in active and reactive power levels generated by the AC generators. Using droop control, the AC generators can respond to grid fluctuations by increasing or decreasing active and reactive power output in order to stabilize the grid.
In addition to supporting grid stability by adjusting generated power levels, some non-critical "smart" loads may use an automated load-shedding technique to support the grid by shutting off during certain grid events. Such automated load-shedding however only provides a gross adjustment of the load, i.e., either on or off.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an efficient technique for controlling loads to support grid stabilization.

Method and apparatus for control of intelligent loads in microgrids


A small-sized vehicle is capable of inhibiting the temperature of a battery that supplies an electric motor of a power steering apparatus with a power source from increasing. A battery which supplies the electric motor of the power steering apparatus with the power source is arranged so as not to directly receive cooling air that passes through a radiator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to, for example, a small-sized vehicle such as a saddle type three-wheel or four-wheel vehicle used for farming, an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) for sportive traveling off-road, a golf cart, and other small-sized vehicles. More specifically, the present invention relates to a small-sized vehicle having an electric motor-driven power steering apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a small-sized vehicle used for traveling off-road has the following structure. Front and rear wheels each having a balloon tire with low pressure and wide diameter are disposed at the front and rear of a vehicle body frame, and an engine unit is mounted between the front and rear wheels. Further, a steering shaft is arranged between the left and right front wheels, and a wheel-type steering handle or a bar-type steering handle is attached to the upper end of the steering shaft. A small-sized vehicle of this type can travel off-road at will by turning the steering handle from side to side.
In recent years, some users expect further operational improvements when maneuvering the small-sized vehicle so as to reduce a load on operating the steering handle.
Accordingly, an electric motor-driven power steering apparatus which is connected to a steering shaft to thereby supply the steering shaft with an assisting steering force from the electric motor has been suggested.
When the power steering apparatus is provided, a battery is required to be mounted on the vehicle for supplying the electric motor with a power source. Preferably, the battery is arranged in the vicinity of the electric motor, that is, in the vicinity of the steering shaft. Further, a radiator for cooling engine cooling water using moving air is often provided in front of the steering shaft. In this case, the cooling air that passes through the radiator is applied to the battery depending upon the location of the battery. Meanwhile, the battery generates heat due to chemical reactions in the battery, such that the battery must appropriately emit the heat. However, when the cooling air that passes through the radiator is applied to the battery, the battery is inhibited from emitting the heat. Therefore, problems arise in that the performance and operating life of the battery deteriorate.


The present invention is a method and apparatus for drug sample identification, including a scale for weighing a drug sample and an imaging module for capturing digital images of the drug sample, from at least two different visual perspectives simultaneously, and an transmitting the collected data and images, via an interface, to a computer for storage and association with an image database.

In the "war on drugs" being waged in and by the U.S. and other countries, one difficulty in waging the war is the collection and dissemination of data relating to new drugs or new drug forms made available on the street, and the manner in which such drugs are spread or distributed. In most circumstances, there is a considerable time delay (e.g., days, weeks, or even months) before the law enforcement and medical communities are able to identify and characterize new drugs (new in content, potency, size, shape, color, etc.) so as to begin the process of enforcement and/or treatment.
Moreover, even when such information is or becomes available, it is sometimes only partially complete, lacking in detail to enable easy dissemination to the communities that need it, such as drug enforcement agents, local law enforcement personnel, emergency room personnel, and clinic personnel.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a device that can quickly collect and disseminate detail data relating to new drugs or new drug forms. It is also desirable to provide a device that can quickly collect and disseminate detail data relating to the manner in which such drugs are spread or distributed. It is further desirable to provide a device that can quickly collect and disseminate detail data relating to new drugs or new drug forms and detail data relating to the manner in which such drugs are spread or distributed, which is portable. Lastly, it desirable to provide a device that, without significant effort, generates a standardized set of characteristics and associated images that is useful in the identification of new drugs or new drug forms.


A light source device is disclosed, which involves forming a plurality of carrier planes on a substrate with at least one of the carrier planes forming an angle relative to the substrate, and respectively mounting LEDs on the carrier planes and electrically connecting the LEDs with the carrier planes so as to obtain a preferred light distribution effect, thereby eliminating the need of additional light control element in the prior art and enhancing light emitting efficiency of the light source device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a light source device, and more particularly to a light source device without additional light control elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Along with the development of semiconductor fabrication process technologies, micro-sized luminous elements can be obtained by connecting light emitting diode (LED) dies to external pins and packaging them so as to replace conventional incandescent lamps. As the luminous elements have advantages of long life, low power consumption, high light emitting efficiency and a richer color gamut, they have been widely applied. However, as the luminous intensity of a single luminous element of an LED is not sufficient, a light source device generally comprises a plurality of LEDs so as to obtain sufficient luminous intensity. Moreover, since LEDs are directional light sources, LEDs can be obliquely arranged in a light source device, or a light control element can be selectively disposed in the light source device, so as to satisfy a user's light distribution requirement. However, on the one hand, obliquely arranged LEDs increase the mold manufacturing cost and assembly cost. On the other hand, the use of a light control element, such as a light control film, a geometric reflection screen, a deflection lens and so on, decreases the light-emitting efficiency of the light source device. As a result, the number of LEDs incorporated needs to be increased, which accordingly increases the cost of the light source device.
US patent application Publication No. 20060139933 discloses a light fixture called a luminaire with a reflector of negative focal length, wherein the luminaire screen comprises a reflector of negative focal length disposed at the top thereof and a side screen disposed at two sides thereof. Thus, upward incident light rays emitted from the light source are first reflected to the side screen by the reflector of negative focal length and then are further reflected such that a plurality of concentrated rays is formed. The emitted rays are emitted out at large angles for reducing glare, and, also, the design allows the height of the luminaire to be reduced.
As shown in FIG. 1, US patent application Publication No. 20060232976 discloses a light source device 1, which comprises a luminous element 10, a reflecting screen 11 disposed at one side of the luminous element 10, a light transmission portion 12 disposed at an opposed side of the luminous element 10, and a light diffusion portion 13 disposed between the luminous element 10 and the light transmission portion 12. Therein, the reflecting screen 11 is an arc-shaped screen and one edge of the reflecting screen 11 is connected to the light transmission portion 12. Light rays emitted from the luminous element 10 are reflected in paths denoted by 'S' via the light reflecting screen and further uniformly transmitted through the light transmission portion 12, thereby improving the light-emitting efficiency of the light source device 1 and obtaining uniformly distributed illumination.
In detail, the light diffusion portion 13 is disposed at the light emitting end of the light source device 1. The light diffusion portion 13 comprises a plurality of light diffusion zones. Each surface of the light diffusion zones has a plurality of arrays of microstructures. By controlling distribution of the plurality of arrays of microstructures, the Gaussian distribution of the luminous element 10 can be improved while collimating the scattered light beams in the range of the light transmission portion 12 and diffusing the light beams emitted from the center of the luminous element 10 to the light transmission portion 12 so that not only the luminous efficiency of the light source device is enhanced, but also the uniformity of the luminance of the light source device is improved. But such a method increases the assembly cost. Meanwhile, the use of the reflecting screen 11, light transmission portion 12 and the light diffusion portion 13 not only increases the cost of the light source device 1, but also reduces the light-emitting efficiency of the light source device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,247 discloses a light source device 2, which comprises a base body 20 having a carrier surface, a plurality of luminous elements 21 disposed on the carrier surface of the base body 20, and a reflecting portion 22 disposed in the base body 20 and inclined toward the base body 20, wherein the base body 20 is substantially cup shaped, the reflecting portion 20 is disposed at the bottom of the base body 20 and is substantially conical shaped or pyramid shaped, and the luminous elements 21 are disposed at the periphery of the reflecting portion 22. By adjusting the disposing angle of the luminous elements 21 relative to the base body and the tilt angle of the reflecting portion 22 relative to the base body, light rays of the luminous elements 21 can be concentrated for transmission. However, as the reflecting portion 22 is a plane and cannot be adjusted corresponding to the light emitting angle of the luminous elements 21, light rays generated by the luminous elements 21 cannot be completely reflected by the reflecting portion. Moreover, a large number of luminous elements 21 are needed according to the tilt angle of the reflecting portion 22, thus increasing the cost and volume of the light source device 2 and decreasing the flexibility of the shape of the light source device 2.
Further, the conventional planar LED die bonding process involves the following: using SMT (Surface Mount Technology) for die identification and positioning; transmitting related information to an X-Y-Z die capturing system for die transfer and positioning, wherein the X-Y-Z die capturing system has three degrees of freedom X, Y, Z; using a CCD image identification system for die identification and positioning, wherein the dies are transferred to position for dispensing through the X-Y-Z capturing system; and finally curing the system so as to fix the LED dies to the substrate. As the capturing system only has three degrees of freedom, an LED die can only be fixed to a planar substrate, which—due to its fixed structure—cannot meet users' light distribution curve requirements.
Therefore, a need exists to find a way to overcome the above-described drawbacks of the conventional light source devices.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A pairing method between Bluetooth devices can be applied to a Bluetooth system, a Bluetooth client and a Bluetooth server. The Bluetooth server has an image corresponding to an identifier of the Bluetooth server. A Bluetooth client device captures the image, analyze the image to obtain the identifier, and send out a pairing command having the identifier. The Bluetooth server starts a connected mode with the Bluetooth client according to the pairing command.

In the field of telecommunication, Bluetooth technology belongs to a wireless personal area network (WPAN). Bluetooth technology is now widely used in cell phones, headsets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and computers to enable the abovementioned devices to communicate via Bluetooth technology.
The devices equipped with Bluetooth technology can all be referred to Bluetooth devices. The Bluetooth devices have to be paired before being used and the pairing process is rather complicated. In addition to some default settings, passwords are required during the pairing process. It would be very difficult for a lay person to pair the Bluetooth devices without reading a manual or having someone familiar with the pairing process to help. Even for a user who has paired the Bluetooth devices, when the user tries to pair a new headset or cell phone, it is difficult to recall all the steps after a long period of time, let alone the passwords is missing or forgotten.
Also, when the user buys a new Bluetooth device at a store, the sales person in the store may help the user with pairing. Meanwhile, there may be some other customers also pairing their own Bluetooth devices, so the problem of wrongful pairing may happen. This problem is more serious in Bluetooth 4.0 because the communication range for Bluetooth 4.0 increases to 50 meters, meaning that the Bluetooth devices that haven't been paired within 50 meters can all be targeted and the chance for wrongful pairing increases as well. Furthermore, Bluetooth devices are more and more popular due to the development of the Bluetooth technology, so the pairing problems stated above are getting worse. Therefore, there remains a need for a new and improved pairing method to overcome the problems stated above.

Pairing method between bluetooth devices and bluetooth system using the same


A fixing device of an image forming apparatus includes a fixing roller rotatably mounted on a moving path of a printing medium having a toner image transferred thereon to fuse the toner image on the printing medium, a heater mounted in the fixing roller to generate a magnetic field by applied voltage, thus heating the fixing roller, and at least one magnetic core disposed around the fixing roller to concentrate, onto the fixing roller, the magnetic field generated by driving the heater. Accordingly, a density difference of the magnetic field generated by the heater is minimized by disposing the at least one magnetic core around the fixing rollers, thus enabling a uniform fixing temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fixing device for an image forming apparatus, for fusing a predetermined toner image transferred onto a printing medium by heat and pressure.
2. Description of the Related Art
General image forming apparatuses such as a copy machine, a printer, a facsimile and a multi-function machine which compositely comprises functions of the preceding apparatuses, print out an input image signal onto a printing medium.
Such an image forming apparatus comprises a developing unit, a transfer unit and a fixing unit. FIG. 1 shows an example of the fixing unit which fuses a transferred toner image onto the printing medium by the transfer unit using heat and pressure.
Referring to FIG. 1, the fixing unit includes first and second fixing rollers 10 and 20 operating in rolling contact with each other by a predetermined fixing nip.
The first fixing roller 10 includes therein a halogen lamp 11. The halogen lamp 11 heats the first fixing roller 10 up to a predetermined temperature (hereinafter, referred to as a "fixing temperature") for an image fixing operation and maintains the fixing temperature. As a result, the toner image transferred to the printing medium P is properly heated to be fused as passing through a space between the first and the second fixing rollers 10 and 20.
The second fixing roller 20 is biased toward the first fixing roller 10 by an elastic member 21 to fuse the toner image on the printing medium P which is heated by the first fixing roller 10.
However, the general fixing unit of an image forming apparatus, as described above, is structured in a manner that the heat generated by the halogen lamp 11 disposed at the center portion inside the first fixing roller 10 is radiantly transmitted to the first fixing roller 10, thus heating the first fixing roller 10 throughout. Therefore, the first fixing roller 10 may be unnecessarily heated even at a portion thereof which would not contact the printing medium P, accordingly causing loss of heat. Furthermore, since the first fixing roller 10 is preheated without contacting the halogen lamp 11, an extended time is taken for the first fixing roller 10 to reach the fixing temperature. In other words, a warming-up time of the first fixing roller 10 is elongated.
The warming-up time may be reduced by heating the first fixing roller 10 by an induction heat from a magnetic field generated at an induction coil upon application of voltage and a resistance heat from a resistant load of the induction coil itself. To overcome the problem, research for reducing the warming-up time noted above is in active progress.
However, when heating the first fixing roller 10 using the induction coil, the magnetic field generated at the induction coil is concentrated at the opposite ends of the first fixing roller 10. Such a density difference between a middle portion and the end portions of the first fixing roller 10 results in unevenness of the fixing temperature.

Image fixing device of an image forming apparatus


An imager apparatus useful for a digital architecture lithographic printing system includes a first imager bank having at least one imager configured to produce a first output beam; and a second imager bank having at least one imager configured to produce a second output beam, the second imager bank being located at a first angle with respect to the first imager bank, the first output beam and the second output beam being separated by a second angle which is less than the first angle.

A digital offset or digital architecture printing system may be used for printing with lithographic inks. Digital offset printing processes may include applying fountain solution to a surface of an imaging plate. The imaging plate may be arranged on an outer portion of an imaging cylinder. The imaging cylinder may be rotatable for bringing regions of the imaging plate surface to pass adjacent subsystems, including: a dampener for applying fountain solution; an imaging system for imaging or image-wise vaporization of fountain solution from select regions of the imaging plate; an inker for applying ink to the imaging plate surface; a transfer station from which an ink image is transferred to a printable medium; and a cleaner for removing residue from a surface of the image plate and preparing the surface to begin the process anew. After applying the fountain solution, an imaging system composed of a high power laser may be used to image-wise vaporize fountain solution from select regions of the surface. Light energy is absorbed by the imaging plate, which may comprise silicone, to locally heat and boil off fountain solution from the plate surface. The laser may be used to for vaporizing the fountain solution at select surface regions in accordance with digital image data. Ink may be applied by the inker, and may be deposited on regions where fountain solution has been vaporized from the imaging plate. Conversely, ink may be rejected by regions of the imaging plate surface where fountain solution remains. A resulting image is transferred at the transfer station to paper or other suitable media by way of pressure.
For the imaging step, an imaging system may be used that is configured to produce an output beam that spans the operative width of an imaging plate surface. Due to the high output power requirement, it is difficult to construct a suitable imaging system from a monolithic imager. It is much more feasible and economical to construct the imaging system from an array of imagers, each possessing a beam width that is smaller than the imaging plate operative width. To construct the imaging system, multiple imagers may be configured to "stitch" together a beam having a useful process width One problem with construction of the imager array is that the physical width of each imager may be greater than its output beam width, hence a simple linear array of imagers that are 'butted' to each other will result in an output beam having periodic gaps. An alternative imaging system construction can utilize two arrays (or 'banks') of butted imagers that are offset along the beam axis so that the composite output beam has no periodic gaps. The banks can further be oriented angularly so that all imager beams converge along a common line on the imaging plate surface. Such an imaging system construction has been found to be feasible and economical. However, this imaging system is prone to image distortion if the surface of the imaging plate is not at the exact point at which the beams from the multiple beams are converging. An imaging system having the advantages of the multiple converging bank configuration but without the sensitivity to image plate location is desired.


The present invention is comprised of culturing microorganism having ability to produce FKI-1083 substance represented by the formula:

Parasitosis has been reducing as the results of improvement in environmental hygiene and progress of anthelmintics, but recently imported parasitosis, zoonotic parasitosis, opportunistic parasitosis and parasitosis derived from raw foods are increasing, as a result various parasitoses become an issue. In livestock farming and agriculture, parasitosis causes great economic burden at present. Among parasitoses, with regard to helminth infection, many compounds such as ivermectin, mebendazole, praziquantel, etc. are used.
However, anthelmintics such as ivermectin, mebendazole and praziquantel are not always satisfactory in view of effectiveness and toxicities, as a result new agents are still demanded.
We have focused to study NADH-fumarate reductase in the electron transport system, one of hopeful targets for anthelmintics, and continued to explore inhibitors against such enzyme from microbial culture products, as a result, we have found FT-0554 substance (nafuredin). The international patent application of this substance was published as the international publication WO99/24439, which was transferred to the U.S. and the application Ser. No. 09/509770 was given.
The microorganism having ability to produce FT-0554 substance (nafuredin) is Aspergillus niger FT-0554 belonging to fungi, the strain of which was deposited the International Patent Organism Depository, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, and given a permanent depository No. as FERM BP-6443. Taxonomical properties of the strain are briefly described as follows.
Culturing properties on various agar media such as Czapek-yeast extract agar, malt extract agar, 20% sucrose Czapek-yeast extract agar, potato dextrose agar and Miura's medium, are good growth with velvety and smooth penumbra. Diameter of colony is 40 mm–85 mm. Color tone of the surface of colony is burned umber. Color tone of the reverse of colony is pale yellow or white.
Morphological properties on Czapek-yeast extract agar, malt extract agar, 20% sucrose Czapek-yeast extract agar and potato dextrose agar, containing 50% of seawater (salt content, 3.4%) are good growth with good bearing conidia.
Physiological properties are: optimum growth condition: pH 5–7 at 16–36° C. and in concentration of seawater 50–100%. Growth ranges are pH 3–10, at 12–45° C. and in concentration of seawater 0–100%.

Substance FKI-1083 and process for producing the same

Abstract: in a medium, accumulating FKI-1083 substance in the cultured medium, and isolating FKI-1083 substance from the cultured mass. The thus obtained FKI-1083 substance has growth inhibitory activities against microorganisms, nematodes and arthropods, and is useful as anthelmintic and insecticide.


An air bag comprises a facing sheet and a backing sheet of thermoplastic resin film and laminated on at least an outer peripheral joining region thereof with a thermoplastic resin film. An adhesion reinforcing layer(s) is interposed between the facing sheet and the backing sheet at the joining region and made from a thermoplastic resin provided that an insulating layer is interposed in the adhesion reinforcing layer at a region ranging from a position corresponding to an approximately center of the outer peripheral joining region toward the inside thereof. The facing and backing sheets and the adhesion reinforcing layer are heat-welded together at the outer peripheral joining region.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air bag formed by joining a facing sheet and a backing sheet each made from a thermoplastic film such as urethane or the like and having a light weight and a high mechanical strength.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to stably protect passengers in an automobile during an automobile accident, an air bag is used by attaching to a steering wheel and the like for the automobile. The air bag is usually produced by cutting a base woven cloth for the air bag crosslink-coated with silicone, rubber or the like and sewing it into a bag.
Furthermore, the air bag is provided with an opening for an inflator attached to a base plate facing a gas generator. A second opening for a vent effectively absorbs shock, and portions surrounding these openings are stitched with a reinforcing cloth made from the same material as the air bag. Recently, there have been proposed air bag cloths laminated with various synthetic resin layers in order to attain a weight reduction of the air bag, the improvement of the mechanical strength without substantially causing the aging degradation, and heat-welding such as high frequency welding or the like is carried out for joining these cloths with each other.
For example, JP-A-2-114035, JP-A-2-162134, JP-A-3-7337 and JP-A-6-199198 disclose air bags obtained by joining the air bag cloths through the heat-welding.
Among them, a typical air bag is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7b, the air bag 21 is formed by joining a facing fabric 22 and a backing fabric 23 at a joint part 24. Numeral 26 is a gas inlet port. Each of these fabrics is laminated with a polyester resin layer 22B through a primer coat layer 22A as shown in FIG. 7a. These facing and backing fabrics 22, 23 are heat-welded by facing the polyester resin layer 22B to the polyester resin layer 23B at the joint part 24 as shown in FIG. 7c. AS a result of such joining, it is possible that the hardness and the bending property of the joint part 24 and the adhesion strength between the fabric and the resin layer and the welded strength between the resin layers improve.
However, when air bag 21 is inflated, the facing and backing fabrics 22, 23 are separated from each other at the joint part 24 as shown in FIG. 7b and hence a large peeling force is applied between the layers in the joint part 24. Since the welded strength (peel strength) between the polyester resin layers 22B and 23B is fairly high, there is no fear of causing peeling between the polyester resin layers 22B and 23B. On the other hand, the peel strength between the fabric 22 (23) and the primer coat layer 22A (23A) is not so high and hence there is a fear of causing the peeling therebetween.
In order to prevent peeling between the synthetic resin layer and the fabric at the joint part formed by joining air bag cloths, each laminated with the synthetic resin layer to each other through the heat-welding, there was proposed an air bag in JP-A-2-162134. As shown in FIG. 8, an air bag 31 is formed by piling two base cloths 32 and 33 each covered on at least one surface with rubber or a thermoplastic resin one upon the other at their outer peripheral end portions to face these covered surfaces to each other. A reinforcing cloth 34, made from the same covering material as in the base cloth is applied to an inner peripheral face of the piled portion and then heat-welding them.
In such an air bag, the force in the peeling direction between the facing and backing base cloths 32 and 33 is received as a force in the shearing direction among the base cloths 32 and 33 and the reinforcing cloth 34 to enhance the strength at the joint face.
However, the reinforcing cloth 34 is arranged along a face substantially perpendicular to the joint face between the facing and backing base cloths 32 and 33. That is, these cloths should be joined so that the reinforcing cloth 34 is three-dimensionally arranged to the joint face which is two-dimensioned. Therefore, the heat-welding device such as a high-frequency welding device or the like becomes more complicated. Furthermore, the reinforcing cloth 34 is a cylindrical body, so that the production thereof is troublesome. Moreover, if it is intended to two-dimensionally join the reinforcing cloth 34 to the joint face, a problem of leaving wrinkles on the joint face is created.


A packet data communication system uses an USF (Uplink State Flag) transmitted on the downlink and interleaved with downlink data, to schedule traffic on the uplink for one or several mobile users utilizing the same physical channel. The USF indication is made variable and defined in the control signaling at setup of a packet transmission. An USF indicates to a mobile that one or several consecutive radio blocks is reserved for uplink transmission from a specific mobile. The mobile does not have to receive the USF during the remaining period defined by the number of radio blocks scheduled. The solution is especially advantageous in combination with adaptive antennas when all radio blocks on the downlink transmissions do not have to be broadcast to all users on a certain channel.

The present invention relates generally to packet data communication systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for dynamic transmission resource allocation.
The growth of commercial communication systems and, in particular, the explosive growth of cellular radiotelephone systems, have compelled system designers to search for ways to increase system capacity without reducing communication quality beyond consumer tolerance thresholds. At the same time usage of mobile communication equipment for transmission of data rather than speech has become increasingly popular by consumers. The possibility to send and receive electronic mail and to use a web browser to obtain world-wide-web access is frequently discussed as services that will be more and more used in wireless communication systems. As a response to this, communication system designers search for ways to efficiently transfer data information to and from mobile users.
There are fundamental differences between requirements for data communication and e.g., speech communication. For example, delay requirements are higher for speech, which is a real time service, and the error requirements are higher for data communication, while the delay constraints are lower. The use of packet data protocols, which are more suitable for transmission of data than circuit switched protocols, starts to find its way into cellular communication systems. Packet service integration in both GSM cellular systems as well as DAMPS cellular systems is presently being standardized.
Today, GSM systems provide a circuit switched data service, which can be used to interconnect with external data networks. The circuit switched data service is used for both circuit switched as well as packet switched data communication. To make packet switched data communication more efficient, a new packet switched data service called GPRS (General Packet Radio Services) is introduced as a part of GSM. GPRS will allow for packet switched communication e.g., IP or virtual circuit switched communication. GPRS will support both connectionless protocols (e.g., IP) as well as a connection-oriented protocol (X.25). One of the advantages with a packet switched data communication protocol is that a single transmission resource can be shared between a number of users. Thus, in the case of e.g., a GSM cellular system, a timeslot on a radio frequency carrier can be utilized by several mobile users for reception and transmission of data. The shared transmission resource is managed by the network side of the cellular system both for downlink and uplink transmissions.
GPRS is a GSM service and parts of the GSM infrastructure will be used. Those parts of the GSM communication system are described in European Telecommunication Standard Institute (ETSI) document ETS 300 574 which is incorporated by reference herein.
An advantage of introducing a packet data protocol in cellular systems is the ability to support high data rate transmissions and at the same time achieve a flexibility and efficient utilization of the radio frequency bandwidth over the radio interface. The concept of GPRS is designed for so-called xe2x80x9cmultislot operationsxe2x80x9d where a single user is allowed to occupy more than one transmission resource simultaneously.
An overview of the GPRS network architecture is illustrated in FIG. 1. Information packets from external networks 122, 124 will enter the GPRS network at a GGSN (Gateway GPRS Service Node) 120. The packet is then routed from the GGSN via a backbone network, 118, to a SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node), 116, that is serving the area in which the addressed GPRS mobile resides. From the SGSN the packets are routed to the correct BSS (Base Station System), in a dedicated GPRS transmission. A GPRS register, 115, will hold all GPRS subscription data. The GPRS register may, or may not, be integrated with the HLR (Home Location Register) 114 of the GSM system. Subscriber data may be interchanged between the SGSN and the MSC to ensure service interaction, such as restricted roaming.
FIG. 2 illustrates packet transformation flow for a GPRS system. This is also briefly described in D. Turina et al., xe2x80x9cA Proposal for Multi-Slot MAC Layer Operation for Packet Data Channel in GSMxe2x80x9d, ICUPC, 1996, vol.2, pp.572-576, which is incorporated by reference herein.
The packets which are received from the network, 210, are mapped onto one or more logical link control (LLC) frames, 212, containing an information field, a frame header (FH) and a frame check sequence (FCS). An LLC frame is mapped onto a plurality of radio link data blocks (RLC data blocks) 214, each of which include a block header (BH), information field and block check sequence (BCS), which can be used in the receiver to check for errors in the information field. A block, as is recognized by those skilled in the art, is the smallest part of the packet which is re-transmittable over the air interface. The RLC blocks are further mapped onto physical layer radio blocks. In a GPRS system, one radio block is mapped onto four normal bursts sent consecutively on one GSM physical channel.
The block header includes an Uplink State Flag (USF) field to support the dynamic medium access method on the uplink. The USF is used in a packet data channel to allow multiplexing of radio blocks from a number of mobile users, i.e., dynamic allocation of shared transmission resources in the uplink. The USF contains 3 information bits allowing for coding of eight different USF states which are used to multiplex the uplink traffic. The USF is included in the beginning of each radio block transmitted in the downlink, i.e., interleaved with downlink traffic to a specific mobile user. Since the USF is transmitted in every radio block in the downlink, all mobiles that use the dynamic allocation method and share a certain transmission resource must, therefore, always listen to the downlink channel to determine whether the USF indicates free uplink transmission for any of the mobiles. If a mobile user is indicated by a USF, transmission in the uplink is allowed in the next uplink radio block. This technique is illustrated in FIG. 3, where USF=R1 indicates that mobile 1 (MS1) may use the following four bursts to transmit in the uplink. In the case of multislot assignment, when a mobile is assigned more than one timeslot in each TDMA frame, more than one RLC block may be transmitted during four TDMA frames, however, every single RLC block is always interleaved over four bursts on one physical channel, i.e., timeslot. Then, according to FIG. 3, if the USF=R2, this indicates that mobile 2 (MS2) may use the following four bursts to transmit in the uplink. The value xe2x80x9cFxe2x80x9d denotes a Packet Random Access Channel (PRACH) which is used by the mobile users to initiate uplink transmissions.
A drawback with the above-described protocol becomes apparent when considering the use of adaptive antenna arrays which increase cellular system capacity and efficient usage of scarce radio resources. The implementation of antenna arrays can allow for more efficient transmission and reception of radio signals, since the transmitted energy can be directed towards a certain receiver in antenna lobes. This significantly limits the overall interference level in cellular systems and transmitted output power may be decreased and limited to certain directions from e.g., a base station transmitter.
It is of great importance for increases in capacity of future cellular systems that such adaptive antennas be utilized efficiently. There are, however, limitations to the performance gain achieved by implementing adaptive antennas if, for example, downlink traffic directed to a specific mobile user is interleaved in the same bursts as downlink control signaling intended for other users. One example is the above-mentioned USF flag being included in downlink transmissions to a specific user. Different mobiles may be geographically distant and it is then impossible to concentrate the transmitted signal energy to only one or a few directions. It is similarly difficult to obtain an efficient power control algorithm for transmissions directed to more than one mobile user.
One other drawback with the described protocol is the (non-)possibility of introducing new modulation for certain radio blocks on downlink. Namely, the newest development in GSM suggests usage of a new higher level modulation for users with good radio conditions which then can increase the user data rate and the system throughput in general. It would be advantageous to be able to freely multiplex radio blocks using the existing and the new modulation on the downlink thus obtaining the trunking gain. In the current protocol, it is not feasible in the situations where one GPRS mobile station is monitoring the USF that has to arrive in the radio block that uses the existing modulation.
One possibility to overcome this drawback is to use a fixed allocation medium access method, where the initial setup signaling would specify when users are allowed to transmit on the uplink. There are, however, advantages with having a dynamic multiplexing in the uplink due to e.g., an increased flexibility in allocation of transmission resources.
It is an object of the present invention to increase efficiency in a packet data communication system employing a dynamic resource allocation method by introducing additional flexibility in multiplexing of uplink transmission resources. By using an USF in the downlink to indicate that a mobile is scheduled to transmit an arbitrary number of consecutive radio blocks on a physical channel, the mobile does not have to listen for the USF during a number of following downlink blocks, a number based on the indication given in the channel assignment message to that particular mobile station.
The determination of what a reception of a USF indicates to the mobile station using an uplink assignment is specified in the initial signaling when assigning a transmission resource, i.e., a physical channel. In a TDMA system a physical channel may be a timeslot. In multislot systems, several timeslots may be allocated, but there will be different USF values assigned for every allocated timeslot, which may or may not indicate the same number of consecutive radio block transmissions in the uplink. Furthermore, one appearance of USF may indicate a different number of uplink radio block transmissions to different users depending on the individual channel assignments. By scheduling transmission of an arbitrary number of consecutive radio blocks for uplink transmission on a physical channel, there is no need for a mobile user to listen for USFs during that transmission, before the last uplink radio block scheduled. As a result, the transmission in the downlink can, e.g., by way of adaptive antennas and power control algorithms, be performed more efficiently and an overall interference decrease may be achieved.
The above objects and features of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 illustrates a GPRS network architecture;
FIG. 2 illustrates a packet transmission flow and information mapping in an exemplary packet data communication system;
FIG. 3 illustrates an USF flag indicating uplink transmission multiplexing;
FIG. 4 illustrates uplink transmission multiplexing performed by a USF indicating transmission of one uplink radio block;
FIG. 5 illustrates uplink transmission multiplexing performed by a USF indicating transmission of more than one uplink radio block; and
FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate an exemplary traffic situation in a packet data communication system according to the present invention.

Method for variable block scheduling indication by an uplink state flag in a packet data communication system


The invention concerns a lift having a drive unit. The invention further concerns a wind power installation having a lift. To reduce the costs of the lift and thus make the lift economically more attractive the lift of the kind set forth in this specification is characterized by a cupboard used as the lift car. In that respect the invention is based on the realization that a cupboard in its basic structure with bottom, side walls and a door does not differ from a lift car produced specifically for a lift. Naturally there are differences, for example in suspension and operation of the door, but those differences can be removed insofar as they are an obstacle to use of a cupboard as a lift car so that the complication and expenditure overall is always still less than the complication and expenditure for a lift car constructed specifically for the lift.

1. Technical Field
The present invention concerns a lift having a drive unit. The invention further concerns a wind power installation having a lift.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays lifts, also called elevators, are usual in particular in large wind power installations for transporting people and material. That makes it unnecessary for example for maintenance engineers who have to perform operations in the pod of the wind power installation to make a strenuous and time-consuming climb by way of the ladders which generally lead perpendicularly upwardly in the pylon. In the case of wind power installations with hub heights of about 140 m which are not unusual nowadays, that would more specifically involve a vertical climb up (and naturally also a subsequent climb down) over precisely that distance of 140 m. If it is further considered that a maintenance team may be active in a number of wind power installations in the course of a working day, it will quickly be clear that using the ladders can involve an extreme physical stress.
To the extent to which the size of the wind power installations is increasing and the importance of wind power is growing, more and more installations are being erected of a size in which a lift is at least desirable, and in many cases, a necessity. As a result the lifts are becoming more and more a cost factor because they no longer occur occasionally in wind power installations.
At this point as state of the art attention is directed generally to the following publications: DE 10 2005 009 500 A1, WO 97/11020 A1, DE 101 04 351 A1 and DE 10 2006 034 299 A1.


Pre-translated code for an emulated application may be retrieved and executed to translate data from the emulated application into a form compatible with the client device before receiving a request for the emulated application from the client device. The translated data may be delivered to the client device platform over a network after receiving the request for the emulated application from the client device.

Video games are commonly loaded into a random access memory (RAM) before a player may begin playing the game. This loading process may take a substantial amount of time. Instead of showing a blank screen to the game player, games are often designed with a loading screen. Loading screens may be a picture or a video related to the game, or even a progress bar. However, these loading screens are often not desirable. Preferably, once a game is selected, the game should be immediately playable. The effects of loading time are compounded further when games are being emulated and being delivered over a cloud based network. The delivery over the network may create an additional wait time. Also, network delays may cause the delivery of the emulated data to a game player's device to be slowed as well.
Further still, games are designed to be loaded from a predetermined starting position. Incremental buffering may be used in order to make the game load faster from this predetermined starting position. Incremental buffering is a technique that may be used to allow a game to load faster. Instead of having to build a large buffer from the beginning of the game, the buffer is initially small and then grows in size as the gameplay progresses. However, when a game is loaded at a location where the incremental buffering was not incorporated into the design of the game, the loading time may take even longer because a larger buffer must first be built at this position of the game. With the growth in popularity of mini-games, the ability to load a game quickly from any point in the game is highly desirable. In order to implement faster loading through incremental buffering, a game designer would be required to re-code parts of the game. This additional step would increase the time and cost required for developing mini-games.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus for pre-loading translated code in a cloud based emulation. It is within this context that aspects of the present disclosure arise.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pre-loading translated code in cloud based emulated applications


A method for producing a dinucleoside polyphosphate, a nucleoside polyphosphate or a derivative thereof which comprises using adenosine-5'-triphosphate, polyphosphate or a derivative thereof and a sulfate as reaction substrates and forming a dinucleoside polyphosphate, nucleoside polyphosphate or derivatives thereof via a two-stage reaction through the use of two enzymes, namely, adenosine-5'-triphosphate sulfurylase and diadenosine tetraphosphate phosphorylase as catalysts. Further, another method for producing a dinucleoside polyphosphate, a nucleoside polyphosphate or a derivative thereof which comprises using adenosine-5'-triphosphate, polyphosphate or a derivative thereof and a sulfate as reaction substrate in the presence of an enzyme capable of converting adenosine-5'-diphosphate into adenosine-5'-triphosphate, and forming the dinucleoside polyphosphate, nucleoside polyphosphate or derivatives thereof via a two-stage reaction through the use of two enzymes, namely, adenosine-5'-triphosphate sulfurylase and diadenosine tetraphosphate phosphorylase as catalysts is provided. According to the present invention, highly pure dinucleoside polyphosphate, nucleoside polyphosphate or derivatives thereof can be produced at a high yield and these products can be easily isolated and purified.

Diadenosine polyphosphate or derivatives thereof have physiological functions which include promoting DNA synthesis in BHK cells suffering from G1 inhibition as disclosed in F. Grummt, Pro. N.A.S., 75, 371 (1978), inhibiting phosphorylation as disclosed in P. F. Maness et al., J. Biol. Chem., 258, 4055 (1983), and inhibiting platelet aggregation as disclosed in M. J. Harrison et al., FEBS Letters, 54, 57 (1975). Thus, nucleoside polyphosphates (hereinafter referred to simply as NpnN') such as diadenosine polyphosphate or nucleoside polyphosphates (hereinafter referred to simply as pnN) and derivatives thereof are known for their use as drugs and starting materials therefor.
Regarding methods for obtaining this diadenosine polyphosphate or derivatives thereof, O. Goerlich et al., Eur. J. Biochem., 126, 135 (1982) reports that diadenosine tetraphosphate is synthesized from adenosine-5'-triphosphate (hereinafter referred to simply as ATP) while dideoxyadenosine tetraphosphate, which is a derivative of diadenosine tetraphosphate, is synthesized from 2'-deoxyadenosine-5'-triphosphate, which is a derivative of ATP. These products are synthesized by using various aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases such as lysyl-tRNA synthetase, histidyl-tRNA synthetase and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase each originating in Escherichia coli, lysyl-tRNA synthetase and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase each originating in yeasts, phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase originating in Fusarium and phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase originating in sheep hepatic cells.
In the above-mentioned method wherein ATP or a derivative thereof is reacted with an amino acid under the catalytic action of each aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase to thereby synthesize NpnN', incubated microorganisms or hepatic cells are disrupted and the target enzyme is purified to obtain the aminoacyl-tRNA to be used as a catalyst. However, since microorganisms or cells occurring in nature contain only an extremely small amount of the aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase, there is a disadvantage that a large amount of microorganisms must be incubated or a large amount of cells must be prepared for producing the NpnN'.
Another method for synthesizing NpnN' by reacting ATP or its derivative with adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (hereinafter referred to simply as APS) under the catalytic action of diadenosine tetraphosphate phosphorylase (hereinafter referred to simply as Ap.sub.4 A phosphorylase) was proposed by A. Guranowski et al., Biochemistry, 27, 2959 (1988). The method wherein APS is used suffers from some problems such that the APS starting material is unstable and expensive. Moreover, the ATP or its derivative (ATP is used in the above reference) is converted into NpnN' (ApnN' is used in the above reference) only at a low rate, which causes practical problems for synthesizing the NpnN' from ATP or a derivative thereof.

Method for producing dinucleoside polyphosphate, nucleoside polyphosphate or derivatives thereof


A drainage chamber for collecting body fluids, in particular liquor, includes a collecting area limited by an outer wall for collecting the body fluid, an inlet connection linked to the collecting area for linking to a drainage catheter (an intraventricular catheter), an outlet connection and a ventilation connection linked to the environment. The drainage chamber has a spring-loaded first closing element, biased in the direction of a first closing position, which in its closing position closes both the inlet connection and the ventilation connection and which is displaceable against the spring tension by means of an actuating mechanism into an open position, in which it releases the inlet connection and the ventilation connection.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a drainage chamber for collecting body fluids, in particular liquor, with a collecting area limited by an outer wall for collecting the body fluid and with an inlet connection linked to the collecting area for linking to a drainage catheter, an outlet connection and a ventilation connection.
2. Description of the Related Art
In patients who produce too much liquor, to maintain a "healthy" internal pressure of the skull, excess liquor must be drained off. Liquor drainage systems are currently used for this. These systems usually contain, among other things, a drainage chamber (alternatively a drainage bag), in which the drained-off liquor is collected and which is suspended at a preset height above the patient's skull to set the desired internal pressure of the skull. Leading into this drainage chamber is an inlet connection, which is linked via a hose conduit to a drainage catheter (intraventricular catheter), which reaches into the patient's ventricular system to remove liquor. On the chamber there is further an outlet connection, which can be opened as required, in order to allow liquor which has collected in the chamber to flow out into a drainage bag normally linked to this connection. The drainage chamber further has a ventilation connection, through which air can escape when the drainage chamber is being filled with liquor and air can flow back when the liquor is let into the drainage bag. In order to prevent infection of the system, a filter is placed on the ventilation connection, which has a sufficiently small pore width to hold back germs.
In the known systems, hose clips and shut-off taps are used to close the inlet, the outlet and the ventilation connections or conduits. With these, a flexible hose, connected to the respective connection, is clamped or closed in such a way that passage is no longer possible. In normal operation the drainage chamber is in a holder or receptacle at a particular height above the patient's head and the inlet connection and the ventilation connection are open. The outlet connection, on the other hand, is closed.
If the patient has to change beds or has to be moved in some other way, it is regularly necessary to take the drainage chamber out of its receptacle and to place it on the patient's bed, for example, during work on the patient. Before this can be done, it is essential that the inlet connection and also the ventilation connection are closed, so that, on the one hand, no fluctuations in pressure in the liquor system in the patient's skull arise because of the change in height of the drainage chamber and, on the other hand, any contact of liquor with the filter is ruled out. The proteins or blood particles contained in the liquor may otherwise glue up or block the filter membrane, both of which may entail a risk to the patient. For if the filter is glued up air can no longer escape through it out of the drainage chamber and a counter-pressure builds up which may lead to an increase in pressure in the patient's skull with corresponding consequences. Consequences of this kind are particularly critical in children, in particular young children and babies, as patients, as they react particularly sensitively to fluctuations in pressure, owing to the smaller amount of liquor by nature. Furthermore, there may be a "siphon effect" where the chamber is emptied because the filter is glued up or closed.
Correct operation of the clamps by the care staff is therefore extremely important and a possible source of error with fatal consequences. If, as frequently provided, further connections are provided in the conduit to the drainage catheter (intraventricular catheter) for administering medicines or measuring pressure, here too three-way valves integrated in the system at these points must be correctly operated, further increasing the possibility of defective operation.

Drainage chamber for collecting body fluids, in particular liquor


A link chain comprises a chain link including two shank portions and two arc portions connecting the two shank portions. The two shank portions and the two arc portions define an interior space of the first chain link; and a dividing element extends inwardly from an inside surface of one of the two shank portions and extends inwardly from the inside surface of the other shank portion. The dividing element divides the interior space into two movement spaces, and the dividing element has a centerline, and the centerline is not a straight line perpendicular to the shank.

This disclosure relates to conveyor elements for the transport of bulk materials such as coal and the like, and, more particularly, to chain used in connection with longwall conveyor systems.
More particularly, this disclosure relates to a link chain formed of a sequence of individual, consecutive chain links linked with one another. The link chain has an arrangement that prevents or minimizes misalignment of the link chain.
A longwall conveyor system includes a pan and a coal conveying chain and flight mechanism thereon. The coal conveying mechanism includes a sprocket drive that pulls the chain and flight mechanism along the pan. The flights are attached to the chain at spaced intervals. As the chain and flights move along the pan, coal is carried by the flights to the end of the pan, where it is transferred to a mechanism for taking the coal out of the underground mine.
Link chains consist of a plurality of individual chain links linked with one another. In the case of link chains for industrial applications, such as, for example, a conveyor chain for use in underground coal mining, the individual chain links are subjected to extremely high tensile stress.
A link chain demonstrates its maximum ability to withstand tensile stress when the individual chain links are disposed one after the other in an intended manner such that the inside portions of two facing arcs of two consecutive chain links rest against one another. The rated ability of a link chain to withstand stress regularly presupposes that the chain links of the link chain that is subject to the tensile stress are disposed, relative to one another, in the intended manner described above.
Mining chain comprises welded wire links or welded wire links lased to forged links, where the individual links are oval in shape. Some chains incorporate a link with a cross member or dividing element that forms a "figure of 8" link to limit the amount of moment that can occur between the individual links, thereby preventing the chain from knuckling. This geometry is extensively used on anchor chains, where knuckling would prevent the chain being safely stowed onboard ship. However, the figure of 8 link is very stiff as the cross member prevents the crown and sides of the link breathing and flexing together. Highly loaded mining chain requires a level of flexibility to enable it to with stand shock loading typical seen on scrapper conveyors.
An example of such a chain can be found in GB 693734A, from which prior art FIGS. 1 to 3 are reproduced herein. In this chain, the chain shown is formed by links 1 of a normal round-wire type and links 2 of a novel type having plane edges. The links 1 and 2 succeed one another in the chain alternately and they engage one another therein in the manner illustrated. The links 1 are, for example, calibrated links of marine chains, their internal length or pitch being P2, their width B, and the diameter of the wire of which they are composed d. The links 2 each consist of a plate of flattened oval form, that is, each consists of an oval plate the rounded ends of which are connected by plane or nearly plane surfaces. The said plate, which is fashioned by cutting or forging, for example, has a width A that is smaller than the width B of links 1, and is formed with two holes 3 and 4 limited by toroidal surfaces, with a dividing element 8 there between. The said holes are so dimensioned and positioned as to receive, respectively, the neighboring ends 11 and 111 of the adjacent links 1 and to permit the articulation of these links in all directions with respect to the link 2. To this end, the holes 3 and 4 are made with a diameter slightly larger than d, and the toroidal surfaces limiting these holes are adapted to make them fit, at least approximately, along the inner surface of the ends 11 and 111. The spacing between the holes 3 and 4 is preferably so chosen that the distance P1 separating the extreme edges of the holes is equal to the internal length P2 of the links 1. The thickness e of the links 2 is smaller than the internal width b of the links 1 and is sufficient to enable the link 2 to resist the pull exerted thereon in use. For example e may be equal to d.


A fluid level indicator is provided. The indicator includes a body having a first end and a second end. The body has a first arm and a second arm extending between the first end and the second end. The first arm and the second arm defining a slot therebetween. The body further including a first plurality of teeth extending from a side of the first arm in the slot. The first plurality of teeth extending on an angle away from the first end toward the second arm. The body still further including a second plurality of teeth, extending on an angle away from the first end toward the first arm. A float member is provided having a first member and a second member with a shaft disposed therebetween. The float member being arranged with the shaft member disposed in the slot.

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a fluid level device and in particular to a device that that provides an indication of a high fluid position in an environment.
Devices are used in a wide variety of applications to indicate to personnel the fluid level within a confined space. For example, in internal combustion engines, typically a dip stick is used for checking a variety of fluids such as the engine oil or the transmission fluid. The dip stick device usually consists of a long, slender, sometimes flexible body having a handle or pull ring on one end. The body is sized to be received into an opening that extends into a fluid reservoir, such as the oil pan on an engine for example. The body portion of the dip stick will have visual markers, typically lines, hash marks or holes for example, that indicate to the user the location of the fluid level under normal or desired operating levels. To operate the dip stick, the user inserts the body into the opening and into the fluid reservoir. When the body is subsequently removed, surface tension causes a small amount of fluid to remain on the body allowing the user to see whether the reservoir level is within the range indicated by the visual markers.
Electronic monitoring devices may also be used to allow the user to understand the level of liquid in an enclosed space. Typically, these electronic devices use a float sensor that opens or closes a mechanical switch through either direct contact or magnetic operation of a component which floats on the surface of the liquid. When a mechanically actuated float is used, switching occurs when the movement of component contacts a switch. Electronic monitoring devices can be configured multiple thresholds or levels in a single sensor. Still other electronic monitoring devices use capacitive or optical probes to determine liquid level. It should be appreciated that while these monitoring devices provide a high level of accuracy, they may be costly to install and maintain. In some applications, these sensors may also experience reliability issues due to environmental contaminants, corrosive liquids, the presence of debris, and long term vibrations may deteriorate the effectiveness of the float component.
In some applications the enclosed space may be an underground structure. Since these structures, such as utility chambers or manholes for example, may include equipment, it is desirable for personnel to know not only the current level but also the high level mark of the liquid (e.g. water). These types of structures may be monitored by video cameras that allow operators to remotely determine whether water is present. To determine the high water level, operators often rely on water marks left on walls or scale sheets affixed to the wall. However, due to the confinement of the structure, low light levels, and the lack of perspective provided by a video stream, it is often difficult for operators to accurately determine the water level or the high level point.
Accordingly, while existing fluid level indicators are suitable for their intended purposes the need for improvement remains, particularly in providing a fluid level indicator that reliably, consistently and cost effectively indicates the high level point of a fluid in an enclosed space.

CONSOLIDATED EDISON COMPANY OF NEW YORK, INC.


To make it possible to maintain speeds during failures in an automatic transmission that does not have exclusive friction elements corresponding to the attainment of each speed. The hydraulic control apparatus of an automatic transmission, provided with control means 71-74 for supplying regulated pressure to each of the hydraulic servos 81-84 that are first through fourth friction elements to which hydraulic pressure is supplied from the oil path L1, and provided with switching valves (1)-(5) for cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to friction elements other than the friction elements that engage in each speed, on the upstream side of the supply paths L31, L32, L10, L11 and L12. Each switching valve is switched by hydraulic pressure (C1-C3, B1 pressures) regulated by the control means that achieve regulated pressure operating conditions during failures, and selective application of signal pressure (Sol, SolB, SoIC pressures) output by the control means as operating means. In a speed that has been attained, the supply path to friction elements that are not to be engaged is cut off. Through this, even during failures the regulated pressure action of the control means corresponding to friction elements that are not to be engaged is ineffective, so the speed that has been attained is fixed.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an automatic transmission mounted in a vehicle, and more particularly to a hydraulic control apparatus for controlling friction elements in such a transmission.
2. Description of Related Art
In the automatic transmissions of vehicles in recent times, a structure is employed wherein in the hydraulic pressure circuit that controls clutches and brakes (in this specification, these shall be referred to as xe2x80x9cfriction elementsxe2x80x9d) used to achieve each speed, exclusive control means (combining a linear solenoid valve, a duty solenoid valve or a linear solenoid valve with a regulating valve) are provided for each hydraulic servo of each friction element, and these are each controlled independently in order to improve control. The control means in such a hydraulic pressure circuit is supposed to secure a certain level of running ability of the vehicle by accomplishing hydraulic output to the hydraulic servo even during signal failures, and is supposed to be a normally open valve for accomplishing hydraulic output during times of no signal. Consequently when all of the control means simultaneously experience signal failures or sticking failures, an interlock condition arises wherein friction elements that originally were not to engage simultaneously engage. In order to prevent such a condition, technology for avoiding interlocking even in the event of the control means supplying hydraulic pressure because of an electrical failure or sticking of the valves or the like (hereinafter, collectively referred to as xe2x80x9cfailuresxe2x80x9d) when the vehicle is moving forward has been disclosed in Japan Patent 53-8028.
In the aforementioned art, it is possible to prevent interlocking by providing an interlock valve (134, 136, 138 and 140 in FIG. 2 of the aforementioned disclosure) for providing hydraulic pressure to each friction element as a signal pressure during failures. Furthermore, the interlock valve is a valve used to cut off all hydraulic pressure to friction elements disengaged at preset speeds, and hence when a failure occurs at a preset speed, that speed is fixed. As a result, it is possible to resolve the problems of insufficient drive force or over-revving by maintaining a constant speed when failures occur.
However, the aforementioned art is such that each speed is achieved by engaging a friction element (54) that is always engaged with exclusive friction elements (48, 52, 56, 58) engaged in each speed, and consequently, the structure is such that only hydraulic pressure to the exclusive friction elements is applied in the aforementioned interlocking. Accordingly, in a gear train where there are no exclusive friction elements in each speed, the problem arises that this technology cannot be adapted.
Hence, it is the general objective of the invention to provide a hydraulic control apparatus that can maintain the achieved speed in the event of failures in an automatic transmission comprising a plurality of speeds using the same friction elements in achieving differing speeds, that is to say in an automatic transmission in which exclusive friction elements do not exist for each speed.
In order to achieve the above-described objective, in a first aspect a hydraulic control apparatus for an automatic transmission, of the type of hydraulic control apparatus provided with a plurality of friction elements and hydraulic servos for operating such, and wherein a plurality of speeds can be achieved by engaging at least two friction elements at a time out of the plurality of friction elements; and provided with a switching means for cutting off hydraulic control to the friction elements other than the friction elements engaged in order to achieve each speed within the plurality of speeds; wherein the plurality of speeds includes a third speed which, from among the friction elements, engages at least the first and third friction element and disengages the second friction element, a fourth speed which engages the first and second friction elements and disengages the third friction element, and a fifth speed which engages the second and third friction elements and disengages the first friction element; and said switching means includes a first switching valve which cuts off hydraulic control to the first friction element by applying, as a signal pressure, hydraulic pressure to the third friction element engaged in at least the third and fifth speeds and the second friction element engaged in the fifth speed, and a second switching valve that cuts off hydraulic control to the third friction element by applying, as a signal pressure, hydraulic pressure to the first friction element engaged in the third and fourth speeds and the second friction element engaged in the fourth speed.
In the above-described structure, it is effective as a second aspect for the structure to be further equipped with a plurality of control means capable of adjusting the hydraulic pressure to each hydraulic servo that operate the plurality of friction elements; wherein the hydraulic pressure from the plurality of control means is provided to each of the hydraulic servos.
Furthermore, in the above-described structure, a third aspect is effective for the structure to be provided with a hydraulic pressure source and first and second oil paths connecting the hydraulic pressure source with the hydraulic servos of the first and third friction elements, such that from among the plurality of control means, the first and second control means are positioned on these first and second oil paths; and the first and second switching valves are respectively positioned on the first and second oil paths, and cut off the supply of hydraulic pressure from the hydraulic pressure source to the other hydraulic servos by a hydraulic pressure being applied on the downstream side of the control means regulating the hydraulic pressure to the engaged friction elements.
In addition, in the above-described structure, a fourth aspect is effective in the structure for switching means to be such that the hydraulic pressure other than the pressure on the other friction elements, to which the hydraulic pressure supply is cut off, is applied as a signal pressure.
In addition, a fifth aspect is the above-mentioned plurality of friction elements may further include a fourth friction element, with the fourth friction element disengaged in the third, fourth and fifth speeds.
In addition, a structure may also be employed as a sixth aspect wherein the plurality of speeds further includes a second speed that engages the first and fourth friction elements and disengages the second and third friction elements, and a sixth speed that engages the second and fourth friction elements and disengages the first and third friction elements; and the first switching valve cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the first friction element by applying, as a signal pressure, a hydraulic pressure to the fourth friction element that is engaged at least in the case of the second speed, and a hydraulic pressure on the second friction element engaged in the case of the sixth speed.
In addition, a structure may also be employed according to a seventh aspect wherein the switching means includes a third switching valve capable of cutting of the hydraulic pressure supply to the second friction element, and the third switching valve is operated by hydraulic pressure to a friction element that engages in speeds where the second friction element is disengaged.
Or, a structure may be employed according to an eighth aspect wherein the switching means includes a third switching valve capable of cutting off the hydraulic pressure supply to the second friction element, wherein the third switching valve is operated by hydraulic pressure other than the hydraulic pressure to a friction element that engages in speeds where the second friction element is disengaged.
In the above-mentioned case, as a ninth aspect it is effective for the hydraulic pressure other than the hydraulic pressure to be a friction element is a solenoid pressure output by electrical control.
In addition, a structure may be employed as a tenth aspect wherein the first switching valve capable of cutting off the hydraulic pressure supply to the first friction element has a first operating means that operates switching of the first switching valve.
In the above-mentioned case, it is effective to employ a structure as an eleventh aspect wherein the first operating means cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the first friction element by switching the first switching valve by means of hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in fifth speed, in which the second and third friction elements are engaged and the first and fourth friction elements are disengaged, and friction elements engaged in sixth speed, in which the second and fourth friction elements are engaged and the first and third friction elements are disengaged.
In addition, a structure may be employed in a twelfth aspect wherein the switching means is composed of a first group of switching valves capable of cutting off the hydraulic pressure supply to the third friction element, and the first group of switching valves has a first group of operating means for operating the switching thereof.
In addition, a structure may also be employed in a thirteenth aspect wherein the first group of operating means cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the third friction element by switching the first group of switching valves by means of hydraulic pressure (C1 apply pressure and C2 apply pressure in fourth speed; C2 apply pressure along with B1 apply pressure and B1 solenoid pressure in sixth speed) to the friction elements engaged in fourth speed, in which the first and second friction elements are engaged and the third and fourth friction elements are disengaged, and friction elements engaged in sixth speed, in which the second and fourth friction elements are engaged and the first and third friction elements are disengaged.
In addition, a structure may also be used in a fourteenth aspect wherein the first group of switching valves comprises a first switching valve of the first group and second switching valves of the first group, and the first switching valve of the first group cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the third friction element through hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in the fourth speed in which the first and second friction elements engage and the third and fourth friction elements disengage, and the second switching valves of the first group cut off the hydraulic pressure supply to the third friction element through hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in the sixth speed in which the second and fourth friction elements engage and the first and third friction elements disengage.
In the above-described structure, a structure may also be used in a fifteenth aspect wherein the switching means includes a second group of switching valves capable of cutting off the hydraulic pressure supply to the fourth friction element, and is further provided with a second group of operating means for operating switching of the second group of switching valves.
In addition, a structure of a sixteenth aspect may be used wherein the second group of operating means cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the fourth friction element by switching the second group of switching valves through hydraulic pressure (C3 solenoid pressure in third speed, C1 apply pressure and C2 apply pressure in fourth speed, and C3 solenoid pressure in fifth speed) to the friction elements engaged in third speed in which the first and third friction elements engage and the second and fourth friction elements disengage, fourth speed in which the first and second friction elements engage and the third and fourth friction elements disengage, and fifth speed in which the second and third friction elements engage and the first and fourth friction elements disengage.
In addition, a structure of a seventeenth aspect may be used wherein the second group of switching valves comprises a first switching valve of the second group and second switching valves of the second group, and the first switching valve of the second group cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the fourth friction element by means of hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in fourth speed in which the first and second friction elements engage and the third and fourth friction elements disengage, and the second switching valve of the second group cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the fourth friction element by switching the second group of switching valves by means of hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in third speed in which the first and third friction elements engage and the second and fourth friction elements disengage, and fifth speed in which the second and third friction elements engage and the first and fourth friction elements disengage.
In addition, a structure may be used in an eighteenth aspect wherein the switching means includes a third switching valve capable of cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the second friction element, and is further provided with a third operating means that operates switching of the third switching valve.
In addition, a structure may also be used in a nineteenth aspect wherein the third operating means cuts off the hydraulic pressure supply to the second friction element by switching the third switching valve by means of hydraulic pressure (C1 apply pressure and B1 apply pressure in second speed, and C1 apply pressure and C3 apply pressure in third speed) to the friction elements engaged in second speed in which the first and fourth friction elements engage and the second and third friction elements disengage, and third speed in which the first and third friction elements engage and the second and fourth friction elements disengage.
In addition, a structure may also be used in a twentieth aspect wherein the switching means includes a third switching valve capable of cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the second friction element, and is further provided with a third operating means for operating switching of the third switching valve.
In addition, a structure may also be used in a twenty-first aspect wherein the third operating means is capable of cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the second friction elements by means of hydraulic pressure unrelated to the hydraulic pressure to the friction elements engaged in speeds in which the second friction element disengages.
In addition, a structure of a twenty-second aspect may also be used wherein the second switching valve of the second group cuts off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the fourth friction element by means of hydraulic pressure to the third friction element.
In addition, a structure of a twenty-third aspect may also be used wherein the second switching valve of the first group cuts off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the third friction element by means of hydraulic pressure to the second friction element and fourth friction element.
In addition, a structure may also be used in a twenty-fourth aspect wherein the second switching valve of the first group cuts off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the third friction element by means of hydraulic pressure to the fourth friction element.
Next, the invention in a twenty-fifth aspect is of the type of hydraulic control apparatus provided with a plurality of friction elements and hydraulic servos for such, and wherein a plurality of speeds (first through sixth speeds) are achieved by appropriate operation of the plurality of friction elements, and at least one friction element out of the plurality of friction elements is engaged in two or more speeds; wherein a plurality of switching valves capable of cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to each of the hydraulic servos is provided between the hydraulic pressure source and each of the hydraulic servos that operate the plurality of friction elements; and operating means for operating switching of a specific switching valve out of the plurality of switching valves so that the supply of hydraulic pressure is cut off to the friction elements disengaged in a predetermined speed out of the plurality of speeds, are also provided.
In the above-mentioned structure, a structure may also be used in a twenty-sixth aspect wherein the plurality of friction elements includes at least first through fourth friction elements; the plurality of switching valves includes first through fourth switching valves that are positioned between the hydraulic pressure source and each hydraulic servo that operates the first through fourth friction elements, and that are capable of cutting off the supply of hydraulic pressure to the respective hydraulic servos; and the operating means includes first through fourth operating means that operate switching of the first through fourth switching valves so that the hydraulic pressure is cut off to the friction elements disengaged at a predetermined speed out of the plurality of speeds.
With the structure of the aforementioned first aspect, when in fourth speed the hydraulic pressure to the third friction element is cut off with the hydraulic pressure to the first friction element as a signal pressure, hydraulic pressure to the second friction element engaged in fourth speed is also applied as a signal pressure, and in addition, when in fifth speed the hydraulic pressure to the first friction element is cut off with the hydraulic pressure to the third friction element as a signal pressure, hydraulic pressure to the second friction element engaged in fifth speed is also applied as a signal pressure, and through this fourth or fifth speed is fixed even if a failure arises in that speed. In addition, third speed is also achieved with certainty.
Next, with the structure of the second aspect, it is possible to achieve the aforementioned efficacy even when a situation arises in which hydraulic pressure is output through failure of each control means.
Furthermore, with the structure of the third aspect, control linked to the second and third friction elements is established for the first friction element, and control linked to the first and second friction elements is established for the third friction element. As a result, fixation of the speed during failures is possible for third through fifth speeds.
Next, with the structure of the fourth aspect, the supply of hydraulic pressure to the hydraulic servos of the friction elements that are to maintain engagement is not cut off by the mutual action of the switching valves, and consequently it is not necessary to do processes such as adding separate signal pressure application circuits for self-maintenance.
In addition, with the structure of the fifth aspect, when there is a fourth friction element for achieving another speed that does not participate in achieving the third through fifth speeds, it is possible to achieve fixing of the third through fifth speeds during failures.
Furthermore, with the structure of the sixth aspect, when in sixth speed, that speed is fixed even if failures arise by applying hydraulic pressure to the second friction element and to the fourth friction element as signal pressures. In addition, it becomes possible to supply hydraulic pressure to the first friction element when in second speed, so that it is possible to achieve second speed with certainty.
Furthermore, with the structure of the seventh aspect, during failures in speeds where disengagement of the second friction element is to be maintained, the third switching valve acts through the hydraulic pressure of the engaged friction elements to prevent the supply of hydraulic pressure, and through this the disengagement status of the second friction element is maintained with certainty.
In addition, with the structure of the eighth aspect, during failures in speeds where disengagement of the second friction element is to be maintained, the third switching valve acts through hydraulic pressure other than of the engaged friction elements to prevent the supply of hydraulic pressure, and through this the disengagement status of the second friction element is maintained with certainty without regard to the speed that is achieved.
In particular, with the structure of the ninth aspect, in the aforementioned case, by setting up the third switching valve to cut off when solenoid pressure is not output, it is possible to achieve the disengagement status of the second friction element with certainty without regard to other friction elements during failures in speeds where disengagement of that element is to be maintained.
Next, with the structure of the tenth aspect, it is possible to operate the first friction element with the first operating means corresponding thereto.
In particular, with the structure of the eleventh aspect, it is possible to make the first friction element a friction element that disengages in fifth and sixth speeds.
Next, with the structure of the twelfth aspect, it is possible to operate the third friction element with the first group of operating means corresponding thereto.
In particular, with the structure of the thirteenth aspect, it is possible to make the third friction element a friction element that disengages in fourth and sixth speeds.
In particular, with the structure of the fourteenth aspect, for the third friction element, engagement in fourth speed is prevented by the action of the first switching valve of the first group, and engagement in sixth speed is prevented by the action of the second switching valve of the first group.
Next, with the structure of the fifteenth aspect, it is possible to operate the fourth friction element with the second group of operating means corresponding thereto.
In particular, with the structure of the sixteenth aspect, it is possible to make the fourth friction element a friction element that disengages in fourth and fifth speeds.
In particular, with the structure of the seventeenth aspect, for the fourth friction element, engagement in fourth speed is prevented by the action of the first switching valve of the second group, and engagement in fifth speed is prevented by the action of the second switching valve of the second group.
Next, with the structure of the eighteenth aspect, it is possible to operate the second friction element with the third operating means corresponding thereto.
In particular, with the structure of the nineteenth aspect, it is possible to make the second friction element a friction element that disengages in second and third speeds.
Next, with the structure of the twentieth aspect, for the second friction element, independent disengagement control is possible. Accordingly, by making the second friction element correspond to a friction element on the low speeds side with a low possibility of being in use during normal running of the vehicle, it is possible to prevent the circuit structure from becoming complex in order to fix a speed on the high speed side during failures.
In particular, with the structure of the twenty-first aspect, for the second friction element, independent disengagement control is possible without regard to the operation of other friction elements.
In particular, with the structure of the twenty-second aspect, during failures in speeds in which the third friction element is an engaged element, it is possible to prevent, with certainty, interlocking through tie-up of the fourth friction element.
In particular, with the structure of the twenty-third aspect, during failures in speeds in which the second friction element and the fourth friction element are engaged elements, it is possible to prevent, with certainty, interlocking through tie-up of the third friction element.
In particular, with the structure of the twenty-fourth aspect, during failures in speeds in which the fourth friction element is an engaged element, it is possible to prevent with certainty interlocking through tie-up of the third friction element.
Next, with the structure of the twenty-fifth aspect, it is possible to selectively disengage each friction element by placing a switching valve respectively in each hydraulic servo that operates each friction element and, thus, it is possible to obtain the efficacy of being able to fix each speed when a failure occurs in that speed.
In addition, with the structure of the twenty-sixth aspect, fixing during failure becomes possible for four speeds, and hence fixing of speeds corresponding to substantially all speeds during normal vehicle operation becomes possible.

Hydraulic control apparatus for an automatic transmission