In a block and tackle window balance, the balance shoe holds and upwardly biases the terminal connector in a mounted position. A biasing element of the shoe maintains the terminal connector in a pocket of the shoe during operation of the balance. The terminal connector is prevented from laterally exiting the pocket in the mounted position by a widened portion on the terminal connector and a locating surface extending from the shoe toward the pocket. Manually pressing down on the biasing element or the terminal connector itself to lower the terminal connector in the pocket until the widened portion clears the locating surface allows lateral removal of the terminal connector from the pocket. During operation of the balance, however, the terminal connector does not experience a sufficient downward force to overcome the upward bias such that the widened portion never clears the locating surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of windows. More particularly, the invention pertains to a window balance.
2. Description of Related Art
Block and tackle window balances are compact in size and relatively easy to install. They use a system of pulleys and an extension spring to convert high spring tension applied over a short working distance to a lower spring tension applied over a longer working distance. Both the spring and the pulley system are arranged within a rigid U-shaped balance channel. One end of the extension spring is anchored at a first end of the balance channel, while the other end of the extension spring is mounted to an intermediate pulley or middle carriage of the pulley system. The second pulley of the pulley system is anchored at the second end of the balance channel. Generally, the balance channel is mounted in the jamb of the window frame and the cord for the pulley system is attached to a sash shoe that slides in the jamb with the sash. However, this arrangement can be reversed with the cord anchored to the top of the frame and the sash shoe anchored to the opposite end of the balance channel. In all cases, the extension spring and the pulley system are sized so that a desired lifting force is applied to the window sash throughout the entire range of sash travel in the window frame.
Referring to FIG. 1, a prior art block and tackle balance 110 is constructed from a channel 112, commonly formed from sheet metal, into which a spring 114 is assembled. The first spring end 114A of the spring 114 may be affixed by various means proximate a first end 112A of the channel 112. The second spring end 114B of the spring 114 is attached to a middle carriage 116, the middle carriage 116 including the first portion of a multi-part balance tackle assembly. An end axle 118, including a second portion of the multipart balance tackle assembly is affixed proximate a second end 112B of the channel 112. In conventional block and tackle balances, a sash cord 120 is affixed at one end to the middle carriage 116 and twice passes alternatively around sheaves including the end axle 118 and the middle carriage 116, exiting finally at the second end 112B of the channel 112, to form a five-part balance tackle assembly. A cord terminal 122 is affixed to the second end of the sash cord 120, to facilitate attachment of the sash cord 120 in the application of the counterbalance and to prevent the second end of the sash cord 120 from being retracted into the second end of the channel 112. The cord terminal 122 is then mounted in a carrier or balance shoe, which slides up and down a frame channel when the window is opened and closed.
In another prior art block and tackle balance, a cord terminal is mounted in a balance shoe 128, the top surface of which is shown in FIG. 2. The balance shoe 128 has a gap 146 for insertion of the cord terminal (not shown) and a pocket 148 for mounting the cord terminal in the balance shoe 128. The balance shoe 128 has flexible tabs 132, which help to maintain the mounted cord terminal in the pocket 148 of the balance shoe 128. The tabs 132 are flexible primarily in a direction perpendicular to the long axis of the pocket 148. These tabs 132 do not sufficiently limit motion of a mounted cord terminal in the pocket and have been found to break during usage in a block and tackle balance assembly. These tabs 132 also bear some of the load from the upward force of the block and tackle assembly as applied to the shoe by the cord terminal during operation.
There is a need in the art for a balance shoe design that durably and flexibly maintains a cord terminal in a mounted position in a balance shoe of a block and tackle balance assembly.

Shoe support terminal connection for block and tackle balance

Caldwell Manufacturing Company North America LLC


A reflective LCD has first and second light blocking metal films that are formed one upon another between a semiconductor substrate and reflective pixel electrodes with an insulating film being laid on and under each of the light blocking metal films, to block part of read light, which has been made incident from a transparent substrate side to liquid crystals through a counter electrode and has penetrated a third interlayer insulating film through openings formed between adjacent ones of the reflective pixel electrodes, from reaching switching elements. One of the first and second light blocking metal films covers the openings formed between adjacent ones of the reflective pixel electrodes. The first and second light blocking metal films in each pixel are electrically connected, through third via holes, to a corresponding switching element, reflective pixel electrode, and storage capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reflective liquid crystal display (LCD), and particularly, to a reflective LCD capable of reducing a leak current produced in switching elements formed on a semiconductor substrate. The leak current is produced when read light that has been emitted to a transparent substrate and made incident to liquid crystals through a counter electrode partly passes through openings formed between adjacent reflective pixel electrodes, penetrates an insulating film adjoining the reflective pixel electrodes, and reaches the switching elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, projection LCDs to display images on large screens are extensively used for, for example, outdoor public displays, control operation displays, and high-resolution image displays conforming to hi-vision broadcast standards and SVGA computer graphics standards.
The projection LCDs are largely classified into transmission LCDs based on a transmission method and reflective LCDs based on a reflection method. The transmission LCDs have a drawback that a TFT (thin film transistor) formed in each pixel is unable to serve as a transmission area to transmit light, and therefore, reduces a numerical aperture. For this reason, the reflective LCDs are attracting attention.
Generally, the reflective LCD employs a semiconductor substrate (Si substrate) on which a plurality of switching elements are formed and electrically isolated from one another. Over the switching elements, a plurality of functional films are formed one upon another. On a top one among the functional films, a plurality of reflective pixel electrodes are formed and electrically isolated from one another. The reflective pixel electrodes correspond to the switching elements, respectively. One switching element, one reflective pixel electrode connected to the switching element, and a storage capacitor provided for the switching element are grouped to form a pixel. Such pixels are arranged in a matrix on the semiconductor substrate. Facing the reflective pixel electrodes, a transparent counter electrode commonly serving for all pixels is formed on the reverse of a transparent substrate (glass substrate). Between the reflective pixel electrodes and the counter electrode, liquid crystals are sealed to form the reflective LCD. From the transparent substrate side, color-image read light is made incident through the counter electrode to the liquid crystals. At the same time, the switching elements change potential differences of the corresponding reflective pixel electrodes relative to the counter electrode in response to image signals, to control orientation of the liquid crystals, modulate and reflect the color-image read light, and emit the light from the transparent substrate.
FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view schematically showing a pixel in a reflective LCD according to a related art 1. FIG. 2A is a block diagram explaining an active-matrix drive circuit in the reflective LCD of the related art 1, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged schematic view showing a part X of FIG. 2A.
The reflective LCD 10A of the related art 1 of FIG. 1 is designed for a standard reflective projector. Among a plurality of pixels of the LCD 10A to display images, one pixel will be explained with reference to the enlarged views. A semiconductor substrate 11 serving as a base of the LCD is a p-type Si substrate (or an n-type Si substrate) made of monocrystalline silicon. At the left side of the semiconductor substrate (hereinafter referred to as p-type Si substrate) 11 in FIG. 1, a p-well region 12 is formed and is electrically isolated pixel by pixel with the use of left and right field oxide films 13A and 13B. Within the p-well region 12, a switching element 14 is formed, which is a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor).
The switching element (hereinafter referred to as MOSFET) 14 has a gate G consisting of a gate oxide film 15 approximately formed at the center of the surface of the p-well region 12 and a gate electrode 16 made of polysilicon on the gate oxide film 15.
On the left side of the gate G of the MOSFET 14 in FIG. 1, a drain region 17 is formed, and on the drain region 17, a drain electrode 18 is formed from aluminum wiring in a first via hole Via1, to constitute a drain D.
On the right side of the gate G of the MOSFET 14 in FIG. 1, a source region 19 is formed, and on the source region 19, a source electrode 20 is formed from aluminum wiring in a first via hole Via1, to constitute a source S.
On the right side of the p-well region 12 in the p-type Si substrate 11 in FIG. 1, a diffused capacitor electrode 21 is formed by ion implantation. The diffused capacitor electrode 21 is electrically isolated pixel by pixel with the use of the left and right field oxide films 13B and 13C. A range from the field oxide film 13A to the field oxide film 13C corresponds to a pixel.
On the diffused capacitor electrode 21, an insulating film 22 and a capacitor electrode 23 are formed in this order. On the capacitor electrode 23, a capacitor electrode contact 24 is formed from aluminum wiring in a first via hole Via1, to constitute a storage capacitor C for the MOSFET 14.
Over the field oxide films 13A to 13C, gate electrode 16, and capacitor electrode 23, functional films including a first interlayer insulating film 25, a first metal film 26, a second interlayer insulating film 27, a second metal film 28, a third interlayer insulating film 29, and a third metal film 30 are formed one upon another in this order.
The first, second and third interlayer insulating films 25, 27, and 29 are formed from, for example, SiO2 (silicon oxide) having an insulating ability.
The first, second, and third metal films 26, 28, and 30 are made of, for example, conductive aluminum wiring and are segmented into predetermined patterns corresponding to pixels, i.e., the switching elements 14, respectively. Within one pixel, the first, second, and third metal films 26, 28, and 30 are electrically connected to each other. The first, second, and third metal films 26, 28, and 30 in a given pixel are electrically isolated from those in any adjacent pixel with openings 26a, 28a, and 30a formed in the metal films 26, 28, and 30 between adjacent pixels.
In each pixel, the lowermost first metal film 26 is connected to the corresponding switching element 14 and storage capacitor C through the drain electrode 18, source electrode 20, and capacitor electrode contact 24 that are formed from aluminum wiring filled in the first via holes Via1 etched in the first interlayer insulating film 25.
In each pixel, the intermediate second metal film 28 serves as a light blocking metal film to block part of read light L made incident to an upper transparent substrate 42 (to be explained later) from reaching the MOSFET 14 formed under the metal film 28 on the p-type Si substrate 11. Namely, the second metal film (light blocking metal film) 28 is formed to cover an opening 30a formed between adjacent metal films 30 formed over the film 28 and block part of read light L entering the opening 30a. The second metal film 28 is connected to the lowermost first metal film 26 through the aluminum wiring filled in the second via hole Via2 etched in the second interlayer insulating film 27. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 12, the light blocking metal film 28 is divided into a first portion 91 and a second portion 92 by an annular-type opening 28a, which is bound on its interior edge by the first portion 91 and is in turn bound on its exterior edge by the second portion 92. Opening 28a thus electrically isolates the first portion 91 from the second portion 92.
In each pixel, the top third metal film 30 is formed as a square reflective pixel electrode for the pixel. The metal film 30 is separated from any adjacent one by the opening 30a formed between them and is connected to the intermediate second metal film 28 through aluminum wiring filled in a third via hole Via3 etched in the third interlayer insulating film 29.
On the third metal film (hereinafter referred to as reflective pixel electrode) 30, liquid crystals 40 are sealed. On the liquid crystals 40, a transparent counter electrode 41 is formed on the reverse of the transparent substrate (glass substrate) 42, to face the reflective pixel electrodes 30. The counter electrode 41 serves as a common electrode for the reflective pixel electrodes 30, and therefore, is not segmented into pixels. The counter electrode 41 is made of, for example, ITO (indium tin oxide).
The active-matrix drive circuit to drive a matrix of the MOSFETs (switching elements) 14 arranged on the p-type Si substrate 11 in the reflective LCD 10A according to the related art 1 will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B.
In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the active-matrix drive circuit 70 of the reflective LCD 10A drives a matrix of the MOSFETs (switching elements) 14 arranged on the p-type Si substrate (semiconductor substrate) 11. A set of the MOSFET 14, reflective pixel electrode 30 connected to the MOSFET 14, and storage capacitor C for the MOSFET 14 forms a pixel, and a set of such pixels is arranged in a matrix on the p-type Si substrate 11.
To specify one of the pixels, a horizontal shift register circuit 71 and a vertical shift register circuit 75 are arranged in column and row directions, respectively.
For each column of pixels, the horizontal shift register circuit 71 has a video switch 72 and a signal line 73 vertically extended from the video switch 72. For the sake of convenience, FIG. 2A shows only one signal line 73 connected to the horizontal shift register circuit 71. Between the horizontal shift register 71 and the video switch 72, the signal line 73 is connected to a video line 74. The signal line 73 is also connected to the drain electrodes 18 of the MOSFETs 14 that are in the column for which the signal line 73 is provided.
For each row of pixels, the vertical shift register circuit 75 has a gate line 76 horizontally extended. For the sake of convenience, FIG. 2A shows only one gate line 76 extended from the horizontal shift register circuit 75. The gate line 76 is connected to the gate electrodes 16 of the MOSFETs that are in the row for which the gate line 76 is provided.
The source electrode 20 of each MOSFET 14 is connected to corresponding one of the reflective pixel electrodes 30 and corresponding one of the storage capacitors C, more precisely, the capacitor electrode contact 24 and capacitor electrode 23 of the storage capacitor C. The active-matrix drive circuit 70 employs a known inversion driving method that inverts the polarity of video signals between positive and negative frame by frame. For example, video signals to be written in an "n"th frame are provided with positive polarity and those to be written in an "n+1"th frame are provided with negative polarity. To supply a video signal through the signal line 73, the signal line 73 must be connected to one of the drain electrode 18 and source electrode 20 of the MOSFET 14. In this example, the signal line 73 is connected to the drain electrode 18 as mentioned above. If the signal line 73 is connected to the source electrode 20, the drain electrode 18 is connected to the reflective pixel electrode 30 and the capacitor electrode contact 24 and capacitor electrode 23 of the storage capacitor C.
In the reflective LCD 10A according to the related art 1, a fixed well potential is supplied to the MOSFET 14, and a fixed common potential COM is supplied to the storage capacitor C.
The well potential to the MOSFET 14 is fixed to, for example, 15 V and is supplied between the gate line 76 and a well potential contact on a p+region (not shown) formed in the p-well region 12 (FIG. 1). If an n-type Si substrate is employed, the well potential is, for example, 0 V.
The common potential COM to the storage capacitor C is fixed to, for example, 8.5 V and is supplied between the capacitor electrode 23 of the storage capacitor C and a common potential contact (not shown) on the diffused capacitor electrode 21. The common potential COM can basically be of any voltage to form the storage capacitor C. It may be set to a center value (for example, 8.5 V) of video signals, to make the voltage applied to the storage capacitor C about half a source voltage. Namely, a storage capacitor withstand voltage is about half a source voltage. It is possible, therefore, to thin the film thickness of only the insulating film 22 of the storage capacitor C, to increase a capacitance value. Larger the storage capacitance value of the storage capacitor C, the smaller a potential change the reflective pixel electrode 30 receives. This is advantageous in preventing flickering and burning.
The storage capacitor C stores charge in accordance with a potential difference between a potential applied to the reflective pixel electrode 30 and the common potential COM, keeps the stored voltage during an unselected period or OFF period of the MOSFET 14, and continuously applies the stored voltage to the reflective pixel electrode 30.
To drive a pixel, the active-matrix drive circuit 70 of the reflective LCD 10A according to the related art sequentially supplies video signals to the video line 74 at shifted timing. One of the video signals is supplied to the columnar signal line 73 through the video switch 72. At this time, a MOSFET 14 located at an intersection of the signal line 73 and a selected gate line 76 is turned on.
The video signal is supplied to the reflective pixel electrode 30 of the selected MOSFET 14 through the signal line 73 and is written as charge into the storage capacitor C. This results in causing a potential difference between the selected reflective pixel electrode 30 and the counter electrode 41 (FIG. 1) according to the video signal and modulates the optical characteristic of the liquid crystals 40. As a result, color-image read light L (FIG. 1) emitted to the transparent substrate 42 is modulated by the liquid crystals 40 pixel by pixel, is reflected by the reflective pixel electrodes 30, and is emitted from the transparent substrate 42. Unlike the transmission LCD, the reflective LCD can utilize read light L (FIG. 1) nearly 100% to provide high-resolution, high-luminance projection images.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, part of the color-image read light L entering the transparent substrate 42 penetrates the third interlayer insulating film 29 through the openings 30a formed between adjacent reflective pixel electrodes 30. The penetrated light is repeatedly reflected in the third interlayer insulating film 29 between the reverses of the reflective pixel electrodes (third metal films) 30 made of aluminum wiring and the surfaces of the light blocking metal films (second metal films) 28 made of aluminum wiring. Thereafter, the repeatedly reflected light penetrates the second interlayer insulating film 27 through the openings 28a where no light blocking metal film 28 is formed. In the second interlayer insulating film 27, the light is repeatedly reflected between the reverses of the light blocking metal films 28 made of aluminum wiring and the surfaces of the first metal films 26 made of aluminum wiring. Thereafter, the repeatedly reflected light penetrates the first interlayer insulating film 25 through the openings 26a where no first metal film 26 is formed. Each opening 26a where no first metal film 26 is formed is located above the gate electrode 16 of the MOSFET 14 or the capacitor electrode 23 of the storage capacitor C, so that the part of the read light L penetrated the first interlayer insulating film 25 reaches the gate electrode 16, drain region 17, and source region 19 of the MOSFET 14 or the capacitor electrode 23 of the storage capacitor C.
If part of the read light L penetrates the drain region 17 and source region 19 of the MOSFET 14, a photodiode function works because there are pn junctions between the p-well region 12 and the drain region 17 and source region 19 that are made of high-concentration n+impurity layers in the MOSFET 14. As a result, the part of the read light L generates photocarriers to cause a leak current, which may vary the potential of the reflective pixel electrode 30. The variation in the potential of the reflective pixel electrode 30 may cause flickering and burning. It is necessary, therefore, to minimize light leakage to the MOSFET 14 caused by part of the read light L.
An LCD employing a technique of suppressing light leakage to a MOSFET due to part of read light L is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2002-40482.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing an LCD according to a related art 2.
The LCD 100 according to the related art 2 of FIG. 3 is the one disclosed in the above-mentioned publication No.2002-40482. With reference to the publication, the LCD 100 will briefly be explained.
In FIG. 3, the LCD 100 according to the related art 2 employs a first substrate (drive circuit substrate) 101 on which a plurality of active elements 102 are formed. Each active element 102 consists of a gate electrode 103, a drain region 104, and a source region 105. The drain and source regions 104 and 105 are formed on the left and right sides of the gate electrode 103, respectively. The active element 102 is electrically isolated from adjacent active elements 102 by left and right field oxide films 107 that are continuous to an insulating film 106.
On the active element 102, functional films including a first interlayer film 108, a first conductive film 109, a second interlayer film 110, a first light blocking film 111, a third interlayer film 112, a second light blocking film 113, a fourth interlayer film 114, and a second conductive film (hereinafter referred to as reflective electrode) 115 serving as a reflective electrode are formed one upon another in this order.
The first conductive film 109, first light blocking film 111, second light blocking film 113, and reflective electrode 115 are conductive and are sectioned into predetermined patterns to serve for the active elements 102, respectively.
The first conductive film 109 is connected to the drain region 104 and source region 105 of the active element 102 through first via holes Via1 formed in the first interlayer film 108. The first light blocking film 111 must be provided with a second via hole Via2 indicated with an imaginary line outside FIG. 3, to apply a voltage thereto. The second light blocking film 113 is connected to the first conductive film 109 through a third via hole Via3 formed in the second and third interlayer films 110 and 112. The reflective electrode 115 is connected to the second light blocking film 113 through a fourth via hole Via4 formed in the fourth interlayer film 114. Accordingly, the reflective electrode 115 is connected to the corresponding active element 102 through the second light blocking film 113 and first conductive film 109.
On the reflective electrodes (second conductive films) 115, an aligning film 116, a liquid crystal composition 117, an aligning film 118, a counter electrode 119, and a second substrate (transparent substrate) 120 are formed in this order. The liquid crystal composition 117 is partitioned by left and right spacers 121 for each reflective electrode 115 (pixel).
The spacer 121 is positioned on an opening 115a formed between adjacent reflective electrodes 115. The second light blocking film 113 has substantially the same size as the reflective electrode 115 and is formed to cover the opening 115a. The first light blocking film 111 is formed to cover an opening 113a formed between adjacent second light blocking films 113. Part of read light L made incident to the second substrate (transparent substrate) 120 may penetrate the fourth interlayer film 114 through the opening 115a formed between adjacent reflective electrodes 115. The penetrated light is blocked by the first and second light blocking films 111 and 113, so that the light may not reach the active elements 102 formed on the first substrate 101. In this way, this disclosure suppresses light leakage to the active elements 102 due to the penetration of part of read light L.
According to the LCD 100 of the related art 2, a voltage is applied to the first light blocking film 111, and the first light blocking film 111, third interlayer film 112, and second light blocking film 113 form a capacitor. When a voltage applied to the reflective electrode 115 is changed relative to the potential of the counter electrode 119, the reflective electrode 115, liquid crystal composition 117, and counter electrode 119 form a first capacitor, and the first light blocking film 111, third interlayer film 112, and second light blocking film 113 form the second capacitor mentioned above.
This configuration prevents unnecessary light incident to the liquid crystal display elements and realizes a high-quality LCD and a liquid-crystal projector employing the LCD, as stated in the disclosure.
According to the reflective LCD 10A of the related art 1 of FIG. 1, part of color-image read light L made incident to the transparent substrate 42 reaches the MOSFETs 14 formed on the p-type Si substrate 11. Namely, light leakage occurs.
According to the reflective LCD 100 of the related art 2 of FIG. 3, the second light blocking film 113 is formed under the reflective electrodes 115, to cover the opening 115a formed between the adjacent reflective electrodes 115. In addition, the first light blocking film 111 is formed under the second light blocking films 113, to cover the opening 113a formed between the adjacent light blocking films 113. This arrangement prevents part of read light L made incident to the second substrate (transparent substrate) 120 from reaching the active elements 102 formed on the first substrate 101. Namely, no light leakage occurs. However, when forming, over the first substrate 101, the first conductive film 109, second interlayer film 110, first light blocking film 111, third interlayer film 112, second light blocking film 113, fourth interlayer film 114, and reflective electrode (second conductive film) 115 in this order, a process of forming the first via holes Via1 for the first conductive film 109, a process of forming the second via holes Via2 for the first light blocking film 111, a process of forming the third via holes Via3 for the second light blocking film 113, and a process of forming the fourth via holes Via4 for the reflective electrode (second conductive film) 115 must be carried out. The increased number of the via hole forming processes elongates the manufacturing time of the LCD 100 and deteriorates the yield thereof.


A programmable universal remote control unit, settable in one of either a single device mode of operation or a multi-device mode of operation.

Remote control units have gained widespread popularity for use in remotely controlling home entertainment systems, which typically include devices such as a television set, a cable set-top box or converter, a videocassette recorder, and a stereo. Typically each device includes a separate remote control unit for remotely controlling the specific device. This causes an entertainment system user to have a plurality of remote control units which is very cumbersome.
A universal remote control unit has a plurality of operating modes for controlling a plurality of devices. Each operating mode of the universal remote control unit enables the user to remotely control each of the devices. Typically, a universal remote control unit includes a plurality of mode push buttons (e.g., CABLE, TV, and VCR push buttons) which correspond to the different devices to be controlled. The mode push buttons are used to directly change the operating mode of a corresponding device.
Traditionally, changing the operating mode of the universal remote control unit is accomplished by simply pressing the appropriate mode push button (i.e., CABLE, TV or VCR push button) on the remote control unit. For example, with the universal remote control unit in the cable mode, to turn on the cable set-top box, a user presses a POWER push button. Next, if the user wants to turn on the television set, the user must first press the TV push button then the POWER push button. Thereafter, in order to operate the cable set-top box again, the user must then press the CABLE push button before selecting, for example, the channel up or down push buttons on the remote control unit. Later, if the user wishes to turn off the television and the cable set-top box, the user must press the CABLE push button, the POWER push button, the TV push button, and then the POWER push button.
More recently, universal remote control units have been developed wherein mode change is accomplished by first pressing a mode select button (first mode means) followed by the mode power button (second mode means). Once the mode of the remote is selected, turning devices on/off is accomplished by pressing only the mode power button for the desired device.
A drawback with either of the aforementioned universal remote control units is that a user could unintentionally change the operating mode of the universal remote control unit by inadvertently pressing the CABLE, TV or VCR push buttons. Another drawback is that the operation of the universal remote control unit is often confusing, particularly when a user first turns on several devices and desires to control one of the devices without first placing the universal remote control unit in the proper operating mode to control that specific device. A further drawback is that numerous button presses are typically required to turn on/off all of the multiple devices being operated.
Other universal remote control units include a single mode push button instead of separate push buttons corresponding to each of the devices. By pressing the mode push button, the operating mode of the universal remote control unit changes, (i.e., cycles) from one operating mode to the next.
A drawback with this type of universal remote control unit is that it is often necessary to press the mode push button a number of times in order to change from one operating mode to another operating mode. Another drawback is that it is relatively easy for a user to unintentionally change the operating mode of the universal remote control unit by inadvertently pressing the mode push button.
Numerous universal remote controls currently available also offer macro button capability. By definition, macro buttons are buttons that can be programmed by the end-user to store and re-transmit a desired series of button functions from a single key with a single keystroke.
A benefit of a macro button is the ability to reduce to a single keystroke what would normally take several keystrokes on the remote to execute. However, a drawback of these macro buttons is that they require a relatively complex series of button presses in a precise order for the user to program.

Programmable universal remote control unit


Information processing system including pluralities of first and second equipment items, and a third equipment item. Each first equipment item stores history data and returns a first response block about controls and changes in status of each first equipment item, responsive to a data request from the second equipment items. Each second equipment item stores the history data returned responsive to the data request; a second response block returns history data stored in the second history storage block responsive to a request from the third equipment item; first and second lists store first information identifying latest history data returned from the first equipment items regarding each first equipment item, and second information identifies history data last returned to the third equipment item regarding each first equipment item. Third equipment item's third history storage block stores history data returned responsive to the data request made to the second equipment items.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system and a processing method for use therewith wherein history information is collected from equipment items over a network for equipment item management and other purposes.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exist information processing systems that collect history information from equipment items in offices (buildings), factories and the like for room entry/exit management, energy management, and equipment item management. With these systems, the equipment items are usually managed within a local network. Where the Internet is used for such management purposes, dedicated servers and networks of particular customers have been generally used to constitute a dedicated system. In recent years, there have also been proposed SaaS (Software as a Service) services and cloud services in which a single system is utilized by numerous customers.
Where equipment items are managed via the Internet as mentioned above and where histories of controls and changes in status of the equipment items are collected, it is preferred that the same history not be collected again. For example, JP-2005-92576-A proposes a technique for preventing the same information from being acquired in duplicate as a result of inadvertent operations by a user, the technique being one of history management that involves comparing the downloadable data stored in a server with the history of orders placed by a client to determine whether or not to offer the data to that client.
JP-2006-339726-A proposes a technique for use when continuously transmitted data is relayed while some data is getting lost along the way. The technique involves searching for data items that match acknowledge numbers based on previous data history information, to find the most recent of the matching history information. The most recent matching history information is set as the data history information for correcting the acknowledge numbers of the data.

Information processing system and processing method for use therewith


The present invention relates to a gaming apparatus comprising a gaming table with a gaming surface having at least one predetermined location for receiving a gaming token. A gaming token supporter is mounted at each of the at least one predetermined location for receiving a gaming token on the gaming surface of the gaming table such that the gaming token supporter is flush with the gaming surface and forms a gaming token receiving location. A photoelectric sensor for each gaming token supporter that emits and receives modulated radiation is mounted to the gaming table such that each sensor is aligned with and in sensing proximity to a gaming token supporter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to cardroom gaming involving multi-tiered wagering. More particularly, it relates to a gaming apparatus with a photoelectric sensing device having a gaming token supporter that is flush mounted to a game playing surface.
2. Background of the Art
Cardroom gaming involves many games, including multi-tiered wagering games. Such games provide a player with the opportunity to place a side bet on an additional game played in conjunction with a basic or underlying game. These cardroom games may be located at a plurality of remote locations and may be connected to each other to provide a large number of players an opportunity to play for a large common cash prize.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,067 to Paulsen et al. ("Paulsen") discloses a coin acceptor for use in a prior art apparatus for automatically sensing the presence of gaming tokens used in cardroom gaming. The Paulsen coin acceptor is a circular disk the under side of which is placed directly on top of the conventional felt on the table. The disk has a concentric, circular recess in its upper side that is shaped to accept the coin. The outer periphery of the disk is frustoconically shaped and extends from about the under side of the upper side at an appropriately shallow angle of no more than 30° so that players can readily slide a coin along the felt, up the frustoconical ramp of the disk, and into the recess to place a bet. A coin acceptor of the type disclosed in Paulsen has several problems: (1) inconveniences the dealer when he/she is clearing the table; (2) slows down the number games that may be played in a given period of time, thereby reducing the potential revenue at a particular table; and (3) may reduce the longevity of clay gaming tokens.
First, when the dealer is clearing the table, the recess in which the coin is placed inconveniences the dealer because the dealer cannot sweep all the gaming tokens off the table. Because of the recessed coin acceptor, the dealer must individually remove each gaming token located in a coin acceptor. Thus, a coin support structure which will allow the dealer to more conveniently remove the coins from the gaming table would be very helpful in the cardroom gaming industry.
Second, cardroom gaming facilities want to provide players with as many opportunities to place bets as possible. In a given period of time, if the number of hands played at a table is reduced because it takes the dealer more time to remove coins from recessed coin acceptors after each played game, then less hands are played at the table, thereby reducing the number of potential bets that could be placed at the table. Clearly, a coin support structure that enables a dealer to quickly remove the coins from the table and thereby play more hands is highly desirable.
Third, some casinos use clay gaming tokens. In use, these clay gaming tokens may be slid into the recess. When a gaming token is slid into the recess, the gaming token absorbs the impact of the gaming token being pushed against the side of the recess. Over a period of time, this frequent, periodic, impact placed on a clay gaming token may cause the clay gaming token to chip, thereby rendering the clay gaming token unusable. Thus, an apparatus which may increase the longevity of a gaming token would be desirable to a casino.
Also, currently, some gaming token detecting apparatuses use metal detecting sensors. One problem with such apparatuses is that they cannot be used in a casino that does not use gaming tokens that contain metal, such as casinos that use clay gaming tokens. Consequently, an apparatus that detect non-metallic gaming tokens but yet enables fast play would be desirable.

Photoelectric gaming token sensing apparatus with flush mounted gaming token supporter


This invention relates to an engine (5) having axially opposed cylinders (C). The engine (5) has a first cylinder (C) having a first cylinder opening and a first cylinder head (H), a first piston (10) that reciprocates in the first cylinder opening, a second cylinder (C) having a second cylinder opening and a second cylinder head (H), and a second piston (30) that reciprocates in the second cylinder opening. The first cylinder opening and the second cylinder opening are in facing relationship such that the first cylinder and the second cylinder are axially opposed. The first piston (10) and the second piston (30) are connected such that the first piston (10) moves toward the first cylinder head (H) when the second piston (30) moves away from the second cylinder head (H) and such that the first piston (10) moves away from the first cylinder head (H) when the second piston (30) moves toward from the second cylinder head (H).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an engine having axially opposed cylinders.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various engine designs are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,769,384 discloses a radial piston engine wherein power is transferred such that the power take-off is truly balanced in that the piston runs truly parallel to the cylinder walls. This radial engine reduces wear of the cylinders and piston rings, provides improved gas mileage due to the reduced piston drag, and produces greater torque than other engine designs.
However, there is still a need for an inline piston engine: (i) where power take-off is truly balanced such that the piston runs truly parallel to the cylinder walls, (ii) that provides improved gas mileage by reducing piston drag, and (iii) that produces greater torque.


An apparatus for automatic power metering within a device is provided. The apparatus includes a metering element and communication elements. The metering element is coupled to a power factor correction circuit at one or more nodes within the device, and is configured to measure and process values on the nodes to generate one or more metering metrics for the device. The metering data includes input power consumed by the device, output power transferred to a load of the device, and power factor corresponding to the device. The communication elements are configured to receive the one or more metering metrics, and are configured to transmit the one or more metering metrics over a communications channel.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to the field of building energy management systems (BEMSs), and more particularly to technique that provides for automatic power metering at the device level.
Description of the Related Art
The problem with resources such as electrical power, water, fossil fuels, and their derivatives (e.g., natural gas) is that the generation and consumption of a resource both vary with respect to time. In addition, the delivery and transport infrastructure limits instantaneous matching of generation and consumption. These resources are limited in supply and the demand for this limited supply is constantly fluctuating. As anyone who has participated in a rolling blackout will agree, the times are more and more frequent when resource consumers are forced to face the realities of limited resource supply.
Most notably, the electrical power generation and distribution industry has taken proactive measures to protect limited instantaneous supplies of electrical power by imposing financial disincentives such as peak demand charges and time-of-use (TOU) pricing for the creation of high peak demand and the consumption of electricity during peak demand periods. Heretofore, consumers merely paid for the total amount of power that they consumed over a billing period. Today most energy suppliers not only charge customers for the total amount of electricity they consume over the billing period, but they additionally bill the customers for their peak demand reading, that is, the greatest amount of energy that is used during a measured period of time. Additionally, energy suppliers are beginning to charge higher rates for power consumed during peak demand periods with mechanisms such as time-of-use pricing.
For example, consider a factory owner whose building includes 2,000 fluorescent light fixtures, each consuming 100 Watts when fully on. If all the fixtures are on at full power during the measuring period, then the peak demand for that period is 200 KW. Not only does the energy supplier have to provide for instantaneous generation of this power in conjunction with loads exhibited by its other consumers, but the distribution network that supplies this peak power must be sized such that it delivers 200 KW to the factory. Consequently, it is standard practice today that customers that create high peak demand and consume electricity during peak demand periods are required to pay a surcharge to offset the costs of peak energy generation and distribution.
In addition to financial disincentives for contributing to peak demand, many utilities (e.g., Pacific Gas & Electric) offer financial incentives to customers to actively reduce peak and overall demand through participation in so called demand response and energy efficiency programs, as well as to upgrade to more efficient and controllable building equipment. In demand response programs, utilities pay incentives for reducing demand "on-call" during peak demand periods such as hot summer afternoons. In energy efficiency programs, utilities pay incentives for making their building more efficient, thereby consuming less electricity overall. This process often includes building energy audits, upgrades to more efficient equipment (e.g., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC); lighting; etc.), and the installation of building controls and energy management systems. Since, building owners, among others, are not necessarily trained or equipped to fully exploit the savings opportunities offered by the utilities, an entire industry of intermediaries has developed to provide the knowledge, equipment, service, and capital necessary to participate in demand response and energy efficiency programs, as well as to make their buildings more efficient with new equipment and controls. These intermediaries, or Energy Management Companies (EMCs), include demand management service providers like ENERNOC, INC.®, energy service companies (ESCOs) like AMERESCO®, and others. Demand management service companies enable participation in demand response programs, they monitor and manage peak demand creation, they optimize consumption in light of time-of-use pricing, as well as performing other services. Overall, they seek to save the customer more than the demand management service costs. ESCOs install new, more efficient HVAC and lighting equipment in facilities. The also own the equipment for a period of time, thus earning payback and profit on their investment through the savings that they create. All EMCs seek to leverage incentives from utilities in order to improve the value they offer their customers and to increase their returns. In order to prove the value that they have created, both to the customer and to the utility, EMCs are often burdened with the obligation of "measurement and verification" (M&V) of reduced demand or efficiency created.
As a standard practice, ESCOs generally own the new equipment they install (at no cost to the building owner) in the building for seven to 10 years, and contract with the building owner to produce a specified amount of efficiency, which results in a lower utility bill. These "savings" are the difference between what the bill would have been without the efficiency measures and what the new, lower bill is with them in place. During the performance period, the ESCO is paid the bulk of the savings created and the remainder accrues to the building owner. The ESCO generally achieves payback inside of 75 percent of the performance period and profits until conclusion. The building owner has a slightly lower utility bill during the performance period and a much lower utility bill afterwards, in addition to owning a more efficient building with new equipment with no cash outlay. In essence, an ESCO guarantees performance to the building owner while assuming the risk of underperformance. However, in order to create a performance contract with the building owner, ESCOs must be able to prove the efficiency that they create. In the past, ESCOs have limited their activities to the simple replacement of inefficient equipment with equipment that consumes less electricity. For example, an ESCO might replace existing T12 fluorescent lamps and ballasts with more efficient T8 lamps and ballasts. In this case, the efficiency created is known on the front end of the project and no measurement and verification during the project is necessary.
The present inventors have observed that substantial energy savings can be obtained through the employment of lighting control systems that include such devices as dimmable lighting electronics (e.g., fluorescent ballasts, LED drivers), daylight harvesters, and occupancy sensors. Lighting control systems achieve efficiencies of 60-80 percent by actively modifying the lighting levels according to need (e.g., dimming or turning off lamps when a room is not occupied, leveraging ambient light entering the building through windows and skylights by dimming lighting to only what is necessary to achieve suitable overall lighting levels, etc.). What is precluding ESCOs and others from implementing these control systems in a performance contracting model is the fact that they are inherently dynamic in nature, and actual efficiency created is dependant on more variables than simply installing more efficient electronics. Thus, the present inventors have noted that ESCOs need a cost-effective and accurate method of measuring and verifying efficiency created in dynamic control systems such as a lighting control system. Furthermore, the present inventors have noted that it is virtually impossible to measure lighting energy use only at the meter or circuit breaker level, due to the "noise" created by many other electrical loads in the building. These factors act as disincentives for ESCOs to install dynamic lighting control systems.
Consequently, the problem of measuring and verifying actual efficiency created by dynamic control systems extends beyond lighting to HVAC systems, motors, and other electrical loads.
Utilities require by contract that demand management service providers measure and verify curtailed load during demand response events in order to be paid for the service. Heretofore, the majority of electrical loads employed in demand response programs has been large industrial loads that customers are willing to shut down during a demand response event. These large loads have known electrical footprints and their curtailment can easily be measured and verified at the meter with a common power meter. Much attention has been given by utilities and EMCs to extend demand response programs beyond the industrial context into commercial buildings using lighting and HVAC as the curtailable load. To date, this has occurred in a very small percentage of commercial buildings. In order to effectively control loads such as lighting and HVAC that owners and tenants of building depend upon for quality of service, dynamic control systems such as are noted above are often employed, making it difficult or prohibitively expensive to measure and verify the load curtailed during an event. This has limited the deployment of demand response programs in commercial buildings.
Utilities and industry players have promoted and developed the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) standard that defines a communication protocol between utilities and automated infrastructure in commercial buildings for demand response purposes. According to OpenADR, utilities communicate demand response events to intelligent energy management systems in commercial buildings, which acknowledge receipt of the event notification. However, the utility has no insight into how much curtailable load exists prior to the event nor the actual amount of load curtailed building by building during or after the event. This is primarily because no technology exists in commercial buildings to cost effectively measure power consumption at the device level. And the present inventors have noted that with such technology, an energy management system could compare current consumption levels with demand response tolerance profiles established by the building owner, device by device, and advertise to the utility in real-time the demand response "capacity" of the building. This would dramatically improve the effectiveness of OpenADR programs and improve the efficiency of the utility's grid.
The present inventors have also noted that demand management service providers can reduce building owner utility bills by monitoring and limiting peak energy consumption of the building. The ability to perform this service is greatly enhanced by the ability to cost-effectively measure power at the device level, particularly in the context of dynamic control systems. By understanding power consumption at the device level and in aggregate for the building, the service provider can adjust and curtail discretionary loads temporarily in real-time, thereby avoiding unnecessary and costly artificial peak consumption.
The present inventors further note that demand management service providers can further reduce building owner utility bills by adjusting and timing consumption according to variable time-of-use rate structures that are increasing employed by utilities. Again, the ability to perform this service is greatly enhanced by the ability to cost-effectively measure power at the device level. Some loads are more discretionary than others (e.g., lowered lighting levels are generally more tolerable than increased temperatures), and understanding the power consumption and real-time cost at the device level increases the effectiveness of the service.
Many utilities subsidize the creation of more efficient buildings by paying incentives for the installation of more efficient lighting and HVAC equipment. While the value of more efficient equipment is well understood and incentives can be sized appropriately, the present inventors note that the value of dynamic control systems as described above is less so. For the same reasons that ESCOs are hesitant to install dynamic control systems, utilities are hesitant to pay blindly for incentives for dynamic control systems. However, the present inventors have observed that with the ability to cost-effectively measure power at the device level, utilities would be able to size incentives based upon real-world measurements of efficiency created once the system was installed. The lack of such technology limits the growth of energy efficiency programs and the dissemination of highly efficient dynamic control systems.
Therefore, what is needed is a cost effective mechanism for measuring power consumption at the device level (e.g. fluorescent ballast, LED driver, HVAC equipment, power supplies, etc.).
What is additionally needed is an apparatus for automatic power metering that utilizes existing access points in common original equipment manufacturer (OEM) device electronics (e.g. fluorescent ballast, LED driver, HVAC equipment, power supplies, etc.) to obtain sub-metering data.
What is further needed is a low cost technique for implementing power metering at the device level, which operates in conjunction with existing power factor correction circuitry.

Apparatus and method for automatic power metering


A data storage device is provided with a housing having an access opening, a pair of tape reels and dual sided data tape. The access opening is adjacent to a tape path for access of each tape side. A tape drive is provided with a pair of read/write heads, each having a first position to receive the tape, and a second position for engaging one side of the tape for performing a read/write function. A method is disclosed for reading and/or writing data with a data storage device by providing a housing having an access opening, a pair of tape reels, and dual sided tape. The data storage device is loaded to a tape drive having a pair of read/write heads that are actuated to engage the data tape sides. The tape is conveyed along the pair of read/write heads while a read/write function is performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to data storage devices and tape drives for dual sided tape.
2. Background Art
Data storage devices such as data storage tape cartridges, have been employed in the computer, audio, video, and related arts. Data storage tape devices are often employed for recording and storing large quantities of data, such as media, for subsequent access and use.
Magnetic tape continues to be a popular medium for recording and storing information. Magnetic tape storage systems hold vast quantities of data at a relatively low cost per bit stored. Magnetic tapes are easily manipulated by automated storage systems. Data may be added to information already stored on a magnetic tape. In addition, magnetic tapes may be erased and re-recorded. Finally, magnetic tape has a long shelf life under proper storage conditions.
Magnetic tape and tape storage systems may be made increasingly more efficient and cost-effective by increasing the data storage density. Alternatively, information density may be greatly increased by utilizing double-sided magnetic tape such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,068,464 B2, which issued to Dee on Jun. 27, 2006 and is incorporated in its entirety be reference herein.
The prior art has also provided a single reel storage device and an associated tape drive for reading both sides of data tape as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,578 B1, which issued on Jun. 17, 2003 to Tucker et al. and is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.
Access time for tape drives is typically much longer than access time for disc drives or optical products. The time required to thread tape through guiding components can add significantly to load time. Also, the time required to wind hundreds of meters of tape from one reel to another causes time to data to take excessively long in some formats. Decreasing time to data makes tape drives more competitive with other technologies.

Dual sided tape storage device and dual sided tape drive


Synchronization circuitry and synchronization system for synchronizing converters/controllers that are electrically-coupled to a common synchronization node. The synchronization system includes synchronization circuitry, oscillation circuitry, and a leading edge detector and pulse generator. The synchronization circuitry includes pull-up circuitry and pull-down circuitry for generating a voltage pulse-train at the synchronization node. The oscillation circuitry controls which of the pull-up and the pull-down circuitry is driven ON and which is driven OFF.

The present invention relates to power electronics and, more particularly, to a bi-directional, single-wire, synchronization circuit and system for plural, electrically-coupled power converter/controllers.
Commonly, when plural power converter/controllers, e.g., DC/DC power converter/controllers, are connected in parallel or in groups, an external master clock provides frequency synchronization. Alternatively, one of the power converter/controllers is structured and arranged as a "master", creating a "master-slave" relationship with the other converter/controllers, to provide frequency synchronization.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a simple, single-line, bi-directional frequency synchronization system that does not require external devices and/or that does not require designating any one, specific converter/controller as a "master" converter/controller.

Synchronization circuitry for multiple power converters coupled at a common node


An integrated circuit that is capable of being burn-in tested with an AC stress and a testing method using the same are provided. The integrated circuit includes an address transforming means and a data generating means. The address transforming means transforms the addresses of the memory cell selected and generates an address signal responsive to a clock signal. The data generating means generates a data signal that alternates between a first state and a second state responsive to the clock signal and provides the data signal to the selected memory cell. The integrated circuit includes a switch for coupling the test supply line to the normal supply line during testing and intercepting the test supply line from the normal supply line during normal operations responsive to a control signal. The integrated circuit of the present invention allows a wafer burn-in test by sequentially and repeatedly applying the AC stress to all the memory cells.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an integrated circuit and, more particularly to an integrated circuit for performing a burn-in test at the wafer level of semiconductor production and a testing method using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits including DRAM and SRAM memory cells often fail due to defects in the manufacturing process. To screen such failures, a burn-in test is performed on the integrated circuits. In the burn-in test, a write operation is repeatedly performed under a high voltage and at a high temperature. The burn-in test is performed after the integrated circuit is packaged. In other words, circuit chips are electrically tested in a wafer state during manufacturing. The chips that pass the wafer test are packaged and the burn-in tested. The burn-in test is often called package burn-in (PBI).
The burn-in time increases as the integration level of the circuit increases. Additionally, integrated circuits are made with a wider variety of functions and pins, the socket density of a burn-in board is reduced. Accordingly, productivity deteriorates. Also, package yield worsens since initial failure is not appropriately detected at the wafer level.
Various water burn-in level methods have been developed to address the above-related problems. One such method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,294,776 to Kuruyama assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba of Japan. There, all dies in a wafer are electronically stressed during burn-in by applying a higher than normal supply voltage Vcc and ground voltage Vss. In the Furuyama patent the stress applied is direct current (DC) voltage. This is because an alternating current voltage cannot be reliably sequentially and repeatedly applied to all of the memory cells.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an integrated circuit capable of being effectively burn-in tested by reliably sequentially and repeatedly applying an AC stress to all memory cells contained therein.
There is provided an integrated circuit including a plurality of memory cells arranged in rows and columns and having at least one test mode. The integrated circuit according to the present invention comprises an address transforming means and a data generating means. The address transforming means transforms the addresses of the memory cell selected and generates an address signal responsive to a clock signal. The data generating means generates a data signal that alternates between a first state and a second state responsive to the clock signal and provides the data signal to the selected memory cell.
Also provided is a semiconductor wafer including a plurality of dies arranged in columns and rows, each die includes a plurality of memory cells, a normal and at least one test mode, and a scribe lane positioned between adjacent dies. A test supply line for receiving an external test power supply in the test operation mode is positioned in the scribe lane. Each die comprises a switch for coupling the test supply line to the normal supply line in the test mode and uncoupling the test supply line from the normal supply line in the normal mode, responsive to a control signal. The voltage level of the data provided to the memory cell is controlled by the voltage level of the normal supply line.
Also, provided is a method for testing a plurality of integrated circuit dies arranged in rows and columns on a wafer, each die including a plurality of memory cells. The method comprises the steps of counting a clock signal, generating an address signal for a selected memory cell responsive to the counted clock signal, generating a data signal responsive to the clock signal, and providing the data signal to the selected memory cell.
The integrated circuit and the semiconductor wafer of the present invention, allow effective wafer burn-in testing by sequentially and repeatedly applying the AC stress to a plurality of memory cells while minimizing current consumption.

Integrated circuit capable of being burn-in tested using an alternating current stress and a testing method using the same


A method, a controller, and a surgical hybrid navigation system for transferring a registration of three dimensional image data of a surgical object from a first to a second surgical navigation system are described. A first tracker that is detectable by a first detector of the first surgical navigation system is arranged in a fixed spatial relationship with the surgical object and a second tracker that is detectable by a second detector of the second surgical navigation system is arranged in a fixed spatial relationship with the surgical object. The method includes registering the three dimensional image data of the surgical object in a first coordinate system of the first surgical navigation system and determining a first position and orientation of the first tracker in the first coordinate system and a second position and orientation of the second tracker in a second coordinate system of the second surgical navigation system.

Many surgical procedures benefit from determining positions and orientations of surgical objects, such as surgical instruments and a patient, as a basis for providing navigation instructions to a surgeon. Surgical navigation initially often requires registering three dimensional image data of a surgical object in a coordinate system (CS) of a surgical navigation system (SNS). During registration, the three dimensional image data is arranged and oriented in the CS relative to a tracker associated with the surgical object, which subsequently allows determining changes in the position and orientation of the three dimensional image data in the CS by tracking movements of the tracker.
In an exemplary application of a SNS, a surgical instrument and the patient are each associated with a tracker, wherein three dimensional image data previously obtained by, for example, a computer tomography (CT) scan is registered with the patient tracker and three dimensional image data of the surgical instrument is registered with the instrument tracker. By tracking the trackers of the patient and the surgical instrument, the SNS can determine the position and orientation of both surgical objects and calculate a spatial relationship between the three dimensional image data of the surgical instrument and of the patient. The determined spatial relationship can, for example, be displayed on a screen, helping the surgeon guide the surgical instrument relative to the patient.
During surgery, a plurality of SNSs may be used in parallel or one after the other. In such a case, the surgeon may select the SNS that best suits the task at hand. SNSs based on an optical tracking principle tend to provide high accuracy for the registration of the three dimensional image data, whereas SNSs based on an electromagnetic principle generally perform well for tracking. A surgeon provided with an optical SNS and an electromagnetic SNS can perform registration using the optical SNS and then continue tracking using the electromagnetic SNS. Consequently, surgical navigation may be improved by employing a plurality of SNSs.
In order to separate the registration and tracking steps between two SNSs, the registration performed within a first CS of a first SNS may need to be transferred to a second CS of a second SNS that is used for the tracking step afterwards. To this end, a hybrid tracker can be used that comprises a first tracker that is detectable by the first SNS and a second tracker that is detectable by the second SNS. The hybrid tracker can be attached to a surgical object such as a patient or a surgical instrument for registration with the first SNS. The position and orientation of the first tracker relative to the second tracker is known, which allows calculating a transformation for transferring the registration performed in the first CS to the second CS. Since, however, the position and orientation of the first tracker relative to the second tracker has to be known for the transformation, the surgeon cannot change the geometric properties of the hybrid tracker without having to perform additional calibration steps. The surgeon is therefore limited in his or her ability to freely select the position of both trackers.
Prior art is known from WO 2016/066287. This document discloses a system for navigating surgical instruments relative to a patient, comprising a first tracking system for measuring the position of at least one of a first type of tracker and a second tracking system for measuring the position of at least one of a second type of tracker. The system comprises at least one patient tracker belonging to the first type of tracker for measuring the position of the patient and a surgical instrument comprising a tracker belonging to the second type of tracker. The system further comprises a connector for rigidly but removably connecting the at least one of a first type of tracker with at least one of a second type of tracker for registration and/or transformation of the coordinates of the surgical instrument to the coordinates of the image data of the patient and vice versa.

Technique for transferring a registration of image data of a surgical object from one surgical navigation system to another surgical navigation system


The invention relates to a method of providing additional corrosion protection to a localized portion of a pole such as a utility pole, support pole, or the like comprising the steps of: (1) determining which portion of the pole is to receive additional corrosion protection; (2) blast cleaning that localized portion of the pole which is to receive additional corrosion protection; (3) placing the pole into a caustic tank; (4) removing the pole from the caustic tank; (5) subjecting the pole to a caustic rinse; (6) placing the pole into an acid tank; (7) removing the pole from the acid tank; (8) subjecting the pole to an acid rinse; (9) placing the pole into a flux tank; (10) removing the pole from the flux tank; (11) placing the pole into a heated galvanizing kettle; and (12) removing the pole from the galvanizing kettle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a galvanized steel support pole, such as a utility pole or the like, which has additional localized corrosion protection thereon. This invention also relates to the method of providing additional corrosion protection to a localized portion of the support pole.
2. Description of the Related Art
Galvanized steel poles are sometimes placed into service wherein the lower ends of the poles are subjected to corrosive soil and/or water. The customary galvanic coating, usually comprised of zinc or zinc-rich alloy, will resist the corrosive environment for some time, but will possibly deteriorate over a period of time.

Method of applying additional corrosion protection to a localized portion of a galvanized pole


An electrical connector includes a housing and a lever supported pivotally on a pivot disposed on the housing. The lever is configured to rotate on the pivot within a range from a pre-engagement position to a final engagement position. The lever includes a recess configured to accommodate a boss disposed on a mating connector therein in accordance with rotational movement of the lever. The lever also includes a locking mechanism having a detent to engage with an engaging portion disposed on the housing at the final engagement position. Further, the housing includes a movable stopper disposed on a surface thereof. The movable stopper engages with an edge portion of the lever at the pre-engagement position. When combined with the mating connector, the movable stopper primarily interferes with the boss, and is displaced so as to release the engagement with the edge portion of the lever. Thus, the engagement with the edge portion is released, and thereby the lever freely rotates on the pivot, while the boss is being fitted into the recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electrical connectors, and particularly to an electrical connector with a locking mechanism that assures a combination with a mating electrical connector.
2. Background Art
An electrical connector is a core component used in many electronic systems to connect wiring harnesses. In recent years, electronic systems have grown increasingly complicated. As a consequence, the number of electrical connectors used in some electronic systems has increased, along with the number of wiring harnesses. Some relatively large connectors have also been developed, which may be provided with several dozen terminals or poles. Such connectors may typically include sub housings or sub connectors corresponding to terminals of various types, such as optical fibers and electrical wires for communication and for power.
Connectors are typically manufactured by a connector manufacturer, and thereafter supplied to a harness assembler to attach wiring harnesses thereinto. For example, in the process of assembling a female connector, the terminals disposed at each end of the wiring harnesses may be inserted into a housing from a rear side of the housing. The female connector is typically provided with detents, which may be referred to as housing lances or terminal lances, within the housing thereof. When the terminals of the wiring harnesses are inserted into the housing, a portion of the detents may be moved upward due to interference with the terminals, and the lances may thereafter "snap" back to engage with notches of the terminals. The TPA (Terminal Position Assurance) member is then inserted into the housing, and bridges a gap in the housing to restrain undesirable movement of the detents. As shown by an exemplary connector, the TPA member is inserted into the housing from a front side surface of the housing, and thereby the TPA member bridges the gap, restraining the movement of the detents. The resulting female connector, as a final product, can be combined with a mating connector, i.e., a male connector. The larger connectors typically require a greater force to combine with the mating connector. Accordingly, the larger connectors are generally provided with an insertion-assist mechanism, such as a lever mechanism, in order to reduce an necessary insertion force. The insertion-assist mechanism may typically include a connector locking mechanism to assure a reliable connection between combined connectors.

Electrical connector with a locking mechanism


A polyphenolic-derivative chelating agent derived from lignin, lignin-derived, or lignin-containing materials. The chelating agent is derived by treating the starting material at acidic conditions, followed by oxidative degradation of the acid-treated starting material. The chelating agent has a functional group composition including about 24-29% COOH, about 2.0-3.0% OH(phenolic), and about 17-19% NO.sub.2, by weight, and an average molecular weight of at least about 400.

A chelating agent contains two or more electron donor atoms that can form coordinate bonds to a single metal atom. Chelation is an equilibrium system involving a chelating agent (chelant), the metal, and the chelate. The equilibrium constants of chelation are typically orders of magnitude greater than are those involving complexation of metal atoms by molecules having only one donor atom. Chelating agents, broadly, are used to control metal ion concentrations. Chelates (the chelation complexes) have properties that are different than those of both the chelating agent and the chelated metal ion. Chelating agents can thus be used to reduce undesirable properties of metal ions by sequestration. Alternatively, chelating agents can be used to produce desirable effects, for example in waste water treatment, metal buffering, corrosion inhibition, solubilization, treatment for metal intoxication, and cancer therapy.
There are a large number of chelating agents currently known. A number of known chelating agents are listed in the Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, Fourth Edition, John Wiley and Sons (1991), the chapter entitled "Chelating Agents", Howard, W., and Wilson, D., Vol. 5, at pp. 768-769.
Most of these chelating agents are expensive to produce, usually derived from relatively expensive petroleum-based starting materials, and derived by relatively complex procedures from the starting materials. Accordingly, most chelating agents are not adapted for use in commercial processes requiring an abundant supply of relatively inexpensive chelating agents. Rather, they are suited only for use as analytical reagents.
In addition to the expense of many of the chelating agents, a number of the chelating agents are at most very slightly soluble in water, making them inappropriate, or too expensive, to employ in water-based environments. Additionally, many of the chelating agents are not stable at elevated temperatures of 100.degree. C. or greater, or in high-energy conditions such as in radioactive environments. Additionally, many of the chelating agents are not stable and perform poorly in acidic conditions, and are not oxidation stable. Each of these limitations affects the practical uses of any given chelating agent.
There are a number of situations in which there is a great need for a chelating agent which is inexpensive enough to be used in an industrial process, yet robust enough to withstand elevated temperature/high energy conditions, and/or acidic, and/or oxidizing, conditions. Examples of these types of environments include removal of radioactive materials from low level and high level radioactive liquids. For example, currently much effort is being made to concentrate low level radioactive liquid waste. The metals separation today is typically accomplished by membrane filtration. Spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants are typically cleaned with strong oxidants, such as nitric acid, at pHs of less than one. It would be highly desirable to employ a chelating agent to sequester the radioactive substances from the cleaning solution in order to decrease storage costs. However, most chelating substances are unstable and perform poorly in the highly acidic condition in which this waste exists, and/or are too expensive to be used in such an industrial process.


Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for water purification. The systems have a preheater, a degasser, an evaporation chamber, a demister, and a control system, wherein the control system permits operation of the purification system through repeated cycles without requiring user intervention or cleaning. The system is capable of removing, from a contaminated water sample, a plurality of contaminant types including: microbiological contaminants, radiological contaminants, metals, salts, volatile organics, and non-volatile organics.

Water purification technology is rapidly becoming an essential aspect of modern life as conventional water resources become increasingly scarce, municipal distribution systems for potable water deteriorate with age, and increased water usage depletes wells and reservoirs, causing saline water contamination. Additionally, further contamination of water sources is occurring from a variety of activities, which include, for example, intensive agriculture, gasoline additives, and heavy toxic metals. These issues are leading to increasing and objectionable levels of germs, bacteria, salts, MTBE, chlorates, perchlorates, arsenic, mercury, and even the chemicals used to disinfect potable water, in the water system.
Conventional technologies, such as reverse osmosis (RO), filtration, and chemical treatment are rarely able to handle the diverse range of water contaminants. Additionally, even though they are commercially available, they often require multiple treatment stages or combination of various technologies to achieve acceptable water quality. Less conventional technologies, such as ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation or ozone treatment, can be effective against viruses and bacteria, but seldom remove other contaminants, such as dissolved gases, salts, hydrocarbons, and insoluble solids. Additionally, most distillation technologies, while they may be superior at removing a subset of contaminants are frequently unable to handle all types of contaminants.
Accordingly, sophisticated distillation systems that are continuous, self-cleaning, and recover a major fraction of the input water appear as the best long-term option to resolve increasing water contamination problems and water scarcity.


An image processing apparatus and an image processing method are provided. The image processing apparatus includes a sample unit, an amplifier, an analog to digital converter, and a white balance unit. The sample unit is for sampling a pixel to obtain a pixel voltage. The amplifier is for amplifying the pixel voltage according to an analog gain. The analog to digital converter is for converting the amplified pixel voltage into digital pixel data, the digital pixel data including a number of first sub-pixel data which are corresponding to different colors. The white balance unit is for obtaining a number of second of sub-pixel data from white balance compensating the first sub-pixel data. The first sub-pixel data are white balance compensated respectively according to the analog gain and a number of white balance gains which are corresponding to different sub-pixels.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The disclosure relates in general to an apparatus and a method for image processing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current photosensitive elements include, for examples, digital charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensors. A saturation level, or full well level, of a photosensitive element usually is designed as one within the operation range of an analog to digital converter. As such, when the analog to digital converter uses a minimal analog gain, the saturation level of a photosensitive element has a clamp point in the operation range. Digital image processing of pixel data usually introduces color distortion or noise of high luminance. In this situation, a higher analog gain can be used such that the saturation level has a clamp point outside the operation range of the analog to digital converter, thereby improving image defects. However, the usage of a higher analog gain decreases the dynamic range of the image, and causes increased noise.

Apparatus and method for white balance compensation of pixel data


A control system/method for an automated mechanical transmission system (12) is provided for limiting driveline torque to a predetermined maximum value (max.sub.-- OS.sub.-- torq). Driveline torque is controlled by controlled fueling of the engine (16) to limit engine speed (ES) to a maximum value (ES max) which is determined as a function of input shaft speed (IS), maximum output shaft torque (max.sub.-- OS.sub.-- torq), mechanical ratio (gear-ratio) of the engaged transmission gear and torque converter (20) constants (torque.sub.-- ratio, K factor).

Related Applications
This application is related to co-pending U.S. patent applications:
Ser. No. 07/698,745 entitled RANGE SHIFTING ONLY FAULT TOLERANCE METHOD/SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,721;
Ser. No. 07/697,813 entitled THROTTLE CONTROL FAULT DETECTION AND TOLERANCE METHOD/SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,729;
Ser. No. 07/697,384 entitled TOOTH BUTT/BUZZ CONTROL METHOD/SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,711;
Ser. No. 07/698,752 entitled SMOOTH UPSHIFT CONTROL METHOD/SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,897;
Ser. No. 07/698,751 entitled COMPOUND POWER DOWNSHIFT METHOD/SYSTEM, now abandoned;
Ser. No. 07/697,814 entitled TORQUE CONVERTER SLIP RATE BASED SKIP POWER DOWNSHIFT CONTROL STRATEGY, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,553, all filed the same day, May 1, 1991, and assigned to the same assignee, Eaton Corporation, as this application.

Driveline torque limit control strategy-using SAE J1922 type engine control


A control apparatus which can control a continuous electrolytic ion water producing apparatus so that determination and indication of energization and electrolyzing capacity of an electrolytic cell and determination and indication of a life of a filter cartridge are performed appropriately. A control unit connected to a power source circuit of the electrolytic cell includes an electrolysis judging device which judges, based on a signal of a flow rate sensor and a signal of a range change-over switch whether or not an electrolyzing operation should be performed. When the electrolyzing judging device judges that an electrolyzing operation should be performed, a power source switch is turned on to cause the power source circuit to energize the electrolytic cell to perform an electrolyzing operation. On the contrary when it is judged that an electrolyzing operation should not be performed, the electrolysis judging device turns off the power source switch to put the electrolytic cell into a deenergized condition.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a continuous electrolytic ion water producing apparatus which electrolyzes water such as city water to continuously produce alkali ion water and acid ion water, and more particularly to a controlling apparatus for a continuous electrolytic ion water producing apparatus of the type mentioned which performs determination and indication of energization and an electrolyzing capacity of an electrolytic cell, determination and indication of a life of a filter cartridge provided for removing residual chlorine from water and so forth.
2. Description of the Related Art
A continuous electrolytic ion water producing apparatus which applies a dc voltage between a pair of positive and negative electrodes in drinking water such as city water to electrolyze the drinking water to directly produce alkali ion water and acid ion water is already known. Alkali ion water is used to improve the acid condition resulting from modern eating habits depending upon meat and thereby promotes health while acid ion water is used to wash the surface of the human body and for make-up.
A conventional electrolytic ion water producing apparatus of the type mentioned is generally constructed such that, when water flows therethrough, a pressure switch detect whether or not water flows at more than a predetermined reference flow rate, and when water flows at more than the reference flow rate, an electrolytic cell is energized automatically to produce ion water. The electrolyzing capacity of the electrolytic cell increases as the flow rate decreases, and the hydrogen ion exponent (pH) of electrolytic ion water produced depends much upon the flow rate and so forth. Therefore, a range change-over switch for changing over the electrolyzing strength is provided such that a user operates, visually estimating a flow rate of ion water flowing into a glass, the range change-over switch to regulate the electrolyzing capacity. Further, while a filter cartridge for removing residual chlorine contained in city water is attached to an inlet pipe, the time of exchange of the filter cartridge, i.e. expiration of its useful life, is normally determined from the cumulative water passing time water passes through the filter cartridge.
With the conventional electrolytic ion water producing apparatus, however, a pressure switch is employed to detect a flow of water, and the pressure switch sometimes does not operate regularly in a region in which the pressure of city water is comparatively low or when a pipe line is partially damaged. Particularly in case the outlet port for ion water is choked, the electrolytic cell may be energized in error while water does not flow. Meanwhile, as regards regularization of the electrolyzing capacity, since measurement of the flow rate relies upon the sixth sense of a user, changing over of the range of the electrolyzing strength cannot be performed accurately, and when the quality of water changes and the change of the quality of water has an influence on the electrolyzing capacity, it is almost impossible to regularize the electrolyzing capacity. Further, since the determination of life of the filter cartridge depends upon the cumulative time for water passing a there through, differences may arise between the cumulative quantity of water actually used and the capacity of the filter due to differences in water flow among various homes, that is, from the difference in flow rate per unit time. Consequently, it is not possible to determine service life accurately in any case. Accordingly, a need exists to effectively solve the problems of the conventional electrolytic ion water producing apparatus described above.
A solution to the problems is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Application No. 1-163494. According to the proposed solution, an electrolytic current supplied to an electrolytic cell is detected, and the magnitude of the electrolytic current is controlled so as to coincide with a value of a current set by selective operation of an electrolyzing strength adjusting switch.
With the proposed solution, however, since an electrolytic current is controlled in response to selection of the electrolyzing strength adjusting switch, such control is not available as to regularize the electrolyzing capacity in various conditions of use or to precisely determine and indicate life of a filter cartridge.

Controlling apparatus for continuous electrolytic ion water producing apparatus


A system and method for estimating position of a machine is disclosed. The method may include receiving, from a perception sensor, scene data describing an environment in a vicinity of the machine and estimating a first position of the machine based on the scene data. The method may include determining whether a first signal indicative of a location of the machine is received by the machine and estimating a second position of the machine when it is determined that the first signal is received. The method may include comparing the second position with the first position and estimating a third position of the machine using at least one of the first position and the second position.

Machines such as, for example, dozers, motor graders, wheel loaders, wheel tractor scrapers, and other types of heavy equipment are used to perform a variety of tasks. Autonomously and semi-autonomously controlled machines are capable of operating with little or no human input by relying on information received from various machine systems. For example, based on machine movement input, terrain input, and/or machine operational input, a machine can be controlled to remotely and/or automatically complete a programmed task. By receiving appropriate feedback from each of the different machine systems during performance of the task, continuous adjustments to machine operation can be made that help to ensure precision and safety in completion of the task. In order to do so, however, the information provided by the different machine systems should be accurate and reliable. The position, velocity, distance traveled by the machine, etc. are parameters whose accuracy may be important for control of the machine and its operations.
Conventional machines typically utilize a navigation or positioning system to determine various operating parameters such as position, velocity, pitch rate, yaw rate, roll rate, etc. for the machine. Some conventional machines utilize a combination of one or more of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) data, a Distance Measurement Indicator (DMI) or odometer measurement data, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data, etc. to determine these parameters. Some machines utilize RADAR sensors, SONAR sensors, LIDAR sensors, IR and non-IR cameras, and other similar sensors to help guide the machines safely and efficiently along different kinds of terrain. Conventional machines have attempted to fuse these different types of data to determine the position of a land-based vehicle.
An exemplary system that may be utilized to determine the position of a machine is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0033645 ("the '645 publication") to Levinson et al. that published on Feb. 7, 2008. The system of the '645 publication utilizes location data from sensors such as Global Positioning System (GPS), as well as scene data from a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device to determine a location or position of the machine. Specifically, the data is used to create a high-resolution map of the terrain and the position of the machine is localized with respect to the map.
Although the system of the '645 publication may be useful in determining the position of the machine, the system may not provide accurate estimates for the position of the machine while dead-reckoning (i.e., during periods of time when GPS signals are unavailable). Moreover, the system of the '645 publication may not provide accurate position information when GPS signals are unreliable or erroneous due to multipath errors, position jumps, etc. because the system of the '645 publication does not check for the accuracy of the GPS signal.
The positioning system of the present disclosure is directed toward solving one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.

Machine positioning system utilizing position error checking