Installation equipment for mounting a display main body onto an installation surface, includes a link assembly including a first link having a first end rotatably attached to the installation surface, a second link having a first end rotatably attached to the display main body and a second end rotatably attached to a second end of the second link, and a spring member provided in at least one joint area of the first and second links and elastically biasing the display main body toward a wall; a lower supporting bracket attached to the installation surface and rotatably supporting a lower back of the display main body; and an upper supporting bracket attached to the installation surface and supporting the link assembly. The present invention provides installation equipment and a jig which have a simple structure and are convenient for mounting the display main body onto a wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to installation equipment for a display main body and a jig for the installation equipment, and more particularly to installation equipment for a display main body and a jig for the installation equipment, which is an improvement in mounting a display main body onto a wall.
2. Description of the Related Art
Installation equipment for a display main body is generally used in mounting, onto a predetermined installation surface, a display main body having a screen. Recently, the screen of the display main body has been made of an LCD (liquid crystal display), a PDP (plasma display panel), etc., allowing the display main body to be thin and the screen to be relatively wide. Since the display main body is thin, the display main body can be conveniently mounted onto a predetermined installation surface such as a wall.
Accordingly, installation equipment, which was disclosed in Japanese Patent No. JP11344934, was developed to mount an object such as a display main body to a wall 170. This conventional installation equipment, as shown in FIG. 1, includes a pair of arms 150 supporting a display main body 101 having a screen, a base 130 attached to a wall and rotatably attached to the arms 150 at a lower part thereof, and a mounting bracket 110 provided between the arm 150 and the base 130 and rotatably connecting the arm 150 with the base 130.
The mounting bracket 110 includes a first link 113 having a first end rotatably attached to the base 130 at an upper part thereof, a second link 117 having a first end rotatably attached to the arm 150 and a second end rotatably attached to a second end of the first link 113, and a locking member 116 provided in the second ends of the first and second links 113 and 117 and used in adjusting an angle between the first and second links 113 and 117. A compression spring (not shown) is inside the locking member 116, which locks and unlocks rotation between the first and second links 113 and 117 by using the elastic force of the compression spring. Herein, the angle between the first and second links 113 and 117 is selected from seven predetermined angles by the locking member 116. The base 130 is provided with a damping part. The shock absorber includes a gas damper 160 attached to the base 130, and a wire 161 having a first end coupled to an upper end of the gas damper 160 and a second end coupled to a shaft (not shown) connecting two arms 150. Hence, when the locking member 116 is released, the damping part prevents the display main body 101 from tilting forward suddenly due to its own weight.
As described above, the conventional installation equipment comprises the arm 150 and the base 130, which are placed between the display main body 101 and the wall, and the mounting bracket 110, which is placed between the arm 150 and the base 130, to permit an object such as the display main body 101 to be tilted about a predetermined axis. Further, the mounting bracket 110 includes the locking member 116, so that the tilt of the object can be locked at a predetermined angle and unlocked. Further, the base 130 includes the damping part having the gas damper 160 and the wire 161, so that when the locking member 116 is released, the damping part can prevent the object from tilting forward suddenly due to its own weight. Thus, a user can adjust the tilt of the object by pushing and pulling the object.
However, the conventional installation equipment is not only complicated because the damping part has the gas damper 160 and wire 161, the locking member 116, etc., but such installation equipment is also inconvenient because, when the user tilts the object, the object can be pushed and pulled when the locking member 116 is released. Further, in the conventional installation equipment, it is impossible to adjust the tilt of the object finely because the locking member can stepwise lock the tilt of the object. Furthermore, the conventional installation equipment is not compatible with display main bodies of various sizes because the sizes of the arms and the base depend on the size of the display main body.

Installation equipment for display main body and jig for installation equipment


An electrical energy processing unit of an apparatus to kill a plant or at least attenuate plant growth is disclosed. The electrical energy processing unit includes a converter and a control circuit. Also disclosed are an apparatus that includes the electrical energy processing unit and a method of utilizing the apparatus. Further disclosed are a computer program for a processor of the control circuit of the electrical energy processing unit and a non-transitory computer readable medium that includes the computer program.

In properties both commercial and domestic it is common to kill or at least control the growth of unwanted plants, commonly referred to as weeds. A conventional process for doing so is to extract manually or by means of a mechanical implement, the weed from the ground. It is preferable to extract the weed in its entirety with its roots intact, as a portion that remains in the ground can re-grow. A drawback with such a process is that ensuring entire extraction is laborious and particularly difficult. A further drawback is that weeds can seed or re-grow quickly, particularly in warm and wet climates, which means that regular repetitions of the process are required. A yet further drawback is that mechanically removing a weed can disturb the surrounding soil such that: buried seeds are surfaced; crops/seeds are inadvertently removed via the interconnecting soil of the weed that is removed with the weed; the soil is subject to nutrient and moisture loss.
A solution to the above drawbacks is the process of chemically poisoning the weed by means of a pesticide or more particularly a herbicide. Desirably, herbicides can be formulated to selectively target specific weeds whilst leaving a desired crop relatively unharmed. Such herbicides may function by interfering with the growth of the weed and are often synthetic mimics of natural plant hormones. Exposure of herbicides to humans and animals can arise as a result of improper application, for example, contact during application or as a residue on foodstuffs or other contamination of the food chain. Such exposure is undesirable since a known drawback with herbicides is that they can be toxic to humans and animals. More particularly, herbicides can cause various health problems such as skin and respiratory conditions. There are also concerns over carcinogenicity (e.g. Triazine and Phenoxy herbicides) as well as a relationship with Parkinson's disease. A further drawback is that herbicides are not always successful in killing the target weeds. A yet further drawback is that herbicides can be washed off plants if rain follows their application or blown away due to wind thereby restricting the times of application. A yet further drawback is that herbicides can be harmful to the surrounding environment, for example, they can be transported via leaching or surface runoff to contaminate groundwater or distant surface water sources. Transport of herbicides is promoted by intense rainfall and soils with limited absorption and retention. These effects are confounded if the particular herbicide has high persistence (resistance to degradation) and water solubility. As a result of these numerous drawbacks there are increasingly severe restrictions on the use of herbicides, particularly throughout the European Union. Moreover, as a result of these numerous drawbacks consumers are increasingly demanding organic produce, for which the use of herbicides is prohibited.
A solution to the above drawbacks is the process of killing the weed by means of the application of electrical energy thereto. Apparatus used in such a process generally comprise: an electrical energy source that is arranged with a high-voltage side in electrical contact with applicator electrodes; the applicator electrodes configured to transfer the high-voltage to the weed; a low-voltage side of the electrical energy source connected to ground thus completing a circuit whereby the load comprises a current drawn through the weed. Advantageously, such a process does not contaminate the environment to the same extent as a herbicidal process nor is it as toxic to humans and animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,338,743 discloses such apparatus, wherein the electrical energy source comprises an engine-generator and a high-voltage transformer. The generator supplies electrical current to a primary winding of the high-voltage transformer, the high-voltage transformer has a secondary winding electrically connected to applicator electrodes. The applicator electrodes are configured for direct transmission of the high-voltage to weeds. The apparatus is for agricultural use and is disposed on a vehicle that can be towed by an agricultural vehicle. The apparatus functions in a first mode: wherein the high-voltage is applied to the applicator electrodes or in a stand-by mode: wherein electrical energy is supplied from the generator to electrical outlets that can be used to supply other agricultural equipment. The apparatus is operable to generate 14.4 kV at 60±5 Hz at the applicator electrodes. A drawback with this apparatus is that the high-voltage transformer is bulky. A further drawback is that the output at the applicator electrodes is particularly dangerous to humans and animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,918 discloses further such apparatus, wherein the electrical energy source comprises a piezoelectric crystal and an actuator. The actuator is configured to apply a compressive force to the piezoelectric crystal to thereby generate a high-voltage that is electrically connected to the applicator electrodes. The apparatus is operable to generate 50-1500 V in short bursts at the applicator electrodes. Advantageously, the apparatus does not require a bulky transformer, however it is limited to non-agricultural applications due to the particularly limited power the piezoelectric crystal can supply.
A solution to some of the drawbacks of the above apparatus is provided in JP 2002360151, which discloses a yet further such apparatus, wherein the electrical energy source comprises a battery that supplies a direct current of 24 V to an oscillating unit and a high-voltage transformer. The oscillating unit outputs an oscillating signal to transistors that switch with the oscillating signal to effect the switching of a current through a primary coil of the high-voltage transformer. The high-voltage transformer is configured such that the voltage over a secondary coil is stepped-up to 6 kV with a frequency of 15 kHz and a low current of 0.5 mA. The secondary coil is electrically connected to an electrode that comprises a dielectric outer layer. The apparatus is configured to cause corona discharge at the leaves of the weed and yield ozone that acts to chemically poison the weed. Due to the particular low current the body of the weed is generally not targeted. Accordingly, the apparatus is in general limited to the treatment of small areas and is therefore not suitable for agricultural use.
A further solution to some of the drawbacks of the above apparatus is provided in JP H3-83534, and the related publication: 'Destruction of Weeds by Pulsed High-Voltage Discharges', A. Mizuno, T. Tenma and N. Yamano, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1990, wherein the electrical energy source comprises a DC electrical source and a capacitor. The capacitor is sequentially: connected to the DC electrical source and charged; disconnected from the DC electrical source; connected to an applicator electrode and discharged therefrom as a spark. The applicator electrode transmits the generated spark through the air to the nearest weed, i.e. without direct contact between the weed and electrode. Accordingly the apparatus is not configured for direct contact between the applicator electrode and the weed. The spark comprises 15 kV at 30 pulses per second. A drawback with this apparatus is that the path of the spark is potentially unpredictable due to arcing and therefore could be transmitted to nearby humans and animals. A further drawback is that since the voltage is particularly high there is a significant risk of injury from high current transfer. A yet further drawback is that there is a risk of fire due to ignition of the weed/surrounding plants. A yet further drawback is that the use of a capacitor in this way generally limits the apparatus to the treatment of small areas and small weeds: the apparatus it is therefore not particularly suitable for agricultural use.
A yet further solution to some of the above drawbacks of the above apparatus is provided in the publication: 'A Portable Weed Control Device using High Frequency AC Voltage', A. Mizuno, A. Nagura, T. Miyamoto and A. Chakrabarti, Toyohashi University of Technology, 2001, wherein an electrical energy source comprises a DC electrical source that supplies a direct current of 12V to an oscillating circuit and a high-voltage transformer. The oscillating circuit outputs an oscillating signal to effect the switching of a current through a primary coil of the high-voltage transformer. The high-voltage transformer is configured such that the voltage over a secondary coil is stepped-up to 3 kV with a frequency of 12.5 kHz. The secondary coil is electrically connected to an applicator electrode, which is in electrical contact with a weed. A drawback with this apparatus is that high-voltage output at the applicator electrodes is still particularly dangerous to humans and animals. A further drawback is that the apparatus is in general limited to the treatment of small areas and is therefore not suitable for agricultural use.

Apparatus and method for electrically killing plants


For tamping two adjacent sleepers (9) of a track (3), the joint lowering of two adjoining tamping units (2) takes place with a time delay. As a result, the immersion in particular of immediately adjacent inner tamping tines (20) plunging into a common sleeper crib (18) is facilitated.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of tamping at least two adjacent sleepers of a track by means of at least two tamping units arranged one following the other in a longitudinal machine direction or working direction and designed to be lowered independently of one another, having inner tamping tines provided for immersion into the same sleeper crib as well as outer tamping tines provided for immersion into a sleeper crib singly.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to WO 2011023257 A2, both tamping units provided for tamping a track can be lowered jointly for simultaneous tamping of two adjacent sleepers. If a track obstacle is present, it is also possible to employ only one of the two tamping units, as required, in order to be able to tamp at least a single sleeper in this special situation.

Method for tamping a track by means of asynchronously moved tamping units

Plasser & Theurer Export von Bahnbaumaschinen Gesellschaft m.b.H.


The present invention provides methods of forming carbamates, ureas, and isocyanates. In certain embodiments these methods include the step of reacting an amine with an ester-substituted diaryl carbonate to form an activated carbamate which can be further derivitized to form non-activated carbamate or a urea. The urea or carbamate can be subjected to a pyrolysis reaction to form isocyanate.

This application relates to the preparation of carbamates, ureas, and isocyanates using an activated ester carbonates (e.g. an ester-substituted diaryl carbonate) such as bismethylsalicylcarbonate (BMSC) as a reactant.
Monomeric carbamates, ureas, and isocyanates find substantial utility in a wide variety of applications including fine and specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture and crop protection. Carbamates and ureas share a common structural element in which a carbonyl group is flanked by an oxygen and a nitrogen (carbamates) or two nitrogens (ureas). Isocyanates can be made by pyrolysis of a carbamate or a urea.
Commonly, carbamates and ureas are synthesized by reactions making use of phosgene gas or a solid phosgene precursor such as triphosgene in a reaction with two amines or an amine and an alcohol. The adoption of triphosgene is preferred for safety reasons, even though it costs more and is generally less reactive, requiring longer reactions at higher temperatures. However, triphosgene is only "safe" relative to phosgene itself and it is still classified as a very hazardous material that can generate hazardous decomposition products namely hydrogen chloride, chlorine, phosgene in addition to the carbon monoxide as well as carbon dioxide normally resulting from the extreme thermal degradation of organic compounds. Carbamates (also known as urethanes) can also be made from reaction of a urea intermediate with an alcohol. Dimethyl carbonate and diphenyl carbonate are also used for making carbamates and ureas, but they require long reactions times and/or high temperatures, and/or catalyst to achieve this result.

Method for making carbamates, ureas and isocyanates


A tool for use during the abrasive flow polishing of an airfoil cluster in an abrasive flow machine is described. The tool may comprise a body and prongs extending from the body. Each prong of the tool may be configured to insert between an adjacent pair of airfoils of the airfoil cluster to create at least one channel therebetween. The channel may allow the flow of an abrasive media therethrough.

Abrasive flow polishing is a process that may be used for the surface polishing of metal parts prior to their distribution. The method has been found to be advantageous for the surface finishing and polishing of manufactured parts having complex structural features such as internal passages and/or buried cavities that are difficult to access by other surface finishing techniques. The process may take place in an abrasive flow machine that passes a thick abrasive media back and forth over the surfaces and through any internal passages and/or cavities of a part. The abrasive flow machine may have a fixture to hold the part in a cylinder and it may have pistons to pump the abrasive media back and forth over the part being retained in position by the fixture.
Abrasive flow polishing has been employed as a manufacturing step in the production of surface finished airfoil clusters for gas turbine engines. The airfoil clusters may consist of a plurality of airfoils attached to a supporting rail to form a unitary structure. Due to the complex structural features of airfoil clusters, surface polishing by abrasive flow machining may be more effective than some other polishing methods which may fail to polish hard to reach surfaces of the airfoil cluster to a desired degree.
While abrasive flow machining of airfoil clusters may be an effective method for the surface polishing of airfoil clusters, differential finishing (or uneven surface polishing) of airfoil clusters may occur in some cases. In particular, current fixtures for abrasive flow polishing of airfoil clusters are designed to hold the part in position but may do little to control and guide the flow and velocity of the abrasive media over hard to reach areas of the part. As a result, certain surfaces of the airfoil cluster may receive more surface polishing and more difficult to reach surfaces may be left with non-conforming surface roughness. The hard to reach areas may include the concave surfaces of the airfoils, the root radii of the airfoils, and the platforms located on the support rail between each adjacent pair of airfoils. Moreover, current abrasive flow polishing methods may direct abrasive media directly at the certain regions of the airfoils (e.g., the leading edges) and this may lead to abrasive wear and structural damage in some cases.
Although one approach described in U.S. Patent Application number 2011/0047777 employs a mask to cover and protect specific regions of the airfoil cluster from contact with the abrasive media during abrasive flow machining, strategies for regulating the flow of abrasive media over the surfaces of the airfoil cluster to provide targeted surface polishing are still wanting. Clearly, a system is needed to control the direction and velocity of abrasive media flow over the surfaces of airfoil clusters during abrasive flow processes to ensure that targeted areas (i.e., the platforms and root radii of the airfoils) are polished to desired specifications.

Tool for abrasive flow machining of airfoil clusters


A interconnectable port is provided. The interconnectable port is adapted to be at least partially placed in an incision in a patient's body. The interconnectable port comprises a first and second port adapted be interconnected to form the interconnectable port, wherein the second port is disconnectable from the first port, wherein the first port is connected to a first portion of a flexible wall, and the second port is connected to a second portion of the flexible wall, and wherein the flexible wall is adapted to form a chamber.

Surgical procedures have to some extent been performed as long as the human being have existed, however the techniques that started looking like the surgery being used today started its development during the 16:th century. Minimally invasive surgery is a concept in which the surgeon aims to minimize the scarring and post-operative hospital stay by performing the procedure through a small incision in the skin. The first minimally invasive procedure was performed in the beginning of the 20:th century and has developed into the most preferred technique in the industrialized world for procedures that allow a laparoscopic approach. Laparoscopic surgery is usually performed through 1-4 trocars placed in small incisions in the skin. For creating a cavity in the body of the patient for enabling the surgeon to view inside of the body CO2 gas is usually inserted through one of the trocars inflating the body. The use of CO2 gas requires that the trocars seal properly against the skin of the patient, since to large leaking would reduce the inflation of the cavity, thus not creating a large enough cavity for the surgeon to see. The optical vision is usually provided by means of a fiber optic endoscope possible to move from the outside to get the required views. Even if laparoscopic techniques are widely used today complications do occur, which in some instances leads to conversion into open surgery. The reasons for having to convert a laparoscopic procedure to open surgery could for example be accidental invasion of the adjacent tissue, the size of for example a tumor being removed exceeding the expected size or due to inflammatory disease. Normal conversion rates for laparoscopic procedures range between 5-36%. Since the conversions are done without proper preparation and usually as response to a problem, patients that have undergone converted surgery require longer postoperative hospital stay than scheduled open surgical patients. Complications with converted patients are also a lot higher than with scheduled open surgical patients, as much as 70% higher. In for example laparoscopic Cholecystectomy, 10% is converted to open surgery, due to bleedings, abscess and inflammations and of the converted patients the complications leading to the death of the patient is as much as twice as high. A general drawback with all minimally invasive procedure is that there is a size limitation of the objects possible to transfer between the inside of the patient body and the outside thereof. Usually the removing of larger specimens from the body is performed by means of making a larger incision at the end of the surgery while releasing the CO2 gas which has occupied the cavity in which the laparoscopic surgery is performed. Examples of surgical procedure where relatively large specimens are removed from the body are: appendectomy, cholecystectomy, nephrectomy, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, adrenalectomy, splenectomy, colon resection and liver resection.
Arthroscopy is a surgical discipline similar to laparoscopic surgery but focuses on the joints of the patient, which in arthroscopic surgery can be operated without being fully opened. Usually, a plurality of smaller incisions are made so as to enable a surgeon to insert at least one optical instrument (arthroscope) for optical inspection of the joint, and at least one manipulating instrument for performing a manipulating operation within the joint. A clear liquid is circled in the joint to expand the joint and enable vision within the joint. The advantage of arthroscopy over traditional open surgery is that it reduces recovery time and increases the rate of surgical success, since the procedure imposes less trauma to the tissue. Arthroscopy is especially useful for professional athletes since they require fast healing time.
Since normal arthroscopy is performed with a plurality of small incisions it has the same drawbacks as laparoscopic surgery in that it imposes a limitation on the size of objects that can be transferred into the joint, for example can most arthroplastic surgery normally not be performed using arthroscopy since typically all implants have a size far exceeding that of the typical incisions made in the normal arthroscopic procedures. Arthroplastic procedures are therefore confined to the use of open surgery in which incisions, and thus the opening into the area of the joints needs to be of considerable size creating a large surface exposed to the environment of the operating room. The risk of the patient getting an infectious disease following orthopedic surgery is considerably larger than in abdominal surgery, which has been a focus area of leading orthopedic surgeons the last decades. Generally, the effect of bacterial infection if connection with orthopedic surgery includes: prolong rehabilitation, morbidity and mortality. Disease-carrying bacteria, viruses, and parasites that get into the body can destroy healthy tissue, multiply and spread through the blood. Even if the infection occurs superficially in the skin and other soft tissue, the infection can lead to infection of bones (osteomyelitis) and joints (septic arthritis). Orthopedic infections can, if not promptly treated become chronic and lead to paralysis or morbidity of infected extremities.
The increased awareness of the high risk of infections in connection with orthopedic surgery has increased precaution during and after orthopedic surgery. Important factors for maintaining a low incidence of infection is typically: operating theatre design, meticulous surgical technique and aseptic discipline within all involved areas of the operation. Specific precautions during orthopedic surgery includes: use of especially sterilized operating rooms, for example requiring special air filters in the air conditioning systems, limiting of the amount of staff present in the operating room, imposing special requirements on clothing to be worn in the operating rooms, including the use of full body protective suits. Complex instruments and parts of machinery are generally very difficult to sterilize. The most commonly occurring solution to this problem is that the robots are fully covered with disposable sheets, a process being both time-consuming and costly.
The operating environments of the industrialized world are generally both very clean and all measures are taken to reduce the risk that infectious disease should affect the post-operative care. However, environments where surgery is performed around the globe is far from always at the operating theatres of the industrialized world, which in some cases make the proper sterilization of the operating environment or the tools to be used in that environment difficult to perform. In any instance, surgery is still needed in remote places and transportable sterile environments and pre-sterilized instruments is therefore of importance.


Provided are an apparatus and method for selecting one of an image signal input from an image signal inputting device and an image signal obtained by changing the size of the image signal input from the image signal inputting device and displaying the selected image signal on a display device. The apparatus includes an image size converter for changing the size of a first image signal and outputting the result as a second image signal; and a selector for receiving the first and second image signals and selectively outputting one of the first and second image signals in response to a first control signal. With the apparatus and method, it is possible to selectively reproduce a high-definition image and a low-definition image.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 2002-41582, filed Jul. 16, 2002 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of image signal reproduction, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for selecting an image to be displayed by which one of an image signal input from an image signal inputting device and an image signal obtained by rescaling the image signal input from the image signal inputting device is selectively displayed on a display device of a system that preprocesses input digital image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to encode an image signal input from a camera to be transmitted to or stored in a certain device, a portable display apparatus having an image reproduction device, such as a PDA (personal digital assistant) or a web pad, preprocesses the image signal, e.g., it downscales to convert the format of a color signal or change the size of an image signal. After preprocessing, an image signal input from a camera can be reproduced by a display apparatus and displayed on a screen to be appreciated by a user.
Meanwhile, general image display systems process data to produce images of fixed sizes, and therefore, the size of an image provided by a camera is determined. Thus, it is impossible for a user to reproduce images of various sizes using a general display apparatus.
Also, in a case where the size of an image input from a camera is very large, a bandwidth of a bus becomes exhausted. However, when a system clock frequency is increased to solve this problem, high power consumption, which is highly undesirable in portable display apparatuses, is unavoidable.

Apparatus and method for selecting image to be displayed


A nested modulator is provided where the circuit arrangement of modifying electrodes including signal electrodes is simplified, and at the same time, the drive voltage can be lowered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nested modulator where sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides are incorporated into the two branching waveguides of the main Mach-Zehnder waveguide.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional optical communication technology and optical measurement technology, SSB (single side band) modulators, which are a type of nested modulators where sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides (hereinafter, referred to as "sub-MZ waveguides") are incorporated into the two branching waveguides of the main Mach-Zehnder waveguide (hereinafter, referred to as "main MZ waveguide"), are used. As disclosed in the following Patent Document 1, these make it possible to suppress a specific spectrum of the modulated light (discrete spectrum of frequency ω+nΩ, where n is an integer) emitted from the main MZ waveguide by introducing, for example, light waves having frequency ω into the main MZ waveguide 1, and at the same time, applying an RF signal (frequency Ω) RFA having a single frequency and a signal RFB which is gained by carrying out Hilbert conversion on this RF signal to the two sub-MZ optical waveguides 2 and 3, and thus, adjusting the DC biases DCA, DCB and DCC, which are applied to the main MZ waveguide and the respective sub-MZ waveguides (see FIG. 1). In addition, the nest type modulators include an FSK modulator and a DQPSK modulator where an RF signal RFC is applied instead of the DC bias DCC of FIG. 1.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2004-245750
In the case where an X cut plate is used as the substrate of a nested modulator as shown in FIG. 2, however, signal electrodes, which are modulating electrodes, are formed in locations 15 and 16 on the sub-branching waveguides 11 and 12 as well as 13 and 14 of the respective sub-MZ waveguides 2 and 3 on the substrate 10, and furthermore, ground electrodes are formed in locations 17, 18 and 19. Here, FIG. 2 is a cross sectional diagram showing the nested modulator of FIG. 1 along one dot chain line A.
In the case of FIG. 2, only a single signal electrode is formed for each sub-MZ waveguide, and therefore, the waveguides and the signal electrodes are at a distance from each other, and thus, there is a disadvantage in that the drive voltage becomes high though there is an advantage in that the structure becomes relatively simple.
In contrast, in the case where a Z cut plate is used as the substrate of a nested modulator as shown in FIG. 3, it becomes possible to locate signal electrodes 26, 27, 28 and 29 in close proximity to each of the sub-branching waveguides 21 and 22 as well as 23 and 24 of the respective sub-MZ waveguides 2 and 3 on the substrate 20, and therefore, it becomes possible to lower the drive voltage. Here, 25 indicates a buffer layer.
However, it is necessary to always secure two signal electrodes for each of the sub-MZ waveguides 2 and 3, making complicated the wiring of the signal electrodes, and in addition, it is necessary to apply a modulating signal in the opposite phase to each of the sub-branching waveguides, and therefore, it is very difficult to adjust the length of the signal electrode between the signal entrance and the portion in which the electrical field created by the electrode works on the optical waveguide.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above described problems and provide a nested modulator where the circuit arrangement of the modulating electrodes including signal electrodes is simplified, and it is made possible to lower the drive voltage.

Abstract: A nested modulator, including: a substrate 20 made of a material having electro-optic effects; an optical waveguide formed on the substrate; and a modulating electrode for modulating light waves which are guided through the optical waveguide, wherein the optical waveguide has a main Mach-Zehnder waveguide 1 and sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides 2 and 3 provided on two branching waveguides of the main Mach-Zehnder waveguide, and the modulating electrode is provided in a sub-branching waveguide of the sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides, is characterized in that a polarization reversal region 46 or 47 is formed in a portion of a sub-branching waveguide of each of the sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides, the modulating electrode is formed of signal electrodes including introduced signal electrodes 40 or 43, branching single electrodes 41 or 44 and lead signal electrodes 42 or 45 as well as ground electrodes for each of sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides, and the branching signal electrodes which branch from the introduced signal electrode are placed so as to work on two sub-branching waveguides for each of the sub-Mach-Zehnder waveguides.

National Institute for Materials Science

National Institute of Information and Communications Technology


A ratchet wrench includes a handle with a head portion at an end thereof, a ratchet wheel mounted in the head portion for rotation, and an operating device to be moved between a first position and a second position for change of a driving orientation of the ratchet wrench. The ratchet wrench of the present invention further provides a light and a battery. The light is turned on when the operating device is moved to the first position and is turned off when the operating device is moved to the second position. User may watch the light signal to identify the driving orientation of the ratchet wrench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a hand tool, and more particularly to a reverse ratchet wrench, which uses light to indicate the driving orientation of the wrench.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional reverse ratchet wrenches have a ratchet wheel, a pawl and a level. User may move the level to move the pawl, and the pawl will be detachably meshed the ratchet wheel at a right or life side, such that the ratchet wrench can turn a bolt (or nut) tight or loose repeatedly in a condition that the wrench engages the bolt (or nut) always.
There is no movement compatibility between the movement of the level and the driving direction of the ratchet wrench, such that user always confuses which direction to move the level when he/she wants to turn loose (or tight). Most of them use try-and-error method, which means user moves the level to one position first and turn the wrench. If it not the driving direction that the user wants than move the level to another position. And user always forgets which way to turn loose and which way to turn tight every time he/she uses the wrench.
Taiwan Pat. Publication No. 502944 disclosed a ratchet wrench having an unsymmetrical head. Taiwan Pat. Publication No 501519 disclosed a wrench with texture, arrow or mark on a side of the handle. Many conventional ratchet wrenches have characters beside the level to indicate the driving direction. It usually puts "R" for release and "L" for lock. But user might misunderstand or miss the meaning of the signs for indication, so that many users will ignore the signs and determine the driving direction by try-and-error.

Reverse ratchet wrench with light to indicate the driving orientation


A pre-chamber spark plug includes a shell extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising an inner surface. The pre-chamber spark plug further includes an insulator including an outer surface. The pre-chamber spark plug further includes a pre-chamber cap connected to the shell. The pre-chamber cap and the shell together forms a pre-chamber. The pre-chamber spark plug further includes an annular reservoir defined between the outer surface of the insulator and the inner surface of the shell. The annular reservoir is spaced apart from the pre-chamber with respect to the longitudinal axis. The pre-chamber spark plug further includes a plurality of projections disposed between the annular reservoir and the pre-chamber with respect to the longitudinal axis. The plurality of projections at least partially define a plurality of flow passages therebetween.

Pre-chamber (i.e., pre-combustion chamber) spark plugs are typically used to enhance the lean flammability limits in lean burn engines. Generally, for a passive pre-chamber spark plug, there is no active component or means to actively introduce or remove fresh air, fuel, or residual gases except a communication with a main combustion chamber via openings of a pre-chamber cap. Further, in the passive pre-chamber spark plug, there is no active mechanism to influence or adjust flow fields of the fresh air and the residual gases in a pre-chamber.
During a compression stroke of an engine, fuel-air mixture must be led into the pre-chamber of the pre-chamber spark plug in such a way that there is an ignitable mixture at a spark gap. Due to subsequent combustion and the pressure increase resulting therefrom, torches escape through the openings of the pre-chamber cap and ignite the fuel-air mixture in the main combustion chamber of the engine. However, in some cases, some of the residual gases in the pre-chamber and between the spark plug electrodes are not completely flushed out and can remain within the pre-chamber during exhaust and intake strokes. A pressure difference between the main combustion chamber and the pre-chamber can increase to force a fresh charge through the openings into the pre-chamber. Pressurizing the fresh charge into the pre-chamber can compress the residual gases towards the spark plug. The residual gases trapped in the pre-chamber can lead to pre-ignition, engine misfire, and/or abnormal combustion, especially when the engine is operating at richer lambda (air/fuel ratio) ranges. In other words, a residual burnt fuel-air mixture can cause self-ignition of fuel-air mixture that enters the pre-chamber during a subsequent engine cycle. In most of the cases, the residual gases are accumulated in the pre-chamber volume and in a gap between an insulator and a metal shell of the pre-chamber spark plug.
Moreover, when the spark plug gets too hot, an uncontrolled ignition can occur in the main combustion chamber prior to an ignition point. This can increase the risk of engine damage. Pre-ignition in the pre-chamber of the spark plug not only increases the temperatures of the various spark plug components such as a ground electrode, a center electrode, an insulator base, or the pre-chamber cap, but can also lead to pre-ignition in the main combustion chamber. One of the ways to prevent self-ignition and/or pre-ignition in the pre-chamber is to increase volume of the pre-chamber. However, volume of the pre-chamber cannot be increased by simply increasing a diameter of the pre-chamber as it is limited by specified engine geometry. Further, increased volume of the pre-chamber can result in an unbalanced ratio of a lower chamber volume (volume of the pre-chamber below the spark gap and towards the combustion chamber) to an upper chamber volume (volume of the pre-chamber above the spark gap) within the pre-chamber spark plug. This can cause a reduced movement of the fresh charge into a spark gap area within the pre-chamber. This can again cause poor combustion in the pre-chamber and a narrow operating range of the engine.
Conventional methods to prevent self-ignition and/or pre-ignition in the pre-chamber include providing a secondary pre-chamber insert in addition to a conventional spark plug. A geometry of the secondary pre-chamber insert is chosen such that an additional upper chamber volume can be externally created and a balanced ratio of the lower chamber volume to the upper chamber volume within the pre-chamber spark plug is achieved. However, introducing the secondary pre-chamber insert can cause space constraints and increase an overall manufacturing cost and complexity of the engine. Another conventional technique to prevent self-ignition and/or pre-ignition in the pre-chamber involves tuning a pre-chamber spark plug to provide optimum combustion performance over a narrow operating range and add a completely separate secondary spark plug within the combustion chamber. The secondary spark plug provides ignition in the combustion chamber when ignition in the pre-chamber spark plug is ineffective. However, introducing the secondary spark plug can again cause space constraints and increase the overall manufacturing cost and complexity of the engine.


A main rotor blade exhibiting a unique planform shape in which the blade chord increases from the root end of the blade inboard region to the outer main region of the blade, where the blade chord achieves a maximum chord at a spanwise location within the main region, then decreases toward a distal tip end. The leading edge preferably is generally straight while the trailing edge is contoured to define the chord. Another characteristic feature of the rotor blade design is the location of the blade-feathering axis in which the feathering axis is located at a mid chord position over some inboard length of the rotor blade then transitions to a quarter chord location. Another characteristic feature is an airfoil distribution along the blade span that transitions from a blunt trailing edge to a sharp trailing edge airfoil suited for mid-range Mach number operation. The tip region preferably utilizes a transonic flow airfoil. Another characteristic feature of the rotor blade design is an unconventional combination of positive and negative twist gradients.

The present invention is directed to a main rotor blade for rotary-wing aircraft and more particularly to a main rotor blade for a rigid coaxial, contra-rotating rotary-wing aircraft capable of hovering and cruising at speeds in excess of 250 kts.
Conventional rotary-wing aircraft have a forward airspeed limited by a number of factors. Among these is the tendency of the retreating blade to stall at high forward airspeeds. As the forward airspeed increases, the airflow velocity across the retreating blade slows such that the blade may approach a stall condition. In contrast, the airflow velocity across the advancing blade increases with increasing forward speed. Forward movement of the helicopter thereby generates a dissymmetry of lift between the advancing and retreating sides of the rotor. This dissymmetry may create an unstable condition if lift is not equalized across the advancing and retreating sides of the rotor.
A rotary wing aircraft with a contra-rotating rigid rotor system is capable of higher speeds compared to conventional single rotor helicopters due in part to the balance of lift between the advancing sides of the main rotor blades on the upper and lower rotor systems. In addition, the retreating sides of the rotors are also generally free from classic retreating blade stall that conventional single or tandem rotor helicopters may suffer from.
To still further increase airspeed, a rotary wing aircraft may incorporate an auxiliary translational propulsion system. Use of a coaxial contra-rotating rotor system in combination with an auxiliary translational propulsion system, allows a rotary-wing aircraft to attain significantly greater speeds than conventional rotary-wing aircraft, while maintaining hover and low speed capabilities.
One system significant to these flight attributes is the design of the main rotor, of which the rotor blades are the primary force and moment generating components. Design requirements for a rotary-wing aircraft incorporating a contra-rotating rotor system differ significantly from conventional rotary-wing aircraft. As with a conventional rotary-wing aircraft, the advancing blades of both the upper and lower rotors produce lift; however, unlike a conventional rotary-wing aircraft, the retreating blades of the contra-rotating rotor are off-loaded commensurate with increasing flight velocity, and need not produce lift to balance lateral (rolling) moments. Rather, roll equilibrium is attained by balancing the net effects of the equal and opposite moments produced by the advancing side blades of the counter-rotating rotors. The ability to off-load the retreating blades from producing lift alleviates retreating blade stall—a primary cause of speed limitation on conventional rotary wing aircraft—thereby permitting much greater forward flight speeds to be achieved.
Another consequence of high-speed flight is that the tip Mach number encountered by the advancing blades of a high speed rotary-wing aircraft is significantly higher than for conventional rotary-wing aircraft, while forcing the retreating blades on the contra-rotating rotor to operate in significant greater regions of reversed flow. Typically, conventional rotary-wing aircraft are limited to advance ratios of 0.4 to 0.45, encounter advancing side blade tip Mach numbers within 0.80 to 0.85, and typically have no more than 45% of the retreating blades immersed in reverse flow. High speed compound rotary wing aircraft are designed to attain advance ratios in excess of 1.0, and encounter advancing blade tip Mach numbers greater than 0.9. Without rotor RPM scheduling in which rotor tip speed is reduced with increasing flight velocity, the advancing side rotor blade tips may exceed sonic velocities. Moreover, significantly larger portions of the retreating blades are immersed in reversed flow at high speeds; typically as much as 80% at advance ratios of 0.8. Furthermore, blade loadings at high speeds, even under normal operating conditions, are significantly higher than for conventional rotary wing aircraft.
Thus, the aerodynamic operating environment of a high speed rotary-wing aircraft is significantly different than the operating environment encountered by conventional single or multi-rotor aircraft. Significantly different main rotor blade designs compared to more contemporary designs are therefore required.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a rotor blade for a high speed rotary-wing aircraft flight envelope that includes hovering and forward flight at speeds in excess of 250 kts.

Rotor blade for a high speed rotary-wing aircraft


A portable support assembly adapted for mounting on a pole, such as for permitting air drying of clothes, towels, or the like, is disclosed. The assembly comprises a first collar having a first aperture adapted for receiving the pole. A first set of arms extend from the first collar. Each arm of the first set of arms terminates at a distal end. A second collar having a second aperture adapted for receiving the pole is also provided. A second set of arms extend from the second collar. Each arm of the second set of arms terminates at a distal end, wherein each arm of the first set of arms corresponds to a respective arm of the second set of arms. A third set of arms is further provided. Each arm of the third set of arms has an end and is pivotally joined to the distal end of respective ones of the second set of arms. Each of the third set of arms are removably joined to the distal end of respective ones of the first set of arms.

Portable clothes drying devices are known in the art. Van Deursen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,840, discloses a clothes drying device comprising a spider assembly removably supported by a tubular mast. The spider assembly includes a number of outwardly extending arms. When removed from the mast, the spider assembly is able to collapse. However, the spider assembly, even when collapsed, remains relatively large and unwieldy because of the relatively long arms.
The present invention is provided to solve these and other problems.


A method for recovery of impurities and/or degradation products and/or heat-stable salts from amine-based solvents used for capture of CO2 from gas streams. The method comprises recovering CO2 from a CO2-enriched amine-based solvent thereby producing a lean amine-based solvent, contacting and mixing together the lean amine-based solvent with a reaction composition comprising a phase-change catalyst and a diluent, thereby producing a first organic phase comprising the impurities and/or degradation products and/or heat-stable salts and a first aqueous phase comprising the lean amine-based solvent, separating the first organic phase and the first aqueous phase; and separately recovering the first organic phase and the first aqueous phase. The organic phase can be regenerated by intermixing with a NaOH solution to form an organic phase comprising therein the reaction composition and and an aqueous phase comprising the NaOH solution with the impurities and/or degradation products and/or heat-stable salts.

Amine-based solvent solutions are commonly used for absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from low-pressure flue gas streams produced as a consequence of industrial combustion processes. Examples of effective amines commonly used include monoethanolamine (MEA), diethanolamine (DEA), and methyldiethanolamine (MDEA). However, while amines are effective for CO2 capture and removal from gas streams, they are degraded and lose their efficacy by irreversible reactions with flue gas impurities (e.g. O2, SO2, and CO). Consequently, the degraded amines need to be continually replaced to maintain efficient CO2 capture and removal, resulting in increased costs to operate and manage industrial combustion processes. The flue gas impurities may also react with various amines to form heat-stable salts (HSS). The HSS species are corrosive and are typically generated by reactions of amines with oxidizing agents to form short-chain carboxylic acids. These acids subsequently quickly bond with amines to form stable salts. Not only do HSS have no capacity to absorb CO2, their presence in solvent solutions make it difficult to regenerate the solvents, at least under typical processing conditions used to regenerate and recycle amine solvent solutions used in CO2-capture systems.
Some conventional amine-based solvent solutions regenerating systems use distillation to separate the amines from the HSS contaminants. Since distillation is achieved based on boiling point differences, a large energy input is required to separate the amines and water from the HSS. This makes distillation a very energy-demanding process, which gives rise to high operating costs. In addition, co-evaporation commonly occurs since various HSS and degradation products may have boiling points close to those of the amines. As a result, the amine solvent solutions may still be contaminated by HSS after distillation.

Reactive extraction process for regeneration of amine-based solvents used for carbon dioxide capture


Access control to contents is by a user of a terminal connected through a computer network to at least one server of a contents supplier. The user selects or accepts interactive data exchange through a wireless communication network between a trusted organization on the computer network, and a mobile terminal accessible to the user.

It is known how to centralize access control procedures to several separate Internet sites using a specific Internet service. A user uses this specific service to perform a Single Sign In (SSI) access control procedure to access secure contents of sites referenced with this specific service and for which the user is registered. When the user wants to access secure contents on a referenced Internet site for which he is registered, he is transferred to this specific service to perform the access control procedure. Once this procedure has been done, the user can browse without needing to identify himself on all other referenced sites for which he is registered.
The PASSPORT service, available from Microsoft Corporation, allows sites to be referenced with it and to perform access control procedures for these sites. User identification data are stored solely on a PASSPORT server. Therefore, this type of service avoids the need for referenced sites to manage the access control procedure and storage of identification data themselves.
However, even if a secure central procedure is used, user identification data are transmitted on the Internet network between a user's terminal and a server in the central access control service. It is known that transmission of data on the Internet network is not perfectly secure, which can be disadvantageous when, for example, the user wants to access strictly confidential information such as his bank accounts.
It is known how to authenticate a user by sending to the mobile telephone a short message service (SMS) message asking the user to send a password or an acknowledgement of reception. The reply sent by the user from his mobile telephone is then processed by a computer network central access control service. Therefore, the user password is not transmitted on the Internet network which makes the access control procedure relatively secure.
However, in this prior art, the central access control service is imposed on the user by a site including the contents that the user would like to access. Therefore, the user is not assured about the quality and source of this central service or about the data exchange made between the central service and the mobile telephone of the user. In particular, billing of messages sent between the user and the central access control service must be perfectly transparent. If the user has to pay, he must be able to transfer his bank account data to the central service without taking any risks. As already mentioned above, the central access control service may be unknown to the user, resulting in an insecure exchange of data between the user on his terminal or his mobile terminal.

Method of and system for controlling access to contents provided by a contents supplier


A small motor for use in an information-communication appratus, an audio-visual apparatus or the like, and a motor for use in a portable pager and a portable telephone or the like for generating vibrations to be transmitted to a human body, the motors being efficient, small and thin in size, and having a high degree of freedom when mounted on an apparatus. To realize the motor as described above, K pieces of (K indicating any integer greater than one) magnetic units (4a, 4b, 4c) having N and S poles magnetized alternately are mounted on a rotor in a circumferential direction, and K magnetic units are axially stacked in K stages and integrally retained on a shaft (6), and this rotor is rotatably supported on a pair of bearings (9a, 9b). Cores (1a, 1b, 1c) each have a salient pole (7a, 7b, 7c) wound around with coils (3a, 3b, 3c) in K stages so as to correspond to each of the magnetic units. The magnetized position of the N and S poles of the magnetic unit at each stage deviates relative to one another in a circumferential direction so as to set the phase of induced voltage generated on the salient pole wound around with the coil in each stage to a phase suitable for rotating a magnet unit corresponding to a coil in that stage.

In order to meet the increasing needs for reducing the overall sizes, increasing the degree of precision and improving the reliability of apparatus for information-communication, audio-visual application, more and more number of brushless motors are being used in place of motors with brush. The motors with brush are also required to be compact and thin; accordingly, many of the conventional frame cases of a cylindrical shape are replaced by those of an oval shape among the core motors. Even among the coreless motors, frame cases of oval and square shapes have been developed, and motors having such frame cases are already in use in portable communication appratus. The battery-driven motors for use in portable apparatus have to meet stringent dimensional requirements in thickness direction; in addition, the power consumption must be low in view of battery life. It has become difficult to raise the efficiency of a motor further by using a high energy-density magnet among the motors having conventional oval or cylindrical structure.
Motors of the above category have a structure as shown in FIG. 58, FIG. 61 or FIG. 62. The structure is described in the following.
FIG. 58 is a cross sectional view showing a conventional inner-rotor type brushless motor.
As shown in FIG. 58, a cylindrical magnet 130 is fixed to a shaft 131 inserted through the central hole, one end of the shaft 131 is held by a bearing 133 provided on a frame case 132 while the other end is held by a bearing 134 provided on a bracket 136; thus an inner rotor is formed which is supported at both ends. The magnet 130 fixed to the shaft 131 which is rotatably supported by bearings 133, 134 is magnetized in the N and S poles. A cylindrical core 128 is provided with three salient poles, which are wound around with a coil 129. The magnet 130 is rotated by magnetic flux generated by electricity supplied to the coil 129.
A circuit board 135 is mounted with electronic components. Each of the salient poles of the core 128 is wound around with coil to form a three-phase coil of phase U, phase V and phase W, respectively. The above electronic circuit controls so as the phase of induced voltage generated at each of the three phases deviates relative to one another by 120. Thus, it is driven as a three-phase brushless motor.
FIG. 61(a) is a cross sectional view showing a conventional core motor having an oval cross sectional shape for use in a portable pager, FIG. 61(b) shows the motor sectioned by a plane perpendicular to the shaft.
As shown in FIG. 61(a) and FIG. 61(b), a core 142 made of stacked silicon steel sheets is fixed around a shaft 139, a resin insulator shaped to a same shape as the core is inserted in the core 142, and a rectifying terminal unit 144 is thrusted to the shaft 139. The core 142 is wound around with a coil 143, the electric conduction point of coil 143 is aligned to a specified position of the rectifying terminal unit 144 for soldering. An armature coil assembly of a motor is thus structured. The rectifying surface of rectifying unit 144 is lapped, and then the entire assembly of armature coil is washed. A sintered bearing 140 is fixed in the centre of frame case 137. In the frame case 137 which is shaped oval, an arc-shape magnet 138 is provided at the inside of each of the two arc-shape sides of the frame case 137, the inner side of the two magnets is magnetized so as to have opposit pole relative to each other. The shaft 139 of washed armature coil assembly is inserted to the sintered bearing 140, and a bracket 147 provided with a brush 146 and a sintered bearing 141 is affixed to the frame case 137 to complete a motor.
Magnetic flux comming out of the inner surface of one magnet 138 goes through core 142, enters into the inner surface of the other magnet 138, and returns to the initial magnet 138 via frame case 137. Namely, a magnetic circuit is formed on a plane perpendicular to the shaft 139. An imbalancing weight 148 is mounted fixed on the shaft 139.
As a result of rotation of the motor, the shaft 139 with the imbalancing weight 148 fixed thereon causes a vibration, which vibration is transmitted to the frame case 137 for the vibration of a portable pager.
FIG. 62(a) is a plane view of a coreless motor having a square cross section, for use in a portable communication apparatus. FIG. 62(b) is a cross sectional view of the coreless motor of FIG. 62(a).
A shaft 149 is fixed to a group of coreless coils 151 via a rectifier 150. A magnet 152 of empty-cylindrical shape is fixed to a housing 153 and is disposed in a space within the group of coils 151 with a certain clearance. Frame case 154 provided with a flat portion on the outer surface fixes the housing 153 carrying thereon the magnet 152 in a space inside the group of coils 151 securing a certain clearance, at the same time forms a magnetic circuit together with the magnet 152. Bearing 155 fixed in the housing 153 holds the shaft 149 rotatable. Brush 156 is electrically coupled with the group of coils 151 via rectifier 150. Imbalancing weight 157 is fixed onto the shaft 149.
The above described conventional structure may not fully meet the increasing needs for a compact and efficient motor that satisfies the prevailing desire in the industry for making an apparatus smaller. The problems are as follows.
With an inner-rotor type brushless motor having a cylindrical core 128, as shown in FIG. 58, if there is a dimensional restriction in a plane perpendicular to shaft 131 the winding work for coil 129 may face a difficulty unless a certain space is secured for the work, especially when the diameter of magnet 130 becomes small the winding work may face an extreme difficulty.
The space factor in the above described inner-rotor type brushless motor is not quite high, by the reason described below.
FIG. 59(a) is a cross sectional view of simplified magnetic circuit in an inner-rotor type brushless motor. FIG. 59 (b) shows the motor unrolled from inside of the core. Description is made in the following with reference to these drawings. Here, the leakage of magnetic flux is ignored to make the description simple.
An inverse number of the velocity shift rate .mu. is often used to represent the efficiency .eta. of a motor. A following Formula 1 is generally established with respect to the velocity shift rate .mu.: ##EQU1## where: .PHI. denotes effective magnetic flux of core, T is number of coil turns, R is coil resistance.
The effective magnetic flux .PHI. of core is expressed in the following Formula 2. EQU .PHI.=.pi.DLBg (2)
where: D denotes the outer diameter of rotor, L is length of rotor, Bg is the density of magnetic flux at gap.
The density of magnetic flux at gap Bg is expressed in the following Formula 3. ##EQU2## where: Br, .mu. r are called respectively residual flux density, recoil magnetic permeability. These are the constants specific to a magnetic material. Lm is thickness of magnet, Lg is air gap between magnet and core.
The relationship between the number of coil turns T and the coil resistance R is represented in Formula 4. ##EQU3## where; k denotes electric conductivity of coil, which is a constant determined proportionate to the space factor of coil. l represents average coil length per one turn, S is cross sectional area of coil. The l is represented by Formula 5, when the coil resistance is ignored. ##EQU4## where; Lc denotes height of coil, Dc is coil width.
By substituting the Formula 2, Formula 3, Formula 4 and Formula 5 for Formula 1, the following Formula 6 is obtained: ##EQU5##
There is no component representing the coil resistance R nor the coil turn counts T contained in the above Formula. It indicates that the efficiency does not change by a change in the specifications of coil winding.
In the above formula, when L, D are varied so as the volume of rotor(.pi.D.sup.2 L/4) remains constant, with other variables fixed, the relationship between the length/diameter of rotor(L/D) and the efficiency .eta. is as shown in FIG. 60. According to FIG. 60, the efficiency improves with a longer rotor, but the improvement curve saturates and converges towards a certain value. So, there is a limitation, with no further improvement any more.
With regard to an inner-rotor type brushless motor as shown in FIG. 58, the number of turns for a salient pole has to be increased to obtain a larger torque. This makes the salient pole larger, hence a larger outer diameter of a motor, rendering it difficult to make a moter smaller. Furthermore, a core which is comprised of salient poles wound around with coil disposed at a same interval has to be provided around the inner-rotor, which makes cross sectional shape of a motor round, or almost round. It is difficult to make a motor thin.
With regard to a core motor for portable pager as shown in FIG. 61, the reliability is inferior to a brushless motor because of the existence of a brush. If one tries to solve the the problems by making the motor shape oval, the coil winding faces a difficulty because of the small contour.
With regard to a coreless type brush motor for portable communication apparatus, as shown in FIG. 62, the reliability is inferior to a brushless motor, and an available output torque is smaller as compared with a core motor when the dimensions of a motor are reduced. Namely, when diameter of a motor is reduced smaller it becomes more difficult to realize an efficient and compact coreless motor, or such a coreless motor for generating vibrations. Furthermore, coils of such a motor are required to be wound with a thin wire, e.g. as thin as 0.01-0.02 mm, which means a deteriorated production yield rate during handling of the coils. These have been some of the factors which hamper the supply of inexpensive motors.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Disclosed in the present invention are a method and apparatus for processing downlink frame synchronization in a Gigabit-capable passive optical network (GPON) system, wherein the method comprises: carrying out forward error correction (FEC) encoding on data in a synchronization domain of a downlink frame of the GPON system, wherein the synchronization domain includes a physical synchronization (Psync) domain and an identifier (Ident) domain; filling the FEC encoded data into an FEC check domain provided in the downlink frame; and sending the downlink frame. By virtue of the present invention, the effect of improving the reliability of GPON downlink frame synchronization is achieved.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the frame structure of a downlink frame of a GPON system in relevant art, and as shown in FIG. 1, in the GPON protocol, one downlink frame includes two portions, PCBd and GTC payload. In this case, the PCBd is composed of portions such as a physical synchronization (PSync) domain, an identifier (Ident) domain, a PLOAMD domain, wherein the PSync domain is 4 bytes, the default value thereof is 0XB6AB31E0, and the Ident domain is 4 bytes; in order to facilitate to achieve synchronization of downlink frames, scrambling code processing is not carried out on the Psync domain; and when the forward error correction (abbreviated as FEC) encoding is carried out, the data structure of the PCBd domain will not be destructed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the state conversion of a synchronization state machine of GPON downlink frames in relevant art, wherein ONU is under the searching (Hunt) state at the beginning, and under the Hunt state, the ONU hunts for the Psync domain bit by bit and byte by byte. Once a right Psync is found, the ONU enters the pre-synchronization (Pre-Sync) state and sets a counter N=1. Then, the ONU hunts for the next Psync every 125 us. Each time a right Psync is found, the value of the counter increases by 1. If a wrong Psync is found, then the ONU returns to the Hunt state. Under the Pre-Sync state, if the value of the counter is M1, then the ONU enters the synchronization (Sync) state. After having entered the Sync state, the ONU states that the downlink frame structure has been found and starts to process the PCBd information and Payload information; if wrong Psync are detected for consecutive M2 times, then the ONU states that the downlink frame delimitation is lost and returns back to the Hunt state.
FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the Ident domain of the GPON downlink frame in relevant art, and as shown in FIG. 3, lower 30 bits in 4 bytes of the Ident domain are a multi-frame counter, the counting value of the Ident domain of each frame is bigger than a previous frame by 1, and when the counter reaches the maximum, the next frame is set as zero. The multi-frame counter can be used for encrypting the user data and can also be used for providing a synchronization reference signal with relatively low rate to the system. In order to tolerate errors for the Ident domain, the ONU has to implement a local multi-frame counter and a multi-frame synchronization state machine. The multi-frame synchronization state machine is the same as the synchronization state machine described in the Psync domain. Under the Hunt state, the ONU loads the received multi-frame counter in the Ident domain into the local counter. Under the Pre-sync and Sync states, the ONU compares the local value and the received value of the counter, if they are matched with each other, then it indicates that the downlink frame synchronization is right, and if they are mismatched, then it indicates that the downlink frame is asynchronous or the transmission is wrong.
In the GPON system, the transmission rate is relatively low, however, in the 10 G GPON, the downlink rate is increased from the original 2.5 Gbps to 10 Gbps, and the bit error rate of the frame header during transmission will be greatly increased, and when the number of errors of the Psync domain or Ident domain accumulates to a certain number, the ONU will enter an asynchronous state, which will cause instant breaking of the ONU downlink data, thus affecting the normal operating of the whole GPON system.
As to the problem in relevant art that in the GPON system since the bit error rate of the frame header is relatively high, it causes the optical network terminal to enter the asynchronous state and causes the reliability of system transmission data to be relatively poor, currently still no effective solution is proposed.

Method and apparatus for processing downlink frame synchronization in gigabit-capable passive optical network system


A molding process for manufacturing a tubular molded article includes the steps of (a) preparing a mold that defines a mold cavity and that is formed with at least a protrusion protruding into the mold cavity, (b) placing a supporting member in the mold cavity, (c) introducing a first molding material into the mold cavity around the supporting member so as to form a first molded part around the supporting member and a decorating indentation in the first molded part, and (d) filling the decorating indentation in the first molded part with a second molding material so as to form a second molded part therein.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a molding process for manufacturing a tubular molded article, more particularly to a molding process for manufacturing a tubular molded article that includes a first molded part and a second molded part filling in an indentation in the first molded part.
2. Description of the Related Art
Tubular articles, such as pens, may be made from metal, wood, stone, or resin. The patterns formed on the conventional tubular articles for increasing the aesthetic value thereof are normally two dimensional, which does not have a solid physical structure in appearance. It is known in the art that the physical structure of a pattern on a tubular article can be achieved by having an outer tube sleeved co-axially on an inner tube. The outer tube is engraved so as to expose a portion of the inner tube therefrom. The inner and outer tubes can be made from different materials, and can have different colors so as to enhance the physical structure of the pattern. However, the appearance of the pattern formed on the aforesaid tubular article still lacks variety, such as variation in the degree of color lightness or darkness at different locations of the pattern.

Molding process for manufacturing a tubular molded article


A single-chip integrated LED particularly adapted for direct use with a high voltage AC power comprises a plurality of series-connected LEDs arranged in two arrays and flip chip bonded to a transparent substrate. The opposite polarities of the arrays are connected together and then connected to the AC power source. During the positive half of the AC cycle, one array of LEDs is forward biased and energized, while the other array is reverse biased. During the negative half of the AC cycle, the other array of LEDs is forward biased and thus energized, while the first array is reverse biased and thus not energized. The arrays are alternately energized and de-energized at the frequency of the AC power source, and thus the single-chip integrated LED always appears to be energized.

The present invention relates to single-chip light emitting diodes (LED), and more particularly to single-chip LEDs which can operate under standard alternating-current (AC) high voltage (110 V, 220 V, etc.) conditions for various applications, including general lighting.
LEDs are used in displays, as indicator lights, for traffic lights, for communications, and for optical interconnects. With the realization of high brightness blue/green and violet LEDs made from the III-nitride semiconductor family InN, GaN, AlN and their alloys recently it is now possible that LEDs may be used for general lighting applications in residential houses and commercial buildings. LEDs have already found niche applications in the area of lighting, such as passenger side reading lights in vehicles. Because of the potential energy, environment and national security benefits, there is increasing national interest in creating a partnership—of industry, universities and national laboratories—aimed at accelerating the development of Solid-State Lighting science and technology. A nation-wide program called "Next-Generation Lighting Initiative" has been lunched by the Department of Energy (DOE).
Several methods have been proposed and employed to achieve white light emission from LEDs. The first and the only commercial product is to use blue LEDs made of III-nitrides to generate white light by coating the blue LED chips with yellow phosphors. Phosphors down convert part of the shorter wavelength blue light to a yellow wavelength visible yellow light. Through color mixing, the eye sees white when two colors are properly balanced. Other proposed method includes using UV LEDs (more efficient sources) to pump three-color phosphors (red, blue, green, RBG) or to combine three color (RBG) LEDs to get white emission.
Currently, all semiconductor LEDs are DC operated with typical operating voltages of a few volts (e.g., around 2 volts for Red LEDs and around 3.5 volts for blue LEDs). However, substantially all the houses and buildings in North America are wired with AC (60 Hz) 110 volts power sources. One way to use LEDs for general lighting applications is to convert AC 110 V to DC with a low voltage. This requires the use of power converters, which may be installed separately or built into the LED package. This approach has been utilized in LED traffic signal lights. Use of power converters have disadvantages such as added volume, added costs, and low efficiency, for example.
There is also a method for achieving AC operation of LEDs by wiring two discrete LEDs connected opposite of one another (the cathode of one goes to the anode of the other). When the LEDs are connected to a low voltage AC circuit, both LEDs glow alternately; one LED is biased by positive voltage side of the AC cycle (forward biased), and the other LED is biased by the negative voltage side of the AC cycle (reverse biased). Since the AC source usually runs at 60 Hz both LEDs appear to be always on to the naked eye. However, there are no new technologies involved in this type of "AC-LEDs" by ganging together a strand of LEDs and they are not suitable for lighting applications. To achieve high voltage AC operations, one needs to connect a few dozens of LEDs in a similar fashion. Hence it would not be viable economically or physically to replace an incandescent lamp by a strand of discrete of LEDs.
A need remains in the art for single-chip LEDs for standard high AC voltage (110 volts or 220 volts) operations. A need also remains in the art for integrated semiconductors optical components on a single chip; in this case it involves the integration of many LEDs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Light emitting diodes for high AC voltage operation and general lighting


Healds that consist of a metal ribbon section having the width (B) that is narrower than the total width B+X required for the flat ribbon heald (20). The flat ribbon heald (20) has an essentially non-machined—in any event, not trimmed—edge (9) derived from the metal ribbon section and an edge (10, 11, 12, 13, 14) that has been produced, in the region of the shaft (4) and the transition regions (5, 6), by trimming the metal ribbon section. An outward-directed crank of the shaft (4) creates an enlarged distance (R) between two associate oppositely cranked flat ribbon healds of a heald pair (23) which comprises two oppositely cranked flat ribbon healds (20, 21).

The invention relates to a flat ribbon heald with an end eyelet, shaft and thread eye, said heald being manufactured of a metal ribbon section.
Healds are manufactured, for example, of flat steel ribbon during a punching operation. In so doing, parts are removed from a specifically cut metal ribbon in order to obtain the desired exterior form of the heald. The removed parts are waste, which considerably contributes to the consumption of material.
At times, it is necessary to provide healds with a crank, in which case, in particular adjacent healds on a heald shaft are cranked, frequently away from each other in opposite direction. As a result of this, an offset is created between the thread eyes of adjacent healds relative to the longitudinal direction of the warp thread in order to facilitate the passage of warp threads between the healds. Paired healds having shafts with different offsets have been known from documents U.S. Pat. No. 7,204,274 B2, and CH 468 489 and DE 10 2005 033 175 B3. Each of these healds has a straight edge, respectively, extending along the shaft and the end eyelet. The achievable intermediate space between the shafts of adjacent healds is limited.
Furthermore, document U.S. Pat. No. 1,545,904 discloses the manufacture of healds of flat material that forms a relatively narrow sheet metal strip. The end eyelets adjoin the shaft in a symmetrical manner, whereby the shaft may be provided with a crank in order to define an enlarged thread passage space between adjacent healds.
Furthermore, document U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,789 discloses a heald set consisting of differently cranked healds, whereby the healds consist of a metallic flat material. Adjoining the end eyelets, the shafts of the healds are cranked and configured in such a manner that an enlarged thread passage space exists between adjacent healds.
Finally, document U.S. Pat. No. 644,371 discloses a heald that has been manufactured of a narrow steel strip, in which the thread eye and the end eyelet have been produced by spreading apart slotted sections. In addition, the shaft of such a heald may be cranked. During a stamping process, the shaft has been flattened on both sides of the thread eyelet in order to effect increased elasticity in longitudinal direction of the warp thread.
Indeed, the production of elongated openings by slitting and widening is a material-saving process; however, this requires a relatively strong material deformation, thus restricting the choice of material and the possibilities of material optimization.
It is the object of the invention to provide a heald and an economical manufacturing process for the production of said heald, this being intended to make possible a material-saving manufacture of high-performance healds.


A support arrangement (10) for a transition piece (12) of a gas turbine engine (14). The support arrangement includes a mounting bracket (16) for the transition piece and a pin (18) supporting the mounting bracket in an interior (20) of the gas turbine engine and extending through an opening (22) in a casing (24) to an exterior (26) of the gas turbine engine. The support arrangement further includes a spherical washer (28, 38) positioned between the pin and either the mounting bracket or the casing.

Turbine engines generally include three sections: a compressor section, a combustor section and a turbine section. In some turbine engine designs, a duct, known as a transition piece, extends between the combustor section and the turbine section. The transition piece serves many purposes, one of which is to direct the hot gases produced in the combustor section to the turbine section.
Precise alignment between the transition piece and a casing of the combustor section is critical for proper engine operation. FIG. 1 depicts a conventional support arrangement for alignment between an inlet end of a transition piece 112 and a casing 124 of a gas turbine engine 114. The support arrangement includes a mounting bracket 116 secured to the transition piece 112 for aligning the transition piece 112 with the casing 124 within an interior 120 of the gas turbine engine 114. The height of the transition piece 112 in a radial direction 123 is adjusted, by selectively positioning shims between a base 115 of the mounting bracket 116 and a surface of the casing 124.

Support arrangement for a transition piece of a gas turbine engine


Data storage system software is installed from nonvolatile memory. A storage processor is booted, transferring information stored in a nonvolatile memory module to a disk drive system, thereby enabling the system processor to boot directly from the disk drive system in subsequent boots. After the information is transferred the storage processor reboots using the information transferred to the disk drive system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to installing data storage system software on disk drive systems.
2. Brief Description of Related Prior Art
As is known in the art, large mainframe computer systems and data servers sometimes require large capacity data storage systems. One type of data storage system is a magnetic disk storage system. Here a bank of disk drives and the computer systems and data servers are coupled together through an interface. The interface includes storage processors that operate in such a way that they are transparent to the computer. That is, data is stored in, and retrieved from, the bank of disk drives in such a way that the mainframe computer system or data server functions as if it is operating with one mainframe memory. One type of data storage system is a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks (RAID) data storage system. A RAID data storage system includes two or more disk drives in combination for fault tolerance and performance. A RAID data storage system is typically made up of a front-end data processor (DPE) and mated with back-end storage disk array enclosure (DAE). Typically the DPE boots up using information which is pre-installed on disks of either the DPE or the DAE. The pre-installed information conventionally needs to be customized to the exact type, configuration and nature of the DPE and the exact type, configuration and nature of the disk drives chosen to form the RAID data storage system. Consequently the disk drives which are pre-installed with information for a specific DPE and disk drive configuration are different from similar disk drives which are pre-installed with information for a different DPE and disk drive configuration, due to the information difference install on the drives.

Installing data storage system software on disk drive systems


The present invention features an integrated, electronic fluorescent ballast fixture which includes an electronic ballast packaged with a set of fluorescent lamp connectors into an integral fixture. The fixture has a circuit board that selectably supports up to four fluorescent lamps. The housing of the fixture id configured to receive a number of lamp connectors. The connectors are electrically, connected to the circuit board use wire and poke-in type connectors. When used with conventional, straight fluorescent lamps, a second set of sockets at the far end of the lamps are also connected to the circuit board using wires received in poke-in connector on the circuit board. The integrated ballast package also works with U-shaped lamps. The housing of the fixture is shaped to accommodate projecting electronic ballast components attached to the circuit board. The transformers and transistors of the circuit board may be thermally sinked, so that their heat is carried to the housing by thermally conductive means. The housing consists of two halves that are assembled together with snap-in action latches, making the fixture quickly and easily fabricated. The ballast fixture can be used with a wide variety of light fixtures because of its modularity, affording a high degree of universality.

The process of manufacturing luminaires for fluorescent lighting has been improved and refined to such a high degree that there are almost no opportunities left for further cost reductions.
The present invention features a means for combining an electronic ballast with one or more fluorescent lamp connectors to form a single, easy-to-assemble, relatively light weight integrated fixture. By transferring a relatively small amount of materials cost from a luminaire to the fixture, the luminaire manufacturer minimizes the additional wiring needed to wire a luminaire, eliminates the need for certain parts in the luminaire, and eliminates several manufacturing processes. Thus, the integrated electronic ballast fixture offers a significant overall cost reduction to the luminaire manufacturer. The reduced installation time also benefits those who replace or upgrade ballasts at locations remote from the luminaire manufacturer.
The integrated electronic ballast fixture is designed for high-speed, low-cost manufacturability. This is accomplished by minimizing the amount of manual labor needed. To reduce the design cycle time and minimize capital expense, the fixture was designed to be able to use off-the-shelf lamp connectors. Electrical connections to the fixture (AC power input, connections to the other end of lamps, lamps, dimmers, etc.) may be implemented as wires and/or one or more connectors, such as of the poke-in or wire-trap varieties. Even though the fixture is typically longer than a standard ballast, it is relatively light-weight since no potting compound is used.
A basic tenet of luminaire manufacturers has been to not allow changes (and in particular increases) to certain luminaire dimensions, such as the overall length, width, and thickness, in order to maintain backward (compatibility with existing luminaires. Because of this design constraint, it is extremely difficult to offer a single integrated ballast fixture that can accommodate all combinations of up to four linear or U-shaped lamps to meet all applications. However, a given integrated fixture design with specific lamp spacings can easily accommodate different quantities and types of lamps. Thus, the integrated fixture of this invention provides a certain degree of universality.
The integrated electronic ballast fixture of this invention is believed to be a major breakthrough for the lighting industry, not only as a cost reduction, but also for its increased reliability. The ballast operates at a lower temperature compared to a standard form-factor enclosure, because the power being lost (in the form of heat) in ballast components such as transformers, resistors, and semiconductors is dissipated over a greater area in a larger volume. Also, since more space is available, components operating at higher temperatures can be spaced further apart to reduce additional heatup. If one or more components, such as a transformer, runs at a temperature higher than desired, further thermal enhancement may be included to increase the operating life. Since heat is dealt with by other means, the fact that this fixture uses no potting compound greatly enhances reliability. Differences of the thermal coefficient of expansion between conventional potting compounds and various electronic components in prior ballasts may cause premature cracking of solder joints, thereby rendering those ballasts inoperative.
The electronic ballast circuitry of the present invention may include components for additional features such as step-dimming, automatic lamp current correction, lumen maintenance, automatic ambient light sensing, and remote ballast control. Sensors for functions such as automatic ambient light sensing may be attached directly to the fixture or may be mounted remotely. Also, the inclusion of more than one ballast, as well as the use of other ballast technologies (e.g., magnetic ballasts), instead of electronic ballasts in the fixture, is well within the scope of this invention.

Ballast fixture for fluorescent lighting


A card game to facilitate the learning of spelling words. The card game is comprised of a number deck and a word deck. Players play the numbered cards and are then commanded to spell a word from a card from the word deck having a length equal to the additive sum of the numbered playing cards played.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of a card game to facilitate the learning of spelling. Additionally, knowledge regarding other subjects such as religion, geography, history and government may also be learned secondarily.
2. Background Information
Some games have been devised where the players create words from indicia, for example, from letters available to them. However, these types of games have the fundamental approach wherein the players rely primarily on their own knowledge of words and their creation. The present invention differs substantially in that players are commanded to spell words of varying lengths depending on the cards played.

Card game for spelling improvement and education


An auxiliary keyboard comprises an insulating board and a plurality of conductive keys. The insulating board has a sheet having a plurality of portions respectively defining a plurality of thru holes, a plurality of resilient supporting portions respectively connected to the sheet correspondingly arranged to the thru holes, and a plurality of combined portions respectively connected to the resilient supporting portions. The thickness of each combined portion is about 0.05 mm to 1 mm. Each conductive key is defined by a bonded portion and an exposed portion. The bonded portions of the conductive keys are respectively and seamlessly coupled to the combined portions, and the exposed portions are arranged to allow exposure from the insulating board. Thus, the conductive keys are firmly fixed on the insulating board by the connection between each conductive key and each combined portion. The instant disclosure also provides an auxiliary input device.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant disclosure relates to an input device; more particular, to an auxiliary input device and an auxiliary keyboard each used for a tablet PC.
2. Description of Related Art
With the growing popularity of the tablet PCs, the touch operation of the touch panel is more and more frequently. The tablet PC takes a virtual keyboard to instead of the traditional physical keyboard for saving weight and space.
However, the virtual keyboard does not achieve the convenient operation of the physical keyboard, because we must rely on the visual to determine the position of the virtual keys of the virtual keyboard, which is limiting the input speed. In contrast, the physical keyboard provides the tactile shape to the user, such that the user does not have to rely on the visual.
Thus, if the user needs to have a large number of key operations, the user will likely to install an external physical keyboard on the tablet PC. However, the external physical keyboard must be connected to the tablet PC by wire or wireless, such that the external physical keyboard needs to consume the power of the tablet PC. Therefore, the acceptance of the external physical keyboard connected to the tablet PC is only limited to a particular group, and has not been widely accepted by the users.
To achieve the abovementioned improvement, the inventors strive via industrial experience and academic research to present the instant disclosure, which can provide additional improvement as mentioned above.

Auxiliary keyboard and auxiliary input device