Methods, systems, devices for a motorized isolation switch including a switch enclosure with a set of fixed insulated floating input line connectors and output load connectors movably fixed to the rear panel, a removable contactor bucket insertable into the isolation switch enclosure with mating movable insulated line terminals and load terminals and a set of insulated circuit interrupters, a motorized rack and pinion assembly connected to a base of the switch enclosure, coupled for moving a contactor pan connectable to the contactor bucket along a stationary rack gear along the base of the switch enclosure between and switch open position and a switch closed position, an insulating grounding block with ground connectors, the contactor bucket with corresponding movable ground terminals to mate with the insulated ground connectors in the switch open position, and ancillary controls for communicating with remotely located controls to electrically control the operation.

Switchgear is the aggregate of switching devices for a power or transforming station or for electric motor control. A bus is provided, to which are connected the generator (source) and the feeder lines (load). Both generators and feeders are connected to the bus through automatic circuit breakers (interrupters) and disconnecting switches.
Switchgear patents date back as far as U.S. Pat. No. 1,768,535 issued Jul. 1, 1930 which describes an electric switch that is mounted on wheels to be moved into and out of contact with circuit leads such that the movable terminals are caused automatically to be connected electrically with fixed circuit leads when the movable switch is in the inserted position and automatically disconnect when the switch is withdrawn from the stationary enclosing cell.
The electric switch includes a switch lock such that the switch cannot be withdrawn when the locking bar is in its lower most position. When the locking bar is raised, the switch can be withdrawn. The raising means can be a bell crank lever coupled with an operating rod that extends through the cover plate. There is also provided a means (switch operating mechanism) to prevent the unlocking when the switch is closed. The switch operating mechanism can include an operating shaft adapted to be rotated in one direction when the switch is opened and an opposite direction when the switch is closed. The combination of the bell crank lever and switch operating mechanism function such that when the switch is not fully inserted, the operating mechanism cannot close the switch and when the operating mechanism closes the switch, it automatically operates to move the locking bar to lock the switch in position.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,443,669 issued Jun. 22, 1948 discloses a switchgear apparatus that includes a drawout mechanism for securing the removable switchgear in either of its extreme positions or intermediate position between its limits of travel. And to interlock the drawout mechanism and the operating mechanism (actuate by handle disposed in an opening provided in the door) for the removable circuit breaker to prevent improper operation.
As stated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,298,828 issued on Oct. 13, 1942, "[i]n metal-enclosed switchgear of the drawout type, the conventional arrangement comprises a stationary metal housing within which bus bars, cable leads, and accessory apparatus are disposed and a removable unit comprising a circuit breaker which is connected to the busses and incoming and outgoing leads in the operating position of the unit. In this position, so-called primary disconnecting contacts include contacts connected to the buses and incoming or outgoing leads fixedly mounted with respect to the stationary housing and coacting movable contacts carried by the removable unit are in engagement.
The apparatus is also provided with suitable interlocking means generally arranged so that it is impossible to insert or withdraw the removable unit or break connected at the primary disconnecting contacts without first tripping the circuit breaker, and insuring that the circuit breaker is open both when the unit is moved out of and into operative position". The electric switchgear also includes a rack out mechanism, a mechanical interlock to prevent movement of the removable unit with respect to the stationary housing; a trip knob and locking device for tripping the circuit breaker device.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,388,934 issued Nov. 13, 1945 teaches a circuit breaker control mechanism for circuit breakers that are housed in compartments with a door. The CB is mounted on a movable frame or truck. The movable frame carries moving contacts that engage stationary contacts at the rear of the stationary frame for connecting the circuit breakers to the buses and contacts at the rear for control purposes. The patent describes rotating the latch rod to trip all three poles of the circuit breaker, causing them to move to their movable contact arm to the open position by depressing push button provided on the door for manually tripping the circuit breakers when the door is closed. This '934 patent is a divisional of U.S. Pat. No. 2,129,723 filed on Sep. 29, 1936 which issued Sep. 13, 1938.
An early draw out fused switch gear assembly is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,356. The assembly is adapted to be removably engageable with fixed electrical connectors from a electrical source. Another early patent, U.S. Pat. No. 2,982,827, describes an interlocking mechanism for use with a slidably mounted electrical draw out unit for forward and backward movement between an advanced and a retracted position in which movable contacts of the high voltage supply source that mate with stationary source.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,321 issued to Caton on Oct. 15, 1974 clearly describes the conventional high voltage switchgear having a primary supply switching means and operating mechanism, usually in conjunction with a circuit breaker, being mounted partly internal and partly external to the enclosure of a movable housing, with the current inlet and outlet conductors mounted in a stationary housing, which may also contain other electrical equipment, for example bus bars, cable box and instrument transformers.
The two housings can have isolating means such as mating plug and socket contacts for transmitting the primary supply of high voltage electricity through the switching means, the contacts being made or broken according to the relative position of the two housings. With the contacts made, switching is effected by operation of the switching means on the movable housing. Apart from the primary high voltage supply such switchgear includes a number of secondary circuits, generally low voltage control and indicator circuits, which may be fed from current and voltage transformers in the stationary housing and controlled by switches operated in accordance with the state of the primary switching means. When a circuit breaker is incorporated this is usually tripped by energiation of the circuit breaker shunt trip coil by a protective relay, the protective relay energized by an instrument transformer.
In conventional systems the power supplies for secondary circuits are taken from means in the stationary housing, but the elements of the secondary circuit responsive to such power, e.g. trip coils, auxiliary switches and electrical interlocks, are located in the movable housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,075 issued on Jan. 2, 1996 to Kleinecke et al. discloses a compact motor control (switchgear) with an improved arrangement for disconnecting and withdrawing a drawout unit that includes windows (not shown) through which blades can be viewed to visibly confirm that the isolation switch is open and that the blades are grounded prior to maintenance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,329 issued Jun. 30, 1980 shows windows in FIG. 1 for viewing in conjunction with a handle indicator that functions as both a drawout latch pin release and as an indicator that switch operating mechanism is uncoupled.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,277,294 issued to Carlson on Oct. 2, 2007 describes a contactor draw out pan that has a movable frame and a stationary frame which carries the electrical components for an electrical feeder circuit and has input terminals for the incoming electrical power and output terminals for delivering electrical power to equipment operating on the feeder circuit. The movable frame carries the contactors. A disconnect mechanism locks the movable frame relative the stationary frame and provides a primary mechanical means for disengaging electrical current flow through the apparatus. While the contactor draw out pan provides access for repairs, the operator is required to stand in front of the device to mechanically disengage the electrical current flowing between the input and output terminal before the pan can be drawn out for repairs.
Other prior art patents include, U.S. Pat. No. 2,218,555 issued to Rossman on Oct. 22, 1940; U.S. Pat. No. 2,554,510 issued to Spicer on May 29, 1951; U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,684 issued to McMillen on Feb. 13, 1073; U.S. Pat. No. 3,842,321 issued to Caton on Oct. 15, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,353 issued to Burton on Jul. 22, 1975; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,923,197 and 3,983,460 issued to Kuhn on Dec. 12, 1975 and Sep. 28, 1976, respectively; U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,291 issued to McGuffie on Nov. 9, 1976; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,002,864; 4,002,865 both issued to Kuhn on Jan. 11, 1977, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,017,698 issued to Kuhn on Apr. 12, 1977; U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,936 issued to Saito Nov. 13, 1984; U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,742 issued Oct. 3, 2000 describes a draw-out electrical switchgear apparatus; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,192 issued Feb. 29, 2000 describes a draw out circuit breaker with disconnect position interlock mechanism.
High voltage switching equipment commonly includes a variety of safety features such as barriers between phases to avoid arching between phases and a viewing window to provide line-of-sight to internal components so that a user can monitor the connection status of the switching components when the switching equipment is fully installed in a long wall enclosure.
A power center is a multi-compartment steel enclosure with a bus system to distribute electrical power, on a common bus system, to individual switching equipment units mountable within the compartments. The individual switching equipment are commonly referred to as "buckets" and are typically constructed to be removable, pull-out units that have, or are installed behind, individual sealed doors on the power center enclosure. These buckets can contain various switching control and motor protection components such as motor controls, starters, contactor assemblies, overload relays, circuit breakers, motor circuit protectors, various disconnects, and similar devices for electric motors. The buckets connect to the supply power lines of the power center and conduct supply power to the line side of the switching equipment, for operation of motors. Power centers are most often used in the underground mining industry, which uses high power electrical motors, pumps, and other loads.
A problem with prior art switchgear, circuit interrupters and contactor equipment is the size and weight of the draw out cell/contactor pan also referred to as a contactor bucket. Removal of the prior art contactor buckets from the stationary rack requires multiple screws to be removed, and because of the weight, required two or more operators to remove the draw out cell from the stationary rack or longwall power distribution unit.
To solve the problems associated with the prior art draw out cells, the methods, systems and apparatus of the present invention includes safety features such as a dead front panel, a motorized racking mechanism that can be automatically or remotely operated, insulated internal components to reduce complexity, decrease size and reduce weight while increasing safety. A dead front panel is a panel where all energized components are insulated to protect personnel from electrocution.


The present invention relates to a transfer ring (1) for a tire or tire b having grippers (5) distributed along its circumference which are displaceable radially so as to come into contact with said tire or belt, and having means (8) for controlling the radial displacement of said grippers and means (15) for immobilizing the grippers (5) by blocking them perpendicular to their radial displacement.

The present invention relates to a transfer ring for a tire assembling machine.
In the tire industry, it is current practice to produce a tire carcass including essentially the entire carcass with the exception of the outer annular reinforcements and the tread which form a belt which is to be positioned precisely on said carcass. This belt is produced separately; in fact, due to its geometry and its positioning on the outer annular surface of the carcass it is preferable to grasp the belt on its outer annular surface, in order to transfer it. For this, there is generally used a transfer ring provided with means for grasping the outer circumference of the belt, this transfer ring being able also to make it possible to displace then the complete tire produced.
This transfer operation is of great importance in the manufacture of the tire. In fact, the tires must be balanced, which means a precise positioning of the components of the tire, on the one hand, uniformly on the circumference of the tire and, on the other hand, symmetrically with respect to the radial median plane of the tire. Furthermore, the slight rigidity of the ring formed by the belt in raw state requires careful transfer in order not to run the risk of deforming it when it is grasped.
EP-A 0 700 774 describes a transfer ring for a tire belt formed of two coaxial annular disks, one of which, the inner one, is stationary, while the other, the outer, is movable in rotation around the axis of the ring. This transfer ring has grippers connected respectively to each of the disks by a rod so that the rotation of the outer disk results in a radial displacement of the grippers in order grasp the belt, said rotation being effected by means of an actuator located radially to the outside of the outer disk.
Such a transfer ring makes it possible to grasp belts of different diameters. However, this characteristic is accompanied by a very large radial size. Now, it is current practice that transfer rings, upon the placing of the belt, must be positioned between the support bearing the carcass and a roller device used in order to effect good application of the belt onto the carcass. This considerably limits the outer radial space permissible for the transfer ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,574 describes a transfer ring for a tire belt comprising grippers which are displaceable radially in order to grasp the belt, and are driven respectively by a pneumatic actuator. By a piston housed in the body of the gripper in question an actuator controls the radial displacement of said gripper up to a piston-stop position corresponding to the definition of the diameter of the belt to be grasped.
Such a transfer ring can therefore only be one-dimensional. Furthermore, the actuators used for this ring exert a relatively substantial pressure on the belt upon its transfer so that there is a danger of deforming said belt.
Furthermore, in the two documents mentioned the transfer rings disclosed require a very precise adjustment of coaxiality with respect to the form which initially bears the belt and to the assembly support on which it is to be placed. In fact, in order to permit a proper grasping of the belt, the diameter defined by the position of the grippers must be perfectly centered on said belt.
Publication GB-A-2 092 100 is distinguished from the publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,574 previously cited by the fact that the displacement of the grippers is stopped by a device for blocking the piston rod in a direction perpendicular to the radial displacement of said rod. This device makes an independent displacement of each gripper possible, but it requires not only actuators with a rod which take up a lot of space but also the presence of blocking devices (14) which further increase the space taken up radially. The multi-dimensional character of such a transfer ring is therefore limited to very slight differences in diameter. Furthermore, as indicated in connection with the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,574, the operating pressure of the type of actuator used for this ring is problematical.

Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin - Michelin & Cie


A method for manufacturing a joined body composed of a first substrate and a second substrate joined together by sealing resin material attached to a predetermined area of the first substrate includes: attaching a sheet material to the first substrate so as to cover the predetermined area, the sheet material including a sheet base material and the resin material provided on one main surface of the sheet base material; forming, after the attaching, in the sheet material, a slit by reducing a thickness of the resin material along an outline of the predetermined area; and separating, after the forming, part of the resin material inside the slit from the sheet base material to keep the part of the resin material inside the slit on the predetermined area of the first substrate and not to keep the rest of the resin material outside the slit on the first substrate.

There is a conventional joined body manufactured by joining a first substrate and a second substrate by using sheet-like resin material sandwiched between the first substrate and the second substrate. Such resin material is supplied as a sheet material, and the resin material is applied to the main surface of a sheet-like first separator (e.g., a film made of resin) and is covered with a second separator (e.g., a film made of resin), for example.
Such a joined body is manufactured through an attaching step of attaching resin material to the first substrate, a uniting step of uniting the first substrate and the second substrate, and a curing step of curing the resin material.
The following describes a technology of attaching a sheet-like resin material to the first base material, with reference to a figure (for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
According to a conventional technology as shown in FIG. 15, a joined body is manufactured through the following steps.
(A) Preparing a first substrate 902 that includes a plurality of first functional units 901, and performing UV ozone cleaning (section a in FIG. 15).
(B) Preparing a (rolled) sheet material 924 composed of resin material 921 and two separators 922 and 923 sandwiching the resin material 921, and peeling off one of the separators (here, the lower separator 923) while drawing out the sheet material 924 (section b in FIG. 15).
(C) Forming a cut-slit that is completely cut in the surface of the resin material 921 from which the separator 923 has been removed along an outline of a resin material part 921a of the resin material 921 (not forming a cut-slit in the other separator 922) (section c in FIG. 15).
(D) Attaching a peeling tape 925 to a part inside the resin material part 921a (section d in FIG. 15).
(E) Removing unnecessary resin material (921a) by peeling the peeling tape 925 off (section e in FIG. 15).
(F and G) Attaching the resin material 921 remaining on the other separator 922 and cutting into a predetermined size to each of the first functional units 901 of the first substrate 902, and peeling off the other separator 922 (sections f and g in FIG. 15).
(H) Uniting a second substrate 912 that includes a plurality of second functional units to the first substrate 902 so that the first functional units 901 correspond one-to-one in position to the second functional units (section h in FIG. 15).
(I) Curing the resin material 921 by heating (or applying UV to) the united first substrate 902 and second substrate 912 (section i in FIG. 15).
(J) Dividing the joined first substrate 902 and second substrate 912 into individual joined bodies each composed of the first functional unit 901 and the second functional unit, after curing the resin material 921 (section j in FIG. 15).

Production method for joined body, and joined body


A method for controlling an electromagnetic valve, in particular for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle. With known methods, electromagnetic valves are triggered with a pulse-width-modulated signal having a constant clock frequency. The object is to provide a method by which a rapid response characteristic and a high adjustment precision of the electromagnetic valve are made possible. The specific properties of a hydraulic system in which electromagnetic valves are used, in particular the rigidity and damping, are not constant but instead change considerably under different operating states of the hydraulic system and/or with different performance quantities of the electromagnetic valve. These different properties are taken into account through the change in the clock frequency as a function of performance quantities of the electromagnetic valve. The clock frequency may thus be optimally adapted to the properties of the hydraulic system, and a rapid response characteristic and a high adjustment precision are achieved.

German Published Patent Application No. 298 09 412 describes a method for controlling an electromagnetic valve in the form of a pressure regulating valve designed in the manner of a seat valve driven by an electromagnet. This method is executed by a control device in the form of an electronic device which triggers the electromagnetic valve with a pulse-width-modulated trigger signal in the form of a pulse signal. A clock frequency of the trigger signal is constant in all operating ranges of the electromagnetic valve.

Method for controlling an electromagnetic valve, in particular for an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle


The present disclosure includes a stent-graft comprising a first portion that is configured to engage a vessel wall, a second portion that is configured not to engage the vessel wall, and a perfusion window that is configured to permit blood flow. The stent-graft may further comprise a transition portion between the first portion and the second portion, and the perfusion window may be formed in the first portion, the second portion, and/or the transition portion. In a variety of embodiments, one of the first and the second portion may have a smaller diameter than the other. Similarly, in a variety of embodiments, the transition portion may be frustoconically shaped.

Field
The present disclosure generally relates to stent-grafts for treating diseases of the vasculature.
Discussion of the Related Art
Stent-grafts are medical devices constructed to reinforce, replace, or bridge, a part of a damaged, unhealthy, or diseased blood vessel. A stent-graft may thus guide blood flow through a lumen defined by its cylindrical interior. Where a stent-graft is implanted in a patient's body, however, blood is typically not permitted to leak or flow over an exterior portion of the stent-graft.
Occasionally, a stent-graft may be placed in a part of a patient's body such that it occludes or blocks one or more side-branch vessels (i.e., vessels that join the main vessel within which the stent-graft is implanted). For instance, patients who develop abdominal aortic aneurysms ("AAAs") are often implanted with stent-grafts. During a procedure of this type, a stent-graft may be implanted in a patient's abdominal aorta. However, such a stent-graft may partially or fully occlude blood flow to a patient's renal arteries, which branch away from the patient's abdominal aorta.
Commonly, in order to direct blood flow to a patient's side-branch vessels, stent-grafts, which may otherwise occlude these vessels, are manufactured with, or altered in situ to include, a fenestration or window near a location of one or more side-branch vessels. Thus, in operation, blood may escape through the fenestration and into one or more side-branch vessels.
Fenestrated stent-grafts have been manufactured with their fenestrations opened a priori of surgical implantation. More particularly, fenestrated stent-grafts have been manufactured as pre-sized commercial off the shelf components as well as more customized components fenestrated based upon preoperative anatomic information (e.g., imaging data collected via x-ray systems, etc.) In either instance, however, a fenestrated stent-graft may fit poorly within a patient's anatomy (either due to the pre-sized nature of the device and/or as a result of inadequate or imprecise preoperative anatomic data). Likewise, where stent-grafts have been fenestrated in situ, it has been similarly challenging to adjust the orientation of such stent-grafts to align with various anatomies.
In light of these shortcomings, physicians have struggled to ensure alignment between the fenestrations made in stent-grafts and the branch-vessels into which these fenestrations will ultimately direct blood flow. For example, until now, alignment has been accomplished (and/or attempted) largely through the use of multiple guidewires as well as, in some instances, an angiographic catheter. These measures have been necessary, because stent-grafts, as described above, may fit only poorly into their respective anatomies. Moreover, where stent-grafts have been implanted near side-branch vessels, physicians have struggled, prior to alignment of one or more fenestrations with these vessels, with occlusion by the stent-graft of these vessels.
A more suitable fenestrated stent-graft is therefore desirable. More particularly, a stent graft suited to more careful placement in a patient's anatomy is desirable. A need similarly exists for the reduction of surgical equipment in a patient's anatomy. Likewise, there is a need for a stent-graft that does not occlude side-branch vessels prior to alignment.

Devices and methods for in situ fenestration of a stent-graft at the site of a branch vessel


A structured 3D model of a real-world object is generated from a series of 2D photographs of the object, using photogrammetry, a keypoint detection deep learning network (DLN), and retopology. In addition, object parameters of the object are received. A pressure map of the object is then generated by a pressure estimation DLN based on the structured 3D model and the object parameters. The pressure estimation DLN was trained on structured 3D models, object parameters, and pressure maps of a plurality of objects belonging to a given object category. The pressure map of the real-world object can be used in downstream processes, such as custom manufacturing.

The statements in the background of the invention are provided to assist with understanding the invention and its applications and uses, and may not constitute prior art.
Distribution of interface pressure—even between comparatively flat surfaces—is typically uneven with localized areas of peak pressure. For example, the pressure distribution in a human foot wearing a typical shoe is uneven with areas of localized pressure, which may be discomforting to the user. As a result, mapping and identifying the peak pressure points between two surfaces in a visual representation such as a pressure map offers insights to enhance product design and manufacturing quality in a wide variety of fields ranging from shoes, medical devices, prosthetics, to machines and automobile parts, and so on. Pressure maps can provide useful metrics such as the total force, peak pressures, center of force, etc., while serving as clear, visual representations of pressure distribution data in real-time or offline from recorded data. Modern pressure mapping systems are primarily constructed from thin, flexible sensors, scanning electronics that can scan thousands of sensing points, and associated software that generates maps of pressure distribution and other surface interaction data between two objects.
Pressure mapping finds uses in assessing component press fits and seals, machine design, and set up precision in industrial set ups. In the field of medical devices and prosthetics (e.g., braces), pressure maps can help assess comfort and a personalized and ergonomic fit. In addition, pressure mapping technologies can have numerous applications in myriad fields including high-speed impact testing, testing surface contact for thermal conductivity, semiconductor testing, testing the press fit and seal applications for ensuring that products and processes have proper fit and seal, and so on. In all these applications, generation of the pressure maps requires physical contact between the surfaces being tested, which in turn requires that the objects associated with the surfaces be brought into physical proximity to each other. In certain applications such as medical devices or prosthetics, where the users requiring customized products are not able to travel easily, bringing surfaces into physical proximity can be a problem.
It is against this background that the present invention was developed.

Methods and systems for predicting pressure maps of 3D objects from 2D photos using deep learning


A steerable, retractable power drive unit (SRPDU) is provided for installation into a transport vehicle for moving cargo in mutually perpendicular directions, such as a doorway area where containers need to move both laterally and longitudinally in a cargo vehicle. The SRPDU rotates upon application of an external command, to orient the drive unit in the required direction and to drive the cargo containers. Embodiments include an SRPDU comprising a stationary support for fixedly attaching to a vehicle structure, and a rotating support rotatably mounted to the stationary support. A drive assembly is movably mounted to the rotating support, the drive assembly comprising a roller and a first electronically controlled electric motor for rotating the roller. A lift assembly mounted to the drive assembly has a second electronically controlled electric motor for moving the drive assembly relative to the rotating support from a retracted position substantially within the rotating support to an extended position with the roller in driving abutment against the cargo. A rotation drive assembly has a third electronically controlled electric motor on the rotating support for rotating the rotating support relative to the stationary support. An electronic controller controls the first, second and third motors.

Roller assemblies which are removably mounted on carriers attached to the floor of a vehicle are widely used for conveying cargo within such vehicles. These roller assemblies or "actuators" are intended for use in systems which involve the transport of commercial and military cargo containers commonly used in the air cargo, ground cargo (trucking), rail cargo and shipboard cargo industries. The actuator installs into a cargo transport vehicle, and provides motive force and holding (i.e., braking) for the containers within the vehicle.
The actuator, commonly called a power drive unit or powered drive unit (PDU), works in conjunction with external support equipment to facilitate the loading and unloading of the cargo containers into and out of the vehicle. The PDU typically incorporates a fixed frame or support base rigidly attached to the floor or floor structure of the cargo vehicle. A moving drive assembly is attached to the support base. The drive assembly includes drive roller or rollers for contacting the cargo containers and providing motive force to them by means of the frictional coefficient between an elastomeric roller surface and the container bottom, and a motor for rotating the drive roller. Cargo container bottoms are generally smooth, metallic coverings attached to a square or rectangular frame structure; however, they may also be made of non-metallic material such as wood or reinforced plastic.
The PDU also incorporates a lift mechanism which raises the drive assembly from its lowered position into abutment against the cargo container bottom, as by rotating cams on a common camshaft against reaction points or bearings in the support base. The lift mechanism provides the vertical force to the drive roller, which in turn provides the frictional force to drive the container. The lift mechanism also can be engaged to hold the container in place when the drive roller is not turning, to prevent the unintended motion of containers in the vehicle.
When drive and/or hold commands are removed from the PDU, the PDU drive assembly lowers to its retracted position. The cargo containers are typically supported by a plurality of free turning cylindrical rollers, ball transfer units or caster assemblies, which are collectively referred to as the conveyance hardware. When the PDU is retracted, the containers are free to move on the conveyance hardware, and are typically held in position during vehicle motion by latches, guides and other restraint hardware.
In areas requiring movement of containers in mutually perpendicular directions, such as a doorway area where containers need to move both laterally and longitudinally in a cargo vehicle, steerable PDU's are employed which rotate upon application of an external command, to orient the drive assembly in the required direction and to drive the cargo containers. Typical steerable PDUs are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,978,975, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,542, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Prior art PDU's can involve complex mechanisms which are heavy, costly and difficult to repair or replace. However, regardless of their degree of complexity, prior art PDU's are limited in their operational flexibility under varying conditions, such as use in different vehicles or for different types of cargo containers or loading. As a result, they are not easily adaptable to different applications.

Steerable/retractable cargo power drive unit


Methods, systems and apparatuses are disclosed for interrogating characteristics of a substrate material surface and sub-surface by evaluating: 1) sum frequency output beams produced by combining an optical source input and a Terahertz source input, and 2) Terahertz second harmonic frequency output from a Terahertz source input.

In non-linear optical, or wave mixing processes, outputs are produced at sum, difference or harmonic frequencies of the input(s). Second order non-linear optics, or three wave mixing involves combining two inputs to produce one output at one of the combined frequencies. The use of second order non-linear optical surface spectroscopy to examine physical properties of a material surface is known. However, practical constraints on such known methods have impeded progress on the material evaluation and characterization beneath the surface of a material under inspection.
The Terahertz (hereinafter "THz") range refers to electromagnetic waves with frequencies between 100 GHz and 10 THz, or wavelengths between 3 mm and 30 μm, existing in the radiation spectrum between the microwave and infrared region. Terahertz waves are known to pass through a variety of amorphous and opaque substances. In addition, many biomolecules, proteins, explosives or narcotics also feature characteristic absorption lines, so-called spectral "fingerprints", at frequencies between 0.1 and 2 THz. The two main advantages of THz radiation are thus the penetration of conventionally opaque materials on one hand, and a high chemical selectivity on the other hand. Terahertz imaging is therefore thought to be a non-destructive technique for interrogating dielectric (non-conducting) materials. The use of THz waves for non-destructive evaluation of materials enables inspection of multi-layered structures and can therefore identify abnormalities from foreign material inclusions (contamination) delamination, heat damage, etc.
The spectroscopic frequency band of a 0.5 to 3 THz is not easily accessible. Electronic sources like Gunn or Schottky diodes with subsequent frequency multipliers, provide high output levels (mW range) up to some 100 GHz, yet become inefficient in the sub-millimeter range. Direct optical sources, like quantum cascade lasers, are usually limited to frequencies>5 THz, even when operated at cryogenic temperatures.
Optoelectronic THz generation is an expression for indirect methods, where near-infrared laser light illuminates a metal-semiconductor-metal structure, generating a photocurrent that becomes the source of a THz wave. Both pulsed and continuous-wave (CW) techniques have been realized, and both have their advantages and limitations. Pulsed THz radiation offers a higher bandwidth (typically from 0.1 to 5 THz) and permits very fast measurements; a spectrum can be acquired within milliseconds. On the other hand, the frequency resolution is limited to several GHz. Vice versa, a CW system features a somewhat lower bandwidth (typically about 0.1 to about 2 THz) and requires longer measurement times (acquiring a spectrum takes several minutes), yet the frequency can be controlled with extreme precision (down to single MHz).
Composite materials such as fiberglass, Kevlar and carbon fiber are increasingly being used as structural components in aircraft because of their high strength to weight ratios, improved performance, reduced corrosion, etc., compared with other known structural materials. However, composites can be weakened by various defects and stress during their life cycle. Further, routine maintenance of composites requires complicated inspection and repair techniques.
Terahertz (THz) radiation offers a non-invasive, non-contract, non-ionizing method of assessing composite part condition. However, the use of THz radiation diagnostic arrays presents difficulties. For example, to image a surface, THz diagnostic arrays require a focal plane array that can detect the output signal from the surface. However, known THz focal plane arrays have not shown the levels of resolution attained by optical systems.

Terahertz imaging via simultaneous surface and sub-surface evaluation via non-linear optical response


When trying to keep the amount of a liquid treating chemical in a treating bath constant by discharging almost the same amount of the liquid treating chemical as the liquid treating chemical supplied, the flow of the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath fell into disorder, which made it hard to keep the flow of the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath in the laminar state.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a chemical treating apparatus and a flow rate controlling method thereof, particularly to a chemical treating apparatus used in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, especially in the cleaning process, and a flow rate controlling method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As it will be stated below, there are two methods for treating (cleaning, etching, etc.) the face surface or the back surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate, a quartz substrate, and the like.
(a) One method of chemical treatment is using an overflow type chemical treating apparatus 101, as shown in FIG. 1, in which the subject of treatment (for example, semiconductor wafer, glass wafer, etc.) 131 is placed in a main bath 111, and a liquid treating chemical 121in (shown by an arrow) is supplied to the main bath 111 from its bottom portion while the liquid treating chemical 121out (shown by an arrow) in the main bath 111 is discharged from the top portion of the main bath 111 into an outer bath 112 provided on the top periphery of the main bath 111.
(b) The other method is using a down-flow type chemical treating apparatus 102, as shown in FIG. 2, in which the subject of treatment (for example, a semiconductor wafer, a glass wafer, etc.) 131 is placed in a main bath 111, and a liquid treating chemical 121in (shown by an arrow) is supplied to the main bath 111 from an outer bath 112 formed on the top periphery of the main bath 111 while the liquid treating chemical 121out (shown by an arrow) in the main bath 111 is discharged from the bottom portion of the main bath 111.
In each method mentioned above, a liquid treating chemical 121 is supplied to a main bath 111 storing the subject of treatment 131 while the liquid treating chemical 121 is discharged to the outside of the main bath 111, wherein the adopted flow rate of the liquid treating chemical supplied ranges widely from a very small quantity to several dozens dm3/min. Generally, the optimum flow rate is set depending on the geometric shape of the main bath 111 and an outer bath 112, the subject of treatment 131 and the type of the liquid treating chemical 121 supplied. The set flow rate does not always have only one value; recent multi-functionalization in apparatuses has made it possible that more than one liquid treating chemicals are supplied alternately. In such a case, each time the type of liquid treating chemical is changed, the flow rate should be changed. Furthermore, even though apparatuses are designed so that the flow rate of a liquid treating chemical supplied is always constant during the supply, there are some cases where the flow rate variation during each supplying operation or the variation over a long time period exceeds a negligible level.
Further, in order to treat (for example, clean, wet-etch, etc.) the subject of treatment 131 uniformly, it is required that the liquid treating chemical 121 is sufficiently in contact with the face surface (or the back surface) of the subject of treatment 131 and that the liquid treating chemical 121 flows as laminar state as possible.
In the above-described overflow type chemical treating apparatus 101, regardless of the amount or variation of supply from the bottom portion of the main bath 111, the flow rate of the liquid treating chemical 121 in the main bath 111 is determined by the height of the wall of the main bath 111. Thus, unless the liquid treating chemical 121 is discharged from the main bath 111, the flow rate is stable irrespective of the amount of supply. Most of the conventional cleaning baths are overflow type ones which have such a structure that the liquid treating chemical 121 is supplied from the bottom portion of the main bath 111 and discharged to the outer bath 112. Therefore, the discharging capacity should be equivalent or exceed to the expected amount of supply. In addition, various discharging methods are applicable; that is, either the method using gravitation or the method using a pump is available. Therefore, variation of supply can be managed naturally by allowing the opening of the discharging port to have some extra area, for example.
On the other hand, in the above-mentioned down-flow type chemical treating apparatus 102, in order to keep the amount of the liquid treating chemical in the main bath 111 constant independent of the variation in the amount of supply of the liquid treating chemical 121 from the outer bath 112, it is necessary to discharge the same amount of the liquid treating chemical 121 as the amount of supply.
However, the conventional method which has been applicable to discharge a liquid treating chemical from the bottom portion of a main bath is either dropping the liquid treating chemical by gravity or discharging the liquid treating chemical with a pulsation pump. Therefore, the method for discharging a liquid treating chemical from the bottom portion of a main bath has been utilized only for the purpose of reducing the amount of the liquid treating chemical in the main bath or emptying the main bath. In such a conventional method, it is hard to allow the amount of discharge to be continuously variable and to control the amount of discharge according to the amount or variation of amount of the liquid treating chemical supplied from the outer bath. Specifically, since it is hard to discharge the liquid treating chemical from the main bath according to the amount of supply of the liquid treating chemical, the flow rate (the liquid level) of the main bath is not constant.
To be concrete, when the amount of the liquid treating chemical 121 supplied from the outer bath 112 is decreased from the liquid level 121A as shown in FIG. 7A, on which the liquid treating chemical 121 is held at a certain height higher than the side wall 111s of the main bath 111 and lower than the side wall 112s of the outer bath 112, to the level shown in FIG. 7B for example, the amount of discharge exceeds the amount of supply, and the amount of the liquid treating chemical 121 in the main bath 111 decreases. With the decrease, the liquid level 121A lowers, and when the level is lower than the upper end of the wall 111s of the main bath 111, the flow of the liquid treating chemical 121 around the subject of treatment 131 changes from the laminar state. In such a situation, the liquid treating chemical 121 dropping down the inner wall of the main bath 111 flows only in the neighborhood of the side wall 111s of the main bath 111. Furthermore, after the liquid level 121A reaches the subject of treatment 131, the upper portion of the subject of treatment 131 exposes from the liquid level 121A, which makes the treatment (for example, cleaning, etching, etc.) ineffective in such a portion.
On the other hand, when the flow rate of a liquid treating chemical 121in (shown by an arrow) supplied increases, as shown in FIG. 7C, the amount of discharge does not catch up with the amount of supply. Consequently, the amount of the liquid treating chemical 121 left in the outer bath 112 and the main bath 111 increases, and soon the liquid treating chemical overflows the outer bath 112.
When attempting a solution of the above problem using the prior art, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the attempt must be followed by opening and closing a valve for supply 141, a valve for discharge 142 or a pump (not shown in FIGS.). As shown in FIG. 8A, when the liquid level 121A of the liquid treating chemical 121 lowers with the decreasing amount of supply, the valve for discharge 142 is in closing action while the valve for supply 141 is in opening action. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the liquid level 121A of the liquid treating chemical 121 rises with the increasing amount of supply for the treating bath 110, the valve for supply 141 is in closing action while the valve for discharge 142 is in opening action. Although this method can keep the height of the liquid level 121A constant, in each case where the valve for supply or for discharge is in closing action, the action causes the flow of the liquid treating chemical 121 around the subject of treatment 131 to vary from the laminar state. In addition, it can cause the flow of the liquid treating chemical 121 to stop depending on the situation. This results in loss of efficiency in treating the subject of treatment.
Thus, the amount of the liquid treating chemical in the bath must be held constant by discharging almost the same amount of the liquid treating chemical as that of the liquid treating chemical supplied. In addition, abrupt changes in the amount of discharge caused by, for example, opening and closing the discharge port must be avoided.
The present invention provides a chemical treating apparatus and a flow rate controlling method thereof which are invented to overcome the above-mentioned problems.
Specifically, the chemical treating apparatus of the present invention is a down-flow type chemical treating apparatus in which a liquid treating chemical is supplied from the outside of a treating bath and discharged from the bottom portion of the treating bath, comprising a pump on the chemical discharging side of the treating bath which allows to discharge the liquid treating chemical to the outside of the treating bath substantially keeping the flow of the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath in the laminar state.
In the aforesaid chemical treating apparatus, a pump is provided on the chemical discharging side of the treating bath which allows to discharge the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath to the outside of the treating bath substantially keeping the flow of the liquid treating chemical in the laminar state: therefore, even when the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath is discharged by the pump, the flow of the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath is kept in the laminar state.
As a result, the liquid treating chemical is prevented from lowering to such a degree that the subject of treatment exposes from the liquid treating chemical, or rising to such a degree that the liquid treating chemical overflows the treating bath, which enables uniform and efficient treatment over the subject of treatment.
The flow rate controlling method of the chemical treating apparatus is a flow rate controlling method for a down-flow type chemical treating apparatus in which a liquid treating chemical is supplied from the outside of a treating bath and discharged from the bottom portion of the treating bath, comprising processes of detecting the amount of the liquid treating chemical supplied to the treating bath, and discharging almost the same amount of the liquid treating chemical as that of the liquid treating chemical detected.
In the aforesaid flow rate controlling method of the chemical treating apparatus, the process of detecting the amount of the liquid treating chemical supplied to the treating bath shows the amount of the liquid treating chemical supplied to the treating bath. The process of discharging almost the same amount of the liquid treating chemical as that of the liquid treating chemical detected allows the liquid treating chemical in the treating bath to be always constant in quantity, which makes it possible to prevent the liquid treating chemical from lowering to such a degree that the subject of treatment exposes from the liquid level or rising to such a degree that the liquid treating chemical overflows the treating bath.
The nature, principle and utility of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals or characters.

Chemical treating apparatus and flow rate controlling method thereof

Abstract: A down-flow type chemical treating apparatus 1 in which a liquid treating chemical 21 is supplied from the outside of a treating bath 2 (main bath 3) while the liquid treating chemical 21 is discharged from the bottom portion of the treating bath 2 (main bath 3), comprising a pump 5 on the chemical discharging side of the main bath 3 which consists of a rotary pump allowing to discharge the liquid treating chemical 21 to the outside of the main bath 3 keeping the flow of the liquid treating chemical 21 substantially in the main bath 3 almost in the laminar state.


An apparatus and method for converting a fixed-opening air diffuser (21) to an individually-controlled variable air volume diffuser. The fixed-opening diffuser (21) includes a diffuser housing (26) mounted to a support structure (25) and coupled to receive air from a supply conduit (24) positioned behind the support structure (25) and a diffusion assembly (27) mounted across the housing (26) to distribute the air from the housing (26). The method includes the steps of removing the diffusion assembly (27) from a position across the diffuser housing (26) to provide access to the housing, mounting a thermally-powered diffuser actuator assembly (31) having a movable vane (32) coupled to actuator assembly (31) inside the diffuser housing (26) in a position for control of air discharged from the diffuser housing (26) by thermally-driven displacement of the vane (32). Each of the steps of removing and mounting is accomplished while maintaining the diffuser housing (26) in place in the support structure (25) and while maintaining the support structure (25) in a substantially undisturbed state to minimize the release of dangerous materials possibly present in the support structure (25).

Most heating and air conditioning systems employ one of two types of air diffusers, namely, fixed-opening air diffusers and variable-opening air diffusers. The variable-opening air diffusers are constructed in a manner which allows the volume of air discharged into the space to be heated or cooled to be varied or modulated. Thus, such diffusers are known as variable air volume or VAV diffusers.
Additionally, there are numerous types of controllers for VAV diffuser systems, including pneumatic, electrical and thermal sensor-actuator systems. Depending upon the controller, the movable vanes or elements varying air flow can be driven and controlled at each diffuser or at groups of diffusers.
VAV diffusers have the advantage over fixed-opening diffusers of greater control so that the heating and cooling can be better tailored to the demands of the various parts of a building in which the system is installed. Sun-facing rooms need more air conditioning in the summer and less heating in the winter. The heating and cooling requirements, moreover, change during the day as environmental conditions change surrounding the structure. VAV systems, therefore, tend to be more energy-efficient and provide more comfort control zones than fixed-opening systems.
Although not always the case, fixed-opening air diffusers often have lower initial cost than VAV diffuser systems. Accordingly, there are many older buildings, particularly older office buildings, that have fixed-opening diffuser heating and air conditioning systems. As energy-awareness has increased, it has become apparent that fixed-opening systems are energy inefficient and do not provide the required control features that a VAV diffuser system could provide. Many of these older office buildings, however, also have made wide-spread use of asbestos. Thus, the steel framework of older buildings often has a layer of asbestos over the steel to protect the framework from melt-down in a fire. Similarly, the original air conditioning duct work in older buildings may include asbestos flocking or tape as an insulator.
Broadly, it is well-known in the heating and air conditioning industry to change fixed-opening air diffusers to VAV air diffusers. This has been done by disconnecting the complete diffuser and replacing it with a new VAV diffuser. In electrical and pneumatic conversions, the necessary electrical or pneumatic wires and conduit also must be added to control diffuser operation. In drop-ceiling buildings, in which the air diffusers are mounted to a T-shaped support grid for the ceiling tiles, however, opening up the ceiling to replace an air diffuser can be relatively easily done, but it is very hazardous. While the ceiling tiles lift out of the grid rather easily, the top surfaces of the tiles and of the air diffuser housings can be covered with asbestos dust.
Accordingly, many old heating and cooling systems which employ fixed-opening air diffusers are candidates for conversion to VAV air diffuser systems, but the asbestos hazard makes such conversion dangerous and prohibitively expensive. Conversions in such buildings may require workers to wear protective clothing and use breathing apparatus, as well as require that the area be sealed during the replacement process. There are, therefore, many energy inefficient office buildings using fixed-opening air diffusers whose owners essentially cannot afford to convert to more efficient and comfortable heating and cooling systems.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for converting fixed-opening air diffusers to individually-controlled VAV air diffusers substantially without disturbing the structure in which the fixed-opening air diffuser is mounted.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for converting fixed-opening air diffusers to VAV air-diffusers which minimizes the exposure to dangerous or hazardous materials.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for installing a variable air volume, individually-controlled air diffuser in a structure which possibly could have dangerous or hazardous materials in it without need for specially trained personnel and protective equipment.
The apparatus and method of the present invention have other objects and features of advantage which will become apparent from, or are set forth in more detail in, the following description of the Best Mode of Carrying Out the Invention and the accompanying drawing.

Method and apparatus for converting a fixed-opening air diffuser to an individually-controlled variable air volume diffuser


An imaging lens is essentially constituted by five lenses, including: a first lens of a biconvex shape; a second lens of a meniscus shape having a concave surface toward the image side; a third lens of a biconcave shape; a fourth lens of a meniscus shape having a convex surface toward the image side; and a fifth lens of a biconcave shape having at least one inflection point on the surface thereof toward the image side, provided in this order from the object side.

Technical Field
The present invention is related to a fixed focus imaging lens for forming optical images of subjects onto an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). The present invention is also related to an imaging apparatus provided with the imaging lens that performs photography such as a digital still camera, a cellular telephone with a built in camera, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a smart phone, a tablet type terminal, and a portable gaming device.
Background Art
Accompanying the recent spread of personal computers in households, digital still cameras capable of inputting image data such as photographed scenes and portraits into personal computers are rapidly becoming available. In addition, many cellular telephones, smart phones, and tablet type terminals are being equipped with camera modules for inputting images. Imaging elements such as CCD's and CMOS's are employed in these devices having photography functions. Recently, miniaturization of these imaging elements is advancing, and there is demand for miniaturization of the entirety of the photography devices as well as imaging lenses to be mounted thereon. At the same time, the number of pixels in imaging elements is increasing, and there is demand for high resolution and high performance of imaging lenses. Performance corresponding to 5 megapixels or greater, and more preferably 8 megapixels or greater, is desired.
In response to such demands, imaging lenses having a five lens configuration, which is a comparatively large number of lenses, may be considered. For example, Chinese Utility Model Publication No. 201903684, International Patent Publication No. 2011/118554, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-152042 propose imaging lenses, each of which is constituted by: a first lens having a positive refractive power, a second lens having a negative refractive power, a third lens having a negative refractive power, a fourth lens having a positive refractive power, and a fifth lens having a negative refractive power, provided in this order from the object side.

Imaging lens and imaging apparatus equipped with the imaging lens


A tray for supporting particulate material in an apparatus for processing. The tray includes an upper plate which has pluralities of associated groupings of first apertures formed therein. The tray also includes a lower plate which has a plurality of second apertures formed therein. Each of said second apertures corresponds with, and generally underlies, one of the associated groupings of first apertures formed in the upper plate. Further, the tray also includes a plurality of staybolts which extend between the upper and lower plates. Each staybolt has a first end which circumscribes an associated grouping of first apertures and defines a shoulder in engagement with a lower surface of the upper plate. Each staybolt also has a second end received through one of the second apertures. Each staybolt also has a wall defining a conduit passing therethrough from the first to the second end thereof. The conduit serves to direct fluid having passed through a corresponding second aperture, through the corresponding associated grouping of first apertures. Spacing and positioning of first apertures in one associated grouping relative to an adjacent grouping of first apertures is such that distribution of all of the first apertures is generally uniform throughout the upper plate.

Because of the use of various solvents in processes for treating particulate materials, and particularly granular materials, extraction apparatuses are used to separate an oil or solvent from the granular materials. This is accomplished in various ways. In one type of apparatus, granular materials are subjected to a bath, and the bath draws oil from the grains to form a miscella. The miscella can then be separated from the granular materials by a screen or other means. In any case, a large fraction of the solvent and miscella is extracted and transferred to a location away from the granular materials. In the type of process described, the grains might go through a number of baths and would eventually be dried prior to being transferred for further processing, storage, or shipment.
In another type of process, an apparatus having vertically stacked plenums in which the granular materials are disposed is employed. Each stage has a porous floor through which a fluid is passed to contact a bed of the grain disposed on the floor of the plenum. In such operations, a typical depth of granular material is 24 inches. It will be understood, however, that the depth of granular material may, in fact, range anywhere between 16 inches and 48 inches.
In this type of process each floor can be defined by generally parallel, upper and lower plates. A chamber can, thereby, be defined between the plates, heated air or steam, typically, being introduced into the chamber to heat the plates and, indirectly, the granular material while it is disposed on the floor of the plenum. The floor, however, employs staybolts which function to maintain the distance between the upper and lower plates. Further, the staybolts define conduits passing upwardly through a floor from one plenum into the next. A staybolt defines a conduit which passes through the chamber between the upper and lower plates, and the conduit is isolated from the chamber. Heated fluid (i.e., air or steam) can be injected into the lowest plenum to rise from plenum to plenum and pass through and treat the granular materials in each plenum as it passes therethrough.
In the prior art, the staybolts are affixed to the upper and lower plates in various ways. Typically, the length of a staybolt extends through the full dimension between the upper surface of the upper plate and the lower surface of the lower plate. In such a construction, heavy welds are employed (that is, the weld volume is significant). This not only results in a greater cost in manufacturing, but it can also result in shrinkage and distortion of the plates, as well as the possibility of leakage upwardly through a defective weld joint. Because welding is necessary at a location which can result in buildup of the weld material upwardly from the upper surface of the upper plate, expensive grinding can be necessary to make the upper surface of the upper plate substantially planar.
Various other attempts have been made to improve the manner in which staybolts are mounted. For example, an aperture formed in the upper plate has been made considerably smaller than the coaxial aperture in the lower plate. The staybolt is given a smaller axial dimension so that the upper axial end of the staybolt abuts a lower surface of the upper plate at a location radially outward from the periphery of the aperture in the upper plate. This attempted solution, however, can also presents problems. In this solution, there can be, and frequently is, difficulty in accessing the upper weld. If the staybolt is of a sufficient diameter to afford good access to the weld, then the staybolt is of such a large diameter that several apertures or holes must be provided in the top plate so as to enable a desired rate of fluid flow. In prior art structures employing this solution, the result has been the provision of a cluster of holes at each staybolt with relatively wide spacing of the staybolts in their respective clusters. In consequence, the pattern of gas flow contacting and treating the granular material above the tray is significantly non-uniform. This results in lower efficiency of operation of the apparatus.
It has been found that a phenomenon which typically results where there is proper and efficient functioning of a desolventizer apparatus is the generation of a roughly spherical-shaped fluid void in the particulate material disposed on the upper surface of the upper plate in the immediate proximity of an aperture through which processing fluid escapes upwardly. Similar sized and shaped voids are typically created above each aperture. Each void, where the depth of the granular or particulate material is approximately 24 inches, typically has a real dimension radius of between 3/4 and 1 inch. Such a void is created by the pressure and upward velocity of the processing fluid as it escapes through an upper egress port of a staybolt and into the surrounding particulate material. It is important, however, that adjacent apertures through which the processing fluid passes be on centers of at least two times the 3/4 to 1 inch radius dimension so that fluid voids generated above adjacent apertures do not interfere and thereby decrease the efficiency of the processing.
Furthermore, it has been found that the pattern of apertures passing through the chamber via staybolts should be substantially uniform across the top surface of the tray. It has been discovered that, if the apertures are clustered, processing fluid escaping upwardly through a cluster of apertures is more likely to combine and form a large diameter channel centered on the cluster of apertures. Such a phenomenon enables the fluid to escape from the bed without substantial contact with the particulate material.
A further drawback of this phenomenon is that the large diameter channel of escaping fluid will tend to define a geyser effect, and granular material will be spewed into the space above the bed of material. The geyser may rise to a sufficient height to entrain particulate material in the flow of fluid as it is drawn from the machine into a final vent system. When this occurs, the granular material may contaminate the vent system and cause problems in operation.
It is to these problems of the prior art and desirable features that the present invention is directed. It is an improved tray construction which accomplishes many of the mandates and solves many of the problems of the prior art.


This disclosure provides a tube shaping tool for a torque mechanism to modify a tube end. The tube shaping tool can include a cup and an internal assembly. The internal tube assembly can include a stem and an internal body. The stem can be received by the torque mechanism and transmit torque generated from the torque mechanism to the components of the tube shaping tool. The tube shaping tool can roll form the outside diameter of the tube end using standard bearings and a flange bearing attached to the internal body. The flange bearing can also include a flange that can provide facing of the tube end.

Tools are used to removed burrs and sharp edges from the cut ends of tubing. These burrs and sharp edges are removed from the outside surfaces of tubing ends to facilitate the attachment of couplings to tubing ends. Burrs and sharp edges are removed from inside surfaces of tubing ends to ensure free flow of liquids and gases through tubes. Burrs and sharp edges are also removed from the inside surfaces of conduit pipe ends to prevent damage to the insulation on wires that are to be pulled through the conduits.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,022 to Carter describes a pipe end burnishing tool that has a tool shank with an axis of rotation, a first end adapted to be clamped to a drill chuck, a second end, and a stop face on the second end. A cup member is driven by the tool shank and axially moveable along the axis of rotation. An inside member is also driven by the shank and axially movable along the axis of rotation. A cup spring urges the cup toward the stop face. An inside member spring urges the inside member away from the first end and also urges the cup member toward the first end. Conical burnishing faces on the cup and the inside member cooperate to burnish pipe ends. These burnishing faces float in line with the ends of pipes.
The present disclosure is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems discovered by the inventors.


Provided are various devices and processes that harness the inherent kinetic energy of a flowing pressurized fluid to drive a compressor to compress a fluid without any need for electrical or chemical energy. The flowing drive fluid flows over a boundary layer disk turbine, or Tesla turbine, which is mechanically coupled to a compressor that compresses a fluid. The flowing fluid may be a natural gas from a hydrocarbon recovery operation. The compressed fluid may be air that is used to power a pneumatic device in an industrial process. Harnessing the kinetic energy of the flowing fluid increases economic efficiency of the process, while also avoiding unwanted emissions adverse to the environment and public health.

Provided herein are devices and methods for driving and controlling industrial processes using inherent kinetic energy of a fluid that is an integral part of the industrial process. In this manner, the environmental impact from the industrial process is significantly reduced and revenue to the producer increased, while maintaining and even increasing reliability and efficiency.
Conventional industrial processes may power a pneumatic device by pressurized fluid. For example, typical petroleum industry pneumatic process control devices and instruments are often powered by pressurized natural gas from a supply such as from wellhead production equipment (i.e., a petroleum separator) through a series of valves, regulators, and small vessels appropriate to the application. A concern in those systems is that significant pressurized natural gas can bleed, emit or vent, including up to all the natural gas, either constantly or when a device is actuated by the gas. In addition, loose, damaged, and worn fittings or piping in what is often a complex tube and pipe layout may also significantly contribute to fugitive emissions from the pneumatic system.
Those natural gas emissions are not only destructive to the environment and public health, but are a costly loss of potential revenue to the producer. A U.S. EPA Gas Star fact sheet states: "Pneumatic devices powered by pressurized natural gas are used widely in the natural gas industry as liquid level controllers, pressure regulators, and valve controllers. Methane emissions from pneumatic devices, which have been estimated at 51 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year in the production sector, 14 Bcf per year in the transmission sector and <1 Bcf per year in the processing sector, are one of the largest sources of vented methane emissions from the natural gas industry." See "Options for reducing methane emissions from pneumatic devices in the natural gas industry." EPA (October 2006). See also "Convert gas pneumatic controls to instrument air." EPA (October 2006).
Although natural gas (specifically methane) emissions account for a lower overall percentage of all greenhouse gasses, the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of methane determined by EPA models is 21 times greater than CO2, the most abundant greenhouse gas. The health effects of hydrocarbon emissions are also considered to be highly dangerous. Accordingly, there is a need in the art to replace hydrocarbon gas pneumatic controls to air.
Most current solutions that replace natural gas pneumatics with air pneumatics require either electric or gas-powered (natural gas or gasoline) compressors that can be very costly to purchase, operate and maintain. Furthermore, remote drilling sites may not have electric hook-up, and running gas compressors simply replace one source of pollution with another. Maintenance can become an issue for both electric and gas powered compressor systems, which is further compounded by sites that are not readily accessible. For example, all the same issues exist in a multitude of facilities including plants and offshore drilling rigs. Accordingly, the need in the art extends beyond providing air pneumatics, but includes using air pneumatics without requiring electric or gas-powered compressors to achieve sufficient air pressure to control the pneumatics. Disclosed herein are processes and systems that satisfy that need.
As discussed herein, the problem of powering a compressor without electric or gas power is solved by utilizing the kinetic energy inherent in a pressurized fluid flow in the industrial process (e.g., natural gas, petroleum, or water from the wellhead, separators, sales lines, pipelines, etc.) to drive a boundary-layer disk turbine (BLDT), which in turn mechanically drives a compressor pump. This provides a cost-effective, elegant, clean/green and robust solution to compressor power problem.

Boundary layer disk turbine systems for controlling pneumatic devices


A method for checking security of data received by a computer system within a network environment is disclosed. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an incoming packet from a client is first decrypted within a receiving communications adapter by utilizing a master decryption key. The decrypted incoming packet is then encrypted by utilizing an encryption key identical to an encryption key employed by the client. A determination is made as to whether or not a packet produced from the encryption is identical to the incoming packet. In response to a determination that a packet produced from the encryption is identical to the incoming packet, the decrypted incoming packet is forwarded to a system memory of the computer system. As such, any incoming packet that does not meet this criterion will be rejected as a security threat.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method and system for data processing in general and, in particular, to a method and system for providing data security in a computer system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a method and system for checking security of data received by a computer system within a network environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Today's world of network computing is a highly open environment. By taking advantage of such openness, industries are providing various kinds of resources, services, and information to the consuming public through computer networks such as the Internet. For example, banks are providing on-line banking and bank card authorization for payment to their customers. Digital cash transactions and business transactions in the form of electronic commerce may be conducted on the Internet. In addition, consumers may order goods and services via the Internet. Even on a personal level, a vast amount of electronic mail is being sent via the Internet everyday. For better or worse, there is no doubt that network computing on the Internet changes the way most people run their lives.
The advantage of openness in a computer network, however, also comes with the necessary threat of data security. In fact, the urge to protect information and resources within the world of electronic commerce are some of the reasons that industries and individuals are demanding stricter data security in the widely unprotected network-computing environment. For example, a merchant may want to protect his or her profits by making sure a business transaction is properly conducted with payment securely received. A bank may want to ensure the identity of a payee before any "money" is transferred in order to prevent fraud. An individual may want certain personal information or electronic mail to be encrypted so that only the intended recipients can read them.
Currently, data security in a network-computing environment is provided via data-security-checking software, such as virus protection software. This data-security-checking software typically resides in the system memory of a receiving computer. After receiving a stream of data from the network, the receiving computer will first load the incoming data into the system memory, in which the data-security-checking software operates upon the data, before the data is utilized. However, if the security technique is breached, the offending data has already been allowed into the system memory of the receiving computer such that damage may be done. Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an improved method and system for checking security of data received by a computer system within a network environment.

Method and system for checking security of data received by a computer system within a network environment

International Business Machines Corporation


The performance of client server interactions is measured by the interacting client. The client-generated performance data is efficiently transmitted to one or more servers by incorporating the performance data regarding one or more previous request/response cycles into a subsequent request. Performance data transmission is made more efficient by transmitting performance data context such as client, server and session details once per connection. Performance data is stored on the client until transmitted or until it has aged beyond a server specified maximum age. Performance data is aggregated on the server in memory resident accumulators. The server may have a set of accumulators for each server its clients communicate with as well as a set for each client. An accumulator value crossing a configurable threshold may trigger an event log entry. The number of performance data events in an event class may be limited to a maximum for a time period.

Electronic mail (e-mail) has become an important method for communicating. E-mail systems typically include a server component (e.g., Microsoft® Exchange Server) and a client component (e.g., Microsoft® Outlook® or Microsoft® Outlook® Express). These components are typically software applications that are configured to execute on computing devices (e.g., servers, PCs, laptops, and PDAs).
Often, in order to facilitate communications, a client and server, such as the client component and the server component of an email system, agree on a communications protocol. The protocol sets out rules defining expected behavior of each party during communications, for example, the expected sequence of request and response. Remote procedure calls (RPCs) are an example of a communications protocol. By utilizing remote procedure calls a program on one computer may execute a program on a server computer. A system developer may not need to develop specific procedures for the server: the client program sends a message to the server with appropriate arguments and the server returns a message containing the results of the program executed.
Some types of e-mail servers are configured to allow e-mail to be accessed via an Internet browser client (e.g., Microsoft® Internet Explorer) rather than a dedicated e-mail client. One such system is Microsoft® Exchange Server's Outlook® Web Access feature. In these systems, the browser interacts with the e-mail server, and any functions required to be performed on the client system are performed through the browser (e.g., by downloading Javascript) or through the use of Active Server Pages or the like.
Since client and servers are often connected by networks that have low bandwidth and high latency (e.g., slow dial-up connections), many users experience undesirable delays when accessing information from the server utilizing the client server protocol. However, some of these delays may be reducible if the cause of the delay can be accurately determined. For example, if a particular unreliable or overtaxed network connection is causing packets to be dropped, a network administrator may be able to reconfigure the network to reduce congestion.
While monitoring end-to-end messaging service quality is something network administrators would like to do, they typically do not have the ability to accurately measure quality from the client's perspective. Current tools that purport to offer such functionality typically require that a separate monitoring application be deployed and maintained on each client machine to be monitored. Requiring a separate monitoring application has disadvantages. For example, a separate monitoring application typically utilizes the same resources as the monitored application. In a resource-strained client server environment, the separate monitoring application may itself contribute to degradation of service quality. In addition, some conventional separate monitoring applications monitor environment parameters only indirectly related to service quality as perceived by a user of the client, for example, monitoring an underlying protocol transport layer such as TCP/IP rather than the client server protocol itself. As a result, conventional separate monitoring applications may give network administrators the impression that performance is acceptable during periods when client users are experiencing problems.

System and method for client side monitoring of client server communications


An amphibious vehicle has retractable road wheels to allow planing over water. Power to the road wheels is disconnected automatically as the wheels are retracted. This may be achieved through a cable attached to a suspension rocker arm to disconnect a dog clutch attached to the input shaft of a differential as the wheels are retracted; and vice versa. The system may be fitted to a steered axle or to any suitable retractable suspension system.

The present invention relates to transmission arrangements for amphibious vehicles, and in particular to control aspects thereof.
It is known for amphibious vehicles to have road wheels which can be retracted above the water line for use of the vehicle on water. This has the advantage of reducing hydrodynamic drag; particularly where the vehicle is designed to plane over the surface of the water, as such vehicles travel faster than displacement vehicles.
Where such wheel retraction systems are fitted, and the road drive and marine drive are driven in parallel, for example as disclosed in the applicant's co-pending application published as WO 02/07999, it is preferable to disconnect road drive on water. An example of road drive disconnection is disclosed in WO 02/14092, also of the present applicant. In this disclosure, a decoupler is provided in each wheel driveshaft. Such decouplers have many virtues, but light weight and simplicity are not among them.


An IC memory testing apparatus comprises a pattern generating circuit, a decision circuit, a first-in memory circuit which stores the defect data of a IC memory under test and simultaneously reads the resulting data. A latch circuit is also used to shorten the testing time. The resulting information about the defective cell of the tested IC memory is stored and read out during the test, with the memory circuit executing a storing operation for the address of defective cell data and simultaneously executing a reading operation for the data having been stored. The time periods required for the reading and writing operations are set independently of each other, and the operation frequency of the memory circuit is less than for testing the memory to be tested.

This invention relates to an integral circuit (hereinafter it is referred to as "IC") memory testing apparatus capable of detecting a defective memory cell of an IC memory for storing digital data information. More particularly this invention relates to a testing apparatus in which information about the defective cell can be stored and read out while a predetermined examination signal pattern is being applied to the IC memory to be tested (hereinafter it is referred as "MUT" which means "memory under test").


A trolley suitable for aircraft or use in all space constraint situations comprising a waste compactor comprising a metal horizontal plate driven by an electric motor reducer that, by a mechanical reducer, drives two telescopic screws responsible for pushing the horizontal plate onto the waste, compacting it.

Waste compactors, like all the other accessory equipment used onboard aircrafts, must comply with specific, strict requirements provided for by aeronautical regulations. Specifically, the dimensions and structural characteristics of all civil aircraft accessories must be able to support the loads specified in the applicable regulations in force; furthermore, the accessories must be suitable for being housed and stored in safety during travel in specific aeroplane compartments. Finally, the accessories must be as light as possible.
Reducing the in-flight weight by about one kilogram leads to significant savings in energy and running costs over the useful life of the aircraft.
The operating principle of the compactors available on the market today is not particularly suited for aviation applications. The compactors suffer from several problems, notably: the large dimensions of the waste compactor, the high electrical power required, the use of significant amounts of a pressurized oil fluid, and the use of structurally complex and costly operating and control systems in terms of construction and maintenance.
To resolve the above drawbacks, research efforts have focused on doing away with the hydraulic system for safety and cleanliness reasons: components that work under pressure are a potential source of hazards, especially in an aeroplane. One proposed solution was to switch to an electromechanical system. Document U.S. Pat. No. 5,263,412 describes a compactor comprising a horizontal plate driven by an electric motor, which generates a rotary motion, and mechanisms—specifically, a pantograph system—to convert rotary motion into translational motion for moving the horizontal plate.
Unfortunately, although this system resolves the problems related to the hydraulic system, it has a serious drawback: it requires the application of very high forces to execute a complete compaction cycle due to the high multiplication ratio of the pantograph. Consequently, this system requires the use a very powerful motor adding bulk, weight, and generating high mechanical stress on the upper structure of the trolley.


Mounting hardware for mounting an insulation module on a furnace wall. The hardware comprises a mounting bracket embedded within the module. The bracket has a plurality of flexible tabs, each tab having a fixed end and a free end. The free ends of the tabs are arranged about a central point and are movable (flexible) relative to the fixed ends. A mounting stud is provided having a fixed end attachable to an inner surface of a furnace wall and a free end. The stud extends from the inner surface, and the stud has an annular groove adjacent the fixed end. The stud is dimensioned to extend through the mounting bracket between the free ends of the tabs and to cause the tabs to flex as the bracket moves along the stud from the free end towards the fixed end, wherein the tabs snap and lock into the annular groove when the bracket reaches the annular groove.

It is known to use refractory ceramic mats or blankets made from fibrous refractory materials to line the interior of high temperature furnaces. The refractory fiber blankets are often assembled into cube-shaped "modules" that are formed from a plurality of individual layers of a refractory ceramic fiber blanket. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,001,996, 5,353,567 and 3,819,468 disclose different types of "modules" formed from layers of refractory materials. The layers of refractory material are held together in a number of different ways. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,567 to KNIGHT et al. discloses layers of refractory material held together by bands that are wrapped around the layers of refractory material. L-shaped members are located at the corners of the module to prevent the bands from compressing or distorting the refractory layers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,468 to SAUDER et al. discloses a module having multiple refractory layers that are held together by metal wires extending through the refractory layers. U.S. Pat. No. 8,309,212 to VENDURA et al. discloses holding layers of refractory material together by plastic fasteners.
Each of the foregoing systems maintains the refractory module in a generally cubic configuration for post manufacturing handling, shipping and mounting to a furnace wall.
It is known to mount the cubic modules to the inner surface of a furnace in a number of different ways. Typically, mounting structures are embedded within a module to facilitate mounting the module to the furnace wall. One method of mounting a refractory module to a furnace wall is by means of spikes mounted to inner surface of the furnace wall. With this type of mounting, the refractory module does not require a mounting structure within the module. A module is simply forced onto the spikes which hold the module in place. While such a mounting method is relatively simple, such mounting is unreliable for extended service life of the refractory module.
A second method of mounting a refractory module involves a threaded stud on the inner surface of the furnace wall. The module is bolted onto the threaded stud using a conventional nut fastener. The refractory module is guided by a guide rod onto the threaded studs. The nut is then guided over the guide rod onto the threaded stud. A special hollow socket wrench is required to screw the nut onto the stud and secure the refractory module. However, if the threaded stud becomes damaged during assembly or installation (i.e., the threads on the rod become damaged), the threaded rod must be replaced. In some such instances, some operators require heat treating of the weld that attaches the rod to the furnace wall. Such heat treating cannot be performed with modules in place within the furnace. Consequently, replacing threaded rods on a furnace wall once installation has begun requires removal of all modules. As will be appreciated, such work is both time consuming and expensive.
A third method of installing a refractory module is by a quick-weld method. This method is similar to the aforementioned stud-weld design assembly and includes a yoke or channel with beams that hold the folds of the refractory module in place. The yoke or channel is attached to a quick-weld anchor system in which the tip of a metal rod, having a flux embedded within it, and an insulating ceramic protrude out the back of the module to make contact with the shell of the vessel. An electrical current is sent through the metal rod and produces an arc on the back of the module that welds the anchor system in the module to the shell. After a short period of time, the module is secured to the shell with a nut threaded onto the rod.
While this "quick-weld system" is the fastest method of installing modules, it does have deficiencies. Foremost, the quick-weld anchor assembly can sometimes be faulty and not form a weld at all. In such situation, entire modules must be discarded. In addition, while the module may initially feel secured, it may not be adequately welded to the furnace wall which could lead to premature failure during service. As a result of this potential problem, many industries, specifically the refinery and petrochemical industries, require that anchor welds must be quality checked with bend tests. This testing cannot be conducted on quick-weld modules, which means only the stud-weld variety is acceptable for these industries.
The present invention overcomes these and other problems and provides a quick and effective method of mounting a refractory module to a furnace wall.


A gas turbine engine exhaust nozzle comprises a nozzle body 8 defining a nozzle exit 6. An array of movable slats 16, 18 is disposed round the nozzle exit 6. Flow control walls 20 are fixed to the nozzle body 8 and provide flow control surfaces 22 over which the movable slats 16, 18 move. The flow control walls 20 prevent leakage of gas at the edges of the movable slats 16, 18, so improving performance of the exhaust nozzle.

Gas turbine engines are widely used to power aircraft. As is well known, the engine basically provides propulsive power by generating a high velocity stream of gas which is exhausted rearwards through an exhaust nozzle. A single high velocity gas stream is produced by a turbo jet gas turbine engine. More commonly nowadays, however, two streams, a core exhaust and a bypass exhaust, are generated by a ducted fan gas turbine engine or bypass gas turbine engine.
The optimum area of the nozzle exit of a gas turbine engine exhaust nozzle depends on a variety of factors, such as the ambient conditions of temperature and pressure, and the mass flow of exhaust gas, which depends on the operating condition of the engine. Aircraft engines spend a substantial proportion of their life at cruise, and consequently nozzle exit areas are normally optimised for cruise conditions. Over the operating cycle of the engine, this provides the optimum overall performance and fuel efficiency. However, on takeoff, when the power requirement of the engine is greater than at cruise, the optimum nozzle exit area is greater than it is at cruise, and decreases during climb. Variable area nozzles have been proposed in order to modulate the nozzle exit area during takeoff and climb. An example of such a variable area nozzle is disclosed in GB 2374121, and comprises a series of tabs at the nozzle exit, alternative ones of which are displaceable radially outwardly relative to fixed tabs in order to provide an increase in the nozzle exit area.
Outward displacement of a movable tab opens gaps between its circumferential edges and the adjacent fixed tabs, and these gaps allow leakage of the exhaust gas flow, which generates vortices and so reduces the performance of the engine. Furthermore, excessive movement of the movable tabs away from the optimum nozzle shape can cause excessive flow turning, which can lead to separation. These factors reduce the Cv of the nozzle, Cv being a measure of the nozzle efficiency.

Gas turbine engine exhaust nozzle including a plurality of flaps movable over a flow control surface


A method and system provide a magnetic recording media usable in a heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) disk drive. The magnetic recording media includes a magnetic recording layer, a crystalline underlayer, and a crystalline heat sink layer. The crystalline underlayer is between the crystalline heat sink layer and the magnetic recording layer. The magnetic recording layer stores magnetic data. The crystalline underlayer has a first crystal structure. The crystalline heat sink layer has a second crystal structure.

Conventional magnetic recording disk drives include a slider attached to a suspension and a media such as a disk. The slider typically includes a magnetic read transducer (reader) and a magnetic write transducer (writer). The writer magnetically records data as bits along a tracks in the media. The reader reads data back from the media.
The trend in magnetic recording is to higher areal densities. For example, densities of 1 Tbit/in2 and higher are desired. To read, write and store data at such areal densities, the reader, writer, and media have evolved. For example, tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors may be used to read higher density media with sufficiently high signals and heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) writers may utilize laser light to heat regions of the media to temperatures near and/or above the Curie temperature of the media. This allows the writer to magnetically record data to the media at lower magnetic fields. Similarly, magnetic media have been developed to store data at higher areal densities.
Although such conventional magnetic recording disk drives function, there are drawbacks. For example, for areal densities of 1 Tbit/in2, an average grain size for a bit may be desired to be less than six nanometers. Media having the desired grain size, thermal stability and other magnetic properties are thus desired. Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for improving the performance of a magnetic recording disk drive at higher areal densities.

Magnetic media capable of improving magnetic properties and thermal management for heat-assisted magnetic recording