A method and apparatus for chopping long unwound items like fiber, fiber strands, yarn, etc. having an idler roll for pressing the item(s) against a backup roll for pulling the item(s) into the chopper, the idler roll being an assembly allowing the idler roll to pivot around a pin inside the idler roll assembly to keep the surface of the idler roll in proper contact with the items being chopped.

The present invention involves an improved chopper for chopping continuous or very long loose items such as fiber, fiber strands, yarn, wire, string, ribbon, tape and the like by pulling the item(s) into the chopper while the loose items are held tightly against the surface of a rotating backup roll with a rotating idler roll biased against the backup roll and carrying the item(s) on into a nip between a rotating blade roll and the rotating backup roll where they are separated into short pieces. More specifically the present invention involves a chopper having an improved idler roll which allows the idler roll to reliably self align with the surface of a back up roll to more reliably and more effectively hold down and pull item(s) being pulled and chopped such as loose wet or dry strands of glass fibers with, or without, a chemical sizing thereon.
It has long been known to chop continuous fibers or fiber strands into short lengths of about 3 inches or shorter. Billions of pounds of such product including chopped glass fibers and fiber strands are produced each year in process and chopping apparatus such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,970,837, 4,398,934, 3,508,461, and 3,869,268, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The choppers disclosed in these patents comprise a blade roll containing a plurality of spaced apart blades for separating the fibers into short lengths, a backup roll, usually driven, which the blades work against to effect the separation and which pulls the fibers or fiber strands and an idler roll to hold the fibers or fiber strands down onto the surface of the backup roll. In the chopped fiber processes disclosed in these patents, the chopper is usually the most productivity limiting equipment in the processes that are round the clock, 24 hours per day, type processes. Therefore, improvements in the chopper, which allow the chopper to pull and chop faster, for longer times between maintenance shutdowns, and/or to pull and chop more fibers or fiber strands at one time, have an extremely positive impact on productivity and production costs.
In the published prior art the idler roll has been mounted and held against the surface of the back up roll in a generally rigid manner and with a variable force such as a force applied by an air or hydraulic cylinder. The working surface of the idler roll has been knurled and chrome plated in the past to better grip the fibers or fiber strands to prevent the fibers or fiber strands from sticking to the roll and wrapping and to avoid having to shut the chopper down to remove the wrap. Normally several strands, up to 14 or more, are fed into the chopper, each strand containing 2000 or more fibers. As more fiber strands and fibers are fed into the chopper it becomes more difficult to pull all of the strands and fibers at the same speed, so more pressure is applied to the cylinder pushing the idler roll against the backup roll with more force. If all of the strands or fibers are not pulled at the same speed, the slower strands and fibers will have a greater fiber diameter which is unacceptable and the bushings of the slower strands frequently will not operate at the proper temperature causing more frequent breakouts and/or additional fiber diameter variations, both of which are unacceptable. Also, fiber slippage can cause some of the fibers to be cut to shorter lengths than desired resulting in an unacceptable product.
As the pulling speed is increased, and/or as the number of strands and fibers are increased, above about 3000-4000 ft./min. (FPM), depending on the product, the present state of the art choppers begin to vibrate and the idler roll begins to allow one or more of the strands to slip some thus reducing the pulling speed of one or more of the strands. Also, if all of the strands are not pressed between the idler roll and the elastomer layer of the backup roll, a strand can slip partially out of the nip leaving some of the fibers unchopped, producing double cuts and stringers in the chopped product and causing the product to be scrapped. This condition worsens as the backup roll and blades become worn with use, typically about 6-24 hours following a chopper rebuild in which the blade roll is replaced with a roll having new blades and the backup roll is replaced with either a refurbished or new backup roll. The backup roll has a working layer of polyurethane at least about a half inch thick on the surface of a metal wheel. As the chopper life increases the surface of the backup roll becomes chopped up due to the blades pressing and cutting into the polyurethane.
Periodically the backup roll must be removed and either the polyurethane layer turned down on a lathe or sander or must be replaced with a new layer of polyurethane. It would be very desirable to be able to run the chopper at higher speed without vibration and strand slippage to make good chopped fiber than is possible with the current state of the art choppers because the remainder of the process is capable of producing fiber that can be pulled much faster in terms of speed and pounds of fiber per hour than is currently possible. Also, in the preferred state of the art chopper the idler roll mount is exposed to broken fiber and sizing being thrown from the various rolls on the chopper and must be frequently cleaned to avoid serious malfunction at current speeds.
An improved idler roll mount is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,723,670, and this mount works very well but requires the entire yoke to pivot to keep the idler roll in the desired alignment and this added inertia is a disadvantage, especially at high pulling speeds above about 3000 FPM. It is known that the reason for certain strands slipping on the idler/backup roll of the current choppers is the manner in which the idler roll is mounted, the manner in which the force is applied to hold the idler roll onto the surface of the backup roll and the fact that the peripheral surface of a new and used backup rolls often have a slight taper from side-to-side or misalignment with the idler roll, either initially or after the new backup roll has been in use for a few hours. A mechanism that would achieve at high pulling speeds with the same desired alignment now achieved at lower pulling speeds with this device would be highly desirable and valuable.


A practice aid (22) for golfers (10), which is formed by a jacket-shaped textile upper part (24) with at least one tubular-shaped sleeve (26, 28). The sleeve (26, 28) comprises a stiffening and follows the motion sequence of the golfer (10) when hitting with the golf club (14). The stiffening is formed as a frame (30) and is provided in the tubular sleeve (26, 28). Furthermore, the invention relates to a practice aid (22) for golfers (10) designed as a stiffening frame (30).

Golf is a ball game played on grass land in naturally or only slightly modified terrain. It is the aim of golfing, to hit a small, hard ball (golf ball) with a club on courses of different lengths into a hole with as few hits as possible.
Usually, a golf course is designed with 9 or 18 holes which are several hundred meters long. Each course starts with a teeing area, which is followed by a fairway for further playing. At the end of the fairway there is a green with lawn which is cut very short and with the hole as a goal. The course is surrounded with uncut grass (rough), scrubland, trees, water and artificial obstacles, such as sand-filled bunkers. The hole is marked with a flag for better recognition.
In order to hit the golf ball, a player can choose one out of 14 different clubs with different club heads depending on the ground and the desired trajectory. On the tee or on the fairway, the player wants to hit the ball as far and as precisely as possible. For this purpose, the player has to hit the ball with the head of the club with high speed and accordingly with high kinetic energy in order to achieve an optimum power transfer to the ball. Both the direction and the amount of the transmitted power should be as exact as possible in accordance to the necessary values of the desired trajectory.
In order to carry out such a hit, usually a player first moves the club far behind his head. The club head is then guided in a circular and swinging motion to the ball. When hitting the ball, a part of the kinetic energy of the club head is transmitted to the ball. The player then lets the club continuously swing in a circle. This motion, which is also called a golf swing, is a technically very demanding motion sequence. Beside a movement of the arms, a rotation of the shoulders, torso and hips must be effected. Thereby, the weight of the player is shifted from one leg to the other. The golf swing requires a good sense of rhythm, timing and accuracy from the player.
Especially beginners and inexperienced players often have significant problems in learning the optimum motion of a golf swing. A large number of individual movements must be coordinated during the swing and attention must be paid to the position of all body parts to each other. Furthermore, the golf ball also has to be hit and must be played in a desired direction. An incorrect motion sequence of the golf swing often causes an unsatisfactory golf play. The player can lose the fun of playing golf. Furthermore, a faulty motion sequence involves the risk of sport injuries. Joints and muscles may be incorrectly and destructively stressed.
An entire industry sector of the clothing industry deals with sport-suitable golf clothing. Further, the fashionable aspects and golf etiquette and functional properties of golf clothing are considered to be of high importance. The golf clothing should protect the golf player from disadvantageous weather conditions and should provide an optimal body climate, in particular without limiting the mobility of the golf player.
Known practice aids are complicated and do not allow the necessary freedom of movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,538 B2, expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses a jacket, in which a band is incorporated for pulling the arms to the body.
DE 202004008900 U1 discloses a stretching device, in which a forearm cup and an upper arm cup are fastened at the arm by using fixing bands. Rigid bars are fastened at the arms cup. The bars are rotatably connected to each other. A coupling element used for this purpose is biased in such a manner, that the arm is stretched. The stretching device must be individually adapted to the player. The coupling element is expensive to produce and difficult to assemble.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,070,027, expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses a textile-type stiffening mechanism, which is slipped over the complete elbow joint.
UK 2399761 A discloses an adjustable elbow sleeve, which keeps the arm in a desired flexion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,795,238, expressly incorporated herein by reference, discloses a band, which extends along the outside of both arms and over the shoulders to the right hand (with right-handed persons) and shall support the body movement during the swing.


The present invention relates to a three-dimensional solid polymeric article having surface effects comprising a polymer composition and 0.1 to 20% by weight of a hydrophobic compound, based on the total weight of the solid polymeric article, where the hydrophobic compound is intermixed throughout the polymer composition and throughout three-dimensional solid polymeric article; and where the hydrophobic compound is selected from a cyclic alcohol which is substituted with at least two hydrophobic groups.

Various compositions are known to be useful as treating agents to provide surface effects to substrates. Surface effects include repellency to moisture, soil and stain resistance, and other effects which are particularly useful for hard or fibrous substrates such as fibers, fabrics, textiles, carpets, paper, leather, stone and tile, glass, metal, and other such substrates. Many such treating agents are partially fluorinated polymers or copolymers.
Fluorinated polymer compositions having utility as fibrous substrate treating agents generally contain pendant perfluoroalkyl groups of three or more carbon atoms, which provide oil- and water-repellency when the compositions are applied to fibrous substrate surfaces. The perfluoroalkyl groups are generally attached by various connecting groups to polymerizable groups not containing fluorine. The resulting monomer is then generally copolymerized with other monomers which confer additional favorable properties to the substrates. Various specialized monomers may be incorporated to impart improved cross-linking, latex stability and substantivity. Since each ingredient may impart some potentially undesirable properties in addition to its desirable ones, the specific combination is directed to the desired use. These polymers are generally marketed as aqueous emulsions for easy application to the fibrous substrates.
Various attempts have been made to increase the oil- and water-repellency imparted an article while reducing the amount of fluorinated polymer required, i.e., boost the efficiency or performance of the treating agent. One method is to incorporate blocked isocyanates or melamine resins. However, only limited amounts can be used because these ingredients tend to adversely affect the handle (the feel) of the fibrous substrate. Another approach employs use of various extender polymers. These are typically hydrocarbon polymers in aqueous emulsions, which are blended with the fluorinated polymer emulsion before application to the substrate.
Jariwala et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,157) discloses fluorochemical compounds for use as treating agents or polymer melt additives for the purposes of providing oil-, water-, or stain repellency to shaped articles such as fibers.

Solid polymeric articles having hydrophobic compounds intermixed therein


Recyclable pouches formed from rollstock and having a resealable closure that extends into both side edges of the pouch may be produced at high speeds on a single manufacturing line in which the pouches are formed, cut apart, filled, and then sealed if the film forming the pouch comprises a recyclable heat seal layer and a second recyclable layer having a melting temperature of at least 30° C. greater than the heat seal layer.

Standup pouches are a significantly growing packaging format due to their convenience and ease of manufacturing. Standup pouches are typically made from multi-material non-recyclable laminations. Yet, consumers often desire packaging to be recyclable. However, recyclable materials for pouches lack the heat resistance required for integrating traditional resealable closures like press-to-close zippers at high speed on existing packaging equipment.
Non-recyclable pouches having resealable closures may be readily formed at high speed on existing packaging equipment, such as horizontal form-fill-seal equipment. The pouches typically contain an inner heat seal layer and a non-recyclable, heat resistant outer layer having a high melting temperature. High temperatures are required when incorporating the reseal closure across the width of the package at high speeds, mainly because the reseal closure at the side edges of the package need to be sufficiently flattened to ensure a proper edge seal along the length of the package.
Recyclable pouches having a resealable closure that overlaps with an edge seal are currently available as premade packages, decoupled from the forming and sealing process. However, the processes for manufacturing such pouches include many steps, which translate to significantly less thermal stress to the film (web) during fabrication. Such pouches are time consuming to make and are priced at a premium. For example, current processes include constructing, cutting, forming and stacking into boxes recyclable pouches having resealable closures but do not have a top edge sealed. After transport to an appropriate facility, the pouches are separated and indexed, opened, and filled, and then the top edge is sealed. Specific packaging machinery is required to run these pre-made pouches. The machinery is configured to pick, open, then fill and seal each pre-made pouch

Recyclable pouch having reseal closure overlapping an edge seal, formed from rollstock film, on high speed packaging machinery


An air bag module is mounted on the instrument panel structure forwardly of the passenger seating position. An instrument panel cover is mounted atop the instrument panel to conceal the air bag from view and extends transversely substantially the entire distance across the instrument panel forwardly of both the driver and passenger sides of the occupant compartment. The instrument panel cover is fastened to the instrument panel structure by fasteners which include detachable fasteners provided at least at the portion of the instrument panel cover generally forward of the passenger to permit the air bag to lift the instrument panel cover upwardly away from the instrument panel structure upon air bag inflation. The forwardmost edge of the instrument panel is fixedly attached to the vehicle body structure.

It is well known in motor vehicles to provide an inflatable air bag which deploys into the occupant compartment to cushion the occupant. Such air bag systems typically include a driver air bag mounted on the steering wheel and a passenger air bag mounted on the instrument panel forwardly of the passenger seating position.
It is known to mount the passenger air bag module beneath the top surface of the instrument panel and to provide an air bag deployment opening within the padded instrument panel cover. The deployment opening in the instrument panel cover is closed by an air bag door which opens in response to air bag deployment to permit the air bag to deploy into the passenger compartment.
The air bag door conceals the air bag module from view and is supported on the instrument panel cover in a manner which will conceal and protect the air bag module and yet open rapidly in the event of air bag deployment. The prior art has provided many air bag door constructions for closing the deployment opening provided in the instrument panel cover.
It would be desirable to provide an instrument panel mounted air bag which could deploy into the passenger compartment without necessity of providing an air bag deployment opening in the instrument panel cover. In particular, the elimination of the air bag opening would eliminate necessity for an air bag door to close the deployment opening. Elimination of the air bag opening and the air bag door for closing the opening would result in economies of manufacture and assembly labor.
In addition, the elimination of the air bag opening would facilitate the design of aesthetically pleasing instrument panel covers.

Air bag deployable instrument panel cover


A rotary tool connecting assembly is provided for use as a tap driver for transmitting torque to a tap. The assembly comprises an adapter receiver for receiving and securing a tap, a chuck body having one end which is detachably connectable to the spindle, and an opposing end having an axially aligned recess for slidably receiving the adapter receiver, and a mechanism for transmitting torque from the chuck body to the adapter receiver while allowing the receiver to freely axially slide within the recess of the chuck body that includes a plurality of linear roller bearings disposed between a single flat wall present on the side of the receiver and a flat bearing wall that defines a portion of the recess in the chuck body. The flat bearing wall of the chuck body is provided by a bearing insert which is compliantly seated within a slot in the chuck in order to keep its bearing wall parallel with the flat bearing wall of the adapter receiver when substantial amounts of torque are applied to the assembly. The resulting parallelism maintains a uniform rolling contact between the linear rollers and the two flat bearing surfaces completely along the length of each of the roller bearings during high torque conditions, which not only reduces friction in the axial direction but also decreases tool wear.

This invention generally relates to a rotary tool connecting assembly for transmitting torque to a rotary tool while allowing axial linear movement to occur between the tool and the connecting assembly, and is specifically concerned with a tap driver assembly.
Tap driver assemblies are known in the prior art. Such prior art tap drivers generally comprise a chuck body having one end that is detachably connectable to a torque-generating spindle, and which includes on its other end an adapter receiver assembly which is capable of coupling on to the shank end of a threading tap through an adapter. In order for the tap to properly cut threads in a metal work piece without undercutting or overcutting the threads, it is essential that the tap driver assembly include some sort of mechanism for allowing the adapter receiver which holds the shank end of tap to move along the axis of rotation of the chuck body when the tap performs a thread cutting operation. To this end, the adapter receivers of prior art tap driver assemblies are slidably movable within a complementarily-shaped recess which is generally cylindrical in shape, and concentrically aligned with the axis of rotation of the chuck body. During the operation of such tap drivers, the feed rate of the rotating spindle that applies torque to the chuck body is set slightly lower than the screw pitch of the tap so that the resulting threads created by the tap will not be distorted by overcutting, while the ability of the tap to move axially away from the chuck body during the cutting operating insures that the threads will not be distorted by undercutting.
While many prior art tap driver assemblies are capable of achieving their intended purpose, both the operating abilities and useful life span of such assemblies have been limited by the mechanisms in such assemblies which transmit torque between the tap adapter receiver and the chuck body while at the same time affording the necessary degree of axial free movement between these two components. One of the simplest of these prior art mechanisms employs a keyway that fits within a complementarily-shaped slot between the adapter receiver and the recess in the chuck body which it is slidably received within. While such a mechanism is simple and inexpensive to manufacture, the metal-to-metal contact between the keyway and the slot which receives it substantially limits the amount of torque that this mechanism can transmit before the localized pressure applied by the keyway to the slot frets the slot surfaces, causing binding and even seizing to occur at relatively modest levels of torque. To solve this problem, some prior art tap driver assemblies have replaced the keyway and slot combination with a plurality of ball bearings which are captured within one or more pairs of axially-aligned grooves disposed between the outer surface of the adapter receiver and the inner surface of the recess in the chuck body which receives it. While the use of ball bearings provides a mechanism which is capable of transmitting larger amounts of torque while still providing axial movement between the tap adapter receiver and the recess within the chuck body which houses it, the applicants have observed that the one-point contact between the ball bearings and their respective grooves can still cause fretting to occur in the walls of the grooves, which in turn causes binding to occur at various points along the axial path between the tap and the chuck body during a tapping operation. If this binding becomes severe enough, undercutting of the threads created by the tap can occur at the binding points.
To overcome the shortcomings associated with the use of ball bearings in a torque-transmitting mechanism in a tap driver, other prior art designs have attempted to use roller bearings. In contrast to the point contact that ball bearings exert on the walls of the grooves that capture them, roller bearings are capable of applying a line contact all the way across their lengths which would appear to offer some potential solution to the fretting caused by point contact. Unfortunately, no prior art tap driver assembly has yet managed to exploit all of the potential that the use of roller bearings would appear to offer in a tap driver torque-transmitting mechanism. For example, while FIGS. 1 through 3 of the Hopkins U.S. Pat. No. 3,806,973 disclose a tap driver which utilizes a plurality of roller bearings which orbit about an oval groove cut between a driving member and a driven member which in turn holds the shank of a tap, there is substantial friction between the circular end surfaces of these roller bearings and the grooves which capture them, as well as significant friction between the bearings themselves. Moreover, the precision oval cut required in both the driving and driven members requires relatively difficult and time consuming machining operations which in turn substantially adds to the cost of manufacturing this tool. Finally, the fact that all the bearing surfaces are formed by vee-grooves cut in the major housing components of the tool necessarily limits the hardness of the bearings surfaces to the hardness of the tool steel used to form these housing components, which cannot be hardened above a certain Rockwell level before the resulting embrittlement would interfere with the normal operation of these components.
Clearly, there is a need for a tap driver assembly which is capable of transferring large amounts of torque between the chuck body and the tap- holding adapter receiver while still allowing for free axial movement between the adapter receiver and the chuck body. Ideally, such a mechanism would be capable of transmitting a maximum amount of torque while imposing only a minimum of friction in the axial direction of movement without causing fretting to occur between the bearings and the surfaces they engage during the operation of the assembly. It would be desirable for such a tap driver assembly to fully exploit the torque transmitting potential of roller bearings in a tool that is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, but yet has a long durability. Finally, it would be desirable if the design of the ta driver assembly allowed the bearing surfaces to be hardened separately from the other components of the assembly which must maintain some degree of elasticity.


Scratch pad register banks are used as shared fast access storage between processors in a multi processor system. Instead of the usual one to one register mapping between the processors and the scratch pad register banks, an any to any mapping is implemented. The utilization of the scratch pad register banks is improved as the any to any mapping of the registers allow the storage of any processor register anywhere in the scratch pad register bank.

In a multiprocessor system a large amount of metadata, such as logical to physical address mapping and inter processor communications is shared by multiple processor cores, and may require more registers than what is available in the processors. This may require context saving of the registers, creating problems in real time operations.

Register bank cross path connection method in a multi core processor system


Filing system for managing recording and retrieving of information files on a record carrier of a rewritable type, which have a limited number of overwrites, such as CD-Erasable having a phase-change recording layer. The system includes a unit for generating non-file and file items having management information and a unit for assigning areas on the record carrier for recording the items. The management information includes references indicative of the areas, and the items include at least one item of a first type to be recorded at a predetermined area (e.g., a Primary Volume Descriptor as in ISO 9660) and items of a second type to be recorded at variable areas (e.g., a Path Table and Directory Files). To restrict the number of overwrites, the unit for assigning areas is arranged for assigning areas for items of the second type in such a way that in operational use updated versions of items of the second type are preferably assigned the same area as the original version of the respective item.

The invention relates to a filing system for managing recording and retrieving of information files on a record carrier of a rewritable type, which system comprises means for generating non-file and file items comprising management information and means for assigning areas on the record carrier for recording the items, the management information comprising references indicative for the areas, said items comprising at least one item of a first type to be recorded on a predetermined area and items of a second type to be recorded on variable areas
Such a filing system is described in ISO 9660 `Information Processing--Volume and file structure of CD-ROM for information interchange, corrected edition, September 1988`. In this document a filing system for recording and retrieving files on/from a record carrier is defined, which is used for the well known CD-ROM. The file management information is structured in non-file items and file items. The non-file items comprise a Primary Volume Descriptor (PVD), Supplementary Volume Descriptor(s) (SVD), and a Path Table (PT), which contains the addresses of all directory files. The PVD must be on a fixed location on the record carrier, such that a recording system is always able to locate the basic information about the logical structure of the stored information. File items may comprise system information files and directory files. The directory files comprise the addresses of individual files and other directories in so called Directory Records (DREC); the directories forming a hierarchical system starting at a root directory (RD). The PVD and the PT comprise the address of the RD.
For compatibility reasons a similar filing system is needed for recordable and/or erasable record carriers, such as CD-E (Erasable). However the CD-E is based on phase change technology, which allows only a limited number of overwrites (e.g. 1000 times). Therefore the operational life of such a record carrier is limited. A problem may arise relatively early in areas which are frequently overwritten, especially if the area has a fixed location, such as the PVD.
If ISO 9660 was followed explicitly, then the PVD would be rewritten whenever:
1. The root directory address changes. This will occur whenever either a DREC of a file or directory is modified, added to or deleted from the root directory of the volume. PA1 2. The path table is relocated. This will occur whenever a new directory is added anywhere on the volume which causes the path table to grow beyond its currently allocated space. This can also occur on CD-E when the write or the verify after write suggest that the location is either bad or risky. PA1 3. The path table changes size. Whenever a new directory, anywhere on the volume, is added or whenever an old directory, anywhere on the volume, is deleted, the path table changes size. PA1 1. A directory anywhere on the volume is added. PA1 2. A directory anywhere on the volume is deleted. PA1 3. A directory anywhere on the volume is relocated. PA1 4. The name of a directory anywhere on the volume is changed.
Note: the above concerns apply equally to the SVD.
The path table PT is the second most likely item to require frequent updates. If ISO 9660 was followed explicitly, then the path table would be rewritten whenever.


A radiation detecting apparatus includes: a sensor panel having a substrate and a photoelectric conversion element array arranged on the substrate; a scintillator layer arranged on one surface side of the sensor panel; and a light generator arranged on the sensor panel at the other side in opposition to the one side on which the scintillator layer is arranged, in corresponding to an area in which the photoelectric conversion element array is arranged. The light generator includes a light transmitting electrode layer, a rear electrode layer and a light emitting layer arranged between the light transmitting electrode layer and the rear electrode. The light emitting layer according to a first aspect is formed from light emitting substance, a binder and a black pigment. The light emitting layer according to a second aspect contains a first pigment or dye absorbing a light of the same wavelength of a maximum light emission from the scintillator layer, and a second pigment or dye different from the first pigment or dye.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a radiation detecting apparatus and a radiographing system used for medical diagnosis equipment, non-destructive inspection equipment and the like. Particularly, the present invention relates to a radiation detecting apparatus and a radiographing system used for X-ray radiographing and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, X-ray radiographing uses an X-ray film system including a phosphor screen including an X-ray excitement phosphor layer within the screen and double-side coating. Instead of the system, research and development of a digital radiation detecting apparatus is active recently. It is because a digital radiation detecting apparatus including an X-ray scintillator layer and a two-dimensional light detector provides better image properties than the radiation detecting apparatus including the X-ray film system. Additionally, the digital apparatus has an advantage that data can be shared by importing the data to a networked computer system since the data is digital data.
Among such digital radiation detecting apparatuses, U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,422 discloses a highly sensitive and high-definition apparatus: an apparatus including a scintillator layer to convert radiation into light that can be detected by a photo sensor, in which a plurality of photo sensors and electric elements such as TFT form the scintillator layer on a light detector including photoelectric conversion element units being arranged in a plane.
Particularly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,327 discloses an apparatus for coloring a wavelength selectivity transmitting part and using the part as a wavelength selective filter, the apparatus comprising a light source for optical reset operation or optical calibration operation.
However, a light wavelength selecting method using a coloring absorption layer as in the above conventional examples need to include a plurality of layers, making the apparatus configuration complex and thick. Further, the configuration of a plurality of layers increases reflected light from an interface. That is, reflected light returned from a light emitter to a sensor panel lowers the quality of a shot image as abnormality in the image. As such, it is required to reduce the reflected light as much as possible. Therefore, a radiation detecting apparatus is needed that has simpler configuration and more efficiently reduces reflected light from a light emitter to a sensor panel than the conventional ones.

Radiation detecting apparatus and radiographing system


Driving assistance systems, methods, and programs accept an inputted planned travel route from the route guidance system, provide driving assistance of the vehicle on the planned travel route, based on driving assistance map data, and obtain, when versions of the route guidance map data and the driving assistance map data do not match each other, the driving assistance map data whose version matches the version of the route guidance map data from a map provider. Route guidance systems search for a planned travel route based on route guidance map data, provide guidance on the planned travel route, output the planned travel route to the driving assistance system, and obtain, when versions of the route guidance map data and the driving assistance map data do not match each other, the route guidance map data whose version matches the version of the driving assistance map data from a map provider.

There is known a map data processing device that uses a map database for route guidance and map display and a high-resolution map database for driving assistance control such as self-driving (see JP 2016-161456 A).
When route guidance and driving assistance control are performed by the same device as in JP 2016-161456 A, it is highly likely that two map databases can be, for example, updated at once (e.g., step S9 of FIG. 4). However, when route guidance and driving assistance control are performed by different devices, a case in which two map databases cannot be, for example, updated at once can occur. As a result, route guidance and driving assistance control are performed using two unmatched map databases, causing a problem of the occurrence of a malfunction. For example, when a road section whose route guidance is provided is not defined in a map database used for driving assistance control, it becomes impossible to continue the driving assistance control.
Exemplary embodiments of the broad inventive principles described herein provide a technique enabling a route guidance system and a driving assistance system to use pieces of matched map data.
Exemplary embodiments provide driving assistance systems, methods, and programs that accept, as input, the planned travel route from the route guidance system, provide driving assistance of the vehicle on the planned travel route, based on driving assistance map data, and obtain, when versions of the route guidance map data and the driving assistance map data do not match each other, the driving assistance map data whose version matches the version of the route guidance map data from a map provider.
Exemplary embodiments provide route guidance systems that search for a planned travel route of a vehicle based on route guidance map data, provide guidance on the planned travel route, output the planned travel route to the driving assistance system, and obtain, when versions of the route guidance map data and the driving assistance map data do not match each other, the route guidance map data whose version matches the version of the driving assistance map data from a map provider.
In the above-described configurations, it is configured such that the driving assistance system and the route guidance system can communicate with each other, and individually record driving assistance map data and route guidance map data in their recording media. The route guidance system performs a route search for a planned travel route based on the route guidance map data, and the driving assistance system provides driving assistance of the vehicle on the planned travel route based on the driving assistance map data. The route search and the driving assistance are performed using different pieces of map data, but the versions of the route guidance map data and the driving assistance map data can be allowed to match each other, enabling to implement driving assistance that conforms to a planned travel route whose guidance is being provided.

Driving assistance system, route guidance system, driving assistance method, and driving assistance program


A drill press is magnetically mounted on a steel plate which is clamped to a manhole cover by three L-shaped clamps. The L-shaped clamps are mounted in slots defined by brackets located on the periphery of the steel plate. Enlargements are provided on the L-shaped clamps to keep the L-shaped clamps from falling out of the slots.

Manhole covers have holes drilled two inches in diameter and are used when installing remote reading devices in the covers for water flow meters in water supply systems, or to provide filtered vent openings in manhole covers for sewage systems.
In the past manhole covers had to be delivered to an off-site shop and on-site location for drilling 2″ diameter holes to installing remote devices and vent holes. The drilling procedure requires two-inch diameter solid-bits. Transporting manholes was a time consuming, expensive and inconvenient task. The current approach is to use a hollow drill bit magnetically mounted on a semi-circular plate that is clamped on site to the manhole cover. The drilling press is similar to drill presses used for maintenance and construction of bridges, wherein the drill presses are secured by electromagnetics to metal bridge structures. The uneven surface of a manhole cover makes it impossible to effectively mount an electromagnetic drill press directly on the manhole cover. The semi-circular plate provides a smooth surface for magnetically holding a drill press on a manhole cover while the semi-circular plate is clamped to manhole cover.
Clamping the semi-circular plate to the manhole cover has proved difficult because the clamps can become detached during transport, storage and use. Consequently, when the plate and drill press arrive at the site, missing clamps cause substantial inconvenience.

Adjustable clamping arrangement for magnetic mounting plate


A delay circuit is provided for use in a ring oscillator of a phase locked loop (PLL). The delay circuit includes a differential pair of NMOS transistors 102 and 103 with an NMOS transistor 101 providing the tail current for the differential pair. Complementary NMOS and PMOS load transistors 104,106 and 105, 107 provide loads for the differential transistor 102 and 103. Transistors 111-114 and 121-122 together with an amplifier 130 provide biasing for the delay device. The amplifier 130 has a non-inverting input set to VDDxe2x88x92VCLAMP. As configured, a constant output voltage swing from VDD to VDDxe2x88x92VCLAMP is provided at the outputs VOUT+ and VOUTxe2x88x92 of the delay device, independent of a control voltage VCTL used to set the tail current. The NMOS load transistor 104, as opposed to the PMOS transistor 4 in FIG. 1, does not contribute to the gate parasitic capacitance enabling a high operation speed without consumption of more supply current. A wide frequency tuning range of a ring oscillator using the delay circuit of FIG. 2 is provided because the operating frequency for a ring oscillator will be directly proportional to the tail current through transistor 101.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to delay circuits for use in a ring oscillator of a phase locked loop.
2. Background
Phase-Locked loops (PLL) are used in a number of applications, including communications, digital circuits and mass storage electronics. A number of designs for PLLs are known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. The conventional PLL designs include a voltage or current controlled oscillator (VCO or ICO), a critical part in determining the performance of the PLL. Important parameters of a VCO or ICO for a PLL include: (1) Tuning range, or the range between the minimum and maximum values of the VCO frequency with minimal variation of the output amplitude and low jitter; (2) Supply and substrate noise rejection; and (3) Power consumption.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional delay circuit which can be used in a ring oscillator of a VCO or ICO of a PLL. The delay circuit of FIG. 1 is disclosed in IEEE JSSC, Vol. 31, No. 11, November 1996, pp. 1723-1732. Transistors 1-7 form a delay stage and transistors 11 and 12 provide the biasing for the delay circuit.
The delay stage contains a source-coupled pair of transistors 2 and 3 with resistive loads 4-7. The loads each include a diode-connected PMOS device 4 or 5 in shunt with an equally sized biased PMOS device 6 or 7. Transistors 4-7 are PMOS devices as illustrated by the circle provided on their gate, while transistors such as 2 and 3 without such a gate circle are NMOS devices. The gate circles are used to show which transistors are PMOS and NMOS devices in FIG. 1, as well as in subsequent figures.
For proper bias, the sizes of transistors 11, 12, 6 and 7 are chosen so that when, for example transistor 2 is fully on, transistor 6 draws xc2xd the current of transistor 1. Likewise, if transistor 3 is fully on, then transistor 7 draws xc2xd the current of transistor 1.
The delay circuit of FIG. 1 has an output voltage swing from VDD to VDDxe2x88x92VGS. Here, VGS is a gate-source voltage equal to VT+2*ID/k, where k is the device transconductance of one of conducting load transistors 4 or 5. ID is the drain current of one of transistors 4 or 5, which is typically half of the tail current through transistor 1, as controlled by the time delay control voltage VCTL.
The delay time of the delay circuit of FIG. 1 can be approximated as TD=REFF*CEFF=(1/2*k*ID)*CEFF. REFF is the small signal resistance at the ends of the voltage swing ranges that is the inverse of the transconductance for one of the two conducting load transistors 4 or 5. CEFF is the total effective capacitance and includes the drain capacitance of transistors 2 and 6, the gate and drain capacitance of transistor 4, and the gate capacitance of the input transistor of a next subsequent delay stage of the ring oscillator. Limiting the effective capacitance, CEFF, reduces power consumption and further can enable increased operation speed.
For a ring oscillator with N stages of the circuit shown in FIG. 1, the operating frequency f1 of the ring oscillator will be:
f1=1/(2*N*TD)=2*k*ID/(2*N*CEFF)
Accordingly, the ring oscillator using the circuit shown in FIG. 1 has the output voltage swing changing with ID and an operating frequency f1 proportional to ID. Variations of the output voltage swing with ID is an undesirable feature because such variation decreases power supply and substrate noise rejection over the whole operating frequency range. Further, the tuning range of the operating frequency f1 is controlled by limitations on the tail current ID according to the square root function.
In accordance with the present invention, an improved delay circuit for a VCO or ICO with a constant output swing, a wide tuning range, a high operation speed and low power consumption relative to the circuit of FIG. 1 is provided.
In accordance with the present invention, referring to FIG. 2, a delay circuit is provided which may be used in a ring oscillator of a VCO or ICO. The delay circuit includes a differential pair of NMOS transistors 102 and 103 with an NMOS transistor 101 providing the tail current for the differential pair. Complementary NMOS and PMOS load transistors 104, 106 and 105, 107 provide loads for the differential transistors 102 and 103. Transistors 111-114 and 121-122 together with an amplifier 130 provide biasing for the delay adjustment circuitry.
The amplifier 130 has a non-inverting (+) input set to VDDxe2x88x92VCLAMP, and W/L ratios of the transistors of the delay circuit are set so that either transistors 101, 102, 104 and 106, or 101, 103, 105 and 107 replicate the biasing transistors 111, 112, 113 and 114 respectively. As configured, a constant output voltage swing from VDD to VDDxe2x88x92VCLAMP is provided at the outputs VOUT+ and VOUTxe2x88x92 of the delay device. Since VCLAMP is independent of the control voltage VCTL which controls the bias tail current from transistor 101, the output voltage swing of the time delay circuit will be constant for different tail currents as controlled by VCTL. The constant output voltage swing enables the delay circuit to provide better noise rejection relative to the circuit of FIG. 1 over variations of operating current.
For the circuit of FIG. 2, the NMOS load transistors 104 or 105 contribute less to the effective capacitance CEFF which affects the operating frequency of a ring oscillator, whereas the PMOS transistors 4 or 5 of FIG. 1 do, so the circuit of FIG. 2 can obtain a higher operation speed without consuming more supply current. In addition, the frequency tuning range of a ring oscillator using the circuit of FIG. 2 can be made wider than that of the circuit of FIG. 1 because the operating frequency for a ring oscillator using the circuit of FIG. 2 is proportional to the tail current whereas the operating frequency using the device of FIG. 1 is proportional to the square root of the tail current.

High speed, low-power CMOS circuit with constant output swing and variable time delay for a voltage controlled oscillator


Methods and apparatuses for changing firmware in a gaming printer. The printer containing computer memory, internal and/or external to the printer, with the memory divided logically into multiple parts; a first section containing computer codes, a second section containing the data describing the format of gaming vouchers, and a third section containing data describing the format of promotional coupons. A mathematically unique identifier is created as an individual signature for each section of the memory, with each signature being independent of the other signatures, thus allowing for the changing the contents of one or more sections of the memory without affecting the contents of the unchanged sections of the memory.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to printers and printer connected hardware used in cashless gaming machines and gaming, and more specifically to hardware and firmware operating within this equipment for performing promotional ticket printing, promotional data basing, printer and printer connected hardware based promotional ticket triggering, and gaming voucher printing.
2. Background
The gaming machine manufacturing industry provides a variety of gaming machines for the amusement of gambling players. An exemplary gaming machine is a slot machine. A slot machine is an electro-mechanical game wherein chance or the skill of a player determines the outcome of the game. Slot machines are usually found in casinos or other more informal gaming establishments.
The gaming machine manufacturers have more recently introduced cashless enabled games to the market and these have begun to find wide acceptance in that industry. Cashless enabled games are so named due to the fact that they can conduct their player's financial exchange with a mixture of traditional currency and vouchers. Typically, a cashless enabled game has as installed components a printer to produce the vouchers, and a bill acceptor that supports automatic reading of the vouchers. In a cashless enabled gaming system, when a player cashes out, the system is signaled and depending on the size of the payout, the system can either present coins in the traditional method of a gaming machine, or it can cause the printers which are installed in such machines to produce a voucher containing the value of the payout. The voucher may then either be redeemed for cash at a cashier's cage, or inserted into a bill acceptor which is installed in the same or another cashless enabled gaming machine at a participating casino, at which point the system will recognize the voucher, redeem it and place the appropriate amount of playing credits on the game.
Over the last several years, cash-less enabled games have found an increasing acceptance and use in the gaming industry with both the players, who enjoy the speed of play and ease of transporting their winnings around the casino, and the casinos who have realized significant labor savings in the form of reduced coin hopper reloads in the games, and an increase in revenue due to speed of play. This increasing acceptance practically guarantees a wide installed base of networked games with captive player audiences for couponing and promotional tickets using generally the same equipment already installed within the game for the purpose of supporting cash-less gaming vouchers.
The printer contained in the gaming machine includes electrical, mechanical and electronic hardware and a computer program that is included in a memory device such as a flash memory chip, or other programmable storage devices. This computer program is commonly referred to as firmware. The firmware controls the operation of the printer.
There is an approval process that requires gaming machine manufactures to submit gaming machines for testing and approval. These regulatory agencies, such as Nevada Gaming Control Board, Gaming Laboratories International Inc., etc. approve gaming machines, including the installed printers, for use in casinos. Part of the record keeping of these agencies is to maintain a record of the firmware versions contained in the gaming machines and their components. Agencies normally require a mathematical identifier unique for a particular firmware version, thus ensuring an accurate method of checking the contents of printers that are in the field. A single mathematically unique identifier representing the complete contents of a particular firmware version is normally supplied by the firmware manufacturer. Any changes to the firmware must be again submitted for testing and approval. This is a lengthy process, often requiring two to three months for submission and approval.
Practical field experience with the application has illustrated that there are areas needing improvement in the current printer designs and implementation within the game related to improved methods and means of verifying the correctness of the actual firmware that is contained in the printer program memory device and providing a means to modify firmware without a lengthy approval process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for changing firmware in a gaming printer


A high strength carbon fiber composite (CFC) wafer, and method of making such wafer, with low surface roughness comprising at least one sheet of CFC including carbon fibers embedded in a matrix. The wafer can have a thickness of between 10-500 micrometers. The wafer can have a root mean square surface roughness Rq, on at least one side, of less than 300 nm in an area of 100 micrometers by 100 micrometers and less than 500 nm along a line of 2 millimeter length. The wafer may be cut to form x-ray window support structures, MEMS, or other micrometer sized structures.

Carbon fiber composite (CFC) wafers can be used in applications where high strength is desired. Barriers to the development of carbon fiber based structures, especially structures with micrometer-sized features, include difficulties in machining or patterning, and high surface roughness of cured composites. A root mean square surface roughness Rq of typical CFC wafers can be greater than 1 micrometer. Root mean square surface roughness Rq can be defined by the following equation: Rq=√{square root over (Σzi2)}. In this equation, z represents a height of the surface at different measured locations i.

High strength carbon fiber composite wafers for microfabrication


A method for determining the three-dimensional location of an object in real-time from a two-dimensional medical image obtained with a medical imaging system is provided. For example, the three-dimensional location of an interventional medical device or a marker positioned on such a device may be determined from a two-dimensional x-ray image obtained with an interventional x-ray imaging system. Template images corresponding to the object under different imaging geometries and orientations are produced and are compared to images acquired with the medical imaging system. Similarity measures, such as normalized cross correlation and normalized similarity integral, are used to determine the similarity between a selected template image and the medical images in different stages of refining the position information for the object.

The field of the invention is systems and methods for medical imaging. More particularly, the invention relates to systems and methods for tracking the location of an interventional medical device, such as a catheter, using a medical imaging system, such as an x-ray imaging system.
The development of new percutaneous devices and treatment techniques has resulted in a significant increase in the use of x-ray guidance to perform minimally invasive therapies. Currently, x-ray fluoroscopy is the standard imaging modality used for guidance in interventional cardiology procedures. The two-dimensional x-ray projection images produced during fluoroscopy provide excellent visualization of interventional medical devices, but inherently lack depth information. In some procedures, such as electrophysiology procedures, it is important to return to the same anatomical location during the procedure. This task cannot be achieved solely by viewing the catheter in a two-dimensional x-ray image because precise manipulation requires three-dimensional localization.
Localization of interventional medical devices in three-dimensional space can be made possible by using bi-plane imaging system, in which a second x-ray view is acquired from a different perspective using a relative geometrical relationship between the first and second view. In anatomical sites subject to rapid motion, simultaneous acquisition from two perspectives is preferable but can only be achieved using a bi-plane catheterization system. These bi-plane catheterization systems are not common and result in increased x-ray radiation being delivered to the patient. Moreover, even for bi-plane systems, there is currently no x-ray based three-dimensional localization technology commercially available; rather, the operator usually relies on a visual estimate supported by a previously obtained roadmap image.
Three dimensional localization technologies using specially designed non-x-ray based catheter tracking systems have been developed and are commonly used clinically. One such system, called CARTO (Biosense Webster, Inc.; Diamond Bar, Calif.), relies upon a small magnetic field sensor located at the distal tip of the catheter. This magnetic field sensor is used to measure an induced magnetic field from external emitters located beneath a patient. Another system, called EnSite™ (St. Jude Medical, Inc.; St. Paul, Minn.), uses an impedance-based localization technique that employs either six external patches placed on a patient, or a multi-polar catheter positioned inside the heart, to track the interventional device. These systems provide accurate localization, but result in significant capital and per-use cost.
One method for three-dimensional localization of an interventional medical device from a two-dimensional x-ray projection image is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,493. In this method, a marker having a specific geometric arrangement is affixed to the interventional device to be tracked. When imaged in two-dimensions, the affixed marker provides an indication of its position and orientation on account of its known, and particular geometric arrangement. Because this method requires use of a specialized marker that is affixed to an interventional medical device, it is of limited clinical use. Namely, the method requires modification of existing interventional devices, and such modifications may negatively affect the performance and safety characteristics of the medical device being used.
Therefore, there exists a need to develop an inexpensive and robust method for tracking the position of an interventional medical device in three-dimensional space using the information available from a single, two-dimensional image acquired with a standard x-ray fluoroscopy system. Fluoroscopy suites are used as a standard imaging modality in virtually all hospitals and, therefore, additional cost to use such a three-dimensional localization technique would be quite low.

Method for three-dimensional localization of an object from a two-dimensional medical image


A device provides lubricant protection and includes at least two friction members, at least one lubricant reservoir for a lubricant arranged in the device, and at least one lubricant protection arrangement having flow means for enabling a lubricant protection gas to flow through the lubricant in the lubricant reservoir and the device. A method is also provided.

The present invention pertains to a device to be lubricated with a lubricant protection arrangement, as well as to a corresponding lubricating method.
The lubrication of machine elements with lubricants such as different types of grease, oil or solid lubricant fulfills different functions. On the one hand, it serves for preventing or reducing wear phenomena at contact points between so-called friction partners, for diminishing stress concentrations, for example, in rolling bearings and for reducing additional frictional shearing stresses on surfaces. Lubricants are furthermore used for corrosion protection and for cooling machine elements if a sufficient lubricant exchange and therefore a corresponding dissipation of heat can be ensured.
The objective of lubrication consists of separating contacting surfaces of the friction partners by means of a hydrodynamic liquid film or a protective reaction layer. In the hydrodynamic formation of lubricating films, an elastic deformation frequently also plays an important role such that one refers to so-called elastohydrodynamic lubrication in this case. The main objective of lubrication is a complete separation of the friction partners. This can be achieved with a suitable combination of the lubricant viscosity, the moving speed of the friction partners and the contact pressure, as well as corresponding constructive adaptations.
As mentioned above, different types of lubricating oil, lubricating grease and solid lubricant are used as lubricants. This application mainly focuses on liquid lubricants such as, e.g., lubricating oils. Important parameters of lubricating oils that can be influenced are the density, the viscosity index, the shear stability, the so-called Cloud-and-Pour point, the neutralization capacity, the neutralization value, the total base number and the flash point. Furthermore, the thermal capacity, the air absorption capacity and the content of water and foreign matter influence the properties of a lubricating oil.
Various types of lubricating oil additives are known for modifying tribologically relevant lubricating oil properties, for example, the viscosity/temperature behavior and/or the frictional and wear behavior, as well as for improving the oxidation resistance or the prevention of foaming.
Additives may be added to lubricating oil in the form of commercially available so-called additive packets. In modern motor oils, 10 to 20% of the overall volume consists of additives. Polymeric additives typically form another 3% of the overall volume.
The service life of lubricating oils is limited. Due to interactions with the system to be lubricated and the surrounding atmosphere, the service life of the lubricating oil and of the entire tribological system can be significantly reduced. In this context, oxidation processes that lead to an increase of the neutralization value and therefore an increased corrosiveness of the lubricating oil are considered particularly critical. An increase of the viscosity causes the tribological properties of the system to change over time. Deposits formed due to corrosion by separating lubricating oil components can cause blockages. A loss of additives can result in certain components of the lubricating oil no longer being sufficiently protected such that its quality deteriorates. Consequently, frequent oil changes or maintenance intervals are required.
It would therefore be desirable to increase the service life of a lubricating oil or, more generally, a liquid lubricant, particularly a lubricating oil that is based on minimal oil.

Device with lubricant protection arrangement and lubricating method


The present invention discloses a spring clip for clothes. The spring clip includes a gourd-like wire loop with two free ends and a encasement for movably holding the free ends. The encasement is composed of a first member and a second member assembled together and symmetric to each other. The free ends are received and held in a chamber defined between said first member and second member. The first member has pins for presenting said free ends from escaping from the chamber. The second member has apertures corresponding to the pins. The pins are respectively secured in the apertures by means of riveting.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resilient device for garments, and more particularly to an improved spring clip for engaging buttons on shoulders straps on overalls.
2. Description of Related Art
In clothing industry, various fastening devices are being used in garments, jeans, overalls, and mostly used in suspenders.
In general, the resilient device is a button loop engaging the button project from the suspender. The resilient device can fasten or released from the button which freely dressing or removing the suspenders. The convenience of using should be one of the features for the subject product. In order to satisfy increasing requirement from the users, the subject product have been continuously improved. Currently, two conventional spring clips have been disclosed in published patent specification.
The first conventional spring clip is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,269, invented by Nathan A. Hirsch. With reference to FIG. 1, this spring clip is substantially composed of a gourd-like wire loop and an encasement to hold two free ends of the wire loop. The wire loop includes a horizontal portion 14 and two opposed bowed leg portions 16, 18. The encasement includes an integrally formed saddle member 70 being composed of a pair of flat opposed side walls. Two holes 84, 86 are defined at two ends of the encasement, and the two free ends of the wire loop are respectively positioned in the holes 84, 86. The free ends abut together in the holes 84, 86 in a closed status without an external force, and will be depart from each other in an open status with an external force is applied. The free ends of the wire loop are allowed to move in the encasement and altered in the closed and open statuses. Because the encasement is an integrally formed structure made by means of punching, it is possible to deform the encasement under an overload if a wearer is large or fat too much, and thus the free ends will be detached from the deformed encasement.
The second conventional spring clip is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,561, invented by Ronald Kipperman. With reference to FIG. 2, this spring clip also includes a gourd-like wire loop. In the first conventional spring clip, the two free ends are at a top of the gourd-like wire loop. On the contrary, the second conventional spring clip has two hook-like free ends 19, 20 at a bottom of the wire loop, e.g. the horizontal portion. The hook-like free ends 19, 20 are interlocked each other to enable the horizontal portion to move, so a width between two bowed sections 13, 14 is adjustable to allow a stem 5 of a button to pass through an entry point defined by the bowed sections 13, 14 and rest in a button receiving portion 12. The button receiving portion 12 adjacent the bowed sections 13, 14 is closed, the horizontal portion is away from the bowed sections 13, 14, and a movable range of the hook-like ends 19, 20 is small. Therefore, an adjustable range of the bowed sections 13, 14 is limited to result an inconvenient movement of the stem 5.


A nozzle for a detonative combustion engine, the engine having multiple combustor tubes, comprises a common plenum communicating with the combustor tubes. The common plenum combines separate exhaust streams from the combustor tubes into a compound subsonic exhaust stream. A compound flow throat communicates with the common plenum. The compound flow throat converts the compound subsonic exhaust stream into a compound sonic exhaust stream. The common plenum and compound flow throat cooperate to maintain a predetermined upstream combustor pressure regardless of down stream pressure exiting the expansion section. Optionally, an interface section is inserted between the plenum and the engine such that it communicates with the common plenum section and with outlets of the combustor tubes. The interface section is compartmentalized into flow passages with each flow passage having a cross-sectional area that increases from that of a particular nozzle intake port connected to a conductor tube exit. Additionally, an expansion section communicates with the outlet of the compound flow throat and has a diameter greater than the diameter of the compound flow throat. The expansion section converts the compound sonic exhaust stream into a compound supersonic exhaust stream thus expanding the exhaust stream to predetermined lower pressure.

Nozzles for steady flow chemical propulsion devices (ramjets, turojets, chemical rockets, etc.) are well known in the art. These devices expand high pressure exhaust gas from a combustor in a contained manner such that a pressure differential is established across the wall of the nozzle creating a net force acting along the nozzle axis, thereby increasing the momentum transferred to the engine from the combusted gas, generating additional thrust [Sutton, 1992][Mattingly et al., 1987]. Steady flow ejectors are also a well documented technology that has been used to augment the thrust created by a propulsion engine by entraining ambient air into the exhaust stream at the engine exit [Oates, 1989]. These steady ejectors are typically heavy and bulky when compared with the additional thrust generated, and therefore have found only limited application. Ejectors for single chamber, airbreathing, pulse deflagration devices (i.e., pulsejets) are also a well documented technology [Johnson, 1967][Lockwood, 1961][Lockwood, 1962]. These devices augment thrust of single chamber pulsed deflagration (pulsejet) combustors.
Relating to the current invention, it is important to understand that chemical propulsion devices may be divided into two classes: detonative and deflagrative combustion engines. In a pulse detonation engine, motive force is provided by expelling combustion products that result from a detonation process. The detonation process combusts reactants in a reaction zone which is coupled to a shockwave, the reaction zone releasing energy to sustain the shockwave, the shockwave enhancing combustion in the reaction zone. This coupled shockwave/reaction zone, commonly referred to as a detonation, propagates through the reactants at very high velocity compared to the propagation of a deflagrative reaction zone (a zone of combustion not coupled to a shock wave). Indeed, typical velocities are of the order of several thousands of feet per second for a detonation compared with a few tens of feet per second for a deflagration. The very high speed of the detonation forces combustion to occur very rapidly, increasing the thermodynamic efficiency of the process and, thus, explaining the motivation for a propulsion device based on this mode of combustion. One mode of operation for a pulse detonation engine is based on the detonative combustion of a fuel/oxidizer mixture in a combustion tube which is closed at one end and open at the other as detailed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,345,758 of T. R. Bussing. For this mode of operation, a detonation wave is initiated at the closed end of a tube filled with reactants consisting of one or more fuels and oxidizers which may be in gaseous, liquid, or solid form. The wave propagates at high velocity through the fuel/oxidizer mixture, producing very high pressure due to the rapid combustion. Forward thrust on the engine is produced as a result of the high pressure acting on the closed end of the tube. When the detonation wave reaches the open end of the tube, it produces a blast wave of high amplitude behind which the high pressure combustion products expel from the tube. The process of filling the tube with a detonable fuel/oxidizer mire and then producing a detonation can be repeated in a rapid manner (i.e., "pulsed") to produce a series of propulsive thrusts. It is the high pressure combusted gas exhausting from the open end of the combustion tube which is to be expanded in the nozzle of this invention in such a way as to maximize the momentum transfer from the exhaust gas to the engine as well as to enable the operation of other combustion tubes or fluid streams which may also be attached to the nozzle of this invention.
Propulsive devices which utilize deflagrative combustion are very well known and are typically used in commercial jet airliners, for instance. Indeed, all mass-produced propulsive devices which derive propulsive force from chemical combustion are based on deflagrative combustion. Deflagrative engines also include pulsejets which have a tube which has a set of reed valves (one-way valves) at one end, while being open at the other end. Operation is achieved by partially filling the combustion chamber with a combustible fuel/air mixture near the valved end, with the balance of the tube containing air drawn in from the open end. The combustion of the fuel/air mixture produces a moderate pressure wave which propels the combustion products and remaining air in the tube out of the open end. The over-expansion of the flow out of the open end then allows air to be drawn in through the one-way valves at the closed end and through the open end. Fuel is injected into the fresh air in the tube and the cycle is repeated. The repetition rate is controlled by the frequency of fuel injection and ignition can be self-sustaining once initiated with a spark device. Of importance is the detonative combusted gas exhausting from the open end of the combustion tube which is to be expanded in the nozzle of this invention in such a way as to maximize the momentum transfer from the exhaust gas to the engine as well as to enable the operation of other combustion tubes or fluid streams which may also be attached to the nozzle of this invention.

Exhaust nozzle for multi-tube detonative engines


A pumping system for pumping one out of a number of fluids with varying viscosities. The pumping system may include a positive displacement pump and a control for operating the positive displacement pump. The control may include viscosity compensation data. The viscosity compensation data relates to at least one of the fluids such that the control instructs the positive displacement pump to operate based on the viscosity of the fluid.

Generally described, a positive displacement pump delivers a fixed volume of liquid for each cycle of pump operation. The only factor that impacts the flow rate in an ideal positive displacement pump is pump speed. The flow characteristics of the overall system in which the pump operates should not impact the flow rate therethrough.
In practice, variations exist between the theoretical flow rate and the actual flow rate due primarily to influences from the volumetric efficiency of the pump, pump slippage (internal fluid bypass from the outlet to the inlet), system pressure, and fluid viscosity. Each individual pump could have different performance characteristics dependent on these and other variables.
Thus, there is a desire for a pump that can accommodate the different influences such as fluids of differing viscosities and volumetric efficiencies. Specifically, the pump system should accommodate different fluid characteristics and variations in the system itself.


In a lamp device provided with an arc tube, a principal reflection mirror, and a sub-mirror; a decrease in illumination light, caused by a trigger line disposed to improve the turn-on characteristics of the arc tube, being suppressed. The lamp device include an arc tube having a bulb portion that incorporates electrodes and sealing portions; a principal reflection mirror; a sub-mirror; leads connected to an electrode at an end portion of each of the sealing portions; and a trigger line. The trigger line has a ring-like portion wound around the sealing portion. The trigger line extends from the ring-like portion and has a wiring path that passes a neighborhood of the bulb portion without coming into contact with the bulb portion, further extends along the sealing portion and is connected to the lead. The wiring path is in the same plane that extends through an optical axis.

The exemplary embodiments relate to a lamp device provided with a sub-mirror and a projector provided with the lamp device.
In the related art, a lamp device is provided with an arc tube having a bulb portion that incorporates a pair of electrodes and a principal reflection mirror that directs light exited from the arc tube to a predetermined direction, a sub-mirror of which a reflection surface is faced to the principal reflection mirror with the bulb portion interposed therebetween is disposed to make efficient use of light (see JP-A-8-31382).
Furthermore, in the related art, a lamp device is provided in which one end of a trigger line that is a conductor is wound around a surface of an arc tube at a position in proximity to one electrode of the arc tube and the other end of the trigger line is connected to an external lead that is drawn out of the other electrode to improve the turn-on characteristics (see JP-A-8-69777).
As mentioned above, while a trigger line is effective in improving the turn-on characteristics of an arc tube, depending on a wiring mode of the trigger line, the trigger line works as a light-shielding member to reduce an amount of light irradiated from a lamp device.
The exemplary embodiments were achieved in view of the above problem and intend to provide a lamp device that can suppress or eliminate a decrease in an amount of irradiation light owing to a trigger line that is disposed to improve the turn-on characteristics of the arc tube to a possible small level, and a projector provided therewith. The lamp device includes an arc tube, a principal reflection mirror and a sub-mirror.


An EL element capable of: preventing the state in which number of excessive layers are laminated on each light emitting part formed in a pattern at the time of forming the light emitting parts using the photolithography method; executing the peeling treatment easily and quickly in the excessive layer peeling process; and preventing generation of color mixture or pixel narrowing derived from the elution of the patterned light emitting part into the light emitting layer coating solution to be coated later, at the end part thereof, at the time of coating a light emitting layer coating solution. In order to achieve the above mentioned object, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an electroluminescent element using a photolithography method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electroluminescent (hereinafter, "electroluminescent" may be abbreviated as "EL".) element having a light emitting layer formed by using a photolithography method.
2. Description of the Related Art
The EL element couples a positive hole and an electron injected from facing electrodes in a light emitting layer, excites the fluorescent substance in the light emitting layer by the energy, and emits light of a color corresponding to the fluorescent substance, attracts attention as a flat display element of self light emission. In particular, an organic thin film EL display using an organic substance as the light emitting material has high light emitting efficiency such as realizing light emission with a high luminance with less than 10 V coated voltage and is capable of emitting light with a simple element structure. Thus, application thereof to an inexpensive simple display, which displays a specific pattern by light emission, for advertisement and the like, is expected.
In manufacturing of a display using such EL element, patterning of a first electrode layer and an organic EL layer is usually carried out. As the method for patterning the EL element, a method of vapor depositing the light emitting material via a shadow mask, a method of coating divisionally by ink jet, a method of destroying a specific light emitting pigment by the ultraviolet ray irradiation, screen printing method, or the like can be presented. However, in these methods, an EL element which realizes all of high light emitting efficiency, high light taking out efficiency, manufacturing process simplicity and highly sophisticated pattern formation could not be provided.
As a means for solving these problems, a method for manufacturing an EL element by patterning a light emitting layer by a photolithography method has been proposed. By this method, compared with the conventionally executed patterning method by the vapor deposition, manufacturing can be executed relatively easily and inexpensively since vacuum equipment having a highly accuracy aligning mechanism or the like is not needed. In contrast, compared with the patterning method by the ink jet method, it is preferable in that a pre-process to a structure, a substrate or the like for aiding patterning is not executed. Furthermore, in relation with the discharging accuracy of an ink jet head, the manufacturing method by the photolithography method is more preferable for the highly sophisticated pattern formation, and thus it is advantageous.
As a method for forming plural light emitting parts by such photolithography method, for example, a method shown in FIGS. 3A to 3N has been proposed.
First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a first light emitting layer coating solution 2 is coated on the entire surface of a substrate 1 having a first electrode layer (not shown in the figure). Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a positive type resist 3 is coated on the entire surface, and as shown in FIG. 3C, with only the parts, where first light emitting parts are to be formed, masked with a photomask 6, the other parts are exposed to ultraviolet ray 7.
By developing the same with a resist developing agent and cleaning with water, as shown in FIG. 3D, the resist of the exposed parts is removed so that the resist 3 remains only in the unexposed parts. Furthermore, by developing with a solvent of the light emitting layer or the like, as shown in FIG. 3E, the exposed first light emitting layer 2 is removed so that the resist 3 and the first light emitting part 2′ covered with the resist 3 remain.
Next, same as the formation of the first light emitting part 2′, as shown in FIG. 3F, a second light emitting layer coating solution 5 and a positive type resist 3′ are coated on the entire surface. At the time, as it is apparent from FIG. 3F, there is a part where the second light emitting layer coating solution 5 coated on the entire surface and the first light emitting part 2′ are in contact. That is, as mentioned above, the surface of the first light emitting part 2′ remaining on the substrate 1 is covered with the positive type resist 3, and the end part "a" developed with the light emitting layer developing agent is exposed. Therefore, when the above mentioned second light emitting layer coating solution 5 is coated on the light emitting part 2′, the first light emitting part 2′ and the second light emitting layer coating solution are contacted at this end part "a". Thereby, there has been a problem of elution of the first light emitting part into the second light emitting layer coating solution so as to generate a trouble of color mixture and pixel narrowing.
Next, as shown in FIG. 3G, with the parts, where the first and second light emitting parts are to be formed, masked with the photomask 6, the other parts are exposed to the ultraviolet ray 7.
By developing the same with the resist developing agent and cleaning with water, as shown in FIG. 3H, the resist 3′ of the exposed parts is removed. Furthermore, by developing with the solvent of the light emitting layer, as shown in FIG. 3I, only the exposed second light emitting layer 5 is removed so that a second light emitting part 5′ covered with the resist 3 is formed.
Furthermore, same as the formation of the first and second light emitting parts, as shown in FIG. 3J, a third light emitting layer coating solution 9 and a positive type resist 3″ are coated. At the time, as it is apparent from FIG. 3J, the first light emitting part and the third light emitting layer coating solution 9 are contacted at the end part "a" of the first light emitting part 2′ formed initially, and further, the second light emitting part 5′ and the third light emitting layer coating solution 9 are contacted at the end part "b" of the second light emitting part 5′. Therefore, there is a possibility that the first light emitting part 2′ and the second light emitting part 5′ are eluted into the third light emitting layer coating solution so as to generate a trouble of color mixture and pixel narrowing.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3K, with the parts, the first, second and third light emitting parts are to be formed, masked with the photomask 6, the other parts are exposed to the ultraviolet ray 7. By developing the same with the resist developing agent and cleaning with water, as shown in FIG. 3L, the resist 3″ of the exposed part is removed. Further, by developing with the solvent of the light emitting layer, as shown in FIG. 3M, only the exposed third light emitting layer 9 is removed so that a part 9′ covered with the resist 3″ remains. Then, by coating a peeling treatment with a resist peeling solution, the part with the resist formed thereon and the upper layers thereof are peeled off so that the three color light emitting parts of the first light emitting part 2′, the second light emitting part 5′ and the third light emitting part 9′ are formed as shown in FIG. 3N. By forming a second electrode layer on these light emitting parts, an EL element emitting the EL light toward downward in the figure can be manufactured.
As mentioned above, by the photolithography method, since the end part "a" of the patterned first light emitting part and the end part "b" of the second light emitting part are not covered with the photoresist layer, there has been a problem of elution of the patterned light emitting part into the light emitting layer coating solution to be coated later at the time of coating the subsequent light emitting layer coating solution so as to generate a trouble of color mixture and pixel narrowing at the end part thereof.
Moreover, for example, as shown in FIG. 3M, since plural light emitting layers and the photoresist layers are laminated on the first light emitting layer 2′ and the second light emitting layer 5′, at the time of coating the peeling treatment to obtain only the light emitting layer, the area of the photoresist layer where contacting to the photoresist peeling solution is minute so that there is a problem that an extremely long time is required for sufficiently providing the effect of the photoresist peeling solution to the photoresist layer. Long time exposure of the substrate to the photoresist peeling solution is not only disadvantageous in terms of the manufacturing efficiency but also a problem of swelling and eluting the pattern formed layer can be generated from the influence of the photoresist peeling solution. Therefore, a method for obtaining a state in which the photoresist peeling solution can easily act at the time of coating the peeling treatment is also required.

Method for manufacturing electroluminescent element


A current sensor 20 in the form of a coil such as a toroidal coil provides as its output a current sense signal TS representative of a differential waveform of a welding current I. In a waveform restoring unit 22, integrating circuits 30 and 32 are switchable between an enable state (first state) and a reset state (second state). In the enable state, the current sense signal TS from the current sensor 20 is integrated and issued as integration value signals AIa and AIb representative of a waveform of the welding current I, whereas in the reset state, the integration value signals AIa and AIb are reset to reference values (e.g., 0 volt). A switching circuit 34 detects timings of each cycle or each half-cycle of the welding current I on the basis of a waveform of the current sense signal TS, and alternately switches the states of the integrating circuits 30 and 32 in a complementary manner and at a predetermined timing so that while one is placed in the enable state, the other is in the reset state. An output circuit 36 accepts the integration value signals AIa and AIb from the two integrating circuits 30 and 32 at the above predetermined timing and issues the thus accepted integration value signals as a current waveform restoration signal AI.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a current detecting apparatus for detecting a current flowing in a resistance welding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
In resistance welding, a welding current is a most significant welding condition and must properly be controlled and monitored. Up until now, a resistance welding control unit or a monitoring unit has often employed a toroidal coil to detect a current flowing in a resistance welding machine. In general, the toroidal coil is mounted in such a manner as to surround a conductor through which a current flows in the resistance welding machine. When the current flows, a magnetic flux generated around the conductor passes through a toroidal coil conductor to produce an induced voltage corresponding to a time differential of the magnetic flux (accordingly, a time differential of the current).
In this manner, a signal issued from the toroidal coil represents a differential waveform of a current flowing through the resistance welding machine and hence it is not adapted to current measurements (mean value calculation or effective value calculation) unless it is modified. Thus, a waveform restoring unit comprising an integrating circuit is provided to integrate the output signal from the toroidal coil to thereby produce an integral value signal (current waveform restoration signal). In general, such an integrating circuit includes an operational amplifier.
As described above, when a current flows in the resistance welding machine during the welding operation, the toroidal coil outputs a signal indicative of a differential waveform of the current, and an integral value signal indicative of a current waveform is derived from the waveform restoring circuit on the basis of the differential waveform signal. Accordingly, in cases where a current flows in a waveform as shown in FIG. 9(A), the waveform restoring unit provides as its output a signal having a waveform similar to this current waveform.
However, actually the waveform restoring unit suffers from a disadvantage that, due to the zero-point fluctuations or the like of the operational amplifier constituting the integrating circuit, the center level (zero-point level) of the output signals, namely, of the integration value signals may deviate from the reference value (usually, 0 volt) with the elapse of time as shown in FIGS. 9(B) and 9(C).
This problem conspicuously arises in seam welding in particular. The seam welding is a process in which a joint or a seam of a relatively thin metal plate is continuously or intermittently formed by welding in a threading manner, and which requires an incomparably long current supply time (e.g., several tens of seconds) for a single welding operation as compared with that of the spot welding. For this reason, even though the zero-point level of the integration value signals remains stably in the vicinity of the reference value immediately after the start of supply of welding current, an error may gradually occur according as the current supply time elapses, resulting in a lowered accuracy of the current detection values.
However, the conventional resistance welding monitoring unit makes a monitor judgment on the basis of such less reliable current detection values, so that the accuracy or the reliability of the monitor judgment was low. In the case of performing a feedback constant current control, it was also difficult for the conventional resistance welding control unit to correctly conform the current value to a set value since the errors of the current detection values reflect on the control values.

Current detecting apparatus for resistance welding