A flat clip or staple is manufactured from a continuous strip of flat sheet material in coil form by first stamping out intermediate portions of material between each of the blanks to be formed into a discrete staple while retaining the blanks in the continuous strip. The strip is then subjected to a second stamping process where each discrete staple is severed from the strip, formed into the required shape and the excess waste material removed from the continuous strip. The second stamping process is located immediately adjacent the final stapling assembly operation, such that the staples never need to be transported to the final stapling operation site in separated form.

The present invention relates to a flat clip or staple and more particularly to employment of a strip of flat material in coiled form, and the machine and process employed, to provide a staple for the attachment of articles.
Many of the manufactured articles currently provided on the market comprise elements which are fastened by staples or staple-like clips. In the manufacture of such articles by mass production techniques, it is necessary to introduce the staple or staples into the process in single form and thereafter present the staple to the articles to be fastened at some point in the manufacturing process where clinching of the staple takes place.
Generally the staples are manufactured and packaged in single form in an area remote from the assembly process. From this point the staples are transferred to the assembly area and are fed into the assembly line one at a time, for attachment of the manufactured article. In order to introduce the staples into the manufacturing process they may, for example, be deposited into a vibrating chamber, or other means which is effective, to align them into a form where they may be introduced singly to a subsequent clinching operation. Another common way to introduce the staples into the manufacturing process is, of course, in long clips of 50 to 200 staples wherein the independent staples have previously been lacquered together. These long clips of staples have traditionally been used in hand held staplers such as used to join the pages of business and commercial documents.
It has been found that in the packaging, transporting, and subsequent feeding of these long clips or the intermingling of the staples, such as that which occurs in a vibrator device, the staples may be deformed or otherwise rendered inadequate for use in the assembly process, due to the required handling of the staples prior to the clinching operation. Therefore, a problem of waste exists in the process described above, as many of the staples are incapable of use in the subsequent clinching operation.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a clip or staple which is retained in strip form during its manufacture and until just prior to the clinching process.
A further object of the invention is to provide a clip or staple which may be stored or retained in coil form during its manufacture.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a clip or staple wherein the clip or staple is subjected first to an initial forming process while retained in strip form and thereafter severed from the strip prior to introduction into a manufacturing process.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide apparatus for manufacturing an array of clips or staples in strip form.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a method of assembling articles which employs a strip having an array of clips or staples provided in planar form, disposed along the length of the strip.


Systems and methods for controlling and monitoring equipment in control systems. Adaptive mapping of system output change to amounts of applied control effort. Methods are disclosed to define, initialize, and tune a particularly efficient, log-spaced mapping. Self-tuning update methods cause the control map to improve with use and provides excellent convergence to the actual nonlinear relationship between control input and device output. As the mapping converges to the actual relationship, system performance is optimized when used for purposes of control. Methods pertaining to the specific instance of adaptive impulse control are disclosed. As the mapping converges and tracks what may be a time-varying relationship due to equipment wear or changing operating conditions, drift from baseline conditions can be detected.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling and monitoring equipment in control systems. Embodiments of the invention relate to the precise control of devices, particularly when physics of the system result in constitutive relations between input and output that are nonlinear or time varying. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention provide a means for tracking how input to output relations of the system drift with time, thus providing a means of monitoring the characteristic condition or health of equipment. Embodiments of the invention define, initialize, tune, and/or monitor a particularly efficient, log-spaced control map to identify how the relationship between the strength or duration of control effort is mapped to amounts device output change that result from the applied effort. The invention further embodies methods for accessing and using the map to generate control signals used to precisely control the output of a system or process. The invention also embodies methods for monitoring when the system under control may fail to operate properly as the result of time varying operating conditions or failing equipment health.
Adaptive methods embodied in the invention take into account local control effort sensitivity as part of a self-tuning update that can be enabled at the end of each step in the control process. This update method causes the control map to improve with use and provides for excellent convergence to the actual nonlinear relationship between control input and device output that is exhibited by a system. As the mapping converges to the actual relationship, system performance is optimized because the amount of effort needed to change the system output by a desired amount can be directly obtained from the map. As the mapping converges and tracks what may be a time-varying relationship due to equipment wear or changing operating conditions, drift from baseline conditions can be detected, monitored, and used to alert the operator when system maintenance will be required.
2. The Relevant Technology
There are many systems and environments where the output of a controlled device or process must be changed from one state to another. Many of these systems require precise control of the system output. Precision movement is needed, for example, in positioning the hardware that can read media such as heads in hard disk drives, controlling semiconductor fabrication equipment, controlling microscope tables, controlling machines that place surface mount parts onto printed wiring boards, positioning of process control valves, controlling arms and articulators in robotics, controlling biotechnology manufacturing equipment, and the like. The ability to precisely control the output of a system can produce better results in many applications. Precise position control for example can allow for increased information storage densities, quicker device access times, more rapid device assembly, more accurate machining, more accurate and rapid placement of parts, improved mixtures, more accurate flow control, improved manufacturing quality, improved yields, and the like.
In addition to providing a means for precise control, the ability to detect changes in system equipment by monitoring the relationships between system inputs and outputs can be useful, for example, in alerting an operator of the need for immediate or upcoming maintenance to avoid unplanned shutdowns.
Precise control is difficult to achieve for various reasons. One of the prominent challenges facing precise control in systems that control position is friction. While friction occurs in all mechanisms involving relative motion, friction is not constant and is not easy to accurately model. Friction, for example, can vary as a function of velocity, displacement, temperature, time, path, and the like. In fact, it is the non-linearity of friction that makes it difficult to improve the precision of position control systems. Friction makes precision control at low velocities or over short displacements particularly difficult.
In order to overcome or compensate for the effects of friction, conventional control often employs feedback control wherein the output of the system is measured and compared to the desired position. A difference between the desired position and present actual position signals the need for corrective action. A linear combination of the difference between the desired position and the present actual position, the derivative of that difference, and the integral of that difference are often used to calculate the strength of the corrective action. While this type of approach is straightforward, robust, and often effective for coarse control, the approach can be plagued by hunting, sticking, or slow or excessive windup action when attempting to achieve narrow tolerances.
Further improvements may be made by compensating for certain forces of the system, if those forces can be predicted. Feeding signals based on inputs directly into the system without basing those signals on output measurements is called feedforward control. Feedforward can augment feedback control by approximately matching or compensating for known forces. The challenge is that friction forces are difficult to predict accurately. Several different parameters are needed to define high-fidelity friction models. These parameters are used to represent sticking behaviors, sliding behaviors, displacement conditions, contact stiffness, energy dissipation, shearing actions, and the like. It can be appreciated by one of skill in the art that accurately modeling the multi-faceted effects of friction can be a complicated undertaking.
The development of models that account for the nonlinear effects of friction is a complex undertaking because of the many physical mechanisms that combine to create friction forces. Nonetheless, recent advances in friction modeling have improved the fidelity and range of prediction of friction. In fact, friction has been shown to be much more repeatable than previously thought. However identifying the several parameters needed for the new models is not a trivial exercise.
Even if the friction behaviors are well understood and modeled, a system designer is still faced with the task of designing a controller that can estimate all the system states needed in order to use a high-fidelity friction model that accurately predicts the highly variable, multifaceted behavior of friction. The behavior and nonlinearity of friction can be especially pronounced when small movements or low velocities are required in a given system—the region of operation where most precise control must occur.
Some of the common control problems that are related to friction include steady-state errors, limit cycles, and stick-slip behavior. Steady state errors often occur, for example, when the control effort is in some way proportional to the control error. In this case as the process is driven closer to target, the control error is reduced. However, the control effort, which is proportional to the control error, is also reduced. At some point of the process, the control effort ceases to exceed the force of friction and the system decelerates to rest, often shy of the target or outside of tolerance.
Limit cycles can result from attempts to overcome the steady state error when integral control is added to the proportional control approach described above. The force from integral control builds up enough to overcome the force of friction. However, a system with integral control does not change its integrated value quickly. As a result, motion in the appropriate direction may be achieved, but the target is often overshot. The system then repeats the integral control process in the opposite direction, which results in the target being overshot in the opposite direction. This process can occur indefinitely.
Stick-slip behavior describes the condition that often occurs when making fine position adjustments. The force that is applied to a load in order to overcome the static friction also causes an acceleration of the load when the slip occurs. In other words, the force of friction drops suddenly to a kinetic value when the slip occurs and the force needed to overcome the initial static friction is not immediately extinguished causing an acceleration of the load. Stick-slip behavior can be problematic when small displacements or low velocities are required because friction force is especially dynamic when transitioning between stuck and sliding states that are typically associated with small movements.
The nonlinear effects of friction pose a great challenge to fine position control and improvements are needed in control systems and methods of performing control effort calculations to meet the demands for precise control with greater efficiency and speed.
Furthermore, a long standing challenge in the control field has been to develop methods that can accurately warn a system operator when maintenance will be needed so that maintenance can be scheduled before a failure occurs, thus minimizing costly unscheduled downtimes.

Adaptive mapping of device output change to amounts of control effort


An actuator control device includes an electrical control unit for detecting the present positions of output shafts of servo motors, and communicating with control circuits for driving the output shafts of the servo motors to target stop positions on the basis of the present positions thus detected. When it is judged that a present position of one of the output shafts thus receives is abnormal, the electrical control unit corrects the present position and transmits the corrected present position to the appropriate control circuit.

A conventional vehicle air conditioning unit, such as that disclosed in, for example, JP-A-10-138742, includes actuators for rotationally driving various kinds of doors, such as, for example, an air mix door, through output shafts. Control circuits respectively detect the present position of each output shaft and control each actuator based on the detected position to drive each output shaft to a target stop position. The vehicle air conditioning unit also includes an electrical control unit which communicates with each control circuit to transmit a target stop position for each actuator.
As mentioned above, each control circuit of the vehicle air conditioning device drives the output shaft to the target stop position based on its present position. Accordingly, each control circuit is required to recognize the accurate present position of the output shaft in order to drive the output shaft to the target stop position at high precision.
However, electrical noise resulting from, for example, electromagnetic waves may cause the control circuit to malfunction and erroneously reset the memory or garble data when information on the present position is received. The present position recognized by the control circuit then becomes deviated from the actual present position.
That is, the present position recognized by the control circuit is made abnormal by the effect of the electrical noise. When the control circuit controls the actuator based upon an abnormal present position, the control circuit drives the output shaft to a position out of the original target stop position. This may induce lock or the like and thus cause the actuator to be uncontrollable.


The bag may include a draw tape that may be used to cinch closed the opening of the bag. The draw tape has at least one stretched elastomeric strip attached to the draw tape in an extended condition. The draw tape may be smaller in size than the bag sidewalls. The draw tape may include an elastic characteristic, such as patterned ribs. In one embodiment, the roll of bag is kept under tension to maintain the elastomeric strips in a stretched condition.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to bags having a draw tape. More particularly, the present invention relates generally to trash bags having a draw tape.
Description of the Related Art
Among their many applications, it is known to use thermoplastic bags as liners in trash or refuse receptacles. Trash receptacles that employ such liners may be found at many locations, such as, from small household waste baskets and kitchen garbage cans. The trash canisters are typically made from a rigid material such as metal or plastic. Bags that are intended to be used as liners for such refuse containers are typically made from low-cost, pliable thermoplastic material. When the receptacle is full, the thermoplastic liner actually holding the trash can be removed for further disposal and replaced with a new liner. To avoid inadvertently spilling the contents during disposal, the bags may be provided with a draw tape that allows for constricting or closing the open circumference of the bag. The draw tape may also be tied into a knot to simplify handling of the bag during disposal.
When being utilized as a trash canister liner, it is important that the bag be easily secured into the canister and as the full bag is removed that the open top part of the bag can be easily closed over the contents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,939,042 to Rusnak et al. discloses a plastic bag with a live elastic strip that contracts to restrict the opening.
Another potential difficulty is securing the bag to a canister which is larger than the bag mouth opening. If the canister is larger than the bag mouth opening, then the user cannot fold the bag over the rim of the canister. U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,458 to Belias et al. describes a drawtape bag where the drawtape section is gathered into one or more loops defining a series of crests and troughs, and each trough is sealed to the elastomeric strip. The elastomeric strip allows the mouth of the bag to be drawn over the upper portion of a trash container.
However, consumers still may have trouble inserting stretchy top bags into trash containers. Therefore, it is desirable to develop a simpler and quicker method of inserting and securing trash bag liners to trash canisters. It is also desirable to implement the inserting and securing method in such a manner that it is inexpensive and may be facilitated in a high speed manufacturing environment.


A composite electrical battery including a primary electrochemical cell and a fully or partially discharged rechargeable electrochemical cell. The rechargeable electrochemical cell is electrically connected in parallel to the primary electrochemical cell. The open circuit voltage of the primary electrochemical cell is significantly lower than the open circuit voltage of the rechargeable cell when the rechargeable cell is fully charged. The self discharge rate of the rechargeable electrochemical cell after electrically connecting the rechargeable electrochemical cell to the primary electrochemical cell is less than a predetermined self discharge rate. The composite battery has an improved current delivery capability for an extended life span compared to the primary electrochemical cell by itself. A method is provided for forming such a composite electrical battery. The method includes providing a primary electrochemical cell, providing a fully or partially discharged rechargeable electrochemical cell, and electrically connecting the primary electrochemical cell in parallel with the fully or partially discharged rechargeable electrochemical cell to form the composite electrical battery. The self discharge rate of the rechargeable electrochemical cell after electrically connecting to the primary electrochemical cell is less than a predetermined self discharge rate for extending the useful lifespan of the composite battery.

Lithium/oxyhalide electrochemical cell systems such as Li/SOCl.sub.2 (lithium/thionyl chloride) or Li/SO.sub.2 Cl.sub.2 (lithium/sulfuryl chloride) are primary electrochemical cells having a high energy density and a relatively long operating life. One of the potential practical uses for these systems is as a power source in applications requiring long battery life such as, for example, automatic meter reading systems. Typically, the electrical current consumption of such systems includes a sustained low background current of several microampers and intermittent short current pulses having an amplitude of several tens to several hundreds of milliampers and a duration in the milliseconds range.
Unfortunately, during storage at open circuit conditions or under low background currents the lithium anode of lithium/oxyhalide cell systems becomes passivated by a film which substantially reduces the operating voltage of the battery. As a result, during high current pulses, cell voltage drops to a low level. This low voltage problem can be partially overcome by adding an organic compound such as polyvinyl chloride or an inorganic compound such as SO.sub.3 to the cell solution for modifying the passive film to increase its conductivity. However, such additives do not completely solve the passivation problem for the full cell's life span and after a few months the cells develop a similar passivation leading to low cell voltage.
Another possible solution is to increase the surface area of the cell electrode. For example, the low surface area bobbin type design can be replaced with a "jelly roll" type design having a high electrode surface area. Unfortunately, This approach provides only a partial solution to the problem since a one to two years old cell having the jelly roll type design develops a similar passivation and low voltage problem.
Another disadvantage of the jelly roll design oxyhalide batteries is that under certain conditions such as short circuit, compression or nail penetration the cell may explode.
It is well known in the prior art that a capacitor can be connected in parallel with a primary electrochemical cell such as a Li/oxyhalide cell to form the circuit illustrated in FIG. 1 to which reference is now made. FIG. 1 is a schematic electrical circuit diagram illustrating a prior art electrical circuit 2 including a primary electrochemical cell 4 connected in parallel with a capacitor 6. This arrangement can somewhat reduce the voltage drop which occurs when current is drawn from the circuit 2. Typically, the capacitor 6 is charged by the primary electrochemical cell 4 until the voltage across the capacitor 6 is equal to the voltage across the primary electrochemical cell 4. The electrochemical cell 4 will then need to supply a small current required to compensate for the capacitor leakage. When the circuit 2 needs to apply a large current pulse across a load (not shown) connected to the terminals 8 and 9, part of the current will be initially supplied by the capacitor 6, reducing the amount of current drawn from the electrochemical cell 4 and thus at least initially reducing the resulting decrease in the voltage across the electrochemical cell 4.
Unfortunately, this approach has only limited applications because to sustain an acceptable voltage level for extended durations the circuit 2 will require capacitor 6 to have a very large capacitance value. Typically, such large capacitors will be prohibitively bulky and expensive for many types of applications. Moreover, the larger the capacitor 6, the larger will be the rate of charge leakage from the capacitor 6, thus, undesirably increasing the discharging rate of the electrochemical cell 4.
Using a "super-capacitor" as the capacitor 6, for example a model FEOH474Z super capacitor, commercially available from NEC corporation, Japan, does not solve the problem since such capacitors have a very high impedance value, limiting the magnitude of the instantaneous current that can be supplied by such super-capacitors. Moreover, this super capacitor has a relatively high leakage current which undesirably increases the discharging rate of the electrochemical cell.

Composite battery and methods of forming same


A new BASKETBALL RIM LOCKING COVER for PREVENTING UNAUTHORIZED USE OF A BASKETBALL HOOP. The inventive device includes a cover member having a circular configuration. The cover member has a diameter greater than a diameter of a basketball rim. A pair of diametrically opposed coupling members are secured to the planar lower surface of the cover member disposed inwardly of the peripheral edge for engaging the basketball rim.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to BASKETBALL HOOP LOCKS and more particularly pertains to a new BASKETBALL RIM LOCKING COVER for PREVENTING UNAUTHORIZED USE OF A BASKETBALL HOOP.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of BASKETBALL HOOP LOCKS is known in the prior art. More specifically, BASKETBALL HOOP LOCKS heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art BASKETBALL HOOP LOCKS include U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,095 to Mitchell et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,210 to Davis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,308 to Pazik; U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,907 to Shen; U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,037 to Chen et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 359,448.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new BASKETBALL RIM LOCKING COVER. The inventive device includes a cover member having a circular configuration. The cover member has a diameter greater than a diameter of a basketball rim. A pair of diametrically opposed coupling members are secured to the planar lower surface of the cover member disposed inwardly of the peripheral edge for engaging the basketball rim.
In these respects, the BASKETBALL RIM LOCKING COVER according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of PREVENTING UNAUTHORIZED USE OF A BASKETBALL HOOP.


The swimming pool cleaner of the invention is a suction device comprising a rectangular housing, at least four wheels enabling the device to be manually rolled along the swimming pool bottom with the long sides perpendicular to the direction of motion, and two cylindrical rotary brushes adjacent and parallel to opposing long sides of the housing and driven by rotation of the device wheels. Tree leaves and other debris are effectively captured due to a downward sweeping action produced by rotation of the cylindrical rotary brush on the leading edge as the cleaning device, connected to a suction means, is rolled back and forth over the swimming pool bottom by an operator pulling and pushing on a pole attached to the top of the housing. The performance of the device is enhanced via fenders that wrap around the tops of the rotary brushes, and inclusion of various housing bottom features.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with swimming pools, and in particular with means of cleaning and removing debris from swimming pools.
2. Description of the Related Art
Swimming pool suction cleaning devices of the prior art typically comprise a rectangular housing having a substantially planar bottom with a centrally located suction hole connected to a suction means via a hose attached to a tubular outlet on the housing top. The cleaning device is moved along the pool bottom so that the housing bottom remains substantially parallel and in close proximity with the bottom of the swimming pool while water from the swimming pool is sucked through a small bottom gap between the housing bottom and the swimming pool bottom. In some cases, wheels or housing bottom protrusions are used to provide a bottom gap that is more uniform and/or optimum in width. The housing may also be made of a flexible material so that the housing bottom tends to conform to curved areas of the pool bottom. Such devices are reasonably effective for removing dirt from the pool bottom but cannot capture debris larger than the bottom gap of the device. And the bottom gap is typically very small so as to provide the fast water flow rate needed to efficiently remove dirt from the swimming pool bottom.
Various modifications designed to improve the effectiveness of pool cleaning devices have been described in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,149 to Heinen (issued 17 Sep. 1991) describes a pool cleaning device having a fixed brush attached along the leading edge of the housing so as dislodge dirt particles by sweeping the pool surface. Such brushes tend to push debris along the pool bottom rather than direct it to the suction hole.
Some pool cleaning suction devices of the prior art provide the needed narrow bottom gap via a lip around the perimeter of a housing bottom that circumscribes a bottom suction cavity containing a means for improving the effectiveness of the device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,243 to Horvath et al. (issued 1 Dec. 1998) describes a pool cleaning suction device having a fixed brush pivotally mounted inside a bottom suction cavity such that the brush angle changes depending on the direction of movement of the device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,101 to van Zyl (issued 6 Sep. 1983) describes a pool cleaner device comprising an elongated brush rotated by an electric motor and located inside the bottom suction cavity so that dirt dislodged by the sweeping action of the rotating brush is effectively captured by the device. U.S. Pat. No. 6,942,790 to Dolton (issued 13 Sep. 2005) describes a pool cleaning suction device having two cylindrical scrubbing brushes mounted inside the bottom suction cavity that are rotated in opposing directions by a mechanical drive motor.
Such prior art devices are ineffective for removing bits of debris that are too large to pass through the narrow bottom gap between the housing bottom perimeter and the pool surface. Tree leaves are particularly difficult to capture using the devices of the prior art since the leaves are often highly non-planar so that they do not readily pass through the small bottom gap needed to vacuum dirt from pool surfaces. U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,275 to Sebor (issued 5 Sep. 1997) describes a pool cleaning suction device having an oscillator that periodically widens the bottom gap around the perimeter of a bottom suction cavity so as to periodically capture larger bits of debris. The Sebor '275 device is relatively complicated and does not provide continuous capture of debris.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,001,800 to Parenti et al. (issued 26 Mar. 1991) describes a pool cleaning suction device comprising a hydraulic turbine motor that drives two pairs of wheels having rubber band treads to provide locomotion, and drives a cam that raises one of the pairs of treaded wheels off the pool bottom to provide steering. Parenti '800 further describes use of the motor to drive rotation of a cylindrical brush located along the front of the housing but does not indicate that it provides improved effectiveness for capturing large bits of debris. The Parenti '800 device is relatively complicated and is not well suited for use in small residential swimming pools.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2006/0174430 to Pareti (published 10 Aug. 2006) describes a swimming pool cleaning device that includes an ultrasonic wave generator in a housing bottom cavity designed to dislodge adherent materials from the submerged pool surfaces. The Pareti '430 device further comprises an electric motor that drives rubber treads via drive wheels to move the device along the pool surface, and three rotary brushes. The larger brush is located within the housing bottom cavity and the two smaller brushes are located outside the housing on the leading and trailing edges. The Pareti '430 device is designed to remove recalcitrant deposits, such as limestone scale, rust, sludge and weeds, via a combination of ultrasound and scrubbing. This device is relatively complicated and is not well suited for use in small residential swimming pools. The Pareti '430 publication provides no indication that the device provides improved effectiveness for capturing large bits of debris.
As evident from the examples above, prior art efforts to improve pool cleaning devices have focused on removal of dirt and scale deposits rather than debris. Consequently, rotary brushes incorporated in prior art devices have typically been located within the suction cavity where they are ineffective as aids for capturing debris too large to directly pass through the bottom gap of the device. Prior art pool cleaning devices also tend to be powered by an electric or hydraulic motor and often include steering mechanisms, making them too bulky, complicated and expensive for use in small residential swimming pools. There is a need for a relatively simple pool cleaning device that effectively removes both dirt and debris, especially tree leaves, from swimming pool bottoms.


A method for forming polycrystalline semiconductor film from amorphous semiconductor film at reduced temperatures and/or accelerated rates. The inclusion of a small percentage of semiconductor material, such as 2% within the metal layer, reduces the temperatures required for crystallization of the amorphous semiconductor by at least 50° C. in comparison to the use of the metal layer without the small percentage of semiconductor material. During a low temperature isothermal annealing process adjacent Al-2% Si and a-Si films undergo a layer exchange resulting in formation of a continuous polycrystalline silicon film having good physical and electrical properties. Formation of polycrystalline-semiconductor in this manner is suitable for use with low temperature substrates (e.g., glass, plastic) as well as with numerous integrated circuit and MEMs fabrication devices and practices.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to semiconductor processes, and more particularly to formation of polycrystalline semiconductor materials at low temperatures.
2. Description of Related Art
In the manufacture of very large scale integrated circuits, polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) films are typically formed directly by low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) at temperatures above 600° C., using silane as the precursor gas. Use of such a high process temperature renders this approach unsuitable for formation of poly-Si films on low-cost glass and plastic substrates and on substrates with completed CMOS integrated circuits. Various other techniques have been attempted, with less than ideal results, toward crystallizing amorphous silicon films without subjecting the material to excessive temperatures for the given application.
Accordingly, a need exists for a method of readily forming polycrystalline semiconductor without subjecting the substrate to high temperatures, or requiring the use of complex processing steps. These needs and others are met within the present invention, which overcomes the deficiencies of previously developed poly formation methods.

Low-temperature formation of polycrystalline semiconductor films via enhanced metal-induced crystallization

The Regents of the University of California


Determining a beam size of an emitter for a data storage medium is disclosed. The emitter, having an emitted beam, is moved across conductor of a detector. Current through the conductor, resulting from the emitted beam as the emitter moves across the detector, is measured. The size of the emitted beam of the emitter is determined based on the position of the emitter and the measured current.

Storage media for computers and other types of electronic devices generally come in two types: volatile memory and non-volatile memory. Volatile memory loses its contents when power is no longer being supplied to the memory, whereas non-volatile memory maintains its contents even when power is not being supplied to the memory. The most common type of volatile memory is random-access memory (RAM), which is most commonly available as and implemented as an integrated circuit (IC). The term data storage medium is used herein in a broad sense, and encompasses IC memory, as well as other types of data storage media.
By comparison, non-volatile memory has perhaps more commonly been available as and implemented as magnetic and optical media, including hard disk drives, floppy disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROM's), CD re-writable (CD-RW) discs, and digital versatile discs (DVD's), among others. Historically, non-volatile memory implemented as an IC was primarily available as ROM that was not re-recordable, such as hard-wired ROM and programmable ROM (PROM). More recently, IC non-volatile memory has become available as various types of flash memory, which is more technically known as electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM).
IC-based data storage media is typically read from and, where applicable, written to, using electric signals. By comparison, magnetic and optical data storage media is typically read from, and where applicable, written to, using magnetic sensors and optical sensors, where the latter usually include some type of optical beam. However, a new type of data storage medium has been contemplated that can be implemented as an IC, but that is read from and written to using an emitted beam of electrons. A phase-changeable layer is present that can be switched between two different phases by being subjected to the emitted beam. The two phases correspond to different logical values, such as binary one and binary zero.
For reading the logical value stored in the phase-changeable layer, the medium is subjected to the emitted beam at a low intensity, whereas for writing a logical value to the phase-changeable layer, the medium is subjected to the emitted beam at a high intensity. For such reading from and writing to the re-recordable data storage medium, the spot size of the emitted beam, which is also referred to as just the size of the emitted beam, is desired to be a predetermined size. If the size of the beam varies from this desired size, the storage density may be reduced and errors may result when reading from or writing to the medium. Beam size variation can occur, for instance, because of manufacturing tolerances in the gap between the emitter and media, the divergence angle of the electrons emanating from the emitter, as well as the effectiveness of the lens to focus the emitter.

Determining emitter beam size for data storage medium

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A system includes a converter configured to electrically couple to a power source and to a heating element of a vaporizer atomizer. The converter can be further configured to receive a first voltage from the power source and provide a second voltage to the heating element. The converter can be a direct-current to direct-current converter. A power monitor configured to electrically couple to the heating element, measure a current through the heating element, measure a voltage over the heating element, calculate a power and/or resistance, and output a control signal to the converter. The converter can be configured to be controlled by the control signal to vary the second voltage to maintain a target power or a target temperature over the heating element. Related apparatus, systems, techniques and articles are also described.

Vaporizer devices, which can also be referred to as vaporizers, electronic vaporizer devices, or e-vaporizer devices, can be used for delivery of an aerosol (for example, a vapor-phase and/or condensed-phase material suspended in a stationary or moving mass of air or some other gas carrier) containing one or more active ingredients by inhalation of the aerosol by a user of the vaporizing device. For example, electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) include a class of vaporizer devices that are battery powered and that can be used to simulate the experience of smoking, but without burning of tobacco or other substances. Vaporizers are gaining increasing popularity both for prescriptive medical use, in delivering medicaments, and for consumption of tobacco, nicotine, and other plant-based materials. Vaporizer devices can be portable, self-contained, and/or convenient for use.
In use of a vaporizer device, the user inhales an aerosol, colloquially referred to as "vapor," which can be generated by a heating element that vaporizes (e.g., causes a liquid or solid to at least partially transition to the gas phase) a vaporizable material, which can be liquid, a solution, a solid, a paste, a wax, and/or any other form compatible for use with a specific vaporizer device. The vaporizable material used with a vaporizer can be provided within a cartridge for example, a separable part of the vaporizer device that contains vaporizable material) that includes an outlet (for example, a mouthpiece) for inhalation of the aerosol by a user.
To receive the inhalable aerosol generated by a vaporizer device, a user may, in certain examples, activate the vaporizer device by taking a puff, by pressing a button, and/or by some other approach. A puff as used herein can refer to inhalation by the user in a manner that causes a volume of air to be drawn into the vaporizer device such that the inhalable aerosol is generated by a combination of the vaporized vaporizable material with the volume of air.
An approach by which a vaporizer device generates an inhalable aerosol from a vaporizable material involves heating the vaporizable material in a vaporizer atomizer or vaporization chamber (e.g., a heater chamber) to cause the vaporizable material to be converted to the gas (or vapor) phase. A vaporizer atomizer or vaporization chamber can refer to an area or volume in the vaporizer device within which a heat source (for example, a conductive, convective, and/or radiative heat source) causes heating of a vaporizable material to produce a mixture of air and vaporized material to form a vapor for inhalation of the vaporizable material by a user of the vaporization device.
Vaporizer atomizers can be used to evaporate liquid into aerosol and may require power and temperature control of a heating element, such as a resistive wire coil, to generate consistent vapor and to prevent liquid degradation from exposure to high temperatures. Typically, two parameters related to heating that may be controlled include electrical power to the heating element and temperature of the heating element.
In a typical vaporizer atomizer, the heater coil can be constructed from a conductor with positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistance (TCR), so that its resistance increases with increase of its bulk temperature. The control loop measures the increase in resistance from ambient to hot and regulates power to the heater to maintain target operating temperature for consistent vapor. Heater power control can be implemented with Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), where electrical current to the heating element is switched ON and OFF at fast rate to control the electrical power dissipated in the element as heat.
While this PWM approach can control a heating element, implementations can be intolerant to large variations in heater and pod contact resistance, can require power to be interrupted to measure heater resistance, can result in shorter battery run time, can result in shorter run time at lower temperatures, can result in faster battery aging, can result in limited system integration, can result in limited TCR, and can result in added component count and cost to measure heater resistance.


Improved product labels cannot be easily counterfeited. A plurality of small dots printed on the label are interpreted as dirt or flaw or misprint so that the counterfeit label will not reproduce the plurality of small dots. A first image printed on the label and having a first level of spectural reflectivity, and a second image printed atop the first image using ink having a spectural reflectivity different from the spectural reflectivity of the first image. A plurality of very small dots creates a grayscale field, and a symbol printed within the grayscale field of very small dots, thereby creating a watermark of such high complexity that it cannot be counterfeited. A symbol printed on the label, and a raised dot of ink printed atop the symbol at a precise location to be sensed by finger contact and thereby indicate the authenticity of the label.

High value consumer products such as electronics, appliances, vehicles, auto parts, clothing, fashion accessories, and jewelry are labeled with various tags, stickers, and serial number plates that contain information such as the name of the manufacturer, date of manufacture, the serial number of the product, the country of origin, etc.
The manufacturers and distributors of genuine products are injured when counterfeiters manufacture imitation products and then label the imitation product with a counterfeit label that wrongfully infringes upon the name, good will, and quality standards of the manufacturer of the genuine products. Manufacturers of genuine products are also injured when consumers or thieves alter or counterfeit the labels in order to change the serial numbers or date of manufacture as part of a scheme to conceal a theft of the product or to make a false claim for warranty or injury.
It would be desirable to provide improved labels that would be difficult to counterfeit and thereby frustrate the counterfeiting and relabeling of high-value consumer products.


A system and a method for determining and reporting a location of an object are provided. The method may include receiving a message, the message including information identifying a locator device and information identifying a location of the locator device. The method may also include determining whether the locator device is within a monitored area based on the location information. The method may also include retrieving contact information based on the locator device identification when the locator device is determined to be within the monitored area. The method may also include retrieving information identifying an object associated with the locator device based on the locator device identification. In addition, the method may include generating a notification using the retrieved contact information, the notification including the object identification.

Monitoring systems, such as radio frequency identification (RFID)-type systems may be used to report the movement of persons or other objects to outside of an area of confinement. For example, a person convicted of a crime may be subject to house arrest. To monitor compliance, the person may be required to wear an RFID-type device, such as an electronic bracelet, that interacts with an RFID reader used to detect the movement of the RFID-type device beyond a boundary of the house/property.
In certain circumstances, a need may exist to track the movements in public of persons or other objects that have been identified as threats. That is, a need may exist to track their movements relative to certain persons and/or particular segments of society. For example, it may be desirable to monitor an area near a children's facility for the presence of registered sex offenders. As another example, it may be desirable to monitor an area near a particular person's residence and/or workplace for the presence of an individual who is the subject of a restraining order placed on the individual by a court for the person's protection.

Systems and methods for object location notification


A wireless sensor for an associated machine or machine part which includes a communications module that wirelessly transmits data related to the associated machine or machine part. The communications module is mounted on the sensor and the sensor is disposed under the bottom side of the control circuitry. A sensor is configured to measure one or more properties of the associated machine or machine part. The wireless sensor can be used with a smart device app such that information from the wireless sensor can be received and displayed on the smart device.

Temperature and pressure sensor-type devices are known in the art for use with various types of machines and machine components. Existing commercial sensors have utilized wireless communication, such as Bluetooth, to transmit the information obtained from such sensors. However, the large size of these existing commercial sensors has limited their use in some types of machines. Existing commercial sensors, such as pressure sensors, have also exhibited up to a 100% fail rate when mounted in machines subject to high shock or vibration. Moreover, traditional wireless protocols have limited the usefulness of existing commercial sensors.
It would be desirable to provide a small, robust, low cost wireless sensor which addresses the aforementioned and other issues of existing sensor devices.


A method implemented in a computing system hosting a three-dimensional virtual reality world. The computer system stores a set of searchable records, each having: a searchable hash of at least a portion of personally identifiable information; and an encrypted identity, decryptable using an encryption key generated based at least in part on the searchable hash and a global key. In response to a search request identifying at least a portion of personally identifiable information as a search criterion, the computer system generates a hash of the search criterion, and finds a matching searchable record that has a searchable hash equal to the hash computed from the search criterion. An encryption key is computed based on the global key and the matched searchable record to decrypt an encrypted identity of a user having at least the portion of personally identifiable information that is the search criterion in the search request.

Computer technologies have developed for the presentation of three-dimensional virtual worlds to users of computing devices.
For example, a virtual world can be hosted on a set of server computers (e.g., secondlife.com). Client programs or viewers can be installed on user computers for connections to the server computers and for user participation in the virtual world. Users of a virtual world can be presented as the residents of the virtual world in the form of avatars. The resident avatars can travel in the three-dimensional virtual world, explore the three-dimensional virtual world, meet other resident avatars for virtual social activities, and communicate with each other via voice, instant messaging, text chart, local chat, and/or group chat. The avatars may build, create, shop and trade virtual objects and services with each other in the three-dimensional virtual world.
Avatars of a virtual world may take various forms, such as human, animal, vegetable, etc. In a virtual world, users may customize various aspects of their avatars and may choose to resemble the users themselves in appearance as they are in the real world. A user may have multiple avatars, but use only one avatar at a time for participation in the virtual world.
In a virtual world, a user of a client program or viewer of the virtual world can use conventional input devices to control the activities of the avatar that represents the user in the virtual world, such as keyboards and pointer control device (e.g., mouse, touch pad, track ball, joystick, and touch screen). The view of the virtual world as currently being seen by the avatar at its current position and orientation can be presented on a display device, such as a computer monitor, a display of a notebook computer, and a touch screen of a mobile device.
Users of the virtual world are typically required to register with a computer system that hosts the virtual world. The registration information of the users may include personally identifiable information, which is typically organized in the accounts of the users, together with the resources and data allocated to and/or acquired by the users, such as the avatars of the users, virtual objects and/or currencies acquired by the users, the preferences of the users, etc.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods to secure searchable data having personally identifiable information


An acoustic data output device comprises an addressable memory for storing acoustic data. A plurality of clock signals are coupled to count separate address counters of a number corresponding to the number of clock signals. A signal selector is responsive to the clock signals for providing an address counter selection signal, whereby at any given time the selection signal corresponds to a separate one of the address counters. An addressing device is responsive to the address counter selection signal for selectively addressing the addressable memory with the count of the corresponding address counter. A separate data latch corresponds to each address counter and the data latches are coupled to receive the output of said addressable memory. The outputs of the data latches are synchronized with the clock signal corresponding thereto.

In the field of time indicating clocks, a conventional clock operates in such a manner that the acoustic data of, for example, a Westminster chime is read out of an acoustic data output device every 15 minutes to generate a melody. In such a clock, in order to decrease the storage requirements of a storage circuit for acoustic data, the fundamental waveform of one sound of a bell is stored in a ROM in the form of PCM data, for example, whereby a melody can be performed on the basis of the data of-only one sound because the musical scale can be changed by changing the frequency of a clock signal used in reading out the data.
The foregoing conventional clock outputs a melody by repeatedly reading out one data and thus cannot generate a plurality of sounds concurrently in an overlapped mode. Specifically, since a series of sounds is generated one sound after another, it cannot be heard as a series of contiguous sounds, giving only a flat melody or rough music.

Acoustic data output device having single addressable memory


Disclosed herein is a orally disintegrating and/or dissolving oral pharmaceutical composition, comprising one or more active pharmaceutical ingredients, one or more fillers having particle size of 100 microns or above, a high and desirable amount of silicon dioxide, one or more disintegrating agents, optionally effervescent couple, wherein said composition has good organoleptic properties like desired mouth feel and fast oral disintegration time.

Pharmaceutical compositions exist to optimize the delivery of a pharmaceutical active to its site of release. Compliance has become a major problem, particularly for pediatric and geriatric patients or certain patients who already have difficulty in swallowing solid medications. Oral liquid formulations such as suspension pharmaceutical compositions have been developed as an alternative to tablets in order to circumvent this problem; however, suspensions are often thermodynamically unstable and may result in aggregation and sedimentation during storage. Problems are often encountered because the accuracy of the dose depends on the even distribution of particles in the suspensions at the time the preparations are administered to the patients.
It is often desirable to have a tablet that disintegrates and disperses rapidly in the mouth without requiring any water intake other than the normal flow of saliva. Such tablets are easier for the elderly and children who often have difficulty in chewing or swallowing large capsules or tablets.
Patient convenience leads to compliance with the prescribed dosing regimen and, as a consequence, to enhanced therapeutic benefit. Orally disintegrating tablets are a viable alternative for convenient administration of drugs to patients who have difficulty in swallowing.
Rapidly disintegrating oral pharmaceutical compositions should have a pleasant taste, good mouth feel and should dissolve quickly. It is generally recognized that rapidly disintegrating tablets must dissolve in the mouth within 60 secs, more preferably in less than 30 secs. Besides, they can be taken at any time or place without the need for chewing or drinking water or any other liquid. When placed in mouth, these tablets disintegrate in a few seconds, resulting in quick absorption of the drug substances through the buccal and oesophageal mucosa, resulting in faster bioavailability of active ingredients with minimal first pass metabolism.
Widely known technologies that have been developed in the formulation of fast disintegrating tablets employ techniques of freeze-drying, direct compression and moulding.
Several fast dissolving/disintegrating drug delivery systems have been developed to assist pediatric and geriatric patients. Cardinal Healthcare markets Zydis™, which is a freeze-dried tablet (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,642,903, 5,188,825, 5,631,023, 5,827,541 and 5,976,577) having an oral dissolution time of 2 to 5 seconds. The freeze-drying technology has limitations due to factors such as time, costly equipment and processing conditions. Besides, tablets formulated by this technology lack physical resistance and heed special handling and packaging.
Cima labs markets Orasolv™ (U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,878) and Durasolv™ (U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,221,392 and 6,024,981) where Orasolv™ is an effervescent direct compression tablet, that disperses in mouth's saliva with the aid of almost hardly noticeable effervescence and dissolves in less than one minute, leaving the coated drug powder. The unpleasant flavor of the drug is addressed by coating of the drug powder and effervescence. The major disadvantage of Orasolv™ is its mechanical strength due to light compression. Durasolv™ is a recently introduced direct compression tablet having higher mechanical strength than Orasolv™ due to the use of higher compaction pressures during tabletting.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20030175339 to Bunick, Frank, J.; et al. discloses a process for preparing chewable or disintegrable tablet comprising an active, a hydrate and a water-swellable excipient (disintegrant). The process comprises applying energy (heat) to tablets to achieve softening effect. It also discloses the preparation of tablets by direct compression. The tablets have a friability of less than 2%.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20050019398 to Kothari, Sanjeev; et al. discloses granules for preparing flash-melt oral pharmaceutical compositions. The formulation comprises a super disintegrant, a dispersing agent, a distributing agent and a binder. The disclosed composition optionally contains sweetening and flavouring agents. The reference discloses that the granules are prepared without the aid of solvents and are stable. Said application also discloses that the tablets disintegrate in mouth under 25 seconds. Calcium silicate is used as the dispersing agent.
Generally mannitol is commonly used as an excipient (diluent) in the manufacture of rapidly disintegrating pharmaceutical compositions because of its negative heat of solution and sweetness. According to Khankari et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,221,392 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,981) the use of directly compressible mannitol with large particle size in rapidly disintegrating pharmaceutical compositions presents problems since they do not solubilize quickly. This contributes to a mouth sensation of gritty or sandy texture of the mannitol as the pharmaceutical composition disintegrates. Khankari et al. have adopted the process of incorporating non-directly compressible fillers, including mannitol, which have fine particle size. By suitable adjustments in composition properties like flow and compressibility, Khankari et al, have been able to produce tablets by direct compression also.
None of the described prior art teaches a solution for the problems related to the use of filler like mannitol having large particle size where the problem is organoleptic characteristic like mouth feel due to the gritty or sandy texture of the filler, when prepared by a compression method.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to improve upon limitations in the prior art. Accordingly, the present invention provides an improved orally dissolving pharmaceutical formulation, which is able to dissolve rapidly in the mouth of the patient, with minimum of grit or other organoleptic unpleasant sensations.

Mouth dissolving pharmaceutical composition and process for preparing the same


Provided is a chamber case of a brake chamber of a vehicle, which may reduce the weight of a vehicle by applying a plastic resin-based material to the chamber case and also enhance rigidity and durability of the chamber case by forming a reinforcement rib at the chamber case and adjusting a thickness of the chamber case to reinforce weak portions of the chamber case. The chamber case of a brake chamber of a vehicle is configured to surround a power spring and a piston, and a top portion of the chamber case is formed to have a relatively greater thickness than a side portion thereof to reinforce the strength of the chamber case.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to a chamber case of a brake chamber of a vehicle, which allows the brake chamber to have a reduced weight and improved durability.
2. Description of the Related Art
A pneumatic brake system such as an air brake has been used for controlling a medium-sized or large-sized commercial vehicle, particularly a large and heavy vehicle such as a truck or a bus, to run or stop due to its safety and easy operability.
However, in order to control such a large vehicle to run at a high speed, the brake should be operated more sensitively and more rapidly due to the weight of its load, and substantially an air brake having a strong braking force is demanded.
In an air brake system, a most essential part is a brake chamber which makes a stroke of 64 mm with a force of, for example, 1800 kgf by using air pressure.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing an operating state of a general spring-type brake chamber, and the brake chamber includes a spring chamber 11 and a service chamber 12 disposed at upper and lower portions, respectively.
The spring chamber 11 includes a power spring 13 installed therein and generating a force for operating a vehicle brake by an elastic restoring force, a first diaphragm 14 for compressing the power spring 13 by upward deformation caused by an air pressure, a piston 16 installed at an upper surface of the first diaphragm 14 to transmit a compression force to the power spring 13, and a piston rod 17 vertically moving through a hole of a barrier 10 between the spring chamber 11 and the service chamber 12 in an axial direction.
At this time, when the power spring 13 is compressed, the top portion of the power spring 13 is guided by a spring guide 22 installed at an upper inner side of the spring chamber 11, and the bottom portion of the power spring 13 is placed on and supported by a flange portion of the piston 16.
In addition, a first spring 19 is installed between the first diaphragm 14 and the barrier 10, and the first diaphragm 14 is elastically supported by the first spring 19.
Moreover, the service chamber 12 includes a second diaphragm 15 deformed upwards by an air pressure or a force received from the piston rod 17, a push rod 18 connected to the second diaphragm 15 and drawn through a lower through hole of the service chamber 12, and a crevice 21 configured to connect an end of the push rod 18 to a vehicle brake operating mechanism and also operate or release the vehicle brake by a lifting operation of the push rod 18.
At this time, the second spring 20 is installed between a connection plate of the push rod 18 and a bottom portion of the service chamber 12, and the second diaphragm 15 is elastically supported by the second spring 20.
In this configuration, the brake actuator operates as follows.
For example, when the brake is released or a vehicle runs normally, a compressed air is introduced into the spring chamber 11 as shown in FIG. 1.
An edge portion of the first diaphragm 14 is deformed upwards due to the pressure of the compressed air introduced to the spring chamber 11, the power spring 13 is compressed by the air pressure transferred through the piston 16, and the piston rod 17 connected to the first diaphragm 14 is inserted into the spring chamber 11.
Subsequently, as the piston rod 17 moves upwards, the second diaphragm 15 is deformed upwards by the elastic restoring force of the second spring 20, so that the push rod 18 is inserted into the service chamber 12 and the vehicle brake is released by the crevice 21 connected to the push rod 18.
In addition, when the brake is in operation, as shown in FIG. 2, as the air in the spring chamber 11 discharges out, the air pressure applied to the power spring 13 through the first diaphragm 14 and the piston 16 is released, and thus the power spring 13 is expanded by the elastic restoring force.
Subsequently, as the edge portion of the first diaphragm 14 is deformed downwards by the elastic restoring force of the power spring 13, the piston rod 17 is moved downwards, and accordingly the second diaphragm 15 is deformed downwards by receiving, a pressing force from the piston rod 17.
In addition, as the push rod 18 connected to the second diaphragm 15 is drawn from the service chamber 12, the vehicle brake is operated by the crevice 21 connected to the bottom portion of the push rod 18.
Meanwhile, in the general spring chamber, a chamber case surrounding the power spring or the like is made of steel material, and the chamber case made of steel material becomes a factor of increasing the weight of a vehicle.
Therefore, it is demanded to design a chamber case made of lighter material in order to reduce weight of the vehicle.

Chamber case of brake chamber of vehicle


A motor is provided with an insert nut 10 that has a knurled part 101 at two places on the surface thereof along an axial direction thereof with projections 103 for whirl stop and slip-off stop formed on the knurled part, and that is embedded between the motor rotor 3 and the magnet assembly 7 to perform fastening between the motor rotor 3 and the magnet assembly 7, and in the insert nut 10, a concave part 104 between the knurled parts 101 is situated at a mounting boundary between the motor rotor 3 and the magnet assembly 7.

Conventionally, in a motor such as a motor for an EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) valve, in order to detect the rotational position of a motor rotor with high precision by a position detection hole sensor, the motor rotor and the magnet assembly for the position detection hole sensor are fastened without looseness. Specifically, the top end portion of the motor rotor is first press-fit into a fastener hole formed in the magnet assembly. As a result, it is possible to ensure the whirl-stop strength between the motor rotor and the magnet assembly. Then, a tip resin part protruding from the motor rotor through the fastener hole of the magnet assembly is subjected to ultrasonic staking, and the tip resin part is melted to perform cover latching at the top of the magnet assembly. This can ensure the slip-off stop strength in the axial direction of the magnet assembly to the motor rotor (for example, see Patent Document 1).


A lined shot sleeve for use in injection die casting molten metal is disclosed. The lined shot sleeve comprises an elongated main body portion including a first continuous inner wall surface defining a receptacle bore axially extending between a first end and a second end of the main body portion A first ingress port opens onto the continuous inner wall surface and adapted to provide for passage of the molten metal into the receptacle bore There is an elongated ceramic liner adapted for secure placement within the receptacle bore, the liner including a second continuous inner wall surface defining a cylinder bore axially extending between a first end and a second end of the liner and an exterior wall surface adapted for frictional contact with the first continuous inner wall surface. The first and second ends of the ceramic liner are generally coincident with the first and second ends of the main body portion. A second ingress port opens onto the exterior of the liner in register with the first ingress port and adapted to provide for passage of the molten metal into the cylinder bore. The elongated ceramic liner acts as a physical and thermal insulator to protect the first continuous inner wall surface of the main body portion from contact with the molten metal. The shot sleeve further comprises an end collar member adapted for secure attachment to the first end of the main body portion and the first end thereof being adapted for operative engagement with an injection die casting mold platen.

Traditional equipment and methods for injection die casting of molten metal into molds are well known. Such metals would include aluminum, steel, wrought irons, brass, bronze and various exotic alloys, among others. In injection die casting machines, a metal shot sleeve is securely fitted to the mold platen in fluid communication with the mold cavity, as outlined more fully below. The shot sleeve extends outwardly from the mold platen and is adapted to receive the molten metal through an ingress port therein, which port is adapted to pass the molten aluminum into the mold cavity. Shot sleeves are typically anywhere from 24" to 48" in length and from 6" to 14" in diameter, and are typically made of a high-grade steel, such as H-13 grade steel, which steel is expensive. Further, the heat treating process used to harden steel requires high temperatures, which often causes the steel to warp. The shot sleeve has a cylinder bore extending the length thereof, which cylinder bore is typically circular in cross section, and is in fluid communication with the ingress port at one end and the mold cavity at the opposite other end. Further the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve must be machined to within tolerances of about 0.001" to about 0.002" in order to receive a cooperating piston in sliding relation therein, which machining is an expensive and time consuming operation. Resultingly, a typical shot sleeve may cost in the order of about $750.00 to about $4,000.00.
In use, a first end of the shot sleeve is entered into a mounting hole in the mold platen, to which platen it is securely fastened. The first end of the cylinder bore thus extends through the mold platen and connects through its open end to the cavity of the mold, which mold is securely mounted on the opposite side of the mold platen. The cylinder bore of the shot sleeve is in this manner mounted in the injection die casting machine in fluid communication with the mold cavity. Molten metal, which is typically about 1450.degree. F., is then poured either by a robotically controlled ladle or a hand operated ladle into the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve through the ingress port. The molten metal starts to cool from its initial temperature of about 1450.degree. F. as soon as it is introduced into the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve. It is important that the molten metal reach the mold while it is still fully molten in order to ensure the ultimate quality of the metal casting. A large amount of heat is transferred from the molten metal into the shot sleeve, largely because the shot sleeve is made of high-grade steel, which is a highly heat-conductive material. Such high heat loss is undesirable, since the amount of heat energy lost to the shot sleeve must be added to the original molten metal in the form of a higher initial temperature. Raising the initial temperature of the molten metal unnecessarily, especially over 1000.degree. F., is undesirable since it is very expensive to heat metal, especially molten metal, past a temperature of about 1000.degree. F. Indeed, the melting point of aluminum, for example, is in the order of 1200.degree. C. Typical initial temperatures of molten aluminum, when prior art steel shot sleeves are used, are in the order of 1450.degree. F. The extra heat energy above the melting temperatures is merely required to keep the metal in its molten state until it is in place in the mold cavity.
Due to cost considerations, it is typically required that the shot sleeves be able to withstand 40,000 shots of molten metal without failure or excessive wear. Prior art shot sleeves typically have a useful life expectancy of about 10,000 to about 15,000 shots maximum, since they are subjected to various harsh environmental conditions, such as exposure to corrosive materials at an extremely high temperature and pressure. This is mainly due to the fact that molten metal is very corrosive, because of additives such as silicon. Aluminum, as used for casting automotive parts, for example, has an especially high silicon content, which silicon causes the inner wall of the shot sleeve, which defines the cylinder bore, to eventually become corroded and, therefore, unusable. Further, when the molten metal is poured into the hollow core of the shot sleeve, the shot sleeve is subjected to very high thermal shock, which can eventually cause alterations to the material properties of the high-grade steel of the shot sleeve.
During the actual casting operation, there is a reciprocating piston situated in sliding relation within the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve. Before the molten metal is poured into the shot sleeve, the piston is retracted to the second end of the shot sleeve, which is the end opposite to the mold cavity. After the shot sleeve has been filled with molten metal, the piston is advanced along the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve in order to push the molten metal into the mold cavity under pressure. During such advancement of the piston, molten metal pressures in the order of about 6,000 PSI to about 14,000 PSI, are encountered in the shot sleeve. In order to: retain the molten metal within the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve; preclude the molten metal from escaping past the piston; and, retain the high pressure within the shot sleeve and mold, the piston is adapted to functionally seal against the inner wall defining the cylinder bore of the metal shot sleeve. Thus, the inner wall must be machined to within tolerances of about 0.001" to about 0.002", and must remain within a very small amount of its original shape and size throughout its useful life. Since a conventional steel shot sleeve does not remain within very close tolerances for more than about 10,000 to about 15,000 shots, which is significantly shorter than the life expectancy of a mold, the shot sleeve would need to be replaced at least once during the life of the mold. Such replacement is undesirable since the down time of the die casting machine during replacement and the labour to replace a shot sleeve are very costly. Typically, a mold must be cooled considerably from its operating temperature of between about 300.degree. and about 400.degree., which can take several hours, so as to be safe to work on. The mold must be heated up to operating temperature. It is not uncommon for the "down time" required to change a shot sleeve and all of the necessary related other parts to be in the order of 8 hours. Such down time and labour is considerable, having regard to the amount of disassembly required, and further including the removal of coolant lines. Further, prior art shot sleeves are costly, as mentioned previously, up to about $4000.00.
The sealing of the piston against the inner wall defining the cylinder bore creates relatively high friction therebetween, which necessitates that a suitable lubricant, typically a graphite based release agent, be used on the piston. Due to the high temperatures of the molten metal, the lubricant is to a large degree burned off, which causes undesirable acrid smoke and fumes, which are considered a hazard from a worker health and safety standpoint. The inclusion of excess lubricant within the molten shot may also adversely impact upon the quality of the metal part being cast, due to impregnation of lubricant into the metal being cast. Further, any excess lubricant must eventually be disposed of, which is considered to be an environmental problem.
At the end of an injection molding cycle, it is common to have a portion of the molten metal solidify in the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve, adjacent the piston. This solidified portion is commonly referred to in the industry as a "biscuit". A biscuit is removed after each cycle by further advancement of the piston. The biscuit is usually reasonably tightly lodged in the first end of the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve, and resultingly there is a great deal of friction between the biscuit and the shot sleeve when the biscuit is pushed out by the piston. Resultingly, the first end portion of the inner wall of the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve (i.e. the position closest to the mold) is subjected to a great deal of wear during removal of the biscuit.
A further problem encountered in the use of prior art shot sleeves arises from the fact that it is often desirable to include radially extending fluid passageways, called "runners" in the first end face of the shot sleeve, where it fluidly connects as aforesaid with the mold cavity. Such runners are included to allow for increased flow of molten metal from the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve into the mold cavity, or into certain portions of the mold cavity. The use of runners is advantageous because it allows a mold to be filled more quickly and more evenly, and further allows the mold cavity to be more deeply recessed into the cover side of the mold, thus giving more latitude to the setting of a particular part into the mold. It is difficult and expensive to machine such runners into the first end face of the shot sleeve because of the large length and high mass of conventional shot sleeves, which makes handling difficult. Runners, although desirable, are frequently omitted from prior art shot sleeves because of the difficulty and expense to machine them. Certain types of parts are difficult to injection die cast without the inclusion of runners. It is also known that some types of exotic alloys are difficult to injection die cast without the inclusion of runners in the shot sleeve, which makes the die casting of these alloys extremely expensive. Further, in the event that the mold is to be changed before the shot sleeve is worn out, the shot sleeve must be changed anyway in order to allow for the inclusion of appropriate runners in the new shot sleeve. The shot sleeve must then be discarded, even though it is still functional.
One type of prior art shot sleeve that is directed towards solving some of the problems of earlier types of prior art shot sleeves is known as a "split sleeve" type shot sleeve. A split sleeve type shot sleeve is basically a two-piece shot sleeve radially bisected at the midpoint of its length. The two sections of the split sleeve are pinned together to form a fully functional shot sleeve. One section is attached to the mold platen and the other section extends outwardly from the mold platen and is removable from the retained section by removing pins or bolts that secure the two sections together. It is thereby possible to replace only the one section of the split sleeve furthest from the mold, often called the "back end" of the split sleeve, without replacing the other section of the split sleeve. This is desirable because the "back end" of the split sleeve, which contains the ingress port, is subjected to greater thermal shock and corrosion than is the other section of the split sleeve, and therefore typically becomes worn out earlier than the "front end" connected to the mold platen. Further, it is not necessary to disassemble the "front end" of the shot sleeve from the mold to replace the entire split sleeve, if only the "back end" needs replacing. A split sleeve type shot sleeve does, however, retain the aforementioned problems concerning heat transfer wear, and lubrication. Moreover, new problems are introduced with the use of split sleeve type shot sleeves. That is, the two sections of the split sleeve may not be entirely concentric with one respect to another within the 0.001" to 0.002" previously discussed. Such lack of concentricity causes premature wear where the piston meets the joint between the two halves of the cylinder bore of the shot sleeve. Also, lack of concentricity between the two cylinder bore halves can make it difficult to maintain a sealed relation between the piston and the inner wall of the hollow core of the shot sleeve in both halves of the cylinder.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve for die casting machines that overcomes these and other related problems associated with prior art shot sleeves.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that reduces the amount of heat lost by the molten metal being cast while in the shot sleeve.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that is more resistive to the corrosive action of molten metals than prior art shot sleeves.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that is more resistive to physical wear than prior art shot sleeves.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that is more resistive to high thermal shock than prior art shot sleeves.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a multi-part shot sleeve that is easier and less expensive to maintain in standard operating conditions than prior art shot sleeves.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that substantially reduces the need for using supplemental lubricants in the die casting process.
It is an object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that comprises a removable and replaceable end collar means that is adapted to permit runners to be readily and easily machined therein for enhanced introduction of molten metal into a mold cavity, thereby allowing for increased design flexibility of molds.
It is another object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention to provide a shot sleeve that comprises a removable and replaceable end collar means that can be replaced independently of the need to replace the remaining components of the shot sleeve.


An apparatus for transporting closing caps in vessel closing machines. In order to eliminate the risk of caps getting crushed and to increase the operating reliability and efficiency, the apparatus is characterized in that the end portion of the conveying duct is directly followed in the direction of movement of the engaging means by a guide channel for guiding the caps, the guide channel comprising guide elements extending at both sides of the path of the engaging means, and that the transporting device is so formed that prior to the arrival of the associated engaging means it transports the respectively foremost cap from the end portion of the conveying duct at least partly between the guide elements and retains it there, if necessary, until the arrival of the engaging means.

This invention relates to an apparatus for transporting closing caps in vessel closing machines.
An apparatus of this type is already known. In such an apparatus, the engaging means are formed by the beveled teeth of a star-shaped wheel and the transporting device comprises a conveying belt extending radially relative to the rotational axis of the star-shaped wheel (DE-OS 21 47 770). The end portion of the conveying duct is followed by a slide path which extends on the circumference of the star-shaped wheel and comprises a lateral guide strip for the caps. In this known apparatus, caps may easily get crushed between the star-shaped wheel and the beginning of the guide strip when the conveying belt does not supply the caps fast enough. The operating reliability is therefore small; the achievable efficiency limited.
In another known apparatus of the above-mentioned type, the engaging means are formed by radially projecting cams of a round disc, and the transporting device includes a magnet which is arranged opposite to the end portion of the conveying duct and comprises a stop limiting the penetration depth of the caps into the curved path of the engaging means (DE-OS 27 34 599). The caps which are pulled away by the engaging means from the stop are first exclusively fixed by other magnets onto the disc before they are gripped by the stationary guide strip of a slide path formed along the circumference of the disc for the caps. Deformed corks are to be removed through the resultant gap between the end portion of the conveying duct and the initial area of the guide strip. In this case, too, it may happen that corks get crushed between the engaging means and the front edge of the guide strip, as these can be guided by the magnets in an inadequate way only.
In both of the known apparatuses, the closing heads which are provided with holding magnets for the caps are indirectly supplied with caps, i.e. the star-shaped wheel or the disc and the stationary slide paths and guide strips are interposed. This results in a complicated structure.
It is the object of the invention to eliminate the risk of caps getting crushed in a generic apparatus used for transporting closing caps, and to increase the operating reliability and efficiency thereby. Furthermore, it should be possible to feed closing heads directly with caps.

Apparatus for transporting closing caps in vessel closing machines

Krones Ag Hermann Kronseder Maschinenfabrik


In an approach for creating an asset, a computer receives a selection of at least one asset element and determines whether one or more asset elements are associated with the selected asset element. In response to determining one or more asset elements are associated with the selected asset element, the computer determines, based, at least in part, on one or more linkage rules, whether one or more of the associated asset elements are in the asset. Furthermore, in response to determining that at least one of the associated asset elements is in the asset, the computer generates an asset map. The asset map, generated by the computer for the asset, depicts the linkage rules, the selected asset elements, and the associated asset elements in the asset.

The present invention relates generally to the field of digital asset management, and more particularly to digital asset creation and re-use in an asset system.
Recently companies have been interested in evolving tools for digital asset systems and asset repositories for rapid and efficient consumption of the digital assets by users or asset consumers. Assets include for example, electronic documents, presentations, models and similar electronic data or files that a company uses or creates to represent architectural systems, technological information, market strategy, financial direction or other intellectual capital for the company.

Dynamic asset assembly using a rule based methodology

International Business Machines Corporation


Heat sinks pre-coated with a layer of a material such as thermal grease are disclosed. Contamination and migration of the thermal grease is substantially reduced by covering the coated areas with a protective film that is removed prior to the assembly of the heat sink into a circuit board or other assembly. By providing a pre-coated heat sink, productivity can be enhanced, by increasing accuracy with which the thermal grease is applied, thus eliminating waste and clean up. Methods for pre-coating either a heat sink or the protective film with thermal grease are also disclosed. In preferred embodiments areas of the heat sink can be either fully coated,, or portions electively coated, and the coating is most preferably accomplished by a silk screening or pad printing process. The protective film is preferably provided with a tear off tab to facilitate the removal of the protective film. The present invention also discloses improved methods of installing a heat sink using heat sinks that are pre-coated with thermal grease.

The interface between a heat sink and the component to which it is attached creates a boundary layer of thermal insulation. This reduces the thermal transmisivity to the heat sink, and thus ultimately reduces the ability of the heat sink to dissipate heat generated by the component. In the past, it has been found that applying a film of thermal grease can diminish or substantially eliminate this problem. Thermal grease is well known in the art and can be a composition of silicone and zinc oxide, available from Dow Corning of Midland, Mich. and other sources. Another thermal grease composition, Thermalcote.TM. is available from Thermalloy, Inc. of Dallas, Tex.; another a product sold by the same company and known as Thermalcote II.TM. does not contain silicone. The Thermalcote products are available in forms that are applied by brush, squeezed out of a tube, applied by a paddle, or other techniques. Unfortunately, the application of thermal grease to individual components in a production environment is laborious and inexact. Nonetheless, despite numerous efforts to create another interface material to replace it, thermal grease remains the most effective product for ensuring good thermal conductivity.
Thermal grease can be applied directly to an insulator strip. The coated strip is supplied in a package that must be peeled away, and the insulator must then be applied to a component. This product is sold under the name Insul-Cote by Thermalloy, Inc. of Dallas, Tex. Similarly, it is known to apply a thin layer of thermal grease to both sides an aluminum carrier that is 0.1 mm (0.004") thick. The coated carrier is then disposed between a heat sink and a microprocessor. This product is sold under the name Conducta-cote(.TM.) by Thermalloy, Inc. of Dallas, Tex. However, the use of such coated insulators or aluminum carriers does not eliminate the above-mentioned problems, since handling the grease-coated insulation or carrier is nearly as difficult as applying the grease from a tube or with a brush. The insulators and carriers can be obtained in strip form and applied by a machine, which alleviates some of these problems. However, this adds a production step and the capital cost of the application machine if the supplier of the pre-coated insulators or carriers does not provide one. The advantage of pre-coated insulators or carriers is that they apply a specific amount of grease, and a specific quantity of grease may be purchased by ordering coated insulators or carriers on a one-to-one basis with the heat sinks. However, a disadvantage of the above-described pre-coated insulators and aluminum carriers that are pre-coated with thermal grease is that they are difficult to manufacture.
As mentioned above, others in the art have attempted to create pads of material that serve as a replacement for thermal grease. Some of these products are insulating, while some more recent versions are not. Although such pads reduce the waste and inaccurate application related to the use of a thermal enhancement product, they are often more expensive and do not offer the thermal performance of grease. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a product in which the thermal properties of grease are advantageously available to create a better thermal connection between a heat sink and a heat-emitting component. Moreover, it would be further desirable to reduce or eliminate waste, spillage and over-application of thermal grease. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide products and methods in which thermal grease is applied in a precise and controlled manner. It is a further object of the present invention to provide products and methods that readily adapt to production environments and that do not require significant alteration of existing production sequences or changes in production tooling.

Pre-application of grease to heat sinks with a protective coating


An insulation system for the windings of a dynamoelectric machine is described wherein a bundle of insulated conductors is provided with layers of groundwall insulation. The innermost layer of groundwall insulation has superior corona discharge resistant properties. A second layer of groundwall insulation which has a corona discharge resistance somewhat less than the innermost layer of groundwall is superimposed on the innermost layer.

The designers of insulation systems for large high voltage AC dynamoelectric machines have faced a constant challenge over the last century, and that is to provide a machine which will operate at higher and higher voltages whilst keeping the layers of insulating material on the critical electrical conducting parts to a minimum thickness. To meet the challenge, designers have utilized mica in a variety of forms from large flake dispersed on a backing material, to the product known as mica paper which is a product made from tiny mica flakes which are incorporated into a product which nearly resembles paper, and in fact is made by a process which is very similar to a process used for making paper from pulp fibers.
Mica by its very nature has physical properties which make it intractable for use in an insulation system. However, its superior corona breakdown resistance has provided the incentive that insulation system designers needed to overcome the obstacles created by its unattractive physical qualities. Today, mica paper enjoys an unchallenged position as being one of the most corona discharge resistant materials known to mankind.
Mica paper has an inherently low tensile strength and the tiny mica flakes composing the paper tape used in most mica paper insulation tend to flake from the body of the tape as it is wound on the winding elements, which will subsequently become a part of an AC machine. As a result, insulation designers currently bond the mica paper to another insulating medium, traditionally glass fibers which will improve the tensile strength of the mica paper and the backing tends to prevent the shedding of mica flakes from the mica tape during a winding operation.
At the present time, a composite insulation which has exceptional insulation qualities and good corona discharge resistance is a CR KAPTON.RTM. (trademark of DuPont) insulating film, which is used as a backing on a mica paper, glass fiber composite tape. The addition of enhanced corona resistant materials yields an overall insulation system which is electrically more robust than standard systems. Experimentation has shown that by strategically locating the highly corona resistant materials in the high electrically stressed locations, the resultant hybrid system becomes dielectrically superior (higher volt per mil capability) than either a fully corona resistant system or a standard system. The resulting system has the added advantage of being less costly than a fully corona resistant enhanced system.

Multi-layer insulation for winding elements of dynamoelectric machines (D.E.M.s)


Providing access to manage content via a web service is disclosed. A business object that includes a method configured to access a content item comprising a body of managed content is received. The business object is processed to project as a web service a content management functionality associated with the object, including by exposing a method of the business object as a web service operation.

Content management systems provide content management services with respect to a body of content, enabling a user to store, access, and manage content (check-in, check-out, version, etc.); to define and enforce access restrictions, retention, and other policies; and to define and automate content lifecycles, business processing, etc. In some cases a user (person) interacts with a content management system, e.g., through a web-based or other application configured to access and/or store content associated with the content management system.
Content management systems have been provided that include development kits that enable users, third party developers, and/or developers associated with the content management system vendor to develop quickly and deploy custom software components configured to perform custom content management and/or other operations with respect to content stored on a content management system. However, access to managed content via such components typically is via an application programming interface (API) or other interface associated with the content management system and/or its vendor. It would be beneficial to enable the functionality of such custom components, as well as standard or base components provided by a content management system vendor, to be access through other, e.g., standards-based, interfaces, such as by exposing such functionality as a web service.

Managed content delivery via web services