A machine monitoring method includes obtaining signals indicative of machine conditions, machine rotational speed, direction, and load conditions over a segment of time, transforming the obtained signal indicative of machine conditions into a frequency spectrum, identifying low level features of the frequency spectrum, and processing the low level features to obtain an indicator value representative of the machine conditions.

The invention relates generally to electric machine monitoring and more particularly to gear and bearing monitoring.
Locomotive traction systems include traction motors, gears, axles, wheel-sets, and bearings. The gears are often lubricated with oil, and the pinion gear is sometimes fitted onto the traction motor shaft using an interference or shrink fit. In some situations, the oil in a gear case also lubricates motor bearings through a passage from the gear case to the bearings. There are several failures that can result in gear problems, including, for example, cracks in gear teeth due to excessive loading and loss of lubrication resulting in gear teeth wear. Loss of lubrication and/or gear problems can lead to gear damage, slipping of pinion gear on the motor shaft, and/or damage to bearings from vibrations that result in motor failures, and ultimately road failures. Prevention of serious gear, bearing, motor and road failures through incipient failure detection would therefore be desirable.
Haynes et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,965,513, describes a motor current signature analysis method for diagnosing motor operated devices such as motor-operated valves (MOVs). Frequency domain signal analysis techniques are applied to a conditioned motor current signal to identify various operating parameters of the motor-driven device from the motor current signature. Motor current noise is assumed to include the sum of all the mechanical load changes which refer back to the electric motor drive, and the changes are described as being separated on a frequency and amplitude basis such that the source of various changes in load, such as periodic gear mesh loading, friction events at frequencies corresponding to their origin, and other motor load varying characteristics of the device, can be identified. Motor current noise signatures are taken at different periods during the operating life of the device and compared to determine aging and wear or abnormal operating characteristics. The embodiment of Haynes et al. appears to assume a fixed frequency system with a signal-to-noise ratio that is high enough (that is, any interfering signals are low enough) for accurate signal detection. MOVs operate in highly-controlled environments with well-prescribed duty cycles and typically run steadily without experiencing operating conditions that generate confounding signals. More sophisticated processing techniques are desirable for general industrial environments and are particularly desirable for locomotive environments with varying speed and load conditions and non-uniform track-related signals.
Problems in the combination of the traction motor and wheel set of a locomotive which are related to gears (insufficient lubrication due to oil-loss, gear wear, or cracks, for example) and bearings (damaged bearings or loss of lubrication, for example) are reflected in the torque of the motor. Under substantially constant operating conditions (that is, the rotational direction does not change and neither the rotational speed nor the load deviates by more than about 5%), such problems lead to substantially periodic additive components of the torque which are not present for a healthy motor. The period of the additive components is determined by the rotational speed of the motor, the number of teeth on the gears, and/or characteristics of the bearings. According to one embodiment of the present invention, using spectral analysis, characteristic features in relevant frequency bands of machine rotational frequency, current, voltage, vibration or torque signals can be extracted and summarized in an indicator value for the level of wear.

Electric machine monitoring method and system


Disposable reservoirs for use with spray apparatuses, reservoir-adapter kits, spray assemblies employing such reservoirs, and methods of use are disclosed.

A wide variety of spray apparatuses for applying liquids, such as paint, varnish, cleaning solvents, or other liquid materials to a surface are known. Typically, such spray apparatuses include a reservoir containing the liquid and a spray apparatus configured to spray the liquid in the reservoir. The liquid from the reservoir may be gravity fed or pressure fed to the spray apparatus by an air bleed from the compressed air line to the reservoir.
One conventional reservoir is a rigid pot attached to the spray gun apparatus with a removable lid. The reservoir is re-usable and should be thoroughly cleaned when changing the liquid in the reservoir in order to prevent contaminating the new liquid that is poured into the reservoir. However, cleaning the reservoir and, if needed, the spray gun apparatus is time consuming and may require the use of solvents that are costly and may be a health hazard to the operator.
Another conventional reservoir employs a collapsible liner that is placed within a rigid reservoir. During use, the liquid is withdrawn from the collapsible liner and, after spraying, the collapsed liner and lid can be removed and thrown away allowing a new, clean liner and lid to be used for applying a different liquid. While the collapsible liner is useful because the rigid reservoir does not have to be cleaned as often, it can be difficult to install and remove the liner within the rigid reservoir. Furthermore, sometimes not all of the paint in the liner is used, and this un-used paint can be difficult to recover from the liner.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a more user friendly disposable reservoir. It would also be desirable that such a reservoir be cheap to fabricate and transport, and suitable for use with a variety of conventional spray gun apparatuses.

Liquid reservoir, spray assembly, and method of using same


A method for controlling an electrical power which flows into or out of an electrical subnetwork via a connection point is disclosed. The subnetwork has at least one electrical load, and the electrical load is connected to a control device via a communication connection, the electrical power flowing via the connection point is measured and a maximum power consumption of the electrical load is set by means of the control device on the basis of the electrical power flowing via the connection point. A device for connecting a multiphase subnetwork, which has an energy production installation and an energy store, to a superordinate multiphase alternating voltage network is configured to transmit electrical power between the alternating voltage network and the subnetwork and comprises an AC/AC converter having a network connection, two inverter bridge circuits with an interposed intermediate circuit and a subnetwork connection. The device also comprises a control device which is configured to set the electrical powers flowing via the individual phases of the subnetwork connection on the basis of power values of the energy production installation and/or of the energy store by suitably controlling the inverter bridge circuits of the AC/AC converter.

An alternating voltage network for transporting and distributing electrical power can be subdivided into different network sections. In addition, there may be a subdivision into network levels, wherein different network levels generally have different network voltages and are connected to one another via transformers. Within such a network level, network sections are formed by connecting subnetworks, for example households, industrial companies or towns, to the alternating voltage network via connection points, wherein the network voltage is substantially identical on both sides of these connection points, that is to say these connection points do not comprise any voltage transformation between the alternating voltage network at the location of the connection point and the subnetwork connected to the alternating voltage network via the connection point.
Various electrical energy-producing and/or energy-consuming units, in particular generators, stores and consumers, may be arranged within a network section which is connected, as a subnetwork, to a superordinate alternating voltage network. In particular, the subnetwork may comprise a photovoltaic installation, which feeds electrical power into the subnetwork via a single-phase or multiphase inverter, and may supply consumers which draw electrical power from the subnetwork via a single-phase or multiphase connection. Furthermore, an electrical store, in particular a battery, can either draw electrical power from the subnetwork or can feed electrical power into the subnetwork via a single-phase or multiphase battery converter.
Conventional connection points are designed to transmit a limited electrical power from the alternating voltage network into the subnetwork. On account of increasing decentralized energy production, on the one hand, which causes a high and temporally volatile electrical power in the subnetwork or in the vicinity of the subnetwork, in particular in the case of regenerative energy producers, and on account of the increasing spread of consumers with a high and likewise temporally volatile power requirement, on the other hand, in particular in the field of electro-mobility, the load on a connection point and also on the alternating voltage network as a whole may reach a critical order of magnitude. For example, a situation may occur in the evening or at night in which an electric vehicle or a plurality of electric vehicles is/are intended to be charged with high power within a subnetwork, whereas a photovoltaic installation arranged in the subnetwork or in the vicinity of the subnetwork simultaneously does not produce any electrical power, with the result that a very high power must be provided by the superordinate alternating voltage network and must be fed into the subnetwork via the connection point. As a result, the connection point and also the alternating voltage network are heavily loaded and there is the risk of overloading of the connection point and even of the alternating voltage network as a whole. In addition, switching operations within a subnetwork may cause peak loads which endanger the stability of the connection point and of the alternating voltage network.
Previous solution approaches for this comprise, for example, temporally staggered operation or limitation of the charging power for electric vehicles at particular times and/or on the basis of the corresponding local production and the use of buffered energy from energy stores possibly arranged in the subnetwork. However, a blanket limitation of the charging power has the effect of a loss of convenience by virtue of the charging times for the electric vehicle being extended. The use of energy stores increases the costs and, on account of inherently limited reaction speeds, is suitable only to a limited extent for avoiding peak loads.
Overloading of a connection point, for example a fuse at a network connection point, can also be avoided by means of current control during which phase-resolved measured values of the current at the connection point are used as a control variable. Such current control also has a limited dynamic response and can react only to a limited extent to a base load which cannot be controlled and is sometimes very sudden in the subnetwork. In addition, conventional current control acts independently on the individual phases of a subnetwork and cannot handle any cross-phase boundary conditions, as are regularly predefined, for example, by electric vehicles in the form of a minimum total power required for charging. In addition, it is generally not known how many phases and which phases of a subnetwork which consumers are specifically connected to, in which case consumers connected in a multiphase manner also do not necessarily draw symmetrical currents from the phases of the subnetwork and an assignment of the phases of a multiphase consumer to the phases of the subnetwork is normally unknown. Therefore, current control operating in a phase-specific manner cannot reliably avoid or limit unbalanced loads, for example, even if it is possible to specify to a consumer connected in a multiphase manner, in particular an electric vehicle, how much current can be drawn at most for each phase.

Device for connecting a sub-network to an alternating voltage network and method for controlling an electrical power


A data transmission system for enabling data to be transmitted from one of a host and a storage device to the other includes a bus controller, a command register, a data register, a storage device controller and a hardware accelerator. The bus controller receives a command packet from the host through a bus. The command register and the data register respectively store the command packet and the data received by the bus controller. The storage device controller controls an accessing action of the storage device. The hardware accelerator generates a control command according to the command packet and drives one of the storage device controller and the bus controller to move the data in the data register to the other according to the control command. The hardware accelerator generates a transmission state packet according to a transmission state of the data and outputs the transmission state packet to the host.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a data transmission system, and more particularly to a data transmission system, which has a hardware accelerator and can reduce the system resource occupation in the data transmission system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Because the universal serial bus (USB) has the advantages of plug-and-play, high supportability and high transmission efficiency, the USB has been widely used in various electronic products, such as a portable hard disk. The portable hard disk is equipped with, for example, a data processing system. When a computer host provides a command packet through the USB to access the data of the portable hard disk, the data processing system analyzes the command packet and sets a USB device controller and a hard disk controller at the end of the portable hard disk so that the computer host can access the data of the portable hard disk.
In the prior art, a memory for storing a firmware program is disposed in the data transmission system, and the processor executes the firmware program so as to access the data in response to the command packet provided by the computer host. Thus, the computation loading of the processor is increased, and the data accessing speed tends to be reduced as the computation loading of the processor becomes higher.

Hardware accelerator and data transmission system and method using the same


Methods and systems for customized remote access to imaging node front panels offer improvements in the areas of unified access, on-screen viewing and comprehension of front panels delivered by diverse imaging nodes to remote client nodes. The imaging nodes may be diverse, for example, in terms of message formats used to deliver front panel data, screen resolution assumptions implicit in front panel data and languages in which front panel data are delivered. Customization is provided, in some embodiments, by a server node that intermediates between the imaging nodes and the client nodes.

The present invention relates to remote access to imaging nodes and, more particularly, to customized remote access to imaging node front panels.
It is known to provide a client node remote access to an imaging node front panel so that a user of the client node can remotely view the front panel and/or remotely control the imaging node from the client node. However, known schemes for remotely accessing front panels of imaging nodes have presented certain problems. First, in network environments where there are multiple imaging nodes, different imaging nodes may deliver front panel data in different message formats. Some imaging nodes may deliver front panel data in eXtensible Markup Language (XML) files wherein each XML element describes a component of the front panel, while other imaging nodes may deliver front panel data in a Web Services message wherein a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message describes components of the front panel, while still other imaging nodes may deliver front panel data in a HyperText Markup Language (HTML) document or even a proprietary format. The disparate message formats can prevent the user of the client node from remotely accessing the front panels of desired imaging nodes in a unified manner, for example, using a Web browser installed on the client node.
Second, the front panel data that are delivered are often optimized for viewing at a screen resolution that is determined by the imaging node. If the screen resolution determined by the imaging node does not match the screen resolution operative on the client node, when rendered on the client node the front panel image may appear distorted and in some cases stray off-screen.
Third, the front panel data that are delivered may not be in the user's preferred language. In geographically dispersed network environments, an imaging node may deliver front panel data to the client node in a language different than the language operative on the client node. In that event, text within the front panel data that the client node is unable to translate may not be understood by the user and in some cases may appear mangled on-screen.

Customized remote access to imaging node front panels


Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for generating updated network application interfaces. A computer-implemented method may include outputting a first network application interface associated with a first network application; receiving a network application file generation request including a first network application session identifier; outputting a second network application interface based on the network application file generation request and the second network application protocol; receiving a network application return request including the first network application session identifier and a second network application session identifier; and outputting, an updated first network application interface based on the network application return request and the first network application protocol.

An enterprise platform may support several distinct network applications. The inventors have identified a number of deficiencies and problems associated with generating network application interfaces and navigating between such interfaces. Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, many of these identified problems have been solved by developing solutions that are included in the embodiments of the present invention, many examples of which are described in detail herein.

Method, apparatus, and computer program product for generating updated network application interfaces


Various implementations include a gas delivery and monitoring apparatus that can be used, for example, to deliver oxygen and monitor exhaled carbon dioxide in a subject while under anesthesia. One advantage of the disclosed apparatus is the ability to deliver oxygen directly to the back of the mouth instead of in front of the face. Another advantage of the disclosed apparatus over existing nasal cannulas is the ability to capture carbon dioxide exhaled from both the nose and mouth.

Approximately 200,000,000 sedation procedures are performed in the U.S every year. Patient monitoring during sedation procedures can require the use of a nasal cannula with the prongs inserted into the nostrils to deliver oxygen while monitoring exhaled carbon dioxide. A wide range of issues from inaccurate monitoring to patient injury make this setup unreliable with significant room for improvement.
Nasal insertion of the prongs in patients with oral breathing often leads to a cascade of monitoring issues. Moving the nasal prongs into the patient's mouth is unhygienic but performed regularly in the absence of a better option. Nasal cannulas are insecure and often get dislodged causing loss of carbon dioxide capture as well as inability to deliver oxygen into the nostrils. During facial procedures, nasal cannulas get in the sterile surgical field causing a risk for surgical infections.
Oxygen is heavier than air and tends to settle around the face. Every year several hundred cases of surgical fires causing patient injury are reported when an electrocautery is used. Electrocautery causes sparks and oxygen acts as fuel.
Approximately two million patients in the U.S are on oxygen therapy either at home or in the nursing homes. Oxygen is delivered through a nasal cannula which is connected to a portable oxygen tank. These patients encounter multiple issues. Nasal cannula tubing has a large surface area that comes in contact with facial skin and long-term use can cause skin irritation, dermatitis or skin ulcers. Continuous oxygen flow through the nostrils can cause mucosal dryness. As prevention, humidifier bottles are added but water vapor condensation not only blocks the oxygen flow to the patient, it can also promote bacterial growth in the tubing. Part of the oxygen delivery through the nasal prongs gets wasted during breath exhalation. A typical oxygen tank lasts 4-5 days. It is estimated that 40-60% of the patients on home oxygen therapy continue to smoke. Lighter flame in close proximity to the plastic prongs emitting oxygen causes serious injuries, death and loss of property each year in the U.S. Therefore, the current nasal cannula lacks appropriate safety and reliability.

Anesthesia gas delivery and monitoring system

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc.


An embedded memory required for a high performance, multifunction SOC, and a method of fabricating the same are provided. The memory includes a bipolar transistor, a phase-change memory device and a MOS transistor, adjacent and electrically connected, on a substrate. The bipolar transistor includes a base composed of SiGe disposed on a collector. The phase-change memory device has a phase-change material layer which is changed from an amorphous state to a crystalline state by a current, and a heating layer composed of SiGe that contacts the lower surface of the phase-change material layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an embedded phase-change memory and a method of fabricating the same, and more particularly, to an embedded phase-change memory that carries out a memory function within a System On Chip (SOC), and a method of fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Phase-change memories are non-volatile memories which maintain stored information even without a power supply. The phase-change memory includes a phase-change material whose electrical resistance changes depending on its crystalline structure. The phase-change material generally consists of elements of Groups VIA through IVA on the periodic table. Because the crystalline structure and electrical resistance remain regardless of the supply of electrical power, this memory is non-volatile.
The phase change which results in a difference of electrical resistance is caused by an electric current. The resistance is high when the crystalline structure of the phase-change material is amorphous, and low when the structure is crystalline. The difference between the two states is at least 100-fold. The phase change from the amorphous state to the crystalline state is referred to as "Set," and the phase change from the crystalline state to the amorphous state is referred to as "Reset." The electrical input can both "Set" and "Reset," allowing the phase change material to be used in non-volatile memory.
Ge2Sb2Te5(GST) is a common phase-change material. When a current pulse flows through GST under the amorphous state for a certain time period, the temperature of the GST is raised to over its crystallization temperature, thereby changing the state of the GST into the crystalline state ("Set"). By applying a current pulse to the GST under the crystalline state, the temperature of the GST is raised to over its melting point, so that the GST is in a liquid state. When the current is stopped, the amorphous crystalline structure of the liquid state remains ("Reset").
To "Reset," the phase-change material has to be melted and the amorphous state kept by quenching, so a high current pulse has to be applied for a short time, compared with the case of "Set." Generally, a unit phase-change memory device includes a phase-change material and a heating layer. Because the phase-change material alone cannot generate sufficient heat to cause the phase change, the heating layer is composed of a material with a high electrical resistance and contacts the phase-change material, to promote the heat generation.
Conventional phase-change memory is fabricated using CMOS technology. A unit cell consists of a single phase-change memory device and a single cell transistor. Current pulses are applied through a bit line, and a cell transistor is turned on when a voltage higher than its threshold voltage is supplied to a word line. By turning on the cell transistor, the phase-change memory device is connected to the bit line through which the current pulses are supplied. The current pulses supplied at this time perform "Set" and "Reset" of the phase-change memory device.
Since a high "Reset" current is needed, the cell transistor must be a bipolar transistor or a MOS transistor with a significantly wide gate. A vertical-structured pnp-type bipolar transistor can secure a high power density with a cell size of only 5F2˜8F2, but is not often used due to difficulty in processing. Accordingly, most cell transistors are MOS transistors.
In order to drive the phase-change memory device using the MOS transistor, the gate width has to be sufficient. Because such a MOS transistor occupies a large area on a silicon substrate, current research is directed toward decreasing the reset current to reduce the gate width, thereby improving integration.
Memories are classified into stand-alone memory and embedded memory. Embedded memory is differentiated from stand-alone memory by incorporating logic to perform its function within a single chip, and is one component of a System-On-Chip (SOC). By directly connecting a microprocessor to an embedded memory within an SOC, bandwidth can be increased while decreasing power consumption.
As silicon semiconductor processing techniques have developed, the functions embodied by SOCs have widened into diverse fields such as mobile communications and multimedia. The demand for chips for graphics, audio and video applications is increasing greatly. Therefore, more information must be processed in the SOC than ever before, and thus the role of embedded memory in the SOC is becoming more and more important. Increasingly high performance of embedded memory will be needed as SOCs become more complicated.
DRAM, SRAM, and FeRAM (Ferroelectric Random Access Memory) may be considered for a unit cell of the embedded memory. However, DRAM and SRAM are volatile, losing stored information when power is turned off, and FeRAM needs fastidious fabrication for a reliable device. Accordingly, an embedded memory is needed for embodying high performance and multiple functions.

Embedded phase-change memory and method of fabricating the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A boat bumper for use on a boat dock includes a bumper body and a frame. The frame includes uprights and connectors that interconnect the uprights and permit the frame to deflect when a force is applied to the boat bumper. The body includes a base and a roller insert that is rotatably received within the base. The base and roller insert are plastic and include a phosphorescent material that permits the bumper body to be viewed in low-light conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of boat storage devices. More specifically, the present invention concerns a cushioning bumper for use in storing or supporting boats.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Cushioning bumpers used in storing, supporting, or securing boats are known in the art. Such bumpers are found on boat trailers and on docks to prevent the underlying structure from damaging an adjacent boat. Prior art bumpers generally include a soft material that is intended for contacting a boat hull without scratching or otherwise damaging the hull. Other prior art bumpers involve a roller that rotates upon engagement with the boat.
Prior art boat bumpers are problematic and suffer from certain limitations. In particular, the prior art boat bumpers do not provide adequate cushioning when being contacted by a boat. Moreover, these bumpers have a tendency to either cause structural or cosmetic damage to the boat or to a boat-securing structure in the event that a boat is berthed at excessive speeds. The lack of cushioning also tends to promote inadvertent shifting of people or items within the boat upon contact with the bumper and thereby enhances the potential for injury or damage.
Additionally, the prior art boat bumpers can be dangerous and ineffective. Prior art bumpers, particularly those that incorporate a roller, present locations where fingers or clothing can become unsafely pinched or snagged. The prior art bumpers are also generally difficult for a boat operator to see and, thus, inhibit safe docking of the boat. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved boat bumper that does not suffer from these problems and limitations.


A lockable display hook adapted to display items of merchandise in a retail environment includes a lock that directly engages the rod assembly of the display hook. The lock is configured to securely lock to the rod assembly without the need for teeth or notches to be formed in the rod assembly. One embodiment of the display hook provides an end assembly that prevents sweeping while allowing quick loading of merchandise.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to merchandise display hooks that support items of merchandise for review by potential customers. These display hooks are designed to be cantilevered from a support structure such as a display board or a display rack. More particularly, the present invention relates to such display hooks that either prevent the rapid removal of items of merchandise from the display hooks or prevent removal of items of merchandise while the display hook is locked. The invention also relates to a display hook that may be locked to the support structure to prevent the removal of the display hook from the support structure while also preventing the removal of merchandise from the hook or preventing the rapid removal of the merchandise from the hook.
2. Background Information
Items of merchandise are commonly displayed for sale on long protruding rods supported from a support structure in the nature of a peg board, a slat board, or a wire rack. These protruding rods are commonly referred to in the art as display hooks, peg board hooks, or slat board hooks. Similar rods may also protrude from a wire display rack for the same purpose. Usually, the items of merchandise are relatively small but expensive, such as batteries, small tools, cosmetic products, or health care products. Such merchandise is an easy target for shoplifters because they can rapidly remove all the items from a display hook and leave the store without being detected. Alternately, the shoplifter can remove the entire display hook with the merchandise and leave the store. Therefore, it is desired in the art to provide display hooks that prevent both the removal of the display hooks from the support structure, the rapid removal of items of merchandise from the display hooks, or a combination of both features.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A glasses-type radio communication device (1) to be worn on the head of a user includes: left and right eyepiece parts (11), temples (14), an antenna (100) for carrying out a radio communication, hinges (17) each provided for folding each of the temples (14) towards a corresponding one of the eyepiece parts (11), while one of the temples (14) being folded towards a corresponding one of the eyepiece parts (11), the temple (14) having a shape in which the temple curves so as to be away from the antenna (100) provided in an outer edge region along an outer edge of the eyepiece part (11).

In recent years, it has been developed an electronic device having an appearance of glasses such as (i) 3D glasses for watching 3D television, (ii) 3D glasses for enjoying 3D game, or (iii) a glasses-type head mount display. Such an electronic device may include an antenna so as to carry out radio communication.
Examples of a conventional glasses-type radio communication device, having an antenna, encompass a device in which an antenna is provided in a frame of glasses (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a pair of variable-focal length glasses in which an antenna is provided in its frame.


A process for activating a textile to catalyze the reduction of a metal cation, a process for metallizing the activated textile with the reduced metal, and the activated textile and metallized textile thereby produced. The textile is activated by precipitating noble metal nucleation sites on the fibers of the textile. Immersing the activated textile in a suitably prepared solution of a metal cation, and adding a reducing agent, leads to the formation of a metal plating tightly and intimately bonded to the fibers of the textile.

The present invention relates to textiles and, more particularly, to a method for binding a full or partial metal plating to the fibers of a textile, and the metallized textile thereby produced.
There are a variety of applications for which a textile with a full or partial metal or metal oxide plating bonded to the fibers thereof would be useful. These include:
1. Acaricide
Beds commonly are infested by tiny mites. These mites eat bacteria and fungi that grow on epidermal scales shed by people who sleep in the beds. Fragments of dead mites, and mite excreta, are allergens, to which asthmatics and people with dust allergens are sensitive. It has been found that some metals and metal oxides, notably Cu, CuO, Ag and Ag.sub.2 O, repel mites.
The conventional method for making textiles inhospitable to mites is to treat the textiles with an organic acaricide such as benzyl benzoate. For example, Bischoff et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,940, teach an acaricide that includes benzyl benzoate and a solid powder carrier whose particles are of a size suitable for ingestion by the mites. These acaricides must be replaced every time the textile is laundered. Thus, Bischoff et al. recommend using their acaricide on textiles, such as carpets and upholstery, that are not laundered frequently. An inherently acaricidal bedsheet would keep a bed free of mites, even after multiple launderings, without the need to reapply acaricide to the bedsheet.
2. Bactericide and Fungicide
Some metal oxides, notably ZnO, are well known as fungicides. Before the introduction of antibiotics to medicine, silver metal sometimes was used as a bactericide and bacteriostat. Textiles with inherent bactericidal and fungicidal properties have obvious applications in settings, such as hospitals and similar institutions, where it is important to maintain aseptic conditions.
Bactericidal agents used heretofore in textiles include complexes of zirconyl acetate with inorganic peroxides (Welch et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,422), metal cations contained in zeolite particles (Hagiwara et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,410), and quaternary ammonium salts (White et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,019; Hill et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,024,875; Zhao et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,254,134). These are not totally satisfactory, being specific to a particular textile (such as the polyamide yarn of White et al.), or being subject to eventual loss of activity by chemical decomposition, a process often hastened by laundering.
The methods known in the prior art for bonding a metal or a metal oxide to a textile generally require that the metal or its oxide be bonded indirectly to the textile. For example, the metal may be reduced to a powder and suspended in a binder. The binder metal mixture then is applied to the textile, with the binder, and not the metal, bonding to the textile. Alternatively, the metal is reduced to a powder, an adhesive is applied to the textile, and the metal powder is spread on the adhesive. Examples of both such methods may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,210,375, assigned to Decker. These methods are less than satisfactory for the above applications, for at least two reasons. First, the carrier or adhesive may entirely encapsulate the metal or metal oxide powder particles, inhibiting their contact with mites, fungi, and bacteria, and making the textile useless as an acaricide, fungicide, or bactericide. Second, multiple launderings tends to weaken the binder or adhesive and loosen or remove the particles.
Two notable exceptions to the general rule that metals and metal oxides have not heretofore been bonded directly to textiles are nylon textiles and polyester textiles, which may be plated with metals using standard electroless plating processes for plating plastics. The specific electroless plating methods known to the art are restricted in their applicability to only certain plastics, however. In particular, they are not suited to natural fibers, nor to most synthetic fibers.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a textile with a full or partial metal or metal oxide plating directly and securely bonded to the fibers thereof, for use in the applications listed above.


The present disclosure generally relates to an improved toilet seal and methods for installing such toilet seals. The toilet seal includes one or more rings disposed circumferentially about a sleeve. The rings are removably attached to the sleeve to provide a manner by which to remove one or more of the rings and thereby adjust the position of the seal relative to adjacent piping. The seal further includes a sealing element that includes a flexible lip, which is adapted to deflect downwardly when engaged by a plumbing fixture.

Water closets, also called toilets, are waste disposal devices commonly installed in most bathrooms. These kinds of plumbing appliances generally include a water-storing receptacle called a water tank that is attached to a siphon seat-shaped bowl called a toilet bowl. Periodically, waste is removed from the toilet bowl by flushing, thereby allowing water to drain from the water tank through the toilet bowl and into a waste drainpipe. In order to work, however, the toilet bowl must be connected to the waste drainpipe by fluid carrying conduits. Typically, the toilet bowl will sit flat on a floor and connect with a rigid water closet flange. The water closet flange in turn connects with conduits leading to a waste drainpipe.
Conventional water closet flanges are often used with wax seals that are disposed about a discharge pipe extending from the toilet. Such seals can be unreliable because the seal connection is not strong enough to prevent leakage and associated odors, and oftentimes they can be expensive and inefficient due to delays in the installation process. Also, conventional toilet seals, such as wax seals, are fixed in height and thus may not work in certain situations where the finished floor height is too high or too low to provide an effective seal.
Improved toilet seals for addressing the above-described problems are desired. Related methods for installing improved toilet seals are also desired.


In a method to create a gain-corrected x-ray image with the aid of a flat-panel x-ray detector a number of gain images are determined on calibration and this is done for different measurement situations which correspond to different settings of specific x-ray imaging variables such as the angle of the flat-panel x-ray detector to an x-ray tube, the energy of the x-radiation used etc. Instead of the usual gain image for each element of the detector, a gain value is then used in the gain correction which is produced from an interpolation of the corresponding values from the number of gain images.

Flat-panel x-ray detectors are used increasingly frequently in x-ray imaging systems. A flat-panel x-ray detector consists of 1000 by 1000 to around 3000 by 3000 detector elements under a scintillator, such as cesium iodide for example. The x-rays converted into light by the scintillator are measured in the detector elements and converted into a data value which is then represented as a gray-scale value, so that the individual pixels can be assembled into an x-ray image.
A flat-panel x-ray detector can for example be a solid-state x-ray detector made of amorphous silicon. Such a detector has the property that the signal behavior of each individual detector element is different. This means that different areas of the detector have different sensitivities to x-ray radiation. Gain correction is thus undertaken when an x-ray image is generated in which the data values are corrected by purely computational means. The basis for the correction is the previous measurement of the relevant sensitivity of the individual detector elements. This measurement is undertaken by determining a so-called gain image, with the gain image providing a gain value in each image element or pixel. In the prior art a single gain image is determined for calibration of an x-ray imaging system when the system is commissioned. "Determining" a gain image is taken in this case to mean that a gain image is obtained by recording multiple images, and that a gain image is obtained by recording a plurality of bright images, i.e. images, for which the x-ray radiation arrives at the flat-panel x-ray detector in a defined and direct manner, without an imaging object disturbing the path of the x-ray radiation. This plurality of bright images is recorded without any changes to the x-ray imaging settings and a plurality of dark images is then recorded. An average is then taken from the bright images, i.e. an averaged pixel data value is determined over the various images for each individual pixel. The dark images are images which are recorded without x-ray radiation being emitted at all. The dark images correspond to the signals of the detector elements which emit these signals in any event, i.e. to an offset of the signals. This offset is then derived for each detector element from the associated averaged data value for the bright images and a gain image is determined in this manner. As a rule the data value from the gain image is also standardized to 1. An image entry for an individual pixel of 1,1 means for example that the corresponding detector element reflects the x-ray radiation amplified by a factor of 1,1, so that to record an x-ray image, the data value emitted by this detector element must be divided by 1,1, in order to thus obtain a data value which corresponds to a gain of 1. Conversely a gain value of 0.9 means that the detector element is slightly weaker than the average, and that a corresponding data value of an x-ray image must be divided by 0,9 in order to thus obtain a slightly increased data value which corresponds to a realistic data value for an average detector element.

Method for generating a gain-corrected x-ray image


A method of producing a silicon carbide semiconductor device, including: step (A) of forming an impurity-doped region by implanting impurity ions 3 into at least a portion of a silicon carbide layer 2 formed on a first principal face of a silicon carbide substrate 1 having first and second principal faces; step (B) of forming capping layers 6 having thermal resistance on at least an upper face 2a of the silicon carbide layer 2 and on at least a second principal face 12a of the silicon carbide substrate 1; and step (C) of performing an activation annealing treatment by heating the silicon carbide layer 2 at a predetermined temperature.

Silicon carbide (silicon carbide, SiC), which has a wider band gap and a higher dielectric breakdown field intensity than those of silicon (Si), is a semiconductor material whose applications to low-loss power devices and the like of the next generation are expected. Silicon carbide has many polytypes such as 3C—SiC having a cubic system and 6H—SiC and 4H—SiC having a hexagonal system. Among these, it is 4H—SiC that is commonly used for producing practical silicon carbide semiconductor devices. Generally speaking, substrates whose principal faces are faces substantially coinciding with the (0001) plane, which is perpendicular to a crystal axis of the c axis, are broadly used.
In order to produce a silicon carbide semiconductor device (SiC semiconductor device), it is necessary to form an epitaxially-grown layer to become an active region of the semiconductor device on a silicon carbide substrate (SiC substrate), and control the conductivity type and carrier concentration in selected regions of this layer. In order to form an impurity-doped region in a selected local region, it is indispensable to perform an ion implantation of an impurity dopant into the epitaxially-grown layer.
Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to (d), a conventional method of forming an impurity-doped region will be described, by taking as an example a method of forming a p-well region of a MOSFET disclosed in Patent Document 1.
First, as shown in FIG. 6(a), a silicon carbide layer 41 functioning as an n-drift layer is formed on an SiC substrate 40. As the SiC substrate 40, an SiC substrate having a surface (step structure surface) with an increased step density, which is tilted by several degrees (OFF angle) from the (0001) plane, is used. On this surface of the SiC substrate 40, the silicon carbide layer 41 is epitaxially grown by utilizing a step flow based on lateral growth of the steps. Next, an ion implantation mask 42 is formed on a front face of the silicon carbide layer 41. The implantation mask 42 is provided in a region of the silicon carbide layer 41 other than the region where a p-well region 46 (FIG. 6(d)) is formed.
Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), impurity ions (Al ions) 44 are implanted into the silicon carbide layer 41 from above the implantation mask 42. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the implantation mask 42 is removed, and a capping layer 45 composed of a diamond-like carbon film or organic film is formed only on the front face of the silicon carbide layer 41, in which an impurity ion-implanted region 43 has been formed.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(d), an activation annealing treatment is performed to effect recovery from the damage caused in the crystal due to ion implantation and activation of the impurity ions. The activation annealing treatment is performed by heating the silicon carbide substrate 40 to a temperature of 1700° C. or above. Through the activation annealing treatment, the p-well region 46 is formed in a portion of the silicon carbide layer 41 as an impurity-doped region. The region of the silicon carbide layer 41 where the p-well region 46 is not formed defines an n-drift region 47.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 3760688

Method for manufacturing silicon carbide semiconductor element


A method, apparatus and computer-readable medium for conjunctive binary decision diagram building and variable quantification using case-splitting are presented. A BDD building program builds a BDD for at least one node in a netlist graph representation of a circuit design. One or more variables are selected for case-splitting. The variable is set to a constant logical value and then the other. A BDD is built for each case. The program determines whether the variable is scheduled to be quantified out. If so, the program combines the BDDs for each case according to whether the quantification is existential or universal. If the variable is not scheduled to be quantified, the program combines the BDDs for each case so that the variable is introduced back into the resulting BDD, which has a reduced number of peak live nodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to verifying circuit designs and in particular to representing a logic function of a circuit design in a binary decision diagram. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a system, method and computer-readable medium for building binary decision diagrams for nodes in a netlist representation of a circuit design more optimally and performing on-demand variable quantification using case-splitting.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many tasks in computer-aided design (CAD) of digital circuits, such as equivalence checking, property checking, logic synthesis, false-paths analysis require Boolean reasoning on problems derived from circuit structures. A netlist graph is a means for representing problems derived from these circuit structures. Such a representation is non-canonical and offers limited ability to reason about the function at the nodes in the graph. Binary decision diagrams (BDDs) can be used for efficiently applying Boolean reasoning to problems derived from such circuit structures. A BDD offers a compact and functionally canonical representation of the Boolean function of a node in the netlist graph, which makes it easy and fast to reason about its function.
Unfortunately, the size of BDDs, and the complexity involved with manipulating them, is very sensitive to the order in which variables appear in the BDDs. This sensitivity to variable ordering can result in exponential space complexity of the BDD. BDD packages that implement BDD building and manipulation algorithms use Dynamic Variable Ordering (DVO) algorithms to reduce the number of BDD nodes periodically. These algorithms tend to be expensive in both time and space complexity. Therefore, BDD software packages rely on heuristics to compute a local minimum as opposed to a global minimum for reducing the number of BDD nodes, since computing a global minimum is prohibitively expensive in space as well as in time. Starting with a good initial order and computing a good order when the number of BDD nodes is relatively small is strongly suggested. Many applications set an upper limit on the number of allowed BDD nodes to prevent a "runaway" BDD operation. The upper limit can be on the number of BDDs allowed to exist at any point in time in a BDD package due to the data structures used, or due to the available memory of the computer system on which the BDD package is running. The presence of spurious BDDs may cause this limit to be hit prematurely and make a big difference in whether the computation is able to be completed.
Additionally, it may be the case that the application requiring the building of BDDs may need to quantify certain variables, for example when performing symbolic model checking. Typical quantification approaches build the BDDs to completion before resorting to quantification of the variables and are therefore prone to memory overruns during their BDD-building phase.

Conjunctive BDD building and variable quantification using case-splitting

International Business Machines Corporation


A bidirectional stitching wheel may be able to conform to peaks and valleys of green rubber while building a tire. The bidirectional stitching wheel may include an inner ring including a stitcher rotation axis. The inner ring may be rotatable in a first stitcher rotational direction about the stitcher rotation axis. The inner ring may also be rotatable in a second stitcher rotational direction about the stitcher rotation axis. A flexible outer ring may be radially spaced from the inner ring. A flexible intermediate layer may be disposed between the inner ring and the outer ring. The flexible intermediate layer may be substantially equally deformable during rotation of the inner ring in both the first stitcher rotational direction and the second stitcher rotational direction.

The present disclosure relates generally to a stitching wheel for a tire building machine. More particularly, the present disclosure pertains to a bidirectional stitching wheel for stitching together layers of a green tire.
Known tire manufacturing methods involve building a green tire, including a green tread, and vulcanizing the green tire and tread in a mold. The tread may be built by a ribbon treading process, in which a ribbon of green rubber is continuously applied in a spiral manner to a drum. The layers of green rubber ribbon are typically pressed against each other, or stitched, with a wheel connected to the tire building machine. Typical tire building methods involve maintaining the green rubber layers as smooth as possible and stitching them together with a wheel providing pressure from a generally constant distance. The wheel is typically solid and generally rigid. When a green tire is placed in a mold, the volume between the green tire and the mold features must be filled with rubber. Thus, viscous rubber flows into the volume between the green tire and the mold features. The viscous rubber and green tire are cured during vulcanization. These methods, however, can lead to an excess waste of viscous rubber.
What is needed, therefore, is an apparatus and/or method that allows for less waste of viscous rubber in creating a tire.

Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations, LLC


In a conveyor apparatus (100), a belt (110) is provided with a plurality of suction portions (111) penetrating the belt (110). The belt (110) includes lifting portions (113) each of which is provided between the suction portions (111) adjacent in a cross direction (CD) and lifts from edge portions (112) forming the suction portions (111). The plurality of suction portions (111) adjacent to each other across the lifting portions (113) communicate with each other, when a web (7) is sucked and held on the belt (110). The suction portions (111) located at endmost portions (110A) in the cross direction (CD) of the belt (110) communicate with the outside, when the web (7) is sucked and held on the belt (110).

A method of manufacturing an absorbent article such as a pants-type diaper, a sanitary napkin and a panty liner is implemented in an assembly line.
For instance, a continuous web including top sheets and bottom sheets to form absorbent articles is conveyed under tension in a conveyance direction of the web by a conveyor apparatus.
Then, component members such as a gather (stretchable member) and a waterproof film are placed on the web being conveyed under tension in the conveyance direction.
Meanwhile, the web might stretch or contract in a cross direction (so-called width direction of the web) perpendicular to the conveyance direction, where a stretchable component member, such as a gather or a waterproof film, is arranged.
Particularly, in a conveying method (so-called crosswise conveying method) in which a web is conveyed in a state where a pair of waistline portions to be fitted to the waistline of a wearer extend in the conveyance direction, the web under conveyance is often asymmetrical with respect to a center line in the width direction of the web, and contracts toward the center in the width direction of the web.
Under these circumstances, the inventor(s) is/are aware of a conveyor apparatus for suppressing potential stretch and contraction of the web in the width direction (see PTL 1, for example).
Such a conveyor apparatus includes an endless belt which rotates around multiple rollers, a drive mechanism configured to rotate the belt, and a suction mechanism. Multiple suction holes for sucking the web are formed in the belt. The suction mechanism is configured to suck and hold the web on the belt through the suction holes.
The inventors have discovered that the aforementioned conveyor has the following problem.
Specifically, the suction mechanism is configured to suck and hold the web on the belt by using the air passing through the web and the suction holes.
For this reason, a part of the web enters the suction holes. When a component member (for example, an absorber) is placed on the web while the part of the web enters the suction holes, an air pocket may be formed between the web and the component member, and consequently, may cause a manufacturing defect.

Conveyor apparatus and method of manufacturing absorbent article


A writing instrument having a writing tip that responds to pressure applied during writing through the use of a cushioning element integrally formed with another part of the writing instrument. In a preferred embodiment, a writing instrument comprises a barrel, a cartridge with a writing tip, and an end plug with a cushioning element formed integrally with the end plug. The cartridge may be held in the barrel via the cushioning element, which is attached to the proximal end of the barrel. The end plug may be formed by an injection molding process. A stop element may be provided to inhibit or to prevent compression of the cushioning element after a predetermined degree of compression of cushioning element. The cushioning element may have a variable spring rate.

In general, writing instruments such as pens have a main body into which a cartridge with a writing tip is held in place such that a user may write with the writing instrument. For most writing instruments, the writing tip is held in substantially rigid relation to the rest of the instrument during writing. However, in some cases a cushioning element, such as a spring or other biasing element, holds the cartridge and thus the writing tip in the writing instrument in a non-rigid manner. The cushioning element allows the writing tip to be biased into the main body of the instrument when force is applied to the writing tip during writing. This provides a certain feel to the user during writing that many find desirable.
The use of cushioning elements has been well known in the prior art. For instance, spring elements have been used to provide cushioning to the writing tip. Other elements, such as foam inserts, can also be found in the prior art. However, all of the cushioning elements in the prior art are elements separate from the rest of the writing instrument. Thus, the separately formed cushioning element must be attached or coupled to the other parts of the writing instrument, increasing the complexity of manufacturing and/or assembling of the writing instrument. Also, the addition of another element to the writing instrument increases the likelihood of some failure in the attachment of the elements of the writing instrument to each other, reducing the overall reliability of the writing instrument.
Thus, there remains a need for a writing instrument with a cushioning element for the writing tip that is formed for ready assembly with the writing instrument and that is easy to manufacture.
In addition, resilient elements may be prone to wear or to reduced efficacy upon repeated usage or upon overuse or abuse. For instance, a cushioning element for writing tip of a writing instrument may lose its resiliency after repeated use over over-compression. If used in excess, or abused, the cushioning element can flatten out or take a set or otherwise lose efficacy. It therefore would be desirable to reduce such risk of loss of efficacy of a cushioning element.

Writing instrument with cushioning element


In a liquid-level-position control device for a condenser in a Rankine cycle apparatus, first and second reference liquid level positions are set. When a position of the fluid level is lower than the first reference liquid level position, water is replenished to a condenser by a liquid-phase working medium supply section. When the position of the fluid level is higher than the second reference liquid level position, the liquid-phase working medium is discharged from within the condenser by a liquid-phase working medium discharge section. In this way, the liquid level, which is a boundary surface between water vapor and condensed water within the condenser, can be constantly kept at an optimal position.

Rankine cycle apparatus have been known as systems for converting heat energy into mechanical work. The Rankine cycle apparatus include a structure for circulating water in the liquid and gaseous phases within a sealed piping system forming a circulation system in the apparatus. Generally, the Rankine cycle apparatus include a water supplying pump unit, an evaporator, an expander, a condenser, and pipes connecting between these components to provide circulation circuitry.
FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a general setup of a conventionally-known Rankine cycle apparatus (e.g., vehicle-mounted Rankine cycle apparatus) and certain details of a condenser employed in the Rankine cycle apparatus. The Rankine cycle apparatus of FIG. 13 includes a water supplying pump unit 110, an evaporator 111, an expander 107, and the condenser 100. These components 110, 111, 107 and 100 are connected via pipes 108 and 115, to provide circulation circuitry in the apparatus.
Water (liquid-phase working medium), which is supplied, a predetermined amount per minute, by the water supplying pump unit 110 via the pipe 115, is imparted with heat by the evaporator 111 to turn into water vapor (gaseous-phase working medium). The vapor is delivered through the next pipe 115 to the expander 107 that expands the water vapor. Mechanical device (not shown) is driven through the vapor expansion by the expander 107 so as to perform desired mechanical work.
Then, the expansion of the water vapor is terminated by lowering the temperature and pressure of the vapor and the resultant water vapor of the lowered temperature and pressure is delivered through the pipe 108 to the condenser 100, where the vapor is converted from the vapor phase back to the water phase. After that, the water is returned through the pipe 115 to the water supplying pump unit 110, from which the water is supplied again for repetition of the above actions. The evaporator 111 is constructed to receive heat from an exhaust pipe extending from the exhaust port of the engine of the vehicle.
Among various patent documents showing examples of the Rankine cycle apparatus is Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-115504.
The following paragraphs detail a structure and behavior of the condenser 100 in the conventional vehicle-mounted Rankine cycle apparatus shown in FIG. 13.
The condenser 100 includes a vapor introducing chamber 101, a water collecting chamber 102, and a multiplicity of cooling pipes 103 vertically interconnecting the two chambers 101 and 102. In the figure, only one of the cooling pipes 103 is shown in an exaggerative manner. Substantial upper half of the interior of each of the cooling pipes 103 is a vapor (gaseous-phase) portion 104, while a substantial lower half of the interior of the cooling pipe 103 is a water (liquid-phase) portion 105. In the vapor portion 104, most of the working media introduced via the vapor introducing chamber 101 to the cooling pipe 103 is in the gaseous phase, while, in the water portion 105, most of the working media flowing through the cooling pipe 103 is kept in the liquid (condensed water) phase. Boundary between the vapor 104 and the water 105 is a liquid level position 112.
One cooling fan 106 is disposed behind the cooling pipes 103 (to the right of the cooling pipes 103 in FIG. 13). Normally, operation of the cooling fan 106 is controlled by an electronic control unit on the basis of a water temperature at an outlet port of the condenser 100. The single cooling fan 106 sends air to the entire region, from top to bottom, of all of the cooling pipes 103 to simultaneously cool the cooling pipes 103.
The condenser 100 operates as follows during operation of the Rankine cycle apparatus. Water vapor of a relatively low temperature, discharged from the expander 107 with a reduced temperature and pressure, is sent into the vapor introducing chamber 101 of the condenser 100 via the low-pressure vapor pipe 108 and then directed into the cooling pipes 103. Cooling air 109 drawn into the cooling fan 106 is sent to the condenser 100.
Strong cooling air is applied by the cooling fan 106 to the upstream vapor portion 104 of the condenser 100, i.e. a portion of each of the cooling pipes 103 where a mixture of the vapor and water exists, and thus latent heat emitted when the vapor liquefies can be recovered effectively by the cooling air. Cooling air is also applied by the cooling fan 106 to the downstream water portion 105 of the condenser 100, i.e. a portion of each of the cooling pipes 103 where substantially only the water exists. Water condensed within the cooling pipes 103 of the condenser 100, is collected into the water collecting chamber 102 and then supplied by the water supplying pump unit 110 to the evaporator 111 in a pressurized condition as noted above.
The following paragraphs set forth problems with the above-discussed conventional Rankine cycle apparatus with reference to FIG. 14, where section (A) shows variation in vehicle velocity, section (B) shows variation in engine output, section (C) shows variation in amount of water supply to the evaporator 111 and section (D) shows variation in liquid level position within the condenser 100.
As the vehicle, having the Rankine cycle apparatus mounted thereon, varies its traveling velocity as indicated in section (A) of FIG. 14, the engine output varies as indicated in section (B), in response to which the amount of water supply to the evaporator 111 varies as indicated in section (C) and the liquid level position within the condenser 100 varies in section (D). More specifically, as the vehicle starts traveling at time points t1, t3 and t5 and stops traveling at time points t2, t4 and t6 along the horizontal time axis, the engine output and the amount of water supply to the evaporator 111 vary, in response to which the liquid level position 112 within the condenser 100 varies.
Namely, because the engine output varies as indicated in section (B) in response to transitional vehicle velocity variation at the time of start, stop, etc. of the vehicle as indicated in section (A), the condenser 100 of the conventional vehicle-mounted Rankine cycle apparatus causes the amount of water supply to the evaporator 111 to vary, which results in variation in the liquid level position 112 within each of the cooling pipes 103 of the condenser 100. Namely, in the condenser 100, the liquid level position 112 rises when the amount of the vapor flowing into the condenser 100 (i.e., inflow amount of the vapor) is greater than the amount of the condensed water discharged from the condenser 100 (i.e., discharge amount of the condensed water), but lowers when the inflow amount of the vapor is smaller than the discharge amount of the condensed water. In this way, the vapor-occupied portion (104) in the cooling pipes 103 of the condenser 100 increases or decreases. Because the condensed water (in the portion 105) is discharged by the water supplying pump unit 110 subjected to predetermined flow rate control, a pressure from an outlet port 113 of the expander 107 to an inlet port 114 of the water supplying pump unit 110 is determined by a pressure within the condenser 100.
The pressure within the condenser 100 is determined by an amount of condensing heat exchange caused by cooling of the vapor portion (104) of the condenser, and the amount of condensing heat exchange is determined by a flow rate of the media to be cooled and a surface area of a condensing heat transmission portion. Thus, if the portion occupied with the vapor increases or decreases due to variation (rise or fall) of the liquid level position 112, the surface area 116 of the condensing heat transmission portion increases or decreases and so the pressure within the condenser 100 and the flow rate of the media to be cooled do not uniformly correspond to each other any longer, as a result of which control of the pressure within the condenser 100 based on adjustment of the flow rate of the media to be cooled would become impossible. In the case where the pressure within the condenser 100 can not be controlled as noted above, an increase in the pressure within the condenser 100 would lead to a decrease in the output of the expander. Further, decrease in the pressure within the condenser 100 produces cavitations (bubbles) in the water supplying pump unit 110, which would result in functional deterioration of the pump unit 110 and adversely influence the durability of the pump unit 110.
Similarly, the temperature of the condensed water at the outlet port of the condenser 100 is determined by an amount of heat exchange caused by cooling of the water portion (105) of the condenser, and the amount of the heat exchange of the condensed water is determined by the flow rate of the media to be cooled and a surface area 117 of a heat transmission portion of the condensed water. Thus, if the portion occupied with the condensed water (105) increases or decreases due to variation (rise or fall) of the liquid level position 112, the surface area 117 of the heat transmission of the condensed water portion increases or decreases and so the temperature of the condensed water and the flow rate of the media to be cooled do not uniformly correspond to each other any longer, as a result of which control of the temperature of the condensed water based on adjustment of the flow rate of the media to be cooled would become very difficult. Increase in the temperature of the condensed water in the condenser 100 produces cavitations (bubbles) in the water supplying pump unit 110, which would result in functional deterioration of the pump unit 110 and adversely influence the durability of the pump unit 110. Conversely, a decrease in the temperature of the condensed water would present the problem that extra heat energy has to be consumed when that water is supplied to and re-heated by the evaporator 11.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. SHO-63-201492 and HEI-10-185458 disclose techniques directed to avoiding the above-discussed problems, in accordance with which the liquid level position within the cooling pipes 103 of the condenser 100 is adjusted via an adjusting valve provided at the outlet port of the condenser 100.
Namely, the SHO-63-201492 publication discloses an air-cooled high-pressure condenser which includes air blowers, a condensed-water outlet adjusting valve, etc., where the pressure within the condenser is controlled with a pressure greater than the atmospheric pressure and the temperature of the condensed water is supercooled at 100° C. or below. Specifically, in the disclosed air-cooled high-pressure condenser, the pressure within the condenser is controlled by adjustment of an amount of cooling air from the air blowers, and the water level within the condenser is controlled by adjustment of the condensed-water outlet adjusting valve.
Further, a high-pressure condenser disclosed in the HEI-10-185458 publication includes a first control that compares a difference between gaseous-phase and liquid-phase pressures within the condenser with a predetermined condenser water level setting and controls a condensed-water outlet adjusting valve so that the pressure difference becomes constant, and a second control that compares a gaseous-phase pressure within the condenser with a predetermined pressure setting and controls a condenser cooling fan in such a manner that the gaseous-phase pressure becomes constant.
However, the techniques disclosed in the SHO-63-201492 and HEI-10-185458 publications, which are designed to only adjust the water at the outlet port, can not re-supply or replenish water when the liquid level has lowered.
Variation in the liquid level position 112 within the condenser would vary the respective heat transmission areas (116 and 117) of the gaseous-phase and liquid-phase portions corresponding to the vapor and condensed water in the condenser, which results in significant variation of the vapor pressure and condensed water temperature within the condenser. As a result, the cooling control would be complicated, making good cooling operation difficult to achieve.
Further, in the conventional Rankine cycle apparatus, an increase in the vapor pressure within the condenser would lead to a decrease in the output of the expander, and a decrease in the vapor pressure and an increase in the condensed water temperature within the condenser would produce cavitations in the water supplying pump unit. Besides, for re-heating in the evaporator due to a decrease in the condensed water temperature, extra energy has to be consumed.
For the reasons set forth above, there has been a great demand for a novel technique which can appropriately control the liquid level position of the condensed water within the condenser so that respective variation of the heat transmission areas of the vapor condensing portion and condensed-water cooling portion can be stabilized with a predetermined range and that the pressure within the condenser and the temperature of the condensed water at the condensed water outlet port can be controlled in a stabilized manner via cooling fans provided in association with the vapor condensing portion and condensed-water cooling portion.

Device for controlling liquid level position within condenser in rankine cycle apparatus


The present invention discloses an apparatus for compensating for a speed error of a motor which can reduce a speed ripple of the motor resulting from load characteristics, and which also can reduce vibrations and noises. The apparatus for compensating for the speed error of the motor divides a rotational section corresponding to one complete revolution of a rotor of the motor into a plurality of preset rotational sections, determines a speed compensation value in each divided rotational section on the basis of a difference value between a reference speed and a previous estimated speed, and compensates for the speed error of the motor on the basis of the speed compensation value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motor, and more particularly to, an apparatus for compensating for a speed error of a motor.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
In general, load characteristics of a compressor driven by a motor are varied by a compression type. Especially, according to the load characteristics of the compressor, when a single rotary compressor having a drive torque ripple is rotated, a torque ripple of the compressor increases, and a speed ripple of the motor increases due to the torque ripple of the compressor. That is, when a load having a torque ripple component such as the single rotary compressor is coupled to the motor, the speed ripple is generated by the torque ripple of the load.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional single rotary compressor. A compression unit (refer to FIG. 2) of the single rotary compressor is coupled to a rotor of a motor through a shaft, and a vane is coupled to the shaft of the motor. The operational principle of the compression unit will now be explained with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operational principle of the compression unit.
Referring to FIG. 2, when the motor coupled to the compression unit is rotated, the vane of the compressor is rotated, to perform a compression stroke. When the vane of the compression unit is mechanically rotated once, the compression stroke is also performed once. Here, the motor coupled to the compressor has a speed ripple due to compression characteristics of the compressor, which will now be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are graphs showing characteristics of the conventional single rotary compressor.
As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a torque ripple of the compressor is generated due to the compression characteristics (load characteristics) of the compressor, and a speed ripple is generated in the motor coupled to the compressor due to the torque ripple of the compressor. In FIG. 3A, θ denotes a rotational angle of the motor. Although the detailed structure of an apparatus for controlling a rotational speed of the motor installed in the compressor may be changed according to a kind of the motor, the apparatus generally includes a speed controller and a current controller. In addition, when the apparatus for controlling the rotational speed of the motor estimates the speed of the motor, the apparatus detects current and voltage values supplied to the motor, and estimates the speed of the motor on the basis of the detected current and voltage values. Here, the apparatus for controlling the rotational speed of the motor has the characteristics (torque ripple) of the compressor as shown in FIG. 3A, and thus generates the speed ripple of the motor as shown in FIG. 3B. However, vibrations and noises of the compressor are increased and performance thereof is decreased due to the speed ripple of the motor.
On the other hand, in order to solve the above problems, a conventional method for compensating for a torque calculates load characteristics (compressor torque) in advance in an offline method, and generates a lookup table to control the motor torque according to the previously-calculated load characteristics. The conventional method for compensating for the torque will now be explained with reference to FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing the conventional method for compensating for the torque. The conventional method for compensating for the torque is generally used in a brushless DC (BLDC) motor which does not supply a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal in electrical 60° rotational section and which supplies the PWM signal only in 120° rotational section. According to sensorless characteristics of the BLDC motor driven by measuring a counter-electromotive force in 60° rotational section, a position of a rotor can be sensed merely at electrical 60° interval. Therefore, the position of the rotor is detected 6 times in one electrical rotation, and the torque of the motor is compensated for on the basis of the detected position values of the rotor.
However, as depicted in FIG. 4, according to the method using the lookup table for storing the previously-calculated compensation value, the torque of the motor can be compensated for merely in the position of the rotor where the compensation value stored in the lookup table has been calculated. Accordingly, a reference position of the rotor needs to be set. Here, an error of the reference position of the rotor has a reverse effect on compensation for the torque.
In the case that the compensation value corresponding to the lookup table is used, compensation values considering load variations in the compressor must be all experimentally calculated. Moreover, when a model of the compressor is upgraded, compensation values considering load variations in the compressor must be all experimentally calculated in advance.
On the other hand, the conventional apparatus for controlling the rotational speed of the motor was disclosed under U.S. Pat. No. 6,646,409 on Nov. 11, 2003.

Apparatus for compensating for speed error of motor


A weldment, such as the wall of a pressure vessel, is formed from segments, each of which includes a steel substrate, a protective layer of tantalum which is exposed to the interior of the vessel and an intervening layer of copper which lies between and is bonded to the substrate and the protective layer. The substrate and the two layers which form the cladding are explosively bonded together and the bonding procedure may leave the protective layer with small domes or embossments and pockets of trapped gas behind the embossments. The two segments are welded together edge-to-edge at their substrates, with their protective and intervening layers aligned. If one were to follow the traditional procedure, one would place a tantalum batten strip over the protective layers along the opposed edges so as to cover the edges, and then weld the batten strip to the protective layer along the edges of the strip. But any weld which passed over a pocket would open the pocket, causing the trapped gas to burst out and carry molten copper from the intervening layer with it, and of course the copper would contaminate the weld, leaving it less capable of resisting chemical attack. This problem is alleviated by venting the pockets over which the batten strip passes with small holes and driving their embossments down. The batten strip overlies the holes so corrosive substances will not pass through the protective layer.

The invention relates in general to welding and more particularly to joining together by welding plates or wall segments each comprised of one metal clad with another metal.
Some chemical reactions require high pressures and temperatures, and hence must occur within a pressure vessel, that is, within a vessel capable of withstanding the elevated pressures. The vessel must also resist attack by the chemicals which are introduced into it as well as those produced in the chemical reactions. While steel possesses substantial strength, it is not in and of itself ideally suited for the construction of pressure vessels since it reacts with quite a few substances. Certainly, it cannot be exposed to highly corrosive substances, such as many acids--and some highly corrosive substances are produced under elevated pressures and temperatures. Refractory metals, such as tantalum, zirconium and titanium, do not react as readily with most corrosive substances, even at high temperatures and pressures, and further possess considerable strength, but they are also quite expensive, and to manufacture a large pressure vessel from any one of them would be prohibitive. The industry has therefore turned to steel plates clad with refractory metal. Fabricators weld these plates together to create vessels in which the refractory metal claddings are exposed to the interiors of the vessels where the reactions occur. The claddings protect the steel from the corrosive substances in the vessels, whereas the steel withstands the stresses produced by the elevated pressures.
Refractory metals do not bond easily to steel. Indeed, much of the clad plate is derived from an explosive bonding process. In essence, a thin layer of refractory metal, which is covered with an explosive, is laid over a steel plate or substrate separated by small Styrafoam spacers. When the explosive is ignited, the explosion ejects the spacers and drives the refractory metal against the steel plate, producing a diffusion bond between the two. Where tantalum is the refractory metal, a thin layer of copper is normally interposed between the tantalum layer and the steel substrate. The copper bonds well to both the steel and the tantalum and further, being quite ductile, yields when the clad plate is rolled or otherwise formed into the contours required for pressure vessel walls. More importantly, it serves as a heat sink when the tantalum is welded and thus dissipates the heat so that the concentrated high temperature of the weld is not transmitted to the steel. In this regard, tantalum melts at 5200.degree. F., whereas steel melts at about 2800.degree. F. Were the tantalum directly against the steel, any weld in the thin layer of tantalum might melt the underlying steel and change the physical characteristics of the steel, thereby weakening the steel in that region. The intervening copper layer, on the other hand, absorbs much of the heat and distributes it so that the underlying steel does not experience excessively high temperatures and undergo a change in its physical characteristics.
Normally the tantalum layer has a thickness of no more than about 0.035-0.040 inches. At that thickness it bonds well to the copper, the explosive bonding procedure, producing a bond which is uniform throughout. However, some specifications call for a thicker cladding of tantalum--indeed a tantalum layer that is 0.060 inches thick or thicker. At that thickness, the explosive bonding procedure may not yield a uniform bond, but instead the bond may be characterized by a multitude of small domes or embossments in the tantalum layer. These domes or embossments represent regions where gas and ash is trapped between the tantalum and the copper, gas and ash which derives from the consumption of the Styrofoam spacers used in the explosive bonding procedure. At the embossments no bond exists between the copper and tantalum layers, and indeed the two layers are actually separated. The absence of a bond at these locations may not impair the operation of the pressure vessel, since the tantalum still isolates the steel from the interior of the vessel. But it does affect the fabrication of the vessel.
In this regard, the domes or embossments are numerous enough that at least several of them will lie along welds later made in the tantalum layer as part of the fabrication procedure for the vessel. Of course, the tantalum melts at the head of a narrow bead as the tantalum is welded, and when this bead reaches one of the embossments, it opens the pocket of trapped gas and ash at the embossment. Molten copper and tantalum spew from the pocket, leaving the tantalum in this region contaminated with copper. As such, the cladding in this region will not resist corrosive substances nearly as well.
Of course, one could cover the regions of the tantalum that are contaminated with copper with tantalum cover plates, but this is expensive and gives the appearance of poor workmanship.
The present invention resides in a process for joining clad plates having pockets of trapped gases between the cladding and substrate. It also resides in a pressure vessel or other fabrication formed from the plates joined by the welding process.


A surgical instrument used in an endoscopic fundoplication is disclosed. The instrument may include an elongated tube having a proximal end and a distal end, a distal member coupled proximate the distal end of the tube and configured to fold a fundus of a stomach toward an esophageal wall, and a grasper configured to grasp at least a portion of the fundus or the esophageal wall. The grasper may be coupled to one of the elongated tube and the distal member.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an endoscopic surgical instrument. More particularly, the invention relates to a flexible instrument for the transoral invagination and fundoplication of the stomach to the esophagus.
2. State of the Art
Gastroesophageal fundoplication is a procedure for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition in which gastric acids are regurgitated into the esophagus resulting in esophagitis, intractable vomiting, asthma, and aspiration pneumonia. The fundoplication procedure involves wrapping the fundus of the stomach around the lower end of the esophagus and fastening it in place. Traditionally, this procedure is accomplished via open surgery with the use of sutures to secure the plicated fundus of the stomach around the esophagus without penetrating (incising) the stomach.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,326 to Harrison et al. discloses a method of performing endoscopic fundoplication using surgical staples or two-part surgical fasteners. The procedure disclosed by Harrison et al. involves performing two percutaneous endoscopic gastrotomies (incisions through the skin into the stomach) and the installation of two ports through which a stapler, an endoscope, and an esophageal manipulator (invagination device) are inserted. Under view of the endoscope, the esophageal manipulator is used to pull the interior of the esophagus into the stomach. When the esophagus is in position, with the fundus of the stomach plicated, the stapler is moved into position around the lower end of the esophagus and the plicated fundus is stapled to the esophagus. The process is repeated at different axial and rotary positions until the desired fundoplication is achieved. While, the procedure disclosed by Harrison et al. is a vast improvement over open surgery, it is still relatively invasive requiring two incisions through the stomach. Moreover, the procedure requires the manipulation of two different tools in order to position the fundus and to secure the fundus to the esophagus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,116 to Bolanos et al. discloses a non-invasive treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease which utilizes a remotely operable invagination device and a remotely operable surgical stapler, both of which are inserted transorally through the esophagus. According to the methods disclosed by Bolanos et al., the invagination device is inserted first and is used to clamp the gastroesophageal junction. The device is then moved distally, pulling the clamped gastroesophageal junction into the stomach, thereby invaginating the junction and involuting the surrounding fundic wall. The stapler is then inserted transorally and delivered to the invaginated junction where it is used to staple the fundic wall.
Bolanos et al. disclose several different invagination devices and several different staplers. Generally, each of the staplers disclosed by Bolanos et al. has an elongate body and a spring biased anvil which is rotatable approximately 15° away from the body in order to locate the invaginated gastroesophageal junction between the body and the anvil. The body contains a staple cartridge holding a plurality of staples, and a staple firing knife. Each of the invagination devices disclosed by Bolanos et al. has a jaw member which is rotatable at least 45° and in some cases more than 90° to an open position for grasping the gastroesophageal junction. One of the chief disadvantages of the methods and apparatus disclosed by Bolanos et al. is that the stapler and the invagination device must be both be present in the esophagus at the same time. With some of the embodiments disclosed, the presence of both instruments is significantly challenged by the size of the esophagus. In all of the embodiments, the invagination device is always laterally spaced apart from the stapler. Thus, the stapler cannot staple the invaginated tissue, per se, but can only staple tissue which is laterally adjacent to the invaginated tissue. The relatively small rotational movement of the anvil of the stapler further complicates the accommodation of tissue adjacent to the invaginated tissue. In addition, surgical staples have some inherent disadvantages as compared to other fasteners. The relatively small surface area of surgical staples allows them to pass through tissue over time, thereby unfastening the tissue and allowing the staples to migrate to other parts of the body. Bolanos et al. appears to recognize this disadvantage and proposes the application of a bolster or pledger to the tissues prior to stapling. Bolanos et al. do not explain how this can be accomplished transorally using the apparatus disclosed. In addition, while Bolanos et al. make a broad reference to other types of fasteners, the substantial size constraints imposed on the apparatus which are delivered transorally would seem to prohibit any type of fastener other than the staples shown by Bolanos et al. The actuating mechanism of the device disclosed by Bolanos et al. is somewhat awkward. In particular, the stapler anvil is biased to the open position, and it is not clear whether or not the stapler anvil can be locked in a closed position without continuously holding down a lever. In addition, it appears that the staple firing trigger can be inadvertently operated before the anvil is in the closed position. This would result in inadvertent ejection of staples into the stomach or the esophagus of the patient.

Flexible endoscopic surgical instrument for invagination and fundoplication


A device for excavating a precise plug of sand from a sand surface and umbrella assemblies are shown and described. In particular embodiments, a plunger includes a distal portion having a cavity, an elbow, and an elongated body separating said distal portion and the elbow. The result is a plunger and umbrella assemblies for excavating a precise, uniform hole substantially equivalent to the pole diameter.

Various types of digging devices are known in the prior art. However, many existing digging devices are labor intensive and unwieldy. When headed to the beach, most people with umbrellas forgo these tools altogether, and instead resort to using their hands or hammering the top of the umbrella pole. Not only are these methods difficult and uncomfortable, but they are also ineffective. A windy day on the beach can quickly turn disastrous as umbrellas with pointed poles go flying towards innocent bystanders. The use of a digging device is imperative to truly secure a beach umbrella, yet few existing devices are intended for small, precise holes. Of those digging devices that are intended for beach umbrellas, many are augers and need to be forcefully rotated into the sand. Furthermore, it is difficult to tell how deep a hole has been dub, resulting in frustrated users with uncomfortably low umbrellas. What is needed, and what the present beach umbrella hole digging device provides, is a digging device that quickly and easily makes the perfect hole for a beach umbrella. By using a hollow pipe with a plunger instead of an auger, the device is simply pressed into the ground a short distance and then removed to expel a plug of sand. Furthermore, it is marked at regular intervals on the outside in order to allow the user to achieve a precise depth.


A golf club head includes a body having at least one assembling opening and at least one cover plate mounted in the at least one assembling opening. A plurality of spaced spot welding points are provided along a joint area between the cover plate and the perimeter wall of the assembling opening. A brazing bonding portion is located between a pair of the spaced spot welding points adjacent to each other. The spot welding points and the brazing bonding portions securely fix the cover plate in the assembling opening to improve the bonding reliability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club head and a method for manufacturing the golf club head.
2. Description of Related Art
It is a trend to reduce the thickness of a member (e.g., a cover plate) of a golf club head for improving elastic deformability of the member. It is therefore an important task to reduce the thickness of the member while securely mounting the member on the golf club head.
The member is generally mounted to the golf club head by welding or brazing. For example, a cover plate can be fixed in a top opening of a golf club head by welding or brazing. In a case that the thickness of the cover plate is reduced to a certain extent and that the cover plate is mounted to the top opening by conventional welding such as Argon welding, recessions are apt to be formed in the seam along a perimeter of the cover plate. The qualified product rate is thus low. On the other hand, if the cover plate is mounted to the top opening by brazing to avoid generation of the recessions, sufficient engaging strength could not be obtained between a front edge of the cover plate and a perimeter wall delimiting the top opening. As a result, the brazing area in the front edge of the cover plate (that is adjacent to the striking face and thus has a relatively larger deformation when subjected to momentum during striking) is liable to crack due to the momentum.
Taiwan Utility Model Publication No. M249697 discloses a hollow golf club head with an opening in a top face thereof and a cover plate mounted in the opening. The golf club head includes a perimeter wall extending along the opening, with at least one groove being defied in the perimeter wall. The cover plate includes an engaging rib. During brazing, the engaging rib is inserted into the groove to position the cover plate in the top face of the golf club head for improving the engaging reliability. However, high precision is required for forming the groove and the engaging rib. Further, the cover plate could not be manufactured by casting or forging that is suitable for rapid manufacture purposes. In other words, complex manufacturing processes are required and the cost is increased.

Golf club head and manufacturing method therefor