A vehicle air-conditioning unit includes a seal compressing portion presses a sealing component against a partition wall that separates an interior and an exterior of a vehicle compartment. The seal compressing portion is positioned in the interior of the vehicle compartment and includes a tubing routing space through which inner tubing extends, and a drain space positioned below the tubing routing space to receive water drained from the tubing routing space. The drain space communicates with the exterior of the vehicle compartment via a through hole of the partition wall to discharge water from the drain space to the exterior of the vehicle compartment.

As this type of vehicle air-conditioning unit, a conventional air-conditioning unit described in, for example, Patent Literature 1 is known. The air-conditioning unit described in Patent Literature 1 is placed on a side of a dash panel facing an interior of a vehicle compartment while the dash panel is a partition wall that separates the interior of the vehicle compartment from an engine room that is an exterior of the vehicle compartment.
The air-conditioning unit in Patent Literature 1 includes a casing that accommodates a heat exchanger and the like. The casing has a front wall portion facing the dash panel. A tubing support portion is disposed on the front wall portion to support refrigerant tubing inside the compartment. The air-conditioning unit in Patent Literature 1 includes a dash sealing material between the tubing support portion and the dash panel.
The dash sealing material is formed so as to surround the refrigerant tubing in the interior of the compartment. The dash sealing material is interposed between and compressed by the tubing support portion and a hole peripheral portion located around a through hole formed in the dash panel. The tubing support portion thus serves as a seal compressing portion that compresses the dash sealing material. The dash sealing material is in pressing contact with the tubing support portion and the hole peripheral portion of the dash panel, thereby maintaining a seal between the tubing support portion and the hole peripheral portion.


A surgical drill assembly is provided having a clutch mechanism that requires a sufficient axial load on cutting surfaces of the drill to enable rotation of the drill. Rotation of the drill ceases almost immediately upon the axial load falling below the predetermined axial load threshold. In one embodiment the drill assembly is disposable, and is virtually impossible to disassemble and reassemble to an operative form. In another embodiment the drill assembly is reusable. The reusable embodiment includes a drill body that enables quick and easy attachment and detachment of a drill head. The reusable drill body is of a unitary construction that can be sterilized and reused without any disassembly.

The invention relates to surgical drill assemblies useful for penetrating bone.
Many surgical techniques require the perforation or drilling of bone. Cranial surgery, in particular, requires control over the cutting depth of a drill so that drilling takes place only through bone and not through the delicate dura underlying the bone. During surgery that requires penetration of the skull it is critical that drill rotation cease once the skull is effectively perforated, and before any damage is done to underlying dura.
There exist cranial perforators that permit drill bit rotation only when the drill bit is subjected to an axial load of a desired magnitude. Once the load is removed, or falls below a predetermined threshold, rotation of the drill ceases. Such devices that utilize a clutch mechanism which enables a driver to be engaged only upon sufficient axial load are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,842,131; 4,362,161; 4,319,577; 4,884,571; and 4,699,550.
Many existing surgical drill constructions utilize reusable drill bits and drill assemblies. After use, it is necessary to disassemble the drill, sterilize the drill components, and reassemble the drill before a subsequent use. Disassembly and reassembly is undesirable because it is time consuming, labor intensive, and because there always exists the possibility that reassembly will not be performed correctly. Improper reassembly of such a drill can lead to drill failure and consequently to patient injury or death. There is thus a need for economical and effective disposable surgical drill assemblies. It would also be advantageous to provide reusable surgical drill assemblies that can be rapidly and effectively disassembled and reassembled.
It is thus an object of the invention to provide a construction for a bone drill assembly that efficiently and effectively disables drill bit rotation when the drill bit is no longer subjected to a sufficient axial load. A further object is to provide such a drill assembly that is disposable. Another object is to provide a reusable drill that is easily disassembled and reassembled. It is also an object to provide a reusable drill that does not require disassembly of components before serialization. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description.


Disclosed is a method of controlling a High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMT) through a cascode circuit, the cascode circuit including first and second switches, a capacitor connected to a source of the first switch, a source of the HEMT being connected to the drain of the first switch, and a controller for controlling the first and second switches. The method is achieved by defining state A, where the first switch is controlled to be OFF resulting in the HEMT being OFF and the second switch is controlled to be ON allowing the capacitor to be charged and stabilizing the drain voltage of the HEMT at around the HEMT gate threshold voltage. The method further defines state B, where the first switch is controlled to be ON resulting in the HEMT being ON and the second switch is controlled to be OFF almost all the time, thereby preserving the charge stored in the capacitor. Moreover, the method provides transitioning from state A to state B to turn the HEMT ON; and transitioning from state B to state A to turn the HEMT OFF, wherein the first switch is switched-OFF and the second switch is switched-ON allowing for quicker charge of the output capacitance of the first switch from the capacitor to keep the HEMT OFF.

The present invention relates to a cascode switching structure and, more particularly to using a low voltage P-channel MOSFET whose source is connected to a capacitor and its drain to a drain of a driver switch.
A cascode circuit is a technique for improving a performance of an analog circuit. It provides a very useful two-transistor configuration formed of a common source stage followed by a common gate stage. The cascode combines the two amplifier stages for increased output resistance and reduced parasitic capacitance, resulting in a high gain with increased bandwidth. The cascode provides better high-frequency performance and higher output resistance.
The cascoded configuration of a normally ON depletion mode and a normally OFF semiconductor devices allows reliable and safe operation in switching mode power supply systems.
Simple coupling of those two parts rely upon their own parameters for dynamic behavior, especially during a switch-OFF. The proposed arrangement enhances the switch-OFF transient, making use of the charge stored in VCC supply capacitor.

Active driving of normally on, normally off cascoded configuration devices through asymmetrical CMOS


A belt sander includes a sand belt unit including an upper roller, a lower roller located under the upper roller and rotated by a propeller shaft of a drive motor, and two auxiliary rollers located at two sides of the lower roller. Each of the two auxiliary rollers and the lower roller are rotated synchronously in the opposite direction. Thus, the workpiece is pressed by the two auxiliary rollers so that the workpiece is moved forward at a constant speed without acceleration during the grinding process of the sand belt, thereby enhancing the grinding effect of the sand belt on the workpiece.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a belt sander, and more particularly to a belt sander for delivering a workpiece at a constant speed.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional belt sander comprises a frame, an upper roller mounted on an upper end of the frame, a lower roller mounted on a lower end of the frame, and a sand belt mounted between the upper roller and the lower roller. Thus, the sand belt is driven by the upper roller and the lower roller to rotate at a high speed to grind a workpiece, such as a wooden material.
In practice, when the workpiece touches the sand belt, the workpiece is accelerated by the pulling force of the sand belt. When the workpiece is grinded by the sand belt, the workpiece is moved forward smoothly by friction and resistance of the sand belt. When the workpiece is about to leave the sand belt, the resistance applied on the workpiece by the sand belt is removed, so that the workpiece is accelerated to move forward. However, the workpiece is not moved forward at a constant during the grinding process, thereby greatly decreasing the grinding effect and the quality of the workpiece.

Belt sander for delivering workpiece at a constant speed


A diamond electrode and a diamond microelectrode array for biosensors and electroanalytical applications, such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), are disclosed. The electrode comprises a layer of ultra-smooth conductive nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) having a resistivity of >0.05 Ωcm and a surface roughness of <20 nm Ra. Preferably, the diamond layer comprises boron or nitrogen-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) having an average grain size <10 nm and a surface roughness <10 nm Ra. It may be patterned to define a microelectrode array with a plurality of individually addressable electrodes, each having a diameter in the range from 100 nm to 100 μm. The surface of each microelectrode is hydrogen-terminated before bio-functionalization, i.e. modifying with sensing molecules for detection of a specific biological or chemical target and coating with a blocker for reducing non-specific binding. These diamond electrodes exhibited substantial increases in sensitivity, selectivity and signal reproducibility, e.g. for detection of E. coli K12 using EIS.

It is desirable to have low-cost, specific and sensitive electroanalytical biosensors that can rapidly detect antigens in real-time, for applications such as remote environmental monitoring and point-of-care diagnostics. In electrochemical or electroanalytical sensors, the binding or capture of a target molecule on a modified electrode surface is detected electrically, e.g. by changes in interfacial resistance (i.e. impedance transduction), by the reaction of redox molecules to generate current (i.e. amperometric or enzymatic transduction), and detection of changes in conductivity by other means. For example, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) provides a basis for biosensors that can be used to detect a wide variety of antigens, including bacteria, DNA, and proteins.
However, commercial development of such sensors has been hindered by issues such as poor signal to noise ratios, resulting in difficulty in interpreting a change in impedance on antigen binding and poor signal reproducibility as a result of surface fouling and non-specific binding.
Electrodes for such biosensors may comprise conductive surfaces that are modified with suitable layer(s) of biological materials—such as antibodies, nucleic acids or enzymes; or non-biological materials, e.g. synthetic materials—such as aptamers and polymer membranes. Selective and sensitive detection of various biomolecules and chemicals (e.g. bacteria, nucleic acids, whole cells, proteins, toxins, biomarkers, neurotransmitters, drugs, hormones, cytokines, chemokines, growth factors) has been previously demonstrated. Much research has been performed using electrodes comprising noble metals, typically platinum (Pt) or gold (Au), and conductive sp2 carbon materials such as graphite, Highly Oriented Pyrolytic Graphite (HOPG), glassy carbon and various semiconductor materials.
When modifying electrode surfaces with recognition molecules using covalent immobilization chemistries, most surfaces (Pt, Au, silicon and non-conductive silica glass slides) are not hydrolytically stable and thus oxidize the recognition molecules that are critical to detect targets selectively. For metals with high electrical conductivity, the background currents are generally high because their surfaces oxidize easily, which affect the sensitivity of detection. Other disadvantages of metal electrodes are the introduction of background noise at the micro-scale and the nano-scale and also they become inactive relatively rapidly in aqueous-based samples due to surface oxidation.
Typically, to achieve reliable and reproducible detection of target species, multiple measurements are required. This requires more than one electrode modified with or without recognition molecules that specifically bind to targets or mismatch molecules/probes (e.g. mismatch base pairs in oligonucleotides) that measures the degree of cross hybridization, or how much lower the detection signals for noise are and are "subtracted" from the perfect match probe. To detect more than one target in a sample (called multiplexing), multiple electrodes are required. For example, to detect two types of bacteria in a sample, at least two electrodes are required, i.e. each modified with a different specific (also called "selective") sensing molecule. So, for multiplexing and for improved sensitivity of detection, an array of electrodes, usually patterned on the substrate, is required.
It has also been shown that by micro-patterning and nano-patterning a conductive electrode surface, the sensitivity is greatly improved. This is due to decreases in background (also called charging) current, which is directly proportional to electrode area. Thus micro-electroanalytical platforms based on microelectrode arrays comprising tens or hundreds of electrodes are known, and conventionally microelectrode materials comprise highly conductive metals such as platinum and gold.
It is recognized that conductive diamond electrodes, e.g. boron-doped diamond, are more resistant to oxidation. Thus, diamond microelectrode arrays potentially offer advantages over conventional metal electrodes with respect to oxidation. However, microcrystalline diamond (MCD) electrodes typically have significantly higher surface roughness (typically >100 nm Ra) relative to metal surfaces. High surface roughness generally increases nonspecific binding, limits selectivity, and increases the background charging current, which is proportional to the microscopic electrode area. A higher background charging current further limits sensitivity.
It would therefore be desirable to provide improved or alternative electrodes and microelectrode arrays for electroanalytical sensors and methods for electrochemical detection of biomolecules with improved sensitivity, for example, for EIS based biosensors.

Electroanalytical sensor based on nanocrystalline diamond electrodes and microelectrode arrays


Three magnet casings are adjustably and removably attached to one another such that the device may snuggly fit about fluid conduits of differing diameters. An outer casing wall of ferrous content stainless steel confines the magnetic field. An inner magnet holder frame attached to the outer casing wall holds a magnet to the conduit and is fabricated of non-ferrous stainless steel to allow maximum trans mission of the magnetic field to the fluid in the non-ferrous section of the conduit around which the casings are attached together.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to applying magnetic fields to treat fluids and in particular to a new and improved device for magnetically treating liquids and gases which may removably and adjustably be attached to a tube having a fluid, such as fuel, running through it to produce a unique magnetic field focused in such a way so as to improve the physical properties of the liquid, such as improving the fuel for better combustion with fewer emissions and better mileage in vehicular fuels.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the art of magnetism that applying a strong magnetic field to a substance changes the direction of the magnetic moments of individual atoms within the substance. This allows scientists to use nuclear magnetic resonance to determine the geometric structures of a variety of organic compounds, including proteins. This technology has also been developed to create magnetic resonance imaging, which has become a vital tool in medical diagnostics.
Over the past several years, magnetism has been applied to liquids to alter their physical nature. Precisely which method of applying a magnetic field to a liquid results in superior physical transformation of the molecules within that liquid has been a hotly debated issue. In some designs, a flexible tubing through which liquid flows is wrapped around a single magnet. Other designs expose a liquid first to a north or south pole and then downstream to an opposite pole. It is also known to use multiple magnets in order to create one or more magnetic fields. For example, the north pole of a magnet may be applied to one side of a conduit while a south pole is applied to the opposite side. This results in a magnetic field that is perpendicular to the rate of fluid flow through the conduit. It is also known to have a plurality of magnets through which fluid flows such that all of the magnets have the same pole facing the conduit. For example, all of the magnets may be aligned such that only their south poles face the fluid conduit. This design may also be reversed such that only the north poles face the fluid conduit. Examples of this design may be found in U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 35,689 and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,901.
It has been found that by applying such magnetic fields to a liquid has a number of benefits. Fuels, such as gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas all burn more efficiently after exposure to a magnetic field. Potable water, alcoholic beverages and other consumable liquids have a superior flavor. Scale is also reduced in metal and other pipes. It is believed that these properties may be enhanced by modifying the geometry and positioning of the magnets used to influence the physical properties of the liquid.
Because of the benefits of exposing a fluid to a magnetic field, it is desirable to use such magnetic devices in a variety of situations. Because the increase in fuel burning efficiency caused by magnetic fields is temporary, such magnetic devices must be located within the car, truck, boat etc. Properties caused by exposing fuel to a magnetic field at a gas station-or a refinery would dissipate before the fuel was burned. Unfortunately, vehicles today generally have a substantial amount of electronic equipment, including computer chips. Strong magnetic fields have a deleterious affect on such devices. Therefore, it is necessary to place the magnetic devices on a fuel line close enough to the engine such that the effects of the magnetic field do not dissipate prior to incineration of the fuel. It is also necessary that the magnetic device be far enough from any electronic equipment to avoid damage.
It is therefore desirable to provide a device for applying a magnetic field to a fluid in a conduit which device has been geometrically optimized to maximize the beneficial effects of applying a magnetic field to the fluid by focusing the magnetic field.
It is also desirable to provide a device for magnetically treating a fluid that provides only a minimal risk to nearby electrical equipment by confining the magnetic field to the conduit.

Device for focusing a magnetic field to treat fluids in conduits


An alert configuration system facilitates accurate and reliable configuration of alerts for data protection policy in a data protection system, including eliminating or reducing manual configuration of data protection policy. The system identifies risks through trend analysis and behavioral statistics as applied to historical data, and automatically configures alerts for the identified risks so that alerts are generated upon detection of the identified risks. After detecting differences between tracked values for a data protection system and predicted values obtained through trend analysis and behavioral statistics as applied to the historical data, the alert configuration system automatically adjusts the configuration of alerts for data protection policy in accordance with the predicted values. The tracked and predicted values include attributes of a data protection system embodied in key performance indicators associated with the identified risks based on the trend analysis and behavioral statistics as applied to historical data.

Data storage systems rely on protection management software to generate alerts when a risk is identified in data protection operations. For example, protection management software generates alerts when a backup is larger than average in a particular time window or when backup failures exceed a particular threshold.
Some protection management and monitoring software, such the data protection management software provided by © 2016 EMC Corporation, allow a system administrator to manually configure a set of rules that trigger such alerts. However, tuning a manually configured set of rules for optimal protection and performance of the data storage system is time consuming. Moreover, tuning a rule that is not well configured can expose the data protection operations of the data storage system to greater risk.


An image pickup apparatus including: an image pickup section acquiring a bright-time image and acquiring a dark-time image with a same exposure time period as the bright-time image; a shake detection section detecting a shake; an image cut-out section cutting out a cut-out bright-time image for which the shake is corrected, from the bright-time image, on the basis of the shake detected by the shake detection section and cutting out a cut-out dark-time image at a same cut-out position as the cut-out bright-time image, from the dark-time image; and an image processing section generating a corrected image for which dark current is corrected, by subtracting the cut-out dark-time image from the cut-out bright-time image.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus and an image pickup method for acquiring bright-time image data and dark-time image data to correct dark current.
2. Description of the Related Art
When an S/N ratio decreases, image noise caused by dark current is conspicuous, for example, in the case of acquiring an image by performing long time period exposure of an object with a low luminance. For removal of such dark current noise, various proposals have been provided conventionally.
For example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-209506, a technique is described in which, in view of a fact that dark current increases or decreases according to a temperature of an image pickup device or an exposure time period, image quality deterioration caused by the dark current is reduced by performing a charge storage operation for a same exposure time period as a bright-time image to acquire a dark-time image due to a dark-current component in a state that the whole image pickup device is shielded from light, immediately after the bright-time image is picked up, and subtracting the dark-time image from the bright-time image.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-229032, a technique as shown below is described which is for reducing troublesomeness of performing photographing of a dark-time image accompanying photographing of a bright-time image. That is, dark-exposure photographing is performed multiple times with different combinations of a shutter speed and camera sensitivity, and obtained multiple pieces of dark image data are stored in a memory before shipment of a digital camera. Then, at the time of performing actual photographing, noise correction data corresponding to a shutter speed and camera sensitivity at the time of obtaining actually photographed image data is calculated on the basis of the dark image data read from the memory, and noise is removed by subtracting the calculated noise correction data from the actually photographed image data.
As a technique making it possible to confirm a state of an image being exposed, at the time of performing long-time-period exposure, a so-called live bulb photographing technique is proposed and productized. The live bulb photographing is a technique making it possible to observe a state of an image being exposed by time-dividing a long-time-period exposed image into multiple exposed images, and reading and displaying the exposed images.
A process for removing dark current noise in the live bulb photographing will be described with reference to FIGS. 24 and 25. FIG. 24 is a timing chart showing an operation at the time of performing live-bulb photographing of a bright-time image, and FIG. 25 is a timing chart showing an operation at the time of performing live-bulb photographing of a dark-time image. Note that FIGS. 24 and 25 illustrate a case of dividing a whole exposure time period Texp into three divided exposure time periods Texp1, Texp2 and Texp3.
As shown in FIG. 24, the live bulb photographing of a bright-time image is started by opening a mechanical shutter (hereinafter "mechanical" will be appropriately abbreviated as "mecha") and applying a reset pulse RST to pixels to perform reset.
Then, when the first divided exposure time period Texp1 has elapsed after start of exposure, first pixel reading is performed by starting application of a read pulse RD in synchronization with a vertical synchronizing signal VD, and a first piece of time-division bright-time image data A1 is acquired as image pickup data. The acquired piece of time-division bright-time image data A1 is displayed on a display section of an image pickup apparatus after necessary image processing is performed.
Next, when the second divided exposure time period Texp2 has elapsed after the first pixel reading, second pixel reading is performed by starting application of a read pulse RD in synchronization with a vertical synchronizing signal VD, and a second piece of time-division bright-time image data A2 is acquired as image pickup data. The acquired piece of time-division bright-time image data A2 is added to the first piece of time-division bright-time image data A1 and displayed on the display section of the image pickup apparatus after necessary image processing is performed. Thereby, an image equal to an image obtained by performing exposure for an exposure time period (Texp1+Texp2) from an exposure start time point is displayed on the display section.
Furthermore, when the third divided exposure time period Texp3 has elapsed after the second pixel reading, third pixel reading is performed by starting application of a read pulse RD in synchronization with a vertical synchronizing signal VD, and a third piece of time-division bright-time image data A3 is acquired as image pickup data. Note that the mecha shutter is closed when reading of all pixels ends. The acquired piece of time-division bright-time image data A3 is added to the first and second pieces of time-division bright-time image data A1 and A2 (that is, a bright-time image data A=A1+A2+A3 is calculated) and displayed on the display section of the image pickup apparatus after necessary image processing is performed. Thereby, an image equal to an image obtained by performing exposure for the whole exposure time period Texp from the exposure start time point is displayed on the display section.
Immediately after such bright-time image pickup is performed, dark-time image pickup is performed without delay so that dark current having a correlation as high as possible with dark current at the time point of having picked up the bright-time image can be acquired.
The dark-time image acquisition is performed as shown in FIG. 25, and a process up to acquisition of image pickup data is similar to that of the live bulb photographing of the bright-time image except that image pickup is performed in a state of the mecha shatter being closed. However, time-division dark-time image data acquired by time-division exposure is not displayed on the display section unlike the pieces of time-division bright-time image data.
All pieces of time-division dark-time image data B1, B2 and B3 are acquired in this way, these are added together to calculate dark-time image data B=B1+B2+B3 equal to dark-time image data obtained by performing exposure for the whole exposure time period Texp from the exposure start time point. Then, by subtracting the dark-time image data B=B1+B2+B3 from the bright-time image data A=A1+A2+A3, image data for which a dark-current component has been reduced. After that, gain-up and other image processes are performed, and the image data is stored.
By such a process, it becomes possible to confirm a state of an image being formed during bulb photographing by a live view, and to acquire an image for which fixed pattern noise (FPN) has been reduced.
The live bulb photographing as described above is on the assumption of being performed with the image pickup apparatus being fixed by a tripod or the like because a long exposure time period is required.
In the case of performing the live bulb photographing as described above in a hand-held state without using a tripod or the like, image stabilization is thought to be indispensable.
The image stabilization is classified as mecha image stabilization in which a lens or an image pickup device is driven in an image stabilization direction and electronic image stabilization in which a part of an image is cut out so that a certain object part is always included, according to movement of an object image relative to an image pickup surface of the image pickup device.
Since the mecha image stabilization is such an image stabilization that is performed so that a position of an optical object image relative to an image pickup device is kept constant, it is possible to remove FPN by subtracting a dark-time image from a bright-time image as described above.

Image pickup apparatus and image pickup method which acquires bright-time image data and dark-time image data to correct dark current


A conveying device with levers for wrapping machines for delicate products equipped with a gripping device for strips of material for wrapping products. The device has a supporting structure sliding on a radial guide which forms part of a carrousel conveyor revolving around a support placed on a supporting plate; a first operating lever for conveying the products, rotates around a first pivot supported by the supporting structure; a second operating lever for conveying the products rotates around a second pivot supported by the supporting structure; a limit stop for the movements of one of the levers is integral with the supporting structure, the purpose of which is to cooperate with one of the said operating levers, constitute a gripping device for the strips.

The present invention consists of a conveying device with levers used in wrapping machines for delicate products like bars of soap which have just come out of a stamper. It has a device for gripping individual strips of material to wrap products. This invention is also of the type of wrapping machine provided with a conveying device.
Wrapping machines for delicate products have a large number of conveying devices. These consist essentially of many components whose function is to wrap the objects produced by the machine in suitable wrapping material.
Essentially, one of these components has a flat surface which accommodates a strip of wrapping paper, against which one side of the bar of soap is in contact, the wrapping material being fed in single strips by a feeding device. It has two levers to keep the side of the soap in contact with the wrapping material on the flat surface, while the machine moves the conveying device continuously or intermittently from a loading station to an unloading station. There are kinematic devices to maintain the correct movement of the device and its components from said stations.
In addition, there are devices for gripping the wrapping material, between which the products are wrapped to form the final product ready for sale.
The gripping devices work together with the feeding device which is housed in a first structure of the machine, and are assembled on the conveying device or arranged in a second fixed component of the machine.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,516 to Malhiot shows a wrapping machine equipped with a device for feeding strips of wrapping material integral with a fixed structure of the machine, and designed to place a strip of wrapping material on a conveying device prior to a bar of soap being deposited on it. A similar device transfers the strips on a conveying device only if the machine is working slowly; in fact, the transferral of the strips from the feeding device to the flat supporting surface of the conveying device can only take place in the correct fashion if the conveying device comes into contact with the feeding device for a sufficient length of time to allow the strip to be transferred from the feeding device to the conveying device, the bar of soap being placed in contact with the strip.
European Patent Application number 90103891.9 filed by the applicant is for a high-speed wrapping machine equipped with a large number of devices for conveying soap, having pincers for gripping the wrapping material coming out individually from a feeding device similar to that described for U.S. Pat. No. 2,723,516. Every conveying device of the European patent is equipped with a gripping pincer which is connected to kinematic devices which control it during the various phases of the machine's operation.
In the cases under consideration the gripping devices for wrapping material have the following disadvantages:
they are connected to kinematic devices which have only a single purpose;
they have an inertial mass which requires an increase in energy to make them work;
the kinematic devices to which they are attached must be perfectly in phase with the continuous or intermittent movements of the machine so as to permit the wrapping paper to be transferred in synchrony with the movement of the conveying device in the proximity of the feeding device.

Conveying device with levers for wrapping machines designed for delicate products, equipped with a gripping device for strips of material for wrapping products, and machine with said conveying device


A forward-imaging optical coherence tomography probe is provided, comprising: a substantially cylindrical housing comprising: a longitudinal axis; an interior side; a distal end that is optically transparent; and a mirror located at the interior side, adjacent the distal end; an optical fiber located inside the cylindrical housing along the longitudinal axis; a wedge lens located inside the cylindrical housing, adjacent the distal end, the wedge lens configured to receive light from the fiber, and direct the light towards the mirror; and, at least one motor configured to both: rotate the fiber and the wedge lens about the longitudinal axis and inside the cylindrical housing; and, linearly displace the fiber and the wedge lens along the longitudinal axis and inside the cylindrical housing; the mirror configured to: receive light from the wedge lens and reflect the light out of the distal end as the wedge lens moves linearly and rotationally.

The low penetration depth of optical waves (generally about 200 nm to about 2 μm) in tissue (i.e. generally about 2 mm to about 3 mm) limits the clinical application of optical imaging instrumentations, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), and the like. Therefore, hand-held or endoscopic probes are highly desired for clinical and therapeutic applications, however such probes tend to suffer from various problems.
OCT probes, and the like, can be divided into two categories based on their scan modes: side imaging and forward imaging. Side-imaging probes are the most widely used since they tend to have a much simpler actuation mechanism than forward-imaging probes, and the actuation mechanism tends to be far away from the probe tips. Further, side-imaging probes tend to be very flexible and have small size. However, such side-imaging scanning probes only provide side imaging around the probe which limits its clinical applications, such as image-based surgical needle guidance. Thus, forward-imaging probes, whose size tends to be in a range of needle size, can be more suitable for surgical guidance for brain, retinal and ovarian surgery.
However, forward-imaging probes are generally more complicated in design and require the actuator near the probe tips. Currently the size of the forward-imaging OCT probe is mainly limited by the size of the actuation mechanism. For example, forward-imaging probes using MEMS (micro-electromechanical system) mirrors generally have a diameter in a range of about 3 mm to about 6 mm due to the electronic control cable used with forward-imaging probe. Further, forward-imaging probe are generally housed in a thin-wall hypodermic tube using a PZT actuator with an overall diameter of about 2.4 mm.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Forward-imaging optical coherence tomography probe


A used toner collecting apparatus of a laser printer includes a collecting container disposed at the body of the laser printer and having a used toner inlet through which the used toner transferred from the cleaner comes. A shattering member is disposed inside the collecting container and having a breaking blade to break the used toner that comes and drops through the used toner inlet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a used toner collecting apparatus of a laser printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional laser printer. Referring to FIG. 1, the laser printer includes a corona unit 2, a charging unit 3, a laser scanning unit 4, developing units 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d to developing colors in the order of black K, yellow Y, magenta M, and cyan C, and a transferring belt 6. The respective parts are disposed along a rotating direction of a photosensitive drum 1 which is employed as a photosensitive medium.
A surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is evenly initialized to a predetermined voltage by the corona unit 2. The charging unit 3 charges the initialized surface of the photosensitive drum 1 to a predetermined electric potential. The laser-scanning unit 4 scans a laser beam selectively on the charged surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and forms an electrostatic latent image thereon in accordance with a desired image. The electrostatic latent image is developed to a desired color image as the developers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d are overlain on one another. The color image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the transferring belt 6. Then the color image on the transferring belt 6 is transferred to a printing medium, which is delivered from a paper cassette 7 and passes between the transferring belt 6 and a backup roller 8 rotating in contact with the transferring belt 6. The color image transferred to the printing medium is then fixed while passing through a fixing unit 9.
In the meanwhile, on each surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and the transferring belt 6, there is some used toner that is left after the toner is transferred onto the transferring belt 6 or to the printing medium in the processes as described above. In order to remove the remaining used toner, used toner cleaning units 10, 12 are disposed at each one of the photosensitive drum 1 and the transferring belt 6.
In each one of the cleaning units 10, 12, the used toner removed from the photosensitive drum 1 or the transferring belt 6 is collected in a used toner collecting container along a predetermined way.
FIG. 2 shows a drawing of Japanese patent laid-open No. H11-202710 as one example of conventional used toner collecting apparatuses for collecting used toner from the photosensitive drum after developing process.
Referring to FIG. 2, used toner that is removed from the photosensitive drum (not shown) by a predetermined cleaning means (not shown) is transported to a drop pipe 16 that is disposed at one end of a transporting pipe 14 by an auger 15 which is set up in the transporting pipe 14. The drop pipe 16 is connected to an inlet 18a of a collecting container 18 that admits the used toner as the used toner drops from the drop pipe 16. The collecting container 18 includes a scattering member 19 disposed inside the collecting container 18 in a predetermined pose to disperse the dropping used toner evenly in the collecting container 18. In practice, the used toner, dropping from the inlet 18a, collides with the scattering member 19, and is dispersed evenly in the collecting container 18.
However, in the conventional used toner collecting apparatus as described above, the used toner occasionally lumps together because the used toner is pushed and moved in one direction by the auger 15 in the transporting pipe 14. A lump of used toner is not shattered even though it crashes against the scattering member 19 and drops as a lump into the collecting container 18. In this case, the collecting container 18 cannot admit the used toner efficiently because the used toner does not scatter evenly in the collecting container 18.
Also, the collecting container 18 may be is designed in various shapes in accordance with a size or a model of a laser printer. When a collecting container has a wide bottom, there is a problem that the used toner is hard to pile up evenly on the collecting container bottom if the lumped used toner is not broken finely.

Used toner collecting apparatus of a laser printer


A temperature sensor that includes a first electrode layer, a second electrode layer, and a thermistor layer between the first and second electrode layers. The thermistor layer includes a spinel-type semiconductor ceramic composition powder containing Mn, Ni, and Fe, and an organic polymer component. In the semiconductor ceramic composition powder, the molar ratio of Mn to Ni is 85/15≥Mn/Ni≥65/35, and when the total molar quantity of Mn and Ni is 100 parts by mole, the content of Fe is 30 parts by mole or less, and the semiconductor ceramic composition powder is 2 μm or less in particle size.

Temperature sensors such as a positive temperature coefficient thermistor (PTC thermistor) and a negative temperature coefficient thermistor (NTC thermistor) are widely used in applications for temperature compensation, temperature detection, and the like.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for manufacturing a temperature detection device, which includes forming at least one silicon layer and at least one electrode or contact so as to define a thermistor structure, where at least the silicon layer is formed by printing, and at least one of the silicon layer and at least one electrode or contact is supported by a substrate during the application of the silicon layer by printing.
Patent Document 2 discloses a temperature sensor characterized in that the temperature sensor is configured to use, as a temperature sensing element, a compact obtained by binding, with an organic polymer material, a conductive powder containing at least one semiconductor material selected from an oxide sintered body with a spinel structure containing at least nickel and/or cobalt and manganese, semiconductive zirconia, and silicon carbide, and provide the temperature sensing element with a pair of electrodes.    Patent Document 1: International Publication No. WO 12/035494    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-060502


A component has an active layer, barrier layers and, if appropriate, a buffer layer and at least one of these layers contains a beryllium-containing chalcogenide. The active layer is a multiple layer, for example a superlattice made of BeTe/ZnSe or of BeTe/ZnCdSe. When using an active layer of ZnSe on a substrate of GaAs, matching with low electrical resistance is achieved between the III-V materials and the II-VI materials by means of a pseudo-graded buffer layer including a beryllium-containing chalcogenide.

The article by A. Ishibashi: xe2x80x9cII-VI Blue-Green Laser Diodesxe2x80x9d IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, Vol. 1, pp. 741 to 748 (1995) provides an overview of the use of II-VI semiconductor material for the production of laser diodes which emit blue or green light. ZnMgSSe, ZnCdSe or ZnSe and ZnTe is specified as the material. An MQW structure made of ZnTe/ZnSe is also mentioned. JP-A 7-66 494 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,918 describe beryllium-containing semiconductor compositions for the production of laser diodes emitting blue or green. U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,902 and the articles by P. M. Mensz: xe2x80x9cBeTe/ZnSe graded band gap ohmic contacts to p-ZnSexe2x80x9d Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 64, pp. 2148 to 2150 (1994) and by R. G. Dandrea et al.: xe2x80x9cDesign of ohmic contacts to p-ZnSexe2x80x9d Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 64, pp. 2145 to 2147 (1994) describe the use of a graded sequence of layers of BeTe and ZnSe for the production of contact layers between an active layer and a metallic connection contact.
The structures and materials described in the cited publications have a variety of disadvantages which have an adverse effect on the use for laser diodes. The difficulties arising when using ZnSe are that the growth of such layers on a GaAs substrate is disturbed, that a poor transport of charge carriers takes place via the interface between the II-VI semiconductor and the III-V semiconductor, and that good lattice matching of ZnTe to GaAs is not possible, for example, owing to the difference in the lattice constants. In addition, good ohmic contact to metals cannot be produced on ZnSe having p-conducting doping.
The object of the present invention is to specify an optoelectronic component for radiation generation, in particular in the green and blue spectral region, which can be produced comparatively easily together with good functionality and a long service life. In particular, the intention is to overcome the difficulties which exist in the current prior art and have been partly described in the introduction.
In general terms, the present invention is an optoelectronic component on a substrate made of a material selected from the group of GaAs, InP, InGaAs, Si, Ge, GaP and ZnSe. An active layer is provided for radiation generation in which the active layer is formed a by a sequence of layers of alternating composition as a potential well (quantum well) with a superlattice. In this sequence of layers, a layer made of a beryllium-containing chalcogenide and a layer made of a II-VI semiconductor material having a different composition respectively succeed one another. The active layer is arranged between layers which are doped for electrical conductivities with mutually opposite signs and which have contacts to provide electrical connections for these layers.
Advantageous developments of the invention are as follows.
The beryllium-containing chalcogenide is BeTe, BeS or BeSe or a solid-solution composition which contains Be and Te or Be and Se or Be and S.
The beryllium-containing chalcogenide is BeTe and the II-VI semiconductor material having a different composition is ZnSe or ZnCdSe.
The active layer is arranged between barrier layers made of beryllium-containing chalcogenide.
The present invention is also an optoelectronic component. A layer of BeZnCdSe or BeZnCdS, which is provided for radiation generation, is arranged between layers which are doped for electrical conductivities having mutually opposite signs and have contacts to provide electrical connections for these layers.
Advantageous developments of this embodiment of the present invention are as follows.
The BeZnCdSe or BeZnCdS contain at least 3 atomic percent of beryllium.
The present invention is also an optoelectronic component on a substrate made of a material selected from the group of GaAs, InP, InGaAs, Si, Ge, GaP and ZnSe. An active layer is provided for radiation generation and is arranged between barrier layers. At least one mantle layer is made of a beryllium-containing chalcogenide. The mantle layer comprises a sequence of layers which are alternately made of beryllium-containing chalcogenide and a further II-VI semiconductor material and which form a superlattice.
The mantle layer is arranged between the active layer and the substrate. A buffer layer made of a beryllium-containing chalcogenide is arranged between the mantle layer and the substrate. The sequence of layers in the mantle layer adjoining this buffer layer forms a superlattice, and, at a distance from the buffer layer, the thicknesses of the layers made of beryllium-containing chalcogenide decrease in one direction. The thicknesses of the layers made of the further II-VI semiconductor material increase in this direction.
The substrate is III-V semiconductor material or silicon. The mantle layer is applied as a buffer layer to this substrate.
The mantle layer is arranged between a layer of GaAs or a substrate of GaAs or Si and a layer of II-VI semiconductor material.
The present invention is also an optoelectronic component on a substrate made of III-V semiconductor material or silicon, having an active layer which is provided for radiation generation and is arranged between barrier layers. A buffer layer containing BeTe is applied to the substrate.
The active layer and the barrier layers are either II-VI semiconductor materials or III-V semiconductor materials.
There is provided, on both sides of the active layer, a mantle layer which contains a sequence of layers which are alternately a beryllium-containing chalcogenide and a II-VI semiconductor material differing therefrom. The mantle layers form Bragg reflectors which act vertically with respect to the layer planes.
The present invention is also an optoelectronic component on a substrate made of a material selected from the group of GaAs, InP, InGaAs, Si, Ge, GaP and ZnSe. An individual layer of BeTe is provided between the substrate and a layer provided for radiation generation.
The substrate has n-conductive doping.
In order to form light-emitting diodes or laser diodes, the component according to the invention uses a layer structure of II-VI semiconductor material incorporating at least one beryllium-containing chalcogenide, which is to be understood as meaning a beryllium chalcogenide or a solid-solution composition based on a beryllium chalcogenide. Preferred chalcogens are Te, Se and S. In the text below, therefore, xe2x80x9cberyllium-containing chalcogenidexe2x80x9d refers to any desired salt, in particular a salt containing S, Se or Te, which contains Be as a cation or Be and as many other cations such as, for example, Mg or Zn, as desired. Preferred embodiments provide, in particular, a combination with ZnSe and with a GaAs substrate. However, it is also possible to use other substrates such as, for example, InP, InGaAs, ZnSe, Si, Ge, GaP or the like. BeTe, BeSe, BeS and solid-solution compositions of these beryllium chalcogenides with semiconductor materials such as, for example, ZnSe, ZnS, ZnTe and MgSe appear to be suitable, in particular, for the active layer or layer structure, as well as for mantle layers, which are to be understood in the text below and in the claims as meaning buffer layers, (additional) barrier layers (confinement layers), (also passive) waveguide layers, lattice layers, covering layers and layer portions or combinations of such layers. In addition, in the text below, II-VI semiconductor material can always refer specifically to a (further) beryllium-containing chalcogenide. Different embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the Figures.

Opto-electronic component made from II-VI semiconductor material


Detecting fire and non-fire conditions includes receiving a plurality of frames of video information, determining an energy indicator for each of a subset of the plurality of frames, detecting a fire condition in response to the energy indicator for each of the subset of the plurality of frames forming a pattern as a function of time corresponding to a fire condition, and detecting a non-fire condition in response to the energy indicator for each of the subset of the plurality of frames forming a pattern as a function of time corresponding to a non-fire condition. Detecting fire and non-fire conditions may also include comparing energy indicators for each of the subset of the plurality of frames to a reference frame. The reference frame may correspond to a video frame taken when no fire is present, a video frame immediately preceding each of the subset of the plurality of frames, or a video frame immediately preceding a frame that is immediately preceding each of the subset of the plurality of frames.

1. Technical Field
This application relates to the field of automatic detection, isolation, verification and alarming, and more particularly to the field of detection, isolation, verification and alarming using video information.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventional (mostly ionization-based) fire- and smoke-detection systems currently installed in aboard aircraft often suffer from high rates of false alarms. Under current rules, once an alarm has been initiated (by the smoke detection system), the pilot is obligated to suppress the fire and divert the aircraft to the nearest emergency airfield. In case of extended range operations of large jetliners over polar regions, a diversion after a false alarm may itself be dangerous, as the nearest airfield may be in a remote, sparsely populated location, may lack amenities necessary to accommodate 500+ passengers, and may render the prospect of safe take-off questionable. Thus, it is desirable that the incidence of false alarms is minimized and that the crew is given a method to visually inspect the state of the compartment prior and after the suppression. This may allow avoiding unnecessary suppression in case of a false alarm. There has been expressed a need for such a method of additional verification.

Distinguishing between fire and non-fire conditions using cameras


A heart pump assembly includes an elongate catheter with a proximal portion and a distal portion, a rotor at the distal portion of the elongate catheter, a driveshaft, and a bearing. The rotor can include an impeller blade shaped to induce fluid flow in a first axial direction. The drive shaft may be coupled to or integrally formed with a proximal end of the rotor and can include a pump element formed in a surface of the drive shaft. The bearing can include a bore into which the drive shaft extends. The pump element is shaped so as to induce fluid flow through the bore in a second axial direction which can be the same or opposite to the first axial direction.

Heart pumps, such as percutaneous intracardiac heart pump assemblies, can be introduced into the heart to deliver blood from the heart into an artery. When deployed in the heart, heart pump assemblies can pull blood from the left ventricle of the heart and expel blood into the aorta, or pull blood from the right ventricle and expel blood into the pulmonary artery. Heart pump assemblies can be introduced surgically or percutaneously during cardiac procedures. In one common approach, pump assemblies can be inserted by a catheterization procedure through the femoral artery.
A heart pump may include a rotor which rotates on a rotor shaft to draw blood through the pump. The rotor shaft may rotate within a bore of a bearing included in the heart pump. The space between the rotor shaft and the bore of the bearing can define a rotor-bearing cavity. As the rotation of the rotor pulls blood toward or away from the pump (depending on whether the pump is designed for use in the left or right side of the patient's heart), blood may enter the pump through the rotor-bearing cavity, potentially stopping the pump.
To prevent blood ingress into the pump, purge fluid may be flowed into the pump from an external source through a purge line. A continuous flow of hemocompatible fluid may be pumped through the pump and through the rotor-bearing cavity to prevent blood from entering the pump at the rotor-bearing cavity. Commercially available purge systems require a dedicated external pump to pressurize and deliver the hemocompatible fluid to the rotor-bearing cavity. The external pump controlling the purge fluid flow may be bulky for a healthcare setting where space is limited (e.g., an operating room or catheterization lab). Furthermore, operation of an external purge pump in addition to the controller for the heart pump may be inconvenient or unintuitive for health care professionals. External purge pumps are large and inconvenient for ambulation/portable use.


A semiconductor memory device includes memory units, each of which includes first and second select transistors and memory cells connected in series between the first and second select transistors. A control circuit applies a first potential difference between a source and a drain of either the first or second select transistor in a first memory unit, thereby programming either the first or second select transistor. The control circuit applies a second potential difference between a source and a drain of either the first or second select transistor in a second memory unit connected in common to the same select gate line as that of the first memory unit, thereby inhibiting either the first or second select transistor from being programmed.

A NAND flash memory where memory cells are arranged three-dimensionally has been known. In such a stacked NAND flash memory, a memory film (charge storage film) similar to that of a memory cell part is formed in a select transistor part to reduce the process cost. Although it is desirable to use the same polycrystalline semiconductor layer as that of the memory cell part as a channel material, there is concern that the threshold voltage of a select transistor supposed to be constant is liable to vary under the influence of polycrystalline grains or grain-boundary levels.
In the case of a planar NAND flash memory where memory cells are arranged two-dimensionally, a single crystal semiconductor substrate is generally used as a channel material and a variation in the threshold voltage caused by the channel film quality is small. The threshold voltage can be adjusted by ion-injecting impurities into the channel part. However, in the case of a stacked memory, not only is the channel material a polycrystalline film, but also the channel film is thin. Therefore, the threshold voltage is difficult to adjust by injecting impurities for a similar reason that the threshold is generally difficult to adjust in an ultrathin-film SOI device.

Semiconductor memory device having programmable select transistors within memory units


An automobile traction control system includes a traction control unit for calculating a slip amount as the difference between a drive-wheel speed and a target drive-wheel speed, an engine control unit cooperating with a fuel-supply system for decreasingly compensating the engine power by the fuel-out control action in response to the slip amount, and a temperature sensor for detecting an internal combustion engine temperature. The traction control unit is responsive to the internal combustion engine temperature for properly setting the target drive-wheel speed or for properly setting control gains of the engine control system so that the engine speed is maintained above a minimum internal combustion engine revolution speed at which engine stall is prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a traction control system for automotive vehicles, and specifically to a system which is capable of adjusting a driving force (a driving torque) delivered to each of drive road wheels by engine-power adjustment such as temporarily stopping fuel supply to the engine or decreasing the fuel-supply amount to the engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In case that the friction coefficient of the road surface is lower than a value that the driver imagines when accelerating, drive wheels tend to slip unintendedly, and thus adequate acceleration performance and high driving stability cannot be obtained. To avoid this, in modern vehicles a traction control system is often provided to properly adjust traction acting between the tire installed on the drive wheel and the road surface, depending on the fiction coefficient .mu. of the road surface. In order to suppress undesired slip (often called acceleration slip) of drive wheels, recently there have been proposed and developed various traction control systems. As is generally known, there are several controlled objects (or several controlled variables) with regard to which a traction control can be performed. In one, a braking-force adjustment type traction control system uses a wheel-brake cylinder pressure controlling actuator through which a driving force applied to drive wheels is properly reduced by actively or forcibly increasing the wheel-brake cylinder pressure. Such a braking-force adjustment type traction control system is superior in terms of a responsiveness of the driving-force control. However the braking-force adjustment type traction control system is inferior to others, in terms of the durability of brake parts i.e., friction elements such as brake pads, brake shoes or the like, because the wheel-brake cylinder is actuated every occurrences of so-called acceleration-slip. In another, a throttle-control type traction control system uses a throttle-opening control actuator through which the throttle opening of the throttle valve provided in the induction system is properly adjusted to decreasingly compensate the output power of the engine directly. However, in such a throttle-control type traction control system, even if the throttle is fully closed, a braking force (called a back torque) applied to the drive wheels due to engine braking can be increasingly adjusted only to a level equivalent to the engine idle speed, and thus the driving force applied to the drive wheels cannot be satisfactorily and rapidly reduced. Therefore such a throttle-control type traction control system is inferior to others from the viewpoint of a responsiveness of the traction control. In more later models with an engine which is designed to electronically control combustion (burning condition of air-fuel mixture in the engine cylinder), fuel-supply itself would be properly controlled so that the fuel-supply is temporarily stopped or decreased in designated cylinders of all engine cylinders to provide a sufficient back torque rapidly. Such a traction control system will be hereinbelow referred to as a "fuel-supply control type traction control system". For instance, in case of an engine which has a plurality of cylinders and in which the injections to the respective engine cylinders are electronically controlled or timed independently of each other, a calculated slip ratio is firstly derived from a target drive-wheel speed as the difference between the actual drive-wheel speed and the target drive-wheel speed, and the number of so-called fuel-cut cylinders is determined depending on the calculated slip ratio (corresponding to the desired decrement in driving force to be applied to the drive wheels) and simultaneously the cylinder number of at least one particular engine cylinder that be subjected to fuel-cut control action is determined. In this manner, the fuel-supply to the particular engine cylinders is stopped or cut temporarily to produce an adequate back torque timely and consequently to rapidly suppress or prevent acceleration-slip at the drive wheels. In such a fuel-supply control type traction control system, the previously-noted target drive-wheel speed is generally set at a value equivalent to a driven-wheel speed during constant-speed driving at a speed higher than a predetermined value, and set at or fixed at a preset value when the vehicle speed is lower than the predetermined value, for example when the vehicle begins to run. In vehicles with the previously-noted fuel-supply control type traction control system, in the event that the target drive-wheel speed is adjusted toward the driven-wheel speed (corresponding to a front-wheel speed in case of rear-wheel-drive vehicles) during the constant-speed driving at a speed above the predetermined value and as a result the drive-wheel speed becomes identical to the driven-wheel speed by way of forcible fuel-cut control action or decreasing control action in fuel-supply, there is no risk of stalling the engine, because the engine runs at comparatively high engine revolution speeds with great rotational inertia of rotating parts of the vehicle. On the other hand, in the event that the target drive-wheel speed is fixed at a preset value when the vehicle starts to run, the smaller the preset value, the greater the slip amount (or the slip velocity) calculated as the difference between the actual drive-wheel speed and the target drive-wheel speed, thus increasing the number of fuel-cut engine cylinders and consequently increasing an estimated value of the so-called back torque. When starting, a comparatively small preset value of the target drive-wheel speed is effective to rapidly and adequately suppress or prevent acceleration-slip at the drive wheels. But, if the preset value of the target drive-wheel speed is set at or fixed at an excessively small value, when the drive-wheel speed is adjusted toward and reaches the excessively small preset value with a high response, there is a possibility of engine-stall, since the engine revolution speed may drop down to a value remarkably less than the engine idle speed. Therefore, the previously-discussed preset value (the fixed value) of the target drive-wheel speed is conventionally set at a predetermined value above an idle speed at which the engine is warm and the engine runs without load with the accelerator pedal released. During the warm-engine idling, the operating temperature of the engine has been maintained within a steady state and the temperature of engine coolant has risen adequately. In contrast, when the engine is cold and the engine runs without load with the accelerator pedal released, the viscosity coefficient of lubricant (i.e., engine oil supplied to moving engine parts) is high and thus there is a great friction loss (power loss from friction) owing to a high viscous resistance. During such cold-engine idling in which the engine does not yet reach the operating temperature, it is necessary to adjust the idle speed toward a greater value to avoid undesired engine stall. The above-mentioned vehicle with an engine which is designed to electronically control a combusting condition of each of the engine cylinders, of course maintains the idle speed at a desired value by properly adjusting an opening of the idle valve or an amount of fuel fed through the injection system depending on the coolant temperature and thus by properly decreasing the air-fuel ratio so as to compensate the air-fuel mixture richer. As set out above, in conventional engines with an electronic combustion control system, the engine idle speed is usually preselected as a minimum engine revolution speed (or a minimum internal-combustion-engine revolution speed), based on the coolant temperature. Thus, in the case that the conventional fuel-supply control type traction control system comes into operation owing to wheel-slip which may take place at the drive wheels when starting with the cold engine, the drive-wheel speed is firstly adjusted toward the target drive-wheel speed (i.e., the preset value fixed at a specified value equal to or somewhat greater than the warm-engine idle speed) of the target drive-wheel speed. During the instantaneous adjustment of the drive-wheel speed, the engine speed tends to become less than the minimum engine revolution speed, since the warm-engine idle speed is less than the desired idle speed which is determined on the basis of the engine coolant temperature during cold-engine idling, and therefore there is a possibility of engine-stall when starting with the cold engine. To avoid engine-stall when starting with the cold engine, in the electronically-controlled internal combustion engine with the fuel-supply control type traction control system, in the event that the engine speed becomes less than the minimum engine revolution speed based on the coolant temperature, the engine control system operates to cancel the fuel-cut requirement to rapidly recover combustion in the respective engine cylinders. Rapid recovery from the fuel-cut state to the combusting state produces a rapid rise in the drive-wheel speed, and as a result the traction control system may often decide to initiate the fuel-cut control action irrespective of decrease in the slip ratio of the drive wheels. Thereafter, the engine control system itself may often operate to cancel again the fuel-cut requirement for the purpose of recovering to the combusting state. In this manner, when the fuel-cut control action and the recovery to the combusting state (the fuel-delivery to all of the engine cylinders through the injectors) are repeatedly executed owing to positive and negative fluctuations in the drive-wheel speed with respect to a desired value (the target drive-wheel speed fixed at the specified value), it is not easy to converge the drive-wheel speed on the desired value. Such undesirable hunting (fluctuations or oscillation in the drive-wheel speed) may result in unstable behavior of the vehicle particularly during traction control when starting with the cold engine.

Traction control system for automotive vehicles


An installation tool for inserting a helical threaded insert into a tapped hole includes a driving mechanism, a series of mandrels and a series of head tubes. When a user wants to rebuild a broken tapped hole, the user can choose one mandrel and a related head tube with suitable size for rebuilding the broken tapped hole. Furthermore, a special threaded hole is defined in the head tube to reduce the size of the helical threaded insert for matching the broken tapped hole so that the user can rebuild the tapped hole easily.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an installation tool for inserting a helical threaded insert into a tapped hole, and more particularly to an installation tool adapted for helical threaded inserts with different sizes.
2. Description of Related Art
To reinforce the tenacity of a tapped hole, an operator usually inserts a helical threaded insert into the tapped hole. When the tapped hole is made from a relatively softer material such as plastic, wood, or the like, the helical threaded insert is employed and inserted into the tapped hole for avoiding the damage of the tapped hole. Furthermore, most of the tapped holes are often damaged after being screwed over and over again. Thus, the operator usually uses a tapping machine to rebuild the thread structure of the tapped hole. However, the diameter of the rebuilt tapped hole will become too large to fasten a screw. In order to solve this problem, the helical threaded insert is used to be inserted into the rebuilt tapped hole for maintaining a proper size corresponding to the screw.
A conventional threaded insert installation tool includes a tubular body member and a mandrel assembly. The mandrel assembly has a cylindrical rod therein. A handle is connected to the rear end of the mandrel assembly and a recess is formed on the front end of the cylindrical rod. The cylindrical rod can grasp the helical threaded insert with the recess. To rebuild a broken tapped hole, an operator may use a power drill to break the thread structure of the broken tapped hole for enlarging the tapped hole at first. Next, the operator holds the tubular body member with one hand and rotates the handle to push mandrel assembly forward with the other hand so as to force the helical threaded insert into the tapped hole. However, the helical threaded insert cannot match all sizes of the tapped hole.
To solve the aforementioned problem, another conventional threaded insert installation tool is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2009/0158568. The installation tool has a driving mechanism, a series size of head tubes and the mandrels corresponding to a series of threaded inserts. Since the head tubes and the mandrels share the same driving member, the installation tool can be made by fewer components. However, it's inconvenient to insert the helical threaded insert(s) into the tapped hole because the diameter of the helical threaded insert is usually larger than the diameter of the tapped hole. Thus, the operator must keep rotating the tool and screwing the helical threaded insert until the helical threaded insert is completely fed into the tapped hole.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional. Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.

Tool for installation of helical threaded insert


An internal support system for a hollow plastic post comprising a rigid column on to which the post can be sleeved, a member secured to the lower end of the column for securing same upright, and at least one support bracket attachable to the column at a selected point and configured to be received into the lower end of the post to provide internal support for a post sleeved on the column and over the bracket.

Plastic posts are conveniently formed or molded as longitudinal hollow plastic members which are supported in some manner in an upright postion. To provide the ornamental or decorative effect they may combine sections along their lengths or height that vary in cross sectional configuration.
For example, a hollow plastic post in wide spread usage and known as a Colonial Post has upper and lower sections which are of square cross section while sections in between have a somewhat vase-like or barrel shape with the junctures between the sections presenting raised ring ribs.
To provide support for such ornamental hollow posts conventionally they are filled with concrete and anchored in some manner to the underlying support surface.
With such conventionally concrete filled posts, the filling of the posts with concrete is awkward and there is the undesirable weight of a column of concrete. After the post being filled, the concrete cannot be removed without destroying the post so that it is not practical to move the post to a different location. Moreover, railings, studs and the like are not readily attachable to such concrete filled posts.
It is the object of this invention to provide a support system for such hollow plastic posts which enables them to be easily and quickly erected or dismantled and which enables railings, studs or other members to be readily secured thereto by conventional fasteners.


Method of diagnosing the state of signal-forming chains of a detector including an array of detection bolometers, each chain comprising a bolometer, a circuit of stimulation, and a circuit forming a signal according to said stimulation, including forming an image of a substantially uniform scene on the array; applying at least first and second stimulations to the chains; reading the formed signals; and for each chain in a predetermined set, defining a neighborhood of chains; calculating coefficients of a polynomial interpolating the values of signals formed by said chain; calculating, for each chain of the neighborhood, coefficients of a polynomial interpolating the values of signals formed by said neighborhood chain; calculating an average and standard deviation of said coefficients of the neighborhood chains or of the set of neighborhood chains and said chain; and diagnosing if said chain is defective using the coefficients and the calculated average and standard deviation.

In the field of so-called "thermal" infrared detectors, it is known to use one-dimensional or two-dimensional arrays of elements sensitive to infrared radiation, capable of operating at ambient temperature.
A thermal infrared detector conventionally uses the variation of a physical quantity of a so-called "thermometric" or "bolometric" material, according to its temperature. Most currently, this physical quantity is the electric resistivity of said material, which is highly temperature-dependent. The unit sensitive elements of the detector, or "bolometers", are usually in the form of membranes, each comprising a layer of thermometric material, and suspended above a substrate, generally made of silicon, via support arms having a high thermal resistance, the array of suspended membranes being usually called "retina".
Such membranes especially implement a function of incident radiation absorption, a function of conversion of the power of the absorbed radiation into thermal power, and a thermometric function of conversion of the generated thermal power into a variation of the resistivity of the thermometric material, such functions being implementable by one or a plurality of distinct elements.
Further, the support arms of the membranes are also conductive and connected to the thermometric layer thereof, and means for sequentially addressing and biasing the thermometric elements of the membranes and means for forming electric signals usable in video formats are usually formed in the substrate having the membranes suspended thereabove. The substrate and the integrated means are commonly called "read circuit".
The read circuit and the sensitive retina of a detector are usually integrated in a sealed package under very low pressure, provided with a window transparent to the radiation of interest, usually having a wavelength in the range from 8 to 14 micrometers. This range corresponds to the transparency window of the atmosphere and to the majority of the radiations originating from scenes in the vicinity of 300 K.
To obtain a thermal or pyrometric image via such a detector, the scene is focused through an adapted optical system onto the focal plane having the retina arranged thereon, and clocked electrical stimuli are applied via the read circuit to each of the bolometers, or to each row of such bolometers, to obtain a "video" electric signal forming the image or the measurement of the temperature reached by each of said elementary detectors. The signal may be more or less elaborately shaped, directly by the read circuit, and then transmitted in analog or digital form to an electronic system external to the package. This electronic system typically applies various corrections to each video frame delivered by the detector, in particular a correction of spatial offset and gain dispersions (called "NUC" for "Non Uniformity Corrections"), to generate a thermal or pyrometric image capable of being displayed, or more generally for the use of the signals thus formed from the observed scene.
The average temperature of the sensitive membranes is essentially imposed by the substrate temperature which, in the absence of stabilization, varies due, in particular, to changes in environmental conditions, which are essentially reflected by thermal conduction through the integrated system elements. Such temperature variations induce a drift in the average signal at the output of the bolometers. Bolometric detectors may be equipped with a module for stabilizing the substrate temperature, usually a Peltier-effect module (TEC, for "Thermo Electric Cooler") to avoid such signal drifts. Such stabilizing means however make the component more complex and expensive and imply an electric power consumption which is all the higher as the ambient temperature is distant from the selected stabilization temperature.
As a variation, the detector comprises no temperature stabilization module, and an element for compensating the focal plane temperature (TPF) is provided in the electronic signal forming circuit in relation with the temperature of the bolometers, said compensation element being itself bolometric, that is, having its electric behavior following the substrate temperature, but remaining essentially insensitive to radiation. This result is for example obtained by means of bolometric structures provided, by construction, with a lower thermal resistance towards the substrate, and/or by masking these structures behind a screen opaque to the thermal radiation to be detected. The use of such compensation elements further has the advantage of eliminating most of the so-called common-mode current originating from imaging or "active" bolometers.
FIG. 1 is an electric diagram of a bolometric detector 10 with no temperature regulation, or "TECless" detector of the state of the art, comprising a common-mode compensation structure, and FIG. 2 is an electric diagram of a circuit used to form a read signal of a bolometer of the compensated common-mode detector. Such a detector is for example described in document: "Uncooled amorphous silicon technology enhancement for 25 μm pixel pitch achievement"; E. Mottin et al, Infrared Technology and Application XXVIII, SPIE, vol. 4820E.
Detector 10 comprises a two-dimensional array 12 of unit bolometric detection elements 14, or "pixels", each comprising a sensitive resistive bolometer 16 in the form of a membrane suspended above a substrate, such as previously described, and having an electric resistance Rac. Each bolometer 16, also called "active" or "detection" bolometer, is connected at one of its terminals to a constant voltage VDET, especially the ground of detector 10, and at its other terminal to a MOSFET biasing transistor 18 operating in saturated state, for example, an NMOS transistor, setting voltage Vac across bolometer 16 by means of a gate control voltage GAC. Pixel 14 also comprises a selection switch 20, connected between MOS transistor 18 and a node A provided for each column of array 12, and driven by a control signal SELECT, enabling to select bolometer 16 for the reading thereof. Transistor 18 and switch 20 are usually formed in the substrate under the influence of the membrane of bolometer 16. Elements 16 and 18 form a so-called "detection" branch.
Detector 10 also comprises, at the foot of each column of array 12, a compensation structure 22, also usually called "skimming" structure. Structure 22 comprises a compensation bolometer 24, of electric resistance Rcm, made insensitive to the incident radiation originating from the scene to be observed.
Bolometer 24 is built by means of the same thermometric material as bolometer 16, but according to a structural configuration provided with a very low thermal resistance towards the substrate. This result can be easily achieved, for example, by means of a direct construction of the resistive elements of the bolometer in contact with the substrate, or by the simple absence of arms of a resistive bolometric structure, which is however suspended, or also by preserving a thermally-conductive material between the substrate and the bulk of the compensation bolometer. The electric resistance of bolometer 24 is thus essentially dictated by the substrate temperature, bolometer 24 then being said to be "thermalized" to the substrate.
Bolometer 24 is connected at one of its terminals to a constant voltage VSK, and compensation structure 22 further comprises a MOSFET bias transistor 26 operating in saturated state, having a biasing opposite to that of transistors 18 of detection pixels 14, for example, a PMOS transistor, setting voltage Vcm across bolometer 24 by means of a gate control voltage GCM and connected between the other terminal of compensation bolometer 24 and node A. Elements 24 and 26 form a so-called compensation terminal common to each column. While it is not necessary to adjust resistance Rcm of bolometer 24, by design, to a value close to that of bolometer 16, it is however necessary to adjust the current flowing therethrough to a value close to that which runs through the detection branch during the reading. This result is for example and typically obtained by means of a resistance lower than that of bolometer 16, and of a bias voltage Vcm smaller roughly by the same proportion.
Detector 10 also comprises, at the foot of each column of array 12, an integrator 28 of CTIA type ("Capacitive TransImpedance Amplifier"), for example comprising an operational amplifier 30 and a capacitor 32 connected between the inverting input and the output of amplifier 30. Its inverting terminal and its non-inverting terminal are further respectively connected to node A and to a constant voltage VBUS. Voltage VBUS thus forms a reference for the output signals, and is between VDET and VSK. A switch 34, driven by a signal Reset, is also provided in parallel with capacitor 32, for the discharge thereof. The outputs of CTIAs 28 are eventually, for example, connected to respective sample-and-hold circuits 36 for the delivery of voltages Vout of CTIAs in multiplexed mode by means of a multiplexer 38 to one or a plurality of series output amplifier(s) 40. It may also be integrated at the output of the digitizing means (analog-to-digital conversion: ADC). Finally, detector 10 comprises a synchronization and video processing unit 42 particularly controlling the different previously-described switches. In operation, array 12 is read from row by row, the whole of read rows thus forming an image frame, or "frame". To read from a row of array 12, switches 20 of the line of pixels 14 are turned on and switches 20 of the other lines are turned off.
After a phase of discharge of the CTIA capacitors at the foot of the columns, achieved by the turning-on of switches 34 followed by their turning-off, a circuit such as shown in FIG. 2 is thus obtained for each pixel of the row being read from. A current Iac flows through detection bolometer 16 of the pixel under the effect of its voltage biasing by MOSFET transistor 18, and a current Icm flows through compensation bolometer 24 of the compensation structure under the effect of its voltage biasing by MOSFET transistor 26. These currents are subtracted from each other at node A, and the resulting current difference is integrated by CTIA 28 during a predetermined integration period Tint. Output voltage Vout of CTIA 28 thus is a measurement of the variation of the resistance of detection bolometer 16 caused by the incident radiation to be detected since the non-useful part of current Iac is at least partly compensated for by current Icm specifically generated to reproduce this non-useful part.
Further, as previously described, since detection bolometers 16 are not strictly identical, voltages Vout exhibit a dispersion of their values in front of a uniform scene, or "offset dispersion". Similarly, a dispersion of the detector responsiveness, or "gains dispersions", that is, a dispersion of the variations of voltages Vout in front of a uniform variation of a uniform scene, can be observed. Such dispersions adversely affecting the quality of the images generated by the detector, voltages Vout are usually corrected by unit 42 by at least the offset dispersion. The correction of the offset dispersion only is usually designated as a "1-point" correction, while the correction combining both the offset dispersion and the gain dispersion is currently called "2-point" correction.
In the following, expression "raw signal" designates a non-corrected signal, and particularly designates signals upstream of unit 42. In particular, this expression indifferently designates analog signals, for example, voltages Vout at the output of the CTIAs, or digital signals, for example, digital values of voltages Vout if the "1-point" or "2-point" correction is implemented digitally, the analog or digital form of the raw signals being easily understood from the context in which the expression is used. Expression "raw image" or "raw frame" thus designates all the raw signals originating from a reading from array 12.
Similarly, expression "corrected signal" designates a signal having undergone a correction aiming at eliminating or compensating for the signal dispersion, for example, a "1-point" or "2-point" correction, and expression "corrected image" or "corrected frame" thus designates an image or frame corrected from the raw values by the "1-point" or "2-point" correction.
A defective pixel is a unit detection element having its corresponding signal, for example, voltage Vout in the above-described detector example, considered as non usable to form an image element representative of the observed scene. For example, a defective pixel produces a signal which is saturated on one side or the other of the output dynamic range of the signal-forming chain and this, whatever the observed scene.
More generally, a defective pixel is a pixel which may generate, after the application of a "1-point" or "2-point" correction, a signal having an abnormal deviating to its neighbors, which cannot be imputed to the observed scene and is visible on an image or on a video sequence in given environmental conditions. This deviating may originate from various physical causes which induce a marked deviation of the intrinsic electric and/or optical behavior of the defective pixel with respect to its neighboring pixels, considered as "normal". "Normal" behavior of a pixel means a pixel behavior close to that of the set of pixels of the retina or of the set of signal-forming chains, so that a "1-point" or "2-point" correction shows no deviating of the corrected signal originating from the pixel in standard operating conditions.
The following table lists known recurrent defects associated with bolometric retinas as well as the physical causes thereof. Notation CL (for continuous level) here refers to the value of the raw signal originating from a pixel when the retina is exposed to a substantially temperature-uniform scene.
Physical cause of the defectEffect/Defect observed on the CLpixelShorted pixelCL at the dynamic range limitOpen-circuit pixelCL at the dynamic range limitAbnormal deviating of theAbnormal CL deviating for a strongresponsiveness of the pixel signal-incident flowforming chainAbnormal deviating of theAbnormal CL deviating whatever thebolometer resistanceincident flowAbnormal noise deviatingFluctuating CL for a constant flowPixel coming after (in read mode) aFluctuating CL whatever the incidentpixel which is shorted or in openflow and abnormal CL deviatingcircuit. This pixel is located on thewhatever the incident flowsame row or on the same columnto within a few indexes (i, j) andhas its signal processing chaintemporally affected by an abnormalstate of the previous signal.Electronic defect on the pixelFluctuating CL whatever the incidentsignal-forming chain (for example,flow and CL deviating independentdefect of the bias transistor or offrom the flow or from the bolometerthe CTIA)
To know the existence of possible defective pixels, operability tests are usually carried out in factory, that is, before the detector is put into service, by performing various measurements and analyses aiming at establishing the compliance of the measurements of each of the pixels with respect to a predetermined functional compliance window. The concerned measurements generally comprise extracting, at the level of each of the pixels, especially the following functional parameters:                continuous level CL;        responsiveness Resp, that is, the signal variation originating from the pixel with respect to a uniform variation of the uniform scene to which the retina is exposed; and        the temporal noise of the signal originating from the pixel.
Operability tests thus enable to establish a list of defective pixels, or "operability table", that is, a series of row and column coordinates defining the location of said pixels in the pixel array. The operability table is then stored in unit 42 and exploited by said unit on use of the detector to correct the points of the images corresponding to the defective pixels, for example, the replacing of the signal of these pixels by an average of the signals provided by the neighboring pixels.
However, an operability table is the image of the detector defects at a specific time only, and for specific environmental conditions, particularly of temperature and illumination, and for specific operating conditions, particularly biasing conditions. First, a pixel may be defective for the specific environmental and operating conditions implemented for the operability test and be however considered non defective for other environmental and operating conditions. Thus, a modification of the environmental and operating conditions is capable of inducing on certain pixels initially considered compliant, modifications of their output signal considered as non-compliant in the new environmental and operating conditions, thereby making the operability table irrelevant for these pixels. To overcome such a problem, operability tables should thus be determined for multiple environmental and operating conditions. In addition to the cost and the duration necessary to obtain a multiplicity of tables, it is not possible to reproduce during initial factory operability tests all the conditions that a detector can encounter during its use, so that the issue of the validity of embarked tables regarding the conditions encountered by the detector would arise even so.
Further, for specific environmental and operating conditions, the behavior of certain pixel may unexpectedly substantially drift, and certain pixels may even totally lose their functionality. The operability table may thus prove being irrelevant once the detector is in service. The operability table should thus be regularly updated to take this phenomenon into account. Now, the above-described measurements usually require using complex and expensive optical devices, particularly using reference "black bodies" for different temperatures. Similarly, the bolometer resistance is not directly measurable from the output signals of the signal-forming chains due to the fact that a compensation is generally provided to reject the common mode in the forming of these signals to only measure small signal variations due to the resistance variations induced by the incident flow of the observed scene.
The determination of the bolometer resistances thus requires specific procedure and equipment. Since only the constructor generally has this type of equipment, the updating of the operability table accordingly requires returning the detector to the factory to implement a new operability test.

Diagnosis of the defective state of a bolometric detection array


A printing apparatus is provided that, in a case where copy numbers are printed on the single-sheet document and the sheets are then discharged, prevents the copy numbers from going out of order while preventing the time it takes to complete printing from being extended. A method for controlling such a printing apparatus includes performing control such that, in a case where processing of printing an image on a single sheet per copy is carried out for a plurality of copies, the sheet on which the image is printed is discharged in a face-up state or in a face-down state depending on printing of the copy number.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to printing and, more particularly, to printing apparatuses, methods for controlling printing apparatuses, and storage media.
2. Description of the Related Art
There exists a printing apparatus that prints an image on a sheet, reverses the sheet on which the image has been printed through a reversing path, and discharges the sheet to a paper discharge unit in a face-down state (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-235857).
In this case, since the printing apparatus reverses and then discharges a sheet, the printing apparatus can discharge sheets in the correct order according to the page number even when the printing apparatus prints an image starting from the first page. Therefore, the printing apparatus can start printing even when the image data of the entire pages has not been stored, and thus the time it takes to complete printing can be reduced.
In addition, with the printing apparatus discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-235857, as long as the printing apparatus executes a job of printing an image on a single sheet per copy, the pages do not go out of order even when the printing apparatus discharges sheets in a face-up state, and thus the printing apparatus can discharge the sheet on which an image has been printed without reversing the sheet. Therefore, in a case where the printing apparatus prints an image on a single sheet per copy, the time it takes to complete printing can be reduced by an amount of time it takes to reverse a sheet.
In the conventional technique, however, even in a case where an image is printed on a single sheet per copy, if a plurality of copies is to be printed and copy numbers are to be printed on the sheets of the respective copies, the sheets that are discharged in a face-up state are not arranged in the correct order according to the copy numbers.
In this case, for example, a sheet bundle illustrated in FIG. 7A is discharged. In FIG. 7A, copy number 1 is printed on a first sheet discharged in a face-up state; copy number 2 is printed on a second sheet discharged in a face-up state placed over the first sheet; and copy number 3 is printed on a third sheet discharged in a face-up state.
A user then needs to exchange the first sheet and the third sheet in order to arrange the printed material in the order of the copy numbers starting from 1.

Printing apparatus, method, and storage medium for controlling discharge orientation