The present invention relates to a control circuit for controlling the driving stability of a vehicle where the input quantities determining the course of track are input in a vehicle model circuit which determines at least on nominal value for a control quantity subject to parameters memorised in the vehicle reference model on the basis of a vehicle reference model reproducing the characteristics of the vehicle.

The present invention generally relates to vehicle stability control, and more particularly relates to a control circuit for controlling the driving stability of a vehicle in which the input quantities defining the course of the vehicle are input to a vehicle model circuit.
The control circuits control the steering behavior of the vehicle, if the vehicle""s path does not correspond to the path intended by the driver.
Especially in case of external influences, e.g. different adhesion on wet, icy or dry road sections, side wind and reactions to load alternations, an additional torque is necessary so that the way actually covered by the vehicle corresponds to the way intended by the driver.
Input quantities resulting from the path intended by the driver, e.g. steering wheel angles or speed, are transmitted to a vehicle model circuit which on the basis of said input quantities and parameters typical for the driving behavior of the vehicle, but also on the basis of the characteristics of the environment (coefficient of friction of the road surface and similar) defines a nominal yaw rate being compared with the actually measured yaw rate. The difference between the yaw rates is converted into a yaw torque by means of a so-called yaw torque controller, the yaw torque representing the input quantity of the control circuit.
The control circuit, on the other hand, defines the brake pressure to be applied on the single wheel brakes, if necessary subject to the driver""s request to apply a certain brake pressure on the wheel brakes. In addition to the desired braking effect, the brake pressure should create an additional torque on the vehicle supporting the driving behavior of the vehicle in the direction in which the driver intends to steer the vehicle. From this results that the quality of controlling the yaw rate of the vehicle is substantially defined by the quality of the vehicle model circuit which predefines the desired yaw rate on the basis of the input data of the driver.
Different vehicle models can be used in the control circuit which simulate the driving behavior of the vehicle by way of calculation, the different vehicle models being based on simplified assumptions concerning the driving behavior of a vehicle.
A known vehicle model is the so-called linear dynamic single-track model. In this model the driving characteristics of a vehicle are reduced, by way of calculation, to one vehicle model in which the front and rear wheels each are combined in pairs to one wheel being positioned on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle.
The following system equations are valid for a single-track model in a condition representation:                               β          .                =                                            c              11                                                  β              v                                -                      ψ            .                    +                                    c              12                                                                  ψ                .                                            v                2                                              +                                    c              13                                                  δ              v                                                          (        1        )                                          ψ          ..                =                                            c              21                                    β                    +                                    c              22                                                                  ψ                .                            v                                +                                    c              23                                    δ                                              (        2        )
xcex2 defining a slip angle, {dot over ("psgr")} the yaw rate and xcex4 the steering angle.
The model coefficients Cii are included in the system equations and formed as follows:                               c          11                =                                            -                                                                    c                    h                                    +                                      c                    v                                                  m                                                                xe2x80x83                                                  c              12                                =                                                                                c                      h                                                                                l                      h                                                        -                                                            c                      v                                                                                l                      v                                                                      m                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          c                13                                      =                                          c                v                            m                                                          (        3        )                                          c          21                =                                                                                c                    h                                                                          l                    h                                                  -                                                      c                    v                                                                          l                    v                                                              Θ                                                  xe2x80x83                                                  c              22                                =                                                                                c                      h                                                                                l                                              h                        2                                                                              +                                                            c                      v                                                                                l                                              v                        2                                                                                Θ                                                          xe2x80x83                                                          c                23                                      =                                                            c                  v                                                                  l                  v                                            Θ                                                          (        4        )
Ch and cv represent the resulting stiffness determined by the control circuit for controlling the driving stability of the vehicle in consideration of the wheel suspension and steering elasticity on the rear resp. front axle. The values lh and lv represent the distances of rear and front axle from the vehicle""s gravity centre. "THgr" is the yaw moment of inertia of the vehicle, i.e. the moment of inertia of the vehicle around its vertical axis.
The standard parameters for the memorized single-track model which form the basis of the model coefficient cii, are obtained by measurements outside the vehicle on the basis of an off-line parameter identification. The measured controller and sensor quantities of the driving stability control are used for identification. Four speed sensors, one for each wheel, a yaw acceleration meter, a transverse acceleration meter and at least one pressure sensor for the brake pressure generated by the brake pedal are provided on the vehicle in order to detect the vehicle dynamics. The parameters are determined by means of one or more model vehicles, and the xe2x80x9cstandard parameter setxe2x80x9d is memorized in the vehicle model circuit.
During travel, vehicles with standard parameter sets memorized in the vehicle model present erroneous control activation by means of the driving stability control, if the condition quantities on which the model coefficients are based during off-line parameter identification, differ from the actual condition quantities being defined by the individual configuration or equipment of the vehicle. The deviations may range from a mere comfort problem to an impairment of the driving behavior of the vehicle. There is an erroneous control activation by the driving stability control if the individual configuration of the vehicle leads to deviations of the standard parameters memorized in the dynamic single-track model or if the parameters on which the vehicle is based due to its individual configuration are lying outside the control threshold of the standard parameters.
One known solution to the problem is to expand control thresholds in critical areas of the vehicle stability. This leads to functionality and performance losses due to an unnecessary threshold expansion in vehicles with an individual configuration or equipment which is detected by the standard parameters defined in the single-track model and does not prevent reliably the erroneous control activation if there are extreme deviations with regard to the configuration or equipment of a single vehicle.
It is the object of the present invention to provide for a generic control circuit preventing the erroneous control activation. This object is achieved according to the present invention by that at least one of the parameters is varied subject to at least one separately defined measuring quantity.
The invention includes a generic control circuit that is used in such a way that the vehicle model is adapted during operation by the identification of the standard parameters specific to the every single vehicle by means of input quantities which are made available by the vehicle""s sensor system. Basis of the invention is the finding, that the individual vehicle due to different configuration or equipment variants, as e.g. tire type (winter tires, summer tires, all-weather-tires), tire size (15xe2x80x3/16xe2x80x3/17xe2x80x3), condition, especially the lateral tire stiffness, changes of the chassis, production tolerances or loading, differs or deviates considerably from a model vehicle or model vehicles which are used for determining the standard parameter set memorized in the single-track model.
One advantageous embodiment of the control circuit is characterized by that a vehicle identification means is foreseen, the output signals of which are transmitted to the vehicle reference model and that the output signals in consideration of individual condition quantities of the vehicle adapt the standard parameters memorized in the vehicle reference model or substitute them by newly built standard parameters.
A further improvement of the control circuit is achieved wherein the vehicle identification means is provided with an identification plausibility means for switching an identification module into active or passive mode subject to the individual input quantities.
Furthermore it is useful to configure the control circuit in such a way that the yaw speed and/or the steering angle and/or the steering angle speed and/or the transverse acceleration and/or the longitudinal acceleration and/or the slip angle speed and/or the wheel speed are the quantities being input.
One advantageous embodiment of the control circuit is characterized by that the deviations are defined by individual input quantities and deviations of the standard parameters or actual standard parameters are generated by means of an identification algorithm.
A further improvement of the control circuit is achieved wherein a computing unit the deviations of the single input quantities are converted into parameter deviations of the standard parameters or actual standard parameters.
It is also useful to configure the control circuit in such a way that the identification plausibility means for informs the identification module as to whether the individual input quantities are lying in a predetermined tolerance range.
One advantageous embodiment of the control circuit is characterized by that the parameter deviations of the standard parameters or the actual parameters are defined within predetermined limit value ranges.
A further improvement of the control circuit is achieved by that the parameter deviations of the standard parameters or the actual standard parameters are learned by algorithms for the parameter identification.
Furthermore it is useful to configure the control circuit in such a way that parameter deviations of the standard parameters or actual standard parameters a learned according to a Least Square Procedure (LS;) and/or a Generalized Least Square Procedure (GLS) and/or an Instrumental Variable Procedure (IV) and/or a Maximum Likelihood Procedure (ML) and/or an Output Error Procedure.
One advantageous embodiment of the control circuit is characterized by that the vehicle reference model is the dynamic single-track model.
A further improvement of the control circuit is achieved by that at least one of the parameters corresponds to the lateral tire sniffiness of one or more wheels or depends on the lateral tire stiffness of one or more wheels.
Thus it is assured that a possibly big reference quantity is made available for controlling the vehicle in every driving situation with individually adapted parameters.
Empirical studies resulted in the following deviations of the standard parameters when several driving conditions were identified:
Since a vehicle identifying means is foreseen the output signals of which are transmitted to the vehicle reference model, and since the output signals adapt the standard parameters memorized in the vehicle reference model to the individual vehicle in consideration of the individual condition quantities of the vehicle or substitute them by newly built standard parameters, every vehicle is displayed online in the vehicle model according to its configuration or equipment. Erroneous control activations are reliably avoided since even in case of extreme tires the relative model coefficients cii are adapted. By learning the vehicle-specific standard parameters during given driving conditions and their actualization depending on time or on the driving condition or the driving behavior of the vehicle, not only the fixed configuration and/or equipment variants assigned to the vehicle, especially of the torque, are considered, but also the changes resulting from the vehicle motion, e.g. the tire temperature, are detected and considered. During travel, the vehicle parameters are adapted to the real individual vehicle behavior by means of the input quantities measured by the vehicle sensors.
In an advantageous embodiment the vehicle identification means includes an identification plausibility means which subject to the individual input quantities switches an identification module into active or passive mode. By the foreseen identification plausibility means for the parameters are identified only during a stable travel since only in this condition the identification module is switched to the active mode thus permitting to learn the standard parameters. It is reliably avoided that the identification module is activated during an unstable travel.
According to one embodiment, the stable travel is recognized by means of measured input quantities determined individually on each vehicle subject to the condition quantities. The input quantities are equal to the yaw speed and/or the steering angle and/or the transverse acceleration and/or the longitudinal acceleration and/or the slip angle acceleration and/or the wheel speeds. In addition to this, condition quantities of other control circuits or control systems, as e.g. anti-blocking systems (ABS) or traction slip control systems (TCS), are transmitted as input quantities to the identification plausibility means. The input quantities representing the actual condition of said control circuits or control systems also serve for recognizing the stable travel, which, evaluating the above mentioned input quantities, in the identification plausibility means for is stable, if no further control circuit is active. In a stable travel e.g. the input quantity of an individual vehicle meets the following conditions:
transverse acceleration (aquer) less than 0.3 g
longitudinal acceleration (along) less than 0.1 g
yaw speed ("psgr") less than 10xc2x0/s
steering speed (xcex2) less than 90xc2x0/s
and no other control circuits are active. On the above mentioned conditions, the identification module is switched to the active mode.
According to one preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the identification module or a comparison means which is part of the identification module or the distribution logic, the deviations of the individual input quantities are determined and parameter deviations of the standard parameters or actual standard parameters are generated by means of an identification algorithm. In a preferred embodiment the identification module therefore includes a computing unit converting the individual input quantities and/or their deviations into the parameter deviations of the standard parameters or the actual standard parameters. In this case the parameter deviations of the standard parameters or actual standard parameters are learned according to the Least Square Procedure (LS) and/or Generalized Least Square Procedure (GLS) and/or Instrumentable Variable Procedure (IV) and/or Maximum-Likelihood Procedure (ML) and/or Output Error Procedure (OE). A Least Square Procedure determines the standard parameters from the deviations of the individual input parameters by minimizing the error between the vehicle reference model and the vehicle. Minimizing the sum of squares of the model error is used here as quality criterion. A direct solution can be obtained by setting the first partial derivation to zero.
Parameters are made available to the identification module by the identification plausibility means for which help determine whether the individual input quantities or their deviations between the measured actual input quantities and the nominal input quantities calculated in the controller are lying within a predetermined tolerance range. If the individual input quantities lying in the predetermined tolerance range are derived, the parameters which can be correlated to individual quantities within predetermined limit value ranges are defined.
Further advantages, particularities and appropriate improvements of the present invention result from the dependent claims and the following representation of preferred embodiments of the invention on the basis of the drawings.

Regulating circuit for regulating the driving stability of a motor vehicle using a motor vehicle reference model


In a method for resolving ambiguity in the determination of antenna angle of view and Doppler frequency in synthetic aperture radar (SAR), by evaluating the dependence of the Doppler frequency on the transmitting frequency a skew of the two-dimensional Fourier power spectrum or the two-dimensional autocorrelation function of radar data is measured in that the radar data are subjected to a range Fourier transformation and for the individual range frequencies in a following Doppler centroid estimator a Doppler centroid determination is carried out in the azimuth direction.. By this method the pulse repetition frequency ambiguities are eliminated without any demands having to be made on the data acquisition or a high image contrast; this method can therefore be applied to any region of the raw data matrix. Moreover, no azimuth compression is necessary.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for resolving ambiguity in the determination of antenna angle of view and Doppler frequency in synthetic aperture radar.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is an active microwave imaging method. A radar transmitting-receiving means usually carried by an aircraft or a satellite coherently records the echoes of high-frequency pulses transmitted at the rate of the pulse repetition frequency (PRF). Usually, the antenna centre axis is aligned approximately perpendicularly to the flight path.
The radar echoes are coherently demodulated, digitized and stored as a complex valued matrix u(i, k), the dimension i standing for distance or "range" and k for flight direction or "azimuth". This socalled raw data can be converted with the aid of a two-dimensional correlation to a highly resolved image of the illuminated area, this also being referred to as "focussing" or "compressing".
In the distance or range direction the radar principle is employed, i.e. determination of the echo travelling time. In the azimuth direction a correlation is performed with a function having the phase history of the echoes of a point scatterer. This is a socalled chirp function, i.e. a function with linearly varying instantaneous frequency with the two-way azimuth antenna pattern as envelope curve. This chirp function can be adequately described by the parameters "FM rate" and "Doppler centroid". The Doppler centroid f.sub.DC is the instantaneous frequency at the maximum of the envelope curve. In the case of aircraft SAR and with an antenna centre axis aligned exactly perpendicular to the flight path the Doppler centroid f.sub.DC is equal to zero. If the centre axis however differs from said direction by a socalled squint angle .phi., then: ##EQU1## where v denotes the flight velocity and .lambda. the radar wavelength.
In the case of satellite-supported SAR the rotation of the earth additionally manifests itself in a squint angle between the antenna angle of view and the effective flight path projected onto the earth.
The parameter f.sub.DC is absolutely essential for constructing the azimuth correlation kernal for an image focussing. An erroneous Doppler centroid f.sub.DC leads to deterioration of the the resolution and the signal to noise ratio, to ghost images and to a geometrical distortion.
In the case of many SAR sensors the squint angle .phi. cannot be determined from the sensor attitude and position data accurately enough to satisfy the requirements of the Doppler centroid f.sub.DC accuracy. This applies in particular to high-frequency SARs, for example in the X band, and to relatively unstable sensor platforms, such as the Space Shuttle. In such cases the parameter f.sub.DC must be determined from the radar echoes themselves.
To determine the angle of view of the antenna the effect is utilized that the antenna pattern is found as the envelope of the azimuth power spectrum. As a result, all f.sub.DC estimators are based on the azimuth spectral analysis of the radar data. Since however due to the specific imaging behaviour the SAR signal is sampled in the azimuth direction with the pulse repetition frequency (PRF), a periodic repetition of the azimuth spectrum results. Such methods lead fundamentally to an ambiguity regarding the absolute position of the Doppler centroid f.sub.Dc, and this can be expressed as follows: EQU f.sub.DC =f.sub.DC +p.multidot.PRF (2)
where f.sub.DC is an estimated Doppler centroid in the base band [-PRF/2,+PRF/2], and p is an integer ambiguity number. For technical reasons the pulse repetition frequency (PRF) is usually chosen so low that the parameter f.sub.DC can in fact lie in various PRF bands.
Two methods are known for resolving Doppler frequency ambiguity. In the socalled multiple PRF technique as described by F. K. Li and W. T. K. Johnson in the article "Ambiguities in Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Systems", IEEE Trans. on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. AES-19(3), pages 389-397, 1983, at the start and end of the data acquisition the SAR sensor is operated with different pulse repetition frequencies. Depending on the absolute position of the Doppler centroid f.sub.DC this leads to different f.sub.DC values, from which the correct PRF band can be determined. Disadvantages of this method reside inter alia in that it must be operated already at the data acquisition. and that a wide range of pulse repetition frequencies must be implemented. Moreover, with this method the PRF ambiguity can only be resolved for raw data in which a multiple PRF sequence was activated.
A second method based solely on an analysis of the raw data is the socalled look correlation technique as described for example by A. P. Luscombe in the article "Auxiliary Data Networks for Satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar", in Marconi Review, Vol. XLV, No. 225, 1982, or also by F. G. Cumming, P. F. Kavanagh and M. R. Ito in an article "Resolving the Doppler Ambiguity for Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar" in the Proceedings of IGARSS'86, pages 1639-1643, Zurich, Ref. ESA SP-254, 1986. However, the accuracy of this method drops with the square of the radar frequency and said method is therefore not very suitable for high-frequency SARS. The computational load is considerable because full focussing of the data is necessary; moreover, this method fails with scenes of low image contrast.

Method for resolving ambiguity in the determination of antenna angle of view and Doppler frequency in synthetic aperture radar

Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft-und Raumfahrt


Disclosed are an information processing device, information processing method, and a distributed component. The information processing device according to one embodiment comprises one or more processors. The processor is configured to generate a distributed component aimed at a three dimensional printing task. The distributed component is used for controlling, independent of the information processing device, execution of the three dimensional printing task after establishing a connection with a user equipment, and comprises decryption information of three dimensional model data used for the three dimensional printing task. The processor is further configured to control the arrangement of the distributed component to the user equipment.

A three-dimensional (3D) printer is a machine of accumulated manufacture technology, i.e., rapid forming technology. Based on a digital model file and by using adhesive material such as special wax, and powdered metal or plastic, the three dimensional printer manufactures a three dimensional object by printing the adhesive material layer by layer.
Modeling is an important step of the 3D printing. A model may be designed with, for example, computer-aided design (CAD), or an electronic model prototype may be directly generated by scanning an existing object and then corrected with auxiliary design software.

Information processing device, information processing method, and distributed component


A multi-arm polyethylene glycol (I) having different kinds of reactive groups and the uses thereof are disclosed, which is formed by polymerizing ethylene oxide with oligo-pentaerythritol as an initiator, wherein, PEG is same or different and is —(CH2CH2O)m-, the average value of m is an integer of 2-250; l is an integer of 1 or more. The method for producing the multi-arm polyethylene glycol having different kinds of reactive groups, the multi-arm polyethylene glycol active derivatives comprising linking groups X attached to PEG and terminal reactive groups F attached to X, the gels formed by the multi-arm polyethylene glycol active derivatives, the drug conjugates formed by the multi-arm polyethylene glycol active derivatives and drug molecules, and the uses thereof in preparing drugs are also disclosed.

At present, the polyethylene glycol derivatives are widely used in combination with proteins, peptides, and other therapeutic agents to extend the physiological half-life of drugs referred to, reduce immunogenicity and toxicity. In clinical use, PEG and its derivatives which act as the carrier in the production of pharmaceutical preparations have been widely used in lots of medicines. The attempts to bond PEG to the drug molecules have also seen significantly development in the past decade, and widely used in many approved medicines such as PEGASYS® (peginterferon alfa-2a, which is a combination of α-interferon and polyethylene glycol with a longer circulation half-life and a better therapeutic effect. Metabolic processes of polyethylene glycol in the human body have been quite clear, which is a safe synthetic polymer material without side effects.
In terms of drug modification, the latest research direction is to connect a targeted molecule to the drug molecules through polyethylene glycol to enrich drug molecules near the focus, so as to achieve the best therapeutic effect. For example, anticancer medicine is connected to monoclonal antibodies. According to the recent research of our company, the combination of two different medicinal molecules through polyethylene glycol can maintain the aforementioned increase of physiological half-life and reduce immunogenicity and toxicity, while giving full play to the two molecules' synergies. Intermolecular synergy is very important in the Chinese medicine theory. When two or more different molecules are connected with polyethylene glycol, a PEG derivative with metachronous double functional groups is needed. Currently, our company could be able to produce a variety of PEG derivatives with metachronous double functional groups, such as MAL-PEG-NHS, acrylic acid-PEG-NHS, and HO-PEG-COOH. However, those PEG derivatives with metachronous double functional groups are straight-chain polyethylene glycol derivatives.
Straight-chain polyethylene glycol derivatives with metachronous double functional groups are limited to some extent in applications. The ratio of two molecules connected by the straight-chain ethylene glycol derivatives with metachronous double functional groups is basically 1:1. If one molecule is needed more than another one, for example, if one molecule has with low in vivo activity, more connections will be required for the low activity molecules than the high-activity molecules, which is a challenge to the straight-chain polyethylene glycol derivatives with metachronous double functional groups. At the same time, in terms of drug carrying, multi-arm polyethylene glycol is advantageous over the straight-chain polyethylene glycol. Straight-chain polyethylene glycol derivatives with metachronous double functional groups can only carry two molecules, while the multi-arm polyethylene glycol has several end groups, and thus has more than one drug connection points, and can carry several drug molecules. At present, multi-arm polyethylene glycol is widely used in the PEG-modification of peptides and small molecule drugs. However, the multi-arm PEG derivatives on the market only have the same active groups such as 4-arm polyethylene glycol succinate —NHS ester, (4arm-SS). The U.S. Pat. No. 6,046,305 shows a star-shaped polyethylene glycol derivative formed through polymerization reaction with only one active group. At the same time, one arm of this star-shaped polyethylene glycol derivative is connected with the other arms through the non-ether bond, such as the amide bond or ester bond. This connection is different in the way, and can reduce the stability of the derivatives.

Multi-arm polyethylene glycol derivatives, conjugates and gels of pharmaceuticals and the same

JENKEM TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. TIANJIN BRANCH


A method and system for utilizing a column function for a relational database in a structure query language (SQL) environment is disclosed. The column function is capable of performing an operation on an indeterminate number of entries. The relational database utilizes data including a plurality of entries capable of being organized into at least one column and at least one row. The method and system include allowing a user to specify the at least one row as an argument for a generalized scalar function and simulating a column environment for the at least one row using the generalized scalar function to allow the at least one row to be provided to the column function as though the at least one row was a column. The method and system also include performing the column function on the at least one row to provide at least one output.

Relational databases are utilized to archive, obtain access to and perform operations on data. Data in a relational database can be expressed in the form of a table having multiple entries. FIG. 1 depicts a conventional table 1 for a conventional relational database. The table 1 includes entries 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22. The entries 11 through 22 are arranged in rows and columns. The table 1 has four columns 2, 3, 4 and 5 having three entries each and three rows 6, 7 and 8 having four entries each. Thus, the table 1 is a four by three table. However, the table 1 could have any number of entries arranged in a different number of columns.
Often, a user desires to perform operations on data stored in the entries 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 of the table 1. For example, a user might desire to determine the maximum or minimum value of a particular column, to perform a mathematical operation on the data in one or more entries 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22 or otherwise utilize the data stored in the table 1. In addition, operations on the relational database are typically implemented using structure query language ("SQL"). SQL has conventional built-in functions which can be used to perform these operations on the data in the table 1.
The conventional functions in SQL that are used by the relational database can typically be categorized as conventional scalar functions and conventional column functions. A conventional scalar function operates on a predetermined number of entries. For example, one conventional scalar function is the square root function ("SQRT"). This function always operates on a single entry and would, therefore, have a single argument as an input. The function SQRT (entry 11) would provide the square root of the value in entry 11 of the table 1. Another conventional scalar function might operate on more than one entry. However, the number of entries for which the conventional scalar function performs its operation is always predetermined by the function at the time the function is written.
A column function performs an operation on a set of data and returns a single result. As its name suggests, the conventional column function typically performs an operation on one column of data. For example, in the table 1, a conventional column function might perform an operation on all of the entries in one of the column 2, 3, 4 or 5. A conventional column function thus has one of the columns 2, 3, 4, or 5 as its argument. For example, a conventional minimum function (MIN) could be written as MIN (col. 2) and would return the minimum of column 2.
A conventional column function can also perform an operation on an indeterminate number of entries. In other words, the actual number of entries for which the conventional column performs an operation is not determined at the time the conventional column function is written. Instead, the number of entries for which conventional column function performs an operation depends upon the number of entries in the column that is used as an argument for the conventional column function. For example, the table 1 has three rows 6, 7 and 8. A conventional column function which operates on, for example, column 2 would operate on the three entries that are the portions of the three rows 6, 7 and 8 corresponding to column 2. If the same conventional column function is used with a different table having a different number of rows, then the number of entries operated on would be different. Consequently, the conventional column function utilizes an indeterminate number of entries. Note that although the actual number of entries is not predetermined, in a particular implementation, there may be some upper limit to the number of entries allowed in a column, for example due to hardware or other limitations. Examples of a conventional column function include minimum, maximum, sum, and average functions which return the minimum value, maximum value, sum of all values, and average of all values, respectively, for the entries in a column. For example, the maximum of the column 2 would provide the maximum of the values stored in entries 11, 15, and 19 of the column 2 in table 1.
Processing of a conventional column function typically includes three phases: initialization, evaluation and finalization. In the initialization phase, the column function performs the procedures necessary for commencing the column function. For example, counters could be cleared and flags reset. In the evaluation phase, the column function actually performs the processes required for data in individual entries of the table 1. The finalization phase carries out any additional processes required to provide the output of the column function.
FIG. 2 depicts a conventional method 50 for performing a conventional column function. The conventional method 50 will be described in the context of the table 1 depicted in FIG. 1. For ease of explanation, it is assumed that the conventional column function is to be performed starting with column 3 of the table 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a row 6 is fetched, via step 52. If the entry is the first entry of the column, then the initialization phase is performed, via step 54. Because the row 6 includes the first entry 12 of the column 3, initialization is performed in step 54. The evaluation phase would then be performed, via step 56. Steps 52-56 are then repeated for the remaining rows in the table 1, via step 58. Thus, the next row 7 would be fetched and the data in the entry 16 corresponding to the column 3 evaluated. The row 8 would then be fetched and the data in the entry 20 corresponding to the column 3 evaluated. Once evaluation is performed for row 8, the last row in the table 1, the finalization phase is carried out, via step 60. Thus, the column function would perform operations for each entry in the column 3 that is an argument for the column function.
Although the conventional method 50 allows the conventional column function to perform operations on an indeterminate number of entries, one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that the conventional column function can only operate based on one of the columns 2, 3, 4 and 5. One of ordinary skill in the art will also readily recognize that a user may also desire to perform similar operations on the rows 6, 7 and 8. However, SQL defines a data set, on which the conventional column function operates, as including one or more of the columns 2, 3, 4 and 5. SQL does not have a mechanism for defining a data set based on the rows 6, 7 or 8 rather than the columns 2, 3, 4 and 5. Thus, the conventional column function cannot perform its operations based on rows 6, 7 and 8 instead of columns 2, 3, 4 and 5.
In order to perform column functions for rows of data, a developer can write conventional row functions that are analogous to the conventional column functions and which are specially designed to perform operations on rows 6, 7 or 8 of data. However, to do so would require a significant expenditure of time and resources. It would also be desirable to avoid this expenditure of time and resources.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for performing operations for column functions based on rows instead of columns. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system for utilizing a generic scalar function to allow a column function to operate on row data

International Business Machines Corporation


A PVA resin composition is provided which is excellent in melt-formability and free from emanation of odor in a melt-forming process, and is capable of providing a product free from residual odor, a highly transparent film and a laminate film having higher interlayer adhesive strength. The resin composition comprises: (A) a polyvinyl alcohol resin having a 1,2-diol structural unit represented by the following formula (1):

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polyvinyl alcohol resin composition and films. More specifically, the present invention relates to a polyvinyl alcohol (hereinafter abbreviated as "PVA") resin composition which is free from emanation of odor in a melt-forming process and excellent in transparency, and is capable of providing a product free from residual odor and a laminate film having higher interlayer adhesive strength. The present invention further relates to films produced by using such a PVA resin composition.
2. Description of the Related Art
A PVA resin generally has a fusion starting temperature that is very close to its thermal decomposition temperature. This makes it difficult to produce a product directly from the PVA resin by a melt-forming method. A conceivable approach to improvement of thermal stability in the melt forming process is to reduce the fusion starting temperature of the PVA resin by addition of a plasticizer such as glycerol or polyethylene glycol.
For example, JP-A-HEI9 (1997)-272719 proposes a resin composition prepared by blending a compound containing 2 to 4 moles of an alkylene oxide per 1 mole of a polyvalent (tri- or more valent) alcohol as a plasticizer with a PVA resin having a polymerization degree greater than 500 and not greater than 5000, and discloses that the resin composition is excellent in thermal stability in the melt-forming process and a product melt-formed from the resin composition is excellent in toughness and water solubility and substantially free from migration of the plasticizer.
The resin composition is effective to some extent for solving the aforementioned problem, but the product melt-formed from the resin composition suffers from fish eyes and gelation, requiring improvement.
On the other hand, JP-A-2001-302868 proposes a resin composition prepared by blending a compound containing 1 to 4 moles of an alkylene oxide in average per 1 mole of a polyvalent (tri- or more valent) alcohol as a plasticizer with a PVA resin having a viscosity average polymerization degree of 200 to 500, and discloses that the resin composition is excellent in melt spinnability and melt formability and is capable of providing various types of melt-formed products which are excellent in mechanical properties such as shock resistance and strength and substantially free from fish eyes, gelation and surface migration of the plasticizer and have a smooth appearance.
In examples of the invention disclosed in JP-A-2001-302868, a non-modified and partially saponified PVA resin having a saponification degree of 80 mol %, and PVA resins modified with an α-olefin such as ethylene, octyl vinyl ether or 7-hydroxy-1-octene are used. These PVA resins each have a lower crystallinity, and the use of any of these PVA resins reduces the melt viscosity of the resin composition, thereby improving the formability of the resin composition.
Even with the use of the plasticizer and any of the lower crystallinity PVA resins, a temperature not lower than 200° C. is required for the melt-forming of the resulting resin composition. This leads to thermal decomposition and/or evaporation of the plasticizer and other additives, detachment of an acetyl group from the partially saponified PVA resin, and detachment, thermal decomposition and/or evaporation of a modification group from the modified PVA resin, thereby causing problems associated with odor and environmental pollution. Where the plasticizer is less compatible with the PVA resin, phase separation is liable to occur in the melt-forming process, thereby reducing the transparency. Further, where the PVA resin composition is used for production of a laminate film, the surface migration of the plasticizer impairs the interlayer adhesive strength.
In general, the major main-chain bonds of the PVA resin are 1,3-glycol bonds. It is known that a PVA resin including a greater proportion of main-chain 1,2-glycol bonds than an ordinary level (about 1.8 mol %) can be prepared for melt-forming thereof by increasing the proportion of head-to-head bonds or tail-to-tail bonds through polymerization of vinyl acetate at a higher polymerization temperature (JP-A-2001-181405).
However, the main-chain 1,2-glycol bonds are less effective for the reduction of the crystallinity of the PVA resin than side-chain 1,2-diol structural unit. Further, hydroxyl groups of the PVA resin are all secondary hydroxyl groups as in ordinary PVA resins. Therefore, strong hydrogen bonds and intermolecular cohesive force attributable to primary hydroxyl groups cannot be expected from this PVA resin.
It is also known that a PVA resin having a hydroxyalkyl group at its side chain is prepared through copolymerization with an α-olefin having a hydroxyl group and used for the melt-forming (see, for example, JP-A-2001-302868). However, the PVA resin suffers from abnormal fluidization in the melt-forming process, thereby requiring further improvement in formability.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a PVA resin composition which is excellent in melt-formability and free from emanation of odor in the melt-forming process, and is capable of providing a product free from residual odor, a highly transparent film and a laminate film having higher interlayer adhesive strength.

Polyvinyl alcohol resin composition and films

Abstract: and having a saponification degree of 80 to 97.9 mol %; and (B) an alkylene oxide adduct of a polyvalent alcohol containing 5 to 9 moles of an alkylene oxide per 1 mole of the polyvalent alcohol.

The Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.


A video display device is provided that naturally displays a video without blocking an observer's field of view, and includes the following: a display optical system that displays a video; an ocular optical system that guides video light emitted from the display optical system to the optical pupil of an observer; and a support that supports the ocular optical system upon the light path of video light emitted from the display optical system. The support includes a first support plate and a second support plate that face each other, and the ocular optical system is located between the first support plate and the second support plate. An opening through which the observer's line of sight passes is formed at least partially between the first support plate and the second support plate.

The present invention relates to an eyepiece image device installed in products such as head mount displays (HMDs). In a concrete sense, the image display device presented as the present invention is an optical device located in front of an eye of the observer, which guides image light projected from components such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) to an eye of the observer so that he or she visually recognizes an image. The present invention is mainly intended to achieve an eyepiece image device that does not block the field of vision of the observer while offering a natural wearability, and to decrease the size of the structure and achieve a stylish shape.
In recent years, demand is growing for wearable devices, defined as devices that can be attached to the body of users for use, such as HMDs used by attaching to the head. Furthermore, to name a few, various types of sensor devices and image display devices including LCDs have been downsized to a size installable in wearable devices; wearable devices coming with those devices are being developed at a rapid pace.
For example, conventional HMDs are disclosed in patent documents 1 through 3. The conventional HMDs disclosed in them have a common structure in which image light projected from the display element is propagated in the direction of the width of the eyes of the observer (horizontal direction) in the prism and guided to the optical pupils.

Ocular video display device enabling natural field of view


A process for the preparation of layered photoconductive imaging members which comprises forming layers comprised of a mixture of cyclic oligomers with degrees of polymerization of from about 2 to about 20 and a catalyst, wherein one layer contains a conductive filler, the second layer contains a photogenerating pigment and the third layer contains charge transporting molecules, and heating said layers to convert the cyclic oligomer mixture in each layer to a polycarbonate resin.

This invention is generally directed to imaging members and processes for the preparation thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to layered photoconductive imaging members with excellent mechanical characteristics, and wherein belts and drums are formed comprised of a conductive substrate, a photogenerator layer and charge transport layer generated simultaneously or in rapid succession by the polymerization of macrocyclic carbonate oligomers to form polycarbonates which can function as binder resins for the photogenerating and charge transport layers. The present invention also relates to processes for the preparation of imaging members without solvents in embodiments, wherein the polycarbonate resin binder is formed simultaneously with the charge transport and photogenerating layer. Imaging members of the present invention can be sensitive to wavelengths of from about 400 to about 800 nanometers, that is from the visible region to the near infrared wavelength region of the light spectrum. Moreover, in embodiments thereof the imaging members of the present invention possess low dark decay characteristics as illustrated herein and enable developed images, both line and solid areas, of high resolution, that is with substantially no background deposits. The imaging members of the present invention can be selected for electrophotographic, especially xerographic imaging systems. These imaging members are usually prepared by first providing on a supporting substrate a photogenerating layer of, for example, trigonal selenium, and thereafter solution coating thereover from a solvent mixture a charge transport layer and polycarbonate resin, such as MAKROLON.RTM.. Thus, the polycarbonate resin binder is in the form of a polymer when selected for the preparation of the imaging member. With the invention of the present invention, in contrast and in embodiments there is selected a monomer and this monomer is converted into a polymer binder simultaneously with the coating of the charge transport layer. The advantages of the aforementioned include, for example, the use of solvents like toluene or tetrahydrofuran, rather than the toxic and environmentally damaging chlorinated, such as methylene chloride, organic solvents to form the coating. Since solution viscosity is proportional to molecular weight, and it is the coating solution viscosity that determines the concentration for any given coating technique, the use of higher solid loadings in the coating solution is readily achievable as the cyclic oligomer precursor to the polymer possesses a much lower by, for example, orders, such as 10, of magnitude solution viscosity than the polymer itself and higher solid loadings are desirable to reduce volatile organic concentrations emitted during the coating process. The processes of the present invention and imaging members thereof allow the binder to be optionally crosslinked to provide tougher and more solvent resistant coatings. Also provided are higher, 100,000 to 300,000, molecular weight polycarbonates versus about 40,000 for spray coating molecular weight polycarbonate films formed using spray or dip coating techniques. The use of a solvent for forming a photoreceptor film may be avoided entirely with the present invention in embodiments by coating the cyclic oligomers and transport molecule mixture as a melt or a powder before curing the cyclic oligomers to the high molecular weight polymer. Additionally, by using mixtures of different structured cyclic oligomers high molecular copolymers of exact stoichiometry can be obtained that are not readily effectively obtained by either the known interfacial or melt transesterification processes for producing polycarbonates. Photogenerating pigments are usually milled in an organic solvent to obtain small, about 0.1 to 0.2 micron, particle size and preferred morphology. The polymer binder is selected with consideration of the aforementioned milling, phthalocyanine pigments, for example, are often converted to less sensitive morphologies by chlorinated solvents and thus the use of polymers that are only soluble in these solvents, such as polycarbonate, is precluded. However, polycarbonates because of their clarity and toughness are otherwise an acceptable polymer binder. This invention allows the use of polycarbonate as a binder for photogenerating pigments, since for example the crucial milling step takes placed in the presence of a mixture of macrocylic carbonate oligomers rather than in the presence of a high molecular weight polymer. The oligomer mixture is soluble in a wide variety of organic materials, and in addition, need not be dissolved since it is friable and will be broken down into small particles and widely dispersed among the pigment particles by milling. Conversion to high molecular weight polymer takes place after the solvent has been removed. Alternatively, coating may be accomplished in the absence of solvent using powder coating methods. This invention allows one to prepare charge generation layers with a polycarbonate binder for charge generation pigments. With the invention of the present application, in embodiments there is selected a mixture of macrocyclic carbonate oligomers, and this mixture is converted into a polymer after or simultaneously with the coating of the charge generation layer. The processes of the present invention and imaging members thereof allow the charge generation binder to be optionally crosslinked to provide tougher coatings that are more resistant to wear caused by toner development systems. In embodiments, the present invention is directed to the preparation of supporting substrates for layered imaging members which processes comprise the polymerization of macrocyclic oligomers to provide polycarbonate substrates where curling is minimized without the need for an anticurling layer as presently needed in many situations for layered imaging members. Curling of the substrate can result in adversely effecting the life of the imaging member, and can cause images of poor resolution. Curling is primarily caused by the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients between substrates, such as MYLAR.RTM., with the polycarbonate of the charge transport layer. This can be overcome by coating another layer of polycarbonate onto the side of the polyester layer opposite the charge transport layer known as the anticurl backcoating. The present invention avoids the need for the second coating by producing a substrate of polycarbonate which will possess a similar thermal expansion characteristic to the polycarbonate of the charge transport layer. By avoiding the need for the anticurl coating, this invention eliminates an additional manufacturing step, material cost, and emissions of volatile organic compounds associated with the coating step. In addition, intrinsic internal stresses can also be created in the transport layer as a result of its inability to relax completely on drying when coated onto a polyester film. These stresses will influence the life of the photoreceptor and its failure modes and may be lessened when the supporting substrate is also a polycarbonate. These and other disadvantages can be avoided or minimized with the processes of the present invention. Also, in embodiments the present invention is directed to the fabrication of supporting substrates by the in situ polymerization of macrocyclic oligomers. The aforementioned photoresponsive imaging members can be negatively charged when the photogenerating layer is situated between the charge transport layer and the substrate, or positively charged when the charge transport layer is situated between the photogenerating layer and the supporting substrate. The layered photoconductive imaging members can be selected for a number of different known imaging and printing processes including, for example, electrophotographic imaging processes, especially xerographic imaging and printing processes wherein negatively charged or positively charged images are rendered visible with toner compositions of the appropriate charge. Generally, the imaging members are sensitive in the wavelength regions of from about 400 to about 850 nanometers, thus diode lasers can be selected as the light sources in some instances.
Layered imaging members with supporting substrates, such as aluminum, and polymeric materials, photogenerating and charge transport layers, including charge transport layers comprised of aryl diamines dispersed in polycarbonates, like MAKROLON.RTM., are known, reference for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,900, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference. More specifically, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,900, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated an imaging member comprised of a supporting substrate, like aluminum or MYLAR.RTM., which have a tendency to curl, a photogenerating layer, and an aryl amine hole transport layer comprised of amine molecules dispersed in a polycarbonate. Examples of photogenerating layer components include trigonal selenium, metal phthalocyanines, vanadyl phthalocyanines, and metal free phthalocyanines. Additionally, there is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,121,006 a composite xerographic photoconductive member comprised of finely divided particles of a photoconductive inorganic compound dispersed in an electrically insulating organic resin binder. The binder materials disclosed in the '006 patent comprise a material which is incapable of transporting for any significant distance injected charge carriers generated by the photoconductive particles.
Similar photoresponsive imaging members with squaraine photogenerating pigments are also known, reference U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,639. In this patent, there is illustrated a photoresponsive imaging member with a substrate, a hole blocking layer, an optional adhesive interface layer, an organic photogenerating layer, a photoconductive composition capable of enhancing or reducing the intrinsic properties of the photogenerating layer, and a hole transport layer. As photoconductive compositions for the aforementioned member, there can be selected various squaraine pigments, including hydroxy squaraine compositions. Moreover, there is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,099 certain photosensitive hydroxy squaraine compositions.
The use of selected perylene pigments as photoconductive substances is also known. There is thus described in Hoechst European Patent Publication 0040402, DE3019326, filed May 21, 1980, the use of N,N'-disubstituted perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyldiimide pigments as photoconductive substances, and wherein the supporting substrate can be a metal like aluminum, or certain polymeric materials. Specifically, there is, for example, disclosed in this publication N,N'-bis(3-methoxypropyl)perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxyldiimide dual layered negatively charged photoreceptors with improved spectral response in the wavelength region of 400 to 700 nanometers. A similar disclosure is revealed in Ernst Gunther Schlosser, Journal of Applied Photographic Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 3, page 118 (1978). There are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,882 photoconductive substances comprised of specific perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid derivative dyestuffs. In accordance with the teachings of this patent, the photoconductive layer is preferably formed by vapor depositing the dyestuff in a vacuum. Also, there is specifically disclosed in this patent dual layer photoreceptors with perylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic acid diimide derivatives, which have spectral response in the wavelength region of from 400 to 600 nanometers. Also, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,463, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a layered imaging member with a chloroindium phthalocyanine photogenerating layer. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,189, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a layered imaging member with a perylene pigment photogenerating component. Both of the aforementioned patents disclose an aryl amine component as a hole transport layer.
In copending application U.S. Ser. No. 537,714, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there are illustrated photoresponsive imaging members with photogenerating titanyl phthalocyanine layers prepared by vacuum deposition. It is indicated in this copending application that the imaging members comprised of the vacuum deposited titanyl phthalocyanines on supporting substrates, such as certain polymeric materials and aryl amine hole transporting compounds, exhibit superior xerographic performance as low dark decay characteristics result and higher photosensitivity is generated, particularly in comparison to several prior art imaging members prepared by solution coating or spray coating, reference for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,029 mentioned hereinbefore.
In copending patent application U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,392, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of photoconductive imaging members which comprises coating a supporting substrate with a photogenerator layer comprised of photogenerating pigments, and subsequently applying to the photogenerating layer a mixture comprised of charge transport molecules and cyclic oligomers, and wherein said mixture is heated to obtain a polycarbonate resin binder from said cyclic oligomers.
in copending application U.S. Pat. No. 5,300,393 is a process for the preparation of photoconductive imaging members which comprises coating a supporting substrate with a photogenerator layer comprised of photogenerating pigments and a mixture of cyclic oligomers wherein said mixture is heated to obtain a polycarbonate resin binder, and subsequently applying to the photogenerating layer a layer of charge transport molecules.
The disclosures of all of the aforementioned publications, laid open applications, copending applications and patents are totally incorporated herein by reference.

Imaging members and processes for the preparation thereof


A vertical blind apparatus having a wand operated control for traversing the slats along a headrail and for rotating the slats. The blind apparatus has an actuator shaft with its axis disposed in a central vertical plane equidistant from the sidewalls of the headrail; slat carriers are mounted on slat carriages for rotation about vertical axes disposed in the central vertical plane and a control shaft for the wand operated control is also mounted for rotation in the central vertical plane. The wand operated vertical blind apparatus can be used in either left or right draw installations and in two-way draw installations.

It has heretofore been proposed as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,316,493 and 4,214,622, to make a vertical venetian blind with a wand type operator arranged so that pulling the wand operator lengthwise of the headrail effects traversing of the slat carriages along the headrail and rotation of the wand at any point along the headrail effected turning of the vertical blind slats. In the above patents, the slat carriers and the axis of rotation of the wand connection to the rotation control is offset from a central vertical plane through the headrail so that it was necessary to assemble the slat carriages and control carriage in one arrangement for use in installations in which the slats would stack at the left and in a different arrangement for installations in which the slats would stack at the right. In the '493 patent, the slat carriers were also rotatable about axes disposed in a different longitudinal plane than the wand control shaft such that the wand control shaft would interfere with closing of the slats in one direction.


There is proposed a method of forming an insulating film pattern, which enables an insulating pattern of high precision and low dielectric constant to be easily obtained by means of an alkali development with basic solution. This method comprises the steps of coating a photosensitive composition comprising a first silicone polymer having a specific monomer and a second silicone polymer having a specific monomer on a substrate thereby to form a film of photosensitive composition, selectively exposing the film of photosensitive composition, alkali-developing the exposed film to form a pattern, and heat-treating the pattern of the photosensitive composition film.

This invention relates to a method of forming an insulating film pattern, which is adapted to be employed in the manufacture of an electronic device such as a semiconductor device and a liquid crystal display device, and also relates to a photosensitive composition.
In the manufacture of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, an insulating film is required to be formed for insulating a wiring of semiconductor element or of liquid crystal display element from other layers or regions.
As for the method of forming an insulating film to cover the wiring, various methods have been conventionally adopted, e.g. (1) a method of depositing a silicon compound by means of a CVD method; or (2) a method comprising the steps of forming a coating of an organosilica sol of alkoxy-substituted silane such as tetraethoxy silane or of alkoxy-containing siloxane of low molecular weight, and heating the coated layer to dry it.
When an insulating film which has been formed by the aforementioned methods is to be patterned for forming a contact hole for instance, a sequence of procedures, i.e. forming a resist pattern on the insulating film, etching the insulating film with the resist pattern being employed as a mask, and removing the resist pattern are usually required to be undertaken. Namely, these procedures are rather troublesome and lead to an increase in cost for forming an insulating film pattern.
There is also known, as a method of forming a silicon oxide film through coating, a method of forming a silicone polymer by making use of a sol-gel method. According to this method, a silicon oxide film can be obtained by way of heating, but the processes of exposure and development cannot be utilized. Moreover, the film obtained by this method is relatively large in dielectric constant, i.e. about 4.0. The employment of an insulating film having such a high dielectric constant is undesirable in view of a delay in signal propagation velocity that might be caused by a miniaturization of semiconductor element.

Method of forming an insulating film pattern and photosensitive composition


A position detecting device includes an optical position detecting element and a position information portion which are disposed so as to be opposed to each other. The position information portion has a binary pattern where a high light efficient portion and a low light efficient portion are alternately repeated when the movable portion moves in a predetermined direction. The position detecting device includes a loose position detecting portion for detecting a loose position of the movable portion by counting a pulse signal obtained by the optical position detecting element, a close position detecting portion for detecting a close position of the movable portion by counting pulse number of driving pulses which are applied to an electromechanical transducer from a position where the loose position detection is carried out, and a combining arrangement for combining the loose position with the close position to calculate a current position of the movable portion.

This invention relates to a driving device (a linear actuator) and, in particular, to a position detecting device for detecting a position of a movable portion.
Previously, linear actuators (driving devices) using electro-mechanical transducers such as piezoelectric elements, electrostrictive elements, magnetrostrictive elements, or the like are used as auto-focus actuators or zoom actuators for use in cameras. The cameras may be mobile cameras mounted on cellular mobile phones or the like.
By way of illustration, Japanese Patent No. 2633066 (JP-B-2633066) (which will be also called a first patent document), which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,941, discloses a driving device comprising a driving rod frictionally engaged with a lens barrel, a piezoelectric element disposed in contact with the driving rod, and a leaf spring for bringing the driving rod into frictional engagement with the lens barrel. That is, the driving rod is bonded to an end of the piezoelectric element in an expansion direction. The lens barrel is movably supported to the driving rod. The leaf spring produces friction between the driving rod and the lens barrel. In the driving device disclosed in JP-B 2633066, a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element so as to make a speed of expansion of the piezoelectric element different from a speed of contraction thereof. The driving device disclosed in JP-B-2633066 comprises a lens-barrel position detector. The lens-barrel-position detector comprises a U-shaped slidable contact piece secured to the underside of an arm of the lens barrel and a fixed detecting plate mounted on a fixed member which is disposed below the path of movement of the lens barrel.
However, the lens-barrel-position detector disclosed in the first patent document is disadvantageous in that its slidable portion wears because the U-shaped slidable contact piece in slidably contact with the fixed member.
In addition, Japanese Patent No. 3218851 (JP-B-3218851) (which will be also called a second patent document), which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,723, discloses a driving apparatus comprising a piezoelectric element, a driving member (a driving shaft), coupled to the piezoelectric element, for extending in an expansion direction of the piezoelectric element, and a driven member (a moving member, a lens barrel) having a friction member frictionally coupled to the driving member (the driving shaft). The driving apparatus in JP-B-3218851 drives the lens barrel by devising a driving signal applied to the piezoelectric element.
The second patent document neither discloses nor teaches a position detecting device.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-191665 (JP-A-09-191665) (which will be also called a third patent document), which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 5,890,391, discloses a linear drive mechanism using an electromechanical conversion element which is insensitive to elastic deformation of a constituent member. The linear driving mechanism disclosed in JP-A-09-191665 comprises the electromechanical conversion element, a working member which is fixedly connected to the electromechanical conversion element and which displaces with the electromechanical conversion element, a driving member frictionally coupled to the working member, a driven member coupled to the driving member, and a driving pulse generating arrangement for causing expansion/contraction displacement to the electromechanical conversion element. In JP-A-09-191665, an internal barrel is integratedly and fixedly attached to a fixed lens barrel. The internal barrel has extensions which are formed in a radial direction on part of the internal barrel. A drive shaft (a moving portion) arranged parallel to an optical axis is supported by bearings of the extensions so as to be movable in the optical axis direction. A piezoelectric element (the electromechanical conversion element) is disposed between the working member (a vibration friction portion) and the extension of the internal barrel. The top half of the working member touches the drive shaft and a pad is installed on the bottom half of the working member and exerts a force toward the drive shaft via a spring, such that the pad touches the bottom half of the working member. The working member and the pad are friction-bonded to the drive shaft via a suitable friction force. By generating expansion/compression displacements having different rates in the thickness direction of the piezoelectric element, the working member is displaced, and the drive shaft is driven by friction contact with working member together with a lens holding frame serving as the driven member.
The linear drive mechanism disclosed in the third patent document is provided with a position sensor of a ferromagnetic thin-film reluctance element type (hereinafter referred to as "MR sensor") for detecting a moving distance of the lens. The moving distance of the lens is also a moving distance of the lens holding frame (a guide shaft disposed in parallel with the optical axis) A magnetic reluctance element comprising the MR sensor is disposed in the internal barrel, and magnetic rods of north and south magnetic poles are arranged at predetermined intervals on the guide shaft. That is, the MR sensor disclosed in the third patent document detects the moving distance of the lens holding frame in cooperation with the magnetic reluctance element.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-113874 (JP-A-2006-113874) (which will be also called a fourth patent document) discloses a piezoelectric actuator comprising a position sensor. The piezoelectric actuator disclosed in JP-A-2006-113874 comprises a piezoelectric element (a electromechanical transducer) having one end which is fixed to a fixed portion (a stationary member) by means of adhesive or the like, a rod-shaped drive member (a vibration friction portion) fixed to another end of the piezoelectric element by means of adhesive or the like, and a movable member (a moving portion) which is movably frictionally held on the drive member. The movable member comprises a friction holding portion which engaged on the drive member by a friction force and a lens holder for holding a lens that is coupled to the friction holding portion. The position sensor comprises a magnetic field generating member mounted on the movable member and a magnetic field detecting member fixed on the fixed portion so as to be opposed to the magnetic field generating member. A Hall-effect device, a magneto-resistive (MR) element or the like is suitable for the magnetic field detecting member.
A method of using, as a detection element, the Hall-effect element or the MR element (the MR sensor) in the manner of the third and the fourth patent documents is disadvantageous to miniaturization and cost. This is because it is necessary to mount a magnetic substance bearing magnetism to the moving portion or the fixed portion.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-185406 (JP-A-2003-185406) (which will be also called a fifth patent document) discloses a position detecting device of non-contact type which detects a position of a moving member on the basis of capacitance between a fixed electrode and the moving member of the actuator. In the position detecting device disclosed in JP-A-2003-185406, a piezoelectric element (an Electro-mechanical transducer) has an end fixed to a frame (a stationary member) and another end fixed to a drive shaft (a vibration friction portion) with which a moving member (a moving portion) is coupled frictionally. A detecting member is arranged in non-contact with and parallel to the moving member in a moving direction. The detecting member has an electrode with rugged regions formed on a surface opposite to the moving member and is spaced at a distance from the moving member so as to form a capacitor with a capacitance. A drive circuit produces drive pulses which are applied on the piezoelectric element, make electric current flow through the electrode capacitively coupled to the moving member. The amount of the electric current is detected by a detecting circuit and is supplied to a control circuit. When the moving member moves on the electrode, the amount of the electric current is increased ore decreased in response to the shape of the rugged regions of the electrode. It is therefore possible to detect the position of the moving member based on the electric current.
In the manner as described above, the fifth patent document discloses the position detecting device of non-contact type which detects the position of the moving member on the basis of capacitance between the fixed electrode and the moving member. However, the position detecting device disclosed in the fifth patent document is disadvantageous in that power is consumed because it is necessary to always flow the electric current in the electrode. In addition, the position detecting device disclosed in the fifth patent document is also disadvantageous in that there are limitations on selecting material because the moving member must be made of a conductive material.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-147955 (JP-A-2005-147955) (which will be also called a sixth patent document) discloses a position detecting device which is capable of detecting a current position of a light-shielding plate over a range of the breadth of a slit or larger. The light-shielding plate, which is capable of reciprocating motion in predetermined directions passing through the gap of a photo-interrupter, shields light projected from a light-emitting body toward a light-receiving body. The light-shielding plate changes in width extending in a direction orthogonal to the predetermined directions. The light-shielding plate has a shape which proportionally increases a light-shielding area covering the slit of the photo-interrupter in accordance with the amount of the movement of the light-shielding plate.
However, the sixth patent document merely discloses the position detecting device and the sixth patent document neither discloses nor teaches how to dispose the position detecting device in a case where it is applied to the driving device.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H06-174999 (JP-A-06-174999) (which will be also called a seventh patent document) discloses a lens initial position detecting device using a photo-interrupter that is capable of accurately detecting the initial position of the lens enable to move in lens barrel. The lens initial position detecting device disclosed in JP-A-06-174999 comprises the photo-interrupter mounted on one of the lens barrel and a lens frame and a light-shielding plate mounted on the other of the lens barrel and the lens frame so that the light-shielding plate passes through between a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element of the photo-interrupter on moving of the lens frame.
However, the seventh patent document merely discloses the lens initial position detecting device which is capable of detecting the initial position of the lens and cannot detect a moving position (an actual position) of the lens.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H09-306122 (JP-A-09-306122) (which will be also called an eighth patent document), which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,655, discloses a position detecting unit for a magnetic disk drive although it is not a position detecting unit for a driving device using the electro-mechanical transducer. The position detecting unit disclosed in the eighth patent document comprises a scale mounted on a carriage at a side thereof opposed to a main surface of a main frame and a photointerrupter mounted on the main frame. The scale comprises slits bored through the scale at substantially equally spaced intervals along the scale in a direction parallel to a predetermined radial direction. The photointerrupter includes a light-emitting section and a light-receiving section which are opposed to each other with the scale arranged therebetween. Such a method of detecting a position using the position detecting unit comprising an optical position detecting element such as the photointerrupter and a position information portion such as the scale is called an encoder method.
In the position detecting unit of the encoder method disclosed in the eighth patent document, the accuracy of position detection is determined by a resolution of the used optical position detecting element and a workable size of the position information portion. On the other hands, in the driving devices for the mobile cameras, a position adjustment accuracy of several micrometers to some ten micrometers is required. Therefore, in order to carry out position detection using the position detecting unit of the encoder method in the driving device mounted in the mobile camera, it is necessary to work the scale so as to form the slits or the like at intervals of several micrometers. However, such a working is extremely difficult and is not down-to-earth.

Position detecting device capable of improving detection accuracy


An apparatus and method for producing substantially clear ice in a variety of desired shapes. The apparatus and method in the described embodiments generally provide for an insulated ice mold containing one or more mold cells, each mold cell with an open top, open bottom, and insulated side walls, that is suspended over a liquid water reservoir surrounded and contained in an insulated container. The top surface of the water residing in each mold cell is exposed to freezing air. The insulated walls forming the sides of one or more mold cells act to insure that each ice shape forms and grows from the top surface, down and towards the bottom of each mold cell. The liquid water reservoir, which contacts the bottom surface of the ice shape, remains in a liquid phase and serves as an impurity sink into which the impurities and gases contained in the freezing water are driven as ice forms downward in the mold cell. The liquid water reservoir acts to arrest ice growth below the bottom of the mold cell, while the water in the mold cells freezes into a solid above the ice-water interface.

The present invention relates generally to an improved apparatus and method for making clear or transparent ice, and more specifically, to an apparatus and method for making clear or transparent ice in a variety of geometric shapes and which can be implemented in commonly available refrigeration/freezer equipment.
Typical household and commercial refrigeration systems include separate refrigerator and freezing compartments. Ice cubes may be formed manually or automatically in various conventionally known manners utilizing the freezing compartment of such refrigeration and freezing equipment. As is commonly known, making ice typically involves filling a tray with individual cube molds, either fixed to or formed as part of an ice tray, with water and placing the ice tray in a freezer compartment having an ambient air temperature below 32° F. The water in the tray begins to freeze and solidify from all sides and surfaces (including the top water surface which is directly exposed to the freezing air) then in and through the remaining volume of water occupying the cube mold since the exterior peripheral cube surfaces freeze first. Impurities and gases contained within the water to be frozen are trapped in the solidified ice cube during the freezing process, commonly near the center and/or the bottom surface of the ice cube, due to their inability to escape as a result of the freezing liquid to solid phase change of the ice cube surfaces. Once the water in the tray is frozen solid, the ice tray is removed from the freezer compartment and each individual ice cube formed in the tray is removed from the individual cube molds and either placed in a beverage to cool the temperature of the beverage or placed in a storage bin in the freezer compartment for later use.
As highlighted above, such known ice cube formation apparatus and methods produce opaque or "clouded" ice cubes which result from the entrapment of suspended and dissolved solids, liquids and gases that become trapped within the frozen ice cube during the freezing process. The opaque appearance of the ice cubes is generally aesthetically displeasing. Likewise, suspended and dissolved impurities that are entrapped in the frozen ice cube are released into the beverage or foodstuff being cooled by the ice cube as the ice cube melts. Moreover, the frozen structure of these impurities maximizes the interstitial surface area of the ice cube thereby increasing the melt rate of the ice cube and further watering down the beverage being cooled by the ice cube.
Commercially available clear icemakers are known in the art that require complex mechanical and thermodynamic processes to form clear ice. For example, the apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,539, requires the use of metal inserts with heating elements to prevent freezing of the ice cube at the bottom of each ice grid cavity to enable the production of clear ice cubes and their removal from the tray. The clear ice tray disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,720 requires the use of an ice mold with sidewalls and a closed mold bottom that must be air permeable for venting air bubbles that are produced in the water during the formation of solid ice cubes. The method and apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,720 is also limited in its ability to produce clear ice cubes in that the gases vented during the freezing process must be diffused through the permeable sidewalls and the mold bottom at a faster rate than the liquid-to-solid phase change rate occurring in the ice mold. However, the suspended and dissolved solids and liquids in the water freezing in the molds are not removed or liberated and remain in the resulting ice cubes. Another drawback of these known apparatii and methods for producing clear ice concerns their requirement of electro-mechanical energy inputs and assemblies, and/or specific construction materials (e.g. air permeable) that may only be formed and produced using technical construction methods and equipment in order to function and produce clear ice. Moreover, they fail to produce a clear ice product as they are generally focused and drawn to the removal of a specific contaminant, such as gas bubbles or suspended solids, versus the removal of the combination of suspended and dissolved liquids, solids and gases which exist in unfrozen water and prevent the formation of clear ice.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus and method for making clear or transparent ice that acts to substantially reduce or eliminate the entrapment of solids and gases during the production of ice cubes. There is a need in the art for a simple, inexpensive apparatus and method for producing clear or transparent ice which does not require the use or purchase of complex mechanical/electro-mechanical equipment and processes, and which may be implemented using conventional and readily available refrigeration and/or freezing appliances and materials. There is a need in the art for an easily configurable apparatus and method allowing for the production of a variety of ice shapes that do not require intensive equipment modification or labor for implementation and production.


Techniques are provided for remastering resources based on node utilization. According to one such technique, resources are remastered in response to the over-utilization of the node that currently masters those resources. The utilization of each node is tracked, and when a particular node's utilization exceeds a specified threshold, selected resources that are currently mastered by that node are remastered so that nodes other than the particular node become the new masters for the selected resources. Each node's utilization is based on that node's capacity, and each node's capacity may differ. According to an aspect of one technique, each node's capacity is based on that node's processing resources and memory resources. Remastering resources in this manner tends to reduce the average amount of time taken for nodes to handle requests for the resources that they master.

Database servers use resources while executing transactions. Even though resources may be shared between database servers, many resources may not be accessed in certain ways by more than one process at any given time. For example, resources such as data blocks of a storage medium or tables stored on a storage medium may be concurrently accessed in some ways (e.g. read) by multiple processes, but accessed in other ways (e.g. written to) by only one process at a time. Consequently, mechanisms have been developed which control access to resources.

Remastering for asymmetric clusters in high-load scenarios


A weapon mount tactical light trigger includes a mount for Picatinny rail to clamp to a shotgun or rifle, a light mount to clamp a tactical light, and a principle mount to joint both mounts with a trigger base fixed at the back. Components of the trigger base include a trigger to switch on/off the tactical light, a circular shaft to allocate the trigger on the trigger base and a fixing bolt to keep the trigger and switch of the light to stay connected under normal conditions. When a user presses the trigger with a finger, the trigger pivots on the circular shaft and exerts pressure to the switch of the tactical light. The structure design of the trigger base is according to the principle of leverage; via pressing the trigger, it exerts pressure to the switch to turn on/off the light; as the mechanism design of this creation avoids possible shortfall of wire conduction and enhance the performance stability of the tactical light.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a weapon mount tactical light trigger. More particularly, the invention relates to a weapon mount using trigger mechanism to activate the tactical light of a shotgun or rifle.
2) Description of the Prior Art
A tactical light is an accessory of shotgun or rifle and is turned on/off by pressing a pressure pad on a tail-cap switch. The pressure pad is attached to a tactical grip with a hook and loop fastener and turned on by palm.
As the tail-cap switch employs an electro-mechanism and there is a section of the wire between the switch and light exposed outside of the gun, the wire is prone to damages to cause the tail-cap switch and tactical light failure.


Material handling car and track assembly, the assembly comprising a car having wheels mounted thereon, and a track having two parallel rails, the wheels being adapted to roll on the rails to facilitate movement of the car along the track, a metal slider extending from an underside of the car and lengthwise of the car, and opposed linear motors mounted beween the tracks and spaced from each other to define a gap between the motors, the slider being daapted to pass through the gap, the motors being operative to act on the slider to impart thrust to the car, the motors being oriented such as to substantially eliminate magnetic atraction between the mtors and the car. The invention further contemplates opposied magents mountede beween the tracks and spaced from each other to define a gap between the magnets, the slider being dapted to pass through the gap between the magnets, the magnets being operative to act on the slider to impart braking to the car, whereby to decelerate the car.

1. Field of the Invention
The present fnvention relates to a material handling car and track assembly and is directed more particularly to acceleration and deceleration means mounted in the track assembly and adapted to influence speed of the car.
2. Description of Prior Art
The prior ar has recognized the need for means to propel a car along a track without the installation of a driver mechanism or braking mechanism on the car. Systems have incorporated linear induction motors as an efficient means of achieving this. Such systems commonly employ single motors along a track whereby a car is propelled by a force created by the change in magnetic flux as the car passes by the motors. However, a problem inherent in these systems is that of undue stress on the cars and tracks themselves due to an electromagnetic force created between the car and the motor, causing the car to be attracted toward the track. This attractive force exerted on the car dissipates after the car passes away from the motor. In systems where there are commonly several hundred motors in use through which a car passes as it travels through the system, the constant attractive stress and release of such stress, leads to wear and tear on the car. As a result, cars break down and are in need of frequent repair.
Such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,054 to Matsuo. In this system, linear induction motors are disposed in single file underneath the transport path of the car, causing the motors to exert an attractive force while acting to drive the car. Due to numerous motors in the system, a car undergoing such repeated application and release of stress becomes structurally weak and requires frequent servicing.
Another problem recognized in the prior art relates to providing a means for controlling the speed of a car through the use of a decelerating mechanism external of the car. Many systems which have employed inductive motors to impel a car forward along a track have relied entirely upon the same motors for braking the car. A reverse thrust is applied to the car by passing reverse phase alternating current through the coils of the motor stators, to slow the car down. However, these systems potentially overwork the motors which often leads to motor failure.
An example of this type of system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,242 to Matsuo. As in the Matsuo '054 system, single motors are disposed at predetermined intervals underneath the transport path and, as in the previous system, an attractive force on the car is exerted and released as the car moves in the direction of the transport path. The motors impel the car in the forward and reverse directions. Thus, the motors carry out the function of starting and stopping the car, depending on the direction of current flow. However, this dual function leads to increased wear and tear on the motors.
In other systems, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,928 to Hartlepp, a car is decelerated through the use of a magnetic piston which moves by compressed air in a tube, such that a car will follow the piston. However, the use of such a structure is complicated and thus provides great opportunity for malfunction. Additionally, this system discloses the use of linear induction motors for propelling a car on a track wherein induction motors are singly disposed. Accordingly, an attractive force is exerted on the cars driven by the motor.
An additional problem recognized in the art is the need to mitigate the effects of motor failure. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,805 to Matsuo, there is disclosed a system providing for continued operation through the use of an auxiliary power source in the event that the main power source becomes disabled. However, this system does not insure continued operation in the event that a motor along the transport path should become disabled.

Material handling car and track assembly having opposed magnet linear motor drive and opposed permanent magnet brake assembly