An integrated circuit device includes an amplifier stage comprising a pair of transistors (134A, 134B), the respective bases or gates of which are connected together, as well as the respective emitters or sources. The respective drains or collectors of the transistors are capacitively coupled (166) so as to be effectively shorted at the frequencies of operation of the amplifier, A biasing circuit arrangement (144) is also provided which employs bias control feedback to set the bias currents for the transistors. The biasing circuit arrangement takes as its input the current flowing at one of the electrodes (160) of one of the transistors.

This invention relates to an integrated circuit device including a transistor amplifier stage with a biasing circuit arrangement. A particular application of the invention in its preferred form is as a low voltage radio frequency (RF) amplifier for providing differential outputs to a mixer stage.
British Patent Application No. GB2331418A discloses an integrated circuit device having a low voltage single-ended to differential amplifier stage which forms a driver stage for an RF mixer stage having differential signal inputs. The amplifier stage has first and second bipolar transistors each of which is connected to the single-ended input, one connected as a common-base amplifier, and the other as a common-emitter amplifier. The differential outputs to the mixer are produced on the collector electrodes of the transistors. Both transistors have their base-emitter junctions forward-biased using a biasing circuit arrangement comprising a constant current source and a third transistor which is connected to the base electrodes of the first and second transistors via respective series resistances. Inductances in the emitter circuits of the first and second transistors provide a measure of inductive degeneration and allow the emitter electrodes to operate at a potential very close to that of the associated supply rail, maximizing the proportion of the supply voltage which is available to the rest of the circuit. The amplifier stage requires connection of an external choke between the input and ground terminals of the device to provide a DC path to ground for the emitter electrode of the common-base amplifier.
This known device has a number of disadvantages relating to the DC biasing of the amplifier stage. One difficulty is that there is a DC voltage drop associated with the DC current path formed by the integrated circuit bond wires between the device chip and the integrated circuit device terminals for the single-ended input, as well as associated printed circuit board (PCB) tracks and the external choke referred to above, when present. This means that the biasing of the first and second transistors is partly dependent on device manufacturing and PCB implementation, variables.
Another disadvantage is one associated with the need to maintain a low reference bias current in order to minimize power consumption, Typically, the biasing circuit arrangement is implemented as a current mirror. On-chip spiral inductors in the emitter circuits of the first and second transistors often have enough series resistance to the extent that they need to be taken into account in the current mirror reference diode. The desire to keep the reference current low in these circumstances necessitates a large silicon area for the biasing circuit arrangement.
If the spread of the mixer stage operating current is to be minimized, it is desirable to have the reference bias current generated by a current reference circuit that uses a low-tolerance external resistor to determine the reference current. This generally means that a relatively low current reference cannot easily be used as a reference current input to a current mirror biasing an RF amplifier stage without noise and silicon area penalties.


A positional control apparatus capable of readily moving a movable part of an NC device in any desired direction by using a particular handle. The handle is mounted on the movable part by a holding part. When an operator gripping the handle wishes to move the movable part in the desired direction, a strength and a direction of force given to the handle are detected by force sensors, and an axial moving amount calculation means calculates the moving amount of each control axis in consideration of the strength and the direction of the force given to the handle, detected by the force sensors as a strength and a direction of an acceleration given to the movable part. By the moving amount of each control axis, obtained by the axial moving amount calculation means, the positional control of the movable part is performed.

i) Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a positional control apparatus for use in a machine tool, a measuring device or the like having a numerical control device hereinafter referred to as an NC device.
ii) Description of the Related Arts:
In a conventional positional control apparatus used for an NC device, a manual operation mode is provided for moving a turret position for an initial setup change by an operator, obtaining a tool offset or the like. In the manual operation mode, two position control methods are provided, that is, a first position control method in which a movable part can be quickly moved at a certain feeding speed determined by a feed override switch during pushing of a manual feed button even when a specific target position is undetermined, and a second position control method suitable for accurate minute feeding, in which a movable part can be moved by an amount which is the product of a pulse number generated by rotating a pulse handle and a certain moving amount determined by a turnover switch of a feed unit amount.
In FIG. 9, there is shown a conventional positional control apparatus in which a movable part can be quickly moved at a certain feeding speed determined by a feed override switch during pushing of a manual feed button in a manual operation mode. The positional control apparatus includes a moving distance generation means 10 for generating a moving distance LO per unit time corresponding to a predetermined manual feeding speed and a moving distance zero generation means 12 for generating a moving distance zero (0) per unit time for stopping manual feeding. The moving distance generation means 10 outputs a signal 100 and the moving distance zero generation means 12 outputs a signal 101. The moving distance generation means 10 is connected to a constant multiplication means 14 for selecting a constant (one of constants of usually 10 to 15 stages) for changing the feeding speed and multiplying the signal 100 by the selected constant to produce a signal 102. The constant multiplication means 14 is connected to an a contact point of a plus direction manual feed button switch 16 and an a contact point of a minus direction manual feed button switch 18. These button switches 16 and 18 are each normally connected to b contact points and are connected to the a contact points while the buttons are being pressed. Similarly, the moving distance zero generation means 12 is coupled with the b contact points of the button switches 16 and 18. In this case, an interlock (not shown) is provided for preventing the actuation of the two button switches 16 and 18 when the two button switches 16 and 18 are pressed at the same time. The button switches 16 and 18 output respective signals 103 and 104 to a subtracter 20 for subtracting the signal 104 from the signal 103, and the subtracter 20 outputs a subtraction result signal 105 to an acceleration and deceleration (+and-speed) processing part 22 for restraining an occurrence of a large acceleration or torque due to a step-form variation of the feeding speed by the on/off operation of the button switches 16 and 18 by using a suitable acceleration or deceleration method.
The acceleration and deceleration processing part 22 outputs a signal 106 to a position instruction value generator 24 for integrating the moving distances per unit time, instructed up to now to generate a necessary position instruction value, and the position instruction value generator 24 outputs a signal 107 to a position control part 26 for carrying out positional control of a control axis. In this case, the signal 105 is output from the subtracter 20 only in the manual operation mode. The above-described construction is provided for the first axis, and the same construction is formed for the second or third axis, FIG. 9 showing only the construction for the first and second axes.
There is shown in FIG. 10 the conventional position control part 26. In the position control part 26, a position sensor 30 for detecting the position of a turret 28 such as a bit holder sends a present position signal 108 to a subtracter 34 through a position sensing interface 32, and the subtracter 34 subtracts the present position signal 108 from the position instruction value 107 output by the position instruction value generator 24 and outputs a subtraction result signal 109 to a position control amplifier 36 for amplifying the output signal 109. The position control amplifier 36 outputs a signal 110 to a subtracter 42, and the subtracter 42 subtracts a signal 111 output by a tacho-generator 40 for detecting a rotating speed of a servo motor 38 from the signal 110 output from the position control amplifier 36 and outputs a subtraction result signal 112 to a speed control amplifier 44 for amplifying the output signal 112. The speed control amplifier 44 outputs a signal 113 to a subtracter 48. The subtracter 48 is connected to a current control amplifier 50, and a current detector 46 detects a current fed from the current control amplifier 50 to the servo motor 38 and outputs a detected current value to the subtracter 48. The subtracter 48 subtracts the current value detected by the current detector 46 from the signal 113 output by the speed control amplifier 44 and outputs a subtraction result signal 114 to the current control amplifier 50. The shaft of the servo motor 38 is coupled with a ball screw shaft 54 via a coupling 52, and a ball screw part 56 secured to the turret 28 is engaged with the ball screw shaft 54. Hence, by rotating the ball screw shaft 54, the turret 28 is moved to and fro in a direction shown by an arrow. Now, assuming that the control amplifiers 36, 44 and 50 are linear amplifiers, the turret 28 can be moved until the present position signal 108 finally becomes equal to the position instruction value 107.
Next, one embodiment of a tool offset setting for initial work processing using a numerically controlled (NC) lathe will be described as follows.
For the explanation, an axis parallel with the rotational central line of a job to be processed is defined as a Z axis and an axis perpendicular to the central line is defined as an X axis. A shift (.DELTA.Z=Z.sub.1 -Z.sub.0, .DELTA.X=X.sub.1 -X.sub.0) of an actual tool position (Z=Z.sub.1, X=X.sub.1) positioned by actually giving Z=0, X=0 and position instructions from a program origin (Z=Z.sub.0, X=X.sub.0) determined during programming is called a tool offset, and the tool offset is determined by an operator so that a previously formed cutting program may be used as it is without changing Z and X position instructions formed on the basis of the program origin within the cutting program for each separate job.
In order to determine tool offsets of tools to be used, the operator in place performs processing of the job mounted in a chuck by operation of the feed override switch and the manual feed button or operation of the pulse handle with attention to interference of the tools, and its dimension is measured by using slide calipers or the like and is input to the NC device by using keys on an operational panel. Hence, as in the case when initialising the NC lathe, when a number of tools are mounted or exchanged, this is a considerable number of work steps which places a burden on the operator. Therefore, nowadays, a tool edge measuring instrument is provided on the NC lathe in place of the job processing and the direct measurement of its dimensions. For obtaining the tool offset, the edge of the tool is moved near a sensor of the tool edge measuring instrument by the operation of the feed override switch and the manual feed button or the operation of the pulse handle, and then the tool offset setting in either a Z-axis or the X-axis direction is selected by a switch or the like to start a measuring cycle for moving the tool at a predetermined feeding speed. At the time when the tool edge contacts the sensor at this feeding speed, the NC device automatically calculates and sets the tool offset of the tool.
FIG. 11 illustrates the operation of the conventional NC device having the tool edge measuring function. Now, the operation is totally carried out in the manual operation mode. In FIG. 11, P.sub.H (Z.sub.H, X.sub.H), P.sub.1 (Z.sub.1, X.sub.1) and P.sub.S (Z.sub.S, X.sub.S) are a normal inoperative position of the tool, an intermediate position and an automatic measuring start position, respectively. First, by considering that there is no tool interference up to the intermediate position P.sub.1 (Z.sub.1, X.sub.1), a relatively quick feeding speed is selected by the feed override switch, and the tool edge is positioned to the intermediate position P.sub.1 (Z.sub.1, X.sub.1) by operating the manual feed button in a minus (-) Z-axis or minus (-) X-axis direction. In FIG. 11, a broken line indicates the shortest distance and a solid line shows an actual moving locus of the tool edge. Then, moving to the automatic measuring start position P.sub.S (Z.sub.S, X.sub.S) near the sensor, a slow feeding speed is selected by the feed override switch in order to pay attention to the tool interference, and the tool edge is positioned to the automatic measuring start position P.sub.S (Z.sub.S, X.sub.S) by operating the manual feed button in the - Z-axis or the - X-axis direction. In this case, since the tool offset setting in the Z-axis direction is supposed, the interval between the sensor and the tool edge is formed in the Z-axis direction. In turn, when the tool offset setting in the X-axis direction is assumed, the interval between the sensor and the tool edge is formed in the X-axis direction.
Next, either in the tool offset setting in the Z-axis direction, the button in the plus (+) or minus (-) Z-axis direction is selected and pushed or in the tool offset setting in the X-axis direction, the button in the + or - X-axis direction is selected and pushed, and the measuring cycle for moving the tool at the predetermined feeding speed is started. In this measuring cycle, the NC device detects the time when the tool edge contacts the sensor at the above-described feeding speed, and at this time, the tool position is accurately calculated to automatically determine the tool offset of the tool. In FIG. 11, one-dotted-lines indicate the motion of the measuring cycle.
Next, the conventional tool edge measuring operation will be described in connection with a flow chart shown in FIG. 12.
The NC device discriminates whether or not it is in manual operation mode in step S1. When it is discriminated that it is not in the manual operation mode, the operation is finished. When it is discriminated that it is in the manual operation mode, it is discriminated whether or not tool edge measurement is to be performed in step S2. When it is discriminated that the tool edge measurement is not being carried out, the operation is finished. When it is discriminated that the tool edge measurement is being performed, a positioning of the tool in the X-axis and Z-axis directions is carried out by operating the feed button and the pulse handle in order to set the tool offset in the X-axis and Z-axis directions. Then, it is discriminated whether or not a start button for the tool edge measurement in the Z-axis direction has been pressed in step S3. When it is discriminated that the start button for the tool edge measurement in the Z-axis direction has been pressed, it is discriminated whether or not a plus (+) direction is pressed in step S4. When it is discriminated that the + direction is pressed, a contact point in the + Z-axis direction is calculated and the tool offset in the + Z-axis direction is set in step S5. Next, it is discriminated whether or not the tool edge measurement is finished in step S6. When it is discriminated that the tool edge measurement is finished, the tool edge measurement is terminated. When it is discriminated that the tool edge measurement is not finished, the operation is returned to step S3. Further, when it is discriminated that the + direction is not pressed in step S4, a contact point in a minus (-) Z-axis direction is calculated and the tool offset in the - Z-axis direction is set in step S7. Then, the operation is moved to step S6 and the steps followed thereby are carried out. Also, when it is discriminated that the start button for the tool edge measurement in the Z-axis direction is not pushed in step S3, it is discriminated whether or not a start button for the tool edge measurement in the X-axis direction is pushed in step S8. When it is discriminated that the start button for the tool edge measurement in the X-axis direction is pushed, it is discriminated whether or not the + direction button is pushed in step S9. When it is discriminated that the + direction button is pushed, a contact point in the + X-axis direction is calculated and the tool offset in the + X-axis direction is set in step S10. Then, the operation is moved to step S6, as described above. In turn, when it is discriminated that the + direction button is not pressed in step S9, a contact point in the - X-axis direction is calculated and the tool offset in the - X-axis direction is set in step S11. Then, the operation is moved to step S6 and the steps followed thereby are carried out, as described above.
As described above, in the conventional NC device having the tool edge measurement function, the movable part holding the tool or the like is moved by the operation of the feed override switch and the manual feed button or the operation of the pulse handle. In the case of operation of the pulse handle, the feeding speed is very slow compared with the operation of the feed override switch and the manual feed button. Further, in an NC device such as a machining center for performing a position control of a movable part holding tools or the like by composing three axes, since the operator has only two hands, three pulse handles for the three axes can not be operated at the same time. The reason why such a problem concerning the operability can not be improved upon until now is as follows. That is, since the NC device recognizes the positions of the parts by numerical data, when the operator does not know the desired target position in terms of a sufficiently accurate numerical value, it is considered that a certain extent of operability sacrifice is permissible because of the nature of the NC device, and further, since a purpose can be accomplished simply by pushing a start button in a machine tool using the NC device when a cutting program used in quantity production is completed, complicated operation for the moving functions of the movable part at the time of the preparation of the above-described initial setting or the initial setting change do not need to be carried out by the operator. Further, in the NC lathe for controlling one turret by two axes, in order for the operator to quickly move the tool edge, problems arise because that is, it is difficult to operate the two manual feed buttons for the Z- and X-axis at the same time because he only has two hands. Namely, the operation of the two axis can be only performed separately, and the manual feeding speed for each axis can not be continuously changed by the feed override switch. As, at the present time, shortening of job processing time is fairly advanced and the ability to process the jobs of a variety of articles in a small amount of time is desired, the reduction of the time needed for the preparation of the initial setting and the initial setting change becomes very significant.


In general, in one aspect, the disclosure describes a method of processing bits of a frame. The method includes accessing a subset of bits of a frame and based, at least in part, on the subset of bits, determining an address of an instruction within a set of instructions that perform at least one framing operation on the bits. The method executes instructions at the determined instruction address.

A wide variety of mediums carry data between computing devices. For example, a computer can communicate with other network devices through wire, optic, or wireless mediums. These mediums carry signals representing the 1-s and 0-s used in digital systems. For example, a particular voltage in a copper wire may identify a "1" while another voltage identifies a "0".
Unfortunately, communication errors sometime occur, for example, due to noise or other problems. To reduce the potential impact of communication errors, many network devices communicate using logical groupings of bits known as frames. Typically, in addition to a payload of data, a frame often includes data that enables a receiver to detect and, potentially, correct transmission errors. The frame may also include other information such as the description of the payload (e.g., Internet Protocol packets).
Many protocols reserve special sequences of bits, known as flags, to encode information. For example, some protocols define flags that identify the start and end of a frame. For instance, a protocol known as High-Level Data Link Control (HDLC) reserves the bit sequence "01111110" (six "1"-s sandwiched by "0"-s) to identify the start and end of a frame. Thus, an HDLC frame is structured as:                [01111110]—frame data—[01111110].An HDLC receiver can, therefore, identify the start and end of a frame by detecting the sequence of bits reserved for the start and end flags. Potentially, however, some sequence of bits within the frame may coincidentally happen to be the same as a sequence of bits in a flag. To prevent misinterpretation of frame data as a flag, HDLC uses a technique known as bit-stuffing. To perform bit stuffing in HDLC, a sender inserts a "0" whenever five consecutive "1"-s are encountered. For example, frame data of        " . . . 0011111101 . . . "would be transmitted as        " . . . 00111110101 . . . "where the underlined "0" represents a stuffed bit. To recover the intended frame contents, a receiver strips a "0" following five consecutive "1"-s. Framing protocols also define other flags such as an abort flag (e.g., seven or more consecutive "1"-s) that indicates aborted transmission of a frame.


Provided is an optical pickup device capable of stabilizing a tracking signal and a focusing signal and of preventing quality deterioration of a data signal by eliminating a multi-layer crosstalk. Of reflected lights from a multi-layer disc, a reflected light from a target layer is split into two by a light flux splitting optical system so that the reflected light is spread out toward two directions with respect to a central line, and then the split lights are condensed. In this case, a reflected light from another layer does not reach a condensing position of the reflected light from the target layer, and only the reflected light from the target layer can be detected by a detector. Accordingly, a crosstalk from the another layer is eliminated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup device, and more particularly, to a readout optical system of an optical pickup device.
2. Background Art
A recording capacity of one layer in an optical disc largely depends on a wavelength of a used semiconductor laser and a numerical aperture (NA) of a used objective lens. As the wavelength of the semiconductor laser is shorter, or as the NA is larger, a recording density can be larger, and the capacity of one layer can be more increased. The mainstream of optical disc drives which are currently distributed in the market is a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) drive which uses a red light having a wavelength in the vicinity of 650 nm and an objective lens having an NA of 0.6. Meanwhile, as an optical disc drive having a recording density larger than that of the DVD, there is also appearing in the market an optical disc drive which uses a blue-violet semiconductor laser having a light wavelength in the vicinity of 405 nm as its light source and an objective lens having an NA of 0.85. As a method of further increasing the recording density currently achieved, it is conceivable to use a laser having a shorter wavelength, but difficulties are anticipated in the development of a semiconductor laser in the ultraviolet region having a wavelength shorter than that of this blue-violet laser. In addition, with regard to providing the objective lens with a larger NA, the limit value of the NA of the objective lens in the air is 1, and hence it is also becoming difficult to improve the recording density by adjusting the NA of the objective lens.
In these circumstances, as a method of increasing the capacity of one optical disc, double-layering is carried out. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 42 (2003), pp. 956 to 960 introduces a technology for a double-layer phase-change disc. In a case of irradiating a double-layer optical disc with a laser light, an adjacent layer is also irradiated therewith at the same time, which causes a problem of an interlayer crosstalk. In order to reduce this problem, an interlayer spacing is made larger. Because the laser light is condensed, a layer other than an intended layer (target layer) is deviated from a condensing plane of the laser light, and hence the crosstalk can be reduced.
On the other hand, when the interlayer spacing is made larger, a problem of a spherical aberration arises. A recording layer is embedded in a polycarbonate having a refractive index different from that of the air, and the spherical aberration thereof differs depending on the depth from a disc surface. The objective lens is designed so that the spherical aberration thereof is small with respect to a specific layer. Therefore, when the focal point of the laser light is moved to another layer, the spherical aberration occurs because the distance of the focal position from the surface is different. This aberration can be normally corrected by disposing an expander lens optical system formed of two lenses or a liquid crystal element in front of the objective lens. That is, this aberration can be corrected by changing the distance between the two lenses or a phase of the liquid crystal element. However, in consideration of the compensable range of the liquid crystal element or the realization of a moving mechanism for the lenses within a small-sized optical disc drive device, it is difficult to correct a large spherical aberration.
In a case where multi-layering is to be carried out in order to further increase the capacity, a total thickness of the multi-layer is restricted by the correction limit of the spherical aberration. As the number of layers is larger, the interlayer spacing becomes narrower. For this reason, the actual optical drive device for multi-layering still has an interlayer crosstalk unsolved.
In order to reduce the above-mentioned crosstalk, ISOM/ODS'08, Technical Digest Post-deadline Papers, TD05-1.55 (2008) utilizes that, when reflected lights from the multi-layer optical disc are condensed by a lens, condensing positions of the reflected lights from the intended layer and the adjacent layer are different on the optical axis. A grating is disposed so as to include the optical axis, and a reflecting mirror is disposed on a condensing plane of the reflected light from the target layer. The reflected light from the adjacent layer irradiates the grating, and thus is attenuated. On the other hand, the reflected light from the target layer is transmitted through the space between the grating and the reflecting mirror, and thus can return to a detection system without being attenuated. This makes it possible to reduce the interlayer crosstalk.
In addition, in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 45, No. 2B (2006) pp. 1174 to 1177, a tracking signal is obtained by using a single beam, and a stray light from the double-layer is prevented from affecting the tracking signal. The structure is adopted, in which the light in a central part of the grating disposed in a return path is detected outside of the optical axis, whereby the stray light is prevented from entering a quadripartite detector for detecting a tracking signal which is disposed in the vicinity of the center of the optical axis.


The terminal rail system for an escalator includes a pair of terminal rails including a corresponding pair of curved portions thereof having identical curvatures therebetween, a curve start point of either of the terminal rails being displaced from that of the other of the terminal rails, in a pair of terminal rails for an escalator which include a pair of curved portions thereof for guiding therearound a pair of step rear rollers engaged to an escalator step, and a pair of linear portions for guiding therealong the pair of step rear rollers toward the curved portions. The system completely eliminates the noise and vibration caused by an impact of the step rear rollers on the upper casing of the terminal rail.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an escalator, and more particularly to an improved escalator terminal rail system capable of minimizing noise and vibration caused by an impact resulting from a step rear roller passing through a curved channel formed in the terminal rail system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional escalator includes: a pair of hand rails 1 for concurrently moving along a track thereof; a step unit 2 for transporting passengers; and a mechanical assembly 3 for driving the hand rails 1 and the step unit 2.
The mechanical assembly 3 includes: a driving unit provided with a motor 4, a speed reducer 5, a driving chain 6, a driving sprocket 7, a first terminal gear 8, a second terminal gear 11, a driving shaft 12 and a terminal rail 13; and the step unit 2 includes a moving unit provided with a plurality of steps 9, a step chain 10, a step front roller 14, and a step rear roller 15.
With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the terminal rail 13 is provided with a semicircular inner casing 18 and a semicircular outer casing 19, wherein an end portion of the inner casing 18 is engaged to an upper end portion of a lower guide rail 17.
The thusly constituted conventional terminal rail system serves to guide the step rear rollers 15 but lacks any means of removing or decreasing noise or vibration, and a generally adopted method therefor is to relieve an escalation impact by simply applying a precise fabrication to the terminal rail 13 so as to maintain a minimum gap between the inner casing 18 and the outer casing 19, through which gap does the step rear rollers 15 pass.
The operation of the thusly constituted conventional escalator will now be described.
First, force generated by the motor 4 in the mechanical assembly 3 is transferred to the speed reducer 5. In accordance with driving of the sprocket 7 connected to the speed reducer 5, the driving chain 6 is driven. The first terminal gear 8 sharing a shaft with the driving sprocket 7 operates the step chain 10 engaged to the steps 9 which circulate between the first terminal gear 8 and the second terminal gear 11.
Here, the step front rollers 14 travel along the upper guide rail 16, and the step rear rollers 15 travel along the lower guide rail 17, so that as each step 9 arrives at an upper or lower end portion of the escalator, the step rear roller 15 thereof is guided around through the curved channels formed in the terminal rails 13.
Especially, as shown in FIG. 4, at the upper and lower end portions of the escalator, the step front rollers 14 are turned around engaged to the terminal gear 8, and the step rear rollers 15 are turned around along the U-shaped terminal rail 13. At this time, each step rear roller 15 initially travels in contact with an outer surface of the inner casing 18, and when the step rear roller 15 comes up to the curved portion of the terminal rail 13, the step rear roller 15 begins turning around being in close contact with an inner surface of the outer casing 19.
However, the above-described conventional terminal rail 13 has a disadvantage, in that during an operation of the escalator, the step rear rollers 15 at the upper or lower end portions of the escalator impacts against the inner surface of the outer casing 19 therein, thereby generating considerable noise and vibration.
The noise and vibration caused by such impacts poses a serious problem in the conventional escalator that has yet to be solved, and despite continuous efforts made so far to overcome such a disadvantage, the noise and vibration still remain problems.
Recently, in an effort to find the causes of such noise and vibration, there has been carried out a noise measurement experiment employing a Taguchi experimental method which takes into account all the possible noise factors.
FIG. 5 illustrates effects of respective noise generating factors under the Taguchi method, wherein the steeper the slope of any of the factors in the graph, the more effective it becomes to restrain from noise occurrence.
The experiment has revealed that the cause of noise and vibration occurring when the steps 9 turn around at the upper and lower end portions of the escalator, is attributed to the terminal rail 13. Meanwhile, it is also proved that "C" factors as shown in FIG. 5 have relation to an increase or decrease in the impact-caused noise and vibration simply resulting from an impact caused by the step rear rollers 15.
Here, minium is employed in order to discover noise mechanism and location being impacted thereon with regard to the terminal rail 13, and as shown in FIG. 6, the step rear roller 15 travels along the outer surface of the semicircular inner casing 18 of the terminal rail 13 and is deviated away from a curve start point B of the outer surface of the inner casing 18. Then, the step rear roller 15 impacts upon a portion A (spaced about 45 degrees upwardly from an imaginary line extended from a horizontal surface line of the inner casing 18) of the inner surface of the outer casing 19 of the terminal rail 13, and is turned around on and along the inner surface of the outer casing 19 of the terminal rail 13.
More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the step rear rollers 15a, 15b respectively proceed along the inner casings 18 of the terminal rails 13a, 13b, and concurrently swing up against portions "A" of the outer casing 19. In short, the step rear rollers 15A, 15B travelling along the conventional terminal rails 13 swing up from the curve start point "B" to the portion "A" of the outer casing 19 while proceeding along the semicircular inner casing 18 of the terminal rail 13.
That is, the step rear rollers 15A, 15B impact upon portions "A" of the outer casing 19 positioned upwardly by a certain angle from an imaginary line horizontally extended from a flat surface line of the inner casing 18, instead of onto portions of the outer casing 19 directly extended from the flat surface line of the inner casing 18, wherein the upward impact of the step rear rollers 15A, 15B on portions "A" is caused by a lifting force induced when the step front roller 14 is turned round engaged to the terminal gear 8.
Also, according to a track experiment of the step rear rollers 15A, 15B being guided by the terminal rail 13, the step rear rollers 15A, 15B are known to impose a considerable amount of pressure and impact on the outer casing 19 of the terminal rail 13.
Since the track of the step rear rollers 15A, 15B remains unchanged during the operation of the escalator, the step rear rollers 15A, 15B render repeated impacts on the portions "A" of the terminal rail 13, thereby generating serious noise and vibration.
Conclusively, the conventional terminal rail system for an escalator has several disadvantages as follows.
First, the step rear rollers generate a significant amount of noise with each impact on the portion A.
Second, each instance the step rear rollers impact on the portion A at an average rate of 0.8 sec/step, the thusly amplified pulsation increases vibration of the steps.
Third, the step rear rollers and the terminal rail directly impact against each other, thereby decreasing the longevity of each.
Fourth, the rougher the inner surface of the outer casing, the greater becomes the noise.
Fifth, in order to decrease the noise and vibration caused by the impacting of the step rear rollers on the portion A, the gap between the semicircular inner casing and the outer casing may be set by a precise fabrication thereof, thereby increasing cost and lowering productivity in the fabrication and assembly thereof.


A transvenous lead specifically designed for coronary sinus implantation. The lead features a fixation ring positioned adjacent to the electrode. The ring is constructed so as to be readily pliable and bent. The ring functions to wedge or fix the lead within the coronary sinus in such a manner that the electrode is pushed against the vessel wall while the flow of blood through the vessel is not impeded. In alternative embodiments the electrode is positioned on the ring itself. In further alternative embodiments the distal portion of the lead features a pre bent nose to assist in the positioning of the lead into the coronary sinus. The nose may be oriented relative to the ring in any acceptable manner to permit the ring and the electrode to be properly positioned relative to anywhere along the coronary sinus wall.

Modern electrical therapeutic and diagnostic devices for the heart, such as pacemakers, cardiovertors, and defibrillators, for example, require a reliable electrical connection between the device and a region of the heart. Typically, a medical electrical "lead" is used for the desired electrical connection.
One type of commonly used implantable lead is a transvenous lead. Transvenous leads are positioned through the venous system to attach or electrically connect at their distal end to the heart. At their proximal end, they are connected to typically an implantable pulse generator. Such leads normally took the form of a long, generally straight, flexible, insulated conductor. Among the many advantages of a transvenous lead is that it permits an electrical contact with the heart without physically exposing the heart itself, i.e., major thoracic surgery is not required.
The specific design of a transvenous lead used is often varied depending upon the region of the heart to which it is to be connected. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,330 of Lindemans discloses a body implantable lead in which the lead body has a J-curve and the distal electrode has a permanent bend. In such a manner, the lead is configured to electrically connect to the right atrium.
While such a lead has been found acceptable for electrically connecting and thus pacing the right atrium, the need exists for a transvenous medical electrical lead which may provide an electrical connection to the left atrium. Of course the left atrium cannot, at present, be transvenously accessed with a lead for chronic implantation due to the direction of blood flow and the present limitations of materials. To be precise, blood flows through the right side of the heart (atrium and ventricle), through the lungs, through the left side of the heart (atrium and ventricle) and then through the rest of the body, including the brain, before returning again to the right side of the heart. Implanted objects, however, often cause minor blood clots and thrombus to form in the blood. These may, on occasion, dislodge and be released into the bloodstream. Because the blood circulates directly from the left atrium and ventricle to the brain, any clots, however minor, could have serious consequences if they were to reach the brain, e.g. a stroke. In contrast, any clots released from an object implanted in the right side of the heart would simply travel to the lungs, where they would lodge without any serious risk. Thus at present, chronic transvenous leads may not be safely implanted within the left side of the heart.
In spite of the difficulties, there remains a great need to be able to electrically stimulate or sense or both the left side of the heart. The most obvious reason is the left side of the heart accounts for the majority of the heart's hemodynamic output. For example, the left ventricle has a greater wall thickness (10-20 mm as compared to 1-5 mm) than the right side. This, of course, is reasonable given that the left side of the heart must pump blood throughout the body while the right side only pumps blood through the lungs.
Because the left side is relatively more important for hemodynamic output, not surprisingly various pathologies may be better treated through stimulation on the left side of the heart. For example, in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, electrical stimulation of both the right side and the left side of the heart has been shown to be of major importance to improve the patient's well-being and manage heart failure. See, for example, Cazeau et al., "Four Chamber Pacing in Dilated Cardiomyopathy," PACE, Nov. 1994, pgs. 1974-79. See also Brecker and Fontainem, St. et al., "Effects Of Dual Chamber Pacing With Short Atrioventricular Delay In Dilated Cardiomyopathy," Lancet Nov. 1992 Vol. 340 p1308-1312; Xiao H.B. et al., "Effect Of Left Bundle Branch Block On Diastolic Function In Dilated Cardiomyopathy," Br. Heart J 1991, 66(6) p 443-447; and Fontaine G et al, "Electrophysiology Of Pseudofunction," CI.Meere (ed.) Cardiac pacing, state of the art 1979, Pacesymp, 1979 Montreal.
At present there are several techniques for implanting a lead onto or into the left side of the heart. First, of course, is through general thoracic surgery; either via a median sternotomy; intercostal approach; or, in a more limited procedure, a sub-xiphoid approach. These procedures, however, involve major surgery which may be painful and dangerous for the patient, as well as extremely costly. The sub-xiphoid approach, moreover, only permits limited access to the anterolateral surface of the left ventricle as well as to the left atrium. Another approach used is to electrically access the left atrium is through the coronary sinus.
The coronary sinus, however, presents challenges in both implanting the lead in the proper position as well as ensuring the lead maintains sufficient electrical contact with the desired tissue. U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,772 of Lurie et al. discloses a coronary sinus catheter having three sections. Each section has varying degrees of flexibility, with the proximal reinforced section being stiffer than an intermediate section, the intermediate section being stiffer than the softened tip section. The catheter also is curved, with the curve beginning in the intermediate section, the curve further continuing into the softened tip section, where the radius of curvature decreases, i.e., the catheter becomes more curved closer to the tip. One drawback to such a design, however, is that the particular shape of the curve is not ideally suited for electrically accessing the left atrium. In addition, such a catheter is relatively complicated to manufacture due to the required reinforcing braid or other mends in the proximal reinforced section. Finally, such a catheter does not permit introduction of a stylet to assist in the placement of the catheter into the coronary sinus.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a medical electrical lead which is suitably shaped to provide an electrical connection through the coronary sinus to one or both of the left chambers of the heart.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical electrical lead having an electrode positioned so that when the lead is implanted into the coronary sinus the electrode is positioned against the coronary sinus wall.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical electrical lead having an electrode which may be positioned along a selected portion of the coronary sinus wall, such as the lower portion of the coronary sinus wall and thus be able to electrically communicate with the left ventricle, or the upper portion of the coronary sinus wall and thus be able to electrically communicate with the left atrium.
A still further object of the present invention is to provide a medical electrical lead having an electrode which may be positioned along a selected portion of the coronary sinus wall but which will minimize the diminishment of any blood flow through the coronary sinus.


A new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant named ‘Taylor’, characterized by its numerous multi-petalled red purple-colored flowers; upright, uniform and compact plant habit; freely branching growth habit; green-colored glossy leaves; and excellent postproduction longevity.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Kalanchoe plant, botanically known as Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Taylor'.
The new Kalanchoe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in De Lier, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Kalanchoes with multi-petalled flowers.
The new Kalanchoe originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in November, 1999, of the Kalanchoe cultivar Leonardo, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,365, as the female, or seed, parent with the Kalanchoe cultivar Klabat, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 10,454, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Kalanchoe was selected by the Inventor in 2000 in a controlled environment in De Lier, The Netherlands as a single flowering plant from the resultant progeny of the cross-pollination on the basis of its multi-petalled flowers.
Asexual reproduction of the new Kalanchoe by terminal vegetative cuttings in De Lier, The Netherlands, since 2000 has shown that the unique features of this new Kalanchoe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A multisense-adaptive reading circuit is described, which is associated to a sense element of an interleaved DC-DC converter module. The reading circuit comprises at least a first and second current source connected to a first and second terminal of the module, connected in turn to a first and second resistive element, as well as a tracker of a current information coming from the first and second current source. Advantageously according to the invention, the reading circuit also comprises a reading mode detector effective to detect a common mode voltage value and, based on this value, to determine a reading mode being used among possible reading modes to self-adapt the reading circuit to the reading mode being used by providing convenient enabling signals to the first and second current sources and to the tracker. A multisense-self-adaptive reading method being implemented by means of that circuit is also described.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multisense-adaptive reading circuit and reading method.
More specifically the invention relates to a multisense-adaptive reading circuit, associated to a sense element of an interleaved DC-DC converter module and comprising at least a first and second current source connected to a first and second terminal of said module, connected in turn to a first and second resistive element, as well as a tracker of a current information coming from said first and second current source.
The invention also relates to a multisense-self-adaptive reading method.
The invention relates particularly, but not exclusively, to a reading circuit used by the modules of an interleaved DC-DC converter and the following description is made with reference to this field of application for convenience of illustration only.
2. Description of the Related Art
As it is well known, the continuous development of the electric features of processors or CPUs (acronym for the English Computing Processing Unit) for PCs, workstations and servers force producers to look for ever-new solutions to meet the requirements required by central processing units or CPUs. In particular, latest generation CPUs require a high supply voltage precision, equal for example to +/−0.8% in the steady state and +/−3% in the transient state.
Besides these precision requirements, the supply voltages being used fall to 0.8V and load currents rise to 120 A with edges of 100 A/μs, with an efficiency requirements exceeding 80%.
It is thus a matter of using convenient voltage or current controller devices being capable to ensure the required efficiency. Such a device comprises for example an interleaving DC-DC converter, used as an economic and effective solution to meet said requirements and to obtain an output voltage value starting from an input voltage value Vin being equal to 12V+/−1.2V through an ATX bus or equal to 5V+/−0.5V through an ATX bus.
In particular, such a converter topology is obtained by connecting in parallel N Buck-or-step-down-configured DC converters, i.e., by connecting the input and output terminals together. Each DC-DC converter is called module, channel or phase.
The known DC-DC converter interleaving configuration also implies that a convenient clock circuit closes high-side switches comprised in the N modules with a phase displacement corresponding to the switching period T divided by the number N of modules.
By applying the well known voltage control mode to an interleaving configuration such as the one being described, an uncontrolled distribution of the currents in the inductances of the parallel N modules is obtained. It is instead desirable to obtain a predetermined total load current with an egalitarian distribution between the modules, i.e., to obtain that each module carries a current being equal to the output current required divided by N.
To this purpose it is known to use a so-called "current sharing" technique.
Besides the need to use the current sharing technique, the known interleaving-configured DC-DC converter must be able to vary the output voltage value thereof proportionally to the total current required. In other words, by indicating with VID a nominal output voltage value when the DC-DC converter provides a null current value and being I a required output current value, the output voltage value Vout is given by:Vout=VID−I×Rdroopwhere Rdroop is a factor which is programmable outside the DC-DC converter and variable according to the CPUs wherein this DC-DC converter must be used. Thus it is dealt with droop functions or voltage positioning.
Such a DC-DC converter must also control that an anomalous current load does not damage the devices fed thereby. In particular the over current or short circuit conditions into which a load degenerates are conditions which must be traced and remedied by a control system associated to the DC-DC converter protecting the load, i.e., the devices connected to the interleaving DC-DC converter.
All these control and protection functions (i.e., the "voltage positioning", the "current sharing" and the protection against "Over current" and "Short Circuit" conditions) implies an effective reading and processing system of an analogue information corresponding to a current value of each module.
Known reading systems, in order to meet the Current Sharing and droop function requirements, are designed in order to read or evaluate a current value being delivered by each module towards the output terminal thereof. In particular, a known reading system reads this module current value as a voltage drop across a resistance associated to each module. This resistance can be a module parasitic element (such as a turn-on resistance Rds, on of power switches comprised therein or an inductance resistance DCR) or it can be an element being suitably inserted in the circuit (a reading resistance Rsense arranged in series with the power switches or the inductance).
The first solution is more economical since it exploits elements being already comprised in the module topology, but it provides an inaccurate reading since it is sensitive to the component production variations and to the temperature thereof.
The second solution has the advantage to obtain a very precise and temperature-independent reading, for example realising these supplementary elements with constantan, with the drawback of a higher cost and a conversion efficiency reduction.
FIGS. 1A to 1C show different operating conditions of an interleaved DC-DC converter comprising N modules, comprising in turn a HighSide switch and a LowSide switch realised by means of power transistors. It is assumed that at the output a current I is required, which is equally distributed between the N modules.
In particular, each module 10 comprises a transistor MH serving as a HighSide switch being series-connected to a transistor ML serving as a LowSide switch between a first and second voltage reference, particularly an input voltage Vin and a ground GND. This input voltage Vin is particularly applied to an ATX bus.
The module 10 also comprises the series of an inductor L and an output capacitor Cout being inserted between an intermediate node X between the transistors MH and ML and the ground.
An output voltage value Vout of the module 10 is across the capacitor Cout.
The following cases occur:
1) As shown in FIG. 1A, the reading of a current IA of the module 10 occurs between a drain terminal and a source terminal of the transistor MH, i.e., of the HighSide switch of the module 10.
In that case, the reading is few dissipative since the module current IA flows in the transistor MH, which is a power MOS transistor, only for a time equal to DTs (where Ts is the switching period of the switches MH and ML and D is the duty cycle or the time percentage with respect to Ts wherein the transistor is on). Thus it results that the module 10 dissipates a very reduced power especially for a 5V ATX bus.
Moreover, when the switch or transistor MH closes and the source terminal thereof reaches a voltage value being equal to the input voltage Vin, the reading is damaged because of the noise due to the capacitive and inductive coupling effects.
All this makes the reading very difficult.
In practise, the reading across the transistor MH is used with a conversion from Vin to Vout starting from the ATX bus and thus with a sufficiently large time interval DTs wherein the transistor MH is closed.
2) As shown in FIG. 1B, the reading of a current IB of the module 10 occurs between the drain terminal and the source terminal of the transistor ML, i.e., of the LowSide switch of the module 10.
In this case the transistor ML closes for a time equal to (1−D)Ts (where Ts is always the switching time of the switches MH and ML and D is the duty cycle).
There is thus much more time available, the reading can thus be performed for any ATX bus being used. The reading can eventually be performed even with a reading resistance Rsense arranged in series with the transistor ML.
3) As shown in FIG. 1C, the reading of a current IC of the module 10 occurs across the inductor L.
In that case, the reading performed by using an outer reading resistance would be extremely dissipative. A parasitic resistance DCR of the inductor L is thus be used.
Actually, since a terminal of the inductor L oscillates between a ground voltage value GND and the input voltage value Vin, the reading must be acquired by filtering the current value on that parasitic resistance DCR in order to draw a continuous information and an alternate information repeating the original ripple of the current flowing through the inductor L.
In particular, it is possible to use a filter configuration RC comprising the series of a resistor R1 and of a capacitor C1 connected across the inductor L. Moreover, these supplementary elements R1, C1 must be so sized that it results:R1×C1=L/DCR
It can thus be perceived that parametric variations of these components cannot ensure that the above-cited condition is always meet, damaging in this case the speed and the performances of the so-obtained module.
It is also possible to cancel this drawback by using a reading resistance Rsense arranged in series with the inductor L, as shown in FIG. 1C. In that case, an 5V or 12V ATX bus can be used as an input voltage value Vin.
Obviously, different reading systems correspond to the above-indicated reading conditions. In particular:
1) By reading the voltage signal across the transistor MH it is possible to draw the load current information only during the transistor conduction. It is thus necessary to avoid reading both during the conduction period of the transistor ML and during the conduction of the schottky diode (or of the intrinsic diode of the synchronous MOS transistor) or during the dead time. In order to minimise the noise in reading it is also worth avoiding the turn-on and turn-off instants of the transistor MH whereon the reading is performed and the turn-on and turn-off instants of the power switches of the remaining phases.
It is thus necessary to insert a tracking system of the collected information.
This system is few dissipative, but of very difficult application in the converters being concerned for power supply CPU applications. In fact in these applications the conduction of the transistor MH occurs for a very short time interval given by Vout/Vin×Ts, where Ts is the switching period.
Since the reading system has a lowest latency time being required to acquire the information and to track it, this constrains the application to a lowest switching period.
2) By reading the voltage signal across the transistor ML it is possible to draw the load current information only during the transistor ML conduction, as seen with reference to the reading on the transistor MH. Also in that case it is necessary to track the analogue information represented by the voltage across the sense element Rsense in an instant far from the switchings of the other components; in the remaining time hold the last value acquired from the information, as described in the Italian patent application No. MI2000A002042 filed on Sep. 19, 2000 in the name of the Applicant itself.
3) By reading the voltage signal across the inductor L (i.e., across the filtering capacity C1) on the contrary the information being obtained is always valid and thus it does not require any tracking. It is perceived therefrom that for the noise-freedom the best reading system is composed by a reading resistance arranged in series with the inductor. Unfortunately this system is the most dissipative of all.
The information acquired by the reading system must be used to perform simultaneously four different functions:
Average Current Mode: it allows the output voltage Vout to be regulated ensuring a fast response to load variations. It also allows a correct current sharing between the modules 10 during the transients to be obtained.
Droop function: The current information is used to shift the reference of a feedback loop proportionally to the load.
Average current sharing: By comparing the so-obtained current of each module with the average current value a control signal of a voltage loop of each module is corrected in order to correct the unbalances between the different modules and equalise the current thereof.
Current limit: In order to obtain a precise and fast current limit an instantaneous, and thus not filtered, information on the current is required. In order to limit the highest current deliverable by the module it is necessary to adapt the limiting mechanism to the reading type.
In particular, when reading on the transistor MH and on the inductor L it is sufficient to turn the transistor MH off whenever the detected current thereof exceeds a set threshold. When reading on the transistor ML, which is already in the falling phase of the inductor L current, the mechanism is more complex, as described in the above-cited patent application.
The technical problem underlying the present invention is to provide a reading circuit for interleaved DC-DC converters, having such structural and functional features as to automatically adapt to a component being used as a reading or "sense" resistance, giving the user the greatest latitude to decide how to optimise the controller design and thus overcoming the limits and drawbacks still affecting the reading circuit realised according to the prior art.

Multisense-adaptive reading circuit, particularly for interleaved DC-DC converters and corresponding reading method


A toner for developing an electrostatic image has toner particles containing a binder resin and a colorant. The toner particle has at least a core composed of a low-temperature softening substance, an inner layer enclosing the core, and an outer layer enclosing the core and the inner layer. The core, the inner layer, and the outer layer are constituted respectively of a material which is discriminable by staining with triruthenium tetroxide and triosmium tetroxide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner which is useful for developing electrostatic images and is suitable for fixation by hot-pressing. The present invention also relates to a process for producing the toner.
2. Related Background Art
Electrophotographic methods have been known as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,297,691, Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 42-23910 and 43-24748, and so forth. Generally in electrophotography by using a photoconductive material, images are copied or printed by forming an electrostatic image on a photosensitive member, developing the electrostatic image with a toner to form a toner image, transferring the toner image onto a toner image-receiving medium (transfer medium) such as a paper sheet, and fixing the toner image by heating, pressing, hot-pressing, solvent vapor exposure, or a like method.
Various methods have been disclosed for developing and fixing electrostatic images with a toner, and a suitable method is selected for the respective image forming process. Conventionally, the toner used for the above method is produced generally by a process comprising melt-blending a colorant composed of a dye and/or a pigment into a thermoplastic resin to form a uniform dispersion, pulverizing the blended matter, and classifying the pulverized matter to separate toner particles having an intended particle size.
Such a production process produces a toner of sufficiently high quality under some limitations. For example, the colorant-containing resin composition should be brittle to be pulverizable economically by a pulverizing apparatus. However, the colorant-containing resin composition which has been made brittle tends disadvantageously to have broader particle size distribution after a high-speed pulverization to contain relatively larger particles. Moreover, such a brittle toner material tends to be further crushed or pulverized during image development. In such a production process, a fine solid particulate material like a colorant cannot readily be dispersed sufficiently uniformly in a resin. The insufficient dispersion can cause increased fogging, lower image density, lower toner color mixing characteristics, or lower transparency. A colorant which is uncovered on the broken surface of the toner may cause variation of development characteristics of the toner.
To solve the problems involved in the toner produced by the aforementioned pulverization, suspension polymerization for producing the toner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 36-10231, 42-10799, and 51-14895. In the suspension polymerization, a polymerizable monomer, a colorant, and a polymerization initiator, and optionally a crosslinking agent, a charge-controlling agent, and other additives are mixed to form a monomer composition of a uniform solution or dispersion, and the polymerizable monomer is polymerized in an aqueous medium containing a dispersion stabilizer with agitation by a suitable mixer to form toner particles having a desired particle diameter.
Therefore, the toner produced by the suspension polymerization need not be pulverized, so that the toner material is not required to be brittle or may be used a soft material. Further, the colorant does not become uncovered on the toner particle surface because of the absence of the pulverization process, thereby uniform frictional electrification characteristics of the toner are achievable. Furthermore, the particle classification operation can be omitted to provide cost reduction effects such as saving of energy, shortening of production time, and improvement of process yield.
However, when the toner produced by such a process is further pulverized, it tends to have the colorant uncovered on the particle surface thereof which causes decrease of uniformity of the electrification and variation of the developing characteristics. This phenomenon is significant particularly when the copying or printing is continued under high humidity conditions.
For uniform electrification of the toner, methods have been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 62-73277 and 3-35660, in which the surface layer of toner particles is covered with a resin. In these methods, the absolute value of the electric charge becomes smaller disadvantageously, because only a small amount of charge-controlling agent can be incorporated, although the thick coating layer counteracts the above adverse effects of the uncovered colorant.
To solve the above problem, multi-layer coating of the toner particles is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 64-62666 and 64-63035, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-57105. However, the production process therefor is complicated and unduly costly.
To overcome such disadvantages, a charge-controlling agent is deposited on the toner particle surface as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 61-273558 and 5-134437. This method, however, causes a problem in the release of the charge-controlling agent from the toner surface which reduces the toner durability in copying or printing a plurality of sheets.
In recent years, digital full-color copying machines and printers have been commercialized which are capable of producing images of high quality with high resolution, high gradation, high color reproducibility without color irregularity. In a digital full-color copying machine or printer, the color of an original color image is separated into elemental colors by use of filters of B (blue), G (green), and R (red). Electrostatic images constituted of dots of a diameter ranging from 20 to 70 .mu.m corresponding to the original image are developed with toners of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black) according to the subtractive color mixing principle. In color copying or printing, the particles of the toner are required to be finer in size to obtain fine dots for high image quality since the toners are transferred in larger amounts than in monochromatic copying from the photosensitive members onto the toner image-receiving medium.
Improvement of the low-temperature fixabtlity of the toner is important in consideration of future increases in the printing speed and of future progress in full-color copying. From this standpoint, the toner produced by polymerization is preferred since it can be produced relatively easily in fine particle size with sharp particle size distribution.
The colors of the respective color toners used in a full-color copying machine or a full-color printer should be miscible sufficiently with each other in the fixation step. In full-color copying or printing, color reproducibility is important, and transparency of an overhead projector (abbreviated as OHP) image is required. Further, the color toners are desirably composed of a lower molecular weight resin to be more readily fusible than the black toner.
For a black toner, a relatively highly crystalline wax such as polyethylene waxes and polypropylene waxes is used as a releasing agent in order to improve the high-temperature offset resistance at the image fixation step. In full-color image formation for OHP, however, the high crystallinity of the wax lowers the transparency of the formed image.
Therefore, a releasing agent is not usually incorporated into color toners, but an offset-preventing agent such as a silicone oil is applied onto a hot-fixing roller to improve the high-temperature offset resistance. However, the excess silicone oil adhering onto a toner image-receiving medium may undesirably provide the user with an unpleasant feeling on handling the medium after the fixation. To solve this problem, an oil-free fixing toner was investigated which contains a large amount of low-temperature softening substance in a toner particle. A toner is demanded which is superior in low-temperature fixability and transparency and has high-temperature offset resistance.
To solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-230073 discloses a color image fixing process employing a polymerized toner containing a low-temperature softening substance having releasability. This toner is liable to deteriorate in toner developing properties during many sheets of copying or printing, which is considered to be ascribable to exudation of the low-temperature softening substance to the toner particle surface.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-35457 describes addition of a polar polymer or copolymer to the polymerizable monomer composition to prevent exposure of the colorant or the exudation of the low-temperature softening substance to the toner particle surface. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-317925 discloses formation of a hydrophilic outer shell on the surface of the toner particles for the same purpose. However, the hydrophilicity of the shell-forming material will impair the development characteristics of the toner under high humidity conditions. Further, in this method, the glass transition temperature of the core resin is set at a temperature ranging from 10.degree. C. to 50.degree. C. in order to reduce the interruption of fixing by the shell material, which tends to cause sticking of the toner image-receiving medium onto the fixing roller in toner image fixation.
Accordingly, a toner, in particular a color toner, is desired which is produced by polymerization and yet does not involve the aforementioned problems in development characteristics and fixation characteristics.

Toner for developing electrostatic image and process for production thereof


A method, non-transitory computer readable medium and traffic analysis computing device for analyzing network traffic comprising sending to one or more network devices a request to capture one or more network information upon identifying a fault within a network. Next, one or more network reporting files comprising the captured one or more network information is received from each of the one or more network devices. Upon receiving the network reporting files, a location at which the identified fault occurred within the network is determined. Based on the determination, one or more corrective actions is performed at the location of the identified fault within the network.

With growing digitization and advancements in internet and telecommunication, there is a requirement for computer network system everywhere. Organizations and business houses now have infrastructure—either to sustain their current productivity with reliability and efficiency or to scale up to the next level. Nonetheless, whether such an infrastructure is a basic or a gigantic one, the network is managed by network administrator(s).
Traffic analysis refers to the activities, methods, procedures and tools that pertain to the operation, administration, maintenance and provisioning of networked systems. Functions that are performed as part of traffic analysis accordingly include controlling, planning, allocating, deploying, coordinating and monitoring the resources of a network. Of the many reasons, one prominent one is to capture information to analyze traffic and troubleshoot a network error or fault. Additionally, it is beneficial to know the location at which the information was captured which would further help analyze the network traffic better. While existing technologies includes various mechanisms, tools and solutions to analyze network traffic, unfortunately, existing technologies does not identify the exact location of capture of the information thereby making the process of identifying the location at which a network error or fault occurred a complex process.

Methods for analyzing network traffic and devices thereof


A laparoscopy simulator includes two rods and an orientation sensor that determines the orientation of the rods. An optical sensor is used to determine measurements of each rod based on the rotation of the rod around a central axis of the rod and a sliding of the rod along the central axis. An accelerometer is used to determine additional measurements of each rod based on a rotation of the rod around two additional rotation axes of the simulator. The measurements are used to determine the overall orientation of the rods.

The growth of minimally invasive therapies has led to a growing interest in the potential for computer-based simulation for training. Many computer-based medical simulators have been designed to teach these new techniques. Many of these efforts have focused on laparoscopic surgery, in which rigid tools are inserted into the patient's abdomen and visual feedback is provided by an endoscopic camera that produces a high-definition color image. These simulators can be skills trainers or procedure trainers, and emphasize the three-dimensional hand-eye coordination practice that is useful for laparoscopic surgery.
For these simulators, the orientation of the rigid tools, which are typically rods, must be constantly calculated. Various goniometers or goniometry methods have been used in position and orientation sensing for rods and other devices. Mechanical and optical angle sensors are the most common ways to measure the angle of each linkage that allows movement. However, the use of these sensors often requires precision machined and bulky components as part of the implementation.
Based on the foregoing, there is a need for an improved system and method for determining the orientation of a rod or other object.


A method of forming an asphalt mixture includes mixing a polyol with a bio-source material to form a bio-asphalt. The method can further include mixing the bio-asphalt with a bitumen source different from the bio-asphalt to form an asphalt mixture. The bio-source material can include an oil, such as a vegetable oil, an animal fat, or any combination thereof. The bitumen source can include a petroleum-based asphalt. The method can further include adding a modifier, such as a fatty acid, a polycarboxylic acid, a polyacrylic acid, a polyacrylate comprising a copolymer, or any combination thereof. Moreover, a roofing grade asphalt mixture includes a bio-asphalt. The bio-asphalt includes an alkyd, wherein the alkyd is a reaction product of a polyol and a bio-source material. The roofing grade asphalt mixture further includes a bitumen source material and particles.

Asphalt mixtures can find applications in the paving or roofing industries. Roofing products can be in different forms, such as shingles or membranes. The roofing products can include a base material and a bituminous material. The base material can include wood, a wood derivative (e.g., paper), fiberglass, organic fibers (e.g., polyester), or the like. Conventionally, the bituminous material can include asphalt, a filler, and potentially a plasticizer or a rubber modifier. A variety of fillers has been used including limestone, talc, fly ash, coal fines, or other relatively inert materials. Limestone has been most commonly used as filler in roofing products due to its relatively low cost and its compatibility with a wide variety of materials used for roofing products. Regardless of the composition of a roofing product, the roofing product must still be able to withstand the rigors of shipping and handling, installation, and exposure to outdoor environments for many years.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the invention.

Roofing product including bio-based asphalt mixture and methods of making the roofing product and the roofing-grade asphalt mixture


A battery for supplying power to an automotive electrical system. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the battery includes a first terminal and second terminal connected across at least one power cell configured to generate an electrical potential between the first and second terminals. The battery, however, further includes a first electrical distribution block being electrically connected directly with the first battery terminal, and thus is at the same electrical potential. Similarly, the battery includes a second electrical distribution block that is electrically isolated from the second terminal. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the second distribution block is electrically connected to the second battery terminal via a protection fuse. Typically, the protection fuse will range from 60 amperes to 300 amperes in its rating value. In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention the first and second distribution blocks define multiple connection points where cables or other items of the electrical system may be electrically connected to the battery terminals. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, these connection points may be defined by threaded bores within the distribution blocks and companion set screws. Cables or other items may then be secured, both physically and electrically, to the battery by advancing the set screw into the receiving bore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to batteries for automotive electrical systems, and more particularly to a improved battery for automotive stereo systems.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been a significant proliferation in car audio systems. Many people are known to spend thousands of dollars to construct a high-power and high-performance car audio systems. Early in this recent movement, the emphasis was on power; bigger speakers, sub-woofers, more amplifiers were all demanded to enhance the systems. Now, to exact not only increased power but improved performance, car audio systems are becoming more sophisticated as well.
No longer are high-performance car audio systems those that have merely an amplifier, an equalizer and four speakers. Instead, standard fare in many car audio systems now includes substitute or auxiliary deep-cycle batteries, banks of power capacitors, high output alternators, gold-plated fused distribution blocks, twisted pair cabling with gold-plated connectors, heavy gauge copper cabling, battery isolators, high-current relays, and the list goes on. Indeed, to obtain the obsolute most from a system's sound quality, ancillary components like 12 volt DC fans and fan controllers are often used to maintain amplifiers at an optimum operating temperature. Sound dampening materials are also frequently used to minimize vehicular road noise. Indeed, it seems that virtually no detail is too small, when it comes to minimizing noise or maximizing sound quality. Not only is sound quality a significant issue, but system appearance is also important.
Having said this, it is well known that for most high-power, high-performance car audio systems, the conventional lead-acid battery is typically either replaced by, or supplemented with, a "deep-cycle" battery. Due to the power demands of many high-power audio systems, the battery is often drained, particularly if the stereo is played while the car is not running. Typical lead-acid batteries are designed for cold-cranking amps in order to start an automobile, and, unfortunately, can sustain only about 3 to 10 cycles before exhaustion (i.e., becoming completely dead). Dry cell batteries, however, have been developed for deep cycle applications, whereby the battery may cycle as many as several hundred times before exhaustion. Preferably, an auxiliary battery of this type is used to supply power to the stereo system, leaving the ignition battery undisturbed. As is known, this auxiliary battery is often placed in the trunk of the vehicle and is wired to the automobile's alternator, so that the auxiliary battery becomes recharged when the vehicle engine is running.
Although most components in a high-performance automotive audio system runs on a separately fused circuits, a main power fuse is also placed in series with the supply battery (e.g., the auxiliary battery). In order to reduce fire and shock hazards, this main fuse is typically fused within 12 to 18 inches of the battery. As is known, typical values for this main fuse range from 60 to 300 amperes, depending upon the power requirements of the particular system design. Accordingly, the fuse is often rather large in physical size.
Indeed, in-line fuse holders are frequently 6 inches in length.
One shortcoming of the prior art systems described above relates to the installation of this main fuse. Often, the fuse is left to "dangle" in mid-air. Since the fuse must be so closely attached to the battery (i.e., 12-18 inches), there is usually not enough cable length to allow the fuse to be mounted in a convenient location. Unless there is a railing or some other appropriate platform near the battery on which to mount the fuse, the fuse is simply supported (i.e., "dangled") by the power cable run from the battery, which is an unsightly configuration.
Another shortcoming of these prior art systems relates to the excessive number connection points required. Namely, an electrical connection is formed between the battery and the first power cable. Another is formed between the first power cable and the fuse. Still another is formed between the opposite fuse contact and another power cable that extents to the next component in the audio system (perhaps a storage capacitor). Each additional connection point increases system installation time, and also increases the system's susceptibility to electrical noise.
Accordingly, what is desired is an improved battery for supplying power to automotive electrical systems, and specifically for automotive stereo systems.

Battery with multi-connection terminals and integral fuse


When image data coded by a DCT coding method in a predetermined block size is to be decoded, an image processing apparatus extracts necessary DCT coefficients of a block on the basis of an enlargement/reduction ratio determined in advance, then decodes the extracted DCT coefficients. Thereby it is possible to produce a reduced image at high speed without using a memory of high capacity.

The invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus and, more particularly, to an image processing method and apparatus dealing with a digital image encoded by block.
Conventionally, in an image processing system which stores encoded image data and displays it on a monitor or the like, in order to obtain image data representing an image whose size is different from an original image, it has been common to perform enlargement or reduction after decoding the compressed original image data.
For example, to obtain an image of a smaller size (a reduced image) than the original image, the coded original image data is reproduced in an original size, then known interpolation processing, such as sub-sampling, has to be performed to complete the enlargement or reduction.
Conventional decoding and displaying processes will be explained below with reference to drawings.
FIG. 33 is a block diagram illustrating a constitution of a decoding and displaying processes in the conventional image processing apparatus.
In FIG. 33, encoded data, based on a discrete cosine transfer (DCT) using a block size of eight-pixel by eight-pixel, which is a block size of a still image standard encoding method, is stored in an image memory A 1501. The coded data is inputted to a decoding unit 1502, thereat the coded data is decoded in accordance with a decoding processing which will be described later. Then, the decoded data is stored in an image memory B 1503. Next, the decoded image data stored in the image memory B 1503 is inputted to an enlargement/reduction processing unit 1504 where the image data is applied to an enlargement/reduction process, such as a sub-sampling or such interpolation processing, based on an enlargement/reduction ratio designated by an enlargement/reduction ratio designator 1507. After the processes, the image data is stored in an image memory C 1505 for display (a display memory). Then, the processed data stored in the image memory C 1505 is displayed on a display 1506.
In FIG. 34, an example of a conventional decoding unit 1502 shown in FIG. 33 is illustrated.
In the decoding unit 1502, an 8.times.8 DCT coded data is decoded. In FIG. 34, the coded data is inputted to a Huffman decoding unit 1601 via an input terminal 1600, and decoded, then 8.times.8 DCT coefficients are reproduced. Next, the reproduced DCT coefficients are inputted into an inverse DCT unit 1602 and applied with an inverse DCT process, then an image data of an 8.times.8 block size is reproduced. The reproduced image data is outputted to the image memory B 1503 in FIG. 33 via an output terminal 1603.
As described above, in a conventional image processing method and apparatus, all the DCT coded data is converted to image data of an original size by decoding the coded data, then enlarged or reduced.
However, according to the conventional method and apparatus described above, it takes considerable time to decode the encoded original image data. Further, it requires a memory of large capacity, such as the image memory B 1503 shown in FIG. 33, for temporary storing the original image data while processing it.
Therefore, by utilizing a hierarchical coding method having plural kinds of image data of different sizes in a single coded data, it is possible to encode at high speed without a memory of large capacity for temporary storing data.
As a typical hierarchical coding method used by a conventional image processing apparatus, there is the well-known Laplacean Pyramid coding method.
According to the Laplacean Pyramid coding method, an input image is hierarchically compressed from 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, and so on, and at each hierarchy of the pyramid, a compressed image is coded by using the discrete cosine transfer, or the like. The order of encoding is to encode the most compressed image, then encode the difference between the image expanded to doubled the size of the decoded image corresponding to the most compressed image and the image compressed to the aforesaid "doubled" size obtained from the input image. The aforesaid process is repeated until the image size of the hierarchy which is the subject to encode and the input image becomes the same size, thereby coded data of multi-hierarchical images can be generated.
Coded data of each hierarchy of the hierarchical coding method, such as the Laplacean pyramid coding method as described above, is generated by coding a part of the decoded original image data. Then, by decoding coded data of each hierarchy, the lower hierarchical image can be obtained as, for instance, a reduced image.
Further, not only the aforesaid hierarchical coding method but also a sequential coding method in which an input image is sequentially coded from left to right and from top to bottom is widely known. Data coded by the sequential coding method is the same as data which is coded by the hierarchical coding method using only a single hierarchy.
Referring to FIGS. 35 and 36, a conventional hierarchical coding method will be described. FIG. 35 is a block diagram illustrating a structure of an image processing apparatus capable of using the conventional hierarchical coding method.
In FIG. 35, reference numeral 101 denotes a decoder, which reproduce RGB image data from image data, encoded by a DCT sequential encoder (not shown), as an input, by performing decoding, inverse-quantizing, inverse DCT, and color conversion. The RGB image data outputted from the decoder 101 is sub-sampled to a size of 1/2 in the vertical and horizontal directions by a sub-sampling unit A 102, thereby an image of 1/4 (1/2.times.1/2) size of the original image is produced. At a sub-sampling unit B 103, the sub-sampled RGB image data is further sub-sampled to a 1/2 size in the vertical and horizontal directions, and a 1/16 (1/4.times.1/4) size image of the original image is produced. Furthermore, at a sub-sampling unit C 104, the RGB image data from the sub-sampling unit B 103 is further sub-sampled to a 1/2 size in the vertical and horizontal directions, then an image of 1/64 (1/8.times.1/8) size of the original image is obtained. The 1/8.times.1/8 size image outputted from the sub-sampling unit C 104 is encoded at a CODEC A 105 which generates coded data of 1/8.times.1/8 size. Further, the CODEC A 105 output locally decoded image data to an interpolation processing unit A 106. The interpolation processing unit A 106 applies interpolation processing on the decoded 1/8.times.1/8 size image data to expand it to a doubled size image data, then output the obtained data to a subtractor 107. The subtractor 107 finds the difference between the doubled 1/8.times.1/8 size image data outputted from the interpolation processing unit A 106 and the 1/4.times.1/4 size image data outputted from the sub-sampling unit B 103, then the obtained difference is outputted to a CODEC B 108. The CODEC B 108 encodes the 1/4.times.1/4 size image which is inputted from the subtractor 107, thus the difference between the 1/8.times.1/8 size image and the 1/4.times.1/4 size image is encoded, and 1/4.times.1/4 size coded data is generated. Further, the CODEC B 107 outputs the locally decoded image data to an adder 109. The adder 109 adds the 1/4.times.1/4 size image data from the CODEC B 108 to the 1/4.times.1/4 size image data outputted from the interpolation processing unit A 106, and the obtained sum is expanded to a doubled size image data at a interpolation processing unit B 110, then outputted to a subtractor 111. The subtractor 111 calculates difference between the doubled 1/4.times.1/4 size image data outputted from the interpolation processing unit B 110 and the 1/2.times.1/2 size image data outputted from the sub-sampling unit A 102, then the obtained difference is outputted to a CODEC C 112. The CODEC C 112 encodes the 1/2.times.1/2 size image inputted from the subtractor 111, in other words, the difference between the 1/4.times.1/4 size image and the 1/2.times.1/2 size image is encoded, then the CODEC C 112 generates 1/2.times.1/2 size coded data. Further, the CODEC C 112 outputs the locally decoded image data to an adder 113. The adder 113 adds the 1/2.times.1/2 size image data outputted from the CODEC C 112 to the 1/2.times.1/2 size image data from the interpolation processing unit B 110, the sum is expanded to a double size image data at a interpolation processing unit C 114, then outputted to a subtractor 115. The subtractor 115 finds the difference between the doubled 1/2.times.1/2 size image data outputted from the interpolation processing unit C 114 and the full size image data from the decoder 101, then the obtained difference is outputted to a CODEC D 116. The CODEC D 116 encodes the full size image inputted from the subtractor 115, in other words, the difference between the 1/2.times.1/2 size image and the full size image is encoded to generate full size coded data. The detailed configurations of CODEC A 105, the CODEC B 108, the CODEC C 112, and the CODEC D 116 in FIG. 35 are basically same except for the amount of memory which is used in each processing stage.
Next, referring to FIG. 36, the detailed configuration of a CODEC will be described. FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing the detailed configuration of the CODEC. In FIG. 36, an input image is a decoded RGB signal, and converted from the RGB signal to a luminance/color difference (YUV) signal at a color converter A 117, then applied with 8.times.8 DCT process on each color signal at a DCT unit 118. Next at a quantizing unit 119, the DCT coefficients obtained at the DCT unit 118 are linearly quantized, and are coded in accordance with the Huffman coding method at the encoding unit 120, thereby coded data is outputted. Whereas, the output from the quantizing unit 119 is also sent to an inverse-quantizing unit 121 to be inverse-quantized, and the processed data is changed to DCT coefficient data. Next at an inverse DCT unit 122, 8.times.8 inverse DCT process is applied to the DCT coefficient data, then a YUV signal is generated. Finally, the YUV signal is converted into a RGB signal at color converting unit B 123. The output via the inverse-quantizing unit 121, the inverse DCT unit 122, and the color converter B 123 are local decode output from each CODEC shown in FIG. 35.
According to the conventional hierarchical coding method as described above, sequential coding data is converted into, for instance, hierarchical coded data of four hierarchies. On the other hand, a process for converting from the hierarchical coded data into sequential coded data is performed by reversing the process which is described above.
In order to change sizes of an image represented by coded data, there is a method to obtain a n/8.times.n/8 (n.ltoreq.8; n is a positive integer) size reduced image by extracted a n.times.n matrix portion from the 8.times.8 DCT coefficients. In other words, it is possible to obtain a 1/4.times.1/4 size reduced image data by extracting 2.times.2 DCT coefficients out of 8.times.8 DCT coefficients, and a 1/2.times.1/2 size reduced image data by extracting 4.times.4 DCT coefficients out of the 8.times.8 DCT coefficients, for example. Accordingly, it is possible to consider the zigzag scanned 8.times.8 DCT coefficients as a single sequential coded data.
According to this method, the image memory B 1503 and the enlargement/reduction processing unit 1504 of the conventional configuration shown in FIG. 33 become unnecessary, and image data outputted from the inverse DCT unit 1602 is directly outputted to the image memory C 1505, shown in FIG. 33, via the output terminal 1603. Note that, in this case, the enlargement/reduction ratio designator 1507 is connected to the inverse DCT unit 1602, shown in FIG. 34, of the decoding unit 1502.
In a reduction process as this, by terminating decoding process of the remained DCT coefficients at the completion of the Huffman decoding processing of n.times.n DCT coefficients which are required for inverse DCT process when decoding the 8.times.8 DCT coefficient block, the top position of the next DCT coefficient block is lost, which results in ruining the decoding process. Therefore, the entirely encoded 8.times.8 DCT coefficients have to be decoded. Thus, the decoding process requires quite a long time, and it has not been easy to speed up the decoding process.
Furthermore, in a case where the sequential coded data is converted into hierarchical coded data as described above with reference to FIGS. 35 and 36, or in a case where the hierarchical coded data is converted into sequential coded data, a memory of large capacity is required since all the coded data has to be decoded and convert into RGB image data. In addition, there is a problem in that image quality is often deteriorated because of quantized errors caused by coding and decoding in multi-hierarchy, and errors caused by color conversion.


The present application provides a filter fixing device, comprising: a lock mounting piece, a hold-down piece, a push rod and at least one connecting rod. The lock mounting piece is provided with a lock used for engaging the lock receiving part on the filter fixing frame; the hold-down piece and the lock mounting piece are connected to each other in such a way that they can move relative to each other in a first direction, and the hold-down piece is used to hold down the filter; the push rod is connected to the hold-down piece and can pivotally rotate around an axis; at least one connecting rod is pivotally connected to the push rod and the lock mounting piece; the filter fixing device is configured in such a way that the rotation of the push rod relative to the hold-down piece may cause relative motion of the hold-down piece and the lock mounting piece in the first direction. The filter fixing device provided by the present application has a simple structure, is easy to operate, and can firmly hold the filter so that it is possible to easily replace the filter while meeting the requirement on the filtering performance of the air conditioning unit.

The filter of an air conditioning unit needs to be removed and replaced frequently to maintain air cleanliness and the cooling effect of the air conditioning unit. Existing filter fixing devices with a simple structure have insufficient holding force, and it is difficult to meet the filtering performance requirement of air conditioning units; while the existing filter fixing device with strong holding force is inconvenient to operate, and filter replacement is very time-consuming.

Filter fixing device and air conditioning unit using the same

York Guangzhou Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Co., Ltd.