Systems and methods for dynamic power management of electronic devices are disclosed. In one form, a system employing dynamic power management for electronic devices includes a central processing unit operable to process information via a communication bus. The system includes a clock generator and a voltage generator coupled to the processing unit and operably associated with the communication bus having multiple operating voltage levels. The clock generator and communication bus are operated at variable clock rates and voltage levels to ensure bandwidth requirements are satisfied for communicating and processing information. In this manner, power consumption of the system may be dynamically managed while providing sufficient bandwidth for the system.

Technological advancements for electronic devices having components such as microprocessors, data buses, memory, and associated electronic circuitry have warranted careful design considerations in terms of power consumption. Historically, microprocessor speeds have doubled every eighteen months to two years necessitating information to be communicated between devices at increased data rates.
However, power consumption of electronic components associated with processing and transmitting information at such high speeds has also increased. For example, power consumption of capacitive components, such as modes of a data bus, may be calculated based on the response of such components to changes in frequency. For example, capacitive reactance may be found by:
                    Xc        =                  1                      ω                                                                          C                                              (                  Equation                                                              1                )
Where ω is 2 π times the frequency ƒ of a signal and C is the DC capacitive value for the component. The average current for a capacitor can be found by:
                    1        =                  V          Xc                                    (                  Equation                                                              2                )
Where V is the average voltage of the signal provided. Plugging these values into a power equation results in:P=IV   (Equation 3)
As such, average power consumption for a capacitor increases proportionally as the frequency of the signal increases. For example, if a system's frequency is doubled, the power consumed by the capacitor also doubles, resulting in increased power consumption.
Some current solutions for efficiently managing power consumption include providing sleep states for electronic devices such as laptop computers, desktop systems and/or monitors. For example, a laptop computer benefits from reduced power consumption by reducing its operating frequency and/or operating voltage based on whether it is connected to a persistent power source, such as a wall plug, or a degenerative power source, such as a rechargeable power unit. Other applications for managing power consumption include providing reduced power states including powering down peripheral components such as video monitors, printers, etc. to conserve energy consumption. For example, such conventional energy conserving applications may include a mode of operation in which all unnecessary components are shut down or placed in a sleep mode and may include shutting down the video monitor and disk drive. Once awakened, the computer returns to an operating state.
As conservation of power, and battery life, remain desirable, other systems and methods for reducing power consumption will continue to be useful.

Systems and methods for dynamic voltage scaling of communication bus to provide bandwidth based on whether an application is active


A method and apparatus of qualification of an image sensor of the type supplying images in the form of pixels by determining the maximum limit of the number of bad pixels in a given area of the image that can be processed by means for processing the bad pixels; defining a window having the format of the given area; establishing a cartography of the pixels forming an image delivered by the sensor, which indicates the locations of the bad pixels; checking whether a part of the cartography that may contain the window has a set of bad pixels incompatible with the maximum limit; and qualifying or rejecting the sensor depending on the control result.

The present invention concerns the qualification of an electrooptical image sensor, the possible image defects of which may be masked by electronic processing in an image chain. The qualification is to determine whether the number and/or distribution of image defects of the sensor allows such masking or not without disturbing the proper operation of the image chain. The sensor can have a surface or a line of sensitive elements on which an image (optical, radiological or other) is presented or which in response produces signals in the form of pixels to reproduce that image, for example, on a monitor screen.
In the sensor it is almost impossible to obtain a correct operation of all the sensitive elements. In fact, the presence of defective elements is generally discovered after manufacture of the sensor, as is the appearance of new defective elements in the course of use. An element is considered defective if it produces a signal which does not vary, or not in the manner desired, depending on the exposure received. For example, a defective element may not produce any signal, or a constant signal regardless of the degree of exposure received. A defective element gives rise to what is called a bad pixel.
A bad pixel constitutes a loss of image information on the site of the corresponding defective element. If the image obtained by a sensor is visualized without masking the bad pixels present, the latter appear as so many black or white spots.
To avoid such a visual inconvenience, so-called interpolation techniques have been employed, aimed at masking the bad pixels on the image visualized. The masking is carried out by a digital processing of the bad pixels in an image processing system. The technique generally used is to substitute the erroneous digital value of the bad pixel with a value which is estimated from one or more correct neighboring pixels. For example, a value which is the mean value of the neighboring pixels situated to the right, to the left, directly above and directly below can be assigned to the defective pixel.
A bad pixel thus processed thereby renders a luminous intensity which does not clash with that of its neighbors, removing the visual inconvenience. The operation consisting of assigning an interpolated value to a bad pixel is generally designated by the term "bad pixel correction," although it does not strictly involve restoring the functioning of the defective element.
To be able to correct bad pixels that way, it is first necessary to know their position in the image. For this purpose, a calibration stage is undertaken in which the sensor is subjected to known uniform exposures, and where the picked-up signal of each element is measured in order to locate those which produced an unacceptable signal. Following that procedure, a cartography of the bad pixels of the sensor in question is obtained, which indicates their position according to a system of coordinates, for example, in terms of line and column number, and the good pixels to be counted for interpolation.
This cartography is registered in the image processing system so that the latter can, on the one hand, identify each bad pixel on image output and, on the other, make the correction with the neighboring good pixels. That processing involves, for each bad pixel, establishing a code which fixes the method of calculation. The kind of code used depends, among other things, on the type of sensor, its dimensions and the interpolation algorithm.
The calculation time necessary for processing of bad pixels is not negligible compared to the time allowed for reading and other image processing. For a given system of correction of bad pixels, that processing time is not a simple function of the total number of bad pixels, for it also depends on their distribution on the sensitive surface.
Of course, in applications where only static images are processed, for example, in mammography, or of images which follow each other only at low frequency, an additional delay can be admitted in appearance of the image on the monitor due to the processing of bad pixels.
On the other hand, that delay must be strictly limited when dynamic images are produced, for example, in angiography, where typically 30 images (or frames) per second come out. In that case, the time which can be allotted to the correction of bad pixels or to other processing cannot exceed the period between two successive frames, at the risk of accumulating delays in the sequence of frames supplied on output and of disturbing operation of the image chain.
Hence, it is useful to be able to determine in advance whether a sensor is not going to require a time for correction of the bad pixels too long to permit its use with a given image processing system.

Method and apparatus for qualification of image detectors

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


Embodiments deploy delayering techniques, and the relationships between successive versions of a rich-media file become apparent. With this, modified rich-media files suddenly present far smaller storage overhead as compared to traditional application-unaware snapshot and versioning implementations. Optimized file data is stored in suitcases. As a file is versioned, each new version of the file is placed in the same suitcase as the previous version, allowing embodiments to employ correlation techniques to enhance optimization savings.

The present disclosure relates to file optimization.
When backup technology was first available, most of the data being backed up was in simple un-encoded data formats, such as ASCII or in un-encoded databases. The amount of data was typically in the order of megabytes or gigabytes. In contrast, in more recent backup workflows, the data is typically one the order of terabytes or petabytes and the files are in rich media format, including encoded images, compressed text sections and other complex object formats and data structures such as CAD drawings or seismic information.
Encoded files come in a number of encoded file formats. An encoded file (e.g. a rich media files) is one that has some level of obfuscation on top of the information contained in the file. This is usually because of some compression scheme applied to the file, like JPEG compression, ZIP (LZ) compression or something simple like RLE (Run Length Encoding) or BASE64 (found in email systems). The nature of most encoding schemes is such that the encoding of a particular byte depends on the preceding bytes. This means that a particular byte may be encoded (represented in bits) differently each time, if its history or preceding bytes are different. Encoded rich media documents have the property that any two documents that seem similar or same in information may be represented entirely differently in their bit representation on storage media.

Object deduplication and application aware snapshots


An electrically insulated support or the like is mounted on a helicopter to extend from both sides of the helicopter. A bucket for equipment, material and/or a worker is provided, which can be engaged or disengaged at the end of the support. To carry out operation on a high voltage line or installations, the bucket with its equipment, material and/or worker is hooked at one end of the support and is carried by the helicopter to a location of the high voltage line or installations where an operation has to be carried out. The operation is done while the helicopter holds the bucket or most preferably, the bucket which is provided with suspension wheels is mounted on the line conductors or installations and the helicopter is moved away while the operation is being carried out.

(1.) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a system for carrying equipment, material and/or a worker onto a high voltage line transmission by means of an helicopter. More particularly, the present invention is concerned with a device which enables a worker to repair, replace or install material or equipment on energized or de-energized lines or installations.
2.) Description of Prior Art
Whenever a problem arises on an electrical power line, or damages are located, it is necessary to carry out repairs. One way to do this is to switch off the electrical power or to put the line or installations out of service. In many instances, this is not feasible because of the necessity to maintain service. It is costly and most impractical. It is also possible to work using insulated tools and equipment; however if the line or installations are the least elevated this is completely impossible. Another possibility is to put the worker in a conductive suit which acts as a Faraday cage and to place the worker in a bucket which is held at the end of a boom or the like and which is completely insulated from the ground. In today's technology the terrains on which high voltage lines are often built have difficult access and are rather high, which renders the repair totally impractical.
Another way to intervene on a power line is disclosed in Canadian Patent Nos. 1,248,930; 1,294,264 and 1,306,230 inventor Scott H. Yenzer, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,895 inventor Mark Camus. This design makes use of a working platform which is mounted on the landing assemblies of a helicopter. The worker is in a conductive suit. The platform and the helicopter must be electrically connected so that, along with the conductive suit, they may all be at the same potential as the high voltage line. For a repair to be carried out, the worker must first establish contact or provide a bonding with the line, and the helicopter must hover close to the power line or installations during the entire operation. This of course produces great stress on the pilot and the worker and the fact of placing the whole assembly at the same potential as the power line could adversely affect the helicopter systems.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a system which would avoid most of the disadvantages of the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system which does not require to electrically connect the helicopter to the support of the bucket and its contents.
It is another object of the present invention to enable a helicopter to selectively engage or disengage a bucket from an insulating supporting structure attached to the helicopter whereby the bucket may be placed on or transferred to a high voltage line conductors or any installations.

System for carrying equipment and/or a workman to a high voltage line or installations


A pre-emphasis circuitry that includes (1) a pre-emphasis voltage variation compensation (PVVC) engine having a transition detection circuit and (2) a compensation driver coupled to the PVVC engine is described. In one embodiment, the compensation driver reduces data dependent voltage variations in pre-emphasis provided by the pre-emphasis circuitry. In one embodiment, in response to a predetermined data pattern detected by the PVVC engine, the compensation driver provides an additional boost to performance critical capacitive nodes of the pre-emphasis circuitry. The additional boost causes the performance critical capacitive nodes to charge or discharge more rapidly. In one embodiment, the PVVC engine further includes a digital finite impulse response (FIR) filter coupled to the transition detection circuit. Also, in one embodiment, the PVVC engine further includes an FIR delay circuit coupled to the digital FIR filter and a synchronizer circuit coupled to the digital FIR filter and the FIR delay circuit, where the FIR delay circuit introduces latency to match-delay produced by the transition detection circuit and the synchronizer circuit synchronizes data to be sent to the main driver, the pre-emphasis driver, and the compensation driver.

The present invention relates to pre-emphasis circuitry.
As data rates and bandwidth requirements of serial links continue to increase, so does the demand and complexity placed on the transceiver designs to deliver solutions to maximize signal integrity between chips. Normally, the transmission medium more strongly attenuates the higher frequency components of a transmitted signal than the lower frequency components. This variation in the frequency response of the transmission medium yields data-dependent jitter and other inter symbol interference (ISI) effects.
Pre-emphasis is a common technique used, on the transmitter side, to counteract the effects of high frequency losses caused by the transmission medium. Pre-emphasis boosts the higher frequency components of the transmitted signal. This helps equalize the frequency response of the signal received at the receiver. In other words, it reduces the difference between the low-frequency and high-frequency components of the received signal, which counteracts the ISI effects from the transmission medium.
In some pre-emphasis circuitry, particularly those with high parasitic effects (e.g., high parasitic capacitance effects), at higher data rates, the pre-emphasis voltage varies based on variations in the data. These variations degrade the effectiveness of the pre-emphasis circuitry in counteracting the frequency response difference due to the transmission medium.
Embodiments of the pre-emphasis circuitry of the present invention arise in this context.

Pre-emphasis circuitry including a pre-emphasis voltage variation compensation engine


A fluid system includes a loading arm connected to a swivel joint. A counterbalance mechanism is connected between the loading arm and the swivel joint. An adjustment mechanism adjusts the counterbalance force applied by the counterbalance mechanism to the loading arm. The adjustment mechanism includes a guide plate connected to the swivel joint and includes a guide slot and a straight bore guide. A bracket is movably connected to the guide plate and has one or more apertures and a threaded bore guide. Fasteners extend through the guide slot and the one or more apertures to selectively secure the bracket to the guide plate. A lead screw is disposed at least partially within the straight bore guide and the threaded bore guide. Rotation of the lead screw causes the bracket to move along a length of the lead screw and thereby adjust the counterbalance force.

1. Technical Field
Exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to fluid systems. More particularly, exemplary embodiments of the invention relate to a counterbalance adjustment mechanism for adjusting the counterbalancing force applied to a loading arm by a counterbalance mechanism.
2. The Relevant Technology
In many fluid systems, fluids are transferred from one reservoir to another. For instance, in the oil and gas industry, fluids are transferred from storage tanks to transport vehicles (e.g., tank trucks, railroad cars, ships, etc.) so that the fluids may be transported to various destinations. To transfer the fluid from the storage tank to the transport vehicles, the fluids are pumped through a loading arm.
A first end of the loading arm is connected to a riser or stand pipe. The stand pipe is in fluid communication with the storage tank so that the fluid in the storage tank may be pumped from the storage tank and into the loading arm. The stand pipe typically provides a strong platform upon which the loading arm can be mounted.
To facilitate connection of a second end of the loading arm to the transport vehicle, the first end of the loading arm may be connected to the stand pipe with one or more swivel joints. The swivel joints may allow the loading arm to rotate in one or more directions (e.g., about one or more axes of rotation) so that the loading arm may be repositioned to enable the second end of the loading arm to be connected to the transport vehicle.
Due to the weight of the loading arm and the fluids pumped therethrough, mechanisms have been developed to counterbalance the rotational forces resulting from this weight. Counterbalancing the rotational forces reduces the level of effort required of an operator to manipulate the loading arm and increases the safety of these systems. Such counterbalancing mechanisms have included external counterbalancing weights, hydraulic cylinders, spring and lever arm assemblies, pulley and cable systems, and the like. In other cases, internal counterbalancing mechanisms have been used, such as torsion springs disposed with the swivel joints.
For various reasons, such as the fittings used on the loading arm and the weight of the fluids pumped through the loading arm, the counterbalancing force applied to the loading arm by a counterbalance mechanism may need to be adjusted from time to time. Some of the previous counterbalance mechanisms included adjustment mechanisms for adjusting the counterbalancing force. These adjustment mechanisms, however, suffer from a number of limitations. For instance, previous adjustment mechanisms have been difficult to adjust, often requiring the attention of multiple people. Some of the adjustment mechanisms require disassembling the adjustment mechanism from the fluid system so the adjustment mechanism can be taken to a shop to be adjusted. Still further, previous adjustment mechanisms have been difficult to precisely adjust. Moreover, adjusting some of the previous adjustment mechanisms can pose a safety risk to the personnel performing the adjustment.
Accordingly, what is desired is an adjustment mechanism that can simply, easily, and safely adjust the counterbalancing force applied to a loading arm and any fluid therein.

Loading arm counterbalance adjustment mechanism


A method for producing a primary laminate including a tabstock by feeding a seal laminate comprising bottom food contact layers including a foil layer and a top polyester layer to a laminating station wherein either the foil layer of the underside of the polyester layer has been printed; simultaneously feeding a tabstock, which is narrower than the seal laminate, to the laminating station such that the bottom of the tabstock and the top polyester layer of the seal laminate come into contact to form a primary substrate, simultaneously feeding a plastic film stock; and continuously extruding a polymeric adhesive between the top face of the primary substrate and bottom surface of the plastic film stock.

It is commonplace in the packaging of a wide variety of materials ranging from pharmaceutical products to instant coffee that a closure is provided in the form of a seal connected to the neck of a container and a screw cap covering and protecting the seal which provides a re-closable cap after the seal has been removed to gain access to the container. Often the closure is such that the underside of the seal has a heat sensitive adhesive coating or a meltable plastics layer covered by a metal foil. The metal foil can provide the substrate of the seal or may include a separate substrate formed from plastics material or paper. The seal is then placed against the neck of a container and sandwiched against it by the applied screw cap. An induction heating step then heats the metal foil and in turn activates the heat sensitive adhesive layer or melts the plastic layer so that on cooling, the seal bonds to the neck of the container. A difficultly often encountered by eventual users is removal of such seals from the container. Attempts have thus been made to include a tab extending sideways from the neck of the container so that the consumer can grip this to facilitate removal of the seal.
Single component systems have been developed wherein the primary seal and secondary liner are produced as a laminate disk which is attached within the cap. The commercially available Quadraseal (®) system is an example of a single component system. The bottom layer of the seal portion is formed of glassine which is attached to a foil layer by means of a wax based adhesvive. Upon removal of a cap into which the system is fitted, the seal portion remains adhered to the neck of the container. It can be removed by puncturing the seal and tearing it off in pieces. Due to failure of the glassine fibres, there will be traces of fibres remaining adhered around the circumference of the neck.
A further example is DE9108868 in which the primary seal and secondary liner are adhered by means of wax. On heating of the metal foil in the primary seal portion the wax melts and is absorbed into the secondary liner whereby the primary seal and secondary liner substantially separate from each other. On opening the primary seal remains adhered to the container and the secondary liner remains in the cap. This system includes a tab which is formed by only adhering the top layer of primary seal to the remainder of the seal across part of the diameter of the seal. One problem with this system is that there are residues of wax material left on the surface of the liner such that when the container is resealed, some of the contents of the container may stick to the liner surface or may be released into the container itself. In the packaging of food and pharmaceuticals, such a wax residue is undesirable, Attempts have therefore focussed on the use of a plastics based means for adhering the primary seal to the secondary liner as a so-called release layer to avoid the use of wax. It is also very difficult to ensure that during attachment of the seal to the container to be sealed, the heat produced does not cause the delaminated portion which forms the tab to adhere to the remainder of the primary seal portion.
A further example of a system including a tab structure is the "Top Tab" structure disclosed is U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,986. This structure includes a multilayer primary seal, one layer of which is partly de-laminated to provide a lifting tab lying wholly within the circumference of the container neck in use. This system is essentially a system comprising a primary seal and secondary liner whereby the secondary liner has been adhered to a cap. The primary seal is then pushed into the cap and held in place by engagement with the screw thread within the cap. In this system, the tabs are adhered to the primary seal by applying an adhesive layer in strips and then adhering the top layer with the result that it is only stuck in particular portions where the adhesive was present. Such a method is time consuming as it involves the gradual layer-by-layer construction of the primary seal including the tab and involves the use of a specifically formed roller to apply the adhesive in strips.
A further tab system is the successful "Lift "n" Peel" (®) commercial system. This can be comprised of a primary seal and a secondary liner or just a primary seal and is usually just a primary seal. The primary seal includes a thick layer of foam such that the seal can be a product in its own right without requiring a secondary liner to give it stability. The thickness of the foam allows for discrepancies in the container or cap size. However, the foam is expensive and the resulting primary seal is difficult to manipulate. A further disadvantage associated with including foam is that it is not a printable substrate, Nowadays, consumers rely heavily on the labelling of goods and it is desirable to be able to provide a seal that is printed to indicate the manufacturer. It is usual that the printing is done on the foil layer included within the heat induction layers. This will only be seen where the layers on top of the metal foil are transparent. The "Lift "n" Peel" system does not present this opportunity due to the opaque nature of the foam. The top layer of the Lift "n" Peel system is a particular polyethylene terephthalate/ethylene vinyl acetate (PET/EVA) structure. The presence of EVA is necessary to ensure adhesion to both the PET tab and the foam. If the EVA were to be printed then this would interfere with the adhesion properties it exhibits. Hence reverse i.e. printing the underside of the top layer of the "Lift "n" Peel" system is not a viable option. The PET/EVA structure used is an expensive material and additionally requires the use of heated rollers to melt the EVA component of the structure to achieve adhesion. The lower the amount of EVA used, the greater the size of the heated roll required. Thus to use a material of low cost which contains minimal EVA, the size of the roll required becomes prohibitively large and expensive.
In WO 97/02997, a method for including a tab in a primary seal laminate is disclosed. In this case three feeds are passed to a chill roll in contact with a nip roll. The first feed which will form the top layer of the primary seal laminate, is EVOH coated with polypropylene. The second feed is a deadening member and the third feed is extruded tabstock e.g. polypropylene. All three feeds come into contact at the point where the chill roll and nip roll are in contact. The chill roll quenches the extruded tabstock maximising its amorphous properties and causes lamination of all three layers.


The invention relates to a tire valve (10) comprising a valve body (11) which penetrates a bore (21) of a rim (20), particularly a vehicle rim, embodies a bottom valve body section (13) that is disposed on one side (23) of the rim (20), particularly in the interior of the rim, in the mounted state as well as a top valve body section (15) that protrudes from the rim bore (21), and is configured so as to cooperate with a cap nut (17) in the area of the top valve body section (15). The bottom valve body section (13) forms a stop collar (19) which is used as an abutment for a flat peripheral section (27) of the rim bore (21) and widens the bottom valve body section (13) relative to the top valve body section (15) beyond an internal width of the rim bore (21). The peripheral section (27) of the rim bore (21) can be braced against said stop collar (19) by tightening the cap nut (17).

The invention relates to a tire valve, in particular a gas and/or pneumatic tire valve, comprising a valve body which penetrates a bore in a rim, in particular a vehicle rim, embodies a lower valve body portion disposed on one side of the rim, in particular in the interior of the rim, in the mounted state as well as an upper valve body portion protruding from the rim bore, and is configured so as to cooperate with a cap nut in the region of the upper valve body portion. The invention further relates to a valve system and a tire.
Various approaches are known in the art for producing, to prevent loss of air, a seal between a pneumatic tire valve and the valve bore (referred to hereinafter also as the rim bore) surrounding said pneumatic tire valve in the pneumatic tire rim. On the one hand there are what are known as shoulder or flat seals such as, for example, in DE 28 13 742. On the other hand O-ring seals are used.
However, both solutions are, viewed per se, technically disadvantageous: A shoulder or flat seal, which typically consists of a flat rubber ring and is optionally provided with a shoulder portion, places relatively low demands on the flatness of the bearing surface (i.e. the external flat edge portion of the rim bore) and on the hole tolerances of this rim bore, as the large rubber volume of seals of this type easily compensates for deviations. A drawback however is that during the fitting of valves comprising seals of this type, (low) torque limits may not be exceeded: this would lead to the destruction of the seal. As, in addition, the sealing elements become deformed under pressure, very low loosening moments for the cap nut fastening the valve are generally and disadvantageously obtained.
The known O-ring seals, on the other hand, allow very much higher tightening moments, as the cap nut acts directly on the edge portion of the rim bore and metal-to-metal contact thus exists; advantageously, accordingly high loosening moments can be achieved for the fastening cap nut. On the other hand, it is disadvantageous that an O-ring seal of this type places very high demands on the flatness of the bearing surface in the rim bore edge region and on the bore tolerances themselves, so that in some cases considerable additional costs for production and assembly are necessary in this case.
According to DE 20 2004 020 121 U1, the aforementioned drawbacks are eliminated by a tire valve in which the lower valve body portion forms an annular shoulder which offers an abutment for a flat edge portion of the rim bore, into which an annular groove, which is open toward the edge portion, is shaped and in which the edge portion can be braced by tightening the cap nut. In addition, a specific molded seal is provided for sealing the rim bore. According to this solution, the molded seal is provided to be inserted into the annular shoulder. Although the tire valve proposed in this form allows, through the annular shoulder, the pressing of the valve seal to be limited, it has, as a result of the annular shoulder with the inner valve seal, a comparatively large maximum diameter. As a result, the tire valve proves to be comparatively large for certain applications. In particular, it has been found that the maximum diameter of a tire valve of this type proves in many cases to be too large for a radius of transition from a well base to the dropped center of a rim. A tire valve of the type mentioned at the outset is described in DE 103 14 783 A1 but is still capable of improvement.


A valve for preventing fuel leaking from a fuel tank includes a housing that has a passage that communicates with the outside. In the housing there is a float that is used to open and close the passage by being moved axially along the housing. The valve is provided with a device to guide the float to close the passage. The device includes a gap formed between the housing and the float that increases in size with increasing distance from the passage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a valve for a vehicle fuel tank, more particularly to an anti-spill valve for installation in the top of the fuel tank of a vehicle, particularly an automobile, for preventing pressure buildup in the tank during normal operation by allowing internal tank pressure to escape to the exterior and for preventing spillage of gasoline to the exterior when the vehicle suddenly accelerates, turns sharply or overturns.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional diagram of a prior art valve, and FIG. 21 shows the valve of FIG. 20 turned sideways. In FIGS. 20 and 21, reference numeral 1 denotes a housing formed of synthetic resin, comprising a housing unit 2 and a detachable cap 7. The housing unit 2 has a passage 3a that communicates with the outside, provided in the center of the housing unit 2. Going toward the interior of the housing unit 2, the passage 3a expands into a conical valve seat 3b formed in a round ceiling 3. From the outer edge of the ceiling 3, a cylindrical side wall 4 extends downward. The side wall 4 is provided with a plurality of holes 4a, a plurality of claws 4b around the lower circumference that are thicker toward the upper end, and guide ribs 4c used to guide a float 11 (described below). The guide ribs 4c are of equal height and are disposed axially at set intervals around the inside of the side wall 4. From the center of the ceiling 3, a connecting pipe 5 having a central passage 5a that communicates with the passage 3a extends radially out past the side wall 4. An annular mounting member 6 provided on the outside of the side wall 4 is used to mount the housing unit 2 on a fuel tank.
The cap 7 comprises a cylindrical side wall 8 with radial engaging holes 8a that correspond to the claws 4b on the side wall 4 and float guide ribs 8b disposed axially at set intervals around the inside surface, and a bottom 9 that closes the lower end of the side wall 8. The bottom 9 has a plurality of vertical holes 9a that enable the bottom 9 to function as a filter. Reference numeral 11 denotes a float housed in the housing 1. The float 11 is cylindrical in shape and formed of synthetic resin. The lower end of the float 11 has an annular concave portion 12, and is provided with a plurality of vertical through holes 13 that communicate with the concave portion 12, and a valve head 14 that projects up from the top of the float and operates to open and close the passage 3a by separation from and contact with the valve seat 3b. A coil spring 21 is disposed between the housing bottom 9 and the float 11 to help urge the float 11 upwardly.
Operation of the valve will now be described. The valve is normally mounted on a fuel tank (not shown) with the housing 1 oriented vertically, as shown in FIG. 20. In this state, the float 11 descends under its own weight against the force of the coil spring 21, separating the valve head 14 from the valve seat 3b and opening the passage 3a. Gasoline vapor formed in the fuel tank is therefore able to flow out via the holes 4a and 9a, the space between the side wall 4 and the float 11, and the passages 3a and 5a, preventing the pressure inside the fuel tank becoming elevated.
Although a buoyant force acts on the float 11 when gasoline enters the housing 1 through the holes 9a owing to a large inertial force produced by rapid acceleration or sharp turning of the vehicle, this force alone is not strong enough to raise the float 11 since the specific gravity of the float 11 is greater than that of the gasoline. However, the buoyant force combined with the weak force of the spring 21 acting upwardly on the float is sufficient to raise the float and bring the valve head 14 into close contact with the valve seat 3b, closing the passage 3a and thereby preventing gasoline from flowing out of the fuel tank. When the vehicle returns to a normal state and gasoline in the housing 1 flows back through the holes 9a into the fuel tank, under its own weight the float 11 descends, compressing the spring 21, whereby the valve head 14 separates from the valve seat 3b, opening the passage 3a. If the vehicle should turn over onto its side, the valve will also be turned sideways, as shown in FIG. 21, and the force of the coil spring 21 will move the float 11 in the direction of the passage 3a until the passage 3a is closed by the abutment of the valve head 14 against the valve seat 3b, thus preventing gasoline in the fuel tank spilling to the outside.
In the prior art valve, a clearance h is provided between the guide ribs 4c and the float 11 to allow the float 11 to move smoothly. Therefore, if the vehicle falls on its side, as shown in FIG. 21, the center axis of the valve head 14 (the axis of the float 11) is subjected to a parallel displacement down from the axis of the passage 3a by the amount of the clearance h. In this state, even if the float 11 is moved with the intention of closing the passage 3a with the valve head 14, the valve head 14 will contact the lower sloping face of the conical valve seat 3b.
In order to have the valve head 14 close the passage 3a, a force is required that lifts the valve head 14. This force is provided by the coil spring 21, but the lifting force is reduced by the high frictional resistance that exists between the sloping portion of the valve seat 3b and the valve head 14. Since this can prevent the passage 3a being promptly and fully closed by the valve head 14, gasoline can leak from the fuel tank.
This invention was accomplished in response to the foregoing circumstances and has as an object to provide a valve that, even when turned sideways, can suppress leakage of fuel to the exterior by promptly closing a passage that communicates with the outside.
For achieving the aforesaid object, the invention provides a valve comprising a housing having an outside-communicating passage and a float provided in the housing that opens and closes the passage by moving axially along the housing, the valve being provided with a float guide means that guides the float to close the passage by means of a gap formed between an inner surface of the housing and an outer surface of the float that increases in size with increasing distance from the passage.
The guide means comprises a float tapered portion provided on the cuter surface of the float that tapers in with increasing distance from the passage, the tapered portion being provided from the outer peripheral edge at the passage end of the float, to where a plane that passes through the center of gravity of the float and is orthogonal to the float axis, intersects the outer surface of the float. The guide means can also be provided on the inner surface of the housing as a housing tapered portion that narrows the housing toward the passage end.
In another aspect of the invention, the float is provided with a pivot support portion at a junction between a float cylindrical surface and a float tapered portion, that is located at a point on the side face of the float intersected by a plane that passes through the center of gravity of the float and is orthogonal to the float axis, and the float tapered portion tapers in away from the passage end. The pivot support portion can be located at a junction between first and second float tapered portions constituting the float tapered portion.
The pivot support portion can be provided as a portion that extends around the whole peripheral surface, or it can be provided as a plurality of sections. When it is provided as a plurality of sections, a plurality of grooves can be used to divide the pivot support portion into a plurality of pivot support portions on the outer surface of the float. Alternatively, the pivot support portion can be divided into a plurality of pivot support portions by providing the outer surface of the float with a plurality of grooves extending parallel to the axis of the float.
As described above, in accordance with the present invention, a configuration is used in which the gap between the inner surface of the housing and the outer surface of the float is larger away from the passage than it is near the passage, which is used to guide the float toward the passage when the valve is turned onto its side. At the point at which the float abuts against the lower part of the angled surface forming the valve seat, or against the ceiling, since the distance between the center axis of the passage and the center axis of the valve head is smaller than in a prior art valve configuration, there is less frictional resistance between the float and the angled surface of the valve seat or the ceiling. Therefore, although the float is urged with the same spring force, the result is that the front of the float is lifted with a larger force than the force used to lift the float in the case of a prior art valve. Thus, the float can quickly close the passage, stopping any leakage of gasoline.
The invention also includes float provided with a pivot support portion about which the float can pivot. In this case, when the valve is turned onto its side, the force of the spring rotates the float as the float is urged forward to stop leakage of gasoline by closing the passage by abutting the valve head against the valve seat.
In accordance with another aspect, a plurality of grooves are provided around the outer surface of the float, with each groove extending axially with respect to the float. When the float reverts to its normal state, this arrangement prevents the float sticking to side walls.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings.


A currency handling system, for example, a currency recycler or depository machine, may be configured to process currency transactions, including receiving one or more currency deposits. The currency recycler may attempt to accept and validate the currency received in the deposits, organizing and storing some validated currency while designating one or more other units of currency as temporarily unreconcilable. The currency recycler may also generate and transmit reconcilement reports summarizing a set of currency transactions, including data corresponding to the validated currency and temporarily unreconcilable currency. Reconcilement reports may be output to users or transmitted to corporate offices for business purposes, or may be transmitted to financial institutions for crediting bank accounts, and currency that could not be validated may be stored securely to allow a business to receive provisional credit.

Cash flow refers to the movement of cash and/or other currencies over a particular time period within a business or enterprise. Business personnel in charge of cash flow management may use various tools to assist in the cash flow process, including cash handling devices, which may include cash recyclers, depository and/or dispensing machines that allow a retail establishment to maintain and re-use an amount of cash on-site. Currency recycler devices, or cash recyclers, may interact with multiple different users acting in different capacities within the business, for example, cashiers temporarily transferring cash to and from points of sale (e.g., cash registers) operating at a store, or employees exchange cash into different denominations, and managers making various withdrawals and deposits in the course of business operations. Cash recyclers may be configured to process currency transactions, accept cash deposits and dispense cash withdrawals, and calculate and manage use of cash flows in real-time.
While cash handling devices, such as cash recyclers or depositories, may allow businesses to manage their cash flows in a more seamless manner, difficulties in currency reconcilement may confuse users during deposits, cause delays in crediting financials accounts, and potentially result in costly accounting errors. For example, a user may want to deposit a type of currency that is not accepted by the user's recycler. For instance, coins, checks, and certain foreign currencies may be acceptable forms of payment to a business, but might not be accepted by the cash recycler used by the business. Additionally, certain accepted currencies might not be successfully validated by the recycler, for instance, worn or damaged bills, counterfeits, and other defective currency. When a currency deposit is not fully accepted or validated, reporting this deposit to a corporate office of the business may result in confusion due to the possibility that the temporarily unreconcilable currency may or may not eventually prove to be valid currency. Transmitting these deposits to a financial institution may also be difficult because the financial institution might not credit the business's account until the entire deposit is validated. Furthermore, temporarily unreconcilable currency deposits pose a challenge with respect to storing and organizing the unaccepted and/or unvalidated currency efficiently and securely while avoiding commingling with validated currencies.

Currency recycler reconcilement activity


An integrated broadband antenna device with wide band function is disclosed. The antenna device comprises a ground plate, a feeding wire, a first metal radiator, a second metal radiator, a ground metal radiator and a parasitic metal radiator. The first metal radiator is connected with the positive ends of signals of the feeding wire for transmitting electric signals and producing a high frequency mode. The first metal radiator is coupled to and energizes the second metal radiator and the parasitic metal radiator, and then the two metal radiator producing a low frequency mode and a second high frequency mode along with the ground metal radiator obtains a wider bandwidth. The broadband antenna device integrating various kinds of antennas is able to have a enough bandwidth to meet the requirements of AMPS (824˜894 MHz), GSM (880˜960 MHz), GPS (1575 MHz), DCS (1710˜1880 MHz), PCS (1850˜1990 MHz), UMTS (1920˜2170 MHz) and Wi-Fi (2400˜2500 MHz).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an integrated broadband antenna device, and more particularly to a broadband antenna device which integrates various kinds of antennas to obtain a wider bandwidth.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The personal mobile communication technology has shown its immense potential and commercial value in the wireless communication industry. During its developing process, various systems adopting different techniques and channels have appeared, and they are applied to different geographic areas and markets. However, these differences bring much inconvenience to the manufacturers and customers, and the worst of all, these systems also use different frequencies such as GSM850, DCS1800 and UMTS.
Engineers in this field are trying their best to design a broadband integrated products in order to provide more convenience to users. However, the antenna is the key part when designing the mobile communication products, it is the starting point as well as the ending point of the wireless communication and its characteristics directly influence the transmission quality of the wireless signals. Therefore, the antenna device should meet the following requirements:
1. Frequency and Bandwidth
2. Radiating efficiency and radiating pattern of the antenna
Since the design trend of electronic products towards lightness, thinness, shortness and smallness, the sizes of the antennas for communication products are becoming smaller and smaller. A Planar Inverted-F Antenna (referred to "PIFA"hereinafter) that operates as a ¼ wavelength and can greatly decrease the size is extensively used as an inner-hidden antenna. A conventional PIFA shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,764,190 can operate at a single frequency. In order to operate at multiple frequencies, PIFA defines an L-shaped slot or U-shaped groove on its radiation metal sheet to obtain multiple operational frequencies.
FIG. 1 shows another conventional antenna having multiple operational frequencies. The antenna device comprises a first radiation portion A, a second radiation portion B and a ground portion C. The first radiation portion A and the second radiation portion B extend respectively from both opposite sides of the same end of the ground portion C. The first radiation portion A comprises a first conductive patch A1 parallel to the ground portion C and a first connection portion A2 connected with the first conductive patch A1 and the ground portion C. The second radiation portion B comprises a second conductive patch B1 parallel to the ground portion C and a second connection portion B2 connected with the second conductive patch B1 and the ground portion C. The first conductive patch A1 and the second conductive patch B1 extend in the same direction from the first connection portion A2 and the second connection portion B2 respectively.
However, even the above-mentioned antennas can operate at multiple frequencies, they have the some disadvantages stated below. The first conductive patch A1 and the second conductive patch B1 are closely disposed, so the bandwidths for both low frequency and high frequency are not enough to cover various system frequency bands. Further, both feeding wire and the feeding point are close to the first connection portion A2, and such an arrangement is a conventional inverted-F antenna device which has a limited bandwidth and can not achieve a wider bandwidth.
The invention solves the above-mentioned problems by providing an integrated broadband antenna device. The antenna device integrates both characteristics and structures of various antennas including a monopole antenna, an inverted-F antenna and a parasitic antenna to produce a wide band and broadband functions simultaneously. Therefore, the antenna device according to the present invention not only has an innovative structure, but also greatly enlarges the frequency range to cover various system frequency bands. Obviously, the high application value is self-evident.

Integrated broadband antenna device with wide band function


A system and method to control spark timing of an engine wherein the injection timing of the engine is varied relative to a crankshaft position depending on engine operating conditions. According to the method, spark timing is varied as fuel injection timing varies for at least a portion of the engine operating range. The method can reduce fuel consumption, reduce transient fuel requirements, improve engine performance, and reduce CO emissions, at least under some conditions.

Piston driven internal combustion engines commonly have valvetrains that affect flow into and out of a cylinder. Intake and exhaust valve opening and closing positions, relative to crankshaft position, can be at fixed positions, or alternatively, at positions that vary with engine operating conditions. Typically, for engines having adjustable valve timing, engine operating conditions are used as a basis to adjust valve and spark timing.
One method to adjust engine spark timing for an engine having variable intake valve timing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,741. After engine starting, this method adjusts spark advance based partially on opening timing of an intake valve. Further, the method describes retarding intake valve timing so that air-fuel mixing may be improved and so that the engine can tolerate spark retard to increase catalyst heating.
The above mentioned method also has a disadvantage. Namely, the method does not account for the fuel injection timing and its affect on the heat of vaporization and spark timing. Therefore, the method does not benefit from of several advantages that may be available as a result of open valve fuel injection.
When fuel is injected to an intake port on a closed intake valve the fuel can form a puddle in the intake port. Opening the intake valve causes at least a portion of the fuel puddle to be drawn into the cylinder, but since the fuel is drawn from a puddle it may be more difficult to vaporize. On the other hand, if at least a portion of the fuel is injected while the intake valve is open then air-fuel mixing and/or fuel vaporization may be improved. As a result, open intake valve fuel injection may provide changes in minimum spark for best torque and/or charge cooling that may permit additional spark advance. Consequently, it can be beneficial to adjust spark timing in response to the effect injection timing has on air-fuel mixing and/or fuel vaporization.
The inventors herein have recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and have developed a method to control spark timing for an engine having variable intake valves.

Controlling spark of an engine with adjustable intake valve timing


This invention provides a 3D laser capture system, and method for employing the same, that avoids a shadow effect and allows for straightforward set-up and use of the system in imaging the surface profile of an object. A camera is provided with a head assembly that includes a lens configuration and a pair of mirrors that generate two simultaneous views, of opposite object sides. The two views are projected by the mirrors and lens configuration onto discrete portions of the camera's image sensor. The separate images captured on each of the two portions of the sensor are both analyzed by the systems vision system processor, thereby allowing the processor's profiling algorithm to analyze the surface from two different viewing angles concurrently. Portions of the laser blocked in one view are generally visible in the other view. Alternatively, a second lens can be employed to provide a second field of view.

A laser beam profiler (also termed simply a "laser profiler") captures and determines the spatial intensity (three dimensional) profile of a fan or "curtain" of a laser beam at a particular plane transverse to the beam propagation path. In a conventional arrangement, a single camera captures the profile of the beam on the object surface. The camera typically resides above the surface plane and the camera lens axis resides at an acute angle (i.e. off-axis) relative to the plane so as to capture the deviation of the laser line upon the surface. This deviation represents the profile of the surface. Laser profilers are useful in a wide range of inspection and manufacturing operations where the user desires to measure and characterize surface details of a planar object via triangulation. One example is the inspection of keyboards in which the profiling task determines whether all keys are at a similar height. One form of laser profiler uses a vision system camera having an image sensor (or "imager") that can be based upon a CCD or CMOS design. The imager defines a predetermined field of grayscale or color-sensing pixels on an image plane that receive focused light from an imaged scene through a lens. In a typical arrangement, the profiler uses a particular lens assembly that directs reflected laser light from the planar scene to the sensor at an acute angle with respect to the camera sensor's optical axis (which is perpendicular to the image plane). In this manner, the non-perpendicular angle between the laser axis, lens axis and sensor's image plane can fulfill the so-called Scheimpflug principle so as to define a sharp image of the laser line at every measurement distance (described further below). That is, normally when a camera axis is directed at a non-perpendicular angle to a planar scene, only a small crossing width of the overall height of the acquired image is in sharp focus and the focus fades above and below this region.
Undesirably, conventional three-dimensional (3D) laser capture/profile systems generally suffer from a shadow effect, in which portions of the laser beam blocked by the target object result in blank zones in the resulting imaged 3D model of the object. This shadow effect can occur in a relatively deep vertical groove, or other similar surface feature—for example the teeth of a gear. Noise can also exist in various regions of an image, including those adjacent to the transition from a shadow area of the line. It is, thus, desirable to provide a 3D laser capture system that avoids this shadow effect. This arrangement should also desirably be straightforward to use and maintain, and relatively free of potential inaccuracy.

Dual-view laser-based three-dimensional capture system and method for employing the same


An example information processing device displays a partial area of a panoramic video on a display device. The information processing device determines a display range of the panoramic video to be displayed on the display device based on an input made on a predetermined input device. A range and/or a position on a panoramic image is set as a target. Then, the information processing device displays the panoramic video of the display range on the display device, and outputs guide information representing a relationship between the display range and the target.

There are conventional techniques for producing and displaying a panoramic image on a display device.
Conventional techniques merely display a panoramic image, and it has been desired to provide various information together with the panoramic image.
Thus, the present disclosure provides a storage medium storing an information processing program, an information processing device, an information processing system, and a video display method capable of presenting more information to the user when displaying a panoramic image.
(1)
An example storage medium described in the present specification stores an information processing program to be executed by a computer of an information processing device for displaying a partial area of a panoramic video on a display device. The information processing program instructs the computer to execute: determining a display range; setting a target; and outputting guide information.
The computer determines a display range of the panoramic video to be displayed on the display device based on an input made on a predetermined input device. The computer sets a range and/or a position on a panoramic image as a target. The computer displays the panoramic video of the display range on the display device, and outputs guide information representing a relationship between the display range and the target.
With configuration (1) above, as the guide information is output, it is possible to present, to a user, the relationship between the current display range and the target position. Therefore, with the guide information, it is possible to allow a user to notice the presence of a target that is not included within the display range, and it is possible to notify a user of the direction in which the user should move the display range in order to see the target. Thus, with the information processing program described above, it is possible to present more information when displaying a panoramic image.
(2)
Predetermined additional information may be displayed on the display device while being superimposed on the panoramic video. Then, a range and/or a position on the panoramic video that is associated with the additional information is set as the target.
With configuration (2) above, it is possible with the guide information to notify a user of the position at which additional information is displayed, and it is possible to guide the user toward a display range where the additional information is displayed.
(3)
A range and/or a position that has been specified by an input made on another input device different from the predetermined input device may be set as the target.
With configuration (3) above, another user different from the user using the predetermined input device can set a target. Thus, if another user inputs a "recommended location" as the target, for example, using another input device, it is possible to let the user using the predetermined input device know of the "recommended location". Thus, with configuration (3) above, a plurality of users viewing the panoramic video can easily communicate with each other, and the other user who does not control the display range, for example, can also sufficiently enjoy the panoramic video.
(4)
The information processing program may instruct the computer to further execute displaying the panoramic video on another display device different from the display device. Then, a position that has been specified on a panoramic video displayed on the other display device based on an input made on the other input device is set as the target.
With configuration (4) above, a position on a panoramic video displayed on the other display device can be specified as the target. Thus, a user who sets a target can allow guide information for a target specified on the screen of the display device (the other display device described above) that the user is seeing to be output on another display device that another user is seeing. Therefore, a user who sets a target can easily set a target at a location outside the display range which is being seen by another user.
(5)
The additional information may be history-related information produced from history information. Now, the history information is information representing an operation performed by a user while the panoramic image is displayed and/or information that is determined by the operation.
With configuration (5) above, it is possible to set guide information for information representing a history, and it is possible to notify a user of a position at which the information is displayed.
(6)
A display range from a separate instance of playback of the panoramic video may be set as the target.
With configuration (6) above, it is possible to notify a user of a display range that another user was seeing (or is seeing), and it is possible to guide the user to direct the display range of the user toward the display range of the other user.
(7)
Guide information representing a direction toward the target with respect to the display range may be output.
With configuration (7) above, it is possible to present, to a user, the direction of the target with respect to the display range in an intuitive and easy-to-understand manner.
(8)
A period in which the target is set, and a position and/or a range where the target is set may be determined. Then, the direction represented by the guide information is determined based on the position and/or the range set for the target, and a point in time at which to output the guide information is determined based on the period in which the target is set.
With configuration (8) above, it is possible to output guide information at an appropriate position and at an appropriate point in time in accordance with the position and the point in time for which the target is set.
(9)
Guide information associated with the target may not be output when the target is located within the display range.
With configuration (9) above, it is possible to display the panoramic video in an easy-to-view manner. Note that where configuration (2) above and configuration (9) above are combined together, it is possible to display a panoramic video and additional information in an easy-to-view manner.
(10)
The guide information may be displayed on another display device different from the display device.
With configuration (10) above, it is possible to present a panoramic video in an easy-to-view manner.
(11)
The guide information may be displayed on the display device together with the panoramic video.
With configuration (11) above, it is possible to allow a user to more certainly recognize guide information.
(12)
The information processing program may instruct the computer to further execute obtaining user information with which it is possible to identify a user who has input the target. Then, the user information is output together with the guide information.
With configuration (12) above, a user who has recognized guide information can know who is the user who has input the target associated with the guide information. Thus, it is possible to present more information when displaying a panoramic image. With user information, a user can also determine whether or not to move the display range toward the target.
Note that the present specification discloses an information processing device and an information processing system having units equivalent to those realized by executing the information processing program of configurations (1) to (12) above. The present specification also discloses a panoramic video display method to be carried out in configurations (1) to (12) above.
With the storage medium storing an information processing program, the information processing device, the information processing system, and the panoramic video display method described above, it is possible to present more information to a user when displaying a panoramic image by outputting guide information.
These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Storage medium storing information processing program, information processing device, information processing system, and panoramic video display method


A system for interactive network access approval includes a server, a first application running on a first device for requesting access to a website on the network, and a second application running on a second device for approving access to the website. The server receives a request via the first application for access to the website, immediately transmits the request to the second application, receives via the second application approval for access to the website, and immediately grants access to the website to the first application. A method for granting access to a website is also described.

For many parents, the Internet allows their children to have access to the world's information online. But as educational and beneficial as the Internet can be, many parents also believe that it is their responsibility to supervise their children online and to protect them from detrimental material. Today, many devices are so small and mobile that it is nearly impossible for parents to properly supervise their children online, and this problem is enhanced by dramatic increases in Wi-Fi availability and bandwidth. Some Internet protection applications allow parents to block children from viewing specific websites. Other applications allow children to view only specific websites. But these applications are often not very flexible, they frustrate the child-users by blocking sites and then requiring them to wait long periods for their parents to decide whether to approve them or not, and they are labor-intensive for the parents.
Where considered appropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the drawings to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. Moreover, some of the blocks depicted in the drawings may be combined into a single function.

System and method for remote, interactive network and browsing supervision, monitoring, and approval


A stable portable air moving device capable of generating an air stream elevated above a support surface allowing the air stream to be directed as desired by the user is provided. The device includes an air blower assembly located within an elongate housing generating an exhaust air stream that exits the elongate housing at an elevation above the air blower assembly.

High velocity air moving devices have been utilized for many years. One example of a conventional device includes an axial fan blade type impeller and a motor. These types of devices not only produce a high velocity air stream but also produce a large volume of air movement. A disadvantage of this device is that the axial fan blade is large and requires even larger protective grills. Another disadvantage of this device is that the large volumes of air combined with the high velocity of the air stream produce a large thrust. The thrust must be counteracted by utilizing a large base to stabilize the device. The thrust stability problem can be exacerbated if the device is elevated above its support surface. The large components (blades and protective grills) of axial fans along with the increased thrust and corresponding stability problems do not allow these types of devices to be easily transportable (portable) or to have space saving characteristics.
Another disadvantage of these conventional devices is that the high volume of air that is moved by the device may not be desirable. The high volume of air may cause objects, (such as papers for example) to be dislodged from their intended place. Further, the large volume of air increases the possibility that dust, pollen, dander, etc. will be disturbed and induced to become airborne. The airborne dust and debris can be detrimental to, for example, respiratory conditions.


Provided is method and apparatus of compressing and restoring an image using filter information. The image compression apparatus may generate a reduced image by sampling an input image, determine filter information based on the input image and a decoded reduced image, and code the filter information and the decoded reduced image. Accordingly, a deterioration in an image quality may be prevented in transmitting the image using a limited bandwidth.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an apparatus and method of creating, compressing, transmitting, and displaying an image that may be applicable to a mobile environment of displaying images.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide bandwidth may be used to transmit a high resolution image. When the high resolution image is transmitted using a limited bandwidth, the high resolution image may be transformed to a low definition image. When the high resolution image is transformed to the low definition image, an image quality may be deteriorated.
Accordingly, there is a need for an image compression method and an image restoration method that may use a limited bandwidth and prevent an image quality from being deteriorated.

Apparatus and method of compressing and restoring image using filter information


A high speed connector with reduced crosstalk utilizes individual connector support frames that are assembled together to form a block of connector units. Each such unit supports a column of conductive terminals in two spaced-apart columns. The columns have differential signal terminal pairs separated from each other by larger intervening ground shields that serve as ground terminals. The ground shields are arranged in alternating fashion within the pair of columns and they are closely spaced together so as to face a differential signal terminal pair. In areas where the terminals are mounted to the connector units, window-like openings are formed in the large ground shield terminals to reduce the amount of broadside coupling between the differential signal terminal pair and the signal terminal pair are narrowed to increase their edge-to-edge distance to account for the change in dielectric constant of the connector unit material filing in the area between the signal terminal pair.

The present invention relates generally to high speed connectors, and more particularly to high speed backplane connectors, with reduced crosstalk and improved performance.
High speed connectors are used in many data transmission applications particularly in the telecommunications industry. Signal integrity is an important concern in the area of high speed and data transmission for components need to reliably transmit data signals. The high speed data transmission market has also been driving toward reduced size components.
High speed data transmission is utilized in telecommunications to transmit data received from a data storage reservoir or a component transmitter and such transmission most commonly occurs in routers and servers. As the trend of the industry drives toward reduced size, the signal terminals in high speed connectors must be reduced in size and to accomplish any significant reduction in size, the terminals of the connectors must be spaced closer together. As signal terminal are positioned closer together, signal interference occurs between closely spaced signal terminals especially between pairs of adjacent differential signal terminals. This is referred to in the art as "crosstalk" and it occurs when the electrical fields of signal terminals abut each other and intermix. At high speeds the signal of one differential signal pair may drift and cross over to an adjacent or nearby differential signal pair. This affects signal integrity of the entire signal transmission system. The reduction of crosstalk in high speed data systems is a key goal in the design of high speed connectors.
Previously, reduction of crosstalk was accomplished primarily by the use of shields positioned between adjacent sets of differential signal terminals. These shields were relatively large metal plates that act as an electrical reference point, or barrier, between rows or columns of differential signal terminals. These shields add significant cost to the connector and also increase the size of the connector. The shields may act as large capacitive plates to increase the coupling of the connector and thereby lower the impedance of the connector system. If the impedance is lowered because of the shields, care must be taken to ensure that it does not exceed or fall below a desired value at that location in the connector system. The use of shields to reduce crosstalk in a connector system requires the system designer to take into account their effect on impedance and their effect on the size of the connector.
Some have tried to eliminate the use of shields and rely upon individual ground terminals that are identical in shape and dimension to that of the differential signal terminals with which they are associated. However, the use of ground terminals the same size as the signal terminals leads to problems in coupling which may drive up the system impedance. The use of ground terminals similarly sized to that of the signal terminals requires careful consideration to spacing of all the terminals of the connector system throughout the length of the terminals. In the mating interface of high speed connector, impedance and crosstalk may be controlled due to the large amounts of metal that both sets of contacts present. It becomes difficult to match the impedance within the body of the connector and along the body portions of the terminals in that the terminal body portions have different configurations and spacing than do the contact portions of the terminals. This difficulty increases especially in areas of the connector where the terminals are mounted to their insulative support frames or housings.
The present invention is therefore directed to a high speed connector that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and which uses a plurality individual shields for each differential signal pair to control crosstalk, and in which the individual shields and signal terminals are mounted to the connector housing or frame so as to control the impedance of the terminals in the mounting areas.

Impedance control in connector mounting areas


A method of recycling construction and demolition debris produces a product useful in earth engineering applications, including landfills, soil stabilization and roadbeds. The method involves wet shredding construction and demolition debris into a moist shredded product and applying the product as daily cover for a landfill, or in a roadbed, or as a soil stabilizer or nutrient. A landfill design using the recycled product is also disclosed.

Federal and state environmental regulations require the operators of sanitary landfill operations to periodically cover disposed solid waste with six inches of earthen material to control disease, insects, fires, odors, blowing litter, and scavenging. For example, most jurisdictions require such covering of sanitary landfills at the end of each operating day, or at more frequent intervals if necessary. This covering requirement and the cover material is known as "daily cover" or "periodic cover" where the regulatory interval is more than one day, e.g., three days. As used herein, "daily cover" is intended to include daily and periodic cover for sanitary landfills, such as municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills, rubble landfills, land clearing debris landfills, and industrial waste landfills.
Each day's garbage, trash or rubble layer is covered at the end of the day and further garbage, trash or rubble layers are then spread directly on top of the daily cover from the previous day. In many landfill sites the soil used for the daily cover must be mined at the landfill site or purchased from an outside source and, due to the high rate of soil consumption, comprises a substantial cost item. Moreover, it has been recognized that multiple earth fill layers used in this way consume a significant volume of the valuable landfill space which might otherwise be used for receiving garbage, trash or rubble. It is well known that many communities are rapidly exhausting their available landfill acreage and it is therefore desirable to reduce the consumption rate of the available landfill volume. Accordingly, federal and state regulations allow alternative, more compressible, daily cover materials in lieu of the six inches of earthen material so long as the alternative materials provide the requisite level of protection.
One known solution to reducing the volume of municipal solid waste landfills is to shred the municipal solid waste to achieve a greater filling density in the landfill. One example of this solution is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,300 to Wojciechowski et al. which describes a process of reducing municipal solid waste to dry particles of a relatively small, uniform size to be mixed with the earth of a landfill for minimizing settlement and maximizing the load support capabilities of the landfill. While this process for forming a municipal solid waste landfill may be acceptable in some jurisdictions, it does not provide the daily cover required by the great majority of jurisdictions.
Some jurisdictions permit disposal of municipal solid waste in a landfill in shredded form without a requirement for daily cover. Although this method for disposal is accepted in some instances, it still has serious health and environmental drawbacks compared to landfills which require daily cover.
The prior art also does not adequately address the problem of disposing of construction and demolition debris in an efficient, useful and/or space saving manner. Rubble landfills in which construction and demolition debris is typically disposed consume a substantial volume of available landfill space. It would be desirable therefore to provide a method of recycling construction and demolition debris in a way which eliminates the need for rubble landfills and in which substantially the entire volume of construction and demolition debris can be recycled and made use of in other earth engineering applications.

Method of recycling construction and demolition debris


An optical sensor can include first and second optical emitters configured to emit light into a fluid sample via an optical pathway. Light from the emitters can cause fluorescence from the sample and/or scatter off of the sample. Scattered and fluoresced light can be received by an optical detector in the sensor via the optical pathway, and used to determine at least one characteristic of the fluid sample. A second optical detector can provide reference measurements of the amount of light emitted to the sample. The second optical emitter and second optical detector can be included in an optical emitter assembly removably disposed in the optical pathway of the optical sensor such that the second optical emitter emits light into the optical pathway toward a fluid sample.

In cleaning and antimicrobial operations, commercial users (e.g., restaurants, hotels, food and beverage plants, grocery stores, etc.) rely upon the concentration of a cleaning or antimicrobial product to make the product work effectively. Failure of a cleaning or antimicrobial product to work effectively (for example due to concentration issues) can cause a commercial user to perceive the product as lower quality. End consumers may also perceive the commercial provider of such products as providing inferior services. In addition, commercial users may be investigated and/or sanctioned by government regulatory and health agencies. Accordingly, there is a need for a system that can monitor the characteristics of fluid solutions, e.g., to determine if the concentration of a product is within a specified concentration range. The same may be true for other applications, such as commercial and industrial water treatment, pest control, beverage and bottling operations, oil and gas refining and processing operations, and the like.
One method of monitoring the concentration of a product relies on monitoring the fluorescence of the product that occurs when the sample (and the product within the sample) is exposed to a predetermined wavelength of light. For example, compounds within the product or a fluorescent tracer added to the product may fluoresce when exposed to certain wavelengths of light. The concentration of the product can then be determined using a fluorometer that measures the fluorescence of the compounds and calculates the concentration of the chemical based on the measured fluorescence.
Generally, fluorometric spectroscopy requires directing light from a source of radiant light to a sample and then receiving light from the sample at a detector. In order to do so, the source and detector must be in optical communication with the sample. In existing systems, providing optical access to the sample can be a costly process requiring significant modification to the system and significant downtime to perform such modification.

Multi-channel fluorometric sensor and method of using same


An emergency rope bail-out bag (10) is provided for use and wear by a firefighter or other first responder or emergency rescuer, the bag (10) including a main body (12) for stowing a rope (28), an escape hook (26), and a rappelling device (37); and a tear-away flap (14) that can be grasped with a single hand of a user and pulled away from the main body (12) so as to expose the escape hook (26), the rappelling device (37), and the rope (28) for rapid deployment in an emergency.

There is a continuing need for firefighters, first responders, and other emergency workers and rescuers to be provided with safety equipment that allows for emergency egress from structural fires that are above grade. Typically, such devices will include an emergency escape hook (many of which are known), a length of NFPA compliant rope, and a rappelling device that will allow the firefighter to safely descend the rope after securing an end of the rope to the structure via the escape hook. This equipment must somehow be carried on the body of a firefighter while still being accessible for emergency deployment and use.


An internal clock generator is provided in which a clock having the smaller difference between the cycle of the clock and the delay time of a combinational circuit is generated. The combinational circuit included in a circuit to which the clock is supplied includes five signal processing portions which can become critical paths. Dummy signal processing portions are circuits corresponding to the signal processing portions, respectively. A clock which includes, in a cycle, the maximum value of the delays between the inputs and outputs of the dummy signal processing portions is generated. Consequently, if the critical path of a circuit for inputting the clock is changed and the delay time of the combinational circuit is increased or decreased, the cycle of the clock is increased or decreased accordingly. As a result, the difference between the cycle of the clock and the delay time of the combinational circuit is reduced so that the operation of the circuit is performed at higher speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an internal clock generator for generating a clock, and more particularly to an internal clock generator which is utilized for an apparatus using a method for processing a signal based on a clock generated by itself (hereinafter referred to as a "self-timed method").
2. Description of the Background Art
An example of a self-timed apparatus is an information processor such as an arithmetic circuit. The self-timed apparatus comprises a clock generator for generating an internal clock (an internal clock generator) and a self-timed apparatus body for processing a signal based on the clock.
Two cases are caused by changing various conditions, for example, process conditions, a variation in manufacture, the ambient environment such as an ambient temperature, the transition of an input signal and the like. In a first case, the cycle of the generated clock fluctuates. In a second case, on a path provided between first and second specific nodes in the self-timed apparatus body, a delay time (processing time) required to input a signal to the first node, to process the signal on the path, and to output the processed signal to the second node fluctuates. The transition of the input signal means that the input signal is changed from the "H" level to the "L" level, and from the "L" level to the "H" level.
When at least one of the two cases is caused, the self-timed apparatus sometimes malfunctions. For example, in the case where the self-timed apparatus body has a structure in which a signal is fetched at the effective edge of the clock on the first node, the fetched signal is processed and the processed signal is fetched at the next effective edge on the second node, the malfunction of the self-timed apparatus is sometimes caused. In the case where the signal is processed synchronously with the clock, it is necessary to process the signal between the effective edges. If the signal cannot be processed between the effective edges, that is, a period for the effective edges is shorter than the processing time, the self-timed apparatus malfunctions.
Accordingly, it is necessary to design the self-timed apparatus to always make the period for the effective edges longer than the processing time such that a malfunction is not caused even if the conditions are changed.
However, it is insufficient that the difference between the period for the effective edges and the processing time (hereinafter referred to as an "operating margin") is simply increased so as to make the period for the effective edges longer than the processing time. As the operating margin is increased, the time for processing the signal by the self-timed apparatus becomes longer. Consequently, as the operating margin is smaller, the time for processing the signal by the self-timed apparatus is shortened.
As described above, it is necessary to always make the period for the effective edges longer than the processing time and to reduce the operating margin as much as possible in order to obtain a self-timed apparatus which does not malfunction due to the period of the clock and can process the signal in a short time.
However, it is difficult to decide the cycle of the clock such that the period for the effective edges is always longer than the processing time and the operating margin is always reduced as much as possible. The reason is that it is necessary to allow for a fluctuation in the cycle of the clock in the first case and a fluctuation in the processing time in the second case.
A method for diminishing the influence of conditions has been disclosed in "Design of a Free-Running Multiplier", Chapter V, (Technical Report of Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan (IEICEJ) "Integrated Circuit" ICD 93-83 to 93, p 7 to 14 by Mr. Yano). This method uses a part of a self-timed apparatus body for a delay element utilized to decide the cycle of a clock which is built in a clock generator. According to this method, it is pointed out that problems are caused in three cases, that is, a case (1) where a path is changed by an input, a case (2) where a circuit is complicated, and a case (3) where a path having a maximum processing time is changed on the ambient environment conditions. The case (1) includes a case (4) where the processing time is varied depending on the transition of an input signal.
The case (4) will be described below in detail. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the structure of a clock generator according to the prior art. FIG. 20 is a timing chart for each signal on nodes n4, di and n5 shown in FIG. 19. A clock control circuit G01 has the same delay time in the cases where an input signal is changed from the "H" level to the "L" level, and from the "L" level to the "H" level. The clock control circuit G01 has a delay time Tde. First of all, an enable signal on the node n4 is changed from the "L" level to the "H" level. Then, a signal on the node di is changed from the "H" level to the "L" level after the delay time Tde of the clock control circuit G01. Thereafter, a signal on the node n5 is changed from the "H" level to the "L" level after a delay time Tdn of a delay circuit D'. Subsequently, the signal on the node di is changed from the "L" level to the "H" level after the delay time Tde of the clock control circuit G01. Then, the signal on the node n5 is changed from the "L" level to the "H" level after a delay time Tdp of the delay circuit D'. Thereafter, the signal on the node di is changed from the "H" level to the "L" level again after the delay time Tde of the clock control circuit G01. By repeating the above-mentioned operation, an internal clock is generated on the node n5.
A time width TdL for a period having the "L" level of the clock on the node n5 (hereinafter referred to as a "Low period") is the sum of the delay times Tdp and Tde. A time width TdH for a period having the "H" level of the clock on the node n5 (hereinafter referred to as a "High period") is the sum of the delay times Tdn and Tde. Accordingly, the duty ratio of the clock (the delay time TdH: the delay time TdL) depends on the difference between the delay times Tdn and Tdp. If the delay time TdL is not equal to the delay time TdH, the duty ratio (TdH/TdL) is not 50%.
It is supposed that the duty ratio is not 50% and both edges are effective ones. As an example of this case, the delay time TdL is longer than the delay time TdH. In this case, short and long intervals are repeated so that the effective edges are produced. Accordingly, in the case where the self-timed apparatus body processes a signal based on the timings of both edges of the clock, the signal can be processed between the effective edges before and after the delay time TdL but cannot be processed between the effective edges before and after the delay time TdH in some cases. In these cases, the self-timed apparatus malfunctions. In order not to cause such a malfunction, a delay element which generates a delay of .vertline.Tdn-Tdp.vertline. is inserted immediately after the delay circuit D', for example. Consequently, the time width between the effective edges having the short interval becomes equal to the delay time TdL. Thus, the malfunction can be eliminated. However, the time width between the effective edges having the long interval is further increased by the delay element, that is, the operating margin is increased so that the time for processing the signal by the self-timed apparatus becomes longer.
The case (3) will be described below in detail. In the case (3), a phenomenon is simpler than in the case (4). However, a bad effect is produced even in the case where it is not necessary to set the duty ratio to 50%. Therefore, the problem becomes serious. Only paths (critical paths) D1, D2, D3, D4 and D5 have the maximum processing times produced on the different ambient environment conditions, respectively. The delay time of the delay circuit D' shown in FIG. 19 is set equal to the processing time of the path D1. If the ambient environment conditions correspond to the path D1, there is no problem. However, if the ambient environment conditions correspond to the paths D2 to D5, a signal cannot be processed between the effective edges in some cases. In these cases, the self-timed apparatus malfunctions. Accordingly, a delay element which produces a delay having the greatest value of .vertline.Td1-Td2.vertline., .vertline.Td1-Td3.vertline., .vertline.Td1-Td4.vertline. and .vertline.Td1 -Td5.vertline. is inserted immediately after the delay circuit D', for example. Consequently, the time width between the effective edges becomes longer than the processing time so that a malfunction is eliminated. However, in the case where the ambient environment conditions correspond to the path D1, the operating margin is increased. Consequently, the time for processing the signal by the self-timed apparatus is increased.

Internal clock generator for self-timed circuit with reduced difference between a cycle of a clock and delay time of a combinational circuit