A cylindrical apparatus or module to be included in a screw of a plasticating device. The screw has a helical flight disposed within and cooperating with the inner-wall of a heated barrel to form an upstream where material is fed into and a downstream where material exits the device. The cylindrical module has a helical channel traversing in a reverse helical direction compared with the direction of the flight. Input grooves extend in the surface of the module with input groove openings beginning within the helical channel and terminating in a dead end before intersecting the channel upstream. Output grooves, being adjacent to the input grooves, extend in the surface of the module with output groove openings beginning within the helical channel and terminating in a dead end before intersecting the channel downstream. A barrier is between the pair of adjacent input and output grooves to prevent direct communication therebetween.

This invention relates to extruders and injection machines of the type in which a screw rotatable within a barrel is employed to extrude or inject molten resinous material downstream to an outlet port of the barrel. More particularly, this invention is concerned with thorough mixing and melting of resinous material using a special cylindrical apparatus in the screw arrangement.
A plasticating device or unit commonly used today receives polymer or thermoplastic resin pellets, granules or powders, then heats and works the resin to convert it into a melted or molten state. The melt or molten material is delivered under pressure through a restricted outlet or discharge port to make the finished article. It is desirable that the molten material or extrudate leaving the plasticating device be homogeneously mixed, completely melted, and uniform in temperature, viscosity, color and composition.
More specifically, the basic plasticating device includes an elongated cylindrical barrel which is heated at various locations along its length. A screw extends longitudinally through the barrel. The screw has a core with a helical flight thereon and the flight cooperates with the cylindrical inner surface of the barrel to define a helical valley for forward passage of the resin to the plasticating device outlet port.
Since there are several different types of thermoplastic resins or polymers, and with each having different physical properties and characteristics, there are different screw configurations. In general, however, the typical plasticating screw has a plurality of sections along its extended axis with each section being designed for a particular function. Ordinarily, there is a feed section, a transition section and a metering section in series.
The feed section extends forward from a feed opening where solid thermoplastic resins, in pellet, granular or powder form, are introduced into the plasticating unit and pushed forward by the screw along the inside of the barrel. The resin is then worked and heated in the transition section so that melting occurs. After approximately 40 to 80 percent of the resin has been melted, solid bed breakup occurs, and solids become randomly dispersed within the melt. It is important to note that most melting initially occurring in the transition section takes place at or near the heat source of the barrel. Then, melting becomes enhances as solids subsequently become dispersed within the melt. To assure a homogeneous melt, therefore, it is important that the transition section enhances turbulent flow, as opposed to laminar flow, so that all the resin comes within the heating vicinity of the barrel or is dispersed within the melt. Otherwise, the presence of minute unmelted resin particles will appear in the finished article.
The transition section has a reduced root depth of the helical passageway, as compared with the feed section, to reflect the volume reduction due to melting of the feed. The transition section leads to the metering section. The metering section, as one of its intended functions, provides a constant flow of molten material toward the outlet port. In addition, it is important that the metering section melt any unmelted solids and mix and maintain the molten resin in a homogeneous and uniform composite.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,192, controlled melting and mixing of thermoplastic materials can be enhanced with a special cylindrical or tapered cylindrical shearing means in the transition section of the plasticating screw arrangement. Input grooves are arranged to extend substantially longitudinally in the surface of the special module or section with groove openings at the input and that terminate in dead ends before reaching the output end of the section. Output grooves are also arranged between the input grooves extend substantially longitudinally in the surface of the special section with openings at the output end and which terminate in dead ends before reaching the input end of the section. As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 3,486,192 to Le Roy, as the special section rotates, plastic material is fed under pressure from a prior stage into and along the input grooves before shearing over lands between the grooves and passing into the output grooves, through the output openings and into the next conveyor stage.
Although this configuration may satisfy many general needs, thermal and chaotic mixing can be improved even more for various thermoplastic resin and polymer materials by having a special cylindrical or tapered cylindrical shearing module that allows for a continuous back flow of molten material. The back flow of molten material gets recycled through portions of the transition section and is remixed with newly advancing molten resin, thereby further assuring the uniformity of the composition, viscosity, color and temperature of the molten resin leaving the plasticating device.
The present invention is directed to an improvement in the screw configuration, plasticating device and method for improving mixing and melting of resin material by a screw having a helical flight disposed within and cooperating with the inner-wall of a heated barrel to form an upstream where material is fed into and a downstream where material exits the device. In accordance with this invention, a special cylindrical module is included in the screw arrangement. The cylindrical module of the instant invention comprises a helically cut channel traversing in a reverse helical direction compared with the forward flow direction caused by the flight in the prior downstream stage. With this invention, a plurality of discrete grooves are arranged in a discontinuous helix cut.
More specifically, this invention includes input grooves extending in the surface of the cylindrical module with input groove openings beginning within the helically cut channel and terminating in a dead end before intersecting the immediately neighboring channel upstream. Output grooves, being adjacent to the input grooves, extend in the surface of the module with output groove openings beginning within the helically cut channel and terminating in a dead end before intersecting the immediately neighboring channel downstream. A barrier or land is between the pair of adjacent output and input grooves to prevent direct communication therebetween and to create a shearing effect of material passing thereover.
Although a plurality helix cut paths of both input and output grooves are employed in the preferred embodiment of the instant inventive module, it is also within the scope of the invention to use one path of discontinuous helix cut input and output grooves. Also, the clearance between the inner wall of the plasticating barrel and barriers between input and output grooves of the instant invention may be adjusted and/or varied as dictated by operating conditions.
In summary, the helically cut channel traversing in a reverse helical direction in the present invention allows for the back flow of molten material which is recycled therethrough. Also, input and output grooves cooperate with the barriers therebetween to enhance shearing and turbulent flow as pressure from the prior upstream stage forces plastic through the special module and into the next conveyor stage.
In terms of the method, the present invention relates to plasticating resinous material in a molten state under pressure by feeding resinous material in a solid state to the feed section of a screw plasticating device, such as an extruder or injection molding machine. As the screw is rotated in a cylindrical barrel having an inner surface, the flight of the screw and the inner surface cooperate to force and move resin material along a helical path forward toward the outlet port. In the transition section, heat is applied to the barrel which transfers to the material while working the material between the barrel and the screw. As a result of heat and mixing, the material is converted into a molten state.
To enhance mixing and melting, the instant invention uses a special cylindrical module included in the plasticating screw arrangement. More specifically, the instant cylindrical module has a helically cut channel traversing in a reverse helical direction, as compared with the forward direction of the flight in the prior stage. Input grooves and output grooves extend in the surface of the special cylindrical module with barriers therebetween as previously described, for creating turbulent flow, mixing, shearing and recyling of material therethrough.
Many other objects and features of the present invention will be obvious to those of skill in the art upon contemplation of the entire disclosure herein in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Plasticating process, apparatus and screw with mixing


A flow control valve having a pressure compensation function. This valve is free of fluid leakage and needs no pressure sensor. This valve includes a housing having a first port and a second port, a piston axially slidably mounted in the housing, a valve body formed at one end of the piston, a first fluid chamber defined between the other end of the piston and the housing, a second fluid chamber defined between the valve body and the housing, a variable-area orifice formed on the outer periphery of the piston and adapted to close when the piston is at a predetermined axial position, thereby shutting off the first fluid chamber and the first port from each other, a connecting path formed in the piston to communicate with the variable-area orifice and connecting the first fluid chamber with the second fluid chamber through a fixed-area orifice, an on-off valve comprising the valve body and a valve seat, a biasing means biasing the on-off valve at all times in a direction to open the on-off valve, and an electromagnetic biasing means for controlling the movement of the piston toward the biasing means.

The present invention relates to a fluid flow control valve for controlling the fluid pressure rising and lowering speed (flow rate to be exact), particularly a flow control valve suited for use in a fluid pressure control device such as an antilock brake control system and capable of continuously controlling the fluid flow when the valve is open and preventing the leakage of hydraulic fluid when the valve is deactivated, i.e. closed.
Antilock brake systems include, practically without exception, an electromagnetic valve as a fluid pressure control means. Even if the time period during which a pressure reduction or increase command is maintained is constant, the degree of pressure reduction or increase (that is, the flow rate at which hydraulic fluid flows through the valve) varies with the voltage applied, temperature, input fluid pressure, output fluid pressure, etc. But electromagnetic valves cannot detect and feed back the rate of fluid flow through the valves. Without information on variations in fluid flow through the valve, it is impossible to control the hydraulic pressure with high accuracy by correcting the fluid flow.
A sensor provided in the fluid pressure line would serve this purpose. But providing a separator sensor is an uneconomical solution. Another solution would be to reduce the degree of pressure reduction and pressure increase on each command for finer, more delicate pressure control. But this solution has a problem in that the smaller the degree of pressure increase or reduction on each command, the greater the possibility that the pressure may not rise or lower at all on such command due to variations in the fluid flow through the valve.
Thus, conventional brake fluid pressure control valves have still room for improvement in their ability to carry out pressure increase and reduction commands with high accuracy and quickness.
To solve this problem, unexamined Japanese patent publication 3-90462 proposes a flow control valve 100 shown in FIG. 8. This valve has a piston 102 slidably mounted in a housing 101 to define a first fluid chamber A and a second fluid chamber B between the piston 102 and both ends of the housing 101. The piston 102 is formed with an axial fluid passage 102B including a fixed-area orifice 102A. The passage 102B communicates with an annular groove 102C formed in the outer periphery of the piston.
The piston 102 is biased axially by a spring 103 and an electromagnet 104. The housing 101 has an input port 101A communicating with the fluid passage 102B through the annular groove 102C, and an output port 101B communicating with the second fluid chamber B. This valve further includes a discharge port provided between the annular groove 102C and the second fluid chamber B. But this discharge port is not described any further because it is not necessary for understanding of the present invention.
The fluid flow rate through the orifice 102A is determined by the difference between the pressures at both ends of the orifice 102A, which communicate with the first and second fluid chambers A and B, respectively. This pressure difference is in turn determined by the biasing forces applied to the piston 102 from the spring 103 and the electromagnet 104, respectively.
An orifice variable in flow area (degree of opening) is defined at the intersection of the input port 101A and the annular groove 102C. The degree of opening of this orifice influences the abovementioned pressure difference. That is, when the piston 102 moves rightwardly and the degree of opening of the variable-area orifice increases, the pressure in the first fluid pressure A rises correspondingly, urging the piston 102 leftwardly. Conversely, when the piston 102 is moved leftwardly biased by the electromagnet 104 and the degree of opening of the variable-area orifice decreases, the fluid flow through the variable-area orifice decreases below the fluid flow through the fixed-area orifice 102A. The piston thus begins to move rightwardly biased by the spring 103. (This state is hereinafter referred to as "spontaneous equilibrium state".)
The control force (f-F) applied to the piston 102 during spontaneous equilibrium state is given by: EQU (Pa-Pb)A=f-F (1)
where Pa is the fluid pressure in the first fluid chamber, Pb is the fluid pressure in the second fluid chamber, f is the biasing force of the spring 103, F is the biasing force of the electromagnet 104, and A is the sectional area of the piston 102.
As will be apparent from equation (1), the difference Pa-Pb between the pressures at both ends of the fixed-area orifice 102A is determined solely by the forces f and F and the sectional area A. That is, the fluid pressures at the input port 101A and the output port 101B have no influence on the pressure difference Pa-Pb. The flow rate through the fixed-area orifice 102A is in turn proportional to the square root of the pressure difference. Thus, this flow control valve has the function of controlling the flow independently of the input fluid pressure and output fluid pressure (pressure compensation function).
But this flow control valve cannot prevent an extremely small amount of leakage of hydraulic fluid between the input port 101A and the output port 101B through the sliding surface of the piston 102 indicated by X in FIG. 8.
Thus, this valve is not suitable for use in applications where even an extremely small amount of leakage of hydraulic fluid is not permissible such as the use as a pressure reducing valve in an antilock brake system.
Unexamined Japanese patent publication 6-83457 discloses a flow control valve which is free of the problem of leakage of hydraulic oil while deactivated. As shown in FIG. 9, this valve 200 comprises a housing 211 having an input port 213 and an output port 216, and a piston 212 mounted in the housing 211 so as to be axially slidable in a substantially liquid-tight manner. A first fluid chamber A and a second fluid chamber B are defined between the end faces of the piston 212 and the housing 211. The second fluid chamber B communicates with the output port 216.
The piston 212 is formed with an axial fluid passage 212A including a fixed-area orifice 215 through which the first and second fluid chambers A and B communicate with each other. On its end facing the first fluid chamber A, the piston 212 is provided with a pushrod 212B for opening an on-off valve 214, which is described later. On the end facing the second fluid chamber B, the piston 212 is formed with a piston-driving protrusion 212C.
A spring 218 is mounted in the first fluid chamber A in a compressed state. It biases the piston 212 axially rightwardly to keep it in its initial position. An electromagnet 220 as a second biasing means is mounted in the second fluid chamber B of the housing 211. The piston-driving protrusion 212C is inserted in the electromagnet 220. When a current flows through the electromagnet 220, it biases the piston 212 axially leftwardly in the figure. While no current is flowing through the electromagnet 220, no biasing force is applied to the piston 212 from the electromagnet 220, so that the piston is kept in its initial position shown in FIG. 9 biased by the spring 218.
An on-off valve 214 is disposed between the first port 213 and the first fluid chamber A for opening and closing communication between the first port 213 and the first fluid chamber A. The on-off valve 214 is a puppet valve comprising a seating spring 214A, a spherical valve body 214B, and a valve seat 214C opposite one end of the piston 212 through the first fluid chamber A. Structurally, the puppet valve prevents leakage of fluid from the first port 213 to the second port 216.
Biased rightwardly by the seating spring 214A, the valve body 214B is normally pressed against the valve seat 214C, closing fluid communication between the first port 213 and the first fluid chamber A. When the piston 212 is moved leftwardly in this state, the valve body 214B is pushed leftwardly by the pushrod 212B against the force of the seating spring 214A. This opens fluid communication between the first port 213 and the first fluid chamber A. The flow control valve of this publication further includes a relief valve for bypassing the first and second fluid chambers A, B. But this valve is not described any further because it is not necessary for understanding of the present invention.
In this flow control valve, the piston 212 moves axially leftwardly to open the on-off valve 214 when the following relation (2) is met: EQU Pi.times..alpha.<F-f+Pb.times.A-Pa.times.(A-.alpha.) (2)
where .alpha. is the effective sectional area of the sealing portion of the on-off valve 214, A is the sectional area of the piston 212, Pi is the fluid pressure at the first port 213, Pa is the fluid pressure in the first fluid chamber A, Pb is the fluid pressure in the second fluid chamber B and at the second port 216, f is the biasing force of the spring 218, and F is the biasing force of the electromagnet 220 (the biasing force of the seating spring 214A for keeping the valve body 214B seated is very small and thus ignored in the above formula).
Normally, the relation Pi>Pa.gtoreq.Pb is met. Thus, while the electromagnet 220 is not energized, no force acts on the piston 212 that can overcome the force Pi.times..alpha., so that the fluid communication between the first port 213 and the second port 216 is completely shut off. When the valve 214 is opened by activating the electromagnet, the spontaneous equilibrium state of the piston begins as explained in relation to the flow control valve 100 shown in FIG. 8. But in the case of the flow control valve 200, in order to adjust the flow rate to a desired level, it is necessary to provide a pressure sensor for measuring Pi and Pb at the portions connecting the first port 213 and the second port 216, because the force Pi.times..alpha. is acting in the valve 200.
For example, it is possible to provide the conventional flow control valve 100 with a pressure compensation function by forming in the piston a fixed-area orifice for restricting the fluid flow by use of the difference between the pressures at the input port and the output port and by making use of the spontaneous equilibrium state of the variable-area orifice provided on the outer periphery of the piston. But in this arrangement, it is impossible to prevent fluid leakage along the sliding surface of the piston.
In order to solve this problem, the flow control valve 200 is provided with a puppet valve to prevent leakage of fluid from the input port to the output port. But with this valve, it is necessary to provide a pressure sensor for detecting pressure difference at the input and output ports to feed back the detected pressure difference for the control of the electromagnetic valve in order to eliminate the influence of the fluid pressure at the input port on the puppet valve.
An object of the present invention is to provide a flow control valve which solves all these problems, and in which all the component parts including the fixed-area orifice, variable-area orifice and a puppet valve are provided in the housing.

Flow control valve with a pressure compensation function


A fastening apparatus is provided, in particular, for work-pieces in the form of plates for use in electrochemical baths. The fastening apparatus ensures that the contact quality is achieved irrespective of the thickness of the work-piece. The fastening apparatus has limbs that are connected to one another via a multi-jointed connection, and that contact surfaces of contacts are aligned parallel to one another in every opening position of the limbs.

The invention relates to a fastening apparatus, in particular for work-pieces in the form of plates used in electrochemical baths. The fastening apparatus has limbs that are connected to one another via a joint and a spring that compresses the limb ends of the limbs. In a region of the limb ends, electrical contacts are provided which are aligned inwards and have mutually parallel contact surfaces between which the work-piece can be clamped.
Known fastening apparatuses are configured essentially as simple brackets composed of two limbs which are connected to one another via a joint, with a compression spring being inserted on the side opposite the joint. The spring compresses the limb ends opposite the joint, and with these limb ends having contacts via which currents of up to 200 A per bracket are introduced into the work-piece suspended in an electrochemical bath, through a bus bar which is connected to the limbs.
One particular disadvantage of the known brackets is that the contacts do not always lie parallel on the surface of the work-piece, depending on the thickness of the work-piece, thus impairing the current flow, and hence the desired coating result.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a fastening apparatus that overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, which ensures that the contact quality is not related to the thickness of the work-piece.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a fastening apparatus. The fastening apparatus includes limbs having limb ends, a multi-jointed connection connecting the limbs to one another, and a spring for compressing the limb ends of the limbs and the spring is disposed on at least one of the limbs. Electrical contacts are disposed in a region of the limb ends and are aligned inwards with respect to one another and have mutually parallel contact surfaces between which a work-piece can be clamped. The electrical contacts have contact surfaces aligned parallel to one another in every opening position of the limbs.
The fastening apparatus has limbs that are connected to one another via a multi-jointed connection that ensures that the contact surfaces remain aligned parallel to one another in every opening position of the limbs. This allows work-pieces in the form of plates and of different thickness to be fixed in an electrochemical bath, with the entire contact surfaces of all the contacts always being conductively connected to the surface of the work-piece. A current that is produced for the electrochemical process can thus be introduced optimally and over a large area into the work-piece without any resistances to reduce the power.
It is also advantageous that the fact that the contact surfaces rest in a plane-parallel manner on the work-piece also results in the contact pressure being transmitted over a large area to the work-piece, without any edges or corners of the contacts making indentations in the work-pieces.
According to one particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the two limbs are connected to one another via a four-jointed connection which allows the limbs to open, when they are disposed parallel to one another in a closed original position, such that they remain parallel to one another in every opening state. This allows all work-pieces that are in the form of plates and have different thicknesses to be mounted between the contact surfaces such that they are likewise aligned parallel to the surface.
The opening movement is in this case produced via an operating lever which rotates against a spring force about a joint of the base limb and which acts via a second joint on the clamping limb, necessarily resulting in the required movement by a coupling element which is disposed parallel and is likewise connected via two joints to the base limb and to the clamping limb, with the distance between the joints being the same.
In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the multi-jointed connection is a four-jointed connection having two coupling elements and two struts that are each disposed on one of the limbs and are each connected in a jointed manner to one another by the two coupling elements. An operating lever is provided and is disposed on one of the two coupling elements.
In contrast to the above-mentioned four-jointed connection, a further preferred embodiment is equipped with a six-jointed connection which has two coupling elements which are each disposed on a strut of a limb via joints thereon and are in turn connected at their front end via joints to a strut of the clamping limb. The rear ends of the limbs have lengthening projections which are connected to one another via a coupling piece, with these coupling pieces being connected to one another via joints. An operating lever is disposed on the coupling piece, which operating lever is aligned approximately parallel to the fastening end of the base limb so that the parallel opening movement of the limbs can take place by a linear feed movement, in particular by an apparatus operated by a machine.
This last-mentioned embodiment is furthermore particularly advantageous in that the spring can be disposed at a long distance from the rotating joints so that the advantageous lever lengths result in a very large clamping force between the contact surfaces. At its fastening end, the base limb preferably has orifices, via which it can be fastened to a bus bar. The clamping limb, on the other hand, is provided with a connecting lug, by which it can be likewise short-circuited to a bus bar via a connecting line, in which case this configuration assures that the current flow is not impeded by the joints that are involved, since they are completely bypassed.
Advantageous embodiments of the fastening apparatus according to the invention can be equipped with limbs which are configured in the form of forks in a region of the contacts, in which case the ends, which are then in the form of tines, each have separate contacts.
The contacts need not necessarily be directly opposite one another, but can also be disposed offset with respect to one another, in which case, for example, two contacts at one limb end can be fixed such that they are spaced slightly apart from one another and an individual opposite contact can be disposed roughly opposite the space in-between the adjacent contacts.
In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the operating lever and one of the limbs, being a base limb, are configured to be parallel to one another.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the spring is disposed between the base limb and the operating lever.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the limbs include a clamping limb and a base limb and the multi-jointed connection includes a joint. A contact lug for connecting to an electrical connecting line is disposed in front of the joint on the clamping limb at an end opposite the contacts.
In accordance with a further added feature of the invention, more than one of the electrical contacts is disposed at one of the limb ends, and in that the electrical contacts are disposed offset with respect to one another.
In accordance with a further additional feature of the invention, the limbs are configured for receiving work-pieces in a form of plates for use in electrochemical baths.
In accordance with a concomitant feature of the invention, the spring is disposed between one of the limbs and one of the coupling elements.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a fastening apparatus, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A cast, composite countertop is prepared by spraying a castable, curable organic resin composition which includes over 20% by weight of an inorganic, particulate material therein, into a mold cavity corresponding to a top surface and side wall of a countertop so as to produce a continuous coating therein. This coating is at least partially cured, and a hardenable, liquid substrate composition introduced into the mold cavity, and the resultant composite is fully cured to produce a countertop. In some instances, an additional casting step may be employed to build up the edge thickness. Also disclosed are dual spray techniques for enhancing the surface quality of the composite, and techniques for enhancing the thermal stability thereof. Also disclosed are countertops made by the disclosed methods.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to molded countertops for use particularly in kitchens and bathrooms and, more particularly, to a novel molding process for producing a finished solid surface countertop.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Countertops, table tops and the like have long been made from materials such as wood, metal and stone. Wood is the easiest material to fabricate; but, it is easily cut or chipped, not sanitary, and does not resist high temperatures. Metal and stone are very durable, and resistant to temperature extremes; but they are difficult to fabricate. In addition, all such materials are relatively expensive. As a consequence, the industry has turned to the use of synthetic materials for the fabrication of countertops. Such materials are generally based upon organic polymers.
Various processes and procedures are known in the art for producing solid surface, fiber reinforced polymer, and cultured marble countertops. The term solid surface pertains to a material where there is no painted or laminated skin or outer surface, and in such materials, small scratches and burns, etc. can be sanded or buffed out.
The industry for solid surfacing began approximately twenty-five years ago when Dupont Inc. developed a high quality surfacing material known commercially as Corian.RTM.. Since the early 1980's, several major manufacturers have developed their own brand of solid surface products. For the most part, these products are expensive to produce and are distributed in nominal sized sheets that are fabricated by the lengthy process of cutting the sheet into the desired countertop shape and re-bonding by adhesive or the like to a substrate surface.
More recently, spray-on solid surface materials, such as those commercially known as Safas.RTM. and Omniplex.RTM., have come into use. In one known application, these spray-on materials are coated over an inexpensive substrate, such as a particle board or other material which is already shaped in the desired fashion. Once the spray-on material has dried, a lengthy sanding and finishing process is required to bring the finish up to the desired quality, and there still is a need to remove pinholes exposed during this process, which are a by-product of the fabrication process of coatings of this type. Such sanding and finishing processes are necessary for providing an acceptable finish and have thus far proven too labor intensive to be workable in today's production countertop industry.
Direct molding processes are very attractive for the fabrication of countertops, sinks, basins and such units, since techniques of this type permit fabrication of a finished shape having good surface quality. One molding process involves the so-called cultured marble materials. These include an outer gel coat polymer layer, comprised of a relatively soft, unfilled resin, disposed over a faux-veined, mineral-filled resin base which attempts to provide the appearance of stone. This second layer may be backed with an additional layer of low cost material. Cultured marble articles are not very durable, since the gel coat is readily scratched, chipped or delaminated. Also, scratches or chips cannot be readily sanded out of the gel coat because it is soft and fairly thin. Additionally, moisture or thermal shock can cause cultured marble articles to delaminate, crack or wrinkle, particularly if there are any breaks in the gel coat. As will be detailed hereinbelow, the present invention provides a method whereby a composite countertop or the like may be fabricated by a molding process so as to have a surface comprised of a relatively thick body of organic resin based, high quality, solid surface material, which provides durability and aesthetics, and which is supported upon a durable, relatively low cost body of substrate material. Furthermore, the present invention eliminates the need to grind down or otherwise undertake extensive finishing steps to produce a high quality surface. These and other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the drawings, discussion and description which follow.

Mold process for producing a finished solid surface countertop


A camera housing assembly for protecting a camera from potentially-damaging environmental conditions, such as high temperatures, humidity and corrosive air-borne particulates, has a housing and an internal heat sink received within the housing. The internal heat sink defines a hollow body extending in the elongated direction of the housing and forming an internal chamber for receiving the camera and for transferring heat away from the chamber and camera. A polymeric insulating material is disposed within an annular space formed between the internal heat sink and housing in order to thermally insulate the internal heat sink from the housing. A thermoelectric cooling device extends through an aperture formed in a wall of the housing, and is thermally coupled between the internal heat sink and an external heat sink mounted to an external wall of the housing for transferring heat from the internal heat sink to the external heat sink. An optically-reflective shroud is mounted to the external heat sink by a plurality of thermal-isolation mounts to thermally insulate the shroud from the external heat sink. The shroud extends over the top surfaces of the external heat sink and housing and extends downwardly adjacent to the sides of the housing in order to reflect radiant energy away from the housing assembly.

Video cameras are used for many applications ranging from security systems to various industrial uses such as monitoring and recording manufacturing operations. Many of these applications expose the camera to extreme environmental conditions, such as extreme temperatures, high humidity, corrosive elements and air-borne particles.
To protect the cameras from these conditions, they are typically mounted within an environmentally controlled housing. A common method of controlling the internal temperature of such housings in high temperature environments is to employ a heat sink alone or in combination with a mechanical cooling device, such as a fan or blower. The heat sink is adapted to transfer heat away from an internal chamber of the housing enclosing the camera. In situations where the use of a heat sink alone provides inadequate heat transfer, one or more fans may be mounted adjacent to the heat sink to blow air across the heat sink and thereby increase the rate of heat transfer from the internal chamber.
One drawback of using a fan and/or other cooling devices having moving mechanical parts is that they are susceptible to wear and premature failure in environments having high heat and humidity, air-borne particles, and/or other corrosive elements. The constant exposure of mechanical cooling devices to these types of environmental conditions may, over a relatively short period of time, corrode or clog bearings and other moving parts, requiring these parts to be frequently serviced or replaced.
Another prior art system of cooling the internal chamber of a camera housing assembly employs one or more pumps for pumping a cooling fluid through tubing or other fluid passageways disposed within the housing. One disadvantage of these types of systems is that they may require extensive and complex support equipment for each housing, and are therefore financially impractical, especially for applications that require a number of cameras mounted at various remote locations, such as security systems. In addition, the pumps are susceptible to wear and premature failure in environments having air-borne particulates and/or other corrosive elements.

Environmentally controlled camera housing assembly


An electronic device for a mobile device and a mobile device comprising the electronic device are provided. The electronic device comprises: a battery including: a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, and two or more side surfaces; one or more battery cells within the housing; and a battery interface positioned on a surface of the housing; and a smart card having a smart card interface positioned on a surface of the housing.

As mobile electronic devices decrease in size, the space available within such devices for various components decreases and component sizing becomes more important. Additionally, as the size of the printed circuit board (PCB) in mobile electronic devices decreases with the size of the device itself, the competition for space on the PCB increases as designers and manufacturers attempt to add more components or fit existing components on smaller PCBs. For smart card-based devices, the smart card may be one of the larger components occupying space on the PCB.
It will be noted that throughout the appended drawings like features are identified by like reference numerals.

Integrated smart card and battery for mobile devices


A method of determining hand features information using both two dimensional (2D) image data and three dimensional (3D) image data is described. In one implementation, a method includes: receiving a 2D image frame; receiving 3D image data corresponding to the 2D image frame; using the 3D image data corresponding to the 2D image frame, transforming the 2D image frame; and using the 3D image data corresponding to the 2D image frame, scaling the 2D image frame, where the transforming and scaling results in a normalized 2D image frame, where the normalized 2D image frame is a scaled and transformed version of the 2D image frame, and where the scaling and transforming is performed using a computer.

Existing methods of determining hand and hand component locations involve the use of either a three dimensional (3D) image sensor (e.g., a depth camera) alone or a two dimensional image sensor (e.g., a red green blue (RGB) camera) alone. Each of these methods has its own drawbacks. For example, using a 3D image sensor alone to determine hand and hand component locations can be slow. On the other hand, using a 2D image sensor alone can be unreliable.

Using a combination of 2D and 3D image data to determine hand features information


The present invention relates to a driving method of a plasma display panel for improving a picture quality. The driving method of a plasma display panel in which an nth frame having a first brightness weighting value and a (n+1)th frame having a brightness weighting value different from the first brightness weighting value are alternatively arranged every vertical synchronous signal to display a certain image, wherein one frame period of the nth frame or the (n+1)th frame is variably set such that a brightness expression period can be identically set at the nth frame and the (n+1)th frame.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display panel, and more particularly, to a driving method of a plasma display panel for improving a picture quality.
2. Description of the Related Art
Plasma display panel (hereinafter referred to as "PDP") generally displays an image including character or graphic by generating light from fluorescent substance using ultraviolet rays with a wavelength of 147 nm, which is generated during a gas LB discharge of an inert mixture gas, such as He+Xe, Ne+Xe, He+Ne+Xe or the like. This PDP has easy slimness and large-sized characteristics, and provides a greatly improved picture quality thanks to the recent technology development. Especially, three-electrode alternating current (AC) surface discharge type PDP has advantages of a low voltage operation and a long life since wall charges stored on a surface in the course of discharge protect electrodes from sputtering generated by the discharge.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a discharge cell of a conventional three-electrode AC surface discharge type plasma display panel.
Referring to FIG. 1, a discharge cell of the three-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP includes a scan electrode (Y) and a sustain electrode (Z) formed on an upper substrate 10, and an address electrode (X) formed on a lower substrate 18. Each of the scan electrode (Y) and the sustain electrode (Z) includes transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z and metal bus electrodes 13Y and 13Z having line widths narrower than line widths of the transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z formed at one-sided edge regions of the transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z.
The transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z are generally formed of Indium-Tin-Oxide (hereinafter, referred to as 'ITO') on the upper substrate 10. The metal bus electrodes 13Y and 13Z are generally formed of chrome (Cr) on the transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z to function to reduce a voltage drop caused by the transparent electrodes 12Y and 12Z having high resistance. An upper dielectric layer 14 and a passivation film 16 are layered on the upper substrate 10 having the scan electrode (Y) and the sustain electrode (Z) formed in parallel with each other. The wall charge generated at the time of plasma discharge is stored in the upper dielectric layer 14. The passivation film 16 prevents the upper dielectric layer 14 from being damaged due to the sputtering generating at the time of the plasma discharge and also, enhances an emission efficiency of a secondary electron. Magnesium oxide (Mgo) is generally used as the passivation film 16. A lower dielectric layer 22 and a barrier 24 are formed on the lower substrate 18 having the address electrode (X), and a fluorescent layer 26 is coated on a surface of the lower dielectric layer 22 and the barrier 24. The address electrode (X) is formed in a direction of crossing with the scan electrode (Y) and the sustain electrode (Z). The barrier 24 is formed in parallel with the address electrode (X) to prevent the visible ray and the ultraviolet ray caused by the discharge from being leaked to an adjacent discharge cell. The fluorescent layer 26 is excited by the ultraviolet ray generated due to the plasma discharge to radiate any one visible ray of red, green or blue. The inert mixture gas for the discharge such as He+Xe, Ne+Xe, He+Ne+Xe and the like is injected into a discharge space of the discharge cell provided between the upper/lower substrates 10 and 18 and the barrier 24.
In the above three-electrode AC surface discharge type PDP, one frame is divided into several sub-fields having different times of light-emitting (for example, the number of a sustain pulse) so as to realize a gray level of the image. Each of the sub-fields is again divided into a reset period during which the discharge is uniformly generated, an address period during which the discharge cell is selected, and the sustain period during which the gray level is embodied depending on discharge times. For example, in case that the image is expressed using a 256 gray level as in FIG. 2, a frame period (16.67 ms) corresponding to 1/60 second is divided into eight sub-fields (SF1 to SF8). Also, each of the eight sub-fields (SF1 to SF8) is again divided into a reset period, an address period and a sustain period. Herein, the reset and address periods of each sub-field are identical every sub-field, whileas the sustain period is increased in a ratio of 2n (n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) at each of the sub-fields. As described above, brightness weighting values different from one another every sub-field are combined to embody a certain gray level.
On the other hand, the conventional PDP can control the number of the sustain pulse depending on an Average Picture Level (hereinafter, referred to as "APL") such that a consumption power can be constantly processed.
FIG. 3 is a general graph illustrating the number of the sustain pulse depending on the APL.
Referring to FIG. 3, since brightness is determined depending on the number of the sustain pulse, if a total number of the sustain pulse is made identical in cases that an average brightness is dark and bright, the PDP has several drawbacks of a picture quality deterioration, a power consumption, a panel damage and the like. For example, a contrast is decreased in case that the number of the sustain pulse is set to be small for all inputted images. Further, in case that the number of the sustain pulse is set to be large for all inputted images, the PDP has an advantage in that the brightness is bright and the contrast is increased even at a dark image, but the panel can be damaged due to an increased consumption power and an elevated temperature of the panel. Accordingly, it is required to properly adjust the total number of the sustain pulse depending on the average brightness of the inputted image. Herein, the number of the sustain pulse is abruptly increased in a range of gray level having a relative low APL, and is decreased in a range of gray level having a relative high APL. Accordingly, the number of the sustain pulse is abruptly varied in the range of gray level having the relative low APL.
FIG. 4 is a view illustrating a voltage waveform representing a conventional driving method of the PDP.
Referring to FIG. 4, the sub-field (SF) included in one frame of the PDP is divided for an operation into the reset period (RPD), the address period (APD) and the sustain period (SPD).
A reset pulse (RP) is supplied to the scan electrode (Y) during the reset period (RPD). The reset pulse (RP) having a ramp wave format is in a way of increasing voltage during a set-up period and decreasing the voltage during a set-down period. In the set-up period during which the voltage is gradually increased, a plurality of minute set-up discharges is generated to form the wall charge in the upper dielectric layer. Continuously, in the set-down period during which the voltage is gradually decreased, unnecessary charged particles are partially removed due to a plurality of minute set-down charges such that the wall charge is decreased as much as a next address discharge is helped without an erroneous discharge. A positive-polar (+) direct-current voltage is supplied to the sustain electrode (Z) during the set-down period. Since the reset pulse (RP) is supplied gradually attenuating with respect to the positive-polar (+) direct-current voltage, the scan electrode (Y) has a relative negative polarity (−) with respect to the sustain electrode (Z), that is, polarity is inverted at the time of set-down thereby causing the wall charges generated at the time of set-up to be decreased.
During the address period (APD), a scan pulse (SP) having a negative-polar (−) scan voltage (Vy) is supplied to the scan electrode (Y) and at the same time, a positive-polar (+) data pulse (DP) is supplied to the address electrode (x) thereby causing the address discharge. The wall charge formed due to the address discharge is maintained during a period during which other discharge cells are addressed.
During the sustain period (SPD), a triggering pulse (TP) is supplied to the scan electrode (Y) such that a sustain discharge is initiated at the discharge cells where enough wall charges are formed during the address period (APD). Next, sustain pulses (SUSPz and SUSPy) corresponding to the sustain voltage (Vs) are alternatively supplied to the sustain electrode. (Z) and the scan electrode (Y) such that the sustain discharge is maintained during the sustain period (SPD)
During an erase period (EPD) following the sustain period (SPD), an erase pulse (EP) is supplied to the sustain electrode (Z) thereby stopping the maintained discharge. The erase pulse has the ramp wave format to provide small-sized light-emitting, or a short pulse width of about 1 μs for a discharge erase. The charged particles are erased using a short erase discharge caused by the erase pulse (EP), to thereby stop the discharge.
On the other hand, in the conventional art, the reset period (RPD) and the address period (APD) are identical every sub-field within one frame, whileas the sustain period (SPD) is increased in the ratio of 2n (n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) at each of the sub-fields. Since the sustain period (SPD) is different at each of the sub-fields as described above, the gray level of LB the image can be embodied. However, since the frames are identically arranged every vertical synchronous signal as in FIG. 5, the gray level is limitedly expressed. In FIG. 5, the number of the sub-field is 12, and the number of the sub-field can be variously varied depending on the gray level to be embodied.
Accordingly, in order to overcome a limitation in expressing the gray level, it has been proposed that two frames of FIGS. 6A and 6B be alternatively arranged every vertical synchronous signal. For example, the sub-fields are arranged at an odd frame (or an even frame) in a weighted value ratio of 1, 6, 13, 23, 35, 51, 70, 91, 116, 145, 176 and 211 as in FIG. 6A, and the sub-fields are arranged at the even frame (or the odd frame) in a weighted value ratio of 4, 9, 18, 29, 43, 60, 80, 103, 130, 160, 193 and 109 as in FIG. 6B. In case that the odd frame and the even frame having the different brightness weighting value of each sub-field are alternatively used every vertical synchronous signal (Vsync), an expression degree of the gray level can be increased at least twice as much as the case where the frames having the same brightness weighting value of each sub-field are arranged. At this time, the brightness weighting values of the sub-field should be set to be alternated each other every-frame.
For example, the brightness weighting values of the odd frame and the even frame can be set to be alternated such as 1, 4, 6, 9, 13, 18, 23, 29 and the like.
However, in case that the brightness weighting value is alternatively arranged every frame as described above, there is a drawback in that light-emitting centers of each frame are inconsistent, and a flicker is generated to an extent of being unpleasant to the eye thereby deteriorating the picture quality.
That is, when all sub-fields of each frame are turned-on, a light-emitting center of an odd numbered frame is a 211 position of the brightness weighting value, whileas a light-emitting center of an even numbered frame is a 193 position of the brightness weighting value. Accordingly, the positions of the light-emitting centers of both frames are different from each other thereby causing the flicker and accordingly, critically influencing the picture quality.
Describing this in detail, in case that two frames having different brightness weighting values are alternatively arranged, a vertical frame blank (hereinafter, referred to as "VFB") period between an nth frame (n) and a (n+1)th frame (n+1) becomes T1, and a VFB between the (n+1)th frame (n+1) and a (n+2)th frame (n+2) becomes T1 as in FIG. 6C. As illustrated in FIG. 6C, it can be understood that T2 is longer than T1. Further, BFBs between the frames are alternatively arranged. At this time, since T1 and T2 are different from each other, the light-emitting centers of respective frames are inconsistent to cause the flicker to the extent of being unpleasant to the eye thereby deteriorating the picture quality.
On the other hand, a selective write and selective erase (SWSE) driving method has been proposed for reinforcing the expression degree of the gray level. In the above selective write and selective erase driving method, one frame is comprised of at least one selective write sub-field and at least one selective erase sub-field.
FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a waveform representing a conventional driving method of a selective write and selective erase PDP driven in a 60 Hz mode.
Referring to FIG. 7, one frame of the selective write and selective erase PDP is comprised of at least one selective write sub-field and at least one selective erase sub-field. At this time, the at least one selective write sub-field can be a selective write duration (SW6 and the like), and the at least one selective erase sub-field can be a selective erase duration (SE1, SE2 and the like).
Further, the selective write sub-field is divided into a reset period (IPD), an address period (APD), and a sustain period (SPD), and the selective erase sub-field is divided into an address period (APD) and a sustain period (SPD).
Describing this in detail, a set-down waveform ramp pulse (-RP) is sequentially supplied during the reset period (RPD) of the selective write sub-field to scan electrode lines (Y) following a set-up waveform reset pulse (RP). The set-down waveform ramp pulse (−RP) drops to a negative-polar (−) scan reference voltage (−Vw). Further, a positive-polar (+) direct-current voltage is supplied to sustain electrode lines (Z)
While the positive-polar (+) direct-current voltage is supplied to the sustain electrode lines (Z) during the address period (APD) of the selective write sub-field, a negative-polar (−) selective write scan pulse (SWSP) and a positive-polar (+) selective write data pulse (SWDP) are supplied to each of the scan electrode lines (Y) and the address electrode lines (X) to be synchronized with each other. Continuously, sustain pulses (SUSPy and SUSPz) are alternatively supplied to the scan electrode lines (Y) and the sustain electrode lines (Z) such that the sustain discharge is generated at a cell turned-on by the address discharge of the selective write sub-field during the sustain period (SPD) of the selective write sub-field.
The reset period (RPD) of the selective erase sub-field is omitted. During the address period (APD) of the selective erase sub-field, a negative-polar (−) selective erase scan pulse (SESP) and a positive-polar (+) selective erase data pulse (SEDP) are supplied to each of the scan electrode lines (Y) and the address electrode lines (X) to be synchronized with each other. The selective erase scan pulse (SESP) drops to a negative-polar (−) selective erase scan voltage (Ve) higher than the negative-polar (−) scan reference voltage (Vw).
The sustain pulses (SUSPy and SUSPz) are alternatively supplied to the scan electrode lines (Y) and the sustain electrode lines (Z) such that the sustain discharge is generated at cells not turned-off by the address discharge of the selective erase sub-field (ESF) during the sustain period (SPD) of the selective erase sub-field. In case that a next following sub-field is the selective erase sub-field, the sustain pulse (SUSPy) having a relatively large pulse width is supplied to the scan electrode lines (Y) at the end time of a present selective erase sub-field. Additionally, an erase pulse (not shown) and a ramp signal (not shown) are supplied to the scan electrode lines (Y) and the sustain electrode lines (z) at the last selective erase sub-field having the selective write sub-field as the next sub-field to erase the sustain discharge of the turned-on cells.
FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an example of a sub-field arrangement where the gray level is expressed in a selective write and selective erase way of FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 8, in order to express the gray level, the sub-field from a low gray level to a first 32 gray level is addressed in a selective write way, and remaining sub-fields are addressed in a selective erase way. At this time, in case that a 50 Hz driving is performed using the selective write and selective erase way, the flicker is caused by a phenomenon of a relative VFB increase (that is, VFB*(vertical frame blank at the time of a 60 Hz driving)<VFB** (vertical frame blank at the time of the 50 Hz driving)). The above flicker is an obstacle in the picture quality. Describing this in detail, in case that it is intended to display the-image, South Korea and United Stated America use the 60 Hz mode, that is, the frame period (16.67 ms) corresponding 1/60 second. However, Europe, China and the like use a 50 Hz mode, that is, a frame period (20 ms) corresponding to 1/50 second. At this time, in case that one frame period is 60 Hz, the VFB period is VFB*. However, in case that a signal of the 60 Hz mode is applied to the 50 Hz mode, the VFB period is VFB** longer than the case of 60 Hz. Accordingly, since the VFB* period of the 60 Hz mode is short and the VFB** period of the 50 Hz mode is long, in case that the frame of the 60 Hz mode is applied to the 50 Hz mode, there is a drawback in that since the VFB period is lengthened thereby causing the phenomenon of inconsistency of the light-emitting centers, the flicker is caused thereby deteriorating the brightness.


A steel containing C: not more than 0.0050%, Si: 0.1-5.0%, Mn: 0.02-3.0%, sol. Al: not more than 0.0050%, P: not more than 0.2%, S: not more than 0.0050%, N: not more than 0.0040%, T. Ca: 0.0010-0.0080%, T. O: not more than 0.0100% and having (T. Ca/T. O) of not less than 0.50 but not more than 2.0 by decarburizing to a C content of not more than 0.0050%, adding Si, decreasing Al as much as possible, and adding Ca is melted to form a slab. The slab is subjected to a hot rolling at a coiling temperature of not lower than 550° C., a cold rolling and a finish annealing, or the slab is subjected to a hot rolling, a hot band annealing at a temperature of 900-1150° C., a cold rolling and a finish annealing to thereby produce a non-oriented electrical steel sheet.

In recent years, motors used for domestic air conditioners and the like have been demanded to have decreased power consumption and high energy efficiency associated with the increasing demand for energy-savings. To this end, non-oriented electrical steel sheets used as an iron core material for such a motor are strongly demanded to have higher-performance characteristics such as, for example, low iron loss to reduce iron loss of the motor and high magnetic flux density to reduce copper loss of the motor.
As a method of reducing iron loss of the non-oriented electrical steel sheet has hitherto been used a method of increasing an addition amount of elements which increase specific resistance of steel such as Si, Al, Mn and the like to decrease an eddy current loss. In that method, however, a decrease in the magnetic flux density cannot be avoided. Therefore, there have been proposed some techniques for not only reducing the iron loss but also increasing the magnetic flux density.
For example, JP-A-H05-171280 proposes a technique of increasing the magnetic flux density by adding Sb or Sn to a slab containing C: not more than 0.02 wt %, Si or Si+Al: not more than 4.0 wt %, Mn: not more than 1.0 wt % and P: not more than 0.2 wt %. In that technique, however, the magnetic properties are largely varied, and it is necessary to perform two cold rollings sandwiching a short-time annealing therebetween after hot rolling, thereby causing a problem that the production cost is higher.
JP-A-H10-060532 proposes a technique wherein a composition ratio of MnO to oxide inclusions (MnO/(SiO2+Al2O3+CaO+MnO)) existent in a hot rolled sheet containing C: not more than 0.008 wt %, Si: not more than 4 wt %, Al: not more than 2.5 wt %, Mn: not more than 1.5 wt %, P: not more than 0.2 wt %, S: not more than 0.005 wt % and N: not more than 0.003 wt % is controlled to not more than 0.35, whereby the number of inclusions extending in the rolling direction is decreased to improve the growth property of crystal grains. However, that technique has problems that the magnetic properties, particularly iron loss property becomes unstable when the Ca concentration is high and the Al concentration is low.
In recent years, scrap generated in the blanking of iron core material has been frequently reused as a starting material of foundry pig from a viewpoint of recycling iron source. However, when the Al amount contained in the foundry pig is not less than 0.05 mass %, blowholes (shrinkage cavities) are easily caused in a casting so that it is desired to control the Al amount contained in the scrap to less than 0.05 mass %.
As to a non-oriented electrical steel sheet having a decreased Al amount, Japanese Patent No. 4126479 proposes a technique wherein the texture is improved to increase the magnetic flux density by decreasing an Al content to not more than 0.017 mass %, preferably not more than 0.005 mass %.
However, the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4126479 adopts a single rolling process at room temperature as the cold rolling so that an effect of sufficiently increasing the magnetic flux density cannot be obtained. That problem is solved by conducting two or more cold rollings sandwiching an intermediate annealing therebetween as the cold rolling, but there is caused another problem wherein the production cost is increased. It is also effective to perform a so-called warm rolling as the cold rolling by rolling at a sheet temperature increased to about 200° C. to increase the magnetic flux density. However, there is a problem that new equipment and complicated process control are necessary to perform the warm rolling. Further, Japanese Patent No. 4126479 discloses that even when Al is decreased, but N is not decreased, fine AlN is precipitated during cooling in hot band annealing to suppress grain growth in the recrystallization annealing and deteriorate the iron loss property.
As mentioned above, when the Al content is decreased, it is, in fact, difficult to produce non-oriented electrical steel sheets having a high magnetic flux density and a low iron loss in a low cost and a high productivity without requiring new equipment and complicated process control.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a non-oriented electrical steel sheet having a low Al content, an excellent recyclability, a high magnetic flux density and a low iron loss, and also a method of producing such a steel sheet in a low cost and a high productivity.

Non-oriented electrical steel sheet and production method thereof


A power semiconductor device which makes a heat come hard to arise in a particular element and is able to control an increase of the amount of a power loss caused by a tail current, even in case that plural power semiconductor elements are connected in parallel is provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power semiconductor device including plural power semiconductor elements to drive a load.
2. Description of the Background Art
A power semiconductor element such as a power MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), an IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor) and so on is applied as a control device to drive a load flowing a large current.
A technique of a power semiconductor device that such the power semiconductor element is plurally connected in parallel and a controllable current amount is made to increase is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-191239 (1996). Besides, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2000-92820, 2002-95240, 2001-169401 and 2002-208849 are additional prior art documents corresponding to the present invention.
In case that the plural power semiconductor elements are connected in parallel, a current tends to flow in a particular element in the parallel connection in larger amounts, if there is a difference in an electric characteristic of the respective elements. According to this, an element in which the current flows in larger amounts runs a temperature substantially and a life of the element tends to be short.
In the case that the plural power semiconductor elements are connected in parallel, a current tends to flow in a particular element in the parallel connection in larger amounts, if there is a difference in an electric characteristic of the respective elements. According to this, an element in which the current flows in larger amounts runs a temperature substantially higher and a life of the element tends to be short.
Moreover, there is a steady loss occurring in an ON action and a switching loss occurring in a switching period in a power loss generated in the power semiconductor element. The steady loss is attributable mainly to an ON resistance in the ON action, and the switching loss is attributable mainly to a tail current in a turn-off state.
The steady loss increases according to an increase of a conducting current of the power semiconductor element. In the meantime, a value of the tail current which is a major reason for the switching loss is substantially constant regardless of the conducting current amount. Accordingly, the amount of the power loss caused by the tail current is proportional to the number of the parallel connection of the power semiconductor element and the number of switching of the power semiconductor element.
That is to say, the more the number of the parallel connection of the power semiconductor element increases and the higher a switching frequency becomes, the more the amount of the power loss caused by the tail current is supposed to increase. Particularly, in case of bringing into action with a current value low enough as compared to a rated current of the power semiconductor element and with a high switching frequency, proportion of the switching loss to an overall loss which is an aggregation of the steady loss and the switching loss becomes high, thus the amount of the power loss caused by the tail current has a great influence.

Abstract: A control part (CTa) performs a regional control instead of a general control that all of IGBT elements (PD1 to PD4) are made to operate identically with providing a PWM signal (S0) for all of the elements. In other words, when a certain pulse in a pulse row of the PWM signal (S0) is inputted, only a part of switches (SW1 and SW2) is turned on and only a part of the IGBT elements (PD1 and PD2) is made to operate, and when a next pulse is inputted, only the other part of switches (SW3 and SW4) is turned on and only the other part of IGBT elements (PD3 and PD4) is made to operate. Moreover, the operation described above is repeated.


The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for initiating and handling an emergency IP request using an IP enabled device having GPS capability. The IP enabled device is monitored for one or more emergency criteria. If the emergency criteria are satisfied, global positioning data is obtained using the GPS capability and the emergency IP request is sent to an address server. The address server receives the emergency IP request, obtains local emergency services data based on the global positioning data, dials a call center station based on the local emergency services data and passes an emergency call from the IP enabled device to the call center station. This invention can be implemented as a computer program embedded in a computer readable medium wherein the steps are performed by one or more code segments.

There are many systems for providing 911 services to cellular phones. But these systems are not designed to work in Internet Protocol ("IP") or voice over IP ("VoIP") systems. These systems do not have no way to match a location or address to an IP address because an IP address does not have a physical address or telephone number associated with it. Accordingly, there is a need for an IP based 911.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Systems, methods and media for updating an instant messaging system on a network are disclosed. More particularly, hardware and/or software for updating status indicators such as ‘away’ messages of an instant messaging system are disclosed. Embodiments include determining that a change in status of the user has occurred and automatically transmitting an indication of the change in status to instant messenger system manager via a network. Embodiments include determining that a change in status of the user has occurred based on receiving an indication that the user's status has changed, such as from user input on a keyboard, mouse, etc. Other embodiments include determining that a change in status has occurred based on determining that the user's status has changed based on an electronic calendar, expiration of a time period, etc.

Personal computer systems are well known in the art. They have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers (PCs) may be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM) and basic input/output system read only memory (BIOS ROM), a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a CD-ROM drive, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a "hard drive"), a pointing device such as a mouse, and an optional network interface adapter. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PC 300, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, Aptiva, and IntelliStation series.
The use of mobile computing devices, such as notebook PCs, personal digital assistants (PDAs), sophisticated wireless phones, etc., has also become widespread. Mobile computing devices typically exchange some functionality or performance when compared to traditional PCs in exchange for smaller size, portable power, and mobility.
The widespread use of PCs and mobile computing devices in various segments of society has resulted in a reliance on computer systems both at work and at home, such as for telecommuting, news, stock market information and trading, banking, shopping, shipping, communication in the form of hypertext transfer protocol (http) and e-mail, as well as other services. Many of these functions take advantage of the communication abilities offered by the Internet. E-mail, which allows a user to transmit a message to another user, is one of the more popular uses of the Internet, and its use continues to increase.
Another application that continues to increase in popularity is instant messaging (IM). IM systems allow two or more users on computer systems such as PCs or mobile computing devices to exchange messages in real-time (or near real-time). IM systems allow users to maintain a list of other users, called a buddy or contact list, with whom they wish to interact. Using the IM system, a user can send an instant message to any person on their contact list as long as that person is on-line. IM systems typically provide current status information about users on the contact list, telling the contact list owner whether each user on the list is on-line or off-line so that they will know with whom they may interact. This feature is often called presence management. Sending a message to an on-line user opens up a window where each user may type messages that the other user may see, allowing for an electronic "conversation". Many IM systems also provide chat room capability, where a user can set up a chat room to be shared by multiple users. The chat room operates under the same principles as basic instant messaging applied to multiple users, as each user may type in messages for other users in the chat room to see.
The popularity of IM systems is partially based on the immediacy of IM systems, particularly when compared to e-mail. This immediacy requires both parties in an IM exchange to be on-line at the same time, unlike e-mail. It allows, however, for interactive, back-and-forth exchanges of information without having to perform multiple steps to read, reply, and send a reply e-mail.
IM systems typically provide a choice of different status configurations indicating the user's current status. These status indications will be seen by other users from their own IM programs. If a user is active and available for instant messaging, their status will indicate 'active'. If a user is active on the system and desires not to receive instant messages, they may also select a 'do not disturb' status which will tell other users not to transmit instant messages even though the user is on-line. If a user is logged in to the system but will be unable to respond to instant messages, such as when they are in a meeting, they may select an 'away' status. A user may designate a customized 'away' message that provides whatever details a user would like, such as how long the user will be away. If a user is off of the system (logged out, etc.), the instant messaging system will indicate that the user is off-line with no status indicator.
These status indications, particularly the customized 'away' messages, often do not reflect the correct status for the particular user. For example, a user may set their 'away' message indicating that they will be, say, in a meeting for the next hour. The 'away' message will remain the same until it is changed by the user. A user often forgets to reset the 'away' message when they return from their time away, which can be confusing for other users who are receiving false information about where the user is, where the user may be found, or when the user will be back.
There is, therefore, a need for an easy and effective system to facilitate updating of status messages on an instant messaging system. There is an even greater need for such a system when customized 'away' messages are used.

Systems, methods, and media for updating an instant messaging system

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides a crimping apparatus that can adapt widely to various diameters of the insulating coatings of wires. The crimping apparatus has a crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating of a wire, the front of the crimping apparatus facing in a direction opposite to the direction of a core of the wire. The adjustment mechanism includes a shaft member having a regular polygon part and an eccentric shaft part that are connected thereto, and an adjustment dial which is disposed in the eccentric shaft part so as to face in the same direction as the front of the crimping apparatus. Therefore, this crimping apparatus can perform the crimping of terminals having various diameters of the insulating coatings of wires.

A conventional crimping apparatus that has mechanisms that adjust the crimp heights for a core and an insulating coating of a wire when a terminal is crimped onto the core and the insulating coating (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6849, for example).
However, the crimping apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6849 has a problem. Specifically, operating the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating involves additional operations, such as loosening of a predetermined fastened part, so that it takes time to adjust the crimp heights.
Thus, in order to solve this problem, a crimping apparatus has been proposed that has two dials for operating the two adjustment mechanisms (see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086, for example).
FIG. 1 is a front view of the essential parts of the crimping apparatus described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086.
A crimping apparatus 1 described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086 has, on the front thereof, dials 40, 50 for operating the crimp height adjustment mechanism for a core and the crimp height adjustment mechanism for an insulating coating and includes a prime mover section that produces a force required for crimping and an applicator 20 that achieves crimping of a terminal using the force produced by the prime mover section.
FIG. 1 shows an applicator 20 and a press ram 11 that is a component of the prime mover section which transmits the force produced by the prime mover section to the applicator 20.
The applicator 20 is composed of a machine casing 21, an anvil unit 22 and a base 23. A pair of vertical rails 24 is fixed to the machine casing 21, and an oscillation beam 26 is supported on the machine casing 21 by a shaft 26a. A tool ram 25, which crimps a terminal onto a stripped part 30a of a wire 30 (see FIG. 2) in cooperation with the anvil unit 22, is guided by the vertical rails 24 to move up and down.
The tool ram 25 is connected to the press ram 11 described above and has a cam roller 25b supported on a side section 25a thereof by a shaft 25c, and the cam roller 25b is fitted into a cam groove 26b formed in the oscillation beam 26. Thus, when the tool ram 25 moves up and down, the oscillation beam 26 oscillates about the shaft 26a. A plate 28 is attached to a lower part of the oscillation beam 26, and a feeding claw 27, whose tip end engages with chained terminals n placed behind a terminal guide rail 23a, is supported on the plate 28 by a shaft 27b.
The press ram 11 has a standard dial 111 that adjusts the bottom dead center of a bottom end 11a.
FIG. 2 is a side view of the essential parts of the crimping apparatus shown in FIG. 1.
A terminal n1 shown in FIG. 2 is composed of a contact part n11, an insulation barrel n12 for holding the coating 31 of the wire 30, and a wire barrel n13 for holding a core 32 of the wire 30. Multiple terminals n1 are connected to a carrier n14 to constitute the chained terminals n. A crimper section 25d of the tool ram 25 shown also in FIG. 1 is composed of a cut-off punch 251d, an insulator crimper 252d for crimping the insulation barrel n12, and a wire crimper 253d for crimping the wire barrel n13.
In this crimping apparatus 1, operation of a feeding claw 27 causes the terminal n1, which is the closest to the anvil unit 22 of the plural chained terminals n, to be placed on the anvil unit 22. Then, when the wire 30 with an end at which a stripped part 30a is previously formed is placed on the terminal n1 on the anvil unit 22, the press ram 11 moves downward, and the tool ram 25 connected to the press ram 11 is guided by the vertical rails 24 to move downward. Then, the tool ram 25 and the anvil unit 22 cooperate to cut a bridge part n15, which connects the terminal to the carrier n14, and crimp the terminal n1, separated from the chained terminals n, onto the stripped part 30a. When the crimping is completed and the tool ram 25 begins to move upward, the cam roller 25b also moves upward along the cam groove 26b in the oscillation beam 26, and thus, the oscillation beam 26 oscillates about the shaft 26a counterclockwise. This movement causes the feeding claw 27 to place a terminal, which is the closest to the anvil unit 22 of the chained terminals n, on the anvil unit 22 along the terminal guide rail 23a.
As shown in FIG. 2, the anvil unit 22 is composed of a floating shear 221 having a groove cutting edge 221a, an insulation anvil 222 and a wire anvil 223. When the tool ram 25 moves downward guided by the vertical rails 24, the bridge part n15 of the terminal n1 on the anvil unit 22 is cut by the cut-off punch 251d and the groove cutting edge 221a of the floating shear 221, and the insulation barrel n12 is crimped onto the coating 31 of the wire 30 by the insulation crimper 252d and the insulation anvil 222. In addition, the wire barrel n13 is crimped onto the stripped core 32 of the wire 30 by the wire crimper 253d and the wire anvil 223.
Here, in the crimping apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the crimp heights for the core and the coating are adjusted by changing the bottom dead centers of the wire crimper 253d and the insulation crimper 252d, respectively, by use of a lower dial 40 and an upper dial 50 after the adjustment by the standard dial 111 provided in the press ram. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper dial 50 is for the wire crimper and the lower dial 40 is for the insulator crimper.
There are various types of wires according to their applications. For example, in the crimping apparatus described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-27086, when terminal crimping is to be performed for multiple kinds of wires the coating diameter of which differs greatly though the core diameter thereof is the same, it may sometimes become impossible to adapt to various kinds of wires if only the adjustment of the bottom dead center of the insulation crimper by the turning of the dial 40 for the insulation crimper is performed.
In view of such circumstances, the present invention has as its object the provision of a crimping apparatus that can adapt widely to various diameters of the insulating coatings of wires.


In one example, a land based seismic sensing device includes: a seismic sensing unit having a seismic sensor in a housing configured to be buried in the ground; a control unit including a battery in a weather resistant housing configured to be exposed above ground; and a flexible cable mechanically and electrically connecting the seismic sensing unit and the control unit. The cable includes a weather resistant jacket and an electrically conductive element inside the jacket detachably connected between electronic circuitry in the sensing unit and electronic circuitry in the control unit. In one example, the control unit housing includes a first compartment configured to stow the seismic sensing unit and a second compartment configured to stow the cable.

Seismic surveys are conducted to map subsurface features, for example to help locate oil and gas reservoirs. Land based seismic surveys may include hundreds or thousands of individual seismic sensors placed in the ground in a grid pattern over an area covering many square kilometers. An explosive charge, seismic vibrator or other suitable source of acoustic energy generates sound waves that propagate through subsurface features. The vibrations of sound waves reflected back toward the surface are sensed by the seismic sensors in the grid. Signals from the sensors are collected and used to map the subsurface features in the survey area. The operating conditions surrounding the seismic sensors can adversely affect the accuracy of the sensors. Wind, windborne debris, rain and other background disturbances can expose the sensors to significant unwanted vibration.


A GFCI compatible system and method for activating relay controlled lines having a filter circuit between neutral and ground is described herein. Specifically the disclosure teaches a GFCI compatible system for reducing CMN. A CMN Suppressor can comprise a hot line, a neutral line, and a ground line. The first ends of the hot line, the neutral line, and the ground line can be connected to a GFCI protected hot node, a GFCI protected neutral node, and an electrical ground. The second ends of the hotline, the neutral line, and the ground line can be connected to a CMN sensitive device hot line, a CMN sensitive device neutral line, and a CMN sensitive device ground line. The system can further comprise a high pass filter, a hot line relay contact, a neutral line relay contact, a hot line relay, and a neutral line power relay.

Transient voltages adversely affect power circuits. Many people mistakenly believe that most problems caused by transient voltages are the result of lightning strikes and black outs. However, the majority of the problems are the result of common mode noise (CMN). CMN occurs between the neutral line and ground line or between a hot line and a ground line. CMN has many causes including, but not limited to, computer power supplies and the starting and stopping of motors. CMN manifests itself as small voltage shifts in the ground line. Further, CMN can be viewed as a higher frequency signal that has been added to the fundamental frequency of the electrical signal. Typically this fundamental frequency is 60 [Hz] while the frequency of CMN can typically exceed 100 [kHz]. Since equipment on a typical electrical network share a common ground, such equipment on the electrical network sees these voltage shifts.
CMN causes logic confusion in microprocessors, which is a common source of malfunctions in these devices. Microprocessors are binary devices that transmit and compute data using a series of ones and zeroes. A microprocessor views 5V with respect to ground as a one, while 0V with respect to ground, a zero. CMN can prevent the voltage seen by the microprocessor from reaching 0V. Thus the microprocessor will mistakenly read a zero as a one causing logic errors. Likewise, CMN can also prevent the voltage from reaching 5V and causing the microprocessor to mistakenly read a one as a zero. Such logic errors can lead to microprocessors misreading data, programs not functioning properly, and even system crashes.
An early solution to filter out CMN was the isolation transformer. However, as power systems became more complex, CMN became more severe and isolation transformers became less economical. New power filtration circuits were developed as a more economical alternative to isolation transformers. An example of a power filtration filter is the Transformer Based Filter (TBF) developed by Smart Power Systems, Inc. Such power filtration circuits used inductors on the neutral line of the circuit and capacitors connected between the neutral and the ground to filter out CMN transient voltage spikes.
Those circuits provide excellent filtration of CMN. However, the presence of neutral-to-ground connections allows current to leak from neutral to ground. Such leakage causes ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCI) to trip. GFCIs are used to protect people from electrical shocks caused by ground faults. GFCIs work by measuring the current entering and leaving the GFCI through the hot and neutral lines. If these currents do not sum to zero then the GFCI opens the circuit. In order to meet Underwriters Laboratories ("UL") 943 standard a GFCI must trip the circuit before the sum of the currents exceeds 4-6 mA. The National Electric Code (NEC) has added requirements for GFCIs in more locations. The increase in GFCI protected circuits has made it more difficult for individuals to install TBFs to protect sensitive electrical equipment from CMN.
Many power filtration circuits are not compatible with GFCIs because GFCIs view leakage current as a ground fault. If a GFCI views leakage current as a ground fault, the GFCI can trip the circuit. In order to prevent GFCI trips, sometimes purchasers of such power filtration circuits disable the GFCI. Also, isolation transformers disable a GFCI because the GFCI fails to detect what is happening on the secondary side of the transformer. This is unacceptable because the NEC requires GFCI protection in many locations. Further, disabling GFCI protection increases the risk to individuals who are operating devices connected to the power filtration circuits. This issue has led many power filtration circuit manufacturers to specifically state their devices are incompatible with GFCIs.
As such, it would be advantage to have a GFCI compatible system and method for reducing CMN.
Another issue with power filtration circuits is GFCI trips due to un-sequenced relay contact connections. Specifically, when a filter is connected between neutral and ground, if a hot line energizes before a neutral line is connected, some current can pass through the filter to ground causing the GFCI to trip.
As such, it would be advantageous to have a GFCI compatible system and method for activating relay-controlled lines having a filter circuit between neutral and ground.


A container management system and device that includes a hibernator deployment to determine a semantic defined for applications generated to perform deployments in the container management system, determine whether the applications are active during a corresponding time period included within the semantic, and transfer the applications from an active state to an inactive state in response to the application not being inactive during the corresponding time period included within the semantic defined for the application.

For enterprise data storage, clustering can refer to the physical connection of independent compute nodes (servers) and a controlling function for controlling management of nodes of the cluster. The controlling function can distribute workloads to each node, manage the transfer of workloads between nodes, or both. Such clustering can include a shared storage system, along with a mechanism to duplicate the data in the storage system that is directly attached to each node that may be used. Common storage clustering applications provide failover capabilities for critical processes and enable load balancing for high-performance processes. Operation containerization can be an operating system (OS)-level virtualization method used to deploy and run distributed operations without launching an entire virtual machine (VM) for each operation. Multiple isolated operations run on a single host and access the same OS kernel. For example, Container Linux (formerly CoreOS Linux) may be one of the first container operating systems bunt for containers. Software containers are a form of OS virtualization where the running container includes minimum operating system resources, memory, and services to run an operation.

Application deployment in a container management system

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP


A display system includes: a transparent display; a dimming panel located behind the transparent display and capable of adjusting transmissivity; and a processor, wherein, when the processor detects an object located behind the dimming panel, the processor displaying an image on the transparent display, setting the transmissivity of a region of the dimming panel located in front of the object higher than the transmissivity of a region of the dimming panel located behind a region on which the image is displayed, and making different a degree of an increase of the transmissivity in accordance with combination of the image and the object.

There has been known a transmissive display device for a vehicle which is developed for calling an attention of a driver so that the driver's line of sight is directed to an object of attention itself without obstructing a field of view of the driver to the scenery outside the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
However, the technique disclosed in Patent Literature 1 emphasizes safety, and does not enhance the visibility of both an image and an object.

Display system and display control method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA