A crash sensing switch for automotive vehicles has a cylindrical piston that moves sealingly in a tube during a crash to bridge a pair of contacts. Viscous flow of air through ducts creates pressures that resist movement of the piston. A venting valve may be incorporated in the piston to increase contact dwell. Impedance of the ducts may be adjusted during manufacture by blocking one or more of the ducts. The clearance between the piston and the tube limits air flow between the piston and the walls of the tube and provides aerodynamic lubrication between the piston and the tube during cross axis vibrations. A piston ring may assist in preventing air flow between the piston and the walls of the tube. There may be compensation for changes of air viscosity with temperature. One way to compensate is to make the contacts of thermostat metal which bends with temperature to change the distance the piston must move to bridge the contacts. Another way is to provide a valve incorporating thermostat metal which opens or closes certain ducts to compensate for changes of air viscosity with temperature. Compensation for variation of air viscosity with temperature may be provided at higher temperatures but not at lower temperatures. An injection molded cap includes connector pins to form an integral connector and hermetically seal the interior from the environment. Contact height setters may be incorporated into the cap to assure the desired piston movement for switch closure. Calibration may be done at manufacture by adjusting the piston movement required for switch closure. The combination of these elements provides a crash sensing switch having superior performance and costing much less than known crash sensing switches.

This invention is an improvement on a crash sensing switch that is in commercial production which has a ball that moves in a sealed tube to bridge a pair of electrical contacts. During a crash the inertia of the ball causes it to move toward the contacts. For the ball to reach the contacts air must flow around the ball between the ball and the tube. Viscosity of the air in combination with inertia of the air causes a pressure differential that opposes ball movement through the tube. It is believed that in most vehicle crashes the viscous contribution to the pressure differential predominates over the inertial contribution. Viscous flow is proportional to the pressure differential which is proportional to the product of the mass of the ball and the deceleration of the crash sensing switch. The proportionality of viscous flow to deceleration and the requirement that the ball move a predetermined distance to bridge the contacts causes the current production crash sensing switch to be an acceleration integrator that completes the firing circuit upon a predetermined vehicular velocity change. A permanent magnet in the commercial production crash sensing switch provides a bias force that urges the ball toward a normal resting position away from the electrical contacts. The bias force also causes the vehicular velocity change required for switch closure to increase with the duration of the crash.
The tube and ball of the commercial production crash sensing switch are made of stainless steels having different temperature expansion coefficients to provide compensation for the variation of air viscosity with temperature. The differential thermal expansion causes the gap between the ball and tube to change with temperature and reduce the effect of variation of air viscosity over the range of operating temperatures. An elastomeric seal in the commercial production crash sensing switch reduces transmission of cross axis vibrations to the ball and tube.
This commercial production crash sensing switch is expensive to manufacture and one reason for the high cost is the high precision required of the ball and the tube. Another reason for the high cost is that the tube material is difficult to work. Further, connecting the electrical contacts, lead wires and a diagnostic resistor by soldering creates contamination that cannot be tolerated near the ball and tube. Therefore, additional components and processing steps are required to protect the ball and tube during manufacturing. This commercial production crash sensing switch is particularly sensitive to contamination because small particles can wedge between the ball and the tube and interfere with movement of the ball.
When a vehicle going at high speed strikes a rigid obstacle the very high deceleration causes high air velocity in the commercial production crash sensing switch. Overcoming air inertia reduces the pressure available to overcome viscous resistance to air flow. Furthermore, the pressure required to overcome inertia is independent of temperature because it does not depend on viscosity resulting in excessive temperature compensation. Also, when the flow is inertial the crash sensing switch is not a velocity integrator because inertially damped air flow does not increase linearly with pressure.
In another known crash sensing switch having a ball and a tube a spring provides the bias force. A permanent magnet has the advantage of simplicity but the cost is significant and its large size increases the size of the crash sensing switch. Another difference is that the magnetic force decreases as the ball moves toward the electrical contacts whereas the spring force increases. In most designs the bias force is small therefore sensors with spring bias and sensors with magnetic bias perform similarly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,260 issued Jun. 12, 1990 to Peter Norton for "Crash Sensing Switch With Suspended Mass" describes a crash sensing switch having a suspended mass in which air ducts conduct the air displaced by the movement of the sensing mass and in which varying the normal resting position of the armature provides compensation for variation of air viscosity with temperature by varying the armature travel according to the temperature.
Copending application Ser. No. 183,134 filed Jan. 18, 1994 for "Compact Crash Sensing Switch With Air Channels and Diagnostic System" describes a crash sensing switch having a much smaller ball than current production crash sensing switches sealingly movable in a tube and in which air ducts conduct most of the air displaced by the movement of the ball and in which a semiconductor device completes the firing circuit. This crash sensing switch also uses the semiconductor circuit to provide diagnostic capabilities. The semiconductor switch and diagnostic features of that invention are applicable to the present invention.
For certain applications, for example when used as a passenger compartment crash sensing switch, a viscously damped crash sensing switch is designed to close at a much lower velocity change at high decelerations than at lower decelerations. This is accomplished by making the bias force larger relative to the viscous damping forces.
It has recently become common to place an electronic crash sensing switch in or near the passenger compartment of a vehicle. These crash sensing switches are known as "single point crash sensors". This design is advantageous because it can eliminate the wiring and assembly time required when the crash sensing switch is located in the forward part of the vehicle. However, in certain vehicles it has not been possible to identify all crashes requiring air bags from information received at a single point in the passenger compartment. For those vehicles one solution is to place an auxiliary sensor in the forward part of the vehicle and connect it to the "single point crash sensor" to provide additional information to enable timely detection of all crashes. Forward auxiliary sensors or "auxiliary discriminating sensors" are known by the acronym "ADS". An ADS needs to conduct only a few milliamperes to initiate operation of an electronic circuit and it needs only to close, it does not need to remain closed for a significant period of time.
The crash sensing system of a vehicle must initiate deployment of the occupant protection systems some time before the protection is required. The crash sensing switch is typically required to initiate deployment of air bags 30 milliseconds before a free body in the passenger compartment moves six inches (150 mm.) forward from its pre crash position. The basis for this requirement is that an air bag should be deployed before the occupant has moved six inches (150 mm.) and deployment of an air bag typically takes 30 milliseconds.
Pyrotechnic devices provide the gas to inflate air bags. Several well-known inflators use the decomposition of sodium azide to generate gas for inflating the air bag. Another design, known as a hybrid design, uses a combustible material to heat stored argon gas for filling the air bag.
The rate at which inflators inflate air bags depends on the temperature of the inflator. At higher temperatures inflators produce a greater volume of gas and produce it more rapidly than at lower temperatures. This is true of both inflators based on decomposition of sodium azide and hybrid inflators. At the lowest temperatures in the operating range deployment may be delayed by ten milliseconds or more relative to a nominal deployment. At the highest temperatures in the operating range deployment may be accelerated by ten milliseconds or more. In prior occupant protection systems this effect has been ignored. One reason it has been ignored is because the temperature of the inflator has been assumed to be independent of ambient temperature because it is located in the passenger compartment where temperatures are controlled to make the occupants comfortable. However, the air bag and other apparatus surrounding the inflator thermally insulate it from the passenger compartment and there is a delay between the time the passenger compartment air reaches a controlled temperature and the time the inflator temperature approaches the passenger compartment air temperature. Consequently, on cold days inflators are colder on average than on hot days and air bag deployment occurs more rapidly on average on hot days than on cold days.
Consider, for example, an air damped crash sensing switch without compensation for the variation of air viscosity with temperature and designed to close at a velocity change of nine miles per hour at a nominal temperature. At a very cold temperature it would close at a velocity change of about seven miles per hour therefore it might close a few milliseconds sooner than if it had temperature compensation. Closing sooner may be desirable because it might compensate for slower deployment of the air bag at low temperatures. The advantage of earlier initiation when deployment is wanted might justify a small number of undesired deployments during low speed crashes at low temperatures.
Considering further the example of an uncompensated nine mile per hour air damped crash sensing switch. At a very high temperature it might close at a velocity change of eleven miles per hour therefore closing a few milliseconds later than if it had temperature compensation and it would not close during low velocity crashes having velocity changes between nine and eleven miles per hour. Neither of these consequences is desired.
It follows that a crash sensing switch with compensation for variations of air viscosity with temperature at temperatures above a nominal temperature but without compensation at temperatures below a nominal temperature may be desired.
Thermostat metals are sheets made of layers of metals having different thermal expansion coefficients that flex as the temperature changes. These materials are well known and have been used for many years in such as home thermostats. A wide selection of materials is presently available commercially from several suppliers. One of these suppliers is Texas Instruments.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (abbreviated PTFE) is sold under various trade names, one of which is "Teflon". Polytetrafluoroethylene and materials containing it can be inexpensively coated on metals to provide a low coefficient of friction.
Certain plastics, one of which is polyphenylene sulfide, combined with filaments of fiberglass can be molded to make objects having accurate linear dimensions. Polyphenylene sulfide also offers superior resistance to moisture absorption and moisture vapor permeation, good mechanical strength, and dimensional stability over a wide temperature range.
Crash sensing switches having ducts for viscously conducting air displaced by movement of sensing masses are described In U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,260 and in the copending application Ser. No. 183,134 referred to hereinabove.
One advantage of using air ducts to meter air flow instead of using the space between a ball and a tube as is done in the hereinabove described commercial production crash sensing switches is that the greater length and four sides of the ducts compared with the much shorter effective length and two sides of the gap between the ball and the tube enable the ducts to have larger width dimensions than the gap between the ball and the tube which reduces manufacturing cost. Another advantage is that the resistance of the air ducts to air flow can be adjusted during manufacture. One way to adjust the resistance of the ducts to air flow is by opening or plugging some of the ducts. Where the ducts result from mating a fluted surface and a smooth surface, another way to adjust the resistance of the ducts to air flow is by adjusting the pressure between the lands of the fluted surface and the smooth surface.
Another advantage of using air ducts to meter air flow is that air ducts provide design flexibility not possible in a crash sensing switch of the commercial production ball in tube design. As described hereinabove, air inertia affects air flow at high decelerations. In the aforementioned commercial production crash sensing switches the accelerations at which air inertia becomes significant are completely determined by the mass of the ball and the specified calibration. Ducts enable control of the vehicle deceleration at which air flow becomes significantly affected by inertia. A larger number of smaller ducts provide lower air velocity and smaller inertial effects than fewer larger ducts at the same pressure. Therefore, an advantage is that the number of ducts may be varied to adjust the degree to which the air flow is affected by inertia. Even greater flexibility results because in a single crash sensing switch different ducts may be made with different width dimensions thereby causing different inertial effects in different ducts.
Before crash sensing switches based on flow of air in ducts were made and tested it was anticipated that the air flow would be turbulent in larger ducts at higher pressures because the Reynolds number would be large. The Reynolds number is the product of the duct width, the air density, the velocity of air flow and the reciprocal of the viscosity. It commonly stated that flow is likely to be turbulent at Reynolds numbers greater than 2000. However, our experience is that in ducts as large as 0.5 millimeter square and 11 millimeters long and at pressures as high as twenty pounds per square inch the flow rate through the duct is accurately represented by the equations of laminar flow.
A general object of this invention is to provide a crash sensing switch for automotive vehicles which also overcomes certain disadvantages of the prior art.


A new variety of azalea particularly characterized by its sturdy and generally upright growth habit, tea rose-shaped, red-purple flowers, and its unusually late blooming habit.

This new variety of florist azalea was discovered in 1987 growing on a potted plant at the inventor's commercial nursery located in Beaverton, Oreg. The new variety is a spontaneous mutation of the "Peace" azalea, discovered as a limb sport. Subsequent asexual propagation by cuttings at the same location has demonstrated that the below-described valuable characteristic is genetically stable and holds true from generation to generation. The Peace azalea is a florist azalea of unknown origin and is known to be available only from a limited number of commercial greenhouses in the Pacific Northwest.
The "Al Panzer" azalea and its parent Peace azalea are identical in all aspects except three.
1. The Peace flower is white compared to the red-purple Al Panzer flower;
2. The young stems of the Peace azalea remain in the yellow-green (group color 114c) from the base to the tip, whereas the young stems of the Al Panzer change to a red-purple (group color 59b); and
3. The older leaves of the Peace azalea are always green (group color 137a or 139a), whereas the older leaves of the Al Panzer have a tendency to have a reddish bronze tint under high light or extreme temperature conditions.
The forcing requirements and natural flower dates of the Peace azalea and the Al Panzer azalea are identical. Neither variety has any fragrance. Flower fertility is unknown for either variety. The outdoor reaction for either variety is not known as both varieties are florist azaleas and are always grown in a greenhouse.


The present invention relates to a dual-passage open-type solar heat absorber having a porous plate array, and more particularly, to a dual-passage open-type solar heat absorber which is formed in a form of a rectangular-shaped container in order to increase a contact area with collected sunlight and easily extend in a lateral direction or in a form of a circular-shaped container which is advantageous when a pressure is applied thereto, and which includes a main body formed in a formed of a rectangular or circular-shaped container by using a three-layered tube to form a dual passage therein so that heat is prevented from being lost through an outer wall.

As fossil fuel has been exhausted, many power generation apparatus using natural power have been developed. As one example of the power generation apparatus, there is a power generation apparatus using solar heat. The power generation apparatus using solar heat includes a solar heat power generation system. As one example of solar heat power generation system, there is a tower-type solar heat power generation system.
The tower-type solar heat power generation system includes several heliostats for tracking the sun, and reflecting and collecting sunlight to be focused onto a place, a receiver for absorbing the energy of the collected solar heat to transfer the energy to a heat transfer medium, a steam generator for generating steam by using the heat of the heat transfer medium heated in the receiver, and a steam turbine for generating electricity by using the steam generated from the steam generator.
In the tower-type solar heat power generation system, the heat transfer medium passing through the receiver is heated by the heat collected by the heliostats. The heat transfer medium heated up to about 1,000 degrees in the receiver is transferred to the steam generator, so that the steam generator generates saturated or over-heated steam. In this case, the generated steam is transferred to the steam turbine to generate power.
In the tower-type solar heat power generation system, if air serves as the heat transfer medium, the air used in the steam generator may return again to the receiver through a fan. For the purpose of preparing for the reduction of radiation energy of the sun as an energy source, the heat energy may be stored in a heat storage tank. That is, the tower-type solar heat power generation system includes a heliostat, a tower, a storage, a turbine, a generator, a condenser, and a deaerator
As shown in FIG. 5, the tower and air-type receiver according to the prior art includes a plurality of receiver modules 2 installed at a front end of the receiver 1 to suck external air through an inner suction fan. The receiver module 2 is heated at a high temperature when the sunlight reflected upon the heliostat is collected. In this case, when the inner suction fan is driven, external air is introduced along a fine passage of the receiver module 2 therein. Then, the introduced external air makes a heat exchange with the receiver module while passing through the receiver module, so that the temperature of the introduced external air is raised to a high temperature, Thus, steam is generated by using the external air heated at the high temperature, so that electric power may be generated.
However, since the absorber according to the prior art has a rear portion which is exposed to an outside or directly connected to a support and is insufficient to transfer solar heat, so that the rear portion has relatively lower temperature than a front portion thereof. Thus, there is a problem that causes the high-temperature air passing through the receiver module to make a heat re-exchange through a wall surface of the rear portion of the absorber, thereby losing heat.
Therefore, there is a need to study an absorber having a structure capable of minimizing the heat loss due to the heat re-exchange at the rear portion of the absorber.

Double flow channel open-type solar heat absorber having porous plate arrangement


An airtight cosmetic-pencil container that is configured to extrude and retract pencil-type cosmetic content. To this end, a tube of a holder provided with a cosmetic pencil therein is hermetically and tightly assembled inside a container body, a sealing rubber of an upper cap coupled to an upper portion of a container body is hermetically and tightly assembled to the upper portion of the container body, and an expanded portion of the tube is tightly assembled to an inner surface of a coupling hole of the container body, thereby achieving excellent airtightness. Thus, when the cosmetic-pencil container is stored and carried, moisture, fragrances, and original ingredients of the cosmetic pencil are prevented from being evaporated, and outside air is prevented from being flowing into the container body, thereby preventing hardening, contamination, and deterioration of the cosmetic pencil, and preserving quality of the cosmetic pencil.

In general, a cosmetic-pencil container holds pencil-type cosmetics, such as eyeliner, lipstick, etc.
Such a cosmetic-pencil container is configured to extrude a cosmetic pencil upward from the inside of the container.
In other words, as disclosed in Korean Utility Model Publication No. 20-2015-4424, a holder having a cosmetic pencil (lipstick) is inserted into and coupled to a container body having a protective tube at an upper portion thereof, wherein a guide protrusion of the holder is coupled to a helical guide groove, and the holder is moved up and down by rotating the container body, such that the cosmetic pencil (lipstick) is extruded to be used.
In the case of carrying and storing the container after use, a cap is hermetically coupled to an upper portion of the container body, and a sealing member is coupled to the inside of the cap such that the sealing member is in close contact with an upper portion of the protective tube to hermetically coupled therewith.
However, since such a conventional cosmetic-pencil container has poor airtightness, external air is introduced into the interior of the container during carrying and storage, and comes into contact with the cosmetic pencil, which results in hardening of the cosmetic pencil and evaporation of its original ingredients and fragrances, thereby causing a reduction in the quality of product.
In other words, in the conventional cosmetic-pencil container, when the cap is hermetically coupled to the upper portion of the container body, a lower edge of the sealing member of the cap is in close contact with the upper portion of the protective tube, and a lower surface of the sealing member is formed to have a width equal to a thickness of an outer wall of the sealing member, thus an area of contact between the lower surface of the sealing member and the upper portion of the protective tube is small. Further, the lower surface of the sealing member is simply in close contact with the upper portion of the protective tube, but there is no pressing force acting on the lower surface of the sealing member, which leads to a reduction in adhesion force therebetween. Thus, it is difficult to ensure excellent airtightness.
In addition, when the cap is opened, external air flows into the interior of the container body from a lower portion of the holder through a gap between the protective tube and the holder, and external air inside the container body constantly comes into contact with the cosmetic pencil of the holder, which results in hardening of the cosmetic pencil and evaporation of its original ingredients and fragrances, thereby causing a reduction in the quality of product.


A display system for a vehicle includes a sensor system configured to collect first terrain data; a database configured to store second terrain data; a processing unit coupled to the sensor system and database, the processing unit configured to receive the first and second terrain data, to integrate the first and second terrain data into a common three-dimensional view that comprises symbology representing both the first and second terrain data, and to supply display commands associated with the first and second terrain data; and a display device coupled the processing unit and configured to receive the display commands and operable to render the common three-dimensional view to thereby allow simultaneous viewing of the first and second terrain data.

Computer generated aircraft displays have become highly sophisticated and capable of displaying a substantial amount of flight management, navigation, and control information that gives flight crews more effective control of the aircraft and a reduction in workload. In this regard, electronic displays, such as Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) and Heads-Down Displays (HDDs), are used in aircraft as Primary Flight Displays to display important flight management, navigation, and control information to flight crews. For example, the Primary Flight Display can combine critical flight instrumentation (e.g., altitude, attitude, heading, airspeed, vertical speed instruments) and primary engine instrument indicators into a single, readily interpretable display.
Some Primary Flight Displays may provide a 3D, synthetic perspective view of the terrain surrounding the aircraft, including man-made and natural terrain. These images are typically based on pre-loaded and predetermined terrain data from a database. In some situations, the terrain data from the database may need to be updated over time, particularly when the terrain data relates to man-made obstacles such as buildings and movable vehicles.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods that increase the accuracy of terrain data displayed on a visual display, such as, for example, a Primary Flight Display, similar electronic aircraft displays, and other types of electronic displays. Particularly, it is desirable to provide systems and methods that display images of the terrain based on integrated data from both database and sensor sources. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Systems and methods for displaying images of terrain data


A method at an autonomous vehicle for signaling a refueling attendant, the method including confirming that the autonomous vehicle is proximal to a refueling station; providing a signal to the refueling attendant; waiting for refueling to commence; and if, after a threshold period, refueling has not commenced, repeating the providing the signal.

Autonomous vehicles are likely to become widely used in coming years. Such autonomous vehicles may be used for many purposes, including autonomous deliveries, autonomous taxicabs, vehicle sharing infrastructures in which the vehicle relocates itself in between users, among other options.
Autonomous vehicles would be powered through one or more of a variety of sources. Options may include gasoline, diesel, or electric power, among others. It is foreseen that different autonomous vehicles would use different types of power for various reasons. For example, gas or diesel would allow further travel with today's technology and provides the needed power for hauling heavy loads.
However, if the autonomous vehicle has no passenger or other person associated with it, then refueling may be difficult. For example, in an autonomous delivery vehicle, a company would unlikely want to hire someone to periodically fill up the vehicle with gasoline, as this would create an added expense.

Methods and systems for autonomous vehicle refuelling


A process for producing an optical waveguide device including a substrate and a ridge-shaped optical waveguide projected at a main plane of the substrate, comprising the steps of: forming said ridge shaped optical waveguide at the main plane of the substrate by abrasion working.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for producing optical waveguide provided substrates each having a ridge shaped optical waveguide portion to be favorably used as a second harmonic generation element of a quasi phase matched type and optical modulator.
(2) Related Art Statement
The so called ridge shaped optical guidewaves have been expected as optical modulators, optical switching elements, etc. Quasi-phase matched (QPM) type second harmonic generation (SHG) devices using optical waveguides in which a periodically reversibly polarized structure is formed in a single crystal made of lithium niobate or lithium tantalate have been expected as blue laser light sources to be used for light picks. The second harmonic generation devices can find wide uses such as optical disc memorization, medical uses, optochemical uses, various optical measurements, etc.
Heretofore, in order to form a ridge shaped structure, it is a common knowledge that a mask pattern is transferred upon a substrate by photolithographic techniques, and the remainder of the substrate other than the mask pattern is removed, for example, by reactive ion etching (RIE process). In the case of an optical modulator in which an intensity, phase, wavelength or the like of light is modulated, while electrodes are formed to apply a modulating AC electric field to the ridge-shaped optical waveguide portion, it is theoretically known that as the angle of the ridge reaches 90.degree., the coefficient of correcting the electric field can be increased and the driving voltage can be lowered (JP-A-4 123 018). In JP-A-4 123 018, the coefficient of correcting the electric field was tried to be made as large as possible by setting the ratio d/w of the ridge-shaped optical wavelength at not less than 0.1 but not more than 1.0 and setting the angle of the ridge at 90.degree..+-.10.degree..
However, according to the above method, the following problem is still unsolved. That is, reactive ion etching, takes a very long time to uniformly etch the entire wafer having a diameter of, for example, 3 inches down to a depth of a few .mu.m, which results in costly working. Further, since high energy ions are irradiated upon the substrate, there occur problems that the substrate is likely to be damaged, a working denatured layer is formed at an optical waveguide through which essential light passes, and consequently characteristics such as refractive index changes. Since the formation of such a working denatured layer is not considered in simulating the optical waveguide device, actual characteristics of the optical waveguide device differ from those grasped in the simulation, which result in a cause for deterioration.
Furthermore, there is a limit to improvement upon the electric field correcting coefficient in the case of the above prior art light modulator. That is, an upper surface of the ridge-shaped optical waveguide portion is almost flat, its side faces are inclined, and a film of a modulating electrode is formed over these inclined side faces and a main plane of the epitaxial film. Therefore, as theoretically investigated in a literature OQE 77-57, "Ridge-shaped waveguide portions" published by Corporate Juridical Person: Electronic Communication Academy, Oct. 24, 1997, if the modulating AC electric field is applied to the optical waveguide, the modulating efficiency due to this alternative electric field decreases and the driving voltage is accordingly lower as compared with the ridge angle being 90.degree..
The reason why the side faces of the ridge-shaped optical waveguide portion are inclined is considered as follows. That is, the ridge-shaped optical waveguide portion is projected at the main plane of the epitaxial film, and at that time surrounding portions of such a ridge-shaped optical waveguide portion need to be etched as deep as possible so as to increase the ratio d/W in which d and W are the height and the width of the ridge-shaped optical waveguide, respectively, namely so as to project the ridge-shaped optical waveguide in a slender form. However, the ratio in the etching speed between the substrate and the mask is ordinarily 2:1 to 5:1. Therefore, in order to deeply etch the surrounding portions around the ridge-shaped optical waveguide, a mask having a correspondingly increased depth needs to be used. However, when such a thick mask is used, the ridge angle 0 decreases far less than 90.degree. because the etching rate decreases around the mask. For example, if the height W of the ridge-shaped optical waveguide is increased to 2 .mu.m or more, it is difficult to set the ridge angle to near 90.degree..

Process for producing optical waveguide-provided substrate


The present invention relates to urethane (meth)acrylates comprising residual isocyanate groups which are obtained from the reaction of: a) at least one di- or poly-isocyanate, and b) at least one hydroxyl-functional (meth)acrylic acid ester of at least one polymer chain which comprises: at least one (meth)acryloyl group, at least one free hydroxyl group and at least one polymer chain, wherein the equivalent ratio of OH groups to NCO groups is 0.05:1 to 0.66:1, a process for preparing thereof and their use in radiation-curable coating composition.

Urethane (meth)acrylates are obtained from the reaction of hydroxyl-functional esters of (meth)acrylic acid and poly- and/or di-isocyanates. Urethane (meth)acrylates are commonly used in radiation-curable coating compositions. The ethylenically unsaturated double bonds generally polymerize, by a polymerization reaction, commonly initiated by UV-active photoinitiators that are activated under the action of high energy radiation such as UV light or without photoinitiator by electron beam and so form a network. Radiation-curable coating compositions comprising urethane (meth)acrylates show the advantages of displaying a high conversion rate and a low energy consumption for curing. In addition, these radiation-curable coating compositions may be applied without solvent. While common urethane (meth)acrylates have no, or very limited residual isocyanate groups after synthesis, a special sub-group, urethane (meth)acrylates with residual isocyanate groups, exhibit both (meth)acrylic groups and isocyanate groups in the same molecule.
Radiation-curable coating compositions comprising urethane (meth)acrylates with residual isocyanate groups may be used for coating several kind of substrates like wood, glass and plastic. Furthermore, these compositions may be used in different radiation-curing systems intended for specific purposes. For instance, these compositions may be used in one-component systems for conformal coatings or as adhesion promoters on substrate like wood. Moreover, these compositions may be combined with alcohol, thiol or amine bearing resins and also be used in dual cure systems which are often used for preparing post-formable films or conformal coatings as well.
Several radiation-curable coating compositions comprising urethane (meth)acrylates in combination with residual isocyanate groups have already been disclosed in prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,599,955B1 describes a radiation-curable coating composition consisting of a mixture of urethane (meth)acrylate which contains both (meth)acryloyl groups and residual isocyanate groups and (meth)acrylates which contain (meth)acryloyl groups but contains no residual isocyanate groups and no-isocyanate-reactive groups. EP0964012A1 refers to a dual cure composition for adhesives which comprises a polyisocyanate prepolymer containing acrylic unsaturation and residual isocyanate functionality, a sulfonyl isocyanate and a catalyst containing both ether and morpholine groups. U.S. Pat. No. 6,177,535B1 describes urethane-functional prepolymers obtained by a isocyanate compound with a OH-containing component wherein the isocyanate compound may be a mixture of two different isocyanate compounds and/or the OH-containing component may be a mixture of two different OH-containing components.
However, there is still a need to develop radiation-curable urethane (meth)acrylates with residual isocyanate groups which display high stability in storage, good substrate wetting and allow obtaining coatings showing a good adhesion on different kind of substrates, for instance: wood, plastic, leather, metal, composite, ceramic, paper or mineral substrate like glass.

Radiation-curable urethane (meth)acrylates with residual isocyanate groups


A self-contained multiple channel pressure recorder comprises a single, compact, portable housing containing two quartz pressure transducers and electrical circuits for sensing two pressures communicated into the housing to the pressure transducers, for sensing ambient temperature, and for converting the sensed pressures into electrical signals representing absolute pressure magnitudes compensated both for temperature and calibration effects. The resulting data can be locally displayed through a display mounted on the housing, or the data can be remotely transmitted through an electrical coupling mounted on the housing.

This invention relates to a multiple channel (particularly a two channel) microcomputer-based pressure recorder having internal pressure transducers that are intrinsically transportable with the recorder. The pressure recorder, specifically adapted for portable use at the surface of an oil or gas well, also has an internally stored data base which includes calibration factors that enable automatic correction of transducer-responsive signals into signals representing the correct magnitudes of sensed pressures.
Highly accurate quartz pressure transducers have been used in memory recorders lowered into oil or gas wells to sense pressures down in the wells and to provide electrical signals representative of the sensed pressures. Such signals have been stored downhole or transmitted to the surface for storage or display. These devices typically are not adapted for use at the surface of a well outside the well bore.
Although there are devices that can be used at the surface of such wells to record pressure, those that we are aware of typically have only one internal pressure sensor and/or do not provide outputs that are automatically corrected with calibration factors and locally displayed through integral real-time displays.
In view of the foregoing, there is the need for a pressure recorder specifically adapted for use at the surface of an oil or gas well that automatically provides corrected pressure values without requiring operator intervention. There is also the need for such a device to be able to simultaneously monitor at least two pressures with internal pressure transducers. For example, both tubing pressure and annulus pressure sometimes need to be monitored at the wellhead. These pressures cannot be monitored at the same time with a device that can be connected to only one pressure source at a time. There is the further need for a pressure recorder that has multiple highly accurate quartz pressure transducers as integral parts so that they are transportable with the recorder as a single self-contained unit. Such a pressure recorder should also be capable of locally displaying the corrected pressure values in real time and of transmitting the data in real time to a remote location.


Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a first trip unit that is configured to be coupled to a power distribution system arranged in a Zone Selective Interlocking (ZSI) arrangement. The first trip unit includes an Input/Output circuit including a ZSI input terminal and a ZSI output terminal, a heartbeat signaling module configured to transmit a second signal to a second trip unit in a lower-level zone than the first trip unit, responsive to the normal condition, a first monitoring module configured to monitor a first signal received by the first trip from a third trip unit in a higher-level zone, responsive to the normal condition, and a second monitoring module configured to detect the fault condition. Related systems, devices, and methods are also described.

Zone selective interlocking (ZSI), also known as zone interlocking or zone restraint, is a communication scheme used, for example, with trip units or protective relays, to enhance protection in a power distribution system during short-circuit or ground-fault conditions. The enhanced protection may be achieved through communication between trip units or protective relays across different zones. Trip units may trip circuit breakers in order to protect against overcurrent during a short-circuit or ground-fault condition. However, trip units in zones different from the short-circuit or ground-fault may be unnecessarily affected or affected for a longer period of time than warranted by broken or loose wires in cables in the ZSI arrangement, reducing performance of the power distribution system.

Devices, systems and methods to monitor and report wiring status for zone selective interlocking cables


The posterior end of a connector housing 11 has contact supporting members 17 formed thereon, their posterior faces forming arc-shaped guiding faces 17a formed so as to correspond to the path of a bendable lock 23 provided on a pivoting operating member 22. When the lever 20 is latched, the bending of the operating member 22 is prevented due to the guiding faces 17a. As a result there is no possibility of the operating member 22 bending due to an unintentional external force, and thereby releasing the lock 23.

Conventional lever-type connectors are of the sort shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 of this specification.
A lever 2 provided on a lever-type connector 1 is C-shaped and has a pair of arms 3 which are attached to side faces of a connector housing 5 so as to be pivotable. A cam 3a provided on an inner face of each arm 3 fits with a protruding member of a corresponding connector housing (not shown) and draws the connector housings together as the lever is pivoted to the closed condition.
An operating member 4 connected between the arms 3 of the lever 2 has a bendable lock 4a. When the lever 2 is pivoted to pull the connector housings into a fitted state, the bendable lock 4a bends in a resilient manner and fits with a protruding member 5a located at the posterior end of the connector housing 5. In order to separate the connector housing 5 and the corresponding connector housing, a pressing member 4b of the bendable lock 4a is bent and the housing can be separated by pivoting the lever 2 in a direction opposite to the direction described above.
In the prior lever-type connector 1, the aim of making the lever 2 fit with the connector housing 5 is that, as long as the operator does not intentionally release the lock by pushing the pressing member 4b, the lever 2 does not pivot in such a direction as to cause the separation of the connector housings.
However, in this prior connector 1, a problem exists in that if a force is applied at locations other than at the pressing member 4b as, for example, shown in FIG. 10, where an external force is applied in the direction of the arrows at both ends of the rotating operating member 4, then, as shown in FIG. 12, the entire operating member 4 bends and the lock 4a can be released inadvertently.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problems into consideration, and aims to present a lever-type connector having a highly reliable latch and which does away with the problem of unintentional release.


An energy conserving device for the prevention of heat loss resulting from convection currents in water heater systems comprising a housing component adapted for mounting on the water heater system inlet and outlet ports, a mounting component rigidly supported inside the housing component, and at least one seal component rigidly attached to the mounting component. The seal component is formed from a flexible material and extends from the mounting component to the inside surface of the housing component to make sealing contact with the housing component to prevent the flow of water caused by convection currents while allowing the flow of water when water is drawn from the water heater system.

This invention relates to a heat trap which prevents heat loss resulting from convection currents in water heater systems. The heat trap comprises a housing component adapted for mounting on water heater inlet and outlet ports, a mounting component rigidly supported within the housing, and at least one seal component rigidly attached to the mounting component and extending from the mounting component to the inside surface of the housing component. The seal component seals against water flow resulting from convection currents, thereby reducing energy loss from the water heater system, while permitting water flow when water is drawn from the water heater system.


An elastic web of material has a multiplicity of stems extending from at least one side of the web. The web includes a first continuous layer of elastic material having a first side and a second side and a second layer of material. The second layer of material has a first side which faces the first side of the first layer and a second side from which the stems extend. The first and second layers of material are joined together. The second layer of material can be formed of thermoplastic material or melt processable polymeric material. The first and second layers of material are melt formed. They are joined by coextrusion or lamination to form a multiple layer sheet on which a multiplicity of stems are formed on at least the second layer by a process such as embossing the stems into the heated web using a patterned roll or mold.

This invention relates to webs, such as polymeric webs, having a surface with a multiplicity of features used for fastening or joining. Such features may be stems, loops and other surface features that can mechanically interlock with features, such as fibers or protrusions, on an opposing surface.
Hook and loop fasteners, such as those currently marketed under the xe2x80x9cScotchmatexe2x80x9d trademark by Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, Minn. (3M) are a known type of mechanical fastener. One alternative to a hook is a mushroom-shaped protrusion or stem which can also be used as hermaphroditic mechanical fastener by engaging other protrusions or surface features rather than loops.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,056,593 and 4,959,265, disclose methods of extruding polymeric webs with upstanding stems. In the hook surface of U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,870, a single component thermoplastic resin is extruded onto a tool which has an array of cavities which, upon separation from the resin, form an array of stems. The stems then are calendered to produce a broader head (cap or mushroom head) at the top of the stem. U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,475 discloses a method of making a stemmed web with stems on both sides using two different materials.
Despite current advances in the art, there is a need for stemmed webs, such as mechanical fasteners, that have a wider variety of properties to meet more varied applications.
For purposes of this description, a stem refers to a promotion from a surface, such as a web, regardless of the shape, length, length-to-width-ratio, or other characteristics of the protrusion provided that the stem can mechanically interlock or engage with a mating surface having other features such as stems, loops or fibers. A stemmed web is a web having on at least one surface small or features such as hooks and stems.
The present invention is a web of material having a plurality of stems extending from at least one side of the web. The web includes at least a first layer of material having a first side and a second side and a second layer of material. The second layer of material has a first side which faces the first side of the first layer and a second side from which the plurality of stems protrude. The first and second layers of material may be, but need not be, joined together while one or both of the layers are molten and before the molten layer or layers have cooled.
The first layer is formed from an elastic material and the second layer of material can be formed of thermoplastic material or melt processable polymeric material. The first layer of material differs from the second layer of material and in one embodiment the material forming the first layer protrudes into and forms at least part of the stems formed on the second layer.
In other alternative embodiments, both surfaces of the web can have stems, and one or more of these stems can have caps. Additional layers of material also can be formed and joined together with the first and second layers.
The invention also includes a method of making a web of material having a plurality of stems. The method includes selecting a first elastic material for a first layer of material and selecting a second material for a second layer of material. The first and second layers of material are melt formed. The first and second layers of material are joined to form a two-layer sheet. Next, a plurality of stems are formed on at least the second layer of material.
The stems can be formed by pressing the multiple layer sheet against at least one temperature controlled surface containing an array of holes to form an array of stems. Caps can subsequently be formed on the tips of the stems by pressing the stems against a heated surface to form caps on the tips of the stems.
Alternatively, the stems can be formed by extruding multiple layers of a thermoplastic or melt processable material through a shaped die to form a multiple layer sheet having a plurality of raised ribs on at least one surface. A plurality of sharp edges is passed perpendicularly through the ribs, and the multiple layer sheet is stretched to separate each rib into a plurality of stems. The stems can be formed with a hooked shape or subsequently pressed against a heated surface to form a hook or capped stem.
The melt forming step can include simultaneously melt forming the first and second layers of material. The joining step can include: (a) joining together the first and second layers before any layer has cooled; (b) laminating the first and second layers; and/or (c) incorporating one or more reactive tie layers between the first and second layers. Melt forming can be accomplished by coextruding the first and second layers of material.
The inventive web can be stretched to surround an object or body to be fastened, secured or wrapped and relaxes to provide a constant tension that conforms to that body or object. It also exhibits substantially continuous fastening capability along its entire length. Instead of being formed from an elastic material having fastening means only at the ends of an elastic web, these continuous fastening constructions can have fastening means across or along the entire length and width of elastic web. Benefits realized from these constructions are at least two-fold: (1) such continuously-functional webs could be cut into any useful size and geometry and exhibit functionality, allowing for among other things a tape-like packaging; and (2) such continuously-functional webs would have more fastening capability per unit area.


A seat back for a vehicular seat has a plate member for supporting a back of a pad and an elastic support mechanism for elastically holding the plate member for moving the plate member in a forward and backward direction with respect to a seat back frame. The plate member includes a first plate portion, a second plate portion positioned on the lower side of the first plate portion, and a third plate portion positioned on the lower side of the second plate portion. The first and third plate portions are more narrow than the second plate portion. The elastic support mechanism includes a rod-shaped elastic bridge member extending horizontally over the seat back frame on the back of the second plate portion. In addition, the elastic bridge member includes a bent portion at the center position as bent along the second plate portion toward the first plate portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a seat back for a vehicular seat.
2. Description of the Related Art
The seat back for the vehicular seat generally includes a seat back frame and a pad. Moreover, the seat back of the type having a thin pad further includes a plate member for supporting the back of the pad, and an elastic support mechanism for holding the plate member elastically and movably forward and backward relative to the seat back frame. The plate member of the prior art is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,296,308 (308 patent), for example. These plate members are formed into a substantially rectangular shape. And the portion for supporting the lumber of the passenger seated on the vehicular seat is made wider than the remaining portions.
However, there is a need in the art for a plate member and an elastic support mechanism that provides additional support for a user, thus resulting in a more comfortable use.


A smart key carried with a user is provided with switches for monitoring a vehicle in remote places, such as a departure-time monitor switch, a return-time monitor switch and an all item monitor switch. The switches are associated with monitor information indicating various vehicle states. When the departure-time monitor switch is operated, the cellular phone receives monitor information such as parking position, rainfall state, etc. useful to the user at departure time from the vehicle. Similarly, when the return-time monitor switch is operated, the cellular phone receives monitor information useful at return time such as door open/closed state and lock state. When the all item monitor switch is operated, the cellular phone receives monitor information of all monitor items.

In recent years, vehicles are required to enhance security performance for preventing vehicle theft and dragging.
As a system for enhancing security performance, a vehicle remote monitoring system is proposed to monitor a present position and states of a vehicle, locks and unlocks doors, starts up an engine and performs other operations in remote places by using a cellular phone (e.g., a car communication system by use of portable mail function (i-mobisses), [online], updated: Apr. 16, 2004, Apex Communications Co., Ltd., (searched May 10, 2004).
Specifically, various items including monitor items such as "vehicle present position confirmation," "vehicle state confirmation," and "map viewing," and operation items such as "door lock/unlock," and "engine remote startup" are listed on a display screen of a cellular phone, and the user selects desired items from them to transmit mail.
When the selected items are monitor items, information of the specified items is received as mail in a user's cellular phone. By browsing it, the user can obtain the information. When the selected item is an operation item, a specified operation (e.g., engine startup) is performed in the vehicle. Mail indicating that the operation has terminated is received in the cellular phone.
In the above vehicle remote monitoring system, however, monitor items selectable by the user are only listed. Therefore, for example, when a present position of a vehicle and a map in the vicinity of the present position are to be obtained at the same time, first by selecting "vehicle present position confirmation" and transmitting mail, a present position information of the vehicle is obtained. Then, by selecting "map viewing" and transmitting mail, detailed map data in the vicinity of the vehicle present position is obtained. In this way, an operation must be performed for each of the items to be monitored.
Thus from among plural listed monitor items, each of the items the user desires at that time must be selected and mail must be transmitted. As the number of the items to be monitored (items to be selected from a list) increases, the number of the user's operations will increase.
Therefore, the monitor method in the above vehicle remote monitoring system lacks user's operability and is very difficult to use particularly to aged or other users unfamiliar with cellular phones. The above system has been difficult for application to a wide range of users.


A system and method for control of a gas or chemical. In one embodiment, the system comprises an oxygenator for receipt of wastewater and oxygen for dissolving, mixing, diffusing, or infusing the oxygen into the wastewater, and a recirculation mechanism configured to increase the flow rate in the oxygenator and/or level of oxygen dissolved in the wastewater.

This present disclosure relates to the field of fluid treatment, and particularly to the introduction of a gas and/or chemical to the fluid to be treated.
Raw domestic wastewater commonly generates offensive odors, especially at warmer temperatures, in collection systems and primary clarifiers at the wastewater treatment plant, combined sewer overflows, storage tanks, lagoons, and effluents in a sewage system. The reason for generation of offensive odors is that the demand for dissolved oxygen by the microbes in the wastewater greatly exceeds the rate that dissolved oxygen is absorbed into the wastewater. The main odor source at a municipal wastewater treatment plant is the effluent of the primary clarifier. This is because the raw wastewater resides in the primary clarifier for over 1 to 4 hours under anaerobic conditions. Under these anaerobic conditions, the microbes reduce sulfate to sulfide which causes the offensive odors. Thus, when the effluent spills down the 2 to 24 inches over the effluent weirs, the hydrogen sulfide is readily stripped out of solution. Consequently, many municipalities cover their primary clarifiers, pull off the foul off gas and scrub it of the offensive odors. This solution results in high capital cost, as well as high operating costs.
Even though it is widely recognized that oxygen deficiency in the wastewater is the root cause of the malodorous and corrosive condition, providing sufficient dissolved oxygen has not been possible, because the rags and stringy material in the raw wastewater quickly plug conventional gas transfer equipment. Furthermore, the low oxygen content in air (21%) makes it impossible to raise the dissolved oxygen above 9 mg per liter in wastewater at 25° C. Furthermore, conventional aeration systems are very efficient at stripping out the volatile offensive sulfide complements. For instance, coarse bubble aerators generate 99 ft.3 of off gas for each 1 ft.3 of oxygen dissolved at 5% oxygen absorbed efficiency characteristic of coarse bubble aerators. Surface aerators have even greater stripping potential for sulfide. Therefore, these conventional systems cannot be used to aerate raw domestic wastewater without exacerbating the odors.
In order to prevent odor and corrosion in collection and primary clarifiers, it has been found that wastewater should be superoxygenated from about 10 mg per liter to about 60 mg per liter or higher of dissolved oxygen. There is a widespread myth that (1) it is not possible to achieve such high dissolved oxygen concentrations in raw municipal wastewater, and (2) that if such levels were achieved, they would quickly effervesce out of solution from the wastewater. High purity oxygen ("HPO") has a water saturation concentration about five times that of air (40 mg per liter at 25° C.). Furthermore, HPO is expensive, and economic considerations make it preferable to utilize an oxygen dissolving system that is highly efficient and has low unit energy consumption per ton of dissolved oxygen.
Thus, large cities in the United States and elsewhere spend considerable amounts of money for odor/corrosion control chemicals. For example, Los Angeles County spends nearly twenty (20) million dollars per year on the chemicals alone. Orange County California spends about 2.5 million dollars per year for odor control chemicals such as peroxide and nitrate. Some cities inject gaseous high purity oxygen into force mains, but the low efficiency of oxygen absorption considerably increases the total cost, as well as presents an explosion hazard, because the high purity oxygen bubbles immediately rise out of the wastewater and the high purity oxygen travels along the crown of the sewer and then collects at the first high point when the grade of the pipe becomes negative. This gas space also increases the head on the pump moving water through the system. Therefore, a high efficiency method and apparatus for superoxygenating raw wastewater would be beneficial.
Oxygenation has long been recognized as potentially attractive in wastewater operations. However, to make an oxygenation system economically competitive, there should be commensurate savings in energy costs for dissolving the oxygen to offset the costs for the HPO supply. Early oxygenation systems were not able to achieve significant energy reductions for they consumed about half the energy needed to dissolve a unit of oxygen compared to conventional aeration systems.
Municipal wastewater treatment plants themselves can generate offensive odors—with H2S and mercaptans being perhaps the worst offenders. Odor studies identify the effluent weirs from the primary clarifier as the major source of odor generation for municipal wastewater treatment plants. The root cause for the odor lies in the long detention times of raw wastewater and sludge in the primary clarifier in the absence of D.O.
One prior art approach taken to mitigate such offensive odors at the municipal wastewater treatment plan is to cover the primary clarifier weirs, where the odor is stripped from the primary effluent as it cascades over the effluent weirs, and to withdraw the gas under the cover through ductwork and a blower. This withdrawn gas then must be passed through a caustic chlorine scrubber or biofilter where the odor is oxidized and destroyed. Treatment of the offensive gas in this manner is costly in terms of capital cost as well as the operating costs for caustic and chlorine. Because H2S is so corrosive the cover and ductwork must be made of corrosion proof material.
Another common approach to mitigating the odor at a wastewater treatment plant is to capture and treat the offensive gases so formed. However, the use of covers on the clarifier or weirs also significantly hinder maintenance. Furthermore, every pound of oxygen consumed in the primary clarifier translates to a 1:1 corresponding reduction of oxygen demand in the aeration tank. Therefore, it is desired to provide an efficient, cost effective system for removal of odors at municipal wastewater treatment plants and at clarifiers.
A major effort is underway in many cities to collect, store and treat combined sewer overflows (CSO). Such systems generally involve the collection of a relatively large volume of CSO in a short period of time and then storing the collected CSO for a protracted period of time—a period of days to weeks—while it is pumped out through a municipal wastewater treatment plant during low flow periods. The very nature of CSO is that it can be significantly polluted in the initial "flush" with BOD concentrations of 50 to over 200 mg/L.
The challenge to meet this oxygen demand for collected CSO is significant with present aeration systems. Further, some particular design considerations emerge. Aeration does not economically permit D.O. increases above 2 to 4 mg/L. In one large Midwestern city, the proposed aeration system designed to keep the stored CSO aerobic consumed from 2000 to 4000 kwhr/ton of O2 dissolved under the most frequently occurring storage event. Furthermore, the electrical demand charge for the compressors to be turned on for a 30-minute interval twice per year alone is excessive.
If a storage basin receives a CSO storm event flow containing a BOD of 100 mg/L which has a deoxygenation constant, k1, of 0.1 per day. The D.O. uptake for the first day in this case is 21 mg/L. Because the first day is the highest rate, it establishes the design criteria for sizing the required oxygen transfer system. For a storage basin of 100 MG, the system would require approximately a 700 HP blower for coarse bubble aeration to meet this demand. Therefore, it is desired to provide an aeration system for use with collected CSOs that does not require significant capital investment to achieve appropriate levels of D.O.
Wastewater treatment lagoons commonly are utilized for treatment of industrial and intensive animal rearing wastewaters. However, because these lagoons are commonly anaerobic and generate considerable H2S, it is not unusual to require $1,000,000 to put a cover on such lagoons and treat the off-gas to mitigate odor generation.
Traditionally, aeration systems have been designed to satisfy activated sludge and aerated lagoon D.O. uptake rates of 20 to 80 mg/L-hr. The development of some of the more advanced aerobic treatment systems which use advanced cell immobilization techniques are capable of ten-fold increases in biomass concentrations. Only a properly designed oxygenation system can meet the exceptionally high oxygen uptake rates of 300 to 500 mg/L-hr inherent in these advanced aerobic processes. It is desired to provide such an oxygenation system.
Regulations requiring that treated effluents be discharged at elevated D.O. concentrations to their receiving waters are specified in some discharge permits. Conventional aeration techniques can achieve this, but do so with by requiring prohibitively high unit energy consumption and are also limited in the D.O. that can be achieved. To increase the D.O. from 0 to 7 mg/L in water at 25° C. requires approximately 2700 kwhr/ton of D.O. added using standard aeration equipment. This is equivalent to over $200/ton of D.O. for electricity rates of $0.08/kwhr. It is therefore desired to provide an aeration system that can be utilized to treat effluents to regulated levels in an energy efficient manner.
In systems where a gas and/or chemical is to be used to treat a fluid, such as in a wastewater treatment system using dissolved oxygen to treat the wastewater, it is desirable to control the amount of fluid to be treated and the amount of gas and/or chemical to be used for such treatment. Generally, such systems are designed and operated assuming static conditions. However, in many applications, the conditions are not static. When treating wastewater near a gravity force main, for example, the amount of wastewater flowing through the sewer lines, and hence to be treated, varies significantly due to numerous factors. Therefore, it is desired to provide a system and method for treatment of a fluid with a gas and/or chemical that can accommodate the dynamic conditions associated with the application.

Systems and methods for control of a gas or chemical


A solution containing approximately 40–60% by weight phosphoric acid, approximately 1–6% by weight a surfactant, approximately 0.5–5% by weight an inhibitor, and the remaining percentage by weight made up of water for removing magnesium chloride from certain materials, namely aluminum, aluminum alloys, steel, rebar, chrome, plastics, ceramics, rubber, including insulation on electrical wiring, and painted surfaces including those previously mentioned. The solution may be applied in various ways, including through a low-pressure sprayer or similar device used in car and truck washing service areas. Alternatively, the solution may be applied as a mask or coating, and after a period of time rinsed away from the contaminated surface.

Magnesium chloride is a compound having the chemical abbreviation MgCl2, and exists in its steady state as a liquid. It has a variety of different uses. One of these uses is as a de-icer or anti-icer. In this capacity it is applied as a brine solution directly to a surface to eliminate or prevent ice from forming by lowering the temperature at which the water freezes.
Magnesium chloride is increasingly being applied to roads, streets and highways during winter months to prevent dangerous driving conditions. The process of lowering the freezing point allows snow removal equipment such as snowplows to more effectively remove the soft, slushy material from the surface. It also has been found to be favorable in comparison to sand and salt mixtures which pollute the air and otherwise harm the environment.
As vehicles travel on these routes the magnesium chloride splashes off the surface of the road and deposits on the vehicle. During repeated travel over the winter months, the magnesium chloride continues to build up and can become as much as ½ inch thick in high exposure areas on the vehicle. Unlike other salts applied to the road, magnesium chloride does not dry out, and will retain water and continue to maintain solubility as long as the environment remains above twenty-seven percent (27%) humidity. Magnesium chloride in this state has a corrosive effect on several different types of metal, plastic, rubber, and other surfaces including painted surfaces of the type listed above. This corrosive effect includes deterioration to the strength and durability of the material, and often causes discoloration. In addition, magnesium chloride can deteriorate wiring insulation and cause serious damage to electrical systems. This level of buildup can deteriorate metal structural surfaces of the vehicle and cause electrical systems to malfunction, creating the potential for catastrophic failure for a vehicle traveling at highway speeds. Simply washing or spraying the vehicle with water or soap will not remove the magnesium chloride deposits.
Magnesium chloride contamination on barriers, signs, guardrails, power distribution equipment and other roadside structures is also a serious problem. As the compound is applied to the road surface it can splash onto these structures and cause corrosion. Vehicles traveling on the road, including street sweepers and snowplows may also cause magnesium chloride to become deposited on these structures. Furthermore, the magnesium chloride is able to penetrate the concrete surface of the road and contaminate the reinforcing steel or rebar members, thereby weakening structures such as overpasses, bridges and ramps.
Magnesium chloride contamination caused by pedestrian travel along these roads and subsequent tracking of magnesium chloride into buildings causes yet another problem. Metal decking and other metal floor surfaces may be damaged by the contamination of magnesium chloride. In order to prevent damage to the floor surface expensive cleaning measures must be taken.
Various solutions and methods for treating magnesium chloride deposits have been attempted during recent years. An early solution included a high percentage of hydrofluoric acid. However, this solution had the serious disadvantage of causing corrosion to the surface it was applied to, and to other surrounding surfaces including glass. Further renditions made to this solution reduced but never eliminated harmful environmental effects caused by the concentrated acid present in the solution. Other methods have since been introduced to eliminate these disadvantages.
One of these methods is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,692. This invention relies on a dilute aqueous solution to remove a chloride compound from a metallic, concrete, plastic or plastic laminate surface. One disadvantage of the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,692 is the number of different agents that must be used in conjunction with the hydroxyacetic acid. These include sodium xylene sulfonate, triethanolamine, diethanolamine and stoichiometric soap. In addition, this invention does not disclose a method for inhibiting chloride compound build up on metallic surfaces in combination with the solution employed.
Other systems have tried to overcome these disadvantages. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,342. This invention discloses a method for controlling the level of acidity while removing contaminants from a metallic article. However, this method requires the use of an acid bath, which is impractical for use with a vehicle of any size. It is also impractical for use directly on roadside structures.
It is therefore desirable to provide a solution and method for applying the solution to these and other surfaces to remove magnesium chloride and inhibit further corrosion. It is furthermore desirable to provide a solution that is both easy to apply and less damaging to a number of different freestanding structures.

Solution for removing magnesium chloride compound from a surface contaminated therewith


An electronic musical instrument having a searching function of a tone color is provide with a parameter degree memory and a mouse or the like for designating any desired range of a specified parameter degree. When the searching is executed, the tone color whose parameter's degree is included within the designated range of the specified parameter is found out.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a method of searching a desired tone color from a plurality of tone colors in an electronic musical instrument which is capable of reproducing one or more tone colors from among tone colors of a plurality of kinds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Among electronic musical instruments presently in practical use, there are many electronic musical instruments which are capable of reproducing not less than one hundred tones colors (voices) . Each voice is provided with a title referred to as a voice number and a voice name, and every performer can designate a desired voice by searching a voice list by the number or the name of the voice through inputting the number or the name from a ten-key board or the like.
However, in the case where the number of voices exceed one hundred, there have been such problems that all the numbers or names cannot be stored and much time is consumed in searching the list. Furthermore, when the desired voice name is found in a list or the like, it has been impossible to perceive what sort of tone color the voice has unless it is reproduced.
In order to give solution to the above-mentioned problems, there has been proposed a system in which a plurality of voice patterns are classified in hierarchies by the features of the voices, and a desired tone color is found out by searching the hierarchy from a higher level to a lower level, for example, from wind instruments to woodwind instruments, further to a saxophone (lowest level). However, when many tone colors are found out at the lowest level in the searching, there is no other manners for distinguish each of the lowest objects (voices), therefore, resulting in that only actual tone generation of all the lowest objects can be possible to distinguish each of the voices.
Otherwise, there can be a method of making the desired voice searchable by prestoring character string data (of such as a clear tone) for each voice and searching the character string data. However, the method has a drawback that it is not capable of a search operation limiting the degree of a feature of each voice. In concrete, there has been a drawback that a "more clear sound" is fatally classified into the same category as that of a "less clear sound".

Electrical musical instrument having a tone color searching function


A location tagged data provision and display system. A personal communication device (PCD) with electromagnetic communication capability has a GPS receiver and a display. The PCD requests maps and location tagged data from data providers and other for display on the PCD. The data providers respond to requests by using searching and sorting schemes to interrogate data bases and then automatically transmitting data responsive to the requests to the requesting PCD.

Availability of up-to-date information is more important today than ever before and this will continue to be true for the foreseeable future. People want to be well informed, so much so that they travel with cellular phones, beepers, and even portable hand-held Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite receivers.
GPS capable devices generally have a GPS receiver for receiving satellite signals from the GPS satellite network that allow for determination of the device's position. Such devices allow for precisely locating the device in terms of latitude and longitude using the GPS receiver. Some devices have map data stored in memory and a display for showing the device position with reference to the map data. Other devices have no underlying map data base for reference. Rather, they show only the geographic coordinates of the device's location. These coordinates may be referred to as waypoints. Most GPS receiver devices can store many waypoints. Some GPS receiver devices can plot and display a trail of waypoints and store this trail for future retrieval. Sophisticated devices may compute the device's heading, speed, and other information based on comparisons with previous GPS determined positions.
GPS receiver devices with map display capability may store the map information on computer diskettes, CD-ROM's, or other computer memory storage devices. The device location may then be displayed on a display terminal with reference to a map stored in the computer memory storage device. The available quantity of map data, however, can overwhelm the memory capability of easily portable computer devices. This problem is exacerbated when additional information is included and linked with the map data. In addition, information is more valuable when it is up to date and available at the time of consumption, and such devices do not incorporate a means for updating the stored information. By way of example, a CD ROM could never maintain an up-to-date list of every 5-star restaurant.
Some GPS receiver devices have the ability to communicate over a telecommunications network. These devices do not provide for automatic or semi-automatic dynamic exchange of on-line position dependent or related information. In addition, these devices cannot communicate with third parties in the absence of a uniform data format standard. For example, a cellular-phone-based system comprising GPS location information working in conjunction with proprietary Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) telephone equipment is known. The device provides personal and medical information on an emergency basis to the proper authorities. Such a device does not allow third parties to communicate, tag, interrogate, limit, designate, modify or share this information amongst themselves for any other use.
To that end, the ability to receive digital data structures with GPS encoding, and storing this information for eventual use or broadcast to third parties, would be valuable. Today, the U.S. and several other countries have independent publishers busily GPS mapping everything down to the most minute detail. Most of these data bases are available on CD ROM storage. The problem is that no one data base can contain enough information to fulfill the unique requests of every particular and picky consumer. The costs associated with providing and maintaining such a large data base would be overwhelming and over-burdening. Additionally, most consumers do not like reading or compiling vast data bases.

Positional camera and GPS data interchange device

Silver State Intellectual Technologies, Inc.


To offload forces from a tissue site being treated with reduced pressure, an offloading pressure component may be used as part of a reduced-pressure treatment system. A reduced-pressure source of the reduced-pressure treatment system vents positive pressure exhaust into the offloading pressure component to inflate the offloading pressure component. The offloading pressure component disperses forces away from the tissue site. Other devices, methods, and systems are presented.

Clinical studies and practice have shown that providing a reduced pressure in proximity to a tissue site augments and accelerates the growth of new tissue at the tissue site. The applications of this phenomenon are numerous, but one particular application of reduced pressure involves treating wounds. This treatment (frequently referred to in the medical community as "negative pressure wound therapy," "reduced-pressure therapy," or "vacuum therapy") provides a number of benefits, including migration of epithelial and subcutaneous tissues, improved blood flow, and micro-deformation of tissue at the wound site. Together these benefits result in increased development of granulation tissue and faster healing times. Typically, reduced pressure is applied by a reduced-pressure source to tissue through a porous pad or other manifold device. In many instances, wound exudate and other liquids from the tissue site are collected within a canister to prevent the liquids from reaching the reduced-pressure source. At times, the tissue site being treated is at a pressure point on the patient, e.g., on the back of a bed-ridden patient.

Inflatable off-loading wound dressing assemblies, systems, and methods


The disclosure relates to a hydraulic damper provided with an additional stroke stop arrangement comprising a narrowed section and an additional piston assembly, wherein the additional piston assembly comprises a plastic ring guide, a ring, and a retaining member, wherein the ring surrounds an inner axial rim of the ring guide with radial clearance, wherein the inner axial rim defines at least one annular channel, and wherein the ring guide has at least one fixing protrusion extending radially inwardly toward the axis for engaging an annular slot in the piston rod and securing the ring guide to the piston rod. The at least one fixing protrusion is disposed at said inner axial rim of said ring guide and the height of said at least one fixing protrusion is larger than said radial clearance between said inner axial rim of said ring guide and said ring.

A hydraulic damper provided with a hydraulic rebound stop arrangement of this kind is disclosed in patent publication EP 3 153 738. The ring guide and the ring form a return valve that opens when the additional piston assembly is in the narrowed section of the tube and the direction of the stroke changes to opposite to the direction of the activation of the stop arrangement. The ring guide includes a fixing protrusion disposed at the retaining surface of the ring guide extending radially inwardly from the retaining surface of the ring guide and toward the axis for engaging the piston rod. Furthermore the retaining surface of the ring guide is separated by a number of radial channels defining bridges in-between them.
Therefore, the plastic ring guide is snap-locked on the piston rod. However, it turned out, that during high speed movement of the piston rod in direction opposite to the direction of the activation of the stop arrangement, relatively high pressure acting on the ring abutting the retaining surface of the ring guide acts also on the fixing protrusion(s) and thus may cause unlocking of the ring guide from the piston rod. Furthermore, if the annular gap of the ring aligns with the bridge in the retaining surface during this high speed movement, the bridge may be pushed and stuck inside the gap. Both these situations lead to the failure of the hydraulic stop arrangement. Finally, to ensure proper snap-locking of such a plastic ring guide on the piston rod, axial length of the retaining surface of the ring guide, on which the fixing protrusion(s) is/are disposed undesirably reduces the operational length of the hydraulic stop arrangement.
Publication US2018195574 discloses a hydraulic damper having an additional stroke stop arrangement including a second cylinder provided at an end portion in an inner cylinder, and a second piston configured to move along with movement of a piston rod to be capable of being fit-inserted through the second cylinder. The second piston includes a stopper coupled to the piston rod, a castle integrated with the stopper by plastic flow to form a ring groove on an outer periphery of the second piston between the castle and the stopper, and a piston ring fixed into a ring groove formed by the stopper and the castle so that the piston ring is displaceable in the ring groove in an axial direction and is retained in the ring groove, and has an annular shape with both ends in a circumferential direction which are formed by partially cutting the piston ring. The stopper made of metal is attached on the piston rod by means of annular groove expanded radially outward thereof and engaging portion being a part of the stopper.
Publication WO2018155339 also discloses a similar stop arrangement in a form of a metal holder attached on a piston rod by means of annular claw portion fitted into an annular groove formed on the outer periphery of the piston rod along the circumferential direction.
It has been the object of the present disclosure to provide a hydraulic damper with a hydraulic stop arrangement of a simple construction, providing a smooth increase of damping force at the end of the stroke and versatile damper tuning capabilities, which would be cost efficient, simple to manufacture, would feature a decreased axial height of the ring guide and thus an increased working distance of the stroke stop arrangement, an improved holding function of the ring guide, and which would eliminate the possibility of the ring guide to enter and block in the annular gap of the sealing ring.

Hydraulic suspension damper with a hydraulic stroke stop arrangement


Provided are a roll-shaped magnetic field shielding sheet, a method of manufacturing a magnetic field shielding sheet, and an antenna module using the same, which can improve the efficiency of the overall production process by improving a heat treatment process for a thin film magnetic sheet. The magnetic field shielding sheet includes: at least one thin film magnetic sheet; an insulating layer or insulating layers formed on one or either side of the at least one thin film magnetic sheet; and an adhesive layer formed between the insulating layers of the adjacent thin film magnetic sheets to laminate and bond the thin film magnetic sheets, wherein the thin film magnetic sheet is flake-treated to be divided into a plurality of magnetic substance fragments.

In wireless charging, wireless power transmission is performed using electromagnetic induction or magnetic resonance phenomenon between a wireless power transmission device and a wireless power reception device. In a portable electronic device such as a terminal for wireless power transmission, an antenna module including an antenna for communication and a signal processing unit, and a magnetic field shielding sheet are laminated on each other.
Transmission and reception for wireless power transmission uses a resonance circuit to increase efficiency, and a high quality factor (Q) is desirable to obtain frequency selectivity. The quality factor (Q) is proportional to the value of inductance (L) and inversely proportional to the value of resistance (R). Here, the magnetic field shielding sheet laminated on the antenna module functions as an inductor, thereby serving as an absorber to absorb radio waves, and serving as a magnetic shield to block influence on a terminal body.
Since the voltage induced in the wireless power reception device, that is, the secondary coil of the terminal, is determined by the Faraday's law and Lenz's law, the more the amount of magnetic flux linking with the secondary coil becomes, the more advantageous it is to obtain a high voltage signal. The amount of magnetic flux increases as the amount of soft magnetic material contained in the secondary coil increases and the magnetic permeability of the material increases. In particular, since the wireless charging is essentially a power transmission due to non-contact, it is necessary that the magnetic field shielding sheet on which the secondary coil is mounted is made of a magnetic material having a high magnetic permeability so as to focus the wireless electromagnetic wave generated in the primary coil of the wireless power transmission device into the secondary coil of the wireless power reception device.
In the case of an amorphous ribbon having a high magnetic permeability, since the ribbon itself is a metal thin sheet, there is no burden on the thickness, but when an AC magnetic field is applied to the amorphous ribbon according to the 100 kHz frequency used for power transmission, the application function is degraded due to the eddy current impact of the ribbon surface, or efficiency degradation and heat generation during wireless charging are generated.
The conventional magnetic field shielding sheet for a wireless power reception device is a thin film and considerably reduces the loss due to eddy current by the flake treatment for the amorphous ribbon, taking into account the heat generation problem caused by shielding and the problem of not increasing the wireless charging efficiency. As a result, a magnetic field shielding sheet for a wireless charger having excellent power transmission efficiency has been proposed by increasing the quality factor (Q) of the secondary coil while blocking the influence of the magnetic field on the main body and battery of a portable terminal device.
The magnetic field shielding sheet reduces eddy current loss by adopting a structure in which the thin film magnetic sheet is separated into a plurality of fine pieces by flake treatment with a protective film and double-sided tape attached to both sides of the thin film magnetic sheet. The flake-treated laminated sheet is laminated to flatten and slim the laminated sheet, and to insulate it by partially filling the adhesive through the gaps of fine pieces, thereby reducing eddy current and preventing oxidation of the amorphous ribbon.
Meanwhile, the wireless charging is classified into a magnetic induction method and a magnetic resonance method, and is classified into a Power Matters Alliance (PMA) method and a Qi method according to a method of sensing the access of the wireless power reception device with respect to the wireless power transmission device. The PMA wireless charging method controls the operation of the wireless power transmission device by detecting the proximity of the wireless power reception device using a permanent magnet and a Hall sensor.
In addition, in order to maximize the efficiency of the charger, there are many structures that employ a permanent magnet that helps the wireless power transmission device to align with the wireless power reception device. The thin shielding sheet is magnetized (saturated) by the DC magnetic field of the permanent magnet. As a result of the occurrence of the phenomenon, there is a problem that the performance is deteriorated or the power transmission efficiency is rapidly deteriorated.
Accordingly, when a permanent magnet is included in the wireless power transmission device, the magnetic field shielding sheet used in the wireless power transmission device is required to be laminated with a greater number of thin film magnetic sheets than the case where the permanent magnet is not included.
Meanwhile, the thin film magnetic sheet is subjected to heat treatment for the purpose of increasing the permeability, and when the heat treatment is performed, brittleness increases, so that the flaking treatment can be made more easily.
Accordingly, conventionally, a Fe-based amorphous ribbon in the form of a roll was manufactured by a rapid solidification process (RSP) by melt spinning, and then cut to a certain length to facilitate post-treatment after heat treatment, and then laminated in a sheet form. The resulting laminated ribbon sheet was heat treated in a batch manner.
For the purpose of facilitating post-treatment after heat treatment, the heat treatment for the laminated ribbon sheet in the form of a sheet cut to a predetermined length in a batch manner has a problem in that it is difficult to treat a mass-production of a roll-to-roll method at the time of a subsequent flake treatment and lamination treatment.
In addition, there is a method of manufacturing an amorphous ribbon in the form of a roll for heat treatment for the thin film magnetic sheet, and then performing heat treatment for the amorphous ribbon in a batch method in a wound roll form, but as brittleness increases while undergoing heat treatment, unwanted cracking occurs when unfolding the amorphous ribbon wound for the subsequent flake treatment, and thus there is a problem that subsequent processes cannot be processed by the roll-to-roll method.
Moreover, in recent years, antenna module companies have been supplied with magnetic field shielding sheets in the form of rolls, and want to use them by cutting (punching molding) magnetic field shielding sheets in the form of their desired patterns. However, there is a problem that cannot meet the needs.

Magnetic field shielding sheet, method for manufacturing magnetic field shielding sheet, and antenna module using same


A lens module includes a lens barrel, a ring-shaped magnetic member, and a lens. The magnetic member is received in and attached to the lens barrel. The lens includes a transparent central optical portion and a metallic peripheral portion. The metallic peripheral portion of the lens is magnetically attached to the magnetic member.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to lens modules and camera modules using the lens modules.
2. Description of Related Art
With the ongoing development of microcircuitry and multimedia technology, camera modules, including, e.g., still camera modules and digital camera modules are now in widespread use and are being combined with various electronic devices. Such camera modules need to satisfy requirements of compactness and excellent optical performance.
Lens modules and image sensors are key components of the camera modules. A typical lens module includes a lens barrel, and at least one lens received in the lens barrel. Generally, a glue is used for positioning the at least one lens in the lens barrel, and a spacer is provided for supporting the at least one lens and spacing the at least one lens from other components received in the lens barrel.
However, adhesive power of the glue may decrease over time, such that the at least one lens is not securely received in the lens barrel.
What is needed, therefore, is a lens module and a camera module using the lens module, which can overcome the above shortcomings.

Lens module and camera module using same


An electroless metal deposition process to make a semiconductor device uses a plating bath solution having a reducing agent. A sample of the bath solution is taken and the pH of the sample is increased. The hydrogen evolved from the sample is measured. The hydrogen evolved is used to determine the concentration of the reducing agent present in the sample. Based on the determined reducing agent concentration, the plating bath solution is modified.

Semiconductor processing typically involves the deposition of a metal layer. One known technique to deposit metal in semiconductors is via electroless deposition that utilizes bath solutions to form the metal. It is critical that the concentration levels of the bath solution components be maintained within certain acceptable concentration limits. Equipment has been developed to accurately measure the concentration of bath solutions components to generate a bath solution of desired properties. However, as the electroless deposition process occurs, the concentration of various components decreases and byproducts are generated. For some applications, such as electrolytic plating of non-electronic products, additional component materials may be added to replenish depleted components. However, for semiconductor manufacturing involving small dimensions of metal deposition, component composition process limits are much more critical. Therefore, electroless bath solutions typically have a limited amount of useful application and are typically discarded once a certain amount of use or a certain amount of time has occurred. The proper disposal of bath solutions is an expensive and time consuming aspect of semiconductor manufacturing.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.