The present invention is directed to an instructional method based on the concept that as a student learns to perform a mental task consisting of a set of elements or steps, whether conceptual or concrete, the student develops a distinct mental connection or path for every element related to the primary mental task being learned. For example, as a student learns to type a particular key on a keyboard, (the primary mental task), the student develops a distinct mental impression for every typing key logically associated with the first key. In other words, a distinct connection or path is defined as a link between two or more elements, one key being a primary element, the other being a related key connected to the primary key by a logical mental step. The present method is also useful for learning a musical instrument, a foreign language, mathematics, test taking skills, and the like logical though processes. The present method can be presented to the student via a written format such as on a chalk board, in a printed text format, or in a computer program.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system or method of teaching a student how to learn mental and/or physical steps or tasks. More particularly, the present invention relates to an instructional method of teaching the cognitive relationships between elements in a set by practicing various patterns of logical arrangements of a primary element and its connections to related elements. The present instructional method is useful for developing teaching lessons so that a student is able to efficiently learn and retain material such as, for example, typing lessons, a musical instrument, a foreign language, mathematics, test taking skills, and like logical thought processes.
2. Prior Art
Prior to the present invention, cognitively retaining mental and/or physical steps or tasks meant practicing a series of known sequences of the subject matter that was intended to be learned. For teaching typing, various devices and methods for that purpose are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,501,849 to Olsen, 3,611,586 to Kuramochi, 4,185,400 to Gall, John C. et al., 4,253,248 to Cornish, 4,465,477 to AvGavaar, 4,650,349 to Westreich, 4,690,644 to Flanders et al., 4,902,231 to Freer and 4,909,739 to Ladner et al.
Generally, the prior art methods and devices teach typing by practicing relatively short, known or memorizable word sequences. A memorizable sequence is defined as a word that is easily or readily recalled by its spelling and letter composition. For example, a student learning the "s" key according to the prior art practices typing known words such as "self", "silk", and "soap". The problem is that the student learns the "s" key's position within the presented words, and not its location on the keyboard. The "s" key is typed by the left ring finger, but the commonly practiced known or memorizable words for teaching that key are not presented in relation to keyboard keys that are also typically typed by the left ring finger. If the student repeatedly practices typing "self" to learn the "s" key, she is only able to proficiently recall that word as a memorizable sequence and not necessarily retain the location of the "s" key on the keyboard. The conventional exercise of typing "self" for a prolonged period only causes those fingers that are required during the practice session to become conditioned in terms of the exact finger combination of the word. In other words, the student's ability to type the word "self" is a result of knowing the sequence of letters that makeup that word, and the exact fingers moved to strike each of those keys. Thus, the student would memorize the "s" key in terms of the word "self" as a previously known or readily memorizable sequence without necessarily learning the location of the "s" key on the keyboard.
Furthermore, learning the "s" key as part of a known word or readily memorizable sequence does not help the student to determine the position of the "x", "2", "w", and symbol "@" keys. Those keys are not related to the "s" key in the word "self", but are typically struck with the same left ring finger. It is true that the student can practice typing words according to the prior art that contain the "x", "s", "2", "w", and "@" keys and, that over time, if the student practices enough, she will become proficient at typing each one of those keys within sets of words or memorizable sequences. But, the student would have to practice many words that contain the "x" key, the "s" key, the "w" key, and the symbol "@" key, without any assurance that she would consequently be able to type them proficiently.
The problem is that the student tries to memorize the exact position of the various keys contained in the practiced words without actually memorizing the finger movement connection or exact position of the "s" key with respect to the other keys typically typed with the left ring finger. In that event, the student is not able to proficiently recall the exact locations of those keys by forming a mental image of their relative positions with respect to each other, and by mentally visualizing how far to extend and not to extend the left ring finger on the keyboard to type each of them. The same can be said for keys typically typed by the other fingers as well. Word or readily memorizable sequence typing lessons may be good for a student who is already competent on the keyboard, but not for a beginning student. For the beginning student, the prior art methods of teaching typing are difficult and reaching a proficient level of competency is problematic.

Method for instructing the cognitive relationships between primary and related elements


A spray washer structure used for attaching to an aircraft and washing insulators on high-voltage transmission lines includes a pivot seat, a core tube, an inner tube, and a nozzle. The pivot seat is supported by a plurality of legs and a rear leg that are attached at the aircraft. The mid-section of the core tube is pivotally connected to the pivot seat by the use of a pivot, and an end portion of the core tube is connected to at least an inclined resilient buffer link at another end portion of the pivot. The innertube is passed through and pivoting within the core tube. The nozzle is secured at the front end of the inner tube by an adjustable joint. Moreover, the nozzle is also connected to a hose connected to a water source.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a spray washer structure of insulator used for aircraft, and more particularly, to a spray washer structure of insulator used for aircraft that can steadily position, can be handy to operate, and can pivotally rotate the direction of the spray nozzle to facilitate the washing of the insulator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Insulators that are equipped at the tower of high-voltage power-transmission-line and are used for insulation between the transmission-line and tower are very important components for the safety and security of facilities and people. However, the insulators needs to be cleaned periodically since the insulated function of the insulators tends to deteriorate due to their long-time exposure in the open space and their having dust adhered and foreign substance intruded. Nevertheless, as the tower of high-voltage power-transmission-line is generally too high to be reached for the operator to clean by the use of spray washer from the ground, aircraft such as helicopter is usually employed to clean the insulators
FIG. 1 is a pictorial views of the spray washer structure of insulator of the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the spray washer structure of insulator of the invention includes a lance (82) and a hose (5). The hose (5) with one end connected to the a water source (a water tank) (not shown in the Figure) and the other end attached to a nozzle (83) is having the hose (5) inserted from the front end of the lance (82) and penetrated through the lance (82) to be exposed and secured at the tail end thereof. Moreover, the lance (82) having a pivot (821) at its middle section is supported by inserting the pivot (821) into a pivot seat (80). Furthermore, a plurality of legs (81) having hook-talons (811) at their bottom ends for hooking at the bottom cross-bars (not shown in the Figure) of an aircraft (such as a helicopter) have their top ends connected to and support the pivot seat (80).
A pull rope (84) is equipped near the nozzle (83) of the lance (82) for connecting to the fuselage of an aircraft (such as a helicopter). In addition, a handle (822) having a short bar or a short tube attached on each side of the lance (82) positioned at the tail end of the lance (82) is also provided.
When it comes to cleaning the insulator, the spray washer structure of the invention is first mounted on an aircraft (such as a helicopter) by connecting the pull rope (84) to the top of the fuselage of the aircraft (such as a helicopter) and hooking the hook-talons (811) on the cross-bar of the aircraft (such as a helicopter). The pull rope (84) can be pulled up to hold the lance (82) to avoid the lance (82) from being pushed downward by the airflow generated by the rotor of the helicopter. The aircraft (such as a helicopter) having the spray washer structure of the invention mounted then flies to approach the tower of high-voltage power-transmission line. Adequately pressurized water flow is sent through the hose (5) to the nozzle (83), and the operator controls the orientation of the nozzle (83) by holding the handle (822) to manipulate the spray washer. Adequate cleaning effect of the insulator can be achieved by injecting water beam through the nozzle (83) of the spray washer structure toward the insulator.
The insulator mounted at the general high-voltage power-transmission line appears scoop-disk in shape and having different orientation of arrangement and being built-up. Since the injecting water-beam effluent from the nozzle (83) is basically in a direction parallel to the lance (82) of the spray washer structure, the aircraft (such as a helicopter) will have to fly back-and-forth to adjust the orientation of the fuselage in order to search for a good angle to clean the scoop inner surface of the insulator. Consequently, the spray washing operation is energy and time-consuming, and will seriously affect the efficiency and quality of insulator cleaning.
Therefore, it has been an urgent plan and improvement project for the designers to resolve the above-mentioned problems.

Spray washer structure of insulator used for aircraft


A phase measurement circuit of a phased array antenna having both transmitting and receiving functions includes a plurality of antenna elements arranged in a line or on a plain; phase shifters disposed corresponding to the antenna elements, respectively, for shifting phases of signals to form a beam in a desired direction by changing the phase value; a control circuit for controlling the phase shift quantity of the phase shifter; a test antenna for receiving electric wave of a transmission frequency band from the phased array antenna and transmitting a test signal for measuring an excitation phase to each element of the phased array antenna; and a test translator for converting a frequency of the signal of the transmission frequency band received by the test antenna to that of the signal of a reception frequency band and outputting it as a test signal to the test antenna. Thus, a loop of the signal is formed between the terminal for the transmitted signal and the terminal for the received signal in the phased array antenna, whereby the phases of transmitting and receiving systems can be respectively measured.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a conventional phase measuring circuit of a phased array antenna disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 55-170159, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a conventional phase measuring circuit of a phased array antenna having both functions of transmission and reception. In FIGS. 4 and 5, reference numeral 1i (i=1 to n) designates an element antenna. A phase shifter for reception 2i (i=1 to n) shifts the phase of the signal received by the element antenna 1i. A phase shifter for transmission 3i (i=1 to n) shifts the phase of the signal transmitted by the element antenna 1i. A control circuit 4 controls the phase of the phase shifters 2i and 3i. A combiner circuit 5 combines the signal received by the element antenna 1i. Reference numeral 7 designates a terminal for the received signal. A phased array antenna 9 of FIG. 4 comprises the element antenna 1i, the phase shifter for reception 2i, the control circuit 4, the combiner circuit 5, and the terminal 7. A test antenna 10 transmits and receives a test signal so as to measure the phase of the phased array antenna 9. A signal generator 11 generates a test signal to be applied to the test antenna 10a. A receiver 12 receives the test signal which is received by the test antenna 10b, where the received test signal is a signal resulting from that the test signal is transmitted from the phased array antenna 9.
The operation of the apparatus of FIG. 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. Combined electric field vector is represented by a vector sum of electric field vectors of the respective element antennas 1i while the whole arrays in the phased array antenna operate. Supposed the electric field vector of the `i`th element antenna 1i be Ei exp(j.phi..sub.i) where Ei is amplitude, .phi..sub.i is phase, j is imaginary unit, the combined electric field vector obtained when the phase of the `i`th element antenna 1i is shifted by degree is represented as follows; EQU E.sub.1 =E.sub.0 exp (j.phi..sub.0)-Ei exp(j.phi..sub.i)(1-exp(j.DELTA.)) (1)
The above equation (1) is transformed to; EQU .vertline.E.sub.1 .vertline..sup.2 /E.sub.0.sup.2 =(Y.sup.2 +K.sup.2)+2YKCcos (.DELTA.+.DELTA..sub.0) (2)
where EQU Y.sup.2 =(cosX-K).sup.2 +sin.sup.2 X (3) EQU tan .DELTA..sub.0 =sinX/(cosX-K) (4) EQU K=En/E.sub.0 (relative amplitude) (5) EQU X=.phi..sub.i -.phi..sub.0 (relative phase) (6)
Supposed the ratio of the maximum to the minimum of the equation (2) be r.sup.2, the following equation is obtained. EQU r.sup.2 =(Y+K).sup.2 /(Y-K).sup.2 ( 7)
In addition, from the equation (2), -.DELTA..sub.0 is a phase change which provides the maximum value of .vertline.E.sub.1 .vertline..sup.2 /Eo.sup.2, namely, the relative electric power, and these r and .DELTA..sub.0 are obtained from the measurement of the relative electric power of the equation (2).
More specifically, in case of the phased array antenna for reception, a signal from the signal generator 11 is transmitted from the test antenna 10 and the signal is received by the `i`th element antenna 1i. The signal received by the `i`th element antenna 1i is shifted in its phase by the phase shifter 2i under the control by the control circuit 4. The signals received by the respective element antennas 1i are combined by the combiner circuit 5. Then, the ratio r of the maximum to the minimum of the signal from the receiving signal terminal 7 and the phase quantity .DELTA..sub.0 attaining the maximum value are measured. By employing the equations (1) to (7) using these values, a relative amplitude and a relative phase of the `i`th element antenna 1i can be obtained. By conducting this measurement and this calculation for all element antennas 1i (i=1 to n), the relative amplitude and the relative phase of the respective element antennas 1i (i=1 to n) can be obtained.
FIG. 5 shows a conventional phase measuring circuit of a phased array antenna having transmitting and receiving functions. The circuit of FIG. 5 includes, in addition to the elements of the phase measuring circuit having only a receiving function shown in FIG. 4, a divider circuit 6 for dividing the transmitted signal to the element antenna 1i, a terminal for a transmitted signal 8, and phase shifters for transmission 3i (i=1 to n).
In this phased array antenna 9b, the signal from the signal terminal 8 is divided by the divider circuit 6 and the phase of the divided signal is respectively shifted by the phase shifter for transmission 3i under the control by the control circuit 4. The phase-shifted signal is then excited by the element antenna 1i and emitted into the space. The signal radiated from the respective element antennas 1i is received by the test antenna 10b and the received signal is received and processed by the receiver for test 12. The ratio r of the maximum to the minimum of the signal change of the received signal and the phase quantity .DELTA..sub.0 for attaining the maximum value are measured and the equations (1) to (7) are operated to obtain the relative amplitude and the relative phase of the `i`th element antenna 1i in the transmission system. By performing measurement and calculation for all element antennas, the relative amplitude and the relative phase of respective element antennas 1i (i=1 to n) can be obtained.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a conventional antenna diagnosis apparatus disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Publication No. 57-162803, in which the phase and the amplitude of the element antenna are set and processed by the measuring and operating circuit and the diagnosis circuit. Referring to FIG. 6, reference numeral 101 designates an element antenna. A phase shifter 102 shifts the phase of the transmission signal to be transmitted from the element antenna 101. A divider circuit 103 divides the transmission signal to the element antenna 101. Reference numerals 104 and 108 designate transmission sources. An antenna 109 is confronted to element antennas 1i. A control circuit 111 controls the phase shifter 102. A measuring and operating circuit 112 measures the level change of the combined and received signal output of the whole element antennas and operating the amplitude and the phase of each element antenna. A diagnosis circuit 113 compares its measured and operated result with a reference value to diagnose the measured result. A switch 110 selects one from a state where the signal from the transmission source 104 is applied to the array antenna or the signal received by the respective antenna 101 which is transmitted from the confronting antenna 109 is supplied, to the control circuit 111.
The operation will be described with reference to FIG. 6. When the amplitude and the phase of each element antenna 101 is diagnosed during the whole array operate, the switch 110 is switched to the side of the control circuit 111 and, at the same time, the transmission source 108 is operated, whereby the electric wave is transmitted from the confronting antenna 109. Then, on the bases of the same measuring theory as performed in the apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the phase of the signal of each element antenna 101 is shifted by the phase shifter 102 under the control by the control circuit 111, the change in the combined output level of the whole array is measured by the measuring and operating circuit 112, then the amplitude and the phase of each element antenna 101 are calculated, and the results are transmitted to the diagnosis circuit 113. In the diagnosis circuit 113, the amplitude and the phase value of each element antenna which are measured and calculated after receiving the electric wave from the confronting antenna 109 at the start of operation of the phased array antenna with setting the conditions, such as set phase, frequency, and polarization of each element antenna 101, and the set position of the confronting antenna 109 at the same, are stored. Thus, the above-described measured results are compared with the data of reference amplitude and reference phase at the start of operation, and when the result of this diagnosing shows that the phase is shifted as compared with the reference phase, the control of the corresponding phase shifter is changed so as to correct the phase of the element which is shifted with relative to the reference.
In the conventional phase measurement circuit of a phased array antenna having such a structure, it is necessary to provide measuring circuits of transmission and reception systems separately in a phase measuring circuit of the phased array antenna having transmitting and receiving functions for such as satellite communication, and this makes the apparatus large in size and the control by the control circuit complicated. Further, when a phase measuring circuit is incorporated in the phased array antenna as a failure diagnosis circuit, its structure is particularly complicated.

Phase measuring circuit of phased array antenna


A microscope system comprises a light guiding optical system 20 containing an objective lens 21 and a beam splitter 25 for splitting an optical image of a sample S to a first optical path and a second optical path, a photodetector 31 disposed on the first optical path used to acquire an image of the sample S, and a CCD camera 32 disposed on the second optical path for acquiring a two-dimensional image for focus control. The camera 32 is disposed being inclined at an angle of θ with respect to the optical path so that the optical path length in the light guiding optical system 20 varies along the z-axis direction. The image acquired by the camera 32 is analyzed by a focus controller 37, and the focal point for image pickup with respect to the sample S is controlled on the basis of the analysis result. Accordingly, there can be implemented a microscope system in which image acquisition of the sample and focus control for image pickup can be simultaneously performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microscope system used for acquiring an image of a sample.
2. Related Background of the Invention
When an image of a sample is acquired by using a microscope, a problem of deviation of the focal point occurs due to inclination of an optical system or a mechanism system in the apparatus, inclination or uneven shape of the sample itself, or the like. Under such a situation, it has been hitherto general in a conventional microscope system to carry out automatic focusing (auto-focus) for automatically controlling the focal point of image pickup of an image pickup device such as a CCD camera or the like. As the device for carrying out automatic focusing as described above are known devices described in, for example, Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. 3390106, Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei-09-230250, Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei-08-21961 and Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei-11-264937.


A transmission for a hybrid vehicle may include an input shaft receiving power from an engine, a motor configured to receive power from a battery so as to generate the power received from the battery by regeneration, an output shaft receiving the power from the input shaft and the motor, and a planetary gear apparatus connecting the power received by the input shaft from the engine to the output shaft.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transmission for a hybrid vehicle, and more particularly, to a transmission for a hybrid vehicle capable of connecting a planetary gear to a motor by disposing the planetary gear within the transmission.
Description of Related Art
In general, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle in which an engine using oil fuel and a motor using a battery as a power source are mounted together to increase fuel efficiency and decrease exhaust gas, thereby protecting an environment.
The hybrid vehicle according to the related art includes the engine generating power, a transmission in which the motor, an engine clutch, a differential gear, and the like are embedded to perform a shift, and wheels connected to the transmission.
The engine clutch is fastened to or released from the engine. In this case, the engine is connected to a hybrid starter and generator (hereinafter, referred to as HSG (H′)) by a belt, so as to be re-operated by the HSG at the time of a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode.
The motor is embedded in the transmission, so as to assist power of the engine at the time of driving of the vehicle and serve to charge the battery at the time of a regenerative breaking. In this case, one side of the motor is connected to the engine clutch on the same shaft as a driving shaft of the engine and the other side thereof is connected to a mechanical oil pump.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A low power switched diversity antenna system (200) includes two varactor tuned antennas (205, 207), each including an antenna element (505) and a varactor (515). The varactor tuned antennas intercept components of electromagnetic radiation that are substantially orthogonally polarized. One of the varactor tuned antennas is tuned to a desired frequency and the other is detuned, achieving a relative gain of the tuned varactor tuned antenna to the detuned varactor tuned antenna of at least 3 dB at the desired frequency.

Electrical power drain and highly sensitive reception of radio signals have been critical design parameters of portable electronic devices such as pagers and personal communication devices for many years.
When an electronic device is used to receive a radio signal in a communication system in which the radiation (transmission) of electromagnetic energy is reflected and absorbed by numerous objects, such as buildings, vehicles, and trees, the resulting electromagnetic energy environment is described as a fading environment, and the components of the electromagnetic energy waves that are orthogonally polarized have low correlation of their amplitude and phase. A known technique of increasing the sensitivity of electronic devices to the reception of such radio signals in such systems is to use two receiving antennas arranged so as to respond to substantially orthogonal polarizations of the electromagnetic energy, such as linear polarizations 90 degrees apart, carrying the radio signal. When two antennas are used that intercept polarizations of the electromagnetic waves that are approximately 90 degrees apart, the radio signal intercepted by a second one of the two antennas can be used to augment the radio signal intercepted by a first one of the two antennas. This is called diversity reception.
Although the radio signals intercepted by the two receiving antennas can be added together to increase the average strength of the intercepted energy coupled to a receiver, doing so in a manner that avoids situations wherein the two signals partially or wholly cancel each other when their phases are approximately or exactly 180 degrees apart is technically complex. That technique is know as diversity combining. A very common alternative approach for using two such antennas, which is simple and works well, is to select the antenna that has a stronger signal. When this technique is used, a means to switch the antennas is needed, as well as a method to select the stronger signal.
A common technique for switching the antennas is to use PIN diodes. In this technique, one PIN diode is used to turn one antenna on while a second PIN diode is used to turn the other antenna off, until the switching is reversed. Because only one signal is received at a time, an algorithm is used to cause switching when the presently received signal is too weak, or upon another occasion (such as a timed selection). The PIN diode that is off is reversed biased and therefore draws only leakage current. The PIN diode that is on, though, is forward biased and typically draws on the order of 1 to 10 milliamps. Such a technique has been used for over ten years, but this much current drain is substantial in a product such as a pager.
Therefore, what is needed is a means for achieving a switched diversity antenna that draws substantially less than 1 milliamp.

Low power switched diversity antenna system


Disclosed is an apparatus and method of increasing the likelihood of successful and quick reception of messages containing crucial data in a CDMA cellular communication system. The data may be transmitted at a lower frame rate than normal messages but at the same power level as used for normal messages in full rate frames to raise the signal to noise ratio at the receiver. An abbreviated version of the message containing only the critical parameters may be sent to lessen the likelihood of a bit being incorrectly decoded as well as shortening both the time of transmission and receipt. The two approaches may be combined and the abbreviated message may be supplemental to the normal message. Specifically, the use of a short version of a handoff direction message using only the parameters required for a soft-handoff between cells within a system is described in detail.

The present invention relates in general to a method of and a system for accomplishing the reliable transmission of crucial control messages in CDMA (code division multiple access) communication systems by transmitting these messages at a lower data rate without reducing the transmission power. The increase of the signal to noise ratio of the signal as received by the target device improves the probability of reliable detection without detrimentally altering the interference detected by other receivers in the area
In CDMA systems operating in accordance with the industry agreed upon standard known as IS-95, the call drop and access failure rates are low. However, it is always desirable from a customers standpoint that the call drop rate and access failure rate be zero or at least better than it has been.
When a mobile station (MS) is operating in a cellular system, it attempts to keep a presently controlling BTS (base transceiver station), one that the MS is assigned to, informed of the strength of pilot signals received from nearby base stations through the use of a PSMM (pilot strength measurement message). In accordance with parameters internal to a system, the BTS determines which of the pilot signals listed in the PSMM should be added to an active set of pilots in the MSs memory. This is accomplished through the return of an HDM (Handoff Direction Message) or an EHDM (Extended Handoff Direction Message) sent by the BTS to the MS. To reduce call drops observed in present day CDMA systems, it is crucial that when a pilot needs to be added to the active set of an MS, that the HDM/EHDM so instructing reach the MS successfully. Once the MS successfully receives the returned HDM/EHDM, it can then move the pilot to its active set and start demodulating on the additional or recently detected new pilot.
Although the IS-95 standard provides for (allows) the retransmission of the HDM/EHDM message, it may not be successfully received by the MS due to of many factors environmental and/or physical (such as excessive rf interference or buildings). If the MS fails to receive an HDM/EHDM message, a call in progress could be dropped, since the new pilot may be causing too much interference on the forward link.
It has been observed that a significant percentage of call drops occur as a result of the HDM/EHDM not being successfully received by a MS. A message is classified as being unsuccessfully received if the frame(s) that contained the message are received in error. Similarly, access failures occur in part due to the non-successful receipt of a CAM (channel assignment message). While both of these messages are control messages, the HDM/EHDM is, in accordance with IS-95, transmitted over a traffic channel and the CAM is transmitted over a paging channel.
It is believed by many that there is a need for an increased reliability of receipt of these very crucial messages. One method of increasing the reliability of receipt is to increase the power of the transmitted signal. This however has the detrimental effect of increasing the interference as perceived by other MSs in the vicinity of the target MS. Also, the transmit power on the forward traffic channel cannot be increased indefinitely, since there is a system defined upper limit on it.
It would thus be desirable to have a means for transmitting crucial messages in a more reliable manner without detrimentally affecting other nearby MSs.
The present invention comprises transmitting crucial messages, such as a newly created SHDM (short handoff direction message), in lower rate frames than non-crucial or normal messages while transmitting these crucial messages at the same power level as they would have been transmitted had they been transmitted over full rate frames, to obtain additional processing gain at the receiver.

Crucial control message transmission method and systems


A method for producing a catalytically-active material having at least one base component and at least one catalytically-active component in which the at least one base component is heated to a softening or melting temperature to form a softened or molten base component. While the base component is in the softened or molten state, at least one catalytically-active component is incorporated into or onto the base component, forming the catalytically-active material. In accordance with one embodiment, a catalyst precursor is introduced into the base component and subsequently transformed to a catalytically-active component.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a general method for creating robust, catalytically-active materials suitable for use in a variety of applications. The catalytically-active materials of this invention are engineered to resist attrition or to exhibit controlled rates of attrition in a variety of host environments. These applications include, but are not limited to, petroleum refining, Fischer-Tropsch syntheses, chemical synthesis and production, including the synthesis and production of pharmaceutical compounds, the production of plastics and foodstuffs, and catalysts that effect a chemical or physical change in combination with complexes of DNA-related molecules or living organisms, such as natural or genetically modified bacteria. This invention further relates to catalysts and catalytically-active materials suitable for use in gasification reactor vessels, in particular fluidized bed gasification reactor vessels, and combustion processes. Finally, this invention relates to a method and apparatus for reducing or eliminating tars, which are typically defined as organic compounds having a molecular weight equal to or greater than 78, for example, benzene, and other undesirable volatile compounds produced during the gasification of various feedstocks including coal, biomass and waste materials and the combustion of various fuels.
2. Description of Related Art
In general terms, gasification is a process whereby solid carbonaceous materials such as coal and biomass are converted into cleaner-burning gaseous fuels. Gasification is frequently carried out in a fluidized bed reactor, a reactor chamber comprising a fluidized bed support disposed within the reactor chamber and a fluidized bed material disposed on the fluidized bed support, which fluidized bed material comprises an inert component that is either fully inert or has low catalytic activity, and a catalytically-active component that is dispersed within or upon the inert component. During the gasification process, numerous by-products, including tars and other volatile materials, are also generated. Environmental regulations require that these by-products be treated or otherwise disposed of in an environmentally acceptable manner.
Catalysts are recognized as being essential for reducing or eliminating the tars that accompany the gasification of solid materials. Robust, efficient catalysts that are added to or comprise the bed material of fluidized bed gasifiers represent a significant development because they reduce the overall gasifier footprint by virtue of their incorporation into the gasifier, offer the possibility of substantially eliminating tar formation, and retain their activity in a harsh, chemically active environment. However, the development of in-bed catalysts has been slow because, to date, mineral geology has been relied upon for selection of the best materials for catalyst development. Thus, the ability to move away from earth mineralogy as the basis for identifying and selecting suitable materials is a highly desirable objective, opening the door to the development of new catalyst formations from present waste materials, such as arc furnace dust, mold sands, various slags and mill scale.
Catalytically-active materials employed for reducing or eliminating tars that are produced in the gasification of coal, biomass, or other materials, as well as for other applications, typically comprise two fundamental components, a catalytically-active component and a base or substrate component for support of the catalytically-active component. The base or substrate component is a material substantially physically and chemically inert to the environment in which it is to be used and is typically either a solid monolithic structure wherein the catalytically-active component is deposited onto the surface of the structure or a porous structure wherein the catalytically-active component is disposed on the surface of the structure and in the pores of the structure.
At the present time, most catalysts are prepared by depositing thin layers of catalytically-active materials onto rigid, attrition-resistant substrates or by coating rigid, refractory monoliths (typically used in a self-supporting off-bed tar-cracker or specialized support structure for chemical synthesis). Typical substrates include α-alumina and zirconia. The method of applying a catalytically-active layer onto an inert support varies, but generally two approaches are employed. The most common method, the incipient wetness or wet impregnation method, is typically accomplished by immersion of the substrate in an aqueous solution of a catalyst precursor (typically a metallic salt), resulting in a coated substrate, followed by heating of the coated substrate to convert the catalyst precursor to a catalytically-active material, typically a metallic oxide. If the substrate is porous, a so-called three-dimensional or 3-D catalyst is created. If the surface is not porous, a two-dimensional or 2-D catalyst is created.
Another recently developed method for preparing catalysts uses thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition or TPCVD. This method is primarily used to produce monolithic two-dimensional catalysts and involves spraying a concentrated solution of a metallic salt through a plasma torch onto a suitable refractory substrate. Thus, the end product is a catalyst comprising an inert, rigid substrate with a thin, catalytically-active outer layer. If the outer layer is damaged through attrition or fragmentation, overall catalytic activity is reduced. However, the advantage of this approach is that relatively large amounts of high surface area catalysts that incorporate precious metals can be produced with minimal amounts of these materials.
Two routes are generally available for employing catalysts to reduce or eliminate tars that are produced during the gasification of coal, biomass, or other materials. The first route is through the use of catalysts as described above disposed on the surface of otherwise inert monolithic substrates, which are disposed downstream of the gasification reactor vessel so that the gasification product gases are exposed to the catalysts. Typical of such catalysts are oxides of nickel, cerium, ruthenium, and lanthanum. Catalytic materials have also been embedded into ceramic candle filters so that during high temperature gas particle separation, intimate gas-catalyst contact is assured.
The second route is through the direct introduction of suitably small fragments or beads of catalytic materials into the bed of a fluidized-bed gasifier. These catalytically-active materials are either prepared by depositing a catalyst onto an inert, abrasion-resistant substrate, either monolithic or porous, or are available as naturally-occurring minerals that exhibit catalytic activity. Dolomite and olivine are examples of this type of naturally occurring material. When properly sized fragments of dolomite or olivine are added to the bed of a fluidized bed gasifier, they become intimately involved in the gasification process, achieve good contact with raw fuel gases and inhibit tar formation by cracking or reforming the tars as they are produced to generate lower molecular weight hydrocarbons and carbon. However, a long recognized problem with dolomite is that within the bed of a gasifier, dolomite is rapidly calcined. Calcined dolomite is friable and, thus, tends to be quickly milled within the bed until its particle size becomes too small to be retained within the reactor vessel. This creates the need to replace the attrited catalyst and produces undesirable waste particulate material, aside from ash, that must be separated from the fuel gas. Thus, there is a need for durable catalytic materials that can withstand fluidized bed temperatures and resist fragmentation or, at a minimum, abrade at a slow, predictable rate so that fresh catalyst remains available.
As previously stated, in addition to dolomite, olivine is a naturally occurring catalytic material suitable for reducing tars in fuel gas. Olivine, which is a very hard, attrition-resistant, glassy material which has a very high melting point (1760° C.) and which exhibits catalytic activity for tar removal with extended heat treatment in air at about 900° C., is actually a mixture of two minerals—Fe-rich fayalite (Fe2SiO4) and Mg-rich forsterite (Mg2SiO4). Untreated, naturally occurring olivine exhibits less activity for tar removal than dolomite. However, it has been found that heating olivine for extended periods in air at about 900° C. appears to provide sufficient mobility to iron within the olivine so that it becomes enriched at the olivine-air interface. Free iron at the olivine-air interface is then transformed into an oxide by reacting with oxygen in the air and olivine that has been prepared in this manner has been found to exhibit enhanced catalytic activity for reducing tars in biomass-derived fuel gas. In addition, the catalytic activity of olivine is further enhanced by calcining at 1100° C. olivine that has been treated with an aqueous solution of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O to a level of about 2.8 weight percent nickel content when dry. By virtue of this treatment, a very active olivine-based catalyst is produced that contains abundant quantities of NiO on the surface of finely divided olivine that has been sized to be in the range of about 250 μm to about 600 μm. Calcining at either higher or lower temperatures appears either to drive the NiO into the olivine or restrict adhesion of NiO to the surface of the olivine. This method of preparing a NiO-based catalyst on an olivine support is taught, for example, by International Patent Publication No. WO 01/89687 A1.

Method for producing catalytically-active materials


An envelope insert conveyor assembly includes a first pair of rotation members and a second pair of rotation members spaced apart from one another. A first conveying member is disposed around the first pair of rotation members, and a second conveying member is disposed around the second pair of rotation members, so that the conveying members rotate around the first rotation member and the second rotation member. A plurality of pusher members are fixed to each of the first conveying member and second conveying member. The pusher members each have paired sidewalls, a cross-wall connecting the paired walls, and an indented portion provided in each of the paired sidewalls. A gripping element is disposed adjacent an indented portion of one of the paired sidewalls and biased toward an interior surface of the indented portion.

The use of chain or belt mounted pusher elements is well known in the art of paper handling. Such pushers are used to push a sheet, group of sheets, or folded insert from an upstream position, down a guide path, and into an envelope, which is typically held stationary for an instant to permit insertion of the sheet, group of sheets, or folded insert.
One conventional device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,276, assigned on its face to Bell & Howell Mail and Messaging Technologies Co. of Durham, N.C., and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, utilizes two side-by-side overhead pusher finger guides or pushers used in tandem so that the insert (whether a flat or folded sheet or group of sheets) received at the upstream position will not skew prior to or at the time of insertion of the insert into the waiting envelope. Another conventional chain-driven device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,659, also assigned on its face to Bell & Howell Mail and Messaging Technologies Co. of Durham, N.C., and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, utilizes a lightweight chain apparatus bearing a plurality of spaced-apart pusher members attached to the chain and a guide element intended to improve dimensional stability of the pusher members.
A conventional overhead conveyor 10 in accord with U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,276 is depicted in FIG. 1. First and second circular drive members, such as sprockets 15, 20, are mounted on rotatable drive shafts 16, 17, respectively. Sprockets 15, 20 are positioned such that the X axis is tangent to the lowermost point of each of sprockets 15, 20 and, therefore, the lowermost point of each of sprockets 15, 20, lie along the same point of the Z (vertical) axis. Drive shaft 16 is connected to drive motor 25, and endless conveyor chain 30 is wrapped around the teeth of sprockets 15, 20 and comprises upper conveyor chain run 30a and lower conveyor chain run 30b. Slack in upper conveyor chain run 30a is prevented by use of one or more idler sprockets 32, 34 and, with suitable positioning thereof, lower conveyor chain run 30b will be parallel to the X axis, which itself is parallel to the downstream paper feed direction F. Alternatively, overhead conveyor 10 may be an endless belt-based conveyor, in which case, the circular drive members would comprise pulleys.
A plurality of pusher elements 40 are attached to conveyor chains 30 at a fixed spaced-apart distance. Each pusher element has a lower portion 40a for supporting the bottom of a sheet(s) and an indented portion 40b for receiving the rear portion of sheet(s) and pushing the same in paper feed direction F. To control the degrees of freedom of movement allowed of pusher 40, a guide 100 is provided for assuring pusher element 40 moves only in the X direction with no deflection in the Y or -Z directions. Guide 100 comprises a guiding element 50 of a selected cross-sectional shape (e.g., a circular cross-section). Sidewalls 42 of the pushers 40 are configured to straddle the respective guiding element 50.
Motor 25 drives conveyor chain 30 and guide elements 40 (rigidly fixed to endless conveyor chain 30) in the counter-clockwise direction through drive shaft 16 and sprockets 15, 20.
At the beginning of a feed cycle for an incoming sheet or plurality of sheets or folded sheet of plurality of sheets in direction F, pusher element 40 on an upper run 30a of endless conveyor chain 30 starts to pass downwardly around sprocket 20 and approaches guide element 50 of guide 100 at the bottom half of sprocket 20. The sidewalls 42 of pusher element 40 start to receive therebetween (e.g., straddle) guide element 50, and thereafter a horizontal cross wall 39 of pusher element 40 comes into contact with the top of guide element 50. Once pusher element 40 passes around sprocket 20 and into lower run 30b of endless conveyor chain 30, indented portion 40b of pusher element 40 contacts the sheet and pushes it in direction X (paper feed direction F) until it reaches a designated release point (not shown), at which time the sheet S is released and pusher element 40 moves upwardly around sprocket 15 and out of engagement with guide element 150 to permit repetition of the cycle.
Despite the improvements realized by the above configuration, there still remains room for improvement in the art, particularly given the movement of sheets, packets, or inserts under increasingly large accelerations and speeds, both absolute and differential or relative, despite the above-noted improvements to the dimensional stability of the pushers. Thus, there exists a need for a pusher finger guide that reduces opportunity for sheet skew.

Gripping element for continuous motion inserting finger


A system and apparatus are disclosed for improving safety and hydro-flow thrust from a hydro-drive device. The apparatus may include a shroud having a first opening for the ingress of water, and a second opening for the egress of water, a diverter connected with the shroud and angled in a direction selected to direct water to form a vortex as the water exits the shroud, and a screen connected with the second opening and configured to allow a substantially free flow of water and to prevent marine, plant, animal, and human life from contacting the hydro-drive device. The system may include a motor, a hydro-drive device coupled to the motor, and the apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to marine propulsion devices such as outboard motors, stern drive units and the like, and more particularly relates to improving safety and hydro-flow thrust from hydro-drive devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
For over 100 years screwdriven propellers and impellers have been used to propel marine vehicles. Over the years, the technology of the propulsion drives has changed incredibly. However, the technology of the propeller/impeller, aside from sizes and shapes, has remained relatively unchanged.
As a propeller/impeller turns, water is drawn in and is accelerated through the flywheel action of a propeller/impeller increasing the higher-velocity stream of water behind (aft) the propeller/impeller. Accelerating the water by the action of pulling water in and pushing water out at a higher velocity is commonly known as adding momentum to the water. This change in momentum or acceleration of the water (hydro-flow) results in a force called "thrust." A curvature of the propeller/impeller blade creates low-pressure on the back of the blade, thus inducing lift, much like the wing on an airplane. With a marine propeller/impeller, the lift is translated into horizontal movement.
The spinning blades of the propeller/impeller produce hydro-flow thrust, which can depend upon many factors. Examples of such factors include volume of water accelerated per time unit, propeller/impeller diameter, velocity of incoming hydro-flow, density of water, and the SHP (shaft horsepower) accelerating the propeller/impeller. As in any motorized industry, great expense and effort is put into the improvement of efficiency and power of the motor. Perhaps the largest factor relating to efficiency and power or hydro-flow thrust is the propeller/impeller.
The propeller shroud also has the additional benefit of protecting submerged objects from contact with the propeller/impeller. With ever increasing marine vehicle ownership, incidents of injury or damage due to propeller/impellers strikes, though unfortunate, seem commonplace. The shroud prevents swimmers, water skiers, water sports enthusiast, and marine life from encountering or being entangled by the spinning blades of a propeller/impeller. Safety is accomplished by enclosing the entire flywheel area of the propeller/impeller within the propeller shroud.
Shrouds are available that may perform the function of protecting people, marine sea and plant life from the propeller/impeller. However, available shrouds tend to restrict water flow, increase drag, or modify the exiting water stream. Each of the aforementioned actions appreciably reduces hydro-flow thrust, thus negatively affecting the performance.
From the foregoing discussion, it should be apparent that a need exists for a system and apparatus that protects people, marine and plant life, and increases hydro-flow thrust generated from a boat propeller/impeller. Beneficially, such a system and apparatus would increase hydro-flow, decrease drag, and improve performance by increasing the volume and velocity of hydro-flow thrust in a vortex exiting the shroud

System and apparatus for improving safety and thrust from a hydro-drive device


A liquid ejection apparatus includes a liquid ejection unit including a nozzle formation surface in which an opening of a nozzle for ejecting liquid is formed; a wiper disposed so that the wiper can come in contact with the nozzle formation surface; and a liquid collection portion, which is capable of collecting liquid adhered to the wiper, disposed on an end side of the nozzle formation surface of the liquid ejection unit so as to be spaced apart from the nozzle formation surface in a wiping direction. The liquid collection portion includes a scraper having a scraping surface that scrapes off the liquid adhered to the wiper by coming in contact with the wiper, and a liquid absorbing material disposed at a position that does not come in contact with the wiper and at a position that comes in contact with an end portion of the scraping surface.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus, such as an ink jet printer.
2. Related Art
Generally, as a type of liquid ejection apparatus, an ink jet printer is known that carries out printing on a recording medium, such as a sheet of paper, by ejecting ink (liquid) from nozzles that are openings formed on a nozzle formation surface of a liquid ejecting head. Such a printer is normally provided with a head maintenance device for maintaining the ink ejection characteristics of the liquid ejection head.
Such a head maintenance device has various functions. For example, the head maintenance device has a function of recovering the ink ejection characteristics of the nozzles by capping the nozzle formation surface of the liquid ejection head with a suction cap and sucking the ink that has had an increase in viscosity from the nozzle with a suction pump. Furthermore, the head maintenance device has a function of sweeping off (wiping off) unnecessary ink adhered to the nozzle formation surface of the liquid ejection head with a wiper. Moreover, ink that has been swept off and that has adhered to the wiper is absorbed by an ink absorbing material (a liquid absorbing material).
Hitherto, a printer disclosed in JP-A-2007-152940 is a known printer that is provided with such a wiper and an ink absorbing material. In such a printer, a head body (a liquid ejection head) is supported by a holder and ink adhered to an ink discharge surface (a nozzle formation surface) is swept off so as to be captured by the wiper by displacing the wiper in a wiping direction while the wiper is abutted against an ink discharge surface of the head body. Then, the ink adhered to the wiper is absorbed by the ink absorbing material attached to the holder.
In the printer described above, the ink adhered to the wiper is absorbed by the ink absorbing material by making the wiper come in contact with the ink absorbing material. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the performance of the wiper may be degraded due to adhesion of a fragment of the liquid absorbing material and adhesion of ink, which had been absorbed by the liquid absorbing material and which has solidified, to the wiper.
Note that this kind of problem is not limited to ink jet printers and is generally common in liquid ejection devices provided with a wiper that sweeps off liquid adhered to a nozzle formation surface of a liquid ejection head and a liquid absorbing material that absorbs liquid adhered to the wiper.


A parallel plate beam forming lens is formed form at least three parallel plates, and includes a plurality of beam port waveguides, each coupled to a beam port divider with a step increase in waveguide height. The beam port divider comprises a first divider having two outputs separated by a resistive septum, each of which is coupled to a second divider having two outputs separated by a resistive septum, with all of the second divider outputs coupled to a lens region through beam port apertures. On the opposite end from the beam port waveguides is a plurality of array port waveguides forming a transformer, thereafter to a section of waveguide, and thereafter to an array port divider including a resistive septum coupled to the lens region and a step decrease in waveguide height. Also positioned at the extents of the beam port apertures and the array port apertures are a plurality of dummy ports. The beam port waveguides and array port waveguides are equalized in length using a feedthrough structure and a jog structure. The array port dividers, lens region, and beam port dividers are formed from the second and third plate, while the waveguides are formed from the first and second plate, with the feedthrough and jog structures formed on a combination of all three plates.

FIG. 1 shows a prior art Rotman lens 100, which includes a plurality of equal-length waveguide beam ports 102-1 through 102-n, which couple to parallel plate lens apertures 108-1 through 108-n, respectively. On the opposing side of the parallel plate lens region 114 are a plurality of waveguide apertures 110-1 through 110-m, which are coupled to array port waveguides 104-1 through 104-m which also incorporate the Rotman W parameters, which are incremental per-port delays added to the array port waveguides. Dummy ports 112-1 through 112-p and 106-1 through 106-p couple unusable wave energy which enters from the parallel plate lens region 114 into termination cavities, which minimize wave energy reflected into the parallel plate lens region 114. The beam forming lens 100 may be used bi-directionally, such that for one exemplar transmit application, waveguide RF from a transmitter (not shown) is applied to a power splitter (not shown) and thereafter to a plurality of waveguides and applied to beam port waveguides 102-1 through 102-n, through lens region 114 and waveguide array ports 104-1 through 104-m and thereafter to a transmit antenna. In one examplar receive application, incoming antenna energy is coupled to waveguide array ports 104-1 through 104-m, through parallel plate lens region 114, through waveguide beam ports 102-1 through 102-m, summed (not shown), and delivered to a microwave receiver (not shown).
In an embodiment of the prior art such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,723, the Rotman lens 100 of FIG. 1 may be realized using stripline or microstrip conductors, whereby one or more RF conductors are separated by a substrate material having a dielectric constant. Stripline and microstrip transmission lines and lens structures propagate waves in the transverse electromagnetic (TEM) mode. The TEM mode has a phase velocity that is essentially constant with frequency, which results in a formed beam which is largely frequency invariant, which results in the property known as minimum frequency scan, or minimum variation of the formed beam angle with frequency. Prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,490,723 is one example of this construction. At high operating frequencies, several problems emerge when using stripline or microstrip Rotman lens structures. A first problem is the finite thickness of the dielectric substrate allows the transmission lines formed over the substrate to support higher order wave modes, and the higher order modes propagate at a different phase velocity than the desired TEM mode, thereby causing interference with the desired TEM mode and undesired sidelobes in the radiation pattern. For best performance, the dielectric thickness should be less than 0.1 wavelengths in the dielectric. For example, at an operating frequency of 45.5 Ghz, a wavelength in vacuum is 0.259 inches, which results in a vacuum dielectric thickness of 0.026 inch, and for most substrate dielectrics which have a dielectric constant of approximately 2.2 such as PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene), a thickness on the order of 0.017 inch, which results in a substrate dielectric structure with undesirably tight feature and etching tolerances. Additionally, many dielectric materials have undesirable mode dependant dielectric constants, and also wave propagation dependant dielectric constants, where in the lens region of a Rotman lens structure, the dielectric constant may depend on the angle of propagation across the planar surface of the lens region.
An alternative to fabricating the Rotman Lens 100 in stripline or microstrip structure is to use a closed waveguide with an air or other dielectric, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,031,501. The advantage of a waveguide structure is the beam and array waveguides and associated lens structures may be significantly larger and easy to machine and manufacture compared to stripline or microstrip structures, however waveguides support TE modes, and cannot support TEM wave modes. Of the TE modes, TE10 is the lowest mode that can propagate in a rectangular waveguide. For the TE10 mode, the phase velocity Vp is:
  Vp  =      c                  1        -                              (                          λ                              2                                                  W                  h                                                      )                    2
Where:
c=velocity of light;
λ is the free space wavelength
Wh is the height of the waveguide
As can be seen from the formula above, Vp is a function of wavelength λ, which introduces a frequency dependant phase delay producing the result known as frequency scan. The effect of wavelength on Vp can be reduced by maximizing Wh, but this also allows higher mode TE waves to propagate through the waveguide. The TE10 mode is supported by a waveguide with a height Wh of λ/2, TE20 is additionally supported by a waveguide with a height Wh of λ, and TE30 mode is additionally supported when the waveguide height Wh is 3λ/2. It is desired to maximize waveguide height Wh in the lens region, thereby reducing frequency dependant phase velocity which causes frequency scan, while also minimizing the higher modes supported as a consequence of increased Wh. Another desirable outcome of increasing the waveguide height Wh is reduced lens insertion loss.
FIG. 2 shows the geometry of a Rotman lens including lens parameters, which include the four basic lens parameters α, β, f1, γ, where
α is the focal angle shown in FIG. 1;
β is the focal ratio f2/f1 of FIG. 1;
γ is the expansion factor (sin ψ/sin α).
As derived by Hansen, the normalized length W=w/f1 of the waveguide attached to the array element at y=y3 where w is the length of the transmission line to the array port satisfies the following quadratic equation:aW2+bW+c=0
with coefficients a,b,c defined by:
                    a        =                  1          -                                                    (                                  1                  -                  β                                )                            2                                                      (                                  1                  -                                      β                                                                                cos                                                                                α                                                  )                            2                                -                                    ξ              2                                      β              2                                                              b        =                              -            2                    +                                    2                                            ξ                2                                      β                    +                                    2                                            (                                  1                  -                  β                                )                                                    1              -                              β                                                                                cos                                                                                α                                              -                                                    ξ                2                                                          sin                2                                                          α                                                  (                                      1                    -                    β                                    )                                                                                (                                  1                  -                                      β                                                                                cos                                                                                α                                                  )                            2                                                              c        =                              -                          ξ              2                                +                                                    ξ                2                                                          sin                2                                          α                                      1              -                              β                                                                                cos                                                                                α                                              -                                                    ξ                4                                                          sin                4                                          α                                      4                                                              (                                      1                    -                                          β                                                                                cos                                                                                α                                                        )                                2                                                                                with                                                              ξ                =                                            y              3                                    γ                                f            1
Solving for W for each array port results in a per-array port W distance shown as 202, 204, 206, 208, each of which is computed from the above formulas based on x,y position, and is added to the equal length array port waveguide to arrive at the overall length for each waveguide 104-1 through 104-m of FIG. 1.

Waveguide beam forming lens with per-port power dividers


A system and method for guiding a user in building a query are disclosed. The method includes providing an interaction space in which a user formulates a query using a plurality of query building blocks selected from a predefined set of query building blocks. The user's formulation of the query is guided. Guiding selection of at least a next building block is provided by at least one of a content-based mechanism which limits the selection of the next building block to those which will yield at least one result from an indexed collection of documents, a structure-based selection mechanism which limits the selection of the next building block to those which meet a predefined grammar, and a usage-based selection mechanism which proposes a next building block based on patterns of building blocks used in building prior queries. Each of these guidance mechanisms may be provided with the result that the next block proposed is informed by each of the mechanisms.

The exemplary embodiment relates generally to information retrieval and finds particular application in connection with a system and method which aids users in conducting searches within a document collection using predefined building blocks for generating queries.
Given the ability for storing large collections of documents electronically for review, the searcher is often presented with a difficult task of formulating queries designed to retrieve relevant documents. For example lawyers conducting discovery may receive many documents from the opposing party, as well as documents of their own, from which they wish extract information for building a legal case. Other examples include the case of a team of analysts investigating a conflict of interest or conducting an audit in an organization.
Searching and browsing facilities that most digital investigation tools typically offer aim to find relevant documents based on keyword/boolean search techniques. Concept-based search tools are also available. Although this has proved to be useful in some stages of a digital investigation, e.g., in first stages of a litigation process when identifying the set of responsive documents, in other stages, e.g., when constructing a legal case, the emphasis shifts from finding documents to trying to find entities, such as the characters involved in the litigation, and events and actionable information related to them.
Where the document collection is structured, through manual annotation, searchers can perform more advanced searches. However, manual annotation is generally not feasible for preparing large document collections for searching.

Method and system to guide formulations of questions for digital investigation activities


A drawer container device that can be inserted in a refrigerated cell to define a separate compartment, including at least a shelf provided with mating elements with the respective side walls of the refrigerated cell in a first position such as to define, immediately below the shelf, a first predetermined volume and at least one cup-shaped drawer delimited by at least one side wall placed transversely to the shelf and located in a position beneath the shelf with its concavity facing the latter, the shelf being selectively moveable between the first position and a second position located at a different height from the first and in which the shelf delimits a second predetermined volume beneath itself; the side wall of the drawer being defined by a pair of adjacent elements sliding relative to each other and placed parallel to and at least partially facing each other; regulating elements of the pin-and-groove type being interposed between the relatively sliding elements to selectively position them such that the side wall substantially occupies the entire height of the first and second predetermined volumes; in this way, the volume of the compartment can be varied by simply lifting the side wall of the drawer and the above shelf.

It is known that in electric household appliances equipped with a refrigerated cell, such as refrigerators and freezers, the food to be conserved is normally placed on a number of shelves arranged at different heights inside the refrigerated cell. Some foods, especially fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables, or certain types of frozen food, are instead conserved in special compartments, usually equipped with extractable drawers. In order to be able to adjust the height position of the shelves, the refrigerated cell of a refrigerator (FIG. 1) is equipped, on the opposite side walls, with a number of support guides T for the shelves P, usually of a greater number than the available shelves P; in this way, the user can selectively position the shelves P at different heights, according to the volume occupied by the food to be conserved. Fresh foods are instead placed in a compartment C defined by an extractable drawer arranged to occupy the lower part of the refrigerated cell and a shelf P1 placed in a fixed position, immediately above the drawer. The compartment C therefore has fixed volume and shape.
When the user must put away a large amount of fresh food, occupying a greater volume than that of the compartment C, part of this food must therefore be stored on the shelves P, outside of the compartment C, with considerable drawbacks.
In the first place, fresh food stored outside of the compartment C can more easily deteriorate. Furthermore, its rational placing on the shelves P (often consisting of simple grills) is not easy and the food often moves following repeated accesses to the refrigerated cell or the removal and addition of other food. In consequence, fresh food kept outside of the compartment C is often left inside bags made of PP or PE, also to protect it from any moisture that may run down the walls of the refrigerated cell, as a result of repeated automatic defrosting for example, ultimately further deteriorating its conservation.

Drawer container device for an electric household appliance, in particular for the fresh food compartment of a refrigerator or freezer


An image pickup apparatus includes a plurality of pixels. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion unit, an amplifying transistor, and a reset transistor. Each pixel is set into a selected state or a non-selected state according to a voltage supplied to an input node of an amplifying transistor via the reset transistor. A control unit controls the reset transistor to turn on or off by supplying a voltage to a control node of the reset transistor. More specifically, a first voltage is supplied to the control node of the reset transistor in the pixel at the selected state to control it in the off-state, and a second voltage is supplied to the control node of the reset transistor in the pixel at the non-selected state to control it to be in the off-state.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments disclosed herein are related to an image pickup apparatus, a method of driving an image pickup apparatus, and an image pickup system.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to configure an image pickup apparatus such that a state of a pixel is switched between a selected state and a non-selected state by controlling a voltage applied to an input node of an amplifying transistor in the pixel.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-005911 discloses an image pickup apparatus including a plurality of pixels each including an amplifying transistor and a reset transistor. In each pixel, a gate (input node) of the amplifying transistor is connected to a source of the reset transistor, and a drain of the amplifying transistor is connected to a drain of the reset transistor. Furthermore, in each column in which a plurality of pixels are arranged, drains of reset transistors in respective pixels are connected together.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-005911 also discloses a technique of selecting a pixel. In this technique, drain of a reset transistor and a drain of an amplifying transistor are connected together in each pixel, and a pixel is selected by controlling a voltage applied to the commonly connected drains.

Image pickup apparatus, method of driving image pickup apparatus, and image pickup system


An LED lamp includes a heatsink housing, a heatsink plate mounted on the heatsink housing, an LED module mounted on the heatsink plate, and a circuit board mounted in the heatsink housing and electrically connected to the LED module. Thus, when the LED module is operated, the heat produced by the LED module is transferred by a heat conduction of the heatsink plate and by a heat convection between the heatsink plate and the heatsink housing, so that the heat produced by the LED module is carried away exactly and quickly, thereby enhancing the heat dissipation effect of the LED module.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lamp and, more particularly, to an LED (light emitting diode) lamp to provide a lighting function.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional LED lamp comprises an LED (light emitting diode) to provide a lighting function. However, the LED is a heat source and easily produces a high temperature during operation, so that it is necessary to provide a heat sink to carry away the heat produced by the LED so as to achieve a heat dissipation effect. A conventional heat sink generally comprises a heatsink element, such as a metallic heatsink fin, a heat conductive tube, a chill enabling chip, a heat dissipation board, a cooling fan and the like, so as to achieve a heat dissipation effect. However, the conventional heat sink cannot dissipate the heat from the heat source exactly and quickly, thereby greatly decreasing the heat dissipation efficiency. In addition, the conventional heat sink has a very complicated construction, thereby increasing the costs of fabrication.


A dryer is provided. The dryer may include an expansion valve that may be varied in response to changes in operation mode. The dryer may be a condensation type heat pump dryer, and, in an operation method thereof, the expansion valve may be varied according to an on/off of a solenoid valve corresponding to a selected operation mode. In a first operation mode the heater may be turned on so that heating is supplied by both the heat pump and the heater to provide for rapid drying. In a second operation mode the heater may be turned off to provide for more economical operation. By employing multiple operation modes, a required refrigerant flow rate may be controlled.

1. Field
This relates to a dryer, and in particular, to a heat pump type dryer having multiple operation modes and an operation method thereof.
2. Background
In a laundry treating apparatus having a drying function such as a washer or dryer, once washing and dehydration are completed, hot air may be supplied into the drum to evaporate moisture from the laundry, thereby drying the laundry. Such a dryer may include a drum rotatably provided within a cabinet, a drive motor to drive the drum, a blower fan to blow air into the drum, and a heating device to heat air conveyed into the drum. The heating device may use, for example, high-temperature electric resistance heat generated using electric resistance, or combustion heat generated by combusting gas.
Here, the dryer may be classified according to a method for processing the high temperature and humid air, and thus divided into a condensation (circulation) type dryer for condensing moisture contained in the high temperature and humid air by cooling the air below the dew point temperature through a condenser while being circulated without discharging the high temperature and humid air out of the dryer, and an exhaustion type dryer for directly discharging the high temperature and humid air having passed through the drum to the outside.
In case of the condensation type dryer, in order to condense air discharged from the drum, the process of cooling the air below the dew point temperature should be carried out to heat the air through the heating means prior to being supplied to the drum again. Here, the loss of heat energy contained in the air is generated while being cooled down during the condensation process, and an additional heater or the like is required to heat the air to a temperature required for drying.
Even in case of the exhaustion type dryer, it is required to discharge high temperature and humid air to the outside and receive outside air at normal temperature, thereby heating the air up to a required temperature level through the heating means. In particular, thermal energy transferred by the heating means is contained in high temperature air being discharged to the outside but it is discharged and wasted to the outside, thereby reducing the thermal efficiency.
Accordingly, in recent years, clothes treating apparatuses for collecting energy required to generate hot air and energy being discharged to the outside without being used have been introduced to increase energy efficiency, and a clothes treating apparatus having a heat pump system has been introduced as an example of the clothes treating apparatus. The heat pump system may include two heat exchangers, a compressor and an expansion apparatus, and energy contained in the discharged hot air is reused in heating up air being supplied to the drum, thereby increasing energy efficiency.
Specifically, in the heat pump system, an evaporator is provided at the exhaust side, and a condenser at an inlet side of the drum, and thus thermal energy is transferred to refrigerant through the evaporator and then thermal energy contained in the refrigerant is transferred to air brought into the drum, thereby generating hot air using waste energy. Here, a heater for reheating air that has been heated up while passing through the evaporator may be additionally provided therein.
When the dryer is operated according to multiple operation modes in the heat pump type clothes dryer, a user may selectively enter into a first operation mode (speed mode) or a second operation mode (eco mode).
Typically, the heater is turned on to enhance the drying performance in case of the first operation mode, and the heater is turned off to save energy in case of the second operation mode.
However, in the multiple operation modes, the same flow rate of refrigerant is circulated during the refrigerant circulation cycle in both the first operation mode and the eco mode, thereby causing a problem that a required flow rate of refrigerant cannot be controlled.

Laundry treating apparatus having expansion valve which is variable according to the driving mode


A cleaner holder comprises a base, a stand coupled to the base and extending upward from the base, a support body coupled to an upper portion of the stand and configured to support a cleaner, and a cleaning module support coupled to the stand and configured to support a cleaning module of the cleaner. The cleaning module may be detachably coupled to an extension tube of the cleaner.

The present disclosure relates to a cleaner holder and a cleaner unit.
A cleaner is a device that performs cleaning by sucking and wiping dust or foreign substances from a region to be cleaned.
Such a cleaner may be classified into a manual cleaner that performs cleaning while a user directly moves the cleaner or an automatic cleaner that performs cleaning while the cleaner drives itself. The manual cleaner may be classified into a canister cleaner, an upright cleaner, a handheld cleaner, a stick cleaner, or the like, depending on type of the cleaner.
The above-described cleaner may have a rechargeable battery embedded therein, and the rechargeable battery may supply electric power for operating the cleaner only when being frequently charged. Thus, the cleaner requires a holder that can simultaneously charge the rechargeable battery and hold the cleaner.
Contents of a vacuum cleaner holder are disclosed in Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2012-0103956.
The vacuum cleaner holder, according to Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2012-0103956, includes a pedestal for holding a head of a vacuum cleaner to simultaneously charge and hold the vacuum cleaner and a support having charging pins for charging the vacuum cleaner.
The holder only serves to seat the cleaner. Therefore, in the case of various accessories such as nozzles to be connected to the cleaner, a user needs to keep them separately. Consequently, a storage space is required, and there is a possibility that accessories may get lost.


An implantable anti-arrhythmia device such as a defibrillator or anti-tachycardia pacemaker with an associated patient activator. In response to the patient activation signal, the implanted device notifies the activator whether an atrial rhythm requiring treatment is present and whether a therapy is available for delivery in response to the patient's request. After the patient is notified that a therapy is pending, the implanted device charges its output capacitors and thereafter determines whether opportunities for prompt synchronization are present with a desired frequency, over a preceding series of depolarizations. If both conditions are met, the likelihood that a defibrillation or cardioversion pulse can be delivered quickly following a patient initiated retrigger signal is high, and the device notifies the patient's activator that it will await receipt of a patient retrigger signal, as a prerequisite for a delivery of the cardioversion or defibrillation pulse. The patient retrigger signal may take the form of a second downlink from the activator to the implanted device, or may take the form of a defined patient action, detected by the implanted device. For example, the implanted device may be provided with an impedance sensor of the sort typically employed in rate responsive implantable pacemakers to measure respiration rate and minute volume. This sensor may be used to detect the action of the patient holding his or her breath, in preparation to receiving the shock. In this embodiment, the patient's own action of bracing to receive the shock may be used as the mechanism for triggering delivery of the shock. An alternative patient trigger might be accomplished by providing the implanted device with a piezoelectric crystal, located on an interior a surface of the pacemaker housing, of the sort typically employed to sense physical activity in the rate responsive cardiac pacemakers. This sensor may be employed in the context of the present invention to detect the patient tapping on an implanted device, as a signal to trigger delivery of therapy.

This invention relates to devices which detect and/or treat tachyarrhythmias (rapid heart rhythms), and more specifically, to mechanisms to distinguish among various tachyarrhythmias and to provide therapies to treat the identified tachyarrhythmias.
In conjunction with implantable cardioverters and defibrillators, numerous mechanisms for communication between the patient and the implanted device have been proposed. Particularly in conjunction with implantable defibrillators or cardioverters, the provision of a patient warning signal indicating that cardioversion or defibrillation is about to commence, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,149 issued to Heilman et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,332,400 issued to Alferness and U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,034 issued to Sholder. The warning signals provided to the patient typically take the form of audio signals or electrical stimulation using electrodes associated with the implanted device.
In addition to communication from the implanted device to the patient, communication and control signals from the patient to the device are also known to the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,443,486 issued to Hrdlicka et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,633 issued to Loughman et al, both disclose devices allowing the patient to program or control the operation of the implanted device. Particularly in conjunction with implanted defibrillators, the warning and control functions have been integrated, so that the patient is provided with a warning signal prior to defibrillation or cardioversion, and with a mechanism for overriding the implanted device, to prevent delivery of an undesired or unneeded cardioversion or defibrillation pulse. Such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,034 issued to Sholder and U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,149 issued to Heilman et al, cited above. In such systems, the implanted device monitors the patient's heart rhythm to determine the presence of an arrhythmia requiring cardioversion or defibrillation. Having detected such a rhythm, the device provides the warning signal indicating the imminent delivery of a cardioversion or defibrillation shock, which the patient may then override. Allowing the patient to initiate delivery of a cardioversion or defibrillation shock is also known to the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,952,750 issued to Mirowski et al discloses atrial implantable cardioverter in which the patient initiates delivery of an atrial cardioversion pulse, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,062 issued to Adams et al discloses an implantable defibrillator in which the patient initiates operation of the arrhythmia detection mechanism, to determine whether delivery of a cardioversion or defibrillation pulse is necessary.
Presently available implantable anti-arrhythmia devices employ sophisticated arrhythmia detection and classification methods to accurately determine whether delivery of therapy is needed. Particularly in the context of devices such as cardioverters and defibrillators which have the potential to induce arrhythmias if not properly synchronized to the patient's heart rhythm, these detection methods tend to be conservative, in order to avoid delivery of unnecessary therapy. In such cases, it may sometimes take the implanted device longer than the patient to determine that delivery of a therapy is needed. Patient activators as discussed above which trigger therapy on request address this problem, but do not provide for the possibility of patient error. The device described in the Adams patent cited above deals with the possibility of patient error by determining whether therapy is warranted after a request by the patient, but employs the same set of criteria for patient requested therapy as for device initiated therapy, and thus may not provide for therapies as quickly or as often as may be desirable in response to patient's requests. The present invention is believed to offer the patient the ability to quickly and safely receive therapy in response to a request, when warranted.
In the context of a patient activated implantable atrial defibrillator, there is often some lag time between the patient requesting the delivery of therapy and the actual delivery of therapy. In the context of a device as in the Adams '062 patent, in which arrhythmia detection is initiated in response to the patient's request for therapy, there is a substantial lag time associated with the detection of algorithm. Even in systems such as disclosed in the Mirowski '750 patent described above, a request for therapy initiates charging of the output capacitors, which can take some time. Assuming some requirement of synchronization to the ventricular rhythm is provided in the device, the process of synchronization may take additional time. Thus, there is a variable waiting period following a patient's request for therapy. Because atrial cardioversion is painful for some patients at energy levels sufficient to terminate their atrial fibrillation, it may be beneficial to the patient to allow the patient to prepare himself or herself to receive the shock, which in turn may allow the patient to tolerate a higher energy level shock. However, to the extent that the waiting interval between the request for therapy and the delivery of therapy is variable, the patient's ability to brace for the shock is correspondingly diminished.

Method and apparatus for diagnosis and treatment of arrhythmias


A hermetic compressor uses an oil pump that includes a trochoid gear. Therefore, regardless of the rotation speed of a driving motor of the compressor, a sufficient amount of oil can always be pumped. The oil pump unit may include a plurality of suction holes with openings at different heights. If the refrigerant and oil separate, at least one of the openings will admit oil into the oil pump unit, to ensure lubricating oil is supplied to the moving parts of the compressor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oil pump of a hermetic compressor, and more particularly, to an oil pumping device of a hermetic compressor using a trochoid pump so as to pump oil by using a variation in volume.
2. Description of the Background Art
In, general, a hermetic compressor includes a compression part and a motor part inside a hermetic casing. When the compression part operates by a driving force of a motor part, the compressor part sucks, compresses, and discharges refrigerant. Recently, in order to minimize environmental pollution, such as global warming, the use of CFC-based refrigerant has been gradually regulated in the hermetic compressor field. Therefore, in order to minimize the environment pollution and improve efficiency of the compressor, alternative refrigerants have been used. Also, research on different oils suitable for the alternative refrigerants has been performed.
The type of oil influences the performance of sliding parts. When oil is easily separated from the refrigerant, the refrigerant, having a higher density, flows downward due to gravity. If the oil pump of such a compressor pulls oil from the bottom of the compressor casing, this can result in the sliding parts being supplied with more refrigerant than oil. As a result, abrasion of the sliding parts may be increased due to lack of oil.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional diagram illustrating one embodiment of a scroll compressor using a centrifugal oil pump according to the related art. As shown therein, the related art scroll compressor includes a casing 1 filled with a predetermined amount of oil, a main frame 2 and a sub-frame 3 that are fixed to upper and lower sides, respectively, inside the casing 1/A driving shaft 4 is coupled with a rotor of a driving motor (M) mounted between the main frame 2 and the sub-frame 3 so as to transmit a rotary force. An orbiting scroll 5 is eccentrically coupled with the driving shaft 4 of the driving motor (M) and performs an orbiting motion at an upper surface of the main frame 2. A fixed scroll 6 is fixed to the main frame 2 so as to be engaged with the orbiting scroll 5 so as to form a plurality of compression chambers (P) with the orbiting scroll 5. An Oldham's ring 7 is installed between the orbiting scroll 5 and the main frame 2 so as to prevent rotation of the orbiting scroll 5 and allow the orbiting scroll to perform an orbiting motion. A check valve 8 is coupled to a rear surface of an end plate portion of the fixed scroll 6 so as to prevent backflow of compression gas. A centrifugal oil pump 9 is installed under the driving shaft 4 and acts to pump oil within the casing 1 by a centrifugal force generated by rotation of the driving shaft 4.
An internal space of the casing 1 is divided into a suction area (S1) which is a low pressure part, and a discharge area (S2) which is a high pressure part by a high and low pressure separation plate 1a that is fixed to an upper surface of the fixed scroll 6. A gas suction pipe (SP) is connected to the suction area (S1), while a gas discharge pipe (DP) is connected to the discharge area (S2).
The driving shaft 4 includes a shaft portion 4a coupled with the rotor (Mr), a driving pin portion 4b eccentrically protruding from an upper end of the shaft portion 4a and coupled to the orbiting scroll 5, and an oil path 4c penetrating the driving shaft 4 from a lower end of the shaft portion 4a to an upper end of the driving pin portion 4b so as to guide oil which is pumped by the oil pump 9. 5a and 6a denote a wrap of the orbiting scroll and a wrap of the fixed scroll, respectively. Also, Ms denotes a stator of the motor M.
The oil pump 9 is fixed to a lower end of the oil path 4c. The oil pump 9 is a centrifugal oil pump, which includes a propeller. The oil pump 9 rotates together with the driving shaft 4, when the driving shaft 4 rotates, so as to pump the oil in the casing 1 by the centrifugal force.
When power is applied to the driving motor (M) and the driving shaft 4 rotates, the orbiting scroll 5 at the upper surface of the main frame 2 orbits, to thereby form a pair of compression chambers (P), which continuously move toward the center, between the wrap 5a of the orbiting scroll 5 and the wrap 6a of the fixed scroll 6. The compression chambers (P) move toward the center by the continuous orbiting movement of the orbiting scroll 5 so as to reduce a volume thereof. Here, after refrigerant gas is sucked and compressed, the compressed gas is discharged into the casing 1.
At this time, oil is pumped by the centrifugal force of the centrifugal oil pump 9 when the driving shaft 4 rotates at a high speed, and the pumped oil is forced up though the oil path 4c. Some oil lubricates between the main frame 2 and the driving shaft 4, and other oil is scattered from the upper end of the driving shaft 4 so as to lubricate between the main frame 2 and the orbiting scroll 5.
Because the oil pump 9 is a centrifugal oil pump that pumps oil using centrifugal force, it is possible for the oil pump 9 to smoothly pump the oil during high-speed operations. However, during low-speed operations, the centrifugal force decreases, and it may be impossible for the oil pump 9 to smoothly pump the oil. Therefore, during low speed operations, abrasion between components is caused by lack of oil in the sliding parts, and reliability and performance of the compressor may be reduced.
In addition, when the refrigerant and oil are completely mixed with each other, the oil can smoothly be pumped regardless of how deeply the oil pump 9 sinks under the oil. However, a 'double-layer separation phenomenon' may occur. That is, the refrigerant and the oil separate form each other due to density differences. The refrigerant, having relatively high density, is deposited at the bottom of the two layers. Therefore, the oil pump 9 mostly pumps the refrigerant and fails to pump the oil. This increases abrasion caused by lack of oil in each of the sliding parts. Therefore, reliability and performance of the compressor are seriously reduced.

Oil pumping device of hermetic compressor