An excess flow valve comprising a valve body defining a passage for a flow of fluid therethrough, the passage having an inlet and an outlet for fluid, a magnetically attractable closure member movably located within the passage for movement toward and away from the outlet, a seat located adjacent to the outlet for receiving the closure member. A flow restriction assembly is located in the passage for defining at least two flow paths for fluid along the passage, the flow restriction assembly including a retaining member comprising a permanent magnet for retaining the closure member in one of the flow paths and away from the seat whilst there is a flow rate of fluid through the passage which is less than a predetermined rate, the retaining member releasing the closure member when the flow rate of fluid through the passage equals or exceeds the predetermined rate so that the closure member moves toward the outlet to engage the seat and shut off flow of fluid through the outlet.

The present invention relates to excess flow valves used to prevent a flow of fluid through a port from exceeding a predetermined rate of flow.
Excess flow valves are, for example, commonly used in gas delivery systems, the excess flow valve being situated between the gas supply and the appliance using the gas, such that in the event of damage to or rupture of a pipe downstream of the excess flow valve resulting in an escape of gas, the valve will be operative to isolate the gas supply from the point of escape. In such circumstances, the valve responds to a substantial increase in flow rate.
These known excess flow valves rely upon a substantial increase in flow rate for triggering the valve to shut-off flow and so are normally located in high pressure systems.
Gas supply systems often include a bottle, or other high pressure gas source, connected to a pipe or similar means which is capable of delivering gas at high pressure to a regulator which supplies the gas at a low pressure to a low pressure part of the gas delivery system. Typically the pressure on the high pressure side varies between 10 to 250 psi (0.69 bar to 17.25 bar) and the pressure on the low pressure side varies between 28-50 millibar.
Provision of the valve on the low pressure side of the regulator does confer a number of advantages over well known systems located on the high pressure side.
It is also known to use mains gas appliances such as barbecues and lamps for outdoor use, and such as cookers and heaters for indoor use where the unintentional disconnection of apparatus or break in a gas pipe can be dangerous. Gas supplied in this context is at a relatively low pressure, typically 20 millibar, and thus high pressure excess flow valves are unsuitable in this application.
The present invention is directed toward the provision of an excess flow valve capable of being responsive to a predetermined increase in flow rate at low flow rate values and so can be used on the low pressure side of a gas delivery system. Such a valve may also be used in high pressure systems to respond to increase in flow above a predetermined low flow rate. Throughout the specification, it is intended that reference to the action of "shut-off" of the gas flow includes the situation where the gas flow is not completely shut-off, but substantially reduced to a small flow, whether said small flow is of a predetermined quantity or not.
An advantage of the present invention is that in a liquefied gas system the same excess flow valve may be used on the low pressure side of a delivery system for different gases which have different pressures on the high pressure side of the regulator and would thus otherwise each require high pressure excess flow valves of a different specification. In the particular example of butane and propane gas delivery systems, the regulated pressure on the low pressure side of the system is normally required to be essentially the same, whereas on the high pressure side of the regulator, the pressure will be substantially different for the two gases, thus requiring different types of high pressure excess flow valves.
The pressure in a gas bottle is also subject to fall as the quantity of gag remaining falls, and it is known that this can cause a substantial change in the flow rate permitted by an excess flow valve situated on the high pressure side of the regulator. The present invention also overcomes this problem.
It is further known that variations in temperature of the gas bottle can cause considerable changes in pressure within the bottle, with consequent changes to the flow rate permitted by an excess flow valve situated on the high pressure side of the regulator. The present invention also overcomes this problem.
It is further known that once the gas pressure in the bottle has fallen below a certain level, some excess flow valves situated on the high pressure side of the regulator may not function at all. In one particular example, when a system is used in conjunction with an Automatic Changeover device, the pressure may be allowed to fall to a level below which the excess flow valve will operate. The present invention also overcomes this problem.
A further known disadvantage of excess flow valves situated on the high pressure side of the regulator is that upon first allowing gas into an empty pipe, there is a surge of gas through the system which commonly causes the excess flow valve to operate, preventing further filling of the gas pipe. In this instance, the excess flow valve may need to be reset several times, or manually over-ridden during this initial pipe filling operation. If the excess flow valve is situated on the low pressure side of the regulator, this surge of gas may not occur, or may be very much reduced. Multiple resetting of the valve is thus eliminated or substantially reduced.
A difficulty with situating the excess flow valve on the low pressure side of the delivery system is that the difference between "normal" flow rate and excess flow rate may be small, and a high back pressure from a device downstream of the valve is not expected. The present invention is capable of distinguishing between these small differences of normal flow and excess flow.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it may be utilized in standard gas main pipework where gas is delivered at low pressure and low flow rates and can respond to a small predetermined rise in flow rate in order to shut off supply.


Provided is a rotary maintenance type leakage protector which relates to a technical field of leakage protectors, and the rotary maintenance type leakage protector includes: a base, a leakage protection device, and an upper cover. The leakage protection device includes a reset key, a return rotation stopper, an electromagnetic driven device and an elastic piece, wherein the base is further provided with a conducting terminal that can be electrically connected with the elastic piece; each side of the return rotation stopper is provided with a protruding end that can be abutted against the elastic piece; the electromagnetic driven device is disposed on a side of an upper part of the base, and the electromagnetic driven device is provided with a driven iron core and can drive the driven iron core to move.

A leakage protector can disconnect a main wire in time when an apparatus has a leakage fault or there is a need to protect against a fatal personal electric shock, so that it is widely used. An application technology of the leakage protector has been very mature. From a protection principle, there are a voltage type and a current type. From a mechanical structure, there are a self-locking type and a suck type, and a current or voltage mechanical self-locking structure type of leakage protector is usually used. The biggest characteristic of the mechanical self-locking structure is: when power supply of the leakage protector in operation is interrupted, a power supply circuit thereof loses a phase, or a wire is poorly connected, the mechanical self-locking structure of the leakage protector in a closed state will not be able to actively disconnect a closed contact. At this time, if the power supply circuit is abnormally lacking the phase or a ground wire is abnormally charged or leaks, the leakage protector will lose its protection effect and cause a safety accident; furthermore, a buckle sheet of the existing leakage protector structure generally slides by using a surface contact method, so frictional force is large, which affects a service life of movable parts.

Rotary maintenance type leakage protector

YUYAO JIARONG ELECTRICAL APPLIANCE CO., LTD


A temporary air conditioning condensing fan is mounted in a rigid housing which may be easily and rapidly mounted at the air exhaust side of an air conditioning unit to provide a temporary flow of cooling air to the condenser, in the event the existing condensing fan fails. A portion of the housing forms a shroud around the temporary condensing fan and directs the flow of air over the condenser. A head pressure adjusting valve adapts the temporary condensing fan to differently sized air conditioning units and maintains an efficient head pressure on the condenser of the existing air conditioning unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to air conditioning condensing fans and, more particularly, to a fan and housing which temporarily replace an existing condensing fan in an air conditioning unit.
2. History of the Prior Art
Air conditioning units operate on the principle known as the refrigeration cycle. In a closed-loop air conditioning system, a coolant is circulated through a series of pipes and heat exchangers, from which no coolant escapes, and eventually returns to its starting point. The coolant starts the cycle in a liquid state and travels to a heat exchanger where heat energy from the space to be cooled is absorbed by the coolant. The added heat vaporizes the coolant which then enters a condenser in the air conditioning unit.
Air conditioning units rely on condensers to condense coolant in the air conditioning system from a gaseous state to a liquid state, after the coolant has absorbed heat energy from the volume being cooled. In order to achieve this condensation, condensers utilize condensing fans to draw or blow cooling air over a set of condensing coils which contain the coolant. As the coolant travels through the coils, its heat is conducted through the coils where it is carried away by the flow of air created by the condensing fan.
The condenser and condensing fan are generally located outdoors where the heat can be dissipated into the surrounding atmosphere. In the summertime, air conditioners are operated for many hours per day, and condensing fans must operate in very high ambient temperatures. This environment is very strenuous on electric motors, and the failure of condensing fans is a common source of air conditioning outages in both residential and commercial air conditioning units.
The only economically viable solution for a failed condenser fan is to replace the fan. Air conditioning service technicians must obtain a new fan, either from stock or from a supplier, transport it to the air conditioner site, and remove and replace the failed fan.
There are many different types, sizes, and brands of condensing fan motors, and the technician must replace the failed fan with a condensing fan which is compatible with the customer's particular air conditioning unit and mounting frames. However, due to the size of a typical condensing fan, a technician cannot stock many fans on his service truck. It is very difficult for a service technician to carry even the most commonly used condensing fans, and he almost never carries the rarer types. Therefore, when a rare type of condensing fan fails, it is highly likely that the service technician will not have a replacement fan on his truck. As a consequence, the air conditioning unit is without cooling air, and out of service until a replacement fan can be obtained.
In larger cities, where air conditioning supplies are plentiful, the technician may be able to obtain a replacement fan within a few hours. In smaller towns and in rural areas, where supplies are not as plentiful, the problem is much worse; it may take several days to obtain the proper fan, and the customer is without air conditioning for that entire period. Additionally, it may take days to obtain rarer types of condensing fans no matter where the unit is located.
In order to reduce this delay, many air conditioning technicians maintain a large inventory of condensing fans in their shops. This adds to their cost of doing business since some fans may sit on the shelf for years before they are needed.
Additional cost and delay is experienced in checking out the air conditioning system when the service technician finally replaces the condensing fan after a lengthy outage. Long delays in resuming air conditioning allow the temperature in the air-conditioned space to rise significantly. When the temperature in the space to be cooled is hot, the coolant absorbs a greater amount of heat energy, vaporizes more completely, and rises to a higher temperature and pressure. As a consequence, the temperature and pressure inside the condenser run higher than normal. The technician must wait for the condenser pressure to return to the normal range to complete the check-out of the system. The pressure in the condenser does not return to normal until the temperature in the space to be cooled returns to its normal range. This causes additional delay to the technician and expense to the customer.
It would be a distinct advantage for air conditioning service technicians to have a temporary condensing fan which can be used to temporarily provide a cooling of air to an air conditioning condenser when its existing fan fails. Moreover, it would be advantageous to have this portable condensing fan mounted in a housing which may be compatibly mounted on any brand of air conditioner unit. It would also be advantageous to have the fan easily and quickly mounted and wired into the air conditioner system, and to have an adjustable air flow in order to adjust the condenser's head pressure so that the refrigeration cycle could work as efficiently as possible.
The portable condensing fan of the present invention offers such a fan. The portable condensing fan of the present invention temporarily supplies cooling air, and enables the customer to remain in air conditioned comfort, until a permanent replacement fan is obtained and installed. The air temperature, therefore, remains cool in the air conditioned space, thereby maintaining the condenser pressure in its normal range, and greatly reducing the time for system check-out, following final replacement of the condensing fan.
Additionally, the portable condensing fan of the present invention lowers the cost of air conditioning services by allowing technicians, to reduce their inventory. By carrying one portable condensing fan, a service technician significantly lowers his required inventory of condensing fans, while providing better service to his customers.


A semiconductor storage device includes: a memory cell array in which a plurality of pairs of bit lines and source lines, a plurality of word lines, and a plurality of resistance change memory cells are arranged; a write driver, a sense amplifier, a global bit line and a global source line provided on a first end side; a plurality of bit line switches provided between the plurality of bit lines and the global bit line; a plurality of source line switches provided between the plurality of source lines and the global source line; a column decoder; a row decoder; a plurality of bit line ground switches provided between the plurality of bit lines and a ground line on a second end side; and a plurality of source line ground switches provided between the plurality of source lines and a ground line on the second end side.

Recently, in the field of electronic devices, a mixed semiconductor device including a CMOS logic circuit of silicon (Si) and a large-capacity nonvolatile memory has become important.
A magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) performs nonvolatile storage of information in addition to high-speed rewriting of information with no limitation. Because of this, the MRAM has attracted attention as a new nonvolatile memory which replaces not only the memory for the use as a ROM, such as a flash memory, but also the memory for the use as a RAM, such as an SRAM and a DRAM.
Up to now, the orientation of the magnetization free layer is reversed using a magnetic field induced by causing a current to flow through a wire. However, in recent years, it has been found out that the magnetization of the magnetization free layer can be reversed by a spin-transfer torque (STT) (torque of a spin-polarized electron) (spin injection magnetization reversal). Due to this, the current used for rewriting can be reduced, and therefore, the possibility of the practical use of the MRAM is further increased.
Non-Patent Literature 1 describes a fundamental configuration of a spin injection type MRAM).
Further, Patent Literature 1 describes a semiconductor storage device in which read accuracy of data from the cell array has been improved in the MRAM.


A method for assembling a permanent magnet ring on a rotor body for an electric motor or generator where the body has a higher coefficient of expansion than the permanent magnet ring includes the steps of sizing the internal diameter of the ring for the greatest thermal expansion of the rotor and introducing longitudinal grooves in the rotor surface uniformly spaced about its circumference to accommodate the expansion of the adhesive used to bond the ring to the rotor.

Brushless electric motors are finding increasing usage, particularly in automotive applications. Such motors are used or have potential for use in applications such as alternators, electronic throttle controls, electric power steering, fuel pumps, heater and air conditioner blower motors, and engine cooling fans. In a typical brushless motor, a permanent magnet(s) with a plurality of poles of alternating polarity is affixed to a rotor. The rotor is positioned inside a closely-fitting housing which carries electromagnets for propelling the rotor shaft.
In modern brushless electric motor designs, it is preferred to use a ring magnet of suitable permanent magnet composition assembled on a metal rotor such as a steel rotor. The use of a permanent magnet ring simplifies assembly of the structure and provides better structural integrity than mounting a plurality of individual permanent magnet arcs on the rotor. However, the design and assembly of a permanent magnet ring on a metal rotor to form a durable and efficient motor is not without its difficulties.
Permanent magnet rings are now typically formed of rare earth element-transition metal compositions such as neodymium-iron-boron and the like. Materials of these compositions can be formed into rings by sintering magnetically-aligned particles or by hot pressing or hot pressing and hot deforming the magnet particles into ring structures. Regardless of how the ring structures are formed, the designer must be aware that they are not as strong as rotor alloys and design the rotor and permanent magnet ring so that the ring can withstand the tensile stresses introduced into the ring by the high speed rotation of motor operation. However, there is a further and heretofore more difficult problem in the use of such permanent magnet rings on metal rotors. Normally, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the metal rotor is much greater than the coefficient of thermal expansion of the weaker magnet ring. It is desired to maintain as small a gap as possible between a permanent magnet ring and its rotor for purposes of maintaining a strong magnetic field. It is also desirable to maintain the smallest practical air gap between the outside diameter of the permanent magnet ring and the motor housing for the same reason. However, if care is not taken in the design and assembly of the permanent magnet ring on a steel rotor, any thermal expansion of the rotor is likely to break the permanent magnet ring. Heating of the rotor is very likely due to electrical heat generated in the operation of the motor and to environmental heating.
The permanent magnet rings of the iron-neodymium-boron type are usually processed in the form of magnetically-aligned anisotropic structures. Not only do these materials have lower coefficients of thermal expansion in the magnetically-aligned direction than steel, but in the direction transverse to magnetic alignment their coefficient of expansion may even be negative. It is these properties of the otherwise magnetically desirable iron-neodymium-boron type permanent magnets that complicate their use as ring magnets in brushless motors. Obviously, there is a need for improved practice in the assembly of permanent magnet rings on rotors for electric motors.
Heretofore, the solutions to assembling and retaining a permanent magnet ring on a metal rotor have taken two forms. In one solution, a strong metal alloy of low coefficient of thermal expansion, almost equal to that of the magnet material, is interposed as a ring between the steel rotor and the permanent magnet ring. This solution is illustrated, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,025 to Saito et al. In the Saito et al construction, a rotor body is made of carbon steel. A strong but low thermal expansion ring made of 36 weight percent nickel, remainder iron (Invar) is bonded with an acrylic adhesive to the cylindrical surface of the steel rotor. Finally, a ring-shaped rare earth metal-iron permanent magnet is bonded to the nickel-iron ring by the use of the same acrylic-type adhesive. The difficulty with this kind of rotor permanent magnet structure is the increased cost of the Invar material and the cost of its assembly with the rotor and magnet ring. A second disadvantage is the loss in magnetic field properties due to the interposition of the nickel-iron layer between the permanent magnet and the high permeability iron rotor body.
A second solution to the problem of the steel rotor permanent magnet ring structure and usage is the provision of an outer ring of strong, relatively low thermal expansion material over the permanent magnet material, which in this instance is bonded directly to the steel rotor. In this case, the strong outer material applies a compressive stress during expansion of the permanent magnet ring which, hopefully, will prevent its structural failure. It also protects the machine from magnet chips in case of the magnet's disintegration inside the outer ring. Again, this solution requires the making and assembly of an extraneous component in the permanent magnet rotor assembly. The outer ring also requires a further spacing between the permanent magnet material and its opposing electromagnets on the housing of the motor body.

Method of assembling a magnet ring on a rotor


A method for performing a voltage drop analysis in a logic circuit that takes into consideration voltage drop—current drain dependency. The voltage drop analysis helps in accurately estimating power requirements of the logic circuit, designing optimal power grids and performing accurate static timing analysis for the logic circuit. The logic circuit has a plurality of gates. The method generates polynomial models for the power consumption, delay and transition time of each gate in the logic circuit. Thereafter, the polynomial models are solved to determine the supply voltage available at each gate of the logic circuit. The supply voltage, thus determined, is used to perform voltage drop analysis.

The present invention relates to computer-aided design of integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to the estimation of the voltage drop in a system-on-chip(SoC) design.
The number of transistors used in a circuit is increasing exponentially with the development of improved fabrication techniques. At the same time, there has been a manifold increase in the complexity of the circuits that can be made. In the present state of art, an integrated circuit may have millions of transistors. Such complex circuits require the use of complex design tools to model circuit behavior accurately at the design stage.
An accurate prediction of circuit behavior at the design stage is important for the design and fabrication process to be economically viable. Design tools, popularly known as Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools, are at present used for circuit designing at all levels—from the conceptualization of the design at a functional level to the layout and routing at the transistor level. These EDA tools are used to minimize the design costs, testing costs, time to market, etc. Further, the use of EDA tools enables a test engineer to test the logical/functional correctness of the layout at the fabrication stage.
A related feature of the circuit-designing process is the reusability of a circuit design or a part of a circuit design. Very often, circuit designers use previously designed and characterized logic blocks that perform a small function. For example, an 8-bit multiplier can be designed and characterized once and used in various circuits later. These logic blocks form libraries, which are a collection of logic blocks that perform different functions. When designing a circuit, a circuit designer may choose several different logic blocks from such libraries, and connect them together to realize a more complex function. The libraries also store various characteristics such as supply voltage, current drain, etc., associated with the logic blocks.
A few problems arise while realizing a larger function with smaller logic blocks from the library. For example, when fabricated, the actual behavior of a circuit may deviate from that predicted by the EDA tools. This is because when characterizing with the EDA tools, it is assumed that each of the gates in the logical blocks is supplied with the full supply voltage—Vdd. This, however, does not hold true in a large circuit, because the voltage is supplied through a large network of wires known as a power grid. There is an inevitable resistive drop in the power grid, known as the voltage drop or IR drop. The voltage drop implies that a voltage smaller than Vdd is available at the gates. The greater the distance of a gate from the voltage supply, the smaller is the supply voltage available at the gate.
To account for the voltage drop in a logic circuit, present generation EDA tools provide methods for the estimation of the maximum current drain at the gate level. These estimates are then used to estimate the voltage drop profile in the logic circuit. However, the current drain at a gate depends on its supply voltage and changes significantly with even small fluctuations in the supply voltage. Changes in the current drain, in turn, affect the voltage drop in the power grid, and hence, the supply voltage available at the gate. Therefore, the current drain and the voltage drop are interdependent, where the determination of one depends on the other, and vice versa.
Existing EDA tools do not consider the interdependence of the current drain and the voltage drop, thereby giving unsatisfactory results. For example, in the case of EDA tools for power estimation, while estimating power requirements with ideal supply voltages, it is assumed that all gates in the logic circuit operate at an ideal voltage. This assumption is, however, not valid in the case of a multi-million transistor SoC design.
In the case of power grid analyzer tools, voltage drop analysis is performed with the current values estimated using power estimation EDA tools. The power grid analyzer tools do not provide accurate results as they ignore the fact that the current consumption profile of the logic circuit changes with the fluctuations in the voltage drop.
In the case of Static Timing Analysis (STA) tools, the possibility of on-chip variation of temperature, voltage and process conditions is ignored. However, for Deep Sub-Micron (DSM) and Ultra Deep Sub-Micron (UDSM) designs, studies have shown that this on-chip variation, if ignored, can cause significant performance losses. This is due to the fact that the voltage drop causes the gates to switch slower than usual, introducing errors in the analysis. To accommodate for voltage variations, some of the present day STA tools allow the user to input a value of the supply voltage for each cell. However, relying on user inputs per cell is time-consuming, tedious, and the accuracy of the analysis depends on the accuracy of the voltage value provided by the user.
In light of the above discussion, there is a need for a tool that performs voltage drop analysis in a logic circuit, taking into consideration the interdependence between the voltage drop and the current drain.

Method for voltage drop analysis in integreted circuits


The communication control device allows a plurality of data items to be transferred to and from external devices, such as a CPU and a memory, via an external bus having a different data bus width in DMA (direct memory access) transfer mode. DMA transfer is controlled by the DMA controller provided in the communication control device. The DMA controller produces a signal indicating that a plurality of data items are continual.

The present invention relates to a communication control device for use in data communication applications, and a communication system using the same.
For a high speed communication control device of a class capable of processing several tens of Mbps to 500 Mbps, it is required to substantially improve the throughput of data transmission and reception, thereby a method of expanding the data bus width for a microprocessor (hereinafter referred to as a CPU) has been used. Conventionally, the bus width for a communication control device has been expanded to accommodate a required large bus width by the following method. Such a conventional method will be described by way of example with respect to a communication control unit which has a data bus width of 16 bits and capable of performing a direct memory access (DMA) data transfer to and which is from a 32 bit CPU, with reference to FIG. 5, which is a schematic diagram of such a conventional communication system.
In FIG. 5, numeral 55 denotes a communication control unit which includes a transmitter, a receiver, a transmission FIFO memory unit, a reception FIFO memory unit and a DMA unit. Normally, the communication control unit is a semiconductor integrated circuit (LSI) device which is provided within a data processing unit for performing data communication between a plurality of data processing units. Numerals 58, 62 denote latch registers which register addresses of data to be transferred. Numeral 60 denotes a comparator which compares addresses registered in the latch registers 58, 62. Further, numeral 63 identifies a buffer memory which temporarily stores transfer data. Numeral 70 denotes a 32 bit CPU, 71 denotes an external memory, and 56 and 57 denote an address bus and a data bus, respectively, of the communication control unit 55. Numerals 65, 66, 67, 68 and 69 denote external buses.
Now, with reference to FIG. 6 the, operation of the above-mentioned communication system will be described. FIG. 6 shows a time chart of an address signal and a data bus signal, wherein, for convenience of explanation, data bus 57 is assumed to have a width of 16 bits and external buses 65-69 are assumed to have a width of 32 bits.
In the case of a DMA transfer of data, having a data bus width of 16 bits, between external memory 71, via external bus 67, having a data bus width of 32 bits, and the communication control unit 55, at one cycle of its DMA transfer, an address ADR1 of data which is an object of a current data transfer is transferred via address bus 56 of the communication control unit 55 so as to be registered in latch register 58. Then, lower data DAT1 is transferred via data bus 57 of the communication control unit 55 so as to be stored in buffer 63.
Then, at a second cycle of its DMA transfer, a next address ADR2 is transferred via address bus 56 so as to be registered in latch register 62, and higher data DAT2 is then transferred via data bus 57 of the communication control unit 55 so as to be stored in buffer 63. After confirmation of the values in the latch registers, it is determined in comparator 60 whether these addresses ADR1 and ADR2 are continual or not. If they are continual addresses, a coincidence signal is output to buffer 63 via a signal line 64. Responsive to this signal, buffer 63 produces to external bus 66 the 32 bit data DAT3 comprising data DAT1 and DAT2, thereby performing data transfer to the external memory 71.
In the conventional communication system as described above, there is a disadvantage in that, since a discrimination circuit to determine whether addresses of data for transfer are continual or not is required, the size of the communication system becomes large.

Communication control device and a communication system using the same


A fiber processing system for the front end of a textile card, the system having a doffer, a crush roll pair and a calendar roll pair rotatably mounted in progression respectively from back to front on the front end of the frame of the card, a gear on the doffer, a timing pulley-gear combination or unit rotatably mounted on the frame and having its gear engaging the gear on the doffer for either driving the same or being driven thereby, a drive motor drivingly connected to either the doffer or the timing pulley-gear combination for driving the system, a driven timing pulley on each of the roll pairs, and a timing belt system connecting the timing pulley of the timing unit to each of the driven timing pulleys of the roll pairs for rotating the same at speeds proportional to the speed of rotation of the doffer, and the roll pairs including gear means on the other ends of each roll for causing the rolls to rotate in tandem.

1. Field of The Invention
The invention particularly concerns a novel, highly efficient and practical drive mechanism for the front end processing cylinders, roll pairs and the like of the card.
2. Background Information
In a typical card, a web or lap is processed in a carding operation to produce a sliver for subsequent processing into textile yarn. The lap is generally in the form of a web of textile material wound on a lap pin which is supported on the card for unwinding and feeding to a main cylinder where it is carded. The textile material is removed from the carding cylinder by a doffer cylinder which rotates closely adjacent the carding cylinder on the end opposite the lap roll. The doffer cylinder is normally driven by a take-off from the main drive of the carding cylinder through a production gear. The production gear is engaged and disengaged with a ring gear mounted on the shaft of the doffer cylinder by means of raising and lowering a drop lever on which the production gear is carried. Other drive arrangements are also utilized. The lap roll is normally driven by a take-off from the doffer cylinder. The web of textile material removed by the doffer cylinder is subsequently drawn therefrom and progressively passed through crush-rolls and calendar-rolls and condensed into a sliver which is deposited into a coiler can for transportation and further processing. It is important that a uniform weight and quality of sliver be deposited in the coiling can.
3. Discussion Of Prior Art
The front end of the card typically comprises the doffer cylinder, crush-rolls and calendar-rolls which are usually driven separately from the carding cylinder and which are drivingly interconnected by a complex series of gears, sprockets and chains as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,965,401 and 4,027,358, the disclosures of which relating to the general structure and operation of cards are incorporated herein by reference.
Such prior, near solid hook-up driving mechanisms between the doffer, crush-rolls and calendar-rolls requires, of course, nearly constant lubrication and wear maintenance, and is quite costly to repair or replace. Also, the speeds with which the crush-rolls and calendar-rolls may be run through such a near solid drive device are limited, due in part to the non-uniformity of fiber web thickness and weight issuing from the front end as a result of the almost imperceptible rotational speed irregularities inherent in such drive devices. For example, the doffer of a typical card having such near solid drive construction should not be run faster than about 22 revolutions per minute to process 30-33 pounds of fiber per hour into a 55-60 grain silver, otherwise, marked irregularities in texture, composition or weight of the silver can occur.
Objects therefore, of the present invention are: to provide a drive mechanism for the fiber processing system of the front end of a textile card which minimizes maintenance and cost thereof and which allows substantially higher operating speeds and silver output of the card without sacrificing product quality; to reduce the number and structural complexity of the drive mechanism components; and to provide such a mechanism which can be installed on practically any conventional card with a minimum of alteration thereof.

Drive system for carding machine doffer, crush and calendar rolls


A more efficient over-the-air software push can be facilitated by a firmware over-the-air (FOTA) server device in communication with a home subscriber server (HSS). For example, the FOTA server can host the names of user equipment devices that are due for a FOTA update. When a user equipment device identification is received from the HSS, the FOTA server can then check the user equipment device identification against the names within the server. If the name is found, then the system can send discontinuous reception data to the user equipment device to modify a current discontinuous reception value of the user equipment device. Thus, the modified discontinuous reception value can prompt a long reception time of the user equipment device such that the user equipment device can receive the FOTA.

Over-the-air (OTA) programming or firmware OTA (FOTA) refers to various methods of distributing new software, configuring settings, and updating encryption keys to devices like cellphones, set-top boxes or secure voice communication equipment (encrypted 2-way radios). One feature of OTA is that one central location can send an update to all the users, who are unable to refuse, defeat, or alter that update, and that the update applies immediately to everyone on the channel.
In the context of the mobile content world these can comprise over-the-air service provisioning (OTASP), over-the-air provisioning (OTAP) or over-the-air parameter administration (OTAPA), or provisioning handsets with the necessary settings with which to access services such as wireless application protocols (WAP) or multimedia messaging services (MMS).
As mobile devices accumulate new applications and become more advanced, OTA configuration has become increasingly important as new updates and services come on stream. OTA via short messaging services (SMS) optimizes the configuration data updates in SIM cards and handsets and enables the distribution of new software updates to mobile devices or provisioning handsets with the necessary settings with which to access services such as WAP or MMS. OTA messaging provides remote control of mobile devices for service and subscription activation, personalization and programming of a new service for mobile operators and telecommunication third parties.
The above-described background relating to firmware over-the-air is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Facilitation of machine type communication firmware over the air


A plurality of batch lists are maintained by a channel in order to improve the efficiency of the channel in performing messaging between a sender and a receiver. For example, a Next Batch list is used to prefetch messages to be sent to the receiver from the sender; a Current Batch list includes the messages currently being transmitted to the receiver or waiting confirmation; and an Acknowledged Batch List includes the messages confirmed by the receiver. This allows the functions of prefetching messages, sending messages and deleting confirmed messages to be performed in parallel.

One technology that supports messaging and queuing across a network is referred to as MQSeries and is offered by International Business Machines Corporation. With MQSeries, users can dramatically reduce application development time by using MQSeries API functions. Since MQSeries supports many platforms, MQSeries applications can be ported easily from one platform to another. In a network, two MQSeries systems communicate with each other via channels, such as MQSeries channels. An MQSeries sender channel defines a connection from one MQSeries system to another MQSeries system and transmits messages from the one system to the other system.
An MQSeries sender channel performs various functions, including establishing a channel connection with another MQSeries system; obtaining a batch of messages from its associated transmission queue; and sending the batch of messages to the other end of the channel. At the end of the batch, it requests the MQSeries system on the other end to confirm whether it has received and hardened the batch. When the confirmation is received, the MQSeries sender channel deletes the batch of messages from the transmission queue. Then, the process of obtaining, sending and deleting a batch of messages is repeated.
Unfortunately, however, the MQSeries sender channel is idle at various steps of its processing. For example, it is idle when a batch of messages is being obtained from its associated transmission queue, and it is idle when a batch of messages is being deleted from the transmission queue. Thus, the MQSeries sender channel does not perform as efficiently, as desired.
Based on the foregoing, a need exists for improvements to sender channels to make them perform more efficiently. In particular, a need exists for a technique that makes use of the idle times of a channel.

Performance of channels used in communicating between senders and receivers


This invention teaches a slidably attaching water flow limiting device which utilizes elastic and frictional forces to apply a force holding the flow limiting device onto a faucet such that these forces are exceeded at excess flow into the interior chamber of the water limiting device causing it to blow off the faucet. The water flow limiting device through a shaped hole restricted in area also provides a cleaning jet which makes the reduced flow effective for cleansing purposes despite the reduced flow rate.

Water is an increasingly costly necessity and in many areas it is also frequently a scarce commodity. The costs of treatment, supply and the associated waste treatment have resulted in dramatic rises in water costs in recent years. The weather patterns have also been unsettled providing periods of excess water and then dry periods where reservoirs and surface water supplies have been severely depleted causing water emergencies where use is strictly limited. In a few areas in recent years, a total use limit has been set. There is clearly a financial and an environmental reason to limit the use of water, especially since much of our "use" is actually waste when faucets run while other actions are taking place. Water conservation is a need.
The list of gadgets that can be used to redirect water is vast. The early faucet attachments were sold in the 1940's and consisted of rubber cones with internal bumps to engage the end of tub faucets. These friction based attaching heads were used to redirect water to a spray head thus providing a shower like flow within the bathtub. Most of these gadgets redirect and do not save water. There is a need for a water saver.
There have been a number of devices, especially those for a bathtub faucet, that attempt to attach to a faucet and convey streams of water to a place where they can be used more easily. The early tubs were soon followed by a series of spray head terminated hoses that slidably engaged the stubby faucet within a cone of rubber that, held onto the faucet by friction, conveyed the water to the spray and made the tub more like a shower. The attachments of that period emphasized the firm attachment of the hose to the faucet and any device that could not resist water pressure in use and popped off the faucet was a commercial failure. Other devices attached to faucets. Spray heads that proceeded the aerator now in use on almost all kitchen and bathroom faucets were often slidable pressed over the tip of a faucet and clamped or held in place by rings that acted like O ring gaskets. In all cases, firm resistance to the water pressure so that a maximum flow was possible was a key goal.
Garden watering also represents an area where there was major patenting efforts over the years. U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,744 to Falcetti as an example emphasizes an angled support and heads that provide a fan shaped spray. Large volume flows are critical in these applications and the square shape of the nozzle and its fixed attachment to a hose are critical in functioning of this device. Other shaped flows designed for a high rate of flow are shown in an invention of Chow (U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,512) where a pistol grip housing has several rotatable nozzles. The Garden nozzles are designed to handle high pressures and to maximize flows so watering is possible over a distance and is quick.
Volume controls are also well known. The simple restrictor orifice plates added to shower heads that limit the flow of water, thus reducing water use, and the aerator with screens that by merging air and water streams makes a flow seem larger are both aspects of flow restriction. The tailoring of flows in shape is noted from paint sprayers and similar nozzle technology.
Pressure limitations are usually applies in water flows at the meter end of a household water system. While these pressure controls are large and bulky, the more common pressure limits are on hot water heaters where they are safety devices set to release pressure rather than to allow the heater to burst. The use of pressure limiting devices to restrict flow of water at the use point seems sadly neglected. Full flows and tap pressures are typically used for tasks such as cleaning razors and toothbrushes. The cleaning is helped by hitting the razors on the sink or squeezing brushes. The flows ideal to such cleaning tasks are not very useful for other large volume water uses and so the usual full flow from the faucet is used for nearly all tasks. This will be a future problem as water supplies become increasingly tight and the regulation dominated costs of water and sewage continue to escalate.
There were also a variety of cleaners, specifically a number of razor cleaners. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,492 a specific razor rinsing device is shown where an attachment to a faucet is made by means of a slidable grip that allows a flow of water from the faucet to the strip jet that is directed upon a razor that is fixed in a cleaning jig positioning device. While the device directs a water flow, the flow is fixed and does not reduce the volume of water used.
A further razor cleaner is revealed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,949 where Dugrot again uses an attachment to a conventional water faucet by means of a watertight engaging means which is a slide on faucet cover, the water flow going through the narrowed jet orifice then impinging on a deflector plate to create a fan shaped water stream which impinges upon a razor which is placed in a fixed locator guide rail device. Aside from complexity, the Dugrot device provides a useful flow but then restricts the use to only a razor and further does not restrict water volume.
A further razor cleaner by Kellis (U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,387) attaches to a fluid source or faucet with a telescoping chamber to hold a razor and a water distributor that directs the flow over the razor which is fixedly mounted within a chamber and then to a drain. The attachment to the faucet is a press on internal attachment to the faucet.
Razors are cleaned in a casing that holds a cartridge with a water inlet where the water is directed to and through the blade area toward the interior of the razor head then to the drain. The device in this U.S. Pat. No. (4,480,387) s again a fixed holder that accommodates a blade cartridge with a relatively watertight seal to force water through the blade area.
Not all cleaners that are faucet attachable are used for razors. Eberle used a water flow in U.S. Pat. No. 3,009,468 to clean dentures by clamping shell shaped segments to a faucet and directing the water flow from the faucet through and around a set of dentures to clean them. Again volume of water is not reduced and the device is a one purpose cleaner that uses as much pressure as possible to clean.
Attachments are also patented with U.S. Pat. No. 2,990,123 to Hyde showing a typical shower head attachment which shows a permanent attachment of a spray nozzle using a metal ring to apply pressure to a gasket which is forced inwardly to hold onto a knob of metal. This is not easily removable so any use makes the shower only usable with the spray pattern of the flow deflector.
There is also a considerable technology in jet or nozzle shapes and attachments. In D320,063 a cone is shown but the attachment is threaded which limits detachability and makes for a permanent attachment. The same problem exists for D322,837 which is a multijet flow device and for the hand spray of the multijet Pat. D318,517.
Water jets are used in a number of interesting Patents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,943,951 is a fingernail cleaner where a jet of water is discharged into a chamber that holds a finger where the jet is combined with a soap or other cleaner prior to impingement in a very complex device attached to a water source. A similar device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,982,965 where again a fixed position of a finger or toe is used inside a cleaning chamber and where the amount of cleaner can be varied.
The vegetable washer of U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,051 is a unique device where a faucet attachment is used to attach a bag that holds vegetables while a shower of water droplets cleans the dirt and sand from the vegetables. The device however lacks flow or pressure limiting capability and has a gentle spray action.
Mere nozzles are also patented with Sakka showing a nozzle that uses a slot cut into a conical shape that allows a reactor output to be combined with water or another fluid.
The predominate nozzle technology is paint based and U.S. Pat. No. 4,380,319 which shows a tubular channel with two inner orifices, one of which is biconvex shaped to provide a flat pattern spray which is fan shaped. The nozzle is threadably affixed to a liquid source and requires a set minimum pressure to work.
A more typical nozzle tip is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 618,101 where a removable pressure resistant attachment of a bore which is intersected by a slot that together provide a fan shaped flow of fluid under pressure. Other more complex nozzles are shown with U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,104 for a coaxial flow typical of the complex nozzle technology.
Volume controls are also well known. The simple restrictor orifice plates added to shower heads that limit flow of water and the aerator that by merging air and water streams makes a flow seem larger are both aspects of flow restriction. The tailoring of flows in shape is noted from paint sprayers and similar nozzle technology.
General pressure limitations are usually applied to water flows at the meter end of a household system. While these pressure controls are large and bulky, the more common pressure limits are on hot water heaters where they are safety devices set to release pressure rather than to allow the heater to burst. The use of pressure limiting devices to restrict flow of water at the point of use seems sadly neglected. Full flows and tap pressures are typically used for tasks such as cleaning razors and toothbrushes. The flows ideal to such cleansing tasks are not very useful for other large volume water uses and so the usual full flow from the faucet is used for nearly all tasks. This will be a future problem as water supplies become increasingly tight and the regulation dominated costs of water and sewage continue to escalate.


The present invention is directed to a photolytic cell, and to a photolytic artificial lung incorporating such a cell. The photolytic artificial lung converts water to oxygen for blood absorption, regulates pH, the removes carbon dioxide, and co-produces electrical power. The photolytic artificial lung includes a photolytic cell where all of the chemical reactions occur. Additionally, the present invention relates to photolytically sensitive materials for oxygen generation. These materials are useful for gas-free artificial lung fabrication. The photolytic cell disclosed herein can also be used to direct chemical reactions in organs other than the lung. It can also be used to maintain breathing air in confined systems.

There have been numerous efforts in the past 40 years to achieve artificial lung function. Unfortunately, no new innovative respiratory assist therapy has been developed for patients with severe, life-threatening lung disease. This is largely due to inadequate knowledge of pulmonary pathophysiology, a lack of emerging therapies, and insufficient mechanisms for providing intermediate to long-term respiratory support. The lack of adequate technology for respiratory support for the patient with deteriorating lung function, in particular, has had profound effects on the quality of life for this increasingly large segment of the population.
The number of deaths annually from all lung disease is estimated to be approximately 250,000 (150,000 related to acute, potentially reversible respiratory failure and 100,000 related to chronic irreversible respiratory failure) with an estimated economic burden of disease in the range of 72 billion dollars per year. Furthermore, the emotional toll of progressive respiratory failure is profound, particularly as it affects children and adolescents with progressive pulmonary disease. The impact of this public health problem can be conceived in terms of the direct costs for intensive, sub-acute, and long-term health care services, and the indirect costs associated with lost wages and productivity for the patient and the patient's family, and the increased need for support services.
While the death rates for cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all other major diseases have recently decreased significantly, the rate of death related to chronic pulmonary lung disease (CPLD) has increased by 54%. Lung disease also represents one of the leading causes of infant mortality, accounting for 48% of all deaths under the age of one. For these patients, respiratory assistance during pulmonary failure has been achieved by employing ventilator therapy, despite the enormous cost and morbidity associated with this modality.
Furthermore, it is well accepted that closed, positive-pressure, mechanical ventilation, applied at moderate levels of intensity, for short periods of time, is a somewhat safe and efficient means for improving gas exchange in patients with acute respiratory failure. However, with prolonged duration of intensive respiratory support, serious adverse effects may occur. These effects, including oxygen toxicity, baromtrauma, altered hormone and enzyme systems, and impaired nutrition, may result in further injury to the failing lungs, or add significantly to the morbidity and mortality for these patients. As a result, alternative methods have been sought for augmenting blood gas exchange, where mechanical ventilation is inadequate or cannot be safely applied.
In view of the above and other reasons, there has been great interest in developing an artificial means for accomplishing physiological gas exchange directly to the circulating blood and bypassing the diseased lungs. While previous efforts have provided some measure of success, they have been limited in their usefulness or hindered by excessive cost.
One approach to artificial lung function has been by gas sparging or diffusion of gas across the membrane surface of hollow fibers placed within the blood supply. Previous efforts have achieved some success, and have taught much to pulmonary physiologists, but gas sparging or diffusion has yet achieved the degree of gas exchanges optimally desired.
Furthermore, other methods and artificial lung systems have been developed from introducing gaseous oxygen by air sparging. However, gas sparging is very detrimental to biological tissues such as red blood cells. Also, gas sparging attempts to control the differential pressure across thin gas/liquid membranes such as those found in porous-walled hollow fibers.
Another approach to artificial lung function, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), constitutes a mechanism for prolonged pulmonary bypass, which has been developed and optimized over several decades but has limited clinical utility today as a state-of-the-art artificial lung. The ECMO system includes an extra-corporeal pump and membrane system that performs a gas transfer across membranes. Despite the numerous advances in the implementation of ECMO over the years, its core technology is unchanged and continues to face important limitations. The limitations of ECMO include the requirement for a large and complex blood pump and oxygenator system; the necessity for a surgical procedure for cannulation; the need for systemic anticoagulation; a high rate of complications, including bleeding and infection; protein adsorption and platelet adhesion on the surface of oxygenator membranes; labor intensive implementation; and exceedingly high cost. As a result of these limitations, ECMO has become limited in its utility to select cases of neonatal respiratory failure, where reversibility is considered to be highly likely.
The development of the intravenous membrane oxygenation (IVOX) also represented a natural extension in the artificial lung art, since it was capable of performing intracorporeal gas exchange across an array of hollow fiber membranes situated within the inferior vena cava but did not require any form of blood pump. The insertion of the IVOX effectively introduced a large amount of gas transfer surface area (up to 6000 cm2) without alteration of systemic hemodynamics. Unfortunately, as with ECMO, the IVOX system has numerous limitations, including only a moderate rate of achievable gas exchange; difficulty in device deployment; a relatively high rate of adverse events; and a significant rate of device malfunctions, including blood-to-gas leaks due to broken hollow fibers.
A further approach to treat lung disease, is through the use of lung transplants. The improvement of methods to transplant viable lungs into patients is fundamentally the most significant recent advance in the therapy of chronic lung diseases. The most common indications for lung transplantation are emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and pulmonary hypertension. Selection conditions emphasize the presence of irreversible disease localized to the respiratory system, and social and psychological conditions supportive of the ability to go through extended pulmonary rehabilitations. In contrast, the absence of these conditions present relative contraindications to this approach. The donor organ should originate in a relatively healthy, infection free individual, under the age of 65. Following these guidelines, success has been achieved in increasing numbers for patients throughout the United States.
Profound limitations in the number of donor organs has made this option unrealistic for the great majority of patients who would benefit the most. While rationing is the standard for all transplantable organs, the need for rationing is particularly acute in the case of the lungs, owing to the following issues: (1) the large discrepancy between donor and recipient numbers (3350 registration for lung transplant in 1999 and only 862 performed); (2) the relatively low yield of usable lungs, with only 5-10% of multiorgan donors yielding lungs acceptable for transplantation; and (3) the absence of effective temporary methods to support blood gas exchange during the waiting period prior to transplantation. The complexity of this problem is increased even further, when considering the inevitable compromise between supplying organs to patients who are the most ill, and who have the most to gain, but for whom outcomes are generally poor, versus relatively healthier patients with no complications, who have less need but for whom outcomes are predictably better. For example, a patient with emphysema is highly likely to achieve a positive outcome from transplantation, but generally will not exhibit improved survival. In contrast, a patient with cystic fibrosis has considerably higher risk of surgery due to the presence of multiorgan involvement of the disease, but for these young patients, successful transplantation optimizes survival.
Therefore, a serious need exists for new technology and therapeutic approaches that have the potential to provide intermediate to long-term respiratory support for patients suffering from severe pulmonary failure. Also, the need for an efficient and inexpensive technology to achieve sustained gas exchange in the blood, thereby bypassing the diseased lungs without resorting to chronic ventilation, remains paramount.

Photolytic cell for providing physiological gas exchange


An hopper gate valve having a valve body for connection to a hopper car with a generally elongated discharge opening is provided. A valve member is adapted to engageable and disengage the elongated discharge opening by using a control apparatus which controllably and pivotally effects the displacement of the valve member with respect to the elongated discharge opening.

In recent years, pneumatic and vacuum systems have been developed for removing the contents of railway hopper cars. Other systems use rack and pinion assembly to open and close the gate valve. Some of these systems have been designed to operate in conjunction with a gate valve that is mounted on the bottom of the hopper and through which the materials are discharged.
These conventional gate valve systems that require complex rack and pinion arrangements, and/or creating a pressure differential and the like, are more difficult to manufacture and employ. Therefore it is highly desirable to construct an easily operable gate valve mechanism with few moving parts and is easy to manufacture. It is also desirable to provide the capability to operate the gate valve from both sides of the hopper car and to provide a variable-sized opening to efficiently discharge the contents of the hopper car.


A new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant named ‘Balfiespor’, characterized by its double-type, orange and white bicolored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, compact-mounded growth habit, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Impatiens plant botanically known as Impatiens walleriana and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Balfiespor'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Rijsenhout, The Netherlands during April 2005. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Impatiens cultivars with fully double-type flowers, attractive flower and foliage coloration, and a freely branching, compact growth habit.
The new Impatiens cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is Accent Violet Star, not patented, characterized by its single-type, violet and white bicolored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and vigorous, prostrate growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Impatiens walleriana breeding selection designated 3286-2-2-2, not patented, characterized by its semi-double, orange and white bicolored flowers, dark green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, compact-mounded growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during May 2006 in a controlled environment at Rijsenhout, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since May 2006 at Rijsenhout, The Netherlands has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A wireless communication apparatus comprises a transmission buffer configured to store packets addressed to one or more communication nodes in the network until a transmission timing; a requesting interval determination unit configured to determine a listen interval for each of the communication nodes based on the amount and/or the priority of packets accumulated in the transmission buffer; and a transmission unit configured to transmit a request frame to each of the communication nodes to request the communication nodes to receive a beacon from the wireless communication apparatus at the determined listen interval.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless infrastructure consisting of an access point (or a base station) and mobile stations communicating with each other via the access point. A power saving technique is applied to the mobile stations connected to the access point via wireless channels in order to reduce power consumption when they do not actually transmit and/or receive user data or traffic data. This type of wireless network structured by an access point (base station) and mobile stations connected to the access point via wireless channels is called a wireless infrastructure. In a wireless infrastructure, data transmission is performed directly between the base station and a mobile station, while data transmission between mobile stations 1 and 2 is performed via the access point.
In the wireless infrastructure (BSS) defined by IEEE 802.11, an access point or a base station transmits a common indication (beacon) at a prescribed frequency to mobile stations located under this access point. A beacon signal contains a variety of information items, including information about existence or non-existence of data packets for mobile stations operating in the power-saving mode in the transmission buffer of the access point, as well as identifications of the mobile stations located under the access point and the information about the base time. The information representing the existence or non-existence of the packets is called a traffic indication message (TIM). In the power-saving mode, a mobile station wakes up periodically according to the listen interval to receive the beacon signal. The state in which the mobile station is dormant and not receiving signals is called "Doze". The state in which the mobile station is awake to receive the beacon signal is called "Awake". The listen interval is a parameter for defining the beacon receiving frequency. The mobile station analyzes the TIM contained in the beacon to determine whether data for that mobile station are buffered in the base station. If there are data addressed to this mobile station in the access point, the mobile station transmits a control frame named a power saving poll (PS-poll) to the access point. In response to the PS-poll, the access point transmits data to the mobile station. Upon transmission of the PS-poll, the mobile station keeps "Awake" until the buffered data are received completely. If there are no data for this mobile station accumulated in the access point, the mobile station returns to the "Doze" state immediately. In this manner, the wireless mobile station in the power-wave mode repeats "Awake" and "Doze" at a prescribed cycle.
FIG. 2 illustrates a wireless communication system in which mobile stations relay data toward the destination without an access point (base station). This type of network is called an ad-hoc wireless network. The power-saving technique of intermittent reception may also be applied to the ad-hoc wireless network. In the ad-hoc wireless network, data transmission is performed directly between mobile stations (MS1-MS2, MS2-MS3, and MS3-MS4 in FIG. 2) located within the communication range, while indirect data transmission is performed between mobile stations that cannot directly reach each other (MS1-MS4, MS1-MS3, and MS2-MS4 in FIG. 2), via other mobile stations. The ad-hoc wireless network may be structured solely by wireless LAN equipment, such as notebook computers or cellular phones, as illustrated in FIG. 2, or it may be structured as an ad-hoc mesh network, as illustrated in FIG. 3, which network includes wireless LAN access points and wireless LAN equipment.
In an ad-hoc wireless network (IBSS) defined by IEEE 802.11, a signal named an announcement traffic indication message (ATIM) is transmitted to neighboring nodes operating in the power-saving mode to inform the nearby nodes that frames are to be transmitted in a while. The ATIM is transmitted in a specific time period starting from the beacon transmission time (which time period is called an ATIM window). The ATIM window only allows transmission of a beacon or an ATIM, and it requires the mobile stations to be in the "Awake" state. A node that receives an ATIM in the ATIM window maintains the "Awake" state until the frames are received, and a node that does not receive the ATIM returns to the "Doze" state. A node operating in the power-saving mode repeats the "Awake" state and the "Doze" state at a prescribed cycle.
Conventional wireless infrastructures and conventional ad-hoc wireless networks are described in publications listed below.                Patent-Related Publication 1: JP H5-183487A        Patent-Related Publication 2: JP 2005-57602A        Patent-Related Publication 3: JP 2004-234667A        Patent-Related Publication 4: JP 2004-336401A        Non-patent Publication 1: ANSI/IEEE std 802.11, Wireless LAN medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) specifications, 1999Patent-related publication 1 discloses a technique for controlling the interval of intermittent reception in a wireless infrastructure. In this publication, a mobile station changes the listen interval or intermittent reception interval (i.e., the switching cycle between the awake state and the doze state) from the viewpoint of the frequency of sending and receiving messages, and reports the change of interval to the base station. In patent-related publication 2, a mobile station changes the intermittent reception interval by means of activated application software in a wireless infrastructure. Patent-related publication 3-discloses a method for controlling the power condition of the network interface module of a mobile station based on the information supplied from other modules. Patent-related publication 4 discloses a technique for saving power of an access point in a wireless infrastructure. In this publication, the access points shifts to the "Doze" state taking the traffic condition into account. Non-patent publication 1 describes that it is possible for a mobile station to change the interval of intermittent reception in a wireless infrastructure.
With the conventional BSS, however, there is a problem in that the listen interval for intermittent reception is determined by a mobile station without considering the traffic conditions at the access point. If the listen interval set for intermittent reception at the mobile station is unnecessarily short, the mobile station wakes up too often even if no signal is to be transmitted from the access point. If the listen interval is set too long, packet transmission (reception) delay increases and the throughput may fall.
In the conventional IBSS, mobile stations (wireless nodes) in the network repeat "Awake" and "Doze" all at once at a prescribed cycle. Similar to the BSS structure, if mobile stations shift to the "Awake" state too frequently even if no signal transmission/reception is scheduled, power consumption increases unnecessarily. If the listen interval is too long, delay in packet transmission/reception increases and the throughput is reduced. These problems are likely to arise in both directions between mobile stations because there is no uplink/downlink distinction in IBSS, unlike BSS.
Although the above-listed patent-related publications and non-patent publication disclose techniques for changing the listen interval for intermittent reception, no publication proposes to set the listen interval for intermittent reception based upon actual traffic conditions. Therefore, the above-described problems are left without solutions.

Wireless communication apparatus and wireless communication method


A conveying device comprising a conveyor bed having a first end and an opposite rear end and a platform rotatably connected to the conveyor bed at the first end. The platform may be rigidly connected to a rotor of the device and the rotor may include a curved roller surface. The platform is preferably substantially offset from a pivot of the rotor. Conveying elements travel over the roller surface to accomplish a smooth extraction or retraction of the conveying elements from within the device. The device is tiltable and may accommodate loading and unloading of luggage into a cargo hold of an aircraft, for instance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to conveying devices, and more specifically to conveying devices having drive mechanisms to selectively extend and retract conveying elements, and particularly to conveying devices having drive mechanisms to selectively extend and retract conveying elements from an aircraft baggage loader.
2. Background Information
Baggage loading devices are common. A typical device includes a vehicle equipped with an endless belt upon which luggage or other items are placed. Movement of the belt conveys the luggage from one end of the vehicle to the other end. An airplane loading vehicle preferably elevates at an angle so the luggage is transported from a lower level and into higher positioned cargo area of the airplane. In some instances add-on conveyors are included with the main belt-driven loader.
One example of such an add-on conveyor is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,376 to Voldby. The add-on conveyor in Voldby is generally positioned in a retracted state beneath the main belt loader of the apparatus. The conveyor may be extended into the cargo compartment of the aircraft. A user manually pushes the conveyor into position while an assistant in the cargo compartment guides the end of the conveyor. The conveyor can be withdrawn progressively by manually pulling the conveyor from the outside in the opposite direction. At least a certain number of the rollers of the conveyor may include driving means to power the rollers which in turn convey baggage or other items. The conveyor includes a flexible driving means, such as a cardan chain, which has two degrees of freedom, one along the curve and the other up/down in relation to a horizontal plane. Examples of such chain include the type "Uni-slat top" or "Uni-Flex", both from the firm Uni-Chains Int. A/S Vejle, Denmark. A chain of the latter type essentially consist of Y-shaped chained links, linked together so that the chain can be curved like a bike chain, but can also be bent sidewards in a curve. The slat-variety includes elements with a slat of flattened surface that are linked together and have similar movement as a Y-shaped variety. Neither include a hollow opening disposed for running of cables within the chain-like structure.
Another example of a conveyor device is found in PCT Application Publication No. WO 2005/073110 A1 entitled Conveying Device, by Martin Vestergaard, published Aug. 11, 2005. The conveyor device in that application is silent as to whether and/or how the device is extended from or retracted into the aircraft or other base. The conveyor device in that application includes a variety of mechanisms for articulation of respective conveying elements. The device also includes an embodiment where the conveying device of that invention is arranged underneath the device for transporting the luggage from the cargo hold to the luggage trolley placed on the ground. This is done by arranging a box-like structure underneath the conveyor such that the conveying device according to that disclosure can slide out of and into that box-like structure. For that purpose, a guide rail is arranged inside the box such that the chain box elements 4 of the conveying device according to that disclosure may by means of guidance rollers roll inside the guide rail such that it is relatively easy to eject or insert the conveying device into the conveyor. While the device of Vestergaard shows a hollow chain box 4 as indicated in prior art FIG. 15 by reference number 43 for placing different means for powering the rollers, wires etc. (which FIG. 15 generally corresponds to FIG. 15 of the Vestergaard PCT application), such particular structure of FIG. 15 or disclosure does not show a universal joint for articulation to achieve two degrees of freedom.
Another example of a conveyor device in use outside the United States and generally demonstrated at www.powerstow.com includes a retractable conveyor having multiple rollers. This device is marketed by Power Stow A/S of Denmark under the name Rollertrack. The retraction and extension of the conveyor units appears to be powered; yet the specifics of how such motion is obtained, such as with a worm drive or jack screw or other mechanism, is not apparent from the disclosure. There is no disclosure of the conveyor units having a yoke for articulation to achieve two degrees of freedom or to swivel about two axes. What is apparent in the Rollertrack device, however, is the need for use of tracking rollers to fill a gap between the conveyor belt and the extending rollers.
Other examples of conveyor devices having a retractable conveyor are found in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/169,361 to Thogersen, publication No. US 2003/0091415, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/720,471, publication No. US 2004/0105740. These applications show a retractable conveyor constructed for storing in a generally folded configuration. The retractable conveyor units include an endless belt. In one embodiment, the moving of the conveyor units to and from the cargo compartment of an aircraft is carried out by means of a driving, endless conveyor belt which cooperates with the bottom side of the conveyor units, such as by way of friction; or the conveyor part is pushed and moved into the cargo compartment; or the invention is generally silent as to the particulars of how the conveyor units are driven or retracted or extended. The pivoting of respective conveyor units requires a complicated design and accommodates pivoting in limited direction. For instance, the individual conveyor units pivot in a bottom-to-bottom relationship but do not freely pivot in a top-to-top relationship (i.e., they fold downward (bottom-to-bottom) with respect to each other but there is no showing that they fold top-to-top, or upward with respect to each other).
One desire of an elevating conveyor is to maintain a level platform in relation to a cargo hold of the airplane. A level platform is desired to assist in the efficient and safe movement of conveying elements or rollers (and accompanying luggage which rides upon the elements) from the conveyor onto the aircraft. A platform that merely pivots or only slightly rotates about an axis point may lead to problems with extension and retraction of individual roller elements that may be stored under the conveyor. For instance, a platform that pivots may result in a sharper angle (especially where the conveyor is in an elevated mode) requiring an individual roller element to negotiate upward about a relatively steep track and then crest and proceed downward or along another track or platform. The same may be true in reverse where the roller elements must negotiate from a relatively flat platform to a relatively steep downward track. Such sharp angle may lead to bunching or misalignment or other issues detracting from a smooth extraction or retraction of the roller elements. Applicant has developed a novel system of conveying elements which may extend from a conveyor and into the cargo hold of an aircraft. As the conveying elements exit the conveyor bed, the elements travel about a platform whereupon they enter the cargo area. The conveying device is generally positioned next to the aircraft and adjacent the aircraft cargo hold. The platform typically bridges the area between the conveyor bed and the cargo area.
The present invention provides a novel conveying device and advantages over prior designs. The device includes a drive mechanism which accommodates for ease of extension/retraction of the conveying elements of a conveyor. The conveying elements also include an advantageous hollow universal articulating joint for increased performance. The device includes a rotating platform to assist with efficient movement of conveying elements. Numerous other advantages and novel features of the present invention are disclosed.


A system of ISA bus cards compatible with plug and play protocol stores common resource data in a plurality of programmable read only memories which are each installed on the individual bus cards. A random access memory is also provided on each one of the bus cards. In order to comply with the plug and play protocol, each of the random access memories is programmed independently from the read only memories with a unique identification that identifies the individual bus card. The separation of the storage location of the unique identification from the resource data common to all of the bus cards allows for mass production and programming of the read only memories, while still providing the unique identification for each bus card that is required by the plug and play protocol.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of peripheral communications in digital data systems, and more particularly, to the configuration of bus cards for peripheral devices coupled to a digital data system.
2. Description of Related Art
In digital data systems, such as computer systems, peripheral devices are typically connected to a bus of the system through a bus card. The system bus and the individual bus cards which connect a plurality of peripheral devices to the system, allow the peripheral devices and the system components to communicate with one another. For certain bus architectures, such as the industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a number of resources must be allocated among the bus cards connected to the bus in order for the system to function properly. These resources include direct memory access channels, interrupt levels, and memory and I/O address spaces.
Since there is no defined mechanism for allocating these resources in the ISA bus architecture, configuration of the bus cards for the ISA bus is typically done with jumpers. The jumpers form a hardwired solution for providing the decode maps for memory and I/O space, and steering the DMA and interrupt signals to different pins on the bus. The resolution of conflicts in resource sharing among the bus cards relies on documentation provided by individual card manufacturers, making the configuration process difficult. Although there are other bus architectures that do not have these problems, the popularity of the ISA bus spurred development of a solution to these problems.
The proposed solution to the allocation of resources and conflict resolution in the ISA bus architecture is a protocol known as the "plug and play" protocol. Plug and play software, according to the plug and play specification, optimally allocates system resources between "plug and play" ISA cards and the other devices in the system without user intervention.
The plug and play specification requires each bus card to have a unique identification number (the "ID") in order to automatically configure an ISA bus card. This ID is read by a host processor at the time of power-up or system reset to configure the device. Additionally, to comply with the plug and play standard, the ISA bus card must store its system resources (resource data structure, or "RDS") on the card itself. It is recommended in the plug and play specification that the ID and the system resources (RDS) be stored in serial electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM).
The requirement that each bus card have a unique ID poses a manufacturing problem in the mass production of plug and play ISA bus cards. In order to efficiently produce the bus cards, the EEPROM's for the individual bus cards need to be programmed simultaneously. However, this is problematical since each card must be programmed with a different ID, although the RDS is the same in each EEPROM.

Method of constructing a plug and play compatible bus card which allows for mass production of the bus card


A cutter head including a cutter body portion having a first outer surface and a second outer surface located inward of the first outer surface. Both first and second outer surfaces are interrupted by a plurality of blade receiving slots which extend inward into the cutter body portion. The first and second outer surfaces are arranged such that an annular projection is formed protruding from the second outer surface and extending to the first outer surface. The annular projection is also interrupted by the plurality of cutting blade slots thus forming a plurality of individual projections. The cutter head additionally includes a clamping ring extending about the cutter body and secured to the annular projection. The clamping ring comprises first and second ring members which together define an inner receiving channel having a form complementary with the form of the annular projection whereby securing the first and second ring members together about the annular projection positions the annular projection in the receiving channel and secures the clamping ring to the cutter body. The cutter head may include a generally concave shaped clamping block which is attached to the receiving channel in the clamping ring. The cutter head may further comprise blade receiving slots wherein the inner end portion of the slots includes a pair of angled blade mounting surfaces. Also included are cutting blades having side portions of a form which is complementary to the angled blade mounting surfaces of the cutter head.

It is known in the art to produce toothed articles, such as bevel and hypoid gears, with cutting tools comprising a head portion in which a plurality of cutting blades are positioned, for example, stick-type cutting blades manufactured from bar stock such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,285 to Blakesley.
In the type of cutting tool mentioned above, it is customary to provide a circular cutter body having a plurality of slots extending inwardly a predetermined distance from the periphery of the cutter body for receiving and positioning cutting blades in the cutter body. In many instances, extending about the periphery of the cutter body is a clamping ring (or locking ring) which is secured to the cutter body and in which is mounted means to clamp one or more cutting blades in each of the positioning slots. Cutting tools including a clamping ring and blade clamping means can be seen, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,621,954 to Kitchen et al.; 3,760,476 to Kotthaus; 4,093,391 to Bachmann et al.; or 4,197,038 to Hipp et al.
The clamping ring is secured to the cutter body in many instances by welding or heat shrinking. Although these methods represent a very secure manner by which to attach the clamping ring to the cutter body, they also introduce significant heat into the cutter head which can distort the cutting blade positioning slots or warp the cutter head, thus introducing dimensional inaccuracies such as runout into the workpiece being machined.
Unacceptable workpiece quality may also be caused by inadequate clamping of the cutting blades in the cutter head. Cutting blades that are not securely clamped will lose their precise positioning in the cutter head thereby contributing to workpiece runout as well as poor surface quality of the tooth flanks. Some clamping arrangements provide for only a single source of clamping force applied to a cutting blade which affords the opportunity for movement of the cutting blade under cutting loads. Other clamping arrangements, while providing more stable clamping systems, are quite awkward due to the presence of multiple clamping screws or a large number of components. Still other clamping systems make no provisions for retaining the clamping mechanism in the cutter head blade slot when no blade is present.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a clamping ring which can be secured to a cutter body while avoiding the detrimental effects due to heating of the cutter head.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a cutting blade clamping system which more securely holds a cutting blade in its proper position in a cutter head.
Another object of the present invention is to include precise mounting surfaces in a cutter head that provide improved seating of a cutting blade in the positioning slots of the cutter head.


Disclosed is a pocketable container in the form of a resealable polymeric packet designed to hold and disperse multiple doses of a useful fluid. Resealing is achieved by means of a simple yet reliable fold closure technique making possible a cost effective tool for carrying about small quantities of useful liquids, specifically hand sanitizing fluids for control of sickness and infectious disease in a human population.

The packaging of liquids and particularly the resealing of opened liquid packets has always had the twin challenges of operational simplicity and reliable leak prevention. Whatever the design it must be intuitively easy to operate by users with widely ranging physical abilities; equally important is absolute leakage control which not only prevents product loss but also avoids damage to surrounding materials and circumstances. Above all, the design must provide these features in the form of a very low cost, small, disposable packet. Numerous inventive designs have been put forth over many years to meet these well recognized challenges. The following are representative of the current art.
Salfisberg, U.S. Pat. No. 2,325,921 (1943) describes a polymeric packet for distribution of tablets or liquids. The design includes a material reservoir, a discharge neck, a matchbook-style cover that when closed and held folds the discharge neck so as to prevent accidental discharge. This design has no controlling barrier feature or restrictive passage so the relatively large discharge channel permits substantial leakage whenever even minor incidental external pressure is applied to the liquid reservoir.
Schneider, U.S. Pat. No. 2,976,988 (1961) describes a polymeric packet for distribution of tablets or liquids. Two chambers, reservoir and distribution, are connected by a passage designed to control liquid exchange by simple stretch tension produced by the polymeric walls of the packet, opened under fluidic pressure, and resealing when the fluidic pressure is released. No other resealing features such as a fold are provided and application of inadvertent pressure to the liquid through the walls, such as found in a purse or pocket, is more than sufficient to produce a substantial product discharge with subsequent loss and damage.
Schneider, U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,640 (1965) describes a flexible polymeric packet with an extended discharge channel that is folded over and held against the packet by placing the discharge end in a slit pocket formed as part of the packet wall. This one chamber design absent a controlling barrier feature and restrictive passage is very prone to leakage particular along the channel edges where the fold and side seals meet but fail to provide effective closure.
Amneus, U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,509 (1979) describes a dispensing container with an elongated discharge spout ending in a tension curl valve designed to uncurl and release fluid when a stripping action is applied to the length of the discharge spout. Due to the relatively stiff tension required to maintain the curl for leakage control, the design is better adapted to wall hanging and mechanical operation and precludes the convenience of a pocket carried version.
Herzig, U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,257 (1981) describes a flexible container employing a transverse pinch-off valve at the discharge slit that opens when pressure is applied to key areas of the container adjacent to a pinch-off line. Practice has shown the tension of the valve quickly fatigues and leakage results. Ease of manipulation has also proven problematic.
Imer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,782 (1993) describes a polymeric sachet with a liquid reservoir and narrow outlet channel through which the liquid is discharged. The sachet is resealed by folding the strap in which the narrow channel is located at a 45° angle and fitting the strap extension into a holding slit thus sealing the channel. In practice the strap manipulation is cumbersome to operate and prone to accidental discharge and leakage. Additionally the lack of a distribution chamber to control pressure discharge and dose measurement makes dispersement messy and erratic.
Farmer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,244,468 (2001) describes a liquid sachet with two chambers formed by seals, a connecting inlet, and an exit point resealable by twin tension folds traversing the opening that unfold under hydraulic pressure to disperse the liquid. The tension necessary to hold the folds shut is necessary slight so as to appropriately respond to an opening pressure that needs to remain within moderate limits, this requirement and the lack of any fold holding means makes the folds vulnerable to accidental opening, discharge, and leakage when inadvertently manipulated by movements and conditions typically found in a pocket, briefcase, or purse.
Harper, U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,354 (2006) describes a self-sealing polymer packet with reservoir and dispersement chambers, a traversing barrier seam forming the chambers, and an active choke valve in the barrier seam that restricts pressurized liquid passage unless opened by intentional contortion of the packet walls. In practice the design presents operational challenges to users with small hands, arthritic fingers, or limited dexterity. Additionally, some users disbelieve a miniscule choke valve can adequately reseal the packet, preferring a more obvious and robust closure system to prevent leakage.
The present invention recognizes the numerous seal variations found in the foregoing prior art and specifically addresses their individual and collective disadvantages and shortcomings. Salfisberg's matchbook packaging with a fold closure held in place by a cover is simple, somewhat intuitive, cost effective, but leaks badly. Schneider '640 and Imer disclosed fold-and-hold designs that are both cumbersome to operate and prone to leakage and discharge. Schneider '988 introduced the bi-chamber and contolling barrier features together with cost effectiveness but failed to provide a robust closure system against leakage. Amneus, Herzig and Farmer all employed spout closure designs that relied upon material tension to control leakage, such designs are prone to accidental external manipulation that allows leakage, particularly in small packets intended for pocket or purse carrying. The Harper packet with the active choke seal design provides effective measurement and dose dispersal, together with cost effectiveness and good leak protection, but opening the seal is not easy for all users. Despite all these efforts there is still an unmet need for a novel closure system that makes secure, resealable liquid packets a simple reality for all users.