An improved method of producing positive photographic prints in hybrid photofinishing system employing a digital image printer to produce an intermediate negative image on a non-photographic medium wherein digital data used to print the negative includes code values simulating an orange mask effect in the negative. The improvement in the method involves a reduction in the orange mask values in the digital data so as to reduce the D-max values required for digitally printing the intermediate negative thereby reducing print cost and throughput time in the process. In a further improvement, the printer code values for pixels corresponding to full white in the final image are forced to values that print as black in the negative thereby eliminating the orange mask effect for these pixels and rendering improved rendition of full white areas in the final image print.

1. Prior Art
Recent improvements in the spatial and data resolution capabilities of digital color image processing systems have made such systems particularly attractive for a variety of photo-processing (e.g. photo-finishing) applications. In still color image photography, for example, once an image (such as that captured on color photographic film or a high resolution color digital camera) has been digitized and stored in an attendant data base, it is readily optimized for reproduction by means of photofinishing image processing software. One example of a color photo-finishing system that takes advantage of this capability is disclosed in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 582,305, filed Sep. 14, 1990, by S. Kristy entitled "Multiresolution Digital Imagery Photofinishing System," assigned to the assignee of the present application and the disclosure of which is herein incorporated.
As described in that application, conventional photo-finishing of consumer-generated still color photographs (e.g. those captured on 35 mm color film) involves the use of an analog electro-optic system and an associated chemical-based print developing unit. In the above-referenced Kristy application, there is described a digital image-based photofinishing apparatus that enables the personal customizing and obtaining of high quality prints of photographic images; it also provides for the storage and retrieval of high resolution digitized color still images for playback to a variety of reproduction devices.
To this end, as diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 1, the digital-image-based photofinishing apparatus employs a high resolution opto-electronic film scanner 12, the output of which is coupled to a digitized image processing computer 14. Scanner 12 may comprise a commercially available Eikonix Model 1435 high resolution scanner, having a very high resolution sensor pixel array (a 3072.times.2048 pixel matrix) capable of generating high spatial density-representative output signals which, when converted into digital format, yield `digitized` photographic image files from which high quality color prints may be obtained. Scanner 12 is arranged to be optically coupled with a photographic recording medium, such as a conventional 35 mm color film strip 16. Film strip 16 typically contains a plurality (e.g. a set of twenty-four or thirty-six) 36 mm .times. 24 mm color image frames. For each scanned image frame, scanner 12 outputs digitally encoded data, representative of the opto-electronic response of its high resolution imaging sensor pixel array, onto which a respective photographic image frame of film strip 16 is projected by the scanher's input lens system.
This digitally encoded data, or `digitized` image, is supplied to computer 14 as digitized image pixel signals R,G,B forming an imaging pixel array-representative bit map, resolved to a prescribed code width (e.g. eight bits per color per pixel). Computer 14 contains an image encoding and storage operator through which each high resolution digitized image file is stored in memory. In one mode of operation pertinent to the present invention, the image digital data is processed in computer 14 by reference to code data stored in a lookup table 14a to derive a second set of digital data R',G',B' which is the complement of the input image data. This complement image is the negative image to be printed by a digital color printer 22 onto a non-photographic recording medium 24 and, ultimately, to be used in producing a final positive print image. Optionally, the digital image data may be exchanged with a separate image processing workstation 20 programmed to allow for interactive operations allowing an operator to modify the image data in any desired manner to achieve a pleasing image in the final print. Although the computer 14 is shown as a unit separate from the workstation 20, the functions of the two may, in fact, be incorporated into a single unit.
A high spatial resolution digital output device, such as a digital thermal color printer, is able to provide a high quality hard copy of a customized image directly from the digital data base; in which case the R',G',B' signals would represent a positive image rather than the compliment or negative of the image. However, printing with a high resolution printer of this type is a relatively slow process. Also, because the output reproduction medium (e.g. thermal color print paper) upon which the image is written, is not inexpensive, the price per print remains substantially high, regardless of the number of copies made.
In a conventional analog optical/chemical photofinishing process, on the other hand, multiple copies of an original image can be made through repeated illumination of a negative onto sheets of relatively inexpensive photo-sensitive color print paper, such as Ektacolor (Trademark Eastman Kodak Co.) color print paper and chemically developing the exposed sheets during a reasonably abbreviated processing sequence. Unfortunately, purely optical/chemical processing systems do not offer the flexibility and processing capability of digital image processing systems.
For many years, negative films have employed colored couplers which give the film an orange appearance, referred to as an "orange mask", particularly in the unexposed exposure areas of the film (corresponding to white or near-white areas in the final print). While it is not absolutely necessary to incorporate the orange mask into a negative to be printed, there is a definite advantage. The orange mask partially compensates for the unwanted spectral absorptions in the three dye layers (cyan, magenta, yellow) of the negative film and in the overlapping spectral sensitivities of the photographic paper and gives a dramatic improvement in the color reproduction of the film/paper system.
There are several ways of printing onto photographic paper if no orange mask is incorporated into the negative. In order to get acceptable color balance in neutral areas of prints when printing a negative that has no orange mask, the filtration of the light source used to expose the negative to the photographic print material must be changed by an amount equivalent to the average density of the orange mask. This can be done in one of several ways. The cyan, magenta, and yellow filters in the optical path of the light source can be adjusted to compensate for the absence of the orange mask. Unfortunately, some printers do not have a sufficiently large adjustment range to accommodate such a change. Alternative approaches are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 631,708 - Manico et al, filed Dec. 12, 1990. In one such alternative, a sheet of translucent "orange" filter material of the proper density is laid over the negative to form a lamination used to expose the print material. While useful for the purpose, this technique has a disadvantage in that the orange filter must be very uniform and have no "blemishes" since it is in the focal plane of the negative. In another such alternative, which is particularly applicable to a system in which the image has been digitized and stored as a digital data base, the digital image is printed onto an intermediate non-photographic recording material to form the internegative and the orange mask is digitally incorporated into the digital image data. This is done by graphically modeling the masking that exists in conventional negative film and modifying the printer look-up tables used for printing the digital image to incorporate data values that result in emulation of the orange mask. The dyes printed by the thermal printer onto the intermediate material incorporate the adjusted color balance needed to emulate the orange mask and the resulting prints photochemically produced on conventional photographic print materials then have substantially similar color characteristics to those made from conventional negatives.

Method and apparatus for producing color internegatives with a digital printer


A fencing system including a plurality of vertical support members for supporting a plurality of elongate support members so as to create a physical barrier. A plurality of elongate conductors are attached to the elongate support members and positioned so that the elongate conductors attached to each elongate support member run parallel to the elongate support members. A power supply is connected to the elongate conductors so that an electrical potential is created.

Electric fences are commonly used to enclose farm animals such as cattle. These fences commonly have wires strung between fence posts. The wires themselves are generally not strong enough to contain the animals in the enclosure. To deter the animals from escaping, the wires are electrified to create an electrical potential between two parallel wires or between a wire and the ground. When an animal touches the electrified wire, a current path is created from the electrified wire, through the animal, and to the ground. Similarly, if the system uses two or more wires, a current path is created from an electrified wire, through the animal, and into a ground wire. This current flow shocks the animal and causes an unpleasant sensation that typically causes the animal to avoid the fence. The severity of the shock can be controlled by increasing or decreasing the voltage and current supplied to the conductive wires.
Conventional electric fences have several disadvantages. For example, the wires themselves are generally not very visible or strong and a frightened or angry animal may not see them and may run right through them even though a shock is felt. Similarly, a fallen tree limb may knock down the electrified wires. Conventional systems are also unaesthetically pleasing and are susceptible to failure resulting from breakage due to fatigue of the wires.
In this regard, it has been observed that conventional electric fences often have a limited deterrent effect upon animals because the animals are often unaware of the fence until a shock is received since such electric fences generally consist of nothing more than a wire connected between fence posts. In high grass, these fences are often so concealed that even a person would be unaware of the fence's presence. To an even greater degree, animals tend not to notice the thin wire until a shock is received. Once shocked, the frightened animals are often unable to determine the source of the shock and may flee directly into the fence, thereby damaging or destroying the fence. To increase the visibility of the fences, farmers often tie bright colored pieces of cloth around the wires to increase the fence's visibility. This somewhat improves the visibility of the fence but does not identify the entire length of the fence, and hence the source of the shock to the animals, and otherwise does not overcome the disadvantages of such fences.
Accordingly it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electric fencing system which avoids many of the disadvantages of conventional electric fences Another object of the invention is to provide an electric fencing system that is highly visible so that animals and people alike are aware of the electrified fence and its precise boundaries.
A further object is to provide a physical barrier having enhanced durability.
Still another object is to provide an electric fence of the character described that is adaptable to mounting in a variety of settings.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a fencing system of the character described which is uncomplicated in configuration and economical.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an electric fence of the character described which is more aesthetically pleasing than the prior art electric fences.
Having regard to the foregoing and other objects, the present invention is directed to a fencing system.
According to the invention, the fencing system includes an elongate support provided by an electrically non-conductive material, the support having a front surface opposite and spaced apart from a back surface and at least two spaced apart elongate channels defined in the space between the front and back surfaces with each channel having an elongate slit that is smaller in cross-section than the channel and provided on the front surface thereof to provide access to the channel from the front surface.
At least two elongate conductors attachable to the support are provided, each conductor having an elongate support surface positionable within one of the channels of the support, an elongate contact surface positionable adjacent the front surface of the support and a connecting portion positionable within one of the slits and extending between the support surface of the conductor and the contact surface of the conductor.
A power supply having oppositely charged poles provides electrical power to each conductor, with adjacent ones of the conductors being oppositely charged such that when an animal comes into simultaneous contact with oppositely charged conductors an electronic circuit is completed and an electric current is applied to the animal.
In another aspect, the fencing system includes a plurality of vertical support members for supporting a plurality of elongate support members so as to create a physical barrier. A plurality of elongate conductors are attached to the elongate support members and positioned so that the elongate conductors attached to each elongate support member run parallel to the elongate support members. A power supply is connected to the elongate conductors so that an electrical potential is created.
In an especially preferred embodiment, the elongate conductors are hollow and a first elongate conductor of an elongate support member is electrically connected to a second elongate conductor of an adjacent elongate support member by inserting a connecting conductor partially inside the first conductor and partially inside the second conductor and crimping the first and second conductors around the conductive connector.
A significant aspect of the invention relates to the provision of a fencing system which is highly visible and has improved aesthetics and strength as compared to conventional electric fences.


In the interval stop clock mode, the stop clock generating circuit in the system controller generates a stop clock signal that alternates between the active state and the inactive state and supplies the signal to the CPU. This causes the CPU to alternate between a state where the CPU is stopped from executing an instruction and an instruction executable state. In such a computer system, an interrupt type sensing circuit senses various interrupt request signals generated in the system and determines the type of each interrupt request. A stop clock temporary stopping circuit controls the stop clock generating circuit so as to bring the stop clock signal in the inactive state for the period of time specified by the timer value stored in the register corresponding to the determined type of the interrupt request. With this configuration, the performance of the CPU is prevented from falling off in a case where a load is exerted on the CPU as a result of a hardware interrupt to the CPU having occurred in the interval stop clock mode.

The present invention relates to a portable personal computer of the laptop type or the notebook type, and more particularly to a computer system having the function of controlling the operating speed of the CPU by means of a stop clock signal for reducing power consumption and to a stop clock signal control method for use in the system.
In recent years, various portable personal computers of the laptop type or the notebook type have been developed. With this type of computer, as shown in FIG. 1A, the system controller 32 supplies to the CPU 31 a signal, called a stop clock signal (signal STPCLK#), for controlling the operating speed of the CPU 31. Depending on the logical state of the signal STPCLK#, the CPU 31 is temporarily stopped from executing an instruction, thereby reducing the power consumption.
To realize a reduction in the power consumption by using the signal STPCLK#, the computer system of FIG. 1A is provided with a specific mode called interval stop clock mode.
The user can choose the mode on the setup screen. When the mode is chosen, the controller 32 outputs to the CPU 31 the signal STPCLK# that alternates between an active period (in low level) and an inactive period (in high level) (e.g., at intervals of 32 .mu.s). According to the alternation of signal STPCLK# between the active period and the inactive period, the CPU 31 alternates between a first state in which the CPU is temporarily stopped from executing an instruction and a second state in which the CPU is allowed to execute the instruction.
As described above, in the interval stop clock mode, the CPU 31 alternates between the temporary stop period of instruction execution and the instruction executable period, thereby assuring the reduction of power consumption. Because the CPU stops executing an instruction intermittently, but not completely, it can perform processing, although the speed is low and therefore the performance falls off. Therefore, the interval stop clock mode is a useful function when the user uses the computer system operating on a battery.
With a conventional computer system, however, once the interval stop clock mode has been set, the CPU is temporarily stopped intermittently, regardless of the state of the CPU. As a result, when a load is applied to the CPU, the CPU has the disadvantage of degrading the performance. The degradation of the CPU's performance is a problem, especially when a high-speed hardware device (I/O device), such as a hard disk drive (HDD), has triggered an interrupt to the CPU.

Computer system and stop clock signal control method for use in the system


Disclosed are a method and apparatus for receiving data. The method for receiving data of a terminal includes the steps of: receiving, from a base station, information that a modulation scheme used in an allocated resource block is 256 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM); determining a modulation and coding scheme (MCS) index and first resource allocation information on the allocated resource block on the basis of downlink control information (DCI); determining an ITBS on the basis of the MCS index; determining second resource allocation information on the basis of the first resource allocation information; and determining the transmission block size on the basis of the ITBS and second resource allocation information.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more specifically, a method and apparatus for receiving data.
Related Art
Intensive research is underway in LTE (Long Term Evolution) release 12 for enhanced performance in light of capacity, coverage, coordination between cells, and costs. Under discussion is, from a technical perspective, adoption of various techniques including small cell enhancement, macro cell enhancement, new carrier type, and machine type communication for performance enhancements in LTE release 12.
Enhancements in capacity and transmission coverage, which LTE release 12 is targeting, may be achieved by small cell enhancement based on inter-site carrier aggregation, LTE-WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) integration, and macro cell enhancement. Assuming the situation that the cell size is decreasing, the UE's movement is frequent, and the traffic signaled as the UE moves may increase. To address such issues, a method being discussed in LTE release 12 is to optimize small cells by reducing signaling that is made from RANs (Radio Access Network) to the core network based on small cell enhancement.
Further, the NCT (New Carrier Type) discussed in LTE release 12 is a newly defined frame type, different from the legacy frame configuration. The NCT may be a carrier type optimized for small cells, but this may also apply to macro cells. For example, the NCT may reduce overhead that is caused upon transmitting reference signals, such as CRSs (cell-specific reference signals), and may demodulate downlink control channels based on DM-RSs (demodulation reference signals). Newly defining the NCT may save the energy of base stations and reduce interference between HetNets (Heterogeneous Networks). Further, use of the NCT may decrease reference signal overhead that arises upon transmission of data through a plurality of downlink antennas. In the NCT, specifically, the legacy frame structure (for example, CP length, subframe structure, duplexing mode) is maintained, but the control channel and/or reference signal may be newly defined.


A stencil printed encapsulant material is provided for use in protecting electrical components in thermal ink jet printhead cartridges. A method of applying an encapsulant material to an ink jet print cartridge by stencil printing is also provided. The method includes providing a stencil having at least one aperture, providing an ink jet cartridge and stencil printing an encapsulant material onto a portion of the ink jet print cartridge thereby forming a layer of encapsulant material to protect electrical components or other printhead components.

Drop-on-demand ink jet printers use thermal energy to produce a vapor bubble in an ink-filled chamber to expel a droplet. A thermal energy generator or heating element, usually a resistor, is located in the chamber on a heater chip near a discharge orifice. A plurality of chambers, each provided with a single heating element, are provided in the printer's printhead. The printhead typically comprises the heater chip and a nozzle plate having a plurality of the discharge orifices formed therein. The printhead forms part of an ink jet print cartridge which also comprises an ink-filled container.
The resistors are individually addressed with an energy pulse to momentarily vaporize the ink and form a bubble which expels an ink droplet. A flexible circuit is used to provide a path for energy pulses to travel from a printer energy supply circuit to the printhead. The flexible circuit includes a substrate portion and a plurality of traces located on the substrate portion. The traces have end sections which extend out from the substrate portion. The extending sections are coupled to bond pads on the printhead. Typically, there is a first row of coupled bond pads and trace sections and an opposing, second row of coupled bond pads and trace sections.
It is known in the art to form a barrier layer over each row of coupled bond pads and extending trace sections. One known process for forming such a barrier layer involves dispensing an encapsulant material onto the coupled bond pads and trace sections using a discharge needle. The final height of the barrier layer relative to the nozzle plate typically is undesirably high. As a result, a paper substrate, which receives the ejected ink droplets, is spaced an increased distance from the printhead orifice plate. Consequently, misdirected ink droplets reach the paper substrate at locations which are spaced a greater distance from their intended contact points than if the paper substrate were located closer to the printhead orifice plate. The excessive height of the barrier layer is further problematic as it makes it more difficult to apply a length of sealing tape to the printhead so as to seal the printhead orifices from ink leakage until the print cartridge is installed for use in a printer. Another potential problem associated with dispensing an encapsulant material with a discharge needle relates to improper location. Dispensing encapsulant in the wrong locations can result in unacceptable product because the encapsulant fails to provide the necessary coverage for the electrical components on the print cartridge.
Commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,439,698 describes a dual curable encapsulating material used to protect electronic components of an ink jet printhead. The encapsulant is applied to the electrical connections preferably in the form of a bead.
Commonly assigned EP 0 867 293 A3 describes a method of forming a barrier layer over sections in a flexible circuit using an encapsulant material applied from a dispensing needle having an oval discharge orifice.

Method of applying an encapsulant material to an ink jet printhead


In a centrifugal separator of the type in which driving power of a motor is transmitted to a rotor via a power transmission mechanism, such as a belt, a motor-rotation signal frequency fm and a rotor-rotation signal frequency fr are computed, on the basis of which a frequency ratio A (fr/fm) is computed. When the frequency ratio A exceeds the upper limit of a first predetermined range, a warning message is displayed to prompt the user to perform maintenance. When the frequency ratio A exceeds the upper limit of a second predetermined range, an alarm message is displayed and the motor is stopped.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a centrifugal separator, and more particularly to a belt driven centrifugal separator in which driving power of a motor is transmitted to a rotor via a driving power transmission mechanism, such as belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
Rotor driving systems of a centrifugal separator can be classified into a direct driving type in which a rotor is directly coupled to the rotational shaft of the motor, and an indirect driving type in which the rotor and the motor are coupled via a driving power transmitting mechanism including, for example, a belt. The centrifugal separator of the direct driving type is more frequently used in the art than that of the indirect driving type due to simplicity in structure and high driving power transmission efficiency. However, the direct driving type centrifugal separator requires a motor to be disposed in alignment with the rotational shaft of the rotor, so that the position in which the motor is disposed is restricted and the vertical dimension of the centrifugal separator increases.
When a user desires a low height centrifugal separator, such as a tabletop centrifugal separator, for the reasons of easy-to-access to a rotation chamber, the direct driving type centrifugal separator is more suitable than the indirect driving type. The indirect driving type can provide a low height centrifugal separator because a motor can be disposed aside the rotation chamber with the use of a driving power transmission mechanism including a belt or the like to transmit the driving power of the motor to the rotor. The indirect driving type is adopted when a motor designed to use for another purpose is used for the centrifugal separator or when the direct driving type is not available for the reasons of internal arrangement of the components.
For the indirect driving type centrifugal separator, the rotational speed of the motor is controlled so that the rotational speed of the rotor is set to a target value. Typically, the rotational speed of the rotor is detected magnetically or optically. With the magnetic detection, magnets are secured to the rotor or the rotor shaft and a Hall element is disposed to confront the rotating magnets and generate pulses with a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the rotor. With the optical detection, a photo-interrupter is used in which light emitting and light detecting elements are disposed in opposition with a disk interposed therebetween. The disk is formed with slits and coaxially attached to the rotor shaft. The light detecting element generates pulses with a frequency proportional to the rotational speed of the rotor. The pulses generated from the Hall element or the light detecting elements are applied to a microprocessor for computation of the rotational speed of the rotor. The rotational speed of the motor is controlled to be a desired value based on the rotational speed of the rotor computed by the microcomputer.
Even if the above-described control is carried out, the belt or other components of the driving power transmission mechanism would suffer from damages when slippage of the belt occurs. If the centrifugal separator is used while leaving the damaged belt as it stands, the motor might be damaged due to overload imposed thereupon or the belt might be fatally damaged. As a result, the rotor may not be able to rotate or to reach to a predetermined rotational speed even if the rotational speed of the motor is increased.
In order to prevent the damage of the motor, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei-10-118529 proposes an abnormality detection system in which abnormality of the driving power transmission mechanism is detected by comparing the rotation signals of the motor and the rotor. However, the proposed abnormality detection system produces abnormal signals whenever the comparison results indicate that the rotational relation of the motor and the rotor is offset from the exactly normal status. Normally, a small amount of slippage does not cause any problem, thus can be neglected. The abnormality signals produced from the abnormality detecting system includes not only real abnormality signals but also redundant and unneeded abnormality signals.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-10734 proposes a centrifugal separator with an abnormality detecting device in which redundant and unneeded abnormality signals are not generated.

Belt driven centrifugal separator with multi-stage, belt deterioration alerting display


Storing data that includes receiving an indication to perform an operation with respect to data associated with a virtual machine storage abstraction; and using a meta information identifying which data stored on a storage system is associated with the virtual machine storage abstraction to perform the requested operation.

Using virtual machines (VMs) to perform hardware virtualization is becoming increasingly common. Typical storage systems store data as files, file systems, LUNs, and volumes, for example. When a typical storage system is used for storing and running virtual machines (VMs), the administrators who manage the storage systems must create and maintain a mapping between VMs and the typical storage abstractions. Mapping VMs to typical storage abstractions is inefficient in part because each VM generally requires multiple files, file systems, LUNs and/or volumes to store. The difficulty in mapping VMs to typical storage abstractions also makes imposing storage management policies at a desired granularity (e.g., on a per VM basis) inconvenient. Furthermore, typical storage systems also makes viewing statistics at a desired granularity (e.g., on a per VM basis) difficult.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method for identifying an operational phase of a motor may include obtaining a first value of a signal that is indicative of the operational phase of the motor and obtaining a second value of the signal after a period of time has expired. The method further includes identifying a first operational phase of the motor if the second value exceeds the first value by a non-negative first threshold value. A second operational phase of the motor is identified if the second value does not exceed the first value by the first threshold value. The first and second operational phases may correspond to relative positions of a motor's rotor and stator, such that periods of energization may be identified for producing motoring or regenerative torque.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for identifying an operational phase of a motor phase winding and controlling energization of the phase winding.
2. Description of Related Art
The control of a switched reluctance machine (SRM) is highly dependent on the absolute position of its rotor. A detailed description of this relational dependency is provided in "Switched Reluctance Motor Drives," R. Krishnan, CRC Press, June 2001. The position of the rotor can be measured using an encoder, a resolver, or optical switches with magnet wheels. A solution by any of the above means is expensive and, therefore, not applicable and desirable in low performance, high volume, and low-cost applications.
Another way to obtain the absolute rotor position is by way of estimating it indirectly through measurement and processing of current or voltage signals. The basis for such a method lies in the fact that a phase winding of the SRM has a distinct and unique three-dimensional relationship among its three key variables of inductance/flux linkages, excitation phase current, and rotor position. When values of two of the three variables are known, the third variable can be deduced from prior knowledge of the three-dimensional relationship. Currents can be measured easily and inexpensively and flux linkages can be computed (provided the voltages of the windings are available), thus making the rotor position extraction an easy and simple matter.
Voltage measurements are not always inexpensive, clean, and free of switching noise. Thus, implementing a method of measuring voltage values to derive the third variable often presents a challenge in practice. Also, the way in which the method is implemented determines the estimation accuracy, the motor drive's speed range, implementation cost, and the robustness of the implementation. A method to inexpensively sense, measure, or estimate the absolute rotor position, directly or indirectly, remains a significant research and development challenge.
In "Switched Reluctance Motor Drives," Krishnan categorizes various methods of rotor position estimation and identifies their respective algorithms, implementations, merits, and demerits. Some related art methods are described below.
Watkins discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,179 using a freewheeling current to estimate rotor position. The relationship between the flux-linkage and the current in an SRM can be expressed as:
                                             λ            =                                          i                ·                L                                                                                …                                                                                ⅆ              λ                                      ⅆ              θ                                =                                    i              ·                                                ⅆ                  L                                                  ⅆ                  θ                                                      +                                          L                ·                                                      ⅆ                    i                                                        ⅆ                    θ                                                                                …                                                                                ⅆ              i                                      ⅆ              θ                                =                                                    1                L                                                          [                                                                            ⅆ                      λ                                                              ⅆ                      θ                                                        -                                      i                    ·                                                                  ⅆ                        L                                                                    ⅆ                        θ                                                                                ]                                                                                …                              where i is the current, L is the inductance, λ is the flux linkage of a stator phase, and θ is the rotor position.
During freewheeling, the right-hand side of the second equation can be simplified, since the voltage across the phase winding will be low and, therefore, the rate of change of flux is negligible. This gives rise to the relationship:
            ⅆ      i              ⅆ      θ        =                    1        L                          [                              -            i                    ·                                    ⅆ              L                                      ⅆ              θ                                      ]                                    …
For a small Δi≈α[−iΔL], where α=(1/L) . . . .
Watkins' method uses the fact that at the fully aligned position, of a set of rotor poles with respect to a set of stator poles, the rate of change of inductance with angle is essentially zero, irrespective of the level of phase current. Thus, according to the equation above, if Δi=0, the rotor position is centered on the aligned position, where the rate of change of inductance is zero. If Δi≠0, then its sign will give an indication of the operating point of the SRM, indicating whether the SRM is operating in a positive or negative inductance slope region.
The advantage of Watkins' method is that it is fairly simple to deploy. The disadvantage of the method being that it requires the machine to be rotating, with current in at least one phase winding. Therefore, it requires a separate startup procedure and device.
Liu et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,772 using the rise time of currents to detect rotor position. This method is based on the principle that current rise times in a motor phase coil are directly proportional to the inductance in the phase coil. The inductance in the phase coil is indicative of the rotor position and, hence, the rise times give an indication of the rotor position. The rise time is compared to a desired current rise time, which is indicative of an in-phase relationship between the conduction interval and rotor position. Therefore, the rise time can be used to generate control signals that govern commutation instances.
MacMinn et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,543 an SRM drive system that includes a state sequencing mechanism that is coupled to a phase sequencer to achieve position-based operation of a motor, without using a position sensor. A current sensor provides the state sequencing mechanism with the average current going through the motor windings, and the state sequencer generates the starting sequences based on the current information. The phase sequencer determines the phase to be energized, based on information received from the state sequencing mechanism. The start-up state sequence may be modeled by a state diagram having an align state, a start state, a check state, and a ramp state. From the align state, a transition is made to the start state, where an attempt to start the motor is made. Thereafter, a transition to the check state is effected and a determination of the average direct current (dc), Idc, in the motor windings is made. If Idc rises above a reference value, Iref, the start-up state sequence is reset to the align state, indicating the start-up sequence has to be re-tried. If Idc is less than Iref, the start-up sequence proceeds to the ramp state, which means that the start-up sequence is successful. Thereafter, the phase sequencer takes the motor to the commanded speed.
Konecny discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,939 a motor control circuit for an SRM that includes a rotor and a plurality of stator coils. A driver circuit for energizing the stator coils in sequence includes a current sensing resistor, for detecting a signal proportional to the current in the coils, and a slope detector for detecting the rate of change of the current signal with respect to time, over predetermined time intervals during which the voltage in the coils is dominated by a term representing back EMF. A variable oscillator is responsive to an integrated output of the slope detector for generating a timing signal for the driver circuit. When the voltage across the coils is dominated by the back EMF term, the current should be substantially constant. But when the rotor is out of phase with the driver circuit, the current signal during this time has a substantially linear slope, which is either positive or negative depending upon whether the rotor is leading or lagging the driver circuit.
Another method that uses active phase current sensing has been proposed by Sood et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,420,492 and Marcinkiewicz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,457,375. This method uses the dc bus current waveform to gather information regarding commutation instants for the motor. The method uses a processor to evaluate the slope and amplitude of the dc bus current, compares this waveform to a desired waveform, and then adjusts the commutation frequency accordingly. Prior knowledge of the waveform is required and has to be stored in memory for the method to work. Marcinkiewicz improves upon Sood's method by introducing an algorithm that takes into account the ripple content.
MacMinn et. al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,596 using an inductance sensing method, where voltage sensing pulses are applied to an inactive phase. The change in phase current resulting from the sensing pulses is inversely proportional to the instantaneous value of the phase inductance. A proper commutation time is determined by comparing this change in phase current to a threshold current, thus synchronizing phase excitation to the rotor position. Phase excitation is advanced or retarded by decreasing or increasing the threshold, respectively.
External signal injection into an inactive phase is used by Green, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,949, to achieve sensorless operation of a polyphase SRM. In the chopping mode, diagnostic pulses of predetermined flux linkage are injected into an idle phase. In the single-pulse mode, position prediction is performed using an active phase. A method of starting the machine uses diagnostic pulses in two phases to provide a unique value for position, allowing the drive to start or re-start under full torque. In another variation of this method, Green discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,094 injecting voltage pulses into an idle period of each phase winding in a chopping mode. Both of these methods are suitable for polyphase machines. An attempt is made to reduce acoustic noise by varying the frequency at which the pulses are injected according to the rotor speed.
Mayes discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,237 using a method based on injecting a diagnostic pulse, having a predetermined maximum value of current or flux linkage, into an inactive phase winding. The current or the flux linkage is measured at the end of the pulse and at the start before the pulse is injected. A value for the current or flux-linkage, due to injection of the diagnostic pulse, from the difference between the total current and the main current or flux-linkage is determined and then used to infer the rotor position.
MacMinn discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 4,772,839 an indirect position sensor that applies short duration low-level sensing pulses to two un-energized phases. A change in the phase is sensed to produce two values of estimated position values, for each of the un-energized phases. One of the two values corresponding to each un-energized phase is shifted by a value, which is equal to the phase displacement between the two un-energized phases. The two values corresponding to each un-energized phase are used to give an estimate of a rotor position. If one of the initially inactive phase becomes energized, then an extrapolation algorithm is used to estimate the angle, until there are two un-energized phases available to use the above estimation technique. This technique is only usable for polyphase machines.
Lyons et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,525,886 a method of estimating rotor position by applying relatively high frequency, short duration, probe pulses to at least two inactive phases. The voltage and the currents in these phases are measured and used to compute an estimate of the rotor and stator flux linkage in each of the phases. This estimate is fed into a model to determine the rotor position. The model can be a simple look-up table that has the rotor position corresponding to the potential flux values. The disadvantage of the method is that a look-up table has to be in place for this method to work. Also, measuring the voltages requires an expensive transducer part, which is unacceptable in many applications.
Kalpathi discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,786,681 using active phase coil inductance sensing to determine when to switch conduction to the next phase. The circuit has an asymmetric converter bridge and two switches per phase and operates as follows. First, both switches are turned on to initiate the conduction phase. Then, the bottom switch is kept closed while the top switch is switched on and off to produce local maximum and minimum currents. The amounts of time taken to reach each pair of local maxima and minima are recorded and their ratio is compared to a predetermined ratio to determine the commutation signal.
Ray discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,025 measuring the current and flux in an active phase, at a predicted rotor position value, and comparing the measured values to reference values. The angular error between the compared values identifies the predicted rotor position for the next cycle. The advantage of this method is that it requires the flux and the current only once every conducting cycle, unlike other flux linkage methods that compare the flux to a reference value continuously to determine the commutation time. But the disadvantage of this method is that it requires flux linkages, which in turn require both voltage and current sensing, making it difficult to implement compactly and with low cost.
A current gradient technique uses the fact that if the pulse width modulation (PWM) duty cycle is kept constant during one conduction period of a phase, then the slope of the current with respect to rotor position increases initially. When the inductance starts to rise, the current-slope decreases. Gabriel et al. disclose such a technique in IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Vol. 34, No. 4, pp. 832-834, July/August 1998. The limitations of this method are (1) the machine phases are triggered with an advance angle and (2) a separate starting mechanism needs to be in place to have full range of operation. The advantage of the method is that complex circuitry is not required to determine rotor position.
Holling et al. and Lim disclose in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,600,218 and 5,589,751, respectively, using the current gradient technique. Their algorithms compare a differentiated, normalized, current waveform to a predetermined threshold. The result of the comparison can then be used to detect the commutation point.
Holling discloses using the algorithm for a brushless dc motor, though this use may be extended to a variable reluctance motor.
Another technique known in the related art is a flux linkage based method that provides hesitation free starting. A common drawback of position sensorless techniques is the hesitation that occurs while starting the SRM.
Bu and Xu disclose in "Eliminating Starting Hesitation for Reliable Sensorless Control of Switched Reluctance Motors," Conference Record, IEEE Industry Applications Society, pp. 693-700, October 1998, a method for self starting without hesitation. All phases are excited for a short period and phase currents are measured. The phase with the second highest current is chosen to identify the rotor position. The drawback with this method is that a voltage transducer is needed in addition to current sensors.
Observer based estimation methods use model reference adaptive control (MRAC) techniques, simple observer/estimation techniques or a full observer technique. Lumsdaine and Lang disclose simple observer/estimation techniques in "State Observers for Variable-Reluctance Motors," IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 37., No. 2, 1990, pp. 133-142. Gentili and Nicosia disclose a full observer technique in "Observer Based Control System Design for Switched Reluctance Motors," Proceedings of the 34th Conference on Decision and Control, December 1995, pp. 115-120. Elmas and Zelaya-De La Parra also disclose a full observer technique in "Application of a Full Order Extended Luenberger Observer for a Position Sensorless Operation of a Switched Reluctance Motor Drive," IEEE Proceedings on Control Theory Applications, Vol. 143, No. 5, 1996, pp. 401-408.
These methods are all computationally intensive and, hence, are not viable industrial solutions for high volume commercial applications. Also, most of the current research is incomplete. Furthermore, the issue of self-starting has not been addressed in any of the studies. These methods are also discussed in "Switched Reluctance Motor Drives," R. Krishnan, CRC Press, June 2001.
Lyons et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,190 a model based approach. This approach uses a multi-phase lumped parameter model of an SRM. The method uses a sensor to sense flux. The measured flux is used to look up a corresponding position in a ROM or a microprocessor look-up table. The drawback of this method, apart from its complexity, is that it utilizes a microprocessor or look-up table. Also, this method is not suitable at very high speeds, as the look-up table and the capability of the analog-to-digital converter limits its operation.
A more involved model has been developed by the present inventors where the flux linkages of all phases are measured, to indirectly determine the rotor position. In this application, the motor is modeled as a network driven by a magnetomotive force. The flux generated in the stator poles is determined, and from the phase current and flux measurements, the reluctance of each phase is determined. The phase reluctance provides an indication of the rotor position with respect to the aligned position. The model takes into account the multi-phase saturation, leakage, and mutual coupling effects. The disadvantage of this method is the expense incurred in measurement of flux.
Branecky discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,153,956 a method using the same principle of flux level control along with a look-up table. The difference lies in the fact that Branecky uses a switch to account for various waveforms of currents, namely flat current waveforms or other waveforms. This relationship is also reflected in the look-up table on the microprocessor side. The key disadvantage is in identifying the nature of current waveforms. Also, limiting set of waveforms to make the implementation easier may compromise accuracy of the rotor position estimation.
Hedlund et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,650 determining the actual flux value and comparing this flux value with a reference flux value, which is a predetermined non-linear function of current. The premise of the invention lies in the fact that for each angular position, there is a nonlinear relationship between magnetic flux and current in the windings of the stator pole pairs. The predetermined value of the flux corresponds to the angle at which the commutation between phases is desired. When the actual value exceeds or equals the reference value of the flux, commutation occurs. As with all the flux or flux linkage-based implementations, the flux or flux linkage estimation requires voltage sensing, which increases the sensing burden and thereby increases the complexity of the implementation.
Heglund discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,412 utilizing a relative angle estimation circuit, an angle combination circuit, and an estimator that includes a Kalman filter. Phase currents are measured in the relative angle estimator. The angle combination circuit combines the estimates to obtain an absolute angle, which eliminates ambiguities. The estimator uses the model of an SRM to further increase the accuracy of the estimated rotor position and velocity. This method uses modern control theory and complex circuitry that prohibits its use in high volume applications.
Morris discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 6,150,778 a method for sensorless operation of an SRM having at least one irregular pole. The irregularity may be provided by its geometric shape, material properties, or any other characteristic that can give rise to an irregular inductance profile. Voltage is sensed across one phase winding and compared to a reference voltage to generate an encoder output that is indicative of the rotor position. The encoder signal is then used to control the excitation of the phase.
In another variation of this method, the voltage across a pair of windings is measured. Due to the irregular shape of the rotor, the voltages across these two sets of windings, of the same phase, follow a set pattern and can be used for rotor position detection. To determine actual rotor position, an analog voltage ratio is determined. By mapping the voltage ratio versus rotor position (for one or more phases), the actual rotor position is looked up from a look-up table of rotor position data, using the computed voltage ratio. Since the method uses ratiometric data, the position information supplied is insensitive to supply voltage, winding temperature, nominal inductance, and other operating conditions. The advantages of this method are (1) it doesn't require conventional sensors, (2) it is insensitive to the supply voltage differences, in inductance, due to the manufacturing variations, and (3) it is low cost, easier to implement, and can be used in harsh environments. The disadvantage is that in case of ambiguous position information, information has to be present for more than one phase to remove the ambiguity. Also, this method requires a separate start-up procedure and is unsuitable for high speed operation.
MacCann discloses in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,691,591 and 5,949,211 using auxiliary windings interspersed with the main winding. The controller is capable of individually energizing the main as well as the auxiliary windings, individually. A voltage sensor determines the voltage across an auxiliary winding when it is energized. The phase of the current in the auxiliary is measured and the difference between the two phases is used to provide a signal that is indicative of the position of the rotor.
Bartos et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,923 a method that uses irregularities in either a rotor or stator pole. The algorithm revolves around the fact that one or more irregularities in either the stator or rotor poles, or both, create a distinct pattern in an otherwise standard inductance profile. The unique shape of the rotor causes a disturbance in the normal inductance profile. The frequency at which the disturbances occur in the inductance profile can be used to get speed information as well.
All reference material cited herein is hereby incorporated into this disclosure by reference.

Method and apparatus for identifying an operational phase of a motor phase winding and controlling energization of the phase winding

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.


A continuous cooking grill is provided which includes a heating element for supplying radiant heat to food items passing tberebetween along a conveyor which is preferably provided with a series of intercalated rods oriented transversely to the direction of travel. The conveyor includes both a straight portion and an arcuate portion for advancing the items in a generally U-shaped path. The cooker includes a bottom presenting a series of openings along and below the path of the food items which enables the drippings to pass unobstructed out of the cooker. The food items are inverted during their passage through the cooker at a location generally at the end of the bight of the U-shaped path by movement of the rods which causes the items to tumble downwardly from the arcuate portion onto the straight portion. The heating element is configured to generate radiant heat at a substantially constant distance from the food items during movement from the upper, arcuate portion to the lower, straight portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to continuous grilling of food items after they enter the cooker, are advanced intermittently along a U-shaped path of travel and are discharged from the cooker, the grilling being accomplished on both sides of the food items by inversion of the articles at a point along the path which permits even cooking and which includes an open bottom to reduce smoke production during the cooking process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Apparatus has heretofore been suggested for cooking food as it is moved along a circular cooking platform. Known additionally are automatic, oval cooking grills which turn the articles over to cook each side. Moreover, walking beam conveyors are somewhat commonplace.
However, in the field of continuous grilling of food, the improvements of my instant invention are novel from many important standpoints. I use a movable grid having spaced rods which interleave with the spaced rods of a stationary grid during raising of the food products off the latter and advancing the same along a U-shaped path each time the movable grid is actuated. Walking beams raise and shift two legs of the food-advancing grid whereas a tubular assembly controls the arcuate movement to advance the products from one to the other of the straight legs.
However, it has been learned that such cookers, while demonstrating improved grilling properties, may be prone to undesirable smoke production resulting from the accumulation of drippings in the bottom of the cooker. Yet further, more rapid and even cooking of the food items may be desired than the present designs may accomplish.


The present disclosure is drawn to plasma treatment heads. In one example, a plasma head can include a dielectric barrier formed of a dielectric material. The dielectric barrier can have a treatment surface and an interior surface opposite of the treatment surface. A first electrode can be embedded within the dielectric barrier beneath the treatment surface. A second electrode can also be embedded within the dielectric barrier beneath the treatment surface and spaced laterally apart from the first electrode. A plurality of injection holes can penetrate through the dielectric plate from the interior surface to the treatment surface. The plurality of injection holes can be located between the first electrode and second electrode.

Plasma coating or plasma polymerization can be used to deposit functional material or treatment composition onto surfaces for various applications. For example, thermal plasma spraying is used industrially to coat a material such as a metal or ceramic onto a surface. Thermal plasma is created by heating a carrier gas to a very high temperature to induce a plasma state in the gas. Coating material mixed with carrier gas can be sprayed onto a surface to coat the surface. In other examples, non-thermal plasma can be used to apply coatings. Non-thermal plasma differs from thermal plasma in that non-thermal plasma is not at thermodynamic equilibrium. In other words, the electrons in a non-thermal plasma have an electron temperature that is different from the remaining ions in the plasma. Non-thermal plasma can include "cold plasma," which refers to plasma formed at near room temperature and near atmospheric pressure.
Some systems for coating materials using cold plasma have included an enclosed container with a pair of plasma generating electrodes inside. An object to be coated is placed between the electrodes, and then plasma is induced between the electrodes while a coating material is sprayed into the enclosed container. In some cases, the coating material can be a monomer that is induced to polymerize by free radicals in the plasma. In other examples, a polymerizable coating composition can be sprayed onto an object first, and then the object can be placed between the electrodes to induce polymerization of the coating by the plasma.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A process for making an integrated-circuit (IC) chip with junction-isolated complementary bipolar transistors, and a novel chip made by such a process. P-type dopant is implanted and diffused in an N-type substrate to form a sub-collector for a pnp transistor and also is implanted and diffused in the substrate to form a P-well for the sub-collector of an npn transistor. N-type material is then implanted and diffused into the P-well to form the npn sub-collector, and also is implanted in the substrate to form part of an isolation wall for the pnp transistor. A P-type epitaxial (epi) layer is grown over the N-type substrate. N-type material is implanted and diffused in the epi layer to complete the isolation wall for the pnp transistor, and to form the collector for the npn transistor. P-type and N-type material is implanted and diffused in the P-type epi layer to form the bases and emitters for the npn and pnp transistors.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to monolithic integrated circuit (IC) devices. More particularly, this invention relates to improved IC devices having complementary junction-isolated bipolar transistors.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has for many years been known to provide integrated circuits (ICs) having junction-isolated complementary transistors, i.e. both npn and pnp transistors. Circuits employing complementary transistors have important advantages, such as relatively low power consumption when used in push-pull configurations (where one transistor is off while the other is on). Advantageously, complementary ICs employ vertical npn and pnp structures which offer performance benefits. Typically, complementary ICs comprise a P-type substrate having an N-type epitaxial layer.
Known complementary IC devices have not been entirely satisfactory, particularly with respect to performance capabilities when used as amplifiers. Various proposals have been made from time to time in an effort to improve such devices, such as the use of more than one epitaxial layer, and other variations of the basic semiconductive structure. Nonetheless, modern day complementary junction-isolated ICs suffer still from important disabilities, and circuit designers have been seeking improved characteristics to permit them to use complementary ICs in more demanding applications.
One of the problems with presently known complementary ICs is that the relative performance capabilities of the two transistor types (npn and pnp) are not balanced. In one sense, this problem may be considered an inherent difficulty, since npn transistors are inherently better than pnp transistors. That is, the mobility of electrons, in npn transistors, is about 2.5 times higher than the mobility of holes, in pnp transistors. Nevertheless, achieving improved balance between the performance of npn and pnp transistors in a complementary IC (sometimes referred to as achieving improved "complementarity") can be very helpful to circuit designers in developing high-performance IC products. Indeed, some degradation of npn performance can be considered an acceptable trade-off for enhanced pnp performance, provided that both types of transistors have performance characteristics of suitably high level.
One characteristic of special importance to some circuit designers is the figure of merit .beta..multidot.V.sub.A. This figure represents the product of transistor current gain (".beta."- equal to Ic/Ib) and "Early Voltage" ("V.sub.A " - an extrapolated voltage intercept on a set of I-V curves). In conventional prior art complementary IC devices, the product .beta..multidot.V.sub.A typically may be markedly different for the two different types of transistors. For many kinds of circuits, it is highly desirable that the two transistor types have more nearly equal .beta..multidot.V.sub.A product. However, the product .beta..multidot.V.sub.A should nevertheless be quite high for both types of transistors.

Integrated circuit with complementary junction-isolated bipolar transistors


A collection device comprises a shell and an outlet structure. The shell has top and bottom ends, front and rear sides, and left and right sides. The front side defines a front opening, the bottom end defines a lower opening, and an interior cavity connects the front and lower openings. The outlet structure extends downwardly from the shell and has a top end defining an upper opening and a bottom end defining an exit. The outlet structure top end attaches to the shell bottom end and encircles the shell lower opening. An interior cavity connects the outlet structure upper opening and the outlet structure exit. The outlet structure interior cavity is in communication with the shell interior cavity to allow items to pass between the shell front opening and the outlet structure exit. A method of discarding waste using a collection device is provided.

This invention relates generally to a collection device and a method of discarding waste from a countertop in a first room to a remote room.
Garbage cans and waste baskets often occupy precious storage space and can create foul-smelling odors when filled with discarded waste. Further, prior art methods of securing trash bags have proven inadequate, the prior art is lacking means to alert a user that a trash bag is full, and the prior art is not truly integrated into a room. The collection device and method disclosed herein provide a convenient solution to these problems and others.
A collection device according to the present invention comprises a shell and an outlet structure. The shell has top and bottom ends, opposed front and rear sides, and opposed left and right sides. The front side defines a front opening, the shell bottom end defines a lower opening, and an interior cavity connects the front opening and the lower opening to allow items to pass from the front opening to the lower opening. The outlet structure has top and bottom ends and extends downwardly from the shell. The outlet structure top end is attached to the shell bottom end and encircles the shell lower opening. The outlet structure top end defines an upper opening, the outlet structure bottom end defines an exit, and an interior cavity connects the outlet structure upper opening and the outlet structure exit to allow items to pass between the outlet structure upper opening and the outlet structure exit. The outlet structure interior cavity is in communication with the shell interior cavity to allow items to pass between the shell front opening and the outlet structure exit.
A method of discarding waste from a countertop in a first room to a remote room comprises a plurality of steps. In a first step, a collection device is provided that includes a shell, an outlet structure, and a door. The shell has opposed top and bottom ends, opposed front and rear sides, and opposed left and right sides. The front side defines a front opening, the shell bottom end defines a lower opening, and an interior cavity connects the front opening and the lower opening to allow items to pass from the front opening to the lower opening. The left and right sides each define a plurality of pilot holes for allowing the left and right shell sides to be easily attached to a wall. The outlet structure has top and bottom ends and extends downwardly from the shell. The outlet structure top end is attached to the shell bottom end and encircles the shell lower opening. The outlet structure top end defines an upper opening, the outlet structure bottom end defines an exit, and an interior cavity connects the outlet structure upper opening and the outlet structure exit to allow items to pass between the outlet structure upper opening and the outlet structure exit. The outlet structure interior cavity is in communication with the shell interior cavity to allow items to pass between the shell front opening and the outlet structure exit. The door is attached to the shell for selectively closing the shell front opening. In another step, the left and right shell sides are aligned with a wall. In another step, a bottom surface of the shell front opening is aligned with a top of the countertop. In another step, the left and right shell sides are coupled to the wall using fasteners. Each fastener has a configuration complementary to a configuration of a respective pilot hole. In another step, the door is opened. In another step, waste is slid from the countertop into the shell interior cavity.


In order to protect pedestrians in the event of a collision with a motor vehicle, a bodyshell element forming a hood or trunk lid has at least one edge area with an outer part isolated from a support structure, in such a way that the outer part creates an energy-absorbing zone in front of the support structure part as a means of protection in a collision.

This application claims the priority of Application No. 101 49 116.6-21 filed in Germany on Oct. 5, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a large, extensive bodyshell element, in particular an engine hood or front-opening trunk lid of a motor vehicle, having a thin-walled and non-rigid outer part and inner reinforcing structure, which has a support structure arranged at the edge of the bodyshell element or which is designed as such.
Such a bodyshell element is represented in German Patent Document No. DE 25 58 332 A1. This essentially comprises a comparatively gently arched outer panel, which is connected at the edge to an inner peripheral frame, the frame parts of which are designed as carriers having a cap-shaped profile. In this case the inside of the outer panel is materially fused to the flanges of the cap-shaped profile, so that between its flanges the middle area of the cap-shaped profile forms a closed tubular profile with that part of the outer panel overlapping the said area. In addition, at the edges of the bodyshell part the outer panel is turned over in a U-shape around the edge flange of the cap-shaped profile, so that the aforementioned flange is correspondingly reinforced and a positively interlocking connection is also created between the outer panel and the inner frame. In order to be able to ensure a weight-saving design of the bodyshell part on the one hand, and sufficient flexural rigidity of the middle area of the bodyshell part on the other, the outer panel is reinforced on the inside by a flat element. This may take the form of a grid made from wire or by punching a metal part and may be bonded to the outer panel.
German Patent Document No. DE 199 29 048 A1 discloses a similar bodyshell element, which is designed as an engine hood of a motor vehicle. Here again a thin-walled outer panel, the upper side of which forms a surface of the bodyshell, is connected to a frame-like inner panel, the outer edge contour of which very largely matches the outer edge contour of the outer panel, so that the outer panel and inner panel can be connected together by flanging and/or spot welding or continuous welding. A foam part, which serves to damp vibrations of the outer panel and preferably bears all over against the inside of the outer panel and accordingly conforms to the arching of the outer panel, is arranged inside the frame opening of the inner panel. This permits a damping of bodyshell noises and means that the bodyshell element can be designed to yield on impact.
German Patent Document No. DE 35 46 050 A1 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,522) discloses a shock-absorbing bodyshell outer part for motor vehicles in the form of a plastic component. In this case the bodyshell part takes the form of a thin-walled plastic component, the gap between the two walls being filled by a core of paper members, honeycomb structures or rigid foam. With the exception of predefined breaking areas, the core is fixed to the walls of the bodyshell part, for example by bonding.
According to European Patent Document No. EP 1 000 821 A2 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,908), a front-opening or bodyshell hood of a motor vehicle may be designed as a composite component, which essentially comprises an inner hood carrier in the form of a profiled plate, an intermediate layer arranged on the outside thereof and a cover panel arranged on top of the latter and forming the outside of the bodyshell part, an edge area of the hood part being formed by a separate, soft nose part. This is intended to create a hood that overall is designed to yield on impact.
Although these known bodyshell parts, at least in some areas, have a greater pliability as is desirable in order to prevent injuries to pedestrians in collisions with motor vehicles, the bodyshell parts described above are still not ideal, because the support structure still entails a considerable risk of injury for pedestrians and/or the necessary cost of manufacturing the bodyshell parts is too high.
An object of the invention, therefore, is to create bodyshell parts that yield on impact and which, on the one hand, can be manufactured in the conventional way as sheet metal parts, and on the other are also pliable, at least in some edge areas of the bodyshell part.
According to the invention this object is achieved in bodyshell parts of the aforementioned type in that on at least one edge area of the bodyshell element the support structure is offset inwards and/or downwards and separated by a distance from the adjoining edge of the bodyshell part and the outer part.
The invention is based on the general idea of ensuring that edge zones of the bodyshell part yield on impact by providing, on the one hand, an edge structure designed for optimum deformation in the event of impact with a human head, and on the other a support structure isolated therefrom in order to ensure the rigidity of the bodyshell part.
In particular, it is proposed, according to a preferred embodiment, that in the area of an edge deformation area of the bodyshell part the outer part be designed as a U or V-shaped profile open towards the inside of the bodyshell part, one leg of which profile is designed as part of the outside of the bodyshell and the other leg of which is designed as connection to the frame-like support structure. A beaded flange projecting beyond the support frame towards the edge of the bodyshell part is thereby created, together with a gap inside the beaded flange between support frame part and the outside of the bodyshell, so that the outer part can yield on the one hand perpendicular to the outer surface in the direction of the support structure and on the other also in tangential directions to the outside of the bodyshell and/or rearwards in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
It is furthermore advantageous according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention for a hand, grasping around the edge of the bodyshell part, to be able to reach under the aforementioned beaded flange at its leg adjoining the support frame without risk of deformation, in order, for example, to open a hood or trunk lid formed by the bodyshell part.
As desired, according to certain preferred embodiments of the invention the load-bearing capacity of the transitional area between the inner leg of the U or V-shaped profile and the support structure can be enhanced without limiting the deformability of the beaded flange formed by the inner U or V-shaped profile, in that together with the adjoining support structure the inner U or V-shaped leg forms an obtuse-angled V-shaped profile with V-opening facing the other leg.
With regard to preferred features of the invention, reference is moreover made to the claims and to the following explanation of the drawing, with reference to which an especially preferred embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Large vehicle hood or trunk lid bodyshell element


A flexible electrical circuit assembly for a motor vehicle includes a first flexible substrate having a first surface and an opposing second surface. The flexible electrical circuit assembly also includes a second flexible substrate having a first surface and an opposing second surface. The first surface of the second flexible substrate abuttingly joins with the second surface of the first flexible substrate. A flexible circuit member is arranged between the first and second flexible substrates. The flexible circuit member includes an input end and an output end. A first connector is electrically connected to the input end of the flexible circuit member. The first connector is configured and disposed to electrically connect with a source of electrical energy. A second connector is electrically connected to the output end of the flexible circuit member. The second connector is configured to electrically connect with an electrical component in the motor vehicle.

Motor vehicles include numerous systems that are coupled to a source of electrical energy. Numerous wiring harnesses extend between components and the source of electrical energy carrying power and/or control signals. Often times, the wiring harnesses are passed through panels, posts and other structure in the vehicle. Over time, the harnesses may rub on the panels, posts or other structure lessening reliability. In addition, as the complexity of motor vehicles increases, the need for a greater number of wiring harnesses also increases. Routing multiple harnesses through the vehicle can be cumbersome, add to production time, and may increase the likelihood that a wire in the wiring harness could become damaged during installation or over time during operation of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system for providing electrical connections in a motor vehicle that is less bulky, simplifies installation and increases reliability.

Flexible electrical circuit assembly for a motor vehicle


An addition compound, prepared by reacting a) one or more polyisocyanates having an average functionality of 2-6; b) one or more compounds comprising at least one chain selected from the group consisting of polyester, polyether, polyacrylate, polyurethane, polyolefin and a combination thereof; and at least one isocyanate reactive group, wherein the at least one isocyanate reactive group is an amino group; and c) one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of N-(3-aminopropyl) imidazole (API), benzoguanamine (BGA) and N-(2-aminoethyl) piperazine (AEP). The addition compound is suitable as dispersant or anti-sedimentation agent, especially for pigments, fillers and matting agents.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to addition compounds, to processes for preparing these addition compounds, and to uses of these addition compounds as dispersants or anti-sedimentation agents, particularly for pigments, fillers and matting agents.
Discussion of the Background
In coatings, solid particles present in formulations normally include pigments used for colouring, extenders used as fillers and/or other solid materials for special purposes like matting agents. A dispersant is a substance which facilitates the dispersing and stabilizing of these solid particles in a liquid medium by lowering the interfacial tension between these two components. The dispersants are normally surface-active substances of anionic, cationic or nonionic structure. The presence of dispersants substantially reduces the dispersing energy required and minimizes the dispersing time as well. The dispersants, in relatively small quantities, are either applied directly to the solid particles or added to the liquid medium. The amount of dispersant applied is dependent on the size and nature of the surface of the solid particles that are to be dispersed. Carbon black, for example, requires larger amounts of dispersant than titanium dioxide needs so as to obtain a particle size as small as possible which may usually be in the nanometer range. However, for matting agents such as silica which has a generally high density, it is challenging to disperse and stabilize it.
There have been many efforts aimed at providing effective dispersants for various solid particles, especially for pigments, fillers and matting agents that allow for coating compositions which are stable to re-agglomeration and sedimentation. A common problem with matting agents in particular, is the sedimentation of the heavy and comparatively large particles that are needed to obtain the matting effect in the paint formulation as well as in the form of concentrates. A further complication in these sediments can be the formation of hard sediments that, in contrast to soft sediments, cannot be redispersed by shaking or stirring, but require strong shear forces to be broken up, such as the employment of a grinding, milling or dispersing step.
For example, polymeric dispersants based on polyfunctional isocyanates, polymeric compounds and compounds bearing dispersing groups have been known for a long time, and for example been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,647, U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,900, U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,899, U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,404, U.S. Pat. No. 8,362,300 etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,647,647 discloses dispersants made by reacting polyisocyanate having an average functionality of 2.5-6 with monohydroxyl polyether and/or polyester compounds, and isocyanate reactive compounds having at least one tertiary amino group or one basic ring nitrogen carrying no hydrogen atom.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,899 discloses polymeric pigment dispersants prepared by reacting an isocyanate with a hydrophilic poly(ether glycol)alkyl ether, a hydrophobic polyester or polyacrylate, and a diamine which contains a primary amine and a tertiary amine.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,741,404 describes a non-aqueous composition containing a solid particulate matter, an organic medium and a polyurethane dispersant having an essentially linear backbone and laterally attached solvent-solubilizing side chains of a polyester, a polyether, a polyacrylate or a polyolefin including mixtures of such side chains.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,362,300 describes addition compounds from the reaction of a) one or more polyisocyanates containing uretdione groups with b) one or more compounds of the formula Y—(XH)n and followed by the reaction with c) one or more compounds of the general formula Z—NHR. In the formulation, XH is a isocyanate reactive group, Y is a monomeric or polymeric group comprising one or more aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, araliphatic and/or aromatic groups that is not isocyanate reactive, n is 1, 2 or 3, R is hydrogen or a alkyl group and Z is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic and/or aromatic basic radical.
The background art products contain so-called anchor groups which absorb onto the solid particle to be dispersed and also have a polymer chain which is compatible with the dispersion medium. There are large numbers of polyurethane dispersants commercially available. However, they offer only partial solutions to the problems encountered.
In some dispersant preparations, side reactions may occur and the resultant products are highly complex and poorly defined reaction mixtures that may be difficult to reproduce resulting in inconsistent performances. There are other problems as well, for example, some of these dispersant preparations need to be conducted under extreme reaction conditions such as very high temperatures and long reaction times. This increases the production costs and results in limited usage of the final coating. Therefore, there is a growing need for dispersants for solid particles which exhibit improved properties compared with those available in the background art and that can be produced more efficiently.

Addition compounds suitable as dispersants or anti-sedimentation agents


An output driver is responsive to an input signal and a swing width control signal (TE). The output driver is configured to generate an output signal having a first swing width (e.g., less than rail-to-rail) when the swing width control signal designates a normal mode of operation and a second swing width (e.g., rail-to-rail) when the swing width control signal designates a test mode of operation.

A conventional integrated circuit device may include a plurality of output driver circuits that are configured to drive on-chip or off-chip loads at high data rates. These output driver circuits may be single stage devices having a pull-down transistor connected to a pull-up load (e.g., resistor, depletion-mode transistor, etc.). The pull-down transistor may have a gate terminal responsive to an input signal, a drain terminal coupled to an output of the driver circuit and a source terminal coupled to a reference supply line (e.g., Vss). The resistor may be electrically coupled between the output of the driver circuit and a positive power supply line (e.g., Vdd). During operation, the input signal may have a full swing width and thereby swing rail-to-rail between Vss and Vdd. The output signal at the output of the driver circuit may also have a full swing width. One example of a conventional output driver circuit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,563.
A single stage output driver circuit may utilize a large pull-down transistor in order to drive a high capacitance load with an output signal having a full swing width. Unfortunately, using such a large pull-down transistor to switch an output signal rail-to-rail may limit an operating speed of the output driver circuit. To address this speed limitation, output driver circuits having multiple stages have been developed for high speed applications. In such driver circuits, the signal swing widths of the signals generated at the outputs of one or more of the stages may be smaller to thereby support higher switching rates.
FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic of a conventional output driver circuit 10 having multiple driver stages. These stages are illustrated as an input driver stage 12, an intermediate driver stage 13 and an output driver stage 14. An input buffer 11 (e.g., inverter) is also provided for buffering a data input signal DIN. As illustrated, the input driver stage 12 includes an NMOS pull-down transistor NM1 and a pull-up resistor R1. The gate terminal of the NMOS pull-down transistor NM1 receives a complementary data input signal DINB generated by the input buffer 11. The intermediate driver stage 13 includes an NMOS pull-down transistor NM2 and a pull-up resistor R2. The gate terminal of the NMOS pull-down transistor NM2 is electrically coupled to an output (e.g., drain terminal of NMOS transistor NM1) of the input driver stage 12. The output driver stage 14 includes an NMOS pull-down transistor NM3 and a pull-up/termination resistor R3. The gate terminal of the NMOS pull-down transistor NM3 is electrically coupled to an output (e.g., drain terminal of NMOS transistor NM2) of the intermediate driver stage 13. The value of the pull-up/termination resistor R3 is typically chosen to match a resistance of a load (not shown) being driven by the output DOUT of the output driver stage 14 and thereby inhibit signal reflection at the output DOUT. The resistance values of the pull-up resistors R1 and R2 are typically chosen at relatively small values (e.g., 50 or 75 ohms) so that the swing widths of the signals at the outputs of the input driver stage 12 and the intermediate driver stage 13 are less than rail-to-rail.
As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the swing width of the signal at the output of the input driver stage 12 will range from a maximum voltage of Vdd when the NMOS pull-down transistor NM1 is off to a minimum voltage of Vdd(RNM1/(R1+RNM1)) when the NMOS pull-down transistor NM1 is on. The value RNM1 designates an on-state resistance of the NMOS pull-down transistor NM1. Because the minimum voltage of the signal at the output of the input driver stage 12 may prevent the NMOS pull-down transistor NM2 from completely turning off, the swing width of the signal at the output of the intermediate driver stage 13 will range from a maximum voltage of less than Vdd to a minimum voltage of Vdd(RNM2/(R2+RNM2)) when the NMOS pull-down transistor NM2 is turned on fully. The value RNM2 designates an on-state resistance of the NMOS pull-down transistor NM2. The relatively small swing width of the signal at the output of the intermediate driver stage 13 translates to an even smaller swing width of the output signal DOUT.
FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic of a conventional output driver circuit 20 that generates a pair of differential output signals TXN and TXP in response to a pair of differential input signals DP and DN. This output driver circuit 20 includes first and second bias transistors NM13 and NM14, which are responsive to a bias signal Vb, and first and second input transistors NM11 and NM12, which have commonly connected source terminals. The first and second bias transistors NM13 and NM14 operate as current sources that establish first and second pull-down currents I1 and I2. The output driver circuit 20 also includes first and second load resistors R11 and R12, which are coupled to a pair of outputs OUT1 and OUT2. Based on this configuration of the output driver circuit 20, the swing widths of the output signals TXN and TXP will be a function of the values of the load/termination resistors R11 and R12 (e.g., 50 or 75 ohms) and the values of the pull-down currents I1 and I2.
FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic of a conventional input circuit 30 and input signal sampler 40, which generates an input signal IN_DAT. As illustrated, the input circuit 30 includes a pair of termination resistors R21 and R22, a pair of load resistors R31 and R32 and NMOS transistors NM21, NM22 and NM23. The gate terminals of the NMOS transistors NM21 and NM22 receive a pair of differential input signals RXP and RXN at the inputs IN1 and IN2. The NMOS transistor NM23, which is responsive to a clock signal CLK, operates as an enable transistor that determines when the input circuit 30 is active. The signal swing widths of these input signals is influenced by the values of the termination resistors R21 and R22, which may have relatively small values (e.g., 50 or 75 ohms). The drain terminals of the NMOS transistors NM21 and NM22 develop a pair of differential signals, which are provided as inputs to the sampler 40.
Unfortunately, although the generation of signals having relatively small swing widths may increase the operating speeds of driver circuits, these small swing widths may complicate testing of integrated circuits at the wafer level if the swing widths are insufficient to be reliably detected by test equipment. Thus, notwithstanding the performance advantages provided by driver circuits having small swing widths, there continues to be a need for driver circuits that support small swing widths and also support reliable testing at the wafer level.

Output drivers having adjustable swing widths during test mode operation


There is provided a storage control device that is communicably connected to a plurality of storage devices and a plurality of spare storage devices through a plurality of paths. The storage control device includes: a memory configured to store path information associating the plurality of spare storage devices and the plurality of paths with each other; and a selection unit configured to select a spare storage device that is a replacing apparatus from among the plurality of spare storage devices based on a path connection condition determined in accordance with a path in which the storage device that is a replacement target among the plurality of storage devices is connected and the path information.

In a storage apparatus, in a case where a storage device is broken down or preventive maintenance of a storage device is performed, data is copied (rebuilding/redundant copying) to a hot spare (HS; spare storage device). Then, after rebuilding/redundant copying is completed, and the broken storage device or a storage device that is the target for the preventive maintenance is replaced, a copying-back operation from the HS to a storage device after the replacement is performed.
The operation of a conventional storage apparatus is dedicatedly used for a host, and there is a premise that a change in the configuration is hardly made and, also in the copying-back operation, as is known, the operation configures a part of the maintenance sequence.
[Patent Literature 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 7-110743
[Patent Literature 2] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-9442
However, when the copying-back operation from the HS is performed, for example, the storage apparatus needs to be monitored until the copying-back operation is completed, and there is an influence on the input/output (I/O) performance during the copying-back operation. In other words, implementation of an open system or shared use (clouding or the like) of a system including a storage apparatus has progressed, and there is an issue for reducing the load according to the operation work (copying-back operation) in an operation form.

Storage control device, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium having stored therein program, and control method


On the upper portion of a cylinder head 1 of an engine mounted on a vehicle body in such a way that a crankshaft faces in the lateral direction of the body, a head cover 36 is supported in a floating state through an elastic member 14 and a rubber bush 52. A pair of TDC sensors 37i and 37e for detecting the rotational positions of engine camshafts 6i and 6e, are attached from the outside to the front surface and to the rear portion of the upper surface of the head cover 36 with bolts 38 respectively in such a way as not to interfere with a bonnet 39 of the body descending forward. Consequently, while ensuring the maintainability of the TDC sensors 37i and 37e of the engine, the TDC sensors 37i and 37e can compactly be attached to the engine.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotation detecting device of an engine, which comprises a portion to be detected located on a rotary shaft of the engine, and a sensor for detecting the position of the portion to be detected.
2. Description of Relevant Art
A detecting device for detecting a crank angle of an engine is well known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 62-96860, wherein a portion to be detected is located on a camshaft interlocked with a crankshaft to rotate, and a sensor located on a cylinder head faces the portion to be detected.
The above conventional device has various problems associated therewith. For example, the sensor was covered by a cover member (belt cover) mounted on the cylinder head, whereby a job of maintaining the sensor was troublesome because the cover member had to be removed. Further, the operating performance became worse because the sensor was attached to the cylinder head under the camshaft.


Camomile oil having a high cis- and trans-spiroether content is produced in a process which includes steam distillation or aqueous distillation of fresh camomile or an extraction residue of camomile.

Camomile (Chamomilla recutita Rauschert (Syn. Matricaria chamomilla (L.)) is used as such or in the form of various preparations. The activity of camomile is attributed to hydrophilic active ingredients such as flavones and polysaccharides and to lipophilic active ingredients which are components of essential camomile oil.
Lipophilic camomile active ingredients that are of importance in assessing the quality of camomile and of camomile extracts are, in addition to (-)-.alpha.-bisabolol and chamazulene, poly-ynes such as cis- and trans-ene-yne-dicycloether (=spiroether). The spiroethers of camomile have anti-inflammatory and spasmolytic properties. These spiroethers are, however, easily decomposed, especially at slightly elevated temperatures.
Cis-ene-yne-dicycloether (also known as cis-spiroether) has the following structure: ##STR1##
Trans-ene-yne-dicycloether (trans-spiroether) has the following structure: ##STR2##
Essential camomile oil can either be obtained by distillation or by extraction of camomile materials, normally dried camomile heads.
Whereas distillation enables an almost complete extraction of the other components of the essential oil, the therapeutically important thermolabile spiroethers are, however, largely decomposed by this process. The oil obtained by distillation consequently no longer displays the active ingredient profile which is characteristic of camomile. On the other hand, it is not possible to obtain the essential oil of camomile completely by extraction. Thus, for example, in the manufacture of fluid extracts with 45% ethanol, only about half of the bisabolol and chamazulene-containing oils contained in the product are recovered in the extract with the sensitive spiroethers.

Camomile oils having a high natural poly-ynes content and process for their production