The present invention is directed of a method for centralized storage of user and application information where user and application information can be added, deleted, modified, updated, and enhanced to customize user compute environments and to improve overall system administration and oversight. The information is stored in a database file which is interfaced with the user and/or system administrator through a customization user interface (CUI). The CUI includes windowing functionality and allows the user to invoke the method steps for adding, deleting, and updating user information and for adding, deleting, and updating application information.

Prior art search techniques for adding users and/or applications as well as updating user and application information has required the user and/or a system administrator to modify and update user information for each user and for each application. This process can be time consuming and because much of the information is identical, the process is highly repetitive and fraught with the possibility of errors in data entry, updated, and/or user environment customization.
A window management system provides many of the important features of modern user computer interfaces. A window management system allows multiple applications to interact with the user on a single computer display, and provides low level functions for the application to display data and collect input from the user. The window management system permits application programs to show results in different areas of the display, to resize the screen areas in which those applications are executing, to pop-up and to pull-down menus. The window management system is a resource manager in much the same way that an operating system is a resource manager, only the types of screen area to various applications that seek to use the screen and then assists in managing these screen areas so that the applications do not interfere with one another. The window management system also allocates the resources of interaction devices to applications that require a user input and then routes the flow of input information from the devices to the event queue of the appropriate application for which the input is destined.
The look and feel of the user computer interface is determined largely by the collection of interaction techniques provided for it. Designing and implementing interaction techniques for each individual application would be a time consuming and expensive task. Furthermore, each application would end up with a different look and feel making it difficult for a user to move from one application to another. Applications sharing a common window management system can utilize a common interactive technique toolkit built for the window management system to assure a common look and feel. An interactive technique toolkit consists of a set of subroutines that provide different types of display objects.
Interactive technique toolkits, which are subroutine libraries of interaction techniques, are mechanisms for making a collection of techniques available for use by application programs. By using interactive technique toolkits, a consistent look and feel among application programs sharing a common window management system can be insured. Using the same toolkit across all applications is a commonly used approach for providing a look and feel that unifies both multiple applications and the window environment itself. Interactive technique toolkits are available for specific windowing management systems. For instance, the menu style used to select window operations should be the same style used within all applications. Basic elements of the toolkit can include menus, dialog boxes, scroll bars, file selection boxes and the like, all which can be conveniently implemented in windows.
The X Window System is an example of a window management system that can be used in association with the present invention. One of the most important features of this type of window management system is that it supports device independence by separating the interactions with the display, keyboard and mouse from the rest of the system. This type of windowing system has three basic parts: a library of routines at the lowest level; a framework which allows the application developer to combine components from the library to produce a complete user interface; and an interactive toolkit that supports a set of user interface components known as widgets and include such things as scroll bars, menus and buttons.
The architecture of this type of window management system is based on the client-server model. A single process, known as the server, is responsible for all input and output devices. The server creates and manages all windows on the screen, produces text and graphics, and handles input devices such as the keyboard and mouse. The server implementation is independent of any application but is hardware specific. In a typical environment the application is a client and uses the services of the server via a network connection using an asynchronous byte stream protocol. Multiple clients can connect to the same server. The server hides the details of the device-dependent implementation of the server from the clients.
A window manager process allows the user to control the size and location of windows on the screen. These operations are generally performed by a window man, another client application. In this configuration, it is possible for the window manager to get events pertaining to the resizing or moving of windows from the server independent of the notification of these events to the application. The window manager acts independently from the application and, together with the server, may cause the user interface to be modified without the application being involved.
The windows system requires that the application developer be intimately familiar with operation of the windows system including the library, framework, the toolkit, the window manager, and the server. The complexity of the windows system and the expertise required makes user interface development more costly and can result in longer application development cycles using more resources. The complexity of the windows system results in code that is more difficult to write, error prone and difficult to maintain.
It thus would represent a significant advance in the art of distributed computing environments operating a windowing type operating system to have a technique where a single, centralized file contains information about users and applications and the file can be readily, easily, and efficiently modified through a customization user interface to add, delete, and/or update user and application information or to tailor user compute environments.

Single access to common user/application information


The side air bag directional guide system is provided for intensifying the forces applied to a seam in a vehicle seat for allowing the air bag to be deployed through an opening in the seam. The air bag directional guide system includes a vehicle seat including a seat back having a seat cover. An air bag unit is mounted inside of the seat cover and a membrane is wrapped around the air bag unit and has first and second ends connected to a seam in the seat cover. Upon deployment of the air bag, the membrane intensifies the forces applied to the seam thereby tearing open the seam to provide an opening through which the air bag is deployed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle air bag, and more particularly to a side air bag directional guide system.
2. Background and Summary of the Invention
Side air bags have been previously designed to be mounted in a seat of a vehicle and to be deployed through a seam in a vehicle seat cover when a side impact of the vehicle occurs. An example of such a side air bag system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,030 issued to Hill et al on Mar. 12, 1996. Hill et al discloses an air bag module including an inflater for generating gas and an air bag coupled to the inflater and deployable upon generation of gas by the inflater. The pouch is made of a fabric material and serves as both the housing and cover of the module. The pouch has wall portions surrounding the air bag and inflater and defining a pouch interior containing the inflater and air bag substantially therein such that the inflater and the air bag are housed within the pouch. The pouch is also provided with a frangible seam being breakable to form a pouch deployment opening. Upon air bag deployment, the air bag breaks open the frangible seam of the pouch to permit deployment of the air bag out through the pouched deployment opening. A problem with the design of the Hill et al disclosure is that the air bag will not always deploy through the seam in the trim cover of the vehicle seat as intended. In particular, due to various factors, such as the elasticity of the trim material, the relative strength of the stitched seam and the compressibility of the surrounding underlying foam, the air bag may on occasion rupture the trim at a point other than at the seam, thereby possibly resulting in the bag being improperly deployed. To address this problem, it has been proposed that the stitched seam in the trim material be weakened. However, this can have the undesired effect of reducing the long term durability of the seat trim and result in premature separation or splitting of the seam.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a side air bag directional guide system which reliably directs a deployed air bag through a seam in the vehicle seat. This, and other objects of the present invention, are obtained by providing an air bag directional guide system in a vehicle seat including a seat back having a seat cover with an air bag mounted inside of the seat cover. A membrane is wrapped around the air bag unit and has first and second ends connected to a seam in the seat cover. In the preferred embodiment, first and second ends of the membrane are stitched into the bolster seam in the trim cover when the seam is sewn.
Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood however that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.


A wireless communication device architecture is provided. The wireless communication device can include a WLAN chipset, a cellular chipset, and an application processor. The application processor can include a first portion and a second portion. The first portion can include at least one root complex powered via a dedicated power domain, which can be independent of at least one second power domain that can power the second portion. The WLAN chipset can coupled to a first port of the at least one root complex via a first interface. The cellular chipset can be coupled to a second port of the at least one root complex via a second interface. The at least one root complex can use power received via the dedicated power domain to bridge the WLAN chipset and the cellular chipset while the second portion of the application processor is sleeping.

Modern wireless communication devices often support both wireless local area network (WLAN) connections and cellular connections. In some scenarios, data can be exchanged between a WLAN chip and a cellular chip. For example, in the case of device tethering, a wireless communication device can serve as a WLAN access point and enable one or more further devices, referred to as tethered devices, share a cellular network connection with the wireless communication device.
In most present device architectures, the WLAN chip and the cellular chip are each connected to an application processor. As such, in a tethering scenario, data arriving from the cellular network has to be passed from the cellular chip to the application processor, and then from the application processor to the WLAN chip, which can forward the data to the tethered device. Bridging the WLAN chip and the cellular chip via the application processor in this manner can result in the application processor drawing power to stay in an active state to support the bridging even if the application processor is not performing any further function.
Some attempts have been made to reduce the power drawn to support conveying data in support of tethering through the use of integrated WLAN and cellular chips, which provide both WLAN and cellular connectivity on a single chip. Such integrated WLAN and cellular chips can autonomously handle tethering-related communication between the WLAN and cellular stacks without involving the application processor, and thus can reduce power consumption by enabling the application processor to sleep during tethering. However, usage of an integrated WLAN and cellular chip can be undesirable, as it can limit flexibility in device design.
In another alternative architecture that can be used to reduce the power drawn to support tethering, a direct link can be implemented between the WLAN chip and the cellular chip to enable forwarding of data between the two chips without involving the application processor. However, this architecture requires the implementation of an additional high speed interface on both the WLAN chip and the cellular chip to support the direct link, which can result in increased cost, and which can undesirably increase the chipset footprint in size-limited mobile devices.

Reducing power consumption when bridging independent chipsets


A sense amplifier for comparing the resistance of a reference cell connected to a reference bit line to the resistance of a data cell connected to a data bit line. The amplifier includes a first terminal for connecting the sense amplifier to the reference bit line and a second terminal for connecting the sense amplifier to the data bit line. A reference current to voltage amplifier is connected to the first terminal for generating a reference voltage related to the current flowing through the reference bit line and for maintaining the first terminal at a reference potential when the current flowing through the reference bit line is less than a first current value. A data current to voltage amplifier is connected to the second terminal for generating a data voltage related to the current flowing through the data bit line and for maintaining the second terminal at the reference potential when the current flowing through the data bit line is less than a second current value. A comparitor compares the reference and data voltages. The data current to voltage amplifier includes an operational amplifier for measuring the difference between a potential on a first conductor and the potential on the data bit line. The operational amplifier allows the reference potential to be set at a lower voltage than is available in prior art designs. The invention utilizes a capacitive dividing scheme for pre-charging the bit lines prior to connecting the sense amplifier.

To simplify the following discussion, the present invention will be discussed in terms of a memory based on non-destructively read ferroelectric memory cells. These cells may be viewed as a field effect transistor (FET) in which the gate oxide has been replaced by a ferroelectric layer. The ferroelectric layer may be polarized in one of two directions. The polarization exerts an electric field on a semiconductor layer whose resistance is altered in response to the direction of polarization. Conversely, the direction of polarization, and hence, the value of the stored data bit, can be determined by measuring the resistance of the semiconductor layer. The resistance is normally measured by observing the current that flows between two electrodes that are spaced apart from one another and in contact with the semiconductor layer. These electrodes are analogous to the source and drain terminals on a conventional FET.
The direction of polarization of the ferroelectric layer is set by manipulating the voltages on the source and drain electrode together with a third "gate" electrode which is disposed on the opposite side to the ferroelectric layer from the semiconducting layer. Hence, care must be taken during read operations to assure that the voltage applied to the electrodes is not sufficient to disturb the contents of the memory cell. If the read voltage is substantially less than the coercive voltage of the ferroelectric layer, the contents of the memory cell will not be lost during the read operation.
Unfortunately, limitations on the read voltage lead to reduced reading speed when conventional sense amplifiers are utilized. The time needed to sense the current is determined by the rise time of the bit lines and the sense voltage. The sense amplifier requires a voltage excursion of some minimum value to distinguish a "1" from a "0". The time required for this voltage swing can be reduced if the voltages applied to the circuit are increased.
In addition, conventional sense amplifiers of the type used to read EEPROM memory cells have difficulty providing the low voltage levels needed to read ferroelectric FETs. The read voltages supplied by these amplifiers are determined by the threshold voltage of a gate within the amplifier. Unfortunately, the typical threshold voltages are too high to provide a regulated source of read voltage at the level required to prevent the contents of the memory cell from being disturbed.
Broadly, it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved sense amplifier.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sense amplifier with a reduced settling time.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a sense amplifier that can generate lower read voltages than prior art sense amplifiers.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.

Sense amplifier for low read-voltage memory cells


A sliding door apparatus includes a sliding door having a window and slidably disposed with respect to a body of a vehicle, a foreign object detecting unit that detects whether a foreign object exists in the open area, and a slide stopping unit that stops, upon the foreign object detecting unit detecting existence of the foreign object, sliding of the sliding door in the opening direction before the sliding door reaches a full-open position.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding door apparatus with a window where an opening/closing member such as a window glass is disposed so as to allow opening or closing of the window.
2) Description of the Related Art
In a sliding door apparatus having a window where an opening/closing member such as a window glass is disposed so as to allow opening/closing of the window, when the sliding door is slid in an opening direction with the window open, the opened area of the window is gradually narrowed because it is overlapped with a body of a vehicle. Therefore, in case someone sticks his or her head or hand out of the window when the window is open, it is possibly caught in the window while the slide door is opened.
One of the conventional sliding door apparatuses of this kind solves the above problem by adopting a mechanism to stop the sliding door before it reaches a full-open position if opening operation of the sliding door is made when opening of the window exceeds a certain level, for example, when the window is opened more than 150 millimeters, (See, for example Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication JP-A 2000-240352).
However, even when the opening of the window is not more than a predetermined level (hereinafter, "a threshold"), it is possible to stick a hand or a long narrow object out of the window, so that there is still a possible danger that the hand or the object is caught between the window and the body of the vehicle.
Of course, it is possible to prevent the foreign object from being caught more securely by setting the threshold smaller. However, when the threshold is set smaller, it is impossible to fully open the sliding door unless the window opening is smaller than the threshold or even closed, which significantly causes an inconvenience when handling the sliding door apparatus. In particular, when the user does not notice that the window is slightly open, or does not recognize the closing function itself, it is difficult to figure out the reason why the full open of the sliding door is disabled.


An electric vehicle includes a motor, a first controller that controls the motor, a chargeable battery supplying electric power to the motor, a second controller connected to the battery that controls electric charge for the battery and electric discharge from the battery and a first communication path that communicates between the first controller and the second controller. The first and the second controllers each includes a mutual actuating unit for actuating the other controller via the first communication path in response to actuation of the first or second controller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric vehicle in which wheels are driven by a motor supplied with power from a battery.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, there is growing interest in electric vehicles such as electric motorcycles and the like in which wheels are driven by a motor supplied with power from a battery due to global environment problems and traffic environment problems.
Since the electric vehicle is supplied with power from a battery, the battery capacity (electric capacity) is reduced by electric discharge based on the usage of the battery.
Therefore, the battery capacity is replenished by connecting a battery charger to the battery, and charging the battery by the battery charger.
Therefore, it is important to control the charging and discharging state of the battery. Therefore, the electric vehicle is provided with a controller for battery management for controlling the charging and discharging state of the battery (battery management controller; BMC) separately in addition to a controller for controlling the motor.
Conventionally, the electric vehicles are provided with a plurality of controllers including a controller for motor control and a controller for battery management.
In the conventional electric vehicles, actuating relation among the plurality of controllers is not clearly determined, and the setting depending on the construction of the electric vehicle has been required.
In view of such circumstances, an advantage of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle provided with a plurality of controllers such as a controller for motor control and a controller for battery management, in which actuating relation among the plurality of controllers can be set according to the construction of the electric vehicle.


A device having an epitaxial region and dual metal-semiconductor alloy surfaces is provided. The epitaxial region includes an upward facing facet and a downward facing facet. The upward facing facet has a first metal-semiconductor alloy surface and the downward facing facet has a second metal-semiconductor alloy surface, wherein the first metal-semiconductor alloy is different than the second metal-semiconductor alloy.

Transistors typically include semiconductor regions used to form the source regions and drain regions. Since the contact resistance between metal contact plugs and the semiconductor regions is high, metal silicides are formed on the surfaces of the semiconductor regions such as silicon regions, germanium regions, silicon germanium regions in order to reduce the contact resistance. The contact plugs are formed to contact the silicide regions, and the contact resistance between the contact plugs and the silicide regions are low.
A typical silicidation process includes forming a metal layer on the surfaces of the semiconductor regions, and performing an annealing, so that the metal layer reacts with the semiconductor regions to form the silicide regions. After the reaction, the upper portions of the metal layer may be left un-reacted. An etching step is then performed to remove the un-reacted portions of the metal layer.

Self-aligned dual-metal silicide and germanide formation

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


In a method of manufacturing a multilayer ceramic electronic component, polishing is performed so that intersection lines extending from external surfaces of a green element body and interfaces between a green chip to be formed into a laminate portion and ceramic side surface layers are each located within a curved-surface formation range of a chamfer portion. Accordingly, since a green ceramic material is extended so as to fill the interfaces like so-called “putty”, and the adhesive strength between the green chip to be formed into the laminate portion and each of the ceramic side surface layers is increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic electronic component and a method for manufacturing the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic electronic component in which a green ceramic material is provided after a laminating step to form side gap regions in association with internal electrodes of an element body and to a method for manufacturing the multilayer ceramic electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, small portable electronic apparatuses, such as a cellular phone, a notebook personal computer, a digital camera, and a digital audio apparatus, have been increasingly in demand. Miniaturization of these portable electronic apparatuses is progressing, and at the same time, improvement in performance thereof is also progressing. Since many multilayer ceramic electronic components are mounted in these portable electronic apparatuses, improvement in performance is also required for the multilayer ceramic electronic components, and for example, an increase in capacity is required for multilayer ceramic capacitors. In response to this requirement, in the multilayer ceramic capacitor, a decrease in thickness of a ceramic layer has been carried out, and as a result, the number of ceramic layers to be laminated tends to be increased.
In general, a multilayer ceramic electronic component is manufactured in such a way that after internal electrode patterns are printed on ceramic green sheets to be formed into ceramic layers after firing, the ceramic green sheets are laminated to each other so as to shift the internal electrode patterns in a predetermined direction to form a mother block, and this mother block is cut into green chips each having a predetermined dimension.
In this manufacturing method, in order to prevent the internal electrode patterns from being exposed to side surfaces of the green chip caused by misalignment generated in a laminating and/or a cutting step, a margin of each side gap region between the side surface of the green chip and the side of the internal electrode pattern must be ensured. However, when miniaturization of the multilayer ceramic electronic component is performed, the ratio of the area of the side gap region to the area of the internal electrode is increased, and as a result, the capacity of the multilayer ceramic capacitor is inevitably decreased in an amount corresponding to the above increase in ratio.
In order to solve the above problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-349669 has disclosed that after a laminate is prepared in which two side ends of internal electrodes are exposed to side surfaces of the laminate, since ceramic green sheets are adhered to these side surfaces thereof to form side gap regions, miniaturization of a multilayer capacitor and an increase in capacity thereof can be achieved.
However, according to the technique disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 6-349669, the adhesive strength between the ceramic green sheet forming the side gap region and the green chip is not sufficient, and as the time passes by, the side gap region may be peeled off from a ceramic base body in some cases.
In addition, a problem similar to that described above may occur not only in multilayer ceramic capacitors but also in multilayer ceramic electronic components other than the multilayer ceramic capacitors.

Multilayer ceramic electronic component and a method for manufacturing the same


The present invention provides an acrylate/silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive tape having improved adhesion to painted surfaces and low temperature performance. The pressure-sensitive adhesive tape comprises:. (a) a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer comprising a polymerized pressure sensitive adhesive composition wherein said pressure sensitive adhesive composition comprises: PA1 (b) a foam layer which is coated on at least one side with the adhesive layer.. (I) about 25 to about 99 weight percent of polymer of the formula ##STR1## wherein: X, Y, D, R, R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3, R.sup.4, and n are defined in the specification; PA2 (II) about 1 to about 75 weight percent free radically polymerizable vinyl monomer which is capable of copolymerizing with the polymer wherein said free radically polymerizable monomer comprises: PA2 (III) a sufficient amount of a silicate MQ tackifying resin to impart a degree of adhesive tack to the cured composition at the use temperature; and. (i) about 5 to about 100 parts by weight of an acidic monomer selected from the group consisting of methacrylic acid, acrylic acid, and mixtures thereof; PA3 (ii) about 0 to about 95 parts by weight of an acrylate monomer selected from the group consisting of esters of acrylic acid comprising 4 to 21 carbon atoms and esters of methacrylic acid comprising 5 to 21 carbon atoms and mixtures thereof; based upon 100 parts total by weight of said free radically polymerizable monomer; PA3 wherein the weight percentages set forth in elements,(I) and (II) are based upon the total weight of the polymer of element (I) plus the monomer of element (II); and. The present invention also provides the pressure sensitive adhesive composition and pressure sensitive adhesive.

Fastening systems based on pressure sensitive tape constructions are finding increasing utility in numerous applications, as alternatives to mechanical fastening techniques. For example, such tape constructions are used for the attachment of various components, including film graphics, body side molding, body sealing weatherstripping, and most recently, for glass installation. In addition to the automotive industry, there exists many other applications/markets for attachment tapes of this type.
PSA coated tapes based on acrylics, neoprene, polyolefins, polyurethanes, silicones and rubber resin-based materials are currently in use, and provide a generally desirable balance of properties for many purposes. However, more demanding applications, such as those in the automotive industry, require materials with a balance of properties not yet available in commercial products. For example, newer automotive paint systems are formulated for enhanced environmental conservation, appearance, durability, and resistance to degradation from common sources of contamination. These formulation changes have also made the paint substrates more difficult to adhere to for conventional PSAs.
In addition, new or potential applications require ever higher performance in tests such as peel adhesion and resistance to shock/impact at low temperatures (-30 to -45.degree. C.). Conventional acrylic-based PSAs lack the desired adhesion and low temperature impact resistance when mounted on these new substrates.
Traditional silicone pressure sensitive adhesives, which by nature exhibit excellent low temperature shock resistance properties, do not generate adequate adhesion to these paints, apparently due to lack of strong interaction with the paint surface. Thus, there exists the need to design new PSAs which possess the required balance of properties.
Attempts have been made to provide "hybrid" systems having the advantages of acrylate PSAs and silicone PSAs, but the approach generally taken has been to blend the two types of PSAs. Thus, these hybrids are prone to gross phase separation problems and their properties are also somewhat limited. In addition, the systems are solvent-based or water-based, necessitating a drying step.
For example, European Patent Publication No. 289928 (General Electric), published Nov. 9, 1988, describes an emulsion or solution comprising: (a) 100 parts by weight of water or organic solvent; (b) from about 10 to about 400 parts by weight of pressure sensitive adhesive comprising: (i) from about 50 to about 99% by weight organic pressure sensitive adhesive, preferably an acrylate, and (ii) from about 1 to about 50% by weight of silicone pressure sensitive adhesive; and (c) an effective amount of organic peroxide or alkoxy silane cross-linking agent to increase the shear strength of the composite adhesive through crosslinking of the silicone. The emulsion generally requires the use of an emulsifying agent or agents to maintain both the micelles of silicone adhesive and micelles of organic adhesive in a substantially stable state of suspension even at low water content, so that drying may be accomplished prior to phase separation of the silicone adhesive and the organic adhesive.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,163 (Traver et al.) discloses an emulsion (formed from a silicone PSA and an organic PSA, preferably an acrylate) comprising: (a) 100 parts by weight of a continuous phase of water; (b) from about 10 to about 400 parts by weight of micelles comprising: (i) from about 50 to about 99% by weight of micelles comprising organic pressure sensitive adhesive, preferably an acrylate, and (ii) from about 1 to about 50% by weight of micelles comprising silicone pressure sensitive adhesive; and (c) an amount of emulsifying agent effective to maintain the emulsion. Curing of the silicone may be promoted by adding a peroxide or by adding a catalyst and an alkoxy silane.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-295982 (Toyota Gosei), published Dec. 23, 1987, describes organic solvent-based blends of silicone pressure sensitive adhesive, active hydrogen containing acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive, and polyurethane and/or polyisocyanate.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-197780 (Daicel), published Oct. 7, 1985, also discloses blends in organic solvent of 100 parts by weight acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive and 1-30 parts by weight silicone pressure sensitive adhesive.
Japanese Patent Publication 61-57355 discloses solvent based adhesives having a silicone pressure sensitive adhesive, an acrylate pressure sensitive adhesive, and an organic peroxide crosslinking agent to prevent phase separation. The adhesives mentioned are solvent based adhesives.
Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 59-145269 (Nitto), published Aug. 20, 1984, and 63-291971 (Nitto), published Nov. 29, 1988, seek to avoid the gross phase separation problems characteristic of blends through the use of either bridging agents or compatibilizing agents. The former patent describes a composition comprising a medium, 100 parts by weight of acrylic adhesive polymer dissolved or dispersed in the medium, 5-120 parts by weight silicone adhesive polymer, and crosslinking agent capable of co-bridging both polymers. The latter patent discloses pressure sensitive adhesives comprising silicone pressure sensitive adhesive, polyacrylate pressure sensitive adhesive, and silicone polyacrylate graft copolymer.
These adhesives have been used for various automotive applications, e.g., attachment of decorative items to the painted surface. Automotive industry testing of adhesives typically subjects adhesives to pass a shock test, known in the industry as a "cold slam" test, at temperatures down to -45.degree. C. Conventional acrylate adhesives have difficulty passing such tests when attached to new high solids paints systems which are increasingly used in the automotive industry. Adhesion to such paints is also reduced as compared to older paints.
Additional patents disclose ultraviolet radiation curing of acrylate adhesives. U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,972 (Moon) discloses the use of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone as the polar copolymerizable monomer in the acrylate adhesive copolymer. High adhesion to automotive paints is disclosed but not exemplified.
A need exits for a PSA and a PSA coated tape having superior adhesion to paint and superior low temperature shock resistance properties. A need also exists for a hybrid PSA system and a paint-adherable tape coated with a hybrid PSA system which has the advantages of both acrylate PSAs and silicone PSAs which requires little or no solvent, thereby reducing or eliminating the environmental and health hazards associated with solvent use, as well as the need for drying. A need also exists for such a hybrid PSA system paint-adherable tape coated with a hybrid PSA system which is radiation curable and which, unlike most known hybrid systems, is not prone to gross phase separation problems. A need also exists for a hybrid PSA system and a paint-adherable tape coated with a hybrid PSA system which possesses balanced PSA properties tailorable over a wide range, thereby providing greater flexibility than known hybrid systems in achieving substrate-specific adhesion. We have discovered such a PSA and such a PSA coated tape.

Radiation-curable acrylate/silicone pressure-sensitive adhesive coated tapes adherable to paint coated substrates

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


An integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system includes a rotor and a pair of rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies each disposed adjacent to one of the opposite sides of the rotor. The rotor is mounted to rotate in either of opposite directions and has an annular channel defined on each opposite side by radially spaced inner and outer concentric surfaces. Each assembly is mounted to rotate in either opposite direction and has output and input elements disposed respectively remotely from and adjacent to the rotor. The input element can be moved from an intermediate neutral position to one of opposite drive positions where the input element engages one or the other of the inner and outer surfaces of the rotor annular channel enabling transmitting of rotary drive motion from the rotor to the assembly output element and controlling speed and direction thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to drive systems for controlling transmission of rotary drive motion, such as for tracked wheels of an occupant-propelled toy vehicle, and, more particularly, is concerned with an integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system, such as for such toy vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of different drive systems for controlling the transmission of rotary drive motion to tracked wheels of occupant-propelled toy vehicles are disclosed in the prior art. Representative of the prior art patents disclosing such drive systems are U.S. Pat. No. 1,376,347 to McComb, U.S. Pat. No. 2,289,331 to Alt, U.S. Pat. No. 2,305,072 to Fetters, U.S. Pat. No. 2,633,370 to Johnston et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,332,703 to Evans and U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,546. The drive systems of some of these patents appear too complex and complicated for a young child of average strength to be able to manually operate the drive systems. The drive systems of other of these patents appear to only simulate the operation of a tracked wheel vehicle. While these prior art drive systems may operate satisfactorily under the limited conditions for which they were designed, none of these drive systems appear to approach an optimum arrangement of components for enabling a young child to effectively propel and operate a tracked toy vehicle.
Consequently, a need still exists for an innovation which will overcome the problems of prior art drive systems without introducing any new problems in place thereof.
The present invention provides an integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system designed to satisfy the aforementioned need. The system of the present invention utilizes a relatively limited number of simple, uncomplicated components which can be operated by a young child to carry out both rotary drive motion transmission and rotary drive motion directional control functions.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system which comprises: (a) a rotor mounted to rotate in either first or second opposite directions and having a pair of annular channels each defined on one of a pair of opposite sides of the rotor by a pair of radially spaced inner and outer concentric surfaces; and (b) a pair of rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies each mounted to rotate and disposed adjacent to one of the opposite sides of the rotor, each of the rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies having an output element disposed remotely from the rotor and an input element disposed adjacent to the rotor, the input element adapted to be moved from an intermediate neutral position to one of a pair of opposite drive positions where the input element engages one or the other of the inner and outer surfaces of the annular channel on the rotor enabling transmitting of rotary drive motion from the rotor to the output element of the one of the rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies and also enabling controlling the speed and direction of the transmitted rotary drive motion.
Also, the present invention is directed to an integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system which comprises: (a) a support structure; (b) a pair of driven output mechanisms mounted to the support structure for receiving rotary drive motion; (c) a rotor mounted to the support structure to rotate in either one of first and second opposite directions and disposed between and spaced from the driven output mechanisms, the rotor having a pair of opposite sides and a pair of annular channels, each of the annular channels being defined on one of the opposite sides of the rotor and having opposing inner and outer concentric surfaces radially spaced from one another such that the outer surface has a diameter larger than a diameter of the inner surface; (d) a drive input mechanism mounted to the support structure for transmitting rotary drive motion to the rotor so as to cause the rotor to rotate in either one of the first and second opposite directions; (e) a pair of rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies mounted to the support structure to rotate in either one of the first and second opposite directions and disposed in a transverse relationship to and extending between the rotor and the driven output mechanisms, each of the rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies having an output element disposed at and drivingly coupled with one of the driven output mechanisms and an input element disposed at one of the opposite sides of the rotor and adapted to be moved to one of a pair of displaced drive positions wherein the input element engages one of the concentric surfaces and is disengaged from the other of the concentric surfaces of one of the annular channels so as to enable transmitting of the rotary drive motion from the drive input mechanism to the driven output mechanisms via the rotor and rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies and also determine speed and direction of the transmitted rotary drive motion, the input element also adapted to be moved to an intermediate neutral position located between the displaced drive positions in which the input element is disposed between and spaced from the inner and outer concentric surfaces of the one of the annular channels of the rotor so as to disable the transmitting of the rotary drive motion from the drive input mechanism to the driven output mechanisms via the rotor and rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies; and (f) means mounted to the support structure for controlling movement of the input element of the rotary drive motion transmitting assemblies independently of one another between the displaced drive positions and the intermediate neutral position.
Further, the present invention is directed to a bi-lateral track drive vehicle employing the above-described integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Integrated rotary drive motion transmission and directional control system


A controlled release fertilizer including a fertilizer granule, having an outer surface, a coating of biopolymer composition on the outer surface of the fertilizer granule, wherein the biopolymer composition includes at least one biopolymer, and a process of making the controlled release fertilizer including the steps of screening fertilizer granules to a preselected granule size, heating a biopolymer to become substantially fluid, and applying the biopolymer onto the surface of the fertilizer granule to produce a coating on the granule of a predetermined amount.

The present invention is directed towards new and entirely unexpected granular fertilizers and processes for making the fertilizers, which provide controlled release of the fertilizer to plants. The fertilizers may include additional advantageous agents such as micro and macro nutrients and other agriculturally beneficial materials. More particularly, the present invention is a granular fertilizer coated with a biologically degradable polymer (biopolymer). When such fertilizer is applied to the soil, microorganisms will degrade the biopolymer coating over time, releasing the fertilizer at a rate controlled by the amount, i.e., thickness of the biopolymer coating and chemical characteristics of the biopolymer, as well as environmental conditions.
There are many slow and extended release fertilizers with their nutrient release based on time and event related coating failures or coating permeability. These fertilizers are influenced by factors such as available soil water, fertilizer solubility, microbial activity in the soil, and the ratio of surface area to nutrient weight of the particle. Of these, the major commercial products are sulfur coated urea, polymer coated ureas, and urea-formaldehyde products such as methylene ureas.
Of the polymer coated fertilizers, almost all are dependent on ambient temperature and moisture, and the thickness of the coating. Most polymer coated fertilizers release nutrients by physical diffusion through a semi-permeable polymer membrane, and the release rate can be controlled by varying the composition and thickness of the coating. The type of fertilizer substrate also may influence the rate of nutrient (e.g., nitrogen) release. Nutrients are released by physical diffusion through the polymer coating.
A more recent polymer coated fertilizer employs a reactive layer coating which combines two reactive monomers as they are simultaneously applied to the fertilizer substrate. These reactions create an ultra-thin membrane coating, which controls nutrient release by osmotic diffusion. The coating thickness determines the diffusion rate and the duration of release for such reactive layer coated products.
Polymer-sulfur coated fertilizers are hybrid products that use a primary coating of sulfur and a secondary polymer coat. These fertilizers were developed to deliver controlled-release performance approaching that of solely polymer-coated fertilizers but at a reduced cost. The nutrient-release mechanism of these coated fertilizers is a combination of diffusion and capillary action. Water vapor must first physically diffuse in through the continuous polymer layer. The rate of diffusion is controlled by the composition and thickness of the polymer film. Once at the polymer-sulfur interface, the water penetrates the defects in the sulfur coat through physical capillary action and begins to dissolve the fertilizer core. The dissolved fertilizer then exits the particle in reverse sequence.
Thermoplastic resins such as polyolefins, polyvinylidene chloride, and copolymers may be employed to coat fertilizers. Because the thermoplastic polymers used are highly impermeable to water, release-controlling agents such as ethylene-vinyl acetate and surfactants are typically added to the coating to obtain the desired physical diffusion characteristics. Coating thicknesses are essentially the same for all of such fertilizers with the release being controlled by the chemical type of release-controlling agent and amount of the agent.

Controlled release fertilizer with biopolymer coating and process for making same


A reliable image display apparatus is provided that is capable of preventing a direct current from being applied to liquid crystal of a spatial light modulating element so that damage such as burns in the liquid crystal and screen flicker may be prevented and a high resolution image with high image quality may be displayed. The image display apparatus is configured to divide a frame into 2i sub frames (i corresponding to a natural number) and sequentially display the sub frames using the liquid crystal spatial light modulating element. The image display apparatus includes a polarity switching unit configured to reverse the polarity of a drive voltage for a pixel of the spatial light modulating element for every j sub frame(s) (j corresponding to a natural number that is less than 2i) and for every n frame(s)(n corresponding to a natural number).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image display apparatus that includes a liquid crystal spatial light modulating element and is configured to conduct time division display of a frame by dividing the frame into plural sub frames. The present invention also relates to a method of driving a spatial light modulating element with an alternative current.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years and continuing, with the dramatic increase in computer processing capabilities, technology for displaying a higher resolution image in a computer is developing and in turn, high resolution capabilities are being demanded in an image display apparatus. However, in apparatuses such as a projector, the resolution of a spatial light modulating element for displaying an image may not be able to keep up with the increasing resolution of the image to be displayed. Accordingly, various techniques are proposed for achieving a higher resolution image in such apparatuses. For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.2003-90992, a configuration of a projector including an optical deflecting element is disclosed.
FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a projector according to the disclosure of Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.2003-90992. The projector illustrated in this drawing includes an LED light source that is formed by a two-dimensional array of LED lamps and is arranged to emit light towards a screen, a diffuser positioned in the light emitting direction with respect to the light source, a condenser lens, a spatial light modulating element in the form of a transmissive LCD panel, and a projection lens. Further, the projector includes an optical deflecting element that is arranged at the light path between the transmissive LCD panel and the projection lens.
In this projector, illuminating light that is emitted from the LED light source is equalized at the diffuser, and is controlled and synchronized with an illuminating light source by the condenser using an LCD panel drive part to realize critical illumination of the illuminating light onto the transmissive LCD panel. Then, the illuminating light is spatially modulated by the transmissive LCD panel and is incident onto the optical deflecting element as image light. The image light is then shifted by a given distance in the positioning direction of pixels.
Also, in this projector a panel drive part is arranged to divide an image of one frame into plural sub frames so that the sub frames may be sequentially displayed through time divisional display at the transmissive LCD panel. In turn, the optical deflecting element deflects the light path in synch with the display of each sub frame so that the display positions of the sub frames may be shifted with respect to each other. In this way, it may appear as though the number of pixels displayed is multiplied.
The optical deflecting element may correspond to a device for deflecting the light path of incident light and may be realized by forming a lateral directional electrical field on a chiral smectic C liquid crystal layer. According to this example, an average inclination of the optical axis of the chiral smectic C liquid crystal layer, which generates its own polarity, is used to change the electrical field direction to enable high speed light path deflection.
When liquid crystal is used to realize the spatial light modulating element, an alternating current needs to be applied as the drive current for the spatial light modulating element as is known among persons skilled in the art. When a direct current is used as the drive current, the liquid crystal may be susceptible to damage such as burns. Accordingly, in a display apparatus such as a projector including an optical deflecting element that divides an image of one frame into plural sub frames and sequentially displays the sub frames through time division display, a frame polarity reversing drive method is conventionally used for switching the polarity of a drive voltage for the liquid crystal spatial light modulating element. Examples of such a method are illustrated in FIGS. 2˜4 and are described in detail below.
FIG. 2 illustrates an example of dividing a frame into four sub frames and displaying the sub frames with the spatial light modulating element through time division display while changing the light path with the optical deflecting element so that one pixel of the spatial light modulating element displays four pixels on the display screen. The arrows shown in this drawing represent the pixel shifting direction of a light path shifting unit.
FIG. 3 shows a case in which the pixels of the spatial light modulating element displays the same image of FIG. 2 on the screen.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary operation of signals for driving the spatial light modulating element. In this drawing, Vsync represents a vertical synchronizing signal that is generated in sync with a display period T2 for one sub frame. Vd represents a drive voltage that is applied to a given pixel electrode of the spatial light modulating element. Vcom represents a voltage that is applied to a common electrode. Generally, each pixel is driven by a difference voltage (Vd−Vcom) corresponding to a difference between the drive voltage Vd that is applied to a corresponding pixel electrode and the voltage Vcom that is applied to an opposing electrode corresponding to a common electrode for the pixels that is arranged on the other side of the liquid crystal layer.
It is noted that periods [1] through [4] indicated in this drawing represent the respective sub frame periods making up one frame. As is indicated in the drawing, the polarity of the drive voltage Vd within one period T1 is reversed with respect to the voltage Vcom in a next frame period T1, and in this way, the pixels of the spatial light modulating element may be driven by an alternating current.
However, when a drive method of reversing the polarity for every frame is used, the alternating current drive frequency may be decreased causing a perceptible flicker on the display screen.
Accordingly, a method of increasing the alternating current drive frequency to prevent such a flicker effect is known. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.6-27902 discloses one example of such a method in which the polarity of the drive voltage Vd is reversed for every vertical synchronization period, that is, for every sub frame period. However, in the case of applying such a method to a projector having a light path shifting unit (e.g., optical deflecting element) as is described above, the applied drive current may end up being a direct current, and thereby, the method may not be directly applied. For example, FIG. 5 illustrates the drive voltage Vd of the spatial light modulating element in the case of applying this method to the projector described above. It may be easily understood from this drawing that the drive voltage Vd in this example ends up being a direct current rather than an alternative current.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.6-38149 discloses another exemplary method for preventing the flicker effect in which the polarity of the voltage Vd is reversed with respect to every one or more horizontal synchronizing periods and every vertical synchronizing period. However, this method also creates the same problem as is described above.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No.7-175443 discloses a method of converting the drive voltage into an alternating current by reversing the drive voltage polarity with respect to every vertical synchronizing period within one sub frame period, the method being realized in a case where a sub frame period and a vertical synchronizing period do not correspond and at least two vertical synchronizing periods are provided within one sub frame to realize high speed writing of image data. FIG. 6 corresponds to a diagram illustrating such an arrangement.
However, in a display apparatus that is arranged to temporarily display a predetermined gray level (e.g., black display) at the spatial light modulating element upon switching the sub frame display, unless the drive voltage for temporarily displaying the predetermined gray level with the pixels of the spatial light modulating element upon switching the sub frame display corresponds to zero, asymmetry is created between positive and negative voltages so that the applied voltage corresponds to a direct current. FIG. 7 illustrates the problem described above in relation to the arrangement of FIG. 6 in which a voltage V1 is applied for a time period T3 upon switching the sub frame display.
Generally, at a spatial light modulating element, scanned pixel data are written one line at a time owing to restrictions on the amount of using such a spatial light modulating element that is based on a line-sequential system in the image display apparatus that is capable of multiplying the number of displayed pixels by a light path shifting unit, light shifting is conducted simultaneously on all the pixels of the spatial light modulating element, and thereby, a so-called image crosstalk may occur in which the same image may be displayed before and after the light path shifting resulting in the degradation of image quality.

Image display apparatus and alternative current drive method


A waste-disposing sea-going vessel includes a vessel body that carries solid waste-holding containers to a site at sea far away from land. The vessel body further has an incinerator to incinerate the solid wastes of the containers, a scrubbing chamber to scrub the smoke produced by the incinerator via sea-water, and a neutralization chamber to spray an alkaline solution onto the products produced by the scrubbing chamber, thereby removing hazardous particles before the incinerated wastes are discharged into the sea. A smoke-conveying pipe is further provided to connect a chimney of the incinerator to the scrubbing chamber, and a catalyst converter is provided in the smoke conveying pipe to remove some hazardous smoke particles by filtration and chemical conversion before the post-treatments conducted by the scrubbing chamber and the neutralization chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sea-going vessel for disposing wastes, more particularly to a sea-going vessel which is provided with a solid-waste incinerator and enclosed chambers for post-treatment of the products of incineration so as to remove hazardous substances therefrom.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Disposal of industrial and medical wastes by dumping into the sea or disposal sites on land is not safe for they contain hazardous chemicals and infectious viruses which will pollute underground water resources and the sea and which will endanger to biological systems. Although such hazardous wastes can be eliminated by incineration, incinerators installed on land have caused serious air pollution problems, such as the acidifying of the atmosphere to produce acid rain, the production of holes in the ozone layer, etc., which are harmful to living things. On the other hand, sites for incineration available on land have become limited due to the increasing population. People tend to deny the use of their environment as disposal sites. In order to provide an efficient solution to the problem of disposing such dangerous wastes, incineration of wastes far away from land is desirable.

Sea-going vessel with a solid-waste incinerator

No. 133, Erh-Sheng-Erh Rd., Chien-Chen Dist.


A sheet-testing apparatus including kneading rolls, a frame feeder, sheet applicator, foreign material detector, a frame with a light transparent window and a cutter for cutting a sheet. A sheet-testing sample-making apparatus has a cluster of kneading rolls, frame feeder, and sheet applicator. A sheet thickness detection apparatus outputs an electric signal to a memory. A kneading apparatus has a pair of heating rolls separated by a gap. The directions and speeds of rotations of the rolls are adjustable. A sensor detects the gap and a bank sensor detects the condition of a bank in the gap. The distance between the rolls, their temperatures, rotations, and speeds are automatically controlled. A pair of blades peel a sheet from the sheet-winding roll. Material dropped through the gap between the heating rolls is returned to a point above the gap. A cutting device has a length of wire sprung onto a rolled sheet to sever the sheet. A heating roll cleaning device brings cleaning rolls into sliding engagement with the heating rolls. A heating roll cleaning device feeds an elongated cloth-like cleaning member for cleaning heating rolls.

In general, a producer of synthetic resin or the like is required to check, as part of quality control, whether or not gel or fish eye is generated in the synthetic resin produced.
The manufacturer who obtains synthetic resin from the producer to manufacture various kinds of products is also required to check the resin thus obtained to see if there is fish eye or gel in the resin and to consider to what extent fish eye or gel is generated in the case where there is a predetermined condition of the work. This is because, if such fish eye or the like exists, an attempt to print on the surface of a product made with the synthetic resin will result in a defective product due to poor adhesion of ink to the surface.
A test roll apparatus is an apparatus for testing whether or not fish eye or gel is generated in synthetic resin.
The test roll apparatus has a pair of heating rolls disposed in parallel relationship. The pair of heating rolls is arranged such that the gap therebetween is freely adjustable and the direction and speed of the rotation are also freely adjustable. In addition, the temperature of the heating rolls may be variously set. The gap between the heating rolls may initially be set at, for example, 0.2 mm.
The heating rolls are used to make a resin testing sheet as follows:
A predetermined amount of a certain powdered resin is fed to a gap between the heating rolls. Since a small gap is formed between the pair of heating rolls, a very small part of the powdered resin would fall through the gap, but major part of the resin of the powdered resin forms a mound-like deposit rising from the gap.
The heating rolls are heated to a predetermined temperature and rotated at either the same rotational speed or at different rotational speeds to impart shearing force and thermal energy to the powdered resin on the heating rolls. As a result of the shearing, the powder of the resin itself also generates heat.
By the heat generated in the resin powder itself through shearing and also the heat imparted by the heating rolls, the resin is partly melted and extruded in the form of a sheet through the gap between the heating rolls, which is slightly widened. The leading end of the extruded sheet is advanced by the rotation of the heating rolls and the sheet is wound on one heating roll. As a result, melted or partly melted resin is wound on one of the pair of heating rolls. In addition, melted resin is deposited into the gap between the pair of heating rolls.
In this state, kneading is continued for a predetermined time period. With time, the size of the resin mound is decreased with a resultant increase in the width of the sheet wound on the heating roll. When the mound of melted resin is completely kneaded, the kneading by the heating rolls is stopped and the sheet of resin is separated from the heating roll.
In order to separate the sheet of resin, the sheet wound on the stopped heating roll is cut or severed parallel to the axis of the heating roll. Then the cut end of the sheet of resin is then pulled, while the heating roll is rotated, to separate the sheet of resin from the heating roll.
The sheet of resin thus produced by the test roll apparatus is used to look for gel or fish eye in the sheet of resin as follows:
The sheet of resin obtained as described above is tensioned by suitable means and light is shined on the back side of the sheet while the front side of the sheet is observed visually. If fish eyes or the like are present in the sheet of resin, they are seen as white lightened spots. Fish eyes or the like is measured by counting the white lightened spots and/or measuring the spot diameters with a slide caliper or rule.
The prior art test roll apparatus described above has required several manual operations, including those to cut a sheet of resin wound on a heating roll, mount the sheet of resin separated from the heating roll, and detect fish eyes or the like in the sheet of resin.
When manually cutting a sheet of resin wound on the heating roll, the operator has been required to work beside the heating roll which was not fully cooled. Thus, there was a danger that the operator would have been burned. In addition, manual sheet cutting has resulted in sheets of irregular shapes, with the disadvantageous result that sheets of resin having uniform dimensions could not be obtained.
Also, it has been troublesome to manually put the separated sheets of resin on a frame and frequently it has been impossible to put the sheets on the frame under uniform tension.
Moreover, when the sheet thus mounted was held to light and inspected to detect fish eyes, count their number, and measure their sizes, there has been the possibility of damage to the operator's eyes. Another big problem has been human error, with differences depending on the particular observers included in the measured data.
In the prior art, the thickness of a resin sheet wound on a heating and kneading roll was measured by first cutting a part of the wound resin sheet with a suitable device such as for example a spatula and then measuring the resin fragment thus obtained with a dial gauge.
However, the operation of manually cutting a part of the resin sheet from the heating and kneading roll during its rotation involved the danger that an operator be burned, have fingers pinched between the heating and kneading rolls, and so on. In addition, manual measurements with a dial gauge caused differences in the measured values of the thicknesses of sheets as between different operators who measured with the gauge.
In the conventional kneading apparatus, which includes the conventional test roll described above, the pair of heating rolls are arranged such that a gap between them is set to a predetermined dimension and the gap is then widened as the thickness of a sheet wound on a heating roll is increased. The heating rolls are rotated during a kneading operation in such directions that a bank or mound of the material is caught and pinched between the rolls.
The conventional kneading apparatus was run by an operator according to his own experience and perception. In the conventional kneading apparatus, therefore, the kneading operations cannot be said to have always been carried out in the best way. Different operators followed different kneading steps, with the result that the degree of kneading was not always constant.
With the conventional kneading apparatus, moreover, the width of a rolled sheet wound about one of the heating rolls (the one hereinafter called the "sheet winding roll") is increased with the kneading time. In order to assure a predetermined width of the rolled sheet, therefore, a pair of width limiting plates are provided on the peripheral surface of the sheet-winding roll. Each plate has a bottom end with a curved surface having the same radius as the sheet-winding roll.
The width limiting plates are only effective to limit the width of rolled sheets and in no way contribute to the kneading operation.
On the other hand, in the conventional kneading apparatus, a rolled sheet enters a bank formed in a gap formed between the sheet winding roll and the other heating roll (hereinafter called the "counter roll") disposed opposite to the sheet winding roll to achieve a kneading operation. In order to render the kneading operation efficient, controls are provided for adjustment of the relative speeds of the counter roll and the sheet winding roll, maintaining the temperatures of these rolls, and so on.
There are problems with the conventional kneading operation described above. The conventional kneading apparatus is not yet satisfactory in that kneading takes a long time and the kneading operation and widthwise offsetting of a rolled sheet are carried out independently. Thus, the kneading operation as a whole is troublesome.
In the production of a kneaded sheet with the conventional kneading apparatus, the heating rolls are heated to predetermined temperatures and rotated in the initial stage of the process of producing the kneaded sheet to apply heat and shearing force to a mound above a gap between the heating rolls, so that mound particles of powdered material are fused and united together and become partly melted. The material thus becomes appropriately fluid and begins to hang from the heating rolls through the gap therebetween.
When the part of the material hanging down through the gap between the heating rolls grows to a suitable length, the operator uses an appropriate tool such as knife, spatula, or the like to guide the part of the material hanging down through the gap between the heating rolls onto and along the peripheral surface of one of the heating rolls until the forward end portion of the hanging part of the material is guided to a point above the gap between the heating rolls.
The conventional kneading apparatus, which inevitably requires such manual operation, involves a danger that the operator pinches his hand or his hands in between the heating rolls.
Moreover, in such a conventional kneading apparatus, even though the gap between the heating rolls is set to a small dimension in the initial stage of kneading operation, the powdered material leaks and falls through the gap between the heating rolls resulting in a substantial loss of the powdered material.
In order to eliminate this loss of powdered material, one might think to dispose a receiving member under the pair of heating rolls to catch the material falling through the gap between the heating rolls and to return the fallen material to a point above the gap between the heating rolls. However, it is quite troublesome to each time dispose such a receiving member under the gap between the heating rolls, take out and lift the receiving member to the gap between the heating rolls, and drop the powdered material from the receiving member toward the gap between the heating rolls. If such operation is to be manually carried out by an operator, there is a danger that the heating rolls may burn the operator.
When the kneading by the heating rolls has proceeded to a certain extent, the end of the sheet of the material, which hangs down from the heating rolls, must be wound on a heating roll. In the past, this operation was also carried out manually. Therefore, there was a great danger that, when the sheet end was wound, the heating rolls would burn the operator.
In the case where the conventional kneading apparatus is used to manufacture a sheet of vinyl chloride resin, silicone resin, or the like, or a sheet of an elastic high molecular compound such as rubber or EPDM, the sheet must be removed from the sheet winding roll. Several methods are conceivable for removing such sheet from the sheet winding roll.
One method might be to first cut or sever the sheet of the material wound on the sheet winding roll by means of a scraper having a thin knife edge. However, it has been found that, when a sheet on the sheet winding roll is cut by the scraper, the cut end of the sheet becomes waved and fail to provide a removed sheet having a linear cut end. It has also been found that, when the scraper is urged against a sheet on the sheet winding roll in order to cut the sheet, the surface of the sheet winding roll is damaged by the edge of the scraper. Accordingly, measures for preventing the sheet winding roll from being damaged are required.
Another method is to cut open a sheet on the sheet winding roll parallel to its axis with a sharp knife.
However, it has been found that, with the method of using the knife, it is difficult to squarely and accurately cut open a sheet along the roll axis. In addition, there is a possibility that the knife damages the surface of the sheet winding roll, as in the case of the scraper. Thus, some measures are demanded for avoiding the damage.
In the past, moreover, because the scraper or the knife was manipulated by an operator to cut a sheet, there was a danger that the operator could be burned by the heat of a very high temperature heating rolls.
With the conventional kneading apparatus, it was required to clean the surfaces of the heating rolls after a sheet produced by kneading was removed from the heating rolls. The operator used a cloth to wipe the surfaces of the heating rolls to remove deposits of material such as synthetic resin or elastic high molecular weight compounds adhered to the heating rolls. However, there was a problem that the removing operation took a long time and lowered the operation rate of the kneading apparatus. In addition, because both heating rolls become substantially hot, there was a danger that the manual operation could involve burns.
The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances.
Therefore, the present invention has as one object to provide a sheet testing apparatus which automatically detects or measures fish eyes, gel, and so on that are present in a sheet of resin, without requiring any manual operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a frame which can be easily charged with a sheet of resin obtained by severing a rolled sheet of resin wound on a kneading roll that also acts as a heating roll and which is easily used with a means for detecting foreign matter to test the resin sheet.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a sheet testing sample-making apparatus which easily and automatically makes a sheet testing sample which is charged with a sheet of resin and which can be easily mounted on a foreign matter detecting means for detecting foreign matter in sheets of resin.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a frame feeding apparatus to feed a frame to kneading rolls so that the frame can be suitably used for making the sheet testing sample and so that a rolled sheet wound on the kneading roll can be automatically mounted on and applied to the frame.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an automatic sheet thickness detecting apparatus which is operative to automatically, safely and accurately measure, without requiring any manual operation, a sheet formed by heating and kneading rolls.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide an automatic kneading apparatus which kneads a material uniformly.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a kneading apparatus which kneads material efficient and which simultaneously performs both kneading and widthwise adjustment of a rolled sheet.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a kneading apparatus which kneads efficiently.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a kneading apparatus and a fallen material returning apparatus used therewith which effectively returns, to a point above a gap between heating rolls, material fallen through the gap between the heating rolls.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a kneading apparatus and a fallen material returning apparatus used therewith which are operative to automatically return, to a point above a gap between heating rolls, powdered material dropped through the gap between the heating rolls in an initial stage of kneading operation to thereby reduce loss of the powdered material.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a kneading apparatus and a fallen material returning apparatus used therewith which are operative to automatically return, to a point above a gap between heating rolls, powdered material dropped through the gap between the heating rolls in an initial stage of kneading operations to thereby reduce loss of the powdered material and which also automatically wind on a heating roll an end of a sheet of the material hanging down through the gap between the heating rolls in a later stage of the kneading operation.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a roll cutting apparatus which is operative to sever, without any manual operation, a rolled sheet wound on a sheet winding roll to form an accurately linear cut end and which does not damage the surface of the sheet winding roll.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a heating roll cleaning apparatus which is operative to automatically clean the surfaces of a pair of heating rolls to improve the rate of operation and assure safety.

Automatic kneading apparatus and fallen material returning apparatus


A first computational device receives a response generated by a second computational device for a third computational device. A target that is suitable for use by the third computational device is determined. The response is transmitted with an address of the target to the third computational device.

In computing, iSCSI is an acronym for Internet Small Computer System Interface, an Internet Protocol (IP)-based storage networking standard for linking data storage facilities over a Storage Area Network (SAN). The iSCSI standard is defined and described by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standards body in Request for Comments (RFC) 3720, published April 2004. In iSCSI, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) commands are carried over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, to facilitate data transfers and to manage storage over long distances [T10 is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) body responsible for developing SCSI Standards that include SCSI Architecture Model (SAM), SCSI Primary Commands (SPC), SCSI Block Commands (SBC), Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), SES (SCSI Enclosure Standard), and SCC (SCSI Controller Commands), and further details of SCSI may be found in "http://www.t10.org/drafts.htm"]. Using the iSCSI protocol, data may be transmitted over networks, such as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), or the Internet, to allow location-independent data storage and retrieval.
The iSCSI protocol allows clients (called initiators) to send SCSI commands to SCSI storage devices (called targets) on remote servers. Organizations are allowed to consolidate storage into data center storage arrays while providing hosts with the illusion of locally attached disks. iSCSI Initiators are the iSCSI devices that start an input/output (I/O process) and iSCSI targets are the iSCSI devices that respond to a request to perform an I/O process using SCSI standard commands.
In network data transmission operations in a computing environment, an initiator device transmits data or commands over the network to a target device. The initiator functions as an iSCSI client. An iSCSI initiator may be a software initiator or a hardware initiator. The hardware initiator may use hardware, typically in combination with software or firmware running on that hardware, to implement iSCSI.
A target device, such as, a server, storage controller or host computer, may include an iSCSI target controller or subsystem to access the SCSI commands stored in the payload of an iSCSI packet, and to perform the SCSI commands. The iSCSI target may comprise a dedicated network-connected hard disk storage device, a general-purpose computer, etc. In a data center or enterprise environment, an iSCSI target may reside in a large storage array. The storage array may provide distinct iSCSI targets for numerous clients.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a network protocol used to configure devices that are connected to a network so that the devices can communicate on the network using the Internet Protocol (IP). Further details of DHCP is defined and described by the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standards body in RFC 2131 and 2132, both published March 1997. DHCP may be used in association with iSCSI for configuring devices

Determination of a suitable target for an initiator by a control plane processor


Methods and apparatus are disclosed for shaping and controlling the spectrum of transmitted samples with a set of predetermined frequency characteristics and a predetermined set of allowable transmitted signal levels are disclosed. In particular, methods of minimizing the energy of the signal at unwanted frequencies are described. For each of the transmitted samples, the system computes a running measure of unwanted components. It then computes, for each block (or "data frame") of the transmitted samples, an objective function, for example, a running filter sum based upon a biquad filter function. It then selects, for each block or spectral shaping frame of transmitted samples, a sign combination from a sign-combination subset such that the objective function is optimized.

The present invention relates to transmission of digital information over an analog medium connected to a digital network and more particularly to Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) modems.
The world based on the Internet has seen tremendous growth in recent months. As more users begin browsing and downloading information from the World Wide Web, there has been a great desire to increase the data transmission rate, or simply called data rate. The desire is even greater for users accessing the Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP), since most users are linked up to the "Net" through a personal computer and a modem. Conventional analog modems, such as V.34 modems, however, view the public switched telephone network ("PSTN") as an analog channel, even though the signals are digitized for communications throughout most of the PSTN. As such, various effects of and impairments due to signal quantization impose a limitation on the data rate of the channel to about 35 Kbps. This limit has been commonly known as Shannon's Limit. (See C. E. Shannon and W. Weaver, The Mathematical Theory of Communication, University of Illinois Press, 1949).
There has been much recent development of high-speed communications technology based on PCM modems, where data rates of at least 56 Kbps are said to be actually attainable. The PCM modem technology is based on the simple realization that the PSTN is increasingly a digital network and not an analog network. Also, more and more central site modems are connected to the PSTN through digital connections, i.e., T1 in the U.S. and E1 in Europe, without requiring a CODEC (coder/decoder). A CODEC is a device which connects the digital portion of the network to the analog local loop and converts between analog and digital.
The conventional modem, however, still interprets this digital stream as the representation of the modem's analog signal. With the PCM modems, however, a much higher data rate can be achieved without the complicated task of re-wiring the user's site or modifying the telephone network. It should be recognized that "central site" modems refer to those modems installed at an ISP, or at a corporation, for example, to allow many simultaneous connections for remote local area network (LAN) access.
The recent 56 Kbps technology seeks to address an impaired section of the communications path of the PSTN digital network, where the impairment is due to the hybrid and the copper wire interface between the telephone central office and the user's home, usually referred to as the analog local loop.
Since recently, much has been described about PCM modems and how they can and should facilitate downstream data communication at a much higher rate than the present paradigm. For example, the PCM modem has been the subject of a recent Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Technical Committee TR-30 Standards meeting on Oct. 16-17, 1996. The submitted technical contributions include Guozhu Long's DC Suppresser for 56K Modems, David C. Rife's 56 Kbps Channels, Veda Krishnan's V.pcm Modem Standard, Vedat Eyuboglu's PCM Modems: A Technical Overview, Richard Stuart's Proposal for a High Speed Network Access Modem, and Vladimir Parizhsky's U.S. Robotics' x2 Technology: Technical Brief. These contributions are hereby incorporated by reference.
Also, there have been recent publications on the overall data communication system based on the PCM modem. The first one is a 1995 presentation disclosed by Pierre A. Humblet and Markos G. Troulis at Institute Eurecom, entitled The Information Driveway, 1995, which purports to explain the basic concepts on the high speed modem. The second one is a PCT Patent Publication, dated Jun. 13, 1996, International Publication Number WO/9618261, by Brent Townshend, which discloses a High Speed Communications Systems for Analog Subscriber Connections. This Publication, on pages 17-19, discloses an overall high speed system based on PCM modems, which also implements DC null elimination on the transmitter side. These papers provide a fair reference to the basics of the high speed PCM modems and their environment, and are hereby incorporated by reference.
Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,625, issued to Ender Ayanoglu of AT&T, dated Jun. 18, 1996, entitled High Speed Quantization-Level-Sampling Modem With Equalization Arrangement, discloses a QLS modem for high-speed data communication. Another U.S. patent also issued to Ender Ayanoglu of AT&T, U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,437, dated Feb. 28, 1995, entitled High-Speed Modem Synchronized To A Remote CODEC, discloses a high-speed modem for data transmission over an analog medium in tandem with a digital network. These references are also hereby incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1 depicts a conceptual diagram of the typical high-speed communication path using PCM modem technology. An ISP, or central site, 100 is digitally connected to a telephone network 130 through its transmitter 110 and receiver 120. The network 130 is connected to a local loop 150 through a central office line card 140. The line card typically has a PCM CODEC implemented therein. The local loop 150 is connected to the user's PC at the user's site through the user's modem 160. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the connection between the ISP modem transmitter 110 to the telephone network 130 is a digital connection with a typical data rate of about 64 Kbps. Since the parameters of the telephone network 130 and line card 140 are dictated and set by the telephone company's specifications and operation, the central site transmitter 110 needs to transmit the digital data in a particular way to fully exploit its digital connection to the network. However, dealing with the central site transmitter in this new paradigm has some obstacles.
In this type of data communication systems, such as that including the transmitter 110 in the central site, the transmit signal points are determined by physical constraints, and cannot be made part of the overall transmitter design. An example is when a signal is transmitted from within the digital part of the telephone network to the residential customer. That system will be the focus of the following description, although the methods described hereinafter will in many cases be applicable to other systems.
The transmitter 110 sends 64 Kbps of data into the network 130, which is eventually translated to an analog signal in a digital-to-analog converter in the central office line-card CODEC 140. To send the maximum of 64 Kbps of data, all transmitted bits must be determined by the incoming data. Any modification of the outgoing sequence of bits resulting in correlation between the bits represents redundancy in the signal, and will thus result in a lower data rate. Therefore, if the analog signal is to be controlled in any way, the data rate must be lowered. The main task confronting designers, then, is to perform the desired control with the least amount of redundancy added.

System for controlling and shaping the spectrum and redundancy of signal-point limited transmission


A method for producing methanol and dimethyl ether using the air as the sole source of materials is disclosed. The invention relates to a method for separating the water (i.e., the moisture in the air) and carbon dioxide content of atmospheric air for their use in the subsequent production of methanol, dimethyl ether and derived synthetic hydrocarbons as products. The method includes the conversion of carbon dioxide and water under conditions sufficient to produce methanol and/or dimethyl ether. Methanol and/or dimethyl ether can be used as fuel or fuel additives or further converted to synthetic hydrocarbons and their products. Carbon dioxide is captured on a suitable absorbent, preferentially polyethyleneimine supported on nano-structured fumed silica. The process can also involve hydrogenation with hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water obtained from the air or from any other water source. Methanol can be dehydrated to produce dimethyl ether or further processed to produce synthetic hydrocarbons, polymers, and products derived from them by other known methods.

Fossil fuels are a major source of energy today. They are used to generate heat and electricity and are the source materials for transportation fuels. Fossil fuels also serve as raw materials for various hydrocarbons and their derived products essential to our everyday life. Combustion of fossil fuel, however, produces carbon dioxide that contributes to global warming adversely affecting the environment. In addition, fossil fuel reserves are on a decline.
As an alternative to the declining reserves of fossil fuels, the use of methanol as a raw material for producing synthetic hydrocarbons and fuels has been suggested. Carbon dioxide has also been suggested as an alternative source of raw material (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,928,806). It would be highly advantageous to utilize carbon dioxide, considering its virtually inexhaustible supply particularly if it could be economically captured and recycled from the atmosphere.
Carbon dioxide is present in high concentrations in the flue gases of fossil fuel-burning power plants and other various industrial exhausts. It also frequently accompanies natural gas. Many natural gas sources contain significant amounts (as much as 50% or more) of carbon dioxide. To mitigate carbon dioxide emissions and their adverse effects on the global climate, it considered to capture carbon dioxide from industrial exhausts and sequester the captured carbon dioxide in subterranean cavities or under the sea. However, sequestration does not provide a permanent solution because of its high cost and a potential for carbon dioxide leakage. Carbon dioxide is volatile and can eventually leak into the atmosphere. Inadvertent leaks of carbon dioxide can be greatly accelerated by earthquakes or other natural phenomena, and would have a catastrophic impact.
Furthermore, while it is of critical importance to curtail carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, recent studies suggest that this alone will not be sufficient to reverse the damage that has already occurred. Thus, in addition to having a method for safely disposing carbon dioxide so that it does not enter the atmosphere, it would be of great benefit to also be able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to more quickly reverse the problem of carbon dioxide buildup in the atmosphere. It also would be beneficial to conduct chemical recycling of atmospheric carbon dioxide as this would provide an inexhaustible carbon source for producing fuels and synthetic hydrocarbons while at the same time mitigating global climate change that is caused or affected by the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Method for producing methanol, dimethyl ether, derived synthetic hydrocarbons and their products from carbon dioxide and water (moisture) of the air as sole source material


An ignition system for an engine includes a position detector that generates a signal pulse while a segment of a member driven by the engine rotates past a given angular position. A first circuit produces a speed indicative voltage having a magnitude that is proportional to a duration of the signal pulse from the position detector. Upon termination of the signal pulse, a second circuit produces a second voltage the magnitude of which varies exponentially and an offset voltage is added to the second voltage at a node if the signal pulse is absent. A comparator has inputs coupled to the node and to the first circuit and produces an ignition signal when the voltage at the node and the speed indicative voltage are substantially equal.

The present invention relates to internal combustion engines; and more particularly to the ignition system for such engines.
In an internal combustion engine, the fuel in a cylinder is ignited by a spark plug at a prescribed point during the combustion cycle of the engine. For example, it is often desirable to ignite the fuel in advance of the moment at which the piston reaches the top dead center point in the cylinder.
Various types of ignition systems have been developed for four cycle gasoline engines. One type of ignition system employs a set of breaker points which act as a switch. A cam, that is mechanically coupled to the crank shaft of the engine, opens and closes the points at a given rotational angle, thereby controlling the flow of electricity to an ignition coil. When the points are opened, the magnetic field within the ignition coil collapses inducing a high voltage across a secondary winding of the coil. The secondary winding is connected to the spark plug and the high voltage causes a spark which ignites the fuel in the cylinder. The points, as well as the spark plug, wear over time and must be replaced occasionally.
The moment in the cycle at which the spark occurs must be regulated to insure maximum performance of the engine at different speeds. The initial burning of the fuel occurs during a relatively constant interval, which corresponds to an increased number of crankshaft degrees as the speed of the engine increases. As a consequence, a centrifugal mechanism often is used to advance the angle at which the cam opens the points as the engine speed increases. Typically, a weight is attached to either the cam or the breaker points so that as the engine speed increases the movement of the weight under centrifugal force effectively advances the angular position of the cam relative to the crankshaft. In this new position, the points open at an earlier time than before, which advances the spark within the engine cycle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,677 discloses a breakerless ignition system having an energizing coil in which electrical energy is induced by a rotating permanent magnet to provide power for creating an ignition spark. The fixed timing of the ignition is controlled by an electronic circuit which includes an electronic switch and a control coil. Electric current induced in the control coil by the rotating permanent magnet closes the switch causing the induced current to flow through the energizing coil and producing a spark that ignites the fuel in the cylinder.
Although this latter type of ignition system overcomes some of the problems associated with breaker points, it does not provide a mechanism by which the spark can be advanced or retarded with engine speed.

Apparatus and method for controlling ignition of an internal combustion engine