The present invention provides ink jet recording media suitable for use in making polymeric film laminates, and film laminates thereof. The recording medium comprises a substrate and two ink-receptive coating layers. The first ink-receptive layer comprises a water-soluble polymer and alumina hydrate particulate, and the second ink-receptive layer comprises a water-soluble quaternary amine-containing polymer. The ink jet recording media are capable of providing recorded images having good image quality waterfastness, and lightfastness.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to coated ink jet recording media suitable for use in making film laminates and film laminates thereof. The ink jet recording media are coated with compositions comprising alumina hydrate particulate and are capable of providing recorded images having good image quality, waterfastness, and lightfastness.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
In recent years, large format ink jet printers have been used to manufacture large color-printed media, such as graphic art indoor and outdoor advertising displays. The large format ink jet printers impart high loadings of ink onto an ink jet recording medium having an ink-receptive coating on its surface.
Since large-format printed media are often displayed indoors or outdoors, the printed medium should possess good water-resistance, smear-resistance and image quality. Most ink jet recording media are coated papers or coated polymeric films, and the ink-receptive coatings thereon usually contain water-soluble or water-swellable polymers. Thus, recorded images on these ink-jet recording media usually have poor water-resistance and smear-resistance. Previous attempts have been made at developing ink jet media to provide recorded images with good image quality, waterfastness, and lightfastness.
For example, Cousin et al., U.S. Pat. 4,554,181 describes coating an ink jet recording sheet with a coating comprising a cationic polymer and a water-soluble polyvalent metal salt to improve image quality, waterfastness, and feathering. Representative cationic polymers are described as homopolymers or copolymers of cationic monomers such as quaternary diallyldialkylammonium chlorides. The coating composition may also comprise a water-swellable polymer binder such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, or poly(vinyl pyrrolidone).
Furukawa et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,739 describes an ink jet recording medium capable of providing recording images having excellent water-resistance, which is obtained by coating a support with a coating containing a water-soluble polymer and a cross-linking agent. The water-soluble polymer is made by copolymerizing a quaternary salt monomer, an amino group-containing monomer or a carboxyl group-containing monomer, and a monomer selected from acrylarmine, 2-hydroxyethyl (meth)acrylate, and N-vinylpyrrolidone. The coating composition may also contain water-soluble polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol, starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, and cationized gelatin. Inorganic pigments such as alumina sol and cationic colloidal silica and polymer particles such as micron-size polystyrene fine particles can be added to the ink-receiving layer.
Williams et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,759 discloses ink jet printing materials comprising a support and an ink receiving layer containing a pigment, a hydrophilic binder comprising a mixture of polyvinylalcohol, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a vinyl acetate homopolymer and/or vinyl acetate alkyl acrylate copolymer, and a quaternary ammonium compound.
Published Japanese Pat. Kokai 91,981/92 (Mitsubishi Paper Mills, Ltd.) describes a paper cast-coated with a dispersed mixture of silica, a cationic resin, (polydiallyldimethylammonium)chloride, and a binder resin, (polyvinyl alcohol).
Ink jet recording media that have been color-imaged can be used to make film laminates by laminating a layer of transparent polymeric film over the printed image. The polymeric film protects the printed image and gives the image a glossy appearance. Basically, there are two different types of laminate films that can be applied to color-imaged media. One type of laminate film is a pressure-sensitive, adhesive-coated polymeric film. This laminate film can be laminated onto a color-imaged medium at room temperature and is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9ccold laminate filmxe2x80x9d. Another type of laminate film is a hot-melt, adhesive-coated polymeric film. This type of laminate film must be laminated onto a color-imaged medium at a temperature of 180xc2x0 F. to 270xc2x0 F. and is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9chot laminate filmxe2x80x9d. Usually, cold laminate films can be laminated onto any color-imaged medium, because the soft and tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive-coating on the laminate film sticks to any imaged surface. However, hot laminate films often do not stick well to color-imaged surfaces, because the absorbed dyes in the ink-receptive coating reduce the adhesion of the hot laminate film to the imaged surface. In such instances, the hot laminate film can delaminate from the imaged medium during subsequent handling.
In view of the foregoing problems with many ink jet recording media, it would be desirable to have a medium capable of providing images having good image quality, waterfastness, smear-resistance, and lightfastness. The medium should also be capable of being laminated with films, particularly hot laminate films, after the medium has been color-imaged. The present invention provides such ink jet recording media.
The present invention provides an ink jet recording medium comprising a substrate and two ink-receptive coating layers. The first ink-receptive layer comprises a water-soluble polymer and alumina hydrate particulate, and the second ink-receptive layer comprises a blend of water-soluble polymers, wherein at least one of the blended polymers is a quaternary amine-containing polymer. The second ink-receptive coating is coated on the first ink-receptive coating.
The substrate is a paper or polymeric film. Suitable polymeric film substrates include, for example, vinyl, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyester, and fluoroplastic films. The polymeric film may be opaque. Suitable paper substrates include, for example, plain paper, clay-coated paper, resin-coated paper, latex-saturated paper, and polyethylene-coated paper. Preferably, polyethylene-coated paper is used.
The first ink-receptive coating layer contains a water-soluble polymer such as, for example, gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline), or mixtures thereof Typically, the alumina hydrate particles have a surface area of about 100 to about 200 m2/g and an average dispersed particle size of about 40 to about 200 nm. Preferably, the first ink-receptive coating layer comprises about 10 to about 60 dry wt. % of alumina hydrate particles and about 40 to about 90 dry wt. % of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and has a thickness of about 5 to about 50 xcexcm.
The second ink-receptive coating layer contains a water-soluble polymer such as, for example, polyvinyl alcohol, polyvinyl pyrrolidone, or poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) blended with a quaternary amine-containing polymer. Preferably, the quaternary amine-containing polymer is a quaternized vinyl pyrrolidone/dimethylaminoethylmethacrylate copolymer. The second ink-receptive coating may also contain a transitional metal salt such as, for example, a water-soluble copper (II) or cobalt (III) salt, particularly copper (II) sulfate, copper (III) acetate, or cobalt (III) acetate and additives such as optical brighteners and pigments. Preferably, the second ink-receptive coating layer has a thickness of about 0.1 to about 10 xcexcm.
In a preferred ink jet recording medium of this invention, the bottom layer comprises poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and alumina hydrate particulate, while the top layer comprises a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone and quaternized dimethylaminoethylacrylate, stilbene-based optical brightener, and poly(methyl methacrylate) pigment.
This invention also encompasses film laminates comprising transparent polymeric films and the above-described ink jet recording media. The transparent films are laminated to the second ink-receptive coating layers of the media after the media have been imaged. Suitable transparent polymeric films for laminating onto the imaged media include vinyl, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyester, and fluoroplastic films.
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording medium comprising a substrate and two ink-receptive coating layers. By the term xe2x80x9csubstratexe2x80x9d, it is meant any suitable paper or polymeric film that can be treated with the coating layers. For example, papers can be chosen from plain papers, clay-coated papers, resin-coated papers (e.g., polyethylene-coated paper) or latex-saturated papers. In the present invention, a polyethylene-coated paper is preferably selected as the substrate, based on its good handling and coating characteristics. Polymeric films can be chosen from vinyl, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyester, polyethylene terephthalate or fluoroplastic films. The thickness of the substrate is not limited and may be selected according to the particular applications of the medium.
The above substrates have two surfaces. The first surface, which is coated with an ink-receptive coating, is called the xe2x80x9cfront surfacexe2x80x9d, and the opposite surface is called the xe2x80x9cback surfacexe2x80x9d or underside. The chosen substrate may be pretreated, if so desired, by conventional techniques. For example, when the chosen substrate is a polymeric film substrate, a surface treatment, such as corona discharge or a primer coating, may be applied to one surface or both surfaces thereof. For a resin-coated paper substrate, the front and back surfaces may be treated by corona discharge. If a primer coating is used, the coating typically comprises a polymeric resin such as polyester, acrylic, epoxy, polyurethane, or the like, with polyurethane being preferred.
The front surface of the substrate, i.e., imaging surface, is pretreated so that it will adhere better to the ink receiving coating. The back surface, i.e., non-imaging surface, is pretreated in order to provide an adhesion promoting layer for a backing material. A backing material such as a polymeric resin, polymeric film, or paper may then be placed on the back surface in order to reduce electrostatic charge, sheet-to-sheet friction and, and curl of the substrate.
In the present invention, the front surface of the chosen substrate is coated with a two-layer ink-receptive coating. The first (i.e., bottom) ink-receptive layer is designed to absorb ink solvents and the second (i.e., top) ink-receptive layer is designed to absorb dyes found in the ink. The bottom layer is also designed to provide good adhesion to the front surface of the substrate, while the top layer is also designed to provide good adhesion to a laminate film after the top layer has been imaged.
The bottom ink-receptive coating layer comprises a water-soluble polymer resin and alumina hydrate particles. The water-soluble polymer resin in the bottom layer may be chosen from any suitable water-soluble polymer resin such as gelatin, polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), polyethylene oxide (PEO), poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOX), and mixtures thereof. In the present invention, PEOX and blends containing PEOX are preferred when the substrate is a polyethylene-coated paper, because PEOX adheres well to the paper, even when the front surface of the paper does not have a primer coating.
It is important that alumina hydrate particles be used in the bottom ink-receptive layer in order to obtain good adhesion between the various components in a laminate film product, particularly between the imaged ink-receptive layers and paper substrate. If silica, calcium carbonate, titanium dioxide, or clay particles are used in the bottom layer, then the imaged layers may poorly adhere to the paper substrate resulting in delamination problems. Further, the alumina hydrate particles must be blended thoroughly with the water-soluble polymer to achieve a uniform coating. Preferably, the alumina hydrate particles are incorporated into the coating layer by adding an alumina sol to the water-soluble polymer. If the mixture containing the alumina hydrate particles and water-soluble polymer is not vigorously stirred so that the particles and polymer are thoroughly blended together, the mixture tends to form a gel. Since it is difficult to uniformly coat the gel onto the paper substrate, the bottom ink-receptive layer in such media products is usually discontinuous and non-uniform. When media products having such non-uniform coatings are color-imaged, the color density and quality tends to be poor.
Preferably, the alumina hydrate particles have a surface area of 100 to 200 m2/g and an average dispersed particle size of 40 to 200 nm. The content of the alumina hydrate particles in the bottom ink-receptive layer is preferably from 10 to 150% by dry weight based on the weight of the water-soluble polymeric resin in the bottom layer. If the content of the particulate exceeds 150% by dry weight of the polymeric resin, the bottom layer tends not to effectively adhere to the paper substrate.
In the present invention, the top ink-receptive coating layer comprises a blend of water-soluble polymers. At least one of the water-soluble polymers in the blend is a quaternary amine-containing polymer. It is important that the quaternary amine-containing polymer be water-soluble to allow more dye molecules to interact with the quaternary amine-containing polymer. Although the quaternary amine-containing polymer is water-soluble, the cationic groups in the polymer are still capable of reacting with and stabilizing the anionic dyes contained in the ink. If a non-water soluble quaternary amine-containing polymer is used, more dye molecules tend to remain on the surface of the coating layer and these molecules do not interact with the quaternary amine-containing polymer. In preparing the blend of water-soluble polymers for use as the top coating layer, the water-soluble quaternary amine-containing polymer can be blended with the same water-soluble polymer resin used for the first ink-receptive (bottom) layer, or it can be blended with a different water-soluble polymer resin. It is preferred that the water-soluble quaternary amine-containing polymer be blended with a water-soluble polymer selected from the group consisting of PVOH, PVP, and PEOX. It is further preferred that the water-soluble quaternary amine-containing polymer be a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone and quaternized dimethylaminoethylacrylate (such as commercially available Gafquat(copyright), from ISP Technologies, Inc.). In this respect, a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone and quaternized dimethylaminoethylacrylate is preferred because it gives a glossy and flexible coating which can also fix dyes in the top ink-receptive layer.
The top ink-receptive coating layer may also contain a transitional metal salt. If a transitional metal salt(s) is used in the top layer, it is water-soluble and preferably chosen from the group consisting of copper sulfate, copper acetate, and cobalt acetate. Copper sulfate is especially preferred because it is inexpensive and widely available. The transitional metal ions in the top layer help to stabilize dyes and greatly increase the light-fastness of the ink receiving coating. The content of the transitional metal salt (e.g., copper sulfate) is preferably from about 0.1% to about 20% by dry weight of the water-soluble polymeric resin(s) in the top layer.
Pigments, and optical brighteners, and other conventional additives such as UV blockers/stabilizers, and surface active agents can also be used in the top ink-receptive coating layer, depending on the intended application of the ink jet recording medium. Examples of suitable pigments include polyolefins, polystyrene, starch, polyurethane, poly(methyl methacrylate) (such as Soken(copyright) MR10G, available from Espirit Chemical Company), polytetrafluoroethylene (such as Shamrock SST2SP5, available from Shamrock Chemical Company), and the like. Examples of suitable optical brighteners include stilbene-based and distyryl biphenyl-based optical brighteners such as those available in the Tinopal(copyright) series from Ciba-Geigy.
In a preferred ink jet recording medium of this invention, the bottom ink-receptive layer comprises poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and alumina hydrate particulate, while the top ink-receptive layer comprises a copolymer of vinyl pyrrolidone and quaternized dimethylaminoethylacrylate, poly(vinyl alcohol), stilbene-based optical brightener, and poly(methyl methacrylate) pigment.
The ink jet recording media of this invention are particularly useful for making laminate films, where a transparent polymeric film is laminated onto the top ink-receptive layer and underside of the substrate after the medium has been imaged, i.e., printed. Conventional techniques can be used to make the laminate films. Preferably, the film is laminated onto the imaged medium by a pressure-sensitive or hot-melt adhesive. Suitable transparent polymeric films that can be laminated onto the imaged medium include vinyl, polyethylene, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyimide, polyester, and fluoroplastic films.
The invention is further illustrated by the following examples using the below test methods, but these examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.
Adhesion of Imaged Coating to Laminate Film
In some of the following examples, the adhesion of the imaged coating (i.e., the ink-receptive coating containing an image) to a laminate film was measured by a peel strength tester used in the pressure-sensitive adhesive industry. A substrate coated with the ink-receptive layers of the present invention was imaged on a particular printer with a particular ink set and printed with a test pattern comprising (xe2x85x9e inch wide, about 10 inch long) color stripes (yellow, cyan, magenta, blue, green, red and black) described in further detail in the following examples.
After the printed color stripes were dried, a plain paper stripe one inch wide was placed perpendicularly on top of the color stripes, and then the printed substrate was laminated between two layers of hot laminate film on a laminating machine at a temperature ranging from 180xc2x0 F. to 270xc2x0 F. The laminated medium was then cut in the direction of the plain paper strip down the middle of the plain paper stripe, so that the laminate film on the image side could be lifted for testing. The laminate film on each color was cut into a xe2x85x9c inch width stripe (in the middle of the printed stripe area). The laminate film was then peeled off from the imaged area and the peel strength was measured with a 3M 90 Slip/Peel Tester (Instrumentors, Inc.).
Lightfastness
Ink jet image colors fade under exposure to sunlight. The commonly used coordinate system for color is the CIE-L*a*b* system. In order to quantitatively measure the lightfastness, L*a*b* values are measured before (initial L*a*b* values) and after (final L*a*b* values) the samples are exposed to sunlight. xcex94E=((Lf*xe2x80x94Li*)2+(af*xe2x80x94ai*)2+(bf*xe2x80x94bi*)2)xc2xd. xcex94E is a measure of the color difference between the faded and unfaded colors. Samples and colors having poor lightfastness have larger xcex94E values. The values of L*a*b* were measured with a X-Rite 918 0/45 Colorimeter (X-Rite, Inc.).
The lightfastness of the laminated, imaged samples was determined by exposing the samples to sunlight over a period of two weeks in the summer. The laminated, imaged samples were exposed to sunlight by taping them to the outside surface of an office window. In some instances, the lightfastness of the samples was determined by manually observing the samples before and after being exposed to sunlight. In other instances, the L*a*b* values of the samples were measured before and after being exposed to sunlight and the xcex94E of the samples was calculated as described above.

Ink jet recording media having a coating comprising alumina particulate


A method of welding bearing retainer rings comprising the steps of: assembling two annular metal retainer rings and a plurality of bearing balls, each retainer ring having a plurality of ball pockets spaced about the ring, the ball pockets of one retainer ring being aligned with the ball pockets of the other retainer ring, a bearing ball being located within each ball pocket; applying pressure to the retainer rings; and then exposing at least a portion of the area of the retainer rings between adjacent ball pockets to a coherent high-energy beam of radiation thereby fusing the retainer rings together at a plurality of locations.

This invention relates generally to the assembling of anti-friction bearing retainer rings and more particularly to bearing retainer rings fused together by welding.
There are two basic categories of ball bearing retainers, two piece assembled retainers and single piece wraparound retainers. A wraparound retainer is a single annular ring having a plurality of ball pockets for holding the bearing balls. Typically, the sides of the ball pockets extend outward into fingers which wrap around and retain the ball. A two piece retainer usually consists of two identical retainer halves, each half containing a plurality of ball pockets. The retainer halves are aligned with the ball pockets aligned with each other and then the two retainer halves are mechanically joined. One method of joining the retainer halves is riveting. Another is resistance welding or spot welding.
It is difficult to consistently obtain high quality resistance welds for the large quantities of mass produced bearing retainers. Two problems occur. The electric current used for resistance welding tends to follow the path of least resistance. This can result in melting in some area of the retainer other than the desired locations. This can cause arcing damage to the bearing raceway of the bearing ball surfaces. It is also possible for the current to be diffused to the extent that proper melting and welding do not occur. Multiple electrodes are typically used to weld the retainer halves together in a plurality of locations. If one electrode has a particularly low resistance path, it will tend to rob current from the other electrodes resulting in insufficient heating of the retainer in these other locations. Without sufficient heating, it is not possible to obtain an acceptable weld.
The second problem that can occur during resistance welding is due to wear of the electrodes. If the wearing is uneven, the current distribution among the electrodes will shift and not be uniform. Replacement of all the electrodes may be needed, even if only one is damaged or worn.
The foregoing illustrates limitations known to exist in present retainer ring welding methods. Thus, it is apparent that it would be advantageous to provide an alternative directed to overcoming one or more of the limitations set forth above. Accordingly, a suitable alternative is provided including features more fully disclosed hereinafter.


A method including punching a first hole in a parent sheet metal, such that a substantially round section with a first diameter is removed from the hole, forming a second hole by inserting a mandrel into the first hole, causing a portion of the parent sheet metal to deform in a downward direction and increase the diameter of the first hole to a second diameter, the deformed portion of the parent sheet metal is substantially perpendicular to the parent sheet metal, forming a thread into an interior sidewall of the second hole, and forming the parent sheet metal into a water tight manifold.

The present invention generally relates to a manifold used in a liquid cooling system, and more particularly to a method of forming a water tight connection to the manifold.
Liquid cooling systems are used to efficiently remove heat from electronic components in a computer system, for example a multi-processor computer or server. Such cooling systems may include a manifold and a heat exchanger connected by a series of hoses or pipes and pumps. The heat exchanger may be located at or near various components of the computer system and the manifold is used to distribute a cooling liquid to and from the heat exchanger via the hoses. A series of threaded ports may typically be welded to the manifold and accept a threaded fitting, for example a threaded quick connect fitting, used to connect the hoses to the manifold. The threaded ports are generally machined components which are then welded or brazed to the manifold. Machining and welding of the threaded ports adds time and cost to manufacturing of the cooling system, specifically, the manifold.
Quick connect fittings provide the ability to connect and disconnect the hoses from the liquid cooling system with virtually no liquid leakage and without adversely affecting the operation of any liquid remaining in the cooling system. Further quick connect fittings offer easy and reliable connect and disconnect operations while doing so in a minimum amount of available space without the need for extensive tool operation space or damaging the associated components of the electronic device, computer or cooling system.

International Business Machines Corporation


An input/output protection device for an integrated circuit is formed using a trench (22). A first electrode region (46) is formed adjacent a first portion of the trench sidewall (24), and a second electrode region (48) is formed adjacent a second portion of the trench sidewall (24). One of the electrode regions is then electrically coupled to an input/output pad, while the other electrode region is electrically coupled to ground. Excessive voltages on the input/output pad are then discharged when the electrode, which is electrically coupled to the input/output pad, punches through to the electrode that is electrically coupled to ground.

Integrated circuits typically have a protection device, which is placed in between an input or output (I/O) pad and its corresponding circuitry. The protection device prevents the circuitry from being damaged when a high voltage is placed on the I/O pad, such as during an electrostatic discharge (ESD). Protection devices are particularly important in MOS integrated circuits, because the breakdown voltage of a typical MOS transistor with a 15 nanometer gate oxide is approximately 15 volts. Therefore, electrostatic discharges, which may create voltages in excess of 1000 volts at an I/O pad, will damage MOS transistors if they are left unprotected. The protection device, however, shields the internal MOS circuitry from these excessive voltages, and thus protects the integrated circuit.
The semiconductor industry's continuing demand for integrated circuits with higher device densities and improved performance, however, requires that new processing techniques be used to fabricate them. For example, in order to achieve higher device densities new isolation schemes, such as trench isolation are required to fabricate advanced integrated circuits. In addition, high performance integrated circuits also require new metallization schemes, such as silicidation. Many of these new fabrication techniques, however, are either incompatible with existing protection devices or they degrade the performance of these devices. For example, it is known that the ESD performance of either a thin or a thick gate oxide ESD transistor is degraded when their source and drain regions are clad with a silicide layer. Therefore, an additional masking step is required to fabricate these devices, such that the source and drain regions of these devices are not entirely clad by a silicide layer. Accordingly a need exists for a protection device, which is compatible with high density integrated circuit fabrication techniques, such as trench isolation and silicide formation.

Protection device for an intergrated circuit and method of formation


A zoom camera being capable of changing a distance measuring direction to measure an object distance, and more particularly a camera which indicates the distance measuring direction overlapped on an object image in a view finder display. An object image is displayed in a finder display through an optical system, thereby the magnification of the object image in the view finder changes in accordance with a zooming of the camera. An indicator array is arranged on the view finder display, and the distance measuring direction is indicated by an activation of an indicator element of the indicator array located at a corresponding position to an object position in the distance measuring direction. For the purpose of coordinating with the change of magnification of the view image, the corresponding position is determined based on the focal length information obtained by a focal length detector in addition to distance measuring direction information and distance information, each obtained by each of a direction detector and a distance detector.

The present invention relates to a camera of which the range finding direction is changeable, and more particularly relates to a camera of which the range finding direction is changeable and which can precisely indicate a range finding point in a viewfinder.
A range finding device is provided to a camera in order to find the range from the camera to a subject and adjust the focus of the lens. Since focus adjustment is conducted by placing a range finding point on a subject in order to find the range for the purpose of focal adjustment, subjects located in front of and behind the range finding point become out of focus.
Therefore, a camera is provided in which the range finding point (the target) can be changed by a photographer so that range finding of a predetermined subject can be conducted. The range finding system described above is called a moving target system.
In the case described above, the range finding point is changed by changing the direction of the range finding device. When the change of the range finding point is linked with the change of a target indication position displayed in a viewfinder, a photographer can easily operate the camera. For that reason, the viewfinder is provided with a plurality of target frames which are changed in accordance with the change of range finding point and which can be selected according to the range finding information. In the case of a range-finding-direction-changeable-camera having a zoom lens, if the moving target frame is set in accordance with a field angle of either telephotography or wide-angle-photography, the found range differs since the focal distances of telephotography and wide-angle-photography are different. Consequently, the indicating position of a moving target frame in a viewfinder differs from the range-finding-direction position of the range finding device. Especially when the moving target frame is set in accordance with the field angle of wide-angle-photography, the following problem is caused: in telephotography, the field angle is small, so that range finding is conducted outside the field angle.
Accordingly, in the case of a camera having a zoom lens, it is important that the position of an actual range finding point agrees with the indicating position of a moving target frame in a viewfinder.
Due to the circumstances described above, the present invention has been accomplished. A primary object of the present invention is to provide a range-finding-direction-changable-camera in which the indicating position of a moving target frame in a viewfinder agrees with the range finding direction position of a range finding device, so that the change of a range finding point can be prevented by changing the focal distance.


A kite control bar having a line guide extending with a fixed pawl towards one end. A reel is pivotally mounted towards one end of the control bar and extending into the line receiving channel. The reel has a fixed shaft with a knob on the shaft to enabling manual rotation of the reel. The reel has a ratchet gear. The reel is pivotally movable from an engaged positioned in which the ratchet gear of the reel is engaged with the pawl on the control bar thereby preventing rotation of the reel and a disengaged position in which the ratchet gear of the reel is disengaged from the pawl on the control bar thereby allowing rotation of the reel. The reel is biased into the engaged position. The reel is moved from the engaged position to the disengaged position by pushing the knob away from a center of the control bar.

Using a kite for wind-driven propulsion of water, land, ice and or snow-craft is highly effective and simple compared to other means of wind-driven propulsion like sails and turbines. A kite can be constructed in such a way that all or most of the pulling force enters the craft in one point, without resulting momentum that can tip the craft over and without the requirements for rigid elements like masts, poles and shafts connected to the craft. Kites are flying remote from the craft, in air layers with stronger winds, and can fly in figures across the sky in order to generate apparent wind, thus increasing the power. Thus, kites are very efficient as means to derive power from the wind.
Traction kites need to be manipulated constantly in order to control the flying trajectory of the kite to generate the required traction, to handle wind-gusts, and to keep the kite from falling to the ground.
For smaller crafts, like buggies, surfboards and dinghies, the kite can be controlled by hand. One common way of manipulating a kite is by means of a 3 point control system, where one centrally placed line bears the main load of the kite, and two control lines are manipulated to sheet in and out the flexible left and right tips of the kite. The centrally place line attaches to a structural part of the craft, or, in case of surf style kiting where the rider stands on a wheeled or sliding board, to a point on a harness worn by the rider, and whereby the two control lines attach to the ends of a control bar. The control bar often features a central hole through which the central load bearing line is slideably lead. In analogy to sheeting a sail on a sail craft, by sliding the bar away from the fixed point on the central load bearing line, the tips of the kite are sheeted out, allowing the wind to pass the kites canopy, while by sliding the bar towards the fixed point on the central load bearing line, the kite catches more wind and will thus power up. By puffing one side of the bar, the kite will sheet in on the side pulled, and out on the other. This will cause the kite to turn around the sheeted inside.
The sliding motion or 'stroke' of the bar is limited on one side by the assembly that attaches to the rider's harness, and on the other by either the length of the rider's arms or parts of the control system.
In order to control the kite comfortably and safely, kite control systems all allow for some degree of correction for stronger winds or larger kites, or to adapt the kite to a different riding style. By correcting the length of the load bearing line relative to the control lines, the bar stroke can be matched with the circumstances and style of the rider.
Most kites feature correction or 'trim' systems that shorten or lengthen the central load bearing line, either by using cleat or friction based systems. Because in this case only one line needs to be shortened or lengthened, such systems are simple to build. Yet, because it is the load bearing line the rider is trimming, operating requires lots of force. Obviously, such systems have to be built very strong and heavy, while all parts of such trim assemblies are subject to wear. Also, trimming the central load bearing line can only take place on either side of the bar stroke, close to the rider's body or away from the rider at arm's length, neither a good ergonomic location for precisely adjusting of trim controls.
Another major disadvantage of central load bearing line trimming is that rider error, or failure of a cleat or strap system, can result in the central load bearing line assuming its maximum length, which enlarges the projected area of the kite canopy towards the wind. A kite can thus become heavily over-powered and instantly cause extremely dangerous situations for both rider and bystanders.
Yet another disadvantage is that trimming the central load bearing line is mostly done by short pulling motions on that line in a direction away from the kite. By tugging on the central load bearing line, which attaches to the front side of the kite, the kite can suddenly over fly and fall from the zenith. This can result in dangerous situations, varying from line tangles to sudden tightening of lines and uncontrolled looping of the kites.
A smaller disadvantage, but worth mentioning, is the behavior of bar stoppers on center line trimmed kites. Various types of bar stoppers are installed on different kite control systems, mostly to limit the up stroke of the bar. Control systems that trim the center line from the harness attachment point, referred to as 'below the bar trimming', will have the stopper moving along with the trimming motion of the line. This implies that the rider needs to re adjust the stopper after trimming the center line.
An alternative to central load hearing line trimming is control line trimming, like described in DE20315464U1 (2003) and US2012018584A1 (2011). Both these publications show methods for guiding the control lines in to the bar, where they are joined, while a single trim line is attached at the joint. The trim line is in turn led out of the bar through an opening and can be pulled or released to set the length of the control lines, and locked by means of a clamping device. By doing so, the left and right control line can be trimmed simultaneously. A disadvantage of such systems is that the trim line can dangle freely from the bar, which is annoying and can be dangerous as the trim line can wrap around the riders hand or tangle with other lines in the control system. Even if means for retaining the line are present as for instance hook and loop patches or a magnet, these will have to be handled by the user, which takes away attention and focus from maneuvering the kite. Another disadvantage of these particular systems is that the pulling direction is perpendicular to the bar or respectively away from the end of the bar. Both pulling movements are very unpractical, and it will be difficult to keep the kite flying a straight line during trimming. Yet another disadvantage is that clamping a line by friction induces wear to both line and clamping device, while slippage can occur at such clamps. Furthermore, it is difficult to see how much control line is pulled in; one would need to judge this by estimating the length of line dangling from the bar. A big disadvantage of friction based clamping devised like cleats is, that they lock tighter and tighter over time, which leads to considerable operating forces. Applying such forces to a kite control bar can induce sudden control error, which is obviously dangerous.
In the early days of kite surfing, some reel bars were manufactured, like for instance U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,697. These mechanisms could be used to trim the lines relative to each other, but their size, complexity and number of moving parts would make them unsuitable for kite surfing. Sand ingress in to a bar is impossible to avoid, and sea water, sea-weed, and all sorts of debris found on most kite beaches as well as snow and ice for snow-kiters will render a too complex mechanism useless in minutes, unless a most simple design is used.
As larger kites need more leverage to be steered, kite bars are used in different sizes. It is not uncommon for a rider to own two or three different length bars. In order to limit the number of bars a riders needs for his quiver of kites, some kite bars offer adjustable length, either by a telescopic part towards the end of the bar or by offering multiple fixing points for knotting the kite control lines. Undoing the usually very tight knots to change the effective length of a bar is hard to do, especially when a kiter has cold and wet fingers. An obvious disadvantage of a telescopic construction is their sensitivity to sand and salt, while another disadvantage is the indirect feel of the bar when the bar ends can rattle a bit.
Kite bars are most commonly made from tubular alloy or glass fiber elements with separate bar-ends, joint with adhesive and rivets. A usual way of building the central section with the central hole is to use an alloy centerpiece with tubular segments attached to either side. These rather complex multi-part assemblies induce a risk of breakage of the bar.
These current bar constructions do not allow for much functional geometry on the inside of the tubular element. Routing lines through the bar and passed the central hole, and adding clamping means is difficult, and the function will be limited as sand, water and or ice will accumulate inside the bar.
It needs to be mentioned that use of propulsive wings and traction kites involves a number of risks, some of which already discussed above. Pilot error as well as material error can cause serious injury and even death as the forces produced by kites can quickly amount to dangerous levels. Designing kites and kites control systems needs to involve very serious failure analysis of every part.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Kite control bar with integrated line adjustment means


The disclosure relates to handling nuisance in teleconference system. An endpoint device (400) for use in a teleconference includes an acquiring unit (401), a judging unit (402), a controller (403) and a processing unit (404). The acquiring unit acquires a media stream for presentation in the teleconference, and receives information from another device. The information includes a first estimation on whether the media stream is a nuisance to the teleconference. As the nuisance to a teleconference, audio or video signals are perceived by users as actually not relevant to the conference session or causing unpleasant feeling or confusion. The judging unit decides whether the media stream is the nuisance at least based on the information. The controller controls the processing of the media stream to degrade or suppress the presentation of the media stream in case that the media stream is decided as the nuisance. The processing unit processes the media stream under the control of the controller.

A teleconference is the live exchange of information among several persons and machines (also called endpoint devices) remote from one another but linked by a communications system based on a communications network such as Public Telephone Network, Integrated Services Digital Network, Internet Protocol Network, etc. The communications system may support the teleconference by providing one or more of the following: audio, video, and/or data services by one or more means, such as telephone, computer, telegraph, teletypewriter, radio, and television.
Audio or video (A/V) signals in a media stream (audio, video or both) are usually called as nuisance if they can be perceived by the users but are actually not relevant to the teleconference or can cause unpleasant feeling or confusion. The nuisance may also be called as nuisance to the teleconference. The nuisance may come from the signal capturing process (i.e. from the camera and the microphone). For example, the nuisance can be a purely audio noise signal. Various techniques have been proposed to handle nuisances in the teleconference. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,269,252 B2, "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR IMPROVING NUISANCE SIGNALS IN AUDIO/VIDEO CONFERENCE" discloses a system to allow a conferee being defined as a nuisance source to respond to an automatic nuisance decision of a Multipoint Control Unit (MCU). For example, a conferee placing a conference on hold may generate on hold music, which may be identified by a nuisance detector. The nuisance detector sends an indication of the nuisance condition to a control unit in the MCU. The control unit mutes the signal coming from this conferee and sends an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) message to the conferee. The message may inform the conferee that he has been muted and requests the conferee for example to press one of a plurality of touch tone keys depending on his situation. For instance, the conferee can select particular keys if he is returning from the hold condition, if he is experiencing a noisy line/environment and needs to reduce the sensitivity of the nuisance detector algorithm, or if he wishes to disable the nuisance detector algorithm.

Handling nuisance in teleconference system

Dolby Laboratories Licensing Corporation


The subject invention is a an improved memory system and method for a data processing system. The method involves the overwriting of a first data word in a memory by a second data word, wherein each addressable location in the memory holds a data element with N data words. The method comprises reading the data element which includes the first data word from the memory into a first cache register, simultaneously writing the second data word to a second cache register, and then writing into the main memory the second data word along with all of the words of the data element in the first cache register save the first word.

Memories used in data processing systems are accessed for both read and write operations. Every data element stored in memory has a unique address associated therewith. The size or length of the addressable data element may vary from a single bit (bit addressable) to multiple bytes. In bit addressable memories, any single bit may be read from and/or written into the memory. However, for most memory systems one or more bytes are stored at each address and are accessed for each read/write operation.
Data elements accessed are not always of a length which is consistent with the performance of various other devices and operations within the data processing system. For example, data variables and data instructions may encompass several adjacent memory locations or, alternatively, may require fewer bits than in a full data element. Another example involves the accessing of a memory where the number of bits on a bus is less than the data element length. A data bus might be one byte (eight bits) wide, whereas the data element in the memory might be four bytes (thirty-two bits) wide.
For data memory systems where a word is to be overwritten into a memory having addressable data elements of more than a word, a read/modify/write operation is typically performed. Since the data word cannot be written directly into the memory, the data element having the proper address is first read into a register. The data element is then modified by overwriting the new word into the correct location within the data element. The modified data element is then written back into memory to complete the operation. The conventional read/modify/write operation has a problem which tends to slow down the operation and can have a negative impact on the overall performance of the data processing system. A read/modify/write operation requires three clock cycles, one cycle each to read, modify and write the data element into the memory. In contrast, a standard write operation to a memory, where the word to be written is the same, size as stored data elements within the memory, can be accomplished in one clock cycle.

High speed read/modify/write memory system and method


The present disclosure relates generally to computer graphics applications, and more particularly to systems and methods for implementing two- and three-dimensional computer graphics modeling and animation of deformable objects in a simulated environment. More preferably, the present disclosure relates to computer or visual graphics applications using finite-element based and other physically based modeling or simulation methods.

Computer graphics (CG) or computer generated images (CGI) have become an integral part of today's film and video game making process. For example, performances that cannot be or may be too dangerous to be accomplished by human actors or stunt doubles may be made possible by using CG visual effects or CGI. The addition of two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) CGI to motion pictures, television shows, videogames or video advertisements can be done using computer-based simulations or modeling and software employing same. Examples of such include, but may not be limited to, object animation, including but not limited to characters (for example, through animated muscle, skin and fat), soft bodies, and colliding objects.
CG visual effects or CGI that are developed using computer-based simulations or models may be created using existing modeling and animation software, such as, for example, AUTODESK™, MAYA™, HOUDINI™, and others. As a further example, Digital Molecular Matter (DMM™), which is a technology available from Pixelux Entertainment, S.A. includes software to author 3D objects that have physical characteristics.
In computer-based modeling and animation, dynamic finite-element simulations may be used to obtain realistic looking, physically plausible deformations of objects. Some software packages for modeling and animation may include a solver based on a finite-element approach. A finite-element simulation may approximate a deformable solid object using a finite number of elements of finite complexity (e.g, tetrahedra or hexahedra). The positions and the deformations of these elements are controlled by nodes. By analyzing and integrating the densities of the mass and the internal and external forces over the elements, the positions and the velocities of the nodes may be simulated over time, resulting in an animation. Besides dynamic simulations, finite element methods may also be used to compute or approximate a static equilibrium, which may be used for modeling purposes.
Finite element methods and other force-based simulation methods can be tremendously important tools for animating scenes showing real-world, physically plausible behavior, for example in virtual reality applications or in computer animations for feature films. In computer graphics, surfaces or solid objects may be represented by triangle meshes, quad meshes or tetrahedral meshes, among other representations. When using finite-element simulation in the context of CGI, mesh vertices can be moved to desired positions on a frame-by-frame basis. The results of the simulation can be preferably read on a frame-by-frame basis. In conventional systems that are not based on simulation, model changes desired during animating or rendering an object may require a user to return to the geometric representation of the object and to modify the underlying geometry. This can be a meticulous, labor-intensive operation.

Physically based simulation methods for modeling and animating two-and three-dimensional deformable objects


Fault tolerant querying of data distributed across multiple nodes is accomplished by each node determining and reporting its own health status and indexing status to the other nodes in the cluster via a gossip protocol. A coordinator node then prioritizes replica nodes based on the received status of the other nodes and sends query requests to those nodes based on the prioritization. Should a node fail to provide an response to a query request, further query requests are sent to a next highest priority replica node containing the relevant data. This results in improved query performance by avoiding busy nodes and further provides a fault tolerant approach to data queries.

As businesses increasingly depend on data and data size continues to increase the importance of rapid and reliable queries on such data increases.
Further, data processing has moved beyond the world of monolithic data centers housing large mainframe computers with locally stored data repositories, which is easily managed and protected. Instead, today's data processing is typically spread across numerous, geographically disparate computing systems communicating across multiple networks.
One well-known distributed database example is a No-SQL (Not Only Structured Query Language) database called Cassandra, which is designed to handle big data workloads across multiple nodes with no single point of failure. Its architecture is based on the understanding that system and hardware failures can and do occur. In one sense, Cassandra addresses the problem of failures by employing a peer-to-peer distributed system across homogenous nodes where data is regularly and periodically distributed via replication amongst all the nodes in a cluster. Referring now to FIG. 1, a simplified example of the Cassandra architecture can be seen. While oftentimes thought of and referred to as a ring architecture, fundamentally it comprises a cluster of nodes 100 (e.g., Node 1, Node 2 and Node 3 , each of which is typically running on a physically separate server computing system) communicating with each other across a network (e.g., Network 110) such as a local area network, a wide area network or the internet.
Referring now to FIG. 2, an exemplary prior art cluster of nodes 200 can be seen. The data in this cluster is distributed across the nodes (labeled Node 1 , Node 2 , Node 3 , Node 4 and Node 5 in this example) which can be visualized as a ring, labeled 201 in the figure. This data distribution is both by range or partition of the overall dataset as well as by replication of the data across multiple nodes in accordance with a replication factor N specifying how many copies of a given data partition are to be replicated to other nodes in the cluster. For example, as can be seen in the figure, the dataset has been partitioned such that partition P1(0,250], which covers data ranging from 0 to 250 in the dataset, is separate from partition P2(250,500], which covers data ranging from 250 to 500 in the dataset, and partition P1 can be found stored in Node 1 , Node 2 and Node 3 while partition P2 can be found stored in Node 2 , Node 3 and Node 4. It is to be understood that such data partitioning and replication is known in the art.
Further, all nodes in Cassandra are peers and a client (i.e., an external facility configured to access a Cassandra node, typically via a JAVA API (application program interface)) can send a read or write request to any node in the cluster, regardless of whether or not that node actually contains and is responsible for the requested data. There is no concept of a master or slave, and nodes dynamically learn about each other through what is known as a gossip broadcast protocol where information is simply passed along from one node to another in the cluster rather than going to or through any sort of central or master functionality.
A node that receives a client query (e.g., a read or search operation) is commonly referred to as a coordinator for the client query; it facilitates communication with the other nodes in the cluster responsible for the query (contacting at least n replica nodes to satisfy the client query's consistency level), merges the results, and returns a single client query result from the coordinator node to the client.
For example, if Node 5 receives a client query from a client then Node 5 becomes the coordinator for that particular client query. In handling that client query, coordinator Node 5 identifies, using techniques known in the art, which other nodes contain data partitions relevant to the client query. For example, if the client query is with respect to data partitions 0 through 1000, then in this example, Node 1 (containing partition P4(750,1000] and partition P1(0,250]), Node 2 (containing partition P1(0,250] and partition P2(250,500]), Node 3 (containing partition P1(0,250], partition P2(250,500], and partition P3(500750]), Node 4 (containing partition P2(250,500], partition P3(500,750] and partition P4(750,1000]) and Node 5 (containing partition P3(500,750] and partition P4(750,1000]) are all identified. As a result, coordinator Node 5 may send a query request 203 to Node 3 with respect to data partitions P1, P2 and P3. However, should Node 3 fail to answer the query request with a query response for any of various known reasons, the entire distributed query fails. Assuming a 0.1% chance of failure at any given node, this would produce approximately a 10% client query failure rate for distributed queries that contact 100 nodes.
Fault tolerance techniques already exist, but they are usually applied to simple, single-record queries. Techniques that exist for fault tolerance over complex, multi-record queries rely on concurrently executing multiple queries against replicas of the same data, which is not optimal in terms of network and computing resource usage.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple query approach that is tolerant of such faults which still providing the benefits of querying data distributed across multiple nodes.

System and method for fault tolerant queries


A striding exerciser comprising a frame having a base adapted to be supported on a horizontal surface and a pair of spaced upright supports each secured to and extending upwardly from the base. A pair of stride assemblies are each mounted to the frame and each includes a leg member and an arm member, arranged to pivot about a respective first and second pivot axis. A first mechanism is provided for interconnecting the leg member and the arm member within each stride assemblies for concurrent pivoting movement in the same angular direction about their respective pivot axes and a second mechanism is provided for interconnecting the pair of stride assemblies for concurrent pivoting movement in opposite angular directions about the pivot axes.

This invention relates to exercise apparatus and, more particularly, to apparatus for effecting a non-impact aerobic workout of the user. Specifically, the type of exercise facilitated by the inventive apparatus is striding.
Non-impact aerobic workouts are known to be beneficial for cardiovascular fitness while at the same time not being deleterious to the bones and joints of the individual. While it is possible to achieve such a workout without the assistance of any apparatus, it is often inconvenient and difficult to do so. Thus, if one wanted to use walking as an exercise, since walking involves only slight impact, the ability to do so outdoors is influenced by the weather. A particularly effective type of walking is known as "striding", wherein long steps are taken with exaggerated swinging of the arms, often while holding weights in both hands. In addition to weather related problems, when performing such an exercise outdoors, uneven terrain can make the exercise difficult and can even result in injuries. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide exercise apparatus which facilitates a striding workout that can be performed indoors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,747 to Piaget et al discloses striding exercise apparatus wherein the pivot axes for the arm members are above the pivot axes for the leg members. Hydraulic cylinders are connected to the arm and leg members to provide resistance when the arm and leg members are reciprocated. This adds expense to the apparatus which, in any event, is bulky so that it is not particularly suitable for home use. It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide striding exercise apparatus of the type described which is inexpensive, which utilizes the user's own body weight as resistance to avoid the inclusion of expensive resistance elements, and which is compact so that it is suitable for home use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,585 to Dalebout discloses a striding exerciser having a frame and a pair of pivoting leg members which support a user above the floor. A pair of handle members pivot about the same axis as the leg members and extend upwardly therefrom to effect a "poling" motion of the user's arms. In one embodiment, a cable mechanism is provided to force opposite rotation of the pair of leg members with respect to each other. Although the Dalebout apparatus is more compact than the Piaget et al apparatus and therefore is more suitable for home use, a disadvantage of the Dalebout apparatus is that the cable mechanism is complicated to assemble and service, in addition to increasing the cost of the apparatus. It is therefore another object of this invention to provide striding exercise apparatus for home use which is simple to assemble and service and which includes a low cost mechanism for interconnecting the arm and leg members.


A lighting unit for a household appliance, the lighting unit has a printed circuit board having a light-emitting means arranged on the printed circuit board, and a base for receiving the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board is arranged on a metallic holding part such that good thermally conductive contact is provided between the printed circuit board and the holding part, and the holding part is fastened on the base in such a way that good heat transfer is provided from the holding part to the base.

Such lighting units are used in particular as LED lighting units in the household appliance sector, for example in washing machines and tumble dryers, dishwashers etc. To be precise, these lighting units are used in particular for lighting the working area in the household appliance, i.e. for example as a drum lighting unit in household appliances.
Such a lighting unit which is suitable for the drum of a washing machine, a tumble dryer or the like has a printed circuit board and a base for receiving the printed circuit board. A light-emitting means is arranged on the printed circuit board. It has been demonstrated that problems associated with the dissipation of the heat generated by the light-emitting means can occur. This in turn impairs the life of the lighting unit.


A self aligning roller bearing with retainer comprises an outer ring having an outer ring raceway in a shape of a spherical concave surface with a single center, an inner ring having a pair of inner ring raceways opposite to the outer ring raceway, a plurality of convex rollers provided rotatable between the outer ring raceway and the inner ring raceway, and a pair of retainers comprising a main portion formed in a hollow cylindrical frustum shape and having a plurality of crossbars, an outwardly flanged portion extending radially outward from the larger diameter end of the main portion and an inwardly flanged portion extending radially inward from the smaller diameter end of the main portion, and connected to the outwardly flanges portion by the crossbars so as to form a plurality of pockets each defined by two of the crossbars and outwardly and inwardly flanged portions to receive one of the convex rollers, the outwardly flanged portion having protrusions each protruding towards the pocket so as to rub against or be in close proximity to the first end face of the convex rollers, and the protrusions having an end face for guiding each of the convex rollers retained inside the respective pockets.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a self-aligning roller bearing with retainer which can be installed in various kinds of mechanical devices, for example, to support a rotating shaft inside a housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in order to freely rotatably support a heavy shaft inside a housing, a self-aligning roller bearing with retainer as shown in JP Patent First Publication KOKAI No. H5-157116 was used. As in FIG. 1, this kind of self-aligning roller bearing with retainer comprises an outer ring 1, an inner ring 2 arranged concentric with the outer ring 1, a plurality of convex rollers 3 located in two rows between the outer ring 1 and the inner ring 2 and arranged so that they turn freely, and a pair of retainers or cages 4 used for preventing the convex rollers 3 from becoming separated. The retainers or cages 4 are made by press-forming a metal plate and referred to as press retainers or cages.
An outer raceway 5 having a spherical concave surface with a single center is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer ring 1. Also, a pair of inner raceways 6 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner ring 2 and juxtaposed in the axial direction of the roller bearing (left and right direction of FIG. 1) to face the outer raceway 5. The convex rollers 3 are respectively formed generally symmetrically in the direction of roller axis with the section having the largest diameter located in the axial center of the roller length in the direction of roller axis, and arranged in two rows between the outer raceway 5 and the pair of inner raceways 6 so that they turn freely. It will be noted that the roller axis is tilted by a predetermined amount with reference to the axial direction of the roller bearing.
The retainers or cages 4 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a main part 7 having larger and smaller diameter sections in a frustum shape, an outward flange 8 extending outward in the radial direction from the peripheral edge of the larger diameter section of the main part 7, and an inward flange 9 extending inward in the radial direction from the peripheral edge of the smaller diameter section of the main part 7.
There are a plurality of pockets 10 formed in the main part 7, wherein each of the pockets 10 supports one of the convex rollers 3 so that it turns freely.
In addition, the roller bearing has a guide ring 11 which is freely rotatably located between the two rows of convex rollers 3.
The outward flanges 8 of the pair of retainers 4 are guided by the guide ring 11 with the outer peripheral edge of the outward flanges 8 fitted into the inner peripheral surface of the guide ring 11.
The guide ring 11 has the either axial side thereof positioned closer to the axially inside end face of the convex rollers 3 to guide the convex rollers 3 so that the rotational axis or roller axis of the convex rollers 3 is prevented from being inclined or "skewed" from its normal condition.
The term "axially inside" in the present specification means the central portion side of the roller bearing while the term "axially outside" means the open end side of the roller bearing.
In the self-aligning roller bearing with retainer described above, in order that a rotating shaft (not shown) is supported inside the housing (not shown), the outer ring 1 is inserted into and fixed to the housing with the inner ring 2 fixed from outside to the rotating shaft. When the inner ring 2 rotates together with the rotating shaft, the convex rollers 3 turn allowing the rotating shaft to rotate. If the axis of the housing does not coincide with the axis of the rotating shaft, the inner ring 2 is aligned inside the outer ring 1 to compensate for the non-coincidence. Specifically the central axis of the inner ring 2 is inclined with respect to the central axis of the outer ring 1. Because the outer race 5 is formed with a single spherical surface, rotation of the convex rollers 3 is smooth even after compensation of the non-coincidence.
Used in the self-aligning roller bearing with retainer in FIG. 3 are the retainers 4 which do not have the outwardly extending flanges 8 of FIGS. 1 and 2, and instead are formed such that the inner peripheral face of the axially inside end portion of the retainers 4 is positioned close to the outer peripheral edge of the guide ring 11.
In the case of FIG. 3, the guide ring 11 has its either side face positioned closer to the axially inside end face of the convex rollers 3 for guide so as to prevent the convex rollers 3 from skewing.
There are problems in the prior art self-aligning roller bearings with retainer as follows.
Specifically, when a larger load is applied in an axial direction (left-right direction in FIGS. 1 and 3) in the self-aligning roller bearing with retainer, one row of the convex rollers 3 has its rolling surface strongly abutted to the outer raceway 5 and the inner raceway 6 to support the load while the other row of the rollers 3 does not.
There is substantially no contact pressure between the rolling face of the convex rollers 3 in the other row and the outer and inner ring raceways 5 and 6, so that the other row of the convex rollers 3 can be moved in the axial direction of the roller bearing. Accordingly, the guide rings 11 can be displaced toward the other row of the convex rollers 3, increasing the distance between the axially inside end face of the convex rollers 3 in the one row and the corresponding side face of the guide ring 11. In this case, the rollers 3 in the one row is readily skewed.
When the self-aligning roller bearing with retainer as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 is subjected to an axial load, e.g. a leftward load on the outer ring 1, or a rightward load on the inner ring 2, the guide rings 11 may be displaced leftward in FIGS. 1 and 3, so that the convex rollers 3 in the right row supporting the axial load tend to be skewed.
When the convex rollers 3 supporting the load are skewed, frictional forces between the rolling face of the convex rollers 3 and the outer ring raceway 5, and between the rolling face of the convex rollers 3 and the inner ring raceway 6 become excessive, the rotation torque of the bearing becomes large. And, in the worst case, seizure etc. is undesirably caused.
Incidentally, no special problem will occur in the case when the convex rollers 3 exposed to substantially no axial load (e.g. the convex rollers 3 in the left row in FIGS. 1 and 3 in the care mentioned above) are skewed.
In the construction where the guide ring 11 is guided by the inner ring 2 as shown in FIG. 3, the inner peripheral face of the guide ring 11 comes slidably into contact with the outer peripheral face of the inner ring 2 in the direction of revolution. This is referred to as "revolution slide".
In addition, the revolution slide occurs between the guide ring 11 and the convex rollers 3.
Such revolution slide will produce frictional heat, so that the temperature within the self-aligning roller bearing is increased, which may reduce the performance of the self-aligning roller bearing.
The copending JP Patent Application No. H6-202264 laid open under No. KOKAI 8-28576 discloses a self-aligning roller bearing, which is prevented from being skewed as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6.
The self-aligning roller bearing with retainer in the copending JP patent application has retainers 4 therein which are, like the retainers 4 of the prior art construction as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, made from a metal plate through press-forming, and comprised of a frustum shaped main portion 7 having a larger diameter end edge portion and a smaller diameter end edge portion, an outward flange portion 8 extending radially outwards from the larger diameter end edge portion, and an inward flange portion 9 extending radially inwards from the smaller end edge portion.
There are a plurality of pockets 10 formed in the main portions 7, so that the respective pockets receive rotatably a convex roller 3, respectively. Specifically, the respective pockets 10 are defined by a pair of crossbars 7a and the outward and inward flange portions 8, 9.
The main portions 7 are located radially outward of the pitch circle of the convex rollers 3, so that the convex rollers 3 are prevented from moving radially outwards out of the main portion 7 through the pockets 10.
In addition, in the case of FIGS. 4 to 6, a projection 13 is formed on either side of each of the crossbars 7a in the main portion 7, and located at the central portion of the circumferential opposite ends of the respective pockets 10.
The projections 13 protrude circumferentially and have a tip end which is tapered such that the amount of projecting from the edge of the crossbars 7a is increased as it extends radially outwards.
Since the projections 13 are engaged with the rolling faces of the convex rollers 3, respectively, the convex rollers 3 are prevented from slipping out of the pockets 10 radially outward of the retainers 4 (upward on FIG. 4).
The inward flanges 9 have a radially outer half, the axially outside face of which is formed with a flat face 14 to prevent the radially outer half of the inward flanges 9 from being projected from the end faces 1a of the outer ring 1 and from the end faces 2a of the inner ring 2. The flat face 14 extends substantially parallel to the end face la of the outer ring 1 and to the end face 2a of the inner ring 2 when the retainers 4 are installed in the self-aligning roller bearing.
The outward flanges 8 have an axially outside face which is faced to the pockets 10 and formed with a plurality of flat guide faces 15.
The guide faces 15 circumferentially adjacent to each other are connected to each other through a connecting face 16. In other words, the guide faces 15 and connecting faces 16 are circumferentially alternately positioned.
The guide faces 15 are closer and parallel to the axially inside end faces 17 of the convex rollers 3 held within the pockets 10 when installed in the self-aligning roller bearing. In this state, the convex rollers 3 are guided by the guide faces 15, so that the rotation axis of the convex rollers 3 is prevented from being tilted or skewed from the normal condition.
In addition, when a pair of retainers 4 are installed in the self-aligning roller bearing so as to support the convex rollers 3 in rows, the axially inside end faces 18 of the outward flange portion 8 of the retainers 4 are circumferentially engaged with each other.
Accordingly, the retainers 4 are rotated in the same direction guided by each other.
The operation of the self-aligning roller bearing with retainer of the copending JP patent application for supporting the rotating shaft inside the housing is substantially the same as that of the prior art self-aligning roller bearing with retainer previously explained.
Specifically, since the axially inside end faces 17 of the convex rollers 3 are guided by the guide faces 15 on the axially outside face of the outward flanges 8, the relationship between the end faces 17 and the guide faces 15 does not change regardless of the operation of the self-aligning roller bearing.
In other words, even when the outer ring 1 or inner ring 2 experiences the axial load so that the axial position relationship between the outer ring raceway 5 and inner ring raceway 6 is displaced, there is no change in the clearance between the end faces 17 of the convex rollers 3 and the guide faces 15. Consequently, even when the convex rollers 3 in one row can be axially displaced due to the axial load, the convex rollers 3 in the other row (also in the one row) are hardly skewed.
In the construction as shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the outward flange portions 8 in the pair of retainers 4 are abutted to each other, and the guide rings 11 as in the prior art construction in FIGS. 1 to 3 are omitted. Consequently, not only the revolution slide is reduced and the frictional heat produced in the bearing is made small, but also the self-aligning roller bearing is lubricated efficiently.
When the interior of the self-aligning roller bearing is lubricated with the inner ring 2 rotated in operation, lubricant oil is supplied generally through e.g. an the inlet port 24 (see FIG. 9) in the axially central portion of the outer ring 1 to the portion where the convex rollers 3 are provided.
In the prior art constructions in FIGS. 1 to 3, the guide ring 11 are reluctant to the flow of lubricant oil. On the other hand, in the roller bearing of the copending JP patent application as in FIGS. 4 to 6 the flow of lubricant oil is smooth and the production cost is lower because the guide ring 11 of the prior art constructions does not exist and the number of parts is reduced.
Although the skew prevention of the convex rollers 3 is improved in the self-aligning roller bearing of the copending JP patent application in FIGS. 4 to 6 comparing with the prior art constructions as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the improvement in the following points are still desired.
Specifically, in order to more securely prevent the convex rollers 3 from being skewed, the end faces 17 of the convex rollers 3 must be guided by the guide faces 15 of the outward flange portions 8 while the displacement of the convex rollers 3 must be prevented in the pockets 10.
Specifically, the length of the pockets 10, that is the axial inner dimension of the retainers 4 is made closer to the axial size of the convex rollers 3, so that the convex rollers 3 are hardly displaced or inclined with reference to the pockets 10.
Since the center of the retainer 4 having a larger diameter is not inclined with reference to the center of the self-aligning roller bearing, or even inclined, its inclination angle is very small.
Accordingly, if the convex rollers 3 are prevented from being displaced with reference to the pockets 10, the convex rollers 3 are effectively prevented from being skewed.
However, it is generally difficult to precisely specify, with reference to the dimensions of the convex roller 3, the dimensions of the pocket 10 formed by punching the metal plate, and those of the outwardly flanged portion 8 formed by bending the metal plate. More specifically, since it is necessary to adequately maintain the accuracy of the flatness and evenness of the guide faces 15 faced to the respective pockets 10, over the whole surface, the die required is complicated and difficult to manufacture. Therefore even though possible, the manufacturing costs of the retainer 4 are increased. Moreover, since the length of rubbing engagement between the axially inside end face 17 of the convex roller 3 and the axially outside side face of the outwardly flanged portion 8 is long, the frictional force acting at the rubbing portion is increased. Hence the torque required to rotate the convex roller 3, and the rotation torque for the self aligning roller bearing with retainer is increased. Furthermore, since the width of the gap formed between the guide face 15 of the outwardly flanged portion 8 and the end face 17 of the convex roller 3 is very small, the flow of lubricating oil through the gap is limited. Hence it is difficult to maintain adequate lubrication of the self aligning roller bearing with retain.

Self-aligning roller bearing with retainer


A circuit breaker includes a plurality of poles that are connected with one another in parallel, and additionally includes a mutual connection connecting the poles with one another to isolate the trip units associated with the poles from any imbalance in the current flowing through the poles. Each pole includes a first conductor structured to be connected with a power source, a second conductor structured to be connected with an electrical load, and a pair of separable contacts that disconnectably connect the first conductor with the second conductor. The trip unit of each pole is configured to measure the current flowing through a given point of the second conductor, and the mutual connection connects the second conductors together at a connection point, the connection point of each second conductor being between the separable contacts and the given point.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to circuit breakers and, more particularly, to a multi-pole circuit breaker having a mutual connection connecting the poles with one another at a connection point disposed between the separable contacts and the trip unit of each pole in order to equalize the current that flows through a given point of each pole and that is sensed by the trip unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrical switching apparatus for electric power distribution systems includes circuit breakers and network protectors which provide protection, and electrical switches for isolating parts of the distribution system and for transferring between alternative sources. While families of such switches are produced having a range of current ratings, some applications require higher current ratings than are available from the standard units. It is not practical to make a dedicated switch for such applications in view of the limited demand. It is therefore common to mount a pair of such switches side-by-side and to connect the poles to share the current. It is similarly common to provide a multi-pole circuit breaker and connect the poles thereof together in parallel to similarly share the current. Such a parallel construction technique is of particular value with molded case switches where the required investment in the molded case is quite large and can be alleviated by adjoining multiple circuit breakers together or by combining multiple poles of a multi-pole circuit breaker together. Such parallel circuit breaker configurations have not, however, been without limitation.
For instance, in the example in which the poles of a multi-pole circuit breaker have been connected with one another in parallel, such circuit breakers typically have a single operating mechanism that substantially simultaneously separates the separable contacts of each of the poles to interrupt current flowing through the poles during certain specified conditions. It is understood, however, that such operating mechanisms do not separate all of the sets of separable contacts in a precisely simultaneous fashion. More particularly, it is typically the case that the separable contacts of one particular pole of a multi-pole circuit breaker are invariably the last contacts to separate during operation of the circuit breaker, and the time lag after which the separable contacts of the particular pole separate may be only a fraction of a second. Such a time lag can result from numerous factors, including manufacturing tolerances and imprecision, wear, and other factors.
In a situation in which multiple poles of a circuit breaker are connected with one another in parallel, and during the time lag while cycling the operating mechanism in which all of the sets but one of the separable contacts are separated, all of the current that had been flowing through the multiple poles seeks to travel through the single pole whose separable contacts are still connected with one another. When this last set of separable contacts actually separates, an electrical arc larger than any of the arcs formed across the other sets of separable contacts extends across the final set of opening contacts. Such a large arc has the effect of degrading the contacts due to vaporization of the material of the contacts and other factors. Such degradation of the contacts of the pole reduces the amount of current that can be carried through the pole, such that once the circuit breaker is returned to operation, the poles have an unequal current carrying capability with the result that greater amounts of current travel through some poles than through others.
Each pole of such multi-pole circuit breakers typically includes a trip unit that senses the current flowing through a given point of a conductor of the pole. Such multi-pole circuit breakers additionally include a single operating mechanism that is common to all of the poles and that is operative to separate the sets of separable contacts of the poles. Any of the trip units of the circuit breaker can trigger the operating mechanism to interrupt current flowing through all of the poles when the trip unit detects an overcurrent or under-voltage condition or other condition that warrants a trip operation.
In a situation in which one or more of the sets of separable contacts have experienced some degradation such that each of the poles is carrying different amounts of current therethrough, it is possible that the trip unit connected with the highest current-carrying pole may cause the operating mechanism to trip the entire circuit breaker even though the aggregate current carrying capability of the circuit breaker has not been reached. In effect, therefore, a single trip unit can trip the entire circuit breaker even though neither the circuit breaker on an aggregate basis nor the load is experiencing a condition that would warrant the circuit breaker to trip.
It is thus desired to provide a multi-pole circuit breaker in which the poles thereof are connected in parallel in such a fashion to alleviate the risk of unintended tripping based upon unequal current flow through the pole. It is preferred that such an improved multi-pole circuit breaker include a mutual connection that connects together the poles in such a fashion that the trip units of the poles are isolated from the separable contacts and are not subjected to unequal current flowing through the poles.
In view of the foregoing, a circuit breaker includes a plurality of poles that are connected with one another in parallel, and additionally includes a mutual connection connecting the poles with one another to isolate the trip units associated with the poles from any imbalance in the current flowing through the poles. Each pole includes a first conductor structured to be connected with a power source, a second conductor structured to be connected with an electrical load, and a pair of separable contacts that disconnectably connect the first conductor with the second conductor. The trip unit of each pole is configured to measure the current flowing through a given point of the second conductor, and the mutual connection connects the second conductors together at a connection point, the connection point of each second conductor being between the separable contacts and the given point.
An aspect of the present invention is to provide a multi-pole circuit breaker having the poles thereof connected with one another in parallel in such a fashion to alleviate the likelihood of undesired tripping of the circuit breaker due to an imbalance in the current flowing through the different poles of the circuit breaker.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a multi-pole circuit breaker having an aggregate load-carrying capacity that is substantially unaffected by repeated cycling of the circuit breaker.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a multi-pole circuit breaker in which the poles are connected with one another in parallel, and which additionally includes a mutual connection connecting the poles together to substantially equalize the current flowing through the poles at the points where the current flow through each pole is sensed by a trip unit.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a circuit breaker, the general nature of which can be stated as including a plurality of poles, each of the poles including a first conductor, a first contact, a second contact, a second conductor, and a trip unit, the first contact being electrically connected with the first conductor, the second contact being electrically connected with the second conductor, the first and second contacts being separably electrically conductively engaged with one another, the trip unit being responsive to current flowing through a given point of the second conductor, each second conductor including a connection point disposed between the second contact and the given point, the first conductors being structured to be connected with a power source, and the second conductors being structured to be connected with an electrical load, an operating mechanism structured to separate the first electrical contacts from the second electrical contacts responsive to the trip units, and an equalization system including a mutual connection that connects together the connection points of the second conductors.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for use in a multiple pole circuit breaker, each pole including a first conductor, a first contact, a second contact, a second conductor, and a trip unit, the first contact being electrically connected with the first conductor, the second contact being electrically connected with the second conductor, the first and second contacts being separably electrically conductively engaged with one another, the trip unit being responsive to current flowing through a given point of the second conductor, and each second conductor including a connection point disposed between the second contact and the given point, in which the general nature of the apparatus can be stated as including an equalization system including a mutual connection that connects together the connection points of the second conductors.

Multi-pole circuit breaker with parallel current


A heavy equipment cockpit training apparatus, device, system, and method is disclosed. The disclosed features include at least one substantially clear, substantially seamless pane to at least partially present an approximation of physical portions of the cockpit, at least one projector capable of backprojecting a simulation of the cockpit onto the at least one substantially seamless pane, at least one tactile aspect, discrete from the at least one seamless pane, interactively provided in association with the simulation, and at least one processor having communicatively associated therewith non-transitory computing code for at least partially providing the simulation and the interaction with the at least one tactile aspect.

Field of the Description
The present invention relates to simulation and training, and, more particularly, to an apparatus, engine, system and method of providing simulation and training for the operation of heavy equipment, such as aircraft.
Description of the Background
Currently used industry standards, systems and devices for graphical simulation of heavy equipment, such as flight equipment, generally use multiple LCD monitors mounted end-to-end to display the entire width of the equipment cockpit. This traditional approach results in a segmented, discontinuous representation of the cockpit panels and equipment. Of course, in actuality, a cockpit display would not have large black seams, as are provided by multiple LCD panels in a grid. Further, a grid of LCD displays, even if those displays are touch screens, is not capable of providing an ergonomic or tactile experience that is a close approximation of the experience in an actual cockpit. For example, an actual cockpit might provide a curvature to aspects thereof that is unavailable based on the use of discreet flat panel displays.
Furthermore, LCD monitors quickly reach end-of-life, and when one fails, it may be impossible to replace it with a matching unit. Also, there are no known current training methods and systems that simulate heavy equipment in a home use context, or that provide for use with personal electronic devices.
In short, typical simulation systems are at remote, discrete, dedicated locations. Likewise, training materials, such as training manuals, are often held remotely and thus are not readily accessible to a user, such as for training or review. This limits the ability of heavy equipment operators, such as pilots, to be able to engage in refresher training, which, of course, may lead to less safe operation of such heavy equipment than would otherwise be possible.
Therefore, the need exists for an improved apparatus, system and method of providing simulation and training for the operation of heavy equipment, such as aircraft.

Apparatus, engine, system and method of providing simulation of and training for the operation of heavy equipment