An air dehumidifying and air pollutant removal system adapted especially to desiccant wheel operation with downstream air filtering, and the discrete use of desiccants for the adsorption of gaseous pollutants as well as water vapor and both of which are desorped by regeneration, and downstream filter packs for the absorbtion of gasses and particulate matter collected thereby and desorbed for exhaust to atmosphere during off periods of building occupancy.

Desiccant based air dehumidification offers the advantage of improving indoor air quality through the process of co-sorption of both moisture and the various gaseous pollutants common to incoming outside air OSA or mixed outdoor air and recirculated indoor return air RA. Additionally, desiccant dehumidification of air by solid desiccants captures and removes certain particulates from such air. This invention is particularly concerned with desiccant wheels and discriminate use of desiccants including molecular sieves, activated carbon, silica gel, polystyrene sulfonic acid lithium salt (PSSA-Li), alumina, zeolite, lithium chloride, etc. that will co-adsorb moisture and gaseous pollutants by adsorption.
Among gaseous pollutants known to be subject to co-adsorption are Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs which are detremental and harmful when concentrated, and among which are trichlorethane, toluene, benzene, formaldehyde, etc. Also, gaseous pollutants include radon, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Particulate pollutants are respirable particles, for example those below 10 microns, and viable or living micro organisms that often propagate and grow in air conditioning ducts. The surface characteristics of solid desiccant used in dehumidifier wheels offer the properties necessary for water vapor and gaseous pollutant adsorption, and for volatile organic compounds VOCs as well.
Desiccant regeneration is effective within a wide range of temperatures from 130.degree. to 300.degree. F., it being an object of this invention to recover a large portion of this heat and thereby minimize heat loss to atmosphere in the exhaust of relief air RE.
Pollutant removal from both incoming outside air OSA and recirculated supply air SA is provided herein by both particulate filtration and by gas adsorption, the desiccant dehumidifier wheel as it is described herein is a gas adsorber that captures gasses and vapors, including Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs during the dehumidification phase, and discharges the same during the regeneration phase of dehumidifier operation. The particulate pollutants are removed by filter collection.
This invention deals with outside air OSA pollution as well as indoor air pollution generated by building materials, appliances, furnishings, and by human occupancy, all of which generates air pollution.
There is a wide variety of volatile chemicals that can be removed from the air being conditioned, for example, the presence of carbon dioxide is a known indication of building occupancy contamination, though it is not in itself dangerous, and it is known that building inhabitants emit gasses other than CO.sub.2 (i.e. methane) which have high reduction potentials, there being a broad range of chemicals which pollute the air, especially Volatile Organic Compounds VOCs, as follows:
______________________________________ Hydrogen Sulfide H.sub.2 S Vinyl Chloride C.sub.2 HC.sub.3 CL Methyl Ethyl Ketone C.sub.4 H.sub.8 O Hydrogen H.sub.2 Metheanol CH.sub.4 O Gasoline C.sub.x H.sub.x (x is variable) Formaldehyde CH.sub.2 O Trichloroethylene C.sub.2 HCL.sub.3 Acetone C.sub.3 H.sub.6 O Ethanol C.sub.2 H.sub.6 O Freon 22 CHCIF.sub.2 Ammonia NH.sub.3 ______________________________________
and others such as Freon 12, Propane, Methane, Methyl Chloride, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Chlorine.

Co-sorption air dehumidifying and pollutant removal system


A method for drying workpieces in accordance with our invention includes the step of immersing the workpieces in a liquid, holding the workpieces with a first holding mechanism, slowly draining the liquid from the container until a first portion of the workpieces is exposed and dried, holding the workpieces with a second holding means at the first portion, and draining the remainder of the liquid from the container. Because of this, a drying portion of the workpiece is not held by a wet holding mechanism.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying a workpiece such as a substrate used in magnetic disk or integrated circuit manufacturing.
In many manufacturing processes it is necessary to treat a workpiece with a liquid and then dry the workpiece. For example, during the manufacturing of magnetic disks, one typically performs the following manufacturing steps:
1. First a nickel-phosphorus layer is plated onto an aluminum substrate; PA1 2. The nickel-phosphorus layer is polished and textured; PA1 3. The substrate is cleaned, rinsed and dried; PA1 4. A series of layers are sputtered onto the substrate, e.g., an underlayer such as sputtered NiP or Cr, a magnetic cobalt alloy, and a protective hydrogenated carbon overcoat.
Immediately prior to sputtering, the substrate is cleaned and then dried. It is extremely important that when the substrate is dried, there are no impurities left on its surface.
Numerous other manufacturing processes require drying a workpiece. For example, during various semiconductor manufacturing process steps, semiconductor wafers are immersed in a liquid and then dried. It is critical that there be no impurities on the surface of these wafers after drying.
One structure for drying semiconductor wafers is discussed in European Patent Application 0 385 536 A1, incorporated herein by reference. In the '536 apparatus, a cassette of wafers is immersed in a liquid and then slowly removed from the liquid in the presence of a vapor that aids in the drying process. The cooperation of this vapor and liquid creates the so-called Marangoni effect which permits drying of the wafer without leaving "drying marks".
During the drying process, a wafer holding mechanism is always in contact with the wafer. This leaves the possibility that there will be a contamination or drying mark at the point where the wafer is held during drying. One object of our invention is to overcome this problem.


According to an implementation of the present specification there is provided an apparatus for creating a hybrid image. The apparatus comprises: a first light source configured to emit a first light in a first direction; a reflector disposed to intercept the first light and configured to at least partially reflect the first light in an output direction to produce a reflected first light. The apparatus also comprises a second light source configured to emit a second light, the reflector configured to at least partially transmit the second light in the output direction to produce a transmitted second light. The apparatus also comprises an input terminal configured to receive an input used to control one or more of the first light source and the second light source. The hybrid image comprises a combination of the reflected first light and the transmitted second light.

Generally retail customers want to visually examine and interact with a product before making the decision to purchase that product. However, conventional retail presentation of products has several limitations that restrict the ability of a customer to examine and interact with a product. First, the limited shelf space in a store presents a physical limit to the number of products that can be conveniently presented to the customer. Second, when a visual representation of a product is presented on a paper flyer or a conventional in-store screen, these visual representations often lack sufficient detail and do not allow the customer to interact with and examine the product through its visual representation. Third, product packaging, especially packaging intended to be tamper-proof or to protect the integrity of products, can present a further obstacle to potential customers' ability to examine and interact with the product.


This invention is a reclining and rocking article of furniture comprising as an integral part of its construction a structural body shaped in a unique way to allow for a smooth reclining transition from a sitting to a lying down position while the user experiences full body support, and a variable weight positioned in such a way as to serve as a leverage device for balancing the article and as a means to facilitate rocking motion.

This invention comes within the field of furniture or more specifically in the class of couches, chairs and seats with means to impart rocking motion.
Briefly, the presently preferred embodiment of the present invention is a uniquely shaped reclining, rocking article of furniture provided with interior cavities and means of varying and maintaining different weight distributions in the cavities. The body may be made of wood, plastic, steel, rattan or any other feasible material on any different combination, and the weights may be in the form of water, sand or any other liquid or flowable solid material. The inventor conceived this new and unique piece of furniture having in mind the simple and easy manufacturing of a practical and effective way to fulfill the human need to be and feel relaxed with a minimum effort and reduced cost. The inventor believes, after extensive research and testing on the prototype, that the comfort and relaxation achieved by lying on this piece of furniture is of unquestionable value. The inventor is convinced that this real comfort is due to the unique contoured shape of the resting surface. This shape allows the user, once on the lying position, to rest with the hip area and vertabrae free from weight and pressure, the legs, back and neck fully supported and the feet on a higher lever than the body. These facts, in combination with the unique method of imparting rocking motion as applied to this kind of furniture, minimize muscle exertion.
After searching for prior art, the inventor concluded that, to the best of his knowledge, there are no other existing products alike or similar to which this invention can be compared.

Rocking couch, chaise, lounge, recliner, chair or relaxer


A signal processor for determining a plurality of drive signals for driving a plurality of loudspeakers to cancel a reverberation effect in a listening area, wherein the signal processor is configured to determine from one or more measured audio signals a plurality of measured physical coefficients in a basis of physical sound functions, such that a sum of the physical sound functions, weighted with the plurality of measured physical coefficients approximates the one or more measured audio signals, wherein at least half of the plurality of measured physical coefficients are zero, determine a residual error between the plurality of measured physical coefficients and a plurality of desired physical coefficients, estimate a transfer function describing a transformation from the plurality of desired physical coefficients to the plurality of measured physical coefficients, based on the determined residual error, and update the plurality of drive signals based on the estimated transfer function.

Reproduction of a desired multi zone sound field over a region of interest has drawn the attention of researchers in recent years. However, the majority of existing works in this area do not take into account the reverberant environments that practical multi zone sound reproduction systems will encounter. The reverberation compensation process is difficult to handle due to the unknown reverberant room channel and the large number of loudspeakers and microphones required by existing sound field reproduction systems.
Reverberation is the collection of reflected sounds from the surfaces in an enclosure. It is created when a sound or signal is reflected in an enclosed environment that leads to a large number of reflections and then gradually decay as the sound is absorbed by walls, scatterers and air. This is most noticeable when the sound source stops but the reflections continue to exist till they reach zero amplitude. The majority of the sound field reproduction techniques are designed with free-field assumption, but this is not the case in most real implementations.
Room reverberation poses a major challenge in sound field reproduction and the unwanted reverberation generally leads to poor sound field reproduction and localization confusion for the listeners. Therefore, reverberation cancelation techniques are indispensable for a reproduction system with real-world settings. The most natural approaches are the passive techniques. For example, the room can be equipped with acoustic absorption materials, so that a modest attenuation of sound reflection is provided. However, the related costs pose a major challenge for this method and it is difficult to realize in many real-world application scenarios (e.g., sound field reproduction in an office or home environment). More technically advanced passive approaches may use fixed or variable directivity higher order loudspeakers in order to minimize the sound radiation directing towards the walls of a room. However, it requires some specific sound reproduction apparatus, which is difficult to achieve in practice.
To equalize the room reverberation, the inverse of the room response is generally applied to loudspeaker driving signals. Techniques have been suggested that are based on mode matching to reproduce a single-zone sound field accurately over the entire control region in reverberant rooms. An approach of reproducing a multi zone sound field within a desired region using sparse methods was introduced. This allowed a reduced number of randomly placed measurements to sparsely estimate the room transfer functions from the loudspeakers over the desired region in the domain of plane wave decomposition. The estimates were then used to derive the optimal least-squares solution for the loudspeaker filter gains. For these approaches, a prior measurement of the room transfer function for all the employed loudspeakers was needed. This is time-consuming to implement in practice and its performance is vulnerable to any changes in the ambient environment conditions during the measurement process.
Wave Domain Adaptive Filtering (WDAF) is a more practical approach to the application of reverberation cancelation in sound field reproduction. It has been introduced to active listening room compensation in Wave Field Synthesis systems. The wave-domain representation of the sound field was described using transformations on the microphone array input and the loudspeaker output respectively. These techniques suffer from practical issues, e.g. a large number of microphones are required for the room channel estimation. Additionally, the adaptive processes in these techniques are shown to diverge in some reverberant environments that feature low direct-to-reverberant-path power ratios. The iterative calculation of the pseudoinverse in each iteration is needed, which may lead to ill-conditioning problems and channel estimation errors.

Adaptive reverberation cancellation system


A family of improved 2-wire resistance bridges having from 3 to 14 ports, or legs, is provided for use in interconnecting a plurality of stations or devices in a private line circuit. The bridges include a resistance connected in shunt across the common end of each leg in the bridge, which permits the intrinsic port-to-port loss of the bridges to be adjusted to a desired value that essentially equals the difference between standard toll line input and output power levels, while at the same time maintaining the proper terminating impedance for each of the interconnected devices.

The present invention relates generally to low frequency, or "voiceband", wire transmission systems, and more particularly to a family of improved 2-wire multiport resistance bridges, or branching networks, for interconnecting a plurality of stations or devices in such a system.
In addition to their role in providing and maintaining the nationwide public telephone system, the Bell System and other telephone operating companies furnish private line circuits for various applications. Examples include circuits used for private voice communications, digital data transmission, security or fire alarm monitoring, and the like. Such circuits typically have a relatively small number of interconnected lines or stations (compared with a public communications circuit), and are specifically engineered for the particular service.
The various "legs" of a multistation private line circuit are interconnected in the telephone company central office by means of a resistance bridge that provides the proper terminating inpedance (typically 600 ohms) for each of the connected legs. Depending on the particular application, each leg may consist of a single pair of wires or two associated pairs, the latter arrangement being used to provide separate transmission paths for each direction of communication. Circuits of the 2-wire type, and some of the 4-wire variety, are formed using 2-wire bridges to interconnect the legs--an arrangement referred to as "split bridge" operation in the case of a 4-wire circuit. FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawing shows a conventional 2-wire, N-port bridge in schematic form. The port-to-port loss of such a bridge varies according to the maximum number of legs it is designed to accomodate. For example, a conventional 2-wire, 4-port bridge for 600 ohm lines has a natural insertion loss of about 9.5 dB, while the port-to-port loss of a similar 12-port bridge is about 20.8 dB and that of a 15-port bridge is 22.9 dB. On standard toll lines, signals are received at +7 dBm and sent out at -16 dBm, a power difference of 23 dB from input to output. Accordingly, when a 2-wire bridge with fewer than 15 ports is used, additional attenuation or "padding" must be added to the circuit to match the standardized power levels. This is typically done by connecting the bridge to an external attenuating pad with jumper wires.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,875, issued Feb. 20, 1979, it is pointed out that no external padding is required for a 4-wire, 8-port 600 ohm bridge. Such a bridge has a natural loss of about 22.6 dB, and the additional loss needed to reach the desired 23.0 dB level normally is accounted for by the central office cabling. Significant economic and other benefits would be realized by eliminating the need to use external pads with 2-wire bridges of fewer than 15 ports, especially the common 4-, 8- and 12-port sizes, when setting up multistation private line circuits. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a family of improved 2-wire, N-port resistance bridges (N being less than 15) having an intrinsic loss sufficiently high that no additional padding is needed to achieve a line input-to-output attenuation ratio of 23 dBm.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a family of 2-wire, N-port bridges having an intrinsic insertion loss of about 22.6 dB.
Another object of the invention is to provide 2-wire, N-port bridges that are less sensitive to inaccuracies in port terminations.
Still another object is to provide 2-wire multiport bridges in which unused ports need not be terminated with the characteristic impedance of the bridge to achieve satisfactory results.
The true scope of the present invention is set forth with particularity in the appended claims. However, the various objects, features and advantages of the invention will be better understood and appreciated by reference to the accompanying drawing and the following description of the best mode contemplated for its practice.

Two-wire resistance bridges for private line circuits


An NMR pulse sequence for use in a borehole logging tool includes a series of CPMG pulses according to: EQU T.sub.r -90.degree..sub..+-.x -(t.sub.cp -180.degree..sub.y -t.sub.cp -echo.sub.j). where j is the index of CPMG echoes gathered, T.sub.r is wait time, t.sub.cp is the Carr-Purcell spacing. This pulse sequence is used to determine Bound Fluid Volume (BFV) which is subtracted from total porosity to yield Unbound Fluid Volume (UFV) of a formation surrounding the borehole. Measuring the BVF, the amount of rapidly relaxing fluid (less than 50 ms), is more efficient than measuring UFV (up to 2 secs), and is insensitive to motion of the logging tool.

Nuclear magnetic logging tools, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,933,638 to Kenyon et al. for "Borehole Measurement of NMR Characteristics of Earth Formations, and Interpretations Thereof"; and 5,055,787 and 5,055,788 both to Kleinberg et al. for "Borehole Measurement of NMR Characteristics of Earth Formations", measure the number and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation rates of hydrogen atoms in the pore space of rocks by measuring the amplitude and decay rate of signals resulting from pulse-echo sequences. In essence, the nuclear magnetic logging tools send a stream of RF-pulses into the formation and monitor the returning pulses which are called spin echoes. The measurements made are typically cyclical, with each cycle taking several seconds. Interpretation algorithms are then used to find the formation properties of interest.
The signal measured by a nuclear magnetic logging tool, such as the Pulsed Nuclear Magnetism Tool (PNMT, mark of Schlumberger) is proportional to the mean density of hydrogen nuclei in the fluid that occupies the pore-space. Hydrogen nuclei in the rock matrix relax too rapidly and are not detected by the tool. Since the hydrogen density in water and liquid hydrocarbons are approximately constant, the detected signal can be calibrated to give the volume fraction of the fluid occupying the pore space.
NMR relaxation of a water saturated porous rock is not a simple exponential relaxation, but it is a continuous superposition of exponential relaxations. For example, in an inversion-recovery experiment, the signal obtained after an inversion and a recovery time of length t is ##EQU1##
Loosely speaking, a(T.sub.1)dT.sub.1 is the volume fraction of the fluid whose relaxation time is between T.sub.1 and T.sub.1 +dT.sub.1, where T.sub.1 is spin-lattice relaxation time. This interpretation is only approximately correct because any isolated pan of the pore-space has a multi-exponential relaxation [1]. However, pores of rocks are in a fast diffusion regime where the signal is approximately single-exponential, and the relaxation time is proportional to the volume to surface ratio. Several researchers have demonstrated for water saturated sandstones that the pore size distribution is closely related to the distribution of NMR relaxation times [2-4].
Short relaxations times are due to water that is bound to clay minerals or water in pores that are too small to be flushed by a feasible pressure gradient. Also, heavy (viscous) hydrocarbons have shorter relaxation times. Fluids that relax slowly have low viscosity and reside in large pores. Hence, the slowly relaxing fluids can be produced provided there is sufficient permeability. It is therefore important to quantify the volume of the slowly relaxing fluids.

Nuclear magnetic resonance pulse sequences for determining bound fluid volume


A bi-directional buffer includes at least a first and second pair of one-shots and transistors. At least the first pair of one-shots and the first pair of transistors enable a second input/output (I/O) terminal to follow a first I/O terminal. At least the second pair of one-shots and the second pair of transistors enable the first I/O terminal to follow the second I/O terminal. There is a detection of whether the direction of a signal is from the first I/O terminal to second I/O terminal, or vise versa. If the direction is from the first I/O terminal to the second I/O terminal, there is an at least temporarily disabling the second pair of one-shots to thereby reduce feedback that may occur from the second I/O terminal to the first I/O terminal. If the direction is from the second I/O terminal to the first I/O terminal, there is an at least temporarily disabling the first pair of one-shots to thereby reduce feedback that may occur from the first I/O terminal to the second I/O terminal.

Conventional bi-directional buffers suffer from severe signal glitches due to feedback caused by a signal circling the loop from the first input/output (I/O) terminal to the second I/O terminal and back from the second I/O terminal to the first I/O terminal, and vise versa from the second I/O terminal to the first I/O terminal and back from the first I/O terminal to the second I/O terminal. It would be beneficial to reduce, and preferably eliminate, such signal glitches that are due to feedback.

Bi-directional buffer and method for bi-directional buffering that reduce glitches due to feedback


A uniquely configured fin (2) that has an open instep (60) and which is secured to the foot of the wearer by padded securement means (52) so as to accommodate a plurality of foot sizes and wherein the fin (2) is made in a two part single mold process. Protuberances (70) may be placed on selected drag surfaces of the fin (2) to act as vacuum breakers to reduce drag of the fin (2) as it propels a swimmer through the water.

Swim fins of various types have been used for decades by scuba divers and other swimming enthusiasts in order to gain propulsion through the water medium. Swim fins have a variety of configurations and shapes with respect to forming a foot portion and heel portion of the fin for securement to the swimmer's foot. Where the closed, instep swim fin has been utilized, it has been necessary to have a dual mold operation in order to properly produce a closed instep swim fin. That is one mold is used to mold the softer, more conformable closed foot portion and a separate mold is used to mold the more sturdy fin portion. The two independently molded pieces are then secured together.
As indicated, traditionally, the closed instep portion has been molded separate from the main fin portion with subsequent securement together to form the completed swim fin. In the prior art dual mold process, it has been necessary to have a plurality of swim fins that would accommodate various sizes of the swimmer's feet. In those instances where an open instep configuration has been utilized, they have been of the shoelace type, not having cushioned fastening for either the instep portion of the swim fin or the heel portion, and in those instances where the laced instep design has been resorted to, the fin has been singularly molded, as far as can be determined, wherein the back strap or heel portion is of the non-adjustable type.
In swim fins of the prior art, it has been necessary to have a plurality of sizes in order to accommodate various sized feet, thereby adding to the inventory cost of the fins manufacturer.
Also, in prior art fins, the closed foot portion, being of less sturdy material to provide conformability to the foot of the user has deteriorated more rapidly, over time, than the remainder of the fin, requiring that the fin be disregarded when the less sturdy or closed foot portion failed. This problem is overcome with the instant invention in that the single or integral fin is of sturdy material and the softer, conformable members of the securement means are easily replacable when, over time, they deteriorate, thereby extending the overall life of the fin.
Fins also have been proposed which have not been adequately responsive to fluid dynamic demands of a swimming fin being used in dynamic fashion in moving a swimmer through the water medium. The swim fins of some prior art patents have suggested putting cleats or knobs on heel portions of the swim fin where the user uses the fins as a steadying device, as for example, where a user fisherman is supported by an inner tube and wears the fins for propulsion purposes and the cleats or knobs are for gripping river bottoms and the like in a more efficient manner.
None of the prior art fins, as far as is known, has strategically placed protuberances projecting in a manner to create surface tension breakers to thereby create vortices to reduce the drag of the fin moving through the water. These protuberances eliminate the vacuum that slows water flowing off typical drag surfaces of a swim fin, thereby increasing propulsion.
As exemplary of some of the prior art, the following patents were uncovered in preliminary patent searches in the United States Patent Office:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 1,007,867 E. G. Halvorsen Nov. 7, 1911 2,343,468 H. L. Messinger Mar. 7, 1944 3,239,857 F. H. Gwynne Mar. 15, 1966 4,251,894 Ashley J. Hollingsworth Feb. 24, 1981 4,664,639 John D. Schneider May 12, 1987 4,832,644 Elizabeth B. Roberts May 23, 1989 4,857,024 Robert B. Evans Aug. 15, 1989 ______________________________________
A more in-depth description of each of the more pertinent patents follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 1,007,867
This patent is directed to, what may be considered, the seminal swimming device, wherein a sandal-like member is formed and to the bottom of which is attached the blade member 17, wherein adjustable straps, such as 14 and 11, using a conventional buckle is used for securing the swimming device to the foot of the swimmer.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,343,468
This patent is directed to a propulsion device for swimmers which shows the open instep portion 14 having laces for securement of the propulsion device and main body 10 around the ankle of the swimmer. The heel strap 13, which is not adjustable nor cushioned, attaches the main body 10 of the propulsion device to the heel of the swimmer.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,239,857
This patent is directed to a swim fin having, what might be termed, an open instep forming a socket 12 for containing the forepart of the foot of a swimmer. The socket member 12 is connected to a leg-encasing member 20 and a snap button, such as 23, is utilized to attach the leg-encasing portion 20 to the swimmer.
U.S. Pat. 4,251,894
This patent is directed to a swim fin, wherein the heel portion has a self-adjusting strap wherein the fin has a closed foot pocket 10.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,639
This patent is directed to a foot fin utilized by a fisherman or the like and has secured to the foot fin a plurality of spaced cleats 15 to aid the fisherman walking on a surface of a river bottom or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,644
This patent is directed to a swimming fin which has an adjustable heel strap 20 which is provided with a heel protection device comprising a heel protector 14 of polymer foam material so that chafing of the heel of the swimmer does not occur or is substantially reduced.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,024
This patent relates to the ubiquitous type of swim fin having movable tips with an adjustable heel strap 62 which may utilize fastening means 64 which may also be a velcro fastener.


A device for detecting a backlighting condition comprising a light meter of which the image receiving surface is divided into a central area, an intermediate area and a marginal area, and a circuit for discriminating between true and false backlighting conditions in such a way that when the luminance of the marginal area is greater than that of the intermediate area by more than a predetermined value and when the luminance of the intermediate area is greater than that of the central area, the backlighting condition in question is taken as a true one.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a backlighting detecting device for performing detection of the backlighting condition of a field of view.
2. Description of the Related Art:
The necessity of detecting the backlighting condition of a field of view arises in a situation where the luminance difference between a main subject portion and a background portion of a scene is so great that it is difficult to derive a proper exposure value for both the subject and the background. In more detail, the scene is such as that if the exposure is adjusted for the subject by using the spot light measuring mode or the like, a considerably large over-exposure will result in the portion of the background, because it is of high luminance. The use of the center-weighted average light measurement in view of a proper exposure over the entire area of the picture frame, on the other hand, will result in considerable under-exposure of the portion of the subject, because it is relatively low in luminance. Upon detecting such a backlighting condition, automatic fill-in flash may be fired. If so, even in such a scene, a good photograph can be taken of a portion of the subject saved from under-exposure, while nevertheless properly exposing a to portion of the background.
There has been a previous proposal for dividing the field of view into a plurality of areas, so that light measurement is performed by each one of the areas, and the light values obtained therefrom then being computed to detect whether the given photographic situation is in the backlighting condition.
For example, a light sensor responsive to the entire field of view and another light sensor responsive to a portion of the field of view are used in combination with a light measuring circuit, so that backlighting is detected by finding the difference between the two light values, as, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 47-34343. Another type a disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 57-29036 is that the field of view is divided into a plurality of areas in which light measurement is performed, and the largest and smallest values are used in computation to detect the backlighting condition.
However, the prior known devices may encounter many situations where false backlighting detection results may be produced. For example, in the above-described Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 47-34343, if the subject of principal interest is much smaller than the area of that sensor of partial responsibility, backlighting is impossible to detect.
Also, if the field of view surrounding the subject consists of a mixture of objects of high luminance and objects of lesser luminance (for example, in the landscape, a clear sky and the sun as the background and a shadowed earth as the foreground) then the light sensor for the integral field of view does not produce an output representing a very high light value. Even with a backlighting scene, therefore, some cases may be encountered where the backlighting condition is not detected as it stands.
The other of the above-described documents, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 57-29036, does not take into consideration the discrimination between the subject and the background . In landscape photography, particularly when the scene consists of a mixture of dark parts, and, luminous parts a problem often arises that the backlighting detecting device detects a backlighting condition.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,357, an attempt has been made to overcome this problem of detecting true backlighting conditions by utilizing a special light measuring pattern which has become the premise of the present invention.
A goal of the present invention is to assure detection of true backlighting accurately and reliably particularly in photographic situations where the field surrounding the subject consists of a mixture of luminous areas and dark areas.


A control system for an engine with an automatic transmission, including an output reducing system for reducing an output of the engine by a predetermined quantity in a speed change operation of the automatic transmission, so as to suppress a speed change shock generated in the speed change operation; and an output reduction control system for controlling a start timing of operation of the output reducing system so as to make a timing when output reduction of the engine is completed by the output reducing system coincide with a start timing of an actual gear shift operation of the automatic transmission. Accordingly, the engine output is reduced in the speed change operation of the automatic transmission, and the speed change shock generated in the speed change operation can be greatly suppressed by making the timing when the output reduction of the engine is completed coincide with the start timing of the actual gear shift operation of the automatic transmission.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system for an engine with an automatic transmission, and more particularly to an improvement in such a control system for reducing an engine output during a speed change operation of the automatic transmission and suppressing a speed change shock generated in the speed change operation.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in a vehicle including an engine capable of generated a large torque and an automatic transmission in combination, a speed change clutch of the automatic transmission is intentionally slipped for a long time in a speed change operation, so as to reduce a speed change shock of the vehicle generated in the speed change operation and also to reduce an impact force to be applied to a speed change mechanism in the automatic transmission. However, such a long-time slippage of the clutch promotes wearing of the clutch to cause a reduction in durability of the automatic transmission, for example. Thus, there is a problem in reliability of the automatic transmission.
To cope with this problem, there a technique has been proposed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 59-97350, for example, wherein a speed change operation of the automatic transmission is detected, and an engine output is reduced by a predetermined quantity by retarding an ignition timing, for example, in the speed change operation detected above, thereby suppressing the speed change shock and shortening the slip time of the clutch.
In the conventional control system for the engine with the automatic transmission as mentioned above, as shown by a time chart in FIG. 2, engine output reduction control is not started immediately after a speed change operation command signal of the automatic transmission is generated. That is, after the speed change operation command signal is generated, a start timing of an actual shift operation of a speed change gear in the automatic transmission is detected as a timing when a turbine rotational speed of a torque converter or an engine rotational speed reaches an inflection point, and the output reduction control by output reducing means is started at the timing of reaching of the inflection point.
This is mainly due to the following reasons. Until the actual shift operation of the speed change gear is started after the speed change operation is started to operate a solenoid valve in a hydraulic system, a response lag Ta is generated due to a response lag of the hydraulic system. Furthermore, the response lag time Ta fluctuates due to deterioration by aging or the like. For this reason, the output reduction control of the engine is started at a timing when after the response lag time Ta has elapsed.
However, a response lag time Tc also exists due to a response lag on the engine side until the engine output is actually reduced by a predetermined quantity after starting of the output reduction control. Accordingly, in the conventional output reduction control where the output reduction control is started at the timing of detection of the inflection point, a start timing of an actual period of the output reduction is delayed from a start timing of a demanded period of the output reduction. Thus, these start timings cannot be made to coincide with each other, so that the speed change shock cannot be sufficiently suppressed.
If the start timing of the speed change operation is made to be in accord with the start timing of the output reduction control, another problem occurs in that an engine brake is generated upon shift-up in the automatic transmission at acceleration of the vehicle to slow down the acceleration of the vehicle since the response lag time Tc of the engine is shorter than the response lag time Ta of the automatic transmission.
To solve the above problems, a technique has been proposed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 356,451 for deciding an engine output reduction period in a shift-up operation and a shift-down operation of the automatic transmission by providing a first predicting means for predicting an end timing of the shift-up operation on the basis of an engine rotational speed when the shift-up operation is detected, and a second predicting means for predicting an end timing of the shift-down operation on the basis of a time length from a timing of detection of the shift-down operation. However, the start timing of the engine output reduction period is given as a constant value considering the response lag of the hydraulic system in the automatic transmission. Accordingly, when the response lag time of the automatic transmission fluctuates due to deterioration by aging or the like, the start timing of the actual period of the output reduction is not certainly decided with respect to the start timing of the demanded period of the output reduction. As a result, the speed change shock cannot ),et be sufficiently suppressed.

Control system for engine with automatic transmission


An automated robotic assembly system is configured to assemble a device by fitting a first component made of a material liable to deformation by external force with a second component by means of a robot, and the first component is provided with a distortion detection unit for detecting distortion thereof. If the distortion detected by the distortion detection unit exceeds a predetermined value, a signal for notifying abnormality is output to stop an automated assembly operation by the robot.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automated robotic assembly system configured to automatically assemble a device by fastening various components constituting the device by means of an assembly robot.
Description of the Related Art
In assembling devices, unmanned, automated assembly systems are used in various fields such that various components are automatically fastened by assembly robots to assemble the devices.
For example, an automated assembly system has been developed in which work to mount various components on a printed circuit board used in an electronic device is also unmanned and assembly work is performed by an assembly robot. If stress above a certain level is applied to the printed circuit board during the assembly work, however, the printed circuit board may possibly be distorted so that soldered areas of component-mounting portions are cracked or semiconductor components such as capacitors are broken. Since the operation of the electronic device is not affected by cracks in the capacitors immediately after their occurrence, moreover, defects, if any, of the device cannot be detected at the time of product shipment inspection but may be revealed after shipment to the field, in some cases. In view of reliability, therefore, there is a method of preventing the electronic device from being stressed as it is assembled.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-134853 discloses a method in which a strain gage is provided in advance on the substrate of a printed circuit board so that distortion of the printed circuit board can be measured by measuring the resistance of the resistor of the strain gage. According to this method, the printed circuit board is rejected as a non-conforming product if the resulting measured value (distortion) exceeds a predetermined value. Also, this patent document discloses a method in which a electrically-conducting path of a stress detecting pattern is provided in advance as a stress detecting member around a component mounting area on the surface of the printed circuit board so that the resistance of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern can be measured before a surface mounted component is attached to the printed circuit board. Also, according to this method, the resistance of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern is measured again after the surface mounted component is attached to the printed circuit board. Consequently, if the difference between measured values obtained before and after the attachment of the surface mounted component is not less than a predetermined value, the printed circuit board is considered to be stressed and is rejected as a non-conforming product. Thus, if the printed circuit board is stressed, a part of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern is disconnected or deformed. Once the electrically-conducting path is disconnected or deformed, it can never be restored as before. Based on the change in the resistances of the electrically-conducting path before and after the mounting of the components on the printed circuit board, therefore, such a history is determined that the printed circuit board is subjected to stress above a certain level as the components are mounted and assembled, so that defects, if any, of the printed circuit board mounted with the components can be detected.
According to the conventional technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-134853, it is detected whether or not the printed circuit board mounted on which the components is mounted is distorted. This conventional technique determines whether or not the stress above the certain level is applied to the printed circuit board, based on the change in the resistances of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern before and after the mounting of the components on the printed circuit board. As the surface mounted components are attached to this printed circuit board, the printed circuit board is highly stressed so that it is strongly bent and undergoes deformation (so-called plastic deformation) of such a level that it cannot be restored to its normal shape. The printed circuit board with the resistance of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern changed is detected by detecting the deformation. Thus, defects, if any, of the printed circuit board that is not elastically deformed despite the high stress thereon cannot be detected.
However, many of printed circuit boards generally have elasticity and their deformation caused on an actual manufacturing floor falls within an elastic region that allows to restore to their original shape. Even elastic deformation may possibly affect (e.g., break) components on the printed circuit boards. According to the conventional technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-134853, the distortion and the resistance of the electrically-conducting path of the stress detecting pattern after plastic deformation of the printed circuit board are measured. Therefore, the plastic deformation of the printed circuit board cannot be prevented and distortion or elastic deformation of the printed circuit board, which may break the components or reduce the quality of soldering, cannot be detected.
Also in some automated assembly systems for devices other than the above-described electronic device with the mounting components attached to the printed circuit board, distorted or stressed assembly components may be assembled in their automated assembly operation. In this case, failures, if any, cannot be detected at the time of the assembly but may be actualized during prolonged use of the assembled device.


The engine of the present invention has a plurality of cylinders that are divided into a first group and a second group. An air flow meter for detecting an amount of air supplied to the engine is provided downstream of an air cleaner in an intake system. A crank angle sensor for detecting a rotational speed of the engine is provided adjacent to a crank shaft. The amount of air distributed to the first group and the amount of air distributed to the second group are calculated based on the detected amount of air and the detected rotational speed of the engine. The amount of fuel injected into the first group and the amount of fuel injected into the second group are corrected according to the calculated amounts of air distributed to the first and second groups.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel injection amount control method and apparatus for an internal combustion engine and, more particularly, to a fuel injection amount control method and apparatus for an internal combustion engine having a plurality of cylinders or cylinder groups to which air supplied from a common intake passage is distributed.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, in controlling a fuel injection amount of an internal combustion engine, a fuel injection amount suited for an operating state of the engine detected by respective sensors is first calculated. This fuel injection amount is calculated as a time for supplying electricity to injectors, that is, a time for fuel injection. Based on the time for fuel injection, the injectors are driven so that the amount of fuel supplied to the engine is controlled.
In calculating the aforementioned time for fuel injection, the mass G of air per unit time is detected by the air flow meter, the rotational speed N of the engine is detected, for example, by the crank angle sensor, and the mass G of air per unit time is divided by the rotational speed N of the engine so as to obtain a mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine. Based on the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine, a basic injection time is calculated. As shown in FIG. 6, this basic injection time has a linear relationship with the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine. When the reference mass of air per rotation of the engine is equal to (G/N)0, the reference injection time is equal to KINJ. The reference mass (G/N)0 of air per rotation of the engine and the reference basic injection time KINJ are constants that are preliminarily determined according to a characteristic of the engine. Therefore, when the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine is equal to G/N, the basic injection time is calculated according to a formula shown below. EQU basic injection time=((G/N)/(G/N)0).times.KINJ
If a load factor kl is defined as the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine divided by the reference mass (G/N)0 of air per rotation of the engine, the basic injection time can also be expressed as shown below. EQU basic injection time=kl.times.KINJ
For example, in the case of a V-type internal combustion engine wherein external air is distributed to the respective banks from a common intake passage and fuel is supplied from injectors provided separately for the respective banks, the aforementioned basic injection time is calculated as a time for injecting fuel from the injectors of both the banks. Therefore, half of the mass G of air per unit time, which is detected by the air flow meter provided in the common intake passage, is distributed to each of the banks. In other words, air of the mass 0.5G is distributed to each of the banks. Besides, the load factor for each of the banks is defined as 0.5kl. The basic injection time for each of the injectors is then calculated as follows. EQU basic injection time=0.5kl.times.KINJ
The fuel injection time for each of the injectors is calculated by correcting the aforementioned basic injection time for each of the banks in accordance with an operating state of the engine.
One of the banks is referred to as a first bank, and the other is referred to as a second bank. The fuel injection time, the air-fuel ratio feedback correction factor and the air-fuel ratio learning value for the first bank are denoted by tau (1), FAF (1) and KGi (1) respectively. The fuel injection time, the air-fuel ratio feedback correction factor, and the air-fuel ratio learning value for the second bank are denoted by tau (2), FAF (2) and KGi (2) respectively. The correction factor and the invalid injection time that can be commonly used for both the banks are denoted by K and TAUV respectively. Then, the fuel injection times tau (1) and tau (2) are calculated using formulas shown below. EQU tau(1)=0.5kl.times.KINJ.times.FAF(1).times.KGi(1).times.K+TAUV EQU tau(2)=0.5kl.times.KINJ.times.FAF(2).times.KGi(2).times.K+TAUV
The air-fuel ratio feedback correction factors FAF (1) and FAF (2) are calculated separately for the respective banks in accordance with values detected by oxygen sensors that are provided in exhaust passages of the respective banks. Through correction of a fuel injection time based on the air-fuel ratio feedback correction factors FAF (1) and FAF (2), feedback control for making the air-fuel ratio close to a stoichiometric air-fuel ratio is performed. Such feedback control of the air-fuel ratio aims at optimally purifying combustion gas discharged from the respective banks in a three-way catalytic converter provided in the exhaust passage of the engine.
The air-fuel ratio learning values KGi (1) and KGi (2) are calculated separately for the banks, and initially set to "1.0". In order to correct a deviation in air-fuel ratio resulting from differences among bodies of the engine, time variability and conditions for use, these learning values KGi (1) and KGi (2) are calculated based on the aforementioned air-fuel ratio feedback correction factors FAF (1) and FAF (2), for respective learning zones that are classified according to a mass G of air.
The correction factor K is used to correct effects of a transient state or the like. The invalid injection time TAUV is added for correction as an operation delay time that starts with the supply of a driving signal and ends with actual injection of fuel from the injector.
Based on the fuel injection times tau (1) and tau (2) calculated separately for the banks, the injectors of the respective banks are driven so that the fuel injection amount is controlled.
As a prerequisite of calculation of the fuel injection times tau (1) and tau (2) for the respective banks in the aforementioned V-type internal combustion engine, half of the mass G of air per unit time that is detected by an air flow meter provided in a common intake passage is distributed to each of the banks. In other words, air of the mass 0.5G needs to be distributed to each of the banks. However, the inventors of the present invention have confirmed that the mass of air distributed to the first bank differs from the mass of air distributed to the second bank depending on the operating state of the engine. Therefore, if air of the mass 0.55G is distributed to the first bank and air of the mass 0.45G is distributed to the second bank, the basic injection time for the first bank is calculated as a time shorter than a time that should actually be calculated, and the basic injection time for the second bank is calculated as a time longer than a time that should actually be calculated. In the case where the basic injection time for each of the banks has been thus calculated, control patterns of a fuel injection amount will be described with reference to time charts shown in FIGS. 7A to 7B and FIGS. 8A and 8B. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine is constant, and only the rotational speed N of the engine changes (increases) after a time t11.
In such a case, as indicated by a solid line and an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 7A, the mass (G/N)1 of air per rotation of the engine for the first bank is maintained at 0.5 G/N before the time t11, and increases with lapse of time after the time t11. Further, as indicated by the solid line and a broken line in FIG. 7A, the mass (G/N)2 of air per rotation of the engine for the second bank is maintained at 0.5 G/N, and decreases with lapse of time after the time t11 in a manner corresponding to the increase in mass (G/N)1 of air.
Since the mass G/N of air per rotation of the engine is constant, the basic injection time for each of the banks as calculated based on the aforementioned formula assumes a constant value of 0.5kl.times.KINJ (See FIG. 7C). Therefore, the basic injection time for the first bank is calculated as a time shorter than a time that should intrinsically be calculated, with respect to a mass (G/N)1 of air for the first bank, which mass increases after the time t11. The second injection time is calculated as a time longer than a time that should intrinsically be calculated, with respect to a mass (G/N)2 of air for the second bank, which mass decreases after the time t11.
If feedback control of the air-fuel ratio is performed in such a case, the fuel injection time for the first bank is corrected afterwards in response to an increase in mass (G/N)1 of air for the first bank. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 7D, the value OX1 detected by the oxygen sensor provided in the exhaust passage of the first bank is detected on the lean side from the time t11 to a time t12 which is relatively far apart from the time t11. From the time t11 to the time t12, the detected value OX1 is smaller than a reference value corresponding to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. As shown in FIG. 7E, the air-fuel ratio feedback correction factor FAF (1) for the first bank keeps increasing until the time t12.
On the other hand, the basic injection time for the second bank is also corrected afterwards in response to a decrease in mass (G/N)2 of air for the second bank. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8A, the value OX2 detected by the oxygen sensor provided in the exhaust passage of the second bank is detected on the rich side from the time t11 to a time t13 which is relatively far apart from the time t11. From the time t11 to the time t13, the detected value OX2 is greater than a reference value corresponding to the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio. As shown in FIG. 8B, the air-fuel ratio feedback correction factor FAF (2) for the second bank keeps decreasing until the time t13.
Thus, if the air-fuel ratio remains deviated from the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio toward the lean side (the first bank) or the rich side (the second bank) for a long time, the combustion gas discharged from the respective banks may not be sufficiently purified in the three-way catalytic converter.
The continuous deviation from the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio as described above has an effect on calculation of the aforementioned air-fuel ratio learning values KGi(1) and KGi(2). Therefore, an error may occur in the learning process.
Furthermore, in addition to the feedback control of the aforementioned air-fuel ratio, the control of the fuel injection amount is performed by correcting the aforementioned basic injection time in accordance with an operating state of the engine. Thus, it may not be possible to obtain an appropriate air-fuel ratio or to ensure the operability of the engine in accordance with the operating state of the engine.
In order to prevent the air supplied from the common intake passage from being distributed non-homogeneously to the respective banks, an air flow meter may be provided in each of the banks so that the mass of air can be detected separately for the banks. In this case, however, another problem such as a rise in manufacturing costs occurs.
Further, in the case of an engine control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 10-9020, feedback control of an air-fuel ratio is performed in consideration of non-homogeneous distribution of purge gas to left and right banks. However, this apparatus does not take any measures against the non-homogeneous distribution of air from the common intake passage to the respective banks (the first and second banks).

Fuel injection amount control method and apparatus for internal combustion engine


A freeze tolerant fuel cell power plant (10) includes at least one fuel cell (12), a coolant loop (42) having a porous water transport plate (44) secured in a heat and mass exchange relationship with the fuel cell (12) and a coolant pump (46) for circulating a coolant through the plate (44) and for transferring water into or out of the plate (44) with the coolant. A coolant heat exchanger (52) removes heat from the coolant, and an accumulator (66) stores the coolant and fuel cell product water and directs the product water out of the accumulator (66). The coolant is a two-component mixed coolant liquid circulating through the coolant loop (42) consisting of between 80 and 95 volume percent of a low freezing temperature water immiscible fluid component and between 5 and 20 volume percent of a water component.

Fuel cell power plants are well known and are commonly used to produce electrical energy from hydrogen containing reducing fluid fuel and oxygen containing oxidant reactant streams to power electrical apparatus such as power plants and transportation vehicles. In fuel cell power plants of the prior art, it is known that product water generated by fuel cells of the plant is often managed and removed through porous water transport plates of a coolant system, as well as through evaporation and/or entrainment within a cathode exhaust stream. Such a coolant system is also utilized to provide water through the porous water transport plates to humidify fuel and oxidant reactant streams to thereby minimize drying out of proton exchange membrane ("PEM") electrolytes as well as to remove condensate which occurs within the cell. Porous water transport plates when filled with a liquid also provide gaseous seals to prohibit mixing of the reactant oxidant and fuel streams.
Fuel cell power plants having porous water transport plates, however, give rise to water management difficulties. Total water volume in such plants is very high. Such a high water volume requires complex and costly plant systems, especially when the plant is operated in sub-freezing ambient conditions. For example, mechanical damage may occur when the product water and/or any water coolant fluid freezes without elaborate freeze protection apparatus.
Solutions to such freezing related problems are described in U.S. Pat. No 6,528,194 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,562,503 B2 both of which are entitled "Freeze Tolerant Fuel Cell Power Plant", and both of which are owned by the owner of all rights in the present invention. Those patents disclose the use of water immiscible fluids, as purge fluids, during a shutdown and startup of the plant to displace water from key system components.
When the fuel cell power plant disclosed in those patents is shut down for a short term shut down, displacement valves operate to control flow of the water coolant into a freeze tolerant, open tube accumulator, and the water immiscible fluid into the coolant loop to displace the water coolant to the accumulator. For a long term shut down, the same procedure is undertaken to direct the water coolant into the accumulator; to direct the water immiscible fluid into the coolant loop to displace the water coolant; and, to then drain the water immiscible fluid back into the accumulator.
To start up the power plant after a long term shut down, the water immiscible fluid is first directed to pass from the accumulator through a heater and a re-cycle line to flow through open tubes of the accumulator to melt the frozen water coolant. Whenever fuel cells of the plant have attained a desired operating temperature and the water coolant within the accumulator has thawed, flow of the water immiscible fluid out of the accumulator is terminated, and thawed water coolant is directed to flow through the coolant loop to cool plant fuel cells and manage fuel cell product water. The freeze tolerant fuel cell power plant is then in a steady-state operation wherein the water coolant continues to cycle from the accumulator through the water transport plate of the coolant loop, and back to the accumulator. The displacement or purge of the water coolant by the water immiscible fluid out of the fuel cells and coolant loop prevents mechanical damage to the plant by preventing the freezing of the water coolant during a shutdown and startup, until the water coolant is within the accumulator. Also, the low freezing temperature water immiscible fluid transfers heat from the fuel cells or an external heater to melt frozen coolant water within the accumulator upon start up.
Nonetheless, the prior art has limitations. The prior art fails to rectify the high volume of water in the fuel cell power plant. The high volume of water is a result of two related but separate plant requirements, of first cooling operating fuel cells, and second, managing water within the plant, including fuel cell product water. Consequently, there is a need for a fuel cell power plant that may be efficiently operated in sub-freezing conditions with effective water management and a minimal volume of water.

Freeze tolerant fuel cell power plant with a two-component mixed coolant


Techniques for faster reconstruction of segments using a dedicated spare memory unit are described. Zone segments in memory units are associated with a dedicated spare memory unit. The zone segments are reconstructed in the dedicated spare memory unit in response to a failed memory unit except for an identified failed zone segment of the failed memory unit. The identified failed zone segment of the failed memory unit is retained in the dedicated spare unit. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

In today's society, computer systems are commonplace. Computer systems may be found in the workplace, at home, or at school. Computer systems may include data storage systems, or disk storage systems, to process and store data. Large amounts of data have to be processed daily and the current trend suggests that these amounts will continue to increase in the foreseeable future. Moreover, data, data files, and/or data records are also required to be stored, retained, and/or saved for various periods of time for subsequent retrieval and/or use. Efficiently storing, preserving, and preventing a loss of the data, data files, and/or data records data are important design considerations, and therefore, a need exists to improve data storage utilization and preservation techniques for increased reconstruction of data segments to an optimal state.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Faster reconstruction of segments using a spare memory unit


A speech recognition method and a speech recognition device are disclosed. The speech recognition method includes: obtaining features of a speech signal to be recognized; performing a path search in a search space generated by establishing a map according to the features to output a decoding result; judging whether a rejection is needed according to the decoding result; and when the rejection is needed, determining that a speech recognition result is the rejection, and when the rejection is not needed, obtaining the speech recognition result according to the decoding result. The method has a good recognition rejection effect.

Speech technology can provide people with convenient user experience, especially in mobile terminals and wearable devices. At present, speech recognition is mainly realized through on-line service. However, the on-line service cannot satisfy the demand without network or with instable network, and conventional off-line speech recognition systems do not have rejection effect.

BAIDU ONLINE NETWORK TECHNOLOGY (BEIJING) CO., LTD.


The present invention relates to an improved metallic additive free palladium electroplating bath comprising the use of a sulfonic acid compound in combination with a special class of pyridine related nitrogen compounds to both stabilize the bath and to provide white palladium deposits over a wide range of plating thicknesses.

The present invention relates to a metallic additive free electroplating bath for the deposition of white palladium metal on various surfaces and, in particular, to the use of an unsaturated sulfonic compound in combination with a special class of pyridine related nitrogen compounds in the bath to both stabilize the bath and to provide whiter palladium deposits over a wider range of plating thicknesses than conventional processes.
White colored finishes on decorative items such as jewelry are usually of silver, rhodium, palladium or their respective alloys. Each of these plated surfaces has its own specific drawbacks however, since silver surfaces lack durability due to tarnishing, rhodium processes are inefficient and costly to use and conventional palladium deposits do not have the pleasing white appearances of either rhodium or silver.
Several earlier patents on plating palladium address these problems and use small amounts of organic and/or metallic brighteners in the palladium bath to impart the desired color and brightness to the palladium. Deposits obtained from such baths still lack the specularity and whiteness of silver or rhodium however, and as the plated thickness exceeds about 1 micron the palladium gradually loses its brilliance. Moreover, metallic brighteners (i.e., Co or Ni) may cause an allergenic reaction with the skin and the use of these additives is objectionable to the jewelry industry.
Electroplating baths designed to improve the brightness of palladium or palladium alloy deposits on metal substrates are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,656 which issued to Deuber in 1978. In this patent the improved brightness is achieved by utilizing in the bath both a Class I and a Class II organic nickel brightener and an adjusted pH range from 4.5 to 12. U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,755 to Morrissey relates to bright palladium electroplating solutions and utilizes aqueous solutions containing palladium complexed with an organic polyamine, and also containing both a cyclic organic imide and a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic organic compound at least one nitrogen of which is incorporated into a six-membered ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,665 to Miscioscio et al. discloses that thin, white palladium metal deposits can be readily obtained from very specific electroplating bath formulations containing a bath soluble source of palladium and a bath soluble ammonium conductivity salt, chloride ions, and a brightener from the groups of organic and inorganic brighteners, preferably the combined use of both an organic and an inorganic brightener such as 2-Formylbenzene sulfonate, sodium salt and nickel sulfate.
The need still exists for electroplating baths which provide a white palladium metal deposit without the need for metallic brighteners such as nickel and cobalt and it is an object of the present invention to provide a stable palladium electroplating solution wherein the deposits are bright in appearance at thicknesses above 1 micron and preferably up to about 5 microns.
Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description.

Electroplating bath and process for white palladium


A bracket mechanism is configured to facilitate connection of multiple rail elements to form an elongated element to span over a work space and/or to help support a continuous integral element spanning over a work space. The bracket mechanism can be configured to help ensure the rigidity of the elongated element positioned over the work space so that the elongated element does not sag or bow downwards as it extends over the work space.

Enclosures for office space often utilize walls and structure defined in or attached to a wall. Other enclosures may be free standing within a room of a building defined by internal and external walls of the building. The enclosures may include structures that are used to support a ceiling of the enclosure or support structures that may be mounted to a wall of the enclosure such as a chalkboard, whiteboard, display device or picture frame. Such structures occasionally support elements that can be suspended over the work space defined within the enclosure. Such elements can sag as they span over a work space and/or due to the weight of objects attached to such elements. For instance, a long beam structure that extends over a work surface can sag as it extends above a work space from one side of the work space to another side of the work space. This can create an undesired aesthetic effect for the work space, create the appearance of a safety issue due to this sagging, and can make attachment of other structures in a desired orientation to the long beam structure problematic (ensuring a level alignment, etc.).

Bracket mechanism for pre-fabricated office enclosure beams and method of using the same


A pressure (1) release valve is disclosed ideally for use on petrol tankers which can rollover in an accident. There is a requirement for such valves both to become sealed in the event of a rollover to prevent the escape of volatile and flammable fluid from within the tanker, and also to allow for the venting of gas above the fluid within the tanker under normal operating conditions. The valve comprises a movable plunger (24) and a fixed seat (32) which can move axially towards and away from each other to open and close the valve. One or other of valve seat and plunger is provided with magnetic inserts (23), while the alternate component is ferromagnetic so that magnetic attraction betwixt the two components acts to bias the valve towards a closed condition. Once the pressure differential across the valve attains a predetermined and variable level (if the displacement of the magnets can be varied within the said component, the magnetic attraction can be varied), then the plunger is separated from the valve seat, the valve is opened, and pressure can be released therethrough. The valve is also optionally provided with a manual pressure release means (27) which is actuable even in the event of a rollover to allow for safe draining of the fluid from within the tanker.

This invention relates to a pressure release valve fitted to a container, and more specifically to a gas pressure release valve which allows automatic release of pressure within the container in the event of said pressure rising above a predetermined level, yet remain closed when the container pressure is below said predetermined level.
Although this invention refers almost exclusively to a pressure valve for a road or rail tanker carrying volatile liquid, and particularly to a road tanker for transporting petrol, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention could also include other storage arrangements for the containment of any volatile liquid or hazardous chemical. Indeed it is already been proposed to use valves of the present invention to replace those valves already in existence on vent stacks of static tanks beneath petrol garages.
Pressure valves are commonly employed on the top of containers used for the storage or transportation of volatile liquids, particularly on the top of tankers for the transportation of petrol. Volatile liquids evaporate by definition, and the vibration and movement of a volatile liquid within a tanker is often sufficient to cause such evaporation. Furthermore, slight increases in the ambient temperature can have a substantial effect on the degree to which evaporation of a volatile liquid occurs. In any event, evaporation of a volatile liquid in a closed container results in a build-up of pressure in that container. This is clearly disadvantageous, especially when the volatile liquid is highly inflammable, and in extreme circumstances the increase in pressure could result in an explosion.
Pressure release valves are therefore incorporated in those containers to ensure automatic venting of pressure within the container before said pressure rises to a dangerous level. The valve acts to maintain a tolerable pressure within the container until the pressure reaches a predetermined level at which point the valve automatically opens to release the pressure from within the container. When the pressure within the tanker falls again to a tolerable level, the valve then automatically closes to return the container to a concealed state thereby preventing unnecessary release of hydrocarbons into the environment.
Conventionally, pressure valves on tankers consist of a plunger which rests on a valve seat, the action of gravity on the plunger and the corresponding reaction of the valve seat being generally sufficient to form a seal therebetween. Additional springs may bias the plunger towards and away from the valve seat, and accordingly a desired pressure setting of the valve may be achieved such that venting occurs once the pressure within the container reaches a predetermined level.
In practise however, as the pressure within the container increases above the ambient pressure outside the container and thus exteriorly of the plunger of the valve, the plunger begins to rise and any seal between the valve seat and the plunger is broken. This results in unnecessary release of petrol vapour into the environment. The conventional valve is in fact so unreliable that periodic testing of the valves currently provided on petrol tankers almost invariably shows that the valve is faulty which results in the routine replacement of all such pressure valves on that tanker. This inevitably results in increased expense to the owner of the petrol tanker.
In addition to the unnecessary venting of petrol stored in tankers, the possibility of petrol spillage from the tanker through the pressure valves in the event of an accident is also an important consideration.
Conventional pressure valves on the top of tankers have a roll-over mechanism, which acts to seal off the pressure valve in the event of a tanker rolling over, as is common in an accident. When the tanker is overturned, the pressure release valve is automatically shut off by said roll-over mechanism, and the liquid is therefore prevented from leaking out. However, in the event of an accident, there is a requirement to drain the inflammable fluid from the tanker, and such a feature is not currently provided on existing valves. Henceforth, spillage of the inflammable liquid is almost inevitable as a suitable hose is connected to the pressure valve to drain fluid therethrough. It can be appreciated that such spillage of a flammable liquid is potentially lethal.
There are disclosed in WO9857082, FR2252523, U.S. Pat. No. 4,489,754, DE1229927 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,012 a number of valves incorporating magnets as a means of attracting or repelling different portions of the valve. In particular, WO9857082 discloses a magnetic annular valve seat which magnetically retains a spherical ball valve in a closed seal against the seat when the fluid pressure beneath the ball valve is below a predetermined value. FR2252523 describes a magnetic valve having an outer shell from which a cruciform structure depends and having an annular plastic insert therein which provides an annular valve seat against which a ferromagnetic disc held within the cruciform structure contacts to close the valve. The disc is magnetically attracted to a permanent magnet mounted in the middle of the shell between arms which traverse said shell. The remaining documents also describe magnetic valves, but only DE1229927 discloses a valve having one valve component magnetically attracted to the other and which also includes a manual release for displacing the valve component out of a sealing condition to re-open the valve.
It is an object of the invention to provide a pressure valve for a tanker or storage container which allows venting of a contained product only when the pressure within the tanker or container reaches a pre-determined level to prevent the unnecessary release of evaporated product into the environment.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a pressure release valve through which a tanker or storage container can be both vented and drained without resulting in spillage of the liquid contained thereby, notwithstanding the particular orientation of the said container.
According to the invention there is provided a pressure release valve comprising a first movable portion and a fixed portion, said valve allowing fluid to flow between the first movable portion and the fixed portion when the first movable portion adopts a first disposition with respect to the fixed portion, and prevents fluid flow when in a second disposition, said first movable portion capable of moving relative to the fixed portion when a pressure differential across the valve reaches a predetermined value, one or other of the first movable or fixed portion having magnets which magnetically attract the alternate portion with a force which is sufficient to prevent relative displacement of the portions when the pressure differential across the valve is below said predetermined value and characterised in that the first movable portion is provided with manual release means comprising a vacuum seal plate which sealingly contacts the first movable portion and can be manually moved relative thereto to break the seal to allow fluid flow through the valve regardless of the pressure differential thereacross.
Preferably, a rollover mechanism is additionally provided underneath the said valve which acts in the event of a rollover to displace a seal plate underneath the valve into sealing contact with a shoulder underneath said valve, and further characterised in that said manual release means communicates with said seal plate to displace same and break both the seal formed between the seal plate against and the valve shoulder and between the vacuum seal plate and the first movable portion of said valve.
Preferably the magnetic attraction between the portions is adjustable such that relative displacement of the portions may be prevented when the pressure differential across the valve is below a variety of predetermined values.
Preferably the valve comprises a movable plunger and a fixed seat having at least a partial ferromegnetic characteristic, said plunger being provided with magnets therein or being magnetised so as to magnetically attract the seat.
Preferably the seat is annular and either plunger or seat comprises an elastomeric seal compressed between the said seat and said plunger thus sealing the valve and preventing fluid to flow therethrough when the pressure differential there-across is below one of said predetermined values.
Preferably, the valve is provided as a vent for a closed container adapted to carry volatile liquid.
Most preferably, the valve is incorporated in a petrol tanker.
In a most preferred embodiment the magnets are sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets but it is to be noted that a number of other types of magnets can be used that will give a similar performance.
Ideally, the magnetic attraction between the portions diminishes substantially as the portions are displaced relative to one another. This not only ensures that the valve allows fluid to flow therethrough only when the pressure differential thereacross is at precisely the predetermined value and not at some lower value, but also ensures that once the magnetic attraction has been broken, and the portions moved relatively to one another, the valve allows a greater flow therethrough. Prior art valves rely on gravitational and spring bias effects to close the valve exert a constant and/or linearly increasing restoring force on the respective portions dependent on their relative displacement, whereas in the valve of the present invention, the restoring force between the portions is substantially diminished as they are moved apart, with practically only gravitational effects on the plunger acting to restore the valve to its closed condition. Henceforth, far superior venting can be achieved with the valve of the present invention.
In a preferred arrangement, and in circumstances where the predetermined pressure differential across the valve must be particularly high before venting occurs, the valve seat is magnetised or is provided with magnetic means which attract either or both of the magnets in the plunger and the plunger itself.
Most preferably in the case where the valve is to be used by a petrol tanker, the magnetic attraction is broken and the valve portions separate when the pressure differential across the valve is 70 m/bar.
Preferably, said pressure valve has a roll-over mechanism incorporated therein, as described in our co-pending application of even date.


Embodiments of the present invention provide a method of providing hazard information by an electronic device, comprising determining: determining a location of an electronic device in relation to hazards in a geographic region of interest, the location of the electronic device being determined by a location determining unit of the electronic device and the location of the hazards being determined from map data accessible to the electronic device; displaying, in a first display mode on a display of the electronic device, an indication of the hazards in the geographic region of interest in relation to a scale indicative of a distance from the location of the electronic device; and displaying, in response to a predetermined user input, in a second display mode on the display, an indication of one or more of the hazards in a portion of the geographic region of interest, each indication being associated with at least one item of distance information indicative of a distance of the hazard from the location of the electronic device.

In recent years GPS devices have started to be used for outdoor applications. For example, fitness watches that include GPS receivers have started to be used by golfers, joggers, runners, cyclists and other athletes and outdoor enthusiasts as a means to provide information related to the activity or sport concerned such as real-time data indicative of their speed, distance travelled, etc. In some situations, it is desired to provide information indicative of hazards to be encountered when involved in the activity or sport. For example, in the game of golf, hazards which may be encountered include sand and water hazards located around a golf course. However it is difficult, especially when the device is relatively small such as a wrist-worn device, to provide information associated with the hazard to the user in a convenient manner. Such difficulty may be encountered when attempting to provide the user with information indicative of hazards generally in a region of interest, such as a golf course, whilst providing detailed information related to the hazards, such as distance information.
It is desired, in at least embodiments of the present invention, to provide a method of efficiently providing information indicative of hazards to a user on an electronic device, and which at least mitigates one or more problems found in existing devices.

Method and apparatus for providing hazard information


An apparatus for mapping the wall of a chamber of the heart. The apparatus includes a flexible elongate tubular member having proximal and distal extremities and at least one lumen extending therethrough. A plurality of longitudinally and radially spaced-apart electrodes are provided. An expandable device is carried by the distal extremity of the flexible elongate tubular member and is movable between a contracted position and an expanded position. The electrodes are mounted on the expandable device so that when the expandable device is moved to its expanded position in the chamber of the heart the electrodes are moved into engagement with the wall forming the chamber of the heart. Leads for conducting electrical energy are in contact with the electrodes and extend into the flexible elongate tubular member. An electrical apparatus is connected to the leads for performing electrical functions with respect to the electrodes and includes at least one semiconductor device carried by the distal extremity of the flexible elongate tubular member in close proximity to the expandable device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a mounting structure for use with semiconductor devices and, more specifically, to a mounting structure for use with semiconductor devices at the distal extremity of a medical apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Catheters have been provided with flexible members having probes on the distal end for introduction into the human heart. The probes have electrodes mounted thereon for performing endocardial mapping. In general, these catheters and probes can have only a limited number of electrodes because, among other things, of the limited space available in the flexible member to accommodate conducting wires for carrying the electronic signals from the mapping electrodes. Because of the foregoing, there is a need for a new and improved endocardial mapping apparatus which overcomes the above named disadvantages.

Endocardial mapping apparatus and cylindrical semiconductor device mounting structure for use therewith and method


A method for monitoring application program interface integrations is provided. The method includes identifying, based on monitored transactions, a plurality of run time dependencies between at least two services. Also, the method includes creating, for each of the identified dependencies, a context of the dependency. In addition, the method includes setting a baseline state of a system utilizing the contexts.

As services are added to an on-demand environment, the number of dependencies between the services may quickly grow. As the dependencies between services grow, it is unlikely that the developer of a given service is fully aware of all upstream and downstream dependencies of the service. As a result of such blind interconnectedness, it may be protracted and difficult process to identify a broken system within the environment. Also, if the developer changes the behavior of the given service, or deploys some new software that otherwise changes the behavior of the service, then he or she may not be aware that some upstream or downstream dependencies have broken as a result. In an environment where there are a significant number of nested services integrations, a given integration may be left broken for weeks or months, depending on how often the integration is used.

Monitoring of application program interface integrations


A multi-purpose four-wheel drive vehicle having four-wheel steering. The vehicle according to the present invention incorporates a number of features, some of which are individually known in the prior art but which, when combined in a single vehicle, constitute a vehicle having several advantages over conventional vehicles presently employed for various uses. The applicant's multi-purpose vehicle is of light-weight construction, is relatively inexpensive to manufacture in comparison with vehicles presently employed for the same jobs as those accomplished by the present vehicle, and has substantially less initial and operating costs. The applicant's vehicle incorporates a relatively high ground clearance which is achieved by employing four vertical axles and wheels situated at the four corners of a main frame body of the vehicle. The vertical axles are situated in respective spaced-apart leg post members, each leg post member being rigidly interconnected by two spaced-apart longitudinally extending frame members and two spaced-apart transversely extending frame members. At least three of the frame members are of torsionally resilient construction. When a weight is suspended mid-point between the front and rear wheels of the vehicle, this weight may be transferred by the vehicle without traction loss due to the increased load in that true traction is increased as the load increases.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multi-purpose four-wheel drive vehicle having four-wheel steering.
2. Description of Prior Art
The broad concept of a four-wheel drive vehicle having independent gearing for each of the four wheels is known in the prior art, as is the utilization of combined four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering in a vehicle. In this regard, reference can be made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,461,716; 2,994,392; 2,922,482; 3,282,366; 3,596,730 and 3,666,034.


Methods of forming metal matrix nanocomposites are provided. The methods include the steps of introducing a master metal matrix nanocomposite into a molten metal at a temperature above the melting temperature of the master metal matrix nanocomposite, allowing at least a portion of the master metal matrix nanocomposite to mix with the molten metal and, then, solidifying the molten metal to provide a second metal matrix nanocomposite.

A nanocomposite includes a matrix material and nanoparticles which have been added to the matrix material to improve a particular property of the material. For example, nanoparticles can be added to materials to make them lightweight, while simultaneously increasing the strength of the materials. Nanocomposites having high strength-to-weight ratios are of interest to industries, such as the aerospace and automotive industries, provided they can be produced at a reasonable cost with properties comparable to more conventional, heavier materials.
Metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) are a type of nanocomposite in which nanoparticles, such as ceramic nanoparticles, are added to a metal matrix. MMNCs are desirable because they can be made from relatively inexpensive, abundant metals with strengths comparable to those of more expensive alloys. However, for some material systems it is very difficult to process nanoparticles into metal alloys. For such systems, expertise and specialized training in nanoparticle processing and handling are typically required to fabricate the nanocomposite. As a result large-scale MMNC production at foundries can be hampered in the absence of highly qualified personnel or a simplified method for MMNC production.

Methods of producing nanoparticle reinforced metal matrix nanocomposites from master nanocomposites


A wireless radio frequency identification receiving facility having antenna net includes a receiving apparatus with receiving spaces for receiving objects, a leaking-waved antenna net unit, and a first antenna. The leaking-waved antenna net unit includes an inner main antenna and extension antennas extended to the regions adjacent to the receiving spaces. The first antenna receives the detecting signal from a reader unit and generates a current. The EM wave is generated while the current flows through the leaking-waved antenna net unit, and is transmitted along extension antennas. The radio frequency identification electronic tags on the objects are triggered by the electromagnetic field built up by the EM wave, and information of all objects in the receiving apparatus is read at one time, so that the checking time is greatly reduced and the possibility of lost and position mistake of object can be excluded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a receiving facility, more specifically to a wireless radio frequency identification receiving facility having antenna net for reducing the checking time and labor cost.
2. The Prior Arts
Nowadays, as long as the magnitude of warehouse or amount of servers and cloud hosting increases recently, the costs for the equipments or staffs also increases greatly in regular checking and maintaining, such that the ultra high frequency detecting technology is developed for reducing the checking time and labor cost. The ultra high frequency detecting technology is a distant wireless communication technology; the system used to execute this technology consists of an electronic tag, a reader and an antenna. When the electronic tag enters an electromagnetic field region generated by antenna, the electronic tag is triggered by a wireless signal, and then the electronic tag transmits back an identification signal to the reader through the antenna, and then the reader reads the inner memory information from the electronic tag after confirming the identification signal.
Even though the ultra high frequency detecting technology is applied, however, the general operation method is that a person must open the cabinet door and take a radio frequency identification reader to read the electronic tags attached to products by swiping back and forth, such that the checking time is too long. In addition, the monitor system is requested during checking the expensive goods, such as jewelry, for security and the extra costs are increased. Moreover, since the triggering range and distance is not enough and the transmitting/receiving equipment is required for each receiving facility, so that even though there are some automatic triggering methods; the cost is still too high for practical application. Therefore, a facility which is costly cheaper and can reduce the checking time and staff costs is required.

Wireless radio frequency identification receiving facility having antenna net


An image forming apparatus includes at least two developing units containing two types of developing agents of different colors. This image forming apparatus is improved in the following points. i) The triboelectric charging amounts of the toner of the developing agents are reduced in the order of transfer. ii) The volume resistivities of the developing agents are reduced in the order of transfer. iii) The charging potentials of image carriers when electrostatic latent images corresponding to individual developing agents are formed are reduced in the order of transfer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as an electrophotographic color copying machine or a color printer, which forms an image by sequentially multi-transferring developing agent images developed on image carriers while conveying a transfer medium by using a semiconductive transfer belt.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one conventional full-coller image forming method, there is a method in that absolute value of the triboelectric charging amount of the second color toner in the second developing unit is controlled larger than that of the first color toner in the first developing unit, such method is shown in such as Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 1-32981.
In this method, a transferring efficiency may be improved, however, this method has a problem that toners are reverse charged easily so as to cause reverse transfer to a photoreceptor.
A multi-transfer system has also the other problem that when a resin sheet, e.g., an OHP (OverHead Projector) sheet, is used as a transfer medium particularly in a high-temperature, high-humidity environment, toner once transferred to the OHP sheet is reverse-transferred to a photoreceptor body in the succeeding transfer unit. The cause of this is considered that an OHP sheet is charged in the preceding transfer unit, and, when this OHP sheet is separated from the photoreceptor body, peel discharge occurs to reversely charge the transferred toner.

Image forming apparatus for forming an image on an image receiving member by multiple image transfer