A computer system and method for identifying a matching resume for a job description. The system receives and stores the job description that includes job requirements, each including a required skill or experience-related phrase and a required term of experience. The system receives and stores resumes that include skill or experience-related phrases. When the skill or experience-related phrases include the required skill or experience-related phrase for a job requirement, the system computes a term of experience for the required skill or experience-related phrase. To compute the term of experience, the system associates a contextual use and an experience range with each skill or experience-related phrase. A resume is a match when it includes the required skill or experience-related phrase for each job requirement and the term of experience for the required skill or experience-related phrase in the resume is greater than or equal to the required term of experience.

When an employer decides to hire a new employee, a hiring manager composes a job description that states the requirements for the new employee. The requirements typically include characteristics and qualifications for the new employee. The hiring manager or the employer initiates the process of hiring the new employee, the job opening fulfillment process, by advertising the job description to the public or a focused group of recruitment vendors. In response to the employer posting the job description, the hiring manager receives resumes either directly from applicants or from a recruitment vendor who represents applicants.
A resume, or curriculum vitae, summarizes a candidate's career and qualifications. The resume is a mechanism to convey personal and business-related characteristics that the candidate believes to be relevant to a prospective employer. The resume typically includes the candidate's career objective, personal interests, professional affiliations, educational background, employment history, and a description of work experience.
The candidate review portion of the job opening fulfillment process historically is a manual process for the hiring manager. The hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, begins candidate review by reviewing each paper or electronic resume received in response to posting the job description. Throughout candidate review, the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, keeps the requirements of the position in mind. For each resume, the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, decides whether the resume describes qualifications that can satisfy the job requirements. If a resume may satisfy the job requirements, the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, contacts the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, to invite the candidate for an interview. If the candidate accepts the invitation, the interview and a number of additional steps will help the hiring manager to decide whether to hire the candidate. One disadvantage of this process is the time required by the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, to review resumes that might not possibly qualify for the position. The hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, reviews a number of resumes for the purpose of narrowing them down to a few resumes that describe candidates who might qualify for the position and warrant an interview or hire. Furthermore, the accuracy of the manual process to qualify candidates for the subsequent steps in the interviewing and hiring process depends on the accuracy of the resume review conducted by the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager. This increases the likelihood that the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, will miss the resume of a qualified potential candidate or promote the resume of an unqualified potential candidate for consideration. Thus, the manual nature of candidate review and the job opening fulfillment process does not lend itself to a thorough, careful, and timely review of submitted resumes.
Prior electronic systems improved upon the manual process by creating tools to scan the text of the resume for key words specified in the job requirements of the job description. Other prior electronic systems have required the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, to complete and submit an electronic profile to specify the candidate's skills and qualifications. Alternatively, the other prior art electronic systems have required the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, to specify whether the candidate has the required experience and the required duration for each of the job requirements of the job description. Still other prior electronic systems perform a combination of the previously mentioned scenarios. The impetus for developing the prior electronic systems was to give the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, some level of assistance when qualifying a resume submitted for review. These prior systems typically scanned the resume using a textual word search of the resume content. Although at times, the textual word search accounted for alternative terminology, spelling, format, or case differences between the job requirements and the stated text in the resume, the textual word search never took into account the duration of experience associated with a word or phrase in the resume. The duration of experience was only searchable after the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, has entered it in the profile. The manual review of resumes for a specific duration of experience in a specific field or skill is a timely and error prone process. The disadvantages of the prior art include missing a qualified candidate, considering an unqualified candidate for an interview, and erroneously accusing a recruitment vendor of submitting unacceptable candidates to the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager. The metrics used to evaluate the quality of the resume submissions by a vendor was constantly erroneous and skewed by the inaccurate evaluation of submitted resumes. Thus, the prior art systems not only fail to identify qualified candidates, but also recommend the review of unqualified candidates thereby wasting the valuable time of all the parties involved in the hiring process.
Other prior electronic systems attempted to solve the vulnerability of the manual process of reviewing resumes by relying on the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, to input the candidate's duration of experience in a skill or experience-related phrase that the job description requires. A skill or experience-related phrase is a sequence of one or more consecutive words. A word is a sequence of one or more consecutive printable characters, numbers, or symbols. These prior systems rely on the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, to enter correctly and accurately the duration of experience possessed by the candidate for each skill or experience-related phrase required by the job description. There are three principal disadvantages to these prior systems.
First, prior electronic systems provide a very time consuming set-up for the candidate, a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, a hiring manager, and a representative of the hiring manager. For each required skill or experience-related phrase in each job description, the candidate must enter or have entered the required skill or experience-related phrase and the associated duration of experience. This becomes a particularly daunting task when one considers that an applicant may want to apply for a number of job descriptions, each having an individual list of required qualifications.
Second, prior electronic systems relied on text word searches or knowledge-based searches combined with text word searches, both of which did not accommodate a job requiring a duration of experience for each of the required skills. These systems cannot consider a skill or experience-related phrase and its possible duration of experience electronically as soon as the resume arrives into the system. To match a resume to the job requirements, the prior art calculated the duration of experience for a skill or experience-related phrase manually, never electronically. The hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager, manually tallied the duration of experience for each required skill or experience-related phrase, or its alternatives to determine whether the resume meets the required duration of experience in each required skill or experience-related phrase, or its alternative.
Third, the manual process introduces the potential for human error. Adherence of the submitted resumes to the required duration of experience for the required skill or experience-related phrase may assess the candidate, or a recruitment vendor representing the candidate, either wrongfully or unjustifiably. The process may turn down candidates when they shouldn't be and vice versa. The recruitment vendor may be misjudged on the quality of the resumes that they submit and whether they adhere to the requirements of job descriptions.
Thus, there is a need for a recruitment vendor management system that includes matching tools that accurately assess whether a submitted resume meets a job description. The system will improve the evaluation process of applying candidates. Additionally, the system will improve the evaluation process of the recruitment vendor who submits candidates to the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager. The system will save time and money during the review of resumes by the hiring manager, or a representative of the hiring manager. The system will also improve the time required to respond to applying candidates, allowing the candidates to know sooner whether they are being considered for a job description. The system determines whether a resume includes the qualifications or job requirements sought, and also identifies and rejects resumes that cannot possibly include the qualifications or job requirements sought. Each job requirement for a job description comprises a required skill or experience-related phrase, and a minimum required duration of experience in the skill or experience-related phrase. The system accommodates resumes that contain a narrative of job experiences within a duration or date range. The contents of the resume should suffice when determining whether the candidate meets the required minimum duration in a specific skill or experience-related phrase without relying on the candidate to enter the data into a profile. The present invention addresses these needs.

Recruitment vendor management system and method


Providing a spacer forming method by which spacers can be securely formed in a predetermined region on a substrate. Ink containing granular spacers is jetted onto a crossing portion of a black matrix 5 in the shape of a lattice. Red pixel R, green pixel G and blue pixel B are formed in the openings of the lattice. The spacer containing ink is jetted onto the spacer forming positions from the nozzle by the ink jetting method. Plural drops of ink 7 are jetted onto each of the spacer forming positions on one of the opposite substrates E. The gap between the opposite substrates E can be securely maintained at a constant for filling with liquid crystal.

This invention relates to a spacer forming method and a spacer forming apparatus for maintaining a constant gap to be filled with liquid crystal between opposite substrates to be used for a liquid crystal panel, and more particularly to a spacer forming method and a spacer forming apparatus for dropping ink dispersing spacers in solvent onto spacer forming positions by an ink jet method (or drop discharging method).
Response, contrast and view angle required for a liquid crystal panel depend considerably on the thickness of the liquid crystal layer. Accordingly, the thickness thereof is so controlled to be constant by interposing spacers between the opposite substrates. In the known spacer forming method, the spacer is formed pillar-like on the substrate or ball-like spacers are scattered on the substrate.
A photolithography process or etching process is required for forming the pillar-like spacers. The number of steps is large. The cost is high and the manual labor is considerable. A spraying method (Wet type) and a granular spacer dispersing method (Dry type) are used for forming the ball-like spacer with pressurized nitrogen gas. In both of the methods, spacers are dispersed also on the region of the pixels that causes lowering of the brightness and irregularity of the latter. The spacer distribution is nonuniform and the gap between the opposite substrates is sometimes nonuniform.
In the patent literature 1, such a technique is disclosed wherein ink is simply jetted onto a black matrix as a non-pixel region. In this method, ink with granular spacers dispersed in solvent is dropped onto the black matrix from a nozzle. The solvent is evaporated and the spacers remain on the black matrix.
When the nozzle is clogged or a nozzle plate having nozzle openings is damaged thereby causing discharging trouble, spacers are not formed on the corresponding positions or the spacer forming positions are disordered. The thickness of the liquid crystal layer becomes uneven. The display quality is deteriorated. For example, when the nozzles of No. 8 and No. 17 as shown in FIG. 17 are defective in rows, spacer defects occur in the rows as shown by white circles.
The patent literature 2 discloses the a method of preventing a spacer forming defect due to abnormal spacer jetting. In that method, the ink jetted from the nozzle is observed with a camera or picture processing apparatus to measure the jetting speed of the ink and the jetting direction of the ink. When the measuring results are out of the predetermined range, the nozzle is judged to be abnormal and the nozzle is cleaned.
Patent Document 1: JP7-118835A
Patent Document 2: JP2000-17440A

Spacer forming method and spacer forming apparatus


A fence assembly configured to guide a workpiece with respect to a blade of a saw device includes a fence that is supported by rails for sliding movement relative to a work surface. Opposed ends of the fence are supported on the rails via rail engagement members. The fence assembly includes a fence angle adjustment mechanism associated with a housing of one of the rail engagement members. The fence angle adjustment mechanism includes biasing elements working in conjunction with an adjustment screw to adjust the position of the fence with respect to parallelism to the blade.

Table saws of various designs include a frame and an upward-facing work surface having an opening through which a blade extends. Table saws may include a movable fence that is supported on one or more rails disposed on opposed sides of the work surface. The fence provides a guide surface against which material to be cut is positioned. The fence can be positioned relative to the work surface by sliding the fence along the rails to a desired spacing from the blade, and securing the fence in a desired position using a locking mechanism. During a cutting operation, the material rests on the work surface while sliding along the fence as the material is cut by the saw blade. The fence enables the table saw to provide cuts that are accurate, straight and reproducible when the guide surface of the fence is arranged perpendicular to the work surface and is aligned in parallel to the blade. However, it can be difficult to adjust the position of the fence so that the guide surface of the fence has parallelism with respect to the blade. It is desirable to provide a fence with a fence alignment adjustment mechanism that can adjust the position of the fence so that the guide surface of the fence has parallelism with respect to the blade without losing reference to a prior position of the fence and without overcorrection. It is desirable that such a fence alignment adjustment mechanism provide an incremental or fine adjustment mechanism for accurate and precise adjustment of the fence relative to the saw blade.

Table saw fence with adjustment mechanism


An imaging apparatus includes: an imaging optical system that obtains an optical image of a photographic subject; a plurality of image sensor elements that output image data based on the optical image of the photographic subject obtained by the imaging optical system; an electric power supply controller that controls electric power supply to the plurality of image sensor elements; and a distance metering device that includes the plurality of image sensor elements and the electric power supply controller, and measures a distance to the photographic subject based on an output of the image sensor elements, wherein the plurality of image sensor elements are aligned in line and formed on one semiconductor wafer, and the electric power supply controller performs electric power supply to the plurality of image sensor elements in accordance with operating conditions set to the imaging apparatus.

An imaging apparatus having an auto-focus (AF) function has a distance metering device that measures a distance to a photographic subject. A plurality of distance measurement methods used for the distance metering device are known. For example, triangulation is known as a distance measurement method (see Japanese patent number 3761383). A distance metering device disclosed in Japanese patent number 3761383 (in Japanese patent number 3761383, it is described as an external AF sensor) has a pair of lenses for distance measurement that are arranged at a predetermined interval, and image sensors for distance measurement that are arranged corresponding to each of the lenses for distance measurement. Each of the image sensors for distance measurement has a light-receiving surface, and forms an image of a photographic subject on the light-receiving surface through each of the lenses for distance measurement. Based on the image of the photographic subject formed on each light-receiving surface, a pixel signal is outputted from each of the image sensors for distance measurement. Parallax is calculated by use of those two pixel signals, and based on the parallax, the distance to the photographic subject is calculated.
As for the distance metering device using triangulation as in the above, it is necessary for light-receiving surfaces of two image sensors for distance measurement to be precisely arranged on the same flat surface. That is, each light-receiving surface of each of the image sensors for distance measurement is not supposed to have an angle shift. And additionally, it is necessary for each light-receiving surface of each of the image sensors for distance measurement to be precisely arranged at a position that is a predetermined distance (length of baseline) away from each other. Therefore, in a conventional distance metering device to which triangulation is applied, precise arrangement of the image sensors for distance arrangement on a circuit board in a production process is required, and an adjustment operation for a position shift and an angle shift becomes troublesome. Accordingly, productivity of such a distance metering device is poor.
Therefore, it is known that in a distance metering device in which an adjustment operation in the production process does not become troublesome, each light-receiving surface of the image sensors for distance measurement is arranged on the same flat surface, and positioned at a predetermined distance away from each other, and further a parallax calculation circuit that is arranged on the same semiconductor on which the image sensors for distance measurement are arranged is included (see Japanese patent application publication number 2007-322128).


The invention relates to a method for producing carboxylic esters by converting a carboxylic acid or a carboxylic acid anhydride or a mixture thereof with an alcohol in a reaction system comprising one or more reactors, wherein reaction water is distilled as alcohol-water-azeotrope with the vapors, the vapors are at least partially condensed, the condensate is separated into an aqueous phase and an organic phase and said organic phase is supplied at least partially back into said reaction system. Components boiling lower than the alcohol are at least partially removed from said returned organic phase such as wherein components boiling lower than alcohol are evaporated and/or distilled off. An enrichment in the reaction system of by-products boiling lower than alcohol is avoided. Alcohol losses can be minimized by discharge currents.

Esters of phthalic acid, adipic acid, sebacic acid or maleic acid are widely employed in surface coating resins, as constituents of paints and in particular as plasticizers for plastics.
It is known that carboxylic esters can be prepared by reacting carboxylic acids with alcohols. This reaction can be carried out autocatalytically or catalytically, for example in the presence of Brönsted or Lewis acids as catalysts. Regardless of the type of catalysis, there is always a temperature-dependent equilibrium between the starting materials (carboxylic acid and alcohol) and the products (esters and water).
The reaction of internal carboxylic anhydrides with alcohols proceeds in two steps: the alcoholysis of the anhydride to form the monoester generally proceeds rapidly and to completion. The further conversion of the monoester into the diester with formation of water of reaction is reversible and proceeds slowly. This second step is the rate-determining step of the reaction.
To shift the equilibrium in the direction of the ester (or the full ester in the case of polybasic acids), it is usual to use an entrainer by means of which the water of reaction is removed from the mixture. If one of the starting materials (alcohol or carboxylic acid) has a boiling point lower than that of the ester formed and forms a miscibility gap with water, a starting material can be used as entrainer and be recirculated to the mixture after water has been separated off. In the esterification of higher aliphatic carboxylic acids, aromatic carboxylic acids or dibasic or polybasic carboxylic acids, the alcohol used is generally the entrainer.
EP-A 1 186 593 describes a process for preparing carboxylic esters by reacting dicarboxylic or polycarboxylic acids or anhydrides thereof with alcohols, with the water of reaction being removed by azeotropic distillation with the alcohol. The amount of liquid removed from the reaction by the azeotropic distillation is replaced either completely or partly by the alcohol.
If the alcohol used serves as entrainer, it is usual to condense at least part of the vapor from the reactor, separate the condensate into an aqueous phase and an organic phase comprising essentially the alcohol used for the esterification and recirculate at least part of the organic phase to the reactor. However, various by-products are formed in addition to the desired ester in the esterification reaction. Particularly the by-products having lower boiling points than that of the alcohol are recirculated with the organic phase to the reactor and can, particularly in the case of a continuous process, accumulate in the reaction system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method for producing carboxylic acid esters


The invention relates to a screw extruder (29) having a housing (30) comprising an intake housing (4), a degassing housing (5), and at least one housing bore (21, 22) running in the interior of the degassing housing (5) and implementing at least one internal wall segment (25; 26; 27; 28) of the degassing housing (5) and serving for receiving at least one auger shaft (7), and wherein the at least one wall segment (25; 26; 27; 28) of the at least one housing bore (21, 22) comprises at least one partition wall (13, 33) protruding into the at least one housing bore (21, 22) in the region of the degassing housing (5), and wherein at least one filter element (8) is disposed in the interior of the degassing housing (5) and at least partially encompasses the at least one auger shaft (7) and bears on the partition wall (13) in regions for implementing at least two spatial pressure regions (11, 12) sealed off from each other.

The invention relates to a screw extruder having a degassing housing. The invention further relates to a method for processing bulk material.
One such screw extruder is known from the European patent specification EP 1 977 877. Said publication describes a method for feeding powdered bulk material into an extruder comprising a housing having bores parallel to each other and partially penetrating each other and having auger shafts disposed therein. The housing comprises an infeed opening downstream of an intake zone. Solid material transport of powdered bulk material takes place in the intake zone by partially filling said intake zone. Said zone comprises a gas-permeable wall segment at which a bulk material layer is generated without bulk material penetrating through said wall segment. The wall segment comprises an inner wall bounding the bore, wherein a gap is formed relative to the bore wall, offset by a partial circular ring cross section. The gas-permeable wall segment is connected to a pressurized gas source by means of a pressure flushing line.
Prior art associated therewith is described in the European patent specification EP 2 218 568 B1, relating to the embodiment of the vacuum housing segment and thereby providing a filter used there in the form of a metal non-woven. The use of a metal non-woven is intended to achieve significantly greater filter fineness than is the case when using sintered metal, whereby the technical teaching of the European patent specification EP 2 218 568 is different from that of EP 1 977 877 B1. Replacing such a very thin metal non-woven using relatively few hand movements is further intended to be possible for the case that clogging occurs as a result of the bulk material particles, despite the fineness of the filter. Said vacuum housing segment is provided in a screw extruder for processing at least partially powdered bulk material designed for this purpose.
The document DE 10 2013 208 993 A1 relates to a screw extruder, a method for processing bulk material, and a processing system for processing bulk material. The focus of the present prior art is on the embodiment of a vacuum filter insert providing a protective element for adapting to the at least one housing bore having cross section partially having the shape of a circular arc segment. A long service life of the vacuum filter insert is thereby ensured. Because the shape of the cross section of the protective element is implemented corresponding to the at least one housing bore, the bulk material can be wiped off from the protective element by means of a handling element during operation of the screw extruder. Particles of bulk material suctioned to the protective element are thereby continuously removed by the handling element, so that continuous cleaning of the protective element takes place.
A screw extruder having a degassing device following a different technological principle is further disclosed in the document EP 2 860 013 B1, wherein what is known as a reverse ventilation is provided and generated by a blower device bringing about a gas flow acting opposite the transport direction of the material transported by means of the transport auger shaft.
In addition to said prior art addressed in EP 2 860 013 B1 and following a different functional principle, the screw extruders according to the prior art are very complicated in design and therefore very expensive. The protective elements partially provided therein are additional components further required fit accuracy that can barely be fulfilled in tough, long-term operation of such screw extruders, in turn requiring regular replacement and re-installation during operation. Due to the sometimes extremely high temperatures, such replacement work is associated with a high hazard risk for the operating personnel. The systems also require complex mounting elements.
Relative to the overall length, that is, the length of the screw extruder housing, a relatively small filter area is furthermore available in the present prior art, which can lead to rapid clogging during operation, associated with the necessity of frequent interruptions of the extrusion process for the purpose of replacement. Interruptions in the running extrusion process can have negative effects on the extruded material, however, and result in significant additional costs. The selection of available filter materials is also limited.
Based on said disadvantages of the prior art, the invention therefore addresses the technical problem of avoiding said disadvantages and providing a screw extruder having a highly flexible, robust degassing device and furthermore able to be produced inexpensively.
Such a degassing device is further intended to be usable for side feeding machines, for which the term side feeder has also become established, as well as for main screw extruders, such as main extruders. The degassing device is also intended to be combined with further system components.
In particular, a large filter area is to be achieved and it should be possible to have one or more vacuum regions or compressed air regions available.
The various considerations are achieved by a claimed device and by a claimed method. Advantageous embodiments of the technical teaching are described in the claims.
To this end, a screw extruder is provided, comprising a housing in turn providing an intake housing and a degassing housing.
When a degassing housing is mentioned in general below, this means that not only the outer shell of the housing is meant, but also that said housing functionally comprises a degassing device further described under the term degassing housing, because the spatial and geometric components thereof are also particularly significant.
The housing further comprises at least one housing bore running in part in the interior of the degassing housing and comprising at least one inner wall segment.
The housing bore serves for receiving at least one auger shaft.
The at least one wall segment of the at least one housing bore comprises at least one partition wall protruding into the at least one housing bore in the region of the degassing housing.
Furthermore, at least one filter element is disposed in the interior of the degassing housing and at least partially encompasses the at least one auger shaft, and the outer circumferential surface thereof bears on the previously mentioned partition wall at least in regions, forming at least two spatial regions for generating a fluidic pressure region, wherein the two regions are sealed off from each other.
In a typical design, the screw extruder is an extruder. Therefore, the invention is described below using an extruder, but it is clear that the present invention is not limited to the design of an extruder, but rather comprises any suitable type of transport auger shafts, screw pumps, metering screws, mixers, and the like.
The screw extruder serves for processing bulk material.
Processing in the sense of the present invention is understood to mean the transporting and/or further processing of the bulk material.
Bulk material in the sense of the present invention is understood to be a material in powder form or dust form or granulate form, or material in a solid aggregate state embodied as "chopped" or cut or the like, and material in a fluid, paste, or gel form or comparable aggregate state, wherein mixtures of said various aggregate states are also possible.
Bulk material in the sense of the present invention is sufficiently known in the prior art and therefore does not require further detailed explanation. Merely as an example, it is noted that bulk material can also include suitably processed rubber fed in strip form or optionally as previously comminuted rubber balls.
In one embodiment of the invention, the screw extruder is known as a side feeding machine, that is, a side feeder or side extruder. In a preferred embodiment, the side feeder comprises two auger shafts able to rotate in the same direction or in opposite directions, right-handed or left-handed. Instead of a dual-shaft side feeder, however, a single-shaft side feeder or a multiple-shaft side feeder, also preferred, can be used, that is, a side feeder comprising more than two auger shafts in the sense of the above description. Such a multiple-shaft side feeder can be implemented particularly as a six-shaft or twelve-shaft ring extruder.
The side feeder feeds the bulk material to a main screw extruder, for example a designated main extruder, in turn potentially a single-shaft, dual-shaft, or multiple-shaft extruder, the two or more auger shafts thereof rotating in the same direction or in opposite directions, right-handed or left-handed. The main extruder can particularly be implemented as a ring extruder having six or twelve auger shafts.
The bulk material fed into the main extruder by the side feeder undergoes a change during said process, as is described below in more detail, wherein in any case the bulk material is degassed according to the embodiment of the invention. The bulk material consequently comprises solid material fed into the main extruder. Because the bulk material, as mentioned, also comprises material in a fluid aggregate state, such material is also considered to be solid material in the sense of the present invention.
In one embodiment of the invention, the at least one auger shaft or the at least dual-shaft auger shafts of the side feeder have a constant pitch, so that the auger shafts of the side feeder substantially perform only a transport function.
In another embodiment of the invention, the construction of the side feeder auger shaft(s) is implemented such that further processing can occur in addition to the pure transport function. It is thereby advantageous if the side feeder auger shafts are constructed in segments, that is, if the feeding elements have different auger shaft pitches. The preferably tightly meshing auger shafts can, in said segmented embodiment enabling further processing as described above, comprise a melting zone immediately downstream in the transport direction of the bulk material transport zone implementing the transport function, that is, the auger shafts are preferably implemented as kneading discs or kneading blocks in said region of the melting zone. In the immediately downstream zone, the auger shaft can be implemented such that a pressure increase occurs, at the end of which a discharge nozzle is then connected, for example, by means of which the further processed bulk material or the solid materials are fed into the main screw extruder, such as the main extruder.
The configuration of the auger shafts necessary for said embodiment, that is, particularly the auger shaft pitches thereof, and the implementation thereof partially as kneading discs, kneading blocks, etc., are sufficiently known in the prior art and are therefore not described in further detail.
The screw extruder according to the invention of course comprises an electric motor connected to a gearbox. The previously mentioned auger shaft or shafts are coupled to the gearbox in a known manner.
In addition to the previously mentioned degassing housing and the mentioned intake housing, the housing of the screw extruder advantageously also comprises a connecting housing producing the connection to the further screw extruder, that is, to the main extruder, for example.
The degassing housing is disposed downstream of the intake housing as seen in the process direction.
The intake housing comprises a suitable opening operatively connected to an infeed device by means of which the bulk material is fed into the intake housing. The infeed device can be implemented particularly as a feeding hopper. A metering device having a suitable embodiment can also be connected upstream of the infeed device.
The desired quantity of the bulk material is loaded into the infeed device and fed to the previously mentioned auger shafts through the opening in the intake housing.
The amount of bulk material to be loaded depends on the specific process parameters, that is, the infeed device can be completely or only partially filled, wherein this can be a continuous infeed flow into the intake housing, as long as the overall process of the method is running.
The degassing housing according to the invention is disposed downstream of the intake housing and of the infeed device, in which two regions separated from each other are formed, described in greater detail below, wherein vacuum or a pressurized fluid, such as compressed air, is generated or fed in. Said regions are therefore generally referred to as pressure regions, and particularly as positive pressure regions.
The degassing housing is described first, to the extent that said housing functions as a vacuum housing segment in the sense of the housing of the screw extruder.
The vacuum housing segment comprises one or more vacuum connections at suitable points, in principle disposed arbitrarily. By means of said one or more vacuum connections, the air carried along by the bulk material is extracted. The extraction is referred to below as degassing or venting. Said procedure of extracting, however, is not limited to air, but can comprise any fluid. For simplicity, however, air is described below.
By extracting air, the transportability and processability of the bulk material is substantially improved.
The vacuum is provided in the interior of the degassing housing, in which a segment of the auger shaft runs.
Regardless of the units of measure used for describing a vacuum, such as Pa or bar, in the sense of the present invention a vacuum is understood to be a state in a space wherein the air pressure in said space is below that of the atmosphere. Vacuum in the sense of the present invention can be a low vacuum, medium vacuum, high vacuum, or ultrahigh vacuum.
The inner wall segment of the vacuum housing segment of the degassing housing partially bounding the at least one housing bore can be connected to the vacuum connections by means of channels or other suitable design means.
The positioning of the degassing housing and therefore the extraction is between the infeed device for the bulk material and the main screw extruder, as seen in the transport direction of the side feeder auger shafts. Therefore, the extraction is a forward venting and not a reverse venting.
For the purpose of extracting the air carried along by the bulk material by means of the at least one vacuum connection, at least one filter element is disposed between the inner wall segment partially bounding the at least one housing bore and the auger shaft(s) running in said at least one housing bore. Said filter element is described below. Said filter element serves for limiting the extraction effect to the air or fluid to be extracted and for not otherwise influencing the bulk material.
Said at least one filter element is disposed between the inner wall segment of the degassing housing and the auger shaft or shafts. Said element is implemented such that part of the bulk material can indeed be suctioned by applying the vacuum, but is largely retained by the filter element, that is, is not also extracted, so that said material is further available for further transport or further processing by the auger shaft(s).
At least one vacuum connection is preferably provided per filter element. The positioning of the at least one filter element correspond to the position of the design components by means of which the extracting of the air carried along by the bulk material is performed.
The degassing housing and the filter disposed in the degassing housing are therefore located at the same place, that is, downstream of the infeed device in the processing direction and in the intake zone.
Depending on whether one or more housing bores are provided, the shape of the at least one filter element can be partially circular, wherein for a dual-shaft side extruder a wing-shaped configuration of the filter element may result, as said element then encompasses two auger shafts. A different shape than a partially circular shape can also be selected.
The at least one filter element can be recessed by a gap relative to the inner wall of the housing of the screw extruder. The gap can have an arbitrary width. Whether a larger or smaller, particularly minimal, gap is selected depends in part on the processing parameters. The filter element can, however, also be flush with the inner surface of the housing. If the filter element is recessed by a defined gap, then it can be possible for what is known as a filter cake to form.
If the inner wall of the degassing housing is designed as a partial circular ring as a result, then the forming of a gap also means that the filter element is recessed by a partially circular ring cross section, wherein the gap can preferably have a constant spacing or a variable spacing. The gap spacing is thereby preferably at least 0.90 mm to 1.60 mm, further preferably between 1.6 mm and 1.7 mm, and further preferably 1.70 mm to 2.0 mm. Said gap can, however, as indicated, also have different dimensions, particularly implemented as a larger gap.
As indicated, the gap need not have a constant thickness and can therefore merely be similar to a partially circular ring cross section. The person skilled in the art is not, however, bound in this respect. He can be guided, for example, to keep the thickness nearly constant or constant when the thickness is relatively small. For a greater gap with, he may potentially see the uniformity of the gap width as somewhat less significant. For the previously mentioned dimensions of the gap widths, he would more likely try to keep the gap width constant.
In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the filter element is implemented as an inliner, enclosing the at least one or the two or more side feeder auger shafts about the entire circumference thereof. Said filter inliner is therefore located in the housing bore passing through the degassing housing. Said filter is thus present in the intermediate space between the side feeder auger shaft or shafts and the inner wall segment of the degassing housing.
It is particularly preferable if the filter inliner is interchangeably retained in the bore of the degassing housing.
The vacuum is applied in both the circumferential direction and in the axial direction, for example by means of channels, holes, or correspondingly implemented perforations within the wall of the degassing housing, and/or compressed air is fed to the outside of the filter inliner, as described further below.
The filter inliner can thus be similar in shape to a horizontal numeral eight, for example, in a front view of a dual-shaft side feeder.
A partition wall at the inner wall of the housing bore running in the degassing housing bounds the vacuum from being transmitted further in the circumferential direction, so that two regions separated from each other are produced. Vacuum or compressed air is connected to the housing from above or below, by means of one channel, bore, or perforation each.
The at least one partition wall, each bounding the inner wall of the at least one housing bore, can thereby be disposed at approximately the three-o'clock position and nine-o'clock position of the inner wall of the housing bore, and runs continuously along said wall in a defined region of the degassing housing.
If, for example, one vacuum connection is thus provided at each of the top side and the bottom side of the degassing housing, then vacuum or compressed air can be connected to the housing from above or from below, by means of one channel, bore, or perforation each.
To this end, the filter element, particularly the filter inliner, is disposed on the at least one partition wall such that a tongue-and-groove arrangement is produced between the filter element, particularly the filter inliner, and the partition wall, or that the filter inliner otherwise makes sealing, direct or indirect contact with the partition wall. Due to the continuous, that is, not penetrated extent of the partition wall on the inner wall of the housing bore, and the connecting arrangement to the filter element, particularly to the filter inliner, a sealing arrangement arises and interacts with said inner wall and the outer surface of the filter element or filter inliner, spatially and functionally bounding the pressure regions from each other. The filter inliner is thereby preferably implemented such that said inliner comprises a groove-shaped recess running axially along the side partition wall. In this manner, the filter element, particularly the filter inliner, can be pulled out of the degassing housing as an entire component in a simple manner, as needed, and replaced therein, for example by pushing in.
It is also possible, of course, to provide the inverse shape design with respect to the mutual arrangement of the partition wall, the filter inliner, and the vacuum connections.
The entire arrangement can therefore be designed such that one single vacuum region or positive pressure region is implemented. However, two or more pressure regions can also be defined.
It is particularly advantageous if not only each pressure region described above can not only have vacuum applied thereto, but rather if each filter element or the corresponding filter side of a filter inliner can also have a fluid, such as compressed air, applied thereto, in order to backflush the filter opposite the direction of suction.
Each vacuum region can thereby be associated one or more compressed air backflushing connections. One such multiple division appears to be particularly sensible for a ring extruder embodiment, due to the large extent of the inner housing.
It is possible by design to feed in compressed air for backflushing through one further bore provided in the degassing housing for each, for example at the top and bottom.
Of course, other design options are also conceivable in this respect. For further simplifying the design of the degassing housing, it can be provided that the backflushing of the filter also occurs by means of the vacuum connections themselves. Additional connecting holes in the housing can thereby be eliminated. A valve present in the corresponding vacuum line is then closed for backflushing, for example. Typical valves, such as ball valves, solenoid valves, or gate valves, can be provided for this purpose and actuated manually, electromagnetically, or by motor power, and actuated by an automated controller. The compressed air can then be activated by means of an additional connection in the vacuum line between the housing and the shutoff valve.
By providing at least one spatial region between the inner wall of the degassing housing and the (preferable) filter inliner, a vacuum can also be produced in a simple manner according to the invention, by means of which the fluid, such as air, carried along by the bulk material is extracted. Said embodiment further enables flushing of the filter. The method of operating can thereby be such that, for at least two provided pressure regions, one of said regions has vacuum applied while the other region is backflushed, and vice versa. It is also possible, of course, to apply vacuum or compressed air to each of the two (or more) pressure regions alternately by means of only one hole.
Depending on the filter material selected and the thickness thereof, further supporting walls can be integrated in the degassing housing, not for separating the vacuum region but rather for improving the mechanical stability of the filter.
Such additional support ridges can be disposed at the inner wall of the housing bore in the region of the degassing housing, at the six-o'clock and twelve-o'clock positions, for example. In such a case, therefore, with two side partition walls, a total of four walls would be present at the inner wall of the housing bore for multidimensionally supporting the filter element, preferably the filter inliner, and for producing at least two pressure regions bounded from each other.
Inverse design options are also possible in this respect.
In contrast to the two side partition walls sealing off the pressure regions from each other, the support ridges disposed at the top and bottom, for example, and also running in the longitudinal direction, have penetrations. Said penetrations can open into channels or holes of the vacuum connections. The vacuum or compressed air can propagate through the penetrations laterally to the partition walls. Due to the penetrations, the additional support ridges thus do not bring about any additional number of pressure regions.
For installing and removing the filter inliner or the filter element, constructed as a multipart or single component, the degassing housing can be constructed in three parts, that is, a middle part receive the vacuum connections and any further water connections, and a front housing end piece and rear housing end piece at the front and rear ends thereof. The filter is then changed out by disassembling the side feeder.
It is, however, further possible to simplify the design, such that the degassing housing is implemented only as a single part. By means of suitable connecting mechanisms for connecting to the intake housing and the connecting housing, the degassing housing can then be removed from the screw extruder in a simple manner as needed. The filter inliner or the filter element is thereby easily accessible and can be replaced with a different filter inliner or a different filter element in a simple manner.
A substantial advantage of the design described above with respect to the prior art is that, relative to the overall length, that is, the length of the side feeder housing or the main screw extruder, a substantially larger filter area can be implemented. By producing two or more pressure regions, such as in the form of a top pressure region and a bottom pressure region, particularly when the vacuum connections are positioned accordingly, a particularly effective degassing method can be provided.
The filter area can be enlarged nearly arbitrarily in this manner, in that the filter element or filter inliner is simply lengthened. It is even possible in principle to implement the lengthening such that the filter element or filter inliner extends past the end face(s) of the degassing housing in the longitudinal direction and protrudes into the intake housing or the connecting housing.
The filter area that can be implemented in comparison to the overall length also makes it possible to reduce the number of different filter types depending on the bulk material being processed, so that the overall costs of the system can be reduced. This also results in lower inventory costs and storage costs for the relevant filters.
It further follows from the above that the invention is suitable not only for screw extruders of the side feeder type, but also can eb used for other screw extruders, such as for main extruders, regardless of whether said extruders are single auger shaft extruders, dual auger shaft extruders, multiple auger shaft extruders, or ring extruders.
In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, the degassing housing in which the filter inliner is installed can be cooled by means of air or by means of a fluid, preferably water. To this end, at least one water connection is provided for cooling the housing.
It is also equally possible, however, to integrate cooling bores directly in the filter inliner, so that the filter itself is cooled. The cooling bores can thereby be sealed off by a type of coating.
Alternatively, the cooling bores can be produced in the first step when producing the inliner. The filter material is then coated, so that the filter pores within the cooling bores are closed off. The outer and inner contour of the inliner are then machined. In said step the coating is removed, so that the pores at the surface are opened again. In this manner, the permeability of the filter is produced and sealed cooling bores are also produced.
When selecting the filter fineness, the person skilled in the art is free to determine the same depending on the bulk material being processed and the duration of the processing. In general, pore diameters in the range of about 5 p to about 100 p have been found to be suitable for the filter fineness.
The person skilled in the art is also principally not limited in the selection of the filter material.
However, filter material made of or comprising porous metal and resembling a compact, solid body is preferably used. It is further preferable to produce the filter material from porous metal, not in a sintering process. A filter material made of porous metal produced in a sintering process is also possible, of course.
Materials such as non-wovens, weaves, fabrics, and granulates of the various materials are further suitable, as described in more detail below.
A metal powder or aluminum powder processed with a binder is suitable as a material for the filter, comprising a very fine to good surface structure, depending on the pore size. By machining, such as polishing, the surface can be produced having the desired dimensions.
Steel or chromium steel powder processed with a binder and having the previously mentioned properties is further suitable as a material.
A product made of mineral particles and processed with a binder is further suitable as a material.
In addition, a porous cast resin body filled with metal can also be used as a filter material.
The overall porosity of the filter element or filter inliner is based on the processing parameters in each case, such as the bulk material being processed. The porosity is therefore at the discretion of the person skilled in the art. The porosity can exceed a value of 20%, for example.
The person skilled in the art is also not bound with respect to the density, hardness, or long-term temperature durability of the material in the context of the present invention, and is free to select suitable parameters.
It is particularly preferable to select a filter material produced by means of additive manufacturing, laser sintering, or industrial 3D printing, made of ceramic, metal, plastic, aluminum, etc.
Additive manufacturing thereby refers to a method wherein a component is built up in layers by placing material on the basis of digital 3D design data. A particularly miniaturized porosity of the filter can be achieved by additive manufacturing. A product produced in this manner in the micron range can withstand high long-term loads. A further advantage of additive manufacturing is that, if desired, complex geometries can also be worked into the filter, such as cooling bores, manifold channels for vacuum and compressed air, grooves for seals, mounting threads, and the like.
In addition, the pore size of the filter can also be influenced by means of additive manufacturing. It is thereby particularly advantageous to minimize the pressure loss due to applying the vacuum or positive pressure, which can never be entirely eliminated, by producing very small pores on the inside of the filter, becoming ever larger toward the outside. Inverse configurations are also possible.
As is already provided in the prior art, such as in DE 10 2013 208 993 B4, it is possible to provide a protective element for the at least one filter element or filter inliner, without thereby requiring subdivision into a plurality of protected regions.
The advantages of the invention described above are manifold:
It is possible to apply the technology of extraction, filtration, and pressurization directly to a main screw extruder.
The filter inliner described above can also be used in what is known as a stuffer, used not for material feeding but for degassing. In some processes, it can occur that material escapes in the region of degassing. This can be prevented by the additional filter.
As previously addressed, a very large filter area can be implemented. This is particularly advantageous when processing powders having very small particle size, as a high filter fineness is required to this end. The smaller the pore size of the filter, the stronger the applied vacuum must be. A large filter area can counteract this effect. Influence on the filter area is provided by increasing the length of the inliner.
It further follows from the above that the construction is quite simple, as only a few components are required. Complicated mounting of the filter is not necessary. This results in an overall inexpensive production
The design is also robust.
As indicated, the invention also enables venting, that is, degassing. It is not, however, limited thereto, but rather suitable for fluids in general.
One such fluid can be water vapor, for example. Such a fluid can arise, for example, if high temperatures arise as a result of transporting or further processing the bulk material. If the bulk material contains moisture, then water vapor can arise therefrom, and can be extracted by means of the technology of the invention in the same manner as described above.
The mechanical stability enables additional applications, in the form of mechanical pressing of fluids, particularly water. The material being processed, preferably rubber, is thereby compressed in the auger shafts by a return feeding arrangement in the auger shaft configuration, or by the flow resistance of an extrusion die (die backpressure). The fluid thereby escapes the material and is then drained off by means of the filter, or can be extracted. Mechanical pressing of fluids is described in EP 1 400 337 BI, for example.
A further advantage of the invention is the great flexibility of the design. The use of a wide range of filter materials can be realized in a simple manner. In this manner, the type of filtration can also be selected, for example what is known as surface filtration or deep filtration.
The thickness of the filter can also be easily adapted to the particular process for the bulk material, whereby it is also possible to reduce the vacuum required. It can be assumed that a filter having a high filter fineness is less permeable and thus a greater vacuum is required. A correspondingly small filter wall thickness counteracts the problem.

Side feeder having separate pressure regions for degassing


A terminal device powers a portable data device by transmitting in two modes of operation. In a first mode of operation, the terminal transmits to the portable data device a power signal at a first level and a data signal using a first modulation format and a first bit rate. In a second mode of operation, the terminal transmits to the portable data terminal a power signal at a second level and a data signal using a second modulation format and a second bit rate. The terminal determines a requirement to change modes of operation, and changes modes in response to changing power requirements of the portable data device.

Data transmission systems are known to include terminal devices (sometimes called readers or exciters) and portable data devices (sometimes called cards or smart cards). It is well understood that today's portable data devices include memory and processor devices that require power from the terminal device. Once such a portable data device (which may be contactless or contacted/contactless--sometimes referred to as combi-cards) enters into the excitation field of the terminal device, power and data can thereafter be transferred from the terminal device to the portable data device. Many factors have an effect on the apparent power seen by the portable data device. In particular, varying proximity to the terminal device and different applications/transactions have an impact on the power being seen and consumed by the data device. These varying power levels cause operational problems in the cards, as later described.
Depending on the card function being exercised at any particular time, the amount of DC current required by the card can vary. For example, if a simple state machine is all that is required for an access control, read-only mode of operation, the card might only draw on the order of 300 .mu.A at 3 V. If a more complex transaction is initiated, such as an electronic purse debit for a vending machine or a bus token, a microprocessor or microcontroller may need to be activated, and the current draw might go up to 1 mA or higher, depending on the complexity and clock speed of the processor. Such a transaction would also require, at some time, a memory write or erase, and this mode might draw an additional 500-800.mu.A of current. If a very secure mode is required, such as a high value transaction or a high security building or room access, an encryption or authentication algorithm is commonly employed. Such functions are computationally intensive, and completion in a timely fashion generally requires auxiliary processing power. These auxiliary computational modes could increase the current draw in the card by 5 mA or more, depending on the clock speed and complexity of the implementation.
For a given card--reader separation, the current flowing in the reader antenna has to be above a certain level to provide sufficient power to the card so that, after rectifying the coupled energy, the card's DC current draw requirements are maintained. A competitive advantage is enjoyed by cards that can function at greater distances from the reader. Reader manufacturers generally drive the antenna with as much current as is allowed by local radiated emissions regulations. Larger reader currents also mean larger unintentionally-radiated far-fields, which could interfere with other frequency bands in the vicinity. This is one of the reasons that the 13.56 MHz world-wide Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band is being considered by contactless card standards bodies, e.g., ISO-14443. This particular region of the spectrum allows large radiated emissions for high power, narrowband applications, as described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows a spectral diagram 100 that includes a spectral mask 102 depicting the FCC regulatory emission limits for the ISM band. That is, the actual power-frequency response curve 104, which represents the power levels emitted from the terminal, may not exceed the limits shown in mask 102 at the frequencies shown. For example, under FCC part 15, a radiated E-field strength of 10,000 .mu.V/m measured at 30 m, is the maximum power level 110 allowed within .+-.7 kHz of 13.56 MHz. Similarly, outside of this narrow band, the radiated E-field must fall below the general limit 108 of 30 .mu.V/m as measured at 30 m.
To communicate with the card, the reader must impose a modulation on the antenna current. This modulation must be easily detectable at the card so that it can be demodulated with a low-complexity, low-cost, low-current drain card receiver. The value of the modulation index agreed upon in ISO-14443 is .+-.10% nominal about the mean carrier value for logical 1's or 0's. For random data, this level of modulation for reasonable data rates (105.9375 kbps in ISO-14443) will result in sidebands that are down about 25 dBc peak, 30 dBc average in the International Special Committee on Radio Interference (i.e., CISPR-16) 9 kHz measurement bandwidth. These spectral sidebands will fall outside of the .+-.7 kHz ISM window, so the largest they can be is 30 .mu.V/m at 30 m under FCC part 15. That means the largest the modulated carrier could be is 25 dB higher, or 533 .mu.V/m, even though up to 10,000 .mu.V/m is allowed for the unmodulated carrier.
For a state-of-the-art microprocessor card (1 mA at 3.3 Vdc), the amount of read range (i.e., maximum separation between terminal and portable data device) achievable with these levels of radiated emissions is only on the order of 10-12 cm. Any higher-current modes required by more sophisticated transactions would only reduce this read range.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a data transmission system that permits an activity-dependent power level to be present at the portable data device. Such a data transmission system that could dynamically provide such an increase in power without exceeding regulatory limits would be an improvement over the prior art.

Apparatus and method for delivering power to a contactless portable data device


A semiautomated method and system (30) for swaged coupling process verification are provided. The system nondestructively measures swage groove depth (A) of a swaged coupling (10) for a tube (20). The tube has an inner surface with a first inside diameter at a first distance from a swaged end (22) of the tube and a second inside diameter at a second distance from the swaged end of the tube that is less than the first distance. The swage groove depth is the difference between the first inside diameter and the second inside diameter. The system includes a probe case (38) and a probe (40) that extends from the probe case. The probe has a probe tip (92) that is arranged to contact the inner surface of the tube and deflect in response to changes in the inner diameter of the tube. A transducer (42) generates a signal that is indicative of the inner diameter of the tube in response to deflection of the probe tip. The signal has a first magnitude when the probe tip is at the first distance. A centering device (34) that has first and second ends is slidably received about the probe. The probe is fully inserted into the tube. The first and second ends of the centering device abut the probe case and the tube, respectively, and the probe tip contacts the inner surface of the tube at the first distance. A processor (36) that is coupled to receive the signal indicative of the inner diameter of the tube is provided. The first magnitude is recorded, and the probe tip is withdrawn from the first distance until the probe tip is within the swage groove at the second distance. The signal has a second magnitude when the probe tip is within the swage groove at the second distance and the second magnitude is recorded. The processor determines the swage groove depth from a difference between the first and second magnitudes of the signal.

Couplings, such as sleeves and unions, are widely used as fittings for tubes. In a typical joint between two tubes, a sleeve is swaged to a tube and a union is swaged to another tube. The sleeve fits inside the union and is held in the union with a hold-down nut in order to join the tubes. Thus, the integrity of the joint depends in part on the quality of the swaging of the sleeve and union on the respective tubes.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a typical swaged coupling. A coupling 10 has a first end 12 and a second end 14. The first end 12 includes a first coupling groove 16 and a second coupling groove 18. The first and second coupling grooves 16 and 18 typically have a same coupling groove depth. The second end 14 has a substantially constant inner diameter.
The coupling 10 is swaged onto a tube 20 at a first end 22 of the tube. In a typical swaging process, an elastomeric swaging tool (not shown) is used to attach the coupling 10 onto the tube 20. The swaging tool presses and deforms the tube 20 into the first and second grooves 16 and 18 of the coupling 10. First and second swage grooves 24 and 26 of the tube each have a swage groove depth A that is the difference between the inner diameter of the tube 20 measured in the first coupling groove 16 or the second coupling groove 18 and the inner diameter of the tube 20 measured adjacent to the second end 14 of the coupling 10.
The swage groove depth A determines the quality of the attachment of the coupling 10 to the tube 20. If the elastomeric swaging tool operates at an excessive pressure, the swage groove depth A will be too great. This can result in a stress-crack failure of the coupling 10 in the vicinity of the first or second coupling grooves 16 or 18. On the other hand, if the elastomeric swaging tool operates at an insufficient pressure, then the swage groove depth A will be too small. This can result in fluid leaking past the coupling 10 and out of the tube 20. It will be appreciated that, over time, leakage can worsen as the fluid in the tube 20 is heated and cooled and the fluid system is pressurized and depressurized. In applications subject to shock and vibration, such as in aircraft systems, the coupling 10 can separate from the tube 20, causing rapid fluid loss and possible failure of an associated system.
Further, the condition of the elastomeric swaging tool degrades over time. Thus, the elastomeric swaging tool can operate at a pressure other than the pressure set by the operator. Therefore, the quality of the attachment of couplings 10 to tubes 20 can deteriorate over time.
This can result in an increased number of failures. In order to timely detect swage groove depths that may be out of specification, it would be desirable to nondestructively measure the swage groove depth A during the swaging process. Nondestructive evaluation techniques have been used in a number of other industrial applications. For example, nondestructive evaluation techniques using a probe and a transducer have been applied to hole profile gauging systems. See U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,658 ("the '658 patent"). In the '658 patent, a probe senses deviations in the contour of the inner surface of a bore while the probe is retracted through the bore. A profile gauge includes a processing unit that samples the output from the probe, develops a profile for the hole, and evaluates whether the profile is within predetermined tolerance limits. The probe includes a split-ball probe coupled with a transducer, and the probe is retracted through the bore by a spring coupled with a damping device. Because the split-ball probe has only two fingers, centering of the probe cannot be ensured. Thus, accuracy of measurements depends on the skill of the operator. Further, the spring and damping device prevent the operator from receiving tactile feedback information regarding centering of the probe. Measurement gauges have also been adapted for measuring depth of holes for fasteners. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,189,808 and 4,112,355.
However, in-process measuring systems known in the prior art have been unable to nondestructively measure swage groove depth. In addition to the shortcomings discussed above, prior art nondestructive measurements are not readily repeatable because a consistent starting point for measurement is not provided. Because these problems have not been overcome by the prior art, the only process verification known in the prior art for the swaging process is via destructive evaluation. Typically, a swaged coupling is cut cross-sectionally and the swage groove depth A is manually measured for an entire lot of swaged couplings. The cross section is typically mounted with plastic, the surfaces are polished, and edge surfaces of the cross section are evaluated with a microscope.
The destructive evaluation process is time consuming, expensive, and statistically inappropriate. For example, if the destructively evaluated sample is within a predetermined specification, then the entire lot is accepted. This can result in the acceptance of swaged couplings in the lot that may have a swage groove depth A outside the predetermined specification. On the other hand, if the swage groove depth A is outside the predetermined specification, then the entire lot is rejected. This can result in the rejection of many couplings in the lot that may have a swage groove depth A within the predetermined specification.
The present invention is directed to providing a semiautomated system and method for swaged coupling process verification that overcome the foregoing and other disadvantages of destructive evaluation as well as in-process measurement devices for other applications. While designed for use in the verification of swaged couplings intended for use in aircraft systems, it is to be understood that the process verification in accordance with the present invention may also find use in other environments, including shipboard applications, military applications, and other industrial applications.

Semiautomated method for swaged coupling process verification


An electrode assembly includes a structure including a first electrode plate and a second electrode plate that are wound together, and a separator between the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate, a first electrode tab that is electrically connected to the first electrode plate, and a second electrode tab that is electrically connected to the second electrode plate. The structure includes a pair of grooves at opposite sides of the structure, the grooves being formed by compression of the structure at the opposite sides in a direction perpendicular to a winding surface. The structure including a first part and a second part that are oppositely located with respect to a reference line connecting the pair of grooves, and the second part is shifted in a first direction such that the second part is partially misaligned with the first part.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to an electrode assembly and a battery pack including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Secondary batteries are rechargeable, unlike primary batteries which are not rechargeable. Secondary batteries may be economical and environmentally friendly. Recently, types of electronic devices using secondary batteries have been diversified, and designs of electronic devices have become an important factor in determining the purchase of electronic devices.
For example, various wearable computers using secondary batteries as a power supply source, and applications thereof have been developed. Also, electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptop computers, have been designed to have curved surfaces for ergonomic purposes.

Electrode assembly and battery pack including the same


This is a device, which will allow the storage of laundry in the upright position but also allow the device to be stowed easily when not storing laundry. Because of the ability of the device to be compressed, stowage is easily accomplished. Handles are provided on the top surface of the hamper for ease of storage.

A. Field of the Invention
This relates to saving space, particularly when storing or stowing various items such as laundry.
B. Prior Art
There are a great number of prior art references related to the storage of laundry and collapsible hampers. A representative example of this type of device is contained in Ho, U.S. Pat. No. 5,356,024. Ho is a collapsible hamper for storage of laundry and other items. However, it does not have the structure and cannot expand in the same manner as the present device. Another representative example of a prior art is Giglar, U.S. Pat. No. 6,089,394. This is also a collapsible hamper for the storage of laundry but again it has a completely different structure.


In C. I. pigment red 57:1 of the present invention, the total content of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and a metal salt thereof, which is measured by quantitative analysis using liquid chromatography, is 2,500 ppm or less as converted into the 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid.

C. I. pigment red 57:1 is a red pigment containing calcium bis[2-(3-carboxy-2-hydroxynaphthylazo)-5-methylbenzenesulfonate] as an essential component. This C. I. pigment red 57:1 is produced by coupling a diazonium salt of 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid to thereby obtain an azo dye, and then laking this azo dye with an inorganic calcium compound (See Patent References 1 and 2).
The reaction ratio in obtaining a diazonium salt of 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid is 98% or more, and is almost stoichiometrically determined regardless of agitating efficiency and the performance of an agitator. Therefore, the molar ratio of a diazonium salt of 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid and 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, which are supplied as raw materials to obtain an azo dye, can be described as 4-aminotoluene-3-sulfonic acid: 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (molar ratio). Although the stoichiometric molar ratio of the both compounds is 1:1 in the coupling reaction, in consideration of agitating efficiency, the performance of an agitator, and the reaction ratio of a coupler and a base, it has been general to supply raw materials so that the actual molar ratio of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid exceeds the stoichiometric one by 0.7 to 5 mol %.
However, the present inventors have found that the unreacted 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid remains in an azo dye despite the intention even though the reaction is conducted by supplying the raw materials in the aforementioned manner. In C. I. pigment red 57:1 obtained by laking without knowing the remaining 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and metal salts thereof are naturally contaminated as impurities at relatively high concentrations, and these impurities are hard to be removed by washing, etc. Moreover, 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid is produced when metal salts of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid are contacted with a strong acid for some reasons.
Recently, the 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid have been recognized as a chemical compound having mutagenicity, and for example, a guideline for preventing a health problem on exposure to it has been published in the work in which a customer, etc. deals with it. Accordingly, the extinction or the concentration reduction of free 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid begins to be expected. In specific, it is desired that 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and salts thereof are not eluted to a waste solution, for example in the case where a base ink for a printing ink is prepared by flushing of a pigment press-cake of C. I. pigment red 57:1 with a varnish.
In a large-scale production of a pigment itself, from the viewpoint of the security of working environment, it is desired that 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid and salts thereof are not flowed out from C. I. pigment red 57:1 as a waste solution when raw materials are supplied, when an azo dye is produced by the coupling reaction as an intermediate, and when an effluent treatment is conducted in the stage before being provided for a customer.
[Patent Reference 1]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2002-338841
[Patent Reference 2]
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-63306

C. I. pigment red 57:1 and production process thereof


A DMA controller receives size data in association with a DMA request. If first size data is received, a first amount of data (for example, one word) is transferred through the DMA controller for the DMA request. If, on the other hand, second size data is received, then a second amount of data (for example, two words) is transferred through the DMA controller for the DMA request. In the event that a DMA request cannot be serviced when received, the DMA request is stored in the DMA controller for later servicing. Size data for a DMA request is stored so that the size of the data transfer will be known when the stored DMA request is serviced. Using this size data, a single DMA channel can support data transfers of different sizes. In some embodiments, size data is used to increment a DMA current address register by the correct amount after the data associated with the size data is transferred through the DMA controller.

FIG. 1 illustrates one possible multimedia system. Video data passes from camera 1, through video decoder and interface 2, through DMA (direct memory access) controller 3, through bus 4, and to memory block 5. Audio data passes from microphone 6, through audio decoder and interface 7, through two channel DMA controller 3, through bus 4 and to memory block 5. A processor 8 may, for example, processes the data stored in memory block 5. Camera 1 and video decoder and interface 2 together may be considered to comprise an I/O device 1A. Similarly, microphone 6 and audio decoder and interface 7 may be considered to comprise an I/O device 6A.
Consider an example in which audio data is to be passed from audio decoder and interface 7 to DMA controller 3. Audio decoder and interface 7 issues a DMA request signal to DMA controller 3 via DMA request line 9. When the DMA controller 3 is able to receive data from the audio decoder and interface 7, DMA controller 3 returns a DMA acknowledge signal on DMA acknowledge line 10. The audio decoder and interface 7 then transfers data over data lines 11. Assume that the DMA controller receives and latches eight consecutive words of data from data lines 11. The amount of data in the transfer may be appropriate for this channel which is used for audio data.
Consider further the example in which one frame of video data is to be passed from video decoder and interface 2 to DMA controller 3. Video decoder and interface 2 issues a DMA request signal to DMA controller 3 via DMA request line 12. When the DMA controller 3 is able to receive data from the video decoder and interface 2, DMA controller 3 returns a DMA acknowledge signal on DMA acknowledge line 13. The video decoder and interface 2 then transfers eight consecutive words of data over data lines 14 to DMA controller 3.
The video data path may, however, have higher bandwidth requirements than the audio data path. In the event that the video decoder and interface 2 still has additional data to pass to DMA controller 3, the video decoder and interface 2 issues another DMA request, waits for the DMA controller 3 to return another DMA acknowledge, and then transfers additional data to the DMA controller 3. Numerous time-consuming DMA request/DMA acknowledge sequences are therefore necessary to transfer the desired amount of data. A DMA controller is desired wherein a DMA channel can transfer either large amounts of data or small amounts of data to and/or from I/O devices, neither type of transfer involving a multiple DMA request/DMA acknowledge sequence.

DMA controller which receives size data for each DMA channel


An air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room includes a chemical filter between an air conditioner including a humidifier and a ULPA filter of the clean room, for ionizing chemical impurities using moisture supplied from the humidifier and then adsorbing the ionized chemical impurities by using the chemical filter. The chemical filter is installed downstream of the humidifier, which applies phosphoric acid for the prevention of scale-formation. This downstream location allows the chemical filter to prevent the phosphoric acid from being included in the fresh air as a new chemical impurity, which makes regulation of temperature and humidity of the air possible without having to use a special and expensive pure steam system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room for supplying cleaned fresh air to the clean room, and more particularly, to an air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room which removes chemical impurities by locating a chemical filter between the humidifier of an air conditioner and the clean room.
2. Background of the Related Art
A clean room is a special dust-free space where dust (floating particles) in the air is reduced to some desired cleanliness level so as to protect workpieces from being contaminated with dust. In a clean room, air-conditioning and light intensity are also regulated and noise and shock are minimized.
A fabrication line for a semiconductor device includes basic design processes such as pattern generation or reticle fabrication, a fabrication process for a wafer, an inspection process, an assembly/packaging process, a final inspection process and a quality examination process. Repetitive processes of diffusion, exposure, development, etching and diffusion are performed during fabrication of the wafer, so it is very important to control dust-like contaminants and regulate temperature and humidity so as to improve yields, and to ensure precision and reliability of semiconductor products.
The atmosphere outside of the clean room may include many particles and water vapor as well as smoke, and thus it is required to clean and filter the air before it circulates into the clean room.
FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a conventional air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room for removing dust as well as for regulating temperature and humidity. Outdoor air passes a first air conditioner 1 so as to be cleaned, and the resultant fresh air passes through a fresh air duct 2 located between the air conditioner 1 and recirculating air duct 11 to be supplied into the clean room 5. Before going into the clean room, the fresh air optionally passes through a ULPA filter (Ultra Low Penetration Air Filter) 4 according to the cleanliness required for the particular class of clean room.
For more efficient and economical operation, the fresh air, which was diverted before going into the clean room 5 or which passed by the clean room 5, passes through an additional second air conditioner 8 or a third air conditioner 9 for regulating air temperature and humidity once more before recirculating into the clean room. Furthermore, the fresh air may pass through a special dry air scrubber 7 for removing impurities in the fresh air.
To improve the efficiency of an air conditioning system for supplying fresh air into a clean room by means of the second air conditioner 8 and the third air conditioner 9, the system has been designed to circulate the fresh air centered about the clean room 5 via the following three circulating paths: (1) a first circulation line for cleaning the fresh air which passes through the first air conditioner 1 by way of the fresh air duct 2, the second air conditioner 8, the ULPA filter 4, the clean room 5 and the dry air scrubber 7; (2) a second circulation line for cleaning the fresh air which passes through the first air conditioner 1 by way of the fresh air duct 2, the second air conditioner 8, the ULPA filter 4, the clean room 5, the third air conditioner 9, the ULPA filter 4 for a second time, the clean room 5 for a second time, and the dry air scrubber 7; and (3) a third circulation line for cleaning the fresh air which passes through the first air conditioner 1 by way of the third air conditioner 9, the ULPA filter 4, the clean room 5 and the dry air scrubber 7.
In addition, a fresh air supply damper 3 (shown in dotted lines in FIG. 1) can be supplied beneath the floor of the clean room, and is accessible to the clean room via a grating 6 located under the lower part of the floor. The air supply damper 3 allows the fresh air in the clean room to alternatively recirculate or be discharged toward the outside.
In this system, as shown in FIG. 2, each of the first air conditioner 1, the second air conditioner 8 and the third air conditioner 9 generally has a dehumidifier 1a, a preheater 1b, a prefilter 1c, a medium filter 1d, a cooler 1e, a heater 1f, a humidifier 1g, an air blowing fan 1h and a HEPA filter (High Efficiency Particulate Air Filter) 1i in sequence from the upstream to the downstream direction of air flow, so as to let the outdoor air flow toward the clean room 5 as driven by the air blowing fan 1h. In this cleaning process, dust particles up to 0.1 .mu.m in the fresh air are removed up to 99.9999% by means of the prefilter 1c, the medium filter 1d and the HEPA filter 1i. Also, the humidity of the air is regulated by selectively operating the dehumidifier 1a and the humidifier 1g, and the temperature of the air is controlled by selectively operating the heater 1f and the cooler 1e, so that controlled fresh air is supplied into the clean room 5.
However, this conventional air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room is not effective for the removal of chemical molecular impurities having an outside diameter in the angstrom(.ANG.) range, such as sulfur dioxide SO.sub.2, nitrogen dioxide NO.sub.2 and phosphoric acid H.sub.3 PO.sub.4, which are chemically reactive with the surface material of a wafer and to which the fabrication process of a semiconductor is sensitive. Table 1 shows the concentrations of chemical impurities in the air which flows through the air conditioning system of FIG. 1 measured at points A, B, and C.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ The concentration distribution of phosphoric acid at each point in the air conditioning system for a semiconductor clean room (unit; .mu.g/m.sup.3) Measuring Measuring Measuring Point A Point B Point C ______________________________________ Before Passing 0.502 0.0051 0.12 a Humidifier After Passing 0.829 0.0068 0.21 a Humidifier ______________________________________
As shown in Table 1, the concentration of phosphoric acid rapidly increased at each measuring point after the air passed a humidifier 1g, which results from the fact that phosphoric acid is used as an additive so as to prevent the formation of scale in the humidifier 1g of the first air conditioner 1, the second air conditioner 8 and the third air conditioner 9.
These chemical impurities, which tend to stick to the film surface of a wafer as hydrophilic contaminants, cause short-circuits by eating into metals, change the electrical properties of the wafer, and cause defects such as formation of water spots on the surface of the wafer and fading of a pad.
As a means for removing these chemical impurities, the pore size of a filter may be made considerably smaller so as to make physical filtering practicable. However, the reduction of the pore size makes it more difficult to fabricate the filter itself, increases the filtering pressure of the air, decreases the amount of filtered air per unit time, and increases unit production cost of the filter.
The addition of phosphoric acid to the humidifier 1g may be avoided so as to substantially reduce the amount of phosphoric acid introduced into the air. However, in order to safely eliminate phosphoric acid, a special pure steam system must be used.
In light of the foregoing, a need exists for an economical system for removing these chemical impurities, without having to use a special steam system.

Air conditioning system for semiconductor clean room including a chemical filter downstream of a humidifier


A transmission structure for ornaments, in which the center of the base disk is mounted with a rotative ring, of which the bottom has a driving gear. The upper part of the rotative ring is connected with a round member with a ring-shaped plate; the inside of the round member has an inner gear to be engaged with a small gear of a music generator and driving unit. The outer edge surface of the base disk is furnished with at least a gear train to be engaged with the inner gear of a rotative disk, or with a transmission assembly. Different ornaments are mounted on the ring-shaped plate of round member, the upper side of the still disk, the circular surface of the rotative disk or the round shaft of the transmission assembly respectively. The aforesaid ornaments on the aforesaid parts are driven by means of the music generator and driving unit so as to rotate, to swing or to move back and forth.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a transmission structure, and particularly to a transmission structure which has a music and driving assembly to drive a plurality of ornaments to pose different gestures.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the conventional transmission structure, such as mentioned in U.S. Pat. No. 5,134,795, the structure has a center shaft extended into a ball-shaped glass container; the upper end of the center shaft is mounted with a claw-shaped connector to drive a propeller to rotate. The center shaft is mounted with a gear, which is engaged with a gear train; the outer edge of the gear train is engaged with a ring gear. When the center shaft is driven to rotate, an ornament mounted on the gear train will also rotate, and the ring gear will drive the disk to turn.
Another conventional water ball device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,890, of which the driving device comprises a drive mechanism unit and a transmission mechanism unit operatively connected to the drive mechanism unit. The drive mechanism unit includes a casing, in which a power supply, a sensor and a motor are arranged. The drive mechanism unit also includes an output shaft which is operatively connected to the motor and through which the transmission mechanism unit is connected to the drive mechanism unit. The motor is electrically connected to the power supply and sensor so as to be actuated when the sensor detects an external stimulus. The transmission mechanism unit includes an input section operatively connected to the output shaft of the drive mechanism unit to transmit the drive force of the drive mechanism unit to the transmission mechanism unit and a plurality of output sections for transmitting the power of the transmission mechanism unit to the exterior.