A gas operated lantern includes a control mechanism whereby a user may start gas flow through the lantern, operate a choke, and ignite the lantern. The user may perform these operations using the same control in an easy, simple series of motions. The user may rotate a knob, rotating a stem, to start gas flow and press the knob axially inward along the stem to operate a choke and an igniter.

The present invention relates to gas burning lanterns. In particular, the present invention relates to a gas burning lantern with an improved regulator and an improved choke.
A conventional gas burning lantern may include a refillable fuel storage tank, a fuel delivery apparatus, and a burner attached to the fuel delivery apparatus. The fuel delivery apparatus may include a regulator and other equipment, such as an operator gas flow controller or tubing. The burner may include a mantle which, when ignited with a fuel/air mixture provided by the fuel delivery apparatus, emits a bright light. The mantle in such a lantern contains a catalyst, such as yttrium-oxide, which converts the heat from the flame into light. The burner may be covered by a transparent glass globe. Fuel used with such lanterns may include LPG, liquid propane or butane.
The regulator in such a lantern accepts gas from a gas source and provides a steady, controlled gas stream as an output. The regulator or another mechanism mixes air with the gas flow to produce an air/fuel mixture. In order to control and regulate gas flow, a valve allowing gas to flow through the regulator may be closed or narrowed as gas pushes against a diaphragm assembly in the regulator. The narrowing of the valve lowers the gas flow through the regulator, lowering the pressure on the diaphragm and thus allowing the valve to open somewhat. As gas initially flows, an equilibrium is quickly established where the diaphragm accepts a certain amount of gas pressure and in turn allows the valve to open a certain amount. Thus a regulated gas flow of relatively constant pressure may be produced. A regulator may have a control mechanism allowing a user to stop the flow of gas through the regulator in order to turn the lantern on or off. Such mechanisms engage the diaphragm assembly or another portion of the regulator to open or close the valve in the regulator.
A conventional regulator may allow gas to enter through a passage and then to leave the regulator through a passage which is more or less at a 90 degree angle from the entry passage. Thus, in such a regulator, gas may not exit the regulator travelling in the same direction as which it entered (for example, entering the regulator through the bottom and leaving through the top), as the diaphragm assembly provides a barrier around which gas cannot flow. This may dictate an awkward component arrangements. To allow for a better arrangement of components, it is desirable to have gas exit the regulator in the same direction which it entered. Alternately, the gas may exit in the same direction as which it entered, but may travel in a circuitous path or have its path shifted, due to the barrier of the diaphragm. This, too, may result in an undesirable arrangement of components.
Some regulator designs allow gas to flow straight through the regulator, in the same direction which the gas enters, by including a tube or opening through the diaphragm assembly. Gas then may flow up through the regulator. However, such regulators either lack control mechanisms allowing the user to regulate the flow of gas or include awkward control mechanisms. For example, an arm may connect to the diaphragm assembly to allow a user to turn the flow of gas on or off. The arm extends out of the regulator and out of the lantern, and swings in a semi-circle as it is turned around the side of the lantern. Such a design has a large profile and is awkward, as the swing of the arm takes up a large amount space. Other designs have control mechanisms separate from a diaphragm assembly or separate from a regulator. Such extra equipment adds to the complexity and expense of the lantern.
The mantle in a conventional lantern is most efficient at producing light when operating at relatively high temperatures. The lantern flame burns hotter with leaner air/fuel mixtures; i.e., with higher air/fuel ratios. However, leaner gas mixtures are harder to light, particularly when a lantern is cold, and particularly if a mechanical lighting mechanism (e.g., an igniter and spark wire) is used rather than an open flame from a match. A richer air/fuel mixture allows for easier lighting, but is less efficient.
The air/fuel mixture may actually get richer after the lantern heats up. The amount of gas flowing from the lantern""s gas tank to the mantle may remain constant over various operating conditions. However, the amount of air entering the system to mix with the gas is affected by the pressure in the system. A flame operating in a hot lantern may cause back pressure through the system, lowering the amount of air entering the lantern and creating a richer mixture.
Current designs attempt to solve the problem of providing a lantern which is both efficient and easy to light in various manners. Certain lanterns set the air/fuel mixture at an intermediate level which allows relatively easy lighting but which also allows for reasonable efficiency. Such a solution is imperfect, as the lantern is neither optimally efficient nor optimally easy to light. Other lanterns include a user operated choke which allows a user to alter the air/fuel mixture so that it is rich on lighting and lean during operation. Such chokes may require a separate control from the control used to operate the gas flow and the control used to operate the lighter which lights the lantern, requiring more equipment and expense, more complicated equipment, and requiring more and more complex user action during lighting. Such chokes may require two hands to operate.
It is desirable to have a regulator which allows gas to exit the regulator in the same direction which it enters (e.g., through the top of the regulator) and in addition which has a simple, easy to use, low profile, low cost, integral mechanism for allowing a user to control the flow of gas through the regulator. It is desirable to have a choke and ignition mechanism in a gas lantern which is simple and easy to operate, and which allows for one handed operation.
A gas operated lantern includes a control mechanism whereby a user may start gas flow through the lantern, operate a choke, and ignite the lantern. The user may perform these operations using the same control in an easy, simple series of motions. Preferably, the user rotates a knob, rotating a stem, to start gas flow and presses the knob axially inward along the stem to operate a choke and an igniter.


Techniques for vaporizing and handling a vaporized metallic element or metallic element salt with a heated inert carrier gas for further processing. The vaporized metallic element or salt is carried by an inert carrier gas heated to the same temperature as the vaporizing temperature to a heated processing chamber. The metal or salt vapor may be ionized (and implanted) or deposited on substrates. Apparatus for accomplishing these techniques, which include carrier gas heating chambers and heated processing chambers are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to apparatus and techniques for vaporizing metallic elements or salts and further temperature controlled handling and processing of the metal or metal salt vapors for use in material processing operations, for example, semiconductor processing. The further processing may include ionization for possible subsequent ion implantation, or participation in a deposition process.
2. Description of Related Art
A variety of techniques and apparatuses are known for modifying or coating substrates to form new compositions. For example, ion implantation is used to implant ions into substrates to create new materials. Also, deposition processes, such chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD or sputtering) are well known to practitioners of materials science, for example, in the semiconductor processing arts, for depositing layers of different materials on substrates.
Such techniques and the resulting compositions have proven useful in the semiconductor processing arts for a variety of purposes. For example, ion implantation has been used to dope semiconductor substrates and CVD and PVD processes have been used to deposit polysilicon or barrier layer materials. With continued miniaturization of integrated circuits, new materials and processing techniques with improved performance characteristics in smaller device size realms are constantly being sought.
Accordingly, techniques and apparatuses for the fabrication of new materials with uses in semiconductor processing are desirable. Also, techniques and apparatuses with improved process control enabling the more precise tailoring of a material for particular purpose would be desirable. Such apparatuses and techniques would find use in the semiconductor processing context and beyond.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of treating metal and metal salts to enable thin layer deposition in semiconductor processing


A protection device is provided for electric appliances suitable for selectively connecting an electric appliance to a power supply line. The protection device includes a metal plate member, a composite metal blade, an insulating block for supporting the metal plate member and the composite metal blade, and a compensating resistor made en bloc with the metal plate member.

The present invention refers to a protection device for electrical appliances, in particular electric motors compressors and transformers.
For the sake of simplicity of the treatise, in the rest of the description we shall refer in a non-limiting manner to electric motors.
As it is known, in order to ensure that electric motors have good operation and last a long time, it is necessary to protect them from overloading that is caused by over-current that can pass through the windings of such motors and the consequent overtemperature that can affect the windings themselves.
Such overloads can substantially occur during the starting phase of the motor or during its steady state operating.
In any case, it is currently known to arrange, in one or more areas of the windings, one or more protection devices that are suitable for selectively connecting the winding to which they are connected to the power supply line.
Generally, in order to protect the windings of the stator and/or of the rotor of an electric motor from overtemperatures, thermostats are used that are configured so as to disconnect such windings from the electric power supply in the case in which the temperature perceived by the thermostats themselves exceeds a threshold value that is considered dangerous for the integrity of the motor.
Such thermostats, however, are not able to ensure a rapid interruption of the power supply in the cases in which the temperature of the windings grows very quickly like, for example, when starting up a motor.
Indeed, in such cases, the room temperature perceived by the thermostats known today due to their thermal inertia is not capable of keeping up with the rapid increase in the temperature of the windings thus resulting to be lower than the latter. In such a way, the disconnection of the supply line can occur when the windings already subjected to overtemperature have been damaged or become burnt.
In order to avoid this drawback or rather to compensate for the thermal inertia of the thermostats, it is possible to use protection devices that are also sensitive to electrical current in which the heat generated by the passing of current by Joule effect is equal to the difference between the temperature of the protection winding and the temperature that is perceived by the thermostat.
The sensitivity to electrical current makes it possible, in particular, to obtain an optimal protection of the motors in the rotor blocking conditions in which room temperature is normally lower than that of the windings.
For such a reason protection devices are known that are capable of disconnecting the electric appliance from the power supply not only when the temperature exceeds a higher temperature than the threshold value, but even when the current exceeds a greater current threshold value.
Such known protection devices generally comprise a fixed metal support for a stationary electrical contact and a bimetallic blade that is provided with a movable electrical contact, which are arranged so that the electric contacts make a switch that is normally closed.
The bimetallic blade used, in detail, is made up of at least two metals having different thermal expansion coefficient and it is shaped so as to snap into a position that is distant with respect to the metal support, in which the electric contacts are disconnected and the switch is thus open, when the temperature it is subjected to exceeds a higher temperature threshold value.
The bimetallic blade is capable of returning into the contact position closing the switch when the temperature it is subjected to falls below a lower temperature threshold value.
In order to make the aforementioned protection devices sensitive also to very small current values, it is known to connect, to the metal blade, an additional heating device i.e. a resistance that is arranged so that the blade itself is sensitive to the heat that is spread by the additional heating device. Indeed, in such a way the heat that is produced by the resistor after even very small current has passed is such as to increase the temperature around the blade beyond the higher threshold value.
The aforementioned protection devices have some drawbacks.
A first drawback lies in the fact that the connection of the resistance of the additional heating device is generally carried out by means of a welding operation, which makes the assembly of the aforementioned protection devices complex and costly.
A second drawback is the fact that such protection devices cannot be easily adapted to the different application scenarios for which they are intended due to the fact that, in order to modify the sensitivity to the temperature/current of the device, it is necessary to change the resistance of the additional heating device by subjecting the bimetallic blade to new welding operations.
Another drawback lies in the fact that the behaviour of such protection devices cannot always be repeated; indeed, the sensitivity of the bimetallic blade to the temperature varies as the distance the resistance of the additional heating device is arranged at varies. This distance can vary from one device to another within a range of values that is set based upon the tolerances of the mounting procedure.
Moreover, it is worth underlining that the electric contacts are subjected to strong wearing following the impact of the blade on the metal support every time the switch passes from the opening position to the closing position. Such wearing, therefore, limits the durability or rather the average life time of the protection device.
One example of a known protection device is described in the patent application EP 0 090 491.
Such a protection device comprises a metal casing that is open, at the top, on the bottom wall of which a bimetallic blade is welded to and that comprises an end portion that is suitable for being used as a terminal. The casing is coupled at the opening with a metal plate that substantially closes the casing itself. Such a metal plate comprises a first end portion that is suitable for being used as a terminal, an intermediate portion that is suitable for making the additional heating device and a second end portion that is suitable for supporting a stationary electrical contact. Between the metal casing and the metal plate there is an insulating gasket that wraps around the lateral portion of the metal plate for the entire length of the plate itself so as to prevent it from coming into contact with the metal casing causing a short-circuit.
In this case the metal plate and therefore also the additional heating device always remain in contact with the insulating gasket. The heat, therefore, is dissipated not only by the additional heating device but also by the insulating gasket which, on the other hand, is always colder than the heating device itself; moreover, the maximum temperature of the additional heating device must be kept below the maximum temperature allowed by the insulating gasket in order to prevent it from becoming burnt. Such circumstances, therefore, represent an obstacle to an efficient heat exchange of the additional heating device towards the blade i.e. to a condition that is essential for a high sensitivity of the protection device.
A need therefore exists for a protection device for electrical appliances, in particular electric motors, compressors and transformers, that has high sensitivity even with low current values and a behaviour that is highly repeatable.
A need also exists for a protection device for electrical appliances that makes it possible to change its sensitivity to temperature and/or to current in a rapid and simple manner.
A need exists for a protection device for electrical appliances that is simple to assemble and that is less expensive with respect to known devices.
A need exists for a protection device for electrical appliances that has an average life time that is greater with respect to known devices.

Protection device for electrical appliances, in particular electric motors, compressors and transformers


An aiming light assembly generates an aiming light spot with increased brightness and uniformity over a range of working distances in which targets are electro-optically read by image capture. The assembly includes a light emitting diode (LED) for emitting an aiming light beam, a field stop through which the aiming light beam passes, an aiming lens for optically modifying the aiming light beam passing through the field stop to form the aiming light spot over the range of working distances, and a field lens located in the vicinity of the field stop and operative for imaging the LED downstream of the field stop and in the vicinity of a lens aperture of the aiming lens.

Solid-state imaging systems or imaging readers have been used, in both handheld and/or hands-free modes of operation, to electro-optically read targets, such as one- and two-dimensional bar code symbols, each bearing elements, e.g., bars and spaces, of different widths and reflectivities, to be decoded, as well as non-symbol targets or forms, such as documents, labels, receipts, signatures, drivers' licenses, employee badges, and payment/loyalty cards, each bearing alphanumeric characters and graphics, to be imaged. A known exemplary imaging reader includes a housing either held by a user and/or supported on a support surface, a window supported by the housing and aimed at the target, and a scan engine or imaging module supported by the housing and having a solid-state imager (or image sensor) with a sensor array of photocells or light sensors (also known as pixels), and an imaging lens assembly for capturing return light scattered and/or reflected from the target being imaged through the window over an imaging field of view, and for projecting the return light onto the image sensor to initiate capture of an image of the target over a range of working distances in which the target can be read. Such an image sensor may include a one- or two-dimensional charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) device and associated circuits for producing and processing electrical signals corresponding to a one- or two-dimensional array of pixel data over the field of view. These electrical signals are decoded and/or processed by a programmed microprocessor or controller into information related to the target being read, e.g., decoded data indicative of a symbol target, or into a picture of a non-symbol target.
In order to increase the amount of the return light captured by the sensor array, especially in dimly lit environments and/or at far range reading, the imaging module generally also includes an illuminating light assembly for illuminating the target with illumination light for reflection and scattering therefrom. Since the operator of the imaging reader cannot see exactly whether a target is located entirely within the illuminated field of view of the sensor array, or know whether the target is optimally centrally located within the illuminated field of view, the imaging module also typically includes an aiming light assembly for projecting a visible aiming light pattern, for example, a generally circular aiming spot, or an aiming cross-hairs, for placement at or near the center of the target, or an aiming line, or a series of generally circular aiming spots linearly spaced apart, for placement lengthwise along the target, to assist the user in visually locating the target within the imaging field of view and, thus, advise the user in which direction the reader is to be moved in order to accurately position the aiming light pattern on the target prior to reading. The aiming light assembly includes at least one aiming light source, such as a laser or a light emitting diode (LED), an aiming lens, a field stop, and, sometimes, a pattern shaping optical element, such as a diffractive optical element (DOE), or a refractive optical element (ROE).
As advantageous as such known aiming light assemblies have been, they have proven to be less than satisfactory in certain situations. For example, many compact aiming light assemblies often generate a generally circular aiming spot to mark the center of the imaging field of view. A very compact and power efficient design to do so typically consists of a laser for directing a laser beam through a collimating lens. However, some users, particularly working in the healthcare and retail fields, do not wish to emit laser beams from their imaging readers, primarily out of unwarranted safety concerns for patients and customers, and instead, prefer to use the non-laser light beam emitted from an LED to form the aiming light spot.
However, there are problems with using an LED as the aiming light source. The LED emits its aiming light beam with a large divergence angle. Also, the LED has irregularities over its LED chip surface. These irregularities are caused by the presence of contacts, wires, etc. on the chip surface, and are visible as optical artifacts in the aiming light spot, thereby making the aiming light spot irregular in appearance. The large divergence angle and these optical artifacts make it difficult to design a compact, aiming light assembly capable of optically forming a small, uniform, bright aiming light spot over an extended range of working distances without losing much of the optical output power of the LED.
Thus, as shown in the ray diagram of FIG. 7A, the prior art has proposed creating an aiming spot by locating an LED 1 (extending between points A1 and A2) at a distance X behind a field stop 2 (extending between points B1 and B2), and then imaging the field stop 2, with the help of an aiming lens 3 (extending between points C1, C2, C3 and C4), to a certain distance D2 relative to the aiming lens 3 within the working distance range of the imaging reader. Points B1′ and B2′ are images of the points B1 and B2 of the field stop 2 via points C1 and C4 on the aiming lens 3. Points A1′ and A2′ are images of the points A1 and A2 of the LED 1 via points C2 and C3 on the aiming lens 3, and are located at a certain distance D1 relative to the aiming lens 3 within the working distance range of the imaging reader. In FIG. 7A, the LED 1, the field stop 2, and the aiming lens 3 are all symmetrically located on an optical axis 4 of the aiming lens 3. The aiming lens 3 has a lens aperture 5 through which the aiming light passes.
The distance X is typically set to be relatively large in order to, among other things, achieve uniformity of the aiming spot and, as explained below with reference to FIG. 7B, to tolerate any offset or misalignment between the LED 1 and the field stop 2. For example, the aforementioned optical artifacts are visible in the aiming spot at the distance D1 and, in order to prevent such artifacts from interfering with efficient aiming in the working distance range, the distance D1 should be decreased, which, in turn, dictates that the distance X should be increased. As another example, some LEDs have integrated dome lenses to reduce the divergence of the emitted aiming light beam, in which case, the apparent position of the LED 1 moves to the left in FIG. 7A and, in other words, the distance X effectively increases. However, an increased distance X results in high optical losses and low optical power for the aiming light spot. A dim aiming light spot is not readily visible, especially in the far working distance range, thereby degrading and compromising the entire aiming process. Also, an increased distance X increases the overall size of the aiming light assembly and the imaging module, thereby making it difficult to accommodate miniature, compact imaging readers.
As previously mentioned, if there is an offset between the LED 1 and the field stop 2, as shown in the prior art ray diagram of FIG. 7B in which the LED 1 (having point A3 between points A1 and A2) is asymmetrically located relative to the optical axis 4, then the aiming light spot becomes non-uniform in brightness due to vignetting of the aiming light beam on the aiming lens 3. Using the same reference characters as in FIG. 7A, point B2′ of the aiming light spot is an image of the point B2 of the field stop 2. Point B2′ collects light only from the fractional portion A2-A3 of the LED 1, because the light ray (shown in broken lines between points A1 and B2) misses the aiming lens 3. At the same time, point B1′ of the aiming light spot collects light from the entire LED 1, thereby making point B1′ much brighter than point B2′. To make the aiming light spot uniform in brightness, the aiming lens 3 would need to be enlarged, thereby rendering the aiming light assembly less compact. Alternatively, the distance X would need to be enlarged, which, as explained above, would further cause additional power losses.
Accordingly, there is a need to increase the brightness and the uniformity of the aiming light spot generated by an LED-based aiming light assembly in an imaging reader, without increasing the overall size of the aiming light assembly and of the imaging module, and with improved tolerance to offsets or misalignment between components of the aiming light assembly, over an extended range of working distances.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

Compact aiming light assembly and imaging module for, and method of, generating an aiming light spot with increased brightness and uniformity from a light-emitting diode over an extended working distance range in an imaging reader


A pom-pom has a plurality of flexible sheets with each sheet including fingers on opposite edges, two side-by-side strips between the fingers, a plurality of spaced links joining the strips and openings or slits between the links. A tie tightly surrounds the links to form the pom-pom.

Conventional pom-poms are made from stacks of fabric sheets having opposed rows of fingers with the sheets gathered and held together by a circumferential tie. The tie is tightened and the fingers extend outwardly from the tie to form a spherical body of radially extending fingers.
The tie forms a pom-pom with a large core occupying the center of the pom-pom, corresponding short fingers and a less compressible body. The sheets are not held in place in the core and, with use, can be pulled from the pom-pom. Removal of sheets from the pom-pom reduces the usefulness of the pom-pom and loosens other sheets for removal. Retightening of a tie to compensate for removal of a sheet is difficult or impossible.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved pom-pom with a small core and correspondingly longer fingers and a soft body for a given diameter.
Additionally, there is need for a pom-pom which may be used for dusting, washing and polishing with long fingers and the ability to retain material in the fingers and dispense the material during use.
The sheets should be held in the pom-pom to prevent removal.


A Stability and Control Augmentation System (“SCAS”) module comprising one or more SCAS actuators, the or each SCAS actuator comprising a mechanical component that translates rotational motion to linear motion along a first axis of said SCAS; one or more electric motors for driving linear movement of the mechanical component in response to a command signal; and one or more angular transducers to detect the position of the SCAS actuator along the first axis.

The flight controls for a helicopter comprise various actuators that receive input commands from a pilot and provide an output for controlling the rotors in order to cause a desired movement. For instance, for creating movement in a particular direction, the 'cyclic' may be moved in that direction so as to tilt the main rotor blades and generate thrust in that direction. The thrust of the helicopter may be changed by changing the collective pitch of the main rotor blades by moving the 'collective' in order to move the helicopter up and down and/or increase the helicopter speed. The collective pitch of the tail rotor may be controlled by moving yaw pedals to counter the rotational effect of the main rotors.
Thus, helicopters typically comprise three main rotor actuators for providing outputs to the main rotor and one tail rotor actuator for providing outputs to the tail rotor.
A SCAS is used to superimpose a command generated by the flight computer (i.e. the "autopilot") onto the manual input generated from the pilot to the main or tail rotor actuators. The SCAS therefore helps maintain control and stability of the aircraft. The SCAS traditionally comprises a separate actuator from the main or tail rotor actuators.
More recently, systems have been developed in which the SCAS is integrated or embedded in the primary pilot control architecture. EP 3335987, for example, teaches an embedded SCAS in the form of a hydraulic actuator system as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and as described further below.
The inventors have noted that such systems can exhibit transitory behaviours which cannot be easily predicted and controlled; i.e. the activation of the solenoid could cause a pressure spike that could result in an uncommanded, temporary, displacement of the SCAS actuator. Moreover, the hydraulic SCAS architectures require several hydraulic components, which cause a considerable increase in the size and weight of the actuator compared to the version without SCAS. Also, as with all hydraulic systems, there is a risk of fluid leakage, positional accuracy is not guaranteed and reaction time is not immediate.
The inventors have, therefore, identified a need for an improved embedded SACS arrangement that overcomes at least some of these problems.

Servo-actuator architecture with electromechanical-stability and control augmentation system


A method for calibrating photoelectric cells is described, which is based on a single acquisition step, of an object or of the background of the detection field of the photoelectric cell, respectively. The method allows carrying out a faster calibration with respect to the traditional dual-acquisition calibration method. In an embodiment, the two acquisition methods can be alternatively used at the discretion of the user.

The present invention relates to a method for calibrating a photoelectric cell.
Photoelectric cells are commonly used in a wide range of fields, and with different functions, all of which nevertheless can be said to relate to a switching between two states of a user, caused by the change of the luminous signal received by a photo-receiver of the photoelectric cell when an object (or a person) passes in the field of optical detection of the photoelectric cell, superimposing itself to the detection background and intercepting the light beam emitted by a photo-emitter of the photoelectric cell.
In fact, generally a photoelectric cell comprises a photo-emitter, which generates a luminous signal, a photo-receiver or photodetector, which receivesxe2x80x94directly or after reflectionxe2x80x94the luminous signal emitted by the photoemitter and converts it into an electrical signal, and a comparator, which compares the signal received to a triggering threshold and provides a binary output signal that represents the presence or the absence of an object, and which is used for driving a user.
For sake of brevity, the terms xe2x80x9cTargetxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cBackgroundxe2x80x9d in the following description shall be indifferently used to indicate respectively both the object and the signal detected in the presence of the object, and both the detection background and the signal detected in the absence of the object.
In the following description, and according to the current terminology, the photoelectric cell is said to operate xe2x80x9cin the lightxe2x80x9d if the output is active when the sensor is in the operating condition in which it receives the maximum light, that is to say, above the triggering threshold. Vice versa, the photoelectric cell is said to operate xe2x80x9cin the darkxe2x80x9d if the output is active when the sensor is in the operating condition in which it receives the minimum light, that is to say, below the triggering threshold.
Since photoelectric cells are commonly provided with a normal output or Q, and a complementary output or Qneg, the operation xe2x80x9cin the lightxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cin the darkxe2x80x9d can be selected using the output that meets the requirements of the particular user. Among the typical applications, in proximity applications, based on the reflection of the light by the object intercepting the light beam emitted by the photo-emitter, the most typical operation is that in the light, corresponding to the activation of the photoelectric cell in the presence of the object. On the other hand, in xe2x80x9cbarrierxe2x80x9d applications, that is, based on the object interrupting the light beam emitted by the photo-emitter, the most typical logic of operation is that in the dark, again corresponding to the activation of the photoelectric cell in the presence of the object. Usually, barrier applications are further distinguished between xe2x80x9cthrough-beam barrier applicationsxe2x80x9d, wherein the photodetector and the photo-emitter are housed in separate devices which are mounted so as to face each other, and xe2x80x9cretroreflex barrier applicationsxe2x80x9d, wherein the light emitted by the photo-emitter is reflected by a prismatic reflector, which sends it to the photo-receiver, housed in the same device as the photo-emitter.
In any case, the photoelectric cells must be calibrated upon installation, that is to say, the triggering threshold must be set according to the type of object to be detected and according to the distance of the object itself.
A first calibration method is the so-called variable-resistance or trimmer acquisition method: during calibration, for example in the xe2x80x9cproximityxe2x80x9d case, the object is arranged into the detection field, and the trimmer is brought to the minimum position, after which it is rotated, thus increasing the sensitivity of the photo-receiver, until the in-the-light output turns on. At that point, the rotation is continued for a little more so as to have a triggering threshold corresponding to a greater distance of the target.
However, in photoelectric cells with key calibration, the calibration occurs through two different acquisition steps: Target acquisition and Background acquisition.
FIG. 1 illustrates a flow chart of the known dual-acquisition calibration method, which provides for a sequence of at least two pressures of the calibration key (alternatively, there can be two different keys, one for the Target and another for the Background, the logic of operation being totally equivalent). Thus, starting from an operating state 100 of the photoelectric cell, in a first block 102 a first pressure of the acquisition key is waited for, which must last for some seconds, as checked in a block 104; otherwise, the operating state 100 is returned to, cancelling the acquisition in block 106. Usually, furthermore, as indicated with reference numeral 108, there is a visual indication of the pressure of the acquisition key. If the first key pressure lasts enough, the Target acquisition block 110 is entered, accompanied by the visual indication of acquisition in progress and successful acquisition. As indicated with reference numeral 112, at this point it is waited for the key to be released for at least one moment, and afterwards, a second pressure of the key is waited for (block 114), also lasting for a certain period of time (block 116) and accompanied by a visual indication (block 118). Should that be the case, the Background acquisition is carried out in block 120, accompanied by the visual indication. Then, in a block 122, it is checked whether the contrast between Target and Background is sufficient, as it shall be better described hereinafter, visually indicating the occurrence or the failure of the calibration in blocks 124 and 126, respectively. In positive case, the photoelectric cell returns to the operating state 100, whereas in negative case, block 102 is returned to, waiting for the first key pressure.
With reference to FIG. 2, which graphically illustrates the signal levels concerning the traditional calibration of a photoelectric cell, it must be specified that when both the Target and the Background are acquired, actually a certain number of readings is carried out so as to obtain a first series of data associated to the Target, and a second series of data associated to the Background. The maximum TM and the minimum Tm reading signal for the Target and the maximum SM and the minimum Sm reading signal for the Background are extracted from this series of data. Then, the traditional calibration algorithm provides for calculating the interval amplitudes between the maximum and minimum value detected, xcex4T=TMxe2x88x92Tm and xcex4S=SMxe2x88x92Sm, multiplying the greatest one (to which a suitable constant can be added in advance) by a safety constant, and finally, checking whether the distance xcex4 between the intervals is greater than the product thus obtained. This is the acquisition validity condition. More in particular, the distance xcex4 is calculated as xcex4=Tmxe2x88x92SM in the case (FIG. 2) of Target more luminous than the Background, as it happens in proximity applications, whereas it is calculated as xcex4=Smxe2x88x92TM in the case (not shown) of Target less luminous than the Background, as it happens in barrier applications.
If the validity condition is met, the triggering threshold F is typically set exactly in the middle of the distance xcex4, that is to say, in the case shown in FIG. 2, to F=SM+xcex4/2=Tmxe2x88x92xcex4/2. In the case (not shown) of Target less luminous than the Background, the triggering threshold is typically set to F=TM+xcex4/2=Smxe2x88x92xcex4/2.
Afterwards, the triggering hysteresis is calculated, that is to say, the actual switching-on threshold Fon and switching-off threshold Foff of the photoelectric cell are respectively set by adding to and subtracting from (or vice versa, for the operation in the dark, not shown) the triggering threshold F an hysteresis amount, which can be fixed or proportional to the triggering threshold F.
It must be emphasized that all constants used in the calibration algorithm, including the safety constant and the hysteresis amount, can be different according to the type of photoelectric cell, as they depend on the optical and electronic performances of the specific photoelectric cell. Photoelectric cells with a good optics and good electronics, that is, xe2x80x9cstablexe2x80x9d, can afford using a little constant, whereas not very xe2x80x9cprecisexe2x80x9d photoelectric cell need a greater constant.
Dual-acquisition calibration, according to the prior art, allows optimising the triggering threshold of the photoelectric cell and automatically selecting the operation in the light for the main output Q when the Target is more luminous than the Background or vice versa, the operation in the dark for the main output Q when the Target is less luminous than the Background.
However, the traditional calibration is quite slow and complex, which can be unsatisfactory especially if the accuracy of the detection is not particularly critical.
Thus, the technical problem at the basis of the present invention is to provide an easier and faster calibration method.
This problem is solved, according to the invention, in a method for calibrating a photoelectric cell comprising the steps of carrying out a first acquisition through a certain number of detections of the photoelectric cell in a first condition of the detection field, defining a first interval between the minimum value and the maximum value detected in the first acquisition step, setting a triggering threshold as a value spaced from said first interval by a triggering amount, characterised in that said triggering amount is a function of the amplitude of said first interval.
By xe2x80x9ccondition of the detection fieldxe2x80x9d it is meant in the presence or absence of an object, respectively. Said method allows avoiding the second acquisition needed in the prior art, that is to say, the step of carrying out a certain number of detections of the photoelectric cell in the opposed condition of the detection field, thus saving time during the calibration.
More in particular, when the first acquisition step occurs carrying out the detections in the condition of the greatest luminosity of the detection field, between the absence and the presence of the object, in the setting step the triggering threshold is set as a value spaced below the first interval by the triggering amount.
Vice versa, when the first acquisition step occurs carrying out the detections in the condition of the lowest luminosity of the detection field, between the absence and the presence of the object, in the setting step the triggering threshold is set as a value spaced above the first interval by the triggering amount.
Preferably, the triggering amount is proportional to the amplitude of the first interval through a safety constant. Such a function exhibits the advantage of being extremely simple, while providing for a certain margin of safety in the setting of the threshold.
More in particular, the safety constant is an inverse function of the optical and electronic performances of the photoelectric cell. In this way, the margin of safety is set in a specific way with respect to the stability of the single photoelectric cell, optimising the distance of the triggering threshold from the expectable range of readings during the operation of the photoelectric cell.
Advantageously, moreover, the safety constant is selectable from a certain number of preset values. This offers the advantage of allowing the final user to optimise the distance of the triggering threshold according to the accuracy requirements of the specific application, still without imposing excessively hard calculations on him.
Advantageously, moreover, the step of setting the triggering threshold is subordinated to a step of checking that said minimum detected value is greater than a preset minimum value. In this way, the calibration is prevented in case the detection field of the photoelectric cell being used is not very luminous, a condition that could imply setting an unreliable triggering threshold.
Moreover, in the method of the invention, preferably the first acquisition step is subordinated to a step of detecting the pressure of an acquisition key for a time at least equal to a preset minimum time. This allows preventing an undesired calibration of the photoelectric cell due to an accidental pressure of the key.
In a second embodiment, the method of the present invention is characterised by the further steps of receiving a selection signal through input means of the photoelectric cell, and if said selection signal has a predetermined value, carrying out a second acquisition through a certain number of second detections of the photoelectric cell in a second condition of the detection field. In this way, the user is provided with the possibility of choosing, upon calibration, the traditional dual-acquisition calibration method, which in some cases can be preferable.
Preferably, said selection signal has said predetermined value if it is detected that the pressure of an acquisition key is being maintained until the end of the first acquisition step.
The method is preferably characterised in that it further comprises the step of defining a second interval between the minimum value and the maximum value detected in the second acquisition, and in that in the step of setting the threshold, said triggering amount is a function of the distance between said first interval and said second interval.
In a preferred way, the triggering amount is proportional to said distance. In an even more preferred way, the triggering amount is equal to half said distance.
In this embodiment, moreover, said step of setting the triggering threshold can be subordinated to a step of checking that said distance is greater than the maximum amplitude between the amplitude of said first interval and the amplitude of said second interval, preferably multiplied by a constant. This allows preventing the calibration in case the reading ranges of the photoelectric cell, in the absence and presence of the object to be detected, are not sufficiently distinct, thus implying a high probability of wrong detection.
Advantageously, the second acquisition step is subordinated to the detection of the pressure of an acquisition key of the photoelectric cell for a time at least equal to a preset minimum time.
In both embodiments, moreover, it can be advantageous to provide for the further steps of setting an activation threshold and a deactivation threshold respectively spaced from said triggering threshold (F) by a hysteresis amount. In this way, in fact, a further margin of safety in the detection is set because, during the rise of the signal, the photoelectric cell switches after having exceeded the triggering threshold and in the same way, during the fall of the signal, the photoelectric cell switches when the signal has further reduced with respect to the triggering threshold.
Typically, moreover, the hysteresis amount is proportional to the triggering threshold. Otherwise, there would be the risk of setting the activation and deactivation thresholds too much beyond the triggering threshold, thus worsening the reliability of the detection instead of improving it.

Method for calibrating a photoelectric cell


An oil baffle means for sealing and separating the running gear cavity in a hermetic reciprocating piston compressor from an oil sump in a lower part of the compressor housing. The oil baffle includes a L-shaped flange connected to the outboard bearing and crankcase of the compressor. Horizontal ribs and a dimple on the vertical portion of the oil baffle bias the baffle into sealing contact with the crankcase preventing oil from the oil sump to flow into the running gear cavity.

The present invention relates generally to a hermetic reciprocating piston compressor, and more particularly to such a compressor wherein an oil separation baffle separates the running gear cavity of the compressor from the oil within an oil sump.
Some reciprocating compressors include an open type of crankcase defining a cavity enclosing a crankshaft and crank means communicating with a reciprocating piston. The crank means and piston usually are submerged within the oil sump and mix the oil during compressor operation.
The crank and piston moving with respect to the oil must overcome resistance of the oil in the form of shear stress forces and pressure forces. Shear stress force is the frictional drag due to the viscosity of the oil and the drag of the rotating and reciprocating compressor parts. These forces increase the power consumption of the compressor while sometimes creating a loss of lubrication at compressor start up. This loss of lubrication is caused by oil, within the crankcase, being alternatively drawn into and out of the lower part of the cylinder by the reciprocation of the piston.
In the prior art, the crank means and piston were substantially sealed in a cavity having venting passages. These venting passages were oriented to balance the reaction forces and reduce vibrations of the compressor.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the aforementioned problems related to hermetic reciprocating piston compressors wherein it is desired to provide a simple and cost effective means of separating the running gear from the oil sump within the compressor housing.

Hermetic compressor oil separating baffle


An orthopedic device is provided having a femoral stem with a proximal end, a distal end, and an intermediate portion extending between the proximal end and the distal end. The intermediate portion tapers from a first cross-sectional geometry near the proximal end to a second cross-sectional geometry near the distal end. A surface region of the femoral stem has a coefficient of friction less than 0.3 with respect to a bone cement. The surface region can include a treated metal region integral with the stem, or a friction reducing coating or sheath that coats or covers a portion of the stem. A collar can be provided near the proximal end of the stem that has a greater diameter than the first diameter of the stem.

A hip stem is a prosthetic medical implant that replaces the upper portion of a femur that has been resectioned during an arthroplasty procedure. The hip stem includes an elongate portion and a rounded head. The elongate portion is insertable into the medullary canal of the resectioned femur, whereas the rounded head extends from the femur for mating with an acetabular cup that is securable to a hip socket of the pelvis. Together, the hip stem and acetabular cup comprise a prosthetic hip joint.
During an arthroplasty procedure bone cement such as polymethymethacrylate (PMMA) can be deposited into the medullary canal of the femur and the elongate portion of the hip stem is inserted into, and enveloped by, the mass of bone cement. Rough or textured portions of the hip stem bond securely with the bone cement to provide a first interface, and the cement infuses into and bonds with the bone at a second interface. Thus, the hip stem is rigidly secured in place within the femur. However, it has been discovered that even if the femoral stem is flexible, repeated loading and unloading of the prosthetic hip joint during physical activity can cause the bone cement to fatigue and fail.
Uncontrolled breakdown or failure of the bone cement has undesirable consequences, such as free particle generation that can lead to osteolysis or "cement disease" of host bone tissue. Additionally, loose bone cement particles can migrate from the medullary canal to articulating surfaces and act as third body wear generators. This can cause excessive wear of the femoral head and/or a metallic or polymeric counterface within the acetabular cup. With respect to polymeric counterfaces, cement particulate can become embedded in the polymer surface and act as a second body wear surface against the metallic articulating surface of the femoral head.
As the cement breaks down, the hip stem increasingly loosens. And as the hip stem loosens, the bonds between the bone and the cement, and the stem and the cement weaken. The breakdown of these bonds allows the stem to subside or sink into the medullary canal, thereby shortening the leg. As the leg becomes shorter, an undesirable change in patient gait can develop which can continue to deteriorate as the stem subsides. Eventually, the gait deteriorates to such a degree that surgical revision (replacement) of the stem is indicated. Avoidance of the above-described sequence of events would be highly desirable.

Femoral stem with reduced coefficient of friction with respect to bone cement


A process for producing flavor and fragrance compositions by means of first quantitatively and qualitatively substantially continuously analyzing the aroma emitted and rates of emission of the components thereof:. (I) from within; and PA1 (II) from the outer surface of. a living fruit using simultaneously-operating aroma trapping devices connected to (a) the outer surface of the living fruit and (b) an internal portion of the living fruit, and then providing and admixing at least the major components found in the analysis or analyses. The living fruit may, for example, be a living pineapple or a living nectarine growing on a nectarine tree.

Our invention concerns a process for producing flavor and fragrance compositions by means of quantitatively and qualitatively substantially continuously analyzing the aroma emitted and rates of emission of the components thereof from within and from the outer surface of a living fruit simultaneously and then providing and admixing at least the major components found in the resulting analysis or analyses.
Uses of aromas evolved from living fruits are highly sought after in the perfumery and flavor arts. Great difficulty has been experienced in attempting to capture and reproduce actual aroma ingredients of the living fruit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,805 issued on Aug. 11, 1992 describes an air-tight flexible transparent container containing at least one living flower immersed in an aqueous suspension. Described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,805 is an article useful (i) for display purposes; and/or (ii) for analysis of the head space in the container above the living flower when the container is fitted with a tube effecting communication of the internal 3-space (internal volume) of the container with outside analytical means and/or (iii) for aromatizing the environment surrounding the container when the container is fitted with a wick effecting communication of the internal 3-space (internal volume) of the container with the environment surrounding the container. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,805 does not teach or infer a technique for producing flavor and/or fragrance compositions by means of quantitatively and qualitatively substantially continuouosly analyzing the aroma emitted and rates of emission of the components thereof from within and the from the outer surface of a living fruit simultaneously and then providing and admixing at least the major components found in the resulting analysis or analyses.

Flavor and fragrance compositions produced using process for quantitatively and qualitatively substantially continuously analyzing the aroma emitted from a living fruit


The invention is a high efficiency single-phase or poly-phase DC-to-AC power converter apparatus and power conversion method which includes a line filter inductor or line filter inductors to integrate or filter pulse modulated waveforms into substantially sinusoidal waveforms wherein (i) the line filter inductor or inductors have inductance values that swing substantially from zero current to peak rated current and (ii) a pulse width modulation technique is used that varies both pulse width modulation duty cycles and periods as a function of the predicted instantaneous line filter inductance and the predicted di/dt across the line filter inductor or inductors in order to minimize power converter switching losses while maintaining AC power quality. With the invention, substantial CEC power conversion efficiency enhancements should be achievable and with an overall reduction in power converter parts cost.

The most important solar power converter performance parameter is power conversion efficiency. The cost of a photovoltaic power system using power converters with conversion efficiencies of 97% verses 98% translates to an additional 1% in total system costs with respect to the cost of energy over the lifetime of the system. In addition, a 97% verses 98% efficient power converter would require a cooling system with 50% more heat removal capacity making it larger, heavier and significantly more expensive. This burden is an important consideration in state-of-the-art multi-megawatt system designs that use a number of smaller distributed DC-to-AC power converters cooled only by natural convection.

Photovoltaic inverter with swinging line filter inductors


A silacyclohexane compound represented by the following general formula (I). ##STR1## In this formula, R denotes a linear-chain alkyl group with 1-10 carbon atoms, a branched-chain alkyl group with 3-8 carbon atoms, a mono- or di-fluoroalkyl group with 1-10 carbon atoms, an alkoxyalkyl group with 2-7 carbon atoms, or an alkenyl group with 2-8 carbon atoms. ##STR2## is trans-1-silacyclohexylene or trans-4-silacyclohexylene group whose silicon at position 1 or position 4 has a substitutional group(s) of H, F, Cl or CH.sub.3. X denotes a R, OR, CN, F, Cl, CF.sub.3, CF.sub.2 Cl, CHFCl, OCF.sub.3, OCHF.sub.2, OCF.sub.2 Cl, OCHFCl, --(O).sub.m --CY.sub.1 .dbd.CX.sub.1 X.sub.2 (m denotes 0 or 1, Y.sub.1 and X.sub.1 respectively denote H, F or Cl, and X.sub.2 denotes F or Cl) or --O--C.sub.r F.sub.s H.sub.2r+1-s is (r denotes an integral of 2 to 4 and s denotes an integral of 1 to 7) group. Y denotes H or F. Z denotes H or F.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new silacyclohexane compound, a method of preparing it, and a liquid crystal composition which contains it as well as a liquid crystal display element which contains said liquid crystal composition.
2. The Prior Art
A liquid crystal display element utilizes the optical anisotropy and dielectric anisotropy of liquid crystal substances. Display methods include the TN mode (twisted nematic mode), the STN mode (super twisted nematic mode), the SBE mode (super birefringence mode), the DS mode (dynamic scattering mode), the guest-host mode, the DAP mode ("deformation of aligned phase" mode) and the OMI mode (optical mode interference mode). The most common display device has a twisted nematic structure based on the Schadt-Helfrich mode.
Properties required of the liquid crystal substance used in these liquid crystal displays are somewhat different depending on the display mode. However, a wide liquid crystal temperature range and stability against moisture, air, light, heat, electric fields, etc. are commonly required in all display methods. Furthermore, it is desirable for the liquid crystal material to have a low viscosity, and also to have a short address time, low threshold voltage and high contrast in the cell(s).
Currently, there is no single compound which satisfies all these requirements. In practice, liquid crystal mixtures are obtained by mixing several to more than ten liquid crystal compounds and liquid crystal like compounds. Because of this, it is also important that components of a liquid crystal composition mix easily each other.
Liquid crystal compounds which can be used as these components can be classified into the following categories:
1) Compounds which contribute to a reduction in viscosity and a lowering of the melting point of the mixed liquid crystal composition PA1 2) Compounds which mainly control the electro-optical functions of the mixed liquid crystal composition PA1 3) Compounds which contribute to raising the clearing point of the mixed liquid crystal composition PA1 4) Compounds which contribute to refractive anisotropy of the mixed liquid crystal composition PA1 5) Compounds which control the colored display and orientation of the mixed liquid crystal composition PA1 comprising reacting an organometallic reagent: EQU R--M PA1 with a silacyclohexane compound: ##STR7## wherein Q denotes a halogen which is preferably Cl or Br, or alkoxy group. PA1 comprising reacting an organometallic reagent: ##STR9## wherein M' denotes MgP', ZnP' or Li, and P' denotes a halogen atom which is preferably Br or I when X is Cl and preferably Cl, Br or I when X is not Cl, PA1 with a silacyclohexane compound: ##STR10## wherein Q denotes a halogen which is preferably Cl or Br, or alkoxy group which is preferably an alkoxyl group with 1-4 carbon atoms. PA1 comprising reacting an organometallic reagent: ##STR12## wherein M" denotes MgP", ZnP" or Li, P" denotes a Br or I atom, and X' denotes a halogen atom which is preferably Cl or Br, with a silacyclohexane compound: ##STR13## wherein Q denotes a halogen which is preferably Cl or Br, or alkoxy group which is preferably an alkoxyl group with 1-4 carbon atoms, to obtain a phenylsilacyclohexane compound: ##STR14## forming a Grignard reagent: ##STR15## from said phenylsilacyclohexane compound by applying Mg thereto; and reacting a cyanation reagent: EQU T--CN PA1 Crystal.fwdarw.Nematic liquid crystal phase.fwdarw.Isotropic liquid PA1 Isotropic liquid.fwdarw.Nematic liquid crystal phase.fwdarw.Crystal PA1 1) A trans-1,4-cyclohexylene group which has no substitution or which has one or more substitutional groups such as F, Cl, Br, CN or alkyl groups, PA1 2) A ring comprising a cyclohexane ring in which O or S is substituted for one or nonadjacent two CH.sub.2 groups, PA1 3) A 1,4-cyclohexenylene group, PA1 4) A 1,4-phenylene group which has no substitution or which has one or two substitutional groups such as F, Cl, CH.sub.3 or CN groups, or PA1 5) A ring comprising a 1,4-phenylene group in which an N atom is substituted for one or two CH groups.
For compounds which belong to category 1) in this classification, compounds with so-called PCH structure such as ##STR3## have been known.
In recent years, along with the expansion of the applications of liquid crystal displays, the characteristics required of liquid crystal materials are becoming more and more advanced and demanding. In particular, superior characteristics such as improved low temperature performance, a wider temperature range for automobile onboard use and a lower driving voltage, compared with conventional liquid crystal substances, are desired.

Silacyclohexane compound, a method of preparing it and a liquid crystal composition containing it


Disclosed is a coating made of an organic material on a mold for glass molding. The coating comprises CrxWyN(1-x-y), where 0.15<x<0.4, and 0.2≤y≤0.45. The coating has excellent high temperature resistance and anti-adhesion properties, thus being a promising coating material for molds.

The development of manufacturing techniques brings a wider application of optical elements in defense and military and aerospace industry and for civil use. For example, various optical elements are adopted in satellite monitoring systems, infrared night-vision imaging, laser radiation, fiber optical communications, projectors, digital cameras and surveillance cameras, etc., and thus the manufacture of optical elements of high precision, high quality and high performance is in great demand in advanced manufacturing (Wang Wang, Development of Molds for Precision Optical Glass Molding, A master's thesis, Shenzhen University, 2017, page 1, publication date: Dec. 31, 2017; Feng Gong et al., Development of Precision Glass Molding, Optics and Precision Engineering, 2018, 26 (6), page 1380-1381, publication date: Jun. 30, 2018).
In recent years, optical elements worldwide have an average annual growth rate of more than 20%, reaching tens of billions of dollars. The optical elements are almost applied to all fields of human life, such as cameras, zoom lenses, projectors, wide-angle infrared artificial horizons, CD-ROM disk drives, endoscopes and progressive lenses, etc. There are higher requirements for the physical and chemical performances, apertures, processing precision, processing efficiency and cost of the optical elements, so that these instruments have good imaging quality, compact and simple structures and suitable applications in various environments. Traditional precision grinding, ultra-precision turning and magnetorheological compound finishing, etc. have defects in terms of cost, processing efficiency and mass production, etc. The resin injection molded lenses have poor performances in refractive index and heat stability, etc. Precision glass molding overcomes above defects and has the advantages of high precision, low cost, high efficiency and being net-shape forming and non-pollution, etc. (Feng Gong et al., Development of Precision Glass Molding, Optics and Precision Engineering, 2018, 26(6), page 1380-1381, publication date: Jun. 30, 2018).
The main principle of precision thermoforming of the optical glass is to utilize different physical properties of the optical glass at different temperatures. The glass is hard and brittle at room temperature, but it is viscoelastic or has physical properties of viscous fluid (as shown in FIG. 1) at high temperature, so the optical glass will change from a solid state to a plastic state in a certain temperature range, and the transition temperature is Tg, referred to as the yield point. When the temperature continues to rise to a certain point Sp, referred to as the softening point, the glass will exhibit the properties of fluids. Based on such characteristic of glass, after the optical glass is heated to an appropriate temperature above the transition temperature Tg, the glass molding copies shapes of the mold onto the preformed glass by moving upper and lower molds (Wang Wang, Development of Molds for Precision Optical Glass Molding, A master's thesis, Shenzhen University, 2017, p3-4, publication date: Dec. 31, 2017).
However, in the molding process of glass products, the mold suffers oxidation, thermal fatigue and dynamic wear, etc. due to frequent contacts between the molten glass of high temperature and the mold (Yuping Wei etc., Development and Application of Mold Materials for Glass Molding, Machinery Design & Manufacture, 2018(3), page 201, publication date: Mar. 31, 2008; Ming Xiao, Development and Application of Mold Materials for High-tech Glass Molding, Glass & Enamel, 2006, 34(2), page 19, publication date: Apr. 30, 2006). This requires the mold materials to have good heat, abrasion, corrosion, thermal shock, oxidation, thermal fatigue resistances and the like. At the same time, the mold materials should be dense and easy to process, and have good heat conduction and low heat expansion coefficient (Mingfa Chen, Discussion on Characteristics and Development of Mold Materials for Glass Molding, Die & Mold Manufacture, 2011 (11), page 81, publication date: Dec. 31, 2011).
Currently, the traditional methods, such as turning and grinding, are still adopted for preparing glass elements with complex shapes in China. Such methods have low efficiency, high cost and are difficult to control the precision of the glass elements. Moreover, coatings of diamond-like carbon (DLC) and carbon nanotubes, etc. on the molds for glass molding are only suitable for optical glass with low melting point because they cannot endure excessive temperatures.
Therefore, a novel coating on molds for glass of high temperature resistance and anti-adhesion properties is urgently required in production to prolong the service life of the glass-forming mold and improve the molding quality of the optical glass.

Coating on mold for glass molding and a preparation method and applications thereof

No.59 Institute of China Ordnance Industry

University of Science and Technology Liaoning


The present invention relates to controlling wavelength switching in a plurality of nodes that are provided to increase the distance of signal transmission in inverse MUX transmission in which a high-speed line is divided into a plurality of low-speed lines for transmission. A maximum skew occurring between adjacent nodes is measured, and switching of wavelength channels is performed in one or a plurality of nodes on the basis of the measured maximum skew to keep the skew of the entire inverse MUX transmission system at or below a prescribed value. The optical communication device is provided with an NNI functional block to which high-speed lines on the transmission channel side are connected, and a UNI functional block to which low-speed lines on the client side are connected.

Port counts (the number of ports used for connection by nodes provided to a transmission channel) is increasing as the scale of network devices used for optical communication increases, and per-port transmission speeds are also increasing. The inverse MUX transmission scheme is known as a transmission method that uses such high-speed lines to perform optical communication over long distances with high adaptability. Inverse MUX transmission is also referred to as "inverse multiplexing transmission."
In an inverse MUX scheme, a high-speed line having a high transmission speed is separated (divided) into a plurality of low-speed lines, and the separate low-speed lines are then multiplexed into a high-speed line. This scheme has advantages in that degradation of the optical signal that occurs in a high-speed line due to the use of low-speed lines can be suppressed when transmission in the high-speed line is made difficult by light loss and other optical fiber loss.
In FIG. 33, a high-speed optical signal transmitted from a device (not shown) in a prior stage is presented to a transmission node (terminal node) 10 and converted to an electrical signal in a high-speed optical transceiver 12. A plurality of low-speed electrical signals separated in a separation circuit 14 is converted to optical signals by low-speed optical transceivers 18 that constitute a WDM transmission device 16, and the optical signals are transmitted via optical fibers or other optical transmission channels 20. The optical signals transmitted from the transmission node 10 are again converted to electrical signals by low-speed optical transceivers 24 that constitute a WDM transmission device 22 in a reception node (terminal node) 25, the skew (arrival time difference or delay difference) that occurs during transmission is compensated for in a de-skew circuit 26, and the electrical signals are multiplexed in a multiplexing circuit 28. The signal is then converted to an optical signal by a high-speed optical transceiver 30 and transmitted to a high-speed optical transmission channel 31.
However, in the conventional technique described in Patent Document 1, regardless of the scheme employed for separating the high-speed signal, the skew (amount) that occurs between the plurality of low-speed optical fibers increases in proportion to the transmission distance due to the effects of wavelength dispersion in the optical fibers that are the transmission channels when a single high-speed line is divided into a plurality of low-speed lines for transmission. Consequently, a large capacity of buffer memory is required in the terminal node (reception node) that reproduces the high-speed signal. Alternatively, when the high-speed signal is separated into relatively small frames and transmitted, the allowable skew for small frames decreases in size, and the transmission distance therefore cannot be increased.
In order to overcome these problems, a plurality of relay nodes, e.g., two relay nodes ND1 and ND2, may be added between the WDM transmission devices 16 and 22 in FIG. 33, for example, as shown in FIG. 34. Such a configuration enables reproduction and relaying of electrical signals in the optical transceivers 40, 42, 44, 46 that constitute the WDM transmission devices 32, 34, 36, 38, respectively, and it is therefore possible to prevent the problem of degradation of the optical signal waveforms. However, since there is no function for skew compensation between the nodes, the skew increases according to the transmission distance, and it is sometimes impossible to compensate for the skew in the reception node 25 for terminating the high-speed frames.
Since skew compensation is made possible by physical compensation of dispersion values using dispersion-compensated fiber or the like, the problems described above can be overcome. However, a high-performance transmission system must be designed in this method, and the additional problem of high cost therefore occurs.
Optical communication devices have been developed in the past that have cross-connection capability and can accommodate client lines (see Patent Document 1, for example). FIG. 35 is a block diagram showing the conventional optical communication device disclosed in Patent Document 2. As shown in FIG. 35, this conventional optical communication device is provided with a switch card in which a time division switch and a spatial switch are combined. Specifically, in this conventional optical transmission device, a switch card 101 is provided, and a spatial switch 102 and two time division switches 103 connected to the spatial switch 102 are provided to the switch card 101. The line speed of the spatial switch 102 is 10 gigabits per second (hereinafter indicated as 10 Gb/s).
The spatial switch 102 is connected to two line cards 105 on the transmission channel side via an NNI (Network Node Interface) 104. The line cards 105 transmit high-speed traffic. Each line card 105 is provided with a plurality of 10 Gb/s lines 106 that is standardized as high-speed lines, and the 10 Gb/s lines 106 have one-to-one connections to the NNI 104.
The time division switches 103 are connected to a line card 108 on the line-out side via a UNI (User Network Interface) 107. The line card 108 transmits low-speed traffic. A plurality of 2.5 Gb/s lines 109 and 600 megabit per second (hereinafter indicated as 600 Mb/s) lines 110 is provided to the line card 108, and the lines are connected to the UNI 107.
The line speed of the low-speed traffic inputted from the line card 108 to the time division switches 103 via the UNI 107 is boosted to the line speed handled by the spatial switch 102, i.e., 10 Gb/s, by the multiplexing function provided to the time division switches 103. The line speed of the high-speed traffic transmitted through the 10 Gb/s lines 106 that are connected to the line card 105 is also equal to the line speed handled by the spatial switch 102. The line cards 105 in which the high-speed lines are mounted, and the spatial switch 102 in the switch card 101 are thereby directly connected via the NNI. As a result, the traffic of the high-speed lines and the signal in which the plurality of UNI traffic units is multiplexed can be switched in unified fashion by the spatial switch, and an optical communication device is created that has a simple overall structure.
However, the optical communication device disclosed in Patent Document 2 has such problems as the following. A first problem is that since the functions for increasing the flexibility of the device are integrated in the switch card portion, the load of the switch card increases, and the power consumption, size, and cost of the switch card increase. Relatively small size and low cost can be obtained when the spatial switch that is mounted in the switch card is limited to a specific line capacity. However, the optical communication device disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a time division switch in order to efficiently multiplex and accommodate a plurality of client-side lines having different types and speeds. The switch card portion therefore requires a functional circuit for high-load frame processing, which results in increased power consumption. This makes it difficult to increase the density and expandability of the switch card.
As a second problem, when a mismatch exists between the speed of the NNI and the signal speed that can be processed by the spatial switch, another circuit is required to compensate for the mismatch, and the structure of the switch card therefore becomes more complex. In Patent Document 1, the speed of the spatial switch is the common speed of 10 Gb/s as the line speed of the high-speed lines connected to the NNI, but switches that are capable of operating at a line speed of 10 Gb/s are limited to small-scale electric switches or optical switches. The limitation on the line speed that can be handled by an electrical spatial switch is also documented in patent document 1. The line speed of 10 Gb/s is not only a problem of device technology for an electrical switch, but also of electrical transmission technology. There is a large amount of waveform distortion due to high transmission loss of high-frequency components at 10 Gb/s, and the transmission distance is limited to within a few centimeters unless a high degree of compensation is applied, and it is difficult to directly connect the switch to an optical transceiver or the like.
When an optical switch is used in order to process a 10 Gb/s signal, electrical/optical conversion is required prior to introduction to an optical switch, and prior to introduction of a signal inputted via the NNI to an optical switch after the signal inputted via the UNI is multiplexed. Conversely, optical/electrical conversion is necessary when a signal is conducted from an optical switch to the UNI and the NNI. As a result, the need arises to provide the switch card with an electrical/optical conversion device and an optical/electrical conversion device, which even further increases the complexity and size of the switch card.
When a line-side optical signal is introduced to an optical switch without creating an electrical termination, the cost, size, and complexity of the optical transmission function increase due to the provision of an optical transmission device for compensating for wavelength dispersion and light loss in the area of the optical switch. Unless there is a wavelength conversion device, there is no connectivity between channels in a DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) signal, and the number of connectible ports is limited. Flexibility therefore decreases.
Patent Document 3 therefore discloses a technique in which the signal of a high-speed line is converted to frames by a reception circuit, and then divided into a plurality of blocks and introduced to a spatial switch, rather than being introduced to the spatial switch as an unmodified unit. FIG. 36 is a block diagram showing the spatial switch and the area around the spatial switch of the conventional optical communication device disclosed in Patent Document 3. In this conventional optical communication device as shown in FIG. 36, a spatial switch 201 is provided, four VC-4 separation units 202 are connected to the reception side of the transmission channels of the spatial switch 201, and four VC-4 multiplexers 203 are connected to the transmission side. An STM-16 reception interface 204 is connected to each VC-4 separation unit 202, and an STM-16 transmission interface 205 is connected to each VC-4 multiplexer 203. A single VC-4 separation unit 206 and a single VC-4 multiplexer 207 are connected to the subscriber side (client side) of the spatial switch 201, an STM-4 reception interface 208 is connected to the VC-4 separation unit 206, and an STM transmission interface 209 is connected to the VC-4 multiplexer 207.
In the optical communication device thus configured as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the signals inputted from the transmission channels to the STM-16 reception interfaces 204 are converted to frames by the STM-16 reception interfaces 204, and then divided into 150 Mb/s VC-4 blocks in the VC-4 separation units 202 and inputted to the optical switch 201. The signals outputted to the transmission channel side from the optical switch 201 are multiplexed in the VC-4 multiplexers 203 and are outputted via the STM-16 transmission interfaces 205. The signals inputted from the subscriber side are divided into frames by the STM-4 reception interfaces 208, divided into 150 Mb/s blocks by the VC-4 separation units 206, and inputted to the optical switch 201. The signals outputted from the optical switch 201 to the subscriber side are multiplexed in the VC-4 multiplexers 207, and outputted via the STM-4 transmission interface 209.
In this optical communication device, the signals of the high-speed line are introduced to the spatial switch after being divided into 150 Mb/s blocks rather than being introduced to the spatial switch as an unmodified unit. A primary cross connect is thereby performed between the high-speed line and the low-speed line by 150 Mb/s blocks. The signal is furthermore inputted to a time division switch (not shown), and a cross connect in smaller units is performed in order to further divide and handle the 150 Mb/s blocks on the low-speed line side. The entire circuit structure is thus simplified in Patent Document 3 by separating the switch into the levels of spatial switch and time division switch. The signal is introduced to the spatial switch after the high-speed line is separated at a speed at which electrical processing is easily performed.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2002-135223
Patent Document 2: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-169355
Patent Document 3: Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2003-061171

Optical communication method, optical communication device, and optical communication system


This bioactive concentrate is an active substance--aqueous solution or lyophilized powder--consisting of anti-hyaluronidase and antiinflammatory mucopolysaccharide polymers and an addition of restitutive and anti-hyaluronidase chondroitinsulphate, which has a pH=4-6 and antihyaluronidase activity. The bioactive concentrate producing method consists in a two--phased treatment of animal--originated connective cartilaginous tissues such as bovine and sheep trachea, umbilical cord, young animal tendons, bowels, testicles or sea organisms, with phenol solution and the solution resulted is concentrated by vacuum evaporation and then defatted; after filtering, the supernatant obtained is treated for deproteinization, the ion excess is removed by passing through ion exchanger column, the alcohol solution is concentrated to remove alcohol until reaching a volume of 70% as against the aqueous solution subject to proteinzation. Drug compsitions contain the bioactive concentrate--solution or in lyophilized state--associated with synergic substances such as: heparin, sodium or lysin acetylsallicylate, ascorbic acid, vitamin E,"I"-like structured water, benzyl alcohol, propylene glycocou, plant extracts (Achillea, Calendula, Matricaria, Plantago, Hypericum) and usual excipients, being conditioned in the form of intramuscular or intraarticular injections, ointment, gel and suppositories. Finally the histamines are removed and chondroitin sulphate is added up to the concentration required.

A complex of anti-hyaluronidase substances has been derived from several natural products, such as small fish containing amino acids, whole glucides, glycogen chondroitinsulphate, phenol, hypotensive substances, with an antihyaluronidase activity of a minimum of 50 I.U/ml.
The method whereby the complex is produced consists of a two-phased treatment of se fish with 0.5% phenol solution, over a period of 24 h, the extracts brought together are vacuum concentrated at a maximum 40.degree. C., then they are treated with an equal ethanol 96.sup.c volume; the precipitate is removed and the supernatant obtained is treated with celite, filtered, vacuum-concentrated at a maximum 40.degree. C., then solvent-extracted--treated and after removing the solvent the supernatant is treated with phenol up to a value of 4.5-5.5%.
Drug compositions containing an anti-hyaluronidase bioactive extract, phenol and sodium metabisulphite, have been developed too.
These drugs rely on a complex of substances, natural active principles, associated in proportions close to the normal, functional ones, produced by extraction from animal tissues or biosynthesized in cells and microorganism cultures, the role of this complex being to replace, to substitute for or even to allow recovery of the naturally existing complex in connective tissues, that had been unbalanced for various reasons and which caused the disease.
The extraction and conditioning processes have been established so that losses and degradation of active substances should be as low as possible and when the ratio of raw material constituents is different from that one required to treat disease in human being, it may be set off by a proper compounding of extracts or by a treatment schedule.
Now, the disease-inducing mechanisms are known to result from a disequilibrium in the biosynthesis and breakdown of normal constituents on which the proper movement of joints depends.
Cells in the tissues of the living body are embedded and evolve within basic substances. This basic substance--a general compound of living structures-pervades every interspace and isolates every stationary cell from its neighbors. Variations in the composition of the extracellular environment exert a profound influence on cell behavior and in turn the cells possess a powerful means of modifying their immediate environment.
The intercellular substance is a complex gel containing water, electrolytes, metabolites, dissolved gases, enzymes, trace elements, fats, proteins, carbohydrates. This substance is rendered highly viscous by an abundance of certain long-chain acid mucopolysaccharide polymers, particularly glycosaminoglycans and the related proteoglycans, reinforced at the microscopic level by a three-dimensional network of collagen fibrils (Cameron, E. and Pauling, L--The Encyclopedia of Ignorance, p. 377-385, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1982).
The role of synovial fluid, found in all joints, is not only to lubricate the moving structures but also to dissipate the energy.
This function is performed by the synovial fluid composition where the glycosaminoglycans (GAC) and proteoglycans (PG such as hyaluronic acid and chondroitinsulphate inducing a high viscosity with their spiral structure, behave viscous-like when the moving frequencies are low and elastic--like when the moving frequencies are high (Ogston, A. G. and Stanier, J. E. (1953)--J. Physiol, 199, 124).
Elasticity is due to the presence of the highly concentrated hyaluronic acid, at a pH=2.5 which forms a viscous-elastic paste in a salt solution (Balasz, E. A., Chemistry and Molecular Biology of the Intercellular Matrix, Vol. II and III, Academic Press, New York, 1970).
At different ages, the synovial fluid behaves similarly as it concerns viscosity, but the energy taking over is different at high moving frequencies, the synovial fluid in young people taking over 77% of the energy while in the old it takes over only 52% of the energy by elastic storage.
The synovial fluid in affected joints (osteoarthrosis) is viscous, but not elastic. The stiffness of this synovial fluid is 7 times lower than that one in the healthy old people. The hyaluronic acid concentration in these fluids is low, resulting in low viscosity indices and the protein concentration is high. The negative influence of concentration change may lower in some cases, the viscosity index up to 30 times.
Also, in joints, tendons, vitreous bodies of the eye--the fluid area (synovial fluid, vitreous fluid) is adjacent to the solid matrix (articular cartilage, tendon, fascia, vitreous body).
The viscous-elastic macromolecular compound--the hyaluronic acid--in the fluid matrix, penetrate the solid matrix surface. Rheologically, the major difference between the two matrices is the presence of collagen fibrils in the solid matrix and their absence in the fluid one.
The surface layer of 1-2.mu. consists of hyaluronic acid and proteins. This layer can be removed or destroyed by the action of hyaluronidase, found in excess in the intercellular matrix.
The sublayer of 10-15.mu. in thickness contains typical collagen fibrils, and the interfibrillar space is filled with approximately equal amount of hyaluronic acid and chondroitinsulphate. on the basis of the data known from the specialized field (Cameron, E. and Pauling, L--The Encyclopedia of Ignorance, p. 377-385, Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1982 and Balasz, E. A. and Sweeney, D. B.--11968--New and Controversial Aspects of Retinal Detachment, p. 371, Ed. McPerson, Harpen and Row, N.Y.), this invention aimed at producing a complex of ingredients in which the mucopolysaccharide polymers and proteoglycans take part under the form of hyaluronic acid and chondroitinsulphate, as well as their fragments, herparin and ascorbic acid, all of them being substances certified by recent investigations, contributing to restore the normal functions in the connective tissues, in the case of degenerative diseases. These diseases, altering the basic substance in which the cells are embedded, deteriorates the relationship existing between the basic substance and these cells. The condition for a "normal" balance is for each part--the basic substance and the cell--to keep its own functions, since any change, as for instance the reduction in basic substance viscosity by hyaluronic acid depolymerizing through the action of hyaluronidase secreted in excess by cells, is followed by disease occurrence.
Another alternative to restore the balance is the association of an antienzyme called anti-hyaluronidase (hyaluronidase is after all, an enzyme group with the same functions as the connective structures), that stops or limits the hyaluronic acid depolymerization, alongside chondroitinsulphate, heparin and ascorbic acid.
Some attempts have been already known, to prepare drugs based on anti-hyaluronidase which is extracted from its containing sources, such as: bovine trachea, bovine and sheep testicles, umbilical cord, small sea fish, etc.
Although important at that time (Patent RO/82273-1982 and Technological Reports drawn up by the Institute of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Research-Bucharest, No. 84740/1977 and No. 5160/1979), these attempts represented an elementary alternative solving only partially the question of both producing method and the composition of the drugs achieved.

Bioactive concentrate, its producing method and certain drug compositions containing also chondroitin sulphate


A belt lock includes a plug (20) and an attachment (30) to be detachably attached to the plug (20). The attachment (30) includes a belt attaching hole (32). The plug (20) is provided with a rail (26). The attachment (30) is provided with a groove (31) to be slidably engaged with the rail (26). The rail (26) is provided with a lock section (a recess) (27). The groove (31) is provided with a to-be-locked section (a protrusion) (34) to be engaged with the lock section (the recess) (27).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a belt lock for locking a belt. Specifically, the invention relates to a belt lock including a base and an attachment to be detachably attached to the base, the attachment having a belt attaching section for attaching a belt.
2. Description of Related Art
As a belt lock for locking a belt, there has been known a buckle that can connect a plurality of belts to each other and separate the plurality of belts from each other. For example, as a buckle that can connect five seatbelts (a crotch belt, right and left waist belts, right and left shoulder belts) to each other and separate the five seatbelts from each other, a five-direction buckle has been known (see, for example, Document 1: JP-A-9-308508 and Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,101).
The buckle includes: a socket; a pair of plugs to be disengageably inserted in the socket from openings on right and left sides of the socket; and attachments to be slidably attached to upper edges of the plugs. The socket includes a crotch belt attaching section for attaching the crotch belt. The plugs on the right and left sides each include a waist belt attaching hole for attaching the right or left waist belt. The attachments each include a shoulder belt attaching hole for respectively attaching the right and left shoulder belts. The plugs each include a rail with which a groove of the respective attachments is engaged. The rail has a stopper on an outer end of the rail.
In use, the attachments are firstly slid along the respective rails of the plugs to be attached to the plugs, and the plugs are inserted in the socket from the openings on the right and left sides of the socket to be engaged with the socket. Each of the attachments attached to the plugs is sandwiched by the stopper of the plug and a stopper of the socket, so that the attachments are prevented from dropping from the respective plugs.
Hence, even when tensile force is applied on the seatbelts (the crotch belt, the right and left waist belts, and the right and left shoulder belts), the plugs do not become disengaged from the socket and the attachments do not become disengaged from the plugs, so that the seatbelts are securely connected.
With the buckle having the above-described structure, when the plugs are inserted in and engaged with the socket, the attachments do not become disengaged owing to the stoppers of the plugs and the socket. However, when the plugs are disengaged from the socket, the attachments may become disengaged from the respective plugs. Specifically, when the plug is disengaged from the socket, the attachment may become disengaged from the plug contrary to the intention of an operator since the stopper of the socket does not act on the attachment.
In a general use, disengaging the plugs from the socket enables the shoulder belts to slip off the shoulders of an infant, so that it is not necessary to disengage the attachments from the plugs.
However, if the attachment is disengaged from the plug when the plug is disengaged from the socket, an operation for engaging the plug and the socket becomes complicated, which is not preferable. Concretely, because it becomes necessary to do an additional operation of attaching the attachment to the plug before inserting the plug into the socket for re-engagement, the operation for engaging the plug and the socket becomes complicated.