The invention concerns a device for determining data on auditory capacity, the device having preferably non-contact means for measuring vibrations of the middle-ear ossicles (22, 23, 24) and/or the tympanic membrane (21) by means of electromagnetic waves. The electromagnetic waves used for the measurement are input by means of a microscope (3), in particular an optical microscope (3). This microscope can be modular in design, and a module (5) can be provided for the input of a laser beam (9). The invention also concerns a method of determining data on auditory capacity, the method calling for the vibration of the middle ear and/or the eardrum to be measured by means of electromagnetic waves and, from the measurement signals thus obtained, the contributions to the total signal by the middle ear and/or the eardrum determined in at least one processing step.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for sensing aural data.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Extensive investigation has already been done in obtaining qualitative, more particularly also quantitive, data relevant to the condition of normal and disturbed hearing, the discovery made by Kemp (see EP-B1.15258) being particularly of significance in this respect that sound emissions in the external canal can be measured as a reaction to a sound event which are indicative of the condition in the ear. These so-called evoked otoacoustic emissions were measured by Kemp with the aid of an acoustic sensor comprising a highly-sensitive miniature microphone and a sound emitter. It is also known that otoacoustic emissions may also materialize spontaneously, i.e. without the ear being stimulated from without.
Direct ear-drum vibration measurement in examining the mechanics of the middle ear is already being done by the method of laser Doppler vibrometry. This method is described in the German publication of N. Stasche, H. -J. Foth and K. Hormann in HNO (1993), 41, pages 1 to 6. In this method the beam of a He--Ne laser is split by a beam divider and the two component beams, one of which is directed at the object being examined, are subsequently caused to produce an interference effect. From the shift in frequency the amplitude of the sensed point in the ear-drum is determined. For inputting the laser light to the object being examined Stasche et al make use of a flexible fiber optic lightguide which needs to be located in the immediate vicinity of this object. Apart from problems as to resolution (small aperture) this may also make measuring difficult on the patient since the fiber optic lightguide must not come into contact with the ear-drum.

Determination of data concerning a person's auditory capacity


A method and apparatus for cancelling interference in received signals are disclosed. A receiver includes a knowledge-based interference cancellation unit, a blind interference cancellation unit and a trade-off management unit. The knowledge-based interference cancellation unit cancels interference in the received signals based on pre-known knowledge and the blind interference cancellation unit cancels interference in the received signals without the pre-known knowledge. The trade-off management unit determines a trade-off between knowledge-based interference cancellation and blind interference cancellation, whereby at least one of the knowledge-based interference cancellation and the blind interference cancellation is selectively preformed based on the trade-off. The interference cancellation may be performed by implementing at least one of a successive interference cancellation (SIC), a principal component analysis (PCA) and an independent component analysis (ICA). The knowledge-based and the blind interference cancellation may be performed in parallel, in series or in any combination.

In a wireless communication system, a receiver receives signals which include both signals intended for the specific receiver and signals intended for other receivers operating within the same frequency band. The signals intended for other receivers are referred to as interference. There are also sources of noise which produce signals that are not used for communication, but are received by the specific receiver as well. The general formula for a received signal incident to an antenna element is expressed as follows:x=s+ΣIi+Σnk;   Equation (1)where x is sum of signals of all types, s is signal of interest, ΣIi is interference due to other communication signals of known characteristics and Σnk is noise due to sources of unknown characteristics.
The capacity of a communication channel is limited by the Shannon's formula:C=W log2(1+S/N);   Equation (2)where C is capacity in bits per second, W is channel bandwidth in Hertz, S is the desired signal power and N is the power of all components not of interest which includes interference and noise.
The signal-to-noise ratio, S/N, in Equation (2) can be replaced by a signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) which is defined as follows:
                                                        SINR              =                                                                            Communication_Signal                                    _Of                                                        _Interest                    2                                                                                ∑                                                      All_Other                                                        _Communication                                                                                _Signals                              2                                                                                +                                                                                ∑                                                  All_Noise                                                                                _Signals                            2                                                                                =                                                                                s                    2                                                                              ∑                                              I                        i                        2                                                              +                                          ∑                                              n                        k                        2                                                                                ;                                                          Equation                                                            (          3          )                    The channel capacity is therefore C=W log2(1+SINR). Assuming a fixed allocation of bandwidth, W, it would be desirable to increase the value of SINR in order to maximize the capacity of the communication channels.
A conventional approach to increase the value of SINR is to exploit known characteristics of the signals by extracting them from the received signals, (i.e., non-blind technique). Training sequences are often used to allow the receiver to determine how to differentiate the signal of interest from all other signals. While the signal of interest may be the desired signal for further processing, (e.g., data extraction or location determination), the signal of interest may be one of the other signals in the received signal sum. In the latter case, determining such a signal may facilitate its subtraction from the received signals, leading to a more robust extraction of the desired signal for utilization. When available, this type of processing is often the preferred approach to extract the desired signal, subject to other system level considerations such as computational complexity, channel variation, or the like.
Successive interference cancellation (SIC) is an example of a non-blind interference cancellation technique. The SIC is based on knowledge of the signals that is either known or determined. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary conventional receiver 100 implementing SIC. In the receiver 100, received baseband data 101 is stored in a buffer 102. Interference is subtracted from the stored received baseband data, or the baseband data is 'orthogonally-projected' to the interference signals. The processed data output of the buffer 102 is multiplied with a scrambling code conjugate by a plurality of multipliers 104A-104L and correlated with L codes by a plurality of fast Walsh transformers (FWTs) 106A-106L. The outputs from the FWTs 106A-106L are combined by a maximal ratio combiner (MRC) 108. One of N outputs is selected by a decision unit 110 as an output and maximum M values selected by a selection unit 112 from N-1 outputs are fed back to the buffer 102 via a signal regeneration unit 114 which cancels the M signals as interference. The M signals are spread again by spreaders 116a-116M and summed by a summer 118. The summed signal is multiplied with a scrambling code by a multiplier 120 and the multipath channel signal is regenerated by the signal regenerator 122. The regenerated signal is subtracted from the received data 101 stored in the buffer 102 as the interference.
Another conventional approach to signal extraction is a class of signal processing referred to as blind signal processing. The term "blind" refers to the fact that the signals are separated without some information required by the conventional techniques exploiting known characteristics of the signals. For example, a lack of a training sequence or inability to decode it due to excessive signal distortion does not allow comparison of a known signal to a received signal. Therefore, the channel effects on the transmitted signal can not be directly determined.
Blind signal separation techniques get around this lack of information by exploiting information that still exists in the various signal types. One such type of information is the moment of a signal. Different communications stream sources impart different values to these moments. By maximizing a cost function based on the unique values of these parameters due to each signal, a separation matrix may be determined which will extract each signal from the mixture. Independent component analysis (ICA) and principle component analysis (PCA) are examples of blind signal separation methods.
Both the non-blind and blind techniques have their appropriate applications. When there is knowledge concerning the signal components, a non-blind technique is usually the more robust one to utilize, although the blind technique may also work. When the knowledge is not available, the blind technique should be used.
The non-blind and blind techniques have been jointly employed in receive processing only to a limited degree. One example is outlined in a paper entitled "Inter-Cell Interference Cancellation in CDMA Array Systems by Independent Component Analysis", (available from web site http://www.kecl.ntt.co.jp/icl/signal/ica2003/). FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a receiver 200 in accordance with this approach. In FIG. 2, signal aggregates from different cells are separated by an ICA unit 202. A separated aggregate containing the data for the receiver 200 is then selected by a selection unit 204 and the selected data alone is fed to a first Rake processing block 206 which is a non-blind approach as it exploits the spreading codes. The selection unit 204 is necessary since the ICA processing can output the separated signals in an initially unknown order. The selection unit 204 performs a minimal amount of processing to identify the target stream. For example, this may be performed by decoding a portion of the stream which should produce a known sequence of data, or have a specific set of signal characteristics. The stream which best satisfies the criteria is selected by the selection unit 204. The received signal may be processed only by a second Rake processing block 208 via a pre-switch 210 and a post switch 212. The two Rake processing blocks 206, 208 may be the same processing block.
While this approach is beneficial, it does not always work as exemplified by the figure illustrating the selection of its use or the avoidance of the ICA portion of the processing. This is because under certain circumstances the ICA processing actually has a detrimental overall effect on the extracted signal quality. An example of this problem is when the product of the separation matrix and the noise exceeds the gains from the separation of the signals. Therefore, a means to obtain consistent and robust SINR improvements is desirable.

Wireless communication method and apparatus for performing knowledge-based and blind interference cancellation


A method of combining outputs of a plurality of fluid pumps includes receiving an input signal from an input device. The input signal is adapted to control a function of a work vehicle. An actuation signal is sent to a first direction control device of a first actuator assembly. The first actuator assembly is in selective fluid communication with a first pump assembly. A position of a second direction control valve of a second actuator assembly is received. The second actuator assembly is in selective fluid communication with a second pump assembly. A selector valve that is in fluid communication with a cavity of a poppet valve assembly is actuated so that the second pump assembly is in fluid communication with the first actuator assembly when the second direction control valve is in a neutral position.

Fluid systems used in various applications often have pumps that are sized to provide fluid to various fluid circuits in the fluid system. The sizing of the pumps is typically based on the limitations of the fluid devices receiving the fluid. This approach often leads to pumps having large displacements.


An electric propulsion system of an electric vehicle according to one exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing having an inside partitioned into a plurality of spaces, power conversion devices disposed in the partitioned spaces of the housing, respectively, a connection bar formed on one surface of the housing to electrically interconnect the power conversion devices and a battery, and adapters configured to connect the connection bar to the power conversion devices, wherein each of the adaptors comprises an inner side and an outer side, wherein the inner side of the adaptor is provided with conductor members formed to be electrically connected to electrodes of the power conversion devices when the electrodes are inserted therein, wherein the outer side of the adaptor is provided with shielding members covering the conductor members for shielding noise generated from the power conversion devices.

1. Field of the Disclosure
This specification relates to an electric propulsion system of an electric vehicle, capable of reducing and shielding electromagnetic noise, generated in an electric vehicle using high power, and stabilizing a voltage variation (fluctuation) of DC high-voltage.
2. Background of the Disclosure
Electric vehicles, such as hybrid vehicles or electric propulsion vehicles which are driven by an electric motor, use a high-voltage high-current electric propulsion system (using a DC voltage of 340V to 1000V and a current of 80 A to 300 A). The high-voltage high-current electric propulsion system is configured by including high-power conversion devices, such as an electric generator, a motor, an AC-DC inverter and a DC-DC converter. However, the high power conversion devices are large in size so as to be disposed within a narrow space of the vehicle in a distributing manner.
Specifically, in the aspect that a human and low-voltage electric and electronic devices are present in a high-voltage noise environment formed within a narrow space of the electric vehicle, high-voltage electromagnetic noise may be likely to affect the human body and cause erroneous operations of the electric and electronic devices. While the electric propulsion system is operating, various digital or analog circuits, communication circuits and the like, which use a low voltage below 28V, may be affected by the high-voltage electromagnetic noise. This may cause erroneous operations of various controllers of the vehicle and accordingly bring about an accident of the vehicle. Also, a communication fault (or failure) may be caused in various communication devices mounted in the vehicle, due to electromagnetic noise interference. Actually, a radio, a cellular phone, and other radio devices, whose usage frequency bands overlap a frequency band of the high-voltage noise, may be confronted with degradation of reception sensitivity, and a communication failure of a controller area network (CAN) of a high-voltage battery management system (BMS) may be caused. Consequently, a safety accident may be likely to happen during the travel of the vehicle. Therefore, an electric propulsion system should be designed and fabricated in such a way of preventing the electromagnetic noise or avoid an affection thereby.
An electromagnetic noise generation source in the electric propulsion system is an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT), which is a high-power switching element mounted in an AC-DC inverter, a DC-DC converter and the like. Along a propagation path of high-power switching noise generated from the IGBT may be compositively generated conducted noise due to a leakage current, which is generated from a high-power conversion device, a high-power cable, an electric generator and a motor so as to flow along conductors of a vehicle, and complex radiation noise radiated from a high-voltage power line and the high-power conversion device.
For a 200 kW electric vehicle, more than eight high-power components are interconnected via high-voltage cables. One strand of a high-voltage DC-power cable may be more than 10 mm thick, and the number of power line cables may be totally 16. Also, each power cable may be 1 m to 7 m long. High-voltage 3-phase AC cables of the electric generator and the motor may be more than 10 mm thick and about 5 m long. The AC cables may serve as a propagation path of the electromagnetic noise generated from the IGBT. As the power transfer path extends, the electromagnetic noise may increase and thereby the electric and electronic devices near the power lines may be affected by the electromagnetic waves. Thus, a method of minimizing the electromagnetic noise may be taken into consideration.

Electric propulsion system of electric vehicle


A container and dispensing system is provided that includes a tamper resistant and sealable container with a child resistant latching mechanism. The container includes at least one hopper for storing a controlled substance or sensitive material, and includes a container unit locking lid with a locking mechanism that may be opened through manual manipulation or through the use of a key. In at least one embodiment, the locking mechanism is a flat spring locking device. A designated person, in the event of a pill container, a pharmacist, may control an optionally required key for removing the lid during refill operations. For other sensitive materials where tampering or unauthorized access is desired, such as a feed hopper, the owner of the container may retain control of the optional key.

For several years, there has been increased concern for protecting children's access to controlled substances, sensitive material, and inadvertent access to sensitive materials. However, the art has generally failed at creating such a device. Particularly with pill containers, most often young children have the necessary dexterity and skill to open the containers, while ironically the elderly have an arduous task in opening a pill container on their own. It is not uncommon for an elderly person to instruct a young child, who lacks the cognitive ability to know the dangers of ingesting the pills themselves, to open a pill container for them.
It should be appreciated that with controlled substances, such as prescription medications, ingestion of only one or two pills of certain prescribed medications may prove fatal to a child. Thus increased restriction to prescription medication storage devices, such as pill boxes, is desired while improving the ability for the elderly to gain access on their own. Moreover, there is an increasing awareness of the necessity to provide containers for prescribed medications which may otherwise be readily and easily opened by an adult which requires certain manipulation and manual dexterity. When an adult, such as the elderly, who suffers from a debilitating condition, such as arthritis, has the expectation of visits by active and curious grandchildren, they may instruct their pharmacist to dispense their prescribed medications in pill containers that require specific manipulation and manual dexterity with lesser physical effort, but which are still child-resistant.
There are several well-known, so-called, child-proof or child-resistant pill containers in the market, and which are generally employed by dispensing pharmacists for use in filling prescriptions, where the prescription requires that the pharmacist dispense one or more of a plurality of pills, tablets, gel-caps, capsules, or the like. The child-proof or child-resistant pill containers include the so-called "push-and-turn" closures for pill containers, or "arrow-alignment" closures for pill containers. In both cases, the pill containers are of the standard cylindrical variety and fail to meet the concerns realized by the public at large.
One method used today employs a panel inset into a recess formed in a cylindrical container cap, and is slidable into and out of that cap. The device is said to be child safe because it requires the physical pressure to engage a clutch mechanism to the inset panel, thus engaging the cap to open. It is these such containers which most are accustomed and are readily operable by children as young as three (3) years of age, while being inoperable by the elderly or those suffering from arthritis.
Other mechanisms, such as those found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,887,736, may require two simultaneous movements so as to open a container. While it is claimed that the operability of this device exceeds the capabilities of most young children, it also exceeds the dexterity that may be afforded by many adult patients, not including the elderly and those suffering from arthritis.
Additionally, there is an increasing awareness by persons who are in possession of controlled substances, such as prescription medications, to be assured in their own minds that a storage container has not been tampered in the interval between uses. In parallel with the growing concerns for the youth, other concerns include tampering and potentially poisoning feed dispensers or inadvertent access to the feed by animals biting or mechanically agitating a feed storage device.
Thus there remains an unmet need for providing a container which includes a latching device or mechanism to adequately meet the concerns outlined above.

Container with child-resistant latching mechanism


Disclosed are systems and methods for identifying a scene-change/non-scene-change transition between frames. One embodiment takes the form of a method including receiving a first frame of video; defining a first region of the first frame, wherein the first region is associated with a first plurality of pixels of the first frame; receiving a second frame of video; defining a second region of the second frame, wherein the second region is associated with a second plurality of pixels of the second frame; using (i) a first plurality of luma values associated with the first plurality of pixels and (ii) a second plurality of luma values associated with the second plurality of pixels, as a basis to identify the pair of the first and second frames as having a particular scene-change/non-scene-change attribute; and storing in a memory an indication that the pair of the first and second frames has the identified attribute.

Video technology relates to electronically capturing, processing, recording, and reconstructing a sequence of still images referred to as frames, so as to represent motion. Video includes a number of frames based on a predefined frame rate. For example, in the U.S., the Advanced Television Systems Committee ("ATSC") establishes a standard frame rate of 29.97 frames/second for video used for commercial broadcasting.
For video transmitted via a digital video signal (e.g., based on the high definition serial digital interface (HD-SDI) standard), each frame is represented by a number of pixels commonly described as the smallest unit of an image that can be represented or controlled. The number of pixels in a frame is based on a predefined resolution of the frame (typically defined by a number of columns and rows of pixels). For example, a frame having a resolution of 1920 columns and 1080 rows is referred to as 1920×1080 and is represented by the arithmetic product of approximately 2,073,600 pixels. Pixels have many attributes, including for example, chrominance values that represent color, and luma values (referred to herein as lumas) that represent brightness. Once captured and processed, video is typically encoded and recorded as a digital file. Thereafter, the file is retrieved and the video is reconstructed by decoding the file.
Recorded video is also often edited by a user. For example, a user may modify pixel attributes to alter a video's color saturation, brightness, and/or other properties. In addition, a user may edit a video's duration and/or its timeline by marking, cropping, splitting, combining, and/or rearranging select portions of the video into one or more files. Traditionally, such editing required a user to physically cut and rearrange portions of film embodying the video, but with the advent of digital files, most video editing is performed by a user interfacing with a computer software program.
While such software programs have made it easier for users to edit video, the editing process is still often difficult and time-consuming. Among other things, users often find it difficult to locate and focus on the appropriate portions of video that need to be edited.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for identifying a scene-change/non-scene-change transition between frames


A method of generating a slope compensation signal for use in a current mode switching regulator. The method includes the steps of summing a clock signal and a reference signal so as to generate a linear ramp signal; generating a non-linear signal from the linear ramp signal; multiplying a correction signal with an input voltage signal so as to generate a signal which varies based on a measured value of a current flowing within the current mode switching regulator; summing a first voltage signal corresponding to the non-linear correction signal and a second voltage signal indicating the difference between an actual voltage level of the current mode switching regulator and the desired voltage level of the current mode switching regulator so as to generate a first output signal which represents the second voltage signal minus the first voltage signal; and comparing the first output signal and the measured value of a current flowing within the current mode switching regulator, and generating a second output signal utilized to control current flow within the current mode switching regulator based on the result of the comparison.

Current-mode switching regulators operate to provide a substantially constant output voltage to a load from a voltage source that may be poorly-specified or fluctuating. As is well known, in a current mode switching regulator, the flow of current to the load is provided in the form of discrete current pulses, and governed by a controller. The controller functions to measure the current flow within the regulator, and operate a switch contained within the regulator to control the current supply based on this measured current. By controlling the duty cycle of this switch, i.e., the percentage of time that the switch is ON relative to the total period of the switching cycle, the amount of current supplied by switching regulator can be regulated so as to provide the desired output level.
In current-mode switching voltage regulators, which utilize current programmed control, there is an inherent instability when the duty cycle exceeds 50% with fixed frequency and continuous inductor current mode, and 67% with fixed frequency and discontinuous inductor current mode (i.e., when the switch is ON for more than 50% or 67% of a given switching period). In order to maintain stability of such current-mode switching regulators, the current-derived signal used to control the regulator is modified by, for example, applying a slope compensation signal.
FIG. 1a shows an example of a known buck-configuration current-mode switching regulator 100 utilizing slope compensation (see, Erickson's: Fundamentals of Power Electronics, 2nd Edition, pages 446–448). The switching regulator 100 includes a voltage source 112, a switch 114, a diode 116, an inductor 118, a capacitor 120, a load 122 and a current controller circuit 124 coupled together in the manner shown in FIG. 1. The current controller circuit 124 includes a timing circuit 126 that is capable of producing linear ramp and clock digital signals, a latch 128, a comparator 130, a summer 132 and a scaling resistor 134. As shown, the latch 128 receives an input signal from the timing circuit 126 which functions to set the latch 128. When the latch 128 is set, it causes the switch 114 to turn on and provide current from the voltage source 112 to the output load 122. Latch 128 remains set until an output signal from the comparator 130 causes the latch 128 to reset. When reset, the latch 128 turns switch 114 off so that current is no longer drawn from the voltage source 112.
The timing circuit 126 also generates a linear slope compensation signal, which is coupled to one input of the summer 132. The slope compensation signal is illustrated in FIG. 1b. The other input of the summer 132 receives a signal indicating the current supplied to the output load 122. The output of the summer 132 is coupled to one input of the comparator 130. The other input to the comparator 130 is a control signal, Vc, indicating the difference between the desired (i.e., VSETPOINT) and actual voltage (i.e., Vo) levels to be supplied to the load 122. Comparator 130 determines when to reset latch 128 by comparing a signal that is the combination of the signal representing the measured current and the linear slope compensation signal (i.e., the output of summer 132) and the control signal, Vc.
As noted above, it is well known in the prior art that slope compensation can be applied to the switching regulator controllers to avoid sub-harmonic oscillation instability of the duty cycle with respect to the switching frequency when the nominal duty cycle exceeds 50%.
As set forth by Erickson, for buck converters the boundary of stability with slope compensation is stated as:
                              1          =                                                    S                f                            -                              S                e                                                                    S                r                            +                              S                e                                                    ,                  in                                                              the                                                              notation                                                              where                                              :                                                  [                                                                                S                        f                                            =                                                                        falling                                                                                current                                                                                slope                                                =                                                                              M                            2                                                    =                                                                                V                              0                                                        L                                                                                S                        r                                            =                                                                        rising                                                                                current                                                                                slope                                                =                                                                              M                            1                                                    =                                                                                V                                IN                                                            -                                                              V                                0                                                                                L                                                                                S                        e                                            =                                                                        external                                                                                compensation                                                                                ramp                                                                                slope                                                =                                                  M                          a                                                                                ]                                                          (        1        )            Thus the required compensation ramp slope for stability is:
                                          S            e                    =                                                                      S                  f                                -                                  S                  r                                            2                        =                                                                                2                                                              V                      0                                                        -                                      V                    IN                                                                    2                                                                                L                                            =                                                                    (                                                                  2                                                                                D                                            -                      1                                        )                                                                          V                    IN                                                                    2                                                                                L                                                                    ,                  (                                                    since                                                                                D                            =                                                V                  0                                                  V                  IN                                                      ,                                          and                                                                                D                                                        (                    t                    )                                                              =                                                                    t                    Ts                                                                                for                                                                                0                                ≤                t                ≤                                  Ts                                                                                in                                                                                each                                                                                control                                                                                cycle                                                              )                                    (        2        )            Se is the slope of the current compensation ramp Ve, so the scaling factor to obtain the signal voltage is Ri, the same factor as the current sense scaling. Thus:
                                          d            dt                                          V            e                          =                              Ri            *                          S              e                                =                                                                                R                    i                                                                          V                    IN                                                                    2                                                                                L                                                                          (                                                      2                                                                                D                                    -                  1                                )                                      =                                                            RiVIN                  L                                                                  (                                                            t                                              T                        s                                                              -                                          1                      /                      2                                                        )                                            =                                                                    RiV                    IN                                    L                                                                  (                                                                                V                        CK                                                                    V                        REF                                                              -                                          1                      /                      2                                                        )                                                                                (        3        )            where referring to FIG. 2b, VCK=(VREF/Ts)*t, for 0≦t≦Ts. Accordingly, for stability, the compensation ramp slope can be zero until:
                              t          =                                    T              s                        2                          ,                  (                      D            =            0.5                    )                ,                            (        4        )            and then must increase proportional with t, to a maximum of:
                                                        V              IN                                      2                                                                                L                                                                                at                                                              t                =                              T            s                    .                                    (        5        )            Thus:
                                          Ve                                      (              t              )                                =                                                                      RiV                  IN                                L                                                                            ∫                                      Ts                    2                                    t                                                                                (                                                                  t                        -                                                  Ts                          2                                                                    Ts                                        )                                                                                ⅆ                    t                                                                        =                                                                                RiV                    IN                                                                          (                                          t                      -                                              Ts                        2                                                              )                                                  2                                            2                                                                                LTs                                                    ,                              for                                                                                Ts              /              2                                ≤          t          ≤          Ts                ,                            (        6        )                                          and                                                                          Ve                                      (              t              )                                      =                              0                                                                          for                                                                          t                    ≤                      Ts            /            2                                              (        7        )
The preceding equations defining the waveforms are illustrated in FIGS. 2a and 2b. Specifically, FIG. 2a illustrates the current signal, IL, delivered to the load during an exemplary clock cycle, Ts. As shown, IL exhibits a rising slope Sr during the period the switch 114 is on, and exhibits a decreasing slope Sf during the period the switch 114 is off. FIG. 2b illustrates two slope compensation signals. The first slope compensation signal, which is typically utilized in known devices, exhibits a linear increase (see, dashed-line 22). The second and more desirable slope compensation signal exhibits a non-linear increase (see, solid line 24).
As noted, the present design practice is usually to make the slope of the compensation signal constant at the maximum value required for a duty cycle equal to 100% (i.e., D=1) so that the waveform is an easy to generate linear ramp as illustrated in FIG. 2b, element 22. However, the condition necessary for stability is a non-linear function as indicated by element 24 of FIG. 2b. The non-linear function of the slope compensation signal as shown in equation (6), when evaluated at t=Ts, has the value:
                              Ve                                (            t            )                          =                                                                              R                  i                                                                  V                  IN                                                            2                                                                                LT                  s                                                                                (                                  t                  -                                      Ts                    2                                                  )                            2                                =                                                                                R                    i                                                                          V                    IN                                                                    8                                                                                L                                                                          T                s                                                                                at                                                                                t                        =            Ts                                              (        8        )            A linear ramp of the same maximum slope required for stability (i.e., 22 of FIG. 2b) would have a value of:
                                                                        RiV                IN                                            2                                                                                L                                                                (                              Ts                2                            )                                =                                                                                RiV                    IN                                                      Ts                                                  4                                                                                L                                                                                at                                                                                t                        =            Ts                          ,                            (        9        )            or twice as large a correction amplitude as needed with the second order compensation ramp. It is noted that larger correction amplitudes of the compensation ramp increase dynamic signal range requirements in the controller and make it more difficult to obtain large load currents, especially when VOUT is nearly equal to VIN and D→1.
In other words, by utilizing a linear slope compensation signal and providing enough slope compensation to handle the worst case scenario, which is 100% duty cycle, the dynamic range of the controller is unnecessarily reduced when the regulator is operating at a duty cycle of less than 100%. As is known, the amount of slope compensation necessary to provide stability increases as the duty cycle increases. In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide only the amount of slope compensation actually required to prevent instability so as to not degrade the dynamic range of the controller.

Higher order slope compensation for fixed frequency current mode switching regulators

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and device are disclosed for safely operating a switching device with at least one main contact, which can be switched on or off, and which has contact elements and a moving contact bridge, and with at least one control magnet, which has a moving armature. During switching on and off, the armature acts upon the contact bridge whereby closing and opening the corresponding main contact. At least one embodiment of the method includes the following: a) identifying whether the moving contact bridge of the at least one main contact has surpassed an opening point after the switching off; and b) interrupting the further operation of the switching device when the opening point has not been surpassed after a predetermined period of time.

Switching devices, in particular, low-voltage switching devices, can be used to switch the current paths between an electrical supply device and loads and therefore to switch their operating currents. Thus, the connected loads can be connected and disconnected safely by the switching device opening and closing current paths.
An electrical low-voltage switching device, such as a contactor, a circuit breaker or a compact starter, has one or more so-called main contacts for switching of the current paths, which main contacts may be controlled by one or more control measurements. In principle, the main contacts in this case include a moving contact link and fixed contact pieces, to which the loads and the supply device are connected. An appropriate connection or disconnection signal is passed to the control magnet in order to close and open the main contacts, in response to which the armatures of these control magnets act on the moving contact links such that the contact links carry out a relative movement with respect to the fixed contact pieces and either close or open the current paths to be switched.
In order to improve the contact between the contact pieces and the contact links, appropriately designed contact surfaces are provided at points at which the two touch one another. These contact surfaces are composed of materials such as silver alloys which are fitted both to the contact link and to the contact pieces at these points and have a specific thickness.
The materials on the contact surfaces are subject to wear during every switching process. Factors which can influence this wear are:                increasing contact erosion or contact wear as the number of connection and disconnection processes increases,        increasing deformation,        increasing contact corrosion as a result of arcing, or        environmental influences such as vapors or suspended particles, etc.In consequence, the operating currents are no longer safely switched and this can lead to current interruptions, contact heating or to contact welding.
For example, the thickness of the materials applied to the contact surfaces will decrease in particular as the contact erosion increases. In consequence, the switching distance between the contact surfaces of the contact link and the contact pieces becomes longer and in the end this reduces the contact force on closing. In consequence, the contacts will no longer close correctly as the number of switching process increases. The current interruptions resulting from this or else increased connection bouncing can then lead to contact heating and thus to increased melting of the contact material, which can then in turn lead to welding of the contact surfaces of the main contacts.
If one main contact in the switching device is worn or even welded, then the switching device can no longer safely disconnect the load. In the case of a welded contact at least the current path with the welded main contact will still actually in consequence despite the disconnection signal carry current and be live, so that the load is not completely disconnected from the supply device. Since the load therefore remains in a non-safe state, the switching device represents a potential fault source.
In consequence, the protective function can be blocked, for example in the case of compact starters according to IEC 60 947-6-2, in which an additional protection mechanism acts on the same main contacts as the control magnet during normal switching.
Fault sources such as these must therefore be avoided for safe operation of switching devices and therefore for protection of the load and of the electrical installation.

Method and device for the safe operation of a switching device


Brazing filler metal compositions have excellent wettability to nickel/cobalt/iron-based base metals and produce braze joints with high strength and heat/corrosion resistance. The iron-based braze filler metal includes chromium in amounts between about 20 to 35 percent by weight, silicon in amounts between about 3 to 12 percent by weight, phosphorus in amounts between about 3 to 12 percent by weight; and 0 to about 0.2 weight percent of one or more of calcium, yttrium and misch metal, the balance being iron. These filler metals are suitable for the manufacture of several different types of heat exchangers and catalytic converters at a significantly lower cost compared to currently known braze filler metal compositions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to iron-based braze filler metal compositions. More specifically, these filler metals are suitable for the manufacture of several different types of heat exchangers and catalytic converters at a significantly lower cost compared to currently known braze filler metal compositions.
2. Description of Related Art
Nickel-based brazing filler metals with a high chromium content are generally used for their corrosion- resistant and heat-resistant properties. For example, nickel-based fillers may be used in the fabrication and repair of equipment and parts required to operate under high-temperature, corrosive, and/or harsh environment. More particularly, nickel-based or cobalt-based braze filler metals can be used for certain types of heat exchangers, such as exhaust gas regulation (EGR) coolers in automotive applications. Filler metals for these applications must have certain properties to be suitable for use. Such properties include resistance to high temperature oxidation; corrosion resistance; good wettability to the base metals; and not causing embrittlement of base metals during brazing.
Several different grades of nickel-based braze filler metals are defined by the American Welding Society (ANSI/AWS A 5.8) standard. Many of these filler metals are used in the fabrication of heat exchangers. For example BNi-2, a nickel-based brazing filler with a nominal composition of Ni-Bal, Cr-7, B-3, Si-4.5, Fe-3 is a well known filler metal capable of producing braze joints with high strength. A major disadvantage of this filler metal is the degradation of the strength of the base metal due to boron diffusion into the base metal (especially in thin sheet metals as in heat exchangers) and erosion of the base metal. Other boron-containing nickel-based filler metals (such as, for example, BNi-1, BNi-1A, BNi-3, BNi-4 and BNi-9) have similar disadvantages due to the high amounts of boron of nearly 3 percent.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of boron diffusion, other alloys without boron have been considered. These were BNi-6 (Ni-10P), BNi-7 (Ni-14Cr-10P) alloys. These alloys contained approximately 10 percent phosphorus and produced joints without the required strength due to brittle phases in the joint. Another boron-free nickel-based braze alloy is BNi-5 (a Ni-Bal; Cr-19, Si-10). While these alloys were excellent in producing joints without the deleterious effect of boron diffusion into the base metal, there were other disadvantages.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,203,754 and 6,696,017 teach nickel-based filler metals of the type Ni—Cr—Si—P compositions that meet several of the requirements for brazing heat exchangers and have excellent corrosion resistance. However, a major disadvantage for these and all the above nickel-based filler metals is the high amount expensive nickel content. These alloys contain a minimum of at least 60 percent nickel. More typically they contain nickel in the range of 70 to 90 percent. The nickel content in these alloys increase the cost of braze filler metals and thus increase the cost of the heat exchangers to unattractive levels. Additionally, the supply of nickel raw material in the world market is volatile, and therefore prices are subject to escalation in an unpredictable manner.
Thus, in light of the factors described above, there remains a need in the art for a brazing filler material that meets the specific requirements for heat exchanger environments while eliminating boron diffusion and achieving lower costs.

Iron-based braze filler metal for high-temperature applications


An organic light emitting display apparatus capable of reducing a dead space for arranging wirings in a panel. The organic light emitting display apparatus includes: a panel including a screen portion on which images are displayed and a non-screen portion surrounding the screen portion; a first wiring portion and a second wiring portion formed on different locations of the non-screen portion to be connected to pixel wirings on the screen portion; and a film substrate including a plurality of connection portions connected to the first wiring portion and the second wiring portion. Thus, the dead space that is formed on the non-screen portion of the panel for forming the wirings may be effectively reduced.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to an organic light emitting display apparatus, and more particularly, to an organic light emitting display apparatus having an improved structure capable of reducing a dead space for wiring on a panel.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an organic light emitting display apparatus has a structure in which an emission layer formed of an organic layer is disposed between an anode and a cathode. When voltages are applied to the anode and the cathode, holes injected from the anode and electrons injected from the cathode are recombined in the emission layer to generate excitons, and light is emitted and thus images are displayed while excitons drop from an excited state to a ground state.
For performing such operations, wirings are provided for connecting the electrodes to electric power in the organic light emitting display apparatus, and such wirings are disposed on a dead space that is outside of a display panel and shielded by a black matrix (or dark layer).
However, when a space occupied by the wirings on the display panel is increased, a screen (screen portion i.e., area for displaying images) has to be reduced in size. Thus, a method of effectively reducing the dead space occupied by the wiring is necessary in order to realize (or achieve) a large size screen.

Organic light emitting display apparatus


A service-oriented framework allows client applications to services hosted on a distributed computing access computational grid. Services facilitate remote, parallel execution of code in a way that is scalable, fault-tolerant, dynamic and language-independent. Services can be written in a variety of languages, and do not need to be compiled or linked with vendor-supplied code. A client written in one language can invoke a Service written in another. A benefit of the invention over traditional approaches is that it virtualizes the Service. Rather than send a request directly to the remote machine hosting the Service, a client request is sent to a manager, which enqueues until an Engine is available. The first Engine to dequeue the request hosts the Service. This mechanism, in which a single virtual Service instance (the client-side object) is implemented by one or more physical instances (Engine processes), provides for fault tolerance and essentially unlimited scalability.

Recent years have seen explosive growth in the field of grid computing. See, for example, Foster et al., "The Anatomy of the Grid: Enabling Virtual Scalable Organizations," Intl. J. of Supercomputer Applications (2001).
However, despite significant work in the research and commercial sectors, there remains substantial room for improvement of grid computing frameworks. Specifically, there exists a need for improvement in the mechanisms for translating or porting existing client-server applications to grid platforms without the need for extensive modification, and for grid platforms that can execute such ported client-server applications in an efficient, load-balanced, and fault-tolerant manner. The present invention addresses these, as well as other, needs.

Score-based scheduling of service requests in a grid services computing platform


In a rotatively operating tool, a lever (5) having a head (4) at its tip end is turnably connected to a handle (6) provided at its tip end with a lower jaw (12). The head (4) is provided with an upper jaw (7) brought into engagement with an engaging surface (2a) of a bolt head (2). A spring (14) is mounted between the lever (5) and the handle (6) for biasing the lever (5) to turn it in a direction of abutment of a stopper face (11) of the lever (5) against the handle (6). When the handle (6) is turned in one direction, the lower jaw (12) at the tip end of the handle (6) is brought into abutment against an engaging surface (2b) of the bolt head (2), whereby the bolt head (2) is clamped between the lower jaw (12) and the upper jaw (7). When the handle (6) is turned in an opposite direction, it is brought into a state in which the clamping of the bolt head (2) is canceled. Even when the lever (5) is turned against a biasing force of the spring (14), the bolt head (2) is clamped between the upper jaw (7) and the lower jaw (12). Thus, it is possible to provide a rotatively operating tool having a simple structure, which is designed so that a rotatively operated member such as a bolt can be rotated in one direction and even in an opposite direction as required by the reciprocally turning operation of the tool.

In general, a wrench is used for the rotative operation of a rotatively operated member having an operated portion as described above. In a case of a usual wrench, however, it is required that the wrench is once removed from the rotatively operated member every time the rotatively operated member is rotated over a certain angle and thereafter, the wrench be caught again on another engaging surface of the operated portion of the rotatively operated member. This operation is troublesome and especially, the wrench is not suitable for a long-time operation. Therefore, a special tool of a ratchet type is also used which is designed so that when a handle is turned in one direction, a rotatively operated member is rotated, but when the handle is turned in an opposite direction, a rotatively operating force is not transmitted to the rotatively operated member. However, such special tool can rotate the rotatively operated member only in one direction and for this reason, when the rotatively operated member is to be rotated in an opposite direction, it is necessary to recatch the tool with an opposite orientation each time. It is desired in many cases that the rotatively operated member, after being rotated in one direction, is rotated in an opposite direction. For example, in a case of a rotatively operated member such as a tie rod of an automobile, the adjustment of the length of the rotatively operated member is carried out by the rotation of the latter and hence, it is necessary to rotate the rotatively operated member in opposite directions for the fine adjustment. In such a case, the operation is rather complicated with the tool for rotating the rotatively operated member only in one direction as described above.
From such viewpoint, an improved wrench has been proposed (see Patent Document 1, for example), which is designed so that a rotatively operated member can be rotated in a desired direction by the reciprocally turning operation in a range of relatively small angles, while ensuring that a rotatively operating force in any direction can be applied to the rotatively operated member. In the improved wrench, a stationary jaw and a movable jaw are provided at a tip end of a handle grasped by an operator, so that when an operated portion of the rotatively operated member is located between the stationary jaw and the movable jaw and the handle is pushed to the operated portion, the movable jaw is turned to a position where the operated portion of the rotatively operated member is clamped between the movable jaw and the stationary jaw, and when the pushing force to the handle is weakened, the movable jaw is turned from the clamping position to an unclamping position.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent No.2913251
However, the wrench described in Patent Document 1 has a problem that a means is required for detecting a state in which the handle has been pushed to the operated portion of the rotatively operated member, inevitably resulting in an increase in number of parts, an increase in cost and moreover, an increase in weight.

Rotatively operating tool for rotatively operated member having a pair of engaging surfaces


A process is disclosed for the calcium reduction of rare earth fluorides, especially neodymium and/or praseodymium fluorides, in a minimum volume stirred molten calcium chloride reaction medium that produces high yield, high quality rare earth alloy with a calcium fluoride byproduct that can be recycled to generate more rare earth fluoride starting material.

There is a general need for more efficient practices for the chemical reduction of rare earth element compounds to the respective rare earth metals. This need is especially prevalent with respect to the rare earth elements neodymium and praseodymium because of their increased utilization in iron-neodymium (and/or praseodymium)-boron type permanent magnets. As the many different types and forms of these magnets compete for applications, it is desirable to produce the rare earth constituent(s), neodymium and/or praseodymium, at lower cost.
My earlier patents describe the metallothermic reduction of rare earth oxides dispersed in a molten salt reaction medium (typically comprising calcium chloride) using elemental calcium as the reductant (U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,242) and the reduction of rare earth chlorides in the same type of reaction medium (U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,055). The metallothermic reduction of rare earth oxides such as neodymium (and/or praseodymium) oxide has been used commercially to produce neodymium metal for the types of permanent magnets described above. The use of the molten salt reaction medium in combination with a molten neodymium-iron alloy product recovery phase produces high purity neodymium metal in good yield, about 95 percent yield. However, a mixture of byproduct calcium oxide and calcium chloride is formed, which requires a disposal decision. Furthermore, the required volume of calcium chloride reaction medium with respect to the yield of neodymium metal is fairly high, which reduces the capacity and the efficiency of the reactor. Similar drawbacks are associated with the use of neodymium chloride as a starting material. Furthermore, the use of neodymium chloride requires that the most readily available form of this material must be dried and made anhydrous before it can be used in the very hot molten salt bath.
Other workers, Seon et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,636,353, have described a reduction process for rare earth fluorides like neodymium fluoride that utilizes a mixture of calcium chloride, calcium and iron. These materials are simply mixed together in finely divided particle form and heated without stirring to a high temperature, preferably 900.degree. C. to 1100.degree. C. A reaction product mass is formed that comprises a calcium chloride-calcium fluoride slag, residual calcium and a mixture of iron and neodymium. The yield in this practice is relatively low, the reaction temperatures are high, and separation of the slag from the metallic product is not easy and convenient.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method for producing rare earth metals from their corresponding fluorides in high yield and high quality. It is a further object that such process be volumetrically efficient in that it produces a high yield of rare earth metal per unit volume of reactor vessel space.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a process that is particularly useful for producing neodymium and/or praseodymium metal alloys using a stirred molten calcium chloride-based reaction medium and calcium metal as the reductant.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a reaction scheme whereby calcium fluoride byproduct is recycled as a reactant for forming neodymium fluoride from another neodymium (i.e., rare earth) starting material.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of my invention, these and other objects are accomplished as follows.

Metallothermic reduction of rare earth fluorides


A method for operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes displaying a first image obtained by an image sensor, obtaining a plurality of crop images cropped in response to a change in an angle of view of the image sensor from the first image, and sequentially displaying the plurality of crop images.

With development of information and telecommunication technology and a semiconductor technology, electronic devices have evolved into multimedia devices providing various multimedia services. For example, a multimedia device provides various multimedia services such as a messenger service, a broadcasting service, a wireless Internet service, a camera service, and a music reproduction service. These multimedia devices may include a mega-pixel camera module to enable still image shooting and moving picture shooting, and obtain a unique photo of its own to which various shooting effects have been applied.
Recently, when taking photographs using an electronic device, a hand trembling correction function for preventing a problem of afterimages occurring in a shot image due to a user's hand trembling or unintended movement is provided. For this hand trembling correction, several methods are in use, including Digital Image Stabilization (DIS), Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS), and Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present disclosure.

Apparatus and method for displaying an image in an electronic device


An antenna which includes a monoconical antenna feed assembly, where the feed assembly has a base and an apex, a ground plane adjacent to the monoconical antenna feed assembly near the apex, and an antenna reflector coupled to the ground plane, where the antenna reflector at least partially surrounds the monoconical antenna feed assembly. The monoconical feed point is used to drive a reflector antenna. The broadband characteristics of the monoconical image vertical antenna (typical ground plane geometry) are used as the feed point for the reflector to give modest amount of gain while maintaining larger than previously developed bandwidths.

In antenna design, there are at least three overall design criteria; size relative to wavelength, directivity (or antenna gain), and frequency operating bandwidth. Generally, the first limiting design factor is frequency bandwidth and gain versus antenna size trade-off. Gain to size aspect ratios favor center feed corner reflector antennas, which is a well-understood design.
Design of the antenna feed assembly is also a relevant concern. To achieve broader frequency bandwidth, the conventional bow-tie feed is often chosen. There are two problems associated with this design, one, the conventional bow-tie feed has a 300 ohm balanced input impedance, which is a large mismatch for the typical 50 ohm unbalanced coaxial line, and two, the conventional bow-tie uses a full wavelength corner reflector, which is too large to fit into reduced space requirements.


There are provided a dry aggregate mixture wherein the binder, even when heated, does not evolve unpleasant odor or gas hazardous to human health; a method of foundry molding wherein a space for foundry molding, up to minute portion thereof, can satisfactorily be filled with an aggregate mixture composed of a binder and granular aggregate; and a method of foundry molding wherein the mold used in molding of an aggregate mixture composed of a binder and granular aggregate can retain satisfactory properties even in high humidity. In the method of foundry molding, a mold is formed by the use of a dry mixture obtained by providing an aggregate mixture composed of granular aggregate, a water soluble binder and water and evaporating the water contained in the aggregate mixture through heating, pressure reduction or aeration while mixing so as to effect separation into single granules, or with the addition of a lubricant and a crosslinking agent thereto.

Conventional binders to bind sand grains to each other include many inorganic based or organic based binders. Typically, a mold that is composed of solidified sand grains with such a binder is used as a core mold. Such a core mold is disposed in a casting cavity to cast an article such that the core mold forms a contoured surface that is contoured to the inner surface of the cast article. One example of the conventional binders is a phenol-formaldehyde resin.
As one conventional molding process, a shell mold process is known as disclosed in Japanese Patent Early-Publication No. 10-193033. The shell mold process is to use molding sand that is coated with the binder, and to charge it into a heated metal mold using a blowing introducing process. The coating binder of the charged molding sand is then cured by the heat transferred from the mold.
Another conventional molding process uses a water-soluble binder as disclosed in Japanese Patent Early-Publication No. 55-8328. This process is to freeze a mixture comprising the water-soluble binder, water, and molding sand, while the mixture is kneaded.
The frozen mixture is charged into a pre-heated mold using a blowing introducing process. The charged mixture is then dried and thus cured.
The forgoing process disclosed in Japanese Patent Early-Publication No. 10-193033 involves the binder generating volatile gases, such as a formaldehyde gas, a phenol gas, and an ammonium gas, while the binder is thermally cured by the heat transferred from the metal mold. The volatile gases involve unpleasant odors or impose biohazards for a human.
A core mold to be assembled to form a mold often contains a binder that is based on a urea-phenol-formaldehyde resin or a phenol-formaldehyde resin. Pouring a molten metal of an iron alloy or a light-metal alloy into such an assembled mold heats the binder, and in turn it is volatized or decomposed to generate gas, which may cause voids to form within the poured molten metal.
The typical use of the core mold with a resin-binder for casting a non-iron alloy, e.g., an aluminum alloy, resulted in the resin-binder being insufficiently volatized or decomposed, since the temperature of the molten metal to be poured into the mold is about 700° C. This may prevent the core mold from being readily removed from the cooled and solidified molten metal. The insufficiently removed core mold needs to be shaken, or to be re-heated so that the solidified molten metal in turn volatizes or decomposes the binder, in order to remove it.
The forgoing molding process disclosed in Japanese Patent Early-Publication No. 55-8328 is to freeze the mixture of the water-soluble binder, the water, and the molding sand, as noted above. This results in silica sand grains within a blow-head being concentrated to be formed as rocks or clots when the frozen mixture is charged into the metal mold. This effect is also possible in the interval between two adjacent cycles of charging. This effect involves the difficulty in continuously charging the mixture from the blow-head into the mold. Indeed, such a molding process has not yet been practiced.
When the core mold with the water-soluble binder is deposed in a high-humidity environment, the water-soluble binder typically absorbs water and thus its binding force is weakened, to cause the deformation of the core mold. As a result, the core mold may not maintain its shape. Even such a core mold can be used in the molding process, and the moisture within it is heated and vaporized when the molten metal is poured into the core mold. The resulting vapors form voids within the poured molten metal.

Dry mixture of an aggregate material, a molding process using the same, and a core mold


Resilient clamps assemble modular sections of a serpentine conveyor belt at peripheral positions of mated interface walls and retain the walls in sealing, face-to-face contact while the belt moves through a laterally bending pathway. The clamps provide opposed latchkeys that register into boltways or recesses in the mated walls to lock the modular sections into fixed positions with respect to one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to power-driven conveyors, and particularly to drag or slide conveyors in which the conveyor belt is an assemblage of end-linked, segmented belt elements assembled by connectably mating integral flanged surfaces of the respective elements.
2. Background of the Invention
Conveyor belts adapted to move along curved paths are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,701,050 to Steinborn, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,836,283 to Horth, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,169,631 to Knappe, among others, culminating in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,144,965, 4,438,842, and 4,937,006 to Alldredge et al. for assemblies for such conveyors. These patents disclose a novel flexible conveyor belt, sometimes known as a Serpentix belt, which name is derived from the U.S. manufacturer and trademark owner, Serpentix Conveyor Corporation of Westminster, Colo.
The Serpentix belt is capable of traveling in a laterally curved path, which may include horizontal curves, vertical curves, and complex curves with serpentine or helical portions. With the development of this type of conveyor belt, it became possible to install a single conveyor that negotiates omni-directional corners, in contrast to the prior art practice of requiring load transfer between intersecting linear conveyor paths. As a result, loads could be conveyed through complex work areas or building structures on a single conveyor, without the needless expense, spillage and loss of floor area associated with use of a transfer station.
Known conveyor belts that are capable of traveling in a curved path are assemblages of convoluted, modular elements typically fabricated of rubber or, optionally, a synthetic material. A belt formed of such modular elements, which also are referred to as belt pan units, may have a troughed structure. Relative to the longitudinal centerline of typical belt movement, both lateral sides of the belt may angle upwardly to cradle the load toward the centerline of the belt. In addition, the belt forms a series of longitudinally spaced transverse convolutions or raised folds. The convolutions enable the belt to bend laterally, such as through lateral corners, while traveling longitudinally. In addition, the convolutions aid in retaining the load at a fixed longitudinal position on the belt. Consequently, such a belt, i.e., a Serpentix belt, is well suited for use with loose or granular loads because it retains such loads despite vertical, horizontal, and complex helical bends in the conveyor path. The modular elements or belt pan units are assembled by attachments to form an endless belt. This type of conveyor has applications, for example, in mining, quarrying, and manufacturing operations to transport bulk materials. Linked together, the assembled elements form a loop that is flexible in three dimensions.
The modular elements are assembled at unions by mating connections along integral end-oriented flanges. Periodically one union among a sequential plurality of unions between modular elements in a belt is mounted to a transverse support, such as an arm, to support the conveyor belt. The support arms are attached to a pulling means such as a drag chain. The support arms can be attached to carriages, for example having lateral wheels or rollers that ride on shaped rails, or having centrally attached sliding or rolling stabilizer elements riding in a stabilization channel. Rails and central channels can be fabricated both along straight runs and through curves that define a closed path for a belt conveyor extending in any relative direction.
An assembled conveyor belt is defined by an alternating series of convolutions and pan areas. A single modular element or belt pan unit typically will be of sufficient length to include at least one convolution. At least one-half of a pan area extends from each opposite longitudinal face of the convolution. The modular element typically will be longitudinally symmetrical, allowing insertion into the length of a conveyor belt in either of two directional orientations. At both end edges of the pan areas of a belt pan unit, the modular element includes a depending, transverse stiffener, which typically is a metal or plastic flange structure extending across the width of the belt pan unit and shaped in a troughed profile matching the upward angle of the belt sides.
A modular element optionally may include a plurality of convolutions and thus define one complete pan area between each pair of included convolutions. In addition, a pan half-portion completes each longitudinal end of the modular element. If a convolution should become damaged or torn, the damaged belt pan can be replaced individually. A belt pan carrying only a single convolution is efficient and economical to replace. However, an offsetting consideration is that the entire conveyor belt initially must be assembled of the individual belt pans, which requires a maximum assembly task when the belt pans are each of minimum length.
Typically, the modular elements are joined together, including the periodic attachments of the support arms, using sets of bolts with nuts and washers. These fasteners are applied through boltways in the juxtaposed end stiffeners of sequential belt pans. A sufficient number and suitable spacing of such fasteners is employed to draw together the juxtaposed stiffeners in order to close the abutment line between joined edges of sequential belt pans. The fasteners may encounter unusually high opposing forces in a laterally bendable belt when the belt turns a corner. Yet, belt pans should be held together with minimal separation at the pan junctions so that the load is retained from loss through the junctions.
Similarly, foreign matter should be kept out of the junctions to prevent wear and to better enable cleaning the belt. To augment the compression between flanges achieved with bolt sets, the resilient material of the belt pan unit may extend beyond the end face of the associated stiffeners by a small dimension. These extensions are compressed when juxtaposed stiffeners of sequential belt pan units are bolted together to form the belt. The compressed resilient extensions provide a seal between sequential belt pan units. However, for purposes of assembly and maintenance, the provisioning and physical manipulation of bolting for the belt assemblages is labor-intensive, and therefore time consuming and costly.
It would be desirable to provide an improved method and apparatus to simplify provisioning and greatly reduce time for assembly and disassembly of conveyor belts formed of modular elements.
The United States patents cited above are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. To inventor's knowledge, others have not practiced the inventive method and apparatus.
To achieve the foregoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, the clip, assemblage, and method of this invention may comprise the following.


A method for manufacturing an electrochemical sensor which comprises folding into a "U" shape an exposed, uninsulated portion of an elongate, insulated conductor to form an anode having an exposed, uninsulated distal end surface, positioning the end surface of the anode to face the exposed, uninsulated distal end surface of an elongate insulated conductor forming a cathode, placing the anode and facing cathode within a tube defined by a gas permeable membrane, filling the tube with an electrolyte and sealing the distal end of the tube.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,888 discloses one particular oxygen sensor for use in vivo in the vasculature of a human or animal. The disclosure of the '888 patent is hereby incorporated by reference and made a part of the background of this disclosure. The anode is typically longer and made of silver. The cathode is shorter and made of a noble metal, such as gold, platinum or silver. The anode and cathode are immersed in an electrolyte, an appropriate potential is applied therebetween and a current flow between them is monitored as an indication of oxygen content in the electrolyte. If holes exist in the insulation of the cathode dendrites will grow through the hole to the anode and short out the sensor. To avoid that problem another approach has been tried. Specifically, the length over which an uninsulated portion is next to an insulated part is minimized. That geometric arrangement is prone to earlier failure because the metal consumed tends to be at the base of the anode near the distal end of the insulation. Specifically, that is the site for the short path for flow of current between the anode and the cathode. After a short while the tip of the anode becomes separated from its insulated base once the silver thereat has been consumed.
The need to provide a longer lived and more reliable design for the conductors in an electrochemical cell is not fulfilled by the '888 patent.

Method for manufacturing an electro chemical sensor


A processing technique and transducer field of view architecture for use as part of an imaging sonar system to develop three-dimensional images of the space below, to the sides, and forward of a ship.

An essential part of any forward looking sonar system is the ability to successfully utilize the data presented by the system. Typically, beamformed data is used to determine the location of objects within a volume of fluid, hereby defined as targets. Traditional beamformed data can be ambiguous to the interpreter be it a human or another system, due to it's complexity and/or the existence of various sources of noise within the data such as surface noise and sidelobes. Thus, a need exists to extract the essential target information from a set of beamformed data while eliminating sources of noise. Traditional display systems have tried to simplify the display by simply finding and displaying a single point within each beam of the beamformed data set. These systems are often called profiling sonars. Common single point detection routines extract these points by finding the "critical" bin along each beam. This critical bin may be defined in many ways. Two common definitions are: 1. the bin which contains the strongest signal within a beam, or 2. the first bin within a beam when moving away from the sonar point of origin to contain a signal above a specified threshold. This approach can be moderately effective in simple environments using only 2-dimensional beamformed data. This approach does not utilize any correlation techniques and each bin, target, and beam is evaluated independently of every other bin, target and beam. This approach is often lacking in image quality for complicated or 3-dimensional beamformed data sets. A better way of extracting data from a 3-dimensional beamformed data set, particularly for use in forward-looking applications, and a way which can improve image quality through correlation techniques is desirable.

Processing technique for forward looking sonar


A drive mechanism of a suction or deflection adjustment roll having a spur wheel gear. For a suction roll, a stationary suction box may be guided outward through the drive mechanism to be coupled with a suction device. An external gear ring may be rigidly coupled to a driven or gear end of the roll to mesh with a driven pinion. The driven pinion may be driven via a drive shaft coupled to the driven pinion through a pair of enmeshed gears. The driven pinion and an end of the drive shaft coupled to the pinion may each include a self-adjusting bearing, each self-adjusting bearing being adjacently positioned and supported on a bearing journal. The self-adjusting bearing associated with the end of the drive shaft may exhibit radial play with respect to one of an inside diameter of the drive shaft or an outside diameter of the bearing journal, which may permit tilting of the pinion with respect to the bearing journal. Force transference may be improved by positioning the pair of enmeshed gears connecting the drive shaft and pinion between the adjacent self-adjusting bearings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spur wheel gear for a drive mechanism of a roll, e.g., a suction roll having a stationary suction box and a rotating roll jacket. The spur wheel gear may include a support bracket that supports a gear or driven end of the roll through a self-aligning (self-adjusting) bearing. The gear end may also include, when the roll is a suction roll, a mounting area for coupling an externally mounted suction device to the stationary suction box. The gear end of the roll may be rigidly coupled to an external gear ring that meshes with the drivable pinion driven by a laterally positioned drive shaft. The pinion may engage a first or pinion end of the drive shaft and may be supported by an additional support bearing located adjacent to another self-aligning bearing of the pinion. The additional support bearing may be permitted a predetermined amount of radial play to enable a certain degree of tilt by the pinion.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Spur wheel gears of type generally utilized in the art have been disclosed in, e.g., DE 38 04 225 A1. Known roll types, e.g., deflection adjustment rolls or suction rolls, as utilized in the paper industry, e.g., in water removal presses, glazing rollers, in tissue machines, and the like. Rolls of this kind have a roll jacket that is rotatable around a stationary carrier and/or a stationary suction box.
When rolls of the type discussed above are in operation, if the roll jacket bends under the load, then an external gear ring coupled to the roll jacket, along with an end region of the roll jacket, inclines slightly relative to the gear housing, which cannot be inclined and which is simultaneously used as a support bracket for the entire roller.
Due to the relative tilting of the roll with respect to a pinion, inclination of the external gear ring leads to an edge carrying of the gearing on both sides. This could be avoided by supporting the pinion in the gear housing so that the engagement line of the gearing with the external gear ring runs perpendicular to the bending direction of the roller jacket. However, this condition is difficult to precisely maintain, and moreover, is difficult to maintain for only one respective rotation direction of the roll jacket. Furthermore, the embodiment of the bearing housing would be limited.
In the general spur wheel gear discussed above, the pinion is supported on ball bearings. The tooth flanks, therefore, rest against one another without edge carrying along a common flank line, in accordance with the normal force to be transmitted, and a position of the pinion with respect to the bending direction of the roll jacket can be predefined.
However, a degree of freedom of the pinion must still be limited. Specifically, tilting of the pinion around a central axis of the pinion, i.e., parallel to an engagement line, due to a frictional moment produced by an offset of the pinion axis with respect to the shaft axis driving the pinion. In the prior art spur wheel gear, the tilting occurs through an additional support bearing, provided next to a self-aligning bearing of the pinion, that allows radial play in relation to the pinion so that the pinion tilts into a definite position. The tilting reduces common flank lines, and the linear contact of the tooth flanks turns into a point contact. In this manner, a ball-shaped quality is given to the tooth flanks in a practical manner by a kinematic effect.
The ball shape of the tooth flanks has the advantage of reducing a diagonal load distribution having a high edge compression and limiting the transferrable moment. However, it can only be small since the transferrable power otherwise drops. Thus, the radial play is only selected to be small.
However, a problem occurs in that, due to the additional support bearing next to the self-aligning bearing of the pinion, the spacing of the coupling between the drive shaft and the pinion from the central plane of the self-aligning bearing of the pinion is relatively large. This relatively large spacing causes a diagonal load distribution on the tooth flanks of the pinion since the friction in the geared coupling between the pinion and the pinion drive shaft produces relatively high reaction moments and reaction forces, which are partially supported on the meshing tooth flanks of the pinion.
Further, the pinion tilt occurring during the operation of the roll produces a comparatively large additional deflection of the coupling between the drive shaft and the pinion. When the drive shaft includes a coupling shaft between the pinion and a drive sleeve driven by the roller drive, this additionally results in a relatively large difference of the bending angle of the coupling between the coupling roller and the pinion and between the coupling shaft and the drive sleeve.
When the roll is a suction roll, e.g., generally employed in tissue machines, the prior art devices utilize a complicated routing of a suction line. For example, because the suction occurs on the operator end of the suction roll, i.e., the end opposite the gear end, a number of reroutings are required along with the routing of the pipes to the drive end.
Further, suction rolls generally require a significant number of parts, e.g., an internal bearing and a pipeline through the machine. Further, known suction rolls require a bearing and a suction head on an operator end of the suction roll, as well as bulky collecting conduits.

Drive mechanism of a suction roll including a spur wheel gear and an outward mounting portion for a stationary suction box