Embodiments include methods performed by vehicle-to-everything (V2X) system for evaluating V2X information. Some embodiments may include receiving from a V2X entity a length value and width value of the V2X entity, determining whether the received length value and width value are reliable, and performing a position overlap check using the received length value and width value in response to determining that the received length value and width value are reliable.

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) aim to provide services relating to different modes of transport and traffic management, enable users to be better informed and make safer, more coordinated, and "smarter" use of transport networks. These transport networks include advanced telematics and hybrid communications including Internet Protocol (IP)-based communications as well as Ad-Hoc direct communication between vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. A Cooperative-ITS (C-ITS) is under development to improve road safety and pave the way towards the realization of full autonomous driving based on the exchange of information via direct wireless short range communications dedicated to C-ITS and Road Transport and Traffic Telematics (RTTT). Multiple regions of the world are developing standards for vehicle-based communication systems and functionality, including standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) for use in North America, and by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) and European Committee for Standardization (CEN) for use in Europe. Included in such systems is the ability for a vehicle to broadcast messages that other vehicles can receive and process to improve traffic safety. Such messages are termed Basic Safety Messages (BSM) in North America or Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) in Europe (collectively referred to herein as BSM messages for conciseness).
The IEEE 802.11p standard is the basis for the Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and ITS-G5 communication standards. IEEE 1609 is a higher layer standard based on IEEE 802.11p. The Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything (C-V2X) standard is a competing standard developed under the auspices of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project. These standards serve as the foundation for vehicle-based wireless communications, and may be used to support intelligent highways, autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles, and improve the overall efficiency and safety of the highway transportation systems. Other V2X wireless technologies are also under consideration in different regions of the world. The techniques described herein are applicable to any V2X wireless technology.
The C-V2X protocol defines two transmission modes that, together, provide a 360° non-line-of-sight awareness and a higher level of predictability for enhanced road safety and autonomous driving. A first transmission mode includes direct C-V2X, which includes vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and that provides enhanced communication range and reliability in the dedicated Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) 5.9 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum that is independent of a cellular network. A second transmission mode includes vehicle-to-network communications (V2N) in mobile broadband systems and technologies, such as third generation wireless mobile communication technologies (3G) (e.g., global system for mobile communications (GSM) evolution (EDGE) systems, code division multiple access (CDMA) 2000 systems, etc.), fourth generation wireless mobile communication technologies (4G) (e.g., long term evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced systems, mobile Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (mobile WiMAX) systems, etc.), fifth generation wireless mobile communication technologies (5G NR systems, etc.), etc. Other V2X wireless technologies are also under consideration in different regions of the world. The techniques described in this patent are applicable to any V2X wireless technology.
An element of V2X systems is the ability for a vehicle to broadcast Basic Safety Messages (BSM) in North America or Cooperative Awareness Messages (CAM) in Europe, which other vehicles can receive and process to improve traffic safety. The processing of such messages in the transmitting and receiving vehicles occurs in onboard equipment that provide the vehicle-to-everything (V2X) functionality (referred to herein as "V2X onboard equipment").
In V2X communications, it is important that inaccurate, corrupted, or hacked (i.e., bad) data is detected in order to prevent such inaccurate data from further dissemination. However, as an increasing number of vehicles are equipped to participate in such networks, the volume of potential inaccurate or spurious data is large and growing at an exponential rate.

Evaluating vehicle-to-everything (V2X) information


An ink tank has a main ink chamber which is hermetically sealed and communicated with an ink jet head connected to a lower portion of the main ink chamber, through a communicating passage, and in which ink is to be contained, and an auxiliary ink chamber which is communicated with a lower space of the main ink chamber through a communicating passage. A porous member is packed in the auxiliary ink chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an ink supply device for supplying ink to an ink jet recording apparatus, and particularly to a novel ink supply device which is intended to stabilize the ink supply performance and suppress the influence of a change of environment.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventionally, a known ink supply device used in an ink jet recording apparatus has a configuration wherein the entire internal space of an ink tank communicated with an ink jet head is charged with an ink absorber made of sponge or felt, which is a fibrous material, the ink absorber is previously impregnated with ink to retain the ink, and the ink is in the ink absorber is supplied to the ink jet head.
In an ink supply device of this type, however, ink is retained by the capillary force of the ink absorber. Therefore, the amount of available ink is about 40 to 60% of the content capacity of the ink tank at the most so that the utilization efficiency is fundamentally low. Moreovor, the attempt of prolonging the service life of the ink tank inevitably causes the ink tank to have a large size, thereby producing a technical problem in that the requirement for miniaturization is not fulfilled.
Furthermore, when the amount of ink which is to be retained by the ink absorber is decreased as a result of consumption of ink, the negative pressure acting on the ink contained in the ink absorber is increased. The increased negative pressure is apt to hinder the operation of supplying the ink to the ink jet head, thereby arising a fear that printing nozzles of the ink jet head conduct the ink ejection operation under the state where no ink is supplied to the head. As a result, another technical problem is produced in that air bubbles are liable to enter backward from the printing nozzles to cause image defects.
In order to solve these technical problems, ink supply devices have been proposed in which a sealed ink tank, having a non-variable or fixed internal volume, contains ink only and is communicated with capillary tubes each having one end that opens in the atmosphere (for example, Japanese Patent Unexamined National Publication No. Sho 59-500,609, and Japanese Patent Unexmined Publication No. Hei 1-148,559).
In an ink supply device of this type, when the negative pressure of the ink tank is increased as the ink in the ink tank is consumed, air is introduced into the ink tank through the capillary tubes. This allows the negative pressure to be maintained at a substantially constant level, so that the ink in the ink tank is stably supplied to the ink jet head.
When environment is changed so that, for example, the air in the upper space of the ink tank is expanded, the ink in the ink tank is moved into the capillary tubes. Consequently, a situation in which ink leaks from the ink jet head is effectively prevented from occurring.
Since the sealed ink tank is communicated with a cell through capillary tubes of a substantial length, however, such an ink supply device is complicated in configuration by, for example, the provision of capillary tubes which are required to be suitably bent. Even in the case where the negative pressure of the ink tank is increased as the ink in the ink tank is consumed, furthermore, the introduction of air bubbles through the capillary tubes is made more uncertain when the capillary tubes are clogged by dust or dried ink. As a results, a further technical problem is produced in that the negative pressure of the ink tank is liable to become unstable and it is difficult to stably supply the ink to the ink jet head.

Method for supplying ink to an ink jet recording device


In a thermoelectric refrigeration material with thermoelectric conversion characteristic, in order to improve crystallinity of a system of bismuth-antimony (Bi-Sb) and thereby to improve the figure of merit Z, bismuth (Bi), antimony (Sb) and silicon monoxide (SiO) are deposited on a substrate at a predetermined rate in a thermally nonequilibrium state by an ICB method so that a thin film crystal having a granular structure including crystal grains of around one micron is obtained. Consequently, the figure of merit Z can be improved by selectively varying the thermal conductivity K which largely depends upon the crystallinity and which is one of elements of the figure of merit Z determining the thermal conversion coefficiency.

This invention relates to a thermoelectric refrigeration material suitable for thermoelectric elements having a thermoelectric conversion characteristic and performing a refrigerating operation when an electric current flows therethrough and a method of making the same.
The Peltier effect is usually utilized in refrigerators employing thermoelectric elements for performing the refrigeration. The thermoelectric element comprises two kinds of metals differing from each other in the electric characteristics or semiconductors bonded together. A current is caused to flow across both ends of the thermoelectric element such that heat absorbing or heating phenomena are caused. A refrigerating action can be obtained from the heat absorbing phenomena.
Various materials have been found as those with the Peltier effect. Semiconductive materials such as a system of bismuth (Bi) and antimony (Sb) or a system of bismuth and tellurium (Te) show an eminent effect as the thermoelectric refrigeration material. These semiconductive materials have been formed in a metallurgical thermally equilibrium condition and p-type and n-type conductors are combined to form the thermoelectric element.
It is desirable that the thermoelectric refrigeration material employed to form the thermoelectric element should have high thermoelectric conversion efficiency. However, the thermoelectric conversion efficiencies of the hitherto found thermoelectric materials are so low that they are not effective means for performing refrigeration in household refrigerators or the like having a relatively large capacity. Consequently, the thermoelectric refrigeration materials have conventionally had limited usage such as infrared detectors or semiconductor laser diodes in which a local refrigeration is performed or the case of temperature control when objects refrigerated have small volume or capacity.
A figure of merit Z presented by the following equation is generally used to evaluate the thermoelectric conversion performance of the above-described thermoelectric refrigeration materials: EQU Z=S.sup.2..sigma./K (1)
where S is the thermoelectric power, .sigma. is an electric conductivity, and K is thermal conductivity. The thermoelectric conversion efficiency becomes higher as the figure of merit Z is increased. To increase the figure of merit Z, it is desirable to increase the thermoelectric power S and the electric conductivity .sigma. and to reduce the thermal conductivity K, as obvious from the equation (1).
In the prior art, however, many trials to improve the performance of the thermoelectric refrigeration materials have been directed mainly to obtaining a material having a large value of the thermoelectric power S depending upon properties peculiar thereto, thereby improving the figure of merit Z of the thermoelectric refrigeration material. These conventional trials have not improved the figure of merit Z as much as expected.
The inventors have considered that reducing the denominator of the equation (1) or the thermal conductivity K should be expedient so that the figure of merit Z is improved to a large extent. However, it has been difficult to control the thermal conductivity in accordance with the conventional metallurgical method, and the control of the thermal conductivity have not been successfully performed hitherto.

Thermoelectric refrigeration material and method of making the same


A knob body of a rigid resin is divided at a generally central portion thereof in front and rear directions into a first knob division portion and a second knob division portion. A button insertion tubular portion and a mounting tubular portion are formed integrally with the first knob division portion, and a shell is provided to cover the outer periphery of the knob body. The first and second knob division portions are molded separately from each other, and by doing so, the thickness can be made thin.

This invention relates to a shift knob integrally molded of a resin by a mold.
Among conventional shift knobs for an automatic speed change gear of an automobile, there is known a shift knob which is integrally molded of a resin by a mold. More specifically, its outer shape portion, as well as a button insertion tubular portion disposed at an upper portion and open to the side, is molded by a split mold dividable right and left, and a mounting hole portion for receiving a shift lever is formed by a vertically movable mold portion provided in the mold, in such a manner that the mounting hole portion generally perpendicularly intersects the button insertion portion.
In the above shift knob, for molding reasons, the resin is filled in all the portions surrounding the button insertion tubular portion and the mounting tubular portion, which results in a problem that much material is required, so that the weight is heavy.

Kabushiki Kaisha Tokai Rika Denki Seisakusho


A multilayer electronic component may include a multilayer body including a plurality of magnetic material layers, and an internal electrode disposed in the multilayer body. The internal electrode may contain a conductive metal and glass, and the glass contains a vanadium (V) oxide.

The present disclosure relates to a multilayer electronic component and a conductive paste composition for an internal electrode.
An inductor, an electronic component, is a representative passive element configuring an electronic circuit together with a resistor and a capacitor to remove noise.
In a multilayer inductor among multilayer electronic components, conductive patterns are formed on insulating layers using a magnetic material or a dielectric material as a main material, the insulating layers having the conductive patterns formed thereon are stacked to form a coil-shaped internal electrode within a multilayer body, and external electrodes for electrically connecting the internal electrode to an external circuit are formed on outer surfaces of the multilayer body.

Multilayer electronic component and conductive paste composition for internal electrode

Abstract: Also, a conductive paste composition for an internal electrode includes a conductive metal and glass, wherein the glass contains a vanadium (V) oxide.


Doctor blade material, which is composed of a number of layers that are connected to each other and include at least a frame layer. The frame layer, includes outer layers on both sides and is constructed of carbon fiber and/or mineral fiber, e.g. glass fiber, basalt fiber, et cetera. The outer layers include carbon fiber. The outer layer is a compact-multiaxial layer composed of a surface layer containing carbon fiber and of two or more support layers. The surface layer includes carbon fibers that are at a 90° angle with respect to the longitudinal direction of the doctor blade, wherein the fibers in the first support layer following the surface layer are at an angle between (−70°)-(−20°) or (+20°)-(+70°) with respect to the fibers of the surface layer. The fibers in the second support layer following this are at an angle between (+20°)-(+70°) or (−70°)-(−20°) with respect to the fibers of the surface layer.

The present invention relates to a doctor blade material, which is composed of a number of layers that are connected to each other, which layers comprise at least a frame layer and, with respect to the frame layer, outer layers on both sides of it, which frame layer is carbon fiber and/or mineral fiber, e.g. glass fiber, basalt fiber, et cetera, and which outer layers comprise carbon fiber.


Methods and devices for biometric verification are disclosed. During registration or encoding, a first vector representing biometric features of a subject is generated. Machine-readable optical labels based on the first vector are then generated. During validation or decoding, physical characteristics representative of the subject are captured, the physical characteristic containing biometric features of the subject. The biometric features are identified in the captured physical characteristics. A second vector representing the identified biometric features is generated. The machine-readable optical label is read to decode the first vector. The first vector is compared with the second vector to compute a match probability.

Nowadays, digital information has become a key member of society, as it reaches every aspect of routine at work, at leisure time, at the administration and at practically every task performed daily. This fact has been particularly important thanks to the development of internet-enabled portable devices and the increase of their computing power, which has provoked them to be used in the same manner as computers.
Under this context, using the mobile phone to perform sensitive operations in terms of accessed information, the operation itself and confidentiality has also become more common among the users, it becoming a problem for developers as well, because information handling and processing in such situations emerge as also a sensitive matter.
For example, the Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market, commonly known as PSD2, introduced a new security requirement that shall be complied by payment services provided within the European Union, especially when the operations are performed online. This measure is called "strong customer authentication" and implies that an authentication is based on the use of two or more elements categorised as knowledge (something only the user knows), possession (something only the user possesses) and inherence (something the user is) that are independent, in that the breach of one does not compromise the reliability of the others, and is designed in such way as to protect the confidentiality of the authentication data.
Therefore, a convention has been stablished for information access protocols as a combination of at least two from the following three factors:
Checking "something that the user knows": This definition comprises the traditional password method (among others), in which some sort of verification related with knowledge of the user is verified.
Checking "something that the user has": This definition comprises verifications related with possessions of the user. One example of such security measure would be checking if the mobile phone being used for information access is the one owned by the user.
Checking "something that the user is": This definition comprises verification of biological feature measures of the user, the so-called biometry. One example of such security measure would be assessing the user's face.
Furthermore, biometric verification is a key factor in terms of user experience and interaction simplicity. Thus, biometry may be used as a fixed security factor in combination with one or more of the other two factors.

VERIDAS DIGITAL AUTHENTICATION SOLUTIONS, S.L.


A solar battery cell having a hexagonal shape is divided into four at a straight line connecting between opposed apexes and a straight line connecting between middle points of opposed sides. Two of the divided cells are arranged without being turned upside down such that oblique sides thereof oppose each other; thus, a substantially rectangular-shaped unit is configured. In adjoining two units, an interconnector is routed from a front surface of one of the units to a back surface of the other unit. Thus, the two units are electrically connected to each other through the interconnector. Hence, it is unnecessary to route an interconnector from a front surface of one divided cell to a back surface of another divided cell at a portion where oblique sides of the divided cells oppose each other; therefore, it is unnecessary to secure a large clearance at the portion.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to solar battery modules, in particular, a solar battery module suitably used when solar battery cells are efficiently placed thereon as much as possible.
2. Disclosure of Related Art
Against a backdrop of problems such as exhaustion of oil resources and global warming, recently, development and popularization of a clean energy source employing no oil resources are mentioned as a global challenge. A photovoltaic power generating system uses inexhaustible photovoltaic energy without emission of CO2 or the like and, therefore, receives attention as a solution for such problems.
In order to protect a solar battery cell which is a power generating source from external damage and improve handleability, the photovoltaic power generating system typically uses a solar battery module including several tens of solar battery cells arranged on a plane. Herein, the solar battery module is typically formed into a rectangular shape having a side of about one meter in order to efficiently arrange solar battery cells in a certain area and to improve handleability upon transfer or installation thereof.
On the other hand, an ingot (single crystal silicon) used as a material for a substrate of a solar battery cell is formed into a cylindrical shape because of its manufacturing method. Therefore, when a substrate of a solar battery cell is obtained by slicing the ingot, the solar battery cell is inevitably formed into a circular shape. Herein, even when solar battery cells are efficiently placed on a solar battery module as much as possible, a large clearance is created between adjoining solar battery cells as illustrated in (a-1) and (a-2) of FIG. 11, for example. Consequently, there arises a problem that solar battery cells 10 to be placed on a solar battery module 20 are small in number.
In order to solve this problem, a solar battery cell 10 is formed into a square shape as illustrated in (b-1) and (b-2) of FIG. 11. Thus, solar battery cells 10 to be placed on a solar battery module 20 can be increased in number. However, there arises another problem that wasted portions (hatched portions in (b-2) of FIG. 11) from which a substrate 31 can not be obtained become large in an ingot 30, that is, the ingot 30 can not be used efficiently.
Alternatively, a solar battery cell 10 is formed into a hexagonal shape as illustrated in (c-1) and (c-2) of FIG. 11. Thus, solar battery cells 10 to be placed on a solar battery module 20 can be increased in number as compared with the case that the solar battery cell 10 is formed into a circular shape. Further, an ingot 30 can be used more efficiently as compared with the case that the solar battery cell 10 is formed into a square shape. Also in this case, however, a clearance where a solar battery cell 10 can not be placed is created in the solar battery module 20, and wasted portions from which a substrate 31 can not be obtained still remain in the ingot 30.
In order to solve these problems, JP2001-094127A discloses a solar battery module by which solar battery cells 10 to be placed thereon can be increased in number and an ingot 30 an be used efficiently. According to this prior invention, a substrate 31 is cut out from the ingot 30 so as to have a hexagonal shape which is larger than a hexagonal shape inscribed in an outer periphery of the ingot 30 and is smaller than a hexagonal shape inscribed by the outer periphery of the ingot 30 (hereinafter, a shape cut out in this manner will be referred to as an "almost hexagonal shape"), as illustrated in FIG. 12B. Thus, wasted portions from which a substrate 31 can not be obtained can be reduced in the ingot 30, that is, the ingot 30 can be used efficiently.
In this prior invention, further, a solar battery cell 10 including such a substrate 31 cut out as described above is divided into two or four at a line P-P′ and/or a line Q-Q′ in FIG. 12B. Then, the divided solar battery cells 10 are arranged as illustrated in FIG. 12A or 12C. Thus, a clearance where a solar battery cell 10 can not be arranged is reduced in a solar battery module 20, that is, solar battery cells 10 to be placed on the solar battery module 20 can be increased in number.
Alternatively, JP09-148601A (1997) discloses the following configuration. That is, a solar battery cell having a hexagonal shape or an almost hexagonal shape is divided into two at a straight line connecting opposed apexes or a straight line connecting two division points on opposed sides. Then, the divided solar battery cells are placed on a solar battery module. FIG. 13A illustrates the configuration of the solar battery module according to this prior invention, and FIG. 13B is a sectional view taken along a line R-R′ in FIG. 13A.
According to this prior invention, solar battery cells 10 are placed on the solar battery module 20 such that identical polarities thereof are directed in a single direction. Then, an interconnector 21 connects between a front surface or a back surface of one of adjoining solar battery cells 10 and a back surface or a front surface of the other solar battery cell 10; thus, the solar battery cells 10 are electrically connected to each other.
With the configuration in JP09-148601A, however, oblique sides of divided cells oppose each other, and an interconnector is routed from a front surface of one cell to a back surface of another cell at a portion where the oblique sides of the divided cells oppose each other. Consequently, there arises a problem that a clearance at the portion becomes relatively large, so that solar battery cells to be placed on a solar battery module are reduced in number. In addition, the interconnector routed at the portion readily causes chipping or cracking of the divided cells, so that there may arise a problem that a divided cell is damaged. Further, in a case that a plurality of interconnectors are used for connection between adjoining divided cells, the interconnectors are disadvantageously bent at an oblique side of the divided cell. Consequently, a position at which an interconnector is bent in an oblique side differs for each interconnector, so that there arises a problem that connection work using an interconnector becomes complicated.
Moreover, JP2001-094127A discloses no interconnection between divided cells using an interconnector.


The present invention is a system for controlling the quality of air in a building. The system includes a sensor disposed for sensing the air quality in a building. Upon a sensing of an air quality problem, the system issues a command to draw in additional outside air into the building to alleviate the problem. The issuing of such command can be made conditional on a measurement of outside air temperature. The flow of additional outside air may be limited or avoided altogether where drawing in additional outside air would adversely affect the inside air temperature. Additional air can be drawn into a building, for example, by opening an economizer, activating a fan system, or by increasing a pressure setpoint in a supply air duct.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to building climate control systems in general, and particularly to a building climate control system adapted to control air quality.
2. Background of the Prior Art
In a typical climate control system of a building, a central thermostat controls the temperature of air in the building. A building's central heating/cooling unit forces hot air or cool air to various points in a building through a ductwork comprising a supply air duct, a plurality of zone ducts, and a return air duct.
In many climate control systems, equal amounts of air are forced into each zone of a building through each zone duct. This type of system sometimes leads to temperature imbalances in a building, for example, in the case where intense sunlight shines for extended periods of time on one side of a building.
In one modern climate control system, temperature is controlled on a zone by zone basis. The amount of air that is forced through a given zone duct depends on the temperature, demand of the zone, and the overall temperature demand of the system.
While currently available building climate control systems regulate temperature in a building, and sometimes regulate temperature on a zone by zone basis, they generally do not take into account air quality. Air quality shall herein refer to any measurable non-temperature characteristic of air in a building having a determinable satisfactory range of levels or concentrations, and a determinable non-satisfactory range of levels or concentrations. Air quality can be measured in terms of carbon dioxide concentration. When a room in a building becomes heavily populated, the room's air quality declines as evidenced by an increase in the air's carbon dioxide concentration.
There exists a need for building a climate control system which can control the quality of air in a building.


A method and apparatus to disintegrate a liquid having a tendency to solidify and improving the operational safety of processes involving dispensing or spraying of small liquids amounts. The method of the present invention comprises the prevention of the formation of nozzle built-up of formerly suspended particles or formerly dissolved solute by means of closing the nozzle aperture when the spraying process is stopped using a sealing liquid.

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for dispensing or atomizing small amounts of liquids having a tendency to solidify or dry out when exposed to atmospheric air.
In chemical, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications, such as chemical analysis of liquid samples and medical coating applications, there is a trend to use an apparatus to dispense and atomize a liquid also referred to as process liquid that tend to solidify and may also be of high viscosity. In its simplest form, such an apparatus will include means to supply the process liquid and a device for atomizing or dispensing the liquid, using for example ultrasonic, electrostatic and/or pneumatic means.
It is frequently desirable to employ an apparatus comprising a nozzle that is of a relatively small orifice diameter to disintegrate small liquid amounts. However, many liquids tend to solidify or dry out when exposed to atmospheric air, leaving behind a film of dried product on the sides of the nozzle orifice, which will tend to narrow the orifice, particularly as the build-up increases over time. As the dimension of the nozzle orifice is critical to produce the desired spray pattern, the spray pattern typically becomes more irregular and has larger and more unevenly sized liquid particles when the surface of the orifice become coated with dried product. In case of a dispensing operation, slight depositions at the orifice will generally adulterate the drop volume and result in variations of the volume of liquid supplied. Thus, the process will not be repeatable and requires time-consuming maintenance for readjusting the drop volume and eliminating the nozzle built-up.
It is known to perform preventative routine maintenance or a specific operational sequence including a start-up or a purging sequence to minimize nozzle built-up. However, cleaning cycles involving flushing the fluid line with a cleaning liquid and particle filters do not completely eliminate nozzle built-up. There is a risk that solid matter is still present, may get loose and leads to inhomogeneous droplet sizes and nozzle clogging. Even relatively short standstill periods may result in gas inclusions and crystallization or sedimentation of particles or components, which may cause malfunction or clogging of the apparatus and result in time-consuming cleaning procedures.
Other attempted solutions include covering the orifices using mechanical means when inactive. In addition, it may be required to dismount or move the nozzle during maintenance, which will often result in incorrect alignment of the nozzle in relation to the substrate.
In coating processes, such as drug coating of medical implants, it is necessary to accurately control the deposition of material on the object in order to ensure a homogeneous coating and a consistent coating weight. However, in prior art systems nozzle built-up and clogging often leads to poor performance of the atomizing or dispensing device resulting in expensive maintenance and coating defects. In addition, starting and stopping a spraying cycle, which may be desirable to reduce waste of hazardous and/or expensive material, may not be possible due to nozzle built-up and clogging. Thus, nozzle clogging can give rise to both quality and productivity problems.

Method and apparatus to disintegrate liquids having a tendency to solidify


A system for preventing vehicle collision according to the present invention includes a steering detection part configured to detect collision with an object, a calculation part configured to calculate a yaw rate of a vehicle and to calculate a target steering angle, a brake control part configured to control a steering operation of the vehicle according to the target steering angle, and a wheel control part interlocked with the brake control part and configured to control the steering operation of the vehicle according to the target steering angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for preventing vehicle collision, which prevents collision between vehicles in a situation of lane change, or the like, using a yaw rate and a method of preventing vehicle collision using the same.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Recently, auxiliary systems for automatically avoiding collision when it is expected to collide with another vehicle running on the corresponding lane in a situation of lane change or the like when a vehicle is running are being developed and researched.
A conventional auxiliary system for automatically avoiding collision determines whether there are other vehicles in a corresponding direction using a sensor installed at the vehicle, automatically controls a steering apparatus when the collision is expected, and returns the vehicle to its original lane.
However, in this case, a driver may have resistance, may be confused by the sudden movement of a wheel, and thus may cause a secondary accident.
Further, since it is difficult to precisely calculate a control angle, when controlling the wheel, it is difficult to completely return the vehicle to its original lane.
Therefore, a method of solving the above-mentioned problems is required.

System for preventing vehicle collision using yaw rate and method of preventing vehicle collision using the same

Abstract: And a method of preventing vehicle collision according to the present invention includes estimating collision with an object at a steering detection part of a vehicle, calculating a yaw rate of the vehicle at a calculation part, calculating a target steering angle according to the yaw rate calculated by the calculation part, and performing a steering operation for returning the vehicle according to the target steering angle by at least one of a wheel control part and a brake control part.


A method and system for segmenting video into an optimal set of video clusters that correspond loosely to one or more events, date ranges, time ranges, chapters or other logical segmentations of the digital video that is meaningful to the user. Video shots are selected from one or more video files on a computer-readable medium. The video shots are arranged in chronological order and a distance (e.g., time gap) between each successive pair of the arranged video shots is determined. Video clustering are generated as function of the determined ‘distances’ and/or user input, and an optimal video clustering is identified. After the optimal video clustering is identified, a time span for each of the video clusters is determined and a label is generated for each cluster. The clusters are then displayed for the user to browse using the generated labels and thumbnails derived from the video clips, transferred to a separate medium for display on another computer or other electronic device (e.g. DVD-video player) or made available for the user or other software to manipulate further.

An increasing number of people own and use camcorders to make videos that capture their experiences and document events in their lives. One of the primary problems with consumer home video acquisition devices such as camcorders is that they are linear tape based devices and a single tape may contain multiple "events" (e.g. birthday party, soccer game, vacation video, etc.). Each event may in turn consist of multiple "shots" (i.e. the sequence of contiguous video frames between the time when the camera is instructed to start recording and when it instructed to stop recording). Unfortunately, the linear nature of the videotape often makes it difficult to find and play back a segment of the video showing a specific event.
Multimedia editing applications (MEA) allow users to bring versatility to such linear video recordings via their personal computer by allowing the user to capture or transfer the video from their videotape onto their computer and then to manually segment the digital video file into events of their choosing. Some MEAs make this easier for the user by automatically segmenting the video file into shots displayed in a library and then allowing the user to manually select shots and combine them to form events of their choosing. MEAs that automatically segment video into shots typically do so by analyzing the time of day recorded with each frame on a Digital Video (DV) camera to find discontinuities, or by analyzing the image content of each frame recorded by an analog camera using color histograms or other image analysis techniques, or by simply segmenting the video at fixed time intervals (e.g. every 15 seconds).
Unfortunately, existing MEAs provide little or no assistance if the user wants to browse the digital video file at an intermediate segmentation somewhere below the entire tape or video library, or somewhere above the individual shots. At best, existing MEAs might group items within a tape or video library by day, month, or year, but such grouping is relatively unintelligent. For example, a video file containing a video recording of a New Year's party spanning the period Dec. 31, 2002 to Jan. 1, 2003 would likely be split over two days, over two months and over two years depending on the view selected, whereas such a video recording really documents one event to the user. Furthermore, existing MEA segmentation is often too granular (too many segments) or too coarse (too few segments). For instance, a tape viewed 'by day' might contain 27 separate days, whereas this may correspond to three vacations to the user, each lasting between one and two weeks. Another tape might have been recorded entirely on a single day and thus show only one segment when viewed 'by day' but to the user it is really two separate events, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. To obtain a meaningful segmentation of the digital video file, the user must undergo a lengthy and tedious process to either split the entire digital video file into segments manually or combine shots to form desired segments. Furthermore, such user-initiated segmentation creates a static segmentation of the digital video file and it is hard to create a more granular (more segments) or less granular (less segments) view of the digital video file without starting over.
When an MEA is used to create an optical video disc (e.g. DVD-video disc, VCD video disc, etc.) the user will typically create chapters within the digital video file allowing other people viewing the disc to navigate quickly to a relevant section. Creating chapters is similar to the segmentation process described above but further complicated by the fact that certain segmentations are not desirable segmentations given the limitations of DVD-video menu navigation. For instance, typically each page in a DVD-video menu has up to six (6) items on it (any more and the icons become too small to see easily across the room), a segmentation with seven (7) segments is a undesirable segmentation because it leaves a 'hanging chapter' orphaned on a separate menu page. A better segmentation might be one with six (6) segments or twelve (12) segments because they result in full menu pages. There is, however, no simple rule that can be applied because a segmentation of 7 segments may be the only logical segmentation of the video (e.g. a tape consisting of 10 minute shots recorded one each day for a week, starting at 8 AM each morning can only sensibly be segmented into 7 segments).
Similar considerations apply when browsing the digital video file (or a library consisting of multiple digital video files) on a computer screen either within an MEA or using a Multimedia Browser (MB) such as Internet Explorer® offered by Microsoft, Inc. For any given display resolution and window size there is an optimal segmentation of the digital video file that creates an optimal number of segments based on the number of segments that can be displayed and the optimal selection of segments from the digital video file. Again, there is no easy rule for deciding this and in some cases it may be appropriate to list all segments even if the user then needs to scroll the display to see some of them.
In some cases, even if a perfect segmentation can be found, users may still want to force more segments or fewer segments to be used for personal preference reasons. When a static segmentation of the digital video file has been created by the user it is impossible to easily move to a more granular (more segments) or less granular (less segments) clustering of the video.
Still images taken using Digital Still Cameras (DSC) also have dates and times associated with them and can be clustered on a computer display or on an optical disc in a similar fashion. Mixed collections of still images and video shots can also be clustered. For example, a user might use a Multimedia Browser to view a 'birthday' event consisting of video shots and still images taken at a birthday party.
For these reasons, a system for automatically creating the optimal clustering of video shots and/or still images (collectively Media Elements (ME)) for browsing, disc creation or other manipulation is desired. Such a system needs to consider the shots within the digital video file itself, the times associated with each video shot or still image, the means by which the clusters will be presented to the user (e.g. in a menu on an optical disc like DVD-video, or in a browseable library on a computer) and user input in determining how many clusters to create and precisely how to allocate video shots and still images to clusters.
Similar issues exist when a user is dealing with any other collection of objects occurring at known times, for example presentation and word processing documents. As used herein Media Elements refers to video shots, still images, audio clips or any other collection of objects having known start times and optionally a known duration or end-time.

Digital video segmentation and dynamic segment labeling


A wireless communication system for asynchronous transfer mode includes the dynamic assignment of signalling virtual channels and/or virtual paths for communications between a mobile terminal and a controller or control function. An access point associated with the wireless mobile terminal is transparent for transmitted data and control information. The dynamic assignment of the signalling virtual channel (SVC) takes place in the event of new registration to the system and handover from one access point to another. The protocol uses finite state machines and timers at the mobile terminal and at the control function. For new registrations, an assignment channel is used on a broadcast uplink from the mobile terminal to the control function to request the SVC, while the response from the control function is transmitted on the downlink broadcast channel. The response contains the unique SVCI to be used by the mobile terminal and the control function for further signalling between them. A loss of carrier connection is detected by exchanging alive messages. If there is no response to the alive messages, pending connections are released and assigned SVCs are freed. Handover from one access point to another is initiated by the mobile terminal. A new SVCI is assigned by the control function as part of the messages exchanged during the handover protocol.

In recent years, two major developments have been affecting telecommunications technology: broadband communication and mobile communication.
Broadband communication is mainly driven by new multimedia services which require more bandwidth than can be offered by existing network solutions.
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is considered the major technology for future development of Broadband Integrated Services Digital Networks (B-ISDN). Standards supported by the International Telecommunications Union as well as the ATM Forum are evolving to allow seamless interworking of equipment and networks which are manufactured and operated by different organizations. The intent behind using ATM is also to create a single network that is able to handle different kinds of telecommunications traffic, including video, data and audio.
An ATM transport network (i.e., a communication network which transmits information using ATM cell packets) is known to include an ATM layer and a physical layer. The ATM layer is based on the virtual path/virtual channel (VP/VC) concept. The VC identifies a unidirectional communication capability through which ATM cells are transported. One or more VCs can be used in a particular virtual path (VP), which also (in general) identifies another level of the communication capability through which the ATM cells are transported.
An ATM cell (as the smallest information unit) includes a header field (5 bytes or octets) and a payload field (48 bytes or octets). The ATM cell header contains the VP and VC identifier(s) used for addressing inside the network (i.e., for routing the information to an intended destination).
Communication in known ATM networks is initiated during a connection setup, after which cells belonging to one connection follow a predetermined path defined by the VPI and VCI on a particular link. The connection control information transferred during setup utilizes a unique Signalling VC (SVC) which is contained in the VP used. It is identified by the pair: virtual path ID (VPI) and virtual channel ID (VCI). The physical layer provides a reliable continuous physical (hardwired) connection between ports of the user side and of the network side.
Mobile communication via wireless interface has gained significant importance for voice and data transmission. Cellular architecture, with its limited coverage areas for each radio cell, allows frequency reuse and therefore accommodates a large number of mobile users. These radio cells can be located statically based on fixed access points using ground-mounted stations or geostationary satellites. The radio cells can also be located dynamically using non-fixed access points such as low earth orbit satellites, for example. To allow mobility of the mobile terminals across the borders of adjacent radio cells, systems typically provide special mechanisms for handover, new registration, and connection-loss.
FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of a known cellular wireless network having a controller 10, a plurality of access points 12, and a mobile terminal 14. Controller 10 can be implemented in a central device, or its functions may be distributed among the access points 12. As the mobile terminals move across the radio cell boundaries 16, ongoing communications continue without impacting the telecommunications connection. Mechanisms for registration of a new mobile terminal, handover of an existing mobile terminal, and loss of connection with a mobile terminal, are all provided. However, the wireless communication connection between the mobile terminal 14 and the controller 10 must be processed (i.e. translated) at the access points 12. The controller must rely on the access points to perform the necessary translations for information passing to/from the mobile terminals. Therefore, the access points require complex processing hardware and software. The result is a costly access point, both in terms of cost and processing time.
In wireless networks, it is known to use electromagnetic (radio or optical) links between mobile terminals (MT) and the network. These electromagnetic links are less reliable than fixed (hardwired) network links. The area of the wireless network is typically split into radio cells, shown in FIG. 2, in order to increase the total capacity of the network and the reduce transmission power. Adjacent radio cells use different frequency domains. Each radio cell is controlled by an access point which typically includes a radio controller responsible for monitoring the electromagnetic transmissions in its access point's frequency domain. One or more access points are controlled by the system controller.
Current telephone networks use synchronous transfer modes in which timeslots are specifically reserved in constant intervals, i.e. transmitter and receiver are synchronized to detect the selected timeslot.
Due to the limited bandwidth in current wireless systems, e.g., GSM, the ability of known systems to handle future bandwidth intensive services is limited as well. Network proposals which offer higher bandwidth lack the interoperability with the future B-ISDN.
The present invention therefore desires to combine both technological directions: ATM and wireless networking. The major hurdle for an integrated solution is that ATM is designed primarily for wired networks. Adaptation of the virtual channel/virtual path (VC/VP) concept, which is inherent in ATM, to the wireless environment is one of the major problems that the present invention attempts to solve.
Accordingly, it is one object of the present invention to provide a system which has an inexpensive and reliable infrastructure with simplified access points (AP).

Dynamic assignment of signalling virtual channels for wireless ATM systems


A method and associated apparatus designed to effectively twist and cut baling wire during the baling process. The apparatus includes a twister assembly that has a plurality of gear-driven twister heads. During the baling process the twister assembly extends from a slide housing so that the twister heads engage and twist adjacent strands of baling wire. The twister assembly then retracts back into the slide housing so that the twisted portion of the baling wire is cut by a cutting assembly attached to the slide housing.

In a typical automated baling process, a series of binding media are disposed about the bale to maintain its integrity. The binding medium, generally comprising cord or wire, encircles and binds a portion of compacted material. The compacted material can then be more efficiently handled and stored.
Early automated baling machines relied on cumbersome drive systems that utilized sprockets, belts and chains as drive mechanisms. Similarly, hooks were commonly used as a means of twisting the baling wire or tying the baling cord. These machines were susceptible to frequent jamming and were temperamental, fragile, and failed arbitrarily. Further, the machines produced bales that were either too loosely compacted and frequently unraveled, or bales that were too tightly bound so that the binding medium broke during routine handling.
Currently available baling machines still rely heavily on designs based on antiquated technology. Although these machines may be adequate for agricultural applications, they are still subject to premature failure and are generally unsuitable for large-scale industrial applications, such as continuous commercial waste baling operations. Further, the currently available machines are generally inefficient in their use of energy and baling wire. In large industrial-scale applications, the efficient use of energy and material is crucial to the profitability of an operation.
The need exists for a reliable waste baling machine capable of continuous operations on an industrial scale. The current invention provides a robust and effective baling machine that efficiently uses the available resources to produce securely bound bales of compacted material.


In one example, an actuator mechanism comprising: one or more coils for establishing a magnetic field; a rotating permanent magnet, which has at least one extreme position depending on the magnetic field; and driving members, which are coupled to the permanent magnet and by means of which the members coupled to the actuator mechanism are driven. In another example, an actuator mechanism comprising: one or more wires, which are manufactured of a shape memory alloy that shrinks when heated; and driving members, which are coupled to said wire and by means of which the members connected to the actuator mechanism are driven.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an actuator mechanism, which comprises an actuator, by means of which is achieved a suitable movement for the mechanism itself or such other mechanism, to which the actuator mechanism is coupled. The invention relates to a shutter mechanism, which applies the actuator mechanism and which in accordance with a specific example is used to protect the desired object. The invention also relates to a shutter mechanism protecting optics or some other object. The invention relates to a shutter mechanism for electronic devices, especially for portable terminals, such as mobile phones, which are also equipped with optics.
2. Related Background Art
Cameras have been placed in mobile terminals, for example mobile phones, where the optics and lenses of cameras require protection, for example, against environmental conditions or mechanical effects. It is necessary to protect against these effects so that the quality of images does not deteriorate because of contamination or damaging of the lens. Terminals are often equipped with manually transferable covers or shields, but their size is often too large and limits the construction and design of the terminal.
In addition, in conventional cameras it is known to use electrical or mechanical shutter constructions, which are activated when the device is switched on or when it is used. In cameras the operation of the shutter construction is often coupled to the operation of the zoom device of the camera, in which case the movement of the optics also opens the shield.
The devices according to prior art are laborious to use or unsuitably large in their size so that they could be used, for example, in mobile phones or similar portable devices, which comprise phone call properties and camera function. The small size of the devices, usability, and design aspects significantly limit the construction of a functional shutter construction. The mechanisms used in conventional cameras are not suitable for mobile phones either, because there often are no moving parts in the optics.

Actuator mechanism and a shutter mechanism


A flat panel display, such as a Field Emission Display ("FED"), is disclosed having a current control circuit. Input into the display, initially, is an analog signal having an amplitude. In one embodiment, the current control circuit includes a converter for converting the analog input signal to a sawtooth signal having a height and width. Then, the level of the sawtooth signal is compared to a voltage level to establish a pulse width of an emitter current. The emitter current is thus controlled by a pulse width modulation approach. In another embodiment, the current control circuit traps a column voltage on a parasitic capacitance. The trapped voltage then controls the gate of a transistor to control current flow from the emitter set to ground.

Until recently, the cathode ray tube ("CRT") has been the primary device for displaying information. While having sufficient display characteristics with respect to color, brightness, contrast and resolution, CRTs are relatively bulky and power hungry. These failings, in view of the advent of portable laptop computers, has intensified demand for a display technology which is lightweight, compact, and power efficient.
One available technology is the flat panel display, and more particularly, the liquid crystal display ("LCD"). LCDs are currently used for laptop computers. However, LCDs provide poor contrast in comparison to CRT technology. Further, LCDs offer only a limited angular display range. Moreover, color LCD devices consume power at rates incompatible with extended battery operation. In addition, a color LCD type screen tends to be far more costly than an equivalent CRT.
In light of these shortcomings, there have been several developments recently in thin film, field emission display ("FED") technology. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,472, commonly assigned with the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference, a FED design is disclosed which utilizes a matrix-addressable array of pointed, thin-film, cold cathode emitters in combination with a conductive, transparent screen having a conductive coating which is in turn, coated with a cathodoluminescent material. An extraction grid having a plurality of openings aligned with respective emitters is positioned between the emitters and the screen. The screen is biased at a relatively high voltage on the order of 80 V to 1 KV. When the voltage of the extraction grid is sufficiently higher than the voltage of the emitters, electrons are emitted from the underlying emitter and are attracted to the conductive screen. When the electrons strike the cathodoluminescent material, light is emitted at the point of impact. The intensity of the emitted light is proportional to the rate at which electrons are emitted which is, in turn, proportional to the voltage differential between the extraction grid and emitter. The FED incorporates a column signal to activate a single column extraction grid, while a row signal activates a row of emitters. At the intersection of both an activated column and an activated row, a grid-to-emitter voltage differential exists sufficient to induce electron emission. Extensive research has recently made the manufacture of an inexpensive, low power, high resolution, high contrast, full color FED a more feasible alternative to LCDs.
In order to achieve the advantages of this technology, as in the performance of LCDs, FED devices require a brightness control scheme. Several techniques have been proposed to control the brightness and gray scale range. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,144 to Dunham and U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,145 to Doran, both incorporated herein by reference, teach methods for controlling the brightness and luminance of flat panel displays. However, a need remains for a brightness control scheme that requires less power and is simpler to manufacture. Further, a need exists for a brightness control scheme requiring less circuitry and thus less surface area on a silicon die.

Controlling pixel brightness in a field emission display using circuits for sampling and discharging


A pressure button for a touch-sensitive surface, a physical interface for a touch-sensitive surface, and a protection element for a touch-sensitive surface, in particular a touch screen of a terminal such as a smart phone or a tablet. The pressure button has a contact switch passing through the pressure button, from the upper surface to the lower surface of said pressure button. The contact switch is suitable for allowing interaction with a terminal via a touch-sensitive surface when the pressure button is positioned on the latter. The user can thus interact with the terminal by using a pressure button without requiring connectors for this interface.

The use of touch-sensitive surfaces, in particular of terminals equipped with touchscreens, such as tablets and smartphones, has become widespread.
These touch interfaces make certain interactions with the terminal less simple, in particular input interactions.
Furthermore, the lack of force feedback, that is to say resistance to the action of the user, is also a drawback of touch-sensitive surfaces. This resistance may enhance the experience offered by the terminal when an application is implemented.
In addition, force feedback may also make the interaction with the terminal more comfortable for the client. Specifically, the touch-sensitive surface is a hard surface that leads to an impact on the joints, in contrast to the keys of a keypad or of a gamepad or to the joystick of a gamepad, which are more flexible to use for the joints of the hand.
For this reason, hybrid terminals between the portable computer and the tablet have been designed, independent interfaces that are connected to the terminal, such as keypads for tablets or gamepads for smartphones, are provided in order to facilitate the use of some applications implemented by these terminals.

Pressure button for a touch sensitive surface, physical interface and protection element using same


This invention provides a novel pharmaceutical composition exhibiting remarkable anti-cancer, and cancer necrotizing properties as well as other desirable pharmacological properties. The composition is a mixture of toluene sulfonamide (e.g. para toluene sulfonamide) with a specifically designed solution which consists of polyethylene glycol, 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol, propanediol, decanedioic acid, dimethyl, sulfoxide and ethanol. The composition demonstrates promising therapeutical activity in preliminary human clinical tests and exhibits very little undesirable side effects.

Toluene sulfonamide is widely known as a highly effective anti-fungal agent exhibiting anti-fungal activity against fungal infected plant tissues and human skin. For instance, Harry Pugh disclosed in 1967 that para-toluene is highly effective as a topical agent for the treatment of skin fungal diseases. According to Pugh, such anti-fungal activity is achieved by incorporating para-toluene sulfonamide with propylene glycol to form a 7-8% solution by weight. However, toluene sulfonamide has never been reported as an anticancer agent, nor has it been reported as an cancer necrotizing agent.
It is theoretically possible that a compound exhibiting anti-fungal activity may also possess other biocidal activities either by the same anti-fungal mechanism or by an entirely different mechanism. In the field of cancer therapy, it is likely that a compound inhibiting fungal growth in plant cells may inhibit the growth of cancer cells found in human tissue. As such, the inventor conceives and believes that toluene sulfonamide might be effective in killing human cancer cells in light of its effectiveness in killing fungi found in plant cells.
Many existing cancer drugs are hampered by unwarranted side effects which may severely limit their applications. It is therefore desirable to have an anti-cancer drug which exhibits a potent anti-cancer activity without producing any significant adverse side effects to a human recipient. Furthermore, a desirable anti-cancer drug shall be compatible with or be complementary with other anti-cancer drugs or cancer therapy to provide a synergistic effect when used in conjunction with such others.
It is generally agreed that the activity of a drug may vary significantly with the ways such drug is prepared or formulated. This is particular true for many anticancer drugs which are not readily dissolvable in an aqueous solution or in water based solvents and, consequently, render the preparation of a therapeutically active concentration impractical. In order to achieve a maximum therapeutical benefit for a given drug, the drug should be properly formulated in accordance with its physical and chemical properties to form a desirable solution or mixture so that a therapeutically active concentration is readily achievable.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide for a novel composition comprising para-toluene sulfonamide exhibiting a remarkable anti-cancer and cancer necrotizing properties with significantly less harmful side effects than those of conventional chemotherapy treatments.
It is another object of the invention to provide for a novel formulation comprising para-toluene sulfonamide prepared in a solution or mixture which facilitates dissolution of para-toluene sulfonamide in the solution by a percentage weight basis to provide a therapeutically active concentration for cancer therapy.
It is a further object of the invention to provide for a method of providing therapeutical benefits for a human patient in cancer therapy employing a novel composition comprising para-toluene sulfonamide.

Anti-cancer drug and special tumor necrotizing agent


Water treatment apparatus for supplying ozonated water to appliances, such as clothes washing machines. First and second water aspirators include respective first and second Venturi tubes. One aspirator is designed for a relatively higher water flow rate, and the other is designed for a relatively lower water flow rate. A valve selectively directs water from a water inlet to a water outlet through either the first or the second water aspirator. Ozone from an ozone generator is drawn either into water flowing through the first Venturi tube or water flowing through the second Venturi tube, depending on the position of the valve. A water flow sensor includes a microphone physically connected for sensing a sound characteristic of operation of a Venturi tube. A controller effects a time delay for maintaining activation of the ozone generator for a predetermined time duration even after water flow has ceased.

Disclosed herein is an improvement of the embodiments described in Johnston U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/898,095, filed May 20, 2013, and published as Pub. No. US 2013/0306569 on Nov. 21, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to the treatment of water with ozone for supply to appliances, particularly clothes washing machines.
Ozone (chemical formula O3) is well known as a powerful oxidant. A number of methods are known for producing ozone. Corona discharge is a common method, and is employed in embodiments of the invention disclosed herein. Another common method for generating ozone generator employs an ultraviolet light (UV). Other methods for generating ozone are a cold plasma method, and electrolytic ozone generation. Embodiments of the invention, however, are not limited to any particular type of ozone generator. It is also well known that ozone can be dissolved in water, and also can exist as small bubbles in water, both of which are known as ozonated water.
The use of ozonated water in a clothes washing machine has a number of advantages. As examples, the use of detergent can be reduced or eliminated. As a result, expense for detergent is reduced or eliminated, as well as build up of detergent residue. (Related to the reduction or elimination of detergent, the wastewater from a clothes washing machine supplied with ozonated water is considered "green," without high levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) food for bacteria.) Cold water can be used for clothes washing, providing energy savings from reduced hot water usage. The life of clothing, as well as the life of a washing machine, can be extended.
Ozonated water used in a clothes washing machine can remove irritating chemicals from clothing. This is particularly important for persons with chemical sensitivity.
In addition, ozonated water significantly reduces microbes, including mold, bacteria and viruses.

Water treatment for high-efficiency cleaning


The invention provides a brush seal assembly, and method of using, for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal,.the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body; and an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft. The brush seal assembly further includes an annular abradable material portion being constructed of an abradable material, the abradable material portion having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the abradable material portion disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove of the abradable material portion.

The invention relates to brush seals and methods of using brush seals.
Brush seals are utilized in a wide variety of operating environments to provide a seal between a housing and a rotating shaft disposed in the housing, for example. Illustratively, brush seals may be utilized in power generation turbines.
For example, the rotating shaft may be a rotor in the power generation turbine. Brush seal construction typically includes thousands of bristles. Each bristle possesses a very small bristle diameter. Collectively, the bristles of the brush seal form a seal.
Brush seals are typically used in a wide variety of industrial applications. Such applications include gas turbine applications or steam turbine gas applications. Further, brush seals operate in severe flow environments, such as in high turbulence flow environments, unsteady flow fields, or flow environments in which there are very high swirl ratios. All these factors contribute to the instability and degradation of the bristles in the brush seal.
The thousands of bristles included in a brush seal are typically grouped together in a bristle pack, for example. Once the bristle pack becomes unstable, it should be appreciated that the life of the brush seal is significantly reduced due to the HCF (high-cycle fatigue) failure of bristles. HCF failure can occur very quickly when a component has a high level of response to a stimulus that occurs at the natural frequency of the component. In order to prevent bristle instability from occurring, one can either improve the brush seal design and/or improve the flow environment in which the brush seal will be operating.
In accordance with one aspect, the invention provides a brush seal assembly for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal, the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body; an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; and an annular abradable material portion being constructed of an abradable material, the abradable material portion having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the abradable material portion disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove of the abradable material portion.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention provides a brush seal assembly for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal, the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body; an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; and an annular honeycomb assembly being constructed of a plurality of walled cells and having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the honeycomb assembly disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove of the honeycomb assembly.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention provides a method for reducing exposure of a brush seal to adverse fluid flow effects, the method comprising the steps of providing a support housing having a passage; providing a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body; providing an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; providing an annular honeycomb assembly, the annular honeycomb assembly disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft, the honeycomb assembly being constructed of a plurality of walled cells; circulating fluid in a space between the support housing and the rotating shaft, the circulated fluid possessing pressure fluctuations, the tooth and the honeycomb assembly each being positioned between the circulating fluid and the brush seal; and contacting the honeycomb assembly with the annular tooth so as to reduce exposure of the brush seal to the pressure fluctuations in the circulated fluid.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention provides a brush seal assembly for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal, the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body, the shaft body and the annular tooth being integrally formed; an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; and an annular honeycomb assembly being constructed Of a plurality of walled cells and having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the honeycomb assembly disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove of the honeycomb assembly; an annular second honeycomb assembly, the second honeycomb assembly being constructed of a plurality of walled cells and having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof; and the rotating shaft further including an annular second tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body and spaced from the first tooth, the second honeycomb assembly disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the second tooth such that the second tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove of the second honeycomb assembly; wherein the brush seal is disposed between the first honeycomb assembly and the second honeycomb assembly.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention provides a method for reducing exposure of a brush seal to fluid fluctuations in an industrial gas turbine, the method comprising the steps of providing a support housing having a passage; providing a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body, the shaft body being integrally formed with the tooth;providing an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; providing an annular honeycomb assembly, the annular honeycomb assembly disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft, the honeycomb assembly being constructed of a plurality of walled cells, the honeycomb assembly further including a groove extending around an inner periphery of the honeycomb assembly; circulating fluid in the industrial gas turbine in a space between the support housing and the rotating shaft, the circulated fluid possessing pressure fluctuations, the tooth and the honeycomb assembly each being positioned between the circulating fluid and the brush seal; and contacting the honeycomb assembly with the annular tooth in the groove so as to reduce exposure of the brush seal to the pressure fluctuations in the circulated fluid.
In accordance with a further aspect, the invention provides a brush seal assembly for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal, the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body; an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; and means for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to the brush seal having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the means for reducing disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove.
In accordance with a yet further aspect, the invention provides a brush seal assembly for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to a brush seal in a gas turbine, the brush seal assembly comprising a support housing having a passage; a rotating shaft disposed in the passage of the support housing, the rotating shaft including a shaft body having a periphery and an annular tooth extending around the periphery of the shaft body, the tooth including a base portion and a contact portion; an annular brush seal including a plurality of bristles extending around the shaft body, each of the plurality of bristles attached to and extending from the support housing in the passage towards the rotating shaft; and means for reducing adverse fluid flow effects to the brush seal having a groove extending around an inner periphery thereof, the means for reducing disposed in the passage around, and proximate to, the tooth of the rotating shaft such that the tooth of the rotating shaft is disposed in the groove, the means for reducing disposed adjacent to the brush seal.

Brush seal assembly and method of using brush seal assembly


A friction clutch arrangement includes a clutch housing mounted to a flywheel, a pressure plate, a clutch disk mounted on a transmission shaft, and a diaphragm spring which loads the pressure plate toward the flywheel to engage the clutch. A disengagement device includes a sliding sleeve which is axially displaceable on the shaft to introduce a disengagement force to the clutch spring via an force action point, thereby producing a characteristic curve of disengagement force versus disengagement travel of the sleeve. During disengagement, a compensation device introduces a compensation force counter to the pressing force in a predefined section of the characteristic curve, thereby reducing the disengagement force in the predefined section. A switchable force transmission device changes the effective force transmission ratio of the pressing force and the disengagement force during disengagement in a predetermined manner, thereby optimizing the disengagement stroke of the pressure plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a friction clutch arrangement, in particular for motor vehicles, radially a clutch housing which can be fixed to a flywheel and can rotate about an axis of rotation; at least one pressure plate which is fixed against rotation with respect to the clutch housing and can move axially with respect to the clutch housing; at least one clutch disk which can be fixed against rotation with respect to a shaft, can rotate with respect to the clutch housing, and can engage a respective at least one pressure plate to transmit torque from said clutch housing to the shaft; and a clutch spring arranged on the clutch housing and loading the at least one pressure plate axially toward the flywheel with a pressing force via a first force action point. A disengagement device includes a sliding sleeve mounted concentrically on the shaft, and a first disengagement ring arranged on the sliding sleeve and operatively connected to the clutch spring at a second force action point. The sliding sleeve is axially displaceable on the shaft to introduce a disengagement force to the clutch spring via the second force action point, thereby producing a characteristic curve of disengagement force versus disengagement travel of the sleeve.
2. Description of the Related Art
Friction clutches for motor vehicles are generally known and can be constructed as a pulled or pushed clutch, the pressing force being produced by means of a spring store, for example a diaphragm spring, helical spring or disk spring. In the case of diaphragm springs, there is a special feature that their force-travel characteristic curve has a maximum, which is passed when a clutch is actuated and which, for a driver, results in an undesired alternating load.
The factors of a manually actuated vehicle clutch that determine the driving comfort for a driver and the driving behavior of a vehicle are, firstly, the value of the maximum disengagement force to be applied by the vehicle driver and, secondly, the possible maximum pressure plate disengagement stroke during a disengagement operation, which represents a measure of the separating ability of the clutch. A clutch is usually designed in such a way that the actuating force is not excessively high for an average driver and at the same time, however, secure engagement and disengagement operations can be carried out by him. Incomplete separation of the clutch produces dragging torque on the transmission input shaft, which has a detrimental effect on a subsequent shifting operation. This results in disadvantageous consequences for the lifetime of the system components, in particular the lifetime of the coupling brake in systems with unsynchronized transmissions and of the synchronizing device in synchronous transmissions being reduced.
From the prior art, it is already in principle known that an increase in the pressure plate disengagement stroke proves to be beneficial both for efficient disengagement and for a reduction in the dragging torque when the clutch is actuated.
In the conception of a clutch, with regard to the desired disengagement force and the maximum pressure plate stroke, the problem arises that, as the disengagement force is reduced, the pressure plate disengagement stroke is likewise reduced. On the other hand, if the pressure plate disengagement stroke is increased, the disengagement force is likewise increased. By contrast, however, the smallest possible disengagement force with, at the same time, a long disengagement stroke would be desirable for a vehicle driver during clutch actuation.


A power supply apparatus for stepping up an input voltage and for outputting a constant voltage includes an inductance element and a first transistor connected in series between an input terminal and an output terminal, a second transistor connected between a node between the inductance element and the first transistor and a reference potential, and a voltage holding element connected between the output terminal and the line of the reference potential. The first and second transistors are alternately rendered conductive in accordance with an output voltage from the output terminal while the voltage holding element is charged, so that the voltage of the power supply is stepped up.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power supply apparatus and, more specifically, to a power supply apparatus such as a DC-DC converter often used as a power source for a portable apparatus or the like.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a power supply circuit referred to as a step up/step down type DC-DC converter such as shown in FIG. 3 has been used for portable audio equipments such as a portable CD and a headphone stereo or for personal communication service. Alternatively, voltage of a dry cell or a secondary cell is transformed to be suitable for each equipment by using a power supply circuit employing a coil with a center tap, not shown, in order to reduce number of cells and to make the equipment light and compact. When a portable equipment such as mentioned above is used while moving, battery voltage of about 1.5V to about 3.5V is stepped up/down to about 3.0V to be used as the power supply voltage. When a battery of an automobile or a DC adapter is available, a voltage of about 3.5V to about 12V input through a connector is stepped down to about 3.0V to be used as the power supply voltage.
The structure of the power supply circuit shown in FIG. 3 will be described. There are a power supply V1 having a voltage value higher than an output voltage V3 at an output terminal OUT, and a power supply V2 having a voltage value lower than the output voltage V3. Power supply V1 is applied to a down converter 50 for stepping down the voltage, and the output voltage of down converter 50 and power supply V2 are switched by a switch circuit S1. The voltage switched by switch circuit Si is output to output terminal OUT through an inductance element 51, a diode 52 and an output circuit 59. Inductance element 51 generates a counter electromotive force for stepping up, and diode 52 prevents reverse flow and decrease of the step up voltage. Output circuit 59 controls supply of output voltage V3 to a load, not shown, connected to output terminal OUT. A capacitor element 56 is connected between a node between diode 52 and output circuit 59 and a reference potential (GND). Capacitor element 56 charges current of counter electromotive force (hereinafter referred to as charging current), and stabilizes output voltage V3.
A transistor 55 is connected between a node between inductance element 51 and diode 52 and the reference potential. Transistor 55 is driven by a driving circuit 54. Driving circuit 54 contains an oscillating circuit and periodically renders transistor 55 conductive or non-conductive (hereinafter referred to as switching operation). Output voltage V3' on the anode side of diode 52 is applied to an output voltage detecting circuit 53.
Output voltage detecting circuit 53 detects whether or not output voltage V3' is at a prescribed level, and in response to detection of malfunction or failure of output voltage V3', applies a detection signal to driving circuit 54 and an output failure detecting circuit 57. Driving circuit 54 controls period of the switching operation of transistor 55 in accordance with the detection output from output voltage detecting circuit 53. Output failure detecting circuit 57 compares a voltage generated by rectifying and smoothing a clock signal of driving circuit 54 with the charging voltage, and detects malfunction of the circuit. In response to detection of malfunction of the circuit, output failure detecting circuit 57 controls output driving circuit 58 and controls conduction of output transistor of output circuit 59.
FIGS. 4A to 4C show waveforms at various portions of the control apparatus shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 4A shows voltage waveform of the collector of transistor 55, FIG. 4B shows current waveform flowing through inductance element 51 and FIG. 4C shows enlarged voltage waveform near the output voltage of output terminal OUT. In each figure, t1 represents period of switching operation of transistor 55, VF represents forward voltage of diode 52, and Vsat represents saturation voltage of the transistor in output circuit 59. For simplicity, voltage ripples and the like are omitted in waveforms other than FIG. 4C.
The operation of the power supply shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4C. Transistor 55 performs switching operation in response to a clock signal from the oscillating circuit in driving circuit 54. When transistor 55 is rendered conductive and the collector voltage is at the reference potential as shown in FIG. 4A, current flowing through inductance element 51 gradually increases as shown in FIG. 4B. When transistor 55 is non-conductive and the collector voltage is (V3'+VF), the charging current flowing through inductance element 51 gradually decreases, as the counter electromotive force of inductance element 51 lowers. Thereafter, while there is sufficient charging current, transistor 55 is again rendered conductive, increasing the charging current.
By the repetition of such switching operation, capacitor element 56 is gradually charged and its charging voltage V3' increases, and the voltage of the power supply selected by switch circuit S1 is stepped up. When the charging voltage attains to a prescribed value or higher, the transistor of output circuit 59 is rendered conductive, and a prescribed output voltage V3 (=V3'-Vsat) shown in FIG. 4C is supplied to the load.
Under normal operating condition, the output voltage of output failure detecting circuit 57 attains to a high level, transistor 55 performs switching operation in response to a clock signal from driving circuit 54 and thus stepping up operation is performed. The transistor of output circuit 59 is rendered conductive through output driving circuit 58, and the stepped up at voltage is output. Further, driving circuit 54 controls transistor 55 such that when the charging voltage V3' is lower than the prescribed voltage value, switching frequency is increased so as to increase the speed of charging and when the charging voltage V3' attains to the prescribed value, the switching frequency is lowered, whereby the output voltage V3 is kept constant.
In case of a malfunction where output terminal OUT is short-circuited to the reference potential, output failure detecting circuit 57 sets the output voltage thereof to a low level, controls output driving circuit 58 so as to render the transistor of output circuit 59 non-conductive, and stops switching operation of driving circuit 54. Consequently, flow of short-circuit current from respective power supplies to output terminal OUT can be prevented, and the circuits in the power supply apparatus can be protected.
Output failure detecting circuit 57 compares a voltage generated by rectifying and smoothing the clock signal of driving circuit 54 with the charging voltage V3', and though stepping up operation is performed in the above described state of malfunction, the charging voltage V3' is not boosted.
Meanwhile, when the power supply V1 having the voltage higher than the output voltage V3 is to be stepped down and output, power supply V1 is selected by switch circuit S1. The voltage of power supply V1 is stepped down by down converter 50, capacitor 56 is charged by means of inductance element 51 and diode element 52, and the charging voltage is output to output terminal OUT through output circuit 59. At this time, output of the clock signal of driving circuit 54 is stopped, transistor 55 is kept non-conductive and the transistor of output circuit 59 is kept conductive.
Meanwhile, in the power supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3, there is much loss because of diode 52. Even when a shot key diode having as small a forward voltage as about 0.4V is used as diode 52, it is difficult to have conversion efficiency of the power supply apparatus not lower than 85%, and therefore it is difficult to elongate the time of operation of the portable equipment or the like.
Further, in order to reduce power consumption while the portable equipment is in a sleep state, it is necessary to provide output driving circuit 58 and output circuit 59 so as to prevent supply of voltage from output terminal OUT to the load. Further, since output failure detecting circuit 57 is used for protecting the power supply circuit from malfunction such as short-circuit of output terminal OUT to the reference potential, the circuit scale is considerably large and number of components used is large, resulting in increased area of the circuit board. From the foregoing, purchase and maintenance of components require much labor and cost, and outer size of the power supply apparatus is considerably large. Therefore, the outer size of the portable equipment using the power supply cannot be reduced, resulting in poor portability and high cost.
Meanwhile, the power supply apparatus using a coil with a center tap, not shown, is expensive and reduction in size of the equipment is difficult, since the coil is special and not versatile, and in addition, it is expensive.


An antenna unit according to an embodiment of the invention includes an antenna that communicates with a RFID and a frequency switch that switches a frequency of a radio wave that the antenna transmits and receives, wherein the antenna includes a radiation plate that radiates a radio wave that communicates with the RFID, a ground plate that is disposed with a predetermined distance separated from the radiation plate and a distance switch that varies a distance between the ground plate and the radiation plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an antenna unit that is used to communicate with a wireless tag (RFID: Radio Frequency Identification).
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, a system that communicates with an article provided with a RFID to read and write information of the article is gathering attention. In such a system, an antenna is used to transmit and receive a signal to and from the RFID. It is preferable that impedance matching is established between the antenna and an electric supply line. However, in actuality, from various reasons, the impedance mismatch is caused. Owing to the mismatch, an amount of reflected waves increases to weaken radio waves irradiated into a space.
From a viewpoint of the antenna efficiency, the reflected waves are desirably as small as possible. Accordingly, the antenna is used with the return loss (reflection loss) caused by the reflected waves made small. However, the return loss varies depending on an operating frequency that is used to communicate with the RFID. That is, while the return loss is small at a certain frequency, when the operating frequency is changed to other frequency, the return loss becomes larger to deteriorate the efficiency.


A computer implemented method of mask decomposition and optimization for directed self assembly (DSA) which includes: inputting design information of an integrated circuit that is to be patterned using a DSA process; mapping the design information into a tree graph comprising nodes and edges; searching the tree graph to identify a longest path through the tree graph; identifying a branch comprising an edge on the tree graph not on the longest path and stemming from one of the nodes on the longest path; outputting the one node on the longest path that connects to the branch as a hot spot; and modifying a photomask by removing the branch from the photomask; wherein the method is performed by one or more computing devices.

The present exemplary embodiments pertain to methods for fabricating integrated circuits, and more particularly pertain to methods for fabricating integrated circuits including generating modified photomasks for directed self-assembly.
Directed self-assembly (DSA), a technique that aligns self-assembling polymeric materials on a lithographically defined directing or guide pattern, is a potential option for extending current lithography beyond its pitch and resolution limits. The self-assembling materials, for example, are block copolymers (BCPs) that consist of an "A" homopolymer covalently attached to a "B" homopolymer, which are deposited over a lithographically defined directing pattern on a semiconductor substrate. The lithographically defined directing pattern is a pre-pattern (hereinafter "DSA directing pattern") that is encoded with spatial chemical and/or topographical information (e.g., chemical epitaxy and/or graphoepitaxy) and serves to direct the self-assembly process and the pattern formed by the self-assembling materials. Subsequently, by annealing the DSA polymers, the A polymer chains and the B polymer chains undergo phase separation to form an A polymer region and a B polymer region that are registered to the underlying DSA directing pattern to define a nanopattern. Then, by removing either the A polymer block or the B polymer block by wet chemical or plasma-etch techniques, a DSA pattern is formed. The DSA pattern may be used as a mask for transferring the DSA pattern to the underlying semiconductor substrate.

Mask decomposition and optimization for directed self assembly

International Business Machines Corporation