A ZnO.sub.2 voltage non-linear resistor excellent in all characteristics of life under electrical stress, current impulse withstandability, discharge voltage ratio, change rate of discharge voltage after application of current impulse and moisture absorbency contains, as additive ingredients: 0.4-1.5 mol. % bismuth oxides as Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.3-1.5 mol. % cobalt oxides as Co.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.2-1.0 mol. % manganese oxides as MnO.sub.2, 0.5-1.5 mol. % antimony oxides as Sb.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.1-1.5 mol. % chromium oxides as Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.4-3.0 mol. % silicon oxides as SiO.sub.2, 0.5-2.5 mol. % nickel oxides as NiO, 0.001-0.05 mol. % aluminum oxides as Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.0001-0.05 mol. % boron oxides as B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.0001-0.05 mol. % silver oxides as Ag.sub.2 O, and 0.0005-0.1 mol. % zirconium oxides as ZrO.sub.2, which bismuth oxides contain 30 wt. % of a .gamma.-type crystalline phase. A small-sizable ZnO.sub.2 voltage non-linear resistor having a higher varistor voltage in addition to the above characteristics contains, as additive ingredients: 0.3-1.5 mol. % bismuth oxides as Bi.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.3-1.5 mol. % cobalt oxides as Co.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.2-1.5 mol. % manganese oxides as MnO.sub.2, 0.5-1.5 mol. % antimony oxides as Sb.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.1-1.5 mol. % chromium oxides as Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, 4.0-10.0 mol. % silicon oxides as SiO.sub.2, 0.5-2.5 mol. % nickel oxides as NiO, 0.001-0.05 mol. % aluminum oxides as Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.0001-0.05 mol. % boron oxides as B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 0.0001-0.05 mol. % silver oxides as Ag.sub.2 O, and 0.0005-0.1 mol % zirconium oxides as ZrO.sub.2, which bismuth oxides contain 30 wt. % of a crystalline .gamma.-type phase.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a voltage non-linear resistor comprising zinc oxide as a principal ingredient, and more particularly to a voltage non-linear resistor which is excellent in life expectancy under electrical stress, current impulse withstand capability, discharge voltage ratio, change rate of discharge voltage after applying current impulse and water penetrating characteristics.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been widely known resistors comprising zinc oxide as a principal ingredient and small amounts of additives, which exhibit an excellent voltage non-linear characteristic. Utilizing such a characteristic, these resistors have been used in, for example, lightning arresters and the like.
In particular, when they are used as a lightning arrester, even if an excessive current flows by a lightning strike, the current is grounded by the voltage non-linear resistor which is usually an insulator and turns to a conductor when a voltage exceeds a preestimated level. Thus, accidents due to lightning strikes can be prevented.
There have hitherto been disclosed Bi, Co, Mn, Sb, Cr, Si, Ni, Al, B, Ag and Zr as an applicable additive, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 59-41,285 and Japanese Patent Laid-open Application Nos. 62-237,703, 63-136,603 and 1-228,105.
Meanwhile, many have expected the develop of a voltage non-linear resistor that is excellent in all electrical characteristics to be provided by voltage non-linear resistors, such as long life under electrical stress, current impulse withstand capability, discharge voltage ratio, change rate of discharge voltage after applying current impulse and water penetrating characteristics. Although each characteristic is good according to the techniques disclosed in the each of the above patent applications, difficulties have been encountered in satisfying all the above 5 particulars.
Resistors are required to have a long life under electrical stress to be stabilized for a long period of time without thermal runaway, being induced by an applied voltage. Namely, with respect to the life under electrical and thermal stresses converted from an Arrhenius' plot, the resistors are desired to have a good performance for at least 50 years, preferably at least 100 years under a voltage applying rate of 85% at 40.degree. C.
Further, the resistors are required to have a current impulse withstand capability high enough to withstand fracture due to current impulse. Namely, a lightning current impulse withstand capability which is determined as an energy value (passed value) converted from a withstand capability after 2 repetitions, with a 5 minute interval, of applying lightning current impulse with a waveform of 4/10 .mu.s is desired to be at least 16 KJ. The switching current impulse withstand capability which is determined as an energy value (passed value) converted from a withstand capability after 20 repetitions of applying switching current impulse with a waveform of 2 ms is desired to be at least 16 KJ.
On the other hand, the discharge voltage increases with decreasing voltage non-linearity, in a large current region. Accordingly, it is required that the voltage non-linearity is high, namely, the discharge voltage is low, even in the large current region. Namely, the discharge voltage ratio which is defined as a ratio of a varistor voltage (discharge voltage at a 1 A current: hereinafter referred to as "V.sub.1A ") to a discharge voltage, for example, at a 40 KA current (V.sub.40KA) is desired to be less than 2.0.
Further, the resistors are required to have voltage-current characteristics hardly deteriorated due to current impulse, i.e., a low change rate of discharge voltage after applying current impulse. For example, change rate of varistor voltage (.DELTA.V.sub.1A) before and after 10 repetitions of applying current impulse of 40 KA with a waveform of 4/10 .mu.s is desired to be within 5%.
Furthermore, as for water penetrability, there is seen a phenomenon such that water permeates through micro-cracks or the like into a resistor. The water penetrability is evaluated by a fluorescent flaw detective test described hereinafter. With regard to a water penetrative resistor, deterioration of characteristics of the resistor is not recognized under dry conditions. However, the life under electrical stress and the current impulse withstand capability deteriorate under moisturized conditions. Therefore, water penetrating characteristics are important in respect of a long-term reliability. Particularly, the water penetrating characteristics are important to resistors to be applied to lightning arresters or the like to be used outdoors.
Thus, voltage nonlinear resistors to be used as a lightning arrester or the like are required to satisfy simultaneously the above-described 5 characteristics. Particularly, in order to make a resistor compact (by decreasing its length), the varistor voltage of the resistor should be increased while the discharge voltage ratio is kept low. Namely, in the case of a small-sized lightning arrester designed as a resistor having a high varistor voltage (V.sub.1mA .ltoreq.300 V/mm), the above-described lightning current impulse withstand capability is desirably at least 13 KJ and the switching current impulse withstand capability is desirably at least 11 KJ. Further, the discharge voltage ratio which is defined as a ratio of a varistor voltage at a 1 mA current (V.sub.1mA) to a discharge voltage, for example, at a 30 KA current (V.sub.30KA) is desired to be less than 2.2. Furthermore, the change rate of varistor voltage (.DELTA.V.sub.1mA) before and after 10 repetitions of applying current impulse of 40 KA with a waveform of 4/10 .mu.s is desired to be within 10%. However, resistors having a high varistor voltage such as V.sub.1mA .ltoreq.300 V/mm which can satisfy all the above 5 particulars have not yet been obtained.


A vehicle (for example an unmanned robot vehicle) which includes a main body provided with a main locomotion mechanism for traveling over a terrain. The device is provided with at least one arm for enhanced support and maneuverability, the arm pivotally attached to the main body. The arm is controllable and capable of being rotated to a position where the arm or at least a substantial portion of the arm is placed in contact with the terrain or obstacle, so as to provide support or leverage to the main body.

Small-unmanned robot vehicles (SURV) are autonomous or remotely operated ground vehicles designed to perform tasks in environments and locations that are either dangerous or inaccessible for humans to operate in, or are used for workload sharing with humans.
Given below is a very partial list of examples of environments and activities in which SURVs are employed:                Search for survivors in collapsed structures following an earthquake, a fire or an explosion,        Entry into highly radioactive contaminated areas,        Assistance to law enforcement agencies in surveillance and control of violent demonstrations, unlawful gatherings and hostage situations,        Assistance to law enforcement agencies entering unknown or potentially dangerous or hostile environments,        Remote identification and neutralizing of bombs and dealing with suspicious objects and threats of terrorist activities,        Exploration of extraterrestrial objects and territories such as the moon and Mars surveillance,        Remote active monitoring of narrow pipes, tunnels and trenches.
In most activities of a SURV the maneuverability of the vehicle on a rough or difficult terrain is of crucial importance. To increase the utility of SURVs over a broad spectrum of operational conditions various locomotion systems have been designed. These designs include, inter-alia:
Caterpillar tracks (hereinafter referred to as—tracks or track) in various configurations that enable good maneuverability on soft soil but are less efficient on hard flat surfaces,
Wheels in various configurations that are efficient on hard and relatively flat surfaces and facilitate higher speeds on hard uncluttered surfaces but that are inefficient on loose and slippery ground conditions,
Locomotion systems that can change from track configuration to wheel configuration and vice versa thus providing the advantage of both locomotion systems.
A detailed description of various SURV locomotion systems itemizing their advantages and disadvantages is given by Paul J. Lewis et al. in their article: "Chaos", an intelligent ultra-mobile small unmanned ground vehicle (SUGV): Combining the mobility of wheels, tracks and legs. The information is published on the Internet website: http://www.cs.usu.edu/˜flann/chaos.pdf.
Since by definition SURVs are relatively small, regardless of the locomotion system employed they are limited in the size of obstacles they can overcome. This limitation is manifested by the relatively small gaps SURV can bridge and over-pass, the size of step they can mount and the steepness and inclinations they can climb in their advance-path.
Various mechanisms are employed to increase the ability of SURVs to overcome obstacles. An example of such a mechanism is the use of a track system provided with a frontal section presenting upward inclination that improves the SURV's attack-angle when confronting an obstacle, as seen in the design of the PackBot Explorer SURV, produced by the iRobot Corporation (website: http://www.irobot.com). Another example is the turning of rigid horizontal track-beams in a rotation motion, imitating wheels. The frontal tracks in this motion hold on to an obstacle in front of the SURV (such as stairs) and climb onto it. In yet another example of a mechanism to increase the ability to overcome difficult obstacles, the tracks of the SURV are converted to vertical "legs", enabling stepping over the obstruction. Paul J. Lewis et al., previously quoted, described an elaboration of the SURV turning track-beam systems and walking-legs mechanisms.
Various mechanisms are employed to overcome obstacles and improve the maneuverability of SURVs but the relatively small dimensions of the vehicles restrict the maneuverability in many environments and conditions. In addition, in many cases the employed locomotion mechanisms are difficult to operate autonomously, or to operate effectively by remote control.
When in use SURVs act as a platform for carrying specific equipment required for the designated task at hand. The effective operation depends in many cases on the ability to maneuver flexibly with the equipment. Examples include the ability to turn a video camera at various desired angles of photography or the use of a remote-controlled garbing-arm extended from the SURV, for picking up items adjacent the vehicle.
To increase the flexibility and operation span of a SURV, arms of various configurations have been developed and installed.
Examples of arm configurations are given in the description of three commonly used SURV: Vanguard MKII-T, made by Allen-Vanguard (web site: http://www.allen-vanguard.com/home/), by the Foster-Miller Talon III-B (web site: http://www.foster-miller.com/) and by the Mesa Matilda Block II (web site: http://www.mesa-robotics.com/matilda.html).
The arms in existing SURVs are designed so as to enable the flexible use of carried on equipment and not to extend the maneuverability of the SURVs.
It is an object of the present invention to provide SURVs with an extended arm or arms in order to increase the maneuverability of the vehicles.

Unmanned robot vehicle with mobility enhancing arm


A method for manufacturing a direct current motor having a stator and a rotor. The stator has a first number of slots, and the rotor includes a permanent magnet having a second number of alternately magnetized poles. The method includes calculating a magnetization pattern based on a magnetizing construct associated with said direct current motor, which magnetizing construct includes a hypothetical magnetizing stator having the same number of magnetizing teeth as the second number of alternately magnetized poles. The method further includes having the permanent magnet magnetized with substantially the calculated magnetization pattern, thereby forming the direct current motor.

The present invention relates to direct current (dc) motors and magnetic clutches. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for improving the efficiency of permanent magnet brushless dc motors and magnetic clutches.
Permanent magnet brushless dc motors and magnetic clutches are known in the art. To facilitate discussion, FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic sectional view of a spindle motor 100, representing a typical permanent magnet brushless dc motor. The spindle motor is selected herein for discussion to facilitate ease of understanding although, as will be seen, the inventive concepts disclosed herein apply equally well to other types of direct current motors (e.g., other types of radial gap dc motors, axial gap dc motors, external stator dc motors, and the like), and magnetic clutches. Spindle motor 100 includes a rotor portion 102 that is rotatable about a stationary stator portion 104. Rotor portion 102 has a multi-pole permanent magnet 106 mounted to a back yoke 108 and is typically formed of a continuous ring of a suitable magnet material. Magnet 106 is typically magnetized in segments, with adjacent segments being alternately magnetized in opposite directions. Back yoke 108 serves as a return path and may be formed of soft iron or steel.
Stator portion 104 is separated from rotor portion 102 by a generally cylindrical air gap 110. Stator portion 104 includes a stator yoke 112 having stator teeth 114, typically formed of laminated sheets of soft iron or silicon steel, with stator teeth 114 oriented toward rotor portion 102 and carrying excitation coils 116. Stator portion 104 is typically supported on a base plate support structure (omitted from FIG. 1 to improve clarity).
As is well known to those skilled in the art, rotor portion 102 is induced to rotate about stator portion 104 when excitation coils 120 are electrically energized. Although all dc motors convert electrical energy in the form of current through their excitation coils into the rotor's rotational force, they do so at various levels of efficiency. In general, a dc motor having a high level of efficiency is desirable over a less efficient dc motor. High efficiency motors tend to generate less heat and noise during operation and usually operate for a longer period of time for a given battery charge. These considerations are particularly important for manufacturers of computer disk drives, as these devices are often employed heat and/or noise sensitive environments, or in battery-operated portable computers.
In the design of dc motors, it is known that the magnetization pattern in the dc motor magnet, e.g., magnet 106 of FIG. 1, has a strong effect on motor efficiency. Designers of dc motors constantly search for patterns that, all things being equal, yield the highest level of efficiency. Once a suitable pattern is selected, it may then be furnished to a magnetizing fixture designer who, using conventional techniques, designs a magnetizing fixture to reproduce as closely as possible in the motor magnet the desired magnetization pattern.
It is widely believed that the most efficient magnetization pattern in the dc motor magnet is a purely radial pattern. To facilitate further discussion, FIG. 2A illustrates a portion of spindle motor 100 of FIG. 1, including permanent magnet 106 having a purely radial magnetization pattern. Within permanent magnet 106, adjacent magnet segments are alternately magnetized in opposite directions. This is illustrated in the magnetization lines of magnet segments 202, 204, and 206 (depicted in FIG. 2A as series of parallel arrows in cylindrical permanent magnet 106).
In the purely radial magnetization pattern of FIG. 2A, the magnetization lines are radial throughout permanent magnet 106, including magnetization lines that are adjacent to the segment boundaries. Across a segment boundary, i.e., the imaginary line that distinguishes a magnet segment from its adjacent neighbor, magnetization lines of a purely radial magnetization pattern are oriented in opposite directions right next to one another. This condition is illustrated in FIG. 2A at boundaries 208 and 210, which separate respective adjacent magnet segment pairs 202/204 and 204/206. It should be noted that although the purely radial pattern of FIG. 2A has long been held by many to be the most efficient, it is difficult to manufacture economically.
It is also known that dc motors employing the purely radial magnetization pattern of FIG. 2A would suffer from high cogging forces. Cogging forces represent a well known phenomenon, and are generally a result of preferred angular position that the rotor has due to the magnetics. A high level of cogging forces adversely affects motor performance, particularly in the ability of the rotor to smoothly rotate about the stator. Excessive cogging forces may also lead to an unacceptably high level of acoustic noise. Consequently, while manufacturers strive to achieve the highest efficiency level believed to be associated with the purely radial magnetization pattern, other alternative magnetization patterns have been developed to achieve an acceptable tradeoff between high efficiency and high cogging forces and/or high manufacturing costs.
With these alternative magnetization patterns, however, it has been found that motor efficiency is reduced. FIG. 2B illustrates one such alternative magnetization pattern, wherein the boundaries between adjacent magnet segments 224/226 and 226/228 are intentionally expanded into unmagnetized transition regions 230 and 232. The unmagnetized transition regions between adjacent magnet segments are known as dead zones since no magnetization lines exist in these unmagnetized transition regions. In the regions that are magnetized, e.g., within magnet segments 224, 226, and 228 of FIG. 2B, the magnetization lines are kept substantially radial. However, the presence of the unmagnetized transition regions, or dead zones, robs the dc motor of a portion of its driving force, resulting in a concomitant reduction in the level of motor efficiency.
Another approach involves sinusoidal magnetization lines, with the orientation of a given magnetization line being determined by its angular position from the boundary between adjacent magnet segments. In accordance with this sinusoidal magnetization scheme, each magnetization line has a radial component which varies from about 90.degree. (almost purely radial) at the center of a magnet segment to almost 0.degree. at the segment boundary. Such an approach is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,414, issued to Ackermann, et al. However, the efficiency of the motor that results has been found to be lower than the efficiency level of an analogous dc motor employing the purely radial magnetization pattern.
In view of the foregoing, improved methods and apparatus for magnetizing permanent magnets in dc motors or magnetic clutches are desired. The improved methods and apparatus preferably yield a dc motor or a magnetic clutch that can operate with a high level of efficiency.

Methods and apparatus for improved DC motors and magnetic clutches


A trip-free operating mechanism for a load break switch of the type having a fixed contact engageable by a movable contact between a fully closed position and a fully open position. The operating mechanism includes an operating lever connected to the movable contact and rotatable about a shaft to move the contact between its open and closed positions. A follower rotates with the shaft into and out of contact with the operating lever. A closing spring biases the operating lever and the follower towards each other. An opening spring drive connects to the follower to drive the follower to its switch contact open position. A first latch holds the operating lever and follower apart against the force of the closing spring when the operating lever is in its switch contact closed position. A manual and a solenoid actuated trip mechanism are provided to release the first latch to allow the closing spring to rotate the follower into engagement with the operating mechanism and to rotate the spring drive to quickly drive the operating lever to its switch contact open position. A second latch retains an operating handle in its closed position until the closing spring rotates the follower into engagement with the operating mechanism. The operating handle is nudged to fall by gravity to its switch open position when the follower rotates to its switch contact open position. The operating handle engages the follower in the switch contact open position to rotate the follower to near its switch closed position while the operating lever is latched in the switch open position. The operating lever latch may be released by rotation of the follower or by actuation of a second solenoid.

This invention relates to a new and improved trip-free operating mechanism for a load break switch and particularly to a switch operating mechanism readily adaptable to both manual and electrical tripping, including remote electrical tripping and remote closing.
Fused load break switches are frequently used in service entrance equipment and in other relatively high current applications; typically, multiple-pole switches of this kind may require interruption of currents of the order of 400 to 80,000 amperes. It is critically important that the contacts of these switches open and close rapidly to minimize arcing and thereby avoid pitting and deterioration of the switch contacts. The switches usually provide for latching of the switch contacts in the closed position. The switch blades are relatively heavy and the mechanical forces entailed in opening and closing operations are often substantial.
Other problems have been found in the use and operation of such heavy-duty switches. The forces needed to actuate the switch, both during opening and closing, are considerable because the opening and closing springs of typical operating mechanisms work against each other at times. The closing of the contacts of a switch requires rotation of the operating handle first through a limited arc in one direction and then through a greater arc in the opposite direction, thus complicating the switch closing process. In some operating mechanisms, the on-off condition of the switch contacts is indicated only by the position of the operating handle, causing uncertainty as to whether the operating mechanism is in its on, off or in its reset positions. Additional problems have arisen because the closing speed of the switch contacts is not completely independent of the speed of rotation of the operating handle. Further, the operating handle cannot be manipulated to break welds holding the switch contacts partially closed in the event the opening spring drive does not overcome the adhesions caused by such welds and leaves the contacts in an intermediate, hung-up position.


The present disclosure is concerned with generating a unique representation of a physical asset from a plurality of datasets representing information relating to the physical asset. Each dataset is generated by a system that acquires the dataset in a system-specific format. Each dataset that includes information about the attributes of a physical asset is mapped to a corresponding system-specific global dataset, based on a global data model. The global system-specific datasets generated are merged together to generate a global dataset, based on the global data model. The global dataset therefore uniquely represents the physical asset.

Power utilities are concerned with the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power. The physical assets or devices used in power utilities have specific properties associated with them. Examples of such physical assets include stations, lines, transformers or breakers. The properties include, for instance, a nominal primary voltage or a momentary tap position of a transformer. For maintaining, operating, controlling and/or monitoring these physical assets, various local applications or supervisory systems are employed. The term "local" in the context of the present disclosure does not relate to a geographical property, but refers to the fact that these applications or systems are concerned only with certain aspects of the physical assets and may refer to the same physical asset in a number of different ways.
Typically, supervisory systems are employed for monitoring and controlling the physical assets from a central location, and to that purpose acquire specific properties of the physical assets. The physical assets are represented or modeled in the various local applications or supervisory systems as software objects with attributes related to the specific properties of the physical asset.
In the field of power utility automation, examples of such supervisory systems include a Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS), a Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) System, a Geographic Information System (GIS), an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Tool and the like. The difference in representation is due to the fact that each system is responsible for different aspects of managing the physical asset. As a result, a physical asset can be identified in different ways by each system. For instance, a CMMS may consider a physical asset such as a transformer to be an asset that has to be maintained, while a SCADA system considers the transformer to be an asset that has to be operated and monitored. Such systems therefore operate on heterogeneous datasets that are not coherent, and their respective representations can therefore be in conflict with each other. Moreover, consolidated access to the various representations acquired by respective systems is cumbersome.
In addition, each of the supervisory systems mentioned allows to modify the underlying data sets, both for an initial setup and continuous updates, i.e. attributes can be changed at runtime, either automatically or initiated through operators and utility personnel. Such modifications on the system side reflect the frequent modifications of e.g. the electrical network of a power utility through commissioning or disposal of physical assets, which subsequently imply changes in one or more of the local application's data sets. The foregoing may result in inconsistent data, e.g. an attribute having different values in the control and maintenance system.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 5,504,890 a system is provided for sharing data among independent data-gathering contributors. Each contributor maintains a database with information pertaining to monitored entities and arranged in data fields. A monitored-entity specific subset of data fields is identified which contains information about the monitored entity that is associated with several of the contributors. Viewing prioritization rule sets are derived which automatically resolve conflicts between information in said monitored-entity subset of data fields. Each viewing prioritization rule set is associated with a particular contributor and is referred to whenever the latter originates the view request or a search query.

Generating a unique representation of physical assets


The present invention relates to a compressor or pump unit for the production or flow of compressed fluid and more particularly to a new uniquely designed compressor which has the capabilities to both draw fluid from an intake opening and direct dischargeable compressed fluid to a storage tank utilizing a single compressor chamber simultaneously.

From hereonafter throughout this specification the use of the word compressing is to be considered synonymous with the ability to also pump therefore while the apparatus described throughout this invention may relate to the compressing of a fluid, it is to be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the apparatus defined is equally capable of pumping fluid.
It is customary at present to provide compressors in two basic types, those associated with positive displacement "intermittent flow" and those adapted to provide "dynamic" or "continuous flow".
For the most part the positive displacement type compressors utilize what could best be described as a squeezing confinement effect to force fluid from a larger enclosed volume towards a much smaller chambered outlet.
On the other hand the dynamic compressor type arrangements utilize mechanical action so as to force admitted fluid drawn into the system to increase its velocity which is then converted into pressure.
The positive displacement compressor for the most part are of a rotary volumetric type, typically with radial vanes, driven by an electric motor. These compressors draw fluid from the atmosphere through an intake opening and directed to a pressure tank through a minimum pressure valve which opens only when a predetermined minimum pressure has been reached within a compressor unit.
Alternatively the dynamic compressors are conventionally arranged so that power which is also for the most part derived from a driving motor is transmitted to a crankshaft through pulleys and/or belts to rotate the crankshaft so as to reciprocate a piston which is received in a cylinder provided at the upper side of the crank case which defines a main body of the compressor, thus causing the outside fluid to be sucked into the cylinder from a suction pod through a filter, wherein compressed fluid is then delivered from a delivery port to a compressed fluid storage tank.
Both these arrangements have significant disadvantages not the least that for the rotary constructed compressor with the intermittent operation type control system means that the operations electric motor is suspended when the pressure reaches the upper limit value, while this may reduce electric power loss, nonetheless since the motor is started over again from the stationary state when the pressure falls thereafter, it is impossible to promptly supply compressed fluid when required.
Alternatively the continuous operation as discussed above also has its downfalls since the electric motor is continuously run even when the unloader is in an operative state, electric power loss is unavoidable, which not only adds extra cost to running the compressor unit but also importantly such arrangements make it unsuitable for conditions in which the rate of consumption of the compressed fluid is relatively high.
Therefore there clearly remains a need in the relevant art of compressor fluid units to come up with a new form of technology that can address these problems and others associated with conventional assemblies that are either definable or interpretable as intermittent or continuous flow characterization.
Accordingly embodiments of this invention provide a new compressor unit that provides a configuration which is substantially different in design than hitherto provided for compressor unit assemblies but also one that is able to provide a means in which both fluid can be admitted and discharged to and from a single compression chamber during a single cycle.
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a complete reading of the specification.

Fluid compressor and/or pump arrangement


A portable, universal video and audio computer tester has a video section including a pluggable video connector for connecting to an external source of a video signal; a video detector for detecting an input RGB video signal; a video indicator for signaling presence of an input RGB video signal; a synch detector for detecting an input video synchronization signal; and, synch indicating means for signaling presence of a and input horizontal and a vertical synchronization signal. An audio section has pluggable audio connectors; an internal audio generator for creating an output audio signal; an audio indicator for signaling presence of an input audio signal from the external source or from the internal audio generator; a switch for changing an operational mode from an input audio signal to an output audio signal. Connection to either an external or internal power supply is provided. Operations of video computer interfaces and audio computer interfaces can be verified by connection to the video connector and to the audio connector, respectively.

A large number of service personnel is currently working in the computer field service industry. Field service engineers are, in their daily work routines, required to identify the exact part of malfunctioning computer equipment. But, at the present time, they are not fully equipped to do it in the most efficient and reliable way.
For example, when identifying video interface problems such as a blank screen of a computer monitor, missing colors or unsynchronized picture, a technician must decide which part of computer is defective--a video card or the monitor. The most common way is to check the monitor by replacing it with a properly functioning one from a nearby work station. However, this is a time consuming and cumbersome operation which causes downtime for the other system. In addition a compatible monitor is not always immediately available for the test. This is especially true when diagnosing the cause of failure of the LCD display of a single laptop computer owned by an individual computer operator.
In such cases, the technician should use an oscilloscope, but such device is not readily available either, because it cannot usually be part of the field engineer's repair kit because of its weight, dimensions and cost. As a result, the technician is usually forced to make a guess based on his previous experience, and is frequently wrong, resulting in wasted time, high cost of repair and a dissatisfied customer.
The same approach is normally taken by technicians when diagnosing problems in audio equipment by replacing audio cards, audio cables, loudspeakers and microphones in multimedia computer systems. The same wrong conclusion could be made if the spare units are not available at the time of test.
Various signal testers are widely known and most of them are related to the telephone and communication systems. However, no portable, simple, cheap and universal device which could be used for identifying defective parts of video/audio interfaces of any computer system is available.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,488 issued Jan. 6, 1989 to Donahue teaches a portable identifier and tester unit which identifies corresponding computer cable ends. However, this tester is limited in application only to the evaluation of the continuity of the cable lines and does not have the capability of testing the video/audio computer interfaces.
Another type of tester is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,620 issued Jan. 27, 1989 to Hagedorn. The patent describes a hand-held telephone line signaling tester for signal measuring in telephone lines. The device is dedicated to test specific telephone systems, has a complex design with a key pad and LCD display and cannot be used for computer interface testing.
In addition, other testers and apparatus relate mostly to telephone systems and there is no prior art of the video/audio tester device for use in computer interface testing.

Portable universal video/audio computer tester


In embodiments of distributed coordination of mesh network configuration updates, pending commissioning datasets are managed and distributed to coordinate configuration changes of parameters that control participation in, and secure communication over, a mesh network. Pending network commissioning datasets are managed across fragmentation of the mesh network into multiple partitions and subsequent merging of the fragments to ensure that the most recent updates to pending commissioning datasets are propagated to mesh network devices and that all mesh network devices will receive pending commissioning datasets before the time that the pending commissioning dataset becomes the active commissioning dataset for the mesh network.

Wireless mesh networking used to connect devices to each other, and to cloud-based services, is increasingly popular for sensing environmental conditions, controlling equipment, and providing information and alerts to users. To ensure the security of mesh networks, the identity of devices joining and operating on a mesh network is authenticated, and communication within the mesh network is encrypted, based on credentials that are commissioned into the devices. However many devices on mesh networks are designed to operate for extended periods of time on battery-power by turning off, or sleeping, many operations such as radio and network interfaces for periods of time. In the face of radio frequency interference or the failure of a device, a mesh network may separate into multiple partitions. Each partition elects a leader to maintain the commissioning dataset for the partition. If a commissioner attaches to one partition, not knowing that the separation occurred, changes to the commissioning dataset are only updated in that partition. When the partitions merge back together, or a device moves from one partition to another, differences between the original and updated commissioning dataset can prevent the partitions from successfully merging unless managing the differences in the commissioning datasets can be resolved so that all devices can again securely communicate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Distributed coordination of mesh network configuration updates


The preferred embodiments described herein provide a method for NPA split processing on a service control point. These preferred embodiments can be used to overcome problems encountered during a permissive dialing period of an NPA split and yield several advantages over prior art approaches to this problem. Specifically, these preferred embodiments do not require changes to be made to an existing call processing record to include a pointer to a new call processing record identified by a telephone number with a new NPA. Additionally, unlike prior approaches that require changes to be made to all incoming query messages to a service control point, these preferred embodiments do not require extra processing for services that are not NPA sensitive.

During an NPA split, one or more new NPAs are created and assigned to an area formerly having only a single assigned NPA. The process of assigning new NPAs to all of the affected telephone lines occurs over a period of time. During this time, which is referred to as the permissive dialing period, calls can be placed to a telephone line using either the old or new NPA. In some networks, call processing records are duplicated during the permissive dialing period. The original call processing record is identified by the telephone number with the old NPA, and the duplicate call processing record is identified by the telephone number with the new NPA. Problems can arise when changes are made to one call processing record but not the other during the permissive dialing period.
Several approaches have been discussed to solve this problem. One approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,462. With the approach described in the '462 patent, all call processing records identified by telephone numbers with old NPAs are modified to include a pointer to call processing records identified by telephone numbers with new NPAs. Another approach is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,095. Under this approach, pertinent parameters of all incoming query messages are changed in the network signaling interface of the SCP to replace the old NPA with the new NPA before the message is sent to the application level software of the SCP. This approach can result in undue extra processing time as not all messages may need to have the old NPA replaced with the new NPA.
There is a need, therefore, for a new method for NPA split processing on a service control point.

Method for NPA split processing on a service control point


The present invention is a method to add dry gelatin to a photographic emulsion in either a liquid or a solid form. The dry gelatin is added by entraining the dry gelatin in air to form a gaseous mixture of dry gelatin in air and directing this mixture into the solid or liquid photographic emulsion. An air eductor is used to deliver the dry gelatin. When adding dry gelatin to a solution, the rate is determined by the solution viscosity and volume. When adding the dry gelatin to a solid emulsion, the dry gelatin rate is not as critical but uniform addition is still needed to interdisperse the dry gel with the emulsion pellets.

In a typical emulsion/dispersion manufacturing operation, gelatin concentrations are kept low (3% to 5%) during making and finishing. The 3 to 5% gelatin concentration is the minimum level required to suspend the silver halide. Levels of gelatin above this concentration interfere with nucleation and precipitation. When the emulsion/dispersion is eventually coated a much higher viscosity is required and this is achieved by raising the gelatin concentration up to approximately 15%. Historically, the best method to raise the gelatin concentration has been to add swollen gelatin (50% gelatin) or a gelatin solution (20% to 25% gelatin) in the late stages of finishing or in melting. These methods effectively raise viscosity but also significantly dilute the silver concentration due to the water component. It has been attempted to add dry gelatin (100% gelatin) directly to gelatin based emulsion/dispersion solutions, but clumping tends to occur and the undissolved clumps add to the nonuniformity of the emulsion/dispersion. The nondissolved gelatin contributes to variability as well as filter plugging, waste, and mechanical transfer problems. Dry gelatin has a water content of approximately 10%.
The present invention solves the problem of dry gelatin addition in a novel manner. The present invention accomplishes this feat in a simple, reliable, consistent manner while avoiding the clumping problem.

Dry gelatin addition to an emulsion/dispersion mixture


When an image is printed on a print medium in multi-pass printing by scanning a printhead, having a plurality of nozzles, relatively to the print medium, and ejecting ink in accordance with image data, it is determined whether or not a density of the image data is higher than a predetermined value. An image, in which it is determined to have a density higher than the predetermined value, is printed while the printhead is reciprocally scanned, whereas an image, in which it is determined to have a density lower than the predetermined value, is printed while the printhead is scanned in one direction.

The present invention relates to an inkjet printer which performs printing by moving an inkjet printhead relatively to a print medium, and a method and apparatus for controlling the inkjet printer.
An inkjet printer, which prints an image on print paper by scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles, employs a multi-pass printing method which reciprocally scans the inkjet head plural numbers of times for printing one area in order to achieve high-quality printing.
An inkjet printer of this type, which prints an image by reciprocally scanning a printhead, is known to cause a deviation cockling of a dot position depending on the printhead""s scanning direction at the time of discharging an ink droplet from the printhead onto a print medium, due to variations of a space between the printhead and a print medium such as a print sheet. It is also a known fact that, when an ink droplet (main ink droplet) is discharged from the inkjet printhead, a droplet called a satellite is discharged posterior to the main ink droplet, and recorded as a satellite dot on the periphery of a main dot recorded by the main ink droplet. The apparatus is usually adjusted so that the satellite dot is recorded over the main dot. However, there is a possibility that the positions of the main dot and satellite dot may deviate under various conditions.
While such problems occur, if printing is performed in one direction, the position where cockling occurs or the position where the satellite dot is printed is usually kept in one direction. Therefore, dot uniformity of a printed image is maintained to a certain degree. However, in a case where an image is printed by reciprocal scanning of a printhead in multi-pass printing for the purpose of print-time reduction, the aforementioned position where cockling occurs or the position where the satellite dot is printed differs in the forward scan and returning (backward) scan, causing to lose uniformity of an image.
The present invention has been proposed in view of the foregoing conventional example, and has as its object to provide an inkjet printer which enables to print a high-quality image by eliminating an influence of the aforementioned cockling or satellite or the like when an image is printed by multi-pass printing where an inkjet printhead is reciprocally scanned, and to provide a method and apparatus for controlling the inkjet printer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer, and a method and apparatus for controlling the inkjet printer such that printing is performed while a printhead scans in a predetermined direction in accordance with the type of an image, so as to reproduce clear edges of an image, such as a character or the like.
Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer, and a method and apparatus for controlling the inkjet printer which enables high-quality image printing by printing a relatively light portion of an image, where print dots are distributed, while a printhead scans in one direction, and printing a high-density portion of an image, where dots are dense, while the printhead scans reciprocally.
According to the present invention, the foregoing objects are attained by providing an inkjet printer for scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arrayed in a first direction, in a second direction crossing the first direction, and for printing an image on a print medium in relative scanning of the inkjet head, comprising determination means for determining whether or not a density value of an image data is higher than a predetermined value, and selection means for selecting either a first print mode or a second print mode, wherein in the first print mode, printing is performed in bi-directional scanning and in the second print mode, printing is performed in unidirectional scanning, wherein in a case where the determination means determines the density value of the image data is higher than the predetermined value, the selection means selects the first print mode, and in a case where the determination means determines the density value of the image data is not higher than the predetermined value, the selection means selects the second print mode.
According to the present invention, the foregoing objects are attained by providing an inkjet printing method for scanning an inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles arrayed in a first direction, in a second direction crossing the first direction, and for printing an image on a print medium in relative scanning of the inkjet head, comprising a determination step of determining whether or not a density value of an image data is higher than a predetermined value, and a selection step of selecting either a first print mode or a second print mode, wherein in the first print mode, printing is performed in bi-directional scanning and in the second print mode, printing is performed in unidirectional scanning, wherein in a case where in the determination step, it is determined that the density value of the image data is higher than the predetermined value, in the selection step, the first print mode is selected, and in a case where in the determination step, it is determined that the density value of the image data is not higher than the predetermined value, in the selection step, the second print mode is selected.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the figures thereof.

Inkjet printer, and method and apparatus for controlling inkjet printer


A flow rate measuring device has a flow rate measurement unit, an appliance registering unit, a calculating unit, a determining unit, a first appliance identifying unit, and a second appliance identifying unit. The appliance registering unit stores at least first gas flow rate variation profiles on activation of respective gas appliances coupled to a flow channel, and second gas flow rate variation profiles based on the control specific to the respective gas appliances. The first appliance identifying unit identifies which gas appliance is activated based on the first gas flow rate variation profiles on activation. When a determining unit detects a stop of any of gas appliances, the second appliance identifying unit identifies a gas appliance in continuous use by using the second gas flow rate variation profiles based on the control specific to the respective gas appliances.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flow rate measuring device that is installed at the inlet of a gas supply pipe in each household and is applied to a gas meter for measuring the gas flow rate. Specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for applying such a gas meter and identifying (specifying) a gas appliance in use in order to provide a new billing scheme and service, such as a fee by gas appliance, responsive to a used appliance type and its using method.
2. Background Art
A gas meter having a built-in gas flow rate measuring device is generally attached to the inlet of a gas supply line in each household. A billing scheme for setting a fee by gas appliance is implemented. When such a billing scheme is implemented using a conventional gas meter, a plurality of integrators connected to the gas meter are used. The integrated flow rate when the meter is used for a specific time period, and the integrated value when flow rate of a specific range is used are determined. In other words, flow rate by time zone and flow rate by flow rate zone are determined. A billing scheme is determined based on the integrated values.
An example of the billing scheme is described with reference to FIG. 20. In the billing scheme by gas appliance, a predetermined discount flow rate zone and a predetermined discount time zone are set in advance, and a discount is applied to the gas fees for flow rates corresponding to the discount flow rate zone and the discount time zone. Thus, the shaded areas shown in FIG. 20 correspond to the zones subject to the discount (for example, Patent Document 1).
However, this method falls into ambiguity in identifying an appliance. Therefore, it is difficult to perform fee setting, such as billing for a specific appliance, that is easier to understand and convenient for customers. Accordingly, a method for identifying a specific appliance is proposed as described below.
FIG. 21 shows a gas flow rate variation profile on activation of a certain gas appliance, and reference values (profile table) for performing profile matching based on the profile. Using the profile table, the variation of the flow rate value measured by a flow rate measuring device of a gas meter is always compared with the profile table and a matching value is extracted, thereby identifying a gas appliance (for example, Patent Document 2). In other words, the profile table is required to be prepared correspondingly to the flow rate variation profiles of a series of gases generated by combustion control of one gas appliance. The number of required profile tables is the total number of gas appliances used in each household.
In order to determine a stop of a gas appliance in the conventional configuration, flow rate variation is detected, and the occurrence or not of the stop of the gas appliance is determined. However, when a plurality of gas appliances are operated, it is difficult in some situations to identify which gas appliance has stopped. In other words, generally, when the operating flow rate of each gas appliance is accurately obtained, it can be identified which gas appliance has stopped by comparing the flow rate reduced by the stop with the operating flow rate. When the operating flow rates of two gas appliances are the same by chance, however, the possibility of incorrectly determining the stop increases. Therefore, the determining accuracy of the flow rate used in the gas appliance reduces, disadvantageously.    Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2002-71421    Patent document 2: Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-149027

Flow rate measuring device, and gas supply system employing it, method for specifying gas appliance


Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in a data management scheme that combines both distributed as well as a hierarchical (object-oriented) data management structure. The hierarchical databases will store data records such that each or selected entities of the record will be associated with a pointer that can be written into an RFID tag of an item as the item progresses through manufacturing, production, transportation, and consumer user, for example. Thereafter, once the RFID tag is read, the pointer information can be processed to directly access the data in the database associated with the pointer.

As manufacturing, processing, shipping, and other industrial processes incorporate radio frequency identification (RFID) technology into their infrastructure, the need for efficient and effective information management schemes becomes preeminent. An RFID tagged item moving from raw materials to assembly to transport to consumer purchase generates a highly distributed yet still inter-related series of associated data along the way. Logistical difficulties arise when one attempts to access information associated with the RFID component-containing item because this information is distributed among all the various physical locations where the item was assembled, processed, shipped, stocked, etc.
By way of illustration and not limitation, when a fully assembled item leaves a factory to be shipped, information on its RFID component can be recorded as it leaves. That information can be stored at a data store physically located at the factory. When the item arrives at a receiving area, the information on its RFID component can be recorded again, with additional information concerning the item's receipt at the receiving area recorded upon the item's receipt, or optionally written to the RFID component at that time. That information can be stored at a data store physically located at the receiving area. Consequently, the information associated with the RFID tagged item exists in two different physical locations (i.e., at the factory and at the receiving area). To obtain an accurate information history for the RFID component-containing item, one must be able to access the information in both physical locations across a database system.
As RFID is pulled deeper into manufacturing operations and utilized at an item level, manufacturers will be faced with an information explosion that includes inter-related, but highly distributed, information related to the production and distribution of a particular product. In particular, compliance requirements will increase, driving up the requirements for manufacturers to efficiently and seamlessly support tracking and tracing of products at a high level of granularity.
To support these requirements the information that can potentially be captured by RFID can include every aspect of how the product was manufactured—such as the bill of materials, supplier identification, recipe, or even machines/tooling/fixtures at each process step and beyond. Although related to each other, this information may also have to reside in several different databases from the automation level (local) to the enterprise level (global) due to legacy systems already in place and to the geographic distribution of facilities that can exist in an enterprise. In order to manage and harness this information explosion beneficially, sophisticated data management methodologies built upon standardized nomenclature, structure and format are needed to represent manufacturing and process information that can be captured to an item level tag.

Access to distributed databases via pointer stored in RFID tag


A pipe disassembling tool includes a first arm and a second arm pivotally connected with each other by a pin. The first arm and the second arm respectively have a first connecting portion and a second connecting portion formed on a first end of each of the first arm and the second arm. A torsion spring is sleeved on the pin and has two opposite ends respectively abutting against the first arm and the second arm to make the first arm and the second arm abut each other when the tool is in an original condition. A first disassembling portion is formed on a second end of the first arm and a second disassembling portion is formed on a second end of the second arm for user to detach the pipe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disassembling tool, and more particularly to a pipe disassembling tool.
2. Description of Related Art
As well known, a vehicle usually uses pipes to cycle engine oil for lubricating the engine to ensure the engine being operated in a smooth condition. An oil filter is provided to filter the impurities from the used oil for preventing the elements in the engine from being damaged due to the impurities in the used oil. With reference to FIG. 6, the oil filter (40) includes a nozzle (41) longitudinally extending therefrom. A pipe (not numbered) is longitudinally connected to the nozzle (41). A coupling (43) is disposed on a connecting end of the pipe for connecting to the nozzle (41). A buckle (not shown) is mounted in the coupling (3) for engaging to the nozzle (102) and made of resilient material. The buckle engaged into an outer periphery of the nozzle (41) to prevent the pipe (2) from being reversely detached from the nozzle (41) when the coupling (43) is sleeved on the nozzle (41).
However, the assembled pipe frequently needs to be replaced when being broken. In addition, the assembled pipe needs to be detached from the nozzle (41) when the oil filter (40) needs to be replaced. The buckle must be disengaged from the outer periphery of the nozzle (41). The coupling (43) may be broken when the pipe is detached from the nozzle (41) by force before buckle be disengaged from the nozzle (41). Consequently, a pipe disassembling tool is marketed for operator to conveniently disengage the buckle from the nozzle (41).
A conventional pipe disassembling tool in accordance with the prior art shown in FIG. 6 comprises a first arm (50) and a second arm (60) each having a first end (52/62) pivotally mounted to each other by a pivot (70) and a second end having a curved protrusion (51/61) extending from the second end of each of the first arm (50) and the second arm (60). A rubber band (72) is sleeved on a middle portion of the conventional pipe disassembling tool.
When operating the conventional pipe disassembling tool, the nozzle (41) is surrounded with the two curved protrusions (51, 61). The two curved protrusions (51, 61) are inserted into the coupling (43) to push the buckle for making the buckle be disengaged from the nozzle (41) after the operator inward pressing the first arm (50) and the second arm (60). As a result, the operator can longitudinally detaching the pipe with the coupling (43) from the nozzle (41) of the oil filter (40).
However, the conventional pipe disassembling tool has several disadvantages as follow.
1. The user needs to outwardly pull the first arm (50) and the second arm (60), and resist the elasticity of the rubber band (72) for making the two curved protrusions (51, 61) surrounding the nozzle (41) with two hands. It is laborious.
2. The two first ends (52, 62) of the first arm (50) and the second arm (60) are pivoted on each other, and the two second ends of the first arm (50) and the second arm (60) respectively having a curved protrusion (51/61) extending therefrom such that the first end (52/62) and the second end of each of the two arms (50, 60) are inconveniently forced.
3. The rubber band (72) is exposed such that the rubber band (72) may be deteriorated due to operating temperature.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the disadvantages of the conventional pipe disassembling tool.


The present invention provides a speaker apparatus and reproducing apparatus with no limitation on their listening areas. The apparatus includes; the housing 2 substantially in the shape of a spheroid; the left speaker 5A, which is attached to the left end of the long side of the housing 2 such that the left speaker 5A faces outwardly of the housing 2; and the right speaker 5B, which is attached to the right end of the long side of the housing 2 such that the right speaker 5B faces outwardly of the housing 2. Therefore, the left speaker 5A and the right speaker 5B are approximately equivalent to a point sound source, and the sound from the left speaker 5A and the right speaker 5B smoothly radiates from the housing 2 in every direction. Thus, a listener can have good quality of sound from anywhere around the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The preset invention relates to a speaker apparatus and reproducing apparatus, and is preferably applied to a stereophonic speaker apparatus, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
A stereophonic speaker apparatus includes a pair of separated speaker devices; it has a left channel speaker device and a right channel speaker device. The left channel speaker device outputs left channel audio, while the right channel speaker device outputs right channel audio.
The left channel speaker device is usually placed on the left hand of a listener, and then the right channel speaker device is placed on the right hand of him/her. Since he/she is between the right channel speaker device and the left channel speaker device and is facing both the right channel speaker device and the left channel speaker device, he/she can listen to stereophonic sound.
However, to get good quality of stereophonic sound, a listener should be at a position where he/she faces both the right channel speaker device and the left channel speaker device and is the same distance away from each speaker device. In this way, an area where a listener can have good stereophonic sound is limited to a certain range (The area where a listener can have good stereophonic sound is also referred to as a "listening area").
Accordingly, in late years, a stereophonic speaker apparatus, which is for example disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Laid-open Publication No. H09-98495 (FIG. 1), includes a pair of separated speaker boxes for left and right channels with diaphragms which are fixed in clockwise and counterclockwise directions and are inclined at a prescribed angle with respect to the front faces of speaker boxes. Using these diaphragms expands its listening area.

Speaker apparatus and reproducing apparatus


Processes for the production of nickel-titanium mill products are disclosed. A nickel-titanium alloy workpiece is cold worked at a temperature less than 500° C. The cold worked nickel-titanium alloy workpiece is hot isostatic pressed (HIP'ed).

Equiatomic and near-equiatomic nickel-titanium alloys possess both "shape memory" and "superelastic" properties. More specifically, these alloys, which are commonly referred to as "Nitinol" alloys, are known to undergo a martensitic transformation from a parent phase (commonly referred to as the austenite phase) to at least one martensite phase on cooling to a temperature below the martensite start temperature ("Ms") of the alloy. This transformation is complete on cooling to the martensite finish temperature ("Mf") of the alloy. Further, the transformation is reversible when the material is heated to a temperature above its austenite finish temperature ("Af").
This reversible martensitic transformation gives rise to the shape memory properties of the alloys. For example, a nickel-titanium shape-memory alloy can be formed into a first shape while in the austenite phase (i.e., at a temperature above the Af of the alloy), subsequently cooled to a temperature below the Mf, and deformed into a second shape. As long as the material remains below the austenite start temperature ("As") of the alloy (i.e., the temperature at which the transition to austenite begins), the alloy will retain the second shape. However, if the shape-memory alloy is heated to a temperature above the Af, the alloy will revert back to the first shape if not physically constrained, or when constrained can exert a stress upon another article. Recoverable strains of up to 8% are generally achievable with nickel-titanium alloys due to the reversible austenite-to-martensite thermally-induced transition, and hence the term "shape-memory."
The transformation between the austenite and martensite phases also gives rise to the "pseudoelastic" or "superelastic" properties of shape-memory nickel-titanium alloys. When a shape-memory nickel-titanium alloy is strained at a temperature above the Af of the alloy but below the so-called martensite deformation temperature ("Md"), the alloy can undergo a stress-induced transformation from the austenite phase to the martensite phase. The Md is therefore defined as the temperature above which martensite cannot be stress-induced. When a stress is applied to a nickel-titanium alloy at a temperature between Af and Md, after a small elastic deformation, the alloy yields to the applied stress through a transformation from austenite to martensite. This transformation, combined with the ability of the martensite phase to deform under the applied stress by movement of twinned boundaries without the generation of dislocations, permits a nickel-titanium alloy to absorb a large amount of strain energy by elastic deformation without plastically (i.e., permanently) deforming. When the strain is removed, the alloy is able to revert back to its unstrained condition, and hence the term "pseudoelastic." Recoverable strains of up to 8% are generally achievable with nickel-titanium alloys due to the reversible austenite-to-martensite stress-induced transition, and hence the term "superelastic." Thus, superelastic nickel-titanium alloys macroscopically appear to be very elastic relative to other alloys. The terms "pseudoelastic" and "superelastic" are synonymous when used in connection with nickel-titanium alloys, and the term "superelastic" is used in this specification.
The ability to make commercial use of the unique properties of shape-memory and superelastic nickel-titanium alloys is dependent in part upon the temperatures at which these transformations occur, i.e., the As, Af, Ms, Mf, and Md of the alloy. For example, in applications such as vascular stents, vascular filters, and other medical devices, it is generally important that nickel-titanium alloys exhibit superelastic properties within the range of in vivo temperatures, i.e., Af≦˜37° C.≦Md. It has been observed that the transformation temperatures of nickel-titanium alloys are highly dependent on composition. For example, it has been observed that the transformation temperatures of nickel-titanium alloys can change more than 100 K for a 1 atomic percent change in composition of the alloys.
In addition, various applications of nickel-titanium alloys, such as, for example, actuators and implantable stents and other medical devices, may be considered to be fatigue critical. Fatigue refers to the progressive and localized structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to cyclic loading. The repetitive loading and unloading causes the formation of microscopic cracks that may increase in size as a material is further subjected to cyclic loading at stress levels well below the material's yield strength, or elastic limit. Fatigue cracks may eventually reach a critical size, resulting in the sudden failure of a material subjected to cyclic loading. It has been observed that fatigue cracks tend to initiate at non-metallic inclusions and other second phases in nickel-titanium alloys. Accordingly, various applications of nickel-titanium alloys, such as, for example, actuators, implantable stents, and other fatigue critical devices, may be considered to be inclusion and second phase critical.

Thermo-mechanical processing of nickel-titanium alloys


A structure of embedded active components and the manufacturing method thereof are provided. The manufacturing steps involve providing a molding plate, and setting several active components on the molding plate as first. A dielectric layer covers the molding plate to cap the active components. An electric circuit is formed on the dielectric layer, in contact with the active components. Finally, the structure with embedded active components is released from the molding plate.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a package structure and the manufacturing method thereof. In particular, it relates to a structure of embedded active components and the method of making the same.
2. Related Art
In order to create larger space and to enhance the functions of the module within a limited substrate area, shrunk or embedded passive components are often used to minimize the circuit layout and to reduce the signal transmission distance. Thus, more space is left for installing active components and enhancing the overall performance. Therefore, substrates with passive components such as embedded resistors, capacitors, and inductors are developed.
In order to more effectively minimize the packaging of the components, methods of embedding active components (such as IC chips) on a substrate have been developed. The substrate with an embedded IC module as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,497,033 has a plurality of chips installed thereon. A molding plate is first used to enclose the chips to be the embedded components. A molding material then covers the chips using the conventional molding method. The chips are thud embedded in the molding material after curing. However, this method completes the whole process of embedding components on the substrate. It is likely to damage other components not to be embedded. The finished substrate is not flexible and has limited applications.
In the U.S. Pat. No. 6,027,958, a transferring manufacturing method for the flexible IC components is teached. A semiconductor substrate with silicon on insulator (SOI) structure is provided to form the required IC thereon. An adhesive layer is used to attach another flexible substrate on the IC. Finally, etching is employed to remove the semiconductor substrate, thereby transferring the IC onto the surface of the flexible substrate.

Structure of embedded active components and manufacturing method thereof

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Workload profiling can be used in a distributed computing environment for automatic performance tuning. For example, a computing device can receive a performance profile for a workload in a distributed computing environment. The performance profile can indicate resource usage by the workload in the distributed computing environment. The computing device can determine a performance bottleneck associated with the workload based on the resource usage specified in the performance profile. A tuning profile can be selected to reduce the performance bottleneck associate with the workload. The computing device can output a command to adjust one or more properties of the workload in accordance with the tuning profile to reduce the performance bottleneck associated with the workload.

Distributed computing environments have become increasingly popular for handling workloads. Examples of distributed computing environments can include data grids, cloud computing environments, and computing clusters. Distributed computing environments often deploy workloads such as software applications within virtual machines or containers, which can provide for improved isolation among the workloads. Virtual machines can function as virtual computer systems with their own central-processing unit (CPU), memory, network interfaces, and disk storage. Hypervisors can be used for the virtualization of hardware by managing and allocating resources of physical hardware to virtual environments. Hypervisors can deploy virtual machines as guests on a host operating system of a node in a distributed computing environment.

Automated performance tuning using workload profiling in a distributed computing environment


A method, system and computer program product for efficient storage of data for use by an application, including a set top box. The set top box including a physical memory, a bulk storage device, and a memory management unit (MMU) coupled between the application and the physical memory and the bulk storage device. The physical memory and the bulk storage device are configured to store the data. The MMU is configured to translate a virtual address provided by the application to a physical address used by one of the physical memory and the bulk storage device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to communications systems that transmit data for a plurality of different applications and more particularly to a method, system and computer program product for efficient storage of such data.
2. Discussion of the Background
In recent years, communications systems, such as satellite communications systems, cable communications systems, digital video broadcasting (DVB) communications systems, terrestrial broadcast communications systems, etc., have been developed. Such systems typically transmit programming information for use by devices, such as televisions, personal computers (PCs), etc., coupled to set top boxes (STBs) of such systems. The programming information may include program guide data, such as used by a program guide displayed on the television or the PC. The program guide is displayed, for example, in a matrix with times across the top in ½ hour increments, with channels along the left edge and with programs identified at the cross sections of the times and the channels. The program guide may also carry other useful information, such actors, ratings, description of programs, cost for pay per view, satellite frequency, video channel within frequency, audio channel(s) within frequency, etc. Such program guide data is typically stored in the STB for later retrieval and use by the program guide.
Such systems, however, typically employ random access memory (RAM) based storage or hard disk based storage of such program guide data, which leads to various system inefficiencies. Therefore, there is a need for a method, system and computer program product for efficient storage of such program guide data.

Method and system for efficient storage of data in a set top box


A hydrogenated nitrile rubber composition, which comprises 100 parts by weight of hydrogenated nitrile rubber with a bound acrylonitrile content of not less than 30%, a polymer Mooney viscosity ML1+4(100° C.)(according to JIS K6395) of not more than 80 (median value) and an iodine number of not more than 28 (median value), and 65 to 200 parts by weight of carbon fibers is provided as a hydrogenated nitrile rubber composition containing carbon fibers as filled at a high density, which can overcome inconveniences as to kneadability and moldability and improve the wear resistance, and thus can be used as a suitable molding material for sealing members.

With recent higher performance of various industrial machinery and equipment, high temperatures, high pressure and high speeds are now conditions of sealing members use in the sliding parts of machinery. Thus, higher durability (heat resistance, pressure resistance and service longevity) is an important requirement for the sealing members. To attain the sealing performance of sealing members for a long time, it is necessary to improve the wear resistance. Fluids to be sealed include, for example, liquids such as engine oil, gear oil, transmission oil, long-life coolant, water, etc., and gases such as flon, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, natural gas, etc.
To improve the wear resistance, it has been proposed to mix the hydrogenated nitrile rubber with various fillers such as carbon black, silica, carbon fibers, etc., but no satisfactory and effective improvement of the wear resistance has been attained yet in many cases, though depending on use conditions of sealing members.
JP-A-2002-80639 proposes a hydrogenated nitrile rubber composition for use as a suitable molding material for sliding or high pressure sealing members with improved heat resistance, pressure deformation resistance, wear resistance, thermal conductivity, etc. The proposed hydrogenated nitrile rubber composition comprises 100 parts by weight of hydrogenated nitrile rubber having a bound AN content of not more than 38%, a hydrogenation degree of not less than 90% and an iodine number (median value) of not more than 28, and at least about 120 parts by weight of sum total of carbon black and other fillers, where the fillers comprises, for example, about 30 to about 100 parts by weight of carbon black, 10 to 60 parts by weight of graphite and about 5 to about 60 parts by weight of carbon fibers.
Indeed, high density filling of carbon fibers is effective for the improvement of wear resistance, but such problems as more frequent occurrences of bagging at the time of kneading with the hydrogenated nitrile rubber and other additives, poor flow in mold at the molding, etc. arise and actually molding cannot be carried out in many cases.


An apparatus and method for implementing data warehousing systems. According to a first embodiment, a system may include a plurality of data warehouses, and a data warehouse manager configured to extract data sets from one or more data sources for storage in one or more of the plurality of data warehouses. Each of a first subset including two or more of the plurality of data warehouses may be configured to store a respective replica of a first data set extracted by the data warehouse manager. Further, the data warehouse manager may be further configured to allow a query dependent upon the first data set to be evaluated by one of the first subset of data warehouses before each respective replica of the first data set has been stored to a corresponding data warehouse of the first subset.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to computer systems and, more particularly, to implementation of data warehousing systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
As increasing numbers of business functions within an enterprise are automated, the amount of data generated by the enterprise correspondingly increases. Such data may be distributed throughout the enterprise, for example within database systems and other types of systems implemented by different departments or geographical units. In some cases, useful analysis of enterprise data may be made across the natural boundaries between systems or locations that exist. To facilitate such analysis, a data warehousing system may be employed to aggregate data from multiple different systems or locations within a single system, such as a single database. Analysis tools may then target the single, aggregated system rather than various distributed data sources, which may simplify the design of the analysis tools and improve analysis performance.
Often, data warehousing systems support the storage and querying of very large quantities of data using high-end computer systems configured to provide needed analysis performance. However, high-end systems that are highly tuned to a particular data warehousing application can be expensive to procure and maintain, and may not scale well as the data warehousing needs of the enterprise grow. If only a single data warehousing system is provided, for example due to expense, data availability may be compromised if the single warehouse fails. On the other hand, if multiple data warehousing systems are provided, analysis applications may lose the simplicity of assuming a single, aggregated data source. For example, analysis applications may need to be configured to track the location of desired data within the multiple data warehouses.

Apparatus and method for data warehousing


The embodiments of the invention relate to a novel apparatus and method for a battery charging system in a shared environment, as well as for monitoring battery usage and tracking battery location. In one embodiment, the battery charging chute comprises a housing configured to receive a battery via an insertion slot and configured to dispense a battery through a dispensing slot. Within the housing, charging terminals are disposed is a spaced or continuous manner, to come in contact with the charging terminals on batteries inserted into the housing. Optionally, solenoid-controlled gates may be employed at the insertion slot and dispensing slot, to inhibit the removal or insertion of batteries from the incorrect location, to ensure that the battery with the longest residence time in the chute is dispensed to a user. The housing may also include a radio-frequency identification tag reader to permit inventorying and tracking of batteries inserted into the housing.

Handheld computing devices, such as cellular phones, palmtop, laptop, and similar portable computers have become extremely common. Many business rely on the use of such devices by their employees to conduct day-to-day operations. For example, insurance adjusters may take these devices into the field to store customer reports and digital photographs; medical personnel may use handheld devices in a hospital or clinical environment to acquire and store patient data, refer to patient charts, and have a wide variety of information available to them rapidly. Most business, for various reasons, are issuing employees portable computers, handheld email devices, and other similar devices.
The common feature of these devices is their use of batteries that are specifically designed for a specific computing platform. Unlike traditional alkali-cell batteries that can be purchased at retail locations and used immediately, batteries used in portable computing devices are generally removed from the device for which they are intended, connected to a charger, and then reinserted into the device. Alternatively, the battery may be charged in situ by connecting a power cord to the portable device, but that method of charging greatly diminishes the portability of the device and can require the device to remain within reach of an AC power outlet for the duration of the charging period, eliminating the advantages of a portable device. Often, the productivity of the workers is inhibited during the time when the batteries are charging.
Further, employers are often reluctant to issue multiple batteries to each employee, due to the high cost of specialized lithium, nickel metal hydride, and other batteries used in portable computing devices. Employers also have significant concerns regarding loss or theft of expensive batteries. For this reason, employers are often reluctant to provide a surplus of batteries to their employees, which would permit each employee to have a charged battery ready whenever the battery in their portable computing device is depleted.

Battery charging apparatus having a chute and method of recharging a battery


A sheet post-processing device includes a processing tray, a post-processing mechanism, a discharge roller pair, a bundle discharge member, a loading tray, a sheet holding member, a discharge drive portion, a tray lifting-lowering drive portion, a sheet holding drive portion, and a control portion. In a case where a number A of sheets included in a sheet bundle loaded on the processing tray is smaller than a predetermined number A1, the control portion discharges the sheet bundle onto the loading tray by using the discharge roller pair, with the loading tray arranged at a reference position. In a case where the number A of the sheets included in the sheet bundle is equal to or larger than the predetermined number A1, the control portion discharges the sheet bundle onto the loading tray by using the bundle discharge member, with the loading tray having been lifted above the reference position.

The present disclosure relates to a sheet post-processing device which performs predetermined post-processing on a sheet such as a paper sheet having an image formed thereon by an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or the like, and an image forming system provided therewith.
Sheet post-processing devices have conventionally been used which are capable of stacking a plurality of sheets (paper sheets) on which images have been formed by an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a printer, or the like, and performing post-processing such as stapling processing of binding the stacked sheets as a sheet bundle with a staple, punching processing of forming a hole (punched hole) using a punching device, etc.
Such sheet post-processing devices each include a discharge roller pair which discharges a post-processed sheet and a loading tray on which the sheet discharged by the discharge roller pair is loaded. A post-processed sheet or sheet bundle is discharged by the discharge roller pair onto the loading tray.
A known example of such sheet post-processing devices is provided with a lifting-lowering mechanism which lifts and lowers a main sheet discharge tray, and a control portion which controls the lifting-lowering operation performed by the lifting-lowering mechanism, the control portion performing control to make the lifting-lowering mechanism lift and lower the main sheet discharge tray in synchronization with discharging of a sheet onto the main sheet discharge tray. According to this configuration, even when a sheet having been discharged from the apparatus main body is curled up or down, it is possible to prevent a negative effect of such curling on discharging of subsequent sheets.
As means for discharging a sheet bundle onto a loading tray, a configuration is known which uses a sheet bundle discharge member instead of a discharge roller pair. Specifically, there is known a sheet post-processing device having a bundle claw belt and a bundle claw (a bundle discharge member) for discharging a stapled sheet bundle from a processing tray.

Sheet post-processing device and image forming system provided therewith


Managing a virtual machine snapshot in O(1) time by initially storing data from a virtual machine executing under a host operating system, to a first host operating system managed data block and creating a first pointer that points to the first host operating system managed data block and associates the virtual machine to the data stored in the first host operating system managed data block. A first value, associated with the first host operating system managed data block, is initialized indicating the number of pointers created to associate the virtual machine to the first host operating system managed data block. Receiving, by the computer host operating system, a request to create a snapshot of the virtual machine creates a second pointer replicating the first pointer, and increments, by the computer host operating system, the first value associated with the first host operating system managed data block.

The present disclosure relates generally to management of virtualized environments and more particularly to snapshot management.
In computer systems, a snapshot is the state of a system and/or its constituent files at a particular point in time. High-availability systems may perform a backup of a large data set as a read-only snapshot, allowing applications to continue writing to their data while preserving a copy for recovery. Virtualization, sandboxing and virtual hosting may use read-write snapshots, which create diverging versions of the data, to manage changes to large sets of files. Many read-write snapshot implementations, such as VMware®'s VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk), Kernel based Virtual Machine's (KVM®) Quick EMUlator Copy on Write (QCOW), and IBM®'s Flashcopy, only save file data when the data in a snapshotted file is modified, making the time and computer resources, such as storage and processor cycles, required to create a snapshot of a file independent of the size of the file, or O(1).
The big O notation of O(1) is used in Computer Science to describe the performance or complexity of an algorithm. O(1) describes an algorithm that will always execute in the same time (or space) regardless of the size of the input data set. In other words, the time and I/O needed to create the snapshot does not increase with the size of the data set.

O(1) virtual machine (VM) snapshot management

International Business Machines Corporation


A resonator structure which locates a resonator in a dead space inside an engine compartment, protects the resonator from vibration, and prevents a change in frequency due to oil mist residue in blow-by gas entering the resonator. In an internal combustion engine which is oriented horizontally in a vehicle engine compartment, an air cleaner outlet hose is provided in and connected to the downstream side of an air cleaner. The air cleaner outlet hose is connected to a throttle body, and the throttle body is connected to one end of a surge tank of an intake manifold, which intake manifold is provided at the rear side of the internal combustion engine. The resonator is located at the rear side of the air cleaner outlet hose, downstream from a bellows section of the air cleaner outlet hose, and also downstream from a breather pipe connecting section.

An internal combustion engine mounted on a vehicle or the like typically has a resonator for reducing noises due to intake pulsing generated in an intake system by the introduction of air thereinto. A resonator construction for this type of internal combustion engine is shown in FIG. 10. In the figure, the reference numeral 202 indicates an air cleaner for an internal combustion engine located in an engine compartment of a vehicle (not shown).
The air cleaner 202 is provided by successively connecting thereto an air cleaner intake hose 204, an air cleaner intake pipe 206, and an air suction case 208 at the upstream side thereof. Air is introduced into the air cleaner 202 by the air suction case 208. The air suction case 208 has an upstream resonator 210 connected thereto.
Also, an air cleaner outlet hose 212, an air intake pipe 214, and an air intake hose 216 are successively connected to the air cleaner 202 at the downstream side thereof. The air intake hose 216 is connected to a throttle body (not shown in FIG. 10), and the throttle body is connected to a surge tank for an intake manifold (also not shown in FIG. 10).
Connected to the air cleaner outlet hose 212 is a downstream resonator 218. Connected to the air intake pipe 214 is a breather pipe 220 for introducing blow-by gas. The reference 222 indicates a cooling water pipe for cooling the breather pipe 220.
As described above, the internal combustion engine includes resonators 210, 218 connected at the respective upstream side and downstream side from the air cleaner 202 so as to control noise due to air intake pulsing. The resonator 218 connected at the downstream side of the air cleaner 202 is connected upstream from a bellows section 224 of the air cleaner outlet hose 212, as well as upstream from the breather pipe 220 connected to the air intake pipe 214.
Resonator constructions for internal combustion engines similar to that described above are disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. 1993-272421, 1989-159125, and 1994-22558.
The disclosure in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1993-272421 is realized by setting a relation between a drive frequency f1 of duty control for a control valve for adjusting a flow rate of a bypass route for bypassing a throttle valve and a specific number of vibrations f2 of an air intake route from an air cleaner to a throttle valve so that the relation therebetween will be as follows: (3/4.multidot.f1.ltoreq.f2.ltoreq.(5/4).multidot.f1, and by connecting a resonance chamber having a specific number of vibrations substantially equivalent to the drive frequency f1 to the air intake route between the air cleaner and the throttle valve.
The disclosure in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1989-159125 has an air intake device comprising a first independent air intake route branched from a surge tank extending in a specified direction and which communicates with each cylinder, a measurement chamber formed inside a bend section of this first independent air intake route, a second independent air intake route for communicating between this measurement chamber and the first independent air intake route, and a control valve for opening and closing this second independent air intake route. A port for introducing air into the surge tank and a communicating route for communicating between the surge tank and the measurement chamber are also provided, and this communicating route is provided in the surge tank along the direction to which the surge tank is extended as well as close to the inner side of the bend section of the first independent air intake route.
The disclosure in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 1994-22558 is realized by attaching a resonator for suppressing pressure pulsing with a connecting edge thereof open to an intake manifold collector having an air cleaner at the upstream side thereof and with the downstream side thereof connected to a cylinder head.
In recent years, engine room space in vehicles has been reduced. For this reason, it is difficult to insure a space for placing a resonator 218 of a resonator construction for an internal combustion engine with the resonator 218 connected to the air cleaner outlet hose 212 at the downstream side of the air cleaner 202.
Also, when the resonator 218 is connected at the downstream side of the air cleaner 202, it is necessary to connect the resonator to the air cleaner outlet hose 212 at a location upstream from the bellows section 224 thereof, so that influence from vibrations propagated from the internal combustion engine over the resonator is avoided and any problems relating to the strength or effectiveness of the resonator will not occur.
However, it is sometimes the case in a resonator construction for a conventional type of internal combustion engine, that it is difficult to insure a space for a resonator 218 with a form largely projecting to the outside, in the engine room due to reduction of the space therein as described above. Further, the resonator cannot be connected upstream from the bellows section 224 of the air cleaner outlet hose 212, and in this case, noises due to intake pulsing cannot be reduced.

Resonator construction for internal combustion engine