When ink is sucked from the nozzles during a cleaning process, a rubber cap having a plural number of small spaces independently operable for ink suction is applied to a print head, and only the small space associated with a clogged nozzle of those nozzles of the print head is connected to a suction pump. A user looks up in advance the number and location of a clogged nozzle, judges the cause of the clogging of the nozzle on the basis of the number and location of the clogged nozzle, and selects a suitable type of cleaning process, a selective cleaning (based on the specified-nozzle suction) or a conventional cleaning (based on the all-nozzle suction).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure for cleaning a print head of an ink jet printer and a device for driving the cleaning structure.
The present invention is based on Japanese Patent Applications No. Hei. 10-18657 and Hei. 10-339052, which are incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the ink jet printer, liquid ink is supplied from an ink tank to a print head, and forcibly discharged in the form of an ink droplet onto a printing medium, through ink jet nozzles of the print head. Sometimes, one of some of the ink passages ranging from the ink tank to the ink jet nozzles are clogged with air bubbles to possibly obstruct the ink discharging through the passage. To cope with this, the ink jet printer usually has a xe2x80x9cclogging-check-pattern printing functionxe2x80x9d, and a xe2x80x9ccleaning functionxe2x80x9d. When the former function is exercised, the printer prints a preset clogging check pattern by use of all the nozzles of the print head. A user checks the printed preset pattern to locate a clogged nozzle or nozzles if such defective nozzle is present. The latter function, or the cleaning function, is exercised when the clogged nozzle is located, to suck ink from the clogged nozzle to remove its clogging.
Most of the ink jet printers are designed so as to be capable of printing in monocolor or multi-color mode. To this end, the printer uses four (K (black), C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow)) or larger number of color inks. Further, the printer includes ink tanks and a set of nozzles (e.g., 64 or 128 nozzles), which are respectively provided for those color inks. In a printer using four color inks and having 64 nozzles for each color, the total number of required nozzles is 256, and greater.
The clogging check pattern printed out shows the location of a clogged nozzle, if present. Therefore, the user knows which of those nozzles arrayed is clogged. In the event that at least one nozzle is clogged, the user instructs the printer to exercise the cleaning function for removing the clogging. The cleaning operation usually consists of three steps; 1) xe2x80x9cflushingxe2x80x9d for driving the nozzle to discharge the ink, 2) xe2x80x9cwipingxe2x80x9d for wiping out the ink from the nozzle surface, and 3) xe2x80x9csuctionxe2x80x9d for sucking the ink from the nozzles by applying negative pressure to the nozzle. Thus, the cleaning operation is complicated. Of those cleaning operation steps, the xe2x80x9csuctionxe2x80x9d process is performed such that 1) the print head is moved to a home position, 2) the entire print surface of the print head is capped with a rubber cap, and 3) the ink is sucked from all the nozzles of the print head thus capped.
As described above, in the event of clogging of the nozzle, to remove the clogging, all the nozzles must be subjected to the suction process although the clogged nozzle is located. Some reasons are present for this. One of the reasons follows. The capping is formed through a complicated mechanism. Therefore, if only the clogged nozzle is sucked, the clogging is not always removed. If so, a natural conclusion is that the sucking of all the nozzles will reliably remove the clogging of the nozzle. However, the sucking of all the nozzles leads to consumption of much ink. The cost of the ink consumption is for the user to bear.
Some places where air bubbles are likely to stay are present in the ink passage ranging from the ink tank to the ink jet nozzle. One of the places is a filter chamber located downstream of and near to the ink tank. In case where a replaceable, ink cartridge is used for the ink tanks, the filter chambers are provided with needle tubes. When the ink cartridge is set to the printer, the needle tubes are thrust into the related ink tanks. During the thrusting, air bubbles possibly enter the filter chamber through a cylinder-piston action by the ink tank and the needle tube.
Generally, one ink tank supplies ink to a number of ink jet nozzles, and an ink supply passage is branched at a location downstream of the filter chamber to have a number of ink passages. The branching of the ink supply passage leads to an increase of its cross section area. The result is that an ink flow rate in each branched ink passage is reduced, and the force acting to drive the air bubbles out of the filter chamber is weak or insufficient.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to minimize the amount of ink consumed by the process of cleaning the ink jet nozzles.
Another object of the invention is to effectively drive air bubbles out of the filter chamber through the branched ink supply passages.
According to one aspect, there is provided an ink jet printer comprising: at least one ink chamber; a print head having a plurality of ink jet nozzles and being connected to the ink chamber; a print controller for driving the print head in order to print; and a capping device for covering the ink jet nozzles of the print head.
The capping device comprises: a cap component having a plurality of cavities for sorting the ink jet nozzles into a plurality of nozzle groups by ink chamber unit, thereby capping all ink jet nozzles corresponding to at least one ink chamber by nozzle group unit; at least one pipe being connected to the cavities of the cap component for supplying negative pressure to the cavities; and a suction controller for controlling the supply of the negative pressure through the pipe to the cavities, thereby supplying the negative pressure independently by every cavity, whereby the suction controller sucks the ink from the ink jet nozzles independently by the nozzle group unit.
In a preferred embodiment of the ink jet printer, the suction controller supplies the negative pressure to one arbitrary cavity of the cap component so as to suck the ink from the ink jet nozzles independently by the nozzle group unit, and all remaining cavities which correspond to one common ink chamber with the arbitrary cavity are sealed.
In another embodiment, the suction controller supplies the negative pressure to all the cavities corresponding to one common ink chamber simultaneously.
In yet another embodiment, a plurality of the ink chambers are provided in the printer, and the cap component has a dimension and number of cavities for capping all of the ink jet nozzles connected to all ink chambers.
In still another embodiment, the cap component comprises one of an integral unit and a plurality of sub-units divided according to the nozzle groups sorted by the ink chamber unit.
In a further embodiment, a plurality of the ink chambers are provided in the printer, and the cap component does not have a dimension and number of cavities for capping all of the ink jet nozzles connected to all ink chambers, and the ink jet printer further comprising a second cap component capping all of the ink jet nozzles at a stretch.
In a still further embodiment, a plurality of the nozzle groups are arranged in a recording medium transporting direction.
In another embodiment, the cap component includes the number of chambers equal to that of the nozzle groups, and caps all the nozzle groups of the print head simultaneously.
In yet another embodiment, one nozzle group is divided into at least two sub-groups of nozzle (in an extreme case, one sub-group consists of one nozzle), and the cap component includes at least two cavities and simultaneously caps those sub-groups.
In still another embodiment, pipes connected to the cavities include valves for closing and opening the pipes. By selectively opening the valves, ink is selectively sucked from the nozzle groups.
In a further embodiment, the pipes connected to the cavities include negative pressure sources, independently operable.
In an additional embodiment, two or larger number of the nozzle groups of the print head are connected to one ink chamber. The cap component includes two or larger number of the cavities so as to simultaneously cap two or larger number of the nozzle groups connected to one ink chamber. Negative pressure is selectively supplied to those cavities. At this time, the remaining cavities are closed (by closing the valves of the pipes associated therewith or applying low negative pressure thereto), thereby preventing air bubbles from entering the remaining nozzle groups.
In another embodiment of the ink jet printer, at least two nozzle groups of the print head are connected to one chamber, and ink is sucked from the two or larger number of nozzle groups connected to the chamber.
In an additional embodiment, the suction controller includes a selective suction portion for supplying negative pressure to one cavity selected from the cavities, and an all-nozzle suction portion for supplying negative pressure to all of the cavities.
In another embodiment, the suction controller includes a selective suction portion for supplying negative pressure to one cavity selected from the plural number of cavities so as to suck ink from the selected cavity, and an all-nozzle suction portion for supplying negative pressure to all of the cavities so as to suck ink from all of the cavities.
In yet another embodiment, the suction controller controls the supply of negative pressure in accordance with clogged nozzle information indicative of a location of a clogged nozzle.
In still another embodiment, the clogged nozzle information includes information indicative of the ink chamber connected to a clogged nozzle, the number of clogged nozzles, and a location of the clogged nozzle on the print head.
In an additional embodiment of the ink jet printer, the suction controller includes a selection table containing a plural number of control guidance corresponding to a variety of clogged nozzle information, and controls the supply of negative pressure in accordance with a specific control guidance, which correspond to the clogged nozzle information, selected from the selection table.
In a further embodiment, the suction controller selects a selective suction mode or an all-nozzle suction mode in accordance with the clogged nozzle information received, and when the selective suction mode is selected, the suction controller sucks ink from at least one nozzle group selected from the plural number of nozzle groups, and when the all-nozzle suction mode is selected, the suction controller simultaneously sucks ink from all of the nozzle groups.
Further, the print controller may include a check pattern print portion for printing a predetermined clogging check pattern used for locating a clogged nozzle by driving the print head.
The ink jet printer may further comprises pattern reading means for reading a printed clogging check pattern to locate a clogged nozzle and to send resultant clogged nozzle information to the suction controller.
The ink jet printer may further comprise input means, operated by a user, for entering clogged nozzle information to the ink jet printer.
In a further embodiment, the ink jet printer is connected to a host controlling device, and the suction controller receives clogged nozzle information from the host controlling device.
In the ink jet printer, the suction controller receives information designating a specific nozzle group or a specific chamber, and supplies negative pressure to a chamber associated with the specific nozzle group or the specific chamber in accordance with the designating information.
The ink jet printer is connected to a host controlling device, and the suction controller receives the designating information from the host controlling device.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a printing system including an ink jet printer and a host controlling device for controlling the ink jet printer. The ink jet printer is constructed described above, and sucks ink from the nozzles of the print head every nozzle group. The host controlling device sends to the ink jet printer selection information necessary for selecting a nozzle group to be sucked from the nozzle groups.
In a preferred embodiment of the printing system, the host controlling device includes a commanding portion for commanding the ink jet printer to print a predetermined clogging check pattern, a user input means by which a user enters user input information indicative of clogged nozzle information, and a selection information generator for generating the selection information on the basis of the user input information entered by the user interface.
In another embodiment of the printing system, the user interface displays a clogging check pattern image on a user interface screen of the host controlling device, and the user enters the user input information by pointing a location on the displayed clogging check pattern image, which corresponds to the location of the clogged nozzle.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a data storing medium, accessible by a computer, storing a program for executing a process to detect a defective dot forming element of those dot forming elements in a printer, wherein the process comprising the steps of: instructing the printer to print a predetermined clogging check pattern; displaying a clogging check pattern image on a user interface screen of the computer; and specifying the defective dot forming element in a manner that the user points to a location in the displayed clogging check pattern, which corresponds to the defective dot forming element.
According to an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided a data storing medium, accessible by a computer, storing a program for executing a process to instruct an ink jet printer having a number of ink jet nozzles to clean the nozzles, wherein the ink jet printer selectively performs an ink saving cleaning process or a normal cleaning process, the ink saving cleaning process is executed through a selective suction operation to suck ink from only at least one nozzle selected from the ink jet nozzles at any time, and the normal cleaning process is executed through a all-nozzle suction operation for simultaneously sucking ink from all of the ink jet nozzles, and the cleaning instruction process includes a step of displaying an image requesting a user to select the ink saving cleaning process or the normal cleaning process on a user interface screen of the computer, a step of instructing the ink jet printer to execute the ink saving cleaning process or the normal cleaning process selected, by the user, on the user interface screen of the computer.
According to an additional aspect of the invention, there is provided a control method for an ink jet printer having a print head having a number of ink jet nozzles sorted into a plural number of nozzle groups, and a capping device for selectively sucking ink from the nozzle groups by selectively capping the nozzle groups, comprising the steps of: printing a predetermined clogging check pattern and causing a user to locate a clogged nozzle or nozzles; visually presenting a clogging check pattern to the user; obtaining information indicative of the clogged nozzle in a manner that the user points to a location in the displayed clogging check pattern, which corresponds to the clogged nozzle in the printed clogging check pattern; selecting one nozzle group from the nozzle groups on the basis of the clogged nozzle information obtained; and sucking ink from the selected nozzle group.
As well known, a computer program implementing the present invention may be installed in or loaded into the computer by any of various media, e.g., the disk storage, the semiconductor memory, and the communication line.
Features and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments described in conjunction with the attached drawings.

Ink jet printer and printing system using the same


An evaporative fuel processing system adapted to be capable of detecting abnormality of an evaporative emission control system for storing, in a canister, evaporative fuel generated from a fuel tank for holding fuel to be supplied to an internal combustion engine, and purging evaporative fuel into the intake system of the engine. A first control valve is arranged across a passage extending between the fuel tank and the canister. A second control valve is arranged across a passage extending between the canister and the intake system of the engine. A third control valve is provided for an air inlet port of the canister communicatable with the atmosphere. Through operating these control valves to open and close them, the evaporative emission control system is negatively pressurized, and abnormality of this system is detected based on the pressure detected in this negatively pressurized state thereof. Timing for carrying out abnormality determination is determined depending on conditions of the fuel tank. Before starting the whole process for abnormality diagnosis of the system, evaporative fuel stored in the canister is allowed to be purged for a predetermined time period. When the temperature of fuel in the fuel tank exceeds a predetermined value, the abnormality determination is inhibited.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an evaporative fuel-processing system for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to an evaporative fuel-processing system for internal combustion engines, which is capable of performing abnormality diagnosis of an evaporative emission control system for purging evaporative fuel generated from a fuel tank of the engine into an intake system of same.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there has been widely used an evaporative fuel-processing system for internal combustion engines, which comprises a fuel tank, a canister having an air inlet port provided therein, a first control valve arranged across an evaporative fuel-guiding passage extending from the fuel tank to the canister, and a second control valve arranged across a purging passage extending from the canister to the intake system of the engine.
A system of this kind temporarily stores evaporative fuel in the canister, which is then purged into the intake system of the engine.
Whether a system of this kind is normally operating can be checked, for example, by comparing a first value of an air-fuel ratio correction coefficient assumed when purging of evaporative fuel into the intake system is stopped and a second value of the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient assumed when purging of evaporative fuel is effected, after completion of warming-up of the engine. That is, when the evaporative fuel-processing system is normally functioning to purge evaporative fuel into the intake system, an air-fuel mixture supplied to the engine is enriched by the evaporative fuel purged. The enriched air-fuel mixture is detected by an air-fuel ratio sensor, e.g. an O.sub.2 sensor, and hence the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient calculated for feedback control of the air-fuel ratio assumes a smaller value. Therefore, monitoring of the manner of decrease in the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient enables to determine abnormality of the evaporative fuel-processing system. This abnormality diagnosis method is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,194.
However, the above abnormality diagnosis method using the air-fuel ratio correction coefficient suffers from a problem that in the case where a leak of evaporative fuel occurs from defective seals provided at piping connections, valves, the fuel tank, etc. of the system, (e.g. a seal at a filler cap of the fuel tank), it is impossible to detect the leak by the above method, which can result in emission of a large amount of evaporative fuel into the air.

Evaporative fuel-processing system for internal combustion engines


Methods for white-balancing images are provided. These methods include determining, for an input image, a chrominance histogram for the pixels of the input image. The determined histogram is a toroidal chrominance histogram, with an underlying, toroidal chrominance space that corresponds to a wrapped version, of a standard flat chrominance space. The toroidal chrominance histogram is- then convolved with a fitter to generate a two-dimensional heat map that is then used to determine art estimated chrominance of i|lummaiioB present id the input image; This can include fitting a bivariate von Mises distribution, or some other circular and/or toroidal, probability distribution, to the determined two-dimensional heat map. These methods for estimating illumination chrominance values for input images have reduced computational costs and increased speed relative to other methods for determining image illuminant chrominance values.

White balancing, or color correction, of images refers to the process of changing the color of an image of a scene to correct for the color of illumination used to generate the image, to improve the aesthetics of the image, or to provide some other benefit. Color correction can include using information about the 'true' color of contents of the image (e.g., of a palette or reference colors that are present in the scene) to determine the color of the illumination, and using that determined color to change the color of the image. In other embodiments, color correction can include determining the statistics of the color of pixels in the image (e.g., determining a histogram of color values of pixels within the image) and using the determined statistics to predict the color of the illumination.


A vehicle towing arrangement for towing a vehicle with one end of the towed vehicle being secured to the towing vehicle or extension thereof and the other end of the towed vehicle supported by an independent support component which component has at least one wheel. The support component can be secured to the towed vehicle.

Prior art front wheel engaging towing arrangement for motorcycles have included apparatus into which the front wheel is lifted (U.S. Pat. No. 3,822,898) and apparatus with a ramp for rolling the front wheel up to its towing position (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,763,914 and 5,145,308).
Towing arrangements which also elevate the rear wheel of a towed motorcycle have also been proposed (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,979,137; 3,997,186; 4,243,243; 4,763,914; and 5,228,712) but none of these proposals provide a flexible optimal additional wheel towing component for trailing a rear or front wheel.

Vehicle tow arrangement including rear wheel support and method of tow


A bench and frame component for holding individual planks to be used in a sitting bench where fastening an individual plank to the frame can be avoided. The frame is configured to allow a plank to be received in a holding pocket defined by an upper pocket piece and a lower pocket piece. The upper pocket piece may be connected to and removed from the lower pocket piece. The lower pocket piece may include a series of pocket segments and when connected with the upper pocket piece form a series of two-piece holding pockets for receiving a plurality of planks. The frame component is combined with other components and planks to form a bench. The bench may comprise individual bench sections that connect with similar modular sections to form a sectional bench.

The present inventive concept relates generally to seating devices and benches, including park benches.
Several devices are known that allow people to assume a comfortable sitting position, and benches, such as park benches, have been available over the years in many varieties. A typical bench includes a seating area and an optional backrest area. In one variety a bench typically includes a plurality of planks positioned between a pair of side supports which suspend the planks from the ground to form a seating surface. Each side of a plank is fastened or bolted to opposing supports.
Another park bench is shown in the design of Messier, U.S. D498,079. In Messier the bench includes a pair of side supports receiving a plurality of planks. Messier also includes a cross bar extending between the pair of side supports and beneath the planks. The bench of Messier also includes planks that generally form a back rest of the bench. There are many other varieties of benches, and many sub-varieties that include armrests or other components, whether structural, cosmetic, or both. There are many different styles of benches varying in use and popularity. While the foregoing and other benches are beneficial, there is always room for improvement.


An ultrasonic flow meter device comprises a fluid passage forming section including a measurement fluid passage, and an opening facing a bottom surface of the measurement fluid passage; a pair of ultrasonic transducers which transmit and receive an ultrasonic wave via the opening; a partition plate which partitions the measurement fluid passage; and an identification section provided on an end surface of the partition plate and used to identify an obverse surface and a reverse surface of the partition plate.

As a conventional example of an ultrasonic flow meter device, an ultrasonic flow meter device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is known. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, partition plates 9 are inserted into a fluid passage 4 through an opening 8 and partition the fluid passage 4 into a plurality of flat fluid passages 10.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.


An inkjet head includes a plurality of head units including a first head unit and a second head unit. Each head unit has a plurality of nozzles and a plurality of drive elements. The second head unit has an ejection performance of nozzles lower than an ejection performance of nozzles of the first head unit. The second head unit is farther from a center portion of the inkjet head than the first head unit is. A drive unit is configured to apply a drive voltage for generating energy to each of the plurality of drive elements included in each of the plurality of head units. The drive voltage applied to each of the plurality of drive elements included in the first head unit is lower than the drive voltage applied to each of the plurality of drive elements included in the second head unit.

A conventional inkjet printer prints images by ejecting ink droplets onto a recording medium being conveyed in a prescribed direction. The conventional printer is equipped with a line-type inkjet head having a plurality of nozzles aligned in a width direction of the recording medium.
More specifically, the inkjet head has a plurality of head units (head modules) arranged in two rows that extend in the width direction of the recording medium (direction of alignment). The positions of the head units in the two unit rows are shifted from each other in the direction of alignment. Further, the layout range of nozzles in a head unit belonging to one unit row partially overlaps the layout range of nozzles in a head unit belonging to the other unit row in the conveying direction of the recording medium. Note that the head units constituting a single unit row are arranged at equal intervals in the alignment direction. Thus, any two head units of different unit rows that overlap in the conveying direction have the same amount of overlap regardless of the positions of the head units in the alignment direction.
Each head unit has a plurality of channel modules in which are formed nozzles and pressure chambers, and a plurality of actuator modules having piezoelectric elements corresponding to the pressure chambers in the channel modules. Each piezoelectric element in the actuator module has a piezoelectric layer, and two types of electrodes disposed one on either side of the piezoelectric layer. The piezoelectric element utilizes deformation generated in the piezoelectric layer (piezoelectric strain) when a prescribed drive voltage is applied across the two types of electrodes to generate a pressure wave in the corresponding pressure chamber of the channel module in order to eject ink from the corresponding nozzle.
The following method of assembling an inkjet head has also been employed in order to suppress variations in ink temperature among inkjet heads. First, the capacitance of each actuator module is measured, and the modules are ranked based on the magnitude of their capacitance. When assembling the inkjet heads, the modules are arranged according to their assigned ranks. Specifically, modules having a high capacitance generate a greater amount of heat than modules with low capacitance. Therefore, modules having high capacitance are arranged at end positions that are more easily cooled, while modules having low capacitance are arranged at center positions less conducive to cooling.

Printer provided with head units having differences in ejection performance and method of manufacturing printer


A method of forming a high electron mobility transistor may include: forming a second III-V compound layer on a first III-V compound layer, the second III-V compound layer and the first III-V compound layer differing in composition; forming a p-type doped region in the first III-V compound layer; forming an n-type doped region in the second III-V compound layer, the n-type doped region overlying the p-type doped region; forming a source feature over the second III-V compound layer, the source feature overlying the n-type doped region; and forming a gate electrode over the second III-V compound layer, the gate electrode disposed laterally adjacent to the source feature.

In semiconductor technology, due to their characteristics, Group III-Group V (or III-V) semiconductor compounds are used to form various integrated circuit devices, such as high power field-effect transistors, high frequency transistors, or high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs). A HEMT is a field effect transistor incorporating a junction between two materials with different band gaps (i.e., a heterojunction) as the channel instead of a doped region, as is generally the case for metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs). In contrast with MOSFETs, HEMTs have a number of attractive properties including high electron mobility and the ability to transmit signals at high frequencies, etc.
From an application point of view, HEMTs have many advantages. Despite the attractive properties noted above, a number of challenges exist in connection with developing III-V semiconductor compound-based devices. Various techniques directed at configurations and materials of these III-V semiconductor compounds have been implemented to try and further improve transistor device performance.

Method of forming a high electron mobility transistor

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


An information storage apparatus is disclosed for reading and/or writing information on a rigid storage medium which includes a liquid bearing interface between the transducer and medium instead of a conventional air bearing. The liquid is a fluorocarbon which has stable, self-lubricating, viscous and high-density properties. In an exemplary embodiment of a cockpit voice recorder/flight data recorder, low-density metallic components or composite parts of the rigid magnetic disk drive assembly with essentially the same density as the liquid achieve a near zero buoyancy configuration that obviates the effects of vibration and acceleration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information recording systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a recording system having a novel liquid bearing interface between a transducer and a storage medium that provides improved reliability and performance over the currently-used air bearing. The invention applies particularly to information recording systems which use a disk for information storage and an air-borne transducer head for placing information on, and retrieving information from, the disk.
2. Background of the Art
The tribology of magnetic recording systems presents challenges well-known in the art. Although continual contact between the transducer (typically a read/write head mounted on a slider) and the magnetic medium is advantageous from a magnetics perspective, such arrangement is undesirable because wear and materials interactions lead to degraded system reliability and performance. Accordingly, one paramount consideration in designing magnetic recording systems is spacing between the head and medium.
The read/write head in a conventional recording system does not ouch the rigid magnetic disk during sustained normal operation. Instead, it "flies" at a certain height (the "flying height") on a thin cushion of air carried along by the rapidly spinning disk. Typical flying heights are on the order of 12 microinches above the disk's surface.
The function of this cushion of air is analagous to that of a bearing, in that it corresponds to a machine part on which another part (the head) moves or slides with respect to the disk. In this regard, the air cushion supports the head in its position off of the disk.
Of course, a number of recording technologies do permit physical contact between head and storage medium during operation. Such technologies typically employ a flexible storage medium and are represented by tape and floppy disk recording systems. In these technologies, the concept and requirements of "flying height", and considerations relating to a bearing which functions to maintain flying height, are absent. This invention is not intended for use in such systems. Instead, this invention finds its dominant use in recording technologies in which a rigid, recording medium is moved (usually, rotated) with respect to a transducer, which must be maintained at a position off of ("above") the moving medium during system operation.
In the description following, the moving medium is assumed to be a rigid, rotating magnetic disk, usually referred to as a "hard" or "Winchester" disk. However, the description of the embodiment is not intended to limit the scope of application of the invention, which could also apply, for example, to a spinning drum or, to a head in motion with respect to a stationary medium.
The disks in typical rigid-disk recording systems are commonly, but not always, coated with a relatively thin layer of lubricant, typically less than one microinch thick, to protect the head and disk surf aces during those occasional times when these surfaces touch,, such as when the drive is jarred, or when the head passes over an asperity on the disk, or during take of f and landing of, the head. As is well known in the art, such lubrication is achieved by topical application. The lubricating function performed by the applied substance in the prior art is limited to the reduction of friction and wear on the head and disk.
The lubricating layer is kept viscous and thin. If a relatively non-viscous lubricant were used, it would tend to migrate to the edge of the disk in response to the centrifugal forces generated by the spinning disk. The layer is thin because the conventional air bearing sets the distance (the flying height) between the head and the surface adjacent to it, which is the top surface of the lubricant. If the lubricant is made thicker, then the head will be spaced further from the medium, which will degrade the performance of the system, as is well known in the art.
There are several problems associated with conventional air bearings. First; air is relatively compressible. A small acceleration (as small as 40 g's) can exert a force on a head in a typical system great enough-to cause the head to strike the disk, which, in spite of the presence of a lubricant, can lead to complete failure of the system. Such accelerations are easily caused by shocks and vibrations commonly encountered in the environment in which magnetic recording systems are employed. Second; when the distance from the head to the disk becomes comparable to the mean free path of air molecules, about three microinches, the air bearing becomes unstable and unreliable. As modern systems begin to approach this spacing limit, these instabilities in flying height can cause catastrophic contact between head and disk, and make it difficult for the system designer to know what record current to use when recording and what signal level to expect when reading information from the disk.
Present recording systems based upon use of a rigid disk experience the above-described shortcomings. Storage of information at even higher densities will require lower flying heights and smoother disks. Increased emphasis must therefore be placed on provision of a stable bearing operating between the head and the storage medium which supports the head over the medium at a distance which is smaller than that achievable by the air bearing of the prior art, yet which is mechanically simple and cost effective.

Information recording apparatus with a liquid bearing


An integrated low leakage Schottky diode has a Schottky barrier junction proximate one side of an MOS gate with one end of a drift region on an opposite side of the gate. Below the Schottky metal and the gate oxide is a RESURF structure of an N− layer over a P− layer which also forms the drift region that ends at the diode's cathode in one embodiment of the present invention. The N− and P− layers have an upward concave shape under the gate. The gate electrode and the Schottky metal are connected to the diode's anode. A P− layer lies between the RESURF structure and an NISO region which has an electrical connection to the anode. A P+ layer under the Schottky metal is in contact with the P− layer through a P well.

Schottky diodes have desirable characteristics such as improved switching speeds and a lower forward voltage drop compared to PN junction diodes, base-emitter junctions in bipolar transistors or free wheeling diodes in DMOS transistors, for example. The Schottky diode can be used to shunt high transient currents which would otherwise pass through the PN junctions and possibly damage these transistors.
However, silicon Schottky diodes may have other undesirable characteristics related to reverse bias leakage and interfacial dipole which limit the breakdown voltage of the diodes.


A joint compound sanding device (10) comprises a hand held housing (12) and a bottom plate (66) coupled to the hand held housing (12). The bottom plate (66) includes a plurality of dust collection apertures (74) extending through the bottom plate (66) between a vacuum manifold (64) and a bottom surface (76). A plurality of dust collection channels (78) are formed in the bottom surface (76) defining mesas (80) there between. The mesas support a porous joint compound sanding screen (54). A motor is coupled to hand held housing (12) and includes a rotating shaft coupled and rotating to a dust collection fan (30) such that air is drawn through a porous joint compound sanding screen (54), through the channels (78), through the dust collection apertures (74) into the vacuum manifold (64) and through the fan inlet (32) and expelling the air into an exhaust manifold (34).

When installing drywall in a facility, large panels of drywall are nailed or screwed to structural studs. Each nail or screw leaves a recess in the surface of the dry wall panel and gaps exist between adjacent dry wall panels. Typically the gaps between panels are covered with a tape and a joint compound is used to: i) fill the recesses in the surface caused by the nail or screw; ii) cover and blend the surface of the tape to the surface of the panels; and iii) fill remaining damage and imperfections in the surface of the panels.
The joint compound is applied in a wet state. After the joint compound hardens and dries, it is sanded such that a smooth surface is formed across multiple dry wall panels. Traditional sanding paper typically become clogged with joint compound dust which renders the sanding paper ineffective quite quickly. Porous sanding screens supported by a rubber or foam sanding block are an improvement over traditional sanding paper as the user may periodically flex the screen with respect to the block to remove joint compound dust clogging the screen. While this solution resolves the clogging problem, hand sanding with a screen remains tedious and the repetitive task of removing clogged joint compound from the screen is time consuming at best.
Existing hand held power sanders are also useful for sanding joint compound, however several problems exist with using existing power sanders. First, if the power sander can only accommodate traditional sanding paper, the sanding paper will become clogged with joint compound dust very quickly rendering it ineffective.
Second, If the sander is of a an orbital or rotary type, it will tend to leave swirl marks and is impractical for sanding joint compound applied in a corner wherein two drywall panels meet at an acute angle.
Thirdly, even if the sander is limited to linear motion, it may still be impractical for sanding joint compound applied in a corner if the structure of the sander does not enable the abrasive to contact the joint compound in the corner.
What is needed is portable powered dry wall sanding tool that does not suffer the disadvantages of known systems.


A mosquito surveillance device includes one or more mosquito traps having a camera capable of taking images of mosquitos and transmitting the images electronically to a receiver. Suitable traps include an ovitrap, for example. Images may be transmitted from inside or outside the trap to a receiver using low bandwidth cellular phone networks. The images are processed and displayed using software forming mosquito data. The images may be analyzed and the number of live mosquitos identified, the number of dead mosquitos identified, the species of mosquitos identified, or mapped vector densities in real time identified preferably at high resolution.

Currently, mosquito surveillance efforts in Brazil, and other countries, are neither timely nor dynamic. Most mosquito surveillance is accomplished by dividing an area into zones and sending an experienced technician to each zone to collect mosquito larvae, set out new adult mosquito traps and bring samples back to be identified and counted in the lab. Mosquito traps are typically only checked weekly and as a result, mosquito population growth data are not immediately available and are time and human-resource intensive to collect. Thus, current lance methods are costly in terms of human resources and time and not easily scalable.

System for insect surveillance and tracking


Water-based, water-fast ink compositions are provided. The compositions contain an aqueous liquid vehicle, a colorant, e.g., a pigment, dye or stain, and a binder material capable of ionically or physically entrapping the selected colorant. Certain novel polymers are provided as well.

Concern for the environment as well as increasingly stringent regulation of air quality, pollution and hazardous waste has created a need for alternatives to the use of petroleum and petroleum-based products in ink compositions. The primary focus has been on the development of water- and soy-based printing inks. The major reason for using water-based ink compositions is that because organic solvents are not present except in very small quantities, potential problems such as toxicity, flammability and other hazards are minimized. The major drawback of the currently available water-based inks, however, is their generally poor water fastness, which limits their utility.
The present invention is addressed to the aforementioned limitation in the art, and provides a water-based ink composition which is also water-fast. That is, the ink compositions are prepared in water, substantially without toxic and/or hazardous organic solvents, but after printing and drying become insoluble in water and many of the common organic solvents as well.
The novel ink compositions are advantageous in other ways as well. In contrast to many ink compositions of the prior art, the compositions of the invention may be used on a wide variety of substrates, dry quickly after application, and tend not to bleed or smear after drying. In addition, the present ink compositions are generally low in viscosity (and thus relatively easy to work with), display good soak resistance, and have a relatively long shelf life, typically on the order of a year or more.
Traditional water-based inks are based on resin systems which are dispersed in water. Several references describe inks which are based on aqueous vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,417 to Hauser et al., for example, describes low viscosity aqueous printing ink compositions based on polyacrylic resins containing carboxyl groups, and which also contain a humectant, pigment and, optionally, a water-dilutable organic solvent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,245 to Zuraw et al. describes water-based printing inks made with modified rosin grinding resins. U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,489 to Schwarz, Jr., et al., describes an ink composition containing a polymeric additive in addition to a colorant and an aqueous liquid vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,496 to Easton et al. describes a water-fast ink composition containing an amine, an acrylic emulsion resin binder, a triamine dye, and water. However, the water-based inks disclosed in these references do not provide the aforementioned advantages of the invention; primarily, these inks of the prior art are not both water soluble and water-fast.

Aqueous ink compositions containing a binder of a neutralized acidic resin


A portable communication device which has a horn antenna and a transmitter-receiver and in which the horn antenna can readily be attached to and detached from the transmitter-receiver in a short time. In this portable communication device, a flange on the horn antenna side is connected to a flange on the transmitter-receiver side with four clasps etc. The four clasps etc. are arranged at equal intervals around the outer periphery of the interface of a connecting portion. The clasp comprises a fixing hook portion and a pushing-down portion. The fixed hook portion and the pushing-down portion are fixed to the flanges on the transmitter-receiver side and on the horn antenna side, respectively. The clasps etc. can be operated very easily with a single motion. Therefore, the horn antenna can be attached to and detached from the transmitter-receiver in a short time without a tool. Also, this attaching/detaching operation can reliably be performed in the dark without lighting.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable communication device having a horn antenna and a transmitter-receiver and, more particularly to a portable communication device in which the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver are transported separately and assembled for use at the site.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In recent years, digital satellite communications systems have been widely used in various fields. For instance, they have been widely used as effective communication means by news media because the systems can rapidly send information from a news spot, to which communication line does not reach, by using a communications satellite. For such purposes, a portable communication device constructed available for portability is commonly used.
This communication device is comprised of a horn antenna and a transmitter-receiver. If the device is transported with the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver being connected, the connecting portion, which is subjected to an excessive load of weight, may be damaged. Therefore, the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver are transported separately and assembled for use at the site. In assembling the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver, bolts are generally used for joining them.
However, when the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver are joined with bolts, the thread ridges of the housing receiving the bolts may be damaged after the attachment and detachment of bolts are repeated frequently. Once the thread ridges are damaged, the joining becomes impossible. This tendency is more pronounced because the transmitter-receiver is often made of aluminum to decrease the weight.
In addition, the attachment and removal of bolts take much time and require a tool. Also, it is difficult to attach or remove the bolts by groping in the dark. These problems are especially serious when the communication device is used for news media requiring urgency.
With the portable communication device in which the horn antenna and the transmitter-receiver are connected to each other, if transmission is carried out with no horn antenna being connected, the transmitted signal is reflected by the connecting portion and returned to the transmitter because the connecting portion is open. The returned signal will destroy the transistor of the final stage amplifier in the transmitter. To prevent such a trouble, therefore, it is necessary to inform an operator of the portable communication device beforehand of the fact that the horn antenna has not been mounted.
When a communication device is used by connecting the horn antenna to the transmitter-receiver, it is difficult to ensure airtightness at the connecting portion. In particular, in the portable communication device described above, which is used under various climate conditions, external humid air and moisture are prone to enter through the connecting portion. If humid air enters the inside of the transmitter-receiver, a trouble may be caused in transmitting and receiving signals or may result in a failure. Therefore, the airtightness at the connecting portion is one of the serious problems.


A safety valve system for removing down-hole tools from a coal-bed methane well. The system includes first and second horizontally opposed stuffer-blocks, a stuffer-box housing for housing the stuffer-blocks, a means for attaching said stuffer-box housing to a coal-bed methane wellhead, and a means for delivering fluid to move the stuffer-blocks between an open position and a closed position. In one embodiment, the safety valve system further includes a controller, at least one methane sensor, a stuffer-box position sensor, and a stuffer-block activation system. A control algorithm is stored on or in communication with the controller enabling the controller to control the position of the stuffer-blocks, moving the stuffer-blocks between an open and closed configuration, wherein the stuffer-blocks are maintained in an open configuration if the methane level is below a predetermined threshold level. The valve system may further comprise a free-rotating stripper-diverter atop of the valve system.

Coal-bed methane is a natural gas extracted from coal seams or adjacent sandstones. In a U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet (FS-019-97) published in 1997, it was reported that in the conterminous United States more than 700 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of coal-bed methane exists in place, with perhaps one seventh (i.e., about 100 TCF) economically recoverable with 1997 technology. Commercial production occurs in approximately 10 U.S. basins, including the San Juan, Black Warrior, and Central Appalachian Basins. The exploitation of coal-bed methane is now international with coal-bed gas projects in numerous locations in various countries outside the United States. Methane can be found in coal seams that have not been overly compressed by a large depth of overburden.
Coal seams, particularly at shallow depths, have large internal surface areas that can store large volumes of methane-rich gas; six or seven times as much as a conventional natural gas reservoir of equal rock volume can hold. Since methane-laden coal is found at shallow depths, wells are easy to drill and relatively inexpensive to complete. With greater depth, increased pressure closes fractures (cleats) in the coal, which reduces permeability and the ability of the gas to move through and out of the coal.
Methane bearing coal mined without first extracting the methane gas can give cause to safety and environmental concerns because methane gas is highly flammable and when released into the atmosphere contributes to global warming. According to FS-019-97, methane in the atmosphere has increased at a rate of about 1 percent per year for 15 years prior to the publication of FS-019-97.
Extraction of coal-bed methane, however, carries with it some technological, environmental and worker safety issues and costs. In a conventional natural oil or gas reservoir, for example, methane rich gas lies on top of the oil, which, in turn, lies on top of water. An oil or gas well draws only from the petroleum that is extracted without producing a large volume of water. In contrast, water permeates coal beds, and the resulting water pressure typically traps coal-bed methane within the coal. To produce methane from coal beds, water is typically drawn off to lower the pressure so that methane can flow out of the coal seam and into the well bore and thence to the surface for processing and/or storage, and onward transportation to customers.
A submersible water pump is typically used to pump water from methane bearing coal seams (the terms "seam" and "bed" are regarded here as equivalent terms). The submersible pump is lowered from the surface into a drilled well, and more typically into a drilled well bore at the bottom of the well, to pump out the water. Though submersible pumps are designed to operate with minimum maintenance, there are occasions when the submersible pump must be brought back up to the surface either for maintenance or for replacement with a new submersible water pump.
Extracting a submersible water pump from a CBM well involves considerable hazards. First, water is pumped down into the well to create positive pressure around the well bore at the bottom of the CBM well to stop methane from entering the well and thence making it to the top of the CBM well. The top of the CBM well is then partially removed to allow a work crew to bring the submersible pump to the surface as quickly as possible. In the intervening time between creating positive water pressure around the well bore and getting the submersible water pump to the surface, CBM methane may enter the well bore and make it to the surface, causing a serious hazard for the crew tasked with extracting the submersible water pump.
Thus, there is a strong need for an apparatus and methodology to enable the safe extraction of the submersible water pump without the risk of significant quantities of CBM methane getting to the top of the well.
The Applicant is unaware of inventions or patents, taken either singly or in combination, which are seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


An arthroplasty joint assembly for medically and articulately interconnecting first and second opposed end regions of lengthwise adjacent first and second bones. The artificial joint assembly includes a first assembly including external threading extending lengthwise from a generally pointed end of the first assembly for anchoring the first assembly within a cavity of the first bone such that an opposite end of the first assembly extends toward the second bone. The artificial joint assembly also includes a second assembly having external threading extending lengthwise from a generally pointed end of the second assembly for anchoring the second assembly within a cavity in the second bone and such that an opposite end of the second assembly extends toward the first bone. The artificial joint assembly further includes a connector operably associated with and pivotally interconnecting the first and second assemblies to permit the first and second bones anchored thereto to articulately flex relative to each other while maintaining the first and second bones in relationship to each other.

There have been a number of techniques historically utilized to fuse smaller joints in a living body such as finger joints and toe joints. The use of K wires arranged in a cross or parallel fashion complimented with dental wiring to augment the fixation has also been proposed. Moreover, the use of a cone and cup technique coupled with a K wire fixation technique has also been proposed. The use of small screws and plates to supplement fixation of bony surfaces as well as several novel screw systems such as marketed by Howmedica and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,692 have also been proposed for fixation of bones for fusion.
With the development of arthritic conditions of the metacarpal phalangeal joints, such as commonly seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as arthritic conditions of the proximal interphalangeal joint, such as commonly seen in patients with rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, a number of devices have been proposed to alleviate the severe pain, deformity, and disability arising out of the arthritic destruction of these joints. One proposal involves the use of a silicone implant arthroplasty as a spacer coupled with reconstruction and realignment of adjacent ligaments and tendons to effect a satisfactory joint replacement in metacarpal and proximal interphalangeal joints of the hand. Such devices have also been used in the metacarpal phalangeal joint of the foot as well as other interphalangeal joints to a lesser degree. Use of these devices, however, in distal interphalangeal joints is frequently associated with failure due to the excessive forces across these joints.
While these artificial joints act as spacers, they are fraught with a difficulty of long-term failure due to the resorption of adjacent bone and the lack of permanent fusion or fixation. Thus, these joints act merely as spacers, and do not provide a degree of intrinsic stability, nor do they physically bond or become attached to the adjacent bone. Instead, they are surrounded with a membrane representative of a giant cell reaction or foreign body reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,443 to P. Branemark and issued Apr. 28, 1992, discloses a technique wherein a screw assembly is placed in a bone that appears to be fairly uniform in cross-section between opposite ends thereof. This technique fails to take into account the proximal widening of bones known in the metaphysis, and the substantial mismatch of size and canal diameters that can occur in both normal and especially arthritic bone. Similarly structured devices also fail to allow a variability of size mismatch wherein the proximal phalanx of a hand may be substantially asymmetrical in size with the standard sizes available that would correspond to a metacarpal phalangeal joint within the enormity of population ranges sized by these systems. This lack of variability can lead to difficulty with stability of a finger joint implant, wherein the metacarpal phalangeal joint side may be quite rigid, but the proximal phalangeal side alternatively may be loose. Attempts to place a large implant to accommodate the loose proximal interphalangeal side may be fraught with excessive resection of bone on the metacarpal phalangeal joint side in order to accommodate the large size implant to obtain stability.
Grommets have also been proposed for use to provide rotational control, but do not take into account the size mismatch that can occur. This lack of variability of implants can be found both for enlargement of either the distal or proximal bone abnormally compared to the corresponding opposable bony surface. This can especially occur in metacarpal phalangeal joints, but alternatively can occur in proximal and distal interphalangeal joints of the hands. This lack of size variability due to the lack of modularity is a substantial problem and can lead to late failure with rotary changes and provide a substantial loss of stability and function as well as a decreased cosmetic result.
Thus, there is a need and a desire for an improved joint assembly that can be used as a distal interphalangeal joint, a proximal interphalangeal joint, or as a metacarpal phalangeal joint as required. There is also a need and a desire for a joint assembly that addresses long-term fixation needs, the rigidity of fixation relative to the bones, and the ease of interchangability in the case of failure with a solidly anchored support.


A radio frequency (RF) switch device has at least two RF switch units, each RF switch unit having an output terminal and at least two input terminals. The RF switch units select one channel of RF signals from several channels of the RF signals that are supplied as inputs to their input terminals for emission as an output from their output terminals. A magnetic resonance imaging system and an RF signal transmission method employ such an RF switch device. The use of such an RF switch device reduces the number of channels of the RF signals that need to be further transmitted, which in turn reduces the number of the corresponding long RF cable channels and the number of channels of the subsequent devices, thereby preventing waste and reducing the cost of the system. Moreover, if the subsequent devices include a receiver coil channel selector, then the complexity of the receiver coil channel selector will also be reduced as the number of RF signal channels is decreased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of RF signal transmission, and more particularly to an RF switch device, a magnetic resonance imaging system and an RF signal transmission method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 1, in the magnetic resonance imaging system, the receiver coil receives the RF signals emitted from the human body, and the received signals are connected to the system plug via the coil plug of the receiver coil. The system plug is connected with the receiver coil channel selector via the long RF cable, and the receiver coil channel selector chooses the 16-channel RF signals suitable for the imaging device from the inputted RF signals to feed to the imaging device to form the corresponding images from processing of the RF signals.
In order to achieve better signal noise ratio, most of the existing receiver coils are arranged in a coil array, and therefore each receiver coil includes multiple units. Moreover, to meet the needs of clinic application, the magnetic resonance imaging system allows for connection of multiple coils simultaneously. To achieve this, it is necessary to provide a large number of corresponding RF channels.
Taking the structure shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the magnetic resonance imaging system provides 4 system plugs of 8-channel RF signals, so that up to 32 channels of RF signals can be fed to the receiver coil channel selector, and then the 16-channel RF signals are outputted to the imaging device after being selected by the receiver coil channel selector. As shown in FIG. 1, the complexity of the receiver coil channel selector is 32×16, which is very complicated. In addition, an expensive 32-channel long RF cable is needed to connect the system plug to the receiver coil channel selector. Obviously, such a structure not only makes the circuits of the system very complicated, but also leads to a very high cost.
Normally, since both the system plug and coil plug are of a fixed design, the coil 3 containing the 6-channel RF signals and the coil 4 containing the 2-channel RF signals as shown in FIG. 1 cannot be simultaneously connected to either system plug 3 or system plug 4, but can be only separately connected to the plug 3 and plug 4. As a result, 8 RF channels in the plug 3 and plug 4 are idle. In this case, 8 RF channels in the long 32-channel RF cable are also idle, causing huge waste.

RF switch device, magnetic resonance imaging system and an RF signal transmission method


A roller clutch case comprises two molded halves that snap fit into retention grooves on the cam race when inserted from opposite axial directions. The retention features of the cage halves that fit within the retention grooves are inherently stiff, and occupy most of the circumferential extent of the cage halves. Narrow grooves in the cage halves allow the entire structure to shrink inwardly and re expand, so as to allow the retention features to snap into the grooves in spite of their stiffness. In operation, high pressure oil injected between the cage halves pushes the cage halves axially outwardly, but the cage halves are securely retained by the stiff retention features. The oils is substantially trapped between the cage halves by the biasing of the same retention features into the sides of the retention grooves, with only the relatively narrow grooves providing any leak points. Close clearance cross bars in the cage halves help prevent oil migrating to the grooves.

One way clutches used in automotive applications fall into two general categories, sprag clutches and roller clutches. Sprag clutches use the simplest clutch races, consisting of two completely cylindrical pathways, but the most complex wedging elements, consisting of asymmetrical, dumbbell shaped cams that drag along the surfaces during an overrun condition, but which jam between the races to lock up. The load that each cam, with its narrow waist, can sustain is limited, so a large number of them is necessary. Concentricity between the races is maintained by two bordering plain bearing end rings, generally bronze, which are axially retained by separate end rings. Complexity and cost of the clutch is therefore quite high.
A low cost alternative to the sprag clutch is the roller clutch, in which one of the races is more complex, but the wedging elements are far simpler, stronger, and less costly, costing of simple cylindrical rollers biased toward a wedging position by springs. An example may be seen in FIGS. 1 through 4. One of the clutch races, often (but not necessarily) the inner race 22, has a simple cylindrical pathway 32, as a sprag clutch would have. The other race 20 has a more complex shape, consisting of a regularly spaced series of semi cylindrical bearing surfaces 28 interspersed with saw tooth or wedge shaped cam ramps 24 and cam hooks 26. These together define what may be referred to as individual wedging spaces, as shown in FIG. 3, each of which is an imaginary four sided volume surrounding each spring-roller pair S-R. The circumferentially extending sides of each wedging space, indicated at A and B, represent an equal fraction of the total circumference of the annular space between the races 20 and 22. The axially extending sides of that four sided space, indicated at C and D, are defined by the pathway 32 and the individual bearing surfaces 28, which are radially spaced from pathway 32 by a consistent distance Rs, at least when races 20 and 22 are coaxial. Conversely, if the distance Rs is consistently maintained by some inserted structure, then the races 20 and 22 are maintained coaxial. This is exactly how roller clutches do maintain the races coaxial, by closely supporting the bearing surfaces on the pathway with semi cylindrical, solid, axially extending journal blocks.
Another important consideration with overrunning clutches of either type used in automotive applications is lubrication. It is important that the pathway be kept lubricated at the interface where it rubs on the end ring or journal block and on the sprag element or roller. An even more significant consideration with overrunning clutches used as passively acting shift speed matches in vehicle automatic transmissions is the ability to direct pressurized lubricant radially outwardly from and through the inner race, through the clutch, and through the outer race to cool a clutch disk pack splined to the outside of the outer race. It is necessary to either closely axially confine the pressurized lubricant between the axially spaced cage side rails of the clutch (i.e., to closely fill the axially spaced sides A and B of the wedging spaces), or to somehow route the lubricant completely around the roller clutch. Various past proposed mechanisms to so direct the pressurized lubricant may be seen in co-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,714,803; 4,782,931; 4,874,069; and 4,971,184. Briefly summarized, each of these provide additional structure used to confine or redirect lubricant, additional beyond the minimal elements necessary for the clutch cage itself. This, of course, adds cost and complexity that it would be advantageous to avoid.
A few known designs seek to combine sprag clutch type bearing end rings for concentricity control with caged cylindrical rollers as wedging elements. An example may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,619. There, simple annular metal end rings 4 are shown bordering a plastic roller clutch cage, and acting as plain bearings to maintain concentricity. While it is recited that the end rings would prevent lubricant leakage, there is no structure disclosed that would block or prevent the end rings from simply being blown axially outwardly if high pressure oil were introduced between them. A later design in the same vein may be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,628. There, solid metal end rings 22 are formed with a series of outwardly projecting, small tabs 22d that are intended to snap fit into a dedicated circular groove machined into the pathway. This would provide more security against axial end ring blow out than the plain rings 4 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,236,619. However, since neither a solid metal end ring or integral tabs have much inherent flexibility, there is only a limited area of radial overlap (tab in groove) to provide retention. Moreover, pressurized oil could escape around the tabs 22d which, again, have a very limited area and would consequently provide very little blockage against escape.
A more recent design covered in co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,720, shown in FIG. 4, takes a different approach. Concentricity control is done through close fitting journal blocks 48, but these, and the entire cage itself, are split into tow halves along a central plane so that each cage half can radially span the entire annular space between the races 20 and 22, and yet still be simply individually molded by an axial draw technique. By matching the shape of the outer edge of the cage side rails closely, all four sides of the wedging space as defined above can be almost solidly spanned and filled, providing both load support between the races (concentricity control), and a good measure of lubricant confinement. To retain the cage halves after installation, the inner ends of the journal blocks 48 are molded with barbs 54 at the end, and with axially extending slots 50, which give the two halves of the cage good flexibility. The barbs 54 snap into a center slot 30 in the cam race 20 when the cage is installed, although a special jig is needed to guide the cage into place.
An inherent drawback recognized in the above patent is the fact that the retention strength of the cage halves is limited by the degree of radial overlap between the narrow barbs 54 and the edges of the internal groove 30. Were the highly pressurized lubricant retained too completely between the cage side rails, they might, as a consequence, be blown axially outwardly, overcoming the retention strength of the barbs 54, or at least opening up a leak path at bowed out areas. Therefore, controlled leakage of lubricant outwardly through the groove 30 and slots 50 is deliberately provided for. In addition, it is inherently more difficult to shape match the convex saw-toothed edge of a cage side rail to the concave saw-tooth shape of a cam race, than to match a simple cylindrical bearing to a cylindrical pathway. Therefore, some radial clearance between the edge of the cage side rail 46 and the cam race's cam ramps 24 and cam hooks 26 is, as a practical matter, inevitable, which can also create a lubricant leak path. Close conformation between the race surfaces 32 and 28 and the journal blocks 48 would have to take preference over close conformation to the edges of the cage side rails 46, since lubricant leakage can be tolerated more easily than race eccentricity.

Moldable plastic roller clutch cage with improved concentricity control, mechanical retention, and lubricant retention


The invention relates to a method for managing a financial account. The method involves directing a primary transaction request to a holding account controlled by an account owner, evaluating the primary transaction request based on a selected rule to obtain an evaluation, routing the primary transaction request, based on the evaluation, from the holding account to the financial account of a plurality of financial accounts.

Generally, in order to manage money, individuals, groups, businesses, governments and other account owners use a variety of financial accounts. Examples of financial accounts include, but are not limited to, investment accounts, savings accounts, checking accounts, retirement accounts, credit card accounts, and/or loans.
Different financial accounts generally have different attributes and accordingly are suitable for different purposes. For example, different financial accounts may have different limits, different policies, different fees, different interest rates, different payment dates, different balances, different fraud detection rules, different overdraft protection, different accessibility and a variety of other attribute differences. Accordingly, an account owner may distribute available funds over different financial accounts for different purposes.
For each financial transaction, an account owner is required to first select which financial account is suitable for the financial transaction and authorize an expense or deposit to the selected financial account. Each financial account may include different available balances and/or be associated with fraud detection rules that result in authorization or denial of the request for the financial transaction.
When a financial transaction is processed by a financial account with insufficient funds, an overdraft fee is generally charged to the account owner by the associated financial institution. In addition, a vendor requesting the financial transaction may charge a fee to the account owner for denial of the requested financial transaction. For example, most vendors generally charge a fee for a bounced check. Accordingly, even if the account owner has funds available in other financial accounts, the account owner may be charged fees for lacking funds in the selected financial account.

Method and system for management of financial accounts


An observation device capable of observing a first image formed by an objective optical system, includes: a display element into which an illumination light emitted from an illumination source is incident and that generates a second image with the illumination light to superimpose the second image over the first image formed by the objective optical system; a detector that receives the second image to detect information of the second image; and a filter that filters out light of the illumination light advancing to the detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an observation device and a camera to which such an observation device is provided.
2. Description of Related Art
A device which performs superimposed display of an AF area or the like by superposing it upon an image of an object to be photographed in the field of view of a viewfinder is currently widely employed in digital cameras and silver halide film cameras of the single lens reflex type (for example, refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H06-130481). With the display device described in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication H06-130481, it is arranged to perform display by projecting illumination light from a LED upon minute prisms which are formed on a focusing glass, and by these prisms conducting the illumination light to an eyepiece lens.

Observation device, camera and observation method


A cap assembly (40) for attachment to an external fixture (44) on a tank (52) of a tanker trailer (50), including: a collar (42) configured to secure the cap assembly to the tank external fixture and defining a collar opening (46) concentrically aligned with an opening (54) of the fixture; a lid (60) that is moveable between a closed position where the lid covers the collar opening and is in sealing engagement with the collar, and an open position where the lid is vertically raised from the collar and pivoted laterally away from the collar opening; and an actuator assembly (72) that is configured to move the lid from the closed position to the open position during a single stroke of the actuator assembly, and which is remotely operable from a location off of the tanker trailer.

A tanker trailer 10 is shown in FIG. 1 and includes a tank 12 having an interior volume at least partially filled with a liquid 14 for transportation. As shown, a manhole cover 18 is provided and coupled to a collar that defines an opening in the top of the tank 12. The manhole cover 18 is pivotally attached to the collar so that an operator may open the cover to access the interior of the tank, typically for cleaning, inspection or repair.
The tank 12 also includes one or more access assemblies 20A, 20B each including a cap 22 coupled to respective collars 24 that define openings to the interior to the tank 12. As shown in FIG. 2, these prior art caps 22 have an internal thread mating with an external thread of the collar 24, so cap 22 is screwed onto the collar 24. When used as caps for an external vent fixture, when the tanker trailer 10 is transported to a desired location where the liquid 14 is to be emptied from the tank 10, the caps 22 must be removed from the collars 24 to allow for ambient air to flow into the tank as liquid is drained from the tank 12. In addition, the caps 22 may he removed so hoses may be attached to the collar 24 to fill the tank with fluid to be transported, or to inject cleaning fluids for cleaning an interior of the tank 12.
Ladders 16 are typically mounted to the trailer 10 and tank 12 at a location that is readily accessible to the manhole cover 18, which is often at a midsection of the tank 12. Accordingly, a catwalk 30 runs along the top of the tank 12, which an operator traverses to access the caps 22. The act of climbing the ladder 16 and traversing the catwalk 30 alone are inherently dangerous, and this inherent danger is compounded when the operator must carry a large wrench tool to remove the caps 22, which may be about three to five inches in diameter. Moreover, in removing the cap 22 the operator is applying torque to the wrench and pivoting on the top of the tank 12 further risking slipping and falling off the tank 12. While systems are available to remotely open and close manhole covers, no such systems exist, nor are adaptable, to open and close the above described caps 22.

Remotely operable cap assembly for a tanker trailer


When a comparative determination portion determines that passage of a sheet through a reference position is lagged based on a detecting signal from a passing timing detection unit, a sheet conveying speed of a skew feeding correction roller on the same side as that of a sensor which detects the lagged sheet in two sensors is increased to correct sheet skew feeding. When the comparative determination portion determines that passage of a sheet through a reference position is leaded, the sheet conveying speed of the skew feeding correction roller on the same side as that of a sensor which detects the leaded sheet in the two sensors is reduced to correct sheet skew feeding.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus, particularly to a configuration for correcting skew feeding of a sheet such as recording paper to an image forming portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, the image forming apparatus such as a copying machine a printer, and a facsimile includes the sheet conveying apparatus which conveys the sheet such as the recording paper in the image forming portion. Some examples of sheet conveying apparatus include skew feeding correction portions which correct the sheet skew feeding to align an attitude and a position of the sheet until the sheet is conveyed to the image forming portion.
In such skew feeding correction portions, a loop is formed in the sheet with a pair of registration rollers to correct the skew feeding. However, because the sheet is temporarily stopped, a time necessary to correct the skew feeding becomes lengthened.
Therefore, in order to shorten the time necessary to correct the skew feeding, there is an active registration method in which the sheet is rotated to correct the skew feeding while conveying the sheet using two sensors and two pairs of skew feeding correction rollers independently rotated (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication Laid-Open No. 10-032682).
In the active registration method, the skew feeding is detected at a front end of the sheet based on a sheet detecting signals from the two sensors when the front end of the sheet transverses the sensors provided on a coaxial line orthogonal to a sheet conveying direction in a sheet conveying path.
Then, a sheet skew feeding amount is detected based on the sheet detecting signals from the two sensors. Then, rotating speeds of two drive motors for driving two pairs of skew feeding correction rollers are controlled according to the detected skew feeding amount, whereby the sheet conveying speeds of the two pairs of skew feeding correction rollers are changed to correct the sheet skew feeding according to the sheet skew feeding amount.
During the skew feeding correction, the sheet conveying speed of one of the pairs of skew feeding correction rollers is reduced (referred to as skew feeding speed reducing control) or increased (referred to as skew feeding speed-increasing control) with respect to the other pair of skew feeding correction rollers according to the sheet skew feeding amount, thereby correcting the sheet skew feeding.
In the active registration method, because the skew feeding is corrected without tentatively interrupting the sheet conveyance, a sheet interval (interval between a precedence sheet and a following sheet) can be narrowed compared with other methods. Therefore, sheet conveying efficiency can be enhanced, and an overall image forming speed can substantially be improved without increasing an image forming process speed in the image forming apparatus. Recently, the image forming process speed has tended to increase and, accordingly, the active registration method can provide speed enhancements of the sheet conveyance process to match such speed enhancements of the image forming operation in the image forming apparatus.
In the conventional image forming apparatus including the skew feeding correction portion having the above configuration, it is necessary to correct a position in the sheet conveying direction in addition to the sheet skew feeding correction.
Therefore, for example, the conventional image forming apparatus includes a correction roller which is located on a downstream side of the skew feeding correction roller to correct the position in the sheet conveying direction. After the skew feeding is corrected by the skew feeding correction roller, the rotating speed of the correction roller is controlled to change the sheet conveying speed such that the sheet is conveyed at ideal timing at which the front end of a toner image is aligned with the front end of the sheet.
However, in the case where the sheet conveying speed of the skew feeding correction roller is controlled for the skew feeding correction, the position of the sheet fluctuates in the sheet conveying direction depending on the decrease in speed on the sheet preceding side or the increase in speed on the sheet following side.
For example, the sheet conveyance tends to be delayed (lagging) in the case of the skew feeding speed-reducing control. Therefore, sheet conveying lag is increased when the sheet conveyance is lagging compared to a skew feeding correction start position. As used herein, the sheet conveying lag shall mean that the sheet conveyance is lagging compared with the timing of the ideal sheet conveyance.
The sheet conveyance tends to be advanced (leading) in the case of the skew feeding speed-increasing control. Therefore, sheet conveying lead is increased when the sheet conveyance is leading compared to the skew feeding correction start position. As used herein, the sheet conveying lead shall mean that the sheet conveyance is leading compared with the timing of the ideal sheet conveyance.
That is, when skew feeding correction is performed by the skew feeding correction roller, the sheets after skew feeding correction may have a lag amount or lead amount which should be corrected in a correction roller located on the downstream side of the skew feeding correction rollers. The lag amount may be especially serious when the speed-reducing correction is performed on a sheet which reached the skew feeding correction rollers in the sheet conveying lag state. Similarly, the lead amount may be especially serious when the speed-increasing correction is performed on a sheet which reached the skew feeding correction rollers in the sheet conveying lead state. In such cases, a sheet conveying speed of the downstream correction roller may be increased or decreased temporarily (with respect to a normal or target speed) to correct for the lag amount or the lead amount of the sheet after skew feeding correction. In particular, a speed-increasing period or a speed-reducing period of the correction roller is increased to lengthen the time for which the sheet conveying speed of the downstream correction roller is increased or decreased with respect to the target speed during the correction. However, because a probability of generating slip of the correction roller is increased during the speed-increasing period or speed-reducing period, accuracy of positional correction may in practice be decreased in the sheet conveying direction.
As shown in FIG. 15, in the actual speed control of the downstream correction roller, the speed is changed in a stepwise manner, and the correction time is limited to integer multiples of a period of the target speed V1. Therefore, an error is generated with respect to an ideal analog waveform, and an amount of error is increased as the speed-increasing period or speed-reducing period is broadened, whereby the correction accuracy is decreased.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus


Methods and systems for using manifolds learning of airline network traffic to detect airline network traffic disruptions. In an embodiment, a computer processor transmits a request for abnormal airline network traffic simulation data to a simulation device, receives the abnormal airline network traffic simulation data, and generates, utilizing a manifolds learning process, simulated abnormal airline network traffic manifolds representation data. In some embodiments, the process may next include transmitting a request for current airline network traffic data to a current network traffic computer, receiving the current airline network traffic data, and generating a current airline network traffic dataset. In some implementations, the current airline network traffic dataset is then mapped to the abnormal airline network traffic manifolds representation, a determination made that a threshold number of data points of the current airline network traffic dataset maps to the abnormal airline traffic manifolds representation, and then an alarm is transmitted to an operator device indicating that a disruption of airline network traffic is imminent.

Airlines lose millions of dollars every year due to airline network disruptions. In particular, airline network disruption and recovery is an enormously complicated and costly problem for airlines and for the flying public.
The Airline Operations Center (AOC) of major airlines are tasked with managing the execution of thousands of flights a day, including making adjustments in real time concerning the movements of aircraft and crewmembers to minimize costly delays and cancellations, while at the same time complying with complex maintenance and routing constraints. Operators are responsible for preparing flight plans, adjusting the airline schedule including, but not limited to, flight schedule, departure slot assignments, aircraft assignments and crew assignments in response to various factors which may include weather-related issues and various types of equipment failures. Major airlines thus struggle to manage vast amounts of operations-related data efficiently in an attempt to alleviate the impact(s) of unforeseen aircraft schedule disruptions, and to manage the future ramifications of an aircraft failure or scheduling delay on related, interdependent, and/or unrelated flights or routes in an airline network. For example, an aircraft scheduling delay may impact multiple routes after one or more legs of the current aircraft route are executed.
A typical AOC is a very busy environment where airline network decisions must be made quickly and accurately because such decisions made by the aircraft operations personnel can have great operational and economic impacts on the airline. Since an airline network is an extremely complicated system of systems that behaves in a stochastic manner, it is very difficult for human network operators to detect early signs of impending disruptions.
Airline network traffic data is an example of high-dimensionality data which makes it difficult for machine learning algorithms to operate on airline network traffic data. High-dimensionality data has been defined as data that requires more than three dimensions to represent, which can be difficult for a human to interpret. An approach to simplification of such high-dimensionality data is to assume that the data of interest lie on an embedded, non-linear manifold within the higher-dimensional space. If the manifold is of low enough dimension, then the data can be visualized in a low-dimensional space for example, by display on a display screen as a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) representation for viewing by a human operator. Thus, manifold learning is an approach to non-linear dimensionality reduction, and algorithms for this task are based on the idea that the dimensionality of many data sets can be represented with low dimensionality and still retain the most important features in the data set.
The inventors recognized that there is a need for providing machine learning techniques to help airline personnel mitigate and/or prevent costly airline network disruptions. In particular, the inventors recognized that machine learning techniques could be utilized to classify normal and abnormal airline network conditions data so that airline operations center (AOC) personnel can take action(s) before a major airline disruption evolves, or can detect the start of a potential airline network disruption to permit early remedial action(s) to be taken, which could potentially enable an airline to save millions of dollars per year in operating costs.

Systems and methods for manifolds learning of airline network data


A text search query including one or more words may be received. An ASR index created for an audio recording may be searched over using the query to produce ASR search results including words, each word associated with a confidence score. For each of the words in the ASR search results associated with a confidence score below a threshold (and in some cases having one or more preceding words in the ASR index and one or more subsequent words in the ASR index), a phonetic representation of the audio recording may be searched for the word having the confidence score below the threshold, where it occurs in the audio recording, possibly after the one or more preceding words and in the audio recording before the one or more subsequent words, to produce phonetic search results. Search results may be returned include ASR and phonetic results.

Searching over audio files is commonly performed using two main categories of methods. Automatic speech recognition (ASR) may decode an audio input to produce a textual index of words with time of occurrence in the audio stream. Text input may be used to search the ASR index. A phonetic search may decode an audio file into a sequence or stream of phonemes which may be searched by converting a text query input into phonemes. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages.
Phonetic search may allow searching for any phrase without requiring an explicit dictionary—e.g. the word need not be defined beforehand in a dictionary, which is typically required for ASR search. ASR may provide high accuracy transcripts, but is typically limited to a pre-determined language model or dictionary. ASR may be "text" search because typically search text is used to search over the ASR index, as opposed to a phonetic search where an input text search is typically converted to phonemes before searching. ASR may be poor at dealing with proper names, acronyms, or words or phrases that are not in the dictionary or lexicon. A phonetic index typically requires storage proportional to the length of the media—e.g. audio file—being indexed. Conversely, an ASR transcript may be compressed, as it may include token sequences including a string, start time, end time, and a score: such a data structure may be very amenable to ZIP-style or other compression. In general, searching using ASR is much faster (e.g. at least 10 times faster) than searching a phonetic index. A typical phonetic search takes time proportional to the duration of the original audio, while a typical ASR search is much quicker, as the text is pre-indexed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and method for combining phonetic and automatic speech recognition search


A fissure detection method for lung lobe segmentation in 3D image data is disclosed. In this method, 3D lung image data is filtered using one or more filters based on at least one of planar structures coupled with vessel suppression, curvature computations, and local gradient magnitude and direction comparisons. Fissures are detected in the 3D lung image data based on the filtered 3D lung image data, and lung lobes are segmented from the 3D lung image data based on the detected fissures.

The present invention relates to detecting fissures for lung lobe segmentation in medical imaging data, such as computed tomography (CT) image data.
The lungs are divided into five lobes, which operate as separate functional units. The lung lobes are divided by thin walls called fissures. Problems within the lungs are often confined to a particular lobe. Thus, in order to determine in which lobe a problem is located, it is important to be able to detect lobar fissures in medical imaging data, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data. Lobar fissures can be difficult to detect in CT and MRI data. One reason for this difficulty is that the fissures defining the boundaries of the lobes are very thin and can be obscured by noise, artifacts, and partial volume effects. Furthermore, various lung diseases can erode or affect lung fissures such that they are even harder to detect.

Fissure detection methods for lung lobe segmentation