An input device, especially an input device for a vehicle, includes a display for optical display of information, a touchscreen arranged above the display for input of commands by touching an operating surface of the touchscreen and a control for optical display of additional or other information on the display during at least a second simultaneously occurring touching of the operating surface.

A touchscreen is known, for example, from DE 201 02 197 U1 (incorporated by reference). A touchscreen for display of electronic signals and a confirming touch input of characters and symbols, consisting of a function level for display and key input and a higher, point-deformable protective level corresponding to it, are disclosed in DE 201 02 197 U1. During a selection of specific points of the function level by touching above the protective level, at least one confirmation signal for the touch direction (tactile stimulus) of the user is detectable at the position of the contact point in the deformed protective level is produced and the confirmation signal for the touch direction (tactile stimulus) is produced by vibration elements arranged eccentrically within or beneath the function level. In addition, in the touchscreen known from DE 201 02 197 U1, transmission of the generated vibrations from the function to the protection level occurs by direct contact of the two levels and/or via the edge regions of the levels through rigid or elastic connection elements.
Details concerning touchscreens can be taken, for example, from the Internet site www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/. The following touchscreens of 3M™ are offered, for example:                MicroTouch™ 12.1″ FPD touch monitor (vgl. www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Monitors/FPDdesktop/jhtml)        MicroTouch™ M150 FPD touch monitor (vgl. www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Monitors/M150/jhtml)        MicroTouch™ CRT touch monitor (vgl. www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Monitors/CRTdesktop/jhtml)        MicroTouch™ ChassisTouch™ FPD touch monitor (vgl. www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Monitors/FPDchassis/jhtml)        MicroTouch™ ChassisTouch™ CRT touch monitor (vgl. www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Monitors/CRTchassis/jhtml)
Additional details concerning touchscreens can also be taken from the following internet sites:                www.elotouch.com/products/default.asp        www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Resistive/5-wire.jhtml        www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Resistive/PL.jhtml        www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Resistive/FG.jhtml        www.3m.com/3mtouchsystems/Products/Resistive/SRTS.jhtml
A touch control with tactile feedback for input of signals to a computer and output of forces to a user of the touch control is also known from DE 201 80 024 U1 and the corresponding WO 01/54109 A1 (incorporated by reference), in which the touch control has a touch input device, which has an approximately flat contact surface, operated so that it enters a position signal through a processor of the computer based on a position on the contact surface that a user touches, in which case the position signal indicates the position in two dimensions. The touch control according to WO 01/54109 A1 also has at least one actuator connected to the touch input device, in which the actuator produces a force on the touch input device, in order to furnish the user touching the contact surface with a tactile sensation, in which the actuator delivers the force directly to the touch input device based on force information produced by the processor.
Tactile feedback is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,846, WO 03/038800 A1 (incorporated by reference) and WO 03/41046 A1 (incorporated by reference).
An operating element for a device with several selectable menus, functions and/or function values is known from DE 197 31 285 A1, which has a surface that can be grasped by the user, and via which the selection can be perceived through a local movement or touching of the surface. The surface is variable in its configuration according to the selected and/or selectable menu, function and/or function value.


A pneumatic tire comprises a bead core disposed in each of a pair of bead portions and a carcass ply turned up around the bead cores, wherein the bead cores are provided in the radially inner surface with a swell having a radius of curvature in the range of from 0.35 to 2.0 times the width of the bead core. The swell preferably extends all over the width of the bead core whereby no rubber layer is formed between the carcass ply and the radially inner surface of the bead core, and the contact pressure between the tire and rim is optimized.

The present invention relates to a pneumatic tire, more particularly to an improvement in the bead structure which is capable of improving the bead durability and suitable for use in a heavy duty tire such as a truck/bus tire.
A pneumatic tire is provided in each bead portion with a bead core whose cross sectional shape is a circle, rectangle, parallelogram, hexagon or the like.
In a conventional pneumatic tire for heavy duty use such as a truck/bus tire, the cross sectional shape of the bead core is usually a compressed hexagon such as shown in FIG. 19. The bead core (b) is located such that the longer side G1 is substantially parallel to the bead seat j1 of the rim J when mounted on the rim which is typically a standard 15 degree drop-center rim. Around the bead core (b), a carcass ply (c) is turned up to be secured thereto.
When such tire is vulcanized, the topping rubber of the carcass ply (c), the topping rubber of the bead wire, the topping rubber of a bead wrapping cambus (bw) around the bead core (b) and the like partially migrate or flow and collect between the longer side G1 of the bead core (b) and the carcass ply (c) to form a rubber layer (A).
It is difficult to estimate the thickness of the collected rubber layer (A) because it varies depending on various parameters such as the carcass cord tension during tire vulcanization, variation of the carcass turnup profile, variation of the topping rubber volume and the like. Further, the thickness of the collected rubber layer varies not only between different tires but also between the different positions in the same tire.
If the thickness of the gathered rubber layer increases, the thickness of rubber (chafer rubber) under the carcass is decreased, and accordingly the contact pressure between the bead and rim's bead seat decreases because the collected rubber is mainly topping rubber which is softer than chafer rubber. As a result, the contact pressure between the axially outer surface of the bead portion and the axially inner surface of the rim flange j2 is relatively increased, and the carcass ply turnup portion (f) tends to be damaged, which greatly decreases the bead durability.
This problem is particularly remarkable in a heavy duty pneumatic tire which is mounted on a tapered rim having a relatively large taper angle and used under heavy load and high pressure conditions.
If the thickness of the rubber under the carcass is increased in order to lessen the influence of the variation of the collected rubber layer thickness, the rim mounting operation becomes very difficult.

Pneumatic tire with swelled bead core inner surface


A system is provided for detecting an effective section of a gesture by recognizing the gesture, pose information and motion information included in the gesture from an acquired image. In addition, a controller determines whether a pose has been recognized based on the pose information and when the pose has been recognized, an effective section is detected based on a start point and an end point of the pose. Further, when the effective section for the pose is detected, the gesture is recognized based on the motion information.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and a method for detecting an effective section of a hand gesture.
(b) Description of the Related Art
A user's intention of a gesture is important in a system that recognizes a gesture, based on images collected by an imaging device (e.g., a camera) due to difficulty in accurately determining gestures when the system recognizes actions other than predetermined gestures.
Further, for a system using a method of recognizing gestures by signal processing in common systems for detecting and recognizing gestures, the system recognize a gesture from when there is displacement of a predetermined motion, thus, decreasing the speed at which the gesture is recognized. In addition, the rate of recognizing a gesture decreases, when the size of a motion trajectory is different from the size of a predetermined trajectory. A gesture is recognized using a learning algorithm and the trajectory of the gesture may not fit to a predetermined trajectory, to classify an incorrect recognition. Accordingly, a user may have to stop the motion at the beginning and the end of a gesture to allow the system to recognize the type of gesture being performed by the user. The above information disclosed in this section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

System and method for effective section detecting of hand gesture


Polymers and copolymers having units derived from unsubstituted or substituted thieno[3,4-b]furan are disclosed. Also provided are methods of making and using the same.

Intrinsically conducting polymers are of wide utility in applications such as electronic packaging, organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs), electrochromic windows, volatile organic gas sensors, and the like. Intrinsically conducting polymers of particular interest possess a relatively low band gap (Eg), which refers to the energy difference between two electronic energy levels (the conduction band and the valence band). The band gap exhibited by a given polymer depends upon a variety of factors, including the structure of the monomer(s) used to form the polymer. For example, intrinsically conductive polymers formed from thiophene and substituted thiophene monomers are known. Poly(thiophene) has a band gap of 2.1 electron volts (eV), poly(2-decylthieno[3,4-b]thiophene) has a band gap of 0.92 eV, and poly(2-phenylthieno[3,4-b]thiophene) has a band gap of 0.85 eV. Intrinsically conductive polymers comprising polymerized units of thieno[2,3-b]thiophene and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene are also known.
Unfortunately, there are a number of drawbacks associated with many of the intrinsically conducting polymers currently available. The Eg of many polymers is undesirably high, and/or the polymers are not stable. Transparency is difficult to achieve, limiting their use in optical devices. Also of concern is the search for an efficient and inexpensive synthetic route to prepare intrinsically conducting polymers.
There remains a continuing need in the art, however, for intrinsically conducting polymers that exhibit useful band gaps for industrial applications and for the convenient synthesis of such polymers. Furthermore, there is a need for the adjustment of the conductivity and/or optoelectronic properties, such as the band gap and energy levels of the valence band and the conduction band, of such polymers to meet the needs of a particular application.

Polymers of thieno[3,4-b]furan, method of making, and use thereof


Systems using RFID tags to identify subjects or objects using RFID readers located on a subject or in a suitable enclosure with associated host computers, stimulus generators and associated output devices are provided. The interactions can generate immediate or delayed stimuli involving one or more output types as well as recording of events.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to systems providing automatic triggering and delivery of stimuli, specifically to those that incorporate RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) techniques.
2. Background of the Invention
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has benefited from the increased functionality and decreased costs of RFID tags and readers due to rapid expansion of the use of RFID systems for inventory, logistical tracking, and other supply chain and related functions. Expanded use of RFID tags in various formats for inventory and tracking means tags are relatively inexpensive (and in the future even more so due to in-process Wal-Mart and Department of Defense implementations) and thus their uses other applications economically practical. A passive RFID tag includes a chip and an antenna When exposed to and energized by radio-frequency (RF) energy from the RFID reader, the tag transmits its identification (possibly encrypted) which is captured by the RFID reader. A tag may have either read functionality or read/write functionality. In the latter case, data can be recorded (using its write mode) in the RFID tag itself that can be read by an RFID reader at a later time. An active RFID tag operates in the same manner as a passive RFID tag, except it has its own power source, say a battery. An active RFID tag and can be identified over long distances.
Tracking and event recording in the supply chain have been the major focus of RFID implementations. Intel has demonstrated technology ("RFID Chips Watch Grandma Brush Teeth," NewScientist.com News Service, 11:50, Mar. 17, 2004) in which an elderly person wears a glove-embedded RFID reader (or perhaps a necklace or other convenient carrier) that detects objects that the subject touches and wirelessly communicates the unique IDs of those objects to a personal computer that records and timestamps the events. In some cases, an ordered series of object-event occurrences is used to infer the performance of complex tasks such as brushing teeth. Aversive or appetitive stimuli are not included in this system.
Feedback triggered due to human or animal behavior can provide a positive or negative stimulus. Positive or negative stimuli can be used to give an immediate sign or for behavior modification. An example of its application for the latter is alcoholism. In the case of aversion therapy, if a person touching a drink triggers a negative stimulus, then the stimulus is paired to the act and behavior thus modified. While one can ask the question why a person would put themselves into a situation where they would get such feedback, a large subset of addicts wish to quit (e.g., smokers) or are in controlled situations such as drug rehabilitation programs. If the feedback stimulus is electrical, the stimulus can be a tingling sensation; it need not be an electrical shock. Addictions that have been successfully with aversion-therapy stimuli include cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and nicotine. In these types of aversion therapy using counter conditioning, the aversive stimulus can either be manually triggered by the subject or by an observer.
The same principle can be used to control animal behavior. An example is providing a high-pitched sound aversive to a dog when the dog gets close to a forbidden area In an example in the prior art, a negative stimulus such as an electric shock has been triggered when a subject physically touches an object such as an electrified fence. In an alternative approach, Janning, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,166,643, "Method and apparatus for controlling the whereabouts of an animal", teaches how an aversive stimulus is delivered to an animal if a predetermined boundary is encroached under predetermined conditions. Marischen, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,653, "Animal training method using positive and negative stimuli" provides for a positive or negative sound stimulus triggered manually by an observer where the sound emitter is either at the site of the observer or on a collar worn by the animal. In Custer, U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,744, "Animal control apparatus," a portable receiver and stimulator is attached to an animal that is activated when the animal encroaches on a boundary and a related transmitter. These systems do not employ RFID tags.
Electronic-Impulse Counter-Conditioning (also known as Faradic aversion therapy) has been used in the treatment of alcoholism (Smith, J. W., & Frawley, P. J., "Long-Term Abstinence from Alcohol in Patients Receiving Aversion Therapy as Part of a Multimodal Inpatient Program," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 7:77-82, 1990), nicotine (Smith, J. W., "Long-Term Outcome of Clients Treated in a Commercial Stop Smoking Program," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 5:33-36, 1988), and methamphetamine and cocaine (Frawley, P. J., & Smith, J. W., "One-Year Follow-Up after Multimodal Inpatient Treatment for Cocaine and Methamphetamine Dependencies," Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 9:271-286, 1992.).
Previous RFID patents related to RFID systems in medical systems include Yarin et al, U.S. Pat. No. 6,380,858, "Systems and methods for monitoring patient compliance with medications" and Yarin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,999, "Systems and methods for monitoring compliance with medication regimens" both of which used medication containers with RFID tags and Smart Trays with RFID readers. The Smart Tray (a) provides signals to the patient of when to take medications and how much, (b) monitors when the medication container is removed, and (c) can communicate its report on patient compliance with or more parties such as healthcare provides or pharmacies.
Other medication dispensing inventions are addressed in De La Huerga, U.S. published patent applications 20010028308 and 20030099158, "Interactive medication container" which use the RFID tag as a container ID, alerts the patient to take the medicine, and records the time the container is removed from its place, Rand, U.S. patent application 20020189612, "Medicament dispenser," and Bonney et al., U.S. patent application 20030079744, "Medicament dispenser," from the same firm, that use the RFID tag to determine the identification of a medicament container, and Klein, U.S. published patent application 20020026330, "System and method for patient medication management and compliance using a portable computing device" which uses RFID tags to determine the identification of a medicament container. None of these incorporate stimuli used for behavioral modification.
Other health-related systems are Gutta et al., U.S. patent application 20020169583, "Automatic system for monitoring person requiring care and his/her caretaker" that checks patient status and uses an RFID tag associated with a subject in lieu of a biometric identifier such as a thumb print and Kaylor et al. U.S. patent application 20040078219 "Healthcare networks with biosensors" which uses RFID tags for product identification. Neither of these incorporate stimuli used for behavioral modification. In addition, neither RFID reader nor an RFID tag is ever on the subject.
Previous inventions in aversive therapy include Pope, U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,033, "Electronic smoking inhibiting device" which in response to the opening of a container containing cigarettes delivers an alarm sound after a predetermined delay period followed by a faradic shock. Regal, U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,449, "Enuresis treatment device" employs a urine-detection pad to detect bed wetting which causes the triggering of an aversive alarm. Another invention using aversive stimuli is Nemir, U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,404, "Apparatus for treating bruxism" that delivers an electric shock or an alarm in response to the user's bruxing events. In Israel, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,211, "Apparatus for administering electrical aversive stimulus and associated method," a therapist using a transmitter remotely triggers an aversive stimulus delivered to a subject via a receiver/stimulator driving an electrode. In Silverman, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,998, "Automatic operant conditioning system," a biofeedback system is described in which the subject controls a variable such as posture that is measured and then processed by a microcomputer that compares the measurement to criteria and depending on the result a positive or negative stimulus (such as an audio tone) delivered. None of these inventions in the prior art use RFID tags.
In the domain of location of beings, Levine in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,334,073 and 6,154,676, "Internal monitoring and behavior system" determines whether a subject is inside or outside a defined area, and if the subject is outside that area, an internal system activates a stimulating electrode or chemical micropump to produce an aversive stimulus to the subject. Levine in U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,622, "Location monitoring via implanted radio transmitter" determines whether a subject is outside a given area, but does not provide for an aversive stimulus to be delivered but instead provides the information to a monitoring system. Again these inventions do not involve the use of RFID.

RFID systems for automatically triggering and delivering stimuli


A glass plate automatic drilling and milling machine, adapted to provide for holes and/or openings having different size, configuration and positioning, comprises a support structure provided with rotating rollers (23, 24) for the sliding of the plates disposed on vertical or slightly inclined direction thereon, as well as comprising a grasping pliers (25) for grasping each plate and transferring it toward a drilling and milling unit (13) with fixed installation, which in turn is provided with two carriages (15, 16) identical and opposite symmetrically to each other. Each carriage is provided with spindles (29, 30, 31, 32) for supporting drills and milling cutters having different size, of which the spindles of each carriage operate alternatively in opposition to each other. At the end of machinings, the plates in case are passed through a glass-cleaning machine (20) for being cleaned and subsequently packed.

Machines for automatic drilling glass plates having different shapes and sizes are known, and comprise substantially a plurality of horizontal rotating rollers mounted on a support structure and provided for supporting slidably the different glass plates to be drilled at established positions thereof, in which structure one or more drilling units are also mounted, which are formed by a set of aligned drills operated by a numerical control system provided with computer and which can be set through a proper software program, so as to regulate in advance the position and size of the holes to be made on the respective glass plates.
However, these drilling machines have the drawbacks that they are made with considerable overall dimensions because of the extent in a horizontal direction thereof and being able to perform only automatic drilling operations on the glass plates and being not able to perform possible automatic machinings of any other type such as for example the forming of through or blind cavities having different shapes and sizes and at different positions on the glass plates, since in these cases the machinings referred to must be performed necessarily with special manual operations, with consequent lower productivity and possibility to damage the glass plates on which such additional machining operations are performed.

Glass plate automatic drilling and milling machine


An improved core network that can monitor micro-level issues, identify specific services of specific nodes that may be causing an outage, and perform targeted node failovers in a manner that does not cause unnecessary disruptions in service is described herein. For example, the improved core network can include a failover and isolation server (FIS) system. The FIS system can obtain service-specific KPIs from the various nodes in the core network. The FIS can then compare the obtained KPI values of the respective service with corresponding threshold values. If any KPI value exceeds a corresponding threshold value, the FIS may preliminarily determine that the service of the node associated with the KPI value is responsible for a service outage. The FIS can initiate a failover operation, which causes the node to re-route any received requests corresponding to the service potentially responsible for the service outage to a redundant node.

A core network (also known as network core or backbone network) is the central part of a telecommunications network that provides various services to telecommunication devices, often referred to as user equipment ("UE"), that are connected by access network(s) of the telecommunications network. Typically, a core network includes high capacity communication facilities that connect primary nodes, and provides paths for the exchange of information between different sub-networks.
Operations of the primary nodes and other nodes in the core network are often adjusted via software upgrades, hardware upgrades, firmware upgrades, and/or the like. In some cases, these upgrades can cause a service outage. A service outage can be problematic because the service outage may result in service disruptions. The service outage may also result in delays in the introduction of new features or functionality in the core network because the upgrade(s) that resulted in the service outage may be rolled back until a repair is identified.

Micro-level network node failover system


An apparatus in a radio terminal (MS) determines a measure representing transfer rate from a radio cell to the terminal. The apparatus includes units (SINR-1, . . . , SINR-4) for determining several signal quality measures of pilot signals received from and associated with several antennas in the radio cell. A summation unit (SUM) combines several such signal quality measures into a combined transfer rate measure associated with the radio cell. Such combined measures are determined for several radio cells surrounding the terminal. Further means (MEN, SEL, TH) select radio cells associated with combined transfer rate measures that support a predetermined transfer rate as candidates for communication with the terminal. The selected measures are reported to the radio network controller and used for cell selection or handover.

In current radio communication systems, such as WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), cell selection and handover reporting are based on pilot measurements, such as SIR (Signal to Interference Ratio). The terminal is measuring the quality of e.g. the common pilot of a radio cell and this value is regularly reported to the RNC (Radio Network Controller), which then can take decisions on actions, such as adding or removing handover legs. In HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) this type of measurement is also used for e.g. fast cell selection, i.e., the terminal can instantaneously connect to the base station that provides the "best" channel.
If and when multi-antenna systems such as MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) are applied to e.g. HSDPA a single measurement as described above does not provide enough information to the system for optimal cell selection or handover. If several antennas are used at the base station and the common pilot is transmitted from a specific antenna, all quality measurements will reflect the potential transmission quality of that antenna only.


A plurality of cigarette piling heads are provided on a cigarette piling drum. The same number of cigarettes as the number of cigarettes in a cigarette package are piled on each cigarette piling head. An intermediate drum includes the same number of cigarette holding heads as the number of the cigarette piling heads and is provided at an axial end of the cigarette piling drum. A pushing-out drum has the same number of pushers as the number of the cigarette piling heads and is disposed at the other axial end of the cigarette piling drum. The cigarettes on each cigarette piling head are transferred to the corresponding cigarette holding head. The intermediate drum is disposed adjacent to and at a side of the first drum of a packing apparatus. The cigarette holding heads swing synchronously with packing heads of the intermediate drum. The cigarette piling heads swing synchronously with the cigarette holding heads of the first drum.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for arranging and stacking cigarettes, which every time arranges cigarettes side by side to form a plurality cigarette layers each consisting of a predetermined number of cigarettes, for example, three cigarette layers consisting of the lower layer of seven cigarettes, the intermediate layer of six cigarettes and the upper layer of seven cigarettes; which each time piles the cigarette layers on one after another in a staggered manner to form a cigarette stack consisting of a predetermined cigarette layers, for example, a cigarette stack consisting of the above-mentioned three layers including twenty cigarettes in total; and which transfers the cigarette stack to a packing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a cigarette wrapping system, there has been used a cigarette piling apparatus which arranges, side by side, cigarettes to form a plurality of cigarette layers, the total number of cigarettes of the cigarette layers being equal to the number of cigarettes in a cigarette package, and which piles these cigarette layers on one after another to form a cigarette stack. For example, the apparatus arranges seven, six and seven cigarettes side by side as separate layers and piles them in a staggered manner to form a cigarette stack consisting of the three cigarette layers. The cigarette stack is transferred to a wrapping device to be packed.
There are several types of packing apparatuses. In the recent packing apparatus, a plurality of drums are radially arranged so as to be adjacent to each other, a plurality of heads for holding piled cigarettes are provided on each drum. The drums are rotated synchronously and cigarettes whose number corresponds to the number of cigarettes in a cigarette package are transferred as a cigarette stack to each head. While the cigarette stack is being transferred between the adjacent heads, a wrapping sheet is supplied between the heads and the cigarette stack is wrapped with the wrapping sheet. When the cigarette head is transferred to the following head of the drum, the wrapping sheet is folded. In this way, a series of wrapping processes are performed while the cigarette stack is transferred from the first head to the last head of the drum.
In the packing apparatus, the heads of the drum make a predetermined swing in order to facilitate the transfer of the cigarette stack. Specifically, the heads of a pair of adjacent drums swing so that they face each other as they approach each other. When the heads approach each other, the cigarette stack is transferred from one of the head to the other head.
Since the heads make complicated swing motion, the mechanism for transferring a cigarette stack between the heads is also complicated. Thus, it is difficult to unite the cigarette piling device with the packing device to form a wrapping apparatus of a unitary structure. Even if such wrapping apparatus were obtained, it is anticipated that it could be operated at a high speed.
The cigarette stacks each consisting of twenty cigarettes, for example, are not held and thus lose their shape very easily. This becomes a factor of hindering a high speed operation of the apparatus.

Apparatus for piling and transferring cigarettes


A door having a door body that can be lifted, along a predetermined path, from a closed position in which it closes a wall opening into an open position in which it is located substantially overhead, the door body having two, three or more door body elements arranged one on top of the other in the closed position, is modified according to the invention in that a lower edge of the door body in the closed position and trailing during the lifting can be lifted separately, when the door reaches the open position, by a pivoting movement of a lower door body element having said edge in a lifting direction with respect to a door body element situated above it in the closed position relative to the predetermined path.

The invention relates to a door having a door body that can be lifted, along a predetermined path, from a closed position in which it closes a wall opening into an open position in which it is located substantially overhead, the door body having two, three or more door body elements arranged one on top of the other in the closed position and hinged together along articulation axes running roughly perpendicular to the predetermined path, and a lower edge of the door body in the closed position and trailing during the lifting can be lifted separately, at least when the door reaches the open position, by a pivoting movement of a lower door body element having said edge in a lifting direction with respect to a door body element situated above it in the closed position relative to the predetermined path.
Doors of this kind are used for example in the form of garage doors, factory doors, or hall doors. The door body is usually made of several pieces, in the above described manner, and in the closed position it is oriented in a vertical plane and encircled by a frame. For the opening of such a door, the door body is usually moved along a predetermined path by a guide rail assembly into an overhead position, in which it extends roughly parallel to the floor and roughly in a horizontal plane roughly perpendicular to the wall opening closed by the door body. This opening movement, the same as the closing movement from the open position to the closed position, is usually carried out with guide rails of the guide rail assembly which are situated on both sides of the door body and fixed in relation to the wall, as well as guide elements such as guide rollers which are fixed on the door body and led by the guide rails.
The guide rails usually comprise a straight vertical guide rail segment extending substantially in the vertical direction, a horizontal guide rail segment extending substantially in the horizontal direction, and an arc-shaped guide rail segment joining together the vertical and the horizontal guide rail segment. Such doors, also known as sectional doors, have the advantage that, when operated, no pivoting of the door body into the space situated in front of the building being closed with the door is needed, so that an especially space-saving operation of the door body is possible.
In practice, a number of requirements are placed on the described sectional doors:
First of all, the space situated behind the door must be closed completely and securely. In the open position, the door should free up the clear wall opening as much as possible.
Further, scant headroom is desired, i.e., the least possible spacing between the upper edge of the wall opening and the ceiling of the space being closed. Especially in the case of privately used garages, it may be required to form a wall opening whose height corresponds nearly to the room height.
Various requirements are also placed on the kinematic properties of the door body during its movement from the open to the closed position. The movement should be as fast as possible, the radius of the arc-shaped guide rail segment being limiting for the speed. Moreover, the door body should move as smoothly as possible.
In connection with these requirements, a number of possible solutions are described in the prior art, however none of them meets all requirements at the same time.
In order to achieve a satisfactory closure of the clear wall opening, the individual door body elements are situated roughly in a single plane in the closed position. In particular, the trailing door body element during the closing movement, also known as the upper door body element, and the door body elements situated below it, should lie in the same plane. In order to free up the clear wall opening as much as possible in the open position, the trailing door body element during the opening movement, also known as the lower door body element, should protrude as little as possible into the clear wall opening in the open position.
If the dimensions of the space being closed with the door body allow it, this goal can be accomplished most easily by arranging the arc-shaped guide rail segment entirely in the lintel area of the wall opening, and the horizontal and the vertical guide rail segment each have at least the length of the entire door body height. The individual door body elements can then be situated one above the other in a plane in the closed positions of the door body and entirely close the clear wall opening. In the open position, all door body elements can be situated in the horizontal guide rail segment, so that the clear wall opening is entirely opened up. In practice, especially in the case of garages, the required installation heights and installation depths for such a guide rail assembly do not exist. Further, a door body situated entirely in the horizontal in the open position significantly impedes the closing process. When initiating the closing movement, a breakaway torque needs to act on a door body at rest in the horizontal. This serves for initiating a movement of the lower edge of the door body in the vertical, until the section of the door body located in the vertical has achieved a certain minimum momentum, so that the closing movement of the door body can occur spontaneously, due to gravity, with no further external action of force. If the door body is arranged entirely in the horizontal, the required breakaway torque is a maximum, and an additional device is generally needed to initiate the closing movement by applying force to the door body.
In order to solve this problem, a thrusting device is disclosed in DE 101 01 560 A1 and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,651,360, which initiates and assists the closing movement of the door body by an action of force on the upper edge of the upper door body element. U.S. Pat. No. 2,651,360 discloses for this a thrusting device having a spring element, which is coupled firmly to the upper edge of the upper door body element. Moreover, this thrusting device is coupled at the same time to the traction means connected to the lower edge of the lower door body element, which lifts the door body from the closed position to the open position. This design requires a complicated assembly and a prolongation of the horizontal guide rail segment in order to receive the thrusting device therein.
This problem is solved in part by the thrusting device disclosed in DE 101 01 560 A1, which is not connected firmly to the upper door body element, but rather can simply be placed against it. The design of DE 101 01 560 A1, as compared to the design of U.S. Pat. No. 2,651,360, enables an easier assembly and requires a shorter horizontal guide rail segment. In both cases, however, an additional assembly step is required when installing the door.
A further problem exists in the case when the arc-shaped guide rail segment is situated at least partly in the clear opening. This problem occurs, for example, when the headroom is small as compared to the radius of the arc-shaped guide rail segment. This may be due to the fact that a large clearance height is needed for the space being closed as compared to its overall height and therefore the headroom is slight. Moreover, increasing the radius of the arc-shaped guide rail segment, which makes possible a greater speed of the door body when moving from the open to the closed position without producing annoying noise, means that the arc-shaped guide rail segment is situated at least partly in the clear opening. The problem then exists of achieving a complete closure of the clear wall opening in the closed position, among others.
To solve this problem, WO 97/42387 and EP 0 897 448 B1 disclose a door body with a pivoting lever arranged at the upper edge of the upper door body element. In the closed position of the door body, the guide rollers situated at the upper edge of the upper door body element are arranged in the arc-shaped guide rail segment. Consequently, the upper door body element is not arranged in the same plane ad the door body elements situated below it, but rather is tilted with respect to this plane. The pivoting lever now allows a tilting of the upper door body element relative to the guide rollers toward the vertical plane, so that in the closed position all door body elements can be situated in the same plane.
Such a pivoting lever is also disclosed in DE 10 2005 043 229 A1 and in DE 10 2005 008 027 U1 and it serves as an adjusting lever for moving between a closed position and a pivoting position in which the upper door body element is pivoted inward toward the arc-shaped guide rail segment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,127 also discloses a sectional door with such a pivoting lever.
Another possibility of achieving a complete closure of the wall opening with slight headroom is provided by the guide rail assembly disclosed in DE 101 01 560 A1. In this guide rail assembly, a second horizontal guide rail segment is arranged above the horizontal guide rail segment in the direction of gravity. This second horizontal guide rail segment only guides the upper door body element and it is located in the lintel area. The guide element arranged at the upper edge of the upper door body element is situated in the second horizontal guide rail segment in the closed position of the door body, so that the lower edge of the upper door body element is situated in the same plane as the door body element beneath it. However, this guide rail assembly, also known as a low headroom fitting, requires two horizontal guide rail segments and is thus cumbersome in its assembly and produces additional costs.
In many instances, the lower door body element in the open position protrudes into the clear wall opening. This may be due, for example, to the fact that, as just mentioned, the arc-shaped guide rail segment is arranged at least partly in the clear wall opening and the length of the horizontal guide rail segment is shorter than the height of the door body. Yet this arrangement may also be due to the fact that the traction means assembly designed to lift the sectional door from the closed position to the open position cannot lift the lower door body element entirely into the horizontal plane. Such a traction means assembly generally consists of a traction means, such as one in the form of a traction cable or a traction chain, being connected at its one end to the lower edge of the lower door body element, and its other end is coupled across guide and/or deflection rollers to a traction mechanism. The guide and/or deflection rollers are generally situated at a distance from the lintel that is less than the radius of the arc-shaped guide rail segment. When the lower edge of the lower door body element in the course of the opening movement reaches the arc-shaped guide rail segment, it ends up in a position in which the traction means coupled to the lower edge and thus also the direction of the traction force runs perpendicular to the arc-shaped guide rail segment. The lower edge has then reached its end position during the opening movement, because no further movement of the lower edge of the door body element in the opening direction can be accomplished with the aid of the traction means and the traction force exerted by it on the lower edge. The lower edge of the lower door body element in this layout is situated in its end position in the arc-shaped guide rail segment and blocks a region of the clear wall opening. Yet a protruding of the door body into the clear wall opening may also be intentional, in order to decrease the breakaway torque needed to initiate the opening movement, but also in this case an unwanted reduction of the clear wall opening must be accepted.
To solve this problem, Fr 2 694 331 A1 discloses a second vertical guide rail segment, which leads into the lintel area in order to lead the guide element fastened to the lower edge of the lower guide rail segment into the lintel area. In this way, the clear wall opening is optimally freed up. But since the lower door body element is moved toward the horizontal plane, this design requires a larger breakaway torque to initiate the closing movement.
A further solution to this problem is provided by the sectional door disclosed in EP 1 467 052 A1. In the sectional door disclosed in this document, the lower edge of the lower door body element is hinged to a guide element on each side. A traction means is fastened to the guide element on a side facing toward the space being closed. Each of these guide elements comprises two rollers, which are led in the guide rails. To move the door body from the closed position to the open position, the traction means pulls the door body upward. Upon reaching the open position, the guide rollers are situated in the arc-shaped guide rail segment. Because of the hinged connection between the guide element and the lower edge of the lower door body element, this lower edge is tilted downward in the direction of gravity in the open position. Thanks to the interaction of the traction means and the guide element hinged to the lower door body element, the lower edge of the lower door body element can be lifted up especially far. However, since the lower edge of the lower door body element is tilted downward in this design, the clear wall opening is not optimally freed up.
Doors according to the preamble of patent claim 1, in which a lower edge of the door body in the closed position and trailing during the lifting can be lifted separately, at least when the door reaches the open position, by a pivoting movement of a lower door body element having said edge in a lifting direction with respect to a door body element situated above it in the closed position and relative to the predetermined path, i.e., it is not lowered as in the doors of EP467052 A1, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,023,664, 1,990,470, WO2004/099542 A1 and EP 1630336 A1. In these known doors, the guide roller situated in the area of the lower region of the lower door body element is linked by a lever assembly to the lower door body element. This lever assembly allows for the lifting of the lower edge of the lower door body element relative to the guide roller linked there by the lever assembly, so as to entirely free up the clear wall opening. In the doors described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,023,664 and 1,990,470, a traction means mediating the opening movement is coupled directly to the lower edge of the lower door body element, while this traction means is coupled to the lever assembly in doors according to WO 2004/099542 A1 and EP 1630336 A1, it being assured thanks to the position of the linkage point of the lever assembly on the lower door body element possibly in combination with additional guide rollers that the lower edge of the door body element is swiveled separately in a lifting direction when the guide roller coupled to the lever assembly has reached the arc-shaped guide rail section.
Thanks to the separate lifting of the trailing edge of the door body during the opening movement upon reaching the open position, the clear wall opening in the open position can be freed up more than in the case of traditional sectional doors. The lower edge of the door body then protrudes less into the clear wall opening than is the case with traditional sectional doors. The free clearance height of the wall opening in the open position of the door body is increased in this way.
Although the clear height of the wall opening can be better utilized in the doors just described, it has been found that these doors are subject to increased wear and tear during their long-term operation.
In view of this problem in the prior art, the problem which the invention proposes to solve is to indicate doors with which both the free clearance height of the wall opening can be well utilized and a trouble-free long-term operation is assured.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by a modification of the known doors, being substantially characterized by a limiting device which limits the pivoting movement of the lower door body element in the lifting direction at least along a segment of the predetermined path.
This invention is based on the discovery that an additional degree of freedom of movement is introduced by the desired pivoting movement of the lower edge of the door body in the lifting direction upon reaching the open position, which may be disruptive and intensify the wear during other phases of the door body movement. When the door is closed, the pivoting movement of the lower door body element in the lifting direction would cause a swinging out of the lower door body element relative to the door body element located above it into the space located in front of the door body. This swinging out may result in an abrasive abutment of the lower edge of the lower door body element against the side seals, normally situated in the area of the side edges, during the course of the opening movement, which results in increased wear on the side seals. The additional degree of freedom may furthermore result in uncontrolled pivoting movements of the lower edge of the lower door body element, increasing the wear on the hinged joints between the door body elements. This can be prevented according to the invention by use of the limiting device. In this way, the wear on the doors according to the invention is also reduced when these doors are outfitted to make possible a better utilization of the clear wall opening.
The limiting device according to the invention may be designed such that it is active not only in the region of the vertical guide rail section and the first part of the arc-shaped guide rail section, but also where a lifting of the lower edge of the lower door body element is desired, i.e., in the region of the end portion of the arc-shaped guide rail section bordering on the horizontal guide rail section. In this area, the limiting device according to the invention can prevent the lower edge of the lower door body element from knocking against the deflection roller or the deflection sprocket for the traction means. This also improves the operating reliability of doors according to the invention.
In the following, the door body element which is the leading element during the opening movement or the trailing element during the closing movement shall be called the "upper door body element". The door body element which is the trailing element during the opening movement or the leading element during the closing movement shall be called the "lower door body element". If further door body elements are arranged between the upper and the lower door body element, these shall be called the "intermediate elements".
In a sectional door according to the invention, the lower edge of the lower door body element upon reaching the open position does not follow the predetermined path described by at least one of the intermediate elements in moving from the closed position to the open position, but instead the lower edge of the lower door body element upon reaching the open position is separately liftable as compared to the door body elements situated above it. Thus, the lower door body element can be moved in the direction of the plane in which the intermediate elements are situated. This plane is situated overhead. This plane may be roughly parallel to the horizontal plane. The lower door body element in the open position may be situated entirely in the plane of the intermediate elements, and thus it may lie entirely in the lintel area. In this way, the clear wall opening is entirely freed up. Yet the lower edge of the lower door body element may also block a region of the clear wall opening.
Moreover, the breakaway torque needed to initiate the closing movement may be generated by the separately liftable edge. In the open position of the door body, the separately liftable edge of the lower door body element is lifted further as compared to the lower edge of a traditional sectional door. This additional potential energy is transformed into additional kinetic energy upon moving to the closed position, which can facilitate and/or enable the initiating of the closing movement.
In one embodiment of the invention, the door comprises a first pretensioning device forcing the separately liftable edge of the lower door body element into the predetermined path upon moving from the open position to the closed position. In this way, a controlled movement of the door body can be achieved when moving from the open position to the closed position along the predetermined path. Moreover, the first pretensioning device can contribute to generating the breakaway torque needed to initiate the closing movement, since it forces the lower edge of the door body in the direction of the predetermined path. The first pretensioning device may be arranged at the lower edge of the lower door body element. Yet it may also be arranged at another point of the sectional door.
Another embodiment of the door according to the invention is characterized in that a second pretensioning device opposes a movement of the separately liftable edge in a direction orthogonal to the door body plane in the closed position of the door body. The second pretensioning device may be the same as the first pretensioning device. Yet it may also be different from the first pretensioning device. The second pretensioning device may be arranged at the lower edge of the lower door body element. Yet it may also be arranged at another area of the sectional door body. Thanks to the second pretensioning device, a satisfactory closure of the lower region of the clear wall opening can be achieved. In particular, the second pretensioning device can act counter to a forceful movement of the lower edge of the lower door body element in a direction orthogonal to the door body plane, thus preventing the formation of a gap between the door body element and the wall. This can improve the security against breaking into the space closed by the sectional door. In addition, a movement of the lower door body element in a direction perpendicular to the wall opening, caused by wind for example, and the associated noise production can be additionally prevented.
In this embodiment of the invention, it is not absolutely necessary for the limiting device to be active already in the closed position of the door body. It is enough for limiting devices to be active in an upper region of the vertical guide rail section and/or only active in a region of the arc-shaped guide rail section facing toward the vertical guide segment.
As already mentioned above, a door according to the invention can be led by a guide rail assembly along the predetermined path. The guide rail assembly may comprise two guide rails arranged at opposite edges of the door body, and each guide rail may comprise respectively at least one vertical guide rail segment running roughly parallel to the direction of gravity, at least one guide rail segment running overhead, preferably roughly in the horizontal direction, and at least one arc-shaped guide rail segment joining together the vertical and the overhead guide rail segment. The overhead guide rail segment and the arc-shaped guide rail segment may be separate from each other. Yet the overhead guide rail segment and the arc-shaped guide rail segment may also be formed as a single piece. The overhead guide rail segment may be oriented roughly horizontal. Yet it can also make an angle α>0 with the horizontal. Such a guide rail assembly is especially suitable when the space being closed with the door body has a large height, but a slight depth.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the door body can be led along the predetermined path by an interaction of the guide rail assembly with the guide elements arranged on the door body. The guide elements may comprise rollers. Two guide elements may be arranged on each door body element. Yet more than two guide elements may be arranged on a door body element. The guide elements may be arranged at mutually opposite side edges of a door body element. According to the invention, the guide elements may be arranged in the area of the upper edge of a door body element. Yet they may also be arranged in the area of the lower edge of the door body element, or in any other area at the side edges of the door body elements.
In a sectional door according to the invention, at least one guide element may be arranged at the lower edge of the door body element having the separately liftable edge, on each of its sides facing toward a guide rail. In this way, the door body can be led especially reliably in the predetermined path. Additional guide elements can be arranged at the upper edge of the door body element. This can further improve the guidance of the door body along the predetermined path.
In a further embodiment of the invention, the liftable edge of the door body element in the open position is spaced further away from a guide element situated on this door body element in a direction running perpendicular to it than in the closed position and it is raised upward relative to the guide element. Since the guide element is situated in the guide rail assembly, the lower edge of the door body may thus be arranged above the guide rail assembly. In the event that the guide element arranged on the lower door body element is situated in the arc-shaped guide rail segment, the lower edge of the lower door body element can be lifted upward relative to the arc-shaped guide rail segment in the open position.
A further embodiment of a sectional door according to the invention is characterized in that the separate liftable door body element is connected, by means of a lever assembly making possible a changing of the distance between at least one guide element arranged on this door body element and the door body element, to the guide element. The lever assembly allows a lifting of the lower edge of the door body and a replacement of the edge in a position in which the distance between the guide element and the door body element is minimal.
The lever assembly may have a mount arranged on the door body element. A pivoting lever of the lever assembly may be connected pivotably to the mount. The pivoting lever may be connected to a guide element situated on this door body element relative to a pivot axis.
The mount may have a mounting base extending substantially parallel to the plane of the door body element. The mounting base may be connected to the door body element. This connection may occur by a screw connection, for example. Further, the mount may have a first and a second mounting side wall, extending upward from the mounting base orthogonally to it and running roughly in the direction of gravity in the closed position. The mount can be made of metal, for example. The mount side walls and the mounting base may be formed as a single piece.
The mount may receive the pivoting lever. The pivoting lever may be fastened to the mount side walls. The fastening may occur by a shaft running roughly perpendicular to and between the mount side walls. The shaft may be supported in recesses or openings in the mount side walls. The shaft may be rotatably supported.
The pivoting lever coupled in swiveling manner with the mount by means of the shaft may extend from the shaft to the lower edge of the door body element. The pivoting lever may comprise a pivoting lever base and pivoting lever side walls. The pivoting lever base may lie against the mounting base in a state in which the pivoting lever is entirely received in the mount. The pivoting lever base may then run parallel to the mounting base. The pivoting lever side walls may extend orthogonally from the pivoting lever base and extend in a direction connecting the upper and the lower edge of the door body element.
The pivoting lever may be connected to the shaft by means of the pivoting lever side walls in the area of a first end. The second end of the pivoting lever, opposite the first end of the pivoting lever, may be connected to a guide element. In the case when the guide element is a roller, the axis of the roller may be arranged in a tubular section arranged at the second end of the pivoting lever.
The function of the lever assembly is as follows: in a guiding position, the mounting base and the pivoting lever base lie against each other. The guide element is then situated adjacent to the lower edge of the lower door body element. The lower edge of the lower door body element is then led in the path predetermined by the guide rails. When the door body moves from the closed position to the open position, the pivoting lever base can be moved into a pivot position by a swiveling of the pivoting lever relative to the mount, as long as this is permitted by the limiting device. In the pivot position, the lower edge of the lower door body element is moved away from the guide element. The lower edge of the lower door body element is then spaced apart from the guide element. Thanks to the configuration of the mount and the pivoting lever, the lower edge of the door body can only be lifted upward in relation to the guide element. A downward lowering is not possible. If the door body is moved back from the open position to the closed position, the lower edge of the lower door body element will be moved back from the pivot position to the guiding position by a swiveling of the pivoting lever relative to the mount. The lower edge of the lower door body element can then be led back along the predetermined path to the closed position.
In another embodiment of the invention, the first and/or the second pretensioning device by interacting with the lever assembly can force the separate liftable edge of the door body element into the predetermined path during the movement to the closed position and/or force it into a position completely closing the wall opening in the closed position. If the door body element having the separate liftable edge is forced into the predetermined path by an interaction of the first pretensioning device and the lever assembly during the movement to the closed position, the door body can be moved especially reliably from the open position to the closed position. Moreover, this interaction of the first pretensioning device with the lever assembly can contribute to generating the breakaway torque needed to initiate the closing movement. Further, noise production can be suppressed, which is caused by the fact that the lower edge of the door body can move somewhat orthogonally to the predetermined path. Thanks to the interaction of the second pretensioning element with the lever assembly, the lower door body element can be forced into a position entirely closing the wall opening in the closed position. This can achieve an especially secure closure of the space closed by the door body. Furthermore, noise production due to a lower edge of the door body element moving back and forth for example by air pressure orthogonally to the vertical plane can be prevented. This may also be accomplished when the limiting device is not active in the closed position. The first pretensioning device and the second pretensioning device may be identical or different from each other.
In one embodiment of the invention, the first and/or the second pretensioning device may comprise a spring element. The first and/or the second pretensioning device may comprise a torsion spring. The lower edge of the lower door body element may be forced by a spring force into the predetermined path during the movement into the closed position. In the closed position, the lower edge of the door body may be forced by the spring force into a position completely closing the wall opening. The torsion spring may be mounted on the shaft of the articulation assembly. The torsion spring may comprise three legs. The first and the third legs may be formed at the opposite ends of the cylindrically shaped torsion spring. The second leg may be formed roughly in the middle between the first and the second leg. The first and the third leg may lie against the pivoting lever. The legs may lie against the pivoting lever base. The second leg may lie against the mount. The second leg may lie against the mounting base. The second leg may be U-shaped. Thanks to such an arrangement, the lower edge of the lower door body element can be forced especially reliably into the predetermined path upon moving from the open position to the closed position and be forced into a position entirely closing the wall opening in the closed position.
In another embodiment of the invention, a traction means lifting the door body from the closed position to the open position can be connected at its one end to the lower edge of the door body and can be coupled at its other end to a weight equalizing device, and the traction means can oppose the first pretensioning device.
The traction means can be a chain or a cable, for example. The traction means in the closed position of the door body may extend upward in the vertical direction, starting from the lower edge of the door body. If the weight equalizing device, such as a torsion spring assembly, is situated in the region of the end of the horizontal guide rail section facing away from the arc-shaped guide rail section, the traction means may be deflected by a deflection element situated in the area of the lintel and extend from the deflection element roughly in the horizontal direction or parallel to the overhead guide rail section as far as the weight equalizing device. The deflection element may be a chain sprocket and the traction means may be formed as a chain in a first region, facing toward the lower edge of the door body. In a second region, facing toward the weight equalizing unit, the traction means can be formed as a cable. The traction means can be made of metal.
In doors according to the invention it is possible to mount a deflection element, for example one designed as a chain sprocket, in the vicinity of the lintel and to fasten it for example to the frame supporting the vertical guide segment and/or to the wall having the wall opening. This enables a stable fastening of the deflection element in the area of structural elements which are present any way, or the wall. This arrangement is possible without impairing the clearance height in the case of doors according to the invention, since the lower edge of the lower door body element can be lifted separately and this pivoting movement in the lifting direction is not impaired by the guide roller mounted in the area of the lower edge, as is the case with traditional doors. In these doors, the traction force of the traction means works, as explained above, perpendicular to the arc-shaped guide rail segment if the deflection element is arranged in the vicinity of the wall opening. Then a continuation of the opening movement is no longer possible.
The weight equalizing device serves to make the opening movement easier by forcing the door body toward the open position, at least in the closed position. The weight equalizing device may also prevent an uncontrolled closing movement, thereby obeying relevant safety precautions. The weight equalizing device may comprise a mechanical spring, such as a tension spring or a torsion spring, which engages with the door body via the traction means. The weight equalizing device is usually tensioned by means of the weight of the door body under the action of gravity, usually during the closing movement of the door body. The opening movement is then assisted with the spring tension so created.
In the following, the movement of the door body of a sectional door from the closed position to the open position shall be described, the door body being lifted by the traction means. The traction means engages with the lower edge of the door body in order not to excessively strain the hinged connections of the door body elements in the course of the opening movement. Instead, it is possible with this arrangement for the individual door sections to be braced against each other during the opening and closing movement and to be supported overall by the traction means fastened to the lower edge of the door body. The traction means is led across deflection rollers so that during the entire opening movement of the door body a force acts on the lower edge of the lower door body element that is oriented upward, roughly parallel to the direction of gravity. In the closed position of the door body, the lower edge of the lower door body element is forced into a position entirely closing the wall opening by an interplay of the lever or articulation assembly and the second pretensioning element (which may be identical to the first pretensioning device). The lower edge of the lower door body element is situated near the guide element arranged on this door body element. The guide element may be fashioned as a roller, for example. The guide element is arranged in the guide rail assembly and is led by it.
The door body element is now lifted upward by the traction means. The guide element arranged at the lower edge of the lower door body element moves on account of the constrained guidance by the vertical guide rail segment roughly upward in the vertical direction. Due to the interplay of the first pretensioning element, such as a torsion spring, and the articulation assembly, the lower edge of the lower door body element also follows the path of the guide element. The lower edge of the lower door body element and the guide element together follow this vertical path until such time as the guide element enters the arc-shaped guide rail segment. Due to the constrained guidance by the arc-shaped guide rail segment, the guide element continues to follow the arc-shaped path of the guide rail assembly. However, the traction force of the traction means continues to act on the lower edge of the lower door body element roughly upward and parallel to the direction of gravity. Since the lever or articulation assembly allows a swiveling of the lower edge of the lower door body element upward relative to the guide element, the lower edge of the lower door body element is consequently lifted upward at once and/or as much as this is possible due to the limiting device. The lower edge of the lower door body element is then spaced away from the guide element in the vertical direction. The clear wall opening is further freed up in this way. The upper door body element and the intermediate elements in this condition are situated in an overhead position predetermined by the overhead guide rail segment.
This opening movement may occur under the assistance of the pretensioned weight equalizing device. The traction means may work against the first pretensioning device, possibly assisted by the weight equalizing device, when lifting the door body. The pretensioning device can be pretensioned by the traction force of the traction means. This pretensioning force may contribute to creating the breakaway torque needed to initiate the closing movement, thereby making possible and/or assisting the movement of the door body from the open to the closed position.
In addition to the overhead guide rail segment, a second guide rail segment can be arranged above the first overhead guide rail segment. This second overhead guide rail segment may receive at least guide elements such as guide rollers at the upper edge of the upper door body element. In this way, the headroom can be further reduced. While in the open position of the door body at least the intermediate elements lie roughly in the same plane, the lower door body element is tilted with respect to this plane. The lower door body element makes an acute angle β with the plane of the intermediate elements. In a traditional sectional door without separately liftable edge, the lower door body element lies in a plane subtended by the upper edge of the lower door body element and the guide element arranged in the arc-shaped guide rail segment. In a sectional door according to the invention with a separately liftable edge, the lower edge of the door body is moved upward relative to the guide element. This decreases the acute angle β made by the lower door body element with the plane of the intermediate elements. Thus, the clear wall opening is further freed up.
The limiting device provided according to the invention may be especially compact in design if it has limiting elements which are carried along by the door body in the course of the door body movement. In this case, it is not absolutely necessary to provide a limiting device extending across the entire door body in the area of the wall opening.
In this regard, it has proven to be especially expedient when the traction means, such as a roller chain, is coupled to the lower edge of the door body by a coupling device arranged at the lower edge and able to pivot relative to a pivot axis running parallel to the articulation axes, the pivot axis being situated beneath the lever axis in the closed position, relative to which the pivoting lever with the guide roller can swivel in relation to the lower edge of the lower door body element. The pivotable mounting of the coupling device makes it possible to swivel this, under the tractive action of the traction means upon reaching the open position, in a direction opposite to the lifting direction relative to the lower door body element, so that the hinge point of the traction means on the coupling device is swiveled upward relative to the lower edge of the lower door body element upon reaching the open position. Thus, both the lower edge of the lower door body element is swiveled upward in the lifting direction relative to the door body element situated on top of it in the closed position, and the coupling device is swiveled upward in a direction opposite the lifting direction. In this place, it is pointed out that the pivoting lever, during a pivoting movement of the lower edge of the lower door body element relative to the door body element situated on top of it in the closed position in the lifting direction relative to the lever axis, is swiveled in a direction opposite the lifting direction or in an opposite direction of rotation.
Utilizing this kinematics, the limiting device may have an especially compact design if it comprises a limiting element coordinated with the coupling device and able to pivot with it relative to the pivot axis and a limiting element coordinated with the lever assembly and able to pivot with it relative to the lever axis. The region in which the limiting device is active can be individually adjusted by the distance between the lever axis and the pivot axis on the one hand and the disposition of the limiting elements on the other hand.
In the mentioned compact design of the limiting device, one of the limiting elements may comprise a limiting link at least partly embracing the lever axis and/or the pivot axis, while the other limiting element is designed as an end stop element abutting against the limiting link during a pivoting movement of the lower door body element in the lifting direction.
The limiting link may comprise a collar extending transversely from a bracket of the coupling device that runs roughly perpendicular to the articulation axes, especially roughly perpendicular to this, while the end stop element can be mounted on the pivoting lever and comes to bear against the limiting surface of the limiting link facing toward the pivot axis during the pivoting movement of the lower door body element in the lifting direction or during a pivoting movement of the pivoting lever relative to the lever axis in a direction opposite the lifting direction.
In order to monitor the functional ability of the doors according to the invention and with a view to securing the doors in event of damage to the traction means and/or a weight equalizing device, there is generally provided a so-called slack cable protection, by which the tension of the traction means coupled to the lower edge of the door body is monitored and upon falling below a predetermined minimum tension an appropriate intervention in the control system of the door body movement is triggered. In doors according to the invention, a corresponding slack cable sensor can be provided on the side of the limiting link facing toward the pivot axis. A cable serving for relaying the signal of the sensor to a control device can be fixed on the side of the limiting link facing away from the pivot axis. For this, the limiting link itself may be outfitted with appropriate hooks or the like, which can be used to clamp the cable. In addition or alternatively to this, a cable guide element, especially one made of plastic, can be fixed on the side of the limiting link facing away from the pivot axis, with which the signal cable can be held in order to prevent a clamping of the signal cable during the pivoting movement of the coupling device.
The limiting device serves primarily for limiting an uncontrolled and unwanted movement of the lower edge of the lower door body element relative to the door body element situated above it in the closed position or relative to the guide rail assembly before reaching the open position. But it should also make possible the desired pivoting movement of the lower door body edge in the lifting direction upon reaching the open position.
For this reason, it is preferably provided according to the invention that the end stop element is released in the course of the opening movement of the door body not later than upon reaching the open position by the limiting link. Accordingly, the limiting link encircles the pivot axis or the lever axis only partly, so that the pivoting movement of the limiting link in the course of the opening movement results in a releasing of the end stop element. In this way, the radial spacing of the limiting link from the pivot axis can be increased in a circumferential direction of the pivoting link relative to the pivot axis opposite the lifting direction. It can also be accomplished in this way that the pivoting link forms an inlet funnel, facilitating the correct abutment of the end stop element against the pivoting link in the course of the closing movement of the door body.
Once the end stop element is freed up by the pivoting link, the lower edge of the lower door body element can be pivoted upward freely with no further measures in the lifting direction. This produces the risk that the lower edge of the lower door body element might knock against the deflection element for the traction means possibly situated in the lintel area of the wall opening in the course of the pivoting movement in the lifting direction. This unwanted knocking can be prevented if the limiting device has a fixed guide surface interacting with a limiting element arranged at the lower edge of the door body upon reaching the open position, such as a guide roller which can turn about an axis of rotation running parallel to the articulation axes. This fixed guide surface can be arranged on the wall comprising the wall opening and can extend upward at a slant in the upper region of the wall opening, especially in the region of the arc-shaped guide rail section.
As already mentioned above, traditional doors can have a thrusting device situated at the end of the horizontal or overhead guide rail segment facing away from the arc-shaped guide rail segment and able to be placed in the opening movement against the leading edge of the door body during an opening movement. Such a thrusting device may also be used in the context of the invention to force the guide element arranged at the lower edge of the door body in the open position against the guide surface.
In doors according to the invention, a complete freeing up of the clear height of the building opening can also be achieved if the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped guide rail segment is especially large in order to reduce the polygon acceleration occurring when the door body elements pass through the arc-shaped guide rail segment. In the context of the invention, it has proven to be especially expedient for the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped guide rail segment at an inner guide surface thereof to be 400 mm or more, preferably 420 mm or more, especially preferably 450 mm or more, in particular 500 mm or more. In this case, the guide rail assembly of a door according to the invention may comprise supplemental rails interacting with leading guide means situated in the area of the leading edge of the leading door body element during the opening movement in order to ensure a complete closure of the wall opening in the closed position, for the reasons mentioned in connection with traditional doors, having a third straight segment above the second straight segment and roughly parallel to it. The inner radius of the arc-shaped, especially circular arc-shaped segment in the sense of an optimizing of the leverage ratio of the lever assembly can be less than 800 mm, preferably less than 700 mm, especially 600 mm or less.
Of course, the polygon accelerations occurring during the opening and closing movement depend not only on the inner radius of the arc-shaped guide rail segment, but also on the height of the individual door body elements. In the sense of optimizing the polygon acceleration on the one hand and the number of door body elements required for a given height of building opening on the other hand, it has proven to be expedient for the ratio of the inner radius to the height of at least one door body element in a direction running parallel to its side edges and perpendicular to the articulation axes to be 0.6 or more, preferably 0.65 or more, especially preferably around 0.68 or 0.8 or less, preferably 0.75 or less, especially preferably 0.7 or less. It has been found that, when the ratio of the inner radius and the height of the individual door body elements is increased beyond a value of 0.6-0.7, only a slight reduction in the polygon accelerations is observed at constant speed of movement of the door body. The height of the door section here refers to the height of the visible surface of an individual door section in the closed position in the mounted state. If door sections are used with finger protection profiles at the upper and lower edges, such as are described in EP 370376 A, the height of a protrusion in the area of the upper door section edge, situated in the closed position in a recess at the lower edge of the panel located on top of it, will not be counted when determining the door section height. The door section height then may also be determined such that the height is measured between the upper vertex of the recess receiving the mount on the lower edge of the door section and the upper vertex of the protrusion. Accordingly, the door section height in the case of a door section arranged between two door sections in the closed position means the vertical distance between the articulation axes associated with this door section in the closed position.

Lower door section having a folding roller bracket


A method of fabricating a heat sink, including the steps of providing a base plate having a plurality of grooves therein, providing a plurality of blanks each having bell-bottom shaped foot portions on opposite sides thereof, separating each blank into a pair of mirror image heat fin portions, each of the heat fin portions having one of the bell-bottom shaped foot portions and a plurality of tongues projecting therefrom, positioning the heat sink fin portions with the bell-bottom shaped foot portions in respective ones of the grooves of the base plate, and swaging the bell-bottom shaped foot portions into the grooves, thereby creating the heat sink with the tongues projecting from the base plate.

Air cooled heat sinks are known in the art for dissipating heat from electronic components. One variety of such heat sinks comprises a block of heat conductive metal (e.g. aluminum) on one side of which heat generating electronic components are connected, and on an opposite side of which are provided a plurality of rectangular fins which create a large heat exchange surface for dissipating heat to the ambient air.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,884,331 and 4,879,891 (both assigned to Thermaloy Incorporated) show such a prior art heatsink designs. These patents teach the ratio of height of the fins to the width of the grooves therebetween may be increased by sawing the grooves with an appropriate sawing device to provide gang sawing of all of the grooves simultaneously.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,406,698 (Lipinski) discloses a method and apparatus for fabricating heat sinks wherein a block of aluminum is extruded with a plurality of grooves and a plurality of fins having bell-bottom shaped foot portions are swaged into the grooves.
Wire fin and pin fin heat sinks are also known in the art in accordance with which serpentine wires, square fins and cylindrical pins, replace the rectangular fins discussed above. The increased air circulation around these heat exchange surfaces results in greater heat dissipating efficiency than prior art rectangular fin heat sinks.
A method for manufacturing a multiple pin heat sink is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,450 (Jacoby) in which a dye member is utilised for forming the pin elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,748 (Dagan) also discloses a pin fin heat sink comprising a base with an array of tubular pins extending outwardly therefrom. The pins are engaged with apertures recessed into the base by means of an expansion member (e.g. ball bearing) positioned within a tubular portion of each pin, wherein the expansion member causes the wall of the pin to deform outwardly to clampingly engage the pin within the aperture.
It is also known in the art to create pin-fin style heat sinks using fins cut or stamped to form a plurality of pin-like fingers.
For example, U.S. Pat. No., 5,421,406 (Furusawa et al) discloses fabrication of "comb-like" pin fins for use in a heat sink. The fins are stamped or blanked out from a metal sheet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,051 (Ozeki) also teaches "comb-like" pin fins for use in a heat sink. According to this patent, the fins are stamped out to form slits.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,381,859 (Minakami et al) also discloses fabrication of a plurality of fins which are stamped out to form slits which may be rotated relative to adjacent heat sink fin elements so as to form a three dimensional matrix of pin fins.


An IP broadcast transmitting device comprises means for acquiring and collecting channel tuning information and program-related information from broadcast signals of each broadcasting station from which the broadcast signals are distributed, means for updating and managing the information, means for distributing the information independently from IP multicast-distributions of the broadcast signals, and means for distributing a service area tuning list with IP multicast-distribution information of the broadcast signals and distribution positions of the channel tuning information and the program-related information of the broadcast signals described therein.

1. Field
This invention relates to a retransmission method for a digital broadcast and its broadcast receiving device. More specifically, the present invention relates to, for example, a retransmission method for a digital broadcast and its receiving device which are capable of reducing a burden of an edge router in broadcasting an Internet protocol (IP) broadcast.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a so-called IP broadcast employing an IP multicast distribution technology has started in a communication network. The IP broadcast utilizes transmission information such as a multicast address to transmit broadcast signals. A receiver acquires the transmission information corresponding to a broadcast channel in advance and tunes a desired program by notifying a multicast address assigned to the desired program to an edge router on a transmission side via a higher order router to be connected. An Internet group management protocol (IGMP) is used for an IP v4, and a Multi Listener Discovery (MLD) is used for an IP v6 as protocols, respectively.
In the IP broadcast, a retransmission of a terrestrial digital broadcast will also be supposed in future years. A digital broadcast generally performs a multiplex transmission of channel tuning information and program-related information as a broadcast signal in a form of a Transport Stream (TS) defined by MPEG-2 systems together with a video/audio signal of a program. An encoding transmission system of the channel tuning information and the program-related information is defined by ARIB-STD B10 etc. and composed of a variety of types of information tables also referred to as Service Information (SI).
More specifically, the channel tuning information with the transmission frequency, etc., described therein is described in each table of a network information table (NIT), a broadcaster information table (BIT) and a service description table (SDT), and the event information is described in an event information table (EIT).
The receiver acquires these items of the information to utilize them to tune programs and to display program-related information such as an electronic program guide (EPG).
For the terrestrial digital broadcast, especially, each broadcasting station performs a multiplex transmission of only its own SI on its own broadcast signal. Therefore, the receiver sequentially channel-searches broadcasting channel frequencies capable of receiving within a service area, appropriately, for instance, after power supply of the receiver is turned on, to acquire and update the SI, such as the channel tuning information and the program-related information. In other words, the existence of a plurality of broadcasting stations that may be accessed within the service area makes the receiver scan the plurality of broadcasting channel frequencies to acquire the SI of each broadcast station. Here, it is defined that the search of an unknown channel is referred to as 'channel search' and the sequential changes in channel frequencies of known broadcasts are refereed to as 'channel scan'.
Incidentally, for the retransmission of the terrestrial digital broadcast by the use of the system of the IP broadcast, a transmission of a description part on a transmission frequency, etc., of the NIT by replacing it to the description on the IP multicast address, etc., at a retransmission side, like a trans-modulation in a CATV head-end is a possible approach.
However, if a large number of receivers to which the broadcast signals are distributed intend to perform channel scanning in order to acquire and update the SI like an ordinary reception of the broadcast signals being on the air (broadcasted), frequent channel-change requests may occur to the edge router on the transmission side. The higher the number of the receivers to which the broadcast signals are distributed, the higher the treatment burden of the edge router is. And when the burden exceeds a processing capability, the whole distribution system probably fails.
To countermeasure the failure, for instance, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publishing No. 2005-38340 discloses a method for describing version numbers of other broadcasting stations in broadcast signals from each terrestrial broadcasting station to broadcast them by changing the SI transmission operation of the current terrestrial broadcast and for performing the multicast transmission of the SI by all stations via a communication network. However, it is not easy for this publicly-known example to change the current broadcasting operations from the aspect of interference on existing broadcast receiver and it is needed for each terrestrial broadcast station to modify facilities for both broadcast and communication, so that this publicly-known method is extremely hard to be realized.
According to one aspect of this invention, an object of the present invention is to provide a method and a device which is capable of performing the retransmission of the digital broadcast signals through the IP broadcast and capable of operating smoothly and simply on both transmission and reception sides without having to change the operations and facilities for the current terrestrial broadcast.

Retransmission method for digital broadcast and its broadcast receiving device


Premature termination codons readthrough compounds, composition thereof, and methods of making and using the same are provided.

Large numbers of genetic disorders are caused by nonsense mutations for which compound-induced readthrough of premature termination codons (PTCs) might be exploited as a potential treatment strategy. We have successfully developed a sensitive and quantitative high-throughput screening (HTS) assay, protein transcription/translation (PTT)-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), for identifying novel. PTC-readthrough compounds using ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) as a genetic disease model. This HTS PTT-ELISA assay is based on a coupled PTT that uses plasmid templates containing prototypic A-T imitated (ATM) mutations for HTS. The assay is luciferase independent. We screened ˜34,000 compounds and identified 12 low-molecular-mass nonaminoglycosides with potential PTC-readthrough activity. From these, two leading compounds consistently induced functional ATM protein in ATM-deficient cells containing disease-causing nonsense mutations, as demonstrated by direct measurement of ATM protein, restored ATM kinase activity, and colony survival assays for cellular radiosensitivity. The two compounds also demonstrated readthrough activity in mdx mouse myotube cells carrying a natural nonsense mutation and induced significant amounts of dystrophin protein.
Translation termination is signaled by three stop codons: UAA, UAG, and UGA. This mechanism is highly conserved, although each stop codon has a different efficiency for terminating translation. UGA is considered to be a "leaky" stop codon with the highest intrinsic readthrough potential. UAA shows high fidelity and little intrinsic readthrough potential, whereas UAG has intermediate fidelity (see, e.g., Weiner and Weber, 1973, J. Mol. Biol. 80:837-855). Nonsense mutations create primary premature termination codons (PTCs) and result in either no formation of the target protein or truncated protein with impaired stability.
Certain compounds influence the fidelity of stop codon recognition and induce readthrough of primary PTCs, which allows translation of some full-length protein. In many cases, the readthrough-induced protein is functional, even when it contains a wrongly incorporated amino acid (Keeling and Bedwell, 2005, Current Pharmacogenomics. 3:259-269; Zingman et al., 2007, Clin. Pharmacol. Ther. 81:99-103).
It is estimated that 30% of human disease-causing alleles are nonsense mutations (Du et al., 2009, JEM, 206 (10): 2285). Other types of mutation, such as frameshift and splicing mutations, lead to secondary PTCs; however, these are not therapeutic targets for readthrough compounds (RTCs). Considering that >1,800 distinct genetic disorders are caused by nonsense mutations, the readthrough of primary PTCs has treatment potential for large numbers of patients.
To date, most reported PTC-RTCs that are active in mammalian cells have belonged to the aminoglycoside antibiotics class (Keeling and Bedwell, 2005; Zingman et al., 2007). Certain types of aminoglycosides can induce ribosomes to read through PTC mutations via insertion of a random amino acid by near-cognate transfer RNA. The therapeutic potential of aminoglycosides has been evaluated in the laboratory for different genetic models, such as cystic fibrosis (see, e.g., Du et al., 2002, J. Mol. Med. 80:595-604), muscular dystrophy (see, e.g., Loufrani et al., 2004, Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 24:671-676), Hurler syndrome (Keeling et al., 2001, Hum. Mol. Genet. 10:291-299), cystinosis (Helip-Wooley et al., 2002, Mol. Genet. Metab. 75:128-133), spinal muscular atrophy (Sossi et al., 2001, Eur. J. Hum. Genet. 9:113-120), ataxia-telangiectasia (Lai et al., 2004, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101:15676-15681), and type 1 Usher syndrome (Rebibo-Sabbah et al., 2007, Hum. Genet. 122:373-381). Clinical trials also indicate that aminoglycosides can induce some functional protein production; however, the therapeutic benefits remain uncertain (see, e.g., Politano et al., 2003, Acta Myol. 22:15-21). Furthermore, the toxicity of most commercial aminoglycosides in mammals has greatly diminished their potential for successful readthrough therapy (Mingeot-Leclercq and Tulkens, 1999, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 43:1003-1012; Guan et al., 2000, Hum. Mol. Genet. 9:1787-1793). Therefore, efforts are underway to develop better aminoglycoside derivatives with reduced toxicity and enhanced activity (Nudelman et al., 2006, Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 16:6310-6315; Rebibo-Sabbah et al., 2007, Hum. Genet. 122:373-381). Recently, PTC Therapeutics (South Plainfield, N.J.) described a more efficient nonaminoglycoside RTC, PTC124, which was developed synthetically by screening >800,000 chemicals and analogues using a luciferase-based high-throughput screening (HTS) assay (see, e.g., Welch et al., 2007, Nature. 447:87-91). A phase-I clinical study in cystic fibrosis confirmed that PTC124 is generally well tolerated and appears to have more efficient readthrough activity than aminoglycosides (Hirawat et al., 2007, J. Clin. Pharmacol. 47:430-444). Moreover, PTC 124 does not induce ribosomal readthrough of normal stop codons. A phase-II clinical trial is underway (Kerem et al., 2008, Lancet. 372:719-727). However, a recent study indicates that the initial discovery of PTC124 by HTS may have been biased by its direct effect on the FLuc (firefly luciferase) reporter used (Auld et al., 2009, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 106:3585-3590), indicating the importance of a luciferase-independent HTS assay for future drug screening.

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