A solid area and edges are detected from original data to be printed. An arbitrary raster of the solid area is shifted by a unit of dot-to-dot distance corresponding to a resolution having twice the dot density of the resolution of the original data, while preserving the data representing the edges so that the edges remain unchanged. Printing is performed on the basis of the above shifted data. The shifting of the dot data prevents the generation of mist and makes it possible to print a high-quality image at a high speed. Thus, the invention provides a printing method and apparatus capable of forming a high-quality image at a high speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing method for reducing the problems occurring when printing a high-resolution image using a resolution expanding technique or the like, and to a printing apparatus using such the printing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, various OA (office automation) devices such as personal computers, word processors, and personal information terminal devices have become very popular. A printing apparatus, usually called a printer, is widely used as a device for outputting information, given from such an OA device, onto a printing medium. With the increasing popularity of OA systems and devices, multimedia has become popular in various applications. As a result, it is often required that computers should deal with information including not only simple characters but also full color images. Such the changes in the environment surrounding the information systems and devices have increased the requirements for high operating speed and high image quality in printers.
One known technique for increasing the operation speed and the image quality of printers is to employ a multi-element print head on which a plurality of printing elements are disposed. It is known to increase the efficiency of driving the multi-element print head by grouping the printing elements into blocks.
The block driving technique will be described in further detail below referring to FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, reference symbols n1, n2, . . . , n16 denote relative positions of printing elements of a print head. In the case of a printer of the bubble-jet type (hereafter also referred to as a BJ printer) in which ink is heated by a heating element so that a bubble is generated in the ink thereby emitting an ink droplet, nozzles for emitting ink are disposed at positions denoted by these symbols n1 to n16. The nozzles n1 to n16 are aligned in a straight line so that they form a series of nozzles. A printing operation is performed while moving the series of nozzles in a horizontal direction shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, the positions n1 to n16 shown in FIG. 1 also correspond to the positions at which image elements are formed by ink droplets emitted by the nozzles.
In FIG. 1, a plurality of series of dots shown on the right side denote relative positions at which the nozzles are located as the print head travels, wherein reference numerals 1 to 16 shown at the top of the figure denote the positions of the series of nozzles.
Although the number of nozzles disposed on one head usually ranges from a few tens to a few hundreds, it is assumed here for convenience of explanation that the ink-jet print head has 16 nozzles.
In FIG. 1, the distance between adjacent vertical lines at equal intervals denotes the pitch of image dot elements. In this example, the printer is assumed to have a resolution of 360 dots per inch and thus have a dot pitch of about 71 .mu.m. In the present example, the print head is mounted on a printer so that the series of dot elements of the print head is slanted by certain degrees from the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the print head so that dots are printed exactly along a vertical line when the printing elements of the print head are driven in a time division fashion. In the time division driving technique, a plurality of printing elements are grouped into some blocks so that each block consists of a plurality of printing elements, and the printing operation is performed block by block at predetermined time intervals. Therefore, in the printing operation according to the time division driving technique, a driving signal is not applied to all printing elements at the same time. This prevents the driving voltage from dropping down to a level smaller than a lower limit, and also prevents the nozzles of the ink-jet printer from becoming short of ink, which would otherwise occur when ink was emitted from a great number of nozzles at the same time. If the time division driving technique is applied to a print head on which all printing elements or blocks are disposed in a line exactly oriented along the vertical direction, the printed image will be slanted by an amount corresponding to the time difference in the driving operation. To avoid the above problem, the orientation of the printing elements on the print head is slanted by an amount corresponding to the time difference in the driving operation so that each printing element emits an ink droplet at a position exactly located on a vertical line.
As shown in FIG. 1, the orientation of the series of nozzles on the print head is slanted so that the nozzle 5 (n5) is located at a position preceding the nozzle 1 (n1) wherein the distance measured in the horizontal direction between the nozzle 5 (n5) and the nozzle 1 (n1) is equal to the resolution pitch (the minimum dot-to-dot distance). While traveling over a printing medium, the above-described print head forms dots on the printing medium according to the print data thereby forming an image on the printing medium. For example, in the case where one line of dots is printed along a column denoted by the arrow in FIG. 1, the nozzle 1 is driven when the print head comes to a position denoted by reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1, and the nozzle 2 is driven when the print head comes to a position 2. The remaining nozzles 3 to 16 are driven in a similar manner thereby forming dots along a vertical line as shown in FIG. 1.
In the print head described above, the nozzle 1 (n1), nozzle 5 (n5), nozzle 9 (n9), and nozzle 13 (n13) are located so that they are apart from each other by an amount corresponding to one column and thus they are driven at the same time. This means these nozzles belong to the same block. Similarly, the nozzle 2 (n2), nozzle 6 (n6), nozzle 10 (n10), and nozzle 14 (n14) are grouped into another block, the nozzle 3 (n3), nozzle 7 (n7), nozzle 11 (n11), and nozzle 15 (n15) are grouped into still another block, and the nozzle 4 (n4), nozzle 8 (n8), nozzle 12 (n12), and nozzle 16 (n16) are grouped into the final block. In this example, the maximum number of nozzles which are driven at the same time is four, and a greater number of nozzles are never driven at the same time. In contrast, in the case of print heads which are not based on the time division technique, there is a possibility that all sixteen nozzles disposed on a print head are driven at the same time. Therefore, the time division driving technique leads to a great reduction in the capacity of the power source and thus a reduction in cost. Furthermore, in the present example, since printing elements are disposed across a plurality of columns (printing positions corresponding to the resolution pitch), it is easier to accurately control the target position at which an ink droplet arrives than in the case in which one column is printed during one driving cycle using a print head on which nozzles are disposed along a vertical line. Thus, a straight line along a column can be formed by controlling the driving timing of the printing elements present on the column and also by controlling the movement of the printing elements. This means that the slanted-nozzle print head offers a high-quality image.
One known technique for achieving high quality in a printed image is to form dots by driving each printing element in a PWM fashion using a multi-division driving pulse such as that shown in FIG. 2, in which the pulse width of the driving pulse is modulated according to the status of the print head. In the example of the multi-division pulse shown in FIG. 2, after a setup period P0, a pre-pulse P1 is applied so as to generate thermal energy within the range which does not lead to emission of ink. Following the pre-pulse P1, the pulse is turned off during a period P2 (off-period). After that, a main pulse P3 is applied thereby emitting an ink droplet. In the PWM driving technique, various parameters may be modulated for achieving the purpose. One way is to modulate the pre-pulse P1. Another way is to modulate the off-time P2 thereby control the time period during which the thermal energy given by the pre-pulse P1 diffuses over the ink. Otherwise, the main pulse P3 may be modulated so as to control the thermal energy for emitting the ink droplet. Either any single of these parameters or any combination of these parameters may be employed.
In the conventional techniques described above, however, there are conflicts between the techniques for achieving the high operating speed and those for achieving the high quality image.
For example, if the number of printing elements is increased twice so as to increase the printing speed twice, then it is required to increase the number of blocks since there is a limitation in the maximum number of nozzles which can be driven at the same time. If the driving frequency is set to 6 kHz, and if the number of blocks is 8, then a driving period of about 20 .mu.s can be assigned to each block. However, if there are 16 blocks, only 10 .mu.s can be assigned to a driving pulse for each block. On the other hand, if the driving frequency is increased twice so as to increase the operating speed, then the driving period becomes half the original period, and thus similar problems occur.
On the other hand, to improve image quality using the PWM technique, it is desirable that the time period assigned for emission of each ink droplet should be as long as possible so that the width of each driving pulse can be long enough. However, this requirement conflicts with the high speed requirement.
It is known in the recent art to achieve a resolution higher than that corresponding to the pitch of printing elements disposed on a print head thereby obtaining high image quality. Also in this technique of expanding the resolution, however, similar problems occur. For example, if the resolution is expanded from 360 dots per inch to 720 dots per inch, it is required to print twice the number of columns over the same printing range. As a result, the pulse width allowed to be assigned to each block decreases to half the original value. On the other hand, it is expected that multi-level printing techniques for modulating the dot size so as to obtain gradation will be important to achieve higher image quality. Also in the multi-level printing techniques, it is desirable that the driving pulse width should be as long as possible.
The technique for improving the image quality is not limited to that in which the pulse width for driving the print head is controlled, and there can be various other techniques for the same purpose. In any case, it is desirable to achieve both a high operating speed and high image quality. This is also true from the viewpoint of stable operation of the print head and the viewpoint of directly controlling the operation of the print head.
In one known technique to achieve both the high operating speed and the high image quality, the number of nozzles which are driven at the same time is increased while nozzles are grouped into blocks in such a manner that a plurality of successive nozzles belong to the same block thereby achieving high image quality in particular associated with the linearity along a column. An example of such a technique will be described in detail below referring to FIG. 3 in which the printing density along the scanning direction of the print head is expanded twice. Reference symbols and numerals are similar to those used in FIG. 1.
In the case where one line of dots is formed along a column denoted by the arrow in FIG. 3, nozzles n1 and n2 are driven when the print head comes to a position 1, and nozzles n3 and n4 are driven when the print head comes to a position 3. Similarly, the remaining couples of nozzles n5, n6, . . . , n16 are driven when the print head comes to positions 5, 7, . . . , 15, respectively so that one line of dots is formed along a vertical line as shown by solid circles in FIG. 3. In this print head, the nozzles n1, n2, n5, n6, n9, n10, n13, and n14 are required to be driven at the same time and thus these nozzles are grouped into the same block. Similarly, the nozzles n3, n4, n7, n8, n11, n12, n15, and n16 are grouped into the other same block so that they are driven at the same time. In this technique, the maximum number of nozzles which are driven at the same time is 8 and a greater number of nozzles are never driven at the same time. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the power source and thus reduce the required cost as opposed to the technique in which there is a possibility that all sixteen nozzles are driven at the same time. Although this technique requires the capacity of the power source twice as greater as that of the example shown in FIG. 1, all four dot elements at the upper part of the printing column are formed only by performing printing operations at positions 1 and 3 without having to perform printing operations at positions 2 and 4. In the example shown in FIG. 1, it is required to perform printing four times (when the head comes to the positions 1, 2, 3, and 4) during an operation from a column to an adjacent column. In contrast, in the example shown in FIG. 3, it is required to perform only two printing operations (at the positions 1 and 3). This allows the print head to spend a time twice longer to move from a column to the next column. If the same pulse width is employed in both examples shown in FIG. 1 and 3, the example shown in FIG. 3 can have a driving frequency twice higher than the example shown in FIG. 1. This means that it is possible to increase the number of dots printed per unit time by twice.
In the printing technique shown in FIG. 3, ink droplets are emitted from a plurality of adjacent nozzles at the same time, and therefore the arrival positions of the ink droplets deviate from the vertical printing column by an amount corresponding to the slant of the print head. For example, in the case of a print head having 128 nozzles capable of printing at a resolution of 160 dots per inch by emitting ink droplets through 8 successive nozzles at the same time, ink droplets are emitted every 16 nozzles, and thus the print head is slanted by about 3.5.degree.(=sin.sup.-1 1/16). This angle produces deviations of about 4 .mu.m (=71 .mu.m.times.sin 3.5.degree.) between adjacent nozzles in the direction across the columns. These deviations are so small that they are not perceptible to human eyes. Therefore, this technique can offer good linearity which is one of factors for achieving high image quality.
However, the printing technique described above have various problems arising from the simultaneous emission of ink through adjacent nozzles. One problem is that bubbling occurs in an incorrect manner, which results in generation of a great number of droplets having a diameter much smaller than that of usual droplets (such droplets having unusually small size are referred to as mist).
In particular, such incorrect bubbling tends to occur when data having a high duty ratio is printed successively. If mist is generated, dirty marks which are perceptible appear on a printing medium. This does not meet the requirement for high image quality.
The incorrect bubbling is due to the following causes.
1. Vibrations of the meniscus surface of nozzles PA0 2. Crosstalk between nozzles
After an ink droplet has been emitted once, if another ink droplet is emitted before a nozzle has been refilled completely with ink, the droplet will be emitted when the meniscus surface is at a position outside the nozzle, and thus incorrect bubbling occurs.
If the nozzles are not isolated in a proper fashion, ink emission is influenced by adjacent nozzles. The influence between adjacent nozzles associated with ink emission is here referred to as crosstalk. The influence between adjacent nozzles depends on whether ink is emitted from the adjacent nozzles at the same time or at different times. Incorrect bubbling tends to occur when adjacent nozzles are driven at the same time.
As can be seen from the above discussion, it is important to solve the problems of generation of mist to achieve high image quality.

Dot-data shifting of image data for use in printing


Systems and methods for locating one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) tags are provided. A phase difference of received information signals of illuminated RFID tags is utilized to locate the RFID tags. One or more exciters transmit interrogation signals to illuminate the RFID tags in which the exciters may have a plurality of antenna selectively configured to transmit through two or more antennas and to receive on one antenna. Multiple reads of the same RFID tag can also be performed to generate a probability model of the location of the RFID tag. An enhanced particle filter is applied to probability model to determine the exact location of the RFID.

This application relates to estimating location and tracking of passive or active sensors and in particular is related to using phased array antenna systems and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system to locate sensors and/or RFID tags.
An RFID system conventionally includes a set of stationary or mobile RFID tags typically manipulated by a reader/interrogator system. Each sensor may be passive or active, i.e., with or without a battery. In conventional systems, the reader and the RFID tags are generally required to be in close proximity so that the tags can operate in close proximity to the reader antenna.
The limited transmission distances available with conventional RFID systems limit their use in an automated factory setting and/or in an indoor wireless environment. Even within the designed range of operation, such systems often have low reliability due to interferences and collisions.
Typical RFID systems also are not designed to cover extremely large areas as multiple base stations are needed to provide sufficient coverage for the area. This can be extremely expensive and thus cost prohibitive. Also, sacrifices are made to compensate for the large area by limiting the coverage area to select high use regions, e.g., at dock doors. Additionally, such systems often do not provide precise location determinations of the RFID due to the complexity in the size and space of the environment. Accordingly, there is a need for a RFID system that overcomes the above-noted obstacles and the shorting comings in the art.

Radio frequency identification tag location estimation and tracking system and method


A touch panel device including: a substrate; a first sender element for sending surface acoustic wave, which is placed along a first direction on the substrate; a second sender element for sending surface acoustic wave, which is placed along a second direction, orthogonal to the first direction, on the substrate; a receiver element for receiving the surface acoustic wave from the second sender element, which is placed along the second direction on the substrate while facing the second sender element with an interval in between; and a reflector, which is placed on the substrate, for achieving the receiver element's reception of the surface acoustic wave from the first sender element by reflecting the surface acoustic wave from the first sender element, wherein a position of a contact body touching on a contact surface is detected by transmitting the surface acoustic wave that is sent from the sender element through the contact surface and receiving the surface acoustic wave on the receiver element.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a touch panel device that detects the position of a contact body on the coordinate system of a contact surface by transmitting surface acoustic wave sent from a sender element and receiving the surface acoustic wave on a receiver element.
2. Related Art
A touch panel device has a configuration wherein the position of a contact body is detected with a touch of the contact body to a contact surface. As such a touch panel device, a configuration wherein surface acoustic wave is transmitted from an interdigital transducer on the sender side and received on another interdigital transducer on the receiver side.
JP-UM-A-61-112444 (FIG. 4) is an example of related art.
A coordinate detector according to the example JP-UM-A-61-112444, which is used as a touch panel device, has two sender interdigital transducers for excitation purposes and two pairs of interdigital transducers for reception purposes.
The surface acoustic wave sent from one exciter interdigital transducer is received by one pair of receiver interdigital transducers on the opposite side. The surface acoustic wave sent from the other exciter interdigital transducer is received by the other pair of receiver interdigital transducers on the opposite side.
Since the above configuration requires two pairs of receiver interdigital transducers and each pair further includes a plurality of interdigital transducer elements, the wiring of the electric couplings becomes very complicated. In the case of reading the coordinates of a 20×20 matrix, for example, forty pieces of coupling wire are required for two pairs of receiver interdigital transducers alone, which causes a problem with wiring on the substrate periphery.


A conveyer system for vertically and helically conveying a workpiece includes a main bracket, on which interconnected heating furnace and cooling furnace are arranged in parallel. The heating furnace includes a 1st spiral supporting plate, a conveyer belt arranged on the 1st spiral supporting plate along the spiral direction and one or multiple gas inlet/inlets to fill protective gas into the heating furnace. The cooling furnace includes a 2nd spiral supporting plate, the conveyer belt extended from the heating furnace arranged on the 2nd spiral supporting plate along the spiral direction and one or multiple gas inlet/inlets to fill protective gas into the cooling furnace. A drive mechanism for a conveyer belt is installed on the main bracket. The conveyer belt runs through the heating furnace and cooling furnace and forms one loop via the drive mechanism.

In the mechanical processing field, heat treatment process of cooling after heating for workpiece drying, brazing stress relief annealing, artificial aging etc. shall be carried out. In the present technology, a horizontal type heating cooling device is usually used to heat and cool the workpiece. With transversal arrangement and large area occupation of the conveyer belt, the energy is lost during continuous heating and cooling. In addition, the productivity of the enterprise is affected in case of limited space.

Heating apparatus for vertically and helically conveying workpiece

XI 'AN AOJIE ELECTRIC HEATING EQUIPMENT ENGINEERING CO., LTD


A weightlifting apparatus includes a pair of spaced-apart support columns which carry a pair of spaced-apart self-spotter bars. The self-spotter bars extend from the columns such that the height and optionally the angle can be adjusted. The self-spotter bars are positioned to hold a weight bar at a safe height should the user drop the weight during an exercise.

This invention relates to an apparatus for allowing an individual to more safely perform exercises using weights.
When an individual uses weights, and especially free weights, the safest practice is to always employ a "spotter" to help him place the weights on the rack of a bench when he becomes fatigued. The "spotter" acts as a safety net with the intent of preventing the free weights from falling on the individual. Sometimes the spotter cannot handle the amount of weight being used. In addition, it is not always practical to employ a "spotter." Individuals often work out alone creating a risk of being seriously injured or trapped under the weights.
One solution to this problem is to use a system employing cable weights, bands, power rods, or inertial devices. These systems do not require an individual to lift weight directly over his body and thus allow an individual to more safely lift weights alone without the need for a "spotter".
However, the above systems have not been accepted by everyone as their preferred method of weight training. Some individuals prefer to use free weights, which provide a user with specific benefits such as requiring the use of stabilizer muscles to help balance the weight and maintain proper form. Various prior art "self-spotting" devices exist which attempt to provide the safety of cable systems while still providing the benefit of free weights. However, these prior art devices have shortcomings in that they do not always protect the user's body completely, they may unnecessarily limit the range of exercise motion, or may make it difficult for the user to escape from the equipment after a weight has been dropped. Furthermore, the devices are not easily adjustable for different body types or bench types.
Accordingly, there is a need for a weightlifting apparatus that allows an individual to perform free weight training exercises more safely through a full range of motion, with or without a "spotter."


A pressure sensitive valve for a positive pressure airway system which allows bi-directional flow with low resistance. When positive pressure from the air generator of the positive pressure airway system is lost, a spring actuated disc moves away from its compressed position to block the outlet of the air generator. By blocking the outlet of the air generator, the path of entry for contaminants is significantly restricted in so doing, an alternate, low resistance path to atmosphere is exposed to allow contaminants to escape.

Sleep apnea syndrome is due to episodic upper airway obstruction during sleep. As a consequence, there is severe interruption of sleep in the patient. Positive airway pressure devices, such as CPAP, and bi-level positive airway pressure devices have been developed to treat this disorder. CPAP devices deliver positive air pressure to the nasal passages of patients during sleep in order to maintain their airways in a continuously open state. In BiPAP therapy, pressure is applied alternately at relatively higher and lower prescription pressure levels.
A typical PAP device comprises a flow generator (e.g., a blower) which receives air from any suitable source such as a pressurized bottle or the ambient atmosphere. The gas flow from the flow generator is passed via a delivery conduit to a patient interface, such as a mask.
Humidifiers have been developed for use with PAP devices to humidify the air supplied to the patient. A typical humidifier comprises a water reservoir connected in series with the delivery conduit between the flow generator and the patient interface. A problem associated with these humidifiers is the possibility of water from the humidifier entering the PAP device through the delivery conduit and potentially causing damage to the device.
Many PAP devices are also used in combination with a therapeutic gas such as oxygen which is generally delivered at the patient end of the delivery conduit. A problem associated with the use of therapeutic gas is when positive pressure from the flow generator is lost, the therapeutic gas will flow through the delivery conduit to the PAP device potentially causing damage to the device.
The pressure sensitive flow control valve of the present invention has been developed to overcome the problem of water from a humidifier and other contaminants from entering the PAP device by blocking the outlet of the PAP device to restrict the path of entry for the contaminants. Also, the valve prevents the flow of gas, in the absence of positive pressure, back into the PAP device or ventilator by providing a low resistance exit path to atmosphere for any gas or water in the patient circuit.


A post-tensioned precast segmental concrete tower has a stack of annular segments with uniform cross-sections which varies over the tower height. The transition between tower segments occurs in stages and is achieved using annular members or segments which support and anchor post-tensioning tendons that transfer loads passing through the tower as a result of a change in tower geometry. The tower segments are match cast against one another in fabrication to create tight matching opposing surfaces when placed into the tower and to create tight joints. The match casting eliminates the need for grout between precast segments, resulting in a faster tower erection time and high durability of the joints. All annular segments have horizontal joints and no vertical joints. The tower geometry simplifies the formwork system used to precast the segments, and the post-tensioning tendons tie all segments together and to the foundation.

The existing methods of constructing wind towers vary depending on whether the materials are steel or concrete. The decision process used to select steel or concrete depends on the geographic location, regional resources and access to the wind farm site. Steel wind towers are commonly built through bolting of steel tubular sections together at intermediate flanges. The heights of steel towers are often limited by the diameter of the steel tubular sections that can be physically transported from the location of the steel fabricator to the wind farm site without significant modifications to existing roads, bridges, rail infrastructure, hauling equipment and other physical constraints. These limitations typically result in steel member diameters to approximately 20 ft., which in turn limits the tower height to approximately 300 ft. using conventional strength steel. Energy production from a wind tower has been typically shown to increase by increasing the height of the tower as a result of improved consistency in laminar wind flow. To increase the height of steel towers, some developers are installing concrete pedestals underneath the base of the steel tower.
Concrete towers being constructed today by using precast methods and cast in place methods. The advantages of concrete towers are they can be constructed using regional labor and materials and typically do not have height limitations as a result of transportation constraints since these towers can be fully fabricated on site. Cast in place construction methods utilize vertically extending formwork to support the pouring of fresh concrete into the forms at height. Restrictions to this method are the reduced speed of construction and sensitivity to inclement weather. Existing precast concrete techniques commonly precast the elements in a manner that results in vertical and horizontal joints, requiring joining of the elements during construction with grout. In this solution, post-tensioning in both directions can often be required to achieve a durable tower structure.
Other precast solutions involve the grinding of the annular horizontal concrete surfaces to achieve a quality load bearing connection. The segments are commonly precast offsite or nearby to the tower farm. The vertical post-tensioning is commonly located inside the concrete wall where it is anchored. The common geometry of a concrete wind tower is tapered, creating additional complexity in the forming system and placement of reinforcing and post-tensioning geometry. The challenges inherent to the existing steel and concrete tower designs and construction methods are their limitation on geometry in the case of steel towers and the complexity of the concrete towers.

Precast concrete post tensioned segmented wind turbine tower


A gravity oscillating system which comprises a looped and suitably substantially circular track around which a heavy mass such as a ball travels in use, the track being supported from above or below to oscillate up and down as the ball travels around the track, and there being a power transfer mechanism linked to the track to be moved by the track as the track oscillates, the power transfer mechanism being linked to an electrical generator/dynamo whereby the movement is used to generate electrical energy and wherein the system has an oscillating electromagnetic drive comprising a plurality of electromagnets in an array around the track and which are successively momentarily energized to urge each successive part of the track around the track in a direction, upwards or downwards, to cause the track to dip down ahead of the rolling mass, without the drive contacting the track.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved gravity oscillating system, where part of the system oscillates or gyrates due to the force of gravity and that may be used for a wide range of different applications such as, for example, as an educational tool, a toy, a means for managing electrical power or combinations of these.
Gravity-using oscillating systems have been proposed in the past and include the system of U.S. Pat. No. 244,799 which concerns the use of a revolving circular tread carrying both a massive ball and a horse or other beast of burden both to travel around the circular tread in procession and which is balanced on a fulcrum to oscillate and coupled by chains to pistons of a pumping system to raise water or perform other work. The weight and motion of the horse directly contacting and standing on and moving around the tread is the prime mover of the system and the ball as it rolls is intended to supplement the energy from the prime mover. The massive ball is shackled to the apparatus and the beast of burden, and is not free, so that it is constrained to roll around the circular tread a substantially fixed distance from the beast of burden in attempt to supplement the kinetic energy from the horse. This system fails to substantially augment the power of the horse as the horse's momentum is for a large part of the time at odds with the momentum of the ball the two opposing each other rather than augmenting each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,356 proposes a gravity using oscillating system that comprises a circular platform supported centrally on a fulcrum to wobble/oscillate and in which a trolley is shackled by an arm to a central axle through the platform. As the trolley rolls around the circumferential perimeter of the platform it will turn the axle and thence a generator. The trolley is not free. The platform is also constrained in its movement by cables that are attached to opposing points on the perimeter of the platform to alternately pull the platform down there. The cables are paid out from a winching mechanism and the turning of the winching mechanism is driven by electric motor which may be energized by the generator.
US patent application US 2013047754 proposes a gravity-using oscillating system that comprises a circular track supported centrally on a fulcrum to wobble/oscillate and in which an electric motor driven heavy trolley is shackled by an arm to a central axle through the circular track. The trolley here is shackled by the arm, not free-wheeling and constrained by its electric motor drive. The trolley/heavy mass may be un-wheeled but supported and driven around the track by mag-lev instead but it is not free-rolling/free-moving around the track.
None of the afore-mentioned systems operates efficiently and effectively to optimize energy recovery relative to energy use. There is a need for a better gravity-using oscillating system that reduces the energy inputs and losses of the system.


A system and methodology utilizes a technique for filtering sand; distributing a flow of fluid; e.g. distributing an inflow of gas or condensate; and limiting the potential for erosion of completion components in a wellbore. The technique may be useful in production applications, but the technique also can be used in fluid injection applications, e.g. gas injection applications. The technique employs a base pipe and a sand screen surrounding the base pipe. The base pipe comprises a plurality of flow restriction openings of reduced size and deployed in a selected pattern along the base pipe. The size and arrangement of the flow restriction openings reduces the peak flux of radial fluid flow through the sand screen to a rate less than a sand screen erosion rate.

In many gas wells, inflowing fluid passes through a sand screen which filters out particulates from the inflowing gas. Generally, the flow rate of the inflowing gas is very high such that any sand production can cause substantial erosion of components in a gas well completion. The sand production is controlled with sand screens employed either as stand-alone screens or in combination with a surrounding gravel pack. However, the velocity of the inflowing gas often can exceed an erosion velocity which causes erosion of the sand screen and ultimate failure of the sand screen. One scenario is the split in flow between the inside of the base pipe and annulus. The annular flow has to enter through the last screen joint, or eventually through screen joints sitting before annular packers. If this annular flow enters through a screen or part of a screen, erosion can be the result. Once the sand screen fails, the risk of erosion arises with respect to other elements of the completion. Use of gravel packing may limit the velocity of particulates; however gravel packs are not necessarily uniform along the entire sand screen, resulting in high, erosive flow rates through poorly packed regions.

System and method for controlling flow through a sand screen


A camera crane carrier includes a vehicle having a front end and a back end. A front elevator is movable vertically between up and down positions, at a forward position on a deck vehicle. A back elevator is movable vertically between up and down positions, at a rearward position, below the deck. A ramp may be provided on the vehicle, with the ramp extendible from the deck at the back end of the vehicle to the ground. The elevators allow a camera crane to be more easily loaded onto the vehicle, and also allow lowering the center of gravity of the loaded vehicle. The vehicle may optionally be used as a camera car when not carrying a camera crane.

Camera cranes are used to position and maneuver motion picture cameras, such as motion picture film or digital cameras, HD cameras, and 2D and 3D cameras. Camera cranes typically have a crane arm mounted onto a mobile base or vehicle. The arm can be pivoted or tilted up or down, and panned from side to side, to obtain a desired camera position, while the mobile base remains stationary. Some crane arms can extend and retract with a telescoping movement. To follow a moving subject during filming, or to move the camera around a subject, move in, back-up or move diagonally in any direction, the motion base is pushed over the ground by the filming crew, or the motion base may be self-propelled via an on-board motor, with or without also using telescoping movement. Dramatic improvements in telescoping camera crane arms have recently been achieved, for example as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,033,742. This type of camera crane arm can provide a reach of over 70 feet (23 meters) with exceptional stability, all weather, and underwater capability.
As filming often takes place on location outside of a studio, camera cranes are frequently transported by truck to the filming location. However, the relatively larger size and weight of modern camera cranes present special transport challenges.


Various configurations of improved wake-modifying devices for a power boat are provided herein. All such configurations provide a water channel and (optional) wedge for capturing and redirecting significantly more of the water flowing past the transom of the boat than conventional trim tabs consisting primarily of a flat plate. This increases the upward force applied to the deployed wake-modifying device and raises the stern of the boat on the non-surf side to list the boat to the surf side, producing a larger wake on the surf side. Some configurations provide a convergent water channel to produce longer, smoother wakes on the surf side of the boat. Other configurations provide a divergent water channel, which produces a comparatively shorter, taller wake on the surf side of the boat.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to boats and, more specifically, to wake-modifying devices for boats.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
Various types of power boats have been used for towing people for water sports, including those powered by outboard motors and inboard motors. Embodiments of a conventional power boat 10 having an inboard motor are shown in FIGS. 1-3 as having a hull 12, which extends along a longitudinal axis 14 of the boat from a bow 16 to a stern 18, and which extends outward from a center line 20 of the boat to a port side 22 and a starboard side 24. As described in more detail below, a center trim plate 26 is often pivotably mounted to the transom 28 at the center line 20 to adjust the trim of the boat.
Many power boats are designed to tow people with a specific water sport in mind, such as but not limited to water skiing, knee-boarding, wake boarding and wake surfing. The size and shape of desirable wakes varies for each sport and is also dependent on the skill and preference of the person performing the sport. For instance, it is often desirable to water ski and knee board on relatively flat wakes, whereas relatively larger wakes are generally desirable for wake boarding and wake surfing. Given such variances on desirable sizes and shapes of wakes for different water sports and preferences, achieving differing and optimal wake size and shape for each sport and skill-type on a given boat is very difficult.
For example, some power boats may be designed for producing relatively large wakes, and thus, may have a hull 12 with a deep V-shaped cross-section, as shown in FIG. 2. A hull with a deep V-shaped cross-section is described herein as exhibiting a deadrise angle (i.e., the angle α measured between the bottom surface of the hull and the horizontal from a point along the center line 20 to the port 22 or starboard 24 side) between approximately 15° and 45°. In some boats, the hull 12 may have a substantially consistent deadrise angle from the bow 16 to the stern 18. In other boats, the deadrise angle may gradually taper along the longitudinal axis 14 of the boat so as to produce a flat or semi-flat deadrise at the stern of the boat. In this type of power boat, it is desirable to get the front end of the hull 12 out of the water at a higher angle of attack as the boat accelerates to cut down on drag and allow the boat to go much faster. This causes the stern 18 of the boat to sit down lower into the water so that it effectively digs a trench along the path that it makes in the water, which in turn produces bigger wakes. For this reason, this type of boat is generally well-suited for water sports that benefit from large wakes, such as wake boarding and wake surfing.
To produce the relatively smaller wakes desirable for water skiing, a center trim plate 26 is often coupled to the transom 28 at the center line 20. The center trim plate 26 typically consists of a flat, substantially rectangular plate, and is typically coupled to the transom 28 via a hinge 30 and linear actuator 32, which moves the center trim plate 26 from a non-deployed position (out of the water) to a deployed position (into the water). As the boat moves through the water, the water flowing under the boat impinges on the deployed trim plate 26, creating an upward force on the trim plate which, in turn, raises the stern 18 to help plane the boat faster. When used for water skiing, the center trim plate 26 may be deployed to raise the stern 18 of the boat and minimize the wake.
In other types of power boats (FIGS. 1 and 3), the hull 12 may have a more shallow V-shape at the bow 16 that quickly merges into a flat or semi-flat bottom amidship and continues to the stern 18. A hull with a semi-flat bottom surface at the stern is described herein as having a deadrise angle (a) that ranges between approximately 5° and 12°. This flatter hull design runs with substantially greater surface area along the top of the water, and thus, produces higher drag. When run at speed, the flatter hull design does not lift with the high angle of attack characteristic of deep V-shaped hull boats, and thus, produces smaller wakes desired for water skiing. However, boats with these hull designs are generally unsuitable for wake boarding and wake surfing without further including some form of wake-modifying device.
The substantially flatter hull design shown in FIG. 3 also benefits from a center trim plate 26, which is coupled to the transom 28 at the center line 20 and made pivotable from a non-deployed position to a deployed position. As noted above, the center trim plate 26 is typically a flat, substantially rectangular plate. When the center trim plate 26 is actuated into the deployed position, the stern 18 of the boat is raised to produce smaller wakes desirable for water skiing. However, the substantially flatter hull design shown in FIG. 3 is generally unable to produce the larger wakes desired for wake boarding and wake surfing without utilizing some form of wake-modifying device. In order to produce larger wakes, additional trim tabs 34 and 36 are often mounted onto the transom 28; one on the port side and one on the starboard side of the center line 20. Similar to center trim plate 26, the port and starboard trim tabs 34 and 36 typically consist of a flat plate having one or more down-turned edges and/or one or more up-turned edges. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the port and starboard trim tabs 34 and 36 each comprise a trailing edge (i.e., the edge of the plate furthest from the transom) bent downward at some angle, and an outboard edge bent upward at some angle. When the port trim tab 34 is deployed to raise the port side of the boat, an increase in displacement on the starboard side of the boat increases the size of the starboard wake. Conversely, the starboard trim tab 36 may be deployed to increase the size of the port wake.
Even with the trim tabs described above, wake boarders and wake surfers desire larger wakes with improved wave shapes. For surfing in particular, wake surfers desire a wake with a large surfable area that extends substantially from the swim platform to the curl of the wake. As such, it is desirable to provide improved port and starboard trim tab designs (i.e., wake-modifying devices), which provide even greater wake shaping ability than is currently possible with conventional trim tab designs.

Boat and improved wake-modifying device for manipulating the size and shape of the wake


Measures for processing communication status messages in a telecommunications network which includes a plurality of signaling nodes responsible for processing signaling information in the telecommunications network and a charging node responsible for processing billing information in the telecommunications network. A communication status message is received from a signaling node in the plurality. The received communication status message includes first communication status information. Second communication status information is generated on the basis of at least the first communication status information. One or more communication status messages are transmitted to the charging node. The one or more transmitted communication status messages include the first communication status information and the second communication status information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to processing communication data. In particular, but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to processing communication status information in a telecommunications network.
2. Description of the Related Technology
In telecommunications networks, communications sessions, such as voice calls and video calls, may be established between endpoints via the network. Such endpoints may for example include mobile telephones, fixed line telephones and personal computers. Additionally, event based services, such as registration, messaging and presence services may also be provided. In order to ensure that such communication sessions and event based services are billed accurately, a telecommunications network typically includes a charging node responsible for monitoring the establishment and duration of communication sessions and the occurrence of event based services. Communication sessions are typically billed according to session based billing, in which the start and end of the session are reported to the charging node, with interim messages being reported periodically to confirm that the session is still ongoing. In contrast, event based services are typically billed according to event billing, in which event messages are reported to the charging node upon occurrence of the event.
Internet Protocol (IP) telephony networks, such as those conforming to the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) are currently experiencing an increase in prevalence. In such networks, telephony services are typically provided according to the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). An IP telephony network may contain a number of signaling nodes which are each responsible for carrying out one or more signaling functions in the network, such as conducting registration procedures, handling routing requests and/or handling service requests. In the case of IMS, a signaling node may fulfil the role of a Call Session Control Function (CSCF). In the context of SIP, such a signaling node may fulfil the role of a SIP server and/or a SIP proxy.
Signaling nodes may therefore maintain state information (for example routing data, authentication data etc.) for each subscriber that they serve. For relatively small numbers of subscribers, it may be practical for each signaling node to maintain state information for every subscriber. However, for large numbers of subscribers, the memory and associated processing requirements for storing state information for every subscriber at each signaling node and the requirement for replicating the state information between all signaling nodes in the network can become prohibitive.
In order to cater for a larger number of subscribers, known sharding techniques can be employed in IMS networks. Sharding involves allocating a longstanding responsibility for a subset of the subscribers in the telecommunications network to each signaling node in the network. Each signaling node therefore need only maintain state information for its allocated subset of subscribers. In a typical example, when a subscriber device registers with the network, it may be allocated to a signaling node, such as a Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) in the case of IMS, which is thereafter responsible for handling signaling information and maintaining the appropriate state information for that subscriber until such time as the device unregisters from the network. Similarly, a number of further signaling nodes may be utilized when a communication session is established to handle set up of that communication session as well as maintenance of the established communication session thereafter. A number of these further signaling nodes are included in the signaling path for signaling messages relating to that communication session for the duration of the communication session. In the case of IMS, these further signaling nodes may include one or more further CSCFs, for example including Interrogating CSCFs (I-CSCFs), Proxy CSCFs (P-CSCFs) and further S-CSCFs, as well as Border Gateway Control Functions (BGCFs), Interconnection Border Control Functions (IBCFs), Media Gateway Control Functions (MGCFs) etc.
However, this sharding approach suffers from increased routing complexity because any signaling messages (for example, in relation to establishment of a communication session) relating to a given subscriber that are handled after the initial registration must be routed via the appropriate, sharded network node. Further, the complexity of providing redundancy between sharded network nodes in order to handle failure of an individual network node in the network is increased. Hence, it would be desirable to provide improved and/or alternative techniques for handling potentially large numbers of subscribers and/or providing the required network scalability to do so, whilst providing measures which enable charging of communication sessions which are compatible with such techniques.

Processing communication status information


A pipe running tool for use in an oil drilling system and the like comprises a lower drive shaft adapted to engage a drive shaft of a top drive assembly for rotation therewith. The pipe running tool further includes a lower pipe engagement assembly which is driven to rotate by the lower drive shaft, and is designed to releasably engage a pipe segment in such a manner to substantially prevent relative rotation between the two. Thus, when the lower pipe engagement assembly is actuated to securely hold a pipe segment, the top drive assembly may be actuated to rotate the top drive output shaft, which causes the lower drive shaft and lower pipe engagement assembly to rotate, which in turn rotates the pipe segment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to well drilling operations and, more particularly, to a device for assisting in the assembly of pipe strings, such as casing strings, drill strings and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
The drilling of oil wells involves assembling drill strings and casing strings, each of which comprises a plurality of elongated, heavy pipe segments extending downwardly from an oil drilling rig into a hole. The drill string consists of a number of sections of pipe which are threadedly engaged together, with the lowest segment (i.e., the one extending the furthest into the hole) carrying a drill bit at its lower end. Typically, the casing string is provided around the drill string to line the well bore after drilling the hole and ensure the integrity of the hole. The casing string also consists of a plurality of pipe segments which are threadedly coupled together and formed with through passages sized to receive the drill string and/or other pipe strings.
The conventional manner in which plural casing segments are coupled together to form a casing string is a labor-intensive method involving the use of a "stabber" and casing tongs. The stabber is manually controlled to insert a segment of casing into the upper end of the existing casing string, and the tongs are designed to engage and rotate the segment to threadedly connect it to the casing string. While such a method is effective, it is cumbersome and relatively inefficient because the procedure is done manually. In addition, the casing tongs require a casing crew to properly engage the segment of casing and to couple the segment to the casing string. Thus, such a method is relatively labor-intensive and therefore costly. Furthermore, using casing tongs requires the setting up of scaffolding or other like structures, and is therefore inefficient.
Others have proposed a casing running tool for assembling casing strings which utilizes a conventional top drive assembly. The tool includes a pivotable manipulator which is designed to engage a pipe segment and raise the pipe segment up into a power assist spider, which relies on gravity to hold the pipe segment. The spider is coupled to the top drive and may be rotated by it. Thus, the pipe segment may be brought into contact with a casing string and the top drive activated to rotate the casing segment and threadedly engage it with the casing string.
While such a system provides benefits over the more conventional systems used to assemble casing strings, such a system suffers from shortcomings. One such shortcoming is that the casing segment may not be sufficiently engaged by the power assist spider to properly connect the casing segment with the casing string. In addition, the system fails to provide any means for effectively controlling the load applied to the threads at the bottom of the casing segment. Without the ability to control the load on the threads, cross-threading may occur, resulting in stripped threads and a useless casing segment.
Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there continues to be a need for a device for use in a drilling system which utilizes an existing top drive assembly to efficiently assemble casing and/or drill strings, and which positively engages a pipe segment to ensure proper coupling of the pipe segment to a pipe string. The present invention addresses these needs and others.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A fixing device comprises a heat fixing roller in which a heat resistant elastic layer is formed on a cylindrical metal core and, further, a heat resistant resin layer is coated on the surface thereof, an endless belt, a pressure member disposed in the inside of the endless belt, wherein the endless belt is wound around the heat fixing roller for a predetermined angle to form a nip area between the endless belt and the heat fixing roller for allowing a recording sheet to pass therethrough, the pressure member is pressed by way of the endless belt to the heat fixing roller at the nip area thereby forming distortion in the heat resistant elastic layer of the heat fixing roller. An image forming apparatus using the fixing device can satisfy improved image quality, extended working life, energy saving and high speed operation altogether.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fixing device used in an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrophotographic system, for example, a copier, a printer or a facsimile unit, as well as an image forming apparatus using the fixing device described above.
2. Prior Art
In a copier or printer utilizing the electrophotographic system, it is necessary to fix unfixed toner images formed on a recording sheet into permanent images, and a solvent fixing method, a pressure fixing method and a heat fixing method have been known for the fixing method.
However, the solvent fixing method involves a drawback that evaporating solvent vapors result in malodors or hygienic problems. On the other hand, the pressure fixing method involves a drawback that the fixing property is poor compared with other fixing methods and the pressure sensitive toner is expensive. In view of the above, both of the methods are scarcely put to practical use at present. Therefore, a heat fixing method of melting a toner by heating and heat fusing the same on a recording sheet has been adopted generally.
A heat roll type device has been known as a device by the heat fixing method, which comprises, as shown in FIG. 12, a fixing roller 121 having a heating source 123 in the inside of a cylindrical metal core 122 and a releasing layer 124 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical metal core 122, and a pressure roller 125 having a cylindrical metal core 126, and a heat resistant elastic layer 127 and a releasing layer 128 made of a heat resistant resin film or a heat resistant rubber film formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical metal core 126. A recording sheet carrying unfixed toner images thereon (not illustrated) is passed between the fixing roller 121 and the pressure roller 125 to fix the toner images under heating and pressure. Since the heat roll system has a higher heat efficiency and suffers from less worry of paper burning caused by clogging compared with other heat fixing methods, for example, a heat radiation type fixing system, it has been utilized most generally at present.
The releasing layer 124 of the fixing roller 121 is made of a heat resistant resin film or heat resistant rubber film such that the toner images after fixing are easily stripped from the fixing roller 121. For the material of the releasing layer 124, it has been known generally that heat resistant resins typically represented by polytetrafluoroethylene (hereinafter referred to as "PTFE"), perfluoro alkyl vinyl ether polymer (hereinafter referred to as "PFA") and polytetrafluoroethylene hexafluoro propylene copolymer (hereinafter referred to as "FEP") can provide higher releasing performance without using a releasing agent (so-called releasing oil), compared with heat resistant rubber typically represented by silicone rubber or fluoro rubber. Accordingly, such heat resistant resins are generally used as the releasing layer in black and white copiers.
However, the fixing device in the full color copier or printer involves problems in view of the following points and the prior art described above cannot overcome such problems altogether.
1. Subject on Image Quality
When a fluoro resin is coated as a layer on the cylindrical metal core, since the material of the fluoro resin per se is rigid, this results in the following problems in view of the image quality.
FIG. 13 is an enlarged cross sectional view schematically showing the state of a fixing roller 131, a recording sheet 132 and a toner image 133 during fixing. As shown in FIG. 13, the toner image 133 has unevenness when viewed microscopically, so that it cannot follow after the fixing roller 131 if the roller is hard and adhesion in a microscopic state is deteriorated. Therefore, the toner image 133 after fixing causes minute unevenness of gloss in a solid area between a portion in contact with the fixing roller 131 and another portion not in contact therewith. Since the demand for the image quality in the black and white copier is not so high compared with that of the full color copier, use of the fixing roller comprising the metal core coated with the fluoro resin described above was satisfactory.
On the contrary, in the full color copier, demand for the image quality is much greater compared with that for the black and white copier. Accordingly, in the full color copier, the molecular weight of a binder resin is usually lowered so that the resin is easily deformable. This helps make the toner surface flat after fixing thereby attaining a high image quality. Furthermore, for suppressing unevenness of gloss, the cylindrical metal core is coated with heat resistant rubber, thereby, to improving the adhesion of the fixed image with the toner layer due to the stretchability of rubber per se and attaining excellent image quality with no unevenness of gloss.
2. Subject on Releasability and Reliability
A binder resin for the toner used in the black and white copier has a large molecular weight and shows elastic behavior. Therefore, the binder resin itself has good releasability with the fixing roller.
However, in the full color copier, a binder resin of lower molecular weight and showing strongly viscous behavior is used for the toner in view of the demand for the improvement of the image quality. Further, since the adhesion between the surface of the fixing roller and the toner is increased with an aim of eliminating unevenness of gloss, the area of contact between the fixing roller and the toner is enlarged to increase the deposition force. In the full color copier, since a toner of four colors, namely, yellow, magenta, cyan and black is used, the deposition force is further increased.
Therefore, the fluoro resin roller used in the black and white copier has poor releasability and cannot release the toner from that fixing roller.
In view of the above as disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No, Hei 5-150679, it has been adopted a method of covering a fixing roller with heat resistant rubber and forming distortion in the fixing roller thereby obtaining high releasing performance. FIG. 14 is a side cross sectional view illustrating such a fixing device. A fixing roller 141 comprises a cylindrical metal core 142 and a releasing layer 144 made of a heat resistant resin film or a heat resistant rubber film formed on the circumferential surface of the cylindrical metal core 142. Reference numeral 145 denotes a pressure roller. In this fixing device, heating sources 146, 147 are disposed at the inside in both of the fixing roller 141 and the pressure roller 145.
"Distortion" means herein distortion formed on the surface of the heat resistant rubber layer 143 when the pressure roller 145 is in press contact with the fixing roller 141 and the heat resistant rubber layer 143 of the fixing roller 141 deforms elastically.
The fixing roller as disclosed in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 5-150679 has a structure in which an LTV silicone rubber layer is formed on a cylindrical metal core and, an RTV silicone rubber layer is formed as a releasing layer further thereon. Since the RTV silicone rubber layer per se at the outermost layer has an expandability, the distortion tends to be formed.
However, releasability of rubber itself is not so high and, in order to ensure sufficient releasability, a releasing oil has to be coated or supplied separately to the releasing layer of the fixing roller. That is, when the releasing oil is coated, the toner is released from the fixing roller due to the intra-layer separation of the oil layer. At present, a fixing device having a rubber roller using such a releasing oil has been adopted in most of full color copiers.
However, since the releasing oil is used, this has resulted in problems such as swelling of the silicone rubber with oil, leakage of the oil in the device, deterioration of easy writing by a ball point pen or ink caused by the oil on the recording sheet after fixing. Further, maintenance such as periodical supplement of the oil is also necessary, which is not suitable to a small-sized full color copier or a printer. Further, since the friction coefficient of the silicone rubber is high, there are also problems of abrasion in the releasing layer by the passage of sheets or deterioration in the releasability caused by the denaturation of the silicone rubber per se.
Accordingly, it is considered that if a fluoro resin having high releasability by itself is coated on the heat resistant rubber layer, high releasability can be obtained and no additional releasing oil coating unit is necessary. Namely, it is considered that an excellent image quality can be obtained together with high releasability by use of a fixing roller comprising heat resistant rubber on which a fluoro resin is dispersion-coated and baked as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 61-22376 and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 61-248731. However, since the coated and baked film as disclosed above has a thickness of about 2 to 3 .mu.m and since pressure by the pressure roller is high, it results in a problem that the releasability is lowered by the frictional abrasion of the releasing layer caused by the passage of sheets.
The problem of the frictional abrasion can be overcome by covering the surface of the heat resistant rubber with a previously prepared fluoro resin tube as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 57-89785, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Sho 53-114474, Japanese Published Examined Patent Application No. Hei 7-349, and Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. Hei 4-42183. However, since the thickness of a usual fluoro resin tube is from about 50 to 100 .mu.m, the tube itself is rigid and it is difficult to form the distortion described above and a purpose of attaining high releasability and an excellent image quality cannot be attained satisfactorily.
Further, if a fluoro resin layer is disposed on the surface of the heat resistant rubber to provide further distortion, the releasability can be improved. However, since the shrinkage is different between the rubber and the resin, if large distortion is given, the fluoro resin causes plastic deformation to result in creasing. Namely, in the existent fixing device using the heat/pressure roller pair, since stripping is conducted by providing a relatively thick rubber layer with large distortion, if a fluoro resin layer is additionally disposed, it may possibly result in creasing. Since the fluoro resin layer tends to cause more creasing as the layer thickness is reduced, the problem of creasing becomes conspicuous if it is intended to use a thinner fluoro resin layer in order to improve the image quality and the releasability.
3. Subject of Energy Saving and High Speed Fixing
Further, when the fixing roller 141 and the pressure roller 145 are brought into press contact with each other, to ensure a wide nip and form large distortion as in the fixing device shown in FIG. 14, it is necessary to increase the wall thickness of the cylindrical metal core 142 of the fixing roller 141 and also increase the wall thickness of the heat resistant rubber layer 143 disposed thereon. Accordingly, this necessarily increases the heat capacity of the fixing device and it takes about three to six minutes as a temperature rising time from a room temperature. Therefore, it is necessary keep the fixing device at a somewhat high temperature also in a stand-by state in which images are not formed, and a most portion of the electric power consumption in the copier or the like is caused by this preheating at present.
Further, presence of a thick rubber layer having low heat conductivity gives extremely high heat resistance from the inner circumferential surface to the outer circumferential surface of the fixing roller 141. Accordingly, even if the heater 146 in the fixing roller 141 is heated, the heat is not conducted easily to the outer circumferential surface of the fixing roller 141. This gives a hindrance in the increase of the operation speed of the fixing device.
A fixing device having a rapid temperature rising characteristic (hereinafter referred to as "instant starting performance") by using a thin film and a fixed heater has already been disclosed (although in a black and white fixing device) in, for example, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application Nos. Sho 63-313182 and Hei 4-44074. However, the technique cannot provide high image quality and high speed adaptability to operation required for full color fixing. This is because the fixing device described just above adopts a system of conducting heat from the heater to a recording sheet by way of the thin film having a heat capacity substantially equal with zero, so that heat conduction is worsened if an elastic layer is disposed on the film for improving the image quality and, after all, the device cannot be adopted in a system.
As described above, respective problems have been solved individually but a fixing device capable of satisfying the problems altogether has not yet been attained.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus


In a ball grid array (BGA) station (50) having a robotic arm (60) with a vacuum head (70) containing a predetermined quantity of vacuum apertures (90), a method and apparatus of loading an array of solder balls (14) for solder bumping a carrier (20). Solder balls (14) are supplied into a tub (500) having a head opening (510) for accommodating a vacuum head (70). After the vacuum head (70) is positioned by the robotic arm (60) towards the head opening (510) of the tub (500), suitable fluid pressure (570) is applied to the solder balls (14) within the tub (500) to force the solder balls (14) to float on the gas pressure towards the vacuum apertures (90). The vacuum apertures (90), which are appropriately sized and annularly shaped has at least a partial vacuum (34) applied through the apertures (90) to suck-up a desired quantity of solder balls for eventual placement on the BGA carrier (20).

Ball grid array packages (BGA's) are known in the electronics industry to provide the attachment of a high density of input and output (I/O) solder pads on a chip carrier where a chip is already mounted on a carrier. BGA is a type of Chip Scale Package structure which uses a solder ball attach process on the bottom side of the carrier to mount the chip carrier onto a substrate. The substrate could be a printed circuit board or another type of mother boards.
Bumping these BGA carriers to form the solder pads for eventual connection with the substrate requires accurate and co-planar attachment of hundreds, and often thousands of solder spheres or balls per array on the carder. For mass production, the co-planarity quality of solder balls on the carrier after the ball attach process is an important concern of the quality process. A uniform height distribution of solder balls for a co-planar attachment is necessary to provide good electrical and mechanical connections between the carrier and the substrate.
Referring to FIG. 1, one source of the non-planarity 140 problem of a ball grid array (BGA) Chip Scale package is represented where the solder balls are not uniform in height and therefore may not make good connections when they are sandwiched between a substrate 40 and the carrier 20. Hence, to optimize the co-planarity of the solder ball placement process, pre-formed solder balls are necessary. Even though pre-formed solder balls may cost more than other processes, such as screen printing with a solder paste, pre-formed solder balls which provides a constant solder ball height are preferred when co-planarity cannot otherwise be achieved.
A semiconductor device 10, such as an integrated (IC) chip, is shown mounted on a carrier 20 as a chip carrier for eventual mounting to a substrate 40. An example of a substrate 40 is a printed circuit (PC) board, a multi-chip module, or a mother board. A plurality of hemispherical cavities or flat contact pads on top of the substrate are normally arranged in a square or other geometric pattern suitable to receive the corresponding BGA solder-bumped chip carrier 20, or the like. Each of the cavities or contact pads is metalized so as to become solderable and electrically conductive to provide the electrical interconnection between the chip carrier 20 and the substrate 40. The solder-bumped chip carrier (or other member) 20 includes a plurality of BGA solder bumps 14 formed on the underside, or the bottom surface 16, of the carrier 20.
A robot is commonly used for precise solder ball placement of the pre-formed solder balls. Often, an all-in-one robot station handles the fluxing duties as well as the co-planar placement of the balls. A highly accurate robot arm equipped with a precision tooled vacuum head picks, fluxes, and places these tiny balls. The robot arm employed is often vision equipped such as the Seiko XM robot arm. Vision inspection of the solder ball loading and unloading for carrier placement avoids or traps obvious solder ball placement carrier rejects. A complete system called the MMS SA-150 BGA Sphere Attach System is available from the Motorola Manufacturing Systems of Motorola.
A robotic arm in a conventional solder ball loading system has a vacuum head with a vacuum tool tip called an end-effector. As seen in FIG. 2, a cross-section of a conventional vacuum tool tip of the vacuum head is represented. The vacuum tool tip end-effector is lowered to simultaneously pick-up all the pre-formed balls from a bulk bin containing thousands of solder spheres. However, picking the balls out of the bin with the vacuum head is not simple because the supply level of the balls is constantly changing and the balls can easily clump together at one of the vacuum head openings. Moreover, the downward force of the vacuum head can easily damage some of the solder balls contained in the bin and also jam one or more balls into the head openings.
The conventional vacuum hole is spherical and has a diameter that is larger than the spherical solder ball to enable the spherical periphery of the vacuum head opening to grip around the solder ball. However, as the BGA ball size decreases to micro sizes, such as around a diameter of 12 mils (0.305 mm), with the advance of microelectronics, the resulting smaller spherical portion of the vacuum hole becomes more difficult to make uniform.
Furthermore, as smaller solder balls decrease in size, they also increase their sensitivity to static electricity and decrease their sensitivity to gravity. These difficulties of handling 0.305 mm pre-formed solder balls result in an increasing amount of ball clusters occurring around the vacuum holes. Prior-art loading systems have thus used a vibrating or a heating device, such as a shaking-type container, to help remove these unwanted clusters of excess solder balls but still is barely effective for the gravity-resistant 0.305 mm solder balls. The success rate of picking-up a preformed 0.305 mm solder ball undamaged for making a proper connection in a conventional shaking-type container is nearly zero.
This inability to provide a clusterless and damage-proof solder ball loading process has frustrated attempts to provide BGA mounting techniques that are reliable in a mass production environment utilizing minimum in-line automation equipment, repeatable automatic process control, and high through-put productions of chip carriers on substrates such as printed circuit (PC) boards, multi-chip modules, or mother-boards. Accordingly, a need exists in the art to provide a solder ball loading system in a manner that provides co-planarity and consistency in solder ball attachment while avoiding the difficulties presented by prior hard-to-manufacture vacuum spherical holes and eliminating the extra cost and necessity of a cluster removal device at the robotic arm station.

Air-blow solder ball loading system for micro ball grid arrays


A sling system for use with a rifle or other shoulder-fired weapon. The system comprises a flexible sling strap, two attachments to a rifle scope, and an attachment to the rifle butt.

1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)
The present invention relates to a sling system for use with a rifle or other shoulder-fired weapon.
1. Background Art
The use of a sling on rifles is of course very old in the art. Such slings are used to carry the rifle in a vertical position with the users arm inserted between the sling and the rifle so that the rifle rests on the back of the user. Such use has been particularly favored for military rifles. The sling strap is typically mounted on the lower edge of the butt of the rifle at the rear end, and to the front rifle support, forearm of the stock on the underside of the barrel. Thus, when the rifle is held in a horizontal position, the sling strap hangs downwardly.
The sling strap is normally attached through mounting or attachment points. For example, the strap is typically formed into a loop, with D-rings at the ends of the strap when the strap is flattened. An attachment device is typically screwed into the wood of the butt and the forward wooden hand rest and may comprise a rotatable stud through which the circular portion of the D-ring passes. Of course, there are a wide variety of sling systems attaching devices to enable quick release of the sling, easy mounting, high strength, and low cost.
It is also well known in the art to mount a telescopic sight on a rifle or other shoulder-fired weapon. (The term "shoulder-fired" refers to the position in which the rifle or gun is normally held during firing.) This telescopic sight or "scope" has become a regular feature on sportsman's rifles used in hunting. Scopes now come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and particularly in various optical magnification ranges for use in different hunting or marksman activities. A scope typically has a barrel or tube of a fixed diameter with enlarged end pieces, the forward end piece serving as a shade for the front lens of the scope and the rearward end piece serving as an eye piece which may be adjustable for focus. A scope is typically mounted on the breech section of the weapon raised slightly above the barrel to provide a comfortable position for the user when the rifle is held in the shooting position with the butt engaging the user's shoulder. Scopes may be mounted in a wide variety of ways including semipermanent mountings, usually through the use of threaded screws, or with a quick-disconnect mounting. The semi-permanent mounting device generally comprises a base which is screwed to the rifle barrel in the area of the breech through two holes that are typically provided by the rifle manufacturer and which are tapped to receive a machine screw. The base may be a single piece or two separate pieces to accommodate the shell insert and ejection opening. A typical scope may have a tube that is from six to ten inches in length. The base of the scope mounting device is generally half that length. At a distance of three to four inches apart, mounted on the base, there are two yokes comprising a lower half which is attached to the base, either semi-permanently or integrally therewith. The two spaced apart yokes' lower halves define a semi-cylindrical rest into which the tube of the telescopic sight is placed. The lower yoke half has two ears that project laterally with machine-screw tapped holes. The yoke also comprises an upper half which is a mating piece having an inside semi-cylindrical shape to fit the barrel and two ears which overlie the ears on the bottom half. The upper half of the yoke is attached to the lower half through threaded machine screws when be tightened securely holds the scope in place. Positioning of the scope is of course critical for accurate sighting and performance.
While the sling system that is attached to the lower surfaces of the rifle have been typical for military applications where the user may be engaged in long marching activity and providing a high level of comfort for carrying the rifle is important, there are various disadvantages to a sling system in which the strap is mounted to the lower surfaces of the rifle. For example, in most sporting activities it is highly desirable to carry the rifle comfortably but in the ready position so that the rifle may be quickly brought up to the user's shoulder and fired. It is also highly desirable for a sportsman to carry the rifle while maintaining both hands free, such as to drive an off road vehicle that may be used in the hunting expedition. The sling mounted rifle may be used so that the user's head is inserted through the loop between the rifle and the sling strap and the strap overlies both shoulders with the rifle hanging free, in a generally horizontal position, in front of the user. In that configuration, if the user is not supporting the rifle, the rifle will hang in an upside down position. An alternative means of carrying the rifle with the sling is to place both the head and one arm of the user through the opening between the sling and the rifle so that the strap overlies one shoulder and is diagonal across the front and back. In that position, with the typical sling system, the rifle will be supported, when hands free, in an upside down position. It will be readily appreciated that in the upside down position the rifle is not as readily grasped and brought to the shoulder ready to fire. Alternatively, if the rifle is not supported in the upright position by grasping the rifle with both hands, the weight of the rifle is being carried by the arms of the user rather than by the strap.
One of the reasons why an under-rifle system is used is that if the rifle was used without a scope, the front sling strap mount or attachment would be above the barrel and thus interfere with sighting of the rifle. However, if the rifle includes a scope, it may be possible to attach the front sling system mount without interfering with the use of the rifle during sighting.

Sling system for weapon with telescopic sight


A motor driving circuit for driving a motor, includes: a detecting circuit configured to detect a detection signal indicative of a current state of the motor; a command value generating unit configured to generate a command value indicative of a target state of the motor; an error amplifier configured to generate an error signal by amplifying an error between the detection signal and the command value; a pulse width modulator configured to generate a pulse signal; and an output circuit. The command value generating unit is configured to provide a variation to the command value.

A voice coil motor, a spindle motor or a stepping motor is used to position or rotate an object. A motor driving circuit adjusts power supplied to a motor through a feedback control such that a detecting signal indicating a current state of the motor reaches a command value indicating a target state of the motor.
Such a motor driving scheme may be generally classified into a linear driving type and a switching driving type. For the switch-driving type, a pulsed driving voltage having a switching frequency is supplied to a motor. In the motor driving circuit, the switching frequency is frequently set to an out-of audible band, for example, about 50 kHz in order to limit sound noises.
In motor driving circuits of the switch-driving type, the following problem may occur. Specifically, it has been found that, even when the switching frequency is set to the out-of audible band, an effective frequency of the pulsed driving voltage falls within an audible band due to a response delay of an error amplifier disposed in a feedback loop, which may result in audible noises.

Motor driving circuit and electronic apparatus using the same


A disposable protective sleeve used for covering dental equipment such as light curing guns has two panels of flexible plastic which are joined together at a top edge and at side edges, the sleeve having an open bottom to allow the sleeve to be pulled over the equipment, for example, a light gun. Apertures are formed in the sleeve at opposite positions in the sleeve. The apertures may be defined by notches cut in the adjoining panels of the protective sleeve at positions along the side edges spaced from the top edge. When the protective sleeve is drawn onto a light gun, the front end of the body of the typically cylindrical light gun extends through one of the apertures of the sleeve, while the back end of the light gun, which is typically vented, extends through the other aperture. The protective sleeve covers the handle of the light gun where it is held by the dentist. After a procedure with a patient is completed, the protective sleeve is pulled off of the gun and disposed of, and a new protective sleeve is used before a procedure on another patient.

To help prevent the spread of biological contamination from one patient to another, where possible, dental instruments are sterilized after use with each patient. However, some devices handled by a dentist or hygienist during a procedure are not conveniently sterilized or are not capable of withstanding sterilization procedures. One example of such devices is the light curing gun used by dentists to apply light to light curable tooth repair materials. This is an electrical and optical device which cannot withstand autoclaving or other sterilization procedures. Another type of device used during procedures which is not readily sterilized is an impression material mixing gun, similar to a caulking gun, which is used to produce a homogeneous mix without hand mixing for dental impressions.
To attempt to minimize cross contamination between patients, dentists have sometimes wrapped these larger devices which cannot be sterilized in various wrapping materials, such as sheets of flexible plastic, e.g., Saran.RTM. wrap, or in standard plastic bags. However, protecting the equipment in this manner is obviously inconvenient and less than satisfactory, since wrapping the equipment properly takes time, and during a procedure the wrapping may work loose to allow the equipment to be exposed, thereby defeating the purpose of the wrapping.

Disposable protective sleeve for dental apparatus such as light curing guns