A panel mask(s) rendered on a display panel(s) of a head-mounted display (HMD) may be dynamically adjusted (increased and decreased) in size in order to hide unwanted visual artifacts from view, as needed. For example, if frames are being rendered on the display panel of the HMD using re-projection, a size value associated with at least a portion of the panel mask can be adjusted based on rotation of the HMD to increase or decrease a size of at least the portion of the panel mask from a current size to an adjusted size, and the panel mask can be rendered with at least the portion of the panel mask rendered at the adjusted size to hide the unwanted visual artifacts. The size of the portion of the panel mask can subsequently decrease, over a period of time, if re-projection ceases and/or if head rotation ceases or slows down.

Virtual reality (VR) systems are used both within and outside of the video game industry. Displays for VR systems, such as those embedded in a VR headset, typically operate at a minimum refresh rate that is suitable for VR applications. For instance, 90 Hertz (Hz) is a common refresh rate for VR displays. In a "live rendering" scenario, a graphics-based application, such as a video game, outputs frames for rendering at a frame rate that matches the refresh rate of the display, meaning that a new frame received from the application (referred to herein as an "actual frame") is displayed at every screen refresh. Such a live rendering scenario is often referred to as the application "hitting frame rate."
In practice, an application does not always hit frame rate for various reasons. For example, the application may intermittently drop a frame, and/or the application may temporarily output frames at a slower rate (e.g., 45 frames per second when the ideal frame rate is 90 frames per second). In situations where the application is not hitting frame rate, a technique called "rotation-only re-projection" can be used to replace missing frames with re-projected frames in a way that accounts for the user's head rotation, making it appear to the user as if the application is hitting frame rate. Without re-projection, for example, a deficient frame rate from the application may cause in-game stuttering or hitching. In VR applications, where the user is fully immersed in the virtual environment, the user can become nauseous if the application fails to hit frame rate and there is no re-projection to compensate for the missing frames. Thus, re-projection is a technique that allows for a better user experience when an application is not hitting frame rate. Consider an example where the application is outputting frames at half the ideal frame rate (e.g., 45 frames per second where 90 frames per second is the ideal frame rate). In this example, every other frame can be re-projected using pixel data from the most recently-rendered actual frame to create a re-projected frame that transforms the scene (e.g., through rotation and re-projection calculations) to match the re-projected scene to the user's current head orientation. This makes it look to the user as if the scene is moving in a way that is expected given the user's head rotation, even when re-projected frames are used to compensate for the application failing to hit frame rate.
Although rotation-only re-projection prevents in-game stuttering or hitching, it produces its own unwanted visual artifacts during head rotation, at least in VR systems that use low-persistence displays (e.g., where the display is illuminated for a small fraction of the frame time). For example, rotation-only re-projection can cause a strobing flash to appear at the leading edge of each display panel in the direction of head rotation when the user is rotating his/her head. This strobing flash occurs during head rotation because the pixels at the leading edge of the display panel toggle every frame between an actual frame's valid pixels and solid black pixels in the following re-projected frame. The black pixels occur during head rotation in the re-projected frames because there is no pixel data available from the previously-rendered actual frame to use for the pixels at the leading edge of the display panel for the re-projected frame. Accordingly, when the user rotates his/her head while re-projection is being used, the leading edges of the display panels in the direction of the user's head rotation toggles every frame between black pixels and illuminated pixels, causing an unwanted strobing artifact at the leading edges of the display panels.
Provided herein are technical solutions to improve and enhance these and other systems.


Methods of producing induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are provided. For example, a method of producing an iPS cell from a differentiated cell, which includes transforming the differentiated cell with a first vector comprising a nucleic acid sequence comprising a nucleic acid sequence encoding an Oct4, a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Sox2, and a nucleic acid sequence encoding a Klf4. Each of the nucleic acid sequences are separated from each other by a first and second viral 2A sequence. The method described can further comprise culturing the transformed cell under conditions that allow for the production of an iPS cell and isolating the cultured iPS cell.

Embryonic stem (ES) cells have the ability to grow indefinitely while maintaining pluripotency and the ability to differentiate into a multitude of different cell types. Because of these two qualities, human ES cell therapies have been proposed for regenerative medicine and tissue replacement after injury or disease. However, there are ethical difficulties regarding the use of human embryos for the isolation of human ES cells as well as problems with tissue rejection following transplantation of foreign ES cells in patients.

Polycistronic vector for human induced pluripotent stem cell production


Provided is a micro stage comprising: a body having a vertically perforated through-hole passing through a central portion thereof; a bobbin including a tip portion with an electron emission tip embedded in the center thereof, and passing through the through-hole of the body to be moved in the through-hole along a first axis perpendicular to a vertical direction; a first piezoelectric element disposed on the body and lengthened when a voltage is applied thereto to push the bobbin in one direction along the first axis; a second piezoelectric element disposed on the body and lengthened when a voltage is applied thereto to push the bobbin in the other direction along the first axis; and an upper cover that is coupled to an upper portion of the body and has a through-hole, through which the bobbin passes and communicates with the through-hole of the body, wherein the bobbin can be positioned as desired along the first axis by adjusting the voltages applied to the first piezoelectric element and the second piezoelectric element. Accordingly, the emission tip can be exactly and stably positioned using only the movable piezoelectric elements.

This application claims the priority of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0107224, filed on Dec. 16, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a micro stage, and more particularly, to a micro stage employed in a micro-column electron beam apparatus, which is mounted in an ultra high vacuum chamber and is capable of stably positioning an electron emission tip on an electron lens module without coupling effects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Efforts have been made world wide to miniaturize micro stages employed in micro-column electron beam apparatuses. The micro stages are applied to scanning tunneling microscopes, which align an emission tip, which is an electron beam source essential to all electron beam apparatuses, along an optical axis and operate the emission tip in a field emission mode.
FIGS. 1 and 2 are respectively a perspective view and an exploded perspective view of a conventional micro stage employing piezoelectric elements that are used to move an electron beam source tip module along X, Y, and Z axes.
A stage module 100 employed in a conventional micro-column electron beam apparatus functions as a three-axis positioner. The stage module 100 includes four stainless steel stages, that is, a base frame 101, an Y-axis sliding state 110, an X-axis sliding state 120, and a Z-axis sliding state 130.
This structure is instrumentally complex and physically requires various additional functions, each causing operational problems. Also, slow motion of piezoelectric (PZT) actuators 102 results in friction between the stages, and fast motion of the PZT actuators 102 causes the stages to slip from their desired positions due to their inertia.
In general, each of the PZT actuators 102 moves the stages by approximately 10 μm when 100 V is applied to the PZT actuators 102. To make the moving stages slide, both a rigid bearing and smooth sliding surface should be used. Steel and sapphire, which have a smooth sliding surface, may be used for the smooth sliding bearing. A guide bearing which has V-grooves 112 of several millimeters may be disposed in the moving base frame 101 at an angle of 90 degrees. Ball sliding bearings may be placed in the V-grooves 112 to act as guiding bearings.
In the conventional stage module 100, a large force is applied to contact surfaces so that the V-grooves 112 over a half rod 114 can slide to press the contact surfaces and reduce friction generated at the contact surfaces. However, this structure has disadvantages of poor alignment of the V-grooves 112 when the V-grooves 112 are mechanically processed. In addition, as the contact surfaces increase, a pressure higher than the ball bearings is produced.
A leaf spring 113 is used for pressing the moving stages, not a coil spring. The leaf spring 113 is fairly stiff in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which it is flexible.

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Technologies for managing Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) packet delivery include a network interface controller (NIC) of a computing device. The NIC is configured to retrieve identifying data from received IP packets and identify a TCP data stream associated with each received IP packet based on the retrieved identifying data. Additionally, the NIC is configured to determine a service data flow queue associated with the TCP data stream, determine whether a plurality of IP packets presently enqueued in the determined service data flow queue are out of order, and enqueue the received IP packet at a tail of the identified service data flow queue if the NIC determines that the plurality of IP packets presently enqueued in the determined service data flow queue are out of order. Other embodiments are described herein.

Due to its simplicity, reliability, and adapting its transmission rate to end-to-end delays and packet losses caused by congestion, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) has become the de-facto standard over wired networks. For example, TCP is widely used in various popular applications, such as Telnet, file transfer protocol (FTP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc. Due to its broad use, TCP has been tuned for wired networks where the error rates are relatively low (i.e., compared to that of wireless networks) and packet loss is generally attributable to congestion in the networks. In other words, in wired networks, random bit error rate is negligible. However, when a TCP sender transmits packets over wireless communication channels characterized by high bit error rates (e.g., resulting from the mobility of wirelessly connected device's where link quality and bandwidth can rapidly change, unstable communication channel characteristics, collisions, noise, etc.), TCP performance can be perceptively degraded. This is primarily a result of TCP's inability to distinguish the root cause of packet loss (e.g., network congestion vs. transmission errors).
As such, error recovery technologies have been developed to minimize the effect of utilizing wireless communication channels. For example, 3GPP employs forward error correction (FEC) coding and Automatic Repeat reQuest (ARQ) mechanisms as error recovery schemes in Layer 2 of wireless networks, while others rely on TCP retransmission schemes. However, such wireless communication channels typically carry more than one service data flow at a time. For example, the channel may carry one or more of an IP flow, a TCP stream, a UDP stream, etc. It should be appreciated that some high-capacity wireless links (e.g., 4G and 5G cellular networks) may carry tens of simultaneous service data flows, which can all be affected when a wireless link is in an error recovery condition. Additionally, in packet loss scenarios in which a TCP retransmission scheme is employed, an amount of TCP data may already be queued, which can take up to several seconds until the retransmitted TCP packet can be handed and transmitted wirelessly (i.e., the TCP retransmissions reach the intended recipient only after all the previously transmitted new TCP data packets).

Technologies for managing TCP/IP packet delivery


An apparatus for dispensing solder includes a nozzle body having a plurality of flow channels formed therein. Each flow channel includes an inlet end and a dispenser end for dispensing solder. The nozzle body forms a nipple surrounding each dispenser end, and the nozzle body further forms a shielding chamber in communication with each dispenser end for protecting the respective nipple, and optionally providing flow of inerting gas and/or excluding ambient oxygen from the soldering area. The nozzle bodies comprise micro-machined silicon. Various flow channel configurations are provided for improved flow characteristics.

Typically, solder dispensing operations include a pump in communication with a nozzle for dispensing solder onto a workpiece. The solder may either be sprayed through the nozzle by means of the pump, or may be dispensed via gravity through the nozzle.
A common problem in fine-pitch soldering operations is lack of effective control of the dispensed solder. A single nozzle with a large dispenser opening results in a difficult-to-control operation. Attempts to provide a series of nozzles in close proximity to each other have been abandoned due to the tendency of adjacent solder droplets to coalesce, thereby causing inconsistency as the solder solidifies in its desired position. Droplets left over at the end of the nozzle between dispensing operations may, due to surface tension effects, stick to the nozzle and spread and coalesce with adjacent droplets from nearby nozzles.
A further problem experienced with prior art soldering operations is the inability to sufficiently inert the dispenser area, which results in oxidation and premature solidification of the solder. This oxidation can adversely affect the ability of the solder to stick to the workpiece. It is desirable to provide a solder dispensing system which improves inerting of the dispenser area.
It is further desirable to provide a solder dispensing system in which solder can be accurately and evenly applied to a workpiece in a manner in which solder flow is accurately controlled for smooth dispensing.


An earphone body includes an internal chamber, a transducer housed in the internal chamber, a first tuned vent and a second tuned vent. The transducer has a front surface facing a direction of insertion of the earphone body in use and a rear surface 6B. The internal chamber provides a proximal acoustic volume adjacent the front surface of the transducer and a distal acoustic volume adjacent the rear surface of the transducer. The first tuned vent and the second tuned vent each extend between the distal acoustic volume and the ambient environment and are adapted to provide fluid communication between the distal acoustic volume and the ambient environment. The first tuned vent is tuned to a first frequency and the second tuned vent is tuned to a second frequency, the first frequency being lower than the second frequency.

Earphones typically come in two forms: sealed and leaky. Sealed earphones are intra-canal earphones. They are typically designed with a tip portion that fits snugly within the user's ear canal, essentially sealing off the cavity formed within the canal. Thus, sound output is maximized directly into the ear canal and lower frequencies of sound can be heard. However, other sounds are amplified also, such as external vibrations, and these reduce the quality of the sound for the user. Another disadvantage that may occur in these types of earphones is that the air pressure increases inside the ear canal when the tip portion of the earphone is inserted into the ear. This high air pressure may cause damage to the transducer membrane, discomfort and damage to the eardrum of the user, especially at higher sound pressure levels, and further decrease the quality of the sound.
Leaky earphones may be intra-canal or intra-concha. The intra-canal earphones have a similar design to the sealed earphone but they are provided with vents towards the innermost end of the earphone (in use) to reduce air pressure inside the earphone and the ear canal. The intra-concha earphones fit the outer part of the ear, resting just above the ear canal. Since these earphones do not seal with the ear canal, sound waves can leak uncontrollably from the earphones and also diminish the sound quality. Furthermore, acoustic quality performance is inconsistent between users due to variations in ear shapes and sizes.


A circuit arrangement for a brake system with electronic brake force distribution control includes circuits which determine the deceleration of the rear wheels and the deceleration of a vehicle or a corresponding reference quantity. The discrepancy of the filtered rear-wheel deceleration from the vehicle deceleration is evaluated for brake force distribution control. To this end, an output signal is produced by way of a differentiator and integrator comparing the rear-wheel deceleration and the vehicle deceleration, and the output signal is evaluated for the control of the braking pressure in the rear-wheel brakes.

The present invention relates to a circuit arrangement for a brake system with electronic control of the brake force distribution to the front axle and the rear axle, hereinbelow referred to as EBV, including electrically controllable hydraulic valves inserted in the pressure fluid conduits leading to the rear-wheel brakes and in return conduits, wheel sensors to determine the wheel rotational behavior, and an electronic circuit which evaluates the sensor signals, generates signals to actuate the hydraulic valves and includes circuits which determine the deceleration of the rear wheels and the deceleration of the vehicle or a reference quantity representative of the deceleration of the vehicle in approximation, and which compare these deceleration values.
German patent application No. 33 06 611 (GB-A-2 135 413) discloses a circuit arrangement of this type. This application relates to a method of controlling the brake force distribution which is based on measuring and comparing the brake slip on the front wheels and the rear wheels. The brake slip on the rear wheels is limited to the value of the brake slip on the front wheels or to a somewhat smaller value. The braking pressure on the rear axle is reduced in response to a signal which is indicative of an imminent locked condition of the rear wheels and produced by comparison of the rear-wheel deceleration with the vehicle deceleration.
German patent No. 33 23 402 discloses an anti-lock brake system including electromagnetically operable hydraulic valves which are also used to control the brake force distribution. For this purpose, an inlet valve is inserted into each pressure fluid conduit to the rear-wheel brakes. Actuation of the inlet valve permits controlling the pressure increase in the rear-wheel brakes also in a so-called partial braking operation, i.e., prior to the commencement of anti-lock control. To control or adjust the brake force distribution, an outlet valve can be used to reduce the braking pressure in the rear-wheel brakes. It is preferred to limit the brake slip on the rear wheels to a defined percentage, preferably 85-97% of the brake slip of the front wheels, by actuation of the rear-wheel valves.
A brake system with electronic brake force distribution (EBV) of this type obviates the need for mounting a conventional mechanical or hydraulic braking pressure reducing valve or braking pressure control valve which has previously been used to prevent overbraking of the rear wheels due to a static or dynamic axle load shift. This reduces the expenditure in manufacturing the brake system. In addition, the components which are required in an electronic anti-lock system, in particular the wheel sensors and the hydraulic valves, may also be used for the EBV function.
A shortcoming of these known brake systems with EBV function is that the wheel speed must be measured with great accuracy to determine the actual slip. A defined amount of slip already is involved due to the inevitable differences in the rolling circumferences of the individual wheels. Also, differences in wheel speeds occur during cornering, which the control erroneously interprets as slip. Upon failure of one of the front-wheel brakes, special provisions are required when an EBV function on the basis of the difference between the slip of the front wheel and the rear wheel is performed to prevent the braking pressure in the rear-wheel brakes from being restricted to an insufficient amount of braking pressure.

Circuit arrangement for a brake system with electronic brake force distribution control


Object: To provide a solar light pumped laser and a cooling method of a solar light pumped laser.

A conventional laser apparatus generates a laser beam mainly by converting an electric energy into a form of light (turns on a lamp) or an electric discharge to pump a laser medium. It is known that such method comprises a plurality of energy conversion processes and having a low-energy efficiency (not more than a few percent). The reason may include the fact that an electric energy, which has originally high quality, is converted into light through a low-efficient energy conversion in use.
In this regard, solar light can be used as a light source for laser oscillation without using the low-efficient electric-to-light conversion process. Only the principle of a solar light pumped laser has hitherto been studied mainly in research institutes and laboratories of universities. However, studies about a solar light pumped laser aiming at practical development or practical use level has been scarcely done.
Since the conventional solar light pumped laser apparatus pumps a laser medium by focusing solar light on the laser medium by using a reflection mirror or a lens, the apparatus cannot be made large and hence, there is a difficulty in the industrial application thereof. Furthermore, though various experimental studies have been reported, an imitation solar light sources are used in all the reported solar light pumped lasers with high efficiencies of more than 10 percent. Accordingly, it can be said that there has not been performed any studies about laser oscillation using actual solar light as a pumping light source. In order to utilize the solar light as a pumping light source for the practical use of the solar light pumped laser, the energy density of the solar light needs to be enhanced so as to generate a population inversion at a laser oscillation level. In this case, there is a problem in that the configuration of the reflection mirror and the lens for enhancing the energy density of the solar light must be examined.
On the other hand, literatures related to the solar light pumped laser, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-188441 (Patent Literature 1), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-012569 (Patent Literature 2), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-255501 (Patent Literature 3) and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H7-240553 (Patent Literature 4), have been known so far. Patent Literature 1 discloses a solar light pumped laser having a structure in which a coolant flows around a laser medium, yet does not disclose at any point of realizing an energy density necessary for highly efficient laser oscillation by using solar light of a low-energy efficiency.
FIG. 9 depicts the cross section of the conventional solar light pumped laser that has hitherto been proposed. The solar light pumped laser 100 shown in FIG. 9 comprises in general the Fresnel lens 102, the containing frame 104 provided with the reflection optical system for reflecting solar light focused by the Fresnel lens 102, and the laser medium 106. The total reflection mirror 108 is disposed on one end of the laser medium 106 and the half mirror 110 is disposed on the other end thereof to irradiate a laser beam in a direction indicated by the arrow X. The containing frame 104 retains air as a coolant internally. As shown in FIG. 9, the pumping solar light is entered into the laser medium 106 from one surface thereof. Since the total reflection mirror 108 is disposed on this surface of incidence, the laser medium 106 cannot be pumped efficiently in the traveling direction of the laser beam. Further, in this configuration, a large area ratio of cross sections between the opening of the containing frame 104 into which the solar light is entered and the laser medium 106 cannot be attained, there is an essential restriction in that an upper limit of a power amplification effect from solar light power to a laser beam is limited by this area ratio thereof. Further, solar light is hardly focused by the reflection elements disposed inside the containing frame 104, and irradiated onto the laser medium as scattered light. Accordingly, in this configuration, the laser medium 106 cannot be pumped efficiently in the laser oscillation direction. In addition, since air is used as a coolant, the laser medium is hardly expected to be cool, and this configuration cannot cope with an essential problem of efficiently cooling the laser medium and the Fresnel lens 102 which are served as a focusing optical system.
That is to say, the laser system disclosed by the above prior art uses or simply appropriates a commercially available laser cooling method, and lacks a viewpoint of the practical use of the method for focusing the solar light on the laser medium. Further, the lens and the reflection mirror included in this laser system are inappropriately arranged suitable for the industrial use of the solar light pumped laser. In addition, the laser system employs an asymmetrical optical arrangement in which pumping light propagates in an axial direction of a laser material, and this causes a problem in that homogeneous pumping of the material is difficult, resulting in a low efficiency.    [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-188441    [Patent Literature 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-012569    [Patent Literature 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-255501    [Patent Literature 4] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. H7-240553

Solar light pumped laser and cooling method of solar light pumped laser

Abstract: Means for Solving the Problems: A solar light pumped laser performing laser oscillation by pumping a laser medium with solar light, the solar light pumped laser including, a laser medium 12, a container device 14 that supports the laser medium 12 therein, the container device 14 being provided with a focusing optical element 22 for irradiating solar light focused along the laser medium 12, while retaining cooling liquid in a space between the laser medium 12 and the container device 14, and additionally, a pair of optical reflection elements (16, 18) arranged adjacent to the opposing ends of the laser medium. An end of the container device 14 has Brewster's angle. Further, the cooling liquid according to the present invention contains water functioning as an optical medium to form a water lens simultaneously with cleaning the focusing optical element 22.


A damper is provided for a switch mechanism to prevent overtravel in response to a snap-release of a plunger when it is fully depressed. If no precautions are taken to prevent this type of overtravel, springs which urge the plunger away from its base can provide sufficient force to propel the plunger away from the base with sufficient speed and force to cause the plunger to travel past its intended unactuated position. The present invention utilizes a sloped cam surface which acts as a damper to divert the direction of travel of a cam follower relative to a cam and thereby dissipate the kinetic energy of the plunger, button and moveable components attached to the plunger.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to switch mechanisms and, more particularly, to switch mechanisms which incorporate a cam surface shaped to provide a damper so that overtravel of a switch plunger can be prevented when the plunger is suddenly released from a depressed position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of switch mechanisms are well known to those skilled in the art. A particular application of switch mechanisms of this type relate to pushbutton switches that comprise a plunger that is moveable relative to a base along an axis and which causes actuation of switching components when the plunger is depressed. Typically, the plunger is connected to a button that is depressible by a human finger. Some switch mechanisms cause actuation of a switch upon each depression of the button and plunger while other switch applications, referred to as alternate action devices, actuate on one push and release of the button and undo the actuation on a subsequent push and release of the button.
Regardless of the specific application of the switch mechanism, most known mechanisms utilize cams and cam followers to control the sequence of operations resulting from depression of the button and plunger. U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,315, which issued to Stevens on Mar. 3, 1981, discloses a pushbutton switch with a safety stop. The switch utilizes a locking mechanism that includes a cam member with a groove of the cam member being engaged by a cam follower. The groove is in the form of a closed loop path and the pushbutton is linked to the locking mechanism so that movement of the pushbutton moves the cam follower relative to the cam member along the groove. The cam follower moves only in an up and down direction in line with the axis of movement of the button and the cam moves in a direction perpendicular to that axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,523,168, which issued to Holmes on Aug. 4, 1970, describes a pushbutton switch which has a positive plunger safety stop carried in its casing. The switch has a tubular casing that receives a pushbutton at the upper casing end and has a lower switch at the lower casing end. The pushbutton is moveable inward into the upper casing end by an initial pushing inward followed by moving upwardly by a release counterspring action. The switch comprises a plunger guide that can have a plurality of grooves in which teeth of a plunger disc reciprocate vertically so that the plunger can not substantially rotate relative to the plunger guide. The guide has an upper circular edge above the grooves and the guide is enlarged radially outwardly to provide shoulders to hold the upper end and the lower bottom of the plunger guide between a lamp contact block and the bottom of a casing structure.
One serious problem that can occur during the operation of a pushbutton switch is the sudden release of the button while it is fully depressed relative to its housing. Since most pushbutton switches utilize one or more compression springs to urge the button and plunger outward relative to the case or housing, a sudden snap-release of the button can result in the rapid movement of the plunger and button away from the base of the switch to result in the button exceeding its normal unactuated position. In some extreme cases, the pushbutton and plunger can actually disconnect from the housing and be projected out of the pushbutton housing. In less extreme, but equally deleterious circumstances, the pushbutton can become separated from the plunger while remaining within the housing. The subsequent actuation of the device will require an initial force to reconnect the pushbutton and plunger followed by another force to actually actuate the device. Another possible result from a sudden snap-release is the movement of the plunger to a position normally assumed only during a relamping procedure as provided for in U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,315 described above and in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 973,132 which was filed by Cummins and Shaw on Nov. 6, 1993 and assigned to the assignee of the present application. The plunger could react to a snap-release by moving to the relamping position and require two sequential forces, separated by a release, to actuate the device. All of these possible results are seriously disadvantageous.
In view of the above problem, it would be significantly beneficial if a means were provided to prevent this type of overtravel in response to a snap-release of a button and plunger of a pushbutton switch.

Mechanism with damper to prevent overtravel upon sudden release


The invention relates to a device for load limitation in a aircraft high lift system, said system comprising individual segments of landing flap systems and slat flap systems, and a drive unit. The inventive device for load limitation comprises a control unit that is connected to position sensors and is embodied in such a way as to process signals from the position sensors and to generate a signal for limiting the supplied drive power. The invention also relates to a method for load limitation. According to said method, signals from at least two position sensors are measured; at least one reference variable is calculated form the measured signals; each reference variable is compared with a corresponding threshold value pre-determined from a maximum authorized load; and a control signal is generated for limiting the drive power, when at least one of the reference variables reaches or exceeds the threshold value.

Aircraft high-lift systems are already known which have a central drive unit and a branching drive system for mechanical power transmission to the drive stations of individual segments of landing-flap/leading-edge slat systems. If a landing-flap segment and/or a transmission for the branching drive system were to become blocked, this segment and the corresponding branch of the drive system and/or the transmission and the corresponding branch of the drive system would have to absorb all of the drive energy from the drive unit as a reaction moment, and would have to be designed to be accordingly massive and heavy.
Mechanical load limiter devices (torque limiters) are provided as protection apparatuses in aircraft high-lift systems with a branching drive system such as these, in order to prevent local overloading in that segment and in the corresponding branch of the drive system and/or the transmission and the corresponding branch of the drive system in the event of blocking of the landing-flap segment and/or of a transmission in the branching drive system. In this case, the landing-flap segment is protected by the station load limiter (actuation torque limiter) and the branching drive system is protected by the system load limiter (system torque limiter).
On the basis of mechanical components, load limiter devices such as these in their own right represent a largely optimized solution. However, because of their complex design, these systems increase the mass and the operating costs of an aircraft equipped with them and, furthermore, by nature of their function they are activated only in the event of faults. Finally, with narrow design tolerances and with parametrically sensitive system dynamics, these load limiter devices can also respond when the drive system is intact and operating without faults or errors, then blocking the entire system.

Method for load limiting in drive systems for aircraft high lift systems


A shaping drum for a tire blank comprising bottom zones formed of a circular reinforcement ring which is moved in rotation about an axis XX′, comprising bead-holding means (2a, 2b) mounted opposite one another on a central spindle. Each of the bead-holding means comprises a support (5a, 5b) mounted to be axially movably relative to the spindle. An assembly of return segments (9a, 9b) is distributed circumferentially around the axis XX′, which circulate radially between two circular rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b) fixed on the support (5a, 5b), and comprises a bead-receiving seat (10a, 10b). A turn-up membrane (12a, 12b) can slide over the bead-receiving seat, anchored in an airtight manner by its two ends (121a, 122a, 121b, 122b) on the radially outer circumference of the circular rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b) and anchored mechanically by appropriate means (14a, 14b) on the return segments (9a, 9b) along a circumferential anchoring line (90a). The section of the bead-receiving seat (10a, 10b) is of essentially circular shape with a developed length L1, and the circumferential anchoring line of the turn-up membrane (121, 12b) on the return segments (9a, 9b) is axially offset towards the centre of the drum by a length L2 relative to the bead receiving seat (10a, 10b), the length L2 being between 0.7 and 2 times the length L1.

According to a known method tire blanks are fabricated by assembling profiled rubber products in a first stage on a first drum of generally cylindrical shape to obtain a sleeve most commonly called a carcass. The carcass usually comprises a carcass reinforcement ply anchored at its two axial ends to circumferential reinforcing rings designed to constitute the bottom zone of the tire, and profiled elements designed to ensure that the tire is airtight or to reinforce particular zones.
In a second stage the carcass is placed on means suitable for transforming the cylindrical tire blank formed by the carcass into a tire blank of toroidal shape.
After having carried out this stage, known as the shaping stage, it is then possible to assemble the elements that constitute the crown zone which comprises, inter alia, the crown reinforcement plies and a tire tread.
This transformation can be carried out by inflating a membrane placed inside the cylindrical sleeve between the two bead reinforcement rings.
More generally, the carcass is arranged on shaping and assembly means comprising two receiving means positioned opposite one another and designed to hold the carcass to be shaped by its beads. These holding means can preserve airtight contact with the said beads. The shaping operation is carried out by increasing the air pressure inside the volume delimited by the holding means and by the tire carcass, and bringing the holding means axially closer together.
The holding means generally comprise a circumferential element that can move radially. In its expanded position this gripping means ensures holding and airtightness at the level of the bead. In its retracted position the said means allow the carcass to be introduced and the tire blank to be extracted.
In addition it is also possible to add means for holding the bottom zone located axially inside the volume delimited by the tire, or even a turn-up membrane arranged axially outside the volume delimited by the tire and designed to hold down the rubber profiled elements previously arranged on an assembly zone of the shaping and assembly drum.
These technologies are described, for example, in the patent EP 468 580 or in the patent DE 39 07 121.
Note that the shaping and assembly means described in those patents are particularly well suited for shaping carcasses whose bottom zone comprises a reinforcement ring around which it is not necessary to turn up the anchoring of the carcass reinforcement ply and the products that constitute the bead while the carcass is being changed from the cylindrical to the toroidal shape.
It can also be advantageous to position the profiled elements designed to form the bottom zone of the tire before introducing the carcass. These products can undergo axial displacements that are uncontrolled and incompatible with the assembly precision sought during the gripping of the carcass.
To that end, the publication EP 492 239 proposes to put in place a circumferential anchoring line capable of preventing any axial slip of the membrane in this zone. This anchoring line is generally located vertically above the zone in which the bead block is arranged. A drum of this type is shown schematically in FIG. 1.
This drum according to the known prior art comprises a central spindle 1 connected to a frame (not shown) and driven in rotation by a motor (not shown) about the axis XX′. The rotation spindle 1 supports two holding means for the beads (2a, 2b) mounted opposite one another relative to the plane of symmetry YY′. Each bead-holding means comprises a support (5a, 5b) which slides axially on the central spindle 1. The sliding supports (5a, 5b) are arranged so as to make airtight contact with the central spindle 1. Each sliding support also comprises an assembly of return segments (9a, 9b) distributed circumferentially around the axis XX′, which can move radially under the action of an axially mobile slider (11a, 11b). The return segments (9a, 9b) comprise a seat for receiving the beads (10a, 10b) and can exert a radial pressure on the carcass beads.
Two circular rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b) are fixed to the two axial ends of the sliding support and serve to guide the return segments (9a, 9b) during the radial movement of the said segments.
A turn-up membrane (12a, 12b) is anchored in an airtight manner by its two axial ends (121a, 122a, 121b, 122b) on the radially outer circumference of each of the rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b). The rings (7a, 7b) located at the axial end of the sliding support (2a, 2b) support an extender (8a, 8b) on which the lobe of the holding down membrane (12a, 12b) rests.
As shown in FIG. 1, it can be particularly advantageous to anchor the two axial ends of the turn-up membrane (121a, 122a, 121b, 122b) directly on the inner ring (6a, 6b), on the one hand to ensure the airtightness of the part of the bead-holding means that comprises the radially mobile return segments (9a, 9b), and on the other hand to enclose the bead as completely as possible when the turn-up membrane is actuated, so as to assist the pressing against the shaped carcass of the rubber products previously arranged on the lateral extenders (8a, 8b).
The turn-up membrane covers the bead-receiving seat (10a, 10b), which also assists airtight contact between the bead of the tire to be shaped and the receiving zone (10a, 10b) during the radial expansion of the return segments. The membrane can also slide over the bead-receiving seats (10a, 10b).
Each holding means (2a, 2b) is drawn axially along the central spindle 1 by mobile clamps (3a, 3b) which move axially under the action of the rotation of a motorised screw 13 in openings (4a, 4b) formed in the central spindle 1. This axial movement allows control of the mutual approach of the beads during the shaping operation.
Means (not shown) are provided to allow compressed air to be injected into the central space delimited by the central spindle and the bead holding means.
Thus, the shaping drum according to the known prior art comprises bead-holding means (2a, 2b) mounted opposite one another on a central spindle (1), each of the said bead-holding means comprising:                a support (5a, 5b) mounted on and able to move axially relative to the said spindle (1);        an assembly of return segments (9a, 9b) distributed circumferentially around the axis XX′, which circulate radially between two circular rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b) fixed on the support (5a, 5b), and comprising a bead-receiving seat (10a, 10b);        a turn-up membrane (12a, 12b) that can slide over the bead-receiving seat, anchored in an airtight manner by its two ends (121a, 122a, 121b, 122b) on the radially outer circumference of the circular rings (6a, 7a, 6b, 7b). The membrane is also anchored mechanically by suitable means (14a, 14b) to the return segments (9a, 9b) along a circumferential anchoring line located between the anchorings of the ends (121a, 122a, 121b, 122b).
Note, however, that the anchoring line is preferably located opposite the bead heel receiving zone.
This type of drum is particularly suitable for producing tire blanks in which the carcass is not turned around the reinforcement ring during the shaping operation. Axial displacement is blocked in both directions by the circumferential anchoring, and the bottom zone is held in an airtight way during the shaping operation.
On the other hand, when the section of the bottom zone reinforcement ring is circular, the carcass reinforcement ply and the products constituting the bead rotate around the reinforcement ring. It is then appropriate to arrange that the receiving means fitted on the flanges, which ensure airtight contact with the bead, can also be moved in rotation so as to go along with the movement of the bead during the rotation of the bottom zone around the reinforcement ring. In other words, the rotation of the bead around the reinforcement ring of the bottom zone brings about axial sliding of the turn-up membrane.


A linked-list structure and method for use in an ATM network switch capable of adaptively providing highly efficient, and thus low cost, integrated services therein. The linked-list structure involves the creation of a list having pointers to a subsequent linked list as list entries. Within the subsequent linked list, each entry can be a pointer to a further linked list. The structure can be expanded to further levels of linked lists as required. Bandwidth distribution is thus achieved among list members at each level. The linked-list structure is employed in the present switch, which includes an input port processor, a bandwidth arbiter, and an output port processor, for switch bandwidth scheduling for both point-to-point, multipoint-to-point and point-to-multipoint cell transfers from the input port processor, and for output link scheduling at the output port processor.

Telecommunications networks such as asynchronous transfer mode ("ATM") networks are used for transfer of audio, video and other data. ATM networks deliver data by routing data units such as ATM cells from source to destination through switches. Switches include input/output ("I/O") ports through which ATM cells are received and transmitted. The appropriate output port for transmission of the cell is determined based on the cell header.
In configuring a network element such as a switch for the optimal transfer of various traffic types (sometimes referred to as a service classes) supported by ATM networks, multiple factors such as throughput delay and desired bandwidth must be considered. Such traffic types, each having its own delay and bandwidth requirements, include the constant bit rate ("CBR") service class, the variable bit rate ("VBR") service class, the available bit rate ("ABR") service class, and the unspecified bit rate ("UBR") service class.
The primary differentiator between the service classes is delay. Telecommunications network applications such as teleconferencing require deterministic delay bounds, and are typically assigned to the CBR service class. Transaction processing applications such as automated teller machines require a "tightly bounded" delay specification to provide acceptable response times. Such applications typically are assigned to the VBR service class. File transfer applications such as internetwork traffic merely require a "bounded" delay, and thus typically employ the ABR service classes. The UBR service class normally provides no delay bound.
Bandwidth is another consideration in establishing an acceptable switch configuration. Video applications typically have a predictable bandwidth requirement, while file transfer applications are much more aperiodic, or "bursty."
Low-delay and complete line utilization are opposing goals when multiplexing asynchronous sources. High utilization is achieved by having a set of connections share bandwidth that is unassigned to connections that need very low delay. This shared bandwidth is known as dynamic bandwidth because it is distributed to connections based on instantaneous operating conditions. VBR, ABR and UBR utilize dynamic bandwidth to achieve high line utilization.
A network switch capable of adaptively accommodating network traffic having such dissimilar delay and bandwidth requirements, and thus providing low-cost, highly efficient integrated services, is required.

Linked list structures for multiple levels of control in an ATM switch


One aspect of an actuator assembly configured for use in a disk drive includes an actuator body including a bore, an adhesive inlet port, and an adhesive vent, a pivot bearing disposed at least partially within the bore of the actuator body, an adhesive disposed between the pivot bearing and the actuator body, and a barrier coupled to the actuator body and positioned over the adhesive vent.

Information storage devices are used to retrieve and/or store data in computers and other consumer electronics devices. A magnetic hard disk drive is an example of an information storage device that includes one or more heads that can both read and write, but other information storage devices also include heads—sometimes including heads that cannot write. For convenience, all heads that can read are referred to as "read heads" herein, regardless of other devices and functions the read head may also perform (e.g., writing, flying height control, touch down detection, lapping control, etc).
In a modern magnetic hard disk drive device, each read head is a sub-component of a head gimbal assembly (HGA). The read head typically includes a slider and a read/write transducer. The read/write transducer typically comprises a magneto-resistive read element (e.g., so-called giant magneto-resistive read element, or a tunneling magneto-resistive read element), and an inductive write structure comprising a flat coil deposited by photolithography, and a yoke structure having pole tips that face a disk media. The HGA typically also includes a suspension assembly that includes a mounting plate, a load beam, and a laminated flexure to carry the electrical signals to and from the read head. The read head is typically bonded to a tongue feature of the laminated flexure.
The HGA, in turn, can be a sub-component of a head stack assembly (HSA) that typically includes a plurality of HGAs, a head actuator, and a flex cable. The mounting plate of each suspension assembly can be attached to an arm of the head actuator (e.g. by swaging), and each of the laminated flexures can include a flexure tail that is electrically connected to the HSA's flex cable (e.g., by solder reflow bonding or ultrasonic bonding). The angular position of the HSA, and therefore the position of the read heads relative to data tracks on the disks, can be actively controlled by the head actuator which is typically driven by a voice coil motor (VCM). Specifically, electrical current passed through a coil of the VCM can apply a torque to the head actuator, so that the read head can seek and follow desired data tracks on the spinning disk.
The actuator body of the HSA can be pivotally attached to a base of the disk drive, for example, by a pivot bearing that allows the HSA to pivot. The pivot bearing typically is disposed within a bore formed in the actuator body and bonded thereto by a layer of adhesive. During manufacture a portion of the adhesive that can squeeze out of an adhesive vent in the actuator body into a space located between the actuator body and the flex stiffener. The thin layer of adhesive squeeze out does not get cured during the baking process after pivot adhesive dispensing, which can led to high liquid particle counts within the magnetic disk drive. Such high liquid particle count can thereby contaminate other disk drive components (e.g., the head or disk), reducing the reliability and/or lifetime of the disk drive and threatening the data stored within.

Actuator pivot assembly including a bonding adhesive barrier configured to reduce contamination


Systems, methods, and computer-readable media are provided for wireless sensor networks (WSNs), including sensor deployment mechanisms for road surveillance. Disclosed embodiments are applied to design roadside infrastructure with optimal perception for a given geographic area. The deployment mechanisms account for the presence of static and dynamic obstacles, as well as symmetry aspects of the underlying environment. The deployment mechanisms minimize the number of required sensors to reduce costs and conserve compute and network resources, and extended infrastructure the sensing capabilities of sensor networks. Other embodiments are disclosed and/or claimed.

Computer-assisted or (semi-)autonomous driving (CA/AD) vehicles may include various technologies for perception, such as camera feeds and sensory information. European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) publishes an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) standards, which includes telematics and various types of communications between vehicles (e.g., V2V), between vehicles and fixed locations (e.g., V2I), between vehicles and networks (e.g., V2N), between vehicles and handheld devices (e.g., V2P), and the like. Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) and/or Cellular Vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) protocols provide communications between CA/AD vehicles and the roadside infrastructure. Cooperative-ITS (C-ITS) may support full autonomous driving including wireless short range communications (ITS-G5) dedicated to automotive ITS and road transport and traffic telematics (RTTT). C-ITS may provide connectivity between road participants and infrastructure.
Roadside infrastructure may provide mapping services to provide dynamic maps of a physical environment, such as roads or highways, for use by CA/AD vehicles. Input for such mapping services may be provided by CA/AD vehicles equipped with sensors and/or by fixed sensor infrastructure. The perception of the environment, however, can be considerably impaired by the failure of individual sensing components. Similarly, the emergence of obstacles in the physical environment can render sensing elements wholly or partially inoperable. To provide the mapping services, the sensing system requires a high level of resilience or the ability to cope with unexpected challenges. This becomes especially important in safety-critical domains, such as the operation of CA/AD vehicles.


A high-performance, pipelined CPU in which an improved method is used for saving registers in memory upon the occurrence of a procedure CALL or RETURN. The registers which need to be saved are defined by a bit-mask, and the number of bits is counted by a hardwired circuit, in each machine cycle, producing an output in the form of an offset from a stack pointer which represents the highest memory location needed to save the registers being used. Then a memory probe can be done to see if this location is writable. Thus, in one microinstruction cycle, the count is made and the memory probe can begin.

This invention relates to a central processing unit (CPU) of a computer system, more particularly, to a method for saving or retrieving a set of CPU registers in procedure CALL or RETURN instructions.
In high performance computer systems, memory is allocated to each process or job by the operating system software. As each process is executed the CPU must assure, for system and process security reasons, that only the memory space allocated for that process is used. This assurance requires constant CPU checking of every memory address against the process memory boundaries, causing a slower process or job run time. To insure that the execution of some CPU instructions will complete successfully, it is often necessary to predict what memory space will be required before the operation is even started.
One such operation requiring this prediction is the pushing (writing) of register contents on a stack before a procedure is invoked. None of the registers can be written to the stack without first knowing that all can be written successfully. This requires determining the number of registers to be written, computing the boundary addresses, and comparing the addresses against the process memory allocation.
An example of this operation is a CALL macroinstruction, where one of the operations required in the execution of this instruction is to save (push/write to a memory stack) the contents of one or more of the general purpose registers as specified by the user in a save-mask found in memory. In one example, the VAX architecture requires that the memory required for the stack write be validated for the process before the writing is performed. According to the present invention, a method is described for quickly counting the bits in the save-mask, resulting in a count representing the number of registers that are to be saved. A subsequent microcode flow then uses the count value along with a base memory address to probe the boundaries of stack required, making sure that the needed memory is available in the stack. Thus, a method is provided which significantly reduces the execution steps and time required to pre-compute the memory boundary addresses for writing a variable number of registers to sequential memory locations.
In prior CPU implementations the problem was solved differently. Some used a method which first assumed the maximum number of bits to be set in the save-mask, and tried or probed memory with that assumption; then if a memory bounds failure occurred, the CPU reverted to counting the save-mask bits. Other prior CPU's started the operation by counting the save-mask bits. All of these previous CPU implementations utilized microcode procedures to count the number of bits in the save-mask. These procedures performed the operation by examining each of the save-mask bits, and accumulating a count representing the number of bits that were set. Since this procedure was always implemented with microcoded program loops, the operation took a significant number of cycles to complete, and caused a loss in performance. In contrast, the method of the present invention performs the same task using combinatorial logic, and produces the same result in one machine cycle.

Digital processor with bit mask for counting registers for fast register saves


An acoustic virtual environment is processed in an electronic device. The acoustic virtual environment comprises at least one sound source (300). In order to model the manner in which the sound is directed, a direction dependent filtering arrangement (306, 307, 308, 309) is attached to the sound source, whereby the effect of the filtering arrangement on the sound depends on predetermined parameters. The directivity can depend on the frequency of the sound.

An acoustic virtual environment means an audible impression with the aid of which the listener to an electrically reproduced sound can imagine that he is in a certain space. Complicated acoustic virtual environments often aim at imitating a real space, which is called auralization of said space. This concept is described for instance in the article M. Kleiner, B.-I. Dalenbäck P. Svensson: "Auralization—An Overviews", 1993, J. Audio Eng. Soc., vol. 41, No. 11, pp. 861-875. The auralization can be combined in a natural way with the creation of a visual virtual environment, whereby a user provided with suitable displays and speakers or a headset can examine a desired real or imaginary space, and even "move around" in said space, whereby he gets a different visual and acoustic impression depending on which point in said environment he chooses as his examination point.
The creation of an acoustic virtual environment can be divided into three factors which are the modeling of the sound source, the modeling of the space, and the modeling of the listener. The present invention relates particularly to the modeling of a sound source and the early reflections of the sound.
The VRML97 language (Virtual Reality Modeling Language 97) is often used for modeling and processing a visual and acoustic virtual environment, and this language is treated in the publication ISO/IEC JTC/SC24 IS 14772-1, 1997, Information Technology—Computer Graphics and Image Processing—The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML97), April 1997; and on the corresponding pages at the Internet address http://www.vrml.org/Specifications/VRML97/. Another set of rules being developed while this patent application is being written relates to the Java3D, which is to become the control and processing environment of the VRML, and which is described for instance in the publication SUN Inc. 1997: JAVA 3D API Specification 1.0; and at the Internet address http://www.javasoft.com/-products/java-media/3D/forDevelopers/3Dguide/-. Further the MPEG-4 standard (Motion Picture Expert Group 4) under development has as a goal that a multimedia presentation transmitted via a digital communication link can contain real and virtual objects, which together form a certain audiovisual environment. The MPEG-4 standard is described in the publication ISO/IEC JTC/SC29 WG11 CD 14496. 1997: Information technology—Coding of audiovisual objects. November 1997; and on the corresponding pages at the Internet address http://www.cselt.it/-mpeg/public/mpeg-4_cd.htm.
FIG. 1 shows a known directed sound model which is used in VRML97 and MPEG-4. The sound source is located at the point 101 and around it there is imagined two ellipsoids 102 and 103 within each other, whereby the focus of one ellipsoid is common with the location of the sound source and whereby the main axes of the ellipsoids are parallel. The sizes of the ellipsoids 102 and 104 are represented by the distances maxBack, maxFront, minBack and minFront measured in the direction of the ma axis. The attenuation of the sound as a function of the distance is represented by the curve 104. Inside the inner ellipsoid 102 the sound intensity is constant, and outside the outer ellipsoid 103 the sound intensity is zero. When passing along any straight line through the point 101 away from the point 101 the sound intensity decreases linearly 20 dB between the inner and the outer ellipsoids. In other words, the attenuation A observed at a point 105 located between the ellipsoids can be calculated from the formulaA=−20 dB·(d′/d″)where d′ is the distance from the surface of the inner ellipsoid to the observation point, as measured along the straight line joining the points 101 and 105, and d″ is the distance between the inner and outer ellipsoids, as measured along the same straight line.
In Java3D directed sound is modeled with the ConeSound concept which is illustrated in FIG. 2. The figure presents a section of a certain double cone structure along a plane which contains the common longitudinal axis of the cones. The sound source is located at the common vertex 203 of the cones 201 and 202. Both in the regions of the front cone 201 and of the back cone 202 the sound is uniformly attenuated. Linear interpolation is applied in the region between the cones. In order to calculate the attenuation detected at the observation point 204 you must know the sound intensity without attenuation, the width of the front and back cones, and the angle between the longitudinal axis of the front cone and the straight line joining the points 203 and 204.
A known method for modeling the acoustics of a space comprising surfaces is the image source method, in which the original sound source is given a set of imaginary image sources which are mirror images of the sound source in relation to the reflection surfaces to be examined: one image source is placed behind each reflection surface to be examined, whereby the distance measured directly from this image source to the examination point is the same as the distance from the original sound source via the reflection to the examination point. Further, the sound from the image source arrives at the examination point from the same direction as the real reflected sound. The audible impression is obtained by adding the sounds generated by the image sources.
The prior art methods are very heavy regarding the calculation. If we assume that the virtual environment is transmitted to the user for instance as a broadcast or via a data network, then the receiver of the user should continuously add the sound generated by even thousands of image sources. Moreover, the bases of the calculation always changes when the user decides to change the location of the examination point. Further the known solutions completely ignore the fact that in addition to the direction angle the directivity of the sound strongly depends on its wave-length, in other words, sounds with a different pitch are directed differently.
From the Finnish patent application number 974006 (Nokia Corp.) and the corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/174,989 there is known a method and a system for processing an acoustic virtual environment. There the surfaces of the environment to be modeled are represented by filters having a certain frequency response. In order to transmit the modeled environment in digital transmission form it is sufficient to present in some way the transfer functions of all essential surfaces belonging to the environment. However, even this does not take into account the effects which the arrival direction or the pitch of the sound has on the direction of the sound.

Method and system for processing directed sound in an acoustic virtual environment


A dimensional weighing apparatus is disclosed which has a weighing scale for determining the actual weight of a carton placed thereon, and associated therewith is a measuring frame and an optical sensing system for measuring the linear distance of the three axes of carton positioned on the scale necessary to determine the volume of the carton. A computer processing unit determines firstly whether the actual volume of the carton is less or greater than a predetermined threshold volume, and provides an operator with a signal indicating that determination. The apparatus includes means for permitting the operator to determine whether he will manually measure the carton to determine its actual volume for a more accurate determination than is provided by the measuring frame and optical sensing system, or if he will cause the dimensional weighing apparatus to calculate the dimensional weight of the carton and determine a shipping weight based thereon, thereby accepting a less accurate determination of a shipping weight in the interest of greater speed.

The present invention relates generally to the concept of dimensional weighing to determine the charge required by a carrier for transporting a package or parcel, and more particularly to a dimensional weighing system suitable for use by a variety of shippers and carriers to determine accurate freight charges for packages or parcels that are considerably oversized in comparison to their actual weight.
A detailed description of the background and development of the concept of dimensional weighing, as well as the significant problems and disadvantages of prior art dimensional weighing systems, is set forth in the Background of the Invention portion of the specification in the above cross-referenced application, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Briefly, the invention disclosed and claimed in that application is a dimensional weighing system in which a measuring frame having three measuring arms which extend from a common juncture along the three axes of cartons which must be measured to determine the volume thereof is mounted in operative association with the platform of a weighing scale on which the cartons are placed in a predetermined position. A plurality of optical emitters, such as LEDs, are evenly positioned along the length of the measuring arms, and either one or three optical sensors, depending on the particular embodiment of the invention, are positioned such that the sensor(s) respond to all emitters on the measuring arms that are not obscured by the parcel. A computer processing means receives and stores the length, width and height linear dimensions of a carton from the optical sensors and calculates its volume. The computer then compares that volume with a predetermined threshold volume stored in a memory, so as to determine, firstly, whether the volume of the carton is less than the predetermined threshold volume so that it can be shipped at a shipping charge based on the actual weight of the carton as determined by a suitable weighing scale, or is larger than the predetermined threshold volume and may therefore require that a dimensional weight be calculated on which a shipping charge is based. If the latter situation prevails, the computer processing means then compares the dimensional weight of the carton with the actual weight to determine which is larger to ensure than the shipping charge is based on the proper weight.
One problem which became evident with the dimensional weighing system described and claimed in the above cross-referenced application is that the optical measuring portion of the apparatus requires a substantially large volume of unobstructed space surrounding the package or parcel being measured because of the distance which the optical sensor or sensors, as the case may be, must be spaced from the measuring arms in order for the emitters not obscured by the carton being measured to be exposed to the sensors and not lie in a "shadow" of the carton relative to the location of the sensor(s). Thus, with respect to the embodiment utilizing only one sensor, this required that the sensor be located at or near to the diagonally opposite corner of the package, i.e., as far out horizontally from the juncture of the measuring arms as the length of these arms, and as far up vertically from the juncture of the measuring arms as the height of the vertical measuring arm. With respect to the embodiment utilizing three sensors, the sensor for the vertical measurement along the vertical arms must still be in the same location as that just described for a single sensor, and the sensors for the two horizontal measuring arms must be located in the same plane as the measuring arms and as far out from the free end of each measuring arm as the length thereof.
In either of the foregoing situations, the problem that arose was that it was often difficult for an operator to place a carton on the platform of the weighing scale, especially if the size of the carton approximated that of the full length of the measuring arms, because of the presence of the first mentioned sensor located adjacent to the diagonally opposite corner of the carton from the juncture of the measuring arms. Depending on the size of the carton, the presence of the sensor in this location made it very awkward or cumbersome to position the carton on the scale platform without inadvertently striking the sensor or one of the horizontal meaning arms, or dropping the carton on the scale platform or inaccurately positioning it thereon. This problem was often further complicated by the presence of supporting structure for the sensor, regardless of whether the supporting structure for the sensor was mounted on the same base as the scale and measuring arms or was suspended from above, either of which only made positioning the carton more difficult. In the situation where there are three sensors, there is the added problem of ensuring that there is nothing lying in the plane of the horizontal measuring arms that might obstruct emitters beyond the dimensions of the carton from the two sensors measuring along the horizontal measuring arms, such as, for example, the operator's hands or arms.
In view of the fact that the speed with which an operator can dimensionally weigh successive packages or cartons with the dimensional weighing apparatus is a significant factor in ensuring that the apparatus is economically viable, it becomes extremely important to enable the operator to place packages or cartons on the weighing scale platform, and remove them therefrom, as rapidly and as accurately as possible, so as to maintain a high through put rate and do so without risk of damage to the apparatus which could lead to down time to allow for necessary repairs.
Another problem which became evident with the invention disclosed in the above cross-referenced application was that the cost of the apparatus was relatively high because of the need for a large number of LED emitters that were required to obtain a high degree of accuracy in measuring the linear dimensions of packages and cartons. The resolution of the measuring apparatus depends on the spacing of the emitters, and the closer together the emitters are placed along the measuring arms, the more accurate the measurements will be. Thus, to determine an accurate volume for a carton it may be necessary to provide emitters along the measuring arms that are only one quarter to one half inch apart. Further, a large number of emitters requires more complex computer control components, which further adds to the cost.
Still another problem which became evident with the previous invention was that it did not have the capability of providing a preliminary indication of whether or not it was necessary to dimensionally weigh a carton based on a rough calculation of the volume of the carton, a feature which could greatly reduce the cost of the dimensional weighing apparatus. It has been found from experience that only about 20% of the packages and parcels handled by a carrier in a given period of time actually require dimensional weighing in order to determine a proper shipping charge based on a dimensional weight, whereas a proper shipping charge can be based on the actual weight of the packages and parcels for the other 80%. This presents the problem that, not only is the dimensional weighing apparatus relatively expensive in the first place, but also it is effectively utilized for only about 20% of the packages and parcels being shipped. Thus, while the apparatus of the prior invention may be cost effective for a large carrier or shipper, e.g., UPS, Federal Express, etc., or catalog merchandise mail order businesses, it is often not cost effective for small to medium carriers or shippers.
Thus, there is a need for a dimensional weighing apparatus which is sufficiently economical to be cost effective for small to medium size carriers and shippers and yet which provides sufficient accuracy in determining the volume of a carton that the degree of error from making rough calculations is economically acceptable. Also, it is desirable that a low cost dimensional weighing apparatus ideally suited to small and medium volume shippers have the capability of providing a preliminary indication of whether it is necessary to dimensionally weigh a particular carton based on a rough calculation of the its volume, so that the operator then has a choice of permitting the dimensional weighing apparatus to calculate a rough shipping weight on which the shipping system will calculate the shipping charge, or of manually taking accurate measurements of the carton to accurately determine a dimensional shipping weight on which an accurate shipping charge can be calculated.

Coarse volume measurement with interlock


A method for the continuous measurement of the wear of a tire comprises the steps of measuring a capacitance or an electrical resistance within a tread pattern element of the tire, and deducing the height of the element with the aid of an equation relating the capacitance or resistance to the height, and devices for implementing the method.

The present invention concerns a method for the continuous measurement of the wear of a tire. The invention also concerns an element of a tread pattern for a tire which is provided with means to enable continuous measurement of the wear of the element during the rolling of the tire over a rolling surface, a tread comprising the element, and a tire comprising the tread. The invention also concerns a fitted assembly for an automobile vehicle, and such a vehicle which comprises means for measuring the wear of the tire continuously and in real time.
It is known to provide devices for detecting wear of the tread patterns of tires for automobile vehicles.
German Patent DE-A-197 45 734 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 thereof) discloses a tire whose tread comprises in its mass a plurality of metallic wires which form electrically conducting loops that extend respectively to different heights within a pattern rib of the tread, and which are connected to a detection circuit underneath the rib. During the rolling of a vehicle fitted with this tire, these loops are broken one after the other to form open switches and the detection circuit delivers a signal representative of these breaks to an evaluation unit present in the vehicle.
A major disadvantage of this wear detector is that the wear is detected discontinuously because it is a function of the number of loops successively broken (i.e. the number of open switches).
Another disadvantage of this wear detector is that it seems very difficult for a person engaged in the field to manufacture it in a precise manner.
In the context of the present description, the "fixed part" of a vehicle will be understood as the chassis of the vehicle and the suspension rods, as opposed to the "rotating parts" which include the wheels, tires and hubs.

Method and device for the continuous measurement of the wear of a tire


A heavy duty truck bug and gravel shield that has minimum parts and a maximum deflecting ability. It also is designed to minimize shield vibration.

This invention relates to a heavy duty bug and gravel shield assembly, especially designed for over-the-road trucks.
Many types of bug and gravel shield deflectors have been devised for motor vehicles, to both protect a vehicle windshield and to deflect debris and other foreign material away from impact on the shield. For the most part, these shields involve some sort of mounting bracket from which a shield extends either generally vertically upward or slightly rearwardly and upward. The shield is usually attached to the bracket, with the bracket itself being attached to the hood of the vehicle. Typical shields are represented by Redman, U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,129, and Thornburg, U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,517. While such shields are highly satisfactory for cars, there are special problems in designing shields for heavy, over-the-road trucks.
Heavy, over-the-road trucks require a much more durable, stronger, and tougher shield, primarily because of the excessive vibration energy that is transmitted to the shield and its holding brackets. This excessive vibration will often cause conventional shields to fail.
In the past, there have been some attempts at especially designed truck deflector shields, see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,657, which relates to a shield mounted to a base that is especially adapted for attachment along the upper grill edge of a truck. Even with prior mounting systems, the continuing vibration and the multiplicity of parts, result in a high incidence of shield failure.
One of the ways to eliminate shield failure is, of course, to minimize the number of parts, and to design a shield mounting system which is not susceptible to failure as a result of high vibrations.
The present invention represents an improvement over the prior art in providing a shield of aerodynamically superior configuration, a shield which has a minimum of parts, one which has a base which fits in covering and conforming relationship to the front of the hood and to the top of a truck grill in a sort of "wrap-around" manner, and a shield designed such that the vibration energy is dissipated throughout the wrap-around base portion.
Accordingly, a primary objective of the present invention is to provide a truck shield which is comprised of minimum parts that dissipates vibration energy.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a truck shield which dissipates vibration energy through the entire base portion, thus eliminating vibration caused failures for the shield and the attachment means of the shield to the hood.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a shield which is aerodynamically superior and provides air flow under the shield. This improves the deflecting performance of the shield and prevents disruption of airflow to the engine from the air intake at the back of the hood. It also aids in proper windshield wiper performance.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an attractive shield of durable configuration and of economic manufacture and ease of installation as a result of minimized parts.
A still further objective is to protect the front edge of the hood from debris damage.
The method and means of accomplishing each of the above objectives will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention which follows hereinafter.


A system for connecting a shaft to a joint, and a corresponding method are provided, wherein a shaft journal embodied on the end of the shaft that is to be connected to the joint can be inserted into a recess of a joint connection. The aim of the invention is to be able to pre-assemble and axially align the shaft and the recess in a simple manner. To this end, the shaft journal and the recess are adapted to each other in such a way that the shaft journal can be displaced in the recess in an essentially weak manner in a first section T1 of the insertion path E, and a large amount of force is expended for the displacement of the shaft journal in the recess in a section T2 of the insertion path E.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for connecting a shaft to a joint, in which a shaft journal configured on the end of the shaft to be connected with the joint can be inserted into a recess of a joint connection, as well as to a corresponding method.
2. Prior Art
The connection system according to the invention can be used, for example, in the case of a homokinetic joint having a central recess, in which the joint connection is formed by the inner hub of the joint. Such a joint is known from DE 32 27 969 C2, in which a drive shaft is accommodated in the bore of the inner joint body and transfers the torque by means of a longitudinal tooth system. Furthermore, a rotary homokinetic joint is described in DE 40 33 275 C2, which has an outer joint part and an inner joint part, whereby the inner joint part is connected with a rotating shaft by way of a tapered tooth system. In order to achieve an approximately play-free connection between the shaft and the joint, the shaft journals and the recess of the joint connection, i.e. the intended tooth system, must be adapted to one another with a precise fit, so that when the shaft journal is inserted into the recess, great friction forces must be overcome. This requires the use of complicated tools during assembly, in order to push the shaft into the recess of the joint connection precisely in the axial direction.
Since such homokinetic joints are used, for example, in motor vehicles, which are produced on an assembly line, in mass production, such a complicated assembly is connected with significant disadvantages and costs, particularly since there is always the risk that the shaft will not be connected with the joint with sufficient precision in the axial direction.

System for connecting a shaft to a joint


The electrostatic precipitator (1) includes the housing (8) having the air duct (7) for communicating between the inlet (4) for sucking the contaminated air (3) and the outlet (6) for discharging the cleaned air (5), the air flow generator (10) generating the air flow (9) in the air duct (7), the collecting section (14) having a plurality of adsorption plates (13) rotating in accordance with the adsorption shaft (11), and the discharge section (24) equipped with the charging plate (20) having the discharge surface (21) opposing the adsorption surface (12) of the adsorption plate (13) and a plurality of the discharge electrodes (19) provided at the edge (22) of the charging plate (20) opposite the suction inlet. The fine particles (2) contained in the contaminated air (3) are charged by the corona discharge (CD) generated from the pointed ends (23) of the discharge electrodes (19) and collected by using the Coulomb force while varying the relative positional relationship between fine particles (2) and the adsorption surface (12) at all times by the rotating of the adsorption plate (13).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic precipitator, in particular an electrostatic precipitator that is capable of collecting fine particles that have been charged by corona discharge by rotating adsorption plates.
2. Description of Related Arts
Traditionally, so-called "industrial waste gases", such as exhaust from boilers at industrial installations and a large quantity of soot discharged from power stations, before their release into the atmosphere, have been on occasion subjected to an air cleaning process to remove fine particles that may pollute the atmosphere (such as mist and dust containing various powdery or oily substances and moisture from industrial waste gases). The release of industrial waste gases containing these particles directly into the atmosphere poses a serious threat to the earth environment; and recovery of these noxious substances is required by law in some countries and local governments. In urban areas, air pollution from automobile exhaust and others creates a serious condition. Some homes are equipped with and use indoor air purifiers. In many of the kitchens of restaurants, smoke generated during cooking and otherwise contaminated air are cleansed by air purifiers before being released outside.
For the dust collecting devices to recover the fine particles contained in contaminated air, the cause for air pollution and how to purify air, many types based on various principles are known. Specifically, classified based on theories of particle collection, filtration, gravity, inertia, centrifugation, electricity, and cleaning types are cited as available processes. Among them, an appropriate type is selected according to the size or type of fine particles to be collected and conditions for installation. For the efficiency of dust collection, a filtration system (by using bag filters and others) and electric systems are particularly outstanding and are therefore used widely in various areas of industry.
The theory of dust collection by an electrostatic precipitator is defined here as follows: fine particles are electrically charged by a corona discharge that is generated by a discharge electrode; and these electrically charged fine particles are drawn and collected by a dust-collecting counter electrode by using the Coulomb force. This electrostatic precipitator is characterized by notable advantages such as: 1) minimum pressure loss; 2) a large quantity gas processing capacity; and 3) a high rate of dust collection. Therefore, it is used in environments such as factories and power stations where a large quantity of contaminated air is released.
The electrostatic precipitator is commonly comprised of major structural components, i.e., a discharge electrode that is formed to have a large surface curvature, such as a needle or wire, to generate a corona discharge to charge fine particles; a collecting electrode, the counter electrode, which is formed into a plate to collect the charged particles; a rectifier to adjust the air flow in the electrostatic precipitator; a hammering device (dry type) and spray device (wet type) to separate the adhering fine particles from the dust-collecting electrode; a hopper that collects the separated particles; and attachments (an electrical power source for corona discharge and a charge control device).
The above-described hammering device is used in a dry-type electrostatic precipitator: it is used to hammer the dust-collecting electrode so that the fine particles that have been collected are shaken off and collected in the collecting means such as a hopper provided at the lower portion thereof. When a wet-type precipitator is used, the fine particles that have been collected in the dust-collecting electrode are washed off when a cleaning fluid such as water is sprayed. When a large quantity of fine particles have been collected on the particle-collecting electrode, the Coulomb force to attract the charged particles is compromised and the dust-collecting efficacy is reduced. Therefore to avert the condition in which dust is no longer collected in a steady state, the fine particles are removed from the collecting electrode by adopting a dry- and wet-type method, as described above.
More recently, on the other hand, a type in which the discharge and collecting electrodes are housed in an exchangeable cartridge is used. By using this embodiment, the cartridge is replaced after many particles have been collected on the collecting electrode (which compromises the dust-collecting efficacy), thus maintaining a steady dust-collecting efficacy. In many instances, used cartridges are subjected to a particle-removing operation in a special apparatus provided by the manufacturer so that they may be recycled. Thus, the apparatus is easily maintained, obviating the need to attach a dust-removing apparatus such as that described earlier, which contributes to down-sizing the entire apparatus and reducing production costs.
In view of the current condition described above, the applicant of the present invention invented an electrostatic precipitator that has a new structure and has filed a patent application (refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2).
[Patent Document 1]
    Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-126729[Patent Document 2]    Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-141826


In order to enable any user to perform an input operation intuitively and safely in a situation where input operation is required, the control device detects an subject entering a projection range based on the characteristics of subjects included in image data generated by controlling an imaging device, controls a projection device to project projection light on a projection surface so that display information for receiving input is displayed over the projection surface, detects when a pointing body has entered the area above the projection surface based on the image data, identifies the content of an instruction based on the positional relation between the display information displayed over the projection surface and the instructing portion of the pointing body, controls a communication device to transmit the identified instruction content as input information, and controls the projection device not to project the projection light on a projection-prohibited surface.

In recent years, a system capable of intuitively inputting information with respect to a user interface (hereinafter, a UI) which is projected from a projector is reported. Examples of the system are SixthSense by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and OmniTouch by Microsoft Corporation (registered trademark). In SixthSense and OmniTouch, an input operation performed by a finger with respect to a virtual UI to be projected onto a projection body is recognized by a camera or a depth sensor. For example, SixthSense and OmniTouch track a color marker put on a fingertip by a camera, and detect an input position on a UI.
Putting a color marker on a fingertip on a daily basis, however, is not practical, and performing an input operation by a finger with nothing worn thereon is needed. However, when a fingertip with nothing worn thereon is tracked by a camera, it is difficult to accurately discriminate a hand palm and a finger substantially having a same color from each other. Using a depth sensor enables to discriminate a hand palm and a finger from each other at a close distance. However, when the distance increases a little, discrimination becomes difficult, and it is difficult to implement a practical interface.
PTL 1 discloses a wearable information input device, which is used when being worn on the upper limb of a user, and with which the user is allowed to input by an intuitive operation. For example, the device of PTL 1 is worn on the wrist of one of hands, and recognizes that a fingertip of the other hand touches the palm of the one hand, or a position or motion of a fingertip that touches a hand palm, by a sensor.
PTL 2 discloses a projection device for, when a specific portion of a user's body is detected, projecting an image onto a specific target object, and projecting an information input image onto the specific portion. The device of PTL 2 acquires an input operation performed with respect to a projected information input image by a depth sensor.
PTL 3 discloses an information presentation system for recognizing an operation applied to video information projected from a projector, by a camera. The system of PTL 3 projects video data from a projector onto a user's hand palm serving as an information presentation medium. The system of PTL 3 detects a displacement of a hand palm, based on imaging data of a camera, during projection of video data. Then, the system of PTL 3 determines whether the detected displacement of the hand palm satisfies a predetermined displacement condition, and when it is determined that the displacement condition is satisfied, the system generates video data acquired by reflecting the detected displacement of the hand palm to video data during projection. Then, the system of PTL 3 projects the generated video data from the projector onto the hand palm, in place of the video data during projection.

Information input device and information input method