Switching elements are driven by a control signal outputted from a control circuit, so that a rotating magnetic field is generated from a stator coil to rotate a rotor of a synchronous electric motor. The control signal is generated through use of a selected modulation scheme, which is selected from a plurality of modulation schemes. The control circuit determines which one of the modulation schemes is used as the selected modulation scheme based on a sensed voltage value of a voltage sensor, which senses an output voltage of a power supply device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive device for a synchronous electric motor, in which windings of a stator coil are connected together to form a star connection.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, Japanese Patent 3223842 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,775) discloses a drive device, which includes an inverter circuit and a control circuit. The inverter circuit includes six transistors (i.e., three upper arm transistors located adjacent to a cathode bus bar and three lower arm transistors located adjacent to an anode bus bar) and six diodes (i.e., three upper arm diodes located adjacent to the cathode bus bar and three lower arm diodes located adjacent to the anode bus bar). The control circuit controls the inverter circuit.
Specifically, a direct current (DC) power supply device is connected between a neutral point of the stator coil and the anode bus bar. A capacitor is connected between the anode bus bar the cathode bus bar.
The control circuit executes a switching operation of the six transistors, so that three-phase alternate currents are supplied to a three-phase alternate current synchronous electric motor (hereinafter, simply referred to as a three-phase AC synchronous motor) in response to a voltage difference between the cathode bus bar and the anode bus bar.
Here, when one of the lower arm transistors is turned on, the corresponding current flows to the stator coil, so that the magnetic energy is accumulated in the stator coil in response to the current.
When the lower arm transistor is turned off, the corresponding current flows from the stator coil to the capacitor through the corresponding upper arm diode and the cathode bus bar. Therefore, when the switching operation of the six transistors is executed, the three-phase alternate currents are supplied to the stator coil, and the electric charge is accumulated in the capacitor. In this way, the electric charge can be accumulated in the capacitor while controlling the operation of the three-phase AC synchronous motor.
In the case of the above drive device for the three-phase AC synchronous motor, when the output voltage of the power supply device is reduced due to, for example, environmental changes or load changes, the voltage difference between the cathode bus bar and the anode bus bar becomes small. When this happens, the operation of the three-phase AC synchronous electric motor becomes unstable, or the three-phase AC synchronous motor cannot be driven due to the output voltage shortage.
In view of the above disadvantage, it is conceivable to obtain the required voltage difference between the cathode bus bar and the anode bus bar by executing the switching operation of the lower arm transistors to accumulate the electric charge in the capacitor in response to the magnetic energy accumulated in the stator coil in the stop state where the control operation of the three-phase AC synchronous motor is stopped. However, in such a case, at the time of controlling the three-phase AC synchronous motor, the time period for executing the switching operation of the transistors may possibly be shortened.

Drive device for synchronous electric motor


Conventional design tools were not developed for designing square zero-shift supercells. Conventionally, solutions that enable square zero-shift supercells were found by trial and error or by exhaustive analysis. According to a first design criterion of this invention, a non-square supercell in a first frame of reference has a diagonal that is equal in length to the diagonal of a square supercell in a second frame of reference rotated at a desired screen angle to the first frame of reference. The screen angle is a function of the lengths of the sides of the non-square supercell in the first frame of reference. According to a second design criterion, if the area of the corresponding square supercell in the second frame of reference is an integer, a square zero-shift supercell can be designed based on the lengths of the sides of the non-square supercell in the first frame of reference.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to designing zero-shift supercell halftone screens.
2. Description of Related Art
With the advent of inexpensive digital printers, methods and systems for digital halftoning have become increasingly important. It is well understood that most digital printers operate in a binary mode, i.e., printing or not printing a halftone dot at a specified location or pixel. Digital halftoning controls the printing of halftone dots, where spatially averaging of the printed dots provides the illusion of the continuous tones present in an original image.
The most common halftone technique is threshold screening, which compares the image value of each pixel in the original image with one of several predetermined threshold levels that are stored in a halftone screen. If the image value is "darker" than the applied threshold halftone level, a spot of ink or toner is printed at that pixel. Otherwise, the pixel is left unprinted, so that the background color of the image receiving medium is visible. It is well understood in the art that the distribution of printed pixels depends on the design of the halftone screen.
Halftone screens are typically two-dimensional threshold arrays and are relatively small in comparison to the overall image or document to be printed. Therefore, the screening process uses an identical halftone screen cell repeated for each color separation in a manner similar to tiling. The output of the screening process, using a single-cell halftone dot, includes a binary pattern of multiple small "dots", which are regularly spaced and are determined by the size and the shape of the halftone screen. In other words, the screening output, as a two-dimensionally repeated pattern, possesses two fundamental spatial frequencies, which are completely defined by the geometry of the halftone screen.
It should be appreciated that, in the halftoning arts, square halftone cells, tiled in a zero-shift manner, can be easily combined to form a supercell. In contrast, non-zero-shift tiling results in a brick-like pattern, where the cells of one row are laterally offset relative to the upper and lower adjacent rows. Zero-shift refers to the corners of each of the square halftone supercells meeting at a common point. FIG. 1 illustrates two halftone supercells that have a non-zero shift. Because supercells are formed by combining a number of halftone cells, supercells can be used to form a "macro" halftone screen for halftoning the original image. Because a supercell is, by definition, larger than the individual halftone cells used to form the supercell, the resulting screen can have more threshold levels and can achieve better visual angles, on average, than the simple cell halftone. Reducing the number of centers in supercells that achieve the desired effects increases the efficiency of the supercell in conserving resources such as, for example, memory, processing power, and the like.
Conventionally, halftone screen designers have a number of conventional design tools usable to create a halftone screen utilizing supercells. In general, these conventional tools allow the halftone screen designer to create supercells based on magnifying Holladay dots. Holladay dots are described in "An Optimal Algorithm For Halftone Generation For Display And Hard Copies", T. Holladay, Proceedings of the Society for Information Display, Vol. 21, No. 2, pages 185–192, 1980. As shown in FIG. 1, these conventional Holladay dots are described as a threshold array in an implementation rectangle that includes a shift between rows of tiled rectangles.
Current PostScript hafltoning implementations have difficulty using arbitrary Holladay dots. These software implementations of the PostScript standard are usually optimized for PostScript type 3 dots. In particular, PostScript type 3 dots are zero-shift-square tiles that abut at the corners, as outlined above. These software implementations of the PostScript standard also work most efficiently when these square tiles contain a multiple of 32 pixels per tile.

Systems and methods for designing zero-shift supercell halftone screens


A hair removing device with a lotion applicator includes a housing, a hair removing head mounted to the housing and adapted to be held against a user's skin for hair depilation or hair epilation, an applicator which dispenses a lotion on the user's skin, a tank holding the lotion and a lotion supply mechanism for supplying the lotion from the tank to the applicator. The lotion supply mechanism includes a regulating device, which regulates an amount of the lotion being dispensed from the applicator. The lotion supply mechanism includes a powered pump for expelling the lotion from the tank to the applicator. The regulating device includes a handle for varying pump capacity of the powered pump. The applicator is incorporated into a head frame forming a part of the hair removing head with the head frame being detachable from the housing.

WO98/08661 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 59-108574 disclose a portable hair removing device capable of dispensing a lotion for facilitating the hair removal. The device incorporates a pump which is activated by a button or switch to feed the lotion over a user's skin where the hair removal is intended. The device is designed to dispense the lotion at a constant rate, which poses a problem that the lotion may be too much or too less for users of different skin characteristics or preferences.

Hair removing device with a lotion applicator


Techniques are described herein for determining a long-form of an abbreviation using a machine learning based approach that takes into consideration both sequential context and structural context, where the long-form corresponds to a meaning of the abbreviation as used in a sequence of words that form a sentence. In some embodiments, word representations are generated for different words in the sequence of words, and a combined representation is generated for the abbreviation based on a word representation corresponding to the abbreviation, a sequential context representation, and a structural context representation. The sequential context representation can be generated based on word representations for words positioned near the abbreviation. The structural context representation can be generated based on word representations for words that are syntactically related to the abbreviation. The combined representation can be input to a classification neural network trained to output a label representing the long-form of the abbreviation.

Automated expansion of abbreviations is a challenging problem for computers because an abbreviation may have several known long-forms. For example, the acronym "CNN" could stand for Cable News Network or Convolutional Neural Network. Therefore, the long-form corresponding to the correct meaning of a particular instance of an abbreviation can be ambiguous, especially if the abbreviation is considered alone without any context. Thus, the task of expanding an abbreviation often involves the subtask of disambiguating the meaning of the abbreviation.

Machine learning based abbreviation expansion


An ultrasound catheter with a lumen for fluid delivery and fluid evacuation, and an ultrasound source is used for the treatment of intracerebral or intraventricular hemorrhages. After the catheter is inserted into a blood clot, a lytic drug can be delivered to the blood clot via the lumen while applying ultrasonic energy to the treatment site. As the blood clot is dissolved, the liquefied blood clot can be removed by evacuation through the lumen.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and apparatuses for increasing the efficacy of therapeutic compounds delivered to tissues affected by disease, and more specifically, to methods and apparatuses for increasing the efficacy of therapeutic compounds delivered to targeted tissue, especially brain tissue, using ultrasound.
Background of the Invention
A large number of Americans each year suffer from diseases affecting the brain such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Syndrome, and other illnesses. However, the efficacy of such treatments is significantly reduced as a result of the blood-brain barrier which serves as a boundary between blood and fluid from the central nervous system. The blood-brain barrier significantly reduces the ability of therapeutic compounds placed within the bloodstream to cross this boundary and effectively act upon targeted tissue. This is especially true for therapeutic compounds consisting of larger molecules. As a result, the blood-brain barrier significantly reduces the ability of therapeutic compounds delivered into the bloodstream to reach targeted tissue across the barrier thereby significantly reducing the possibility of effective treatment of the disease. As such, there is an interest in developing of targeted therapeutic compound delivery systems which can enhance the ability of these compounds to cross the blood-brain barrier.
In order to treat such diseases, some current methods deliver therapeutic compounds directly to areas of the brain affected by the disease to bypass any complications arising as a result of the blood-brain barrier. It is particularly important, especially in sensitive areas such as the brain, to increase efficacy of such compounds placed in the bloodstream by more directly targeting the affected tissue with the delivered drugs. This can reduce the need for higher concentrations of the compounds and reduce the amount any adverse effects on neighboring healthy tissue.
Current methods and devices use various fluid infusion techniques under pressure, sometimes termed convection-enhanced delivery (CED), to conduct targeted therapeutic compound delivery to targeted brain tissue. These methods involve connecting a pump to a catheter to drive fluid containing a therapeutic compound into the targeted tissue. However, since these techniques require volumetric infusion into a closed vessel (i.e., the cranium), pressures within the closed vessel increase. In highly sensitive areas, such as the brain, there is a limit to the amount of pressure increase, and therefore the amount of infusion possible, before injuries are sustained as a result of stresses and strains caused by the increased pressures. As such, limits are placed on the amount of enhancement that can be achieved using current CED techniques. Additionally, current CED techniques have been shown to oftentimes not reach the targeted location. Furthermore, other complications arise which further reduce the efficacy of this treatment method such as fluid traveling back along the catheter and away from the targeted area (i.e., backflow).
As such, while CED therapies have shown promise, there is a general desire to continue to improve the methods and apparatuses involved with such therapy.

Method and apparatus for drug delivery to a target site


Techniques for mitigating VCO pulling are described. In an aspect, VCO pulling may be mitigated by (i) injecting an oscillator signal, which is a version of a VCO signal from a VCO, into a transmitter and (ii) using coupling paths from the transmitter to the VCO to re-circulate the oscillator signal back to the VCO. In one design, an apparatus includes a VCO and a coupling circuit. The VCO generates a VCO signal at N times a desired output frequency. The coupling circuit receives an oscillator signal generated based on the VCO signal and injects the oscillator signal into a transmitter to mitigate pulling of the frequency of the VCO due to undesired coupling from the transmitter to the VCO. The apparatus may include a phase adjustment circuit that adjusts the phase of the oscillator signal and/or an amplitude adjustment circuit that adjusts the amplitude of the oscillator signal.

I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to electronics, and more specifically to techniques for mitigating pulling of frequency of a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO).
II. Background
In a wireless communication system, a transmitter may upconvert a baseband signal with a local oscillator (LO) signal and generate a radio frequency (RF) output signal that is suitable for transmission via a wireless channel. The transmitter may generate the LO signal with a VCO operating at N times the desired frequency of the RF output signal, where N may be one or greater. The RF output signal may have a large amplitude. A portion of the RF output signal may couple from the transmitter to the VCO and may pull the VCO off the desired frequency. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as VCO pulling or frequency pulling. VCO pulling may degrade the performance of the transmitter.

Method and apparatus for mitigating VCO pulling


A method is disclosed of removing particulate debris, including dust, dust mites and mite fecal material from non-washable items using webbing composed of any of the following: 1) fibers that have been treated in a manner such that they acquire a long-lasting electrostatic charge of any polarity (i.e., electret), or otherwise have an intrinsic electrostatic charge; 2), fibers that are charged electrostatically negative; 3) fibers that are capable of attaining a negative electrostatic charge with moderate agitation and friction, as with the tumbling agitation of an automatic clothes dryer; 4) fibers of at least two mixed types such that the fibers have an intrinsic, long-lasting embedded (electret) electrostatic charge with respect to each other, or are otherwise capable of acquiring such electrostatic charges in an environment of moderate agitation and friction (i.e., a clothes dryer), with the charges associated with at least two of the fiber types being of opposite electrostatic polarity with respect to one another, such that the fibers create a microenvironment for electrostatically retaining particulates by electrostatic attraction to either of the fiber types. A sheet composed of one of the above fiber types is placed into the drum of a conventional automatic clothes dryer along with the items to be cleaned. The rotation of the drum dislodges the dust, particulates, dust mites and fecal material into the drum, which then adhere to the fibrous sheets. The fibrous material of the dryer sheet also randomly contacts the articles as a result of the tumbling action and can electrically attract particulates from the surface of the fabric articles as well. Clothes dryer heat can also be applied within the drum during tumbling at a sufficient temperature to kill mites and eggs.

The present invention relates generally to dry cleaning processes and, more particularly, to methods of removing particulate debris, including dust mites and mite fecal material from non-washable items, using materials composed of fibers that have been treated in a manner such that they acquire a long-lasting electrostatic charge of any polarity, or comprised of fibers that are charged electrostatically negative, or are capable of attaining a negative electrostatic charge with moderate agitation and friction, as with the tumbling agitation of an automatic clothes dryer.
Most household products collect airborne particles, i.e. common household dust, and other soils. Common household dust provides the living and breeding environment for numerous living species, including Dermatophagoides Pteronyssinus, i.e., the house dust mite. Dust provides the carrier medium for dust mites and their fecal material. Dust mite fecal material is the carrier particle for the Der P1 antigen, a potent allergen implicated in initiating and aggravating numerous allergic reactions ranging from contact dermatitis to more serious atopic diseases such as allergic asthma.
Many common household items composed of domestic fabrics are not washable, either because of material composition, bulk or other factors. Examples of such items include stuffed toys, pillows, throw rugs and non-washable clothing.
Stuffed toys pose a particular hazard to children, as allergy-related illnesses have increased dramatically in the past several decades, and early exposure to allergenic antigens increases the risk of developing allergic diseases at some stage of life.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to remove dust, as well as dust mites and other micro-organisms that live and breed in household dust, dust mite fecal material and other micro-organism excrement, and various particulate soils from fabric surfaces.
Another object is to remove various types of soil from fabric articles in a conventional automatic clothes dryer.
Still another object is to remove dust mites and mite fecal material from stuffed animals or figures in an inexpensive process that can be practiced at home.
Yet a further object is to remove dust mites and other forms of soil from fabric articles such as stuffed animals utilizing electrically charged sheets in a conventional automatic clothes dryer.
The present invention is a method of cleaning a surface of at least one fabric article, comprising the steps of placing a soiled one of the fabric articles in a chamber, together with an electrically charged material having either a permanent electrostatic charge, or a long-lasting charge, or an electronegative charge acquired during movement, or a charged material having a mixed charge, and then moving the chamber to impart motion to the fabric article and enable the material to electrically attract particulates from the article.
In the preferred embodiment, the electrostatically charged material is a non-woven webbing comprised of electret fibers, in sheet form, that is tossed loose into the drum of a clothes dryer, together with one or more preferably dry fabric articles to be cleaned. The articles may be one or more stuffed toys, pillows, throw rugs or other non-washable fabric items. The articles may also be washable items that were previously washed and now deposited into the dryer in wet condition. The drum of the clothes dryer is operated under conventional usage conditions involving rotation of the dryer drum and preferably, but not necessarily, the introduction of hot air into the drum. The attraction and trapping of dust, mites, mite fecal material and/or other particulates is accomplished by dryer tumbling and/or frictional agitation or the combined action thereof, which mechanically dislodges some of the particulates, and the repetitive frictional contact of the sheet against the objects being cleaned. The sheet of electret then acts as an electostatic trap to attract and retain the dislodged particles.
The use of electrostatically negative charged electret fibers is of particular advantage for the trapping of dust mite fecal material, while negative, positive and mixed electret fibers are efficient at trapping dust and other particulates. Electret has been demonstrated to be at least two-fold more efficient for dust attraction and retention than comparable non-electret fibers and, under optimal conditions, more than ten-fold more efficient.
The feature of removing dust mite fecal material from stuffed animals and other fabric articles advantageously provides an effective and simple method of mitigating antigens that have been demonstrated to induce, trigger and exacerbate allergic asthma in some children and infants. The method can be practiced at home simply by placing one or more stuffed animals in the drum of a conventional clothes dryer together with a sheet of electret material and then operating the dryer in a conventional manner. The dryer may be operated using air of the ambient temperature, or heated air can be introduced either prior to, or concurrent with, the placement of the electret sheet into the dryer drum. The advantage of using heated air is that exposure of dust mites to temperatures of at least 55 degrees C. for at least 15 minutes kills the mites and their eggs. The introduction of the electret sheet after heating the fabric items has the advantage of reducing the amount of charge leakage that can sometimes occur with electret exposure to heat and eliminate the possibility of softening the electret fibers.
Although the use of sheets of material containing electret fiber is the preferred choice as disclosed in the preferred embodiment, it is also possible to practice the invention and achieve the benefits thereof using other types of electrically charged materials. Another preferred embodiment is to use material composed of fibers that have an intrinsic negative electrostatic charge, or are capable of developing an electrostatic negative charge in an environment of moderate agitation (i.e., the operating dryer drum). Fibers having an intrinsic or acquired electronegative charge are then capable of attracting particulates that have a positive charge with respect to these fibers. These fibers would act as an attractant for dust and particulates, and would be especially effective as an attractant and trap for dust mite fecal material.
Another embodiment of the present invention is a sheet of at least two (2) types of fibers, with one of the fiber types being more electronegative than the other type within the triboelectric series. Such fibers (e.g., electret) would have either an intrinsic voltage difference between them, or would develop such a voltage differential in the operating environment of the dryer. The voltage differential in the microenvironment of the fiber matrix would facilitate the electrostatic trapping of particles charging either positive or negative against either of the fiber types.
It is also within the scope of the present invention, in yet a further embodiment, to provide a method of cleaning a surface of at least one fabric article comprising the steps of placing a soiled one of the articles in a drum of a conventional automatic clothes dryer and then placing an electrostatically charged material of any of the types described above in a lint trap located in an air passage between the drum and outside atmosphere. The dryer is then operated by rotating the drum in a conventional manner. This enables the soil discharged from the at least one fabric article to be carried in the air efflux through the electrically charged material in the lint trap so as to enable the dislodged soil to be electrically attracted and trapped within the charged material.
It is also within the scope of this invention to use electret material for dusting by moving the electret relative to and in contact with a surface being dusted.
Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description, wherein only the preferred embodiments of the invention are shown and described, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated of carrying out the invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its several details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.

Method of removing particulate debris, especially dust mite fecal material from fabric articles in a conventional clothes dryer


For a simplified and particularly flexible control of an x-ray system having an x-ray source, an x-ray detector and a control and monitoring unit, the control and monitoring unit is designed to be mobile and portable and has means for controlling and monitoring the x-ray system. In particular, the portable control and monitoring unit has a computing unit, a data storage device, means for image processing, means for outputting and displaying imaging and/or system data and means for inputting data and/or instructions.

The provision of operating units for operating x-ray systems separately from the x-ray source, x-ray detector and the control unit is known, said operating units having both actuators for adjusting recording parameters as well as a display for indicating recording and system data. It is further known to design an operating unit to be flexible in the form of a remote controller. A flexible operating unit of this type is known for instance from DE 197 08 984 A1.
Furthermore, x-ray systems are known, which have control apparatuses in the form of moveable equipment trolleys, to which the x-ray source can also be attached for instance. An x-ray system of this type is known from DE 101 18 745 C2 for instance.

X-ray system including a wireless handheld monitoring unit


A distributed antenna array with a centralized data hub for determining the presence and location of RF tags has been disclosed. This antenna array centralizes electronics and distributes the RF to zones in a facility to greatly reduce the expense of recurring components for monitoring RF tags. A single BRT/hub with multiple antennas attached to transmit and receive ports is used to cover an entire facility. Large facilities are covered by a small number of the BRT/hub combinations. The BRT/hub has transmit antennas coupled thereto, preferably by co-axial cable, that transmit signals to a portion or all of the RF tags and all or a portion of them modulate and reflect the RF signal to a particular receiving antenna. The receiving antenna then returns the RF signal with tag data to the BRT/hub, preferably by co-axial cable. Also disclosed is an RF backscatter tag that cleanly switches a resonant aperture antenna on and off, thereby greatly increasing the mark-to-space ratio of the backscatter data. This enables tags to be detected by the BRT at much greater distances.

The RFID system described herein is related to the inventions described in commonly assigned U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2004/0056091, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In that patent application, it was pointed out that a need exists for an advertising compliance monitoring system that provides versatility and flexibility by providing an RFID tag, associated with a specific sign or product display, that communicates tag data to an external reader.
U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. 2004/0056091 describes an RFID system that may include RFID tags of various types (e.g., passive, semi-passive or active), backscatter reader transmitters (BRT), and hubs. Typically, each BRT is a fully self-contained, battery operated unit, and utilizes three antennas. Two medium-gain patch antennas are used to read the tags, and a whip antenna is used to report the received data over a wireless link to the hub. This system functions well and is capable of detecting and reporting tags in a variety of retail environments and at different frequencies. It is desirable, however, to provide an even more economical RFID system by centralizing some or all of the electronics that have been distributed across areas or sub-areas in a given facility, thereby reducing redundancy and cost. It is also desirable to increase the read range of tags by the system to reduce the number of antennas required and to increase the reliability of tags being read under marginal conditions.

Distributed antenna array with centralized data hub for determining presence and location of RF tags


The present invention relates to amphipathic copolymeric binder particles chemically grown in a substantially nonaqueous liquid carrier to form an organosol. The invention also pertains to dry particulate electrographic toners incorporating an organosol comprising an amphipathic copolymer wherein the amphipathic copolymer incorporates one or more S portions and one or more D portions. Methods of making dry electrophotographic toner particles, and methods of electrographically forming an image on a substrate using these toners, are also described. Preferably, fluidized drying techniques are used to form the dry toner particles from the organosol.

In electrophotographic and electrostatic printing processes (collectively electrographic processes), an electrostatic image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptive element or dielectric element, respectively. The photoreceptive element or dielectric element may be an intermediate transfer drum or belt or the substrate for the final toned image itself, as described by Schmidt, S. P. and Larson, J. R. in Handbook of Imaging Materials Diamond, A. S., Ed: Marcel Dekker: New York; Chapter 6, pp 227–252, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,728,983, 4,321,404, and 4,268,598.
In electrostatic printing, a latent image is typically formed by (1) placing a charge image onto a dielectric element (typically the receiving substrate) in selected areas of the element with an electrostatic writing stylus or its equivalent to form a charge image, (2) applying toner to the charge image, and (3) fixing the toned image. An example of this type of process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,259.
In electrophotographic printing, also referred to as xerography, electrophotographic technology is used to produce images on a final image receptor, such as paper, film, or the like. Electrophotographic technology is incorporated into a wide range of equipment including photocopiers, laser printers, facsimile machines, and the like.
Electrophotography typically involves the use of a reusable, light sensitive, temporary image receptor, known as a photoreceptor, in the process of producing an electrophotographic image on a final, permanent image receptor. A representative electrophotographic process involves a series of steps to produce an image on a receptor, including charging, exposure, development, transfer, fusing, and cleaning, and erasure.
In the charging step, a photoreceptor is covered with charge of a desired polarity, either negative or positive, typically with a corona or charging roller. In the exposure step, an optical system, typically a laser scanner or diode array, forms a latent image by selectively discharging the charged surface of the photoreceptor in an imagewise manner corresponding to the desired image to be formed on the final image receptor. In the development step, toner particles of the appropriate polarity are generally brought into contact with the latent image on the photoreceptor, typically using a developer electrically-biased to a potential opposite in polarity to the toner polarity. The toner particles migrate to the photoreceptor and selectively adhere to the latent image via electrostatic forces, forming a toned image on the photoreceptor.
In the transfer step, the toned image is transferred from the photoreceptor to the desired final image receptor; an intermediate transfer element is sometimes used to effect transfer of the toned image from the photoreceptor with subsequent transfer of the toned image to a final image receptor. In the fusing step, the toned image on the final image receptor is heated to soften or melt the toner particles, thereby fusing the toned image to the final receptor. An alternative fusing method involves fixing the toner to the final receptor under high pressure with or without heat. In the cleaning step, residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor is removed.
Finally, in the erasing step, the photoreceptor charge is reduced to a substantially uniformly low value by exposure to light of a particular wavelength band, thereby removing remnants of the original latent image and preparing the photoreceptor for the next imaging cycle.
Two types of toner are in widespread, commercial use: liquid toner and dry toner. The term "dry" does not mean that the dry toner is totally free of any liquid constituents, but connotes that the toner particles do not contain any significant amount of solvent, e.g., typically less than 10 weight percent solvent (generally, dry toner is as dry as is reasonably practical in terms of solvent content), and are capable of carrying a triboelectric charge. This distinguishes dry toner particles from liquid toner particles in that liquid toner particles are solvatable to some degree, typically in more than 50 weight percent of a low polarity, low dielectric carrier solvent; and liquid toner particles are generally chemically charged using polar groups that dissociate in the carrier solvent, but do not carry a triboelectric charge while solvated and/or dispersed in the liquid carrier.
A typical dry toner particle generally comprises a polymeric binder and optionally a visual enhancement additive, e.g., a colored pigment particle. The binder fulfills functions both during and after the electrophotographic process. With respect to processability, the character of the binder impacts the triboelectric charging and charge retention characteristics, flow, and fusing characteristics of the toner particles. These characteristics are important to achieve good performance during development, transfer, and fusing. After an image is formed on the final receptor, the nature of the binder (e.g. glass transition temperature, melt viscosity, molecular weight) and the fusing conditions (e.g. temperature, pressure and fuser configuration) impact durability (e.g. blocking and erasure resistance), adhesion to the receptor, gloss, and the like.
For example, polymeric materials suitable for use in dry toner particles typically have a high glass transition temperature (Tg) of at least about 50–65° C. in order to obtain good blocking resistance after fusing, yet typically require high fusing temperatures of about 200–250° C. in order to soften or melt the toner particles and thereby adequately fuse the toner to the final image receptor. High fusing temperatures are a disadvantage for dry toner because of the long warm-up time and higher energy consumption associated with high temperature fusing and because of the risk of fire associated with fusing toner to paper at temperatures approaching the autoignition temperature of paper (233° C.).
In addition, some dry toners using high Tg polymeric binders are known to exhibit undesirable partial transfer (offset) of the toned image from the final image receptor to the fuser surface at temperatures above or below the optimal fusing temperature, requiring the use of low surface energy materials in the fuser surface or the application of fuser oils to prevent offset. Alternatively, various lubricants or waxes have been physically blended into the dry toner particles during fabrication to act as release or slip agents; however, because these waxes are not chemically bonded to the polymeric binder, they may adversely affect triboelectric charging of the toner particle or may migrate from the toner particle and contaminate the photoreceptor, an intermediate transfer element, the fuser element, or other surfaces critical to the electrophotographic process. In addition to the visual enhancement additive and the polymeric binder, dry toner particles may optionally include other additives.
Charge control additives (charge directors, charge control agents or CCA's) are often used in dry toner when the other ingredients, by themselves, do not provide the desired triboelectric charging or charge retention properties. As noted above, release or slip agents may be used to help prevent the toner from sticking to fuser rolls when those are used, thereby preventing or reducing offset. Other additives include antioxidants, ultraviolet stabilizers, fungicides, bactericides, flow control agents, and the like.
Dry toner particles have been manufactured using a wide range of fabrication techniques. One widespread fabrication technique involves melt mixing the ingredients, comminuting the solid blend that results to form particles, and then classifying the resultant particles to remove fines and larger material of unwanted particle size. External additives may then be blended with the resultant particles. This approach has drawbacks. First, the approach necessitates the use of polymeric binder materials that are friable or fracturable to some degree so that comminution can be carried out. This limits the kinds of polymeric materials that can be used, including materials that are fracture resistant and highly durable. This also limits the kinds of colorants to be used, in that some materials such as metal flakes, or the like, may tend to be damaged to too large a degree by the energy encountered during comminution.
The amount of energy required by comminution itself is a drawback in terms of equipment demands and associated manufacturing expenses. Also, material usage is inefficient in that fines and larger particles are unwanted and must be screened out from the desired product. In short, significant material is wasted. Recycling of unused material is not always practical to reduce such waste inasmuch as the composition of recycled material may tend to shift from what is desired.
Relatively recently, chemically grown dry toner materials have been made using a variety of methods. In such methods, the polymeric binder is typically manufactured as a dispersion in aqueous media by solution, suspension, or emulsion polymerization techniques under conditions that form monodisperse, polymeric particles that are fairly uniform in size and shape. After the polymeric binder is formed, it is filtered and washed to remove unreacted monomer, surfactants and other extraneous material, then dried and combined with other desired ingredients to form a dry toner powder. Because the high boiling point and large latent heat of vaporization of water makes it impractical and expensive to evaporate all of the aqueous media to obtain a dry polymeric binder, drying of the binder is often effected by filtration to remove a substantial amount of the water, followed by evaporative drying to remove substantially all of the remaining aqueous media.
Solvent-based polymer dispersions in a nonaqueous liquid (organosols) have been prepared using dispersion polymerization in low polarity, low dielectric constant carrier solvents for use in making relatively low glass transition temperature (Tg≦30° C.) film-forming liquid electrophotographic toners. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,886,067 and 6,103,781. Organosols have also been prepared for use in making intermediate glass transition temperature (Tg 30–55° C.) liquid electrostatic toners for use in electrostatic stylus printers. See e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,255,363 B1.
Some solvent-based polymer dispersions have also been developed for producing dry toners. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,136,490 and 5,384,226 and Japanese Published Patent Document No. 05-119529. Unfortunately, the use of organosols or solvent-based polymer dispersion to make dry toner particles has proved to be substantially more challenging than the use of organosols to make liquid toner compositions. When a solvent-based dispersion is dried to remove the nonaqueous liquid carrier as is necessary to make dry toner particles, the binder particles tend to agglomerate and/or aggregate into one or more large masses. Such masses must be pulverized or otherwise comminuted in order to obtain dry toner particles of an appropriate size. The need for such comminution defeats a major advantage of using organosols in the first instance, which is the formation of substantially monodisperse, polymeric particles of uniform size and shape. In addition, it has been reported to be more difficult to incorporate slip agents (e.g. waxes) or triboelectric charge control additives (CCA's) into nonaqueous dispersions due to solubility constraints and other considerations. Consequently, the full spectrum of benefits that result from using organosols has not been realized for widespread, commercial, dry toner applications.
Particle size and charge characteristics are especially important to form high quality images with good resolution using dry toners. Dry toner particles must be as uniform in size, charge rate, and charge holding characteristics as is practically possible in order to maximize image forming performance. Accordingly, there is always a demand in this industry for techniques that yield dry toner particles with more uniform particle size, charging rate, and/or charge holding characteristics. There is also a demand for new polymeric binders for dry toners that exhibit controllable particle size, shape and charge polarity; improved charging characteristics and charge stability; improved low temperature fusing performance; and lower manufacturing cost arising from improved yields, reduced processing steps, or more efficient processing methods.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Organosol including amphipathic copolymeric binder and use of the organosol to make dry toners for electrographic applications


An array substrate for a liquid crystal display device includes a gate line and a data line on a substrate, the gate line crossing the data line to define a pixel region, a thin film transistor connected to the gate line and the data line, a pixel electrode connected to the thin film transistor, and a distortion pattern under the pixel electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and more particularly, to an LCD device having a multi-domain structure.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, an LCD device includes two substrates disposed to have their respective electrodes facing each other, and a liquid crystal layer is interposed between the respective electrodes. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, an electric field is generated between the electrodes to modulate light transmittance of the liquid crystal layer by reorienting liquid crystal molecules, thereby displaying images.
There are many types of LCDs, one of which is an active matrix LCD (AM-LCD) that includes a matrix array of pixels, wherein each of the pixels in the AM-LCD has a thin film transistor (TFT) and a pixel electrode. The AM-LCD has high resolution and superiority in displaying moving images.
FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view of an array substrate for a LCD device according to the related art, and FIG. 1B is a schematic plan view of a color filter substrate for the LCD device of FIG. 1A. In FIG. 1A, a gate line 14 is formed along a first direction and a data line 24 is formed along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. A pixel region "P" is defined by the crossing of the gate line 14 and the data line 24, a TFT "T" is connected to the gate line 14 and the data line 24, and a pixel electrode 28 is formed in the pixel region "P" and connected to the TFT "T." The TFT "T" includes a gate electrode 12 that extends from the gate line 14, a source electrode 20 that extends from the data line 24, a drain electrode 22 that is spaced apart from the source electrode 20, and a semiconductor layer 18 that overlaps the source and drain electrodes 20 and 22. In addition, a first orientation film 30 is formed on the pixel electrode 28 to induce an initial alignment of a liquid crystal layer (not shown).
In FIG. 1B, a black matrix 52 is formed at a peripheral portion of the pixel region "P" and has an open portion corresponding to the pixel region "P." In addition, a color filter layer 54 is formed in the pixel region "P" and includes red, green, and blue sub-color filters 54a, 54b, and 54c, wherein each of the sub-color filters 54a, 54b, and 54c corresponds to one pixel region "P." Then, a common electrode 56 and a second orientation film 58 are sequentially formed on the color filter layer 54.
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional views, along II—II of FIGS. 1A and 1B, showing the LCD device according to the related art. In FIG. 2, first and second substrates 10 and 50 are spaced apart and face from each other, and a liquid crystal layer 70 is interposed between the first and second substrates 10 and 50. A first orientation film 30 is formed between the liquid crystal layer 70 and the first substrate 10, and a second orientation film 58 is formed between the liquid crystal layer 70 and the second substrate 50. The liquid crystal layer 70 has a twisted nematic (TN) mode, where liquid crystal molecules 72 have a 90° twisted structure without an applied voltage and are aligned orthogonal to the first and second substrates 10 and 50 with an applied voltage. The first and second orientation films 30 and 58 are rubbed along opposing directions.
When an electric field is induced to the liquid crystal layer 70, the liquid crystal molecules 72 in the pixel region "P" are aligned along one direction orthogonal to the first and second substrates 10 and 50. Thus, a first light beam "L1" controlled by a long axis of the liquid crystal molecules 72 and a second light beam "L2" controlled by a short axis of the liquid crystal molecules 72 are emitted according to a viewing angle. Since the first and second light beams "L1" and "L2" have different intensities, a user observes non-uniform brightness of the LCD device, thereby creating a narrow viewing angle.
In order to solve these problems, the LCD device is provided with a multi-domain structure where an alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules is symmetrically divided in each pixel region. The multi-domain structure for the TN mode LCD device is obtained by adjusting a rubbing direction of an orientation film or by distorting an electric field. In the multi-domain structure using a distorted electric field, an alignment state of the liquid crystal molecules is stabilized to the multi-domain structure by generating a fringe electric field.
FIG. 3A is a schematic plan view of an array substrate for an LCD device having a 2-domain structure according to the related art. FIG. 3B is a schematic plan view of a color filter substrate for the LCD device of FIG. 3A according to the related art. In FIG. 3A, a gate line 114 and a data line 124 cross each other, a TFT "T" is connected to the gate line 114 and the data line 124, and a pixel electrode 128 having a slit 127 is connected to the TFT "T." In addition, an auxiliary electrode 113 is provided to overlap the slit 127, and the slit 127 is disposed along a diagonal direction of the pixel electrode 128. For example, the auxiliary electrode 113 is formed of the same material as the gate line 114 through the same process, and is electrically separated from the pixel electrode 128, but is connected to a common line 115. In addition, a first orientation film 130 is formed on the pixel electrode 128.
In FIG. 3B, a black matrix 152 is formed in a peripheral portion of the pixel region "P" and has an open portion corresponding to the pixel region "P." In addition, a color filter layer 154 is formed in the pixel region "P" and includes red, green, and blue sub-color filters 154a, 154b, and 154c, wherein the red, green, and blue sub-color filters 154a, 154b, and 154c are alternately disposed in the pixel region "P." Furthermore, a protrusive pattern 155 is formed in a boundary portion of the pixel region "P," and a common electrode 156 and a second orientation film 158 are sequentially formed on the protrusive pattern 155.
In the LCD device of FIGS. 3A and 3B, the slit 127 of the pixel electrode 128, the auxiliary electrode 113, and the protrusive pattern 155 induce distortion of the electric field to form the 2-domain structure.
FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view, along IV-IV of FIGS. 3A and 3B showing the LCD having the 2-domain structure according to the related art. In FIG. 4, first and second substrates 110 and 150 are spaced apart from and face each other, and the auxiliary electrode 113 is formed on an inner surface of the first substrate 110 in a central portion of the pixel region "P." Then a gate insulating layer 116 is formed on an entire surface of the first substrate 110. Accordingly, the data line 124 is formed on the gate insulating layer 116 at both sides of the pixel region "P," and a passivation layer 126 is formed on the data line 124. Next, the pixel electrode 128 is formed on the passivation layer in the pixel region "P," wherein the slit 127 corresponds to the auxiliary electrode 113.
Then, a black matrix 152 is formed on an inner surface of the second substrate 150 to correspond to the data line 124, a color filter layer 154 is formed on the black matrix 152, and a common electrode 156 is formed on the color filter layer 154. Next, a protrusive pattern 155 is formed on the common electrode 156 in a boundary portion of the pixel region "P," and the second orientation film 158 is formed on the protrusive pattern 155 and the common electrode 156.
In FIG. 4, a liquid crystal layer 170 is formed between the first and second orientation films 130 and 158. Due to distortion of the electric field by the slit 127 of the pixel electrode 128, the auxiliary electrode 113, and the protrusive pattern 155, the liquid crystal layer 170 has 2 domains of different alignment states utilizing the slit 127 as a border. Since liquid crystal molecules 172 in the adjacent domains have symmetric alignment states, a viewing angle of the LCD device is improved.
However, since the LCD device is fabricated through an attachment process of the first substrate having array elements, such as a TFT, and the second substrate having the color filter layer and includes an injection process of the liquid crystal molecules, misalignment of the protrusive pattern with the boundary portion of the pixel region may occur during the attachment process. Since this misalignment causes light leakage, a sufficient attachment margin is necessary. That may be obtained by increasing a width of the black matrix. However, as the attachment margin increases, aperture ratio decreases. Moreover, since the protrusive pattern is formed through an additional process, a total number of individual fabricating steps increases and production costs also increase.

Liquid crystal display device having multi-domain structure including a distorting pattern under the pixel electrode and method of fabricating the same


A solid-state imaging apparatus includes a pixel array in which pixels are arranged in a matrix. Each pixel includes a photoelectric conversion element, a transfer transistor, an amplifier transistor, and a reset transistor. The pixel array an effective pixel part in which light enters the photoelectric conversion element and which is configured to output a video signal, an optical black pixel part in which the photoelectric conversion element is shielded from light and which is configured to output a reference signal, and a dummy pixel part. Of pixels connected to the same signal output line, effective pixels of the effective pixel part are configured such that a first potential is supplied from the reset transistor to a floating diffusion part, and clipping pixels of the dummy pixel part are configured such that a second potential is supplied from the reset transistor to the floating diffusion part.

In recent years, digital cameras etc. including built-in solid-state imaging apparatuses have been widespread. It has been known that, in the solid-state imaging apparatuses, when high-brightness light having certain brightness or more enters, a black part into which light does not seem to enter may appear in an image. Such phenomenon is hereinafter referred to as "blocked-up shadows." As a technique for reducing or preventing the blocked-up shadows, the following technique (e.g., see Japanese Patent Publication No. 2009-177378 which is hereinafter referred to as "Patent Document 1") is disclosed.
FIG. 16 is a view illustrating a configuration of a solid-state imaging apparatus 100 of Patent Document 1. Referring to FIG. 16, the solid-state imaging apparatus 100 of Patent Document 1 includes pixels 110, vertical signal lines 111, a constant current source 112, a noise canceller circuit (correlated double sampling (CDS) circuit) 113, horizontal signal lines 114, and an output AMP 115. The plurality of pixels 110 are arranged in a matrix as unit pixels.
The pixel 110 includes a photodiode PD configured to perform photoelectric conversion, a transfer transistor MTR, a reset transistor MRS, an amplifier transistor MSF, and a floating diffusion part FD (hereinafter also referred to as an "FD part") configured to store charge.
First, the blocked-up shadows will be described. The voltage Vfd of the FD part drops due to entering of high-brightness light, and the potential Vpixout of the vertical signal line drops to equal to or lower than a permissible minimum value. As a result, even if signal charge is transferred from the photodiode PD to the FD part, the potential Vpixout cannot further drop. Thus, the blocked-up shadows occur.
The blocked-up shadows will be further described below with reference to FIG. 16 and a timing chart of FIG. 17. FIG. 17 is the timing chart illustrating a relationship among drive pulses in the solid-state imaging apparatus of Patent Document 1. In this case, a pixel from which an optical signal is read is a pixel 110<i>.
When high-brightness light enters a pixel region, the voltage Vfd at the floating diffusion part FD may drop to a permissible minimum value (floating diffusion part minimum voltage Vfdmin) during the period from the point at which a reset pulse φRS<i> is changed to a low level to the point at which a transfer pulse φTR<i> is changed to a high level. In such a case, the potential Vpixout of the vertical signal line also drops to a permissible minimum value (pixel output minimum voltage Vpixoutmin).
This is because of, e.g., the following reason: charge is generated not only at the photodiode PD but also at the FD part due to leakage of intense light into the FD part; or charge generated at the photodiode PD leaks into the FD part.
In the foregoing state, even if signal charge dependent on light is transferred to the FD part with the transfer pulse φTR<i> being changed to the high level, the voltage Vfd at the FD part cannot fall below the FD part minimum voltage Vfdmin.
Thus, the pixel output voltage Vpixout does not fall below the pixel output minimum voltage Vpixoutmin, and therefore the difference ΔVpixout(sig) between reset voltage and signal voltage is 0 (ΔVpixout(sig)=Vpixoutmin−Vpixoutmin=0). Finally, horizontal signal line optical signal voltage ΔVout(sig)=0.
As a result, at a place where high-brightness light having certain brightness or more enters, a black image is formed as if no light enters.
In order to reduce the blocked-up shadows, various suppressor circuits have been proposed. The following has been known as one of the suppressor circuits. For the pixel 110<i> from which an optical signal is read, clip voltage for reducing or preventing the blocked-up shadows is generated from an adjacent pixel 110<i+1>, and the pixel output voltage Vpixout is clipped.
Such a case will be described with reference to the timing chart of FIG. 17.
First, a power supply pulse φVdd<i> is changed to a reference reset pulse φVddr, and the reset pulse φRS<i> is changed to the high level. This sets FD part voltage Vfd<i> at reference reset voltage Vddr. Moreover, in order to clamp the reset voltage to the CDS circuit 113, a clamp pulse φCL and a sample-hold pulse φSH are changed to the high level.
Next, a power supply pulse φVdd<K> connected to a non-selected pixel 110<K> (not shown in FIG. 16) other than the reading pixel 110<i> and the clipping pixel 110<i+1> is set at non-selected pixel voltage Vddl which has a value lower than the minimum value Vpixoutmin for an optical signal flowing through the vertical signal line 111, and FD part voltage Vfd<K> of the non-selected pixel is set at the non-selected pixel voltage Vddl.
Then, the reset pulse φRS<i> is changed to the low level.
Thus, due to a kTC noise (reset noise) component Vktc<i> at a reset transistor MRS<i>, field-through voltage Vft<i>, and gate/source voltage Vgs<i> at an amplifier transistor MSF<i>, pixel output voltage Vpixout<i>is changed to reset voltage Vrst<i> (=Vddr−Vnoise<i>−Vgs<i>) which falls below the reference reset voltage Vddr. Note that noise Vnoise<i> of the reset transistor MRS<i> is represented by Vktc<i>+Vft<i>.
Next, a power supply pulse φVdd<i+1> is set at reference clip voltage Vddc (<Vddr). Moreover, a reset pulse φRS<i+1> is changed to the high level, and a transfer pulse φTR<i+1> is changed to the low level. This allows FD part voltage Vfd<i+1> to be set at the reference clip voltage Vddc. In such a state, since the reference clip voltage Vddc is voltage for generating clip voltage, the reference clip voltage Vddc is set at voltage lower than the reference reset voltage Vddr by Va (Vddc=Vddr−Va).
Next, while the reset voltage is sampled and held due to high-brightness light, the FD part voltage Vfd<i> drops to the minimum voltage Vfdmin<i> permitted at the FD part. Accordingly, the pixel output voltage Vpixout<i> also drops.
Meanwhile, at the pixel 110<i+1>, the following state is brought about: the reset pulse φRS<i+1> is at the high level, the transfer pulse φTR<i+1> is at the low level, and Vdd<i+1>=Vddc. This allows the FD part voltage Vfd<i+1> to be set at the reference clip voltage Vddc. Thus, the pixel output voltage Vpixout does not fall below clip voltage Vc<i+1>(=Vddc−Vgs<i+1>). That is, the pixel output voltage Vpixout is clipped at the clip voltage Vc<i+1>.
Next, in order to transfer a charge signal, the voltage of the vertical signal line 111 is dropped. Thus, the power supply pulse φVdd<i+1> of the pixel 110<i+1> is set at the non-selected pixel voltage Vddl, the clamp pulse φCL is changed to the low level, and the reset pulse φRS<i+1> is maintained at the high level.
Next, the transfer pulse φTR<i> of the pixel 110<i> is changed to the high level, and signal voltage is transferred as the pixel output voltage Vpixout<i>. In such a state, since the power supply pulse φVdd<K> and the power supply pulse φVdd<i+1> are both set at the non-selected pixel voltage Vddl, only the FD part voltage Vfd<i> of the pixel 110<i> is output as the pixel output voltage Vpixout<i>.
Subsequently, in order to read signals from a subsequent row, the power supply pulse φVdd<i+1> of the pixel 110<i+1> is set at the reference reset voltage Vddr. Then, the similar operation described above is performed to read a signal from the pixel 110<i+1> with a pixel 110<i+2> being used as a clipping pixel.
The foregoing operation is sequentially performed for each of the pixels arranged in an array pattern, thereby obtaining an image for which the blocked-up shadows are reduced. That is, when high-brightness light enters, no blocked-up shadows occur even if the pixel output voltage Vpixout<i> drops. When the pixel output voltage is Vpixout(sig)<i>, signal voltage of (Vc<i+1>−Vpixout(sig)<i>) can be obtained by the CDS circuit 113.

Solid-state imaging apparatus and method for driving the same

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A system for efficient manual towing of a wheeled golf trolley using a flexible tether and harness mountable to the torso of a user.

This invention relates to systems assisting an individual in the transport of golf-related equipment. More particularly this invention relates to providing a system for efficient manual towing of a wheeled golf trolley using the torso of a golfer or golf caddy.
The sport of golf typically requires a golfer to transport his or her equipment across the length of the course on which the sport is played. A typical golf course may comprise up to eighteen holes of play (a hole is generally defined as a section of the course between a tee, where a ball is first hit, to a physical hole in which the ball is eventually placed) and may comprise an overall length exceeding 7500 yards. Traditionally, a golfer will carry a number of golf clubs to execute play. These clubs are generally grouped within a golf bag which, when fully loaded, comprises a considerable weight.
Many golfers find the manual transport of their equipment across eighteen holes of play both tiring and ultimately detrimental to their overall performance. For example, the accuracy and power of a player's drive is directly impacted by a player's level of muscle fatigue. Similarly, a player's short game (putting the ball across a green into the hole) is especially affected by arm fatigue. A golfer seeking to reduce the load by employing a manually pulled golf cart or similar trolley may experience continued levels of arm fatigue as the pulling and twisting force applied to the player's body causes the player's arms to tire, especially during the towing or pushing of the equipment between the ending holes of a course. Clearly, needs exists for efficient and economical systems for reducing the stress and fatigue a player experiences during the manual transport of golf equipment during play.


A tubular member has at least one drainage section including an inlet inlet and at least one self-adjustable flow control device to control the flow of fluid into the drainage section from a well. The flow control devices are located in an annular space surrounding a pipe between the inlet and an outlet is provided for fluid flowing into the drainage section. The annular space forms a flow path through the flow control device passing by a valve body arranged to adjust the flow area in response to the pressure difference across the flow control device and/or changes in density of the fluid. The flow control device includes a valve seat cooperating with the valve body. The valve body includes an annular resilient valve member arranged to be deformed at least in a radial direction, in order to reduce or increase the flow area through the flow control device.

A static, fixed inflow control device (ICD) is used in horizontal wells to control the inflow of hydrocarbons to a production line in wellbores. Horizontal wells are characterized by having an uneven drainage profile from the heel to the toe. Due to the varying pressure drops along a horizontal well, the heel of a horizontal well tends to be drained much faster than the toe. Once the reservoir surrounding the heel portion of the well has been substantially drained, water breakthrough may be experienced. Water breakthrough near the heel portion of the well will occur long before the toe portion of the well is drained, resulting in a poor total yield of hydrocarbons from the well. ICDs are arranged along the horizontal well in order to even out the drainage rate along the well in an attempt to provide a more even drainage profile along the well. The ICDs near the heel tend to have much smaller and fewer openings than the ICDs closer to the toe, thereby providing a more even drainage profile along the entire horizontal well.
An example of a static inflow control device is shown in NO 314701, which discloses a flow arrangement for use in a well through an underground reservoir. The arrangement is designed to throttle radially inflowing reservoir fluids produced through an inflow portion of the production tubing in the well. Such an arrangement is designed to effect a relatively stable and predictable fluid pressure drop at any stable fluid flow rate in the course of the production period of the well, and where said fluid pressure drop will exhibit the smallest possible degree of susceptibility to influence by differences in the viscosity and/or any changes in the viscosity of the inflowing reservoir fluids during the production period. Such a fluid pressure drop is obtained by the arrangement comprising among other things one or more short, removable and replaceable flow restrictions such as nozzle inserts, and where the individual flow restriction may be given the desired cross section of flow, through which reservoir fluids may flow and be throttled, or the flow restriction may be a sealing plug.
While static ICDs can be selected and installed with more or less correct inflow control properties at the beginning of the production life time of the well, the properties of the well will change over time in a manner that is difficult or impossible to foresee and account for when installing the ICDs during initial completing of the well. Since the ICDs are static, there is no easy way to adjust the inflow characteristics of the ICDs after the initial installment. The result is that the drainage characteristics that were correct and optimal during the first part of the production lifetime, becomes more and more off as time as the well starts to mature.
Another drawback with conventional fixed opening ICDs is that while the openings produce a pressure drop that may retard the inflow of hydrocarbons, thereby provide a more even drainage profile along the well from the toe to the heel and delaying the onset of water or gas breakthrough, the conventional ICDs have no ability to close of their openings in the event of water or gas breakthrough.
The object of the invention is therefore to provide an improved solution that solves the above problems and is more reliable in terms of functionality. These objects and others will become apparent from the following description.


A detection track includes a first detection element group that includes a plurality of first magnetic resistance elements arranged at a pitch λ/(2n) when an order to cancel target harmonic components among a plurality of harmonic components superimposed on a fundamental component of a detection signal for multi-pole magnetic pattern is assumed as n, and a second detection element group that includes a plurality of second magnetic resistance elements arranged at the pitch λ/(2n), a plurality of first dummy magnetic resistance elements arranged among the first magnetic resistance elements, and a plurality of second dummy magnetic resistance elements arranged among the second magnetic resistance elements. Pitches between adjacent magnetic resistance elements among the first magnetic resistance elements and the first dummy magnetic resistance element are equivalent to one another, and pitches between adjacent magnetic resistance elements among the second magnetic resistance elements and the second dummy magnetic resistance element are equivalent to one another.

An ordinary magnetic rotation-angle detector detects a rotation angle of a rotary drum as a rotation angle of a body of revolution such as a motor coupled to the rotary drum via a shaft by using a result of detection by a magnetic sensor with respect to a magnetic field generated by a multi-pole magnetic pattern on the rotary drum having N and S poles which are provided on an outer circumference and on which magnetization alternately occurs at a magnetization pitch λ. Magnetic resistance elements (MR elements) such as AMR elements are used for the magnetic sensor, and the magnetic sensor uses properties of the AMR elements that electric resistance changes in proportion to the change in a magnetic field. The magnetic sensor causes the MR elements to detect the changes in the magnetic field due to the rotation of the rotary drum, and detects the rotation angle of the rotary drum based on a sine-wave detection signal obtained by this detection of the change.
More specifically, the magnetic sensor is configured to output a sine-wave detection signal (a phase-A detection signal) and a cosine-wave detection signal (a phase-B detection signal) in phases shifted by 90 degrees from each other by arranging the MR elements in an array. A computing device that receives these detection signals from the magnetic sensor and that is located in rear of the magnetic sensor performs an arc tangent arithmetic operation between the phase-A detection signal and the phase-B detection signal, thereby computing the rotation angle of the rotary drum.
Generally, when a magnetic flux density waveform is converted into a detection signal (an MR waveform) of the MR elements, harmonic distortions are always superimposed on the MR waveform for the following reasons. An MR characteristic curve used to convert a magnetic flux density into the detection signal (a resistance change rate) of the MR elements is of a shape of a quadratic function having a minimum at the position of a magnetic flux density of zero. Furthermore, as for higher magnetic fields (magnetic flux densities) than an inflection point (deviating from the quadratic function shape), outputs from the MR elements saturate. Therefore, the MR waveform becomes closer to a rectangular waveform.
Patent Literature 1 describes a configuration in which a plurality of MR elements are arranged so that the MR elements other than one MR element are away from the one MR element by λ/10, λ/6, and λ/6+λ/10, respectively in a magnetic sensor for detecting the position of a rotary drum on which magnetic signals are recorded at pitches λ. This configuration has the following effects. According to Patent Literature 1, a differential amplifier located in rear of these four MR elements adds up output signals from the MR elements. Therefore, it is supposed that it becomes possible to cancel fifth and third harmonic waves and to cancel waveform distortions of an output signal from the magnetic sensor generated by the saturation of the MR elements.


The application provides an apparatus for removing ferrous particles from an oil or gas process liquid or slurry and a method of use. The apparatus has a first inner cylindrical sheath and a second outer cylindrical sheath arranged concentrically on a longitudinal axis to create an annular volume. A helical screw flight on the first or second cylindrical sheaths extends across the annular volume, and a magnet assembly extends along the longitudinal axis, such that ferrous particles are attracted to a surface of the annular volume. The apparatus has an inlet a discharge outlet, and a ferrous particle collection location. The screw flight and the cylindrical sheath operable to rotate with respect to the magnet assembly to convey particles to the collection location. The apparatus includes a retaining surface to retain collected particles.

In the oil and gas exploration and production industry, it is common to cut, mill, grind or drill through steel components such as casing in an installed wellbore, for example to form a window in the wellbore to allow a sidetrack well to be drilled. The material removed by this process (referred to as swarf) is mixed with the drilling fluid (or mud), which is circulated through the wellbore and returned to surface via the wellbore annulus along with the drill cuttings. It is desirable to process the drilling mud returns to remove the drill cuttings for treatment and disposal, and to prepare the drilling mud for recirculation. The swarf is highly erosive and must be removed from the valuable drilling mud to allow it to be reused safely. However, significant quantities of swarf in drilling mud returns may interfere with or damage surface flow equipment including equipment used for the separation of solid particles (such as drill cuttings or rock fragments), presenting the operator with an additional problem.
The ferrous nature of swarf has led to proposals to use magnetic fields to separate the swarf from the fluid or slurry. Various magnetic separator apparatus exist which are able to separate magnetic particles, such as swarf, from a fluid. However, the magnetic particles which are collected by such an apparatus must consequently be removed from the apparatus itself. The removal of magnetic particles from a magnetic separating apparatus is referred to as cleaning, and often requires the need for human intervention, the separator apparatus to be taken out of service and the ongoing process to be halted.
It is therefore desirable for a magnetic separating apparatus to be "self-cleaning", in that it is able to discharge collected magnetic particles without the need for human intervention or the requirement to remove the apparatus from service resulting in system down-time.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,170,891 and 4,818,378 describe self-cleaning screw conveyor apparatus which are internally magnetised to attract and convey magnetic material. The magnetic field strength created by the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 5,170,891 is designed to be strong at one end of the screw conveyor, to pick up magnetic particles, and weaker at the other, to discharge magnetic particles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,378 has multiple discharge chutes at its end, and relies on weaknesses in the magnetic field of its magnetic arrangement to encourage discharge of collected magnetic particles. Cleaning of U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,378 can also be assisted by an externally mounted sweeping apparatus, which rotates independently of the conveyor. FR 2 722 120, U.S. Pat. No. 4,784,759 and US 2015/0298139 describe screw conveyor apparatus which are enclosed and externally magnetised.
WO 2007/023726, filed by the present applicant, describes a screw conveyor apparatus which is internally magnetised. In WO 2007/023726, the helical flights of the screw conveyor rotate relative to the central, internally magnetised, shaft. The rotating helical flights move the collected magnetic particles away from the internal magnetic arrangement of the conveyor allowing particles to fall from the conveyor when no longer attracted by the magnetic field.
The foregoing screw conveyor apparatus each have the capacity to attract and convey magnetic particles and subsequently discharge the majority of the magnetic particles which have been collected. However, such apparatus face problems in discharging all of the magnetic material that has been collected, in particular, magnetic particles which are very small. The inability of the magnetic separating apparatus to ensure total and proper discharge of such material may result in damage and clogging of the apparatus, as well as interfering with the ability of the apparatus to perform its function.
It is also desirable for a magnetic separating apparatus to be self-cleaning while retaining an ability to effectively and adequately separate swarf or magnetic particles from a liquid or slurry.
Furthermore, while the magnetic separating apparatus proposed in the above-referenced are applicable to a wide range of applications, they are not suitable for integration, permanent or otherwise, into a flowline of a rig package of the oil and gas exploration and production industry.

Apparatus and method for removing magnetic particles from liquids or slurries from an oil or gas process


A motorcycle hub adapter for shaft driven motorcycles that permits a user to mount any custom wheel to a shaft driven motorcycle assembly. The adapter includes a housing that has a substantially hemispherical shape with a convex side with an opposite relatively flat opposite side. The adapter includes a central through opening extending from a round flattened end on the convex side with cooperative dimensions to receive the axle therethrough. Several peripheral annular surfaces are provided with holes to mount the brake disk rotor assembly at the farthest possible distance form the rim while other components of the motorcycle are also mounted to make them compatible with the rim assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a motorcycle hub adapter, and more particularly, to a hub adapter that permits a user to mount any custom wheel to a shaft driven motorcycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Several designs for hub adapters have been designed in the past. None of them, however, includes a hemispheric housing that permits a user to assemble all the components of a driven motorcycle wheel on one side, including the disk brake rotor assembly, while minimizing the visual obstruction of the rim assembly.
Applicants believe that a related reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,238,009 issued to Lovitt, Jr. on May 29, 2001 for a wheel and adapter. Lovitt's patent discloses a wheel adapter for a conventional vehicle hub to a wheel having a large inward offset, thereby permitting the original wheel track of the vehicle to be changed to match the width of a railroad track so the tires of the vehicle will sit on the railroad track. However, it differs from the present invention because there is no disclosure, or even preoccupation, for an adapter that permits a user to mount all the motorcycle wheel's components to one side to improve aesthetics preventing the obstruction of the rim assembly. Additionally, the present invention provides a user with the flexibility of using different rim assemblies while the visual obstruction is minimized. This is not taught in the patented invention.
Applicants believe that another related reference corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,502 issued to Petrak on Sep. 30, 2003 for a wheel and adaptor plate system. Petrak's patent discloses a wheel adapter plate system for mounting a wheel rim onto a hub having a different lug bolt pattern. The wheel adapter plate system includes a plate member comprising a plurality of mounting apertures extending through the plate member. However, it differs from the present invention because Petrak's adapter plate system does not permit a user to mount all the motorcycle wheel's components to one side with minimum rim visual obstruction while also providing a user with the flexibility of using different rim assemblies. Petrak's patent does not even suggest its use with shaft driven motorcycles.
Other patents describing the closest subject matter provide for a number of more or less complicated features that fail to solve the problem in an efficient and economical way. None of these patents suggests the novel features of the present invention.


A bale processor (10) of a type that efficiently processes both round and square bales. A bale processor chamber (12) has at least one moveable wall (12b) adjustable between a mostly vertical position suitable to process round bales and at least one less vertical position suitable to process square bales. A floor conveyor (16) is provided at the bottom of the bale processor chamber (12) and is oriented at an angle of eight to sixteen degrees from horizontal to move a bale and bale parts toward a rotor (14) which tears the bale into smaller pieces and throws the smaller pieces out of the bale processor (10).

Bale processors are devices used to spread the content of bales of forage in a controlled way for reasons such as mulching or feeding livestock. Examples of bale processors are shown in application PCT/US2011/058514, filed Oct. 31, 2011, to Graham et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,911 to Patterson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,824 to Hruska, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,784 to Lischynski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,763 to Lepage et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,691 to Helmeczi et al. and Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0086857 to Lepage et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
One of the most popular configurations of bale processors includes a processing tub, that holds the bale while it is being processed, mounted to a frame with a hitch on the front, and a bale lift device at the back. The processing tub includes a conveyor located at the bottom, adjacent a rotor. The conveyor is configured move the round bale so that a portion of the bale comes into contact with the rotor. A portion of the bale also comes in contact with a side of the tub, a generally planar side panel that is positioned in a generally vertical orientation, adjacent to the rotor. These three devices, the conveyor, the rotor and the first side panel, work together to cause the round bale to rotate about its axis while the rotor cuts or tears a layer of material off the bale. The tubs generally include a second side panel, on the side of the machine opposite the first side panel, so that the conveyor can move the bale in either direction, so that the bale can be forced to rotate either clockwise or counter-clockwise. The bale lift device is positioned to place the bale approximately in the center of the tub, between the two side panels.
These aforementioned bale processors were developed specifically to process round bales and they are not effective in processing large square bales (i.e. bales that are square or rectangular in cross section).
One company, Brandt, developed and marketed a bale processor a brochure of which is cited in the invention disclosure statement of the instant patent file. The Brant bale processor, model VSF-X, was advertised by Brant as being able to process both large square bales and large round bales that included a conveyor at the bottom of its tub oriented at a 4.5 degree slope. This Brandt machine had a square bale kit that added the capability that the second side of the tub could be repositioned into a generally horizontal orientation, with an upper surface generally aligned with the upper surface of the conveyor. The combination of the conveyor and the side panel in the horizontal position defined a feed deck. This feed deck supported a large square bale, with about one half of the bale on the side panel and the other half on the conveyor, it being surmised that the feed conveyor was used to move the bale towards the rotor. The side panel of this product was positioned with a hydraulic cylinder, in either (1) a raised position for processing round bales, or (2) in a lowered position for processing square bales.
The Brandt bale lift device was modified for the square bale kit, to include bale forks that would pick-up and load a square bale off-set from the original center of the tub, the center of the side panels when both are in a vertical position, to place the bale on the feed deck, with approximately half of the bale supported by the second side panel when in the horizontal orientation.
Accordingly, a bale processor that will efficiently process both round and square bales is needed.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.


Registered users including businesses attach a one-time-use identity verifier to as many financial and other transactions as they choose to protect themselves from identity thieves. They may also attach a security message to any identity verifier to ensure that a thief cannot steal a registered user's check from a mailbox and use the unused identity verifier. By using one list for all of a person's transactions, applications for new credit by identity thieves are also prevented. All of this is made possible by allowing the identity verifiers to be approved nonsequentially.

Identity crimes are a significant problem in society. Identity crimes include identity theft, identity fraud, identity cloaking, check counterfeiting, and other crimes. Some specific examples of identity crimes include credit card theft, check theft, medicare fraud, ATM card theft, and minors using fake identifications to obtain admittance to a bar or adult-only Internet sites. Many other examples of identity crimes abound around us. Despite new laws designed to combat identity crimes, it is still easy for a criminal to take out loans in someone else's name, to run up enormous credit card debts and tap into bank accounts.
Numerical identifiers such as credit card numbers and social security numbers were originally designed to serve as means for verifying a person's identity. However, these numerical identifiers are easily obtained by a criminal. For example, a credit card receipt can be easily removed from a waste basket to obtain the credit card number. Social security numbers are often requested to be entered on all kinds of forms. Any person later coming into contact with such forms can easily obtain the social security number.
Various technologies have been devised in attempts to solve the problem of identity crimes. For example, biometrics such as fingerprint recognition equipment can be used to determine or confirm a person's identity by scanning the person's fingerprint and comparing it to an earlier stored fingerprint of the person. Retinal scans or DNA analysis can also be used to identify a person. Such equipment is very expensive to replicate on a large scale.
Banks often use a personal identification number (PIN) to verify the identity of a person. A bank customer is required to enter his or her PIN prior to withdrawing cash from his or her account. This PIN is a static number (i.e., it does not change for each transaction) and it can be reused over and over again. Therefore, there is a risk that a criminal can obtain a PIN number from a previous transaction and simply reuse it to perpetrate a crime. In other words a PIN number must be kept hidden even after it is used. Furthermore, PIN's are specific to a single account and are not used universally to all types of transactions in a person's life.
Another example of a situation in which verifying a person's identity is important is in preventing children from entering adult-only establishments. For example, bars and nightclubs often need to determine the age of a patron to ensure that the patron is not a minor. Typically these establishments use a patron's driver's license to ascertain their age. However, minors often obtain fraudulent drivers licenses by inserting their photograph into a stolen or otherwise obtained driver's license of an adult. Similar methods may be used to falsely assert an older age for purchasing cigarettes or alcohol. Use of fingerprint or other recognition equipment is typically too expensive for these establishments and therefore enforcement of the laws is difficult.
The recent advances in commercial transactions over the Internet have also created an interest by purchasers in verifying the identity of the entity they are doing business with. Before providing a credit card number to purchase an item or transact some form of business, the person desires to gain some assurance that the entity with whom they are transacting the business is reputable.

System and method for thwarting identity theft and other identity misrepresentations


Information is read, which relates to an array of objects for input that have been displayed on a display unit upon input of input information. Whether an input object of the input information that is displayed on the display unit has been touched is determined. When the input object is determined as having been touched, the touched input object is recognized as an object to be corrected. A correction candidate object based on the array of the objects for input is displayed in the vicinity of the object to be corrected. Whether the correction candidate object has been touched is determined. When the correction candidate object is determined as having been touched, the object to be corrected is replaced with the touched correction candidate object.

In recent years, information terminal devices such as mobile phones, smartphones, and tablet terminals are widely used. The information terminal devices have not only a calling function but also various functions, such as mailing, SNS (Social Networking Service) communication, a memo, web searching, and schedule management. As letter input means necessary for these functions, a software keyboard to be displayed on a touch panel to input letters is widely used. The software keyboard is displayed on the touch panel when it is necessary to input a letter. Thus, it is not necessary to secure a location where keys are installed, unlike hardware keyboards. Therefore, the number of devices that use a software keyboard for downsizing of the devices and the multifunctionalization of input means is increasing. However, when a display screen on which a software keyboard is displayed is small, a detection region for detecting a touch operation of touching each key on the software keyboard is narrow. Thus, erroneous input caused by an erroneous operation of an adjacent key occurs easily. Every time erroneous input occurs, the burden of correcting an erroneously input letter arises. Therefore, a technique capable of easily correcting an erroneously input letter without making a configuration complex and without a reduction in a letter input speed is requested.
As an example, the following Patent Literature 1 discloses a technique for displaying a correction candidate letter in the vicinity of a delete key on a software keyboard when a correction letter is deleted. In addition, Patent Literature 2 describes a technique for enlarging and displaying a correction candidate letter in the vicinity of a deleted key on a software keyboard when a correction letter is deleted.

Input information correction method and information terminal


A fuel tank assembly includes a securement structure that may be secured to a fuel tank. The securement structure may stabilize the lower regions of a draw tube and a return tube positioned within the fuel tank such that movement and vibration of the draw and return tubes is reduced during motion of the vehicle to which the fuel tank is secured.

Prior art fuel tanks typically include draw and return tubes secured at their upper end to the upper surface of a fuel tank. During motion of the vehicle the lower end of the draw and return tubes may be subject to movement and/or vibration which may damage the fuel tank or the tubes themselves, and which may damage or loosen securement of the top end of the draw and return tubes at the upper surface of the fuel tank.