An oscillator circuit providing quadrature outputs and enabling instantaneous control over phase, frequency and amplitude of the output waveforms is disclosed. In one embodiment, the oscillator circuit comprises an oscillation loop, at least one capacitor switching circuit coupled to the oscillation loop, and a synchronization signal having an output coupled to the at least one capacitor switching circuit. The synchronization signal may be derived internally from the oscillation loop or externally from an external oscillator.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to oscillators, and more specifically to oscillators having amplitude, phase and frequency control.
2. Background Art
Many electronic systems, such as systems for communication or measurements, need stable time references. These time references are often implemented as electronic oscillating circuits, or oscillators. These oscillators generally produce periodic waveforms as an output voltage, current, charge or other electrical variable that can be used as a time reference. In many cases, these output periodic waveforms are sinusoidal, triangular, sawtooth or square waveforms.
Depending on the exact application, the need can exist for a quadrature output signal, a signal that is ±90 degrees out of phase with the first output signal. Moreover, there can be a need to change the amplitude, phase or frequency of the electrical oscillation. Furthermore, a desired feature of oscillators is that they can easily be integrated in integrated circuits in standard processes, consuming as low power as possible to prevent the need for a blower or heat sink on the integrated circuit, or even enabling integration at all.
Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown one example of a well-known prior art two-integrator oscillator 100. The prior art oscillator comprises two transconductance amplifiers, 102a and 102b, with inputs ui1 and ui2, and output io1 and io2 respectively. The output currents of the two transconductors, 102a and 102b, are fed into capacitors C2 (104a) and C1 (104b) respectively, thus creating two voltage in—voltage out integrators, 106a and 106b. These two integrators each create a 90 degree phase shift. To complete the necessary 360 degrees of phase shift in the oscillation loop, an inversion is implemented between the output of the second integrator and the input of the first. In FIG. 1, this inversion is created by the inverting amplifier 108. In a fully differential version of the prior art oscillator, this inversion can also be created by swapping the positive and negative terminals of one the integrators in the loop.
One problem with such prior art two-integrator oscillators is the signal energy losses inside the oscillation loop 110. Losses may occur, for example, inside the transconductance amplifiers or may be caused by capacitor non-idealities, such as parasitic loss resistances. In order to sustain oscillation, these signal energy losses need to be compensated.
One solution in the prior art for compensating for such signal energy losses inside the oscillation loop 110 is to use transconductance amplifiers. Referring again to FIG. 1, there are shown two undamping transconductance amplifiers gm3 and gm4, 112a and 112b, which are used to compensate for the signal energy losses inside the oscillation loop 110. The two undamping amplifiers, 112a and 112b, are controlled by an amplitude control circuit, 114, that compares the amplitude of the oscillation inside the loop 110 to a desired reference value and controls the two undamping transconductance amplifiers, 112a and 112b, to compensate for the signal energy losses inside the loop. As a result, the oscillation loop 110 will sustain oscillation at the frequency where the loop gain is equal to 1 and the total phase shift in the loop is equal to 360 degrees. In the prior art oscillator of FIG. 1, the oscillation frequency ω0 is given by the equation:
      ω    0    =                              g                      m                                                                          1                                            g                      m                                                                          2                                                C          1                                  C          2
The transconductances gm1 (102a) and gm2 (102b) of the two-integrator oscillator may be defined by the equation:gm1=gm2=gm and capacitors C1 (104b) and C2 (104a) are given by:C1=C2=CIn this case, the oscillation frequency ω0 is defined by the equation:
      ω    0    =            g      m        C
In the prior art architecture depicted in FIG. 1, the frequency and amplitude of the oscillation can be controlled independently. The frequency of the oscillation is determined by the value of the capacitors C1 (104b) and C2 (104a) and the transconductances gm1 (102a) and gm2 (102b), while the amplitude of the oscillation is controlled by the two undamping amplifiers, 112a and 112b, together with the amplitude control circuit 114.
When no amplitude control loop is present, dissipation of the signal energy inside the amplifiers, or in lossy capacitors, causes the initial amplitude of the oscillation to decay exponentially. In such a case, the output signal of the circuit is determined by the initial voltages across the capacitors, 104a and 104b. Referring now to FIG. 2, there is shown the exponential decay of the waveforms for voltages ui1 and ui2 when an initial voltage of 1V is present across C1 (104b) and an initial voltage of 0V is present across C2 (104a).
Another disadvantage of the prior art two-integrator oscillator is the complex circuitry required to control the amplitude, phase and frequency. Such complex solutions can be difficult to design, unstable in operation and expensive to manufacture. Yet another disadvantage of the prior art oscillator in FIG. 1 is that phase control and phase locking is not possible.
Therefore, what is needed is an oscillator in which amplitude, phase and frequency can be easily controlled without the problems in the prior art.

Quadrature oscillator with simplified amplitude, phase and frequency control


A method for measuring fluid level uses data sensed by an oil level sensor to determine the level of oil in a motor vehicle oil pan. The oil level sensor can include a receiver tube oriented upright in the oil pan of the vehicle. A level tube is disposed in the receiver tube and below the level tube is a reference tube. A circuit is electrically connected to the tubes for outputting a signal representative of oil level in the oil pan. As the engine oil level decreases within the level tube, the output of the sensor drops. The method includes providing a series of signals to the sensor and recording the output from the sensor with the sensor in a variety of configurations. This information is then processed to determine the ratio of measured oil in the oil pan to the proper operating oil level.

The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for measuring fluid levels, and more particularly to methods and structure for measuring oil level in a vehicle engine.
Accurately measuring fluid levels is important in many applications. As but one example, automatically monitoring the quality and amount of oil in a vehicle alerts drivers in a timely fashion when maintenance should be performed as dictated by the actual condition of the vehicle. Performing maintenance when it is actually required is preferred over following a predetermined, one-size-fits-all schedule that might be too long or too short for any given vehicle, depending on the way the vehicle is driven. If too long a period elapses between maintenance, a vehicle can be damaged. On the other hand, conducting maintenance when it is not needed is wasteful both in terms of labor and in terms of natural resources. For example, if a vehicle doesn""t require an oil change but nevertheless receives one, oil is in effect wasted.
Accordingly, systems have been provided for measuring various parameters of a vehicle""s engine oil, and to generate warning signals when maintenance is due as indicated by the condition of the oil. Among the parameters that are typically measured are oil temperature, condition, and level, and the signals from multiple sensors can be combined to generate the final engine oil maintenance signal. Of importance to the present invention is the accurate measurement of oil level.
As understood herein, oil level depends on many factors. Electrical properties of oil are used to measure level, which has the advantage of providing very accurate measurements. We have recognized, however, that the electrical properties depend on, among other things, temperature, oil brand, oil condition, and oil contamination, making it difficult to accurately measure oil level over a wide temperature range and independently of brand and condition.
The present invention understands that a reference sensor can be used along with a level sensor. The signal from the level sensor is divided by the signal from the reference sensor to cancel the effects of oil condition and so on, leaving a signal that represents level only. As recognized herein, two different oil levels may have the same output. In order to distinguish the two different oil levels, a fixed and known value capacitor, referred to herein as an on chip capacitor, is needed. If untrimmed, the on chip capacitor may have a twenty percent (plus or minus) variation around the nominal value. This variation is unacceptable for the required accuracy for oil level, which typically is plus or minus ten percent. The on chip capacitor may be trimmed to increase its accuracy. However, trimming the on chip capacitor increases the cost of the oil sensor.
Existing sensors also have very small signal strengths, and, hence, poor signal-to-noise ratios. Significant amplification of the output signal is required, and this in turn introduces noise amplification and the problems attendant thereto. Moreover, to eliminate temperature differential effects the two sensors should be positioned close together. However, placing the sensors close together normally dictates using a relatively low input signal frequency that might not be effective at low oil temperatures. The present invention has recognized these prior art drawbacks, and has provided the below-disclosed solutions to one or more of the prior art deficiencies. More specifically, the present invention can accurately determine the oil level by precalibration of the sensor without trimming the on-chip capacitor, and thus without increasing the cost of the sensor.
A method for measuring fluid level in a motor vehicle includes providing a fluid level sensor that includes a receiver tube positionable in a container of fluid such that it defines an upright orientation when it is installed in the container. The fluid level sensor also includes a level tube that is coaxially disposed in the receiver tube, a reference tube that is coaxially disposed in the receiver tube below the level tube relative to the upright orientation and a circuit that is electrically connected to the tubes for outputting a signal representative of fluid level in the container.
The method includes determining and recording a sensor output, VL/Eair, with the circuit in the level/empty configuration and the sensor in air, and then determining and recording a sensor output, VL/Rair, with the circuit in the level/reference configuration and the sensor in air. The next step is to determine and record a sensor output, VL/Etest, with the circuit in the level/empty configuration and the sensor in a test fluid, and then determining and recording a sensor output, VL/Rtest, with the circuit in the level/reference configuration and the sensor in a test fluid.
Following the above steps, the sensor is placed in a subject fluid, such as oil, and a sensor output, VL/Eoil, with the circuit in the level/empty configuration, is determined and recorded. With the sensor remaining in the subject fluid and the circuit in the level/reference configuration, a sensor output, VL/Roil, is then determined and recorded. Based on the above sensor outputs, the level of subject fluid in a container is determined.
In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention discussed below, a triangular waveform is input to the circuit. Moreover, a signal is provided to a gauge that continuously displays the subject fluid level. Alternatively, a signal is provided to a warning light that is illuminated when the subject fluid level falls below a predetermined level.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method for determining fluid level uses a fluid level sensor that includes a container, a receiver tube oriented upright in the container, a level tube in the receiver tube, a reference tube in the receiver tube, and a circuit electrically connected to the tubes for outputting a signal representative of fluid level in the container. The first step in this aspect of the present invention is to place the sensor in a fluid. Next, the sensor is configured to a level/empty configuration, and a signal is input to the circuit. A first sensor output is received. The sensor is then configured to a level/reference configuration, a signal is input to the circuit, and a second sensor output is received. Based on the first and second outputs, a signal representative of fluid level in the container is then output.
The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:


An electric linear actuator has a cylindrical housing, an electric motor, a speed reduction mechanism, and a ball screw mechanism. The ball screw mechanism has a nut and a screw shaft coaxially integrated with the drive shaft. The housing has receiving bores to receive the screw shaft. A cylindrical sleeve is securely press-fit into the receiving bore of the housing. The sleeve has one pair of axially extending recessed grooves formed on its inner circumference at diametrically opposed positions. A guide pin, mounted on the end of the screw shaft, engages the recessed grooves. An annular groove is formed near an opening of the receiving bore of the housing. The sleeve is held in the receiving bore by a stopper ring snapped into the annular groove.

Gear mechanisms, such as a trapezoidal threaded worm gear mechanism or a rack and pinion gear mechanism as a mechanism, have been used in various kinds of driving sections to convert a rotary motion of an electric motor to an axial linear motion in an electric linear actuator. These motion converting mechanisms involve sliding contact portions. Thus, power loss is increased and this requires an increase in the size of the electric motors and the power consumption. Accordingly, the ball screw mechanisms have been widely adopted as more efficient actuators.
In an electric linear actuator of the prior art, an output member, connected to a nut, can be axially displaced by rotationally driving a ball screw shaft, forming a ball screw, with the use of an electric motor supported on a housing. Since friction of the ball screw mechanism is very low, the ball screw shaft tends to be easily reversely rotated when a pushing thrust load is applied to the output member. Accordingly, it is necessary to hold the position of the output member when the electric motor is stopped.
Accordingly, an electric linear actuator has been developed where a brake mechanism is arranged for an electric motor or a low efficient mechanism such as a worm gear is provided as a power transmitting mechanism. FIG. 7 illustrates one representative example. It includes a ball screw mechanism 53 with a ball screw shaft 51 rotationally driven by an electric motor (not shown). A ball screw nut 52 engages the ball screw shaft 51, via balls (not shown). When a motor shaft (not shown) of the electric motor is rotated, the ball screw shaft 51 connected to the motor shaft is rotated. This moves the ball screw nut 52 in a linear motion (left and right direction in FIG. 7).
The ball screw shaft 51 is rotationally supported on cylindrical housings 54, 55 via two rolling bearings 56, 57. These rolling bearings 56, 57 are secured by a rotation preventing member 59 to prevent loss of the bearings 56, 57, via a securing lid 58.
The ball screw shaft 51 is formed on its outer circumference with a helical screw groove 51a. The groove 51a engages a cylindrical ball screw nut 52 via balls. The ball screw nut 52 is formed on its inner circumference with helical screw groove 52a. The nut 52 has a larger diameter portion 60 on its end.
A side surface of the larger diameter portion 60 is formed with a flat portion 61 cut out. The cut out has a flat end face. A cam follower (rotation preventing means) 62 projects radially outward from a substantially central portion of the flat portion 61.
Since the cam follower 62 is fit in the cut-out portion, the ball screw nut 52 is not able to rotate along with the rotation of the ball screw shaft 51. In addition, since the cam follower 62 rotationally slides against the cut-out portion, it is possible to reduce problems with sliding friction and wear of the housing (see e.g. Patent Document 1, JP2007-333046 A).
In the prior art electric linear actuator 50, the use of the cam follower 62 as a ball screw nut 52 rotation preventing mechanism makes it possible to reduce problems with sliding friction and wear of the housing of the actuator. However, since the cam follower 62 itself uses a rolling bearing, it is believed that the manufacturing cost of the electric linear actuator will be increased. In addition, any anti-wear mechanism will be required when the housing is made of aluminum material.


Embodiments of the present invention comprise methods and systems for augmenting machine virtualization by entirely bypassing resource emulation for performance-critical features, such as 3D graphics acceleration, through the use of high-performance interfaces between the guest OS and the host OS. Embodiments of the present invention also comprise methods and systems for ameliorating the performance penalties and functionality restrictions of conventional resource emulation.

Machine virtualization nests a guest operating system ("OS") within a host OS by running the guest OS on top of a virtual machine monitor ("VMM"), a.k.a. "hypervisor," e.g., VMware® Player or Virtual PC. The VMM provides resource emulation for the guest OS so that the guest OS can transparently utilize host OS resources—e.g., CPU, RAM, graphics or audio drivers and hardware, software or firmware interfaces to data stores or network interfaces, peripheral devices and their drivers—anything that the guest OS might need to run, outside of the VMM itself.
Unfortunately, emulation of a resource typically carries a performance penalty for the guest OS. Furthermore, emulation also often restricts functionality. In current VMM implementations, emulated graphics device lack high-performance features, e.g., 3D capabilities or video acceleration. Thus playing most modern 3D computer games is essentially impossible because such games depend on high-performance 3D acceleration. This limitation constrains potential use and deployment of virtual machines.


An image forming apparatus includes: a process cartridge; and an apparatus main body to which the process cartridge is attachable and from which the process cartridge is detachable. The process cartridge includes: a photoconductive drum, and an electrode connected to the photoconductive drum and having a contact surface facing downward. The apparatus main body includes: a support frame supporting one end portion of the process cartridge in an axis direction of the photoconductive drum, a ground metal plate supported by the support frame and connected to ground, and a spring supported by the support frame and configured to contact with the contact surface of the electrode from below to connect the electrode and the ground metal plate.

An image forming apparatus in the related art includes apparatus main body, and a process cartridge having a photoconductive drum and attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body. When the process cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body, the photoconductive drum and a grounding member provided in the apparatus main body are connected to each other, and the photoconductive drum is connected to ground.
For example, in an image forming apparatus of the related art, a metal plate connected to a photoconductive drum is attached to one end portion of a process cartridge in an axis direction of the photoconductive drum, and the photoconductive drum is connected to ground by bringing a ground electrode connected to the grounding member provided in an apparatus main body into contact with the metal plate from the axis direction.
However, in the image forming apparatus of the related art, since a coil spring applying an urging force in the axis direction is used as the ground electrode and the ground electrode is brought into contact with the metal plate from the axis direction, a large space for connecting the ground electrode and the metal plate in the axis direction is required.

Image forming apparatus including support frame with ground plate and contact spring


In one embodiment, an ingress network virtualization edge (NVE) in a computer network generates an echo packet, and sets an indication in the echo packet that the echo packet is for overlay path validation. In addition, the ingress NVE sets a message type of the echo packet to a generic echo request, and includes virtualization network (VN) context information within the echo packet. Once setting a destination address of the echo packet as an egress NVE address and including an indication to the egress NVE that the echo packet is an operations, administration, and management (OAM) message, the ingress NVE may then send the echo packet toward the egress NVE (e.g., to validate the VN context information and/or to reveal multipath traces).

Network Virtualization is an emerging technology in the market. For instance, advances regarding Network Virtualization over Layer 3 (NVO3) have been made recently, such as proposing to use plain IPv4 and IPv6 encapsulation as an overlay tunnel. For example, one internet draft proposed to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) entitled "NVO3 Data Plane Requirements"<draft-ietf-nvo3-dataplane-requirements>, by Bitar et al. (December 2012), describes underlay tunneling requirements, which, from an encapsulation perspective, must support IPv4 or IPv6 (both should be supported), while multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) tunneling may be supported. In addition, this same draft states that operations, administration, and management (OAM) tools used in a network virtualization (NV) topology must reveal the set of equal cost multipath (ECMP) paths used by NVO3 encapsulated packets in the underlying network from an ingress NV edge (NVE) to egress NVE (particularly when the core is non-MPLS), and to validate the L2 and L3 VN Context ID between NVEs for consistency. However, such tools have yet to be defined.

Path-ping and ECMP-traceroute for IPv6 overlay virtualized networks


An optical disc drive apparatus including a main tray having a stack of subtrays mounted thereon and movable between withdrawn and inserted positions. When the main tray is moved to the inserted position, the subtrays stacked thereon are held at a stand-by position and a selected one of the subtrays is ready to be drawn towards a loaded position so that an optical disc resting on the selected one of the subtrays can be clamped in position and optically read out. When an optical disc resting on one of the subtrays other than the uppermost subtray then held at the loaded position is desired to be removed or replaced, not only can such one of the subtray be returned from the loaded position to the stand-by position, the main tray is allowed to withdraw from the inserted position back to the withdrawn position carrying such one of the subtrays and the subtray or subtrays positioned immediately thereabove while leaving the subtray or the subtrays positioned above such one of the subtrays at the stand-by position, so that such one of the subtrays can readily be exposed to the outside for removal or replacement of the optical disc resting thereon.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical disc drive apparatus and, more particularly, the optical disc drive apparatus of a type having a disc changer capability for recording and/or reproducing information on and from a selected one of a plurality of optical discs resting on drawable subtrays stacked on a main tray.
In particular, the optical disc drive apparatus of the present invention is suited for use in a personal computer and is so sized and so configured as to permit the replacement of the existing single disc drive in the personal computer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the advent of the age of personal computers, a CD-ROM drive has come into widespread use as a computer peripheral device and has now come standard with a majority of the computers. In addition, it is not rare for a single computer user to have a number of optical discs in possession. In this context, user demands are now increasing for CD-ROM drives having an automatic disc changing capability by which a plurality of optical discs can be loaded automatically one at a time to a position where access is made by an optical information read-out device, and also having a high speed information recording and/or reproducing capability which can be accomplished by, for example, increasing the speed of rotation of the optical disc.
On the other hand, in most of the desk-top personal computers, a CD-ROM drive or any other disc drive is installed in a housing space generally known as a "5-inch bay". The opening leading to this housing space is of a standard size generally known as a "5-inch half-height" size, and any peripheral device that is desired to be accommodated in the 5-inch bay must have a maximum size of 146 mm in width and 41.3 mm in height. Accordingly, the CD-ROM drive having a built-in automatic disc changer must also satisfy the size requirement if it be desired to be installed in the 5-inch bay. If indiscriminate design is made to allow the drive apparatus to accommodate an increased number of optical discs, the resultant drive would no longer satisfy the size requirement.
In any event, the CD-ROM drive having an automatic disc changing capability and satisfying the size and speed requirements, i.e., capable of being installed in the 5-inch bay is well known in the art. By way of example, the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 3-216857, published Sep. 24, 1991, discloses an optical disc drive apparatus comprising a main tray supported for movement between withdrawn and inserted positions relative to the drive housing and having a plurality of subtrays stacked thereon each for support thereon an optical disc. This optical disc drive apparatus is so designed that when the main tray is moved to the inserted position with the stacked subtrays held consequently at a stand-by position, a selected one of the subtrays then held at the stand-by position can be drawn towards a loaded position where the optical information read-out device makes access to the optical disc resting on such selected subtray.
According to this publication, the main tray is formed with grooves for holding the subtrays in equidistantly spaced relation to each other. When the optical disc resting on an arbitrarily chosen one of the subtrays then held at the stand-by position with the main tray held at the inserted position is desired to be removed or replaced with a different optical disc, the main tray carrying the entire number of the subtrays must be withdrawn to the withdrawn position so that the optical disc on the arbitrarily chosen subtray can be removed. After this removal has been made, the main tray must again be moved to the inserted position.
A similar optical disc drive apparatus is also disclosed in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 6-259865, published Sep. 16, 1994. This known apparatus makes use of an elevating stocker positioned on one side of a disc playback position remote from the withdrawn position for the main tray and is so designed and so configured that, after a tray with a carriage or subtray thereon has been moved to the inserted position, the optical disc resting on the carriage or subtray is drawn to a playback position where it is played back. The optical disc having been played back is then transported together with the subtray towards the elevating stocker where it is accommodated. The stocker disclosed therein has a capacity of accommodating a plurality of, for example, 7, subtrays and, accordingly, by stacking the subtrays, each having an optical disc resting thereon, within the stocker, an arbitrarily chosen one of the subtrays can be drawn to the playback position that is defined intermediate between the inserted position for the tray and the stocker.
According to this second-mentioned publication, separate drive motors are required for driving the tray and for selectively lowering and lifting the stocker. In addition, the stocker is supported by a movable members and, therefore, when an impact acts on the apparatus during, for example, transport of the apparatus, not only may lifting pins be disengaged from the stocker, but also the movable member may be damaged.
The Japanese Laid-open Utility Model Publication No. 5-96936, published Dec. 27, 1993, discloses the design in which the space between the neighboring subtrays stacked on the main tray, which is exhibited when the main tray is moved to the stand-by position, is minimized to render the apparatus as a whole to have a reduced height, but in which the space between the neighboring subtrays, which is exhibited when the subtray positioned between those neighboring subtray has been moved to the loaded position with a part thereof situated between such neighboring subtrays, is expanded to allow the optical disc to be rotated within such space.
A combination of the Japanese Laid-open Patent Publications No. 9-7281, published Jan. 10, 1997; No. 9-44962, published Feb. 14, 1997; No. 9-91834, published Apr. 4, 1997; and No. 9-139004, published May 27, 1997, which corresponds to the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/670,100 filed Jun. 25, 1996 and assigned to the same assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated for all purposes of the present invention, discloses an optical disc drive apparatus including a main tray having a stack of subtrays mounted thereon and movable between withdrawn and inserted positions, means for moving the main tray from the withdrawn position towards the inserted position, means for drawing an arbitrarily chosen one of the subtrays from a stand-by position towards a loaded position defined above a traverse plate or clamp support plate while the main tray is held at the inserted position, a clamp device including a clamper for clamping an optical disc resting on the subtray then drawn to the loaded position between the clamper and a turntable on the traverse plate for rotation together therewith, and an elevating means including an elevating table for selectively lifting and lowering the loading drive means in a direction in which the subtrays are stacked on the main tray so that the arbitrarily chosen subtray may be drawn from the stand-by position towards the loaded position.
With this design, when an optical disc resting on one of the subtrays other than the uppermost subtray then held at the loaded position is desired to be removed or replaced, not only can such one of the subtray be returned smoothly from the loaded position to the stand-by position, but the main tray is allowed to withdraw from the inserted position back to the withdrawn position carrying such one of the subtrays and the subtray or subtrays positioned immediately thereabove while leaving the subtray or the subtrays positioned above such one of the subtrays at the stand-by position in a substantially horizontal posture, so that such one of the subtrays can readily be exposed to the outside for removal or replacement of the optical disc resting thereon.
The optical disc drive apparatus disclosed in the above mentioned US application is satisfactorily designed and configured so as to meet the size requirement, i.e., capability of being installed in the 5-inch bay in any existing computer, and also to meet the speed requirement. However, the optical disc drive apparatus of the U.S. Ser. No. 08/670,100 has subsequently been found having improvements to be done for the purpose of accomplishing a highly reliable information recording and/or reproduction.
More specifically, the turntable, a spindle drive motor for driving the turntable, an optical pick-up and the traverse plate or clamp support plate supporting thereon those component parts are supported by the elevating table for movement up and down relative to the chassis. The elevating table is elevatable in a vertical direction substantially parallel to the plane of rotation o the optical disc between a lowered position and an elevated position.
In order to permit the optical pick-up to read information from the optical disc on one of the subtrays which has been moved from the stand-by position to the loaded position, the turntable and the traverse plate angularly movable up and down about clamp support pins serve to lift the optical disc above the subtray to allow the optical disc to be clamped between the clamper and the turntable in readiness for the drive of the optical disc in one direction by means of the spindle drive motor.
In other words, the traverse plate having the turntable mounted thereon has a rear end pivotally connected to the clamp support pins that define a common axis about which the traverse plate can be pivoted. This traverse plate is retained by the elevating table movable up and down within the chassis so that when the elevating table moves up and down, the traverse plate can be pivoted about the common axis connecting between the clamp support pins. When the optical disc on any one of the subtrays is to be moved from the stand-by position towards the loaded position or from the loaded position towards the stand-by position, the traverse plate is pivoted in one direction with its front end lowering to provide a space above the turntable through which the optical disc can be moved without being hampered by component parts positioned therearound. On the other hand, when the optical disc on any one of the subtrays is to be reproduced, the traverse plate is pivoted in the opposite direction with the front end thereof lifted so that the optical disc moved to the loaded position from the stand-by position can be clamped between the clamper and the turntable.
The pivot of the traverse plate is accomplished when the clamp device driven by a drive motor through a drive transmission mechanism such as a train of gears acts on the traverse plate. In this suggested disc drive apparatus designed to accommodate the optical discs as many as possible within the maximum available volume of the disc chamber together with the main tray and the associated subtrays, the clamp device has to be disposed at a position laterally offset from the optical disc held at the loaded position, that is, at a position sufficient to permit the clamp device to act on either a left side wall or a right side wall of the traverse plate so that it will not interfere with the optical disc then held at the loaded position.
Where the point of the traverse plate on which the clamp device acts to pivot the traverse plate is defined at the position offset laterally from a relatively heavy component part such as the turntable and the spindle drive motor, for example, at the right side wall of the traverse plate, it may occur that the traverse plate when being angularly moved by the action of the clamp device about the common axis between the clamp support pins may be deformed, i.e., skewed or tilted sidewise because of a bias of load imposed on the right side wall of the traverse plate. In other words, when the traverse plate is being pivoted while the clamp device acts on the right side wall of the traverse plate, the traverse plate will be pivoted having been skewed relative to a plane of rotation of the optical disc.
Because of the skew tending to occur during the pivotal movement of the traverse plate, the turntable mounted on the traverse plate correspondingly tilts. Once this occurs, the optical disc clamped between the turntable and the clamper will undergo a fluctuated rotation about the spindle, making it difficult for the optical pick-up assembly to read information accurately from the optical disc.
Also, where the information reading speed is to be increased to meet the market demands, the speed of drive of the optical disc must be increased. However, by the reason associated with manufacture of optical discs and/or by reason of change in environment, some of the optical discs manufactured may have a center hole slightly offset from the position where it ought to occupy and/or a bias in mass distributed circumferentially thereof, a high speed rotation of the optical disc will bring about a relatively large centrifugal force. The larger the centrifugal force, the more considerably the traverse plate is vibrated. This is because of the presence of a gap between the chassis and the elevating table supporting the disc clamp device and the traverse plate. The presence of the gap tends to allow the elevating table 40 to undergo a repeated lateral displacement relative to the chassis under the influence of such relatively large centrifugal force. This problem also results in failure of the optical pick-up assembly to accomplish an accurate reading of information from the optical disc.

Optical disc drive apparatus with disc changer

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An optical disk cartridge assembly comprising: an optical disk for storing data thereon in machine readable form; a casing for rotatably supporting the optical disk therewithin and for shielding the optical disk from physical contact with other objects; and a door slideably mounted on the casing for selectively covering and uncovering an opening therein; the casing having a wear factor associated with sliding contact with the door of less than in 100.times.10.sup.-10 in..sup.3 -min./ft.-lb.-hr. and most preferably less than 10.times.10.sup.-10 in..sup.3 -min./ft.-lb.-hr. An information storage system employing a low-wear optical disk cartridge assembly and a method of making a low-wear optical disk cartridge assembly are also disclosed.

The present invention relates generally to an optical disk cartridge assembly and, more particularly to an optical disk cartridge assembly provided with a low wear casing.
An optical disk is a data storage medium which is readable by a laser-based reading device. Optical disks known as "compact disks" or "CDs" have become increasing popular during the past few years for recording music and audio-video works. Due to the huge storage capacity of optical disks as compared to conventional magnetic storage media, optical disks known as "ROM disks" have become popular for storing computer readable information. However, until very recently, optical disks were of somewhat limited use in the computer industry due to the fact that optical disks could not be "erased" and "written" with new information, i.e. ROM disks are "read only" memory devices. However, recent technology has produced optical disks which are both computer readable and computer writable. Thus, in the future, optical disks are expected to become increasingly more important in the computer industry and may eventually replace magnetically readable and writable storage media such as "floppy disks" and "hard disks." Another recent development, the ability to provide data storage on both surfaces of an optical disk, has effectively doubled the optical disk storage capacity.
Optical disks of the type used in computer applications are generally provided in a cartridge assembly including an optical disk, a parallelepiped-shaped casing in which the disk is rotatably mounted, and a sliding reader door which selectively covers or uncovers an opening in the casing to shield or expose the disk. An optical disk reading/writing device or "optical drive" generally receives a cartridge assembly through a narrow slot provided on the front face of the device. Typically, the cartridge being inserted initially abuttingly engages a biased door in the device and is urged against the door to open it. The cartridge casing then slides over a supporting surface within the reading/writing device as it is pushed into the device. After the cartridge has been loaded into the device, a locating pin within the device is inserted through a transversely extending hole on the cartridge casing to hold the cartridge in a fixed position within the device. Prior to reading/writing, a mechanism within the device slides open the cartridge door to expose the disk to a laser.
Currently, most optical disks are hand-inserted into drives. However, for large databases consisting of many optical disks, it is preferable, and perhaps essential, to provide an optical disk storage system for storing the disks at known locations, and an optical disk handling system which is capable of retrieving a desired disk from a storage location and inserting the disk into an optical disk drive.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 314,012 filed Feb. 22, 1989, of Wanger et al. for CARTRIDGE HANDLING SYSTEM, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,536, is hereby specifically incorporated by reference for all that it discloses. This patent discloses a disk storage and retrieval system or "autochanger" wherein the stored disks and an associated disk reader are arranged in a longitudinally extending, two-dimensional array consisting of vertically extending columns and laterally extending rows. This autochanger system is adapted to engage a disk, move it vertically, laterally, and/or longitudinally and then release it in order to remove it from storage, move it into aligned relationship with the disk reader, and insert it into the disk reader. The disk handling system is also adapted to flip the disk to reverse the side thereof which will be positioned in readable relationship with a reader. The system is further adapted to reorient a disk at the time it is initially inserted into the system by an operator.
Cartridge casings are subject to wear as a result of surface contact made with other objects Wear rate is generally defined as the volumetric loss of material over a unit time. A "wear factor" may be defined in terms of parameters which affect wear rate. "Wear factor", as used herein, is defined as follows:
K (wear factor)=W/FVT, where: PA1 W=volume wear (in.sup.3) PA1 F=force (lb) PA1 V=velocity (ft/min) PA1 T=elapsed time (hr)
The wear factors for various materials as specified herein are based upon wear factor measurements made in accordance with a procedure described at p. 25 of a brochure entitled: LUBRICOMP INTERNALLY LUBRICATED REINFORCED THERMOPLASTICS AND FLUOROPOLYMER COMPOSITES Bulletin 254,688, which is available from LNP (a business unit of ICI Americas, Inc.), 1831 E. Carnegie, Santa Ana, Calif., 92705, which is hereby specifically incorporated by reference for all that it discloses and which is set forth in Appendix A which forms a part of the disclosure of this application.
Currently, most optical disk casings are constructed from a thermoplastic material such as polycarbonate which has a wear factor "K" on the order of 2500.times.10.sup.-10 in.sup.3 -min/ft-lb-hr. It is applicants' discovery that such currently used casing material creates a problem in optical disk cartridge assemblies which are used in autochangers such as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 314,012 and such as are currently sold under the product designation C1710 by Hewlett-Packard Company having a business address of 3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, Calif., 94304. Applicants have discovered that in such autochangers abrasive wear of cartridge casings causes a build up of fine particles in the autochanger optical drives which contaminates the surface of optical disks, thus effecting the reading or writing operation being performed, and which also may cause jamming of the cartridge door and jamming of other malfunctions of the optical drives or various other mechanical assemblies of the autochanger. Applicants have discovered that this particle build up is produced by frictional engagement of the cartridge with various surfaces of cartridge storage cells, the optical drive(s), and the cartridge handling mechanism of the autochanger, as well as by the sliding movement of the reader doors of cartridges. These problems associated with abrasive wear of cartridges used in autochangers were to applicants' knowledge not know in the art prior to applicants' discovery.


Disclosed are an all-solid battery and a method of manufacturing the same. The all-solid battery as disclosed herein may include current collectors having the same size for a cathode and an anode, the elongation areas of the cathode and the anode may be controlled due to the ductility of the current collectors during a pressing process. Thus, areas of the anode and the cathode may become different from each other upon the pressing, thus preventing a short-circuit fault from being formed at the edge portion thereof in the pressing process.

A lithium secondary battery has been widely used, however, because the elongation percentage of the anode layer includes an electrolytic solution containing a combustible organic solvent, e serious problems related to safety may be caused in the event of external impacts or the like. Therefore, a battery cell may require to include an additional material for improving safety, in addition to the basic structure thereof, or be equipped with an additional safety unit. For instance, an all-solid battery has been made with a solid electrolyte that replacing the organic electrolytic solution, and has been considered as a next-generation battery to solve the above safety problem.
In the battery cell, lithium ions are moved from a cathode to an anode during charging, thereby generating electrochemical energy, and then the electrochemical energy can be used upon discharging. Preferably, the anode may have an area greater than that of the cathode in order for the anode to receive all lithium ions moved from the cathode.
FIG. 1 shows a stacking structure of a battery cell in which the area of the anode layer 20 is greater than the area of the cathode layer 10 in the related art. However, a typical process for fabricating an all-solid battery may require an enforced pressing procedure. As such, due to the difference in area between the cathode and the anode, as shown in FIG. 2, a strong stress may be applied to the anode edge portion, and thus the electrolyte layer 30 and the anode composite layer 22 may break, undesirably incurring a battery short-circuit phenomenon whereby the cathode and the anode of the cell may come into direct contact with each other after the pressing procedure.
In the related art, techniques for ensuring insulation performance of the edge portion of an all-solid battery have been introduced, for example, an insulator may be inserted into the electrode edge portion. However, short-circuiting of the edge portion may occur because the edge portion may be stripped when the battery is subjected to pressure during the battery fabrication process and thus the insulator itself may break.
In addition, in the related art, a pouch having tape has been used in the all-solid battery, such that the electrode edge portion may be attached to the tape to thus prevent a short-circuit fault from occurring. However, a short-circuit fault may remain because of the spacing between the pouch and the edge portion.
Moreover, the conventional techniques may be unsuitable for use in mass production due to complicated processing and high manufacturing costs, such that mass productivity may not be assured.

All-solid battery and method of manufacturing the same


A mild hydrocracking process for the hydrodemetallation (HDM), hydrodesulfurization (HDS) and hydroconversion (HC) of hydrocarbon feedstocks such as residuum feedstocks which provides increased conversion of the 1000.degree. F.+ hydrocarbon fraction to the 1000.degree. F.- fraction and increased yields of middle distillates is disclosed. The process utilizes a catalyst comprising about 2.0 to about 6.0 wt. % of an oxide of a Group VIII metal, about 12.0 to about 25.0 wt. % of an oxide of molybdenum and 0 to about 3.0 wt. % of an oxide of phosphorus supported on a porous alumina support containing about 4.0 to about 30 wt. % of silica.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for mild hydrocracking of heavy oils. More particularly, this invention relates to a catalytic process for converting heavy oils boiling above 650.degree. F., such as vacuum gas oil (VGO) and VGO containing a high proportion of vacuum resid (VR) to lighter distillate products boiling at or below 650.degree. F.
In the mild hydrocracking process of this invention a sulfur- and metal-containing hydrocarbon feedstock, such as residua containing heavy oils, is contacted at an elevated temperature with hydrogen and a catalyst composition comprising a specified amount of a Group VIII metal, such as an oxide of nickel or cobalt, a specified amount of an oxide of molybdenum and, optionally, a specified amount of an oxide of phosphorus, such as phosphorus pentoxide supported on a porous silica-containing alumina support. In the catalytic mild hydrocracking process of this invention the sulfur- and metal-containing hydrocarbon feed is contacted with hydrogen and the catalyst, which has a specified pore size distribution, in a manner such that a substantially higher conversion of the 1000.degree. F.+ fraction of the hydrocarbon feed to the 1000.degree. F.- lighter products is achieved over that obtained with the use of prior art hydroprocessing catalysts while at the same time high levels of sediment formation are avoided.
2. Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,964, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for the hydrotreatment of a sulfur- and metal-containing hydrocarbon feed which comprises contacting the feed with hydrogen and a catalyst in a manner such that the catalyst is maintained at isothermal conditions and is exposed to a uniform quality of feed. The catalyst has a composition comprising 3.0-5.0 wt. % of an oxide of a Group VIII metal, 14.5-24.0 wt. % of an oxide of a Group VIB metal and 0-2.0 wt. % of an oxide of phosphorus supported on a porous alumina support, and the catalyst is further characterized by having a total surface area of 150-210 m.sup.2 /g and a total pore volume (TPV) of 0.50-0.75 cc/g with a pore diameter distribution such that micropores having diameters of 100-160.ANG. constitute 70-85% of the total pore volume of the catalyst and macropores having diameters of greater than 250.ANG. constitute 5.5-22.0% of the total pore volume of the catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,132 (Arias, et al.) discloses a catalyst preparation and a catalyst composition useful in the hydroconversion of heavy oils, the catalyst comprising a high iron content bauxite with the addition of one or more of the following promoters: phosphorus, molybdenum, cobalt, nickel or tungsten. The bauxite catalysts typically contain 25-35 wt. % aluminum. The catalysts have certain characteristics features for the elemental components (including aluminum and where present, molybdenum) when the pellet exteriors are examined in the fresh oxide state using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). For those catalysts which contain molybdenum, the surface Mo/Al atomic ratios on the pellet exteriors are in the range of 0.03 to 0.09.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,545 (Lindsley, et al.) discloses a catalyst composition useful in the hydroconversion of heavy oils, the catalyst containing 0.5-5% Ni or Co and 1.8-18% Mo (calculated as the oxides) on a porous alumina support, such as alumina containing a minor amount of silica, having 15-30% of the Ni or Co in an acid extractable form, and further characterized by having a TPV of 0.5-1.5 cc/g with a pore diameter distribution such that (i) at least 70% TPV is in pores having 80-120.ANG. diameters, (ii) less than 0.03 cc/g of TPV (6% TPV) is in pores having diameters of less than 80.ANG. and (iii) 0.05-0.1 cc/g of TPV (3-20% TPV) is in pores having diameters of greater than 120.ANG.. Lindsley, et al. is distinguished from the instant invention in that although it teaches that having a proportion of nickel or cobalt contained in its catalyst in an acid extractable form is advantageous in terms of heavy oil hydroconversion. Lindsley, et al. does not teach or suggest that catalysts which have a prescribed molybdenum gradient are advantageous in terms of heavy oil hydroconversion.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,709 (Morales, et al.) discloses a catalyst preparation and a catalyst composition useful in the hydroconversion of heavy oils, the catalyst comprising 5-30 wt. % of a Group VIB element (e.g., molybdenum) and 1-5 wt. % of a Group VIII element (e.g., nickel). Morales, et al. indicate that the finished catalysts have average pore diameters of 150 to 300 Angstroms. The catalysts have certain characteristic features for the active components (Mo and Ni) when the pellet exteriors are examined in a sulfided state using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Morales ('709) requires a large average pore diameter (150 to 300 Angstroms) and Morales ('709) requires certain characteristic XPS features of the pellet exteriors after presulfiding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,649 (Morales, et al.) discloses a catalyst preparation and a catalyst composition useful in the hydroconversion of heavy oils, the catalyst containing a Group VIB element (e.g., molybdenum), a Group VIII element (e.g., nickel) and phosphorus oxide on a porous alumina support. The catalyst has certain characteristic features for the three active components (Mo, Ni and P) where the pellet exteriors are examined in a sulfided state using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Morales ('649) requires certain characteristic XPS features of the pellet exteriors after presulfiding whereas the catalyst of the instant invention requires a specified molybdenum gradient as determined by measuring the molybdenum/aluminum atomic ratios by XPS for catalyst pellet exteriors and the pellets in a crushed form as measured on the fresh catalysts in an oxide state.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,128 (Morales, et al.) discloses a catalyst preparation and a catalyst composition useful in the hydroconversion of heavy oils, the catalyst containing 5-30 wt. % of a Group VIB element (e.g., molybdenum), 0.1-8.0 wt. % of a Group VIII element (e.g., nickel) and 5-30 wt. % of a phosphorus oxide on a porous alumina support. The finished catalysts of Morales ('128) have mean pore diameters of 145 to 154 Angstroms. The catalyst has certain characteristic features for the three active components (Mo, Ni and P) when the pellet exteriors are examined in a sulfided state using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The catalyst of Morales requires a high phosphorus oxide content.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,142 (Sherwood, Jr., et al.) discloses a process of hydroprocessing a sulfur- and metal-containing hydrocarbon feed which comprises contacting said feed with hydrogen and a catalyst in a manner such that the catalyst is maintained at isothermal conditions and is exposed to a uniform quality of feed, where said catalyst has a composition comprising 1.0-5.0 wt. % of an oxide of nickel or cobalt and 10.0-25.0 wt. % of an oxide of molybdenum, all supported on a porous alumina support in such a manner that the molybdenum gradient of the catalyst has a value of less than 6.0, 15-30% of the nickel or cobalt is in an acid extractable form, and said catalyst is further characterized by having a total surface area of 150-210 m.sup.2 /g, a total pore volume of 0.50-0.75 cc/g, and a pore size distribution such that pores having diameters of less than 100.ANG. constitute less than 25.0%, pores having diameters of 100-160.ANG. constitute 70.0-85.0% and pores having diameters of greater than 250.ANG. constitute 1.0-15.0% of the total pore volume of said catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,582 (Simpson) discloses a catalyst comprising at least one metal hydrogenating component comprising Group VIB, such as molybdenum, or Group VIII metal, such as nickel, on a porous refractory oxide, such as lithia-alumina, silica-alumina, etc., said composition comprising less than 15 wt. % of said metal hydrogenation component calculated as the trioxide, and having a pore size distribution where at least 75% of the total pore volume is in pores of diameters from about 20 Angstroms below the pore mode diameter to about 20 Angstroms above the pore mode diameter to about 20 Angstroms above the pore mode diameter, less than 10% of the total pore volume is in pores of diameters less than 60 Angstroms and greater than 3% to less than 10% of the total pore volume is in pores greater than 110 Angstroms and the pore mode diameter is in the range of about 70 to about 90 Angstroms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,961 (Robinson, et al.) discloses a hydroprocessing catalyst containing nickel, phosphorus and about 19 to about 21.5 wt. % of molybdenum (MoO.sub.3) components on a porous refractory oxide such as silica-alumina. The catalyst has a narrow pore size distribution wherein at least 75% of the pore volume is in pores of diameters from about 50 to about 110 Angstroms, at least 10% of the pore volume in pores of diameters less than 70 Angstroms and at least 60% of the pore volume in pores of diameters within about 20 Angstroms above or below the average pore diameter. The catalyst is employed to hydroprocess a hydrocarbon oil, especially those oils containing sulfur and nitrogen components.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,030 (Ward, et al.) discloses a mild hydrocracking process using a catalyst containing at least one active hydrogenation metal component supported on an amorphous porous refractory oxide such as silica-alumina wherein the catalyst has a narrow pore size distribution including at least 75% of the total pore volume in pores of diameters from about 50 to about 130 Angstroms. Preferably, the catalyst has at least about 60% of the pore volume in pores of diameter within about 20 Angstroms above or below a mode pore diameter in the range from about 55 to about 100 Angstroms. In one embodiment, a vacuum gas hydrocarbon oil is mildly hydrocracked, with simultaneous desulfurization and denitrogenation, by contact with the catalyst under mild hydrocracking conditions correlated so as to convert about 10 to about 50 Vol % of the oil fraction boiling above 700.degree. F. to hydrocarbon products boiling at or below about 700.degree. F. In other embodiments, the hydrocarbon oil may be desulfurized and denitrogenated either prior to or following the mild hydrocracking.

Mild hydrocracking of heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks employing silica-alumina catalysts


Synthesis of a vinyl terminated polymer by reacting a cationically polymeable monomer in the form of a cyclic ether with an acid chloride in a suitable solvent and in the presence of a Lewis acid. The vinyl-terminated polymers can be polymerized with other appropriate monomers resulting in thermoplastic elastomers having suitable properties for use as binders for explosives and propellants.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the preparation of vinyl terminated polymers, and in particular to the production of vinyl terminated polymers capable of polymerization with appropriate monomers to provide thermoplastic elastomers useful as binders for explosives and propellants.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Solid propellants are formulated from an oxidizer and fuel, together with suitable binders and plasticizers to impart physical integrity. Most highly energetic systems utilize binders and plasticizers containing energetic groups such as nitro, azido and others. These binders impart additional energy to explosives and propellants.
Thermoplastic elastomers have the properties of conventional rubber. They do not require curing or vulcanization. Instead, they are readily fabricated by melt processing techniques, such as injection molding or extrusion. While many thermoplastic elastomers are commercially available on the market, the specific properties of such elastomers for use as binders for explosives and propellants are generally inadequate. It is desirable to provide suitable thermoplastic elastomers having a melting point sufficiently low to permit safe processing with explosives when used as binders.

Synthesis of energetic vinyl-terminated polymers

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


A manufacturing equipment for galvannealed steel sheet includes coating tub to coat steel sheet dipped in coating bath wherein the bath including molten zinc and is stored at bath temperature T1, separating tub to separate by flotation top-dross by precipitating the top-dross in the bath wherein the bath transferred from the coating tub is stored at bath temperature T2 lower than T1, Fe of the bath is supersaturated, and Al concentration A2 of the bath is controlled to high concentration by supplying first metal, adjusting tub to adjust Al concentration A3 of the bath by supplying second metal wherein the bath transferred from the separating tub is stored at bath temperature T3 higher than T2, Fe of the bath is unsaturated, and dross is dissolved, and circulator to circulate the bath in order of the coating tub, the separating tub, and the adjusting tub.

Hot dip zinc-aluminum coated steel sheets have been widely used in the fields of automobiles, consumer electronics, building materials and the like. A representative category of the coated steel sheets includes the following three types in order of aluminum (Al) content in coating bath.
(1) Galvannealed steel sheets (composition of coating bath: for example, 0.125 to 0.14 mass % Al—Zn)
(2) Galvanized steel sheets (composition of coating bath: for example, 0.15 to 0.25 mass % Al—Zn)
(3) Zinc-aluminum alloy coated steel sheets (composition of coating bath: for example, 2 to 25 mass % Al—Zn)
As described above, the hot dip zinc-aluminum coated steel sheets are steel sheets which are coated by using the coating bath including molten metal such as molten zinc and molten aluminum. In the coating bath, zinc (Zn) is the main ingredient, aluminum (Al) is added in order to improve coating adhesion and corrosion resistance, and substances such as magnesium (Mg), silicon (Si) and the like may be added in order to improve the corrosion resistance.
Hereinafter, the galvannealed steel sheet is referred to as "GA" and the coating bath for manufacturing the galvannealed steel sheet is referred to as "galvannealed bath (GA bath)". The galvanized steel sheet is referred to as "GI" and the coating bath for manufacturing the galvanized steel sheet is referred to as "galvanized bath (GI bath)".
When the above-mentioned hot dip zinc-aluminum coated steel sheets are manufactured, a large amount of inclusions called dross forms in the coating bath. The dross is made of intermetallic compounds of Iron (Fe) dissolved in the coating bath from the steel sheet and Al or Zn included in the coating bath (molten metal). Specific compositions of the intermetallic compounds are, for example, Fe2Al5 which represents top-dross and FeZn7 which represents bottom-dross. The top-dross may form in all of the coating bath (for example, GA bath, GI bath) for manufacturing the hot dip zinc-aluminum coated steel sheets. On the other hand, the bottom-dross only forms in the galvannealed bath (GA bath).
Since the specific gravity of the top-dross is smaller than that of the molten metal which is the coating bath, the top-dross flows in the coating bath, and finally rises to top surface of the coating bath. When a large amount of the top-dross flows in the coating bath, the top-dross accumulates on the surface of the roll in the coating bath, which may cause surface defects on the steel sheets. Also the flowing top-dross accumulates in grooves of the roll in the coating bath, which may cause roll-slipping and roll-idling because of the decrease in the apparent friction coefficient between the roll and the steel sheet. In addition, when a relatively large size of the top-dross adheres to the steel sheet, the quality of appearance of a product deteriorates and the product becomes off-grade in some cases.
On the other hand, since the specific gravity of the bottom-dross is greater than that of the molten metal which is the coating bath, the bottom-dross flows in the coating bath, and finally deposits on the bottom of the coating tub. When a large amount of the bottom-dross flows in the coating bath, in the same way as the top-dross, the bottom-dross causes problems such as defects in the roll in the coating bath, roll-slipping, roll-idling, remarkable deterioration of the quality of the appearance which results from its adhesion to the steel sheet, and the like. Moreover, the bottom-dross does not rise to the top surface and is not rendered harmless like the top-dross. The bottom-dross flows in the coating bath for a long time, and the bottom-dross, which deposits on the bottom of the coating tub once, reflows in the coating bath again by transition of the coating bath flow. Therefore, it can be said that the bottom-dross is more harmful than the top-dross.
In particular, when the sheet threading speed of the steel sheet dipped into the coating bath is accelerated in order to improve productivity of the coated steel sheets, the bottom-dross which deposits on the bottom of the coating tub rises in the coating bath due to the coating bath flow which is derived from high-speed threading of the steel sheet. The above-mentioned dross adheres to the steel sheet and causes the dross defects on the steel sheets, which results in a factor of degradation of the coated steel sheet. Therefore, hitherto, the sheet threading speed of the steel sheet was suppressed and the productivity had to be sacrificed in order to ensure the quality of the coated steel sheets.
To solve the above-mentioned problems caused by the top-dross and the bottom-dross, many suggestions have been made in the past. As shown below, the suggestions are commonly methods of sedimentation separation and flotation separation of the dross by using the difference in specific gravity between the coating bath and the dross.
For example, in Patent Document 1, dross removal equipment is suggested, in which molten zinc including the dross is transferred from a coating tub to a storage tub and the dross is separated by sedimentation and flotation by using the difference in specific gravity between the dross and the coating bath. In the equipment, the capacity of the storage tub is 10 m3 or more, the transfer volume of the molten zinc is 2 m3/hour or more, and a baffle plate is installed in the storage tub to divert the coating bath flow. However, in Patent Document 1, the dross removal effect is overestimated because of utilization of an equation which is applicable to the particle sedimentation in case of a relatively slow coating bath flow. In addition, although the harmful size of dross is defined as 100 μm or more in Patent Document 1, the dross defects which are recently regarded as the problem include defects which are derived from dross with a size of approximately 50 μm. In fact, a countermeasure with a greater effect than that of Patent Document 1 is necessary. On the contrary, in a method described in Patent Document 1, in order to remove the dross with the size of approximately 50 μm, the capacity of the storage tub needs to be 42 m3 or more, which is not practical because the equipment must be larger. Moreover, in order to minimize the equipment, since sedimentation velocity of the bottom-dross is slow, the countermeasure other than Patent Document 1 is necessary.
In Patent Document 2, a coating equipment is suggested, in which enclosing parts are installed in a coating tub and the rise of the bottom-dross is suppressed by sedimenting and depositing the bottom-dross underneath the enclosing parts. However, in a method described in Patent Document 2, the bath flow at an upper area in the coating bath increases with an increase in coating rate, so that the bath flow at a lower area in the coating bath also increases gradually. Thus, since the dross with small size does not sediment and flows back to the upper area with the coating bath flow, the dross removal efficiency is low. Moreover, in case of the coating tub with practical capacity (for example, 200 ton), the dross with small size flows back between the upper area and the lower area of the coating bath, grows with time passage, and finally sediments in the lower area. However, at the time, a large amount of the bottom-dross which grows up to size which is enable to sediment flows in the upper area and the lower area of the coating bath, so that the effect as the countermeasure against the dross defects is low. Moreover, although it is necessary to remove eventually the bottom-dross which deposited at the lower area, dross cleanup operation is substantially impossible if the enclosing parts exist. Since considerable time and effort are needed for dismantlement of the enclosing parts, it can be said that technology described in Patent Document 2 is not practical.
In the equipment suggested in Patent Document 3, a coating container is divided into a coating tub and a dross removal tub, and the molten metal in the coating tub is transferred to the dross removal tub by using a pump. Moreover, the dross is separated by the sedimentation in the dross removal tub and the purified bath flows back in the coating tub through opening portion provided for the coating tub. However, since a method described in Patent Document 3 is the method in which the dross is separated by simply using the difference in specific gravity between the dross and the bath, separation efficiency of the dross with small size is low and the dross flows back to the coating tub with the coating bath flow. Moreover, in case of the dross removal tub with practical capacity (for example, 200 ton), the dross with small size which is formed in the coating tub circulates between the coating tub and the dross removal tub with the coating bath flow, grows with time passage, and finally sediments at the dross removal tub. However, at the time, a large amount of the bottom-dross which grows up to size which is enable to sediment flows in the coating tub and the dross removal tub, so that it can be said that the effect of technology described in Patent Document 3 is low as the countermeasure against the dross defects.
In addition, in a coating equipment suggested in Patent Document 4, the coating bath in a coating pot is transferred to a crystallization pipe, and is cooled and heated repeatedly several times in the crystallization pipe. Thereby, the dross is grown and removed, and the purified bath is reheated in a reheating tub and returned to the coating pot. Moreover, in a coating method suggested in Patent Document 5, a sub pot is additionally installed in a coating pot. The molten metal which includes the bottom-dross is transferred from the coating pot to the sub pot, the bath in the sub pot is held at higher temperature than that of the coating pot, and Al concentration is increased 0.14 mass % or more. Thereby, the bottom-dross in the coating bath is transformed into the top-dross, and the top-dross is removed by the flotation separation.

Manufacturing equipment for galvannealed steel sheet, and manufacturing method of galvannealed steel sheet

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


Even if a junction box is laid out such that a region where a battery cell is disposed is divided, the battery cell is effectively cooled. A battery pack includes: a battery pack case (1) including a junction box accommodating portion (10) and a battery accommodating portions (7, 8a, 8b); and a plurality of batteries (2) accommodated in the battery accommodating portions (7, 8a, 8b) of the battery pack case (1). The junction box accommodating portion (10) is covered with shield members (21, 22, 23).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery pack, more particularly, to a battery pack having characteristics in its cooling structure of a battery cell accommodated in the battery pack.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional battery pack, there is a battery pack including a junction box and a battery-cooling fan for cooling a battery (battery cell) (see JP 2006-24510 A for example).
However, the conventional battery pack employs such a layout that the junction box and the battery cell are completely separated from each other. Further, it is difficult to effectively cool the battery cell.


Proteins are disclosed that are homologous to bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) Kunitz domains, and especially proteins that are homologous to lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) Kunitz domains, which inhibit one or more plasma and/or tissue kallikreins, and uses of such proteins in therapeutic and diagnostic methods also are disclosed. In particular, Kunitz domains derived from Kunitz domains of human origin and especially to the first Kunitz domain of LACI are disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novel classes of proteins and protein analogues which bind to and inhibit human plasma kallikrein.
2. Description of the Background Art
Kallikreins are serine proteases found in both tissues and plasma. Plasma kallikrein is involved in contact-activated (intrinsic pathway) coagulation, fibrinolysis, hypotension, and inflammation. (See BHOO92). These effects of kallikrein are mediated through the activities of three distinct physiological substrates: i) Factor XII (coagulation), ii) Pro-urokinase/plasminogen (fibrinolysis), and iii) Kininogens (hypotension and inflammation).
Kallikrein cleavage of kininogens results in the production of kinins, small highly potent bioactive peptides. The kinins act through cell surface receptors present on a variety of cell types. Intracellular heterotrimeric G-proteins link the kinin receptors to second messenger pathways including nitric oxide, adenyl cyclase, phospholipase A.sub.2, and phospholipase C. Among the significant physiological activities of kinins are: (i) increased vascular permeability; (ii) vasodilation; (iii) bronchospasm; and (iv) pain induction. Thus, kinins mediate the life-threatening vascular shock and edema associated with bacteremia (sepsis) or trauma, the edema and airway hyperreactivity of asthma, and both inflammatory and neurogenic pain associated with tissue injury. The consequences of inappropriate plasma kallikrein activity and resultant kinin production are dramatically illustrated in patients with hereditary angioedema (HA). HA is due to a genetic deficiency of C1-inhibitor, the principal endogenous inhibitor of plasma kallikrein. Symptoms of HA include edema of the skin, subcutaneous tissues and gastrointestinal tract, and abdominal pain and vomiting. Nearly one-third of HA patients die by suffocation due to edema of the larynx and upper respiratory tract. Kallikrein is secreted as a zymogen (prekallikrein) that circulates as an inactive molecule until activated by a proteolytic event that frees the +NH.sub.3 -IVGGTNSS . . . sequence of kallikrein (SEQ ID NO. 1). Human Plasma Prekallikrein is found in Genebank entry P03952.
Mature plasma Kallikrein contains 619 amino acids. Hydrolysis of the Arg.sub.371 -Ile.sub.372 peptide bond yields a two-chain proteinase joined by a disulfide bond. The amino-terminal light chain (248 residues) carries the catalytic site.
The main inhibitor of plasma kallikrein (pKA) in vivo is the C1 inhibitor; see SCHM87, pp.27-28. C1 is a serpin and forms an essentially irreversible complex with pKA. Although bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI) was first said to be a strong pKA inhibitor with K.sub.i =320 pM (AUER88), BERN93 indicates that its K.sub.i for pKA is 30 nM (i.e., 30,000 pM). The G36S mutant had a K.sub.i of over 500 nM. Thus, there is a need for a safe kallikrein inhibitor. The essential attributes of such an agent are:
i. Neutralization of relevant kallikrein enzyme(s); PA1 ii. High affinity binding to target kallikreins to minimize dose; PA1 iii. High specificity for kallikrein, to reduce side effects; and PA1 iv. High degree of similarity to a human protein to minimize potential immunogenicity and organ/tissue toxicity. PA1 1) the inhibitor inhibits plasma kallikrein with a K.sub.i no more than 20 nM, preferably 5 nM or less, more preferably 300 pM or less, and most preferably 100 pM or less, PA1 2) the inhibitor comprises a Kunitz domain meeting the requirements shown in Table 14 with residues numbered by reference to BPTI, PA1 3) the inhibitor has at the Kunitz domain positions 12-21 and 32-39 one of the amino-acid types listed for that position in Table 15, and PA1 4) the inhibitor is substantially homologous to a reference sequence of essentially human origin selected from the group KKII/3#6, KK2/#11, KK2/#13, KK2/.multidot.1, KK2/#2, KK2/#3, KK2/#4, KK2/#6, KK2/#7, KK2/#8, KK2/#9, KK2/#10, KK2/#12, KK2conl, Human LACI-K2, Human LACI-K3, Human collagen .alpha.3 KuDom, Human TFPI-2 DOMAIN 1, Human TFPI-2 DOMAIN 2, Human TFPI-2 DOMAIN 3, HUMAN ITI-Kl, Human ITI-K2, HUMAN PROTEASE NEXIN-II, Human APP-I, DKI-1.2.1, DKI-1.3.1, DKI-2.1, DKI-3.1.1, DKI-3.2.1, DKI-3.3.1, DKI-4.1.1, DKI-4.2.1, DKI-4.2.2, DKI-5.1, and DKI-6.1 PA1 (a) conservative substitutions of amino acids as defined in Table 9; and PA1 (b) single or multiple insertions or deletions of amino acids at termini, at domain boundaries, in loops, or in other segments of relatively high mobility. PA1 (a) nonbiological synthesis by sequential coupling of component amino acids, PA1 (b) production by recombinant DNA techniques in a suitable host cell, and PA1 (c) removal of undesired sequences from LACI and coupling of synthetic replacement sequences PA1 i) Inadequate affinity and/or specificity; PA1 ii) Poor penetration to target sites; PA1 iii) Slow clearance from nontarget sites; PA1 iv) Immunogenicity (most are murine); and PA1 v) High production cost and poor stability.
The candidate target kallikreins to be inhibited are chymotrypin-homologous serine proteases.
Excessive Bleeding
Excessive bleeding can result from deficient coagulation activity, elevated fibrinolytic activity, or a combination of the two. In most diatheses one must controll the activity of plasmin. However, plasma kallikrein (pKA) is an activator of plasminogen and a potent, selective pKA inhibitor may avert plasminogen activation. The clinically beneficial effect of BPTI in reducing blood loss is thought to result from its inhibition of plasmin (KD.about.0.3 riM) or of plasma kallikrein (KD.about.100 nM) or both enzymes. It has been found, however, that BPTI is sufficiently antigenic that second uses require skin testing. Furthermore, the doses of BPTI required to control bleeding are quite high and the mechanism of action is not clear. Some say that BPTI acts on plasmin while others say that it acts by inhibiting plasma kallikrein. FRAE89 reports that doses of about 840 mg of BPTI to 80 open-heart surgery patients reduced blood loss by almost half and the mean amount transfused was decreased by 74%. Miles Inc. has recently introduced Trasylol in the USA for reduction of bleeding in surgery (See Miles product brochure on Trasylol, which is hereby incorporated by reference.) LOHM93 suggests that plasmin inhibitors may be useful in controlling bleeding in surgery of the eye. SHER89 reports that BPTI may be useful in limiting bleeding in colonic surgery.
A kallikrein inhibitor that is much more potent than BPTI and that is almost identical to a human protein domain offers similar therapeutic potential, allows dose to be reduced, and poses less potential for antigenicity.
With recombinant DNA techniques, one may obtain a novel protein by expression of a mutated gene of a parental protein. Several strategies are known for picking mutations to test. One, "protein surgery", involves the introduction of one or more predetermined mutations within the gene of choice. A single polypeptide of completely predetermined sequence is expressed, and its binding characteristics are evaluated.
At the other extreme is random mutagenesis by means of relatively nonspecific mutagens such as radiation and various chemical agents, see Lehtovaara, E.P. Appln. 285,123, or by expression of highly degenerate DNA. It is also possible to follow an intermediate strategy in which some residues are kept constant, others are randomly mutated, and still others are mutated in a predetermined manner. This is called "variegation". See Ladner, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,409.
DENN94a and DENN94b report selections of Kunitz domains based on APP-I for binding to the complex of Tissue Factor with Factor VII.sub.a. They did not use LACI-K1 as parental and did not use pKA as a target. The highest affinity binder they obtained had K.sub.D for their target of about 2 nM. Our first-round selectants for binding to pKA have affinity of about 0.3 nM, and our second round selectants are about at 0.1 nM (=100 pM) or better.
Proteins taken from a particular species are assumed to be less likely to cause an immune response when injected into individuals of that species. Murine antibodies are highly antigenic in humans. "Chimeric" antibodies having human constant domains and murine variable domains are decidedly less antigenic. So called "humanized" antibodies have human constant domains and variable domains in which the CDRs are taken from murine antibodies while the framework of the variable domains are of human origin. "Humanized" antibodies are much less antigenic than are "chimeric" antibodies. In a "humanized" antibody, fifty to sixty residues of the protein are of non-human origin. The proteins of this invention comprise, in most cases, only about sixty amino acids and usually there arc ten or fewer differences between the engineered protein and the parental protein. Although humans do develop antibodies even to human proteins, such as human insulin, such antibodies tend to bind weakly and the often do not prevent the injected protein from displaying its intended biological function. Using a protein from the species to be treated does not guarantee that there will be no immune response. Nevertheless, picking a protein very close in sequence to a human protein greatly reduces the risk of strong immune response in humans.
Kunitz domains are highly stable and can be produced efficiently in yeast or other host organisms. At least ten human Kunitz domains have been reported. Although BPTI was thought at one time to be a potent pKA inhibitor, there are, actually, no human Kunitz domains that inhibits pKA very well. Thus, it is a goal of this invention to provide sequences of Kunitz domain that are both potent inhibitors of pKA and close in sequence to human Kunitz domains.
The use of site-specific mutagenesis, whether nonrandom or random, to obtain mutant binding proteins of improved activity, is known in the art, but does not guarantee that the mutant proteins will have the desired target specificity or affinity. Given the poor anti-kallikrein activity of BPTI, mutation of BPTI or other Kunitz domain proteins would not have been considered, prior to this invention, a preferred method of obtaining a strong binder, let alone inhibitor, of kallikrein.

Kallikrein-inhibiting "Kunitz Domain" proteins and analogues thereof


An asymmetric dioxazine compound represented, when shown in free acid form, by the general formula (I): ##STR1## wherein T.sub.1 and T.sub.2 represent a hydrogen atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, a lower alkyl group, a phenoxy group or others, A.sub.1 represents an alkyl group, a chlorine atom, a carboxyl group or others, A.sub.2 represents a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, a chlorine atom, a carboxyl group or others, R represents a hydrogen atom or a lower alkyl group, X and Y represent a halogen atom, a fiber-reactive group or others, respectively, with the proviso that at least one of X and Y is a fiber-reactive group is provided.. The compound is suitable for dyeing or printing of a fiber material or the like which has a hydroxy group and/or an amide group, and provides a blue-dyed product with various fastness, including particularly chlorine fastness.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to asymmetric dioxazine compounds suitable for dyeing or printing of fiber materials or the like which have a hydroxy group and/or an amide group, intermediate compounds therefor and an application of said asymmetric dioxazine compounds to fiber materials.
2. Background Information
Symmetric triphenodioxazine compounds having the same number of sulfonic acid groups on benzene rings at both ends and reactive dyes having a symmetric triphenodioxazine ring derived from said compounds as the intermediates are known compounds and known reactive dyes, respectively, disclosed in, for example, JP-A-61-14265.
The above known reactive dyes had problems that, when they were applied to a fiber material which has a hydroxy group and/or an amide group, various fastness, including particularly chlorine fastness, were not satisfactory.
As the result of extensive studies for solving the above described problems, the present inventors have discovered that a blue dyed product or printed product which is excellent in various fastness including chlorine fastness and coloring ability can be obtained when a specific asymmetric compound having a sulfonic acid group and an amino group substituted with a triazine ring which has a fiber-reactive group at position 1 and position 2, respectively, of the triphenodioxazine nucleus and further having an amino group at position 9 of the triphenodioxazine nucleus and two sulfonic acid groups substituted at ortho positions to said amino group is used as a reactive dye, and have completed the present invention.

Asymmetric dioxazine compounds, intermediate compounds therefor and application of the asymmetric dioxazine compounds


A system for uniform optical illumination of an image light provider in a smaller (compact) configuration than conventional implementations includes a lightguide having: a first external surface and a second external surface mutually parallel, and a first sequence of facets, at least a portion of which are: a plurality of parallel, partially reflecting, and polarization selective surfaces, at an oblique angle relative to the first and second external surfaces, and between the first and second external surfaces, and a front-lit reflective polarization rotating image modulator: deployed to spatially modulate light coupled-out from the first external surface, outputting reflected light corresponding to an image, and deployed such that the reflected light traverses the lightguide from the first external surface via the first sequence of facets to the second external surface.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a conventional implementation of an architecture for illumination. A light source 2L produces an unpolarized, uniformly illuminated input beam 4L. The unpolarized input beam 4L is polarized by a polarizer 103 to produce a polarized, uniformly illuminated input beam 4P, assumed to be polarized S-pol (S-polarization). The polarized input beam 4P is input to a polarizing beam splitter (PBS) 104 and reflected by a polarization selective reflector 105 as ray 124 onto the liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) matrix 106. The LCOS matrix 106 is illuminated from the front of the LCOS, spatially modulates the reflected light as an image by changing polarization of the illumination, and reflects the light back as an image ray 126. The LCOS rotates the polarization of the reflected light from the S-pol of ray 124 to P-pol (P-polarization) for white pixels in ray 126 while the polarization for black pixels is unchanged (remains S-pol). The light from the white pixels having P-polarization in ray 126 passes through the polarization selective reflector 105 while the light from the black pixels having S-polarization in ray 126 do not pass through the polarization selective reflector 105. The P-pol ray 126 then propagates on toward projecting optics 107 (generally of a projecting system, depicted schematically as lens). The projecting optics 107 performs collimation and other functions, as necessary for specific applications.


A compressor is controlled by generating and storing a compressor operation log. In addition, a compressor operation is selected from the compressor operation log in response to a sensor failure. Furthermore, the compressor is modulated according to the selected compressor operation in response to the sensor failure.

In refrigeration systems, a refrigerant gas is compressed in a compressor unit. Heat generated by the compression is then removed generally by passing the compressed gas through a water or air cooled condenser coil. The cooled, condensed gas is then allowed to rapidly expand into an evaporator coil where the gas becomes much colder, thus cooling the coil and the inside of the refrigeration system box around which the coil is placed.
Life Science researchers have a need for ultra low temperature ("ULT") storage chambers to store products such as living organisms, biologically active reagents, and the like. As these products may die or become biologically inactive when improperly warmed, these researchers also need to minimize any product warm-up. In this regard, generally, sensors are utilized to determine whether the inside of the refrigeration system box or cabinet is within a predetermined temperature range. In response to sensed temperatures being outside this predetermined temperature range, a controller typically modulates the compressor to effect an appropriate temperature change. For example, if the temperature rises above the predetermined temperature range, the controller may modulate the compressor to turn on or increase speed.
A problem, which has arisen with such ULT freezers, is that when the sensor fails, the controller may improperly modulate the compressor and the temperature may deviate outside the predetermined temperature range. Known ULT freezers typically include an alert system designed to notify a user of potential problems. Often, these freezers also include a default operation. This default operation is generally only appropriate for a relatively narrow range of operating conditions. As these ULT freezers are commonly located in remote areas, the alert system may go un-noticed for an extended period of time. Thus, if the operational conditions are outside the relatively narrow range for which the default operation is optimized, the temperature may deviate outside the predetermined temperature range and the contents of the ULT freezer may be destroyed.
In addition, temperature deviations outside the predetermined temperature range are not only undesirable for the contents, but lowering the temperature below the predetermined temperature range places increased loads on the refrigeration unit as it must operate on a more continuous basis than it was designed. This increased load may decrease compressor life or cause compressor failure.
The present invention overcomes the above mentioned disadvantages to a great extent, and provides many additional advantages which shall become apparent as described below.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Compressor operation following sensor failure


The present invention relates to a strain gauge interfacing cable connector for selective wiring. A DIP switch 120 is disposed on a cable 110 of the cable connector, and electric wires and the DIP switch 120 are wired in a given arrangement. Accordingly, a variety of wiring systems can be implemented using a minimal number of electric wires through mechanical manipulation of the DIP switch 120 and minimal artificial wiring modification. The cable connector includes a cable 110 for containing a plurality of electric wires; a commercial connector 140; and a DIP switch 120 disposed on the cable 110 of a location adjacent to the commercial connector 140 of the cable, whereby a predetermined internal wiring can be switched by selectively manipulating switch control units 122 of the DIP switch 120 depending on a use.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cable connector for selective wiring. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cable connector for selective wiring, wherein a DIP (Dual In-line Package) switch is disposed on a cable, and electric wires and the DIP switch are wired in a given arrangement, whereby a variety of wiring systems can be implemented through only mechanical manipulation of the DIP switch, or the manipulation of the DIP switch and minimal artificial wiring modification.
2. Background of the Related Art
For example, in strain measurement employing the strain gauge, the wiring method of the sensor (the strain gauge) and the measurement equipment (the signal amplifier) may include four kinds of wiring methods such as a quarter bridge wiring method using one strain gauge of 120Ω, a quarter bridge wiring method using one strain gauge of 350Ω, a half bridge wiring method using two strain gauges, and a full bridge wiring method using four strain gauges (or a strain gauge type transducer (such as a load cell or a pressure sensor) wiring method), as shown in FIG. 3.
In the four kinds of the wiring methods, however, the wirings between the signal line of the strain gauge and the measurement equipment are not the same as show in FIG. 3.
Therefore, in the cable connector between the measurement equipment and the sensor, a method of using a cable connector having a sufficient number of electric wires that can contain the entire wirings may be taken into consideration as one of the methods capable of accommodating the entire wirings. If this method is applied to a measurement system as shown in FIG. 3, however, a cable that contains seven electric wires is required. Furthermore, in the sensor connector, artificial wirings including jump wiring must be changed. Furthermore, in the case where the length of the cable is long because the distance between the measurement equipment and the sensor is far, if a system for mobile measurement it is non-economical in terms of cost. a problem arises because the size of the cable and the connector is big.
Meanwhile, in the wiring of the measurement equipment and the sensor, as another method capable of containing the entire measurement of FIG. 3, there is a method of fabricating cable connectors corresponding to the four kinds of FIG. 3 and using the cable connectors while replacing them depending on the use.
However, the method requires four cable connectors for one measurement channel. Accordingly, this method is disadvantageous in that it is non-economical in terms of the cost and work load and requires many cable connectors that must be managed.


A system for deploying a fiber optic line sensor is provided that includes a launch vehicle to which three sections are attached. The first section is a buoy antenna section. The second section is an electronics canister section having control electronics. These sections are releasably attached to the launch vehicle. The electronics canister section is in contact with the antenna section and secured to the antenna section by a spring band. A communications cable is attached between the antenna and the control electronics. The third section is a spool section containing a spool of a fiber optic line sensor. This third section is attached to the launch vehicle by a rigid mount and is in contact with the electronics canister section. The fiber optic line sensor extends from the spool section into the electronics canister section to the control electronics.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to underwater fiber optic sensors and in particular to deployment systems for the fiber optic sensors.
2) Description of Prior Art
Fiber optics and fiber optic sensors can be used as an alternative or replacement for traditional sensors to measure rotation, acceleration, electric and magnetic field measurement, temperature, pressure, acoustics, vibration, linear and angular position, strain, humidity and viscosity among other measurements. Fiber optic sensors are lightweight, small, passive, low powered, resistant to electromagnetic interference, high sensitivity, wide bandwidth and environmentally rugged. These sensors can be used in harsh environments including underwater environments such as the ocean floor. This compatibility of optical sensors within a harsh marine environment creates opportunities to use fiber optic sensors for tactical or reconnaissance applications.
For example, a long fiber optic sensor deployed along the ocean floor for several miles can be used to monitor submarine traffic covertly leaving an enemy port. Any submarine that passes over the fiber optic sensor is detected. This presence is communicated through an antenna section to distant command groups. However, a need still exists for a deployment system that can reliably deploy the fiber optic sensor.

Deployment system for fiber-optic line sensors

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy