The object of the present invention is to reduce the load and specification requirements on the network and the video server. The buffer usage rate is counted and supplied to the tape driving controller 7. In the reproduction mode, the tape driving controller 7 decreases the running speed of a video tape when the buffer usage rate is larger than the proper value. And when the buffer usage rate is smaller than the proper value, the tape driving controller 7 increases the running speed of the video tape. Moreover, in the recording mode, the tape driving controller 7 stops the tape motion temporarily if the transmission speed of the network is slow and the buffer usage rate declines lower than the proper value. And if the buffer usage rate increases over the proper value, the tape driving controller 7 resumes the tape driving to record signals. Thus, the reproduction speed or the recording speed by the tape driving device 3 can be coincided with the transmission speed of the network.

In recent years, video servers (or AV (audio and video) servers) which perform nonlinear recording and reproduction by using a random accessable recording medium have come into widespread use in place of sequential (linear) recording and reproduction using a VTR tape. In general, in order to comply with demands for high image quality and sound quality, a video server employed as an equipment in the broadcasting station is required to achieve a high data transfer rate and a large storage capacity for enabling long-time data recording. Thus, material data composed of a plurality of audio-video data are dispersely recorded by using the RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) which is comprised of multiple hard disks adapted for time-division recording and reproduction and performs multi-channel simultaneous transmission or multi-channel reproduction of the same material data with lag of the reproduction time. And thereby so-called VOD (video on demand) and NVOD (near video on demand) have been realized.
The video server mentioned above is connected to some other equipment (editor, player, etc) via a network such as LAN (Local Area Network), and provides the audio-video data recorded in a storage device such as a hard disk via said network, or records the audio-video data obtained from an external equipment such as a video tape recording/reproducing device using the VTR tape as a recording medium.
In the case of recording the audio-video data on the video tape in the memory device of the video server mentioned above, it is necessary to receive the video output from the video tape recording/reproducing device and to convert the video output into a file recordable in the video server. Accordingly, it becomes necessary that the video server is equipped with a VTR control system, a video capture circuit and a function of conversion into a file. Furthermore, since the audio-video data from the video tape recording/reproducing device are entered into the video server at a fixed speed, it is requisite that in order to capture the audio-video data, all of the data receiving circuit, the file transferring network and the memory device of the video server for storing the file should keep operating continuously at a fixed transfer speed respectively without any interruption. Consequently, there have been problems in the conventional system, including that the cost is increased and the specification requirements relative to the network and the storage device of the video server are rendered stricter.
Furthermore, in the video tape recording/reproducing device according to the conventional technology, if the audio-video data are to be transmitted at a slow speed asynchronous transmission, the audio-video data are written in the external memory device such as the hard disk at the fixed speed once and then the data are transmitted asynchronously from the hard disk. And such external memory devices have led to the cost increase.
Moreover, in the video tape recording/reproducing device, since it becomes necessary to have a list of files in advance in order to transfer the file to the other terminal on the network. However, in the video tape recording/reproducing device, since the video tape is a sequential access recording medium, it took time for forming, detecting and referring to such list.

Videotape recording and playback device, and videotape player


In a clamping chuck (1) for holding clamped a brush body (2), in particular a toothbrush body in its head region, including at least two clamping jaws (3a, 3b) spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the brush body (2) to be held, at least one of the clamping jaws (3b) is movable and is adjustable between an open position and a closed position which holds the brush body (2) clamped between the clamping jaws (3a, 3b). There is provided a brush body support (5) which is arranged between the clamping jaws (3a, 3b) and which is adjustable between a closed position acting on the rear side of the brush body (2) and an open position which is retracted with respect to said closed position. A common actuating mechanism (6) is provided for jointly adjusting the clamping jaw(s) (3b) and the brush body support (5) against a restoring force from the respective closed position into the open position (FIG. 5).

The invention relates to a clamping chuck for holding clamped a brush body, in particular a toothbrush body in its head region, comprising at least two clamping jaws spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal direction of the brush body to be held.
Brushes, in particular toothbrushes, are fed successively during production to a plurality of processing stations, for example a tufting device, a shearing device and a grinding device. Here, the brush bodies can be transported on a conveyor belt or a transport chain, with the individual brush bodies each being held in a clamping chuck.
It is desirable here for as many clamping chucks as possible to be arranged next to one another in the narrowest possible space so that the cycle width can be reduced and the switching times can be reduced and the processing of more brush bodies per unit time is possible. In addition, the wear must be reduced and it is possible for more brushes to be processed simultaneously on a grinding disk with a certain diameter if the clamping chucks in which the brush bodies are held are arranged closer to one another.
A problem, however, is that, in order to open the clamping chucks for inserting and removing a brush body, mechanical devices are required which require a certain minimum spacing between adjacent clamping chucks.


Provided is a printing apparatus having a plurality of sheet feeding units, and method of controlling the printing apparatus. When a print job including paper feed source information is received, paper information set for the sheet feeding unit designated by the paper feed source information is obtained, and stored together with data of this print job. Also, when execution of the stored print job is instructed, a sheet feeding unit that accommodates a sheet having the paper information is selected, and control is performed such that a sheet is fed from the selected sheet feeding unit, and the stored print job is executed on the fed sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that designates at least one sheet feeding unit among a plurality of sheet feeding units, and performs printing on a sheet that is fed from the sheet feeding unit, and a method for controlling the same, and a storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are copiers and printers that can temporarily store image data in a storage area (such as a hard disk or a memory) and, by reading out the image data from this storage area, repeatedly print the same data (see, for example, Japanese Patent No. 414949). Note that the image data in this context includes image data obtained by a scanner and image data obtained from print data received from a host computer. Specifically, in recent days, there are copiers and printers that can store not only image data but also print data that was received from a host computer and not converted into image data, and can perform printing based on the stored print data at an arbitrary timing.
However, print settings of an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a printer, or the like, when image data is printed may be changed from those when the image data was stored in the image forming apparatus, and in such a case an unexpected printed material may be obtained. For example, when a specific sheet feeding unit was designated as a paper feed source for feeding a sheet on which the image data is to be printed, paper that is set in the specific sheet feeding unit may be changed between when the image data was stored and when the image data is printed. Therefore, when printing the image data, it is likely that an unexpected sheet (plain paper, thick paper, and the like) is fed and a printed material using the unexpected sheet is obtained.

Printing apparatus and method of controlling the same and storage medium


A support device is provided. The support device includes a support assembly with an elongated first body defining a cantilever mounting and a support surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosed and claimed concept relates to a support device and, more specifically, to a support device that may be coupled to a generally horizontally extending mounting beam.
2. Background Information
I-beams, as well as support elements having other cross-sectional shapes, are used in the construction of buildings. I-beams include a web having two flanges, one flange disposed at each end of the web. The flanges extend generally parallel to each other and generally perpendicular to the web. Other support elements, such as, but not limited to beams with a "T" shaped cross-section, "C" or "[" shaped cross-section, and "L" shaped cross-section (also known as angles) also include a web and at least one generally perpendicular flange. The following description shall use an I-beam as an example, but it is understood that any support element with a generally perpendicular flange may be used in place of an I-beam.
Such support elements may not be enclosed in a wall. Further, an I-beam may be disposed in a generally horizontal orientation with the flanges extending in generally horizontal planes. In this configuration, the flanges may be used as shelves. The flanges, however, tend to have a limited length and do not have the space to support large, or numerous, items.
Further, the elements of a support assembly are, typically, coupled with threaded coupling assemblies such as, but not limited to, nuts and bolts, or, pins disposed in keyed openings. Nuts and bolts have the advantage of forming a "tight joint." That is, as used herein, a joint wherein the elements are biased toward each other with more than ten pounds of force form a "tight joint." Such joints maintain the joined elements in a generally fixed configuration but are time consuming to assemble. Pins disposed in openings, including but not limited to keyed openings, can be assembled or disassembled quickly, but create a "loose joint." That is, as used herein a joint wherein the elements are not biased toward each other is a "loose joint." There is, therefore, a need for a coupling assembly that is easy and quick to assemble, but which creates a "stiff joint." That is, as used herein, a joint wherein the elements are biased toward each other with ten pounds of force, or less, form a "stiff joint."
There is, therefore, a need for a support device that may be coupled to an I-beam. There is a further need for a support device that may be a locking component to lock the support device to the I-beam.


The present invention entails a rotary cutting die having one or more scrap strippers secured thereon for stripping scrap corrugated board pieces from adjacently disposed scrap cutting blades during a corrugated board die cutting operation. Each scrap stripper comprises a resilient member having a base and an angled flexible finger extending from the base so as to define an open area between the angled finger and the base. During a die cutting operation, the entire scrap stripper including the angled finger and base is compressed as the stripper passes through the nip defined between the cutting die and an associated anvil. As the stripper exits the nip, it expands causing the underlying scrap piece to be stripped from adjacently disposed blades. In addition, the angled finger extending from the base extends outwardly and engages the underlying cut piece of scrap and pushes or urges the cut scrap against the underlying anvil. The anvil, in turn, then directs the cut scrap piece downwardly and that action effectively separates the cut scrap piece from the finished corrugated board product exiting the nip.

Rotary or drum-type cutting dies are commonly used for producing a container or carton blank from corrugated board sheet material. Such rotary dies are typically comprised of a pair of cooperating cylinders or drums. One of the cylinders, a cutting cylinder, includes a die board having cutting blades or rules while the other, the anvil cylinder, provides a backing surface against which the cut is made.
Rotary cutting dies of the type described above are often employed to produce slots or various shaped openings in the blank sheet of corrugated board material that is being processed. As such, provisions for removing or stripping the severed scrap material from certain cutting blades and the processed blank must be provided. Otherwise, if not actively removed from the vicinity of the cutting die, the scrap material tends to collect around the cutting blades and, render the rotary cutting die inoperable.
Equally important, with regard to the stripping or ejection of scrap material, is the direction in which the successfully stripped or ejected scrap exits the cutting die apparatus. As the usable product of the cutting process is typically expelled directly outward from the nip of the rotary cutting die apparatus, it is desirable, in order to obtain complete separation of scrap and corrugated board product, that the scrap be ejected from the rotating cylinders at a significantly different trajectory than the corrugated board product.
In the past, resilient rubber strips or pads made of closed cell, high density foam or gum rubber have been placed adjacent the cutting blade so as to forcibly eject the corrugated board scrap material. However, previous resilient strippers have suffered from a number of shortcomings, particularly with regard to directional control of the ejected scrap material. First, it should be noted that scrap strippers of the prior art do not typically extend substantially past adjacently disposed scrap cutting blades even when in a non-compressed posture. Thus, while these scrap strippers may possess enough resiliency and strength to strip cut scrap pieces from the adjacent blades, they do not have the ability to significantly play a major role in controlling the direction and flight of scrap pieces exiting the nip between the rotating cutting die and the anvil. Thus, one typically finds cut scrap flying outwardly and sometimes upwardly out of the nip. The net result is that the scrap becomes airborne and intermingled with the exiting corrugated board product and ultimately becomes packaged with the supposedly clean product. Obviously, scrap intermixed with the final corrugated product is most undesirable, especially in certain industries and certain cases such as with pizza containers, for example.
Therefore, it has been found that conventional scrap strippers are incapable of extending or achieving a height that enables them to exercise control over the flight or trajectory of the exiting scrap pieces. Again, this is because in typical applications, the relatively hard rubber stripper pads when expanded (non-compressed) just barely extends in height past the adjacent scrap blade or blades and, as such, they cannot, in reality, significantly affect the flight path of the scrap pieces exiting the nip.
Therefore, there remains a need for a practical, reliable, and cost effective resilient scrap stripping member for use with corrugated board rotary cutting dies which efficiently separates severed scrap material from an associated blank of corrugated board material and which furthermore provides control of the ejected or stripped scrap trajectory as it exits the rotary cutting die apparatus.

Resilient scrap stripper for a corrugated board rotary cutting die


A sewing machine system provided with an electronically controlled sewing machine and a programmer, which is electronically connected to the sewing machine, for creating a sewing data in cooperation with the sewing machine. A selecting switch is provided and, when sewing data is being created, a user can switch a display condition of a displaying device of the programmer between a first mode for displaying numerical data related to currently created sewing data, and a second mode for displaying an image of the pattern in accordance with the sewing data which is being created.

The present invention relates to a sewing machine system including an electronically controlled sewing machine which is capable of performing an automatic sewing operation in accordance with a sewing data, and a programmer, which operates in association with the sewing machine, to prepare sewing data.
Heretofore, such an electronically controlled sewing machine has been known that a sewing operation is carried out automatically in accordance with a sewing data. In this type of sewing machine, a frame member movable along X and Y coordinates, which are defined on a plane perpendicular to a sewing needle, is placed below the sewing needle, a material (e.g., cloth) to be sewn being fixedly held to be moved together therewith. The frame member thus carrying the material to be sewn is moved by a drive motor for a certain amount defined in sewing data and a needle rod and a loop taker mechanism are driven to stitch. By repeating this process, the sewing operation is executed in accordance with the sewing data.
In the programmer of a conventional sewing system, stitch points are sequentially input using operation keys to create the sewing data which represents a series of stitch points. The sewing data is created, for example, by inputting a plurality of significant points, and the intermediate points having a predetermined pitch are interpolated between the significant points.
FIG. 7A is a chart schematically illustrating creation of the sewing data.
Firstly, a plurality of significant points S0, S1, S2, . . . , Sn along a pattern P to be sewn are input by an operator. The significant points are points on the pattern P and defining the shape or outline of the pattern. Then, intermediate points between successive two significant points are interpolated, by calculation, automatically. The intermediate points may be determined, for example, by a linear interpolation. Thus obtained points, (i.e. the significant points), the significant points and the intermediate points are points to be stitched, and are stored in a data recording medium such as a flexible disk or the like as sewing data.
It should be noted that the sewing data includes, in addition to the above-described stitch points data, supplemental data such as sewing speed data, thread cutting data and so on. For simplifying the description, such supplemental data will not be described in this specification.
When the sewing data is created, usually, the significant points are input, as numerical values, using operation keys provided on the programmer. In a conventional programmer, the input numerical values are displayed on a liquid crystal display or the like so that the operator can confirm the input values.
During preparation of the sewing data, however, progress is indicated only by the numerical values representing the stitch points. Although an experienced operator may do it, it is difficult to imagine the pattern or figure which would be formed when the input data is used for automatic sewing operation. In order to confirm that the intended pattern is formed, it is necessary to actually load the data in the electronically controlled sewing machine, and carry out the automatic sewing operation.


A foldable umbrella fan is constructed of a form-retaining pleated shield and a protective support binder. The pleated shield of the umbrella fan may be fanned open 360.degree. into a full circle for use as an umbrella. Alternatively, the pleated shield may be fanned partially open for use as a fan. The pleated shield also may be fully collapsed to store the closed umbrella fan in a briefcase, handbag, or pocket.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to foldable umbrellas and hats, and more particularly to foldable umbrella hats which can also be used as fans.
2. Description of Related Art
Over the years, a wide variety of devices have been utilized by people in an attempt to keep themselves dry outdoors when it is raining, or to shade themselves when it is sunny. Common devices include umbrellas and wide brimmed hats. Umbrellas perform the precipitation-protection function very well under many circumstances and can be collapsed into a moderately low volume configuration. However, many umbrellas require that the user use his or her hands to maintain them in a proper position. Large brimmed hats can also be advantageous; however, they are difficult to store properly and transport from place to place when not needed to protect the wearer.
Various collapsible head coverings have been disclosed which combine the advantageous design features of hats and umbrellas. Examples of devices generally related to this art include U.S. Pat. No. 213,415 (Sun-Helmets) issued March 1879 to Halvorson; U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,147,872 (Head Covering) and 2,147,873 (Head Covering) issued February 1939 to Wittcoff; U.S. Pat. No. 2,412,415 (Combination Umbrella and Cape) issued December 1946 to Navon; U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,041 (Beach or Sun Hat) issued January 1950 to Weiss; U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,038 (Canopy Assemblies) issued April 1969 to Mathews; U.S. Pat. No. 3,452,765 (Device for Protection Against Inclement Weather) issued July 1969 to Slaton; U.S. Pat. No. 4,312,371 (Umbrellas) issued January 1982 to Koon; U.S. Pat. No. 4,675,916 (Umbrella Hat with Elastic Peripheral Components) issued June 1987 to Orsini; France Pat. No. 787,503 (Hat for the Beach) issued September 1935 to Pretot; and Swiss Pat. No. 787,503 (Device for Protection Against Inclement Weather) issued August 1968 to Slaton.
These devices suffer two significant drawbacks. First, even the most compact of the disclosed devices is still so large in its collapsed position that it requires being carried in a large handbag or briefcase. No collapsible head coverings are disclosed which are designed to be carried comfortably in a user's pocket.
Further, no known collapsible head covering is designed to accomplish any additional function which would be advantageous. Specifically, none of the current art head coverings are designed to function as a fan. It is well known that fanning oneself to cool off is particularly desirable during periods of oppressive, high humidity. It is also a well known scientific principle that precipitation occurs during periods of high humidity. Thus, people are most likely to need to fan themselves before or after a rain shower. It follows that it would be advantageous to have an umbrella which also functions as a hand held fan so that a user does not need to carry both.
Therefore, a need still exists for a collapsible umbrella hat which can also be used as a hand-held fan. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


There is disclosed a packet data switch which allows fair queuing, by assigning a priority value to received data, without requiring time-consuming searches, by storing pointers to the buffer memory in a first memory, and accessing the pointers through a second memory which is in the form of an array, addressable by the priority value. There is further disclosed a system which combines fair queuing and FIFO queuing, to avoid the need for excessive array size.

This invention relates to a switching device, and in particular to an ATM switching device which exhibits fairness in the way in which it handles incoming traffic at different inputs.
One proposed solution to the problem of allocating network resources to the users of an integrated services network for packet-based traffic is known as Weighted Fair Queuing, in which arriving data packets are reordered so that they are retransmitted with a degree of fairness in the processor sharing system. See, for example, Parekh and Gallagher xe2x80x9cA Generalized Processor Sharing Approach to Flow Control in Integrated Services Networks: The Single-Node Casexe2x80x9d IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking, Vol. 1, No. 3, June 1993. Such a system, however, can be very complex to implement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,825 discloses a switch for digital communications networks, including a queuing system. When incoming cells or packets arrive, they are provided with numerical tags, calculated in accordance with a desired scheduling algorithm, and placed in a queue. A queue and search module, designed for VLSI implementation, selects the cells or packets for transmission based on the tags. Thus, the queue is searched, and, for each destination, the cell with the smallest tag value is sent for transmission. Such searching can, however, be time-consuming.
The present invention seeks to provide a switching device which provides fair queuing between its different input connections. In one aspect, this is achieved by storing received input data in a memory, together with an associated pointer, the pointer being indicative of a priority which is to be given to transmission of the data. The pointers are accessed through an array, which groups together the calls which have the same transmission, avoiding the need for lengthy searching. In another aspect, fair queuing is provided until the number of cells from a single input connection, awaiting transmission, exceeds a threshold number. Further cells from that input connection are then treated in a non-fair way.


A method controls a tape processing apparatus which performs, on a tape to be sent from a tape inlet to a tape outlet along a tape travel passage through an embossing section, a series of tape processing operations of incoming-feed operation to feed the tape from the tape inlet to the embossing section, embossing operation in the embossing section, and of outgoing-feed operation to feed the tape from the embossing section to the tape outlet in an order as mentioned above, and which also indicates in an indicator that the apparatus is in the tape processing operations. The method indicates in the indicator a pre-embossing feed indication to indicate the incoming-feed operation and a post-embossing feed indication to indicate the outgoing-feed operation in an indicating mode which is different from an embossing indication to indicate that the apparatus is in the embossing operation.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of controlling a tape processing apparatus which performs tape processing operations inclusive of a feed operation (or a feeding operation) to feed a processing tape (i.e., a tape to be subjected to processing operations) along a tape travel passage, and an embossing operation to perform embossing on the processing tape, and which also performs indication in an indicator to show that the apparatus is in the tape processing operations. The invention also relates to an apparatus for processing a tape (also referred to as a tape processing apparatus) as well as to a program.
2. Related Art
There is known an apparatus for embossing on a tape-shaped embossing medium Braille characters (or raised letters) which embosses Braille characters readable to a visually handicapped person by his or her touch with fingers. JP-A-2003-182158 is an example related art.
In this kind of Braille-character embossing apparatus, while the tape processing operations inclusive of the tape feed operation and the embossing operation are being performed, an indication is made on a display screen or by an indicating lamp (LED, indicator, or the like) to show that the apparatus is in the course of tape processing.
However, with the indication on the display screen of "in the course of tape processing" (or "tape being processed") alone, or simply with the indicating lamp being lighted up (switched on), the user cannot judge whether the apparatus is in the course of tape feed operation or in the course of embossing operation. Especially, when the audibly handicapped user (i.e., the person who cannot hear) uses the apparatus, the user cannot hear the embossing sound (or noise) generated at the time of embossing. Therefore, the user cannot make a judgment based on this embossing sound. There is thus a possibility that the user may manually pull out the tape even when the embossing operation is already or still going on, resulting in a damage to an embossing head. In addition, in case the processed tape has been found to have no embossing thereon, it cannot be judged as to whether the embossing control itself was not performed or whether the problem lies in the embossing mechanism which drives the embossing head. Furthermore, in case this kind of abnormality in embossing has happened, the technical supporting section of the manufacturer cannot see the cause for the problem. Therefore, even if the user tries to get help from the technical supporting section of the manufacturer, technical support will hardly be obtained.

Method of controlling tape processing apparatus, apparatus for processing tape, and program


The present invention relates to an electrolytic copper foil having excellent handling characteristics in the manufacture of copper foil and in post-processing for manufacturing a secondary battery. The present invention provides an electrolytic copper foil having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the texture coefficient of the (220) plane of the electrolytic copper foil is 0.4-1.32, the difference (|Δ(Rz/Ra)|) between Rz/Ra on the first surface and Rz/Ra on the second surface, of the electrolytic copper foil, is less than 2.42, and the difference (|ΔPD|) in peak density (PD) between the first surface and the second surface, of the electrolytic copper foil, is 96 ea or less.

With increased use of portable electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptop computers, and the propagation of hybrid electric vehicles, the demand for lithium secondary batteries has abruptly increased.
In a lithium secondary battery, an electrolytic copper foil is mainly used for the material of a negative electrode current collector. The electrolytic copper foil is manufactured through a foil manufacturing process using an electroplating method. In the case in which production conditions are not precisely controlled at the time of manufacturing the electrolytic copper foil, a large number of curls, wrinkles, or tears, which are caused when a thin film is manufactured, may occur. Such defects of copper foil products are a prime cause of increased manufacturing costs at the time of producing copper foils. In addition, curls and wrinkles are a prime cause of the deterioration of the quality of lithium secondary batteries and of the increase in total quality-control expenses.
Conventionally, the range of roughness of a copper foil is controlled to be uniform in order to reduce the incidence of defects of the copper foil products. As a copper foil having a thickness of 10 μm or less is increasingly used as a negative electrode current collector for a lithium secondary battery in order to increase the capacity of the lithium secondary battery, however, curls, wrinkles, or tears still occur even though the roughness of the copper foil is precisely controlled.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Electrolytic copper foil having excellent handling characteristics in postprocessing, and manufacturing method therefor


An input integrating circuit and a differential amplifier circuit are provided in a receiver circuit which samples a pair of differential input signals, detects the levels of said pair of input signals, and latches the detected levels. The above-mentioned input integrating circuit further includes: a pair of input transistors receiving the pair of input signals at respective gates thereof; a switch transistor becoming conducting in response to a sampling clock in a sampling period so as to supply a discharge current to a common source terminal of the pair of input transistors; and a precharge circuit precharging drain terminals of the pair of input transistors in a precharge period. The input integrating circuit discharges the capacitor of the drain terminals by the discharge current in the sampling period succeeding the precharge period. The differential amplifier circuit amplifies the drain terminals of the input integrating circuit.

There has been drastic improvement in LSI chips constituting computers and other information processing units, and output signal speed produced by each LSI chip is still getting faster. The LSI chips include, for example, SRAM, SDRAM, microprocessor, in which remarkable performance enhancement have been achieved. Such LSI chips are mounted on a printed circuit board, and high frequency signals are transmitted between these chips through signal transmission paths provided on the printed circuit board. Also, in an LSI such as an ASIC, high frequency signals are transmitted between high-speed circuit blocks.
The faster the signal transmission between circuit blocks or chips, or in an electronic device case is, the greater the signal attenuation in the transmission paths becomes. In such a signal that alternately repeats the H level and the L level, time margin for the reception signal to swing up to full amplitude becomes less, so that the amplitude of the reception signal is decreased. To cope with such a case, it is required to obtain a receiver circuit having high sensitivity, operating at high speed, and enabling accurate reception, even though high-frequency components in the reception signal is attenuated.
As a sample-and-hold circuit enabling extraction of reception signals stably at high speed, there has been proposed an analog comparator which converts a received analog signal to a digital signal by switching a current source of a bipolar transistor on and off by a sampling clock. (For example, [Official gazette of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho-54-103651])
Also, there has been proposed a sample-and-hold circuit consisting of CMOS circuits, which alternately samples input signals through transfer gates, alternately amplifies in two differential amplifier circuits, and latches the amplified result. (For example, [Official gazette of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-368592])
Further, FIG. 1 shows a diagram illustrating an example of the conventional receiver circuit capable of dealing with high-speed reception signals. In order to receive high-frequency reception signals, reception data are demultiplexed in the vicinity of input data line of the receiver circuit to the possible extent, and in order to convert the reception signal to a low-frequency reception signal. The receiver circuit shown in FIG. 1 samples differential reception signals RXIP, RXIN by CMOS transfer gates P1, N2 and P3, N4, and a differential amplifier circuit amplifies the reception signals having been sampled at the nodes nd1, nd2. In the figure, a P-channel MOS transistor is denoted by a reference symbol P, while an N-channel MOS transistor is denoted by a reference symbol N. Also, a node is denoted by nd.
Referring to FIG. 1, the differential amplifier circuit includes: transistors N5, N6, of which sources are commonly connected; a switch transistor N7, which activates the amplifier circuit when a clock CLK lies in the H level; precharge transistors P9, P10, which precharge differential amplification output nodes ndn, ndp to a power supply voltage Vdd level while the clock CLK lies in the L level; and transistors P8, P11, P12, N13 and N14 constituting a regenerative latch circuit. The differential amplification output nodes ndn, ndp are supplied to an output latch circuit which consists of NAND gates 10, 12 having intersected connections between each output and input.
An operation waveform diagram of this receiver circuit is illustrated also in the figure. During the period of the clock CLK lying in the L level (or, the period of the reverse phase clock /CLK lying in the H level), the output nodes ndn, ndp of the differential amplifier are precharged to the power supply voltage Vdd level. During this period, the transfer gates P1, N2 and P3, N4 are controlled to be a conducting condition, and the differential input signals transmitted through transmission paths in the printed circuit board or the system circuit are sampled to parasitic capacitor of the input nodes nd1, nd2. When the clock CLK becomes H level, the transfer gates are controlled to be a non-conducting condition, and the differential amplifier circuit becomes to be separated from the input data line. Also, the transistors P9, P10 in the precharge circuit and the transistor P8 become non-conducting, and the switch transistor N7 becomes conducting. Thus the differential amplifier circuit detects the level of the input nodes nd1, nd2.
When the input node nd1 is in H level and the node nd2 is in L level, the current through the transistor N5 becomes greater than the current through the transistor N6, and the voltage level of the output node ndp drops faster than the voltage level of the output node ndn. In response to the voltage drop of the node ndp, the transistor N14 becomes non-conducting, and the transistor P12 becomes conducting. The voltage of the node ndn then rises again to the power supply voltage Vdd level, and thus the large voltage difference is produced between the output nodes ndp and ndn. Namely, by the regenerative latch circuit, the L level is generated in the output node ndp, and the H level is generated in the output node ndn. The H level and the L level produced above are respectively latched by the NAND gates 10, 12.

High-speed input signal receiver circuit


A carbon-containing, chemical etchant protective patterned layer is formed on a multi-layer substrate including a silicon dioxide layer formed on an underlying silicon or metal silicide layer by providing a predetermined pattern defining a plurality of openings in the carbon-containing, chemical etchant protective patterned layer. Next, the plurality of exposed areas of the major surface of the silicon dioxide structural layer are selectively etched with a substantially carbon-free chemical etchant system. These materials form a polyhalocarbon material in the presence of a carbon-containing material. Thus, since the chemical etchant protective patterned layer is carbon-containing, a localized polyhalocarbon deposition can be affected, at high selectivity conditions, by adding the carbon-free chemical etchant system in the presence of the protective patterned layer. More specifically, the hydrogen-containing material reacts with the carbon-free, halogen-containing material and the carbon-containing, chemical etchant protective patterned layer to selectively form in situ, at the point of interaction thereof, a polyhalocarbon protective coating layer on the silicon dioxide structural layer.

This invention relates to a process for etching a multi-layer substrate, and more particularly to a process for effectively and efficiently etching multi-layer devices such as semiconductor devices.
It is known in the prior art that the manufacture of multi-layer semiconductor devices typically involves patterned etching using liquid or wet etching materials, or dry etching with halogens or halogen-containing compounds, of certain layers which comprise features these devices. For example, one well known etching material is chlorine which can exist in the etching process as either chlorine gas or HCl, etc. Chlorine etches the semiconductor isotropically, i.e., in both a lateral and vertical direction. This results in an etched feature which has a line width which is smaller than the resist image.
Etching can also be conducted in a gas phase using known techniques such as plasma etching, ion beam etching, and reactive ion etching. The gas plasma technology employs gaseous ions, typically generated by an RF discharge for etching and removing the requisite portion of the surface to be etched using a chemical reaction between the gaseous ions and the subject surface. In the anisotropic process, etching takes place only or primarily in the vertical direction so that feature widths substantially match the photoresist pattern widths. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,157 an elemental silicon-containing layer, such as a layer of polysilicon or silicide, is etched anisotropically employing a gas plasma comprising a gaseous chlorofluorocarbon, capable of supplying CF.sub.x and chlorine ions, and ammonia. Profile control of a silicon layer is controlled by the use of this etching mode.
The prior art etching chemical systems typically employ a mixture of etching chemicals. One portion of the mixture forms a fluorocarbon polymer, other portions provide additives for controlling bias or other application specifications, and another is an inert carrier material. The above-described prior art systems include CHF.sub.3 /CF.sub.4 /He, CHF.sub.3 /SF.sub.6 /Ar, C2F.sub.4 /CF.sub.4 /Ar, and C.sub.2 F.sub.6 /NH.sub.3 /Ar.
In the etching process, a chemical etchant protective patterned layer is first formed on a major surface of the semiconductor device, typically on the outer surface of that device. Then, a chemical etchant protective patterned layer is provided and a predetermined pattern of openings are formed in the chemical etchant protective patterned layer based on a desired etch pattern. This exposes a plurality of areas of the major surface of the semiconductor device corresponding to a predetermined pattern of openings. Once the chemical etchant protective patterned layer is in place, the etching operation can commence.
An important aspect in forming a multi-layer semiconductor device, including a structural layer of SiO.sub.2 formed on a silicon substrate, is controlling the selectivity of SiO.sub.2 to Si or metal silicide ratios, particularly if a halogenated plasma gas is employed in a plasma etchant work area. The above-described fluorocarbon etchant gaseous mixtures are useful for that purpose. However, in each case where a multiple bond fluorocarbon, a hydrogen-containing fluorocarbon, a fluorocarbon and hydrogen, or a mixture of gases which include a carbon-containing gas, a hydrogen-containing gas and a halogen-containing gas are present in the plasma etch material, a fluorocarbon polymeric material is indiscriminately deposited on all of the surfaces of all of the production equipment located within the plasma etchant work area (see FIG. 1). The effect of this non-localized polyfluorocarbon deposition is the following:
1. a limiting condition for controlling the selectivity of SiO.sub.2 to Si or metal silicide due to excessive polymer formation in the reactor when high SiO.sub.2 to Si or metal silicide selectivities are obtained;
2. processes which are unstable due to excess polyfluorocarbon material builds-up; and
3. a requirement for more frequent cleaning of the equipment which results in a relatively high level of production downtime.
Therefore, a need exists for a process for etching semiconductor devices which selectively controls the SiO.sub.2 to Si or metal silicide ratio, which is stable and avoids undue polymer build-up, and which requires only limited cleaning of the equipment.

Process for etching a multi-layer substrate


According to various embodiments, a circuit includes a charge pump and a feedback circuit. The charge pump includes a first input, a second input configured to receive an offset signal, and an output terminal configured to provide a charge pump signal based on the first and second inputs. The feedback circuit includes a first input coupled to the output of the charge pump, a second input configured to be coupled to a reference signal, an enable input configured to enable and disable the feedback circuit, and a feedback output coupled to the first input of the charge pump.

A charge pump is a voltage converter that uses capacitors as energy storage elements to create either higher or lower voltages. Applications of charge pumps are wide spread in power sources and other applications. In particular, a specific application of a charge pump includes generating a bias voltage in a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microphone.
In general, charge pumps use some form of switching device to control the connection of voltages to the capacitor. For example, a higher voltage can be derived from a lower voltage in two steps. In a first step, a capacitor is connected across the supply and charged to the supply voltage. In a second step, the circuit is reconfigured so that the capacitor is in series with the supply to a load. Ignoring leakage effects, this example method effectively doubles the supply voltage to the load (the sum of the original supply and the capacitor). The pulsing nature of the higher voltage output may be smoothed by the use of an output capacitor as a filter. The control of the switching device is generally driven by a secondary switching circuit.
Charge pumps are often used for transducers, among numerous other examples. Transducers convert signals from one domain to another and are often used in sensors. A common sensor with a transducer that is seen in everyday life is a microphone, a sensor that converts sound waves to electrical signals. A particular family of transducers produced using micromachining techniques are referred to as MEMS transducers, such as a MEMS microphone, for example.
Many MEMS transducers, and particularly MEMS microphones, often use capacitive sensing techniques for measuring a physical phenomenon of interest. In such applications, the capacitance change of the capacitive sensor is converted into a usable voltage using interface circuits. In such capacitive transducer systems, the transducer sensitivity may be related to a bias voltage applied to the transducing element. In such applications, a charge pump may be used to apply a bias voltage to the transducing element.

System and method for a controlled feedback charge pump


A system of diagnosing a printer or photocopying system using a flexible diagnostic sheet is described. In the system, a thin diagnostic sheet including a plurality of sensors formed on the sheet is run through the paper path of the printing system. The printing system subjects the diagnostic sheet to the printing process, including the deposition of fuser oil and toner on the sheet. Sensors on the sheet record various parameters, including but not limited to the amount of fuser oil deposited and the charge on various toner particles. The information is transmitted to service personnel or the printer end user to enable timely repair of the printer.

Modern digital printing systems are complex instruments with many moving parts. Over time, the print quality from such printing systems typically degrades due to a variety of factors including contamination on rollers, degradation of the roller materials, and loss of uniformity in recycled xerographic toner among possible factors. Traditional printer diagnostic mechanisms rely on examining the printed page output for print quality changes or relying on complex sensors within the printer mechanism. Each of these methods has its drawbacks.
Complex sensors embedded within the printer mechanism typically cannot monitor the entire paper path through the printer. Thus when failures occur in an area devoid of sensors, an educated guess needs to be made with respect to the cause of the problem. The number printer failures in areas devoid of sensors can be reduced by increasing the number of sensors in the system; however, increasing the number of complex sensors is expensive. Inferring the problem from the output of a printed page involves time, guesswork and typically skilled and thus expensive service personnel.
In either case, unless a sensor is located adjacent to the problem area, precise identification of the problem is difficult. If precise diagnosis of the cause of failure cannot be made, the typical solution is to replace key components until the problem is fixed. This process is inefficient and expensive.
Thus a method of diagnosing printing system status that is inexpensive and covers the entire paper path is needed.


A process is provided for producing a chocolate composition reduced in fat and calories, which either contains sugar or is free of added sugar, and which has the taste and mouthfeel of traditional chocolate. The process involves developing the chocolate flavour during a normal chocolate-making procedure up to and including conching, and then removing some of the fat, e.g. by means of a cocoa liquor press.

Chocolate is a food with high fat and high energy content, with a total fat content (including emulsifiers) of up to 45% by weight. A typical milk chocolate for example may contain 31% fat, 7% protein and 56% carbohydrate with an energy value of 531 kcal/100 g. Fat provides about 53% of this energy. Internationally accepted nutritional guidelines propose that fat should provide no more than 30% to 35% energy. In countries where overweight and obesity are common, the total energy content of the diet should be reduced. There are thus cogent arguments for reducing both the fat and energy contents of chocolate.
In theory, reduction in the fat content of chocolate can be simply achieved by reducing the amount of fat ingredients; such as cocoa butter or milk fat, or of fat-containing ingredients; such as cocoa liquor, milk powder or hazelnut. There are however legal and technical restraints on fat reduction in chocolate. Legally, chocolate needs to contain a minimum of 25% fat. Although this limit would not apply to "imitation chocolate", it is a barrier to fat and calorie reduction in true chocolate. For example, a reduction from 31% to 25% fat with replacement by carbohydrate would give an energy reduction of only 30 kcal/100 g. Technical problems arise owing to the increase of viscosity of the chocolate mass as the fat content is reduced. This leads to conching of chocolate being more difficult and less effective, resulting in less flavour development. Additionally the reduction in fat available to coat the ingredients, notably sugar, leads to chocolate of inferior mouthfeel.
A radical solution to the issue of fat content in chocolate is the substitution of cocoa butter by partially or wholly non-metabolisable fats. This is disclosed, for example, in EP-A-0285187, EP-A-0285187 and EP-A-0495553. There are two major disadvantages in using non-metabolisable fats in chocolate; the formulations do not conform to legal standards for chocolate and these "fats" may cause anal leakage, of which the latter effect is likely to limit acceptability by consumers.
Concerning the more general proposition of reducing the calorie content of chocolate, the most successful approach involves replacement of sucrose by partially metabolisable carbohydrates. There are many specific disclosures including EP-A-0317917 and EP-A-0512910 involving this approach. Sugar replacers fall into two categories, polyols and bulking agents. Polyols, sometimes called sugar alcohols, are essentially hydrogenated sugars exemplified by sorbitol, isomalt, maltitol, lactitol, erythritol and xylitol, amongst others. Bulking agents consist of polymers of readily metabolised sugars like glucose and fructose linked by bonds which cannot be split by the enzymes of the digestive system. Examples of bulking agents are polydextrose, oligofructose and inulin. Both polyols and bulking agents are partially metabolised by intestinal flora and so provide some energy. Most polvols are accorded an energy value of 2.4 kcal/g, polydextrose 1.0 kcal/g, and the energy value of other bulking agents has yet to be agreed. These energy figures compare with 4 kcal/g for sucrose, so that when 45 g sucrose is replaced by polyol, the energy reduction in chocolate is 72 kcal/100 g, whilst when such an amount of sucrose is replaced by 22.5 g each of polyol and polydextrose, the energy reduction is 103.5 kcal/100 g. Technically, both polyols and bulking agents increase the viscosity of the chocolate mass compared with sucrose. Thus, high fat levels in such chocolates need to be maintained in order to decrease viscosity, while the temperature of conching has to be lowered, leading to less effective flavour development. The retention of high fat levels limits calorie reduction and makes unrealistic the 25% to 30% reduction in calories demanded by some regulators to classify a food as "reduced calorie".
Other food ingredients that are not metabolised and which are of zero calorific value (such as dietary fibre, for example cellulose, particularly methyl cellulose, pectins, edible gums, cereal fibres and vegetable fibers), can be introduced into the initial recipe mix in amounts up to about 7.5% by weight, preferably less than 5%. The present invention is also applicable to such mixes.
The need is for a process suitable for regular and low calorie chocolate allowing product to be made with 25% fat or less, yet which allows good flavour development during conching. The present invention does this by making a full fat, full flavour chocolate and then subsequently reducing the fat content.

Process for manufacture of reduced fat and reduced calorie chocolate


A high purity methane product is recovered from a feed gas mixture containing methane and one or more hydrocarbons heavier than methane by cooling, condensing, and rectifying the feed in a dephlegmator. The high purity methane product, containing at least 98 mole % methane, can be liquefied and stored for use as a fuel for internal combustion engines. A hydrocarbon product containing components heavier than methane is also recovered.. Methane recovery and C.sub.2.sup.+ hydrocarbon product purity can be improved by the use of a combined stripping heat exchanger and feed gas cooler. External refrigeration is utilized and can be supplemented in part by autorefrigeration provided by vaporizing dephlegmator liquid.

A clean-burning alternative fuel for internal combustion engines is provided by the vaporization of high purity liquid methane. The operation of internal combustion engines on vaporized liquid methane fuel requires that the methane be of high purity, typically containing at least 98 mole % methane and preferably less than 0.5 mole % of hydrocarbons heavier than methane. High purity liquid methane can be produced from natural gas by known methods for separating methane from the heavier hydrocarbons which are present in natural gas. Technology for the storage and vaporization of liquid methane is known for both vehicular and stationary applications.
Natural gas can be processed by cryogenic distillation to remove hydrocarbon components heavier than methane and non-hydrocarbon components lighter than methane. This well-known technology is described in representative U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,837,172, 4,857,078, 5,114,451, 5,359,856, 5,390,499, 5,600,969, and 5,615,561. Combined cryogenic and non-cryogenic processes also have been used to produce high purity methane as described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,414,190.
Refluxing heat exchangers, also known as dephlegmators, have been used widely in combination with cryogenic distillation to separate hydrocarbon-containing mixtures. Dephlegmator technology is discussed in the review article entitled "Recovery of Valuable Hydrocarbons Using Dephlegmator Technology" by D. P. Bernhard and H. C. Rowles in Advances in Cryogenic Engineering, Vol 33, 1988, pp. 983-989. Representative processes using dephlegmators for the separation of hydrocarbon mixtures, some of which contain hydrogen and/or nitrogen, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,270,939, 4,270,940, 4,622,053, 4,714,487, 4,749,393, 4,720,293, 4,732,598, and 4,921,514.
Dephlegmators offer simple, reliable, and efficient operation for a wide variety of gas separations. They are particularly useful in the separation of mixtures of lower molecular weight components, which separation generally requires significant amounts of low temperature refrigeration. The invention described in the present specification and defined by the claims which follow is an efficient process utilizing dephlegmators for the production of high purity liquid methane.

Production of refrigerated liquid methane


A battery powered blow dryer having a novel heating element technology that can be powered by an attached battery pack. The heating element includes an infrared light bulb that emits high heat with relatively low power consumption compared to current methods. The present invention patent also describes a unique configuration of battery cells to optimally perform the task of blow drying hair.

Blow dryers have been around for decades. For heating, the traditional blow dryer uses a heating element made of a resistive wire (usually nichrome) wrapped around an insulative core for shape (usually a mica sheet). One example is shown in FIG. 1. As the dryer operates at various levels of power (e.g., high, medium, or low), varying amounts of current run through the resistive wire and the desired levels of heat output are achieved. This heating element construction is inexpensive, heats up quickly, and the power consumption can be fine-tuned by adjusting the length or thickness of the wire. For these reasons, they have become popular in the overwhelming majority of hair dryers today.
The blow dryer also wastes a lot of heat because the heating element is poorly insulated. FIG. 2 shows a thermal image of the casing of a typical commercial hair dryer in use under a thermal camera. While the majority of the power consumed by the dryer is due to the heating element, the figure shows that a significant portion of that power is warming the casing of the dryer.
The blow dryer typically receives power transmitted through a cord that is plugged into a wall outlet, limiting where the dryer can be used. One of the most significant technical barriers to implementing a battery-operated hair dryer is in supplying an adequate amount of power. Commercial hair dryers tend to fall in the 1600 W to 2000 W range, which presents challenges to power from a battery. A breakdown of the components providing this power, shows that 10 to 20% of the power consumed is through the motor with the remaining amount drawn by the heating element. As a result, modifications to the heating element present a significant opportunity to reduce the power consumption to the point where the device can be powered by a battery.
It would be desirable to develop a battery-operated blow dryer with a heating element design for low power consumption.

Systems and methods for delivering heat in a battery powered blow dryer


The present invention relates to a novel crystalline form of linezolid, to processes for its preparation and to a pharmaceutical composition containing it.

Linezolid, chemically N-[[(5S)-3-[3-fluoro-4-(4-morpholinyl)phenyl]-2-oxo-5-oxazolidinyl]methyl]acetamide is an antibacterial agent. Linezolid is represented by the following structure:

Linezolid and related compounds, processes for their preparation and their therapeutic uses were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,792. Processes for preparation of linezolid were also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,837,870, WO 99/24393, J. Med. Chem. 39(3), 673-679, 1996 and Tetrahedron Lett., 40(26), 4855, 1999.
Linezolid is known to exhibit polymorphism and two crystalline forms are so far known. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,559,305 and 6,444,813 addressed that the product obtained by the process described by J. Med. Chem. 39(3), 673-679, 1996 is form I and is characterized by having melting point of 181.5-182.5° C. and by IR spectrum having bands at 3284, 3092, 1753, 1728, 1649, 1565, 1519, 1447, 1435 cm−1. U.S. Pat. No. 6,559,305 claims crystalline form II characterized by IR spectrum having bands at 3364, 1748, 1675, 1537, 1517, 1445, 1410, 1401, 1358, 1329, 1287, 1274, 1253, 1237, 1221, 1145, 1130, 1123, 1116, 1078, 1066, 1049, 907, 852 and 758 cm−1 and powder X-ray diffraction spectrum having 2-theta values at 7.10, 9.54, 13.88, 14.23, 16.18, 16.79, 17.69, 19.41, 19.69, 19.93, 21.61, 22.39, 22.84, 23.52, 24.16, 25.28, 26.66, 27.01 and 27.77 degrees.
We have discovered a novel crystalline form (form II) of linezolid. The novel crystalline form of linezolid is consistently reproducible, does not have the tendency to convert to other forms and found to be thermally more stable than form I or form II. Furthermore, form III bulk solid is more compact and less electrostatic than form II and hence is more readily subjected to any treatment under the usual conditions of the pharmaceutical technology, in particular, of formulation on an industrial scale. Therapeutic uses of linezolid were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,688,792.
The object of the present invention is to provide a stable, consistently reproducible crystalline form of linezolid; processes for preparing it; and a pharmaceutical composition containing it.


A rotary joint (10; 110) includes an output member (12; 112) rotatable about a first axis of rotation (x1), a first actuator device (14) arranged to generate a rotary motion about the first axis (x1), an input member (16; 116) driven by the first actuator device (14; 114) about the first axis (x1), elastic elements (20, 64; 120) between the input member (16; 116) and the output member (12; 112) and configured such that the transmission of the torque takes place via the elastic elements (20, 64; 120). A second actuator device (22; 122) is arranged to change the stiffness of the rotary joint (10; 110). The rotary joint (10; 110) includes an intermediate member (18; 118) hinged (44; 168) to the output member (12; 112) to rotate relative to the output member about a second axis of rotation (x2) parallel to the first axis (x1), abuts at its opposite end against the elastic elements (20, 64; 120) and is hinged (46; 150), at an intermediate point thereof, to the input member (16; 116) to rotate relative to the input member about a third axis of rotation (x3) parallel to the first axis (x1). Transmission of the torque between the input member (16; 116) and the output member (12; 112) takes place via the intermediate member (18; 118). The second actuator device (22; 122) is arranged to change the hinge point and the distance between the second axis of rotation (x2) and the third axis of rotation (x3).

The present invention relates to a stiffness-adjustable rotary joint.
Stiffness-adjustable rotary joints have been developed and used in particular on robots intended to interact with the human beings, such as for instance humanoid robots and exoskeletons. These rotary joints have two degrees of freedom, namely position and stiffness, and require therefore the use of two separate actuators. They also require the use of elastic elements to provide the compliance which is necessary in order to ensure safety. The stiffness-adjustable rotary joints can be classified, depending on the position of the actuators and of the elastic elements, in the following two categories:                rotary joints with an antagonistic arrangement of the two actuators, in which the two actuators are arranged each in series with a non-linear elastic element and in which the position and the stiffness of the joint are controlled by means of the relative movement of the two actuators; and        rotary joints in which one of the actuators is operable to change the position and the other actuator is arranged in series with an elastic element and is operable to change the stiffness through a mechanism allowing to obtain a non-linear stiffness characteristic.
The main requirements which have to be met in these rotary joints are:                compact sizes and reduced weight;        capability to change the stiffness with the minimum energy consumption possible; and        wide range of change of the stiffness.
In most of the previous solutions, whether they belong to the first or to the second category indicated above, stiffness is changed by changing the preload of the elastic elements, which however involves a considerable energy consumption.
A stiffness-adjustable rotary joint is disclosed in the paper "An intrinsically safe actuator with the ability to adjust the stiffness" presented on Jun. 16, 2010 during the 7th IARP Workshop on Technical Challenges for Dependable Robots in Human Environments held in Tolosa, as well as in the paper "A novel variable stiffness actuator: minimizing the energy requirements for the stiffness regulation" presented during the 32nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE EMBS held in Buenos Aires from Aug. 31, 2010 to Sep. 4, 2010. The rotary joint disclosed in the above-mentioned papers basically comprises an output member rotatable about a first axis of rotation, a first actuator device (made in particular as an electric motor and reduction gear assembly) arranged to generate a rotary motion about said first axis of rotation, an input member driven by the first actuator device to rotate about the above-mentioned axis of rotation, a pair of antagonistic springs each interposed between the input member and the output member in such a manner that the torque generated by the first actuator device is transmitted from the input member to the output member via these springs, and a second actuator device arranged to change the distance between the springs and said first axis of rotation, and hence the lever arm of the elastic force produced by the springs, in order to change the stiffness of the joint. According to this known rotary joint, therefore, the stiffness is changed by changing not the preload of the springs, but their position. Moreover, the direction of the movement required to change the position of the springs, and hence to change the stiffness of the joint, is perpendicular to the direction of the elastic force generated by the springs, and accordingly the energy consumption required to change the stiffness of the rotary joint would be theoretically equal to the sole energy consumption of the actuator device used to change the position of the springs. Actually, due to the presence of friction and due to the fact that in positions other than that of equilibrium the elastic force generated by the springs has a certain component, though small, along the direction of displacement of the springs, the energy consumption is higher than the theoretical one. It is however significantly lower than that of the rotary joints in which the stiffness is changed by changing the preload of the elastic elements, and therefore the second actuator device controlling the change of stiffness can be much more compact than that of the other stiffness-adjustable rotary joints. A further advantage of this known solution is that it does not require the use of non-linear springs or mechanisms to provide the non-linear stiffness characteristic required to adjust the stiffness.

FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA