An injection molding nozzle comprises a material feed pipe subtending a flow duct communicating flow-wise with at least one nozzle tip. Each tip points transversely to axial direction A of the nozzle and is held by a manifold. The manifold is pluggable/insertable into the material feed pipe and includes a neck and a base. A manifold duct system is subtended in the manifold. A main duct extending the flow duct is in the neck and the base comprises a deflection site and at least one manifold duct. The manifold duct runs radially to axial direction A. The nozzle tip is affixed in a seating unit fitted with a central recess. Radial boreholes running transversely to axial direction A fit into the seating unit and receive plugged-in nozzle tips. The central recess receives the base, the nozzle tip being secured by the base to and in the seating unit.

When manufacturing plastic parts using injection molding techniques, it is frequently advantageous to feed the mold cavities from the side. Appropriate injection molding nozzles and injection molds are known in various designs in the state of the art.
Illustratively the German patent document DE 20 2008 005 073 U1 discloses a hot runner nozzle for laterally gating plastic components, fitted with a multipart nozzle case subtending a melt duct which in said nozzle's lower zone branches into several partial ducts running obliquely outward. Each partial duct issues within a clearance in the nozzle case in an oblique surface supporting a tip insert. This tip insert comprises a base body with an oblique sealing surface fitted with an intake aperture for the partial duct and a cylindrical segment the end of which is designed is as the nozzle tip. The tip inserts together with the nozzle tips point radially outward. They project laterally above the circumferential nozzle case's surface and they point radially outward. A separate sealing sleeve stub is configured coaxially over each nozzle tip and seals the hot runner nozzle from the mold. A clamping plate element is screwed from below on the nozzle case to secure the tip inserts. The base bodies of said tip inserts therefore must by pressed by their sealing surfaces uniformly and hard against the oblique faces of the nozzle case.
Accordingly the design and assembly of this hot runner nozzle is fairly complex, in particular because each tip element must be individually connected to the nozzle case and be secured by the clamping plate element. As a result leaks may arise quickly, especially in the critical region of the nozzle tips and especially when the clamping plate element is improperly fitted.
The European patent document EP 1 524 091 A1 also discloses an injection mold's injection molding nozzle fitted with a material feed pipe wherein an axial flow duct terminates end-wise into several outwardly pointing deflection ducts. These deflection ducts issue into radially configured lateral recesses subtended in a sidewall of said material feed pipe. The base of said pipe contains a further polygonal recess communicating by radial boreholes with the lateral feed pipe recesses and by means of these with the feed pipe's peripheral surface. Outwardly is pointing nozzle tips are inserted in said radial boreholes and are secured within the recess by a fastener. The nozzle tips project beyond the peripheral surface of the material feed pipe and are immersed within the radial apertures by the fluidic mass issuing from the deflection ducts. Sealing sleeve stubs configured coaxially with the nozzle tips seal the feed material pipe from the mold.
In this design too the deflection ducts must be designed as oblique boreholes from below into the material feed pipe: this feature entails an elaborate manufacturing process. The just above described injection molding nozzles incur another drawback in that the number and the configuration of the nozzle tips are each fixed because they determine the number and array of the deflection ducts and communicating boreholes. As a result, the injection molding nozzle cannot be matched to diverse applications, for instance when the number and/or spacing of the gate spacings changes. Accordingly the nozzle is applicable only to certain cases, each injection mold requiring a specific material feed pipe, again entailing high costs.
In the light of the above state of the art, one objective of the present invention is to create an injection molding nozzle for an injection mold, of an alternative design, further an injection mold for such an injection molding nozzle, which shall at least partly remedy the above cited drawbacks. In particular the present invention's objective is an injection molding nozzle allowing economic manufacture using simple is means and offering flexible applicability.
As regards an injection mold's injection nozzle comprising a nozzle body or case and at least one nozzle tip, said case subtending in it a flow duct for an injection molding material to be processed and terminating at or in at least one nozzle tip and communicating flow-wise by at least one outlet aperture with a injection mold cavity subtended in a mold insert, and where each nozzle tip runs transversely to the axial direction of the nozzle case and is affixed by a fastener in its position, the present invention requires that each nozzle tip be configured in a retainer or seating unit which is designed to be separate from the nozzle case and that each nozzle tip be detachably affixed in said seating unit, the fastener extending the nozzle case's flow duct and feeding the injection molding material to be processed to at least one nozzle tip and/or to at least one outlet aperture.
This configuration allows rapidly and conveniently exchanging at will the nozzle tips without having to dismantle the full hot runner duct. Moreover the seating unit designed to be separate from the nozzle case may be exchanged as a whole. In this manner, requiring only a few manual interventions, the hot runner nozzle can be matched to diverse applications and needs. Illustratively the spacings between or is the positions of the nozzle tips may be changed at any time, or the number of nozzle tips may be conveniently increased merely by installing a matching seating unit on the nozzle. Such a step only requires removing the prior seating unit from the nozzle case and to install a new or different seating unit. Removing the entire nozzle is not needed, and savings in operating costs are gained. Also the costs involving the mold are significantly lowered because the present invention allows continuing using the remainder of the hot runner nozzle.
In one advantageous embodiment mode of the present invention, the fastener passes through the seating unit and is guided longitudinally within the nozzle case. In this way the seating unit is connected by the fastener to the nozzle case, though this connection deliberately is neither rigid nor frozen in place. Instead, the fastener is free to move relative to the nozzle case, allowing always compensating the different thermal expansions of the various nozzle elements incurred when heating/cooling the mold without leaks arising during operation.
In this respect the fastener is fitted with a neck entering the nozzle case's flow duct, said neck containing a main duct extending the nozzle case's flow duct.
Accordingly, the said fastener secures not only the nozzle tips in the seating unit. It also feeds the melt to be processed to the nozzle tips. For that purpose, sub-manifold ducts are constituted inside the fastener that communicate flow-wise with the main duct and that feed the injection molding melt to the minimum of one nozzle tip and/or to the minimum of one outlet aperture.
In this manner, the fastener constitutes not only a securing component, but simultaneously also, a manifold function whereby the melt to be processed is fed within the seating unit to the nozzle tips respectively the outlet apertures.
In one advantageous design, the said seating unit is fitted with a recess to receive said fastener. Preferably, this recess comprises a polygonal or similar inside surface, while the fastener assumes a matching side surface. The seating unit's inside surface and the fastener's outside respectively lateral surface accordingly exhibit faces that are partly smooth and plane and that allow reliably and permanently sealing the installed nozzle tips within the seating unit.
In order to receive the nozzle tips, the seating unit is fitted with boreholes running transversely to the nozzle case's axial direction so as to receive said tips by insertion or in plug-in manner. Accordingly said nozzle tips can be inserted from the inside into the seating unit, which is advantageous also in handling the injection molding nozzle. Even when space is at a premium, said nozzle can be installed in the mold because the nozzle tips usually projecting beyond the outside dimensions of the nozzle case respectively the nozzle housing can be inserted subsequently. Split mold plates are no longer needed.
During assembly, the nozzle tips are simply inserted from the recess' inside through the seating unit's radial boreholes. Then the fastener respectively the manifold is inserted from below and engages by its neck—through the seating unit—the flow duct of the nozzle case respectively a flow tube/channel or material feed pipe. A base adjoining the neck of the fastener secures the nozzle tips within the seating unit and prevents these tips from moving radially inward. Accordingly, the nozzle tips are fixed in position within the fastener by said seating unit.
In the process each nozzle tip rests within the seating unit against its inside surface and against the lateral face of said fastener, in the latter case in sealing manner by each nozzle tip. The polygonal or similar faces of the seating unit and the fastener assure optimal sealing. Additionally a seal may be fitted between each nozzle tip and the fastener to preclude melt from leaking out of these zones.
It is understood that the basic polygonal faces of the seating unit and the fastener constitute plane sealing surfaces for the nozzle tips that accordingly are always integrated into the nozzle in sealed manner. This feature offers high reliability against leaks.
To allow feeding the melt to be processed directly and at optimal temperature to the mold nest, each nozzle tip subtends a nozzle duct communicating flow-wise with a sub-manifold duct of the fastener. The sub-manifold ducts appropriately issue into the plane faces of the polygonal lateral surface of the fastener. Each nozzle tip is fitted with an outlet aperture for the injection molding material to be processed.
In order to seal the hot runner nozzle from the mold, in particular form the mold nest plates, each nozzle tip is enclosed by a sleeve stub configured between the seating unit and the mold insert.
In a further significant embodiment mode of the present invention, the said seating unit is fitted with a heater. The latter may be a conventional heating coil fitted in a nut in the outer periphery of said seating unit. Accordingly, a thick-film heater also may be used, which is deposited on one of the external faces and/or inner faces of said seating unit.
The fastener is advantageously configured in longitudinally displaceable manner in the seating unit. This feature allows adjusting the fastener and/or the nozzle tips relative to the seating unit, for instance to align the nozzle tips relative to the mold. A fastener adjusting element is used for that purpose, and preferably it shall be externally accessible.
To prevent undesirable displacements between the fastener, the nozzle case and the seating unit, advantageously the manifold and the material feed pipe respectively the seating unit and the manifold, respectively the seating unit and the material feed pipe, always shall be irrotational with each other, that is an anti-rotation or anti-twist locking device is constituted or configured between the seating unit, the fastener and/or the nozzle case.
Both the injection nozzle fastener and the nozzle tips preferably are made of a thermally well conducting substance, at least the material of the fastener exhibiting a higher thermal coefficient of expansion than the seating unit's. As a result, and on one hand, the melt is kept at an optimal temperature as far as the gate aperture. On the other hand the more expansible fastener substance assures that within the seating unit's recess, the nozzle tips shall be optimally held in place, said tips being firmly pressed within this seating unit and hence shall always rest in sealing manner against the fastener respectively the manifold element.
Further advantages are attained by combining the nozzle tips, the fastener and the seating unit into a pre-assembled unit. Such a unit permits being rapidly installed on the injection molding nozzle.
Independently of the above, said unit can be installed on any standard nozzle, for instance replacing a conventional nozzle orifice. This merely requires pushing the fasteners neck element into the end zone of the nozzle case respectively the material feed pipe of the nozzle. An arbitrary standard nozzle in this manner might be used to laterally feed mold cavities. Such a feature is especially advantageous regarding stocking and manufacturing costs.
An injection mold is appropriately fitted with an injection-molding nozzle of the is present invention. In this manner, all the advantages offered injection molding nozzle of the present invention may be used within the injection mold.
The injection molding nozzles 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 6 are for use in an injection mold. Such a mold is used to make molded parts from a fluidic material such as a melt of plastic or the like. The injection mold conventionally comprises a clamping plate and parallel thereto a manifold plate fitted with a system of flow ducts. Said flow ducts issue into injection molding nozzles 10 illustrative designed as hot runner nozzles.
Both the injection molding nozzle shown in FIG. 1 and that shown in FIG. 6 comprise a nozzle case 20 in the form of a material feed pipe which is fitted at its end with a flange-like hookup head 22 that is sealed by a sealing ring 23 from an omitted manifold plate. The flow tube or material feed pipe 20 is situated detachably in a shaft or shank 16. The shank 16 and the hookup head 22 of the material feed pipe 20 in turn are held in place by a case 12. A melt flow duct 21 is centrally fitted into the material feed pipe 20 and runs in the axial direction A. The flow duct 21 preferably is a borehole and comprises a feed material intake aperture 24 in the hookup head 22 to feed the melt coming from the manifold plate to the flow duct 21.
A heater 26 is deposited on the external periphery of the material feed pipe 20. This heater runs over almost the full axial length of the material feed pipe 20. The heater 26 is kept it in its optimal position in the axial direction A using springs 29. In this way the heater is prevented from shifting due to thermal expansion, an eventuality with fatal consequences for the melt temperature. Also a protective tube 27 is fitted on the heater 26. Illustratively such a tube might be used to keep an omitted heating coil in its proper position. A temperature sensor 28 is used to detect the temperature generated by the heater 26 and runs as far as the end zone of the material feed pipe 20.
The case 12 receiving the shank 16, the material feed pipe 20 and the heater 26 plus the protective tube 27 is constituted in two parts. The two case parts 121 and 122 are affixed to each other by screws 13 of which only one is shown in each instance for illustration. A recess 14 passing the conductors 15 of electrical apparatus of the injection mold 10 is configured between the case parts 121, 122. Said conductors illustratively feed the heater 26 and the temperature sensor 28. The casing is divided in two for simpler assembly, in particular as regards the conductors 15. The lower case part 122 also is fitted with an end portion 123 which may be threaded (124). The shank 16 may be screwed by this thread 124 to the case 12.
The shank 16 is in two parts in the embodiment mode of FIG. 1. The upper shank part 161 is screwed into the case 12 to be affixed to it. The lower shank part 162 in turn is screwed by means of a thread 163 to the upper shank part 161. Advantageously at least the lower shank part 162 is made of a thermally poorly conducting material such as titanium. This feature insulates the heated nozzle from the mold nest which should be kept as cool as possible. Whereas an insulating air gap 25 is subtended between the heater 26 respectively the protective tube 27 and the upper shank part 161, the heater 26 and/or the hot material feed pipe 20 must inevitably come into direct contact with the lower shank part 162 in order to accurately position and keep in place the nozzle. Said shank part 162 in turn makes direct contact with the omitted mold nest. Accordingly using a thermally poorly conducting substance for the lower shank part 162 advantageously reduces heat transfer between the nozzle and the mold nest.
Be it noted that the nozzle shown in FIG. 1 is a standard hot runner nozzle. On the other hand the nozzle tip inserted into the lower end of the material feed pipe 20 is not a conventional nozzle tip but instead a fastener 40 longitudinally and displaceably entering by its neck 41 the flow duct 21 of the material feed pipe 20. The fastener 40 secures the nozzle tips 30 which are configured in a star array in a seating unit 50 constituted separately from the nozzle case respectively the material feed pipe 20.
The seating unit 50 comprises a downwardly open recess 52 receiving the nozzle tips 30 and the fastener 40. Said fastener consists of the neck 41 and a base 42. Whereas the neck 41 is configured in longitudinally displaceable manner in the is flow duct 21 of the material feed pipe 20, the base 42 is enclosed by the seating unit 50. The seating unit 50 is fitted with radial boreholes 51 receiving nozzle tips 30. Nozzle ducts and tip ducts 34, 35 are subtended in the nozzle tip 30 and guide the melt as far as the omitted gate aperture. The nozzle tips 30 are configured transversely to the axis A of the injection molding nozzle 10 and communicate flow-wise through the manifold 40 with the flow duct 21 of the injection molding nozzle 10.
The retainer or seating unit 50 can be heated by a separate heater 59, for instance a heating coil 260, the temperature being monitored by a further temperature sensor 280 The heater 59, 260 and the temperature sensor 280 of the seating unit 50 are fed from separate electric connectors or outlets 150.
To properly position the nozzle tips 30 relative the mold cavities (omitted) to be injected, the manifold 40 is axially adjusted by a threaded bolt 70 engaging an adjustment muff 48 in the manifold 40. Another bolt 58 inserted into the seating unit 40 may engage a recess (also omitted) in the mold nest and in this manner, acting as an irrotationality means, prevents rotation about the axis A by the sub-assembly composed of the nozzle tips 30, manifold 40 and seating unit 50. The seating unit 50 at the same time is fixed in height, as a result of which the nozzle tips 30 always shall be situated centrally above the particular associated gate aperture. The required length compensation of the nozzle 10 when heating/cooling the mold is implemented by the neck 41 of the fastener 40 guided in sliding manner in the flow is duct 21 of the nozzle case respectively the material feed pipe 20.
It follows that said sub-assembly of nozzle tips 30, manifold 40 and seating unit 50 illustratively may be used instead of a nozzle orifice in an arbitrary standard nozzle. Hence, one of the special advantages offered by the present invention is that the melt flow of a standard nozzle may be enabled in a manner that lateral gating of several mold cavities is enabled.
Moreover and as shown in FIG. 2a, the manifold 40 comprises a manifold duct system 60. It serves to deflect the melt flow from the axial direction into a direction transverse to the axis A. Said system begins with a conical intake funnel 61 which extends the flow duct 21 of the material feed pipe and which in turn is extended by a manifold main duct 62. Both the intake funnel 61 and the manifold main duct 62 are constituted in the neck 41 of the manifold 40. The manifold main flow duct 62 continues into the base 42 and issues approximately centrally in latter at a deflection site 63. At least one sub-manifold duct 64 issues from said site 63. The sub-manifold ducts 64 run transversely to the axial direction A. FIG. 2b shows that they are preferentially configured in a star array. The base 42 exhibits a polygonal basic surface. One of the sub-manifold ducts 64 issues from an outlet aperture 451 at each lateral face 45 of the polygon.
FIG. 2a moreover shows that the neck 41 preferably is centrally configured on the base 42. Also, advantageously, the external side 411 of the neck 41 is made is congruent with the inside diameter of the flow duct 21, for instance being cylindrical. In this manner the neck 41 may be inserted in longitudinally displaceable manner into the flow duct 21 whereby it shall be geometrically interlocking with the material feed pipe 20 and seal it when the operational temperature is reached.
The base 42 on the other hand is disk-like. It comprises a top side 43, a lower side 49 and at least one lateral face 45. The lateral faces 45 may be bent or, as described above and shown in FIG. 2b, preferably be straight. In the second instance the base 42 exhibits a polygonal cross-section (FIG. 2b). In any event, the external geometry of the base 42 matches the inside shape of the seating unit 50. A flanged rim 44 is subtended at the lower side 49 of the base 42. The neck 41 is configured preferably centrally on the top side 43.
Advantageously the manifold 40 is made of a thermally well conducting substance.
The base 42 of the manifold 40 is enclosed by the seating unit 50 shown in FIGS. 3a, 3b, 3c. This seating unit assumes the general shape of a flat cylinder. It comprises a central borehole 52 in two parts 521 and 522. It receives the manifold 40. The radial boreholes 51 receive the nozzle tips 30 and are subtended in a side surface 54 of the seating unit 50.
A groove 55 is fitted into the side surface 54 to receive the heating coil 260. Said groove 55 snakes around the radial boreholes 51. As a result, the seating unit is 50 is advantageously kept at a uniform temperature. The seating unit therefore not only positions the nozzle tips 30 but also heats the manifold 40 and said nozzle tips. In especially advantageous manner, as in the present embodiment, the heating of the seating unit 50 is independent of the heating of the material feed pipe 20.
Furthermore, a borehole 581 receiving anti-rotation bolt 58 and a notch 57 receiving the temperature sensor 280 are fitted into the side surface 54.
A widened section 511 may be present near the outside of each radial borehole 51. As indicated in FIGS. 3c and 3d, sleeve stubs 56 may be inserted into said widened sections 511, preferably being pressed into them. Preferably, the sleeve stubs 56 are made of a thermally poorly conducting substance, preferably titanium. By means of said sleeve stubs, the heat transfer between the heated seating unit 50 and the mold nest in contact with the assembled sleeve stubs 56 shall be minimized.
FIGS. 3a and 3b show that the first portion 521 of the central borehole 52 also is cylindrical. The second portion 522 matches the structure of the base 42 of the manifold 40 (FIG. 5).
When the sub-assembly is assembled, the nozzle tips 30 are inserted through the radial boreholes 51 and the manifold 40 is inserted from below into the central borehole 52 of the seating unit 50 (FIGS. 3c and 3d). The neck 41 of the manifold 40 projects through the first portion 521 and accordingly it can be inserted into the material feed pipe 20 of the injection molding nozzle 10. The base 42 on the other hand is entirely enclosed by the second portion 522. Said base rests by its surface 43 against an offset 523 subtended between the first and second portions 521, 522. A seal is advantageously created in this manner between the manifold 40 and the seating unit 50.
It follows that each outlet aperture 451 of the manifold 40 is linearly aligned with and extended by the nozzle duct 34 of a nozzle tip 30. At the same time, when in its operational state, the manifold 40 presses by its side face 45 from the inside of the second borehole portion 522 against the nozzle tips 30 which thereby are prevented from dropping out.
Simultaneously this design implements sealing between the nozzle tips 30 and the manifold 40, whereby undesirable melt leakage is precluded between these components. Said leakage suppression is further enhanced by seals 36 that may be configured in the zone of a flange collar 31 of the nozzle tip 30. Illustratively such flanged collars may be metal O-rings or the like.
Be it noted that the nozzle tips 30 each include a short tube 32. Preferably the diameter of said short tube is selected so that it shall rest in sealing manner in the radial borehole 51 as the operational temperature is reached. The flanged collar 31 rests against the inside of the borehole portion 522 and prevents the nozzle tip 30 from slipping deeper than desired into the radial borehole 51.
Accordingly, the fastener 40 acts as a manifold for the nozzle tips 30. Moreover the nozzle ducts 34 communicate flow-wise, by means of the manifold ducts 64, the deflection site 63 and the main duct 62, hence also by means of the manifold system 60, with the flow duct 21.
In the operational state, the flanged rim 44 of the manifold 40 very accurately terminates underneath the flanged collars 31 of the nozzle tips with the seating unit 50. In especially advantageous manner, the flanged collar 31 as well as the base 42 and the second borehole portion 522 are fitted with a bottom polygonal surface. With such a design, the manifold 40 when installed no longer may be rotated relative to the seating unit 50. As a result the manifold ducts 64 shall issue with utmost accuracy into the nozzle ducts 34.
FIG. 3d also shows that the adjusting muff 48 rotatably rests within a support sleeve 47 on the omitted mold nest. Preferably, this support sleeve 47 is made of a thermally poorly conducting substance such as titanium. In this manner the heat transfer between the hot manifold 40 and the cool mold nest is minimized to the extent possible. This Figure also indicates that the adjusting muff 48, the support sleeve 47 and the bolt 40 threadable into said adjusting muff constitute an adjustment device 46. Using said adjustment device 46, the manifold 40 may be rotated about the axial direction A until the nozzle tips 30 assume their optimal position relative to the gate apertures 81 (FIG. 5). The seating unit 50 and the material feed pipe 20 may be co-rotated. The entire sub-assembly may be affixed in an axial direction at the same time.
Detailed views of the nozzle tips of FIGS. 4a, 4b and 4c indicate that each nozzle tip 30 is fitted with a flanged collar 31, a short tube 32 and a tip 33. The short tube 32 contains a nozzle duct 34 issuing in the tip zone into at least one tip duct 35. Advantageously the nozzle ducts 34 assume at last partly an inner hexagonal geometry as shown in FIGS. 4a and 4b. In this manner the nozzle tips 30 when being installed may be held and moved for instance using a hexagonal wrench, such a feature being especially advantageous when the nozzle tips must be pried off a solidified melt and be disassembled.
The nozzle ducts 34 communicate flow-wise by means of the manifold 40 with the flow duct 21 of the material feed pipe 20. They are extended by the tip ducts 35 that guide the melt into the particular gate 81 (FIG. 5) and from there into the mold cavity 82. Preferably, the nozzle tips 30 are made of a thermally conducting substance. In that manner the melt shall be at its optimal temperature if possibly directly as far as the mold nest.
FIG. 5 shows the star-array of eight nozzle tips 30 in a seating unit 50. Said seating unit my be of the type denoted by 50 or as well a seating unit 50′ discussed is further below such as used in the embodiment of FIG. 6. As indicated, the base 42 of the manifold 40 is forced against the end which is on the flange collar side of the nozzle tips 30. As a result said tips are kept in the radial boreholes 51 of the seating unit 50, 50′. Further FIG. 5 shows clearly that the borehole portion 522, 553′ of the seating unit 50, 50′—which receives the base 45—and the base 42 of the manifold 40 assume the same basic shape, namely being octagonal in the shown illustration.
The manifold ducts run in a starry pattern from the deflection site 63 to the outlet apertures 451 fitted into the side faces 45 of the base 42. The nozzle ducts 34 adjoin in straight lines the outlet apertures 451. In turn said nozzle ducts are extended by the tip ducts 35. The latter each issue into a gate aperture 81 constituted in the mold nest 80. One gate 81 is constituted in the mold nest 80 for each nozzle tip 30. The end 33 of the nozzle tip 30 may project into the gate 81 or even beyond it.
An air gap 90 is subtended between the seating unit 50 and the mold nest 80. To seal off said air gap 90 from any melt, sleeve stubs 56 are configured between the seating unit 50 and the particular gate aperture 81. Said sleeve stubs preferably are made of a thermally poorly conducting substance. They are pressed into the widened elements 511 of the radial boreholes 51. Besides acting as seals, the sleeve stubs 56 may also be used to center and laterally align the injection molding nozzle 10 in the mold nest 80.
The embodiment variation of the injection molding nozzle 10 shown in FIG. 6 is enclosed at its lower region by a seating unit 50′. Said seating unit 50′ replaces the lower shank part 162 of the standard nozzle shown in FIG. 1. The seating unit 50′ comprises an upper portion 53′, a middle portion 54′ and a lower portion 55′. A stepped axial borehole 52′ is subtended within the seating unit 50′ and also consists of several borehole portions 531′, 541′, 551′, 553′.
The uppermost borehole portion 531′ is also fitted into the upper portion 53′ of the seating unit 50′. Said portion 531′ is bounded by a first offset 533′ subtended between the upper and middle portions 53′, 54′. The shank part 161 may rest by its lower end on said offset 533′ when the nozzle has reached the operational temperature. Moreover, the uppermost borehole portion 531′ may be fitted with a thread 535′ that can mesh with the thread 163 of the lower end of the shank part 161. This feature allows screwing the seating unit 50′ to the shank 16. Also the outer wall 534′ of the uppermost portion 53 is dimensioned in a way that by means of said wall an air gap 90′ subtended between the seating unit 50′ and mold nest 80 can be sealed off when the operating temperature has been reached.
A borehole portion 541′ also is constituted in the middle portion 54′ of the seating unit 50′. The diameter of the borehole portion 541′ is less than that of the uppermost borehole portion 531′ and terminates into a wider offset 542′. In its lower zone it may conically taper toward the offset 542′. The borehole portion 541′ in the middle portion 54′ includes the lower end of the heater 26 and of the protective tube 27. As a result however, an additional insulating air gap 91′ has been subtended between the inside wall of the seating unit 50′ and the insulating tube 27′. Said air gap 91′ prevents the seating unit 50′ from being heated by the heater 26. The Figure shows that the heater 26, which is fitted with a slight bevel 261 at its lowermost end, is forced by the springs 29 against the conical surface 543′.
The lower portion 55′ of the seating unit 50′ includes two borehole portions 551′, 553′. The former borehole portion 551′ exhibits the smallest diameter of all four borehole portions 531′, 541′, 551′, 553′. It comprises the lower end 201 of the material feed pipe 20 which, in the shown embodiment variation, is no longer enclosed by the heater 26.
A further offset 552′ constitutes the transition to the second borehole portion 553′. Radial boreholes 51′ are fitted into the region of said offset 552′ and serve to receive nozzle tips 30.
The radial boreholes 51′ may be fitted with a widened section 511′ at their side facing the mold nest 80. A sleeve stub 56′ may be inserted into said widened section 511′. In the operational state, the sleeve stub 56′ spans the air gap 90′ between the seating unit 50′ and mold nest 80. Accordingly said sleeve stub constitutes an additional seal. It contributed to allowing the melt to reach only the region of the gate 81 and farther into the mold cavity, but not into the insulating air gap 90′ between the seating unit 50′ and the mold nest 80.
Similarly to the preceding illustrative embodiment mode, the nozzle tips 30 are inserted from the second borehole portion 553′ through the radial boreholes 51′. Preferably the diameter of the short tube 32 is selected in a manner that said short tube 32, when reaching the operational temperature, shall rest in sealing manner in the radial borehole 51′. The flanged collar 31 rests on the inside of the borehole portion 553′ and precludes the nozzle tip 30 from slipping excessively deeply into the radial borehole 51′.
The nozzle tips 30 are also prevented, by means of the manifold 40, from dropping toward the inside of the borehole portion 553′.
The embodiment mode variation shown in FIG. 6 furthermore comprises a second anti-rotation device in the region of the neck 41 of the manifold 40. This second anti-rotation device is a unilateral protrusion 412. It engages a matching recess 202 in the material feed pipe 20. Accordingly the entire manifold 40, hence also the seating unit 50, is made irrotational relative to the material feed pipe 20.
In this embodiment too, the manifold 40 when being installed is inserted in such a way into the material feed pipe 20 and the seating unit 50′ that each outlet aperture 451 is extended from the nozzle duct 34 of a nozzle tip 30 in linearly aligned manner. In the process, when in the operational state, the manifold 40 presses by its side surface 45 from the inside of the second borehole portion 553′ against the is nozzle tips 30, thereby preventing these tips from dropping out.
In this manner too, sealing is attained simultaneously between the nozzle tips 30 and the manifold 40, as a result of which melt leakage between these components is prevented. Such leakage suppression moreover is additionally supported by seals 36 that may be configured in the region of the flanged collar 31. Such additional means may be metal O-rings or the like.
Accordingly in this embodiment too, the manifold 40 acts like a fastener for the nozzle tips 30. It is clear furthermore that the nozzle ducts 34 communicate flow-wise—through the manifold ducts 64, the deflection site 63 and the main duct 62, hence also through the manifold duct system 60—with the flow duct 21.
The present invention is not restricted to one of the above-described embodiment modes, rather it may be modified in many ways.
Illustratively the melt might be guided from the manifold ducts 64 into the radial boreholes 51 to flow around the nozzle tips 30.
The heater 26 may be a thick film heater.
Where the heater 26 includes a heating coil, the protective tube 27 may serve to keep the heating coil in its guide groove. The protective tube 27 also may act as an insulating layer.
The manifold ducts 64 may be configured at an arbitrary angle to the axial direction A.
Conceivably too, the nozzle tips 30 may be configured only on one side of the injection molding nozzle 10. In that case the corresponding mold cavities then need be configured also only on one side. Again, such configurations also may be in several arcuate portions on two or more sides of the nozzle 10.
The nozzle tips 30 together with the gate apertures 81 may constitute one open gate.
Conceivably too, absent any thread, the seating unit 50′ may be merely plugged into the lower end If the shank part 162.
An adjusting muff 48 may be made as a separate component.
The seating unit 50, 50′ may be a heater 26.
As regards an injection molding nozzle 10 for an injection mold, comprising a material feed pipe 20 subtending a flow duct 21 communicating flow-wise with at least one nozzle tip 30, where each nozzle tip 30 is arrayed transversely to the axial direction A of the nozzle 10 and is fixed in position by a fastener, it follows from the above disclosure that said fastener advantageously shall be a manifold 40. The manifold 40 is insertable in longitudinally displaceable manner into the material feed pipe 20 and comprises a neck 41 and a base 42. A manifold duct 60 is subtended in the manifold 40, the neck 41 comprising a main duct 62 extending the flow duct 21, a deflection site 63 being configured in the base 42 and said base also being fitted with at least one manifold duct 64. The manifold ducts 64 run radially relative to the axial direction A.
Be it borne in mind that the nozzle tips 30 may be affixed in a seating unit 50 which is fitted with a central recess 52. Radial boreholes 51 run transversely to the axial direction A in said seating unit 50 and receive the nozzle tips 30. The central recess 51 receives the base 42 of the fastener 40, the nozzle tips 30 being detachably affixed by the base 42 in the seat 50.
The fastener 40 includes a neck 41 entering the flow duct 21 of the nozzle case 20, said neck 41 subtending a main duct 62 extending the flow duct 21 of the nozzle case 20 within the fastener 40 and feeding the injection molding material to be processed by means of the sub-manifold ducts 64 subtended in the fastener to the minimum of one nozzle tip 30 and/or to the minimum of one outlet aperture 35. Accordingly the fastener 40 constitutes a manifold fitted with a manifold duct system 60.
Again be it borne in mind that a nozzle duct 34 is fitted into at least one nozzle tip 30 and that the nozzle ducts 34 of the particular nozzle tip 30 communicates flow-wise by means of the manifold duct system 60 with the flow duct 21. Advantageously a seal 36 is fitted between each nozzle tip 30 and the manifold 40.
Furthermore the manifold 40 comprises an adjusting device 46 to align the nozzle tips 30 and the gate openings 81 with each other. Advantageously too the manifold 40 and the material feed pipe 20 are configured irrotationally with respect to one another, as also are the seating unit 50 and the manifold 40 and the fastener 50 and the material feed pipe 20. In every case the manifold 40 advantageously shall be made of a thermally well conducting substance.
All features and advantages explicit from and implicit in the claims, the specification and the drawings, inclusive design details, spatial configurations and procedural steps, may be construed being inventive per se or in the most diverse combinations.


A connector includes: a housing that is provided with a fitting opening at a side to which a printed wiring board is to be opposed and a housing wall surface; and a contact member that is fitted inside the housing through the fitting opening, the contact member including a U-shaped spring body and a U-shaped fitting portion engageable with the housing wall surface. After the contact member is fitted inside the housing and the housing is arranged on the printed wiring board, a lower surface of the U-shaped fitting portion is opposed to the printed wiring board and formed as a soldering portion.

The present invention relates to a battery connector, and more particularly to a battery connector for a portable device which is used by being fixed to a printed wiring board (PWB) by soldering or the like.
A battery connector is generally used by being connected to a subject substrate incorporated in an electronic device mounted on a printed wiring board (PWB). Terminal ends are exposed from a housing of the battery connector, and soldering portions project therefrom in flat form.
A 3P battery connector P1, which is a battery connector of a first related art shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, has three contact members 101 constituted by U-shaped spring portions inside a housing 100. As shown in FIG. 8 illustrating a cross section taken along line B—B in FIG. 7, a rear-end extended portion of each contact member 101 is bent toward the rear in an L-shape in a cross-sectional view. The rearwardly bent portion is formed as a soldering portion 102, and the battery connector P1 is attached by soldering to a printed wiring board 3 by soldering by means of one surface of each of the soldering portions 102 (see Japanese Patent No. 2711223, for example).
Further, a 4P battery connector P2 which is a battery connector of a second related art shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 has a housing 200 and four contact members 201 constituted by U-shaped spring portions. A rear-end extended portion of each contact member 201 is formed as a soldering portion 202 projecting toward the printed wiring board 3, and is attached by being inserted in an attaching hole in the printed wiring board 3 at the time of attachment.
Furthermore, both the battery connector P1 of the first related art and the battery connector P2 of the second related art are structured such that openings for fitting the contact members at the time of assembly in a case where the contact members are fitted in the housing at the time of assembly are not open on the mounting side of the printed wiring board.
In the battery connector P1 in first related art, the soldering portion 102 having the L-shaped cross section on the rear side projects from the contact member 101 rearwardly of the housing 100, and partially covers a rear surface of the housing 100. For this reason, after the battery connector P1 is attached at the soldering portions 102 to the printed wiring board 3, it is necessary to cover the exposed portions of the soldering portions 102 with an insulating cover. Therefore, there has been a problem in that the procurement of those parts and the attaching operation are required. In addition, as for the housing 100, since the rear surface side for attaching the soldering portions 102 is open, the sealing performance of the housing interior has been low.
In addition, with the battery connector P1 of the first related art, since it has the soldering portions 102 projecting rearwardly of the housing 100, there has been a problem in that the battery connector P1 cannot be made further compact. There has been another problem in that at the time of soldering the soldering portion 102 and the printed wiring board 3, amounting offset occurs due to the surface tension of the solder. Similarly, the battery pack disclosed in patent document 1 also has problems similar to those of the first related art.
With the battery connector P2 of the conventional technique 2 as well, in the same way as the battery connector P1, since it has the soldering portions 202 projecting from the housing 200 toward the printed wiring board 3, after the soldering portions 202 are attached to the printed wiring board 3, it is necessary to cover the exposed soldering portions 202 with an insulating cover. Therefore, there has been a problem in that the procurement of those parts and the attaching operation are required.
In addition, with the battery connectors P1 and P2 of the first and second related arts, the openings for fitting the contact members at the time of assembly in a case where the contact members are fitted in the housing at the time of assembly are not open in a direction toward the printed wiring board side. Therefore, the sealing performance of the housing after mounting on the printed wiring board is low. Hence, there has been a problem in that dust, a liquid, or the like can enter the housing interior, and a fault is likely to occur.


There is provided a resistor unit 115 for bypassing an output cell 107 of an interrupt request signal and an input cell 108 of an external interrupt factor, and the output cell 107 of the interrupt request signal is controlled to a high impedance when an internal power source is broken. Thus, an interrupt request signal sent from the external interrupt factor is given to a CPU when the internal power source is broken.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit for outputting an OR output of an external interrupt factor and an internal interrupt factor as an interrupt request signal to an outside and an interrupt request output method of the semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In some system structures using a semiconductor integrated circuit, an interrupt request signal given from an external interrupt factor is fetched into the semiconductor integrated circuit and OR control with an interrupt request signal given from an internal interrupt factor is carried out therein, and they are thus aggregated into one interrupt request signal and a notification of the interrupt is given to a CPU.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a system structure related to such a conventional interrupt processing. In FIG. 5, 501 denotes a semiconductor integrated circuit which includes an interrupt control circuit 511 for carrying out OR control of an internal or external interrupt factor. 502 denotes a CPU for processing an interrupt request given from the semiconductor integrated circuit 501, and 503 denotes a power supply unit controlled by the CPU 502 and supplying a power to the semiconductor integrated circuit 501. 504 denotes an external interrupt factor unit, and a low active interrupt signal sent from the external interrupt factor unit 504 is input to the semiconductor integrated circuit 501.
The semiconductor integrated circuit 501 is divided into an internal power source section 505a and an I/O power source section 505b by a power voltage supplied to the circuit, and is controlled by the CPU 502 and receives independent power supply from the power supply unit 503, respectively.
An input/output terminal cell is arranged in the I/O power source section 505b. 506 denotes an input cell for receiving an internal power source breaking mode signal from the CPU 502 in the power down mode of the semiconductor integrated circuit 501, 507 denotes an output cell for transmitting an interrupt request signal to the CPU 502, and 508 denotes an input cell for receiving an interrupt request signal generated from the external interrupt factor unit 504.
Since the internal power source section 505a and the I/O power source section 505b are operated at different voltages, a signal is transferred between a logic arranged in the internal power source section 505a and a logic arranged in the I/O power source section 505b through a voltage level shifter circuit. For this reason, the output cell 507 and the input cell 508 include voltage level shifter circuits 509 and 510, respectively.
The internal power source breaking mode signal is "1" active and the CPU 502 sets the same signal to be "1", thereby reporting the breaking of an internal power source to the semiconductor integrated circuit 501 in advance. Prior to a transition to the power down mode of the semiconductor integrated circuit 501, the CPU 502 first sets the internal power source breaking mode signal to be sent to the input cell 506 of the semiconductor integrated circuit 501 to be "1" and the logic of the output cell of the I/O power source section 505b is fixed to either of stable directions of "H" and "L".
The output cell 507 is fixed to "H" in an internal power source breaking mode.
Then, the CPU 502 issues the internal power source breaking instruction of the semiconductor integrated circuit to the power supply unit 503, and the power supply unit 503 breaks a power source for the internal power source section 505a of the semiconductor integrated circuit 501. By such a serial procedure, the semiconductor integrated circuit 501 is subjected to a transition to the power down mode.
An interrupt control circuit 511 is provided in the internal power source section 505a, and carries out OR control of an external interrupt factor 512 output from the external interrupt factor unit 504 and transmitted to the internal power source section 505a through the input cell 508 and an internal interrupt factor group 513 generated in another circuit of the internal power source section 505a, and finally aggregates them into one interrupt request signal 514 and gives a notification to the CPU 502 through the output cell 507.
A technique for treating an interrupt signal related to the power down mode transition has been disclosed in Patent Document 1.
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-9-44278 gazette
[Problems that the Invention is to Solve]
In the structure according to the conventional embodiment, however, the internal power source section is shut-off in the power down mode of the semiconductor integrated circuit, and at the same time, the interrupt control circuit provided in the internal power source section becomes inoperable and the output cell of the interrupt request signal which is provided in the I/O power source section is fixed to "H". Even if an interrupt request is given from the external interrupt factor to the input cell of the semiconductor integrated circuit, therefore, the notification cannot be sent to the CPU.
In this case, the notification, to the CPU, of the interrupt request given from the external interrupt factor is stopped while the semiconductor integrated circuit is set in the power down mode. If the notification cannot be stopped, an interrupt request signal input for the external interrupt factor is to be provided on the CPU side separately from the input of the interrupt request signal sent from the output cell of the semiconductor integrated circuit.

Semiconductor integrated circuit and interrupt request output method thereof

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An information storage medium having a plurality of information storage layers, each of which includes an optimal power control (OPC) area for obtaining an optimal recording condition, wherein OPC areas in odd-numbered and even-numbered information storage layers are disposed not to face each other and not to contact each other, or partially overlap each other and lock out use of the overlapped portion. Therefore, when an OPC area of one information storage layer performs OPC, this OPC does not affect another information storage layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recordable information storage media, and more particularly, to an information storage medium which minimizes an influence of optimal power control (OPC) process executed in an OPC area included in each of information storage layers upon other information storage layers of the information storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
General information storage media are widely used as information recording media of optical pickup apparatuses for recording/reproducing data in a non-contact way. Optical disks are used as the information storage medium and classified as compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs) according to their information storage capacity. Examples of recordable, erasable, and reproducible optical disks are 650 MB CD-R, CD-RW, 4.7 GB DVD+RW, and the like. Furthermore, high density-DVDs (HD-DVDs) having a recording capacity of 25 GB or greater are under development.
As described above, information storage media have been developed to have a greater recording capacity. The recording capacity of an information storage medium can be increased in two representative ways of: 1) reducing the wavelength of a recording beam emitted from a light source; and 2) increasing the numerical aperture of an objective lens. In addition, there is a way of forming a plurality of information storage layers.
FIGS. 1A and 1B schematically illustrate a dual-layered information storage medium having first and second information storage layers L0 and L1. The first and second information storage layers L0 and L1 include first and second optimal power control (OPC) areas 111 and 121, respectively, for obtaining optimal writing power and first and second defect management area (DMAs) 115 and 125, respectively. The first and second OPC areas 111 and 121 face each other (i.e, are disposed at a common radius relative to an inner or outer boundary of the information storage medium).
Data is recorded in the first and second OPC areas 111 and 121 using various levels of writing power to find the optimum writing power. Hence, data may be recorded with a higher level of power than the optimum writing power. Table 1 shows variations in the jitter characteristics of each of the first and second information storage layers L0 and L1 when data is recorded in the OPC areas 111 and 121 with different levels of writing power.
TABLE 1Writing powerabout 20%higher thannormal writingNormal writing powerpowerL0WritingUn-WritingWrittenWritingWrittenwrittenL1UnwrittenWritingWrittenWritingWrittenWritingJitterL05.9%6.0%5.8%5.9%->6.4%L16.3%6.2%6.3%6.2%->6.3%WritingL06.46.36.37.56.4PowerL16.06.06.26.07.2
According to Table 1, if data is recorded with normal writing power, the jitter characteristics of the first or second information storage layer L0 or L1 keep constant. On the other hand, if data is recorded with writing power about 20% higher than the normal writing power, the jitter characteristics of the OPC area of the first or second information storage layer L0 or L1 in which data has already been recorded are degraded. If data is recorded on one of the first and second information storage layers L0 and L1 with writing power more than 20% higher than the normal writing power, it can be expected that the jitter characteristics of the other information storage layer may be further degraded.
Hence, if the first and second OPC areas 111 and 121 of the first and second information storage layers L0 and L1 exist within an equal radius as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, one of them may not be usable.
The recording status of one of the first and second OPC areas 111 and 121 may affect the recording characteristics of the other OPC area. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, if data has been recorded on a part 111a of the first OPC area 111 and no data has been recorded on the residual area 111b thereof, the recording property of a part of the second OPC area 121 which corresponds to the occupied part 111a of the first OPC area 111 is different from that of a part of the second OPC area 121 which corresponds to the unoccupied part 111b of the first OPC area 111. In other words, since the transmittance of a laser with respect to the occupied part 111a of the first OPC area 111 is different from the transmittance of a laser with respect to the unoccupied part 111b thereof, the recording property of the second OPC area 121 may be irregular over the area.
As described above, if the first and second OPC areas are disposed within an equal radius, they may not properly function.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method of recording and/or reproducing data with respect to a multi-layer information storage medium having optimal power control areas


The present invention relates to a method of processing allograft skin for transplantation and a cryopreserved allograft skin produced thereby. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method in which a cryoprotectant is prepared by adding sucrose to basic constituents comprising dimethyl sulfoxide, an animal cell culture medium and fetal bovine serum, and then the resulting solution is used to subject skin tissue for transplantation to a freezing process.

Skin is the largest organ, covering the entire human body, and has functions of preventing loss of body fluid, influx of toxic substances and microbes from the external, and protecting the body from physical and chemical stimuli. In the case of a patient whose skin is seriously impaired by severe burns, injury, carcinoma excision, skin diseases and the like, a protective membrane is needed to prevent infection of impaired regions and the loss of body fluid, along with not leaving a scar at the impaired region and preventing serious shrinkage accompanied by the process of spontaneous cure. For regenerating impaired skin tissue, there are three methods of autograft in which a patient's own skin is transplanted, allograft in which the skin of another human being is transplanted and xenograft in which the skin of an animal is transplanted. Among them, autograft is the most ideal. However, when burnt areas are extensive, there is a limitation in the region from which skin tissue may be obtained, and the harvesting region can leave a new scar. Allograft plays a greater role in helping the movement of cells at the periphery of the impaired region and curing than permanent engraftment.
Specifically, in the case of a third-degree burn in which epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous layers are impaired, skin grafting is essentially required. At present, autograft is most often used as skin grafting. However, harvesting autograft tissue creates a new injury, increasing patient's pain, time for complete recovery can be extended, and the economic burden is greater. In addition, when insufficient healthy regions remain—as with a severely burned patient—autograft cannot be applied or grafting operations should be performed repeatedly. To resolve the above problems, allograft using the skin of another person and xenograft using the skin of an animal such as a pig have been tried. However, other side effects as well as immunorejection often result.
In the case of burn surgeries which are most generally performed in domestic and foreign hospitals, the dead epidermis and dermis layers are removed and skin grafting is then carried out by using an acellular dermis in which the epidermis and cells in the dermis are removed from skin harvested from a corpse to avoid immunorejection. Cultured keratinocytes will then complete the entire skin thereon. Because such a completed skin includes basement membrane, it can play a role in protecting the body from external hazardous substances. However, such a skin graft is very expensive and has a problem in balancing supply and demand since most skin grafts are imported.
In addition, the conventional method for processing skin harvested from a donor is a glycerol preservation in which skin is treated with sequential concentrations of glycerol. However, the above method has a problem wherein treatment duration is long since cell viability is low.

Method of processing allograft skin for transplantation, and cryopreserved allograft skin produced thereby


A barrier alarm for positioning adjacent a door opening includes an elongated tubular body having a vibration-sensing relay fitted thereto. The relay is able to distinguish between a smooth, continuous movement such as associated with the swinging arc motion effected by a breeze and the instantaneous vibration effected by being impacted by a rigid object. The power source may be integrated with the body or may be remote. The power source may be a direct current source or may be an alternating current source. The alarm may be audible or visible or both. The alarm may be integrated with the body or may be remotely positioned. The barrier alarm may be provided in an array that is horizontally-positioned with respect to the top portion of the door jamb or may be vertically positioned with respect to the door. A combination of this arrangement may be used.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to alarm systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to an alarm system having sensors positionable along the top or sides of a door opening so as to announce when an article strikes one or more of the sensors, thus alerting a vehicle operator that the size of the article is too great to pass through the door.
II. Background of the Invention
The movement of wheeled vehicles around, between and through structures often creates considerable risk of damage. For example, because of the narrowness of throughways and the restricted height of parking structures or parking decks, automobiles navigating such structures frequently risk impacting pillars, walls, or ceilings. Similarly, automobiles driving around and through drive-up windows at fast-food restaurants or in banks suffer the same potential hazards. Articles of manufacture are frequently moved within the manufacturing facility, a warehouse, or a retail store before finding their way to the end user. Frequently these objects are moved through doors or other passageways formed in or adjacent to the building. Frequently these articles are moved by hand, but even more frequently such articles are moved by motorized vehicles such as high-lows.
The construction of a typical high-low is such that the operator is positioned in such a place so as to have an unobstructed view of his environment at such time as there is no load on the vehicle. However, when the vehicle is loaded with one or more boxes, crates, or uncrated but bulky goods, the operator's view is often obstructed, particularly when the grids are elevated to enable the vehicle to move about. In such circumstances, the first point of view to be compromised is the view directly in front of the operator.
The result of this obstructed view is too frequently damaged goods and a damaged header above the door frame. Not only is the damage to the header costly, frequently ranging in the thousands of dollars, this damage also compromised the structural integrity of the door as a whole, even when correctly repaired. This presents a safety problem. A similar situation arises when a load is overly wide for a door opening. When the operator attempts to pass through the doorway with such a load, again the goods are damaged as well as the sides of the door frame.
Little, if anything, has been done to alleviate this problem. A variety of alarm systems are known of both the mechanical and electronic type. These include, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,612,460, issued Oct. 12, 1971, to Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,806, issued Feb. 18, 1992, to Willis et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,296, issued Jul. 27, 1993, to Giltz et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,016, issued Dec. 12, 1995, to Haney. However, these alarm systems, without more, fail to effectively or efficiently address the problems associated with the movement of goods and boxes within the shop, warehouse, or place of manufacture. Accordingly, there remains wanting a system which will protect the door frame of a door during movement of articles therethrough.

Alarm system to assist in gauging the size of a door opening


A communication system for an organization having multiple sites uses a dual-mode device capable of both cell phone communication and telephone communication on a local area network (LAN). IP LANS are established at organization sites such that a temporary IP address is assigned to a dual-mode device that logs onto an organization LAN, and the IP address is associated at a PSTN-connected server on the LAN with the cell phone number of the communication device. The IP server notifies a PSTN-connected routing server when a device logs on to a LAN, and also provides a destination number for the IP server. Cell calls directed to the device are then redirected to the IP server and directed to the device connected to the LAN.

The art of telephony communication has grown in proportion with improved telephony infrastructure, equipment, and methods of practice. Conventionally and historically telephone communication has been practiced by use of networks that provide dedicated connections and guaranteed bandwidth, such as in Publicly Switched Telephony Networks (PSTN). In such networks a call placed from a telephone connected to a local service is switched over dedicated channels to a destination, and as long as the connection is maintained, the dedicated path, having a dedicated bandwidth, is also maintained. Such networks may be termed Connection Oriented/Switched Telephony (COST) networks.
More recently, with the development of extensive data networks, of which the well-known Internet is a prime example, a newer type of telephony communication has been introduced. This form of telephony is termed herein Data Network Telephony (DNT), and, in the context of the Internet data network Internet Protocol Network Telephony (IPNT). Data networks typically link computers over one or more sub-nets, which may include local area networks (LAN), wide area networks (WAN) such as the Internet, company Intranets, and combinations of these and other data networks. IPNT telephony may be practiced on any suitable switched-packet data network whether wired or wireless provided suitable protocol is supported.
In DNT, such as IPNT, dedicated connections are not generally provided. Instead, digital audio data is prepared in standardized audio packets complete with header information and the like. The packets are prepared in near real-time and broadcast over the data network(s) connecting involved computers or telecommunications devices adapted for DNT applications. The header for each packet includes a destination for the packet.
Data Network Telephony, such as IPNT is well known in the art, and wireless data transmission is also quite well known in many applications. Internet service providers, for example, are recently providing high data-rate wireless Internet access by satellite systems, and, where bandwidth is not substantially restricted at the receiver's end.
The problems for Data Network Telephony in wireless systems are related to the real-time nature of telephony data and the typically limited bandwidth available in such systems. In relatively high-bandwidth systems having a relatively large number of users the distribution probabilities provide a situation where it is uncommon for several or many users to demand unusual bandwidth at the same time. The phenomenon is known in the art as averaging. Even with known high-use times, it can be expected that distribution will be such that bandwidth will be adequate.
A contributing problem is in the nature of real-time audio data as opposed to data transmitting stored documents and the like, which may be called data-data as opposed to voice-data. Data-data such as graphics files, text files, and the like are stored and prepared for transmission wherein the file size is known. Late-arriving packets is not an issue as downloading is not complete until every packet is received. If for some reason transmission is lost, a re-connect may be performed to retrieve the rest of the file. Voice-data packets for real-time conversations are different. The packets for voice-data have to be prepared and transmitted in essentially real time in both directions or a meaningful conversation cannot be held. COST connections and wireless connections, wherein bandwidth is assured, have no problem with real-time voice communication.
More recent developments regarding quality-of-service (QOS) and analog-to-IPNT conversion and compression techniques have greatly improved the capability of IP networks having a lesser assurance of available bandwidth to facilitate real-time communication wherein the caller is calling from a cellular or a COST network.
With respect to Internet Protocol (IP) networks that are private and set up by companies to, for example, cover a large technical campus, it is known to the inventors that calls may arrive from COST or cellular digital networks, and to be converted to IPNT format for distribution to addressed telecommunications devices that are connected to the network. For example, certain connected computers, DNT capable telephones, and the like are capable of receiving from, and sending calls to a cellular or COST network such as a PSTN network. Such an IP network is usually of the form of a wired LAN such as an Extranet or Intranet. However, it is known to the inventor that such networks may also operate in various wireless technology modes such as a code-division-multiple-access CDMA or a time-division-multiple-access (TDMA) convention. The well-known cellular system is typically a variation of the latter. RF, microwave, and infrared technologies are also used. Improvements in bandwidth-reserving technology combined with smart IPNT routing capability such as is known to the inventor have made accepting COST or cellular calls from an out-side network practical.
Often, company sites maintaining LAN's as described above, whether wired or wireless, have frequent visitors from other sites, and the visitors are not resident employees and therefore typically do not have LAN-connected communication devices personally addressed to them at the visited campus. Such individuals may be required to move from one site to another spending an unpredictable time at each site. Consultants, sales people, regional managers, and the like make up this category of possible visitors. An especially large organization, such as a government organization, may have a large number of such visitors or mobile employees roaming through the sites at any given time.
Typically, such individuals would carry cellular telephones or equivalent devices for communication with, for example, callers from a home office, or other business calls. Depending on where such an individual lives or works, he or she may be required to extend the mobile communication range of a cellular device. This is termed roaming in the art. If the organization is significantly large or distributed over a large geographic region, he may have to roam over more than one service area. The cost of communication on a cellular phone increases has he roams further from a primary service area.
Often individuals use telephones designated to resident individuals or workers at a visited location to avoid costly cell charges. However, such resident individuals may be inconvenienced by having to take calls for the visitors. If calls are many, the resident individuals duties may be interrupted. It would be desirable then, to have a cell phone or equivalent device adaptable to a wireless or wired IP network at the location or site that a person may be visiting, and have incoming calls forwarded to the connected to the device. Such a telephone device and a system cooperating with the device, could enable substantial cost savings for the sponsoring organization.
What is clearly needed is a method and apparatus that would allow a visitor to an IP LAN-connected site to plug in or otherwise connect his or her mobile telephone device to the local IP LAN, so that calls coming from any source network may be routed to the user's device on the LAN.

Telecommunication system for automatically locating by network connection and selectively delivering calls to mobile client devices

Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.


A compact dynamoelectric machine having a rotor with a length which is less than the length of a corresponding stator core. The rotor is rotatable on a shaft supported by bearings, with at least one of the bearings being positioned longitudinally within the stator core. Two endshields define opposite ends of the machine. One of the endshields is configured for holding electronic components in arrangement integrated with the machine.

This invention relates generally to dynamoelectric machines, and in particular to an integrated starter generator having a rotor of decreased length to meet space constraints while maintaining efficient performance.
Dynamoelectric machines such as electric motors convert energy between electrical current and mechanical motion. As known to those skilled in the art, a machine typically includes a rotatable assembly, or rotor, mounted within a hollow core of a stationary assembly, or stator, which holds windings of insulated wire. The windings are energized with electrical current, causing the stator to magnetically interact with the rotor. The rotor and stator have cross-sectional shapes and sizes configured to minimize radial spacing between rotor and stator (known as the air gap), while avoiding any direct physical contact which could interfere with free rotation of the rotor.
Frequently, a machine must fit within a relatively small space, such as for installation inside an appliance, and yet maintain output or operational efficiency more closely commensurate with larger machines. Unfortunately, size constraints can reduce the generation of magnetic flux and torque. Typically, the stator core and rotor are each formed of a large number of flat, thin laminations of ferromagnetic material (e.g., steel) which are stacked to a desired length and secured together. The strength of the magnetic field and resulting output of the machine depend in part upon the size of the stator, and particularly its length. For a fixed level of electrical current in the windings, the torque output of a motor having a relatively longer stator is greater than the torque output of a motor having a relatively shorter stator.
Conventionally, the rotor and stator core have lengths which are equal. During manufacture, corresponding laminations for use in forming the rotor and stator core are die punched simultaneously in pairs from flat, thin-gauge sheets of material. Typically, all of these pairs of laminations are used to stack the stator core and rotor to equal lengths because they each contribute to an improvement in the air gap permeance (i.e., the ability to conduct magnetic flux between the stator core and rotor). As known to those skilled in the art, permeance increases proportionally with the length of overlap between the stator core and rotor (i.e., the length of the air gap). A motor having a rotor and a stator core of differing lengths will generally conduct flux primarily along the overlap. Another reason previous machines have equal length rotor and stator core is that it is generally considered a waste of ferromagnetic material to discard laminations in forming the shorter component, as the laminations are available in corresponding pairs.
The need to package some machines and associated electronic components within an extremely compact space demands that the machine have a length which is small. For example, an integrated starter generator for an automotive vehicle must be packaged so that it occupies only a relatively small volume in a vehicle engine compartment (e.g., maximum length and diameter dimensions of about six inches). These size constraints are superimposed on the need for highly efficient operation, and can produce conflicting design guidelines. Although a reduction in stator core length would better meet space constraints, that would reduce torque output or, alternatively, require an increase in electrical current to maintain equivalent magnetic flux and torque. The latter degrades efficiency because additional electrical current brings an increase in iron and copper losses and related heat generation. Further, the ferromagnetic materials cannot support infinite magnetic flux densities. They tend to "saturate" at a certain level (dictated by the dimensions and geometry of the part) such that further increases in magnetic field force do not result in proportional increases in magnetic field flux. When the stator becomes magnetically saturated, an increase in electrical current fails to produce a substantial increase in torque output.
Further aggravating the design requirements is the need to provide sufficient space for heat transfer in cooling the machine. The machine generates heat during operation which may degrade efficiency or damage component parts, such as the windings or bearings. One cooling approach which has been adopted is to install a cooling jacket around the outer circumference of the stator core. The jacket receives a coolant which is circulated through passages in or around the jacket to remove heat generated in stator windings and core during operation. Cooling is particularly challenging for a relatively small or compact machine, which has less area for conduction of heat from the stator core to the cooling jacket. A reduction in stator core length degrades heat transfer capacity and can result in inadequate heat dissipation.


A cylinder pressure detecting system includes a plurality of pressure sensors, each of which is provided for monitoring pressure in one of plurality of cylinders. The system performs data sampling of detection values produced by one of the pressure sensors corresponding to a cylinder in an intake stroke, and compares each of the sampled detection values and a predetermined reference minimum value to respectively set differences therebetween as offset correction values. These processes are performed for the respective cylinders. The detection values of the pressure sensors for the respective cylinders are corrected on the basis of the offset correction values so that the detection values detected by the respective pressure sensors coincide with each other.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system for detecting cylinder pressure in internal combustion engines for automotive vehicles. More specifically, the invention relates to a cylinder pressure detecting system which can decrease variation of cylinder pressure detection values in respective cylinders.
2. Description of The Background Art
In order to diagnose or detect combustion conditions in an internal combustion engine, cylinder pressure is generally detected by means of a cylinder pressure detecting system. Such detection systems have been disclosed in Japanese Patent Second (examined) Publication (Tokko Sho.) No. 41-5154, SAE Technical Paper No. 750883 and so forth. The disclosed systems are designed to detect cylinder pressure on the basis of an output of a ring-shaped pressure sensor which is sandwiched between mounting surfaces of an ignition plug which engages a cylinder head.
On the basis of the detected cylinder pressures in respective cylinders, a misfire is determined for individual cylinders. In addition, mean effective pressures Pi for respective cylinders are calculated on the basis of the respective cylinder pressures. On the basis of surge torque detected from fluctuation of the mean effective pressures Pi, inadequate settings for ignition timing and EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) for respective cylinders are corrected. Furthermore, on the basis of the mean effective pressures Pi, fuel injection amounts for respective cylinders are corrected so as to decrease variation of air/fuel ratios for respective cylinders.
However, variations in output characteristics are often produced in pressure sensors used for cylinder pressure detecting systems when they are manufactured. In addition, variation may be caused due to incorrect clamping torque when the pressure sensor is sandwiched between the mounting eye surfaces of the ignition plug for mounting therebetween. As a result, variation in output level of the pressure sensor is often produced.
For these reasons, the absolute value of the cylinder pressure detected by pressure sensor can not be accurately measured. Therefore, there is a disadvantage in that it is difficult to obtain predetermined accuracy in a case where determination of misfire, surge torque control, fuel injection modification control and so forth must be performed using a cylinder pressure detecting system of the aforementioned type.

System for detecting and adjusting for variation in cylinder pressure in internal combustion engine

Japan Electronic Control Systems Co., Ltd.


A simple digital holographic apparatus and method allow reconstruction of three-dimensional objects with a very narrow depth of focus or high axial resolution. A number of holograms are optically generated using different wavelengths spaced at regular intervals. They are recorded, such as on a digital camera, and are reconstructed numerically. Multiwavelength interference of the holograms results in contour planes of very small thickness and wide separation. Objects at different distances from the hologram plane are imaged clearly and independently with complete suppression of the out-of-focus images. The technique is uniquely available only in digital holography and has applications in holographic microscopy.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microscopic imaging, and, more particularly, to holographic microscopy for reconstruction of three-dimensional objects and optical tomographic imaging for selectively imaging cross sections of an object.
2. Description of Related Art
Imaging of microscopic objects is an essential art, not only in biology and medicine, but also in many other fields of science and technology, including materials science, microelectronics engineering, and geology. Modern microscopy takes advantage of discoveries on the interaction between electromagnetic and other fields with material objects, and has taken on numerous incarnations, such as electron transmission and scanning microscopes, the scanning tunneling microscope, the atomic force microscope, and the laser scanning confocal microscope (Isenberg, 1998).
Rapid progress in electronic detection and control, digital imaging, image processing, and numerical computation has been crucial in advancing modern microscopy. By equipping an optical microscope with a digital or video camera, a range of image processing and pattern recognition techniques can be applied for automated image acquisition and analysis (Herman and Lemasters, 1993).
One particular aspect of microscopic imaging of interest is the axial resolution or depth of focus. In a conventional optical microscope, the lateral resolution can be a fraction of a micrometer, whereas the axial resolution is typically several micrometers or more. This leads to two related difficulties: One is that the axial position cannot be determined with better than a few-micrometer accuracy; another is that the overlap of images from object planes several micrometers apart leads to blurring and degradation of images. Usually the only remedy available is physical sectioning of the specimen into thin slices, which precludes a large range of materials from being studied.
A remarkable solution to these problems was the scanning confocal microscope, developed just over a decade ago (Sheppard and Shotton, 1997). by illumination of a single object point and placement of a detection aperture at the image point, the detector behind the aperture registers a light signal originating only from the object point. A two- or three-dimensional image is constructed by pixel-by-pixel scanning of the object volume. The whole of the resulting image is sharply in focus, and the size of the acquirable image is limited only by the stability and speed of the scanning and processing system.
Another important optical scanning system is the near-field optical scanning microscope, where the light signal is probed by a highly tapered optical fiber at a distance only a fraction of an optical wavelength from the sample surface, thereby circumventing the diffraction limit of resolution in far-field imaging. However, the application of this technique in imaging wet and delicate biological samples has been limited because of the requirement to maintain a constant surface-probe distance with accuracy and stability. It is more suitable for the study of macromolecular structures, as with other related scanning devices that utilize electron tunneling, atomic force, and other subtle interactions on the atomic and molecular level.
Holography was originally invented in an attempt to improve the resolution of a microscope (Hariharan, 1996). Both the amplitude and phase information of the light wave are recorded in a hologram by the interference of an object wave that is to be imaged with a reference wave of simple structure such as a plane or spherical wave. The interference pattern is recorded in a variety of media, most commonly on a photographic plate. The object wave is reconstructed as one of the diffraction patterns when a replica of the reference wave is incident on the photographic plate. The resulting image is an exact copy of the light wave that originally emanated from the object, and thus has the property of perspective vision.
Because the holographic image retains the phase as well as the amplitude information, a variety of interference experiments can be performed, and this is the basis of many interferometric applications in metrology. It is possible accurately to measure deformation and other variations of an object at a submicrometer level because of advances in digital imaging and numerical computing technology. Thus it is often advantageous to replace steps of the holographic procedure with digital processes (Yaraslavskii and Merzlyakov, 1980).
In computer-generated holograms (CGH) the interference pattern is computed from a mathematical definition of a virtual object and reference (Trester, 1996). The patter is output to a hard-copy device, and laser illumination results in an optical hologram image.
On the other hand, in computer-reconstructed holograms (CRH), the optical interference pattern of a real object and reference is recorded using an electronic or digital camera (Schnars and Jüptner, 1996). The pattern is digitized and stored in a computer, and the holographic image is recreated on the computer by numerical calculation.
In either CGH or CRH, the numerical calculation basically imitates the optical diffraction process as the light wave propagates from the object to the hologram plane or from the hologram plane to the image plane. This can be accomplished using Fresnel diffraction theory or Huygens wavelet theory (Kreis et al, 1997). An important aspect of research in this area is in attempts to minimize the computational load using, for example, segmentation of holograms and horizontal-only parallax (Karnaukhov et al., 1998; Yang et al., 1998a,b).
Digital holography alleviates the need for wet chemical processing of a photographic plate, although at some expense of resolution. However, once the amplitude and phase (i.e., all the essential information) of the light wave are recorded numerically, one can easily subject these data to a variety of manipulations, and so digital holography offers capabilities not available in conventional holography. For example, the phase information of the light wave is available directly from the numerical reconstruction and greatly simplifies interferometric deformation analysis (Seebacher et al., 1998; Kreis et al, 1998; Cuche et al, 1999; Brown and Pryputniewicz, 1998).
Holography can be applied to microscopy in two alternative ways. In one, a hologram of a microscopic object is taken directly, and the hologram is inspected using a microscope; in the other, a microscope is used first to magnify the object image, and the hologram is taken of that image. Holographic microscopy has been particularly useful in particle analysis, where a particle count has to be obtained in a volume of fluid (Vikram, 1992). With a conventional microscope, the constant motion of particles into and out of the focal plane makes it difficult to ascertain an accurate count as the focal plane is scanned across the entire sample volume. A holographic micrograph freezes the three-dimensional field, and a particle count can proceed by focusing on successive planes.
Holographic microscopy in three-dimensional imaging applications has been limited partly because of the inherent scale distortion of an optical microscope image of a volume object. The axial magnification goes as the square of the lateral magnification, so that the two directions magnify with different ratios, and the lateral magnification also depends on the axial distance. When the hologram is viewed by focusing on a plane, the same problem of out-of-focus image blurring is present as in an optical microscope (Zhang and Yamaguchi, 1998; Poon et al., 1995).
Application of digital holography in microscopy holds potentially attractive benefits (Schilling et al., 1997). In principle, once the amplitude and phase information of the object image is numerically stored, it can be manipulated by image processing techniques for removal of distortion and out-of-focus blurring. Interference measurements can yield subwavelength resolution of features, and particle analysis and feature recognition can be automated with greater efficiency.
Another imaging technique, tomography, has been utilized in biomedical and materials sciences (Robb, 1997), with optical tomography most useful in microscopic imaging because of the short wavelength and limited penetration depth of most biological surfaces. For example, laser confocal microscopy (Sheppard and Shotton, 1997) uses aperturing of both the illuminated sample volume and the detector aperture, thereby rejecting all scattered light other than from the focal volume. Optical coherence tomography (Huang et al., 1991; Morgner et al., 2000) is a time-of-flight measurement technique, using ultrashort laser pulses or a continuous-wave laser of very short coherence time. In both of these methods the signal is detected one pixel at a time, and the three-dimensional image is reconstructed by scanning the three-dimensions pixel by pixel. Although microscanning using piezo actuators is an important technique, being able to obtain image frames at a time would have technical advantages.
By recording the phase as well as the intensity of light waves, holography allows reconstruction of the image of 3D objects, and gives rise to many metrological and optical processing techniques (Hariharan, 1996). It is now possible to replace portions of the holographic procedure with electronic processes (Yaroslavsky and Eden, 1996). For example, in digital holography the hologram is imaged on a CCD array, replacing photographic plates of conventional holography. The digitally converted hologram is stored in a computer, and its diffraction is numerically calculated to generate simulation of optical images.
With digital holography, real-time processing of the image is possible, and the phase information of the reconstructed field is readily available in numerical form, greatly simplifying metrological applications (Cuche et al., 1998). Previously limiting memory and speed factors have improved (Trester, 1996; Piestun et al., 1997). On the other hand, for the purpose of tomographic imaging, although the hologram produces a 3D image of the optical field, this does not by itself yield the tomographic distance information to the object surface points, other than by focusing and defocusing of the object points, which is really a subjective decision (Poon et al., 1995; Zhang and Yamaguchi, 1998a). The distance information can be obtained in time-of-flight-type measurements, or it can be determined by counting the number of wavelengths or some multiples of it, which is the basis of various interference techniques.
One technique is the interference of two holograms recorded at two different wavelengths, resulting in a contour interferogram with the axial distance between the contour planes inversely proportional to the differences in wavelengths. In digital holography, it is possible to extend the process to recording and reconstruction of many holograms without introducing any wavelength mismatch or crosstalk. If a number of regularly spaced wavelengths are used for recording and reconstruction, then the peaks of the cosine-squared intensity variation of two-wavelength interference become sharper and narrower, as when a number of cosines with regularly spaced frequencies are added.

Digital interference holographic microscope and methods


The method for re-establishing the shielding of the cables of a strand on an electrical connector consists, over an annular part situated at one end connected to the connector, in removing only the outer insulating sheath of each shielded cable without stripping the cables of their electromagnetic shield, in grouping the shielded cables together into a strand and in surrounding the strand with an electrically conducting tape forming a sheath re-establishing the shielding of the strand, the sheath re-establishing the shielding being positioned in contact with the electromagnetic shield of the shielded cables and connected to the connector.

One conventional method for re-establishing the shielding of an electric cable on a connector is to attach a shield re-establishing comb to the body of the connector and to solder, by hand, a first end of a shielding re-establishing wire to a tooth of the comb and a second end of the shielding re-establishing wire to the shielding of the cable. This method has the disadvantage of being complicated to perform because on the one hand it requires the external gold-plating layer of the connector to have been removed, and this presents a risk of damaging the insulating block of the connector and of leading to wiring anomalies, and on the other hand, manual soldering is a tricky operation and requires expert inspection. Moreover, this method does not allow the wiring to be repaired or modified and creates electromagnetic coupling between the wire re-establishing the shielding and the electrical wire of the cable carrying the signal. Finally, for a strand comprising a great many cables, this method needs to be repeated for each individual cable of the strand, representing a very long wiring time for each strand.
Another known method for re-establishing shielding is described notably in document FR 2 929 049. In this method, the ends of the cables are stripped. The individual shielding sheath of each cable of a strand is removed from an end portion of the cable and each exposed shielding filament of the cable is folded back away from the connector. The connection between the shield of a cable and the shield of the strand is performed using the exposed and folded back filaments of shield which need to be distributed uniformly around the circumference of the strand and held in place by successive windings of a filler tape. However, exposing the shield of each individual cable and connecting the shield of a cable and the shield of the strand are complex manual operations which are lengthy and tricky to perform and greatly degrade and weaken the stripped portion and cannot be industrialized.

Method for re-establishing the shielding of the cables of a strand on an electrical connector and assembly for connecting a strand