In one embodiment of the present invention a coating topology, or engineered surface architecture that may be referred to as a microdroplet deposited engineered surface architecture is provided. A plurality of drops are placed on the stent with the purpose, of building up individual units of coating material on the outer stent surface. This architecture results in a coating that uses less material, i.e., polymer, solvent, medicine, while at the same time providing for better, and determinable, drug kinetics, approaching 100% delivery and better mechanical operation of the coating binding to the stent.

Implantable medical devices are often used for delivery of a beneficial agent, such as a drug, to an organ or tissue in the body. It is intended that the drug be delivered at a controlled delivery rate over an extended period of time. These devices may deliver agents to a wide variety of bodily systems to provide a wide variety of treatments.
One of the many implantable medical devices that has been used for local delivery of beneficial agents is a vascular stent 100, an example of which is shown in FIG. 1. When coated with a material including a drug, the device is sometimes referred to as a drug-eluting stent (DES.) Vascular stents are typically introduced percutaneously, and transported intraluminally, until positioned at a desired location in the patient. These devices are then expanded either mechanically, such as by the expansion of a mandrel or balloon positioned inside the device, or expand themselves by releasing stored energy upon actuation within the body. Once expanded within the lumen, these devices become encapsulated within the body tissue and remain as a permanent implant.
Known stent designs include monofilament wire coil stents, welded metal cages, and thin-walled metal cylinders with axial slots formed around the circumference. Known construction materials for use in stents include polymers (biodegrade able and biostable,) organic fabrics and biocompatible metals, such as stainless steel, gold, silver, tantalum, titanium, cobalt based alloys, and shape memory alloys, such as Nitinol.
Of the many conditions that may be treated by stent-based local delivery of beneficial agents, one of the most important is restenosis. Restenosis is a major complication that can arise following vascular interventions such as angioplasty and the implantation of stents. Simply defined, restenosis is a wound healing process that reduces the vessel lumen diameter by either extracellular matrix deposition, neointimal hyperplasia, or vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, and which may ultimately result in renarrowing or even reocclusion of the lumen after intervention. Despite the introduction of improved surgical techniques, devices, and pharmaceutical agents, the overall restenosis rate is still reported in the range of 25% to 50% within six to twelve months after an angioplasty procedure. To treat this condition, additional revascularization procedures are frequently required, thereby increasing trauma and risk to the patient.
Various beneficial agents placed or deposited in or on stents are known. U.S. Pat. No. 5,716,981, for example, discloses a stent that is surface-coated with a composition comprising a polymer carrier and paclitaxel (a well-known compound that is commonly used in the treatment of cancerous tumors.)
Prevention of restenosis has led to formulations intended to lengthen the amount of time over which the medicinal agent is released. The balance between an amount of polymer, solvent, and agent, in a formulation, must be established but is not currently easy to obtain. The consequences of too much agent being released too quickly can be as harmful, in come cases, as not enough agent being released. In addition, the method and structure of the deposition of the formulation on a device must be considered.
An approach to creating a drug eluting stent, or similar device, that results in a safe and effective delivery of therapeutic agent or agents is needed.

Device with engineered surface architecture coating for controlled drug release


Methods and apparatus for generating and transmitting frequency division multiplexed signals are described. The methods are well suited for use where a device uses a small subset, M, of a larger set of N subcarrier frequencies at any given time. Each transmitted FDM signal is generated by combining a plurality of individual analog subcarrier signals whose frequency may change, e.g., be hopped as a function of time. Each generated analog subcarrier signal is amplified, e.g., power amplified, and filtered prior to being combined with other analog subcarrier signals. Filters are used to compensate for or correct signal distortions and/or reduce interference between subcarriers. Fixed frequency filters are used in an exemplary frequency hopping OFDM system. In another embodiment, the filters are programmable and change, e.g., in terms of center frequency, to match the selected subcarrier frequency as frequency hopping occurs. The bandwidth of the programmable filters may remain constant.

In Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) communication systems, the available spectral bandwidth W is divided into a number of spaced sub-carriers, f1, . . . , fN, which are used to transmit information. Specifically, information bits are first mapped to complex FDM symbols B1, . . . , BN. The signal to be transmitted, S(t), is constructed by individually modulating those symbols onto the sub-carriers over an FDM symbol duration, that is,S(t)=Σk=1N|Bk|cos [2πfkt+θk],where |Bk| and θk are the amplitude and the phase of complex symbol Bk, respectively, and t is the time variable. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) is one particular example of FDM.
FIG. 1 illustrates a known system 100 for generating and transmitting an OFDM signal S(t). In the known system 100, a digital signal generator 112, generates a sequence of baseband discrete complex samples of S(t), which are then converted to an analog continuous signal through use of a digital-to-analog converter 114. The analog signal generated by the D/A converter 114 is passed through a low-pass filter (LPF) 115, mixed to the carrier frequency by mixer 116, amplified with a power amplifier 118, and finally transmitted over the communication channel 120. The LPF 115 is normally selected as a function of the frequency of the signal generated by the digital signal generator 112.
In the known system, information to be transmitted on sub-carriers is combined in the digital domain so that by the time digital to analog conversion occurs distinct sub-carrier symbols do not exist, e.g., separate symbols corresponding to different sub-carriers are not available to be subject to separate and distinct digital to analog conversion operations and/or separate analog signal processing operations.
One major drawback of the known OFDM signal generation technique is the high peak-to-average ratio of the transmitted signal to be amplified. Loosely speaking, the peak-to-average ratio is the ratio of the maximum and the average powers of a signal. In general, the signal reception capability depends on the average power of the signal. However, to avoid nonlinear distortion such as signal clipping, the power amplifier at the transmitter normally has to operate linearly across the full dynamic signal range of the generated signal. This usually requires use of a class A power amplifier. As a result of the linear nature of the power amplifier 118, the power consumption of the power amplifier mainly depends on the maximum transmission power. Hence, the peak-to-average ratio is an important measure of power consumption given the quality requirement of signal reception.
In the OFDM system 100, the analog signal to be amplified is the sum of many sinusoid waveforms, e.g., sub-carrier signal. Assuming complex OFDM symbols B1, . . . , BN are independent random variables, the analog signal at a given time instant will tend to be a Gaussian distributed random variable, which is well recognized to have a large peak-to-average ratio. Hence, the transmission of the OFDM signals generally consumes a significant amount of power, which is very undesirable, e.g., for mobile transmitters using battery as power supply. Various methods have been proposed to reduce the peak-to-average ratio of the OFDM signals. The basic ideas in these methods is to arrange complex symbols B1, . . . , BN appropriately to minimize the peak to average ratio. However, in such methods, the fundamental structure of signal transmission of combining sub-carrier signals first and then power amplifying the combined signal is normally the same as shown in FIG. 1.
In order to overcome some of the power amplification problems of the FIG. 1 system, a system such as the one shown in FIG. 2 was developed. FIG. 2 illustrates a frequency division multiplexer signal generation and transmission system capable of generating and transmitting OFDM signals. As illustrated in FIG. 2, information bits to be transmitted on various sub-carriers are first mapped to complex OFDM symbols B1, . . . , BN, e.g., one symbol per sub-carrier for each symbol period, by a digital symbol generator (DSG) 202. Each OFDM symbol Bk (where 1<k<N) is then modulated to a corresponding sub-carrier fk using a corresponding sinusoidal signal generator 214, 214′ of signal generator module 204, thereby generating an analog sinusoid signal for one symbol duration for each sub-carrier. The symbol duration is equal to the inverse of the spacing between two adjacent sub-carriers, plus the duration of a cyclic prefix portion when present. Each complex OFDM symbol to be transmitted is used to convey information bits to be communicated.
In the FIG. 2 system, the sinusoid signal generators for each sub-carrier are fixed frequency signal generators. The signals (SS1-SSN) of the sub-carriers are power amplified individually. The amplification of individual sub-carrier signals is performed in parallel, e.g., by using different sub-carrier signal paths, each sub-carrier signal path including a single power amplification module 206, 206′ and a corresponding fixed filter 218, 218′. Each of the fixed filters 218, 218′ correspond to the particular subcarrier frequency of the subcarrier path and is used to reject high order harmonics relative to the frequency of the subcarrier to which the filter 218, 218′ corresponds. In cases where the filters 218, 218′ are implemented as bandpass filters, they will normally have a passband centered around the corresponding subcarrier frequency and a bandwidth corresponding to the distance between subcarrier frequencies. In such a case, if the subcarrier frequency spacing is Δf the filter 218 will normally be a fixed filter with a center frequency centered around f1 and a bandwidth of approximately Δf. Similarly, in such a case filter 218′ corresponding to subcarrier N, will normally be a fixed filter with a center frequency centered around fN and a bandwidth of approximately Δf. Fixed filters are relatively inexpensive to implement while matching filter cutoff regions to particular subcarrier frequencies has the advantage of reducing noise and potential interference between subcarrier signals which are later combined exclude signals, e.g., high order harmonics or other signals.
The use of fixed filters of the type described in regard to the FIG. 2 system works well when subcarrier signal paths correspond to a single fixed frequency.
Unfortunately, it is often the case that the frequencies on which a particular device may want to transmit information can change with time. In the case of a mobile device such as a PDA or other mobile communications device, the subcarrier frequencies upon which the mobile device is to transmit at any given time may change due, e.g., to changes in channel transmission allocations and/or the use of frequency hopping schemes.
In the case of a base station where the same set of N subcarrier frequencies is used on a continuous basis to transmit data, e.g., to a plurality of mobile devices, it may be practical to use N dedicated fixed subcarrier amplification and filtering signal path as shown in FIG. 2. This is because all or most of the N subcarriers will be used at any given time, e.g., with the data intended for different mobile devices being directed to the particular subcarrier signal path that corresponds to the frequencies allocated to the particular intended mobile device at any point in time.
Unlike base stations, mobile devices often use, at any given time, a small subset, e.g., M, of the total N subcarrier frequencies used in a cell at any given time where N>M. From cost, size and other reasons such as weight, in various devices, but particularly mobile devices, it is often impractical to provide a separate dedicated transmitter subcarrier signal path, e.g., amplifier and filter, for each of N possible subcarrier signals. This is particularly the case when only a small subset, e.g., M, of potential subcarrier frequencies N, may be used for transmission purposes at any given time.
In view of the above discussion, there is a need for improved frequency division multiplexed signal generation and transmission techniques. While the techniques should provide for low peak-to-average power ratios and therefore improved energy efficiency during power amplification stages of signal generation they should also be practical in terms of hardware implementation and not require separate subcarrier signal paths for each potential subcarrier frequency which may be used. It is desirable that at least some of the new methods and apparatus be suitable for use with frequency hopping schemes and OFDM signals and that at least some methods be well suited for use in implementing mobile communications devices, e.g., at reasonable cost.

Methods for generating and transmitting frequency hopped signals


A printed circuit board for electronic function control for a vehicle is created, comprising at least one actuator connection, of which a first part is attached to the printed circuit board and a second part extends away from the printed circuit board, and a connecting element, of which a first part is attached to the printed circuit board and a second part extends away from the printed circuit board, characterized in that the printed circuit board is coated, such that the printed circuit board and the first parts of the at least one actuator connection and the connecting element are protected, such that a seal against external effects acting on the printed circuit board is obtained. Furthermore, a system having a printed circuit board according to the disclosure is created.

The control of functions of a vehicle, e.g. the control of automatic transmissions, lamp functions, motor functions, etc. occurs increasingly more frequently via control devices, e.g. electronic control devices such as electronic transmission controls and similar so-called ECUs (electronic control unit). Control units present in current vehicles are connected to one another via different system busses such as CAN busses, Ethernet, etc. to form a so-called vehicle bus system. The control devices are disposed on printed circuit boards, which also have other interfaces to actuators or sensors, for example. This enables a control of the actual state of the system, such that in the case of a deviation from the target state, a control or regulation of the engine, solenoid valves, etc. can be initiated by means of corresponding actuators, in order to obtain a correction of the system state. The control of the system state occurs by means of sensors, for example.
Integrated control devices, as well as add-on and removable control devices are known from the prior art. Add-on and removable control devices have the advantage that, due to the limited number of components for the control device itself, they can be developed and produced relatively inexpensively. On the other hand, additional components are needed in order to enable a control of a vehicle, for example. These components are cables, wiring harnesses, or plug connections, for example. The numerous such additional individual components increase the chance of individual components malfunctioning, or become damaged during maintenance or repair work. Thus, through additional individual components, not only is more space needed, but also, there may be a drop in quality as a result of the increased probability of malfunctions. Moreover, there are higher costs for the overall device as a result of the necessity of purchasing more individual components. These problems are resolved in part through integrated control devices. With these control devices, as few components as possible are added on, such that a high level of coordination of the individual components to one another is possible, by means of which a high level of integration density is obtained.
Printed circuit boards for electronic function control for a vehicle must fulfill different criteria regarding their robustness. By way of example, it may be the case that the printed circuit boards, having the electronics located thereon, such as a control device, are placed in the hydraulic module of the vehicle, and are thus exposed, for example, to transmission fluid or hot (transmission or motor) oil. Because of this, it is necessary to protect the sensitive electronics on the printed circuit boards. In order to protect these electronics, printed circuit boards are encapsulated, such that the connections, such as the actuator connections and on-board electrical system plugs are protected from external effects. This is obtained in that plug connections or plugs and wiring harnesses between the printed circuit boards and the actuators and the on-board electrical system or bus system are attached to the printed circuit boards, which prevent fluids from coming in contact with the printed circuit boards and thus the electronics. The disadvantage with this is that plug connections or complex wiring harnesses require a lot of space, and furthermore, the system architecture is complex, expensive and prone to error.
For this reason, it is one objective of this disclosure to provide a printed circuit board for electronic function control for a vehicle, which overcomes the known disadvantages. Preferably, the function control is the transmission control of the vehicle.
This object is achieved through the features of claims 1 and 7. Advantageous designs are the subject matter of the dependent Claims.

Printed circuit board for electronically function control for a vehicle


A control system for use with an eraser for removing charges from the surface of the photoconductive member of an electrophotographic copying machine before the photoconductive member is uniformly charged by a charger. When the eraser malfunctions, completely or substantially failing to operate properly, the control circuit detects the malfunction and stops the operation of at least the charger to prevent a rise in the surface potential of the photoconductive member.

With electrophotographic copying machines, the surface of the photoconductive member is uniformly charged by a charger and then exposed to the image of an original to form a latent electrostatic image, which is thereafter converted to a visible image with toner particles. After the toner image has been transferred to copy paper, the toner and charges remaining on the surface of the photoconductive member are removed therefrom to make the photoconductive member repeatedly usable. Thus, after the transfer of the toner image during such a copying cycle, the residual charges are removed from the photoconductive surface to reduce the surface potential approximately to zero volts, permitting the charger to give a uniform potential to the photoconductive surface for the subsequent copying cycle. When the charge eraser malfunctions for one cause or another, completely or substantially failing to operate properly, the copy image is adversely affected, while the potential will abnormally build up on the surface of the photoconductive member, possibly causing damage thereto.
Although such faults are inherent in the operation of the eraser, conventional copying machines are not specifically adapted to detect the malfunction of the eraser and to effect the desired control in the event of malfunctioning.
Moreover since the malfunction of the eraser is usually very difficult to detect for the user, it is substantially impossible to preclude accidents such as damage or breakdown of the photoconductive member. In that context, there is also a need to provide a system for detecting the malfunction of the eraser and automatically controlling the charger and the like.

Control system responsive to eraser malfunctions in electrophotographic copying machines


A method for optimally controlling the carriage of a serial printer which is capable of printing line by line is disclosed. In controlling the carriage motor, until before the drive of the head, the carriage motor is controlled based on the head drive basic unit, i.e., steps of 1/360 inches, thereby making it possible to recognize the head fire position accurately. After the drive of the head, the carriage motor is controlled based on the carriage drive basic unit, i.e., steps of 1/120 inches, thereby reducing the number of interruptions in the central processing unit, and improving the system efficiency.

Generally, printers are classified as serial printers and page printers. A serial printer prints line by line, and included in this category are dot printers, thermal printers, ink jet printers and the like. A page printer prints page by page, and included in this category are laser printers.
The methods for driving the serial printer carriage are classified as two types. One type is to adopt the carriage drive basic unit per step drive as the criterion, while the other type is to adopt the head drive basic unit. In the case of a 24-pin printer, the carriage drive basic unit is 1/120 inches, while the head drive basic unit is 1/360 inches.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the usual serial printer. Referring to this drawing, a central processing unit (hereinafter termed "CPU") controls the overall operations of the printer, and contains a 16-bit counter by which the carriage drive time is decided. Further, the CPU stores a ROM memory device which can be externally provided in an alternative form.
A decoding circuit 10 connected to the CPU, controls the drive of a carriage drive section 20 or a head drive section 30 under the supervision of the CPU. That is, the decoding circuit 10 drives either the carriage drive section 20 or the head drive section 30.
Data buses which extend from the CPU are connected to the carriage drive section 20 and the head drive section 30, both of which receive various control data through the data buses.
If the carriage drive section 20 is selected by the decoding circuit 10 under the control of the CPU, it drives a carriage motor which is a step motor. If the head drive section 30 is selected by the decoding circuit 10 under the control of the CPU, it drives the head.
The conventional drive manner for the carriage and the head as described above judges the carriage drive time by means of a 16-bit counter which is installed within the CPU. If the relevant counting value corresponds to the carriage time table value, the CPU issues an interrupt. In such a case, the carriage is driven in accordance with the drive flow chart.
The carriage time table stored into the ROM within the CPU contains the drive values of the carriage motor such as time and distance.
The carriage drive flow chart is illustrated in FIG. 2, in which the carriage drive is carried out based on the head drive basic unit, and this method will be described below.
At first step S1, a judgment is made as to whether the carriage drive has forward direction. If it is judged that it has a forward direction, the head fire position is increased by 1, while if the carriage drive has a reverse direction, the head fire position is decreased by 1 (steps S2 and S3). The head fire position means that the position of the head lies at the printing position, and also that, in FIG. 3, the head moves from a font point A to a font point B. That is, the head moves from one font to another font, thereby printing a segment of a character.
Then it is determined as to whether it is in the current head fire position, i.e., the position to be printed, and if it is in the head fire position, the head is fired to print a character (steps S4 and S5). After step S5, the carriage count value for counting the movement of the carriage position based on the carriage drive basic unit, is decreased by 1 from the current carriage position count value. Then it is determined as to whether the carriage count value is 0. (steps S6 and S7).
If it is determined that the carriage count value is not 0 at step S7, the system is returned to step S1. If it is determined that the carriage count value is 0, an initial value is assigned to the carriage count value, and then, a determination is made as to whether the carriage is driven in the forward direction (steps S8 and S9). If it is determined that the carriage is driven in the forward direction at step S8, the current carriage position is increased by 1, while if it determined that the carriage is driven in the reverse direction, the current carriage position is decreased by 1 (steps S10 and S11).
After the completion of steps S10 and S11, the carriage is moved by a carriage drive basic unit, and a determination is made as to whether the carriage position lies within the constant speed region. That is, as to whether it lies within the region B in FIG. 4 (steps S12 and S13). If it is determined that the carriage position does not lie within the constant speed region at step S13, the carriage pointer is upgraded on the carriage time table, and then, the carriage count value is upgraded (steps S14 and S15), before returning to step S1. If it is determined that the carriage position lies within the constant speed region, the system is directly returned to step S1. The steps S5, S12, S14 and S15 are subroutine programs, and these are not shown.
The above described flow chart can be summarized as follows. When issuing a carriage interrupt, the CPU upgrades the head fire position, and the firing time is determined when the firing time is reached, the head is driven. Then the carriage position is upgraded, and the carriage count value is decreased by 1. If the value is 0, the carriage is moved by one step. Therefore as long as the carriage count value stays at 0, the interrupts have to be issued repeatedly, thereby lowering the system efficiency.
That is, the carriage drive is carried out based on the head fire basic unit, and therefore, in order to drive the carriage, the system has to be operated n (an integer) times before moving the carriage by 1 step, thereby resulting in lowering of the system efficiency.

Method for optimally controlling serial printer carriage


An image communication apparatus includes a communication unit for communicating a procedure signal associated with communication, and image data, a recording unit for ejecting a liquid droplet onto a recording member in accordance with image data received by the communication unit, a recovery unit for performing a predetermined recovery operation of the recording unit, and a control unit for determining according to a type of procedure signal transmitted from a calling side after reception of image data of one page whether or not the recovery operation by the recovery unit is executed.

The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus for ejecting a liquid droplet onto a recording member to perform image recording.
In general, a so-called ink-jet recording system for ejecting a droplet of a liquid such as an ink onto a record sheet according to recording information to perform image recording is known.
The ink-jet recording system has the following drawbacks.
(1) The ink-jet recording system often causes a printing error due to evaporation or drying of ink or clogging of nozzles with dust, and in a non-recording state, a preservation operation of a head such as capping is necessary.
(2) In order to suppress such a printing error, head recovery operations such as idle ejection of all the nozzles, an ink supply operation, and the like must be performed before printing, and a considerable time is required until recording is ready.
(3) When a head has a large number of nozzles, in particular, in a line head, a probability of omission of printing dots is increased.
Such drawbacks pose serious problems particularly when the ink-jet recording system is applied to an apparatus which has a relatively long standby time without recording, e.g., an image communication apparatus such as a facsimile.
Therefore, an ink-jet image communication apparatus comprising a recording head having a plurality of nozzles has not been realized yet.

Facsimile apparatus with ink ejection recording means recoverable between the transmission of consecutive pages of image data by another facsimile apparatus


A method in a portable data carrier for safeguarding the data carrier against external attacks on the data carrier, wherein at least one counter is employed in the data carrier. A specified command is safeguarded such that it is executed by the data carrier only when the at least one counter lies in a specified values range. The at least one counter is decremented before an execution of the command and incremented only when the command has been executed without interruption. The at least one counter here is settable multiple times, in particular even after the issuance of the data carrier to a user.

A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable data carrier having an operating error counter and to a method for safeguarding a command in the data carrier by means of an operating error counter.
B. Related Art
Operating error counters are used in connection with portable data carriers, for example chip cards, for limiting the unauthorized carrying out of security-relevant commands with the aim of attaining security-relevant data of the data carrier. It is known here for example to limit the number of successive false inputs. If this number is overshot the data carrier is blocked. By means of an operating error counter it is also possible to recognize attacks of other kinds on arbitrary commands executed on the data carrier. If for example a computation executed by a command is disturbed by an external action on the data carrier with the aim of spying out secret data involved in the computation using the disturbed result, this can be recognized inside the data carrier by the computation being repeated before a result is output. The output of a computation result is effected only when both computations arrive at an identical result. Otherwise, an attack on one of the computations can be assumed, and a corresponding operating error counter records this attack.
However, an attacker executing a hereinabove described attack on a command of a data carrier, which has been stolen for example, can recognize by an analysis of certain data-carrier parameters, for example by the current consumption, whether the comparison of the two computation results yields identity or not. Thus, the attacker has the possibility to deactivate the data carrier by interrupting the power supply before the operating error counter can record the attack. In this way the attacker can suspend the operating error counter, as it were, and carry out the attack as often as he pleases.
For this reason a newer practice is to already decrement an operating error counter before the executing of the security-relevant command, starting out from a specified positive initial value, and to increment it only when the command has been executed without interruption. In this way a hereinabove described attack can be safely recognized by the operating error counter, because an incrementing of the counter no longer takes place upon an interruption of the power supply during the carrying out of the command. At the next call-up of the command the reading of the operating error counter is accordingly reduced by one. If it is provided that the command is executed in the data carrier only as long as the operating error counter has a positive value, the number of attacks on the command is limited by the initial value of the operating error counter. Extensive attacking of the command can be safely prevented in this way.
But this kind of operating error counter has disadvantages too. If the counter is set too high at the beginning, i.e. ordinarily during the manufacture of the data carrier, in the initialization or personalization phase, there is a risk of the attacker succeeding in an attack at least with a certain, non-negligible probability. The security of the data carrier is thereby lowered. If the initial value is set too low, on the other hand, there is a danger of the counter dropping below the permissible minimum value in the course of the operating time of the data carrier through occasional operating errors of an authorized user or through technical disturbances which for example cause an interruption of the power supply during the execution of the command, and of the data carrier being deactivated, without an attack having taken place. The reliability and lasting operability of the data carrier suffer.
The object of the present invention is to propose a method for safeguarding a data carrier by means of an operating error counter, which combines high security of the data carrier with a reliable and lasting operability of the same.

Portable data carrier having an operating error counter


An anti-theft battery system for vehicles includes a control circuit which is connected in the starting circuit and responds to a starting current which exceeds a set point value to interrupt the starting circuit, thereby disconnecting the starter motor from the battery preventing starting of the vehicle, a reset circuit responsive to the control circuit which resets the control circuit after a delay interval to permit the starter motor to be connected to the vehicle battery, and an override circuit for generating an override signal for overriding the control circuit for a preselected interval of time to permit an authorized operator to start the vehicle, the override circuit including a small portable transmitter adapted to be carried by the vehicle operator and a receiver connected to the control circuit.

This invention relates to vehicle anti-theft arrangements, and more particularly, to an anti-theft battery system for a vehicle which prevents starting of the vehicle by unauthorized persons.
Various methods have been devised to prevent theft of vehicles. Vehicle anti-theft methods can be divided into two broad categories, namely those methods which cause an audible or visual alarm to be generated when an unauthorized person attempts to enter or tamper with a protected vehicle and mechanisms which cause the vehicle to be disabled in one way or another. Although audible and visual alarms may deter the theft of a vehicle, they do not prevent theft of the vehicle. Known methods which have been proposed for temporarily disabling a vehicle either are complicated arrangements which are adapted to be incorporated into the vehicle operating system or arrangements which require modification of operating systems of the vehicle. For example, anti-theft systems have been proposed which are incorporated into the vehicle braking system, the fuel line system or into the vehicle ignition and starting circuit. Although such systems are difficult to compromise, they are expensive to install. Anti-theft devices such as steering column locking bars present a challenge rather than a deterrent to an automobile thief. An effective system has yet to be devised which not only will prevent vehicle theft, but also is relatively inexpensive, simple to install and easy to use. This is evidenced by the continuing rise in the number of automobile thefts from year to year.
Thus, there is a need for an effective anti-theft system for vehicles which not only will prevent vehicle theft, but also is relatively inexpensive, is simple to install and is easy to use.


The present invention provides a self-emulsification type emulsion exhibiting excellent adhesion to olefin-based base materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene without using an emulsifier. The self-emulsification type emulsion of the present invention comprises a tackifier and a modified polypropylene resin having an anionic functional group, and satisfies (1) and (2) given below:

A method for adhering a base material that has low surface energy, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, has been studied, and designing an adhesive that has excellent adhesion to such a material has been known to be difficult. As a method for providing excellent adhesion to such a base material with low surface energy, one suggestion has been a technique in which the surface of a body to be adhered to is pre-treated with corona discharge, plasma treatment, etc., to increase the surface energy, followed by adhesion. While such a method is an effective technique, expensive equipment is required and power consumption increases.
Recently, products using olefin-based materials such as polyethylene and polypropylene are increasing in various applications such as for household articles around us and for industrial applications. In particular, in applications for vehicles, application of a molding material containing polypropylene as a material has been actively promoted in the trend toward automobile weight reduction. From such circumstances, effective adhesives that had been previously unavailable have been recently developed. This is also disclosed in Non-patent Literature 1 on page 139 under "2.1 State of Adhesion Techniques." Specific examples of the adhesive include those disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and 2. In addition, due to problems in the work environment, adhesives have been recently changing from conventional organic solvent adhesives to aqueous adhesives, which are more environmentally friendly. The examples are disclosed, for example, in Patent Literatures 3 to 5.

Self-emulsification type emulsion containing modified polypropylene resin

Abstract: (1) the modified polypropylene resin having an anionic functional group is dispersed in water in the absence of an emulsifier, and

Abstract: (2) a dispersion particle comprising the modified polypropylene resin having an anionic functional group surrounds the tackifier.


An ink jet recording system comprises an ink receiving member for receiving ink discharged from a recording head, an introducing device for directing the ink from the ink receiving member to a waste ink containing portion, and control structure, for controlling a relative position between the recording head and the ink receiving member so that the ink receiving member is not disposed in confronting relation to the recording head during an introducing process effected by the introducing device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a suction recovery device for discharging liquid from a pump after it was sucked, and a recording system such as a copying machine, facsimile, computer, word processor and combination thereof, having such a recovery device, and more particularly, it relates to an ink jet recording system wherein the suction recovery device of the above-mentioned type is applied to an ink receiving member such as a cap for receiving waste ink from a recording head.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, in an ink recording system wherein an ink image is recorded on a recording medium such as a cloth, paper, OHP sheet and the like (referred to as "recording sheet" or merely as "sheet" hereinafter), a recording head having an array of minute or small discharge openings has been used. Therefore, when bubbles and/or dirt are entered into the discharge opening or openings or when the viscosity of ink is increased due to the vaporization of solvent in the ink, which lead to the poor ink discharge or poor recording, or before such a poor condition occurs, a treatment for removing the factors leading to the poor ink discharge (discharge recovery treatment) has been adopted.
Normally, a preliminary discharge operation for discharging the ink from the discharge openings (for example, toward a cap or ink absorbing sheet or sponge) without recording an image on a sheet or a suction recovery operation effected by a pump communicated with a cap to generate a suction force in the cap has been used as the discharge recovery treatment.
On the other hand, within the recording system, there is disposed a waste ink tank for collecting waste ink produced by the discharge recovery treatment. Further, an idle suction operation for sucking the ink together with air by activating the pump while communicating the cap with the atmosphere is also effected in order to direct the waste ink contained in the discharge recovery device including the cap, pump and a waste ink tube connecting them to each other to the waste ink tank. This idle suction operation is very effective to prevent the residual waste ink from being solidified or from leaking out of the cap if the waste ink produced by the discharge recovery treatment is left in the discharge recovery device.
Further, such a pump has been used not only to suck the waste ink but also to discharge normal liquids to predetermined positions in various applications.
However, the idle discharge operation was generally effected at a high speed to prevent the delay in the discharge recovery treatment, with the result that the liquid sucked by the pump tended to flow backwardly or reversely. This tendency is particularly noticeable when the pump has been used for a long time.
Similarly, even when the idle suction operation is effected by a discharge recovery mechanism wherein the interior arrangement within a cylinder thereof is simplified by omitting a normal check valve mechanism, the above-mentioned back flow frequently occurs. In addition since the suction recovery mechanism requires a large installation space within the recording system, in order to make the recording system small-sized, it is needed to make the suction recovery device itself small-sized. However, the smaller the recovery device the more the above-mentioned back flow problem is serious. Thus, it has been recognized that it was important to solve this problem.
As mentioned, if the ink once sucked flows reversely, there arises a problem that the ink is scattered in bubble forms with air from the cap to adhere to a recording head opposed to the cap. The ink adhered to the recording head adversely affects an ink discharge condition. That is to say, the ink adhered to the discharge openings and therearound of the recording head pulls ink droplets discharged from the discharge openings, thus deviating the ink droplets from their normal paths.
Further, although a wiping operation is effected to remove the excessive ink droplets on the recording head during the discharge recovery treatment, if an amount of ink adhered to the recording head is great, a wiping blade is liable to become dirty easily, with the result that, when a large number of prints are continuously produced, the wiping ability is reduced, thus worsening the recording quality. Although it is considered that a special valve mechanism is provided for preventing the back flow of the bubble-form ink, there arises a drawback that the system is bulky and the cost thereof is increased. Further, when the ink flows reversely, the amount of the residual waste ink in the system increases. Under this condition, if the recording system is left for a long time, the waste ink will be solidified, thus resulting in the malfunction of the recovery device.

Ink jet recording system and recovery device used with same


One embodiment of the present invention relates to an apparatus for packaging goods in a box. The apparatus comprises a box erecting apparatus for erecting the box to receive at least one good. The apparatus further comprises an elevator lift apparatus operatively positioned below the box erecting apparatus, such that the elevator lift apparatus is positioned to lift at least one good into the erected box.

Packaging goods in containers for shipment was originally done by hand. Packaging by hand requires a person to unfold a container to be used, pack it, and then seal it for shipment. Automation replaces manual activities for more and more of these different packaging jobs, saving both time and money.
The packaging of containers has been automated at every stage of the packaging process. For example, if the containers are cardboard boxes, different machines can unfold them, place them in position to load them, load them, and seal them as well. Unfortunately, separate machines cost more money and take up more space on the production floor. The packaging of goods has numerous problems including cost, ease of operation, and speed.
The machines used for packaging are not only expensive to purchase they are expensive to operate. Operating expenses are first increased by the size of the machines. Current machines are up to ten feet long just for the container-unfolding portion. All of the equipment to unfold a cardboard box container, package it with goods, and seal it can exceed 34 feet in length. A large footprint that takes up a lot of room on the production floor means a larger facility needs to be built and maintained, or less equipment must be utilized.
Another problem with prior art packaging operations is that the operations are complex. As mentioned above, several separate machines are required to do each job in the packaging operation. First, equipment must be utilized to fold the box. Once the box has been folded, it must then be packaged by a separate machine. Once the box is packaged, it must finally be sealed by even another machine. Having been sealed the container is then finally ready for shipment. Designing a machine that does one or more of these jobs simultaneously, and in a small space, would be a great benefit to the cost and simplicity of the packaging operation.
Costs can also be incurred because of the way the boxes are un-packaged by the customer who receives them. When the containers, for example cardboard boxes, reach the customer, a person often manually unloads the container. Once the palette is unloaded, the containers themselves must be opened. One problem with cardboard box containers is that they are often opened with a case cutter or other sharp implement. These sharp tools can damage the goods contained therein. As a remedy to this problem, open-bottomed containers can instead be used. These containers utilize the surface of the palette upon which it is resting, or the top of the container below it, to replace having a bottom. When the goods are needed, a person simply lifts off the container to get at the goods contained inside.
An apparatus and method is needed for performing all of the above functions. It is further required that the apparatus and method performs compactly, cheaply, and quickly. Having a simple machine will further lower production costs and reduce the amount of equipment that is on the production floor.

Apparatus for packaging goods in an open-bottomed container and method for doing the same


A method of removing hot corrosion products from the surface of a component exposed to corrosive conditions at elevated temperatures, as is the case with turbine, combustor or augmentor components of gas turbine engines. The method is particularly suited for the removal of hot corrosion products from components protected with a diffusion aluminide coating, either as an environmental coating or as a bond coat for a thermal barrier coating (TBC). The processing steps of the method include immersing the component in a heated liquid solution containing acetic acid, and then agitating the surfaces of the component while the component remains immersed in the solution. In this manner, hot corrosion products on the surfaces of the component are removed without damaging or removing the diffusion aluminide coating. As a result, regions of the component from which the hot corrosion products were removed can then be repaired by a suitable aluminizing process.

The operating environment within a gas turbine engine is both thermally and chemically hostile. Significant advances in high temperature alloys have been achieved through the formulation of iron, nickel and cobalt-base superalloys, though components formed from such alloys often cannot withstand long service exposures if located in certain sections of a gas turbine engine, such as the turbine, combustor and augmentor. A common solution is to protect the surfaces of such components with an environmental coating, i.e., a coating that is resistant to oxidation and hot corrosion. Coatings that have found wide use for this purpose include diffusion aluminide coatings and overlay coatings such as MCrAlY (where M is iron, nickel and/or cobalt), which may be overcoated with a diffused aluminide coating. During high temperature exposure in air, these coatings form a protective aluminum oxide (alumina) scale that inhibits oxidation of the coating and the underlying substrate. Diffusion aluminide coatings are particularly useful for providing environmental protection to components equipped with internal cooling passages, such as high pressure turbine blades, because aluminides are able to provide environmental protection without significantly reducing the cross-sections of the cooling passages. As known in the art, diffusion aluminide coatings are the result of a reaction with an aluminum-containing composition at the component surface. The reaction forms two distinct zones, an outermost of which is termed an additive layer that contains the environmentally-resistant intermetallic phase MAl, where M is iron, nickel or cobalt, depending on the substrate material. Beneath the additive layer is a diffusion zone containing various intermetallic and metastable phases that form during the coating reaction as a result of diffusional gradients and changes in elemental solubility in the local region of the substrate.
Hot corrosion of gas turbine engine components generally occurs when sulfur and sodium react during combustion to form sodium sulfate (Na.sub.2 SO.sub.4), which condenses on and subsequently attacks the components' surfaces. Sources of sulfur and sodium for hot corrosion reactions include impurities in the fuel being combusted as well as the intake of sodium laden dust and/or ingestion of sea salt. In the latter situation, hot corrosion typically occurs on hot section turbine blades and vanes under conditions where salt deposits on the component surface as a solid or liquid. The salt deposits can break down the protective alumina scale on the aluminide coating, resulting in rapid attack of the coating. Hot corrosion produces a loosely adherent external scale with various internal oxides and sulfides penetrating below the external scale. These products are generally sulfur and sodium compounds with elements present in the alloy and possibly other elements from the environment, such as calcium, magnesium, chlorine, etc. As such, hot corrosion products are distinguishable from oxides that normally form or are deposited on gas turbine engine components as a result of the oxidizing environment to which they are exposed.
Traditionally, aluminide coatings have been completely removed to allow component repair by welding or brazing or to replace damaged coating, after which a new aluminide coating is applied by any suitable aluminizing process. Any hot corrosion products present in the coating are removed with the coating. A disadvantage of completely removing an aluminide coating from a gas turbine engine component is that a portion of the substrate metal is removed with the coating, which significantly shortens the useful life of the component. As a result, new repair technologies have been proposed by which diffusion aluminide coatings are not removed, but instead are rejuvenated to restore the aluminide coating and the environmental protection provided by such coatings. However, coating rejuvenation technologies for turbine blade and vane repair cannot be performed in the presence of hot corrosion products, since any remaining hot corrosion products would result in attack of the rejuvenated coating upon exposure to engine temperatures. Because hot corrosion products have required removal by abrasive grit blasting, rejuvenation technologies have been limited to components that have not been attacked by hot corrosion.
From the above, it can be appreciated that, in order to successfully implement a rejuvenation program for turbine engine components having diffusion aluminide coatings that are exposed to sea salt and other sources of sulfur and sodium, hot corrosion products must be removed without damaging the aluminide coatings. Treatments with caustic solutions in autoclaves have been successfully used to remove oxides of aluminum and nickel from components, but such treatments have not been successful at removing hot corrosion products for the apparent reason that the more complex hot corrosion products are not soluble in caustic solutions. Accordingly, the prior art lacks a process by which hot corrosion products can be completely removed without damaging or removing a diffusion aluminide coating.

Method of removing hot corrosion products from a diffusion aluminide coating


A solder-desolder system includes a hand held tool having an electrically heated soldering tip which is a hollow tube through which molten solder may be removed from the workpiece by a steady inward flow of air or by a strong impulse, vacuum stroke. Also supplied to the workpiece is a flow of solder melting hot gas which may be inert for improved soldering performance. The hot gas is directed over the heated soldering tube and may independently melt the solder or it may be utilized to preheat the work. In any event, the system provides in a compact hand held soldering tool a jet of hot air within which is a hot soldering tube tip within which a vacuum flow removes molten solder from the workpiece.. A further aspect of the solder-desolder system is a trigger in the handle of the tool which selectively connects the hollow tube to an ambient air driven venturi to provide the vacuum stroke. A base unit houses the venturi, a control circuit to remotely energize and temperature control the soldering tip heater, a gas control solenoid value, and a solenoid value to control the operation of the gas driven venturi. A rest switch in a cradle, for the hand held tool, deactivates these gas and/or air flow functions when the tool is at idle and is placed by the operator onto the cradle portion of the base unit.

This invention relates generally to the field of hand held soldering/desoldering tools and, more particularly, to such instruments which in part utilize a stream of gas and in part metallic conduction to convey heat from its source along a path to the soldering point, the term "hand held" being intended to include robotic or robot-like applications. The term "gas" as used here usually means ambient air, but may include inert or relatively inert gases such, for example, as carbon dioxide or nitrogen or the noble gases or the like as when oxidations, corrosive reactions, or other undesired chemical action is to be minimized.
The advantages of hot gas soldering have become known and understood in recent years and are discussed in detail in Applicant's United States Patents: HOT AIR SOLDERING AND RESOLDERING SYSTEM, No. 4,926,028; HOT GAS SOLDERING SYSTEM, No. 5,054,106; and HOT GAS SOLDERING INSTRUMENT, pending patent application ser. No. 08/14361, filed Feb. 5, 1993, by this applicant. Hot gas soldering by a stream of very hot gas with a small cross section can apply precisely the desired quantity of heat at the desired work point without deleteriously heating other adjoining or contiguous material or objects. In addition, the gas stream presents to the work point a substantially constant temperature heat source--unlike a conventional soldering tip the temperature of which inherently varies somewhat as varying amounts of heat are drawn therefrom and then replenished along a metal conduction path. A related advantage is that the gas may be heated instantly as it flows across, in heat exchange relation, the heat source and is instantly applied to the work point while a conventional soldering tool, exhibiting a significantly greater degree of thermal inertia, requires that heat be conducted through the solid components of the tool until the tip, inherently at some distance from the source, reaches a temperature adequate for working.
It may also be pointed out that by hot gas techniques, a low thermal inertial metallic soldering tip may be heated by an internally directed stream of hot gas providing most of the above advantages. In addition, although the soldering action is more like conventional soldering, the tip may be very desirably of iron composition since copper is not needed for its high thermal conductivity. Thusly avoided are the weight and expense of copper and its plating as well as its high vulnerability to decay by chemical reactions aggravated by its' intense thermal environment.
These and other advantages of hot gas soldering have not been fully achieved in the prior art because of the difficulty of generating the gas stream, satisfactorily heating it and providing means for shaping it and directing it upon the work point. Furthermore in a solder-desolder station having maximum versatility, it is desirable to be able to melt solder by direct metallic conduction and to draw away the unwanted solder, or its surplus, without cooling the workpiece or suffering the premature solidification of the unwanted solder.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an integrated solder-desolder instrument which achieves the advantages and versatility of melting solder by hot gas as well as by direct metallic solder tip contact and provides vacuum solder removal without cooling the workpiece, drawing oxygen or otherwise contaminating ambient air thereover, or having the molten solder solidify in the vacuum nozzle or duct.
It is another object to provide such a system which substantially instantly generates and applies to a work point a hot gas stream of predetermined cross section at a temperature of the order of 1500 degrees Fahrenheit and with a predetermined desired rate of heat energy flow to the work point.
It is another object to provide such a system in which the gas supply to the soldering instrument may be somewhat preheated by the electrical conductors conveying power to the heating element and in which the soldering instrument handle is cooled by the flow therethrough of the gas.
It is another object to provide gas heating apparatus for such a system which is exceedingly effective and efficient in supplying a very high temperature stream of air for soldering.
It is another object to provide such a system which is structurally simple, reliable, mechanically rugged, and inexpensive to manufacture.
It is another object to provide such a system in which the temperature of the heating element is electronically controlled remotely from the body of the soldering instrument itself.

Metallic conduction - hot gas soldering-desoldering system


In an information processing apparatus, when an instruction is issued to write back storage contents of a main memory unit that is non-volatile, data and a write destination address included in a backup data that is set with a read permission are extracted from the backup data stored in a backup memory unit that is non-volatile. Further, according to the data and the write destination address extracted from the backup data, the data is written to a storage area of the main-memory unit indicated by the write destination address.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a information processing apparatus that includes a non-volatile main memory unit and a data recovering method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, development of a technology related to non-volatile memories such as a flash memory, a magneto-resistive random access memory (MRAM), a ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM), and a phase change random access memory (PRAM) is in progress. In the non-volatile memory, recorded data cannot be lost even if a power outage occurs. It is anticipated that in the future, the non-volatile memory will be a substitute for a volatile memory such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) that is presently widely used as a main memory in computers.
If such a non-volatile memory is used as the main memory in the computers, data saved in the main memory or a status of a system will not be lost even if the power outage occurs in the main memory during processing of computer programs. The data stored in the main memory or the status of the system will be retained in the main memory. Due to this, when power is restored, computer operations can be easily restarted from a status at the time of the power outage, thus shortening activation time of the computers and enhancing operability. In the non-volatile memory, which differs from the volatile memory, a power supply device is not required for maintaining stored contents. Thus, reduction in power consumption of the entire computer, miniaturization of a battery, and longevity of the battery can be anticipated.
In an existing technology disclosed in JP-A 2005-107573 (KOKAI), when power is restored after sudden power outage in the computer that uses such non-volatile memory, interruption is notified to a central processing unit (CPU) by using a power monitoring mechanism for maintaining and restoring the status at the time of the power outage. The status of the CPU is saved in the main memory unit by using control software that is similar to an operating system.
However, in the technology described in JP-A 2005-107573 (KOKAI), when power is restored after sudden power outage, to restore a volatile system status such as a processor status, it is necessary to secure power when storing the system status in a non-volatile memory (hereinafter, "non-volatile main memory unit") at sudden power outage. For this reason, batteries such as additional capacitors are required. In other words, the batteries are not required for maintaining the system status stored in the non-volatile main memory unit, however, the batteries are required for storing the system status at sudden power outage. Generally, the battery used in the computer for concluding the writing process is a secondary battery. Thus, insufficient power is likely to be supplied if the power outage occurs frequently.
For adequate power supply even at the time of sudden power outage, battery capacity can be increased by using bigger batteries. By using the non-volatile main memory unit, it is anticipated that the batteries that are indispensable for volatile memory can be made compact or eliminated. However, providing bigger batteries to cope up with sudden power outage contradicts the earlier anticipation.

Information processing apparatus and data recovering method


A right regular container for mounting a cable reel also includes a flexible integral tongue portion for retaining, securing and protecting small parts and subassemblies to be used when installing a hardwired network such as typically used with computers.

The present invention pertains to hollow containers; more particularly, the present invention pertains to hollow containers designed for use with cable reels.
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in the number of computers being used in homes and businesses. In order to share both software and data, many computer users network their computers together. Such networks include hardwire connections between individual computer workstations and one or more network server computers and data storage devices. Hardwire networks are normally invisible to the individual computer user but for the wires which run between the back of an individual computer workstation and a small plastic panel mounted on a wall. However, to network a group of computers together with one or more network server computers and data storage devices requires numerous small parts and connection subassemblies between the wall-mounted plastic panel and the wires which run within the walls to other individual computer workstations and two or more network server computers and data storage devices.
Installers of computer networks typically prepare for their work by tallying the number of individual work stations, network server computers and data storage devices to be connected together. The installers then calculate the amount of wire needed and the number of part sets required to make the necessary connections to all the computers and data storage devices in the network. Because of ever changing conditions, miscalculations are often made. Such miscalculations may result in an undersupply of parts. When this occurs, the installation of the computer network is delayed, and the cost to the network installer increases because of the time and money needed to make up for the shortage of necessary parts at the job site. However, if all parts required to connect an individual computer workstations, computer network server computers and data storage devices together in a network were located together, it would then be possible for network installers to merely grab a single box of parts together with the required length of wire for each individual computer or data storage device to be wired into a computer network. Thus, the network installer would be assured that all necessary parts to complete the installation of the computer network are available when needed.
There is, therefore, a need in the art to provide a system by which all necessary parts for installing computer networks are provided to network installers in a single, easy-to-use package.


A method for the production of a superplastic Mg-based composite material comprises preparing a composite material consisting of ceramic particles formed of at least one compound selected from among TiC, AlN, Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, and TiB.sub.2 and a matrix formed of a magnesium alloy, dispersing the ceramic particles in the matrix, hot extruding the composite material, and then hot rolling the resultant extrudate; and a superplastic Mg-based composite material produced by the method.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a superplastic Mg-based composite material reinforced with titanium carbide particles, aluminum nitride particles, silicon nitride whiskers or particles, and titanium boride particles and a method for the production thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Magnesium alloys are the lightest and the highest in strength per unit volume among all practical metallic materials. Like aluminum, they have melting points around 650.degree. C. Magnesium-based composite materials reinforced with ceramic whiskers or particles excel aluminum composite materials in terms of specific strength and specific modulus of elasticity and are excellent in abrasion resistance, dimensional stability at elevated temperatures, and thermal conductivity. Moreover, magnesium alloys are capable of absorbing vibration. Thus, magnesium-based composite materials are expected to find utility in structures and mechanical components in the aerospace industry and the field of transportation equipment.
Particularly when utilized in the aerospace industry, these composite materials have to be press formed into three-dimensional structures, most of which have complicated shapes and large surface areas. It is, therefore, necessary that the composite material be capable of being rolled into a thin plate, the resultant thin plate be capable of being pressed into a desired shape, and the formed article consequently obtained exhibit better material quality than the material prior to undergoing the formation. For meeting this need, attempts are being made to endow magnesium-based composite materials with superplasticity.
The heretofore developed composite materials reinforced with superplastic ceramic whiskers or particles use a matrix of aluminum. Examples of well-known superplastic magnesium alloys include such Mg-Li type alloys as Mg-9% Li alloy and Mg-8.5% Li alloy (G. Gonzalez-Doncel, D. A. Ruans, J. Wolfenstine and O. D. Sherby: Materials Science and Engineering, 125A (1990) 195 p and K. Higashi and J. Wolfenstine, Materials Letters, IO-1/8 (1991) 134/137 p). These alloys are reported to have matrix crystal grain diameters in the range of from 6 to 35 .mu.m and exhibit a maximum total elongation in the range of from 460 to 600% at a strain rate in the approximate range of from 3 to 4.times.10.sup.-3 S.sup.-1 at a temperature in the range of from 453 to 623K. These superplastic properties are practically equal to those of the conventional superplastic aluminum alloys and fall short of satisfying the conditions for a high-speed superplastic material.
As magnesium composite materials reinforced with ceramic whiskers or particles, magnesium-based composite materials reinforced using SiC whiskers or particles are known to the art (Jun Sun Kim, Junichi Kaneko, and Makoto Sugamata: J. Japan Inst. Metals, 56-7 (1992) 819/827 p). Methods available for the production of these magnesium-based composite materials include the forging cast, the melt stirring and mixing (vortex) method, the compocasting method, the powder metallurgy method, and the foil metallurgy method.
A process has been studied for superplasticizing a magnesium-based composite material by using the forging cast to manufacture a magnesium composite material reinforced with SiC whiskers and extrusion forming the composite material in a prescribed shape (J. Japan Inst. Metals, 56-7 (1992) 819/827 p). The composite material obtained by the process, however, does not attain as a large elongation as expected, probably because of high reactivity between SiC and Mg. No magnesium-based composite material using a ceramic substance other than SiC as a reinforcing material has been reported to achieve superplasticity.
In the development of a method for the production of a Mg-based composite material, it is necessary to ascertain the optimum process in light of the properties of Mg.
The powder metallurgy method, for example, is not practicable because magnesium powder is explosive and highly dangerous to handle. The casting method has to be carried out in the ambience of an inert gas because a molten magnesium alloy is susceptible of oxidation. In the course of stirring the alloy melt in this method, it is not easy to thoroughly mix the reinforcing material with the melt in the form of a fine powder of a particle diameter of about 1 .mu.m. Further, since the melt being stirred extrains ambient gas, the produced composite material is apt to include numerous defects. Magnesium-based composite material produced by the casting method has therefore been regarded as inferior. The stirring and mixing method, however, proves most suitable for the production of commercial machine parts because it allows composite materials to be manufactured in large quantities at a low cost.
At present, superplastic Mg-containing composite materials having varying properties are in demand from the practical point of view. The present inventors pursued a study with the object of meeting this demand. This invention has been accomplished as a result.

Superplastic Mg-based composite material and method for production thereof

Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, Ministry of International Trade & Industry


A packaging machine includes: a linear type conveyance unit conveying a bag linearly in a first direction; a rotary type conveyance unit conveying the bag rotationally in a second direction; a delivery unit delivering the bag between the linear type and the rotary type conveyance units; a first processing system performing processing on the bag conveyed by the linear type conveyance unit; and a second processing system performing processing on the bag conveyed by the rotary type conveyance unit, wherein: the linear type conveyance unit includes: a first supporting unit moving from a first conveyance position to a second conveyance position while supporting the bag in a suspended state; and a second supporting unit which receives the bag from the first supporting unit at the second conveyance position and supports the bag in a suspended state, and the second processing system includes an opening processing unit.

A bag packaging machine is known which consecutively performs a plurality of processes on many bags. For example, a process of taking empty packaging bags consecutively out of a storage part, a process of opening each packaging bag, a process of feeding contents into each packaging bag, and a process of closing and sealing the opening section of each bag are consecutively performed, so that many product bags are manufactured in an efficient and speedy manner.
There are various types of the packaging machine like this, and for example, a rotary type packaging machine is widely known. In a rotary type packaging machine, typically, a plurality of grippers are attached to the outer edge part of a rotatable rotary table, and devices that perform various processes required for manufacturing a packaging bag (i.e., product bag) are provided around the rotary table. While bags supported by grippers are conveyed by the rotary table, various processes on the bags are performed, so that product bags are consecutively manufactured.
Furthermore, Japanese patent application publication No. 2002-302227 discloses a racetrack type packaging machine using an endless chain. In the packaging machine disclosed in Japanese patent application publication No. 2002-302227, a plurality of gripper pairs for gripping both edges of a bag are provided, at regular intervals, with the endless chain guided by a linear guide member, and by turning the endless chain, bags gripped by the gripper pairs are conveyed at a constant speed.
Furthermore, Japanese patent application publication No. 2012-240710 discloses a linear conveyance type packaging machine that linearly conveys a bag between a filling processing position and a seal processing position.
Furthermore, Japanese patent application publication No. 08-133212 discloses a packaging apparatus comprising a bag manufacturing part that manufactures a bag from a rolled film, and a reverse mechanism that shifts the position of a bag supplied in a horizontal posture from the bag manufacturing part so as to have a vertical posture. When this packaging apparatus fills into a bag with a fluidized powder and a solid material, the bag pinched by a first gripper is delivered to a second gripper via a sub-gripper.
Furthermore, Japanese patent application publication No. 2015-147594 discloses a bag transfer device that shifts a bag into which air has been blown in a horizontal state, into a vertical state, and then causes a gripper pair installed on a rotary table to grip the bag and conveys it.
Furthermore, Japanese patent application publication No. 2015-54702 discloses a printing packaging apparatus in which a package design is printed, by a printing device, onto a packaging member conveyed horizontally, and then the packaging member is filled with contents (i.e., pet food) and sealed.


A self-propelled infrared emission aerial target has an aircraft- or a missile-shaped body and a nose, wings and/or control surfaces, a system for feeding fuel and oxidizer to a combustion chamber in which combustion gases are produced and for supplying the combustion gases to a propulsion nozzle, and an infrared radiation emitter. The target has at least one conduit connecting the combustion chamber or propulsion nozzle of the propulsion system to a nose, wing and/or control surface of the target, or to an outside element attached thereto.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the field of moving aerial targets, in particular a self-propelled infrared emission aerial target having a body, a propulsion system, and an infrared radiation emission system.
2. Description of Related Art
Self-propelled aerial targets are used particularly within the framework of missile development testing or troop training and in the framework of decoying to escape a missile attack.
Some of these missiles are of the infrared guidance type, namely they seek the target by detecting its infrared signature. Then, their control surfaces are moved to guide them on a given trajectory leading to the destruction of the target.
For development of such missiles, the target described in Patent WO 9727446, which has a fuselage, propulsion systems, and infrared radiation emitters, is known. The infrared radiation emitters are comprised of a heat entity which is composed of an oil burner that heats a heat-conducting surface so that the latter emits infrared radiation.
This entity has a primary chamber having air inlets under dynamic pressure and air outlets through which the air can be evacuated to the atmosphere. The burner is in a second chamber which receives air from a first chamber and contains the burner. The burner flame heats a surface in a combustion chamber that also has a lattice enabling the flame to heat the entire surface, a mechanism for controlling the flowrate of combustion gas heating the heat-conducting surface, and also hot gas outlets located near the air inlets.
Although it is efficient, such a target has a number of drawbacks.
The first of them relates to the safety and reliability of the device. Actually, if the propulsion system does not work during the launching, while the infrared radiation emitters are working, the device may be detected by a missile and destroyed while on the ground, bringing about substantial damage and body injuries for the personnel in charge of the launching.
The second of them relates to the quality of the representation of an aircraft.
Starting from a target such as that described in Patent WO 9727446, the infrared diagram simulates in band II, namely in the lock-on range of an infrared homing device, and in band III, namely in the aircraft silhouette acquisition range, and the infrared diagram is ovoid as shown in FIG. 1.
However the infrared diagram of a real aircraft is cardioid, as shown in FIG. 2.
Thus, it can be seen that representation of the infrared signature of an aircraft is only approximative with such a target.
One of the goals of the invention is to overcome these problems by providing a safe, reliable, self-propelled target that considerably improves the infrared representativeness of the target, coming closer to that of a real aircraft.
The present invention is directed to a self-propelled, preferably jet-propelled, infrared emission aerial target having an aircraft- or missile-shaped body comprising: at least one propulsion system comprising a combustion chamber in which gases are produced and a propulsion nozzle to which combustion gases produced by the combustion chamber are supplied to propel the target; an infrared radiation emitter at an external surface of the target; and a conduit such as a pipe connecting the combustion chamber or the propulsion nozzle to the infrared radiation emitter.
In a preferred embodiment, the target contains more than one propulsion system, for example, the target can contain two propulsion systems. By using more than one propulsion system, the target may have more thrust to fly faster and/or may provide for more heat for infrared detection.
In addition, the present invention is directed to a self-propelled, preferably jet-propelled, infrared emission aerial target having an aircraft- or missile-shaped body and a nose and/or wings or control surfaces, an infrared radiation emitter, and at least one propulsion system comprising one or more conduits for feeding fuel and preferably oxidizer to a combustion chamber in which combustion gases are produced and for supplying the gases to a propulsion nozzle. The target may have at least one conduit such as a pipe connecting the combustion chamber or propulsion nozzle of the propulsion system to the nose and/or to one or more wing(s) and/or one or more control surface(s) of the target, or to one or more outside element(s) attached thereto.
In embodiments, a pipe connects the combustion chamber or propulsion nozzle of the propulsion system to a chamber located in the nose or in a wing or a control surface, or to a chamber located in an outside element attached to the target.
In particular embodiments, the target has a first pipe connecting the combustion chamber or the nozzle of the propulsion system to a chamber located in the nose of the target and a second pipe connecting the combustion chamber of the propulsion system to at least one chamber located in one of the wings or control surfaces of the target. The first and second pipes can be independent or have a common part.
In embodiments, the at least one chamber located in one of the wings or control surfaces is located at its leading edge.
In embodiments, the at least one chamber comprises a steel pipe cast in silicone graphite or cast in a high-emissivity material, or made of a metal or composite material.
In embodiments, at least one part of the chamber located in the nose is made of oxidized steel coated with graphite or cast in silicone graphite. At least one part of the chamber can also be cast in another high-emissivity material or a composite material.
In embodiments, the combustion chamber is connected to a nozzle that can be made of oxidized steel coated with graphite or cast in silicone graphite or cast in another high-emissivity material or a composite material.
In embodiments, the propulsion nozzle can have a diverging-converging section, the pipe terminating in the diverging-converging section of the nozzle.
The present invention is also directed to a method of representing the infrared signature of an aircraft or missile with the aid of a self-propelled aerial target having an aircraft- or missile-shaped body and having a nose and/or wings and/or control surfaces, a propulsion system comprising one or more conduits for feeding fuel and preferably oxidizer to a combustion chamber in which propulsion gases are produced, and an infrared radiation emitter, in which some of the propulsion gases heat all or part of the external surfaces of the target and/or attachments on the target to a temperature such that they emit infrared radiation.

Self-propelled infrared emission aerial target


A pressure jet cleaning appliance having a pressure pump (10) driven by a drive (11). The appliance includes a conduit having a primary line (14) for directing fluid into a spray gun (15) and a bypass line (19) for recycling fluid through the conduit when the spray gun is turned off. A control valve (18) has a reciprocal piston (28) responsive to fluid pressure within the primary line such that the piston moves into a closed position thereby directing fluid through the bypass line when the spray gun is turned off. The piston is directly connected to a control element (22) in the drive such that movement of the piston is translated into displacement of the control element. With this configuration, the piston actuates the control element to reduce the speed of the drive when the piston is in the closed position and to increase the speed of the drive when the piston is in the open position.

The present invention relates to a pressure jet cleaning appliance with a pressure pump driven by a driving means from whose pressure pipe a bypass pipe, which, when the pressure pipe is closed, is opened by means of a closing valve provided with a closing element, leads to the suction pipe of the pressure pump and having a control element that is connected to a governor of the driving means.
In non-stationary operating pressure jet cleaning appliances, an electromotor or an internal combustion engine is frequently employed as driving means of the pressure pump that is operated at a constant rotational speed. In the case of the electromotor, the rotational speed control is effected independently of the load by means of the fixed number of poles and the constant mains frequence and, in the case of the internal combustion engine, by means of a rotational speed-dependent throttle valve position. In such a case the control of the system is effected in that, with the opened spray gun, the driving means drives the pressure pump with the power that is necessary for the operation of the pressure jet cleaning appliance. When the spray gun is then closed with the aid of the normally provided control handle, a bypass closing valve enters into action in such a way that, when the pressure pipe is closed by the spray gun, a bypass pipe to the suction pipe opens so that the pressure pump then delivers the cleaning fluid into the circulation. The power of the pressure pump that is necessary in this bypass operation is considerably less than the power required in the normal spraying, squirting or cleaning operation.
In order to reduce the noise development and the wear during the operating intervals (bypass operation), a control is expediently effected in that, when the pressure pipe is closed, the driving means is regulated down to a rotational speed that is lower than the nominal operating speed.
For this, in a known high-pressure jet cleaning appliance, a pressure sensor is provided in the pressure pipe which detects the pressures which occur inside the pressure pipe, in particular the lowering of the pressure which occurs after the closing of the pressure pipe and the opening of the bypass valve connected therewith, and the increase in the fluid pressure which occurs in the pressure pipe following the reopening of the pressure pipe and reduces the rotational speed of an internal combustion engine provided as driving means as soon as the pressure in the pressure pipe, due to the opening of the bypass valve, drops below a certain value and, when a certain pressure value is exceeded, once more adjusts the throttle control rod of the internal combustion engine to an increase in the rotational speed (DE 39 02 252 C1).
However, this method of regulation is subject to various disadvantages. For it has to be stated that such a control system operates according to quite specific pressure changes which arise in the pressure pipe under quite specific directions subsequent to the opening or closing of the bypass valve, said changes being then utilized for the control. This means that the control is merely able to lag timewise behind the pressure conditions occurring, that is to say, the control becomes only effective when a rise in pressure or a drop in the pressure has taken place.
Furthermore, in pressure jet cleaning appliances there arises the problem that an operation of the pressure jet cleaner is only possible at one pressure, viz. the maximum pressure, independently of the circumstance whether this pressure is actually required. That is why it is desirable to adapt the pressure of the squirted-out cleaning medium as well as the driving power needed herefor to the case of application. With the DE 39 22 956 A1, a high-pressure jet cleaning device has already been proposed which comprises a high-pressure pump, a pressure pipe leading from the latter to a closable outlet, a bypass pipe leading from the same to the induction side of the pump and a closing valve that closes the bypass pipe. The device makes an automatic pressure discontinuation of the pump possible when closing the outlet, is constructed in such a way that, upstream of the outlet and downstream of the branching of the bypass pipe, a flow controller is provided which closes the closing valve of the bypass pipe when the outlet is closed. In this case the closing valve is constructed in the form of a closing valve and provision has been made for an adjustable stop, with the aid of which the closing motion of the closing valve can be limited. However, with such a set-up, only the volume flow is regulated.
This invention is based upon the technical problem of constructing, in a pressure jet cleaning appliance of the type stated in the beginning, a control in such a way that the same is independent of pressure changes that occur due to the closing or opening of the closing valve and, more particularly, prior to the occurrence of these pressure changes, adjusts the rotational speed of the driving means.


A charge pump and a voltage doubler are provided. The charge pump minimizes the difference in voltage between the terminals of a MOS transistor by serially connecting PMOS and NMOS transistors inside the charge pump circuit. The charge pump is able to provide a higher voltage while avoiding a large voltage difference at the gate-source, gate-base and gate-drain interfaces.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a charge pump and a voltage doubler using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a charge pump comprising low-pressure fabricated metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices and a voltage doubler using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 1A is a circuit diagram of a conventional charge pump. As shown in FIG. 1A, the charge pump 10 comprises two N-type metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistors 102 and 104 and two capacitors 112 and 114. One source/drain terminal of the NMOS transistor 102 is electrically coupled to an input voltage VIN terminal while the other source/drain terminal of the NMOS transistor 102 is electrically coupled to one terminal 112a of the capacitor 112. The substrate terminal of the NMOS transistor 102 is connected to ground and the gate terminal of the NMOS transistor 102 is connected to one terminal 114a of the capacitor 114. Voltage at the capacitor terminal 114a serves as an output voltage V01, of the charge pump 10. Similarly, one source/drain terminal of the NMOS transistor 104 is electrically coupled to the input voltage VIN terminal while the other source/drain terminal of the NMOS transistor 104 is electrically coupled to the capacitor terminal 114a. The substrate terminal of the NMOS transistor 104 is connected to ground and the gate terminal of the NMOS transistor 104 is electrically connected to the capacitor terminal 112a. Voltage at the capacitor terminal 112a serves as another output voltage V02 of the charge pump 10. In addition, the other terminal 112b of the capacitor 112 receives a clocking signal CK and the other terminal 114b of the capacitor 114 receives an inverse clocking signal CK′ during operation.
Initially, voltage difference at the two terminals of both capacitors 112 and 114 is at 0V. Assume that the clocking signal CK is a signal having a voltage between 0 to V1 during operation, the voltage V1 is identical or greater than VIN and the clocking signal CK is at a high potential level initially. At the beginning of operation, voltage difference between the ends of the capacitor 112 is maintained at 0V due to the capacitor property. Hence, voltage at the capacitor terminal 112a is raised to V1. Under this condition, because the inverted clocking signal CK′ is at 0V, the charge pump 10 outputs a voltage V01 of 0V and a voltage V02 of V1. Thereafter, since V1≧VIN, the NMOS transistor 104 conducts and hence VIN gradually charges up the capacitor 114. Consequently, after the passage of some time, voltage at the capacitor terminal 114a is raised to a level almost identical to VIN.
When phase of the clocking signal CK reverses back to 0V (that is, phase of the inverted clocking signal CK′ reverses back to V1), voltage difference between the terminals 112a and 112b of the capacitor 112 is maintained during a transient period. Consequently, the capacitor terminal 112a returns to 0V. Similarly, because the voltage difference between the terminals 114a and 114b of the capacitor 114 is maintained during a transient period when phase of the inverted clocking signal CK′ reverses, voltage at the capacitor terminal 114a is pushed up to VIN+V1. In other words, during the transient phase inversion of the clocking signal CK, the output voltage V01 is VIN+V1 and the output voltage V02 is at 0V. Under this condition, the NMOS 104 is cut off and the NMOS transistor 102 conducts because the gate voltage (equivalent to the output voltage V01) is greater than the input voltage VIN. Thus, voltage at the capacitor terminal 112a gradually rises from 0V towards VIN.
For the same reason, during the transient period when the phase of the clocking signal CK reverses, the output voltage V01 drops back to VIN while the output voltage V02 rises up towards VIN+V,. In subsequent operations, the output voltages V01 and V02 will fluctuate in cycles between VIN and VIN+V1.
However, for this type of circuit, the biggest voltage difference sustainable by the gate-substrate of the NMOS transistors 102 and 104 is VIN+V1. Therefore, the NMOS transistors 102 and 104 must be able to withstand a voltage greater than VIN+V1. In other words, the gate-substrate interface of the NMOS transistors 102 and 104 must be able to withstand a voltage difference equivalent to the output voltage value.
A voltage doubler that uses this type of charge pump was first disclosed in the article 'A High-Efficiency CMOS Voltage Doubler' of the IEEE Journal of Solid State Circuits, Vol. 33, No. 3, March 1998 by Philippe Deval and Mechel J. Declercq. FIG. 1B is a circuit diagram of the voltage doubler that uses the conventional charge pump design shown in FIG. 1A. The clocking signal CK varies cyclically between VIN and 0V during operation. Hence, the output voltage VOUT approaches 2*VIN. Similarly, the gate-substrate interface of the NMOS transistor 122 and 124 must be able to sustain a voltage difference of at least 2*VIN. In FIG. 1B, a clock signal CK is connected to a terminal 132b of the capacitor 132. The another terminal 132a of the capacitor 132 is connected to the NMOS transistor 122. Similarly, an inverted clock signal CK′ is connected to a terminal 134b of the capacitor 134. The another terminal 134a of the capacitor 134 is connected to the NMOS transistor 124. In addition, the PMOS transistors 140, 142, 144, and 146 form a circuit, as shown in FIG. 1B, which has two terminals coupled to the terminals 132a and 134a and a voltage output terminal VOUT. The voltage output terminal is also coupled to a ground via a capacitor 152. In addition all the substrates of the PMOS transistors 140, 142, 144, and 146 are coupled to the around via a capacitor 150.

Charge pump and voltage doubler using the same


There is disclosed a constant amplitude controller with feedback control for a vibratory feeder apparatus wherein a controlled rectifier is used to rectify the A.C. line voltage applied to the feeder solenoid and to control the voltage to the feeder solenoid. Triggering of the controlled rectifier is accomplished by a bias control signal which is composed of an A.C. phase shift voltage superpositioned by a variable D.C. bias voltage. Mechanical coupling is provided between the solenoid and a transducer which provides feedback to control logic circuitry. In the control logic circuitry, the signal received from the transducer is compared with a signal received from an operator adjusted potentiometer. In this manner, the desired amplitude of the vibrator apparatus is compared with the actual amplitude of the vibrator apparatus and, if there is a discrepancy, the control logic circuitry modifies the amount of control voltage being transferred by the controlled rectifier.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to vibratory feeders and, in particular, to a control circuit with feedback for use with vibratory feeders for controlling the rate of feed of parts.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The control apparatus for vibrator feeders of the prior art comprises a silicon control rectifier (SCR) to rectify the A.C. line voltage applied to the solenoid of the vibrator feeder and to control the current flow through the feeder solenoid. The SCR blocks the current flow through the feeder solenoid, until a trigger pulse is applied to its gate, at which time the SCR is rendered conductive and remains conductive as long as a sufficient forward current is maintained. The SCR is triggered conductive during a positive half cycle of the current supplied to the feeder solenoid, and remains conductive for the remainder of the positive half cycle. The SCR is cut off for the negative portion of the cycle since it will not conduct reverse current. Triggering of the SCR is controlled by purely a bias control which is a A.C. phase shift voltage superpositioned by a D.C. bias voltage. The control bias voltage applied to the gate of the SCR varies the voltage output of the SCR to the solenoid. Of particular importance is that in the control apparatus of the prior art, this control bias voltage is adjusted by a simple, hand-adjustable, external potentiometer varied by the operator to suit his application.
The drawback of the above-described prior art device is that the output of the SCR is not regulated other than by the external potentiometer, as there is no feedback to supply information as to input line voltage fluctuations and/or output load variations. There has long been recognized a problem concerning wide fluctuations in a fixed amplitude setting of the prior art vibratory apparatus when frequently experienced line and/or load changes occur. Since the present state of the art recognizes only the utilization of a potentiometer to vary the control bias voltage to the SCR, the above-described inherent problems prevent effective use of vibratory apparatuses.
In view of the drawbacks suffered by the prior art vibratory apparatuses, it can readily be seen that there is a need in the part feeding industry for a vibratory apparatus which provides for output load regulation and/or input line regulation to prevent wide amplitude variation with A.C. line and/or output load variation.

Constant amplitude controller and method