A solid-liquid separating apparatus including a strainer of a cylindrical shape. The strainer is comprised of circular ring members arranged side by side with gaps in between and disposed inside an accommodating section the device casing. The circular ring members comprise end-part circular ring members at both ends of the strainer and a plurality of intermediate circular ring members disposed between the end-part circular ring members and have inward projections projecting from their inner circumferential surfaces. A plurality of lateral bridge members are installed between the end-part circular ring members, and these bridge members have engaging parts that engage with the respective inward projections of the intermediate circular ring members so as to hold the intermediate circular ring members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-liquid separating apparatus for separating solid matter, raw contaminants, etc. from liquid of a solid-liquid mix.
2. Prior Art
Solid-liquid separating apparatus are used in, for example, raw contaminant dehydration treatment devices, etc. installed in kitchen sinks. Such solid-liquid separating apparatus separates the solid matter and liquid from water-containing raw contaminants produced as a mixture of solid matter and liquid by mixing raw contaminants discharged from the kitchen with water and pulverizing this mixture.
One of such solid-liquid separating apparatuses is described in Japanese Patent Application No. H11-133089 (Laid-Open (Kokai) No. 2000-317693) filed by the inventor of the a present application.
This prior art solid-liquid separating apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12.
The solid-liquid separating apparatus 10 is substantially comprised of a strainer 12, a casing 24 and a scraper 20.
The strainer 12 is in a cylindrical shape by way of arranging a plurality of flat-plate-form circular ring members 14 adjacent each other with specified gaps between the circular ring members 14.
The casing 24 has an accommodating section 26 that accommodates the strainer 12. The accommodating section 26 is divided by the strainer 12 into two regions: an internal region B that is inside the strainer 12 and an external region C that is outside the strainer 12. An intake port 28 that introduces a mixture of solid matter and a liquid is formed in the external region C, and an outlet port 30 that discharges to the outside the liquid that passes between the circular ring members 14 and advances into the internal region B is formed in the internal region B.
The scraper 20 includes flat-plate-form protruding elements 22. Tip ends of the protruding elements 22 advance into the gaps between the circular ring members 14. The scraper 20 is moved along the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members 14 so that solid matter adhering to the end surfaces (which are flat surfaces and may also be called the side surfaces) of the circular ring members 14 is removed.
In operation, the strainer 12 acts as a filter. In other words, the liquid 18 passes through the gaps between the stacked circular ring members 14 and advances into the internal region B, and the solid matter 16 that is larger than the gaps is deposited on the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members 14. Some of the solid matter 16 that can advance into the gaps adhere to the end surfaces of the circular ring members 14 and cannot advance into the internal region B. As a result, the solid matter and liquid are separated.
The liquid 18 that has advanced into the internal region B is discharged to the outside of the casing 24 via the outlet port 30. The solid matter 16 adhering to or deposited on the circular ring members 14 is scraped away by the scraper 20 and discharged to the outside of the casing 24 via the discharge opening 34 that is opened in the casing 24. Since the solid matter 16 deposited or adhering on the outer circumferential surfaces and end surfaces of the circular ring members 14 is scraped away by the scraper 20 each revolution of the strainer 12, no clogging would occur; and solid-liquid separation is continuously performed.
The space of the gaps between the end surfaces of the respective circular ring members 14 that make up the strainer 12 is determined based upon the size of the solid matter that is to be separated from the liquid. More specifically, if it is desired to separate even solid matter 16 of a small size so that the proportion of solid matter contained in the liquid 18 following the separation is reduced and the quantity of contaminants in the liquid 18 is thus reduced, then the spacing of the gaps between the circular ring members 14 is narrowed. For the opposite case, the spacing of the gaps between the circular ring members 14 is widened to some extent.
FIGS. 13 through 15 show the solid-liquid separating apparatus 10 in a concrete manner. The solid-liquid separating apparatus 10 comprises the strainer 12, the casing 24, the scraper 20 and a driving device 36 that rotationally drives the strainer 12.
The strainer 12 is formed into a cylindrical body by stacking sideways a plurality of circular ring members 14 with gaps between these circular ring members 14. The circular ring members 14 consist of two types of ring members: flat-plate-form first circular ring members 14a, and flat-plate-form second circular ring members 14b. The second circular ring members 14b have the same external diameter as the first circular ring members 14a, and a plurality of outer projections 38 (in FIG. 13, three outer projections 38) are formed at specified angular intervals on the outer circumferential surface of the second circular ring members 14b.
More specifically, the strainer 12 is formed in a cylindrical body. This cylindrical strainer 12 is obtained by stacking a plurality of the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b side by side with specified gaps between the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b. A specified number of first circular ring members 14a (for instance, a single first circular ring member 14a in FIGS. 14 and 15) are interposed between two second circular ring members 14b.
Furthermore, spacers 44 are fitted over first stays 42 that pass through through-holes 40 formed in the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b and integrally connect all of the circular ring members 14a and 14b. Thus, the spacers 44 are used as a means for setting the spacing of the circular ring members 14a and 14b. The thickness of the spacers 44 constitutes the size of the spacing of the gaps between the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b.
Spokes 46 of a Y-shape, for instance, are formed so as to be connected to the inner edges of the circular ring members 14a and 14b; and a rotating shaft 48 is installed in the center of these spokes 46. Both ends of the rotating shaft 48 are rotatably supported on the casing 24. At least one end of the rotating shaft 48 protrudes to the outside of the casing 24, and this end is rotationally driven by the driving device 36. The strainer 12 is thus rotated in the direction indicated by the curved arrow in FIG. 13.
The second circular ring members 14b which have the outer projections 38 on their outer circumferential surfaces are arranged so that the outer projections 38 form the ribs 50 on the outer circumferential surface of the strainer 12. Thus, the ribs 50 extend in the axial direction of the strainer 12. In other words, when the strainer 12 is viewed from one end thereof, the outer projections 38 of one second circular member 14b is positioned directly behind the outer projections 38 of the next second circular ring member 14b so that the ribs 50 are formed by these outer projections 38. As a result, a plurality of ribs 50 that extend parallel to the axis of the strainer 12 are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the strainer 12. Since the first circular ring members 14a that have no outer projections 38 are interposed between the second circular ring members 14b, spaces are formed in the ribs 50.
The ribs 50 push and transfer the separated solid matters 16 to the discharge opening 34 along the inner surface of the tubular accommodating section 26.
The strainer 12 is installed inside the tubular accommodating section 26 so that the axis of rotation of the strainer 12, i.e., the rotating shaft 48 that is connected to the strainer 12, is oriented in a horizontal direction. The openings at both ends of the strainer 12 are closed off by a pair of opposite inside wall surfaces of the tubular accommodating section 26 of the casing 24. Thus, the movement of the liquid between the outer region C and inner region B of the strainer 12 is accomplished mainly by the gaps between the circular ring members 14a and 14b.
In the solid-liquid separating apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 13, the intake port 28 is located at a lower position than the outlet port 30. Thus, the mixture constantly accumulates in the lower portion of the tubular accommodating section 26, the lower portion of the strainer 12 is immersed in the mixture, and the upper portion of the strainer 12 is exposed above the liquid level F of the mixture.
The discharge opening 34 is opened in the upper portion of the tubular accommodating section 26 so that the discharge opening 34 is located in the outer region C of the strainer 12. The discharge opening 34 extends in the direction of the axis of rotation of the strainer 12, so that it allows the solid matter 16, that has been separated from the liquid and carried along the inner circumferential surface of the tubular accommodating section 26 by the ribs 50, to be discharged to the outside of the casing 24.
The discharge opening 34 opens into the space of the tubular accommodating section 26 above the liquid level F of the mixture. The discharge opening 34 is located on the downstream side of the top area T of the strainer 12 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12 and is on the upstream side of the scraper 20 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12.
A cover member 52 is disposed on the discharge opening 34 of the casing 24 so as to close the discharge opening 34. More specifically, one end of the cover member 52 is pivotally connected to the edge of the discharge opening 34 located on the upstream side of the discharge opening 34 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12, so that the other end of the cover member 52 that is on the downstream side with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12 is moved or swings toward and away from the discharge opening 34 as indicated by two-head arrow in FIG. 13.
The cover member 52 is constantly urged toward the strainer 12 by an urging means such as a spring, 54. The spring 54 is coupled at one end thereof to the casing 24 and at another end thereof to the cover member 53.
By way of bias of the spring 54, the cover member 52 presses the solid matter 16 that is pushed and moved by the ribs 50 of the strainer 12 against the outer circumferential surface of the strainer 12 and squeezes the liquid out of the solid matter 16.
As seen from FIG. 15, the scraper 20 is constructed by stacking sideways a plurality of flat plates. As shown in FIG. 13, the scraper 20 is disposed on the downstream side of the top area of the strainer 12 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12. In addition, the scraper 20 is disposed near the discharge opening 34 so that it is located on the downstream side of the discharge opening 34 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12.
The scraper 20 will be further described below in regards to its more concrete structure.
The scraper 20 is comprised of plate-form first protruding elements 56, plate-form second protruding elements 58 and supporting elements 60.
Each of the first protruding elements 56 is formed from a plate material that has the same thickness as that of the respective first circular ring members 14a that make up the strainer 12, and the tip end (upper end in FIG. 15) of the first protruding element 56 protrudes toward the outer circumferential surface of each one of the first circular ring members 14a so as to scrape away solid matter 16 adhering to the outer circumferential surfaces of the first circular ring members 14a.
Each of the second protruding elements 58 is formed from a plate material that has the same thickness as each one of the gaps between the first circular ring members 14a and second circular ring members 14b. The tip end (upper end in FIG. 15) of the second protruding element 58 advances into the gaps between the first and second circular ring members 14a and 14b so as to scrape away solid matter 16 adhering to the respective flat surfaces of the circular ring members 14a and 14b.
Each of the supporting elements 60 is formed from a plate material that has the same thickness as that of the respective second circular ring members 14b that are formed with outer projections 38 on their outer circumferential surfaces.
The first protruding elements 56, second protruding elements 58 and supporting elements 60 are, as seen from FIG. 14, disposed in a specified order in accordance with the disposing order of the first circular ring members 14a and second circular ring members 14b that make up the strainer 12. More specifically, the first protruding elements 56 are positioned so as to face the circumferential surfaces of the first circular ring members 14a, the second protruding elements 58 are positioned so that pointed end areas thereof enter into the gaps between the circular ring members 14a and 14b, and the supporting elements 60 are positioned so as to face the circumferential surfaces of the second circular ring members 14b. The first protruding elements 56, second protruding elements 58 and supporting elements 60 are further formed into an integral unit by second stays 64 that pass through through-holes 62 formed in these elements.
In this structure, the gaps between the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b are set to be smaller than the thickness of the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b. As a result, the thickness of the second protruding elements 58 that advance into the gaps between the respective circular ring members 14a and 14b is smaller than the thickness of the circular ring members 14a and 14b. Thus, the strength of the second protruding elements 58 might be insufficient. Accordingly, the second protruding elements 58 are reinforced by being interposed between the first protruding elements 56 and the supporting elements 60 that are positioned on both sides of the second protruding elements 58.
In the structures shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the first circular ring members 14a are positioned at both ends of the strainer 12 (which is a cylindrical shape as a whole). Accordingly, the first protruding element 56, the second protruding element 58 and the supporting element 60 are disposed in this order from one end of the scraper 20, thus forming a xe2x80x9cunitxe2x80x9d; and this xe2x80x9cunitxe2x80x9d is repeated in the direction of the second stays 64, and the first protruding element 56 is disposed at another end of the scraper 20.
In the structure shown in FIG. 15, the first protruding elements 56a which are positioned at both ends of the scraper 20 differ in shape from other first protruding elements 56 positioned in the intermediate portions of the scraper 20. In other words, the first protruding elements 56a at both ends are larger and have a broader area compared to other first protruding elements 56. The intention is to have these first protruding elements 56a at both ends hold the cover member 52 (positioned on the upstream side of the scraper 20 with respect to the direction of rotation D of the strainer 12) from both sides so that both ends of the cover member 52 are covered by these first protruding elements 56a.
The solid material 16 transferred by the strainer 12 are scraped away while being traveling downward from the top area of the strainer 12, thus being separate from the strainer 12 and discharged out of through the discharge opening 34.
However, the solid-liquid separating apparatus described above has problems.
The solid-liquid separating apparatus involves the spacers 44 that are used to secure the gaps between the end (flat) surfaces of the respective circular ring members 14. As a result, the spacers 44 need to be respectively fitted one at a time over a plurality of first stays 42 each time a circular ring member 14 is inserted and stacked thereon. This requires careful work on the part of the worker. In other words, increased labor is required for assembling the strainer 12, and this results in an increase in the cost of manufacturing.
Furthermore, due to the variations in the thickness dimensions of the circular ring members 14 and spacers 44, a cumulative error is created in the axial dimension of the strainer 12 that is formed by the circular ring members 14 and the spacers 44. As a result, there may be cases in which the length of the strainer 12 does not match the length of the first stays 42.
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to solve the problems with the prior art solid-liquid separating apparatus.
More specifically, the object of the present invention is to provide a solid-liquid separating apparatus that includes a strainer formed by a plurality of circular ring members with specified gaps in between, thus making possible to use no spacers seen in the prior art separating apparatus.
The above object is accomplished by a unique structure for a solid-liquid separating that is comprised of:
a strainer that is a cylindrical body formed by a plurality of flat-plate-form circular ring members with gaps in between;
a casing with an accommodating section for accommodating therein the strainer, the accommodating section being divided by the strainer into an internal region that is inside the strainer and an external region that is outside the strainer, an intake port that introduces a mixture of solid matter and liquid being formed in the external region, and an outlet port that discharges to the outside the liquid that passes between the circular ring members and advances into the internal region being formed in the internal region, and
a scraper that has flat-plate-form protruding elements whose tip ends advance into the gaps between the circular ring members, the scraper being moved along the outer circumferential surfaces of the circular ring members so as to scrape away the solid matter adhering to the circular ring members,
wherein the unique structure of the present invention is that the strainer is comprised of:
a pair of end-part circular ring members disposed at both ends of the strainer,
a plurality of intermediate circular ring members disposed between the pair of end-part circular ring members and have inward projections projecting from the inner circumferential surfaces, and
a plurality of lateral bridge members installed between the pair of end-part circular ring members, each of the lateral bridge members being formed with a plurality of engaging parts that engage with the inward projections of the intermediate circular ring members and hold the intermediate circular ring members with the gaps between the circular ring members, and the engaging parts being lined up in the direction of the length of each the lateral bridge members.
With the structure above, spacers that are fitted over first stays while the first stays are passed through a plurality of circular ring members so that the spacers are disposed between the respective circular ring members as in the prior art are not required. Accordingly, the working characteristics in assembling the strainer are improved.
Furthermore, the total length of the strainer that is formed by the circular ring members is defined by the length of the lateral bridge members (or more specifically, by the length that is obtained by adding the thickness of the end-part circular ring members to this lent length of the lateral bridge members). Accordingly, any cumulative error would not be generated by the thickness differences in the circular ring members as in the prior art.
The engaging parts are formed so as to be lined up in a row on one side of each lateral bridge member. Alternatively, the engaging parts may be formed so as to be in one row on each side of each lateral bridge member so that the engaging parts in two rows are staggered. When the staggered engaging parts bridge member is used, the spacing of the gaps between the intermediate circular ring members becomes half the spacing of the one row engaging parts bridge member. This half spacing can be realized without varying the spacing of the engaging parts formed on one row on one side of each lateral bridge member by alternately engaging the intermediate circular ring members with the engaging parts of the staggered engaging parts.
Furthermore, in the solid-liquid separating apparatus of the present invention, each one of the intermediate circular ring members of the strainer can be formed on its inner circumferential surface with bifurcated projections that project inwardly, so that a plurality of second lateral bridge members are engaged with the bifurcated projections. The second lateral bridge members are provided between the pair of end-part circular ring members and restrict the rotation of the intermediate circular ring members relative to the end-part circular ring members. With this structure, the relative rotation between the circular ring members can be prevented without using first stays seen in the prior art separating apparatus. Furthermore, the assembly work of the strainer is generally simpler when the second lateral bridge members are employed and engaged with the bifurcated projections than in the case of assembling a strainer using the stays as in the prior art.


A method of charging coal into a chamber furnace-type coke oven. The coal is fed from a table feeder from a coal hopper so as to be dropped and charged into a carbonization chamber of the coke oven, through a charging cylinder. The coal fed from the table feeder is accelerated by rotation vanes at the initial stage in which the coal starts to drop. The vanes have a rotation center which is located upward on the exterior of a locus of the stream of free fall gravitated by the coal. The rotation speed of the vanes is progressively increased in the latter half of charging of the coal. The coal is thus allowed to accumulate in the carbonization chamber so that the bulk density of the coal in the vertical direction can become uniform. Also disclosed is an apparatus for charging coal into a chamber furnace-type coke oven. The apparatus includes a coal hopper for storing the coal therein. A table feeder feeds the coal from the hopper. Rotation vanes increases the speed of the coal fed from the feeder at the initial stage in which the coal drops from the feeder. The vanes have a rotation center which is located upward on the exterior of a locus of the stream of free fall gravitated by the coal. A charging cylinder guides the coal, which has been accelerated by the vanes and dropped into the carbonization chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of charging coal into a coke oven in a manner to decrease the disparity in the degree of bulk density of coal charged into a coke oven in the vertical direction so as to obtain a resultant coke of stable quality. The invention also relates to an apparatus employed in the same method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a regenerator is placed at the bottom portion of a chamber furnace-type coke oven in which the coke is produced. A plurality of carbonization chambers and combustion chambers are alternately disposed at the top portion of the coke oven. Coal is charged into the carbonization chambers through a plurality of charging inlets which are placed in the longitudinal direction of the respective carbonization chambers. Further explanation of the prior art method will be discussed later with reference to the drawings.
A disparity in the degree of bulk density of coal from the lower portion to the upper portion of the coke oven gives rise to inconsistencies in the strength of the resultant coke, thus resulting in low product quality and low productivity.
In order to solve these problems, various methods and apparatuses have been developed.
For example, the following method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-36183 and is aimed to decrease the inconsistencies in the strength of the resultant coke caused by a lower bulk density in the upper layer of the coal which has been charged into the carbonization chamber. A vibrator is disposed at the forward end of a coal leveller so as to pressurize and vibrate the upper layer of the charged coal the surface of which has been levelled, thereby further increasing the bulk density.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-15487 discloses another method employed whereby a rotatable compacting roller is disposed at the forward end of a coal leveller so that it can press the upper layer so as to make it even.
Also, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-150538 discloses an apparatus having a coal hopper which is constructed to be vertically movable by a hydraulic cylinder so as to increase the distance travelled by coal during free fall and to charge it into a carbonization chamber.
Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-23140 discloses the following method to achieve a uniform distribution in bulk density of coal charged into a carbonization chamber of a coke oven in the vertical direction. A loading apparatus using a pair of belts is employed to accelerate the coal at a suitable velocity so as to charge it into the carbonization chamber, thereby also controlling the packing density and the distribution of bulk density of coal within the carbonization chamber.
A further method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-142972 to feed coal into a casing located on a charging inlet so as to accelerate the coal with an impeller and to charge it into the carbonization chamber. This method employs the following technique in order to achieve uniform bulk density of the coal charged in the carbonization chamber. It is expected that the speed of coal particles will be reduced because of air resistance while being accelerated, and thus, in the first half of the charging, charging velocity of the coal is progressively accelerated, and in the second half, the degree of acceleration is decreased.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-796 discloses a method to control the bulk density of a raw material (coal) to be charged and to control the distribution of the bulk density. When the coal is charged into a carbonization chamber through a charging inlet of a chamber furnace-type coke oven, a leveller having rotation vanes provided for an extruder is inserted into the carbonization chamber from a levelling inlet so that the coal which falls straight down through the charging inlet strikes the rotation vanes driven by a motor so as to be accelerated and to be dropped into the carbonization chamber.
All of the foregoing conventional methods and apparatuses encounter problems.
The methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 57-36183 and 60-15487 are respectively employed whereby the vibrator and the compacting roller, together with a leveller, are allowed to advance the carbonization chamber of the coke oven. However, the apparatuses employed in these methods are complicated in construction and function. They are likely to suffer from the generation of dust, and breakdown is likely to occur in the carbonization chamber in an atmosphere having a high temperature. Thus, such apparatuses are not suitable for use over a long period.
The method disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-150538 also presents problems. The vertically-movable coal hopper is complicated in construction and function. It is likely to suffer from the generation of dust, and a breakdown is also likely to occur in the carbonization chamber in an atmosphere having a high temperature. Thus, such a apparatus is not suitable for use over a long period. Further, the load placed in the apparatus becomes too heavy so as to increase the normal load with respect to the surface of the coke oven, resulting in an unfavorable increase in load on the oven.
Moreover, the methods disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-23140 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-142972 each encounters problems in that a large apparatus and a complicated control are required, which further necessitates intensive and careful maintenance of equipment.
Also, even without carrying out the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-142972, it is still possible to obtain a result that when the coal is charged only by free fall, the longer distance travelled by the coal, the higher velocity at which the coal falls.
Further, the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-796 encounters the following problems. Since the rotation vanes are located immediately under the charging inlet, the coal which has fallen through the inlet from the hopper does not strike the same position of the vanes, and thus, the coal which has temporarily struck the vanes scatters around the vanes. This makes it difficult to control the direction and the velocity in which the coal is dropped into the carbonization chamber.
No matter what method and apparatus described above is employed, it requires not only a large apparatus and complicated control, but also necessitates intensive and careful maintenance of equipment.

Method of charging coal into chamber furnace-type coke oven and apparatus therefor


An image processing apparatus for forming an image by performing a plurality of times of recording on a same region of a recording medium by using a recording head including a plurality of recording elements for each of a first color material and a second color material, and a generation unit configured to generate recording data corresponding to each scan of the first color material and the second color material, wherein the generation unit generates, in a case where a defective recording element occurs among the plurality of recording elements for recording the first color material, recording data corresponding to each scan of the first color material by complementing a recording amount assigned to the defective recording element so that impact order between the first color material and the second color material is not changed.

1. Technical Field
Aspects of the present invention generally relate to an image processing apparatus to perform recording by using a plurality of color materials and a control method for the image processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recording by an inkjet recording apparatus, color development and gloss varies according to the order of impacts of color materials. Therefore, it is known that color unevenness and/or gloss unevenness occur when the order of impacts of the color materials varies for each image region. Specifically, in a case where pigment inks are used as the color materials, the influence on a recording medium becomes remarkable depending on the order of impacts of the color materials.
Generally, a recording head of the inkjet recording apparatus is equipped with a plurality of recording elements (i.e., nozzles) for each color material. However, malfunction may sometimes occur in some of the recording elements. An example of the malfunction includes defective discharge of the color material. When the defective discharge of the color material occurs, the color material is not discharged to a position to be originally recorded on the recording medium, resulting in occurrence of a visually unpleasant stripe unevenness in an image formed on the recording medium.
Therefore, in a multipass recording method, such a technique that the defectively discharging nozzle due to the malfunction (hereinbelow referred to as "defective nozzle") is complemented by the other normal nozzles is discussed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-94662. According to the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-94662, even when a defective nozzle arises, the color material still can be discharged to the position on the recording medium to be originally recorded.
However, in the method discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-94662, since a print pattern is changed for each scan, the order of impacts of the color materials in a main scanning line corresponding to the position to be originally recorded by the defective nozzle may be changed with the other main scanning line. As a result, the color unevenness and/or the gloss unevenness may occur on the image to be formed.

Image processing apparatus and control method configured to complement a recording amount assigned to defective nozzles


A connector includes a pair of connector housings each having a front half portion for accommodating a terminal and which are coupled with each other in a coupling direction. A locking mechanism is provided and includes a cantilever-like resilient locking member having a leading end and disposed on one of the pair of connector housings, and a locking portion disposed on the other connector housing, in which the leading end of the cantilever-like resilient locking member of the one of the pair of connector housings first interferes with the locking portion of the other connector housing so as to be flexed away from a normal state, and is then restored to its normal state so as to be brought into engagement with the locking portion after a lapse of predetermined time. The connector further includes a detecting spacer having a device for interfering with the cantilever-like resilient locking member of the locking mechanism when the cantilever-like resilient locking member is in a flexed posture which is away from its normal state and constitutes a lock-error state, so as to prevent the withdrawal of the detecting spacer when the locking mechanism is in the lock-error state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector in which a pair of connector housings are coupled and connected together so as to establish an electrical connection, and more particularly to a connector having a coupling detecting mechanism for detecting whether or not the pair of connector housings are properly coupled together, or a connector having a lock confirming mechanism for confirming the coupled posture of the pair of connector housings as well as the coupling detecting mechanism.
2. Statement of the Prior Art
The official gazette of Japanese Patent Public Disclosure (Kokai) No. 82-180874 (not examined) discloses a coupling detecting mechanism as a means for preventing the occurrence of partial coupling of a pair of connector housings in which the pair of connector housings are not properly coupled together because a distance by which the connector housings are actually being mated is too short. Namely, in a connector of this known type, a bar-like separate detecting spacer is mounted and locked on the upper side of one connector housing in a direction in which the one connector housing is coupled with the other connector housing, and this bar-like detecting spacer is then pushed forward after the two connector housings are coupled together to see whether the leading end of the detecting spacer "protrudes or not" from a detecting portion situated on the upper side of the connector in a coupled posture whereby whether the two connector housings are coupled properly or partially is visually judged.
In addition, there are many connectors having a coupled posture locking mechanism in which a resilient locking member provided on one of a pair of connector housings is mated with a locking pawl provided on the other connector housing for locking the two connector housings in a proper coupled posture.
With the above known connector having a coupling detecting mechanism, it is possible to effect a visual confirmation of the coupling condition of the connector by confirming the protrusion of the detecting spacer. However, the connector of this known type has the following drawbacks.
In a connector for a wire harness for an automobile, there are many cases in which connector housings are connected together in a limited space, and in a particular case, connector housings have to be connected together by feel, in which case the visual confirmation described above is not possible. In order to make it possible to effect a proper visual confirmation of the status of the detecting spacer, the connecting posture of the connector has to be limited such that the leading end of the detecting spacer is easily seen. PA1 In the case of a connector in which the associate connector housing is mounted for an apparatus, it is not possible to provide a detecting portion for detecting the leading end of the detecting spacer on the associate connector housing, and therefore it is not possible to adopt this coupling detecting mechanism. PA1 In the coupled posture locking mechanism described above, whether or not the locking mechanism is properly working is confirmed through the feel of a locking operation or in a visual fashion, resulting in poor confirmation reliability, which sometimes causes a defective connector in which locking is not properly effected.


A bag filling apparatus including a clam-jaw spout having an inner liner and interior chute suspended beneath a hopper. The bottom end of the inner liner is pleated, and a pair of air jets disposed on opposing sides of the liner project a stream of air toward each concave side of the liner ensuring a uniform and repeatable fold and substantially dust-tight seal as the clam-jaw sections of the spout begin to close. The oval shape of the dust collectors and increased cross-sectional area of the ports and conduits increases the volume of air and amount of airborne particulate matter withdrawn from above the top of the bag without unduly increasing the flow velocity of the air through those ports, and without requiring separate air removal means disposed within the interior of the bag. Lateral movement of the bag gripping members toward the spout is controlled and limited by contact between the external side wall of the dust collectors and adjustable cushions disposed on the arms supporting the bag gripping members. The height of the bag gripping members relative to the bottom of the spout is adjusted using slots within the support plate, and the range of opening motion of the bag gripping arms is controlled by stops located on the support plate.

This invention relates generally to bag filling machines for filling fine particulate powder into bags, and particularly to a dust-tight spout assembly having a vacuum discharge and a bag gripping assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,214 to McGregor discloses a bag filling apparatus having a spout (2) incorporating two clam-jaw sections (4, 6) and an inner flexible tubular liner (122), and having a pair of dust collectors (88, 90) disposed on each side of the spout. Such an assembly is preferably utilized with the forming bars of the type shown in the bag hanging and gripping assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,322,932 to McGregor, although components of the bag gripping assembly are mounted on the spout as shown in the McGregor '214 patent.
In the McGregor '214 patent, the dust collectors are located in fluid flow communication with the interior of the suspended bag (140) adjacent the top end thereof, and are disposed overlying the open gap formed by the top of the bag between the gripping members (66, 68) and the side wall of the spout (4a, 4b).
Each of the dust collectors are characterized by generally rectangular ports (100, 102) along the bottom edges thereof, with interior bodies defined and enclosed by planar outer wall segments (92, 94) spaced apart from the side walls of the spout (4a, 4b) by spacer bars (96, 98). Each dust collector thus forms a generally flat enclosure with a port disposed above the top of the bag when the clam jaw spout is in the closed position, with the dust collectors pivoting in unison with the outer section (4) of the clam-jaw spout.
A pair of vacuum hoses (112, 114) connect each of the dust collectors to a source of negative pressure such as a vacuum pump (118). A separate vacuum line (136) is coupled to one of the vacuum hoses and connected to a passage (132) at the terminal end of the double-walled spout closure (30). The passage and spout closure extend along the entire length of the bottom edge of the clam-jam section of the spout, and the passage is located in fluid communication with the interior of the bag. Bag clamps (34, 36) hold the top edges of the bag in close contact with the bottom edge of each clam-jaw section of the spout, and are moved by double-acting power cylinders (58, 60).
The flexible tubular liner (122) is suspended within the spout and sealingly connected around the bottom opening of the hopper (1) to prevent airborne product from escaping the interior of the bag and the spout into the surrounding environment. The liner extends the height of the spout, with the bottom end of the liner received within the open top of the bag when the clam-jaw sections are open and the bag is being filled. The open bottom end of the liner is compressed together when the clam-jaw sections are closed and the bag is removed from the spout.
Each pair of gripping members (66, 68) are carried on arms (74, 76) that are pivotally mounted on opposing ends of a crossbar (75), and are pivoted inwardly toward one another and outwardly away from one another by a centrally mounted double-acting power cylinder (78) to simulate a pinching action to grip the top of the bag. Each crossbar (75) is connected to an upright member (77) which is carried on an overhead support structure that is pivotally connected to the hopper. Each set of arms on opposing sides of the spout is therefore moved laterally inwardly toward and outwardly away from the spout and dust collectors by a double-acting power cylinder that pivots the upright member (77), with the arms being moved inwardly toward the side walls of the spout as the clam-jaw sections of the spout are simultaneously opened. The extent of the lateral movement of the pair of arms is controlled by the predetermined range of movement of the double-acting power cylinder of the overhead support structure. This operation of the bag hanging and gripping mechanism is more fully depicted in the McGregor '932 patent.
While the dust-fight spout and bag handling apparatus disclosed in the McGregor '214 patent provides a suitable and workable alternative for many operations, there are some operational drawbacks presented by its structure.
The volume of air and particulate matter drawn through the dust collectors is limited by the area of the narrow rectangular ports, and the separate passage adjacent the closure is required to withdraw air from within the spout. This separate passage increases the number and size of the components disposed on the lower portion of the spout, thus affecting the capabilities of the bag hanging apparatus (and the accuracy and speed when hanging gussetted bags on a clam-jaw spout), and requiring additional vacuum line connections to that passage. The placement and movement of the bag handling assembly prevents increasing the dimensions of the dust collectors, and increasing the negative pressure of the vacuum pump can produce an unsuitable draw or flow velocity which unintentionally extracts product from within the bag as it falls from the spout or after it has settled within the bag. The number of double-acting power cylinders operating between predetermined ranges (particularly those controlling movement of the bag gripping arms) increases the complexity associated with programming the interrelated motions of the components when using an automated bag handling system. As the liner is compressed, creases and gaps may be formed between the confronting edges of the clam-jaw sections of the spout that permit product to spill from the spout and become airborne.

Bag filling apparatus having dust-tight spout


A lapping guide for use in fabrication of a device includes a first resistive element and a second resistive element. The two resistive elements can provide different changing resistances throughout the lapping of the device. These two resistances can be used throughout the lapping of the device to facilitate determination of when a predetermined desired height of the device has been achieved, and therefore stop the lapping of the device. The resistive elements can be physically adjacent to each other or separate from each other. Further, a common lead can be electrically connected to both resistive elements for measuring their respective resistances. In addition, the resistive elements can be separated from each other by the device.

This invention relates generally to magnetic recording, more particularly to magnetoresistive (MR) read heads, and most particularly to methods and structures for controlling the stripe height of the MR read heads. Those familiar with the art consider anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) read heads, giant magnetoresistive (GMR) read heads, and spin valve read heads to be included in the broader category of MR read heads. Subsequent reference to MR read heads is understood to encompass AMR, GMR, and spin valve devices. Merged inductive write, MR read heads comprise a specific exemplary application in all embodiments described in this invention.
Magnetic disk drives are used to store and retrieve data for digital electronic apparatuses such as computers. In FIGS. 1A and 1B, a magnetic disk drive 10 of the prior art includes a sealed enclosure 12, a disk drive motor 14, a magnetic disk 16, supported for rotation by a spindle S1 of motor 14, an actuator 18 and an arm 20 attached to a spindle S2 of actuator 18. A suspension 22 is coupled at one end to the arm 20, and at its other end to a read/write head or transducer 24. The transducer 24 typically includes an inductive write element with a magnetoresistive read element (shown in FIG. 1C). As the motor 14 rotates the magnetic disk 16, as indicated by the arrow R, an air bearing is formed under the transducer 24 causing it to lift slightly off of the surface of the magnetic disk 16, or, as it is termed in the art, to "fly" above the magnetic disk 16. Various magnetic "tracks" of information can be read from the magnetic disk 16 as the actuator 18 causes the transducer 24 to pivot in a short arc as indicated by the arrows P. The design and manufacture of magnetic disk drives is well known to those skilled in the art.
FIG. 1C depicts a magnetic read/write head 30 including a write element 32 and read element 34. The edges of the write element 32 and read element 34 also define an air bearing surface ABS in a plane 33, which flies above the surface of the magnetic disk 16 during operation.
Read element 34 includes a first shield 44, an intermediate layer 38 which serves as a second shield, and a read sensor 46 located between the first shield 44 and the intermediate layer 38. The read sensor 46 has a particular stripe height, SH, and a particular location between the first shield 44 and the second shield 38, both of which are chosen to attain particular read performance. Control of stripe height is important in controlling device resistance, device output amplitude, device bias point and consequently many related measures of performance. MR sensors can be used with a variety of stripe heights, with a typical SH being smaller than about 2 microns, including less than 1 micron. Further, although the read sensor 46 is shown in FIG. 1C as a shielded single-element vertical read sensor, the read element 34 can take a variety of forms as is known to those skilled in the art, such as unshielded read sensors. The design and manufacture of magnetoresistive heads, such as read sensor 46, are well known to those skilled in the art.
Write element 32 is typically an inductive write element including the intermediate layer 38 which serves as a first yoke element or pole, and a second yoke element or pole 36, defining a write gap 40 therebetween. The first yoke element 38 and second yoke element 36 are configured and arranged relative to each other such that the write gap 40 has a particular throat height, TH. Also included in write element 32, is a conductive coil 42 that is positioned within a dielectric medium 43. As is well known to those skilled in the art, these elements operate to magnetically write data on a magnetic medium such as a magnetic disk 16.
The formation of a read/write head 30 begins with a wafer 50, as shown in FIG. 1D, which includes, formed over a substrate, sets of several layers or films of various materials that form an array of read/write heads (not shown), including the elements of the read/write head 30 that are shown in FIG. 1C. The wafer 50 is then divided into multiple slider bars 52 such that each slider bar 52 has a first cut surface, or edge, 54 and a second cut surface, or edge, 56 substantially parallel to each other. As can be better seen in FIG. 1E, each slider bar 52 may include several read/write heads 60 in series along the bar. For example, a typical slider bar may include about thirty (30) read/write heads 60. As is shown in FIG. 1E, the read/write heads 60 can be of different configuration, however, alternatively each of the write/read heads 60 along the slider bar 52 can be of approximately the same configuration.
As is shown in FIG. 1E, the second cut surface 56 is formed such that the read/write heads 60 extend through to the second cut surface 56. Thus, at the second cut surface 56, the read/write heads 60 are exposed and therefore available for removing material along the second cut surface 56 in a process termed lapping. Alternatively, the read/write heads 60 can extend to near the second cut surface 56, without being initially exposed. In such a case, the read/write heads 60 can become exposed and material can be removed therefrom during the lapping process.
The goal of lapping is to remove material from the second cut surface 56, which defines a lapping plane L, to form the ABS (also shown in FIG. 1C) of each of the read/write heads 60 in the plane 33. More particularly, it is the objective of the lapping process to define the ABS at a precise predetermined distance from the upper edge 64 of the read sensor 46 where the upper edge 64 is defined by wafer processes. In this way, the stripe As height SH of the read sensor 46 (shown in FIG. 1C) is defined substantially orthogonal to the lapping plane L, and the throat height TH is similarly defined substantially orthogonal to the lapping plane L. After lapping, the read/write heads are then each cut from the slider bar to form individual read/write heads.
FIG. 1F shows a typical lapping machine 70. The slider bar 52 is held along the first cut surface 54 by a jig 72. In turn, the jig 72 is contacted by pistons 74 at various bending points 76 along the length of the jig 72. Pistons 74 may be, for example, dual action air cylinders, and are configured to deflect the jig 72 at the bending points 76 by a particular amount. To obtain this particular amount, a controller 78 is used to regulate the operation of the pistons 74. The slider bar 52 is further oriented such that the second cut surface 56 lies substantially parallel to an upper surface 80 of a lapping plate 82. During lapping, an abrasive material, for example a diamond slurry, is introduced between the second cut surface 56 of the slider bar 52 and the upper surface 80 of the lapping plate 82. When the second cut surface 56 is brought into contact or near-contact with the upper surface 80, the slider bar 52 and the lapping plate 82 are moved relative to each other within the plane defined by the second cut surface 56 and the upper surface 80. This movement, along with the forces acting to press together the upper surface 80 and the second cut surface 56 and with the abrasive material placed therebetween, acts to abrasively lap the second cut surface 56 and thereby the read/write heads 60.
Because of the critical nature of the stripe height, SH, it is important to end the lapping process at the particular point which attains the correct stripe height. While lapping times, lapping pressures, and other lapping parameters could be standardized for particular types of slider bars 52, such a method can be ineffective due to fabrication variations such as in the deposition of materials of the read/write heads 60, or the wafer cut locations relative to the read/write heads. More particularly, some fabrication variations may exist within a single slider bar or a single wafer, with variations increasing with distance, while others may exist between different wafers (i.e., wafer-to-wafer variation). Therefore, it is beneficial for the controller to have some indication or feedback of the actual stripe height of the read sensor 46 during the lapping process.
FIG. 2A shows an example of a prior art electrical lapping guide (ELG) 90, that has been used to provide an indication of stripe height during the lapping process. FIG. 2A depicts a slider bar 52 in cross section at a layer including the read sensor 46, and associated leads 92. A "switch" 94, formed of a resistive element, and a resistive element 96 are electrically connected to the controller 78 through the leads 98 and 100, respectively. During the lapping process, a first current I1 passes through the switch 94, and a second current 12 passes through the resistive element 96. As the lapping occurs along the lapping plane L, and while the stripe height, SH, of the read sensor 46 is decreased, the height of both the switch 94 and resistive element 96 are both decreased. Over time during the lapping process, changes in the resistances Rs and Rr of the switch 94 and resistive element 96 respectively, due to the changing heights, can be detected by the controller 78. Such changes in resistance over time are shown in FIG. 2B.
Knowing the material properties and dimensions of resistive element 96 relative to material properties and dimensions of the read sensor 46, the measured resistance Rr during the lapping process can be used to calculate an approximate height of the read sensor 46 during the lapping process. Such a calculated height is shown over time in FIG. 2B by curve 110. Also, the initial height of the switch 94 is chosen such that the entire switch is lapped, thereby "breaking" the switch, before the target stripe height SHd of the read sensor is achieved. Because the height Hs of the switch 94 is known relative to the stripe height SH of the read sensor 46, the remaining stripe height of the read sensor 46 at the time the switch breaks, tsb, can be approximated. Thus, as is shown in FIG. 2B, the height calculated from Rr can be calibrated from the approximated read sensor stripe height at the time the switch breaks, tsb. The lapping process continues until the read sensor 46 stripe height SH is calculated to be approximately the target stripe height SHd at which time, t.sub.end, the rate of the lapping process is changed and ultimately the lapping is ended.
Unfortunately, the switch 94 of the ELG 90 in FIG. 2A does not have a truly digital response, but rather the resistance Rs increases over time as shown in FIG. 2B. Also, measurement circuitry of a typical lapping system cannot easily measure a true open resistance. Thus, there is no easily ascertainable single precise point at which the switch "breaks" or is open, and therefore no precise indication of when the lapping has proceeded to the depth of the switch height for calibration purposes.
In addition, endpoint detection with such an ELG is limited by the measurement precision, with undesirable noise incorrectly indicating that the switch 94 is open, sometimes referred to as a false open indication. One technique to avoid such a false open indication is to place a resistive element in parallel with the switch 94, most typically with a resistance significantly greater than the initial resistance of Rs. The resistance signal detected at the controller will rise to an asymptote equal in value to this parallel resistive element as the switch opens. While a false open indication may be avoided, the resultant endpoint remains imprecise. Furthermore, because such an ELG provides calibration only around the points when the switch breaks, the ELG is ineffective for use in adjusting the lapping parameters throughout the lapping process. Also, the stripe height calculations and calibration of the stripe height calculation using the ELG 90 of FIG. 2A depends on knowing the relative dimensional and material properties of the ELG switch, resistive element, and leads, as well as the read sensor. Therefore, unknown differences in these properties due to fabrication variations can produce incorrect stripe height calculations and therefore incorrect termination of the lapping process, either too early or too late. Such imprecise determination will likely result in a read sensor 46 having an undesired stripe height and therefore substandard performance characteristics. For example, for a typical hard biased contiguous junction sensor, the measured resistance for both switch 94 and resistive element 96, as well as the read sensor 46, will include a leads resistance term and a junction resistance term in addition to the resistance of the switch 94, resistive element 96, or read sensor 46. Each of these terms is unknown because the dimensions of each feature and the sheet resistance of the respective films will vary across any given wafer, as well as throughout a population of wafers. Also, each of these terms is likely to vary with stripe height during lapping. To solve for all of these unknowns for each ELG on a slider bar would require the ability to generate the same number of equations, likely with the same number of calibration switches, and would rely on precise determination of each of the switch endpoints, as well as the measurement precision of each of the total resistance values. To attain such precision would entail an undesirably complex technique, and is therefore impractical.
As a further difficulty, slider bars are known to often have an inherent curvature once cut from the wafer. One objective in defining an air bearing surface is to correct for this condition because this correction is required so as to produce the tightest distribution of stripe height for the read sensors 46 positioned across the slider bar. In a typical embodiment, ELG 90 of FIG. 2A is distributed such that the switch 94 and resistive element 96 are at separate positions between sliders. Due to the unknown curvature of the slider bar, this separation increases the error in assuming that any switch 94 and a neighboring resistive element 96 have precisely known relative stripe heights and therefore results in additional calibration error. Therefore, using ELG 90 is not a satisfactory solution.
FIG. 3A shows another currently used electrical lapping guide (ELG) 120. Such an ELG includes a first resistive element 122 located along the lapping plane L and connected to the controller 78 through leads 124. Also included is a second resistive element 126 electrically connected to the controller 78 through electrical leads 128, but located distantly from the lapping plane L to act as an untapped reference device. A first current I1 and a second current 12 flow through the first resistive element 122 and through the second resistive element 126, respectively, both of which can be measured and monitored by the controller 78 during the lapping process. Further, the dimensions and material properties of the second resistive element 126 are chosen such that, at the point in the lapping process where the stripe height of a read sensor 46 will be equal to the target stripe height SHd, a resistance R1 of the first resistive element 122 is equal to or has some known relationship to a resistance R2 of the second resistive element 126. Thus, during the lapping process, as the stripe height of the read sensor 46 decreases, the height of the first resistive element 122 likewise decreases, thereby changing the resistance R1 measured across the first resistive element 122 as shown in FIG. 3B. Once the resistance R1 is detected to be approximately the same as the resistance R2, as shown in FIG. 3B at point E, the lapping process is stopped at t.sub.end. While only two resistive elements are shown in FIG. 3A, multiple resistive elements can be used. In such ELGs, more than one resistive element can be used as an untapped reference device, providing additional resistance levels with which to determine tend.
Electrical lapping guides such as the ELG 120 of FIG. 3A are also affected by unknown variation in dimensional or material properties across the wafer. The prior art approach of placing a single resistive element between sliders is subject to error both due to dimensional and material properties variation across the wafer and is subject to errors due to bar curvature as previously discussed. Placing the second resistive element 126 in close physical proximity to the first resistive element 122 and designing second electrical leads 128 which are approximately identical to first electrical leads 124 will reduce the cumulative effect of these errors for this structure. Unfortunately, however, in such a modified ELG the dimensional error in defining the stripe height of second resistive element 126 translates directly as an error in targeting the stripe height of first resistive element 124. In effect, the reference during lapping of the bar is not based solely on the position of the upper edge of the respective resistive elements but is also subject to the position of the lower edge of second resistive element 126. Scaling such an ELG to reduce the percentage error in the physical dimensions can inherently invalidate the junction resistance term between the second electrical leads 128 and the second resistive element 126.
Thus, what is desired is an electrical lapping guide and method for controlling the stripe height of a device that is more accurate and results in a more precise determination of the device stripe height substantially throughout a process of lapping a read sensor or other device, while limiting cost and complexity. It is desired that such an ELG would provide a substantially continuous signal such that the stripe height may be determined throughout the process of lapping the read sensor. It is further desired that such an ELG utilize the upper edge of the resistive element as a calibration reference to minimize error. Also, it is desired that such an ELG be substantially insensitive to variation in dimensional and materials properties inherent in processing of the wafer.

Apparatus and method of device stripe height control


The invention disclosed herein comprises fat compositions primarily for use in nutritionally complete infant formulas in which the constituent palmitic acid oils and lauric acid oils are corandomized. The invention additionally includes such corandomized fat compositions with medium-chain triglycerides added, particularly for use in nutritional products for preterm or low birthweight infants. The invention further includes such fat compositions in which the constituent palmitic acid oils and oleic acid oils are corandomized. Such corandomization of two or more oils yields a mixture of triglycerides having a substantially different chemical makeup than that of the native oils themselves or than the native oils when randomized individually. Corandomization of the palmitic acid oils and the lauric acid oils or of the palmitic acid oils and the oleic acid oils affords an economical means of providing a very highly absorbed fat composition.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,560, issued on Nov. 24, 1970 to Tomarelli et al., discloses fat compositions for infant formulas having an increased portion of the palmitic acid in the beta (2) position of the triglyceride. This increase is obtained by blending lard, or a synthetic beta-monopalmitin, with the other oils comprising the fat composition, which have a relatively low portion of beta palmitic acid. Such other oils listed are corn, soy bean, palm, peanut, coconut, olive, babassu, cotton seed, oleo, and tallow. However, the use of lard is unacceptable in many areas of the world for religious reasons, and synthetic triglycerides are prohibitively expensive for large scale use. Thus, fat compositions for use in infant formulas are sought which are broadly acceptable on religious dietary grounds, are highly absorbed, have a fatty acid content similar to human milk and are economical to manufacture on very large scales.
Three more recent U.S. patents disclose all vegetable oil fat compositions for use in infant nutritional products with palm oil as the sole palmitic acid oil. These are U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,265, issued on Aug, 4, 1981, to Theuer and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,614,663 and 4,721,626, issued on Sep. 30, 1986 and Jan. 26, 1988, respectively, to Rule.
Most recently, European patent publication No. 0376628, published on Jul. 4, 1990, to American Home Products Corporation (Tomarelli) discloses all vegetable oil fat compositions in which the palmitic acid oil alone is randomized. This European patent publication also discloses all vegetable oil fat compositions including medium-chain triglycerides for use in infant nutritional products for preterm or low birthweight infants in which the palmitic acid oil alone is randomized.
The present invention differs from that of EP 0376628 in that at least one palmitic acid oil and one lauric acid oil are corandomized, which causes interesterification randomly between the fatty acids of the palmitic acid oil and the lauric acid oil. This corandomization of the two oils resulted in surprisingly superior absorbability to that found when the palm olein oil of the mixture was randomized. Additionally, in the fat compositions of the present invention oleo oil may be used as a palmitic acid oil to be corandomized with a lauric acid oil.
In a further aspect of the present invention, at least one palmitic acid oil and one oleic acid oil are corandomized which provides a fat blend with surprisingly superior absorbability and a close simulation to human breast milk.

Corandomized fat compositions for infant formulas


A method for controlling a dishwasher is described. The method includes the actions of increasing a rotation speed of the washing tub to a predetermined target rotation speed with at least a part of laundry soaked in wash water. The actions further include rotating the washing tub at the target rotation speed for a predetermined period of time; decreasing the rotation speed of the washing tub. The actions further include draining the wash water from the washing tub while rotating the washing tub at the target rotation speed for the predetermined period of time or decreasing the rotation speed of the washing tub.

In general, washing machines are apparatuses for treating laundry by applying physical and chemical actions to the laundry using water and a detergent. A washing machine includes a water reserve tub containing water, a washing tub rotating about a vertical axis in the water reserve tub with laundry therein, and a pulsator rotating in the washing tub and removing dirt from the laundry by a frictional force between the pulsator and the laundry. The pulsator and/or washing tub rotates to remove contaminants from the laundry, the water reserve tub is drained, and thereafter the washing tub spins at high speed to dehydrate the laundry.
An excessive vibration may occur when the washing tub is rotated with laundry which is not evenly distributed. In order to prevent this, the following sequence may be done in conventional washing machines: rotating the pulsator alternately in opposite directions at the last step of the washing cycle to untangle the laundry, draining wash water, rotating the washing tub, sensing an imbalance of the washing tub during the rotation, and if a sensed degree of imbalance is within an allowable range, rotating the washing tub at high speed thereby laundry is dehydrated.
Such way, however, cannot respond to the case where drain is done with the laundry not fully untangled and thus the sensed degree of imbalance goes off the allowable range. Because the twisted or knotted clothes would not be readily redistributed or untangled without wash water in the washing tub despite the spinning of the pulsator or washing tub. A main force exerted to the laundry in washing machines where the washing tub spins about the vertical axis is an inertial force in the direction of gravity, and this force acts in a direction independent from the rotation of the washing tub or pulsator, rendering it difficult for the laundry to change its state without a water flow.
Accordingly, redistributing and imbalance sensing are performed repeatedly until the degree of imbalance reaches an allowable range, which delays entry into the dehydration cycle. In some cases, the degree of imbalance fails to come in the allowable range even with repetitive redistributing, leaving the cycle to stay before dehydration while coming up with an error. Therefore, the user needs to remove the cause of the imbalance on his own.
An amount of lint may be gathered in the washing tub primarily when the wash water elevated between the water reserve tub and the washing tub by a centrifugal force created as the washing tub rotates pours into the washing tub and/or when a water flow from the water reserve tub to the washing tub is created by a reduction in water pressure that may occur as the washing tub brakes. To prevent such problem that the lint is introduced to the washing tub from the water reserve tub, washing cycle has been finished with rotating the pulsator in a clock wise direction and a count clockwise direction alternatively. Because of this, the laundry is tangled before the dehydration.

Washing machine and method for controlling the same


A brake device for a conveyor has two load supporting conveyor rollers rotatable to enable a load thereon to be transported along the conveyor. The load supporting rollers are movable transversely to their axes of rotation by a load passing thereover against a resilient bias into engagement with a brake roller adapted to brake rotation of the conveyor rollers. The braking force exerted by the brake roller is dependent at least in part upon the weight of the load on the conveyor rollers.

In a known method of moving loads, the loads are placed on pallets and the pallets are placed on roller conveyors inclined at an angle to the horizontal so that the pallets move along, and down, the conveyor under the force of gravity. The speed of the loads must be controlled to ensure the safety of the system operatives and to ensure that the goods on the pallets are not damaged. In such systems it is therefore necessary to incorporate brakes to prevent the loads moving at too great a speed. Typically, in conveyors having a track formed by a plurality of conveyor rollers, the speed control is achieved by brake rollers. Brake rollers comprise a roll element of the roller conveyor which is acted upon directly by the load or, alternatively, may comprise a separate brake roller in contact with the underside of the rollers of the conveyor track. The brake rollers may either provide a constant braking force, or may include a centrifugally operable braking system which provides a braking force dependent upon the speed of rotation of the roller.
One problem of the known systems is that they do not adequately cater for variations in the weight of the individual loads, i.e., the braking force is not load-sensitive or load-proportional. An object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor in which the braking force applied to loads is load-sensitive.


This disclosure is directed to content protection key management. In general, devices may include secure processing resources configured to derive content keys (e.g., for use in decrypting secure content) using key ladders. In one embodiment, a device may comprise, for example, at least a secure processing module to derive content keys for use in decrypting secure content. The secure processing module may include, for example, a key ladder storage module and a secure key storage module. The key ladder storage module may be to store at least one key ladder for use in deriving at least one content key. The secure key storage module may be to store the at least one content key derived using the key ladder.

In general, content protection may include various types of security schemes configured to control how, where and to whom content may be presented. Examples of content protection may include digital rights management (DRM) for content downloaded from the Internet and as conditional access (CA) for content provided via a television signal (e.g., through a set-top box). A variety of content protection systems are available. For example, Adobe Access is a content protection system offered by the Adobe System Incorporated, Widevine is DRM solution offered by Google Incorporated, and Marlin is a DRM platform created by an open-standards community initiative called the Marlin Developer Community. While the above example content protection solutions may provide similar functionality, their actual implementation may differ substantially.
For example, even though key handling operations for all of the above content protection solutions may be similar, the key handling operations corresponding to each content protection solution still requires a custom implementation within a security processor in a device to protect root keys of trust along with intermediate and content keys (e.g., control words). Preparation of custom key handling firmware may be expensive because it requires specialized knowledge and validation testing. Moreover, implementing multiple customized firmware modules configured for key handling may open up new attack vectors in a device (e.g., to hackers or others desiring to acquire secret key used in generating runtime keys for accessing protected content), and thus, rigorous review is then required to mitigate the potential security risks. These requirements for custom programming substantially increase the work that goes into releasing new devices, which may increase the time and cost involved in getting new devices into the hands of consumers.
Although the following Detailed Description will proceed with reference being made to illustrative embodiments, many alternatives, modifications and variations thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art.


An electric connection box including a box main body, an integration mounted at the box main body, a pair of connection devices, and a plurality of ribs. The pair of connection devices are structured with one of connection devices provided at the integration and the other of connection devices provided at the box main body. The plurality of ribs are arranged at the box main body, and abuts on the integration and is deformed when the integration is mounted at the box main body so as to prevent rattling of the integration. Second ribs among the plurality of ribs, which are arranged close to the other of connection devices, are formed stiffer than first ribs arranged away from the other of connection devices farther than the first ribs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connection box mounted in a car as a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a car as the vehicle, various electronic devices, such as a lamp like a head lamp or a tail lamp, a motor like a starter motor or a motor for an air conditioner, are mounted.
Junction blocks are arranged at suitable positions in the car for supplying electric power to the various electronic devices. Each of the junction blocks is structured integrally with various electric circuit units such as many fuses and relays.
Because a junction block includes a fuse, a relay and bus bar, it is called a fuse block, a relay box or an electric connection box as a generic name. In this description, the fuse block, the relay box and junction block are called the electric connection box as a generic name hereafter.
The electric connection box includes a box main body forming an outer shell, and an electric unit mounted at the box main body (for example, Patent document 1). The box main body is formed with an insulation synthetic resin into a box shape. The box main body is provided with a mount portion for mounting the electric unit. The electric unit is, for example, a relay, a fuse, and a power integration as a power distribution unit.
The box main body and the power integration are respectively provided with a connection device to be a pair of connection devices. The pair of connection devices are electrically connected to each other so as to supply electric power from a power supply such as a battery or a generator to the power integration when the power integration is mounted at the box main body. The electric power is distributed by a semiconductor or a relay in the power integration through a wiring harness connected to the power integration and supplied to the various electronic devices.
The power integration in the electric connection box mounted in the car is caused to rattle in the mount portion of the box main body by vibration of the car. Rattling of the power integration may cause a load at a soldering connection in the power integration to generate a crack, and may wear a terminal at the connection devices to result in connection failure.
For solving such problems, for example, a plurality of ribs for preventing rattling are provided at an inner wall of the mount portion. The plurality of ribs are formed into the same shape. When the power integration is mounted in the mount portion, the ribs abut on the power integration and are deformed. The deformed ribs hold the power integration with a pressing force to prevent the rattling. Japan Patent Application published No. 2005-6498 is referred as Patent Document 1.


Pipe elements have circumferential grooves. The grooves have a first side surface contiguous with a first floor surface. The first side surface and the first floor surface together subtend a first 90° circular arc when viewed in cross section. The grooves also have a second side surface contiguous with a second floor surface. The second side surface is in spaced relation to and in facing relation with the first side surface. The second side surface and the second floor surface together subtend a second 90° circular arc when viewed in cross section. A third floor surface is contiguous with both the first and second floor surfaces and is a flat surface. A coupling used to connect the pipe elements has arcuate projections which engage the grooves of the pipe elements. The arcuate projections have a semi-circular cross section. Relief grooves are positioned adjacent to each arcuate projection.

Mechanical couplings for joining pipe elements together end-to-end comprise interconnectable segments that are positionable circumferentially surrounding the end portions of co-axially aligned pipe elements. The term "pipe element" is used herein to describe any pipe-like item or component having a pipe like form. Pipe elements include pipe stock, pipe fittings such as elbows, caps and tees as well as fluid control components such as valves, reducers, strainers, restrictors, pressure regulators and the like.
Pipe elements are vulnerable to failure at joints where two or more pipe elements are connected. Failure at a joint may be caused by applied forces inducing stresses in pipe elements or couplings that exceed the yield strength of the material forming the pipe elements or coupling, at much lower loads applied cyclically which induces fatigue failure, or when bending forces add additional stresses. Regardless of the failure mode, stress concentrations in the pipe elements can play a major role in limiting the performance of pipe joints, especially mechanical pipe joints assembled from polymeric pipes, as some polymeric materials are sensitive to stress concentrations.
Stress concentrations may be a factor, for example, when polymeric pipe elements are joined by mechanical couplings, commonly made of metal, having arcuate projections, known as "keys", which engage circumferential grooves in the pipe elements. The grooves, whether formed by machining operations or cold worked (roll-grooved), will have regions of stress concentration in the "corners" of the groove, where the sides of the groove meet the floor of the groove, such regions being near or adjacent to the location of the engagement of the key within the groove, and thus, where forces and stresses are transferred across the joint by the coupling. Further, known engineering considerations governing the groove geometry and the groove/key contact tend to increase stress in the groove corners, these considerations including the known need to maximize the height of the engagement between the sides of the keys and the sides of the groove for performance purposes while minimizing the depth of the groove, and, for polymeric pipe, minimizing or eliminating compressive forces applied by the key to the bottom of the groove, which act to increase stress at the groove corners. Where other forces, such as bending forces, are applied to the joint and carried only by the key/groove interface, stress is further increased at the groove corners. At those corners, stress concentrations are formed as a natural consequence of the sharp corner or small radius present where the two surfaces meet. Such stress concentrations are exacerbated by the need, in practical pipe couplings, to account for manufacturing tolerances on the coupling and the pipe elements themselves. These manufacturing tolerances create geometric variability in each component, the accommodation of which limits the degree to which coupling designers can reduce the effect of stress concentrations. The increased stress in the groove corners and the stress concentrations naturally occurring there promote the formation of small cracks in some polymer pipe elements, which can lead to an ultimate failure under high applied loads, or fatigue failure under stress inducing cyclic loads. There is clearly an advantage to reducing or eliminating the increased stresses in the corners of the grooves in polymeric pipes and stress concentrations at those locations, including by reducing the effects of geometric variations on the key/groove interface.

Coupling and circumferential groove shape


Information is provided a user of a mobile device. Media content is sensed by the mobile device and sent to an information processing server. The information processing server also obtains media content from another source and associates at least a portion of the obtained media content with a product or service offer. The sensed media content is correlated to the obtained media content such that an associated buy or service offer is selected. The buy or service offer is sent to the mobile device for display to the user.

Millions of football fans tune in each year to see two teams battle in the Super Bowl for the NFL championship trophy. Because the broadcast viewership for the event is so large (with correspondingly high advertising fees), marketers go to great lengths to create inspirational commercials. Indeed, for some of us, the commercials may be so inspiring that they end up being more interesting than the actual football game. These commercials may then inspire us and end up influencing our purchasing decisions.
Millions of movie goers may also turn out to see the newest James Bond movie that includes a scene with James Bond driving the latest sports car from Aston Martin. Such a sequence, called "product placement," may not be as direct in attempting to influence our purchasing decisions, but may be just as powerful (if not more so) to inspire us to take a certain action. For example, after seeing this scene you may be inspired to go out and buy a sports car.
Both of the above techniques involve situations in which a marketer is seeking to expressly tie your inspiration in the media content to a particular product. However, there is also a vast collection of media content that does not fall into the commercial or product placement categories. Specifically, other scenes in a James Bond movie that are not directly tied to any particular product may also inspire you action. For example, James Bond jumping out of an airplane may inspire you to sign up for a sky diving adventure. Alternatively, older media content may still be highly inspirational. For example, given the passage of enough time, a product placement provided in an earlier James Bond film may provide you with a different inspiration than the one originally intended. Also, older movies such as the Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind are still capable of inspiring viewers, but they may inspire viewers to do or buy different things now as compared to when those films were first released back in the 1930s.
Marketers and users would benefit if such inspirations could be tapped and targeted to provide users with opportunities for action on their inspirations when viewing media content. Thus, new and interesting techniques of providing users with such abilities may be desirable.
In certain example embodiments, a media content intake system receives media content and tags portions of the content as being associated with a particular result. In certain example embodiments, the result is a product or a service. In certain example embodiments, the result may include further information (e.g., a make and model of a car that is in the content). A library or database of such tags can be created and maintained.
Consumers are then encouraged to capture and send in portions of media streams they are currently watching, listening to, etc. The portions of the media streams that users capture and send in are analyzed. A comparison is made between the tagged content and the captured media content. When a match is found, the user is sent information associated with the tagged result.
In certain example non-limiting embodiments, automatic identification of TV or movie content and association with product or service offers or location aids is provided via a mobile device. The content may include for example movies, TV shows, advertisements, sports, news, music, entertainment channels, or any form of stimuli that can be sensed and captured electronically. Such content can be delivered live (e.g., a play, a movie, a rock band performance, etc.) or remotely (e.g., by cable television, via a terrestrial or satellite radio, etc.) The mobile device may operate to capture video, audio, and/or images, and relate them to particular goods and/or services. The user may be presented with more information about the goods/services and/or may be presented with options to purchase the goods and/or services.
In certain example embodiments, one or more software modules may be implemented on a processing system that analyzes media content. For example:                A Media platform module may include functionality that                    Creates tagged media content though the automatic processing of channels (e.g., TV channels, internet sources, etc). Tagged information may include:                            Program type, for example: movies, documentary, sports (e.g., NFL, NBA), news, music, T.V. shows, commercials (e.g., Advertisements).                Time of transmission or broadcast, for example: country, region, city, channel number, network (e.g., HBO, NBC, ABC).                                    Provides libraries of searched data, for example on:                            Cars                Bicycles                Sports such as golf, football, etc                                    Provides multi-functionality support for users so that users may interact with certain services in more than one language (e.g., English, Arabic, Spanish)            Accepts or uploads advertising content with tagged or associated information, for example:                            Scene information                Frames of the advertisement                A logo associated with the advertisement                Speech data (e.g., a finger print for speech in the advertisement)                VOCR (Video Optical Character Recognition) textual data                A telephone number (e.g., for linking to an IVR)                Possible actions that may be taken in relation to the Ad:                                    Connect to Purchase goods                    Connect to Website                                                                    Geographical data, for example: national, regional, or local listings                        Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) engines        Finger Printing Of Advertisements        Video Optical Character Recognition (VOCR)        Automatic searches in an image collection        Automatic structure detection from structure        Mobile server Interfaces        Facial Recognition        User profile that may include information such as, for example,                    Name, email, telephone number (e.g., home, work, cell), payment options, billing information, the devices that are registered (e.g., iPhone, Android mobile devices), buying history, wish list, interests, etc
Integration and/or Interface Modules may also be included, for example:                Interactive Voice Response        Web Servers        Payment methods, for example: PayPal, wallet, mobile        Social Media such as Face book, twitter, and other services
Mobile clients for use by users may be implemented for various mobile device platforms, such as the Apple's iPhone or iPod, the Android platform, or other types of mobile phones, devices, tablets, etc.                Such clients may include functionality that allows integration with pre-existing commercial implementations (e.g., an application store, a music store, or the like).        The client may include user interfaces that allow for easy recordation of content and forwarding to a server for analysis.        The client may include audio, video, and/or image compression technology.
Billing and financial systems may also be integrated with various other systems and/or modules according to certain example embodiments.
In certain example embodiments, a rover module may be used to assist in identifying content. The identification process may use multiple "paths" to increase confidence that the product, service, or other item being identified is correct. For example, video, voice, ISR, and other features of media content may be analyzed simultaneously (or in series) to identify a target piece of media.
In certain example embodiments, a method of providing information to a user of a mobile device that includes at least one imaging system that is configured to obtain media content is provided. The mobile device is operable to communicate with an information processing server. First media content is received from the mobile device, the first media content obtained through the at least one imaging system of the mobile device. Second media content is obtained that is from a media source that is different than the mobile device. At least one product is associated with the second media content. The first media content is processed to obtain at least one feature of the first media content. A matching analysis process is performed on the first media content against the second media content based on the at least one feature. A result to the mobile device is sent that indicates whether or not a match to the first media content was identified.
In certain example embodiments, a processing server system that analyzes media content that is uploaded via mobile devices by users is provided. The system includes a memory storage medium. The system also includes at least one processor. The at least one processor is structured to receive first media content from a mobile device, the first media content obtained through at least one imaging system that is part of the mobile device. The at least one processor is structured to receive second media content that is from a media source different from the mobile device and store the received second media content in the memory storage medium. The at least one processor is structured to associate at least one product with the second media content. The at least one processor is structured to process the first media content to obtain at least one feature of the first media content. The at least one processor is structured to perform a matching analysis process on the first media content against the second media content based on the at least one feature. The at least one processor is structured to send a result to the mobile device that indicates whether or not a match to the first media content was identified.
In certain example embodiments, a system for analyzing media content and providing buying opportunities to users of a mobile device is provided. The system includes a mobile device including at least one imaging system that is configured to obtain first media content in response to user input. The system includes a processing system that wirelessly communicates with the mobile device. A processing system is structured to receive the first media content that is obtained via the mobile device. A processing system is structured to receive second media content that is from a media source different from the mobile device and store the received second media content in a memory storage medium. A processing system is structured to associate at least one tagged feature with the second media content. A processing system is structured to store at least one product in the storage medium in association with the second media content. A processing system is structured to in response to receipt of the first media content, process the first media content to obtain at least one feature in the first media content. A processing system is structured to perform a matching analysis process on the first media content against the second media content based on comparing the at least one feature to the at least one tagged feature. A processing system is structured to send a result to the mobile device that indicates the at least one product is associated with the first media content in response to a successful matching process.

Systems and methods for presentation and analysis of media content