A high voltage electric power line monitor includes a current sensor, a voltage sensor, an energy harvesting power supply, and a communication device. The monitor is supported by an overhead power line support structure, such an insulator housing a sectionalizing switch. The current sensor coil and the energy harvesting coils are positioned transverse to the power line with the power lane passing through the coils. A foil patch voltage sensor and a communications antenna are carried on an electronics board positioned parallel to the monitored power line, typically below the current sensor. Both the current sensor and the voltage sensor are positioned adjacent to, but spaced apart from, the monitored power line creating an air gap between the monitor and the power line. The sensors are housed within a Faraday cage to shield the current sensor from electromagnetic contamination.

At present, ring-type current transformers ("CTs") are the most prevalent technology for measuring phase currents in three-phase electric power transmission and distribution lines. Conventional CTs are often placed in physical contact with the monitored power line conductor, which results in excessive heating of the CT and the power line. Excessive heating can adversely impact electronics in the CT and limit the current carrying capacity of the power line. Conventional CTs are also limited to electric current measurement, resulting in the need for separate voltage sensors when both current and voltage measurement are desired. Conventional CTs also require separate radios to transmit the current measurements to controllers or remote transmission units (RTUs). These radios are typically powered by batteries or separate low voltage wiring. Batteries require periodic maintenance, while low voltage wiring requires a nearby transformer, which increases the cost and maintenance requirements.
In addition to current measurement, power line voltage measurement is also useful for "smart grid" electric power system monitoring, protection and control. Traditional voltage measurement devices, while accurate, are expensive and physically large, which limits the number of electric power circuit locations where they can be cost effectively be deployed. High voltage sensors are presently available, but the conventional voltage sensing techniques are usually sensitive to electromagnetic interference errors (also referred to as "cross talk" or "contamination") caused by other high voltage power lines and devices in close proximity. In addition, many conventional voltage sensors are non-directional, which renders them particularly susceptible to electromagnetic contamination. Electromagnetic contamination also impairs the measurement of the voltage phase angle, which is critical for VAR measurement, capacitor switching for voltage support, and sophisticated direction-to-fault and distance-to-fault sectionalizing techniques.
A high voltage sensor in the form of a circuit board carrying a foil patch sensor has been used to obtain advantages over physically large capacitor and transformer-based systems. The small size and low cost of foil patch sensors allows for information gathering at a larger number of measurement points, which provides more accurate and robust determination of power outages and poor power quality conditions. However, conventional capacitive foil patch sensors are typically non-directional, which makes them susceptible to significant cross talk from nearby high voltage power lines and devices. While a line mounted patch sensor with a ground plane positioned adjacent to the power line experiences relatively good coupling to the power line, nearby power lines and other high voltage devices, such as disconnect switches and equipment bushings, can still cause significant cross talk.
Conductive shielding and mathematical filtering are other techniques that have been used to avoid or compensate for electromagnetic cross talk. However, conductive shielding can be physically challenging to design and mathematical filtering is complicated by variations in capacitance caused by changing environmental factors. Voltage sensors are generally physically mounted to a support made from a dielectric medium, such as epoxy, Teflon or porcelain. While the nominal capacitances of these materials are generally well known, the actual capacitance in the field can vary significantly with changes in environmental temperature, moisture and surface contamination. For example, the sensor capacitance can change with changes in physical dimensions resulting from thermal expansion. Power line conductors experience physical sag, which can be significantly impacted by the ambient temperature. In addition, the intrinsic dielectric constant of some materials can change with temperature. While the majority of these effects can be compensated for by measuring the temperature of the local mechanical support and using a calibration table to account for these changes in capacitance, this increases the cost and complexity of the measurement system.
Moreover, temperature compensation may not be sufficient in some cases because sensor performance can also vary significantly due to the surface condition of the physical sensor support. Any type of electrically conductive surface contamination can drain the electric charge from the sensor and impact the phase angle response characteristic of the sensor. These parasitic effects are caused by a resistive layer, such as water, ice, oxidation or grime, on the surface of the sensor support or housing. Resistive surface contamination can significantly change the measured phase angle with respect to the voltage field and reduce the signal magnitude available to measure. Moisture or high humidity in the ambient air can exasperate these sensor impacts. While these contamination effects do not significantly influence the high voltage field itself, they do affect the signal measurement in both magnitude and phase angle.
As a result, there is a persistent need for improved current and voltage sensors for high voltage power lines. There is a particular need for high voltage electric power line monitors capable of measuring AC currents and voltages with onboard communication features suitable for placement in many circuit locations in smart-grid applications.

Combined current and voltage sensor for high voltage electric power lines


The invention is an Exercise Device that facilitates and enhances an exercise that improves male penile muscle condition causing firmer longer lasting erections with increased sensation and more powerful ejaculations. The device uses exercise rather than drugs or herbs to improve sexual pleasure for the male and female.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to the subject matter of sexual health, sexual pleasure, and male sexual dysfunction.
2. Description of Prior Art
Muscle fiber will experience strength decline with age if they go unused. To maintain strength integrity, muscles must be exercised on a regular basis. (Men""s Health, page 134, December 1998). Blood circulation decreases in inactive muscle tissue. Lack of penile muscle use may cause male sexual dysfunction along with many other causes.
The state of the technology addressing male dysfunction. and sexual enhancement has been to treat the problem chemically or with natural herbs. Drugs and herbs to address blood flow dysfunction in men come with many side effects as severe as death (Caverjet Product Information, Pharmacia and Upjohn Co., July 1997; Better Sex Naturally, Zachary Veillux, Men""s Health, page 140, November 1998; The Year in Science, Sex, Sexual Chemistry, Rosie Mestel, Discover, page 32, January 1999; Lifestyle Drugs: What""s After Viagra, Playboy, page 70, June 1999).
The invention at hand promotes penile blood circulation through natural and wholesome exercising. By exercising the erectile muscle tissue in the penis causes improved firmness, muscle strength, and longer lasting erections (Stronger Muscles, Better Sex, Men""s Health, page 38, March 2000; Be One of the Geysers, Al Cooper, PhD., Men""s Health, page 32, January/February 1998; Adapted from the book xe2x80x9cA Lifetime of Sexxe2x80x9d, Stephen C. George, K. Winston Caine, Men""s Health, page 110, March 1998). The benefit of using the invention to promote healthy exercise is that there are no side effects.
The invention serves as a reminder and to promote exercise of erectile muscle tissue in the male penis. Erectile muscle is strengthened and blood flow is improved through regular exercise. Exercising contributes to increasing muscle health of the male reproductive apparatus thereby enhancing male and female sexual pleasure by firmer penis distention and more powerful ejaculations. The age-old problem of blood flow impotence in men is addressed.


An animal feeder includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable in a course movement to move the shelf from a low height for smaller animals to a raised height for the animal after they have grown. The shelf is also adjustable in fine movement to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate. The shelf is carried on straps which extend along the end walls of the hopper and are movable by an adjustment linkage defined by a plate carried on the end wall and a manually adjustable lever mounted for pivotal movement on the plate. The lever has two pivot positions on the plate providing the two course adjustments and two graduated scales for the fine adjustment each cooperating with a respective pivot position.

Various arrangements of animal feeder are provided in which there is a trough into which feed can be deposited from a hopper above the trough. In most cases the feed material to be deposited can vary in particle size and viscosity so that it is often desirable to provide an arrangement which allows an adjustment of the opening through which the material can feed from the hopper into the trough.
In many cases the opening is provided by a simple shutter at the gap between the Hopper and the trough where the height of the shutter can be adjusted to vary the gap at the bottom of the shutter.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,508 (Kleinsasser) issued Apr. 28, 1987 is disclosed a feeder which provides a shelf above the trough with the hopper discharging onto the shelf in a manner so that the feed remains on the shelf but can be moved from the shelf to the trough by the animal as required. Feeders of this type have achieved significant commercial success. Adjustment of the height of the shelf is necessary for the purpose of accommodating different types of feed and different feed rates and this is obtained by a hand crank screw which operates with a threaded nut to raise and lower a strap carrying the shelf. The screw is used in adjustment of this device because the deposit of the feed onto the self requires an accurate adjustment of the distance between the shelf and the bottom edge of the hopper so that cruder systems with a less fine adjustment have been rejected.
In a number of US patents it is known to provide relatively crude adjustment techniques. For example the following patents provide adjustment devices; U.S. Pat. No. 1,719,245 (Smidley) issued Jul. 2, 1929, U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,360 (Nelson) issued Jan. 5, 1971, U.S. Pat. No. 4,242,985 (Freeborn) issued Jan. 6, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,049 (Van Dusseldorp) issued Jul. 14, 1981, U.S. Pat. No. 4,351,274 (Pannier) issued Sep. 28, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,338 (Thibault) issued Jul. 31, 1984, U.S. Pat. No. 6,408,787 (Clark) issued Jun. 25, 2002.
It is also known to provide arrangements in which adjustment in a relatively crude manner is effected by selecting one of a plurality of holes in which to locate the pin of an adjustment lever so that the adjustment is effected step by step. As the holes must be necessarily a certain distance apart, such an adjustment provides a relatively crude distance of adjustment so that the fine tuning necessary for determining the specific dimensions of an opening to accurately control the rate of flow of feed material is not possible in such a system. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,368 (Bondarenko) issued Oct. 28, 2003. This provides a link which extends along one end wall of a feeder and a lever can be moved to place a pin into a selected one of a number of holes in the end wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,285 of Kleinsasser issued Feb. 18, 1997 of the present assignees discloses a further similar device where additional adjustment of the height of the shelf is possible but again fine adjustment is provided by a screw.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 also of Kleinsasser issued Oct. 19, 1999 of the present assignees discloses a further similar device where additional adjustment of the height of the shelf is possible by extending the strap using a double flap arrangement which folds up or down as required to extend the length of the strap but again fine adjustment is provided by a screw.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,923,142 also of Kleinsasser issued Aug. 2, 2005 of the present assignees shows an arrangement which includes a hopper above a shelf onto which feed can fall to be taken by the animal or dropped into a trough below the shelf. The height of the shelf is adjustable to change the width of the opening through which the feed passes to control feed rate. The shelf is carried on straps which extend along the end walls of the hopper and are movable by an adjustment linkage defined by a plate carried on the end wall and a manually adjustable lever mounted for pivotal movement on the plate. The plate has an arcuate outer edge which is serrated to define an arcuate row of saw teeth and the lever is formed by a flat of sheet material which lies in a plane parallel to and slides over the plate and includes a portion thereof which is bent out of a plane of the lever into the plane of the plate which is also serrated with a row of saw teeth shaped to mesh with the saw teeth of the arcuate portion. The portion of the lever is movable in a direction away from the plate a non-meshing position in which the lever is free to move around the pivot axis.
However this arrangement is provided for fine adjustment of the shelf relative to the bottom edge of the hopper over a limited extent so as to control the release of the feed and the larger adjustment for setting the basic height of the shelf is carried out using the folding flap arrangement disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,083 above.

Animal feeder with adjustment of a feed discharge opening


Embodiments relate to forming a conformable interface layers (clayers) on small semiconductor devices, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) to facilitate adhesion with a pick-up head for operations during the manufacturing of an electronic display. A conformable material is formed in regions between LED dies on a carrier substrate and over the LED dies. A mask is applied over the conformable material to selectively cover the conformable material. Portions of the conformable material are exposed to light to selectively cure or not cure the portions of the conformable material. The conformable material between the LED dies is removed to form a conformable interface layer over each of the LED dies.

The present disclosure relates to semiconductor device fabrication, specifically to placing a conformable material over light emitting diode (LED) dies to facilitate adhesive attachment in display fabrication.
In LED display fabrication, LEDs may be moved from one substrate to another. For example, micro-LEDs of different color may be transferred from carrier substrates to a display substrate including control circuits for the micro-LEDs to manufacture an electronic display. As the form factor of LED's decreases, the picking and placing of LEDs into desired arrangements and without damaging the LED dies becomes increasingly difficult.

Washable mold for conformable layer formation on semiconductor devices


A Karman vortex flow meter has a detection passages located along a fluid flow in a duct 1. Flow outlets of the detection passage are disposed on an end face of a vortex generation element and flow inlets 3 are disposed upstream from the flow outlets. Heating coils for detecting flow velocity change of a fluid caused by a negative pressure of a Karman vortex are mounted in the detection passage, and swell portions are formed upstream from the heating coils in the detection passage. The flow meter that can prevent water drops, bubbles, etc., from adhering to heating coils, etc., and detect Karman vortexes stably.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a Karman vortex flow meter used with internal combustion engines of vehicles, etc., for measuring the flow velocity and quantity of a fluid and in particular to a method using heating coils, etc., for detecting Karman vortexes.
2. Description of Related Art
The methods using heating coils for detecting Karman vortexes are those for detecting Karman vortexes occurring on a fluid directly by means of heating coils and for detecting a subflow produced by alternately occurring Karman vortexes.
The former method is described, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 57-86013 (1982) as shown in FIG. 7 and the latter is described, for example, in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 57-17864 (1982) as shown in FIG. 8.
In FIG. 7, a vortex generation element 102 is installed in a duct 101 where a fluid flows and heating coils 109a and 109b are placed symmetrically in a vortex pass area downstream from the vortex generation element 102. In the structure, Karman vortexes 107 produced by a fluid flow indicated by an arrow 110 are detected as an increase or decrease in a heating current fed into the heating coils 109a and 109b for measuring the flow velocity or quantity according to the Karman vortex period.
In FIG. 8, a heating coil is put in a through hole 250 piercing both sides of a vortex generation element 202 installed in a duct 101 where a fluid flows, and a flow produced in the through hole 250 as Karman vortexes 207 occur is converted into an AC signal synchronized with the vortex occurrence using a radiation amount change of the heating coil 209. The flow velocity or quantity is measured from the frequency or period of the AC signal.
The conventional Karman vortex flow meters introduce the following problems:
If heating coils are installed directly in the duct through which a fluid passes as shown in FIG. 7, when the fluid contains dust, the dust will accumulate in the heating coils as the flow meter is used for a long term. Since the accumulated dust hinders the heating coils in heat radiation, electric output of the heating coils decreases and in the end, Karman vortexes cannot be detected.
If two holes are made on the side faces of the vortex generation element and the through passage is disposed so as to connect the holes as shown in FIG. 8, Karman vortexes alternately occurring via the through passage interfere with each other, causing Karman vortexes to sometimes occur unstably.
To solve the problems, a Karman vortex flow meter as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B has been proposed.
In FIGS. 9A and 9B, a vortex generation element 2 for generating Karman vortexes is installed in a duct 1 into which a fluid flows and detection passages 5 are disposed along the fluid flow in the duct 1. Each detection passage 5 has a flow outlet 4 formed in the end face of the vortex generation element 2 and a flow inlet 3 formed in the top wall face of the duct 1 upstream from the flow outlet 4. Further, heating coils 9 for detecting a flow velocity change in the detection passages 5 caused by a negative pressure of a Karman vortex and supports 8 for supporting the heating coils 9 are located in the detection passages 5.
The above mentioned Karman vortex flow meter is described in detail in a copending U.S. patent application No. 08/553,901, filed on Nov. 6, 1996.
The Karman vortex flow meter of the structure in FIG. 9 can prevent dust having a heavy specific gravity from flowing into the detection passages 5; however, if the fluid contains water drops or bubbles having a comparatively light specific gravity, the water drops or bubbles enter the detection passages. Residence of the water drops or bubbles can hinder the heating coils from detecting Karman vortexes or fuse the heating coils.


A property improving method includes first and second steps. In the first step popcorn noise in a read signal of a thin-film magnetic head is measured so as to determine whether the popcorn noise falls within a permissible range. In the second step a current is fed to the recording head of the thin-film magnetic head, the current having a value greater than that of the current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. While the value of the current fed to the recording head is gradually increased in the second step, the first and second steps are alternately repeated until it is determined that the popcorn noise falls within a permissible range in the first step, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, a system, a computer process, and a recording medium on which a program is stored for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Performance improvements in thin-film magnetic heads have been sought as areal recording density of hard disk drives has increased. Consequently, in place of thin-film magnetic heads that perform reading and writing by an induction-type electromagnetic transducer, composite thin-film magnetic heads have been widely used. A composite head is made of a layered structure including a recording head having an induction-type electromagnetic transducer for writing and a reproducing head having a magnetoresistive (MR) element for reading.
With regard to a thin-film magnetic head having an induction-type electromagnetic transducer, it is known that so-called popcorn noise may occur in a read signal when reading is performed after writing is performed. The popcorn noise is pulse-shaped noise having a peak value much higher than that of normal white noise. The popcorn noise causes problems such as a reduction in accuracy of alignment of the thin-film magnetic head. While the definite cause of popcorn noise is not clear, it is assumed to be caused by a delay in change when the magnetic domain of a magnetic layer of the induction-type electromagnetic transducer shifts from the state of writing operation to the stationary state.
To reduce the popcorn noise, measures have been taken in prior art with regard to the design of the thin-film magnetic head and the manufacturing process, such as optimization of the geometry and the composition of the magnetic layers of the induction-type electromagnetic transducer.
However, such measures are not enough to eliminate the popcorn noise completely, due to problems such as a shift in composition and variations in composition in a wafer.
Another problem of the prior-art measures is that a complete product with high added values, such as a thin-film magnetic head attached to a suspension, an extension line and terminals being connected to the head, may be found faulty due to popcorn noise. Such faulty products must be discarded, and a great loss thereby results.
In Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Hei 11-328603 (1999), a technique is disclosed for removing Barkhausen noise resulting from the domain wall shift of the MR film of the reproducing head by feeding a current to the recording head. However, the above-mentioned popcorn noise is not considered in this technique.
Although the above-mentioned publication does not disclose the magnitude of the current fed to the recording head to remove Barkhausen noise, the magnitude of the current is assumed to be the same as the current fed during a normal writing operation, since the current is fed to the recording head through driving the read/write circuitry. However, as will be disclosed in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is almost impossible to reduce the popcorn noise only by feeding a current to the recording head, the current being nearly as large as the current fed during a normal writing operation.
The above publication states that it is preferred to remove Barkhausen noise by feeding a current to the recording head after an occurrence of reading error. In an embodiment described in this publication Barkhausen noise is removed after an occurrence of reading error. However, such processing is not capable of improving the property of the thin-film magnetic head fundamentally.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method, an apparatus, a system, a computer process, and a recording medium on which a program is stored, each of which is provided for reducing noise made in a read signal of a thin-film magnetic head after a writing operation is completed, and for reducing nonconforming products.
A first method of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. A current is fed to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed.
According to the first method of the invention, a current is fed to the electromagnetic transducer, the current having a value greater than the value of the current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. As a result, the temperature of the transducer increases, and the noise made in the read signal after the writing operation is completed is thereby reduced.
According to the first method of the invention, the current may be fed while the head is not facing toward a recording medium.
A second method of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The method includes: a first step of measuring the noise in the read signal of the head and determining whether the noise falls within a permissible range; and a second step of feeding a current to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. While the value of the current fed to the transducer is gradually increased in the second step, the first and second steps are alternately repeated until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range in the first step, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
According to the second method of the invention, a current is fed to the electromagnetic transducer of the thin-film magnetic head producing noise beyond the permissible range, the current having a value greater than the value of the current fed when the normal writing operation is performed, until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit. As a result, noise of many of thin-film magnetic heads manufactured falls within the permissible range.
According to the second method of the invention, the second step may be performed while the head is not facing toward a recording medium.
According to the second method, the first and second steps may be performed when the head is in any of states of a wafer in which a plurality of rows of thin-film magnetic heads are aligned; a row of a plurality of thin-film magnetic heads; the single thin-film magnetic head; the head mounted on a suspension; a plurality of thin-film magnetic heads each of which is mounted on a carriage through a suspension; and the head incorporated in a magnetic disk device.
A first apparatus of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The apparatus comprises: a determination means for measuring the noise in the read signal of the head and determining whether the noise falls within a permissible range; an energizing means for feeding a current to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed; and a control means for controlling the determination means and the energizing means such that, while the value of the current fed to the transducer is gradually increased, the determination and the energizing are alternately repeated until the determination means determines that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
A second apparatus of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The apparatus comprises: a measuring device for measuring the noise in the read signal of the head; an energizing circuit for feeding a current to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed; and a control device for determining whether the noise measured by the measuring device falls within a permissible range and for controlling the measuring device and the energizing circuit such that, while the value of the current fed from the energizing circuit to the transducer is gradually increased, the measurement and the energizing are alternately repeated until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
A system of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The system comprises: a processing circuit for performing reading and writing processing of the head and for outputting the read signal; a measuring device for measuring the noise in the read signal outputted from the processing circuit; and a control device for controlling the processing circuit and the measuring device. The processing circuit feeds a current to the transducer in accordance with the control performed by the control device, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. The control device determines whether the noise measured by the measuring device falls within a permissible range, and controls the measuring device and the processing circuit such that, while the value of the current fed from the processing circuit to the transducer is gradually increased, the measurement and the energizing are alternately repeated until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
According to the first or second apparatus, or the system of the invention, a current is fed to the electromagnetic transducer of the thin-film magnetic head producing noise beyond the permissible range, the current having a value greater than the value of the current fed when the normal writing operation is performed, until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit. As a result, noise of many of thin-film magnetic heads manufactured falls within the permissible range.
A computer process of the invention is provided for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The process is provided for a system comprising: a processing circuit for performing reading and writing processing of the head and outputting the read signal; a measuring device for measuring the noise in the read signal outputted from the processing circuit; and a computer for controlling the measuring device and the processing circuit.
The process includes the following steps executed by the computer: the first step of determining whether the noise measured by the measuring device falls within a permissible range; and the second step of controlling the processing circuit such that a current is fed to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. While the value of the current fed to the transducer is gradually increased in the second step, the first and second steps are alternately repeated until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range in the first step, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
According to the computer process of the invention, a current is fed to the electromagnetic transducer of the thin-film magnetic head producing noise beyond the permissible range, the current having a value greater than the value of the current fed when the normal writing operation is performed, until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit. As a result, noise of many of thin-film magnetic heads manufactured falls within the permissible range.
A recording medium of the invention retains a program for improving a property of a thin-film magnetic head by reducing noise made in a read signal after a writing operation is completed, the head incorporating at least an induction-type electromagnetic transducer and performing reading and writing. The medium is used in a system comprising: a processing circuit for performing reading and writing processing of the head and outputting the read signal; a measuring device for measuring the noise in the read signal outputted from the processing circuit; and a computer for controlling the measuring device and the processing circuit.
The program includes the following steps executed by the computer: the first step of determining whether the noise measured by the measuring device falls within a permissible range; and the second step of controlling the processing circuit such that a current is fed to the transducer, the current having a value greater than a value of a current fed when a normal writing operation is performed. While the value of the current fed to the transducer is gradually increased in the second step, the first and second steps are alternately repeated until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range in the first step, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit.
According to the program stored on the medium of the invention, a current is fed to the electromagnetic transducer of the thin-film magnetic head producing noise beyond the permissible range, the current having a value greater than the value of the current fed when the normal writing operation is performed, until it is determined that the noise falls within the permissible range, or the current value reaches a specific upper limit. As a result, noise of many of thin-film magnetic heads manufactured falls within the permissible range.

Method, apparatus, system and computer process for improving property of thin-film magnetic head


Apparatus is disclosed for disintegrating fruit into pulp and juice and includes apparatus for controlling the rate of introduction of fruit and of ambient atmosphere into the overall apparatus, a cylindrical rotor housing having an entrance aperture and an outlet channel with a rotor drivingly rotated within to accelerate the fruit around a circular path and then discharge the fruit through a tangential channel into a disintegration chamber where the fruit impacts against a disintegrating member to disintegrate the fruit into pulp and juice for subsequent removal and packing.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating fruit for packaging. More specifically, it refers to disintegrating apparatus for use with fruit in which a controlled pulverizing of the fruit to obtain pulp and juice for subsequent packaging.
It is known in the food industry that, when separating the pit or seed from the pulp of fruit, particularly before the fruit is cooked, breaking of the pit should be avoided. This is important because a broken pit may contaminate both the aroma and the flavor of the pulp by the action of the substances it contains. Also, in some cases, the pit can be used in other processes in which it is essential that the pit not have undergone heat treatment or cooking. Thus, it becomes important to obtain separation of the pulp and juice of the fruit from the intact pit, particularly where the pulp of fruits of the drupe type, such as peaches and apricots are involved, although the principle can be important with other types of fruit, such as quince and others as well.
Various types of apparatus have been proposed in the past, such as that of U.S. Pat. No. 2,516,963 to Derbenwick et al. in which the fruit is introduced into a rapidly spinning basket with the centrifugal force serving to tear the pulp from the pits of the fruit while the latticework of the basket is spaced appropriately to retain the pits within the basket. However, these and other prior art devices have generally been inefficient in the removal of the pulp from the pit. Additionally, such apparatus has frequently resulted in pulp and juice of lower quality than desired because of enzymatic and oxidation changes occurring during the disintegration process.


A women's one-piece bathing suit garment includes a bodice panel and an underwear portion. The bodice panel has a vertically placed connection mechanism which forms the torso of the garment. The underwear portion includes a plurality of waistband panels, a front panel, and a primary panel. The front of the bodice panel extends below waist-level to form the plurality of waistband panels. The primary panel forms the rear of the underwear portion of the garment. The primary panel is connected to the plurality of waistband panels via continuous pieces of material forming the leg openings of the garment. The primary panel is connected to the front panel to form a crotch of the garment. The front panel connects to the plurality of waistband panels via a connection mechanism, which upon connecting, the front panel forms the front for the underwear portion of the bathing suit garment.

Many women are unable to wear traditional one-piece bathing suits and generally find it difficult to balance on one leg or even to sit down and bend at the knee or hip to pull on their bathing suit. Others may find it difficult to fit a leg through the hole of a traditional one-piece bathing suit garment, for example, because of a cast or other medical impediment. Still others who require assistance to get dressed, and caregivers who assist incapacitated individuals, find it difficult to use traditional one-piece women's bathing suits that must be maneuvered over the feet, up the legs, over the hips, up the torso, and over the shoulders. Therefore, women who are temporarily or chronically disabled, or who otherwise find it difficult to put on a traditional bathing suit garment unassisted, or find it difficult and embarrassing to be assisted with a traditional bathing suit garment, will appreciate a one-piece bathing suit that is easy to put on without assistance or with minimal assistance, that is sleek and tasteful and does not look like a medical garment, and enables the wearer to maintain individual independence and dignity.


Described are preferred monomers including a vinylbenzyl moiety N-bonded to an alkylaminopyridinyl or pyridylimidazolyl function. Also described are preferred acid salts of such monomers. Additionally, preferred processes involving and resins formed from these preferred monomers are described. The preferred resins are highly selective for valuable heavy metal ions such as copper and demonstrate superior iron rejection values.

The instant invention relates generally to chelating resins, and in particular to highly selective chelating resins having alkylaminopyridyl or pyridylimidazolyl functions, and to monomers for their preparation.
As background, polymer resins having ion-exchange properties have long been used to recover metal ions from solution. This recovery technique is advantageous because the resin insolubility and existence as a solid-phase material minimizes any contamination to the treated solution caused by the recovery process. Further, these chelating resins are often suitable for removing metal ions from solutions too dilute for practicable liquid-liquid extractions.
One resin attribute of great interest has been selectivity for particular metal ions. Desirable chelating resins preferentially bind valuable metal ions (e.g. copper and nickel) over less valuable metals ions (e.g. iron) at acid pHs (e.g pHs of 1-4) which most often prevail in hydrometalurgical recovery operations. In this regard, certain resins incorporating alkylaminopyridyl, imidazolyl or pyridylimidazolyl functions have been reported to selectively bind these valuable metal ions.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,944 to Hancock et al. describes resins which incorporate pyridyl, imidazolyl or imidazoline groups. The described resins are prepared by treating a preformed chloromethylated polystyrene matrix with a solution containing the active species of interest. The active species are thereby attached to the chloromethylated polystyrene matrix. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,031,038 to Grinstead et al. describes chelate-exchange resins capable of selective recovery of copper, nickel, and other valuable metals from acidic aqueous leachate liquor. Again, the resins are prepared by subsequently treating preformed chloromethylated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer beads, this time with an aminomethylpyridine species.
Resin preparations with chloromethylated polystyrene have been extensively reviewed. See, "Chemical Transformations of Chloromethylated Polystyrene", J. Macromol. Sci. - Rev. Macromol. Chem. Phys., 28, 503-592 (1988); "Chloromethylstyrene: Synthesis, Polymerization, Transformations, Applications", J. Macromol. Sci. - Rev. Macromol. Chem. Phys., 22, 343-407 (1982-83). As these reviews and the above-described patents demonstrate, by far, the predominant preparative approach in the literature and industry has been to react preformed chloromethylated polystyrene beads with a solution of the ligand of interest. In only relatively few instances, monomers incorporating the species of interest have been prepared and polymerized. This approach has seemingly been discarded in many instances, possibly due to difficulties encountered in preparing monomers of sufficient purity to give superior polymer products. For example, distillation, by far the most commonly used purifying method, has not been found to reliably purify monomers incorporating complicated ligands of interest. See, for instance, M. Tomoi, Y. Akada and H. Kakuichi, Macromol. Chem., Rapid Commun., 3, 537-42 (1982). As such, the monomers will contain substantial impurities, as will the polymers derived from them. This can severely impact selectivity of the polymers.
While efforts in the art and industry have provided chelating resins demonstrating some selectivity for certain valuable metals, the primary preparative method has been attachment of ligands to preformed chloromethylated polymer beads. As the applicants' own experience has shown, however, polymers prepared in this fashion have several disadvantages. For instance, the ligand attachment reaction very often gives rise to undesirable byproduct ligands irreversibly attached to the resin which can diminish selectivity. In light of the foregoing, there remains a need and demand for highly selective chelating resins, and to monomers and methods for their preparation. It is this need to which the invention described herein is addressed.

Highly selective chelating resins and monomers for their preparation


A display apparatus wherein the light transmittance of a pixel selected by a scanning electrode and a data electrode is changed in response to the difference of voltages applied to the scanning electrode and the data electrode, which comprises a display panel having a plurality of scanning electrodes and a plurality of data electrodes, a scanning voltage generator for applying a scanning voltage to the scanning electrodes of the display panel by receiving a scanning signal, a data voltage generator for applying a data voltage to the data electrodes of the display panel by receiving a data signal, an orthogonal function generator for generating an orthogonal function signal having substantially orthogonality, and a data signal forming circuit for operating the data signal based on a predetermined video signal and the orthogonal function signal generated from the orthogonal function generator, wherein the data signal forming circuit includes a field video signal converter for distributing signals for a single picture to those for a plurality of sub-pictures, and an orthogonal conversion signal generator for effecting orthogonal conversion of an input signal by the orthogonal function signal generated from the orthogonal function generator, the field video signal converter and the orthogonal conversion signal generator being connected in series, and a correction signal generator for generating a correction signal to be included in the data signal so that an effective voltage applied to a pixel in a non-selection time is substantially constant to any pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates mainly to a display apparatus having a matrix arrangement. Particularly, the present invention relates to a passive matrix display apparatus of a type that light transmittance is rapidly changed when a voltage applied to the intersection of a lateral electrode and a longitudinal electrode, i.e. a row electrode and a column electrode of a matrix exceeds a threshold value.
2. Discussion of the Background
A conventional technique will be described with reference to a liquid crystal display apparatus wherein a signal electrode and a scanning electrode are respectively referred to as a column electrode and a row electrode. In a passive matrix type liquid crystal display apparatus comprising an N.sub.r number of row electrodes and an M.sub.c number of column electrodes, a so-called successive line scanning method has been used to drive it. Namely, a group of pixel signals corresponding to pixels on an arbitrary line of row electrodes is applied to column electrodes, and at the same time, a column electrode selective voltage is applied to each row electrode. Thus, the light transmittance of each pixel selected by the application of the row electrode selective voltage is changed. The above-mentioned operation is effected to scan the N.sub.r number of row electrodes for each row electrode.
In the liquid crystal display apparatus, the light transmittance of a pixel has a threshold characteristic which relies on the effective value of a voltage applied to the pixel. In the above-mentioned driving method, it has been known that the condition to obtain the ratio of the maximum and minimum values of light transmittance, i.e. the largest contrast ratio can be expressed by formula (1) (reference document: Scanning Limitations of Liquid-Crystal-Displays, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, vol. ED-21, No. 2, February 1974, pp146-155 by Paul M. Alt, Peter Pleshko): EQU V.sub.r /V.sub.c =N.sub.r.sup.1/2 ( 1)
Under the condition of the formula (1), the ratio of the effective value V.sub.on of a pixel voltage which provides the maximum (or the minimum) light transmittance to the effective value V.sub.off of the pixel voltage which provides the minimum (or the maximum) transmittance is expressed by formula (2). EQU V.sub.on /V.sub.off =((N.sub.r.sup.1/2 -1)/(N.sub.r.sup.1/2 +1)).sup.1/2( 2 )
Further, V.sub.off is given by formula (3). EQU V.sub.off =V.sub.c (2(N.sub.r -N.sub.r.sup.1/2)/N.sub.r.sup.2).sup.1/2( 3)
From the formulas (1) and (3), formula (4) is obtained. ##EQU1##
The value V.sub.off is generally set to a threshold value V.sub.th of transmittance vs effective value characteristics. Accordingly, the values V.sub.c and V.sub.r are determined by the value of V.sub.th. Therefore, the conventional technique had a drawback that as the number of row electrodes was increased, a very higher value was required for the row voltage. In the passive matrix display apparatus, a gray shade display could be obtained by an amplitude modulation wherein a column voltage is changed depending on a degree of gray shade, or by changing a voltage application time in a case that a voltage applied to row electrodes is fixed to +V.sub.r or -V.sub.r in a selection time, and the voltage is 0.sub.v in a non-selection time. As a method for changing the application time, there are a method of changing the pulse width of a column voltage (pulse width modulation) and a method of changing the number of pulses while the pulse width is constant (pulse number modulation). To effect the pulse number modulation, for instance, one picture may be expressed by the number of frames (or the number of fields) corresponding to the number of gray shade levels, and column electrode pulses are applied to obtain V.sub.on depending on the gray shade of each of the pixels. Such method is called frame modulation.
The amplitude modulation, when it is done without any correction, results in non-uniformity of display because the effective value or the root mean square value of a voltage applied to a pixel in a non-selection time is variable depending on pixels. Further, the pulse width modulation may cause non-uniformity of display because a driving waveform distortion becomes large for a pixel remote from a driving point due to an electrode resistance when a signal having a narrow pulse width is applied. When the pulse width is sufficiently widened in the pulse width modulation, the frame frequency becomes too small so that a flicker of picture is resulted. Further, the frame modulation has a problem that a low frequency driving signal component increases and a flicker becomes conspicuous as the number of gray shade levels increase, unless the frame frequency is increased.

Display apparatus and a data signal forming method for the display apparatus


Process and device for packaging a material web roll. The device of the invention includes a packaging web dispenser, a holding device adapted to hold at least the beginning of a packaging web against the circumference of the material web roll, and a rotary drive for rotatably driving the material web roll. The holding device includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive dispenser and a pressing device. The process includes holding at least the beginning of the packaging web against the circumference of the material web roll, rotating the material web roll, and detachably bonding the packaging web to the circumference of the material web roll with the aid of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

The present invention claims priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7 119 of German Patent Application No. 198 31 277.6, filed on Jul. 13, 1998, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process and device for packaging a material web roll, and more particularly to a process and device for holding a material web roll wherein at least the beginning of a packaging web is held against the circumference of the material web roll.
2. Discussion of Background Information
The invention is described below using a paper web roll as an example of a material web roll. In principle, however, it can also be used with other material web rolls, for example, with rolls of films of plastic or metal or with rolls of endless cardboard.
Material web rolls to be packaged are of considerable size, having a diameter generally in the range of about 500 to 2,100 mm. Roll width is customarily 500 to 3,800 mm or even greater. Material web rolls of this type are created, for example, in the production of paper or textiles. To enable the material web rolls to be transported from their production site, such as a paper mill, to the site where they will be used, such as a printing plant, they must be wrapped in a packaging web for protection. The packaging web provides protection against damage and is also intended to minimize the effect of environmental factors such as atmospheric humidity.
Bonding packaging web with the circumference of a material web roll by applying an adhesive substance between the packaging web and the material web roll is known. This procedure, however, may result in damage to the material web roll. Also, the outer layer of the material web roll is often damaged during unpacking of the material web roll. Further, underlying layers of the material web are also damaged during unpacking.
Therefore, to avoid adhesive bonding, the beginning of the packaging roll is wound around the circumference of the material web roll until the next layer of the packaging web holds the beginning firmly with sufficient tension. When the material web roll is then rotated further, the holding device can be stopped. The packaging is considered xe2x80x9cself-locking,xe2x80x9d i.e., further layers of packaging web may be applied without the beginning of the packaging web slipping on the circumference of the material web roll, because this beginning is held firmly by the packaging web itself.
However, this procedure is relatively costly. The necessary winding and holding devices are relatively complicated and require additional floor space. Furthermore, this device increases the number of components in which failures can occur. Consequently, there is an increased risk of interruption of the packaging process.
The present invention provides a process and device for packaging a material web roll. The device of the invention includes a packaging web dispenser, a holding device adapted to hold at least the beginning of a packaging web against the circumference of the material web roll, and a rotary drive for rotatably driving the material web roll. The holding device includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive dispenser and a pressing device.
According to one feature of the invention, the pressure-sensitive adhesive dispenser is a spray device. The pressing device may include a nip between the material web roll and a driven roller. Further, the driven roller may be adapted to support the material web roll thereon.
The packaging web dispenser may be adapted to dispense the packaging web at a predetermined angle to the longitudinal axis of the material web roll.
The process for packaging a material web roll according to the present invention includes holding at least the beginning of a packaging web against the circumference of the material web roll, rotating the material web roll, and detachably bonding the packaging web to the circumference of the material web roll with the aid of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.
The process may further include applying the pressure-sensitive adhesive to the packaging web. Additionally, the process may include feeding the packaging web through at least one nip between the material web roll and a driven roller. Also, the material web roll may lie on the driven roller.
Further, the process may include successively winding a plurality of layers of the packaging web around the material web roll, and nondetachably binding each successive packaging web layer to the preceding wound packaging layer, using an adhesive that is not pressure-sensitive. The winding may be performed in a spiral.
The process may yet further include spraying the pressure-sensitive adhesive onto at least one of the packaging web and the material web roll.
The present invention packages a material web roll without damaging the surface thereof. The method of the invention does so by detachably bonding the packaging web with the circumference of the material web roll with the aid of a pressure-sensitive adhesive.
A pressure-sensitive adhesive that is suitable for this application is available, for example, under the product name xe2x80x9cJOWATEXxe2x80x9d from Jowat Lobers und Frank GmbH and Co. KG, Wittekindstrasse 19, D-32709 Detmold, Germany. The pressure-sensitive adhesive ensures a bond between at least the beginning of the packaging web, and the circumference of the material web roll. The pressure-sensitive adhesive has a bonding strength of 8 g/cm2, more preferably 70 g/cm2, and most preferably 75 g/cm2. This bond is sufficiently stable to hold the beginning of the packaging web firmly on the circumference of the material web roll until a subsequent layer or band of the packaging web can exert additional forces on the layer forming the beginning, which takes place in a relatively short period of time (i.e., slightly more than one complete rotation of the material web roll). When the material web roll is to be unpacked, the wrapping formed by the packaging web is customarily destroyed. In contrast to previously known gluing processes, the packaging web can be peeled from the material web roll without leaving a residue. In addition to the material web roll being undamaged on its circumference, the disposal of the packaging is also improved. A homogeneous material is obtained that consists solely of the packaging web and contains no constituents of the material web roll. The packaging web customarily consists of packing paper. This packing paper is then unmixed with xe2x80x9cwhitexe2x80x9d paper of the material web roll or other materials that have been wound on the material web roll, which facilitates recycling of the packaging web material.
According to a certain feature of the invention, the pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to the packaging web. The pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied shortly before the packaging web is bonded to the material web roll so that the pressure-sensitive adhesive first bonds with the packaging web and makes only its surface tacky. When the packaging web is peeled from the circumference of the material web roll, the pressure-sensitive adhesive remains on the packaging web and not on the circumference of the material web roll. The circumference of the material web roll remains clean and virtually free of residues.
According to another feature of the invention, the packaging web is fed through at least one nip between the material web roll and a driven roller. This nip presses the packaging web, which has been made tacky, against the circumference of the roller, which causes the packaging web to be bonded to the circumference of the material web roll with sufficient strength, although pressure-sensitive adhesives have lower holding power than hot or cold glue used previously in the art. Since the roller is driven, the packaging web is also driven by the roller, so that the bonding site between the beginning of the packaging web and the circumference of the material web roll is not stressed excessively by tensile forces. The packaging web is therefore xe2x80x9cpulled along,xe2x80x9d at least at the beginning, not only by the rotation of the material web roll but also by the driven roller, which acts on the packaging web.
It is also advantageous for the material web roll to lie on the driven roller. The weight of the material web roll is then used to produce a certain pressure acting in the nip, making further measures unnecessary.
It is further advantageous for several layers of the packaging web to be wound around the material web roll, whereby each respective further exterior layer is nondetachably bonded to the layer or band below it, with a different adhesive. The term xe2x80x9cnondetachablyxe2x80x9d refers to the situation that when the bond produced with this adhesive is separated, there is a risk of damaging at least one layer of the packaging web. In the present invention, two different adhesives may be used during packaging, namely, a first, pressure-sensitive, adhesive to produce the detachable xe2x80x9cinitial gluing,xe2x80x9d and a second, xe2x80x9cnormal,xe2x80x9d adhesive to produce the packaging about the body of the web roll. However, this arrangement saves the relatively complicated winding process for the beginning of the packaging web, so that any additional effort is readily justified. Because the layers of the packaging web are bonded permanently with one another, a very stable packaging is obtained, whereby it does not matter that the beginning of the packaging web has only a relatively weak adhesive bond to the circumference of the material web roll.
Advantageously, the packaging web may be wound around the material web roll in a spiral. In other words, the longitudinal edge of the packaging web has a predetermined angle to the longitudinal axis of the material web roll. This type of packaging process is known for example from German Patent Document No. DE 195 35 746 C2. With this type of packaging, it is virtually impossible, at a reasonable cost, to wind the beginning of the packaging web around the circumference of the material web roll until the next layer grips, to hold the beginning firmly. Therefore, the use of a pressure-sensitive adhesive is a good alternative if it is desired to avoid the beginning of the packaging web being permanently glued to the circumference of the material web roll.
Preferably, the pressure-sensitive adhesive is sprayed onto the packaging web. Spraying is advantageous in that the pressure-sensitive adhesive already acquires a relatively intensive contact with the air and thus with atmospheric oxygen during the application. Therefore, spraying ensures that the pressure-sensitive adhesive exhibits a high adhesiveness relatively fast, so that a sufficiently stable adhesive bond between the beginning of the packaging web and the circumference of the material web roll can be achieved in only a short time after the pressure-sensitive adhesive has been applied to the packaging web.
The holding device of the present invention includes a pressure-sensitive adhesive dispenser and a pressing device.
As with the process of the present invention, the holding device not only ensures that the pressure-sensitive adhesive is applied to the packaging web, and also ensures that the pressing device creates a sufficiently stable bond between the beginning of the packaging web and the circumference of the material web roll. When the pressing device has pressed the beginning of the packaging web against the circumference of the material web roll, a bond exists between the material web roll and the packaging web that is sufficient to wind the beginning of the packaging web far enough around the material web roll, because of the pressure-sensitive adhesive. This bond does not need to be durable or extremely stable; it merely replaces previously known holding methods.
The pressure-sensitive adhesive dispenser is preferably designed as a spray device. This pressure-sensitive adhesive may be sufficiently oxidized during the application to develop its adhesiveness.
The pressing device is preferably formed by a nip between the material web roll and a driven roller. After the area between the material web roll and the packaging web has been made tacky and has traveled through the nip, the driven roller of this nip serves to convey the packaging web further. The stress on the bonding site between the material web roll and the packaging web is correspondingly minimized.
Preferably, the material web roll lies on the roller. The weight of the material web roll is therefore used to press downward on the roller.
It is preferable for the packaging web dispenser to dispense the packaging web at a predetermined angle to the longitudinal axis of the material web roll. In this arrangement, the packaging web can be wound around the material web roll in a spiral. This is advantageous in that a single packaging web is sufficient, for example, a packaging web having a width of 500 mm, even with material web rolls having varied widths. Correspondingly, this arrangement facilitates the maintenance of the supply of the packaging web considerably. It is only necessary to keep packaging rolls of the same size (e.g., 500 mm wide), on hand. Normally, packaging in a spiral makes it more difficult to bond the beginning of the packaging web with the material web roll if permanent gluing is not used. However, the use of pressure-sensitive adhesive solves this problem.


A method is provided for synthesizing aluminosilicate zeolite SSZ-26 by interzeolite transformation.

Zeolites SSZ-26 and SSZ-33 belong to a family of zeolites with three-dimensional intersecting 10- and 12-membered ring channels. These two zeolites can be characterized as members of a family of materials in which the two end-members are formed by the stacking of layers in an ABAB sequence ("polymorph A") or an ABCABC sequence ("polymorph B"). The framework formed by polymorph A is of orthorhombic symmetry while the framework formed by polymorph B is of monoclinic symmetry. In between these end-member polymorphs, there is a whole family of materials that can be characterized by a fault probability (p) of 0%<p<100% (referred to herein as "SSZ-26/33 family"). Fault probabilities of 0% and 100% represent the end-members polymorph B and polymorph A, respectively. The aluminosilicate SSZ-26 and the borosilicate SSZ-33 are members of this family of materials and have fault probabilities of approximately 15% and 30%, respectively. Zeolite CIT-1 (CON) corresponds to a pure or nearly pure polymorph B.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,006 discloses zeolite SSZ-26 and its synthesis using hexamethyl[184.108.40.206]propellane-8,11-diammonium cations as a structure directing agent.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,648,694 discloses the synthesis of zeolites belonging to the SSZ-26/SSZ-33 family of zeolites using a structure directing agent selected from 1,4-bis(N-cyclohexylpyrrolidinium)butane dications, 1,5-bis(N-cyclohexylpyrrolidinium)pentane dications, 1,5-bis(N,N-dimethylcyclohexylammonium)pentane dications, 1,4-bis(N-cyclohexylpiperidinium)butane dications, and 1,4-bis(N-cyclopentylpiperidinium)butane dications.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,837,978 discloses the direct synthesis of aluminum-containing SSZ-26 using a structure directing agent comprising cis-N,N-diethyldecahydroquinolinium cations or a mixture of cis-N,N-diethyldecahydroquinolinium cations and trans-N,N-diethyldecahydroquinolinium cations.
The commercial development of SSZ-26 has been hindered by the high cost of these structure directing agents and hence there has been significant interest in finding alternative, less expensive means for the synthesis of SSZ-26.
Accordingly, there is provided herein a more facile and cost effective method for synthesizing SSZ-26 via interzeolite conversion of FAU framework type zeolites which can significantly reduce the amount of structure directing agent used.

Synthesis of aluminosilicate zeolite SSZ-26 via interzeolite transformation


A system for analyzing gas extracted from drilling fluid is provided. In one embodiment, the system includes a gas extractor having a gas extraction chamber within a gas extractor housing and a gas outlet for gas separating from the drilling fluid within the gas extraction chamber. Further, the system includes a gas analyzer, which has an optical analyzer and an optical source that are situated outside of the gas extractor. A gas analysis zone is in fluid communication with the gas extraction chamber and is optically connected via at least one fiber optic cable to the optical source and the optical analyzer. Additional methods, systems, and devices are also disclosed.

Wells are generally drilled into subsurface rocks to access fluids, such as hydrocarbons, stored in subterranean formations. Drilling fluids (e.g., drilling muds) are used within wells for various reasons, such as to inhibit flow of formation fluids into the wells, to clean and cool drill bits, and to remove wellbore cuttings. Drilling mud can be circulated through a well by pumping the drilling mud from a mud tank at the surface down into a well through a drill string. The drilling mud can exit the drill string at the bottom of the well and then return up the well through the annular space between the drill string and the well walls.
The returning drilling mud may include wellbore cuttings, other debris, and formation fluid. Various equipment can be used to condition and evaluate the returning drilling mud, which may include analyzing formation fluid mixed with the drilling mud to reconstruct the geological succession of formations penetrated during drilling and to assess the types of fluids encountered in the drilled formations. For instance, gaseous formation fluid (e.g., gaseous hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide) may be carried up the well by the drilling mud, extracted from the mud at the surface, and analyzed with a gas chromatograph or other device to determine the composition of the gas.

Method and apparatus for analyzing gas from drilling fluids


The functioning of a simple voltage regulator loop of an integrated power stage employing a plurality of bond-wires is ensured by realizing a conductive path connecting said pads to each other having a resistance lower by at least two orders of magnitude than the resistance of a voltage sensing divider of the regulation loop. Eventual ruptures of any of the bond-wires remain detectable through a final testing of the integrated circuit.

The constant progress of integration technologies has permitted the integration of an output power stage on the same chip containing the driving circuit and the circuit for controlling the operation of the output power device. By virtue of constant improvement of the technology, the level of current that may be delivered by an integrated power stage is continuously increasing. As a consequence, the diameter of the bond-wire used for connecting a pad of the integrated circuit with the respective lead of the package has also increased up to the limit of compatibility with the peculiar bonding techniques that are used for welding the wire on the metallized pad of the integrated circuit and on the inner end of the relative lead or pin of the package.
With the growing of design currents above the limit that can be safely handled by a single bond-wire of a relatively augmented diameter notwithstanding (especially for the nominal short circuit current), it becomes necessary to employ a second or a plurality of bond-wires in parallel with each other. A second bond-wire may be connected, as the first one, to a single pad of sufficient size, as shown in the diagram of FIG. 1. This solution has the drawback that in case of rupture of one or more bond-wires between the pad and the relative lead of the package, for example during the critical resin encapsulation phase of fabrication, the routine test of the end product will not detect the rupture, and during normal operation, the device may be subject to failure in case of overcurrent.
To obviate this problem, a known technique is to subdivide the power device into n modular devices, functionally driven in parallel with each other (where the number n may depend on the design current). Each current terminal of each modular power element may be connected to a respective pad, which is then connectable through a bond-wire to a single metal lead or pin of the package. The n pads altogether constitute a current terminal of the modularly integrated power device.
During final testing of the finished product, the modular power element is turned on and its series resistance is measured. An anomalous resistance value, higher than the expected value of the overall series resistance, will indicate the interruption of one or more of the n current paths, most probably due to the rupture of the relative bond-wire.
On the other hand, most output power stages have special control circuits which, for example, may include a regulator circuit of the output voltage. The voltage regulator generally employs an integrated voltage divider (R1-R2) connected to an output pad to sense an output voltage, as depicted in FIG. 3.
In case of rupture of the bond-wire that connects the pad through which the sensing voltage divider is connected to the relative lead, the voltage regulator will react as if the output voltage would be low, and therefore, will bring the output of the regulator to the input voltage.
This event has a dramatic effect in the case of a regulator for an alternator where, as a consequence of the behaviour of the voltage regulator circuit, the excitation will no longer be interrupted, thus causing the destruction of the battery.
In order to obviate to this risk, a known solution is to realize more sensing voltage dividers (one for each output pad), and as many loops or regulating circuits and a logic OR circuit capable of interrupting field excitation when anyone of the regulating loops rises above a reference voltage.
As schematically depicted in FIG. 4, this approach is used in many known systems, wherein the realization of a pair of resistances, an operational amplifier, and a capacitance of about 1 nanofard, necessary for implementing each regulating loop, do not materially burden the cost of the overall system. On the other hand, in many fully integrated systems, a solution of this type may be extremely burdensome and substantially inapplicable.

Safeguard for integrated power stages employing multiple bond-wires to a current lead of the package


Throttle predictive controller in an engine tester includes an operation pattern generator (5); an operational processing unit (4) consisting of a throttle predictive angle calculation part (1), a throttle angle-corresponding to acceleration calculation part (2) and an adder (3); a dynamometer controller (6); a throttle amplifier (9); a throttle actuator (10); a dynamometer (11); and a tachometer (12). The operation pattern generator inputs a set revolution speed signal (n) to the throttle predictive angle calculation part, the throttle angle-corresponding to acceleration calculation part and the throttle amplifier, and inputs a set torque signal (T) to the throttle predictive angle calculation part and the dynamometer controller. The dynamometer controller controls dynamometer torque coupled to an output shaft S of an engine being tested, and is connected to a revolution pickup (12) for the shaft to input a dynamometer actual revolution speed signal during the operation of the engine; the dynamometer controller is further connected to input an actual dynamometer torque signal and a dynamometer actual revolution speed signal at the time of operation of the engine to the throttle predictive angle calculation part, and the throttle amplifier is connected to input the actual throttle angle signal to the throttle predictive angle calculation part which in the operational processing unit prepares a map on the basis of the actual number of revolutions, the actual torque and the actual throttle angle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a throttle predictive controller in an automatic engine tester.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Feedback control has been employed primarily in throttle angle control in an automatic engine tester in accordance with the prior art technique.
The throttle angle control by the feedback control by the prior art technique described above involves the drawbacks in that unstability of throttle angle is likely to occur due to disturbance or the like during a steady state and particularly because a throttle angle corresponding to an acceleration at the time of acceleration/deceleration is not taken into consideration, controllability such as delay of a transient operation is low. Therefore, this control method is not suitable for the performance test of engines such as their exhaust gas, fuel cost, and so forth.

Throttle predictive controller in automatic engine tester


A method and a device for operating a waste heat utilization device for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle is disclosed. The waste heat utilization device contains a waste heat utilization circuit in which a working medium circulates. A conveyor, an evaporator, an expansion machine, and a condenser are disposed in the waste heat utilization circuit. A basic adjustment of the waste heat utilization circuit is provided, which as a function of a heat input into the working medium adjusts the mass flow rate at the conveyor and/or the ratio between high pressure and low pressure at the expansion machine. In addition, a pilot control is provided which recognizes a change of the operating point of the internal combustion engine and, when the operating point is changed, controls the condensation output of the condenser in accordance with a mass distribution of the working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit optimized to the new operating point.

The present invention relates to a method for operating a waste heat utilization device for an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle. The invention also relates to an associated waste heat utilization device.
A waste heat utilization device for an internal combustion engine, in particular a motor vehicle, with a waste heat utilization circuit in which a working medium is circulated, is known from DE 10 2008 057 202 A1. A conveyor for conveying the liquid working medium against a high pressure is disposed in the waste heat utilization circuit. Furthermore, an evaporator for vaporizing the liquid working medium is disposed in the waste heat utilization circuit downstream of the conveyor. For this purpose the evaporator extracts heat from the internal combustion engine. In the waste heat utilization circuit an expansion machine for expanding the gaseous working medium to a low pressure is disposed downstream of the evaporator. A condenser for condensing the gaseous working medium is disposed downstream of the expansion machine in the waste heat utilization circuit. In the condenser heat is removed from the waste heat utilization circuit. This may be achieved for example by means of a cooling device which comprises a cooling circuit in which a coolant is circulated and which is coupled to the condenser for heat transfer. To this end a control unit may be provided for adjusting the quantity of working fluid circulating in the Clausius-Rankine circuit as a function of the current operational state of the Clausius-Rankine circuit, the control device being configured so that it adjusts the quantity of working fluid circulating in the Clausius-Rankine circuit by changing the condensation output of the condenser, in particular by changing the quantity of cooling fluid flowing through the heat exchanger. Furthermore, a collector for storing the liquid working medium is disposed in the waste heat utilization circuit upstream of the conveyor. In the known waste heat utilization device provision is made for integrating the collector in the condenser. Moreover provision is made for adjusting the waste heat utilization circuit according to the current operating point of the waste heat utilization circuit by changing the condenser output by means of a control valve in the cooling circuit. This adjustment effects a change in the working medium mass distribution in the waste heat utilization circuit.
Such an adjustment of the waste heat utilization circuit only by means of the adjustment of the condenser output on the basis of the current operating point of the waste heat utilization circuit is slow and only optimizable to a limited extent, for example with regard to a high output yield.
The working medium mass distribution is definitive for optimized high pressure in the waste heat utilization circuit and thus for the gradient between high and low pressure at the expansion machine, the optimized output occurring at the expansion machine. However, in vehicle applications the problem exists that the internal combustion engine which is used as a heat source for operating the waste heat utilization device, namely for delivering heat to the evaporator, is frequently operated transiently or has many different steady-state operating points, at which in particular different amounts of heat are provided for output to the waste heat utilization device.
However, if in such transient states of the internal combustion engine the heat available to the evaporator changes, the mass of the gaseous working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit changes. Consequently a change occurs to the high pressure in the gaseous working medium, that is to say between the evaporator and the expansion machine. This leads to an "imbalance" in the system, which can only be compensated comparatively slowly by a conventional adjustment system, which reduces the efficiency of the waste heat utilization device and the output thereof.
With this as the starting point, the object of the present invention is to provide an improved embodiment of a waste heat utilization device or an associated method for operation thereof, which is characterized in particular by an improved overall efficiency or by a fast adaptation to fluctuations in the amount of heat available to the evaporator.
The method according to the invention is characterized in that a basic adjustment of the waste heat utilization circuit is provided, which as a function of a heat input into the working medium adjusts the mass flow rate at the conveyor and/or the ratio between high pressure and low pressure at the expansion machine, and that in addition to this a pilot control is provided, which recognizes a change of the operating point of the internal combustion engine and, when the operating point of the internal combustion engine changes, controls the condensation output of the condenser in accordance with a mass distribution of the working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit optimized to the new operating point.
The waste heat utilization device according to the invention is characterized by a basic adjustment device with a control unit which is connected to the conveyor and/or the expansion machine for controlling or adjusting the waste heat utilization device, and by a pilot control unit for pilot control of the condensation output of the condenser, with a control unit which acts on a cooling performance adjustment device and, when the operating point of the internal combustion engine changes, controls the condensation output of the condenser in accordance with a mass distribution of the working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit optimized to the new operating point.
The invention is based on the general idea of combining a slow basic adjustment with a fast-acting load change adjustment or load change pilot control. A pump and/or expander adjustment is provided as the basic adjustment. The conveyor is typically a volumetric pump which is characterized in that its flow rate is independent of the counter-pressure and in particular is only dependent upon its speed. The high pressure in the waste heat utilization circuit is determined in this case by the expansion machine.
In addition, during a transient operational state of the internal combustion engine, that is to say in the event of a change from an old operating point to a new operating point, the condensation output of the condenser can be temporarily changed so that with regard to the new operating point a displacement of the mass distribution occurs in the waste heat utilization circuit. Thus already in the context of a pilot control, fluctuations and imbalances, which are expected due to the change of operating point, can be at least roughly compensated. Such a pilot control acts and must not react like a conventional adjustment, since the time lag until an adjusting intervention can take place is comparatively long because of the inertia of the thermal mass of the waste heat utilization circuit. In particular according to the method presented here the condensation output of the condenser can be temporarily changed so that a distribution of the mass of the liquid working medium and the mass of the gaseous working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit shifts from an old mass distribution value associated with the old operating point to a new mass distribution value associated with the new operating point.
The operating points of the internal combustion engine may be defined for example by the speed of the internal combustion engine and/or the load applied to the internal combustion engine. In particular such parameters which correlate with the operating point, such as for example speed and load, are available in an engine control unit provided for operation of the internal combustion engine.
According to a preferred embodiment the association of the mass distribution values with the operating points of the internal combustion engine with a view to optimized output can take place at the expansion machine. This may for example take place by constant attempts to set an optimal high pressure or an optimal gradient between high and low pressure. Additionally or alternatively it may also be provided that the association between the operating point of the internal combustion engine and the mass distribution value is implemented by means of at least one characteristic curve or at least one characteristic field. Characteristic fields or characteristic curves have proved worthwhile in practice and can in particular be determined empirically in order to obtain reliable associations between the mass distribution values and the operating points.
For a change of the condensation output of the condenser, according to an advantageous embodiment provision may be made for altering the cooling performance of a cooling unit which is coupled to the condenser for heat transfer. In an embodiment of the method the control of the condensation output of the condenser takes place by means of a change of a mass flow of a coolant in the condenser. A change of the supply of heat to the waste heat utilization circuit, which is expected on the basis of a change of operating point of the internal combustion engine, prompts the pilot control to change the heat removal from the waste heat utilization circuit. That is to say the pilot control adapts the external effects of the waste heat utilization circuit to one another at an early stage. Therefore the basic control of the waste heat utilization circuit can operate without fast and extensive change.
According to another advantageous embodiment, in order to change the cooling performance of the cooling unit, the mass flow rate of a coolant which circulates in a cooling circuit coupled to the condenser for heat transfer can be changed. Furthermore, in order to change the mass flow rate of the cooling agent, provision may optionally be made for changing the conveying capacity, in particular the speed, of a conveying device which is disposed in the cooling circuit and drives the coolant. In this embodiment of the device the cooling performance adjustment device is designed as an adjustable cooling circuit pump. This is typically already present in the cooling circuit, so that no additional component is required.
In an alternative or supplementary embodiment of the device the cooling performance adjustment device is designed as an adjustable bypass of the condenser cooling circuit. Thus the amount of cooling medium which cools the condenser per unit of time can be adjusted.
In one embodiment of the method the change in the mass distribution of the working medium is detected by means of a filling level measuring device disposed in the collector. For this purpose in one embodiment of the device a filling level measuring device is provided in the collector. This constitutes a simple possibility for establishing the success of the method and reaching a target value. Alternatively a theoretical determination of the filling level is possible by means of a characteristic field or by calculation.
In an embodiment of the device a temperature measuring device is provided for measuring at least a temperature of a coolant which circulates in a cooling circuit of a cooling unit provided for removing heat from the condenser and the control unit is coupled to the temperature measuring device and is configured and/or programmed for changing the cooling performance of the cooling unit. Thus the temperature of the coolant can be detected in order to determine the mass of coolant required for a desired cooling performance per unit of time.
Advantageously, therefore, the cooling performance of the coolant can be adjusted so that the mean value of the feed line temperature and return line temperature of the coolant at the condenser is below the dew point of the working medium in particular by a predetermined value. In an embodiment of the device, therefore, the temperature measuring device has a feed line temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the coolant before the condenser and a return line temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the coolant after the condenser. The difference between the feed line temperature and the return line temperature corresponds to the heat input of the waste heat utilization circuit into the cooling medium.
The waste heat utilization device according to the invention is equipped with a control unit which is coupled to a control device, in particular an engine control unit, of the internal combustion engine and which serves for controlling and/or adjusting a condensation output of the condenser. In this case the control unit is programmed or configured so that in the event of a change from an old operating point of the internal combustion engine to a new operating point of the internal combustion engine the condensation output of the condenser is temporarily changed so that a distribution of the mass of the liquid working medium and the mass of the gaseous working medium in the waste heat utilization circuit shifts from an old mass distribution value associated with the old operating point to a new mass distribution value associated with the new operating point.
In an advantageous modification a cooling unit can be provided for removing heat from the condenser, wherein the control unit is then configured or programmed for controlling and/or adjusting a cooling performance of the cooling unit as a function of the filling level of the liquid working medium in the collector.
A particularly compact construction for the waste heat utilization device can be achieved if a collector, which is provided in the waste heat utilization circuit upstream of the conveyor for storage of the liquid working medium, is formed in a housing of the condenser. The collector and condenser are then integrated into one another.
Further important features and advantages of the invention are disclosed in the drawings and the associated description of the figures of the drawings.
It will be understood that the features referred to above and still to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combinations but also in other combinations or alone without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in greater detail in the following description.

Method for operating a waste heat utilization device


A photoelectric circuit is provided with a differential amplifier having two inputs. First and second photosensitive elements and resistors are connected in parallel to each of the two inputs of the differential amplifier, respectively. A second amplifier is provided with its input coupled in parallel to a third resistor and a third photosensitive element. The output of the second amplifier is applied as a bias voltage to each of the three photosensitive elements in parallel.

This invention relates generally to photoelectric circuits, and is particularly useful in connection with incremental or absolute digital position measuring systems. In particular, this circuit relates to an improvement in photoelectric circuits of the type in which photosensitive elements are connected to each of the two inputs of a differential amplifier, and in which in each case a resistance is connected in parallel with the photosensitive element.
Photoelectric circuits of this general type have been used, for example, in incremental or absolute digital length or angle measuring systems. In this application the photosensitive elements are used to transduce the light flux modulated by the superimposed divisions of a scale and a scanning plate into electrical signals that are processed to determine the relative position of the scanning plate with respect to the scale.
One such photoelectric circuit is disclosed in the Siemens publication, "Technische Mitteilungen Halbleiter: Neue Fotoelektrische Bauelemente in Anwendingsschaltungen", Order No. B 114/1062/47120. On Pages 11 and 12 of this publication there is shown a known path-voltage transducer, in which to each of the two inputs of a fed-back differential amplifier there is connected a photosensitive element, and in which in each case there is circuited a resistance in parallel to the photosensitive element. This arrangement is well suited for fabrication as a monolithic arrangement of photosensitive elements, since each photosensitive element of the circuit includes a common electrode. One disadvantage of this circuit is its relatively large dark current caused by the bias voltage on the photosensitive elements.


An in-floor access pit unit for use in a floor having a flooring of a predetermined thickness thereon. The access pit basically comprises a rigid liner, a lower frame, an intermediate frame, a cover assembly, and a height adjusting mechanism. The cover assembly comprises an upper frame in which a cover plate is mounted to provide a recess for receipt of a piece of the same flooring material as on the floor in which the access pit is located. The cover assembly is mounted in the intermediate frame by the height adjusting mechanism. That mechanism comprises plural bolts and nuts for adjusting the height of the intermediate frame and the cover member so that the piece of flooring within the cover assembly is flush with the surrounding flooring. The intermediate frame includes a downwardly depending flange which is disposed closely adjacent a sidewall of the lower frame to prevent the ingress of material therebetween. A sealing gasket is provided between the cover assembly and the intermediate frame to prevent the egress of gases or fumes from the access pit.

This application relates to an improved In-floor Access pit system consisting of a frame, cover and liner to form a unit for permitting access into subtergrade voids where the primary use, but not limited to, electrical wiring, refrigeration piping, water piping, air ducts, and other mechanicals are located, and is a Continuation of my earlier application Ser. No. 07/867,406, filed on Apr. 13, 1992, entitled Improved In-Floor Access Pit Frame And Cover System, whose disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.
The prior art is typified by an in-floor access pit in supermarkets, convenience stores, and other retail establishments and the likes which are designed to provide needed access to under-floor mechanicals, particularly those adjacent to the refrigerated display fixtures where these mechanicals exist. The prior accepted practice for providing in-floor pits or voids was to construct on site as one of the schedule processes in the construction of the building. The construction of these access pits consists of materials such as concrete block or poured concrete with a steel top cover fitted to cover this opening in the concrete floor. Forming or constructing these access areas becomes laborious and time consuming, alignment of the steel top cover during installation was critical with respect to the final floor finish, and extended labor was exhausted in order to provide this within needed tolerance for an appealing finish. One such problem associated with the as mentioned alignment is floor finishing material such as vinyl tile, ceramic tile, quarry tile or the likes will tend to break along the edges when poor alignment is entailed.

In-floor access pit frame and cover system