A twin-clutch transmission that can always effectively reduce gear shift shock and a collision sound even under the existence of variation attributed to component tolerance and change over the ages attributed to wear. A twin-clutch transmission calculates a rotational speed difference (|Na−Nb|) between an odd-stage main shaft rotational speed (Na) and an even-stage main shaft rotational speed (Nb) and learns synchronization start gear shift drive displacement (θs) detected by a gear shift drive displacement detecting unit at the timing at which the rotational speed difference (|Na−Nb|) reaches a predetermined synchronization start determination rotational speed difference (Ds) from gear shift start. The twin-clutch transmission controls an actuator on the basis of the learned synchronization start gear shift drive displacement (θs).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a twin-clutch transmission including synchromesh.
2. Description of Background Art
As a twin-clutch transmission, the following one is known wherein transmission gears are pivotally supported by two coaxial main shafts and transmission gears are pivotally supported by a countershaft constantly mesh with each other corresponding to each transmission gear ratio. A sleeve is pivotally supported by at least one rotating shaft among the two main shafts and the countershaft in such a manner as to be restricted from relative rotation and be movable in the axial direction. The transmission gear is pivotally supported by the rotating shaft relatively rotatably and have sleeve teeth and gear dog teeth that mesh with each other. When the sleeve teeth mesh with the gear dog teeth due to the movement of the sleeve and a tarcome into shift stage is formed, two clutches are alternately connected and disconnected. This allows smooth gear shift to the tarcome into transmission gear ratio without interruption of power transmission of an internal combustion engine. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-215555.
Furthermore, among transmissions are ones including synchromesh. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-125112. In the synchromesh disclosed Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-125112, ring gear teeth (ring teeth) formed in an outer ring (synchronizer ring) of a blocking ring intervene between gear teeth (gear dog teeth) formed in a first transmission gear are pivotally supported relatively rotatably by a rotating shaft that is a main shaft or a countershaft and spline teeth (sleeve teeth) formed in a sleeve (synchronizer sleeve) pivotally supported by the rotating shaft in such a manner so as to be restricted from relative rotation and be movable in the axial direction. At the time of gear shift, due to the movement of the synchronizer sleeve, the sleeve teeth come into contact with and mesh with the ring teeth and then come into contact with and mesh with the gear dog teeth. Therefore, the synchronizer sleeve (and the rotating shaft) and the first transmission gear are joined to each other while synchronizing with each other.
A transmission is desired, that is obtained, by incorporating synchromesh like that disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-125112 into a twin-clutch transmission in which two main shafts are coaxially formed with clutches each provided on the input side of a respective one of the main shafts being alternately connected and disconnected. See, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-215555.
In the twin-clutch transmission including such synchromesh, when the sleeve teeth comes into contact with the ring teeth of the blocking ring due to the movement of the synchronizer sleeve of the synchromesh, gear shift shock and a collision sound caused by the collision of them with each other need to be suppressed.
For this purpose, the movement speed of the synchronizer sleeve needs to be reduced immediately before the sleeve teeth come into contact with the ring teeth due to the movement of the synchronizer sleeve of the synchromesh. However, the movement position of the sleeve at which the sleeve teeth come into contact with the ring teeth involves a variation due to component tolerance. In addition, the sleeve teeth and the ring teeth also involve the progression of wear attributed to slide contact and change over the ages. Therefore, the movement position of the sleeve at which the sleeve teeth come into contact with the ring teeth also changes, i.e. the timing at which the sleeve teeth come into contact with the ring teeth also changes. Thus, the timing of the reduction of the movement speed of the synchronizer sleeve gradually deviates from the optimum timing and it becomes impossible to effectively reduce the gear shift shock and the collision sound.


An interconnection network routes packets among switches connected in a multi-dimensional network of links. Each packet contains a header with an address of a source switch connected to an input port that receives the packet, and a destination switch connected to an output port that transmits the packet. Each packet header also contains a random address of a random switch in the network. The packet is first routed from the source switch toward the random switch. Then a phase flag in the header is cleared by the random switch, and the packet is routed toward the destination switch. If a faulty link or switch is encountered, and no known routes are available to the destination, the phase flag is again set and another random address generated. The packet is then routed to a new random switch, bypassing the fault.

This invention relates to multi-dimensional network switches, and more particularly to store-and-forward packet switches.
Expansion of modern computer networks such as the Internet has necessitated faster and larger network switches. Software-based routers and hardware-based network switches are used at intermediate points in networks to either route packets or make direct connections between input and output ports. These mid-level routers and switches feed into major network points that often experience significant congestion.
Some network points are so complex and carry such heavy traffic that traditional switches or routers fail, resulting in dropped packets and lost connections. The traditional telecommunications infrastructure makes direct, dedicated connections between input (ingress) and output (egress) ports. Digital cross-connect circuits are used. Packet-based traffic routing has also been used where data is packetized, and the packets are switched or routed toward their destinations.
As traffic increases, the network switching points must be expanded. Benes networks are often used for scalable, direct connection networks. FIG. 1 shows a small Benes network. Benes network 10 is constructed from switches 12. Each switch 12 has 2 inputs and 2 outputs. Each switch 12 can either pass the 2 inputs straight through to the 2 outputs, or cross over the inputs to the outputs, swapping each input to the other output.
The example network 10 has 8 input (ingress) ports and 8 output (egress) ports. Switches 12 are arranged into columns or stages, with each stage having 4 switches. Interconnection between stages includes cross-over wiring, so that some of the outputs from one stage are applied to different switches in the next stage. The interconnections between stages satisfy a mathematically defined permutation that ensures network connectivity. Each egress port is reachable from any ingress port.
FIG. 2 shows a Benes network configured to make desired connections. Switch 14 in stage (column) 1 has been programmed to cross-over, while the other switches 12 in stage 1 are programmed to pass straight through. In stage 3, switch 16 is programmed to cross over, and in stage 4, three switches 18 are programmed for cross-over. In the final stage 5, two switches 22 are programmed for cross-over.
Direct connections are made from ingress port 2 to egress port 4, from ingress port 3 to egress port 7, and from ingress port 6 to egress port 2. Ingress ports 0, 1, 4, 5, 7 are connected to egress ports 5, 3, 0, 1, 6, respectively. One-to-one direct connections are made.
In Benes network 10, a central routing algorithm determines which switches 12 need to be programmed for cross-over and which for straight-through connection to obtain the desired connections. All possible connections among ingress and egress ports are possible, but the network must be reconfigured when different port connections are desired. This reconfiguration causes some downtime for the network while the switches are being reconfigured. Often two Benes networks are used in parallel so that one can be reconfigured while the other is passing data.
There are N! possible permutations, where a permutation is a set of one-to-one connections between N ingress and N egress ports. Since all possible connections are possible with Benes network 10, the network is non-blocking. Blocking networks are less desirable, since one connection may prevent another unrelated connection from being established.
When a failure occurs in one of the switches in Benes network 10, sometimes a different route can be established that avoids the failed switch. However, the network is no longer non-blocking since the new route may block another route. When two Benes networks are used in parallel, the network with the failed switch can be shut down while the other network handles all traffic, but cannot be re-provisioned without a service interruption while one network has failed
An N-input, N-output Benes network using 2xc3x972 switches consists of (2*log2(N)xe2x88x921) stages. Each stage has N/2 switches.
FIG. 3 illustrates a Batcher network using 2xc3x972 switches. A packet switched through a Batcher network contains its destination egress port address. The routing decision made at each switch in network 20 is dependent on the destination egress port addresses of all the packets appearing at its input ports. Each switch forwards packets along its output ports enabling packets to get one step closer to their egress ports.
Each stage 24-29 contains four switches. Each switch has 2 inputs and 2 outputs. A packet received from either input is sorted to one or the other of the switch""s outputs by a sorting algorithm. For example, stages 24, 29 have switches that sort among pairs of adjacent ports or signal lines, while stage 28 sorts among ports that are 2 lines apart. Stages 25, 26 sort among different pairs of signal lines.
A N-input N-output Batcher network consisting of 2xc3x972 switches has log2(N)*(log2(N)+1)/2 stages. Each stage has N/2 switches.
Each switch executes its own sorting or routing algorithm, independent of the other switches. Reconfiguration of the global network is not necessary. The network is self-routing. However, when a switch fails, all packets going through that switch can be incorrectly routed or lost. The sorting network thus suffers from fault intolerance.
Other networks such as Clos networks can also be used. Clos networks also use centralized routing algorithms.
What is desired is a non-blocking yet fault-tolerant network architecture. It is desired to achieve the non-blocking quality of the direct connections of a Benes network without making direct, point-to-point connections. It is desired to route packets through the network, as does a sorting network, but with fault tolerance. A packet-switching network is desired that is both fault tolerant and non-blocking. A network that does not have to be stopped and re-configured when different connections are made is desirable. An adaptive, fault-tolerant packet-switching method is desired. An adaptive, fault-tolerant routing method is desired. A self-routing network is desired that does not have to be re-configured as different connections are needed.
An adaptively-routed interconnection network has a plurality of ingress ports for receiving packets. A plurality of egress ports transmit packets, while a plurality of switches each have input links for receiving packets from other switches in the network and output links for sending packets to other switches in the network. A packet memory stores packets received from the input links until transmission over the output links.
Each packet stored in the packet memory has a header that includes a destination address of a destination switch in the plurality of switches. The destination switch is coupled to a destination egress port in the plurality of egress ports that the packet is to be transmitted out of. A random address in the header is for a random switch. A phase indicator in the header indicates a first phase when the packet is forwarded to the random switch and a second phase when the packet is forwarded to the destination switch.
A routing controller reads the header of a packet stored in the packet memory. It determines a selected output link in the plurality of output links to send the packet over. When the random address read from the header matches the address of the switch, the phase indicator is reset to indicate that the packet is in the second phase and no longer in the first phase.
(1) When the phase indicator indicates that the packet is in the first phase, the random address from the header is used to determine the selected output link. The selected output link is in a route toward the random switch;
(2) When the phase indicator indicates that the packet is in the second phase, the destination address from the header is read to determine the selected output link. The selected output link is in a route toward the destination switch.
The packet is sent over the selected output link on the route toward the random switch when the phase indicator indicates the packet is in the first phase, but the packet is sent over the selected output link on the route toward the destination switch when the phase indicator indicates the packet is in the second phase. The packet is removed from the network by the destination switch and transmitted over the egress port coupled to the destination switch when the destination switch determines that the destination address in the header matches the address of the destination switch. Thus packets are routed to the random switch during the first phase, but routed to the destination switch during the second phase after the packet reaches the random switch.
In further aspects of the invention, the output links and the input links of switches form a multi-dimensional network topology.
In still further aspects, the random address stored in the header is randomly generated to select as the random switch any switch in the network, including switches that are not on the route to the destination switch. Thus packets are first routed to a random switch within the network before being routed to their destination. A different random address is generated for each packet received by the network through an ingress port. Network congestion is reduced as packets are dispersed to random switches within the network before routing to destinations.
In still further aspects of the invention, when a packet""s viable output links are congested, and the packet""s waiting time in a switch exceeds a threshold value,
(1) the routing controller sets the phase indicator to indicate the first phase;
(2) the routing controller randomly generates a new random address of another random switch;
(3) the routing controller over-writes the random address in the header with the new random address; and
(4) the routing controller uses the new random address from the header to determine the selected output link, the selected output link being in a route toward the another random switch.
Thus the network avoids congested links by re-routing to the another random switch when a packet""s waiting time in a switch exceeds a threshold value.
In other aspects, when the selected output link is connected to a faulty switch, the routing controller selects a different output link on a different route toward the random switch when the phase indicator indicates the first phase. Otherwise it selects different output link on a different route toward the destination switch when the phase indicator indicates the second phase. Thus the routing controller adapts routing to bypass the faulty switch.
In still further aspects of the invention, when the selected output link is connected to a faulty switch, and the routing controller cannot locate a different output link on a different route toward either the random switch when the phase indicator indicates the first phase or the destination switch when the phase indicator indicates the second phase:
(1) the routing controller sets the phase indicator to indicate the first phase;
(2) the routing controller randomly generates a new random address of another random switch;
(3) the routing controller over-writes the random address in the header with the new random address;
(4) the routing controller uses the new random address from the header to determine the selected output link, the selected output link being in a route toward the another random switch,
Thus the network is fault tolerant since the faulty switch is bypassed by re-routing to the another random switch when only routes through the faulty switch are available.

Adaptive fault-tolerant switching network with random initial routing and random routing around faults


A feeding device for a digital processing machine includes a paper passage, a sheet-feeding roller, a friction device, and a slide. The sheet-feeding roller is disposed in the paper passage, and the friction device is disposed opposite to the sheet-feeding roller. The sheet-feeding roller separates a sheet with the friction device. The slide is disposed at a left side and a right side of the sheet-feeding roller. The slide is lowered from a first position to a second position when the sheet-feeding roller rotates, such that the sheet contacts the sheet-feeding roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feeding device, and more particularly, to a feeding device utilizing a slide to place sheets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Digital processing machines, such as scanners, copy machines, and multifunction printers are often equipped with automatic document feeders (ADFs) for users to put a plurality of sheets at once instead of one by one manually. Please see FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a sectional diagram of a conventional feeding device in the prior. As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of sheets S is put in a paper passage P. A feeding device senses the sheets S and drives a sheet-feeding roller A to rotate. The sheet-feeding roller A cooperates with a friction pad B to separate the plurality of sheets S and feed the plurality of sheets S one by one to the paper passage P at a downstream side of the sheet-feeding roller A. However, the sheets S may not be so rigid that the sheets S contact the sheet-feeding roller A first when being placed. A surface of the sheet-feeding roller A is made of rough material, so as to separate the sheets S easily. A friction force generated between the sheet-feeding roller A and the sheets S makes the sheets S bent easily when the sheets are placed and the feeding device is not activated. When the feeding device is activated and the sheet-feeding roller A begins rotating, the bent sheets S will be creased and damaged, which leads to a paper jam and a feeding failure, especially feeding the thin sheets S.
FIG. 10 is a sectional diagram of another conventional feeding device in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 10, a pickup roller C is added at an upstream side of the sheet-feeding roller A. The pickup roller C holds and conveys the plurality of sheets S to the sheet-feeding roller A and the friction pad B. The sheets S contact the pickup roller C when being placed. Similarly, the pickup roller C is made of material with a high friction coefficient, and such a situation of the bent sheets S also happens to the pickup roller C. Since a paper jam causes damage to sheets and inconvenience when people use digital processing machines, there is a need to develop an effective mechanism to solve the above-mentioned problems.


To provide a controller and a control method for an internal combustion engine capable of estimating the cylinder internal pressure of the combustion cylinder accurately in consideration of the torsional vibration of the crankshaft. A controller for an internal combustion engine includes a torsional torque calculator that calculates a value which has an amplitude of the maximum value of torsional vibration torque calculated based on a crank angle acceleration in the combustion period, and vibrates with a preliminarily set natural angular frequency, as a torsional vibration torque in the combustion period; and a cylinder internal pressure estimator that calculates a combustion gas pressure torque, by use of the equation of motion of the rotation system of the crankshaft, based on the crank angle, the crank angle acceleration, and the torsional vibration torque, and estimates the cylinder internal pressure of the combustion cylinder based on the combustion gas pressure torque.

The present invention relates to a controller and a control method for an internal combustion engine, provided with a plurality of detected units provided in a rotation member, which rotates integrally with a crankshaft, at a plurality of preliminarily set crank angles, and a specific crank angle sensor which is fixed to a nonrotation member and detects the detected unit.
In order to improve the fuel consumption performance and the emission performance of the internal combustion engine, the method of measuring the combustion condition of the internal combustion engine and carrying out feedback control of the measuring result is effective. For that purpose, it is important to measure the combustion condition of the internal combustion engine accurately. It is known widely that the combustion condition of the internal combustion engine can be measured accurately by measuring the cylinder internal pressure. However, since the sensor (hereinafter, the cylinder internal pressure sensor) which measures the cylinder internal pressure directly is very expensive, it is considered that it is difficult to use the cylinder internal pressure sensor for the commercial automobile internal combustion engine. As a technology of estimating the combustion condition of the internal combustion engine instead of the cylinder internal pressure sensor, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-275618 (JP-A-2009-275618) discloses a technology in which calculates a crank angle speed and a crank angle acceleration based on the output signal of the crank angle sensor, calculates a combustion gas pressure torque which was produced by combustion based on the crank angle speed and the crank angle acceleration, and estimates the combustion condition by the combustion gas pressure torque.

Controller and control method for internal combustion engine


The present invention describes a PEF (pulsed electric field) chamber, said PEF chamber 1 comprising a tube 2 with two open ends 3, 4 having attachment means 5, 6 enabling the PEF chamber 1 to be a plug-in device, wherein the tube 2 has a length L from one open end 3 to the other open end 4 and an inner width IW from one side of the tube to the other side of the tube in a cross section being perpendicular to the length L thereof, wherein the tube 2 has a geometrical narrowing of the inner width IW somewhere along the length L of the tube 2, and wherein the PEF chamber 1 comprises a grid 9 of an insulating material being arranged at the geometrical narrowing or electrode units 7, 8 being arranged opposite each other at the geometrical narrowing of the inner width IW along the length L of the tube 2. The plug-in feature of the present invention renders the PEF chamber to function as an l attachable and disposable PEF chamber.

There are known arrangements involving chambers for pulsed electric field generation. One example is described in WO 2009/126084, which discloses an arrangement for neutralisation of microorganisms. The arrangement comprises at least one non-conducting chamber for pumping a pumpable medium, which chamber is provided with a first and a second electrode plate. In the description of WO 2009/126084 there is stated that the chamber of the arrangement can be an over-pressure pump that is connected to a feeding inlet pipe and discharge outlet pipe. The over-pressure pump of the arrangement may be a piston pump with a piston whose upper part forms one of the electrode plates. This is said to be an advantageous example because the electrode plates can be easily integrated into a standard pump device. Furthermore, there is also disclosed in WO 2009/126084 that the invention therein can be exercised also by the use of a pump in which the enclosed chamber and the two electrodes are designed as a flexible insertion located between a moving piston and a fixed wall or a second movable piston with a reversed movement. Such possibilities are disclosed as e.g. a pump similar to that of an infusion bag or a disposable cartridge.
There are also other documents disclosing pumps for use in PEF systems. One example is disclosed in WO 03/056941 which relates to a method and arrangement for continuous treatment of a pumpable substance with an electric field. There is mentioned that positive displacement pumps may be part of the arrangement. Examples are lobe rotor pumps and gear pumps.
One aim of the present invention is to provide an improved chamber for pulsed electric field generation (called PEF chamber in the following). The PEF chamber according to the present invention has several advantages when comparing to the existing alternatives, such as inter alia easy to install and replace by another one, easy to incorporate in a PEF system together with other user add-ons, which are further disclosed below, and provides a simplified production of the PEF chamber as such.

Chamber for pulsed electric field generation


A generator stator core through-bolt tensioning device that automatically tightens the nut on the through-bolts that hold together and compress laminate plates of the stator core in a high voltage generator. A controller receives a signal from a measuring device, such as a fiber Bragg grating that measures the strain on the bolt, and based on that signal determines whether the nut needs to be tightened. If the controller determines that tightening is necessary, it will cause the tensioning device to automatically tighten the nut while the generator is in service, and use the measuring device to provide feedback of the tensioning of the through-bolt to know when to stop the device from tightening the nut.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a device for tightening a through-bolt used in a stator core of a high voltage generator and, more particularly, to a device for automatically tightening a through-bolt that holds laminate plates together in a stator core of a high voltage generator while the generator is in service in response to detecting that the bolt has become loose.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
High voltage generators for generating electricity as a power source are well known in the art. A power plant may include gas turbine engines that each rotate a shaft by combusting fuel and air in a combustion chamber that expands across blades which rotate, and in turn causes the shaft to rotate. The output shaft of such an engine is coupled to an input shaft of a high voltage generator that is mounted to a rotor having a special configuration of coils. An electrical current provided in the rotor coils generates a magnetic flux around the coils, and as the rotor rotates, the magnetic flux interacts with windings in a stator core enclosing the rotor. The stator core windings include interconnected stator bars that have a special configuration to reduce eddy currents in the core, which would otherwise generate significant heat and possibly damage various generator components.
Stacked laminate plates in a stator core of this type are closely held together and compressed for proper operation of the generator to provide tight gas flow channels and the necessary sealing. During assembly of the generator, the laminate plates and stator bars are assembled in a vertical manner by sliding the components onto several circumferentially oriented bolts. For a typical generator, there may be sixty of these through-bolts, where the stator core may be about thirty feet long.
Once the stator core is in service and operating, it has an elevated temperature and is subject to vibrations and other stresses during normal generator operation. These forces and temperatures cause the various metal materials in the stator core to loosen so that, for example, the laminate plates are not as tightly packed and compressed as desired. Therefore, it is desirable to tighten the nuts on the bolts holding the stator core together to hold the plates in the desired state of compression. In order to tighten the bolts on the stator core, the generator needs to be taken out of service and disassembled, which is a complex and costly process. During maintenance of the generator, a technician will rotate the nuts using a torque wrench to ensure that the through-bolts are under the desired compression. However, because such a maintenance service on a generator is performed only periodically due to the costs involved, the generator may be operating without the desired compression in the stator core for extended periods of time. Also, the torque wrenches that are used for this purpose are not overly accurate in that the torque measurement provided by the wrench is subject to the friction of the nut on the threads.

Bolt tightener device for tightening a through-bolt in a generator core


A processing unit includes a naphtha hydrotreating unit comprising a first divided wall column, a naphtha splitter system, and a deisopentanizer column coupled to an output of a naphtha splitter of the naphtha splitter system, an isomerization unit coupled to an outlet of the deisopentanizer column, and a second divided wall column. The processing unit also includes an isomerization reactor coupled between the deisopentanizer column and the stabilizer column.

This section provides background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the disclosure. It should be understood that the statements in this section of this document are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
The majority of dividing wall column (DWC) applications in the refining industry consist of standalone columns, whether a retrofit or a grassroots column. Functional DWCs are commonly encountered in naphtha splitters and reformate splitters.

Network of dividing-wall columns in complex processing units


Provided is a method for searching for an optimal coder suitable to a dual stream transmission method of a DTV transceiving apparatus, and an encoder and a decoder employing the optimal coder searching method. The optimal coder searching method includes the steps of: a) determining a mixed pattern of normal stream and robust stream; b) determining a trellis structure of the robust stream which is applied to the mixed pattern based on how coders are connected; c) forming a dual stream trellis by mixing a trellis of the normal stream, which is a normal stream trellis, and a trellis of the robust stream, which is a robust stream trellis; d) computing a free distance at departing points of the dual stream trellis structure based on a dual stream free distance computation termination condition; and e) determining the optimal coder based on the free distance.

The 8-Vestigial Side Band (VSB) method, which is a Digital Television (DTV) broadcasting standard adopted by the North America and Korea, hardly provides indoor and mobile reception performance desired by broadcasting companies.
To solve the problem, the Advanced Television System Committee (ATSC) has collected suggestions for improving the DTV reception performance and developed a DTV transceiving system using a dual stream structure. The present invention provides a trellis coding searching method which is used to generate robust stream in the DTV transceiving system using a dual stream structure. Conventional technologies and search algorithms search only for an optimal single stream codec. When the single stream codec search algorithm is used to search for an optimal dual stream codec, it cannot find out an optimal codec due to missing of a free distance computation termination condition that appears only in dual stream. The present invention provides the free distance termination condition to search for an optimal dual stream codec.

Optimal TCM codec search method for dual stream systems, and encoder/decoder using the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A robot hand (10) comprises an outside section that is not adapted for entry into a high-temperature area and an entry section adapted for entering the high-temperature area includes a frame (15) extending from the base unit and covering intermediate portions of the shafts; a distal end support (30) provided in the frame and adapted to support near distal end portions of the shafts; and holding units (13, 14) each attached to corresponding each of the shafts for holding a workpiece. The proximal end support is adapted to support the shafts via a bearing. The distal end support includes support holes larger than the outer diameters of the shafts such that the shafts are inserted into the support holes, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a robot hand. In particular, the invention relates a robot hand adapted for handling a workpiece heated to a high temperature in a high-temperature area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, workpieces that are processed by a processing machine or machines may be held by a hand of a robot and taken out of the processing machine(s). Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-005732 discloses a robot hand adapted for handling of a workpiece by opening and closing of a holding unit. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-149224 discloses another robot hand adapted for handling of a workpiece using an air-actuated adsorption unit.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-083685 discloses a servo hand featuring a double-shaft configuration in which in a first shaft with a first nail is coaxially, provided a second shaft with a second nail. The servo hand is thus adapted to change rotational positions of the first and second nails about an axis of the first and second shafts and thereby hold and release the workpiece.
A workpiece may be heated considerably as a result of being processed by specific processing machines such as press machines and forging machines. In the robot hand disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-005732, the servo motor is arranged near the holding unit. Accordingly, when the workpiece is to be taken out of the above-mentioned specific processing machine, or when the workpiece is highly heated, the servo motor is thermally affected, which may cause its lifetime to be degraded. In addition, since the air-actuated adsorption unit disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2010-149224 has a low heat resistance, it is difficult to use this adsorption unit in a high-temperature environment.
In Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-083685, the servo motor is allowed to be spaced away from the first and second nails at a distance defined by the lengths of the first and second shafts. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the servo motor from being thermally affected even when the workpiece is at a high temperature.
However, in such a double-shaft configuration in the context of the servo hand described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-03685, a bearing provided between the first shaft and the second shaft needs to be placed at the distal end of the servo hand. Consequently, when the servo hand of Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-083685 is moved into the high-temperature area, the bearing may deteriorate due to the thermal effects within the area.
It is therefore an object of the invention, which has been made in view of the foregoing issues, to provide a robot hand capable of handling a workpiece without malfunctioning even in a high-temperature area.

Robot hand for handling workpiece in high temperature area


A reactor for manufacturing synthesis gas as a single housing, equipped with a non-catalytic combustion chamber having at least one device for injecting a fuel and at least one device for injecting an oxidizer so as to achieve partial combustion in said chamber, and at least one catalytic bed from which the gases coming from the combustion chamber discharge into, said catalytic bed being equipped with at least one device for injecting an additional oxidizer. A process for operating the reactor may be applied to any chemical manufacturing utilizing synthesis gas, such as the manufacturing of ammonia, urea, methanol, higher hydrocarbons, etc.

The present invention relates to a process and a device for manufacturing synthesis gas usable for producing for example ammonia, methanol, urea, hydrocarbons, etc.
The gases obtained according to the invention may be converted and then possibly purified or else be used as reducing gases.
It is well-known that synthesis gas is obtained by the reaction of a mixture of hydrocarbons or fuel with an oxidant.
A first way of producing synthesis gas consists in associating a primary reforming reactor with a secondary reforming reactor. The primary reforming reactor conventionally consists of pipes filled with catalyst and heated either through an external combustion or through heat exchange with warm effluents, for example with those of the secondary reforming reactor. The hydrocarbon is generally introduced into the primary reforming reactor with a large excess of steam.
The primary reforming effluents are then introduced into the secondary reformer which also receives an oxidant supply.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,278,452 describes a secondary reformer whose improvement consists of an additional introduction of oxidant between the catalytic beds arranged successively in this reactor. However, the improvement provided by the stepped lay-out of the oxidant does not solve the major drawback of this type of reactor which requires a high amount of excess steam whose production is costly. Moreover, steam presents the disadvantage of changing the distribution between the hydrogen, the carbon dioxide and the carbon monoxide present in the synthesis gas.
Another way of manufacturing synthesis gas, with a low steam consumption, consists in performing a partial oxidation of the hydrocarbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,631 describes such an example of a reactor working without a catalyst, by means of a flame. However, this type of reactor always produces a certain proportion of soot because combustion is carried out with a lack of oxygen, and subsequently this reactor requires costly cleaning. Besides, if the amount of soot is to be reduced, the oxygen consumption has to be raised, which decreases the reactor efficiency. Thus, although working with little steam, this type of reactor has the drawback of the formation of soot when the oxygen consumption is reduced or when working in air.
FR-2,638,443 describes another process for producing synthesis gas by means of a flame, with the partial oxidation of light hydrocarbons.

Process and device for manufacturing synthesis gas and application


Disclosed is a silver halide direct view multicolor photographic element comprising a green record containing a green light sensitized silver halide emulsion and comprising either (a) a magenta dye-forming coupler and a cyan dye-forming coupler in an amount of at least 0.1 mole % of the couplers present in the green record, or (b) a green record having a coupler or couplers sufficient to provide upon development a Status A red density greater than 0.23 as measured using a green light separation exposure at a Status A green density of 1.0.

This invention relates to a direct view silver halide photographic element containing a particular green record that contains a coupler or couplers that provide an improved flesh tone reproduction.
In a silver halide photographic element, a color image is formed when the element is exposed to light and then subjected to color development with a primary aromatic amine developer. Color development results in imagewise reduction of silver halide and production of oxidized developer. Oxidized developer then reacts with one or more incorporated dye-forming couplers to form an imagewise distribution of dye.
In any polychromatic chromogenic photographic element designed for direct view, it is desirable to accurately reproduce the hue of flesh tones of different densities. Direct view elements are more fully defined hereinafter to include reproductions intended for human viewing such as prints, projection images and transparencies such as back-lit signs. These photographic elements are distinguished from the so-called image capture elements that are used only as an intermediate to produce direct view elements via optical or digital printing methods.
It is also desirable to accurately reproduce neutral backgrounds in scenes when the photographic material is balanced to a pleasing flesh tone. This is especially true for wedding portraits and similar images where the blacks and whites must be accurately reproduced.
Finally, besides providing images with desirable flesh hue and neutrals, it is also desirable to provide images with satisfactory image stability. Images that fade quickly upon exposure to light and/or the environment are undesirable. It is a therefore a desire to provide the foregoing flesh and neutral benefits without sacrificing image stability.
It has been suggested to employ pyrazolotriazole magenta dye-forming couplers in the green record of direct view elements. It has also been suggested to employ certain so-called 2,5-diacylamino cyan couplers in the red record of direct view elements. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,925,503, 5,972,574, and 5,962,198.
It is a problem to be solved to provide a direct view multicolor element that provides improved flesh tone reproduction.
The invention provides a silver halide direct view multicolor photographic element comprising a green record containing a green light sensitized silver halide emulsion and comprising either (a) a magenta dye-forming coupler and a cyan dye-forming coupler in an amount of at least 0.1 mole % of the couplers present in the green record, or (b) a green record having a coupler or couplers sufficient to provide upon development a Status A red density greater than 0.23 as measured using a green light separation exposure at a Status A green density of 1.0.
Embodiments of the invention provide direct view elements that have an improved flesh tone reproduction.
The invention is generally as described above. The multicolor elements of the invention comprise a blue record sensitized for maximum sensitivity in the range of 400-500 nm, a green record sensitized for maximum sensitivity in the range of 500-600 nm, and a red record sensitized for maximum sensitivity in the range of 600-700 nm. The present invention provides for the selection of the dye forming couplers in the green record to enable an improved flesh tone reproduction.
In the invention, the green record contains one or more couplers capable of forming a dye upon development so that the element exhibits a Status A red density greater than 0.23 at a green density of 1.0, as measured using a green light separation exposure. In one embodiment, the green record contains a light sensitive magenta dye-forming coupler and a cyan dye-forming coupler in an amount of at least 0.1 mole %, suitably at least 0.3 mole % or at least 0.5 mole % of the couplers of the couplers present in the record.
The cyan dye-forming coupler to be included in the magenta record is a phenolic, naphtholic or pyrroloazole coupler. A useful phenolic coupler is a 2-acylamino-5-alkyl phenol, a 2,5-diacylamino phenol, or a 2-ureido-5-acylamino phenol. In one embodiment, the useful cyan coupler is a so-called NB coupler as more fully defined hereinafter.
The magenta dye-forming coupler in the magenta record is suitably an azole coupler. One type of suitable coupler is a pyrazolotrazole coupler, particularly one with a tetramethylethyl link. Examples include a 1H-pyrazolo (5,1-c)[1,2,4]triazole or a 1H-pyrazolo(1,5-b)[1,2,4]triazole compound.
In another embodiment of the invention, the green record contains a magenta dye-forming coupler such that the element exhibits a Status A red density greater than 0.23 at a green density of 1.0, as measured using a green light separation exposure. Desirably, the red density is greater than 0.24 or 0.25 and is less than 0.40. The green record of such an element may also contain the cyan coupler as above described.
A direct view multicolor photographic element of the invention comprises a green record containing a light sensitive magenta dye-forming coupler exhibiting a Status A red density sufficiently greater than 0.23 to improve the flesh tone reproduction of the element, compared to the same element containing a magenta dye-forming coupler exhibiting a red density of less than 0.23, as measured using a green light separation exposure at a green density of 1.0.
It is important to closely match the coupler reactivity when blending couplers. Mis-matched blended coupler reaction rates with oxidized color developer will result in color shifts through the neutral density scale. Reactivity mismatches can also result in unacceptable color reproduction performance. Ideally the coupler blends would react to form one blended dye spectra that forms the same blended dye spectra up and down the density scale. In practice some deviation from one blended dye spectra can occur. If the dye spectra deviation is not too large the tone scale neutrality and color reproduction properties will be acceptable.
Embodiments of the invention may provide a combination of improved flesh tone reproduction and image stability. In such cases, the use of an NB 2,5-diacylamino phenolic coupler and the pyrazolotriazole coupler with a tetramethylethyl link is preferred.
A useful embodiment of the invention incorporates a block copolymer of polyoxypropylene and polyoxyethylene in one of the layers such as in the overcoat. Examples of such materials are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,052 and include Pluronic L44 of BASF Corp.
An xe2x80x9cNB couplerxe2x80x9d is a narrow bandwidth coupler having substituents so that there is a reduction in left bandwidth in spin-coating form vs. solution form of at least 5 nm. In accordance with the procedure, a dye is formed by combining the coupler and the developer 4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-(2-methanesulfonamidoethyl)aniline sesquisulfate hydrate. If the left bandwidth (LBW) of its absorption spectra upon xe2x80x9cspin coatingxe2x80x9d of a 3% w/v solution of the dye in di-n-butyl sebacate solvent is at least 5 nm. less than the LBW for a solution of the same dye in acetonitrile, then the coupler is an xe2x80x9cNB Couplerxe2x80x9d. The LBW of the spectral curve for a dye is the distance between the left side of the spectral curve and the wavelength of maximum absorption measured at a density of half the maximum.
The xe2x80x9cspin coatingxe2x80x9d sample is prepared by first preparing a solution of the dye in di-n-butyl sebacate solvent (3% w/v). If the dye is insoluble, dissolution is achieved by the addition of methylene chloride. The solution is filtered and 0.1-0.2 ml is applied to a clear polyethylene terephthalate support (approximately 4 cmxc3x974 cm) and spun at 4,000 RPM using the Spin Coating equipment, Model No. EC101, available from Headway Research Inc., Garland Tex. The transmission spectra of the so prepared dye samples are then recorded.
Preferred xe2x80x9cNB couplersxe2x80x9d form a dye which, in n-butyl sebacate, has a LBW of the absorption spectra upon xe2x80x9cspin coatingxe2x80x9d which is at least 15 nm, preferably at least 25 nm, less than that of the same dye in acetonitrile solution.
Unless otherwise specifically stated, use of the term xe2x80x9cgroupxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9csubstitutedxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9csubstituentxe2x80x9d means any group or atom other than hydrogen. Additionally, when reference is made in this application to a compound or group that contains a substitutable hydrogen, it is also intended to encompass not only the unsubstituted form, but also its form further substituted with any substituent group or groups as herein mentioned, so long as the substituent does not destroy properties necessary for the intended utility. Suitably, a substituent group may be halogen or may be bonded to the remainder of the molecule by an atom of carbon, silicon, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous, or sulfur. The substituent may be, for example, halogen, such as chlorine, bromine or fluorine; nitro; hydroxyl; cyano; carboxyl; or groups which may be further substituted, such as alkyl, including straight or branched chain or cyclic alkyl, such as methyl, trifluoromethyl, ethyl, t-butyl, 3-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy) propyl, cyclohexyl, and tetradecyl; alkenyl, such as ethylene, 2-butene; alkoxy, such as methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy, 2-methoxyethoxy, sec-butoxy, hexyloxy, 2-ethylhexyloxy, tetradecyloxy, 2-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)ethoxy, and 2-dodecyloxyethoxy; aryl such as phenyl, 4-t-butylphenyl, 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl, naphthyl; aryloxy, such as phenoxy, 2-methylphenoxy, alpha- or beta-naphthyloxy, and 4-tolyloxy; carbonamido, such as acetamido, benzamido, butyramido, tetradecanamido, alpha-(2,4-di-t-pentyl-phenoxy)acetamido, alpha-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyramido, alpha-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)-hexanamido, alpha-(4-hydroxy-3-t-butylphenoxy)-tetradecanamido, 2-oxo-pyrrolidin-1-yl, 2-oxo-5-tetradecylpyrrolin-1-yl, N-methyltetradecanamido, N-succinimido, N-phthalimido, 2,5-dioxo-1-oxazolidinyl, 3-dodecyl-2,5-dioxo-1-imidazolyl, and N-acetyl-N-dodecylamino, ethoxycarbonylamino, phenoxycarbonylamino, benzyloxycarbonylamino, hexadecyloxycarbonylamino, 2,4-di-t-butylphenoxycarbonylamino, phenylcarbonylamino, 2,5-(di-t-pentylphenyl)carbonylamino, p-dodecyl-phenylcarbonylamino, p-tolylcarbonylamino, N-methylureido, N,N-dimethylureido, N-methyl-N-dodecylureido, N-hexadecylureido, N,N-dioctadecylureido, N,N-dioctyl-Nxe2x80x2-ethylureido, N-phenylureido, N,N-diphenylureido, N-phenyl-N-p-tolylureido, N-(m-hexadecylphenyl)ureido, N,N-(2,5-di-t-pentylphenyl)-Nxe2x80x2-ethylureido, and t-butylcarbonamido; sulfonamido, such as methylsulfonamido, benzenesulfonamido, p-tolylsulfonamido, p-dodecylbenzenesulfonamido, N-methyltetradecylsulfonamido, N,N-dipropyl-sulfamoylamino, and hexadecylsulfonamido; sulfamoyl, such as N-methylsulfamoyl, N-ethylsulfamoyl, N,N-dipropylsulfamoyl, N-hexadecylsulfamoyl, N,N-dimethylsulfamoyl; N-[3-(dodecyloxy)propyl]sulfamoyl, N-[4-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyl]sulfamoyl, N-methyl-N-tetradecylsulfamoyl, and N-dodecylsulfamoyl; carbamoyl, such as N-methylcarbamoyl, N,N-dibutylcarbamoyl, N-octadecylcarbamoyl, N-[4-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)butyl]carbamoyl, N-methyl-N-tetradecylcarbamoyl, and N,N-dioctylcarbamoyl; acyl, such as acetyl, (2,4-di-t-amylphenoxy)acetyl, phenoxycarbonyl, p-dodecyloxyphenoxycarbonyl methoxycarbonyl, butoxycarbonyl, tetradecyloxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, benzyloxycarbonyl, 3-pentadecyloxycarbonyl, and dodecyloxycarbonyl; sulfonyl, such as methoxysulfonyl, octyloxysulfonyl, tetradecyloxysulfonyl, 2-ethylhexyloxysulfonyl, phenoxysulfonyl, 2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxysulfonyl, methylsulfonyl, octylsulfonyl, 2-ethylhexylsulfonyl, dodecylsulfonyl, hexadecylsulfonyl, phenylsulfonyl, 4-nonylphenylsulfonyl, and p-tolylsulfonyl; sulfonyloxy, such as dodecylsulfonyloxy, and hexadecylsulfonyloxy; sulfinyl, such as methylsulfinyl, octylsulfinyl, 2-ethylhexylsulfinyl, dodecylsulfinyl, hexadecylsulfinyl, phenylsulfinyl, 4-nonylphenylsulfinyl, andp-tolylsulfinyl; thio, such as ethylthio, octylthio, benzylthio, tetradecylthio, 2-(2,4-di-t-pentylphenoxy)ethylthio, phenylthio, 2-butoxy-5-t-octylphenylthio, and p-tolylthio; acyloxy, such as acetyloxy, benzoyloxy, octadecanoyloxy, p-dodecylamidobenzoyloxy, N-phenylcarbamoyloxy, N-ethylcarbamoyloxy, and cyclohexylcarbonyloxy; amine, such as phenylanilino, 2-chloroanilino, diethylamine, dodecylamine; imino, such as 1 (N-phenylimido)ethyl, N-succinimido or 3-benzylhydantoinyl; phosphate, such as dimethylphosphate and ethylbutylphosphate; phosphite, such as diethyl and dihexylphosphite; a heterocyclic group, a heterocyclic oxy group or a heterocyclic thio group, each of which may be substituted and which contain a 3 to 7 membered heterocyclic ring composed of carbon atoms and at least one hetero atom selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur, such as 2-furyl, 2-thienyl, 2-benzimidazolyloxy or 2-benzothiazolyl; quaternary ammonium, such as triethylammonium; and silyloxy, such as trimethylsilyloxy.
If desired, the substituents may themselves be further substituted one or more times with the described substituent groups. The particular substituents used may be selected by those skilled in the art to attain the desired desirable properties for a specific application and can include, for example, hydrophobic groups, solubilizing groups, blocking groups, and releasing or releasable groups. When a molecule may have two or more substituents, the substituents may be joined together to form a ring such as a fused ring unless otherwise provided. Generally, the above groups and substituents thereof may include those having up to 48 carbon atoms, typically 1 to 36 carbon atoms and usually less than 24 carbon atoms, but greater numbers are possible depending on the particular substituents selected.
The materials useful in the invention can be used in any of the ways and in any of the combinations known in the art. Typically, the invention materials are incorporated in a melt and coated as a layer described herein on a support to form part of a photographic element. When the term xe2x80x9cassociatedxe2x80x9d is employed, it signifies that a reactive compound is in or adjacent to a specified layer where, during processing, it is capable of reacting with other components.
To control the migration of various components, it may be desirable to include a high molecular weight hydrophobe or xe2x80x9cballastxe2x80x9d group in coupler molecules. Representative ballast groups include substituted or unsubstituted alkyl or aryl groups containing 8 to 48 carbon atoms. Representative substituents on such groups include alkyl, aryl, alkoxy, aryloxy, alkylthio, hydroxy, halogen, alkoxycarbonyl, aryloxcarbonyl, carboxy, acyl, acyloxy, amino, anilino, carbonamido, carbamoyl, alkylsulfonyl, arylsulfonyl, sulfonamido, and sulfamoyl groups wherein the substituents typically contain 1 to 42 carbon atoms. Such substituents can also be further substituted.
The photographic elements can be single color elements or multicolor elements. Multicolor elements contain image dye-forming units sensitive to each of the three primary regions of the spectrum. Each unit can comprise a single emulsion layer or multiple emulsion layers sensitive to a given region of the spectrum. The layers of the element, including the layers of the image-forming units, can be arranged in various orders as known in the art. In an alternative format, the emulsions sensitive to each of the three primary regions of the spectrum can be disposed as a single segmented layer.
A typical multicolor photographic element comprises a support bearing a cyan dye image-forming unit comprised of at least one red-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer having associated therewith at least one cyan dye-forming coupler, a magenta dye image-forming unit comprising at least one green-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer having associated therewith at least one magenta dye-forming coupler, and a yellow dye image-forming unit comprising at least one blue-sensitive silver halide emulsion layer having associated therewith at least one yellow dye-forming coupler. The element can contain additional layers, such as filter layers, interlayers, overcoat layers, and subbing layers.
If desired, the photographic element can be used in conjunction with an applied magnetic layer as described in Research Disclosure, November 1992, Item 34390 published by Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd., Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire P010 7DQ, ENGLAND, and as described in Hatsumi Kyoukai Koukai Gihou No. 94-6023, published Mar. 15, 1994, available from the Japanese Patent Office. When it is desired to employ the inventive materials in a small format film, Research Disclosure, June 1994, Item 36230, provides suitable embodiments.
In the following discussion of suitable materials for use in the emulsions and elements of this invention, reference will be made to Research Disclosure, September 1996, Item 38957, available as described above, which is referred to herein by the term xe2x80x9cResearch Disclosurexe2x80x9d. The Sections hereinafter referred to are Sections of the Research Disclosure.
Except as provided, the silver halide emulsion containing elements employed in this invention can be either negative-working or positive-working as indicated by the type of processing instructions (i.e. color negative, reversal, or direct positive processing) provided with the element. Suitable emulsions and their preparation as well as methods of chemical and spectral sensitization are described in Sections I through V. Various additives such as UV dyes, brighteners, antifoggants, stabilizers, light absorbing and scattering materials, and physical property modifying addenda such as hardeners, coating aids, plasticizers, lubricants and matting agents are described, for example, in Sections II and VI through VIII. Color materials are described in Sections X through XIII. Suitable methods for incorporating couplers and dyes, including dispersions in organic solvents, are described in Section X(E). Scan facilitating is described in Section XIV. Supports, exposure, development systems, and processing methods and agents are described in Sections XV to XX. The information contained in the September 1994 Research Disclosure, Item No. 36544 referenced above, is updated in the September 1996 Research Disclosure, Item No. 38957. Certain desirable photographic elements and processing steps, including those useful in conjunction with color reflective prints, are described in Research Disclosure, Item 37038, February 1995.
Coupling-off groups are well known in the art. Such groups can determine the chemical equivalency of a coupler, i.e., whether it is a 2-equivalent or a 4-equivalent coupler, or modify the reactivity of the coupler. Such groups can advantageously affect the layer in which the coupler is coated, or other layers in the photographic recording material, by performing, after release from the coupler, functions such as dye formation, dye hue adjustment, development acceleration or inhibition, bleach acceleration or inhibition, electron transfer facilitation, and color correction.
The presence of hydrogen at the coupling site provides a 4-equivalent coupler, and the presence of another coupling-off group usually provides a 2-equivalent coupler. Representative classes of such coupling-off groups include, for example, chloro, alkoxy, aryloxy, hetero-oxy, sulfonyloxy, acyloxy, acyl, heterocyclyl, sulfonamido, mercaptotetrazole, benzothiazole, mercaptopropionic acid, phosphonyloxy, arylthio, and arylazo. These coupling-off groups are described in the art, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,455,169, 3,227,551, 3,432,521, 3,476,563, 3,617,291, 3,880,661, 4,052,212 and 4,134,766; and in UK. Patents and published application Nos. 1,466,728, 1,531,927, 1,533,039, 2,006,755A and 2,017,704A.
Image dye-forming couplers may be included in the element such as couplers that form cyan dyes upon reaction with oxidized color developing agents which are described in such representative patents and publications as: xe2x80x9cFarbkuppler-eine Literature Ubersicht,xe2x80x9d published in Agfa Mitteilungen, Band III, pp. 156-175 (1961) as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,367,531; 2,423,730; 2,474,293, 2,772,162; 2,895,826; 3,002,836; 3,034,892; 3,041,236; 4,333,999; 4,746,602; 4,753,871; 4,770,988; 4,775,616; 4,818,667; 4,818,672; 4,822,729; 4,839,267; 4,840,883; 4,849,328; 4,865,961; 4,873,183; 4,883,746; 4,900,656; 4,904,575; 4,916,051; 4,921,783; 4,923,791; 4,950,585; 4,971,898; 4,990,436; 4,996,139; 5,008,180; 5,015,565; 5,011,765; 5,011,766; 5,017,467; 5,045,442; 5,051,347; 5,061,613; 5,071,737; 5,075,207; 5,091,297; 5,094,938; 5,104,783; 5,178,993; 5,813,729; 5,187,057; 5,192,651; 5,200,305; 5,202,224; 5,206,130; 5,208,141; 5,210,011; 5,215,871; 5,223,386; 5,227,287; 5,256,526; 5,258,270; 5,272,051; 5,306,610; 5,326,682; 5,366,856; 5,378,596; 5,380,638; 5,382,502; 5,384,236; 5,397,691; 5,415,990; 5,434,034; 5,441,863; EPO 0 246 616; EPO 0 250 201; EPO 0 271 323; EPO 0 295 632; EPO 0 307 927; EPO 0 333 185; EPO 0 378 898; EPO 0 389 817; EPO 0 487 111; EPO 0 488 248; EPO 0 539 034; EPO 0 545 300; EPO 0 556 700; EPO 0 556 777; EPO 0 556 858; EPO 0 569 979; EPO 0 608 133; EPO 0 636 936; EPO 0 651 286; EPO 0 690 344; German OLS 4,026,903; German OLS 3,624,777. and German OLS 3,823,049. Typically such couplers are phenols, naphthols, or pyrazoloazoles.
Couplers that form magenta dyes upon reaction with oxidized color developing agent are described in such representative patents and publications as: xe2x80x9cFarbkuppler-eine Literature Ubersicht,xe2x80x9d published in Agfa Mitteilungen, Band III, pp. 126-156 (1961) as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,311,082 and 2,369,489; 2,343,701; 2,600,788; 2,908,573; 3,062,653; 3,152,896; 3,519,429; 3,758,309; 3,935,015; 4,540,654; 4,745,052; 4,762,775; 4,791,052; 4,812,576; 4,835,094; 4,840,877; 4,845,022; 4,853,319; 4,868,099; 4,865,960; 4,871,652; 4,876,182; 4,892,805; 4,900,657; 4,910,124; 4,914,013; 4,921,968; 4,929,540; 4,933,465; 4,942,116; 4,942,117; 4,942,118; 4,959,480; 4,968,594; 4,988,614; 4,992,361; 5,002,864; 5,021,325; 5,066,575; 5,068,171; 5,071,739; 5,100,772; 5,110,942; 5,116,990; 5,118,812; 5,134,059; 5,155,016; 5,183,728; 5,234,805; 5,235,058; 5,250,400; 5,254,446; 5,262,292; 5,300,407; 5,302,496; 5,336,593; 5,350,667; 5,395,968; 5,354,826, 5,358,829; 5,368,998; 5,378,587; 5,409,808; 5,411,841; 5,418,123; 5,424,179; EPO 0 257 854; EPO 0 284 240; EPO 0 341 204; EPO 347,235; EPO 365,252; EPO 0 422 595; EPO 0 428 899; EPO 0 428 902; EPO 0 459 331; EPO 0 467 327; EPO 0 476 949; EPO 0 487 081; EPO 0 489 333; EPO 0 512 304; EPO 0 515 128; EPO 0 534 703; EPO 0 554 778; EPO 0 558 145; EPO 0 571 959; EPO 0 583 832; EPO 0 583 834; EPO 0 584 793; EPO 0 602 748; EPO 0 602 749; EPO 0 605 918; EPO 0 622 672; EPO 0 622 673; EPO 0 629 912; EPO 0 646 841, EPO 0 656 561; EPO 0 660 177; EPO 0 686 872; WO 90/10253; WO 92/09010; WO 92/10788; WO 92/12464; WO 93/01523; WO 93/02392; WO 93/02393; WO 93/07534; UK Application 2,244,053; Japanese Application 03192-350; German OLS 3,624,103; German OLS 3,912,265; and German OLS 40 08 067. Typically such couplers are pyrazolones, pyrazoloazoles, or pyrazolobenzimidazoles that form magenta dyes upon reaction with oxidized color developing agents.
Couplers that form yellow dyes upon reaction with oxidized color developing agent are described in such representative patents and publications as: xe2x80x9cFarbkuppler-eine Literature Ubersicht,xe2x80x9d published in Agfa Mitteilungen; Band III; pp. 112-126 (1961); as well as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,298,443; 2,407,210; 2,875,057; 3,048,194; 3,265,506; 3,447,928; 4,022,620; 4,443,536; 4,758,501; 4,791,050; 4,824,771; 4,824,773; 4,855,222; 4,978,605; 4,992,360; 4,994,361; 5,021,333; 5,053,325; 5,066,574; 5,066,576; 5,100,773; 5,118,599; 5,143,823; 5,187,055; 5,190,848; 5,213,958; 5,215,877; 5,215,878; 5,217,857; 5,219,716; 5,238,803; 5,283,166, 5,294,531; 5,306,609; 5,328,818; 5,336,591; 5,338,654; 5,358,835; 5,358,838; 5,360,713; 5,362,617; 5,382,506; 5,389,504; 5,399,474; 5,405,737; 5,411,848; 5,427,898; EPO 0 327 976; EPO 0 296 793; EPO 0 365 282; EPO 0 379 309; EPO 0 415 375; EPO 0 437 818; EPO 0 447 969; EPO 0 542 463; EPO 0 568 037; EPO 0 568 196; EPO 0 568 777; EPO 0 570 006; EPO 0 573 761; EPO 0 608 956; EPO 0 608 957; and EPO 0 628 865. Such couplers are typically open chain ketomethylene compounds.
Couplers that form colorless products upon reaction with oxidized color developing agent are described in such representative patents as: UK. 861,138; U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,632,345; 3,928,041; 3,958,993 and 3,961,959. Typically such couplers are cyclic carbonyl containing compounds that form colorless products on reaction with an oxidized color developing agent.
Couplers that form black dyes upon reaction with oxidized color developing agent are described in such representative patents as U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,939,231; 2,181,944; 2,333,106; and 4,126,461; German OLS No. 2,644,194 and German OLS No. 2,650,764. Typically, such couplers are resorcinols or m-aminophenols that form black or neutral products on reaction with oxidized color developing agent.
In addition to the foregoing, so-called xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cwashoutxe2x80x9d couplers may be employed. These couplers do not contribute to image dye-formation. Thus, for example, a naphthol having an unsubstituted carbamoyl or one substituted with a low molecular weight substituent at the 2- or 3-position may be employed. Couplers of this type are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,628, 5,151,343, and 5,234,800.
It may be useful to use a combination of couplers any of which may contain known ballasts or coupling-off groups such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,301,235; 4,853,319 and 4,351,897. The coupler may contain solubilizing groups such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,482,629. The coupler may also be used in association with xe2x80x9cwrongxe2x80x9d colored couplers (e.g. to adjust levels of interlayer correction) and, in color negative applications, with masking couplers such as those described in EP 213.490; Japanese Published Application 58-172,647, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,983,608; 4,070,191; and 4,273,861; German Applications DE 2,706,117 and DE 2,643,965; UK. Patent 1,530,272; and Japanese Application 58-113935. The masking couplers may be shifted or blocked, if desired.
Typically, couplers are incorporated in a silver halide emulsion layer in a mole ratio to silver of 0.05 to 1.0 and generally 0.1 to 0.5. Usually the couplers are dispersed in a high-boiling organic solvent in a weight ratio of solvent to coupler of 0.1 to 10.0 and typically 0.1 to 2.0 although dispersions using no permanent coupler solvent are sometimes employed.
It is contemplated that the present invention may be employed to obtain reflection color prints as described in Research Disclosure, November 1979, Item 18716, available from Kenneth Mason Publications, Ltd, Dudley Annex, 12a North Street, Emsworth, Hampshire P0101 7DQ, England. Materials useful in the invention may be coated on pH adjusted support as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,917,994; on a support with reduced oxygen permeability (EP 553,339); with epoxy solvents (EP 164,961); with nickel complex stabilizers (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,346,165; 4,540,653 and 4,906,559 for example); with ballasted chelating agents such as those in U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,359 to reduce sensitivity to polyvalent cations such as calcium; and with stain reducing compounds such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,068,171. Other compounds useful in combination with the invention are disclosed in Japanese Published Applications described in Derwent Abstracts having accession numbers as follows: 90-072,629, 90-072,630; 90-072,631; 90-072,632; 90-072,633; 90-072,634; 90-077,822; 90-078,229; 90-078,230; 90-079,336; 90-079,337; 90-079,338; 90-079,690; 90-079,691; 90-080,487; 90-080,488; 90-080,489; 90-080,490; 90-080,491; 90-080,492; 90-080,494; 90-085,928; 90-086,669; 90-086,670; 90-087,360; 90-087,361; 90-087,362; 90-087,363; 90-087,364; 90-088,097; 90-093,662; 90-093,663; 90-093,664; 90-093,665; 90-093,666; 90-093,668; 90-094,055; 90-094,056; 90-103,409; 83-62,586; 83-09,959.
Conventional radiation-sensitive silver halide emulsions can be employed in the practice of this invention. Such emulsions are illustrated by Research Disclosure, Item 38755, September 1996, I. Emulsion grains and their preparation.
Photographic elements can be exposed to actinic radiation, typically in the visible region of the spectrum, to form a latent image and can then be processed to form a visible dye image. Processing to form a visible dye image includes the step of contacting the element with a color-developing agent to reduce developable silver halide and oxidize the color-developing agent. Oxidized color developing agent in turn reacts with the coupler to yield a dye. If desired xe2x80x9cRedox Amplificationxe2x80x9d as described in Research Disclosure XVIIIB(5) may be used.
A xe2x80x9ccolor negative elementxe2x80x9d utilizes negative-working silver halide and provides a negative image upon processing. A first type of such element is a capture element, which is a color negative film that is designed for capturing an image in negative form rather than for viewing an image. A second type of such an element is a direct-view element that is designed, at least in part, for providing a positive image viewable by humans.
In the capture element, speed (the sensitivity of the element to low light conditions) is usually critical to obtaining sufficient image in such elements. Such elements are typically silver bromoiodide emulsions coated on a transparent support and are sold packaged with instructions to process in known color negative processes such as the Kodak C-41 process as described in The British Journal of Photography Annual of 1988, pages 191-198. If a color negative film element is to be subsequently employed to generate a viewable projection print as for a motion picture, a process such as the Kodak ECN-2 process described in the H-24 Manual available from Eastman Kodak Co. may be employed to provide the color negative image on a transparent support. Color negative development times are typically 3xe2x80x215xe2x80x3 or less and desirably 90 or even 60 seconds or less.
A direct-view photographic element is one which yields a color image that is designed for human viewing (1) by reflected light, such as a photographic paper print, (2) by transmitted light, such as a display transparency, or (3) by projection, such as a color slide or a motion picture print. These direct-view elements may be exposed and processed in a variety of ways. For example, paper prints, display transparencies, and motion picture prints are typically produced by digitally printing or by optically printing an image from a color negative onto the direct-viewing element and processing though an appropriate negative-working photographic process to give a positive color image. The element may be sold packaged with instructions for digital printing or for processing using a color negative optical printing process, for example the Kodak RA-4 process, as generally described in PCT WO 87/04534 or U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,357, to form a positive image. Color projection prints may be processed, for example, in accordance with the Kodak ECP-2 process as described in the H-24 Manual. Color print development times are typically 90 seconds or less and desirably 45 or even 30 seconds or less. Color slides may be produced in a similar manner but are more typically produced by exposing the film directly in a camera and processing through a reversal color process or a direct positive process to give a positive color image. The foregoing images may also be produced by alternative processes such as digital printing.
Each of these types of photographic elements has its own particular requirements for dye hue, but in general they all require cyan dyes whose absorption bands are less deeply absorbing (that is, shifted away from the red end of the spectrum) than color negative films. This is because dyes in direct-view elements are selected to have the best appearance when viewed by human eyes, whereas the dyes in image capture materials are designed to best match the needs of the printing process.
A reversal element is capable of forming a positive image without optical printing. To provide a positive (or reversal) image, the color development step is preceded by development with a non-chromogenic developing agent to develop exposed silver halide, but not form dye, and followed by uniformly fogging the element to render unexposed silver halide developable. Such reversal elements are typically sold packaged with instructions to process using a color reversal process such as the Kodak E-6 process as described in The British Journal of Photography Annual of 1988, page 194. Alternatively, a direct positive emulsion can be employed to obtain a positive image.
The above elements are typically sold with instructions to process using the appropriate method such as the mentioned color negative (Kodak C-41), color print (Kodak RA-4), or reversal (Kodak E-6) process.
The photographic element of the invention can be incorporated into exposure structures intended for repeated use or exposure structures intended for limited use, variously referred to by names such as xe2x80x9csingle use camerasxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9clens with filmxe2x80x9d, or xe2x80x9cphotosensitive material package unitsxe2x80x9d.
Preferred color developing agents are p-phenylenediamines such as:
4-amino-N,N-diethylaniline hydrochloride,
4-amino-3-methyl-N,N-diethylaniline hydrochloride,
4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-(2-methanesulfonamidoethyl)aniline sesquisulfate hydrate,
4-amino-3-methyl-N-ethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)aniline sulfate,
4-amino-3-(2-methanesulfonamidoethyl)-N,N-diethylaniline hydrochloride, and
4-amino-N-ethyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)-m-toluidine di-p-toluene sulfonic acid.
Development is usually followed by the conventional steps of bleaching, fixing, or bleach-fixing, to remove silver or silver halide, washing, and drying.

Direct view photographic element containing a particular green record


A monitoring apparatus includes a processor, wherein the monitoring apparatus images a monitoring area and outputs a moving image of the monitoring area, and the processor detects all persons appearing in the moving image, performs mask processing of changing inner portions of outlines of all persons into translucent mask images, and superposes the mask images on a background image, to generate a mask-processed moving image, and outputs the mask-processed moving image to a browsing apparatus through a network.

A monitoring system of installing a camera which images the inside of the store and monitoring a person in the store through a moving image of the camera is widely used in a store such as a convenience store, but in a case of using the imaged moving image for a purpose other than the monitoring, that is, for a purpose of marketing analysis or service improvement, it is necessary to protect privacy of customers.
Meanwhile, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2013-186838 discloses a technology of displaying feature points on an image obtained by changing the entire person area in each image of a moving image captured by a camera to an image covered with a predetermined color, and grasping how the person moves. Japanese Patent No. 5159381 discloses a technology of generating a background image having no foreground image of a person, performing mask processing or filter processing with partial or entire translucency to foreground image, and generating an image where a face or a figure of a person is hardly specified.
In order to grasp the action of the person from the moving image, to watching the person while distinguishing the person from the background is unavoidable, but as the technologies in the related art, the image area of the person is replaced with the specific image to easily discriminate between the background and the person, and accordingly, it is easy to grasp the action of the person.
Meanwhile, it is desired to grasp what kind of tendency the action of the person, but in the technologies in the related art, there are no concerns about such a demand, and it is difficult to efficiently perform an operation of grasping the action tendency of the person.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Monitoring apparatus, and moving image output method

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A technique for lessening the likelihood of congestion in a congestible node is disclosed. In accordance with the illustrative embodiments of the present invention, one node—a proxy node—drops protocol data units to lessen the likelihood of congestion in the congestible node. In some embodiments of the present invention, the proxy node receives a metric of a queue at a congestible node and, based on the metric, decides whether to drop protocol data units en route to the congestible node. In some other embodiments of the present invention, the proxy node estimates a metric of a queue at a congestible node and, based on the metric, decides whether to drop protocol data units en route to the congestible node.

In a store-and-forward telecommunications network, each network node passes protocol data units to the next node, in bucket-brigade fashion, until the protocol data units arrive at their final destination. A network node can have a variety of names (e.g. "switch," "router," "access point," etc.) and can perform a variety of functions, but it always has the ability to receive a protocol data unit on one input link and transmit it on one or more output links. FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of the salient components of a typical network node in the prior art.
For the purposes of this specification, a "protocol data unit" is defined as the data object that is exchanged by entities. Typically, a protocol data unit exists at a layer of a multi-layered communication protocol and is exchanged across one or more network nodes. A "frame," a "packet," and a "datagram" are typical protocol data units.
In some cases, a protocol data unit might spend a relatively brief time in a network node before it is processed and transmitted on an output link. In other cases, a protocol data unit might spend a long time.
One reason why a protocol data unit might spend a long time in a network node is because the output link on which the protocol data unit is to be transmitted is temporarily unavailable. Another reason why a protocol data unit might spend a long time in a network node is because a large number of protocol data units arrive at the node faster than the node can process and output them.
Under conditions such as these, a network node typically stores or "queues" a protocol data unit until it is transmitted. Sometimes, the protocol data units are stored in an "input queue" and sometimes the protocol data units are stored in an "output queue." An input queue might be employed when protocol data units arrive at the network node (in the short run) more quickly than they can be processed. An output queue might be employed when protocol data units arrive and are processed (in the short run) more quickly than they can be transmitted on the output link.
A queue has a finite capacity, and, therefore, it can fill up with protocol data units. When a queue is filled, the attempted addition of protocol data units to the queue causes the queue to "overflow" with the result that the newly arrived protocol data units are discarded or "dropped." Dropped protocol units are forever lost and do not leave the network node.
A network node that comprises a queue that is dropping protocol data units is called "congested." For the purposes of this specification, a "congestible node" is defined as a network node (e.g. a switch, router, access point, etc.) that is susceptible to dropping protocol data units.
The loss of a protocol data unit has a negative impact on the intended end user of the protocol data unit, but the loss of any one protocol data unit does not have the same degree of impact as every other protocol data unit. In other words, the loss of some protocol data units is more injurious than the loss of some other protocol data units.
When a node is congested, or close to becoming congested, it can be prudent for the node to intentionally and proactively drop one or more protocol data units whose loss will be less consequential than to allow arriving protocol data units to overflow and be dropped and whose loss might be more consequential. To accomplish this, the node can employ an algorithm to intelligently identify:                (1) which protocol data units to drop,        (2) how many protocol data units to drop, and        (3) when to drop those protocol data units,in order to:        (a) reduce injury to the affected communications, and        (b) lessen the likelihood of congestion in the congestible node.One example of an algorithm to mitigate congestion in congestible nodes is the well-known Random Early Detection algorithm, which is also known as the Random Early Discard Algorithm.
Some legacy nodes, however, were not designed to intentionally drop a protocol data unit and it is often technically or economically difficult to retrofit them to add that functionality. Furthermore, it can be prohibitively expensive to build nodes that have the computing horsepower needed to run an algorithm such as Random Early Discard or Random Early Detection.
Therefore, the need exists for a new technique for ameliorating the congestion in network nodes without some of the costs and disadvantages associated with techniques in the prior art.

Congestion management in telecommunications networks


A starting method for an electro-pneumatically actuated wet-settling machine, for the separation of mineral mixtures, particularly coal, into their constituent components, in which the separation of the mineral mixture takes place through the pulsation of a separating liquid which is energized and controlled by means of compressed air in pulsation chambers which have electrically controlled air inlet and outlet valves, and in which the initiation of the wet-settling process takes place after a standstill, at least partially automatically, particularly through an electrically or electronically operating automatic starter, which starts at least some settling machine apparatus and/or their components in a predetermined dependency upon one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a starting method for an electro-pneumatically actuated wet-settling machine for the separation of mineral mixtures, particularly coal, into its components, whereby the separation of the mineral mixture takes place by means of the pulsation movement of a separating liquid, which is energized and controlled by means of compressed air in pulsing chambers, which have electrically controlled air inlet and outlet valves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wet-settling machines, particularly coal-settling machines, are essential constituents of preparation installations for the preparation of minerals, for example, coals, which cooperate in the preparation installation with other aggregates connected in series in an upstream manner or in a downstream manner. The starting of the settling machines must, therefore, take place in consideration of the operational status of all elements of the preparation installation after interruptions in the operation, periods of standstill, etc., so that reliably and rapidly, the driving or starting of the aggregates connected in series is not impaired.
The starting of the settling machines occurs in a known manner in that the maintenance personnel starts, at the central control room of the preparation installation or at decentrally at the switching desk of the settling machine, first the pulsation movement of the settling machine, and then, when the material reaches from the apparatus connected in series to the settling machine, the conveyor apparatus of the settling machine is started for charging and extracting from the settling machine the materials, for example, the coal, and then as approximately simultaneously, the discharge apparatus of the settling machine is started. This known type of starting places, in this connection, high demands on the maintenance personnel, as the transporting apparatus, the discharge apparatus, etc., particularly in the case of very large settling machines, again have components to be individually taken into operation. Faulty switch connections upon starting are, therefore, not out of the question. Therefore, sometimes it comes to the fact that the taking into operation of the individual components is delayed by means of disturbances, so that the appertaining apparatus does not permit of being started. Then, the starting operation of the settling machine under certain circumstances must be broken off and, after removal of the disturbance, started anew. In both cases, it comes to disturbances of the entire preparation installation.

Method of starting an electro-pneumatically actuated wet-settling machine


A mechanism for transferring an integrated circuit package from a source site to a destination site with use of air to push the integrated circuit package to minimize use of moving parts. The integrated circuit package initially travels through an input passage when the integrated circuit package is placed into an input passage opening at the source site. In addition, an intermediate resting site is disposed at the end of the input passage. The integrated circuit package stops to rest at the intermediate resting site after traveling through the input passage. An output passage has an output passage opening at the intermediate resting site, and the integrated circuit package travels through the output passage to reach the destination site at the end of the output passage. An air nozzle is disposed at the intermediate resting site such that air from the air nozzle is blown onto the integrated circuit package when the integrated circuit package is at the intermediate resting site to push the integrated circuit package into the output passage opening. A detector may determine when the integrated circuit package is at the intermediate resting site such that the air nozzle automatically turns on to blow air onto the integrated circuit package when the detector determines that the integrated circuit passage is at the intermediate resting site.

Referring to FIG. 1A, a typical IC (Integrated Circuit) package 102 includes a plurality of leads for coupling nodes of an IC die within the IC package 102 to a system external to the IC package 102. FIG. 1A shows a bottom view of the IC package 102. A first side 104 of the IC package 102 includes a first lead 106, a second lead 108, and a third lead 110. A second side 112 of the IC package 102 includes a fourth lead 114, a fifth lead 116, and a sixth lead 118. A third side 120 of the IC package 102 includes a seventh lead 122, an eighth lead 124, and a ninth lead 126. A fourth side 128 of the IC package 102 includes a tenth lead 130, an eleventh lead 132, and a twelfth lead 134. A typical IC package includes more numerous leads to a side of the IC package. However, three leads to a side of the IC package 102 are shown in FIG. 1A for clarity of illustration.
Referring to FIG. 1B, a side view of the first side 104 of the IC package 102 of FIG. 1A is shown. The side view of the first side 104 of the IC package 102 in FIG. 1B also shows a side view of the fourth lead 114 on the second side 112 of the IC package 102 and a side view of the twelfth lead 134 on the fourth side 128 of the IC package 102.
During manufacture of an IC package, the IC package is handled to move from a source site to a destination site within an assembly line for manufacture of the IC package. For example, an IC package may be at a source site for inspection of the IC package. Then, the IC package may be moved to a destination site for functional testing of the IC package.
Referring to FIG. 2, a prior art IC package handling system 200 includes a first passage 202, an intermediate passage 204, and a second passage 206 for transferring IC packages from a source site 208 to a destination site 209. An intermediate passage stopper 212 is disposed below the intermediate passage 204. An intermediate passage closer 213 maintains the intermediate passage 204 to be initially aligned with the first passage 202.
During operation of the prior art IC package handling system 200, an IC package 210 from the source site 208 is input into the first passage 202. The IC package 210 then travels through the first passage 202. The first passage 202 may be placed at an inclination such that the IC package 210 slides along a surface of the first passage 202 as illustrated in FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 3, the intermediate passage 204 is initially aligned with the first passage 202 such that the IC package moves into the intermediate passage 204 after traveling through the first passage 202. Elements having the same reference number in FIGS. 2 and 3 refer to elements having similar structure and function. The intermediate passage 204 includes a back stop wall 214 such that the IC package 210 stops to rest within the intermediate passage 204.
When the IC package 210 stops to rest within the intermediate passage 204, the intermediate passage closer 213 moves outward to control the intermediate passage 204 to swing downward towards the second passage 206. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the intermediate passage 204 swings downward towards the second passage 206 to rest on the intermediate passage stopper 212. Elements having the same reference number in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 refer to elements having similar structure and function . When the intermediate passage 204 rests on the intermediate passage stopper 212, the intermediate passage 204 is aligned with the second passage 206.
Referring to FIG. 5, the intermediate passage 204 and the second passage 206 are disposed at an inclination such that the IC package 210 then travels out of the intermediate passage 204 and through the second passage 206. Elements having the same reference number in FIGS. 2, 3, 4, and 5 refer to elements having similar structure and function. The IC package 210 eventually reaches the destination site 209. The intermediate passage 204 then swings back upward to be aligned with the first passage 202 for receiving another IC package that travels through the first passage 202 as illustrated in FIG. 2.
In the prior art IC package handling system 200, the intermediate passage 204 is a moving part that swings back and forth between being aligned with the first passage 202 (as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3) and the second passage 206 (as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5). Unfortunately, such constant movement of the intermediate passage 204 during production of a significantly large number of IC packages leads to rapid wear and tear of the parts of the intermediate passage 204.
Such wear and tear of the parts of the intermediate passage 204 results in malfunction of the intermediate passage 204 with down time during production of IC packages as an operator fixes the malfunctioning intermediate passage 204. In addition, with malfunction of the intermediate passage 204, the intermediate passage 204 may not align properly with the first passage 202 or the second passage 204. In that case, an IC package may acquire bent leads as the IC package travels through the intermediate passage 204 that is not aligned properly with the first passage 202 or the second passage 204. In addition, the IC package may become stuck within the prior art IC package handling system 200 when the intermediate passage 204 is not aligned properly with the first passage 202 or the second passage 204. When an operator fixes such an improperly aligned or malfunctioning intermediate passage 204, the IC package that is stuck within the prior art IC package handling system 200 may acquire bent leads.
Thus, a mechanism with minimum moving parts is desired for transferring IC packages from a source site to a destination site within an IC handling system to reduce the down time during production of IC packages and to minimize bent leads on the IC packages.

Mechanism for transferring integrated circuit packages from a source site to a destination site with minimized moving parts


A iron-type golf club head for hitting a golf ball. A club head including a hosel permanently and nonrotatably fixed to the body of the club head adjacent the heel portion, the entire hosel being located beyond the outer periphery of the club head with no portion of the hosel extending beyond, in a rear to front direction, the leading edge of the club face. The hosel further includes a tubular shaft socket for accepting a golf club shaft, a socket having interior walls which are spaced from and do not intersect with any portion of the main body of the club head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf club irons, and in particular, to an iron type golf club having an improved hosel construction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional iron golf club heads use a hosel with a shank portion formed below the shaft socket, which normally extends directly into the heel portion of the club head. This produces the off-set-type hosel that exposes the shank portion of the hosel that protrudes beyond the club face, whereby golf shots hit at this critical heel area cause the ball to veer off in an eccentric direction after striking the pocket between the club head face and the hosel. Hence, the resulting "shank" golf shot is dreaded by those who play the game. The "shank" golf shot occurs because conventional club heads are normally offset rearwardly from the hosel center line and have a rearward face progression. Most conventional sets of iron golf clubs using this principle have progressive rearward face progression in accordance with the loft of the iron. Using these conventional irons, the ball may be "shanked" when the club face is swung outside the intended swing line, causing the ball to be struck in the pocket formed between the shank portion of the hosel and the club head face
There have been numerous attempts to produce golf club heads which are "shank proof," including my own patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,255, relating to a golf club with an improved hosel construction wherein the hosel is positioned behind the ball striking face at the heel portion, and the center line of the hosel intersects with a plane or loft of the ball striking face proximate the club head center of gravity.
Another patent directed to a shankless club is U.S. Pat. No. 1,550,501 to Byrne, which shows a golf club head wherein the hosel is located completely behind the ball striking face, producing a club head wherein the ball striking face is entirely ahead of the shaft center line. As shown in the drawings of Byrne, the shaft connects to the hosel above the club head body.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 2,683,036 to Kline, which discloses a golf iron wherein the hosel is located well behind the ball striking face and the longitudinal axis of the hosel is behind or fully to the rear of the club head. Kline teaches that a portion of the heel of the club head extends beyond the hosel, and the shaft connects to the hosel above at least the heel portion of the club head.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 3,946,041 to Barber, wherein a bridging portion connecting the hosel and the club head is formed so that the bridging portion and the hosel present in their golf ball contacting surfaces an essentially flat surface continuous with the surface of the club face. In Barber, a downward extension of the center line of the club shaft intersects the club head and is taught to intersect the plane defined by the club face in the lower quadrant. As shown, the shaft extends into the hosel to a point above the club head body.
Yet another patent, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 302,715 to Petersen, shows a low-lofted iron wherein the hosel connection is essentially an extension of the ball striking face. The shaft extends into the hosel and terminates above the club head body.
Yet another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,416 to Swanson, which discloses a golf club in which the blade is connected to the shaft of the club by a hosel extending rearwardly from the rear face of the blade at the heel end and then inclined away from the heel and forwardly and upwardly to position the bottom end of the club shaft forward and above the upper end of the blade. Swanson expresses the opinion that such a hosel will minimize the lever arm or torque arm tending to twist the blade upon impacting the ball. The patent explains that the forward mounting of the shaft positions the shaft axis in a plane which passes through the center portion or sweet spot of the blade. It explains that the shaft of the club is positioned in a plane ahead of the top edge of the blade.
Other patents of interest are U.S. Pat. No. 1,594,850 to Perkins; U.S. Pat. No. 1,135,621 to Roberts; and Canadian Patent 447,094 to Nilson. Each of these patents discloses a single, adjustable golf club head in which the hosel and shaft of the club are rotatably connected to the club head so that the loft of a single club may be varied, as desired.


Embodiments disclosed herein relate to methods and systems for providing improved position location (e.g., time-of-arrival) measurement and enhanced position location in wireless communication systems. In an example method, an access terminal may receive a reference signal in a time slot, the reference signal comprising a sequence of symbols known to a receiver before being received, and may determine, based at least in part on the reference signal, a position location of the access terminal.

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communications (such as voice and data) to multiple users. Such systems may be based on code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), or other multiple access techniques. A wireless communication system may be designed to implement one or more standards, such as IS-95, cdma2000, IS-856, W-CDMA, TD-SCDMA, and other standards.
Presence detection and location-based services have long been sought after in wireless communications. In addition to supporting emergency services (e.g., E911 calls), wireless operators are striving to provide a wide range of new applications targeted for the everyday consumer and enterprise user, such as child locators, turn-by-turn navigation, directory services, voice concierge, roadside assistance, and many others. A challenge hence lies in providing accurate and reliable position location to enable such applications.

Methods and systems for providing enhanced position location in wireless communications