A scanning device adapted to be associated with a radiant energy measuring meter such as a luminance photometer to provide precision linear or angular scanning across an area of an object or a subject being measured without relative movement of the meter or subject. A scanning device which includes an optical assembly having an objective lens and a prism movable as a unit along or about the optical axis portion of light beams reflected or folded by and between the prisms whereby light received by the photometer is on the optical axis of the photometer regardless of the position of the movable optical assembly on the folded optical axis portion. Means are provided for moving the movable optical assembly linearly with respect to the optical axis portion for linear transverse scanning of a subject area or rotatively about said optical axis portion for angular scanning of a subject area. A scanning device for a luminance photometer which provides scanning microphotometric capability as, for example, to determine luminous cross-section of a cathode ray tube display.

The invention relates to luminance and/or radiance meters and to the measurement of certain characteristics of a selected area of a luminous light source. In particular the invention is directed toward a device for measuring size and brightness uniformity of the area being measured, contrast ratio of such area, modulation transfer functions, and for microdensitometry purposes.
Various optical systems for measuring fields in luminance and radiance meters have been utilized such as described in an article entitled "Optical Systems for Defining the Viewing and Measuring Fields in Luminance/Radiance Meters" by Richard A. Walker, published in Volume 11, No. 9 of the September 1972 issue of Applied Optics. While such optical systems defined the viewing and measuring fields of a subject, scanning of the subject generally required either moving the entire photometer relative to the subject, moving the imaging lens system, or moving a part of the lens system. In one prior proposed scanning system, a fiber optic probe with a measuring aperture attached thereto was laterally moved to scan the focal plane of a lens. Such scanning system moved off the optical axis of the lens and any such off-axis measurements were subject to reduction by the fourth power of the cosine of the off-axis angle.
In another prior proposed scanning system, the measuring aperture was stationary and the objective lens was laterally moved to scan the subject field. Such scanning system was also subject to the cosine fourth law disadvantage.
Further, prior proposed means for scanning and measuring light from a subject area included devices such as cross slides, rotary tables, and motorized drives for moving an entire instrument having an optical head in a linear or rotary motion. Such instrument moving means were capable of providing precise linear of angular scanning of the subject area but included disadvantages in that the means for moving the instrument usually had several times the mass of the instrument being moved. Thus movement of the instrument resulted in difficulty in rendering the system isolated from unwanted vibrations and in precisely controlling its movement.
Image scanners mentioned above included disadvantages in that when an aperture is moved off of the optical axis, the measurement of luminance or radiant power is subject to the cosine-4th Law of Image Illumination. Another disadvantage is that the dimensions measured in the subject area depend upon the objective lens magnification which changes with the distance from the object and the off-axis angle.


An apparatus for supporting the tubes adjacent to a leaky tube to be sealed by explosive activated plugs, and including removable support plugs inserted into the ends of the adjacent tubes to provide the required tube wall and tube sheet support during detonation of the explosive activated plugs, with the support plugs being removed after the leaky tube is sealed.

The invention relates to the art of sealing a leaky tube in a sheet-and-tube type heat exchanger through the detonation of explosive activated metal plugs inserted at both ends of the tube, and more particularly to an apparatus and method wherein distortion of the adjacent tubes and tube sheet ligaments by the explosive forces is substantially minimized.
Heat exchangers of the type to which this invention is especially applicable, are constructed with a large number of relatively small diameter tubes grouped in what is commonly referred to as a bundle. Heat is exchanged between a fluid passing through the tubes and a fluid in contact with the outside of the tubes. The fluids are physically separated by tubes and tube sheets, with one tube sheet being located at each end of the tube bundle. It is becoming common practice to seal off a leaky tube in this type of heat exchanger by employing an explosive activated plug in the form of a hollow metal body that is inserted at each end of the tube to be sealed. The plug contains a shaped explosive charge and a detonator which can be set off from a remote location to detonate the charge and thereby expand the plug body against the tube surface with an impact of sufficient force to weld the plug to the surrounding tube surface and form a fluid tight seal therebetween.
Some difficulty has been encountered with explosive welding in this type of heat exchanger where the closeness of the tubes is such that tubes adjacent to the leaky tube, and the tube sheet ligament therebetween may be significantly distorted by the explosive forces released during the detonation of a sealing plug in the leaky tube.


In the pressing of articles from molten glass, an insert of selected material is encapsulated within the glass article as the article is being press formed.

Various forms of encapsulating materials in glass articles have been known in the past such as shown by the ornamental glass bottle of U.S. Pat. No. 502,461 and the wired glass ribbon of U.S. Pat. No. 3,305,335. The ornamental glass bottle of the former patent has encapsulated particles formed in the bottom wall by initially pressing molten glass onto a layer of pulverized glass particles to form an amalgamation between the two in the form of a circular base. The base, after being rigidified, is inverted and placed on the bottom of a blow mold and a glass bottle is blown in the mold, which bottle covers the amalgamated particles of the base and encapsulates the particles between the pressed glass and the blown glass into the bottom of the blown bottle. In the latter patent, a wire web is encapsulated between two layers of molten glass as it passes between a pair of casting rollers to form a ribbon of wired glass.
In addition to full encapsulation of materials in glass articles as shown in said aforementioned patents, it is also been known to seal or secure articles in molten glass during a pressing operation, such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 314,828 and 2,219,573 and as suggested on page 22 of THE GLASS INDUSTRY, April 1978. In U.S. Pat. No. 314,828, a charge of molten glass is deposited in a mold, and a plunger carrying a metallic shank descends into the molten glass for the purpose of pressing the molten glass into the shape of a glass knob and embedding one end of the shank therewithin. U.S. Pat. No. 2,219,573, on the other hand, discloses the formation of a glass panel having an integral metal frame by positioning the frame within a mold and pressing a gob of molten glass into contact therewith so as to embed an inner peripheral flange of such frame within the glass panel. Such patent also discloses the positionment of pins within a mold assembly so as to press form a gob thereabout and integrally seal the pins in the thus formed glass body. THE GLASS INDUSTRY article entitled "The Mechanical and Chemical Aspects of Glass Sealing--Part II" by Marcus T. Borom (pp.19-26) indicates on page 22 that from a manufacturing standpoint it is possible to form a glass-to-metal seal by embedding metal hardware in a mold, casting glass around it, and transforming the part to a glass-ceramic.
As can be seen from the foregoing prior art, a variety of reasons existed for the desirability of encapsulating or sealing different materials within glass articles. The present invention relates to the pressing of a thermally conducting insert within a pressed glass article, such as top of the stove cooking vessels, for the purpose of providing a more even distribution of heat over heat transmitting surfaces of such vessels, whether the heat be generated by conventional conduction means or by radiation, induction or microwave means. Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,989 is of particular interest. As set forth in such patent, a glass or glass-ceramic article in the form of a cooking vessel has a recess of relatively large planar area formed in the bottom thereof with a graphite heat transfer member positioned in such recess, and a plate of the same material as the vessel overlies such member so as to seal the member within such recess with a high temperature cement. Although it appears that the vessel is initially formed with the recess therein or that it is subsequently machined in the bottom surface thereof such that an outer plate of the same material may be cemented therein with a snug fit, the patent further points out that the vessel could be press formed in a conventional manner and a graphite plate sealed to the bottom thereof by pressing a second gob of molten glass thereon. As envisioned by the patent, the article would initially be press formed from a gob of molten material in a manner known in the art, and then permitted to cool to a temperature below its softening point temperature. A graphite plate would then be positioned adjacent a bottom surface of the article and the article reheated to near its softening point temperature. Another gob of molten material would then be deposited upon the graphite plate and press formed to provide a covering plate for the graphite plate. The molten material of the covering plate would become fusion sealed with the material of the article to hermetically seal the graphite plate within the bottom of the article.
Both the cemented plate method and the second gob method of encapsulating the graphite plate as disclosed in the aforesaid patent, not only require costly and time consuming fabrication techniques, but also tend to trap air in the encapsulated cavity and do not necessarily lend themselves to the bonding of the encapsulated part to the pressed article should such be desired. Further, although not part of the prior art, the applicant is aware of other attempts to encapsulate silicon, graphite and the like in pressed articles wherein an insert was positioned between a first gob or patty and a second gob or patty, and then pressed into an article; and wherein a first gob was initially pressed, an insert placed thereon and a second gob pressed over the first, either with or without a delay between such pressings. However, hereagain, air had a tendency to become trapped about edge portions of the insert, producing defects in the glass article and preventing complete bonding of the insert to the gob material where desired. Further, since these approaches did not provide proper support for the insert, it had a tendency to shift location and/or crack upon pressing.
It thus has been an object of the present invention to provide method and apparatus for easily and economically encapsulating a thermally conductive insert within a pressed article as the article is being press formed from molten glass.

Press forming glass articles having encapsulated material


The tool includes an elongated body, rectangular in cross-section and having a switch housing mounted on one side face, to enable the mounting of an array of such tools in close side-by-side relation. A hydraulic motor, rotary drive spindle, and extensible quill are mounted relative to the housing about a common rotary and extension axis. The drive spindle has an external spline at its rear end, for engagement with an internally splined drive coupling which is secured to the motor drive shaft by means of a special key arrangement to prevent axial movement of the drive coupling. The quill is extended by a fluid operated cylinder-piston structure; and the front end of the drive shaft is supported within the front end of the quill by means of a uniquely mounted bearing. The bearing is mounted at the squared front end of the quill for precise axial and squared alignment; and is also confined between the spindle drive shaft and spindle end for precise axial and squared alignment relative to the spindle.

This invention relates to a heavy duty rotary tool adapted for mounting on a fixture; and particularly to such tool for drilling, tapping or plug setting which is compact, and which is powerful in relation to its size.
A principal object of this invention is to provide such a tool of very compact size, for performing heavy duty drilling, tapping, plug setting or similar operations.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a tool having small lateral dimensions, to enable close side-by-side mounting of a plurality of such tools.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a tool having a hydraulic motor driven spindle, and having a fluid operated extensible and retractible spindle quill.
Still another object of this invention is to provide such tool which is simple and rugged in construction, enabling economy of manufacture and extended useful life.
A still further object of this invention is to provide such a tool having a novel bearing structure for coupling the quill and the rotating spindle.
Another object of this invention is to provide such a tool having novel coupling for retaining the spindle drive spline on the motor shaft.
A further object of this invention is to provide such a tool which is self-contained, which is operated by either hydraulic fluid or a combination of hydraulic and pressure fluid, and which is adapted for remote control operation.
These objects are accomplished in a rotary tool which comprises an elongated body providing a longitudinal drive and feed axis. A spindle, having means at its forward end for supporting a work element, is rotatably supported on that axis. A rotary motor is mounted at one end of the body to provide rotary drive of the spindle; and a rotary and sliding coupling is provided between the motor and the spindle. A quill is mounted for longitudinal movement relative to the body along that axis; and the body and quill have coacting cylinder and piston means for effecting extension and retraction of the quill by means of a motive fluid. A combination rotary and thrust bearing, mounted at the front face of the quill, supports the spindle for relative rotation and for axial movement with the quill.
More particularly the quill has a squared front end; and a bearing retainer clamps the bearing to the squared quill end in precise concentricity with the quill axis. The spindle includes a drive shaft and a spindle end for supporting the work element. The drive shaft and spindle end have a respective cylindrical bore and shank dimensioned for a push fit, for precise axial alignment of those parts. The shaft has a squared front end and the spindle end has a squared shoulder contiguous to the shank; and these parts have coacting threads for securing the parts together to clamp the bearing mounted concentrically on the shank, between the end face and shoulder.
The novel features and the advantages of the invention, as well as additional objects thereof, will be understood more fully from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.


An insulating device for system on chip (SOC). The SOC has a first circuit region powered by a main power source and a second circuit region powered by a real-time power source. In the insulating device, a selector designates the main power source or a battery source as a real-time power source. A level detector detects a voltage level of the main power source and outputs a resulting signal. A NAND gate produces a logic output according to the result signal and an output signal of the first circuit. The NAND gate includes first and second PMOS transistors and first and second NMOS transistors. Gates of the first PMOS transistor and the first NMOS transistor are directly connected to the output signal of the first circuit without through any buffers. Gates of the second PMOS transistor and the second NMOS transistor are directly connected to the result signal without any buffers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulating device, and more particularly, to an insulating device for a system on chip (SOC) with variable power source.
2. Description of the Related Art
In system on chip (SOC) designs, different operating modes are provided for efficient power utilization, for example, normal operating mode, power-down mode and the like. Thus, a power supply system provided in the SOC design, for example, can include a main source, a battery source and the like. FIG. 1a shows a conventional SOC design with variable power source. The first circuit region 1 is powered by a main source and the second circuit region 2 by a battery source. Output signals of the first circuit region 1 are connected to the second circuit region 2 directly through terminal A. In power-down mode, the main source is turned off and terminal A floated. This may cause current leakage in the second circuit 2 powered by the battery source, reducing the power utilization of the entire system, as shown in FIG. 1b.
To address the above problem, an insulator for a power supply system with variable source is disclosed by Yu et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,593,775. In Yu, a signal isolation controller is used to change an output level of the circuit powered by VCC according to a detected level as shown in FIG. 2. As disclosed in Yu, the signal isolation controller can includes a switch 62 and a tri-state device 61, such as a tri-state buffer, a transmission gate or a latch. In SOC designs, however, utilization of tri-state devices is not conducive to timing analysis.

Insulating device for a system on chip (SOC)


A new and distinct cultivar of Spiraea plant named ‘Conspiyet’, characterized by its pure white-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, compact, low-mounding growth habit, is disclosed.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Spiraea plant botanically known as Spiraea japonica and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name 'Conspiyet'.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Earleville, Md. during spring 2011. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Spiraea cultivars having abundant inflorescences and compact growth habit.
The new Spiraea cultivar is the result of open-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is Spiraea 'Anthony Waterer', not patented, characterized by its rosy-pink colored flowers, medium green colored foliage, and low-spreading growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is unknown. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated open-pollination during August 2011 in a controlled environment in Earleville, Md.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since August 2011 in West Grove, Pa. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.


A powered wrenching tool adaptable to be powered by any reversible drive mechanism is formed with a support for drive wheels and idler wheels with the idler wheels being movable with respect to the drive wheels, to adjust the tool for differing diameters of objects to be rotated. The tool is adapted to interface to the axis of the diameters of objects. The drive wheels engaging the objects without requiring the tool to circumscribe the object. The rotational axis of idler wheels and the drive wheels are positioned above and below with respect to each other. The upper and lower wheels are clamped together on the diameter by the handle on the tool. The tool is adapted on one side to have the drive source attached. Only the wheels of the tools are rotated and the tool neeed not rotate with respect to the diameter to be rotated.

The powered wrenching tool is used for wheel alignments in the automotive assembly plants and other wheel alignment service locations.
Currently used are held hand wrenches (pipe, chain, pac-man style) which are time consuming and physically debilitating. The only alternative available is capital equipment which is expensive in special design, installation, and maintenance.
The need for a powered tool is not solely based on a labor saving principle of reducing the amount of hand energy that must be used. There has developed a need for a tool to be used where limited space is available for the rotation of a wrenching tool.
In some powered rotating tools it is necessary that one or more elements of the tool rotate around the object. The space limitation that prevents the use of such powered rotating tool is the space at either side, parallel, and behind the object.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powered wrenching tool that is adapted for faster application.
Another object of the present invention in accord with the preceding objects is a powered wrenching tool that provides easy interfacing with convenient adjustment means for adapting the tool to varying diameters of the application.
A further object of the present invention in accord with the preceding objects is a powered wrenching tool that is adapted to have its power source reversible to side of the tool with the rotating elements of the tool adapted for rotation in either direction.
Another object of the present invention in accord with the preceding objects is a powered wrenching tool wherein the tool is easily interfaced to the diameter to be rotated.
Further objects and features of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the field of invention. The appended drawings and specification illustrating the preferred embodiments.


Time Triggered Geo-fencing. At least some of the example embodiments are methods including: receiving a set of variables related to a geo-fence to be established at repeating intervals lasting for a preset duration, each instance of the repeating intervals at a predetermined time; establishing the geo-fence at the predetermined time, the geo-fence established for the preset duration; receiving signals indicative of a location of a vehicle, the receiving by an onboard device coupled to the vehicle; determining if the vehicle has crossed the geo-fence within the preset duration; and if the vehicle has crossed the geo-fence within the preset duration sending an alert related to the location of the vehicle.

A third party having an interest in the location of a vehicle, but not being the driver of the vehicle, may desire the ability to obtain information about the location of the vehicle in a variety of contexts. Thus, any developments which makes determining the location of vehicle at a specific time will be advantageous in the marketplace.

Methods and systems related to time triggered geofencing


Disclosed is an access floor made using a special transfer paper which is laid on a floor of the interior of a clean room to prevent generation of dusts or bacteria in a factory of and integrated circuit such as a semiconductor, a laboratory for optics, genetic engineering and space engineering, a clinic room and so on, in which a conductive paint is coated on an upper surface of a plate and a special transfer paper with various patterns and colors are deposited and integrated on the conductive paint.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an access floor needing high cleanness, flatness and durability, and more particularly to an access floor made using a special transfer paper which is laid on a floor of the interior of a clean room to prevent generation of dusts or bacteria in a factory of an integrated circuit such as a semiconductor, a laboratory for optics, genetic engineering and space engineering, a clinic room and so on.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, to make a factory of an integrated circuit such as a semiconductor or a laboratory for genetic engineering is generally conducted under the circumstance of a clean room which always keeps a clean state.
This clean room should be provided with a device for circulating clean air in the room by ventilating fresh air into the room and exhausting inner air, which can be contaminated by dusts or bacteria, outside to maintain the interior in a clean state.
To maintain good ventilation and internal cleanness, a floorboard facilitating ventilation of air is laid on the bottom. A conventional access floor has a structure that tiles with smooth surface are adhered by adhesive on an upper surface of rectangular plates and a plurality of ventilation holes are formed through the tiles and the plate by drilling for ventilation. This conventional floorboard uses adhesive such as bond glue, so toxic ingredients of the bone give effects on a semiconductor chip, resulting in decrease of production yield. These toxic ingredients may injure health of human when inhaled. In addition, when the circumferential temperature is high, the tiles get loose and shoved, while, when the temperature is low, the bond becomes hard and loses adhesive force, so the floorboard can be easily deformed or broken down. Therefore, durability of the tiles are weakened and conductivity is lowered. Moreover, since the tiles are adhered on the top of the plate of the access floor one by one, the work efficiency is decreased due to complexity of the work and the work costs increase. In addition, by using tiles, the interior cannot be decorated with various designs and colors.
Therefore, the present invention is designed to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an access floor using a special transfer paper which ensures excellent cleanness, superior flatness, long stable usage and beautiful appearance and requires shortened working hours.
In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an access floor for a clean room, in which a conductive paint is coated on an upper surface of a plate which can be a die-casting perforated panel, a blind panel or a grating panel, and then a special transfer paper with various patterns and colors is deposited thereon.

Access floor using special transfer paper

#7-1006 Woosung Apt., 1336 Seocho-2-dong


The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for forming injection molded plastic articles having an inner wall portion. The apparatus includes a mold cavity portion and a mold core portion defining a cavity space in the shape of the plastic article to be formed. The apparatus further includes at least two hot runner nozzles for injecting molten plastic material into the cavity space. The nozzles are preferably offset to outer portions of the mold core portion so as to provide an increased space in the mold core portion in which cooling conduits, inlets and the like can be placed to increase the cooling capability of the mold core portion. The offsetting of the nozzles also provides the mold core portion with increased strength. Each of the nozzles communicates with inner wall portion of the cavity space via a hook-shaped passageway and an inside gate. Additionally, each of the nozzles has a metal portion for maintaining plastic material in the hook-shaped passageway in molten condition.

The present invention relates to an injection molding apparatus and in particular, to an improved nozzle arrangement which permits the mold core to have an increased cooling capability and increased strength and which allows the fabrication of smaller diameter plastic articles without dangerously sharp edges.
Injection molding systems for forming plastic articles typically use hot runner nozzle arrangements to inject molten plastic material into a cavity space. In one type of hot runner nozzle arrangement, a heating element is placed near a center gate or an edge gate through which molten plastic material flows into the cavity space. This type of nozzle arrangement helps maintain the plastic material in the desired molten condition. U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,945 to Schmidt et al. exemplifies such a nozzle arrangement. As shown therein, the nozzle arrangement may include an inclined nose portion for housing a heating element for maintaining the plastic material in a molten condition and a hook-shaped passageway for supplying the molten plastic material to an edge gate.
Some molded plastic articles, such as cups and buckets, have molded lip or rim portions forming a top surface on the article. One of the more serious problems associated with the molding of these articles is the formation of unwanted sharp edges along the top surface and/or the outer edge of the lip or rim portion. This problem has been addressed by using a rim gating technique wherein molten plastic material is first injected into the inside edge of the rim defining portion of the cavity space and then permitted to flow down along the sidewall defining portions of the cavity space. This technique not only addresses the problem of sharp edges but also addresses other undesirable molding problems such as core shifting. U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,630 to Schad, assigned to the assignee of the instant application, illustrates this type of rim gating technique.
While successfully dealing with the core shifting and the edge problems, the Schad system is limited in the size of the articles which it can mold. In particular, it cannot be used to mold articles having an effective diameter below 150 mm. This is in part due to the fact that smaller diameter articles require the mold core to have an increased cooling capability. In the Schad design, the cooling capability of the mold core is limited by the nozzle arrangement. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 herein, which is FIG. 8 in the Schad patent, there exists a dimension A between the hot runner nozzles used to inject molten plastic material into the cavity space. This distance is all that is available for providing cooling means such as cooling inlets, cooling conduits and the like. While it is possible to add cooling means in the space A in the Schad design, the net effect is a reduction in the overall strength of the mold core portion--a reduction which could result in the breakage of the mold core portion.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an injection molding apparatus having an improved nozzle arrangement which allows the fabrication of smaller articles.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an injection molding apparatus having an improved nozzle arrangement as above which allows the cooling capability of the mold core portion to be enhanced without sacrificing the overall strength of the mold core portion.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a rim-gated or edge gated injection molding apparatus having an improved nozzle arrangement as above which eliminates sharp edges along the top surface or outer edge of a molded article.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become clearer from the following description and drawings wherein like reference numerals depict like elements.


A semiconductor device includes a gate terminal, a ground terminal, a power-supply terminal, and a source terminal. The semiconductor device includes a first switch element having a gate and a source, the first switch element connected between the gate terminal and the source terminal, a second switch element connected between one of the gate of the first switch element and the source terminal or between the gate of the first switch element and the ground terminal and configured to switch the first switch element between turned-on and turned-off states, and a capacitor having one terminal thereof connected to the power-supply terminal and the ground terminal and another terminal thereof connected to the gate of the first switch element. Based on the potential state of the ground terminal and the state of the second switch element, the capacitor boosts the voltage of the gate of the first switch element.

In a semiconductor device that controls a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor connected to the output of a load, when the potential of a grounding terminal changes from a reference potential to an electrically open state, a malfunction in which the semiconductor device cannot turn off the output MOS transistor may occur.
Thus, a semiconductor device in which an auxiliary MOS transistor is connected between the gate and source of the output MOS transistor is known. In this semiconductor device, when the grounding terminal has an electrically open state, the auxiliary MOS transistor turns on, thus turning off the output MOS transistor.
However, as the electrically open state of the grounding terminal raises the potential of the grounding terminal up to a power-supply voltage, it becomes difficult to cause the auxiliary MOS transistor to turn on.


The light emitting device comprises a mounting substrate and an LED chip which comprises an n-type nitride semiconductor layer, a nitride light emission layer on the n-type nitride semiconductor layer, p-type nitride semiconductor layer on the nitride light emission layer, an anode electrode opposite of the nitride light emission layer from the p-type nitride semiconductor layer, and a cathode electrode on the n-type nitride semiconductor layer. The mounting substrate has a patterned conductor which is connected to the cathode electrode through a bump and also connected to the anode electrode through a bump. The LED chip further comprises one or more dielectric layer between the p-type nitride semiconductor layer and the anode electrode to have an arrangement which resembles an island. The p-type nitride semiconductor layer has a first region which is overlapped with the bump. The dielectric layer is not formed within the first region.

Conventionally, research of a lot of LED chip is conducted. The prior LED chip comprises a light emission layer, an anode electrode, and a cathode electrode. The light emission layer is made of nitride semiconductor material such as GaN, InGaN, AlGaN, and InAlGaN. The anode electrode is disposed on one surface in a thickness direction of the light emission layer, and the cathode electrode is disposed on the other surface in the thickness direction of the light emission layer. The LED chip is flip-chip mounted on the mounting substrate. In addition, the research of improving the light extraction efficiency of the LED chip is conducted. In order to improve the light extraction efficiency of the LED chip, the research and development of the LED chip having a structure which is designed so as not to prevent the anode electrode from being absorbed by the anode electrode is conducted. In order to improve the light extracting efficiency of the LED chip, the LED chip having a structure of preventing absorption of the light in the anode is researched and developed. The above mentioned LED chip is disclosed in patent literature 1 which is mentioned below.
The patent literature 1 discloses the LED chip which has a structure shown in FIG. 3. As will be understood from FIG. 3, LED chip comprises a light transmissive substrate 1, an n-type nitride semiconductor layer 2, a nitride light emission layer 3, a p-type nitride semiconductor layer 3; the light transmissive substrate 1 is made of sapphire substrate; the n-type nitride semiconductor layer 2, the nitride light emission layer 3, and the p-type nitride semiconductor layer 4 are located on one side surface of the light transmissive substrate 1. The anode electrode 7 is opposite of the nitride light emission layer 3 from the p-type nitride semiconductor layer 4. In addition, the cathode electrode 8 is located on the same side of the n-type nitride semiconductor layer 2 as the nitride light emission layer 3. Furthermore, the LED chip comprises a first transparent conductive film 9a, a second transparent conductive film 9b, a plurality of low refractive index dielectric layers 10P, a light reflective conductive film 11, and a barrier metal layer 14. The first transparent conductive film 9a, the second transparent conductive film 9b, a plurality of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P, the light reflective conductive film 11, and the barrier metal layer 14 are interposed between the p-type nitride semiconductor layer 3 and the anode electrode 7. The first transparent conductive film 9a is formed on the p-type nitride semiconductor layer 4. The second transparent conductive film 9b is formed on the first transparent conductive film 9a. The low refractive index dielectric layers 10P are made of material which has a refractive index which is lower than a refractive index of the p-type nitride semiconductor layer 4. The low refractive index dielectric layers 10P are partially stacked on the second transparent conductive film 9b. The low refractive index dielectric layers 10P are configured to reflect the light which is emitted from the nitride light emission layer 3. The light reflective conductive film 11 is shaped to cover the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P and the second transparent conductive film 9b. The light reflective conductive film 11 is configured to reflect the light which is emitted from the nitride light emission layer 3. The barrier metal layer 14 is formed on the light reflective conductive film 11. That is to say, the LED chip of FIG. 3 has a light extracting surface in one surface in the thickness direction of the nitride light emission layer 3, and a first surface which is opposite of the light extracting surface from the nitride light emission layer 3. In addition, the LED chip is provided at its first surface with the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P. The nitride light emission layer 3 is configured to emit the light toward both the light extracting surface and the anode electrode 7. When the nitride light emission layer 3 emits the light toward the anode electrode 7, the light is reflected by the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P and the light reflective conductive film 11. The low refractive index dielectric layers 10P and the light reflective conductive film 11 are configured to reflect the light toward the light extracting surface. It is noted that the arrowed line C shown in FIG. 3B discloses one example of a path of the light which is emitted from the nitride light emission layer 3, which is taken in the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P, and which is reflected by the low refractive index dielectric layers.
The above mentioned first transparent conductive film 9a has a thickness of 2 nm to 10 nm. The first transparent conductive film 9a is made of material such as Ni, Pd, Pt, Cr, Mn, Ta, Cu, Fe, or alloy including at least one of them. The second transparent conductive film 9b is made of one of the materials selected from ITO, IZO, ZnO, In2O3 SnO2 MgxZn1-xO (x≦0.5), amorphous AlGaN, GaN, SiON. In addition, the light reflective conductive film 11 is made of material such as Ag, Al, and Rh. The anode electrode 7 is made of metal material of Au. The barrier metal layer 14 is made of material of Ti.
Each one of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P which are mentioned above has a cross section which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the LED chip; the cross section of the low refractive index dielectric layer 10P has a circular shape. In addition to the above, each one of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P is disposed on the second transparent conductive film 9b such that the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P are arranged in the two dimensional array. More specifically, each one of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P is disposed on a lattice point of a square lattice along the plane which is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the LED chip. That is, FIG. 3 discloses the LED chip which comprises a plurality of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P; the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P is arranged along the plane in parallel with the nitride light emission layer 3; each one of the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P has an arrangement which resembles the island to be isolated from each other.
In addition to the above mentioned configuration, the low refractive index dielectric layers 10P comprise alternating layers of two kinds of the dielectric layers; the two kinds of the dielectric layers have electrical insulation properties and are different in the refractive index from each other, whereby each one of the low refractive index dielectric layer 10P has a periodic structure that the refractive index is periodically changed. The low refractive index dielectric layers 10P are made of material such as SiO2, ZrO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, and AlN.


A pressure detecting device for detecting air pressure by means of a pressure receiving member which is energized by a coil spring, wherein a seal is provided between the side wall of the detector housing at the pressure detecting port side and the pressure receiving member as well as between the other side wall of the housing at the discharge port side and the pressure receiving member and further sealing area at the discharge port side is larger than that at the pressure detecting port side.. As a preferred application of the pressure detecting device a control system for a press machine is constructed such that operation and stop of the press machine are controlled by way of controlling supply and discharge of pressurized air to and from the press machine with the aid of a double valve and the pressure detecting device.. As another preferred application of the pressure detecting device a stroke ends detecting system for a pneumatic cylinder is constructed such that both pressure chambers in the pneumatic cylinder divided by the piston are communicated with the pressure detecting ports of the pressure detecting devices.

The present invention relates to a pressure detecting device for detecting air pressure, which is preferably incorporated in a control system for a press machine and a stroke ends detecting system for a pneumatic cylinder or the like.
As well known, a pressure receiving member in the pressure detecting device employed for a pneumatic-electric signal converter or the like is constructed by a piston or plunger in the high pressure area or by a diaphragm in the low pressure area or by a Buldon tube for the both high and low pressure areas.
The conventional pressure detecting device with a piston incorporated therein is typically shown in FIG. 1. The detector housing 10 is formed with an axial bore 102 in which a piston 103 that is a pressure receiving member is axially displaceably inserted. On the outer surface of the piston 103 is arranged an annular seal 104 by means of which the pressure detecting port 105 and the discharge port 106 are air-tightly separated from each other. An actuating rod 107 is secured to the piston 103, which is displaceably extended outward through the side wall 101a at the discharge port side of the detector housing. Said actuating rod 107 is intended, for instance, for shifting a limit switch to ON position or OFF position by way of forward and backward movement thereof. Further the piston 103 is energized toward the pressure detecting port 105 by means of a coil spring 108. Now the resilient force of the coil spring 108 is defined as F. As pressurized air flows through the pressure detecting port 105 into the pressure chamber of the housing, the piston 103 is subjected to the leftward force PS.sub.o, as shown in FIG. 1, where P is air pressure and S.sub.o is area of the piston 103. Assuming that F.sub.o is resilient force of the coil spring 108, when the piston 103 comes in close contact with the side wall 101b of the housing, the following equation is applicable, as air pressure P reaches the predetermined pressure P.sub.o. EQU F.sub.o =P.sub.o S.sub.o ( 1)
As air pressure P is further increased, the piston 103 starts to be displaced against the resilient force F.sub.o of the coil spring 108 in the leftward direction in FIG. 1. When the piston 103 is displaced by distance l, the resilient force F of the coil spring 108 is defined by the following equation, EQU F=F.sub.o +Kl (2)
where K is spring coefficient. Since this resilient force F is equal to force caused by input air pressure, the following equation is applicable. EQU F=P S.sub.o ( 3)
Then, when putting Equations (1) and (2) into Equation (3), the following equation is obtained. ##EQU1## This equation can be represented by FIG. 2. Hence the operating characteristics of the pressure detecting device is such that as input air pressure P is increased, displacement distance l is linearly increased, as illustrated in FIG. 2. As input air pressure P reaches the predetermined pressure P.sub.s, the actuating rod 107 is displaced by distance l.sub.s. At this moment the limit switch (not shown) is shifted to ON position or OFF position so that the required pressure detecting is performed.
Since there is existent a linear relation between displacement distance l and input air pressure P with the conventional pressure detecting device, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the following disadvantages are pointed out with it.
Firstly, the pressure detecting device has a short durability of life particularly due to wearing of the seal, because the actuating rod is vibratively displaced forward and backward with the seal ring which is always in contact with the wall face, as air pressure fluctuates. If, however, the pressure detecting device is made less sensitive against pressure fluctuation, response accuracy is reduced.
Secondly, it is difficult to detect two pressures with high pressure ratio therebetween, because high pressure ratio requires long displacement distance and the conventional presure detecting device fails to meet this requirement due to the inherent structure thereof.
Moreover the seal member 104 which serves for providing air tightness between the pressure detecting port 105 and the discharge port 106 brings about the following disadvantages. Firstly, the piston 103 is irregularly displaced due to frictional force which is effective between the seal 104 and the inner wall face of the detector housing 101, causing the piston 103 to be stopped sometime. As a result response accuracy is reduced. Further the frictional force makes it impossible to carry out pressure detecting at the lower pressure area. Furthermore the pressure detecting device cannot be used for frequent operation, because the seal 104 wears off due to sliding contact against the inner wall face of the housing, as the piston 103 is displaced. As a result service life of the pressure detecting device is shortened.
It is to be noted that the drawbacks with the conventional pressure detecting device with a piston incorporated therein as mentioned above are common problems which are applicable to those with a plunger incorporated therein.
In the meantime, the pressure detecting device in which a diaphragm is arranged has also drawbacks that it is employed only at the low operation pressure area and that it has a short durability of life because of repeated deformation of the diaphragm operation. The pressure detecting device with a Buldon tube incorporated therein has also similar drawbacks of reduced response accuracy, short life or the like. These conventional pressure detecting devices in the diaphragm or Buldon tube type have linear characteristic in respect of relation of displacement distance l to input air pressure P, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Thus they cannot be free from the aforesaid drawbacks which are brought about by their structural condition.


Methods and apparatus for counting tablets and feeding a predetermined number of tablets to a bottle are disclosed. The present invention creates a fluidized bed of tablets above a plurality of slat bars, each of which comprises a plurality of cavities having a vacuum port connected to a source of negative pressure. The vacuum draws individual tablets down from the fluidized bed and into the cavities in the slat bar, thereby ensuring efficient and complete filling of each cavity with a tablet. Upon exit from the fluidized bed, the vacuum flow is disconnected and, in certain embodiments, a positive airflow may be flowed through the vacuum ports to eject the tablets into means for feeding the tablets into bottles.

The high volume demanded by the pharmaceutical market has placed great pressures upon the manufacturing arts related to making tablets and dispensing them into containers. For purposes herein, the term "tablet" will refer to any of the numerous compressed tablet, gelatin capsule or other solid dose forms of oral drugs, both prescription and non-prescription, as well as analgesics, vitamins and other products dispensed in tablet or capsule form. After a quantity of tablets has been manufactured, they are usually stored or shipped in a bulk container. The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for transferring tablets from bulk into smaller containers such as bottles. Typically, these containers will be those provided directly to the end user, however, in some instances the container or bottle will be for intermediate storage, e.g., for use in a hospital or pharmacy.
Individual bottles may be filled with tablets using a device known as a continuous slat counter. Such devices typically comprise a moving bed made up of a series of grooved slats which passes beneath a quantity of tablets. The grooves are further subdivided into cavities and one tablet is permitted to drop into each cavity until all the cavities are filled. After the filled slats move from beneath the stationary quantity of tablets they are inverted, the tablets fall out and are collated and fed into each bottle via transport through a manifold system.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,139,713; 4,185,734; 4,241,293; and 4,680,464, all of which are assigned to Pennwalt Corporation of Philadelphia, Pa., disclose an article counting machine for filling bottles that uses a stationary quantity of tablets disposed above a moving bed of slats. These patents recognize that these machines can miscount articles when a tablet is wedged in a cavity or when a cavity is empty. In this regard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,241,293 discloses an ejector blade that protrudes from the base of the cavity and ejects tablets wedged in the cavity. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,185,734 and 4,680,464 both disclose optical scanners for detecting the presence or absence of a tablet from a particular cavity.
Another version of a continuous slat article counting and filling machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,925,960, assigned to the Lasko Company of Fitchburg, Mass. In this system, the slats and cavities are oriented horizontally, i.e., coaxial with the axis around which they are moving. A series of chutes collects the counted tablets and delivers them to a moving series of containers. Another, more recent variation of slat counting machines is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,259, assigned to Package Machinery Co. of Longmeadow, Mass. This machine uses vertically-oriented set of slats with cavities that deliver the counted product to a series of chutes that shuttle alternately between a first and a second row of containers.
In all of the above-described continuous slat counter bottle filling systems, the tablets are directed into the cavities in the slat by the force of gravity. However, mechanical vibrations have been imparted to the slats and to the stationary quantity of tablets over the continuously moving bed of slats to assist the tablets in falling into the cavities.
In any event, if the slats are positioned beneath the stationary quantity of tablets for a sufficiently long period of time, every cavity will eventually be filled. However, since the slats are continuously moving beneath the quantity of product, the amount of time a given slat spends beneath the product will be directly related to the speed of the slats' movement. Therefore, if the speed of the slats is increased, the time beneath the quantity of product may not be sufficient to ensure that all the cavities are filled. As a result, a severe limitation within most slat counter bottle filling systems in that the speed at which the slats move beneath the quantity of tablets cannot exceed a certain level. If the speed is increased above this level the number of empty cavities quickly rises, resulting in underfilled bottles.
The probability of tablets filling the slat cavities also depends upon the shape of the tablet. The easiest tablet to handle would be a spherically shaped tablet. As a tablet's dimensions change to become thinner or longer or irregularly shaped, the time required for a tablet to fill the empty cavities increases. With irregularly shaped tablets, it may take such a long time to fill the cavities that the operating speeds of state of the art tablet bottle fillers will be extremely slow. To solve this problem, one method the state of the art filler manufacturers use is to enlarge the cavities to allow the tablets to fall into the cavities quicker. The drawback to this approach is that as the cavities become oversized, the frequency of wedging and getting two tablets within one cavity will become a problem.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to increase the speed at which slat counter bottle filling machines operate. It is further desirable to ensure that every cavity of a slat is filled with a tablet. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to increase the speed of a slat counter bottle filler without sacrificing filling and counting accuracy.


A recording or reproducing apparatus wherein a first chassis to which a head is secured and a second chassis on which a recording medium is to be mounted are overlappingly disposed is arranged as follows: After a tape-shaped recording medium is mounted on the apparatus, when the tape moves toward the head according to an action of abutting the tape against the head, a force for moving the second chassis is applied to the inside of a plane defined by four points of four slide guide shafts on the second chassis. Further, the second chassis is arranged to be guided at two points which are diagonally located among the four points.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a recording or reproducing apparatus and more particularly to the loading action of a recording medium loading mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
The conventional recording or reproducing apparatuses include a cassette-biting type magnetic recording or reproducing apparatus which is arranged to allow a drum thereof to intrude (bite) into a recessed part provided in the cassette of a recording medium for the purpose of reduction in size of the apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, the apparatus of this type is provided with two chassis, i.e., a main chassis 1 and a slide chassis 3. A slide gear 5 is interlocked with a loading motor (not shown) and rotates when the loading motor rotates. A slide pin 6 is secured to the slide gear 5. A slide plate 7 is secured to the slide chassis 3. A power for moving the slide chassis 3 is derived from the rotation of the slide gear 5 which causes a sliding movement of the pin 6 along the inner side of a slot formed in the slide plate 7. When the slide chassis 3 moves, slide slots 11 and 12 formed in the slide chassis 3 are respectively guided by slide guide shafts 8 and 9 which are secured to the main chassis 1. This arrangement enables the slide chassis 3 to move in the directions of sliding as shown in FIG. 1. Shafts 10 and 20 and slots 13 and 23 are provided for restricting the position of the slide chassis 3 in the direction of its height when the chassis 3 moves, and are not directly used as guides for the movement of the chassis 3.
With the conventional apparatus arranged in the above-stated manner, when the slide chassis 3 slides in the direction of moving away from a rotary head drum 2, a load moment Ma comes to be imposed on the slide guide shaft 8 due to a lever 4 which is pivotally arranged on the slide chassis 3. Then, a driving force Fa for the slide chassis 3 brings forth a moment Mb centering on a connection point between the slide guide shaft 8 and the lever 4. At this instant, a force F which is as shown in FIG. 2 is applied to the slide guide shaft 9. In order to allow the slide chassis 3 to slide, a condition which is expressed as Fb>.mu.N is necessary. In the condition, ".mu." represents a coefficient of friction; N=Fcos.THETA.; and Fb=Fsin.THETA.. The limit value of the coefficient of friction .mu. is calculated as follows: since Fb>.mu.N, there obtains a relation .mu.Fcos.THETA.<Fsin.THETA. therefore, .mu.<tan.THETA.. The limit value of the coefficient of friction .mu. is thus determined by an angle .THETA. which is defined by the force F and the slide slot 12.
In the conventional apparatus, as described above, the angle .THETA. defined by the force F and the slide slot 12 is small. Therefore, an operable coefficient of friction becomes small. Changes occurring through a long service period would cause the actual coefficient of friction to easily exceed an operable range of the coefficient of friction. As a result, the action to cause the slide chassis 3 to slide has often been performed faultily. The occurrence of the faulty sliding action newly brings forth an additional moment which centers on a connection point between the slide guide shaft 9 and the slide slot 12 in the direction of the moment Mb. The additional moment then causes a malfunction to further hinder the movement of the slide chassis 3.


Image frame registration apparatus and methods are disclosed which have particular utility in a printing or reproduction apparatus that processes multiple image frames on a transported photosensitive member. Registration indicia for registering an image frame are written on the photosensitive member in an interframe or frame margin area. The indica are composed of discharged line patterns that are readable by a sensor array according to the charge variation or, after toning, the pattern of toned lines therein. The sensor array provides in-track and cross-track signal information to a control unit for synchronizing the electrostatographic processing of the registered image frames. In particular, servo-controlled drive means in the exposure and transfer stations are controlled with precision to provide, after the development and transfer of several registered component images to one or more receivers, an accurate multicolor reproduction.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, in general, to printing and reproduction apparatus and, more specifically, to the registration of multiple image frames in electrophotographic copiers, printers, and other apparatus having synchronized image exposure and related processing.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In high speed electrostatographic reproduction apparatus, it is a common practice to employ photosensitive media in the form of an elongated photoconductive web (or a photoconductive coating on a drum) adapted to record transferable images. Such media moves in a path in operative relation with various electrophotographic process stations. Ultimately a transferable image is created and transferred to a receiver to produce a print or reproduction.
In making monochrome reproductions with an apparatus utilizing a uniformly charged photosensitive media, areas of uniform charge are exposed to light to form a charge pattern, or latent image frame. In the color reproduction arts, the image frame can be designed to correspond to one component in a set of related color separation images; several successive image frames on the media may thus constitute a set of component (separation) images which ultimately are used to provide a composite multicolor image. The latent images are developed with pigmented marking particles to form transferable images. Each image is transferred sequentially to a respective receiver member that may in turn be used as one of the several color separations for a composite multicolor reproduction. Alternatively, each image may be transferred directly to a single receiver to create a multichromatic (multicolor) print in one step.
In a web-based reproduction or printing apparatus, the web is typically supported by several freely turning rollers and driven by one drive roller. (In alternative reproduction apparatus, a driven drum assembly is substituted for the web and rollers). Because these driving assemblies are electro-mechanical systems, there is a tendency for the web (or drum) to vary in speed as it is driven. Moreover, because the web or drum is photosensitive and typically is exposed one line at a time by a laser beam or linear LED array, the writing (exposure) of each image frame must be positioned accurately and consistently on the web. Each latent image frame, after development, may be transferred to a receiver sheet and then fused. It has been contemplated that in one particularly important application, the receiver sheet may be specially designed and fabricated such that after receiving the toned and fused image, the sheet may be directly employed as a separation master in a multicolor xeroprinting machine. In an example of another application, each of the latent images would be developed with a respective colored toner and then transferred seriatim to a single receiver.
As a further example, it will be noted that a drum-based system may be found to operate similarly, in that the web may be replaced by a photosensitive drum of sufficient circumference to engage the electrophotographic process stations in the same manner as does the web. The drum is typically driven by a motor and exposed, for example, by a scanning laser beam or other exposure device to provide a latent image at the drum surface on a line-by-line sequence. For clarity, however, the background of the present invention is discussed with reference to a web-based system.
The separation images must be accurately registerable in order to obtain faithful multicolor reproductions. In such composite image applications, the transferable images generated from these "master" separations are aligned for accurate superimposed registration during the creation of a multicolor composite print. The composite print will suffer from undersirable color shift and fringing if the registration of the component images is not accurately established and maintained. Even in the relatively less-complex task of providing accent color images, wherein as few as two component images are used, image registration can be critical to providing an acceptable composite print. Thus, the registration of each image frame must be accurately established at the creation of the latent image, and carefully monitored and maintained thereafter. Otherwise, the resulting composite prints will be of inadequate or unusable quality.
Multicolor reproduction apparatus that produce composite color images, or other apparatus that produce color separations useable for high volume reproduction work, thus present strict registration requirements. The production of a misregistered separation set is costly in that any subsequently-generated composite image is inaccurate and the printing process must be halted while a new set of separations are made. In the color reproduction industry, such a waste of process time is significant and is to be avoided.
Moreover, in printers and scanners that use image data that is transferred to and from a digital memory, the image frame registration of component images in the digitized data stream is often precisely controlled. Yet, when such data is used to write images in an apparatus that cannot maintain such registration, this precision is compromised.
A means of registration of images on a photoconductor with transfer to a copy sheet has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,176 to Russel, wherein a roller is used to retain and move a copy sheet so as to transfer several image frames from a photosensitive member. Timing of this roller is controlled by a logic and control unit which in turn receives timing signals regarding web movement from a timing signal generator that senses regularly spaced perforations on the web. As indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,186 to Hunt, Jr. et al, a photosensitive web may be provided with two types of perforations, one comprising a series of closely spaced perforations for providing timing signals and the other identifying frame locations on the web for use in triggering a flash exposure. However, the high degree of registration necessary to generate some composite images is difficult to achieve due to inaccuracies in perforation shape or positioning and in the performance of related perforation sensing and counter circuitry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,489, issued to Helmberger, discloses a method and apparatus for creating color copies of an original by an electrostatic charging process. The apparatus includes at each recording station a line of electrodes. A mark on the paper is sensed at each station and the deviation of the position of the mark from a desired position in the line direction determines which electrode will be used to start the recording of the line. In the direction of transport, the deviation of the position of the mark is sensed and the start of the line recording is accordingly varied in time. However, the charges must be deposited onto the reproduction carrier itself, by separate electrode assemblies, with one assembly at each of three recording systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,802, issued to Stuckey-Kauffman et al, discloses a method for determining the position of media in a system where images are applied to the media at subsequent stations. The method includes the steps of placing on the media at a first position tracking information consisting of a pattern of electrostatic charge to provide information with regard to the alignment of the media at the first station, and at the second station, detecting the pattern of electrostatic charge to determine the alignment of the media at the second station. However, the media typically consists of electrostatic paper that ultimately is used as the reproduction carrier and the step of placing charge on the paper is achieved by charged styli that are positioned in close proximity to the surface of the paper. Furthermore, the tracking information is applied continuously and thus is not particularly related to an individual image. The tracking information is thus used to determine the position of the media, with the apparent presumption that the image position is thereby indirectly ascertainable. The tracking information thus does not appear to be directly informative of the image position.

Method and apparatus for image frame registration


As disclosed herein, a method for recognizing a previously-traveled route includes receiving recorded video data and a current video stream from one or more video capture devices, identifying one or more objects in the received video data to provide one or more recorded waypoints, identifying one or more visible objects in the received current video stream to provide one or more visible waypoints, comparing the visible waypoints to the recorded waypoints to provide one or more matching waypoints, and identifying a previously traveled path in the received current video stream corresponding to the one or more of the identified matching waypoints. A computer program product and computer system corresponding to the method are also disclosed.

The present invention relates generally to the field of route identification, and more specifically to identifying a route according to previously recorded video content.
Route identification has become a common application of many computer systems. Dedicated GPS systems can provide a user with multiple paths between two user selected points, and computer systems such as smartphones and tablets are incorporating the same technology to allow users constant access to such features. The ability to identify possible routes can save a user valuable time when trying to travel from place to place. In some instances, a user may be interested in taking the fastest path as determined by a GPS device. In other cases, a user may have a particular interest in traveling via an exact path he or she has taken before.

International Business Machines Corporation


Polymer compositions, for example, recycled polymer compositions, processes for the production thereof, functional fillers for use in the polymer compositions, and articles formed from the polymer compositions.

It is known to incorporate inorganic particulate fillers, such as ground inorganic minerals into polymer compositions for a variety of purposes. Approaches have been proposed to improve the compatibility of the inorganic filler and the polymer composition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,732,514 describes a composition comprising a plastics material, an inorganic particulate solid such as aluminium hydrate and a coupling surface modifier. In coupling surface modifiers the modifier interacts with both the surface of the particulate filler and the polymer matrix.
In recent years, the recycling of polymer waste material has come to the fore. However, the recycling of polymer waste material has presented challenges which are not necessarily encountered during the preparation of polymer compositions derived from virgin polymer.
These challenges include the problem of contamination and soiling of the polymer waste resulting from its original use and during post-use collection and initial processing. Such contamination can be in the form of volatile and/or solid impurities. The presence of such contaminants imparts unpleasant odours to the polymer waste material and, if not properly removed, can adversely affect the quality of the final recycled polymer. Typically, polymer waste is treated in a single washing step to remove contaminants.
Further, polymer waste streams often comprise a mixture of different polymer types, e.g., polyethylene and polypropylene, which can present compatibility problems in recycled polymers prepared from such mixed polymer waste streams. Conventionally, therefore, greater focus is placed on the separation of polymers into their constituent types before further processing. However, such separation is technically arduous and therefore relatively expensive.
Thus, as the need to recycle polymer waste materials increases, there is a continuing need for the development of new methods and compositions for the economically viable processing of polymer waste materials into high quality polymer compositions and articles.
The present inventors have found new fillers for use in polymer compositions, particularly polymer compositions derived from post-consumer polymer waste, as well as new processes for recycling polymer waste materials, which address or at least ameliorate the aforementioned problems and which also enable the production of low odour, high quality recycled polymer compositions.

Methods and compositions related to recycling polymer waste


Power industry boiler tube failures are a major cause of utility forced outages in the United States, with approximately 41,000 tube failures occurring every year at a cost of $5 billion a year. Accordingly, early tube leak detection and isolation is highly desirable. Early detection allows scheduling of a repair rather than suffering a forced outage, and significantly increases the chance of preventing damage to adjacent tubes. The instant detection scheme starts with identification of boiler tube leak process variables which are divided into universal sensitive variables, local leak sensitive variables, group leak sensitive variables, and subgroup leak sensitive variables, and which may be automatically be obtained using a data driven approach and a leak sensitivity function. One embodiment uses artificial neural networks (ANN) to learn the map between appropriate leak sensitive variables and the leak behavior. The second design philosophy integrates ANNs with approximate reasoning using fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets. In the second design, ANNs are used for learning, while approximate reasoning and inference engines are used for decision making. Advantages include use of already monitored process variables, no additional hardware and/or maintenance requirements, systematic processing does not require an expert system and/or a skilled operator, and the systems are portable and can be easily tailored for use on a variety of different boilers.

The present invention in its most preferred embodiments relates to the detection of leaks in boiler tubes; more particularly it relates to the early detection of leaks in tubes of industrial type boilers to thereby allow the operators of such boilers, including utilities, to schedule a shut down for repair rather than suffer a forced outage when such leaks later become catastrophic; and still more particularly to such early detection of leaks to thereby significantly increase the chances of limiting damage to adjacent tubes in such boilers. The present new and improved system utilizes an approach different from those heretofore taken and taught in the prior art. As utilized herein, there is effected the monitoring of a set of tube leak sensitive variables, i.e. variables which exhibit significant changes whenever a leak occurs in a boiler tube. It will be appreciated, of course, that when a tube starts to leak, the output values of these sensitive variables start to change in response to that particular leak. In addition, in the approach utilized in the development of the instant invention including the methods, techniques, and system comprising same, the approach has been to correlate more than one sensitive variable to such leak. Accordingly, by relying on different sources of information about a leak and by correlating a number of leak sensitive variables, it has been found that the likelihood of early detection of such leaks is greatly enhanced. As will be appreciated from a more detailed description infra, in the technique comprising the instant invention, one of the first tasks was to find a functional map between the changes in a plurality of such sensitive variables and the occurrence of a tube leak, i.e. a multi-variable function whose parameters are the sensitive variables and whose output is the tube leak level. Of course, classical approximation methods might be used to find this map as, for instance, by using the Weierstrauss theorem wherein a continuous function can be approximated to an arbitrary degree of accuracy through the utilization of classical techniques employing, for instance, a polynomial. However, for the very complex situation related to tube leaks in boilers, there are several reasons why such classical approximation methods are not suitable including, for instance, that such technique requires one to assume a priori form of the map, i.e. the degree of the polynomial in order to approximate same. A further reason why such approximation methods are not suitable is that extensive computer simulations have shown that for high order polynomials, which would be the case in the present invention arena, the approximation of complex maps results in numerical instabilities which are encountered during the computation of the coefficients of the polynomial. Still another reason for not using such a classical approach is that it is fraught with the difficulties of being not easily implemented in computer hardware. On the other hand, the instant invention, in its simpler form, utilizes artificial neural networks (ANN) to identify the complex map. Since ANNs are known to be model free approximaters one does not need to assume a priori form of the map and further computer simulations are easily and effectively utilized in both computer hardware and software. Accordingly, the instant invention relates to the utilization of a plurality of ANNs to detect the presence of a tube leak as well as determine its location in the boiler. Further, the instant technique utilizes a decentralized architecture or structure for such networks. More specifically, a first ANN is utilized to make a relatively simple decision concerning the presence of a leak. This first ANN is trained on what is herein referred to as universal leak sensitive variables (ULSV), which are sensitive variables that respond to a leak in a boiler regardless of its location therein. Once such first ANN determines that there is indeed a leak in the boiler, the next process step in the practice of the instant invention is to utilize what is herein referred to as local leak sensitive variables (LLSV), rather than said ULSVs, which LLSVs are most sensitive for a given location both along a tube and across the cross section of the boiler. It has been found that there are a plurality of common sensitive variables for designated locations in a boiler and the present invention utilizes the most sensitive thereof for a given location wherein the presence of the leak is manifested by a change in the same subset of such LLSVs. Accordingly, a plurality of dedicated ANNS are utilized in this second step to perform localized leak detection for the location of such common sensitive variables. Although ANNs are known to be universal approximaters, they utilize data driven approaches which translates into performance acceptable for boilers having similar characteristics. In other words, an ANN based system although quite improved over heretofore prior art methods for early detection of tubes requires that after it is trained it be utilized only on similar type boilers. Since a principle object of the instant invention is, at least in the more sophisticated embodiments thereof, to provide a high degree of portability of the instant system wherein is required a minimum of tuning of same when it is used and moved from one boiler to another, the more advanced embodiments of this invention utilize the integration of fuzzy logic with such ANNs whereby is utilized available input-output information about tube leaks to build a fuzzy map whose input is available, numerical, and linguistic tube leak information and whose output is characterization of the sensitive variables. In this more sophisticated approach, there is utilized inference engines to invert the resulting map and to render more accurate decisions about tube leaks in boilers. The decision making procedure utilized in the operation in these more sophisticated integrated systems has been found to be greatly implemented by the use of a set of xe2x80x9cIf Thenxe2x80x9d rules.
The present invention relates generally to new, improved, and reliable systems, methods, and techniques for the detection of leaks in the tubes of industrial boilers, including those of the types used by utilities to produce steam for electric power production.
Boiler Tube Leak Detection. Because of heat, pressure, and wear over time, boiler tubes eventually begin to leak, i.e., the beginning of a xe2x80x9cleak event.xe2x80x9d When a boiler tube(s) starts to leak, steam which flashes over from the water escaping through the leak therein is lost to the boiler environment. In general, the amount of leaked water/steam may be small at the inception of a tube leak event. However, unless the tube is repaired, the leak will continue to grow, i.e., the tube leak rate increases with time until the tube eventually ruptures. Once such rupture occurs the utility operating such boiler is forced to shut it down immediately.
Boiler tube failures are a major cause of forced shut downs in fossil power plants. For example, approximately 41,000 tube failures occur every year in the United States alone. The cost of these failures proves to be quite expensive for utilities, exceeding $5 billion a year. [Lind, M. H., xe2x80x9cBoiler Tube Leak Detection System,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of the Third EPRI Incipient-Failure Detection Conference, EPRI CS-5395, Mar. 1987]. In order to reduce the occurrences of such forced outages, early boiler tube leak detection is highly desirable. Early boiler tube leak detection would allow utilities to schedule a repair rather than to suffer a later forced outage. In addition, the earlier the detection, the better the chances are of limiting damage to adjacent tubes.
Artificial Neural Networks. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are information-processing models inspired by the architecture of the human brain. ANNs are capable of learning and generalization and are model-free adaptive estimators of maps (relations between the input and the output of the ANN, or, as later referenced, an inference engine) which learn using example data. As is discussed in the prior art, including the patent literature, when a neural network is to be used in detection applications, it is necessary to execute beforehand a learning procedure for establishing suitable parameter values within the ANN. In the learning procedure, a set of sample patterns (referred to herein as the learning data), which have been selected in accordance with the patterns which are to be recognized, are successively inputted to the ANN. For each sample pattern there is a known appropriate output pattern, i.e. a pattern which should be produced from the network in response to that input pattern. The required known output patterns are referred to as the teaching data. In the learning procedure, the learning data patterns are successively supplied to the ANN, and resultant output patterns produced from the ANN are compared with the corresponding teaching data patterns, to obtain respective amounts of recognition error. The internal parameters of the ANN are successively adjusted in accordance with these sequentially obtained amounts of error, using a suitable learning algorithm. These operations are repetitively executed for the set of learning data, until a predetermined degree of convergence towards a maximum degree of pattern recognition is achieved (i.e., the maximum that can be achieved by using that particular set of learning data). The degree of recognition can be measured as a recognition index, expressed, for example, as a percentage.
The greater the number of sample patterns constituting the learning data, the greater will be the invariant characteristic information that is learned by the ANN. Alternatively stated, a learning algorithm which is utilized in such a procedure (i.e. for adjusting the ANN internal parameters in accordance with the error amounts obtained during the learning procedure) attempts to achieve learning of a complete set of probability distributions of a statistical population, i.e. a statistical population which consists of data, consisting of all of the possible patterns which the ANN will be required to recognize after learning has been achieved. That is to say, the learning algorithm performs a kind of pre-processing, prior to actual pattern recognition operation being started, whereby characteristics of the patterns which are to be recognized are extracted and applied to modify the internal parameters of the ANN.
In the practice of the prior art it has been necessary to utilize as large a number of sample data in the learning procedure as possible, in order to maximize the recognition index which is achieved for a ANN. However, there are practical limitations on the number of sample patterns which can be stored in memory for use as learning data. Furthermore, such learning data may include data which will actually tend to lower the recognition index, if used in the learning procedure. Accordingly, and as will be better appreciated after reading and understanding the more detailed description below, the decentralized architecture or structure of the instant new detection system and the staging of testing significantly overcomes such prior art related disadvantages.
ANNs can be divided into two classes: feed-forward and feedback neural networks. Within each class, ANNs are also characterized by the number of hidden layers, number of neurons in a given layer, and the method of learning. While many different types of learning are available, the back propagation learning algorithm (BPLA) is of the most interest to the practice of the instant invention. The BPLA is an error-correcting learning procedure which uses the gradient descent method to adjust the synaptic weights. BPLA is intended for ANNs with an input layer, any number of hidden layers, and an output layer. In the most preferred embodiments of the instant invention, the ANNs used are feed forward and possess two hidden layers. Other types of ANNs with different topologies and learning algorithms can be used as well. As will be better appreciated from the teachings and discussions found infra, the first two embodiments of the instant invention, i.e. embodiments one and two utilize ANNs to effect the desired and necessary learning and decision making for early detection of boiler tube leak events.
Fuzzy Logic. Exact models of dynamical systems become increasingly difficult to obtain if not impossible as system complexity increases. This fact is summarized by what Zadeh, infra, called the principle of incompatibility:xe2x80x9cas the complexity of a system increases, our ability to make precise and yet significant statements about its behavior diminishes until a threshold is reached beyond which precision and significance (or relevance) become almost mutually exclusive characteristics.xe2x80x9d [L. A. Zadeh, xe2x80x9cA theory of approximate reasoning,xe2x80x9d in J. Hayes, D. Michie, and L. I. Mikulich, (eds.), Machine Intelligence, Vol. 9, Halstead Press: New York, SMC-3, 1979].
The uncertainty in the knowledge about real-world systems and their dynamic models has motivated the application of fuzzy set theory to handle real world problems. [L. A. Zadeh, xe2x80x9cFuzzy algorithms,.xe2x80x9d Information and Control, Vol. 12, 1968] [D. Dubois and H. Prade, xe2x80x9cFuzzy Sets and Systems: Theory and Applications,xe2x80x9d Academic, Orlando, FL., 1980] This motivation stems from the fact that fuzzy set theory provides a suitable representation of the uncertainty in system knowledge and dynamic models. In fuzzy set theory the reasoning in the face of uncertain information, called approximate reasoning, employs fuzzy logic as a framework for uncertain information processing and inference. [R. R. Yager and D. P. Filev. xe2x80x9cEssentials of Fuzzy Modeling and Control,xe2x80x9d Wiley Interscience, New York, 1994] Fuzzy set theory is an approach useful for presenting and utilizing linguistic xe2x80x9cqualitativexe2x80x9d descriptions in computerized inference which improves the potential to model human reasoning in an inexact and uncertain domain in cases where statistical information is not available. The concept of possibility may be used to model the confidence level of various hypotheses by a number between zero and one, where one may be the highest degree of confidence and zero the lowest, or vice versa. In order to quantify inexactness, fuzzy set theory utilizes the notion of a membership function in terms of the level of confidence that a particular element belongs to a particular fuzzy set. Given the complexity of boiler tube leak events, it will be appreciated by those skilled in this art that there exists substantial motivation to utilize fuzzy logic in attempting to effect the detection of boiler tube leaks at the earliest possible moment by a technique which looks for an approximate or xe2x80x9cfuzzyxe2x80x9d map, between tube leak events and the sensitive variables, supra, and thereafter utilize approximate reasoning for detecting the occurrence and location of boiler tube leaks. Accordingly, the second two embodiments of the instant invention, i.e. embodiments three and four, integrate ANNs and fuzzy logic to effect the desired early detection of boiler tube leaks.
In the prior art, three main techniques have been proposed to detect boiler tube leaks: acoustic based systems, mass balance, and adb hoc expert systems. In the acoustic based systems taught and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,831,561, Yamamoto et al., Aug. 27, 1974; U.S. Pat. No. 4,960,079, Marziale et al., Oct. 2, 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,820, Shakkotta et al., Dec. 25, 1990; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,439, Shepard, Mar. 12, 1991, the principal idea is to listen, using acoustic sensors, to the sound produced by the jet of steam attendant a tube leak, or, as oftentimes herein referred to, a leak event. The technical limitation to this approach is that often times the sound produced by the tube leak is buried in the background acoustical noise of the tube environment. Accordingly, early detection of a leak is rather difficult because at the early stage of a leak background acoustical noise oftentimes masks or overrides the noise associated with the escaping steam. From a cost standpoint, the prior art technique oftentimes requires fifty or more acoustic sensors to cover the main parts of the boiler where a leak is most likely to occur. In addition, these sensors have to be maintained in proper operating condition thereby resulting in high attendant maintenance costs.
In the mass balance approach, used by some utilities, when a leak occurs there results a dependent increase in the amount of make up flow (amount of water needed to replace the loss of water due to the leak). Such an increase in make up flow is used as an indicator of the magnitude of the leak. As in the acoustic system based approach, supra, when the leak is small, the make up flow is negligible and all but impossible to discern. In addition, the mass balance approach is valid only when the boiler is operating in a steady-state operation. Most often, this particular requirement can not be met since boilers normally operate under constantly changing dynamical conditions caused by attendant control system operation and changes in load on the generating equipment utilizing the boiler output. Most important, this technique is fraught with the paramount disadvantage that even when the occurrence of a leak is detected it can not be used to locate a leak in such boiler.
The add hoc technique consists of detection of tube leaks using a so-called expert system approach. A major drawback and disadvantage of this approach is that it lacks universality. That it to say, it can only be used, after an extended time of modification of the design and tuning, to the specific boiler with which the expert person (the person who provides the rules) is familiar. Because of its add hoc nature, the development cost of such techniques can prove to be prohibitive. The lack of universality of the add hoc approach makes it even less attractive than the two prior art approaches and techniques discussed above.
The instant, new and novel approach is used to overcome the prior art problems heretofore associated with effective and early detection of boiler tube leak events and is multifaceted. For instance, at the outset of attempting to meet the principal objects of the instant invention, a dependable technique for identifying boiler tube leak sensitive variables was developed. Thereafter and once an occurrence of a tube leak event was determined, the boiler tube leak detection problem dealing with its location was solved by learning the map between such sensitive variables, the leak level, and the leak location. Such learning can be accomplished by the practice of two different mapping procedures with the map between sensitive variables and tube leak being treated as either a crisp map or a fuzzy map. In the first embodiment of the instant invention the crisp map represents a larger number of sensitive variables than does the crisp map utilized in the second embodiment of this new and novel invention. This larger number of variables represents the greater number of transducers-which are currently utilized for control of more modern boilers as opposed to the smaller number of transducers utilized in the monitoring and control of boilers of older design. In the practice of both these embodiments, i.e. one and two, ANNs were used to learn these maps via supervised training. Alternatively, in the practice of the third and fourth embodiments of the instant invention, the map between sensitive variables and a tube leak is modeled as a fuzzy map. It has been determined that fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic may conveniently be used to capture this map in the form of xe2x80x9cIf Thenxe2x80x9d fuzzy rules. The parameters of the fuzzy sets in these xe2x80x9cIf Thenxe2x80x9d rules are learned using a fuzzy ANN. Once the map is correctly learned, when future measurements of the relevant sensitive variables are input to the ANN based detection system, it will output the value of the map for the particular combination of the variables. If the value of the map is zero, no leak is present. However, once the output of the ANN is nonzero (above a given threshold) a leak is present in the boiler and its location must be identified. Accordingly, herein are described and taught four embodiments designed for detection and localization of boilers tube leaks or leak events in industrial boilers. The first two designs, or embodiments rely solely on ANNs, while the last two, through the utilization of inference engines, integrate ANNs with fuzzy logic.
It is therefore a principle object of the instant invention to provide utilities and other users of industrial boilers with a new, improved and dependable system which is capable of effecting early detection of boiler tube leaks. The instant, new and novel system, method and technique, instead of requiring additional acoustic sensors, takes advantage of existing process variables which are already in place and are being used for the purpose of boiler control and monitoring. The instant, new and novel systems can be custom tailored to any boiler without the need for input of a so-called human boiler expert. The designs taught, described, and claimed herein employ, in their more advanced development stages, two different technologies. The first and second embodiments use ANNs and the third and fourth embodiments integrate both such ANNs with fuzzy logic. In addition, the implementation of the first embodiment, supra, may be through the utilization of software designed specifically for use therein, although there presently is contemplated the VLSI implementation of this first embodiment, in the form of a VLSI chip.
Still further and more general objects and advantages of the present invention will appear from the more detailed description set forth below, it being understood, however, that this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only, and not necessarily by way of limitation since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the present invention.

Artificial neural network and fuzzy logic based boiler tube leak detection systems