The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for removing a small sized sample from a very large tanker container. The tank is closed, a valve is mounted in the deck which closes the tank, and the present apparatus attaches to that valve. This defines an open and close passage into the tank. A sample container on a measured steel tape is lowered through the passage into the tank and retrieves a measured sample. Sample container is removed outside the tank in a sample transfer mechanism. The sample transfer mechanism incorporates a container filling head or assembly which features a pair of needles which penetrate the septum on the mouth of a half liter or liter container which can be carried to a test facility after filling. Two needles are used, one to introduce the liquid into the container and the other to vent the container fumes or any over flow, and the vented fumes and over flow are directed to a charcoal carbon filled filter.

The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus for removing a sample from a liquid storage container such as a hold below the deck of a tanker or the top or cover of a fixed tank for receiving and storing thousands of gallons of a liquid product. Also, it can be moved from one tank to the next, both ship board or at fixed tanks in a tank yard or the like. Examples will be used below including barges, tanks and ships. The liquid products are typically subject to vaporization. Indeed, they may be formed of many constituent components so that there is a tendency of the liquid in the storage container to vaporize when exposed to the atmosphere. The several constituents may have different vapor pressures. Some may vaporize quite readily and others may vaporize rather slowly, or perhaps not at all. As a generalization, these products are described as petrochemical products. They are normally valuable products but they are not freely vented to the atmosphere for vaporization. Moreover, such products have to be sampled, tested, measured and assayed. It is not uncommon for the tank of a large vessel to be quite deep, perhaps as much as 100 feet in depth, or about 30 meters. It is not uncommon for the storage compartment of a tanker to be 10 meters in length. The petrochemical cargo which is placed in such a large tank or container can be very large and can fill the storage container almost to the top of the container. In these situations, it is necessary to make periodic measurements to test or check the cargo in the tanker to assure that a product is delivered which has a known purity. The device of this disclosure is a measuring apparatus which can be used to take a sample from a closed tank aboard a vessel. More importantly, it is a device which can take a sample from a controlled depth in a tank. Consider the example of an ocean going vessel which has a large storage tank of 30 meters in depth normally used to haul petrochemical products. As a generalization, the bottom of the tank will collect a layer of sediment and typically also a thin layer of water will collect on top of the sediment. The sediment will settle to the bottom of the tank by virtue of the relative difference in the weight of the materials. The water will settle to the bottom of the tank also because it is normally heavier than most petrochemical products. Most of the time, the petrochemical product placed in the tank will float on the water. More than that, it may stratify by separating into constituent components. For instance if a cargo is shipped on a transatlantic passage, it may stay in the tank of the vessel for perhaps 10 to 20 days depending on the delays encountered in loading and off loading. During that interval and dependent on the agitation of the tank, the cargo may stratify into two or three different layers. On arrival at a port after such a transatlantic voyage, it may be necessary to remove samples from the tank. It is extremely important to remove samples from a controlled depth. The depth normally is known because it is intimately connected with the vessel size and is the type of data which is always available.
The present apparatus is directed to a sample removal system which can be connected with a tank to remove a calibrated sample volume from a specified depth. For instance, if a sample of the sediment and water at the bottom of the tank is desired, the device of the present disclosure includes a sample container which is lowered into the tank to the bottom. Normally, the clearance between the top of the tank and the bottom of the tank is well known in advance. If it is suspected that the petrochemical cargo has stratified into several layers, different samples can be taken from different depths. In each instance, a small container is lowered to a desired depth and then is retrieved on a measuring tape or line. The measuring tape is calibrated so that the depth of the measuring instrument and container is known. Moreover, this procedure enables the testing of the materials by retrieval from the tank and subsequent transmission to a laboratory.
It is not enough merely to retrieve a sample container of liquid from a tank. While the container is small for instance, one liter or less, there is always the difficulty of getting the liquid out of the container and into another container for easy transportation to a remote facility for testing. More than that, there is always the possibility that the retrieved liquid cargo may well further be changed by loss of light vapor constituents. These typically are the lighter molecules which have substantial value in the product, and which vaporize too readily. This can include dangerous constituents such as benzene which is regulated severely for its escape into the atmosphere. This also can include the lighter constituents of the common constituents, namely, gasoline such as the C.sub.4, C.sub.5, C.sub.6, etc. components. The present apparatus is a system which enables test personnel to retrieve a liquid sample from a tank without releasing fumes to the atmosphere, and without spilling liquid. It is a system which permits the sample measuring container to be lowered down into the tank and into the liquid cargo for retrieval of a sample or specimen from a determined depth. Moreover, the entire process of lowering the container into the liquid cargo and making retrieval is accomplished in a closed vessel so that there are no fumes permitted to escape to the atmosphere. An important feature of the present apparatus is the ability of the equipment to readily remove a measured sample and to subsequently transfer the sample from the equipment into a septum closed bottle which can then be transported easily and readily to a test facility without escape of fumes, and also without risk of spilling the contents of the bottle. Furthermore, the system includes a means and a mechanism whereby the sample which is retrieved can be delivered into a sized measuring bottle for easy transportation to a test laboratory and the like. Indeed, the present apparatus is a system which, when considering the taking of samples from a tank which is 30 meters in depth, can readily obtain 6 or 8 samples in separate bottles, each sealed against leakage, and each prepared for immediate transportation to a laboratory. All of this can be obtained at a single site on the top of the decking or structure which defines the deep tank, and all of this can be accomplished readily with minimal vapor escape to the atmosphere.
The present apparatus is summarized as a permanently installed ball valve including a quarter turn rotating trunnion and shaft which positions the valve so that a vertical passage through the valve into the tank is defined. It is typically mounted on the deck over a tank. The ball valve is closed ordinarily, but, on quarter turn rotation, the ball is moved to an aligned position so that a vertical passage through the ball valve is opened. The ball valve connects with an open ended upper port. By means of a suitable fitting, an upstanding sampler column is positioned over that. It is elongate and hollow, defining a double wall. It is sufficiently tall that it receives and holds a sample container. This sample container is weighted at the bottom so it hangs upright. At the top end, it has a hook or eyelet which enables it to be connected with an elongate measuring tape. The sample container is lowered downwardly through the open ball valve and into the tank. The sample container is constructed to receive and hold a sized sample. Moreover, the upstanding hollow column which defines the equipment includes an over head storage reel or drum which holds the several bights of an elongate steel measuring tape. It is calibrated to an adequate length to assure that the sample container is lowered to any depth in the tank. The upper end of the upstanding sampler test equipment is equipped with a fitting which enables introduction of nitrogen under pressure. The air or nitrogen under pressure is forced downwardly into the apparatus and provides a fluid drive for urging the liquid from the storage container. Sample is forced downwardly and flows into an annular space defined by a double wall construction. Sample must flow upwardly through the double wall space to the top end of the annular space between the double walled construction. The liquid is driven out through a fitting. It then flows into a control valve. This valve is operative to provide fluid flow downwardly through the first needle of a pair of needles which are inserted through a septum covering over the mouth of a small sample bottle. The bottle is filled by flow through this route but there is also an outlet passage from the bottle through a second needle. When overflowing or expelling air, this flows through a controlled pathway into a disposable filter in a container which is filled with charcoal or some other particulate carbon product for filtration. In turn, any discharge then flows into an outlet conduit. The fluid flow is under power of either nitrogen introduced to push the liquid out of the system, or, in the alternative, fluid flow is initiated by provision of a vacuum pump at the outlet end (pulling the vapors through a carbon filter). The present apparatus thus enables a sample to be retrieved from a large tank holding great quantities of a petrochemical product and delivery of a specified size of sample into a sample container, and all of this is accomplished substantially without permitting fumes to escape to atmosphere.


A joining device (8) for hybrid wind turbine towers (5) intended for the fixation of a metal portion (6) of a wind turbine tower (5) to a concrete portion (7) of said wind turbine (1) which comprises a metal body (9) having a generally tubular configuration that is suitable to be fixed to the metal portion (6) of the tower (5) which in use is adjacent to the concrete portion (7), and suitable for being at least partially embedded into said concrete portion (7), said metal body (9) being provided with a number of anchoring openings (11) adapted such that the material of the concrete portion (7) passes therethrough. A hybrid wind turbine tower (5) comprises such a joining device (8) provided between one metal portion (6) and one concrete portion (7).

The technological evolution in wind power generation is involving increasingly larger and more powerful machines which, in conjunction with taller towers, increase the output power generated by the wind. The development of taller towers has to be done according to different rules related to design criteria such as load, material strength and dynamic behavior as well as construction, transportation and installation conditions.
Up to 80 m, towers for wind power applications have been made basically using steel tubular sections. Taller towers involving high loads require more resistant structures. Due to transportation problems, bottom diameters larger than 4.5 m are not possible. This requires the steel plate thickness to be increased up to values that make the tower cost to be increased.
The use of concrete for constructing certain parts of wind turbines towers (particularly at the bottom of the tower) is a prominent alternative. Preliminary cost investigations have clearly shown that an improvement in tower costs can be achieved by substituting steel bottom portions by concrete bottom portions, specially in tower heights above 80 m. Moreover, despite the material used in the construction, the design of the concrete portions has to be carried out in accordance with the same rules that for steel portions, that is, loads, strength and mainly dynamic behavior. In order to complain with the dynamic behavior, thin-walled concrete portions have to be designed. Nevertheless, such a thin-walled concrete portion design leads to extra complexity in tower design.
Shear strength connections, such as shear studs or the like, are in general not valid in such applications due to geometrical complexity in its construction (steel reinforcement layout) and due to dimensional limitations of the tower wall.
WO2005015013 discloses a tower for a wind turbine comprising a concrete tower segment and a steel tower segment having an end portion embedded into the concrete tower segment. The steel tower segment within its embedded end portion comprises anchoring elements. Said anchoring elements project radially from an inner or an outer surface or both inner and outer surfaces of the wall of the steel tower segment. This however does not overcome the above mentioned problem of an easy steel-concrete integration in concrete thin-walled towers in wind turbine applications. This is because a very large concrete wall thickness is needed in the tower design disclosed in this document for withstanding horizontal load components resulting from such protruding elements.

Joining device for hybrid wind turbine towers


A microelectronic device comprises a first conductive material comprising copper, a conductive plug comprising tungsten in electrical communication with the first conductive material, and manganese particles dispersed along an interface between the first conductive material and the conductive plug. Related electronic systems and related methods are also disclosed.

Microelectronic device designers often desire to increase the level of integration or density of features within a given semiconductor device architecture by reducing the critical dimensions of the individual features and by reducing the separation distance, or pitch, between neighboring features. In addition, microelectronic device designers often seek to design architectures that are not only compact, but also offer performance advantages, as well as simplified designs.
One example of a microelectronic device is a memory device. Memory devices are generally provided as internal integrated circuits in computers or other electronic devices. There are many species of memory including, but not limited to, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), FLASH memory, and resistance variable memory. Non-limiting examples of resistance variable memory include resistive random access memory (ReRAM), conductive bridge random access memory (conductive bridge RAM), magnetic random access memory (MRAM), phase change material (PCM) memory, phase change random access memory (PCRAM), spin-torque-transfer random access memory (STTRAM), oxygen vacancy-based memory, and programmable conductor memory.
A memory device may include an active surface including interacting components, such as transistors, capacitors, electrodes, diodes, other access devices, or other elements. During fabrication of the memory device, electrical connections may be formed between the active surface of the memory device and other portions thereof to form electrical connections to circuitry located away from the active surface.
For example, a typical memory cell of a memory device includes an access device (e.g. a transistor) and a memory storage structure (e.g., a capacitor) electrically coupled to the access device through a conductive contact. The access device generally includes a channel region between a pair of source/drain regions, and a gate electrode configured to electrically connect the source/drain regions to one another through the channel region. One or more of the source region, the drain region, and the gate electrode may be in electrical communication with one or more sources of electrical potential to operate the memory cell.
As the number of memory cells in a memory device increases, electrically connecting the memory cells to control logic circuitry and other components of the memory device can create feature sizing and spacing complications associated with the increased quantities and dimensions of routing and interconnect structures required to facilitate the electrical connection. Moreover, as the feature size of memory devices continues to shrink, it is more and more difficult to form patterns of features having a desired critical dimension. As the critical dimensions of the components of the memory device shrink, forming reliable electrical connections between electrically conductive components of the memory device becomes increasingly difficult.

Microelectronic devices comprising manganese-containing conductive structures, and related electronic systems and methods


In a linear transmitter (20) for use in combination with a radio communication system of TDMA that has a plurality of radio stations each of which has the linear transmitter, the linear transmitter is supplied with an input signal having a preamble at a first period and an information signal at a second period following the first period. The linear transmitter comprises a switching circuit (21) for supplying a quadrature modulator circuit (14) with the input signal during the first period. The switching circuit supplies the quadrature modulator circuit with a difference signal of a differential amplifier (13) which is supplied with the input signal. A quadrature demodulator (18) quadrature demodulates a transmission signal into a feedback signal having feedback inphase and feedback quadrature components in accordance with a phase adjusted carrier signal which is supplied from a phase adjusting circuit (23). A monitoring circuit (22) monitors a level of the feedback quadrature component during the first period to produce a level monitored signal representative of a monitored level. The phase adjusting circuit adjusts a carrier phase of a carrier signal in accordance with the level monitored signal during the first period to produce a phase adjusted carrier signal. The phase adjusting circuit supplies the phase adjusted carrier signal to the quadrature demodulator.

This invention relates to a linear transmitter for use in combination with a radio communication system of time division multiple access (TDMA).
In general, a radio communication system using time division multiple access (TDMA) comprises a relay station and a plurality of radio stations which communicate with one another through the relay station. In the radio communication system of TDMA, one of time slots is assigned as a specific time slot to a specific one of the radio stations. When the specific radio station transmits a transmission signal to the relay station in the specific time slot, the specific radio station transmits the transmission signal as a burst signal to the relay station as known in the art.
Each of the radio stations may be used as one of a fixed station and a mobile station. The mobile station may be carried by an automobile, a human being, or the like and has a variable location. Each of the radio stations comprises a linear transmitter for transmitting the transmission signal to the relay station in order to improve a non-linear distortion of the transmission signal. The linear transmitter produces the transmission signal having transmission inphase and transmission quadrature components in accordance with an input signal having input inphase and input quadrature components during a predetermined period. The predetermined period may be called a burst period.
In general, the linear transmitter implements a linear power amplifier to amplify a modulated signal which has a time varying amplitude (magnitude) for transmission. It is desirable for the linear power amplifier to provide good linearity and efficient power conversion. It is necessary to further reduce an amplifier distortion in the linear power amplifier. In order to reduce the amplifier distortion, the linear transmitter uses a negative feedback loop on which a feedback signal passes. The feedback signal has feedback inphase and feedback quadrature components. A cartesian loop is a known method for implementing the negative feedback loop around the linear power amplifier. A net phase shift around the cartesian loop must be maintained about 180 degrees at a desired channel frequency in order to insure stable operation.
However, the cartesian loop becomes unstable when a phase shift occurs between the input signal and the feedback signal. When the phase shift occurs between the input signal and the feedback signal, the cartesian loop may become to a positive feedback loop. Such a phase shift occurs on the basis of a time delay in the cartesian loop and the other factors. When the cartesian loop becomes unstable, it is difficult to reduce the amplifier distortion.
Furthermore, the linear transmitter generally has a transmitter offsets inherent in the transmitter as will be later described. On the basis of the transmitter offset, it is difficult to obtain a good modulation characteristic.

Linear transmitter for use in combination with radio communication systems


A three port optical wave circulator, comprising a cylindrical structure made of magneto-optic material which is optically anisotropic in a biasing magnetic field, for selectably transmitting a light beam incident to a port on the cylinder surface in a direction plus or minus 120.degree. from the incident direction. In the presence of a selected biasing magnetic field, a light beam incident to any port of the circulator is uniformly transmitted in the selected direction to a second port.

This invention provides an optical-wave circulator (OW circulator) that can be used indispensably in optical communication.
As is well known, a circulator, acting as a nonreciprocal element, has developed in microwaves, and so various types of the circulator are nowaday available. In the optical region, OW circulator which is adapted for the optical communication use has not been realized yet. There are technical difficulties in production of an OW circulator. One difficulty is that if we can apply the design technique of the microwave circulator to the production of the OW circulator, we have to make the OW circulator in the order of one tenth the wavelength of the light wave, or that long, as so we do in the microwaves. After the analogy of the microwave circulator, the OW circulator is to be made so delicately in the order of no less than 0.1 microns, (as the light wavelength for the optical communication is as short as from 1.0 to 1.5 microns) that machining of a magneto-optic structure (MO structure) is extremely difficult, and even if the MO structure is made in success, coupling of the input and output signal transmission lines with that very fine MO structure is actually another problem, since a glass-fiber transmission line, having the diameter of 5 microns for single-mode transmission and that of more than 50 microns for multiple-mode transmission, must be coupled with the MO structure having the dimensions of less than one tenth the wavelength in diameter. And furthermore, such a fine MO structure is exposed to the incident laser light beam that may have far more intensive power density possibly to give rise to nonlinear effect and to disturb normal performance.
The basic principle of the invention originates from a unique idea different from that of the microwave circulator. In embodiments of the invention, an MO structure having large dimensions than the light wavelength is utilized and incorporated in circulator embodiments to take advantage of various magneto-optic effects: Faraday effect, Cotton-Mouton effect, and magneto-optic Kerr effect. The Faraday effect is a phenomenon that the plane of polarization of the incident linearly polarized light, in passing through the MO material along the direction of magnetization (which is called Faraday location), is rotated due to the difference of refractive indices for left and right circularly polarized light waves: the Cotton-Mouton effect is a phenomenon of double refraction that the incident light wave, passing in the direction normal to the magnetization (which is called Voigt location), are distinctively retarded with variations of refractive indices for the light waves of polarizations normal and parallel to the magnetization; and the MO Kerr effect is a phenomenon of rotation of the polarization for the light waves reflected from the surface of the MO material.
The MO material is defined as such that the Faraday effect, the Cotton-Mouton effect, or the MO Kerr effect acts with biasing magnetic field. The most useful MO material is crystaline rare earth iron garnet that may have large Faraday rotation and small absorption losses, that is, large figures of merits (the ratio of the Faraday rotating angle and absorption losses for unit length).
These MO effects in the MO material can be explained in terms of tensor permittivity and also the MO anisotropic splitting factor under the biasing magnetic field, which presents a contrast to ferromagnetic material in microwaves that can be explained in terms of tensor permeability and its anisotropic splitting factor under the biasing magnetic field. The tensor permittivity is written by ##EQU1## and .epsilon.'/.epsilon..sub.1 is the MO anisotropic splitting factor. The ratio of .epsilon.'/.epsilon..sub.1 is far below the value of the ferromagnetic anisotropic splitting in the microwaves. The distinction between them is conspicuously essential. Underlying ideas in the invention are that light waves have shorter wavelength than the dimensions of the MO structure used, coupling between the light waves and MO material is not sufficiently strong, and therefore various MO effects should be turned to advantage.
The embodiments of the invention provide useful OW circulators for optical communication and optical integrated circuits. Features of the OW circulator embodiments are compactness, high efficiency and compatibility with the optical fiber transmission lines and optical IC techniques. More detailed explanation of the invention will be made below, referring to the drawings.


In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a restriction sub apparatus for use during well cementing operations includes a tubular body having an internal annular recess, and a plastic restriction sleeve mounted in the recess, such sleeve having an inner diameter which is less than the inner diameter of the body so that when a drive plate on a cement displacement plug encounters the inner portion of the sleeve during downward movement, such inner portion is progressively deformed and bulged inward until the bulge dissipates into a recessed region near the bottom end of the sleeve. The resistance afforded by the plastic sleeve to downward movement of the plug provides a positive pressure surge indication at the surface that the plug is located at a particular depth in the casing.

Cement plugs are used in connection with cementing operations in a well for a variety of purposes, for example to provide interfaces between the upper and/or lower ends of a cement slurry column and the mud or displacement fluids that precede or follow it in the casing. When a predetermined volume of cement slurry has been displaced down into the casing, a plug can be used in a manner such that it separates the top of the column from the following displacement fluid. After substantially all of the cement has been pumped out of the casing and into the annulus between the casing and the well bore wall, a surface indication is needed so that pumping operations can be terminated at a point where most of the cement has been displaced into the annulus. Otherwise there is a risk of overdisplacement with attendant difficulties.
A high degree of skill, and occasional guesswork, is required during a cementing operation of the type described to determine when the plug has reached a certain downhole location in the casing. Various devices have been used, such as a simple casing nipple with an internal rubber sleeve that provides a reduced diameter in the bore, in an effort to create an observable pump pressure surge at the surface which indicates that the plug is passing through the bore of the nipple. However, this type of device has not, in the main, provided a reliable surface indication. One or more improvements over such devices are disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,649 issued Mar. 13, 1990, and in my U.S. application Ser. No. 678,007 filed Apr. 1, 1991. Although the inventions disclosed and claimed therein represent distinct advances in the art, there remains a continuing need for improvements which will provide a simple and reliable restriction sub that will create a distinctive, positive surface indication of the point in time when a displacement plug has reached a certain distance above the bottom of the casing.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved restriction sub apparatus which includes a uniquely arranged plastic sleeve member which impedes the passage of a cement displacement plug therethough in a manner such that a positive surface indication, as discussed above, is given.

Restriction sub with deformable plastic sleeve


A clock spring connector including a movable housing rotatably connected to a fixed housing, the movable housing and fixed housings defining an annular cable accommodating area therebetween. A spacer is movably housed in the cable accommodating area. A ribbon cable is housed in the cable accommodating area and includes a first portion wound in a first direction on the fixed housing, a turned-back (U-shaped) portion extending through an opening in the spacer, and a second portion wound in a second direction on the movable housing. The spacer includes a plurality of rollers and raised portions located in gaps formed between each of the rollers, except for the opening through which the turned-back portion is passed, thereby preventing the erroneous threading of the cable when the clock spring connector is assembled. Elastic arms are positioned between the spacer and surfaces of the annular cable accommodating area to elastically bias the spacer away from these surfaces, thereby preventing noise caused by contact between the spacer and the surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clock spring connector for use as an electric connection means in an air bag system included in a steering unit of an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A clock spring connector comprises a fixed member, a movable member attached rotatively around the fixed member, and a band-like flexible cable establishing the connection between the fixed member and the movable member. The clock spring connector has been widely used to serve as an electric connection means between a movable member and a fixed member that has a finite number of rotations, such as a steering unit of an automobile.
Since a clock spring connector of the foregoing type has the flexible cable, the cost of which being a very large portion of the overall cost of the clock spring connector, clock spring connectors each have been arranged to reduce the cost by shortening the flexible cable as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,540,223, 5,102,061 and so forth.
FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the schematic structure of the clock spring connector disclosed as described above. The clock spring connector shown in FIG. 23 comprises a movable member 101 rotatively disposed at the center of a cylindrical fixed member 100. The fixed member 100 and movable member 101 form an annular space 107 which accommodates a band-like flexible cable 102. The two ends of the flexible cable 102 are, while being respectively fixed to the fixed member 100 and the movable member 101, past to the outside of the annular space 107. The winding direction around the outer cylinder of the fixed member 100 and that around the inner cylinder of the movable member 101 are reversed in the annular space 107 at a position of a U-shape reversal portion 102a. In addition, an annular rotary plate 103 is disposed in the annular space 107 which has a planetary gear (omitted from illustration) pivotally supported to engage to gears respectively formed on the outer surface of the fixed member 100 and that of the movable member 101. On the other hand, the rotary plate 103 has, on the upper surface thereof, a plurality protruding shafts 104 located at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the rotary plate 103. Each shaft 104 has a roller 105 freely rotatively attached thereto, and the reversal portion 102a is looped around one of the rollers 105.
When the movable member 101 of the thus constituted clock spring connector is rotated clockwise when viewed in FIG. 23, the reversal portion 102a is moved clockwise in the annular space 107 by a quantity of rotation which is smaller than that of the movable member 101. Thus, the flexible cable 102 is brought to a rewinding state in which a portion wound around the inner cylinder portion of the fixed member 100 become larger. Since the planetary gear (omitted from illustration) is, at this time, rotated and revolved in the annular space 107 due to the rotation of the movable member 101, a spacer 106 is moved clockwise at the same speed as that of the reversal portion 102a. As a result, the flexible cable 102 is smoothly moved in the annular space 107 without being pulled by the roller 105. The spacer 106 is a member including the rotary plate 103, shaft 104 and the roller 105. On the contrary, when the movable member 101 is rotated counterclockwise when viewed in FIG. 23, the reversal portion 102a is moved in the same direction by a quantity of rotation which is smaller than that of the movable member 101. As a result, the flexible cable 102 is brought to a wound state in which it is wound around the inner cylinder of the movable member 101 by a larger quantity. Also in this case, the spacer 106 is moved in the same direction at the same speed as that of the reversal portion 102a. As a result, the flexible cable 102 is smoothly moved in the annular space 107 without being pulled by the roller 105.
If the spacer 106 is moved by the flexible cable 102 because no planetary gear is provided, predetermined clearances have been required from a housing of the accommodating space 107, such as the ceiling surface and the bottom surface, to which the spacer 106 faces.
An automobile having the clock spring connector is easily affected the surface condition of a road or the like during running, and therefore vibrations of the automobile, of course, act on the clock spring connector. However, the conventional clock spring connector structured as described above and comprising the spacer 106 rotatively disposed in the accommodating space 107 has necessitates the forming of clearances between the spacer 106 and the ceiling surface of the accommodating space 107 in order for the spacer 106 to rotate smoothly. Therefore, if the axial vibrations of the steering shaft act on the clock spring connector, the spacer 106 is vertically vibrated in the clearance and thus it comes in conflict with both of the ceiling surface and the bottom surface of the accommodating space 107. Thus, there arises a problem of noise. Since the spacer 106 is typically made of hard plastic material, variations in the dimensional accuracy of each member and variations caused by temperature change or the like causes the clearance to easily be dispersed. Since a sufficient clearance has been given to cope with the dispersion, the problem of noise become critical.


Aromatic hydrocarbons, e.g., benzene and analogs thereof, are converted by alkylation to the corresponding alkyl aromatics by contacting the mononuclear aromatic hydrocarbon with an alkylating agent in the presence of a coated zeolite catalyst. This coated catalyst consists of an essentially inert base support having a strongly adherent outer coating containing an active catalytic zeolite material.

Alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbon compounds employing an aluminosilicate zeolite catalyst is known in the art. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,897 describes liquid phase alkylation in the presence of aluminosilicates such as faujasite, heulandite, clinoptilolite, mordenite, dachiardite, zeolite X and zeolite Y. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,607 shows the alkylation of hydrocarbon compounds in the presence of metallic aluminosilicates, e.g., magnesium aluminosilicate. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,751,506 describes a process for the alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons comprising contacting these hydrocarbons with an alkylating agent in the vapor phase in the presence of a catalyst comprising a crystalline aluminosilicate zeolite.
Unfortunately, while the prior art aluminosilicate catalysts proposed for the alkylation of benzene provide satisfactory yields of desirable products, they have several disadvantages. First, the use of these prior art catalysts in an alkylation reaction results in a large exotherm. Second, substantial amounts of cracking and rearrangement products are formed. Third, multi-substitution is a problem in these prior art processes. Finally, the activity per gram of active catalytic component is very low. Each of these problems is either eliminated or greatly reduced by the use of the instant coated catalyst. Furthermore, since the coated catalyst contains less of the expensive active catalytic material than prior art catalysts, coated catalysts are less expensive per catalyst charge. Thus, the coated catalysts of the invention provide several advantages in the process for alkylating aromatic hydrocarbons which were heretofore lacking in the art.

Alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons in the presence of coated zeolite catalysts


A method and circuit for controlling the gain of a SECAM camera inserts a test signal into a channel. The resulting deviation is measured and used to control the gain of the channel.

The present invention relates to automatic gain control circuits, and more particularly to those used in the chroma channel of a SECAM encoder.
Recent developments concerning the French SECAM standard indicate that several tolerances of the SECAM system will be made much tighter in the future. This not only leads to problems in designing encoder circuits, but also makes it difficult to adjust SECAM encoders in the production line. Test equipment such as vectorscopes, which enable simple and precision adjustment of NTSC or PAL encoders, do not exist for SECAM. Therefore it is very desirable to introduce self-adjusting circuits in SECAM encoders.

Automatic chroma gain control circuits useful in secam coders


An apparatus for effecting chemical reactions in the presence of fluidized solids comprising at least one centrifugal separator for removing entrained solids from effluent gas, a dip-leg depending from the separator for returning separated solids to the fluidized system, and a unidirectional valve at the lower end of the dip-leg which is protected from erosion damage by a conical shroud.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for effecting chemical reactions in the presence of fluidized solids. The apparatus includes at least one centrifugal separator of the cyclone type for removing entrained solids from effluent gas and vapors, a conduit or dip-leg for returning separated solid particles from the cyclone to the fluidized system, and a unidirectional valve positioned at the lower end of the dip-leg. More particularly, the invention relates to an improved apparatus which reduces erosion damage to the unidirectional valve by the fluidized solids.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Systems wherein a chemical reaction is carried out in the presence of fluidized finely divided solid particles are well known and have found wide acceptance in a variety of fields. A particularly important application involves the conversion of various feedstocks by contact with fluidized finely divided catalyst particles as, for example, in the fluidized catalytic cracking of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Alternatively, the fluidized solid particles may themselves comprise a reactant as in the fluidized combustion of finely divided particles of coke or coal. In addition, the fluidized particles can be substantially inert and serve merely as a heat transfer medium and/or a substrate upon which reaction products may deposit.
A bed of fluidized solids is produced by the upward passage of a fluidizing gas through a bed of finely divided solid particles. The upward flow of gas through the solid particles exerts an upward or suspending force on the particles and serves to lift and agitate the particles. In a vessel containing a fluidized bed of solids, the lower portion of the vessel will contain a phase of high particle density having a fairly well defined upper surface. This lower dense phase behaves in many respects like a liquid. A dilute phase or disengaging space is located above the dense phase wherein the particle density is low and a separation of solid particles from the fluidizing gas is largely completed. Particle fluidization comprises a highly effective gas-solid contacting process. The particles are maintained in a suspended, turbulent state by the fluidizing gas and migrate more or less freely to all portions of the dense bed.
Ordinarily, it is desirable to separate effluent gases from solid particles as completely as possible prior to the discharge of these gases from a vessel which contains a fluidized bed. A substantial separation of gases and solids occurs within the vessel, but small amounts of solids are entrained by the fluidizing gases, are carried into the dilute phase, and are discharged together with the gases if additional separation means are not provided. Centrifugal separators of the cyclone type have been widely used to provide such additional separation.
A cyclone separator functions by allowing the particle laden gases to enter a cylindrical or conical chamber tangentially at one or more points, and the gases are discharged through a central opening. The solid particles are forced to the walls of the separator as a consequence of centrifugal acceleration and are led to a particle return conduit or dip-leg for return to the vessel. Frequently, the dip-leg extends into the lower dense phase but can also terminate in the upper dilute phase. If necessary, improved efficiency can be achieved by passing the particle laden gases through two or more cyclone separators which are joined in series.
A unidirectional valve is frequently positioned either within the dip-leg or at its lower end. This valve serves to permit the flow of separated solids from the cyclone while preventing a reverse flow of gases and solids into the cyclone from the dip-leg. A trickle valve is a widely used unidirectional valve comprising a pivotally mounted valve closure means at the end of the dip-leg which is exposed to the fluidized solids. This exposure to the fluidized solids subjects the valve to erosion as a consequence of mechanical action by the solid particles. After a period of time, this erosion damage may be severe enough to result in a complete failure of the valve. Such failure permits a significant flow of gases and solid particles up the cyclone dip-leg. This reverse flow of solids into the cyclone will, in turn, result in an increased discharge of particulate material with the effluent gases from the cyclone. If these effluent gases are discharged directly into the atmosphere, the additional particulate content is environmentally undesirable. If, instead, the effluent gases are discharged into associated process equipment for further treatment or separation, the increased particulate content is undesirable because of its erosive effect on the gas transfer lines and the need for removal of the solids during the subsequent processing steps. In addition, when the fluidized solid is a catalyst, the loss of such solid can be undesirable for the additional reason that such catalytic materials are frequently quite costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,838,063 has suggested that trickle valves be shielded from below. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,838,062 and 2,901,331 teach the use of a perforated tubular shroud or housing which encloses the trickle valve on both top and bottom. The prior art does not, however, suggest the desirability of placing a conical shroud above the trickle valve to provide protection from the downward impingement of solid particles.


The invention is a cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics. A set of initial conditions is generated from the private key and becomes input to the chaotic system. The chaotic system generates a set of final conditions from which the public key is derived. The public key is distributed to the public. The public key can be used to encrypt a message that is then decrypted using the private key. An adjustable back door of the invention derived from a set of interim conditions can be used in conjunction with the public key to derive the private key. The degree of difficulty involved in deriving the private key is dependent on the adjustable back door. That is the value of the back door can be adjusted to vary the difficulty involved in deriving the private key. In one embodiment of the invention, the chaotic system is based on the xe2x80x9cN-bodyxe2x80x9d problem to provide cryptographic security.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of cryptographic systems.
2. Background Art
A cryptographic system is a system for sending a message from a sender to a receiver over a medium so that the message is xe2x80x9csecurexe2x80x9d, that is, so that only the intended receiver can recover the message. A cryptographic system (or cryptosystem) converts a message, referred to as xe2x80x9cplaintextxe2x80x9d into an encrypted format, known as xe2x80x9cciphertext.xe2x80x9d The encryption is accomplished by manipulating or transforming the message using a xe2x80x9ccipher keyxe2x80x9d or keys. The receiver xe2x80x9cdecryptsxe2x80x9d the message, that is, converts it from ciphertext to plaintext, by reversing the manipulation or transformation process using the cipher key or keys. So long as only the sender and receiver have knowledge of the cipher key, such an encrypted transmission is secure.
A xe2x80x9cclassicalxe2x80x9d cryptosystem is a cryptosystem in which the enciphering information can be used to determine the deciphering information. To provide security, a classical cryptosystem requires that the enciphering key be kept secret and provided to users of the system over secure channels. Secure channels, such as secret couriers, secure telephone transmission lines, or the like, are often impractical and expensive.
A system that eliminates the difficulties of exchanging a secure enciphering key is known as xe2x80x9cpublic key encryption.xe2x80x9d By definition, a public key cryptosystem has the property that someone who knows only how to encipher a message cannot use the enciphering key to find the deciphering key without a prohibitively lengthy computation. An enciphering function is chosen so that once an enciphering key is known, the enciphering function is relatively easy to compute. However, the inverse of the encrypting transformation function is difficult, or computationally infeasible, to compute. Such a function is referred to as a xe2x80x9cone way functionxe2x80x9d or as a xe2x80x9ctrap door function.xe2x80x9d In a public key cryptosystem, certain information relating to the keys is public. This information can be, and often is, published or transmitted in a non-secure manner. Also, certain information relating to the keys is private. This information may be distributed over a secure channel to protect its privacy (or may be created by a local user to ensure privacy).
In the prior art, the trap door functions have been based on the difficult problem of factoring integers. The factoring scheme is based on the fact that it is easy to generate two very large prime numbers and multiply them together, but it is much more difficult to factor the result, that is, to determine the very large prime numbers from their product. The product can therefore be made public as part of the enciphering key without compromising the prime numbers that effectively constitute the deciphering key.
Another form of public key cryptosystem is referred to as an xe2x80x9celliptic curvexe2x80x9d cryptosystem. An elliptic curve cryptosystem is based on points on an elliptic curve E defined over a finite field F. Elliptic curve cryptosystems rely for security on the difficulty in solving the discrete logarithm problem. An advantage of an elliptic curve cryptosystem is there is more flexibility in choosing an elliptic curve than in choosing a finite field. Nevertheless, elliptic curve cryptosystems have not been widely used in computer-based public key exchange systems due to their computational intensiveness. Computer-based elliptic curve cryptosystems are slow compared to other computer public key exchange systems. Elliptic curve cryptosystems are described in xe2x80x9cA Course in Number Theory and Cryptographyxe2x80x9d (Koblitz, 1987, Springer-Verlag, New York).
The invention is a cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics. A chaotic system is used to generate a public key and an adjustable back door from a private key. The public key is distributed and can be used in a public key encryption system. The invention can also be used for authentication purposes. The adjustable back door of the invention can be used in conjunction with the public key to derive the private key. The degree of difficulty involved in deriving the private key is dependent on the adjustable back door whose value can be adjusted to vary the difficulty involved in deriving the private key.
In its application to a public key encryption system, the invention uses a chaotic system model to generate a public key from a private key. A set of initial conditions is generated from the private key and becomes input to the chaotic system. The chaotic system generates a set of final conditions from which the public key is derived. The public key is distributed to the public. The public key can be used to encrypt a message that is then decrypted using the private key.
The invention can also be used for authentication. A chaotic system that implements a chaotic-dynamic model generates a public key from a private key. The public key is distributed to and stored at an authenticating site. During authentication, one wishing to authenticate oneself enters the private key that generated the public key into a chaotic system. The chaotic system implements the same chaotic-dynamic model that generated the public key from the private key. The output of the chaotic system is a public key. The authenticating system compares its stored public key with the new public key. If the two public keys are the same, authentication is successful. If the two public keys are not the same, authentication fails.
Using this approach, it is not necessary to disclose sensitive information to an authenticating system, or authenticator. Therefore, there is no need to rely on the authenticator to secure the information so that it is not accessible by an unauthorized person. Further, since the sensitive information is not transmitting to an authenticator, there is no danger of it being intercepted by an unauthorized person. Instead, a key that is not considered to be sensitive, the public key, is distributed and stored at the authenticating site. If authentication is performed as a prelude to accessing an account at a bank, for example, it is not necessary to store a bank user""s pin number or other secret information. At the time of authentication, the bank user enters the private key used to generate the public key into the chaotic system. The public key that results is compared with the stored public key to authenticate the user.
In one embodiment of the invention, the chaotic system is based on the xe2x80x9cN-bodyxe2x80x9d problem to provide cryptographic security. The general N-body problem is described by a Hamiltonian from classical physics. A Hamiltonian function describes all forces between all N bodies. One manifestation is the celebrated N-body scenario of Newtonian gravity. In this particular setting, one considers N (greater than 2) bodies acting under mutual gravitation. For example, the Newtonian gravity manifestation of the N-body problem can be described by considering a solar system with three or more planets in orbit. Given an initial condition and a set of rules or equations governing motion of the planets over time, and which are subject to chaotic variation, the future positions of the planets after a known fixed time period (e.g. after ten solar years) can be determined. However, given only the present conditions of the planets, it is extremely difficult to determine what the initial conditions were without knowing the elapsed time, all the rules governing the motion of the planets, and all the chaotic variations in motion that occurred. Thus, the N-body problem is a one way function.
The N-body problem describes a xe2x80x9cchaotic systemxe2x80x9d. This is because slight perturbations to the initial conditions of one or more of the bodies will cause radical system changes in the future. Accordingly, an inexact estimate of such initial conditions will result in a faulty final state. If someone tried to guess the initial conditions and ran the system for 10 solar years, the resulting positions would be very different from the positions that would occur using the correct initial conditions.
The invention uses mathematical representations of the N-body problem. The composition of the N-body system, and its initial conditions, rules of motion and time period are known only to the sender. A future state can be generated using the initial conditions and is used in the encryption process to generate a public key.

Cryptographic system using chaotic dynamics


A dispenser head (10) of a trigger dispenser device includes a self-bearing pre-compression valve (80), made of polypropylene, capable of per se retaining in a stable manner to the head frame (14″).

The object of the present invention is a manual trigger dispenser device, primarily for liquids, for example for the hygiene of the house, the deodorization of environments, the treatment of fabrics before ironing, and the like.
Such devices have experienced a huge spreading, as is evident by looking at the shelves of supermarkets, especially for their ease of use and functionality. Many hundreds of millions of pieces are produced every year.
One of the reasons of the great circulation of such devices is the ability to spread a small amount of liquid in a large volume of space or on a wide surface.
This ability is due to the fact that, before being dispensed, the liquid is put under pressure in a pressure chamber in which a piston actuated by the trigger slides; the connection of the pressure chamber towards the outlet is closed by a pre-compression valve. Once a pressure value that makes the pre-compression valve open has been exceeded, the liquid proceeds at high speed towards a nozzle, formed so as to produce a more or less dense cloud of droplets, according to the needs.
The pre-compression valve therefore has an essential role for the proper functioning of the device. It must be such as to enable the dispensing of the liquid only upon exceeding a minimum pressure for smooth operation, but also so as not to require an excessive effort for operating the trigger for the user.
One of the most significant problems related to the pre-compression valve is the assembly of the same to the other components of the dispenser head, in general to the frame. A moment before dispensing, a pressure of 10 bar can be reached in the pressure chamber, which is equivalent, for the usual dimensions of such devices, to an action of about 12 Kilograms on the valve. Retaining it to the frame must therefore be extremely effective, as a failure of the coupling would make the valve labile and therefore it would be impossible to achieve the desired pressure in the pressure chamber.
There are several solutions for the assembly of the pre-compression valve to the frame of the dispenser head.
For example, some solutions are described in US2012/261438A1, WO2013/079418A1, EP1500436A1, U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,052A, WO2012/172276A1, U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,061A, WO99/53388A1 and International Applications WO2012/069939, WO 2012/156830, WO 2012/110861, WO 2011/128787 and WO 2011/128786 by the Applicant. In these solutions, the pre-compression valve is kept in position by a locking element that engages the frame. These systems have proved effective but require an additional component for implementation.
Another known solution is described in International Application WO 2008/116656. In this solution, the pre-compression valve is held to the frame by a wall of the cover of the dispenser head, which compresses the valve sleeve inside the seat of the valve itself. While this solution is effective, it requires a careful implementation of the head cover and particular caution and care in the assembly of the cover to the frame.

Dispenser head for manual liquid dispenser device


An electronic device that can be pushed onto a support rail (15), having a housing (1), with an electronic module that can be inserted detachably into the housing, and bus contacts are provided for the transmission of data and/or energy to neighboring electronic devices that are pushed onto the support rail (15) and have an identical design, with appropriately designed bus terminal. The bus contacts can be displaced relative to the housing (1). The bus contacts can be immobilized via a latching fixture so that when in a latched position they can be brought into contact of the bus terminals in the neighboring device.

Applicants claim priority under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 of German Application No. 100 40 651.3 filed Aug. 19, 2000.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic device that can be pushed onto a support rail, with a housing, with an electronic module that can also be inserted detachably in the housing, and with bus contacts for transmission of data and/or energy to neighboring electronic devices pushed onto the support rail and having identical design, with appropriately designed bus terminals.
The connection of neighboring electronic devices which are pushed or plugged onto a common top-hat rail or support rail via so-called bus connections is known and widely used. The bus connections have electrical and/or optical transmission elements or terminals, which project laterally from the housing of the electronic device, and which can be brought into contact with transmission elements or terminals having complementary shape on the adjacent device. If a plurality of devices is plugged onto a support rail, the bus connections form a common, continuous conductor rail for supplying energy to the devices, as well as a data bus for transmission of data and/or control signals. Normally the direct-current-carrying conductor rail has two poles and the data bus is provided with, for example, eight independent lines. As is known to those skilled in the art, these bus connections have the form among others of blade-and-spring contacts that can be inserted one inside the other, or are designed with optoelectronic fixtures. For this purpose, the bus contacts project beyond the housing wall on one side and, when the neighboring housing is pushed together on the support rail, the contacts are brought into engagement with correspondingly shaped bus terminals. Usable electronic devices include among others, switching, closed-loop control or open-loop control devices, input/output modules, logic components for signal acquisition and processing or other electronic components that can be grouped together on a support rail and brought into electrical contact with one another via the common bus connections. The devices usually have standardized dimensions.
2. The Prior Art
If one of the electrical devices has to be exchanged, for example because it is defective or because it will be replaced by a device with different functions, it has been necessary heretofore to pull all neighboring devices off from the support rail, in order to gain access to the device in question. Certainly there are known snap-on/latching connections with which the housing of the device can be mounted and fixed on the support rail directly from above, but detachment of the device when it is plugged together with neighboring devices is no longer possible, since the contacts of the bus connections project laterally beyond the device, and are engaged in the neighboring device. In order nevertheless to exchange defective devices or to replace them by other devices, it is known that the housing can be constructed in two parts, in order to be able to remove an upper part and to gain access, in the housing interior, to a printed-circuit board or other electronic unit that can be fixed detachably to the lower part of the device. Here, the lower part is pushed onto the support rail and connected with neighboring lower parts via the bus contacts.
It is regarded as a disadvantage in this case, however, that the lower part still remains on the support rail, and so the exchange procedure described in the foregoing must nevertheless be undertaken in the event of a defect in the lower part. Moreover, it is never possible to rule out the risk of damaging the bus contacts projecting laterally beyond the housing, especially during transportation and storage, and great care is needed when pushing the devices onto the support rail, in order not to bend or damage them and thus prevent establishment of contact with neighboring devices.
An object of the invention is to design an electronic device that can be pushed onto a support rail so that the terminals and contacts for the bus connections are protected from damage in the unassembled condition of the device, and the device can be exchanged for another without the need to remove neighboring devices from the support rail.
This object is achieved according to the invention by the fact that the bus contacts can be displaced relative to the housing, and the bus contacts can be immobilized via a latching fixture so that, in a latched position, they can be brought into contact in the bus terminals in the neighboring device.
The invention allows the bus contacts to be displaced relative to the housing. The term xe2x80x9cbus contactsxe2x80x9d is to be understood as all arrangements for establishing optical and/or electrical contact of neighboring devices with one another, and the establishment of contact with the neighboring device is of detachable design. The arrangements can be of any desired type, in particular as electrical contact strips or as optical waveguides, as described hereinafter. The arrangements that establish contact can also be designed as USB contacts, as are known for computers. To immobilize the contacts relative to the housing there is provided a latching fixture, that can be immobilized at least in one position so that they extend laterally beyond the wall of the housing. In the assembled condition on the support rail they are engaged in the terminals of the neighboring device. It is immaterial within the scope of the invention whether each bus contact can be displaced and latched individually or whether, for example, the contacts of the data bus can be displaced together. The nature of the contacts and terminals can be either electrical or optical, or in other words with optical waveguides. The latching fixture can be constructed as desired, or as described hereinafter. In order to ensure establishment of contact of the individual devices with one another, the connection of neighboring housings is made either via further connecting fixtures or, as explained hereinafter, with the same latching fixture. By means of the bus contacts, a continuous or discontinuous bus connection is obtained when a plurality of devices is grouped together. The bus connection to the energy supply of the individual devices is generally designed to be continuous, in order to supply all devices commonly with current. Depending on requirement, the bus connection for data transmission between neighboring devices can also be designed to be discontinuous or, if data transmission between neighboring devices is not desired, to be separated.
The advantage of the invention is that, because of the displaceability of the bus contacts relative to the housing, they can be completely retracted into the housing, and damage thereto is avoided for practical purposes, especially during the assembly of a plurality of devices or during transportation. To establish electrical and/or optical contact, they are pushed laterally out of the housing, and automatically connected to corresponding terminals in the neighboring housing. In order to prevent inadvertent detachment of the connection, there is used the latching fixture, which immobilizes it in contact position. Moreover, it is ensured that the electronic device together with completely retracted bus contacts can be lifted upward from the support rail, on which it had been fixed by a further latching connection, for example. For this purpose, it is only necessary to retract the terminals of the neighboring device. Nevertheless, it is no longer necessary to remove the device itself from the support rail.
Preferably the bus contacts are displaced parallel to the support rail in order to establish contact with the neighboring device to prevent any bending of the terminals during insertion of a contact strip into a spring contact on the neighboring device. One possible embodiment of the bus contacts are the blade-and-spring contacts, which can be inserted one into the other, and which are known to those skilled in the art. For this purpose, contact strips in the form of flat metal blades are pushed relative to the housing, and brought into engagement with correspondingly shaped spring contacts on or in the neighboring housing. The spring contacts are aligned so that their clamping effect is exerted perpendicular to the direction in which the contact strips are inserted in them.
A further type of bus contact comprises transmitters and receivers for light rays. Here the components used are known in optoelectronics, for infrared radiation or for radiation of a particular frequency, or of arbitrary frequencies, depending on requirements, such as data transmission rate. In this case, the bus contacts that can be displaced relative to the housing and latched are optical waveguides for light of the desired frequency. The transmitter and receiver are connected with the electronic device inserted into the housing, while another fixture is also interposed here in order to convert the electrical input and output signals of the device into radiation pulses or radiation modulation.
In one advantageous improvement of the invention, neighboring housings are detachably fixed to one another with the latching fixture for the contact strips. In this way it is ensured that not only they themselves are immobilized relative to the housing, but at the same time, the neighboring devices are also mechanically connected to one another. For this purpose, the latching fixture can be designed as described hereinafter. The advantage is that additional fixtures for fixing the devices to one another are superfluous, and the assembly of a plurality of devices on one support rail is accelerated.
Advantageously, the contact strips or the optical waveguides for data transmission and energy transmission respectively can be displaced independently of one another. For this purpose, they are combined respectively in a sliding element, which can be displaced relative to the housing and immobilized detachably via a latching connection. As an example, the contact strips for an eight-pole, electrical data bus are disposed in parallel and spaced apart from one another on the sliding element, so that they can be displaced together and engage simultaneously in the spring contacts of the neighboring device. Preferably the sliding element is guided in a tunnel-like passage in the housing, whose longitudinal axis is oriented parallel to the support rail, the passage having a lateral aperture so that the sliding element can be manually actuated from outside. The passage can be provided with additional slot-like recesses, in which the contact strips projecting partly beyond the sliding element are guided, the longitudinal axes of the recesses also being oriented parallel to the support rail. The sliding element then extends through the lateral aperture of the passage, and projects at least partly beyond the wall of the housing, so that it can be manipulated by the user.
To latch the sliding element relative to the housing, one or more projections can be molded onto the housing outside and/or onto the inside, in the interior of the passage. Also one or more projections which have complementary shape and which can be engaged with the first-mentioned projections can be present on the sliding element. Preferably three projections are attached on the narrow front end of the housing. One each directly on the side faces and the third substantially at the center of the front end. If the sliding element, whose length corresponds to the width of the housing, is equipped with two projections at each of its ends, it can be displaced between two end positions, into each of which it is latched. In this way, the mechanical connection is resistant to pulling in displacement direction and is established between neighboring device housings, and simultaneously, contact is established between the bus contacts attached to the sliding element and terminals on or in the neighboring device. The projections on the inside of the device or of the passage can be disposed in the same way.
In order to facilitate displacement of the sliding element relative to the housing in latched position, the projections on the housing and/or sliding element are provided with chamfered faces, the chamfers being inclined away from the sliding direction, and, during displacement, bearing slidingly against the opposite projection. To unlock the sliding element, the latched projection can be raised slightly from the housing wall using the tip of a screwdriver, and pushed back over the projection on the housing.
To obtain symmetric mechanical fastening of neighboring devices to one another, the sliding elements for the data bus and for the current bus are disposed on opposite sides of the housing or of the support rail. This offers the further advantage that the voltage present at the two poles of the energy supply does not influence the measurement or control signals transmitted on the data-bus lines during establishment of electrical contact and vice versa.
In order also to connect the neighboring electronic devices to one another on the regions of the housings facing away from the support rail, additional sliding elements, whose latching fixtures are correspondingly designed, can additionally be provided there. They are not necessarily equipped with contact strips or optical waveguides.
To manufacture housings and/or sliding elements, they can be made of plastic, and in particular can be manufactured in an injection-molding process. Appropriate plastics and the production of appropriate injection-molding molds for the components as well as the manufacture thereof are known to those skilled in the art. In the use of optical waveguides for establishment of contact, the entire sliding element can be manufactured as an injection-molded part from a transparent plastic that is suitable as an optical waveguide. Alternatively a base member can be produced, on which the optical waveguides, which are made of a different plastic or of a suitable optical material, are plugged and, for example, can also be exchanged.
In order to prevent ingress of contaminants into the interior of the housing, the passage in which the sliding element is guided is provided with detachably fixable caps, which cover the apertures substantially completely. They are provided in turn with a plurality of small slots, through which the bus contacts pass in the extended condition of the sliding element. Preferably the cap fits flush on the housing wall, and is fixed detachably to the housing via a further latching connection.
If a series of electronic devices are grouped together on a support rail and connected to one another via the bus contacts, those bus contacts at a device in end position project beyond the housing wall. To protect these contacts from contamination or damage, there is provided a protective hood, which can also be detachably fixed to the housing via a latching fixture, and which encloses the contacts substantially on all sides. The protective hood and the aforesaid cap can also be manufactured from plastic.
Since bending of individual contact strips or other damage to the sliding element can never be completely avoided, especially if individual devices are frequently removed and installed, the sliding elements are completely detachable from the housing, so that they can be exchanged for undamaged elements. For this purpose, a projection on the sliding element is raised over the lateral projection on the housing, and it is withdrawn completely from the tunnel-like passage. The opposite sequence is followed to insert a new, undamaged sliding element. If a cap is present which simultaneously functions to ensure that the sliding element cannot be lost, it must be removed first of all in order to extract it from the passage.

Electronic device with data bus and energy bus connection


A protective cannula retaining device provides a medical accessory comprising an inflatable pad having an observation opening and a transparent strap positioned over the opening.

Fluid delivery to a patient through an intravenous cannula suffers from the disadvantage that the cannula may become dislodged. Adhesive tape is commonly employed to secure the cannula in position, but with such an arrangement the intravenous site is obscured and inspection of the site to ensure that the cannula is correctly inserted, is not possible.


Apparatus is disclosed for determining the quantity of particles present in a container. A sensor device is movably mounted in the container and is in contact with the particles. When the filling height in the container falls below a predetermined value, an electrical switch is actuated and emits a signal to an indicator. The sensor device comprises a flap fixed on an axle rotatably mounted in the container. A resilient element presses the flap against the quantity of particles and a cam is mounted on the axle. On rotation of the axle, the cam actuates the electrical switch.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an apparatus for determining the quantity of particles present in a container, having a sensor device which is movably mounted in the container, which is in contact with the particles and, when the filling height in the container falls below a predetermined value, which actuates an electrical switch member to deliver a signal to an indicator instrument.
The device is suitable, inter alia, for use in electrophotographic copying machines which have storage containers filled with pulverulent toner for replenishing the developer mixture.
2. The Prior Art
As is known, the development of a latent image on an information carrier takes place in such a way that a developer mixture, consisting of toner particles and carrier particles, is brought into contact with the electro-static charge image. On mixing with the carrier particles, the toner particles obtain a tribo-electric charge of defined polarity. The electric field emanating from the charge image attracts the toner particles and detaches them from the carrier particles. Due to the depletion, thus caused, of toner particles in the developer mixture, toner must continuously be supplied to the developer mixture in order to hold the total toner concentration in the developer mixture substantially constant. There is thus a demand for a device for detecting the filling height of toner in a storage container, which device timely indicates that the toner particles are consumed or the filling height within the storage container has fallen below a given mark, so that the operating personnel refill the storage container with toner, and operation of the copying machine with uniform image quality of the developed images is thus ensured.
A number of level-measuring devices for detecting the filling height of toner particles in a toner stock container is known, among which, inter alia, an electrical switching arrangement may be mentioned; the arrangement responds when the filling height in the storage container falls below a given value, emitting a signal to an indicator instrument in a remote position. It is a disadvantage here that, because of their small size, the toner particles can penetrate into the switch or into the switch elements and can thus cause interference with the generation of the signal.
German published application DE-OS No. 2,261,253 discloses a level-measuring device in which a sensor device movably mounted in a container is in contact with the toner particles and, when there is a distance between the toner particles and the sensor device, can be moved from a first into a second position which indicates that the level of the toner particles present in the storage container has fallen below that predetermined for optimum operation of the copying machine. The sensor device consists of a bar magnet, which is fitted on a rotatably mounted axle in the interior of the storage container, and of two further bar magnets which are fixed to the inner walls of the stock container. In the filled state of the storage container, the bar magnet joined to the axle is immersed in the toner and its longitudinal axis extends approximately at a right angle to the longitudinal axes of the two bar magnets which are mutually aligned. As soon as the toner stock in the stock container has falled sufficiently that the bar magnet provided on the axle is released, the latter executes a rotation by 90.degree. under the influence of the magnetic field lines of the two other bar magnets and comes to lie in one plane with these two bar magnets. In other words, this means that the two magnet arrangements are designed in such a way that together they generate a magnetic field which exerts a torque on the axle. This magnetic torque effects the rotation of the axle from the first into the second position when the toner present in the stock container falls below a predetermined minimum level. On rotation from the first into the second position, an electrical switch is actuated to generate an electrical signal which triggers an indicator device.
Due to the use of at least three bar magnets, this known device is relatively expensive to manufacture and does not provide resetting of the measuring device into the starting position before replenishing with toner. This means that, before toner is filled into the storage container, the bar magnet seated on the axle must be manually brought into its original position, that is to say, the first position, in which its longitudinal axis extends perpendicular to the mutually aligned longitudinal axes of the two other bar magnets, thereby ensuring a fault-free indication of the filling level.

Apparatus for determining the quantity of particles present in a container


A process control method and a process control apparatus using a fuzzy control with reducing rules and membership functions. The process control apparatus for determining a manipulating variable of a controlled object, includes an input/output unit for inputting a present value of a controlled variable and for outputting the determined manipulating variable, a predicting unit having a simulator of a controlled object, for calculating a control variable after a predetermined time has passed, assuming now that a present value of the manipulating variable is continued, and a fuzzy controlling unit for inferring a manipulating variable at a present time by inputting a deviation value between a preset set-point value and a predicted value. The simulator simulates the controlled object as dead time and a first order delay. Since only the predicted value of the controlled variable is employed as the input of the fuzzy control, fuzzy inference can be simplified and noise resistance can be improved.

The present invention generally relates to a process control method and a process control apparatus. In particular, the present invention is directed to a process control method and a process control apparatus using fuzzy inference or fuzzy reasoning.
Conventionally, a PID control has been widely utilized as a process control. In accordance with this PID control, each of a controlled error or deviation between a set-point value, an integral value of this deviation, and a differential value of this deviation is summed with a control parameter in a weighting manner, and the summed value is used as a manipulating variable. The PID control has such an advantage that when a controlled object is approximated, or simulated to dead time and a first order delay, an experimental setting basis (for instance, Ziegler Nichols' critical sensitivity method) of the control parameter is given, and a relatively simple adjustment is achieved.
Very recently, to further improve control performance, such novel control method as a modern control theory and a fuzzy control have been practically utilized. In particular, this fuzzy control is one of the most practical control methods which have been utilized since 1980.
In the conventional fuzzy control applications to the fuzzy process control method, both of a controlled error and a variation contained in the controlled errors are employed as input values (see Japanese publication "FUZZY CONTROL, SYSTEM & CONTROL" written by Yamazaki and Suzano, Vol. 28, No. 7, 1984, pages 442 to 446). In case that there are 5 prepositions (positive/large, positive/medium, zero, negative/medium, negative/large) in the fuzzy inference, a total number of combinations made by fuzzy rules in which deviation and a change in this deviation are employed as input values, becomes 1 to 25. In this case, the number of fuzzy set, namely the quantity of membership function is such that the number of conditional parts is 10, and the number of conclusion parts is 5.
In the conventional fuzzy controls, since two input values of the controlled error and the variation thereof are entered, the total number of fuzzy rules with respect to two input values becomes 25, whereas that for one input values becomes only 5. As a result, a cumbersome system construction is required with respect to adjustments of membership functions, and also a lengthy calculation time is required for the conventional fuzzy control. Moreover, since the variation contained in the controlled errors is utilized as the input value, an adverse influence caused by noise is given to the conventional fuzzy control. When a controlled object contains dead time, control performance of the conventional fuzzy control is lowered.

Process control method and system with employment of fuzzy inference


A decoding device for an absolute positioning code is provided. The decoding device includes a linear feedback shift register (LFSR), a lookup table (LUT) circuit, a counter circuit, and a computation circuit. The LFSR includes n registers, for loading the absolute positioning code with a first frequency. The LFSR performs shifting operation according to a clock signal having a second frequency greater than or equal to the first frequency. The LUT circuit outputs a lookup result and a valid flag according to values stored in the n registers. The lookup result has k different data, k≦(2n−1). The counter circuit resets according to the valid flag, and performs counting operation according to the clock signal to generate a counting result. The computation circuit performs calculation according to the lookup result and the counting result to generate a decoding result when the valid flag indicates valid.

Optical encoders (such as rotary encoder and optical scale, optical scale will be used for representing optical encoders throughout the following description) may be divided into incremental output and absolute output according to the output data type. The absolute output optical scale has the advantages of capability of reading the absolute position, no accumulation error incurred, and not losing the position information after power off. The absolute output optical scales are widely used in computerized numerical control (CNC), servo drive, robots, and devices where displacement information needs to be measured. The signal obtained by the optical scale requires an appropriate decoder to extract position information of the device under test. There is a need for a decoding device and a decoding method that can be applied to the absolute output type optical scales.

Decoding device and method for absolute positioning code

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A portable consumer device, such as a mobile phone or a tablet computer, may be configured to collect measurements data associated with at least one of movement of the portable consumer device or orientation of the portable consumer device, as well as data associated with an external environment of the portable consumer device. The collected data may be evaluated in order to determine motion of the portable consumer device over time and contextual information associated with the portable consumer device. A user activity may be determined based upon the determined motion and the determined contextual information. As desired, the user activity may be evaluated in association with a suitable application scenario, such as a gaming application scenario.

Portable devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, are typically utilized to execute a wide variety of different applications. With the integration of inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, into portable devices, functionality is provided for detected device movements. Accordingly, there is an opportunity for improved portable devices and associated applications that make use of inertial sensors. Additionally, there is an opportunity for portable device applications that identify and process user activities based at least in part upon detected motion and/or orientation in combination with contextual information associated with a portable device environment.

Detection of user activities by a portable device


A liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display device are provided. The liquid crystal display panel includes a first substrate having a plurality of pixel electrodes. Each of the pixel electrodes includes a horizontal trunk electrode and a vertical trunk electrode through which a pixel unit corresponding to the pixel electrode is divided into four light-transmitting areas, and two adjacent light-transmitting areas have different alignment directions. The pixel electrode also includes a plurality of branch electrodes located in the four light-transmitting areas. The branch electrodes are parallel to the horizontal trunk electrode or the vertical trunk electrode.

UV2A (ultraviolet vertical alignment) is a technology which uses ultraviolet light to align the liquid crystals of a liquid crystal display panel with a vertical alignment. The principle is that an alignment film is coated on a glass substrate, where the alignment film is made by UV-reactive polymer materials. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light, a polymeric backbone chain on a surface of the alignment film is inclined in the direction of ultraviolet irradiation, so that the liquid crystal molecule can tilt in the direction of the backbone chain. This technology is mainly used in vertical alignment mode liquid crystal displays with a large viewing angle, so as to improve an aperture ratio, a contrast ratio, a response speed, and other characteristics of the liquid crystal displays with large viewing angles.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a swastika-shaped dark streak in a liquid crystal display panel of the prior art. Due to the UV2A technology using a special orthometric photoalignment, the "" (swastika-shaped) dark streak is formed on a sub-pixel when the liquid crystal display panel is in a bright state. The appearance of the swastika-shaped dark streak will reduce light transmittance of the liquid crystal display panel. Furthermore, the existing liquid crystal display panel will have a serious washout (commonly known as white washing) problem when viewed from a side. That is, when viewed from the side, since the screen turns white as the brightness becomes higher, display quality will significantly decrease.
Accordingly, it is necessary to provide a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display device to solve the technical problem in the prior art.

Liquid crystal display panel and liquid crystal display device

SHENZHEN CHINA STAR OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


An apparatus for molding tires of vehicles, especially motor vehicles, comprises support means on which a multi-part form is mounted defining a cavity for molding a tire, wherein the inner surface of the cavity is defined by a split core and the outer surface is in part defined by an upper and lower mold part arranged at opposite ends of and coaxially with the core to define with the latter bead and side wall regions of the tire, with at least one of the mold parts axially movable with respect to the core, a plurality of mold segments respectively carried by segment carriers in which the segments have inner surfaces formed to define the tread surface region of the tire, and means for moving the segment carriers and therewith the segments carried thereon toward, respectively away from the core.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for molding of tires for vehicles, especially motor vehicles. The apparatus comprises a multi-part mold defining a cavity for molding the tire. The inner surface of the cavity is determined by a split core and the outer surface by an upper and a lower mold part which are arranged coaxially with the core and which abut against opposite ends of the latter, with at least one of the aforementioned parts axially movable with respect to the others and forming in the assembled position the bead and side wall region of the tire, as well as a plurality of segments shaped to form the tread surface of the tire, whereby the segments are connected to segment carriers which are movable toward and away from the core.
In apparatus of the aforementioned kind known in the art different regions of the tire, especially the bead and side wall region as well as the tread region have been molded at separate stations. In this construction devices for transport from one to the other station are required so that these known apparatus are rather complicated and the expenditure for such apparatus is considerably high.
A decisive improvement of such apparatus has been made with a so far not published construction in which the whole tire is molded in a single station. In this construction, the parts of the mold for forming the tread region of the tire to be molded are composed of tiltable segments. These segments are mounted on segment carriers which are tangentially tiltable away with respect to the essential circular form about axes arranged below the latter. This apparatus has, however, the disadvantage that it can hardly be used for molding tires of large dimensions since the individual segments, after the molding operation, may not be tilted away from the produced tire without damaging, respectively deforming the same.
According to a further not yet prepublished suggestion, an improvement of the above-mentioned apparatus has been obtained in which the tire is likewise molded in a single station. In this construction the bead and side wall regions of the tire are molded in one operation, whereby the mold cavity in the region of the tread surface is defined by a mold part formed by a plurality of segments. Each of these segments is mounted on a segment carrier and the segment carriers are arranged about the core, whereby each segment carrier is turnable about an axis parallel to the axis of the core and carries at least an additional segment of different configuration for forming the final tread surface region of the tire. The segment carriers are movable in radial direction relative to the core and are in this construction after the first molding step moved radially outwardly and subsequently the carriers are turned about their axes so that another group of segments is directed towards the core, whereafter the segment carriers are moved inwardly in radial direction for forming the tire to its final form. This construction can be used also for molding of large tires, but it has the disadvantage to require a very large space in radial direction, especially during molding of large tires, for the mold carriers which carry two oppositely arranged segments.

Apparatus for molding tires of motor vehicles


For shredding EDP printouts in the form of zig-zag-folded web stacks, a feed mechanism is provided, which has several compartments rearwardly inclined somewhat with respect to the vertical. The webs are removed from the stacks standing therein via the web guide formed by the leading edge of the compartment. A projection formed by a wire crossbeam holds back the stack if it is drawn upwards during removal.

Whereas normally documents, which is understood to mean flat materials and written matter of random type, are fed as individual sheets or stacks to a document shredder, it frequently arises that entire stacks of flat material webs in the form of folded layers, e.g. printouts from data processing equipment, have to be destroyed as a result of their confidentiality. However, shredders are not always designed to be able to shred such stacks into small pieces.

Schleicher & Co. International Aktiengesellschaft