Metallic tube, pipe and conduit are made in a continuous process that includes a zinc galvanization stage, a first passivation stage, a second passivation stage and a third passivation stage. A colorant is added to the tube, pipe or conduit during the continuous manufacturing process, and the colorant imparts the appearance of a color, such as red. The continuous movement of the tube, pipe or conduit is not halted during normal operation of the tube, pipe or conduit manufacturing and coloring process.

The present invention concerns shaped metallic products such as steel pipe, tube or conduit made in a continuous manufacturing process that, along with forming the metallic shaped product, adds color to the outer surface of the product. Metallic products such as tubes, pipes and conduit containing the appearance of color are extremely useful. Colored tubes may be used to designate the purpose of the tube. For example, red-colored tube can be used to contain the electrical wires for fire detection and response systems; blue-colored tube can be used to contain drinking water or coolant; yellow-colored tube can be used to contain and transport hot water. The addition of color to tube assists in installation and inspection of the tube and aids in easy identification of tube that is used for a particular purpose.
Previously, manufacture of colored tube generally involved a non-continuous process. In previous processes, metal strip was formed into tube in one process and then removed from the forming process. Color was then added to the tube in a different process. The coloration process occurred at a separate location and a separate time from the tube manufacturing process. The process for making the tube and the process for adding coloration, in the previous processes, were not part of the same continuous process. The use of separate processes for making and adding color to tube has the drawbacks of decreasing the efficiency and increasing the cost of the process of creating colored tube, and preventing the colorant from being added to the tube as part of the tube manufacturing process
In the current invention, the addition of color to the tube, pipe or conduit occurs in the same continuous process as that in which the tube, pipe or conduit is formed. The coloration process is part of the continuous manufacturing process. The tube, pipe or conduit does not cease moving and is not cut until after the coloration process in the current invention. It is understood that while the word "tube" is frequently used in this description, the description applies equally to pipe, conduit and other metallic cylinders and columns as well as tube. In addition, while the specific examples mentioned in the preferred embodiments frequently refer to tube, the present invention includes pipe, conduit, columns, cylinders, squares, rectangles, solids and non-solid shapes (such as bars, beams, strips or other non-solid shapes) as well as tube.
The current invention has many benefits, including increased efficiency, decreased need for space for equipment, decreased labor and decreased difficulties involved in transferring formed and cut tube to a coloration station. The current invention provides for clearly visible tube systems, eases and saves time with installation and inspection, and assists with future upgrades and maintenance of tube systems. The current invention decreases the labor and material costs associated with painting and creates greater system integrity.

Continuously manufactured colored metallic products and method of manufacture of such products


A wheel chock system includes a chock, a sensor disposed within the chock to sense the proximity to the tire, an outside light box, and an inside control panel. Lamps on the outside light box provide a visual indication as to when the chock is in close proximity to the wheel. Lights on the inside control panel provide a visual indication of the loading dock safety status. The wheel chock system further includes a controller coupled to the inside control panel, programmed to change visual indications of both the outside light signal box and the inside control panel, based at least on the sensor and a loading dock door sensor. The wheel chock system further includes a camera positioned to view the tire and the chock and convey an image of the tire and the chock to a display on or near the inside control panel.

The application relates to loading docks and particularly to a system and method for improving performance of loading dock wheel chock safety procedures.
Loading docks are among the most dangerous locations in a commercial space. Tractor trailer trucks need to maneuver outside the loading dock with limited space and limited visibility. Inside, fork lift trucks are moving about to and from the loading dock, also with limited space and limited visibility. Pedestrians can also be moving about both outside and inside the loading dock door.
One of the worst case accident scenarios at a loading dock can occur when a trailer unexpectedly moves away from the dock. If a forklift is between a surface of the dock and the entry to the trailer when the trailer unexpectedly moves, in almost all cases the forklift falls about four feet to the surface below the door. The forklift operator can be seriously injured, or worse, a portion of the forklift can fall on the driver causing in a fatal crush injury.
In response to such accidents, there are chock related OSHA regulations, as well as local regulations, and commercial rules regarding chock use at loading docks.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method is described which permits a user of an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) in an SNA type network in which communication with the host processor employs LU 6.2 advanced program to program protocols and in which the host processor does not assign a dedicated virtual machine to the user during the period the user is active on the system, to notify the system of the user's current terminal address so that distributed applications programs having component parts distributed at the host and the IWS may be executed. When resident counterpart programs of distributed applications are executed by assigning each LU 6.2 conversation to an idle virtual machines from a preestablished pool of virtual machines created by the host processor, rather than to a dedicated virtual machine, the prior art methods that are based on associating the current address of the user with the address of the dedicated virtual are no longer operable. The new method does not require the user to notify the system that the user's IWS is active, since the user may want to run programs that do nor involve the host processor and may not want to be distracted with communications from the host and other users. In accordance with the new method a distributed application is provided at the terminal which is invoked by the user when a decision is made to provide the current terminal address to the host. The distributed application issues an LU 6.2 ALLOCATE verb requesting a conversation with the counterpart program resident at the host. The counterpart program is executed at the host by a virtual machine from the pool and establishes a data structure where the USERID of the user and the terminal address of the IWS are associated. The data structure is stored at a location which is scanned by all subsequent LU 6.2 conversation requests from the host and other users for a match of USERIDs. When a match occurs the associated current terminal address of the USERID is inserted into the request and sent to the IWS by the system.

The prior an discloses a variety of computer networks. The IBM System Journal, Volume 22, Number 4, 1983 includes a series of articles devoted to a review of the IBM System Network Architecture (SNA). On page 345 of that publication a network is defined as "a configuration of terminals, controllers, and processors and the links that connect them. When such a configuration supports user applications involving data processing and information exchange and conforms to the specifications of the System Network Architecture it is called an SNA network. Essentially SNA defines logical entities that are related to the physical entities in a network and specifies the rules for interactions among these logical entities.
The logical entities of an SNA network include network addressable units and the path control network that connects them. Network addressable units communicate with one another using logical connections called "sessions." The three types of Network Addressable Units (NAUs) are the Logical Unit (LU), the Physical Unit (PU), and the System Services Control Point (SSCP) which are defined as follows;
Logical Unit (LU). An LU is a port through which end users may access the SNA network. An end user uses an LU to communicate with another end user and to request services of a System Services Control Point (SSCP).
Physical Unit (PU). A PU is a component that manages the resources of a node in cooperation with an SSCP.
System Services Control Point (SSCP). This is a focal point for configuration management, problem determination and directory services for end users. SSCPs may have sessions with LUs and PUs. When such a session occurs, the LU or PU is in the domain of the SSCP. In addition to sessions with LUs and PUs, SSCPs may also communicate with each other to coordinate the initiation and the termination of sessions between Logical Units and in different domains."
From the hardware standpoint, a simple network comprises a host system having a processing unit and a plurality of remote terminals that are assigned to individual users. The remote terminals are selectively connectable to the host system through one or more communication links. These links may comprise merely a coaxial cable, a dedicated telephone line, or in some cases, a satellite communication link.
The host processing unit most always has an operating system which supports the creation of a large number of virtual machines or the functional equivalents, each of which is assigned, on request, to an end user. A virtual machine processes tasks for the assigned end user, by time sharing the host processor hardware of the host system. Some hosts systems may include more than one hardware processor so that true simultaneous processing occurs at the host since a plurality of processors are running in parallel. More often, there is merely one hardware processor that "concurrently" runs data processing tasks for the virtual machines by a time sharing technique. This is transparent to the end users at the terminals.
In prior art networking systems, a user of the system is assigned a USERID by the system administrator at the time the user is first authorized to use the system. The user is also assigned a Password at that time, which is required to be presented to the system each time the User "Logs On" to the system. The system administrator has entered the user's USERID, and Password into the system. If the information that is provided by the Log On process does not match the information entered into the system by the administrator, the user in not allowed access to the system. If the information is correct then the system allows access. As pan of the Log On process the User is permanently assigned the exclusive use of a Virtual Machine by the system until a Log Off process is completed. The name given to the assigned Virtual machine is the USERID of the user that is Logging On. The system address of the terminal being used by the user for the Log On process is also transmitted to the assigned virtual machine and stored as part of the Log On process. Any subsequent communications intended for the user, require only the user's USERID as part of the massage address. The message is transferred to and processed by the assigned virtual machine and sent to the user at the terminal address stored by the dedicated virtual machine at the time of Log On.
This method of assigning a user's USERID as the name of the virtual machine that has been assigned to that user and storing the user's current terminal address in the assigned virtual machine, avoids the address conversion problem of converting USERIDs to terminal addresses in order to deliver a message addressed to a specified USERID. With this prior art approach the system only requires the USERID of the intended recipient in order to deliver a message. When a message is received for a user it is stored and a check is made to determine if the message can be delivered immediately. If the user is on line at the time the system receives the message, the system will indicate this after scanning a relative short list of virtual machines that were dedicated to specific users at Log On, and proceed accordingly to deliver the message by causing the one dedicated virtual machine having the name USERID to transmit the message to the user's current terminal address stored by that dedicated virtual machine. Otherwise, as part of the Log On process, the system checks the list of undeliverable messages, for messages addressed to the user and advises the newly signed on user that there is a waiting message stored in the system.
Two general types of terminals are employed in data processing networks. The first is referred to as a "dumb terminal" in that it comprises merely a keyboard and a display device and little or no processing capability other than that required to make a connection with the host system. The second type of terminal is referred to as an Intelligent Work Station (IWS) and is provided with its own processor unit, Operating System and supporting peripheral devices. The terms IWS and Personal Computer (PC) are often used interchangeably. With the ready availability of PCs having very attractive price performance characteristics, most new networks are implemented with IWS type terminals and many of the older networks are being modified with the replacement of dumb terminals with IWS type terminals.
Providing each end user on the network with its own processing capability relieves the host CPU from doing many of the data processing tasks that were previously done at the host. The nature of the tasks that are processed by the host CPU therefore has changed and more sophisticated applications such as electronic mail and electronic calendaring are now implemented on the network under the control of the host system. Both of these applications involve what is referred to as distributed application programs, in that one part of the application program is resident on the host system and another is resident on the IWS terminal.
Many of the current data processing networks are designed in accordance with the IBM SNA architecture which was first described in 1974. Since then various new functions and services have been added. As suggested earlier, SNA networks can be viewed as a plurality of nodes interconnected by data links. At each of these nodes, path control elements send information packets, referred to as Path Information Units (PIUs), between resource managers called Logical Units. The logical connections of the paths are called a session. A transport network for data is therefore defined by the path control elements and the data link control elements.
Nodes can be connected by a plurality of links and comprise a plurality of LUs. Various types of LUs sessions and protocols have been established within the framework of the SNA architecture. There are three general classes of sessions. The first class is unspecified by SNA. The second class involves terminals and the third involves program to program communication. For example LU 6 provides SNA defined inter-program communication protocols which avoids the limitations of terminal LU types such as LU 2 and LU 7. LU 6.2 is referred to as Advanced Program to Program Communication or APPC protocols.
Logical Units arc more than message ports. LUs provide operating system services such as program to program communication involving one or more local programs. Each application program views the LUs as a local operating system and the network of loosely coupled LUs connected by sessions as a distributed operating system.
The LU allocates a plurality of resources to its programs, which are dependent on the particular hardware and its configuration. Some of the resources that are made available arc remote while others arc local, i.e., associated with the same LU as the application program. The sessions are considered local resources at each LU, but arc shared between particular LUs.
The control function of an LU is resource allocation. Programs ask one for access to a resource. Sessions which carry messages between LUs or programs running on LUs are considered shared resources. A session is divided so that a plurality of conversations are run serially.
Two LUs connected by a session have a shared responsibility in allocating sessions to application programs for use as "conversations." The application programs are therefore sometimes referred to as "transaction programs."
The successful connection between LUs occurs as a result of a common set of protocols which function first to activate a session between two LUs and second to facilitate the exchange of message data.
The SNA format and protocol reference manual designated SC30-3112, published by the IBM Corporation describes SNA by describing, for example, with programming language declarations, the format of messages that flow between network entities and the programs that generate, manipulate, translate, send and return messages.
The SNA transaction program reference manual for LU 6.2 referred to as GC30-3084, published by the IBM Corporation defines the verbs that describe the functions provided by the implementing products.
Intelligent work stations that are connected to a SNA type network and employ an LU 6.2 protocol to process an application program that is distributed between the IWS and the host system operate efficiently so long as the operating system of the IWS does not run more than one application concurrently at the terminal. However, if the IWS is operating under an operating system such as OS/2, which allows an WS such an IBM PS/2 personal computer to run concurrent application programs which are distributed, the advantage of concurrent operation on the PS/2 is lost. The advantage is lost because at the host, the separate transactions which are run concurrently at the terminal become serialized. The serialization of the transaction occurs because the host creates only one virtual machine that is permanently associated with the user ID and the specific terminal as long as the session is active.
In order to avoid the serialization at the host, the second application being run at the terminal has to be run with a different user ID in order to have a separate virtual machine established at the host that will be dedicated solely to the second application.
The invention described in the cross-referenced application Ser. No. 07/261,861 is directed to a method to permit two or more distributed application programs that are being run concurrently on one intelligent work station of a data processing network to be executed on separate virtual machines created by the host system to prevent the applications from becoming serialized at the host and to allow each to be run concurrently with the other on both the host and the terminal.
With the method of the cross-referenced application, the host system creates a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) that are brought to a run ready state prior to and in anticipation of being assigned to a distributed application program for processing a task which has been defined in said distributed application program, part of which is resident on the host system and the companion part of which is resident on one of the IWS end user terminals. The pool of run ready VM machines are preferably created automatically at the time that the host system is initialized under the control of a pool manager, which is a program resident on the host system, whose other main function is to assign an idle VM machine from the pool in response to an end user request that identifies a distributed application program, a previously assigned Logical Unit name and a USERID. The VM is assigned only for a period of time required to complete one LU 6.2 conversation. At the end of the conversation the VM machine is returned to the pool for subsequent assignment to another, possibly different, application program and user. The method allows two distributed application programs being executed concurrently on the IWS to run concurrently on the host in two separate virtual machines even though the conversation requests have the same USERID.
While the above system improves the processing of distributed application programs, it requires a new method to determine the current terminal location of an on-line user. It will be recalled that in the prior art method, the dedicated virtual machine that was named the USERID of the current user, was used to store the current terminal address of the user. This dedicated machine has effectively been eliminated and replaced by a pool of virtual machines which are not permanently associated with either one user or one terminal address. Since virtual machines from the pool are assigned dynamically to process relatively short LU 6.2 type conversations between the host and the terminals, and then returned to the pool, it is not practical to use the prior art method of determining the current terminal address of an active user by naming an assigned virtual machine from the pool with the USERID of the user and storing the user's current terminal address in this virtual machine.
The method of the present invention, allows the current terminal address of a specific user in an SNA system employing a pool of virtual machines organized according to the teaching of the above Cross-referenced applications to be determined only after the intelligent workstation terminal user has decided that the host system or other system users may communicate to the user's intelligent workstation.

Method for establishing current terminal addresses for system users processing distributed application programs in an SNA LU 6.2 network environment

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention provides optical polarization interference filters which employ chiral smectic liquid crystal (CSLC) cells as electronically rotatable retarders. The filters of the present invention are improved in that they are optimized for increased spectral discrimination, uniqueness of spectral outputs and efficient use of CSLC elements. The filters of the present invention include improved single and multiple stage filters. Improved discretely tunable and continuously tunable filters are provided. With respect to filters having one or more stages that contain a series of birefringent elements which are either fixed birefringent elements or active CSLC cells, this invention provides designs which optimize the number of pure spectral outputs which are unique. This optimization relates to the relative order of elements in a stage, the pattern of switching of the active CSLC cells, and the retardations of the CSLC cells in a stage. In a specific embodiment, this invention provides an improved tunable filter that substantially retains the transmissions of a Lyot-type multiple stage filter without requiring the thicknesses of the active CSLC cells to increase geometrically. Continuously tunable filters of this invention include those having a stage which has an analog variable retarder which is the combination of an achromatic quarter-waveplate and one or more analog CSLC cells in series.

Birefringent or polarization interference filters were first used in solar research where sub-angstrom spectral resolution is required to observe solar prominences. The first type of birefringent filter was invented by Lyot (Lyot, B. (1933) Comptes rendus 197:1593) in 1933. The basic Lyot filter (Yariv, A. and Yeh, P. (1984) Optical Waves in Crystals, Chapter 5, John Wiley and Sons, New York) can be decomposed into a series of individual filter stages. Each stage consists of a birefringent element placed between parallel polarizers. The exit polarizer for a particular stage acts as the input (or entrance) polarizer for the following stage. In a Lyot-type filter, fixed birefringent elements are oriented with optic axes parallel to the interface and oriented at 45.degree. to the direction of the input polarization. The thickness, and therefore the retardation of the birefringent elements, increases geometrically in powers of two for each successive stage in the conventional Lyot geometry Lyot-like filters in which thicknesses of the birefringent elements in successive stages increase in various arithmetic, geometric and other mathematic progressions, such as in a Fibinacci series (i.e., 1,1,2,3,5 . . . ) have been implemented. Multiple stage devices have been demonstrated with high resolution (0.1 angstrom) and broad free-spectral-range (FSR) (entire visible spectrum) (Title, A. M. and Rosenberg, W. J. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:815).
More recently, research in optical filters has focused on tuning the wavelength of peak transmission. An optical filter which can be rapidly tuned has applications in remote sensing, signal processing, displays and wavelength division multiplexing. Tunability of otherwise fixed frequency Lyot filters has been suggested and implemented using various techniques (Billings, B. H. (1948) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 37:738; Evans, J. W. (1948) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39:229; Title, A. M. and Rosenberg, W. J. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:815). These include mechanical methods such as stretching plastic sheets in series with the birefringent elements (Billings, B. H. (1948) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 37:738), mechanically rotating waveplates or sliding wedge plates (Title, A. M. and Rosenberg, W. J. (1981) Opt. Eng. and Evans, J. W. (1948) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 39:229), changing the retardation of the birefringent elements by temperature tuning the birefringence, or changing the birefringence using electro-optic modulators (Billings, B. H. (1948) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 37:738). Temperature tuning and mechanical tuning methods are inherently slow. Electro-optic tuning of known filter devices, while much more rapid, requires large drive voltages and is limited in bandwidth by material breakdown voltages for the thin birefringent elements required (Weis, R. S. and Gaylord, T. K. (1987) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 4:1720).
Other electronically tunable filters, which have been demonstrated include acousto-optic tunable filters (AOTF) (Harris, S. E. and Wallace, R. W. (1969) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 59:744; Chang, I. C. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:824), electro-optic tunable filters (EOTF) (Pinnow, D. A. et al. (1979) Appl. Phys. Lett. 34:391; Lotspeich, J. F. et al. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:830), multiple-cavity Fabry-Perot devices (Gunning, W. (1982) Appl. Opt. 21:3129) and hybrid filters such as the Fabry-Perot electro-optic Solc filter (Weis, R. S. and Gaylord, T. K. (1987) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 4:1720).
The operation of the AOTF is based on the interaction of light with a sound wave in a photoelastic medium. Strong acousto-optic interaction only occurs when the Bragg condition is satisfied. Therefore, only one spectral component of incident radiation is diffracted from the structure at a given acoustic frequency. Tuning is accomplished by changing the acoustic frequency. This was the first electrically tunable filter, which succeeded in varying the transmission wavelength from 400 nm to 700 nm by changing the acoustic frequency from 428 MHz to 990 MHz with a bandwidth of approximately 80 nm (Harris, S. E. and Wallace, R. W. (1969) J. Opt. Soc. Am. 59:744). Current AOTF's have 12.degree. fields of view, high throughput, high resolution and broad tunability (Chang, I. C. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:824). However, power requirements are high for many applications (on the order of 10 watts/cm.sup.2) and frequency shifts induced by the filter prohibit the use of AOTF's in laser cavities. Furthermore, in AOTF's there is a tradeoff between resolution and tuning speed.
The electro-optic tunable filter (EOTF) consists of a Y-cut LiTaO.sub.3 platelet, placed between crossed polarizers, with an array of separately addressable finger electrodes (Pinnow, D. A. et al. (1979) Appl. Phys. Lett. 34:391). Tunability is accomplished by applying a spatially periodic (sinusoidal) voltage to the 100 electrodes. Current applications of this device, however, utilize more elaborate programmable passband synthesis techniques (Lotspeich, J. F. et al. (1981) Opt. Eng. 20:830). While the power requirements for the EOTF are low, it suffers from a small clear aperture and field-of-view. This is also the main disadvantage of the Fabry-Perot devices.
Color switching has been described in liquid crystal displays which incorporate dichroic dyes (see: e.g. Aftergut et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,581,608). Buzak U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,841 refers to a color filter switchable between three output colors incorporating a variable retarder which is a twisted nematic liquid crystal cell. Nematic liquid crystals have also been used for tuning optical filters (Kaye, W. I., U.S. Pat. No. 4,394,069; Tarry, H. A. (1975) Elect. Lett. 18:47; Gunning, W. (1980) Proc. SPIE 268:190; and Wu, S. (1989) Appl. Opt. 28:48). A disadvantage of these filters is their slow tuning speed (.about.100 ms), which is a particular problem in high resolution applications since the switching speed decreases as the order of the retarder increases. These filters are also limited in spatial resolution and angular viewing capability.
The surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) cell has been shown to possess properties useful in optical shutters and a number of other opto-electronic device applications requiring high contrast ratio or large modulation depth. These include electro-optic shutters, spatial light modulators for opto-electronic computing, and flat panel display devices. In such devices, the speed of response is often important. This response speed is given approximately by the equation: ##EQU1## where .tau. is the optical response (10%-90%) to an applied electric field of magnitude E, .eta. is the orientational viscosity, and P is the ferroelectric polarization density. FLC cells combine moderately fast switching speeds, with low voltage requirements and high contrast.
The physics and operation of the surface stabilized FLC (SSFLC) cells have been extensively described (Clark, N. A. et al. (1983) Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst. 94:213; and in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,367,924, 4,563,059, 4,813,767, 4,840,463 and 4,958,916 all of Clark and Lagerwall). An SSFLC cell is typically formed of uniformly-spaced transparent or semi-transparent retaining walls of an inert substrate, like glass. The inside surface of the substrate walls is provided with transparent or semi-transparent electrodes. A FLC composition, often a mixture of components, is inserted between the uniformly-space transparent electrodes and the FLC molecules are aligned with respect to the substrate walls and electrodes. In an SSFLC, smectic layers are aligned perpendicular to the substrate walls which bound the FLC layer. In a SmC* SSFLC the molecular director n, i.e., the optic axis of the cell, makes an angle .alpha. to the smectic layer normal ( z) in the plane of the substrate walls. Application of an appropriate electric field to the cell electrodes allows selection between two n orientation states separated by 2.alpha.. For many SmC* FLC mixtures, .alpha.=.+-.22.5.degree., and such SmC* SSFLC cells can act like retarders which can be electronically rotated by 45.degree.. The voltage requirements for SSFLC switching devices are modest (.+-.10 V), and power consumption is quite low because the voltage need not be applied to maintain the FLC in the switched state, i.e., the devices are bistable (Clark, N. A. and Lagerwall, S. T. (1980) Appl. Phys. Lett. 36:899). Typical switching times for SmC* SSFLC cells are <44 .mu.s at room temperature (ZLI-3654 mixture available from E. Merck, D-6100 Darmstadt 1, Frankfurter, Strabe, 250, F.R.G.).
Light valves have also been based upon the so called electroclinic effect in chiral smectic A (SmA*) LC materials. These devices exhibit several attractive features (see, Anderson et al. (1987) Appl. Phys. Lett. 51:640), including very fast response and voltage regulated gray scale. A number of SmA* materials have been shown to display an electroclinic effect when incorporated into SSFLC type cells. The applied voltage induces a rotation of the optic axis in these materials in an analog fashion up to a maximum .alpha..sub.MAX. The effect is described as being linear in applied voltage with very rapid response. SmA* materials having .alpha..sub.MAX up to about 22.5.degree. are known in the art, although .alpha..sub.MAX for most SmA* materials is considerably less than 22.5.degree..
The distorted helix ferroelectric (DHF) effect has been described with smectic C* liquid crystals having a short pitch (see: Ostrovski and Chigrinov (1980) Krystallografiya 25:560; Ostrovski et al. in Advances in Liquid Crystal research and Application, (L. Bata, ed.) Pergamon, Oxford; Funfschilling and Schadt (1989) J. Appl. Phys. 66:3877). In SSFLC cells incorporating certain short-pitch materials, the helix of the material is not suppressed, and thus the helix can be distorted by the application of an electric field. This distortion results in a electric field-dependent, spatially-averaged change in the tilt angle of the material coupled with a voltage-dependent variation in spatially averaged birefringence. DHF cells are attractive since induced tilt angles as high as about .+-.38.degree. can be attained with applied voltages lower than those required for SmA* electroclinic and SmC* SSFLC cells. Beresnev et al., EPO Patent Application EP 309,774, published Apr. 5, 1989, describe DHF cells. DHF materials are further described in Buchecker et al., EP 339,414, published Nov. 2, 1989.
Ozaki et al. (1985) Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. (part 24 (suppl.24-3):63 refers to a high speed color switching element in which dichroic dyes are mixed with ferroelectric liquid crystals. Color switches and or displays which combine color filters and ferroelectric liquid crystal cell shutters have been described. See: e.g. Seikimura et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,712,874; Takao et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,743; Yamazaki et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,776; Yokono et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,773,737.
Carrington et al. (1989) Second International Conference on Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals Program and Abstracts (Goteborg, Sweden, 27-30 June 1989) Abstract 015 refers to rapid switching of spatial arrays of FLC two color switches in color displays.
Lagerwall et al. (1989) "Ferroelectric Liquid Crystals: The Development of Devices" Ferroelectrics 94:3-62 is a recent review of the use of FLC cells in device applications. In a section called "SSFLC Color" the reviewers refer to color display (e.g. for television applications). Matsumoto et al. (1988) SID88 Digest, 41, refers to color generation via pixel subdivision using FLC cells. Each pixel of a display is divided into three (or more) sub-pixels of blue, green and red. Disadvantages of this technique for color generation include a reduction in resolution and the complexity of fabrication of large, high resolution displays. Ross (1988) International Display Research Conference (1988) 185 refers to color sequential backlighting using FLC cells. This method is implemented by switching between blue, green and red images at sufficient rates that the eye averages the primary color images. The method involves switching of a wavelength selective source synchronously with images on a liquid crystal display. Three primary colors (usually red, green and blue) define an area in color space. Desired colors in the area can be displayed by controlling the level of primary colors in each pixel. Backlighting liquid crystal displays uses fluorescent tubes with fast phosphors (White (1988) Phys. Technol. 19:91).
Johnson and Sharp in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/522,215 and PCT application WO91/06888 published May 16, 1991, describe birefringent or polarization interference filters employing chiral smectic liquid crystal cells as electronically rotatable retarders. Discretely tunable and continuously tunable single and multiple stage filters are described.

Chiral smectic liquid crystal polarization interference filters

The University of Colorado Foundation, Inc.


Eddy current testing is performed at known locations on a metal object having recurring features to provide a data string that is applied to a signal processor that determines a template for one feature and conducts a correlation operation with the template and the data string to create a second string with peaks that periodically appear between two locations. The average width between those two locations is determined. The average value for each location in the second data string along the average distance between peaks is computed. The actual value of the second string at each location is combined with the average computed value to produce a deviation value that shows faults without a superimposed average geometry value. The location of the fault is indicated in response to the deviation signal.

Eddy current testing is one way to test metal parts for cracks and other flaws. U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,651 discusses the use of eddy current probes for that purpose. Generally speaking, eddy current testing involves a process by which the metal part is exposed to a magnetic field, producing electric currents in the part. The path taken by these currents is disturbed by a flaw, altering the overall field in the area of the flaw. By comparing the field at different locations to a known field for a flawless area, the flaw can be identified.
In a gas turbine engine, compressor, turbine and fan blades are removably attached to alloy disks in so-called "broaches", which are specially machined slots along the outer edge of the disk that receive an identically profiled blade base. Cracks can be present in the curved regions in the broaches, but the eddy current patterns produced by the broaches can mask the crack when conventional eddy current testing techniques are used.

Detecting cracks in non-uniform areas of metal parts including position correlation


The telescopic device for towing a board for board sports includes a base mounted on the board; and a skid with an in-use position positioned spaced apart from the base, and an out-of-use position positioned close to the base. There is a mechanism for mounting the skid so as to slide relative to the base between the in-use position and the out-of-use position and mechanism for retaining the skid in the in-use position, that includes part of the skid and an additional retaining device that is part of the mechanism for mounting the skid. The mechanism for retaining has an active position for holding the skid in the in-use position. The active position is intended for a movement stress, which is exerted on the skid in the direction of the out-of-use position. There is an inactive retaining position intended for a stress that is greater than a predetermined stress.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of the accessories for boards for board sports. It relates more particularly to a device for towing a board for board sports, such as a ski, made integral with the rear end of the board or ski, which portion is referred to as the heel, which permits the skier to tow the skis, with the spatulas in the palm of the hand, the latter being held together, soles against soles in a position inclined by about 30 degrees with respect to the horizontal and resting on the ground through the rolling element.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
In a winter sports resort the transport of the skis usually carried out by the skier at arms' length or on the shoulders can prove difficult or very difficult, depending on distances to walk. The parking areas in the ski resorts are becoming increasingly larger and the distances to walk to reach the start of the ski lifts are also becoming increasingly larger and mostly uphill.
From the patent FR 7931057 is known a support for skis facilitating their displacement by rolling. This device is comprised of a wheel mounted on the support and two flanges receiving the ends of the two skis.
From patent CH 672434 is also known a device for towing skis comprised of a wheel mounted on a U-shaped part placed at the end of a ski, then locked by a screw clamp.
The patent application DE 2650077 relates to another device for towing with a wheel fixed to one of the skis comprising a closing case.
The patent application DE 102006026993 relates to yet another device for towing with a wheel fixed to one of the skis comprising a base for fastening to one of the skis. The wheel must be fixed to the base by the user in order to permit him to activate the device.
In the patents cited, the devices are poorly adapted for mounting on skis having curved heels. They have the drawback of being bulky and of having to be transported, for some of them, permanently by the skier in a backpack, and of having to be removed from this bag at the time of their use. They also have the drawback of a more or less long, tedious, even difficult installation in the case of freezing temperatures or snowfall. They must be removed after their use and placed in a tight cover, then in the backpack.

Device for towing a board for board sports


The emissions of nitrogen dioxide and ammonia from cooling towers in geothermal power plants are controlled by contacting the steam condensate used as make-up water for the cooling tower with a zeolite or other molecular sieve to remove ammonia and/or ammonium ions from the condensate before it is passed into the cooling tower.

This invention relates generally to processes for controlling the emissions of nitrogen dioxide and/or ammonia from geothermal power plants and is particularly concerned with a method of removing ammonia and ammonium ions from steam condensate produced in the power plant prior to passing the condensate to an open cooling tower.
General processes by which geothermal brine can be used to generate electric power have, of course, been known for some time. Geothermal brine, having a wellhead temperature of over about 400.degree. F. and a wellhead pressure of over about 400 psig, for example, can be flashed to a reduced pressure to convert some of the water in the brine into steam. Steam produced in this manner is generally used in conventional steam turbine-type power generators to produce electricity. After the steam passes through the turbine, it is normally condensed, and a portion of the condensate is passed to a cooling tower where it serves as make-up water. The "used" geothermal brine generated in the process is most commonly reinjected into the ground to replenish the aquifer from which it was extracted and to prevent ground subsidence. Reinjection of geothermal brine also helps to avoid the problems associated with the disposal of the large amounts of this saline and usually highly-contaminated liquid.
One of the many problems which has added to the overall cost of producing electric power by the use of geothermal brines relates to the undesirable emission of nitrogen dioxide (NO.sub.2) from cooling towers used in the power generating portion of the power plant. The nitrogen dioxide results from the oxidation of ammonia in the steam condensate to nitrites (NO.sub.2 .sup.-) by naturally occurring nitrifying bacteria, the subsequent reduction of the nitrites to nitric oxide (NO) by iron (Fe.sup.+2) with the concomitant production of hydrogen ions, and the oxidation of the nitric oxide to nitrogen dioxide upon contact with air in the cooling tower. Moreover, the formation of these hydrogen ions depresses the pH of the cooling tower waters which results in corrosion of the power plant's cooling system and piping used to dispose of unwanted condensate.
It has been taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,032,284 that emissions of nitrogen dioxide from the cooling towers in geothermal power plants can be substantially avoided by contacting the steam condensate, usually in the cooling tower, with an amount of an oxidizing biocide which is effective to convert substantial amounts of the nitrites formed by oxidation of the ammonia into less reactive nitrate salts. A second nonoxidizing biocide (usually a carbamate) is added to the condensate in amounts and at periodic intervals which have been determined to effectively control the growth of organisms including nitrifying bacteria in the condensate handling system to below problem levels. Unfortunately, the cost of the oxidizing biocide and the carbamate biocide can be as much as $100,000 per year, and therefore this method of control is quite expensive.
As can be seen, there is still a need for new processes to control nitrogen dioxide emissions in the steam condensate handling portions of geothermal brine power plants in an economical manner.

Process for controlling nitrogen dioxide and/or ammonia emissions from geothermal power plants


A method for charging a lead battery is provided. In the method, a SOC is controlled so as to be less than 100%, and when the lead battery has not been charged and discharged for a predetermined time, refresh charge is performed so that the SOC becomes at least 90% or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for charging a battery, and more particularly to a charging method suited for a lead battery carried aboard a vehicle and used for the purpose of starting an engine, turning on a lamp, operating an air conditioner, and the like.
The present invention also relates to a method for determining the life of a battery, and more particularly to a life determination method suited for an on-board lead battery used for the purpose of starting an engine, turning on a lamp, operating an air conditioner, and the like.
The present invention also relates to a method for detecting the state of charge of a lead battery and a method for determining the degradation of a lead battery using the detection method, and more particularly to a state-of-charge detection method and a degradation determination method using the detection method, suited for an on-board lead battery used for the purpose of starting an engine, turning on a lamp, operating an air conditioner, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Batteries such as a lead battery carried aboard a vehicle are used for the purpose of starting an engine, turning on a lamp, and the like. In driving, the batteries are subjected to constant-voltage charge with a predetermined voltage so that the batteries are charged to about 100% or more of full charge. The state of charge of the batteries are hereinafter referred to as SOC. The term xe2x80x9cSOCxe2x80x9d may also refer to a charging rate.
Recently, in order to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles, a system for charging regenerative power in deceleration into a battery, and such a system further operating an air conditioner or the like, which is conventionally energized by the driving force of an engine, using a lead battery, have been proposed.
In order to perform such regenerative charge, a battery needs to be in a SOC in which the battery is kept partially charged, i.e., less than 100% of full charge.
In a lead battery, when charge and discharge are performed at a low level of SOC, degradation is likely to proceed. The degradation is particularly significant when the SOC is low, specifically when charge and discharge are continuously repeated where the SOC is about 50% or less. In this case, at a positive pole, the sulfuric acid concentration of an electrolyte solution is about 15% or less so that the corrosion rate of a positive pole grid made of lead alloy is rapidly increased while, at a negative pole, coarse lead sulfate is produced as a result of discharge so that the discharge capacity of the lead battery is dramatically reduced.
Therefore, when a lead battery is charged and discharged at a low level of SOC, the level of a SOC needs to be about 50% or more. Further, refresh charge needs to be performed at a certain frequency or more so that the SOC is about 100%.
The SOC of a lead battery is typically evaluated based on an open circuit voltage (OCV) of the lead battery. The SOC and OCV of the lead battery has substantially a constant relationship. When the SOC is decreased, the OCV is linearly decreased. When it is detected that the SOC is a predetermined value or less, the lead battery is subjected to refresh charge. Alternatively, the lead battery is subjected to refresh charge at predetermined time intervals.
The degradation of a lead battery due to a reduction in a SOC is involved with the sulfuric acid concentration of an electrolyte solution. Specifically, when a SOC is about 50% or less, the sulfuric acid concentration of an electrolyte solution is about 16% or less. In such a situation, when charge and discharge are performed, the corrosion rate of a positive pole grid made of lead alloy is rapidly increased. This may be responsible for the degradation of the lead battery.
Therefore, a SOC needs to be measured with precision during charging.
As described above, the SOC and OCV of a lead battery has substantially a constant relationship. When the SOC is decreased, the OCV is linearly decreased. By detecting the SOC in accordance with such a relationship, the lead battery can be controlled so that the SOC falls within an appropriate range.
Lead batteries for use in vehicles have been found to be degraded when regenerative charge and discharge are repeated using a large current density when the SOC is low. Such a degradation in performance is not found in alkaline batteries such as a nickel-hydrogen battery, lithium ion secondary batteries, or the like, but is specific to lead batteries. Due to the performance degradation, the lead batteries are unlikely to provide stable use over a long time.
Further, when a lead battery is used at a low temperature of 0xc2x0 C. or less, the viscosity of the electrolyte solution is rapidly increased. This leads to a reduction in a battery reaction rate, resulting in rapid decreases in a discharge capacity and an output voltage.
Furthermore, when a SOC is about 50% or less, the sulfuric acid concentration of an electrolyte solution is lowered. The corrosion rate of a positive pole grid made of lead alloy is rapidly increased. This leads to a reduction in the life of a lead battery.
When an on-board lead battery is degraded due to use, even if the battery is refresh-charged toward a SOC of 100%, the SOC is not increased up to 100%, i.e., the performance of the lead battery is decreased. If such a degraded lead battery, in which even though the battery is refresh-charged toward a SOC of 100%, the SOC is not increased up to 100%, is further used, the lead battery will soon be dead, i.e., cannot be used. Since by how much the lead battery is degraded cannot be clearly detected, the lead battery may unexpectedly die.
When an on-board lead battery is degraded due to use, the SOC cannot be increased even if the OCV is increased. If the water content of an electrolyte solution is decreased due to overcharge or evaporation, the sulfuric acid concentration of the electrolyte solution is increased. Since the OCV is determined by the sulfuric acid concentration, the OCV is consequently increased. When the degradation further proceeds, coarse lead sulfate is produced as a result of discharge and accumulated at an active material of positive and negative poles. This hinders the SOC from being recovered even when the lead battery is recharged. In this case, the sulfuric acid concentration is decreased, so that the OCV-SOC relationship is deviated from a predetermined condition. In such a case, even though the SOC is evaluated based on the predetermined OCV-SOC relationship, the exact SOC is unlikely to be obtained. This makes it impossible to control charge with high precision so that the lead battery is in a predetermined SOC. Such a problem arises significantly in a lead battery in which sulfuric acid which is a solute in an electrolyte solution acts as a battery active material.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for charging a lead battery is provided, in which a SOC is controlled so as to be less than 100%, and when the lead battery has not been charged and discharged for a predetermined time, refresh charge is performed so that the SOC becomes at least 90% or more.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for charging a lead battery is provided, in which a SOC is controlled so as to be less than 100%, and every time the lead battery is charged and discharged in predetermined time intervals, refresh charge is performed so that the SOC becomes at least 90% or more.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for charging a lead battery is provided, in which a SOC is controlled so as to be less than 100%, and when the SOC is lowered below a predetermined value, refresh charge is performed so that the SOC becomes at least 90% or more.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for charging a lead battery is provided, in which a SOC is controlled so as to be less than 100%, and when a temperature of the lead battery is less than or equal to a predetermined value, refresh charge is performed so that the SOC becomes at least 90% or more.
In one embodiment of this invention, in the refresh charge, after a charging current is lowered to a predetermined value even though the lead battery is subjected to constant-voltage charge using a predetermined control voltage, constant-current charge is performed, or constant-voltage charge is performed using a control voltage higher the predetermined control voltage.
In one embodiment of this invention, a set value of the SOC, after the refresh charge, is increased with an increase in a cycle of the refresh charge.
In one embodiment of this invention, the SOC is calculated based on an OCV of the lead battery immediately before the start of charge and discharge of the lead battery.
In one embodiment of this invention, the SOC is calculated based on an OCV of the lead battery when charge and discharge are paused, or based on a discharging current and a discharging voltage.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for determining the life of a battery is provided, in which the battery is subjected to refresh charge, a SOC of the battery after the refresh charge is presumed to be 100%, charge and discharge are performed, and a SOC(1) of the battery after the charge and discharge, the SOC(1) being obtained based on a quantity of charged, and a SOC(2) obtained based on a discharging voltage in discharge are compared with each other, and the life of the battery is determined based on a difference between the SOC (1) and the SOC(2).
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for determining the life of a battery is provided, in which a first DC-IR value is obtained with respect to a SOC of the battery in an initial state where the battery is not degraded, based on charging and discharging currents and a battery voltage, and the first DC-IR value is compared with a second DC-IR value of the battery in the initial state obtained in advance, and the life of the battery is determined based on a difference between the first and second DC-IR values.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for detecting a SOC of a lead battery is provided, in which an OCV of the lead battery or a discharging voltage of the lead battery when a discharging current is less than or equal to a predetermined value is measured, and the SOC of the lead battery is detected based on a relationship between a predetermined OCV and the SOC or a relationship between the discharging voltage and the SOC, and when the SOC is calculated, a variation in the OCV or a variation in the discharging voltage and a variation in the SOC are measured with respect to a predetermined time, and the relationship between the predetermined OCV and the SOC or the relationship between the discharging voltage and the SOC is corrected.
In one embodiment of this invention, the variation in the SOC is obtained based on a quantity of charged and discharged electricity obtained by integrating charging and discharging currents in the predetermined time.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for determining degradation of a lead battery using the method for detecting a SOC of a lead battery of this invention is provided, in which the degradation of the lead battery is determined based on a corrected relationship between an OCV of the lead battery and the SOC or a corrected relationship between a discharging voltage and the SOC.
In one embodiment of this invention, a ratio of a variation in the OCV or a variation in the discharging voltage to a variation in the SOC is calculated, and the degradation of the lead battery is determined based on the ratio.
In one embodiment of this invention, a value (K) is calculated by dividing the variation in the OCV or the variation in the discharging voltage by the variation in the SOC, and when the value (K) is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, it is determined that the lead battery is degraded.
Thus, the invention described herein makes possible the advantages of providing: (1) a method for charging a lead battery in which a reduction in the performance of the lead battery is suppressed so that the lead battery can be stably used for a long time; (2) a method for determining the life of a battery in which the life of the battery can be exactly determined so that the sudden death of the battery can be avoided; (3) a method for accurately detecting the SOC in order to charge a lead battery with precision so that the SOC becomes a predetermined value; and (4) a method for determining the condition of a degraded lead battery based on the OCV of the lead battery or a relationship between a discharging voltage and the SOC.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying figures.

Method for charging determining life of and detecting state of charge of battery

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A dual frequency ultrasound transducer includes a high frequency ultrasound array and a low frequency transducer positioned behind or proximal to the high frequency ultrasound array. In one embodiment, a dampening material is positioned between a rear surface of the high frequency array and the a front surface of the low frequency array. The dampening preferably is high absorbing of signals at the frequency of the high frequency array but passes signals at the frequency of the low frequency transducer with little attenuation. In additional, or alternatively, the low frequency can angled with respect to the plane of the high frequency transducer to reduce inter-stack multipath reflections. Beamforming delays compensate for the differences in physical distances between the elements of the low frequency transducer and the plane of the high frequency transducer.

There are several applications for extremely high bandwidth transducers for imaging using non-linear contrast agents and various forms of signal processing designed to enhance tissue contrast resolution and blood detection for example. However, practical limitations to the achievable bandwidth of transducers limit the applications of these promising imaging techniques. Those skilled in the art will be familiar with the concept of dual frequency transducers. The concept of combining two, or even more, transducers into a single acoustic stack or some geometric combination to allow for the use of two bandwidths in concert in some form has been suggested. However, this is a new concept that has not yet found widespread use or success. One significant limitation currently limiting the utility of dual frequency transducers is the lack of an array-based solution. A second challenge is that of superposition of widely differing center frequency transducers on the same acoustic axis.

Dual frequency ultrasound transducer including an ultrahigh frequency transducer stack and a low frequency ultrasound transducer stack


The peripheral device through an interface cable, and includes a second memory device for storing an evaluation program for evaluating the peripheral device and its integrated circuit. A detection section detects whether the mode indicating signal which is transmitted from the computer indicates a test mode or a normal mode, and a starting means starts the evaluation program on the second memory device when the detection section detects that the mode indicates signal a test mode.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a peripheral device which is connected to a computer, an integrated circuit which is incorporated in a peripheral device, and a method for analyzing failure of a peripheral device.
2. Background Art
Recently, with being accompanied by reduction in the number of peripheral devices as well as reduction in the number of parts which are mounted on the peripheral device, an inspection or a failure analysis of a peripheral device or a system LSI which is mounted on a peripheral device have become difficult.
For example, as an example of a peripheral device or a method of inspecting an optical disc device, there is a method of reproducing a test disc to obtain information from an optical disc device as a target of inspection (for example, patent document 1).
In addition, as an example of a method for inspecting a mounting board which is mounted in a peripheral device, there is a method which comprises performing an entire surface scanning by a laser light and detecting scattered lights which are reflected from the print circuit board, thereby detecting a mounting failure such as a positional deviation of parts which are mounted on a print circuit board (for example, patent document 2).
Further, as an example of a method for inspecting a board mounting memory which is mounted in a peripheral device, there is a method which comprises a system control microcomputer only performing an issuance of a selective switching instruction to a demodulation LSI through a selector, which instruction switches to performing an inspection control by an inspector, thereby making an inspector performing an inspection of a board mounted memory (for example, patent document 3).
A prior art peripheral device and a prior art method of analyzing a peripheral device will be described with raising an example of an optical disc device and a method of analyzing an optical disc device.
A prior art optical disc device and a prior art method for analyzing an optical disc device will be hereinafter described with reference to FIGS. 29 and 30.
FIG. 29 is a construction diagram of a prior art disc device. In FIG. 29, the peripheral device 1 which is an optical disc device is connected to a computer 2 via an interface cable 2816. An ATA cable, a USB, IEEE1394, Serial ATA, or SCSI are raised as the interface cable 2816.
The peripheral device 1 is provided with an integrated circuit 4 of the peripheral device, a flash ROM 5 on which a system control microcomputer firmware is stored, a spindle motor 2824 which rotates a disc 2825, a driver 6 which drives the spindle motor 2824, an optical pickup 2826 which emits a laser light to the disc 2825 and receives the light reflected from the disc, a laser diode driver (LDD) 7 which controls the laser light of the optical pickup 2826, an OEIC (optical Integrated Circuit) 8 as an opto-electronic integrated circuit which converts the optical signal from the optical pickup 2826 into an electric signal (digital signal), and an FEP (Front End Processor) 9 which pre-processes the signal from the OEIC 8 to output the result to the integrated circuit 4.
The integrated circuit 4 is, particularly, a system LSI of a peripheral device, and it includes a first memory device 12 comprising a ROM, a second memory device (DRAM) 13 comprising a buffer RAM for temporary storing the input/output data from the disc 2825 and the input/output data from the computer 2, a system control microcomputer 14, a CPU 17, a digital read channel circuit (DRC) 2801 which processes the signal from the FEP 9, an analog circuit 2802, a servo circuit 2803 which controls the driver 6, a host circuit (or ATAPI circuit) 2804, an error correction circuit (ECC) 2805, and a dumping resister 2806 which is mounted between the host circuit 2804 and a connector which is connected to the computer 2. Here, the paths 2807, 2808, 2810, 2812, and 2813 are those which connect between the dedicated communication circuits inside the integrated circuit 4. In addition, the path 2809 is one which connects the Flash ROM 5 and the system control microcomputer 14, and the paths 2817, 2818, 2819, 2820, 2821, 2822, and 2823 are those which connect the integrated circuit 4 and its external parts, which paths are controlled in the disc system processing, i.e., in inputting/outputting of data from the disc. In addition, the paths 2815, 2816 are those which connect the integrated circuit 4 and its external parts, which paths are controlled in the host system processing, i.e., in inputting/outputting of data between the computer 2 and the peripheral device 1.
When inspecting the peripheral device 1 which is thus constructed, the computer 2 issues using the inspection tool 2901 provided thereon a command to control the peripheral device 1, and the computer 2 inspects the peripheral device 1 on the basis of the transfer data or status response which are outputted from the peripheral device 1 in response to the command from the computer 2. Here, the commands are those such as Write system commands or Read system commands, which were incorporated in order to realize common functions of the product among the command codes and parameter tables which are described in the ATA/ATAPI standard specifications.
FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a device for analyzing failure of the peripheral device 1 as an optical disc device. The same constitutional elements as those in the peripheral device of FIG. 29 are denoted by the same reference numerals, with description thereof omitted.
In FIG. 30, when the failure analysis device judged the failure of the optical disc device 1 in inspecting the optical disc device 1, the ATA bus monitor 304, which is connected between the computer 2 and the optical disc device 1 and is designed to analyze the signal of the ATA bus, analyzes the signals which are transmitted and received between the computer 2 and the optical disc device 1. In addition, in order to debug the firmware of the system control microcomputer 14 which controls the optical disc device 1, the optical disc device 1 is provided with the connector 303 for the debugger 302 mounted. Therefore, it is needed to carry out a fabrication of attaching the connector 303 to the mounting board of the optical disc device 1. In addition, a probe 305 is applied to a terminal of a part that is mounted on a mounting board of the optical disc device 1, and the signal obtained thereat is analyzed by a logic analyzer (or an oscilloscope) 301. However, such a method has a limitation in confirming the internal operation of the integrated circuit (LS1) 4 which is mounted in the optical disc device 1, thereby making it difficult to find whether the optical disc device includes a problem or the LSI includes a problem. Therefore, the failure analysis is performed according to the following inspection flow.
FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a failure analysis flow in the prior art when the inspection of the optical disc device has revealed the failure of the optical disc device. In the following description of the flow, "drive" means an optical disc device and "LSI" means an integrated circuit.
Step S3101: an inspection of the "drive" is performed on the computer 2 using an inspection tool.
Step S3102: whether the result of the "drive" inspection in Step S3101 is OK or NG is judged.
Step S3103: when the inspection result in step S3102 is OK, the "drive" is determined as OK.
Step S3104: when the "drive" failure is detected in step S3102, the mounting board is inspected. For example, the failure of mounting such as positional deviation of a part mounted on the print circuit board is detected by scanning a laser light over the entire surface on the print circuit board, and detecting the scattered light reflected from the print circuit board (for example, patent document 2).
Step S3105: whether the inspection result of the mounting board in step S3104 is OK or NG is judged.
Step S3106: when the inspection result of the mounting board in step S3105 is judged as OK, the integrated circuit (LSI) as an inspection target is peeled off from the "drive", an LSI which is previously determined as good product is alternately attached to the "drive", and an inspection of the "drive" is again performed.
Step S3107: when the inspection result of the mounting board in step S3105 is judged as NG, the location of the mounting failure is specified, and a part is re-mounted.
Step S3108: whether the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3106 is OK or NG is judged.
Step S3109: when the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3106 is judged as NG, the "drive" is determined as NG, and then the inspection target "LSI" is mounted in a drive which is previously determined as good product, and an inspection of the driven is performed.
Step S3110: whether the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3109 is OK or NG is judged.
Step S3111: when the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3110 is judged as OK, the "drive" is determined as NG.
Step S3112: when the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3108 is judged as OK, or when the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3110 is judged as NG, the inspection target "LSI" determined as NG, and then the LSI is peeled off, and an LSI inspection is carried out by an LSI evaluation board and a tester.
Step S3113: whether the result of "LSI" inspection in step S3112 is OK or NG is judged.
Step S3114: when the result of "LSI" inspection in step S3113 is judged as NG, the "LSI" is determined as NG.
Step S3115: when the result of the "LSI" inspection in step S3313 is judged as OK, it is determined as connection failure between the "drive" and the "LSI", and re-mounting is performed and the "drive" is re-inspected.
Next, as a prior art concrete method for analyzing the optical disc device, cases of (E1) where a failure cause is present outside the LSI, (E2) where a failure cause is present inside the LSI, and (E3) where a failure cause is present at the connection portion between the optical disc device and the LSI, will be described with reference to FIG. 31.
(E1) where a cause of failure is present outside the LSI;
E101: in step S3101, the inspection of the "drive" is performed on the computer 2 using an inspection tool.
E102: in step S3102, whether the result of the "drive" inspection is OK or NG is judged. When as a result it is determined as NG, the processing transits to step S3104.
E103: in step S3104, an inspection of the mounting substrate is performed.
E104: in step S3105, whether the inspection result of the mounting board is OK or NG is judged. As a result, it may be determined as OK.
E105: in step S3106, the LSI as a target object is peeled off from the "drive", an LSI which is previously determined as good product is alternately attached to the "drive", and an inspection of the "drive" is again performed.
E106: in step S3108, whether the result of the "drive" inspection is OK or NG is judged. As a result, it may be judged as NG.
E107: since the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3108 is judged as NG, the "drive" may be judged as NG, and an inspection target LSI is mounted on a good product "drive", and an inspection of the "drive" is performed.
E108: in step S3110, the result of the "drive" inspection may be determined as OK.
E109: in step S3111, the "drive" may be determined as NG, and the mounting board of the "drive" is analyzed.
(E2) where a cause of failure is present inside the LSI;
E110: in step S3101, the inspection of the "drive" is performed on the computer 2 using an inspection tool.
E111: in step S3102, the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3101 may be determined as NG, and the processing transits to step S3104.
E112: since the "drive" is judged as including failure in step S3102, the mounting substrate is inspected in step S3104. For example, the mounting failure such as positional deviation of the part mounted on the print circuit board is detected by scanning a laser light over the entire surface on the print circuit board and detecting the scattered light from the print circuit board (for example, patent document 2).
E113: in step S3105, the result of the inspection of the mounting substrate in step S3104 may be judged as OK.
E114: since in step S3106 the result of the inspection of the mounting may be determined as OK, the inspection target LSI is peeled off from the "drive", an LSI which is previously determined as good product is alternately attached to the drive, and an inspection of the "drive" is performed.
E115: in step S3108, the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3106 may be judged as OK, and the processing transits to step S3112.
E116: since in step S3108 the result of the "drive" inspection may be determined as OK, in step S3112, the inspection target "LSI" may be determined as NG, the LSI is peeled off, and the "LSI" inspection is performed by the LSI evaluation board and the tester shown in FIG. 32.
E117: in step S3113, the "LSI" inspection in step S3112 may be judged as NG.
E118: in step S3114, the "LSI" may be judged as NG.
(E3) where a cause of failure is present at the connection portion with the "LSI";
E120: in step S3101, the inspection of the "drive" may be performed on the computer 2 using an inspection tool.
E121: in step S3102, the result of the "drive" inspection in step S3101 may be judged as NG, and the processing transits to step S3104.
E122: since the "drive" is judged as including failure in step S3102, in step S3104, the mounting board is inspected. For example, the mounting failure such as positional deviation of the part mounted on the print circuit board is detected by scanning a laser light over the entire surface on the print circuit board, and detecting the scattered light reflected from the print circuit board (for example, patent document 2).
E123: in step S3105, the inspection result of the mounting substrate in step S3104 may be judged as OK.
E124: since in step S3105 the inspection result of the mounting board may be judged as OK, in step S3106, the LSI as an inspection target is peeled off from the optical disc device, the LSI which is previously determined as good product is alternately attached to the drive, and an inspection of the "drive" is again performed.
E125: in step S3108, the result of the "drive2 inspection in step S3106 may be judged as OK, and the processing transits to step S3112.
E126: since in step S3108 the result of the drive inspection may be judged as OK, the inspection target LSI may be judged as NG in step S3112, and the LSI is peeled off and an inspection of the "LSI" is performed by the LSI evaluation board and the tester shown in FIG. 32.
E127: in step S3113, the "LSI" inspection in step S3112 may be determined as OK.
E128: in step S3115 the "LSI" may be judged as OK, and it is judged as there is connection failure between the drive and the LSI, and then, re-mounting is performed and a re-inspection of the "drive" is performed.
Next, an LSI evaluation board for evaluating an LSI and a method for analyzing failure of the LSI will be described with reference to FIG. 32. The same constitutional elements as those in the optical disc device of FIG. 29 are denoted by the same reference numerals, with description thereof omitted.
FIG. 32 shows a construction of an LSI evaluation board 320. The LSI evaluation board 320 comprises an integrated circuit (LSI) 4 as an evaluation target, a virtual host memory 321, a virtual disc memory 322, and a virtual system computer memory 323. The virtual host memory 321 is an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) memory which has incorporated circuits so as to perform similar operations as the computer 2 which is connected to the peripheral device. The virtual system computer memory 323 includes a memory for storing a program which controls the virtual disc memory 322 and the virtual host memory 321 as well as further controls the system control microcomputer 14, and thereby controls the LSI as an evaluation target. The virtual host memory 321, the virtual disc memory 322, and the virtual system computer memory 323 are respectively connected to the LSI as an evaluation target. By this LSI evaluation board 320, it is possible to inspect and evaluate the CPU 17, the DRC 2801, the analog circuit 2802, the servo circuit 2803, the second memory device 13, the host circuit 2804, the ECC 2805, the system control microcomputer 14, and the paths 2807, 2808, 2810, 2811, 2812, 2813, and 2827.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-216437
Patent Document 2: Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei. 2-114156
Patent Document 3: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2002-252332
In the conventional failure analysis method for an optical disc device, when performing an inspection of an integrated circuit (LSI) or a re-inspection of an optical disc device(drive), a work of alternately attaching an LSI of an optical disc device is necessitated (step S3106, step S3109 in FIG. 31). Therefore, there is required a work of peeling off an LSI from a mounting board, absorbing solder which is remaining on the board, and soldering a new LSI. Since this work is normally carried out manually, it is likely that a work failure will arise. In addition, in a case of an LSI such as FBGA (Fine pitch Ball Grid Array Package) which is made applicable to multiple pins, the alternate attaching work is difficult in view of its configuration.
In addition, when the inspection of the mounting board is performed (by step S3104 in FIG. 34), for example, a method described in patent document 2 is adopted, in which the mounting failure such as positional deviation of a part mounted on the print circuit board is detected by scanning a laser light over the entire surface on the print circuit board, and detecting the scattered light reflected from the print circuit board. However, this method arises a problem that the failure of the part itself that is cannot be predicted or found by an automatic inspection.
In addition, if the device for inspecting the on-board mounted memory as shown in patent document 3 is adopted in performing the failure analysis of the optical disc device, due to that a system control microcomputer and a decoding LSI are mounted on the optical disc device, it would not be possible to control a selector from the computer 2, and it would not be possible to distinguish between the failure in the optical disc device and the failure in the LSI, and thereby a process of peeling off the LSI from the optical disc device is required.
Further, in the prior art failure analysis method for an optical disc device, in a case (E3) where the cause of failure is present at the connection portion between the optical disc device and the LSI, the LSI is peeled off, the inspection of the LSI is performed by the LSI evaluation board 321 (E126), and then the LSI inspection is judged as OK (E127), and therefore, the failure portion cannot be specified in the later step. Therefore, it is necessary to re-mount an LSI and perform a re-examination of the drive, which unfavorably increases the number of processing steps.
The present invention is directed to solving the above-described problems and has for its object to provide a peripheral device, an integrated circuit for a peripheral device, and a method for analyzing failure of a peripheral device which can perform a failure analysis of the peripheral device or the integrated circuit for a peripheral device in a state where the integrated circuit is mounted on the peripheral device.

Peripheral device, integrated circuit for peripheral device and method for analyzing failure of peripheral device


A muffler for a motor vehicle has a muffler housing with a packing void into which an envelope containing a loose fill material is installed during assembly. The envelope contains elongated strands of continuous strand fiberglass, woven as a fiberglass mesh fabric, and having a thin organic polymer coating to reduce sliding and/or being formed with a Leno or gauze weave structure. The envelope is joined at one or more stitched seams, preferably with cotton thread, to enclose a volume. The volume is packed with uncoated continuous strand fiberglass roving, filling the volume to complement the packing void. The cotton thread and the thin polymer coating are consumable by hot gas in the exhaust path, but produce minimal smoke and odor due to their compositions and the small proportion of the packing volume and surface area that the consumable portions occupy.

Mufflers, resonators and the like are provided along the exhaust lines of internal combustion engines to reduce noise emitted from combustion in the engine cylinders. A muffler typically defines an elongated path for exhaust gas that passes through or is bordered by a volume of packing material that attenuates sound vibrations. A simple example is a cylinder containing packing material traversed by a longitudinal tube for gas passage, with perforations in the tube exposing the gas path to the packing disposed around the tube. In other configurations, the path might define a circuitous route, and encounter baffles or screens. Attention is paid when structuring a muffler and its packing material to achieve an appealing or distinctive engine sound.
The packing fill in and around the exhaust gas path comprises resilient forms, typically thin fibers, that are resiliently displaceable with gas pressure variations at audible frequencies, thereby damping the amplitude of sounds emitted through the exhaust system. The fill needs to be confined in the muffler in one way or another so as not to become entrained in the exhaust flow and ejected. The fill is preferably not subject to chemical corrosion or combustion when subjected to the exhaust gas.
One way to confine muffler packing material and to retain a shape for the packing is to include an adherent binder so that packing fill fibers or other bodies adhere to one another where they come into contact. Such binders are typically oxidized, combusted and otherwise broken down in hot gas the environment of the exhaust. Furthermore, binders that hold the packing in a fixed shape during muffler assembly, and are intended to burn away in the hot exhaust, tend to smoke and smell during a muffler break-in period.
To endure with adequate longevity along the exhaust path, the fill material needs to be durable and chemically unreactive. To attenuate noise, the fill needs to be resilient and arranged as a porous mass in which acoustic waves can propagate, while filling out one or more shaped voids within the muffler. An apt material for muffler fill is fiberglass. Provisions are advantageous to conform and confine the fiberglass to the shape of the void in the muffler, at least during assembly of the muffler parts. Assembly typically involves welding or swaging of muffler housing parts at seams. Loose or stray packing fibers that become lodged between the housing parts at seams can interfere with obtaining a leak-proof continuous seam.
Fiberglass or other unreactive fiber fill materials can be coated with an adherent binder and compressed in a mold, such that the binder attaches fibers together where they come into contact, holding the mass of fibers in a shape. The molded shape preferably eliminates stray fibers by fixing the relative positions of the fibers temporarily during muffler assembly. After assembly, packing is confined by the muffler structures forming the void for the packing. The binder burns away in the hot engine exhaust during an initial break-in phase of the muffler.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,082, dated May 2, 2000 (hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety), discloses a technique wherein continuous strand fiberglass roving is used as a muffler fill material. The continuous strand fiberglass roving is packed into an envelope of plastic mesh, heat sealed at envelope seams. The packed fill expands the envelope to complement the shape of the void in the muffler. The packed envelope is placed in the muffler packing void during muffler assembly. The open plastic mesh of the envelope confines the fiberglass roving and does not interfere substantially with movement of exhaust gas. Thus the envelope has little or no effect on the sound of the muffler. The sound of the muffler remains the same through the break-in period when the plastic mesh envelope is consumed and burns away. However, the plastic mesh produces smoke and odor as it burns away. The volume of plastic contained in a plastic mesh envelope confining uncoated fiberglass roving fill, and the surface area of the plastic, are smaller than is the case where adherent coating is applied to all the surfaces of strands of packing fill, which limits the amount of smoke and odor emitted during break-in. But it would be advantageous if the smoke and odor could be further reduced.
It should be appreciated in this disclosure that the concept of continuous strand fiberglass roving is meant to encompass variations in which the strands are single strands or multi-fiber yarns. Further, the strands or yarns need not extend continuously between extreme ends of a given run of structure (such as a filled muffler) to be deemed continuous. A continuous strand or yarn can comprise two or more lengths that are lengthwise adjacent, adjacent around a gap, or perhaps overlap one another for a distance along their lengths. This construction is generally consistent with industry usage where "continuous strand" denotes elongated fibers, often used in alignment to form yarns or fabrics, or handled in alignment with one another during filling as with continuous strand roving. Continuous strand roving is distinct from "chop strand," the latter referring to fibers that are relatively short and typically are handled or used in random fiber alignment. Either continuous strand or chop strand can form a packing mass, a batt or a compressed non-woven mat that may be regarded as a fabric. However continuous strand but not chop strand is capable of formation into a weave or knit wherein the fabric has regularly oriented fibers spaced by gaps so as to provide a mesh, and capable of being stuffed or packed to fill out a confined space without the need to adhere the fibers to one another.
Continuous strand fiberglass roving tends to distribute itself fairly evenly in a confined space. The density of the packing can be controlled by the length of the roving that is run into the confined space or packing envelope using nozzle-like injectors that blow in a plurality of strands from spools. The fiberglass is non-reactive and produces neither smoke nor odor during its break-in period. Nor is there a change in muffler sound.
The housing of an assembled muffler forms a substantially closed void that might confine loose fiberglass roving if the roving could be introduced into the void. But it may be difficult to inject and/or introduce continuous strand fiberglass roving inside a pre-assembled muffler, although "direct fill" into an assembled muffler housing may be possible if the void for the packing is accessible and the void for the packing has a regular geometric shape. For more complicated shapes such as automobile mufflers with horizontal dividing panels, the voids that need to be filled with packing are relatively inaccessible.
One might attempt to assemble a muffler housing around a loose mass of uncompressed fiberglass roving, so as to compress the mass of roving as part of the process of bringing muffler housing parts together and thereby pack and fill the void that the parts close around. That process is difficult to accomplish, at least without stray packing fibers tending to interfere with making a continuous seam along the housing parts.
For these reasons, a confining envelope of lightweight wide-gap mesh is useful. However smoke and/or odor are associated with consumption of the mesh if it is made of plastic, even if the mesh fiber portions are thin and the gaps are wide. There is a limit to how wide the openings of a plastic mesh can be made, and how thin the mesh strands can be while being heat-sealable effectively, and otherwise made strong enough to form a fixed shape that confines compressed fiberglass packing and does not tear open at seams or permit packing strands to protrude from mesh gaps. It would be advantageous to provide improvements that provide a robust envelope and employ even less consumable material.

Clean burn muffler packing with stitched fiberglass envelope

Molded Acoustical Products of Easton, Inc.


A system for cryogenic cooling of a remote cooling target comprising a cryogenic cooling device and a flexible cold fluid discharge interface, said flexible cold fluid discharge interface further comprising a flexible outer hose, a flexible middle recirculation line, a flexible inner hose, a flexible cryogen supply line, a first annular vacuum insulating area disposed between said flexible outer hose and said middle recirculation line, and a second annular vacuum insulating area disposed between said flexible inner hose and said flexible supply line. Said outer flexible hose, first evacuated annular segment, recirculation line, inner hose, second evacuated annular segment and supply line are arranged substantially concentrically. The system further comprising a first connecting means for connecting a first terminal end of the flexible cold fluid discharge interface to said cryogenic cooling device and a second connecting means comprising a rigid insertion member disposed at the second terminal end of the flexible cold fluid discharge interface for inserting into a remote cooling location.

Cryocooling systems are employed to cool and transfer fluids, for example, in order to provide the very low temperatures needed for materials research. In such systems, a cryogenic device typically includes portions for lowering the temperature of a fluid to be supplied to the research point, and interface portions for transferring that cooled fluid from the cooling portion of the cryogenic system to the research point. These interface portions may additionally cool the supplied fluid through various methods.
The initial cooling portions of such systems are either open cycle or closed cycle systems. In an open cycle system, liquid cryogen (typically helium or nitrogen) is extracted from a liquid dewar using a liquid transfer line and injected in the cryogenic system to achieve the desired temperature at the sample under test. Cryogen is then exhausted into the atmosphere. This is expensive and logistically difficult, and does not allow long-term operation of the system since the liquid dewar needs to be replaced frequently. In this case however the sample can be remotely located from the liquid dewar and the discharge end of the transfer line inserted into the cryogenic system to provide cooling at the desired location of the sample.
In a closed cycle system, a cryocooler is employed to provide the desired low temperature at the cold stage of the cryocooler. An extension rod or similar setup is attached to the cold station to transfer cold to the cryogenic test sample, which is remote from the cryocooler. This approach has several drawbacks. First, it transmits vibrations from the cryocooler to the test sample. Second, heat load on the extension creates loss of cooling and increases the temperature of the extension rod at the end connected to the point of cooling. This approach also does not provide flexibility in locating the cryocooler, which is typically bulky and creates difficulty in positioning of the system. Such setups also require a large opening in the cryogenic system to insert the cryocooler cold end. These problems become severe when very low temperature liquid helium, such as 4.2 K or below, is desired at the sample.
It is known in the art to provide heat exchange between two or more fluids within the interface portion of a system. Systems of the prior art have typically achieved at least a portion of the cooling process through counter-flow (or parallel) heat exchange between the supply and return fluids of the system. Such systems frequently arrange the transfer lines for these supply and return fluids concentrically, either with the supply line inside or outside the return line, depending upon the relative need for each line to be insulated from ambient temperatures. In such a concentric line configuration, heat transfer, and therefore cooling of the supply fluid, involves convective heat transfer from the fluid that is to be cooled to the first wall of the tube or hose containing it, conductive heat transfer through the first tube wall of that tube to the second tube wall, and convective heat transfer from the second wall of the tube to the second fluid. This results in the desired effect of transferring heat from the first fluid to the second, thereby reducing the first fluid's temperature.
Prior art systems such as those described above rely on precision in the heat balance between the supply and return fluids, as well as selection of transfer line material. Further, the limitations inherent in such method of heat exchange limit the length of the interface over which the cooled fluid may be transferred while maintaining low and precise temperatures.
Therefore, a need remains for an improved thermal interface that permits less interaction between supply and return flows and the associated heat exchange that occurs due to the thermal contact between them, thereby increasing the length over which a cooled fluid may be transferred.

System for cryogenic cooling of remote cooling target


A positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus includes a flexible shaft and a flexible arm. The flexible arm has a first portion integrally formed with the flexible shaft, a second portion arranged into a clamping portion of auto document feed apparatus, and a third portion formed between the first portion and the second portion. Therefore, the positioning structure can reduce higher manufacturing cost and tedious processes and indirectly decrease longer fabrication and maintainability time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a positioning structure of a roller, and in particular to a positioning structure of a roller for use in an auto document feed apparatus that can provide a driven roller for being securely contacted with an active roller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to the FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus according to the prior art is shown as reference number 1, which is arranged in such as a printer, an auto document feed and fax machine, etc. A support portion 11 is arranged on a plastic plate (not shown) of the auto document feed apparatus. The support portion 11 has an opening 12. A metal rod 13 is passed through the opening 12 and arranged on the support portion 11. A driven roller 14 is sleeved on the metal rod 13, for contacting an active roller (not shown). A spring 15 is positioned in the opening 12 under the metal rod 13, to against the metal rod 13.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 show another embodiment of the prior art, a positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus according to the prior art is shown as reference number 2. A support portion 21 is arranged on a plastic plate (not shown) of the auto document feed apparatus. The support portion 21 has an opening 22. A metal rod 23 is passed through the opening 22 and arranged on the support portion 21. A driven roller 24 is sleeved on the metal rod 23, for contacting an active roller (not shown). A screw 26 locked a spring band 25 on the plastic plate (not shown) to deliver paper.
However, due to some manufacture technology limitations and the consideration of manufacturing cost, the positioning structure of roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus can not be easily fabricated and maintained. Therefore, the manufacturing cost will be increased.
In addition, the conventional positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus is unfavorable to repair, replace and maintain. Furthermore, the manufacturing cost and the difficulty of fabrication are high, too.
Further, in accordance with the Mechanical Engineering, when a force is pressured on a non-uniform shaft or a different element on the shaft, a torque or a bending moment will be generated. Therefore, it would cause the angular velocity to be different between the driven roller and the active roller, make the paper block up, and even deform or break the shaft.
Accordingly, the positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus known in the prior art is non-convenient when used.
Therefore, the present invention is directed to an improved positioning structure of a roller adapted for auto document feed apparatus having a reasonable design and lower manufactured cost thereon.

Positioning structure of roller adapted for an auto document feed apparatus