The invention relates to a method for investigating signal parameters in an electrical measuring device with a display element with the method steps: display of a detected signal on the display element, manual masking of at least one signal component of the signal by a user by means of a masking element of the measuring device and investigation of signal parameters from the masked signal component or from the unmasked signal component of the signal by the measuring device. At least one further signal parameter is also investigated alongside the time duration and the bandwidth of the masked signal component. According to the invention, a corresponding measuring device is also provided.

Contemporary signal-transmission methods, for example, mobile-radio communications methods or radar methods, make increasingly frequent use of complex digital-modulation methods, so that the signals to be transmitted can only be analysed with difficulty. The signals to be transmitted are therefore observed by means of an electrical measuring device, for example, a network analyser, in order to detect possible errors or interfering influences in the transmission method. For this purpose, such electrical measuring devices comprise a display element in order to display the detected signal, for example, in the form of amplitude spectrograms, power spectrograms, especially in a two-dimensional frequency-time plane.
Analysis methods are known in which the signal is displayed on a display element of a measuring device as an amplitude spectrogram or a waterfall diagram. As a result of the small signal-noise ratio of individual signal components in the detected signal, relevant or respectively interesting signal components are sometimes not identified by the user in the display selected. To ensure that a user discovers in the diagram all coherent signal components of the signal to be detected, the document proposes the use of an automated recognition method for the signals detected. Coherent signal components are therefore investigated by means of this automation and also correspondingly investigated in the diagram. This is particularly meaningful in the case of frequency-hopping methods in order to identify coherent signal components more readily. This automated recognition should allow especially inexperienced users of a measuring device to recognise all of the signal elements associated with a signal component.

Method and a measuring device for investigating signal parameters


Disclosed is a gas turbine power generating system capable of achieving a high output power and a high power generating efficiency under conditions with a small amount of supplied water and little change in design of a gas turbine. A fine water droplet spraying apparatus (11) is disposed in a suction air chamber (22) on the upstream side of an air compressor (2), and a moisture adding apparatus (7) for adding moisture to high pressure air supplied from the compressor (2) is included. A regenerator (5) for heating the air to which moisture has been added by using gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source is also provided. With this configuration, there can be obtained an effect of reducing power for the compressor (2) and an effect of increasing the output power due to addition of moisture to air (20) for combustion. Further, since the amount of fuel used is reduced by adopting a regenerating cycle, the power generating efficiency is improved.

The present invention relates to a gas turbine, and particularly to a high moisture gas turbine cycle using high moisture air for combustion.
High moisture gas turbine cycles have been disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-open Nos. Sho 57-79224, Sho 57-79225, and Sho 58-101228, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,018, in which thermal energy of gas turbine combustion exhaust gas or the like is recovered to produce water vapor; the water vapor is mixed in combustion air for the gas turbine; and a turbine is driven by high moisture combustion exhaust gas obtained by a combustor, whereby the output power and the power generating efficiency are enhanced.
A configuration of one of the above high moisture gas turbine cycles has been disclosed, in which a low pressure compressor and a high pressure compressor are arranged in series, and a direct or indirect heat exchanger is interposed between both the compressors, wherein heat recover is performed by injecting water to compressed air emerged from the high pressure compressor.
In each known example, however, it is required to inject a large amount of water to compressed air to be supplied to a combustor for obtaining a desired output power or a desired power generating efficiency.
When air containing large amount of water is supplied to the combustor, the combustion stability of the combustor becomes low. In particular, for a power generating gas turbine, premixed combustion of air and fuel in a narrow stable combustion range, which is performed for reducing the amount of Nox of exhaust gas, is largely affected by the supply of air including a large amount of water.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a high moisture gas turbine installation capable of enhancing combustion stability while ensuring desired output power and power generating efficiency.
The present invention also provides a high moisture gas turbine installation capable of enhancing combustion stability while ensuring desired output power and power generating efficiency by reducing the amount of water required to obtain the desired output power and power generating efficiency.
The present invention also provides a high moisture gas turbine capable of miniaturizing a humidifier, an apparatus for recovering water from gas turbine exhaust gas, and the like by reducing the amount of supplied water, and further increasing the output power and power generating efficiency by reducing loss in compressed air and exhaust gas.
In a high moisture gas turbine cycle, a large amount of moisture is added to air for combustion. In this case, if moisture is partially added to air supplied from atmospheric air, a humidifier can be miniaturized and a heat exchanger for supplying hot water to the humidifier can be also miniaturized as compared with the method in which moisture is added to compressed air.
As a result, a pressure loss in equipment connected between a gas turbine and air compressors such as the humidifier and heat exchanger is reduced, and thereby the power generating efficiency of the gas turbine can be improved. Also, the power of the air compressor can be reduced even if the air compressor is not divided or a plurality of the air compressors are not arranged in series, and thereby the output power and the power generating efficiency of the gas turbine can be improved.
To be more specific, the present invention provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor thereby making the temperature of the air to be supplied to the compressor lower than the temperature of atmospheric air, the sprayed water droplets being introduced in the compressor together with the air whose temperature has been lowered and being evaporated in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source; and
a path through which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied to the combustor.
For a gas turbine system in which the spraying apparatus 11 is simply provided to the compressor, since the compression work is reduced, the effect of increasing the output power becomes large; however, since the temperature of the air at the outlet of the compressor is lowered, that is, the temperature of the air to e supplied to the compressor is lowered, the used amount of fuel at the combustor becomes large, so that it is not expect to increase the power generating efficiency.
The present invention also provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source; and
a path through which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied to the combustor.
The present invention also provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source;
a path through which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied to the combustor; and
a path used for recovering moisture from combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator and supplying the recovered moisture to at least one of the spraying apparatus and the water adding apparatus.
With these configurations, the amount of supplied water can be reduced. Also since the recovered water containing heat of exhaust gas can be reused and the heat generated by itself can be returned to the upstream side from the combustor, the power generating efficiency of the gas turbine can be further improved. Further, the recovered water is heated by using compressed air or gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source, a heating apparatus for heating water before addition of the water to the compressed air can be miniaturized. This makes it possible to reduce the pressure loss and hence to further enhance the power generating efficiency.
In the above-described gas turbine installation, preferably, the spraying apparatus comprises sprayers which are arranged in a plurality of steps along the flow of the air in the suction air chamber in such a manner that the temperature of water sprayed from one, positioned on the downstream side, of the sprayers is higher than the temperature of water sprayed from one, positioned on the upstream side, of the sprayers.
With this configuration, since the flow rate in weight at the inlet of the compressor is increased and thereby the water droplets being easy to be evaporated in the compressor can be supplied from the inlet of the compressor, it is possible to stably increase the evaporation amount in the compressor.
To be more specific, suction air is cooled by the water sprayers at the front steps to increase the flow rate in weight of the air, and high temperature water is sprayed to the air from the water sprayers at the rear steps disposed near the inlet of the compressor, whereby water being easy to be evaporated in the compressor can be largely contained in the air to be supplied to the compressor.
In this regard, by making large the ratio of the amount of water supplied to the air by the spraying apparatus to the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus, it is possible to further enhance the output power and the power generating efficiency.
The above-described gas turbine installation preferably further includes:
a control unit for controlling the amount of water added to air in such a manner that the amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus is in a range of 1/50 to 1/5 of the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus.
The above amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus is preferably in a range of 1/25 to 1/10 of the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus.
The above-described gas turbine installation preferably further includes:
a control unit for controlling the amount of water added to air in such a manner that the amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus is in a range of 1/50 to 1/5 of the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus;
wherein the ratio of the amount of circulated water to and from the water adding apparatus to the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus is controlled to be in a range of 70% to 95%.
Further, the above ratio is preferably in a range of 1/25 to 1/10.
In the above-described gas turbine installation, preferably, the ratio of the amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus to the flow rate in weight of the air is controlled to be in a range of 0.2% to 5.0%, and the ratio of the amount of water added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus to the flow rate in weight of the compressed air discharged from the compressor is controlled to be in a range of 30% or less.
The above ratio of the amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus to the flow rate in weight of the air is more preferably in a range of 0.4% to 2.5%
The present invention also provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source;
a path through which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied to the combustor; and
a control unit for controlling the temperature of water in such a manner that the temperature of water supplied to the water adding apparatus is higher than the temperature of water supplied to the spraying apparatus.
The control unit can be configured as a water supplying apparatus capable of supplying water at a plurality of temperature levels or an apparatus for recovering water from exhaust gas.
The present invention also provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source;
a path through which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied to the combustor;
a water supply path used for recovering moisture from combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator and supplying the recovered moisture to the spraying apparatus and the water adding apparatus; and
a cooling apparatus for cooling the compressed air flowing on the upstream side of the water adding apparatus by heat exchange with the water supplied to the water adding apparatus.
The above-described gas turbine installation, preferably, further includes, in place of the water supply path, added water supply path used for recovering moisture from combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator and supplying the recovered moisture to the water adding apparatus; and a spray water supply path through which spray water is led from an external source outside the system in the spraying apparatus.
The present invention also provides a gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor, the gas turbine installation comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source;
the combustor to which the compressed air heated by the regenerator is supplied;
a water supply path used for recovering moisture from combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator and supplying the recovered moisture to the spraying apparatus and the water adding apparatus; and
a supplied water heater for heating water to be supplied to the water adding apparatus by using combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator as a heat source.
The above-described gas turbine preferably further includes:
a control unit for reducing, upon decrease in load, the amount of water to be added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus and then reducing the amount of water to be sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus; or a control unit for increasing, upon increase in load, the amount of water to be sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus and then increasing the amount of water to be added to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus.
The present invention also provides an efficiency increasing apparatus, provided in a gas turbine installation, for recovering thermal energy of gas turbine exhaust gas thereby improving power generating efficiency, the gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor;
the efficiency increasing apparatus comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus; and
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source.
The present invention also provides an efficiency increasing apparatus, provided in a gas turbine installation, for recovering thermal energy of gas turbine exhaust gas thereby improving power generating efficiency, the gas turbine installation including a compressor for compressing air supplied thereto and discharging the compressed air, a combustor for burning fuel together with the air discharged from the compressor, and a turbine driven by combustion gas generated by the combustor;
the efficiency increasing apparatus comprising:
a spraying apparatus, which is provided in an air suction chamber disposed on the upstream side of the compressor, and which is used for spraying water droplets to air to be supplied to the compressor, evaporating part of the sprayed water droplets until the water droplets are led in the compressor, and evaporating the non-evaporated water droplets led in the compressor together with the air in a period in which the water droplets flow down in the compressor together with the air;
a water adding apparatus for adding water to the compressed air discharged from the compressor, the compressed air containing moisture added in the form of water droplets by the spraying apparatus;
a regenerator for receiving the compressed air containing moisture added by the water adding apparatus and heating the compressed air by using a gas turbine exhaust gas as a heat source; and
a path used for recovering moisture from combustion exhaust gas having passed through the regenerator and supplying the recovered moisture to at least the water adding apparatus of a group of the spraying apparatus and the water adding apparatus.
The above-described efficiency increasing apparatus preferably further includes:
a control unit for controlling the amount of water added to air in such a manner that the amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus is in a range of 1/50 to 1/5 of the amount of water sprayed to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus. The amount of water sprayed to the air by the spraying apparatus is more preferably in a range of 1/25 to 1/10 of the amount of water sprayed to the compressed air by the water adding apparatus.


A device for selectively connecting a tire to a pneumatic unit of an aircraft, the tire forming part of a wheel mounted to rotate on a hollow axle of the aircraft, the device comprising a stator and a rotor that is mounted to rotate relative to the stator and that includes means enabling it to be rotated by the wheel. The stator is bell-shaped and is designed to be received as a push-fit in the axle, and includes an end wall carrying a first pneumatic port for connection to the pneumatic unit via a tube running along the inside of the axle, the rotor extending substantially inside the stator.

Aircraft are known that include devices for connecting the tires of wheels to an on-board pneumatic unit. The unit may be an air compressor, a nitrogen generator, or any other system enabling gas to be delivered under a pressure suitable for inflating the tires. Depending on whether the pressure made available by the pneumatic unit is greater than or less than the pressure that exists in the tire, the tire will inflate or deflate. When the aircraft is on the ground, the pneumatic unit can be connected to an external source of pressure.
Document GB 1 031 726 illustrates such a device, having some of its elements outside the axle. In particular, the wheel is fitted with a protective cover that covers the end of the axle and that receives an isolation valve of the tire. That disposition of the valve makes it sensitive to external impacts. Furthermore, the valve is actuated by a needle that is movable in an axial orifice of the axle. That type of device is not suitable for modern aircraft that usually have axles that are hollow. In addition, it includes a plurality of parts that are separately removable (the needle in the axle, the valve in the wheel cover), which does not facilitate maintenance thereof.
Document U.S. Pat. No. 2,107,405 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,906 disclose other devices, more particularly adapted to land vehicles. In particular, the device shown in document U.S. Pat. No. 2,685,906, which is in accordance with the introductory portion of claim 1, is found to be advantageous in that it is entirely modular and can be removed as a whole, naturally providing the gas connections are disconnected. Nevertheless, that device projects from the wheel and is therefore exposed to impacts.

Device for connecting a tire of an aircraft wheel to a pneumatic unit of the aircraft


According to at least some embodiments of the present disclosure, a light-emitting diode (LED) chip includes a semiconductor material portion, a transparent conductive layer disposed above the semiconductor material portion, a current blocking layer disposed above the transparent conductive layer, one or more electrodes disposed above the current blocking layer, and a plurality of electron outflow channels that electrically interconnect at least one electrode and the semiconductor material portion across the transparent conductive layer and the current blocking layer.

Conventional face-up light-emitting diode (LED) chips (also referred to as planar LED chips) include current blocking layers (CBLs) inserted underneath the electrodes (e.g., p-side electrode pads) for reducing parasitic optical absorption in the electrodes. However, the current blocking layers cause increased driving voltages for operating the LED chips and reduces the light-emitting efficiencies.

Light-emitting diode chips with enhanced brightness


An apparatus for enhancing the operation of a M byte instruction word CPU when operating user programs on an N byte instruction word CPU. The M-Byte instruction word CPU is provided with an N-Byte instruction register and a main memory for supplying N-Byte instruction words or M-Byte instruction words to said N-Byte instruction register. An operational code multiplexer and an parameter code multiplexer are connectable to selective outputs of said instruction register so that any one of the M-Bytes may be selected as an operational code and any one of the remaining M-Bytes may be selected as parameter code bytes, and selection means including sequencer means are provided for operating the operational code multiplexer and the parameter code multiplexer in an M-Byte instruction word CPU mode of operation or as an N-Byte instruction word CPU mode of operation.

1. Related Applications
This application relates to our copending U.S. application Ser. No. 07/329,136 filed Mar. 27, 1989 entitled "Dual Operating System Computer", now abandoned.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mainframe computer system that is operable on one of two distinctly different operating systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for enhancing the operation of the operating system which is different from the preferred operating system for which the dual operating system computer was originally designed.
3. Description of the Prior Art
Compilers and emulators are well known and are generally used as black box systems for converting operating instructions form one format into another format which is usable by different computing systems.
Compilers and emulators have been respectively classified in U.S. Class 395, sub-classes 700 and 500 with dual mode operating system computers and micro programmed computers which have alterable stored micro routines utilized to emulate different computers or computing systems. Such computing systems are discussed in the micro programmable CPU described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,811 which has been assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. This prior art reference discusses the reasons that cause micro programmed emulators to be generally slower than an emulated computing system which offers a desirable yet complex solution.
A desirable, and more expensive, approach to emulation is found in the IBM AS400 computing system which operates on two distinctly different operating systems. Such Dual Operating System computers require a new architecture different from either previous architectures or systems being merged together and operate on a single new operating system. A variation of such merged operating systems is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,040 issued to AT&T. This dual mode operating system computer supports UNIX.RTM. and MSDOS.RTM. operating systems in a multi-tasking computer system. The MS-DOS operating systems and its applications are executed in a real or non-protected mode and the UNIX applications are executed by the UNIX operating system in a protected mode to prevent conflicting attempts to access the same peripheral device or to write in the same regions of the main memory. To prevent such conflicts, special merged support hardware needs to be provided.
In our aforementioned application Ser. No. 07/329,136 now abandoned, there is described a dual operating system computer which is conditioned to run user programs on one operating system by loading unique microcode in the instruction processor for its associated operating system and then loading the associated operating system in the main memory. Effectively, this application by use of microcode converts one architecture computing system into a second and different architecture computing system.
It would be desirable to provide an improvement of the aforementioned application Dual Operating System Computer which will more efficiently operate programs designed for operation on the mainframe computing system when loaded with its associated operating system. It would be further desirable to provide the dual operating system computer with apparatus which substantially reduces the amount of microcode required to make the architecture conversion. It would be desirable to improve both the performance and speed of operation of the operating system and its user programs and have the hardware enhancement automatically make the operating system conversion as a result of loading the microcode and operating system without supplemental operations.

N-byte stack-oriented CPU using a byte-selecting control for enhancing a dual-operation with an M-byte instruction word user program where M<N<2M


Edge protectors for the leading portions of base edges have been utilized in many application to protect the leading portion of the base edge. It is advantageous to have an edge protector that is readily removed and replaced without having to remove additional elements. In the subject arrangement, a base edge protector assembly is included having a protector mounting lug and a replaceable lip protector. The protector mounting lug has a pair of spaced apart bosses and a laterally disposed flange therebetween while the lip protector has a cavity and load transferring surfaces located in the cavity. When assembled the load transferring surfaces are in mating contact with the laterally disposed flange of the protector mounting lug. First and second pairs of aligned openings are located in the lip protector and, when assembled, are in general alignment with the openings located in each boss of the pair of bosses. Flex pins are disposed in the openings to secure the lip protector to the protector mounting lug. This arrangement provides a lip protector that is easily removed and replaced without the need to remove any other elements.

There have been arrangements used in the past to protect the forward edge of a bucket's base edge. In some applications, a wear resistant member is welded to the leading edge between respective tip assemblies to increase the life thereof. In other arrangements, individual members have been bolted to the base edge between the respective tip assemblies.
In various other arrangements, the base edge protector has been secured between respective tip assemblies and fastened directly to the tip assemblies by various forms of fasteners and/or are held in position by a mechanical interlock once the tip is mounted on and secured to the adapter. In these arrangements, it is necessary to remove the tip before the base edge protector can be removed.
In most of the above-noted arrangements, the base edge of the bucket is formed from a heavy flat steel plate and the tip assemblies are either welded to the base edge plate or pinned thereto by various types of fasteners. Likewise, as noted above, in some of the arrangements, the edge protector is either welded to the bucket's base edge plate or pinned thereto. Consequently, it is advantageous to provide an arrangement in which the base edge protector is readily secured to the plate of the bucket base edge while allowing serviceability of the base edge protector without any interference with the respective tip assemblies located on either side of the base edge protector.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.


A unidirectional clutch permits relative rotation in only one direction between a housing and a shaft that extends into the housing. The clutch includes bearings between the shaft and housing, a cylindrical friction surface on the shaft and a retainer in the housing, with the retainer surrounding the friction surface. The retainer, which is keyed to the housing and is relatively long, has pockets which open toward the friction surface. Each pocket is in part defined by a ramp which lies oblique to the friction surface, giving the pocket a large region and a small region. Each pocket contains a roller which is small enough to fit loosely in the large region and too large to fit into the small end. At each end of the retainer channels open laterally, and these channels contain pistons and springs, with the latter urging the former against the rollers in the pockets to urge the rollers toward the small regions of the pockets. End rings fit against the ends of the retainer and close the pockets to capture the rollers and likewise close the channels to hold the pistons and springs in place. The clutch permits relative rotation between the shaft and housing in the direction which tends to drag the rollers toward the large regions of the pockets, but in the reverse direction the rollers lodge between the retainer and the friction surface and transfer torque between the housing and shaft.

This invention relates in general to clutches and more particularly to a clutch that permits relative rotation in only one direction.
Some machines contain shafts which must rotate in only one direction, while others have shafts which may only overrun other shafts. In either case some type of clutch is required to, in effect, allow relative rotation between the shafts in only one direction. Indeed, in the opposite direction of rotation the clutch must have the capacity to transfer torque from one shaft to another.
The typical one-way or unidirectional clutch contains locking elements which lie in pockets located between two shafts. In one direction of relative rotation, the elements float in the pockets and do not impede the relative rotation. Hence, the one shaft will rotate relative to or overrun the other shaft. In the other direction the elements lodge between converging surfaces, which form the pockets, and transmit torque from the one shaft to the other. Usually springs urge the rolling elements lightly against the converging surfaces so that when a reversal in direction occurs, the shafts immediately lock up to transfer torque. The locking elements are usually balls or rollers and almost always rollers when the torque is high, with the length of the rollers to a large measure depending on the magnitude of the torque. But rollers, particularly long ones, tend to skew between the converging surfaces at the pockets, and for this reason are often confined in cages. Cages add to the complexity and cost of the clutches.
The present invention resides in a unidirectional clutch which contains elongated rollers to transmit torque, yet does not rely on a cage to prevent the rollers from skewing. The clutch is quite compact and easy to manufacture.


An improved glare control system for use on a vehicle for reducing headlight glare from oncoming vehicles, the system being of the type wherein the headlights are rapidly switched between light emissive and non-emissive states and the operator views the roadway through a visor operating in synchronism with the headlights and being switchable between light transmissive and opaque states, and wherein the improvement includes means for measuring the glare intensity of the oncoming path and providing a proportional glare level signal and means responsive to the signal for varying the transmissive-to-opaque interval ratio of the visor cycle so that at least between upper and lower glare intensity limits the apparent density of the visor increases with increasing glare intensity and decreases with decreasing glare intensity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of vehicle lighting systems and, more specifically, to a glare control system for reducing headlight glare from oncoming vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Headlight glare is a persistent safety hazzard in night driving and over the years many systems have been proposed to suppress headlight glare.
In general, the prior art systems fall into two broad categories. In the first, polarizing filters placed over the headlights polarize the emitted light at a 45.degree. axis and a similar polarizing filter is used as a visor through which the operator views the roadway. When a similarly equipped vehicle approaches, the light emitted therefrom is cross-polarized with respect to the visor thereby reducing glare. For such a system to be effective, however, it must be adopted universally. Representative examples of the polarizing system may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,786,518; 2,230,262; and 2,423,321. Also see commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 2,458,179.
The second type of glare control system may be referred to as the strobe type. In the strobe system, the headlight is rapidly flashed on and off, either electrically by interrupting power or electromechanically by providing an oscillating or rotating shutter in front of the headlights, and the operator views the roadway through a visor that is rapidly switched between light transmissive and opaque states in synchronism with the headlights. The headlights operate above the eye flicker rate and generally are on for a very short portion of the headlight cycle. For example, the headlight may be turned on for 10% of the cycle and be off for 90%. The visor is transmissive while the headlight is on and then is rapidly switched to the opaque state while the headlight is off. Obviously, the light output of the headlight must be 10 times greater than normal to provide sufficient illumination. Because the visor is transmissive for only 10% of the visor cycle, headlight glare from oncoming vehicles is reduced by 90%. Despite the complexity of the strobe system, it has a major advantage in the fact that it need not be universally adopted to provide the benefit of glare suppression.
For representative examples of early strobe type systems, reference may be had to U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,131,888; 2,139,707; and 2,755,700. A more contemporary version of the strobe type glare reduction system may be found in The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Report PB-257-431 of September 1976 entitled "Advanced Headlighting Systems". The visor used in that system is of the electro-optical type, such as the PLZT shutter described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,315.
While both the polarizing and strobe type glare control systems are effective to reduce glare, the inherent light transmission losses of those systems generally tend to deprive the vehicle operator of the benefit of supplemental ambient illumination provided by streetlights especially when there is no vehicle approaching or when the glare intensity is relatively low from oncoming vehicles off in the distance.
The polarizing system described in the previously noted U.S. Pat. No. 2,230,262 addresses the problem by configuring the headlight and visor filters in venetian blind arrays that are switched between closed and opened positions in accordance with the glare intensity of the oncoming path as measured by a photoelectric glare level detector mounted on the front of the automobile. When the glare level is above a predetermined limit, the filters are closed for maximum glare reduction. When the glare intensity falls below the limit, the filters are opened to take advantage of ambient illumination. However, because this is a bistable system (the filters are either opened or closed) which does not adjust proportionally to variations in glare intensity, it would seem that the abrupt changes in perceived roadway illumination may prove tiring to the vehicle operator.
The strobe type systems in the prior art generally do not make any provision for varying the system response in accordance to glare intensity and the transmissive-to-opaque time ratio of the visor cycle is fixed to coincide with the light emitting and nonemitting intervals of the headlight cycle for maximum glare reduction.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved glare control system of the strobe type that is responsive to the actual glare intensity of the oncoming path and is automatically adjustable to vary the transmissive/opaque ratio of the visor in accordance with glare intensity so that the vehicle operator may benefit from ambient illumination at appropriate times.
It is another object of the invention to provide a method of reducing headlight glare wherein said ratio is adjusted to vary the apparent density of the visor in accordance with the measured glare intensity of the oncoming path.
Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious or will, in part, appear hereinafter.

Apparatus and method for reducing headlight glare


A resonant converter includes a square wave generator including a first switch and a second switch, and generating a first square wave corresponding to an input voltage by alternately turning on/off the first and second switches; a resonator including a first coil of a primary coil of a transformer, and generating a resonance waveform corresponding to the first square wave; and an output unit including a second coil of a secondary coil of the transformer, and outputting a voltage corresponding to a current generated in the second coil corresponding to the resonance waveform. The square wave generator includes a pulse frequency modulation controller for turning on/off the first and second switches, comparing a first voltage linearly increased while the second switch maintains the turn-on state and a second voltage corresponding to an integration value on the time of the current flowing to the second switch when the second switch is turned off, and changing on/off drive frequencies of the first and second switches according to a comparison result. Therefore, a resonant converter driven with safety is realized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a resonant converter.
2. Description of the Related Art
A converter is a device for converting a DC voltage into at least one DC voltage. In some cases the DC output voltage is greater, in others less than an input voltage. The converter is mainly used for battery power supplies such as power electronic devices, particularly mobile phones and laptop computers.
A resonant converter is widely used because it can improve power conversion efficiency.
In general, a resonant converter includes a transformer, and maintains the DC output voltage that is output through an output terminal coupled to a secondary coil of the transformer by controlling an on/off drive frequency of two switches Q1 and Q2 coupled to a primary coil of the transformer receiving the DC voltage. For this, the resonant converter includes a feedback loop for transmitting a voltage or a current of an output unit to the primary coil of the transformer through an element such as an opto coupler or a shunt regulator.
A general resonant converter performs a protection function for preventing circuit elements from being damaged by controlling power transmitted to an output load side by controlling switching frequencies of the two switches Q1 and Q2 of the primary coil of the transformer under an abnormal operation condition such as an overload or an output terminal short. The power input to the resonant converter can be sequentially varied within a short period in which the two switches Q1 and Q2 are turned on/off once. In order to check whether an overload or an output terminal short is generated corresponding to the change of the input power, the general resonant converter can include a low pass filter for acquiring an average of input power within the period of operation.
However, in some general resonant converters it is difficult to quickly control the input power because of a delay time of the low pass filter when high power is instantly input at the input terminal, and hence, drive stability for the resonant converter is not optimal.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.


A system and method is provided for generating a dynamic comprehensive domain review. A domain review engine obtains authoritative literature associated with a domain to extract insights using entity recognition and relationship extraction, and ranks the extracted results to generate a dynamic domain review.

Search engines and data analytics are tools used every day by individuals, companies and organizations to retrieve information and analyze data pertinent to the entity requesting the search or the data analysis. Many different types of search engines are used to retrieve information, and likewise many different approaches are used to analyze data. Search engines may be used to search the internet, certain domains or specific databases. Search engines can be used to retrieve a variety of information, from that which is commonly available to information specific to a particular field. Data analytics may be used to analyze past data, report on current information or predict future performance. Both searches and data analytics rely on algorithms and various techniques to parse the data available and achieve meaningful results.

Domain review system for identifying entity relationships and corresponding insights


A semiconductor device includes a buried doped region at a first distance to a main surface of a semiconductor body. A contact structure extends from the main surface to the doped region. The contact structure includes a contact layer formed from a metal-semiconductor alloy that directly adjoins the doped region. The contact structure further includes a fill structure formed from a metal or a conductive metal compound. An insulator structure surrounds the contact structure in cross-sections parallel to the main surface.

Integrated power semiconductor devices typically include a drift zone between a voltage-controlled channel/body region and a drain region. The wider the drift zone is, the higher is the blocking voltage the semiconductor device sustains, wherein increasing the drift zone width also increases the on-state resistance RDSon of the semiconductor device. In vertical power semiconductor devices with a load current flow between a front side and a rear side of the semiconductor device, the thickness of a semiconductor body is adjusted to the nominal blocking voltage of the semiconductor device. Lateral power semiconductor devices may integrate two or more transistor blocks, wherein the transistor blocks are formed side-by-side in the same semiconductor body and load paths of the transistor blocks are electrically arranged in series.
There is a need to improve the characteristics of semiconductor devices, for example power semiconductor devices without load electrodes on the rear side and/or with two or more transistor blocks whose load paths are electrically arranged in series.

Semiconductor device with buried doped region and contact structure


A polysiloxane adhesive composition that is useful in attaching products to human skin. A disposable absorbent product may be prepared that includes the polysiloxane adhesive composition and that may be adhered directly to human skin and peeled off after use with little or no pain to the wearer. In one embodiment, the polysiloxane adhesive composition exhibits a shear storage modulus value, as measured at about 20.degree. C. and at about 10 radians per second, of less than about 1.times.10.sup.5 dynes per square centimeter; a hardness value of less than about 5 durometer units (Shore 00), a tan delta value, as measured at about 20.degree. C. and at a frequency of about 10 radians per second, of between about 0.4 to about 2.0; and a maximum peel strength value of between about 35 to about 900 grams of force per 13 millimeters of width, as measured at a peel rate range of 0 to about 5000 millimeters per minute.

Disposable absorbent products currently enjoy widespread use in a large variety of applications. Typical disposable absorbent products include those such as diapers, adult incontinent products, and bed pads, catamenial devices such as sanitary napkins and tampons, and other products such as wipes, bibs, wound dressings, and surgical capes or drapes. Such disposable absorbent products are generally suited to absorb many liquids, such as water or saline, and body liquids such as urine, menses, and blood.
The purpose of disposable absorbent products is typically body waste management. In order to manage liquid body waste, the disposable absorbent product typically includes an absorbent structure that must generally be able to first uptake the liquid into the absorbent structure, then distribute the liquid within the absorbent structure, and then retain the liquid within the absorbent structure.
In order to obtain the desired liquid handling characteristics of the disposable absorbent product, the disposable absorbent product is generally secured to the wearer's body. As an example, securement of a sanitary napkin during use is often accomplished by attaching the sanitary napkin to the wearer's undergarment by a pressure sensitive adhesive. Securing a sanitary napkin to an undergarment can, however, exhibit a number of drawbacks. One drawback is that the adhesive can stick too aggressively to the inside surface of the undergarment leaving residue. Another disadvantage is that the sanitary napkin will tend to move with the undergarment rather than associating with the bodily movements of the wearer. This can result in a less secure fit and increase the incidence of liquid leakage, irritation, chafing and discomfort.
In the past, attempts have been made to adhere a sanitary napkin directly onto a wearer. However, such sanitary napkins have generally had to be relatively large enough so as to avoid the adhesive being placed in contact with the wearer's pubic hair and sensitive genitalia. This is because in securing these sanitary napkins to the wearer, such sanitary napkins generally used adhesives of the type used in various surgical applications. Removal of these adhesives typically causes sudden pain and discomfort to the wearer. Thus, avoiding the sensitive areas of the wearer has been necessary.
It would therefore be desirable to have an adhesive composition that can be used to secure a disposable absorbent product directly to a wearer's body that would be comfortable to wear, would be relatively small and discrete, give the wearer a feeling of security during use, and would not cause discomfort to the wearer upon removal.

Adhesive composition comprising a polysiloxane


A wheel end assembly for a steerable rear axle of a four wheel steer motor vehicle chassis comprises a constant velocity joint drivingly interconnected with an axle shaft of the steerable rear axle, along a lateral axis defined by the axle shaft, and a wheel assembly for transmitting driving torque therebetween. A yoke has a main body portion with a central, laterally-extending pass-through for the constant velocity joint and is fixedly mounted to the chassis. The yoke has an upper and a lower ball joint arm which laterally extend towards the wheel assembly, where each ball joint arm has a ball joint passage therethrough. A knuckle for transferring steering rotation to the wheel assembly comprises a flat plate body with a central, lateral opening for the constant velocity joint to pass through and splined upper and lower ball joint pockets. The knuckle is configured to fit within lateral volume defined by the yoke main body and ball joint arms to minimize lateral packaging space needed for the wheel end assembly. Ball joints allow the knuckle to swivel relative to the yoke. An adapter has a central passage for the constant velocity joint to pass through and is fixed to the knuckle flat plate body and the wheel assembly to transmit rotation therebetween.

Four wheel steer allows all four wheels of a motor vehicle to contribute to the steerability of the vehicle. At low speeds, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction of the front wheels to improve maneuverability by minimizing the turn radius. At higher speeds, the rear wheels turn in the same direction as the front wheels to increase vehicle stability. Both situations provide particular advantages for long wheelbase vehicles such as full-size trucks, vans, and sport utility vehicles which could benefit from improved maneuverability and stability.
To accomplish four wheel steer, the vehicle wheel track width may increase to accommodate additional steering components such as knuckles, yokes, and ball joints. Extending the wheel track width increases the overall mass of the vehicle. A further consideration for large vehicles is Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 108 which requires two clearance lights on vehicles over 80 inches wide. Therefore it is desirable to manage the additional lateral packaging space required to accommodate four wheel steer.

Wheel end assembly for four wheel steer vehicle


A process for fine purification of isophoronediamine (IPDA), including producing IPDA by aminating hydrogenation of isophorone nitrile in the presence of at least ammonia, hydrogen, a a hydrogenation catalyst and optionally further additions to obtain a crude IPDA, and subjecting the crude IPDA to a fine purification via two vacuum distillation columns, wherein in the first vacuum distillation column the removal of any remaining relatively low-boiling byproducts is effected and in the second vacuum distillation column the IPDA is obtained in pure form as tops and thus separated from the organic residues, and wherein the first vacuum distillation column has vacuum distillation column has a partial condenser fitted to it.

The invention relates to the fine purification of isophoronediamine (IPDA) using a two-stage column setup comprising a partial condenser.
The production of IPDA by aminating hydrogenation of isophorone nitrile (IPN) is known and has been described numerous times.
In the simplest case (U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,913), IPN is reacted in the presence of hydrogen and of an excess of ammonia over a cobalt catalyst. IPN and ammonia initially react with elimination of water to form isophorone nitrile imine, IPNI, which is subsequently hydrogenated to IPDA.

In addition, processes for producing isophoronediamine are known from CN 104230721A, EP 2649042 A and WO 2012126869A.
In EP 2 649 042A isophoronediamine is produced from isophorone nitrile in a one- or two-stage reaction. Isophorone nitrile is initially iminated with ammonia to afford isophorone nitrile imine. Said isophorone nitrile imine is hydrogenated to afford isophoronediamine in the second step. The purification that follows the reaction is likewise divided into two steps. The low boilers are initially removed in a plurality of distillation columns, said low boilers including hydrogen, inert gases, ammonia and low-boiling impurities (low boiler removal). In a final step the pure isophoronediamine is then obtained via two vacuum distillation columns. The first column in turn serves to remove any remaining relatively low-boiling byproducts. In the second column the isophoronediamine is obtained in pure form as tops and thus separated from the organic residues (high boilers).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Coupling of distillative purification with a partial condenser for pre-purification of isophoronediamine


An arrangement monitors a consumer in combination with an internal combustion engine or motor vehicle especially for monitoring an electric drive which is driven by an output stage in the form of a bridge circuit. Potentials are compared in the area of the consumer or of the output stage to pregiven threshold values derived from the normal operation. From this comparison, an alarm signal is generated in a time-delayed manner with the time delay being dependent upon the magnitude of the drive signal.

Such an arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,188 wherein an electric drive in combination with an internal combustion engine is described. The drive is driven via an output stage configured as a bridge circuit. The output stage is configured as a bridge circuit having four drivable power switches with the electric drive being arranged in the bridge diagonal. The electric drive is controllable in the forward direction as well as in the rearward direction in that in the corresponding switch-on phase one particular bridge diagonal is made conductive. Furthermore, switching means are provided which permit the function of the output stage and electric drive to be monitored with respect to short circuits or shunts and/or overcurrents in the region of the output stage and electric drive.
Monitoring in this manner generates an alarm signal for a fault condition independently of the magnitude of the drive signal. The formation of the alarm signal and the reaction which follows must therefore be designed for the worst possible fault.

Arrangement for monitoring a consumer in combination with an internal combustion engine and/or a motor vehicle


Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The methods include, for instance: synchronizing, by one or more processor, first virtual machine(s) with a second virtual machine, the synchronizing comprising mirroring first input events to the first virtual machine(s); and customizing, by the one or more processor, the first virtual machine(s), the customizing comprising suspending the synchronizing and facilitating sending of second input events to the first virtual machine(s). In one embodiment, the synchronizing comprises cloning the second virtual machine to create the first virtual machine(s), the cloning comprising initializing the first virtual machine(s), and copying second virtual machine state information to the first virtual machine(s). In another embodiment, the customizing comprises decrementing an available first virtual machine counter, and the synchronizing comprises cloning the second virtual machine to create another first virtual machine responsive to the available first virtual machine counter having a certain value.

During the course of an educational or training program, it may be desirable for a demonstrator to demonstrate the use of computer based technologies to multiple attendees, for example, knowledge workers attending an educational training program. For example, by making use of computer networking technologies, such training may be conducted remotely, with a demonstrator performing tasks on one computer system in one location, and with the output of the one computer system mirrored or displayed to multiple remote attendees who attend virtually through remote access nodes in remote locations.
Conventional internet-based presentation technologies allow a single demonstrator to control and present a slide show or a computer desktop to multiple remote attendees. In such a case, all attendees will have the same view into a specific application, such as a slide show application, or a specific graphical user interface, such as a desktop, controlled by the demonstrator. The singular demonstrator role may be passed sequentially to various attendees, allowing a limited opportunity for interaction by attendees, on a one-by-one basis.

International Business Machines Corporation


A housing for a ground vehicle-mountable aerial vehicle is provided. The housing includes a base portion defining a cavity and an opening leading into the cavity. The cavity is structured to receive an unmanned aerial vehicle therein. The cavity is configured so as to open upwardly when the housing is mounted on the vehicle. The housing also includes a drafting wall structured to extend from the base portion at a location forward of at least a portion of the cavity when the housing is mounted on the ground vehicle.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's, or "drones") carrying a variety of sensors may be used to extend the ranges of ground-vehicle based sensors. The UAVs may gather and transmit information regarding conditions and events occurring in the path of a ground vehicle. However, it may be difficult to transport, deploy and dock an unmanned aerial vehicle from a ground vehicle, especially a ground vehicle moving at relatively high speeds.

Systems for transporting, deploying, and docking unmanned aerial vehicles mountable on a ground vehicle

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A method of distributing jump-start booster packs. The method includes furnishing a jump-start booster pack without an internal booster battery at an origin location and packaging the jump-start booster pack at the origin location. The jump-start booster pack is then shipped to a remote location.

The present invention relates to jump-start booster pack assemblies intended for use to provide additional energy to vehicle batteries to provide sufficient cranking energy to start the vehicle.
There is a relatively high requirement for the provision of jump-start booster packs to the market, where the jump-start booster packs are intended only to provide a xe2x80x9ctopping upxe2x80x9d for a vehicle battery that has been discharged to such as extent that the vehicle battery is incapable of delivering sufficient energy so as to provide cranking and thereby starting of the vehicle. Such conditions normally arise due to the fact that the operator of the vehicle has inadvertently left the lights, radio, or other energy consuming device or accessory running in the vehicle after the vehicle ignition has been turned off. Such a depleted or xe2x80x9cdeadxe2x80x9d battery is incapable of providing the necessary cranking power to start the vehicle. A jump-start booster pack, used to provide cranking energy to start the vehicle under these conditions, includes an internal booster battery of about the same terminal voltage as the vehicle battery. Such an internal booster battery is usually relatively heavy and forms a substantial portion of the weight of the jump-start booster pack. Jump-start booster packs are assembled, with internal batteries included, at an origin location, such as a manufacturing plant. These assembled booster packs containing internal booster batteries are then shipped to remote locations, such as automobile parts retail stores. Shipping jump-start booster packs that contain relatively heavy internal booster batteries adds to the shipping costs. Also, the jump-start booster packs can be relatively expensive since they contain both a booster battery and supporting hardware and circuitry. A method of distributing jump-start booster packs which address one or more of these problems would be an improvement in the art.
The present invention provides a method for distributing jump-start booster packs. The method includes furnishing a jump-start booster pack without an internal booster battery at an origin location and packaging the jump-start booster pack at the origin location. The jump-start booster pack is then shipped to a remote location.

Method of distributing jump-start booster packs


An elongated channel has an entrance leg and a parallel exit leg and a loop therebetween at one end and a sump at the other end into which the exit leg empties. A power supply operates a fluid in the sump to deliver fluid into the entrance leg. A plurality of spaced paddle wheels are mounted for rotation on supports above the channel with each paddle wheel having a plurality of spaced substantially radially directed paddles conforming in shape to the space within the channel and being slightly spaced therefrom to inhibit any contact therewith. A plurality of generators are driven by the plurality of paddle wheels, and the generators are coupled to utilization or storage devices for using or storing the energy harnessed by the generators. Additional intermediate legs of the channel and other loops can form a sineous path from the location of delivery of fluid by the pump to the location of emptying of the exit leg into the sump. The paddle wheels in the exit legs are offset from the paddle wheels in the entrance legs, so that a plurality of elongated shafts can connect aligned paddle wheels in the entrance legs, and another plurality of elongated shafts can connect aligned paddle wheels in the exit legs. The generators are connected to the plurality and another plurality of the shafts. The channel may be level with the sump disposed below or it may be slightly higher in elevation at the location of delivery of the fluid into the entrance channel and descend in elevation at the location of emptying of the exit leg into the sump.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluid driven power system and particularly to the generation of electricity by the energy of fluids, like water, in a continuous channel wherein the flowing water releases its energy.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There have been many prior inventions which employ water powered paddle wheels, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,856 granted to Pellegrini Loreto, and other well known extractors of energy such as turbines, etc., in run-of-river plants and in plants from reservoirs and dams. In such plants, turbines between the inlets and outlets convert the head of water into electric power.
In the present invention the flow of fluid as it seeks its own level is maximized to more efficiently obtain more of the energy in such a recharged flow of fluid than in prior arrangements.


The invention relates to an insecticidal composition which comprises at least one pyrethroid, at least one UV absorbing agent and at least one antioxidant from the group consisting of tocopherol derivatives and citric acid esters. This insecticidal composition can in particular be used as an emulsion or on a powdery carrier for the control of flying and crawling insects such as flies and cockroaches.

The present invention relates to an insecticidal composition comprising an active amount of at least one pyrethroid, at least one UV absorbing agent and at least one anti-oxidant, and its use for controlling flying and crawling insects.
The insecticidally effective components of pyrethrum and its synthetic analogues, which are derived from the structure indicated in the following, are designated as pyrethroids. The main active substances in pyrethrum are the cinerins I and II, the pyrethrins I and II and the jasmolins I and II (R ompps Chemie-Lexikon, 8th edition (1987), page 3413).
______________________________________ ##STR1##
______________________________________ Pyrethrin I: R.sup.1 = CHCH.sub.2, R.sup.2 = CH.sub.3 Pyrethrin II: R.sup.1 = CHCH.sub.2, R.sup.2 = COOCH.sub.3 Cinerin I: R.sup.1 = R.sup.2 = CH.sub.3 Cinerin II: R.sup.1 = CH.sub.3, R.sup.2 = COOCH.sub.3 Jasmolin I: R.sup.1 = C.sub.2 H.sub.5, R.sup.2 = CH.sub.3 Jasmolin II: R.sup.1 = C.sub.2 H.sub.5, R.sup.2 = COOCH.sub.3 Allethrin: R.sup.1 = H, R.sup.2 = CH.sub.3 ______________________________________
Pyrethrum is obtained from the dried flower heads of various pyrethrum or chrysanthemum species by pulverization or extraction and contains as main active substances pyrethroids such as pyrethrins, cinerins and jasmolins. Apart from nicotine, pyrethrum is the strongest vegetable insecticide; however, its effectiveness is reduced by sunlight and heat (R ompps Chemie-Lexikon, 8th edition (1987), page 3414). The lack of stability, but also the high price of natural pyrethroids led to the development of numerous synthetic derivatives.
Pyrethroids are generally used as isomer mixtures. They have been used for a long time as insecticides, in particular against common houseflies, cockroaches or blackbeetles and other household vermin, moths, corn weevils, mosquitoes, garden and greenhouse parasites, hay worms in viticulture and boll-weevils. Particularly, the natural pyrethroids distinguish themselves by a rapid so-called knock-down effect, i.e. the insects are certainly paralyzed rapidly, but only temporarily, and they recover again. The oxidative detoxication metabolism of the insects is responsible for this undesired effect.
Due to the great instability of the pyrethroids to air and light, numerous attempts have already been made to stabilize pyrethroids and to prolong their effectiveness.
Pyrethrum Post 11(4), 135-7, 51 and J. Agr. Food Chem, 20(2), 313-15 disclose the stabilizing of pyrethrins and allethrin by the addition of an antioxidant and a UV absorbing agent in a mineral oil formulation. While non-stabilized formulations are destroyed almost completely within 4 hours, the combination of an oxidant and a UV absorbing agent results in a considerable stabilization of the pyrethroids for at least 4 hours and more.
Aromatic ketones in which two aromatic rings are directly bonded to an oxo group, e.g. benzophenone derivatives, and esters of aromatic acids, such as esters of substituted benzoic acids are mentioned. The used antioxidants have an OH group, which is directly bonded to an aromatic ring, and at least 14 carbon atoms such as 4-methyl-2,6-di-tert.-butyl phenol or 2,6-dioctadecyl-p-cresol.
US-A-3-506-613, WO-A-86/03374, EP-A-147 947, DE-A-2 615 646 and GB-A-2 058 569 describe various insecticidal compositions on pyrethroid basis, which contain antioxidants and customary UV absorbing agents for stabilizing the pyrethroids. 2,6-di-tert.-butyl-4-methyl phenol, 2,6-dioctadecyl-p-cresol, butylated hydroxy toluene, alkylated phenols, tert.-butyl hydroquinone, butylated hydroxy anisoles, ethoxy chin, ascorbic acid, their salts and derivatives and propionic acid salts are used as antioxidants. However, the stability of these compositions is not satisfactory.
It is the object of the present invention to provide an insecticidal composition with improved long-term effect.


A power interlock switch for an appliance having a removable panel, the power interlock switch comprising a base mounted to the housing, first and second switch terminals mounted to the base, a leaf spring conductor mounted to the first switch terminal and deflectable into contact with the second switch terminal, and a pivotally mounted lever which is engaged by the removable panel and rotates to deflect the leaf spring conductor into bridging contact across the two switch terminals. One conductor of the appliance line cord is connected to one of the switch terminals via a clip and tab structure, and the other switch terminal is connected to electrical components of the appliance. A third terminal mounted to the base has tabs for connecting the other conductor of the line cord and an additional conductor completing the circuit. A cover is provided and clamps the line cord to the base for strain relief purposes. When the removable panel is removed from the appliance, the leaf spring conductor separates from contact with the second switch terminal to cut off power to the electrical components of the appliance.

This invention relates to a power interlock switch well adapted for use in an electrical appliance having a removable panel to automatically switch off power to the appliance when the panel is removed.
Electrical appliances often contain electrical components which pose a hazard of electrical shock or burns to anyone touching them. Such electrical components are, therefore, to the extent practicable, positioned in compartments within the electrical appliances such that access to them is not readily available. In some instances, it is necessary to have exposed electrical components within electrical appliances, e.g. in electrical cooking appliances, electrical resistance heating elements are exposed within the cooking cavity in order to provide heat thereto. A toaster/oven is an example of one such electrical appliance, wherein there are both electrical components in the form of thermostats, controls, timers, etc., and there are also electrical resistance heating elements disposed in a cooking cavity.
In a copending application, Ser. No. 001,024 filed Jan. 4, 1979 now abandoned, also assigned to the assignee of this application, there is disclosed a toaster/oven having a removable back panel. In conjunction with a pivotally opening door, also preferably removable, opposite the removable rear panel, access to the interior of the cooking cavity is greatly improved, and cleaning may be more readily accomplished. Despite the provision of a door switch for switching off electrical power to the heating elements of the toaster/oven when the door is opened, the removable rear panel provides additional access to the interior of the cooking cavity and to the heating elements therein. Thus, a door switch alone is insufficient to assure that there will be no electrical power to the heating elements during cleaning. In addition, the door switch does not cut off power to electrical components of the toaster/oven other than the heating elements.
Electrical appliances such as toaster/ovens need to be serviced from time to time, and in the instance of electrical cooking appliances, they need to be cleaned. It is desirable that the supply of electricity to an appliance be switched off during service and/or cleaning, and that the switching off of the electricity occur automatically upon the removal of panels which expose the dangerous electrical components.

Power interlock switch for electrical appliances


An orthopedic apparatus for persons handicapped in one leg. The apparatus includes a rigid member one end of which engages the ground between the legs of the user and the other end of which includes a saddle for engaging the individual between his legs in the crotch area.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an orthopedic apparatus for persons handicapped in one leg, which includes a support member that relieves the weight of the body from that leg both when the user is in motion and not, without exerting any force on the thigh muscles and while leaving the user's hands and arms totally free.
2. Background Art
Numerous devices are known for helping a person handicapped in one leg to walk. After the cane and the crutch held under the armpit, the use of the so-called "English" cane has spread considerably. This English cane includes a segment which lies parallel to the forearm and supports the elbow by a cup, while the hand grips a handle. In use, a number of drawbacks have appeared, such as for example : the transmission of the weight through the arms and the elbow, and the need to grip the canes firmly with the hands, which puts a considerable strain on these body parts, causes excessive fatigue and can even provoke distal or proximal articular inflammations of the upper limbs.
The present invention is aimed at providing an orthopedic apparatus for persons handicapped in one leg (post-traumatic or postoperative period requiring total or partial relieving of the limb), which is constructed in such a manner as to avoid the above-mentioned side effects and to facilitate complete rehabilitation.
For this purpose, an apparatus was proposed [R. Volkert and Dr. Steeger, 4520 Medizinisch-Orthopadische Technik, vol. 103 (1983) No 2, March-April, p. 45-48], which was designed for relieving the handicapped leg and for allowing the user to walk without the help of his hands or of any other orthopedic means. The apparatus which was proposed embraces the thigh and supports the dorsal part of the pelvis. As a result, the thigh muscles are strongly compressed and they transmit the weight of the body to a metallic member, the lower end of which is constructed to lean against the ground, both when walking and when standing.
However, to wear such an apparatus is bound to be relatively rapidly painful to the thigh.
An orthopedic apparatus was also proposed (U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,882) for the same purpose, comprising a member for leaning against the ground, which is rigid and of an elongated shape, and which is provided at its upper end with a saddle designed for receiving the user in a seated position, as when sitting on a bicycle. Two handles are integral with this saddle for the user to hold with his hands as he walks, so as to maintain the saddle in contact with his buttocks. The saddle relieves the handicapped leg of the weight of the body only when the user stops and not when he walks.

Orthopedic apparatus for persons handicapped in one leg


A surgical stapling device including a handle assembly, a body portion, and a head portion is disclosed. The handle assembly includes a firing trigger. The body portion extends distally from the handle assembly. The head portion includes an anvil assembly and a shell assembly. The anvil assembly is movable in relation to the shell assembly between spaced and approximated positions. The shell assembly includes a pusher and an inner guide portion. The pusher includes at least one slot therein and is movable in relation to the anvil assembly between retracted and extended positions. The inner guide portion is disposed adjacent at least a portion of the pusher and includes a raised boss extending therefrom. The raised boss is configured to shroud the slot in the pusher when the pusher is in the retracted position.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates generally to a surgical stapling device for applying surgical staples to body tissue. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical stapling device suitable for performing circular anastomosis and/or treatment to internal walls of hollow tissue organs.
2. Background of Related Art
Anastomosis is the surgical joining of separate hollow organ sections. Typically, an anastomosis procedure follows surgery in which a diseased or defective section of hollow tissue is removed and the remaining end sections are to be joined. Depending on the desired anastomosis procedure, the end sections may be joined by either circular, end-to-end or side-to -side organ reconstruction methods.
In a circular anastomosis procedure, the two ends of the organ sections are joined by means of a stapling instrument which drives a circular array of staples through the end section of each organ section and simultaneously cores any tissue interior of the driven circular array of staples to free the tubular passage. Examples of instruments for performing circular anastomosis of hollow organs are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,053,390, 5,588,579, 5,119,983, 5,005,749, 4,646,745, 4,576,167, and 4,473,077, each of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Typically, these instruments include an elongated shaft having a handle portion at a proximal end to actuate the instrument and a staple holding component disposed at a distal end. An anvil assembly including an anvil rod with attached anvil head is mounted to the distal end of the instrument adjacent the staple holding component. Opposed end portions of tissue of the hollow organ(s) to be stapled are clamped between the anvil head and the staple holding component. The clamped tissue is stapled by driving one or more staples from the staple holding component so that the ends of the staples pass through the tissue and are deformed by the anvil head. An annular knife is concurrently advanced to core tissue with the hollow organ to free a tubular passage within the organ.
Besides anastomosis of hollow organs, surgical stapling devices for performing circular anastomosis have been used to treat internal hemorrhoids in the rectum. Typically, during use of a circular stapling device for hemorrhoid treatment, the anvil head and the staple holding component of the surgical stapling device are inserted through the anus and into the rectum with the anvil head and the staple holding component in an open or unapproximated position. Thereafter, a pursestring suture is used to pull the internal hemorrhoidal tissue towards the anvil rod. Next, the anvil head and the staple holding component are approximated to clamp the hemorrhoid tissue between the anvil head and the staple holding component. The stapling device is fired to remove the hemorrhoidal tissue and staple the cut tissue.
In current instruments, the surgical stapling device includes a shell assembly with supports ribs configured to provide support to the outer wall of the shell assembly. A mating staple pusher includes slots therein configured to align with the support ribs of the shell assembly. When the instrument is fired, the slots in the pusher may become exposed and tissue can extrude into the slots. This extruded tissue may become trapped between the shell assembly and the pusher when the pusher is retracted and form so-called "tissue donuts." These tissue donuts are not desirable because the tissue may become jammed between the shell and knife, which may make utilizing the instrument more difficult for the user.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a surgical stapling device which reduces the likelihood of formation of tissue donuts.


The invention discloses an image processing apparatus for adjusting the lightness of an input image which has a hue. The image processing apparatus includes a look-up table, a processing unit and an adder. The look-up table records M lightness, N hues and M*N corresponding lightness offset values. The processing unit is used for storing the look-up table and for selecting a corresponding lightness offset value from the look-up table according to the lightness and the hue of the input image. The adder is coupled to the processing unit and used for adding the selected lightness offset value to the lightness of the input image, so as to obtain an adjusted lightness. Accordingly, the image quality is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image processing apparatus and a method of the same, and more particularly, to an image processing apparatus and a method which can adjust lightness of an input image, and then adjust saturation of the input image according to the adjusted lightness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In current displays, all users can adjust color saturations via an on screen display (OSD) for enhancing displaying effects of images. Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an image processing apparatus 1 according to prior art. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram of the look-up table of lightness gain 160a shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram of the look-up table of hue gain 160b shown in FIG. 1. The image processing apparatus 1 includes a first color space converter 10, a hue converter 12, a first saturation converter 14, processing units 16a and 16b, multipliers 18a and 18b, a second saturation converter 20, and a second color space converter 22. The processing unit 16a can store the lightness gain look-up table 160a, as shown in FIG. 2A, and the processing unit 16b can store the hue gain look-up table 160b, as shown in FIG. 2B.
The first color space converter 10 is used for converting an input image from RGB color space into Lab color space, wherein L stands for a lightness component, and, a and b stand for color components respectively. The hue converter 12 is used for converting the color components a and b into a hue (H) of the input image, wherein the hue (H) is defined as {dot over (H)}=tan−1(b/a). The first saturation converter 14 is used for converting the color components a and b into a saturation (S) of the input image, wherein the saturation (S) is defined as S=√{square root over (a2+b2)}.
The processing unit 16a determines a lightness gain (Gain-L) based on the lightness (L) of an input image and the look-up table of lightness gain 160a. The processing unit 16b determines a hue gain (Gain-H) based on the hue of the input image and the look-up table of hue gain 160b. Then, the multiplier 18a multiplies the lightness gain (Gain-L) by the hue gain (Gain-H) to generate a saturation gain (Gain-S). Afterward, the multiplier 18b multiplies the saturation gain (Gain-S) by the saturation of the input image to generate an adjusted saturation.
The second saturation converter 20 is used for converting the adjusted saturation into the color components a and b. Then, the second color space converter 22 converts the input image, from the second saturation converter 20, from Lab color space into RGB color space.
Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of Lab color space. FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a saturation with different lightness and hues in the Lab color space. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the Lab color space, the lightness (L) is controlled by heights, the hue (H) is controlled by angles, and the saturation (S) is controlled by radii. According to the above description, the image processing apparatus 1 of prior art uses the lightness gain (Gain-L) and the hue gain (Gain-H), respectively, to adjust the saturation of the input image. However, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the lightness of the input image is different, the saturation range of hue of the input image will be different accordingly. Because the section of the color space of each lightness is different and different hues (angles) have different saturation ranges, the lightness gain (Gain-L) is selected based on the lightness and the hue gain (Gain-H) is selected based on the hue would result in that the saturation is not easy to control and it leads to color deviations as well.
Besides, the image processing apparatus 1 of the prior art is used for adjusting saturation; therefore, users can not increase or decrease lightness according to their preference.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to provide an image processing apparatus and a method of the same to solve the above mentioned problems.

Image processing apparatus and method for adjusting a lightness and an input image


A visual inspection system includes a database storing a wireframe model of an object and a portable electronic device equipped with an imaging device and a display. The portable electronic device is in communication with the database. The portable electronic device is configured to show on the display the wireframe model as an overlay to an image of the object taken by the imaging device. The display is configured to accept input of a trace of a defect on the display, and displays the trace on the image. A method of transmitting electronic data from an unsecure device to a secure database is also described.

The exterior surfaces of aircraft are typically complex surfaces designed for efficient aerodynamics. For military aircraft, the exterior surfaces may be further configured for low observability. In some instances, aircraft exterior surfaces may be covered with a coating configured to reduce the aircraft's electronic (e.g., radar) signature. Such coatings are typically applied to the aircraft in predetermined coverage areas and in predetermined thicknesses depending on the particular aspects of the aircraft.
The external surfaces and coatings of the aircraft are subject to harsh environmental conditions that may damage the surfaces and coatings. For example, bird strikes, hail, and accidental damage may cause dents, scratches, tears or other physical damage to the aircraft surfaces and coatings. Many surfaces of aircraft are precisely configured to exacting standards, such that small imperfections or damage may alter the characteristics of the surface. For example, such damage may reduce the aerodynamic efficiency and/or alter the electronic (e.g., radar) signature of the aircraft.
As such, maintenance operations of the aircraft typically involve visually inspecting the exterior surfaces and coatings of the aircraft to check for damage. During such inspections, an operator or maintenance person may walk around the aircraft and visually inspect the surfaces of the aircraft for irregularities. If any irregularities are found, the operator will write down notes describing the location and extent of the damage/irregularity. After the operator has completed his inspection, and written down all of the damage, the operator then transcribes the data into a computer system. This process is typically a manual process that involves the operator entering text into the computer database using a keyboard and mouse. In some systems, the operator may be presented with a generic drop-down computer menu that may allow the operator to select damage options from a predefined list. However, these predefined lists tend to be incomplete, and cumbersome to use. Once the damage has been entered into the computer, it is typically stored in a database. Such database may be accessed at a later date, in order to make a determination of whether damage found by an operator at a later date is new or was pre-existing.
However, because the inspection process is manual, and relies on operator defined descriptions of damage or predefined options in a drop down menu, the process is time consuming and prone to error. For example, different inspectors may describe the same damage in different ways, which may lead to confusion as to whether a particular damaged surface is new or pre-existing. In other instances, an operator may be constrained to the predefined damage types in a drop down menu, which may not adequately describe the damage, thus forcing the operator to incorrectly describe the damage. Additionally, the operator may not have the tools necessary to accurately measure the location and dimensions of the damage, and thus may not be able to provide adequate descriptions of the damage.
In other situations, defects that are perceived by the operator as being too small or insignificant to repair may not be documented because operators may feel such documentation is unnecessary (i.e., not worth the operator's time to document). However, this lack of documentation contravenes the ability to adequately assess the impact of numerous minor defects which may collectively be a significant issue.
In other inspection systems, such as laser theodolite systems, a complex system of tripod mounted lasers is placed around the aircraft. The lasers are capable of highly accurate measurement of surface defects of the aircraft, however such systems are costly and time consuming to set up. Further, difficulties in aligning the lasers can lead to frustration and error when attempting to use such systems.
In most inspection systems, the data gathered by the operator must be transmitted to a central database for collection and storage. However, this situation becomes complicated when dealing with classified data systems. For example, although the data collected by the operator is in many instances unclassified data, the unclassified data must be input into a classified database. Due to strict requirements, typically electronic devices must be considered classified if they are electronically coupled to a classified computer. For example, an initially unclassified USB memory device must be handled as a classified device once it is inserted into a classified computer. This may be referred to as "contamination" of the unclassified device. Such contamination is possible because the USB memory device is capable of transmitting data into the classified system, and also receiving data from the classified system. Thus, due to possible contamination issues, transferring data from an unclassified device to a classified system can be costly. For this reason, many times the unclassified data is manually input (as described above) using a keyboard or the like into the classified system in order to avoid possible "contamination" of an electronic storage device.
Although reference is made above to aircraft, such circumstances may arise with other vehicles, objects, structures or devices that are inspected, for example, automobiles, rail cars, watercraft, buildings, tools and the like.
Accordingly, there is an unmet need for a visual inspection system and secure data transfer system that remedies existing issues.

Visual inspection apparatus, secure one-way data transfer device and methods therefor