The multipurpose freight vehicle according to the present invention includes a lower deck capable of loading vehicles as freight thereonto, plural support posts standing up in an opposed state on both side edge portions of the lower deck, and an upper deck adapted to be lifted and lowered along the support posts. The support posts are supported so that they can be turned freely with respect to the lower deck in the direction of a vehicle width or in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck. The support posts are formed so that, when vehicles are not loaded onto the freight vehicle, the support posts can be housed in the lower deck by first lowering the upper deck, and then bringing down the support posts in the direction of a vehicle width or in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck. This enables when the freight vehicle is not loaded with freight the upper deck to be stored on the lower deck, and the support posts to be housed in an upper portion of or along side portions of the lower deck.

This invention relates to a structure having a lower deck, and an upper deck adapted to be lifted and lowered along support posts, and more particularly to a multipurpose freight vehicle capable of being used to transport vehicles; housing an upper deck in a lowered state in a lower deck freely by bringing down upper deck support posts; and transporting freight other than vehicles.
In general, a freight vehicle used exclusively for the transportation of vehicles as freight is made as a two-stage type or three-stage type freight vehicle provided with lower and upper decks so that a greater number of vehicles can be loaded thereonto at once.
Especially, the upper deck is usually made able to be lifted and lowered. Devices for lifting and lowering the upper deck include a link type device formed so as to support the upper deck on plural links operated by hydraulic cylinders, and a support post type device adapted to support the upper deck on plural support posts and lift and lower the same by using hydraulic cylinders and wires.
In a freight vehicle used to carry vehicles and using the support post type upper deck lifting and lowering device out of these devices, the support posts are stood up in an opposed state on both side edge portions of the lower deck, and the hydraulic cylinders are fixed to the respective support posts separately. Pulleys are fixed to retractable rods of the hydraulic cylinders, and the wires mentioned above are passed around the pulleys. One end portion of each of the wires is engaged with the upper deck, and the other end portion thereof the respective support posts. Therefore, when the pulleys are lifted and lowered by extending and retracting the rods of the hydraulic cylinders, the movements of the pulleys are transmitted to the upper deck via the wires, so that the upper deck is lifted and lowered.
Even in a freight vehicle using the support post type upper deck lifting and lowering device, the upper deck lifting and lowering operations are carried out practically by using a link mechanism.
However, according to the above-mentioned related art freight vehicle for transporting vehicles, using the support post type upper deck operating device, support posts are fixed to a vehicle body. Therefore, in order to load freight other than vehicles, for example, elongated steel materials onto a lowered upper deck from a side portion of the a vehicle body, the standing support posts obstruct the loading operation. Consequently, the loading and unloading of such elongated materials can be done only from the upper and rear portions of the vehicle body, so that efficient loading and unloading operations cannot be carried out.
On the other hand, in the freight vehicle using the link type upper deck lifting and lowering device, the upper deck lifting and lowering mechanism becomes complicated. The freight vehicle has a structure in which, even when the upper deck is in a lowered state, the link mechanism has to support at all times a rear portion of the upper deck. Therefore, the rear portion of the upper deck is put in an unstable half-sitting posture, and, even when the upper deck is in a lowered state, the upper deck is readily vibrated in the lateral direction during the travel of the freight vehicle.
The present invention provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that an upper deck lowered and piled on a lower deck can be combined with the lower deck in a unitarized state, whereby a stable flat bed surface is secured, support posts being rendered able to be brought down with the upper deck lowered, in such a manner that the support posts do not obstruct freight loading and unloading operations, whereby the freight loading and unloading operations can be carried out from a side portion of a vehicle body.
The present invention also provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that support posts standing in a mutually opposed state on both side portions of a lower deck can be folded on and housed in the lower deck with an upper deck lowered and piled on the lower deck, the support posts being thereby combined with the lower deck in a unitary state, whereby a flat floor surface is secured.
The present invention also provides a multipurpose freight vehicle is formed so that support posts standing on both side portions of a lower deck can be folded in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck and housed therein with upper deck lowered and piled on the lower deck, whereby the lower deck secures a flat bed surface.
The present invention further provides a multipurpose freight vehicle formed so that support posts standing on both side portions of a lower deck can be brought down with cylinders, which are fixed so as to extend along the support posts, in the longitudinal direction of the lower deck, vibration stopping rods being provided insertably between the standing support posts and cylinders so as to reduce vibrations of the support posts and cylinders to as great an extent as possible, and thereby stabilize the travel of the freight vehicle, whereby base end portions of the pivotably supported support posts can be protected against the breakage of the same end portions which is ascribed to the wear thereof due to the vibration of the support posts.


An ion exchange filter apparatus to reduce ions contained in a liquid medium used in a fuel cell system is equipped with an ion exchange filter 6 to receive an ion exchange resin 38. The ion exchange filter 6 includes a flow passage 27 to introduce the liquid medium to the ion exchange resin 38, a bypass passage 7 to flow the liquid medium by bypassing the ion exchange resin 38, and an orifice 21 disposed at a branch section where the bypass passage 7 is branched from the flow passage 27, to determine a flow volume ratio of the liquid medium flowing in the ion exchange resin 38 and the bypass passage 7, wherein a hole diameter of the orifice is set so that a pressure loss generated when all the amount of the liquid medium flows in the bypass passage 7 becomes substantially equal to an allowance maximum pressure loss of the ion exchange filter 6.

In case a fuel cell system is applied to a movable body such as a vehicle, a liquid medium such as purified water used for cooling or humidification for a fuel cell is used to be circulated. When the liquid medium is, however, used and circulated over the long term, due to ion separation from a casing of the fuel cell or eluting materials from various hoses or pipes, density of impurities in the liquid medium is gradually increased, which tends to introduce clog or corrosion of the pipes. As an apparatus to remove these impurities, there is in general used an ion exchange filter filled with an ion exchange resin.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-35519A has disclosed that an ion exchange filter is used for removing impurities in a medium and further, a circuit to bypass the ion exchange filter is disposed to perform ion-exchange treatment only to a part of the medium for downsizing of the ion exchange filter.


Intake air is severely restricted during cold start of a diesel engine to provide high engine-out exhaust gas temperatures and quickly heat exhaust treatment devices. Cylinder pressures are maintained substantially below the pressure of the ambient atmosphere during a principal portion of the intake stroke of each combustion cycle to promote rapid fuel vaporization and higher combustion temperatures. The engine is operated in a premixed charge compression ignition combustion mode to provide a high engine-out exhaust temperature, stable combustion, and low emissions during the cold start period.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a method for increasing engine-out temperature during cold start of a diesel engine to provide fast warm-up of exhaust aftertreatment system components, and more particularly to such a method that includes reducing the mass of the intake air charge and the intake manifold pressure of low-pressure premixed charge compression ignition dominated combustion during cold start.
2. Background Art
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set very stringent emissions standards for diesel engines. The standards are directed at reducing smog-causing emissions from all diesel engines, including off-road vehicles, trucks, buses, recreational vehicles, and motor homes. In particular, standards set forth for model year 2007 place significant limits on NOx and particulate matter (PM) emissions that will require changes in both in-cylinder (engine-out) combustion control and exhaust treatment devices.
Several alternative combustion modes, such as low temperature combustion (LTC), premixed charge compression ignition (PCCI), and other variations of standard diesel combustion, are currently being studied for in-cylinder combustion control. Simultaneously, exhaust treatment devices are being developed to synergistically couple with specific combustion modes. Currently, a lean NOx trap (LNT) is the most likely exhaust treatment device for the control of NOx emissions for light-duty diesel vehicles, while diesel particulate filters (DPF) are a near certainty for PM control.
Although these devices currently offer the most promise for controlling exhaust emissions, they are not effective until they are heated to a predefined operating, or activation, temperature. Fast warm-up during cold start is an important issue because if the exhaust treatment devices are not active early in the first phase of the prescribed Federal Test Procedure 75 (FTP-75) driving cycle, the vehicle will exceed the emissions limits.
Several techniques have been proposed for specifically decreasing the warm-up time of exhaust treatment devices. For example, recently published U.S. Pat. No. 6,935,100 B2 granted Aug. 30, 2005 to Manabu Miura for a METHOD FOR WARM-UP CATALYST OF EXHAUST GAS TREATMENT DEVICE describes reducing the excess air ratio of the intake charge during cold start and warm-up. However, the method proposed by Miura requires one or more delay periods after cold start to make certain determinations and adjustments. Moreover, it has been found that controlling excess air, by itself, has limited effect on providing the high in-cylinder (engine-out) temperatures required to quickly heat exhaust treatment devices to their effective operating temperature.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems described above with respect to reducing the warm-up time of exhaust treatment devices during cold start and warm-up. It is desirable to have a method for reducing the exhaust flow rate during cold start and warm-up of an engine by immediately reducing the mass of the intake air charge by reducing intake charge pressure during the intake stroke of each combustion cycle and increasing engine fueling. It is also desirable to have a method whereby NOx emissions are reduced during cold start. Moreover, it is desirable to have a method for limiting soot emissions during cold start and warm-up of an engine by using premixed charge compression ignition combustion in which the intake and compression stroke pressures are reduced to enhance fuel vaporization and fuel-air mixing.

Fast warm-up of diesel aftertreatment system during cold start


Apparatus and method for bending channel-shaped panels includes a crimping assembly having a stationary bottom die, movable top die and a drive that moves the top die past the bottom die to form a continuous crease in both the bottom and side walls to bend the panel to a selected angle. A pair of the crimping assemblies side by side form a double bend for pitched roof panels. Each crimping assembly has a guide for the top die which includes end members with slots defining cam surfaces at the ends of the bottom die and lever members with cam pins pivotally mounted to the ends of each top die. Hydraulic cylinders engage the lever members to move the cam pins against the cam surfaces to perform a straight line movement of the top die past the bottom die to perform a transverse continuous crease in the base wall and side walls of the panel and the ends of the panel are turned about the crease for performing a bend of a selected angle in the panel.

A number of different types of apparatus and methods have been employed for bending panels.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,347,726 and 4,603,572 disclose apparatus and methods for this purpose. In the past when channel-shaped panels have been formed, the creases formed in the material go in from the base or bottom wall and out from the side. Some of the bending apparatus heretofore provided is for bending a flat plate and others are directed to bending channel-shaped panels.
EPC No. 0,049,313 discloses a panel bending apparatus using a multi-part die and a variable adjustable pressing force.
Sweden No. 459,481 discloses a method and apparatus for bending corrugated sheet using a flat bottom die and a movable top die that has the effect of crushing the corrugations but the movable die does not go past the plane of the panel. Subsequent bending is done manually.


The technology disclosed relates to testing hybrid positioning systems, including systems that rely on MEMS sensors. In particular, it relates to methods and devices for configuring and running tests of hybrid positioning systems.

The technology disclosed relates to testing hybrid positioning systems, including systems that rely on MEMS sensors. In particular, it relates to methods and devices for configuring and running tests of hybrid positioning systems.
Designers of smart phones, hand-held devices and other portable devices that deliver position data face increasing challenges to deliver accurate location data in difficult environments. The challenges arise from both regulatory requirements and consumer expectations. At least in the United States, regulations for E-911 service require manufacturers of some communication devices that are used to contact 911 emergency services to assist emergency operators in locating the caller. This is evolving to include identification of the floor in a building from which the call originated. From consumer's expectations, requirements for accurate positioning are more exacting. Consumers reportedly desire information for navigation purposes with an accuracy of 3 to 10 m, in all environments. Challenging environments include urban canyons, where multi-path reflections of signals complicate analysis. Even more challenging are indoor environments that either receive no signal from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) or that receive only reflected, distorted and/or weak signals.
Space ships, aircraft and rockets have used expensive inertial guidance systems as an alternative to relying on global navigation satellite constellations. Inertial guidance systems support dead reckoning, both intermittently and for extended periods of time, even when external reference signals are unavailable or unreliable. However, traditional inertial guidance sensors are too large, too expensive and too inflexible to be adapted to a handheld device.
Microelectronic mechanical sensors (MEMS) hold promise for providing functionality of similar to inertial guidance systems, while satisfying the form factor and production budget requirements for handheld devices. However, they are noisy, in an information theory sense, and operate in an algorithmically challenging environment. Human motion is algorithmically challenging because the position and orientation of the handheld device can vary rapidly, relative to overall movement of a person or vehicle conveying the handheld device. For instance, sensors in a smart phone will sense a pedestrian's stride and the pedestrian's gestures to operate the phone, such as viewing a text message or making a telephone call. Some observers have predicted that it will take another 3 to 5 years to develop practical algorithms that utilize MEMS data for dead reckoning over more than just a few seconds.
An opportunity arises to provide new and improved tools for use by developers and producers of smart phones, hand-held devices and other portable devices that deliver position data. In particular, this disclosure focuses on test tools.


A lock system for casement or awning windows. The lock system includes a keeper and a tie bar with a rivet assembly rotatably attached thereto. The rivet assembly includes a rivet and a sleeve rotationally fixed to the rivet, the rivet and the sleeve having longitudinal axes parallel to but offset from each other.

A casement or an awning window generally refers to a sash that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. The hinges can be located on any side of the sash and the frame though generally not on the lower edge of the sash and frame. In general, a casement window rotates along a vertical axis (the hinges of a casement window defining a vertical rotation axis), while an awning window rotates along a horizontal axis (the hinges of an awning window defining a horizontal rotation axis). Most casement and awning windows which employ the use of a crank lever or cam handle operator open outwardly so as not to interfere with the operator of the window.
In a casement or awning window, a lock system is generally provided on the non-hinge side where the window sash meets the window frame. In some configurations, a tie bar having at least one rivet is provided in the frame and at least one keeper is provided on the sash. When the window is in the closed position, the keeper is adjacent to the rivets. The window operator then moves the tie bar via a drive assembly causing the rivets to engage with the keeper. This engagement pulls-in the window sash to the window frame thus providing a sufficient seal between the frame and sash and locking the window.
However, due to variations in window manufacturing and in field installations, it has been observed that the engagement of the rivet with the keeper may not be as precise as possible resulting in a less than satisfactory seal between the frame and sash. Prior attempts have been made toward providing adjustability of the rivet or the keeper, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,389, said patent being hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. These prior attempts, however, have not been entirely satisfactory. Therefore, there still exists a need for a window lock system that allows for easy adjustment resulting in a satisfactory seal between the sash and frame.


A spindle motor and a disk drive device are provided that have a high operation efficiency of the motor, that does not leak oil, and that has an improved stability by decreasing a runout component in the direction of the rotation axis. The spindle motor includes a rotor hub (20) composed of a disk-like flange (201) and a cylinder-shaped shaft (203); a ring-shaped rotating magnet (16) fastened on one main surface of the flange (201); an armature (14) facing the rotating magnet (16); a sleeve (80) rotatably supporting the shaft (203); and a chassis (15) fixing the armature (14) and the sleeve (80). The flange (201) and the shaft (203) are integrally formed with magnetic material; a protrusion is not provided between a mounting surface (204) for mounting the rotating magnet (16) thereon and a counter-face surface (205) facing the end surface of the sleeve; and the mounting surface (204) and the counter-face surface (205) are orthogonal to the direction of the central axis (A-A′) of the shaft (203), and in a level plane; or the mounting surface (204) is recessed stepwise from the counter-face surface (205) toward the disk mounting portion (202).

For the bearing of a spindle motor used for such as a disk drive device that records and reproduces information by rotating a disk-shaped recording medium such as a hard disk, various kinds of dynamic pressure bearings are proposed that utilize fluid pressure of lubricating fluid such as oil intervening between a shaft and a sleeve to rotatably support the shaft and sleeve for rotation relative to one another.
A spindle motor including such a dynamic pressure bearing is required to prevent a negative pressure from occurring in the oil with a simplified structure while maintaining desired bearing rigidity as well as reducing thickness of the bearing and reducing its cost.
FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a spindle motor proposed to solve the above-described problem (e.g. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2003-88042, referred to as literature 1 hereinafter). In this spindle motor, rotor hub 901, shaft 902, and rotating magnet 903 compose rotor 900. Rotor hub 901 includes substantially disk-shaped flange (top plate) 904 and cylinder-shaped back yoke 905 hanging down from the outer circumferential edge of flange 904. One end of shaft 902 is externally fitted to the central part of flange 904 of rotor hub 901. Further, radial dynamic pressure bearings 906, 907, which generate fluid dynamic pressure in the oil while rotor 900 is rotating, are provided on the inner circumferential surface of sleeve 908 and the outer circumferential surface of shaft 902.
At least one of the top end surface of sleeve 908 or flange 904 of rotor hub 901 is provided with dynamic pressure generating grooves (not shown) to compose thrust bearing 909. Here, the dynamic pressure generating grooves are provided so as to apply the oil with a radially inward pressure while rotor 900 is rotating.
A series of minute gaps is formed between the top end surface of sleeve 908 and the bottom surface of flange 904 of rotor hub 901; between the outer circumferential surface of shaft 902 beyond flange 904 and the inner circumferential surface of sleeve 908; and between the end surface of shaft 902 and the inner surface of seal cap 910. The minute gap retain oil therein continuously, forming a dynamic pressure bearing with what is called a fulfilling structure. The end of shaft 902 forms a bearing that utilizes a pressure substantially balancing with the oil pressure within thrust bearing 909. This prevents a negative pressure from occurring in the oil with a simplified structure while maintaining desired bearing rigidity providing for reduced thickness and cost.
FIG. 14 illustrates an example of another conventional spindle motor (e.g. Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2004-248344, referred to as literature 2 hereinafter). As shown in FIG. 14, this spindle motor has shaft 923 integrally formed with rotor hub 921. Magnetic body 935 which generates magnetic attractive force between magnetic body 935 and field magnet 922 is provided on a part of base plate 931 where it faces field magnet 922, such that thrust force is developed.
In the above-described literature 1, a slight gap may be formed between the flange of the rotor hub and the fixing portion of the shaft, possibly causing oil filled as a dynamic pressure bearing to be drawn into the gap by capillarity. At this moment, the oil can undesirably leak from the boundary surface between the rotor hub on the central part of the top surface of the rotor and the shaft.
When fitting the rotor hub with the shaft, it is not easy to ensure the runout accuracy of the disk-mounting surface in the axial direction of the shaft. Accordingly, when a disk (not shown) is fitted, the axial component of the runout of the disk surface and its variation undesirably increase.
In the above-described literature 2, processing the shaft is difficult due to the cylinder-shaped back yoke, thereby undesirably deteriorating the processing accuracy. Further, the diameter of the shaft is difficult to measure, thereby preventing easy management of the steps of manufacturing spindle motors.
On the base plate, a magnetic body must be fixed to cause a magnetic attractive force between the magnetic body and a field magnet, at a position facing the field magnet, where in order to slim down the spindle motor, the thickness of the magnetic body needs to be reduced as well. However, with a thin magnetic body, it is difficult to ensure adequate strength, thereby causing a distortion in the circumferential direction of the spindle motor. Consequently, the amount of air gap between the field magnet and the magnetic body cannot be stabilized, and thus the axial runout component undesirably occurs upon the rotation of the rotor hub.
Moreover, the magnetic body fixed on the base plate loses its adhesivity due to factors such as aging and temperature change, eventually causing possible desorption of the magnetic body. If desorption occurs, generation of force in the thrust direction ceases, thereby deteriorating the bearing performance.

Spindle motor and disk drive device using the same


An ink jet head ejects ink as ink droplets through application of an electrostatic force to the ink. The ink jet head includes ejection portions provided with ejection electrodes for applying the electrostatic force to the ink and a shield electrode formed between adjacent ejection portions of the ejection portions for preventing electric field interference from occurring between adjacent ejection electrodes of the adjacent ejection portions, wherein the following formula (1) is satisfied, Y≦5×Va (1), where Va [V] is a drive voltage applied to the ejection electrodes, and Y [μm] is an arrangement interval between the adjacent ejection portions. An ink jet recording device records an image corresponding to image data on a recording medium using the ink jet head. An ink jet plate making apparatus forms an image on a printing substrate as the recording medium using the ink jet recording device to make a printing plate.

The present invention belongs to the field of ink jet recording in which ink is ejected as ink droplets, and relates more specifically to an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets by causing electrostatic force to act on the ink, and an ink jet recording device and an ink jet plate making apparatus using the ink jet head.
In an electrostatic ink jet recording system, ink having an electric charge is used and ink ejection is controlled by utilizing electrostatic force through application of a predetermined voltage (drive voltage) to ejection electrodes (drive electrodes) of an ink jet head corresponding to image data to record an image corresponding to the image data on a recording medium. For example, the ink jet recording device disclosed in JP 10-138493 A is known as the electrostatic ink jet recording device.
In JP 10-138493 A, there is disclosed the ink jet recording device as an example of the electrostatic ink jet recording device in which ink guides are provided to extend through through holes that function as nozzles from which ink is ejected and ejection electrodes are disposed on the peripheries of the through holes. The ink jet recording device disclosed in JP 10-138493 A generates electric fields around the through holes through application of voltages to the ejection electrodes corresponding to recording data, causing the force from the electric fields act on the meniscuses of the ink formed at the through holes, and ejects the ink droplets from the through holes to a recording medium.
Such the electrostatic ink jet recording system is capable of forming fine droplets and drawing images with high resolution. Specially, the electrostatic ink jet recording system which uses the ink prepared by dispersing charged colorant particles in an insulative solvent hardly causes bleeding of ink dots on a recording medium, so that it can be used for image recording for various recording media.
Such the electrostatic ink jet recording device can be produced at low cost by making the head itself small.
However, in the ink jet head disclosed in JP 10-138493 A, when the ejection portions (channels) are disposed at high density for making the head small (that is, when the ejection portions are disposed in a highly integrated manner), the electric field generated at an ejection portion influences the electric field generated at an adjacent ejection portion, that is, electric field interference occurs between adjacent ejection portions, which may cause a problem in that ink ejection at the ejection portions becomes unstable. Unstable ink ejection would cause an error in ink ejection, displacement of positions to which ink is adhered and the like, thereby making it difficult to form images with high quality and high definition.
Further, when the ejection portions are disposed at high density, it is difficult to maintain the insulating properties between adjacent ejection portions.

Ink jet head, and ink jet recording device and ink jet plate making apparatus using the same


A communication network system for monitoring data traffic is disclosed, in which at least one switch serving as an intermediary to a plurality of data input streams and a plurality of data output streams; a capture server in communication with the switch; and a data acquisition control engine operable to receive data acquisition instructions from a user and cause the received instructions to be implemented at the switch.

When operating large, complex communication networks it is desirable to monitor data traffic. Reasons for such monitoring may include troubleshooting, quality monitoring, assuring the security of protected information, metering data traffic, and so forth. Implementing such monitoring in networks with a large number of devices and which extend over large distances can be challenging. Various existing approaches have been used to address this matter.
One existing approach involves the use of taps. A tap may be physically installed within a communication path and, once installed, is operable to copy all data transmission occurring within the tapped path to a server which can receive and store the copied data, or which may analyze the data in real time. However, installing taps at various points of interest within a large, distributed network is cumbersome and expensive.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved systems and methods for data traffic monitoring within a communication network.

System and method for data acquisition in an internet protocol network


A toner having good low-temperature fixability, charge stability, environmental stability, and durability and capable of stably producing high-quality images for a long time is provided. The toner includes a toner particle having a core-shell structure constituted of a core and a shell phase. The core contains a binder resin, a colorant, and wax, and the shell phase contains a resin A. The resin A is a comb polymer including a main chain portion (X), a side chain portion (Y), and a side chain portion (Z). The main chain portion (X) is a vinyl polymer, the side chain portion (Y) has an aliphatic polyester structure and has an ester group concentration of a polyester segment of 6.5 mmol/g or less, and the side chain portion (Z) has an organic polysiloxane structure and has an average number of Si—O bond repeating units of a siloxane segment of 2 or more and 100 or less.

In recent years, energy conservation has been regarded as a significant technical objective for copy machines, printers, and fax machines and significant reduction of the amount of heat used in fixing units has been desired. Under such trends, there is a growing demand for low fixing temperature toners that can be fixed with low energy.
With a growing demand for these apparatuses worldwide, there has also been an increasing demand for apparatuses that can stably produce high-quality images in various operating environments, in particular, environments of various different temperature and humidity. Under such trends, the toners used in such apparatuses are desired to exhibit charge properties unaffected by the temperature and humidity and have high durability that causes less image deterioration even after a large number of copies and printouts are made.
An example of a typical method for improving the low temperature fixability of toners is to decrease the glass transition temperature (Tg) of binder resins in the toners. However, merely decreasing the Tg of binder resins impairs the thermal storage resistance of the toner. It has been considered difficult to achieve both the low temperature fixability and the thermal storage resistance.
In order to achieve the low temperature fixability and the thermal storage resistance at the same time, feasibility of using a crystalline resin that has a highly sharp melting characteristic as the binder resin has been investigated.
Amorphous resins generally used as binder resins in toners do not have endothermic peaks in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurement. Binder resins that contain crystalline resins exhibit endothermic peaks in DSC measurement. The peak temperature of the endothermic peak is the melting point of the crystalline resin.
Crystalline polyester resins have a structure in which polymer chains are regularly aligned, do not readily soften in the temperature region below the melting point, and have a property of rapidly melting and undergoing a decrease in viscosity at and after the melting point. Because of these properties, crystalline polyester resins have drawn much attention in recent years and studies have been actively made on use of crystalline polyester resins as a material of toners.
PTL 1 proposes a toner obtained by dispersing in a liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide a solution of a resin constituted by an amorphous segment and a crystalline segment containing an aliphatic polyester (i.e., crystalline polyester) as an essential component in an organic solvent so as to form resin particles containing the resin and the organic solvent, and then removing the organic solvent and carbon dioxide.
PTL 2 proposes a toner obtained by dispersing in a liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide fine particles containing a resin that contains a vinyl monomer having a crystalline polyester chain as an essential constitutional unit to prepare a dispersion, and dispersing in this dispersion a solution of a resin that will serve as a binder resin in an organic solvent so as to form resin particles having the fine particles fixed to the surfaces, and then removing the organic solvent and carbon dioxide.
Compared to typical toners that use amorphous resins as binder resins, these toners exhibit superior low temperature fixability due to the sharp melting characteristic of the crystalline polyester. However, studies conducted by the inventors of the present application have shown that these toners do not necessarily have sufficient charge properties and have a tendency of not stably retaining the amount of charge after triboelectric charging. When a developer that contains such a toner is left unstirred, scattering of the toner to non-image portions and image defects readily occur in the subsequent development step and high-quality images are not always obtained.
The cause thereof is presumably that crystalline polyesters have a volume resistivity lower than typical amorphous resins and leakage of charge readily occur when the crystalline polyester contained in the toner is exposed in particle surfaces.
Another possible approach for improving the environmental stability of the toner is to cover the toner particle surfaces with a hydrophobic material. Organic polysiloxanes are known to have a low surface tension. Thus, introducing an organic polysiloxane structure into surface portions of toner particles may produce a toner that has a charge property unaffected by the ambient humidity.
PTL 3 proposes a toner obtained by dispersing an organic solvent solution of a resin containing a crystalline polyester into liquid or supercritical carbon dioxide containing dispersed fine particles containing a resin that contains a vinyl monomer (silicone-containing vinyl monomer) having an organic polysiloxane structure as an essential constitutional unit so as to form resin particles having the fine particles fixed to the surfaces, and then removing the organic solvent and carbon dioxide.
The toner obtained in accordance with this disclosure was evaluated in terms of the fixability. It was found that compared to other toners having similar melt viscosity characteristics, this toner had a tendency to readily separate on rubbing of the surface of the fixed image.
The cause for this is presumably that the ratio of the vinyl monomer having the organic polysiloxane structure contained in the resin is excessively large and this made the toner susceptible to the influence of surface tension and decreased the adhesion between the fused toner and paper.
This toner was also evaluated in terms of durability. It was found that the toner had a tendency to cause development banding as the evaluation cycle was repeated.
The cause for this is presumably that since an organic polysiloxane usually has a glass transition temperature (Tg) lower than room temperature, the degree of polymerization (molecular weight) of the siloxane segment in the vinyl monomer became excessively high, and that since the ratio of the vinyl monomer having the organic polysiloxane structure contained in the resin was excessively large, the hardness of the toner surface became insufficient and fusing onto a regulation member occurred.
As discussed above, toners that contain crystalline polyesters have to be improved to achieve sufficient low temperature fixability and stable charge property. Moreover, in order to improve the environmental stability by introduction of organic polysiloxane structures, the stability and durability of the fixed images have to be improved.
It is desirable to provide a toner that address the issues described above. It is desirable to provide a toner that has good low-temperature fixability, charge stability, environmental stability, and durability, and is capable of stably producing high-quality images for a long time.


A process for manufacturing a valve seat which is made of a sintered Fe alloy and comprises a main layer of a valve seat and a contacting layer, comprises the steps of preparing either a powdery Cu or a powdery material containing Cu in a powdery Fe alloy, forming a green compact body with two green compact body layers, one of which is the main layer and the other of which is the contacting layer, and which are made of the prepared powdery Fe alloy containing Cu, sintering the green compact body. According to the present invention, the infiltration of Cu from the main layer to the contacting layer of the valve seat is not generated as the conventional sintering process for manufacturing the valve seat comprising the two layers without the independent infiltration treatment of Cu, and, therefore, the valve seat obtained of the present invention has an high abrasion resistance without decreasing of a strength of the main layer.

The present invention relates to a process for manufacturing a valve seat which may suitably be used for an internal combustion engine, made of a sintered Fe alloy and to a valve seat made of a sintered Fe alloy, and more specifically to the process for manufacturing the valve seat and the valve seat wherein the valve seat comprises a contacting layer abutting against a valve and a main layer supporting the contacting layer.
A valve seat has a conical surface portion to which a valve is abutted and is a component part of an internal combustion engine. The valve seat is formed by processing of a cylinder material or a cylinder head casting material and by fit of a ring formed beforehand. In either case, the valve seat is required to improve a thermal conductivity, lubrication property and a strength at a high temperature.
Hitherto, there has generally been used the valve seat to which an infiltration treatment of Cu is performed into a sintered Fe alloy in order to solve the problem described above. As a process for manufacturing the conventional valve seat, for example, a valve seat without including both Cu and Pb is sintered by a normal sintering method in the first place, and the valve seat with both Cu and Pb is so obtained that holes in the sintered Fe alloy is infiltrated by either Cu or Pb in the final place. Thus, the thermal conductivity, the lubrication property and the strength at a high temperature thereof have been improved.
However, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost of the valve seat made of the sintered Fe alloy with either infiltrated Cu or infiltrated Pb becomes high because the infiltration treatment is needed in addition to the sintered treatment.
In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, there is known from Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-35125 a process for manufacturing a valve seat with two green compact body layers made of a sintered Fe alloy to provide the valve seat which has the same property as the conventional valve seat and is cheap to manufacture. The valve seat described above is obtained by the step of formation of a green compact body comprising two green compact body layers in which one green compact body layer is a main layer with either Cu or Pb and the other green compact body layer is a contacting layer without both Cu and Pb, and by the next step of sintering of the green compact body. According to the process described above, the property of the contacting layer which is contacted to the valve, can be improved by infiltration of either Cu or Pb from the main layer to the contacting layer at the same time of the sintering process without the independent infiltration treatment of both Cu and Pb.
The process described above has an excellent property because the contacting layer after the sintering process becomes the infiltrated layer of either Cu or Pb without the porosity which exists in the layer before the sintering process. The infiltration by capillarity of either Cu or Pb is carried out from the main layer to holes in the contacting layer at the same time of the sintering process. However, the process has a problem that holes are generated in the main layer by the infiltration of either Cu or Pb, so that a strength of the main layer decreases, and a whole strength of the valve seat also decreases.
And, Pb may give a bad influence to the environment.

Process for manufacturing valve seat made of sintered FE alloy and valve seat made of sintered FE alloy


A computer-implemented method for vehicle event management. The method receives one or more sets of vehicle sensor data from a first vehicle, wherein the one or more sets of vehicle sensor data correspond to one or more sensor systems of the first vehicle. The method further maps the received one or more sets of vehicle sensor data with one or more candidate vehicle events, based on one or more sets of archived vehicle sensor data. The method further identifies one or more relationships between the received one or more sets of vehicle sensor data and the one or more candidate vehicle events, and provides an alert, to the first vehicle, with the identified one or more relationships between the received one or more sets of vehicle sensor data and the one or more candidate vehicle events.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of cognitive computing and more particularly to data processing and dynamic monitoring of vehicle sensor systems in order to detect problem events.
Nowadays, vehicles are equipped with sensors that monitor a variety of specific variables such as engine performance, fuel economy, tire pressure, outside air temperature, and even weather conditions (i.e., rain, snow, hail, etc.). However, many of these sensors function independently of each other to monitor specific, pre-defined conditions.

Cognitive learning for vehicle sensor monitoring and problem detection

International Business Machines Corporation


A surface mounted type leadframe includes a conductive base and an insulating material layer. The conductive base includes at least three connecting pads spaced apart from each other. First surface of the connecting pads are configured to form die bonding regions, and second surfaces of the connecting pads opposite to the first surfaces are configured to form soldering regions. The insulating material layer at least partially covers the first surfaces, surrounds the die bonding regions, and is filled in a gap between each two adjacent connecting pads. A photoelectric device with multi-chips adopting the surface mounted type leadframe is also provided.

Nowadays, the size of a surface mounted device (SMD) type light-emitting diode (LED) product is more and more various toward larger sizes with higher powers to substitute chip on board (COB) LED products with lower powers. One characteristic of SMD type products is requiring reflow soldering; LED chips are mounted on the conductive base for electrical connection and heat dissipation. The conventional mounting process is adopting solder paste for reflow soldering, but the void ratio can be overlarge due to pad design, inappropriate reflow soldering profile and so on during reflow soldering, and the overlarge void ratio can easily lead to poor heat dissipation effects. Moreover, when sizes of the SMD type product are larger, each die bonding region will be larger, and the amount of chips in series connection is too large to achieve low voltage (such as 6V) design. Additionally, adhesion strengths of silicone glue, metal and insulating materials are relatively weak, and delamination can easily occur.
Therefore, it is meaningful to provide a surface mounted type leadframe and a photoelectric device to overcome shortcomings in the prior art.

Surface mounted type leadframe and photoelectric device with multi-chips


A method and mechanism for for filtering incoming documents against user queries. A plurality of user queries including terms connected by logical operators is received. Terms and sub-expressions are combined into distinct sub-expressions and embedded into a directed acyclic graph (DAG) having a plurality of nodes. Each node in the DAG includes pointers to any successor nodes thereof, the terms in the queries are embedded as source nodes in the graph, and the operators embedded as internal nodes. When a document is received, the document is evaluated against the nodes in the DAG by comparing the relevant terms in the document with the source nodes in the DAG representative thereof. For each term that matches a source node, the internal successor node of the matched source node is evaluated based on the logical operator represented by the successor node and truth information of the predecessor nodes thereto, thereby determining a truth value of the internal successor node. Information is returned indicative of which of the successor nodes were evaluated as true. From that information, the queries which matched the document and the users corresponding thereto can be determined.

The task of electronic document filtering involves determining which documents in a stream of incoming documents match which queries in a collection of user queries. The user queries generally consist of one or more search terms (or document properties) connected by one or more Boolean operators. This task is alternatively referred to as "selective dissemination of information," or as the "inverted query problem."
Two main types of retrieval models are used in filtering systems. The first type is a simple and intuitive Boolean retrieval model, also called the "exact match" model, in which the user queries are expressed in Boolean logic, and a document either does or does not match a given query. The second type is the probabilistic model, in which the retrieval function produces a ranking of the documents, in an order based on the estimated relevance of each document to the query.
The primary difficulties in document filtering arise from the massive scale of queries to be evaluated against the high frequency of incoming documents to be filtered. For example, news filtering on the Internet may involve dealing with a stream of one or more documents per second, with each document being filtered against millions of user queries. Comparing each document against each query is impractical, as providing the hardware capable of performing acceptable throughput is cost-prohibitive.
As a result, known filtering systems reduce the time taken to examine a document by first eliminating all queries which are irrelevant to a given document. For example, a relatively rapid test can be performed to eliminate any monotone queries (queries which do not contain non-monotone operators such as negation) which consist solely of words which are not in the document. Moreover, statistical techniques can speed up the detection of a query's relevance or irrelevance to a particular document, such as by first searching the document with the least frequent trigram (three-character string) in each query to first eliminate queries when documents do not contain that trigram.
However, after the irrelevant queries have been eliminated, the document still must be tested against the (possibly large) number of remaining queries, and such testing is relatively slow. Moreover, if non-monotone operators are allowed, initially eliminating queries having non-monotone operators significantly complicates the pre-filtering elimination process. Lastly, probabilistic filtering approaches are even slower than exact-match approaches, and thus even more difficult to scale to large systems.

Document filtering via directed acyclic graphs


A new and improved clothing anchor apparatus, especially useful for anchoring the front and back tails of shirts, includes a first clothing connector, a second clothing connector, and an elastic strap connected therebetween. The elastic strap has a first end, an interior portion, and a second end. A strap length adjuster is located on the interior portion of the strap for adjusting the effective length of the strap. The effective length of the strap is adjusted by adjustingly doubling a portion of the strap. A soft, flexible jacket encompasses a portion of the elastic strap and the strap length adjuster. The jacket may also include a pocket for receiving and secretly storing soft, flexible items such as paper money. In use, preferably, two clothing anchor apparatuses of the invention are used. One clothing connector of each apparatus is attached to the front shirt tail, and the other clothing connector of each apparatus is attached to the back shirt tail by first passing under the crotch area. The soft, flexible jacket provides comfortable contact with the crotch area. The apparatuses of the invention serve to pull the shirt tails downwardly, giving the shirt a neat appearance and preventing the shirt tails from becoming untucked from pants that are worn.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to clothing anchors and money retainers, and more particularly, to a clothing anchor especially adapted to retain money in a secret location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Clothing anchors are well known in the art. More specifically, the following U.S. Pat. Nos. disclose devices designed to hold down shirt tails: 4,074,364 of Lucero; 4,596,569 of Campbell; 4,853,979 of Ryder; and 4,937,886 of Ellis. All of devices in the above-mentioned patent soperate in a similar way. Two pairs of clips (or other connectors) are located on the four ends of two straps. Two connectors are connected to the front shirt tail, the straps are passed between the legs and under the crotch, and the other two connectors are connected to the rear shirt tail. The straps are elastic so that there is an inherent and limited degree of adjustability due to the elasticity of the straps. Yet, with these devices, there does not seem to be a provision for adjusting the lengths of the straps beyond the inherent elasticity of the straps. Such a limitation is undesirable in view of the fact that people come in all shapes and sizes, and the inherent elasticity of elastic straps may not be enough to accommodate many different shapes and sizes of users. Moreover, it is noted that the elements of the above-mentioned devices that pass under the crotch areas do not seem to be especially soft or comfort-providing. This lack of soft material is an undesirable feature of the prior art devices considering the sensitive nature of the crotch area.
Also well known in the art are devices, attached to clothing, for storing items. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,515 of Guarro discloses an eyeglass holder placed in a shirt pocket.
It is also well known for people to secret money in their shoes and in money belts. What is not disclosed in the prior art is a shirt anchor, a portion of which that passes under the crotch, that has a provision for storing items, such as paper money, in secret.
The foregoing disadvantages in the prior art are overcome by the unique clothing anchor apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


Methods and systems for providing an estimate of effectiveness of a selected weapon against a selected target prior to release of the weapon are described. One described method comprises receiving a position uncertainty for a weapon platform, receiving a position uncertainty for a selected target, and determining an ability of the selected weapon to navigate to the selected target. An estimated effectiveness of the selected weapon is determined utilizing one or more of the weapon platform position uncertainty, the target position uncertainty, the navigation capability of the selected weapon, and a kill radius for the selected weapon.

This invention relates generally to weapon targeting systems, and more specifically, to methods and systems for providing a user with an indication of weapon effectiveness against a selected target prior to release.
Current weapon delivery methodology for destroying or disabling a target include delivering a larger amount of ordnance than is necessary to the target. The larger amounts of ordnance are utilized to account for uncertainty in weapon positioning and uncertainty in the guidance systems directing the weapon to the target. In other words, the larger amount of ordnance compensates for the probability that the ordnance likely will not land exactly where planned. However, utilization of larger amounts of ordnance results in an increase in the likelihood of collateral damage. Sometimes the targets to be destroyed or disabled are located in civilian or populated areas. Therefore, it is important to limit collateral damage.
Standards for aircraft approach and landing in civil aviation include integrity requirements on the navigation and positioning solutions provided to the pilot from various flight systems (e.g., inertial navigation systems, GPS). Such standards are in place to provide the pilot with an assurance that the aircraft is indeed at the calculated position with a high degree of certainty. One such example is the location of the aircraft with respect to a runway as it approaches the runway for landing. For obvious reasons it is important that the navigation and positioning solutions be accurate. The above mentioned flight systems provide the pilot or flight crew with an indication of the probability that the aircraft is located at the position indicated by the flight instruments or display systems. Such indications are sometimes referred to as position uncertainties.

Methods and systems for estimating weapon effectiveness


A method for individually fitting a hearing instrument to a user, by: starting operation of the hearing instrument; pre-defining a desired target loudness function perceived by the user defined as function of frequency and input sound pressure level at the microphone; measuring for a given measurement parameter set of perceived loudness levels and frequencies or frequency bands the respective transducer input audio signal level to be applied to the transducer input to achieve the respective perceived loudness level at the respective frequency or frequency band, said measurement parameter set having at least a low, intermediate and high loudness levels, and said intermediate loudness level being measured for a larger number of frequencies or frequency bands and with a finer frequency resolution than said low and high loudness levels; calculating an individual gain function to be implemented in the audio signal processing unit to achieve the pre-defined target loudness function by taking into account the measured transducer input audio signal levels; and operating the hearing instrument with the individual gain function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for individually fitting a hearing instrument.
2. Description of Related Art
A hearing instrument usually comprises a microphone for generating an input audio signal from ambient sound, an audio signal processing unit (which nowadays often is digital) for processing the input audio signal into a processed output audio signal and an output transducer for stimulation of the user's hearing according to the processed output audio signals. Audio signal processing in the audio signal processing unit involves applying a gain function to the input audio signal, which depends on level and frequency of the input audio signal. Hearing instruments usually are used by persons suffering from a hearing loss compared to normal-hearing persons, which depends on level and frequency of the ambient sound. Usually the hearing instrument undergoes a fitting procedure in order to individually set the gain provided by the hearing instrument such that the hearing loss of the user is compensated as far as possible.
In the prior art various attempts have been made for the fitting of hearing aids to the needs of an individual patient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,641 relates to a fitting process for a cochlear implant wherein equal loudness contour (ELC) measurements are conducted after the device has been implanted in order to determine the individual optimized gain function of the hearing instrument. The ELC measurements are carried out at the most comfortable loudness level.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,471,171 relates to a hearing instrument with an electroacoustic output transducer, wherein a sound generator is integrated within the hearing instrument for performing hearing threshold measurements as a function of frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,788,790 relates to the integration of a sound generator for audiometric measurement within a partially or fully implantable hearing instrument for e.g. direct mechanical stimulation of the inner ear.
According to EP 0 535 425 B1 loudness curves as a function of the sound input level are measured for various frequencies. From these loudness curves contours of equal loudness as a function of frequency are plotted for various loudness values. However, the loudness curves are obtained without the hearing aid being used.
US 2002/026091 A1 relates to an implanted hearing instrument with an electromechanical transducer, wherein the quality of the coupling between the transducer and the user's ear is evaluated by measuring the mechanical impedance after implantation of the transducer.
EP 0 661 905 B1 relates to a fitting model for hearing aids in order to take into account various psycho-acoustic effects, i.e. in order to take into account the fact that loudness curves are measured with sinus tones or low-band noise while practical ambient sound, in particular speech, is perceived by the user in a much more complex manner than sinus tones or narrow-band noise.
Fitting procedures for hearing instruments with electroacoustic output transducers are suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,342 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,875 B1 which propose to perform measurements of the contours of equal loudness with the hearing instrument worn by the user and with the stimuli created by the hearing instrument itself. In these measurements, for a plurality of frequencies f or frequency bands, the input level of the hearing instrument is varied such that the loudness perceived by the user is kept constant. This procedure is repeated for different values/categories of loudness ranging from very soft to extremely loud. The thus measured contours of equal loudness are used to determine the individual gain function which is finally implemented in the hearing instrument to compensate for the user's individual hearing loss.
While using the fitting procedures suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,342 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,875 B1 the hearing device can be well fitted to the individual hearing loss experienced by the patient, these procedures are disadvantageous in that a large number of measurements has to be taken. In particular, in the fitting procedures described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,342 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,201,875 B1 measurements are taken at 12 different frequencies for 7 different loudness levels. That means that 84 individual reading points are investigated, which necessitates a lengthy and troublesome procedure both for the patient and the physician or audiologist.
It is an object of the invention to provide for a simple and nevertheless accurate method for individually fitting a hearing instrument comprising an output transducer for stimulation of the human auditory system.
These and further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which, for purposes of illustration only, show several embodiments in accordance with the present invention.

Method for individually fitting a hearing instrument


A semiconductor memory device is operable in a full capacity mode and at least one reduced capacity mode, and includes a memory array having a plurality of memory blocks, each of the memory blocks having at least one word line. An address generation circuit generates a first multi-bit address signal having a logic value which is sequentially incremented by one during each of successive refresh periods. An address sorting circuit receives the first multi-bit address signal and outputs a second multi-bit address signal in which one or more least significant bits of the first multi-bit address signal are arranged in the second multi-bit address signal to indicate a memory block of the memory array, and in which remaining bits of the first multi-bit address signal are arranged in the second multi-bit address to indicate a word line within the selected memory block. The word lines of the memory array are refreshed according to the second multi-bit address signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor memories and to methods of refreshing memory cells of semiconductor memories. More particularly, the present invention relates to semiconductor memories having variable memory sizes and to methods of refreshing memory cells of such memories.
2. Description of the Related Art
Variable sized semiconductor memory devices are known in which all or a subset of the memory blocks contained in the devices can be selectively utilized. One such memory device is the Uni-transistor RAM (UtRAM), also known as the Psuedo SRAM (PSRAM), which is configured of DRAM cells but has an SRAM interface. For example, a 16 mega-bit (16M) UtRAM operating in a full memory mode can function like a 16M SRAM, whereas the same 16M UtRAM operating in a half memory mode can function like an 8M SRAM.
Largely for cost reasons, it is sometimes preferable to implement an 8M SRAM using a 16M UtRAM operating in the half memory mode. Also, as already suggested, the UtRAM allows for flexibility in setting the memory size. Varying the size/capacity of the UtRAM is known as "reduced memory size mode" (RMS mode). The RMS mode can be established at any time during the operation of the memory device.
Since the UtRAM contains DRAM cells, the memory cells must be periodically refreshed to maintain the integrity of stored data. As is best explained by way of example, this refresh requirement creates a problem when the RMS mode is used. Assume that the UtRAM contains two memory blocks, where both memory blocks are used in a full memory mode, and only one memory block is used in a half memory mode. Assume further that four word lines (designated 0, 1, 2 and 3) are arranged in the first memory block, and four more word lines (designated 4, 5, 6 and 7) are arranged in the second memory block. In the refresh operation of the full memory mode, the word lines are sequentially selected in order (0 through 7). This is illustrated on the left side of the vertical line extending through the timing chart of FIG. 1. As shown in the first pulse waveform, the word lines are selected one-by-one in order (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) during each of successive refresh periods T. The total design refresh cycle time is 8T.
Still referring to the top pulse waveform of FIG. 1, assume that the memory device changes to the half memory mode after the last word line (7) is selected during the refresh operation. As illustrated to the right of the vertical line, only half the word lines (0, 1, 2, 3) are selected one-by-one in order during the half memory mode. Note that each successive selection takes place at 2T intervals. This is because design restrictions mandate that the total refresh cycle time remain at 8T. A problem arises in this case because the effective refresh cycle time for the fourth word line (3) is 12T during the transition between memory modes. This exceeds the design refresh cycle time of 8T, meaning that data contained in the memory cells of the fourth word line can be lost.
The remaining pulse waveforms of FIG. 1 respectively represent the seven other possible instances in which the memory device can be switched to the half memory mode. As can be seen in the figure, there are multiple cases in which the effective refresh cycle time of a given word line exceeds the design refresh cycle time of 8T.
As shown in FIG. 2, this problem also arises when switching from the half memory mode to the full memory mode. For example, as illustrated by the top pulse waveform of FIG. 2, if the memory mode is switched from half to full after selecting the fourth word line (3), the effective refresh cycle time for the first word line (0) becomes 12T. Again, this exceeds the design refresh period of 8T.

Semiconductor memory having variable memory size and method for refreshing the same


An automatic fire sprinkler having a variable orifice, the sprinkler having a variable orifice associated with the automatic fire sprinkler, and wherein the orifice is responsive to the water inlet pressure of the sprinkler.

The present invention relates to automatic fire sprinklers, and more particularly, to automatic fire sprinklers having a variable, self-adjusting orifice for improving the performance of the sprinkler by changing the amount and flow-rate of the discharged water.
Typically, an automatic fire sprinkler includes a body with a base, an inlet connected to a source of pressurized water, or fire retardant fluid, and an outlet, both defined by the base, a passageway between the inlet and outlet, and a flow-adjusting orifice, usually located upstream close to the outlet. Additionally, a plug closing the outlet when the sprinkler is in standby condition is held in place by a thermally sensitive element. When the temperature is elevated to a pre-determined value, the thermally sensitive element disintegrates. Consequently, the water pressure urges the plug away from the outlet, enabling the sprinkler to discharge. A supported deflector distributes the water stream flowing from the outlet, dispersing the stream over the region to be protected by the sprinkler.
The various requirements of automatic fire sprinklers are defined in the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 13 Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, which was also adopted by American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The NFPA standard includes the minimum required amount of water for extinguishing a fire in a specified area of the fire source. This specified area of the fire source is empirically determined by standard tests according to the hazard occupancy of goods in a warehouse.
Generally, the water flow rate "Q" from a sprinkler is determined by the formula:Q=K*(p)1/2where "K" represents the nominal sprinkler discharge coefficient, known as the K-factor, and "p" represents the pressure at the inlet to the sprinkler. The K-factor of a given sprinkler, which mainly depends on the orifice dimensions, is determined by standard flow testing.
Different applications require different water flows, i.e., sprinklers that have different K-factors, and/or different inlet water pressures. For standard coverage, the most commonly used sprinklers have a K-factor of 5.6, while extended coverage applications use sprinklers having larger K-factors of 8 to 11.2, which have correspondingly larger orifices.
An advanced sprinkler, developed during the last two decades, is the low-pressure fast response (LPFR) sprinkler, also known as the early suppression fast response (ESFR) sprinkler. Characteristically, this sprinkler has K-factors between 14 and 25.2, a short time of response, and high water flow rates. Typical prior art examples of these LPFR or ESFR sprinklers are U.S. Pat. No. 5,829,532 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,643, both to Meyer, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,044 to Fischer, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,336,509 to Polan, et al. As will be developed in greater detail hereinbelow, the use of sprinklers having greater K-factors reduces the required water pressure at the inlet, and therefore obviates the need of installing more robust and capital-intensive systems that also require more electrical power and maintenance.
In addition, a lower water pressure results in larger droplets being produced by the deflector. The larger droplets have a higher momentum that assists them in being deflected further from the sprinkler, thereby extending the coverage area.
Alternatively, for a given water pressure, the use of sprinklers having larger orifices increases the flow of water through each sprinkler, thus reducing the required number of sprinklers for the requisite coverage area.
In prior art sprinkler systems, after a fire starts, the thermally sensitive element of the closest sprinkler disintegrates at the pre-determined temperature, permitting Q1 of water to discharge at inlet pressure p1. If the fire has not been extinguished by this sprinkler, additional heat is evolved and spreads, and a second sprinkler discharges. As a result, Q1 and p1 of the first sprinkler decrease to Q2 and p2, since now the same water source is feeding two sprinklers. As additional sprinklers discharge, the values of Q and p of the first and second sprinklers further decrease. Final Q and p values are reached only when no additional sprinklers discharge.
Since the K-factor in all prior art sprinklers is constant and the value of the inlet pressure p changes according to the number of discharging sprinklers, the amount of water discharged by the first sprinkler, according to the above mentioned formula, is Q1=K*(p1)1/2, Q2=K*(p2)1/2 etc. Consequently, in the first stage of the operational pattern, the amounts Q1 and Q2 are greater than the amount discharged by the first-opened sprinkler when more sprinklers are in operation.
The efficacy of existing automatic fire sprinkler systems notwithstanding, it would be highly advantageous to have an improved automatic fire sprinkler system that discharges the requisite amount of water for extinguishing a fire with a decreased number of sprinklers, such that the capital cost for the sprinklers and auxiliary equipment, such as water tanks and pressure pumps, would be greatly reduced. It would be of further advantage if such a system would reduce the water damage caused by current systems. It would be yet of further advantage if the improved performance of the sprinkler system could be obtained in a simple, efficient, and cost-effective fashion, both in new systems and by retrofitting of existing systems.

Automatic fire sprinkler having a variable orifice


A support apparatus for floral designers having a work piece frame support for removably securing a workpiece thereon. The work piece frame support including at least one component for preselectively holding the workpiece in a preselected orientation. A support member, the work piece frame support being pivotally secured to the support member proximate one end thereof. A clamping mechanism operably interposed between work piece frame support and the support member for locking the work piece frame support at a preselected angular relationship with respect to the support member. The work piece frame support and the clamping mechanism being collapsible to a position substantially within the support member in order to provide for a compact arrangement when the support apparatus is not in use.

This invention relates generally to holders or supports and, more particularly, to a support apparatus to be utilized by floral designers during the preparation of floral arrangements or for display purposes.
It is well recognized throughout the floral industry that it is extremely difficult and time consuming to design and create certain types of floral arrangements and pieces, particularly those types of floral arrangements which are related to hanging sprays, crosses and hearts for funeral arrangements, as well as various types of wreaths and swags for home and commercial decor. Such types of arrangements are generally prepared and held in place within a foam block of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,929 to Donald L. O'Connell which supports the various types of flowers making up the floral arrangement. As illustrated in the above-identified patent and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,825 to George C. Thompson, the foam blocks utilized for securing in place and displaying the floral arrangement is generally held in position in a hollow tray-like base member which forms a water-confining receptacle for supporting the foam block.
Construction of the floral arrangements of the kind described above, generally involves placing a substantial number of various types of flowers and other types of floral pieces within this foam block. In the past this floral construction process took place in a horizontal position, on a work bench or the like. Consequently the floral designer was subjected not only to discomfort while constructing the floral arrangement, but also to an unusual viewing angle of the floral arrangement during its construction. Furthermore, since many of the floral arrangements made, for example, for purposes of funerals and/or other type of home or commercial displays are quite large, in most circumstances the work space in which the floral designer works to make such large designs is quite cramped even further adversely effecting the construction process.
Alternatively, in the past, the construction of such large floral designs have also taken place on either vertically upstanding wall hooks or easel-like configured stands. These types of support structures, presently used by floral designers and florists have proven to be extremely unsatisfactory. For example, constructing such floral arrangements on a wall hook using a spray bar filled with water-soaked foam, permits water to run out of the foam and onto the floor rather than into the spray bar holder reservoir because of the awkward and substantially vertical position in which the piece is being constructed. Positioning a floral arrangement for construction in less than a vertical position utilizing blocks or shims generally prohibits the insertion of the flowers, greens or other floral pieces at the top of the foam. Easel-like devices have also proven to be ineffective in assisting a floral designer in the construction of floral arrangements of the types specified above. More specifically, these easel-like devices have not been capable of preventing the worked upon piece from moving vertically or horizontally during the construction process.
In cases where the floral materials are flowers or greens which have thick stems such as gladiolas, birds of paradise, ginger, stock, snap dragons, teepee, etc., the insertion of these stems require a substantial amount of force. Therefore, holding the floral piece in place while attempting to insert such stems substantially slows the designer's progress during the production of such floral displays. Furthermore, the florist or designer can crush the materials already in place during the construction process. It is readily apparent there is lacking in the floral design industry an adequate support apparatus for use by floral designers during the construction of various types of floral arrangements.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a support apparatus for floral designers which enables the designer to quickly and efficiently construct and prepare a substantial number of different types of floral arrangements.
It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide a support apparatus for floral designers which provides the designer with an appropriate angle of vision to view the work during the construction process.
It is another object of the invention to provide a support apparatus for floral designers which permits the designer to effectively maximize the amount of force necessary for the insertion of floral pieces into the foam utilized for floral support.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a support apparatus for floral designers which is highly compact, relatively light weight and which can be easily transported from one location to another.
It is an even further object of this invention to provide a support apparatus for floral designers which substantially reduces water drippage problems during the construction of floral designs.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a support apparatus readily adaptable to accommodate a number of different types of objects thereon.


A "floating" fiber storage assembly is provided for use with a fiber-optic cable joint that connects two or more cables. The device includes a fiber storage tray for storing the spliced optic fibers of the cables, although any fiber storage device (such as a cylinder) may be used. The fiber storage tray has a locking end with a connection interface, comprised of one or more locking cut-outs and locking tabs, for slidably engaging a terminating socket assembly. When the connection interface is slidably engaged with the terminating socket assembly, the fiber storage tray is loosely connected to the terminating socket assembly. To prevent the fiber storage tray and the terminating socket assembly from easily disengaging, a locking band may engage a substantially continuous locking groove formed when the storage tray and the socket assembly are loosely connected. A spacer device may be interposed between the fiber storage tray and the terminating socket assembly in order to reduce undesirable vibrations and noises, and to keep the two components separate and in their relative positions.

In our truly global society, more and more people are becoming interconnected with one another through telecommunications systems. Although submarine fiber-optic cable communications systems are but one type of telecommunication system, submarine fiber-optic cables are capable of carrying a greater number of data and voice transmissions than traditional submarine cable systems or modern satellite communication systems.
Stretching thousands of miles across the oceans, submarine fiber-optic cables lie on the ocean's floor, thousands of feet below sea level. Because no one cable could be made that extended thousands of miles in length, submarine fiber-optic cable communication systems are comprised of a series of submarine fiber-optic cables that are spliced together at cable joints. In this manner, many individual cables can be connected to form a single cable of the required length.
If one were to cut open a standard "nonarmored" fiber-optic cable, he would see that each cable is comprised of a series of optic fibers clustered around a steel "king" wire. Together, these wires form the fiber-optic "core" of the wire. The fiber-optic core is then surrounded by steel strength members and two watertight, insulating jackets (an inner copper jacket and an outer polyethylene jacket) encase the entire assembly. The function of the optic fibers is to carry the data and voice transmissions sent over the fiber-optic cable; the steel wires carry any loads placed upon the cable and, in conjunction with the insulating jackets, give the cable its rigidity. Because excess residual strain on the optic fibers may result in undesirable static fatigue and crack growth in the fibers, it is important that the amount of permanent load on the optic fibers (i.e., sustained loads over long periods of time) be minimized. Minimizing the amount of permanent load will prevent excess residual strain from developing in the optic fibers and thus will protect the fibers from damage. Accordingly, it is important that the optic fibers of a fiber-optic cable be protected against permanent loading and excess residual strain.
The cable joints themselves, however, are subject to a considerable amount of potentially harmful loads. For example, when the cable is first being lowered onto the ocean floor, a large tension load is created in the cable by the weight of the many thousands of feet of additional cable below it. In addition, once the cable reaches the desired location, the hydrostatic pressure at that depth can create upwards of 10,000 psi of compression on the cable joint. Because any one of these loads could result in an expensive failure in the fiber-optic cable communication system, it has always been a priority to design cable joints in such a way that when a load is placed upon one cable, the load can be successfully transferred to the other cable without putting stress on the interconnected optic fibers of the two cables.
Traditionally, cable joints were formed by "terminating" the two cables in separate terminating sockets and connecting the two terminating sockets with a load-bearing fiber storage tray or cylinder. The individual optic fibers were then spliced together and secured in the storage tray. The entire subassembly was then covered with a steel jacket and the entire assembly was "insulated" with heat-shrink insulation to keep it waterproof and electrically isolated.
Cable terminating technology is well-known in the prior art. The idea behind cable terminating is to secure the load-bearing steel members of a fiber optic cable, including both the steel strength members and the steel king wire, to a terminating socket assembly so that any load placed upon the steel members would be transferred to the terminating socket assembly. The fragile optic fibers of the cable, however, would completely pass through the terminating socket assembly.
Typically one terminates the steel strength members by first stripping off the cable's protective insulation, separating the strength members from the fiber-optic core, and slipping both the steel members and the core through the center of a terminating socket. A copper jacket and a steel plug is then placed over the core and the steel plug is firmly wedged into the terminating socket. In this way, the steel strength members are secured against the interior surface of the terminating socket while the fiber-optic core passes freely through the socket. To terminate the steel king wire, one merely needs to separate the individual optic fibers from the king wire and to attach the king wire to a king wire clamp assembly. The king wire clamp assembly is usually connected to the terminating socket (although it may be connected to a load-bearing fiber storage tray that is attached to the terminating socket) and together the terminating socket and the king wire clamp assembly form the terminating socket assembly. The end result of this process is that all load-bearing steel members of the fiber-optic cable are secured to the terminating socket assembly.
In a typical cable joint, a load-bearing fiber storage tray or cylinder connects the two terminating socket assemblies. This arrangement is intuitive because the fiber storage tray of a cable joint is in longitudinal alignment with both fiber-optic cables. Given these conditions, if one were to firmly attach the storage tray to both terminating socket assemblies, any force acting on one component of the assembly would act on all of the components. Thus, with this type of cable joint design, any load placed upon the first cable is transferred to its terminating socket assembly, through the fiber storage tray to the other terminating socket assembly, and ultimately to the other cable. The load-bearing fiber storage tray is usually connected to both terminating socket assemblies by means of screws, locking rings, or welds.
The disadvantage of this configuration, however, is that the load-bearing fiber storage tray or cylinder used in the cable joint must be of sufficient mass and strength to resist any loads that pass through it. Thus, such a component is usually quite bulky and made out of hardened steel. Furthermore, due to the strength that must be built into load-bearing fiber storage trays, fiber-to-fiber connections (i.e., two optic fibers spliced together) are usually stored on only one side of the tray; the structural integrity of the storage tray may be compromised if both sides of the tray are channeled out so as to accommodate traditional fiber-storing methods. Using only one side of the storage tray, however, decreases the total amount of fiber-to-fiber splices that can be stored in the fiber storage tray.


Technologies are provided to ensure integrity of erasure coded data that is subject to read and write access from distributed processes. Multiple processes that access erasure coded data can be coordinated in an efficient, scalable and fault-tolerant manner so that integrity of the original data is maintained. The Technologies include a fault-tolerant access coordination protocol that ensures exclusive write access by a client. The coordination protocol achieves scalability by not relying on centralized components, and achieves efficiency and performance by piggy-packing access coordination messages on operations of the underlying erasure coding protocol.

In modern distributed computational data storage systems, the file system decouples application storage in files from the physical hardware, liberating it by using smart algorithms. The result is a software storage system that is self-managing, reliable and scalable. In order to maintain data safety, technologies preventing corruption of data and files due to, for example, failing storage devices must be implemented in the software managing the storage system.

Systems and methods of providing fault-tolerant file access


A mass airflow sensor is provided with a system of conduits and ports which connect the mass airflow sensor to a main fluid flow channel. Pairs of ports connect the plurality of fluid interconnection conduits with the main fluid flow conduit being monitored. The mass airflow sensing apparatus is adapted to receive a mass airflow sensor in fluid communication with its system of conduits. First and second pairs of ports are disposed upstream from a third and fourth pair of ports. The first and second pairs of ports are connected to each other in a way which provides an average flow from each of the pairs to an inlet of the mass airflow sensor. In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, the outlet of the mass airflow sensor is connected to an arrangement of conduits and ports that is a mirror image of the upstream arrangement of conduits and ports.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to mass airflow sensors and, more particularly, to a mass airflow sensing system arranged in association with a conduit in which a plurality of ports are disposed around the inner circumference of the conduit and connected in fluid communication with the mass airflow sensor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Airflow sensors are used in many different types of applications, such as heating and ventilating systems, medical applications and automotive systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,885,938, which issued to Higashi on Dec. 12, 1989, discloses a flow meter fluid composition correction system. It utilizes certain relationships among the mass flow signal, the thermal conductivity, the specific heat and the density of a fluid being measured to correct a mass flow meter measurement with respect to changes in composition of the fluid that is being measured.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,724, which issued to Bergstrom on Sep. 12, 1989, describes a planar mounting of silicon micromachined sensors for the purpose of measuring pressure and fluid flow. This patent describes a process for flush mounting a silicon micromachined sensor for fluid flow measurements with an adjacent face of a substrate. The faces of the substrate and the sensor, over which the fluid flow passes, are disposed on a conformal surface. An adhesive is applied between the sensor and the substrate to secure the sensor and substrate to each other. Upon removal from the conformal surface, the faces are cleaned of adhesive and the electrical signal generating means of the sensor are connected with signal processing means, such as by wire bonding. The sensor lies flush with the face of the substrate, avoiding interference with the fluid flow over the sensor face and, therefore, maintaining sensitivity throughout the life of the sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,328, which issued to Johnson on Aug. 15, 1989, describes a sampling probe flow sensor which comprises a tubular probe body that is located within and aligned with a venturi passageway. The probe body is provided with a channel therethrough connecting openings located at high and low pressure regions in the venturi passageway. The openings are configured to cause a least a 90 degree change in direction of air flowing therethrough from the venturi passageway to protect a fragile flow sensor in the channel from damage by suspended contaminants.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,214 which issued to Moran et al on Oct. 12, 1988, describes a mass airflow sensor which comprises a sensing element for the mass airflow sensor disposed on a first portion of a thin flexible film substrate while an extension of the substrate provides integral electrical conductive metallizations that connect the sensing element to associated sensor electronic components mounted on a second portion of the film substrate. This device eliminates the need for individual soldered wire connections to connect the sensing element to its associated electronics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,122, which issued to Shriver on Jun. 7, 1988, discloses a combustion control system in which the economic optimum efficiency is achieved by periodically computing a relative index of combustion efficiency using the combustion chamber as a real-time, on line calorimeter. This is accomplished by first determining the combustion chamber inputs and outputs required to calculate a relative index of performance, sequentially comparing the latest relative index value with the previous value and then adjusting the air-to-fuel ratio to achieve an improved index value.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,132, which issued to Edmundson on Feb. 14, 1984, describes a control valve system for gas water heaters in which a valve is provided with a snap action characteristic and is constructed to inhibit the supply to the burner of insufficient amounts of gas to ensure reliable ignition. For example, a flexible diaphragm can be provided with opposite sides that are connected to respective passages to receive pressures upstream and downstream of a restriction in a water flow path. The diaphragm can open a gas valve in response to a predetermined flow of fluid along the path. In order to provide the snap action characteristic, a further passage is provided that links the two passages coupled to the diaphragm and contains a ball that can block the further passage only when the fluid flow is sufficient to open the gas valves sufficiently for an ignitable quantity of gas to flow to the burner.
A paper by P. W. Foss, entitled "A Novel Design of Viscous Flowmeter", was delivered at the International Conference on Advances in Flow Measurement Techniques in September, 1981. This paper describes the development of a viscous flow meter which uses two commercially available flame traps connected in series and separated by a small airspace. The flow meter is inserted in a standard pipe. Experimental results are presented in this paper which show that the flow meter behaves as a conventional laminar flow meter. The flow meter was designed for use with a variable compression engine and was evaluated during the production testing of several engines.
A paper, by K. A. Blake, entitled "The design of piezometer rings", was printed in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics, Volumn 78, part 2, pages 415-428 which Was printed in Great Britian in 1976. This article describes the theoretical work performed at the National Engineering Laboratory in Glasgow, Scotland. A mathematical model is discussed in which a reading from a piezometer ring is predicted from the individual wall static measurements and, from the mathematical model, the conventional form of a piezometer ring is shown as being unreliable in asymmetrical flow. The paper also describes an alternative form of ring known as the Triple-T which is analyzed and shown to provide a true average pressure in all cases. The paper recommends that the Triple-T form be used in future tests. Throughout the paper, a description of piezometric devices is provided in terms of its use to measure pressure at various places along a flow channel.


A sheet processing apparatus, including a sheet processing section which performs predetermined processing on sheets of paper to form a booklet; a booklet ejection section which nips the booklet and ejects the booklet outside; an ejected paper stacking section on which the booklet ejected by the booklet ejection section is stacked; a shutter section which is provided between the booklet ejection section and the ejected paper stacking section and is openable and closable; and an opening and closing mechanism which performs an opening and closing operation that is opening the shutter section when the booklet is ejected by the booklet ejection section and closing the shutter section after the booklet is ejected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sheet processing apparatus and an image forming system.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a sheet processing apparatus is configured so that a predetermined number of paper sheets on each of which an image is formed by an image forming apparatus are stacked to be matched, folded, bound, trimmed and such like to form a booklet, and the formed booklet is ejected outside (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Publication No. 2002-87693).
In such sheet processing apparatus, the booklets formed by performing various types of processing on the sheets are nipped by a pair of rollers in a booklet ejection section and ejected out of the sheet processing apparatus, and the plurality of booklets ejected by the booklet ejection section are stacked on an ejected paper stacking section.
However, in such conventional sheet processing apparatus as described above, an open part is provided at a housing to eject the booklets processed by the predetermined processing to the ejected paper stacking section which is provided outside the housing of the sheet processing apparatus, and the booklet ejection section is exposed at the open part. Though there is no specific problem during ejection of the booklets since the booklets are covering the open part, at the rest of the time, such as when the ejected booklets are inspected and when maintenance is performed on the sheet processing apparatus, for example, foreign substances such as tools and components may come into the booklet ejection section from the ejected paper stacking section side. It is not preferable that the foreign substances come into the booklet ejection section because the apparatus itself becomes damaged or causes false operation.