A reconfigurable speaker system for producing sound in response to at least one of right and left channel audio signals generated by an audio source. The speaker system can be configured by the user to simultaneously reproduce right and left channel audio information from a single speaker, or the speaker system can be configured to reproduce right and left channel audio information independently from a pair of speakers. The speaker system includes a dual voice coil woofer and a pair of independent tweeters. A switch device is provided in circuit with the woofer and pair of tweeters so that in one position of the switch device, the dual voice coil woofer is configured to produce sound in response to both of the right and left channel audio signals, and each tweeter in the tweeter pair is configured to produce sound in response to a respective one of the right and left channel audio signals. In a second position of the switch device, the dual voice coil woofer is configured to produce sound in response to only one of the right and left channel audio signals, and both of the tweeters are configured to produce sound in response to the same right or left channel as the woofer. The speaker system is designed so that the sound pressure level of the speaker is the same in either of the two uses selected configurations.

Various speaker systems have been designed in the past to handle a wide range of acoustic needs. For example, when high-fidelity sound reproduction is not critical, a speaker may be designed with only one audio driver or speaker cone so that all of the high, midrange and low audio frequencies are handled by the single speaker. Unfortunately, single cone speakers, referred to as wide range speakers, tend to exhibit some distortion since a small speaker cone will generally handle high frequencies well, while a large speaker cone is typically better suited to handle the lower frequencies. Thus, a wide range speaker is generally not well adapted to reproduce the full frequency spectrum of audio information with high-fidelity. Rather, the higher or lower frequency range is reproduced with more quality as a function of the speaker cone size.
To overcome this problem, high-fidelity speakers are designed to include two or more speaker cones in the speaker. In a two-way speaker, for example, a small tweeter reproduces the high frequencies, and a relatively large woofer handles the low frequencies. In a three-way speaker, a third or midrange speaker cone is added to improve coverage of middle frequencies between the highs of the tweeter and the lows of the woofer. A crossover network or special filtering circuit is generally used to separate the audio signal frequencies and feed them to the appropriate high, low or midrange audio driver in the speaker.
Additionally, depending on the specific acoustic needs of the listener, one, two or four speakers may be required to reproduce the desired audio program. For example, when high-fidelity sound reproduction is desired from both right and left channel audio signals of a stereo system, two speakers are connected to the stereo system to produce a true stereo acoustic environment. In particular, a true stereo system uses two independent speakers with each speaker reproducing one or the other of the right and left channel audio information. In this way, right channel audio information is reproduced by one speaker along a right audio axis while left channel audio information is reproduced by the other speaker along a left audio axis to produce a true stereo effect to the listener.
In some rooms however, such as in a confined bathroom or attic for example, it may be difficult to use two independent speakers to reproduce the right and left channel audio information. In such cases, a single speaker may be used which is connected to only one of the right or left audio channels of the audio source. Thus, while the single speaker is able to reproduce sound within the room, the reproduced audio program is less than ideal as the audio information from one or the other of the right and left audio channels is missing entirely from the audio program.
To address this problem, dual voice coil speakers have recently been developed that include a single speaker cone with a pair of independent voice coils to drive the single cone. The dual voice coil speaker is designed so that both of the right channel and left channel audio signals are handled separately by the independent voice coils so that none of the audio information is discarded or sacrificed by the speaker. The right and left channel audio signals are mixed within the single speaker so that right and left channel audio programs are simultaneously reproduced by the single speaker. Unfortunately, however, dual voice coil speakers suffer from the same drawbacks of any wide range speaker in that the single speaker cone is not well suited to reproduce all of the frequencies very well. Thus, while all of the right and left channel audio information is simultaneously reproduced by the single speaker, the reproduced audio program is considerably less than high-fidelity. Moreover, dual voice coil speakers are designed only for mixing right and left channel audio signals, and their design prohibits them from being used in a true stereo environment in which two speakers are connected to an audio source to independently reproduce the right and left audio information. Thus, dual voice coil speakers generally have a very limited application to single speaker acoustic environments.
Thus, there is a need for a speaker system that is well suited to handle a wide range of audio frequencies and reproduce an audio program with high-fidelity. There is also a need for a speaker system that reproduces an audio program without significant distortion or loss of audio information. There is also a need for a speaker system that is versatile for use in a wide range of acoustic environments in which a single or multiple speakers may be required.


Wind turbine rotor comprising a hub, a plurality of blades, and at least one pitch system for rotating a blade substantially along its longitudinal axis and comprising one or more pitch brakes, wherein a pitch brake comprises at least a brake disc element and a first brake pad, and wherein one of the hub and a blade comprises said brake disc element and the other of the hub and blade comprises said first brake pad, the brake disc element and brake pad being arranged such that when the blade is substantially in or near the below rated pitch position the brake disc element and pad are in frictional contact with each other.

Modern wind turbines are commonly used to supply electricity into the electrical grid. Wind turbines of this kind generally comprise a rotor with a rotor hub and a plurality of blades. The rotor is set into rotation under the influence of the wind on the blades. The rotation of the rotor shaft drives the generator rotor either directly ("directly driven wind turbine" or "direct drive wind turbine") or through the use of a gearbox.
An important auxiliary system generally provided on wind turbines is a pitch system. Pitch systems are employed for adapting the position of a wind turbine blade to varying wind conditions by rotating the blade along its longitudinal axis. In this respect, it is known to rotate a wind turbine blade in such a way that it generates less lift (and drag) when the wind speed increases. This way, even though the wind speed increases, the torque transmitted by the rotor to the generator remains substantially the same. It is furthermore also known to rotate wind turbine blades towards their stall position (so as to reduce the lift on the blades) when the wind speed increases. These wind turbines are sometimes referred to as "active-stall" wind turbines. Pitching may furthermore also be used for rotation of the blade towards its vane position, when a turbine is temporarily stopped or taken out of operation for e.g. maintenance.
Many pitch systems comprise an electric motor in the hub which drives an actuating gear. Said actuating gear (pinion) meshes with an annular gear provided on the wind turbine blade to set the wind turbine blade into rotation. It is also possible however, that the annular gear is provided on the hub, whereas the electric motor and actuator are mounted on the blade. Yet other actuating mechanisms, such as e.g. involving hydraulic actuators, are also known.
It is further known to provide an individual pitch system (comprising e.g. a separate motor and separate control) for each wind turbine blade of a rotor. It is also known to provide a common pitch system wherein the pitch angle of the blades is the same for all blades on a rotor. Such a common pitch system may comprise a single motor or may comprise a plurality of motors, one for each blade.
A common control strategy of a pitch system in a variable speed wind turbine is to maintain the blade in a predefined "below rated pitch position" at wind speeds equal to or below nominal wind speed (for example approximately 4 m/s-15 m/s). Said default pitch position may generally be close to a 0° pitch angle. The exact pitch angle in "below rated" conditions depends however on the complete design of the wind turbine. Above the nominal speed (for example from approximately 15 m/s-25 m/s), the blades are rotated to maintain the aerodynamic torque delivered by the rotor substantially constant. When the wind turbine is not operating, the blades may assume a vane position (e.g. at or around 90° pitch angle) to minimize the loads on the blades. During most of the wind turbine's life, a blade may however be in the below rated pitch position. The nominal wind speed, cut-in wind speed and cut-out wind speed may of course vary depending on the wind turbine design.
During operation of the wind turbine, forces may be acting on the blades that result in a constantly varying torque around the blade's longitudinal axis. These forces may include the aerodynamic torque around the longitudinal axis of the blade and also the weight of the blade which may exercise a torque around the blade's longitudinal axis, depending on the blade's position. Both these forces are non-constant, largely cyclical and tend to rotate the blade out of the position determined by the pitch control system.
When a pitch system involving gearing is used, the varying torque may result in flanks of the teeth of the actuating gear (pinion) and annular gear repeatedly touching each other. This repetitive contact may lead to fretting corrosion and premature wear. Since the below rated pitch position is the prevailing position for most wind turbines, the contact between the teeth and its consequences is concentrated on the same teeth.
Some solutions for these problems are known. It is e.g. known to provide an automatic lubrication system to try and prevent fretting corrosion. For example, DE 20 2005 014 699 U and EP 1 816 346 provide such lubrication systems. These lubrication systems may help to reduce fretting corrosion to a smaller or larger extent, but do not combat or resolve the problem underlying the corrosion. There still exists a need for a pitch system in a wind turbine which does not suffer from fretting corrosion. It is an object of the present invention to at least partially fulfil this need. Further advantages of the present invention will become apparent from its description.


Provided are a system and method for determining whether to provide service and a content of the service based on ubiquitous-based context information. The method includes the steps of registering at least one context-aware service (CAS); determining whether sensors associated with the CAS are registered; when all the sensors are registered, checking all contexts associated with the CAS; upon receipt of a CAS request, receiving context information from the sensors and determining whether the context information satisfies the contexts; and providing the CAS if the context information satisfies at least one of the contexts. With the flexible engine determining whether to provide service corresponding to a current context even though all context information constituting the CAS is not collected, information is quickly provided upon receipt of a service request from a user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to context information service, and more particularly, to a system and method for determining whether to provide service and a content of the service based on ubiquitous-based context information.
2. Discussion of Related Art
As the information industry and mobile communication technology are being constantly developed, new mobile devices or information consumer-electronic products appear, computer systems are networked for convenience and diversity in people's lives, and communication and computing is possible almost anywhere, at anytime. The computing systems share information and cooperate with one another, resulting in ubiquitous computing phenomenon for new services.
The term ubiquitous means "present everywhere" or "present in several places simultaneously." In general, ubiquitous refers to natural resources, such as water or air, or gods of a religion existing whenever and wherever, for example. In the field of information and communication technology, the meaning of ubiquitous can include "ubiquitous computing" or "ubiquitous network" as a new IT environment or paradigm. Simply speaking, ubiquitous communication or ubiquitous computing refers to embedding a computer into common objects such as cups, cars, glasses and shoes in order to allow the objects to communicate with one another, not necessarily providing additional functions to a current computer or inserting something into the computer. Convenient and portable post-personal computer (PC) products are systems capable of processing information without restrictions of time and space, such as next-generation information devices including personal digital assistants (PDAs), Internet televisions (TVs), and smart phones, which allow processing of specialized tasks and processing information via a wireless communication network, such as wireless Internet. With the development of related techniques and products, ubiquitous computing is expected to gradually spread. In the future, a computer such as a microprocessor will be embedded in circumferential objects, including cars, glasses, pictures, walls, bottles, drugs, and waste, as well as electronic products, such that computing is non-visually realized through communication and cooperation.
User's circumferential elements, such as current location, ID, computer's unique number, behavior, and task may be called an object. Further, information about a user or a user's object and a change in the information may be called a context. For example, information needed for computing from a user circumference such as personal information, current time, season, and temperature may be called a context. A process of obtaining such context information from the user circumference is called context-awareness. When objects are discovered, context information obtained from the objects may be used by a current system or may be stored in a server or used at other places via a network. The context information stored in the server may be used or executed by other terminals connecting to a ubiquitous network.
A conventional context-aware technique is disclosed in the proceedings of "Improving Level of Service for Mobile Users Using Context-Awareness" issued by "P. Couder and A. M. Kermarrec" in IEEE Symposium on Reliable Distributed System pp. 24-33, 1999. This proceeding suggests a mode representing a contextual object (CO) in order to process context awareness.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional context-aware system.
Referring to FIG. 1, the system includes a client 100 and a server 200. The server 200 serves as an information server to store and manage contextual objects and respond to a request from the client 100.
The client 100 includes a detection/notification layer 130 for detecting a situation and notifying a high-level layer of the situation by monitoring the system and a network, an adaptation layer 120 for instructing to select and store context information to be managed and processed, and an application layer 110 interworked with the adaptation layer 120.
The application layer 110 is the highest-level layer and shows a processing result dependent on a context in an adaptive system and sends attribute information to a context manager 122.
In the adaptation layer 120, a contextual object manager 121 manages a data structure for all information about contextual objects currently used by each application, and the context manager 122 receives information about a context change in a current circumference when the detection/notification layer 130 detects the context change. A selection manager 123 filters unnecessary information so that an optimal result is obtained from a current context based on inclination or preference contained in a user profile.
The detection/notification layer 130 detects a change in the context of the system or network dependent on a user's interests and a circumferential environment, converts low-level information to a high-level event, and notifies the adaptation layer 120 of the high-level event.
For example, when the contextual object is defined for a user's ID, the context-aware system can select a proper circumference depending on a user's location, a language, a browser type, and a communication circumference, and show a suitable web document to the user.
This conventional technique suggests the structure of the context-aware system, but it suggests neither an explicit client-side process, a structure of a context-aware server, a context information storing method, nor a searching module. Furthermore, the conventional technique has neither a client-server communication capability nor a proxy module function, and thus is unable to perform sufficient retransmission and caching upon network failure.
Another conventional technique is disclosed in the proceedings of "The anatomy of a Context-aware application" issued by "Aby Harter, Any Hopper, Pete Steggles, Andy Ward, and Paul Webster", Wireless Networks Vol. 8, Issue 2/3, pp. 187-197, 2002. This conventional technique suggests the structure of a system using the space information as in FIG. 2 in order to detect the location of a mobile terminal in a building.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a conventional method for tracking a location of a terminal.
Referring to FIG. 2, a base station 310 can recognize movement of a mobile terminal 320 using receivers A, B and C, recognize a new location of the mobile terminal 320 using receivers C, D and E, and perform new processing corresponding to the new location. In this case, the base station uses only a space indexing system when confirming only a simple location of the mobile terminal, but accesses a database of a server when storing, reading and processing context information.
To solve problems with the system shown in FIG. 1 using space information as in FIG. 2, a system as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is suggested.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a conventional system for providing ubiquitous-based context information providing service.
Referring to FIG. 3, the system includes sensor nodes 410, context-aware middleware 420 interworked with the sensor nodes 410 and connected to sensor networks, and a context-aware server 430 for providing an information providing service to a user based on information received from the context-aware middleware 420.
The sensor nodes 410 detect and collect a change in service circumference (context information such as location, temperature/humidity, facility utilization, and the like) in real time and send the detected change to the context-aware middleware 420 connected to the sensor network via ad-hoc routing configuration.
The context-aware middleware 420 sends to the context-aware server 430 a service context information storing request containing the user's context information from the sensor nodes 410 in order to store the user's context information in the context-aware server 430. The context-aware middleware 420 receives a service request from the user, checks the user's service preference, the state of the user's device, circumferential context information and the like, and requests the context-aware server 430 to provide the service.
The context-aware server 430 stores the user's context information resulting from the service context information storing request received via the context-aware middleware 420, and provides the service based on the stored user's context information in response to the service request received via the context-aware middleware 420.
The configuration of the sensor node will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating details of a sensor node in a conventional system for providing ubiquitous-based context information providing service.
Refeffing to FIG. 4, the sensor node 410 includes a tag sensor 411 attached to a user or a device as a service object for sensing a user's situation in real time; detecting sensors 412 for sensing a signal from the tag sensor 411 to recognize the user's location, and routing active service data such as a service request from the user and passive service data without user's intervention such as illegal intrusion detection to a sink sensor 413; and the sink sensor 413 for collecting the active service data and passive service data from the detecting sensors 412, sending the data to the context-aware middleware 420, and controlling a state of the detecting sensors 412.
The tag sensor 411 is attached to the user or the device as a service object. The tag sensor 411 may be mounted inside or outside the device. In order to provide context-aware based service, a user's location is first recognized. The location is recognized by calculating a coordinate using information communicated between the tag sensor 411 attached to the user and the detecting sensor 412 attached to the building. Specifically, the detecting sensor 412 sends a signal to any of the tag sensors 411 through wireless communication such as ZIGBEE® communication and super-broadband wireless communication, and the tag sensor 411 calculates its own location coordinate using location information received from three or more detecting sensors 412 and returns the location coordinate to the detecting sensor 412 so that the context-aware server 430 recognizes the location.
On the contrary, the tag sensor 411 may send a signal to the external detecting sensor 412 and the detecting sensors 412 may calculate the location using the signal. In this case, the location information of the tag sensor 411 is one of contexts, i.e., context information in the sensor network.
The context information refers to any type of information that characterizes existence (e.g., people, places, and objects) associated with interaction between a user and an object, as described above. The context information includes resource information from a user's terminal having a calculating capability and circumferential information varying with user's behavior.
The context information, including the location information from the tag sensors 412, is sent to the context-aware server 430 via the detecting sensors 412 in a network topology. In this case, when the detecting sensors 411 are able to process the collected context information, they may process the context information by themselves instead of sending it to the context-aware server 430.
Meanwhile, a network topology for delivering the collected context information from the tag sensor 411 is divided into a sensor layer including only the detecting sensors 412 for sensing information required for service, and a header sensor layer for summarizing sensed information according to a region, service, and network. The header sensor layer is selected from the above detecting sensor layers.
The information summarized by the header sensor is sent to the sink sensor 413, which serves as a gateway for connecting the sensor network to a context-aware system (i.e., the context-aware middleware and the context-aware server).
The sensors on the same layer freely communicate through wireless communication such as "RF", "ZIGBEE®" and "UWB", or through wired communication. The sensors may consist of a group and exchange a control message or data in the group, and a new sensor may be added to the group or any of the sensors may be removed from the group.
As described above, in the conventional technique, user's context information is collected in real time and used to provide optimized service to each user. However, in the case where user-requested service is associated with one or more contexts and there is at least one context, the service itself cannot be provided when the number of the context information for the requested service does not correspond to the number of context information defined for the service (due to malfunction, addition, or removal of any sensor).

System and method for providing flexible context-aware service

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


A rack arrangement including a rack designed to be able to support several magazines that are positioned above one another, where each magazine encloses several printed boards or printed board assemblies that are situated side by side. The frontal surface of the rack arrangement coincides with the front plane of each magazine. Cassettes designed to control or guide a flow of air for cooling the printed boards is arranged between adjacent magazines at a vertical distance from one another. The magazine and/or the cassette is arranged so that, from a fully-inserted position in the rack, the magazine and/or cassette may be displaced along guides to project beyond the rack, or vice versa. A magazine and adjacent cassette may be joined together by a hinge along a horizontal edge of the front plane. When displaced, the magazine may be dropped or tilted forwardly by the hinge, thereby making the back plane accessible.

Printed boards are used within telecommunications systems and boards of this kind contain electrical conductors or wires that have been run or arranged by using layers of electrically-conducting foil and by arranging a number of foils above eachother, each foil separated by an intermediate layer of electrically-insulating foil, and by arranging required connections between the electrical foils.
When discrete components are mounted on one or both sides of such a printed board, then such an arrangement is called a printed board assembly.
However, in the description that follows we have used the term "printed board" to apply to both categories.
Printed boards of this kind, and for the application described above, require an electrical interaction with each other and therefore several printed boards are mechanically supported by a magazine. By means of electrical conductors via a back plane of the magazine said printed boards may electrically be interacted or interconnected with one another.
The printed boards are equipped with edge-related connectors or contact means, and the back plane of the magazine is equipped with corresponding connectors or contact means.
The connectors that belong to the printed boards are arranged to be able to interact with connectors that belong to the magazine. These connectors are coordinated in rows to the back plane.
Ordinarily, the back plane for magazines of this kind supports only required electrical conductors; that is the conductors that are required to connect the printed boards functionally to one another.
It is a known practice to use a rack arrangement that is designed to be able to hold several magazines, ordinarily positioned above one another, at a vertical distance from one another.
Rack arrangements, of the kind described above, have existed in numerous different embodiments. A common feature for one category of these rack arrangements is that the magazines can, via guides, be horizontally displaced from a fully-inserted position in the rack to a position that projects beyond the rack, and vice versa, thereby making the printed boards or the printed board assemblies that belong to the magazine more accessible for inspection or for replacement.
One or more printed boards might be replaced partly when a printed board malfunctions partly when the function has been modified in a way that requires a new printed board.
It is common for rack arrangements of this kind to interact with several magazines, each of which is equipped with a fixed back plane that has connectors positioned in columns or rows, and where the back plane in addition thereto is equipped with required bus arrangements and other electrical conductors or wires.
As an example of the prior art, we refer to the Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 4,871,324, which shows and describes a back plane with several connectors that were arranged in parallel columns, one beside the other.
Another known practice involves arranging "flexible" back planes.
As an example of the prior art, we refer to the content of the Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,270, which shows a flexible back plane arrangement that uses removable back plane modules that were mounted on a platform that enabled the back plane modules to be removed and exchanged with other types of circuit modules.
In this publication it shows that the magazine (10) has two contact groups (20U, 20L), in which the conductors or wires of one group (20U) are fixed, whereas the second group, the lower group (20L), makes up by a part of a detachable back plane module (22).
The back plane module (22) may glide in relation to a track (44).
The Patent Publication U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,348 also shows a back plane for interacting with several electronic components, where the back plane is inserted into a rack, that may be installed onboard a vehicle; for example an aeroplane.
Here is shown a detachable frame to which electronic components are mounted. Without having to dismount the rack from the vehicle, one simply removes the frame to obtain complete access to the back plane and connections for various components.
The contents of the following publications also relate to the background art: DE-C3-3 608 046; U.S. Pat. No. 2,857,558; DE-A-2 209 858; and SU-A1-1 299 568.


This invention relates generally to a dehydration device and methods for drying biological materials to produce dried biological materials having enhanced structural properties. More specifically, the invention relates to a dehydration device and related methods for drying biological tissue to produce enhanced tissue grafts.

Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a dehydration device and methods for drying biological materials to produce dried biological materials having enhanced structural properties. More specifically, the invention relates to a dehydration device and related methods for drying biological tissue to produce enhanced tissue grafts.
State of the Art
The storage and preservation of biological materials is crucial for the success of many applications involving biological materials. Drying, dessication and dehydration (hereinafter used interchangeably) is one of the tools and methods available. To date, a variety of devices and methods have been used to prepare biological materials in a dehydrated form in order to confer benefits such as reduced weight and reduced storage space, and also increased chemical and/or structural stability. While each of these devices have certain benefits, they also come with certain detriments including one or more of the following, prolonged drying time, limited capacity, uneven drying, and the like.
Current drying technologies employ, for example, air drying, drying with microwaves, drying at sublimation phase, and drying at various temperature conditions. These methods, however, can take an extended period of time to complete and/or may lack uniformity as to the drying process and rate. Other methods involve lyophilization and/or freeze-drying, which may allow for extended storage of some dried biological materials but are unsuitable for others. Further, some of these methods use chemicals such as dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), carbohydrates, paraformaldehyde and the like to fix biological materials during the lyophilization process. These chemicals often modify the biological materials and compromise their functions. Some other methods use sugars to stabilize biological materials prior to freeze-drying. These types of processes, however, may produce ice crystals and damage biological material structures.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a dehydration device and methods of using the device that enhance the rate and uniformity of the dehydration process without causing damage to their structure or function.

Dehydration device and methods for drying biological materials


A flexible tube for an exhaust pipe of an automobile includes a bellows member having corrugations thereon; an interlocking member positioned in the bellows member with a predetermined gap from the bellows member and having a spiral groove formed thereon to absorb deformation; a braid member positioned to surround the outside portion of the bellows member and braided to be flexibly deformed with a large displacement with respect to a displacement and tension in a compression direction; cap members coupled for fixing the braid member on the outside of the both ends of the bellows member; and intermediate members formed in the shape of a ring and having one end fixed to the bellows member and the other end fixed to the interlocking member by overlapping the interlocking member inwards, wherein the bellows member has protrusion portions, a center part and both end parts.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flexible tube for an exhaust pipe of an automobile, and more particularly to, a flexible tube for an exhaust pipe of an automobile, wherein a depression inner diameter in the center of a bellows is formed to be larger than a depression inner diameter at both sides of the bellows such that a gap from an interlocking member increases so as to prevent the interference between the bellows and the interlocking member, thereby improving traveling noise, while both end parts have a small gap so as to increase the height of protrusions, thereby improving the flexibility and durability of the bellows.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an exhaust pipe is connected to the engine of an automobile so as to discharge exhaust gas, wherein a flexible coupling is mounted on the connection portion thereof such that the flexible coupling absorbs external force which is generated from the vibration of the engine and the vibration of the surface of a road so as to extend the lifespan of the exhaust pipe and to improve the ride comfort.
The flexible coupling which is connected to the exhaust pipe of an automobile as above generally absorbs the tension, compression and bending displacement which are generated in response to the movement of an exhaust system from the engine vibration and the road surface vibration, wherein torsion displacement generated in every direction may follow according to the mounting conditions of the engine, the direction where the displacement generates, and the design and shape of the entire exhaust pipe.
Therefore, a bellows made from a metal material is mainly used in order to improve the performances for maintaining airtightness and absorbing vibration and displacement, which are the core functions of the flexible coupling for an exhaust pipe of an automobile.
In addition, the flexible coupling is provided with an interlocking member as disclosed in EP 041089 A1, such that the interlocking member simultaneously absorbs the inward axial deformation, bending deformation or the like of a bellows member which is made from a metal material in the shape of a cylinder with repetitive corrugations, controls displacement within the range of elastic limit of the bellows member, makes the flow of exhaust gas smooth as a guide pipe, and protects the bellows member from the exhaust gas of high temperature.
Further, the bellow member is formed in a structure, wherein the outside portion of the bellows member is surrounded by a braid member and, in this situation, the both ends of the bellows member and the braid member are compressed together with caps in the circumferential direction so as to be finished by spot-welding.
That is, one end is coupled to an engine side and the other end is coupled to an exhaust pipe side such that the exhaust gas passes through a center portion and the bellows member and the interlocking member absorb shocks, deformation or the like which acts between the engine and the exhaust pipe via contraction and expansion.

Flexible tube for exhaust pipe of automobiles


A storage table 2 is composed of a cabinet 10 open to the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, and a tray 11 able to move into and out of the cabinet 10. The tray 11 includes a base plate 15 and a front cover 16. The base plate 26 is a flat part installed so that the base plate 26 can freely slide in and out of the cabinet 10 by the guide rails 13. The front cover 16 is assembled at a front end along an in-and-out direction of the base plate 26. The front cover 16 is integrally formed with a size covering the whole opening of the cabinet 10. The double-deck paper-loading unit 20 mounted on the storage table 2 has an upper tray 21 loaded on a lower tray 22, so that the lower tray 21 can move into and out of the cabinet 10 and the lower tray 21 is detachable to the base plate for altering the function of the storage table. The structure can be recombined to correspond to various functions, such as the storage of supplies, double-deck paper loading, tandem paper-loading etc, all using only one storage table, and so the cost can become cheaper.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a multi-purpose storage table for a variety of applications. More particularly, the invention relates to multi-purpose storage table suitable for storing paper or samples for an image forming apparatus or its peripheral apparatuses.
2. Description of Related Art
For the image forming apparatus such as a copy machine, a facsimile, a printer, and a multi-functional machine having above functions, or the peripheral apparatus used together with the image formation apparatus, storage table is used in combination with the above apparatuses for the storage and the supply of the paper, or the storage of supplies.
Therefore, storage tables are made for specified purposes and applications. For example, a storage table could include a storage drawer having one or plural decks for storing paper or toner bottles, or a mechanism such as a paper-loading tray within the drawer for serving as a paper-loading table, or a paper-loading table having one or plural decks, or a tandem paper-feeding table such as a drawer having a pair of paper-loading units formed in a direction perpendicular to the in-and-out direction of the storage table. The maker of the image formation apparatus also manufactures and sells the above storage tables individually.
FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a conventional storage table with a double-deck paper-loading tray. As shown, the storage table 40 is composed of an upper and a lower (double-deck) paper-loading tray 41, 42 that are received in a cabinet 43, and the trays 41, 42 can be drawn out individually. Each of the upper tray 41 and the lower tray 42 has a front cover 44 and a storage unit 45.
However, regarding the storage table shown in FIG. 4, because the paper-loading trays 41, 42, including the front cover 44 etc, are independent of each other and have the same or similar structure, in considering a storage use other than flat objects such as paper, the respective storage space is too narrow and small, and therefore only objects with a thin thickness or a small volume can be stored therein. For example, if paper is loaded in one paper-loading tray 41, but the other paper-loading tray 42, where no paper is loaded, is not in use, it cannot be used for storing large objects, such as toner bottles. In addition, the table mentioned above is specified for each certain purpose. Therefore, the function of the table cannot be altered or changed to meet various usages after the table is purchased. Unavoidably, the user has to buy additional storage tables for various altered situations. In addition, because the use of the storage table is specified, the storage table cannot be made with smaller parts. Furthermore, because the material of the cabinet is metal plate, the manufacturing cost is very high.


Modular sensor console unit for automotive occupancy sensors comprising an exterior housing having a grille and warning light bezel therein, a sensor mounting plate, an electronics module and a back cover having tabs for mounting on the interior of a vehicle, preferably adjacent the junction of the headliner and front windshield. The housing has an attractive contoured shape that merges to the headliner. The mounting plate comprises a plate and a plurality of hollow cones formed therein, preferably base down with the distal ends of the cones truncated to form planar openings for receivingly engaging US or IR sensors. The mounting plate can be employed in a first base-down "mesa" orientation with exposed sensors, or a base-up "magaphone" orientation with recessed sensors. The console can be preassembled and is easily mountable in the vehicle during interior finishing assembly.

The need for automotive occupancy sensor systems are set forth in detail in Corrado et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,314 which is incorporated by reference herein by way of background. Briefly, the incidents of injury by airbags to infants in rear facing child seats placed in the front passenger seat and to smaller occupants, such as young children and small or elderly adults is well documented. Proposed solutions include sensor systems that can discern the nature and location of occupants in passenger seats, or the absence of passengers, and in preselected scenarios signal the airbag deployment controller to not deploy the airbag. Alternately, airbags can be deployed partially, incrementally, or slowly, or a combination thereof; these are so-called "smart airbag" systems.
Critical to effective operations of such occupancy sensor systems are the suite of sensors. The sensors may be selected from one or more ultrasound (US), infrared (IR), capacitance, weight, inductance, visual (video) or other types of sensors. The sensors are very sensitive, must be tuned to the particular vehicle passenger compartment, and their output signals processed via algorithms for recognition of the nature and location of the occupant. Examples of such algorithms are set forth in the aforesaid Corrado et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,314 and copending application Ser. No. 08/731,355 filed Oct. 11, 1996 entitled Automotive Occupant Sensor System and Method of Operation By Sensor Fusion.
The sensors must be inexpensive, yet rugged, as vehicle operating conditions are varied and can be extreme. In addition, they need to be reasonably accessible for servicing or replacement. In addition, the sensor suite must be easy to mount during vehicle assembly, low cost, and reliable. Preferably, the sensors and related electronics should be grouped and provided as a subassembly by a specialty manufacturer.


In a fuel cell assembly with at least one cell including an electrolyte layer, a pair of gas diffusion electrode layers interposing said electrolyte layer between them, and a pair of flow distribution plates (5) for defining passages (10, 11) for fuel and oxidizer gases that contact said gas diffusion electrode layers, a heater 62 and various sensors (61a, 61b and 61c) are formed on at least one of the flow distribution plates so that the work needed for installing the heater and sensors is simplified. By embedding them in a substrate, the need for a complex sealing arrangement can be eliminated. In particular, if each flow distribution plate is formed by performing an etching process on a substrate, and forming the heater and sensors in succession to the step of forming each flow distribution plate, the installation of sensors and fabrication of the fuel call are simplified.

A fuel cell includes an electrolyte layer and a pair of electrodes placed on either side of the electrolyte layer, and generates electricity through an electrochemical reaction between fuel gas such as hydrogen and alcohol and oxidizing gas such as oxygen and air, which are supplied to the corresponding electrodes, with the aid of a catalyst. Depending on the electrolytic material used for the electrolyte layer, the fuel cell may be referred to the phosphoric acid type, solid polymer type or molten carbonate type.
In particular, the solid polymer electrolyte type fuel cell (SPFC) using an ion-exchange resin membrane for the electrolyte layer is considered to be highly promising because of the possibility of compact design, low operating temperature (100° C. or lower) and high efficiency, as opposed to the solid oxide type fuel cell (SOFC).
The SPE typically includes an ion-exchange resin membrane made of perfluorocarbonsulfonic acid (Nafion: tradename), phenolsulfonic acid, polyethylenesulfonic acid, polytrifluorosulfonic acid, and so on. A porous carbon sheet impregnated with a catalyst such as platinum powder is placed on each side of the ion-exchange resin membrane to serve as a gas diffusion electrode layer. This assembly is known as a membrane-electrode assembly (MEA). A fuel cell can be formed by defining a fuel gas passage on one side of the MEA and an oxidizing gas passage on the other side of the MEA by using flow distribution plates (separators).
Typically, such fuel cells are stacked, and the flow distribution plates are shared by the adjacent fuel cells in the same stack.
When operating a fuel cell in a stable manner, it is essential to control the flow rates of the gases according to the temperatures of the gases and electrolyte, and the gas flow rates. For instance, Japanese patent laid open to publication No. 8-185878 and Japanese patent laid open to publication No. 11-162490 teach the provision of sensors in a fuel cell for detecting the temperatures and flow rates of the reaction gases.
However, according to such previous proposals, because the sensors are provided outside the fuel cell, it is not possible to obtain the desired information from each individual cell, and this prevents an accurate detection and control. Japanese patent laid open to publication No. 11-162490 discloses voltage sensors and resistive sensors which are installed in a fuel cell stack. However, installing the sensors m such a way creates the need for a highly complex sealing arrangement. This not only complicates the assembly work for the fuel cell stack, but also causes some difficulty in ensuring the durability of such a sealing arrangement. This problem is particularly serious when a sensor is desired to be installed in each fuel cell of a fuel cell stack.

Fuel cell assembly and method for making the same

The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University


An image sensor architecture is implemented within an image sensor system. Image sensor pixels include pixel regions, and each pixel region includes a photosensor, a reset circuit, and a readout circuit. The readout circuit receives enable signals from an enable signal line, and outputs a pixel signal representative of light captured by the photosensor on a combination input/output line. The reset circuit resets the photosensor in response to receiving a first reset signal on a reset line and a second reset signal on the combination input/output line.

Digital image sensors, such as CMOS or CCD sensors, include a plurality of photosensors each configured to convert photons incident upon the photosensors ("captured light") into electric charge. The electric charge can then be converted into image data representing the light captured by each photosensor. The image data includes a digital representation of the captured light, and may be manipulated or processed to produce a digital image capable of display on a viewing device. Image sensors are implemented in integrated circuits ("ICs") with a physical surface that may be divided into a plurality of pixel regions (for instance, one or more photosensors and attendant control circuitry) configured to convert light into an electrical signal (charge, voltage, current, etc.). For convenience, pixel regions within an image sensor may also be referred to as image pixels ("IPs") and the aggregate of the pixel regions or image pixels will be referred to as the image sensor region. An image sensor IC typically will also include areas outside of the image sensor region, for example certain types of control or interface circuitry.
Image sensors include a variety of control lines, reset lines, and output lines (collectively "input/output" or "I/O" lines herein) to transmit control signals, reset signals, and image data to and from the pixels of the image sensor. As photosensors for most applications perform better with an unobstructed path for light incident upon the photosensors, the portions of the surface area of an image sensor dedicated to couple I/O lines to the pixels reduce the amount of image sensor surface area that can contain photosensors with unobstructed light paths. The proportion of image sensor surface area containing unobstructed photosensors is referred to herein as the "fill factor" of the image pixels.

High fill-factor image sensor architecture


MOS channel devices and methods of fabricating such devices having a hybrid channel are provided. Exemplary devices include vertical power MOSFETs that include a hybrid well region of silicon carbide and methods of fabricating such devices are provided. The hybrid well region may include an implanted p-type silicon carbide well portion in a p-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, an implanted p-type silicon carbide contact portion that contacts the implanted p-type silicon carbide well portion and extends to a surface of the p-type epitaxial layer and/or an epitaxial p-type silicon carbide portion, at least a portion of the epitaxial p-type silicon carbide well portion corresponding to a p-type channel region of the MOSFET.

Power devices are widely used to carry large currents and support high voltages. Modem power devices are generally fabricated from monocrystalline silicon semiconductor material. One widely used power device is the power Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). In a power MOSFET, a control signal is supplied to a gate electrode that is separated from the semiconductor surface by an intervening insulator, which may be, but is not limited to, silicon dioxide. Current conduction occurs via transport of majority carriers, without the presence of minority carrier injection that is used in bipolar transistor operation. Power MOSFETs can provide an excellent safe operating area, and can be paralleled in a unit cell structure.
As is well known to those having skill in the art, power MOSFETs may include a lateral structure or a vertical structure. In a lateral structure, the drain, gate and source terminals are on the same surface of a substrate. In contrast, in a vertical structure, the source and drain are on opposite surfaces of the substrate.
One widely used silicon power MOSFET is the double diffused MOSFET (DMOSFET) which is fabricated using a double-diffusion process. In these devices, a p-base region and an n+ source region are diffused through a common opening in a mask. The p-base region is driven in deeper than the n+ source. The difference in the lateral diffusion between the p-base and n+ source regions forms a surface channel region. An overview of power MOSFETs including DMOSFETs may be found in the textbook entitled "Power Semiconductor Devices" by B. J. Baliga, published by PWS Publishing Company, 1996, and specifically in Chapter 7, entitled "Power MOSFET", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference.
Recent development efforts in power devices have also included investigation of the use of silicon carbide (SiC) devices for power devices. Silicon carbide has a wide bandgap, a lower dielectric constant, a high breakdown field strength, a high thermal conductivity, and a high saturation electron drift velocity compared to silicon. These characteristics may allow silicon carbide power devices to operate at higher temperatures, higher power levels and with lower specific on-resistance than conventional silicon-based power devices. A theoretical analysis of the superiority of silicon carbide devices over silicon devices is found in a publication by Bhatnagar et al. entitled "Comparison of 6H-SiC, 3C-SiC and Si for Power Devices", IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 40, 1993, pp. 645–655. A power MOSFET fabricated in silicon carbide is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,421 to Palmour entitled "Power MOSFET in Silicon Carbide" and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
Notwithstanding these potential advantages, it may be difficult to fabricate power devices including power MOSFETs in silicon carbide. For example, as described above, the double-diffused MOSFET (DMOSFET) is generally fabricated in silicon using a double diffusion process wherein the p-base region is driven in deeper than the n+ source. Unfortunately, in silicon carbide, the diffusion coefficients of conventional p- and n-type dopants are small compared to silicon, so that it may be difficult to obtain the required depths of the p-base and n+ source regions using acceptable diffusion times and temperatures. Ion implantation may also be used to implant the p-base and the n+ source. See, for example, "High-Voltage Double-Implanted Power MOSFET's in 6H-SiC" by Shenoy et al., IEEE Electron Device Letters, Vol. 18, No. 3, March 1997, pp. 93–95. However, it may be difficult to control the depth and lateral extent of ion implanted regions. Moreover, the need to form a surface channel surrounding the source region may require the use of two separate implantation masks. It may then be difficult to align the p-base and the source regions to one another, thereby potentially impacting the device performance.
Methods of forming FETs in silicon carbide utilizing p-type implantation have also been described by, for example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,142 entitled "Self-Aligned Method of Fabricating Silicon Carbide Power Devices by Implantation and Lateral Diffusion," the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth fully herein. Also, PCT International Publication No. WO98/02916 describes a method for producing a doped p-type channel region layer having, on laterally opposite sides thereof, doped n-type regions in a silicon carbide layer for producing a voltage-controlled semiconductor device. A masking layer is applied on top of a silicon carbide layer that is lightly n-doped. An aperture is etched in the masking layer extending to the silicon carbide layer. N-type dopants are implanted into an area of the silicon carbide layer defined by the aperture for obtaining a high doping concentration of n-type in the surface-near layer of the silicon carbide layer under the area. P-type dopants having a considerably higher diffusion rate in silicon carbide than the n-type dopants, are implanted into an area of the silicon carbide layer defined by the aperture to such a degree that the doping type of the surface-near layer is maintained. The silicon carbide layer is then heated at such a temperature that the p-type dopants implanted in the surface-near layer diffuse into the surrounding regions of the silicon carbide layer that is lightly n-doped, to such a degree that a channel region layer in which p-type dopants dominates is created laterally to the highly doped n-type surface-near layer and between this layer and lightly n-doped regions of the silicon carbide layer.
Silicon carbide MOSFETs that are formed without the use of p-type implantation are described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,041, entitled "Silicon Carbide Inversion Channel MOSFETs" the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference as if set forth in its entirety.

Methods of fabricating silicon carbide devices with hybrid well regions


An automated signal generator apparatus allows testing of remotely-controlled electronic devices to verify functionality and reliability, or for product set-up, initialization or configuration. The apparatus simulates a person pressing the keys on a remote control key pad, and can simulate key press sequences, key press duration, and time between key presses. Other human interfaces may also be simulated. The apparatus can be continuously driven by an external computer in a slaved mode, or can store test instructions in an internal memory to operate in a standalone mode. Test instructions, which may be written in a macro script language, are processed by a microprocessor to provide a control signal to, e.g., an infrared (IR) transmitter. The IR transmitter can control one or more electronic devices which are under test. The transmitter may use a wide angle IR beam, or a plurality of separate transmitters for testing of a plurality of electronic devices at the same time. In a human learning mode, control signals from a human interface are processed to provide time compression or repetition of a fixed control sequence.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for generating infrared (IR) test signals for use in reliability and functionality testing of IR-controlled electronic devices. The system may also be used during production to expedite product set-up. The system is particularly suitable for use in providing test signals that emulate the commands of a human interface such as a hand-held remote control transmitter commonly used to control a television, television decoder, or other remotely operated electronic device. The system is termed a "Robo-finger" computer driven remote control emulator.
Remote control IR transmitters are commonly used to control electronic devices. Such transmitters are typically compact enough to be hand held, and provide a keypad with one or more keys, or other control buttons or switches which are pressed or otherwise actuated to achieve a desired control signal. For example, hand held IR remote control units are often used to operate consumer electronic goods such as televisions, television decoders (e.g., converters, terminals or set-top boxes), video cassette recorders (VCRs), audio equipment, Internet web surfers, personal computers, and video game consoles. Such control units have also found applications in the household to control ceiling fans, skylights, and security systems, for example. Remote transmitters may also be used by the infirm to actuate an emergency telephone dialing system. Automotive applications include door and trunk openers, and security systems. Various other uses for remote IR transmitters exist to improve convenience and safety for the user.
The physical operation of IR transmitters and receivers is well known. The transmitter uses an amplifier and diodes to provide a modulated IR signal, e.g., radiation having a wavelength in the spectrum from approximately 1 .mu.m to 1 mm, which corresponds to a command, such as "power on" or "channel up". The transmitter is aimed by the user toward the device which is to be operated. The device has an IR receiver which demodulates the signal to recover and execute the desired command. For cosmetic reasons, the receiver may be built-in behind a panel which is transparent to the radiation. The radiation has an effective range typically of several meters.
For television applications, numerous commands may be transmitted via the IR signal, including power on or off, channel selection, closed captioning on or off, closed captioning language selection, split screen, picture in picture, picture contrast, color, and brightness control. Various audio commands include volume, equalizer, surround sound, treble, bass, and home theater settings. Additionally, recent television services provide on-screen graphical displays which allow a user to order programs (e.g., pay-per-view) or order goods from a home shopping channel, for example. Further interactive applications will allow the user to participate in contests or other interactive games or educational activities, or to access computer networks (e.g., the Internet) through the television.
Moreover, while hand-held IR transmitters commonly have keys which are pressed by the user, IR transmitters may operate with other mechanical or non-mechanical interfaces. For example, alternative mechanical interfaces include a joystick, lever, mouse, wheel, pressure activated switch, track ball or a device which is worn by the user and responds to the user's movement, such as head, arm, leg, foot, hand, finger, or even eye movement. So-called virtual reality mechanical interfaces can even monitor a human physiological state such as heart rate to provide a signal to interact with an audio-visual display. Non-mechanical interfaces such as voice- or other sound-operated interfaces may also be used.
Accordingly, modern remote controlled electronic devices and user operated transmitters are called upon to perform an increasing number of complex tasks. For manufacturers and others, there is a concomitant increasing need to provide automated testing of such electronic devices to verify the functionality and reliability of the devices, e.g., to "exercise" the devices. "Functionality" refers to the various functions that the IR transmitter can command the device to perform, for example, power on or off, and so forth. A device with good functionality performs the commanded function accurately. "Reliability" refers to how well the device stands up after performing repeated operations. A device with good reliability performs the commanded functions over the expected lifetime of the device.
It would therefore be desirable to have an automated testing apparatus and method which allows for the relatively simple and inexpensive testing of the functionality and reliability of an IR-controlled electronic device. The system should provide testing at various phases of the design of the electronic device, including firmware development, hardware development, system test, quality assurance, reliability testing and production testing.
The system should emulate the different aspects of human interaction with a mechanical interface, such as a hand held infrared remote transmitter, without requiring a user or mechanical robot to continuously press the keypad buttons of the transmitter or otherwise operate the interface. The system should simulate different key press sequences, key press durations, and intervals between key presses, as well as other types of mechanical interfaces. The system should have a learning mode to record and process user control actions from the mechanical interface, and provide corresponding control signals to the automatic signal generator. The system should have the capability to time-compress and repeat the user control actions.
The system should provide significant savings of time and resources by speeding up the test process and providing a means of stress testing. The system should also assist in production of remote controlled devices by expediting product set-up.
The present invention provides a system having the above and other advantages.

Automated infrared test signal generator


A parking brake locking device is provided including a parking brake having an elongated cylindrical configuration. The parking brake has a first end hingably coupled to a floor of a vehicle adjacent to a front seat thereof and is adapted to pivot between a deactuated lowered orientation and an actuated raised orientation. Also included is a locking arm mounted to the floor of the vehicle. The locking arm engages the parking brake for selectively precluding the transfer of the parking brake from the actuated raised orientation to the deactuated lower orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to parking brake sleeve-type locks and more particularly pertains to a new PARKING BRAKE LOCKING DEVICE for selectively precluding the deactuation of a parking brake with a locking assembly mounted to a floor of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of parking brake sleeve-type locks is known in the prior art. More specifically, parking brake sleeve-type locks heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art parking brake sleeve-type locks include U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,055; U.S. Pat. No. 5,325,688; U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,798; U.S. Pat. No. 4,995,250; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,120.
In these respects, the parking brake locking device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of selectively precluding the deactuation of a parking brake with a locking assembly mounted to a floor of a vehicle.


Disclosed herein are optical projection systems and related methods for projecting imagery employing shifting image position in-time to mitigate speckle. Exemplary optical systems may include a projector having a light source, a relay lens and at least one projection lens for projecting images. The relay lens or the projection lens may have at least one lens element that may be translated in-time substantially orthogonal to the optical axis of the optical system. Alternatively, the projection lens in its entirety may be shifted in-time to reduce speckle. Further, in stereoscopic embodiments, two projection lenses may be employed, wherein at least one element in each projection lens is moveable to shift the image in-time to reduce speckle. Moreover, electronic compensation, such as electronic addressing or image warping, for the image shifting may be employed to shift the image in a direction opposite to the speckle-reducing shift in position.

Generally, current display and projection technologies may include functionality to deploy, view and/or display three dimensional ("3D") content. Recently, the increased demand for such functionality has driven the need for enhanced performance of projection technology. Projection systems typically use arc lamps, and in one example, xenon arc sources, for cinema projection systems, as the light source. Arc lamps have brightness which degrades over time due to electrode erosion, movement in the arc position relative to the collection optics, and particle buildup on the lamp walls.
More modern light sources employ coherent light sources, such as lasers, over incoherent arc lamps. The use of coherent or partially coherent sources can have advantages in display or illumination over standard incoherent sources (lamps) in that they can achieve higher brightness, better reliability, and larger color gamut. Lasers in particular provide a brighter light source with longer lifetimes as compared typical arc lamps.
Since lasers are coherent light sources, lasers suffer from the appearance of speckle when laser light is scattered from surfaces with roughness on the order of a wavelength. Speckle forms when coherent, but differently phased, portions of the reflected beam constructively and/or destructively add inside a single resolution spot of the detector, such as a human eye. In projection systems, speckle is due to interference of the light on a display screen or target that causes variations in intensity that can be seen by the observer or an instrument. The high contrast nature of the neighboring resolution spots disrupts the spatial continuity of the image. Thus, these typically high frequency intensity variations are very undesirable for display or imaging applications. Accordingly, it would be desirable in the art to have a technique for mitigating image speckle along the optical path, without significantly affecting image quality.


A laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser in which a solid-state laser crystal is pumped by a laser beam emitted from a laser diode. An index-guided type multi-transverse mode broad area laser having a single optical waveguide is used as the laser diode. This leads to reduced output variations and noise of the laser. Preferably, the front reflectivity of the laser with respect to the oscillation wavelength of the laser should be more than 20%.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser, and more particularly to a laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser in which output variations and noise are reduced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,635, a laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser is well known, wherein a solid-state laser crystal doped with rare earth elements such as Neodymium is pumped with a laser diode (a semiconductor laser). In this laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser, an optical output thereof is detected by a photodetector, and a drive current of the laser diode is subjected to a feedback control on the basis of an output obtained from that detection. Thereby, so-called APC (automatic power control) is effected for maintaining an optical output at a predetermined value. Thus, the laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser is often used while being subjected to APC.
In this type of laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser, a multi-transverse mode broad area laser is often used as a laser diode in order to obtain a high pump power. More particularly, the multi-transverse mode broad area laser, conventionally used as such a pumping source, is of the gain-guided type which forms a guide mode using a current gain.
In the conventional laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser that uses the gain guide type multi-transverse mode broad area laser as a pump source, sharp output variations (so-called kinks), resulting from variations in drive current of the laser diode itself, and minute output variations and noise, caused by returning light which is reflected from a solid-state laser crystal or the like, occur. This may lead to a considerably deteriorated linearity of drive current vs. optical output characteristics of the laser diode. In such a case, it is impossible to suppress output variations of the solid-state laser or noise even when the laser is subjected to the aforementioned APC. What is worse, this causes the APC circuit to oscillate, which in turn causes new noise. This problem is particularly noticeable when the environmental temperature around the laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser varies.

Laser-diode-pumped solid-state laser using index-guided type multi-transverse mode broad area laser


A capability for subscriber cable pair identification is presented. The capability for subscriber cable pair identification may be configured to support subscriber cable identification for Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) cable pairs, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) cable pairs, or both POTS and ISDN cable pairs. The subscriber cable pair identification may be performed using a subscriber cable pair identification assembly including a computing device, a probe interface device, and a probe, where the computing device is configured to run a control program configured to control subscriber cable pair identification, the probe interface device is configured as an interface between the computing device and the probe, and the probe is configured to be connected to a unit supporting subscriber cable pairs.

Subscribers are commonly provided with telephone service known as Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). Alternatively, many subscribers now utilize Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) services in place of POTS for telephone service as well as other services which may be supported. It is relatively common for service providers supporting POTS and ISDN services to maintain subscriber connection records for such services. The subscriber connection records for POTS and ISDN services typically include mappings between the telephone numbers of the subscribers and the subscriber cable pair assignments for the subscribers. However, subscriber connection records typically become corrupted over time. Thus, there is a need for a capability for performing subscriber cable pair identification for POTS services subscribers and ISDN services subscribers.


A crosslinking material, the crosslinking material comprising the reaction product of a reaction mixture comprising:                (i) a cyclic unsaturated acid anhydride and/or diacid derivative thereof;        (ii) an ethylenically unsaturated monomer; and        (iii) an alcohol, amine and/or thiol,wherein the cyclic unsaturated acid anhydride and/or diacid derivative thereof is partially-esterified by reaction with the alcohol, amine and/or thiol; and wherein the wherein the crosslinking material has an acid number of at least 100 mg KOH/g.

Coatings are applied to numerous substrates to provide protective and/or decorative qualities. These coatings are often thermoset coatings, which cure upon reaction of a functional resin with a crosslinking material having functionality that reacts with the functionality of the resin. Crosslinkers are often formaldehyde based. Many industries are interested in reducing if not eliminating formaldehyde in coatings. Coatings that are substantially, essentially or completely free of formaldehyde are desired.


A zoom lens system includes, in order from the object side to the image side, a first lens unit, having a negative refractive power, which moves along an optical axis during a zooming operation, a stop diaphragm which moves along the optical axis with the first lens unit at one body during the zooming operation, and a second lens unit having a positive refractive power.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens system, and more specifically, to a compact and lightweight two lens unit zoom lens system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, it has been difficult to produce zoom lens systems for cameras (e.g. instant cameras) using film of sizes larger than the standard size film (135 mm film). This is because the lens movement amount for focusing and the lens movement amount for zooming should be large for the zoom lens system used in such a camera because of the greatness of the film size. This increases the size of the peripheral mechanical construction and the size of the camera body becomes excessively large as a result.


A grid construction for a fluidized bed reactor, the reactor including a reaction chamber defined by substantially vertical walls, in which a fluidized bed of solid particles is maintained, and a windbox under the reaction chamber, in a lower portion of the reactor. The grid construction is positioned between the reaction chamber and the windbox and includes (a) multiple continuous nozzle lines for distributing fluidizing gas from the windbox into the reaction chamber, for suspending the fluidized bed in the reaction chamber, and (b) continuous trenches between the nozzle lines. The nozzle lines include multiple gas outlets, having a main gas flow direction, at side faces of said nozzle lines, for directing fluidizing gas jets towards an adjacent trench.

The present invention relates to a grid construction for a fluidized bed reactor and a method of using such a grid construction for removing coarse material from the bottom of a fluidized bed reactor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a durable grid construction optimized for reliable and efficient removal of coarse material from a fluidized bed reactor.
Fluidized bed reactors comprise a reaction chamber, defined by vertical walls, having a fluidized bed of solid particles maintained therein, a windbox in a lower portion of the reactor under the reaction chamber, and a grid construction between the reaction chamber and the windbox for supporting the fluidized bed in the reaction chamber. In the grid construction, there are typically means, such as nozzles, for distributing fluidizing air or other gas into the reaction chamber from the windbox.
Fluidized bed reactors are used for different processes, such as combustion or gasification of solid fuel, which may produce coarse residue material which accumulates on the bottom of the reaction chamber, i.e., on the grid. The accumulation of the coarse material may be a problem especially when solid fuels rich in non-combustible material, such as stones or scrap iron, are processed in the reaction chamber, or when the process generates such coarse material, as, for example, ash agglomerations. Coarse material accumulating on the grid should be removed before it interacts detrimentally with the operation of the fluidized bed, e.g., by preventing appropriate distribution of fluidizing gas or process gas into the reaction chamber. Thus, effective equipment is needed in fluidized bed reactors for adequate removal of coarse material from the bottom of the reactor. Usually at least one discharge duct is provided at the bottom of the reactor chamber for withdrawing solids (i.e., coarse material) from the reactor.
A conventional material discharge channel or a few material outlet pipes placed at the bottom of a reactor chamber are, however, often not sufficient for efficient removal of coarse material, as random movement generated by the fluidizing air is not capable of transporting heavy or unfavorably-shaped pieces horizontally for long distances. Also, the migration of material along the bottom of the reactor chamber is especially hampered when the bottom has upwardly projecting air nozzles or other irregularities, to which the coarse material may stick.
An attempt to improve the removal of material from the bottom of a fluidized bed is to use directional fluidizing air nozzles which, by blowing, guide the material towards the discharge opening or duct, as disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,596. However, separate air nozzles are prone to erosion, and coarse material may stick into the nozzles.
Another approach is that the bottom of the reaction chamber could be stepped or slanted downwards towards the outlet, whereby the gravitation assists the horizontal migration of the material. Such a solution has been presented, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,228. The problem with these solutions may, however, be abrasion of the nozzles and regions in their vicinity, caused by the moving material and by the transport air being fed at a high velocity. It is also difficult to ensure an even air feed over the entire grid area due to the different bed pressures at various nozzles, at least when the bottom has significant level differences.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,916 discloses a nozzle with a substantially horizontal upper portion, and an arrangement of such nozzles disposed at the bottom of a fluidized bed combustor. The nozzles direct two diverging air jets from their front ends horizontally towards areas between adjacent nozzles. This patent aims to provide a durable nozzle which supplies air in such a manner that coarse material can be moved along the bottom of the bed. However, the construction provides a highly varying flow velocity field at the bottom, and thus, there is a risk of erosion or accumulation of coarse particles in low velocity areas.
As can be realized from the above description of the prior art, there is a need for a new grid construction by which coarse ash and other non-combustibles can be efficiently and reliably transported to ash withdrawal from the entire bottom area of a fluidized bed reactor.

Grid construction for a fluidized bed reactor


A system for measuring flatness and base edge bevel of skis or snowboards includes a true bar calibrated for straightness having a sharp micro-edge for contacting the ski or snowboard, a light source arranged on one side of the true bar providing a line of light between the true bar and the base of the ski or board, a tool carrier for stabilizing and raising or lowering the true bar, an edge bevel gauge arranged on the base of the ski or board under the true bar for measuring the angle of the base edge bevel, and a mechanism for observing the line of light from the side of the true bar opposite the light source. The system provides reliable means for measuring and interpreting the surface dimensions and other physical properties of skis and boards and the causes and effects of changes to the running surfaces.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally pertains to the field of measuring a planar surface and its edges. More particularly, the invention pertains to a method and apparatus for measuring base edge bevel angles and base flatness of a ski or snowboard for increased performance.
2. Description of Related Art
Down hill snow skis and snowboards are made from a wide variety of materials, including wood, fiberglass, plastics, resins, composites and the like. These materials generally are put into molds, then glued, heated and pressed together. The result is a ski or snowboard with a gliding surface (a base against the snow) that is parallel with the top of the ski. More specifically, the base is manufactured to be parallel to the binding plate area on top of the ski or snowboard.
The bases of snowboards and skis typically are made from a hard plastic material, such as Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE or sometimes shortened to UHMW), also known as high-modulus polyethylene (HMPE) or high-performance polyethylene (HPPE). This dense, extremely durable, abrasion-resistant thermoplastic material has low friction properties, is easily repairable and openly accepts wax, in order to improve its gliding efficiency in a variety of snow conditions. UHMW ski and snowboard base materials generally are of two types, extruded or sintered, and grades vary slightly in their density and additives, but all are capable of absorbing wax and differ from regular UHMW, in that they are specially treated for bonding with epoxy resin. "P-tex", "Isospeed", and "Durasurf" are common brand names in the industry, and all are high quality parts, used by most major manufacturers. Examples of some known high performance ski base materials are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,189,130 and 5,069,976.
The bases of most modern down hill skis and snowboards also have two metal edges on the lower surface, which typically run the length of both lower edges of the ski to aid in griping the snow and turning. In order to obtain the benefits of using well-tuned skis, which generally is important to all skiers and riders, but particularly to proficient downhill skiers, racers and riders, the edges of the skis must be maintained in a smooth, sharp condition to provide top performance characteristics and consistent edge bite, especially on icy or hard snow surfaces. More particularly, the base must be planed or ground true or flat and both the side and bottom of the metal edges must be sharpened regularly. Beveling of the metal edges also is commonly performed, while sharpening. By beveling the edges, changes in the drag and turning characteristics of the ski or board can be greatly affected. This process of sharpening and beveling the edges to achieve specific performance characteristics generally is known as tuning the ski. Although waxing really is a separate art, waxing also can be considered part of ski tuning, particularly as applied to increased performance.
Ski-owners can tune their own skis, if suitable tools and the necessary skill for doing so are available, and many racers prefer to tune their skis and snowboards in their own shop or even in the field. Accordingly, a wide variety of devices have been developed for sharpening ski edges, which generally fall into two categories: manual sharpeners and motorized sharpeners. Many different types of manual or hand-held ski sharpening devices are known, but these generally produce variable results, particularly for those seeking top performance. Examples of a variety of known hand-held ski sharpening devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,721,020; 4,509,297; 4,280,378; 4,089,076; 4,060,013; 3,934,287; 3,899,942 and 3,875,825.
Manual sharpeners tend to include a file with a file holder to maintain file or cutting tool alignment. There are significant problems with such manual devices. Specifically, these units are hard to keep aligned, removal of metal is uneven and because of the size of the file teeth, the file generally needs to straddle both sides of the ski, leading to interference with the base material and uneven filing of the bottom edge. Another problem with manual sharpeners is their typical inability to adjust the angle on the file, leaving the user with right angles (a zero degree bevel) as the only choice, or at best a single choice of bevel angle. Because many of these manual sharpeners require a certain amount of skill and are difficult to use, they generally produce variable results.
The majority of motorized sharpeners are large floor or bench-type models, designed primarily for use in professional ski shops. Examples of known motorized ski sharpening devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,702,656; 5,136,816 and 4,679,356. While there is at least one small hand-held motorized unit disclosed in the art, it suffers from difficulties in keeping the sanding disc at a proper angle, since the motor, motor shaft and sanding disc are held parallel to the ski edge during use. The weight of the motor that is not supported in this configuration makes balancing the system difficult. A further problem with this design is the tendency for the sanding disc to "run-away" from the user if not held tightly.
Professional ski shops typically are considered the best place to take skis for sharpening the ski edges. These shops can afford the large motorized sharpening machines that hold the skis firmly in place and quickly sharpen the whole ski. This is conventionally done by skilled personnel carrying out ski sharpening services in association with the sale of skis and ancillary skiing equipment. However, the time and cost of taking the skis to a professional shop discourages many people from doing such sharpening as often as it should be done for optimal performance. Moreover, if the machine is not properly calibrated, or if the operator is inexperienced or unskilled, even the best automated equipment cannot tune a ski properly for high performance.
Among other important observations, Applicant has discovered that, if the base of the ski is not planed true prior to setting base edge bevels, the left and right edges may end up being asymmetric. The base is the one surface from which most measurements are taken and it must be flat, relative to the binding plate/area. To Applicant's knowledge, the prior art fails to recognize, teach or suggest this problem and the currently available equipment does not adequately resolve the problem. Applicant has therefore created an improved system for accurately measuring base flatness and edge bevel angles, which overcomes the problems associated with the prior art. This system also helps the service shop technician or home technician make adjustment in the use of his or her own tools, techniques, and methods to improve the accuracy of tuning results.

System for measuring base edge bevel angles and conditions of base flatness for skis and snowboards


In a measuring apparatus, a plurality of design values in design values substituted in the correction computation equations for correcting a geometrical measurement error inherent in the measuring apparatus are set as variables, the variables are optimized by a numerical solution to obtain optimized correction computation equations. A measured value is computed by using the optimized correction computation equations obtained. For optimization of the variables, a master work is measured and the variables are adjusted so that a measurement error is minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a measuring method and apparatus and, more particularly, to a measuring method and apparatus capable of optimally correcting a geometrical measurement error inherent in a machine control gage, a surface roughness profile measuring device or the like incorporated in a grinding machine or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In machine control gages (automatic sizing devices), surface roughness contour measuring devices or the like incorporated in grinding machines or the like, a measuring head is used which has a seesaw member having a probe at its end and supported by a supported member so as to be rotatable on the supporting member, an urging member which urges the seesaw member in one direction, and a detector which is provided on the opposite side of the seesaw member from the probe as seen from the supporting member, and which detects a displacement of the probe by detecting a displacement of the seesaw member.
This detector is, for example, an optical digital scale including a reading head fixed on the measuring head body and a circular-arc scale attached to the seesaw member, or a linear voltage differential transducer or transformer (LVDT) (popularly called a differential transformer) including a differential coil portion fixed on the measuring head body and a core attached to the seesaw member and inserted in the differential coil portion.
The amount of movement of the probe is detected as a pulse count value of the optical digital scale (detected as a change in voltage in the case of LVDT). This detected value is processed in a computation processing unit to be obtained the amount of movement.
In machine control gages, a measuring head constituted by one seesaw member and capable of measuring a displacement in one place by one probe, a caliper-type measuring head having a pair of seesaw members and capable of pitching an object to be measured between two probes opposed to each other to measure the outside diameter of the object, and the like are used.
In the case of measurement of the position of a flat surface (thickness, for example) with such a seesaw-type measuring head, an error occurs since a displacement is measured as an angle. In the case of measurement of a curved surface, e.g., measurement of the outside diameter of a cylindrical work, an error occurs due to a shift of the probe contact point.
To reduce the influence of these geometrical error factors, various devices or methods have been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-19545).
In the size measuring apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-19545, correction data for correction through the entire measurement range is obtained in advance and is stored in a memory. At the time of measurement, a measured value is corrected by reading out the corresponding correction data from the memory.

Measuring method and measuring apparatus


A circuit module for use in an implantable cardiac stimulation device contains a plurality of stacked substrate platforms. Electrical components of a hybrid circuit structure are attached to respective mounting surfaces of the substrate platforms. Electrical connectivity between components mounted on separate platform levels is established by connecting the components via wire bonds or other means. The wire bonds pass through a slot formed in an upper level substrate and are attached to electrical contacts of an associated lower level substrate.

As cardiac stimulation devices become more technologically complex, it has become challenging to reduce their overall size or even maintain their existing size. Reducing the size of a cardiac stimulation device benefits the patient who must carry the device, and it may also lead to an improved procedure for implanting the device. Accordingly, there are continuous efforts within the medical device industry to reduce the size of pacemakers, defibrillators and other implantable medical devices.
Cardiac stimulation devices typically contain, among other components, an outer casing which houses an electronics module, a battery, various interconnection circuitry, and stimulus leads for attachment to a patient's heart. The electronics module of such cardiac stimulation devices is often a multi-level hybrid circuit structure. The multi-level module is ordinarily designed to achieve a low-volume configuration to facilitate placement within the limited confines of an associated housing. Multi-level circuit modules may contain separate vertically stacked substrates, i.e., platforms, having individual circuit components mounted on the substrates. A protective cover, or lid, is typically placed over any exposed electronic circuitry of the multi-level module.
Depending upon the particular design, multi-level modules found in cardiac stimulation devices, or other suitable devices, may require interconnection among components or terminals of different platform levels. The interconnection among components of different levels may be made through miniature wire-bonds attached to individual contacts. To achieve interconnection among various platform levels, it is common to design the various platforms of different size so that the wire bonds may extend over an edge of one platform in order to contact a surface of a second platform.
There have been many approaches documented in prior art publications for constructing a multi-layer or three-dimensional circuit module. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,222,014 issued to Lin, and Japanese publication No. 1-147850 issued to Kuwabara, independent circuit platforms are stacked above a substrate and interconnected through solder joints or wire-bonds. In each case a lid may be placed over the structure to protect the underlying circuitry. In such prior art circuit structures, the interconnection among various platform levels is made by extending a wire-bond, or other connection means, over an edge of a higher platform to a lower platform level. One drawback to this method of interconnection is the need for platform levels of successively smaller surface area. For example, in Japanese publication No. 62-260353 issued to Yoshida, individual platform levels are placed on top of one another for achieving a stacked semiconductor device. However, because each stacked platform of the device in Yoshida decreases in size, a successively smaller surface area is available on each of the stacked platforms.
A second drawback of the device in Yoshida, and other devices found in the prior art, is the requirement that all multi-level connections be made about an outside perimeter of a particular platform level. This requirement limits the design constraints with respect to component layout which in some cases may lead to a less than optimal configuration of components atop the platform levels.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved pacemaker design which allows for the packaging of internal electrical components to optimize use of multi-level surface area. There is also a need in the art for an improved multi-level circuit structure module which allows for greater flexibility in the design of electrical component layout.

Vertically stacked circuit module using a platform having a slot for establishing multi-level connectivity


Various embodiments include methods and devices for timer failure detection and recovery. The embodiments may include running a plurality of timers in parallel, including a first operation timer, a first monitor timer, and a second monitor timer each having an independent time base, determining whether a first timer of the plurality of timers fails, removing the first timer from use in response to determining that the first timer fails, determining whether the first timer has a consistent difference in independent time base with a second timer of the plurality of timers, and returning the timer to use with a time adjustment in response to determining that the first timer has a consistent difference in independent time base with the second timer.

Clocks and timers play an important role in electronic devices and system that provide time critical functionality. An example of electronic systems providing time-critical functions are automotive systems that provide safety and autonomous driving functionality. Timer failures can cause hazardous effects in overall system functionality, such as in safety critical systems. Such safety-critical systems must have very high reliability. Therefore safety critical systems require the ability to detect timer failures with high precision so that appropriate actions can be taken. Conventionally, a failure results in reporting the failure to an overall safety management entity, transition of the system to a safe state and/or invoking a recovery mechanism. Systems suffering timer failures can trigger frequent transitions to the safe state and recovery, which can be expensive when a recovery is a reset and reboot of the affected system. Such degradation of system function is not feasible for many time critical systems.

System-on-chip timer failure detection and recovery using independent redundant timers