A surgical instrument for the simultaneous resection and aspiration of tissue. The instrument includes a hollow handpiece, a pistol grip and a pivotally mounted trigger. An elongated hollow barrel is removably supported in the handpiece. The wall of the barrel includes an aperture at its distal end which forms a first, fixed cutting edge. An elongated hollow rod having a second cutting edge is movably disposed within the barrel. During operation, the distal end of the barrel is inserted into the surgery site, such that the aperture in the wall of the barrel is adjacent the tissue to be resected. The trigger is actuated to move the rod, so that the second cutting edge moves toward and closely past the first fixed cutting edge of the barrel, severing the tissue. The handpiece of the instrument includes a suction connection to which a suction source can be attached to aspirate the resected tissue from the surgery site.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a surgical instrument for simultaneous resection and aspiration of tissue.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a ligament or tendon becomes detached from the bone, surgery is usually required to resecure the ligament or tendon. Often, a substitute ligament or graft is attached to the bone to facilitate regrowth and permanent attachment. This type of surgery is particularly applicable for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Prior to grafting the substitute ligament, notchplasty is performed on the intercondylar notch to prepare the knee. In chronic ACL deficient knees, osteophytes often develop in the superior and lateral portions of the intercondylar notch and must be removed in preparation for graft placement. The exposure of the notch is facilitated by selective resection of the ACL stump and synovial tissue. It is well known to debride the remaining ACL tissue with a motorized shaver. Actual notchplasty is performed using several instruments, for example, shavers, burrs, curettes and osteomas.
The size and shape of the notchplasty is imperative for preventing graft impingement. Excessive notchplasty may cause encroachment upon the patella femoral or lateral compartment contact surfaces.
With conventional instruments, especially motorized instruments such as rotating shaver blades, extreme care must be used to avoid slippage which may cause injury to surrounding tissue. Moreover, a separate instrument must ordinarily be used to remove or flush the debrided tissue from the surgery site.


A process for fractionating a nanoparticle composition, the process includes combining a first polymer, a second polymer, and a solvent to form a fluid and contacting the nanoparticle composition with the fluid. The nanoparticle composition includes a plurality of first nanoparticles, a plurality of second nanoparticles, and a dispersant disposed on an exterior surface of the first nanoparticles and the second nanoparticles. Fractionating the nanoparticle composition also includes forming a multiphase composition that includes a first phase and a second phase by partitioning the first polymer and the second polymer such that a concentration of the first polymer is greater than a concentration of the second polymer in the first phase, and the concentration of the second polymer is greater than the first polymer in the second phase, wherein the solvent is present in the first phase and the second phase. Additionally, the process includes apportioning the first nanoparticles and the second nanoparticles among the first phase and the second phase to fractionate the nanoparticle composition, based on a relative affinity of the first nanoparticles and the second nanoparticles for the first polymer and the second polymer, wherein the first nanoparticles are present in the first phase and substantially absent in the second phase, and the second nanoparticles are present in the second phase and substantially absent in the first phase.

Nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes tend to be complex mixtures of different species that have divergent physical and chemical properties. Although carbon nanotubes exhibit great potential in applications such as diagnostic probes and nanoelectronics as well as structural additives in nanocomposites, their use can be limited due to the divergent properties. For example, an ensemble of synthesized carbon nanotubes typically include metallic and semiconducting species, which do not produce desired conduction when used in combination for use in certain devices and thus require separation for practical application in a device. Conventional separation of carbon nanotubes includes density gradient ultracentrifugation (DGU) and liquid chromatography (LC). These current separation methods use expensive equipment, are time-consuming, and produce a low yield of separated components. Moreover, DGU and LC are perforated with a small sample volume that is confined to a size of a centrifuge or chromatographic column.
Thus, development of an efficient process for separation of nanoparticles would be advantageous and would be favorably received in the art.

Fractionating nanomaterials by a liquid multiphase composition

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AS REPRESENTED BY THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE


A process and printer systems for printing a three-dimensional object are disclosed. The processes may include providing a non-crosslinked peroxydicarbonate-branched polypropylene filament, flake, pellet, or powder adapted for one of a fused deposition modeling (ARBURG Plastic Freeforming) printer or a fused filament fabrication printer; and printing the non-crosslinked peroxydicarbonate-branched polypropylene with fused deposition modeling (ARBURG Plastic Freeforming) printer or a fused filament fabrication printer to form a three-dimensional article. The printer systems may include one or more print heads for printing a polymer provided in filament, powder, flake, or pellet form to form a three-dimensional article; and one or more feed systems for providing a non-crosslinked peroxydicarbonate-branched polypropylene to a respective print head.

Additive Manufacturing (colloquially referred to as 3D printing technology) is one of the fastest growing applications for plastics. There are currently four different methods for additive manufacturing, including fused filament fabrication (FFF), ARBURG Plastic Freeforming (APF), stereolithography (SLA), and selective laser sintering (SLS).
The SLA process requires a liquid plastic resin, a photopolymer, which is then cured by an ultraviolet (UV) laser. The SLA machine requires an excess amount of photopolymer to complete the print, and a common g-code format may be used to translate a CAD model into assembly instructions for the printer. An SLA machine typically stores the excess photopolymer in a tank below the print bed, and as the print process continues, the bed is lowered into the tank, curing consecutive layers along the way. Due to the smaller cross sectional area of the laser, SLA is considered one of the slower additive fabrication methods, as small parts may take hours or even days to complete. Additionally, the material costs are relatively higher, due to the proprietary nature and limited availability of the photopolymers.
The SLS process is similar to SLA, forming parts layer by layer through use of a high energy pulse laser. In SLS, however, the process starts with a tank full of bulk material in powder form. As the print continues, the bed lowers itself for each new layer, advantageously supporting overhangs of upper layers with the excess bulk powder not used in forming the lower layers. To facilitate processing, the bulk material is typically heated to just under its transition temperature to allow for faster particle fusion and print moves, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,648,450.
Fused filament fabrication (FFF) and ARBURG Plastic Freeforming (APF), rather than using a laser to form polymers or sinter particles together, work by extruding and laying down consecutive layers of materials at high temperature, allowing the adjacent layers to cool and bond together before the next layer is deposited. FFF processes typically feed a continuous polymer filament to a print head, re-melting, extruding, and printing the polymer to form the part. APF generally refers to the processes feeding a polymer in powder, flake, or pellet form to a print head, re-melting, extruding and printing the polymer in droplets to form the 3D part.
The FFF and APF desktop and home printing markets, and also the professional and industrial applications, are dominated by ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), polyamide (PA), and PLA (polylactic acid) as the printed medium.
Polypropylene, which has a lower cost, and a lower density (leading to a lower weight of the printed part) would be a desirable material of choice, but current technology disfavors the use of polypropylene. The drawbacks of currently used polypropylene grades are the lower tensile modulus, lower impact strength, poorer melt strength and higher shrinkage compared to ABS and PLA.
In most 3D printing technologies engineered plastics are used due to their excellent properties in tensile modulus, ductility, melt strength and shrinkage. In comparison to these high cost engineered plastics, polypropylene generally shows slight drawbacks in the mechanical properties, but shows advantages in low temperature printing, density, formation of odorous components (e.g., volatile organic compounds (VOC)).
The prior art practice using polypropylene for direct 3D printing is either a cross-linked material, which requires, beside a peroxide, an additional linking agent, such as a diene in CN103980402 or a silane in CN103497414. Due to poor extrusion capability or even impossible extrudability, the cross-linking process is in most cases made after the printing process, so both patent applications describe the use of the polymer for the widespread SLS technology. A cross-linked polypropylene existing out of an interconnected network showing this very poor extrudability makes a filament production, required for FFF technology, nearly impossible. The poor extrudability inhibits also the use for the APF technology.
GB2515348 discloses a special polypropylene which is flexible at room temperature condition for the production of soft and flexible objects which deform under gravity. Such polymers are not desirable for a large number of applications.
CN104211876 and CN104031316 focus on complex composite compounds of polypropylene with either high loads of starch, oxysilane, microspheres and toughening agents. This further complicates the manufacturing process and increases costs, which are generally not desired.

Polypropylene for additive manufacturing (3D printing)


A transferring sea buoy is moored to the sea floor via an anchoring line. The anchoring line comprises a chain and an anchoring device for fastening the chain and the buoy. The anchoring device comprises a deformable longitudinal element having a first end connected to the transferring sea buoy and a second end connected to the chain. The deformable longitudinal element is deformable when the transferring sea buoy moves. The member has at least first and second portion of thin rectangular cross-section, each deformable in one plane to absorb relative motion between the buoy and the chain.

The present invention relates to an anchoring system for a surface installation subject to high frequency movements.
One specific proposed application is to marine loading buoys for transferring hydrocarbons, these buoys being adapted to float on the surface of the water.
These marine buoys are positioned in the vicinity of an oil platform which is installed above an undersea oil field. The marine buoys are then connected to the platform and the hydrocarbon is transferred from the platform to the buoys and passed from the buoys to a surface vessel moored to the buoy.
This marine loading buoy is obviously moored to the seabed by at least one anchor line extending between the buoy and the bed. This anchor line generally comprises a chain of which one end is anchored to the seabed and the other end is attached to the marine loading buoy by means of an attachment device. In some cases, these anchor lines are composite, having a central part composed of a cable, and two ends each terminating in a chain.
Although the marine loading buoy is generally moored with a plurality of anchor lines which are relatively tightly stretched, it is moved by the wind, the swell and/or the surface currents, in such a way that severe fatigue stress is exerted on these anchor lines and particularly on the links of the chains. This is because, unlike a ship or a platform which is relatively stable with respect to these surface movements because of its inertia, a marine loading buoy, being lighter, is constantly moved at high frequencies with respect to the anchor lines which retain it.
Thus, in order to attach the chain to the marine installation, anchor lines generally comprise an attachment device which is pivoted about two pivot pins. This attachment device has at least two flanges mounted with one pivoting on the other, one of the flanges being mounted rotatably in a shackle which is fixed to the marine installation, while the other flange is fixed to the chain.
This is because the frictional forces arising in the pivots create a resistive torque which is proportional to the coefficients of friction, to the tension of the chain and to the diameter of the pivot axis. To enable pivoting to take place, this resistive torque must be overcome by a torque created by the angle of deflection of the end of the chain with respect to the end of the flange. Although the links of the chains are capable of pivoting with respect to each other, it is found that the chain becomes virtually rigid because of the high degree of tension, and this torque can only be generated by the bending of the links. Although the angles of deflection are less than 1°, this bending still causes fatigue in the chain which can adversely affect its service life.
Above this angle, the torque is sufficient to cause the attachment device to pivot.

Anchoring system for installing in a surface moved according to high-frequency movements


It is frequently desirable to increase the modulus of rubbers which are utilized in a wide variety of applications. This invention discloses a technique for increasing the modulus of rubbers. By utilizing this technique, high modulus rubber compositions can be attained without sacrificing other properties, such as elongation and hysteresis. This invention more specifically relates to a process for preparing a high modulus rubber composition which comprises: (1) polymerizing at least one N-carboxyl-.alpha.-amino acid anhydride in a polymer cement of a rubbery elastomer under conditions which result in the formation of a rubber cement having the poly(.alpha.-amino acid) dispersed therein; and (2) recovering the high modulus rubber composition from the rubber cement. The high modulus rubber compositions made by this technique are comprised of at least one rubbery elastomer and at least one poly(.alpha.-amino acid).

It is sometimes desirable to increase the modulus of rubber compounds. For instance, it is generally desirable to increase the modulus of rubber compounds which are utilized in tire tread base compositions and in tire wire coat compounds. A higher degree of stiffness in such rubber compositions is conventionally attained by incorporating larger amounts of fillers, such as carbon black, into the rubber compounds and/or by increasing the state of cure of such compounds. Unfortunately, both of these techniques generally lead to undesirable results. For instance, the incorporation of additional carbon black into rubber compounds typically leads to high levels of hysteresis. Accordingly, the utilization of such compounds in tires results in excessive heat buildup and poor cut growth characteristics. The utilization of high amounts of sulfur to attain a high state of cure typically leads to poor aging resistance. Furthermore, it is highly impractical to reach high levels of stiffness by increased state of cure alone. For these reasons, it is not usually possible to attain the desired degree of stiffness in tire tread base compounds by simply adding higher levels of fillers or curatives.
It is also known that the modulus of rubbers can be increased by blending various rigid polymers therein. For instance, polyesters can be blended into rubbers to increase the modulus of the rubber. However, such rubber/polyester blends typically display elongations which are greatly reduced. In other words, such standard blending techniques can be utilized to increase the modulus of rubbers but such techniques are very detrimental with respect to elongation.

High modulus blend of poly(.alpha.-amino acid) in rubbery elastomer


The invention relates to an outlet connector piece (1) having a protruding flange (3) for non-detachably securing said outlet connector piece to a tubular bag (12). The flange (3) has a contact surface (4) which is designed for a welding or adhesive connection to the tubular bag and surrounds an outlet connector piece passage along a circumference (6). The contact surface (4) is rectangular or square, and the flange (3) has, extending parallel in a direction of extension, a film hinge (7) on each side at a distance from said outlet connector piece passage.

The invention relates to an outlet connector piece having a protruding flange for non-detachably securing to a tubular bag by means of welding or adhesive bonding.
In the food supply area, very large amounts of viscous products have, for example, to be delivered today in so-called tubular bags for the purpose of maintaining hygienic conditions. These tubular bags are flexible containers made from plastic in which a dispensing device, for example in the form of a metering pump, can also often be mounted to an outlet connector piece and which in the total are provided for single use for hygienic reasons.
Outlet connector pieces of the kind described here are mostly fitted to the tubular bag first after the production of the same. This is generally done by welding or adhesive bonding the protruding flange to the flexible material of the tubular bag. The tubular bag itself remains however intact during this process at the attachment point and said tubular bag also remains intact up to the effective removal or respectively emptying of the tubular bag.
The problem is effectively the quality of the material connection or respectively the tear-resistance of the welded or adhesively bonded flange. Situations, in which the tear-resistance of the flange is put to the test, do not only occur during transport, storage and handling of the filled tubular bags but also during the emptying process itself. Differences are that, in the former case, the tubular bags are still intact in the outlet connector region. This is, however, not true in the latter case because the flexible material of the tubular bags is first penetrated in the outlet connector region for the purpose of emptying said tubular bag. In the event that leakages occur at the welding or adhesive bonding point as a result of quality defects or as a result of deficient tear-resistance during the emptying process, the danger of contamination of the contents of the tubular bag, of course, exists. Slow emptying processes are probably more greatly endangered than fast emptying processes.
As mentioned, the emptying process itself can put the tear-resistance of the outlet connector piece to the test. Besides emptying purely by the force of gravity, pump and/or power assisted emptying aides are increasingly used. In this regard, metering pumps can be used, which suction the contents of the tubular bags completely empty or mechanical or auxiliary equipment can be provided to press out the contents of the tubular bags. Creases in the tubular bags resulting during the suction process or deformations resulting during the pressing out process can, however, have the effect that the flange of the outlet connector piece that is welded or adhesively bonded is at least partially peeled away in the edge regions from the tubular bag. Precisely the edge regions of the flange are, of course, most greatly endangered because the peeling forces are the greatest there. In the drawings belonging to the exemplary embodiment of the invention (see FIG. 5 in this regard), this effect is even illustrated.
In the field, this relates to a problem known per se in a transition zone, which is further exacerbated because the outlet connector piece itself has to remain firm and dimensionally stable whereas the tubular bag itself is, however, advertently thin and elastic.
The present invention, which is particularly well suited for use with standard tubular bags, is, however, not limited to these. Rectangular tubular bags are substantially understood by standard tubular bags, the production and filling of which is relatively simple and also well known. Said tubular bags can therefore also be used on a large scale. In the case of such tubular bags, the outlet connector piece is mounted on one of the edges, frequently at the lower edge, because it is desirable that the outlet connector piece is located at the lowest point when the standard tubular bag is inserted in the use position into a dispensing device, in order to achieve the best possible emptying capability. An example of this can be substantially extracted from the WIPO patent application WO2015058933A1.
The American patent application US-2011/0062192 demonstrates a solution, in which the attempt is made to improve the tear-resistance of the connection between the outlet connector piece and the flexible film material of the tubular bag by means of an interface that is molded onto the outlet connector piece and has a special shape. The shape shown appears substantially cap-like and provides (in comparison to the dimension of the outlet connector piece) relatively large lateral connection surfaces. Flexible appendages can likewise be seen, which are mounted on the cap-like shape and are used to distribute the forces occurring. The latter are referred to as SDFs (stress delocalization features). The relative complex shape and the relatively complicated type of attachment to the tubular bag appear to be disadvantageous.
The European patent application EP-0414992 demonstrates a further solution for film containers. In the case of said film containers, a plug part of the outlet connector piece is made from dimensionally stable material; however, a flange part that is connected to the plug part is made from a flexible and weldable plastic. It appears to be disadvantageous here that the pouring nozzle as a whole has a plurality of pieces, i.e. consists of different types of plastic and therefore is expensive to manufacture, and that the actual connection surface is relatively small between the outlet connector piece and the flexible film material of the tubular bag, and therefore it can be assumed that the tear-resistance is possibly insufficient.

Outlet connector piece having a protruding flange


A facsimile system according to the present invention comprises a job control section, a multiple message transmission object specifying section, a multiple message transmission multiplex access instructing section and a multiple message transmission multiplex access processing section, and the job control section determines whether any transmission file has been specified as an object for multiple message transmission and also a multiplex access instruction has been issued or not, and when a multiplex access instruction has not been issued, the job control section reads out transmission files having been specified as objects for multiple message transmission and continuously transmits the files in succession to the transmission file currently being transmitted, and when the multiplex access instruction has been issued, the job control section reads out transmissions files having been specified as objects for multiple message transmission, by means of multiplex access, and continuously transmits the transmission files.

As a facsimile system based on the conventional technology, there is a facsimile system which has the multiple message transmission processing function for continuously transmitting a file or files having the same destination for transmission as that of a file currently being transmitted in succession to the file currently being transmitted. In this type of facsimile system a file for each job processing unit called a job file is allocated to one transmission file, and a destination for transmission specified by a user is managed as a destination file corresponding to the transmission file, and access thereto can be made from the job file described above.
Herein description is made for the multiple message transmission processing in the conventional type of facsimile system with reference to FIG. 8 as well as to FIG. 9. It is assumed herein that the facsimile system has two G3 lines, namely G3 line No. 1 and G3 line No. 2, and also that three transmission files, namely transmission files T1 to T3 are accumulated in a specified memory.
Also it is assumed herein that, as shown in FIG. 8, "Destination A; Tokyo Institute" has been specified as a destination for transmission to the transmission file T1, "destination B: Tokyo Institute" and "Destination C: Central Institute" as destinations for transmissions to the transmission file T2, and "Destination D: Central Institute" as a destination for transmission to the transmission file T3.
As shown in FIG. 9, for instance, when the transmission file is being transmitted in the mode of memory transmission through the G3 line No. 1 to "Destination A; Tokyo Institute", as the "destination B: Tokyo Institute" has the same address as "Destination A: Tokyo Institute", the transmission file T2 becomes an object for the multiple message transmission processing, and the transmission T2 is continuously transmitted in succession to the transmission file T1.
At the same time, if the transmission file T3 is being transmitted in the mode of memory transmission through the G3 line No. 2 to the "Destination D: Central Institute", as the "Destination C: Central Institute" has the same address as that of the "Destination D: Central Institute", it is hoped to regard the transmission file T2 as an object for the multiple message transmission processing and to continuously transmit the transmission file T2 in succession to the transmission file T3. However, as the transmission file T2 is now being transmitted in the multiple message transmission mode (or has been specified as an object for the multiple message transmission processing), so that in this case the transmission file T2 can not duplicatedly be treated as an object for the multiple message transmission processing, and the multiple message transmission processing is not executed.
For this reason, the transmission file T2 is transmitted anew when either one of the G3 line No. 1 or G3 line No. 2 becomes available.
As described above, with the conventional technology, when transmission is simultaneously executed through a plurality of communication lines, even in a case where one transmission file (the transmission file T2 in the above case) becomes an object for transmission in each communication line, if the transmission file has been treated as an object for transmission through a different communication line, the transmission file can not be treated as an object for transmission through the communication line, and it is required to wait until any other communication line becomes available and then to call the destination for transmission again for execution of transmission, so that the multiple message transmission processing function can not fully be used, and also there has been problems concerning effective use of communication lines, reduction of communication cost, and efficient utilization of the facsimile system.


An air tight sealing cuff for a blast gate includes a pair of flat plates disposed on opposite sides of the slide mounting of the gate, and replaceable spring clips for holding the plates in position. Resilient gasket material applied to the plates forms a substantially air-tight seal between the slider and slide mount of the cuff and the exterior of the cuff. As a consequence, there is eliminated inadvertent leakage from the area around the gate slider, which would otherwise represent wasted energy. Improved efficiency and reduced carbon footprint result.

With blast gate equipment such as that described, in particular those utilizing sliders or dampers in series with the air flow, serious leakage can be encountered, especially at the area around the slider. Coupled with the necessity for providing adjustability in the field, such slide components are purposely fabricated to fit loosely in place, while still being held captive. As a result, air leakage takes place, such occurring regardless of whether the air stream being controlled is positive or negative pressure, and also hot or cold.
In summary the inadvertent leakage of such air represents energy losses, namely a portion of a heat generator or a compressor used at the source of the air. Cost of operation is increased, and a larger than acceptable carbon footprint results. Up to the present time, attempts to control such losses have not proven successful in the marketplace.
There has not, to date, been an effective solution for addressing the problems noted above.


A novel method for control of biodegradation is disclosed, said biodegradation being performed by mixed cultures of microorganisms. Measurements and adjustment (preferably on-line) of process parameters which relate to metabolic activity of the microorganisms are performed in such a manner that simultaneous nitrification and denitrification is effected in the same environment while keeping the oxygenconcentration below 1 ppm. The method allows the use of high biomass concentrations (up to 20 kg/m.sup.3) and reduces energy consumption and process volume of e.g. activated sludge processes, thereby saving costs for waste water purification. Generally, the process ensures optimized conditions for microorganisms in the process. Also disclosed is a method for waste water purification and a waste water purification plant which both employ the method for control of biodegradation. Finally, a method for determining set-point values allowing the control is also disclosed.

Today, protection of the environment is of great concern to mankind. Increasing population as well as a general demand for increased quality of life expressed as a healthy and beautiful environment and at the same time a life style based on the use of advanced technology has accentuated the need for water, especially pure water, throughout the world but especially in the industrialized parts of the world.
In highly industrialized countries, especially countries with large urban concentrations, it is necessary to treat the waste water from households and industrial production so as to avoid an unacceptable level of polluted and polluting material in the environment, i.e. in the recipients for the waste water such as lakes, rivers and other waterways, the sea, etc. The polluted and polluting material comprises a variety of substances, for example organic and inorganic substances which may or may not be decomposable in nature. Among the polluting material usually present in waste water effluents, decomposable organic matter and heavy metals are of the greatest concern.
An increasing amount of the waste water which is produced worldwide is now subjected to some kind of treatment, such treatment being of mechanical, chemical or biological nature or any combination thereof. Generally, it is expected that there will be focused even more on waste water treatment in the future as the public awareness of environmental hazards is becoming even stronger than today.
The main purpose of purifying e.g. municipal and industrial waste water is to reduce the content of biodegradable material in the waste water, i.e. to ensure that the treated waste water does not contain such amounts of biodegradable material, i.e. biodegradable organic and/or inorganic matter, that these amounts will lead to an unacceptable low level of oxygen in the recipient due to the amount of oxygen required for aerobic decomposition of degradable (organic) material.
The removal of biodegradable material is often performed by including some sort of biological treatment step in the water purification process. Normally, complex cultures of microorganisms are used to effect the biodegradation (as the microorganisms metabolize the biodegradable material and thereby use it at as source of energy) and the result is a conversion of the biodegradable material into environmentally acceptable compounds such as CO.sub.2 and N.sub.2.
It is especially desired to reduce the amount of organic matter and at the same time to reduce the amount nitrogen-containing components present in the waste water.
Such elimination of nitrogen-containing components from waste water has proved to be difficult and resource consuming. The goal is to convert the nitrogen bound in nitrogen-containing components of waste-water into gaseous (atmospheric) nitrogen, and this is traditionally done by the steps of nitrification (an oxidation step) and denitrification (a reduction step). Prior to these steps, complex nitrogen-containing substances are deaminated by i.a. deaminases produced by the microorganisms (or optionally supplied to the system in question) and the remaining main problem is thus to convert ammonia into gaseous nitrogen.
Numerous attempts of improving the nitrogen elimination in waste water purification has been attempted. The general scheme is the following:
Nitrification: NH.sub.4.sup.+ +O.sub.2 .fwdarw.NO.sub.3.sup.- PA1 Denitrification: NO.sub.3.sup.- .fwdarw.N.sub.2 PA1 or more specifically, the nitrification involves the reaction NH.sub.4.sup.+ +2O.sub.2 .fwdarw.NO.sub.3.sup.- +2H.sup.+ +H.sub.2 O and the denitrification involves the reaction NO.sub.3.sup.- +A.sub.red .fwdarw.1/2N.sub.2 +A.sub.ox, wherein A.sub.red and A.sub.ox are the reduced and oxidized states, respectively, of a compound which is oxidized in parallel to the reduction of NO.sub.3.sup.- to N.sub.2. PA1 A) The biodegradation process is subjected to intermittent aeration, whereby the two processes are substantially non-simultaneous. One example of such processes is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,308. PA1 B) The biodegradation is compartmentalized, in such a way that some compartments have a high oxygen concentration whereas others have a low oxygen concentration. Examples of such processes are disclosed in EP-A-218 289 and in EP-B-233 466. PA1 assessing the value of the at least one metabolic activity parameter (assessed value) in the aqueous medium, PA1 comparing the assessed value with a predetermined range of values or a predetermined single value of at least one metabolic activity parameter which represents metabolic activity of the microorganisms which biodegrade the biodegradable material, the values in the range or the single value being ones which indicate that the microorganisms will perform a simultaneous effective nitrification and denitrification of the biodegradable material contained in the aqueous medium, and thereafter PA1 if the assessed value falls outside the range or is different from the single value, adjusting at least one parameter which has influence on the metabolic activity of the microorganisms in a direction which tends to move subsequent assessed values into the range or towards the single value and ensures that the oxygen concentration in the aqueous medium is kept below 1 mg/l while simultaneous effective nitrification and denitrification take place. PA1 introducing the aqueous medium into a container wherein the biodegradable material contained in the aqueous medium is subjected to biodegradation by microorganisms, and PA1 controlling the biodegradation according to the methods of the invention for the control of biodegradation. PA1 assessing values of the metabolic activity parameter and at the same time assessing efficacy of biodegradation and efficacy of nitrogen removal (as discussed above in relation to the predetermination of values), and PA1 selecting, as the values in the range or as the single value, the values which are associated with simultaneous effective biodegradation and nitrogen removal at oxygen concentrations below 1 mg/l.
Both reactions are facilitated by the microorganisms which are responsible for the biodegradation, but as nitrification is facilitated by high oxygen concentrations and denitrification is facilitated by low oxygen concentrations all methods known to the present inventors rely on one of two principles:
It should be clear that alternative A) is rather time consuming. The prior art processes which use this alternative are furthermore energy consuming, as the supply of oxygen to the system requires much energy for the operation of aeration pumps, means for stirring etc.
Alternative B) overcomes the problem of time-consumption on the expense of space-consumption. The mere fact that there is a spatial distribution of differently aerated zones should make it clear that much space is needed for the process to occur and therefore such processes are mainly used in large-scale water purification. Moreover, the biodegradable material must be transported from one compartment to another in order for the process to be successful, and therefore alternative B) normally requires that means for transportation are present in the system. As for alternative A), the energy requirements are high.
Both of the types of prior art processes suffer further drawbacks:
The mixed cultures of microorganisms which are responsible for the biodegradation are sensitive to changes in their environment. If the oxygen concentration is very low, the composition of the biomass will be adapted in a direction which favours anaerobic processing of biodegradable material, i.e. anaerobic bacteria will be more abundant than in an aerobic environment. The opposite is of course true for situations where the oxygen concentration is very high.
Therefore, in the known processes the composition of the mixed cultures will never or almost never be optimal with respect to neither the process of nitrification nor the process of denitrification, as a certain time is required before the cultures have been adjusted for one of the processes. In other words, large amounts of bacteria do not take part in the process which is currently "desired" at a certain point in time, as they are not capable of performing the process adequately.
Further, when using an operation which requires differences in e.g. aeration (either in time or in space) problems arise with respect to determining for how long the waste water should be processed under each of the two sets of conditions, as the incoming waste water will have to be satisfactorily nitrified in the nitrification phase before the denitrification phase is instituted. In situations were the waste water load is low, no problems will arise, but at maximum loads, the plant has to be dimensioned so that the incoming water can be stored for a sufficiently long period in both steps. In other words, purification plants operated according to the prior art methods have to be scaled for the worst possible situation, i.e. a maximum load, as all material in the polluted water which has been nitrified has to be guided into the denitrification phase.

Method for the control of biodegradation


A method of correcting the phase difference between first and second data signals from a Coriolis flowmeter using three parallel input stages which process the signals and a pair of phase detectors for receiving the signals by delivering the first and second signals continuously to first and second input stages, respectively, to produce processed data signals therefrom while delivering the first and second signals alternately to the third input stage to produce a processed data signal therefrom, routing the processed data signals to at least one additional phase detector to produce first and second corrective phase differences, and producing a corrected phase difference by summing the uncorrected phase difference and the difference between the first and second corrective phase differences. A circuit for carrying out the method is also disclosed.

This invention relates to a method for determining the mass flow rate by the Coriolis principle whereby, with the aid of at least two process-variable detectors, at least two data signals reflecting the movements of a Coriolis line are generated, the said data signals are processed with the aid of at least three parallel input stages, each stage having an input contact, the phase differences between the processed data signals are determined with the aid of at least two phase detectors, the data signals are, at least in part, fed to the input contacts of the input stages with the aid of at least one first check switch, a correcting circuit derives from the phase differences between the processed data signals a corrected phase difference between these data signals, and with the aid of an evaluation unit, the mass-flow rate is established on the basis of the corrected phase difference.
The method used for measuring the phase difference between two data signals, constituting the underlying concept of the procedure according to this invention for determining the mass flow rate according to the Coriolis principle, can also be employed in connection with other measuring processes where it is important to define the phase difference between two data signals.
The fundamental objective of this invention is an improved signal evaluation method for Coriolis-type mass flowmeters. The data signals provided by these Coriolis mass flowmeters are in the form of two periodic voltages with a phase shift that is proportional to the mass flow rate. The accuracy of the mass flowmeters is thus a function of the determination of the phase difference. For accuracy requirements common in the industry, the resolution of the phase difference must be approximately 4xc3x9710xe2x88x925 degrees and these requirements are becoming increasingly stringent. A major obstacle in meeting these requirements is the temperature-dependent phase shift encountered in the analog part of the evaluation circuitry, and especially in the input stage, but also in the leads between the process-variable detectors and the input stages. U.S. Pat. No. 4,817,448 describes an example of a method for correcting these phase shifts. That method employs a polarity reversal circuit for periodically switching the polarity of the data signals between the input states. Then, if temperature changes are not a factor, the phase detector supplies precisely inverted values respectively. However, if the input stages are exposed to temperature influences respectively, there will indeed be different phase shifts, as a result of which the phase-difference values supplied by the phase detector upon polarity reversal are no longer precisely inverted relative to each other. From this phase-difference deviation a zeroing signal is derived which then serves to correct the phase differences detected, thus meeting the accuracy requirements in measuring the phase difference.
The problem with this earlier method for determining the mass flow rate by the Coriolis principle is that polarity reversal produces transients which prohibit the evaluation of the phase detector readings for a fairly significant length of time. This is particularly undesirable when the mass flow data are used for controlling feedback loops, since in that case, it is impossible at certain time intervals to determine the controlled variable. After the transient which appeared during the transitional period in the determination of the phase difference have abated, this earlier method provides for the second data signal to be switched to the input contact of the remaining input stage so that the phase detector which up to that point had transmitted the uncorrected phase difference between the two data signals, will now measure the difference between the temperature-dependent phase shift in the first-mentioned input stage and the third input stage. Since in that earlier method, addressed by this invention, the phase-shift differences between the first and third input stages and the second and third input stages are measured, the stored phase-shift differences concerned can be used for correcting the uncorrected phase difference between the first and the second data signal present at the first or, respectively, second phase detector.
Another example of a method for determining the mass-flow rate according to the Coriolis principle, on which this invention is based, is described in EP 0 593 623 B1. According to that earlier method, first and second input signals are alternated, by way of a first check switch, between the input contacts of first and the second input stages while one of the two data signals remains continuously connected to the input contact of a third input stage. In an implementation of this earlier method, the processed data signals of the first input stage and the third input stage are continuously fed to a first phase detector while the processed data signals of the second input stage and the third input stage are continuously fed to a second phase detector. If, for example, the second data signal is continuously connected to the input contact of the third input stage, one of the input contacts of the first or second input stage will always have to receive the first data signal. In this earlier concept, the input contact of the remaining input stage temporarily receives the second data signal, so that the second data signal processed by the third input stage and the data signal processed by the remaining input stage are fed to one of the phase detectors, making it possible with the aid of this phase detector to determine the difference in the temperature dependent phase shifts in the input stages concerned. The remaining phase detector receives the first data signal processed by an input stage as well as the second data signal processed by the third input stage, so that this phase detector measures the uncorrected phase difference between the first and the second data signals. At this point in the approach described, the first data signal is also fed to the input contact of the remaining input stage so that, during a transitional period, both phase detectors transmit the uncorrected phase difference between the two data signals. After the transients which appeared during the transitional period in the determination of the phase difference have abated, this earlier method provides for the second data signal to be switched to the input contact of the remaining input stage so that the phase detector which up to that point had transmitted the uncorrected phase difference between the two data signals, will now measure the difference between the temperature-dependent phase shift in the first-mentioned input stage and the third input stage. Since in that earlier method, addressed by this invention, the phase-shift differences between the first and third input stages and the second and third input stages are measured, the stored phase-shift differences concerned can be used for correcting the uncorrected phase difference between the first and the second data signals present at the first or, respectively, second phase detector.
This means that the earlier method, to which this invention refers, produces a measurement of the phase difference between two data signals which has been corrected for the temperature dependent phase shifts induced in the input stages. At the same time, the data signal for the phase difference is continually available because, when the data signals are switched from one input stage to another input stage by means of the check switch, the transients produced in the process can be allowed to abate before using the output signal of the other phase detector instead of the output signal of the one phase detector as the reading for the uncorrected phase difference between the first and the second data signals.
The problem with the earlier method for determining the mass-flow rate by the Coriolis principle, on which this invention is based, is that the data signals are fed to the input contacts of the input stages by way of a relatively complicated check switch in what is a particularly interference-prone section preceding the input stages. Cross-talk between the data signals is therefore not altogether avoidable. Moreover, the earlier method does not allow for a design adaptation of the phase detectors to varying requirements since both phase detectors are employed in alternating fashion for measuring the uncorrected phase difference and determining a corrective phase difference.
This invention is, therefore, aimed at improving the earlier method for determining the mass flow rate based on the Coriolis principle, in such a manner as to provide greater measuring accuracy while reducing the complexity of the electronics.
According to this invention, the inherent problem indicated above is solved with a design whereby the first phase detector serves to continuously measure the uncorrected phase difference between the first data signal processed with the aid of the first input stage and the second data signal processed with the aid of the second input stage, while at least periodically measuring a first corrective phase difference between the first data signal processed in the first input stage and the first data signal processed in the third input stage and, in alternating fashion, a second corrective phase difference between the second data signal processed with the aid of the second input stage and the second data signal processed in the third input stage, and the correction circuitry serves to determine the corrected phase difference between the data signals derived from the sum of the uncorrected phase difference and the difference between the first and the second corrective phase differences.
This invention ensures that, prior to reaching the input stages, the data signals only need to be alternately fed to the input contact of the third input stage by means of a simple check switch. This simplifies the electronics otherwise needed for measuring accuracy in the particularly sensitive area in front of the input stages. Moreover in the design according to this invention, the uncorrected phase difference is determined by the first phase detector, and the corrective phase differences by at least one second phase detector. Accordingly, these phase detectors can be optimally adapted to any given requirements.
In a particularly simple implementation of the method according to this invention, a second check switch shunts the processed data signals to the input contacts of the second phase detector and the second phase detector serves to measure the first and the second corrective phase difference. Alternatively it would be possible, albeit more expensively, to use the second phase detector exclusively for determining the first corrective phase difference while employing a third phase detector for determining the second corrective phase difference.
If prior to the measurement of the phase differences the processed data signals are digitized, any additional influence by temperature susceptible components is minimized since the digital measurement of the phase differences is totally unaffected by temperature influences.
Of course, if prior to the measurement of the phase differences the processed data signals are to be digitized, the phase detectors must be of the digital type. In this context, one may want to employ Fourier transform-processed data signals for measuring the phase differences as described for instance in EP 0 282 552 B1.
The processed data signals can be sampled in synchronous or asynchronous fashion. Asynchronous sampling offers the advantage of permitting the use of fewer analog/digital converters which, of course, requires faster analog/digital converters.
Since the effect of temperature variations on the phase shifts in the input stages displays a relatively large time constant, it provides the opportunity to periodically interrupt the corrected phase difference measurements, having the ability during these interruptions, without any loss of accuracy, to utilize the stored corrective phase difference values for correction purpose while the freed-up capacities of the analog/digital converters are available for digitizing other variables, for instance the temperatures of the Coriolis line.
There are various ways in which the procedural concept according to this invention for determining the mass flow rate according to the Coriolis principle can be designed and enhanced. In this connection, reference is made to the dependent claims, and to the description and drawing of a preferred implementation example.

Method of determining mass flow rate by the Coriolis principle


A cathode ray tube has a metal funnel welded to a metal skirt. The skirt is reinforced to resist tensile stress. Reinforcement is accomplished by thickening the skirt, or corner portions thereof; by welding one or more reinforcing members to the inside or outside of the skirt; by bending the edges of the skirt and funnel and welding the bent parts together; by welding reinforcing plates to corners of the skirt and winding a tension band around the skirt; or by providing a rigid frame with compression members to press inward on the skirt.

The present invention relates to a cathode ray tube device (hereinafter abbreviated as CRT), for picture display in a TV set or the like.
FIG. 1 is a lateral view of a conventional CRT, the upper part being shown in section. The front of this CRT (which is at the left side of FIG. 1) comprises a panel 1. Panel 1, a funnel 2, connected to the rear part of panel 1, and a neck (not shown in the drawing) installed at the rear of funnel 2, form the main construction. Panel 1 comprises a faceplate 1a and skirt 1b, skirt 1b being connected to the peripheral edges of faceplate 1a. Panel 1 and funnel 2 are made of glass, and are glass-soldered together with frit glass. A metal tension band 3, is wound around skirt 1b. The interior of the CRT is evacuated, atmospheric pressure tends to press the middle part of faceplate 1a and funnel 2 inward, causing skirt 1b to bulge slightly toward the outside. Referring to FIG. 2, the middle part of panel 1 and funnel 2 are subjected to compressive stress, while tensile stress occurs in the neighborhood of skirt 1b.
FIG. 3 an oblique view of part of the CRT in FIG. 1. Cross-hatching in FIG. 3 shows where tensile stress occurs. In general glass is strong in resisting compressive stress but relative weak in resisting tensile stress, causing the CRT to be susceptible to implosion. The skirt 1b, faceplate 1a, and funnel 2 have therefor been made of, thick glass. Conventional CRTs, especially the larger types, require an extremely thick skirt 1b, faceplate 1a and funnel 2 making the total weight of the CRT inconveniently heavy.

Cathode ray tube device having reinforcing frame


An Eddy current position sensor for providing an electrical signal proportional to the position of a metallic ring positioned around and movably positionable axially along the length of an elongated wire wound core. The metallic ring serves as a movable target with respect to the fixed coil/core and may be made buoyant for liquid level measurement or connected to other movable objects. The electrically conductive wire winding around the elongated preferably cylindrical ferromagnetic core has a progressively increasing spacing between each turn of wire from one end of the coil to the other. Each end of the wire is connected to a linear oscillator and signal conversion unit which serves to both input a radio frequency current through the coil and to monitor the absorption of the metallic ring around a conical shaped electromagnet field produced by the energized coil. The field absorption by the metallic ring varies linearly with the axial positioning of the ring over the coil. To increase signal output, an evenly and closely wound "Exciter" portion is also formed around the core of the same length of wire immediately adjacent the closer spaced end of the progressively wound coil.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of Eddy current proximity sensors, and more particularly to an Eddy current position sensor having a progressively wound ferromagnetic core to produce a conical shaped electromagnetic field and a linear voltage output.
2. Prior Art
Eddy current or inductive proximity sensors are well known. These sensors typically include a length of conductive wire wound in coil fashion around a non-ferrous core of either air, plastic or ceramic or a ferrite core. The wire coil is electrically energized by a low level radio frequency current to produce an electromagnetic field surrounding the coil/core assembly. This electromagnetic field may be measured by a parameter called "Q" which is a function of the excitation frequency, the inductance of the coil and the resistive losses of the coil.
When a metallic material forming a target is placed within this magnetic field, Eddy currents will be generated on the surface of the target. These Eddy currents absorb energy from the oscillating coil, increasing the energy loss of the coil and reducing the Q of the excited field. Reduction of Q is proportional to the proximity of the metallic target to the coil. Various means have been utilized to accurately and linearly measure the Q of the electromagnetic field and thus the distance between the core and the magnetic target. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,609,580 to Thompson, et al. which teaches such an electrical sensing apparatus having an inductive coil and a uniquely configured oscillatory circuit for both exciting and measuring the response of the electromagnetic field produced by proximity of a metallic object to the core.
An automatic liquid level sensor utilizing Eddy current principles is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,205 invented by Zuleuf, et al. This disclosure teaches a magnetic float moving vertically in response to variations in liquid level with respect to an alternating current driven coil. The coil which is located at one end of the float path is driven by a pulse generator thus producing a variable part of the core of the coil. Thus, the device claims to be useable to provide a signal at a predetermined liquid level or an output proportional to the level of the liquid.
Applicant is also aware of two other more distantly related devices, one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,828 invented by Akita which teaches a liquid level detecting apparatus which detects incremental step movements as measured by frequency changes caused by a ring float. The output is not proportional to the positioning of the ring float, however. Clark in U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,608 teaches a liquid level gauge in the form of a capacitance probe using the capacitance of a wire coil on a TEFLON core. Eddy current principles are likewise not employed in this invention.
The concept of linear oscillators is also well-known for use in conjunction with Eddy current proximity sensors. Such circuits are used to provide the radio frequency exciting current to the coil assembly and to provide a measurement of the circuit "Q". In such an arrangement, a constant current is applied to a sensor coil to form a resonant oscillator circuit whose frequency is a function of the coil inductance and the capacitance of a capacitor parallel wired with the coil. The natural frequency of such an oscillator is determined by well-known formula based upon both the inductance of the coil and the capacitance value. Feedback from this oscillator arrangement is provided to a current switch driver which allows the current to the coil to be switched in sync with the oscillator frequency to sustain oscillation. The voltage produced from such an oscillator circuit is a function of the current level passing into the coil, the coil inductance and the "Q" of the coil. As the sensor coil/core approaches a metallic target, the "Q" is reduced.
However, none of the prior art devices above described or otherwise known to applicant produce a linear output signal which is proportional to the axial positioning of a ringed magnetic target surrounding the coil/core. Most of these prior art devices are used as proximity sensors which produce a responsive signal at a predetermined voltage output level. Otherwise, the voltage output is non-linear at best, thus producing irregular and unpredictable target position responses.
The present invention provides a uniquely configured progressively spaced coil wound about a ferromagnetic core which, in combination with a linear oscillator, produces a virtually linear voltage output in response to movement of a magnetic ring positioned about a conical shaped electromagnetic field produced by the elongated coil/core arrangement.


A camera having a blurring movement correction mechanism comprising: an optical element disposed in an optical path of a photo-taking optical system so as to correct shift of an image formed on a film surface caused by movement of hands holding a camera body. The camera further comprises: a detection unit for obtaining a blurring movement detection data by converting the blurring movement of the camera body to an electric signal; a calculation circuit for calculating blurring movement correction data for correcting the shift of the image formed on the film surface caused by movement of hands holding the camera body; a blurring movement correction actuator for moving the optical element in a necessary direction for correcting the shift of the image on the film surface on the basis of the blurring movement correction data obtained from the calculation circuit; and a noise removing circuit for removing transition output components included in the blurring movement detection data obtained from the detection unit which components are generated at a time when said blurring movement correction actuator is driven.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a camera having a blurring movement correction mechanism, more precisely, it relates to a camera which is equipped with a correction mechanism that detects unintentional movement of hands holding the camera and that cancels the movement of the image formed on the film surface corresponding to the unintentional motion of hands in response to the detection results of the motion of the camera by driving an optical correction unit which is disposed on an optical path of a fixed focal length optical system or a variable focal length optical system of the camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a camera having an unintentional blurring movement correction or canceling mechanism (which is called simply a camera hereinafter) is constructed in such a way that, in an example where the camera is provided with a zoom lens as a photo-taking optical system, the photo-taking optical system is detachably arranged in the camera as an integral unit of the camera body or through a lens mount and that a film surface is disposed behind the lens system on an optical axis of the lens system.
The photo-taking optical system comprises a focusing lens group constituted from a plurality of lenses and a zooming lens group constituted from a plurality of lenses. A blurring correction optical element is disposed on an optical path of the lens groups.
The focusing lens group is driven to be in an in-focus state by a focus command signal Df. The zoom lens group is driven to achieve a zooming function by a zoom command signal Dz. Also, the blurring correction lens element is driven to correct or compensate for the blur of photo-image caused by unintentional motion of hands by a blur correction command signal Da.
Next, the functional motion of each lens group is described below. The focusing lens group is driven to move forward according as the focal length is shifted to the telescopic side and according as the length to the subject to be taken is shortened.
The zoom lens group is driven to move forward according as the focal length is shifted toward the telescopic side. Similarly, the blur correction optical element is driven to move forward according as the zoom lens group is driven to move toward the telescopic side.
Next, the blur correction command signal Da is more concretely described below.
The example is the case where the oscillation motion of the camera body caused by unintentional movement of hands has an oscillation characteristic of approximately a sine wave form curve (a) representing an amplitude curve that moves to the positive and negative directions from the boundary of zero level.
To correct blur of a photograph, that is, to minimize or compensate for influence to the subject image on the film caused by unintentional movement of hands holding the camera body that blurs the photograph, the blur correction mechanism of the camera is arranged as follows.
First, a hand movement detection unit arranged within the camera body detects the velocity V of the hand movement within a very short period of time. Then, a movement velocity changing amount data B.sub.k is calculated on the basis of the detected velocity data. The blur (hand movement) correction command signal Da is obtained from the velocity changing amount data B.sub.k. The signal Da is used to drive the blur correction optical element to move in the direction in which the motion of the camera caused by the hand movement is canceled so as to prevent the image of the subject on the film surface from moving on the film surface.
The correction motion is always delayed from the actual unintentional motion of the camera.
More precisely, the movement velocity is detected at a plurality of times (t-2It), (t-It), (t), (t+It) . . . , wherein (It) represents the integration time period for each time to detect the velocity. The velocity changing amount data B.sub.k, B.sub.k-1, . . . is calculated on the basis of each velocity detection data. Then, on the basis of each velocity changing amount data B.sub.k, B.sub.k-1, . . . is calculated a camera motion velocity data V.sub.k, V.sub.k-1, . . . which is used to generate the blur correction command signal Da.
Therefore, the image formed on the film surface moves in accordance with a corrected characteristic (f) which is compensated with the use of correction characteristic (d) with respect to the movement amount characteristic (e).
However, in accordance with the above mentioned correction arrangement, only about one fourth of the total movement amount of the camera body can be corrected.
In order to improve this point of correction amount ratio, an arrangement is proposed wherein the input amount to the drive circuit for the blur correction optical element is controlled so as to converge the oscillation of the movement of the camera body at the time of driving the optical system for correcting the movement of the camera.
Such an arrangement is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laying Open (KOKAI) No. 1-300221, for instance. In accordance with the arrangement disclosed in the patent document, the amplifying ratio of the drive circuit for the blur correcting optical element is varied in response to the output from the movement detection unit so that the oscillation movement of the camera body caused by the unintentional movement of hands is attenuated to converge.
Also, the above mentioned patent document discloses another arrangement for attenuating the movement of the camera body with the use of the above mentioned electric means for varying the amplifying ratio of the drive circuit wherein the rigidity of the oscillation detecting sensor for detecting the movement of hands holding the camera body is varied to attenuate the oscillation so as to increase the correction amount ratio of the unintentional oscillation.
On the other hand, it is most desirable to use an actuator which is able to function with a very small or almost no time lag as a drive source for driving the blur correcting optical member in a direction for attenuating and converging the blur movement vibration to zero.
However, in the actual arrangement, from the stand point of space for the actuator assembled within the camera body in connection with the power battery means, the blur correction optical member is driven intermittently by a compact stepping motor, a small sized motor or a linear motor type intermittent drive means.
For instance, the actuator is intermittently driven in every minute time of interval (t0) so as to represent an approximation of curve or linear line of the indicated driving wave-form for driving the actuator.
Also, an example of the timing for the intermittent drive of the actuator is such that a 1/2 period of the drive pulse Dp, that is, a time period from a rising point to a subsequent falling point of the pulse is arranged to correspond to one cycle of the driving wave-form to drive the actuator synchronized with the drive pulse signal which has a very short repeating time cycle.
Also, another example of the timing for the intermittent drive of the actuator is such that the 1/2 period of the drive pulse Dp from a rising point to a subsequent falling point is arranged to correspond to one driving cycle of the actuator including one driving wave-form for the actuator and a subsequent short time period represented after the driving wave-form.
Such a curve line of the driving wave-form is processed by sampling detection data at a plurality of timing points so as to obtain a final blurring movement data.
In accordance with the camera of the related art mentioned above, the blurring motion is corrected in such a way that the unintentional motion of hands holding the camera is detected first so that the driving amount for moving the blur correcting optical member is calculated from the detection result and that the optical member is driven on the basis of the calculation result.
However, such an arrangement for driving the blur correcting optical member mentioned above involves in the following problems.
That is, in accordance with the arrangement of the related art mentioned above, a time lag is inevitably generated between the timing points of detecting the blurring movement of hands, calculating the blur correcting data and driving the blur correcting means. Therefore, although it may be possible to correct the blurring movement to a certain extent, the blur is not satisfactorily corrected since a problem of shortage of the correction amount is always involved due to the time lag generated in the blur correcting system.
Such a problem of shortage of the blur correcting amount is not so influential when the absolute amount of the unintentional blurring movement of hands holding the camera is relatively small since the shortage of the blur correcting amount is also small so that the blur can be corrected by the blur correcting system of the related art mentioned above.
However, in the event that the absolute amount of the blurring hand motion becomes large, the shortage of the blur correcting amount becomes large too so that the problem becomes significant.
Also, with regard to the camera of this kind, it is very important to accurately detect the blurring movement of hands holding the camera. For instance, in the case wherein the blurring motion is to be detected with the use of an acceleration sensor type detection means, it is naturally required that the sensitivity of the sensor be high, whereas to the contradiction, if a sensor which is too sensitive is used, the sensor detects minute vibrations generated from the blur correcting optical member at the time of being intermittently operated by the actuator other than the blurring hand motion, as a result of which accuracy of the detection data of the blurring motion is lowered.
This inaccuracy of the detection data is especially significant when the width of the transition noise generated at the time of intermittently driving the blur correcting means is not fully long with respect to the interval of the sampling points of the output data from the blurring motion detection means. That is, the inaccuracy of the detection data is not so influential when the vibration generated from the intermittent drive means is smooth and continuous. However, when the vibration at the time of intermittent drive of the blur correcting means includes a number of impulse components, it becomes difficult to accurately sample the data, which causes to increase the detection error.

Camera having blurring movement correction mechanism


A mobile phone with night vision function includes a body (1) and a night vision module (4). The body (1) includes a display (2), a keypad (3), and a storage module (5). The night vision module is disposed at a top end of the body, and includes a lens module (41), an IR (infrared) emitter (42) and an IR detector. The storage module is provided in a sidewall of the body. The night vision module can detect IR radiation and provide information of an IR image. The information of the IR image can be displayed on the display of the body or be saved in the storage module. The mobile phone with night vision function can be used for night vision, illuminating, and photographing at night.

With the development of the technologies of wireless communication and information processing, mobile phones are in widespread use nowadays. These mobile phones enable consumers to enjoy the convenience of high-tech services anytime and anywhere. Nowadays mobile phones have all kinds of functions such as storage, keeping a record of events, game functions, WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) functions, sending information, and so on. In particular, many mobile phones integrally provide functions of information recording and photography.
Usually, many users would take mobile phones with themselves due to their convenient portability, and there is more and more demand for higher quality and serviceability of these mobile phones. Some people who engage in night work, for example, border inspectors, military soldiers, policemen, and people going about at night, desire that mobile phones have functions of illuminating, night vision, and night photography. However, the majority of mobile phones lack such functions, and only some mobile phones are able to illuminate by the feeble light from the background light of the display. Further, the effect of illuminating by the background light of the display is frequently not adequate, and consumes much electrical energy.
What is needed, therefore, is a mobile phone which has a night vision function. In particular, a mobile phone which can effectively illuminate or photograph at night is desired.


A nonwoven fabric comprises continuous polymer filaments of 0.5-3 denier that have been hydroentangled in a complex matrix of interconnecting filament loops, and that is otherwise substantially free of knotting, or of otherwise wrapping about one another. A process for making a non-woven fabric comprises continuously extruding polymer filaments of 0.5-3 denier onto a moving support, pre-entangling the filaments with water jets, and entangling filaments with a second set of water jets. An apparatus for making a nonwoven fabric comprises means for continuously extruding substantially endless polymer filaments of 0.5-3 denier onto a moving support to form an unbonded web, a pre entangling station for entangling the web with a plurality of water jets, and a plurality of water jets for final entanglement of the filament web.

This invention relates to a method for hydroentanglement of continuously extruded essentially endless thermoplastic polymer filaments, the apparatus for carrying out the method, and the products produced thereby.
The term "hydroentanglement" refers to a process that was developed in the 1950's and earlier as a possible substitute for a conventional weaving process. In a hydroentanglement process, small, high intensity jets of water are impinged on a layer of loose fibers, with the fibers being supported on an unyielding perforated surface, such as a wire screen or perforated drum. The liquid jets cause the fibers, being relatively short and having loose ends, to become rearranged, with at least some portions of the fibers becoming tangled, wrapped, and/or knotted around each other. Depending on the nature of the support surface being used (e.g. the size, shape and pattern of openings), a variety of fabric arrangements and appearances can be produced, such as a fabric resembling a woven cloth or a lace.
The term "spunbonding" refers to a process in which a thermoplastic polymer is provided in a raw or pellet form and is melted and extruded or "spun" through a large number of small orifices to produce a bundle of continuous or essentially endless filaments. These filaments are cooled and drawn or attenuated and are deposited as a loose web onto a moving conveyor. The filaments are then partially bonded, typically by passing the web between a pair of heated rolls, with at least one of the rolls having a raised pattern to provide a bonding pattern in the fabric. Of the various processes employed to produce nonwovens, spunbonding is the most efficient, since the final fabric is made directly from the raw material on a single production line. For nonwovens made of fibers, for example, the fibers must be first produced, cut, and formed into bales. The bales of fibers are then processed and the fibers are formed into uniform webs, usually by carding, and are then bonded to make a fabric.
Hydroentangled nonwoven fabrics enjoy considerable commercial success primarily because of the variety of fiber compositions, basis weights, and surface textures and finishes which can be produced. Since the fibers in the fabric are held together by knotting or mechanical friction, however, rather than by fiber to fiber fusion or chemical adhesion, such fabrics offer relatively low tensile strength and poor elongation. In order to overcome these problems, proposals have been advanced to entangle the fibers into an already existing separate, more stable substrate, such as a preformed cloth or array of filaments, where the fibers tend to wrap around the substrate and bridge openings in the separate substrate. Such processes obviously involve the addition of a secondary fabric to the product, thereby increasing the associated effort and cost.
Another method for improving strength properties is to impregnate the fabric with adhesive, usually by dipping the fabric into an adhesive bath with subsequent drying of the fabric. In addition to adding cost and effort to the process, however, addition of an adhesive may undesirably affect other properties of the final product. For instance, treatment with an adhesive may affect the affinity of the web for a dye, or may otherwise cause a decline in aesthetic properties such as hand and drape as a result of increased stiffness.
Because of the above discussed problems associated with hydroentangled webs, the hydroentangling practice as known by those skilled in the art heretofore has been limited only to staple fibers, to pre-bonded webs, or to filaments of only an extremely small diameter. The hydroentanglement of webs of filaments that are continuous, of larger diameter, or higher denier has heretofore not been considered feasible. Conventional wisdom suggests that long, large diameter, continuous filaments would dissipate energy supplied by entangling water jets, and thereby resist entanglement. An additional factor suggesting that continuous filaments could not be sufficiently hydroentangled to form a stable, cohesive fabric is that as the filaments are continuous they do not have loose free ends required for wrapping and knotting. Yet another problem in the hydroentangling process as presently known and practiced in the industry is associated with production speed limitations. Presently known methods and apparatuses for hydroentangling filaments are not able to achieve rates of production equal to those of spunbonding filament production.
There is therefore an as yet unresolved need in the industry for a process of hydroentangling continuous filaments of relatively large denier. Also, there is a heretofore unresolved need in the industry for a hydroentangled nonwoven fabric comprised of continuous filaments of relatively large denier. Further, there is an unresolved need in the industry for an apparatus for producing a nonwoven web comprised of hydroentangled continuous filaments of relatively large denier, and for a method and apparatus for hydroentanglement capable of rates of production substantially equal to spunbonding production rates.
Objects of the Invention
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hydroentangled nonwoven fabric comprised of continuous filaments of relatively large denier.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a process and apparatus for hydroentangling continuous filaments of relatively large denier at rates of production substantially equal to rates of spunbonding production.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for producing a nonwoven web comprised of hydroentangled continuous filaments of relatively large denier.

Hydroentanglement of continuous polymer filaments


The present invention provides systems and methods to mix In-Band (IB) and Out-of-Band (OOB) signaling mechanisms under the Private Network-to-Network (PNNI) protocol for optical control plane connectivity. The present invention provides mechanisms for establishing and controlling OOB control plane communications. By default, the mechanisms treat all links as IB to discover nodes and links using IB mechanisms. For any blocked links, the link can be configured as OOB if there is a data communication network (DCN) connection to the remote node.

Optical control plane implementations provide automated setup and control of services. Advantageously, control planes offer multi-vendor and inter-domain inter-working, enhanced service offerings such as Ethernet over SONET/SDH or Optical Transport Network (OTN), end-to-end service activation, cross-domain provisioning of switched connection services, service restoration and the like. Traditionally, creating traffic paths through a series of Network Elements (NEs) has involved configuration of individual cross-connects on each NE. Control planes allow a user to specify the start point, end point, and bandwidth required, and an agent on the Network Elements allocates a path through the network, provisioning the traffic path, setting up cross-connects, and allocating bandwidth from the paths for the user requested service. The actual path that the traffic will take through the network is not specified by the user.
Several control plane standards exist including ITU-T Automatically Switched Optical Network (ASON), IETF Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (G-MPLS) also known as Automatic Switched Transport Network (ASTN), and Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) User-Network Interface Signaling Specifications (UNI) and Inter-Carrier Network Interface Signaling Specification. ASON specifications generally define an optical control plane communication framework. G-MPLS defines control plane discovery, routing, and signaling protocols. OIF UNI/E-NNI specifications define protocol extensions for multi-vendor interoperability.
In traditional networks, an optical control plane communicates through In-Band (IB) signaling, such as using standard SDH/SONET overheads with proprietary protocols to talk between nodes and discover links and exchange topology information. For customer networks who wish to implement control plane technology in regions that are not, or are only partly, served by cable systems that have wavelength access, i.e. without SDH/SONET overheads, control plane communication cannot be achieved through IB signaling. A data communication network (DCN) can be utilized as a general solution to enable control plane functionality on links that terminate the SDH/SONET overheads and provide signaling, such as Private Network-to-Network Interface (PNNI), at places where the IB communication is not possible. The links that are connected through DCN network are referred to as Out-of-Band (OOB) links; normal links with full transparency are referred to as In-Band (IB) links. The new region may have a mixture of OOB and IB links. Disadvantageously, there is no mechanism that is available today to run a single PNNI protocol on a mixture of network nodes where IB and OOB can work concurrently together.

Systems and methods for private network-to-network interface out-of-band signaling and path blocking


Chlorinators with multiple spaced gas traps and flow sensors are detailed. The sensors also may be protected, at least somewhat, from contact with scale build ups by interposition of a mechanical barrier. Ramps or other geometric restrictions may be used to increase water flow to some or all of the gas traps. Additionally, the chlorinator housing may be configured so as to route, or focus, gases toward a small-sized, high point thereof.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,920,615 to Davidson, et al., whose entire contents are incorporated herein by this reference, describes one version of a salt-water chlorinator for swimming pools and spas. Recognized by the Davidson patent in connection with chlorinators "is that scale (principally calcium salts) deposits and builds up on the cathode" of an electrolysis cell of the chlorinator, "thus reducing the efficiency of chlorine production by the cell." See Davidson, col. 1, ll. 29-32. Accordingly, proposed in the Davidson patent are mechanical scrapers for removing scale from cathodes of the cells.
Also disclosed in the Davidson patent is use of a sensor within a housing of a chlorinator "to sense flow/no flow conditions in the electrolysis cell." See id., col. 3, ll. 37-38. Although not addressed in the Davidson patent, well known in the pool and spa industry is that scale build-up may retain moisture. If scale deposits are present especially between a cathode and a flow sensor, their retained moisture may deceive the sensor into believing water is flowing through a cell when it, in fact, is not. Continuing to operate a chlorinator without water flow through its electrolysis cell may prove to be a safety hazard and thus is undesirable.
Some existing chlorinators utilize a "gas trap" in an effort to determine whether water is flowing through a cell. As electrolytic reactions occur within the cell, chloride ions are converted into chlorine gas (which dissolves into water ultimately to form sodium hypochlorite), with hydrogen gas being liberated at the cathode of the cell. When not adequately removed from the cell by flowing water, these gasses accumulate and may be sensed, directly or indirectly, as indicating lack of water flow through the cell.
Because sensing in these situations requires gas build-up within a cell, gas-trap sensors generally have slow response times. Moreover, they may be subject to false negative readings during periods of low-flow, as water may continue to flow yet at a velocity inadequate to prevent gas accumulation. Formation of a gas trap within a cell also typically requires installation of a chlorinator in a particular orientation which might not permit it to be plumbed conveniently into a pool water-circulation system.