Pressure or force measurement device for static or dynamic pressure measurement, in particular for high pressures or forces, having a housing including a pressure or force measuring cell, e.g., a piezoresistive or capacitive measuring cell. In such devices, service life and chemical resistance are problematic. The pressure measurement device includes the housing, a seal between the pressure medium and an inner chamber of the housing, a pressure measuring cell having a main face exposed to the pressure medium and which pressure measuring cell having a deflection when pressure loaded, which deflection leads to a relative movement between the pressure measuring cell and the housing in a region of the seal. In a region of the seal, the housing has spring-elastic properties. The pressure measurement device further includes a flange with an elastic sealing rib forming a through opening. The housing may be rotationally symmetrical with respect to the flange.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to pressure measurement apparatuses and pressure and/or force measurement devices, in particular for high pressures or forces, whose housing contains among other things, a pressure or force measuring cell, e.g. a piezoresistive or capacitive measuring cell. A capacitive pressure measuring cell is essentially comprised of a base body (e.g. ceramic) and a membrane (e.g. ceramic) connected to it and electrodes, whose spacing change due to membrane deflection achieves a capacitance change. A seal between the measurement device housing and the pressure measuring cell prevents the penetration of pressure medium into the inner chamber of the housing.
2. Discussion of Background Information
Rubber elastic O-rings made of elastomers are used for seals of this kind, e.g. if the pressure measuring cell is comprised of a non-metallic material (e.g. ceramic) and the housing is comprised of metallic material (e.g. V4A).
An example of this is capacitive pressure measurement devices of the Cerabar Series of the PMC731-R12S1E19Y4 type from the Company Endress & Hauser GmbH (pressure measurement range 0-40 bar, cylindrical ceramic pressure measuring cell). Like all other known pressure measurement devices with non-metallic membrane or pressure measuring cell, they have a high housing stability in the region of the pressure measuring cell and the elastomer seal, because of the housing thickness of several millimeters. Because of the positive corrosion resistance of the ceramic membrane, separating membranes and pressure averagers are actually not necessary. The rubber elastic seals, however, are susceptible to wear. As a result, therefore, waved stainless steel membranes are frequently used.
The above mentioned Endress & Hauser pressure measurement device is embodied as flush in front, i.e. the membrane surface toward the medium is disposed very near to the housing end, while in pressure measurement devices which are not flush in front, the pressure medium travels via a more or less long conduit of the solid housing, reaching the pressure measuring cell (e.g. see German Patent Application P 44 16 978.7, FIG. 1, and the reference "Kapazitiver keramischer Drucksensor hoher Stabilitat fur die Prozessmesstechnik" High Stability Capacitive Ceramic Pressure Sensors for Process Measuring Technology!, by Drewes, Friedrich, Hegner, Klahn and Schmidt).
In flush front pressure measurement devices, a smaller dead space can be achieved, which is important for use of pressure measurement devices in food, chemical, pharmaceutical, and paper manufacturing. A small dead space means few gaps and hollow spaces, which in the event of a medium change, could lead to difficulties in the removal of the old medium (e.g. see the pamphlet "Totraumfreie Instrumentierung--Inline-Kontroll- und Messtechnik" Dead Space-free Instrumentation--In-line Control and Measurement Technology! from the Tuchenhagen company).
These kinds of apparatuses made up of pressure measuring cell, housing, and O-ring are not without problems as regards tightness or service life of the O-ring, even at average pressures (20-40 bar). This has been disclosed, for example, in the reference "Ubersicht uber verschiedene Aufnehmerprinzipien fur die elektrische Druckmessung" Overview of Various Sensor Principles for Electrical Pressure Measurement! by R. Hellwig, p. 2.5, section 2.3.2. Since as a rule, no static continuous loading and continuous deforming occurs, but a dynamic loading, which, due to the movement and deforming of the O-ring, can lead to frequent exceeding of strength and stretchability limits and consequently to the destruction of the O-ring. When there is constantly repeating deforming, the material is damaged as a result of internal friction, by means of which first small tears occur, which can grow and eventually lead to breakage.
O-rings for sealing purposes are generally made of widely varying materials. Primarily, elastomers are used (e.g. acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber and acrylate rubber). Sealing elements of thermoplastic materials differ according to the base materials used. In many instances, they can be varied by introducing particular additives and can thus be purposefully matched to employment purpose of the part to be manufactured.
Elastomers are wide-meshed, temperature stable, cross-linked polymers which do not become liquid from a low 20.degree. C. up to the temperature region of chemical decomposition, but can be reversibly deformed in a rubber elastic manner, in a manner that is to a large extent independent of temperature.
A body is elastic if, after a forced deforming, it re-assumes its original shape relatively rapidly (e.g. a metal spring). A body which maintains its deformation is plastic or viscous (e.g. kneaded rubber). A viscoelastic body is both at the same time. It is characteristic of viscoelastic behavior that when springing back, the original state is reached not immediately after release, but only gradually, depending upon the conditions.
This property is characteristic of rubber elastic O-ring seals. Just like deformability, elasticity is dependent upon temperature and primarily upon the chronological course of the deformation process. Temperature load, temperature change load, pressure load, and pressure change load decisively determine the service life of rubber elastic O-rings.
As described above, their use for sealing pressure measuring cells and housings is already problematic at average pressures if relative movements of the parts to be sealed occur (membrane/pressure measuring cell and housing). This kind of relative movements can be caused by temperature change in combination with differing thermal expansion coefficients of the parts to be sealed and by pressure changes which lead to undesirable movements (axial and radial) of the membrane surface or pressure measuring cell surface in its edge region, (e.g. in the region of the seal, see German Patent Application P 44 16 978.7). This movement is the greatest at the membrane edge and is particularly critical in the case of capacitive pressure measurement devices without pressure averagers, which devices have a relatively thick ceramic membrane. The magnitude of this movement is a function of the pressure, the membrane diameter, the inner diameter of the spacer, the thickness of the pressure measuring cell (even the base body, which is quite stable, has a deflection), as well as the mechanical properties of the membrane, spacer, and base body. Especially when employed in the food industry, the use of relatively soft rubber elastic O-ring seals is problematic due to the high temperature shock load. In principle, harder seals can in fact also be used, which as a rule also have a better chemical resistance, but then, a stronger O-ring must be used, which impairs frontal flushness (larger dead space) and constitutes a larger abrasion surface for abrasive mediums.
The durable tightness is important not only between the pressure measuring cell and the housing of the pressure measurement device, but also between the flange and the pressure measurement device. A flange from the WIKA company is known for the flush front screw connection of a low pressure measurement device. The flange and pressure measurement device have a metallic sealing cone. The thickness of the conical sealing part is 5 mm. This embodiment is disadvantageous in that it can be problematic with regard to tightness at higher pressures. It is also disadvantageous that the force with which the pressure measurement device presses against the conical part of the flange when screwed in can vary widely. If the force is too great, this can negatively influence the characteristic curve or the operability of the pressure measurement device.

Pressure measuring sensor and apparatus having a seal between a housing having spring-elastic properties and a pressure measuring cell


In a robot hand, holding units have bases, and a plurality of curved rod-shaped members that are installed at the bases and are rotatable around rotation axes. The plurality of curved rod-shaped members rotate from a virtual plane including a plurality of the rotation axes by a reaction force from the object to be pinched that is caused by the holding units pinching the object to be pinched, and portions of the curved rod-shaped members hold the object to be pinched.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a robot hand, a robot, and a holding method of holding an object to be pinched by the robot.
2. Related Art
Robots that hold objects to be pinched in assembling work, sorting work, or the like are utilized. Objects to be pinched that are intended to be held by the robots are various. A robot hand capable of holding objects having various shapes or high-hardness objects and flexible objects is disclosed in JP-A-2012-148380. According to JP-A-2012-148380, the robot hand includes a pair of supports. A bag body that is filled with a gel fluid is installed on one side of each support. When the supports sandwich an object to be pinched, the bag bodies are deformed along the shape of the object to be pinched. As a result, the robot hand can stably hold the object to be pinched.
In addition, a robot hand that holds objects to be pinched that are arranged side by side is disclosed in JP-A-9-103983. The robot hand includes a pair of finger-shaped bodies. The finger-shaped bodies are formed from a tubular soft material. Fingertip portions can be expanded by supplying a fluid to the fingertip portions of the finger-shaped bodies. The fingertip portions are expanded after inserting the thin fingertip portions into the gaps between adjacent objects to be pinched. As a result, the fingertip portions are stiffened. The robot hand holds the object to be pinched with the stiffened fingertip portions.
In the robot hand of JP-A-2012-148380, the pair of supports in which the bag bodies are installed hold the object to be pinched from both sides. When objects to be pinched are installed side by side, the supports in which the bag bodies are installed cannot be inserted between adjacent objects to be pinched unless the adjacent objects to be pinched are separated from each other.
In the robot hand of JP-A-9-103983, the side surfaces of the object to be pinched are held with the stiffened fingertip portions. Since the object to be pinched is held by a frictional force when the side surfaces of the object to be pinched are pressed, the surface state, hardness, and side surface shape of the object to be pinched are easily influenced. Accordingly, it is estimated that stable holding cannot be performed. Thus, a robot that stably holds an object to be pinched even when the gap between adjacent objects to be pinched is narrow is desired.

Robot hand, robot, and holding method of holding object to be pinched by robot


A fuel system component for a direct injection internal combustion engine. The component includes a fuel rail and a plurality of direct injection fuel injectors which are rigidly attached to the rail. Each fuel injector has an elongated body as well as a harness assembly extending laterally outward from the elongated body. Each injector is attached to the fuel rail such that, when viewed along an axis of the fuel injector body, the fuel rail overlies at least a portion of the injector body and at least a portion of the harness assembly.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to fuel systems for internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to a fuel system component for a direct injection internal combustion engine.
II. Description of Related Art
Direct injection internal combustion engines have enjoyed increased popularity due to the enhanced efficiency and increased fuel economy of such engines. In a direct injection engine, a fuel injector is positioned in the engine block so that one end of the injector is open to the combustion chamber.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a prior art fuel injector 10 is shown. The fuel injector 10 includes an elongated body 12 which is mounted within a bore in the engine block so that an end 14 of the fuel injector body 12 is open to the engine combustion chamber. One or more seals 16, furthermore, seal the injector body to the engine block.
The body 12 of the fuel injector 10 is mounted to a fuel rail 18. The fuel rail 18 is pressurized with fuel by a fuel pump and supplies that fuel to the fuel injectors 10 attached to the fuel rail 18. The fuel rail 18, in turn, is typically attached to the engine block by a bracket 20.
Both the timing and duration of the fuel pulses out the end 14 of the fuel injector 10 and into the combustion chamber is controlled by valving contained within the fuel injector 10. In order to actuate that valving, an injector connector 22 is attached to each fuel injector 10. The injector connector 22 includes an elongated injector connector portion 24 as well as a terminal 26 and is connected to the harness assembly. The terminal 26 is electrically connected to the fuel management system for the engine which controls the timing and duration of the fuel injection pulses by electrical signals provided through the terminal 26.
As best shown in FIG. 2, conventionally the injector connector 24 as well as the terminal 26 extends laterally outwardly from the fuel rail 18 when viewed along the axis of the fuel injector body 12. Thus, with the fuel rail 18 overlying the fuel injector body 12, both the injector connector 24 as well as the terminal 26 protrudes laterally outwardly from one side of the fuel rail 18.
The fuel pressures required by a direct injection engine greatly exceed the fuel pressures utilized by the previously known multipoint injectors. Consequently, in order to prevent movement of the fuel injectors 10 in operation, the fuel injector 10 is conventionally rigidly attached to the fuel rail 18 which, in turn, is rigidly attached to the engine block by the injector connector 20.
These previously known direct injection engines, however, suffer from several disadvantages. First, since the fuel injectors 10 are rigidly mounted to tie fuel rail 18, the fuel rail 18, together with its attached fuel injectors 10, must be removed from the engine block as a unit when service is required. However, in some engines, an attempt to remove the fuel rail 18 with its attached fuel injectors 10 creates an interference between the harness assembly 22 and other components in the engine. Consequently, when removal of the fuel rail 18 with its attached fuel injectors 10 is required, partial disassembly of the engine is also required. This, however, disadvantageously increases the overall servicing cost for the engine.
A further disadvantage of the previously known fuel rail and fuel injector components is that the attachment of the bracket 20 to the engine block is offset from the axis of the fuel injector body 12. This, in turn, creates a torque on the fuel injector from the discharge of fuel through the end 14 of the fuel injector body 12. This torque, over time, can create stresses in the components of the fuel injector system. In extreme cases, these stresses may result in fracture, cracking or other failure of the fuel system components for the direct injection engine.
Summary of the Present Invention

Fuel system component for a direct injection internal combustion engine


The present invention relates to a three-phase reluctance type motor with a large output torque which can be used as a driving source of various industrial apparatus. There are provided adjacent two magnetic poles (16a, 16a') and other adjacent two magnetic poles (16d, 16d') facing to above adjacent two magnetic poles in a diameter direction of the motor with relation to each of first to third phases. These four magnetic poles are excited by four exciting coils (17a, 17a', 17d, and 17d'), respectively. The exciting coils of each phase generates a large magnetomotive force as a whole. In such a manner, a limited installation space for the exciting coil is effectively utilized so as to increase magnetomotive force of the exciting coil, thus a large output torque is generated. Furthermore, at the moment the current supply to respective phase exciting coil (17a, 17a', 17d, and 17d') is terminated, magnetic energy stored in one phase exciting coil is transferred into other phase exciting coil (17a, 17a', 17d, and 17d'), thereby promptly extinguishing the stored magnetic energy stored in the one phase exciting coil and promptly building up an exciting current in the other phase exciting coil so that the motor can be driven in a high speed region.

Typical three-phase reluctance type motor comprises a stator having six magnetic poles and a rotor having four or eight salient-poles. Three sets of magnetic poles, each set consisting of two magnetic poles facing each other in a diameter direction of the motor, are associated with three sets of exciting coils constituting a first to a third phase exciting coils, respectively. When exciting current is successively supplied to the first to the third exciting coils, the magnetic poles are excited to cause magnetic attraction force between the excited magnetic poles and their corresponding salient-poles. And, this magnetic attraction force causes the rotor to rotate.
In a reluctance type motor, even when a magnetic flux penetrating magnetic poles is in a saturated condition, an output torque of the motor increases in accordance with increase of a magnetomotive force (i.e. an ampere-turn) defined by a number of turns of an exciting coil multiplied by its exciting current. For example, in case of a reluctance motor of approximately 500 watt output, as shown in FIG. 1, an output torque increases in proportion to a square value of an exciting current in a region 3a in which the exciting current is smaller than, for example, 2 ampere, and to the contrary it increases in proportion to the exciting current itself in a region 3b in which the exciting current is larger than 2 ampere.
Accordingly, theoretically, the output torque of motor can be increased by increasing magnetomotive force of exciting coils. However, an available space inside of the motor which the exciting coils can occupy is limited, therefore it is difficult to scale up the exciting coil in order to increase number of turns of the exciting coil. Furthermore, an increase of the exciting current is accompanied with increase of copper loss. Thus, it is difficult to increase an output torque of the reluctance type motor by increasing magnetomotive force of the exciting coil.
Generally, in a three-phase reluctance type motor, an initiation and a termination of exciting current supply coincides with a 180-degree electric angle rotation of a rotor. That is, during one complete revolution of the rotor, an accumulation and an extinction of magnetic flux are repeated 6 times. Such a large number of repetition of the accumulation and the extinction of magnetic flux during one complete revolution of the rotor increases iron loss in the reluctance type motor. Moreover, since an inductance of the exciting coil is large, magnetic energy stored in the exciting coil becomes remarkably large. Therefore, it requires significant time for completion of accumulation and extinction of magnetic energy. For this reason, a building-up and a trailing edge of the exciting current are delayed undesirably.
Accordingly, not only torque reductions occur (i.e. the torque is reduced), but also counter torques are generated. However, since these torque reduction and counter torque generation are increased in accordance with increase of rotational speed of the motor, it is difficult to cause the motor to rotate in a high speed region.
Especially, if the number of salient-poles and magnetic poles is increased in order to increase an output torque of the motor, or a gap between the salient-pole and the magnetic pole is set to be small, a period of time required for the building-up or the trailing edge of the exciting current derived from stored magnetic energy further increases. Thus, the rotational speed remarkably decreases.
Consequently, in a conventional reluctance type motor, it was difficult to realize both a required rotational speed and a large output torque.


A fuel injector for a gas turbine engine may include a center body disposed about a longitudinal axis, and a premix barrel positioned radially outwardly from the center body to define an annular passageway between the center body and the premix barrel. The annular passageway may extend from an upstream end that is configured to be fluidly coupled to a compressor to a downstream end that is configured to be fluidly coupled to a combustor. The premix barrel may include a first portion at the upstream end and a second portion at the downstream end. The first portion may include a stainless steel material, and the second portion may include a nickel based superalloy material. The second portion may be coupled to the first portion by a laser clad coupling.

In a typical gas turbine engine, one or more fuel injectors direct a fuel to a combustion chamber (called a combustor) for combustion. The fuel burns in the combustor producing heat. In some applications, the temperature in the combustor can reach as high as about 1800° F. The components of the fuel injector that are coupled to (or proximate to) the combustor are exposed to these high temperatures. To minimize temperature related damage, such components are typically made of alloys that have high creep resistance and mechanical strength. However, such alloys are expensive, and can increase the cost of these components.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,507 describes a gas turbine engine turbine blade assembly with a nickel based superalloy blade tip attached to a steel body by brazing. In the '507 patent, the cost of the assembly is reduced by using the more expensive superalloy only at regions where they are needed.


A system measures multiple operational angles of a driveline assembly and compares the signals to each other to determine whether the angles and the respective driveline components are properly balanced. Different types of sensor assemblies can be used to measure the operational angles including various types of contact and non-contact sensors. In one example, the operational angle between one axle differential case and a corresponding universal joint can be compared to the operational angle between another axle differential case and corresponding universal joint mounted at an opposite end of the driveline. If the angles are equal or very close to one another than the angles are properly balanced. If the ratio between the two angles exceeds a predetermined limit, the driveline components are not properly balanced and the components can be repositioned to avoid premature wear.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring operational angles of driveline components to determine whether the driveline is properly balanced.
Most vehicle drivelines include drive axles that are connected to a driveshaft or other driveline component with a universal joint. Universal joints, or U-joints, are utilized on most vehicle drivelines. One common type of U-joint is known as a Cardon universal joint. In this type U-joint, two yokes each have two bore locations at diametrically opposed positions. The yokes are each mounted to two posts on a cross member. The combination allows the two yokes to move angularly relative to each other with respect to the center of the cross member.
The U-joint is typically utilized as a portion of a driveline for a vehicle, and allows two shaft components to be at different angles relative to each other to accommodate relative movement and angular misalignment. U-joint connections are used to interconnect drive axles that are not mounted to the vehicle in a common plane.
For example, a typical driveline with two drive axles includes the following connections. One drive axle has a center differential for driving a set of vehicle wheels. The center differential has an input and an output for driving connection to an input for a second drive axle. A driveshaft is used to connect the first axle to the second axle. One end of the driveshaft is connected to the output of the first axle with a U-joint assembly and the other end of the driveshaft is connected to the input of the second drive axle with another U-joint assembly. A driveline operational angle is defined as the angle between differential centerline and the driveshaft centerline. Preferably, the operational angle at one end of the driveshaft is equal or close to the operational angle at the opposite end of the driveshaft. If the angles are equal or close to each other, the driveline components are properly balanced. If the operational angles are not close to each other there is a mismatch. If the mismatch exceeds a predetermined limit, than the driveline components are not properly balanced, which can result in premature wear of the components. Unbalanced driveline components can also cause undesirable vibrations and noise.
For various diagnostic and control purposes, it would be valuable to be able to measure multiple driveline operational angles and compare them to each other to determine whether the driveline components are properly balanced. However, no simple method has been developed for measuring operational angles during the operation of a vehicle.
For the above reasons, it would be desirable to develop a method and apparatus for monitoring and measuring driveline operational angles during real time operation of the vehicle. The method and apparatus should be inexpensive and easily incorporated into existing driveline systems.
In a disclosed embodiment of this invention, a system measures multiple operational angles of a driveline assembly and compares the signals to each other to determine whether the angles and the respective driveline components are properly balanced. Different types of sensor assemblies can be used to measure the operational angles.
In a preferred embodiment of this invention, a driveline assembly includes a first drive axle with a first center differential having a first input and a first output. A second drive axle has a second center differential with a second input. A driveline component interconnects the first and second axles at opposing ends and defines a central axis. A first universal joint assembly connects a first end of the driveline component to the first output and defines a first operational angle between the first center differential and the central axis. A second universal joint assembly connects a second end of the driveline component to the second input and defines a second operational angle between the second center differential and the central axis. A sensor assembly is mounted adjacent to the driveline component to measure the first and second operational angles. The sensor assembly generates a first signal corresponding in magnitude to the first operational angle and a second signal corresponding in magnitude to the second operational angle.
Preferably, a processor is operationally linked to an indicator. The processor compares the first and second signals to each other to determine a mismatch ratio. The processor generates an activation signal to activate the indicator when the mismatch ratio exceeds a predetermined limit.
In another embodiment, the processor is operationally linked to an adjustment mechanism. The processor compares the first and second signals to each other to determine a mismatch ratio. The processor generates an activation signal to activate the adjustment mechanism, which adjusts a vehicle parameter to correct the first and/or second operational angles when the mismatch ratio exceeds a predetermined limit.
Various types of sensors can be used to measure the driveline operational angles. In one embodiment, accelerometers are mounted to each of the axles and acceleration due to gravity measurements are used to determine the operational angles. In another embodiment, fluid level sensors are used to determine the operational angles. Other sensors used to determine the operational angles include potentiometers, photo cell sensors, proximity sensors, non-contact magnetic sensors, and photo/digital imaging cameras, for example.
The method for determining operational angles of driveline components includes the following steps. A first axle assembly and a second axle assembly are interconnected by a driveline component having universal joint assemblies mounted at opposing ends. A first operational angle is measured between the first axle assembly and one of the universal joint assemblies and a second operational angle is measured between the second axle assembly and the other of the universal joint assemblies. The second operational angle is compared to the first operational angle to determine a mismatch ratio and an indicator signal is generated if the mismatch ratio exceeds a predetermined limit.
The subject invention provides a simple and easy method and apparatus for determining whether driveline components are properly balanced. The invention is easily incorporated into existing driveline systems and is easy to maintain. These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specifications and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.

Method and apparatus for measuring driveline angles


A technique for directly coupling multiple high frequency resonant cavity filters includes a common port 62 that is directly coupled to a coupling rod 76 that is mounted within a first high frequency resonant cavity filter housing 64 of a housing assembly 60. The coupling rod 76 is directly coupled by a conductor 74 to an coupling rod 72 that is mounted within a second high frequency resonant cavity filter housing 66. The conductor 74 passes through an opening 78 in a common wall 80 between the first 64 and the second 66 high frequency resonant cavity filter housings. Thus, both filters 64, 66 are directly coupled to the common port 62.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to high frequency resonant cavity filters and, more particularly, to a technique for directly coupling multiple high frequency resonant cavity filters to a common port.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of a resonant cavity for high frequency filtering purposes is well known in the art. A resonant cavity housing generally contains a pair of coupling rods and a plurality of resonators. The size of such a housing generally depends upon the number of resonator rods within the housing that are required for a desired filtering characteristic. Often, as the number of resonator rods is increased to meet a narrow bandwidth resonant frequency requirement, the size of the resonant cavity housing will exceed a standard rack mounting dimension. It is therefore desirable to efficiently design the resonant cavity housing such that its physical size conforms to standard rack mounting dimensions.
It has been previously shown, in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,670, that it is also desirable to combine multiple high frequency filters into a single resonant cavity housing. A multiplexing resonant cavity housing allows multiple filters to use a common port, and thus the number of lossy external feedline cables is decreased. The Duplexing Filter combines two high frequency filters into one resonant cavity housing such that a common coupling rod, that is connected to an external port, is shared. The common coupling rod is positioned at the center of the cavity housing and a plurality of resonator rods are positioned outward from this center coupling rod position. Separate coupling rods for each filter are positioned at opposite ends of the cavity housing, such that each filter's resonator rods are positioned between their respective separate coupling rod and the common coupling rod. Again, however, as the number of resonator rods is increased to meet the higher selectivity requirements of the filter, the length size of the resonant cavity housing often exceeds the standard rack mounting dimensions.
The present invention maintains the benefit of allowing multiple high frequency resonant cavity filters to use a common port, while conforming the size of the multiple filter assembly to standard rack mounting dimensions.

High frequency filter having common coupling rods fixedly mounted and coupled through a common wall


A hydrostatic piston machine unit, which is in particular designed as a hydrostatic axial piston machine unit, comprises at least two driving mechanisms that can be driven synchronously and have displacement pistons which each perform a reciprocating motion in operation and are provided for delivery into a common pressure line. The hydrostatic piston machine unit has a jointly assigned precompression volume for the at least two driving mechanisms.

A double pump of the type designated above is known from DE 30 41 832 A1. This double pump has two driving mechanisms of swash plate design, and is of integrated construction inasmuch as there is a pot-shaped housing part accommodating a driving mechanism arranged on each side of a central part, common to both component pumps, on which there are a pressure connection and a suction connection.
DE 37 00 573 A1 has disclosed a hydrostatic radial piston machine, and DE 10 2012 218 883 A1 or DE 42 29 544 A1 have disclosed a hydrostatic axial piston machine of swash plate design and having precisley one driving mechanism, said machines having a fluid volume acting as a precompression volume (PCV) for a changeover region, in which the displacement pistons reverse their direction of motion. The term "fluid volume" is taken to mean a cavity which is filled or is to be filled with a liquid pressure medium, e.g. hydraulic oil, and in which a change in pressure is associated with an inflow or outflow of pressure medium, if only because of the compressibility of the pressure medium. It is also possible to assign each of the two changeover regions a dedicated precompression volume. By means of precompression volumes of this kind, it is possible to keep the pulsation of the volume flow low and thus to keep down the noise level of a hydrostatic piston machine.
In the case of the known axial piston machines, the displacement pistons are located in cylinder bores of a cylinder barrel and delimit therein a displacement space which can be connected alternately, via a connecting opening introduced into the end of the cylinder barrel, to a kidney-shaped low-pressure control port and a kidney-shaped high-pressure control port, each introduced into a control plate acting as a control part. In operation, the end of the cylinder barrel slides along the control plate. The low-pressure control port and the high-pressure control port lie on a common pitch circle and are spaced apart from one another in the circumferential direction, thereby forming two changeover regions. In one changeover region, each displacement piston is in the region of its inner dead center position or bottom dead center (BDC), in which it is plunged furthest into its cylinder bore, and, in the other changeover region, it is in the region of its outer dead center position or top dead center (TDC), in which it projects furthest out of its cylinder bore. In the case of an axial piston machine shown in FIG. 1 of DE 42 29 544 C2, an outlet of a connecting line connected to the PCV opens into the changeover region in which a respective displacement piston is in the region of its BDC. The PCV, in turn, is connected to the high-pressure control port via a slide valve and a restrictor, thereby enabling the PCV to be supplied with high pressure and to be charged slowly via the restrictor when the slide valve is open. When viewed in the radial direction, the outlet in the changeover region lies outside the maximum diameter of the low-pressure control port and of the high-pressure control port. The connecting opening of a respective displacement space bounded by the cylinder bore and the displacement piston has an opening portion, which likewise lies outside the maximum diameter of the low-pressure control port and of the high-pressure control port in order to make it possible for the connecting opening to overlap with the outlet.
When there is a movement of the cylinder barrel relative to the control plate, the connecting opening of a respective displacement space slides over the changeover region having the outlet, as a result of which the displacement space is connected to the PCV via the connecting line during a certain contact time, and the pressure in the displacement space rises and the pressure in the PCV falls until the pressure in the displacement space and in the PCV is the same. After the separation from the displacement space, the pressure in the PCV rises to the high pressure again owing to the inflow of pressure medium from the high-pressure side through the restricted and valve-controlled connection. Such pre-filling of the displacement space is intended to reduce the pressure pulsations on the high-pressure side.
In the case of another hydrostatic axial piston machine known from DE 42 29 544 C2, the outlet of a connecting passage to the PCV is close to the high-pressure control port. The connecting openings have a contour such that the outlet is increasingly exposed by a connecting opening as soon as the connecting opening has left the low-pressure control port, and pressure fluid is released quickly under high pressure from the PCV into the displacement space. The outlet of the passage is then briefly closed again. The outlet is then increasingly exposed again in order to bring the PCV back to a high pressure through the inflow of pressure medium from the high-pressure control port via the connecting opening.
In the case of the radial piston machine according to DE 37 00 573, the connection of the PCV to an outlet in one changeover region and to the high-pressure side corresponds to the connection of the PCV in the axial piston machine from DE 42 29 544 A1, which was first described above, with the difference that there is no slide valve in the connection to the high-pressure side.
In the case of the axial piston machine according to DE 10 2012 218 883 A1, as in the second axial piston machine known from DE 42 29 544 A1, there is no line between the PCV and the high-pressure side, apart from the connecting line leading directly from the changeover region to the PCV.


A lithium secondary battery, which comprises a positive electrode, a negative electrode containing a lithium ion-storable/dischargeable negative electrode-active material and a lithium ion conductive, non-aqueous electrolytic solution or polymer electrolyte can have distinguished charging/discharging characteristics and a higher safety, when the negative electrode material contains particles comprising carbonaceous materials and at least one of elements capable of forming a compound with Li; the elements have a melting point of at least 900° C. and a thermal expansion coefficient of not more than 9 ppm/K at room temperature; the particles are embedded in a plurality of layers of the carbonaceous materials; the particles being subjected to a mechanical treatment to make particle sizes of the particles smaller than the initial particle size in advance.

The present invention relates to a secondary battery using a non-aqueous electrolytic solution, and particularly to a lithium secondary battery having distinguished charging/discharging characteristics such as a higher voltage, a higher energy density, a higher charging/discharging capacity and a longer cycle life as well as a higher safety.
With miniaturization and weight reduction of portable electronic appliances, development of higher energy density batteries, particularly secondary batteries, has been keenly desired. A lithium secondary battery is now regarded as a promising candidate.
Lithium secondary battery has a high voltage and a high energy density and also a light weight, as compared with a nickel-cadmium battery, a lead storage battery and a nickel-hydrogen battery. However, a lithium secondary battery using lithium metal as a negative electrode-active material has problems of short battery life and poor safety because lithium tends to deposit on the negative electrode surface as dendrites, resulting in occurrence of an internal short-circuit to the positive electrode and inactivation toward the electrolytic solution.
To avoid risks of using lithium metal, lithium secondary batteries using lithium alloys such as Li—Pb, Li—Al, etc. as negative electrode-active materials have been developed. However, even these lithium secondary batteries still suffer from problems of dendrite deposition and pulverization, so that no satisfactory battery life has been obtained yet.
On the other hand, a lithium secondary battery using graphite as a negative electrode-active material has been developed and is now in practical use, where the graphite can store/discharge lithium ions by reaction of diffusing lithium ions into between the c planes of graphite or releasing therefrom, while it is more stable than the chemically active metallic lithium and is free from deposition of lithium dendrites, resulting in prolonged cycle life and increased safety.
In case of using graphite as a negative electrode-active material, the discharge capacity is 370 Ah/kg at most. To increase the capacity of the lithium secondary battery, it is indispensable to use negative electrode-active materials of higher capacity. The negative electrode-active materials of higher capacity include Al, Pb, etc., i.e. elements capable of forming intermetallic compounds with Li, but suffer from a rapid cycle deterioration when used alone or in combination with electroconductive particles as a negative electrode-active material, and thus have not been practically used as a negative electrode-active material.
There are many proposals for using negative electrode-active material comprising particles including an element capable of forming a compound with lithium and a carbonaceous material in a lithium secondary battery (JP-A 5-286763, JP-A 6-279112, JP-A 10-3920). However, since elements having low melting points such as Sn (m.p. 232° C.), Pb (m.p. 327° C.), Zn (m.p. 419° C.), Al (m.p. 660° C.), etc. are usable as the element capable of forming a compound with lithium, there is a fear of unexpectedly lowering properties of the products due to aggregation and agglomeration due to melting when carbonization treatment is conducted at 800° C. or higher. Further, since elements having higher thermal expansion coefficients such as Sn (22.0 ppm/K at 25° C.), Al (23.1 ppm/K at 25° C.), Mg (24.8 ppm/K at 25° C.), Pb (28.9 ppm/K at 25° C.), etc. are usable as the element capable of forming a compound with lithium, there is a fear of failing to maintain adhesiveness to carbon during carbonization treatment and cooling, resulting in incapable of maintaining the particle shape.
Further, Japanese Patent Nos. 2948205 and 2948206 disclose negative electrode materials containing 30 to 90% by weight of silicon. But since silicon is simply mixed with a carbonaceous material and sintered at 600 to 1400° C. under non-oxidative atmosphere, uniformity of the quality of the negative electrode materials and improvement of the quality thereof cannot be expected.

Lithium secondary battery, and process for producing the same


A sanitary toothbrush holder is disclosed that is assembled from a single piece of sheet material to form a stable holder which positions the bristle end of the toothbrush away from any support surfaces. The holder is capable of occupying a flat state for convenient storage and shipping and an assembled state where it is ready for use. The holder includes at least two panels that are hingedly attached. An opening is provided in one of the panels to loosely receive and position the toothbrush so that excess water will drain sway from the bristle end thereby enhancing proper drying.

Hotels and Inns which are open to the public attempt to provide the traveler with accommodations that are similar to those enjoyed by the traveler at home. The very nature of some of these accommodations renders them quite personal to many people. The cleanliness of the room and its furnishings are important as is their comfort and general physical condition which contributes to the overall attractiveness of the room. This overall attractiveness is directly translatable into satisfaction and enjoyment by the traveler who is staying there.
One problem faced by many travelers is finding a suitable place to temporarily store their toothbrushes immediately after use. To some, this is no problem at all, they simply lay in on the vanity counter top. However, to others, the thought of allowing the bristle end of their toothbrush to come into physical contact with a counter top that may have just been cleaned with unknown chemicals or even toxic substances perhaps, is simply not acceptable. For this reason the typical wall mounted toothbrush holder having through holes which allow the bristles of the brush to engage the holder is not acceptable either. There is probably nothing more personal to these people than their toothbrush because a toothbrush is used in ones mouth and a perception that the toothbrush is maintained in scrupulously sanitary conditions is paramount. Solutions to this problem may include placing the toothbrush into a glass tumbler with the bristle end facing upwardly or returning it to its travel container. The tumbler solution works as long as the tumbler is made of glass and has a substantial weight. However, many hotels and motels, in an effort to reduce operating costs, have replaced glass tumblers with throwaway light plastic ones. These are too lightweight to function as a toothbrush holder because the toothbrush, which weighs about as much as the plastic tumbler, has a tendency to lean outwardly beyond the edge of the tumbler rendering it off balance and unstable. Such an arrangement is easily knocked over by accident. The solution of returning the toothbrush to its travel container is not a perfect one either. Most such travel containers have limited provisions for air circulation so that when a toothbrush is returned to its container wet, it has little opportunity to properly dry. This, of course, is conducive to the development of mold, mildew, or other fungi in the travel container.
What is needed is a stable, toothbrush holder for hotels and the like that is perceived as being sanitary and that holds the bristle end away from all surfaces for proper drying.


A method of reducing the heat loss of a workpiece when the workpiece is displaced from a furnace to a tool includes displacing the workpiece resting on a carrier to the tool. The displacement takes place with the workpiece and the carrier located internally in a box with a heat reflecting inner side. At the tool, the workpiece is exposed. An apparatus for carrying the method into effect has, according to the present invention, a box with a heat reflecting inner side and a linear conveyor for insertion and removal of the carrier and the workpiece into and out of the box, respectively.

The present invention relates to a method for reducing the heat loss in a heated workpiece, when the workpiece is moved from a furnace to a processing tool, the workpiece being removed from the furnace and displaced on a carrier device to the processing tool, in which it is inserted.
The present invention also relates to an apparatus for reducing the heat loss in a workpiece, when the workpiece is displaced by means of a carrier device from a furnace to a processing tool.
Press hardening is a technique which has become increasingly common, for example as regards the manufacture of car body parts in the automotive industry. Press hardening entails that a workpiece is placed in a furnace, where the workpiece is heated to the intended temperature, often of the order of magnitude of 900° C. or more. As regards car body parts, the workpiece is often a sheet metal piece of a thickness of the order of magnitude of between 0.6 and 2.0 min. When the workpiece has reached the intended temperature, it is removed from the furnace and placed in a press tool where pressing to the intended configuration is carried out. In that the tool is cooled and in that there is extremely good contact between the workpiece and the processing surfaces of the tool, a very rapid temperature reduction takes place of the workpiece so that this is hardened simultaneously with the forming operation.
On inserting the workpiece in the furnace, use is made of a carrier on which the workpiece rests. This carrier May either be permitted to remain in the furnace during the heating time, or alternatively be removed immediately after insertion of the workpiece. In the latter case, the carrier is placed in the furnace again after completed heating and lifts out the workpiece and transfers it to a processing tool.
In the above-mentioned technology, it is vital that the workpiece is at the intended temperature when it arrives in the processing tool. Heat losses during the displacement from the furnace to the processing tool may be considerable in that a workpiece produced from sheet metal has a large surface area in relation to the mass which is heated. At those temperature levels which are under consideration, a considerable proportion of the heat losses is caused by radiation. Nevertheless, the temperature loss may also be influenced by the ambient temperature, variations in the displacement time, draughts and similar factors. In order for the end result to be of the requisite standard, it is necessary that the temperature of the workpiece when it is placed in the processing tool can be kept at the correct level and within narrow tolerances. However, the vital point is that the workpiece does not cool more than from about 930° C. down to approx. 800° C.
It is desirable to design the method intimated by way of introduction such that the heat loss during displacement of the workpiece from the furnace to the processing tool is kept to a minimum and as far as possible without influence from the ambient surroundings.
Concerning the apparatus, an aspect of the present invention resolves corresponding or analogous problems and in addition and an aspect realizes an apparatus which is simple and economical in manufacture and economical in operation.
According to a method aspect of the present invention, a carrier device and workpiece are brought to a position substantially internally in an enclosure with a beat reflecting interior, that the enclosure and the carrier device with the workpiece are moved to the processing tool where the carder device is exposed and the workpiece is passed into the processing tool.
An apparatus aspect of the present invention includes an enclosure with a heat reflecting interior, the carrier device and the workpiece being moveable to and from a position substantially internally in the enclosure, and the enclosure together with the carrier device is moveable from the furnace to the processing tool.

Method and an apparatus for reducing the heat loss in a heated workpiece

AUTOMATION, PRESS AND TOOLING, A.P. & T AB


A bridge circuit passes digital information between a primary PCI bus and a secondary PCI bus with increased throughput. The PCI busses carry digital information using respective clock signals having a known minimum skew therebetween. The interface bridge circuit includes primary and secondary PCI bus interfaces configured and arranged to communicate with the primary and secondary PCI busses respectively, and a memory buffer configured and arranged to store the digital information and to be accessed by the primary and secondary PCI bus interfaces. Further, a programmable configuration register is configurable in response to digital configure information received from the primary bus, and is adapted to provide an enable signal to one of the primary PCI bus interface and the secondary PCI bus interface. The enable signal indicates that the digital information is ready in the memory buffer for access by the one of the primary PCI bus interface and the secondary PCI bus interface.

The Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus was developed as a high speed I/O bus alternative to the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) I/O bus commonly used in IBM PC-compatible personal computer systems. The I/O bus links peripherals, including disk drives, video screens, network cards, to a host bus, where the host bus links the central processor unit and the memory, usually random access memory. Due to its higher information handling rate than the ISA bus, the PCI bus is particularly useful in situations where there are large amounts of data to be transferred, such as Super VGA images and graphically based operating systems like WINDOWS.RTM.. The PCI bus has a clock rate of 33 MHz and uses a 32 bit word, in contrast to the 16 bit word of the ISA which operates at 8 MHz. Thus, the data handling capabilities of the PCI bus are significantly improved over the ISA bus.
As computer applications become increasingly more sophisticated, and video screens increase in resolution, the data throughput of computers continues to increase. It is therefore important to accommodate this increase in the context of data throughput in I/O busses which interface with computers.
One area of concern in limiting the data throughput of a PCI bus system is the bridge spanning between two PCI busses. Commonly, a PCI to PCI bridge includes a first-in-first-out register which receives information from a first PCI bus and passes the information over to the second PCI bus. There are various handshake, verification and data transfer procedures which all take time to complete, and which slow down the transfer of data from one bridge to another.
It is important to maintain as high a rate of data transfer over the bridge as possible. Accordingly, there is a need to reduce the time taken to write or read data across a PCI to PCI bridge by implementing improved handshake, verification and data transfer procedures. The invention disclosed herein is directed towards reducing data transfer time across the bridge.

Selective latency reduction in bridge circuit between two busses


A ratchet driving mechanism includes a gear rotatably engaged in a housing. A pair of pawls are disposed in the opening and biased to engage with the gear by a U-shaped spring member. A pair of partitions are engaged with the gear and the spring member and the pawls for retaining the elements in place. A control ferrule is rotatably secured to the housing and includes a plate having an actuator extended between the pawls for acting on the pawls and for controlling the driving directions of the gear. The U-shaped spring member may be easily engaged into the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screw driver, and more particularly to a ratchet screw driver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical ratchet screw drivers have been developed and widely used. Most of the ratchet screw drivers comprise a pair of pawls and two or more resilient members for acting onto the pawls and for biasing the pawls to engage with a ratchet gear. However, the two or more resilient members may not be easily engaged into and assembled in the handle of the screw driver which includes only a small space for receiving the elements.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional ratchet screw drivers.


An uninterruptible power supply system has standby and backup modes and can change to backup mode upon detection of a grid fault. In both modes an alternator rotates at synchronous speed so that backup mode capability is ready. An energy storage unit through a DC-AC inverter remains coupled to the grid in standby mode so that it is charged, ready to supply power when changed to backup mode. In standby mode, first and third clutches are disengaged and engaged, transmitting alternator rotary motion to a flywheel but not therefrom to a heat engine. In backup mode, first and third clutch are engaged and disengaged to permit the alternator, via a second clutch, to overrun the flywheel and allow transmitting of flywheel torque to accelerate the heat engine to starting speed for driving the alternator to supply power to the grid after the engine is at operating speed and coupled to the alternator through a locked second clutch and an engaged third clutch.

The present invention generally relates to a backup system for a utility power grid and, more particularly, is concerned with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system and method having a fast-start capability and a low-energy storage requirement.
Present day computer data centers and internet service providers require highly reliable sources of uninterruptible power. Dual fed utility grid systems plus uninterruptible power supplies with back-up generation are utilized to meet the stringent demands for critical power. A conventional UPS system normally includes a DC-AC inverter, transfer switches, an energy storage unit, oftentimes using massive lead acid batteries, and, in many cases, an alternator driven by a heat engine. During a fault in the dual-fed grid source, DC power from the energy storage unit (usually batteries) is converted to the proper AC voltage, current, and frequency and connected to the critical loads via the transfer switches. Further, many of the conventional UPS systems, rated to provide critical power for long periods of time, have a heat engine and an alternator in addition to the battery energy storage unit. In these conventional UPS systems, the battery energy storage unit is required to provide the electrical power to the critical load until the heat engine is cranked and started and the alternator has achieved a stabilized output.
A problem exists, however, in that conventional engine driven alternator UPS systems with 100 kW-1 MW power ratings typically require at least 15 seconds to start the heat engine and alternator and stabilize the electrical output prior to connecting the alternator to the critical load via the transfer switches. During the initial 15 seconds, the energy storage unit supplies all of the energy to the critical load via the inverter. Therefore, the energy storage unit is required to supply rated power for at least 15 seconds, meaning that for a 1 MW rated UPS system at least 4.2 kWh of energy storage is required.
Consequently, a need exists for an innovation which will greatly reduce the duration of rated power required to be supplied by the energy storage unit and thus eliminate the need to use massive lead acid batteries in the energy storage unit of the UPS system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Low-energy storage fast-start uninterruptible power supply method


Apparatus for dispensing pills packaged in a pack comprising a base and a top rotatably mounted on the base and defining a housing for the pill pack, a plunger mounted in the housing operable between inner and outer limit positions and having means for discharging one of the pills in the pack during cycling of the plunger between limit positions, means for rotating the pack only one pill increment at a time and child resistant means normally preventing cycling of the plunger between limit positions.

The present invention relates to pill dispensing devices of the type incorporating a blister pack in which a product such as capsules, pills and the like are packaged in individual, recessed compartments of a so-called blister pack and means is provided for dispensing the pills or tablets one at a time. These pill dispensers usually hold a supply of pills, such as a one-month supply, and are designed so that the user can discharge the pills form the individual compartments. The prior art listed below has shown devices generally of this type.


The invention provides lubricating composition comprising: an oil of lubricating viscosity, and an oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol, wherein the oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol is substituted with at least one aliphatic hydrocarbyl group of 40 to 96 carbon atoms, and wherein the oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol is substantially free of aromatic hydrocarbyl groups. The invention further relates to a method of lubricating a mechanical device (such as an internal combustion engine) with the lubricating composition. The invention further relates to the use of the oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol in the lubricating composition to a passenger car internal combustion engine at least one of (i) control of fuel economy, (ii) control of corrosion, (iii) cleanliness, and (iv) control of bore wear.

Detergents and dispersants are known to assist in maintaining reduced amounts of deposits on engine components. The lubricant industry has a number of engine tests used to evaluate lubricant's ability to handle deposits and sludge including the Sequence VG, Sequence IIIG, Volkswagen TDI, Caterpillar 1N, and Mercedes Benz OM501LA.
With recent changes to engine specifications there is an increasing demand on the lubricant to reduce deposits, especially soot deposits that are known to accumulate in diesel engines but not gasoline engines. For instance, the ILSAC GF-5 specification requires a 4.0 piston merit rating in the Sequence IIIG (vs. 3.5 for GF-4).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,933,662 (Lowe, published 20 Jan. 1976) discloses mono-ester polyalkoxylated compounds combined with alkaline earth metal carbonates dispersed in a hydrocarbon medium to provide lubricating compositions of superior acid neutralizing capability and rust inhibition in internal combustion engines. The internal combustion engine tested is a Sequence IIB gasoline engine. The Sequence IIB gasoline engine test evaluates valve guide rust and pitting.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,845 (Zoleski et al., published 6 Sep. 1983) discloses improved spreadability of marine diesel cylinder oils by the incorporation therein of a polyethylene glycol of the formula: R—CH2O—(CH2CH2O)nH wherein n ranges from 7 to 40 and R is an alkyl group containing from 11 to 15 carbon atoms.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,005 (Zoleski et al., published 20 Mar. 1984) discloses improved spreadability of marine diesel engine cylinder lubricants by the incorporation therein of a spreadability improving amount of at least one polyoxyethylene ester of the formula disclosed therein: wherein n ranges from 18 to 22 and R is an alkyl group having 11 to 17 carbon atoms in the chain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,882 (Zoleski et al., published 30 Oct. 1984) discloses improved spreadability of marine diesel cylinder oils by the incorporation therein of a spreadability improving amount of a polyethoxylated phenoxy compound having the formula disclosed therein: wherein R is an aliphatic hydrocarbyl group having from 5 to 70 carbon atoms and n ranges from 14 to 30.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,776 (Rhodes, published 15 Jan. 1985) discloses a lubricating composition with improved rust and corrosion inhibition comprising an additive that is a combination of (A) R1O[C2H4O]xH and/or R2O[C3H6O]yH with (B) R3O[C2H4O]x[C3H6O]yH and/or R4O[C3H6O]y[C2H4O]xH, wherein R1, R2, R3 and R4 are hydrocarbyl radicals selected from alkyl, aryl, alkaryl, and arylalkyl groups or combinations thereof having from about 10 to about 24 carbon atoms; and wherein x and y may vary independently in the range from 3 to about 15. The additives are hydroxyl-terminated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,414 (Nerger et al., published 27 Nov. 1990) discloses monofunctional polyethers having hydroxyl groups contain, as built-in terminal groups or monomers, (a) 1 to 30% by weight of one or more C4- to C24-alkylmonophenols, (b) 1 to 30% by weight of one or more C8- to C24-monoalkanols, (c) 1 to 30% by weight of one or more C10- to C20-1,2-epoxyalkanes and (d) 45 to 80% by weight of propylene oxide or a lower alkylene oxide mixture consisting mainly of propylene oxide the sum of components (a) to (d) adding up to 100% by weight, and have average molecular weights of 600 to 2,500.
Polyalkoxylated compounds are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,681,315 (Tongberg, published 15 Jun. 1954) and U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,717 (Whitacre, published 6 May 1958) teaching lubricating oil compositions containing poly(oxyethylene)alkylphenols useful as rust or corrosion-inhibiting additives.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,027 (Brennan 12 Jan. 1960) teaches poly(oxyethylene)sorbitan fatty acid ester as a rust inhibitor.
1,2-poly(oxyalkylene)glycol lubricating compositions are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,302 (Harle, published 2 Dec. 1952), U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,304 (Stewart et al., published 2 Dec. 1952), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,620,305 (Stewart et al., published 2 Dec. 1952).
US 2011/0239978 (Dambacher et al, published 6 Oct. 2011) discloses a lubricating composition that contains as an additive component, an oil-soluble mixture of oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol condensates wherein the oxyalkyl groups have the formula —(R′O)n- where R′ is an ethylene, propylene or butylene group; and n is independently from 0 to 10; wherein less than 45 mole % of the phenolic functional groups of the condensates are non-oxyalkylated; and more than 55 mole % of the phenolic functional groups of the condensates are mono-oxyalkylated.
Research Disclosure RD 417045 (Anon, published 10 Jan. 1999) describes ethoxylated methylene-bridged alkyl phenols as detergents.

Lubricating composition containing an oxyalkylated hydrocarbyl phenol


A semiconductor storage device is provided, which comprises a memory array comprising memory elements, a write state machine for applying a first voltage for performing a write or erase operation, with respect to one of the memory elements, to the memory element via a bit line connected thereto, and thereafter, applying a second voltage for verifying whether or not the write or erase operation has been performed, to the memory element via the bit line, and a reset portion for grounding the bit line connected to the memory element after the write state machine has applied the first voltage and before the write state machine has applied the second voltage. Each memory element comprises a gate electrode, a channel region, diffusion regions, and memory function sections provided on opposite sides of the gate electrode and having a function of retaining charges.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor storage device, a mobile electronic apparatus, and a method for controlling the semiconductor storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
One representative type of conventional is non-volatile memory is the flash memory.
In the flash memory, as shown in FIG. 25, a floating gate 902, an insulating film 907, and a word line (control gate) 903 are provided via a gate insulating film on a semiconductor substrate 901 in this order, and a source line 904 and a bit line 905, which are diffusion regions, are provided on opposite sides of the floating gate 902, constituting a memory cell. The memory cell is surrounded by an isolation region 906 (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Publication No. 5-304277).
The memory cell holds data depending on the more or less of the amount of charge in the floating gate 902. A plurality of memory cells are arranged into a memory cell array. In the memory array, data is rewritten into or read from a desired memory cell by applying a prescribed voltage thereto via a particular word line and bit line selected.
Such a flash memory has drain current (Id) vs. gate voltage (Vg) characteristics as shown in FIG. 26 when the charge amount of the floating gate is changed. When the amount of negative charge in the floating gate is increased, the threshold is increased and the Id-Vg curve is substantially translated in a direction such that Vg is increased.
However, in this flash memory, the insulating film 907 is functionally required to separate the floating gate 902 from the word line 903. In addition, it is difficult to obtain a thin gate insulating film, because the thinner film is likely to cause charge leakage from the floating gate 902. Therefore, it is difficult to practically obtain a thin insulating film 907 and a thin gate insulating film, which is an obstacle to the miniaturization of memory cells.

Semiconductor storage device, mobile electronic apparatus, and method for controlling the semiconductor storage device


Mechanisms for balancing bus bandwidth across a plurality of PCI-Express (PCIe) endpoints are provided. Firmware automatically operates in concert with established data structures to set operational parameters of the PCIe endpoints so as to maximize usage of the available bandwidth of a front-side bus while minimizing isochronous issues and the likelihood that the performance of the PCIe endpoints cannot be guaranteed. A first table data structure comprises various combinations of operational parameter settings for controlling bandwidth usage of each of the endpoints of the data processing system. A second table data structure contains a listing of the endpoints that the data processing system supports with their associated minimum data rates, priorities, and whether the endpoints have isochronous requirements. A setting of the desired bandwidth balancing level is used along with these data structures to determine how to adjust the operating parameters of the PCIe endpoints.

1. Technical Field
The present application relates generally to an improved data processing system and method. More specifically, the present application is directed to a system and method for balancing PCI-Express Bandwidth across a plurality of PCI-Express adapters.
2. Description of Related Art
Most modern computing devices make use of input/output (I/O) adapters and buses that utilize some version or implementation of the Peripheral Component Interconnect standard, which was originally created by Intel in the 1990s. The Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) standard specifies a computer bus for attaching peripheral devices to a computer motherboard. PCI-Express, or PCIe, is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing PCI programming concepts, but bases the computer bus on a completely different and much faster serial physical-layer communications protocol. The physical layer consists, not of a bi-directional bus which can be shared among a plurality of devices, but of single uni-directional links which are connected to exactly two devices.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram illustrating a PCI-Express (PCIe) fabric topology in accordance with the PCIe specification. As shown in FIG. 1, the PCIe fabric topology 100 is comprised of a host processor (CPU) complex 110 and memory 120 coupled to a root complex or multi-root complex 130, i.e. an I/O North Bridge, which is in turn coupled to one or more of a PCIe endpoint 140 (the term "endpoint" is used in the PCIe specification to refer to PCIe enabled I/O adapters), a PCI express to PCI bridge 150, and one or more interconnect switches 160. The root complex 130 denotes the root of an I/O hierarchy that connects the CPU/memory to the I/O adapters. The root complex 130 includes a host bridge, zero or more root complex integrated endpoints, zero or more root complex event collectors, and one or more root ports. Each root port supports a separate I/O hierarchy. The I/O hierarchies may be comprised of a root complex 130, zero or more interconnect switches 160 and/or bridges 150 (which comprise a switch or PCIe fabric), and one or more endpoints, such as endpoints 170 and 182-188. The endpoints 140, 170, and 182-188 may be, for example, Ethernet, SCSI, SAS, or Fibre Channel I/O adapters. For more information regarding PCI and PCIe, reference is made to the PCI and PCIe specifications available from the peripheral component interconnect special interest group (PCI-SiG) website at www.pcisig.com.
The CPU complex 110 comprises one or more processors and memories (not shown) and resides in a Central Electronics Complex (CEC) 190 above the root complex 130. To connect the CEC 190 to the root complex(es) 130, buses 192 are used that are sometimes referred to as font-side buses, e.g., in International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) enterprise servers, these buses are referred to as the GX+buses. The front-side bus 192 has a limited bandwidth that is a known quantity. For example, a front-side bus 192 may be able to sustain 4 Gbytes/sec of bandwidth.
In the currently known configurations, it is possible to string several drawers with endpoints 140, 170, and 182-188 whose total bandwidth can be over the 4 Gbytes/sec bandwidth available on the front-side bus 192 if their PCIe lanes are used to their maximum levels. A "lane" in the PCI standard is a set of differential signal pairs, one pair for transmission and one pair for reception. A "by-N" link in the PCI standard is composed of N lanes, e.g., an "×8" link or slot supports 8 lanes of traffic to/from an I/O adapter. If the traffic via the PCIe lanes of the endpoints exceeds the available bandwidth of the front-side bus 192, it cannot be guaranteed that the desired performance for each I/O adapter will be achieved and issues may arise with isochronous I/O adapters, i.e. I/O adapters whose data transmissions have data packets that are transmitted at an equal time difference between data packet transmissions, e.g., data transmissions associated with time-dependent data, such as real-time voice and video.
PCI-Express attempted to resolve this issue by creating traffic classes and virtual lanes where one can define which traffic has priority and how much buffer space each lane can use. The problem with this solution is that the industry has not attempted to take advantage of this architectural feature. The industry has not attempted to take advantage of multiple traffic classes and virtual lanes because the transition from PCI-X to PCI-Express was to be performed in as transparent a manner as possible with regard to the operating system and firmware. In order to fully take advantage of traffic classes and virtual lanes, the operating system and firmware would have to be aware of these features and new code would need to be written to take advantage of these features. However, rather than making such modifications, Basic Integrated Operating Systems (BIOS) and known operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows and Linux, have not made the necessary modifications to support the multiple traffic classes and virtual lanes.
Moreover, from a hardware standpoint, adding support for multiple traffic classes and multiple virtual lanes requires added complexity to the chip areas such as arbitration and flow control. Furthermore, adding such support requires additional chip real estate since each virtual lane would require its own private storage for sending and receiving data. As a result, hardware manufacturers have not implemented support for multiple virtual lanes and multiple traffic classes.
Rather than taking advantage of multiple traffic classes and virtual lanes, existing PCI-Express adapters only support one virtual channel and one traffic class. Moreover, the primary operating systems, i.e. Microsoft Windows and Linux, only use one traffic channel and one virtual lane. As a result, currently known environments often encounter problems where the total possible bandwidth of a set of PCI-Express adapter cards within an I/O drawer attached to a CPU complex via an I/O hub or switch may far exceed the capabilities of the I/O hub, switch, and/or the front-side bus.


Apparatus and systems, as well as methods and articles, may operate to intercept a first request to use a platform configuration register (PCR) directed to a first trusted platform module (TPM) port, a second request to use the PCR directed to the first TPM port, or both, and to re-direct the first and second requests to use the PCR to a second TPM port capable of accessing a first virtual static platform configuration register (VS-PCR) set and a second VS-PCR set.

Establishing a secure computing environment may include creating trust relationships between various components of a computing platform to enhance authentication, integrity, confidentiality, and control associated with platform transactions. In some cases, the platform may utilize a shielded controller, sometimes called a "trusted platform module" (TPM). Additional information regarding the TPM may be found at the Trusted Computing Group website, www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/home, including "TPM Main Specification Version 1.2 Revision 62" (2 Oct. 2003). The TPM may operate to uniquely identify the platform globally, to construct and exchange encryption keys, and to perform other tasks associated with establishing and enforcing the secure computing environment.
The TPM may provide access to one or more sets of registers, perhaps internal to the TPM, sometimes referred to as a "platform configuration register (PCR) set." A basic input-output system (BIOS), an operating system (OS), or a software application may detect one or more values associated with a platform resource and store a hash calculation performed on the one or more values in the PCR set. Upon platform boot, for example, a platform BIOS may perform an inventory of platform resources and "measure" these into the PCR set by storing in the PCR set a hash value associated with each resource. The OS, the software application, and other software or hardware may subsequently access the PCR set to retrieve a cryptographic history of the previous measurements.
A virtual machine (VM) computing platform may attempt to manage multiple BIOS, OS, software applications, or other entities attempting to use a single platform resource. However, when two or more entities running on the VM computing platform attempt to write to the PCR set, data collision may occur. That is, one entity may overwrite another; or the source of the PCR set contents may be ambiguous after more than one entity writes to the PCR set.

Platform configuration register virtualization apparatus, systems, and methods


The present invention is directed to an advanced zirconium alloy having superior corrosion resistance and high strength suitable for fuel rod cladding, spacer grids and other structural components in a reactor core of nuclear power plants.

The invention presented herein relates to the composition of zirconium(Zr) alloy having superior corrosion resistance and high strength. In particular, this invention relates to the alloys with superior corrosion resistance and high strength for fuel claddings, spacer grids, and core structural components in light water reactor(LWR) and heavy water reactor (HWR).
Zirconium alloys, in particular Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4, have been widely used as fuel rod cladding and structural elements of nuclear reactor core.
The development of zirconium alloys is illustrated as follows: Zircaloy-1(Sn: 2.5 wt. %, Zr: the balance); Zircaloy-2(Sn: 1.20-1.70 wt. %, Fe: 0.07-0.20 wt. %, Cr: 0.05-1.15 wt. %, Ni: 0.03-0.08 wt. %, O: 900-1500 ppm, Zr: the balance; wherein, Fe+Cr+Ni: 0.16-1.70 wt. %); Zircaloy-3A(Sn: 2.5 wt. %, Fe: 0.25 wt. %, Zr: the balance); Zircaloy-3B(Sn: 0.5 wt. %, Fe: 0.4 wt. %, Zr: the balance); Zircaloy-3C(Sn: 0.5 wt. %, Fe: 0.2 wt. %, Ni: 0.2 wt. %, Zr: the balance); Zircaloy-4(Sn: 1.20-1.70 wt. %, Fe: 0.18-0.24 wt. %, Cr: 0.07-0.13 wt. %, O: 900-1500 ppm, Ni: <0.07 wt. %, Zr: the balance, wherein Fe+Cr: 0.28-0.24 wt. %); and so forth. The above alloys, except for Zircaloy-2 and Zircaloy-4, have not been commercialized due to poor mechanical strength and corrosion resistance in the reactor.
As the operating conditions of nuclear power plants tend to be at high burnup, increased operating temperature, and high pH, Zircaloys could not be utilized as fuel rod cladding. Recently, the extensive and successful research and development have been focused on increasing the corrosion resistance of zirconium alloys.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,023 relates to the zirconium alloys, which comprise the following alloy composition, and the manufacturing process of the intermediate and final product thereof.
niobium, in a range of 0.5 to 2.0 wt. %; PA1 tin , up to 1.5 wt. %; PA1 a third alloying element, up to 0.25 wt. %; and PA1 the balance being zirconium. The third alloying element is one of constituent such as iron, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium, copper and tungsten. PA1 tin, in a range of 0.8 to 1.2 wt. %; PA1 iron, in a range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt. % (typically 0.35 wt. %); PA1 chromium, in a range of 0.1 to 0.4 wt. % (typically 0.25 wt. %); PA1 niobium up to 0.6 wt. % (typically up to 0.3 wt. %); PA1 silicon, in a range of 50 to 200 ppm (typically 100 ppm); PA1 oxygen, in a range of 900 to 1800 ppm (typically 1600 ppm); and PA1 the balance being of zirconium. PA1 tin, in a range of 0.2 to 0.9 wt. %; PA1 iron, in a range of 0.18 to 0.6 wt. %; PA1 chromium, in a range of 0.07 to 0.4 wt. %; PA1 niobium, in a range of 0.05 to 0.5 wt. %; PA1 tantalum, in a range of 0.01 to 0.2 wt. %; PA1 vanadium, in a range of 0.05 to 1 wt. %; PA1 molybdenum, in a range of 0.05 to 1 wt. %; and PA1 the balance being of zirconium. PA1 tin, in a range of 0.2 to 1.15 wt. %; PA1 iron, in a range of 0.19 to 0.6 wt. % (typically in a range of 0.19 to 0.24 wt. %); PA1 chromium, in a range of 0.07 to 0.4 wt. % (typically in a range of 0.07 to 0.13 wt. %); PA1 tantalum, in a range of 0.01 to 0.2 wt. %; PA1 niobium, in a range of 0.05 to 0.5 wt. %; PA1 nitrogen, in less than 60 ppm; and PA1 the balance being of zirconium. PA1 Niobium, in a range of 0.5 to 1.5 wt. %; PA1 tin, in a range of 0.9 to 1.5 wt. %; PA1 iron, in a range of 0.3 to 0.6 wt. %; PA1 chromium, in a range of 0.005 to 0.2 wt. %; PA1 carbon, in a range of 0.005 to 0.04 wt. %; PA1 oxygen, in a range of 0.05 to 0.15 wt. %; PA1 silicon, in a range of 0.005 to 0.15 wt. %; and PA1 the balance being of zirconium.
This alloy is characterized to have the a microstructure with homogeneously dispersed fine precipitates of less than about 800 .ANG.. This was included to improve corrosion resistance in high temperature steam by controlling its microstructure.
The zirconium alloy with similar corrosion resistance to that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,023 is suggested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,112,573 and 5,230,758. This alloy includes niobium in a range of 0.5 to 2.0 wt. %, tin in a range of 0.7 to 1.5 wt. %, iron in a range of 0.07 to 0.14 wt. %, at least one of nickel and chromium in a range of 0.03 to 0.14 wt. %, and carbon up to 220 ppm, wherein the total amount of nickel and chromium is at least 0.12 wt. %. And, corrosion resistance is improved by chromium and nickel in a range of 0.03 to 0.08 wt. %.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,093 discloses improvement of corrosion resistance and ductility by adding up to 0.6 wt. % of niobium or up to 0.1 wt. % of molybdenum in the Zircaloy. The amount of oxygen was in a range of 1000 to 1600 ppm, and the second-phase was in a range of 1200 to 1800 .ANG..
The zirconium alloy of U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,861, the invention with improved corrosion resistance in the reactor core of nuclear power plant, includes up to 0.6 wt. % of niobium, up to 0.2 wt. % of antimony, up to 0.2 wt. % of tellurium, tin in a range of 0.5 to 1.0 wt. %, iron in a range of 0.8 to 0.24 wt. %, chromium in a range of 0.07 to 0.13 wt. %, oxygen in a range of 900 to 2000 ppm, less than 70 ppm of nickel, and less than 200 ppm of carbon. This alloy consists of .alpha.-phase in which the second phase in the size of 1200 to 1800 .ANG. is somewhat precipitated, and may include up to 0.2 wt. % of silicon instead of tellurium and arsenic(As).
The improved zirconium alloy based on the above patent, U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,861, was additionally issued in U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,774. This alloy, which has a similar alloy composition to that in the above patent, has improved properties in ductility, creep strength and corrosion resistance because of the stabilized .alpha.-phase. It comprises an alloying composition as follows:
In this alloy, silicon decreases hydrogen uptake, and increases corrosion resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,514 also discloses the zirconium alloy having stabilized precipitates, which are formed when the alloy is exposed to thermal neutron as well as high temperatures. This alloy includes a smaller amount of tin as compared with the former existing Zircaloys, and has a low capture cross section of thermal neutrons, superior corrosion resistance, low hydrogen uptake, good workability and improved creep resistance. This alloy is composed of vanadium up to 1.0 wt. %, up to 1.0 wt. % of niobium, up to 0.2 wt. % of antimony and tellurium, up to 0.5 wt. % of tin, iron in a range of 0.2 to 0.5 wt. %, chromium in a range of 0.1 to 0.4 wt. %, silicon in a range of 50 to 200 ppm, up to 2200 ppm of oxygen, and the balance being of zirconium. The vanadium compound(ZrV.sub.2), which is the precipitate formed in this alloy provides good creep resistance, low hydrogen uptake, and stability in neutron flux and in high burn-up.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,323 discloses the material for fuel cladding with improved corrosion resistance by adjusting the composition of the former existing Zircaloy-4. That is, the amount of tin was decreased and noibium was added as compensation, and the amount of nitrogen was controlled to less than 60 ppm in this alloy. Therefore, the alloy included tin in a range of 0.2 to 1.15 wt. %, iron in a range of 0.19 to 0.6 wt. % (typically 0.19 to 0.24 wt. %), chromium in a range of 0.07 to 0.4 wt. % (typically in a range of 0.07 to 0.4 wt. %), niobium in a range of 0.05 to 0.5 wt. %, and less than 60 ppm of nitrogen.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,336 discloses the improved Zircaloy-4 with niobium, tantalum(Ta), vanadium, and molybdenum, and this alloy comprises an alloy composition as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,196,163 discloses the improved zirconium alloy containing tantalum as well as the usual components which are tin, iron and chromium, but also with tantalum, and selectively, niobium, and the alloy composition is as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,790 discloses the zirconium alloy, which comprises the following alloy composition.
In this patent, the distance between the precipitates, Zr(Nb, Fe)2, Zr(Fe, Cr, Nb), and (Zr, Nb)3Fe, was limited to the range of 0.20 to 0.40 .mu.m, and the volume of the precipitate containing iron was limited to 60% of the total volume of precipitate.
CA 2,082,691 describes the zirconium alloy maintaining ductility to the degree of sponge zirconium and corrosion resistance improved by adding bismuth in a range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt. % and niobium in a range of 0.1 to 0.5 wt. % (typically in a range of 0.1 to 0.3 wt. %).
The zirconium alloys are suitable for material used in fuel rod cladding because of the small capture cross section of thermal neutron and relatively good corrosion resistance at high temperature. The zirconium alloy for the present fuel rod cladding is Zircaloys with tin, iron, chromium, and nickel.
However, considering the circumstances of the extended and high burn-up fuel, the use of Zircaloys as material for fuel rod cladding becomes limited due to enhanced corrosion and irradiation creep. Therefore, the development of an advanced zirconium alloy with high strength and corrosion resistance has been required.
We, the inventors of this invention, successfully developed a zirconium alloy with higher strength and superior corrosion resistance than the former existing Zircaloys through making changes in the kinds and amounts of alloying elements.

Composition of zirconium alloy having low corrosion rate and high strength


An optical apparatus is disclosed, which can take high-quality images by using light transmitted through a beam splitter. The optical apparatus comprises a light-receiving element and a beam splitter. The first surface of the beam splitter reflects part of incident light and transmits the other part of the incident light toward the light-receiving element. The second surface transmits other incident light other than the incident light to the first surface toward the light-receiving element. The transmittance of the second surface is set so that a light amount distribution on the light-receiving element may be substantially even in a case where the light is incident to the first and second surfaces from an object having a substantially even luminance.

A single reflex digital camera is disclosed in Patent Document 1, in which an optical object image formed by an image-forming optical system is formed on a two-dimensional light-receiving sensor such as a CCD sensor or a CMOS sensor, and an image output of the object is obtained by photoelectric conversion of the optical image.
A beam splitter, which transmits light of a visible wavelength region without reducing the light amount and divides light of a wavelength close to the infrared region, is built in the single reflex digital camera. The light of the wavelength close to the infrared region divided by the beam splitter is used for focus detection, and the straight-advancing light is used for image-taking. Limiting the area of a beam splitting function surface in such a beam splitter within an area where the focus detection luminous flux passes can reduce the thickness of the beam splitter. Thereby, the beam splitter can be disposed in a small space between the image-forming optical system and a mirror that deflects the optical path toward a viewfinder optical system, without increasing the size of the camera. In addition, setting the spectral transmittance characteristic of the beam splitter to approximately 100% in the visible wavelength region can produce a bright and high-quality image without reducing the light amount of the visible wavelength region that is required for image-taking of objects.
A camera with a zoom lens is disclosed in Patent Document 2, in which focus detection is performed using a luminous flux divided in the middle of an optical path of the zoom lens.
Generally, in an optical structure in which an optical path of a luminous flux taken through an image-forming optical system is divided into a plurality of optical paths and they are led to a light-receiving element, the substantially same wavelength characteristics of the divided luminous fluxes often produce an advantage.
Since the light of the wavelength region close to the infrared region divided by the beam splitter is used for focus detection in the camera disclosed in Patent Document 1, aberration correction of the image-forming optical system in this wavelength region is required for performing the focus detection correctly. It is impossible to focus the camera exactly using the light of the wavelength close to the infrared region in a case where the aberration correction is not enough. On the other hand, the aberration correction in the wavelength region close to the infrared region in addition to the visible wavelength region requires use of a special glass or increase in the number of constituent lenses of the image-forming optical system, and thereby increasing in cost and size of the camera. This is not preferable. Especially, in a case where the image-forming optical system is interchangeable like a single reflex camera and a large-scale interchangeable lens system is provided for the camera, it is very difficult to realize the enough aberration correction in both the wavelength region close to the infrared region and the visible wavelength region because the entire interchangeable lens system must correspond to such a focus detection system.
In addition, the measurement of object luminance using the luminous flux divided by the beam splitter and the determination of image-taking exposure amount causes a phenomenon similar to the focus detection. In other words, an image-taking result with underexposure or overexposure will occur even if an image-taking is performed with the exposure amount determined based on the measurement of object luminance because the exact estimation of the light energy included in a wavelength region for the exposure from the light energy included in a wavelength region for the luminance measurement cannot be performed when the wavelength region for the exposure displaces from the wavelength region for the luminance measurement.
Such a problem can be prevented in principle if the wavelength characteristics of the divided luminous fluxes are substantially the same. In other words, it can be prevented if the spectral transmittance characteristic of the beam splitting function surface in the beam splitter becomes flat for a desired wavelength region.
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. 2003-140246
[Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Laid-open Application No. H63-195630
By the way, the area of the beam splitting function surface required for focus detection and object luminance measurement is generally set as a part of area through which a luminous flux for image-taking passes. However, actually, if the area of the beam splitting function surface is not set so as to cover the entire luminous flux for image-taking, uneven luminance will occur in an image taken by using the straight-advancing light, and thereby reducing the image quality. In addition, although uneven luminance will be hard to occur when the beam splitter is disposed in the vicinity of the pupil plane of the image-forming optical system, the contrast of the image will reduce because the amount of light passing through the center of the pupil reduces.
FIG. 30 is a pattern diagram of an optical apparatus, which shows an appearance of generation of the uneven luminance. In this figure, Reference numeral 901 denotes an image-forming optical system, 902 a light-receiving element, which has sensitivity to only the visible light, such as a photo film or a CCD sensor, 903 a beam splitter. The image taken by the light-receiving element 902 becomes a negative plate by developing if the optical apparatus is a film camera, or, is displayed on an electric viewfinder (EVF), recorded in a memory or printed out if the optical apparatus is a digital camera.
A dielectric multilayer film is formed on a beam splitting function surface 903a of the beam splitter 903. The 50% of the visible light component of the object light emerged from the image-forming optical system 901 is reflected by the beam splitting function surface 903a, and the remaining 50% of the visible light component is transmitted through the beam splitting function surface 903a. The light reflected by the beam splitting function surface 903a is totally reflected by a surface 903b of the beam splitter 903, and then passes through a surface 903c to emerge out of the beam splitter 903.
If the optical apparatus is an infrared camera, the light-receiving element 902 has sensitivity to only infrared light, and the beam splitting function surface 903a of the beam splitter 903 divides the infrared light.
In FIG. 30, since the amount of the visible light transmitted through the beam splitting function surface 903a reduces by half, if the object for image-taking is an even luminance surface, the image taken by the light-receiving element 902 will become like an image 910 in which bright areas 912 and 913 are formed above and below the dark center area 911. Such a phenomenon is not preferable because an unnatural luminance difference stands out in an area that should have even luminance when an image of a blue sky, white wall or the like is taken, and thereby resulting in deterioration of the image quality.
In the camera disclosed in Patent Document 2, the uneven luminance is prevented by making most light advance straight through the beam splitter. In other words, the most straight-advancing light is used for image-taking, and the remaining light is used for focus detection. However, the light amount for focus detection becomes insufficient though the uneven luminance can be eliminated in some degree, and thereby resulting in an inadequacy of the focus detection accuracy for low luminance objects.


In general terms, the method of the present invention is one for providing an anodic coating to a member having a metal surface being subject to oxidation. In broadest terms, the method comprises the steps of: (a) obtaining a member having a ferrous metal surface (i.e. the term "ferrous" intended as meaning containing iron without regard to oxidation state), the metal surface having one or more layer(s) of oxidized metal; (b) removing the layer(s) of oxidized metal from the ferrous metal surface; and (c) depositing one or more layer(s) of an emeraldine base polyaniline polymer onto the ferrous metal surface.

The corrosion of steel has long been an important problem, causing losses in excess of 100 billion dollars annually world wide..sup.1 Various methods have been devised to combat corrosion, including chrome treatment of steel surfaces, pickling inhibitors, sacrificial zinc layers, etc..sup.2 In practice, almost all methods of corrosion protection work in one of the following ways: (i) cathodic protection, i.e., charge (e.sup.-) is donated to the steel from a sacrificial material, (ii) anodic protection, i.e., charge is withdrawn from the steel, or (iii) the steel surface is sealed off from corrosive attacks by a surface layer of another material, commonly a metal oxide.
Efforts are presently underway to develop methods of corrosion protection of steel that are more effective and also more environmentally friendly than the present techniques. Among the more frequently studied polymers used for corrosion protection of steel is polyaniline and its derivatives..sup.1,3-8 Although the initial work of DeBerry.sup.4 studied electrochemically deposited polyaniline, later studies.sup.1,3,5-8 concentrated on solution deposited polyaniline. Polyaniline has been proven to have corrosion protecting capabilities both when doped and neutral..sup.1,3-8
The present invention provides an improvement to the use of emeraldine base polyaniline and its derivatives for providing an anodic coating to ferrous metals giving better performance, including greater resistance to corrosion, and greater throwing power.
In view of the present disclosure, or through practice of the present invention, benefits and the solution to problems in prior art methods and materials, may become apparent.

Corrosion protection of iron/steel by emeraldine base polyaniline