The invention is directed to an improved internal combustion engine, having a symmetric cylindrical arrangement and using a bevel gear train to join multiple crankshaft sections. It provides for a naturally smoother operation with less vibration than in-line engines. Better efficiency is expected with the engine than with comparable in-line engines. Manufacturing is expected to be simpler and gasket-sealing better than the in-line and V types of engines. Compactness will add to the engine's utility.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is an internal combustion engine. It is a symmetrical block engine with cylinders in a novel cylindrical configuration. It is expected to reduce vibration and maintenance requirements while increasing efficiency and compactness capabilities. Any number of cylinders greater than two may be configured in the cylindrical configuration of this invention.
2. Summary of the Related Art
Many types and configurations of internal combustion engines are known. Typically, one or more pistons are connected to a crankshaft with connecting rods. In a typical multi-cylinder automotive engine, the cylinders are in either a "straight" (a.k.a. "in-line") or "V" configuration. Cylinders in a "straight" configuration align to form a single plane. Cylinders in a "V" configuration align to form two planes that meet at a common point where both planes of cylinders connect to a single crankshaft. The pistons cycle in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane of cylinder alignment (both planes of cylinder alignment if the engine is configured in a "V" formation). In a typical four-cylinder engine, two of the pistons are at the bottom of their stroke at the same time that the other two pistons are at the top of their stroke.
In addition to the "in-line" and "V-style" engines, radial engines are known and typically found in aircraft and model aircraft. In this configuration, the pistons are arranged radially about the crankshaft and the connecting rods frequently attach to each other on a lobe of the crankshaft or attach to a plate on the lobe of the crankshaft. In either case, the crankshaft is a single solid mass with eccentric sections to which the connecting rods attach for the transmission of power. In the instant invention, the crankshaft has been segmented into a plurality of interfacing beveled gears.


A diagnostic and control system first checks the current operation status of the vehicle engine, when a malfunction or abnormal condition is detected by diagnostic sensors. A selection of optimum corrective measures is then made and carried out taking into account the safety of the vehicle, based on current operational status of the engine. For this purpose, a set of prioritized corrective measures is determined beforehand for each of the individual monitored items, according to detected changes in the engine operating status. The individual control measures are selected considering the safety of the vehicle, possible measures to correct the malfunction, assuring vehicle operability, and maintaining appropriate engine operating parameters such as exhaust gas mixture, fuel consumption and the like.

This invention is related to a method and apparatus for detecting and remedying malfunctions in the sensors and multiple control systems needed to control the status and operation of vehicles, and especially to a diagnosis control method for comprehensive control of the operation of vehicles, including correction of detected malfunctions, assuring the vehicle's operability, prevention of exhaust gas degradation, prevention of fuel consumption increases, and the like.
It is most important to diagnose the various functions of a vehicle from a safety standpoint, before it is driven. Much attention has thus been paid heretofore to diagnostic technology for vehicles, and various diagnostic devices and methods have been developed. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 263241 of 1988 discloses a method of detecting accidental engine misfires (failure to fire or incomplete combustion), in which an air-fuel ratio detector output pattern and a crank point signal are used to judge whether and in which cylinder a misfire occurs. When a misfire is detected and the cylinder is identified, the supply of the fuel to that cylinder is stopped in order to prevent a degradation of the exhaust gas. Since the manner in which exhaust gas emissions will be affected most by a misfire is known, necessary countermeasures can be taken to deal with the misfire. Since no positive steps are taken to remedy the misfire, however, this process may be characterized as a passive diagnostic control.
In addition to foregoing technique for detecting misfires, other diagnostic methods are also known. These include degradation diagnosis (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 91440 of 1990), exhaust gas return flow control system diagnosis (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 210058 of 1991), O.sub.2 sensor diagnosis (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 165558 of 1987), and secondary air suction system diagnosis (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 216011 of 1990). Each of the patents referred to above describes a diagnostic method or device which is in the form of a passive control. Most of the methods are purely diagnostic in nature, and are directed to assuring an accurate detection of the malfunction. While it is true that some of them, like the above described misfire detection technique, can effect minimal control measures based on the diagnostic result (such as stopping the supply of the fuel in order to avoid degradation of the exhaust gas characteristics), they still provide only a passive control of the detected problem, with no further steps being taken to actually correct it. On the other hand, since those diagnostic methods will be subject to government regulation, diagnostic technologies proper to those regulations are all the more important.
When a malfunction of some sort is detected, it is most important to determine exactly which countermeasures should be taken under the circumstances. For example, if a misfire is detected, action can be taken to restore proper firing of the cylinder. If, however, the supply of the fuel is stopped unnecessarily, this measure could needlessly lower the power output of the vehicle. If it is possible to remedy the misfire in a manner that permits continued operation of the vehicle, such a control measure is obviously desirable. Of course, this depends to a great extent on the operating status of the vehicle when the misfire is detected, which may limit the range of subsequent controls that can be used. Thus, the optimized controls should be selected sequentially from among the controls available to correct the malfunction, assure vehicle operability, maintain the exhaust gas characteristics and the current fuel consumption, and the like, by taking the safety and the operating status of the vehicle at that time into account.
Thus far, only examples of cylinder misfiring have been described. However, the range of items susceptible to such diagnosis also includes the catalyst, O.sub.2 sensors, O.sub.2 sensor heaters, evaporative fuel systems, EGR valves, secondary air supply, fuel control systems, and the like. The purpose of the present invention, therefore is to provide a comprehensive vehicle diagnostic control system capable of implementing positive control over operation of the subject vehicle in response to the current engine operation status when a malfunction is detected by the existing diagnostic measures.

Control method and apparatus for diagnosing vehicles


In one embodiment, a golf club head is presented having a sole with three recessed cavities for attachment to a hosel-bending tool. In another embodiment, a golf club head is presented having a sole that includes one predetermined contact area proximal to the toe edge of the sole. In another embodiment, a golf club head is presented having a sole in which pads of material are incorporated that may be milled to vary the relief of the sole and to modify mass characteristics of the club head. Yet another embodiment presents a golf club head having a body with a cavity to receive a cartridge that has a constant density and weight.

Golf club heads come in many different forms and makes, such as wood- or metal-type (including drivers and fairway woods), iron-type (including wedge-type club heads), utility- or specialty-type, and putter-type. Each of these styles has a prescribed function and make-up. The present invention relates primarily to hollow golf club heads, such as wood-type and utility-type (generally referred to herein as wood-type golf clubs).
Wood-type or metal-type golf club heads generally include a front or striking face, a crown, a sole and an arcuate skirt including a heel, a toe and a back. The crown and skirt are sometimes referred to as a shell. The front face interfaces with and strikes the golf ball. A plurality of grooves, sometimes referred to as "score lines," may be provided on the face to assist in imparting spin to the ball and for decorative purposes. The crown is generally configured to have a particular look to the golfer and to provide structural rigidity for the striking face. The sole of the golf club is particularly important to the golf shot because it contacts and interacts with the ground during the swing.
The complexities of golf club design are well known. The specifications for each component of the club (i.e., the club head, shaft, grip, and subcomponents thereof) directly impact the performance of the club. Thus, by varying the design specifications, a golf club can be tailored to have specific performance characteristics.
The design and manufacture of wood-type club heads requires careful attention to club head construction. Among the many factors that must be considered are material selection, material treatment, structural integrity and overall geometrical design. Exemplary geometrical design considerations include loft, lie, face angle, horizontal face bulge, vertical face roll, face size, center of gravity, sole curvature, and overall head weight. The interior design of the club head may be tailored to achieve particular characteristics, such as by including hosel or shaft attachment means, perimeter weighting on the face or body of the club head, and fillers within hollow club heads. Club heads are typically formed from stainless steel, aluminum, or titanium and are cast, stamped, as by forming sheet metal with pressure, forged, or formed by a combination of any two or more of these processes.
The club heads may be formed from multiple pieces that are welded or otherwise joined together to form a hollow head, as is often the case of club heads designed with inserts, such as soleplates or crown plates. The multi-piece constructions facilitate access to the cavity formed within the club head, thereby permitting the attachment of various other components to the head such as internal weights and the club shaft. The cavity may remain empty, or may be partially or completely filled, such as with foam. An adhesive may be injected into the club head to provide the correct swing weight and to collect and retain any debris that may be in the club head. In addition, due to difficulties in manufacturing one-piece club heads to high dimensional tolerances, the use of multi-piece constructions allows the manufacture of a club head to a tight set of standards.
Players generally seek a metal wood driver and golf ball combination that delivers maximum distance and landing accuracy. The distance a ball travels after impact is dictated by the magnitude and direction of the ball's translational velocity and the ball's rotational velocity or spin. Environmental conditions, including atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature, and wind speed, further influence the ball's flight. However, these environmental effects are beyond the control of the golf equipment manufacturer. Golf ball landing accuracy is driven by a number of factors as well. Some of these factors are attributed to club head design, such as center of gravity, moment of inertia and club face flexibility.
Known methods to enhance the weight distribution of wood-type club heads to help reduce the club from being open upon contact with the ball usually include the addition of weights to the club body. These weight elements are usually placed at specific locations, which will have a positive influence, such as increasing moment of inertia or lowering center of gravity, on the flight of the ball or to overcome a particular golfer's shortcomings.
In addition to seeking to optimize the mass characteristics of club heads, players—most often highly skilled amateurs and tour professionals—may choose to customize the lie and loft angles of their clubs. See e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,260,250; 6,186,903 and 6,483,101. To achieve a more precise fit, the geometrical design of the club is altered by bending the hosel, thereby changing the orientation the of the club head at address position and at impact position. The known methods, however, often fail to produce predictable results due to inaccurate and inconsistent measuring of baseline loft and lie angles. As well, because most wood-type and hybrid clubs have rounded or curved soles, adjusting loft and lie angles unpredictably changes face angle; because the orientation of the club head at impact position has changed, the contact area between sole and ground at impact also changes and may force the club face open or closed, as opposed to square to the target, resulting in undesired hooking or slicing.
Hence, there remains a need for an accurate and repeatable system for hosel bending, and other methods of customizing the clubs for enhanced mass distribution.


A golf club with a ferrule mounted in the opening end of a club shaft insertion hole formed in the hosel of a club head. A plurality of recessed grooves are formed in the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole of the ferrule in which the tip-end of the club shaft is press-fitted, and these recessed grooves are filled and coated with a bonding agent so that the ferrule is securely attached to the tip-end of the club shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club and more particularly to an improvement in the structure for attaching the ferrule to the club shaft.
2. Prior Art
In golf clubs such as irons and woods as shown in FIG. 3, the tip-end e of the club shaft d is inserted and bonded via a bonding agent P in a club shaft insertion hole c formed in the hosel b of the club head a. A ferrule member f made of a plastic such as Celluloid (trademark) is installed in the opening end of the club shaft insertion hole c which constitutes the boundary base part of the joint area between the hosel b and the tip-end e of the club shaft d.
Due to the use of the ferrule member f, the golf clubs can prevent the local concentration of stress that is caused by the shock of hitting the ball in the boundary base part in the joint area between the hosel b and the tip-end e of the club shaft d. The ferrule member f can also enhance a cosmetic effect in terms of the external appearance of the golf club.
When the ferrule member f is mounted in the joint area between the hosel b of the club head a and the tip-end e of the club shaft d, the ferrule member f is first fitted in the opening end of the club shaft insertion hole c of the hosel b, and then the tip-end e of the club shaft d is pressure-inserted into the through-hole g. The tip-end e of the club shaft d has an outer diameter that is 0.1 to 0.5 mm greater than the hole diameter of the through-hole g of the ferrule member f so as to obtain a tight fitting between the two.
In other words, the club shaft d is forcibly inserted into the ferrule member f and the ferrule member f is retained on the club shaft d by the pressing force that is obtained from the contraction of the ferrule member f. Thus, the ferrule member f is retained on the club shaft d by means of the so-called "caulking." Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the ferrule member f would slip out of the club shaft insertion hole c of the hosel b and slide away from the hosel b in the axial direction of the club shaft d as indicated by arrow X as a result of the shock of striking the ball during long-term use of the golf club. As a result of such "floating" of the ferrule member f, a local stress concentration occurs in the boundary base part of the joint area between the hosel b and the club shaft d; and, the club shaft d easily breaks.


There is provided a method of producing a hydrolysate containing sugar from a lingocellulosic biomass, comprising the steps of: a) pretreating the lingocellulosic biomass in a pretreatment process to form a slurry comprising cellulosic particles; b) saccharification of the slurry obtained in step a) in the presence of hydrolytic enzymes in an enzymatic hydrolysis process to obtain a hydrolysate containing sugar; c) analyzing cellulosic particles present in the slurry obtained in step a) and/or cellulosic particles present in the enzymatic hydrolysis process during step b) using an image analysis method to obtain a data set; and d) controlling at least one process parameter of the pretreatment process in step a) and/or enzymatic hydrolysis process in step b) in response to the data set obtained in step c). A corresponding system is also provided.

Biorefineries producing green chemicals from renewable resources offer an alternative to oil refineries based on dwindling supplies of petroleum and permit a move towards improved energy security. Lignocellulosic residues from forestry and agriculture are attractive as feedstocks, since they are abundant, relatively inexpensive, and are not used for food. Lignocellulose consists mainly of lignin and two classes of polysaccharides, cellulose and hemicellulose. The polysaccharides can be hydrolyzed to sugars which can be used as a platform chemical for the production of a host of other chemicals, for example by fermentation of the sugars in to various fermentation products, such as bioalcohols. The fermentation processes utilizes fermenting agents to convert the sugar in to fermentation products. One such fermenting agent is baker's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) which can be used to ferment sugars in to ethanol. The hydrolysis of cellulose is typically preceded by a pretreatment, in which the hemicellulose is degraded and the cellulose is made increasingly accessible to cellulolytic enzymes.

Image analysis based process control of processes for production of sugar from lignocellulosic biomass


A support device for glass sheets in a vertical or substantially vertical position serve for holding them during various treatments associated with the operations of curving and/or toughening. The support device is constituted of one or more cross-members (2,3) on which the lower edge face of the glass sheet (1) rests, each cross-member being suspended from a lifting beam (12) by one or more pairs of stays (4) running down the two opposite faces of the glass sheets.

Field of the Invention
This invention concerns the supporting of glass sheets in a vertical or substantially vertical position during the various treatments to which the glass sheets are subjected for the purpose of curving and/or toughening them, notably for the purpose of their reheating, curving (for example by pressure), thermal toughening and conveying between the various treatment stations. The invention also concerns a device for curving by pressing, cooperating with a support device. It can be applied primarily to the production of curved and toughened glazings of large dimensions having a very pronounced curvature.
Description of the Related Art
In the technology of curved, toughened panes, the quality criteria currently most commonly demanded are strict conformity with the specified curvature, a degree of toughening or tempering corresponding to a desired increase in mechanical strength for the purpose of assuring that any breakage is in conformity with safety standards, an optical quality which excludes any mottling effect and, finally, complete absence of any imprint left by the tools used during the various treatments and markings from tongs which support the pane during vertical treatments.
This latter requirement has favored the development of processes for curving and toughening that operate on a glass sheet held horizontal or substantially horizontal. However, it is impossible to convert a vertical apparatus into a horizontal apparatus; moreover, conventional production lines are of the vertical type and, with the exception of the problem of tong markings, are in no way obsolete from the aspect of the quality of the glazing produced and of the diversity and complexity of the shapes which these vertically operating processes make possible.
Many publications deal with means for holding glass sheets designed for acting only on the edge of the sheets. Thus, there is known, for example from the U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,134,797 and 2,537,803 a curving process according to which the glass sheets are disposed in a frame which holds them by a series of lugs or forks bearing against the different sides of the pane. It has also been proposed, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,298,809 to cause the lower edge of the glass sheet to rest an the horizontal cross-member of a frame and to retain the upper edge by a bearing bar cooperating with locking components.
The fundamental problem in all of these means of support is that the glass sheet can very easily become detached from them, the support being achieved simply by maintaining the stability of the vertical equilibrium position. This is especially true when the support means are generally of small dimensions, in order not to interfere with reheating and/or cooling during the thermal toughening. Moreover, gripping by lugs is possible only if the glass sheet effectively exerts a counter-action, which assumes that it does not subside or curve excessively during heating.
European Patent EP-B-126 687 proposes a frame, of which the holding means being applied against the upper edge of the glass sheet are freely mounted in the vertical direction by means of a lateral guide. These holding means, for example of the piston type, can thus accompany the glass sheet and continue to hold it even when it commences to sag. Furthermore, these holding means can be coupled with tongs, the jaws of which do not close unless the glass sheet escapes from the piston, thereby catching said sheet and preventing it from falling and breaking and allowing it to be removed from the furnace so that the latter is not encumbered with glass debris.
In practice, the frame according to EP-B-126 687 gives good results with small panes, i.e., with panes having a height of less than 600 mm. For greater heights, the subsidence during heating is too great and the jaws regularly come into action to seize the glass sheets, which, although it allows them to be removed from the curving, toughening apparatus, causes markings from tongs.
But even if few panes have all dimensions greater than 600 mm, it is not common for the desired shape to require a positioning of the pane in the frame such that its height corresponds to its largest dimension, which frequently exceeds 1000 mm. The problem especially arises when the pane comprises at least one very curved portion, which requires the use of a curving press in which the female mold is composed of elements assembled with one another and pivotal about assembly axes, the median element being initially the only one to be applied against the glass sheet and the pressing operation continuing by the progressive application of the lateral elements. It will be readily understood that if it is desired that the glass sheet shall not warp or even slide during pressing (these phenomena would at worst result in falling of the glass sheet and, in the most favorable cases, lead to faults in curvature and the development of optical defects), it is essential that the axes of pivoting be vertical. In other words, the shape desired after curving determines the orientation of the pane in the frame.

Device for the supporting and curving of glass sheets


A plant cultivation apparatus includes a water resistant sheet of material, with at least one opening formed in the sheet to enable growth of a plant through the opening. A fertilizer band, which can be contained within a membrane, is affixed to an underside of the sheet and includes a predetermined amount of a plant nutrient. The inventive apparatus is placed on top of a growing medium. With the fertilizer band in contact with the growing medium, a nutrient gradient is established so that plants growing through the openings formed in the sheet receive nutrition.

The present invention relates generally to the growing and cultivation of plants. The method of developing a nutrient gradient for growing and cultivating crops was developed in the 1960s. Generally, a nutrient gradient is established in a growing medium by providing a strip (or band) of a soluble source of nutrition, such as nitrogen (N) and potassium (K), on the surface, or below the surface in tilled rows, in conjunction with a continuous water table using a mulch system of production.
The nutrients leach from the band and move through the growing medium by diffusion. In this manner, equilibrium is reached between the fertilizer band and the less-soluble nutrients found in the growing medium. Plant roots then grow toward the gradient. This system provides long term nutritional stability as the nutrients are not exposed to the elements and remain available for the plants.


A movable contact is made of a resilient and electrically conductive thin metal plate so that a depressing operation onto the top thereof allows turning over of the central section thereof. The movable contact is shaped like a dome bowing upward and open downward, and includes at least three projections radially placed at the center where the turn-over occurs. A top view of the projection shows a long and narrow shape extending in the radial direction. The downward protruding amount of the respective projections increases along the radial direction from the center to the outer side, and the respective projections each have a flat face having a given width along the circumferential direction. When the movable contact is in operation, the movable contact touches the object at an outer section of the flat face and along the circumferential direction.

Panel switches have been widely used as switches employed in input operating sections of a variety of electronic devices. The panel switch is formed of a movable contact unit including a movable contact retained by a base sheet.
FIG. 9 shows a sectional view illustrating a part of a panel switch including a movable contact unit in which a conventional movable contact is used. FIG. 10 shows an exploded perspective view of the panel switch shown in FIG. 9. The conventional movable contact and the movable contact unit using the conventional movable contact are described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10.
In FIGS. 9 and 10, base sheet 101 made of insulating resin film covers the top faces of plural movable contacts 105. Each movable contact 105 is made of a resilient and electrically conductive thin metal plate, and has an external appearance of a circular dome bowing upward. Application of depressing force onto the center of the domed shape bows the domed shape downward, and removal of the depressing force restores the downward domed shape to its original shape due to the restoring force of the resilient metal plate. In other words, this conventional movable contact is an inside-out type movable contact.
At the center section of movable contact 105, hemispherical projections 107 protruding downward are formed at intervals of 120 degrees and equidistant from the center. Meanwhile an adhesive layer is formed on an underside of base sheet 101, and movable contact 105 is retained by the adhesive layer. This is generally called a movable contact unit.
Wired board 115 includes a fixed contact pair including outer contact 116 and center contact 117 opposing each one of plural movable contacts 105. Wired board 115 includes spacer member 102 on its top face, which has plural holes 103. Each one of movable contacts 105 is placed in respective holes 103. The top faces of respective movable contacts 105 are covered with base sheet 101.
Respective movable contacts 105 are placed corresponding to the place of each one of the pairs of outer contact 116 and center contact 117. An operating button (not shown) is placed corresponding to the place of movable contact 105, so that a panel switch is formed. This panel switch is mounted to an electronic device.
Each individual switch of the panel switch is structured this way: the lower end of an outer periphery of movable contact 105 is placed on outer contact 116, and the underside of the center section including hemispherical projections 107 confronts center contact 117 with a space in between. Base sheet 101, movable contact 105, and hemispherical projections 107 form movable contact unit 110.
The operation of the conventional panel switch discussed above is described hereinafter. An operating button (not shown) is depressed, thereby applying depressing force to the central section of corresponding movable contact 105 via base sheet 101. When the depressing force exceeds a given amount, movable contact 105 is turned over, and three hemispherical projections 107 are brought into contact with central contact 117. This mechanism allows outer contact 116 to become electrically conductive to corresponding central contact 117, so that the switch is turned on.
When the depressing force is removed, movable contact 105 restores to the original domed shape bowing upward due to its own restoring force. Then three hemispherical projections 107 leave central contact 117, so that outer contact becomes electrically open with respect to central contact 117.
The foregoing panel switch can be constructed with a light-weight and thin body, and can be operated by push-operation, so that they are widely used particularly in portable devices.
On the other hand, a single switch, e.g. as shown in FIG. 11, is also widely used in various electronic devices. The push-on switch shown in FIG. 11 comprises the following elements:                box-like housing 120 made of resin;        outer contact 121 and central contact 122 both placed on the inner bottom face of the recess of the opening;        movable contact 105 discussed above and placed on outer contact 121 at its outer periphery; and        operating unit 125 movable up and down and built-in on movable contact 105.
The operation of this push-on switch is described hereinafter. Operating unit 125 is depressed for applying depressing force to the central section of movable contact 105, and when the depressing force exceeds a given amount, movable contact 105 turns over and three hemispherical projections 107 touch central contact 122 placed under projections 107. As a result, terminals respectively led out from outer contact 121 and central contact 122 become conductive to each other via movable contact 105. When the depressing force is removed from operating unit 125, movable contact 105 restores to its original shape and pushes up operating unit 125 to the original place, so that the terminals become electrically disconnected from each other again.
The prior art related to the present invention is, e.g. Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-322974.
When the switch formed of conventional movable contact 105 discussed above is used, the inside-out position of movable contact 105 causes hemispherical projections 107, which are placed at three places and formed independently of each other, to touch central contacts 117 or 122 placed under projections 107. However, the touching status is a point contact, and yet, hemispherical projections 107 touch central contacts 117 or 122 at generally determined points. When the switch has been frequently used, the counterpart points of central contacts 117 or 122 to projections 107 thus sometimes get dented.

Movable contact, moveable contact unit including the same, and switch including the same movable contact

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Techniques herein prepare an alloy catalyst using a protective conductive polymer coating. More particularly, an alloy catalyst is prepared by: preparing a platinum catalyst supported on carbon; coating the surface of the platinum catalyst with a conductive polymer; supporting a transition metal salt on the coated catalyst; and heat treating the catalyst on which the transition metal salt is supported. Also, an alloy catalyst may be prepared by: preparing a platinum-transition metal catalyst supported on carbon; coating the surface of the platinum-transition metal catalyst with a conductive polymer; and heat treating the coated catalyst. Accordingly an alloy catalyst with superior dispersity can be prepared by increasing the degree of alloying of the catalyst through heat treatment while preventing the increase of catalyst particle size through carbonization of the conductive polymer. The prepared catalyst may be useful, for example, for a fuel cell electrode.

(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for preparing a high-activity alloy catalyst for a fuel cell having a large active area by coating a carbon-supported platinum or platinum-transition metal catalyst with a conductive polymer such as polypyrrole (PPy) as a capping agent and performing heat treatment, thus increasing the degree of alloying and catalytic activity while preventing growth of particle size.
(b) Background Art
Fuel cells which convert chemical energy resulting from oxidation of fuel directly into electrical energy are spotlighted as a next-generation energy source. In particular, research for commercialization has been actively carried out in the auto industry for the purposes of improvement of fuel efficiency, reduction of emissions, environmental protection, or the like. In particular, extensive research has been focused on the catalysts for oxidation and reduction occurring on the electrodes of the fuel cells.
For commercialization of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), performance, cost, and durability issues have to be solved, all of which are closely related to the fuel cell catalyst. Since the PEMFC operates at low temperature, a precious metal such as platinum is used as a catalyst in order to increase the slow rate of oxygen reduction. However, the high cost and limited reserves of platinum delay its commercialization. For a fuel cell vehicle to be commercially viable, it is reported that the use of platinum should be reduced below 0.2 g per kW. However, theoretically, voltage loss occurs as the supporting amount of platinum decreases (e.g., to 0.4 mg/cm2 or lower). Thus, there is a limitation on reducing the use of platinum in the platinum catalyst. Further, since the slow oxygen reduction leads to over-voltage in the cathode, alloy catalysts are studied to improve the reaction rate.
As an alloy catalyst for a fuel cell, Pt3M of an oriented face-centered cubic structure with M being a transition metal (e.g., Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, etc.) is studied actively. Carbon-supported Pt3M is typically prepared by depositing a metal precursor on a commercially available carbon-supported platinum catalyst and carrying out heat treatment. Usually, after adding a transition metal precursor to the carbon-supported platinum catalyst, heat treatment is carried out at 700-1200° C. using a gaseous reducing agent such as hydrogen. Although the heat treatment improves catalytic activity by increasing the degree of alloying, it is accompanied by increased particle size and decreased dispersity.
Accordingly, methods for preparing alloy catalysts without the heat treatment process are studied. For example, certain previous methods to prepare alloy catalysts below 200° C. used carbonyl complexes (e.g., as described by Hui et al. in J. Phys. Chem. 108 (2004) 11024-11034), while other previous methods used the microemulsion method (e.g., as described by Xiong et al. in Electrochim. Acta 50 (2005) 2323-2329). However, the general colloid method is difficult in control of the degree of alloying and the transition metal easily dissolves out under the fuel cell environment since its concentration on the surface is high. One additional method, such as that described by Watanabe et al. in Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2 (2010) 888-895, succeeded in preparing small alloy particles with desired composition by using nanocapsules. One drawback to this method, however, is that it is not easy to remove the oleic acid and oleylamine used to create the capsules and, as a result, they lead to reduced catalytic activity. As such, since the currently available methods for preparing alloy catalysts at low temperatures have many problems, heat treatment at high temperature is unavoidable.

Preparing an alloy catalyst using conductive polymer coating

Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, Yonsei University


An image processing apparatus enabling alpha blending or other image processing during bit block transfer (bitblt), wherein the selector 52 selects one of the primitive data S143, the image data S12 and the image data S147a that are used for the host-local transfer, and outputs the data to the alpha blend circuit 53. According to the control signal S55, the alpha blend circuit 53 turns on or turns off alpha blending. The selector 54 selects either the image data S139 or the image data S53 and writes the data to the DRAM 147.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, particularly, an imaging processing apparatus characterized by processing in data transfer between memories.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer graphics is frequently utilized in various CAD (Computer Aided Design) systems, amusement equipments, or others. Particularly, along with the progress in image processing technology in recent years, systems using three-dimensional computer graphics are rapidly and widely spread.
Three-dimensional computer graphics involves frequent access to storage circuits like DRAM in order to perform real-time processing of a large amount of image data. For this purpose, rendering circuits and DRAMs are built in a semiconductor chip. A rendering circuit, for example, includes an alpha blend circuit in addition to a texture circuit to carry out texture processing. When writing image data to a DRAM, for each pixel data, the alpha blend circuit mixes the data to be written (source data) and the data read from a destination address for writing (destination data), based upon an alpha data selected from either the source data or the destination data, and carries out alpha blending to write the mixed data to the above address.
Further, a rendering circuit carries out bit block transfer (bitblt) that includes local transfer, namely, data transfer within the DRAM, and host-local transfer, namely, data transfer from an external memory outside the semiconductor chip to the DRAM.
In a rendering circuit of the related art, the path for data transfer in the above bitblt is configured to be independent from the alpha blend circuit.
Recently, the demand for image processing at a higher speed has increased, and it is required to perform alpha blending or other image processing during data transfer in bitblt.
However, a rendering circuit of the related art cannot meet this requirement, because in a rendering circuit of the related art, as shown above, the path for data transfer in bitblt is configured independently from the alpha blend circuit.


The method of switching an electronic unit of a movable screen for closures, sun protection devices and the like to a training mode on the basis of a predetermined series of control signals received from a control member, the series of signals being the result of executing a predetermined press sequence on at least one button of the control member. When the predetermined press sequence is executed, the electronic unit changes a state of an actuator for moving the screen as a function of at least one signal received from the control member, thus enabling the user to perceive that the predetermined press sequence has been recognized.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method of configuring a system comprising a moving screen of the type comprising a roller blind, shutter, garage door, projection screen, or analogous element that is driven by an actuator. Such an actuator generally comprises an electric motor powered under the control of an electronic unit. The electronic unit interacts with a control member that may be fixed, in which case control takes place in a wired mode, or portable, in which case control take place by radio or infrared. Such a control member is sometimes referred to as a "control point". When control takes place over wires, it is often referred to as a "control box", whereas when control takes place by radio or infrared, reference is often made to a "remote control". Thus, actuating a button of the control member causes the actuator to execute an order. One button may cause the actuator to move in one direction, and another button may cause it to move in the opposite direction.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
For reasons of comfort and/or safety, that type of system enables the opening of the screen to be controlled automatically. It is then necessary to program the stroke of the screen, and in particular its high and low end-of-stroke positions. Some actuators manage screen positioning by an electronic unit counting the number of revolutions performed and/or detecting a threshold motor torque, for example. Under such circumstances, a training stage is needed during which the electronic unit switches over to a mode that enables the parameters of the system to be defined. Those parameters identify the high and/or low end-of-stroke positions.
To switch over to training mode, a first solution consists in varying the power supply to the electronic unit, e.g. switching it off twice in succession within a determined period of time. That solution is not practical if a plurality of actuators share the same power supply and if it is not desired that all of them should switch over to training mode together. It is also known, for the same purpose, to connect a shunt between two phases of the motor for a determined duration. The shunt may be obtained by a special adjustment tool or by physically connecting together two terminals on the electronic card of the control point via a metal component. That solution requires a suitable tool to be used and requires the system to be dismantled in order to make the shunt connection.
In another approach, it is possible to press simultaneously on two of the buttons of the control member, for example the up and the down buttons, or the stop and the programming buttons. In itself, that operation does not cause the screen to move at all. It is then not clear whether the operation has been carried out properly. Furthermore, certain control members do not enable two buttons to be activated simultaneously or do not have a stop button or a program button. This is true in particular when renovating a system in which it is not necessarily desirable to change the control member(s) and/or to rewire the installation.
To solve this problem, WO-A-00/49262 describes a configuration method and system using control members having two buttons: on and off. To cause an electronic unit controlling an actuator to switch over to training mode, a sequence of button presses must be executed, each button needing to be pressed in a determined time. If the sequence is achieved, then the electronic unit switches over to training mode. With such a method and such a system, the order transmitted by a control member is always executed after a time delay in order to verify whether or not the user is beginning a sequence of presses for switching over to training mode. This time delay is undesirable in normal operation. Furthermore, it is not obvious how to tell whether the switchover to training mode had indeed taken place, since no movement results between the successive button presses.
EP-A-0 718 729 discloses causing a roller blind to perform a predetermined movement, such as down a little and then up, after a user has fully executed an operation seeking to cause the blind to switch over into programming mode. It is only after a processor unit has entered programming mode that the above-mentioned movement of the blind takes place, so that while entering a programming order, the user cannot be certain that the order is indeed correct. Furthermore, the panel moving down a little and then up is not necessarily representative of the programming order, which can lead to a certain amount of confusion for the user.

Method of configuring a system for driving a screen for closure, sun protection, or projection purposes


A high-speed running pneumatic radial tire comprises a cylindrical crown portion, a pair of sidewall portions extending inward therefrom, a radial carcass extending from one of the sidewall portions through the crown portion to the other sidewall portion, and a belt and a tread successively superimposed on the crown portion outward in the radial direction of the tire. The tread has plural rows of blocks defined by plural circumferential grooves and many lateral grooves, and the belt is comprised of at least two main crosscord belt layers and an auxiliary belt layer arranged thereon. The auxiliary belt layer is formed by spirally winding a rubberized ribbon ply of heat-shrinkable cords on the main belt layers, in which an overlapped amount of the ribbon ply is made large in a zone of the tread substantially corresponding to the block row than in a zone of the tread substantially corresponding to the circumferential groove.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to pneumatic radial tire for passenger car, and more particularly to an improvement of a belt in a low-section profile radial tires running at an extremely high speed.
2. Disclosure of the Related Art
Recently, is possible to stably run a vehicle at an extremely high speed exceeding 150 km/hr with the technical innovation for passenger cars. Hence lowsection profile radial tires having an aspect ratio of not more than 0.6 (ratio of section height to maximum width in the tire) and sufficient performances even in the running at such an extremely high speed have been developed.
However, when the tire is run at extremely high speed, separation between tread and belt, chipping of tread rubber and the like particularly become a problem, and consequently it is important that the durability to these failures is high or a so-called high-speed durability is excellent.
Considering high-speed durability, there is proposed a tire structure that a rubberized fabric of organic fiber cords is spirally wound around an outermost belt layer arranged outside a carcass under a constant tension.
In general, such a tire develops sufficient performance in case of running at middle to high speeds, but is hardly said to possess sufficient performance in case of running at an extremely high speed. That is, it is required to solve the following problems.
In this tire, the tread is provided at its surface with plural circumferential grooves of relatively wide width along the circumference of the tread considering the drainage property and has a thickness that it is thin at a position of the circumferential groove and becomes thick at a position of block row between the adjoining circumferential grooves. The difference of rubber volume between the circumferential groove and the block row becomes large and consequently the protruding quantity of rubber in an outward direction of the tire through centrifugal force produced in the extremely high-speed running becomes largely different in the widthwise direction of the tread. That is, the protruding quantity at the position of the circumferential groove is slight, but the protruding quantity in the block row is large, so that the ground contact pressure of the tread becomes unequal between the position of the groove and the block to injury the steering stability in the extremely high-speed running and cause the occurrence of uneven wear.
When extremely high-speed running is continued, heat is generated due to the excessive ground contact pressure of the block row through the centrifugal force, which exceeds the heat-resistant limit of the tread rubber to cause blowing-out thereof and hence the peeling of rubber in the block row or the occurrence of so-called chunk-out. In this case the tire life becomes very short.

Pneumatic radial tires for passenger cars


A cleaning implement comprises a handle (1), a plate frame (2) connected to the handle, and a mop (3) that is detachably attached to the plate frame. At least one pair of holding members, consisting of a permanent magnet and a counterpart cooperating therewith, has been arranged for holding of the mop (3) onto the plate frame (2). The magnet and the counterpart have been attached to the plate frame (2) and to the mop (3), respectively, so that they face each other in the operating position of the mop. The counterpart may consist of a permanent magnet or a ferromagnetic substance and it has been anchored, for example, by sewing inside the mop (3) under a fabric that forms the upper surface of the mop. The specification also relates to the mop (3) per se, which is provided with at least one magnetic holding member arranged in the vicinity of the upper surface of the mop and, in the operating position of the mop, cooperating with the magnetic fastening part which is in a corresponding position on the plate frame.

Various solutions have been developed to attach mops to cleaning implements. Of course, the basic intention is that the attachment be relatively firm and quick, and possible to carry out without touching by hand. This requirement is important at least in professional use.
A fairly common solution is the one comprising a pocket or a loop at one end of the mop receiving one end of the plate frame of the cleaning implement, the plate frame being pushed into the pocket by sliding it from the side, whereby the mop can be kept in place, for example, by pushing it against the floor by foot. In the known solutions, the other end of the mop is held, e.g., by means of a piece of Velcro, a flexible loop or a tongue provided with a press fastener.
The Velcro fastening, of course, has the disadvantage that its holding power weakens depending on the instances of use, i.e., it works fairly well in household use but not so well in professional use. In repeated use, the above-mentioned flexible loop or the tongue provided with a press fastener may be a more durable solution, but their weaknesses: slowness to some extent and, perhaps, also the fact that they are difficult to attach without touching by hand.
Attachment solutions as mentioned in the preamble, which are based on a magnetizing force, are disclosed in publications U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,461 and DE 19940436, for example.
In said US publication, a magnetic rod is provided at the upper part of the cleaning implement, cooperating with a metal plate that constitutes the upper surface of the mop. In the DE publication, in turn, the upper surface of the mop is provided with a mop. In the DE publication, in turn, the upper surface of the mop is provided with a raster that is made of a mixture of metal powder attached to the surface of the mop by a suitable means, such as gluing or spraying.
The problem with these known solutions is that it is inconvenient to squeeze water out of the mop during working, and it is virtually impossible to clean the mop in a washing machine, for example.
Therefore, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a mop attachment that utilizes the magnetizing force and both allows removal of water from the mop and washing of the mop by conventional means.

Cleaning implement and a mop designed therefor


A valve train of an internal combustion engine is provided with a plurality of camshaft supports arranged on a support member of the engine, and a camshaft is supported on the camshaft supports. The camshaft has valve operating cams thereon for opening and closing engine valves of engine. A torque reducing mechanism is provided to apply a counter torque to the camshaft to suppress torque fluctuation of the camshaft caused by reaction forces applied to the cams by the engine valves. The torque reducing mechanism has a rotating member that rotates together with the camshaft, and a counterforce applying member for applying a counterforce to the rotating member to apply a counter torque to the camshaft. The counterforce applying member is supported on a connecting member connecting adjacent ones of the camshaft supports. The torque reducing mechanism suppresses torque fluctuation of the camshaft, suppresses increase in the weight of the camshaft, and suppresses increase in the size of the engine, ensuring a necessary supporting rigidity for supporting a counterforce applying mechanism included in the torque reducing mechanism.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a valve train for opening and closing engine valves, namely, intake valves or exhaust valves, of an internal combustion engine. More concretely, the present invention relates to a valve train provided with a torque reducing mechanism for suppressing the fluctuation of torque applied to a camshaft provided with valve-operating cams for opening and closing the valves of an engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A valve train for an internal combustion engine, disclosed in, for example, JP 62-48105 B includes a camshaft provided with cams for opening and closing valves, and a torque reducing mechanism for applying a counter torque for suppressing torque fluctuation resulting from forces applied to the cams by the valves to the camshaft. The torque reducing mechanism includes a rotating member, such as a counteraction cam which rotates together with the camshaft, and a counterforce applying mechanism for applying counterforce for producing the counter torque to the rotating member.
In the valve train including the camshaft rotatably supported on a cylinder head by a plurality of camshaft supports, wherein the torque reducing mechanism is disposed at a position between two adjacent ones of the camshaft supports, the counterforce applying mechanism is disposed at a position where the camshaft support is to be disposed on the cylinder head, and the rotating member, namely, the counteraction cam, is mounted on a part of the camshaft to be supported by the camshaft support, namely, a journal, to suppress increase in the length of the camshaft. With this arrangement, the rigidity of the camshaft needs to be enhanced to prevent augmentation of the bending deformation of the camshaft resulting from the reduction of the number of the camshaft supports, which causes the weight of the camshaft to increase. The counterforce applied by the counterforce applying mechanism to the rotating member tends to augment the bending deformation still further. In such a case the rigidity of the camshaft needs to be enhanced still further, which increases the weight of the camshaft still further.
When the counterforce applying mechanism of the torque reducing mechanism includes a pressing device for producing a pressing force and a counterforce resulting from the pressing force is applied to the rotating member in the same direction as the pressing force, the counterforce applying mechanism needs to be disposed so as to apply the counterforce in the direction of the pressing force. Therefore, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the counterforce applying mechanism is small and, in some cases, the size of the internal combustion engine in the direction of the pressing force increases.
When the counterforce applying mechanism of the torque reducing mechanism is in contact with the counteraction cam when the camshaft is at an angular position where the torque fluctuates in a narrow range, friction between the counterforce applying mechanism and the counteraction cam increases loss in the torque for rotating the camshaft

Valve train for internal combustion engine


To provide a DRAM that reduces access latency during refresh and performs refresh for any non-accessed bank in parallel with normal memory accesses. Furthermore, the DRAM allows access to a bank that is undergoing refresh. The DRAM includes a circuit for directing refresh execution by comparing bank address of both access and refresh operations, a circuit for specifying a bank address of the memory cells to be refreshed, a circuit for addressing a row address of the memory cells to be refreshed in the specified bank, a means for refreshing the memory cells, and a means for accessing the memory cells directly after refresh without denying the access request.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) having multiple banks and a method for refreshing the data stored in the DRAM.
2. Background of the Invention
For DRAM, there is a refresh scheme in which row addresses are sequentially refreshed by updating them periodically using a refresh timer (RT) and a row address counter (RAC). There is also a RAS-Only-Refresh scheme (i.e., normal refresh). FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a refresh scheme of the prior art. If there are multiple banks, RAC specifies a bank address R-bank and a row address R-row to be refreshed. The RAC sends a bank address R-bank to a bank selector (BS) and a row address, R-row to a row selector (RS). Another input to BS is a bank address (shown as Bank in FIG. 1) to be accessed. This address has been input to the address input (AI). A row address (shown as Row in FIG. 1) to be accessed, is input to RS from an address that has been input to AI.
BS outputs either the bank address R-bank or bank, while RS outputs either the row address R-row or row. Selection of a combination of the bank and row outputs or the R-bank and R-row outputs is specified by RT. RT comprises a timer circuit and specifies R-bank and R-row outputs at predetermined time intervals. The RT output is also input to a column enable (CE). A column address is input to CE from Al. CE temporarily stops column address output (i.e., column) where R-bank and R-row outputs are specified.
Either a bank, row address and column address to be accessed or a bank and row address to be refreshed are sent to a memory array. Since only one bank address and one row address can reside on their respective busses, only one bank and one row is accessible at any given time. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the remaining banks are not being accessed, they cannot be refreshed simultaneously. Because of the importance of maintaining data integrity, a refresh operation is generally placed at a higher priority level than other memory access functions and, therefore, memory availability and performance degrades.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a DRAM that reduces access latency when refresh occurs.

DRAM architecture enabling refresh and access operations in the same bank

International Business Machines Corporation


A handgun shoulder support platform includes a shoulder support stably supporting a handgun to a shooter's shoulder when shooting the handgun, thus providing greatly improved shot accuracy. The support is preferably made of an elongated strip of metal with a rear section shaped to engage the shooter's shoulder and a front section, and a grip-engaging bracket (“perch”) on the front section shaped to matably engage a grip of the handgun. The bracket is vertically open and shaped to engage and stably support a grip of the handgun without the use of mechanical fasteners. Multiple removable brackets can be provided for receiving differently shaped handgun grips.

The present invention relates to a handgun shoulder-supported shooting platform, and more particularly relates to a shoulder-supported platform that stabilizes a handgun for greatly improved shooting accuracy but that does so without fixed attachment of the handgun to the shoulder support.
It is known to attach stocks and extension devices to handguns so that the assembled units provide shooting accuracy approaching that of a long gun or rifle. However, most such stocks and extension devices include multiple components and are more costly and expensive than desired. Also, most such stocks and extension devices are uniquely customized to be fastened to a particular handgun grip, resulting in high inventory cost and low volume production runs. Also, most require modification of the handgun grip so that the devices can be fixed to the handgun grip, which many gun owners are hesitant to do. Also, many laws exist against having a short barrel gun with shoulder stock.

Hand gun shoulder-supported shooting platform


A method is provided for monitoring a pitch control system for a rotor blade of a wind turbine. The method comprises a step of receiving a blade pitch signal representative of a pitch position of the rotor blade, a step of determining a pitch deviation, based on the blade pitch signal and a blade pitch reference. If the determined pitch deviation exceeds a first pitch deviation threshold, a pitch deviation variable is increased by an amount that depends on the determined pitch deviation, the first pitch deviation threshold, and a duration of a time period during which the determined pitch deviation has been exceeding the first pitch deviation threshold. An error signal is provided when the increased pitch deviation variable exceeds a pitch deviation variable threshold.

A modern utility-scale wind turbine includes a set of rotor blades which are attached to a hub and which are configured to pitch about their longitudinal axis in order to change the angle of attack of the blades with respect to the wind. In this way, the lift of the blade can be controlled precisely in order to optimise energy generation whilst limiting mechanical loads on the system.
In known systems the blades are attached to the hub of the wind turbine by a blade bearing which allows the blades to rotate relative to the hub. A pitch actuator connects between the hub and each blade in order to provide a driving force to control the pitch angle of the blade. In one known approach the pitch actuator takes the form of a linear hydraulic actuator that is mounted to the hub at one end whereby a push rod of the actuator is attached to a part of the blade root. Extension and contraction of the hydraulic actuator causes the blade to pitch about the blade axis. In another known approach, the pitch actuator may be embodied by one or more electric motors that are coupled to a drive gear associated with the blade. Operation of the motors therefore controls the pitch of the blade.
In either approach, a pitch control system controls the operation of the pitch actuator to ensure that the blade pitch angle is set to a desired position. The pitch control system either determines or receives a blade pitch angle reference signal. Safe operation of the wind turbine may include a monitoring sub-system of the pitch control system to ensure that the blades are being pitched correctly, since deviation from the pitch angle reference signal is undesirable as this can have an adverse effect on energy generation and blade loads.
A typical approach is for a monitoring sub-system to compare the pitch angle reference signal against the actual pitch angle for each blade and to indicate a warning flag if a predetermined error threshold is exceeded.
It is against this background that the invention has been devised.

Blade pitch control monitoring system for a wind turbine


A fluid conduit with layered and partial covering material thereon is disclosed. The fluid conduit may be used for processing and treatment of fluids which must be treated to remove materials so that the resultant treated fluid may be reused and/or returned to the earth and particularly to the water table. The fluid conduit may be of many forms and types and may have attached thereto and configured thereon covering material in partial form and a selected number of layers. The fluid conduit may be a septic pipe of smooth wall, of corrugated form, and/or of any form of cross-sectional configuration including circular, elliptical, rectangular, triangular, or any other geometric shape. The fluid conduit may be used in combination with conduit in a drainage field or leaching system usually associated with a septic tank or septic system.

Suspended solids have plagued the septic system and wastewater treatment industry more in the last ten or more years than in previous years. The increase in the problem is due in part to the evolution and development of some of the modern day cleaners which now make cleaning easier, in that they cause grease and oil to dissolve into the water. The major problem with the septic tank is that the suspended solids passing through the tank neither cool nor make contact at a slow enough pace to separate from the water.
Lint and fuzz also have been an ongoing problem for the septic tank to control. This material stays suspended in the septic tank liquid and normally passes through, remaining suspended in the effluent, which subsequently also causes problems in the leach system connected with the septic tank.
Septic tanks generally available do not effectively provide for the removal, in a manner which does not affect the cost and the performance characteristics of the septic treatment system, of suspended solids that are typically found in septic tank liquid. It is important that the amount of suspended solids that leave the treatment tank be minimal so as not to adversely affect the subsequent treatment of the wastewater/effluent. A leach field, for example, is adversely affected because the suspended solids will clog the layer that receives them and also adversely affect the absorption characteristics of the leach bed.
Currently there are designs and equipment that attempt the removal of the suspended solids. All of those known to the inventor of the now-patented precipitation apparatus defined in U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,752 have failed to address the problem in an efficient manner, because all the efforts attempt to "filter" the liquid. Filtration creates an additional set of problems. The filters can quickly become plugged, slowing down or completely blocking the flow-through of the liquid through the treatment tank. The filters are expensive and are costly to maintain. Applicant's patented precipitation apparatus greatly reduces the level of suspended solids exiting the treatment tank and entering the leach system.
The following patents relate to the technology of the present invention, but none of them meets the objects of the disclosed and claimed improved system in a manner like that of the instant invention. Additionally, none are as effective and as efficient as the instant improved conduit system.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,578 to Beane discloses a protective sleeve for corrugated drainage tubes. The protective sleeve is a continuous tubular sleeve of knit fabric material which is slipped over one or more sections of corrugated flexible drainage pipe and acts as a filter to keep rocks, dirt, mud, pieces of clay, and the like from clogging the openings in the corrugated drainage pipe while allowing the water to pass through. Disclosed is a knit fabric preferably formed by lock stitches and is inherently elastic.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,665 to Caouette discloses a fabric-wrapped corrugated structure. The fabric wrapping comprises an outer fabric combined with a grid mesh separation element. It is disclosed that the fabric may be of the woven or non-woven type and that the fabric may be bonded to the grid mesh. Further, Caouette discloses that the grid mesh may take many different forms as long as one set of cross members or other members such as dimples on a planar structure or fibrous material provides some separation of the fabric above the peaks of the corrugated pipe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,832 to Gonczy et al. discloses a multilayer insulation blanket used in heat transfer technology which can be wrapped around a structure. The Gonczy patent does not disclose the use of multilayer fabrics of varying deniers and does not disclose the liquid permeability of the multilayer blanket.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,288,321 to Beane discloses a drain tile and a pile fabric filter sleeve. The knit fabric of the '321 patent to Beane is provided over the drainage conduit to facilitate efficient liquid flow. The knit fabric is also impregnated with suitable chemical agents for counteracting anticipated chemical reaction particle intrusions. The knit fabric is further disclosed to be formed of stitches defining a ground and defining terry loops extending from the ground and being directed in a predetermined generally radial direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the drainage conduit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,113 to Goddard et al. discloses a highway edgedrain. The edgedrain comprises a tube inserted into a fabric sheath. The fabric sheath of the '113 patent is preferably of a nonwoven fabric and of a geotextile composition. The sheath acts as a filter to prevent the passage of large particles or rocks into the tube. Further, the sheath is disclosed as being made from a material of a single density.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,778 to Dempsey discloses a drainage mat. Most significantly, the '778 patent discloses a drainage material with extended surface which is a two-layer composite of polyester non-woven filter fabric heat bonded to an expanded nylon non-woven matting such as ENKADRAIN™ brand of three-dimensional composite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,427 to Kambe et al. discloses a hydrophobic material used for drainage of a culvert. The '427 patent discloses a textile or knit fabric having large and small mesh portions.
The patents noted herein provide considerable information regarding the developments that have taken place in this field of technology. Clearly, the instant invention provides many advantages over the prior art inventions noted above. Again, it is noted that none of the prior art meets the objects of the multilayered fabric as used in septic and wastewater treatment in a manner like that of the instant invention. None of them is as effective and as efficient as the instant combination of multilayered fabric and corrugated pipe combination for use in the management of effluent drainage systems.


A device for provision of oxygen masks has a container, which can be closed by a cover, for accommodating one or more oxygen masks, at least one extendable arm having an outer end, and a driving device. The outer end is coupled to at least one oxygen mask. The arm is designed to adopt a storage position, wherein the arm is arranged completely within the container, and an extended position, wherein the outer end is extended out of the container and the arm holds the at least one oxygen mask coupled thereto laterally at a distance from the container. For extension, the driving device is coupled to the arm. The arm has an end piece, on which a wound-up hose can be releasably fixed. A fixing device is formed on the end piece in such a way as to release the wound-up hose when the extended position is reached.

Oxygen masks are carried in aircraft and, especially, passenger aircraft which fly at high altitudes and have a pressurized cabin. They are dropped automatically from a container above a seat in the event of a pressure drop within the cabin. A person sitting below can grab the oxygen mask, pull it towards them and put it on. Certification regulations require that at least one oxygen mask must be positioned and presented visibly and in a way which enables it to be reached by each passenger (either seated or lying down) when strapped in. When pulled, the oxygen flow into the relevant oxygen mask is generally initiated by a corresponding mechanism. There are also other mechanisms for activating the oxygen flow.
In the case of passenger aircraft, there is a known practice of arranging the said containers for oxygen masks in a grid pattern in supply ducts or recesses situated above passenger seats in a ceiling panel, wherein the grid pattern corresponds substantially to the grid pattern of the passenger seats. In passenger cabins in which means for changing the layout when required are provided, passenger seats can occupy different positions within certain limits. As a result, it may be necessary to adjust the position of the containers in the overhead supply ducts accordingly.
With certain cabin configurations, individual seats may be at a large horizontal distance from the associated/nearest container. Cabin configurations of this kind can only be implemented, especially in terms of certification, if some or all of the stowed oxygen masks in affected containers are at a horizontal distance from the container after the container cover has been opened. Moreover, there can also be partitions or other obstacles between two adjacent seats. If these had the effect that not all the passengers could reach an oxygen mask in a strapped-in position, such a cabin configuration would not be eligible for approval. Moreover, there can be partitions or other obstacles between an oxygen container and the seats to be supplied by said container.
Devices for the provision of oxygen masks in which a certain variability of position can be compensated for are furthermore known. For example, EP 1 654 158 B1 discloses arranging an inflatable lever in a container of this kind, the lever being coupled to an oxygen mask. When the container is opened, the lever is automatically inflated and moves the oxygen mask away from the container in a horizontal direction.

Device for the provision of oxygen masks when required


Search device for locating a transmitter, in particular an avalanche-victim search device (1), such that for scanning a search area the search device (1) is swiveled by a user through a range of search angles that covers the region to be searched, which independently determines the position of an avalanche victim or several such victims in a reliable and economical manner, with a magnetic-field sensor that sends to a signal-processing means sensor signals related to the earth's magnetic field that are then sent on as processed signals to the output unit, and to every search direction there is assigned a fixed search angle relative to the earth's magnetic field, so that at every time it is possible to associate the signal received from a transmitter with a fixed search angle.

Devices for locating avalanche victims operate with an unmodulated transmission signal at 457 kHz. The normal procedure for skiers is that all the members of a group switch their devices to transmitter operation. Then if part of the group is caught in an avalanche, the others switch their devices to receive mode and try to locate the buried ones on the basis of the signals their devices are transmitting.
The transmission signal is pulsed at a frequency of about one hertz. The transmission time at the frequency of 457 kHz, the so-called duty cycle, is from ten to thirty percent.
For localization by hearing (e.g., maximal/minimal field strength) conventional devices generate an audible search tone at a frequency of about 2 kHz, by down-mixing of the 457-Hz transmission signal. Because the built-in antenna has a pronounced directional characteristic, by rotating the receiving device and looking for the loudness maximum or minimum it is possible to detect the direction at which the strength of the signal emitted by the buried transmitter is maximal. This technique demands experience and close concentration by the searcher, as well as a low level of ambient noise, especially where long distances are concerned.
To simplify the search even for searchers who have had no previous experience and are in stress situations, devices have been developed with several antennae disposed at right angles to one another. By switching between these antennae, the direction from which the transmitted signal is being received can be determined.
In practice, this method has a number of disadvantages. For one thing, the antennae influence one another even when turned off, so that the reception sensitivity of the device deteriorates. In particular, it is almost impossible to determine directionality in the case of large distances, over 50 meters, so that the directional indications thus obtained are not usable. Another disadvantage is that this technique is extremely sensitive to disturbances, so that the indicated direction varies widely when conditions are not optimal.
A particular challenge is presented to the searcher when the signals sent by several buried transmitters are being received simultaneously. In this case an extraordinary amount of practice as well as a complicated search strategy are needed in order to localize the sender.


The present invention discloses a de-jittering method for a clock signal, which is implemented by adopting a controllable frequency divider and includes: taking the clock signal to be de-jittered as a reference signal, and comparing a feedback clock signal outputted by the controllable frequency divider with the reference signal; generating the control signal that is then transmitted to the controllable frequency divider; the controllable frequency divider performs frequency division upon the input high-frequency signal to generate a stable clock, and the stable clock is outputted as the feedback clock signal which has been de-jittered. The present invention also discloses a de-jittering apparatus for implementing the above-mentioned method, which includes: a circuit for generating a control signal and a controllable frequency divider. By applying the present invention, the de-jittering circuit for clock signal can be simple. What's more, transition between T1 clock frequency and E1 clock frequency can also be implemented to meet practical requirements better.

In order to make a communication system operate normally, the system's clock and data must meet certain jitter requirements. Therefore, some communication equipments must be equipped with a jitter-attenuating function to wipe off the signal jitter generated during the communication, so as to guarantee accuracy and reliability of the signal reception. Accordingly, a series of international standards and protocols have been presented to regulate de-jittering standards. At present, jitter attenuation of E1 (2048 Kbits/s PCM communication system) and T1 (1544 bits/s PCM communication system) line interface transceivers should follow related protocols such as:
Jitter attenuation protocols for E1 signals include: ITU-T I.431, G.736 . . . 739, G.823 and ETSI TBR12/13;
Jitter attenuation protocols for T1 signals include: PUB62411, PUB43802, TR-SSY 009, TR-TSY 253, TR-TSY 499 and ITU-T I.431, G.703 and G.824.
In order to guarantee the system's de-jittering performance, corresponding templates concerning the system's de-jittering performance requirements have already been set up at present so as to check whether the de-jittering performance of the system based on the template meets relevant requirements. For instance, when measuring the Jitter Transfer Function (JTF), the testing instrument adds jitters to certain frequency points in the transmitted data, and then measures the jitters at corresponding frequency points in the received data; by taking the ratio of a received jitter and an added jitter (generally jitter attenuation with dB unitage) as a vertical coordinate, and taking the frequencies at which the jitters are measured as a horizontal coordinate, a jitter transfer function curve can be formed by connecting these coordinate points. FIGS. 1 and 2 are jitter transfer curve templates of E1 signals regulated in G.736 and that of T1 signals regulated in PUB62411 respectively. The curves of both templates are similar to a frequency response curve of a first-order low-pass filter. The curve obtained by measurement of G.736 template should be below the template curve; while the curve obtained by measurement of PUB62411 template should be between the two template curves. In order to reach this objective, the apparatus must be equipped with jitter-attenuating function. When receiving or transmitting a signal, the data signal's can be de-jittered through the following steps of: extracting a clock from the data with jitter, generating the clock with low jitter by processing the extracted clock via a de-jittering circuit, and then transmitting the signal by this low-jitter clock.
At present, conventional de-jittering method is to use an analogue phase-locked loop de-jittering circuit. The analogue phase-locked loop de-jittering circuit is shown in FIG. 3, which includes: First Input First Output (FIFO) 301, frequency divider by 16 (DIV16) 302, frequency divider by 64 (DIV64) 303, Phase detector (PD) 304, Digital Control Synthesizer (DCS) 305 and Analogue Phase-locked Loop (APLL) 306.
Taking E1 signal transmission system for example, the high-quality 2 MHz (which is practically 2.048 MHz and abbreviated as 2M for convenience) clock outputted by a crystal oscillator is inputted to APLL 306 as the reference clock of APLL 306. APLL 306 outputs a 32 MHz clock that is generated by Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO) inside APLL and is of very low jitter. Then, this 32 MHz clock is inputted to the frequency divider by 16 (DIV16) 302 and the desired 2 MHz clock without jitter can be obtained after the frequency division by 16, and the obtained 2 MHz clock is inputted to First Input First Output (FIFO) 301.
It can be seen from the jitter transfer curve templates in FIGS. 1 and 2 that, the corner frequency of jitter attenuation is as low as a few Hz, which requires a number of counting times. Therefore, the 2 MHz clock without jitter, which is outputted to First Input First Output (FIFO) 301, is also inputted to the frequency divider by 64 (DIV64) 303 for frequency division by 64, and the divided signal is then outputted to Phase detector (PD) 304 for phase discrimination, so that there are a number of counting times. Phase detector (PD) 304 outputs a digital control signal to control the counting and accumulating of Digital Control Synthesizer (DCS) 305, synthesizes the 32M clock outputted by Analogue Phase-locked Loop (APLL) 306 into a signal having the same frequency as that of the crystal oscillator clock, and then feeds this signal back to Analogue Phase-locked Loop (APLL) 306. It can also be seen from FIG. 3 that the data signal can be de-jittered by writing the data into FIFO based on the clock CK_EXT extracted from data and reading the data from FIFO based on the post-de-jitter clock.
In this method, because the outputted de-jittered clock is generated by an analogue circuit, the clock should be of high quality theoretically. However, a large feedback loop circuit, which contains an analogue phase-locked loop, digital circuits (including DCS and PD) and so on, is of a complicated structure. And the complicated structure, especially the complexity of the feedback loop circuit with both digital and analogue circuit, will make it difficult to calculate the quantified parameters of the circuit's de-jittering performance, thus difficult to obtain accurate design. What's more, compared with a single analogue circuit or digital circuit, a circuit structure mixed by digital and analogue circuits makes analog simulation difficult, which increases the difficulty of circuit design. The complicated structure brings another obvious disadvantage of which circuit chip dimension is large with low efficiency. In addition, the above-mentioned de-jittering circuit cannot change frequency of the outputted de-jittered clock while de-jittering, so that it is impossible to read the T1 data with the clock frequency of E1 after the T1 data is written into FIFO. In other words, it is very difficult to transfer between T1 clock and E1 clock by using the above-mentioned de-jittering method.
Besides, a de-jittering method for a clock signal is also put forward in U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,746 in the United States, which is titled Digitally Controlled Crystal-Based Jitter Attenuator. The key idea of this scheme is to adopt a digital phase-locked loop and digitally controlled crystal to generate the output clock. Circuit schematic of this method is shown in FIG. 4. This circuit includes: a first divider 401, a second divider 402, divider by 4 403, digital phase detector 404 and digitally controlled crystal oscillator 405.
Therein, digital phase detector 404 receives the clock with jitter that is divided by the first divider 401 and the feedback clock that is divided by the second divider 402, and compares both of them, then outputs a multi-bit digital control signal to digitally controlled crystal oscillator 405. Then, digitally controlled crystal oscillator 405 outputs a clock signal according to this control signal, and a de-jittered clock is outputted after being processed by divider by 4 403. The de-jittered clock is also outputted to the second divider 402 as a feedback clock.
The above-mentioned multi-bit digital control signal can reflect phase difference between the two clocks, and the digitally controlled crystal oscillator 405 can be accurately controlled according to this multi-bit digital control signal. Inside the digitally controlled crystal oscillator 405 there are multilevel operational amplifiers with a capacity load, and changing the load capacity through the digital control signal can change the crystal frequency.
In addition, by changing division value of the first divider 401 and that of the second divider 402 in FIG. 4, bandwidth of the whole digital phase-locked loop can be adjusted so as to meet different applications.

Method and apparatus for de-jittering a clock signal


An optical connector adapter has a tubular sleeve having opposite open ends each for receiving a ferrule supporting an optical fiber to bring front end faces of the ferrules into contact with each other to optically connect together the optical fibers. An adapter housing supports therein the sleeve. The adapter housing has at least one elastically deformable engaging portion projecting from an outer peripheral surface portion of the adapter housing for detachable engagement directly to a mounting board or for detachable engagement to a mounting member detachably engageable with the mounting board to detachably mount the adapter housing to the mounting board.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical connector plug and an optical connector adapter as well as an optical connector for holding a front end of an optical fiber and optically connecting the optical fibers.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a related art, optical connection of optical fibers used in optical communication is carried out by a method of using an optical connector having an optical connector plug holding a front end of the optical fiber and an optical connector adapter for carrying out optical connection of the optical fibers by fixing the optical connector plugs, or a method of welding front end faces of the optical fibers.
According to the optical connection of the optical fibers achieved by a welding process, there is a problem that attachment and detachment of the optical connection of the optical fibers cannot be carried out and a problem that the welding steps are complicated, thereby restricting the use of the optical connector.
Further, according to an optical connector of an SC type, an FC type or the like for carrying out optical connection by using a cylindrical member for a ferrule holding an optical fiber and having an outer diameter of φ2.5 mm, the optical connector cannot be downsized and a wide mounting area is needed in mounting the optical connector to a mounting board.
Therefore, there has been proposed an MU type optical connector using a cylindrical member for a ferrule holding an optical fiber and having an outer diameter of φ1.25 mm and comparatively downsized (for example, refer to nonpatent literature 1 described below).
According to the MU type optical connector, an optical connector plug and an optical connector adapter are difficult to disengage from each other and reliability of optical connection can be promoted. However, such an MU type optical connector is generally designed to carryout optical connection using an optical fiber cord provided with a tension member and a coating further on an outer periphery of an optical fiber core line provided with a coating on an outer periphery of an optical fiber to carry out optical connection at a panel face on an outer side of an optical transmission apparatus. Therefore, a number of parts is large and downsizing thereof is difficult. Therefore, a wide mounting are is needed for mounting a comparatively small-sized MU type optical connector at a mounting board and there poses a problem that downsizing of the mounting board per se cannot be achieved.
Further, when the optical connector of the related art is mounted to the mounting board, the optical adapter is directly fixed to the mounting board and therefore, a space for attaching and detaching the optical connector plug holding the optical fiber is needed on the mounting board and there poses a problem that not only the mounting board is large-sized but also operational efficiency is poor.
Further, there is a problem that the conventional optical connector has a large number of parts and that integration of the optical connector flag and the optical connector adapter of the conventional optical connector is difficult to achieve.
In order to resolve such a problem, there has been proposed an optical connector for urging to hold a ferrule holding an optical fiber to a side of a front end face thereof in an axial direction by a leaf spring fixed to a mounting board to thereby bring the front end faces of the ferrules into contact with each other by predetermined pressure (for example, refer to patent literatures 1 and 2).
(patent literature 1)
JP-A-2-259708 (pages 1 through 2, FIGS. 1 through 3)
(patent literature 2)
JP-UM-A-6-73705 (page 5, FIG. 1)
(nonpatent literature 1)
Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS) C5983 F14 type connector
However, according to the above-described optical connector using the leaf spring, there poses a problem that owing to durability performance of the leaf spring, when attachment and detachment are repeated, durability of the leaf spring is deteriorated, a deterioration in opposing connection of optical fibers, that is, a deterioration in insertion loss is brought about and therefore, a number of times of attachment and detachment is restricted.
Further, according to the above-described optical connector using the leaf spring, since there is no means for restricting movement of the ferrule holding the front end of the optical fiber in a rotating direction centering on an axis thereof, an eccentric direction of the core of the optical fiber cannot be prescribed and the inserting loss is increased by bringing about an eccentric shift of the core.
Further, according to the above-described optical connector using the leaf spring, there poses a problem that the ferrule is liable to disengage from the leaf spring by vibration and impact and the reliability is poor.
Further, according to the above-described optical connector using the leaf spring, the front end portion of the cylindrical body for ferrule is directly inserted into a sleeve for optical connection and therefore, there poses a problem that a defect is liable to be brought about at the polished front end face of the cylindrical member for ferrule when an inserting angle is large or by repeating attachment and detachment, the inserting loss in optical connection is liable to increase and the reliability is poor.

Optical connector plug, optical connector adapter and optical connector