In a select system for an automatic transmission in which switchover between a mechanical automatic mode and an electrical manual mode is achieved by a lateral shift of a select lever, the select lever has an engaging protrusion extending a distance to one side, which remains inserted in an engaging groove opened in a rotatable linkage member. When the select lever is in the automatic mode, the linkage member is rotatable with the lever operation by engagement between the engaging protrusion and a part of the engaging groove so as to achieve mechanical transmission control of the automatic transmission. When the select lever is in the manual mode, the engaging protrusion, while disengaging from the part of the engaging groove, restricts rotation of the linkage member so as to prevent the mechanical transmission control. Thus, the select system can prevent an accidental release of the select lever from a gear position or an unexpected shift change of the automatic transmission, whether it is in the A/T mode or manual mode.

The present invention relates to a select system for an automatic transmission.
The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-189359, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate a known select system 1 for the automatic transmission. A select lever 2 is shifted to the left and right for switching over between an automatic transmission mode (hereinafter referred to as "A/T mode") 3 and a manual transmission mode (hereinafter referred to as "manual mode") 4. Generally, when the select lever 2 is in the A/T mode 3, a linkage member 5 which is operatively connected to the select lever 2 extends and retracts a selector cable (not shown) which is connected to an inhibitor (range) switch of the automatic transmission (not shown), via an end member 6, whereby an automatic transmission control is achieved. For the manual transmission control of the automatic transmission, the select lever 2 is first shifted in the D range position of the A/T mode 3 and then to the right as shown in FIG. 7 into the manual mode 4. A forward or backward shift of the lever in this mode turns on a switch 8 in an upper case 7 either to shift up or to shift down.
The select system 1 includes the following structure so that the linkage member 5 is maintained in the D range position while allowing the select lever 2 to be shifted in the manual mode 4, after switching over the select lever 2 from the A/T mode 3 to the manual mode 4.
The select lever 2 is integrally formed with a rod 9 which is tapered as shown in a side cross section and protrudes from one side face of the lever 2 toward the other side as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The linkage member 5 includes a guide groove 10 having a shape bulged in the middle as shown in the side cross section in a corresponding position to receive the rod 9. When the select lever 2 is in the A/T mode 3, the rod 9 fits into a tapered rod receiving hole 11 opened at the top in the center of the guide groove 10 so that the linkage member 5 is rotated with the lever shift. When the select lever 2 is switched over from the A/T mode 3 to the manual mode 4, the rod 9 is retracted into an elongated groove 12 which opens to the front and back continuously with the lower end of the rod receiving hole 11, thus being freed from the engagement. In this state; the linkage member 5 is not rotated when the select lever 2 is moved.
In the select system 1, the rod 9 of the select lever 2 is tapered for an easy engagement and is removal from the rod receiving hole 11 of the guide groove 10 opened in the linkage member 5. One problem with such a system was that the rod 9 of the select lever 2 sometimes disengages from the rod receiving hole 11 of the linkage member 5 due to external factors such as vibrations while running on a dirt course or a gravel road, leading to an unexpected shift change from the A/T mode 3 to the manual mode 4.
Moreover, because the linkage member 5 is released from the select lever 2 in the manual mode 4 and not inhibited from rotating, it could accidentally be rotated due to the aforementioned external factors. A rotation of the linkage member 5 leads to a forcible shift change of the automatic transmission even when the select lever 2 is in the manual mode 4; thus an accidental release of the select lever 2 from the gear position or an unexpected gear change could occur during the drive in the manual mode.

Select system for an automatic transmission


A hidden hinge structure may be injection molded. The hidden hinge structure has a hinge pin attached to a first part and a hook member that is affixed to a second part. A portion of a frontward one of the first and second parts covers the hinge. The hidden hinge may be used to connect the lid and base of a utility enclosure or housing.

FIG. 1 shows a hinge 10 of a prior art utility box 12. Box 12 has a base 14 attached to a lid 16 by a hinge 10. Base 14 and lid 16 are made of plastic. Hinge 10 is made up of hinge pins 18, which are molded along one edge of base 14, and holders 20 which grasp hinge pins 18. Each holder 20 comprises a clip 22 which projects inwardly from a lip 24 on lid 16. Hinge pins 18 are received in holders 20 between clips 22 and a back surface portion 26 of lid 16.
Hinge 10 is a hidden hinge. Lid 16 covers hinge pins 18 when box 12 is closed. Hiding or covering hinge pins 18 is desirable, because it presents a rugged appearance and may deter unauthorized persons from attempting to open box 12. Box 12 has the disadvantage that it can be opened by pulling lip 24 outwardly as indicated by arrow 27 until clips 22 disengage from hinge pins 18. This is a particular problem where box 12 is made from polypropylene, polyethylene or another soft plastic which will bend significantly upon the application of moderate forces.
FIG. 2 shows a hinge 30 of another prior art utility box 32. Box 32 has a base 34 attached to a lid 36 by hinge 30. Base 34 and lid 36 are injection molded from plastic. Hinge 30 is made up of hinge pins 18, which are molded along one edge of base 34 and hooks 38 which are formed along an edge of lid 36. Hooks 38 extend around hinge pins 18 in a direction from inside to outside.
Hinge 30 has the disadvantage that it is not a hidden hinge. Hinge pins 18 can be seen from the front when box 32 is closed. Unauthorized persons may be tempted to cut hinge pins 18 or otherwise attack exposed hinge 30 to break into box 32.
There is a need for robust cost effective hinges for plastic boxes.


A shipping container for highly enriched uranium. A heavy duty drum containing insulation material forms an outer container. Fiberboard and plywood form the insulation material and are shaped and sized to closely receive an inner container formed from stainless steel. The inner container has a closure lid that is bolted on and forms a seal through the use of O-rings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to shipping containers for radioactive material and particularly to a shipping container for unirradiated highly enriched uranium.
2. General Background
Shipping containers previously used for shipping unirradiated highly enriched uranium were designed to meet the requirements of 10 CFR 71 as it existed before incorporation of new international standards (IAEA Safety Series 6, 1985 Edition). Containers that were used to meet the prior standards are typically steel containers with a threaded closure, with the steel container being centered in a steel shipping drum and isolated from the drum wall with fiberboard. These containers do not meet recent changes in NRC and IAEA(International Atomic Energy Agency) standards. This leaves a need for shipping containers that meet the new standards.

Shipping container for highly enriched uranium


A welding implement, such as a TIG welding torch. The welding implement comprises a torch head and a thermal storage member. The torch head is operable to conduct electricity to a welding electrode disposed therein. The thermal storage member is adapted to store heat from the torch head during operation of the torch and to release the heat when the torch is not operated. The thermal storage member is electrically isolated from the torch head by an electrical insulator. The welding implement may comprise a tube coupled to the torch head to conduct gas and electricity to the torch head. The welding implement may also comprise a second tube disposed around the tube proximate to the torch head to increase heat transfer from the torch head to the tube.

The present invention relates generally to the field of arc welding, and more particularly to the field of air-cooled arc welding torches.
Arc welding is a welding process in which an electric current is used to produce localized melting in a work piece. There are many different types of arc welding processes. One example of an arc welding process is TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding (also known as gas tungsten arc welding, GTAW, or HELIARC). TIG welding is a type of arc welding process in which an electric arc is maintained between a welding implement, such as a hand-held welding torch, and a metal work piece. Typically, the welding implement includes a cylindrical electrode coupled to a torch head. The arc is produced by electricity that flows between the electrode and the work piece. Typically, the electrode is comprised of tungsten. The electricity for the arc welding process is provided by a power source coupled to the torch head of the welding implement by a power cable.
The electricity flowing through the torch head may produce a substantial amount of heat. In addition, the electricity flowing through the electrode and the work piece may produce heat that is transferred to the torch head. The heat introduced into the torch head may damage the components of the torch. In addition, the heat may make the torch difficult to hold. The amount of heat produced is a function of the current flowing through the torch. The torches may be air-cooled at low current levels. However, the ability of air-cooling to sufficiently cool the torch decreases as the amount of current flowing through the torch increases. Consequently, the amount of current at which the torch is operated may be limited by the temperature increase in the torch caused by the current flowing through the torch. Therefore, liquid-cooled welding torches have been developed to remove a greater amount of the heat from within the torch head, thereby enabling the torch to be operated at higher current levels. However, liquid cooling the torch increases the cost and complexity of the torch and the welding system used to operate the torch. For example, a liquid-cooled torch requires a liquid-cooling unit to produce a flow of cooling liquid and to remove the heat from the liquid.
Therefore, a need exists for a technique to increase the ability of an air-cooled TIG welding torch to remove heat. More specifically, a need exists for a technique to enable an air-cooled welding torch to remove a greater amount of heat so that the torch may be operated at greater current levels.


A restoration path planner minimizes cost while meeting restoration-time constraints of a network by reducing the worst-case number of cross-connections that must be performed in a network in the event of a single element failure. The planner involves optimization that identifies primary and restoration path plans for demands within the network such that the worst-case number of cross-connections at any node within the network is minimal and/or bounded. Embodiments further constrain the cost of the path plan. In one embodiment, restoration time is bounded and cost is relaxed until a solution is found. In another embodiment, the restoration time bound is relaxed to a limit while path plans and their costs are stored. These plans can later be chosen amongst for the desired balance of cost and restoration time. At least one approach to minimization of network cost involves maximizing sharing within restoration path plans.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical networks and, more specifically, to cost reduction and restoration time improvement in mesh optical networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reliability and cost are two parameters that drive the design of modem day networks. To support high reliability, it is typical to provide path redundancy for services. To control costs, it is common to attempt to maximize the utilization of available resources and generate redundant paths in consideration of multiple-cost criteria.
Generally, reliability is supported by providing both a primary path and a restoration path for each service in the network. In the event of a failure along the primary path for a service, the service is switched over to the associated restoration path. For optical mesh networks, one challenge is to support restoration times that are comparable to those provided by SONET/SDH networks with self-healing rings (e.g., 10-100 ms restoration times). To help reduce network restoration time in optical mesh networks, a number of approaches have been considered, including improving restoration signaling and associated algorithms, and improving the switching speed of cross-connection infrastructure switching elements.


The inter-module communication apparatus includes a first module and a second module which operate individually on a processor; a common memory interposed between the first module and the second module for functioning as a communication medium; a plurality of communication paths provided to the common memory for connecting the first module and the second module to be communicable; a transmission unit for transmitting communication data from the first module to the second module; a reception unit for receiving the communication data transmitted from the first module by the second module; a processing order relating device for registering a processing order of communication processing, which is set between each communication path constituting a plurality of the communication paths; and a processing order relevance register which, for transmission, registers the processing order to the processing order relating device when the processing order is set for the communication data to be transmitted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling communication between modules which operates on processors such as a plurality of microcomputers, microprocessors, DSPs, etc.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, data is transmitted and received between processors in the manner as described below. That is, a transmission side gives numbers to transmission packets. A reception side unifies data obtaining area and determines data to be processed according to numbering information given by the transmission side at the time of receiving the data. With this, transmission and reception of data to be processed can be surely performed in order. For example, Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 5-334104 discloses such technique.
Recently, it has become common to mount a plurality of processor devices and semiconductor devices such as system-on-chips on a video/audio recording apparatus and a video/audio reproducing apparatus. In these apparatuses, it is necessary to process input video/audio data within a specific limited processing time.
Let's look into a case with the conventional configuration where, for example, for communicating video data and audio data which are to be processed through a plurality of tasks (processes), the data is received after transmission of given preceding data in a vast amount. In this case, however, processing order of each processing including the processing of the preceding data is assured. Thus, reception processing and the signal processing to be performed thereafter for the following data, which is transmitted after the preceding data, are executed on the reception side after the preceding data (a vast amount of data) is received and the signal processing is carried out thereafter. In that case, it is highly possible that the time required for the entire processing exceeds an allowable processing time (above-described limited specific processing time) set in advance. For this, it is not possible to establish a system in which it is necessary to complete the processing within a specific processing time.
Further, let's look into the processing for stopping reproduction in the middle of performing audio reproduction. In that case, even if a command for stopping reproduction is transmitted under a state where the audio data is transmitted by a large amount right before, the command stopping reproduction is not processed immediately so that a response performance is bad.
In order to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings, as shown in FIG. 19, there may be a structure which separates the communication processing in accordance with the properties (data or command) of the communication processing target.
In this case, there is no dependency between each communication path and data is processed if there is any data arrived in a reception unit. Further, the order of priority is set in each communication path in advance so that the data can be processed in order according to the priority order of each communication path. With such configuration, it is possible to quickly execute the functions of reproduction, recording, stop, etc. even if the video/audio data is being transmitted by a large amount. Thus, the response performance can be improved. Furthermore, even if a plurality of data are transmitted and one of the data carries a large data amount, the data other than the data of a large transmission amount can also be received by a specific interval. Therefore, it is less likely to exceed the above-described specific processing time. Further, since each communication path is divided into a plurality of paths, it is not necessary to analyze the received data one by one for checking what the data is about. Thus, it enables to perform the processing at still higher speed.
However, each communication path is independent in the configuration where each path is divided into a plurality of paths, so that there is no assurance in the state of association between processing order of reproduction, recording, stop commands on the reception side and the data transmission order. Thus, there may cause following shortcomings.
For example, in a case where the video is rewound by three frames from the present position and the reproduction processing is performed from that data position, the transmission side, after transmitting the data to be reproduced, transmits a command for three-frame reproduction. However, there may be a case where the reception side receives the command for three-frame reproduction prior to receiving the data to be reproduced. In that case, the command is executed before receiving the video data.
Furthermore, in a case of transmitting moving-picture data and still-picture data simultaneously, the processing in the communication paths is almost uniformly performed. Thus, even if a user desires to give priority to the processing of the moving-picture data, such priority processing cannot be performed.


A tray and a method thereof that uses the tray including a surface with a first end and a second end opposite to the first end a projection extending away from the surface and from the second end of the surface and a recess formed below the surface and from the projection toward the first end.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a paper discharge tray. In particular, the invention relates to a paper discharge tray for an image formation apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, a discharge tray of an image formation apparatus receives a document after an image has been formed on the document or after the document has been read. Such a discharge tray is associated with a facsimile machine, a copier, and a printer, for example.
Discharge trays typically include a recess and/or a stopper in order to accumulate paper and for easy access to the accumulated document. For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2002-362814, a projection is provided in the middle of the discharge tray with a recess on both sides of the projection. Alternatively, a recess is provided in the middle of the discharge tray with a projection provided on both sides of the recess. In Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 6-61844, for example, the discharge tray includes a recess and a stopper at an end of the recess. The document is ejected over the recess and stopped by the stopper.


A method for detecting cloud service uptime for a cloud service on a cloud service provider, by means of a cognitive agent. The method includes receiving, by the cognitive agent, a cloud service request from a client, and determining the cloud service uptime based on a cloud service uptime model. The method further includes preventing the cloud service request from the client if it is determined that the cloud service uptime exceeds a given threshold, and transmitting, by the cognitive agent, cloud service uptime details to the client. The method further includes requesting a provisioning of a cloud service if it is determined that the cloud service uptime does not exceed the given threshold. The method further includes training, by the cognitive agent, the cloud service uptime model based on a dynamic polling of the cloud service, wherein the cloud service uptime model provides an optimal response to the client.

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of cloud computing, and more particularly to data processing and management of cloud server service uptime in a hybrid cloud computing environment.
Cloud computing is a form of internet-based computing that provides shared computer processing resources and data to computers and other devices, on demand. It is a model for enabling ubiquitous, on-demand access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g. computer networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) which can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort.
Cloud computing allows users and enterprises, with various capabilities, to store and process their data in either a privately owned cloud, or on a public cloud (i.e. a third-party server), in order to make data accessing mechanisms much more easy and reliable.
A hybrid cloud is an integrated cloud service utilizing both private and public clouds to perform distinct functions within the same organization, with orchestration between the two platforms. By allowing workloads to move between private and public clouds as computing needs and costs change, hybrid clouds give businesses greater flexibility and more data deployment options. For example, an enterprise can deploy an on-premises private cloud to host sensitive or critical workloads, but use a third-party public cloud service provider to host less critical resources, such as test and development workloads. A software layer can facilitate private cloud connections to the public cloud.
Occasionally, due to unforeseen reasons, the services of public cloud service providers can be down. This may lead the cloud consumers to be impacted while the cloud services are down, which may in turn lead to lost business opportunities and wasted resources for both the public cloud service provider and the cloud consumer.

System and method for detecting changes in cloud service up-time

International Business Machines Corporation


A clip for use in a photographic processing apparatus which comprises at least one leader belt to which the material is attached for transportation along a processing path in the apparatus, the material being attached by means of a clip, the clip comprising a body portion to which the material is attached, and a clamp portion which is attached to the belt, characterized in that the clamp portion of the clip includes a recess formed therein for accommodating the belt in a substantially flat position.

In large processing machines, one or more continuous leader belts are provided for transporting the photographic material to be processed, for example, photographic paper, along a processing path through the machine. These leader belts are located to one side of the processing path so as not to interfere with the movement of the material along the processing path. The leading end of the paper or other photographic material to be processed is attached to the moving leader belt by means of a metal clip. The material to be processed is threaded through a loop or slot formed in the clip, and the clip is attached to the moving belt.
When the clip is attached to the leader belt, it grips the belt so that it is held in a bowed or buckled configuration. This means that the belt is always deformed in regions where it is gripped by clips. Moreover, it may be difficult to grasp the moving belt so that the clip can be attached.
Furthermore, with the recent trend to reduce the amount of processing solution used when processing photographic material, large processing machines, of the type described above, have been adapted to operate with lower volumes of processing solution. In order to obtain the lower volumes, the width of the processing tanks in such machines need to be substantially reduced so that the material passes through a narrow processing channel which defines the processing path. This means that there is less clearance for the clip carrying the material to pass along the processing path as it is taken through the machine by the leader belt. As a result, the clip can come off the belt and/or jam in the narrow processing channel. Furthermore, the clip may bend in the narrow processing channels if it does not remain at approximately 90.degree. to the belt. The material being processed may also tear as result of the clip detaching itself from the belt or jamming in the processing channel.
When these problems occur, the machine has to be stopped so that the clip and/or material can be recovered from the machine. This results in lost processing time, particularly if the machine is a multi-strand machine capable of processing several strands of material at one time. Moreover, components in the machine may need to be removed therefrom so that access to the clip and paper can be obtained, many of the components being heavy and difficult to lift.
Furthermore, clips as known in the art cause damage to the leader belt if they are not attached correctly or if they become dislodged from an optimum position on the belt. In particular, the belt is often distorted in the region where it is gripped by the clip.


An active electrical array wafer includes a substrate on which are disposed a plurality of layers of electrically conductive components, such as sets of address lines (for example scan and data lines) that are electrically insulated from one another by a dielectric material. Static protection capacitors to protect against the discharge of static potential between the layers of electrically conductive components are disposed at selected points on the wafer. A static protection line is disposed so as to cross over scan or data lines extending from the active area of the array towards the edge of the wafer. A dielectric material, such as the dielectric material separating the scan and data lines in the active area of the array, is disposed between the static protection line and the crossing-over address line, thereby forming a capacitor in which the two electrodes are the overlying portions of the respective address line and the static protection line. The capacitance of the static protection capacitor is selected, for example by determining the width of the scan protection line, to cause the static protection capacitor to exhibit electrical breakdown before a static potential causes an electrical breakdown between conductive components in the active portion of the array.

This invention relates generally to thin film electronic active arrays such as liquid crystal displays or imager arrays and more particularly to static protection devices in displays or imagers having a matrix of electrically conductive transmission lines for controlling active components in such arrays.
Arrays of active electronic devices, such as photodiodes or liquid crystal cells and their associated electrical address lines and switching devices, are typically fabricated on wafers for ease of assembly, testing, and installation in operating equipment. Such arrays typically have one or more layers of electrically conductive components which are electrically insulated from the other. During the fabrication and testing process, static voltages between the layers can rise and fall rapidly as a result of, for example, fabrication process steps (such as metal deposition or reactive ion etching), handling, or application of test voltages.
These static voltages may become large enough to result in the breakdown of dielectric material disposed between the overlying layers of electronic components, destroying or damaging the electronic component at the location where the breakdown occurred. The point at which breakdown occurs is a function of the static voltage, the nature and structure of the dielectric and other materials (such as layers of semiconductor material) disposed between the layers of electrically conductive components, and the surface area of those components. Specifically, breakdown typically occurs at locations in the array which have a relatively small capacitance and are thus less capable of easily withstanding increases in voltage potential between the conductive layers. Differences of potential as low as 50 volts can cause breakdown in some imager arrays. If the number of electronic components damaged or destroyed exceeds the repair capability of the wafer, for example the number of repair lines available to electrically isolate a damaged component (such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,688,896, issued Aug. 25, 1987 to D. E. Castleberry and assigned to the assignee of the present invention), or the operational tolerance for defective devices in the array, the wafer is unusable and must be scrapped.
It is thus an object of this invention to provide an array of electronic components that includes protection from static voltage discharge damage for active components on the array.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an array having static protection capacitors sized such that they exhibit breakdown at static voltages sufficiently low to protect the layers of electrically conductive components forming active components on the wafer.
It is yet a further object of this invention to provide a liquid crystal or photodiode array of enhanced manufacturing yield that is readily fabricated on a wafer and economical to produce.


The invention relates to an electrochemical cell comprising an anode and a cathode compartments separated by a membrane, having corresponding electrodes; said anode and cathode compartments each having an external wall, flanged areas designed like frames in the contact area of the compartments, and a gas diffusion electrode comprising a liquid-permeable carrier coated with a catalyst material; said gas diffusion electrode featuring an area not coated with catalyst at its bottom edge, said area, at the bottom end of the electrochemical cell, protruding between the flanged areas of the external wall of the cathode compartment and the flanged areas of the external wall of the anode compartment in the contact area of the compartments; a porous material arranged parallel between the gas diffusion electrode and the membrane, and devices for the supply and discharge of gas and electrolyte, with a gas space separated from an electrolyte space by appropriate means.

During electrolysis, for example, electric power is converted into chemical energy. This is achieved through the decomposition of a chemical compound by means of an electric current. The solution used as electrolyte contains positively and negatively charged ions. Therefore, mainly acids, bases or salt solutions are used as electrolyte.
For example, in the case of the electrolytic production of halogen gases from aqueous alkali halide solution—here represented by sodium chloride—the following reaction takes place on the anode side:4NaCl→2Cl24Na++4e−  (1)The liberated alkali ions move to the cathode where they form caustic soda with the hydroxide ions generated there. Hydrogen is also formed:4H2O+4e−→2H2+4OH−  (2)The caustic soda produced is separated from the alkali halide fed to the anode side by means of a cation exchange membrane, separation thus being achieved. Cation exchange membranes are state-of-the-art and commercially available from a number of different suppliers.
The standard potential generated at the anode by the formation of chlorine when reaction (1) above takes place is +1.36 V, with the standard potential at the cathode being −0.86 V when the above reaction takes place. A cell design of this type is known, for example, from WO98/55670. The difference between these two standard potentials yields an enormous influx of energy, which is required for these reactions to take place. In order to minimise this difference, gas diffusion electrodes (hereinafter referred to as GDEs) are used on the cathode side, meaning that oxygen is fed into the system with the result that reaction (2) is replaced by the following reaction at the cathode:O2+2H2O+4e−→4OH−  (3)Oxygen can be supplied as pure gas or as air. The following overall reaction for chlor-alkali electrolysis using gas diffusion electrodes results:4NaCl+O2+2H2O→4NaOH+2Cl2  (4)As the standard potential of reaction (3) is +0.4 V, GDE technology results in a considerable power saving compared with conventional electrolysis with hydrogen formation.
Gas diffusion electrodes have been used for many years in batteries, electrolysers and fuel cells. The electrochemical conversion takes place inside these electrodes at the so-called three-phase boundary only. Three-phase boundary is the term used for the area where gas, electrolyte and metallic conductor meet. For the GDE to work effectively, the metallic conductor should also be a catalyst for the desired reaction. Typical catalysts in alkaline systems are silver, nickel, manganese dioxide, carbon and platinum. To be particularly effective these catalysts must have a large surface area. This is achieved by finely divided or porous powders with an inner surface.
Problems in the use of such gas-diffusion electrodes as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,575, for example, are due to the fact that the electrolyte would penetrate into these fine pore structures due to capillary action and fill them up. This effect would make the oxygen stop diffusing through the pores, thus stopping the intended reaction.
For the reaction to take place effectively at the three-phase boundary, the above problem must be avoided by selecting the pressure ratios accordingly. A static liquid column would otherwise be formed in the electrolyte solution, which would cause the hydrostatic pressure to be highest at the lower end of the column, thus enhancing the phenomenon described above.
As documented in the relevant literature, this problem is solved by using falling-film evaporators. Here, the electrolyte, such as caustic soda solution NaOH or caustic potash solution KOH, is percolated through a porous material positioned between the membrane and the GDE, thus preventing the formation of a hydrostatic column. This is also referred to as percolation technology.
WO 03/42430 describes such an electrolysis cell, which utilises this principle for the chlor-alkali electrolysis reaction with an oxygen consumption reaction. Here, the oxygen is separated from the porous material by the gas diffusion electrode, and the GDE and the porous material—the percolator—are pressed together by means of a conductive support structure and a conductive flexible spring element.
The same kind of principle can also be found in DE102004018748, for example. This describes an electrochemical cell consisting of at least one anode compartment with an anode, a cathode compartment with a cathode and an ion exchange membrane arranged between the anode compartment and the cathode compartment, the anode and/or cathode being a gas diffusion electrode, and there being a gap between the gas diffusion electrode and the ion exchange membrane, an electrolyte inlet above the gap and an electrolyte outlet below the gap as well as a gas inlet and a gas outlet, the electrolyte inlet being connected to an electrolyte feed tank and having an overflow.
However, use of the gas diffusion electrode in the electrolytic apparatus described is not merely for the purpose of allowing the catalytic oxygen consumption reaction. The aim of the electrode is also to ensure the separation of electrolytes and gas on both sides of the GDE. For this, it is imperative to seal the gas diffusion electrodes gas tight and liquid tight by means of the selected anchoring method in order to ensure—particularly once the electrolyte has entered the cell—that the electrolyte is routed along the gas diffusion electrode as intended and does not reach the electrolyte outlet from the electrochemical cell via untight areas and thus alternative routes, consequently not being available for the reaction.
As the gas diffusion electrodes are subject to ageing and thus to wear, they must be replaced after a given operating period. The prior art envisages the gas diffusion electrodes being welded into the cathode compartments, which makes them work-intensive to replace.
This is elaborated, for example, in DE 103 30 232 A1. This describes an electrochemical compartment in which the GDE has an uncoated periphery that is connected to an anchoring structure equipped with an electrically conductive plate. This method of anchoring a GDE, which at the same time allows the electrolyte space to be sealed off from the gas space is, if anything, disadvantageous in combination with a percolator as it may lead to the percolator material being damaged and the electrolyte flow across the percolator being blocked. Moreover, when assembling this type of arrangement it is essential that the GDE is pushed an exact even amount under the electrically conductive plate 3 across the entire width of the electrochemical cell as otherwise the electric plate unevenly changes the free cross-sectional area available for liquid flow in the percolator arranged parallel thereto, which means that there is no guarantee that the liquid will be distributed evenly, which is essential if the electrochemical cell is to work properly. Ensuring even distribution is very difficult with an arrangement of this type.
An alternative method of anchoring the gas diffusion electrodes is defined in DE 101 52 792. This document describes a method for connecting a gas diffusion electrode to the basic structure of the electrolytic apparatus by means of an enclosing bent frame. As a pure clamping method, this method is more advantageous with regard to replaceability than that described in DE 103 30 232. However, as the frame and the basic structure are in this case also connected by welding or soldering in order to minimise ohmic losses, there are still the disadvantage regarding difficult replaceability and the loss of active electrode surface area due to welds.
It is therefore the objective of the present invention to find an alternative method for anchoring the gas diffusion electrode in an electrochemical cell to ensure ease of installation and removal, adequate sealing off of the gas space from the electrolyte space and provision of the biggest possible active electrode surface for the electrochemical reaction.

Alternative installation of a gas diffusion electrode in an electrochemical cell having percolator technology


(Problem to be Solved)

It has conventionally been practiced to separate and recover volatile organic compounds from exhaust gas containing the volatile organic compounds such as toluene, xylene, methylene chloride, and the like from the standpoint of air pollution prevention and effective utilization of resources.
For example, the activated carbon adsorption method has been utilized to recover the volatile organic compound such as an organic solvent or the like contained in exhaust gas generated by the manufacturing process of plastic products, synthetic fibers, and semiconductors or various operations in magnetic tape industry. In the activated carbon adsorption method, two types of devices are known in the art. One is a fixed bed solvent recovery device which is provided with a plurality of adsorption towers packed with activated carbon so as to alternately repeat the adsorption and desorption. The other is a fluidized bed solvent recovery device which drops activated carbon from the top of a tower, performs adsorption of solvent or the like while flowing the activated carbon by the raw gas fed from the bottom of the tower, and then causes a separately provided desorber to desorb the adsorbed activated carbon obtained at the tower bottom. The adsorption steps by these devices are carried out under atmospheric pressure, and the desorption steps are often carried out at atmospheric pressure or under reduced pressure using water vapor or nitrogen gas.
Among these adsorption methods, the particular operation is described by taking a fixed bed adsorption device for performing atmospheric pressure desorption as an example with reference to FIG. 7. When an untreated gas containing a volatile organic compound is fed into an adsorption tower (1), the volatile organic compound in the untreated gas is adsorbed by the activated carbon layer and then the purified exhaust gas is released into the atmosphere. Upon completion of adsorption in the adsorption tower (1), an untreated gas intake valve (2) and a treated gas exhaust valve (3) are closed, water vapor is blown into the adsorption tower (1) through an adsorbent regeneration gas supply valve (5), and then the adsorbed volatile organic compounds are desorbed and discharged in gaseous form together with the water vapor. The gas mixture (desorbed gas) is introduced into a condenser (16) and is condensed by cooling.
If insoluble in each other, water in the condensate and the recovered volatile organic compound are separated into the volatile organic compound phase and the aqueous phase due to a difference in specific gravity at a separation tank (13). Then, the water is discharged as a wastewater (20) and the volatile organic compound is recovered in a volatile organic compound recovery tank (12). Note that separation into the upper phase and the lower phase in the separation tank (13) is determined by the difference in specific gravity between water and the volatile organic compound, and thus, the relationship of upper and lower phase is not fixed.
However, if water and the recovered volatile organic compound are partially or fully soluble in each other, it is necessary to conduct distilled separation using a distillation device in order to separate them and recover the solvent alone. If an untreated gas contains a plurality of types of volatile organic compounds or if, the recovered volatile organic compounds are partially or fully soluble in each other, it is also necessary to conduct distilled separation using a distillation device in order to separate them for individual recovery. Typical examples of the volatile organic compound which is soluble in water include ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, isopropyl alcohol, and the like. These volatile organic compounds have been widely used in printing industry, painting industry, and the like. Although most of them have conventionally been burned at the time of disposal for preventing air pollution, it is expected in the future that these volatile organic compounds are effectively used by recycling (material recycling) as solvents or by recycling (energy recycling) as fuels alternative to fossil fuel.

Device for recovering volatile organic compound

Abstract: (Problem to be Solved)

Abstract: To provide a volatile organic compound recovery device which renders energy saving possible and renders the equipment simple.

Abstract: (Means for Solution)

Abstract: An untreated gas which contains a volatile organic compound is supplied to an adsorption tower (1), whereby the volatile organic compound is adsorbed onto the adsorbent. After completion of the adsorption, a volatile organic compound which has higher adsorbability than that of the volatile organic compound adsorbed onto the adsorbent is supplied to the adsorption tower (1) through a desorption gas supply valve (4). The volatile organic compound which has low-adsorbability and has been adsorbed onto the adsorbent is then desorbed therefrom due to competitive adsorption with the high-adsorbability volatile organic compound fed later, and the high-adsorbability volatile organic compound itself is adsorbed onto the adsorbent instead. As a result, the volatile organic compound which has been adsorbed is discharged from the adsorption tower (1) and recovered.


This invention involves a tapered vacuum bag sealer that can be used to seal conventional plastic bags and to vacuum canning jars or other food containers. The rear of the sealer housing has a connection for a PVC tube or other flexible tube that will extend to the jar or container being vacuumed to remove air therefrom. This rear connection avoids the necessity of the housing lid being opened before this vacuum procedure could be accomplished.

It is known to use various heat sealing appliances to seal plastic bags generally used to contain foods for storage. Many of these appliances or devices simply use heat to fuse-close plastic bags. While there is a need for this type device, it is known that air left in the bag can seriously affect the perishable nature of the food contained therein. Thus, many of these devices evacuate air from the bags prior to sealing. It is desirable in many situations that items other than plastic bags need to be air evacuated such as mason jars, canning containers and the like. In applicant's commercially successful apparatus and method for sealing plastic bags, the vacuum sealer used has one and preferably three wires that are heated to varying degrees. In the preferred embodiment two wires are used or dedicated to sealing a plastic bag and one of the wires is used to cut the bag after the vacuum sealing step. The improved vacuum sealer is tapered downwardly, i.e. has a low profile to ensure a proper air flow during the vacuuming step. In the sealer used a turbine with curved fins is required to evacuate air from the bag. With the increase in air duct size and with the low profile of the unit, a more effective system is provided for evacuating air from the plastic bag to be used.
Most of the prior art devices while effective for evacuating air from plastic bags, they make no accommodations for air evacuation of mason jars or other containers. The use of the same appliance for vacuum sealing of plastic bags and for air evacuating canning containers would be highly desirable. It would therefore be highly desirable that a simple device be provided to accomplish this, especially for usage in the home for canning foods, etc.
Devices that evacuate air from bags are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,179,862; 4,513,015; 4,660,355; 4,756,140; 4,756,422; 4,941,310 and 5,048,269.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,862 (Landolt), a vacuum packing machine is disclosed having retracting means for pulling an extended open end of a bag into the vacuum chamber of the machine once the cover is closed. This retracting means comprises a spring-loaded rod fastened to the cover for pressing the end of the bag into a groove hollowed out in an edge of the packing machine housing. Landott's machine has a device for automatically pulling back the projecting open end of a product bag placed in the vacuum chamber. A groove is hollowed out in the edge of the vacuum chamber housing, and an elongated rod spring mounted to the underside of the cover penetrates into the groove when the cover is closed to thereby force the end of the bag projecting out of the machine into the groove. There is no accommodation in Landolt's device for vacuum connection to other food containers.
Clough, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,015, teaches the use of a method of sealing thermoplastic food containers. In Clough's method, a container holding food is sealed by an intermediate membrane made of a microporous plastic gas-breathable material. The gas is then extracted from the headspace through the membrane and afterwards the container is sealed by a final barrier membrane. Clough provides generally a process for sealing a thermoplastic based food container characterized in that after filing, the container is sealed by an intermediate membrane made of a microporous plastic gas-breathable material. Gas is then extracted from the headspace through the membrane and afterwards, as above noted, the container is sealed by a final barrier membrane.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,355 (Kristen I), a system for using an adapter for extracting air from canning jars which are fitted with metal disc-type lids is disclosed. Kristen I discloses a bell-shaped adapter which facilitates the extraction of air from these canning jars fitted with metallic lids. The system operates in conjunction with a vacuum pump. The vacuum adapter is specially defined and claimed in Kristen I. Gannon, U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,140, discloses a process for packaging foodstuff where the food is enclosed in a thermoplastic bag. The bag is then placed in a container, one wall of which is made of deformable sheet material, preferably a sheet made of a silicone resin. The container is then connected to a source of vacuum and the pressure reduced in both the container and the bag. Heat is then applied to the deformable sheet to cause the surfaces to become sealed together. The invention also discloses the use of a preserving gas such as carbon dioxide after the bag is vacuumized.
Kristen II and III (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,941,310 and 4,756,422, respectively) disclose an apparatus for vacuum sealing plastic bags by the use of a sealing apparatus having a single wire. In addition, Kristen II defines means in the apparatus for connection to a vacuum sealing attachment for containers other than plastic bags. Kristen II describes his system as follows: An apparatus for vacuum sealing plastic bags of the type disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. No. 4,756,422 comprises a hood adapted to define a vacuum chamber when it is moved to a closed position on a support surface. An elastomeric seal, circumventing the vacuum chamber, is adapted to engage and statically seal outer surfaces of a bag. A vacuum system and sealer are provided for evacuating and heat sealing the bag. The hood can be pivotally mounted on a base or can be used as separate, self-contained unit adapted for placement on a support surface defined on a counter top or the like. The apparatus is further adapted for connection to a unique vacuum sealing attachment for a container whereby the container can be selectively evacuated. Kristen II provides a vacuum chamber or trough (34) which extends through the frontal side of the apparatus. An opening 86 is in communication with trough 34 and is adapted to be used with or connected to a flexible plastic tube that connects the opening 86 with a container to be air evacuated. The vacuum means of the apparatus thus can be used to evacuate air from containers (78) in addition to its use to evacuate air from plastic bags.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,269 (Deni), a vacuum sealing apparatus is disclosed which is designed for easy air flow for evacuating air from bags. This device contains at least three wires dedicated to both heat cutting plastic bags and heat sealing plastic bags. In a vacuum sealer having a low profile which facilitates better air flow from sealer to bag is disclosed in a three-wire unit embodiment of this invention, the center wire has a dedicated cutting function while the two outside wires have dedicated sealing functions. The sealing wire closest to the bag roll seals the plastic roll to form a subsequent bag for use. The sealing wire farthest from the plastic roll seals the immediate bag. Also the use of expensive cutting mechanisms is avoided. While more than three heated wires may be used if desired, it has been found that three wires provide the most efficient cost considered embodiment. A turbine fan having curved fins is used to improve the vacuuming effect of the unit. It has been considered that the vacuuming effect is enhanced at least 50% by the use of curved fins rather than the prior art straight fins. There is no accommodation in this device for connection to external containers for evacuating air from these external containers.
There is a need for a household vacuum sealer that is easy to use with commercially available plastic bags and having sealing means in some preferred embodiments with a plurality of sealing wires. In addition, this sealer should contain convenient means for air evacuation of not only plastic bags, but also containers such as Mason or Ball jars used for canning foods. Conveniently placed controls and conveniently located jar air evacuation connection means would enhance the commercially acceptable usage of such a device.

System for vacuum evacuation and sealing of plastic bags


A method and apparatus for applying exposure compensation to an image. Exposure correction limits inclusion of, but does not ignore, image highlights and lowlights.

Solid state imagers such as CCD, CMOS, and others, are in widespread use. CMOS image sensors are increasingly being used as a lower cost alternative to CCDs. A CMOS image sensor circuit includes a focal plane array of pixels, each one of the pixels includes a photogate, photoconductor, or photodiode having an associated charge accumulation region within a substrate for accumulating photo-generated charge. Each pixel may include a transistor for transferring charge from the charge accumulation region to a storage region and another transistor for resetting the storage region to a predetermined charge level prior to charge transfer. The pixel may also include a source follower transistor for receiving and amplifying charge from the storage region and an access transistor for controlling the readout of the pixel contents from the source follower transistor which receives the charge.
FIG. 1 shows one example of a CMOS imaging sensor 1 that includes a CMOS active pixel sensor ("APS") pixel array 4 and a controller 6 that provides timing and control signals to enable the readout of image signals captured and stored in the pixels in a manner commonly known to those skilled in the art. Example arrays have dimensions of M×N pixels, with the size of the array 4 depending on a particular application. The imager pixel signals, typically in the form of reset signal Vrst and photosensor signal Vsig are read out a row at a time using a column parallel readout architecture. The controller 6 selects a particular row of pixels in the array 4 by controlling the operation of row addressing circuit 2 and row drivers 3. Signals stored in the selected row of pixels are provided on respective column output lines to a readout circuit 7. The signals read from each of the columns are read out sequentially or in parallel using a column addressing circuit 8. The Vrst and Vsig signals are typically subtracted to provide an image signal free from certain types of noise. The readout analog Vrst and Vsig signals for each pixel are subtracted and are converted to digital values by an analog-to-digital ("A/D") converter 9 and then processed by an image processor 10.
CMOS image sensors of the type discussed above are generally known as discussed, for example, in Nixon et al., "256×256 CMOS Active Pixel Sensor Camera-on-a-Chip," IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits, Vol. 31(12), pp. 2046 2050 (1996); and Mendis et al., "CMOS Active Pixel Image Sensors," IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 41(3), pp. 452 453 (1994). See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,177,333 and 6,204,524, which describe operation of conventional CMOS image sensors and U.S. Pat. No. 7,141,841, which describes an imager having extended dynamic range, assigned to Micron Technology, Inc.
FIG. 2 depicts a portion of the FIG. 1 sensor 1 and more details of the image processor 10. Image processor 10 receives digital signals on line 31 from the pixel array 4 and upstream circuits (not shown). The illustrated portion of the image processor 10 is typically constructed as an image processing pipeline. The dotted lines represent omitted circuits performing upstream processing tasks. Typically, the incoming pixel signals, in the form of Bayer pixel data, are received by a digital gain unit 29, which may amplify one or more of the pixel signals, which are then are provided to a PGA (positional gain amplifier) 30 that selectively amplifies the Bayer pixel signals based on their pixel location in the pixel array 4. The digital gain unit 29 amplifies the pixel signals per pre-imposed design or by need. The PGA 30 also applies gains to the image signal per pre-imposed design or by need. The dotted line between the digital gain unit 29 and PGA 30 represents other processing circuits performing other pixel signal processing tasks, which may be provided between the two.
After processing by the PGA 30 and other possible processing circuits, which operate on the Bayer pixel signals, the Bayer pixel signals are demosaiced by a demosaicing unit 31 to provide RGB data for each pixel. The RGB data is subsequently color corrected by a color correction matrix (ccm) 32. Following color correction, other processing may be performed on the RGB pixel data and the color corrected RGB pixel data is then provided to a Gamma correction unit 40. The Gamma correction unit 40 applies linear luminance to the RGB pixel signals. The application of Gamma correction may be one of many different processing steps that are applied to the RGB image pixel signals before being provided downstream for printing, display, and/or storage.
For automatic exposure, statistics of the RGB image can be collected by an exposure statistics processing unit 41 at the output of the demosaic unit 31, processed and provided to an automatic (auto) exposure algorithm 43 for use in determining a proper image exposure setting based on an average image luminance.
Image sensors having a pixel array have a characteristic dynamic range. Dynamic range refers to the range of incident light that can be accommodated by the pixels of the array in a single frame of pixel data. It is desirable to have an image sensor with a high dynamic range to image scenes that generate high dynamic range incident signals, such as indoor rooms with windows to the outside, outdoor scenes with mixed shadows and bright sunshine, night-time scenes combining artificial lighting and shadows, and many others.
The dynamic range for an image sensor is commonly defined as the ratio of its largest non-saturating pixel signal to the standard deviation of noise under dark conditions. The dynamic range is limited on an upper end by the charge saturation level of the photosensors, and on a lower end by noise imposed limitations and/or quantization limits of the analog-to-digital converter used to produce the digital pixel signals. When the dynamic range of an image sensor is too small to accommodate the variations in light intensities of the imaged scene, a captured image may have limited dynamic range.
In conventional imager processing systems, conventional auto exposure techniques attempt to achieve an average image luminance at a certain target level, where the auto exposure target can be established in advance and/or at the time of image capture to best capture the dynamic range of the scene. Additionally, the auto exposure target can be set by the imaging sensor with or without input by the user of the imaging sensor. An advantage of conventional auto exposure techniques based on the average image luminance is that they are easily implemented and can provide fast and smooth behavior.
One of the problems with digital image capture occurs when portions of, or an entirety of, a captured image are not equally lit. Some portions of an image may have lowlights, highlights, or may have backlighting. Another problem is that portions of, or an entirety of, a captured image are not properly lit where the overall image is extremely brightly lit, dimly lit, or has low-contrast content. Conventional techniques relying on average image luminance do not always effectively compensate for an image that lacks uniform luminance or has other problems. As a result, conventional auto exposure techniques relying on average image luminance to determine image exposure may not set the best exposure to adequately capture a full dynamic range of a scene resulting in images that, for example: have a subject that is underexposed due to backlighting; have brightly sun lit outdoor scenes which appear too dark; have night scenes that look too bright; produce dull, low-contrast images; and/or produce images with clipped highlights with reduced dynamic range. Therefore, it is desirable to have an auto exposure technique that at least mitigates some of these problems and better sets exposure to improve the capture of the dynamic range of the scene.

Method and apparatus providing rule-based auto exposure technique preserving scene dynamic range


A first detector is configured to detect a state where a first area in a touch sensor mounted on a grip portion that a driver grips on a steering wheel is touched. A second detector is configured to detect a state where a particular input operation is performed on a second area located on the upper side of the first area in the touch sensor. A controller is configured to control an operation target device to be operated with the touch sensor according to the particular input operation when the first detector detects the state where the first area is touched and the second detector detects the state where the particular input operation is performed.

The present disclosure relates to a control apparatus and method for controlling an operation target device, which is onboard equipment such as a navigation device or a vehicle action control device that controls actions of a vehicle such as a transmission and a direction indicator, and relates to a steering wheel suitable to operate the operation target device.
Operation switches located on steering wheels, for operating onboard equipment such as an installed navigation device, are widely used in vehicles (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-106353 (Patent Literature 1)).
The operation switches located on the steering wheel improve operability because a driver is not required to stretch the arm to operate the onboard equipment.
As is described in Patent Literature 1, such operation switches are generally located not on a circular portion of a steering wheel, which is a grip portion that a driver grips with the hands, but on a connection area connecting the circular portion and a center portion in which an air bag is housed.
Therefore, the driver is required to remove or widely slide the hands from the circular portion gripping for operating the operation switches.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-348123 (Patent Literature 2) discloses that operation switches are located on aback surface or an inner side surface of a circular portion of a steering wheel.

Control apparatus and method for controlling operation target device in vehicle, and steering wheel


There is provided a surround-sound system in which the output direction of a sound beam of each channel in a speaker array can be optimized without requiring a user to make any troublesome operation. A parameter setting control portion 6 controls to output sound beams from a speaker array 1 and rotate the output directions of these sound beams. In addition, based on change of sound pressure sensed by a microphone 7 when the output directions of the sound beams are rotated, the parameter setting control portion 6 determines the output directions of sound beams of at least a part of a plurality of channels in the speaker array 1. The parameter setting control portion 6 determines the output directions of sound beams of the other channels based on the output directions of the channels determined based on the change of sound pressure.

A surround-sound system can emit sounds from a plurality of speakers disposed in front of and at the rear of a listener so as to provide the listener with a sound rich in presence. In the surround-sound system, however, speakers must be disposed in front of and at the rear of the listener. For this reason, the surround-sound system is not adequate to a small room. In addition, there is a problem that signal lines for supplying an output signal of each channel from an audio amplifier to both the speaker disposed in front of the listener and the speaker disposed at the rear of the listener are obstructive because the signal lines must be put around in the room. As techniques to solve these problems, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose techniques which are used to dispense with rear speakers in such manner that a speaker array with high directivity is disposed in front of a listener to thereby make sound beams which are output from this speaker array and which are reflected by walls of a sound space arrive at the listener.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-6-205496
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2004-179711


During turning of a vehicle, a vehicle body deceleration due to a cornering drag is obtained. An electronically controlled coupling is controlled to give, to rear wheels, a pre-torque set to be larger as the vehicle body deceleration is larger. Also, the pre-torque is restricted by an upper limit of the pre-torque that is set to be lower as a differential rotational speed of the front and rear wheels is smaller. By giving the pre-torque to the rear wheels, if a shift condition for a four-wheel drive state is established subsequently, a driving force can be generated in the rear wheels substantially at the same time that a fastening force of the electronically controlled coupling is increased, thereby the shift to the four-wheel drive state is immediately completed. Consequently, delay in response is not generated in the shift.

As a vehicle on which is mounted a driving force source such as an engine, a vehicle including a drive torque distributor is known. The drive torque distributor is capable of changing a distribution ratio of a drive torque that is given to front and rear wheels. By such a change in the distribution ratio of the drive torque, the vehicle can be switched between a two-wheel drive state in which the vehicle is driven by either the front wheels or the rear wheels, and a four-wheel drive state in which the vehicle is driven by both the front wheels and the rear wheels (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 listed below).
In the above vehicle, it is possible, according to a traveling state, to improve traveling performance of the vehicle by switching the drive state to the four-wheel drive state in which the drive torque is distributed to the front and rear wheels at a predetermined distribution ratio, or to improve a fuel consumption ratio by switching the drive state to the two-wheel drive state in which the drive torque is transmitted to either the front wheels or the rear wheels.
Also, as disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, if a four-wheel drive shift condition is established because, for example, main drive wheels slip during traveling in the two-wheel drive state, the drive torque distributor is actuated to distribute part of the drive torque to driven wheels so that the drive state is switched to the four-wheel drive state, thus traveling stability is improved.


A diluting station and a pipetting station for a machine such as a biological sample testing machine. The diluting station has a rotating shot tube that fills with diluent without the need for priming when the shot tube is in a vertically inclined orientation, and which dispenses the diluent into a receptacle when the shot tube is rotated to a downward orientation. A thimble valve is placed in the shot tube to control the flow of diluent into the valve.. The pipetting station includes a cylindrical housing storing a plurality of straws and a concentric rotating drum that sweeps a straw into a straw withdrawal slot. A tubular tapered transfer pin is inserted into frictional engagement with the straw. The tubular transfer pin rotates the straw out of the slot and into a generally downward orientation towards a receptacle containing a fluid. The pin and straw are lowered so as to place the end of the straw into the fluid. The fluid is withdrawn into the straw by means of vacuum applied to the tubular tapered transfer pin. The pin and straw are then raised out of the fluid. The fluid can then be deposited into a second receptacle that is moved below the straw and transfer pin by lowering the straw into the second receptacle and releasing the vacuum.

A. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of methods and devices for adding, removing and transferring precise volumes of fluid to and/or from a receptacle such as a test tube. These methods and devices are often employed in biological and fluid sample testing machines and related equipment.
The dilution station of the present invention is suitable for use in machines in which a precise volume of fluid (such as a diluent solution or reagent solution) is automatically added to a receptacle for the fluid. The pipetting station is suitable for use in machines which have the need for automatic and accurate removal of a predetermined volume of fluid from a receptacle. While the invention is particularly suitable to automated biological sample testing machines, it is also applicable to other types of machines, as will be more fully understood from the following discussion.
B. Description of Related Art
Automated biological sample testing equipment typically involve the processing of biological samples by multiple modules or "stations", with each station designed to perform a particular function. For example, in the medical area, biological samples are placed in test tubes and processed according to a predetermined methodology.
One common step in the processing of biological samples is the step of adding a fluid to a sample, such as diluting a sample with a diluent, for example, water or saline solution. Prior art techniques for diluting a sample are described in the patents to Douchy et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,007 and Chen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,919, and the early patents to Farr, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,712,754 and 3,567,398.
Another step sometimes found in the processing of biological samples is the removal of fluids from a sample, and the transferring of the removed fluid to another site or receptacle. Representative techniques for handling or removing fluid samples are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,855 to Mandle et al., and the patents to Freeman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,790 and Goodman, U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,909.
When samples are to be removed from one receptacle and transferred to another, special problems are encountered. If a pipetting device is used for the removal of fluid, the pipette must be disposed of and a new pipette supplied to the device to avoid contamination between samples. Several patents addressing the challenges of dispensing or handling pipettes and other similarly shaped objects include the patent to Prussi, U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,021, which discloses a package for manual removal of pipettes, and the patents to VanAlstine et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,398; Portyansky, U.S. Pat. No. 4,567,997; Rizzo, U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,194 and Cristiani et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,670.
The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art approaches by providing for an efficient and compact arrangement for diluting and pipetting stations. The diluting station provides for precise control of the amount of diluent added to the receptacle, and does not require priming of the diluent addition vessel. The diluting station accomplishes automatic addition of the diluent to the receptacle with a negligible risk of contamination of the diluent or of the diluting apparatus. The pipetting station is particularly advantageous in that it permits disposable straws to be used in the removal of fluids from a sample. The pipetting station achieves the withdrawal of the straws from a hopper and removal of fluid from the receptacle automatically and without human intervention. The pipetting station also accomplishes automatic disposal of the straws after the removed fluid has been transferred to another body, such as to a second receptacle.

Pipetting station for sample testing machine


A semiconductor laser device including Ga.sub.x Al.sub.y In.sub.1-x-y N (0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1)) layers has an InN contact layer, which has a thickness ranging, preferably, from 0.1 .mu.m to 1.0 .mu.m inclusive. The contact layer is formed by a MOCVD method. When materials for formation of the InN contact layer are fed into a reactor, an organic radical material is also fed and a substrate temperature is controlled to be about 800.degree. C. during the process of growth of the InN layer.

The present invention relates to semiconductor laser devices using an InGaAlN compound semiconductor and a method of fabricating such a semiconductor laser device, and more particularly to a contact layer for such a semiconductor laser device.
InGaAlN compound semiconductors are wide gap semiconductors and have a direct transition type band structure. Therefore InGaAlN compound semiconductors are expected to be applied to light-emitting devices having a radiative wavelength range of from yellow to ultraviolet. In such field of application, light-emitting diodes of double heterostructure have already been put into practical use and, in addition, semiconductor laser devices are being positively developed. The following describes a typical process for fabricating a conventional semiconductor laser device which is shown in FIG. 2. First, an AlN buffer layer 220 of about 0.1 .mu.m is grown on a 6H--SiC substrate 210 at a substrate temperature of about 1050.degree. C. by an metal organic chemical vapor deposition (hereinafter referred to as MOCVD) method. Subsequently an n type GaN layer 230 of 0.5 .mu.m and an n type AlGaN cladding layer 241 of 1.0 .mu.m are grown at the substrate temperature of about 1050.degree. C. Thereafter, the temperature of the substrate is lowered to about 800.degree. C. so that an InGaN active layer of 0.01 .mu.m is grown. Then, the temperature of the substrate is again raised to about 1050.degree. C. so that a Mg doped AlGaN cladding layer 242 of 1.0 .mu.m and a Mg doped GaN contact layer 260 of about 0.5 .mu.m are grown.
After growth of the foregoing layers, the thus formed wafer is removed from the MOCVD apparatus. Then, the wafer is thermally treated at a temperature of about 600.degree. C. in a nitrogen atmosphere for about 30 minutes so that the Mg doped AlGaN cladding layer 242 and Mg doped GaN contact layer 260 are given low resistance p type characteristics. Further, in order to provide an optical waveguide, a dielectric film 270 having an opening of about 1 .mu.m in width is formed on the GaN contact layer 260, and then a p-side electrode 281 is formed over the entire surface of the dielectric film 270 having the opening, and an n-side electrode 282 is formed on the back of the n-type 6H--SiC substrate 210 by using a conventional vacuum evaporation technique. Further, a facet reflector mirror is formed by dry etching according to the reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) technique, and then the wafer is divided into separate elements by a dicing process. In this way, the semiconductor laser device shown in FIG. 2 is completed.
In the above described conventional semiconductor laser device, the electrode 281 is formed on the GaN layer. Forming an electrode on a GaN layer in such a way is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No 6-268259. However, the GaN layer has conventionally been unable to provide a high-concentration distribution of p-type carriers and thus it involves a high element resistance. That is, a high drive voltage is involved and this may adversely affect the device reliability.

Semiconductor laser device having an inn contact layer and a method of fabricating the same


A process for measuring and controlling the position and velocity of one moving part of a scissor lift device through the measurement of another moving part of the scissor lift device. The position and velocity of the moving part (e.g., a platform of the scissor lift device) are computed using kinematics and Jacobian functions that define the position and velocity in terms of the measured degree of freedom. The process provides continuous, closed-form computation of the position and velocity of a platform carried by a scissor linkage mechanism during the latter's extension, which enables applications for motion sensing and control of linkage extension types of systems.

This disclosure generally relates to the measurement and control of the extension (or retraction) of scissor linkage mechanisms incorporated in scissor linkage systems, such as scissor lift devices.
Scissor lift devices are commonly used to lift workers and equipment during construction, painting, maintenance, assembly and manufacturing operations, including aircraft assembly. Scissor lift devices typically include one or more sets or stacks of scissor linkages operated by an actuator, such as a hydraulic cylinder, on a motor-driven base, and a payload platform mounted on the upper ends of the scissor linkages. The payload platform can be moved by extending or retracting the one or more sets or stacks of scissor linkages.
Scissor linkage mechanisms are commonly used in many types of applications, but measurement of the extension position and/or velocity of the platform (or an end effector mounted to the platform) is usually not available. One of the technical issues associated with scissor linkage mechanisms is that the motion of the payload platform has a non-linear relationship to the actuator position. This makes it difficult to measure the position and velocity of the platform or end effector and limits the usefulness of standard motion control techniques that rely on having a linear relationship between input and output.
For existing scissor lift devices, the operators do not know how high the lift has been extended, other than by visual estimation. The process to extend the scissor lift is performed by the operator watching visual landmarks as the mechanism is moving. Existing solutions typically use open-loop control where the operator holds a button which activates the actuator. The operator keeps the button pressed until the platform reaches the desired location, and then releases the button. With this form of human-in-the-loop control, operators have no way to automatically instruct the scissor lift to go to an exact location or return to a prior location. Also, since the extension speed of the lift is non-linear, the speed of the extension is not easy to control. In addition, since the position and velocity are not easy to measure and control in existing systems, automated control of the scissor lift devices has been limited to cases with simple on/off control, where physical limit switches are used to turn off the motion actuator.
Existing controllers for these types of devices usually rely only on a force input of the motion actuator, but since the rate of motion of the payload platform or end effector of a scissor lift is a non-linear function of the input, the motion rate changes as the scissor stack extends. This means that for a constant amount of input force, the extension velocity of the scissor lift will be changing throughout its motion range. This makes it difficult for the operator to provide constant velocity control, and makes it difficult (and possibly unsafe) to implement automated motion control.
Possible solutions to acquire the position and velocity of the platform (or end effector) of scissor lift devices could involve either direct physical measurement at run-time or table-lookup types of solutions.
For direct measurement, string encoders/potentiometers with very long strings attached between the base and the platform could be used if entanglement with the string is not a concern. But there can be problems with wrapping and stretch issues for long strings, resulting in inaccurate data. Another direct measurement solution is to use proximity sensors, such as laser-based distance measurement sensors, but these have occlusion issues.
Another common approach to addressing similar non-linear types of motion is to use a process based on table look-up. In these types of solutions the output variable (e.g., height) is measured at various known locations of the input actuator. This gives discrete output positions based on prior physical measurement. At run-time the system would use the input position to look-up the associated height in a table. Linear interpolation between stored points could be used to give approximation of height (with variable accuracy) between stored points, but if precise positioning is required, a new measurement will need to be taken at the desired position. Velocity control of the output would not be practical with this approach.
Providing continuous extension measurement for control of scissor linkage mechanisms would address applications requiring precise movement of the platform mounted to the scissor linkage mechanism, which would improve overall system performance. In addition, it would improve situational awareness, which may lead to improved safety of these systems. If position and velocity feedback were available to implement a continuous motion controller, then precise positioning could be achieved. With such capability, automated applications can be developed and enhanced collision avoidance and safety features can be implemented.

Process for measuring and controlling extension of scissor linkage systems


A two-axis gyroscope used on a bottom hole assembly can be used for determining a rate of rotation about the rotational axis of a BHA. The method takes advantage of possible misalignment of at least one axis of the two axis gyroscope from orthogonality with respect to the rotational axis of the BHA, resulting in the misaligned gyro being sensitive to BHA rotation.

To obtain hydrocarbons such as oil and gas, wellbores (also referred to as the boreholes) are drilled by rotating a drill bit attached at the end of a drilling assembly generally referred to as the "bottom hole assembly" (BHA) or the "drilling assembly." A large portion of the current drilling activity involves drilling highly deviated and substantially horizontal wellbores to increase the hydrocarbon production and/or to withdraw additional hydrocarbons from the earth's formations. The wellbore path of such wells is carefully planned prior to drilling such wellbores utilizing seismic maps of the earth's subsurface and well data from previously drilled wellbores in the associated oil fields. Due to the very high cost of drilling such wellbores and the need to precisely place such wellbores in the reservoirs, it is essential to frequently determine the position and direction of the drilling assembly and thus the drill bit during drilling of the wellbores. Such information is utilized, among other things, to monitor and adjust the drilling direction of the wellbores. It should be noted that the terms "wellbore" and "borehole" are used interchangeably in the present document.
In the commonly used drilling assemblies, the directional package commonly includes a set of accelerometers and a set of magnetometers, which respectively measure the earth's gravity and magnetic fields. The drilling assembly is held stationary during the taking of the measurements from the accelerometers and the magnetometers. The toolface and the inclination angle are determined from the accelerometer measurements. The azimuth is then determined from the magnetometer measurements in conjunction with the tool face and inclination angle. As used herein, the term "toolface" means the orientation angle of the bent housing or sub in the borehole with respect to a reference such as high side of the borehole which indicates the direction in which the borehole will be curving. The inclination angle is the angle between the borehole axis and the vertical (direction of the gravity field). The azimuth is the angle between the horizontal projection of the borehole axis and a reference direction such as magnetic north or absolute north.
The earth's magnetic field varies from day to day, which causes corresponding changes in the magnetic azimuth. The varying magnetic azimuth compromises the accuracy of the position measurements when magnetometers are used. Additionally, it is not feasible to measure the earth's magnetic field in the presence of ferrous or ferromagnetic materials, such as casing and drill pipe. Gyroscopes measure the rate of the earth's rotation, which does not change with time nor are the gyroscopes adversely affected by the presence of ferrous materials. Thus, in the presence of ferrous materials the gyroscopic measurements can provide more accurate azimuth measurements than the magnetometer measurements.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,699 of Hache et al. discloses a method and apparatus measuring motion signals of gyroscopes in downhole instruments used to determine the heading of a borehole. Accelerometer and magnetometer data along three orthogonal axes of a measurement sub are used to obtain unit gravitational and magnetic vectors. The gyroscope measurements are used to correct the magnetic and gravity measurements made by the magnetometer and the accelerometer respectively. The calculations performed in the correction process by this, and other prior art optimization schemes based upon least squares methods, are valid when the measurements are corrupted by random additive noise. As would be known to those versed in the art, in the presence of systematic measurement errors, such least-squares optimization methods are unreliable.
Commercially available gyroscopes contain systematic errors or biases that can severely deteriorate accuracy of a gyroscope's measurements and thus the azimuth. Gyroscopes have been utilized in wireline survey applications but have not found commercial acceptance in the measurement-while-drilling (MWD) tools used in bottomhole assemblies.
In wireline applications, the survey tool is conveyed into the wellbore after the wellbore has been drilled, in contrast to the MWD tools wherein the measurements are made during the drilling of the wellbores. Wireline methods are not practical in determining the drilling assembly position and direction during the drilling of the wellbores. In wireline applications, the gyroscopes are used either in a continuous mode or at discrete survey intervals. Wireline survey methods often make it unnecessary to employ techniques to compensate for the present-value of the gyroscope biases. In wireline applications, the gyroscope can be powered-up at the surface and allowed to stabilize (thermally and dynamically) for a relatively long time period. Typically a warm-up period of ten (10) minutes or more is taken. The power to the gyroscope is continuously applied from the beginning at the surface, through the actual wellbore survey and through the final check of the survey tool at the surface at the end of the survey. Therefore, reference alignments can be made at the surface prior to commencing the wellbore survey to adjust the drift in a gimbaled gyroscope or verify the alignment accuracy of a north-seeking gyroscope. The initial independent reference can then be used at the end of the wireline survey. Any bias in the gyroscope in a wireline tool can be measured at the surface by taking the difference in the alignments at the beginning and the end of the survey runs. Furthermore, the wireline tool carrying the north-seeking gyroscope can easily be rotated at the surface to several different toolface (roll angle) positions to determine the bias present on either of the transverse gyroscopes (i.e., along the x and y axis of the tool) when the tool is at the surface. This bias can be used to verify the accuracy or to correct the gyroscope measurements.
In the MWD environment, the above-noted advantages of the wireline systems are not present. The MWD surveys are usually taken during drill pipe connection times during the drilling of the wellbore, which intervals are relatively short—generally one to four minutes. Power in the MWD tools is generated downhole and/or provided by batteries. To conserve the power, it is desirable to switch off the gyroscopes when not in use because the gyroscopes consume considerable power. For MWD tools utilizing turbine-alternator, the power is generated by flow of the drilling fluid ("mud") which is interrupted at each pipe connection. Even if the power could be applied continuously, the difference in the bias measured at the surface prior to the drilling and post drilling is not considered an accurate measure due to the very long time between drilling assembly trips, which are typically between 20 and 200 hours.
Earlier 2-axis (X-Y) gyro tools could be used for North-Seeking gyrocompass operations when the tool is vertical up to about 60 degrees inclination. This is a static operation, which is done during pipe connections while there is no motion of the drillstring. Gyroscopic steering of oilfield drilling assemblies is typically accomplished by the addition of a 3rd (Z-axis) gyro which is oriented to measure the rotation of the toolface along the long axis of the drillstring. An example of such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,282 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,529,834 to Estes et al, having the same assignee and the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. With slim (1-¾″ OD) tools, there is very little room to accommodate a 3rd gyro axis mounted crosswise to the X and Y axes, which are often realized in a single, 2-axis rate gyroscope.
Prior art devices have added a smaller, less accurate rate gyro in the Z-axis to allow direct measurements of the angular rotation rate in the Z-axis (toolface). By integrating this Z-axis rate, these tools can track changes in the toolface angular orientation as the drilling motor and deviation device (bent sub) are sliding down the borehole. However, the resultant accuracy leaves a lot to be desired.
Attempts by the applicant to track toolface using only the Rate-X and Rate-Y measurements have been made using a modification of the original gyrocompassing technique. On the theory that there may be some time periods when the BHA is still enough to allow using the conventional North-seeking operation to work, a "Fast Intermittent Gyrocompassing" technique was tested. Laboratory tests showed that the extreme difference between earth rate (15 deg/hr) and toolface changes during typical drilling (˜45 deg/sec or ˜162,000 deg/hr) caused detection problems. There is no guarantee the platform will ever be stable, and no independent indicator of a sufficiently stable condition. Even minuscule drillstring relaxation after a drilling period is likely to introduce large rate errors in trying to measure the earth's rotation.
It is desirable to be able to track toolface changes during steering, using only an (X-Y) 2-axis rate gyro sensor. The present invention satisfies this need.

Gyroscopic steering tool using only a two-axis rate gyroscope and deriving the missing third axis


A clutch assembly for use with a torque limiting driver. The clutch assembly comprises two relatively rotatable clutch plates, a driving plate and a camming plate, that face one another, with a plurality of rolling members housed between the two members. The driving clutch member has a face comprising a plurality of radially spaced flat areas and a plurality of recesses interposed between the flat areas, with the recesses comprising a curvilinear base area. The second camming clutch member has a face comprising a plurality of radially spaced flat areas and a plurality of opposing downwardly sloped planar surfaces interposed between said flat areas, with the planar surfaces forming an angle. The rolling members are movable from an engaged position with the clutch members to an override position. When the rolling members are in the override position, the recesses form individual housings for the rolling members that include a gap located between the rolling members and a respective curvilinear base area.

The present invention relates to mechanical drive devices, and, more specifically, to drive devices that will limit the torque being delivered from the device.
Many mechanical devices are used to deliver a large amount of torque to a screw, bolt, nut, or other similar device or object. Even though there is a large amount of torque being delivered, in many situations, it is still desirous to control the precise amount of torque being delivered. For instance, too much torque may strip the object that is being driven, which would lead to the object becoming ineffective, such as stripping a bolt or screw. This is especially important in medical operations and procedures, where precision is critical, especially when working with spinal and skeletal structures and related devices. Thus, drivers have been developed to limit the amount of torque delivered to the driven object or device.
Likewise, improperly calibrated or tensioned devices can also do damage if too much torque is delivered or, conversely, will be ineffective if the tension in the device is too low. Such is the case when working parts of the device become worn, or do not hold a consistent torque after several uses, which can occur in the prior art.
Generally, such torque limiting drivers use ball bearings placed between two clutch plates or between a cam plate and a drive plate. The bearings assist the plates in sliding against one another within a grooved slot formed by the two plates, with the slot having varying depths. As torque is increased with the driver, the ball bearings will slide within the groove. When the torque reaches a maximum, the bearings will be forced into a resting area that prevents the two plates from providing any further torque to the driven object.
Other arrangements include pawls or ramped arrangements. As the torque is increased on the driver, the bearing will move up the ramp until it reaches the top of the ramp, whereby further torque delivery will cause the bearing to move to a resting area, as in the arrangements above.
While these devices limit the amount of torque being delivered, these drivers can take a lot of abuse, especially on the bearings themselves. Especially with medical applications, the amount of torque needed to be delivered can be several hundreds of pounds of pressure. When these devices trigger a torque cut-off when the maximum torque is reached, the two plates will sandwich the bearings, exerting a large amount of pressure on the bearings. This smashing action of the bearings can cause damage to the bearings, which results in the effectiveness of the driver being diminished. This is not desirous for equipment requiring a high-level of precision, especially when the equipment can be rather expensive.
Examples of such drivers may be found in Leonard, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,942,337 and Girguis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,311. While these devices may effectively limit the torque delivered by the disclosed device, they have a tendency to deliver unneeded forced on the rolling members located between the clutch members, which limits the effectiveness of the device and, also, the consistency of the torque limit being delivered by the device.
Thus, it would be advantageous to design a torque limiting driver that would minimize damage to the moving parts of the driver.


A point load sensor measures compressive forces exerted on the outside of a ring in diametric compression irrespective of the direction of application of the force. The sensor consists of a ring with strain gauges placed in a configuration to measure the circumferential strain at two positions on the ring ninety degrees apart resulting from bending of the ring as the ring is loaded in diametric compression. The two measurements are corrected and combined to recover the compressive force on the ring. A method for calibrating and resolving the compressive force does not require the angle of loading or sensor orientation as an input, thus allowing resolution irrespective of the direction of the compressive force.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to load sensors and more particularly to a sensor for measuring forces exerted on a ring in diametric compression.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
During the handling of cabling, piping, or other tubular materials, forces are applied to the material by the handling system that can be difficult to measure. As an example, thin line sonar arrays that are towed behind submarines.
As the arrays are deployed from and retrieved, the array passes through various parts of the handling system. Any problems with the towed array handling system may result in the application of unacceptable forces to the array that can damage the array.
When using the known Guide To Measurement Module (GTMM), squeeze forces on towed arrays are measured. Specifically, the measurement module contains a sensor in the form of a ring instrumented with strain gauges. The placement of the gauges within the ring provides two outputs proportionate to the applied force. These outputs are combined using a vector sum approach.
However, the design of this sensor does not take into consideration the variation of strain inside a ring under diametric compression. Without this consideration, the placement and wiring of the strain gauges, as well as the means of combining the outputs, can result in orientation errors greater than thirty percent.
What are therefore needed is a system and method of use for measuring compressive forces exerted on tubular material during handling. The system needs to account for the mechanics of strain inside a ring under diametric compression.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy