The present invention is a method and system for translating method calls to version-specified method calls. An interface to an underlying object is provided. Applications communicating with the underlying object use the interface. The interface is separate from the underlying object. Version-specific underlying objects are generated. Each one of the version-specific underlying objects is a different version of the underlying object. A plurality of translation objects, one for each version-specific underlying object, are generated for communicating between the interface and each one of the version-specific underlying objects. A translation object is used for translating an interface method call invoked on the interface to a version-specific method call for the underlying object for each version of the underlying object. All translation objects are generated from a single proxy class and a single invocation handler class. The same proxy class and the same invocation handler class are used to generate the translation object for each different version of the underlying object.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to data processing systems such as computer systems, and more particularly to proxy-based API translations for multiple different firmware versions.
2. Description of the Related Art
A computer system includes firmware which provides an interface between the computer system's hardware and software. Typically, an operating system interacts with the hardware utilizing the firmware.
The hardware of a computer system is often revised and improved. It is desirable for software applications to interface with different versions of a computer system. When updates to the hardware occur, the firmware is also usually updated. Thus, the software applications that run on this hardware may need to interact with different versions of firmware so that the software application can interact with the different versions of firmware.
Each version of firmware will include a set of application programming interfaces (APIs) which are used by the software for accessing the firmware. One method for permitting software to interact with the firmware API is to provide interfaces, for example remote procedure calls (RPCs), between the software layer and the firmware API layer. The firmware interface includes methods and classes that are used to represent the current configuration of the hardware and to change the configuration. To differentiate the classes from one firmware release to another for a particular type of API, the firmware changes the class name such that a different Java class name exists for each firmware release for that type of API. The interface software must be written so that it will recognize the different class names for each firmware release. To create a separate class for each method call for each release would create a lot of interface code. In addition, most of the interface code for a new release would be duplicated from the previous release. These interfaces each represent a small slice of the total firmware APIs. Therefore, in order to represent all of the firmware APIs, many interfaces are required. For example, there may be hundreds of interfaces which when taken together represent an entire set of firmware APIs.
These firmware APIs are specific to a particular version of the firmware. Thus, software that was written to access a version of firmware using one set of firmware APIs will not be able to access a different version of firmware which uses a different set of firmware APIs. The interfaces can be thought of as a software layer above the firmware API layer. These interfaces must have information about a specific version of firmware APIs.
The prior art provides for code that recasts an interface call to a particular firmware version API call. This code consists of a collection of different classes that recast the interface to each version of firmware. For each interface, there will be as many classes as there are firmware versions in order to recast the interface for each version. This code is referred to below as an implementation instance. Thus, there is a different implementation class to create each implementation instance for each interface for each version of supported firmware. When there are hundreds of interfaces, hundreds of classes are necessary to permit the interfaces to interact with each possible firmware API version.
For example, FIG. 1 is a block diagram, which follows the Unified Modeling Language (UML) notation, that depicts two different interfaces and the classes that are necessary to support these interfaces with different versions of firmware in accordance with the prior art. An interface A 100 represents a portion A of the firmware. An interface B 114 represents a portion B of the firmware. Interface A 100 may access a portion A instance of version 1 104 of the firmware using implementation A version 1 instance 102. Thus, when interface A 100 is used in a system that includes firmware version 1, implementation instance 102 is used to access portion A.
Interface A 100 may access a portion A instance of version 2 108 of the firmware using implementation A version 2 instance 106. Interface A 100 may access a portion A of version 3 112 of the firmware using implementation A version 3 instance 110.
Interface B 114 may access a portion B instance of version 1 118 of the firmware using implementation B version 1 instance 116. Interface B 114 may access a portion B of version 2 122 of the firmware using implementation B version 2 instance 120. Interface B 114 may access a portion B of version 3 126 of the firmware using implementation B version 3 instance 124. For example, implementation A version 1 instance 102 implements interface A 100 and recasts the APIs found in interface A 100 into their equivalent version-specific APIs of firmware A version 1 instance 104.
Each implementation instance is an instance of a different class. For example, implementation A version 1 instance 102 is an instance of implementation A version 1 class 130. Implementation A version 2 instance 106 is an instance of implementation A version 2 class 132. Implementation A version 3 instance 110 is an instance of implementation A version 3 class 134. Implementation B version 1 instance 116 is an instance of implementation B version 1 class 136. Implementation B version 2 instance 120 is an instance of implementation B version 2 class 138. Implementation B version 3 instance 124 is an instance of implementation B version 3 class 140. Therefore, in order to implement an interface a particular number of firmware versions requires that number of classes. This number is multiplied by the total number of interfaces in order to implement all of the firmware APIs.
In addition, there are other objects that do the work of creating the implementation instance from the implementation classes. There is a factory object to create a factory instance for each firmware version for creating the implementation instances for each version of firmware. FIG. 2 is a UML diagram that illustrates a factory interface that may be used to create factory objects in accordance with the prior art. Factory interface 200 may be used to create factory instance version 1 202, factory instance version 2, 204, and factory instance version 3 206. Factory instance version 1 202 is an instance of factory class version 1 208. Factory instance version 2 204 is an instance of factory class version 2 210. And, factory instance version 3 206 is an instance of factory class version 3 212.
Factory instance version 1 202 may be used to create the implementation instances for each interface for firmware version 1. Factory instance version 1 202 is used to create implementation A version 1 102 and implementation B version 1 116. Factory instance version 2 204 is used to create implementation A version 2 106 and implementation B version 2 120. And, factory instance version 3 206 is used to create implementation A version 3 110 and implementation B version 3 124. Whenever a new firmware version needs to be supported, a new factory instance must be created which will create the implementation instance for each interface for that version.
As should be apparent from the description above, many thousands of lines of code must be written to create all of the implementation classes and factory classes that are needed to create the various objects.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and system for reducing the amount of code that is needed to support multiple different versions of firmware.

Method, system, and product for proxy-based method translations for multiple different firmware versions


A device including a network interface, a memory and a processor. The network interface is configured to communicate with a verifier over a communication network. The memory is configured to store multiple layers of mutable code, the layers identifiable by respective measurements. The processor is configured to generate, for a given boot cycle, a nonce associated uniquely with the given boot cycle, to receive a challenge from the verifier for attestation of a given layer of the mutable code, to calculate an attestation key based on (i) a Unique Device Secret (UDS) stored securely in the device, (ii) a measurement of the given layer taken by another layer, and (iii) the nonce generated for the given boot cycle, to calculate a response for the challenge, by signing the challenge using the attestation key, and to send the response to the verifier for verification of the given layer.

In various secure computing environments, a computing device is required to prove or attest its state and identity to an entity known as a verifier. Methods for device attestation are known in the art. For example, the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) has defined a Device Identifier Composition Engine (DICE), and developed device attestation architectures that are based on the DICE. The DICE-based attestation schemes may employ symmetric key or asymmetric key cryptography. DICE-based specifications are described for example, in some references cited herein.
Hardware requirements for the DICE are described, for example, in "Hardware Requirements for a Device Identifier Composition Engine," Family "2.0" Level 00, Revision 78, Mar. 22, 2018.
DICE-based attestation schemes using asymmetric key cryptography are described, for example, in "Implicit Identity Based Device Attestation," Version 1.0, Revision 0.93, Mar. 5, 2018.
DICE-based attestation schemes using symmetric key cryptography are described, for example, in "Symmetric Identity Based Device Attestation," Version 1.0, Revision 0.95, Jan. 7, 2020.
DICE layering architectures are described, for example, in "DICE Layering Architecture," Version 1.0, Revision 0.19, Mar. 19, 2020.
DICE certificate profiles are described, for example, in "DICE Certificate Profiles," Version 1.0, Revision 0.01, Mar. 10, 2020.

Device attestation including attestation-key modification following boot event


Disclosed are various embodiments for frame preemption and fragmentation at the media access control (MAC) sublayer of the link layer or the MAC merge sublayer of the link layer. Traffic classes may be organized into preemptive traffic classes and non-preemptive traffic classes. Preemptable frames may be fragmented when a preemptive frame is to be transmitted. The fragmentation may be indicated through modification of the value of cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field in a predetermined way, through addition of a fragmentation trailer, and/or through other approaches.

Standards such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.1 and IEEE 802.3 provide a transmitter at the media access control (MAC) sublayer with the ability to select high priority frames to be sent over the physical layer (PHY) of the network, while holding back other lower priority frames. However, if a lower priority frame is currently being transmitted, the high priority frame is delayed until the lower priority frame is transmitted.


A downlink activity and double talk probability detector and method for an echo canceler circuit (10) improves the stability of an echo canceler adaptive filter (300) and improves the attenuation of post-echo canceler uplink data (388). The echo canceler circuit (10) includes a downlink activity and double talk probability data generator (30) and an echo canceler stage (20). The downlink activity and double talk probability data generator (30) receives pre-echo canceler uplink data (40) and downlink data (50) and in response produces double talk probability data (60) and downlink activity data (70). The echo canceler stage (20) receives the downlink data (50), the pre-echo canceler uplink data (40), the double talk probability data (60) and the downlink activity data (70), and in response produces uplink data (80).

Echo in a communication system is commonly characterized as the return of a part of a transmitted signal from an end user back to the originator of the transmitted signal after a delay period. As is known in the art, a near end user transmits an uplink signal to a far end user. Conversely, the near end user receives a downlink signal from the far end user. For example, echo at the near end occurs when the near end user originates an uplink signal on an uplink path, and a part of the transmitted signal is reflected at the far end as an echo signal on a downlink path back to the near end. Echo at the far end occurs when the far end user originates a downlink signal on the downlink path, and a part of the transmitted signal is reflected at the near end as an echo signal on the uplink path back to the far end. The reflection of the transmitted signal may occur due to a number of reasons such as an impedance mismatch in a four/two wire hybrid at the far end or feedback due to acoustic coupling in a telephone, wireless device or hands-free speaker phone. An echo signal corresponding to the delayed transmitted signal is perceived as annoying to the near end user and, in some cases, can result in an unstable condition known as "howling."
Echo cancelers are required at any echo generating source at both the near end and at the far end in an attempt to eliminate or reduce the transmission of echo signals. Echo cancelers may be employed in wireless devices, such as personal data assistants (PDAs), cellular phones, two-way radios, car kits for cellular telephones, car phones and other suitable devices that can move throughout a geographic area. Additionally, echo cancelers may be employed in wireline devices, such as hands-free speaker phones, video and audio conference phones and telephones otherwise commonly referred to in the telecommunications industry as plain old telephone system (POTS) devices. Hands-free speaker phones typically include a microphone to produce the uplink signal, a speaker to acoustically produce the downlink signal, an echo canceler to cancel the echo signal and a telephone circuit.
Echo cancelers attempt to cancel the echo signals produced at the near end when the far end is transmitting by generating echo estimation data corresponding to a portion of an amplified downlink audio signal traveling through the acoustic coupling channel between the speaker and the microphone. The echo canceler models the acoustic coupling channel and in response generates the echo estimation data through the use of an echo canceler adaptive filter. The echo canceler adaptive filter employs a Least Mean Squared (LMS) finite impulse response (FIR) filter or any suitable device or method having a set of weighting coefficients to model the acoustic coupling channel. The echo canceler adaptive filter attempts to subtract the echo estimation data from pre-echo canceler uplink data received by the microphone in order to produce post-echo canceler uplink data. The post-echo canceler uplink data is used by the echo canceler adaptive filter to dynamically update the weighting coefficients of the finite impulse response filter.
The hands-free speaker phone may be integrated into an in-vehicle audio system. The vehicle may be any suitable vehicle, such as an automobile, truck, boat or airplane. The in-vehicle audio system may include an amplifier, speakers and an audio source, such as a tuner circuit, a CD/DVD player, a tape player, a hard drive playback system, a satellite radio, etc. The in-vehicle audio system may be integrated with a communication apparatus, such as a telematics communication device. For example, the telematics communication device may be a component of a General Motors OnStar system. The telematics communication device typically collects and disseminates data, such as location information and audio, such as speech.
Typically, the downlink audio signal received from the far end through the downlink path is played through at least one speaker in the in-vehicle audio system. However, the hands-free speaker phone installed in the vehicle may experience significant coupling between the at least one speaker and the microphone. As a result, an amplified downlink audio signal transmitted through the at least one speaker will be partially received by the microphone as an echo signal.
Echo cancelers operate in response to detecting four possible modes: downlink talking, uplink talking, double talk and idle. During the downlink talking mode, the echo canceler adaptive filter attempts to model the acoustic coupling channel by dynamically adapting the weighting coefficients of the FIR filter. Additionally, pre-processors and post-processors, such as attenuators, may also be used to reduce the effects of the echo signal.
During the uplink talking mode, the echo canceler filter is still active, however, the adaptation is slowed or stopped as there is no downlink or echo signal to model. During the idle mode, the near end user and the far end user is not talking and, therefore, the echo canceler adaptive filter is typically idle. However, during the double talk mode, the pre-echo canceler uplink microphone signal includes both interfering signals and the echo signal. The interfering signals include near end speech, various noise components, and distortion. The various noise components include nonlinearities of the audio system, speaker distortion, air turbulence over the microphone, road noise, wind rumble, turn signal and windshield wiper noises and other noise components. As a result, the echo canceler adaptive filter attempts to adapt to the interfering signals and the echo signal. Consequently, these various noise components may cause the weighting coefficients to diverge, resulting in an incorrect estimation of the acoustic coupling channel, which causes the echo canceler adaptive filter to become less effective or possibly unstable. The adaptive filter under this condition may actually cause the post-echo canceler uplink signal to also become unstable and corrupted. As a result, the corrupted post-echo canceler uplink data will cause annoying loud noises at the far end.
According to one method, the adaptive filter reduces the rate of adaptation once the adaptive filter becomes unstable. The adaptive filter determines instability by comparing the post-echo canceler uplink data with a threshold level. The adaptive filter reduces the rate of filter adaptation in an attempt to reduce the rate of increasing instability of the corrupted uplink signal transmitted on the uplink path. However, the adaptive filter does not reduce the rate of adaptation until after the adaptive filter has already become unstable to some degree. As a result, the uplink signal has already become corrupted because the adaptive filter is already unstable. Further, the mechanism for controlling the rate of adaptation performs poorly in noisy environments because noise may cause the adaptive filter to become so unstable that recovery takes a relatively long time, thus preventing effective communication.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Downlink activity and double talk probability detector and method for an echo canceler circuit


A dive mask having a drain and deflector flow guide soft skirt. The flexible skirt has a built-in purge valve and a nose compression recess on each side of a nose enclosure. The skirt thus exhausts and deflects exhaled bubbles away from the diver's line of vision. The two recesses permit one-handed finger access to permit the diver to squeeze his or her nostrils together to permit the diver to equalize ear pressure with the water pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of diving equipment and more particularly to a dive mask which employs a soft skirt to channel air bubbles away from the line of sight of the diver.
2. Prior Art
The concept of a dive mask having a configuration for channeling purged air bubbles away from the diver's line of sight, is not new. U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,120 to Dennis Hart discloses such a mask. While this prior art dive mask provides the advantage of preventing air bubbles from obscuring the diver's vision, it also presents a significant disadvantage. More specifically, the additional channeling structure of the aforementioned prior art mask, prevents external access to the diver's nose with the mask in place. During a typical dive, it is relatively common for the diver to create increased internal pressure in his or her nasal and ear passages to equalize and clear pressure-induced inner ear clogging which can otherwise become uncomfortable and even painful. To perform this simple maneuver, the diver must close his or her nostrils to allow pressure build-up. Without closure of the nostrils, any attempted pressure increase is thwarted by air escape through the nose. Closing the nostrils is preferably accomplished by the diver simply grasping his or her nose between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and squeezing to close his or her nasal passages for the few seconds it takes to build pressure to clear the ears. However, to accomplish this apparently simple task, there cannot be any hard, inflexible surfaces between the diver's nose and the diver's hand. Unfortunately the mask disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,120 does, in fact, comprise a hard, inflexible surface immediately adjacent the diver's nose which prevents access in the mariner described especially when using a scuba regulator. As a result, to clear the ears while wearing this prior art mask, the diver must displace the mask sufficiently to gain direct access to his or her nose and then subsequently employ well-known techniques to rid the mask of water.
It therefore would be highly advantageous to provide a dive mask having a lower channel for steering air bubbles away from a diver's line of sight while still providing a structure which permits the diver to close his or her nostrils to momentarily build pressure in ear passages. It would be also highly desirable to provide an aesthetically pleasing purge and channeling structure which does not burden the appearance of the underlying mask with a bulky, unappealing mass or significantly increase the weight or profile of the mask.


A semiconductor memory device is capable of reducing a test time by sharing input pins of addresses for the test, thereby reducing test costs also. The semiconductor memory device includes first and second address buffer units. The first address buffer unit is configured to transmit a plurality of normal addresses to an internal circuit and store one or more of the received normal addresses. The second address buffer unit is configured to transmit one or more external bank addresses to the internal circuit as internal bank addresses in a normal mode and transmit addresses stored in the first address buffer unit to the internal circuit as the internal bank addresses in a test mode.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly to a technology of reducing a number of address pins used to test it.
As is well known in the art, a semiconductor memory device manufactured by a series of processes operates in response to addresses, power, commands, data, etc. inputted from outside, as defined in JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council). Here, the addresses are classified into bank addresses for designating each of banks and normal addresses. The banks are equal-sized parts into which an area where data cells of the semiconductor memory device coexist is divided for efficient operation of data. There are various numbers of banks such as 4 or 8 banks depending on the size of a chip.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the connection of address channels between test equipment and a semiconductor memory device on the existing test.
Addresses are inputted from the test equipment to the semiconductor memory device during test. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that there are 2 bank addresses and 13 normal addresses.
Meanwhile, a line connected between the test equipment and the semiconductor memory device is called a channel. If the addresses are given as above, the test equipment should assign 15 address channels to each semiconductor memory device. FIG. 1 shows a case where 128 memory devices are tested simultaneously. In this case, the test equipment must have 1920 address channels.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the arrangement of address channels to address pads on the existing test.
As shown in the drawing, 15 addresses A1 to A15 are inputted from the test equipment to the memory device as 2 bank addresses BA0 and BA1 and 13 normal addresses NA0 to NA12. Based on the addresses so inputted, the memory device writes/reads data in/from desired addresses.
As is well known in the art, the test is a very important process in manufacturing the semiconductor memory device and test time is directly related to manufacturing costs. The test of the semiconductor memory device is performed by applying various signals thereto through the test equipment. However, the number of channels in the test equipment is limited. Thus, the decrease in the number of channels required for testing is an important issue in the semiconductor memory device.
In other words, the more the number of channels (or pins) required for test is decreased, the greater the number of chips can be tested at a time by the same equipment. This reduces the test time as well as manufacturing costs.

Semiconductor memory device and method of inputting addresses therein


A method for test procedures using pictures for a vehicle diagnostic system that includes providing text items, examining text items, accessing a database of picture items corresponding to text items, correlating picture items with at least a portion of the text items, replacing the at least a portion of the text items with the corresponding picture items, and displaying an image including at least one picture item.

A number of different types of diagnostic tools have been used to assist in diagnosis and repair of fault conditions in automotive vehicles. Such tools can typically be connected to an on-board computer of a vehicle in order to download and analyze vehicle operational information from the on-board computer. Additionally, such diagnostic tools typically allow a user to review and/or enter information, including fault symptoms, into the diagnostic tool to be used instead of, or in conjunction with, the information downloaded from the vehicle's on-board computer to diagnose and assist in the repair of fault conditions in the vehicle.
Automotive vehicles are becoming highly computerized products. Consequently, automotive mechanics are increasingly relying upon computerized diagnosis of vehicle operational information that can be accessed via a vehicle on-board computer to diagnose and repair vehicle faults. Additionally, to conduct a computerized diagnosis, an automotive mechanic must review much text to diagnose faults and then solve these faults. Moreover, today's automotive mechanics rely heavily on the computerized diagnosis instructions and information, and less on their own knowledge of a certain automobile.
Since today's diagnosis products provide guidance in text only, it may be difficult to understand or translate into other languages during the diagnostic procedure. Thus, such products are inherently limited because they are prone to incorrect interpretations and mistakes. Jargon and regional slang exacerbate this problem. A considerable amount of time and expense is required to import, format, maintain, and translate diagnostic procedures. Thus, there is a need to simplify many of the diagnostic questions and instructions for service technicians by replacing some or all of the text regarding components involved in diagnostic procedures with pictures, sounds, symbols, colors, or other graphics.
Therefore, a diagnostic tool with the ability to provide instructions or other text in the form of pictures would be desirable.


A golf club head which includes a casing having an open chamber and a front opening at a front side thereof in communication with the open chamber, a mounting plate mounted inside the casing, and a plurality of high hardness metal rods fastened together by copper welding and perpendicularly mounted on the mounting plate inside the open chamber of the casing, the high hardness metal rods having a respective front end disposed in the front opening in flush with the casing and forming a striking face.

The present invention relates to golf club heads, and more particularly to an improved structure of golf club head which has a high hardness striking face.
A regular golf club head is generally comprised of a casing, a metal face plate at a front side of the casing, and counterweights embedded in the casing. Because the hardness of the metal face plate is not very high, the striking face of the metal face plate absorbs a certain amount of impact force when hitting the ball. Because of this impact force absorption effect, less reactive force is given to the ball, and the player should employ much effort to drive the ball to the desired location.


A brushless motor includes a rotor unit comprised of a spindle and a multi-polarized magnet arranged around the spindle. A bearing housed inside a bearing housing having a circular flange formed therearound, and rotatably supports the spindle so that the rotor unit can rotate. A substrate provided with a stator unit on its top surface but nothing with its bottom surface. The bearing housing is fixed to the substrate such that a top surface of the flange and the bottom surface of the substrate is in a tight contact as a reference surface for location.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to brushless motors such as a spindle motor, a capstan motor, and a reel motor for driving with a greater torque in high speed and, more particularly, to a brushless motor for use in a compact disk player or CD-ROM drive and a video cassette recorder (VCR) used in the fields of office automation and audio-visual system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, brushless motors such as spindle motors rotatable at much more faster speeds and with increased torque are required as the development of CD-ROMs which can drive in double-speed and quad-speed of the standard type. To satisfy such requirements, it is also required to develop the brushless motors improved in the perpendicularity of spindle and the discarding the heat generated thereby.
With reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, a conventional spindle motor, as one example of brushless motors, is described below. In FIG. 7, a cross-sectional view of a conventional spindle motor is shown. This conventional spindle motor Mp has a rotor frame 41 including a multi-polarized rotor magnet 42 and a spindle 43. A stator core 44 is comprised of a plurality of core plates each insulated by an insulating material, and is configured to have plural poles corresponding to the multi-polarized magnet 42. Thus formed stator core 44 is further covered by a molded insulator 414 made by molding an insulating material such as resin therearound.
Each pole portion of thus formed stator core 44 is wound up to a wire coil 45 whose ends are soldered to a stator substrate 411 wherein electric circuit components are mounted. The stator core 44 is fixedly supported by a bearing housing 47. The bearing housing 47 also supports a spindle bearing 48. The spindle bearing 48 rotatably supports the spindle 43.
The bearing housing 47 is provided with a first thinner circular wall 420 extending along the axis from the bottom end thereof, and is further provided with a second thinner circular wall 422 around the first circular wall 420. The bearing housing 47 is placed in an opening hole of the stator substrate 411 such that the second circular wall 422 being engaged with that opening hole. The bottom end surface around the second circular wall 422 seats on the upper surface of the substrate 411. A thrust plate 49 is provided at the inner bottom of the bearing housing 47, as inserted inside the first circular wall 420, for receiving the spindle 43 at a thrust receptor 410 formed therein against its thrust force.
Thus prepared bearing housing 47 is installed to the stator substrate 411 by bending up the second circular wall 422 outwardly to caulk it together with the bottom surface of the substrate 47. The first circular wall 420 is bend inwardly to caulk it with the thrust plate 49. Thus, the brushless motor Mp is assembled.
With this type of brushless motor, the upper surface of the substrate 411 which is used as a reference or standard plane for the installation of the bearing housing 47, as described above, is provided with a copper foil 416.
However, the copper foil 416 is adhered to this reference/standard surface of the stator substrate 411 by a non-rigid adhesive agent. Therefore, the surface of thus adhered foil 416 is uneven due to the non-rigidity of the agent even if such adhesive agent can be applied with a uniform thickness. Therefore, the perpendicularity of the bearing housing 47 with respect to the substrate 411 can not be secured.
Since the bearing housing 47 rotatably supports the spindle 43 via the spindle bearing 48, the perpendicularity of the spindle 43 with respect to this reference surface also varies accordingly. This is inevitable even if each of components such as bearing housing 47 and substrate 411 are machined with a high accuracy. As a result, it is very difficult to securely install all the rotation relating members such as spindle 43, bearing 48, bearing housing 47, stator core 44, magnet 42, and rotor frame 41 within a predetermined concentricity.
Furthermore, the dimensional accuracy such as thickness and diameter of the second circular wall 422 after caulking can not be secured. Therefore, the bottom portion of the substrate 411, including the bearing housing 48, can not be used as reference or standard surfaces in both the horizontal and vertical directions for positioning.
As a result, the dimensional accuracy of the spindle motor Mp such as perpendicularity and concentricity of the component members thereof can not be secured when the motor Mp is installed to other mating instruments such as CD-ROM drive and VCR. In this case, therefore, special tools or instruments for detecting and correcting the positions of the rotating members, especially the spindle 43, are necessary to install thus assembled spindle motor Mp accurately. This is inevitable, even if CD-ROM drive's installation place for mating with the brushless motor is machined with a great accuracy.
It is to be noted that it is very difficult to disassemble the conventional brushless motor Mp if once assembled, because the bearing housing 47, thrust plate 49, and the substrate 411 are caulked by the circular walls 420 and 422 with the substrate 411 and the thrust plate 49. Re-caulking the caulked walls 420 and 422 requires great efforts, and causes a unrecoverable damage thereof with respect to the mechanical strength and dimensional accuracy.
Furthermore, the heat generated by wire coil 45 is well insulated by the molded insulator 414 from dissipating to the externals through the heat conductive members of stator core 44, bearing housing 47, bearing 48, spindle 43, and thrust plate 49, and then causes the over heat of the motor Mp. Therefore, a special cooling device is necessary when this type of spindle motor is driven in a higher speed with a greater torque.

High speed, high torque multipole brushless motor

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention defines a method for emulating an iterated process represented by a series of related tasks and a control mechanism that monitors and enables the iterative execution of those tasks until data associated with the process converges to predetermined goals or objectives. The invention defines a method in which fuzzy neural networks and discreet algorithms are applied to perform the process tasks and in which configurable, reloadable finite state machines are applied to control the execution of those tasks. In particular, the present invention provides a method for emulating the process of designing integrated circuit (IC) applications and printed circuit board (PCB) applications for the purpose of simulating, emulating, analyzing, optimizing and predicting the behavioral and physical characteristics of the application at the earliest possible stage of the process. The invention applies fuzzy neural networks and configurable, reloadable finite state machines to emulate the IC or PCB design process, enabling the invention to emulate the the computer aided design (CAD) tools used to perform the design process tasks as well as the individuals using those tools. By emulating the combination of man and machine performances, the invention can more accurately predict the results of a given task than tools that consider only the machine element. The invention also provides a means to adapt the performance and behavior of any element of the invention using historical data compiled from previous design or manufacturing experiences, allowing the invention to incorporate the knowledge gained from previous designs into current designs.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention most generally relates to software tools, packages, programs and algorithms used for predicting the outcome and assisting in the performance of a given task or sequence of tasks, by emulating the task or sequence of tasks. In particular, it relates to analytical tools used in the process of designing the hardware and software components of an integrated circuit or printed circuit board.
2. Background Art
The current design process for creating integrated circuit (IC) production designs for digital circuits is linear in the sense that there is little concurrence among or iteration of the constituent steps. The process is executed one step at a time. The final step evaluates and verifies the quality of the design. If the design does not meet design goals and manufacturing criteria, then the process is iterated either in its entirety or at the latest possible step.
At a very high level, the process proceeds according to FIG. 1, where Element A, "capture", represents the step or phase where schematic or language-based electrical functionality VHDL/Verilog) is captured and electrically simulated at the functional block or cell level, showing block/cell properties and interconnects. Element B, "synthesis", represents the next step or phase where the "register transfer level" (RTL) logical implementation of each block or cell is created.
Element C, "floorplan/placement", represents the step or phase where blocks/cells are physically implemented and maneuvered relative to each other within an outline drawing representation of the IC. Element D, "routing", represents the next step or phase where interconnects are physically implemented, based on floorplan/placement data and other specified constraints.
Element E, "analysis", represents the step where electrical properties are extracted from the physical design and compared to block/cell properties and assumptions or constraints adopted in previous steps. Element F, "tape out", represents the step or phase where agreement between logical and physical design is verified, and the data converted to a format compatible with the user's IC manufacturing capability.
Expanding further on the conventional process of FIG. 1, we examine the first step in the process called capture. In this step, the design is first captured as electrical components and wires displayed schematically or as a "blue print". This is a logical or conceptual representation of the IC, rather than a physical design, which shows the various subsections of the design (cells and/or blocks), annotates or describes various properties of theses subsections (for documentation purposes or for subsequent steps in the design process), and the electrical connections which will be formed (routed) between subsections. The capture phase includes the use of many simulation tools to help predict parametric, functional, and/or behavioral IC performance.
As the cells and blocks are added to the schematic and individually instantiated and annotated, nets are added which tie the various pins of the cells/blocks to each other or to pads (inputs/outputs of the chip itself).
The second step of the process is also part of the logical design phase. Synthesis is the taking of the high level representation of the circuit and transforming it into a lower level which is optimized for any of several criteria, such as speed or size. The lower level is usually referred to as RTL, or register transfer level. Synthesis tools attempt to fully automate the generation of the lower level description from the higher level description.
These first two steps comprise the logical phase of the design process. There is no direct link in this phase to anything which is actually manufactured. Extensive simulation of the logical design is performed against important electrical, thermal, and other parametric, functional, or behavioral criteria.
Placement is the first step which involves physical realization of the design. The various components captured and synthesized are placed as cells and blocks relative to each other and the pads. Placement optimizes the positioning of each cell/block to reduce chip size and to meet thermal and routing constraints.
Routing is the final step of the physical realization phase. Whereas placement corresponded to the placing of blocks/cells on the schematic, routing is the realization of the nets. Routing is also constrained by criteria such as type of route (power, ground, signal rip) and the criticality of a route. Insufficient or excessive room on the chip for a complete routing usually requires iteration of the placement step. Routing software automates the generation of routes based on constraints defined by all previous steps of the design process.
After the physical design is fully realized, it is analyzed to make certain that it matches logical, simulated performance. The analysis can also be used to validate any assumptions made during any previous phase of the entire design process. Unsatisfactory analysis results require the further iteration of one or all design steps. Successful analysis leads to final verification and then to tape out for manufacturing.
The major problem with the conventional design methodology is that information essential to a successful, single (first) pass design is usually not available to the logical designer until much later in the design process. Simply stated, the design process can not be fully captured logically without first realizing it physically. In practice, the analysis step reveals that various design objectives and assumptions had to be violated to get a realizable design; the design does not fully comply with the original goals or specifications. All or part of the design process must be repeated to modify the current design so that it is both physically realizable and specifically compliant.
An example of this maybe found in the myriad of Intel.RTM. Pentium.RTM. chips on the market, where we consider the design goal as the clock frequency. As the design process is completed, it is clear that the chip will work at a frequency less than that specified as the goal. While the chip is still manufactured and sold it can be used as the basis for a new design which may achieve the original frequency goal. While these derivative products often contribute to the product line revenue stream, a single iteration of a 100 person design team for a three month period can add millions of dollars to a project in direct labor costs. Lost market share because of late product entry can cost many times more.
This problem becomes much more acute with deep submicron (DSM) manufacturing technology. The smaller the features on an IC, the greater the number of cells/blocks and their complexity which can be added. Furthermore, smaller transistors correspond to faster transistors, albeit at a rate of diminishing returns.
The combination of more and faster transistors leads to a shift in how to calculate the time it takes an electrical input signal to manifest itself as an output. In pre-DSM designs, this input-output time, or delay, was calculated by adding up the number of transistors the signal went through and then adding a margin to account for the interconnects connecting the transistors. Interconnect delay dominates this equation in DSM designs, thus making it necessary to get through the routing step of the design (i.e. completing the entire design) process before the designer can determine the interconnect delay of any given net. The predominance of interconnect issues make it that much more difficult to fully appreciate the design without going through the routing step.
There is this notion, then, of uncertainty in the design. Engineers traditionally build in margin to account for these unknowns. In very aggressive manufacturing technologies, such margins cut into the performance enhancement offered by manufacturing but left unrealized by the design. Interconnect delay has been treated as something which was not necessarily considered fully, but rather something for which you built in margin.
Power dissipation is a similar concern and its consideration at each step of the design process is essential to a DSM design with minimal iteration. At a higher level, designers would also like to make similar trade-offs between what should be in hardware, software, and firmware as well as hardware architectures. All of these design considerations require constraints at early design steps based on limited information as to the results of latter steps.
Exacerbating these problems is the fact that no one person can perform and excel at the entire design process. Thus, two subgroups have arisen out of the design team--logical (circuit) engineers and physical (design) engineers. This division potentially impedes the design flow because of data transfer issues as well as those associated with group dynamics.

Hierarchical adaptive state machine for emulating and augmenting software


A method of manufacturing a printed wiring board comprises providing a substrate and forming a printed circuit having a ground circuit on the substrate. An insulating layer is formed on the substrate over the printed circuit and consists of two successively formed insulating layers having concentric circular apertures defining an opening above the ground circuit. The opening has a circular, stepped shape effective to facilitate the subsequent formation of an electromagnetic wave shielding layer. An electromagnetic wave shielding layer is formed by silk screening a conductive paste on the substrate over the insulating layer and through the opening and over the ground circuit.

The present invention is directed to a manufacturing method for printed wiring boards having electromagnetic wave shielding.
In order to prevent the malfunction of a circuit which may be caused by electromagnetic wave between the associated printed wiring circuits or between one printed wiring board and an external device, a printed wiring board is widely known having an electromagnetic shielding provided over the entire surface or local portion thereof through insulating layers.
Electrically conductive paste is usually applied on the printed wiring circuit through a silk screen by means of a printing method, and then cured to obtain the electromagnetic wave shielding layer.
Also, the electromagnetic wave shielding layer is electrically connected with the printed wiring circuit by way of a ground circuit of the printed wiring circuit, thereby accomplishing the electromagnetic wave shielding.
Referring now to FIG. 2 for further concrete illustration of the structure of the printed wiring boards described above, a desired printed wiring circuit 2 is formed on an electrically insulating substrate 1 by the conventional known method (for example, by etching copper foil of a copper-clad laminate), and then the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 is formed above the printed wiring circuit 2 through an insulating layer 3.
The electromagnetic wave layer 6 is electrically connected with a ground circuit 4 of the printed wiring circuit 2 through openings 4a defined by the insulating layer 3.
As particularly shown in FIG. 2, for the case where a multiplicity of connection areas 5 are densely formed between the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 and the printed wiring circuit 2, and for the case where the electromagnetic shielding layer 6 is formed by applying an electrically conductive paste through the silk screen, a conventional method uses an insulating layer composed of a plurality of layers so as to define the openings 4a whose section is of a cup shape, thereby ensuring an easy filling of the electrically conductive paste into the openings 4a.
As is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the insulating layer 3 includes a first, a second and a third insulating layers 3a, 3b and 3c which define stepwisely the opening 4a having toward the top a greater diameter, thereby imparting the configuration of a cup to the opening 4a.
In consequence, when the electrically conductive paste for the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 is applied through thus formed opening 4a, the electrically conductive paste can be smoothly filled into each of the openings 4a having a cup shape, thereby ensuring a secure connection between the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 and the printed wiring circuit 2 through each of the ground circuits 4.
However, in the conventional printed wiring board 11, at least three insulating layers are formed on the ground circuit 4 when densely forming a multiplicity of connection areas 5. This brings about a considerable unevenness between the insulating layer 3 and the ground circuit 4, and thickens the electrically conductive paste present in the connection area 5 of the ground circuit 4 at the time of forming the electromagnetic shielding layer 6.
The electrically conductive paste having the increased thickness is cured using the process of ED curing (electron radiation curing) which may produce an uncured portion depending on the curing time and irradiation amount. Moreover, the thickness of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 is reduced due to the enlarged unevenness of the electromagnetic wave shielding layer 6 resting on the insulating layer 3, which may lead to problems decreasing the effectiveness of the electrical connection, safety of conductive resistance and the like.
When the printed wiring boards 11 delivered to users are subjected to heat during the soldering for mounting electrical components thereon, if the electrically conductive paste is made thicker, a thermal expansion during the soldering will cause distortion therebetween due to expansion and contraction of the individual materials, which may impair the adhesion properties of the electrically conductive paste.
Furthermore, with the greater film thickness, the components mounted on the connection area 5 extending along the end surface of the printed wiring board 11 are subjected to cracking due to the impact at the time of contour processing using a press, which may also lead to peeling.

Manufacturing printed wiring boards having electromagnetic wave shielding


A roll former for steel plate (3) which enables edge corner deformation of steel plate edges (4) to be avoided, that is, a roll former for steel plate comprised of a top roll (1) and a bottom roll (2), the roll former for steel plate characterized by forming convex curved parts (5) having a bending direction opposite to a bending direction of the steel plate (3) in regions of the bottom roll (2), which forms the outer side of the steel plate (3), which contact the steel plate edges (4).

As a method of production of steel pipe, the method of using a large number of rolls to gradually bend steel plate to finally form it into a round cross-sectional shape, then welding together the end faces is being widely employed.
This bending process is roughly divided into a first breakdown process and a second fin pass process. In the breakdown process, major bending is performed.
Rolling bending of steel plate is performed by pressing steel plate between a top roll and a bottom roll. The steel plate is fed over the bottom roll which shapes the outer side of the steel plate and is bent by the top roll which shapes the inner side of the steel plate.
As shown in FIG. 1, both the top roll 1 and the bottom roll 2 usually have a roll caliber with a curvature along a bending direction of the steel plate 3.
As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom roll 2 sometimes also has a straight roll caliber.
When roll bending thick-gauge steel plate, in both the case of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, at the time of starting bending, the steel plate edges 4 contact the bottom roll 2 in a line (or by points). If a downward pressing force is applied, the steel plate edges 4 unavoidably crush.
Once edge corner deformation occurs, restoration is impossible.
When the drawing action in the fin pass process shown in FIG. 3A is insufficient, if the steel plate edges 4 are made to abut in a pipe shape, as shown in FIG. 3B, a Y-shaped joint will be formed resulting in a welding defect.
If sufficient drawing was applied in the fin pass process, as shown in FIG. 3C, the edges will locally increase in thickness and the circularity of the inside circumference of the pipe will sometimes fall.
This problem becomes pronounced when t/D, where the plate thickness of the steel pipe is "t" and the diameter is D, is 0.06 or more.
To avoid this problem, in PLT 1, as shown in FIG. 4A or FIG. 4B, the method is proposed of pre-bending the steel plate edges 4 in advance by pre-bend-use rolls so that in the breakdown process shown in FIG. 4C, the steel plate edges 4 are not bent.
However, even if using pre-bend-use rolls, at the time of start of bending, no matter what is done, a certain extent of edge corner deformation is unavoidable. Further, before the breakdown process, it is then necessary to install a pre-bend-use stand, so the problem of inviting a larger size of the facilities remains.

Roll former for steel plate and roll bending method for steel plate using same

NIPPON STEEL & SUMITOMO METAL CORPORATION


A method for generating a model for facial sculpture based on a generative adversarial network (GAN) includes training a predetermined GAN based on a three-dimensional (3D) face dataset of multiple 3D face images to obtain a curvature map generation model and training a predetermined image translation model based on dataset of multiple image pairs to obtain a height map generation model. Target 3D face data is received, and the target 3D face data is inputted into the curvature map generation model to generate a target curvature map, and the target curvature map is inputted to the height map generation model to generate a target height map. The target height map is performed a 3D reconstruction to obtain a facial sculpture model corresponding to the target 3D face data. A computing device using the method is also provided.

Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) is applied to numbers of real life situations. For training, GAN has been able to generate various styles of images, such as animal images, landscape images, and portraits of people. However, in the sculpture field, a sculpture model generated by a sculpture generation model based on the GAN is rough, lacks detail, and is not vivid. During generation of the model for sculpture, the GAN puts a heavy load on a computer.
Thus, there is a room for improvement.

Method for generating model of sculpture of face with high meticulous, computing device, and non-transitory storage medium


A process for the preparation of pyrazolopyrolidines of structural formula I: and W is or P, wherein in P is an amine protecting group. These compounds are useful in the synthesis of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes. Also provided are useful intermediates obtained from the process.

The present invention is directed to novel synthetic methods in the manufacture of pharmaceutically active pyrazolopyrolidines, and pyrazolopyrolidine intermediates in the manufacture of pharmaceutically active compounds. The present invention is further directed to intermediates useful in the disclosed process.
The synthesis of pyrazolopyrolidines has previously been described in PCT international patent application WO 2010/056708. The syntheses taught in Intermediate 6 of WO 2010/056708 yielded a 1:1 mixture of products of formulas Ia and Ib.
WO 2010/056708 taught an additional step of resolution of the desired product Ib by column chromatography.
The pyrazolopyrolidines of structural formula Ib described in WO 2010/056708 are used in processes to synthesize effective DPP-IV inhibitors, such as formula IIb:

A regioisomer-selective process, yielding a greater percentage of the desired pyrazolopyrolidine regioisomer product, was desired. The inventors have now discovered efficient regioisomer-selective processes, comprising sulfonylation of the pyrazolopyrolidines and isomerization of the sulfonylated pyrazolopyrolidines.

Process for preparing chiral dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitors


A lower extremity enhancer to be worn by a user includes two leg supports having a plurality of jointed links. Proximal ends of the leg supports are connected to a back frame. Distal ends of the leg supports are connected to two foot links. The leg supports are powered by a plurality of actuators adapted to apply torques to the leg supports in response to movement of the user's legs.

1. Field
The present application relates to a robotic exoskeleton, and, more particularly, to a lower extremity enhancer to be worn by a user to enable the user to carry a load.
2. Related Art
A robotic exoskeleton to be worn by a user has been mostly the subject of science fiction. Attempts have been made to build a lower limb exoskeleton for both performance augmentation and rehabilitation purposes. In general, these attempts relied on an interpretation of muscle activity to prescribe a motion to the joints of the exoskeleton, or on a conscious command signal from the user, or were limited to a fixed set of predetermined physical activities. In general, the user of these exoskeletons was required to hold onto a walking aid when using the exoskeletons.

The Regents of the University of California


A bearing sleeve assembly for motors includes a stator seat having an axial tube, a supporting member securely mounted in the axial tube, an elastic member securely mounted in the supporting member and having a contacting section supported by an end of the supporting member, and a bearing which bears against the contacting section of the elastic member and rotatably supports a rotor shaft.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to bearing sleeve assemblies for motors of heat dissipating fans.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 12 of the drawings illustrates a typical bearing sleeve assembly in which a spring 10 is mounted around an end of the rotor shaft 11 which, in turn, is rotatably supported by two bearings 1a and 1b and a sleeve 2 mounted between the bearings 1 and 1b, and the other end of the rotor shaft 11 is retained by a C-clip 4. The spring is expected to provide sufficient force to increase the clearance between the fan blades and the bearing and to reduce the gap as a result of assembly of the elements to thereby reduce the so-called air gap friction during running of the fan blades. In addition, the spring is expected to effectively absorb vibrations generated during running of the motor to thereby reduce the noise. A drawback of such a bearing sleeve structure resides in the difficult assembly of the spring. Further, the vibration-absorbing ability of the spring is unsatisfactory.
The present invention is intended to provide improved bearing sleeve assemblies which mitigate and/or obviate the above problems.

Bearing sleeve assemblies for heat dissipating fan motors

Sunonwealth Electric Machine Industry Co., Ltd.


A connector is provided with a connector main body having conductive contacts and a housing holding the conductive contacts. The conductive contacts are exposed from the housing so as to be electrically connectable to a mating connector in a distal end portion of the connector main body and are exposed from the housing so as to be electrically connectable to a substrate in a rear end portion of the connector main body. The housing has positioning portions positioning the connector main body and the substrate relative to each other. The positioning portions are located closer to a center line of the connector main body than the conductive contacts when the connector main body is viewed in plan. The center line extends along a direction from the distal end portion of the connector main body toward the rear end portion.

A connector may be connected to a substrate in the rear end portion that is opposite to the distal end portion which is connected to a mating connector. Patent Literature 1 discloses a connector that can be fitted to a mating connector along a front-rear direction and is provided with a holding member, a contact, a shell, and a ground member. This connector has a pair of groove portions into which a relay board is inserted in both rear side portions of the holding member. The relay board is fixed to the connector by being inserted into the groove portion.
The connector is applied to various devices, equipment, and so on. For example, a pen-type electronic device as disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is known as an electronic device to which the connector is applied. Known as pen-type electronic devices are various devices such as a penlight, a laser pointer, a pen-type recorder, a pen-type demagnetizer, a pen-type hardness tester, a pen-type humidifier, and an electronic pen. The connector is provided in the electronic devices or devices electrically connected to the electronic devices for the purpose of charging of a built-in battery, communication with a computer device, or the like.

Connector with exposed conductive contact


A washing machine and a control method thereof sensing an unbalance condition occurring during a spin-dry cycle. The washing machine includes a controller controlling a speed of a motor in accordance with a weight of laundry contained in a rotating tub, upon wrapping the laundry at an initial stage of the spin-dry cycle. A gradient of the motor speed in a laundry wrapping process is determined, depending on the weight of the laundry. Accordingly, to greatly reduce a time prior to a main spin-dry process is possible, while preventing abnormal vibrations from being generated when a rotating speed of the rotating tub reaches a speed, at which resonance occurs.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine and a control method thereof, and, more particularly, to a washing machine and a control method thereof which senses an unbalance condition occurring during a spin-dry cycle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In conventional washing machines, an unbalance condition of a rotating tub is sensed during an operation of a motor coupled to the rotating tub to spin-dry laundry. When an unbalance condition of the rotating tub is sensed, the motor is repeatedly driven and stopped until the unbalance condition of the rotating tub is not sensed. When the unbalance condition of the rotating tub is not sensed, the motor is continuously driven so that a speed thereof reaches a predetermined spin-dry speed.
In the conventional washing machines, the sensing of the unbalance condition is performed in a state in which laundry contained in the rotating tub is wrapped on an inner peripheral surface of the rotating tub such that the laundry is in constant contact with the inner peripheral surface of the rotating tub in accordance with a rotation of the rotating tub.
However, the conventional washing machines have problems in that the wrapped state of the laundry is not uniform because the motor is driven at a constant speed to wrap the laundry without taking into consideration the weight of the laundry. When a small amount of laundry is wrapped, the driving and stopping of the motor should be repeated several times until the unbalance condition of the rotating tub is completely eliminated. However, when a large amount of laundry is wrapped, a possibility that the unbalance condition occurs is greatly reduced. In this case, abnormal vibrations and noise may be caused by even an unbalance condition of the rotating tub, which is undetectably small, when a rotating speed of the rotating tub reaches a speed, at which resonance occurs.

Method for controlling and sensing an unbalance condition based on sensed laundry weight


A control device is configured for use with an engine of a power equipment apparatus. The control device includes a base, a first knob, and a second knob. The first knob is positioned adjacent to the base and is rotatable about an axis with respect to the base while being substantially restrained from axial movement along the axis with respect to the base. The first knob has an aperture surrounding and extending along the axis to define a passageway extending through the first knob. The second knob has an end portion slidingly received within the aperture of the first knob such that the second knob is axially movable along the axis with respect to the base and the first knob. Power equipment apparatus and saddle-type vehicles including control devices are also provided.

Some conventional power equipment apparatus include separate control devices to facilitate an operator's control of fuel and choke functions for an engine. For example, a conventional all terrain vehicle ("ATV") includes a fuel knob which is configured to control the flow of fuel from a fuel tank to an engine, and which can be rotated by an operator between an "Off" position, an "On" position, and a "Reserve" position. One conventional fuel knob is generally depicted in FIGS. 9A-9B. The fuel knob 130 includes a knob 134 and a base 132 and is coupled with a fuel tank and an engine such that the knob 134 can selectively facilitate the flow of fuel from the fuel tank to the engine. The base 132 includes apertures 138 for passage of bolts for attachment of the fuel knob 130 to the fuel tank.
The fuel knob 130 receives fuel from a non-reserve portion of the fuel tank via a passageway 141 in an inlet tube 140, and receives fuel from a reserve portion of the fuel tank via a passageway 153 defined by an opening 152 in the base 132. The knob 134 includes a knob member 164 and a valve member 166. The knob member 164 includes a grip portion 170 and an aperture 147. A bolt 199 is insertable through the aperture 147 and into a threaded aperture 148 in a stem 171 of the valve member 166 to facilitate attachment of the knob member 164 to the valve member 166. After positioning the valve member 166 adjacent to the base 132 such that a bottom surface 169 of the valve member 166 is adjacent to some portion of the base 132, a cover 165 is attached to the base 132 with bolts 198 inserted through apertures 197 in the cover 165 and into threaded apertures 195 in the base 132. As assembled, an O-ring (not shown) interfaces a channel disposed about the periphery of the valve member 166 to provide a seal with respect to the base 132. The base 132 and/or cover 165 can interact with the knob 134 to limit its range of rotation with respect to the base 132.
The base 132 cooperates with the knob 134 to selectively define a conduit to facilitate the flow of fuel. In particular, the bottom surface 169 of the valve member 166 is substantially flat except that it includes a channel 168 formed as an indentation into the bottom surface 169. The base 132 includes passageways 158, 160 and 162 to facilitate the selective flow of fuel. The passageway 158 is connected with the passageway 153, the passageway 160 is connected with a passageway 151 in an outlet port 150 of the base 132, and the passageway 162 is coupled with the passageway 141. Depending upon the rotational position of the knob 134 with respect to the base 132, the channel 168 in the valve member 166 either (1) does not overlap the passageway 160 and thus prevents fuel from flowing from the fuel knob 130; (2) is positionally located over passageways 160 and 162 such that non-reserve fuel enters the inlet tube 140 and passes from the fuel knob 130 through the passageway 151; and (3) is positionally located over passageways 158 and 160 such that reserve fuel flows into the passageway 153 and passes from the fuel knob 130 through the passageway 151.
A conventional ATV also includes a choke knob which is disposed upon the ATV at a location remote from that of the fuel knob 130. An example of a conventional choke knob 230 is depicted in FIG. 9C to include a knob 236 and a base 232, wherein the knob 236 is attached to a flexible cable 244 which is routed through a sheath 246. The knob 236 has a grip portion 272 which can be gripped by an operator and moved axially inwardly and outwardly with respect to the base 232 to adjust the amount of air provided to the carburetor of the engine. In particular, an operator can pull the knob 236 outwardly to cause a reduction in the amount of air flow to the carburetor (e.g., when starting a cold engine), and can push the knob 236 inwardly to cause restoration of the flow of air to the carburetor (e.g., during normal operation of a heated engine).
By disposing the choke knob 230 remotely from the fuel knob 130 upon the ATV, separate mounting provisions are required for each knob, and separate steps must be taken during assembly of the ATV to effect attachment of each knob. Also, the provision of separate knobs upon the ATV results in increased bulk upon the ATV, and renders it difficult for an operator of the ATV to easily locate and/or simultaneously adjust both knobs.

Control device for engine of power equipment apparatus


A new isoform of manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and polynucleotides encoding it have been identified. This isoform, MnSOD E3(−), is a splice variant lacking exon 3 of the full length MnSOD. The polypeptide can be expressed using appropriate host cells. Modulation of either the expression of the polynucleotides of the activity of the polypeptide is also described. Furthermore, diagnostic and therapeutic methods have been developed as a consequence of the isolation of the polynucleotides and polypeptides.

A. Superoxide Dismutase
Superoxide radicals and other highly reactive oxygen species are harmful by-products produced in every respiring cell, causing oxidative damage to a wide variety of macromolecules and cellular components. A group of metalloproteins known as superoxide dismutases (SOD) catalyzes the oxidation-reduction reaction 202−+2H+→H2O2+O2 and thus provides a defense mechanism against oxygen toxicity. SOD may contain manganese or iron or a combination of copper and zinc (U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,911).
Oxidative damage has been positively correlated with a reduction in MnSOD activity (Isoherranen et al., J Photobiol (1997) 40(3):288–293); hence, SODs from various sources are currently of great interest as potential therapeutic treatments for oxidative damage. Their use in a clinical setting for the treatment of a wide variety of disorders has been proposed (see Beck et al., Nuc Acids Res (1988) 15(21): 9076). These proposals include (i) prevention of oncogenesis, tumor promotion and invasiveness, and UV-induced damage; (ii) protection of cardiac tissue against post-ischemia reperfusion damage; (iii) as an anti-inflammatory agent; (iv) to reduce the cytotoxic and cardiotoxic effects of anticancer drugs, and; (v) to improve the longevity of living cells (U.S. Pat. No. 5,772,996).
The importance of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or changes in the cellular redox state in the pathogenesis of viral infections is becoming increasingly evident. For example, influenza virus infection of the lungs induces MnSOD expression and thus is associated with oxidative stress (Choi et al., Am J. Physiology (1996) 271(3 Pt 1): L383–391). Further, SOD, specifically MnSOD, is recognized in the art to be modulated during various stages of viral infection (e.g., Choi et al Am J. Physiology (1996) 271(3 Pt. 1): L383–391; Ritter et al., J Exp Med (1994) 185(5): 1995–1998; Jacoby et al., Free Radic Biol Med (1994) 16(6): 821–824; and Carbonari et al., (1997) 90(1): 209–216). This is especially acute in HIV infections, wherein the effect of cytokines, such as TNF alpha, may further exacerbate the effects of oxidative stress in the infective pathogenesis associated with AIDS (Le Naour, et al., Res Immunol (1992) 143(1): 49–56 and Shatrov et al., Eur Cytokine Network (1997) 8(1): 37–43).
Patients infected with HIV-1 often display destroyed immune cells in the peripheral lymphoid tissues as well as exhibit cognitive defects that are related to progressive neuronal degeneration and cell death involving the redox state (New et al., Neurovirol (1997) 3(2): 168–173 and Flores et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1993) 90(16): 7632–7636). HIV-infected patients have also shown low levels of MnSOD (Zhang et al., Antioxidants and AIDS, 36–37 (CRC Press LLC, 1997). Apoptosis and aging involve oxidative stress as measured by degradation of mtDNA (Ozawa T., Biosci Rep (1997) 17(3):237–250). What is of critical relevance is that all of these events reflect the involvement of moderate to severe mitochondrial damage (e.g., mtDNA deletions) in part due to the effects of ROS (Kruman et al., Exp Neurol (1998) 154(2): 276–288; and Carbonari et al., (1997) 90(1): 209–216).
B. Mitochondrial Damage
To meet the body's acute and chronic energy demands, all cells of the body synthesize their fuel within their mitochondria. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contains thirteen genes encoding protein products that are necessary to synthesize the cell's fuel, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). All cells have mitochondria, but the number of mitochondria per cell can vary from a few hundred to tens of thousands per cell.
Mitochondrial oxidative stress has often been implicated as an initiator of the mtDNA mutation process because mitochondria consume most of the cell's oxygen for ATP synthesis. If oxygen is not metabolized efficiently, oxygen free radicals can accumulate in the cell. Free radicals can cause protein and lipid peroxidation, as well as oxidative damage to the mtDNA If oxidative damage to mtDNA is left unrepaired, the point-mutation and deletion rate of the mtDNA increases, which may eventually lead to permanent organ fatigue.
A random mutation on one mtDNA molecule would not alone be deleterious to an organism due to the large intracellular pool of mtDNA. Accordingly, a few random mtDNA mutations may have no distinguishable phenotypic effects, but once a high level of these mtDNA mutations has accumulated in critical cells, an energy-loss syndrome may occur which could effect the heart (cardiomyopathy or conduction disorders), the brain (seizures, dementia), pancreas (non-insulin dependent diabetes), the gastrointestinal tract (dysmotility or pseudo-obstruction), inner ear (sensorineural hearing loss), kidney (glomerulopathy) and/or the skeletal muscle (myopathy).
As oxidative stress can induce both mtDNA mutations and apoptotic death, the discovery that mtDNA mutations are the basis of a number of human pathologies may have profound implications.
C. Cell Death
Programmed cell death (sometimes referred to as apoptosis) is distinguishable, both morphologically and functionally, from necrosis. Programmed cell death is a natural cellular event. Cells dying by programmed cell death usually shrink, rarely lyse, and are efficiently removed from the organism without the appearance of inflammation. Necrosis, however, is a pathological type of cell death observed following physical or chemical injury, exposure to toxins or ischemia (lack of oxygen). Dead cells are rapidly recognized and engulfed by macrophages (Michael Hengartner, Cell Death and Aging, Molecular Mechanisms of, MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY, 158–62 (ed. R. A. Meyers, 1995)).
It is becoming increasingly clear that oxygen metabolism plays a key control point in programmed cell death or apoptosis. Therefore, identifying the gene product responsible for apoptotic oxidative stress is key to therapeutic drug development. In cancer, for example, it would be therapeutically advantageous to be able to induce apoptosis in malignant cells by increasing oxidative stress in these cells.
Conversely, inhibiting oxidative stress may prolong cell life. The immune activation of T cells of HIV-infected individuals leads to oxidative damage of proteins and lipids and apoptotic T cell death (Piedimonte et al. (1997) Infect Dis 176: 655–664; Walmsley et al. (1997) AIDS 11(14):1689–1697; Groux et al. (1992) J Exp Med 175: 331–340). Oxidative stress also causes HIV viral load to increase (Schreck et al. EMBO J (1991) 10 (8):2247–2258; Staal et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1990) 87: 9943–9947). Therefore, inhibiting oxidative stress might be beneficial in preventing T cell depletion in HIV-infected individuals.
Therefore, given the importance of the redox state on cell function and homeostasis, there is a need to identify any gene and/or gene product having a role in oxidative stress.

Manganese superoxide dimutase exon 3-deleted isoforms and nucleic acid molecules encoding the isoforms


An apparatus and method calibration method, particularly to determine an x-ray generation technique to acquire a hand x-ray image using a mammography x-ray system for assessing Radiographic Absorptiometry (RA) based BMD (Bone Mineral Density).

Osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone strength. It can result in increased risk to fractures, height loss, hunched backs, and pain. Bone strength is a function of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone quality. It is believed that bone mineral density peaks about the age of 30 for both men and women, and then declines gradually. Some statistics have indicated that Osteoporosis affects approximately 20 million people and is a cause of about 1.3 million fracture incidents in the United States each year. As such, screening for bone mineral density is often desired.
Several common techniques have been used to measure bone mineral density, including but not limited to bone puncture, radiation Absorptiometry of single energy x-ray systems, DEXA (dual energy x-ray Absorptiometry), and sonography.
Bone puncture can be an accurate but invasive procedure, which involves the extraction of bone mass from spine area. Such a procedure carries risk.
With regard to single energy x-ray systems, mineral loss in a person's bones can be estimated from a single energy x-ray image of a body part. In diagnosing and treating bone diseases, it is common to take radiographic images of the patient (e.g., skeletal features of the patient), then either read the images directly or perform software analysis on the images to extract information of interest. For example, in diagnosing or monitoring the treatment of Osteoporosis, one might take x-ray images of selected skeletal bones, then perform computer analysis on certain image features to determine bone volume, bone length, bone geometric changes, bone strength conditions, bone age, bone cortical thickness, and bone mineral mass.
Typically, when reading and interpreting radiographic images directly, the treating physician will refer the patient to a radiologist, who can supervise both taking the radiographic image and interpreting the image to extract desired bone information, such as bone mass and bone contour irregularities. Alternatively, if the bone analysis is done, at least partially, by a computer analysis system, the x-ray images prepared by the radiologist may be sent back to the treating physician's computer site or to another computer site for computer analysis.
DEXA is a device used by hospitals to measure bone mineral density (BMD). In DEXA, two low-dosage x-ray beams with differing energy levels are directed at a patient's spine, hip, or whole body using conventional x-ray machines. A computer calculates the content of bone mineral density based on the relationship that different bones absorb different energy levels. While some consider DEXA to be accurate, the apparatus is bulky and expensive. U.S. Pat. No. 6,816,564 (Charles, Jr.) is directed to a technique for deriving tissue structure from multiple projection dual-energy x-ray Absorptiometry.
Sonography devices measure the bone mineral density of peripheral bones, such as a heel, shin bone, or kneecap. It is recognized that the bone mineral density in the spine or hip change faster than that in heel, shin bone, or kneecap. Thus, sonography is considered by some to be not as accurate or sensitive as DEXA in the determination of bone mineral density. DEXA allows early detection of abnormal change in bone mass for its targets spine, hip, or whole body. However, sonography offers advantages of lower cost and radiation-free.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,246,745 (Bi) describes a software system for determining bone mineral density from radiographic images of a patient hand obtained from conventional x-ray imaging system.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0059875 (Chung) describes a biosensor and method for bone mineral density measurement.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0031181 (Bi) is directed to a system and method for analyzing bone conditions using DICOM compliant bone radiographic images.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,712,892 (Weil), commonly assigned, is directed to an apparatus for measuring the bone mineral content of an extremity.
While such systems may have achieved certain degrees of success in their particular applications, there is a need for a system and method for bone mineral density screening, particularly wherein a medical professional can readily and locally (e.g., at an office location) generate a bone mineral density report. A suitable system would be easy to use, reduced in cost, yet provide sufficient accuracy. Preferred would be an on-site screening that can be utilized by physicians, radiologists, or other medical professionals.
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/755,233 (Huo), titled BONE MINERAL DENSITY ASSESSMENT USING MAMMOGRAPHY SYSTEM, filed on Dec. 30, 2005, commonly assigned, and incorporated herein by reference, describes an imaging system and method to acquire hand x-ray images suitable for bone mineral density (BMD) screening and analysis using a mammography x-ray imaging system.
Because of the challenges to acquire hand images with adequate quality using a mammography system, there exists a need to establish a calibration procedure to perform quality assurance of the x-ray system before acquiring patient images.

X-ray beam calibration for bone mineral density assessment using mammography system


In a paper-making machine, a method of determining a volumetric percentage of air in a fiber suspension for delivery to a headbox. The fiber suspension is transported through a fluid conduit. A sound transmitter and a target receiver are positioned relative to the fluid conduit. A sound is transmitted through the fiber suspension from the sound transmitter to the target receiver. A speed of the transmitted sound from the sound transmitter to the target receiver is established. The volumetric percentage of air in the fiber suspension is determined, dependent upon the established speed of sound.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to paper-making machines, and, more particularly, to a method of determining an amount of air in a fiber suspension in a paper-making machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Paper-making machines typically include an approach flow system which transports a fiber suspension, such as a wood pulp suspension, to a headbox. The fiber suspension is discharged from an outlet gap of the headbox onto a forming fabric which travels at an operating speed. Water drains through the forming fabric from the fiber suspension to reduce the water content of the fiber suspension.
The presence of air within the fiber suspension causes problems during the manufacture of the paper. First, the air reduces the efficiency of the pump(s) which are used to transport the fiber suspension to the headbox. For example, a fiber suspension with approximately 5% air (by volume) may reduce the efficiency of the pump(s) by as much as 50%. This in turn means that the size of the pump must be increased and power requirements are dramatically increased. Moreover, air within the fiber suspension typically is in the form of tiny air bubbles which tend to attach via adhesion to the fibers within the fiber suspension. When the fiber suspension is discharged onto the forming fabric, these tiny bubbles do not rapidly disengage from the fibers, and interfere with the drainage of water through the forming fabric from the fiber suspension.
For the foregoing reasons, it is thus preferable to remove as much air as possible from the fiber suspension transported to the headbox. A conventional method of determining an amount of air within the fiber suspension is to draw a sample of the fiber suspension and test the fiber suspension at a location remote from the paper-making machine. This procedure is of course time consuming and labor intensive.
What is needed in the art is a method of determining an amount of air within a fiber suspension in a paper-making machine which is fast, reliable, inexpensive and provides almost instantaneous feed back.

Method of determining a volumetric percentage of air in a fiber suspension in a paper-making machine

Voith Sulzer Paper Technology North America, Inc.


A shell-and-tube heat exchanger and an air conditioning system. The shell-and-tube heat exchanger includes: a shell provided with a liquid inlet and an vapor outlet, the vapor outlet being disposed at an top portion of the shell; and a heat exchange tube bundle disposed in the shell in an axial direction of the shell; wherein the heat exchange tube bundle includes: a plurality of first heat exchange tubes located at an upper portion, the first heat exchange tubes having a first spacing therebetween; and a plurality of second heat exchange tubes located at a lower portion, the second heat exchange tubes having a second spacing therebetween; the first spacing is different from the second spacing.

An air conditioning device belongs to a technical field that has been very maturely developed, and it plays a role of regulating air temperature and humidity. Generally speaking, an air conditioning device includes components such as a compressor, a throttling component, and heat exchangers serving as a condenser and an evaporator respectively. The heat exchanger provides a heat exchange space for a refrigerant and an external fluid. Shell-and-tube heat exchangers, as a common type of heat exchanger, have the advantage of high heat exchange performance. However, at the same time, the problem of alleviating liquid carryover is an important challenge in the structural design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers, since such a phenomenon will seriously affect the performance of the compressor, and will further lead to a decrease in system energy efficiency coefficient.
Taking an evaporator as an example, a refrigerant evaporates from a liquid phase into a gas phase in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger, and releases its latent heat. At this point, the shell-and-tube heat exchanger has a heat exchange tube bundle installed at a lower portion and an empty space at an upper portion. A conventional heat exchange tube bundle includes a plurality of heat exchange tubes having the same size and spacing, which are arranged in a staggered manner. In this case, due to the small tube spacing and tube size, a part of the refrigerant will form a medium jet. Such a medium jet typically has a jet velocity of 3-4 m/s, or even as high as 9-10 m/s. At the same time, it also has a large jet inclination. For these two reasons, a part of the refrigerant droplets are ejected into an vapor outlet of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger at a high velocity, resulting in the liquid carryover.
In existing products, relatively conservative designs are usually chosen to alleviate the problem of liquid carryover, such as by reducing the number of heat exchange tubes in the heat exchange tube bundle, or reserving a larger upper empty space, which will also cause a certain degree of waste in design. As another common solution to the problem of liquid carryover, a baffle for vapor outlet is used, which can effectively block the medium jet and prevent it from directly entering the vapor outlet. However, while the aforementioned problem is alleviated by the baffle for vapor outlet, excessive pressure loss of the gas-phase refrigerant may be caused instead, which in turn also affects the system performance.

Shell-and-tube heat exchanger and air conditioning system


A coupling assembly for agricultural implements has a friction coupling (1), an electromagnet (6) and control mechanism (7). The friction coupling (1) includes a friction assembly (4) which is loaded by a pressure plate (14). The pressure plate (14) is loaded by pressure springs (15, 16). The pressure plate (14) is adjustable by an actuating device (5) which includes an electromagnet (6) and an anchor plate (19). The control mechanism (7) includes a control member (27) which, by changing the electric current, regulates the pressure force of the pressure plate (14) during the coupling and/or uncoupling operation. The housing (2) and the hub (3) are associated with speed sensors (25, 26) which transmit a signal to the control mechanism (7) to relieve the load on the friction assembly. Thus, this prevents the friction coupling (1) from overheating.

This application is based upon and claims priority to German Patent Application 199 43 209.0 filed Sep. 9, 1999, which application is herein expressly incorporated by reference.
The invention relates to a coupling assembly for agricultural implements which includes a friction coupling.
Friction couplings are used in agricultural machinery when large masses, such as flywheels, need to be accelerated. During acceleration, the coupling slips and transforms the absorbed energy into heat. The friction coupling in such implements also reacts if a blockage occurs inside the implement. Thus, the entire friction power, or the driving power, is transformed into heat. The coupling heats up very quickly. The stored heat can only be dissipated via the coupling surface. In consequence, cooling takes a correspondingly long time. Accordingly, a great risk of the friction coupling overheating exists. This is the reason why friction couplings are used only in those cases where large masses need to be accelerated and where overloading due to blockages occurs only occasionally.
It is an object of the invention to provide a coupling assembly with a friction coupling where the risk of overheating is reduced. In consequence, the coupling has a correspondingly longer service life.
In accordance with the invention, a coupling assembly has a friction coupling which defines a longitudinal axis. The friction coupling has a housing with a first friction face positioned perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis. A hub is received in the housing. The hub is rotatable relative to the housing around the longitudinal axis. The hub is axially displaceable to a limited extent. The hub includes at least one first hub plate which is firmly connected to the hub. A pressure plate, with pressure springs, loading the pressure plate, is supported on a supporting plate secured to the housing. Friction plates are arranged between the first friction face of the housing and the first hub plate. Also, friction plates are positioned between the first hub plate and the pressure plate. Optionally, friction plates are positioned between each further plate connected to the housing and each further plate connected to the hub. An actuating device with an annular electromagnet is arranged co-axially around a portion of the hub projecting from the housing. The actuating device is rotatable relative thereto and non-adjustably supported in the direction of the longitudinal axis and securable against rotation by securing means. The actuating device includes an anchor plate which is connected by setting pins to the pressure plate. Also, the actuating device is connected to the housing in a rotationally fast way. A control mechanism is present to connect the electromagnet to a power source.
An advantage of this assembly is that, during acceleration, the transmitted torque slowly builds up to the nominal torque. Thus, a high speed differential exists. The specific surface pressure values at the beginning of the coupling process are low. Accordingly, compared to conventional solutions, less heat is generated which need to be absorbed by the coupling. Thus, the risk of the coupling overheating is reduced and the service life is increased.
A method of controlling a friction coupling exists to achieve the objective. The friction coupling includes a housing, a hub and a friction assembly loaded by a pressure plate. The pressure plate is loaded by pressure springs. The pressure plate is adjustable by an actuating device. Adjustment takes place by a control mechanism such that, within a predetermined period of time, the pressure force of the pressure plate, while starting from a minimum value, is increased to the full value of pressure application. The smallest possible minimum value is zero.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, apertures extending parallel to the longitudinal axis are formed on the circumference of the supporting plate. Setting pins are guided through each of the apertures. In the region between the pressure plate and the supporting plate, the pressure springs are received on the setting pins. Accordingly, the anchor plate is guided by the setting pins in an advantageous way. The electromagnet is preferably supported by rolling contact bearings.
The control mechanism preferably includes a control member. While the friction coupling starts to operate, the control member causes the actuating force generated by the electromagnet, acting against the force of the pressure springs, to drop from a maximum to a reduced value over a predetermined period of time. When the electromagnet no longer applies any force to the pressure plate in the load-relieving sense, the coupling is set to the nominal torque.
Additionally, a claw coupling is provided for applications requiring the operation of uncoupling the driveline to proceed over a long period of time. The claw coupling is connected in series relative to the friction coupling and to the actuating device. The claw coupling interrupts the flow of force in an energy-free way. For a lengthy disconnecting operation, the power consumption of the electromagnet would be too high.
The housing and the hub are each associated with a speed sensor to prevent the friction coupling from overheating in the case of overloading. The control mechanism includes a speed comparator and a time member. If a predetermined speed differential between the housing and the hub is exceeded, the control mechanism activates the electromagnet for a predetermined period of time to at least partially relieve the load on the friction assembly. A warning signal indicates to the operator that overloading is taking place. Thus, the signal enables the operator to stop the machine and to remove any blockages which may have resulted in overloading.
During activation of the electromagnet, to prevent the anchor plate from hitting the electromagnet and to prevent the setting pins from being bent at start up of the coupling, the anchor plate is connected to the supporting plate by fixing elements. Thus, the anchor plate is axially displaceable to a limited extent and rotationally fast.
According to a further embodiment of the inventive method, it is proposed to increase the pressure force for a predetermined time period in order to act against a reduction in the friction value when the coupling is used frequently. Also, the implement is freed in the case of a blockage. Accordingly, a second electromagnet or an additional coil are included to provide the anchor plate with additional pressure.
Furthermore, to achieve disconnection in the event of overloading, the speeds of the housing and of the hub are measured and compared. If a predetermined speed differential is exceeded over a predetermined period of time, the load on the friction assembly is relieved and a warning signal is generated.
Accordingly, the coupling assembly and method of operation with a controlled starting behavior enable the design of the drivelines connected to and following the coupling assembly to take place without taking into account the starting peaks. Even when the coupling is warm, it is possible to provide compensation during the starting process. Here, increased pressure is applied to the friction coupling. As a result, the transmission of torque by the coupling can be increased to such an extent that it corresponds to the normal starting behavior of the coupling, beginning with the cold condition.
From the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the drawings and subjoined claims, other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art.

Coupling assembly for agricultural implements