An operating system for a motorized barrier includes an operator for controlling movement of the barrier between various positions. The operator may receive wireless signals from a wireless or wired wall station transmitter, a wireless keyless entry device and/or a portable remote transmitter device. The system also includes a device such as a light kit or switch that controls a load, wherein the device is capable of also receiving wireless signals to control the kit or the load. And the transmitters are capable of generating wireless signals receivable by the operator and the device for independent operation of each.

As is well known, garage doors or gates enclose an area to allow selective ingress and egress to and from the area. Garage doors initially were moveable by hand. But due to their weight and the inconvenience of opening and closing the door, motors are now linked to the door through an operator controller. Control of such a motor may be provided by a hard-wired or wireless push button which, when actuated, relays a signal to the operator controller that starts the motor and moves the door in one direction until a predetermined limit is reached. When the button is pressed again, the motor moves the door in an opposite direction. Garage door operators are now provided with safety features which stop and reverse the door travel when an obstruction is encountered. Other safety devices, such as photoelectric sensors, detect whenever there is an obstruction within the path of the door and send a signal to the operator to take corrective action. Remote control devices are now also provided to facilitate the opening and closing of the door without having to get out of the car. The prior art also discloses various other added features for the convenience of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,078,271 to Roddy, et al. discloses a programmable transmitter which includes a receiver for receiving a coded signal at a desired frequency. The code is stored in memory during a learning mode and is then retransmitted sequentially at a plurality of frequencies, including the desired frequency. During this time, the operator observes the device to be operated and indicates to the transmitter when the controlled device performs the desired function, i.e., when the desired frequency is transmitted. At that time, the user presses a button on the transmitter, and the transmitter stores the most recently transmitted frequency. This method addresses both multiple RF codes and frequencies which the need for both is redundant but necessary to cover all different manufacturers' devices. This art is only relevant for showing methods of RF communication with multiple frequencies rather that measuring amplitude of signals at the same frequency.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,926,106 to Beran et al. discloses an apparatus and related methods for entryway access control using serial discretely coded radio frequency transmissions initiated by a single user access request signal. The control apparatus is battery operated and includes a user actuatable input selectively generating a single electrical initiation signal. Circuitry provides first and second conditioned output signals responsive to receipt of the single electrical initiation signal, the output signals enabling first and second transmission channels, respectively, of an RF transmitter or transmitters. A signal delaying circuit delays output of the second conditioned output signal relative to output of the first conditioned output signal. This method of activating is deficient in that a device requires generation of two separate RF signals at timed intervals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,224 to Fitzgibbon discloses a movable barrier or garage door operator that has a control head controlling an electric motor connected to a movable barrier or garage door to open and close it. The control head has an RF receiver for receiving RF signals from a hand-held transmitter or a fixed keypad transmitter. The receiver operates the electric motor upon matching a received code with a stored code. The stored codes may be updated or loaded either by enabling the learn mode of the receiver from the fixed keypad transmitter or from a wired control unit positioned within the garage. This device controls both the operator and the garage light but both are controlled through the motor control board and not separate devices so separate communication is not required. This type of arrangement—by running the light control through the operator controls—causes the light to be responsive to the operator. For example, if the garage door is either in the open or closed position and the light has been activated by the light circuit, when the operator motor is activated, the control board will take the light on function and route it to the time delay circuit and turn the light out when the timer expires leaving the user in the dark until the light circuit is again manually activated. This device uses one receiver to receive the transmitted signal and can activate either the light or the motorized operator. However the light must be wired to the control board. Therefore is the light is remote from the operator then wires must be ran to connect the light to the control board. Because of this wiring issue, all the devices that practice this invention mount the light integral with the operator housing that contains the motor control board.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,442 to Mosebrook, et al. discloses an apparatus for controlling an electrical device by remote control including a control device coupled to the electrical device by a wire connection for providing power to the electrical device. The control device includes an actuator for adjusting the status of the electrical device, and a radio frequency transmitter/receiver and antenna for adjusting the status of the electrical device in response to control information in a radio frequency signal. The transmitter/receiver receives the radio frequency signal via the antenna and transmits a status radio frequency signal with information regarding the status of the electrical device. A master control unit has at least one actuator and status indicator and a transmitter/receiver for transmitting a radio frequency signal having the control information therein to control the status of the electrical device and for receiving the status information from the control device. The status indicator indicates the status of the electrical device in response to the status information. A repeater receives the radio frequency signal from the master unit and transmits the control information to the control device and receives the status information from the control device and transmits it to the master unit. This device relates to the control of electrical devices, and in particular, electric lamps, from remote locations. Even more particularly, the device relates to the control of electrical devices such as electric lamps from remote locations through communication links, e.g., radio frequency links. In particular, the device relates to a system for controlling electrical devices from remote locations over, for example, radio frequency links and which dispenses with any need to alter the internal wiring of the electrical system, i.e., the internal wiring of a building. This device is flawed in that it requires providing a manual actuator at the control device for adjusting the status of the electrical device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,565,855 to Knibbe discloses a building management system that improves the regulation and control of appliances, such as luminaries, window blinds and heating equipment in a building. The appliances are connected via a communication bus to a control system, which performs the automatic regulation and control. To avoid rewiring the bus every time that changes are made to the arrangement of the appliances and/or the lay-out of the building, transponders are mounted at regular fixed places in the building, wherein the transponders transmit bus signals wirelessly to the appliances.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,226 to Houggy, et al. discloses the control of electrical devices, and in particular, electric lamps from remote locations through radio frequency links. This device further relates to a system for controlling electrical devices from remote locations over communications links, e.g., radio frequency links, and which dispenses with any need to alter the internal wiring of the electrical system, i.e., the internal wiring of a building. And the device relates to a communication protocol for such a system for providing communications signals between components of the system to insure that each component reliably receives communications intended for it.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,969,637 to Doppelt, et al. discloses a garage door operator with a light control that includes a garage door movement apparatus for moving the garage door in an open and close directions within a doorway. The operator also includes a light having an on and an off state; a controller for generating a door movement signal for operating the door movement apparatus and for generating a light enable signal for operating the light in one of a plurality of on and off states; and an obstacle detector for detecting the presence of an obstruction in the doorway. The controller responds to the door state (traveling open, traveling closed and stopped open) in order to control operation of the door and activation of the lights. When the door state indicates the door is stopped open and the obstacle detector detects an obstruction in the doorway, the controller generates a light enable signal for enabling the light. This device requires a signal from a RF transmitter or a hard wired remote switch to the controller which then activates either the operator or the light, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,300 to Suman, et al. discloses a control system that selectively controls the operation of at least one lamp and at least one garage door opener. The control system includes a control module which includes connectors adapted to be coupled to at least one lamp through household AC power conductors. The control module also includes terminals adapted to be connected to a garage door opener mechanism. A circuit positioned in the control module receives and identifies radio frequency signals, stores control information associated with a plurality of received signals from a remote control in a training mode and outputs control signals for communication over the AC power line and the garage door mechanism in accordance with the stored control signals when one of said remote control signals is received in an operating mode. The control module also includes a selector used to select garage door and/or light control operations to be associated with a signal received by the control module in a training mode. In this disclosure, the RF signal goes to a control module and then to the light or the operator.
In some of the prior art listed above, the control module for the lights is the same module for the operator so if there is a problem with one circuit, it could affect both units. Further, discreet signals are required for the control module to differentiate the command for the lights versus the command for the door. Further still, the lamp is normally activated to illuminate when the door operate command is issued and as mentioned above, once the activation occurs whether previously illuminated or not, the control module would switch the light command to the time delay circuit and shut off the light after a predetermined period of time. This necessitates a manual activation of the light after the control circuit times out. Accordingly, there is need in the art for more flexibility in controlling lights in proximity to the enclosed area associated with the barrier. There is also a need for the ability to control movements of the barrier and an electrical "load"—such as an appliance—with the same device.

Operating system for a motorized barrier operator with a radio frequency energized light kit and/or switch and methods for programming the same


According to this invention a battery testing device is provided. Such device activates a shortening between the battery poles using a predefined electronic circuit (in order to maximize the battery's energy potential) for a time period of 10-50 μsec. In a subsequent time period of ˜100-200 μsec, the loading is slowly decreased until the voltage returns to an open circuit voltage UOC. During the testing process, the voltage and the battery current are measured. The measurements are stored at the device database, to be later used in an algorithm for checking battery conditions.

The present invention relates to electronic battery testing and measuring. More specifically the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring and checking parameters such as voltage, cold cranking amperage (CCA), state of charge (SOC) and state of health (SOH) of a standard battery.
Different methods were developed over the years in order to measure the power status and condition of lead acid batteries, such as those used in Vehicles, UPS systems, and in solar energy arrangements etc.
One such measuring method is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,598,098, wherein battery condition and measurement parameters are obtained through a correlation analysis. The method is based on battery conductance measurement.
Another prior art method (U.S. Pat. No. 6,441,585) uses measurements of impedance or admittance. Another, uses the measurement of OCV (U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,054). Still another prior art measurement method uses special battery loading during a limited period of time (U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,577).
In the aforementioned patents, the received measurement parameters are scaled with battery conditions by correlation analysis methods. Additionally, the tester system suggested in the aforementioned patents displays the battery's physical conditions to an operator. This prior art measurement technique is meant to be advantageous since it is executed with relatively low current. This is required for two reasons. First, it causes a minimum amount of battery discharge energy. Second, since the measurement process is long the battery can't be tested at high current conditions.
Essentially, it is desirable to check a battery's performance at high current (real time) conditions. The methods described above do not perform such test at high current conditions, but provide an estimation of high current condition results on the basis of extrapolating measurement results of tests conducted at low current conditions.
The disadvantage in using the aforementioned methods is the inaccurate results received for predicting the CCA, SOC and SOH. These inaccurate results stem from the fact that the battery performance test is executed at low current conditions over a relatively long period of time.
The aforementioned methods are also used (or-may also be used) for the purpose of predicting a battery's ability to start engines of different devices, such as of vehicles or for the purpose of measuring the voltage and current supply to a starter. The measurement results are processed and analyzed in order to determine a battery's ability to start an engine. The main drawback is that the results only reflect a successful ability to start the engine, without offering any solution for failed trials.
In most prior art methods it is not possible to estimate a battery's ability to start a specific type of vehicle's engine.
A different method for testing devices' batteries is based on checking the contact conditions between the tester clamps and the battery poles. Accurate measurements of the quality and condition of the contact between the tester clamp and battery poles are obtained by employing the Kelvin contacts (as described in patent NO. U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,092).
The Kelvin contact is based on checking the bridge balance between four clamp wires. This method is not easy to use or operate, and a more user-friendly method is in demand.
Therefore, there is a need for a battery measurement method and apparatus that provides more accurate results without damaging the battery.
Furthermore, there is a need for a method and apparatus that will predict not only the engine's ability to start, but also the ability to start at different temperature levels.


An image processing apparatus has elements for inputting pixel data and for processing the input pixel data. The processing element includes a device for quantizing the input pixel data to produce binary data, and a memory device for receiving the binary data as an address to produce an output indicating image tone of the input pixel data. Preferably, the memory receives as one address a plurality of binary data, corresponding to a plurality of input pixel data. A delay element can be included to enable the memory to receive the plurality of binary data at a single time. In particular, the pixel data tonality can be discriminated by using one or more high-order bits of input multi-bit pixel data.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus having an image discrimination function which is suitable for use as or in a copying machine, facsimile machine, reader or electronic file.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An apparatus for discriminating a tonality (property or characteristic of image) of a pixel under consideration by utilizing a density difference in the vicinity of the pixel under consideration, and an apparatus which divides one screen of input pixels into 4.times.4-pixel areas (blocks) and discriminates the tonality block by block, have been known. The former requires 6-bit operations and the latter requires two-dimensional complex operation. Accordingly, they are complex in construction and expensive.

Image processing apparatus with pixel tone discrimination


An air or gas bubble detection system detects the presence of liquid in intravenous (IV) tubing. By detecting the presence of liquid rather than gas, false alarms due to micro bubbles or small air gaps between the sensor and the tubing are avoided.

Devices to deliver fluids intravenously to a patient involve a number of considerations, such as air or gas bubble detection, gas removal, and flow rate control.
Air and bubble detection in medical intravenous (IV) fluid delivery systems is important. Large amounts of air can cause air embolisms in any part of the body, blocking off blood flow. Embolisms in the brain can cause severe memory loss and even death. Air trapped in the heart can also cause death or heart damage. Ultrasonic, optical, and electrical conductivity methods are used in the prior art detection of air bubbles in medical IV fluid lines.
Ultrasonic detectors are the most widely used detectors in the IV medical fluid delivery field and are based on the fact that sound is more readily conductive through liquid than through air. Thus, an air bubble does not "conduct" sound from one side of the tubing wall to the other, while fluid does conduct sound. Ultrasonic detectors are effective at detecting small amounts of gas in IV tubing, but have a number of drawbacks. They are expensive. They require that the tubing be in direct contact with the ultrasonic transmitter and receiver. Moreover, the slightest air gap can trigger the detector, causing a false alarm. Micro bubbles that build up on the surface of the tubing and are too small to be harmful also can trigger false alarms, since the micro bubbles, despite their very small size, still provide a boundary to the ultrasound. In addition, ultrasonic detectors have a fairly high power consumption, greater than 100 mW.
Optical detectors are typically inexpensive. Some optical detectors work using light absorption while others use light transmission. These methods are, however, fluid dependent and therefore not very common, because many different fluids are used for IVs. Also, their performance is dependent on the optical characteristics of the tubing, and many different tubing sets, having different optical characteristics, can be used. Additionally, optical detectors can be subject to interference from light from other sources.
Electrical conductivity detectors are used the least, as they require a direct electrical connection to the IV fluid. To electrically isolate the patient, this connection must have low leakage current and high dielectric strength. Typically, two or three electrodes are placed in contact with the fluid and are excited from an AC or DC source while the current/voltage is monitored. Gas bubbles do not conduct electricity, but many IV fluids do. A drawback, however, is that some IV fluids do not conduct electricity. Another drawback is that a thin film of fluid connecting one electrode to the other where the electrode penetrates the tubing wall can give a false detection of fluid presence.
When a fluid is heated, outgassing occurs. In prior art IV fluid warming devices, outgassing has either been ignored or handled with elaborate schemes. In one scheme, a hydrophobic filter has been employed to vent gases. This system is disadvantageous, because it is difficult and expensive to test to ensure that the filter does not leak. Also, the check valve used to prevent air from entering the system can stick, for example, if the humidity becomes too high or if another fluid inadvertently drips onto the valve, thereby requiring a greater pressure to open the valve. In another scheme, a drip chamber is used to collect the gases. This scheme is disadvantageous, because the chamber has a fixed volume and once full, the air can enter the patient unless a manually operated venting drip chamber is employed. A user must remember to vent such a venting drip chamber.
Intravenous (IV) fluids need to be delivered at different rates. Hydration fluids typically are delivered at higher rates, while drugs are typically delivered at lower rates. Flow rate control in medical IV fluid devices involves considerations of flow rate accuracy, errors made by personnel in setting flow rates, cost, and set up time. Three main types of devices are used in the control of IV fluid flow rates, namely, roller clamps, volumetric pumps, either volume displacement pumps or valve-regulated gravity assist pumps, and in line mechanical flow regulators.
Roller clamps are the most widely used flow control device. The roller clamp comprises a wheel trapped within a housing that compresses the IV tubing as it is slid along a gradual ramp. The flow rate is calculated by counting drips in a drip chamber. This device is inexpensive, but has a number of drawbacks. The setup operator must take time to count drips into the drip chamber, an iterative process taking up to 15 seconds for each adjustment. Also, the setup operator must know the size of the drips and must calculate the flow rate and may make a mistake. Even after it is set up, the IV tubing in the clamp continues to deform over time, causing the rate to change. The IV solution must be held above the patient insertion site. Any changes in height can affect the flow rate, because the roller clamp is a relative device. The advantages of the roller clamp are that it does not require any power, it is widely accepted, and it is inexpensive.
Volumetric pumps are also widely used for drug delivery. There are two main types of infusion rate control. In a first type of control, a displacement pump forces fluid through the IV line at repeatable volumes and adjustable intervals. These pumps can be reciprocating piston, peristaltic (linear or rotary), or syringe types. These pumps are typically quite precise, as required for drug delivery, and are not typically used for standard IVs. A second type of infusion rate control utilizes gravity driven fluid. With this type, drips through a drip chamber are counted, and a variable orifice valve is controlled based upon the number of drips over time.
A disadvantage of such pumps is their great expense. Also, the tubing set is typically disposable, which further increases the cost. These pumps also take up a lot of space. The main advantages of such pumps are accurate flow control, no change in flow with change in bag height, reduced setup time, and reduced chance of error by the operator.
In line mechanical flow regulators, using diaphragms, needles valves, and the like, are not very common. They are advantageous in that they require no power and are reasonably independent of IV fluid bag height. They are, however, dependent on fluid viscosity. Also, they typically have two flow rate scales (ml/min and ml/hour), which, while providing versatility, can also be confused by operating personnel.

Capacitor-based gas detection in an intravenous fluid delivery system


A surge suppressor and safety shut-off valve is described which automatically shuts off fluid flow in response to a sufficient pressure differential across the valve. The shut-off valve comprises a valve body adapted for use within a fluid distribution system through which a predetermined flow of a fluid is nominally allowed to pass. A flow restricting means is disposed therein that reduces the maximum flow when triggered by a sufficient pressure differential between inlet and outlet. By way of example, the flow restricting means is preferably provided by a poppet which is slidably engaged within the valve chamber to restrict fluid flow therethrough. The poppet is preferably adapted with a very low volume bypass port through which opposing pressures at valve inlet and outlet may be equalized for automatically resetting of the valve after the surge has passed, or a rupture has been repaired.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to gas flow surge suppressors and safety shut-off valves and more particularly to a combination surge suppressor and safety shut-off valve that preferably allows for automatic restoration of nominal fluid flow, a reset, after engagement of the safety shut-off valve.
2. Description of Related Art
Catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, floods or similar events, can compromise distribution systems, such as the rupture of pipelines carrying liquids or gasses to residential and commercial structures. The typical liquids and gases being distributed for residential use are water, and combustible substances, which may comprise combustible gasses (i.e. hydrocarbons such as methane, pentane, or natural gas), or combustible liquids (i.e. fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and so forth). It will be appreciated, however, that pipelines may carry any number of liquid or gaseous substances, such as for distribution within an industrial plant.
The rupture of water pipelines caused by a catastrophic event (natural or man made) may result in additional damage being wrought on structures and property. However, it will be appreciated that when the substance being distributed is volatile, or otherwise poses a danger to persons and property, the damage caused by a rupture may be increased by orders of magnitude. For example, the fluidic substance may comprise combustible, corrosive, poisonous, radioactive, or similarly potentially dangerous substances. The majority of dangerous pipeline ruptures occur in pipelines carrying combustible substances, such as hydrocarbon gases, which can rupture to create a substantial risk of explosion or asphyxiation. In addition, ruptures in pipes carrying combustible substances can pose a significant danger to emergency and rescue personnel as well as others.
The safety of any system which distributes fluidic substances, either gaseous or liquid form, can be enhanced by the placement of shut-off valves (also referred to as cut-off valves, safety valves, surge relief valves, and so forth) at appropriate locations in the distribution system that will automatically shut off the flow of the fluidic substance when a downstream rupture occurs in the system. Additionally, in a residential setting, the shut-off valve is typically placed on the low-pressure end of a regulator unit that is attached to the gas source, such as a pressure regulating associated with a gas meter. The shut-off valve serves to interrupt the flow of gas in the event of regulator failure, or if a catastrophic failure in the downstream portion of the distribution system occurs, such as a rupture.
In addition, surge conditions arise in fluid distribution systems that may disrupt associated equipment or create increased risk of injury or property damage. For example, consider a natural gas distribution pipeline that connects to a stove having a pilot light. Surges in gas pressure can "blow out" the pilot light, requiring it to be relit. It is therefore preferred that a fluid distribution system provide a predetermined pressure with minimum fluctuation for proper operation of the equipment attached thereto.
Many of the fluidic shut-off valves known in the art comprise a ball or a piston that is positions it self against a seat in response to sensing a difference in pressure across the valve between the upstream line and the downstream line. These valves operate in one of two positions, a nominal flow "on" position wherein fluid can flow through the valve, and an "off" state triggered by a pressure differential. When triggered into the "off" position, these valves are designed to completely prevent fluid flow through the valve.
One significant drawback of these conventional shut-off valves is that once they are triggered into an "off" state it is difficult to restore nominal fluid flow. For example, to restore flow through a gas shut-off valve, the gas line must be de-pressurized and the valves either replaced or manually reset. The time and labor required to restore fluid flow can be particularly costly when the valves are not easily accessible, such as when they are located in walls, ceilings, floors, or are submerged in water or buried beneath the soil.
The costs involved in restoring normal flow can be exorbitant, in particular when it is considered that these valves often get triggered into their "off" state without being subjected to a catastrophic event. Sudden pressure surges in fluid distribution systems such as gas pipelines are common. Pressure changes of sufficient magnitude may "trigger" a conventional shut-off valve into its closed (off) position. These valves, once triggered into an "off" state, must be either replaced or manually reset, depending on design, despite the lack of a significant, or catastrophic, event and even though there has been no damage or failure within the distribution system.
Accordingly, there is a need for a safety shut-off valve, also often referred to as a surge relief valve, safety valve, or shut-off valve, in which nominal fluid flow, in particular gaseous flow, can be more readily restored. The present invention satisfies that need, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies of previously developed safety valves.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Surge suppression and safety cut-off valve


A clamping device for electronic products includes a combining member and a clamping base that is made of elastic steel sheet having its outer periphery coated with a layer of soft rubber and its central portion bored with a combining hole. Thus, after the clamping base is combined with an electronic product by the combining member, the electronic product can be hung on a user's girdle by turning over the elastic steel sheet of the clamping base, and an earphone line can be wound on the steel sheet in a space between the clamping base and the electronic product, having great practicability and convenience in use.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a clamping device for electronic products, particularly to one able to be hung on a user's girdle or employed for winding the earphone line of the electronic product thereon and also able to be placed on a table top as a display stand with an elevation angle, increasing variation in use of electronic products and having great practicability.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For the present, the capacity and the function of a cellular telephone and an iPod have continuously been elevated; therefore, a user not only can listen to music of MP3 but also can see movies through the liquid crystal screen of the cellular telephone or the iPod. However, a user has to hold the cellular telephone or the iPod with a hand (as shown in FIG. 1), or horizontally place the cellular telephone or the iPod on a table top for seeing movies on its screen, thus resulting in inconvenience for the user to see movies and walk about at the same time or disabling the user to see the movies at a good angle.


The present application describes a surgical swab composed of two or more outer layers made of non-woven fabric and an inner layer of a textile polymer net, with or without x-ray detectable thread, which can be obtained, for example, by a process of knitting or weaving. The textile net can present in its composition materials with high elasticity such as elastane or alternatively combinations of materials that allow shrinking after heat treatment such as the polyamide or polyamide and polyester or even polyamide and cotton. In the present application, it is also described the production process of this surgical swab which, after the junction and overlapping of the non-woven fabric layers and the inner layer of textile polymer net, comprises ultrasound welding of the layers. The surgical swabs of this application present improved performance features and the production process involved is simple, economical and automated.

Pre-washed surgical swabs made of hydrophilic gauze are very common articles in the market. In many countries, the use of pre-washed surgical swabs instead of the normal surgical swabs is considered preferred due to the higher absorption capacity and to the spongy and soft touch. The presentation of this type of surgical swabs is very similar to the appearance of reusable surgical swabs, which used to be washed and sterilized after use and have fallen into disuse due to cross-contamination risks.
With the appearance of the non-woven fabric, surgical gauze swabs were largely replaced by surgical non-woven fabric swabs. In this application, it is considered that a non-woven fabric corresponds to a layer of fibres, continuous filaments or chopped threads of any nature or origin, that have been organized into a net by any means, and connected to each other by any method or technology, with the exception of weaving or knitting.
Compared to the traditional gauze swabs, non-woven fabric swabs present higher absorption capacity and rate, suitable resistance, flexibility and adaptability. Since the non-woven fabric swabs are less abrasive and traumatic, they ultimately result in a very comfortable product for the patient. This feature elects this product for all surgical procedures, including the most critical.
Other two key points in the non-woven fabric swabs are the total absence of loose threads and seams. The loose threads, resulting from gauze swabs, may result in infections and even possible complications in the context of an operating room. The absence of threads in the non-woven fabric, completely eliminates this issue as well as the use of sewing threads, usually contaminated with optical brightener. Contrary to the production of gauze swabs which involves very high manipulation in folding and sewing, the production and folding of these swabs is made integrally by machines, in a controlled environment and without handling the product, which guarantees a reduced microbial load. On the other hand, the use of non-woven fabric swabs is advantageous from an environmental point of view and for the protection of natural resources. The gauze swabs are produced from cotton threads. It is estimated that more than 95% of the cotton produced worldwide is obtained using techniques that are harmful to the environment, due to the use of high amounts of pesticides and fertilizers. Its production also requires large amounts of water, the scarcity of this limited resource being a serious environmental threat. Besides all the technical advantages, the non-woven fabric is less expensive than the alternative in gauze, both in terms of production costs and consumption of raw materials.
The surgical non-woven fabric swabs are therefore a very advantageous alternative to the gauze swabs except in what regards the spongy, smooth, appearance, which is possible by means of pre-washing the gauze swabs. The surgical non-woven fabric swabs are generally presented plane, since the pre-wash effect does not have the same result in this material.
The present application discloses a technology with the aim of creating a surgical non-woven fabric swab, presenting structure and features similar to those in the surgical pre-washed gauze swabs. This possibility has been studied before, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,921. The main objective is to introduce a second element inside the non-woven fabric that, by its technical features, confers wrinkled appearance to the finished article. This second element, the production of non-woven fabric and connection method between different layers are major differences between the product described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,921 and the present invention.
The production of non-woven fabric begins with the arrangement of fibres, into a kind of veil or web. One mechanical process to obtain these fibre webs is carding. In this method, the fibres are placed in a carding machine and combed by a cylinder or a series of drums, covered by card clothing or rotating teeth. In order to consolidate the resulting veil from the carding, for several years all non-woven fabrics required the addition of a chemical binding agent to provide structural integrity and to improve its effectiveness. Such non-woven fabric production method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,921, for the formation of the surgical swab. The veil of fibres formed in the carding is intermeshed with the thermoplastic net via water jets, forming a laminated structure to which a chemical binding agent is subsequently added. In the early 1980s, other bonding technologies grew rapidly and effective methods allowed the industry to produce non-woven fabrics strong and soft without using chemical bonding agents. A major advantage of these new bonding technologies is the fact that the referred non-woven fabrics do not contain formaldehyde or chemical additives.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,921 the intermediate layer consists of a net of a thermoplastic film, in particular polypropylene, which confers the feature of shrinking to the swab, after heat treatment. The formation of this net film is described in detail in document U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,381 and is based on heating a film of a high-density polyethylene or polypropylene at high temperatures, the formation of the net structure and subsequent cooling. The incorporation of this net film within the two layers of fibres enables a contraction in its structure from 3 to 25% due to the "elastic memory" of the film. On the contrary, the technology now presented allows the contraction/shrinking of the swab by inserting a textile mesh net, which can be obtained by the process of knitting or weaving, constructed from materials such as elastane or polyamide and polyester or even polyamide and cotton, between the non-woven fabric layers. In this same document, U.S. Pat. No. 3,683,921, the union between the outer layers of fibres and the thermoplastic film net is carried out through a first passage of these three layers by a system of high pressure water jets, so that the fibres became intermeshed in the thermoplastic net, followed by an application of the binding agent and subsequent curing and drying of the same binding agent. Subsequently, different layers of this reinforced laminate are overlapped, welded by heat and cut to the desired sizes. The welding and cutting on all four sides of the swab of these plastic film layers in a net shape and intermeshed fibres would inevitably produce hard and rough surfaces in the cutting zone. Such steps are not necessary in the present invention, since the outer layers are composed of finished non-woven fabric and without applying any bonding agent. The union between layers is carried out by ultrasound thus allowing the ends of the swab, including the cutting zone, to be soft and flexible.

Surgical swab composed of non-woven fabric and textile polymer net


The invention comprises a mounting assembly for an image intensifier tube in an optical sight. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a mounting assembly (152) may include a housing (154), a retainer (158) and a locking device (177). The housing (154) may be mounted to an optical bench (60). The retainer (158) may engage an image intensifier tube (150) and be coupled to the housing (154). The image intensifier tube (150) may be rotatable relative to the optical bench (60). The locking device (177) may selectively secure the image intensifier tube (150) relative to the optical bench (60).

Day/night sights would typically be used by military and law enforcement personnel to aim weapons used in both day time and night time conditions. Typically, a day/night sight includes an objective lens, a reticle and an eyepiece in series with parallel day and night channels. A channel selector may be used to alternatively direct an image of a target into the day or night channel.
In a day/night sight, the objective lens and the eyepiece may be telescopic to provide a magnified image of the target. The day channel generally uses ambient light to generate an image of the target. The image may be projected to the reticle during day time use to be viewed by the user. The night channel generally includes an image intensifier to generate an illuminated image of the target. The illuminated image may be transmitted to the reticle during night time use to be viewed by the user. The reticle may include markings for aiming the weapon.
Slight variations during fabrication of a sight may cause an intensified image of a night channel to be projected off center of the reticle. For example, in one sight the image beam of the night channel may be projected above and to the right of a reticle center while the image beam of another sight may be projected below and to the left of the reticle center. Consequently, the reticle may have to be centered to the offset of the image intensifier. This reduces adjustability of the reticle and also prevents the reticle from being adjusted to an offset of the day channel.

Mounting assembly for image intensifier tube in optical sight


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus in which a base station transmits a physical ARQ channel (PHICH) in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for transmitting a PHICH, wherein the method comprises the following steps: generating a plurality of hybrid of ARQ (HARQ) indicators: channel-coding the plurality of HARQ indicators into a single HARQ codeword; and transmitting the HARQ codeword via the PHICH, wherein the value of a portion of the HARQ codeword indicates individual value of each of HARQ indicators, and the value of the rest of the HARQ codeword indicators a value of joint operation of the plurality of HARQ indicators.

Wireless communication systems have been widely deployed to provide various types of communication services such as voice or data. Generally, a wireless communication system is a multiple access system capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (bandwidth, transmission power, etc.). The multiple access system includes, for example, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system, and the like.

Method and apparatus for transmitting ACK/NACK signals


An airbag configuration technology which contributes to intensive protection of a rider of a motorbike in case of accident, and other technologies related thereto are provided. An airbag apparatus including an airbag and an elongated webbing for anchoring the airbag to the vehicle body side is mounted to a motorcycle as a motorbike. The airbag is deployed and inflated while projecting toward a rider protecting area in case of a front collision of the motorcycle. The webbing holds the front side of the airbag with respect to the vehicle body via an extending portion which abuts against the outer surface of a front-side panel-forming cloth from the back side of the vehicle body when deployment and inflation of the airbag are completed, so that the movement of the airbag toward the front of the vehicle body is restricted by a tensile strength of the webbing, and the movement of the airbag in the direction of projection is allowed in the process of deployment and inflation of the airbag.

Hitherto, there are various publicly known technologies for protecting a rider by mounting an airbag apparatus to a motorbike are known. For example, in a motorcycle, a technology in which the airbag apparatus side and the vehicle body side (vehicle body frame) are connected with an anchor member and, when an airbag is deployed, the anchor member extends with the airbag to retain the airbag (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-35564). According to this technology, the rider can be retained by the airbag even on a vehicle body which is opened in all directions like the motorbike.

Airbag apparatus, motorbike with airbag apparatus


A hydraulic excavator includes an engine, a rotating frame, a vehicle body frame, a diesel particulate filtering device, a selective catalytic reduction device and a connecting pipe. The rotating frame supports the engine. The vehicle body frame is provided in a standing manner on the rotating frame, and includes a plurality of column members. The a diesel particulate filtering device and the selective catalytic reduction device process exhaust from the engine, and are supported by the vehicle body frame. The connecting pipe has an extendable bellows part in at least a portion. The connecting pipe connects the engine and the diesel particulate filtering device. The bellows part is located further away from the engine as the bellows part inclines further downward.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydraulic excavator.
2. Background Information
Hydraulic excavators are equipped with exhaust processing devices. An exhaust processing device for processing exhaust from an engine is connected to the engine through a connection pipe (exhaust pipe). The exhaust processing device includes a diesel particulate filtering device and a selective reduction catalytic converter. The diesel particulate filtering device reduces particulate matter in the exhaust. The selective reduction catalytic converter reduces nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the exhaust.
When the exhaust processing device is attached to the engine to be supported by the engine, a heavy object is arranged on the engine. Consequently, a load on a bracket for attaching the exhaust processing device to the engine becomes larger. The weight of the bracket increases when the size of the bracket is increased to strengthen the bracket.
Therefore, the exhaust processing device is preferably attached to a supporting object other than the engine. For example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent 2012-097413, a table is provided via supporting legs on an upper frame. The diesel particulate filtering device and a selective reduction catalytic converter are arranged on the upper surface of the table.


A vehicle noisemaker device and method are provided according to the invention. The vehicle noisemaker device includes a gas supply configured to be removably affixed to a vehicle, with the gas supply including at least one gas supply outlet. The vehicle noisemaker device further includes at least one nozzle. The at least one nozzle creates a flatulation sound effect. An at least one outlet valve is positioned between and communicates with the at least one gas supply outlet and the at least one nozzle for allowing the gas to be released from the gas storage tank. The vehicle noisemaker device preferably also includes a controller communicating with the at least one outlet valve and controlling a release of the gas from the gas storage tank. The controller is preferably manually triggered and opens the at least one outlet valve to create the flatulation sound effect.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a vehicle noisemaker, and more particularly to a vehicle noisemaker that produces a flatulation sound effect.
2. Description of the Background Art
Novelty noisemakers have been around for some time. Their purpose generally is to amuse and entertain, and sometimes to embarrass. One example is a device that simulates flatulence. Flatulence is a human bodily function that is natural but yet is widely considered impolite. Therefore, it may be used in order to embarrass and entertain. In addition it may be used to show disdain or disrespect.
In the prior art, the typical noisemaker associated with a vehicle is a car horn. The car horn is intended to be a warning device or a safety device. A car horn therefore is perceived as serious and not light-hearted. If the driver or occupant of a vehicle wants to generate a sound effect that is not serious or sober, generally his or her options are fairly limited.
What is needed, therefore, are improvements in vehicle noisemaker devices.
A vehicle noisemaker device is provided according to one embodiment of the invention. The vehicle noisemaker device comprises a gas supply configured to be removably affixed to a vehicle, with the gas supply including at least one gas supply outlet. The vehicle noisemaker device further comprises at least one nozzle. The at least one nozzle creates a flatulation sound effect. An at least one outlet valve is positioned between and communicates with the at least one gas supply outlet and the at least one nozzle for allowing the gas to be released from the gas storage tank. The vehicle noisemaker device preferably also includes a controller communicating with the at least one outlet valve and controlling a release of the gas from the gas storage tank. The controller is preferably manually triggered and opens the at least one outlet valve to create the flatulation sound effect.
A method of creating a flatulation sound effect in association with a vehicle is provided according to one embodiment of the invention. The method includes a step of providing a gas supply capable of being removably attached to the vehicle. The gas supply may include at least one gas supply outlet. The method further includes the steps of attaching the gas supply to the vehicle and opening at least one outlet valve communicating with the at least one gas supply outlet to release the gas. The method further includes the step of discharging the gas through at least one nozzle communicating with the at least one outlet valve. The gas passing through the at least one nozzle creates the flatulation sound effect.
The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will be further understood from the following description of the preferred embodiments thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A clamping mechanism for a clamping unit of an injection molding machine includes a drive unit which moves a first platen linearly relative to a fixed second platen and is linked to the first platen for limited movement. A force-application unit builds up a clamping force, when the first platen assumes a closing position. Disposed between the force application unit and the first platen is a locking device which transmits the clamping force and includes a screw mechanism which operates in synchronism with the drive unit and has a screw shaft and a locking nut constructed to normally connect with clearance to the screw shaft via a thread connection and to interact with the screw shaft for transmitting a load, when the clamping force is applied, whereby the threaded connection is forced to self-lock to secure the locking nut on the screw shaft and prevent reverse rotation of the locking nut.

The present invention relates to a clamping mechanism for a clamping unit of an injection molding machine.
German Pat. No. DE 101 03 983 C1 discloses a clamping mechanism in the form of a screw mechanism including a ball nut for implementing the closing and opening motions of the moving platen, and a locking nut disposed on a common screw shaft. The ball nut and the locking nut are resiliently kept at a distance so that the locking nut engages with play in the threads of the screw shaft, when the platen moves. In other words, the locking nut moves contactless. When the platen is in closing position, the ball nut is shifted in axial direction to such an extent in opposition of a spring force under the action of a clamping force, applied by a clamping force cylinder via the screw shaft, that the threads between the locking nut and the screw shaft come into contact. Subsequently, the locking nut is pressed axially against the moving platen in opposition to a further spring assembly so that the brake gap of a friction brake, disposed between platen and locking nut, is closed. As a result of the thus realized rotationally fixed engagement of the locking nut upon the platen, the screw mechanism is locked and the clamping force bypasses the ball nut and is transmitted via the threaded connection between screw shaft and locking nut to the moving platen.
Although such a clamping mechanism affords an overload protection for the ball nut of a combined drive and locking mechanism, the locking nut can be restrained against rotation only in a very complicated manner. Moreover, the spring assembly is also complicated as it requires the arrangement of several, individual springs with different spring constant to respond successively.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved clamping mechanism which obviates prior art shortcomings and is simple in construction while still maintaining an effective overload protection, and in particular is characterized by the absence of selectively engageable friction elements or form-fitting elements between locking nut and platen for securing the screw mechanism against reverse rotation.

Clamping mechanism for an injection molding machine


An improved mechanical face seal is provided which includes a pair of relatively rotatable seal rings having opposing seal faces. At least one of the seal faces includes a reverse trapezoidal face pattern having a sine wave depth profile wherein individual face features are circumferentially spaced over the seal face. The reverse trapezoidal face pattern serves to generate a hydrodynamic lift which provides a stable separation of the seal faces that permits formation of a fluid film between the seal faces. The individual trapezoidal grooves have a sinusoidal or similarly shaped depth profile wherein the trapezoid shape is arranged with the narrower edge communicating with the high pressure side of the seal, and the wider edge forms a circumferential dam region towards the low pressure side of the seal. Alternatively, the reverse trapezoidal face pattern may also be provided as a primary face pattern on a dry gas seal in combination with a secondary face pattern wherein the faces operate with a controlled gap under normal pressure conditions as well as when the pressure direction across the seal face is reversed.

Mechanical face seals are used on various types of machines and equipment, such as pumps, compressors and gear boxes, which have rotating shafts and a sealing chamber adjacent the shaft wherein a fluid in the sealing chamber is prevented from leaking along the shaft. Such mechanical seals include a pair of adjacent seal rings having opposing seal faces which define a sealing region therebetween. One of these seal rings typically is mounted on the shaft so as to rotate therewith while the other seal ring is non-rotatably mounted on a seal housing. The fluid being sealed is disposed on one edge of the sealing region, wherein the opposing seal faces at least reduce leakage of the sealed fluid across the sealing region.
Most liquid seals operate with the seal faces rotating in contact. However, due to asperities in the seal faces, some leakage may occur. In gas seals, the seal faces often are provided with grooves or recesses to generate hydrodynamic lifting forces. In this regard, the seal faces typically separate a small distance wherein a thin film of fluid forms between the seal faces to lubricate the seal faces and reduce wear therebetween. Additionally, the grooves or recesses may pump the fluid film toward the fluid being sealed to reduce leakage of the sealed fluid.
With respect to the specific constructions of mechanical seals, one representative mechanical seal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,976 (Key et al), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. In this mechanical seal, one of the seal faces includes a plurality of concentric shallow annular grooves which preferably are disposed near the seal ring diameter that is farthest away from the fluid being sealed. In general, the basic construction of mechanical seals and the use of relatively rotatable seal rings are well known, and a detailed discussion of such mechanical seals is not required herein.
More particularly, dry running lift-off face seals, also called fluid film, gap, or non-contacting face seals, have found application in both gas and liquid sealing applications in compressors and pumps. The fluid film between the seal faces allows the seal to operate with minimum heat generation and no wear.
Dry running lift-off face seals utilize a variety of shapes of shallow grooves to create lift between the seal faces, allowing the faces to run without contact. Existing examples include spiral grooves, radially tapered waves, and T-grooves. These various grooves are designed to provide a varying combination of hydrostatic and hydrodynamic load support to achieve separation of the seal faces by a small gap. Hydrostatic load support is created through the manipulation of the fluid pressures acting between the seal faces, and is not dependant on motion between the seal faces to create lift. Hydrodynamic load support is created through the active compression of the fluid between the seal faces due to movement of the fluid from a wide gap to a narrower gap, and requires relative motion between the seal faces to create lift. This relative motion typically occurs during shaft rotation.
The geometry of the shallow grooves determines the amount of hydrostatic and hydrodynamic load support created at a given set of operating parameters. The total load support provided must be in equilibrium with the pressure and mechanical forces that act to close the seal faces at a specified operating gap.
Also important to the design of lift-off face seals is the resistance of the fluid film to a changing gap, commonly referred to as film stiffness. This effect acts similar to a spring between the seal faces, increasing the forces for load support as the gap is narrowed, and decreasing the forces as the gap is made larger. This stiffness varies in a generally cubic relationship to the gap, and as a result encourages the seal faces to maintain equilibrium at a consistent gap. Changes to the geometry of the shallow grooves can have an effect on the stiffness value at a given gap, which then determines the stability of the seal at that gap. This is especially important during vibration or other off-design operation of the sealed equipment to maintain a consistent sealing gap and prevent damage to the seal faces from contact.
Lift-off shallow groove patterns for seal faces are typically designed to be either uni-directional or bidirectional depending on manufacturer's preference and application requirements. Uni-directional patterns such as spiral grooves generally produce higher film stiffness values than bidirectional patterns like waves or T-slots due to a stronger pumping effect. However, uni-directional patterns are only effective when the shaft rotates in one direction, but no longer operate during shaft rotation in the opposite direction. The disadvantage of uni-directional patterns is that they run with hard contact between the seal faces in events of reverse rotation, which often occurs in installations due to reversed flow of liquid through the pump. Bi-directional face patterns are effective in both directions of shaft rotation.
The objective of this invention is to provide an improved shallow groove pattern for bidirectional operation with a geometry that provides more efficient pumping and compression of the film gas, resulting in film stiffness values more closely resembling those of uni-directional patterns. This pattern also allows for the variation of hydrostatic and hydrodynamic effects based on the groove depths and pattern angles.
The invention relates to a reverse trapezoidal face pattern for mechanical face seals, as well as a mechanical seal or seal ring incorporating such feature. At least one of the seal faces includes a plurality of reverse trapezoidal features which are distributed in circumferentially spaced relation over the seal face. The term reverse trapezoidal feature or groove refers to a hydrodynamic face feature which has a generally trapezoidal shape defined by a short circumferential edge, a longer circumferential edge and side edges which extend radially between the circumferential edges. The reverse trapezoidal feature has the short circumferential edge located along a seal ring diameter so as to define an open edge which receives fluid into the reverse trapezoidal groove. This differs from a known trapezoidal face pattern which has the long circumferential edge located at the seal ring diameter which edge also receives fluid into the groove. The known trapezoidal face pattern creates significant differences in lift and fluid flow in comparison to the reverse trapezoidal face pattern of the invention. More particularly, the reverse trapezoidal face pattern serves to generate a hydrodynamic lift in either rotation direction which provides a stable separation of the seal faces that permits formation of a fluid film between the seal faces. Rather than the fluid film being generated solely by the static pressure of the fluid being sealed, the hydrodynamic lift features generate lift dynamically during shaft rotation to provide a lift load which is stable.
In the improved seal arrangement of the present invention, the groove pattern consists of a trapezoidal boundary defining the outer side edges and circumferential edges of each groove, and a sinusoidal or similarly shaped depth profile extending in the circumferential direction between the side edge boundaries. The trapezoidal boundary is not a true trapezoidal shape in appearance due to the circumferential stretching of the boundary along the annular seal face. The trapezoid shape is arranged with the narrower edge communicating with the high pressure side of the seal, and the wider edge forming a circumferential dam region towards the low pressure side of the seal.
The high pressure side of the seal can be either at the outside diameter or inside diameter of the seal face depending on the seal arrangement. The sinusoidal depth profile of the groove varies in depth amplitude radially, with the maximum depth amplitude occurring at the narrow edge of the trapezoid and the minimum depth amplitude occurring at the wider edge of the groove. The number of grooves and the circumferential width of the grooves can be varied to adjust the bias between hydrostatic and hydrodynamic lift.
The reverse trapezoidal shape of the groove pattern causes incoming gas from the high pressure side of the seal face to be drawn in and preferentially directed into the angled portion of the groove along the side edges, creating a pumping action. Since the wider circumferential edge is spaced radially from the short circumferential edge, the side edges angle away from the short circumferential edge and create a corner like area to which the incoming gas flows and then exits to the seal face. Due to the angle of the side edges, the reverse trapezoidal shape impedes recirculation of the fluid back to the high pressure side, which recirculation normally occurs in a conventional trapezoid face pattern. By reducing radial recirculation back to the high pressure side, the reverse trapezoidal face pattern generates improved lift and film stiffness while reducing fluid recirculation.
The sinusoidal shape is provided with a radially varying depth amplitude and acts to increase compression of the gas as it travels in the groove, while also allowing some recirculation effect at the high pressure boundary that helps to discourage possibly damaging debris and contamination from getting between the seal faces. The combined effect of the reverse trapezoid shape and sinusoidal profile is to increase the incoming flow of gas into the grooves and increase the compression on that gas, resulting in increased hydrodynamic lift and film stiffness. Modeling of the fluid dynamics in this pattern design has shown a significant increase in film stiffness at equivalent gap values with the reverse trapezoidal shaped pattern versus other bidirectional patterns such as a conventional trapezoid face pattern, spiral pattern, and a sinusoidal wave pattern.
In another aspect of the invention, the reverse trapezoidal face pattern may also be provided as the primary face pattern on a dry gas seal in combination with a secondary face pattern which results in an improved ability of the faces to operate with a controlled gap under normal pressure conditions as well as when the pressure direction across the seal face is reversed. This combined pattern employs the following features:
1) A primary shallow groove pattern along the periphery of the seal face towards the normal high pressure side of the seal face. This primary pattern is intended to create lift under normal operating conditions. This primary shallow groove pattern preferably comprises any of the sinusoidal or sine wave reverse trapezoidal face patterns of the present invention which define a dam region located radially between the outer the primary face pattern and a ring diameter spaced therefrom. Alternatively, the primary face pattern waves may be spiral grooves with a concentric dam, or even sinusoidal waves.
2) A secondary shallow groove pattern along the opposite diameter or periphery of the seal face towards the normal low pressure side of the seal face. This pattern is intended to create lift under reversed pressure conditions where the normal low pressure side reaches a higher pressure than the pressure defined on the opposite ring diameter. This secondary shallow groove pattern is preferably made up of sinusoidal waves.
With respect to the advantages of this alternate embodiment, one of the primary upset conditions that causes failure of lift-off face seals is a reversal of the pressure direction across the seal face. This upset can be caused either by a loss of the supply of barrier fluid pressure to the seal's barrier cavity, or by an increase in the pressure of the pumped fluid. When this occurs, the pumped fluid is forced between the seal faces. The shallow groove features of typical lift-off face seals do not properly create lift with a pressure reversal condition, resulting in face contact. Due to the relatively wide radial width of lift-off seal faces, significant heat generation results. This can lead to wear and damage of the seal faces, which will then prevent the seal from returning to normal operation as a lift-off seal due to damage to the shallow grooves.
The objective of this aspect of the invention is to provide an improved shallow groove pattern for bidirectional operation having an improved face pattern geometry that permits the seal to maintain lift both in the normal and reversed pressure directions for the seal. This allows the seal to always have a controlled lift between the seal faces regardless of pressure direction, and prevents damage from contact. This feature enables the seal to contain and survive pressure reversal conditions with a return to operation as a lift off gas seal after such an event.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words "upwardly", "downwardly", "rightwardly" and "leftwardly" will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words "inwardly" and "outwardly" will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.

Mechanical face seal with a reverse trapezoidal face pattern


A switching regulator including an output switch element; a rectification switch element; an oscillation circuit; an error amplifier circuit; a slope circuit; a first voltage comparison circuit; a second voltage comparison circuit; a one pulse generation circuit; a control circuit; and a backflow detection circuit, and a control method thereof suppress variations to be stabilized with respect to a target value of the load current for switching between a PWM control and a PFM control, and ensure the switching from the PFM control to the PWM control or from the PWM control to the PFM control even if various parameters including external elements such as chips, coils, and capacitors vary.

Recently, power saving for electronic equipment is always required. In order to achieve the power saving, emphasis is laid on the reduction of electric power consumed by the electronic equipment, and the suppression of wasteful consumption of electric power by improving the efficiency of a power supply circuit itself which supplies a voltage to the electronic equipment. The power supply circuits widely use switching regulators capable of supplying input electric power with a high efficiency.
In switching regulators, a PWM control or a PFM control is widely known. In the PFM control, the control is performed such that the on time period of a switching element is made to be longer when the output voltage falls, and the on time period of a switching element is made to be shorter when the output voltage rises. In the PWM control, the control is performed such that the oscillation frequency of a drive pulse is made to be constant and the pulse width is changed in accordance with the load. Moreover, the PFM control further includes a method in which an on-timing is controlled at a certain fixed frequency, and the on-timing is skipped, thereby achieving a pseudo-PFM control operation.
As a control method of automatically switching between the PWM control and the PFM control, for example, Japanese Patent number 3647811, and Japanese Patent Application Publication number 2010-063276 disclose a configuration in which an operation is automatically switched from a PWM control operation to a PFM control operation or from a PFM control operation to a PWM control operation, on the basis of an error amplification output voltage generated from the difference between a partial voltage value of an output voltage from a switching regulator and a reference voltage from a reference voltage source.
Moreover, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication Number 2008-092712 discloses a configuration in which a differential time generation means for forming a differential time signal indicating a differential time corresponding to a difference between the pulse width of a PWM control signal and the pulse width of a PFM control signal is included, and operation modes are switched by comparing the differential time signal with a reference signal for forming the PWM control signal in accordance with the differential time on the basis of the differential time signal.
Moreover, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication number 2009-213228 discloses a configuration in which a circuit which counts the number of pulses of a PWM control signal and the number of pulses of a PFM control signal is included, and a reference of the number of pulses with respect to each of the number of pulses for shifting a mode from a PFM control to a PWM control and a mode from a PWM control to a PFM control is provided, in such a manner that switching the operation modes is controlled on the basis of a result of counting the pulses under the PFM control or a result of counting the pulses under the PWM control.
Moreover, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication number 2009-225642 discloses a configuration in which a backflow current of an inductor current flowing from an output of a switching regulator to an output switch side is detected, and on the basis of a detection signal thereof, switching from a PFM control to a PWM control or from a PWM control to a PFM control is controlled.

Switching regulator and control method thereof


The invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for conducting analyses, particularly microfluidic devices for the detection of target analytes.

There are a number of assays and sensors for the detection of the presence and/or concentration of specific substances in fluids and gases. Many of these rely on specific ligand/antiligand reactions as the mechanism of detection. That is, pairs of substances (i.e. the binding pairs or ligand/antiligands) are known to bind to each other, while binding little or not at all to other substances. This has been the focus of a number of techniques that utilize these binding pairs for the detection of the complexes. These generally are done by labeling one component of the complex in some way, so as to make the entire complex detectable, using, for example, radioisotopes, fluorescent and other optically active molecules, enzymes, etc.
There is a significant trend to reduce the size of these sensors, both for sensitivity and to reduce reagent costs. Thus, a number of microfluidic devices have been developed, generally comprising a solid support with microchannels, utilizing a number of different wells, pumps, reaction chambers, and the like. See for example EP 0637996 131; EP 0637998 BI; W096/39260; W097/16835; W098/13683; W097/16561; W097/43629; W096/39252; W096/15576; W096/15450; W097i37755; and W097/27324; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,304,487; 5,071,531; 5,061,336; 5,747,169; 5,296,375; 5,110,745; 5,587,128; 5,498,392; 5,643,738; 5,750,015; 5,726,026; 5,35,358; 5,126,022; 5,770,029; 5,631,337; 5,569,364; 5,135,627; 5,632,876; 5,593,838; 5,585,069; 5,637,469; 5,486,335; 5,755,942; 5,681,484; and 5,603,351. However, there is a need for a microfluidic biosensor that can utilize electronic detection of the analytes.
However, there is a need for a microfluidic biosensor that can utilize electronic detection of the analytes.

Use of microfluidic systems in the electrochemical detection of target analytes


A handheld device. In particular a locating device, includes a housing (10), which is movable with a handle unit (12) over a surface of an item being examined and which has a sensor unit (16) for picking up a first motion parameter. At least one second motion parameter can be detected with the sensor unit (16).

The invention is based on a handheld locating device.
A handheld locating device is known that has a running gear with four wheels, and two wheels are mounted on each long side of the locating device. The opposed wheels are each connected via an axle extending perpendicular to the longitudinal length of the locating device. On a top side of its housing, the locating device has a handle unit extending in the direction of the longitudinal length, and with this unit the locating device can be moved, with the running surfaces of the wheels, over a surface of an item being examined in the direction of its longitudinal length.
For picking up a motion parameter by means of a sensor unit, the two rigid axles and the sensor unit are mechanically coupled via a toothed belt.

Handheld locating device with a sensor for detecting motion parameters


An indexable insert (1) of the present invention includes a substrate (8) and a coating layer which includes inner layer and an outer layer. The inner layer includes an alumina layer or an alumna-containing layer serving as an outermost layer in contact with the outer layer, and the outer layer is composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of the periodic table group IVa elements, Va elements, and VIa elements, Al, and Si or a compound of at least one of the metals and at least one element selected from the group consisting of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and boron. In addition, the outer layer, in a portion involved in cutting, satisfies B/A≦0.9 wherein A μm is the average thickness on the flank face (3) side, and B μm is the average thickness on the rake face (2) side.

Indexable inserts to be detachably mounted on tools for cutting workpieces have been known. As such indexable inserts, many cutting tips each including a substrate composed of a cemented carbide or cermet and a hard coating of ceramic formed thereon for improving wear resistance and toughness have been proposed.
In such indexable inserts, various attempts have been made to improve characteristics by changing the composition of a hard coating or differentiating the thickness of the hard coating on a flank face from that on a rake face (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-347403 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-122263 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-122264 (Patent Document 3), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-216488 (Patent Document 4)).
In contrast, an attempt has recently been made to form an outermost layer of a color different from that of a lower layer in the hard coating so that the use state of an indexable insert is identified from the discoloration of the outermost layer (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-144108 (Patent Document 5). However, this attempt has caused the problem of welding of the outermost layer used for identifying the use state and a workpiece during cutting, thereby degrading the surface state of the workpiece. However, substantially no attempt has been made to resolving the problem.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-347403 (Patent Document 1)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-122263 (Patent Document 2)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-122264 (Patent Document 3)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-216488 (Patent Document 4)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-144108 (Patent Document 5)


An embodiment includes a method of forming a semiconductor device and the resulting device. The method may include forming a source/drain on an exposed portion of a semiconductor layer of a layered nanosheet. The method may include forming a sacrificial material on the source/drain. The method may include forming a dielectric layer covering the sacrificial material. The method may include replacing the sacrificial material with a contact liner. The semiconductor device may include a first gate nanosheet stack and second gate nanosheet stack. The semiconductor device may include a first source/drain in contact with the first nanosheet stack and a second source/drain in contact with the second nanosheet stack. The semiconductor device may include a source/drain dielectric located between the first source/drain and the second source/drain. The semiconductor device may include a contact liner in contact with the first source/drain, the second source/drain and the source/drain dielectric.

The present invention relates to semiconductor structures, and more specifically, to forming nanosheet transistors on bulk material.
Fin field effect transistors (FinFETs) are an emerging technology which may provide solutions to field effect transistor (FET) scaling problems at, and below, the 22 nm node. FinFET structures may include at least a narrow semiconductor fin gated on at least two sides of each of the semiconductor fin, as well as a source region and a drain region adjacent to the fin on opposite sides of the gate. FinFET structures having n-type source and drain regions may be referred to as nFinFETs, and FinFET structures having p-type source and drain regions may be referred to as pFinFETs.
The degree of control of electronic transport in the channel region of a field effect transistor is a predominant factor determining the level of leakage currents. A wrap-all-around gate, such as in a nanosheet field effect transistor, is a configuration that enhances control of the electronic transport in the channel region of a field effect transistor. However, integration schemes employ a semiconductor-on-insulator (SOI) substrate increase the cost of production because SOI substrates are more expensive than bulk substrates.

Nanosheet transistors with wrap around contact

International Business Machines Corporation


This invention pertains to substantially purified cultures of a gram-negative, aerobic, filamentous bacterium with cells ranging in length from 20-200 .mu.m, that accumulates intracellular poly-.beta.-hydroxybutyrate in intracellular granules, and that degrades chlorinated aliphatic compounds such as trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene, as well as phenol and other substituted benzenes. The invention includes the representative strain A-1, which has been deposited at the American Type Culture Collection under the accession number 55581. Also included are methods for using the new bacterium for bioremediation of contaminated environmental sites.

Environments contaminated with the chlorinated solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and dichloroethylene (DCE) are major cleanup problems, and will involve hundreds of millions in Superfund expenditures in the coming years. TCE is a common ground-water contaminant in the United States as a result of solvent spills and dry-cleaning chemical disposal. Cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (DCE) is also a common ground-water contaminant that originates from anaerobic dehalogenation of TCE in the environment. These compounds are potential carcinogens and cannot be removed effectively from ground water using conventional water purification processes. For many sites, bioremediation is the only practical approach for cleanup, but the use of previously known solvent-metabolizing microorganisms has often been hindered by their extreme sensitivity to the toxic effects of intermediates produced as the result of these bacteria's degradation of TCE and related compounds, and by their sensitivity to high concentrations of TCE itself.
Various types of bacteria have been shown to degrade TCE, including methanotrophs, toluene-degraders, phenol-degraders, propane oxidizers, and nitrifiers. (Fogel et al., 1986; Wackett et al., 1989; Ensley et al., 1991). These bacteria degrade TCE by a process of "cometabolic degradation," in which substrates that support growth induce nonspecific monooxygenase or dioxygenase enzymes that fortuitously can also degrade TCE and other chlorinated aliphatic compounds (CACs). The dioxygenases and monooxygenases both require oxygen and reducing power in the form of NADH.
When methanotrophs, the most extensively studied of this type of bacteria, metabolize trichloroethylene (TCE), dichloroethylene (DCE), or vinyl chloride by means of oxidative cometabolism, the resulting chemical intermediaries are known to be toxic to these microorganisms at relatively low levels (e.g., Alvarez-Cohen and McCarty, 1991a; Alvarez-Cohen and McCarty, 1991b; Alvarez-Cohen and McCarty, 1991c; Rasche et al., 1991; Oldenhuis et al., 1989). Moreover, the presence of methane competitively inhibits TCE degradation by methanotrophs (Strand et al., 1990). Consequently, the use of methanotrophs in bioremediation is severely limited.
Bacteria other than methanotrophs are also known to degrade CACs. For example, Burkholderia (Pseudomonas) cepacia G4 (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,925,802, and 5,071,755) expresses elevated levels of a CAC-degrading toluene ortho-monooxygenase enzyme in the presence of phenol, toluene, o-cresol, or m-cresol (originally called "Pseudomonas cepacia G4", this bacterium has been reclassified as "Burkholderia cepacia G4," Yabuuchi et al., Microbiol. Immunol. 36:1251-1275, 1981). This bacterium, isolated from an industrial waste site water sample, is strictly aerobic. The G4 isolate is reportedly a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that grows predominantly in pairs and short chains, and can utilize carbohydrates as a carbon source. This organism reportedly consumes TCE at a rate of about 2.5 nmol/minute per mg of protein with a K.sub.S of 3 .mu.M (Folsom et al., 1990). "Intermediate toxicity," i.e., toxicity resulting from CAC degradation products, was observed in studies of Pseudomonas putida F1, as evidenced by a decrease in growth rate (Wackett and Householder, 1989). This study also reported that TCE damaged the P. putida's intracellular proteins.
In other studies, phenol was utilized in situ to stimulate natural microorganisms to degrade CACs (Hopkins et al., 1993a; Hopkins et al., 1993b). Phenol-degrading microorganisms were readily stimulated, and phenol removal from the injection site was complete after 170 hours. Cometabolic degradation of TCE and DCE was also observed, and phenol-degrading microorganisms were found to remove TCE more effectively than did methanotrophic organisms stimulated by methane addition in concurrent tests. Some laboratory studies with phenol/toluene oxidizers have been done (Folsom et al., 1990; Nelson et al., 1988; Shields et al., 1989; Wackett and Householder, 1989), although such bacteria are less well-studied than the methanotrophs. However, it has been demonstrated that the toluene-degrader Pseudomanas putida F1 suffers toxic cellular effects from TCE degradation byproducts (Wackett and Householder, 1989). Another phenol-degrading bacteria reported to metabolize TCE is Alcaligenes eutrophus JMP134 (Harker and Kim, 1990).

Degradation of environmental toxins by a filamentous bacterium


A wired circuit board includes a metal supporting board, an insulating layer formed on the metal supporting board, a conductive pattern formed on the insulating layer and having a plurality of wires, and a semiconductive layer formed on a surface of the insulating layer exposed from the conductive pattern so as to be in contact with the conductive pattern. The insulating layer is formed with a groove exposing the metal supporting board between at least two adjacent wires, and the semiconductive layer is in contact with the metal supporting board in the groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wired circuit board and a producing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wired circuit board mounted in electric and electronic equipment, and a producing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
A wired circuit board, such as a flexible wired circuit board or a suspension board with circuit, usually includes a base layer of polyimide, a conductive circuit of copper foil formed on the base layer, and a cover layer of polyimide formed on the base layer and the conductive circuit, and is mounted in various kinds of electric and electronic equipment while electronic components are mounted therein.
In such wired circuit board, in order to prevent electronic components mounted thereon from electrostatic breakdown, there has been known that a semiconductive layer is formed on the cover layer. There has been proposed that, for example, a conductive polymer layer is formed on the cover layer to remove static electricity charged on the cover layer via the conductive polymer layer (cf. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-158480).

Wired circuit board having a semiconductive grounding layer and producing method thereof


An apparatus (10) and method for displaying two decorative items as a unit involves a U-shaped bracket (12) having a front arm (22) and a rear arm (24) interconnected at a base (26) with a middle attaching device (27, 27', 18, 20) at the base for mounting a pleated fan (54) between the arms and a pocket (50) attached to the second item (52), which can be a doll (52), which pocket is sized to snugly receive the front arm. In a preferred embodiment, there is further included an additional elastic band (16) adjacent a mouth (58) of the pocket on the second item which cooperates with edge notches (32, 34) in the front arm to ensure that the second item does not inadvertently fall off of the arm. In a preferred embodiment, the rear arm includes a device (48) for attaching the apparatus to a wall and the U-shaped bracket includes a means for supporting itself on a horizontal surface, with the two arms being vertically oriented.

This invention relates generally to the art of displaying decorative, or fanciful, goods and more particularly relates to a device which can be used for displaying two decorative items in a coordinated manner while still allowing the goods to be displayed individually, if desired.
Many different brackets and arrangements exist in the prior art for displaying items. For example, there are brackets which can be attached to walls which mate with counterpart brackets attached to items to be displayed (or used). For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,843 to Levy and U.S. Pat. No. 2,916,839 to Wheaton disclose brackets for hanging items from walls. Similarly, there are many patents, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,811,565 to Tancredi, which disclose supports and other devices for supporting items, such as dolls, from horizontal surfaces. However, there does not appear to be appropriate apparatus for selectively simultaneously displaying two items, in combination with one another. Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide an effective apparatus and method for selectively simultaneously supporting two items in coordination with one another.
A difficulty that is encountered in trying to design "ready-made" brackets and supports for supporting fanciful goods is that their users often like to apply their own creativity thereto. For example, under some circumstances, some people prefer to place fanciful, decorative items on horizontal surfaces such as tables, counters, and the like, while under other circumstances, they prefer to hang such items from walls. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method which can be used to either support items on horizontal surfaces or hang them on walls, and which is effective when used in either manner.
Similarly, many people who display decorative items often wish to exchange the displayed items and/or to display the items in various ways. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and a method for displaying two decorative items, as mentioned above, but which can also be used with various types of decorative items, which can be used to display only one decorative item when desired, and/or which allows the items to be displayed individually where desired.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for displaying two decorative items which employs a relatively inexpensive bracket and which is relatively easy for consumers to use.

Apparatus and method for displaying two decorative items as a unit


A network device (NWE) for a digital transmission network with synchronous digital hierarchy receives data steams containing frames with data packets mapped therein and addressed by a phase reference identifier. Internally, the network device has redundant transfer paths which potentially cause different delay. The network element compensates for that delay by adjusting the phase reference identifier allocated to a respective data packet by a predetermined phase correcting value, leading in the phase, which corresponds to a maximum expected delay for transfer of the data packets on internal transfer paths, and by buffering the data packet by a buffering time such that its buffering time and its delay actually needed for passing through the network device in total correspond to the maximum expected delay taken into account by the phase adjustment.

In a transfer of data packets in a time multiplex process data packets are transferred within defined time slots or time channels, which can be repeatedly re-used for data transfer after a predetermined time. A group of time channels or else a single time channel provide so-called frames for transferring data packets. The frames in the synchronous digital hierarchy are, for example, referred to as synchronous transport modules (STM) and the data packets as so-called virtual containers. The so-called overhead or frame header of each frame contains phase reference identifiers, i.e., so-called pointers, for the data packets transported in the respective frame, which serve for determining the position of the corresponding packet within the respective frame.
When the frames and the data packets contained therein pass through a network device, they are subject to a delay (i.e. a propagation time). This delay can take on various values, if, for example, in a first scenario a first data packet passes through the network device on a first transfer path between input and output stage of the network device, causing a first delay, and a second data packet associated with the first data packet passes through on a second transfer path causing a second delay. The two transfer paths can, for example, lead over various modules of a switching matrix, input/output modules and cable strings, which with a more complex structure of the network device can easily be arranged spatially far apart, so, for example, the first data packet has to cover a 200 meters longer transfer path in the network device than the second data packet. However, two data packets are, due to different transfer paths, no longer in the same phase relation to one another at the output stage of the network device as at the input stage.
A second scenario relates to a network device with redundant devices, for example, with double switching matrices and double cable strings between input and output stage of the network device. The data packets pass through a first transfer path between input and output stage and in parallel through a second transfer path as a data packet copy. Ideally, at the output stage it should be possible at any time to switch over without loss of data from the first to the second transfer path and vice versa. This requires, however, that a data packet and its copy must be available exactly synchronously on the output side of the output stage. As a result of the first and second transfer paths possibly causing different delays, this is, however, not possible. It would admittedly be possible to construct the transfer paths of the network device in such a way that they cause perfectly identical delays by using identical switching matrices and cables of identical length and kind. However, this causes a considerable expense, if, for example, modules arranged directly side by side have to be connected via a cable of, e.g. 200 meters in length.

Network device and method for delay compensation of data packets