A fuse assembly, in which a pluraity of members constituting a housing of the fuse assembly can be mounted tightly and whether the fuse element has blown out or not can be easily checked, is provided. The fuse assembly 1 has a pair of terminals 2, a fuse element 5 and a housing 4. Each end 3a of the terminals 2 is received into the housing 4. The fuse element 5 connects the terminals 2 with each other. The fuse element 5 has a pair of locking claws 61. The housing 4 has casing members 4a and 4b, which receive each end 3a of the terminals 2 and the fuse element 5 when the casing members 4a and 4b are fit with each other in the housing 4. Each casing member 4a and 4b has a locking recess 64 for engaging with the locking claw 61. One locking claw 61 engages with one locking recess 64, while an opposite locking claw 61 engages with an opposite locking recess 64.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fuse assembly and more specifically, to a fuse assembly, in which a pluraity of members constituting a housing of the fuse assembly can be mounted tightly and whether a fuse element of the fuse assembly has blown out or not can be easily checked.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In a vehicle as a mobile unit, many electric power transfer lines for transferring electric power itself or signals, such as busbars in an electric junction box such as a junction block, relay box and fuse block, and terminals for electric connection, are disposed.
In the electric power transfer lines, a fuse block, in which many fuses that can be inserted or extracted are disposed, is employed to protect electric circuits of various electrical equipments. (The fuse block may be called a relay box, junction block or electric junction box as the general term since the fuse block may have relays or busbars. In this specification, the aforementioned fuse block, relay box and junction block are hereinafter called an electric junction box as the general term.)
For example, a fuse assembly 101 shown in FIG. 7 has been employed as a fuse for use in the electric junction box. The fuse assembly 101 includes a pair of blade-shaped terminals 102, a fuse element (not shown in the figure) for connecting a pair of the terminals 102 with each other, and a housing 104 made of insulating synthetic resin and the like for receiving each one end of a pair of the terminals 102 and the fuse element.
When the fuse assembly 101 is mounted in the electric junction box, a pair of the terminals 102 is connected to respective receiving terminals of the electric junction box. Through the receiving terminal, an electric power is supplied to one terminal 102 from an electric power source or the like, while various load is electrically connected to an opposite terminal 102.
In the fuse assembly 101, when a current value of an electric power supplied to the one terminal 102 through the receiving terminal or the like exceeds a predetermined current value, the fuse element blows out so as to halt the power supply to the load.
The fuse assembly 101 is preferably provided with a partition wall between a pair of the terminals 102 in order to securely prevent the terminals 102 from making a short circuit with each other after the blowing. The partition wall is, for example, integrally produced with the insulating housing 104.
When the partition wall is set between a pair of the terminals 102, in order to receive each one end of a pair of the terminals 102 and the fuse element into the housing 104, the housing 104 needs to be formed being divided into a plurality of members, for example, two members. In this case, the housing 104 is constructed in a manner that the divided members put and receive a pair of the terminals 102 and the fuse element therebetween.
When the housing 104 is formed with dividing into a pluraity of the members, the clearance may take place between or among a pluraity of the members after the assembly of the housing 104. When the clearance takes place, due to vibrations of a vehicle such as a motorcar, into which the electric junction box is mounted, during the traveling, a pluraity of the members hit with each other in the mounted position of the electric junction box to make a noise, or when things come to the worst, a pluraity of the members might come off from the mounted position.
When the clearance takes place between or among a pluraity of the members and a pluraity of the members hit with each other in the mounted position of the electric junction box due to vibrations of the vehicle during the traveling, the fuse element might be deformed undesirably. Moreover, in the conventional fuse assembly 101, since each one end of a pair of the terminals 102 and the fuse element are received in the housing 104, it has been difficult to check whether the fuse element did blow out or not.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to solve the above problem and to provide a fuse assembly, in which a pluraity of members constituting a housing of the fuse assembly can be mounted tightly and whether the fuse element has blown out or not can be easily checked.
In order to attain the above objective, the present invention is to provide a fuse assembly comprising: a pair of terminals provided in parallel with each other; a fuse element for connecting a pair of the terminals with each other; a plurality of casing members fit with each other for putting and receiving each one end of a pair of the terminals and the fuse element between a plurality of the casing members; and a plurality of electrically conductive locking claws electrically connected to a pair of the terminals, wherein a plurality of the locking claws are provided to a plurality of the casing members, respectively, protrude toward the outside of the casing member from either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element, and locks up an outer surface of said each casing member.
According to the fuse assembly described above, each locking claw, which protrudes toward the outside of the casing member from either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element, locks up an outer surface of the respective casing member. Thereby, either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element is securely fixed to the respective casing member. The locking claw protrudes toward an outer surface of the casing member, that is, the locking claw exposes to an outer surface of the fuse assembly.
Each casing member of a plurality of the casing members is provided with a locking recess for engaging with the locking claw.
According to the fuse assembly described above, the casing member has the locking recess, thereby the locking claw more securely locks up an outer surface of the respective casing member. Therefore, either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element is more securely fixed to the respective casing member.
The locking claw has a wide part and a narrow part that is narrower than the wide part, the wide part and the narrow part lie in a row along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put the terminals and the fuse element therebetween when said each locking claw locks up the outer surface of the respective casing member, said each locking recess is formed from the outer surface of the respective casing member and has a second wide part engaging with the wide part of the locking claw and a second narrow part engaging with the narrow part of the locking claw, and the second wide part and the second narrow part lie in a row along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put the terminals and the fuse element therebetween.
According to the fuse assembly described above, the locking claw has a wide part and a narrow part, and each locking recess has a second wide part engaging with the wide part of the locking claw and a second narrow part engaging with the narrow part of the locking claw. The wide part and the narrow part lie in a row along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put the terminals and the fuse element therebetween. The second wide part and the second narrow part lie in a row along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put the terminals and the fuse element therebetween.
Thereby, when the locking claw engages with the locking recess, either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element is fixed to the respective casing member and in addition, a plurality of the casing member are prevented from relatively displacing along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put ends of the terminals and the fuse element therebetween.
The narrow part is situated nearer to either a pair of the terminals or the fuse element than the wide part, and the second wide part is situated more outward from the casing member than the second narrow part.
According to the fuse assembly described above, when the locking claw engages with the locking recess, a plurality of the casing member are more securely prevented from relatively displacing along a direction, in which a plurality of the casing members put ends of the terminals and the fuse element therebetween.
Each terminal of a pair of the terminals is formed in a blade-shape, and the locking recesses are disposed symmetrically with respect to an axial line which is situated at the center of a pair of the terminals and extends along the direction of the length of the terminal.
According to the fuse assembly described above, the locking recess is provided at a symmetrical position with respect to the axial line, thereby a plurality of the casing member can be formed in the same shape with each other.
Each teminal of a pair of the terminals has a first through hole, the fuse element has a pair of second through holes, and said each casing member has: a first projection fitting into the first through hole of one terminal out of a pair of the terminals; a second projection fitting into one second through hole out of a pair of the second through holes; a first hole aligning with the first through hole of an opposite terminal out of a pair of the terminals; and a second hole aligning with an opposite second through hole out of a pair of the second through holes.
According to the fuse assembly described above, the first projection fits into the first through hole of one terminal, while the first hole aligns with the first through hole of an opposite terminal. The second projection fits into the second through hole of the one terminal, while the second hole aligns with the second through hole of the opposite terminal.
Thereby, the first projection of one casing member out of-a plurality of the casing members is fit into the first through hole of the one terminal, then is fit into the first hole of an opposite casing member. The second projection of the one casing member is fit into the second through hole of the one terminal, then is fit into the second hole of the opposite casing member, thereby the casing members can be fit with each other in the housing of the fuse assembly. In addition, the terminals and the fuse elements can be mounted to the casing member.
A pair of the first through holes is disposed symmetrically with respect to an axial line which is situated at the center of a pair of the terminals and extends along the direction of the length of the terminal, and a pair of the second through holes is also disposed symmetrically with respect to the axial line.
According to the fuse assembly described above, a plurality of the casing member can be formed in the same shape with each other.


A fire rated poke-through floor fitting for extending through an aperture in a floor having a conduit with a first surface and a second surface and at least one passageway extending from the first surface to the second surface. Electrical wire passes from a side door of the floor, through a conduit, to a second side of the floor. Intumescent material is located adjacent the at least passageway an expands inwardly through the at least one passageway when it is exposed to a predetermined amount of heat, resisting transfer of heat, smoke, and flame from the second side of the floor of the first side of the floor.

The present invention relates to a poke-through floor fitting to enable electrical wires to safely pass through a floor. More specifically, the present invention relates to a fire-rated poke-through floor fitting having numerous telecommunications wires extending therethrough and intumescent material that resists the transfer of heat, smoke and flame through the fitting in case of fire.
Typically, fire-rated poke-through fittings provide a floor receptacle for electrical power outlets and/or for telecommunication jacks. Generally, these poke-through fittings are mounted in a core-drilled, approximately three or four inch diameter hole, which is commonly formed in a concrete floor.
Prior art fittings can prove hazardous if heat is easily transmitted through the fitting, either by the conductors or through the fitting itself, thus permitting heat from a fire to be transmitted through floors of a building. This problem has become more difficult in the last several years as additional conductors, for power and communications including voice and data, are used in poke-through fittings. The cross sectional area of a fitting may only be comprised of a predetermined amount of electrical wire, typically the electrical wire may only represent about 40 percent of the total cross sectional area of the fitting. Therefore, the more electrical wires passed through a fitting, the wider the fitting must be, and the wider the fitting, the more volume or cross-sectional area there is in the fitting through which heat can to be transmitted. Conventional fittings have reduced the diameter of the fitting to reduce the amount of heat, smoke and flame capable of passing through the fitting; however, this also reduces the number and/or volume of wires that can pass therethrough.
Since it is advantageous to increase the number of electrically and thermally conductive wires used in these fittings and still maintain a three or four inch aperture in the floor, so that a minimal number of holes or passageways are made therein, the size of the conduit must increase. Increasing the diameter of the conduit, as stated above, increases the heat passable therethrough. Therefore, there is an ongoing need to develop an apparatus having a conduit that is as large as possible, while still resisting heat, smoke, and flame from passing therethrough.
Examples of prior art fittings are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,770,643 and 5,763,826 to Castellani et al.; 5,032,690 to Bloom; 5,058,341 to Harbeke, Jr.; and 5,970,670 to Hoffman, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide an improved fire-rated poke-through floor fitting.
Another object of this invention is to provide a floor fitting capable of limiting the transfer of heat, smoke and flame from a fire therethrough, while still allowing numerous electrical wires to pass therethrough.
Yet another object of this invention is provide a floor fitting about the same size as the aperture in the floor and still prevent heat, smoke and flame from a fire from passing therethrough.
The foregoing objects are basically obtained by providing a fitting for extending through an aperture in a floor, comprising a conduit having a first surface and a second surface, at least one passageway extending from said first surface to said second surface, at least one electrical wire passing through the conduit and intumescent material located adjacent the inside of the at least one passageway, the intumescent material expanding inwardly through the at least one passageway when exposed to a predetermined amount of heat.

Large capacity fire rated poke through fitting


A cover assembly for a medication dispenser including a container defining a plurality of open-top medication compartments adapted to be closed by a compartment cover assembly including a plurality of individual covers selectively connected together. Each cover includes an integral fracturable tab depending from one end and coacting means on the container for securing the tabs in a snap-fit relationship when the cover is positioned to close its respective compartments. Each tab is independently secured relative to the container and fractured from its respective cover in response to upward movement of the opposite end of the cover to open the compartment. In one embodiment, the tab has a plurality of spaced-apart openings formed therein to create a weakened area to facilitate the separation of the cover from the tab. In another embodiment, a pair of notches extend into the sides of the tab. In another embodiment, which may be used with the other embodiments, a pair of spaced-apart protrusions extend from said tab for pivotal engagement with the dispenser.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to medication dispensers and more particularly to a multiple unit container including several unit-dose compartments. More particularly, this invention relates to a cover assembly for the medication dispenser which includes a plurality of individual covers connected together by fracturable links. Each of the covers includes a fracturable tab having means for facilitating the fracturing of the cover from the link.
2. Description of the Prior Art
United States Pharmacopoeia Xix defines a unit-dose container as a single-unit container so designed that the contents administered to the patient as a single dose, direct from the container. A single-unit container is defined as one that is closed in such a manner that none of the contents may be removed without obvious destruction of the closure, the contents of which are intended for use promptly after it is opened. Accordingly, each compartment of a multiple-unit container must meet the above definitions in order to be used in compliance with current federal regulations. Several such containers have been previously proposed such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,921,804 and 4,084,695.
It is desirable in the dispensing of medication to patients that as much chance of error in the administration of the medication be eliminated as is feasibly possible. The package of U.S. Pat. No. 3,921,804 permits a pharmacist to place the unit dosages in the individual compartments and to seal the same therein. A nurse simply breaks the seal on the individual pocket when the dosage is being administered. Although this package has been generally successful, the removal of medication from an individual compartment requires potentially destructive pressure to be exerted against the medication to force it through the perforated seal on the opposite side of the compartment. Furthermore, the slits in the compartment seals may permit the undetected removal of certain forms of medication and finally, the outer shell of that container requires a paper seal or other adhesive means to prevent removal of the entire compartment containing insert therefrom.
In the pillbox of U.S. Pat. No. 4,084,695, the cover assembly for the individual compartments is simply frictionally held in place with no positive locking of the covers onto the compartments to prevent the undetected removal of medication.
The assignee of this invention has previously patented many types of cover assemblies for the medication dispensers with those cover assemblies including a plurality of individual covers connected together by fracturable links. Each of the compartment covers includes an integral fracturable tab adapted to be independently snap-fit onto the container to hold the lines in place and to provide a secure and tamperproof closure of each compartment. In some of the fracturable links, the separation of the link from the remainder of the cover was enhanced by the utilization of a notch formed in the tab positioned adjacent the juncture of the tab to the cover top plate. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,372,445; 4,735,318; 4,741,441; and 5,011,018. Although the tabs of the earlier patents identified hereinabove did fracture in a satisfactory manner, it has been found that the fracturing of the tab is more reliably performed in a cleaner and neater manner through the use of the instant invention.
There is also a perception in the field that the covers of the prior art may be slightly raised, without fracturing the tab, so that medication may be removed from the compartment or medication placed in the compartment. Although applicants do not agree that such tampering is possible without fracturing the tab, the instant invention is designed to positively prevent medication tampering. Another perception in the field is that a cover may be removed from its compartment by fracturing the tab thereon with the cover then being able to be replaced on its compartment without the fracturing being visible. In other words, if medication is returned to a pharmacy, the pharmacy must check each individual cover to ascertain if the cover has been fractured since the same is not readily perceptible.

Cover assembly for a medication dispenser


A planar light source device with highly uniform intensity and high light utilization efficiency, and a display apparatus incorporating the same, are provided. A light guide plate, configured by a material such as plate-shaped and transparent acryl resin, polycarbonate resin, or glass, causes incident light to propagate within the light guide plate and then to exit the light through an exit surface as a surface emitting light. A first recess is formed substantially in the center of the exit surface. The first recess is cylinder-shaped, and on a bottom thereof is provided a lens that refracts incident light from a light source, in a direction away from the center of a circle on the bottom.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a planar light source device from which light is shined on the rear or back side of a display element such as a liquid crystal display, and to a display apparatus incorporating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
As disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent No. 3427636 (hereinafter called Patent Document 1), a conventional planar light source device is provided with a cone-shaped recess having a triangular cross section at the rear center of a light guide plate, in which recess a light source is disposed. In such a planar light source device as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the amount of light is small toward the front of the light source. However, light intensity at a portion of the above cone-shaped recess can be higher than that at the rest of portions, so that uniformities of intensity distribution cannot in some cases be achieved.
Furthermore, a planar light source as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-82916 (hereinafter called Patent Document 2) is provided with a truncated cone-shaped recess for disposing the light source therein at the rear face of the light guide plate, and in the recess is disposed a light source such as an LED, and above the light source is placed a hyperbolic light reflective surface. However, a problem with such a planar light source device as disclosed in Patent Document 2 is that light emitted toward the front of the light source is mostly absorbed by the light reflective surface, thus resulting in reduction in light utilization efficiency. Still furthermore, in a liquid crystal display device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H10-104620 (hereinafter called Patent Document 3), a groove is formed on the bottom in the center of a light guide plate in parallel with longitudinal sides of the light guide plate, in the groove is accommodated a cold-cathode fluorescent lamp, and on the bottom of the groove is formed a light-transmission adjusting film. However, a problem with such a liquid crystal display device as disclosed in Patent Document 3 is that although direct light emitted from a cold-cathode fluorescent lamp is adjusted by the light-transmission adjusting film, the light is not diffused adequately, thus causing intensity irregularities at the front of the light source.
Still further, in a back light device as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-149451 (hereinafter called Patent Document 4), a light source hole part for accommodating the light source is provided on the rear side of a light guide plate, and a recess is provided on a light exit surface located opposite the hole part. The Patent Document 4 also discloses that the recess is of a cone shape, having a conical surface, combined with a cylinder; of a square pyramid shape, having a plurality of oblique faces, combined with a quadrangular prism; or of a hexagonal pyramid shape, having a plurality of oblique faces, combined with a hexagonal prism. However, a problem with such a backlight device as disclosed in Patent Document 4 is that because light emitted from the light source is transmitted radially, a part of the light, which does not propagates toward the oblique faces of the recess, exits in the proximity of the light exit surface, thereby causing intensity irregularities in the proximity of the light source.

Planar light source device and display apparatus incorporating same


A method and apparatus for detecting winding errors in electric motor stators having a plurality of field windings is disclosed. The method involves the steps of applying a current source to at least one of the field windings to generate a magnetic field within the stator, measuring the polarity and strength of the field for each winding at preselected radial and angular positions about a circumference of the stator bore, and comparing the measured values to recorded values of radially and angularly corresponding measurements for a reference motor stator. Preferably, the current source is applied to each of the windings in succession. The apparatus includes a terminal block, switch, and power supply to connect a source of current to each field winding in succession to generate a magnetic field within the stator. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a magnetic sensor mounted at a predetermined radial position for rotation on a shaft, and an encoder proximate the shaft to determine the angular position of the shaft. In a second embodiment, the apparatus includes a plurality of magnetic sensors mounted at preselected radial and angular positions about an arbor or drum sized to fit within the stator. Both embodiments include means for comparing the measured magnetic field values to recorded values of radially and angularly corresponding measurements for a reference motor stator.

The invention relates to the field of testing equipment for motor stators, and more particularly to equipment for testing stators for induction, stepping, and universal motors. Specifically, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining whether stator windings have been properly installed on an electric motor stator prior to final assembly of the motor.
Electric motors generally have a stationary part, known as a stator, and a rotating part, known as a rotor. Upon application of current to the motor, the rotor rotates relative to the stator, thereby converting electrical energy to mechanical energy. Typically, the stator has a generally cylindrical shape and annular cross-section with a longitudinally extending bore. The rotor is mounted on bearings and extends within the stator substantially the length of the bore. The stator is usually made of many thin laminations of iron or steel, each having the same cross-section as the overall stator, stacked one upon the other to build up the stator from end to end. Each of the laminations has a series of radially inwardly extending teeth with slots in between. When the laminations are stacked together, the teeth and slots cooperate to form slots that extend longitudinally the length of the stator. Conductors are laid within the longitudinally extending slots and wound or looped around the teeth to form field windings or coils. In operation, current is applied to external leads of the field windings to create magnetic fields within the stator. These magnetic fields interact with magnetic fields generated by the rotor to cause the rotor to turn.
Using modern manufacturing methods well known in the art, stators are commonly manufactured on production lines wherein the field windings are either wound directly on the stator by means of automated winding equipment, or are first wound by automated winding equipment and then fit into the stator slots in a process known as shed winding. In either process, the windings are intended to be wound in a specified direction, with a specified number of turns spanning a specified number of teeth, and with a predetermined absolute orientation within the stator. This ensures that the magnetic field produced by each winding when energized will have the correct position, polarity and strength to ensure proper operation of the motor when assembled.
However, the number of turns per winding, or the direction of the wound conductors, or the number of teeth spanned, or the absolute angular placement of the winding, can sometimes be incorrect due to problems with the manufacturing process. If a manufacturing defect is not discovered until after final assembly of the motor, then the motor must either be scrapped or undergo an expensive rebuild. Moreover, all of the production line operations performed on the motor after introduction of the fault will have gone to waste, increasing the overall cost of production. Also, waiting until after final assembly to discover a manufacturing defect can increase the difficulty in diagnosing the source of the problem and cause delay in correcting the problem.
Therefore, it is desirable to test motors and motor parts at various times throughout the manufacturing process in order to give immediate feedback as to the proper operation of the various manufacturing processes, to prevent wasted manufacturing steps on faulty motor parts, and catch repairable faulty motor parts when it is most economical to repair or replace them. For example, one method for testing electric motor stators on an assembly line comprises the steps of clamping the stator under test in a fixture, connecting the field windings to a source of power, inserting a test rotor into the stator, and applying power to the stator. If the rotor turns in the proper direction when the stator is energized, then it is assumed that the field windings are properly wound.
However, it has been discovered that stator windings have sometimes been wound in the wrong direction so as to produce a magnetic field with the wrong polarity, yet the test rotor has still turned in the proper direction. Also, it has been observed that the number of turns per winding can vary from the specified amount without producing a noticeable difference in the direction of rotation of the test rotor. This is undesirable in that improper turn ratios can lead to reduced motor efficiency and shortened motor life. In addition, many motors are optimized to run most efficiently when the windings have a specific angular placement with respect to the stator core. A simple direction test may not indicate improper winding placement.
Therefore, it is desirable to be able to test electric motor stators prior to final motor assembly to determine whether the field windings have been wound in the proper direction, with the proper number of turns per windings, with the windings spanning the proper number of teeth, and with the proper angular placement. Furthermore, it is desirable to be able to test electric motor stators in an automated fashion compatible with modern manufacturing processes. Moreover, it is desirable to be able to test electric motor stators in a way that permits accurate determination of stator faults and provides timely feedback as to possible sources of error in the manufacturing process.

Method and apparatus for detecting winding errors in an electric motor stator


Instruments are often designed to operate in connection with a variety of machine types. Advantageously, the instrument is capable of modifying the appearance and function of its displays in response to the machine to which the instrument is connected. The subject invention includes a device for producing an identification code and a plurality of gauges for indicating levels of the sensed parameters. Each of the gauges has an outline segment for illustrating a range of levels of the sensed parameter indicated by the gauge and a symbol for identifying the sensed parameter indicated by the gauge. A controller receives the identification code and selectively enables one or more of the plurality of gauges and illuminates the outline segment and symbol associated with each of the enabled gauges in response to the identification code.

In a variety of engine-powered vehicles, monitoring and diagnostic devices are employed to detect the presence of various undesirable operating conditions, such as overheating of the engine, low oil pressure, low fuel, and the like, and indicators are provided to warn the operator of such conditions. These instruments are typically connected to various sensors and switches for monitoring or controlling conditions on the vehicle via a wire harness and/or a communication link. In many applications, these instruments are also connected to electronic control systems, for example electronic engine controls, electronic transmission controls, and the like.
Most prior art systems have included dedicated instruments in which the functions and conditions of the vehicle to be monitored or diagnosed, as well as the particular sensors provided on the vehicle, are identified in advance. Therefore, the instruments are specifically designed for and hence "dedicated" to the monitoring or diagnosing of those particular vehicle functions and conditions in response to signals from pre-identified sensors. Accordingly, such "dedicated" instruments generally cannot be readily modified to accommodate different machines, different sensors and/or different conditions and functions. Rather, such instruments are generally limited to use with a particular vehicle type or model for which the instrument has been designed.
However, it is advantageous for these instruments to be usable in connection with many different machines. Lower costs will be achieved and less warehousing space will be required if a single instrument can be manufactured which can be used in many different applications. Similarly, service time is reduced if software changes are avoided when an instrument is moved from one machine to another.
Some prior art systems have provided for standardized monitoring systems that are usable in connection with a variety of machines, for example the system shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,551,801 issued to Sokol on Nov. 5, 1985. While being an improvement over dedicated systems, this monitoring system is still relatively inflexible and requires the addition or subtraction of monitoring modules and the use of decals to indicate the parameters being shown by each display module.
In some situations the instrument also communicates sensor information to one or more external electronic controls. Since different data is required by different controls and in connection with different machines, it is desirable to reduce traffic on the communications link by communicating only information that is required by the controls on the particular machine to which the instrument is connected.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.

Method and apparatus for reconfiguring a computerized monitoring system


A method for separating phytate and manganese from protein and dietary fiber involves treatment of an aqueous slurry of phytatecontaining material at a low pH with insoluble alumina. In a batch treatment process the pH of the solution is increased, leaving phytate units attached to the alumina while freeing the protein and dietary fiber. In a column treatment process, the column containing alumina is rinsed, after the low pH treatment, with dilute acid and water to recover the protein and/or dietary fiber. This method may be employed either during the manufacture of protein and fiber isolates from flour or flakes, or for removing phytate from commercially available protein and fiber commodities. The spent alumina may be readily regenerated and reused. A method of separating manganese from rice protein using this same technology is also disclosed.

It is desirable to remove manganese from rice protein because the inherent level of manganese in rice alone may be greater than the total desired in a nutritional product, such as a liquid nutritional formula for infants.
Phytic acid, also known as inositol hexaphosphate, is a myo-inositol molecule in which all the hydroxy groups have been replaced by phosphate groups as shown in FIG. 1. Phytic acid is the source of up to 85% of the total phosphorus in many cereals and legumes. Phytate is the salts of phytic acid. Phytic acid is believed to reduce the bioavailability of essential minerals by forming complexes with them. Also, it may influence the functional and nutritional value of proteins.
Aluminum is known to form complexes with phosphates. Classically, aluminum sulfate, commonly known as alum, has been used to remove inorganic phosphates in water purification processes. Alumina (aluminum oxide, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3) is insoluble in water, practically insoluble in organic solvents, and only slightly soluble in aqueous alkaline solutions with the formation of hydroxides. The ability of the aluminum portion of the aluminum oxide to attach to the phosphate portion of phytate was the theoretical and practical basis for its initial experimental use in the reduction of phytate in proteins.

Separation of manganese from rice protein using alumina


One exemplary embodiment of this disclosure relates to a refrigerant compressor. The compressor includes an axial section having a plurality of blades and vanes and a centrifugal section having an impeller. The centrifugal section is arranged downstream of the axial section.

This disclosure relates to a compressor, such as for use in refrigeration.
Refrigerant compressors are used to circulate refrigerant in a chiller via a refrigerant loop. Refrigerant loops are known to include a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator. The compressor compresses the fluid, which then travels to a condenser, which cools and condenses the fluid. The refrigerant then goes to an expansion device, which decreases the pressure of the fluid, and to the evaporator, where the fluid is vaporized, completing a refrigeration cycle.
Environmental regulations have led to refrigerants with lower working pressure being preferred in minimizing the global warming potential and the ozone depletion potential. These lower working pressure refrigerants have a lower vapor density than higher working pressure refrigerants, requiring a larger cross-section area in order to pass the same mass flow rate. This larger cross-section area leads to bigger machine sizes and lower shaft speeds than machines that use higher working pressure refrigerants.


A system for transforming computer system interrupts from state based interrupts to event based interrupts. The system of the present invention includes an interrupt acknowledge detection circuit adapted to detect an interrupt acknowledge from a computer system. The interrupt acknowledge detect circuit is coupled to a vector match circuit. The vector match circuit is adapted to receive an interrupt vector from the computer system and determine whether the interrupt vector matches a predetermined interrupt vector within the vector match circuit. The vector match circuit is, in turn, coupled to an interrupt assertion circuit. The interrupt assertion circuit includes an internal interrupt request line and an external interrupt request line. The interrupt assertion circuit functions by asserting an interrupt signal via the external interrupt request line to the computer system in response to receiving a state based interrupt via the internal interrupt request line. Subsequently, the interrupt assertion circuit deasserts the interrupt signal when the interrupt acknowledge is received by the interrupt acknowledge circuit and when the interrupt vector match is received by the vector match circuit. In so doing, the state based interrupt is transformed by the system of the present invention to a event based interrupt signal.

Computers are being used today to perform a wide variety of tasks. Many different areas of business, industry, government, education, entertainment, and most recently, the home, are tapping into the enormous and rapidly growing list of applications developed for today's increasingly powerful computer devices. Computers have also become a key technology for communicating ideas, data, and trends between and among business professionals. These devices have become so useful and ubiquitous, it would be hard to imagine today's society functioning without them.
Computers operate by executing programs, or a series of instructions, stored in a memory. These programs and series of instructions are collectively referred to as software. Software is what makes computer systems function and perform useful tasks. The utility of a computer system often hinges upon the speed and efficiency with which the computer executes the software program. Hence, it is desirable that the processor of the computer execute software programs as fast as possible. As the processor executes a program, there may be several significant events occurring in the computer's peripheral system hardware. It is often necessary to signal the processor to respond to an external condition, even though the processor is executing a program. This signaling process is referred to as an interrupt.
Interrupts are changes in the flow of software execution not caused by the currently running program. Some other process, usually input or output related, is responsible for the change in the flow of execution. For example, a program may instruct a hard disk coupled to the computer system to begin a data transfer, and configure the hard disk to provide an interrupt as soon as the data transfer is complete. The interrupt stops the currently executing program and transfers control to an interrupt service routine (ISR) which performs some appropriate action. When finished, the ISR returns control of the processor to the interrupted program. The processor subsequently restarts the interrupted program in the same state it was in when the interrupt occurred.
The need for interrupts arise from the fact that, in most cases, input and output (IO) can proceed in parallel with processor execution. On computers where the processor issues an IO instruction and then stops to wait for the IO to be completed, there is no need for an interrupt. When the IO is finished, the processor is restarted at the instruction following the IO instruction. Because the processor can generally execute many hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of instructions during the time required to complete a single IO instruction, it is very wasteful to force the processor to be idle during this time. Interrupts and interrupt subsystems allow the processor to execute the program concurrently with the IO and be signaled as soon as the IO is completed.
Prior art FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of the basic steps of a prior art interrupt service process 100 for industry standard architecture (ISA) computer systems. As discussed above, an interrupt causes the processor to temporarily suspend execution of the current program and forces it to jump to the ISR. Process 100 shows the steps a processor performs in servicing an interrupt.
In step 10, the processor detects an interrupt request. The processor, in ISA bus based computer systems, has one interrupt request input that is used to detect interrupt requests. The interrupt request lines from the various IO devices are not coupled directly to the processor's interrupt request input, rather, the processor's one interrupt request input is coupled to a programmable interrupt controller (PIC) which, in turn, is coupled to as many as eight peripheral devices. The peripheral devices signal interrupt requests via the PIC.
In step 11, the processor responds to the interrupt request by generating an interrupt acknowledge. During the interrupt acknowledge, the processor determines which device requested the interrupt and fetches the address of the appropriate ISR. As discussed above, the ISR performs the appropriate action to service the interrupt.
In step 12, the program pointers and other information for the program currently executing are "pushed" onto the processor's stack. This allows the state of the currently executing program to be saved while the processor executes the ISR.
Next, in step 13, the processor jumps to the address of the appropriate ISR and begins executing it. The ISR subsequently services the interrupt. At this point, the processor executes the software of ISR, performing the tasks required to service the interrupt.
In step 14, the processor "returns" from the ISR. Each ISR ends with a return-from-interrupt instruction. When execution of the ISR is complete, the processor executes the return-from-interrupt instruction which automatically "pops" the program pointers and program information off of the processor's stack.
Thus, in step 15, the processor can continue execution of the interrupted program. The processor restarts execution in the same state the program was in prior to interruption.
In ISA bus computer systems, process 100 is implemented in an event based interrupt system. That is, an interrupt is a specific event which occurs and is detected by the computer system. In ISA bus systems, the interrupt request line coupled to the PIC is driven low and then either pulled up by a pull up resistor coupled to the interrupt request line or driven back up by the interrupting device (i.e., the source). The rising edge of the interrupt request line is detected by the PIC as an interrupt request. Thus, in ISA bus computer systems, the interrupt request line is "strobed." In such a system, the strobe constitutes an event, and the event is recognized as an interrupt request.
In newer, PCI (peripheral component interconnect) bus computer systems, however, the process 100 is implemented in a level, or state based, interrupt system. The steps of the process 100 are basically the same but the interrupt system is different. In PCI bus based computer systems, an interrupt is a state which is entered. The interrupt request line is driven low and kept low. The interrupt request line is coupled usually coupled to a programmable interrupt router (PIR) as opposed to a PIC. The PIR detects the low level as the interrupt request. The interrupt request line remains asserted until the source of the interrupt is serviced.
Newer computer systems are built around the PCI bus and utilize peripheral devices based on the PCI bus for much of their functionality. Accordingly, many computer system manufacturers are reusing older hardware designs and adapting older software applications to function on or within PCI bus based devices. However, many of the older hardware devices and software applications are intimately designed to the specific characteristics of the ISA bus. For example, many popular "legacy" software applications do not know how to interface with PCI bus based peripheral devices. Hence, these legacy software applications do not properly interface with the PCI bus environment. More particularly, the ISRs in the legacy applications were designed for the specific requirements of the ISA bus, not the PCI bus.
For example, audio peripheral devices (e.g., wave table sound boards) and other types of ISA peripheral devices utilize the ISA architecture interrupt system. One characteristic of the ISA architecture is that once an interrupt occurs, other interrupts can be masked and not recognized until the end of the current interrupt. This prevents a large number of interrupts from piling up, or "nesting". Some legacy applications allow the nesting of interrupts. They allow the interrupt service routine from one interrupt to be interrupted by another interrupt service routine. This is the case with software applications dealing with, time sensitive input and output, such as real time simulations using the audio peripheral device for example. In such an application, the nesting of interrupts help make the computer system more responsive to the user.
Thus, with reference still to prior art FIG. 1, when an interrupt is detected as in step 10, the computer system proceeds through steps 11, 12, and 13 in the manner described above. Once the ISR from the legacy application is started in step 13, it checks to see if there is another interrupt. If another interrupt is detected, steps 10 through 13 are again repeated, hence, nesting the interrupts. The nested interrupts are completed, one by one, until step 15 is reached from the original (i.e., the first to occur) interrupt and the legacy application can continue.
In the ISA bus, the interrupt request line returns to a deasserted state (i.e., a high level) immediately after the event (i.e., the strobe). Thus, in computer systems having an ISA bus, the ISR does not detect its own interrupt due to the fact that the interrupts are strobes. The event occurs and then goes away automatically. The strobe is latched by the PIC and the interrupt request line subsequently returns to normal.
In PCI bus based computer systems, however, the interrupt request line is asserted low, and typically remains low until the source is serviced. Thus, when the legacy application ISR checks for another interrupt in step 13, it detects its own interrupt state signal since it was never removed. The legacy ISR then erroneously concludes that there is another interrupt, and the system subsequently executes steps 10 through 13 again. This fetches the same ISR again, which executes the same instructions again, which detects itself as another interrupt. The loop continues until the stack over flows, crashing the computer system.
Hence, legacy applications do not know how to interface with the PCI bus environment's state based interrupt system. When a legacy ISR checks to see if there is another interrupt without clearing its own interrupt, it detects its own interrupt as a "new" interrupt. This same scenario keeps happening, repeating itself until the system crashes. It is expected, however, that these legacy applications be supported by the newer computer systems. The newer computer systems are expected to run the great majority of the legacy applications.
Additionally, many older hardware designs are being incorporated into PCI bus based devices. Newer systems increasingly rely on the more modern PCI bus for IO. Consequently, many commonly used preexisting ISA bus based designs are being incorporated into modern PCI bus based IO devices. Often, these preexisting ISA bus based designs do not interface properly with the PCI bus environment's state based interrupt system.
Therefore, what is required is a system for accommodating legacy software applications in PCI bus based computer systems. What is further desired is a system which ensures preexisting ISA bus based designs properly interface with the PCI bus environment's state based interrupt system. The required solution should not require extensive reworking of legacy software applications or preexisting ISA bus based designs. The required solution should be transparent to both.

System for transforming PCI level interrupts


The instant invention relates to a laser system for optical free space communications, in particular the generation of amplified laser light under conditions in outer space. In the process, an optical beam (72) to be amplified is conducted via a polarizing beam splitter (71) to a Faraday rotator (70) and brought from there to a neodymium crystal (68). By means of reflection, appropriate diffraction and passage through a quarter-wave plate (67), a multiple passage through the neodymium crystal (68) is forced and amplification is achieved by this.

In the near future, optical free space communications between satellites and satellites and ground stations will represent an important supplement to existing microwave technology, including weight-savings on board the satellites. So-called optical terminals comprise one or more telescopes, which limit the angular area of the field of vision of an optical receiver in the direction toward a counter station, and also provide the directional beaming of the signals to be transmitted. Furthermore, several movable mirrors are provided, by means of which the alignment of the transmitting and receiving directions is performed. Besides the direct detection of the optical output of the transmitter of the counter station constituting the transmission method, the coherent superimposition of the received light with the light of a local oscillator laser having the same frequency plays an important role since, besides a great sensitivity to the signal to be detected, the insensitivity to interferences by other light sources present in the background is important.
Several lasers are required in connection with all the methods mentioned hereinafter. On the one Hand, in order to provide the light output for the optical transmitter, on the other hand, to generate the light output for a so-called beacon. This is an optical transmitter which radiates in an unmodulated manner, which, compared to the transmitter intended for communications, emits a significantly increased power to a large spatial angle, in order to make it possible for a counter station to align the transmitting beam with its own receiver.
Coherent methods additionally need a local oscillator laser, on whose light the received light is superimposed in the photodetector of the receiver. Several types of laser can be selected for all these purposes. Although diode lasers, which have reached a high state of development because of their extensive application in fiber-optic communications, represent an alternative at least for simple systems operating with intensity modulation, which in addition also saves space and weight, they are generally not yet suitable for coherent transmissions, in spite of an operation on only a single optical frequency having been achieved here, too, aside from complicated structures with large, additionally coupled resonators. One reason is the still too great spectral width of this single radiated optical frequency. Although fiber-optical coherent transmission systems also operate with commercially available diode lasers, detection is performed at relatively high optical output because of the waveguide transmission.
Existing background of other light sources, which interferes with free space transmissions, as well as the mostly very low power of the received signal, however, necessitate an optical bandwidth of the unmodulated signal, which is considerably narrower than the modulation bandwidth. These are criteria which, together with small size and low weight, can be best met by diode laser-pumped solid state lasers. Existing attempts to integrate the laser systems necessary for operation in a terminal for optical free space communications have been described by Carlson et al. and Marshalek et al. (R. T. Carlson et al., "Monolithic Glass Block Lasercom Terminal: Hardware Proof of Concept and Test Results", SPIE, vol. 2381, Free space Laser Communication Technologies VII, Feb. 7-8, 1995, San Jose, Calif., pp. 90 to 102; R. G. Marshalek et al., "Lightweight, High-Data-Rate Laser Communications Terminal for Low-Earth Orbit Satellite Constellations", SPIE vol. 2381, Free space Laser Communication Technologies VII, Feb. 7-8, 1995, San Jose, Calif., pp. 72 to 82).
Both groups of authors describe laser systems which are mechanically coupled to the optical system of a terminal and conduct their light emissions via collimated beams into the optical device. However, diode lasers have been used in this example of the prior art.
Diode laser-pumped solid state lasers have a larger volume and reduced efficiency, therefore they generate a larger amount of waste heat than a diode laser. The increased amount of heat produced in the vicinity of the optical system has been shown to be a risk for the undisturbed operation of the optical system.
The insufficient modulation capacity of diode laser-pumped solid state lasers presents a further problem. In contrast to diode lasers, the medium generating the optical gain remains for a relatively long time in the excited state after pump energy was supplied. Furthermore, the resonator of such lasers is considerably larger than that of diode lasers. Accordingly, for amplitude modulation, for example, cut-off frequencies of approximately 100 kHz are the rule. The external modulation required because of this is fairly hard to provide, since a high optical output must be handled, which demands the employment of electro-optical modulators with low cut-off frequencies.
The external modulation of laser light can be provided at high cut-off frequencies in modulators in which light is conducted in a waveguide which permits a short distance between each of the electrodes that provide the modulating voltage, and therefore permits a reduced modulation voltage. Since this method only permits low optical power because of the great increase of the optical power density caused by the narrow cross section of the optical waveguide, it is necessary to boost the modulated optical signal. Attempts to do this consist on the one hand in applying methods and devices which in the meantime have proven themselves in fiber-bound optical communications, for example by boosting the modulated optical signal by means of a fiber amplifier doped with erbium (T. Araki, M. Yajima, S. Nakamori, Y. Hisada, "Laser Transmitter Systems for High-Data-Rate Optical Inter-Orbit Communications", SPIE vol. 2381, Free space Laser Communication Technologies VII, Feb. 7-8, 1995, San Jose, Calif., pp. 264 to 272).
Besides diode laser-pumped solid state lasers, appropriate traveling wave amplifiers are used, wherein devices are made available which are particularly suitable for boosting light of lasers operated with the same techniques, particularly for the diode laser-pumped neodymium-YAG solid state lasers, which are very convenient for optical free space communications because of their narrow spectral width. The light to be amplified is conducted into an amplifying crystal, in which the photons of the optical beam will encounter with a certain probability atoms which are in an optical excited metastable state, which has a comparably long temporal stability due to the special properties of the material. The relative stability of this state is now disturbed by a photon of the same energy as the difference between the excited state and a lower energy state of the atom, in the process of which the respective atom emits an additional photon with the same phase and the same energy, i.e. the same wavelength.
The excited state of the atoms is produced by the so-called pump light, which has a shorter wavelength than the light to be amplified and puts the atoms into an excited state which corresponds to the energy of the photons, from which they pass over into a relatively stable state, whose energy difference to the lower laser level corresponds to the energy of the photons of the light to be amplified. A large amplification of the light is achieved, if the photons of the light to be amplified encounter many excited atoms when passing through the amplifying medium. Accordingly, the volume density of excited atoms must be high. However, since a defined portion per unit of time of the excited atoms, because of a finite average lifetime of the excited state, spontaneously returns to the ground state, and the photon emitted in this process is lost for the amplification of the light, to reach a high volume density of excited atoms, it is necessary to continuously radiate pump light at a high rate into the medium, even if light to be amplified is lacking, in order to obtain the high volume density of excited atoms, because of which the efficiency of such devices is extremely poor at high amplification factors. Very low amplification factors can be observed if the light to be amplified already has a high intensity, i.e. if a large average rate of photons passes through the amplifying medium and the density of excited atoms is low because of a high rate of stimulated emissions of additional photons.
Each atom excited by the pump light photon is placed into the ground state after an, on average, short time by a photon of the light to be amplified. With a comparably long average lifetime of the excited atoms, there is a comparatively low probability of a spontaneous and therefore useless change into the basic state, so that with low amplification the efficiency is high.
In order to achieve high amplification and, at the same time, a high rate of stimulated transitions into the ground state, it is necessary, in spite of the low density of excited atoms in the amplifying medium, to assure a high average number of additional photons generated by stimulated transitions of excited atoms into the ground state. In most cases this is achieved in that the light to be amplified is conducted on as many paths as possible through the zone of an amplifying medium which is irradiated by pump light. By means of this, with a respectively constant volume density of excited atoms, there is a multiple, corresponding to the number of passages, of the probability of a single passage generating additional photons for each coupled-in photon of the light to be amplified.
In spite of a low pump power it is therefore possible to achieve an considerable amplification factor. However, the devices in accordance with the prior art are constructed of several elements requiring a large amount of space and mass, which therefore only poorly meet space travel-specific requirements. Special designs also include the risk of insufficient mechanical ruggedness (T. J. Kane, E. A. P. Cheng, B. Nguyen, "Diode-Pumped ND:YAG Amplifier with 52 dB Gain", SPIE vol. 2381, Free space Laser Communication Technologies VII, Feb. 7-8, 1995, San Jose, Calif., pp. 273 to 284; T. E. Olson, T. J. Kane, W. M. Grossmann, H. Plaessmann, "Multipass Diode-Pumped ND:YAG Optical Amplifiers at 1.06 mm and 1.32 mm", Optics Letters, vol. 6, No. 5, May 1994, pp. 605 to 608).
An additional problem for space travel applications lies in that the diode lasers, which are also employed for generating the pump light, have a limited lifetime. It is accordingly necessary to keep a plurality of redundant diode lasers in readiness for each diode laser-pumped solid state laser and each diode laser-pumped optical amplifier in order to be able to replace failures.


A chuck assembly for use with a power driver having a forward end, a housing, a gearbox, and a rotating spindle extending therefrom includes a separate interface plate. The interface plate is received by and is rotationally fixed to the forward end and includes a forward face defining a center opening and a forward-facing rotational stop. The spindle extends through the center opening to receive a chuck. The chuck includes a body having a nose and a tail, the tail being configured to rotate with the spindle, and the nose including an axial bore. Chuck jaws are received by the body and movable toward and away from the chuck axis. A bracket is disposed about the body and extends rearward of the tail. The bracket defines a rearward surface engaging the stop to rotationally fix the bracket to the interface plate.

The present invention relates generally to electric or pneumatic power drivers.
Electric and pneumatic tool drivers are well known. Although twist drills are the most common tools on such drivers, the tools may also comprise screw drivers, nut drivers, burrs, mounted grinding stones and other cutting or abrading tools. Since the tool shanks may be of varying diameter or of polygonal cross section, the device is usually provided with a chuck that is adjustable over a relatively wide range. The chuck may be attached to the driver spindle by a threaded or tapered bore.
A variety of chucks for both hand and power drivers have been developed in the art. In one form of chuck, a chuck body includes three passageways disposed approximately 120 degrees apart from each other. The passageways are configured so that their center lines meet at a point along the chuck axis that is typically forward of the chuck. The passageways constrain three jaws which are moveable in the passageways to grip a cylindrical or polygonal tool shank displaced approximately along the chuck""s center axis. The chuck includes a nut that rotates about the chuck center and that engages threads on the jaws so that rotation of the nut moves the jaws in either direction within the passageways. The body is attached to the spindle of a driver and is configured so that rotation of the body in one direction with respect to the nut forces the jaws into a gripping relationship with the tool shank, while rotation in the opposite direction releases the gripping relationship.
The chuck may be operated by a chuck key, by hand rotation of the sleeve in a keyless configuration, or by actuation of the driver motor. A keyless chuck may include a rear sleeve axially and rotationally held to the chuck body to permit an operator to rotationally hold the chuck body while rotating the chuck nut to open and close the chuck jaws. An example of a keyless chuck is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,473, which is commonly assigned and the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
Various configurations of keyless chucks are known in the art and are desirable in a variety of applications. For example, in one known form of a drill chuck, a rear sleeve is rotationally fixed to a spring-biased impact member that slides axially within the rear sleeve and that can selectively hold the nut against rotation with respect to the rear sleeve. Thus, when the drill spindle rotationally drives the chuck body, relative rotation between the body and the restrained nut drives the jaws toward an open or closed position.
To rotationally restrain the nut, however, the chuck also includes a mechanism to rotationally restrain the rear sleeve with respect to the drill housing. Specifically, a pair of screw heads extend forward from the front face of the drill on opposite sides of the drill spindle. A pair of legs that are rotationally fixed to, but axially movable with respect to, the rear sleeve extend rearwardly through the rear sleeve and receive the screw heads so that the screw heads rotationally hold the legs and the rear sleeve to the drill housing.
The legs are spring-biased rearwardly from the rear sleeve. As the drill spindle and the chuck body thread together, and therefore move axially toward each other, the front drill face pushes the legs forwardly into the chuck. The increased spring pressure increases the hold of the legs about the screw heads.
The present invention recognizes and addresses the foregoing considerations, and others, of prior art constructions and methods.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved chuck assembly and power driver.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved interface between a chuck assembly and a power driver.
These and other objects are accomplished by providing a chuck assembly for use with a power driver having a forward end, a housing, a gearbox, and a rotating spindle extending therefrom that includes a separate interface plate. The interface plate is received by and is rotationally fixed to the forward end and includes a forward face defining a center opening and a forwardfacing rotational stop. The spindle extends through the center opening to receive a chuck. The chuck includes a body having a nose and a tail, the tail being configured to rotate with the spindle and the nose including an axial bore. Chuck jaws are received by the body and movable toward and away from the chuck axis. A bracket is disposed about the body and extends rearward of the tail. The bracket defines a rearward surface engaging the stop to rotationally fix the bracket to the interface plate.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Chuck and power driver having improved interface assembly

The Jacobs Chuck Manufacturing Company P.O. Box 592


The present application discloses a method, an apparatus, and a system for minimization of drive tests (MDT), and relates to the field of communications technologies. In a technical solution, by obtaining a mapping relationship between a trace control entity (TCE) address and a TCE identifier, and according to the TCE identifier included in the MDT report reported by the UE, a corresponding TCE address is obtained and the MDT report is sent to a TCE corresponding to the TCE address. Therefore, it is unnecessary to send an actual TCE network address to the user equipment. The technical solution improves security and solves the insecurity problem of the MDT measurement. The technical solution is simple, convenient and easy to implement, and reduces the complexity of network signaling interaction and network processing.

A network operator needs to invest a lot of manpower or money to conduct drive tests in the traditional network operation and maintenance. Moreover, a traditional drive test terminal may not reach indoors under some conditions. It is also difficult to record the traditional drive tests in some sudden network conditions. The minimization of drive tests (MDT) aims to reduce the work in the traditional drive tests conducted by an operator in building and subsequently maintaining the network, and to introduce a new user equipment (UE) function to tackle the problem that the traditional drive tests fail to solve. The UE is required by the MDT to record a network condition and a location at some time of the UE in a connected state and an idle state, and to report them to the network at the right time, thereby replacing part of the work in traditional drive tests.
The current MDT falls into two categories: immediate MDT and logged MDT. The immediate MDT is an MDT manner that a network performs MDT configurations on a UE according to the radio resource control (RRC), and the UE performs measurement in a connected state and reports a result immediately. The logged MDT is an MDT manner that a network side performs MDT configurations on the UE, and the UE transfers into an idle state to perform MDT measurement and log, and performs MDT log reporting after transferring into a connected state.
In the current Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard, the present trace function has been expanded to implement MDT measurement. A network management system configures relevant parameters of the MDT in a trace command, and sends them to an evolved NodeB (eNB) or a radio network controller (RNC). The foregoing relevant parameters of the MDT include a trace reference and a Trace control entity (TCE) IP address. After performing MDT measurement, the UE reports an MDT report to the eNB or the RNC, and the eNB or the RNC sends the MDT report to the TCE according to the TCE IP address to complete the drive tests. If the UE performs measurement in an idle state, the trace reference and the TCE IP address need to be configured for the UE by the network side through an air interface, so that when reporting the MDT report, the UE may carry the TCE IP address, thereby allowing the eNB or the RNC to find the corresponding TCE. In another technology, the eNB or the RNC configures the trace reference only for the UE. After the UE reports the trace report and the MDT report, the eNB or the RNC locally searches for the IP address of the corresponding TCE according to the trace reference. If the eNB or RNC fails to search for the IP address, it may ask a network manager (NM) entity for the TCE IP address.
However, direct configuration of the trace reference and the TCE IP address to the UE may cause safety issues because safety hazards may lurk in the operator's network once an illegal UE intercepts the TCE IP address, identifies the location of the TCE, and attacks the TCE of the operator directly. However, if the trace reference is only configured for the UE, the eNB or the RNC may not be able to determine which NM is the one that the eNB or the RNC should ask for the TCE IP address, thereby increasing the complexity of signaling interaction of the network and network processing.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Measurement method, apparatus, and system for minimization of drive tests


A structure includes a support layer formed of a conductive material, such as a sheet of copper. The support layer has a number of conductive islands isolated from other portions of the support layer by isolation gaps. The support layer is sandwiched between two compound layers each of which is formed of a dielectric layer having a number of via holes and conductive elements located in the via holes. The conductive elements are formed at predetermined locations such that a conductive element in each compound layer contacts a conductive island in the support layer. The structure also includes two conductive layers formed on the two respective compound layers such that a trace in a first conductive layer is coupled to a trace in a second conductive layer through two conductive elements in the respective two compound layers and an island in the support layer. Such a structure can be formed by a number of processes. For example, the support layer can be formed by etching a sheet of conductive material, the compound layers can be formed by placing a conductive paste in via holes in a dielectric layer, and the conductive layers can be formed by lamination followed by etching to form traces.

A semiconductor die (also called an "integrated circuit" chip or IC chip), with electrical circuitry formed therein can be mounted on a "ball grid array" (BGA) substrate using, for example, flip chip (also called "controlled collapse chip connection") structure 111 (FIG. 1A), wire bond structure 112 or tape automated bond (TAB) structure 113 described in "Ball Grid Array Technology", edited by John H. Lau, McGraw-Hill, 1995 that is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. See also U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,420,460, 5,409,865, 5,397,921, 4,940,181 and 5,216,278.
FIG. 1B discloses a BGA package 120 with an IC chip 128 mounted on BGA substrate 125's first side 121 using wire bond structure 112 (FIG. 1A), and an array (also called "area array") of solder balls 122A-122J (where J is the number of balls) attached to BGA substrate 125's second side 123. BGA substrate 125 has a number of plated vias 125A-125K (where K is the number of vias) that electrically couple IC chip 128 to solder balls 122A-122J. BGA package 120 is typically assembled independent of, and then mounted on a structure, such as a printed circuit board 126.
Lau states at page 38 of his book referenced above "[a]s the PCB technologies push themselves to smaller plated vias, better tolerances, and finer lines and spaces, this next-generation BGA can result in carriers that can theoretically be the same size as the chip in the horizontal dimensions."
Although theoretically possible, many practical difficulties preclude manufacture of such chip sized carriers or packages. For example, the diameter of a plated via in an IC package limits the number of vias that can be formed in a given area, which in turn limits the smallest possible size of an IC package.
Moreover, the cost of fabricating the smallest possible IC package using conventional processes is very high, as compared to the cost of making a larger IC package. Such conventional processes include use of a glass-fiber embedded polymer (such as bismaleimide-triazine ("BT") from Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Corp. Japan) as a core layer. The core layer typically has a thickness of 2 milli-inches to 30 milli-inches. Such a core layer provides structural support to an IC package typically built around the core layer.
Use of such a core layer requires the associated steps of drilling via holes, and plating the drilled via holes. Such drilling and plating steps typically account for the majority of the cost of forming a BGA package or a printed circuit board using conventional processes and materials.

Method for supporting one or more electronic components


An apparatus for inputting, compressing, memorizing and regenerating continually-changing tone pictures or color pictures, which allows us to store the image data by a small amount of memory, to output the regenerating picture in a short time and to enlarge the picture in any size with keeping its quality. The apparatus proceeds the inputting steps of reading-in a continually-changing picture, dividing the picture into a plurality of regions of the pixels having similar tones within a width 2W, reckoning an average tone of every region, producing an average-tone picture by painting every region with the average tone, extracting boundaries dividing neighboring regions artificially, seeking branch points and turning points on the boundaries, approximating the coordinates (x,y) of subboundaries terminated at the branch points or the turning points by single-variable spline functions by the biorthonormal function method till the errors become smaller than a critical value, memorizing coefficients of the approximation functions as boundary data, making a differential image by subtracting the average-tone image from the input image, approximating the differential tone image by two-variable spline functions by the biorthonormal method till the errors become smaller than a critical value, and memorizing the coefficients of the approximation functions. In the case of a color picture, the input picture is resolved into three or four primary color pictures.

This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No.8-317017(317017/1996) filed on Nov. 12, 1996, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Three types of data processing methods have been proposed for inputting, storing and regenerating continual-tone pictures.
(A) Bit map data method which treats the data of object pictures as an assembly of bit map data.
(B) Discrete cosine transformation method (DCT method) which compresses the image data by the discrete cosine transformation.
(C) Function-approximation method which approximates the image data by a special function.
The three prior methods are explained in short.
(A) Bit Map Data Method
The bit map data method is the most popular method of processing continual-tone pictures by dissolving the object pictures into individual pixels, determining the tone-values (degrees of tones) of the individual pixels, memorizing the tone-values of all the pixels as they are without data compression, and regenerating the pictures from the memorized data of tone-values directly. The method stores all the tone-data of all the pixels in memories. The process is so simple that many people adopt the bit map method for treating continual-tone pictures at present.
Nevertheless, this method is annoyed at an enormous amount of data, because the method must memorize the crude tone data of all the pixels. Such a huge amount of data brings about a fatal drawback to the bit map data method. The treatment of the huge data requires a big capacity of memory and a long time for processing.
Besides, the method tries to enlarge, reduce or transform an object picture by enlarging, reducing or transforming the coordinates of all the related pixels directly, since all the tone data are stored as the inherent values of individual pixels. The bit map calculation degrades the quality of the regenerated pictures. The peripheries of individual image components are often blurred. Some people proposed improvements for overcoming the inherent defects of the bit map data method.
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2 (J. A. Parker, R. V. Kenyon and D. E. Troxel:"Comparison of Interpolating Methods for Image Resampling", IEEE Trans. MI, MI-2, 1, pp.31-39 (1983).
3 Kazuo Toraichi, Masaru Kamada, Satomi Ishiuchi, Sai Yang and Ryoichi Mori,"Improvement of Video Hardcopy Image Quality by using Spline Interpolation", Trans. IEICE Jpn (D) vol. J71-D, No.7, pp.1276-1285 (1988).
4 Akira Tanaka, Hideyuki Imai, Masaaki Miyakoshi, Jun Date, "Enlargement of Digital Images by Multiresolution Analysis", Trans. IEICE Jpn (D-II) vol. J79-D-II, No.5, pp819-825 (1996).
1 and 2 suggested improvements of interpolating the bit map data by the sinc function, and outputting the interpolated data. 3 proposed another improvement of interpolating the bit map data by using piecewise polynomials, and outputting the interpolated data. 4 tried to analyse the bit map data by the multiresolution way with a plurality of degrees of resolution and interpolate the bit map data by the analysis, and output the data interpolated by the multiresolution analysis. These trials are capable of enlarging or reducing the pictures, since unknown data are obtained by interpolating according to some rules. These improvements are still annoyed at an enormous amount of the bit map data, since they store the parameters of the object pictures as the bit map data, and they enlarge, reduce or regenerate the pictures from the stored bit map data. Therefore, these proposals cannot give the final solution for the inherent difficulty of the bit map data method.
(B) Discrete Cosine Transformation Method (DCT Method)
The discrete cosine transformation method is effective for such a picture having continually-changing tones but is incompetent for a picture in which the tone changes drastically. The discontinuity of the tone gives the DCT method the block distortion or the edge degeneration. The incompetence for the quick-changing tone induces a fatal drawback of degrading the quality of the picture in the case of the picture including various types of images. Another weak point is the degeneration accompanying the enlargement of the object picture. The enlargement, the reduction or the transformation degrades the quality of the picture. Someone proposed improvements of the DCT method for suppressing the degradation of the quality. The trials are still insufficient for overcoming the difficulties.
5 Koichi Fukuda, Hirohiko Minakuchi, Akira Kawakami,"Encoding Method of Static Pictures by applying the AR assumption on the DCT of edge-blocks", Trans. IEICE Jpn (D-II) J76-D-II, 4 pp827-834, (1993).
6 Eiji Shinbori and Mikio Takagi,"High quality enlargement of pictures by applying the Gerchberg-Papoulis' repetition method on the DCT", Trans. IEICE Jpn (D-II) J76-D-II, No.9, pp.1932-1940 (1993).
5 proposed an improvement of the DCT method for suppressing the degeneration of quality of edge portions by the AR assumption. 5 however, is incompetent for the enlargement, the reduction or the transformation. 6 suggested a method for solving the problem of the degradation of the edge portions in enlargement by the quasi-revival processing. Being annoyed at an enormous amount of data, these improvements are still inoperative for the problems which this invention intends to solve. PA1 (1) automatic compression of data of continually tone-changing pictures, PA1 (2) feasible enlargement, reduction and transformation of continually tone-changing pictures, and PA1 (3) a small number of data for memorizing the object pictures. The abovementioned prior art 1 to 10 cannot satisfy all the three requirements.
(C) Function-Approximation Method
This method tries to approximate the parts of pictures by some functions.
7 Takahiko Horiuchi, Yasuhiro Ohtaki, Kazuo Toraichi, "Multistep deduction of joint points for automatic approximation of multi-fonts", Trans. IEE Jpn(C), vol.113-C, No.12, pp.1136-1143, (1993).
8 Japanese Patent Application No.4-259137(259137/'92).
9 Japanese Patent Application No.4-269646(269646/'92).
10 K. Toraichi, T. Horiuchi, R. E. Kalman, Y. Ohtaki and H. Nagasaki, "Compressing Data volume of Left Ventricular Cineangiograms", IEEE Trans. BME, vol.40, No.6, pp.579-588 (1993).
The three treatises 7 to 9 aim not at continually-changing tone pictures but at binary tone pictures which have only white pixels and black pixels and lack medium-steps of tone. These methods deduce outlines of black parts and process the outlines. Therefore, these methods are fully incompetent for continually-changing tone pictures, e.g., photographs, in which peripheral lines cannot be clearly defined. The binary tone methods are incapable of treating continually-changing tone pictures.
10 it suggested a way of processing medical-purposed continually-changing tone pictures by approximating all the horizontal lines of pixels from the left to the right by special functions, i.e., the raster order. We assume that the picture has I pixels in the x-direction and has J pixels in the y-direction. The x-direction is defined from the left to the right in the horizontal line. The y-direction is defined from the top to the bottom in the vertical line. I and J are big numbers, e.g., 512 to 2048. Since
10 must approximate the whole of the I pixels aligning in a horizontal line having a big variation of tones by a set of special functions without serious discrepancy from the crude tone values of the pixels, the approximation functions must be an assembly of polynomials of high orders. Using high order functions so as to approximate plenty of tone values of all the pixels aligning in horizontal lines, 10 will suffer from a great many parameters which define the high order approximation functions. An excess number of parameters prohibits 10 from compressing the data for storing in memories. The number of parameters is one drawback. There is still a more serious difficulty in the raster order approximation method 10. It is the y-direction discontinuity of the approximation functions. The raster order scanning approximation method respects the continuity in the x-direction but ignores the continuity in the y-direction. Thus severe discontinuity often appears in the y-direction in regeneration of the pictures. The y-direction discontinuity degenerates the quality of regenerated pictures, in particular, in the case of enlargement. The raster scanning approximation method 10 is fully incapable of rotation or anisotropic enlargement of pictures.
The discontinuity in the y-direction and the impossibility of enlargement or transformation are inherent and serious difficulties of the raster order approximation method 10 which scans a picture in the raster order, accumulates the data in the same order and approximates the linearly-aligning data by some functions. Thus the raster order scanning approximation method is still incompetent for the problems this invention attempts to solve. Namely, there is no effective method for processing continually-changing tone pictures yet.
The Problems to be Solved
Objects of this invention are now described in brief;
A purpose of the present invention is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus for continually-changing tone pictures including the steps of reading in optically or making originally continually-changing tone pictures, compressing the image data, storing the compressed data in memories, and regenerating the pictures in an arbitrary scale at an arbitrary position in a short time. Another purpose of the present invention is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus capable of compressing automatically the image data of continually-changing tone pictures. A further purpose is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus capable of enlarging, shrinking or transforming continually-changing tone pictures without degenerating the quality of the pictures. A further purpose is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus capable of memorizing the object pictures with a small number of data.
A further purpose of the present invention is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus feasible for converting the image data of object pictures into multivariable vector data and for regenerating the object pictures at an arbitrary position in an arbitrary scale. A further purpose is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus capable of memorizing the input pictures as compressed data and of treating the compressed data in printing machines or computers. A still further purpose is to provide an inputting and outputting method and apparatus suitable for transmitting image data between remote terminals wirelessly or through telephone cables.

Method and apparatus of inputting and outputting color pictures and continually-changing tone pictures


Provided herein are oral pharmaceutical compositions containing a GLP-1 analogue and/or insulin for treating and reducing the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), hepatic steatosis, and sequelae thereof, and methods of utilizing same.

The incretin hormone Glucagon-like Peptide 1 (GLP-1), secreted within minutes of food ingestion, is associated with induction of insulin release. GLP-1 is used in therapies for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM).
Clinical use of the native GLP-1 is limited due to its rapid enzymatic inactivation, resulting in a half-life of 2-3 minutes. To overcome this obstacle, long-acting, degradation-resistant peptides, both natural and synthetic, referred to as GLP-1 mimetic agents or analogues, have been designed and are being used.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of chronic diseases including fatty liver, or bland steatosis, and sequelae of bland steatosis, such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), lobular necroinflammation with fibrosis, and cirrhosis (Sharma et al, 2011; Puri et al, 2008). NAFLD-related cirrhosis can lead to end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Like other chronic end-stage liver diseases, the major option for afflicted persons is liver transplantation. NAFLD appears to be associated with certain dyslipidemias (Malhi et al, 2008; Retnakaran R et al 2012; Sung et al, 2012). An important component of Western diets includes both saturated fatty acids as well as trans-saturated fatty acids. Recent evidence indicates that such fatty acids are partly responsible for inducing steatosis and fueling hepatocyte insulin resistance (Centis et al, 2010).
Some studies have suggested that GLP-1 reduces fat load in hepatocytes and may be useful in treating NAFLD, although other studies have demonstrated that GLP-1 increases hepatic glycogen synthase activity, which is expected to aggravate NAFLD. Indeed, even the very presence of GLP-1 receptor in liver cells remains controversial (Nielsen et al 2008, Redondo et al, 2003; Lopez-Delgado et al, 1998; Sharma et al, 2011; Ben-Shlomo et al 2011). A more rigorous assessment of inflammation and fibrosis in response to GLP-1 is considered necessary in order to more fully understand the response of liver cells to these agents (Kim et al, 2012).
Alzheimer's disease (AD), also known as Alzheimer disease, is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses and eventually leads to death. Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age, although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer's can occur much earlier. In 2006, there were 26.6 million sufferers worldwide. The causation of AD is not well understood, although it is typically correlated with accumulation of amyloid β peptides and tau protein in the brain, and these substances are believed by many scientists to play a role in causation.
Parkinson's disease (PD; also known as idiopathic or primary parkinsonism, hypokinetic rigid syndrome/HRS, or paralysis agitans) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease result from the death of dopamine-generating cells in the substantia nigra, a region of the midbrain, the cause of which is unknown. The disease course typically presents with movement-related symptoms, with thinking and behavioral problems arising later and dementia occurring in advanced disease. Parkinson's disease is more common in older people, with most cases occurring after the age of 50.
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder that affects muscle coordination and leads to cognitive decline and psychiatric problems. It typically becomes noticeable in mid-adult life. The huntingtin gene provides the genetic information for a protein that is also called "Huntingtin". Expansion of a CAG triplet repeat stretch within huntingtin results in a mutant form of the protein, which gradually damages cells in the brain, through mechanisms that are not fully understood.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease and motor neuron disease, is an incurable neurodegenerative disorder of the voluntary motor system. Characterized by selective and progressive death of motor neurons within the brain and spinal cord, it leads to paralysis of voluntary muscles and, eventually, death within five years of clinical onset. Most cases of ALS occur sporadically with unknown etiology (Li et al).
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 1.7 million Americans each year and is a primary contributing factor (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the United States. The elderly, in particular, are vulnerable to TBI and suffer an increased mortality and worse functional outcome in the face of lower initial injury severity. Many survivors experience prolonged or even permanent neurocognitive dysfunction, with lasting changes in cognition, motor function, and personality (Eakin et al).
Mood disorders (e.g. bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD)) are highly prevalent, affecting 10-15% of the population at some time in their life. Mood disorders are also associated with a range of cognitive deficits which often persist during euthymic states in both treated and untreated individuals. Cognitive deficits are documented across most domains of function, including but not limited to, deficits in learning, memory (e.g., working memory, episodic memory, and semantic memory), attention, executive function, processing speed, and social cognition. However, conventional pharmacological agents for mood disorders are not proven to be sufficiently effective in treating objectively and/or subjectively measured cognitive deficits (McIntyre et al).
Cerebral stroke is caused by blockage or rupture of a blood vessel, which causes a disruption in blood flow to the surrounding tissues. The tissues in the area of the stroke can become irreversibly damaged and ultimately become necrotic and die. While this cell death and resulting brain damage may not be preventable, there is a region of tissue that may be amenable to therapeutic manipulation in the area surrounding the damaged stroke infarct zone (Salcedo et al).
Diabetic retinopathy, one form of retinal degeneration, is damage to the retina caused by complications of diabetes, which can eventually lead to blindness. It is an ocular manifestation of diabetes, a systemic disease, which affects up to 80 percent of all patients who have had diabetes for 10 years or more (Kertes et al).
Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is damage or disease of nerves of the peripheral nervous system. It may affect sensation, movement, gland or organ function, and other aspects of health, depending on the type of nerve affected. PN may be caused by systemic diseases such as diabetes or leprosy, vitamin deficiency, medication (e.g., chemotherapy), traumatic injury, excessive alcohol consumption, immune system disease, or infection, or may be inherited (Hughes).
To date, GLP-1 analogues are only available as injectable dosage forms. The present inventors are developing an oral exenatide (a GLP-1 analogue) formulation for use in treating diabetes. A first-in-humans trial (n=4) testing its safety in healthy humans demonstrated biological functionality of orally delivered exenatide (Eldor et al 2010).

Methods and compositions for treating NAFLD, hepatic steatosis, and sequelae thereof