A trochoid pump composed of an inner gear and an outer gear is used as a fluid pump such as a fuel pump for an automotive vehicle. An inner imbalance load inherently developing in the pumping chambers is suppressed or canceled by an outer imbalance load generated by pressurizing fluid introduced into blade ditches formed on an outer periphery of the outer gear. Positions of a pressure-introducing port and a pressure-releasing port for the blade ditches are selected so that the outer imbalance load is imposed in a direction opposing the inner imbalance load. An amount of the outer imbalance load is made equal to an amount of the inner imbalance load to eliminate undesirable effects of the inner imbalance load.

This application is based upon and claims benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2001-59370 filed on Mar. 5, 2001, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a trochoid gear pump for pumping up fluid such as fuel to be supplied to an internal combustion engine, and more particularly to such a trochoid gear pump in which imbalance pressure generated therein is canceled.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a study to use a trochoid gear pump as a fuel pump for supplying fuel into an internal combustion engine is being made in order to improve pumping ability of the fuel pump. As shown in FIG. 11, the trochoid gear pump is composed of an outer gear 2 rotatably supported in an inner bore of a pump casing 1 and an inner gear 3 disposed in an eccentric relation to the outer gear 2. Pumping chambers 4 are formed between outer teeth of the inner gear 3 and inner teeth of the outer gear 2. The inner gear 3 is driven by a motor and the outer gear 2 rotates according to rotation of the inner gear 3, and thereby a volume of the pumping chambers is continuously changed. According to rotation of the trochoid gear pump, fuel is pumped up from a fuel tank and supplied to an internal combustion engine.
The fuel is sucked into the trochoid gear pump in a angular region where the volume of the pumping chambers 4 increases, and the sucked fuel is pressurized and pumped out in a angular region where the volume of the pumping chambers 4 decreases. Since the fuel pressure in the pumping chambers 4 increases in the region where the pumping chamber volume decreases, a load for outwardly pushing the outer gear 2 is generated in the pumping chambers 4. On the other hand, this load is not generated in the region where the pumping chamber volume increases. In other words, the load outwardly pushing the outer gear 2 only appears in the angular region where the fuel is pressurized. Accordingly, an inner imbalance load pressing the outer gear 2 against an inner bore of the pump casing 1 is generated in a direction shown by an arrow in FIG. 11. The outer periphery of the outer gear 2 is strongly pressed against the inner bore of the pump casing 1 by this inner imbalance load. This increases abrasion between the pump casing 1 and the outer gear 2, and thereby a higher driving torque is required. Accordingly, the pumping efficiency decreases and an operating life of the pump is shortened due to the abrasion.
To overcome the above-described problem, JP-A-2000-161241 proposes an improved structure of the trochoid gear pump. A relevant portion in the proposed structure is shown in FIG. 12. Fuel is sucked through an inlet port 5 and pressurized fuel in the pump is pumped out from an outlet port 6. A pressure-supplying groove 7 is formed on the inner bore of the pump casing 1 in the region where the fuel is pressurized and pumped out. The pressure-supplying groove 7 is connected to the outlet port 6 to introduce fuel pressure into the pressure-supplying groove 7. The outer periphery of the outer gear 2 is inwardly pushed by the fuel pressure introduced into the pressure-supplying groove 7. This proposed structure intends to cancel the inner imbalance load generated in the pumping chambers 4 by the pressure introduced into the pressure-supplying groove 7 and to decrease abrasion between the pump casing 1 and the outer gear 2.
It is found out, however, that the fuel pressure introduced into the pressure-supplying groove 7 does not impose a sufficient pressure on the outer periphery of the outer gear 2 to cancel the inner imbalance load generated in the pumping chambers 4. This is because the pressure in the pressure-supplying groove 7 leaks out through a clearance between the outer periphery of the outer gear 2 and the inner bore of the casing 1. Further, the pump efficiency decreases because the outlet pressure leaks toward the inlet port 5.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved trochoid gear pump in which the abrasion between the outer gear and the pump casing is surely decreased and thereby to realize a high efficiency and a high reliability of the trochoid gear pump.
A trochoid gear pump having an inner gear and an outer gear is used as a fluid pump such as a fuel pump for pumping up fuel from a fuel tank and supplying pressurized fuel to an internal combustion engine. The trochoid gear pump is driven by an electric motor, and the outer gear is rotatably supported in an inner bore of a cylindrical pump casing. In pumping operation of the trochoid gear pump, an inner imbalance load is generated in a pressuring angular region of the trochoid gear pump. The inner imbalance load is imposed on an inner periphery of the outer gear in a certain direction, pushing the outer gear against the inner bore of the pump casing.
Plural blade ditches are formed around a cylindrical outer periphery of the outer gear to generate an outer imbalance load which cancels at least a part of the inner imbalance load. Liquid such as fuel introduced into the blade ditches through a pressure-introducing port is pressurized in the blade ditches, and the pressurized fuel is released through a pressure-releasing port. Both the pressure-introducing port and the pressure-releasing port are positioned on the inner bore of the pump casing so that the outer imbalance load is generated at angular position substantially opposing against the inner imbalance load.
Preferably, the positions of both of the pressure-introducing port and the pressure-releasing port are selected so that the direction of the outer imbalance load exactly opposes to the direction of the inner imbalance load. Further, the blade ditches are so designed that an amount of the outer imbalance load generated in the blade ditches becomes equal to an amount of the inner imbalance load. In this manner, the inner imbalance load is fully canceled by the outer imbalance load, thereby reducing abrasion between the outer periphery of the outer gear and the inner bore of the pump casing and attaining a high pumping efficiency and a high reliability of the trochoid gear pump.
Passages for leading fluid to the pressure-introducing port and for releasing the pressurized fuel from the pressure-releasing port may be formed on side covers covering both sides of the inner and outer gears. The blade ditches may be formed in a zigzag arrangement around the outer periphery of the outer gear to make a volume of each blade ditch small thereby to reduce noises generated in a fluid flow.
According to the present invention, the inner imbalance load inherently developing in the trochoid pump is substantially canceled by the outer imbalance load generated by introducing fluid pressure to the outer periphery of the outer gear, and thereby a high efficiency and a high reliability of the trochoid gear pump are realized.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a better understanding of the preferred embodiment described below with reference to the following drawings.

Trochoid gear pump having means for canceling imbalance load


An apparatus and method for translating a spacecraft (10) from an injection orbit (16) about a central body (10) to geosynchronous orbit (18) in a time efficient manner. The spacecraft (10) includes propulsion thrusters (50) which are fired in predetermined timing sequences controlled by a controller (64) in relation to the apogee (66) and perigee (72) of the injection orbit (16) and successive transfer orbits (74, 76).

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an apparatus and method of translating a spacecraft from an injection orbit to a geosynchronous orbit in a time efficient manner while optimizing the energy required for injecting a particular payload.
2. Discussion
In order to place a spacecraft in geosynchronous orbit about a central body, such as the earth, the spacecraft is first launched into an injection orbit by the spacecraft launch vehicle. From this injection orbit, the spacecraft is translated through a series of orbits to the geosynchronous orbit. In order for the spacecraft to translate from its injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit, propulsion thrusters fire to exert a force on the spacecraft and move it through the transfer orbit.
There are a number of strategies for translating a spacecraft from its injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit. In a first strategy, a launch vehicle injects the spacecraft to an elliptical orbit having an apogee greater than the geosynchronous orbit, defined as a supersynchronous orbit. Once the spacecraft has reached supersynchronous orbit, propulsion thrusters are fired when the spacecraft is in a predetermined orientation and in proximity to apogee or perigee. Firing the propulsion thrusters at apogee to create thrust in the direction of orbital velocity raises perigee, and firing the propulsion thrusters at perigee to create thrust in a direction opposite the orbital velocity lowers apogee. These apogee and perigee firings or burns translate the spacecraft from supersynchronous orbit to geosynchronous orbit. In a second strategy, the spacecraft is injected into an elliptical orbit having an apogee less than the geosynchronous, defined as a subsynchronous orbit. Once the spacecraft is in subsynchronous orbit, the propulsion thrusters are once again fired when the spacecraft is in proximity to apogee or perigee and in a predetermined orientation. Firing at apogee to create thrust in the direction of orbital velocity raises perigee, and firing at perigee to create thrust in the direction of orbital velocity raises apogee. The apogee and perigee burns cause the spacecraft orbit to spiral out to the geosynchronous orbit. Such a spiraling-out mission using a specific type of thruster is described in Meserole, J. "Launch Costs to GEO Using Solar Powered Orbit Transfer Vehicles." American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Paper 93-2219, AIAA/SAE/ASME/ASEE 29th Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit (Jun. 28-30, 1993).
Because the launch vehicle injects the spacecraft into either a subsynchronous or supersynchronous orbit, the spacecraft must include its own propulsion system to effect a translation from injection to geosynchronous orbit and to perform orientation and other stationkeeping maneuvers. This raises several considerations for selecting a particular injection orbit translation strategy. Ideally, an injection orbit is selected so that the weight of the spacecraft without fuel, the dry weight, is maximized. The dry weight generally includes the weight of the instrumentation and the underlying spacecraft structure for the instrumentation. Optimizing dry weight requires a trade-off between the capability of the launch vehicle, how high above the earth the spacecraft can be launched, and the propulsion system of the spacecraft, the on-board thrusters and fuel carried by the spacecraft to translate from injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit and perform stationkeeping maneuvers. Greater injection orbits, i.e., higher apogees, reduce the amount of propellant expended by the spacecraft propulsion system to achieve geosynchronous orbit. On the other hand, the capability or payload capacity of the launch vehicle decreases with an increase in the targeted apogee altitude, so that a more powerful launch vehicle is required to inject a spacecraft having the same mass to an injection orbit having a higher apogee. Thus, in order to optimize the weight of the spacecraft at arrival in geosynchronous orbit, defined as the beginning of life weight (BOL), there is a trade-off between the capability of the launch vehicle and the amount that the propulsion thrusters need to be fired. Of course, the more that the propulsion thrusters are fired, more propellant mass is required, leaving less mass allocated to useful pay load?
Further adding to the above considerations is that there are two types of spacecraft propulsion thrusters, electric and chemical. Chemical propulsion thrusters provide the required thrust for translating the spacecraft from injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit and are capable of exerting a substantial force on the spacecraft. However, chemical propulsion thrusters expend a great deal of mass (propellant) in achieving a predetermined orbit orientation. Electric propulsion thrusters, on the other hand, create significantly less thrust than the chemical propulsion thrusters, but they expend much less mass (propellant) in doing so. That is, electric propulsion thrusters use propellant (mass) much more efficiently than chemical propulsion thrusters. Using electric and chemical propulsion thrusters to effect translation from injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit is described in Forte, P. "Benefits of Electric Propulsion for Orbit Injection of Communication Spacecraft." American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Paper 92-1955, 14th AIAA International Communication Satellite Systems Conference & Exhibit (Mar. 22-26, 1992). A combined electric and chemical propulsion system is also described in Free, B. "High Altitude Orbit Raising with On-Board Electric Power." International Electric Propulsion Conference Paper 93-205, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)/AIDA/DGLA/JSASS 23rd International Electric Propulsion Conference (Sept. 13-16, 1993).
Because chemical propulsion thrusters exert a much higher force than electric propulsion thrusters, they enable translation from injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit in a substantially shorter period of time than electric propulsion thrusters. Furthermore, current transfer orbit strategies for translating a spacecraft from injection orbit to geosynchronous orbit fail to describe a viable burn strategy using electric propulsion thrusters exclusively to translate the spacecraft to geosynchronous orbit. Moreover, substitution of electric propulsion thrusters in chemical propulsion thrusters transfer orbit strategies would require an unacceptable transfer orbit duration (TOD).
Electric propulsion thrusters also introduce yet another consideration, that of stationkeeping and maneuvering. Because electric propulsion thrusters expend substantially less propellant for a given thrust than chemical propulsion thrusters, and that thrust is relatively low compared to chemical propulsion thrusters, they are more desirable for stationkeeping and on-station maneuvers. Because stationkeeping maneuvers require minimal thrust to reposition the spacecraft, electric propulsion thrusters perform stationkeeping using much less mass (propellant) than chemical propulsion thrusters.
The trade-off remains that by using chemical propulsion systems and chemical transfer orbit strategies to achieve geosynchronous orbit, a substantial portion of the spacecraft mass is allocated to propellant for the chemical thrusters. This mass may be traded into a decreased required launch vehicle capability, or, alternatively, traded for increased payload for the same launch vehicle capability or a combination thereof. However, using electric propulsion thrusters to execute chemical propulsion transfer orbit strategies would result in an unacceptably long transfer orbit duration. Thus, it is desirable to provide a transfer orbit apparatus and strategy using electric propulsion thrusters which provides acceptable transfer orbit duration for a given launch vehicle capability and a given payload.

Optimal transfer orbit trajectory using electric propulsion


In a shaftless spinning rotor assembly wherein the spinning rotor is the rotor of an axial field motor, an improved transfer of power and improved running properties are attained by forming the stator windings in channels which extend substantially radially in the stator core and are enclosed over at least a portion of their length by magnetically conducting material. As compared with known gap windings, the windings can be placed in multiple layers while at the same time avoiding marked graduations in permeance and in the specific current density so that eddy currents in the rotor can in turn be reduced and rotor heating remains within reasonable limits. The stator is preferably formed of multiple component parts which allows optimized selections of materials.

As development of rotor spinning machines progresses, the goal is not only to improve the quality of the yarns produced, but above all to increase production capacity. A key factor in increasing production capacity is the rotary speed of the spinning rotor. For this reason, varied kinds of drives and bearings for spinning rotors have been developed, in order to reach rotary speeds of markedly over 100,000 rpm. Reducing the rotor diameter and mass and lowering friction losses enables not only greater rotary speed but also reduced energy consumption when driven.
In this respect, a shaftless spinning rotor, which is embodied as the rotor of an axial field motor, can be considered especially advantageous by providing a combined magnetic and gas bearing which assures relatively low friction losses.
An axial field motor with a combined magnet/gas bearing is disclosed in WO 92/01096, wherein the spinning rotor has a bearing face remote from the rotor opening in opposed facing relation to a bearing face the stator of the motor at a spacing defining an air gap between the two bearing faces which thereby form the combined magnetic/gas bearing. The axial field motor has means associated with both the stator and the rotor for conducting the magnetic flux of magnetic fields for driving and guiding the rotor. The stator is annular in shape and has a segmental winding, disposed symmetrically to the rotational axis of the rotor, for generating the surrounding driving magnetic field. This winding is embodied as a so-called gap winding, i.e., wrapped around the unslotted stator core, so that it extends in the region of the bearing face within the gap between the stator core and the rotor base. This kind of gap winding necessitates a limitation to a certain winding geometry, because the nonmagnetic properties of copper dictate keeping a relatively small width in the gap between the magnetically conductive materials of the stator core and of the rotor base in order to limit the magnetic reluctance. In such a gap winding, only one layer is therefore typically wound, and typically the copper wires also have a flattened cross-section, which limits the number of windings per phase and consequently the attainable magnetic saturation. Moreover, if the stator bearing face is damaged, the current-carrying winding can be directly exposed and damaged. Occupational safety aspects play an additional role.
To circumvent the unavoidable disadvantages of a gap winding, i.e., the large magnetic reluctance in the gap region and the limited magnetic field intensity attainable because of the limited maximum number of windings, the attempt has been made to place the winding, at least in the bearing region, in slots of the stator core. However, this leads to significant localized heating, especially of the parts of the rotor that conduct the magnetic flux. The consequence of this heating is thermal strain resulting from differing coefficients of thermal expansion of the rotor components, and deformation of the bearing face, which is especially critical at the relatively small widths typical across the air gap between the bearing faces, normally in the range of hundredths of a millimeter. Enlarging the gap, required in such cases to avoid damage to the bearing face, leads to a marked increase in air space and hence energy consumption. If drive magnets are used in the rotor of a brushless direct current motor, then over a relatively long period of time the heating which occurs can cause temperature-dictated reversible or nonreversible demagnetization, or detachment of the composite material of the powdered magnetic composition of the magnets. It must be remembered that as a rule the magnets are embedded in carbon fibers, which are incapable of dissipating the heat buildup because of their poor thermal conductivity.

Drive for a shaftless spinning rotor of an open-end spinning kmachine


A drive system (10) operable to drive vehicle door functions comprises a drive member (20) mounted for rotation about a drive axis by a drive motor (12), a rocker (24) operable by the drive member (20), and translation means (16), (18), (22) operable to move the drive member (20) to a predetermined position on the drive axis.

This application claims priority to British Application Number GB0009792.3 filed on Apr. 25, 2000.
The present invention relates to the provision of arcuate drive means within a motor vehicle aperture closure such as a vehicle side passenger door, boot lid, sun roof and the like.
It is increasingly common for motor vehicles to be provided with electric motors housed within the door assemblies thereof. Typically a vehicle door may be provided with a motor adapted to raise and lower a window glass panel, a motor to drive central locking means of the door, and a further motor to enable security locking or deadlocking of the door. More expensive vehicles may have doors provided with additional motors to enable, for example, automatic closing thereof.
The plurality of motors described above increases both the weight and complexity of a door and a corresponding increases manufacturing costs.
According to the present invention there is provided a drive system operable to drive vehicle aperture closure functions comprising a drive actuator operably connected to a drive member, the drive member having at least first and second positions and being movable between the first and second positions, operation of the drive actuator when the drive member is in the first position causing operation of an aperture closure function.

Meritor Light Vehicle Systems (UK) Limited


A mobile device uses vision and orientation sensor data jointly for six degree of freedom localization, e.g., in wide-area environments. An image or video stream is captured while receiving geographic orientation data and may be used to generate a panoramic cylindrical map of an environment. A bin of model features stored in a database is accessed based on the geographic orientation data. The model features are from a pre-generated reconstruction of the environment produced from extracted features from a plurality of images of the environment. The reconstruction is registered to a global orientation and the model features are stored in bins based on similar geographic orientations. Features from the panoramic cylindrical map are matched to model features in the bin to produce a set of corresponding features, which are used to determine a position and an orientation of the camera.

1. Background Field
Embodiments of the subject matter described herein are related generally to position and tracking, and more particularly to vision based tracking of mobile devices.
2. Relevant Background
Highly accurate 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) self-localization with respect to the user's environment is an inevitable necessity for correct and visually pleasing results in Augmented Reality (AR). An efficient way to perform self-localization is to use sparse 3D point cloud reconstructions of the environment and to perform feature matching between the camera live image and the reconstruction. From the feature matches, the position and orientation, i.e., the pose, can be estimated. A challenge that is faced in mobile AR, e.g., AR performed on mobile devices such as cellular telephones or smart phones, is that the pose estimate is often generated in wide-area environments, for example, outdoors. Due to the interactive nature of AR applications, localization time has a direct impact on the user experience of an AR application, because it determines how long the user must wait before interaction with the application may start. Thus, it is desirable to localize a mobile device quickly, e.g., within a few seconds, with the limited processing power found in mobile devices, while maintaining the necessary accuracy in the pose (position and orientation) for the desired application, e.g., sub-meter accuracy for position and less than 5° angular error for orientation.
In the Computer Vision (CV) field, the localization problem has been solved mainly on a coarse scale using computationally demanding algorithms. Moreover, the localization task typically is solved with accuracies of up to several meters. Additionally, typical localization solutions determine a position only with two-degrees of freedom (2DOF) or three degrees of freedom (3DOF), rather than a full six-degrees of freedom (6DOF) pose. Therefore, conventional localization approaches are not directly suitable for mobile AR applications or other similarly demanding applications.

Sensor-aided wide-area localization on mobile devices


A process for the extraction and concentration of saponins from agricultural feedstocks. An agricultural feedstock can undergo a first preparation step intended to increase surface area of the feedstock for increased efficiency in extracting saponin from the feedstock. A saponin extraction step can extract saponin from the prepared feedstock and diffuse the saponin into a solution. A pH adjusted crossflow filtration step can be used to concentrate the saponin into a concentrated saponin solution. One or more pH adjusted centrifugation steps can be used to spin out and concentrate suspended saponin solids. The saponin solids can undergo a drying step to remove any excess water and produce a purified saponin product that can be easily packaged and transported.

Saponins, as chemically illustrated within FIG. 1, are a family of glycoside compounds that are found in a wide variety of plants including, for example, sugarbeets, soybeans, peanuts, various bean species, oats, asparagus, spinach, alfalfa and various tree species. Saponins can be found in high concentrations in portions of the plant that are generally not considered as valuable portions of the plant, for example, in the skin, leaves and roots. Saponins are used in a variety of applications and products including, for example, soaps and foaming agents. In some instances, the presence of residual saponins in other agricultural products, such as, for example, in beet sugar for use with carbonated beverages, can lead to undesirable interactions due to flocculation properties.
More recently, saponins have begun to be investigated for various health properties and as nutritional supplements. For instance, it has been suggested that saponins may possess anti-cancer and cholesterol-lowering benefits as well as being a contributor to the health benefits associated with soybeans and garlic. Due to these believed health benefits, it would be advantageous to develop processes allowing for commercial extraction of saponins.

Process for extraction of saponins from agricultural products


The invention is directed to an improved vessel configuration for high speed ships such as Naval Destroyers. The vessel has a long, slender tumble home (inward-sloped topsides) watertight hull and a deckhouse structurally integral with the watertight hull. All main machinery is modular and outside the watertight hull, freeing midship areas for personnel. Two removable, prealigned and pretested, steerable propulsor modules are attached to the stern after construction and are replaceable pierside. Each propulsor module includes a steerable pod aligned to the water inflow, a steering cylinder, and a streamlined strut connecting the pod to the steering cylinder. Two removable, power modules are mounted above the weather deck in a deckhouse. Each power module includes an intercooled, recuperated gas turbine, a ship-service alternator, and a propulsion alternator. The present vessel provides global range, reduced lightship displacement, reduced cost, superior seakeeping, no seawater ballast, sharper turns and stops, and greatly reduced installed power, fuel consumption, and pollution.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to an improved vessel configuration for high speed ships such as Naval Destroyers and, more particularly, to a vessel having a watertight hull with no penetrations therein for propulsion machinery wherein all main machinery is modular and is located outside the watertight hull.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Ever since steam powered propellers replaced wind powered sails as the main means of propelling ships, the powerplant has occupied the center of the hull. The midship located powerplant has been connected by long, heavy shafts to aft mounted propellers. Steering has generally been provided by rudders aft of the propellers. From the middle of the nineteenth century to the present the overwhelming proportion of the world's surface combatants and cargo ships have shared this configuration.
The Great White Fleet of Teddy Roosevelt's era, the four stacked destroyers of World War I, and the entire World War II fleet are examples of such designs. Nuclear powerplants introduced into Naval cruisers and destroyers merely substituted for the boilers, fuel tanks, and turbines of their fossil-fueled predecessors.
When compact, aircraft-derivative gas turbines were introduced in the Spruance class destroyers in the seventies, the powerplant configuration was little changed from those preceding it. The Ticonderoga class cruisers of the eighties and the Arleigh Burke class destroyers of the nineties retain this same powerplant configuration. For surface combatants with maximum Froude Numbers exceeding 0.4, this configuration can cause the cost of the mechanical and electrical systems to exceed four times the cost of the hull structure.
For high speed ships, wavemaking resistance increases dramatically with speed. Resistance of a bare-hull can be divided into a viscous component and a wavemaking component. For ships at low speeds, viscous resistance predominates, whereas at sustained speed (speed at 80% of full power) and maximum speed (speed at full power), large wavemaking resistance is added. Wavemaking resistance is somewhat dependent on hull shape, heavily dependent on "fatness," and varies sharply with the dimensionless Froude Number [Fr=V/(gL).sup.0.5, where V is ship speed, g is the gravitational constant, and L is length at the waterline]. Wavemaking resistance is very small compared to viscous resistance at Froude numbers below about 0.34, but then it rises sharply so that at a Froude number of about 0.45, its value is several times that of viscous resistance. Furthermore, the open shafting of high speed Naval combatants typically adds 45% to the viscous resistance of the bare hull.
For displacement monohulls, to minimize the cost of the power systems, the hull should be long enough that the sustained speed is reached without wavemaking resistance becoming predominant. Preferably, the Froude number should not exceed 0.38 at sustained speed. In the past, the Navy design philosophy was that propulsion systems were preordained, of fixed cost and size, and that ship cost was best reduced by making the ship as short as possible. The 466 foot length Arleigh Burke class "short" destroyer represents the philosophy of trying to save cost by shortening the hull. However, shortening the hull increases Froude number, and thus wavemaking resistance, at a given speed. Increased resistance translates to increased power required for a given speed which, in turn, increases the fuel consumption over time. In addition, at a constant fuel capacity, ship resistance is approximately inversely proportional to ship range.
A conventional, prior art ship design having vertical topsides 10 is depicted in FIGS. 1-4. Centrally located powerplants 12 and propulsion shafting 14 are installed in the hull early in the overall ship construction process. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, powerplants 12 are generally located in one or more large main machinery rooms 16 that, along with required air intake ducting 18 and exhaust ducting 20, occupy a large volume near midships. It is prohibitively costly to remove and replace much of the main machinery systems once installed. Removing propulsion power generation machinery 22, propulsion transmission machinery (shafting 14 and gears 24), or ship-service electrical generation machinery 26 and 28 would require cutting large holes in the side of the hull. Consequently, these machinery systems are designed to have very low stresses and are thus exceedingly heavy and costly. Lightly loaded "safe" gears are a high weight legacy of this configuration. A second legacy is long, heavy shafting, which is costly to align. A third legacy is large air intake and exhaust ducting (in gas turbine powered ships, the air intake and exhaust uptake ducting are typically very large), which occupy much of the upper decks and superstructure. The weight and required space for shafting and ducting may add 50% to the weight and space requirements of the main electric and power producing machinery. Moreover, highly desirable spaces near the center of gravity of the ship, where ride motion is minimal, are dedicated to machinery and ducting, not to personnel living and working quarters. Furthermore, repairs are generally conducted in situ, often in inconveniently cramped quarters.
Further inefficiencies are introduced by the ship-service power generation machinery 26 and 28. Ship-service power (power other than propulsion power) has typically been produced by small turbines that operate at a low fraction of their design power and thus have net efficiencies near 15%. As a result, as much as one quarter of the fuel consumed at cruise speeds is used for "hotel loads" such as heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, food and fresh water production, fire protection, i.e., non-propulsion related, ship-service power.
Moreover, hulls have customarily been designed for transverse stability and roll frequency at full-load displacement (full payload including full-fuel-load) with the required beam for stability being constant above the design waterline, i.e., vertical topsides 10 as shown in FIG. 1. To maintain transverse stability throughout the mission, ship hulls designed for stability at full-load require sea water ballast to compensate for expended fuel. In the past, as fuel was burned, sea water was pumped into the fuel tanks, and was then pumped out upon refueling. However, using emptied fuel tanks for ballast water increases pollutants discharged from the ship as "dirty" ballast is pumped into surrounding water. In accordance with international pollution control limits, future fuel tanks may not be ballasted by dischargeable water. The current Navy procedure is to build excess clean water ballast tanks. Excess ballast tanks, however, are wasteful of ship space, and carrying seawater increases fuel consumption late in the mission.
The price of the conventional prior art ship configuration is increased initial cost, increased fuel cost, and decreased capability. Consequently, there is a need to provide a more affordable, more capable, less polluting vessel. Such a vessel should use internal space more effectively than conventional vessels and should have adequate transverse stability without adding ballast as fuel is burned. The present invention is intended to overcome problems associated with prior art ship designs.

Vessel with machinery modules outside watertight hull

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


The present invention relates to a saucer which is adapted to be used in exercising various muscle groups. The saucer includes a frustroconical base having a lower end of a first diameter and an upper end of an enlarged diameter. A number of straps are employed on the upper surface of the frustroconical base for use in securing a user thereon. Thus, with a user secured to the upper surface of the frustroconical base, they may shift their weight in such a manner that the device no longer rests on the lower surface of the base, and thus rests upon the tapered sidewall. The user can then commence various exercising routines in an effort to exercise difficult to reach muscle groups.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frustroconical exercising device and, more particularly, pertains to an exercising device with a frustroconical base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of exercising and toning devices are known in the prior art. More specifically, exercising and toning devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of exercising devices for exercising the abdominal muscles are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, the prior art in U.S. Pat. No. 4,752,067 to Colonello discloses an apparatus for use in exercising the abdominal muscles. U.S. Pat. No. 4,902,003 to Buoni illustrates an exercise device and an associated method. U.S. Pat. No. Des. 343,877 to Yin et al., discloses a multi-purposes physical exercising device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,732 to Rushatz et al., discloses a exercise and rehabilitative apparatus and method of using same. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,242,356 to Grenfell discloses an exercise and toning apparatus.
In this respect, the frustroconical exercising device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of exercising device with a frustroconical base.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for new and improved frustroconical exercising device which can be used for exercising device with a frustroconical base. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A small bore internal combustion engine our-stroke operating cycle which is adapted to function with natural gas and other gaseous fuels and which is particularly useful with residential heat pump assemblies with maximum life expectancy, high thermal efficiency, and low exhaust gas emissions, wherein provision is made for assembling the engine in a compact heat pump system with a low operating noise level and an extended engine maintenance interval.

It is well known in the prior art to use high compression ratio combustion chambers for internal combustion engines using a gasoline vapor fuel for stationary installations. These include four-stroke cycle internal combustion engines in which the fuel is injected directly into the air intake port of the combustion chamber or into the air induction manifold as well as engines that use a carburetted air/fuel supply. Research and development efforts in recent years have built upon earlier technology devoted to Otto cycle gasoline engines to improve the specific power output and to satisfy the recent emphasis placed on improving exhaust emissions and increasing fuel economy.
It is recognized that one of the ways to achieve improved fuel economy and to reduce undesirable exhaust emissions is to design the combustion chamber to achieve higher compression ratios while avoiding undesirable fuel pre-ignition in the cylinders. An attempt has been made in recent years also to improve engine operating efficiency by designing the engine to operate at leaner air/fuel ratios.
A high degree of fuel and air mixing is desirable because of its effect on engine performance. This characteristic usually is referred to as a homogeneous mixing of the combustible charge. It takes into account the gas dynamics, heat transfer and mass transfer that occurs during the induction process and during the combustion stages of the operating cycle.
The homogeneous nature of the combustible charge is affected by the timing of the opening of the inlet and exhaust valves during the combustion cycle, the presence of exhaust gas residuals and the mixing of the air and fuel in the combustion chamber, as well as the leanness of the air and fuel mixture.
Factors that affect the characteristics of the combustible mixture in the combustion chamber include the heat transfer that occurs between the cylinder walls and the combustible charge at the time of induction as well as at later stages in the combustion stroke. The combustion cycle is not truly adiabatic.
The parameters that affect the combustion and the combustion efficiency are the degree of advance of the spark timing and the characteristics of the flame front as well as the presence of pre-ignition reactions and so-called "hot spots" in the combustion chamber.
It also is known in the art that the generation of a pre-combustion by the spark of the ignition spark plug will generate a heat release that is greater than the heat loss to the surrounding gases at the initiation of combustion. The compression ratio and air/fuel ratio can be tailored to enable the so-called "hot nucleus" to both initiate and maintain combustion.
The delay between the timing of the spark and commencement of flame front propagation is affected by turbulence within the combustion chamber. Excessive turbulence, however, affects the initiation of the flame front because excessive turbulence can cause the flame front to be extinguished.
The effect of abnormal combustion also has long been recognized. It is generally acknowledged that this is due to the spontaneous ignition at several places within the unburned charge. That characteristic also is affected by the quality of the turbulence within the combustion chamber.
Compact combustion chambers have been used in some prior art designs. These include engines having compact combustion chambers located in the head of the cylinder or in the piston itself, and provision is made for obtaining a swirl of the intake gases at the time of entry of the charge into the reduced compact chamber volume.
Such homogeneous charge engines are distinguishable from so-called stratified charge engines, which are characterized by a rich mixture at the location on the spark plug and a leaner mixture elsewhere within the combustion chamber. This permits the engine to be operated at wide open throttle settings or at throttle settings near the wide open position, thus giving good fuel economy. This results, however, in low emission quality because the flame front may be extinguished, especially at light loads, before traversing the combustion chamber.
An example of a prior art four-cycle internal combustion engine in which provision is made for obtaining turbulence or a vortex in the combustion chamber is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,722. That patent comprises an engine having a cylinder head that is equipped with a single inlet valve and a single outlet valve. Turbulence for the vortex normally is developed in a so-called swirl chamber within the cylinder. Typically, the height of the swirl chamber is less than its width, but the width is less than the total diameter of the combustion chamber so that the intake charge is characterized by a portion that has high turbulence and a separate portion that has a high surface-to-volume ratio.
A channel-type recess is formed in the cylinder head of the design of the '722 patent to facilitate the influx of fuel and air into a so-called swirl chamber, thus developing a rotational flow of the combustible gases. To facilitate the rotational flow or swirl, a guide channel extends in the direction of the rotation of the gas mixture within the cylinder. The height of the channel increases in the direction of the gas flow.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,955 shows a combustion chamber for an internal combustion engine wherein the exhaust valve is located at the center of two contiguous spherical chambers, each chamber having a swirl path which is adapted to sweep unburned gases from the combustion chamber during the combustion of the fuel, thereby improving engine performance. A separate spark plug is used to ignite gaseous fuel in each of the contiguous chambers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,376 shows a four-stroke cycle engine having a deflector located in the intake gas flow path in the region of the swirl chamber so that swirl motion is broken into small-scale eddies by a spoiler device located in the combustion chamber. The introduction of turbulence is timed with the operation of the intake valve so that maximum turbulence will occur at the end of the compression stroke. The spark plug that initiates combustion is arranged in the cylinder head in a so-called quiescent zone near the spoiler device.
In the engine disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,800,123, the intake valve and the exhaust valve are located in a common swirl chamber which is surrounded by a so-called squish zone. The majority of the gaseous charge, which is disposed around the spark plug located within the swirl chamber, will be burned rapidly. When the piston approaches the cylinder head, the large surface area of the squish zone will prevent premature burning of the charge, although the gases in that zone are compressed more rapidly than the gases in the remaining portions of the combustion chamber. Thus, the high velocity gases prior to ignition will flow into the high turbulence portion of the combustion chamber.
The spark plug is strategically located in the combustion zone, and the flame front, following ignition, will travel from the electrodes of the spark plug toward the more remote regions of the combustion chamber. Pre-ignition of the unburned gases in the region of the squish chamber as the flame front advances is discouraged because of the high heat transfer from the gases to the surrounding walls of the squish chamber. Although this may tend to reduce pre-ignition, it contributes to a high heat transfer between the gases and the surrounding wall and lowers thermal efficiency.
It also is known in the art to condition internal combustion engines of this type for operation with extra lean mixtures by providing a so-called torch device in the form of a pre-ignition auxiliary chamber that receives the air/fuel mixture at the time of the compression of the mixture and the mixture is ignited. That ignition tends to maintain combustion in the main portion of the combustion chamber, notwithstanding the presence of a lean air/fuel mixture. An attempt is made to increase the flame front propagation speed in the main combustion chamber by the torching effect of the flame turbulence in the auxiliary chamber, thereby improving the combustibility of the lean air/fuel mixture.
An example of such a pre-ignition chamber arrangement is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,662, wherein a squish area establishes turbulence in a compact combustion chamber region and in a pre-combustion chamber. A spark plug is located at a point of communication between the two combustion chambers. A stable combustion condition is maintained using a lean air/fuel mixture in the auxiliary combustion chamber which establishes a burning jet or torch which is injected through the point at which the two combustion chambers are connected. The swirling motion of the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber is established by a so-called squish flow developed as the piston approaches top dead center and reduces the volume of the portion of the combustion chamber not occupied by the main compression chamber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,115 has many of the characteristics described previously, including a swirl chamber, but the intake valve is located at the upper end of the swirl chamber so that entry of the combustible charge into the swirl chamber occurs as the intake passage establishes a tangential or swirling motion of the intake charge. The swirling motion is established by a channel-like connection between the area of the combustion chamber adjacent the exhaust valve and the main combustion chamber, thus establishing a tangential inflow of the charge that is compressed out of the squish area.
This vortex flow can be reinforced during the suction stroke as well as during the compression stroke.

Lean-burn internal combustion gas engine


Example peer storage systems, storage devices, and methods provide data scrub using a peer communication channel. Peer storage devices establish peer communication channels that communicate data among the peer storage devices. A storage device may identify data segments from their storage medium for a data scrub process. A peer storage device may be identified that contains corresponding data segments to the data segment being scrubbed. A corresponding lock command may be sent over the peer communication channel to lock the corresponding data segments during the data scrub process. A data scrub error report may be generated from the data scrub process. If an error is discovered during the data scrub process the storage device may use the peer communication channel to retrieve recovery data from peer storage devices to rebuild the data segment with the error.

Multi-device storage systems utilize multiple discrete storage devices, generally disk drives (solid-state drives, hard disk drives, hybrid drives, tape drives, etc.) for storing large quantities of data. These multi-device storage systems are generally arranged in an array of drives interconnected by a common communication fabric and, in many cases, controlled by a storage controller, redundant array of independent disks (RAID) controller, or general controller, for coordinating storage and system activities across the array of drives. The data stored in the array may be stored according to a defined RAID level, a combination of RAID schemas, or other configurations for providing desired data redundancy, performance, and capacity utilization. In general, these data storage configurations may involve some combination of redundant copies (mirroring), data striping, and/or parity (calculation and storage), and may incorporate other data management, error correction, and data recovery processes, sometimes specific to the type of disk drives being used (e.g., solid-state drives versus hard disk drives).
Some multi-device storage systems employ storage devices capable of communicating with one another over the interconnecting fabric and/or network fabric. In some cases, these storage devices may be capable of peer-to-peer communication without the involvement of a storage control plane, such as a storage controller or host controller, as an intermediary. These peer storage devices may be capable of exchanging messages and/or transferring host data across the interconnecting fabric independent of the storage control plane. Reducing communication, data transfer, processing, and/or data management at the storage control plane may reduce bottlenecks and improve scalability as the number and capacity of storage devices increases.
Storage devices, particularly storage devices using flash memory for durable storage in transactional applications, are susceptible to data corruption over time. For example, data bits in flash memory may be corrupted by read, program, and erase sequences where memory cells in physical proximity to those that are used may be unintentionally stressed to a point where stored charge levels change enough to induce bit errors. Even with respect to read operations, read stress may influence both read and adjacent memory cells, particularly for high-volume repeated reads. While the error correction codes (ECC) used to encode the host data may enable recovery of some bit errors, corruption may exceed the capacity of ECC over time.
To combat the long-term effects of data corruption, some storage devices implement a data scrub process whereby data units are read and rewritten to enable ECC to correct accumulated errors and/or identify data units that have exceeded the capability of ECC to recover. These data scrubs may be based on a periodic schedule, read/write and/or endurance thresholds, and/or events, such as read or write errors. In some storage architectures, scheduling and management of data scrubs is managed at the storage control plane and individual storage devices respond to data management commands to initiate targeted data scrubs. Management of data scrubs at the storage control plane may create processing and scheduling bottlenecks, underutilize available compute resources at the storage devices, and reduce scalability of storage arrays.
Therefore, there still exists a need for storage architectures that enable peer-to-peer communication for data scrub offloading from the storage control plane.


A hologram efficiency adjusting process that includes scanning the brightness effect of a hologram, which is either the hologram to be adjusted or a hologram representative of the hologram to be adjusted, to provide brightness vs. position information. The brightness information is utilized to produce a variable duty cycle half-tone mask that contains a pattern defining the areas of the hologram which are to be removed, with the pattern being unresolvable by the viewer of the hologram from which holograms have been removed pursuant to the mask pattern. The hologram to be adjusted is then photoresist coated and etched in accordance with the mask. Alternatively, the brightness information can be utilized to directly expose, for example by a laser scanner, photoresist disposed on the hologram to be adjusted.

This present invention is directed generally to hologram fabricating techniques, and is directed more particularly to a technique for controlling effective diffraction efficiency in holograms.
In the manufacture of holograms such as those utilized for vehicle head-up display systems, it may be desirable to closely control hologram efficiency and bandwidth within narrow limits to meet the required optical performance. This is due to the interrelationships between parameters including diffraction efficiency, see-through and angular bandwidth.
However, reproducibility of holograms having the desired efficiency and bandwidth is difficult due to the extreme sensitivity of hologram performance to a variety of factors in the recording process. Some of these factors include:
1. Recording material: age, storage conditions, pre-exposure hardening, molecular composition and moisture content.
2. Chemical processing: temperature, time, agitation, chemical concentration and subsequent drying conditions.
3. Laser exposure: beam power, time, coherence length, beam ratio and mechanical stability. With present techniques, it is difficult to precisely control all of these parameters, and manufacturing yield tends to be quite low.
Present techniques to meet tight diffraction efficiency requirements are directed to precisely controlling the hologram manufacturing parameters. However, such tight control is extremely difficult to achieve with some materials such as dichromated gelatin, wherein recording involves molecular crosslinking that is non-linearly affected by such parameters as the organic molecular structure of animal protein, temperature, moisture content, laser exposure energy, gelatin rate during film coating, previous history of the gelatin molecules, rate of dehydration after wet processing, swelling of the gelatin during processing, time and temperature of baking after processing, and others.
Presently, the recording medium thickness is selected to provide the desired bandwidth, then all other fabrication parameters are selected and controlled to give the desired diffraction efficiency. In particular, a diffraction efficiency vs. effective exposure curve indicates the relationship of diffraction efficiency to effective exposure, wherein the effective exposure level includes all the variable in recording material, laser exposure and chemical processing. In view of the number of exposure variables and their non-linearity and sensitivity to many factors, attempting to control diffraction efficiency by tightly controlling exposure parameters is exceedingly difficult.


An air conditioner with lower noise indoors, characterized in that the indoor unit shell 1 and the outdoor unit shell 2 are connected by connection rods 3 and have a noise deadener 12 therein. In refrigerating system of the air conditioner, by way of totally-enclosed welding, the compressor is connected with its intake pipe and with its discharge pipe, the condenser is connected with the discharge pipe of the compressor and with the capillary tube, the evaporator is connected with its intake pipe, and the intake pipe of the evaporator is connected with the capillary tube.

There are two kinds of air conditioners, window air conditioner and split-type air conditioner. A window air conditioner has small size and lower price, but it makes louder noise indoors. Compared with conventional window air conditioner, a split-type air conditioner generates lower noise, but it has its disadvantages as follows: 1. Bulk in volume, high production cost, inconvenient for transportation and installation; 2. The pipes of the indoor unit and outdoor unit are connected by coupler connection, the consequent lack of tightness causes refrigerant leakage, which increases the refrigerant consumption, causes inconvenience for use, and is destructive to ozonosphere; 3. The outdoor fresh air can not be supplied to indoors, which is harmful to human body, and easily to cause "air conditioner symptom"; 4. There is risk for the outdoor unit installed on wall of high buildings to fall down and hurt passengers due to corrosion and looseness of the fixing frame.

Air conditioner with lower noise indoors

Rm. 101, Bldg. 13, Wenhua Road, Keyuan Garden Science & Industry Park Nan Shan District

Unit B, C&F, Tower B, Guangdong International Hotel, 339 Huan Shi Road


In a method or device for interpolation and correction of a digital image, the source image is mapped to a target image with a FIR filter that comprises a plurality of filter coefficients, the filter coefficients comprising both information for interpolation and information for correction of the image. Both the interpolation and the correction of the image are executed in a single step.

The preferred embodiment concerns a method and a device for interpolation and correction of an image.
Given a digital image present as a computer-readable file, the necessity often exists to provide the image in a different resolution than as it originally exists. This in particular applies given an image scanned in by means of a scanner, which image often should be output at a different resolution than as was acquired via the optic and the sensor of the scanner.
The optical imaging via the real optic (objective) onto a scanner is additionally connected with a series of shortcomings that are caused by the optic, the sensor, the subsequent analog amplifications and the non-ideal sampling. Given superior scanners these deviations are corrected with known methods. For correction of the image it is known to use FIR filters (FIR: Finite Impulse Response), IIR filters (IIR: Infinite Impulse Response) and non-linear filters such as pruning or median filters. Non-linear filter methods are less suitable for correction of the optical/electronic acquisition system than for correction of local disruptions such as, for example, scratches in the document.
The alteration of the resolution of an image is executed by means of interpolation methods. The interpolation methods used most frequently are bilinear interpolation, bi-quadratic interpolation and two-dimensional interpolation with B-splines.
In superior scanners an acquired image is initially transformed into the desired resolution by means of an interpolation and a correction of the image is subsequently implemented. The interpolation can hereby also be executed in a plurality of steps in order to, for example, initially equalize the image and then change the resolution.
The effect of conventional interpolation methods on an image in the depiction in frequency space is subsequently explained using FIGS. 4-7. An image is represented by oscillations along a line in frequency space. FIG. 4 shows the influence of the bilinear interpolation given a shift of dx=0.25 pixels, by which is meant ¼ of the interval between two pixels. The normalized spatial frequency is plotted on the abscissa up to the Nyquist limit (at 0.5). The Nyquist frequency is the spatial frequency that represents a line of successive black and white image points. One recognizes that the greater the spatial frequency, the more significantly that the amplitude decreases (FIG. 4). This means that, given the bilinear interpolation, fine contrasts (i.e. lines lying close to one another) are weakened given a shift of dx=0.25. A shift of dx=0.25 is, for example, frequently applied given the conversion of an image from 300 DPI to 233 DPI.
The phase curve over the normalized frequency is shown in FIG. 5 for a shift of dx=0.25. For an optimal interpolation function that should implement an image shift by a ¼ pixel, the phase shift via the frequency would have to yield a straight line that goes through the origin and has a value of 45° given the Nyquist frequency. This desired function is shown dashed in FIG. 5. The phase error amounts to 4.5° at half of the Nyquist limit (i.e. 2.5% relative to the pixel length) and then rises sharply up to the Nyquist limit.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show the corresponding diagrams for an interpolation of dx=0.5 pixels. From FIG. 6 one can learn that the amplitude is more strongly damped given an interpolation of dx=0.5 pixels. To the contrary, a phase error does not occur given this interpolation (FIG. 7).
Given a bi-quadratic interpolation or given a splines interpolation, the errors are less than given a bilinear interpolation. However, it applies for all conventional interpolation methods that amplitude and phase errors arise that are dependent on the magnitude of the shift. Since the necessary shift varies across the image for arbitrary interpolations, these errors are not spatially differently developed in the interpolated image.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,266 a method arises in which an image is initially filtered in frequency space and the image is subsequently transferred into classical three-dimensional space in which an interpolation is executed.
A method and a system with which a signal should be processed, which signal should exhibit an interference in the range of its high-frequency components, arises from EP 1 041 510 A2. Such interferences are in particular caused given a linear interpolation. Small 2-dimensional FIR filters are used for correction of such interferences (in particular given the processing of images), in particular inverse filters that correct a lowpass characteristic caused by the interpolation. Different filters that are calculated in advance and stored in filter banks are used for the individual interpolation steps. Each such filter corrects the interference in the frequency response that has been caused by the preceding interpolation.
These known methods for changing the resolution and correction of a digital image are not in the position to compensate these errors with high quality since the information necessary for this is no longer available after an interpolation step. Since the interpolation errors are very extensive per region, the conventional methods exhibit significant deficiencies that cannot be corrected.
A method for simultaneous interpolation and filtering of images arises from COURMONTAGEN, P.; CAVASSILAS, J. F.; "An interpolation-filtering method for noise-corrupted images" from Digital Signal Processing, 1997, Volume 2, page 1091-1094. The image is hereby transformed in frequency space by means of a Fourier transformation. Both the filtering and the interpolation can be respectively executed in frequency space via a multiplicative operation, such that both operations (the filtering and the interpolation) can be executed simultaneously. However, since this operation is located in frequency space, these operations must respectively be executed across the entire image. Given images with an image size of 256×256 image points, an operation is thus possible without further techniques with conventional computers. Give larger image formats it is not possible to execute this in a short time span even with powerful personal computers. In any case, this method in frequency space cannot be used to simultaneously interpolate and filter images in real time. The general principles of Fourier transformation on which this method is based are explained on page 108 in IWAINSKY A., WILHELMI W., Lexikon der Computergrafik und Bildverarbeitung, Vieweg Verlagsgesellschaft, 1994.

Method and device for interpolation and correction of an image


A new type of switching mechanism for a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) with reverse wiring protection preferably includes two pairs of fixed contact holders, each member of each pair having at least one fixed contact at one end; a pair of movable contact holders, each having an end having one or more of movable contacts, each movable contact being arranged for contacting one of the fixed contacts; and a movable assembly that moves between first and second positions, wherein the first position is a position in which each of the contacts of the fixed contact holders makes contact with one of the contacts of the movable end of one of the movable contact holders, and wherein the second position is a position in which the contacts of the fixed contact holders are separated from the contacts of the movable contact holders.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) for load ground-fault protection. More specifically, the invention relates to a GFCI receptacle utilizing an electromagnetic tripper and providing reverse wiring protection.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) devices are designed to trip in response to the detection of a ground fault condition at an AC load. For example, the ground fault condition may result when a person comes into contact with the line side of the AC load and an earth ground at the same time, a situation that can result in serious injury. The GFCI device detects this condition by using a sensing transformer to detect an imbalance between the currents flowing in the line and neutral conductors of the AC supply, as will occur when some of the current on the line side is being diverted to ground. When such an imbalance is detected, a circuit breaker within the GFCI device is immediately tripped to an open condition, thereby opening both sides of the AC line and removing all power from the load.
A GFCI generally includes a housing, a tripper, a reset button, a test button, a mounting strap with grounding strap and banding screw, a pair of movable contact holders with contacts, a pair of fixed contact holders with contacts, and a control circuit. Currently, GFCIs are widely used to prevent electric shock and fire caused by a ground fault.
In the past, a GFCI receptacle generally utilized a mechanical actuator, which limited the performance of such products, especially insofar as these GFCIs did not provide reverse wiring protection. In addition, these mechanical GFCIs required high standards in the quality of the parts and assembling work. Examples of mechanical GFCIs include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,063 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,052.
The GFCI shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,407 B1 has reverse wiring protection, but it is a visual alarm indicator signaling a miswiring condition to the installer, and if miswired (despite the visual alarm indicator) by connecting the line to the load, the GFCI can still be reset. Under such circumstances, an unknowing user, faced with a GFCI that has been miswired, may press the reset button, which, in turn, will cause the GFCI to be reset without reverse wiring protection available. And, such a GFCI that has been reset can very easily be tripped again in events like lightning strikes.
The design of these GFCIs allows two means of connection: the load can pass through the entry ports of the face portion or can alternatively connect through the load binding screws. Consequently, an installer or user can still mistakenly connect the line and the load in a reverse direction. When this occurs, without reverse wiring protection, the GFCI will function just as a common (non-GFCI) receptacle.
There is a need for a GFCI that, in order to improve the safety features of the receptacles, is capable of providing reserve wiring protection; is highly responsive; is convenient to assemble; and has improved functionality.

Ground fault circuit interrupter with reverse wiring protection


An injection site apparatus is adapted to be attached to a continuous unbroken portion of a flexible tube of an intravenous delivery set. The apparatus is provided with a recessed channel for supporting and bending a portion of the flexible tube. The apparatus is provided with a piercable closure and a needle guide which are axially aligned with a portion of the recessed channel. The piercable closure and needle guide align a hypodermic needle in axial alignment with the center of said flexible tube to prevent interference therewith.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus employed to inject fluids into the flexible tube of an intravenous (I.V.) delivery set and more particularly relates to a novel injection site apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Several different types of injection site apparatus are presently commercially available. Prior art injection site apparatus require that the flexible tube of the intravenous set be cut or broken and that the injection site apparatus be inserted in series therewith. Connecting the severed ends or intermediate ends of the flexible tubes to the injection site apparatus presents several problems. When the flexible tube does not properly bond to the injection site housing leakage and/or contamination occurs. Prior art bonded connections have presented the possibility that an incomplete seal or weak seal will be made.
Most prior art injection site housings have spaces therein which entrap air. Further, the entrapped air can be administered to a patient when it passes out of the space in the injection site housing and into the flexible tube of the delivery set. The entrapped air in the prior art injection site apparatus could sometimes be removed with difficulty by inverting the housing, flushing and purging the air space in the injection site apparatus.
Some prior art injection site apparatus have no effective needle guides which permits the hypodermic needle to pierce the side of the housing or the flexible tube of the I.V. set or the connections between the housing and the flexible tube. It has been observed that such apparatus will permit the hypodermic needle to gouge into the housing so as to remove particles of the plastic housing which are flushed into the patient. The tip of the hypodermic needle can also become bent and unusable again. The hypodermic needle can become lodged into the side wall of the flexible tube so as to prevent flow of fluid. The hypodermic needle may be started into the side wall of a piercable closure in a manner which causes enough resistance to bend the hypodermic needle before it can enter into the fluid chamber of the injection site apparatus.
It would be desirable to eliminate the common problems of the prior art injection site apparatus in a simpler and cheaper structure.


A recordable optical disk is provided with: a disk substrate having a recording surface; a track portion, which is coaxially or spirally arranged on the recording surface, and to which the information is recorded by irradiating a light beam modulated in correspondence with the information, thereonto; and an interval portion disposed on the recording surface between adjacent turns of the track portion on the recording surface. The reflection coefficient of the interval portion is higher than the reflection coefficient of the track portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk, a method of manufacturing the same and a method of recording the same. More particularly, it relates to an optical disk, to which information can be recorded by a light beam.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is an optical disk reproducing apparatus as an apparatus which reproduces optical disks, such as a LD (Laser Disk) and a CD (Compact Disk). This kind of optical disk reproducing apparatus irradiates a light beam to the optical disk and reproduces information recorded on the optical disk on the basis of the reflection light from the optical disk. FIG. 1 indicates a relationship between the pit and a reflection coefficient in an ordinary disk.
In FIG. 1, a recording surface of an ordinary LD is partially shown at the lower half of the figure, while the reflection coefficient corresponding to the recording surface is shown at the upper half of the figure. Each of track portions 10 is disposed in the direction of the track. Pits 10a and 10b, which indicate information, are formed on each of the track portions 10. Each area between adjacent track portions 10, is a flat interval portion (land portion) 12. Here, a reflection coefficient (an amount of returned light) of each portion, is considered. The reflection coefficient of the track portions 10 is low due to the refraction of the light beam by the pits 10a and 10b (As indicated by the reference numeral 11L). On the other hand, the reflection coefficient of the interval portions 12 is high due to the reflection of the light beam (as indicated by the reference numeral 13H).
In the reproducing apparatus for the ordinary LD, the tracking control is performed by use of the above mentioned difference in the reflection coefficient, so as to adjust the light beam to each of the track portions 10 having the low reflection coefficient. Namely, in the tracking control by the three beam method, the reflection coefficient of the interval portions 12 having no pit, and the reflection coefficient of the track portions 10 are compared with each other, and the portion having the low reflection coefficient is recognized as the track portion 10. Thereby, the light beam is adjusted to the track portion 10.
In the above mentioned ordinary LD, the information is recorded beforehand. On the other hand, there is a recordable optical disk onto which a user can record information arbitrarily. There is a Recordable-LD described as a R-LD, which is an example of such a recordable optical disk.
In the R-LDs using the dye of phthalocyanine series and cyanine series as a recording layer, there is a R-LD which high and low reflection coefficients are opposite to that of the above mentioned ordinary LD. Namely, at the track portion, the reflection coefficient is high, while at the interval portion between two adjacent track portions, the reflection coefficient is low. This feature is explained with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 indicates a relationship between the pit and the reflection coefficient in such a R-LD. At the track portions 10 having pit 10a and 10b, the reflection coefficient (amount of the return light) is high (as indicated by the reference numeral 11H). On the other hand, at the interval portions 12, the reflection coefficient is low (as indicated by the reference numeral 13L). Therefore, when the tracking of the light beam is carried out, it becomes necessary to adjust the light beam to the track portions 10 having the high reflection coefficient. This tracking characteristic is contrary to that of the ordinary LD of FIG. 1. For this reason, the R-LD cannot be reproduced by the reproducing apparatus for the ordinary LD. In order to reproduce the R-LD, it becomes necessary to invert the tracking characteristic within the reproducing apparatus.

Optical disk, method of manufacturing the same and method of recording the same


A method for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties includes receiving one or more images of a selected region of a sample, receiving one or more sets of design data associated with the selected region of the sample, locating one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample by comparing the one or more images of the selected region of the sample to the one or more sets of design data, retrieving one or more patterns of interest from the one or more sets of design data corresponding to the one or more defects, and classifying the one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample based on one or more annotated electrical design properties included in the one or more patterns of interest.

Fabricating semiconductor devices such as logic and memory devices typically includes processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer using a large number of semiconductor fabrication processes to form various features and multiple levels of the semiconductor devices. Multiple semiconductor devices may be fabricated in an arrangement on a single semiconductor wafer and then separated into individual semiconductor devices.
Semiconductor devices may develop defects during the fabrication processes. Inspection processes are performed at various steps during a semiconductor manufacturing process to detect defects on a specimen. Inspection processes are an important part of fabricating semiconductor devices such as integrated circuits, becoming even more important to successfully manufacture acceptable semiconductor devices as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease. For instance, detection of defects has become highly desirable as the dimensions of semiconductor devices decrease, as even relatively small defects may cause unwanted aberrations in the semiconductor devices. As such, it would be desirable to provide a solution for improved wafer inspection and defect classification to resolve manufacturing issues and provide improved wafer inspection capabilities.

System and method for defect classification based on electrical design intent


A hydraulic actuator for a vehicle roll control system includes a fluid pressure transducer 28, housed in a valve block 16, the output characteristic of which is temperature dependent. In order to correct for this the temperature of the fluid is monitored. This is done by monitoring the duty ratio of the pulse width modulated driving signal to a control valve 22 in the block, which varies with temperature to produce a constant total current.

It is known to provide closed loop pressure control in a hydraulic system by monitoring the hydraulic pressure at a point in a hydraulic circuit, comparing the measured pressure with a desired pressure, and controlling the electrical current to an electrically operated valve, such as a solenoid valve, to open or close the valve to adjust the pressure in the system towards the desired pressure.
It can be a problem with such systems that known pressure transducers have a temperature dependent characteristic, so the exact hydraulic pressure cannot be accurately measured.


This invention relates to an endwall for a container having a panel portion surrounded by a substantially vertical wall portion which terminates into a narrow rim. The rim is connected to a sidewall of the container. The wall portion extends outward from the container and is adapted to be reformed inwardly into the container in a controlled manner by an external mechanism to reduce the volume thereof after the container has been filled and sealed. The invention also relates to a method of packaging a product in a container having a body opened at one end and closed at an opposite end by an endwall as described above. The method includes the steps of filling the container with a product and sealing the open end, thermally treating the filled and sealed container, and reforming the endwall inwardly into the container. The sequence of steps can be rearranged.

Containers made of metal, glass or a thermoplastic material are commonly used to package various food products such as vegetables and fruit which are normally filled at elevated temperatures. Some food products may require an additional cooking or retorting cycle, after which the package is cooled to room temperature. Using atmospheric pressure as zero pressure, these packaging procedures produce internal pressures during the process cycle and partial vacuums during the cooling cycle. A partial vacuum in a glass container does not produce sidewall buckling or paneling because of the structural integrity of the glass itself. However, in thin-walled metal containers, especially aluminum containers, and even more so in plastic containers, sidewall paneling becomes noticeable for hot filled food products. This sidewall deformation results from the differential pressure present between the interior and exterior walls of the container. The differential pressure is increased whenever the packaged product chemically reacts with oxygen present in the headspace of a filled and sealed container. Such chemical reaction causes a decrease in the internal pressure of a container.
Those skilled in the art know that variations in a product's fill temperature, headspace, product volume, container expansion-contraction properties, processing conditions, and type of product to be packaged all influence the final differential pressure acting between the interior and exterior walls of a container. These packaging variations can lead to different degrees of sidewall buckling or paneling which must be overcome in order to present a commercially acceptable and aesthetically pleasing package. Sidewall paneling can also adversely affect a container during shipping and handling by creating excessive column load and/or prevent proper nesting and stacking with adjacent containers.
Present measures taken to prevent sidewall distortion in thin-walled metal and plastic containers vary depending upon the package design. Some containers utilize sidewall ribbing or beading to provide structural strength while others use bellows or buttons formed in an endwall which flex according to changes in the container's internal pressure or vacuum. Another measure taken to limit sidewall flexing incorporates the injection of liquid nitrogen which expands in the sealed container to preclude the development of a partial vacuum inside the container. Few containers use an increased sidewall thickness because it is not economically feasible.
A specific way of providing sidewall support and decreased internal vacuum is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,117,873. In this patent, a mechanical force is applied to an endwall causing a bead formed in the sidewall to collapse thereby shortening and stiffening the container. An alternative procedure, shown in FIGS. 10-14 of the '873 patent, reverses a domed endwall by use of a plunger to accomplish limited volume displacement in an uncontrolled manner. The following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,381,061; 4,222,494; 4,177,746; 4,134,354; 3,409,167; 3,400,853 and 3,160,302, teach the use of a flexible endwall on a container which can flex from a convex to a concave configuration in a cricketing or reversing fashion so as to minimize sidewall distortion. Lastly, specific ribbed and paneled sidewall designs are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,497,855 and 4,120,419.
Despite the above-suggested solutions to the sidewall paneling problem, there is a very real need for an improved and cost-efficient container. This need is most noticeable for containers designed to be filled with a hot product and sealed before being cooled to room temperature and for containers designed to be filled with a product at room temperature before being pressurized. Now a container has been invented which can satisfy this need.

Inwardly reformable endwall for a container and a method of packaging a product in the container


A method and device of preparing an emulsion comprising a first liquid and a second liquid, said method comprising the step of dispersing the first liquid into the second liquid, characterized in that the method comprises:—passing the first liquid through an injection nozzle (108) for creating a spray of droplets of the first liquid, and—injecting thus created droplets of first liquid into the second liquid such that Q, where Q is equal to the square of the speed of the droplets, is at least 225 m2/s2; wherein W, wherein W is sg*Q*d divided by St with sg being the specific gravity of the first liquid in kg/m3, d being the mean Sauter droplet diameter in meter of the spray leaving the injection nozzle in air, and St being the surface tension of the first liquid in Newton/meter; is at least 250 kg*m/N*s2.

It is generally known in the art of making emulsions that the smaller the droplets are, the longer the emulsion will be stable.
Various methods are known for the preparation of an emulsion from immiscible liquids, optionally making use of a stabilizing agent to enhance the stability of the emulsion prepared. Such a method comprises breaking up the first liquid into small droplets, e.g. by rotation of an impeller in a container comprising the first liquid and the second liquid, or by applying ultrasound to a pre-mixture of said liquids.
A method of forming an emulsion is known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,629,390, expressly incorporated herein by reference, which describes the preparation of a stable water-in-oil emulsion with the aid of stirring and pumping.
The objective of the present invention is to provide an alternative method.

Method of preparing an emulsion, a device for preparing said emulsion, and a vehicle


A galvanometer scanner includes a mechanical support unit engaged with a far end of an optical element. A near end of the optical element is connected to an output shaft of an electric rotary motor. The mechanical support unit maintains an alignment of an axis of rotation of the optical element and an axis of rotation of the electric rotary motor.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional galvanometer scanner typically includes a motor 110 with an output shaft 111 attached to a reflecting optical element 120. A sensor 130 detects a rotation angle of the output shaft. The output signal of the sensor is proportional to the rotation angle of the shaft.
Due to the extreme difficulty in aligning the center of mass of the optical element with the axis of rotation for dynamic balancing, the scanning motion due to rotation about X-axis of the shaft can cause unwanted vibration along the Y- and Z-axes, especially for high-speed optical scanning applications.
Therefore, it is desired to stabilize the optical element while it rotates.

Method and apparatus for stabilizing galvanometer scanner

Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.


Methods for cleaning a point cloud using an electronic computing device are presented, the method including: causing the electronic computing device to decompose the point cloud into a number of cell voxels; removing a number of outlier cell voxels; subsampling the point cloud; removing a first number of outlier points; removing a number of double surfaces; and removing a second number of outlier points. In some embodiments, method further include outputting a clean point cloud to file. In some embodiments, the causing the electronic computing device to decompose the point cloud further includes: reading into memory a number of points corresponding with the point cloud; specifying a cell voxel size; creating a cell grid to chunk the point cloud into a number of smaller sets; sorting the number of points into the number of cell voxels; and merging all point clouds.

Mobile scanning of buildings has become the standard for capturing a 3D scan of an indoor environment. Mobile scanners typically employ various sensor arrays in order to capture the whole environment. In some examples, multiple lasers may be each be oriented in different directions that overlap sufficiently to provide a full coverage or near full coverage scan. These scans generate millions of points along a path traversed by a user. These millions of points are collectively known as a point cloud.
Several issues may arise with respect to mobile scans. For example, a mobile user may not travel at precisely a given speed. As such, scans may be alternately more or less dense due to speed variations. In another example, noise from reflective surfaces or from electronic interference may resulting in false or inaccurate points in the point cloud. Further, ghosting may occur that generates false surfaces in the point cloud. Each of these issues individually or collectively may result in an inaccurate representation of the environment. Complicating these issues is that the sheer volume of points being processed in the point cloud may lead to processing inefficiencies due to limitations in computing power.
As such, methods for point cloud cleaning are provided herein.


A chip carrier semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor chip having a surface on which a plurality of contact pads, a tape carrier overlying the semiconductor chip and a plurality of leads provided on the tape carrier to overly the semiconductor chip, each of the leads having an inside end being provided with at last one bump for bonding a board, the bump being positioned on an inside area of the contact pads.

The invention relates to a chip carrier semiconductor device assembly and a method for forming the same.
In a conventional tape automated bonding method, a semiconductor chip is bonded on a packaging substrate by an inner lead bonding method wherein pads of the semiconductor chip are bonded to bumps provided at the top portion of inner leads of a tape carrier as well as by a soldering bonding between outer leads of the tape carrier. Those techniques or the of inner lead bonding and the outer lead bonding are disclosed in Mar. 27, 1991 "Microelectronics Packaging Handbook" pp. 326-347.
It has been known in the art to further provide connective terminals at insides of the chip in addition to peripheral leads in order to permit an increase in the number of the connections of the chip. This technique is known as a area tape automated bonding developed by IBM Corporation.
Another technique to increase the number of connective pins is disclosed in the Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2-58245 wherein contact pads are arranged on a peripheral portion of the chip to form two staggered rows so that leads extend from the contact pads of the inside and the outside rows in an outward direction to permit an increase in the number of the connections of the chip.
Still another technique of a bumpless bonding method to increase of the number of connective pins is disclosed in the Japanese laid-open patent application No. 2-58245 wherein wedge bonding is used.
The foregoing prior art suffers from problems as described below. In the tape automated bonding method, bonding of the tape automated bonding on the packaging substrate is carried out by soldering the outer leads thereby resulting in an enlargement of a packaging area up to a few times that of a chip area. The area tape automated bonding method and the double aligned connection technique also suffers from these problems. On the other hand, a flip chip bonding method has a problem as described below. In the flip chip bonding, after packaging the semiconductor chip on the packaging substrate through the bump, it is necessary to seal the chip by a sealing resin. Actually, there is a possibility of an incomplete sealing thereby lowering productivity.

Chip carrier semiconductor device assembly


A method for determining the location of an interface of interest in a target domain, between a free volume of a flowable material and a solid material limiting said free volume, the method involves the steps of providing a mathematical model of the target domain determining, for a plurality of pairs of electrode groups, a characteristic electrical quantity proportional to the capacitance of a capacitor formed by a pair of electrode groups; receiving measurements of the characteristic electrical quantity for a plurality of pairs of electrode groups; adjusting the mathematical model by varying the location of the boundary surface in order to take into account possible wear of the boundary surface so as to reduce the differences between the measured characteristic electrical quantities and those defined by the mathematical model; and determining the location of the interface of interest on the basis of the adjusted mathematical model.

Contamination or so-called scaling is a well-known problem which may occur in many different applications in process industry. Scaling, often called also fouling, means generally deposition or accumulation of unwanted material on the surfaces of pipes, vessels, or other containers used for leading or storing flowable materials.
As a result of scaling, an extra layer of solid material is formed on such surface. Thereby, the free volume within the pipe or other container, open for the presence of a flowable material, is changed. This can lead to many problems. For example, changed shape of the free volume causes disturbances to the fluid flow. At least, the reduced cross-sectional area of the free inner volume of a process pipe increases the flow resistance through the pipe. In an extreme case, the pipe can be entirely clogged, thereby stopping the entire process at issue. In general, scaling is a common problem in various areas of process industry, causing significantly increased operational costs and production losses.
Material formed on the surfaces of process equipment by scaling must be removed from time to time. This can be very burdensome. Particularly when the extra material is formed by hydrocarbon bonding, it is typically very hard and extremely difficult to remove by mechanical processes. As an alternative to mechanical removal, different softening and releasing agents have been developed for various scaling materials. Instead of removing the formed scaling material afterwards, it is often more preferable to act proactively by preventing the scaling. For example, different chemicals can be used as scale inhibitors mixed with the flowable material to control the formation of inorganic hard scales. Use of such chemicals reduces the rate of scale formation and modifies the structure of the scale so that it is more easily removable. In any case, in order to prevent dramatic problems e.g. due to unexpected clogging of a process pipe, or to optimize the use of scale inhibitors, one should be able to monitor the scaling situation and its development in time.
On the other hand, another problem occurring in various industrial process equipment for leading and/or storing flowable materials is the wear of the walls of the pipelines and vessels. Wear may occur due to chemically aggressive materials reacting with the surfaces of the process equipment, but it can also result from simple mechanical abrasion caused e.g. by sand contained in a liquid flow. Similarly to scaling, also wear changes the volumes and flow conditions within the process equipment, and can thus affect adversely the processes. In an extreme case, wearing through of a wall of a pipeline or a vessel and the consequent sudden discharge of the flowable material to the exterior of the process equipment may result in severe accidents and high financial damages, and even injuries of persons. Similarly to scaling, also wear should thus be able to be monitored continuously.
Wear may also occur simultaneously with scaling. Therefore, it would be highly useful to have an efficient solution capable of on-line monitoring of those both phenomena.
In prior art, scaling and/or pipe wall wearing have been monitored or diagnosed e.g. with camera-based techniques, wherein a camera is installed in the process equipment to be analyzed, with acoustic (typically ultrasound) methods, or by simple mechanical methods in which special intelligent test objects are mounted onto the pipe walls. For example, EP 2115452 discloses as a specific example an apparatus and method for measuring scaling within a spiral wound membrane by transmitting acoustic signal into a tube, measuring the signal reflected from a material interface inside the tube, and comparing the measurement result with a reference signal from a known, clean tube.
The ultrasound and test object techniques are practically point measurements, limiting severely the applicability of the techniques. In camera-based techniques, the process must often be interrupted to perform the actual monitoring steps.
At the moment, there is no reliable on-line monitoring technique for detecting scaling and wear in an early stage. In particular, there is no efficient commercial solution available which could be used to monitor both of those harmful phenomena.

Method and apparatus for determining the location of an interface of interest, and computer program