An improved golf club support is disclosed which comprises an elongated shaft having an upper end portion and a lower end portion. A handle is provided connected to the upper end elongated shaft whereby a golfer may grasp the improved golf club support and insert it into the ground. A ground penetrating spike is disclosed connected to the lower end of the elongated shaft and a golf club support is attached to the upper portion of the improved golf club support at a height to support a golf club placed within it. An upright support is disclosed which is annularly disposed around the elongated shaft and extends outwardly from the elongated shaft and supports the improved golf club support in the upright position.

There are a number of devices for supporting golf clubs and other golf accessories.
One example of such a device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,873,471 (Ruggeri) which teaches a portable golf club support comprised of a steel rod, a rotatable club support and a flared lower end which assists the user in pressing the device into the ground.
Another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,980 (Weisenstein) which teaches a device having a point at one end thereof for piercing the ground and at the other end thereof a head having a u-shaped section perpendicular to the main frame for supporting a golf club.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,916 (Govoni) discloses a combination golf club holder and hook section to support a club, in the example, a wedge.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,285,990 (Engel) teaches a golf club rest with a mechanism to attach the golf club rest to the golf bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,087 (Thompson Jr.) teaches a golf club rest which includes a turf repair device on the piercing end.
Presently some seventy percent or more of golfers utilize carts which are generally not allowed to approach the green closely or are actually required to follow a certain path to minimize wear and tear on the area near the green. A golfer then must carry more than one club from the cart to where his ball lies. Often clubs become wet when laid down next to the green in wet conditions or are forgotten after the hole is completed, and the golfer has to go back to the hole and bend over to retrieve his club.
Also, there is a significant number of golfers with arthritic or other conditions which do not allow the golfer to manipulate a tricky golf support.
Prerequisites for an ideal golf club support include ease of use which includes light weight, durability, grip stability and a design which minimizes entanglement with the clubs or the golfbag or fouling of the clubs by wet conditions or freshly cut grass near the green. Additional desirable characteristic would include that it be aesthetically pleasing, simple to use and economical to manufacture.
I have discovered an improved golf club support device which comprises an elongated shaft means having an upper end portion and a lower end portion. I prefer that the circumference of the elongated shaft means be such that it can be grasped and not merely held by the golfer""s fingertips.
A handle means, preferably a substantially ball-shaped handle means, is connected to the upper end portion of the elongated shaft means whereby a golfer may grasp my improved golf support device and insert it into the ground. I prefer that the ball-shaped handle means be made from a rigid material, particularly wood, however, other materials such a thermoplastic or other foam may be utilized to adjust the density of the ball-shaped handle means to accommodate a golfer with an arthritic condition.
A ground-penetrating means is connected to the lower end of the elongated shaft means for penetrating the ground to a pre-determined depth. I prefer, a spike which penetrates the ground to a depth of six inches or more is utilized. Also preferably, but optionally, the spike has a series of grooves spiraling around the outside thereof which when the spike penetrates the ground assist in maintaining stability of my improved golf club support.
Golf club support means are connected to the elongated shaft means at a height whereby one or more golf clubs can be temporarily supported. Prefereably, but optionally the club support means can include means to support other golf paraphernalia such as golf towels, brushes etc.,. I prefer the golf club support means to extend outwardly and upwardly so that any golf club will not roll off. In the preferred embodiment I disclose an outwardly and upwardly extending hook means where there is more than one outwardly and outwardly extending hook in each club support means. A golf club can be supported on one of the hooks and a golf towel with a clip attached or other golf accessory can be hung from the other hook.
Upright supporting means are annularly disposed about and connecting to the elongated shaft means adjacent the ground penetrating means and extending outwardly form the elongated shaft means in a substantially circular foot portion thereof which, in use, contacts the ground and whereby the elongated shaft means is supported thereby in an upright position. I prefer the upright supporting means to be circular and to include a collar which extends upward from a lower end of said upright supporting means to an upper end thereof to further support the elongated shaft means in an upright position. I prefer that said upright supporting means define a hole therethroughfor the ground penetrating means to pass through and connect to the elongated shaft means. Other shapes of the upright supporting means are contemplated and anticipated.
Preferably, but optionally, a hook means is provided to detachably connect my improved golf club support to a golf bag so that it can be readily carried with the golf bag and kept from fouling with the clubs.
Before explaining one embodiment of my invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. My invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which the disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as the basis for designing other structures methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.
It is the object of my invention to provide an improved golf club support device which while including many of the advantages of the devices mentioned before also includes many novel features which have not been anticipated by any of the prior golf club support devices. My invention provides numerous advantages over those of the prior art.
It is an object of my invention to provide a improved golf club support device that can be easily handled and readily inserted into the ground by any golfer even one who suffers from arthritis.
It is an object of my invention that my improved golf club device can be readily fitted into or attached to a conventional golf bag and can be detached and reattached without fouling or snagging with the gear or the clubs.
It is another object of my invention that my improved golf club supporting device will be stable in use.
These and other objects of my invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the accompanying drawings and following detailed description.


A chemical vapor deposition apparatus having a gas purifier for purifying a raw-material gas such as AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas, the gas purifier being constructed as the combination of an organometal and a molecular sieve. Gas of AsH.sub.3, PH.sub.3 or the like is introduced into the organometal whereby impurities such as H.sub.2 O or O.sub.2 contained in the raw-material gas (AsH.sub.3, PH.sub.3, etc) are removed. Further, organometal vapor occured from gas purifier is removed by the molecular sieve.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus and, more specifically, to a chemical vapor deposition apparatus having a purifier for purifying a gas such as AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas used in chemical vapor deposition.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 2 schematically shows a conventional metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) apparatus, such as that shown, for example, in "Appl. Phys. Lett., 42(1), pages 83 to 85 (1983)" or "Appl. Phys. Lett., 41(1), pages 88 to 90 (1982)". As shown in FIG. 2, a H.sub.2 gas cylinder 1 is connected by a pipe 2a to an organometal cylinder device 3 connected with a reactor 4 so that organometal vapor from the organometal cylinder device 3 is conveyed by H.sub.2 gas and introduced into the reactor 4. H.sub.2 gas is introduced from the H.sub.2 gas cylinder 1 through another pipe 2b into the reactor 4 . An AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas cylinder 5, serving as a raw-material gas supplying means, is connected by a pipe 2c to a gas purifier 6 so that AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas from the cylinder 5 is introduced to the purifier 6, and purified thereby. The purified raw-material gas is introduced through a pipe 2d into the reactor 4. After a reacting process, the gases, such as unreacted gases, remaining in the reactor 4 is exhausted to the outside of the apparatus by an exhausting means 7.
With the conventional chemical vapor deposition apparatus having the above-described construction, the organometal vapor conveyed by H.sub.2 gas into the reactor 4 is mixed with AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas and heated, whereby these substances decompose and react with each other so that the resultant product precipitates to form a crystal. When, for instance, an AlGaAs-based crystal is to be grown, trimethyl aluminum (TMA) and trimethyl galium (TMG) are reacted with AsH.sub.3. When an InP-based crystal is to be grown, trimethyl indium (TMI) is reacted with PH.sub.3.
In order to increase the purity of the crystal which is to be obtained, AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas from the raw-material supplying means is introduced to the gas purifier 6. After substances such as H.sub.2 O and O.sub.2 are removed from the AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3 gas, the raw-material gas is introduced into the reactor 4. The gas purifier 6 has a vessel containing a suitable low-melting-point metal, such as AlGaIn, which is in its liquid state at normal temperature. The raw-material gas (AsH.sub.3 or PH.sub.3) is bubbled into the low-melting-point metal (AlGaIn).
Such a conventional chemical vapor deposition apparatus entails the following problem: vapor of Al, Ga, In, or compounds thereof may be introduced into the reactor 4 from the low-melting-point metal AlGaIn used in the gas purifier 6. If vapor of Al or the like are introduced into the reactor 4 during the growth of an AlGaAs- or InP-based crystal, the crystal structure may be adversely influenced, or the introduced vapor may cool and solidify in the pipe 2d, thereby clogging the pipe.


Systems and methods are provided for facilitating payments between users of the system such as person-to-person payments using a payment hotspot. A payment hotspot or payspot may be generated by a first user device of a first user to facilitate a transfer of funds between the first user and the second user. The payspot may be a virtual payment portal that allows secure payment between the users without either of the users having to provide identifying information to the other user. The payspot may be accessed by the second user based on the proximity of a second user device of the second user to the first user device or the first user may provide an identification code of the payspot to the second user. The second user may access the payspot by communicating with a payment server with the second user device, through the first user device.

The use of mobile devices, such as cellular telephones, to make purchases is well known. Such mobile devices may be used to make purchases from brick and mortar stores and from online stores. For example, such mobile devices may be used to pay for purchases via a credit card, debit card, gift card, or an account with a payment provider. Generally, a single person will pay for a purchase. However, there are instances where it is desirable to share the payment for a purchase among a plurality of people or to make payments directly between two or more people.
Systems have been developed in which a person may use their mobile phone to make a payment directly to a mobile phone of another person. However, in conventional systems, in order to facilitate such a payment one or both of the participants must transmit sensitive personal and/or financial information such as a user identifier (ID) or a phone number to the other participant. In many situations, a person may hesitate to use such as system when the other participant is not trusted or known to the person.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved systems and methods for transferring funds between users.
Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are best understood by referring to the detailed description that follows. It should be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identify like elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, wherein showings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of the present disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for providing payment hotspots


A locking device for pivotally interconnecting a closure to a support and locking the closure in an open position relative to the support. The interlocking device interconnects the closure and support about a vertical axis, so that the closure can pivot about this axis and open and close relative to the support. The interlocking mechanism includes a locking mechanism having two engageable locking ratchet members. One ratchet member is fixedly coupled to the closure, and the second ratchet member is coupled to the support for movement along the vertical axis. The locking mechanism also has a spring which biases the ratchet members together into engagement with each other. Both ratchet members have compatible teeth with a ramping surface and a stopping surface for limiting the pivotal movement of the closure to a first direction and locking the closure in an open position. The releasing mechanism disengages the ratchet members, which allows the closure to be closed. The releasing mechanism may be manually operated or electrically operated through the use of a solenoid. The engaging mechanism causes the ratchet members to reengage when the closure is closed.

Presently, the Office of Vehicle Safety Standards is considering new regulations relating to emergency door exits for school buses. Generally, these regulations will require school buses to have emergency doors which, when opened, automatically lock in an open position regardless of the orientation of the bus. These regulations will help ensure that children can easily exit from school buses in the event of an emergency.
Specifically, these regulations will require that school bus emergency doors be equipped with a device that (1) locks the doors in an open position past the point at which the door is perpendicular to the bus body, regardless of the bus orientation; (2) bears the weight of the door; and (3) provides a mechanism for releasing the door from its locked position and thus, allows the door to close. Accordingly, there is obviously a need for a locking device that meets these standards.
Furthermore, in emergency situations, children may not be able to push a heavy emergency bus door over 90.degree. at one time, especially if the bus is laying on its side, an obstruction prevents the door from opening that widely, or the bus is in water. Therefore, preferably, the locking device should lock the door open in several positions before locking the door in a final open position over 90.degree. from the closed position. Therefore, there is a need for a closure locking device which will lock a closure in various open positions.
Examples of locking hinges which lock a door in an open position and prevent it form closing until being released are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 294,746 issued on Mar, 4, 1884 to Straup et al; 917,768 issued on Apr. 13, 1909 to Jordan; 1,060,641 issued on May 6, 1913 to Sladden; 1,183,596 issued on May 16, 1916 to Sachse; 1,489,679 issued on Apr. 8, 1924 to Thornton; 2,966,697 issued on May 16, 1958 to Mintz; 2,146,460 issued on Feb. 7, 1939 to Beeler; 3,559,232 issued on Mar. 21, 1969 to Crane; and 3,629,900 issued on Dec. 28, 1971 to Beerli, Jr.
However, these prior locking hinges have several disadvantages. Many of these locking hinges do not automatically lock the door in an open position. Furthermore, with respect to the application of these devices to school buses, each manufacturer of school buses, i.e., Blue Bird, Am Tran, Carpenter and Thomas, currently uses different hinges on the emergency doors. These hinges do not lock the door in an open position, and replacing these current hinges with the prior locking hinges is inefficient and expensive. Additionally, many of these hinges can only be used in connection with certain types of doors. Furthermore, these hinges do not always provide the support and strength needed in emergency situations in applications such as school buses. Finally, many of the prior locking hinges have complicated release mechanisms which have many parts and are hard to manufacture.
Examples of hinges which hold a door in an open position, but do not lock it in an open position are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 769,035 issued on Aug. 30, 1904 to Walter; 975,097 issued on Nov. 8, 1910 to Wright; 1,125,265 issued on Jan. 19, 1915 to Carter; 1,429,416 issued on Sep. 19, 1922 to Fade; 1,440,713 issued on Jan. 2, 1923 to Ausbourne; 1,465,912 issued on Aug. 21, 1923 to Jensen; 1,946,837 issued on Feb. 13, 1934 to Clayton; 2,097,651 issued on Nov. 2, 1927 to Stangeland; and 2,427,384 issued on Sep. 16, 1947 to Bushko.
In view of the above, it is apparent that a need exists for a locking device that automatically locks a door in several open positions, can be easily released from any of the locked open positions, can be retrofitted to current hinges and can be used in connection with any type of hinge and closure. This invention addresses these needs in the art, along with other needs which will become apparent to those skilled in the art once given this disclosure.

Locking device for locking a closure in an open position


An image smoothing apparatus includes an image data providing device, an input buffer, a memory control unit, a horizontal mean value computing device, an intermediate stage memory device, a transverse mean value computing device, and an output buffer. The input buffer receives two original pixel data at each time from the image data providing device. One of the original pixel data is an nth pixel data of a ith column scan line, while the other one of the original pixel data is an nth pixel data of a (i+1)th column scan line. The horizontal mean value computing device receives the original pixel data from the image data providing device via the input buffer, and generates a smoothed image signal after all of the original pixel data have been processed. The smoothed image signal from the horizontal mean value computing device is stored in the intermediate stage memory device. The transverse mean value computing device receives the smoothed image signal from the intermediate stage memory device, and generates a final smoothed image signal which is stored in the output buffer after all of the smoothed pixel data have been processed.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and apparatus for smoothing an image signal, more particularly to an image smoothing apparatus which employs a mean value image smoothing technique to smoothen a two-dimensional image signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various image signal smoothing techniques which operate on spatial or frequency domain have been developed in order to decrease or eliminate the presence of noise. One example of a conventional image signal smoothing technique is the mean value image smoothing. In the mean value image smoothing, every pixel of an image signal is replaced by a mean value of the image signal at a plurality of pixels in the neighborhood or vicinity of said pixel. The mathematical equation for finding a smoothed value g(x,y) of a pixel f(x,y) of an image signal which has a total number of N.times.N pixels is as follows: ##EQU1##
wherein,
x=0, 1, 2, 3, . . . N-1; PA1 y=0, 1, 2, 3, . . . N-1;
"S" is a predetermined region (X,Y) which contains a plurality of pixels in the vicinity of the pixel f(n,m); and PA2 M=the number of pixels in "S".
Note that mean value image smoothing can be accomplished in a horizontal direction, in a transverse direction, or in a combination of both directions. Three equations which represent three types of mean value image smoothing techniques may be derived from equation (1) and are given as follows:
1. Horizontal mean value image smoothing: EQU g(x,y)=1/2[f(n,m)+f(n+1,m)] (2)
2. Transverse mean value image smoothing: EQU g(x,y)=1/2[f(n,m)+f(n,m+1)] (3)
3. Center point mean value image smoothing: EQU g(x,y)=1/4[f(n,m)+f(n+1,m)+f(n,m+1)+f(n+1,m+1)] (4)
Conventional image smoothing apparatus which employ the mean value smoothing technique are relatively slow and are not ideal for processing a large amount of image data because they do not employ pipeline processing. Furthermore, the conventional image smoothing apparatus require the use of large blocks of memory space when in operation.

Apparatus using mean value image smoothing for a two-dimensional image signal


When, in the case where card take-in means 3 takes in a magnetic card 10, a magnetic head 4 outputs a predetermined reproducing signal, the magnetic card is taken in; and when the predetermined reproducing signal is not outputted by the magnetic head, the magnetic card take-in operation is stopped. The magnetic head 4 is provided near a card inserting inlet 2, so that, when the card take-in operation is stopped, the rear end 10a of the card 10 is protruded from the card inserting inlet 2.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to magnetic card readers, and more particularly to a magnetic card reader which identifies a magnetic card, and insert it into the magnetic card reader.
2. Related Art
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the arrangement of a conventional magnetic card reader. In the magnetic card reader, the magnetic card inserted into the reader is conveyed to a predetermined position to perform data recording and reading operations. In this case, in order to avoid the insertion of an incorrect card--different in kind, the magnetism of the card is detected with a prehead 101 provided at the card inserting inlet, and with a shutter operated in association with the prehead 101 the insertion of the incorrect card is prevented.
As for such a card reader, especially as for a small card reader, there is a strong demand for elimination of the prehead 101 to increase the space thereby to decrease the manufacturing cost. In order to meet this requirement, in one example of the magnetic card reader, a magnetic head 103 for magnetic data is also used as the prehead 101.
On the other hand, the magnetic card reader which is so designed that the magnetic head 103 operates also as the prehead 101, suffers from the following problem: For instance in the case where a card different in configuration or having a hole has been inserted in the card reader, the sensor operates erroneously, so that the card may be caught in the reader or cannot be taken out. This problem may be solved if, before the card has been fully inserted in the reader, it is detected whether or not it is a correct one.

Magnetic card reader and card taking-in method for magnetic card

Kabushiki Kaisha Sankyo Seiki Seisakusho


A radio-frequency (RF) coil for a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe includes rounded longitudinal conductors connecting end rings formed by sheets. The rounded conductors can be formed by curled sheets or wires. The rounded conductors allow reduced RF losses at the coil window edges, and thus allow increased coil sensitivities. The rounded conductors also allow increased coil sensitivities for an orthogonal coil, by allowing increased transparency to the magnetic field generated by the orthogonal coil. A curled-sheet RF coil can be generated from a single etched sheet by curling longitudinal sections of the sheet into tubular longitudinal conductors. To make such a coil, each longitudinal section is inserted into a longitudinal slot of a sheet-curling member, and the member is rotated about its longitudinal axis. As the curling member is rotated, the longitudinal sheet section wraps around the curling member and becomes curled. The curling member can be provided as part of a sheet-curling tool including two transverse plates for securing the coil into place between the plates, and a set of guides allowing the longitudinal motion of one plate relative to the other.

The invention in general relates to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and in particular to radio-frequency (RF) coils and coil assemblies for NMR.
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers typically include a superconducting magnet for generating a static magnetic field B0, and one or more special-purpose radio-frequency (RF) coils for generating a time-varying magnetic field B1 perpendicular to the field B0, and for detecting the response of a sample to the applied magnetic fields. Each RF coil can resonate at the Larmor frequency of a nucleus of interest present in the sample. The RF coils are typically provided as part of an NMR probe, and are used to analyze samples situated in test tubes or flow cells. The direction of the static magnetic field B0 is commonly denoted as the z-axis, while the plane perpendicular to the z-axis is commonly termed the x-y or xcex8-plane. In the following discussion, the term xe2x80x9clongitudinalxe2x80x9d will be normally used to refer to the z-direction, while the term xe2x80x9ctransversexe2x80x9d will be used to refer to the xcex8-direction.
Conventional RF coils used for NMR include helical coils, saddle coils, resonant cavities, and birdcage resonators. For information on birdcage resonators see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,692,705, 6,236,206, and 6,285,189. For information on saddle-shaped and other coils see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,398,149, 4,388,601, 4,517,516, 4,641,098, 4,840,700, 5,192,911, 5,818,232, and 6,201,392.
The measurement sensitivity that can be achieved with an NMR coil increases with the coil quality factor Q and its filling factor n. The quality factor Q can be maximized by reducing coil losses. The filling factor n can be increased by reducing the coil size relative to the sample. At the same time, reducing the coil size relative to the sample can increase magnetic field inhomegeneities. Inhomogeneities in the RF magnetic field adversely affect the measurement sensitivity. Moreover, the coil design and dimensions are constrained by the requirement that the coil resonate in a desired frequency range. The resonant frequency of interest is determined by the nucleus of interest and the strength of the applied static magnetic field B0.
The conducting parts of conventional coils are typically formed by wires having a round cross-section, or by conductive patterns formed from a thin sheet. Coils formed from sheets can have relatively high distributed capacitances, and thus relatively low inductances, for given coil sizes and resonant frequencies. The measurement sensitivities achievable with typical sheet-conductor coils can be limited by coil losses.
An NMR probe can include multiple NMR coils, each tuned for performing NMR measurements on a different nucleus of interest. For example, an NMR probe can include one coil for performing NMR measurements on protons, and another coil for performing NMR measurements on other nuclei of interest, such as 13C or 15N. In such an NMR probe, the design of one coil can affect the performance of the other coil(s). In order to reduce the coupling between two coils, the coils can be disposed in a quadrature configuration, so that the magnetic fields generated by the coils are mutually orthogonal. This configuration minimizes the mutual inductance between the coils.
The uniformity of the static and RF magnetic fields can be improved by employing susceptibility-compensated wires or sheets for the coil conductors. Abrupt changes in magnetic susceptibility near the sample can significantly degrade the field uniformity in the sample region. A susceptibility-compensated coil has an effective magnetic susceptibility roughly equal to that of the coil environment, which is commonly air or vacuum. A susceptibility-compensated sheet coil can be formed from a sandwich of two or more layers, wherein the materials and thicknesses of the layers are chosen to generate a desired effective susceptibility for the coil. For example, a paramagnetic layer and a diamagnetic layer can be stacked together to yield an effective susceptibility much lower in absolute value than the susceptibility of either layer alone. Effectively achieving susceptibility compensation can constrain RF coil thicknesses. For example, a relatively thin sheet may be required for achieving an effective coil susceptibility approaching zero. For further information on susceptibility-compensated NMR coils see for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,091,732 and 6,054,855.
As is apparent from the above discussion, the design of RF coils for NMR applications is highly constrained by multiple parameters. Maximizing the measurement sensitivity of an RF coil or coil assembly typically involves a balancing of effects of various design parameters. Coil designs providing increased design flexibility to the system designer would allow building NMR systems with increased sensitivities.
The present invention provides radio-frequency coils and coil assemblies allowing reduced RF losses, improved NMR measurement sensitivities, and improved magnetic field homogeneities. A radio-frequency coil for an NMR probe and spectrometer includes a plurality of rounded-edge longitudinal conductors interconnecting a pair of longitudinally-spaced, generally transverse ring-shaped sheet conductors. In the presently preferred embodiment, each rounded-edge longitudinal conductors is formed by a generally-longitudinal curled sheet including a tubular or cylindrical portion. The curled sheet and the transverse ring-shaped conductors can be formed from a single susceptibility-compensated sheet. In another embodiment, each longitudinal conductor is formed by a tubular solid wire. The RF coil can be a birdcage coil or a saddle-shaped coil. The rounded-edge sheet coil can be provided as part of a coil assembly including an additional radio-frequency coil disposed orthogonally and concentrically with respect to the rounded-edge coil.
The transverse sheet conductors provide for relatively large distributed capacitances, while the rounded longitudinal conductors allow reducing coil losses and provide for increased transparency to orthogonal magnetic fields. Rounding the coil edges around the coil windows allows reducing the concentration of RF current at the coil edges, and thus reducing the RF losses within the coil. The reduced RF losses allow improved measurement sensitivities. The rounded shapes of the longitudinal conductors also allows increasing the transparency of the longitudinal conductors to the magnetic field generated by the additional, orthogonal coil.
A sheet-curling tool comprising a rotatable, slotted longitudinal curling member simplifies the manufacture of a rounded-conductor coil from a single sheet. The curling member has a longitudinal slot extending along the member, for retaining a sheet conductor to be curled. The slot terminates in a distal open end at a longitudinal end of the curling member. The distal open end allows inserting and removing the sheet conductor longitudinally into/from the curling member. The curling member is mounted on a support comprising two longitudinally-spaced, generally transverse parallel plates. A pair of longitudinal guides is mounted on one of the plates. The longitudinal guides pass through corresponding apertures in the other plate, and allow the two plates to slide longitudinally to grip a patterned sheet in place between the plates. Once the sheet is secured, a wing of the patterned sheet is inserted into the longitudinal slot of the curling member, and the curling member is rotated about its longitudinal axis to curl the wing into a cylinder.


A motor driving apparatus drives an electric blower including a single-phase PM motor. The motor driving apparatus includes: a single-phase inverter that applies an alternating-current voltage to the single-phase PM motor; a rotor position detecting unit that outputs, to an inverter control unit, a position detecting signal corresponding to a rotational position of a rotor of the single-phase PM motor; a motor current detecting unit that outputs, to the inverter control unit, a signal corresponding to a motor current flowing to the single-phase PM motor; and the inverter control unit that outputs a driving signal to corresponding switching elements of the single-phase inverter on the basis of the position detecting signal and the motor current. The single-phase inverter performs control to increase or decrease effective electric power supplied to the single-phase PM motor. The air blower changes an air volume by the increase or decrease in effective electric power.

Various kinds of motors are available such as a brushed DC motor, an induction motor, and a PM motor, each of the motors having a single phase, three phases, or the like. Among these various motors, the single-phase PM motor does not use a brush that is a mechanical structure. For such a "brushless" structure of the single-phase PM motor, there is no brush wear unlike the brushed DC motor. This feature allows the single-phase PM motor to easily achieve long service life and high reliability.
Moreover, the single-phase PM motor is a highly efficient motor as compared with the induction motor because no secondary current flows to a rotor of the single-phase PM motor.
The single-phase PM motor also has the following advantages as compared with a three-phase PM motor having the number of phases different from that of the single-phase PM motor. The three-phase PM motor requires a three-phase inverter, whereas the single-phase PM motor requires only a single-phase inverter. The use of a commonly used full-bridge inverter as the three-phase inverter requires six switching elements, whereas the use of the full-bridge inverter in the single-phase PM motor requires four switching elements. Thus, an apparatus with the single-phase PM motor can be made smaller than with the three-phase PM motor.
The following Patent Literature 1 and Non Patent Literature 1 are disclosed as examples of prior literature relating to a system of driving the single-phase PM motor.

Motor driving apparatus, vacuum cleaner, and hand dryer


The present invention addresses deficiencies of the art with respect to collaborative computer networks consisting of mixed data, control functions, analysis functions, and sensors in complex systems of systems. The method involves a database framework for representing complex heterogeneous characteristics of processes, systems, and systems of systems that feature many to many interrelationships. The homoiconic graph framework takes the form of an executable graph database, which is often faster for associative data sets, and maps more directly to object-oriented computer applications for large-scale operations. The invention provides a method to execute the graph database, in that the graph comprises nodes that are both data fragments and executable components. The graph is characterized as one or more homoiconic or executable graph frameworks, to distinguish this unique feature from the concept of a graph database, which generally is a repository of connected data only.

There are many market areas where businesses must define and manage large and complex information interrelationships. This is most acute in the interconnection and control of the billions of digital devices embedded in our daily lives. This is the future "Internet of Things", which has proven to be a problem space that many current approaches are ill-suited to tackle. Similar kinds of problems arise in information management systems, process control, or interactive adaptive control systems.
As these complex engineered systems become more ubiquitous, the interactions between different systems become more complex and unpredictable. Systems architects are responsible for developing processes and systems that can provide proper information and control for large and complex systems of systems (SoS). There is a critical need in many fields for an integrated approach that can collect, hold, synthesize, manage and control the relationships between systems and the data in the systems, and be scalable from the smallest to the largest, with similar processes operating on the various systems regardless of their size or type. The last need represents the fractal nature of a solution that is required to address complex systems effectively.
One common solution to these needs is the development of a database application that manages the storage of data and complex relationships, while another program processes and manages control messages at a single centralized point. This solution requires ever-increasing computing power and more complex message control. However, it is often the case that otherwise good intentions are thwarted as unintended consequences dominate the desired outcomes.
Many current approaches utilize graph databases as a simple repository for facts and local relationships within the data. However, these approaches have not been sufficient to address the overwhelming complexity of current datasets.
By contrast, in the technology presented herein the overall graph structure has meaning that integrates all of these relationships and control networks into a broader context; in the same sense that a 'forest' is more than a 'collection of trees'.
The discussion of the background herein is included to explain the context of the technology. This is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published, known, or part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims found appended hereto.
Throughout the description and claims of the specification the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as "comprising" and "comprises", is not intended to exclude other additives, components, integers or steps.

Executable graph framework for the management of complex systems


At a server, a load monitoring unit monitors whether or not a predetermined condition regarding processing of requests is satisfied. In the case where the predetermined condition is not satisfied, a wait-time calculating unit calculates a wait time as a time parameter for controlling the speed of time flow at a player terminal side. A request executing unit executes requests in the order of arrival and generates responses. A response sending control unit executes control to send responses to the player terminals that have sent the corresponding requests and to also send to the player terminals information representing the wait time in the case where the wait time has been calculated.

As games that can be executed on terminals such as smartphones, games in which a plurality of players can participate, such as multi-battle games, have existed in the past (e.g., see Patent Literature 1).
In such games, the following request and response method is often adopted. Specifically, when a player operates a terminal to enter a command, the terminal sends the command as a request to a server. The server executes the request and sends the result of execution, etc. as a response to the terminal.    Patent Literature 1: Pamphlet of WO 2014/098237

Information processing system, server, and program, and terminal and program


Powders that have been obtained from a homogenized and dehydrated oil-in-water emulsion containing (a) a structuring and emulsifying agent, (b) at least one fat, (c) at least one cosmetically active substance, and (d) an aqueous phase, may be reconstituted to regive the oil-in-water emulsion by hydration. The powder can be used, as is, in cosmetic or dermatological products.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cosmetic and/or dermatological powders, and to a process for preparing such powders. Such powders can be used to obtain ingestible capsules. The present invention especially relates to a dehydrated oil-in-water emulsion (O/W), that can be used as is and that can be reconstituted.
2. Discussion of the Background
The anhydrous products that are commonly used in cosmetology are oily (water-in-oil) and have an oily touch. These products are rather well adapted for an application on dry skin.
Unfortunately, such products are not easy or nice to handle, because they are often fluid or liquid. On the other hand, such products are not satisfactory for hydrating normal to oily skin, do not penetrate well in the skin, and leave an oily and shiny film on the skin.
Thus, there remains a need for anhydrous cosmetic and/or dermatological powders that can be reconstituted, can contain at least one fatty element without suffering from the disadvantage of "heaviness" when applied to the skin. There also remains a need for a method of preparing such powders.

Cosmetic or dermatological powder, its preparation process and its uses


An upper receiver for a firearm. The firearm includes a barrel extending forward of the upper receiver and a buttstock extending rearward of the upper receiver. The upper receiver includes an arcuate surface formed in a wall of the chamber. The arcuate surface changes direction of gases that are directed rearward in the chamber such that the gases are vented from the upper receiver in a non-rearward direction.

A traditional upper receiver 10 for meeting military specifications (MIL SPEC) for the AR-15 firearm is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. Referring to FIG. 1, the upper receiver 10 includes a rear end 10a and a front end 10b. The rear end 10a of the upper receiver 10 includes a charging handle slot 12 defined between a top wall 14 and a sidewall 16 of the upper receiver 10. The top wall 14 includes a flat (i.e., planar), downwardly-facing surface 18 and the sidewall 16 of the upper receiver 10 defines a generally curved, rear-facing end wall 20 on each side of the slot 12. The generally curved end walls 20 have a relatively vertical center portion and angled top and bottom portions. The shape of the slot 12 follows relatively closely the shape of a charging handle for the firearm such that the forward-facing surface of the charging handle fits against the rear-facing end wall 20. A chamber 22 inside the upper receiver 10 is traditionally formed with a milling operation from the front end 10b of the upper receiver 10 and the slot 12 is traditionally formed with a broaching operation from the rear end 10a because the area of the slot 12 is not accessible with a traditional mill from the front end 10b.
With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the front end 10b of the upper receiver 10 includes a gas tube placement hole or gas tube port 30 through which the gas tube 32 enters the upper receiver 10. The gas tube port 30 is surrounded by four symmetrical lobes 34 which communicate with the gas tube port 30. The lobes 34 accommodate misalignment of the gas tube 32 with respect to the central axis of the gas tube port 30. The upper receiver 10 includes a gas accumulation space 36 immediately rearward of the gas tube port 30, where gases expand as they enter the upper receiver 10. The gas accumulation space 36 communicates with the chamber 22.


This invention relates to a process for producing a nonequilibrium distribution of methylamines by the catalyzed reaction of methanol and/or dimethyl ether with ammonia and by the catalytic reforming of a methylamine containing feedstock. One process selectively affords a reaction product enriched in mono and dimethylamines and low in trimethylamine, at high conversion of methanol or dimethylether. A variation of the process effects reforming a methylamine containing feedstock, optionally containing ammonia over a catalyst. The key to achieving this low TMA selectivity at high conversion resides in the use of a microporous zeolite, preferably chabazite, catalyst having a geometric selectivity index (GSI) less about 3, a shape selectivity index (SSI) greater than about 5 and a sorption capacity for 1-PrOH of at least 0.5 mmol/g.

The reaction of methanol and ammonia to produce methylamines, comprising a mixture of mono-, di- and trimethylamine, is a well known reaction. The reaction product is an equilibrium mixture with about 35 wt % of the reaction product consisting of monomethylamine (MMA), 27 wt % dimethylamine (DMA), and 38 wt % trimethylamine (TMA) produced at a temperature of 350.degree. C., 1 atmosphere pressure and an ammonia to methanol ratio (N/R) of 3.5. Substantial process efforts have been made for the development of processes which would alter the product slate resulting from the reaction of methanol and ammonia. Process variables influencing product slate, although limited, include space time, ammonia to methanol molar ratio and temperature. Product slate modifications primarily have been made via shape selective catalysts such as zeolites.
Representative patents which illustrate various processes for the production of a methylamine reaction product having non equilibrium levels of MMA, DMA and TMA by the reaction of methanol and ammonia are as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,485,261 discloses a process for the preparation of a methylamine reaction product rich in DMA and lean in TMA which comprises introducing a mixture of methylamines and ammonia to a porous; solid acid catalyst comprising silica, alumina, Y and X type zeolites, thereby forming a first reaction product and then subjecting at least a part of the reaction product to a catalytic reforming reaction in the presence of ammonia and a crystalline alumino-silicate having a pore size of 3 to 8 .ANG.. A variety of catalysts having a pore size of 3 to 8 .ANG. is set forth, and these catalysts include clinoptilolite, erionite, mordenite, chabazite and various synthetic zeolites. U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,012 discloses a process for producing amines by the reaction of an alkanol with ammonia, e.g., the manufacture of methylamines by the reaction of methanol and ammonia in the presence of an FU-1 zeolite, said FU-1 zeolite having essentially all of the sodium cations replaced by bivalent or trivalent cations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,602,112 discloses a process for producing DMA in high selectivity by the reaction of methanol or dimethylether and ammonia in the presence of an acidic H-ZSM-5 zeolite catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,667 discloses the alkylation of ammonia in the presence of a dehydrated naturally occurring crystalline alumino-silicate catalyst having pores of a diameter permitting absorption of primary and secondary, but not tertiary, amine products. Examples of natural zeolites include ferrierites, chabazite, erionite and mordenite.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,592 discloses a process for producing a reaction product rich in DMA by reacting methanol and/or dimethylether and ammonia in the presence of an acidic zeolite catalyst selected from the group consisting of natural, H-exchanged and M-exchanged chabazites, each having a geometric selectivity index (GSI) greater than about 3. Alkali metal ions suited for exchange include sodium, potassium, rubidium and cesium.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,458,092; 4,398,041 and 4,434,300 disclose processes for producing methylamine by carrying out the reaction utilizing zeolite type catalysts. The '092 patent discloses the use of a highly acidic dehydrated alumino-silicate catalyst exchanged with a rare earth or hydrogen metal ion exchanged Y-zeolite. The '300 patent discloses the preparation of the amines using macroporous H-chabazite-erionite as the preferred amination catalyst. Anaconda chabazite-erionite was used as a specific catalyst and that catalyst system achieved high methanol conversion rates with minimal TMA production.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,254,061 and 4,313,003 disclose the production of a methylamine rich in MMA ('061) and DMA ('003). The '061 patent discloses the reaction of methanol and ammonia in the presence of mordenite, erionite, clinoptilolite, etc. to produce MMA, while the '003 discloses the reaction of MMA and ammonia in the presence of the '061 patent catalysts to produce a reaction product rich in DMA.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,805 discloses the production of amines by the reaction of C.sub.1 to C.sub.5 alcohols or ethers with ammonia in the presence of a crystalline alumino-silicate having the structure ZSM-5, ZSM-11 or ZSM-21.

Preparation of methylamines using shape selective chabazites


A piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus to control an output voltage from a piezoelectric transformer to a load, and an image forming apparatus including the same, the piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus including: an output voltage detection unit to compare the output voltage with an output control voltage, and to output a digital value according to the comparison; and a driving control unit to control a driving frequency and a duty rate of the piezoelectric transformer according to the digital value. Accordingly, the piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus can stably perform frequency and duty rate control without experiencing an abnormal oscillation or uncontrollable state due to a manufacturing irregularity of particular components and/or a change in temperature, and a high voltage can be output within a short rise time.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus that forms an image in an electronic photographing process, a transfer unit contacts a photoreceptor to transfer the image from the photoreceptor to, for example, a print medium according to a direct transfer method. Specifically, the transfer unit is a conductive rubber in the form of a roller having a conductive body as a rotation axis. The driving of the transfer unit is controlled according to a process speed of the photoreceptor. Also, the polarity of a DC bias voltage, which is applied to the transfer unit, is the same as that of a transfer voltage of a corona discharge method.
Thus, in order to perform a reliable transfer using the transfer roller, a voltage of approximately 3 kV (required current is microamperes) is generally applied. According to a conventional technology, in order to generate a high voltage that is required for processing image formation, a coil-type electronic transformer has been used. However, the electronic transformer is formed with copper wire, bobbins, and magnetic cores, and when the electronic transformer is used to apply a voltage of approximately 3 kV, the output current value is very low. Accordingly, a leakage current in each part of the electronic transformer should be minimized. In order to minimize the leakage current, a method of making the coil of an electronic transformer with a mold made of an organic insulating material has been used. However, when this method is used, there are risks of producing smoke and fire, and a bigger electronic transformer in relation to the supplied power is required. Accordingly, it is difficult to reduce the size and weight of the electronic transformer.
In order to solve this problem, a method of generating a high voltage by using a slim-type light-weight high-output piezoelectric transformer has been considered. That is, if a piezoelectric transformer using a ceramic material is employed, it is possible to generate a high voltage with an efficiency greater than or equal to that of the electronic transformer. Furthermore, regardless of whether the primary side and the secondary side are combined, it is possible to space apart the primary side electrode and the secondary side electrode. Therefore, mold processing is not necessary for insulating and there are no longer any risks of producing smoke and fire. As a result, excellent properties that ensure a small-sized and light-weight high-voltage power source apparatus can be obtained.
As such, in a high-voltage power source apparatus using a piezoelectric transformer, a piezoelectric transformer controls an output by using a general frequency. However, in a frequency control performed by a high-voltage power source control circuit, problems (such as a variable width and inefficiency of an output voltage) exist. That is, in order to reduce an output voltage by increasing a frequency, if a frequency is changed too much, an output voltage increases at a next resonant point since a plurality of resonant points exist in a piezoelectric transformer. Accordingly, a variable width of an output voltage cannot be increased. In addition, frequency ranges resulting in high efficiency and low efficiency for generating a driving voltage exist in frequencies of a driving voltage. If a variable width of an output voltage increases, frequencies in a frequency range resulting in low efficiency should be used. Thus, the entire efficiency of the high-voltage power source apparatus is low.
In order to solve this problem, a technology to simultaneously control a frequency and a duty rate of a driving voltage has been suggested. When a frequency and a duty rate of a driving voltage are simultaneously controlled by using the above technology so as to make an output voltage uniform, a low output voltage and an increased variable width can be obtained. Accordingly, a constant voltage power source having excellent stability can be obtained. Also, when ranges resulting in high efficiency of a frequency and a duty rate are combined, efficiency of the high-voltage power source apparatus can be increased.
However, in the above technology, a control circuit to simultaneously control a frequency and a duty rate, which is included in a driving voltage control unit, generates a pyramidal wave by a charge/discharge circuit due to resistance and a capacitor. The frequency and the duty rate are simultaneously controlled based on the pyramidal wave. Accordingly, when a load current significantly increases due to a manufacturing irregularity of particular components and/or a change in temperature, the control circuit may exceed the resonant frequency such that control is impossible. In addition, the driving frequency cannot be used in the vicinity of a resonant frequency, and thus efficiency cannot be improved.
A conventional piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus will now be explained with reference to FIGS. 1 through 3. FIG. 1 is a block diagram to explain a conventional piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the conventional piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus, a piezoelectric transformer T901 is ceramic. Diodes D902 and D903 and a high-voltage capacitor C904 rectify and smooth an alternating current (AC) output of the piezoelectric transformer T901 to form a constant voltage. The rectified and smoothed output voltage is provided to a transfer roller (not shown). Also, resistors R905, R906, and R907 divide the rectified and smoothed output voltage, before the rectified and smoothed output voltage is input to a non-inverted input terminal (+ terminal) of an operational amplifier Q909 through a protection resistor R908.
Meanwhile, an analog control signal Vcont of a high-voltage power source is input from a DC controller through a resistor R914 to an inverted input terminal (− terminal) of the operational amplifier Q909. The operational amplifier Q909, the resistor R914, and a capacitor C913 form an integrator circuit. The operational amplifier Q909 outputs a control signal (Vcont) that is integration-processed with an integration constant determined by the values of the resistor R914 and the capacitor C913.
The output end of the operational amplifier Q909 is connected to a Voltage-Controlled Oscillator (VCO) 910. Furthermore, the output end of the VCO 910 drives a transistor Q911 connected to an inductor L912, thereby providing a power source of a particular driving frequency to the primary side of the piezoelectric transformer T901. In this way, a high-voltage power source unit of an electronic photographing type image forming apparatus uses the piezoelectric transformer T901.
FIGS. 2 and 3 are waveform diagrams to explain a driving frequency of a piezoelectric transformer in a piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus according to a conventional technology. Referring to FIG. 2, a maximum output voltage of a piezoelectric transformer T901 occurs at a resonant frequency f0, and the output voltage decreases on either side of the resonant frequency f0. Accordingly, by controlling a driving frequency, the output voltage can be controlled. When the output voltage of the piezoelectric transformer T901 is to be increased, a driving frequency fx that is higher than the resonant frequency f0 is used as a new resonant frequency f0.
A high-voltage power source unit of an electronic photographing type image forming apparatus has a plurality of high-voltage power source circuits, and forms images with biasing outputs for charging, developing, and transferring. However, since the conventional piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power source apparatus controls the driving frequency fx of the piezoelectric transformer T901 by processing an analog signal Vcont, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a time delay occurs before a desired output control voltage value is reached.
Also, a plurality of resonant points can exist in a piezoelectric transformer T901. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, 4 resonant points may exist in a piezoelectric transformer T901. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a first resonant point exists in which an output voltage of about 3.5 kV can be obtained if a driving voltage with a first resonant frequency f1 is applied. Furthermore, at the higher frequency side of the first resonant frequency f1 are a second resonant point (resonant frequency: f2) and a third resonant point (resonant frequency: f3) that maximize output voltages. Since each of the resonant points are a point at which an output voltage becomes a maximum (as illustrated in FIG. 3), if the frequency of a driving voltage is changed to a frequency either higher or lower than a resonant frequency, the output voltage decreases.
However, even when the frequency is changed from the resonant frequency, if the maximum value of an output voltage is set to kilovolts, the frequency of the output voltage does not reduce to hundreds of volts or less. This is because, if the frequency is changed greatly, the frequency does not converge on 0 as the frequency approaches a next resonant frequency. Therefore, after a certain minimum frequency is reached, the output voltage increases until the next resonant frequency is reached.
In the frequency range of a driving voltage, a range exists within which an output voltage of the piezoelectric transformer T901 may be most efficiently obtained (such as a range in the vicinity of a resonant frequency). However, in order to increase the variable width of an output voltage range, a frequency in a range within which poor efficiency results must also be used. Thus, the efficiency as a whole is lowered.

Piezoelectric transformer type high-voltage power apparatus and image forming apparatus


A method of converting TV channels into WLAN channels in a wireless local area network system (WLAN) is disclosed. A method of converting TV channels into WLAN channels at an apparatus comprising receiving WSM including a list of available TV channels and finding out a center frequency of each of first WLAN channels which exist on frequency area of the available TV channels using TV channel bandwidth, WLAN channel bandwidth and a starting frequency of each of the available TV channels, wherein the TV channel bandwidth and the WLAN channel bandwidth are predetermined.

The standard for a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology is established by IEEE 802.11 standard association. IEEE 802.11a/b among IEEE 802.11 standards provides 11 Mbps (IEEE 802.11b) or 54 Mbps (IEEE 802.11a) transmission efficiency using unlicensed band on 2.4. GHz or 5 GHz frequency band. IEEE 802.11g, adapting OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Divisional Multiplexing) technology, provides 54 Mbps transmission efficiency. And, IEEE 802.11n, adapting MIMO-OFDM technology, provides 300 Mbps transmission efficiency for 4 spatial streams. IEEE 802.11n provides 40 MHz channel bandwidth, and in this case it provides up to 600 Mbps transmission efficiency.
Now, a standard for regulating the WLAN operation in TV White Space is under establishment, as IEEE 802.11af.
TV Whitespace includes channels allocated to broadcast TV, which are permitted to be used by cognitive radio device. TV White Space may include UHF band and VHF band. The spectrum not used by a licensed device (hereinafter, can be called as 'White Space') can be used by an unlicensed device. The frequency band permitted to be used by unlicensed device can be differently defined for each country. Generally, this frequency band comprises 54-698 MHz (US, Korea), and some of this frequency band can't be used for the unlicensed device. Here, 'licensed device' means a device of the user permitted in this frequency band, and can be differently called as 'primary user', or 'incumbent user'. Hereinafter, the term of 'incumbent user' can be collectively used for these terms.
512-608 MHz and 614-698 MHz are permitted to be used by all kinds of unlicensed devices except a few of special cases. However, 54-60 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz and 470-512 MHz are permitted to be used by fixed devices, which perform transmission at a fixed location.
Unlicensed device should provide a protection mechanism for the incumbent user. That is, the unlicensed device should stop using a specific channel, when an incumbent user, such as wireless microphone, is using that specific channel.
Therefore, the unlicensed device, which wishes to use the TV White Space (TVWS), shall acquire information for available channel list at its location. Hereinafter, the unlicensed device operating in the TVWS using MAC (Medium Access Control) and PHY (Physical) operation according to IEEE 802.11 can be called as TVWS terminal.
The unlicensed device acquires a list of available channels having a first channel granularity and operates using channels having the second channel granularity.
For example, in order to operate in TVWS as an unlicensed device, a station (STA) should find the network to be connected. This type of process may be called as 'scanning'. Whiles the unlicensed device acquired available TV channel list have a first channel granularity, it performs scanning on a WLAN channel. Thus, algorithm for converting TV channels into WLAN channels is necessary.

Method and apparatus of converting TV channels into WLAN channels in a wireless local area network system


When an advertisement break is detected on a program channel stream, demographic data is obtained which is descriptive of the subscribers who are currently watching material from the program channel stream, and one or more streams containing substitute advertisements are generated based on the demographic data. The substitute advertisements in each stream, thus generated, are targeted at a different demographic group of the subscribers. The number of substitute advertisement streams corresponds to the number of unused transmission channels allocated for transmission of such streams. Groups of subscribers' set-top terminals (STTs) are directed to tune to the allocated transmission channels during the advertisement break to receive the substitute advertisement streams, respectively. Consequently, the subscribers are shown the substitute, targeted advertisements instead of the regularly-scheduled advertisements.

In traditional cable networks, a broadcast stream containing program material, e.g., a TV show, typically contains one or more splice points (commonly referred to as advertisement breaks) allowing for the insertion of advertisements. Many cable operators utilize these splice points to insert local advertisements or for self-promotion. For example, a cable operator may broadcast an advertisement for a local car dealership at a splice point during the TV show "Friends." Although this form of advertising has been used for years, it is inefficient because in many instances the majority of subscribers watching the respective program material may not be a member of the audience for whom the advertisement is intended. For instance, in the example given above, many teenagers watch "Friends," but relatively few teenagers are potential purchasers of automobiles.
In response to this problem, an improved technique known as targeted advertising has been used recently in some cable networks. Targeted advertising generally allows a cable operator to generate one or more sets of "targeted advertisements" aimed at various demographic groups, and deliver the targeted advertisements to those groups. Several techniques exist for delivering targeted advertisements to subscribers* set-top terminals (STTs) in a cable television network. According to one such technique, a cable operator's headend facility provides one or more sets of advertisements targeted at various demographic groups. Each STT in the network receives these targeted advertisements at opportune times, such as between 2:00 am and 6:00 am when the STT is not active, and stores them in memory. Subsequently, when subscribers are watching a cable program, the STT detects an upcoming advertisement break in the program and substitutes one or more of the targeted advertisements stored in memory for the regularly scheduled advertisements. The STT may use demographic information associated with the program currently being watched, or subscriber-related data collected by the STT, to select an appropriate substitute advertisement from among those stored in memory. In accordance with this technique, the targeted advertisements are inserted into the broadcast stream being received by the STT.
In accordance with another technique, a cable operator assigns, for a given program channel, a predetermined number of transmission channels to carry alternate targeted advertisements to the subscribers watching the given program channel. Using this technique, the cable operator prepares in advance a collection of targeted advertisements, without knowledge of the make-up of the actual audience of the given program channel at an advertisement break. To generate targeted advertisements, the cable operator utilizes a database containing demographic information describing the whole subscriber base. Typically, multiple targeted advertisement streams are generated for various demographic groups identified within the subscriber base. When an advertisement break occurs, the cable operator transmits the prepared streams of targeted advertisements through the respective transmission channels. Each stream of targeted advertisements contains control information indicating the demographic group for which the advertisements are intended. An STT in the network selects one of the streams of targeted advertisements based on one or more factors. These factors may include a demographic profile associated with the TV show currently being shown, or information known about the respective STT household. The STT tunes to the appropriate transmission channel, plays the selected stream of targeted advertisements during the advertisement break, and then re-tunes to the original TV show channel after the advertising break ends. However, this technique proves to be ineffective especially when members of a demographic group for which a targeted advertisement is intended are not present in the actual audience of the show.
The prior art techniques described above are inefficient for other reasons as well. For example, they require the installation and maintenance on STTs in the network of special software applications that perform tasks such as monitoring a program channel for advertisement breaks, maintaining and analyzing demographic information concerning the subscriber, and selecting one or more advertisements appropriate for the subscriber household. For many cable operators, it is costly and inefficient to install and maintain software applications in large numbers of STTs in a network.

Technique for effectively delivering targeted advertisements through a communications network having limited bandwidth


A barrel-type multistage pump with uniformed velocity distribution in an axial direction, on a cross-section of a rotating flow channel, to suppress fluid loss in a last stage, and including: plural stages of centrifugal impellers, covered by an inner casing; diffusers and return channels provided on downstream sides of the centrifugal impellers, to guide the flow of a fluid to a centrifugal impeller in the next stage, and return vanes arranged at respective return channels; a cylindrical outer casing having a suction pipe and a discharge pipe, wherein a cylindrical rotating flow channel connected to a discharge opening is provided between an outer casing and an inner casing, a connecting channel to connect between a rotating flow channel and diffusers.

The present invention relates to a barrel-type multistage pump used in relatively high-lift applications.
A general structure of diffusers and stages of a conventional barrel-type multistage pump is shown in FIG. 1. In the centrifugal multistage pump, the kinetic energy of a fluid flowing out of impellers 1 in the centrifugal direction is converted into a pressure energy at an enlarged flow channel of diffusers 16 with blades provided at outer circumferences of the impellers, the direction of the fluid is turned to the inside in the radial direction at a U-turn passage 17 formed at each stage on the outer circumferential side of the diffusers, and then the fluid is guided to the impeller in the next stage by using return vanes 20 provided on the downstream side of the U-turn passage 17. In the last stage, the fluid discharged from the entire circumferences of the diffusers 16 is fed to a discharge pipe 41 via a connecting channel 19 and a rotating flow channel 18. The meridional plane of the connecting channel 19 is provided in a direction orthogonal to a rotary shaft 10, namely, the meridional plane of the connecting channel 19 is linearly provided in the outer circumferential direction, a junction part between the connecting channel 19 and the rotating flow channel 18 is provided at a position apart from a center line 41a of the discharge pipe 41. The object of providing the junction part at a position apart from the center line 41a of the discharge pipe 41 is to shorten the length of the pump in the axial direction by shifting the position of the discharge pipe 41 to the side of a suction opening 3, and to reduce the cost by reducing the size and weight of the pump. However, a fluid loss occurs at a position where the fluid is discharged in the above-described configuration, and there are two possible factors of the fluid loss.
As a first factor, the fluid in the connecting channel 19 flows into the rotating flow channel 18, the most of the fluid flows out after being swirled at an area X near a junction part, and then the fluid flows out to the discharge pipe 41 in the shape of the last stage as shown in FIG. 3. When viewed from the cross-sectional direction of the rotating flow channel 18, the velocity of the rotating flow is high near the junction part X with the connecting channel 19, whereas the velocity thereof is low near a position Y on the suction side of the pump that is apart from the junction part X. Accordingly, the velocity non-uniformity on the cross-section causes a fluid loss. Further, as the flow near this position on the cross-section of the meridional plane, the direction of the fluid flowing out of the connecting channel 19 is once turned to the axial direction of the pump at the rotating flow channel 18 as shown in FIG. 4, and is further turned to the outer circumferential direction again at a position reaching the discharge pipe 41. As a result, the fluid reaches the discharge pipe 41 so as to pass through a crank. In particular, when the fluid flows into the discharge pipe 41, the direction of the flow that is originally fast in the circumferential direction is further turned to a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. Thus, the fluid cannot flow along the shape at this position, and is largely separated and disordered, leading to an enormous fluid loss.
As a second factor, as shown in FIG. 5 that is viewed from the cross-sectional direction passing through the connecting channel 19 and the discharge opening 4 shown in FIG. 4, when the fluid flowing out of the impellers 1 passes through a guide impeller blade 16a provided at the diffuser 16 to reach the rotating flow channel 18 via the connecting channel 19, all the flow does not reach the discharge pipe 41 after flowing out in one direction of the rotating flow channel 18 in the rotational direction of the impellers. Near the discharge pipe 41, in particular, it has been found that a part of the fluid flowing out of the connecting channel 19 flows in a direction opposed to the rotational direction (indicated by the arrows) of the impellers 1 under the influence of the disorder of the flow near the discharge pipe 41, and interferes with the fluid flowing in the forward direction of the rotating flow channel before reaching the discharge pipe. An enormous flow loss occurs also at the position.
The second factor is possibly and mainly derived from the fact that the cross-sectional area of the rotating flow channel 18 is constant in the circumferential direction, and the amount of flow flowing into the rotating flow channel 18 from the connecting channel 19 is constant in the circumferential direction. Thus, the velocity of flow in the rotating flow channel 18 in the rotational direction of the impellers is increased in the rotational direction of the impellers 1 from a connecting part between the rotating flow channel 18 and the discharge pipe 41, and then the fluid flows out via the discharge pipe 41. However, near the downstream side of the impellers 1 in the rotational direction from the connecting part between the rotating flow channel and the discharge pipe 41 in the rotating flow channel 18, the velocity of the flow in the circumferential direction is significantly lowered, and the fluid cannot smoothly flow. Thus, the fluid flows in a direction opposed to the swirl direction at this position.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-303796 proposes a vortex pump or a radial flow pump in which the cross-sectional area of a rotating flow channel is gradually increased in the rotational direction of impellers from a position apart from a discharge opening to the discharge opening, so that the cross-sectional area of the rotating flow channel is gradually increased in the same direction. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-152849 proposes a centrifugal pump in which a spiral-shaped groove that is gradually deepened towards a discharge opening is provided, in the rotational direction, from a circular part between an outer circumferential edge of an inner wall surface of a discharge casing and a circular arc corresponding to an outer circumferential circle of impellers. These are provided to contribute to reduction in energy consumption while the flow in the rotating flow channel is rectified and a loss in the flow channels, inside the pump is reduced to improve the efficiency of the pump.


A dual-resonance retractable antenna including a connector, a telescopic radiating device mounted on the connector, and a radiating tube mounted on the connector around the tubular outer radiating element of the telescopic radiating device and electrically isolated from the telescopic radiating device. The telescopic radiating device is movable between an extended position and a retracted position, the dual-resonance retractable antenna can oscillate at two different resonance frequencies, having multi-band multi-system capabilities for multiplex application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retractable antenna and more particularly, to a dual-resonance retractable antenna.
2. Description of the Related Art
A regular retractable antenna is generally comprised of an outer tube and one or multiple inner tubes (for example, one outer tube 11 and one inner tube 12 as shown in FIG. 2). The inner tube can be moved out of the outer tube to extend the length of the antenna. However, conventional retractable antennas are simply for oscillation at a specific resonance frequency. By means of manually adjusting the length of the antenna, the frequency shift is controlled (see FIG. 1).
Following fast development of communication equipments, antenna is required to effectively achieve automation and to have multi-band multi-system capabilities for multiplex application. However, regular retractable antennas cannot achieve the requirements.
To solve the aforesaid problem, retractable antenna may be provided with a connector at the top side for the connection of an external antenna for signal transmission at a second frequency band. However, this arrangement is not to achieve the desired multi-frequency function by means of changing the arrangement of the retractable antenna itself but by means of attaching an external antenna for signal transmission at a second frequency band. This design is inconvenient in use.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a retractable antenna that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks.


An apparatus for secure communications contains a controller for automatically selecting one of several data ciphering devices utilizing one of a plurality of ciphering algorithms common to transmitting and receiving terminals. A transmitter for transmitting encrypted data, and a receiver for receiving encrypted data are coupled to the plurality of ciphering devices. The controller automatically determines which of the ciphering devices to employ for any given secure communication. The method for establishing a secure communications link includes the steps of exchanging a first message for determining a common key generation and ciphering method and comparing a further shared message for validation of communications terminal security. Additionally, the steps of trading a still further message for providing data to form traffic keys to initialize key generators, interchanging an additional message for synchronizing and verifying synchronization of secure communications between secure communications terminals, and initiating secure communication are used.

A broad variety of cryptographic techniques and corresponding apparatus have been developed to meet increasing needs for secure communications among civilian and military users. These needs are fostered by increasingly stringent security requirements for industrial, financial, government, police, subscriber media, and other commercial and civil endeavors wherein unauthorized data interception would cause harm to the public good or to private business interests.
Typical encrypted data includes computer-based records, telephone conversations and other voice data, telemetry, facsimile transmissions, earth-satellite and satellite-satellite communications from a variety of sources including the Global Positioning System, and subscriber information distribution systems. Motivations for encrypting data include improved signal to noise ratio by promoting a more even data mix (e.g., transmitting an encrypted, balanced mixture of "ones" and "zeroes" rather than an unbalanced, non-encrypted string of "ones" or "zeroes"), enforcement of subscription fees, privacy of privileged conversation, national security concerns, and maintenance of financial transaction integrity for both prevention of computer-based crimes and to provide convincing assurance of confidentiality and user authorization.
Improved sophistication in intelligence surveillance and code-breaking methods have motivated the creation of new ciphering algorithms and corresponding equipments. By way of example and not intended to be limiting, several classes of cryptographic methods currently in broad use include the Data Encryption Standard (DES), as described in Federal Information Processing Standards Publications FIPS 46-1, "Data Encryption Standard," and FIPS 81, "DES Modes of Operation," both published by the United States Department of Commerce, Public Key cryptographic techniques such as that taught in "Fast Real-Time Public Key Cryptography," U.S. Pat. No. 4,399,323, to Paul S. Henry, and "Multiple-Destinational Cryptosystem for Broadcast Networks," U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,110, to Lin-Nan Lee and Shyue-Ching Lu. The above-identified U.S. Patents are included herein by reference.
An element common to these diverse cryptographic devices and algorithms is the need for authorized senders and receivers to share cipher key information of some form enabling encryption and subsequent decryption of the intended message.
A disadvantage of prior art public-key cryptographic systems for secure communications such as telephony is that public-key data encryption and decryption is a very slow process. Accordingly, public-key cryptography is often used to transmit small amounts of information, such as a traffic key for a more rapid cryptographic technique, in a secure fashion over a public transmission medium, such as a radio channel or a telephone line.
Encryption methods for real-time bidirectional communication include a variety of ciphering techniques such as those disclosed in FIPS 46-1 and 81, supra, and other techniques developed by companies supplying such apparatus. These methods are capable of providing excellent data integrity provided that both parties have or have access to suitable traffic keys for data ciphering. Typically these methods operate on blocks of digital data formed from input data of varying digital or analog form.
Sometimes multiple communication channels must be used, as for example when more than a single sender and receiver are involved, either serially or in parallel. Frequently, not all users have identical equipment or identical cryptographic keys or algorithms. Under these circumstances, redundant equipments differing in cipher keys or cryptographic algorithms and devices may well be needed at each sending or receiving site. This results in increased communication equipment needs and expenses. Further, where the type of communications equipment must be mobile or portable, the power requirements, weight, and large size necessary to accommodate multiple, separate secure communications systems are unacceptable.
Even when a single communications terminal accommodates multiple ciphering techniques, user knowledge of the other party's capabilities and manual user selection of suitable secure communications apparatus may be required. This can compromise communications security by increasing user knowledge of the details of the security algorithm and hardware employed, by spreading of authorized user information over a broader number of individuals, and by increasing user involvement in the detailed arrangements required to initiate secure communication. This increases the risk of error in effecting secure communications links.
What is needed is a means for rapid real-time secure communications which accommodates multiple ciphering algorithms and cipher keys in a single apparatus, so that authorized, self-synchronizing communications can be established and maintained between diverse parties. It is further desirable that the apparatus be compact, light weight and have low power requirements.

Algorithm independent cryptographic key management


A gamma ray spectral tool is provided that can be used in slick line systems. The tool includes a battery, a controller, and a memory. In operation, the tool compresses data from the spectral detector for storage in the memory, allowing for long runs without the memory overflowing. Further, a controller latches the self-adjusting stabilization feature of the spectral detector when gamma ray intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold, preventing erroneous "stabilization" by the stabilization feature of the spectral detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to well logging tools, and more specifically to a gamma ray spectral memory tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
A vast array of tools are used for well logging. These tools, which can measure pressure, temperature, and a wide variety of other parameters, are typically lowered into the well at various points in drilling and production operations to determine conditions down hole and to determine the effect of various drilling procedures.
These well logging tools generally process the data they accumulate in two different ways. In the first technique, the tools are lowered on what is known as a wireline, an electric line that allows bidirectional data communication with the surface and allows power to be provided from the surface. In the second technique, the tool is instead lowered on a slick line or non-electrical cable and the tool must provide its own power and data storage.
Wireline systems allow dynamic monitoring of the well logging tools and eliminate the need for large memories within the tool. Wireline, however, is much more expensive than slick line.
A slick line is typically used in conjunction with a tool that has on-board memory of some sort and need not communicate with the surface. A battery powered tool is lowered into the well, the tool records the data, and that data is downloaded when the tool is brought to the surface. Although less expensive to use, slick line tools must be capable of operation independent from surface control.
One parameter that well logging tools measure is the presence of gamma rays. Radioactive materials can be injected into the well and then the location of those materials tracked by the gamma ray output of the radioactive materials. Different radioactive materials output gamma rays having different energies. A well logging tool can monitor either overall gamma ray count per unit time, or a gamma ray spectral tool can further determine not only the gamma ray count, but also the energies of those gamma rays. The former technique, which simply detects gamma rays, has been used in conjunction with both wireline and slick line systems.
Spectral gamma ray tools, however, have historically been used only in wireline systems. Examples of such systems are found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,939 to Arnold et al. titled "Multi-Function Natural Gamma Ray Logging System" issued Apr. 29, 1986; U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,729 to Gadeken et al. titled "Method of Radioactive Well Logging" issued Aug. 15, 1989; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,152 to Gadeken titled "Low-Noise Method for Performing Downhole Well Logging Using Gamma Ray Spectroscopy to Measure Radioactive Tracer Penetration" issued Apr. 25, 1995, all three of which are incorporated by reference. Because spectral gamma ray tools divide the gamma ray counts based on their energy spectrum, they provide the capability to distinguish between different radioactive substances in or near a well and to determine where each is located. Such radioactive substances are used to trace the location of liquids or solids injected into a well. Solid particles used as tracers are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,182,051.
These systems typically use an americium source as a gamma ray energy reference. Americium generates gamma rays of 60 Kev, so the spectral gamma ray tool can use this reference to determine the energy level of other gamma rays in proportion to that source. Gamma ray emissions from the americium source, as well as from other substances, strike a photomultiplier tube (PMT) in the spectral tool, which in turn outputs voltage pulses that are proportional to the energy of the gamma ray that caused the pulse. Electronics within the spectral gamma ray detector convert this pulse to a digital value and then increment a register corresponding to the energy denoted by that digital value, indicating another pulse has occurred within that portion of the energy spectrum. This is repeated over a period of time, for example 1.6 seconds and then this spectral data is then transmitted over the wireline. Typical instruments divide the gamma ray spectrum into approximately 250 energy channels, although the Halliburton TracerScan tool uses 512 energy channels, with approximately 8 bits of count data per channel. After the accumulated data is transmitted, all the registers are zeroed, and then the counting process repeats.
These gamma ray spectral tools provide a great deal of information, but historically these devices have been restricted to use in wireline systems. First, the photomultiplier tube requires a very high voltage source for its grids (around 1500 V), and has historically consumed too much power for extended runs on a slick line. Runs can take as long as eight hours, and it was simply impossible to provide battery power for that length of time.
Second, the volume of data generated by these spectral tools is greater than non-spectral gamma ray tools by over two orders of magnitude. Typically, a gamma ray spectral tool is run through a well zone of interest five times at a logging speed of 10 feet per minute, taking up to 8 hours. Assuming around 640 bytes of data is being generated over a 1.6 second period by the tool (1 byte per energy spectrum per second), in 8 hours an extraordinarily large amount of data is generated--over 11 megabytes. These storage requirements have been excessive because memory chips require power as well as space.
Further, spectral tools sometimes encounter areas of a high gamma ray concentration. In such a case, the reference signal from the americium can be masked by those high gamma ray levels. A stabilizer circuit in the tool typically monitors the digitized PMT output in an attempt to locate the 60 Kev gamma ray spike generated by the americium, which would generally be the strongest gamma ray source found. When this spike drifts off of the register designated for 60 Kev gamma rays, the supply voltage to the PMT is adjusted, forcing the americium spike back into the proper energy channel. (Again, the energy of gamma rays from the americium are constant and known.) In this way, the americium spike provides a reference to compensate for any drift in the PMT output. But when excessive gamma ray radiation is present, this americium spike can be masked, causing this automatic stabilization to fail, leading to uncontrollable misadjustments of the voltage level to the PMT. Gamma ray spectral tools have historically required dynamic monitoring from the surface for these "washout" conditions because otherwise the spectral tool could lose track of the reference signal, possibly causing faulty energy readings of the gamma rays actually being monitored.
For all of these reasons, spectral gamma ray instrumentation has historically been run in wireline systems, rather than slick line systems. This has resulted in increased costs because of the added expense of running wireline as opposed to slick line, which is simple to transport and simple to use.
Therefore, it would be greatly desirable to develop techniques to allow gamma ray spectral tools to be used in slick line systems.

Gamma ray spectral tool for well logging


A first electromagnetic valve includes a suction port that communicates with a purge pipe and sucks vaporized gas from a canister, a discharge port that communicates with a first purge pipe and discharges the vaporized gas to a downstream side of a throttle, a branch port that communicates with second purge pipes to which a second electromagnetic valve is attached and causes the vaporized gas to branch off to an upstream side of a compressor, a branch passage that diverges into and communicates with the suction port, the discharge port and the branch port. The branch passage includes a chamber having an inner diameter larger than each inner diameter of the ports.

In conventional vaporized gas treatment systems, vaporized gas in a canister is sucked into the engine by using a negative pressure generated in the intake manifold on the downstream side of the throttle. In turbocharged engines, because a positive pressure generated during turbocharging on the downstream side of the throttle makes it difficult to suck the vaporized gas toward the downstream side of the throttle from the canister, the vaporized gas in the canister is sucked into the compressor by using the negative pressure generated on the upstream side of the compressor, and is then fed to the engine (see, e.g., Patent Literature 1).

Electromagnetic valve and vaporized gas treatment system


A bandmill has first and second wheels and an endless saw blade trained about the wheels. The wheels are mounted to rotate about respective axes which lie in a common plane, but the first wheel is adjustable in position relative to the second wheel with respect to both its distance from the second wheel and its orientation relative to the second wheel. A tensioning mechanism is effective to force the first wheel away from the second wheel, while maintaining the axes of rotation of the two wheels substantially parallel, in response to a signal which is provided by a load cell and represents the tension in the saw blade. A wheel tilt mechanism is effective to adjust the angular position of the first wheel relative to the second wheel in response to a signal indicating the path followed by the saw blade, for maintaining the blade on a proper path.

This invention relates to a bandmill having an automatic track and strain control system.
A bandmill is used for cutting lumber. A conventional vertical bandmill comprises a support frame, two wheels, one disposed vertically above the other, and an endless saw blade trained about the wheels. The lower wheel is driven and the upper wheel idles. The blade is maintained under tension, and accordingly when the lower wheel is driven the blade passes endlessly about the wheels. A cutting throat is provided between the upper and lower wheels along the downward run of the blade. In order to ensure that the blade remains in position on the wheels, the wheels are crowned and their relative positions are accurately determined so that the plane containing the maximum circumference of the upper wheel coincides with the plane containing the maximum circumference of the lower wheel. This need for accurate positioning of the wheels implies that the conventional bandmill is expensive to construct because a massive support structure is required in order to support the wheels with the required degree of stability.
The support structure that is conventionally used for a bandmill comprises a concrete base and a support frame mounted on the base. The support frame includes a mechanism for adjusting the vertical position of the upper wheel, whereby the tension in the blade can be adjusted. However, if the upper wheel is moved, it is then necessary to readjust the relative positions of the wheels to achieve precise coincidence of the planes containing the maximum circumference of the two wheels.
Sometimes, it is desirable to employ a bandmill in which the blade passes through the cutting throat in the horizontal direction, or at an angle that is inclined to the horizontal. However, the support structure of the vertical bandmill does not permit ready adjustment of the orientation of the bandmill. The nature of the support structure also implies that the orientation in which a given bandmill will be used is fixed at the time of manufacture, and accordingly it is necessary to build distinct bandmills for vertical, horizontal and inclined use.
The support structure for the conventional bandmill is not only massive but is also bulky. If two conventional bandmills are disposed in the same orientation and on the same side of the cutting path, they can not be any closer together than about two feet. It is proposed in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/089,489 filed Aug. 21, 1987, that a sawmill should be provided in which any three bandmills out of a group of four bandmills act on a single log on a single pass of the log through a bandmill station. The four bandmills are stationary with respect to the direction of feed of the log through the group of bandmills. The sawmill is designed to process logs that are only eight feet long. The cutting edges of the saw blades must therefore be closer together than about two feet, since otherwise the sawing by the upstream bandmill will be completed before the log starts to be sawn by the downstream bandmill, and this may create difficulties in log handling.
During sawing, the saw blade of a conventional bandmill vibrates in the cutting throat. If the blade is dull or the feed rate is high, the blade tends to snake out of the desired cutting plane as a log is fed through the throat. Consequently, lumber with rough surfaces or of uneven thickness is produced. Moreover, snaking may result in the blade being deflected to such an extent that it strikes other parts of the bandmill, resulting in damage to the bandmill. Hitherto, these problems have been addressed by using a thicker blade, which results in greater kerf loss, or increasing the blade tension, which results in higher maintenance costs.
When the blade of a bandmill is deflected, e.g., due to nonuniformities in the log being cut, there is a tendency for blade oscillations to occur, resulting in thicker kerf and impaired accuracy.
The stress distribution in the blade of a bandmill depends on the path followed by the blade relative to the wheels, and the stress distribution has a bearing on sawing accuracy. It has been found that improved accuracy is obtained if the bottoms of the gullets of the teeth are maintained close to the edges of the wheels, so that the stiffness of the blade in the teeth area is maximized. However, if the gullets pass over the wheels, there is a tendency for the saw blade to crack in the vicinity of the gullets.

Bandmill with automatic track and strain control system