A vibration isolation device for isolating a vibration source from a carried member, includes: a carrier for carrying the carried member; a housing positioned on the vibration source, and formed with an accommodating space; a cover for sealing an open end of the housing; a base mounted in the accommodating space, and extended through the cover to be connected to the carrier; a plurality of connecting members mounted in the accommodating space and around the base, wherein each of the connecting members is connected to the base and the cover; and a plurality of actuators provided in the connecting members respectively, for changing vibration of the connecting members and the base when the vibration source vibrates, so as to minimize vibration of the carrier, thereby achieving the effect of isolating vertical and horizontal vibrations.

In general electronic and semiconductor industry, processes and measurement device thereof are usually very sensitive to the micro vibration of environment, operation errors of the apparatus and device are easily resulted, or the measurement results are hard to be read under environment having micro vibration, particularly, under the circumstance of future nano-scale process, vibration isolation to the measurement device is especially desired.
Conventionally, vibration to the nano-scale electron microscope, scanning probe microscope or atomic force microscope are generally processed using air cushion vibration isolation system cooperating with optical table, however, low frequency portion of such kind of vibration isolation system is usually amplified to vibrate, which deteriorates the resolution of the image. Therefore, to air cushion or rubber vibration isolation system, low frequency portion thereof usually generates the resonance natural frequency, which results problem of amplifying the vibration. In addition, active vibration isolation system is often employed in heavy scale device, which is too expensive for small scale device; the vibration isolation to small scale measurement device is thus limited.
As shown in FIG. 4, if a design of combined active and passive vibration isolation is employed, wherein a piezoelectric actuator 51 is used to actively control the vibration of low frequency, and a passive vibration isolation material 52 is used to isolate the vibration of high frequency and frequency of interfering signals, the problem of general passive vibration isolation under low frequency can be solved. However, the deficiency of such design is, if external vibration suddenly outbursts, flexural load to the single piezoelectric actuator 51 is easily resulted, which leads to damage to the structure; and the single piezoelectric actuator 51 must completely endure the payload mass, the structure thereof will also easily be damaged after a period of time; such problem is also seen in the active vibration isolation device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,255.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,841, as shown in FIG. 5, employs a cable 61 as pendulum structure, wherein because the cable 61 has good flexibility, the actuator 62 is prevented from suffering later stress of flexuosity. In the above design, the actuator 62 is arranged in a tube 63, and is pressed by an elastic member 64. However, the control distance of the actuator 62 is thus useless, and the load capability of the actuator 62 is decreased because of the actuator 62 is pressed. At the same time, in case of earthquake, overwhelming lateral force may also damage the actuator 62; furthermore, the sensor 65 can not directly measure the vibration of the payload mass in such a design, thus the vibration of the payload mass is sent back to the sensor 65 via the pendulum structure. Under such circumstance, the sensor 65 and the actuator connect the vibration source such as the floor and the like; while the payload mass connects the sensor 65 and the actuator 62 via the pendulum structure; therefore the actuator 62 can only directly control the vibration of the vibration source, but can not directly control the payload mass, which deteriorates the vibration isolation effect.
Consequently, how to develop a vibration isolation device, which isolates the vibration from horizontal and vertical directions, prevents the low frequency vibration from being amplified, and guarantees the stabilization of the actuator, becomes a problem desired to be solve in relating fields.

Industrial Technology Research Institute


Microscopes, including viewing and other microscopic systems, employ a hinged, tiltable plate to adjust focus on a flat object such as a microscope slide or biochip by motion, achieved by tilting, which is substantially normal to the focus point on the plane of the object. By employing two such tiltable arrangements, relatively long scan lines of e.g., flying objective, single pixel on-axis scanning can be accommodated. The tilting support plate is specifically constructed to provide tailored locations for different objects in series along the Y axis of the plate. The plate can accommodate beaters and cooled plates and/or the flat object being examined. In a fluorescence scanning microscope, locations are specifically adapted to receive microscope slides and biochip cartridges such as Affymetrix's “Gene Chip®”. A scanning microscope under computer control, employing such a focusing action, enables unattended scanning of biochips with a simple and economical instrument. Also shown are flexure-mounting of a support plate to define the hinge axis, techniques for automatically determining position and focus, and a rotatably oscillating flying micro-objective scanner combined with the tilting plane focus system. Construction and control techniques are shown that realize simple and accurate focusing. Methods of examination of biological materials are disclosed. Simple and efficient focused scanning with a flying micro-objective of ordered arrays of nucleotides and nucleic acid fragments carried upon a microscope slide or other substrate is disclosed. Quantified fluorescence imaging is economically achieved by combined use of the described scanning and focusing arrangement and use of simple and accurate calibration modules respectively for example for Affymetrix's “Gene Chip” microarray modules and for microscope slides.

Focusing mechanisms for microscopes are employed to position the object at the plane of focus of the instrument, to enable the object to be examined, i.e. inspected, illuminated or otherwise acted upon. Typically the object is placed upon a platform that moves laterally relative to the optical axis of the objective, to bring the area of interest of the object into alignment with the optical axis. The platform is then raised or lowered (translated) along the optical axis to achieve best focus. If it is necessary to register the optical axis with regions of the object larger than the field of view of the objective lens, the platform and object are further moved laterally in a sequence of steps to view the entire area. In some cases, microscopes are constructed to translate the objective lens or the entire microscope along the optical axis to reach best focus and in some cases the objective lens is moved laterally to bring the optical axis and areas of interest into alignment.
A known technique for translating the platform and object in the direction of the optical axis employs a precision dovetail mechanism that is activated by a manual rack and pinion or a motorized lead screw. In many cases this mechanism must be constructed with high accuracy to be capable of micron or sub-micron positional resolution, which results in high cost.
In the case of wide field of view microscopes in which lateral motion of the object or microscope objective is required, such as flying objective scanners, there is need for reliable, low cost and fast focus mechanisms of high accuracy. This need exists particularly in respect of investigational tools for biology, e.g., for viewing arrays of fluorescently labeled microorganisms and DNA assays as well as for viewing entire biopsy samples, which may be as large as a square centimeter or larger. ("DNA" is used here to designate the full range of nucleic acids of interest to the field of biotechnology.) In particular low cost reading of biochips such as the "Gene Chip®" by Affymetrix Inc., and of high density spotted micro arrays or microscope slides is a widely felt need.
According to present biological analytical technology, arrays of fluorescently labeled microorganisms and DNA assays are created in two dimensional fields. The objects to be examined in an array are, for example, DNA fragments that have discriminating sequence information. Biological laboratories have targeted round or square objects for the arrays (e.g., spots of DNA) of diameters or side dimensions of the order of 20 to 250 micron, the spot size depending primarily upon the total number of objects to be represented in the array.
DNA arrays are typically probed with fluorescently labeled fragments of potentially complementary strands. When a match occurs between a fragment in a deposited spot and a fluorescently labeled fragment probe, hybridization occurs, and a positive "score" can be recorded under fluoroscopic examination. Because fluorescence, whether natural or stimulated by illumination, is a weak signal, a "score" is identified for a DNA spot by the intensity of the fluorescence from the spot compared to reading(s) for the background that directly surrounds the specific spot. By controlled deposition of spots of a variety of DNA fragments in the array and by observing the matches or "scores" that occur at known spot addresses, important information concerning nucleic acids can be inferred. For this technology to expand widely, economical instruments are required that can rapidly and accurately scan the fluorescently labeled objects over a wide field of view, e.g. a field of view that is approximately 22 mm wide, the useful width of conventional glass microscope slides.
The large volume of data to be evaluated also calls for unattended operation of such instruments upon a sequence of slides or biochips, including automatic focusing of the microscope for each slide, biochip, or other object and in some cases, automatic focusing as scanning of a particular object proceeds.
Microscopes or microscope-like instruments have been developed to inspect, illuminate or otherwise treat wide areas, based on scanning principles. In the case of inspection, the image is constructed electronically from a succession of acquired single picture elements during relative scanning movement between the object and the microscope. Focusing in these instruments is commonly automated, but there are significant economic and operational drawbacks in the systems that have been commercially available.
For a number of reasons, proper focusing is a critical need for automated microscopes where the material to be investigated is disposed over a wide area of a microscope slide or located on a window of a biochip holder. A microscope slide is typically a slab of float glass approximately 25×75 mm in x, y dimensions and about 1 +0.1/−0.2 mm thick as defined by industrial standard ISO 8037-1-1986E. It is common for microscope slides to be slightly bowed, as they are not very rigid and can be deformed when clamped. In the normal installation of a slide in a microscope, the slide is caused to rest upon a flat surface and is held in place by gently pushing its edges against stops, a technique which alleviates most deformation. Other types of substrates for microscopic examination, including arrays provided on relatively thin glass cover slips and on plastic substrates or holders, likewise have variation in thickness or shape and are subject to deformation or the area to be viewed does not have an accurate or reliable reference location.
The depth of field (focus tolerance) and the resolution of a given microscope are inter-related, being defined by the laws of physics. The better the resolution, the smaller is the depth of focus. Present day biochip examination calls for pixel resolution between 2 and 10 micron which corresponds to a depth of field between approximately 4 and 200 micron, the particular values depending upon the optical configuration and the application. For pathology, the pixel may have 0.5 micron diameter and the depth of field 2 micron. Since the thickness variation of commercial microscope slides is greater than such values, when the slide rests upon its back surface, repeated focusing of the microscope is compulsory and autofocusing is generally desirable.
In cases where slides or other objects are sufficiently uniform for the purpose at hand, focus is obtained once per slide or object to be microscopically examined, during a setup procedure.
In some cases, automated microscopes employ dynamic focusing features, i.e. features enabling continual adjustment of focus as scanning of a given slide or object proceeds. For this purpose an algorithm is employed to define focus. Commonly, dynamic systems analyze the image acquired through the optical path of the instrument. In response to these readings, the algorithm is employed under computer control, to cause an element of the system to be raised and lowered as scanning proceeds, to translate the object along the optical axis to achieve focus in a dynamic manner. Frequently the pattern of raising and lowering is based upon a prescan of the overall object, from which positional information has been stored for use to control focus during the following examination scan. Typically instruments that enable dynamic focus adjustment with great precision require great cost.
A common attempt to avoid the cost and delays of prior art auto-focus techniques has been to incorporate a mechanism that forces a microscope slide against three buttresses, in an attempt to achieve precise location of the slide. Unfortunately, such techniques have unsatisfactory aspects, in causing the slide to deform, especially with bowing. This frequently results in loss of resolution. Also, such technique can only be used when the surface to be inspected is rigid and co-planar with the buttress reference location.

Focusing of microscopes and reading of microarrays


Disclosed are methods and a sensor architecture that utilizes the residual quadrature error in a gyroscope to achieve and maintain perfect mode-matching, i.e., ˜0 Hz split between the drive and sense mode frequencies, and to electronically control sensor bandwidth. In a reduced-to-practice embodiment, a 6 mW, 3V CMOS ASIC and control algorithm are interfaced to a mode-matched MEMS tuning fork gyroscope to implement an angular rate sensor with bias drift as low as 0.15°/hr and angle random walk of 0.003°/√hr, which is the lowest recorded to date for a silicon MEMS gyroscope. The system bandwidth can be configured between 0.1 Hz and 1 kHz.

The present invention relates generally to microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices and operational methods, and more particularly, to the use of a zero rate output of a MEMS in-plane tuning fork gyroscope to electronically control the mechanical bias voltages to control the frequency difference between drive and sense resonant modes of the gyroscope.
Over the last decade, the resolution of silicon vibratory microgyroscopes has improved by almost ten times every two years. The improvements in noise floor can mainly be attributed to improved high aspect ratio microfabrication processes, better mechanical sensor design, and improved interfacing of the micromechanical sensor element with CMOS circuits. Current research is focused on development of microgyroscopes for automotive and consumer applications. However, existing microgyroscope performance must be improved by an order of magnitude if they are to be viable alternatives to fiber-optic gyroscopes. Low-cost, sub-degree per hour bias drift microgyroscopes will complement μ-gravity accelerometers to enable chip-scale navigation, and multi-axis motion analysis at micro-scale. In addition, such precision inertial measurement units (IMUs) are essential in micro-robotics, unmanned aerial/undersea vehicles and GPS-augmented navigation.
Micromachined Coriolis vibratory gyroscopes are ideal angular rate sensors for automotive applications, unmanned aerial vehicles, image stabilization in portable electronics and personal heading references, due to their low cost, light weight and small form factor. As MEMS gyroscopes attain inertial grade performance (i.e., sub-degree-per-hour rate resolutions and bias stabilities) the interface electronics that actuate, sense and control these micromechanical structures are key element in determining the over all performance of the micro-gyro system.
Micromachined gyroscopes constitute one of the fastest growing segments of the microsensor market. The application domain of these devices is quickly expanding from automotive to consumer and personal navigation systems. Examples include anti-skid and safety systems in cars, and image stabilization in digital cameras. Conventional MEMS gyroscopes do not meet the sub-degree-per-hour resolution and bias drift requirements needed in high precision applications such as inertial measurement units for GPS augmented navigation, robotics, unmanned surveillance vehicles, aircraft and personal heading references.
The majority of automotive and consumer electronics application require rate-grade performance, while high precision navigation-grade devices are suitable for inertial measurement units and high-end applications in aerospace and petroleum industry.
A multitude of applications exist in the automotive sector including navigation, anti-skid and safety systems, roll-over detection, next generation airbag and anti-lock brake systems. Consumer electronics applications include image stabilization in digital cameras, smart user interfaces in handhelds, gaming, and inertial pointing devices. IMUs are self-contained units that can perform accurate short-term navigation of a craft/object in the absence of global positioning system (GPS) assisted navigation. An IMU typically uses three accelerometers and three gyroscopes placed along their respective sensitive axes to gather information about an object's direction and heading. MEMS-based IMUs are increasingly being used in unmanned aerial/undersea vehicles for navigation and guidance. Since these remotely operated unmanned aerial/undersea vehicles experience diverse environments, in terms of shock, vibration and temperature, periodic calibration and reconfiguration of the IMU components becomes all the more important. Additionally, these are applications where power and area are premium. This calls for the development of smart angular rate sensors.
Vibratory micromachined gyroscopes rely on Coriolis-induced transfer of energy between two vibration modes to sense rotation. Micromachined gyroscopes are increasingly employed in consumer and automotive applications, primarily due to their small size and low power requirements. However, they are yet to achieve performance levels comparable to their optical and macro-mechanical counterparts in high-precision applications such as space and tactical/inertial navigation systems.
Conventional MEMS vibratory gyroscopes have yet to achieve inertial grade performance. The requirements for inertial grade devices are rate resolutions and bias stabilities better than 0.1°/h. To achieve this, a vibratory gyroscope must attain very high quality factors (>30,000), large sense capacitances (>1 pF), large mass (>100 μg), and large drive amplitude (>5 μm).
The Brownian motion of the structure represents the fundamental noise-limiting component of a vibratory gyroscope. This is generally discussed, for example, by Ayazi, F., in "A High Aspect-Ratio High-Performance Polysilicon Vibrating Ring Gyroscope," Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (2001), and Ayazi, F. and Najafi, K., in "A HARPSS Polysilicon Vibrating Ring Gyroscope" IEEEIASME JMEMS, June 2001, pp. 169-179. By equating Brownian motion to the displacement caused by the Coriolis force, one can derive the mechanical noise equivalent rotation (MNEΩ) of the microgyroscope. This is expressed as
      MNE                          Ω    =                    1                  2                                                                          q            Drive                              ·                                    4                                                                                k              B                                    T                                              ω              0                                    M                                          BW
This equation indicates that the mechanical noise floor varies inversely with the drive amplitude (qDrive), the square root of the resonant drive frequency (ω0), and square root of the effective mass in the sense direction (M). Matching the resonant frequencies of the sense and the drive mode improves this resolution by a factor of √{square root over (QSense)}.
There is a need for improved tuning fork gyroscopes and angular rate sensors employing same that provide for electronic bandwidth control.

Readout method and electronic bandwidth control for a silicon in-plane tuning fork gyroscope


A focal plane shutter includes: a first blade-driving unit that makes switches between normally open and normally closed methods; a second blade-driving first unit engaging with and locked by a locking unit in a cocking operation of the cocking unit so as to keep a second blade covering the exposure opening, and making the second blade move away from the exposure opening when the second blade-driving first unit is released from the engagement with the locking unit just before the cocking unit reaches to its cocking position; and a second blade-driving second unit rotated by the cocking operation of the cocking unit in a direction bringing the second blade-driving second unit to its cocking state, and rotating the second blade-driving first unit in a direction in which the second blade-driving first unit is made to perform its exposure operation, so as to make the second blade cover the exposure opening.

Focal plane shutters for digital cameras include focal plane shutters each of which is provided with a first blade and a second blade. This type of focal plane shutter has had substantially the same structure as focal plane shutters for film-based cameras do, formerly. A first blade-driving mechanism for focal plane shutters of this type is composed of a first blade-driving unit and a first blade-driving spring, and a second blade-driving mechanism for focal plane shutters of this type is comprised of a second blade-driving unit and a second blade-driving spring. A first blade and a second blade are connected directly to the first blade-driving unit and the second blade-driving unit, respectively. In shooting, these two blade-driving units are rotated by the elastic forces of the first blade-driving and second blade-driving springs respectively, in turn. And, the first blade opens an exposure opening and then the second blade closes the exposure opening afterward, so that the light-receiving plane of an image sensor like CCD is exposed.
And, when the exposure operations of the first and second blades are complete, imaging information is transferred from the image sensor to a storage device through an information-processing circuit while the second blade is covering the exposure opening. Afterward, a cocking operation of focal plane shutter of this type is immediately performed in such a way that a cocking unit rotated from its initial position makes these two blade-driving units reverse up to their cocking positions against the elastic forces of the respective blade-driving springs. As a result, in a focal plane shutter of this type, the second blade stays away from the exposure opening in a state in which the cocking operation is complete, or a state in which the focal plane shutter of this type is on standby for shooting.
Also, mechanisms for preventing the two blade-driving units from rotating until an exposure operation is performed in next shooting include mechanisms called "locking type" and mechanisms called "direct type". The locking-type mechanisms are formed in such a way that blade-driving units are made to engage with locking units respectively to be locked in respective their cocking positions. As a result, the cocking unit may be made to immediately return to its initial position when the cocking operation is complete, or the cocking unit may be made to return to its initial position before the exposure opening-opening operation of the first blade in releasing camera shutter. And, the respective locking units are operated by respective electromagnets and the respective blade-driving units are released from the respective engagements with the locking units in turn, so that the exposure operations of the first and second blades are performed.
On the other hand, the direct-type mechanisms are formed in such a way that: each of the two blade-driving units is provided with a iron piece element; and the cocking unit rotates these blade-driving units, until these iron piece elements come into contact with electromagnets not magnetized respectively as a result of the cocking operation. As a result, in the direct-type focal plane shutters, the cocking unit does not return to its initial position even after the iron piece elements come into contact with the electromagnets not magnetized respectively, so that the cocking unit keeps the iron piece elements coming into contact with the electromagnets not magnetized. And, when a release button of a camera is pressed in next shooting and each of the electromagnets is magnetized to attract and hold the iron piece elements, the cocking unit is made to return to its initial position. And, afterward, each of the electromagnets is demagnetized to release the respective iron piece elements from the magnetic attractions due to the electromagnets in turn, so that the exposure operations of the first and second blades are performed.
Both in the case where this type of focal plane shutter is formed as a locking-type focal plane shutter and in the case where this type of focal plane shutter is formed as a direct-type focal plane shutter, the exposure opening is closed by the first blade in a state in which this type of focal plane shutter is on standby for shooting, so that this type of focal plane shutter is in a so-called normally closed (NCL) state. Accordingly, digital cameras provided with this type of focal plane shutter are usually provided with optical view finders, respectively.
Now, there has occurred the necessity that digital cameras provided with focal plane shutter should also include electronic view finders with a crystal liquid display device or the like respectively, as well as digital cameras provided with lens shutters, in recent years. Accordingly, while the number of cameras each of which is provided with only an optical view finder as before has decreased, the number of cameras each of which is provided with both of an optical view finder and an electronic view finder or provided with only an electronic view finder has increased. And, although there is a publically-known manner in which a camera is provided with another image sensor for an electronic view finder other than an image sensor for shooting in the case where the camera is provided with the electronic view finder, it is usual to use a single image sensor both for displaying an image and for capturing an image.
However, in the case where a single image sensor is used both for displaying an image and for capturing an image, a focal plane shutter in such a case has to be formed in such a way that: not only a second blade, but also a first blade is made to stay away from an exposure opening, in the cocking state of the focal plane shutter; and, when a release button is pressed in shooting, the first blade is operated to cover the exposure opening at its initial stage, and the first blade and the second blade are made to perform their exposure operation in turn at the next stage. That is to say, the focal plane shutter has to be made to fall in a so-called normally open (NOP) state in which, while the second blade is made to operate from a state of the second blade closing the exposure opening to a state of the second blade opening the exposure opening, the first blade is not made to operate from a state of the first blade opening the exposure opening to a state of the first blade closing the exposure opening, in the cocking operation.
In order to achieve such operations of the first and second blades, a focal plane shutter is formed in such a way that: the first blade-driving mechanism is composed of two units which are a first blade-driving first unit directly connected to the first blade and a first blade-driving second unit directly biased by the first blade-driving spring; in the cocking operation, only the first blade-driving second unit is moved to its cocking position in the cocking operation of the focal plane shutter so that the first blade keeps opening the exposure opening to make it possible to observe an object with the electronic view finder; when a release button is pressed in shooting, the cocking unit is returned from its cocking position to its initial position at its initial stage, the first blade-driving first unit is rotated by the elastic force of a spring weaker than the first blade-driving spring in the process of the return of the cocking unit to its initial position (where the spring weaker than the first blade-driving spring is called "first blade-cocking spring" below), so that first blade is moved to close the exposure opening; and, at the next stage, the first blade-driving second unit makes the first blade perform its exposure operation while the first blade-driving second unit is being accompanied by the first blade-driving first unit, and then the second blade-driving unit subsequently makes the second blade perform its exposure operation. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication TOKUKAI No. 2001-222059 ("the JP '059") discloses such a focal plane shutter.
However, the focal plane shutter disclosed in the JP '059 is formed in such a way that, when a release button is pressed in shooting and then the cocking unit returns to its initial position at the initial stage, the first blade-driving first unit is moved just before the return of the cocking unit to its initial position is complete, so that the first blade closes the exposure opening. And, in this case, the first blade-driving first unit is rotated from a state of the first blade completely opening the exposure opening to a state of the first blade completely closing the exposure opening by the elastic force of the first blade-cocking spring, in one sitting. Accordingly, if any countermeasures are not taken, the first blade bounces large when the operation of the first blade closing the exposure opening is complete, so that the exposure operation of the first blade is not allowed to start until the bounce of the first blade stops. For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication TOKUKAI No. 2003-222928 ("the JP '928") discloses a focal plane shutter formed in such a way that, when the cocking unit returns from its cocking position to its initial position, the first blade-driving first unit is moved at the initial stage of the operation of the coking unit returning to its initial position so that the first blade is made to start to close the exposure opening early.
However, although the JP '928 discloses a structure for making it possible to rotate the first blade-driving first unit at the stage where the cocking unit returns to its initial position when a release button is pressed in shooting, the structure for the focal plane shutter disclosed in the JP '928 is not necessarily favorable for mass-producing focal plane shutters. Now, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication TOKUKAI No. 2007-298544 ("the JP '544") discloses a focal plane shutter formed in such a way that: in the process of returning the cocking unit to its initial position, the first blade-driving first unit is indirectly made to follow the return operation of the cocking unit from the beginning of the process so as to make the first blade close the exposure opening; and the first blade-driving first unit is made to stop following the return operation of the cocking unit before the cocking unit completely returns to its initial position, so that the bounce of the first blade is small and the first blade favorably is stopped when the cocking unit stops in its initial position. The focal plane shutter disclosed in the JP '544 has a structure extremely favorable also for mass-production.
Now, the trend of endowing cameras with multi-function has been increasingly progressing recently, so that it is demanded that even the focal plane shutters formed as described above to make it possible to perform shooting by operating two shutter blades should be formed to make it possible to perform shooting both in the normally open method and in the normally closed method by making a selection from these method by a user before the shooting.
On the other hand, focal plane shutters used for cameras at present include a focal plane shutter in which shooting performed in the normally open method and shooting performed in the normally closed method can be switched to each other, for example, like a focal plane shutter disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication TOKUKAI No. 2011-113060 ("the JP '060") and offered by the present applicant.
Now, a digital camera provided with a conventional focal plane shutter as disclosed in the JP '059, the JP '928, or the JP '544, is formed in such a way that: imaging information from an image sensor is transferred to a storage device when the second blade covers the exposure opening after the exposure operation is complete; the cocking unit is rotated after the transfer of the imaging information is complete, in order to perform the cocking operation of the focal plane shutter; and the second blade is made to perform its exposure opening-opening operation to fully open the exposure opening, for example, as shown in FIG. 11. And, the reason why the cocking operation is started after the transfer of the imaging information from the image sensor to the storage device is complete is that, if the cocking operation is started immediately after the exposure operation is complete, light entering through the exposure opening during the transfer of the imaging information meets the image sensor and the imaging information is inevitably spoiled, as known publically.
Also, even in the focal plane shutter which is disclosed in the JP '060 and in which shooting performed in the normally open method and shooting performed in the normally closed method can be switched to each other, imaging information from an image sensor is transferred to a storage means when a second blade covers an exposure opening after the exposure operation is complete, a cocking unit is rotated after the transfer of the imaging information is complete so that the cocking operation is performed, and then the second blade open the exposure opening, so that the cocking operation starts after the transfer of the imaging information from the image sensor to the storage device.
Also, this type of focal plane shutter is formed in such a way that: the cocking operation of the focal plane shutter is performed by rotating the cocking unit by a camera body-side unit; and, at this point, the cocking unit makes the first blade-driving second unit and the second blade-driving unit rotate from their exposure operation-completion positions to their cocking positions against the strong elastic forces of the first blade-driving and second blade-driving springs as described above, respectively. As a result, such a cocking operation requires time which is overwhelmingly longer than time necessary for the exposure operation.
Accordingly, in conventional focal plane shutters having this type of structure, time which it takes to acquire a standby state of the focal plane shutter for next shooting (a cocking operation-completion state) from the time the exposure operation is complete cannot be merely determined by taking only time necessary for the cocking operation into consideration, and time which it takes to acquire a standby state of the focal plane shutter for next shooting from the time the exposure operation is complete is forced to become all the more long due to the necessity to secure time necessary for the transfer of the imaging information to the storage device. Accordingly, such a structure is not necessarily favorable for the case where a user wants to perform the next shooting immediately after the completion of shooting or for the case where shooting is performed with a continuous-shooting mode.
The present invention is made in order to solve such problems. An aspect of the present invention is to offer: a focal plane shutter for cameras which makes it possible to switch shooting in the normally open method and shooting in the normally closed method to each other, which makes it possible to determine the length of time from the completion of an exposure operation to next shooting while time necessary for transferring imaging information is being hardly taken into consideration, and which makes it possible to improve continuous-shooting speed; and a digital camera provided with the same.

Focal plane shutter for cameras and digital camera provided with the same


A bit stream parsing apparatus for an audio decoder includes a register unit for storing therein predetermined bits of data stream, a normalizing barrel shifter for shifting the data stream stored in the register unit by a predetermined number of bits, a mask gate unit for masking the number of bits which are to be sampled among the data outputted from the normalizing barrel shifter, and an accumulator for accumulating an output value of the mask gate unit. The apparatus employs a load and parallel shift technique and enables an N-bit stream to be sampled in a single clock cycle, thereby accomplishing a speedy operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology for separating a data sample having a desired number of bits therein from a data bit stream which is to be inputted into an audio decoder or a digital signal processor, and more particularly to an improved bit stream parsing apparatus for an audio decoder which makes it possible to employ a load and parallel shift technique in order to separate samples during a single clock cycle.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIG. 1 is a block diagram extracted from U.S. Pat. No. 5,644,310 of "Integrated Audio Decoder System and Method of Operation", wherein portions concerned with the accompanying description of the present invention are data register 114, shift counter 128, load shift counter 130, data shifter 126, accumulator 110, and execution control state machine 104.
Therein, the data shifter 126 provides N-bit data sequentially to the accumulator 110 under the control of the shift counter 128. The accumulator 110 accumulates the N-bit data applied thereto, and the accumulated data are transferred through the multiplexer 124 to the data bus. Also, the shifter counter 128 is controlled by the execution control state machine 104.
The 6-bit load shift counter 130 which is controlled by the execution control state machine 104 checks up how many bits of data are transferred from the data shifter 126 to the accumulator 110. A count value counted by the load shift counter 130 is transferred through the multiplexer 124 to the data bus.
In order to obtain an N-bit data sample from a bit stream, the execution control state machine 104 checks up the state of the load shift counter 130 at each clock cycle and confirms if the count value in the load shift counter 130 is "N".
When a new sample having N-bit data is transferred to the accumulator 110, the count value becomes "N", and at this time the value accumulated in the accumulator 110 becomes transferred through the data bus to a memory.
Therefore, it takes N cycles to obtain an N-bit data sample.
In such a conventional bit stream parsing apparatus, there is employed a load and serial shift technique to process the bit stream and it takes N cycles to obtain an N-bit sample, thereby deteriorating its process rate.

Bit stream parsing apparatus for audio decoder using normalizing and denormalizing barrel shifters


An automation testing system for testing a motherboard includes a frame, a first jig plate, a second jig plate, a platform, a first driving mechanism, a second driving mechanism and a console computer. The frame includes a track, a debug docking board is detachably disposed on the first jig plate for docking with the motherboard, the platform is slidably installed on the track and disposed between the first jig plate and the second jig plate, and the platform is for holding the motherboard. The console computer controls the first driving mechanism to drive the platform to move in a first direction along the track, and controls the second driving mechanism to drive the second jig plate to move in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a testing system, and more specifically, to an automation testing system for testing a motherboard.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Nowadays, electronic products, such as personal computers or notebook computers, are indispensable devices in human life. A motherboard is one of the most important electronic components of the electronic products, and the quality of the motherboard relates to the stability of the electronic products. For making sure of good quality of the motherboard, the motherboard needs to pass several tests before selling in order to confirm that various functions of the motherboard operate well. However, a conventional testing system for testing the motherboard needs to install a debug docking board on the motherboard manually and then put the motherboard on a platform. The conventional testing system cannot automatically test the motherboard, resulting in the waste of manpower. In addition, because of diversification of the motherboards, as testing different types of motherboards, it is necessary to replace different fixture probe boards to coordinate with the corresponding motherboards, so that it spends a lot of time in replacement. Therefore, there is a need to design an automation testing system to shorten the replacement time of the probe board and without the manual operation, so as to reduce the waste of manpower and time for improving the testing process.

Automation testing system for testing a motherboard


Measurement of bladed rotors and, more particularly, speed measurement of bladed rotors in a turbine engine using microwave probes is described. In one embodiment, an apparatus for measuring bladed includes a microwave sensor that radiates a microwave signal toward a bladed rotor and receives a reflected microwave signal from the bladed rotor, a radio frequency module that generates the microwave signal radiated by the microwave sensor and down-converts the reflected microwave signal into a down-converted signal, and a main processing module configured to generate an output pulse train signal representative of a speed of the bladed rotor based on the down-converted signal. In another embodiment, a method for measuring bladed rotors is described including radiating a microwave signal, receiving a reflected microwave signal, down-converting the reflected microwave signal, and generating an output pulse train signal representative of a speed of a bladed rotor based on the down-converted signal.

Sensing systems are employed for a wide variety of purposes. Sensing systems may detect motion of an object or environmental conditions, for example. Sensing applications are applicable to many industries such as medical, processing, transportation, and aeronautics industries, among others. Because of the diversity in purpose for sensing systems, many considerations must be considered by engineers when designing a new sensing system. Considerations such as cost, precision, measurement range, durability, maintenance, and even physical characteristics are generally considered by engineers.
Non-contact sensing systems are sensing systems that, unlike contact sensing systems, do not require a sensor to physically contact an object being measured. Non-contact sensing systems offer many advantages over contact sensing systems, such as the ability to provide information regarding an object and/or condition of interest without expensive and invasive sensor mounting assemblies. Non-contact systems, unlike contact systems, are also advantageous because they do not impact the system they measure. Radar systems include one example of a non-invasive sensing system. Radar systems use transmitted and reflected radio waves, typically on the order of 0.9-100 GHz, to determine the presence, location, and/or speed of objects. Some radar systems operate by transmitting either a constant continuous wave (CW) signal or a pulsed signal. Most CW radar systems operate under the principle of the Doppler effect, in which the change in reflected signal phase and/or frequency with respect to a transmitted signal phase and frequency is measured. CW radar systems that rely on the Doppler effect provide a mechanism of detecting a moving object by transmitting microwaves at a targeted object and detecting the change in frequency and/or phase of microwave signals reflected from the object.
Further, non-contact radar techniques provide a sensing mechanism that is relatively unaffected by temperature, dust, debris, water, and many other obscurants when the proper transmit frequencies are used. Radar sensing systems may accurately provide information on the speed, location, and direction of movement of targets being sensed, as compared to other less-accurate sensing systems. One need in aeronautics or power generation applications, for example, would be to determine accurately the speed of a turbine engine and, particularly, the speed of one or more bladed rotors in a turbine engine.
In this context, the present invention is directed to addressing deficiencies of conventional measurement systems with systems and methods for accurately sensing the speed of a moving object such as a bladed rotor of a turbine engine.


Binderless particles of zeolite L of very high mechanical strength are prepared by a process which comprises forming a mixture by reacting substantially binderless particles of zeolite L, preferably as shaped particles such as extrudates, with an aqueous alkaline solution containing sources of alkali metal, at least 50 mole % of which is potassium, and aluminium to obtain the desired particles of very high mechanical strength. The zeolite L thus obtained can form part of a dehydrocyclisation and/or isomerisation catalyst.

This invention relates to the preparation of substantially binderless particles of zeolite L, particularly in the form of aggregates for use in catalysis, particularly for aromatisation.
Zeolite L has been known for some time as an adsorbant, and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,789 is described as an aluminosilicate of the formula: EQU 0.9-1.3 M .sub.2/n O:Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 :5.2-6.9.SiO.sub.2 :yH.sub.2 O
(where M is an exchangeable cation of valency n and y is from 0 to 9) having a characteristic X-ray diffraction pattern. The preparation of zeolite L is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,216,789, EP-A-167755, EP-A-142355, EP-A-142347, EP-A-142349, EP-A-109199, PL-A-72149, U.S. Pat. No. 3,867,512, and SU-548567.
EP-A-96479 describes and claims zeolite L having a characteristic morphology and size, which is particularly valuable for use as a catalyst base in hydrocarbon conversions such as aromatisation, and comprising crystallites in the form of cylinders with a mean diameter of at least 0.1 micron, preferably at least 0.5 micron.
EP-A-96479 describes a synthesis of zeolite L which is conducted so that the amount of the contaminant zeolite W, which is know to grow in such a system as a competitive phase, is minimised. A preferred synthesis gel described in EP-A-96479 has the following mole ratios: EQU 2.62K.sub.2 O:Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 :10SiO.sub.2 :16OH.sub.2 O
and it is discussed how this gel may be varied by changing the molar amount of one component within the following ranges:
______________________________________ K.sub.2 O: 2.4-3.0 moles Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 : 0.6-1.3 moles SiO.sub.2 : 8-12 moles H.sub.2 O: 120-240 moles ______________________________________
EP-A-142353, EP-A-142354 and EP-A-185519 describe developments of this process for forming cylindrical zeolite L.
Zeolite L may be used as a catalyst base in aromatisation reactions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,320 discloses dehydrocyclisation of aliphatic compounds in the presence of hydrogen using a catalyst comprising zeolite L and a group VIII metal. The particular zeolite disclosed in EP-A-96479 is remarkably effective in such aromatisation reactions being capable of forming catalysts which have extended lifetime. Such dehydro- cyclisation and/or aromatisation reactions and catalysts for use in such reactions are also described in EP-A-107389, EP-A-184451, EP-A-142351, EP-A-145289, EP-A-184450, U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,834, GB-A-2116450, GB-A-2114150, U.S. Pat. No. 4,458,025, U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,527, GB-A-2142648, GB-A-2106483, U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,326, GB-A-2121427, GB-A-2153840, GB-A-2153384, U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,306, U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,304, U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,305, U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,472, GB-A-2166972, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,831, U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,356 and EP-A-201856.
The product recovered from the usual methods used to prepare zeolite L is a fine sized crystalline material. Several of the uses as catalysts or molecular sieves require a product in a size range substantially larger than the size of the product recovered from the preparation processes of the prior art. To meet this demand, various binders are used in forming steps to prepare aggregates containing zeolite L as the principal ingredient such as pellets, extrudates, or tablets. These aggregates lose some of their activity per unit weight since the binder has a different and low activity and acts-as a diluent of the molecular sieve activity and the conventionally-bound aggregates frequently do not have sufficient crushing strength, particularly when they contain the cylindrical zeolite L crystallites as described in EP-A-96479. In addition particles made using alumina as binder are susceptible to blocking of the zeolite pores, as a result of alumina migration. It is therefore highly desirable to develop a method of preparing binderless aggregates having a particle size suitable for catalyst or sieve systems and possessing good attrition resistance.
The prior art has developed processes of producing binderless sieve aggregates from silica and alumina starting materials such as silica-alumina catalysts and clay. Unfortunately the products produced by these processes, especially where clay is used as a starting material, generally have very poor attrition resistance and thus rapidly break during use into unsuitable powders which must be replaced.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,650,687 describes processes for the preparation of binderless zeolite particles including zeolite L, in which an alumina silicate clay is slurried with an alkali silicate, spray dried to form particles of the desired finished size and then treated with an alkali and aged to convert the particles to zeolite. In an alternative, a hydrated clay is slurried and spray dried to form particles., then calcined and reacted with the other components necessary to form a zeolite. Thus zeolite is only formed after the final particles have been formed. Predictable formation of zeolite having optimum catalytic properties may be difficult under such circumstances.
Also spray drying can be used only to give small particles, typically of 100 to 400 microns, which are only suitable for fluidised beds whereas reactors usually need particle sizes of at least 0.8 mm, preferably at least 1.5 mm and typically 3 mm.
GB-A-1316311 describes binderless zeolite particles which may be of zeolite L, and which are formed by pelleting, crush and repelleting repeatedly to give products of the desired strength. This is a time-consuming procedure which is costly and can damage the zeolite crystals.
GB-A-2109359 describes the preparation of zeolite 3A and 4A binderless particles in various processes in which kaolin clay and sodium hydroxide (in some cases with zeolite) are formed into beads and then reacted with further sodium hydroxide to form zeolite 4A (sodium form) which is exchanged to form zeolite 3A (potassium form). It is clearly stated that direct formation of a potassium zeolite is not possible in this process.
GB-A-2160517 describes the formation of so called preformed zeolite particles, which may be zeolite L particles prepared from a starting material, which may be a synthetic zeolite but must have a silica/alumina ratio lower than the product. The starting material is reacted with a silica material and an alkali to form the product. To form zeolite L either zeolite 3A, kaolin or a silica-alumina starting material is used. The products are necessarily more silica rich than the starting zeolite. This process has practical handling problems in treating particles with a silica containing material.
The prior art systems are either unsuitable for providing binderless particles of zeolite L having high catalytic or absorbent activity, or result in particles of inadequate strength to be suitable for handling in practical applications or are impractical for large scale operation.
EP-A-284206 (counterpart to U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,348) describes the preparation of binderless zeolite L particles involving the reaction of an alkaline solution comprising a source of alumina with particles formed from silica and 0 to 95 wt % of preformed zeolite L crystallites to convert the silica binder to zeolite L and obtaining the desired particles by crystallisation of the reaction mixture.
The present invention concerns a method of preparing binderless zeolite L particles with further enhanced catalytic performance and/or capacity over those prepared by the process of EP-A-284206 and with very high mechanical strength, for example against attrition. The invention also provides certain novel binderless zeolite L particles.


The present disclosure provides an inflatable weight control device that is implanted long-term with an endoscope in obese and bariatric human patients to promote early and prolonged satiety. The device includes a flexible, inflatable member coupled to a valve body assembly and an elongated durable module residing within the flexible member. The flexible member is selectively inflated to form two bulbs with a central passageway extending through the bulbs and the valve body assembly. Once the bulbs are inflated, the device is retained within the patient's pyloric valve to form a gastric outlet obstruction wherein chyme accumulates and then is directed through the central passageway to reach the patient's duodenum. Due to its unique configuration, the implanted device reduces gastric outflow which results in early and prolonged satiety when the patient consumes normal-sized meals or food portions, thereby reducing food consumption and increasing the patient's weight loss.

It is well recognized that being overweight or obese raises many significant health implications. For example, obesity increases the risk of many diseases and health conditions, including: hypertension, dyslipidemia (for example, high total cholesterol or high levels of triglycerides), type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems. In addition to the health implications, overweight and obesity have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system. Medical costs associated with obesity involve direct and indirect costs. Direct medical costs include preventive, diagnostic and treatment services related to obesity. Indirect costs relate to morbidity and mortality costs, where morbidity costs are defined as the value of income lost from decreased productivity, restricted activity, absenteeism and bed days, and mortality costs are the value of future income lost by premature death.
Conventional approaches to combat obesity have led doctors to surgically modify patients' anatomies in an attempt to reduce consumption by inducing satiety or a "full" feeling in the patient, thereby reducing their desire to eat. Examples include stomach stapling, or gastroplasties, to reduce the volumetric size of the stomach. In addition, two procedures, the Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (BPD), reduce the size of the stomach and the effective length of intestine available for nutrient absorption. These two procedures reduce the stomach volume and the ability of a patient to consume food. In an attempt to limit nutrient absorption in the digestive tract, at least one company has introduced a sleeve that is implanted in obese patients. U.S. Pat. No. 7,025,791 discloses a bariatric sleeve that is anchored in the stomach and extends through the pylorus and duodenum and beyond the ligament of Treitz. All chyme exiting the stomach is funneled through the sleeve and bypasses the duodenum and proximal jejunum. By directing the chyme through the sleeve, the digestion and absorption process in the duodenum is interrupted because the chyme cannot mix with the fluids in the duodenum. As there is no mixing of bile with the chyme until the jejunum, the absorption of fats and carbohydrates is reduced. However, these conventional methods suffer from a number of limitations including high correction and mortality rates. Also, conventional methods are costly and prone to adaptation by the patient's digestive tract which reduces the effectiveness of the method.
Accordingly there is a need for an implantable weight loss device that is effective in prompting early and prolonged satiety while being minimally invasive and not irritable to patients over time. At the same time, there is a need to provide a weight control device that can be implanted long-term within a patient with an endoscope in a doctor's office, and that does not require a hospital visit. Finally, it would be advantageous to provide treatment methods for combating obesity based upon the weight loss device that forms a partial gastric outlet obstruction in the stomach to prompt early and prolonged satiety and reduce food consumption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Implantable weight control device to promote early and prolonged satiety in a bariatric patient


A firework launching stand includes a hub, a plurality of inlets about the periphery of the hub, each inlet having an open mouth at the periphery and tapering inwardly in width, and at least one securing member for temporarily securing to the hub a firework received within a respective inlet. The firework launching stand lends stability during the activation of fireworks such as consumer-grade fireworks for home and recreational use.

Consumer-grade fireworks made available by retailers/wholesalers/distributors for use by consumers during holiday celebrations and other occasions are well-known and enjoyed by many consumers. Such fireworks are widely available in many retail environments and their distribution is not heavily regulated.
During operation many fireworks emit long streams of hot ashes, or propel multiple hot salvos from generally elongate bodies. The intention is for such fireworks to emit their salvos generally vertically into the air for maximum enjoyment of spectators.
Many consumer-grade fireworks are provided in packaging with other fireworks at low cost to consumers. As separate items ready for activation via ignition, such fireworks do not often have features sufficient for ensuring that the fireworks remain stable on a given surface during operation. For example, many fireworks of a tube configuration have a cylindrical tube that is far longer than its base. When such a firework is placed onto an unstable or uneven surface and activated, the propulsion forces incurred upon activation may cause the firework to tip over such that the cylindrical tube is no longer vertical, even while salvos are still being emitted.
Some fireworks are provided with a small base that is wider than the main body, for providing a small measure of stability. Other fireworks are created without such bases, the intention being that they are to be partially buried in the ground prior to activation. Responsible consumers generally anticipate the risk that a firework may tip over, and take steps to embed the base of a firework into a pile of thick sand, bury it into dirt, or otherwise prepare the ground for providing stability to the firework. However, often the extent to which this is done is insufficient for preventing firework tipping or the surface on which the firework is to be supported is not amenable to such preparation because it is concrete or asphalt based.
As such, with current techniques for stabilizing readily-available consumer-grade fireworks there remains a significant risk of spectator injury. It is an object of an aspect of the following to address this and other disadvantages.


A method of generating a test tone signal includes generating a fundamental tone signal, which is a sinusoidal signal having a predetermined frequency; generating a first group of harmonic tone signals having different frequencies that are integral multiples of the predetermined frequency; generating a second group of the harmonic tone signals having different frequencies that are integral multiples of the predetermined frequency, at least part of the second group of the harmonic tone signals having frequencies different from frequencies of the first group of the harmonic tone signals; adding the fundamental tone signal to the first group of the harmonic tone signals to generate a first test tone signal; adding the fundamental tone signal to the second group of the harmonic tone signals to generate a second test tone signal; and outputting the first and second test tone signals at predetermined intervals.

The present invention relates to a method of generating a test tone signal and a test-tone-signal generating circuit.
In audio reproduction, audio reproduction systems have been evolving from 2-channel stereo systems into 5.1-channel audio, 7.1-channel audio, and more-than-7.1-channel audio systems as digital audio technologies and audio visual (AV) devices have been developed. However, in such multi-channel audio systems, it becomes difficult for a user to appropriately and manually set the sound balance between channels, frequency characteristics, and others.
In this situation, sound field correction devices that automatically set the sound balance, the frequency characteristics, and others have been supposed. The sound field correction devices supply a test tone signal to the speakers of multiple channels, pick up reproduced sounds from the speakers with microphones, and correct the characteristics of the channels so that the sound balance, the frequency characteristics, and others of the reproduced sounds are appropriately set.
However, in order to perform the sound field correction, it is necessary to first check connection of the speakers. This is because the user fails to obtain information used for the sound field correction in a state in which the speakers are not connected to the apparatus even if the test tone signal is output.
In addition, for example, a reproduction apparatus capable of reproducing 7.1-channel audio signals is possibly used as a reproduction apparatus for 5.1-channel audio signals because of the arrangement of the speakers or the like. Accordingly, it is necessary to check the presence of non-connected speakers (channels that are not used) in multi-channel reproduction apparatuses.
Related arts are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-346299.
In the above setting or checking, a pink noise is generally used as the test tone signal. However, the pink noise is not ear-pleasing because the pink noise strikes the user's ear as noise burst. Furthermore, it is not acceptable that such a pink noise is output from a speaker each time a reproducing apparatus is used (is turned on).
It is desirable not to cause discomfort to a listener (user) in the checking of connection of speakers and to correctly check whether the speakers are connected.

Method of generating test tone signal and test-tone-signal generating circuit


A portable personal shade and cooling device having a handle and a canopy. The handle defines a water reservoir connected to misting nozzles arranged around the periphery of the canopy. The handle incorporates a pressurization source which may be a gas containing cartridge, an external air pump or an integral air pump in the handle.

Evaporative cooling devices are widely used and operate on the principle that heat is extracted from the air to cause evaporation and cooling. Residential and commercial cooling systems utilize this principle. This principle has also been adopted and applied to personal and portable cooling systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,793 shows a misting device having a conduit configured to supply fluid to at least one nozzle. The conduit communicates with a fluid compartment in the base. The base includes a pressure-providing device and the base may be mounted on wheels for portability.
U.S. Publication No. US2002/00078985 shows a mist-producing umbrella device providing a cooling mist for use at locations such as the beach. The mist-producing umbrella has a collapsible canopy and includes a water control assembly and a water reservoir. A pump is disposed in the housing and is connected to the reservoir and delivers water to a mist dispensing assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,107 shows an umbrella which is an outdoor play toy for children. Water from a hose flows upwardly through the umbrella and sprays out through holes in the spokes to create a rain affect beneath the umbrella.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,620,140 shows a portable mist cooling device which delivers a fine spray mist for evaporatively cooling a local area. The apparatus includes a pressurizable container, valve and a spray nozzle or a plurality of nozzles coupled to the valve. A pump pressurizes the container. The device may be attached to the body of the user by a belt or clip so that it can direct a cooling mist in a hands-free manner.
Various other types of portable cooling devices using the evaporative cooling effect can be found and a number of these devices are sold under the designation Misty Mate® as shown on the Misting Mate website www.mistymate.com. Therefore, while there are numerous devices which utilize evaporative cooling, some of which are portable, there nevertheless exists the need for a portable cooling device which is compact, easy to use, easy to store and which provides the user shade as well as portability in a personal cooling device. Although some devices include a shade canopy, these devices are generally large and bulky or are intended to be secured in a fixed location as by a base or ground stake.

Portable personal shade and cooling device


A low cost crimpable and sealable contact assembly including a contact member and a tubular sleeve member. The contact member is capable of being manually continuity crimped to a tip of an electrically conductive core of an electrically insulated wire. The tubular sleeve member is then deformed to hermetically seal it to the insulation on the wire, and the contact member. The hermetic seal protects the core from corrosion. This hermetic seal is particularly important where the core comprises aluminum. Separating the crimping and sealing into separate operations permits them to be performed manually. The sleeve member may be comprised of polymeric material, or it may be metallic. The metallic embodiments may be mechanically or electromagnetically deformed. The polymeric sleeve members may, in addition, be heat shrunk.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to methods and devices, embodiments of which include electrical contacts that are deformable into electrical continuity and hermetic sealing with an insulated wire, and, more particularly, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to electrical contact assemblies including a deformable sleeve for forming a hermetic seal between a closed barrel electrical contact and an insulated electrical wire to which the electrical contact is mounted.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical contacts are conventionally provided in lieu of solder joints for purposes of providing electrical continuity between the electrically conductive core of an insulated electrical wire and an electrical bus or other device to which it is desired to attach the core. The electrically conductive cores are typically composed of some metallic material such as, for example, copper, silver, gold, aluminum, their alloys, or the like.
Electrical contacts often take a form in which a male or female contactor and a barrel are aligned generally axially along a common axis. The contactor is generally designed as either a male pin to be axially inserted into a socket, or a female socket into which a male pin is to be inserted. In either configuration, the purpose of engaging the male pin and the female socket is to complete an electrical circuit. The barrel has an axially extending cavity or tubular portion that provides an attachment location for the core of an insulated electrical wire. When the barrel is of the type described as a closed barrel, the electrical contact is typically gold plated and there is a small hole radially through the tubular wall of the barrel at approximately the bottom end of the closed axial cavity. This hole is required during the plating of the contact.
During the assembly of the electrical contact to the end of an electrical wire, the insulation is stripped from the tip of the wire to expose a short length of the electrically conductive core of the wire. The short length of exposed core is then inserted into the axial cavity in the tubular barrel of the electrical contact. The core may be either stranded or solid. The tubular wall of the barrel is typically physically crimped into electrical continuity with the bare tip of the core of the wire that is within the axial cavity. According to some previous expedients, the tubular barrel is also deformed, typically by crimping, into a hermetic seal with the insulated coating on the wire.
The tubular barrel of the closed barrel contact is open at the opposed end from the axially remote end of the contactor. The barrel and the contactor are typically formed in one piece aligned generally along a common longitudinal axis. The axially extending cavity that is formed by the tubular barrel is generally closed at the end nearest to the contactor with the radial hole at approximately this closed end.
When the wire is assembled to the electrical contact the bare tip of the core is usually inserted into the tubular barrel from the open end to substantially the full depth of the axial cavity. Previously proposed electrical contact expedients for aluminum core wire typically closed the small hole in the wall of the tubular barrel with a soft metal sleeve that was inserted into the tubular barrel during the manufacturing of the closed barrel electrical contact. The sleeve was thought to serve two purposes. It sealed this small hole and provided a soft metal to conform to the brittle aluminum core during the continuity crimp. This sleeve, however, prevents the end of the core from being visible through the hole in the wall of the barrel when the core is substantially fully inserted into the axial cavity.
When complex wiring harnesses are incorporated into a single installation, such as a large aircraft, that installation may include many thousands of electrical contacts. Such complex wiring harnesses are found, for example, in aircraft, military equipment, ships, space craft, and the like. Aluminum is a good electrical conductor, and it enjoys the advantage over most other metals of being comparatively lightweight. The use of aluminum core wire substantially reduces the weight of a large wiring harness as compared, for example, against copper core wire. Aluminum, however, corrodes easily, and it is much more brittle than some of the other metals such as, for example, copper or silver.
Where they are used, aluminum cores must be protected from corrosion to insure the reliability of the electrical connections that are made with them. Wires composed of other metals may require hermetic sealing of their cores because of exposure to corrosive environments during use. It had been previously proposed to hermetically seal the cores of wires, particularly aluminum wires, to prevent undesired corrosion. An effective hermetic seal must seal both the radial hole in the barrel of the electrical contact, and the insulation around the base of the bare tip of the core. Previously proposed sealing expedients included inserting a soft metal sleeve into the axial cavity of the barrel to cover the small opening that is at approximately the closed end of the barrel, and extending the barrel so that it surrounds the insulation that is adjacent to the bare tip of the core. The barrel is crimped at the regions of the core and the insulation for purposes of both electrical continuity and hermetic sealing, respectively. Considerable care and skill are required because there is no opportunity to directly inspect the bare tip of the core to determine whether it has been fully inserted into the axial cavity in the tubular barrel.
Electrical contact assemblies are often installed at the location where the wiring harness is or is to be mounted in some structure or vehicle. Such off-bench installations generally require the use of hand held tools, rather than bench mounted equipment. Such manually manipulated tools are used to accomplish the required electrical continuity crimping and hermetic sealing (crimp-sealed). The designs of prior electrical contacts that provided for hermetic sealing were such that the operation of manually powered crimp-seal tools required considerable skill and close attention to insure that a good crimp-seal was achieved. The inability to inspect the assembly to determine whether the tip of the core was fully inserted into the axial cavity in the hollow barrel made accurately assembling the contact to the wire a very critical operation. A bench mounted tool designed for performing both electrical continuity and hermetic crimping operations on previous electrical contacts is shown in Schwartzman US Pub. 2007/0039168, Published Feb. 22, 2007.
Typical large installations with aluminum core wire, such as large transport aircraft, use some copper core wire for particularly critical connections. As a result, at the site of the installation, there will be electrical contacts for both aluminum core and copper core wires. These contacts are not the same, and are not interchangeable. Also, the tools used to assemble the contacts to the wires are usually not the same. If a worker is not familiar with both types of contacts, or becomes confused, there is a significant risk that an electrical contact that is designed for one type of core will be assembled to a wire with a different type of core, or that the wrong tool will be used. This presents a serious safety risk. Also, the cost of inventorying and handling different types of contacts and tools for different types of cores is substantial.
Those skilled in the art have long recognized the need for an universal electrical contact or contact assembly for both, copper and aluminum wires that is inexpensive, and capable of being crimped by the identical crimping tool, and, when used with aluminum wire, is easily crimp-sealed by hand in off-bench assembly operations.
Previously proposed expedients for electrical contact systems include, for example, Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,632. FIG. 19 of this present disclosure is based on this Peterson patent. Peterson proposes providing an adhesive seal between the barrel of an electrical contact and a nonmetallic sleeve. Electrical continuity is said to be established by a crimping process, but it is not clear how Peterson proposes to obtain a seal between the insulation of a wire and the nonmetallic sleeve. As depicted in FIG. 19 to the present disclosure, Peterson proposes a nonmetallic sleeve 60, which has the same internal diameter as the hollow tubular portion 62 of the contact body 64. Sleeve 60 is adhesively joined to and extends from the hollow tubular portion 62 of the contact body. The joining is accomplished by way of an adhesive joint 66 at a joint region 68. The inner diameter of the nonmetallic sleeve 60 is such that it is prevented from sliding over the outside of the hollow tubular portion 62 of the contact body. Instead, the sleeve is proposed as an extension of the hollow tubular portion. Peterson does not suggest any solution to the problem of hermetically sealing a hole in the hollow tubular portion 62. It is not clear how the core 72 of wire 70 is sealed, if it is, unless the insulation on the wire is adhesively bonded to sleeve 60.
Another previously proposed expedient, depicted in FIG. 20 of the present disclosure, purports to be for use with aluminum core wire only. This approach proposes the use of a crimping operation to simultaneously form a continuity crimp between the bare tip of an aluminum core of an electrical wire and the contact body 80, and a hermetic seal between the skirt portion 86 and the coating of insulation on an electrical wire. Skirt portion 86 is a solid part of the contact. A soft metal insert 82 is inserted into the hollow barrel of the contact. Insert 82 hermetically seals hole 84. It also provides a soft metal interface to which the brittle aluminum core may be crimped. Insert 82 prevents direct inspection of the position of the bare tip before and after the crimping process by which electrical continuity is established between the core of the wire and the contact body. The simultaneous crimping process for both electrical continuity and hermetic sealing often requires relatively large, heavy, bench-mounted crimping devices to generate the required degree of force.
These and other difficulties of the prior art have been overcome according to the present invention.

Electrical contact assembly including a sleeve member


An anti-bacterial composition for plants including garlic oil; cinnamon oil; yucca stem oil; oleic acid; hemp seed oil; and dimethyl sulfoxide.

Citrus greening disease (also known as Huanglongbing), caused by bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) in the US, is a serious plant disease around the world that is posing an existential threat to citrus industry and has caused tremendous economic damages. Currently there is no cure or effective treatments to this disease.
The root cause of this disease is the phloem sap sucking insect Asian citrus psyllids (Diaphorina citri) (jumping plant lice) serving as a vector transmitting the bacterial pathogen. Three Gram-negative bacteria are believed to cause greening disease in various regions: Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), Ca. Liberibacter africanus (CLaf), and Ca. Liberibacter americanus (CLam). They are all restricted to phloem tissue in planta. Citrus greening disease in Florida, USA is caused by CLas. Ever since the insect vector Asian citrus psyllid that carried the bacterial pathogen was unknowingly introduced to the US, perhaps in the 1990s, this disease has caused serious damage to Florida's citrus industry and now is threatening other citrus growing states in the US.
In an action analogous to mosquitos, when the psyllids land on a citrus leaf and start to suck the nutritious fluid from the plant, they also regurgitate/introduce the bacterium CLas from their salivary tissues into the vascular tissue phloem of the plant. CLas proliferates inside the phloem and clogs the transportation system for nutrients and photosynthetic products. Over several years, the citrus tree shows stunted growth and yellowing leaves, producing greening and inedible fruits, leading to leaf and branch die out and eventual plant death, among other symptoms of the citrus greening disease. Adult psyllids live up to several months and reproduce up to 10 generations per year. The psyllids feeding on the infected plants become inoculative, and tend to fly to feed on uninfected plants, thereby transmitting the bacteria further. Currently, this vicious cycle perpetuates to such a devastating situation that one should assume that in Florida every citrus tree is infected with CLas and every psyllid likely carries CLas.
For the past decades, tremendous amounts of resources and efforts have been dedicated to study, treatment and management of citrus greening disease. Measures that have been tested include insecticide, reflective mulch repellent, thermotherapy, fertigation and bactericides/antibiotics or viral/RNAi treatments as well as genetic engineering and transgenic approaches. For example, starting April, 2019, citrus growers in Florida and California start to spray antibiotics streptomycin and oxytetracycline as routing treatments for citrus greening, despite lack of convincing evidence of effectiveness.
There is therefore a need in the art for an effective citrus greening disease treatment.

Citrus disease cure formulation and method of treatment


There is disclosed a defect inspection apparatus, wherein a light source projects a linear light onto a transparent film to inspect, so that a light receiver receives light beams transmitted through the film. The light receiver is placed to look down the film, with its optical axis inclined by a cross angle θ1 to a normal line that is perpendicular to the film surface, and the cross angle θ1 is set in a range from 30° to 50°. The optical axis of the light receiver is also turned about the normal line by a rotational angle θ2 to a transport direction (S) of the film. The rotational angle θ2 is set in a range from minus 60° to plus 60°, on the assumption that the transport direction is zero degree.

Optical compensation film, or retardation film, is known as a device for improving viewing angle of a liquid crystal display device. The optical compensation film is produced by forming an alignment film on a long web of transparent film, and then forming an optically anisotropic liquid crystal layer by spreading and drying a liquid crystal on the alignment film, as disclosed for example in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 9-73081. Although the manufacturing processes for the optical compensation film are strictly supervised, it is hard to exterminate any defect of the produced film. The film defect may be caused by various factors, like mixture or adhesion of extraneous matters, and includes irregularity of molecular orientation, uneven thickness of the base transparent film and uneven coating of the liquid crystal layer. For this reason, it is necessary to locate the detective position on the optical compensation film during the manufacture.
Defect inspection of the optical compensation film on the manufacturing line may be called the on-line inspection, and there are many conventional methods for the on-line inspection.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 6-235624 suggests an inspection method, wherein inspection light beams are projected from a light source toward a target transparent film as being conveyed, to receive reflected light beams or transmitted light beams on a linear sensor. Based on the received light beams, fine unevenness of the film surface, extraneous matters or air bubbles in the film, or protuberances produced on an antireflective coat on the film surface can be automatically detected at a high speed.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 8-54351 discloses a defect inspection method, wherein a high-luminous high-directional light beam is projected at an angle of 5° to 15° onto a surface of a transparent sheet as being conveyed continually, and light transmitted through the transparent sheet is captured by a camera, so as to detect the film defect based on data obtained by image-processing an output signal from the camera. This method enables detecting fine unevenness of the film thickness, i.e. unevenness of 0.1 μm to 5 μm deep and 0.1 μm to 10 μm wide.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 6-148095 discloses an inspection method, wherein a light source and a camera are placed in opposition to each other across a film to inspect, and a first polarizing plate is placed in front of the light source, whereas a second polarizing plate is placed in front of the camera. The film defect is detected based on data obtained by image-processing an output signal from the camera. Since the polarizing direction of the first and second polarizing plates is displaced by an angle of 20° or so from their vertical direction, it becomes possible to detect an increase in light intensity, which results from a change in polarizing condition, and occurs where an extraneous matter exits in or on the film.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 11-30591 discloses a method, wherein a light source, a camera and first and second polarizing plates are arranged in the same way as in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 6-148095, but the displacement of the polarizing direction of the polarizing plates is set to be not more than ±20°. Thereby, vertically polarized components, which are generated by irregular orientation of film molecular or fine distortion of the film, are reduced, so texture signals are lowered and local changes in transmitted light amount through the film are reduced. Then, a change in polarizing condition that occurs at a defective position is made apparent as a dark area signal.
However, any of the prior defect inspection methods cannot detect such a super fine defect that is measured as a thickness difference of 1 nm to 100 nm in film or coating thickness. The present applicant tried to detect uneven coating of a low reflective optical use film and an optical compensation film, using the inspection methods as disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Nos. Hei 6-235624 and Hei 8-54351. But it was hard to detect the super fine unevenness as above. Also with the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 6-148095, satisfying results could not be obtained. Particularly, a change in polarizing direction that is caused by irregular molecular orientation or uneven thickness could not be detected in the vertical direction to the film, because S/N ratio of an output signal of the camera, which is a ratio between an amplitude of a detection signal for the normal texture and that for the defect, was so low that it was hard to discriminate between the normal portion and the defective portion. The present applicant also tried to detect coating unevenness of the film with the method of the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 11-030591, where the polarizing direction of the polarizing plates was displaced not more than ±20° from the vertical direction to the film. However, it was found that the S/N ratio was worsened except where the displacement of the polarizing direction was zero degree, and the coating unevenness could hardly be detected even with the displacement of zero degree.

Apparatus and method for inspecting film defect


Systems and methods are provided for aggregating and assigning power capacity for charging electric vehicles and providing power to other loads. The systems include a DC bus system used to harmonize and combine power drawn from grid connections having different electrical characteristics such as different voltages or phase levels and from other devices such as energy storage systems and generators at the site. Using the systems and methods can help enable utility customer sites to providing electric vehicle charging, especially for multiple electric vehicles, where the sites would otherwise not have sufficient power to do so without significant and expensive service upgrades and modifications.

Electric power utility infrastructure is a serious impediment to scaled adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), particularly in a work setting where fleets of EVs need to be powered. Operators of buses, trucks, and delivery vans who are contemplating rollouts beyond pilot scale are often told by utilities that an infrastructure upgrade is required to support the charging of those vehicles, often at great expense to the customer and utility and with vague and uncertain project work timelines. Utilities usually have limited capability to adapt due to overburdened engineering departments whose primary objective is the safety and reliability of the grid as a whole rather than processing and implementing upgrades for particular customers. Accordingly, this added complexity, cost, and delays are significant roadblocks to widespread electrification of vehicles, and especially fleet vehicles which, as a fleet, require high capacity and reliability for their charging power in order to operate efficiently. For this and other reasons, there is a constant need for improvements in the field of EV charging and the provision of power to EV fleets.


An exhaust stack having a junction tube and a flue is provided. The flue has a silencer portion, a converging duct portion, a tubular portion, and a diverging diffuser portion. The silencer portion fluidly communicates with the junction tube. The silencer portion has a first hydraulic mean cross-sectional flow path, and the tubular portion has a second hydraulic mean cross-sectional flow path less than or equal to the first hydraulic mean cross-sectional flow path. The converging duct portion is coupled between the silencer portion and the tubular portion. The diverging diffuser portion is coupled to an end of the tubular portion opposite to the converging duct portion, such that exhaust gases flowing through the junction tube, the silencer portion, the converging duct portion, the tubular portion and the diverging diffuser portion have a reduced overall pressure drop, at least in part due to the diverging diffuser portion and the second hydraulic mean cross-sectional flow path being less than or equal to the first hydraulic mean cross-sectional flow path.

The present application relates generally to gas turbines, and more specifically to exhaust stacks and power generation systems configured to increase the power output of gas turbines.
A combined cycle power plant ("CCPP") includes a gas turbine, a heat recovery steam generator ("HRSG"), a steam turbine and an exhaust stack. The gas turbine includes a turbine configured to produce a rotational power output in response to an expansion of exhaust gases. The HRSG is configured to receive the exhaust gases from the gas turbine and generate steam from heat of the exhaust gases. The steam turbine is configured to produce a rotational power output in response to an expansion of the steam. The exhaust stack is configured to pass the exhaust gases from the HRSG to the atmosphere.
The gas turbine includes a compressor, a combustion region and the turbine. The compressor is configured to compress an inflow of air. The combustion region is configured to receive the compressed air, combust a mixture of the compressed air and fuel, and produce a high temperature, high pressure exhaust gases. The turbine is configured to receive the exhaust gases and rotate in response to the expansion of the exhaust gases. Accordingly, the rotational power output of the turbine is proportional to the expansion of the exhaust gases and inherent pressure drop.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an exhaust stack configured to reduce the local pressure drop through the exhaust stack, such that the expansion of the exhaust gases in the gas turbine is increased and hence the power output of the gas turbine is increased.

Exhaust stacks and power generation systems for increasing gas turbine power output


Immunostimulatory oligoribonucleotides (ORN) featuring 5′-triphosphates and various 5′-triphosphate analogs are provided. Also provided are physiologically acceptable salts of the immunostimulatory ORN and pharmaceutical compositions containing the immunostimulatory ORN of the invention. ORN of the invention are useful as adjuvants and can be combined with an antigen to promote an antigen-specific immune response. ORN of the invention are also particularly useful for promoting a Th1-type immune response. Also provided are methods of use of the compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of the invention to enhance an immune response in a subject, as well to treat a number of conditions including cancer, infection, allergy, and asthma, and to vaccinate a subject against an antigen.

In recent years a number of nucleic acid molecules, including synthetic oligonucleotides, have been described as immunostimulatory molecules. These immunostimulatory nucleic acid molecules include CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN), which signal through Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9), as well as double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), which signals through Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), and single-stranded RNA and oligoribonucleotides (ORN), which signal through Toll-like receptors 7 and 8 (TLR7 and TLR8).
Very potent induction of interferon by short single-stranded RNAs (ssRNAs), which were obtained by in vitro transcription with T3, T7 and Sp6 RNA polymerases, has also been reported. Kim D H et al. (2004) Nat Biotechnol 22:321-5. This report further disclosed that a 5′-triphosphate on the in vitro-transcribed ORN is required for interferon (IFN) induction. These findings were also disclosed in U.S. patent Application Publication US 2006/0178334 A1.
It was separately reported that 5′-triphosphate RNA is the ligand for retinoic-acid-inducible protein I (RIG-I) and that the 5′-triphosphate group serves as molecular signature for the detection of viral RNA leading to strong IFN induction. Hornung V et al. (2006) Science 314:994-7.
5′-Triphosphate groups are energetically activated compounds with a propensity to self-decompose by hydrolysis. Under in vivo conditions, triphosphates are metabolically cleaved, e.g. by 5′-phosphatases such as calf intestinal phosphatase (CIP), and RNA is capped, such that most, if not all, cytoplasmic RNA lacks exposed 5′-triphosphates.

Immune stimulatory oligoribonucleotide analogs containing modified oligophosphate moieties


A storage unit includes a tray including a bottom surface and sidewalls connected to an outer perimeter of the bottom surface. The tray has an open top surface in fluid communication with the ambient surroundings. The sidewalls extend upward from the bottom surface and are registered perpendicular thereto. Opposed sidewalls are provided with equidistantly spaced notches formed therein that extend along a length of the tray. Corresponding notches are aligned along the opposed sidewalls. Coextensive and linear dividers are positioned into the notches and define isolated chambers. A mechanism is included for conjoining the tray to a ladder rung such that the tray becomes situated along a horizontal plane on top of the ladder rung. The conjoining mechanism is spaced from the dividers and the bottom surface of the tray respectively.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to tool trays and, more particularly, to an adjustable tool tray for ladders and the like.
2. Prior Art
In the past, persons who work from extension ladders have had difficulty storing and/or handling all of the items they required for completing the tasks they set out to accomplish. Such persons often were inconvenienced in having to make multiple trips up and down the extension ladder to retrieve a particular tool or the like, or to replace one tool with another, because of the lack of convenient storage for such tools up on the ladder, at the workplace. Furthermore, when the ladder is placed at an angle to the wall or other object for support, it is desirable to be able to adjust the work surface to be substantially horizontal or level, regardless of the particular angle between the ladder and the wall.
Some fixed-position extension ladder shelves have been used in the past, but they have not been horizontally adjustable. Another problem is presented to the workman using an electric power tool from an extension ladder. Frequently, an extension cord is required to supply the necessary power, and often the workman must support not only the weight of the tool, but also the weight of the cord. This can be very tiring, awkward, or even dangerous for the workman. As the user's arm becomes tired of constantly suspending heavy equipment, the chance of dropping and damaging the tools greatly increases.
Accordingly, a need remains for an adjustable tool tray for ladders and the like in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a ladder mounted tool tray that is easy and convenient to use, light weight and durable in design, is cost effective, and has time and labor saving qualities. Such a tool tray allows trades people, construction laborers, do-it-yourself enthusiasts etc. to have all the necessary tools at hand while performing a task at an elevated position on a ladder. The tools are advantageously organized and easily accessible and can be carried with ease. The storage features of the tool tray conveniently prevent expensive tools from falling from a ladder and being damaged.

Adjustable tool tray for ladders and the like