An apparatus for adjusting a print media gap on a printer having a printhead carriage configured for selective lateral displacement thereof for controlled printing on print media includes the support member attached to the printhead carriage which encounters a guide assembly mounted to the printer that defines first and second predetermined paths for movement of the printhead at first and second print media gaps, respectively, wherein the first and second predetermined paths converge at path junctions. An assembly is provided for directing a support member on a one of the first and second predetermined paths to provide first and second print media gaps.

The present invention relates broadly to control systems associated with ink jet printers and, more particularly, to an automatic print gap adjustment assembly to adjust the gap between a printhead and print media.
Modem ink jet printers typically offer high quality printing results. One of the factors that determines the quality of the print produced by an ink jet printer is the gap or spacing between the printhead and the print media. Print quality can be enhanced if the print gap is adjusted to compensate for different media thicknesses. Typically, the adjustment will provide a first print gap for single sheet use and a second print gap for envelope use with the second print gap being wider than the first print gap. The adjustment of the print gap can be accomplished by physically moving the printhead closer or farther away from the media.
Typically the print gap adjustment will be accomplished by manual manipulation of a lever on the printer that the user must operate. The lever usually provides a first position for a first print gap and a second position for a second print gap. Automatic print gap adjustment has typically been accomplished using complex mechanical devices involving eccentric bearings. Accordingly, there exists a need for an inexpensive automatic gap adjustment that requires no user intervention and provides consistent, accurate results.
It is accordingly an object that the present invention to provide an assembly for automatically adjusting the print gap in an ink jet printer that is mechanically simple and relatively inexpensive to accomplish.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such a print gap adjustment assembly that is accurate and reliable.
To those ends, the present invention is directed to an apparatus for adjusting a print media gap on a printer having a movable printhead carriage configured for selective lateral displacement thereof for controlled printing on print media. The apparatus includes a support member attached to the printhead carriage and projecting therefrom for supporting the printhead during movement thereof. A guide assembly is mounted to the printer for engagement with the support member and defining a first predetermined path for movement of the printhead therealong at a first print media gap and defining a second predetermined path for movement of the printhead therealong at a second print media gap wherein the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path converge at a path junction. An assembly is provided for directing the support member onto one of the first predetermined path to provide the first print media gap and the second predetermined path to provide the second print media gap dependent on a selected print media.
Preferably, the directing assembly includes a first path junction, where the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path converge. The first path junction is disposed at a first end of the guide assembly for movement of the support member from the first predetermined path to the second predetermined path. The directing assembly also includes a second path junction where the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path converge. The second path junction is disposed at a second end of the guide assembly for movement of the support member from the second predetermined path to the first predetermined path.
It is further preferred that the assembly for directing includes a first wall member disposed along the first predetermined path at the first path junction for directing the support member from the first predetermined path to the second predetermined path, and a second wall member disposed along the second predetermined path at the second path junction for directing the support member from the second predetermined path to the first predetermined path.
It is preferential that the directing assembly includes an arrangement associated with the printer for selectively moving the support member to the first path junction for contact with the first wall member to move the support member from the first predetermined path to the second predetermined path for changing a first print gap spacing to a second print gap spacing and for selectively moving the support member to the second path junction for contact with the second wall member to move the support member from the second predetermined path to the first predetermined path, thereby returning the print gap spacing to the first print gap spacing.
The arrangement for moving the support member preferably includes a preprogrammed microcomputer configured for controlling movement of the support member toward the first path junction when changing from a print media having a first thickness to a print media having a second thickness, wherein the second thickness is greater than the first thickness, and the preprogrammed microcomputer may be configured for controlling movement of the support member toward the second path junction when changing from the second print media to the first print media.
It is preferred that the support member includes a wheel rotatebly mounted to an axle and selectively laterally displacable thereon wherein the wheel selectively travels along one of the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path during printing. Preferably, the wheel is configured for abutment with the first wall member and the second wall member for lateral displacement along the axle during a transition between the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path.
It is further preferred that the guide assembly includes a first guide ridge disposed at the first path junction for enhancing the ability of the wheel to remain in the second path after a transition from the first predetermined path to the second predetermined path. The guide assembly may also preferably include a second guide ridge disposed at the second path junction for enhancing the ability of the wheel to remain in the first path after a transition from the second predetermined path to the first predetermined path.
It is further preferred that the guide assembly includes a guide rail having the first predetermined path and the second predetermined path formed therein in a side-by-side relationship. The guide assembly may include a first guide rail having the first predetermined path formed therein and a second guide rail having the second predetermined path formed therein, with the first guide rail and the second guide rail being disposed in a side-by-side relationship.
By the above, the present invention provides a mechanically simple, reliable automatic print gap adjustment assembly that is inexpensive to produce and provides accurate results.

Automatic print gap adjustment assembly for an ink jet printer


A cassette loading apparatus includes a cassette container, an identifier having different positions corresponding to different kinds of cassettes that can be inserted into the cassette container, and a driver adjustable to different positions corresponding to the different kinds of cassettes. The apparatus also includes a blocking mechanism selectively operable to prohibit travel of the cassette container to a cassette loading position.

In cassette loading apparatuses of the pop-up type, inserting a cassette into a cassette container that is in a pop-up state and applying a downward force to the cassette container brings the cassette into driving relation with a driver disposed under the cassette. This allows the driver to turn a recording medium contained in the cassette during playback or record operational modes.
The cassette loading apparatuses of the above type may be divided into two design categories. A first design category is for exclusive use of a standard sized cassette and a second design category is for wide use not only of the standard sized cassette but also of cassettes of other sizes.
In the cassette loading apparatus that is designed for wide use of standard and other size cassettes, inserting a cassette into a cassette container activates a cassette detecting sensor. This sensor detects the insertion of the cassette and the size thereof, causing a driver positioning mechanism to automatically adjust the position of the driver to the position of a follower on the cassette.
After completion of the adjustment, pressing down the cassette container brings the follower on the cassette into driving relation with the driver. in the cassette loading apparatus that is designed for exclusive use of the standard size cassette, a driver is held stationary and cassettes that may be used are limited to one size. Thus, even if the cassette loading apparatus is disconnected from a source of power, inserting a cassette of the standard size into a cassette container and pressing down the cassette container will bring a follower on the cassette into driving relation with a driver without any operation to adjust the driver with respect to the follower. In other words, there is no potential problem that inappropriate alignment of the follower with the driver might damage the cassette and/or driver.
The cassette loading apparatus designed for is wide use of standard and other size cassettes, has a potential problems because the driver can move for adjustment to a cassette of the size different from the standard size, Let us now consider the case where the driver positioning mechanism is not ready for action because of disconnection of the loading apparatus from the source of power. Under this condition, if, with the driver adjusted to the standard size cassette, a cassette of different size is inserted into the cassette container, manually pressing down the cassette container will bring the cassette into contact with the driver that is not aligned with the cassette. This interference may bring about damage to the cassette or driver.
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned potential problem in the cassette loading apparatuses that are designed for wide use of standard and other size cassettes.


A stow abort mechanism for a ram air turbine (RAT) with a strut that rotates a turbine with associated blades from a stowed position to a deployment condition comprises a stow abort lock plate with an aperture that rotates with the strut and a stow abort lock pin that engages the aperture in the stow abort lock plate when the blades do not align properly for rotating the strut back into the stowed position.

A ram air turbine (RAT) is a device for generating emergency supplemental power in a wide variety of aircraft. A RAT may generate hydraulic power, electric power or both. A RAT incorporates a turbine that extracts power from an air stream proximate the aircraft in flight. A typical RAT in current use is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,163 to Markunas et al., owned by the assignee of this application, and incorporated herein by reference. The turbine is coupled to suitable power generating equipment, such as a hydraulic pump for hydraulic power and an electric generator for electric power, or both in the case of a hybrid RAT.
The general operation of a RAT requires that it rotate from a stored position to a deployment position in an air stream. The rotating portion of the RAT comprises an air stream-powered turbine, lower gearbox and strut. The stationary portion of the RAT comprises a RAT frame and a pivot post that has journal bearings in which the strut rotates. The storage for the RAT is typically within a RAT bay behind a RAT bay door. The RAT must only start rotating after it achieves adequate clearance from the RAT bay door so that its blades may rotate freely. The blades are locked until a release mechanism allows the blades to rotate. The release mechanism usually comprises a turbine release cable coupled to a turbine release cable lever on one end and a turbine release pin on the other. The turbine release pin passes through an aperture in the turbine driveshaft when the RAT is in the stowed position to lock the blades whilst stowed. As the RAT rotates out of the RAT bay, the turbine release lever rotates with it until it hits a stop pin. Since the turbine release lever then remains motionless as the RAT continues to rotate into its deployment position, the turbine release cable to which it attaches pulls the turbine release pin out of the aperture in the turbine driveshaft so that the blades are free to rotate.
When the RAT is ready to be re-stowed into the RAT bay, the blades must align in position so that they can return through the RAT bay door. Misalignment of the blades can cause them to contact the door and damage can result. A stow abort mechanism can prevent such damage by inhibiting RAT stowage when the blades are misaligned.
The common stow abort mechanism generally comprises a turbine release cable sensing system that comprises an electronic switch with an associated electrical wiring harness and stow panel logic circuitry rigged to sense misalignment of the blades based upon the position of the turbine release cable. That is, if the blades are misaligned, the turbine release pin fails to re-insert itself into the turbine drive shaft, thereby forcing the turbine release cable against the turbine release cable lever and thereby displacing the turbine release cable lever away from the stop. This activates the electronic switch and the stow abort mechanism inhibits the stow operation. The problem with this type of stow abort system is that the switch, rigging, electrical harness and stow panel logic circuitry are somewhat costly. A simpler and less expensive approach is desirable.

Stow abort mechanism for a ram air turbine


A system and method are provided for a terminal assembly of a subsea motor-compressor. The terminal assembly may include a plurality of terminal ports extending through a hollow spherical body to a cavity defined therein. The terminal assembly may also include a penetrator detachably coupled with the spherical body about each of the plurality of terminal ports. The terminal assembly may further include a mounting port extending through the spherical body to the cavity defined therein. The mounting port may be configured to couple the terminal assembly with a housing of the motor-compressor.

Reliable and efficient compression systems have been developed and are used in a myriad of industrial processes (e.g., petroleum refineries, offshore oil production platforms, and subsea process control systems). There is, however, an ever-increasing demand for smaller, lighter, and more compact compression systems. Accordingly, compact motor-compressors that incorporate compressors directly coupled to high-speed electric motors have been developed. Conventional compact motor-compressors may combine a high-speed electric motor with a compressor, such as a centrifugal compressor, in a single, hermetically sealed housing. In compact motor-compressors, the high-speed electric motor may operate in a process fluid contained in the housing, which may be maintained at a pressure from about 1 megapascal (MPa) to about 30 MPa. To deliver an electrical current across the pressure boundary of the housing and power the high-speed electric motor, high voltage penetrators (HVPs) are often utilized. In topside or terrestrial (e.g., ground based) environments with ambient air external conditions, the HVPs may be contained in a pipe section extending from the sealed housing. These pipe sections, however, are neither practical nor adequate for the larger and more complex HVPs required in subsea environments.
In view of the foregoing, compact motor-compressors used in subsea environments may often include a terminal assembly in lieu of the pipe section to engage or couple with the HVPs. FIG. 1 illustrates a partial, cross-sectional view of a conventional compact motor-compressor 100 including a conventional terminal assembly 102. The motor-compressor 100 may combine a pressurized, high-speed motor 120 with a compressor 130 in a hermetically sealed housing 112. The motor-compressor 100 may further include a terminal assembly 102 disposed about the housing 112 and configured to couple with one or more HVPs 106, 108, 110. The HVPs 106, 108, 110 may be configured to receive an electrical current from a sea- or land-based power source and deliver the electrical current to the motor 120 via the terminal assembly 102. To limit power losses resulting from induced eddy currents, the terminal assembly 102 may be cast with costly non-magnetic metals. However, in conventional motor-compressors 100, the terminal assembly 102 may often be cast integral with the housing 112, thereby hindering the ability to fabricate the terminal assembly 102 and the housing 112 from different materials. As such, the housing 112 and the terminal assembly 102 are often cast with the same cost effective metallic materials and the resulting power losses from induced eddy currents are accepted. Further, in conventional motor-compressors 100, the HVPs 106, 108, 110 are often coupled with the terminal assembly 102 in a co-linear orientation, which results in an increased distance and an increased amount of metallic material interposed between each of the HVPs 106, 108, 110. The increased amount of metallic material may also contribute to the overall power losses from induced eddy currents.
What is needed, then, is an improved, cost-effective motor-compressor system and method of operating thereof, including a terminal assembly capable of minimizing induced power losses.


A semiconductor device is provided. The semiconductor device includes a first circuit provided between a power source voltage line and a ground line, including at least two first MOS transistors coupled in parallel and a second circuit, which is provided between the power source voltage line and the ground line, including at least two second MOS transistors coupled in series. The gate length and the gate width of the first MOS transistor are adjusted so that the first MOS transistor has a gate area allowing a first characteristic variation of the first MOS transistor to be substantially equal to a second characteristic variation of the second MOS transistor.

1. Field
Embodiments discussed herein relate to a semiconductor device and a method for layouting the semiconductor device.
2. Description of Related Art
A semiconductor device includes a logic circuit (random logic) having a specific processing function. The logic circuit includes a cell, and the cell includes an inverter circuit, NAND circuit or NOR circuit which is constituted of a single or a plurality of MOS transistors.
Subsequent to verification of the logic design, the logic circuit is laid out. Based on the laid-out logic circuit, a delay time is calculated, and based on the delay time, the timing is verified. When there is a problem with the timing, a gate size of the MOS transistor, such as a gate length or a gate width of the MOS transistor, is modified or a buffer or the like is inserted to solve the timing problem.
As the gate length of the MOS transistor is increased, the off-leak current decreases. On the contrary, as the gate length of the MOS transistor is shortened, the off-leak current thereof increases. In the logic circuit, the gate length of the MOS transistor included in the cell is increased to reduce the off-leak current, thereby lowering power consumption.
Related art is disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H02-218096, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. H02-089365 or the like.

Semiconductor device with transistors having substantial the same characteristic variations


A lenticular lens sheet includes a substrate layer, a lens portion having a lenticular lens configuration which is shaped so as to be convex on a light incident face side of the substrate layer and an achromatic or chromatic colored layer formed adjacent to at least a light incident face of the lens portion. The substrate layer is not colored. Alternatively, it is colored thinner than the colored layer. With the arrangement, it is possible to restrict reflection of outside light and enhance the contrast of picture without reducing the intensity of image light so much. Further, it is possible to realize fine pitching of images.

The present invention relates to a lenticular lens sheet, a display front plate and a transmission type projection screen, all of which are suitable for projecting and observing an image supplied from an image source having a cell structure, such as a liquid crystal device (LCD), a digital micro-mirror device (DMD) or the like.
In the conventional art, there is a known rear projection type television which includes three colored (i.e., red, green, blue) cathode ray tubes (CRT) as the image source and a transmission type projection screen as the picture screen. For the above-mentioned transmission type projection screen, it has been required to diffuse image light in a wide range and decrease an influence of outside light.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the conventional transmission type projection screen. In order to meet the above-mentioned requirements, this transmission type projection screen comprises a lenticular lens sheet 40. The lenticular lens sheet 40 is provided, on an light incident face side 41 thereof, with a converging lens section 42, such as a lenticular lens. On a light emitting face 44 in the vicinity of a focus of the lens section 42, the lenticular lens sheet 40 includes a plurality of non-light emitting sections 47 covered with light absorbing layer 48 which will be referred to black stripes (BS), hereinafter. With the arrangement, the BS lenticular lens sheet 40 is capable of diffusing the light while decreasing the influence of the external light.
As the image source, a conventional art projection television has been developed with the above-mentioned LCD or DMD. Also in this projection television (TV), the above BS lenticular lens sheet has been employed for purposes of an improvement of diffusion performance and a prevention of the external light from reflection.
In the above-mentioned projection TV, however, there is a possibility of occurrence of moire due to the sampling effect of lenticular lens in case of projecting an image on the lenticular lens sheet having the above-mentioned cyclic structure repeated at regular pitches.
It is an established theory that, in order to prevent the occurrence of moire, a pitch of the lenticular lens is preferably decreased so as to be 1/3.5 (equal to ten thirty fifth) or less of a pitch of lattice pattern projected.
In addition, it should be noted that the projection TV having the LCD or DMD often produces a glaring picture which is called "scintillation". However, to decrease the pitch of the lenticular lens would be effective in order to weaken the above-mentioned scintillation.
Meanwhile, the transmission type projection screen having the BS lenticular lens sheet as shown in FIG. 4 operates to diffuse the light in a wide range of an angle of 40 degrees or more. Thus, in order to form the black stripes (BS) on the transmission type projection screen simultaneously, a distance between the incident lens and the light emitting face has to be established to be one point three times as large as a pitch of the incident lens. Under such a situation, in order to make the moire constituted by the lattice pattern projected on the screen and each pitch of the lens, inconspicuous, it is required to establish a lens pitch less than 0.4 mm and a lens thickness less than 0.54 mm.
However, if reducing the thickness of the screen as mentioned above, a rigidity of the screen will be deteriorated to get difficult to maintain the screen flat. In addition, it is very complicated to mold such a thin lens sheet with accuracy by an extruding mold method or the like.
Further, it has been executed that, due to the above-mentioned reason, the transmission type projection screen as the projection TV using the LCD or the DMD utilizes a lenticular lens sheet, which is provided only on a light emitting face side with colored lenticular lenses (light emitting side lenticular lens sheet), a lenticular lens sheet which is provided only on a light incident face side with colored lenticular lenses (light incident side lenticular lens sheet) or the like.
In the light emitting-side lenticular lens sheet some are shaped to have partially circular or partially elliptical cross sections, and others are shaped so as to utilize total reflection.
In the former lenses, there is a common problem that it is difficult to broaden a viewing angle since its lens angle relative to the projecting light exceeds the critical angle at respective foot portions thereby to cause the total reflection of the projecting light.
On the other hand, the later lens have a common problem of impossibility of an exact die transferal by the extruding process due to their singular configurations, so that they have no choice but to be produced by the casting process having a poor productivity.
FIG. 6 shows a relationship between an inclination angle at a light incident position of the light incident-side lenticular lens and the emission angle of the light. In FIG. 6, a letter .phi. designates a foot angle at the foot portion of the incident lens, a letter .theta. an emission angle of the light entering into the foot portion of the lens, an alphabet h a height of the incident lens, and l a distance between an incident point (i.e. the foot portion of the lens) and a converging point, respectively. Table 4 shows the emission angle and respective positions of the converging points relative to the lens angle at the foot portion of the lens. Note, in this table, an alphabet n denotes a refractive index and p a pitch of the lens.
TABLE 4 ______________________________________ emission angle relative to angle of foot portion of incident lens n = 1.5, p = 1.0 mm .phi. deg! .theta. deg! 1 mm! h mm! ______________________________________ 30 15.9 2.69 0.14 40 22.3 1.92 0.19 50 29.7 1.42 0.26 60 38.9 1.08 0.33 70 51.0 0.83 0.42 ______________________________________
In order to accomplish a wide view angle having more than the emission angle .theta. of 40 degrees in the light incident-side lenticular lens sheet, it is required to establish the lens angle .phi. more than 60 degrees at the foot portion of the lens, as shown in FIG. 6 and Table 4.
However, if increasing the lens angle simply, the external light entering into the lens through the light emitting face will be totally reflected on the incident lens portion, so that it projects from the light emitting face again together with the image light, as shown in FIG. 3B. In such a case, it is expected that the contrast of image is influenced remarkably and disadvantageously. It should be noted that, since most of the BS lenticular lens sheets have the light emitting faces which are disposed at general condensing points of their incident lenses, a distance between the incident lens portion and the light emitting face will be equal to a distance of (h+1). In Table 4, the distance (h+1) in case of 60 degrees of the lens angle at the foot portion of the lens .phi. is set to 1.41, while the distance (h+1) in case of 70 degrees of the lens angle .phi. is set to 1.25. Thus, it will be understood that, as mentioned before, the distance between the incident lens portion and the light emitting face must be established to be about 1.3 times as large as the lens pitch. This means that a reduction of a pitch of the lens makes a thickness of the lens thinner, thereby causing the rigidity of lens to be weakened and the forming of lens to be complicated.

Lenticular lens sheet, display front plate and transmission type projection screen


An apparatus and method is disclosed for enabling accurate registration of virtual information upon real objects in selected environments from the perspective of a moveable observation platform having a position and an orientation within an observation space positioned within the environment, the position and orientation defining the registration of the virtual information within the observation space within the environment, which may comprise: a plurality of at least three tracking fiducials selectively each respectively located in fixed predetermined locations in the observation space; the observation platform including a position sensor apparatus adapted to sense an estimated position of the observation platform in the observation space and a heading sensor apparatus adapted to sense an estimated heading of the observation platform within the observation space; the observation platform further including a wide view fiducial detection apparatus mounted on the observation platform and adapted to detect the relative direction from the observation platform to each of the plurality of tracking fiducials, a heading error detection apparatus adapted to detect the difference between the estimated heading and the present heading based upon the observed relative directions to the respective tracking fiducials, and forming a corrected heading from the estimated heading and the detected heading error.

Hybrid tracking systems are known which enable somewhat accurate registration of virtual information, e.g., images, upon real objects in selected outdoor environments. Such outdoor applications often can be used in well-defined areas where it is feasible, e.g., to add a few objects to the environment that may serve to help the tracking. A better system utilizing such accurate registration is needed.
Often Augmented Reality systems employ a 6-D tracking system that can measure, in real time, the orientation and position of the user at all times. This may be required, e.g., for the system to know exactly how to draw the virtual objects so that they appear in their proper positions with respect to the real world in which the user is positioned and respecting which the user wishes to insert the virtual information, e.g., an image of a building on an empty lot.
Reasonably accurate tracking systems have also been developed for indoor settings, where the system designer may have much more control over the environment and may be more able to modify it as needed. However, the ability to track more accurately in outdoor environments, where the system designer may have no control over the environment, could enable more augmented reality applications. Currently, such satisfactory tracking has only been achieved under significantly constrained circumstances (e.g., the user does not walk around) or with prohibitively expensive equipment.
Fiducials, which are easily identifiable markers which can be added to the environment to make the visual tracking more simple, are known to be useful in position and orientation tracking. Use of fiducials in an augmented reality system is discussed, e.g., in Bajura, Mike and Ulrich Neumann, Dynamic Registration Correction in Augmented-Reality Systems. Proceedings of IEEE VRAIS '95 (Research Triangle Park, NC, Mar. 11–15, 1995), 189–196 (the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). Discussed therein, is an example of using fiducials to supplement 6-D tracking. A separate 6-D tracker, such as a magnetic-based system like the Polhemus, as discussed in Raab, F., Bood, E., Steiner, O., Jones. H. Magnetic position and orientation tracking system. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, AES-15 (5), 1979, pp. 709–717, which generates an initial guess of the user's position and orientation. Then the fiducials which can be detected by a video tracking system can be used to correct this initial guess. The corrections can be applied to orientation only or in 6-D. Another example of this appears in State, Andrei, Gentaro Hirota, David T. Chen, Bill Garrett, and Mark Livingston, Superior Augmented Reality Registration by Integrating Landmark Tracking and Magnetic Tracking. Proceedings of SIGGRAPH '96 (New Orleans, La., Aug. 4–9, 1996), 429–438, and the related U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,749, issued to Hirota, et al. May 16, 2000, entitled HYBRID TRACKING FOR AUGMENTED REALITY (the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference).
Other examples of visual-based tracking exist, which employ the detection of fiducials. These methods, however, do not use multiple sensors. Instead they typically find the 2-D locations of the fiducials in an image, and combining that with the known 3-D locations of the fiducials, they recover the 6-D location of, e.g., the camera creating the image. These methods suffer from the shortcoming, however, that they need to see, typically at a minimum, 3 fiducials at all times. In practice, however, such methods may not be stable unless they can include in the image a larger numbers of fiducials (e.g., 6 or more). For a narrow field of view camera this can mean the density of fiducials in the environment must be very large. These solutions tend to be more stable if the fiducials are spread widely apart (requiring multiple cameras or a wide field of view, but the wide field of view spreads the resolution across a large area). One example of pure fiducial tracking is discussed in Neumann, Ulrich and Youngkwan Cho, A Self-Tracking Augmented Reality System. Proceedings of VRST '96 (Hong Kong, Jul. 1–4, 1996), 109–115.

Method and apparatus for augmented reality hybrid tracking system with fiducial-based heading correction


In a digital television broadcast signal receiver (TV receiver), when closed caption information of digital TV (DTV-CC) is detected, a DTV-CC logo (first annunciation image) 31 is displayed with superimposing on an image of TV program for announcing that the DTV-CC is included in the digital TV signal, and when closed caption information of NTSC (NTSC-CC) is detected, an NTSC-CC logo (second annunciation image) 32 is displayed with superimposing on the image of TV program for announcing that the NTSC-CC is included in the digital TV signal. Thus, a user can easily recognize whether the DTV-CC and/or NTSC-CC are/is included in the digital TV signal or not.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a closed-captioned digital television broadcast signal receiver.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, closed-captioned digital television broadcast signal receivers (hereinafter, abbreviated as digital TV receiver) extracts caption information from digital television broadcast signal (hereinafter, abbreviated as digital TV signal) and displays the caption information with superimposing it on an image of a TV program on a monitor screen of display apparatus.
In the United States, standards of the closed caption are established in EIA-608 and EIA-708, so that each TV station delivers TV signal in compliance with these standards for enabling to display the closed caption on the TV receivers.
Furthermore, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-9096 discloses another conventional TV receiver that can adjust various parameters which define a format for displaying the closed caption. For example, EIA-708 establishes a specification that a part of parameters can optionally be defined by a user through the TV receiver. In such parameters, font type, font size, foreground color, background color, edge color, edge type, foreground opacity, and background opacity are included. Each parameter further includes a plurality of selectable elements. In the digital TV receiver in compliance with EIA-708, the format of the closed caption can optionally be changed with adjusting these parameters.
Besides, the digital TV signal may include NTSC caption information formed in compliance with NTSC (National Television System Committee) system other than digital TV closed caption information in compliance with the digital TV system. Although the conventional digital TV receiver can extract the caption information from the digital TV signal and output the caption information which is superimposed on the image of TV program on the monitor display apparatus, it is difficult to the user to distinguish which of the digital TV caption information and the NTSC caption information is outputted on the monitor display. The digital TV system can allocate the data to the caption information much more than the NTSC system. Furthermore, the closed caption in compliance with EIA-708 can set various parameters on the user side. Thus, it is important to enable the distinction which of the digital TV caption information and the NTSC caption information is displayed on the monitor display in order to improve the operationality of the TV receiver.

Digital television broadcast signal receiver


A device and method for the non-contact measurement of dynamic torsion in a rotating shaft using magnetostrictive sensors (MsS). The monitoring and detection system have specially configured magnetostrictive signal detectors that include inductive pickup coils, in which signals corresponding to localized shaft torques are induced. The non-contact method for measuring dynamic torques includes fixing a ferromagnetic strip to a ferromagnetic or non-ferromagnetic shaft and inducing a circumferential residual magnetization therein. An MsS in the form of either an encircling coil positioned around the shaft on a cylindrical substrate, or a partially encircling coil positioned on a flexible substrate and wrapped partially about the shaft.

I. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for the non-contact monitoring and measurement of the torsional dynamics of rotating shafts. The present invention relates more specifically to methods and devices for the non-contact monitoring and measurement of stationary and transient torques in rotating shafts using magnetostrictive sensors (MsS).
II. Description of the Prior Art.
It is common in many different machine systems, for mechanical power from an electrical motor, combustion engine, or gas turbine to be transmitted to a load through a power train of some type. Rotating shafts are frequently integral parts of such power trains. A variety of machinery dynamics, including vibration, lateral movement, and torsional motion, have a direct effect on the operational conditions of these machine systems. The monitoring of these machinery dynamics offers, therefore, a valuable means of diagnosing and correcting machinery problems in a manner that can assist in the effective operation and maintenance of the machinery.
For example, the measurement of the torsional dynamics of a rotating shaft can be used to control backlash at gear teeth and other types of drive train couplings, for a more efficient operation of the machinery and less wear on the machinery components.
At present, various methods are used to measure the torsional dynamics of a rotating shaft. These methods include shaft encoders, torsional accelerometers, and strain gauges. In general, the currently available methods require physical contact of some type with the rotating shaft (side or end surfaces) and a means of electrical/electronic communication such as slip rings or telemetry for relaying sensor information to signal analysis equipment. In many situations, these methods are not only difficult to use but costly to implement. In addition, the available methods generally lack long-term durability, which is essential for on-line monitoring and control during the service life of high speed rotational machinery.
Some efforts in the past have attempted to implement a non-contact means for the measurement of dynamic torsion in rotating shafts using magnetostrictive techniques. None of these efforts, however, disclose or anticipate a detector that does not include some form of periodic external excitation of the magnetostrictive material. The following patents are considered illustrative of the art encountered within the field.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,399, issued to Klauber et al. on Dec. 25, 1990, entitled "Signal Dividing Magnetostrictive Torque Sensor", describes a non-contacting method for sensing torque utilizing the magnetostrictive principle by inducing a primary magnetic flux in a rotating shaft with an excitation coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,937, issued to Klauber et al. on Jul. 10, 1990, entitled "Magnetostrictive Torque Sensor", likewise describes a system for sensing torque based on the magnetostrictive principle that utilizes a primary excitation coil to introduce a magnetic flux in the rotating shaft. The system involves appropriate placement both of a sensor coil and the primary excitation coil in positions adjacent to the rotating shaft and appropriate orientation of the coils with respect to each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,609, issued to Nishibe et al. on Mar. 14, 1989, entitled "Torque Detecting Apparatus", describes a system for measuring the transmitted torque within a rotating magnetic material by means of a magnetostrictive sensor. Essential to the Nishibe system is the use of a demagnetization coil designed to restore the rotary magnetic material to a state of zero magnetization. Included in this system are driving circuits and excitation coils for establishing the magnetic field within the rotating shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,803,885, issued to Nonomura et al. on Feb. 14, 1989, entitled "Torque Measuring Apparatus", also describes a non-contact method for measuring torque in a rotating shaft of ferromagnetic material using magnetic based sensors. The device includes an excitation coil wound around the outer periphery of the rotating shaft and adapted to magnetize the shaft in an axial direction. A detecting core ring in the form of an integral unit includes a number of detecting cores arranged around the circumferential area of the rotating shaft.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,781, issued to Pratt on Jul. 31, 1962, entitled "Magnetostrictive Torque Meter", provides an early teaching of the basic approach of employing magnetostrictive principles to implement a torque meter for a rotating shaft based on stress measurements of the shaft material. The description of the operation of the non-contacting embodiment (shown in FIG. 1 of the Pratt patent) refers to the use of an AC excitation coil wound around the shaft, and the inclusion of a "magnetostriction constant".
Japanese Patent No. 3-269228, issued to Aisin Seiki on Nov. 29, 1991, entitled "Magnetostriction Detector for Torque Detector Using Film of Magnetostrictive Metal Containing Super Magnetostrictive Alloy Particles", describes a system for measuring torque in a rotating shaft utilizing a primary excitation coil and a secondary detection coil adjacent to a surface on the shaft that has been covered with a ferromagnetic material. The focus of this patent involves the type of metallic material utilized as the magnetostrictive substance.
Each of the above patents describe devices for measuring torque in a shaft using a similar approach that requires a means for applying an AC magnetic field to the ferromagnetic shaft material. Most of the later issued U.S. patents provide teachings of similar magnetostrictive torque measuring approaches. Some of these patents suggest using a thin coating of magnetostrictive materials around non-ferromagnetic materials as is well known in the field of magnetostrictive sensing.
III. Background on the Magnetostrictive Effect.
The magnetostrictive effect is a property peculiar to ferromagnetic materials. The magnetostrictive effect refers to the phenomena of physical, dimensional change associated with variations in magnetization. The effect is widely used to make vibrating elements for such things as sonar transducers, hydrophones, and magnetostrictive delay lines for electric signals. The magnetostrictive effect actually describes physical/magnetic interactions that can occur in two directions. The Villari effect occurs when stress waves or mechanical waves within a ferromagnetic material cause abrupt, local dimensional changes in the material which, when they occur within an established magnetic field, can generate a magnetic flux change detectible by a receiving coil in the vicinity. The Joule effect, being the reverse of the Villari effect, occurs when a changing magnetic flux induces a mechanical vibrational motion in a ferromagnetic material through the generation of a mechanical wave or stress wave. Typically, the Joule effect is achieved by passing a current of varying magnitude through a coil placed within a static magnetic field thereby modifying the magnetic field and imparting mechanical waves into a ferromagnetic material present in that field. These mechanical or stress waves then propagate not only through the portion of the ferromagnetic material adjacent to the generating coil but also into and through any further materials in mechanical contact with the ferromagnetic material. In this way, non-ferromagnetic materials can serve as conduits for the mechanical waves or stress waves that can thereafter be measured by directing them through these ferromagnetic "wave guides" placed proximate to the magnetostrictive sensor element.
The advantages of magnetostrictive sensors over other types of vibrational sensors becomes quite clear when the structure of such sensors is described. All of the components typically utilized in magnetostrictive sensors are temperature, pressure, and environment-resistant in ways that many other types of sensors, such as piezoelectric based sensors, are not. High temperature, permanent magnets, magnetic coils, and ferromagnetic materials are quite easy to produce in a variety of configurations. Further, although evidence from the previous applications of magnetostrictive sensors would indicate the contrary, magnetostrictive sensors are capable of detecting mechanical waves and translating them into signals that are subject to very fine analysis and discrimination in a manner that allows information to be obtained about the elements in an object (such as a rotating steel shaft) that may have initially generated the stress.
It would be desirable, therefore, to have a torque measurement system that utilizes magnetostrictive sensors in conjunction with a rotating shaft. It would be desirable to maintain the advantages of such a system through its non-contact method of detecting the magnetostrictive effect within ferromagnetic material contained on or in the rotating shaft. In addition, it would be preferable to simplify such a system by eliminating the need for at least the primary excitation coil found in each of the existing systems based on magnetostrictive sensors. It would be desirable to implement such a system with a magnetostrictive sensor that provides a signal which, when amplified and appropriately filtered, carries the same information about the torque being experienced in the rotating shaft as more expensive, cumbersome, and delicate systems that use strain transducers, telemetry devices and the like.

Measurement of torsional dynamics of rotating shafts using magnetostrictive sensors


Compounds having repeating units of the formula I ##STR1## in which R.sup.1 is an alkylene, cycloalkylene, alkenylene, alkynylene, or arylenebisalkyl group, in which one or more aliphatic CH.sub.2 groups may be replaced by oxygen or sulfur atoms,. R.sup.2 is an alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, aryl, aralkyl or aryloxyalkyl radical, PA0 R.sup.3 is an alkyl or aryl radical, PA0 X is --CO--, --O--CO-- or --NH--CO--, and PA0 n is an integer greater than 1, especially from 3 to 50.. are cleavable by acid and, in combination with photolytic acid donors and alkali-soluble binders, are constituents of positive-working mixtures which are used especially in recording materials for UV radiation and high-energy radiation. The materials are distinguished by a high resolution in conjunction with high image contrast.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to novel acid-cleavable N,O-acetals and to a radiation-sensitive mixture which is positive-working, i.e., which becomes soluble as a result of irradiation, which contains these compounds. The mixture contains
(a) a binder which is insoluble in water and soluble or at least swellable in aqueous alkaline solutions, PA1 (b) a compound which generates a strong acid under the action of actinic radiation, and PA1 (c) a compound which has at least one acid-cleavable C--O--C bond and is convertible by cleavage into products having an enhanced solubility in aqueous alkaline solutions. PA1 R.sup.2 is an alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, aryl, aralkyl or aryloxyalkyl radical, PA1 R.sup.3 is an alkyl or aryl radical, PA1 X is one of the groups --CO--, --O--CO-- or --NH--CO--, PA1 n is an integer greater than 1 and PA1 R.sup.1, R.sup.2, R.sup.3 and X may have the same or different meanings in different units.
The invention also relates to a radiation-sensitive recording material which is produced with this mixture and which is suitable for producing photoresists, electronic components, printing plates or for chemical milling.

Acid-cleavable compounds, positive-working radiation-sensitive mixture containing these compounds, and radiation-sensitive recording material produced with this mixture


A fully implantable, incrementally adjustable osteotomy fixation apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a first plate member, and a second plate member being telescopically received within the first plate member. The osteotomy fixation apparatus may further comprise a ratchet assembly, operatively associated with the first and second plate member, which allows for advancement of the first plate member relative to the second plate member, but prevents retraction. Attachment means operatively associated with the first and second plate members are provided for attaching the apparatus to the bone. The apparatus may also include an external extension brace, operatively associated with the ratchet, for extending the second plate member relative to the first plate member so that post-operative angular correction of the bone may be achieved. A method of performing an osteotomy to the bone is also disclosed utilizing the fixation apparatus herein disclosed.

This invention relates to an apparatus and method for performing an osteotomy. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for performing an osteotomy with an incrementally adjustable osteotomy fixation device. In this application, we describe its application to the most commonly performed osteotomy of the proximal tibia; however, the invention herein disclosed would apply to other bone or joint deformities.
All joints of the body, including the knee, are vulnerable to physical injury such as dislocation, fracture and/or damage by diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis. As will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, a knee osteotomy is a procedure in which a section of bone is removed from either the upper tibia or distal femur in order to change the loading conditions at the knee. The knee osteotomy is generally performed by removal of a wedge of the bone so as to realign the remaining segments. A knee osteotomy may also be performed by adding a wedge of bone.
The osteotomy technique can serve to restore the anatomic and mechanical axes of the extremity. This operation is usually performed adjacent to the end of a bone, such as in the proximal region of the tibia, without removing the articular (end) surface, as would be the case for preparation of the bone for implantation of a joint prosthesis, such as a total knee prothesis. The procedure must be performed with a high degree of accuracy so that the end surface of the bone is not damaged and is subsequently correctly realigned to the desired orientation with respect to the alignment of the anatomic and mechanical axes of the bone.
An important consideration is the angle correction necessary for the reorientation. Prior art techniques of reorientation include cutting a predetermined wedge from the bone so as to leave intact a segment joining both portions of the bone. The bone portions are then drawn together to close the wedge shaped gap so that the sides there of engage. The bone portions may be secured and are allowed to heal in this new configuration.
In order to determine the angle correction, the geometry of the leg and the knee joint must be analyzed. Factors to consider for angular correction includes the forces affecting the knee joint (including but not limited to body weight, center of gravity, varus or valgus leg conditions, and the contact surface of the knee joint, etc). The magnitude and direction of forces acting upon the knee are a consequence of these and other factors. In the prior art, once these factors are considered, the angle and location of the osteotomy wedge may be chosen. Remember, the osteotomy changes the angle of the knee joint which in turn changes the distribution of forces along the contact surfaces of the joint.
The primary means of producing an angular correction to a joint include either a closing wedge or an opening wedge osteotomy. The closing wedge osteotomy does not work well because it decreases leg length and has a highly variable outcome. The prior art techniques used for a closing wedge osteotomy require that the surgeon create a wedge correction of a specific angle to make it conform to the bone during the initial osteotomy surgery. With this type of technique, all adjustments have to be made during the surgery. Once the wound is closed, no further changes can be made. This necessitates that all angular correction to the bone must be made during the initial surgery. The fixation device thus implanted will simply maintain that position until the bone heals. The opening wedge osteotomy works well if it is used in conjunction with external fixation hardware such as the Wagner method to provide adjustment during healing: However, this approach currently requires external fixation hardware to provide adjustments and this carries with its use the risk of infection. Further, external fixation is bulky and complicates the functional after care of a patient. Prior art devices for providing adjustment of an osteotomy during healing is the apparatus described by Robinson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,396). This device provides adjustment of the osteotomy site through an apparatus that extends through a patient's skin and therefore carries with its use the risk of infection and complications with regard to patient care. In addition, this device is designed for use on portions of the body that do not support body weight. Therefore, it would not be an effective approach to provide adjustment of an osteotomy about the knee. Another prior art device to provide adjustment of an osteotomy during healing is the apparatus described by Hildebrandt (U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,060). This device is fully implantable and has a self powered system to provide adjustment of the osteotomy site. Its purpose is to extend a bone and by virtue of its size it could not be used to provide angular adjustment of an osteotomy.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus and method for performing a tibial osteotomy that will allow for greater accuracy for determining the correct angle of orientation. There is also a need for a procedure and device that provides for incremental adjustment of the angular correction through the healing process. There is also a need for a fully implantable device which can be adjusted using an external force (or brace). There is also a need for an apparatus that will allow for incremental adjustment following the surgery. Further, there is a need for incremental adjustability of the device that provides an opening wedge type of osteotomy with gradual distraction.

Incrementally adjustable tibial osteotomy fixation device and method


The present invention relates to a process and an apparatus for purifying a mixture of terpene material and tall oil material for the production of biofuels and components thereof. The present invention relates further to hydroprocessing of the purified material to obtain biofuels and components thereof.

Raw materials of biological origin are potential sources of various biofuels or biofuel components. These raw materials can be converted to biofuels by feeding the raw material through a catalytic reactor by contacting it simultaneously with gaseous hydrogen. The resulting product is drawn off from the reactor as a product stream which can be further fractionated for example by distillation to form biofuel/biofuel components.
There are however various problems related to production processes of biofuels from the raw materials of biological origin, such as poisoning and clogging of the catalyst material used in the production processes. There are impurities in the raw materials of biological origin, such as metals and solids that cause the inactivation of the catalyst material or cause coking on the catalyst and prevent it to function properly. In order to prevent the inactivation of the catalyst and to prolong its lifetime, the raw material can be purified and/or pretreated before feeding it to the hydrotreatment process. Purifying of the raw materials of biological origin to be suitable for feeding to a catalytic process is also challenging. Prior art describes various ways of doing this. However, these all have problems and the quality of the raw material is not always on a required level for the catalytic step to be able to function in the most efficient way.
One possibility of purifying and/or pretreating a raw material of biological origin, such as crude tall oil (CTO), which is to be fed to catalytic hydrotreatment processes, is ion-exchange with a cationic and/or anionic ion exchange resin.
Another possibility is to use methods such as adsorption on a suitable material or acid washing to remove alkaline metals and earth alkaline metals (Na, K, Ca). The adsorption material can be catalytically active or inactive. Yet another possibility is to use degumming for removing metals in the feed.
When the raw material of biological origin contains tall oil, depitching of the crude tall oil can also be used to remove impurities from the tall oil. Depitched tall oil is obtained by evaporating crude tall oil, for example by thin-film evaporator. U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,722 describes converting unsaturated fatty acids, for example tall oil fatty acids to naphtha and cetane improvers for diesel fuels. However, this process has disadvantages, for example the yield of biofuel or biofuel components, i.e. naphtha and cetane improvers, is poor. This is due to the fact that in depitching a huge amount of valuable raw material for hydrogenation is lost as residue, i.e. pitch. According to the document, the residue is used as such as fuel for boilers.
Terpene-based materials, such as crude turpentine and turpentine distillation residues can also be used as feed materials in biorefineries. However, at the moment the purity of terpene-based materials received, for example from a pulp mill or thermo mechanical processes, can be such that it is not always suitable as a feed material in a catalytic conversion process. Consequently, nowadays most of the terpene-based material that is not directed to other turpentine converting processes is considered as a waste and it ends up to be burnt in a lime kiln or a recovery boiler or any other boiler such as boilers using light or heavy oil as the fuel.
It has not been suggested in the prior art to purify a mixture of terpene-based material and tall oil-based material by evaporating and to use the fractions recovered from the purification as a feed to catalytic hydroprocessing thereafter.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process and apparatus for purifying material of biological origin


An assembly includes a fixture, first and second vanes, and an insert. The first vane and the second vane are retained within the fixture and are spaced at a distance from one another. The insert is disposed between the first vane and the second vane and the insert includes a spring that exerts a force that is applied to both the first vane and the second vane.

The present invention relates to a gas turbine engine. In particular, the invention relates to an apparatus that aid in the manufacture or repair of gas turbine engine vanes.
A gas turbine engine ignites compressed air and fuel to create a flow of hot combustion gases to drive multiple stages of turbine blades. The turbine blades extract energy from the flow of hot combustion gases to drive a rotor. The turbine rotor drives a fan to provide thrust and drives a compressor to provide a flow of compressed air. In both the turbine and the compressor, stator vanes are interspersed between the multiple stages of blades to align the flow of gases for an efficient attack angle on the blades.
Stator vanes with a cantilevered-type configuration have been developed to reduce weight and improve manufacturability. For a variety of reasons, including efficiency, it is desirable to minimize clearance between the tip of the vane and adjacent rotor structures. Thus, tight tolerances between the tips of the vanes and the rotor are required. Such tolerances generally cannot be achieved when casting the vane, and therefore, the vanes are generally assembled and the tips of the vanes are machined to a desired tolerance.
One conventional technique for assembling the vanes for vane tip machining uses wax or plastic to encapsulate the stators. The wax or plastic acts to retain the vanes while a light grind is performed along the tip of each vane. After the grind is performed the wax or plastic is melted so that the vanes can be removed. The entire assembly and disassembly process is time consuming, and therefore, costly. Additionally, wax or plastic must be procured and disposed of with this processing method.


Apparatus for blending particulate solids or liquids includes a blending vessel having a racetrack-shaped cross section at each elevation above its lower end. The racetrack-shaped cross section consists of two spaced opposed semicircles having ends that are joined by two spaced parallel line segments. Several embodiments of the apparatus are described; they all employ the racetrack-shaped blending vessel, which is highly effective in promoting mixing. In one embodiment the racetrack-shaped blending vessel is rotated about a horizontal axis so that the material passes through the vessel on each revolution. In another embodiment, a number of racetrack-shaped blending vessels are connected in a vertical sequence so that the material must pass through the blending vessels in succession.

Blending of materials (liquids or solid particles) usually relies on mechanical means of moving one portion of the material with respect to another portion thus distributing streams of solids with respect to each other. The better mixers will frequently change relative movement direction to produce a crosswise reverse motion of the material. Usually mechanical impellers of various shapes are used, including mechanically activated ribbons and paddles. In some blenders, a series of stationary paddles are used and the material is allowed to drop through the paddles and thus produce a sequence of cuts and deflections of the stream in various directions to produce a mixing action. Sometimes the mechanical impellers are moved fast enough to throw the material. While this sometimes improves mixing, it often degrades the material and consequently does not produce a satisfactory mixing process.
The blender of the present invention has a particular shape defined by the following features. At each elevation above the discharge opening, the cross section of the blender in any plane perpendicular to the axis of symmetry of the blender is racetrack-shaped; that is, the cross section consists of two opposed semicircles, spaced, and with their concave sides facing each other, the ends of the semicircles joined by parallel straight lines, resulting in a shape resembling that of a racetrack. The resulting blender necessarily has an axis of symmetry.
If the diameters of the semicircles are the same at all elevations, then the flat surfaces generated by the parallel straight lines will be vertical. On the other hand, if the diameters of the semicircles increase with increasing elevation, then the flat surfaces generated by the parallel straight lines converge downwardly. These two cases are illustrated, respectively, by the lower and the upper portions of the blender shown in FIGS. 1A through 1C. In both cases, the resulting structure is said to have one-dimensional convergence. In some embodiments described below, more than one blender module of this basic shape are combined in cascade, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
With the present invention, materials are mixed as they flow by gravity through a blending vessel of racetrack configuration and strike its multiple surfaces. The multiple surfaces of the blending vessel walls cause the material to disperse as it strikes the straight part of the racetrack. The curved portions of the racetrack then force this dispersed material back together, thus causing blending. The blending is enhanced when the blending vessel is designed to cause convergence of the material in only one direction at a time. Generally these directions are perpendicular to each other so that dispersion and mixing occur first in one direction and then in a direction perpendicular to the first. This one-dimensional convergence is not only useful to enhance blending, but also can produce bottom to top sequential discharge of material leaving the blending vessel.
The means for introducing material into the racetrack configuration blending vessel can be as simple as a single chute, or multiple feeders feeding multiple chutes.
In a simple, non-rotating embodiment, multiple blending opportunities are provided by stacking blending vessels and allowing material to fall by gravity from one vessel into the next, as in FIGS. 3A and 3B.
In another embodiment, shown in FIGS. 4A through 4C, a large closed introduction chamber affixed to the top of the blending vessel is alternately filled and emptied by gravity as the blending vessel and chamber are rotated as a unit about a horizontal axis. This configuration, in which the ends of both the blending vessel and the chamber are capped so as to contain the material, allows for the repeated entry of the same material into the same blending vessel as the assembly is rotated about a horizontal axis.
The multiple blending opportunities off the rotated embodiment are enhanced when the introduction chamber has the same size and shape as the blending vessel and is mounted in an inverted posture into the upper end off the blending vessel, as shown in FIGS. 5A through 5B. This provides a mixing opportunity with each half revolution. Blending in this dual racetrack-shaped blender configuration is further enhanced by a go-degree rotation of the racetrack axis of one blending vessel with respect to the other.

Racetrack-shaped dynamic gravity flow blender


Provided is an isolated and purified protein produced by a naturally occurring Babesia sp. comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:1 and an isolated and purified nucleic acid encoding the above protein. Additionally provided is an isolated and purified nucleic acid comprising at least 20 nucleotides having a sequence 100% identical to a portion of SEQ ID NO:2 or its complement. Further provided is an antibody preparation comprising an antibody that specifically binds to the above protein. Also provided are methods of diagnosing a Babesia sp. infection in a mammal, methods of determining whether a blood preparation is contaminated with a Babesia sp., methods of determining whether a blood preparation is contaminated with a Babesia sp., and methods of treating a mammal infected with a Babesia sp., the method comprising inhibiting the production or activity of the protein comprising an amino acid sequence at least 90% identical to SEQ ID NO:1 by the Babesia sp. in the mammal. Additionally provided are methods of screening a compound for treating an infection by a Babesia sp.

Babesiosis, caused by infection with intra-erythrocytic parasites of the genus Babesia, is one of the most common infections of free living animals worldwide and is gaining increasing interest as an emerging zoonosis (a disease communicable from animals to humans). Babesia are transmitted by their tick vectors during the taking of a blood meal from the vertebrate host. Babesiosis has long been recognized as an economically important disease of cattle, but only in the last 30 years has Babesia been recognized as an important pathogen in man. Human babesiosis is caused by one of several Babesial species that have distinct geographical distributions based on the presence of competent hosts. In North America, babesiosis is caused predominantly by Babesia microti, a rodent borne parasite, and also occasionally by two newly recognized species, WA1 and MO-1. In Europe, human babesiosis is considerably rarer but more lethal, and is caused by the bovine pathogen B. divergens. The spectrum of disease is broad, ranging from an apparently silent infection to a fulminant, malaria-like disease which can be fatal. When present, symptoms typically are non-specific (fever, headache and myalgia). A number of factors have contributed to the "emergence" of human babesiosis, including increased awareness among physicians, changing ecology, and an increased population of immuno-compromised individuals susceptible to infection. Since 1980, over 500 cases of human infections have been reported.
Parasites that live in red blood cells (RBCs, erythrocytes) have rather ingenious ways of gaining entry to these cells. The best studied is Plasmodium spp, the etiological agent of malaria. Like Plasmodium, Babesia merozoites enter RBCs using an active invasion process that is mediated by multiple receptor-ligand interactions. The various 'steps' in the invasion process in both Plasmodium and Babesia have been illustrated using light and electron microscopy and microcinematography. They are identical in both apicomplexans, except for the fact that soon after entry of the Babesia merozoite, the parasitophorous vacuolar membrane disappears. The invasion, growth and maturation of both Plasmodium and Babesia within the human erythrocyte is accompanied by both morphological and biochemical changes in the RBC plasma membrane, which can be attributed to the activity of specific, parasite derived factors. Parasite derived proteases are of particular importance as they play a pivotal role in both the entry and the exit of the parasite by processing both parasite adhesins and host erythrocyte proteins. Serine protease inhibitors can block invasion by Plasmodium and Babesia divergens. It is therefore hypothesized that serine proteases function during B. divergens merozoite invasion, much like they do in P. falciparum, in two potential ways: the proteolysis of RBC surface and skeletal proteins and the processing of parasite proteins. Recently the "sheddase" that is responsible for the proteolytic shedding of P. falciparum surface proteins during invasion was identified as a membrane bound subtilisin-like protease called PfSUB2.


In a shape memory alloy actuator driving device, a predetermined constant current is applied to a shape memory alloy member as a retrieval signal to detect a terminal voltage of the shape memory alloy member, and a detection result of the terminal voltage is compared with a target voltage value to be calculated based on a target resistance value of the shape memory alloy member and a value of the constant current to cause a driving circuit to output, to the shape memory alloy member, a drive current that makes the detection result substantially equal to the target voltage value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a relatively compact image pickup device to be loaded in a camera phone or a like device; and a driving device, to be incorporated in the image pickup device, for driving a lens unit constituting an image pickup optical system for focus control or zoom control.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a high-resolution image pickup device has been developed. For instance, the number of pixels of an image sensor to be loaded in a camera phone or a like device has been spectacularly increased. As the high-resolution device has been developed, a high-performance lens unit constituting an image pickup optical system has also been demanded. Specifically, a fixed focal length system is replaced by an auto-focus system. Concerning a zoom function, an optical zoom function has been demanded in place of or in addition to a digital zoom function. In view of the above trend, an actuator for moving a lens element in an optical axis direction is required both in the auto-focus system and the optical zoom system.
As an actuator, there is known a shape memory alloy (hereinafter, also called as "SMA") actuator. The SMA actuator is constructed in such a manner that a contraction force is generated by energizing and heating an SMA member, and the contraction force is used as a lens driving force. Generally, the SMA actuator is advantageous in easily reducing the size and the weight of a lens driver, and obtaining a relatively large magnitude of force.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an arrangement example of a lens unit 10. The lens unit 10 is constructed in such a manner that a lens barrel 2 for holding a lens element 1 is slidably movable along a guide rod 5 provided between fixing members 3 and 4. A bias spring 6 is mounted between the lens barrel 2 and the fixing member 3. A SMA member 7 is mounted between the lens barrel 2 and the fixing member 4. Both terminals of the SMA member 7 are connected to a driving circuit 8. In the case where a drive current is applied from the driving circuit 8 to the SMA member 7, or a currently applied drive current is increased to heat the SMA member 7, the SMA member 7 is contracted, thereby holding the lens barrel 2 as a driven member i.e. the lens element 1 at a position where the contraction force of the SMA member 7 is balanced with a resilient force of the bias spring 6. On the other hand, in the case where application of the drive current to the SMA member 7 is suspended, or a currently applied drive current is decreased to cool the SMA member 7, the SMA member 7 is expanded, and the lens barrel 2 i.e. the lens element 1 is held at a position balanced with the resilient force of the bias spring 6.
In the lens unit 10 having the above arrangement, the displaced position of the lens barrel 2 i.e. the lens element 1 can be detected by measuring a resistance value of the SMA member 7. FIG. 2 is a graph showing a relation between a displacement amount of an SMA member, and a resistance value of the SMA member. As shown in FIG. 2, there is known that a resistance value of an SMA member is monotonously changed in a certain range of a displacement amount to a maximum displacement amount Xmax corresponding to a resistance value Rmin, depending on the length of the SMA member. For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-183564 (D1) discloses an arrangement, wherein a constant voltage is applied to a series circuit constituted of an SMA member and a resistor, and a resistance value of the SMA member is obtained based on a divided voltage thereof; or a Wheatstone bridge circuit is formed by parallel-connecting series circuits constituted of two resistors as a comparator, and a resistance value of the SMA member is obtained based on a difference between divided voltages.
In the conventional art, a resistance value of the SMA member is obtained by applying a constant voltage to the series circuit constituted of the SMA member and the resistor, and detecting a voltage at a connected point between the SMA member and the resistor. In the above arrangement, a resistor having a relatively high precision is required. In the case where an integrated circuit is fabricated, the SMA member and the resistor are externally mounted. This may increase the production cost and the size of the SMA actuator, and cause a large electric power loss by the resistor.

SMA actuator driving device, and image pickup device incorporated with the same


A power distribution system has an electrical box configured to attach a power cable, a plaster ring releasably mounted to the box and one or more electrical devices installed into the ring. A pre-wired ground extends from a first end physically and electrically connected to a ground terminal on the electrical device. The plaster ring is movable between a closed position proximate the box and an open position distal the box. The pre-wired ground is configured as a lanyard so as to support the plaster ring as a wiring platform in the open position for connecting wires between the power cable and the electrical device or devices.

A power distribution system may comprise an electrical box, a plaster ring and an electrical device, such as an outlet or switch. During a roughing phase of construction, electrical boxes with attached plaster rings are mounted to wall studs at predetermined locations. A journeyman electrician routes power cables through building framing to the appropriate box. Then power cables are fed through openings in the rear or sides of the boxes and folded back inside. During a trim phase, electrical devices are mounted to the plaster rings.


The surface of a photosensitive body is evenly charged by a charging member, and then the charged surface is exposed to light by an exposure device in order to produce an electrostatic latent image. A toner is caused to adhere to the latent image by a developing roller and then is transferred to paper. The temperature of the charging member is detected by a temperature detecting device and, in accordance with the detected temperature, a voltage to be applied to the charging member is corrected by a voltage correcting device. An aging change of the photosensitive body is detected by an aging change detecting device and, in accordance with the amount of the aging change, a correction rule for an applied voltage corrected by the voltage correcting device is changed by a correction rule changing device. A potential of the surface of the charged photosensitive body or a developing bias of the developing roller in an image forming process is corrected by a potential correcting device. The surface of the photosensitive body is charged with the corrected voltage and then a reference potential pattern is formed. After the correction of the potential, the amount of light of the exposure device in the image forming process is corrected by an amount-of-light correcting device on the basis of a reference potential detected when the reference potential pattern is formed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrophotographic type of image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, photocopying machine, or FAX machine. More specifically, this invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a charging member is brought into contact with a rotating photosensitive body in order to charge the surface of the photosensitive body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An electrophotographic type of image forming apparatus, such as a photocopying machine, is known in which an image is formed under the following process.
The surface of a drum-like or belt-like photosensitive body is evenly charged by a charger and then exposed by an exposing device so as to produce an electrostatic latent image thereon. After that, a toner is caused to adhere to the latent image on the surface of the photosensitive body by a developing roller disposed in a developing device so as to make the latent image visible. The image-visualized toner is then transferred to the surface of transfer paper supplied from a paper supplying unit by a transfer device. The toner which has been transferred to the surface of the transfer paper is fixed by a fixing device, and then the transfer paper is discharged. Finally, a toner left, if any, on the surface of the photosensitive body is removed by a cleaning device.
In this type of image forming apparatus, a corona discharge method is adopted in order to evenly charge the surface of the photosensitive body. According to this method, the surface of the photosensitive body is charged due to ionization of the surrounding air.
However, the corona discharge method has a problem in that a great quantity of ozone is produced when the surface of the photosensitive body is charged. The ozone has the characteristic that when a minus discharge is made, much more ozone is produced.
Nowadays, an organic photosensitive body for a minus discharge is widely used as photosensitive body. Also, the environmental standard for generation of various kinds of gasses including ozone has become severer. Thus, a countermeasure is keenly demanded. The corona discharge method also has a problem in that the adhesion of nitrogenous compounds (NOx), etc., which are secondarily produced by ozone, to the surface of the photosensitive body causes an abnormal image.
Accordingly, an image forming apparatus adopting a contact-and-charge method has been developed as a substitute of the corona discharge method. This new type of image forming apparatus employs a charging member, such as a charging roller, to be brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive body. According to the contact-and-charge method, the charging roller supplied with voltage is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive body. The surface of the photosensitive body is evenly charged by electric discharge through an air gap which, in the strict sense of the word, exists between the respective surfaces of the charging roller and photosensitive body. Therefore, according to the contact-and-charge method, the voltage to be applied to the surface of the photosensitive body can be lowered compared with that of the corona discharge method. As a result, advantageously, the amount of ozone to be produced is sharply reduced.
However, even in the contact-and-charge method, there is a situation in which the photosensitive body is not evenly charged because of difficulty in maintaining a required electric potential at a constant level. In other words, the unevenness or nonuniformity of the charged photosensitive body is caused by the reason why changes in circumstances for the use of the apparatus, such as a change in temperature of the charging roller or a change in temperature of the inside of the apparatus, (in the following, these are referred to as apparatus circumstantial changes) lead to changes in electrical characteristics, such as a resistance value or dielectric constant, of the charging roller.
In order to prevent the nonuniformity generated when charged, such a technique as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 4-186381 is proposed. According to this technique, the temperature of a charging roller is detected by a sensor and then the voltage to be applied to the charging roller is changed in accordance with the detected temperature.
However, since the dependence of the surface potential of the photosensitive body upon the temperature is not in proportion to the applied voltage of the charging roller, it is still difficult to completely prevent the nonuniformity.
In addition, another problem residues in that the electric potential of the charged photosensitive body fluctuates because of the abrasion of a photosensitive layer of the photosensitive body caused by friction. As a solution to this problem, a technique is known in which the amount of abrasion of the photosensitive layer is detected and, in accordance with the increase of the detected abrasion, the voltage to be applied to the charging roller is decreased, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 5-27557.
However, under the influence of the abrasion of the photosensitive layer, the characteristic of the photosensitive body depends upon the temperature of the charging roller. That is, the characteristic presented when the charging roller has a high temperature is opposite to that presented when the charging roller has a low temperature. Therefore, a surface potential of the photosensitive body cannot be always maintained constant even if the voltage to be applied to the charging roller is decreased.
There is still another problem. Generally, if a charging roller is used as a charging member, the diameter of the charging roller is such smaller than that of a photosensitive body with the view of making the charging roller small in size. For this reason, even in a case in which a small quantity of toner which has little influence on an image has adhered to the charging roller via a cleaning device, the toner becomes an obtrusive stain by the frequent occurrence of the toner thereto. As a result, such a stain causes a defective part which is not sufficiently charged.
It is therefore a first object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality regardless of whether or not, when a voltage to be applied is corrected in accordance with apparatus circumstantial changes, a photosensitive body has a physical change suffered with the lapse of time.
It is a second object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality regardless of whether or not, when a voltage to be applied is corrected in accordance with a physical change of a photosensitive body suffered with the lapse of time, there are apparatus circumstantial changes.
It is a third object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality, when an OPC (organic photoconductive cell) type of photosensitive body is used, regardless of apparatus circumstantial changes or a physical change of the photosensitive body suffered with the lapse of time.
It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality when an OPC (organic photoconductive cell) type of photosensitive body is used.
It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality by always making a potential of a charged photosensitive body constant regardless of apparatus circumstantial changes or a physical change of the photosensitive body suffered with the lapse of time.
It is a sixth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality without fluctuation of a potential of a charged photosensitive body even when a correction rule is changed.
It is a seventh object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of forming an image of stable quality by reducing defective areas of a charged photosensitive body caused by adhesion of a toner to a charging member.
It is an eighth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of effectively preventing a charging member from being stained for circumstantial changes at a low cost without detecting apparatus circumstantial changes by means of a newly disposed mechanism.
It is a ninth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of preventing an image from becoming dark for the decrease of the sensitivity of a photosensitive body in a low temperature.
It is a tenth object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which is capable of preventing the deterioration of an image caused by apparatus circumstantial changes.

Image forming apparatus having control of exposure and charging depending on detected temperature


A projection apparatus including a light source, a light valve, a light uniforming device, and a first curved-surface reflection device is provided. The light source provides an illumination beam. The light valve is disposed on a transmission path of the illumination beam for converting the illumination beam into an image beam. The light valve has an active surface that substantially has a rectangular contour. The light uniforming device is disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam and between the light source and the light valve. The first curved-surface reflection device is disposed on the transmission path of the illumination beam and between the light source and the light valve for reflecting the illumination beam to the light valve. A curvature of the first curved-surface reflection device along a first direction is not equal to a curvature of the first curved-surface reflection device along a second direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a projection apparatus, and more particularly, to a projection apparatus with improved light use efficiency.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally speaking, a conventional projection apparatus includes two lens arrays and a digital micro-mirror device (DMD). Each of the lens arrays includes a plurality of lens cells, and the lens cells in the two lens arrays are respectively corresponding to each other. A light beam can be led to the DMD by the lens cells in the lens arrays so that a light spot is shaped and uniformed. However, because the DMD in a conventional projection apparatus has a rectangular contour, the lens cells should also be a rectangle in order to produce a well-shaped and uniform light spot on the DMD.
In a conventional projection apparatus, the lens array closer to the light source has a specific valid range of the light collection angle. When a light beam from the light source radiates toward a lens cell in the lens array closer to the light source at an angle within the valid range of the light collection angle, the light beam is led to the corresponding lens cell in the other lens array and then to the DMD. However, when the light beam reaches a lens cell in the lens array closer to the light source at an angle outside the valid range of the light collection angle, the light beam is not led to the corresponding lens cell but a lens cell beside the corresponding lens in the other lens array. Thus, the travel direction of the light beam appears to deviate from the DMD and accordingly the light beam is not led to the DMD. As a result, light loss is caused. This phenomenon is referred to as crosstalk in which light loss is caused by brightness interference.
The valid range of the light collection angle of each lens cell is related to the width of the lens cell. Thus, when a light beam passes through a lens cell, the valid light collection angle in the direction parallel to the short side of the lens cell is smaller than that in the direction parallel to the long side of the lens cell. In this way, when the light beam enters the lens cell at an angle greater than the valid light collection angle of the lens cells, than the travel direction of the light beam deviates from the DMD and accordingly light loss is caused. For example, in order to display a widescreen image in the 16:9 aspect ratio in a conventional projection apparatus, a DMD having an aspect ratio of 16:9 should be adopted, and in order to achieve a shaped and uniform light spot, the aspect ratio of the lens cells should also be 16:9. However, this will make the short side of each lens cell to be shorter and the valid light collection angle thereof in the direction parallel to the short side to be smaller and cause more light loss.
An illumination system capable of shaping an illumination beam is provided in Taiwan Patent No. 1300834. The illumination system includes a point light source array, a biconic lens, and a collimator lens, wherein the collimator lens is disposed between the point light source array and the biconic lens.


A transverse flux electrical motor to produce motion from an input electric current, the electrical motor comprising: a static element having a plurality of magnets arranged in at least two rows and defining a path of movement; a magnetizable movable element having at least two openings, each opening being sized and shaped to receive a magnet from one of the rows of magnets, the movable element being movable along the path of movement such that the magnets of each row pass through one of the openings; and a plurality of windings positioned adjacent to the movable element, to receive the electric current and produce a magnetic flux circuit in the movable element and a force on the movable element in the direction of the path of movement; wherein the magnetic flux circuit in the movable element is transverse to the direction of force on the movable element.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to electrical motors and, more particularly, but not exclusively, to transverse flux machines in which the electromagnetic force vector is perpendicular to the magnetic flux lines.
2. Description of Related Art
Linear motion systems are in common use in industry, with different systems available to handle a variety of applications.
One type of system uses a ball and screw arrangement, in which the ball screw is rotated by a static rotary motor. An advantage of this arrangement is that the electric cables that drive the system are statics, and therefore may be fixed to the main body of the machine. Some of the disadvantages however include limits in speed, and relatively high vibration, friction, and acoustic noise.
Where faster speed and smooth, high precision movements are required, electric motors having a stationary element and movable element are frequently employed. In some linear motors, for example, the movable element includes a current-carrying winding wrapped around a magnetic core of magnetizable material such as iron or steel, and the stationary element contains permanent magnets.
These linear motors have a disadvantage however in that the movable winding needs to be connected by cable to the driver current of the motor. In order to avoid deterioration of the connecting cables, a cable arrangement that is costly and complicated is usually required. Further, the cable connection creates mechanical friction and perturbations that affect the smoothness of the motor movement.
An alternative type of linear electric motor reverses placement of the components, by placing the windings and magnetic core on the stator and the permanent magnets on the moving element. An example of this motor configuration is shown in U.S. patent application US2007/0114854 to Miyamoto. A problem with this configuration however is that the windings and magnetic core are extended along the full length of the linear motor, which makes the motor relatively heavy and expensive. Further, these motors have low efficiency since only the small section of the winding that is in front of the moving element is active.
Both of these common types of linear motor also have a strong attraction force between the moving and the static elements. The attraction force acts as a constraint on movement, requiring additional current input to overcome, which further reduces motor efficiency.
Rotary motors work on the same principle as the above linear motors, but produce as mechanical output a shaft that rotates rather than one that moves back and forth along a straight-line path. Some rotary motors of the AC synchronous and DC brushless type accordingly have permanent magnets on the rotor, and winding and magnetic material on the stator. However, when these motors operate at high speed, the rotating magnets on the rotor become subject to a strong centrifugal force. This creates a risk that the magnets might dislodge and fly off. In order to reduce this risk, costly design features are needed.
One approach to this problem involves inserting the permanent magnets in dedicated slots inside the rotor magnetic material. This type of motor is called an Internal Permanent Magnet ("IPM") motor, and an example is shown in U.S. patent application 2007/0278886 to Fujiwara. A problem with IPM motors is that they include a "reluctance torque" which must be compensated by the electronic drive in order to maintain a constant torque for a given current amplitude at variable rotation angles. This design accordingly limits the maximum torque available to a lower value, and degrades the linear relationship between motor current and torque output.
Another type of rotary motor, called "Direct Drive", is designed to have a relatively large number of poles in order to obtain high torque. These motors are commonly used to directly activate loads at a relatively low speed, without the need for reduction gear. In such motors however the winding is arranged around the poles, so that the space needed for the winding limits the number of poles for a given diameter of the motor. Accordingly, in order to obtain the desired high torque, the direct drive motor becomes relatively large and heavy.
In recent years a different type of electric motor called transverse flux machines ("TFM's") have gained in popularity. Whereas in standard electric motors, such as those described above, the electromagnetic force vector is parallel to the magnetic flux lines, in TFM's the electromagnetic force vector is perpendicular to the magnetic flux lines. The TFM design allows the pole number to be increased without reducing the magnetomotive force per pole, and is therefore capable of producing power densities higher than a conventional machine. Some common disadvantages of TFM's include low power factor and complex construction with three-dimensional magnetic fields. The use of lamination in TFM's is complicated, so that sometimes the costly soft magnetic composite materials are required.