The invention is directed to a method and arrangement for checking the operability of a vessel. Pressure is introduced into the vessel utilizing a pressure source having operating variables which vary during operation of the pressure source. These operating variables are detected while the pressure is introduced into the vessel and a conclusion as to a presence of a leak in the vessel is drawn from the operating variables. By utilizing the operating variables, a statement as precise as possible is provided as to the presence of the leak with as little additional equipment as possible.

Vessels must be checked in different areas of technology with respect to their operability, that is, with respect to tightness. Thus, in the chemical industry or in the process industry for example, it is important that the tightness of vessels be checked. Furthermore, it is however also necessary to check the tightness, especially of tank systems, in the motor vehicle industry.
For example, the California Environmental Authority (CARB) as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) require a check of the operability of tank-venting systems in motor vehicles utilizing on-board diagnostic means (On-board Diagnosis, OBD II). Starting with the model year 1996, leaks of the size of 1 mm or more must be detected and starting with the model year 2000, the detection of leaks starting with a size of 0.5 mm is required. Such leaks must, for example, be indicated in the motor vehicle and be stored in a memory.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,935 discloses a method and an arrangement for checking the operability of a tank-venting system wherein an overpressure is introduced into the tank-venting system by means of a secondary air pump. The presence of a leak is subsequently concluded from an evaluation of the course of the pressure.
It is disadvantageous with respect to this method and this arrangement that a secondary air pump is not present in all vehicles. Furthermore, a pressure sensor is necessary to evaluate the course of the pressure. The sensor is not only an additional element of the tank-venting system which can malfunction but also makes the system more expensive.
Furthermore, an arrangement for checking the operability of a tank-venting system is known wherein the overpressure is introduced into the tank-venting system by means of a pump or pressure source. The volume flow introduced is measured at a diaphragm by means of a difference pressure measurement and, thereafter, a decision is made as to whether a leak is present or not from a comparison with a programmable threshold.
It is a disadvantage of this arrangement that a measurement of an absolute volume flow is required which is compared to a threshold. This absolute measurement of the volume flow is problematic for the reason that the total of tolerances of the flow machine go into the measurement, for example, the tolerance of the output volume flow. In addition, a pressure sensor for measuring the pressure is required even in this arrangement. This sensor not only makes the entire method and arrangement more complex but also more expensive.
A further method is known for checking the operability of a tank-venting system wherein a reference leak is switched into the tank-venting system and wherein a statement as to the presence of a leak is made from a comparison of the measurements with and without the reference leak.
Also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,971 discloses a method for checking the operability of a tank-venting system wherein a conclusion as to the tightness of the system is reached from a comparison of the measurements with and without a reference leak.
In the two last-mentioned methods, it is problematical that a proper reference measurement is not possible between a reference leak and a leak present in the tank-venting system because a leak, which is possibly present in the tank-venting system, always affects the measurement, even when the reference leak is switched in. The reference leak is accordingly not a proper reference leak and, instead, should rather be characterized as an "offset" leak. With this offset leak, measurement inaccuracies can be expected in the check of the operability of a tank-venting system.
A method wherein the check of the operability of a tank-venting system takes place with the aid of a proper reference leak is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,645. In this method, the volume flow of a blower motor is split so that it simultaneously flows through a reference leak and into the tank-venting system. A conclusion as to the presence of the leak is reached from a comparison of the flow in the two flow paths wherein the flows are detected by through-flow sensors mounted in the respective paths.
However, a disadvantage of this method is that two relatively complex through-flow sensors are required to carry out the method. Furthermore, it is a disadvantage in this method that the overpressure source is mounted in the flow path of the regeneration air of an adsorption filter because this regeneration air often contains dirt and water mist, salt water and the like which can disadvantageously affect the function of the overpressure source. This operates unfavorably on the service life of the overpressure source.

Method and arrangement for checking the operability of a tank-venting system


Intensity of a light from a light array comprising a plurality of light sources configured to illuminate in sequence may be detected at two optically isolated points of a motion tracker device. The optically isolated points may be disposed at a distance from one another such that a variation in intensity of light due to shadowing effects from the plurality of light sources is different at the optically isolated points. The optically isolated points may be separated by a T-shaped wall. The motion tracker device may generate a current signal representing a photodiode differential between the two optically isolated points and proportional to the intensity of the light. The current signal may be used for sensor fusion with an inertial measurement unit.

Existing motion-capture systems may detect infrared (IR) signals with expensive digital cameras having one or more lenses. The IR signals may be emitted from active markers or a ring of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) surrounding each lens which cause light to be bounced off of retro-reflective passive markers affixed to the object being tracked. These motion-capture systems may require at least three cameras to be effective. Some systems operate with more than six cameras, and some systems are scaled up to even 300 cameras.
However, currently available motion-capture systems may only record three-dimensional (3D) positions of single points, describing an object's motion in left-to-right, up-and-down or forward-and-backward. Data with six degrees of freedom (6DoF), including rotational movement about the x-, y- and z-axes, is often highly valuable for body position analysis in medicine, in virtual reality mechanics, and in reality-based animation, among other applications. In order to approximate 6 degrees of freedom, a motion-capture technician may currently need to apply and track three or more passive markers to get a single 6DoF description.
Problems can occur with camera-based motion capture when the three markers are close together physically or have apparent angles, relative to individual cameras, that are very nearly the same. Further issues can arise if the cluster of markers is too far or too close to any of the cameras. Messy merging of these passive markers often results, which contaminates and degrades 6DoF matrix data output. After recording data, each passive marker must be individually labeled, and picked-up again if momentarily dropped. Additionally, even when working with very accurate motion-capture data, animations produced from the captured data often get trapped in the "uncanny valley" where realism is not truly felt and audiences may react negatively. Part of today's failure to create realism occurs because the passive markers used to capture an actor's face may only yield 3DoF data. For example, it may be physically impossible to provide enough adjacent markers to track features such as the pose of the fingertip in 6DoF. There are hybridized motion-capture systems that pair passive markers with inertial sensors, but such systems may have increased complexity and suffer from so-called "double differential" errors.

Light direction detector systems and methods


A process for reducing boron trifluoride usage and emissions associated with PAO manufacture, the process comprising distilling a portion of the crude PAO product containing a boron trifluoride-organic catalyst at a temperature sufficient to cause the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst to dissociate to produce an overhead stream comprising uncomplexed boron trifluoride and an uncomplexed organic catalyst component, contacting the uncomplexed boron trifluoride and uncomplexed organic catalyst component in a condenser column having an internal structure that increases the recombination of the uncomplexed boron trifluoride and uncomplexed organic catalyst component to form a recycle boron trifluoride-organic catalyst.

PAOs are typically produced by oligomerization of linear alpha olefins in the presence of boron trifluoride and a boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex. The linear alpha olefins typically have carbon numbers ranging from about 6 to about 16. Typically, alpha-octene, alpha-decene, and alpha-dodecene are used either individually or as mixtures. The organic component of the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex comprise alcohols, acetates, acids or ethers having carbon numbers ranging from about 1 to about 10. These organic components are either used individually or as mixtures thereof. Typically, the organic component comprises ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, the corresponding acetates and mixtures thereof. For example, boron trifluoride-butanol/butyl acetate is a catalyst complex.
Boron trifluoride constitutes a significant portion of the manufacturing raw material cost. As a result, it is desirable to minimize the overall usage of boron trifluoride by recycling the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex. Moreover, any boron trifluoride that is not recycled is eventually lost to the effluent system. It is desirable to reduce this form of boron and fluorine emissions.
Recycling the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex typically involves distilling the boron trifluoride from the crude PAO oligomer reaction mass under a vacuum. However, under the conditions of pressure and temperature in the distillation column, generally at least a portion the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex dissociates into boron trifluoride and the corresponding organic constituent(s). Under typical distillation conditions, due to poor contacting of boron trifluoride and the organic constituents, the resulting condensed boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex is unsaturated. A boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex is unsaturated when the molar ratio of the sum of the organic component, i.e., alcohols, acetates, acids and/or ethers, to boron trifluoride is greater than about 1:1. The complex is saturated when the molar ratio of alcohol to boron trifluoride is about 1:1. This unsaturation results in loss of free boron trifluoride.
Conventional approaches to improving boron trifluoride recovery and increase boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex saturation by increasing the condenser residence time and also by using chilled water on the condenser are expensive and also not very efficient. There exists a need for an improved method of recovering boron trifluoride efficiently to reduce boron trifluoride usage and boron trifluoride emissions. There exists a need for an improved boron trifluoride recovery that reduces heat-induced degradation of the boron trifluoride-organic catalyst complex.


A liquid ejecting head includes: a supply channel member including a plurality of supply channel plates, and the supply channel including supply holes provided through the respective supply channel plates and a supply groove formed by removing part of one of adjacent supply channel plates in terms of the direction of thickness thereof for communicating the respective supply holes; a pressure generating element that provides a pressure to the pressure generating chamber; a supply communication channel that connects a storage unit having the liquid stored therein and a reservoir, the supply communication channel being formed through a pressure chamber plate and the supply channel member in the direction of thickness thereof, the supply channel plates having the supply groove being formed with a recess having the substantially same depth as the supply groove at an area corresponding to the supply communication channel; and a filter unit having a plurality of filter holes provided on the bottom of the recess.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting head and a liquid ejecting apparatus.
2. Related Art
As a representative example of a liquid ejecting head, an ink jet printhead of capable ejecting ink drops from nozzles is exemplified. The ink jet printhead generally includes a plurality of pressure generating chambers which communicate with nozzles and a reservoir (common ink chamber) which communicates the plurality of pressure generating chambers (cavity) respectively. Ink stored in a storage unit such as an ink cartridge is taken into the reservoir, is supplied from the reservoir to the respective pressure generating chambers, and is pressurized by a piezoelectric actuator or the like, so that the ink drops are ejected from the nozzles.
As the ink jet printhead described above, the one having a filter for removing foreign substances in ink disposed in a channel which communicates a storage unit and a reservoir is disclosed in JP-A-2007-76093 and JP-A-2003-311951.
As the filter described above, there are types such as those formed by electroforming or those formed by punching a number of filter holes (fine holes) through a metal or a resin film. However, either of these filters might suffer from occurrence of warp (curl) at the time of manufacture. Then, in the case of a structure in which a filter is joined on a substrate having ink flow channels such as the pressure generating chamber formed thereon, there arise problems such as defective joining caused by the curl of the filter (for example, separation of the filter) or deterioration of positioning accuracy of the filter with respect to the substrate, whereby desirable supply of ink to the reservoir via the filter might fail. For example, in JP-A-2006-272806, provision of concavo-convexo on a metal film as a filter for restraining curl is proposed. However, even with this structure, it is also difficult to restrain occurrence of curling completely.
Even with the structure in which the filter is integrated in a thin plate laminated with a substrate formed with the ink flow channels as described in JP-A-2003-311951, there might occur problems such as the defective joining and defective ink supply due to the occurrence of the curl on the periphery of the filter.
These problems are present not only in the ink jet printhead which ejects ink drops, but also in the liquid ejecting head ejecting other liquid drops.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus


A pulse width modulation device with a power saving mode controlled by an output voltage feedback hysteresis circuit is used in a power supply. The present invention comprises a hysteresis comparison circuit extracting a feedback voltage, a high threshold voltage and a low threshold voltage, and the voltages are executed by a comparison and hysteresis operation to a output blanking signal, a PWM control unit extracting a detecting current signal and the feedback voltage to output a modulation signal after a comparison operation is executed; an OR gate circuit connected to the hysteresis comparison circuit and the PWM control unit for receiving the blanking signal and the modulation signal to output a reset signal; and a synchronization signal output unit connected to the OR gate circuit for receiving the reset signal and an oscillation signal to output the drive signal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pulse width modulation device with a power saving mode controlled by an output voltage feedback hysteresis circuit. In particular, this invention relates to a pulse width modulation device used in a power supply that controls the output driving signal according to the output load variation.
2. Description of Related Art
In the applications of low power output, such as a charger for a mobile phone, a wireless telephone, a digital still camera and a PDA, and an AC voltage regulator for a printer, a TV game player, and a hand-held Walkman, has great request for power saving in a standby mode.
In currently known DC power supply devices, such as an AC-to-DC switching power supply, in order to reduce the volume of a transformer, a high-frequency pulse width modulation PWM is widely used to control a DC output voltage, as shown in FIG. 1, which is a structure diagram of the circuit of a conventional flyback power supply device. The circuit is divided into a pre-stage circuit 101 of primary side and a post-stage circuit 102 of secondary side by a transformer T1. A phototransistor 111 and a photodiode 112 are provided between the primary side 101 and the secondary side 102 to separate an electrical signal at the primary side 101 from that at the secondary side 102. However, an optical signal can be used to feed a voltage or output current variation signal at the secondary side 102 back to the primary side 101 so as to synchronously adjust the variable quantity of voltage or current at the primary side 101 or the secondary side 102. This output signal is also used as a feedback signal for over current or short circuit protection.
Please refer to FIG. 1 again. From the primary side 101, an AC voltage VAC is inputted that passes through an EMI filter 1010, a bridge rectifier BD1, and a high voltage filter capacitor C1 to transform a DC voltage Vin. Through a pulse regulation control unit U1 controls the turn-on period of a power transistor switch Q1, the DC voltage Vin is transmitted to the primary-side winding of transformer T1. In the mean time, the secondary-side winding of transformer T1 induces an output voltage, and after being rectified and filtered by a diode D1 and an electrolysis capacitor C2, the voltage is transformed into a stable DC voltage Vout and outputted.
The outputted DC voltage Vout is transformed into a voltage signal VFB via a feedback voltage regulator D3 and an optical coupler 11, and then fed back to the pulse regulation control unit U1 at the primary side 101. At the same time, when the power transistor switch Q1 turns ON, a detecting current signal Vcs is obtained via a resistor R2 and sent to the control unit U1. The unit U1 gets the signal Vcs and the voltage signal VFB to calculate and output a PWM to the switch Q1 for stabilizing of the outputted DC voltage Vout. The optical coupler 11 is composed of the phototransistor 111 and the photodiode 112.
Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a block diagram of the circuit of a conventional pulse width modulation control unit. The pulse width modulation control unit U1 is composed of a PWM comparator 14, an overcurrent comparator 16, a flip-flop 18, and OR gates. The operation method of PWM is described as below. An oscillating circuit 12 provides a fixed frequency clock PWMclock to the pulse regulation control unit U1. Further, the PWM comparator 14 in the pulse regulation control unit U1 detects the voltage signal VFB fed back from the outputted DC voltage Vout and detects the current signal Vcs to compare for outputting a modulation output signal PWMout. The overcurrent comparator 16 further obtains the detecting current signal Vcs and a current limiting level 1V to execute a comparison operation for outputting an over current enable signal OCPEN. After the modulation output signal PWMout and the overcurrent enable signal OCPEN are logically operated via the of OR gates, a reset signal R is outputted to the port R of the flip-flop 18. The port S of flip-flop 18 is connected to an oscillating circuit 12 to obtain a fixed frequency clock PWMclock that is used as an operating frequency, and outputs a drive signal Drv to a power switch (not shown in the figure) after logically operated by OR gates and a NOT gate.
Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 3 shows signal waveforms given from the conventional pulse width modulation control unit. In FIG. 3, the abscissa axis is an axis of time t and the ordinate axis shows all waveforms. During the period of time t0 to t1, the voltage signal VFB is indicate a heavy-load signal, and after the modulation output signal PWMout and the overcurrent enable signal OCPEN are logically operated by of the OR gates, a reset signal R is outputted to make an output pulse width of the drive signal Drv outputted by the flip-flop 18 wider. In other words, the duty cycle of the power switch (not shown in the figure) becomes longer. Thereby, the electric power for the load is provided.
Likewise, during the period of time t1-t2, a normal load exists and the width of pulse of the drive signal Drv outputted by the flip-flop 18 is belonging to a width of the normal power supply. Then, the load becomes lighter during the period of time t2-t3. After the modulation output signal PWMout and the overcurrent enable signal OCPEN are logically operated by the OR gates to output a reset signal R. The reset signal R and the fixed frequency clock PWMclock outputted from the oscillating circuit 12 are calculated by the flip-flop 18, the output pulse width of the drive signal Drv outputted from the flip-flop 18 becomes shorter. Thereby, an electric power for the light load is provided. The operating frequency of the power switch (not shown) driven by the drive signal Drv does not vary with the variation of duty cycle of output pulse. In other words, the operating frequency of the circuit is permanently fixed. Therefore, in the condition of light load, the drive signal Drv constantly generates a pulse with a short duty cycle that depends on the clock PWMclock. Thereby, the power consumption is wasted in the condition of light load. At the period of t3-t4, the circuit is in the condition of no load, and no drive signal Drv is outputted. This period is a skipped cycle.
When an electronic product works in the condition of full load or medium load, it usually controls the switching operation of a switch by PWM. Its working loss includes a conduction loss and a switching loss. However, when the electronic product is in the condition of light load or no load, if the PWM is still used for controlling the switching operation of the switch, the conduction loss decreases due to the electronic product is in the condition of light load. However, because the operating frequency of the switch is constantly fixed, the switching loss does not decrease with the load decreasing. Therefore, in the condition of light load, the operation mode by using the PWM will decease the efficiency of the whole system.
Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a block diagram of a conventional oscillating circuit. The oscillating circuit 12 utilizes a voltage source VDD to supply the electric power to the voltage-dividing resistors R1, R2, and R3 to provide the set of threshold voltage VH and VL. Then, the comparators 121 and 122 individually obtain the set of threshold voltage VH and VL and compare the charge and discharge signals outputted by a capacitor CT. After being operated, the signals adjust control current sources I1 and I2 via a flip-flop 123 to charge and discharge the capacitor CT. Then, the oscillating circuit 12 generates the clock PWMclock at an output terminal Q of the flip-flop 123 to supply a reference frequency for the PWM.

Pulse width modulation device with a power saving mode controlled by an output voltage feedback hysteresis circuit


A spark plug has a housing, an insulator, a central electrode and a ground electrode. A projection part is formed projecting radially from the housing. The spark plug has a structure which satisfies a relationship of t2/t1≤0.85, s1≤0.5, and s1≥1.05−t2/t1. A leg part of the insulator has a first end and a second end in an axial direction thereof. The second end is located opposite to the first end in the axial direction. In the relationship, t1 represents a first radial thickness of the first end in a radial direction of the leg part, t2 represents a center radial thickness in the radial direction at a middle position of the leg part, and s1 represents a first gap width in the radial direction of the housing between the projection part of the housing and the first end of the leg part.

There has been a known spark plug has an insulator, a central electrode and a metal fitting. An axial through hole is formed along an axial direction of the insulator. The central electrode is arranged at a distal end side of the axial through hole of the insulator. The metal fitting is arranged at an outer periphery of the insulator so as to support the insulator in the spark plug. For example, there is a known spark plug having the structure previously described. That is, the insulator in the spark plug has a degree of outer surface roughness. An average calculation roughness Ra of the outer surface roughness is within a range of not less than 3 μm and not larger than 15 μm. This structure suppresses a flashover phenomenon from occurring due to a roughness on the outer surface of the insulator when the average calculation roughness Ra of the outer surface of the outer surface is not less than 3 μm. Further, this structure suppresses damage and cracks from occurring in the insulator when the average calculation roughness Ra of the outer surface of the outer surface is not larger than 15 μm because of reducing a stress applied to the recess part on the outer surface of the insulator.
However, the structure of the spark plug having the known structure previously described reduces a productivity of producing the spark plug because of being required to perform precise control of the outer surface roughness degree of the insulator.


An electrophotographic imaging member includes a substrate, a charge generating layer, a charge transport layer, and an overcoating layer, the overcoating layer being a cured film formed from a composition including at least a hydroxyl group-containing polymer or oligomer, a benzoguanamine compound containing at least one —CH2OR group, wherein each such R is independently an H atom or an alkyl group having from 1 to about 20 carbon atoms, and a charge transport compound.

Photosensitive members such as electrophotographic or photoconductive members, including photoreceptors or photoconductors, typically include a photoconductive layer formed on, for example, an electrically conductive substrate or formed on layers between the substrate and photoconductive layer. The photoconductive layer is an insulator in the dark so that electric charges are retained on its surface. Upon exposure to light, the charge is dissipated. In this manner, an image, for example a latent image, can be formed on the photoreceptor, developed using a developer material such as toner, transferred to an image receiving substrate such as paper, and fused thereto to form a copy or print.
As noted in several of the patents discussed in the above discussion, a significant property in photoreceptors is wear resistance, and improved wear resistance is always being sought. For example, advanced imaging systems are based on the use of small diameter photoreceptor drums, and the use of small diameter drums places a premium on photoreceptor life. Small diameter drum photoreceptors are particularly susceptible to wear because about 3 to 10 revolutions of the drum may be required to image a single letter size page. Multiple revolutions of a small diameter drum photoreceptor to reproduce a single letter size page can thus require about 1 million cycles or more from the photoreceptor drum to obtain 100,000 prints, a desirable print job goal for commercial systems.
For low volume copiers and printers, bias charging rolls (BCR) are desirable because little or no ozone is produced during image cycling. However, the microcorona generated by the BCR during charging damages the photoreceptor, resulting in rapid wear of the imaging surface, for example, the exposed surface of the charge transport layer. More specifically, wear rates can be as high as about 10 microns per 100,000 imaging cycles. Similar problems are encountered with bias transfer roll (BTR) systems and belt systems. One approach to achieving longer photoreceptor drum life is to form a protective overcoat on the imaging surface, for example on the charge transporting layer of a photoreceptor. This overcoat layer must satisfy many requirements, including transporting holes, resisting image deletion, resisting wear, avoidance of perturbation of underlying layers during coating.
Despite the various approaches that have been taken for forming overcoating layers, there remains a need for improved overcoat layer design, to provide increased wear resistance as well as resistance to moisture such as humidity and the like. Achieving these properties can increase the useful life of the photoreceptor and/or increase the range of environments and printing apparatus in which the photoreceptor can be used.


A dual push-pull induction heating drive circuit comprises an oscillation triggering control circuit regulating the ON-OFF switch of the circuit activation, a switching logic circuit bringing about two exclusive pulse signals serving to drive via an amplifying circuit a dual push-pull switching output circuit having two power elements connected to an induction coil, a pulse width modulating circuit having a controlled comparing element capable of sending out adjustable pulse, and a synchronous detection comparing circuit having at least a comparing element and having an input end in communication with an induction coil and another input end connected with a power source and further having an output end connecting with the switching logic circuit and sending out synchronous pulse signals to a differentiation circuit to bring about synchronous differentiation pulse signals, which are received by the pulse width modulating circuit so as to generate the power control pulse signals serving via the switching logic circuit and the amplifying circuit to drive alternately the two power elements so as to cause the induction coil to bring about high frequency oscillation.

The present invention relates to a power control circuit of induction heating system, and more particularly to a dual push-pull induction heating drive circuit.
The induction heating principle has been widely employed for general heating purposes. The case in point is an induction cooker, which is selected as an example to illustrate ingenuity and creativity disclosed in the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not restrictive to an induction cooker.
An induction cooker is a cooking apparatus employing the principle of electromagnetic induction. In other words, the bottom of a cookerware is caused to bring about heat by eddy current induced by an externally applied alternating magnetic field. Such induction cooker has been well received by consumers at large in view of the facts that it does not generate lethal gas of carbon monoxide and that it is easy and safe to use and further that it is relatively heat efficient.
The control principle of an induction cooker of prior art is illustrated in FIG. 1. A pulse signal having a predetermined width is generated by means of an oscillation wavewidth modulator 1 (OSC/PWM) and is subsequently amplified by an amplifying circuit 2 (AMP). The amplified pulse signal is then used to drive a power transistor Q1 to generate continuously a switching action of ON/OFF so as to condition the output induction coil L1 to generate an alternating magnetic field of high frequency, which induces the induction cooker to bring about heat. The induction element L2 and the capacitor C2 are used for filtering. As shown in FIG. 2 illustrating the dynamic voltage current wave form of the power transistor Q1, the time T1 that is required to drive the power transistor Q1 is about 5-25 us. Therefore, the output power of the induction cooker can be changed by adjusting the time T1. In other words, a greater output power is achieved by prolonging the time T1. The time T2 is dependent on the natural resonance frequency formed by the output coil L1 and the capacitor C1 and is on the order of 15us. With the power voltage of 110 V, such induction cooker can generate an output power ranging between 200 W and 1200 W.
If the power supply voltage is increased to 220 V, the output coil L1 of an induction cooker intended to operate on power supply voltage of 110 V must be doubled accordingly. In addition, the capacitance of the capacitor C1 must be reduced by one half so as to permit the time T2 of the power transistor Q1 to remain unchanged. With such adjustments being made, the induction cooker should be able to generate the output power ranging between 220 W and 1200 W. However, such modification is by no means desirable. As far as an induction cooker intended to operate on the power voltage of 110 V is concerned, the maximum collector voltage Vc(max) and collector current Ic of the power transistor Q1 are 650 V and 45 A respectively. As a result, the electric specifications for selecting the power transistor are voltage tolerance Vcbo of 900 V and current tolerance Ic of 60 A. The maximum collector voltage Vc(max) of the power transistor Q1 of an induction cooker operating on the power voltage of 220 V can be doubled if the number of coil of output coil L1 is also doubled in conjunction with a one half reduction in capacitance of the capacitor C1. Therefore, only the power transistor having the voltage tolerance Vcbo of at least 1400V can be used for such modification as described above. The cost of making such modified induction cooker is relatively expensive in view of the fact that the power transistor with Vcbo of 1400 V is rather expensive and difficult to come by.
In order to reduce the production cost of the induction cooker operating on power voltage of 220 V as described above, the number of coil of output coil L1 may be appropriately reduced while the capacitance of the capacitor C1 is increased, thereby resulting in a substantial reduction in the maximum collector voltage Vc(max) of the power transistor Q1. As a result, a power transistor having a lower voltage tolerance Vcbo and having a lower price tag can be selected for use. However, such practice is not desirable, because the power transistor Q1 is subjected to a possible damage caused by the current overload, in view of the facts that the transient current Ict of the power transistor Q1 tends to increase in the wake of alterations made in the output coil L1 and the capacitor C1, and that the time T2 required to drive the power transistor Q1 is shortened to result in a reduction in output power.
It is apparent that an induction cooker of prior art is provided with only one power transistor or single push-pull induction heating drive circuit. The output power of an induction cooker can be increased by means of switching circuits of dual push-pull type, as shown in FIG. 3, in which two power transistors Q1 and Q2 are seen communicating each other. When power transistor Q1 is driven, the current I1 is permitted to pass the power transistor Q1, the induction coil L1 and the capacitor C3. As soon as the power transistor Q2 is driven the current I2 passes through the power transistor Q2, the induction coil L1 and the capacitor C4. As a result, the induction coil L1 generates an alternating magnetic field. The switching circuits of dual push-pull type have been employed in the switching power supply. The load side of the dual push-pull circuit of the switching power supply is rectifying filtering power source of constant frequency. It is therefore suggested that the deed of regulating the control circuits driving the power transistors Q1 and Q2 is a simple matter and that a specialized integrated circuit is available for such application. It is technically difficult to apply the switching circuits of dual push-pull type to an induction cooker in view of the facts that the load side of the induction coil L1 of the dual push-pull circuit is the body of cookware in contrast to the switching power supply in which the load side is a rectifying filtering power source, and that the output power of the induction cooker depends on the modulation of the drive pulse width of dual push-pull switching circuit, which is accomplished by means of a control circuit. It is therefore apparent that an induction cooker can not be suitably provided with control circuits serving to drive alternately the power transistors Q1 and Q2 of dual push-pull circuit of the switching power supply.
The induction cooker of prior art is provided with single push-pull circuit and with a complicated power controlling circuit. On the contrary, the present invention is provided with switching circuit of dual push-pull type to control the mechanism of induction heating with a view to constructing the induction circuit of relatively small size and of high efficiency at a low cost for commercial application.

Dual push-pull induction heating drive circuit

Herming Village, Show Shui Hsiang, Chang Hwa Hsien


A method for forming a nozzle retention body suitable for engagement to a drill bit includes manufacturing an unfinished nozzle retention body which includes an upper end and a lower end. The upper end forms an inlet that transitions into a flowbore. The lower end has a nozzle receptacle passage machined therein toward the flowbore at an angle with respect to the lower end of the flowbore.

Roller cone bits, variously referred to as rock bits or drill bits, are used in earth drilling applications. Typically, these are used in petroleum or mining operations where the cost of drilling is significantly affected by the rate that the drill bits penetrate the various types of subterranean formations. There is a continual effort to optimize the design of drill bits to more rapidly drill specific formations so as to reduce these drilling costs.
One design element that significantly affects the drilling rate of the rock bit is the hydraulics. As they drill, the rock bits generate rock fragments known as drill cuttings. These rock fragments are carried uphole to the surface by a moving column of drilling fluid that travels to the interior of the drill bit through the center of an attached drill string, is ejected from the face of the drill bit through a series of jet nozzles, and is carried uphole through an annulus formed by the outside of the drill string and the borehole wall.
Bit hydraulics can be used to accomplish many different purposes on the hole bottom. Generally, a drill bit is configured with three cones at its bottom that are equidistantly spaced around the circumference of the bit. These cones are imbedded with inserts (otherwise known as teeth) that penetrate the formation as the drill bit rotates in the hole. Generally, between each pair of cones is a jet bore with an installed erosion resistant nozzle that directs the fluid from the face of the bit to the hole bottom to move the cuttings from the proximity of the bit and up the annulus to the surface. The placement and directionality of the nozzles as well as the nozzle sizing and nozzle extension significantly affect the ability of the fluid to remove cuttings from the bore hole.
The optimal placement, directionality and sizing of the nozzle can change depending on the bit size and formation type that is being drilled. For instance, in soft, sticky formations, drilling rates can be reduced as the formation begins to stick to the cones of the bit. As the inserts attempt to penetrate the formation, they are restrained by the formation stuck to the cones, reducing the amount of material removed by the insert and slowing the rate of penetration (ROP). In this instance, fluid directed toward the cones can help to clean the inserts and cones allowing them to penetrate to their maximum depth, maintaining the rate of penetration for the bit. Furthermore, as the inserts begin to wear down, the bit can drill longer since the cleaned inserts will continue to penetrate the formation even in their reduced state. Alternatively, in a harder, less sticky type of formation, cone cleaning is not a significant deterrent to the penetration rate. In fact, directing fluid toward the cone can reduce the bit life since the harder particles can erode the cone shell causing the loss of inserts. In this type of formation, removal of the cuttings from the proximity of the bit can be a more effective use of the hydraulic energy. This can be accomplished by directing two nozzles with small inclinations toward the center of the bit and blanking the third nozzle such that the fluid impinges on the hole bottom, sweeps across to the blanked side and moves up the hole wall away from the proximity of the bit. This technique is commonly referred to as a cross flow configuration and has shown significant penetration rate increases in the appropriate applications. In other applications, moving the nozzle exit point closer to the hole bottom can significantly affect drilling rates by increasing the impact pressures on the formation. The increased pressure at the impingement point of the jet stream and the hole bottom as well as the increased turbulent energy on the hole bottom can more effectively lift the cuttings so they can be removed from the proximity of the bit.
Unfortunately, modifications to bit hydraulics have generally been difficult to accomplish. Usually, bits are constructed using one to three legs that are machined from a forged component. This forged component, called a leg forging, has a predetermined internal fluid cavity (or internal plenum) that directs the drilling fluid from the center of the bit to the peripheral jet bores. A receptacle for an erosion resistant nozzle is machined into the leg forging, as well as a passageway that is in communication with the internal plenum of the bit. Typically, there is very little flexibility to move the nozzle receptacle location or to change the center line direction of the nozzle receptacle because of the geometrical constraints for the leg forging design. To change the hydraulics of the bit, it would be possible to modify the leg forging design to allow the nozzle receptacle to be machined in different locations depending on the desired flow pattern. However, due to the cost of making new forging dies and the expense of inventorying multiple forgings for a single size bit, it would not be cost effective to frequently change the forging to meet the changing needs of the hydraulic designer. In order to increase the ability of optimizing the hydraulics to specific applications, a more cost effective and positionally/vectorally flexible design methodology is needed to allow specific rock bit sizes and types to be optimize for local area applications.
Previous methods to improve borehole hydraulics include some means to move the nozzle exit closer to the hole bottom to increase the bottom hole energy. U.S. Pat. No. 3,363,706 teaches the use of an extended tube that extends between the cones and moves the nozzle exit point within 1″-2″ from the hole bottom. The extended nozzle tube is made of steel and welded to the bit and contains a receptacle for the installation of erosion resistant nozzles.
Another configuration following the same approach uses mini-extended nozzles. Mini-extended nozzles are made from erosion resistant materials such as tungsten carbide and are longer in length than the standard nozzle and thus protrude beyond the nozzle receptacle. While the mini-extended nozzles do not move the nozzle exit as close to the hole bottom as the extended nozzle tube, the additional 1.3″-2.5″ of extension significantly increases the bottom hole impact pressures. For instance, a standard nozzle and a mini-extended nozzle were tested in a chamber to measure the impact pressures for a given flow rate while installed in a 7 7/8″ bit. Using 3-11/32″ nozzles, the standard nozzle impingement pressure was measured at 175 PSI. The mini-extended nozzle with 1.5″ additional extension to the hole bottom, had an impingement pressure of 360 PSI. Drilling tests in a down hole simulator have shown increases of up to 30% in drilling rates when using mini-extended nozzles in the place of standard nozzles.
The prior art also has several other examples of attachable bodies used to improve the bit hydraulics. Pat. 4,516,642; 4,546,837; 5,029,656; and 5,096,005 all teach the use of directed nozzles that incline the jets towards the cones to focus the energy on the inserts for the purpose of ensuring they are clean and will penetrate into the formation. Bits of this type have been shown to have an advantage in sticky formations and in applications where the energy expended across the bit is very low. The drawback of this type of configuration is that the impact pressures on the hole bottom are significantly reduced since the fluid strikes the formation at an inclined angle and because the distance the fluid must travel before it hits the hole bottom is increased. For example, FIG. 11 is a graph showing a modeled set of relationships between impact pressure and flow rate for various configurations. In particular, in order of increasing slope, FIG. 11 shows calculated impact pressure/flow rate relationships for 1) an angled fluid discharge column; 2) a vertical fluid discharge column with no cross flow; 3) a vertical discharge column with cross flow; and 4) a vertical fluid discharge column with extended nozzles and cross flow. As can be seen, mini-extended nozzles, cross flow, and a vertical fluid discharge each affect impact pressure on the borehole bottom. Drill bits built to direct drilling fluid at an angle toward the cutting teeth or inserts also can suffer from greater than desirable cone shell erosion that can cause lost inserts, especially when the formation is abrasive. In certain applications, this form of hydraulics could also cause increased seal failures since high -velocity drilling fluid passes by the cone/leg interface and can push particles into the seal area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,459 (hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes) teaches the use of several different types of machined slots in the leg forging and a weldably attached body that mates to the machined slots and that directs the fluid from the interior plenum to the outside of the bit. One slot design allows the attachable body to be pivoted in one direction to radially adjust the exit vector of the nozzle. A second slot design uses a ball and socket type design that would allow the tube to be vectored both radially and laterally. However, in both of these designs it is difficult to align the vector angle, and both designs require costly fixtures to ensure the correct angle for the attached body. Furthermore, this type of slot is difficult and costly to machine. Moreover, the internal entrance to the weldable body is necessarily smaller than the machined opening of the slot to account for the variations in the nozzle body angles. This difference between the entrance to the attached tube and the machined slot opening creates a fluidic discontinuity in the path of the fluid from the center of the bit through the slot opening and into the tube. This discontinuity can cause turbulent recirculation zones that can erode through the side wall of the bit causing premature bit failure. Such bit failures are unacceptable in drilling applications due to the high costs of drill bits and lost drilling time. A third slot design teaches a slot with only one orientation where the opening in the forging is closely matched to the entrance to the attachable body. This matched interface significantly reduces fluidic erosion increasing the reliability of the system. However, the slot does not include the ability to change the vector of the fluid system. This particular system directs the fluid parallel to the bit center line toward the hole bottom.
Each of the above mentioned configurations can improve drilling rates if they are used in the appropriate application. However, it would be desirable to be able to provide significant cone cleaning while still being able to maintain high impact pressures on the bottom hole. It would also be desirable to be able to easily change the hydraulic configuration depending on the drilling application. Consequently, it would be desirable to have a drill bit design that overcomes these and other problems.

Method of forming a nozzle retention body


Systems, methods, devices, and other techniques are described for planning motions of one or more robots to perform at least one specified task. In some implementations, a task to execute with a robotic system using a tool is identified. A partially constrained pose is identified for the tool that is to apply during execution of the task. A set of possible constraints for the unconstrained pose parameter are selected for each unconstrained pose parameter. The sets of possible constraints are evaluated for the unconstrained pose parameters with respect to one or more task execution criteria. A nominal pose is determined for the tool based on a result of evaluating the sets of possible constraints for the unconstrained pose parameters with respect to the one or more task execution criteria. The robotic system is then directed to execute the task, including positioning the tool according to the nominal pose.

Robotic systems have been used to automate a wide range of tasks, including tasks in industrial settings such as painting, assembly, picking and placing for printed circuit boards, package and labeling, palletizing, product inspection, and material handling. In some applications, one or more robots in a system are each configured to perform tasks within a shared workspace, and the robots are each capable of moving about the workspace in two or more axes.


Although data compression methods exist in the prior art, some of which would result in an optimal number of piecewise linear approximation segments for the compressed output signal, these compression methods require complicated calculations and data processing that inhibit real time signal processing and portability in hardware implementation. A novel method for signal compression with a known level of loss by selecting a level of acceptable error is described. With this new compression method, the number of additional approximation segments to its compressed output signal is generally 50% more than the optimal number obtained in the prior art. However, its processing simplicity allows for improved real time signal processing and simplified practical hardware implementation.

In many digital signal processing applications, constraints on local memory sizes necessitate the use of some form of data compression to process the signal. Inherent with effective data compression, however, is a certain degree of data loss. When this loss becomes too great, the resultant compressed data will become unsuitable and unacceptable. However, in the many cases of signal processing where only the general characteristics and behavior of the data are of interest, a compression technique with a known and controlled level of loss may still be acceptable. For example, Ishijama et al. in "Scan-along Polygonal Approximation for Data Compression of Electrocardiograms," IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, Vol. BME-30, No. 11, pp. 723-729 (1983), show that in processing and storing electrocardiogram (ECG) data, considerable distortion can be tolerated in the approximation of the peak in the so called "PQ" segment. Similarly, others have shown that in many voice-mail applications, using suitable lossy techniques for the compression of the voice signal has negligible effects on the signal quality, and lossy techniques may still be acceptable.
Recently, Imai and Iri in "An Optimal Algorithm for Approximating a Piecewise Linear Function," Journal of Information Processing, Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 159-162 (1986) and Natarajan and Ruppert in "Sparse Approximation to Curves and Functions," Proc. of the Fourth Canadian Conference on Computational Geometry, St. John's, August 1992, have described an efficient method for compressing waveforms with an acceptable level of loss. Given a specified error, this method approximates data with a piecewise linear function that results in a minimum number of approximation segments. This optimal method in the prior art does not require uniform sampling, and it permits the error to be defined independently at each sample point. These features make this optimal lossy method of compression in the prior art particularly attractive for a large number of signal processing applications.
The basic idea of this prior art compression method is depicted in FIG. 1. The method initially constructs a "tunnel" (110) of radius e (115), the acceptable amount of error deviation, around the original data (120), and proceeds to find the farthest point in the tunnel that is accessible, or "visible," from some point on the left boundary of the tunnel, where the data starts. The portion of the tunnel emanating from this starting point and extending to the farthest point in the tunnel which is still visible from the starting point is defined as a "prefix" (130). Such visibility is computed by drawing lines (122, 124, 126, 128) so that the lines are tangent, if at all, to upper (132, 133, 134) and lower (136, 137, 138) sections of the tunnel (110). These tangents, or "extremal rays" (124), define the longest possible prefixes (130) of the upper and lower envelopes of the tunnel, since these extremal rays represent the extreme directions of visibility. Once determined, the extremal ray (124) in this prefix portion (130) of the tunnel becomes a segment of the approximation of the data in the compression, and the procedure is repeated on the remaining portion of the tunnel; the old prefix section is thereafter "discarded" and a new successive prefix section is found.
The waveform F(x) (120) in the prior art example in FIG. 1, having an error tunnel (110) around it, is approximated as the compressed output G(x) (230) depicted in FIG. 2. Following the flow diagram of FIG. 3, the prior art method optimally compresses the signal F(x) (120, 220) to obtain the compressed signal G(x) (230) in this manner:
1. Construct (301) an error tunnel (210). PA1 2Find (302) a first prefix portion (211) of the tunnel visible from the left boundary of the tunnel by determining the extremal ray of visibility (212) in this portion of the tunnel. PA1 3. Define (303) the extremal ray of visibility (212) as the next line segment in the piecewise linear approximation (230) of the input signal F(x) (220). PA1 4. If the right boundary of the tunnel (240) is visible from the first prefix portion (211), the end of the data is reached and the process is terminated (304, 307). PA1 5. If the right boundary of the tunnel (240) is not visible from the first prefix portion (211), then more data is available; truncate the first prefix portion (211) of the tunnel with the extremal ray (212) and discard the first prefix portion (211) of the tunnel from further consideration; retain and consider (305) the remaining portion (214) of the tunnel following the truncation. PA1 6. Loop back (306) to Step 2, above, and repeat, finding a next prefix portion (215) of the tunnel and defining a new next piecewise linear approximation segment in the process from a next extremal ray of visibility (216). PA1 7. When the final prefix portion of the tunnel (217) includes any portion of the right boundary (240), the process can be terminated.
For a specified error, e, in this prior art compression technique, the number of points, or approximation segments, can be shown to be always optimal. The error can be set independently at each sample point, and the technique does not require uniform sampling or specific knowledge of the characteristics of the source. These features make this prior art compression method particularly suitable for a large number of applications.
Many applications, such as the continuous monitoring, transmission, and storage of ECG data of an ambulatory heart patient's heart functions, however, require compression techniques to operate in real time. Furthermore, the compression requirement for this heart patient extends to suitably simple compression hardware which must be sufficiently rugged and portable to reliably accompany the heart monitoring device the heart patient may be carrying.
Even though the above-described prior art compression method operates linearly with a given number of samples, its arithmetic processing becomes prohibitively complex for real time operation on a general purpose processor. The novel compression method according to the present invention greatly simplifies the prior art compression method and, in doing so, allows real time operation without the need for special purpose processors. The novel compression invention, because of its simplification, additionally facilitates implementation of the novel compression technique on a single integrated semiconductor chip. The resultant hardware, then, is simple and portable. Although the simplified compression method in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention is no longer optimal, the number of segments in the resultant piecewise approximation of a signal from this method nevertheless is generally a factor of 1.5 of the minimum number resulting from the earlier described optimal compression method in the prior art.

Simplified method and apparatus for loss signal compression


An apparatus and method for easily, quickly and reliably attaching a noise suppressor or other auxiliary device to the muzzle end of a firearm barrel and for easily, quickly and reliably removing the noise suppressor or other auxiliary device there from. My invention also provides for adjusting the host firearms point of impact by changing the orientation of the noise suppressor in relation to the host firearms bore.

1. Field of Invention
This invention generally relates to firearms, specifically to systems for quickly removing or attaching a noise suppressor or other device to the muzzle of a firearm barrel with the potential of affecting the point of impact of said firearms discharged projectile.
2. Prior Art
Previous systems exist for attaching noise suppressors to a firearm, and specifically for removing or attaching a noise suppressor to a flash suppressor affixed to the muzzle of a firearm. Systems such as the one presented in U.S. Pat. No. 6,948,415 to Surefire, LLC (2005) fall short in several areas such as ease of removal, and single hand removal. There is a need for a secure attachment system for mounting noise suppressors to a firearm particularly a flash suppressor which will withstand the vibrations incidental to firing an automatic rifle or other small arm, provide for an opportunity to single handedly remove the noise suppressor from the host firearm and to allow for multi point indexing of the noise suppressor so as to affect the point of impact of the rifles discharged projectiles.

Multifunctional firearm muzzle attachment system primarily for attaching a noise suppressor to a firearm


The present invention provides a method of compensating for auxiliary loads of a hybrid vehicle, which divides the auxiliary loads into a mechanical auxiliary load and an electrical auxiliary load and performs an appropriate auxiliary load compensation according to the kind of auxiliary loads, thus improving system efficiency as well as power performance of the vehicle.

(a) Technical Field
The present invention relates to methods of compensating for auxiliary loads of a hybrid vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of improving power performance of a hybrid vehicle by compensating for mechanical and electrical auxiliary loads of the vehicle, respectively.
(b) Background Art
A hybrid vehicle, in the broad sense, can encompass a vehicle driven by efficiently combining at least two different types of power sources. In many cases, the hybrid vehicle is driven by an engine which generates a rotational force by burning fuel (for example fossil fuel such as gasoline) and an electric motor which generates a rotational force with the electric power of a battery.
The hybrid vehicle is a future vehicle that employs an electric motor as an auxiliary power source as well as an internal combustion engine to provide a reduction in exhaust gas and an improvement in fuel efficiency. To meet the demands of today's society for improved fuel efficiency and the development of a more environmentally friendly product, research into hybrid vehicles is being actively conducted.
The hybrid vehicle is driven in an electric vehicle (EV) mode, which is directed to a pure electric vehicle mode using only the power of the electric motor (driving motor), in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) mode, which is an auxiliary mode using the rotational force of the driving motor as an auxiliary power source with the use of the rotational force of the engine as a main power source, or in a regenerative braking (RB) mode, in which the braking energy or inertia energy of the vehicle produced by braking or during driving by inertia is recovered by power generation of the driving motor and charged in a battery.
Accordingly, since the hybrid vehicle uses the engine's mechanical energy and the battery's electrical energy simultaneously in an optimal operation range of the engine and the driving motor, and the braking energy is recovered by the driving motor, the hybrid vehicle provides improved fuel efficiency and efficient energy utilization.
Meanwhile, in order to control the torque of the hybrid vehicle, it is necessary to determine an accurate driver demand torque (or power), to which a driver's intention is reflected, based on a vehicle speed and an APS input. Moreover, an operation point determination means calculates an optimal operation point of the engine and the driving motor to perform a torque distribution control of the engine and the driving motor, thus providing an optimal operation mode, while satisfying the driver demand torque.
Thus, since the driver demand torque is satisfied with "engine torque+motor torque", a vehicle controller calculates torque command values of the engine and the driving motor based on the optimal operation point and outputs the torque commands to the engine and the driving motor so as to output torque corresponding to the torque command, respectively, and thus satisfies the driver demand torque.
Accordingly, in the hybrid vehicle, load leveling, which uses charge/discharge of the battery, is performed to drive the engine in a more efficient power mode.
In a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle, the engine should output power as much as the driver depresses an accelerator pedal, i.e., according to how much the driver demands. If the engine outputs power lower than what the driver demanded, the driver is not satisfied with the power performance. If the engine outputs power higher than what the driver demanded, the driver may feel an excessive amount of power.
In the hybrid vehicle, it is possible to increase or reduce the engine power using the motor and the battery. When the engine is operated in a low power region where the efficiency is low as the driver slightly depresses the accelerator pedal, the engine power is increased to a range where the efficiency is high and the engine power other than the power required to drive the vehicle is used to generate electricity in the driving motor, thus charging the battery with the generated electricity (battery charge by the power generation of the motor).
Moreover, when high engine power is required as the driver fully depresses the accelerator pedal, the engine power is maintained at an optimal operation condition and insufficient power is supplied by driving the motor, thus supplying power in combination with the engine and the motor (battery discharge and torque assist by the motor). Accordingly, it is possible to satisfy the power that the driver demanded and drive the vehicle under conditions where the engine efficiency is high.
The load leveling is a means of improving fuel efficiency of the hybrid vehicle, and will be described with reference to exemplary FIG. 1 below. When the driver demand torque (power) is increased to suitably exceed an optimal torque of the engine, the amount of battery discharge is increased and, when the driver demand torque is suitably reduced below the optimal torque of the engine, the amount of battery charge is increased, thus maintaining the engine torque close to an optimal state. At this time, the engine torque is determined to provide the most efficient operation within a battery charge/discharge limiting value, thus performing an appropriate torque distribution of the engine and the motor. In this case, the battery charge/discharge limiting value is determined in terms of battery management including a state of charge (SOC) of the battery.
Meanwhile, since an auxiliary load is power consumed by auxiliary equipment in the hybrid vehicle independently from the drive demand torque, it is necessary to compensate for the auxiliary load appropriately. If a mechanical auxiliary load is not compensated, the power performance is degraded, and thus the driving power is reduced by the mechanically consumed power. Moreover, if an electrical auxiliary load is not compensated, it is impossible to control the SOC of the battery, and the electrical energy corresponding to the electrical load amount is continuously consumed.
Conventionally, the auxiliary loads are compensated only by increasing the engine torque (or power) regardless of the kind of auxiliary loads. Accordingly, a simple compensation is performed without consideration of the efficiency of the hybrid system, as shown in exemplary FIG. 2, the engine torque is out of an optical operation point, and thus the system efficiency is significantly decreased.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Method of compensating for auxiliary loads of hybrid vehicle


Embodiments of the invention relates to a process and assembly for a dual sided and staggered connector arrangement on a substrate. Surface mount connector technology is employed to enable a flush connection of connector leads to the surface of the substrate. Retaining pins are provided with each connector and are sized to be received by the substrate, but not to extend through the substrate. The retaining pins are sized and configured to hold each connector in a set position, while mitigating interference with an opposing side of the PCB.

The present invention relates to a design structure for mounting memory modules to a substrate. More specifically, the invention relates to a staggered dual sided mount of the memory modules to opposing sides of the substrate in a manner that increases density while mitigating interference.
Computer systems generally include a processing unit operably connected to a memory module, also referred to herein as memory. The memory module is in communication with a printed circuit board (PCB). Different forms of memory modules are known in the art including a single in-line memory module (SIMM) and a dual in-line memory module (DIMM). The DIMM is a double SIMM. Like a SIMM, the DIMM module contains one or more random access memory (RAM) chips on a PCB that connects to a computer motherboard.
Recent developments with memory packages such as the DIMM include mounting DIMMs on both sides of the PCB, or other substrate. This manner of mounting the DIMMs increases memory density. Signals routed through the substrate may connect to solder balls or connections to the DIMM on opposite sides of the packages.

Dual side staggered surface mount dual in-line memory module

Lenovo Enterprise Solutions (Singapore) Pte. Ltd.


Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a device that includes a processing system including a processor and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, where the operations include receiving a request from a viewer of a content stream to pause the content stream, displaying a pause screen, requesting an advertisement to display during the pause of the content stream, retrieving content for the advertisement, and displaying the advertisement as an overlay on the pause screen. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Television advertisements typically occur at designated portions of a video feed, typically a national network feed. The program may include ad insertion markers that delimit where local advertising may be spliced into the video stream by an "over-the-top" (OTT) content delivery service, or by a set-top box. A manifest may accompany and identify the segments, or data files, comprising the video stream, which can aid a client device to learn of advertising opportunities.


A print control device acquires image data. Each pixel data has a gradation value represented by a first number of levels of gradation. The print control device acquires a first error matrix and a second error matrix and generates print image data representing an image by performing a halftone process on the image data using the first and second error matrices to convert each gradation value in the image data into a set of dot data. Each dot data represents one of a second number of types of dot formation. The second number is smaller than the first number. The print control device uses the first error matrix for pixel data corresponding to a pixel to be printed in a forward direction. The print control device uses the second error matrix for pixel data corresponding to a pixel to be printed in a reverse direction.

An inkjet printing device known in the art prints images by executing main scans (called "passes") to move a print head over a sheet of paper in a main scanning direction while ejecting ink droplets from the print head onto the paper to form dots (printed pixels). Also known in the art are laser printers that irradiate a laser beam onto a photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image for each main scan line following the main scanning direction of the laser beam, and that transfers toner deposited in the electrostatic latent image onto a printing medium. In either type of printing device, the quality of the printed image can suffer when the positions of the printed pixels (the pixel positions on the printing medium) deviate from the intended positions. To prevent this type of drop in image quality, a technology has been proposed for an inkjet printing device in which a plurality of evaluation images is printed while varying the timing at which ink droplets are ejected during main scans.

Print control device capable of generating image data using plurality of error matrices


A method for automatic for sound recognition, comprising a) raw spectrogram generation from a sound signal spectrum; b) wide-band spectrum determination; c) wide-band continuous spectrum determination; d) tonal and time-transient spectrum determination; wide-band continuous spectrogram and tonal and time-transient spectrogram determination; and) spectrogram image generation.

In environmental acoustics, it is often required to measure sound levels coming from an industrial site so as to conform to noise emissions regulations. Such sound monitoring campaigns are usually performed over several days or even continuously for a 24/7 conformity assessment.
During such monitoring campaigns, a range and number of sound events not coming from the target industrial site are recorded, such as for example bird sounds, cars passing by, etc. These extraneous sound events are manually removed from the recordings to selectively assess the targeted industrial site.
Manual masking operation is time consuming. Automatic sound event classification methods have been developed, based on using spectrogram image, that is the time-frequency representation of sound signals showing the time on the horizontal axis (X), the frequency of the sound on the vertical axis (Y) and the sound level on the color intensity (Z). Typically spectrogram processing comprises successive fast Fourier transform operations performed on short intervals short time intervals ranging between about 10 ms and about 50 ms (STFT for short-time Fourier transform). For instance, short time Fourier transform (STFT) using a time frame of 50 ms provides a spectral analysis with a 20 Hz frequency resolution, and the spectrum energy between 20 Hz and 20 kHz is divided in the frequency bins [20, 40, 60, 80, . . . 19920, 19940, 19960, 19980, 20000].
However, the human hear perceives sound frequencies in a logarithmic fashion, as opposed to in a linear fashion, thereby perceives a same tonal change between 200 Hz and 400 Hz and between 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz for example. The human hear perceives low frequency sounds, such as the sound of a truck pass-by for example, and high-frequency sounds, such as the sound of bird chirping for example, with the same tonal sensitivity even though the low-frequency range, in the range between about 20 and about 200 Hz, is much smaller on a linear scale than the high-frequency range, in the range between about 2000 and about 20000 Hz. On a logarithmic scale, these frequency ranges have a same bandwidth. Moreover the short time Fourier transform (STFT) is characterized by an unbalanced spectral energy density between low frequencies and high frequencies. For a broadband signal, the energy at low frequency is higher than the energy at high frequency energy because the energy content is spread over a smaller number of frequencies when expressed linearly. In addition, the short time Fourier transform (STFT) is characterized by an inherent time-frequency duality, which may be an issue when applied to wide band spectrogram processing. For instance a 20 Hz frequency resolution obtained using a 50 ms short time Fourier transform (STFT) is not fine enough to correctly identify low-frequency sounds, for which a finer resolution of about 1 Hz is needed. Such finer resolution may be obtained with an increase of the short time Fourier transform (STFT) interval to long time interval of about 1 s for example, which would average short transient sound events such as the bird chirps.
Thus, short-time Fourier transform (STFT) implies several fundamental limitations that have an effect on the quality of the resulting spectrogram images. In addition, the background noise, which may be high in the environment, has an important effect on the contrast of the sound events shown on the spectrogram images, may need to be removed from the spectrogram images to enhance the contrast of the sound events.
There is still a need in the art for a system and a method for sound recognition.

System and a method for sound recognition


A triacylglycerol-based wax includes a triacylglycerol component and a polyol fatty acid partial ester component. The triacylglycerol-based wax may have a melting point of about 54° C. to 63° C., may have an Iodine Value of about 20 to 40, and may have a fatty acid profile including about 50 to 70 wt. % saturated fatty acids. The wax may be suitable for use as a candle.

Candles have been known and used for illumination since early civilization. A typical candle is formed of a solid or semi-solid body of combustible waxy material and contains an combustible fibrous wick embedded within the waxy material. When the wick of a candle is lit, the generated heat melts the solid wax, and the resulting liquid flows up the wick by capillary action and is combusted. At present, although many advanced illuminating devices are available, candles are still popularly used for decoration or on a special situation as a holiday.
For a long time, beeswax has been in common usage as a natural wax for candles. Over one hundred years ago, paraffin came into existence, in parallel with the development of the petroleum refining industry. Paraffin is produced from the residue leftover from refining gasoline and motor oils. Paraffin was introduced as a bountiful and low cost alternative to beeswax, which had become more and more costly and in more and more scarce supply.
Today, paraffin is the primary industrial wax used to produce candles. Conventional candles produced from a paraffin wax material typically emit a smoke and can produce a bad smell when burning. In addition, a small amount of particles ("particulates") can be produced when the candle burns. These particles may affect the health of a human when breathed in.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have other materials which can be used to form clean burning base wax for forming candles. If possible, such materials would preferably be biodegradable and be derived from renewable raw materials. The candle base waxes should preferably have physical characteristics, e.g., in terms of melting point, hardness and/or malleability, that permit the material to be readily formed into candles having a pleasing appearance and/or feel to the touch, as well as having desirable olfactory properties.
In the past, attempts to formulate candle waxes from vegetable oil-based materials have often suffered from a variety of problems. For example, relative to paraffin-based candles, vegetable oil-based candles have been reported to exhibit one or more disadvantages such as cracking, air pocket formation, product shrinkage and a natural product odor associated with soybean materials. Various soybean-based waxes have also been reported to suffer performance problems relating to optimum flame size, effective wax and wick performance matching for an even bum, maximum burning time, product color integration and/or product shelf life. In order to achieve the aesthetic and functional product surface and quality sought by consumers of candles, it would be advantageous to develop new vegetable oil-based waxes that overcome as many of these deficiencies as possible.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A time-based digital temperature sensing system has a first oscillator which is temperature sensitive. The first oscillator has a temperature coefficient which allows the first oscillator to generate an output signal which varies linearly as a function of temperature. A second oscillator is provided and is used to generates a reference clock signal. The outputs from the first and the second oscillator are coupled to a timer. The timer has a clock input coupled to an output of the second oscillator and an enable input coupled to an output of the first oscillator. From these input signals, the timer generates a number indicative of a length of time the timer is enabled by the first oscillator. The number is proportional to a current temperature of a material that is being monitored by the temperature sensing system.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to temperature sensing and, more specifically, to a time-based system for measuring temperature using two dissimilar oscillators. The first oscillator is used to generate an output signal that has a period that is linearly dependent on temperature. The second oscillator is used to generate a reference clock signal that is used to measure the period of the output signal generated by the first oscillator.

Time-based temperature sensor system and method therefor


Methods and means are provided for reducing the phenotypic expression of a nucleic acid of interest in eukaryotic cells, particularly in plant cells, by providing aberrant, preferably unpolyadenylated, target-specific RNA to the nucleus of the host cell. Preferably, the unpolyadenylated target-specific RNA is provided by transcription of a chimeric gene comprising a promoter, a DNA region encoding the target-specific RNA, a self-splicing ribozyme and a DNA region involved in 3′ end formation and polyadenylation.

Post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS) or co-suppression, is a common phenomenon associated with transgenes in transgenic plants. PTGS results in sequence-specific removal of the silenced transgene RNA as well as homologous endogenous gene RNA or viral RNA. It is characterized by low steady-state mRNA levels with normal (usually high) rates of nuclear transcription of transgenes being maintained. There are a number of common features or characteristics for PTGS. PTGS is                sequence-specific;        systemically transmissible;        often associated with the presence of multiple copies of transgenes or with the use of strong promoters;        frequently correlated with the presence of repetitive DNA structures, including inverted repeat T-DNA insertion patterns;        often accompanied by de novo DNA methylation in the transcribed region, and        may be meiotcally reset.
A number of hypothetical models have been proposed to explain PTGS (see e.g. Wassenegger and Pélissier, 1998). Typically, these models suggest the involvement of a host encoded enzyme (RNA-directed RNA polymerase (RdRP)) which is proposed to use aberrant RNA as templates to synthesize small copy RNA molecules (cRNA). These cRNAs would then hybridize with the target mRNA to form duplex structures, thereby rendering the mRNA susceptible to degradation by endoribonucleases. So far, there has been no direct evidence that RdRP is involved in PTGS in plants.
An important question arising from the existing models is what type of RNA is the aberrant RNA that would be used as a template by RdRP, and in which cellular compartment RdRP would function.
Several reports have described the accumulation of unproductive or unpolyadenylated transgene RNA in plants which are post-transcriptionally silenced (Lee et al. 1997; van Eldik et al. 1998; Covey et al., 1997; van Houdt et al., 1997; Metzlaff et al.; 1997).
The following documents relate to methods and means for regulating or inhibiting gene expression in a cell.
U.S. Pat. No 5,190,131 and EP 0 467 349 A1 describe methods and means to regulate or inhibit gene expression in a cell by incorporating into or associating with the genetic material of the cell a non-native nucleic acid sequence which is transcribed to produce an mRNA which is complementary to and capable of binding to the mRNA produced by the genetic material of that cell.
EP 0 223 399 A1 describes methods to effect useful somatic changes in plants by causing the transcription in the plant cells of negative RNA strands which are substantially complementary to a target RNA strand. The target RNA strand can be a mRNA transcript created in gene expression, a viral RNA, or other RNA present in the plant cells. The negative RNA strand is complementary to at least a portion of the target RNA strand to inhibit its activity in vivo.
EP 0 240 208 describes a method to regulate expression of genes encoded for in plant cell genomes, achieved by integration of a gene under the transcriptional control of a promoter which is functional in the host and in which the transcribed strand of DNA is complementary to the strand of DNA that is transcribed from the endogenous gene(s) one wishes to regulate.
EP 0 647 715 A1 and U.S. Pat. Nos 5, 034,323, 5,231,020 and 5,283,184 describe methods and means for producing plants exhibiting desired phenotypic traits, by selecting transgenotes that comprise a DNA segment operably linked to a promoter, wherein transcription products of the segment are substantially homologous to corresponding transcripts of endogenous genes, particularly endogenous flavonoid biosynthetic pathway genes.
Waterhouse et al. 1998 describe that virus resistance and gene silencing in plants can be induced by simultaneous expression of sense and anti-sense-RNA. The sense and antisense RNA may be located in one transcript that has self-complementarity.
Hamilton et al. 1998 describes that a transgene with repeated DNA, i.e. inverted copies of its 5′ untranslated region, causes high frequency, post-transcriptional suppression of ACC-oxidase expression in tomato.
WO 98/53083 describes constructs and methods for enhancing the inhibition of a target gene within an organism which involve inserting into the gene silencing vector an inverted repeat sequence of all or part of a polynucleotide region within the vector.
WO 95/34688 describes methods for cytoplasmic inhibition of gene expression and provides genetic constructs for the expression of inhibitory RNA in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. The inhibitory RNA may be an anti-sense or a co-suppressor RNA. The genetic constructs are capable of replicating in the cytoplasm of a eukaryotic cell and comprise a promoter region, which may be a plant virus subgenomic promoter in functional combination with the RNA encoding region.
WO095/15394 and U.S. Pat. No 5,908,779 describe a method and construct for regulating gene expression through inhibition by nuclear antisense RNA in (mouse) cells. The construct comprises a promoter, antisense sequences, and a cis-or trans-ribozyme which generates 3′-ends independently of the polyadenylation machinery and thereby inhibits the transport of the RNA molecule to the cytoplasm.

Methods and means for obtaining modified phenotypes

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation


An internal hinge (34) for a fire-resistant enclosure is provided. The internal hinge includes a cabinet end (36) and a door end (38). The cabinet end is pivotally coupled with a bracket (64) mounted on the enclosure and the door end is fixedly coupled with a door (32) of the enclosure. The hinge includes first, second, third, and fourth segments (72, 74, 76, 78). The first segment extends linearly from the cabinet end of the hinge. The second segment extends from the first segment in a generally curved path wrapping around the cabinet end approximately 90 degrees. The third segment extends linearly from the second segment and at an angle relative to the first segment. The fourth segment extends linearly from the third segment to the door end of the hinge and is perpendicular to the first segment. The internal hinge of the present invention allows the door of the enclosure to open approximately 147 degrees.

The present invention relates to an enclosure having a cabinet and a door pivotally coupled to one another by an internal hinge. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a fire-resistant enclosure having an internal hinge. Furthermore, the present invention is directed to a water-proof enclosure having an internal hinge.
One of the purposes of a security safe is to provide a place to keep valuable objects protected from fire and disastrous acts of nature and to prevent unauthorized access to the interior compartment where the valuables are stored. Since access to the interior compartment of the safe is required by the one protecting their valuables, a door must be included in any safe. Historically, locks have been used for this purpose and are well known in the art. In particular, large and robust bolt mechanisms have been utilized to secure the safe's door when it is closed. In security safes of the size and configuration to store firearms, particularly rifles and shotguns, spring-loaded detent bolt work with manual or electronic locks and spring-loaded relockers are typically used to assure the desired protections.
The hinge for the door has always been a vulnerable attack point for gaining unauthorized access to the internal compartment of the safe since it is exposed on the outside of the safe making it easily accessible. The hinge has seen little improvement over the years as it is rather basic in it design, using a pin circularly enclosed on both a fixed side and a movable side. There have been several attempts to eliminate this attack point by eliminating the external hinge. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,515 to Baker et al. discloses a continuous internal hinge on a safe. However, the hinge only allows the safe door to open 90 degrees, which may be inadequate for accessing the internal compartment of the safe.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,695 to Jegers et al. discloses a leaf member having a pair of knuckles that include a retainer, which extends into the path of the pin. Annular grooves formed in the pin receive the retainer member and keep it from sliding in or out of the hinge. One of the grooves has a straight side and a tapered side, allowing the pin to slide over the second groove, but not the first groove. The structure of the safe corner is bent to form at least one knuckle and leaf member to mate with the second hinge leaf.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,595 to Stephenson, III et al. discloses a hinge arrangement for a gaming device that includes a hinge connecting a door to a cabinet with a gap therebetween when the door is closed. The hinge forms a pocket shaped barrier around the gap with an edge engaging a side of the pocket when pivoted 90 degrees, limiting its travel, precluding damaging adjacent gaming devices when the door is opened.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,306 to Floyd et al. is directed to a security cover for a barrel hinge having an inner cover plate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,267 to Roach et al. is directed to a device for resisting entry of an object into a space between the hinged edge of a door and a jamb using a folded sheet of flexible material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,970 to Sanderson et al. is directed to a hinge assembly of a planar-surfaced mounting bracket and a leaf member. A mounting bracket, in hex shape, is welded to the inner surface of the safe cabinet and the leaf member includes a pin that is retained by the bracket. The leaf member penetrates an open section of the frame and forms a door stop when contiguously abutting therebetween. Thus, the hinge in Sanderson limits the opening of the door to about 105 degrees relative to the door in its closed position.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an internal hinge for a fire-resistant safe that allows for sufficient opening of the door to provide adequate access to the interior compartment of the safe while eliminating an external attack point. There is a further need in the art for an internal hinge for a water-resistant safe. The present invention fills these needs as well as other needs.


Embodiment of the invention provide a garment support system, which may include a garment hanger and a garment bar physically unconnected to the hanger that can attach to the bottom of a garment supported by the hanger. The garment bar may include one or more clips for attaching the supporting to a garment. The support also may be weighted to provide additional support to the garment and/or to maintain a garment in a desired configuration.

Garment hangers and other devices are used to hold, support, store, and organize garments when they are not being worn. Various specialty hangers are known, such as for storage of multiple garments in a reduced space, for garment display and presentation, and for supporting a garment while it is cleaned, repaired, or otherwise manipulated. Conventional hangers operate by providing support for the top of a garment and allowing the rest of the garment to hang freely from the hanger. Some specialty hangers are intended to maintain a specific shape or configuration of a garment disposed on the hanger, such as where a garment hanger has multiple support portions for various garment components such as sleeves, legs, straps, and waistbands. Garment hangers to hold multiple garments are also known, such as where a single hanger has multiple horizontal bars each of which is intended to hold a separate garment.
Some garment hanger systems may include multiple, physically distinct portions. One such type of system is a multiple-hanger system, where each hanger includes a support from which another hanger may be supported, allowing for a series of hangers to be supported from the same initial support. In these systems, each hanger performs the same function as if it was an individual hanger with respect to each garment, by providing support for the top portion of the garment and allowing the bottom portion to hang freely from the hanger.


An apparatus for detecting abnormalities in a valve timing control apparatus comprises a variable valve timing control mechanism that controls a valve timing of an internal combustion engine through a controlled supply of oil via an oil control valve, means for detecting deviation between a target valve timing and an actual valve timing, means for detecting an amount of change of the actual valve timing, means for force-driving the oil control valve and means for judging that an abnormality has occurred in the valve timing control apparatus based on detection, after the oil control valve has been force driven, of an abnormal deviation between the target valve timing and the actual valve timing and an abnormal amount of change of the actual valve timing.

Continuously variable valve timing mechanisms to control either intake valves, exhaust valves, or both, depending on operating conditions of the engine have been known. One known variable timing mechanism is a variable valve timing mechanism that continuously displaces the rotary phase difference (displacement angle) of a camshaft relative to the crankshaft.
On an engine equipped with such a variable valve timing mechanism, the actual rotary phase difference (actual displacement angle) is made to converge toward a target rotary phase determined from operating conditions of the engine using a feedback control system. Therefore, it is necessary for such an apparatus to accurately detect the actual displacement angle using a phase difference detection device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. SHO 59-105911. This publication describes an apparatus for accurately detecting actual displacement angles by measuring a gap between a first pulse signal emitted at each rotation of the crankshaft and a second pulse signal emitted at each rotation of a camshaft.
If an abnormality occurs in the variable valve timing mechanism, e.g., when an odd object is trapped in the mechanism, it is impossible to make the actual displacement angle converge toward the target displacement angle, thus deteriorating the engine power output when various controlled parameters of the engine such as the timing of fuel injection are determined depending on the target displacement angle. Therefore, it is generally necessary to monitor whether any abnormality is occurring in a variable valve timing mechanism and to correct those controlled parameters to prevent the deterioration of the engine output when an abnormality occurs.
Abnormalities may be detected by comparing an absolute value of a difference between the target displacement angle and the actual displacement angle to a predetermined threshold value. When the absolute value of the difference exceeds the threshold value, an abnormality is determined to exist.
However, detecting abnormalities based solely on the comparison of the absolute value of the difference between the target displacement angle and the actual displacement angle to a predetermined threshold value tends to produce misjudgments. Such misjudgments may result because the absolute value of the deviation between the target displacement angle and the actual displacement angle may be quite large in an early stage of the control, as the actual displacement angle is displaced to follow the target displacement angle in that stage.
As a consequence, Japanese Patent Application No. HEI 8-232617 describes a device designed to avoid such erroneous detection of abnormalities. This apparatus attempts to avoid erroneous detection of abnormalities by setting up a judgment time in abnormality detection as it compares the actual displacement angle with the threshold value in detecting abnormalities.
A typical abnormality that can occur in a valve timing control apparatus is an abnormality caused by small metal particles that clog the valve timing control apparatus. However, such abnormalities sometimes disappear after a time through normal operation of the valve timing control apparatus without recourse to any remedial actions. For example, if the valve timing control apparatus uses hydraulic pressure for the purpose of control, such metal particles can be removed by the oil flow in the course of its natural operation.
A problem with the aforementioned apparatus is that abnormalities which may disappear in the course of natural operation of a valve timing control apparatus may be mistakenly identified as an actual problem, thus reducing the reliability of the abnormality detection apparatus.

Valve timing control apparatus for an internal combustion engine