Operation of a developer so as to achieve reduced scavenging and reduced direct contamination when using a hybrid developer. A hybrid developer is operated in three modes. The first mode is normal operation in which the developer operates as in the prior art. The second mode is an unloaded standby mode wherein toner is not on the developer's donor roll and wherein the developer's bias potentials are selected to reduce scavenging. The third mode is a loaded standby mode wherein toner is on the developer's donor roll and wherein the developer's bias potentials are selected to reduce direct contamination.

Electrophotographic marking is a well-known and commonly used method of copying or printing documents. Electrophotographic marking is performed by exposing a light image representation of a desired document onto a substantially uniformly charged photoreceptor. In response to that light image the photoreceptor discharges so as to create an electrostatic latent image of the desired document on the photoreceptor's surface. Toner particles are then deposited onto that latent image to form a toner image. That toner image is then transferred from the photoreceptor onto a substrate such as a sheet of paper. The transferred toner image is then fused to the substrate, usually using heat and/or pressure. The surface of the photoreceptor is then cleaned of residual developing material and recharged in preparation for the production of another image.
The foregoing broadly describes a black and white electrophotographic printing machine. Electrophotographic marking can also produce color images by repeating the above process once for each color of toner that is used to make the composite color image. For example, in one color process, referred to herein as the REaD IOI process (Recharge, Expose, and Develop, Image On Image), a charged photoreceptive surface is exposed to a light image which represents a first color, say black. The resulting electrostatic latent image is then developed with black toner particles to produce a black toner image. A recharge, expose, and develop process is repeated for a second color, say yellow, then for a third color, say magenta, and finally for a fourth color, say cyan. The various color toner particles are placed in superimposed registration so that a desired composite color image results. That composite color image is then transferred and fused onto a substrate.
The REaD IOI process can be implemented in a various ways. For example, in a single pass printer wherein the composite image is produced in a single pass of the photoreceptor through the machine. Another implementation is in a four pass printer, wherein one color toner image is produced during each pass of the photoreceptor through the machine, and wherein the composite color image is transferred and fused during the fourth pass. REaD IOI can also be implemented in a five cycle printer, wherein only one color toner image is produced during each pass of the photoreceptor through the machine, but wherein the composite color image is transferred and fused during a fifth pass.
In electrophotographic printing the step of conveying toner onto a latent image is called development. In development, charged toner particles are applied to a latent image such that toner particles electrostatically adhere to the proper areas of the latent image. There are several types of developers. A magnetic brush developer uses a two-component developer material that is comprised of toner particles and magnetic carrier beads. The smaller toner particles triboelectrically adhere to the larger magnetic carrier beads. When the developer material is placed in a magnetic field, the carrier beads and their triboelectrically adhering toner particles form relatively long chains which resemble the fibers of a brush, thus the name magnetic brush developer. When the magnetic brush is introduced into a development zone adjacent the latent image the electrostatic charges of the latent image pull toner particles from the carrier beads and onto the photoreceptor. The magnetic fields are typically created using a "developer roll," a cylindrical sleeve that rotates around a fixed assembly of permanent magnets.
Another developer is the "scavengeless" developer. Scavengeless development is described more fully in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,600 to Hays et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,019 to Folkins, U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,367 to Hays, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,875 to Folkins et al., and in their citations. In scavengeless development toner particles are conveyed onto a latent image using AC electric fields that are applied to electrode structures, commonly wires, that are positioned between a toner-loaded donor roll and the photoreceptor. Significantly, there is no physical contact between the developer and the photoreceptor.
A variation of the scavengeless developer is the "hybrid" scavengeless developer. A hybrid scavengeless developer includes a developer housing with a toner reservoir, a developer roll, a donor roll, and an electrode structure. The developer roll operates like a developer roll in the magnetic developer, except that instead of conveying toner particles directly onto the photoreceptor the hybrid scavengeless developer roll conveys toner particles onto a donor roll that is disposed between the transport roll and the photoreceptor. The donor roll is electrically biased such that toner particles are attracted from the developer roll. When loaded with toner the donor roll can convey toner particles to the photoreceptor. To do so, the electrode structure is AC-biased relative to the donor roll. The AC bias detaches toner from the donor roll into a toner powder cloud that forms in the gap between the donor roll and the photoreceptor. The latent image then attracts toner particles from the powder cloud, developing the latent image. It should be noted that when the donor roll bias and AC bias are removed the toner on the donor roll tends to leave the donor roll and move toward the developer roll and the toner reservoir.
Hybrid scavengeless development is advantageous in REaD systems because the donor roll acts as an electrostatic "intermediate" between the photoreceptor and the developer roll. This tends to reduce unwanted interactions between the developer and the photoreceptor. While hybrid scavengeless development does reduce unwanted interactions, two specific REaD interactions can still occur: scavenging and direct image contamination. In scavenging, toner on the photoreceptor is pulled off the photoreceptor and into a developer. This causes contamination of the toner in the developer. In direct image contamination, toner within a developer is attracted onto the photoreceptor where it is not wanted.
Both scavenging and direct image contamination are products of potential differences between the developer and the photoreceptor. Consider a photoreceptor having a toner layer after the image area and its toner have been uniformly recharged to -500V. Assuming a donor roll at +100 volts, toner particles on the image area are attracted into the developer housing, resulting in scavenging. Now consider a photoreceptor having a developed toner layer that has not been recharged. The toner particles might be at about -200V. Assuming a donor roll at -400 volts, toner particles are attracted from the donor roll onto the toner layer, resulting in direct contamination (even if the AC bias is removed from the developer electrode). While it is possible to set the donor roll bias at a potential that tends to balance scavenging and direct contamination, some scavenging and some direct contamination will then occur at all times.
In some REaD IOI systems a developer's donor roll is loaded with toner just before that developer develops its toner image. After development the toner on the donor roll is then returned to the toner reservoir. Since direct contamination is only a problem when toner is on the donor roll, direct contamination will not occur until the donor roll is loaded with toner.
In view of the detrimental effects of scavenging and direct contamination, and in view of their competing natures, a technique of reducing both would be beneficial.

Switched standby housing bias in read printers


A fluid flow controlling device having a working member capable of reciprocating in a tubular case. The working member comprises a pressure detecting portion to detect the pressure of a second fluid, which flows into the tubular case through a second inlet, and to move the working member forwards; and a valve element to decrease the opening of the first outlet in relation to the opening of the first inlet, through which the first fluid is led into the tubular case, in correspondence with the displacement of the working member. By the use of the above fluid flow controlling device, it becomes easy to control the quantity of the first fluid led into the tubular case in relation to that of the second fluid, and it becomes possible to sufficiently supplying the first fluid to the tubular case even when the second fluid is exhausted and cannot be supplied any more so long as the first fluid is not exhausted. Further, the above fluid flow controlling device has a simple structure, performs a reliable action, does not break easily, and is very durable.

An incubator capable of providing a controlled environment for a weak or sickly neonate like an immature infant has generally a conditioned-air supplying device whose temperature, humidity, oxygen content and so forth have been conditioned. In order to purify, with a filter, both the air of a space where an incubator is set, for example, a ward of an obstetrics and gynecology hospital (hereinafter described as "the outside air") and, if necessary, the oxygen supplied from an oxygen bomb (hereinafter described as "the supplied oxygen") and in order to supply them to the hood of the incubator, the conditioned-air supplying device of this type generally has a filter mounting apparatus of mounting the filter on the base of the incubator.
Shown in FIGS. 15-17 is one example of conventional fluid flow controlling device of the incubator (hereinafter described as "the first former example"). In FIGS. 15-17, the fluid flow controlling device is in a state of being incorporated in the filter mounting apparatus of an incubator, so that the filter mounting apparatus as well as the fluid flow controlling device will be explained on reference to FIGS. 15-17.
In the filter mounting apparatus shown in FIGS. 15-17, the bottom plate portion 4 of a box-like filter accommodating case 7 is fixed to the back wall portion 3 of a base 1 with a pair of right and left stud bolts 9, 11. On the upper side of the base 1, a neonate's support (not shown) is provided and, in the filter accommodating case 7, a stepped portion 6 of substantially rectangular shape is formed along the outer periphery of the bottom plate portion 4. Further, a small gas passage aperture 5 is provided in the bottom plate portion 4. The base 1 has a transparent hood (not shown) that covers the neonate lying on the neonate receptacle which is disposed in the upper portion of the base 1. The base 1 is generally put on a table (not shown), on which the incubator is set. In the back wall portion 3 of the base 1, a gas passage aperture 8 is provided in correspondence with the gas passage aperture 5 of the filter accommodating case 7.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the stud bolts 9, 11 project from the back wall portion 3 of the base 1 into the filter accommodating case 7 and are inserted into a pair of right and left apertures 15, 17 of an air filter 13, which is made of nonwoven pad or the like, so that the air filter 13 is accommodated in the filter accommodating case 7 in such a state that its substantially rectangular outer periphery abuts against the stepped portion 6. The side portion of a vessel-like filter cover 19 is fitted into the side wall of the filter accommodating case 7 so that the outer periphery of the air filter 13 is pressed against the stepped portion 6 by a pressing portion 19a formed by bending the distal end of the filter cover 19 and arranged in opposed relation to the stepped portion 6.
As shown in FIG. 16, rotatably mounted on the filter cover 19 is a pair of right and left clamp devices 23, 25, in each distal end portion of which box nut portion 23a, 25a is formed. When the pair of clamp devices 23, 25 are rotated by hand, each box nut portion 23a, 25a is screwed on the distal end of each corresponding stud bolt 9, 11. Thus, the filter cover 19 fitted into and fixed to the filter accommodating case 7 against the elastic force of the air filter 13 presses the outer periphery of the air filter 13 with its pressing portion 19a against the stepped portion 6 of the bottom plate portion 4 of the filter accommodating case 7, so that the air filter 13 is fixed to the stepped portion 6. As a result of the foregoing, a pre-filter chamber 29 is formed between the air filter 13 and the front plate portion 19b of the filter cover 19 and a post-filter chamber 30 is formed between the air filter 13 and the bottom plate portion 4 of the filter accommodating case 7.
Provided on the filter cover 19 is a flow controlling mechanism 31, whereby the outside air and the supplied oxygen are led into the pre-filter chamber 29 through a gas inlet 27 formed in the front plate portion 19b of the filter cover 19. As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the flow controlling device 31 has a blockish body 35 fixed to the front plate portion 19b of the filter cover 19. The blockish body 35 has an air inlet 33 provided in correspondence with the gas inlet 27 formed in the front plate portion 19b of the filter cover 19. Further, fixedly mounted in the blockish body 35 is a connecting pipe 39, to which the distal end of an oxygen supplying pipe 37 is connected. The pipe 37 leads oxygen from an oxygen bomb (not shown). It is noted that the oxygen supplying pipe 37 communicates with the air inlet 33 through a connecting pipe 39. An air valve body 41 is mounted on the blockish body 35 through its shaft portion 41a so as to be movable back and forth, and urged toward its retreated position due to the force of a coiled spring 43, so that the air inlet 33 is to be closed in the front end portion thereof by the air valve body 41. The front end portion serves as a valve seat.
At ordinary time (including the time not in use), a marker panel 45 is mounted on the flow controlling device 31. The marker panel 45 is substantially flat and has a slotted portion 45a extending from its lower end. Further, a short horizontal plate portion 45b with an engaging aperture 47 projects from the center of the back surface of the marker panel 45.
When the filter mounting apparatus shown in FIGS. 15-17, in which the flow controlling device 31 is incorporated, is used at ordinary time, it should be performed beforehand as shown in FIG. 17A to insert the lower end of the marker panel 45 between the air valve body 41 and the blockish body 35 of the flow controlling device 31; to fit the shaft 41a of the air valve body 41 into the slotted portion 45a; and to fit a projection 35a protruding from the blockish body 35 into the engaging aperture 47. It is noted that at ordinary time, the air valve body 41 is in its advanced position and is apart from the front end of the air inlet 33, so that the air inlet 33 serves to communicate the pre-filter chamber 29 with the outside.
Therefore, when the air circulating fan (not shown) of the conditioned-air supplying device disposed within the base 1 is driven, the outside air is led into the pre-filter chamber 29 through the air inlet 33 and the gas inlet 27. If necessary, the valve of the oxygen bomb (not shown) will be opened in a suitable degree. In that event, the supplied oxygen from the oxygen bomb is led into the air inlet 33 through the oxygen supplying pipe 37 and the connecting pipe 39 and, then, led into the pre-filter chamber 29 together with the above outside air. As the result, the air suitably enriched with the supplied oxygen whose quantity depends upon the opening rate of the valve flows from the pre-filter chamber 29 to the air circulating fan (not shown) through the air filter 13, the post-filter chamber 30 and the gas passage apertures 5, 8. Thus, the air is purified due to the air filter 13.
However, in a state of ordinary use shown in FIG. 17A, if the valve of the oxygen bomb is fully opened to supply a flow of 15 lit/min for example, the air also flows into the pre-filter chamber 29 through the air inlet 33 and the gas inlet 27, so that it is difficult to get high concentration of oxygen in the air (that is, the air enriched with the supplied oxygen) taken in the hood of the incubator and, in the example shown in FIG. 17A, the concentration is about 40% at the utmost if the flow of the supplied oxygen is 15 lit/min.
In the meantime, if the neonate lying on the neonate's receptacle is in an abnormal state, it will be required to supply much oxygen to the hood of the incubator. In such case, the valve of the oxygen bomb is fully opened and the marker panel 45 is disengaged from the blockish body 35 of the flow controlling device 31. As the result, the air valve body 41 retreats due to the force of the coiled spring 43, so that the front portion of the air inlet 33 is blocked up as shown in FIG. 17B. Thus, the outside air is not led into the pre-filter chamber 29 and only the supplied oxygen is led into the pre-filter chamber 29.
However, in the first former example, shown in FIGS. 15-17, of the flow controlling device 31, when the state of ordinary use shown in FIG. 17A is changed to the state of extraordinary use shown in FIG. 17B, in which the neonate is in the abnormal state, it is required that not only the valve of the oxygen bomb is fully opened, but also the marker panel 45 is disengaged from the blockish body 35 of the flow controlling device 31. On the contrary, when the state of extraordinary use is changed to the state of ordinary use, it is required that not only the valve of the oxygen bomb is closed by a certain degree or completely, but also the marker panel 45 is engaged with the the blockish body 35 of the device 31. Further, when the oxygen bomb empties in the state of extraordinary use, in which the neonate is in the abnormal state, not only the supplied oxygen but also the outside air are not led into the pre-filter chamber 29 because of the blockade of the air inlet 33. In addition, broken-line A shown in FIG. 19, which represents the relationship, in the state of extraordinary use, between the oxygen flow from the oxygen bomb and the oxygen concentration in the air (that is, the air enriched with the supplied oxygen) within the hood of the incubator, has steep gradient at its initial stage because the air inlet 33 has been blocked up, so that the fine control of the oxygen concentration is difficult.
Shown in FIG. 18 is another example of the conventional fluid flow controlling devices of the incubator previously stated (hereinafter described as "second former example"). In FIG. 18, the fluid flow controlling device is in a state of being located adjacent to the filter mounting apparatus of the incubator, so that the filter mounting apparatus as well as the fluid flow controlling device will be explained on reference to FIGS. 18A and 18B. Further, the same reference numerals will be used for the members common between the first former example shown in FIGS. 15-17 and the second former example shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, and the explanation for each common member will be omitted.
In the fluid flow controlling device 31 shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, a connecting pipe 39, to which the distal end of the oxygen supplying pipe 37 for supplying the supplied oxygen from the oxygen bomb (not shown) is connected, is fixed to the back wall portion 3 of the base 1 and projects outwards therefrom. On the upper side of the base 1, a neonate's support (not shown) is provided. A bellowslike conduit 51 made of elastic material such as silicon rubber and having a front plate portion 51a fixed to the back wall portion 3 is arranged in a first inner space 52 formed on the inside of the the back wall portion 3 so as to be in alignment with the connecting pipe 39. Further, provided in the base 1 is a partition board 53 extending substantially in parallel with the back wall portion 3 and, in the partition board 53, a gas inlet 27 formed in the shape of a circular truncated cone is provided so as to be substantially in alignment with the connecting pipe 39. In the rear plate portion 51b of the bellowslike conduit 51, a projection 51c that has substantially the same shape as the gas inlet 27 (that is, the shape of the circular truncated cone) is formed integrally with the rear plate portion 51b so as to be substantially in alignment with the connecting pipe 39, and an oxygen outlet 55 is formed through the central portion of the projection 51c. Further, a coiled spring 43 lies between the rear plate portion 51b of the bellowslike conduit 51 and the partition board 53 so as to be substantially in alignment with the connecting pipe 39.
In the second inner space 54 formed on the inside of the partition board 53 of the base 1, an air filter 13 is arranged substantially in parallel with the partition board 53 and, between the air filter 13 and the partition board 29, a pre-filter chamber 29 is formed. Further, on the inside of the air filter 13, a post-filter chamber 30 is formed.
When the fluid flow controlling device 31 and the filter mounting apparatus shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B are to be used in the state of ordinary use, the air circulating fan (not shown) of the conditioned-air supplying device should be driven under the condition illustrated in FIG. 18A. As the result, the air led into the first inner space 52 of the base 1 through an outside air inlet (not shown) formed in the back wall portion 3 of the base 1 is supplied to the pre-filter chamber 29 via the outside of the bellows conduit 51 and through the gas inlet 27.
If the valve of the oxygen bomb (not shown) is opened in a necessary degree, the supplied oxygen from the oxygen bomb is led into the bellowslike conduit 51 through the oxygen supplying pipe 37 and the connecting pipe 39 and successively led into the pre-filter chamber 29 through the oxygen outlet 55, via a part of the first inner space 52 and through the gas inlet 27. In that event, the rear plate portion 51b of the bellowslike conduit 51 moves rearwards (toward the left in FIG. 18A) in correspondence with the degree of the valve opening, due to the pressure of the supplied oxygen led into the inside of the bellowslike conduit 51, and against the force of the coiled spring 43, so that the bellowslike conduit 51 extends and the projection 51c approaches the gas inlet 27. Thus, the flow of the outside air passing through the outside of the bellowslike conduit 51 and led into the pre-filter chamber 29 is reduced in correspondence with the degree of the approximation of the projection 51c to the gas inlet 27.
As a result of the foregoing, the air within the pre-filter chamber 29 and enriched with the suitable quantity of the supplied oxygen, which depends upon the degree of the valve opening, moves toward the air circulating fan (not shown) through the air filter 13 and the post-filter chamber 30, so that the air is purified by the air filter 13.
In the meantime, when the fluid flow controlling device 31 and the filter mounting apparatus are used in the state of extraordinary use, in which the neonate is in the abnormal state, the valve of the oxygen bomb is fully opened, so that a large quantity of the supplied oxygen is led into the inside of the bellowslike conduit 51 and, due to the pressure of the supplied oxygen, the rear plate portion 51b of the bellowslike conduit 51 moves rearwards against the force of the coiled spring 43 until the projection 51c is fitted into the gas inlet 27 and the two touch completely. Thus, the flow of the outside air is intercepted between the outside of the bellowslike conduit 51 and the pre-filter chamber 29. In other words, the air is not led into the pre-filter chamber 29 via the outside of the bellowslike conduit 51 and only the supplied oxygen is led into the pre-filter chamber 29.
However, in the second former example 31 of conventional fluid flow controlling devices shown in FIGS. 18a and 18B, the bellowslike conduit 51 of elastic material such as silicon rubber is a requisite member and it must expand and contract in correspondence with the flow of the supplied oxygen. However, the correspondence often breaks down because the expansion and contraction characteristic of the bellowslike conduit 51 varies with every product and the conduit 51 does not always act smoothly. Further, the bellowslike conduit 51 is apt to be damaged for the duration of the long-term use. In addition, the bellowslike conduit 51 must expand against the force of the coiled spring 43 as the flow of the supplied oxygen increases, but the inclination of the expansion of the bellowslike conduit 51 to the flow of the supplied oxygen is gentle, so that broken-line B shown in FIG. 19, which represents the relationship between the flow of the supplied oxygen and the oxygen concentration in the air within the hood to the incubator, has a gentle gradient substantially over its whole range. Further, a part of the supplied oxygen within the bellowslike conduit 51 is apt not to flow into the gas inlet 27 via the oxygen outlet 55 but to leak through to the outside of the bellowslike conduit 51 and, as the result, the supplied oxygen is apt to be wasted.

Fluid flow controlling device and an incubator incorporating the same therein


A license plate holder includes a unitary body that forms one or more channels that permit a license plate to frequently and quickly be attached to, detached from and/or reattached to the unitary body. The unitary body is attached to an equipment or vehicle. One or two posts are coupled with the license plate and are shaped for partial insertion into, or traversal through, a channel of the unitary body. A moveable retaining pin allows a post to be temporarily captured while the post is inserted into a channel of the unitary body. The retaining pin may be spring-biased to press against the inserted post, and the retaining pin may be shaped and sized to fit into a notch or depressed feature of the inserted post. The unitary body may be or comprise an extruded component, a machined component, a milled component and/or a molded component.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
There are many license plate cover designs used to hold license plates to automobiles, vehicles and other equipment. Automobile and other vehicular and equipment license plates as issued by governmental authorities are primarily designed to be easily readable and sometimes to emphasize an actual or notional quality of the jurisdiction issuing the license plate. License plates are thus not uncommonly garish, mundane and visually unappealing. Yet the prior art fails to optimally provide a license plate holder that both secures a license plate to an equipment, vehicle or an automobile and also allows a user to easily and quickly detach and reattach a license plate from an associated equipment, automobile body or vehicle frame, so as to allow a convenient temporary removal of the license plate from the equipment, automobile or vehicle and to thus temporarily avoid diminishing the aesthetic effect of the design of the associated equipment, automobile or vehicle by a sometimes undesired and/or jarring visual presence of the license plate.

Apparatus, device and method enabling repeated coupling and decoupling of physical objects


Unscheduled wireless communication with a medical device is achieved by operating a receiver of the medical device in a series of modes. Each mode provides an increasingly selective evaluation of received RF energy. The receiver, when operating in a first mode, is capable of detecting the presence of RF energy transmitted from a communicating device. The receiver, when operating in a second mode, consumes more energy than the first mode and analyzes the RF energy to determine whether it contains the appropriate type of modulation. When operating in a third mode, the receiver consumes more energy than the second mode, and operates the full receiver to begin communication with the communicating device. The receiver opens a communication session after the RF energy has passed the evaluation by the series of modes to receive an unscheduled communication.

Current implantable medical devices (IMDs) provide countless therapies and monitor a wide variety of physiological events. With the increased uses of IMDs has also come the need for improved methods of communicating with and between IMDs.
Conventionally, communication with IMDs has been with magnetic field communication systems. Such systems, however, are generally only capable of communicating over very short distances, on the order of a few inches. As a result, a magnetic head of a programmer (or other external device) needs to be placed near to the IMD for communication to occur. More recently, radio frequency (RF) based communication systems have been developed for use with IMDs. RF communication provides a number of benefits over magnetic field communication systems, including much greater communication distances. However, conventional RF communication systems also consume more battery power than magnetic field communication systems.

System and method for unscheduled wireless communication with a medical device


An apparatus and method for filling drums with a substance. First and second external chambers are employed, and an interior filling chamber is employed, which is adjacent to the first and second external chambers. A first exterior door is provided between the first external chamber and an outside environment, a second exterior door is provided between the second external chamber and the outside environment, a first interior door is provided between the first external chamber and the filling chamber, and a second interior door is provided between the second external chamber and the filling chamber. The filling chamber fills a drum with the substance and vents out of the filling chamber gaseous emissions produced during said filling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatuses and methods for filling a drum with a fluid.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is often a need to fill containers with a compound such as a fluid or other substance. For example, systems are typically employed to fill containers with a fluid, such as a chemical or petrochemical type solution. Cylindrical containers called drums are typically used for this purpose. Drums may be of various capacities or sizes. For example, some drums hold a "barrel" (42 gallons) of liquid, or other quantities such as 55 gallons. So-called "tighthead drums" contain an opening for filling at the top, sometimes called a "bunghole." "Open head" drums, on the other hand, which do not have a bunghole, are also sometimes employed.
Drums are typically filled by moving them through a "booth," which contains filling equipment. There are typically three general stages involved in filling a drum: orientation, filling, and capping. Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a prior art drum filling system 100 which illustrates these stages. System 100 comprises orientation stage 110, filling stage 120, and capping stage 130, as well as linear conveyor 103 and filling booth 127. Booth 127 contains blower (or blowers) 135, lance 134, and inlet (ingress) and outlet (egress) doors 121, 122, respectively. A tighthead drum 101, having bunghole 102, is typically "indexed," or moved, through the three stages 110, 120, 130 on conveyor belt 103. In orientation station or stage 110, drum 101 is oriented, typically by a device called an "orientator." This device may be automated, and typically spins the drum until bunghole 102 is properly positioned for filling in the next stage, filling station or stage 120. (For open head drums, orientation stage 110 may be skipped, or it may be used to spin the drum for jet-coding or other purposes.)
Drum 101 is then indexed by conveyor 103 to filling stage 120, i.e. to the inside of booth 127. Inlet door 121 opens on the incoming side of filling both 127, to allow the now-oriented drum 101 to be indexed into the booth, so that lance 134 can be lowered into bunghole 102 to fill drum 101 with a given fluid. (Sometimes the orientator and thus orientation stage 110 is also positioned within booth 127, in which case booth door 121 is opened to allow drum 101 to be indexed into the booth to be oriented and filled.)
Booth 127 is employed at filling stage 120 so that a blower 135 (such as centrifugal blower) can capture vapor, fumes, or other gaseous emissions that escape during the filling process. Blower 135 can then appropriately process these emissions, depending upon their nature and the nature of the liquid which fills drum 101, for example by using vents, scrubbers, or an incinerator.
After filling in filling stage 120, drum 101 is indexed by conveyor 103 out of booth 127, to capping station or stage 130. Outlet door 122 on the outgoing side of booth 127 typically opens in conjunction with this indexing, to allow the drum out of the booth. At the capping stage 130, a manual (human) or automatic operator caps bunghole 102 so as to seal the drum. (For open head drums, the capping stage involves applying an entire top "lid" to the drum instead of simply capping a bunghole.)
One problem involved with such conventional drum-filling systems and methods is that when the inlet and outlet doors to the filling booth open, the air flow of blower 135 changes greatly. For example, when inlet door 121 opens to allow drum 101 to be indexed into booth 127, blower 135 must all of a sudden draw a much greater volume of air out of the booth, due to the changed air pressure in the booth caused by opening the door to the external environment, in order to ensure that vapors in the booth are still evacuated from the booth by the blower. Thus, blower 135 needs to be much larger and more expensive than if doors 121 and 122 were always closed, since the blower needs to be able to handle the maximum amount of air flow that can occur during the three-stage filling cycle.
Other equipment such as scrubbers or incinerators may also require more capacity to handle the maximum blower output.
Additionally, a heavier-duty blower is needed not only because the maximum volume is so high, but because of the very large change in gas flow volume to be handled.

Multi-chambered booth and method for filling drums

Delta Deluxe, L.L.C. (D/B/A/ Delta Chemical Services)


A skin effect heating system for long pipelines includes a heater cable disposed in a ferromagnetic or other conductive heat tube. A semiconductive jacket contacts the inner surface of the heat tube, where the charge density of the return current carried by the heat tube is at its highest. The semiconductive jacket material has a resistivity that is sufficiently low to reduce or eliminate arcing events such as corona discharge by allowing accumulated charge on the heat tube to dissipate. The resistivity is also high enough to prevent the return current from flowing into or through the semiconductive outer layer, so that heat production capacity of the system is maximized.

In the oil and gas industry, pipelines must be heated over distances of many miles. Skin effect electric heat tracing systems are ideally suited for long transfer pipelines up to 12 miles (20 km) per circuit. The system is engineered for the specific application. Applications for this system include material transfer lines, snow melting and de-icing, tank foundation heating, subsea transfer lines and prefabricated, pre-insulated lines. In a skin-effect heating system, heat is generated on the inner surface of a ferromagnetic heat tube that is thermally coupled to the pipe to be heat traced. An electrically insulated, temperature resistant conductor is installed inside the heat tube and connected to the tube at the far end. An alternating current (AC) is passed through the insulated conductor and returns through the heat tube.
In a traditional skin effect heating system, the core conductor of the heater cable sits inside an insulation layer. The heater cable is surrounded by air except at the point at which the insulating jacket contacts the inner surface of the heat tube. Partial discharge is caused by the charge differential between the surface of the insulation and the inner surface of the grounded heat tube, which carries the return AC in the opposite direction; the inner surface of the heat tube has the highest charge density, relative to the rest of the heat tube, due to the skin effect. Protracted partial discharge can erode solid insulation and eventually lead to breakdown of insulation at the point of contact. Protracted partial discharge also tends to initiate at defects (voids, imperfections, contaminants) in the insulation layer. It can also cause a corona effect, a localized discharge resulting from transient gaseous ionization on an insulation system when the voltage stress exceeds a critical value; inception in air at room temperature occurs at or about 3×106 V/m. An insulating material can have a maximum desirable amount of partial discharge: protracted partial discharge at or below this threshold may not be harmful to the material or the surroundings, but beyond the maximum, partial discharge begins to damage the material. The material can further have a maximum recommended operating voltage at which partial discharge from the material does not exceed the maximum desirable amount.
The ferromagnetic heat tube of a skin-effect heating system is prone to the corona effect as a charge difference builds up between the surface of the tube and the surface of the insulated conductor and exceeds the breakdown electric field for air (3×106 V/m). This effect becomes a significant issue for longer pipelines that require a higher voltage potential to drive the current that also results in greater charge build up between the two surfaces. Partial discharge of the accumulated static electricity can damage or prematurely age the insulation and other components, and at high voltages (relative to rated voltages of the component materials) can discharge in arcing events. Thus, industry standards have developed to limit partial discharge. Heater cable component materials, particularly electrical insulation materials, are characterized by a rated voltage at which partial discharge from the material does not exceed 10 picoCoulombs. Notably, some materials can tolerate much more than 10 picoCoulombs (e.g., Silicone, at about 20 nanoCoulornbs), but must operate at the rated voltage in the field.
The rated voltages of materials used in the heater cables must therefore be considered in conjunction with other material advantages. For example, perfluoroalkoxy polymer (PFA) is an ideal electrical insulating material for higher temperature applications, such as sulfur transfer lines where the operating cable temperatures are around 135-140 deg C. PFA insulation is rated to 265 C and enables running at higher current densities than with lower temperature insulations such as high-density polyethylene (HDPE), ethylene propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber ethylene propylene rubber (EPR), and silicone. However, the rated voltage of unshielded PFA cable is about 2.5 kV or 3 kV, and requires circuit lengths, and therefore also cable lengths, to be shorter than those using materials with higher rated voltages (e.g., Silicone at 5 kV) but lower operating temperatures.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Shielded fluoropolymer wire for high temperature skin effect trace heating


A method for realizing a central monitoring server by using an individual patient monitor device is provided, and the patient monitor device (301) can monitor the patient's physiological parameter and simultaneously can collect and process the data from the other monitor devices through wired or wireless LAN (Local area network). The running state and the patient's information of the other monitors can be looked over on this monitor (301). The monitor (301) can display this monitoring measurement information and simultaneously display all the patients' information of the other monitors which are networked with it, and the other networked monitors can also be controlled by this monitor (301). The monitor (301) can use a single-screen or multi-screen display, and the displaying content can be the same or not.

Monitors in medical field are mainly used to check and display patient's physiological information in real time. Centrally a monitor includes only one main control board as the central control. There are many parameters used to measure human body signals and each parameter is for one measuring card. The data on these measuring cards is firstly processed by the main control in real-time and then patient's physiological signals are displayed for diagnosis.
The central monitoring server is a network server based on PC platform. Such server runs with a server software under CS or BS. The software can be connected with other monitors via the Ethernet. Consequently all patients' physiological information can be displayed on the monitor and it is easy for doctors to monitor the conditions of all patients at the same time. Meanwhile, doctors can also choose to operate the monitor of one patient through the central station software, e.g. manually starting the blood pressure measurement once. This type of central station server has been widely used in hospitals.
Centrally, one monitor can only display the patient's physiological signal provided by the parameter module of that monitor. A doctor has to use the dedicated central monitoring server if he intends to look through current physiological information of all patients at the same time. At present, some monitors provide the function to look through patient's information of other monitors using the same network, but only one-patient's information can be checked at the same time. In addition, they cannot store patient's physiological information of other monitors, thus it is extremely inconvenient.

Medical monitoring method and device integrating central monitoring function


A method of reconstructing an image includes performing an iterative CT X-ray image reconstruction using a model including a point spread function (PSF) to reconstruct an image.

This invention relates generally to methods, apparatus, and software for reconstructions of images in computed tomography (CT), and more particularly to methods, apparatus, and software for iterative reconstruction techniques.
Image reconstruction from helical CT scan data benefits from the flexibility of iterative reconstruction techniques. Conventional filtered backprojection suffers from interpolation errors inherent in the approximation of in-plane measurements from helical scans. These problems become especially pronounced with multi-slice detector arrays. Iterative techniques rely on successive approximations of an image, with adjustments of image values based on the difference between measured data and simulated measurements from the candidate image. Let x be a vector containing a 3-D reconstruction of the object; the elements in x will be numbers representing X-ray densities of volumetric elements, called "voxels," in the three-dimensional object to be imaged. Furthermore, let y be the actual measurements, representing samples from what will subsequently be called the "sinogram," and let F(x) be the expected values of the sinogram when the 3-D cross section being reconstructed is assumed to be x. Importantly, the model F(x) includes the precise geometry of the helical scan pattern and the source/detector structure, so it can directly account for the helical scan measurements. The difference between the measurements y and their expected values is commonly referred to as "noise," and may be incorporated into the model in the equation y=F(x)+n, where n represents the noise vector. The optimization problem in iterative reconstruction may be expressed as
                              x          ^                =                  arg                                                                                min              x                                                  {                                                                    ∑                                          i                      =                      0                                        M                                                                                D                      i                                                                                (                                                                        y                          i                                                ,                                                                              F                            i                                                                                (                            x                            )                                                                                )                                                                      +                                  U                                                        (                    x                    )                                                              }                                                          (        1        )            F transforms an image x in a manner imitative of the CT system, y is the available sinogram data and the functional Di is a function which penalizes distance between measurement i and the corresponding simulated i-th forward projection of x. U(x) is a regularization term which penalizes local voxel differences. A common embodiment of (1) takes the form
                                          x            ^                    =                      arg                                                                                min                x                                                          {                                                                            ∑                                              i                        =                        0                                            M                                                                                w                        i                                                                                                                                                                y                              i                                                        -                                                                                F                                i                                                                                (                                x                                )                                                                                                                                2                                                                              +                                      U                                                              (                      x                      )                                                                      }                                                    ,                            (        2        )            where wi is a constant which weights the contribution of measurement i to the objective function. Frequently, a linear model of the form F(x)=Ax is used, linearizing the relation between x and y with a matrix A. At each iteration, the algorithm finds a perturbation of x which will decrease the value of the above expression. Following adjustment of x, new forward projections by the operator F allow calculation of directions for further improvements. The computation of these simulated forward projections extracts a high computational cost, since storage of the matrix (A) describing the mapping between the image and the sinogram remains infeasible in practical computing systems, and components of F must be recomputed and discarded at each iteration. The quality of the iterative reconstructions depends strongly on the degree to which the mapping mirrors physical reality in the CT scanner.
The basic operation for both forward and backprojection in iterative reconstruction is the computation of the effect of a single element in a digital three-dimensional image on the attenuation measurements of the sinogram. In a typical reconstruction, a given entry in the matrix A of Ax must be used twice as many times as there are iterations, and the number of non-zero entries is extremely large. Because voxels may be modeled as representing rectangular solids in three dimensions, the attenuation of voxel j on sinogram measurement i may be approximated by the length of the line segment between a source and a detector i lying within voxel j, as illustrated in FIG. 3. Such a computational model suffers from several limitations. First, the line-clipping algorithm commonly used to find the length of this line segment consumes the greatest share of iterative computation, saddling these methods with reconstruction times orders of magnitude larger than those of conventional methods. Second, the line segment length is but a coarse approximation of the effect of a volume element on a detector's radiation. The non-zero sizes of both detectors and X-ray source cause blurring of these effects and can limit resolution of reconstructed images. The two-dimensional dosage profile of the X-ray focal spot is often unknown even if its shape is fixed.

Methods, apparatus, and software to facilitate iterative reconstruction of images


Systems and methods for generating and performing a three-dimensional audio CAPTCHA are provided. One exemplary system can include a decoy signal database storing a plurality of decoy signals. The system also can include a three-dimensional audio simulation engine for simulating the sounding of a target signal and at least one decoy signal in an acoustic environment and outputting a stereophonic audio signal based on the simulation. One exemplary method includes providing an audio prompt to a resource requesting entity. The audio prompt can have been generated based on a three-dimensional audio simulation of the sounding of a target signal containing an authentication key and at least one decoy signal in an acoustic environment. The method can include receiving a response to the audio prompt from the resource requesting entity and comparing the response to the authentication key.

Trust is an asset in web-based interactions. For example, a user must trust that an entity provides sufficient mechanisms to confirm and protect her identity in order for the user to feel comfortable interacting with such entity. In particular, an entity that provides a web-resource must be able to block automated attacks that attempt to gain access to the web-resource for malicious purposes. Thus, sophisticated authentication mechanisms that can discern between a resource request from a real human being and a request generated by an automated machine are a vital tool in developing the necessary relationship of trust between an entity and a user.
CAPTCHA ("completely automated public turing test to tell computers and humans apart") and audio CAPTCHA are two such authentication mechanisms. The goal of CAPTCHA and audio CAPTCHA is to exploit situations in which it is known that humans perform tasks better than automated machines. Thus, CAPTCHA and audio CAPTCHA preferably provide a prompt that is solvable by a human but generally unsolvable by a machine.
For example, a traditional CAPTCHA requires the resource requesting entity to read a brief item of text that serves as the authentication key. Such text is often blurred or otherwise disguised. Likewise, in audio CAPTCHA, which is suitable for visually-impaired users as well, the resource requesting entity is instructed to listen to an audio signal that includes the authentication key. The audio signal can be noisy or otherwise challenging to understand.
Both CAPTCHA and audio CAPTCHA are subject to sophisticated attacks that use artificial intelligence to estimate the authentication keys. In particular, with respect to audio CAPTCHA, the attacker can use Automated Speech Recognition (ASR) technologies to attempt to recognize a spoken authentication key.
Thus, a race exists between the audio CAPTCHA and ASR technologies. As such, designing secure and effective audio CAPTCHA requires the knowledgeable exploitation of situations where it is known that humans perform relatively well, while ASR systems do not. Therefore, systems and methods for providing an audio CAPTCHA that simulate situations in which humans have enhanced listening abilities versus ASR technology are desirable.

Systems and methods for three-dimensional audio CAPTCHA


The present invention is a humidifier that provides uniformly controlled generation of water vapor into an air stream. Steel wool is placed into a heating section of a humidifier water reservoir, where vapor is produced, to create an even distribution of vapor exiting the humidifier. A perforated plate is horizontally inserted into the heating section above the steel wool, thereby holding it in place and aiding in the even distribution of vapor from the humidifier.

In semiconductor chip fabrication operations, it is crucial that temperature, air pressure, and humidity conditions be maintained precisely. A slight variation in any of these environmental factors can have detrimental effects on the fabrication process.
Dry air is particularly troublesome. Not only is a precise humidity level required for the fabrication process, but also, dry air has other adverse effects, such as drawing moisture out of materials and contributing to the generation of static electricity. These potential problems make controlling the level of humidity extremely important.
Many chip fabrication and clean room operations are equipped with steam humidifiers installed in the air supply or ventilation systems. However, there are a number of problems and disadvantages with these humidifying systems. One common problem is that they humidify the ambient air unevenly. That is, some humidifiers produce a non-uniform absorption and mixing of water vapor into the ambient air stream. If too much vapor is introduced by the humidifier, the excess amount is not absorbed by the air stream. The excess amount condenses on virtually any surface it contacts. Obviously, this is an unacceptable problem in semiconductor manufacturing operations, where a pristine environment is required.
The most relevant prior art that relates to the above problem is the Vaporstream.RTM. Model "D.I." humidifier manufactured by Dri-Steem Humidifier Company. This humidifier features an external, stainless steel, vapor dispersion tube with a plurality of holes, arranged so that multiple jets of steam or vapor coming out of the holes are introduced into the ambient air stream. By introducing multiple jets of steam into the air stream in this manner, the Dri-Steem humidifier claims to produce an improvement in the rate and thoroughness of vapor absorption. Dri-Steem's tube design also allows any condensate which forms on the interior of the tube to flow back to the humidifier.
The present invention is a humidifier that differs significantly from the prior art in that it utilizes structures placed within the humidifier's water reservoir to uniformly control the generation of steam, as opposed to using a multiple-holed dispersion tube located outside of the humidifier reservoir. How the invention works is further described below.


A method of generating a protected standard delay format (SDF) file is disclosed. The interconnect delay descriptions of a SDF file are backwardly or forwardly integrated into the related cell delay descriptions according to their interconnection type to generate the protected SDF file. The total delay value of each signal path is the same as original, so that the simulation result generated by a simulator is not affected.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a standard delay format (SDF) file, and more particularly, to a method of generating a protected SDF file.
2. Description of Related Art
As the semiconductor manufacturing technology advances, the integrated circuit (IC) becomes the most important electronic devices for all equipment. To simplify the IC design process, a variety of computer aided design (CAD) tools have been developed to aid the designer to design the IC.
FIG. 1 is a typical IC design flow chart. Referring to FIG. 1, the IC designer will use the high-level language such as Vernlog or VHDL to describe the function of the IC and create the RTL file 110. The RTL file 110 is then inputted to the synthesizer 120 and is converted into the netlist 140 in the cell level based on the library 130 provided by the semiconductor foundry. The netlist 140 includes the cells for providing the function of the IC and describes the interconnection between those cells for the layout.
To simulate and verify the function of the IC before the IC are manufactured, the IC designers will use the delay calculator 150 based on the netlist 140 and the timing library 160 to generate the SDF file 150 for the simulator 190 to verify. The SDF file 170 generally includes the cell delay description and the interconnect delay description. The cell delay description describes the signal transmission delay data on the cell I/O path. The interconnect delay description describes the signal transmission delay data of the interconnection between the cells. These signal transmission delay data are estimated values before the layout is complete. After the layout is complete, the precise signal transmission delay data can be calculated by referring the extracted RC data 145 from the RC extractor. The extracted RC data 145 is the physical resistor and capacitor data extracted by the RC extractor. Then the simulator 190 outputs the simulation result based on the netlist 140, the SDF file 170 and the simulation model 180.
As shown above, the netlist and the SDF file include the data regarding the cells and the interconnection between the cells. If those files are not protected, an unauthorized person can obtain the complete IC design by reverse-engineering. Generally, the netlist can be generated as the binary format for protection. However, the SDF file is represented by ASCII format and cannot be effectively protected.

Method of generating protected standard delay format file


Level detectors detect levels of digital audio signals of individual channels. A controller predicts whether or not an overflow will take place corresponding to detected signals. When the controller predicts an occurrence of an overflow, attenuators attenuate a signal level of at least one channel. In addition, when variable length delaying devices vary the phases of signals, an overflow can be prevented.

1. Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to an audio signal processing apparatus and an audio signal reproducing apparatus for use with for example a DVD reproducing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most of sound tracks of movies performed in movie theaters are of surround type. In the latest surround system, a discrete multi-channel system of which signals are recorded in a digital format rather than a matrix format has been used. In such a system, a sound can be freely moved in forward, backward, leftward, rightward, and peripheral directions so as to create an impressive sound field with a presence effect.
In a large-storage disc-shaped record medium for use with a multimedia application such as a DVD, a record format has been standardized for satisfying demands of high picture quality and high sound quality. A DVD can record surround audio signals of digital 5.1-channels. FIGS. 3A and 3B show the comparison of channel structures and sound fields of the digital 5.1-channel system and a conventional analog four-channel system.
FIG. 3A shows the channel structure and sound field of the analog four-channel system. The analog four-channel system is composed of four channels that are L (front left), C (front center), R (front right), and S (surround) channels. FIG. 3B shows the channel structure and sound field of the digital 5.1-channel system. The digital 5.1-channel system is composed of five channels that are L (front left), C (front center), R (front right), Ls (rear left), and Rs (rear right) channels and 0.1 channel of LFE (Low Frequency Effect) channel. The LFE channel is used for a super woofer to reproduce an ultra low frequency component. The information capacity of the LFE channel is as small as {fraction (1/10)} times the information capacity of each of other channels. Thus, the LFE channel is referred to as 0.1 channel.
The DVD reproducing apparatus is structured corresponding to the digital 5.1-channel system. Thus, the DVD reproducing apparatus can reproduce audio signals of 5.1 channels. In addition, the DVD reproducing apparatus has an audio signal processing apparatus that performs a down-mixing process corresponding to the conventional two-channel stereo audio system. When the audio signal processing apparatus performs the down-mixing process, signal levels of digital signals are attenuated so as to prevent excessive audio signals from being generated. The attenuated digital signals are calculated and then converted into analog signals. The analog signals are amplified again.
However, in a method for attenuating digital signals, if the LSB (Least Significant Bit) side is insufficient against the number of quantized original signals, when the signals are attenuated, information of the original signals is lost. Thus, even if the signal levels of the resultant signals are restored to the signal levels of the original signals, lost information on the LSB side is not restored. In other words, a nuance and so forth of music are lost. In addition, since digital signals are attenuated, analog signals are amplified. Thus, amplification factors of analog amplifiers should be raised. Consequently, since noise levels on the analog stage increase, noise of reproduced signals becomes conspicuous. In this case, unless the amplification factors of the analog amplifiers are raised, the users will sense a decrease in signal levels.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an audio signal processing apparatus and an audio signal reproducing apparatus that perform a down-mixing process without deterioration of sound quality.
To solve the above-described problem, the invention of claim 1 is an audio signal processing apparatus for calculating audio signals of a plurality of channels and forming a combined audio signal, comprising a calculating means for calculating digital audio signals of a plurality of channels, a detecting means for detecting levels of the digital audio signals of the plurality of channels, and a means for predicting whether or not an occurrence of an overflow of the combined audio signal will take place corresponding to an output of a calculating process of the calculating means and an output of the detecting means and for attenuating a digital audio signal of at least one channel of the plurality of channels when the occurrence of the overflow has been predicted.
The invention of claim 2 is an audio signal processing apparatus for calculating audio signals of a plurality of channels and forming a combined audio signal, comprising a calculating means for calculating digital audio signals of a plurality of channels, a detecting means for detecting levels of the digital audio signals of the plurality of channels, and a means for predicting whether or not an occurrence of an overflow of the combined audio signal will take place corresponding to an output of a calculating process of the calculating means and an output of the detecting means and for varying the phase of a digital audio signal of at least one channel of the plurality of channels when the occurrence of the overflow has been predicted.
An audio signal reproducing apparatus, comprising a reproducing means for reproducing digital audio signals of a plurality of channels from a record medium, and a signal processing means for processing reproduced digital audio signals, wherein the signal processing means has a calculating means for calculating digital audio signals of a plurality of channels, a detecting means for detecting levels of the digital audio signals of the plurality of channels, and a means for predicting whether or not an occurrence of an overflow of the combined audio signal will take place corresponding to an output of a calculating process of the calculating means and an output of the detecting means and for attenuating a digital audio signal of at least one channel of the plurality of channels when the occurrence of the overflow has been predicted.
According to the present invention, when signals are down-mixed by a digital calculating process, if an occurrence of an overflow is predicted in a combined signal, an attenuating process or a phase varying process is performed. Since signals are not always attenuated, information on low order bit side can be prevented from being lost. In addition, since analog amplifiers do not need to compensate attenuated signal levels, noise can be prevented from increasing.
The above, and other, objects, features and advantage of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description thereof which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Apparatus and method for processing digital audio signals of plural channels to derive combined signals with overflow prevented


An inflatable bag,for airbag restraint systems for a front seat passenger, of a quadrilateral prismoidal shape comprising a right-angled quadrilateral base portion adapted to face and receive the passenger by the extension of the bag upon deployment, a lip portion defining an opening for admitting gas from the system and adapted to be attached to a dashboard, upper and lower face portions, and lateral face portions having T-like or Y-like joints diverging from the lip to base portions and exhibiting a strap effect. The bag is made of a one-piece cloth, each outlining lateral side of which has longitudinally consecutive six sides of three triangular sections wherein two endmost sides and respective two adjoining sides have respectively an equal length, or longitudinally consecutive five sides wherein two endmost sides have an equal length and other two sides adjacent to the former have a total length equal to the length of a longitudinal side therebetween. When the cloth is longitudinally folded into two, the endmost sides are superposed and sewed together. Then, respective adjoining sides are superposed and sewed together, thus forming the Y-like joints and lateral face portions, or other two sides are superposed onto the longitudinal side and sewed together, thus forming the T-like joints and lateral portions, thereby shaping the prismoidal body, which is turned inside out to give the bag. The endmost sides may assume an arc-like line.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to airbag passive restraint systems for vehicles and more particularly, to their inflatable bags of predetermined shape for restraining movement of a passenger seated on a front seat of the vehicle relative to the instrument panel by automatic and instantaneous inflation of the bag in the case of a collision accident. The invention is also concerned with methods for manufacturing the inflatable bags using a one-piece cut cloth having a polygonal figure. More specifically stated, the invention provides bags of the kind stated that assume a generally quadrilateral prismoidal shape and exhibit a "strapless strap effect" upon deployment thereof and the manufacture thereof.
2. Statement of Related Art
Airbag passive restraint systems are used as an auxiliary means for seat belt restraints and, in the event where a vehicle fitted with them collide at an impact of more than a predetermined magnitude, are operative to restrain a seated passenger against sudden movement and protect him by instantaneous inflation of the bag. In general, airbag restraint systems are made up of an inflator for releasing gas, an inflatable bag capable of inflating by the gas, a housing for surrounding and enclosing substantially hermetically the inflator and bag, and a sensor for detecting the predetermined impact and transmitting its electric signal to the inflator.
When an airbag restraint is actuated, gas released from the inflator by an electric signal is filled in the bag and housing to exert an inner pressure upon the surface of bag, which in turn causes the bag to deploy instantaneously.
In the past, airbag passive restraint systems for vehicles have been developed for mounting them not only to the steering wheel forward of a driver's seat, but also to the instrument panel forward of a front seat abreast it.
As inflatable bags for a front seat passenger, for example, a bag as illustrated in FIG. 26 has been known. The bag is made of a cloth and comprises a cylindrical body (41) sewed together and rounded triangular lateral portions (42) sewed to the cylindrical body at both sides thereof, the cylindrical body having, on its circumferential face, a square opening (43) which is an inlet for gas flow from the inflator. At the opening (43), four retainers (44)(45), partly made of the body cloth and partly of a different cloth, are sewed to the body (41) in a sack form. The retainer fittings (44,45) are fastened to a housing for bag through its retainer (not shown) to be inserted.
In configuring the bag by sewing work, however, it was necessary to sew together both marginal portions of the cylindrical body cloth and both outer perimeters of the lateral cloths that are curved and three-dimensional and consequently, time-consuming laborious manual work has been required, which was responsible for a bottleneck to automatization of sewing operation.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent Publication No. 52-4371 (1977) discloses a method for manufacturing a bag for airbag restraint assembly from a one-piece rectangular fabric as shown in FIGS. 27a and 27b. However, since the one-piece fabric is not applied with any suitable cutting according to a predetermined pattern, sewing and shaping of the fabric into a bag requires much skillful work, and the resulting bag has extra useless remnants, which make the weight of bag heavier and impart more impact to a seated passenger than necessary upon deploying. Further, the remnants are obstructive of sewing and make the automatization of sewing by the instrumentality of a machine difficult.
More specifically, when the fabric is shaped into a bag as shown in FIG. 27a by folding and sewing, triangular extensions (52) are formed at both sides of the base wall (50) and lateral marginal portions (53) with selvages are formed on side walls (51). The sewed body is then turned inside out to give a bag as shown in FIG. 27b. In order to mount the bag to a vehicle, further the sidewalls (51) of the bag are folded inwardly at their lower parts to be sewed to the free end (55) of the body wall (54). Consequently, bulky sewed places and overlapped portions are additionally formed.
Here, the more extensive is the area of the base wall (50) that is adapted to face a passenger, the more the triangular extensions (52) are enlarged whereas the larger is the taper degree of the lateral marginal portions (53), the more they are widened. These parts (52,53) and overlapped parts are useless for the restraint of a passenger that is a purpose proper of the airbag, because these increase in weight and take up a bulk and obstruct when the bag is folded and collapsed for housing in an instrument panel. The bag thus loses its flexibility to be stiff, and is disadvantageous for the restraint of a passenger.
In mass production of such a bag, a fabric of such a rectangular or square form is usually cut out from a fabric roll by making two longer sides and two shorter sides of a rectangle to coincide with the roll direction and width direction of the roll respectively or bringing a square into parallel with the roll direction. In either case, when a cut cloth thus obtained is then subjected to folding and sewing, the resulting seam lines are parallel with the fabric grain lines. This is not good for the construction of a bag since the inner pressure is exerted in parallel with the fabric grain lines on the bag.
If a one-piece cloth is cut out from a fabric foll obliquely to the roll direction for a good construction of bag, a longer roll width will be necessary than the existing roll width that is available from conventional looms, which necessitates new investment for an installation to that end. The width of the existing looms is usually on the order of 1.5 m whereas the perimeter length of a bag as viewed from the lateral side of a vehicle is ca. 2 m. Furthermore, the yield of one-piece cloth material is decreased, and the oblique cutting is thus uneconomical. From the aspect of sewing of a cloth, bias sewing, in which an angle is made between seam lines and grain lines of the fabric, affords a higher strength than parallel sewing wherein seam lines are parallel with the grain lines of fabric.
If a three-dimensional body is shaped from the one-piece fabric so that the triangular extensions (52), whose shape is determined by the lengths of the base wall (50) and two body walls (54), assumes an isosceles triangle, the resulting bag will be symmetrical relative to the stitching lines as viewed from a lateral side of a vehicle when mounted. If a bag is shaped in a manner forming the triangular extensions (52) of a scalene triangle and the same size of the base wall (50), then the base wall (50) will be inclined toward a passenger, which is disadvantageous for restraint performances to the passenger. Thus, the one-piece fabric imposes restrictions on the shape of a bag.
In general, it is desired from the respects of restraint performances, weight and cost that a bag have its lateral configuration as viewed from a lateral side of a vehicle, such that an upper face disposed along the windshield, a lower face disposed along the instrument panel and extending to the knees of a passenger and a front face disposed vis-a-vis to the passenger assume a triangular profile. As a consequence, a freedom in designing a bag of such a shape that will satisfy the foregoing conditions of vehicle is seeked and desired.
The disclosed method moreover requires a skillful art in sewing lapped sidewalls to the body wall and non-straight lines. The stitching lines are applied linearly over the whole length of the sidewalls (53) in the deployment direction of a bag, and consequently, it is further necessary to adopt a sewing technique for rendering the stitching places, on which the strength upon deployment concentrates, strong.
The known methods for manufacturing a bag for front seat passenger as well as the bags thus have posed many problems and had drawbacks.
In view of the prior art situations above, this invention has been accomplished by contriving a new one-piece cloth cut in a specified figure, from which a bag can be fashioned simply and easily.
Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an inflatable bag for airbag passive restraint systems for front seat passenger by the use of a one-piece cloth that enables rectilinear and plane sewing, thereby enabling automatic sewing work on a machine.
Another object of the invention is to provide a bag of the kind stated above and a method for manufacturing it which are characterized by the use of a one-piece cloth having such a figure that never produces useless parts when fashioned into a three-dimensional shape and requires a minimized number of sewing places and a possible smallest seam allowance whereby to yield the bag with such a light weight and a small bulk that it is readily housed in a housing for bag.
A still another object is to provide a bag and its manufacture which comprise using such a one-piece cloth that enables to impart a strap effect of regulating the flaring of the bag without the provision of any strap member.
A further object is to provide a bag and manufacturing thereof which enables a one-piece cloth after folding and sewing for fashioning of it into a three-dimensional shape to maintain its inherent or original flexibility, thereby producing a flexible bag.
A still further object is to provide a bag which is easily collapsible without any obstructs upon folding such as turn-up edges, local lapped portions, etc.
A further object is to provide a method for manufacturing a bag by the use of a one-piece cloth having such a figure that enables to enhance the degree of freedom in designing and changing the shape of the bag while considering its base (front) portion, lateral face portions, and upper and lower face portions in relation with vehicle components, e.g. an instrument panel, windshield, etc., the position and size of an opening of a housing for bag.
Yet further object is to provide a method of manufacturing a bag that enables simple sewing work and easy registering of sewing places without requiring any high skilled art, troublesome work, many steps, and much time.
These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Inflatable bags for airbag passive restraint systems for front seat passenger and methods for manufacturing thereof


A family of toy cars includes a plurality of external body components, which may be removably assembled into a street car, track car or dirt car by children or adult user. The toy car system includes a chassis with fastener receiving holes and each of the body components include a pair of spaced apart attachment holes, such that the corresponding holes of the body components line with each other and with the fastener receiving holes of the chassis when the body components are positioned in an overlapped configuration. The front and rear pair of wheels are attached to the chassis by corresponding wheel fasteners, wherein all the fasteners in the toy car system have the same size and shape and are easily detachable.

Children love toy cars. The available modes of play of current toy cars available to children are limited. For example, many toy cars are not engineered to be steerable. Thus, a child may only move the car in straight lines. Additionally, toy cars that are engineered to be steerable make use of a small steering wheel that is difficult for the child to actuate and subject to mechanical failure due to stresses upon the steering wheel during normal play.
A second type of toy cars available to children are model cars that may be assembled by the child. These cars are scale models of existing car designs assembled with plastic or rubber cement. Thus, the assembled model car is limited to few, if any, play modes other than display, due to the fixed assembly of the model car.


Disclosed are Methods and apparatuses for estimating one or more characteristics of the communications channel. The method comprises receiving a first wireless signal transmitted by a transmitter at a first set of frequencies in a first time slot; and receiving a second wireless signal transmitted by the transmitter at a second set of frequencies in a second time slot. The second set of frequencies partially overlaps with the first set of frequencies and the second time slot is different from the first time slot. The method further comprises jointly processing the first wireless signal and the second wireless signal to estimate the one or more characteristics of the communications channel. Corresponding apparatuses are configured to implement the methods.

Positioning using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) is known. Traditionally, the calculation of position relies on trilateration, based on the time of arrival of signals from multiple different satellites. In the case of GPS, for example, satellite signals in the L1 band are conventionally used for the trilateration. The GPS satellites also transmit a signal on further frequencies including the L2 band, which in combination together with the L1 band signal are traditionally used for taking into account ionospheric error.
With all positioning systems, it would be desirable to increase the positioning accuracy. GNSS systems in particular also suffer from the problem of availability: there are many environments in which it is difficult or impossible to receive satellite signals reliably—especially in dense urban environments or indoors. It would therefore be desirable to develop a positioning system that offers greater coverage and can calculate position in circumstances when traditional GNSS positioning would fail or become unreliable.
In many environments—including environments where GNSS availability may be limited—a variety of other signals is available, which may be used to infer information about position. These include so-called "signals of opportunity"—signals whose primary purpose is not to support positioning systems, but which contain useful implicit information about position. These signals of opportunity can include (but are not limited to): terrestrial communications signals; and terrestrial broadcast signals. It would be desirable to exploit these signals to extract as much positioning information as possible from them, as accurately as possible.
It will be understood that any signal that is capable of providing positioning information is also capable of providing timing information, since position and time are related by the speed of the wireless signal (the speed of light, c). Therefore, discussions in this document about the determination of position apply similarly to the determination of time.

Estimating one or more characteristics of a communications channel


According to an embodiment, a text-to-speech device includes a receiver to receive an input text containing a peculiar expression; a normalizer to normalize the input text based on a normalization rule in which the peculiar expression, a normal expression of the peculiar expression, and an expression style of the peculiar expression are associated, to generate normalized texts; a selector to perform language processing of each normalized text, and select a normalized text based on result of the language processing; a generator generate a series of phonetic parameters representing phonetic expression of the selected normalized text; a modifier modifies a phonetic parameter in the normalized text corresponding to the peculiar expression in the input text based on a phonetic parameter modification method according to the normalization rule of the peculiar expression; and a output unit to output a phonetic sound synthesized using the series of phonetic parameters including the modified phonetic parameter.

In recent years, reading out documents using speech synthesis (TTS: Text To Speech) is getting a lot of attention. Although reading out books has been carried out in the past too; the use of TTS results in making narration recording redundant, thereby making it easier to enjoy the recitation voice. Moreover, regarding blogs or Twitter (registered trademark) in which the written text is updated almost in real time, TTS-based services are being provided these days. As a result of using a TTS-based service, reading of a text can be listened to while doing some other task.
However, when users write texts in a blog or Twitter, some of the users use leet-speak expressions (hereinafter, called "peculiar expressions") that are not found in normal expressions. The person who sends such a text is intentionally expressing some kind of mood using peculiar expressions. However, since peculiar expressions are totally different than the expressions in a normal text, the conventional text-to-speech devices are not able to correctly analyze the text containing peculiar expressions. For that reason, if a conventional text-to-speech device performs speech synthesis of a text containing peculiar expressions; not only it is not possible to reproduce the mood that the sender wished to express, but the reading also turns out to be completely irrational.

Text-to-speech system, text-to-speech method, and computer program product for synthesis modification based upon peculiar expressions


An optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus, for performing at least one of recording and reproduction of information as irradiating a recording medium with a light beam, includes an actuator for moving the light beam relative to the medium, a position detecting circuit for detecting a position of the actuator, a circuit for generating a relative position error signal of the light beam to the medium, a control loop for controlling the actuator in accordance with the relative position error signal, a filter for differentiating an output from the position detecting circuit, and an adder for adding an output from the filter to a signal in the control loop. Another optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus includes an actuator for moving the light beam relative to the medium in a direction traversing the tracks of the medium, a velocity detecting circuit for detecting a velocity of the actuator and outputting a real velocity signal, a circuit for generating a target moving velocity of the light beam, a control loop for controlling the velocity of the actuator, based on the real velocity signal and target velocity signal, a filter for differentiating the real velocity signal, and an adder for adding an output from the filter to a signal in the control loop.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a servo system in optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus (the term "information recording and/or reproducing apparatus" used herein includes all apparatus that perform at least one of recording and reproduction of information), and more particularly, to the optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus having a stabilized loop for reducing the effect of high-frequency secondary resonance of an actuator.
2. Related Background Art
In the optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus that are conventionally available, that is, in the information recording and/or reproducing apparatus of an optical disk, a light beam for recording or reproducing information irradiates the optical disk in the form of a fine spot through an objective lens. An information track or information tracks are formed in a spiral shape or in a concentric shape on the optical disk, and information is sequentially read or written during rotating of the optical disk. The rotation of the optical disk causes surface deviation of the optical disk at a point irradiated by the light spot, and the deviation between the rotational axis and the information track causes track deflection. At this time focus control is carried out to move the objective lens along the optical axis in order to focus the fine spot on the disk information surface. Further, tracking control is also carried out to move the objective lens in the track-traversing direction so as to keep the fine spot continuously to follow up the information track.
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of this focus servo system and tracking servo system. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 designates a target value of the servo system, which is a target position in the focusing direction of the disk information surface in the case of the focusing servo or a target position in the tracking direction of the information track in the case of the tracking servo. Numeral 2 represents a feedback point, from which the difference between the target value 1 and an actual position of the light spot is output as an error signal. In a practical apparatus, this error signal is obtained from an output from a servo sensor, and, in this case, it is a negative feedback point comprising a negative feedback circuit. Numeral 3 is an open-loop gain, where an open-loop transfer gain of the servo loop is collectively set. Numeral 4 denotes a phase compensation block, in which compensation is effected in order to stabilize the servo loop. Specifically, it is the phase compensation block for phase lag compensation in the low frequency region, phase lead compensation in the high frequency region, etc. A torque constant represented by numeral 5 and an actuator represented by numeral 6 comprise a drive torque of the actuator for actually moving the light spot in the focusing or tracking direction, and the actuator.
When a loop of the focusing servo system is set in this manner, the loop operates to stabilize the servo system from the sensor to the focusing actuator so that the characteristic S-shaped curve, for example produced from the difference between cross sensor elements in a quarterly divided focusing sensor, may become zero, whereby the position of the objective in the optical-axis direction is always maintained at the optimum spot point. Similarly, when a loop is set by switching the tracking servo system on, the operation for always continuing following up a predetermined track is carried out by forming a negative feedback loop to the tracking actuator in accordance with an output from the tracking sensor.
Further, the optical disk apparatus has a seek function to greatly move the light spot in the radial direction of the disk in order to permit random access to information. Normally, this function, called a seek for jumping to a track at a remote point, is realized by control for moving the objective lens or the optical head at a high speed by a voice coil type linear motor.
A block diagram of this seek velocity control system is shown in FIG. 2. In the drawing, numeral 35 denotes a target track position, which is an input of data indicating a position of an information track desired to be accessed. Numeral 36 is a residual error calculating block, which subtracts the track position where the light spot is located at present from the target track position 35 and then outputs a remaining distance for access. Numeral 34 represents a target velocity generation block, which outputs a target value for the moving velocity of the light spot according to the remaining distance. Generally, the linear motor for seeking is driven at the drive velocity in a drive profile formed like a parabolic drive, a trapezoid drive, or a triangular drive. Normally, the target velocity follows a profile in which the velocity decreases as the optical head approaches a designated track. The target velocity value 21 generated by the target velocity generation block 34 is input into a feedback point 22. The velocity of the light spot, that is, the velocity of the actuator or linear motor 26 is negatively fed back to the feedback point 22. Thus, an output from the feedback point 22 is a velocity deviation between the target velocity and the actual moving velocity of the light spot.
Further, numeral 23 stands for an open-loop gain of the negative feedback loop from the actuator velocity, which is a block for determining the open-loop gain of the velocity servo loop. Numeral 25 is a torque constant of the actuator or a linear motor, which indicates the sensitivity of the actuator. Numeral 26 designates the actuator or linear motor for moving the light spot, which is a tracking actuator in the case of the apparatus of a single actuator and in the track jump operation during seeking to a near distance. It is a linear motor in the case of the apparatus having a linear motor for moving the optical head.
In the above arrangement, the track jump is carried out as follows: the position of the actuator is detected according to the operation of the actuator or linear motor 26; the residual distance calculating block 36 calculates the difference between the position of the actuator and a component of the target track position; the target velocity generation circuit 34 obtains a target velocity value of the actuator 26 according to the difference component; the feedback point block 22 obtains the difference component between the target velocity value and the current moving velocity 32 of the actuator 26; the difference component is amplified with the gain designated by the open-loop gain block 23 of the negative feedback loop to be converted into the torque constant 25; and the actuator 26 is driven by a torque corresponding to the torque constant thus obtained. In this manner, the track jump of the optical pickup head is carried out to the target track, whereby the optical head reaches the target track through a process of rough seeking and subsequent fine seeking in the case of a two-step seek operation or in the same manner as the track jump mode in the case of a onestep seek operation, and then transferring the device into a tracking servo state.
The above conventional examples, however, exhibit various barriers preventing them from meeting recent demands to improve the performance of optical disk apparatus. In order to increase the information capacity of an optical disk, the information area can be decreased by forming a finer spot using a laser light source of a shorter wavelength. In this case, the pitch of information tracks can be decreased, but the accuracy of tracking control must be enhanced with a decrease of the pitch. Since the depth of focus of the spot becomes shallower, the accuracy of similar focus control must be enhanced.
With an improvement in performance of computers, an increased quantity of data are handed, and enormous volumes of data can be processed within a short time. Under such circumstances, data processing amounts, that is, the transfer rate of the optical disk is also desired to be improved. One way for raising the transfer rate is to increase the rpm of the disk. An increase of the rpm of the disk increases the surface deviation and the acceleration of track deflection, which results in the need to enhance the ability of focusing control and tracking control.
Similarly, the ability to seek control needs to be enhanced in order to raise the access velocity to information.
In conventional apparatus, the control ability of focusing servo was limited by the occurrence of high-frequency secondary resonance of the focusing actuator due to deflection, chattering, or disturbance resulting from low rigidity of the actuator system. FIG. 3 shows Bode diagrams of open-loop transfer characteristics of the closed loop of the conventional focusing control. As shown in the diagrams, the primary resonance frequency appears near 30 Hz and the secondary resonance frequency near 10 kHz, and the phase characteristics show rapid changes at the respective points. Here, if the secondary resonance appears at 10 kHz, as illustrated, because of the structure of the actuator, the loop becomes unstable even if the focus control band is about 3 kHz. Namely, in the case of the focusing servo system as in this example, the control band needs to be set below 3 kHz.
A method for decreasing the negative effect of the secondary resonance is to use a band-attenuation filter, called a notch filter, in the servo loop. The method using the notch filter, however, needs to employ a large Q value of the notch filter in order to decrease the phase shift around the control band so as to secure the stability of the loop. This narrows the frequency range that could be attenuated, and the frequency of the notch filter needs to be accurately coincident with the secondary resonance frequency of the actuator. Since the secondary resonance frequency and characteristics change depending upon the ambient temperature or change with age, the effect of the notch filter cannot be fully attained. Further, because the secondary resonance frequency or characteristics changes apparatus-by-apparatus, adjustment was necessary for every apparatus.
Further, the above method using the notch filter just lowered the peak of secondary resonance in the gain characteristics, but did not improve the phase characteristics. Thus, it was not able to be applied to the secondary resonance near the control band, i.e., near the zero-cross frequency.
The situation is the same as to the tracking control loop. Recent tracking actuators, for example as seen in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-298724, tend to employ a method for performing seek and tracking over the entire surface of the disk with a single actuator. This method with a single actuator can decrease the number of actuators in the apparatus, and, therefore, can realize a low-cost apparatus as decreasing the dissipation power or decreasing the mechanical and control systems associated with drive and control. It is, however, difficult to decrease the secondary resonance or to increase the secondary resonance frequency because of the mechanism. It was thus difficult to enhance control accuracy when the actuator of this type was used.
The same problem arises as to seek control. As discussed above and shown in the block diagram of the seek velocity control system in FIG. 2, the seek operation is carried out under such control that the moving velocity or the position of the light spot is detected and the light spot moves along a target velocity or position profile. If the optical head is moved by a distance of 10 mm for the time of 20 or less ms, as seen these years, the control band during seeking needs to be set considerably high. However, the negative effect of secondary resonance of the seek actuator hindered a rise of the control band.
It is also possible to take a countermeasure using the notch filter against the secondary resonance in the case of the seek control, but the same problem as explained above as to the focus control arose in that case.

Optical information recording and/or reproducing apparatus improved in servo characteristics