An information processing device, for aiding operations relating to position and orientation of a virtual object positioned in three-dimensional space, comprises: an image-taking unit for taking images in real space in order to display the virtual object in a superimposed manner on real space; a synthesizing unit for synthesizing a virtual object with the taken image; an operating unit for operating the position and orientation of the virtual object; an aiding unit for obtaining a three-dimensional position of real space from external instructions, and obtaining a constraining shape for aiding in operations for the position and orientation of the virtual object; wherein the position and orientation of the virtual object are operated by instructions from the operating unit, based on constraint conditions based on the constraining shape obtained by the aiding unit. Thus, constraining shapes can be dynamically created in a compounded space, and virtual objects can be readily operated using constraining shapes even where constraining shapes have not been registered beforehand.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to operating a virtual object in compounded real space.
2. Description of the Related Art
With regard to operating a virtual object using an operating device capable of six-degree-of-freedom operations, there is a method for aiding operations so that the operations made by the user are those desired by the user, by using limited physical laws. For example, in the event of attempting to move a virtual object placed on a plane in a certain virtual space to a different position on the same plane, instead of moving the virtual object by reflecting the six-degree-of-freedom operations input from the user without change, the virtual object is moved over the two-dimensional plane while imitating gravitational and collision effects, which results in operations more intuitive to the user. Also, with regard to performing rotating operations on the plane, restricting the rotations to those on a single axis wherein a normal vector perpendicular to the plane serves as the axis realizes the operations intended by the user more than simultaneously operating parallel movement components and tri-axial rotations all at the same time. Now, a plane which provides the restrictions on the operations of the virtual object by means of a single plane is referred to as a "constraining plane", and a collection of constraining planes, configured of multiple planes, is referred to as a "constraining shape".
Conventionally, the virtual object in the virtual space was modeled beforehand and input, and the model was used as a constraining shape. In the event of realizing this method in virtual space, a virtual object and a constraining shape are represented in a single space, so setting the constraining shape was simple. On the other hand, with realizing a compounded space, precise position of the two spaces, i.e., real space and virtual space, is a crucial element, requiring accurate numerical expression model representations or shape model representations on the real space in order to correlate the constraining shape to the real space. The reason is that the model to be set to the constraining shape cannot be something which the user sets by eye estimation but rather must be a model corresponding to the shape of the real space. In the event that the virtual object is operated using a numerical expression model of a plane not matching a plane in the real space, as the constraining plane, spatial non-continuity between the virtual space and real space occurs, such as the virtual object floating above or moving below the plane in the real space. Upon experiencing such non-continuity, the user will feel that the inability for objects in the real space to affect the virtual object is unnatural, and may not be able to perform intuitive operations. However, precise modeling of constraining shapes in the real space requires that margin of error in the input of geometrically accurate shapes and in the environment to be realized (margin of error in sensor measurement, margin of error with regard to displacement of sensors, etc.) has to be taken into consideration as well, so realization has been difficult.
Thus, there has been the need to prepare precise numerical expression models and shape models beforehand in order to realize the method for aiding operations of virtual objects by affecting objects in real space, and further, this operating method could only be used where models have been prepared.

Information processing device and method for aiding control operations relating to controlling the position and orientation of a virtual object and method for changing the positioning and orientation of a virtual object


A controller mounted in a work machine limits a velocity at which a work device approaches a design surface to be equal to or lower than a predetermined limiting velocity in such a manner that the work machine is located above the design surface when an operation device is operated. The controller determines whether a work phase of the work device is compaction work on the basis of a posture of a bucket with respect to the design surface in a case in which the operation device instructs the work device to approach the design surface, and sets the limiting velocity when determining that the work phase of the work device is the compaction work to be higher than the limiting velocity when determining that the work phase of the work device is other than the compaction work.

It is known that a hydraulic excavator, which is one type of a work machine, has a region limiting function to control a multijoint front work device (often simply referred to as a work device) in such a manner as to prevent penetration of a control point (for example, bucket claw tip) of the work device into a design surface.
Such a region limiting function can keep the control point of the work device onto the design surface by setting a velocity at which the work device moves toward the design surface to be lower as a distance between the control point of the work device and the design surface is smaller, and setting to zero the velocity at which the work device moves toward the design surface when the distance between the control point of the work device and the design surface is zero.
However, in actual work, not only finishing work for moving the control point (bucket claw tip) along the design surface to form a flat surface but also compaction work such as bumping for pushing a back surface of a bucket against a ground and compacting earth and sand by a boom lowering action is often necessary. Owing to this, if the velocity in a direction of the design surface is set lower near the design surface by the region limiting function described above on a scene where the compaction work is necessary, problems occur that a force of pushing the back surface of the bucket against the ground weakens and that it is impossible to conduct operator's intended work or an operator has a feeling of strangeness for an operation.
In Patent Document 1, for example, it is determined that a work phase is compaction work in a case in which a ratio (a1/A1) of a low-pass filtered boom operation signal (a1) to an actual boom operation signal (A1) is lower than a constant (r1) smaller than 1. In addition, Patent Document 1 discloses that favorable compaction work can be conducted by setting to be higher a limiting velocity of the work device or cancelling limitations when it is determined that the work phase is compaction work, compared with work other than the compaction work.

HITACHI CONSTRUCTION MACHINERY CO., LTD.


An attachment fitting for the fastening of a part provided with a rod onto a wall, the attachment fitting having the shape of a shank of plastics material comprising a base forming a cup for receiving a washer with claws whereas above the base are provided elastically deformable tongues allowing to clip the shank into the aperture of a wall while positively retaining the washer within the cup of the base, the attachment fitting being applicable in particular to the fastening of a shield onto a metal sheet belonging to the body of an automotive vehicle.

The present invention relates essentially to a device for fastening any part whatsoever provided with a rod or pin to a wall.
When it is desired to secure a part such for instance as a plate or a shield onto a wall such as a metal sheet forming a part of the body of a vehicle, the rod or pin initially solid with the part is passed through an aperture formed in the metal sheet and on the other side of the metal sheet there is proceeded with the fastening by means of any system whatsoever such as a nut, a clip or the like.
Such a fastening exhibits a number of inconveniences. At first in order to proceed with a fastening, both sides or faces of the metal sheet should be accessible. Moreover the fastening requires some skilfulness from the operator and it may not be carried out very quickly in view in particular of the groping handling steps it is necessary to do. To this should be added the fact that such a fastening gives rise to corrosion problems due to the metal members in direct contact with each other.

Fastening attachment fitting of a part provided with a rod onto a wall


A method and system for service management of a complex network including: computing, at a computer, a weather impact score for geographic areas within a coverage area of a satellite; predicting, based on the weather impact score for each of the geographic areas, a degradation of at least one of the satellite links serving a respective geographic area; and sending a notification about the degradation. The method may include calculating, with a computer, a peak Quality of Service (QoS) for each of the satellite links; aggregating, for a duration, transmission errors to calculate an actual QoS for each of the satellite links; and displaying a drill-down dashboard comprising a color-code for each of the satellite links, wherein the color-code corresponds to a severity of a respective discrepancy between a respective peak QoS and a respective actual QoS of a respective satellite link.

A complex network system may include tens of thousands of network elements for providing Internet service to more than a million customers. With such a complex and growing network, Network Operations Center (NOC), Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) and Network engineers need to evaluate larger amounts of data, from an ever-growing number of sources. The data needs to be understood quickly in order to solve problems as they arise.
The prior art fails to quickly identify degradations or outages of transport networks, network equipment, weather event impacts. Without quick identification and conveyance of the issues to the necessary parties, remedies cannot be implemented quickly and user satisfaction suffers.

Adaptive rule based engine for QoS computations of internet services over satellite


A movable bulk storage bin for ice or other friable materials including a head rack base, tail rack base, drive end base, and discharge end base which fasten into pre-punched attachment holes to form a foundation frame. Corner posts mounted on the foundation frame are notched to receive a plurality of wall panels for containment of the material which is deposited via conveying means into the top of the bulk storage bin. Located within the foundation frame and parallel to the rack bases is a discharge conveyor which receives material such as ice from a traversing auger. A rack and pinion gear at each end of the traversing auger, in cooperation with carriages and drive motors, causes the traversing auger to rotate and to travel the length of the bin. The traversing auger is provided with opposite hand helical flighting having cutting teeth disposed thereon. As it travels the length of the bin while simultaneously rotating, the traversing auger undercuts the mass of material stored in the bin and conveys it into the discharge conveyor.

The present invention relates to preparing fresh food products such as fish or produce for shipment from the site of harvesting to market, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for providing easily movable and quickly erectable portable large capacity bins for bulk storage and dispensing of ice or other similar materials.
It is important that the grower and the fisherman be able to quickly cool their product at the site of harvesting, namely, at the dock or in the field. Otherwise, poor quality food may be delivered to the consumer due to inability of the grower or fisherman to quickly cool his product to reduce pathological decay rates. Produce and seafood require large volumes of ice for cooling, but this requirement is seasonal. Because fixed ice plants are expensive, it is not practical to operate them for only two months out of the year. Hence, the growth of the agricultural and seafood business has been hindered because the grower or fisherman has been unable to quickly cool his product at the production site.
The trend in recent times is to provide portable icing systems which may be rapidly and safely moved from site to site to provide icing services thereby allowing for near annual use of the system and greatly reducing the cost when compared to under-utilized fixed ice plants. Currently, portable ice generators and portable ice application equipment are available and are used extensively. Ice storage, however, has largely been a problem in portable icing systems due to the large volumetric, structural, and cost requirements. As a result, ice has been stored by dumping it on a concrete pad, either in an exterior or interior location and manually shoveling it or using earth moving equipment, removing the ice from the pile and depositing it into conveyor means for transport to the ice application equipment. This method results in health, safety, and sanitation problems as well as wasted energy and water due to the high melt rate of uninsulated storage areas.
With the growing inability of electric utilities to meet peak demand loads, the storage component of a typical ice system takes on more importance by providing the ability to generate ice during "off-peak" periods and to utilize the inventory of ice from the storage during "on-peak" periods. This form of thermal energy storage can reduce on-peak electrical load to near 90%.
The automatic and sanitary handling of fragmentary ice in an ice storage bin has historically presented an exceedingly difficult problem. Fragmentary ice stored in a storage bin tends to fuse together and become difficult to move. As a result, fragmentary ice in bulk storage is difficult to handle because it is virtually incapable of flowing out of the bin by gravity. The inability of bulk fragmentary ice to flow by gravity has been recognized and the prior art has employed a device known as an ice rake to facilitate the handling of bulk ice. An ice rake is a type of drag conveyor which contacts the top of a pile of ice and is maintained in contact therewith by cables and weights.
Typically, ice rakes are positioned horizontally on an ice mass within the ice storage bin and serve to remove the fragmentary ice from the top of the pile to a discharge conveyor. Such systems have the disadvantage that they require considerable overhead clearance for the pulleys, cables, and motors required to maintain the ice rake in a horizontal position and to control the movement of the ice rake. In addition, such devices typically require a cumbersome counterweight movement mechanism in order to raise the ice rake to refill the bin with a new supply of fragmentary ice.
Various bin unloading systems have been proposed for materials other than fragmentary ice; however, many of them are inappropriate for use in the sanitary environment required for the storage and handling of ice. In particular, many of the conveying devices used for other materials have motors and gears located within the storage bin, which could lead to the introduction of grease or other impurities into the ice bin. Bin unloading systems such as these are therefore inappropriate for use in bulk ice storage bins.
Rakes often are raised and lowered by timing devices, and misjudgment of ice flow or ascent of rake frame can bury frames in ice. Thus, there is a need for a suitable mechanism for use in ice storage bins in order to provide efficient, sanitary unloading of fragmentary ice that has fused together. The present invention is directed toward filling that need.

Portable ice storage and dispensing system


An adjustable ski track width mechanism allows adjusting the ski track between a narrow ski track width and a wide ski track width. The adjustable ski track width mechanism includes a steering mechanism that provides correct steering geometry and corresponding steering characteristics regardless of the narrow ski track width or the wide ski track width. The adjustable ski track width mechanism can be adjusted by the operator or automatically depending on operator preference or terrain conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a track width and steering mechanism for vehicles. More particularly, the present invention relates to adjusting a track width of snow vehicle skis without significantly changing steering characteristics.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of snowmobiles and similar snow vehicles has increased in popularity in recent years. These vehicles are being used both for utilitarian purposes and for sport and recreational purposes. The vehicles typically are adapted to travel across snow and/or ice and usually include two forward facing skis along with a driven belt track or other propulsion mechanism, e.g., wheels.
Snowmobiles are controlled through the use of weight shifting and steering movement of the front steering skis. A wide ski track (i.e., a distance between the skis) offers greater stability and ease of use. A narrow ski track offers a more nimble and exhilarating ride. For example, when operating the snowmobile in a relaxed atmosphere or when carrying a passenger, the operator may prefer a more stable, comfortable ride. However when the operator wants to operate the snowmobile on a racetrack or when the operator wants to bank the snowmobile much like a motorcycle or maneuver tight corners, the operator may prefer a narrower ski track.


An external bodily vessel support comprising an elongate body with a longitudinal axis and an interior to be brought into apposition with an exterior of the bodily vessel. The elongate body including a tubular fabric of a plurality of threads, the body when in a relaxed configuration having a relaxed length and being sized and shaped to fit over of the exterior of the bodily vessel, the tubular fabric being longitudinally elastic to maintain the length with an axial stiffness of at least 0.1 N/m.

The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to mechanical supports for bodily vessels, and in particular to external supports for elongated blood vessels such as peripheral or coronary arterial bypasses grafts.
Arterial occlusive disease, most commonly atherosclerosis, underlies most peripheral arterial disease. Most of the atherosclerotic blockages are found in the lower extremity. As vessel narrowing increases, critical limb ischemia (CLI) can develop when the blood flow does not meet the metabolic demands of tissue at rest. While CLI may be due to an acute condition such as an embolus or thrombosis, most cases are the progressive result of a chronic condition, most commonly atherosclerosis.
A peripheral vascular bypass, also called a lower extremity bypass, is the surgical rerouting of blood flow around an obstructed artery that supplies blood to the legs and feet. The three common peripheral vascular bypass surgeries are aortobifemoral bypass surgery, which reroutes blood from the abdominal aorta to the two femoral arteries in the groin; femoropopliteal bypass surgery, which reroutes blood from the femoral artery to the popliteal arteries above or below the knee and femorotibial bypass surgery, which reroutes blood between the femoral artery and the tibial artery. A substitute vessel or graft must be used in bypass surgeries to reroute the blood. The graft may be a healthy segment of the patient's own saphenous vein (autogenous graft), a vein that runs the entire length of the thigh. A synthetic graft may be used if the patient's saphenous vein is not healthy or long enough, or if the vessel to be bypassed is a larger artery that cannot be replaced by a smaller vein.
In recent years, angioplasty has supplanted peripheral bypass surgery as the first-line therapy for patients with CLI. Endovascular revascularization has become acceptable as a minimally invasive technique that is associated with low morbidity and mortality, reduced hospital costs, and decreased length of hospitalization. The main tradeoff is shorter durability when compared with the surgical alternative, which is still considered optimal strategy for patients that are capable of withstanding an open surgical procedure, and having life expectancy of over two years.
Intimal hyperplasia and tissue modulation are still considered main cause of vein graft failures in arterial bypass surgeries. These failures are accompanied by significant amounts of disability and limb loss resulting in increased resource utilization for the health care system and in a diminished quality of life for the patient. Veins placed in the arterial circulation as bypass conduits are universally subjected to acute increases in pressure and pulsatile hemodynamics, resulting in acute increases in wall shear and radial stress. Trauma during harvesting, pre-bypass morphological changes, and ischemia reperfusion during the procedure may impact the ability of the vein to adapt to these forces.
Externally supporting the graft with an external device has the potential to reduce wall stress and cyclic stretching of medial and endothelial cells and reduce diameter mismatch between the vein graft and the artery, all of which might be expected to reduce wall thickening. The efficacy of external support to the graft has been studied by several groups over the past few years and the findings from pre-clinical studies demonstrated significant inhibition of neointimal formation, reduction of atherosclerosis plaques and overall graft thickening reduction comparing to non-supported grafts.
Prior publications describing grafts provided with external supports or layers commonly suggest bonding of the external support to selectively cover the graft, optionally by using glue or sutures. Exemplary publications include U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,659 to Zurbrugg and U.S. Pat. No. 7,998,188 to Zilla et al., the disclosures of which are fully incorporated herein by reference. Such grafts may be provided to the medical practitioners readily covered and supported, or that the medical practitioners or their supporting team are instructed to bond the graft and the external support together prior to grafting. The latter scenario may be time consuming and bothersome to the medical team and may derive special training and expertise in materials bonding and preparations so that the finalized artifact will be satisfactory prepared in a timely manner.
International patent application published as WO 2010/058406 to Orion et al., the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference, describes a plastically deformable external support which further allows shaping and casting of the graft once deployed thereto. The plastic deformity allows the practicing surgeon to shape such external supports to a self-fixating form characterized with a final length, diameter and/or contour, with minimal elasticity and/or spring-back, thereby diminishing the need to use other means to maintain relative positioning and coverage of the graft and the external support.
Further needs stand out when a graft is substantially long, as for example in peripheral bypass surgeries, where it is common to use grafts which are longer than 20 cm and may even extend up to 50 cm, 60 cm and even more. External supports covering long vein grafts in legs and arms, for example, are prone to encounter substantial axial forces, shortening and/or fraying caused by internal radial pressure or by external forces commonly associated with proximity to skin surface and normal function of the limb. Therefore, there is a need to develop external supports also for supporting long grafts, being capable of resisting axially compressing forces while substantially maintaining chosen length, diameter and/or structure while not shifting or displacing from a needed vein graft coverage form, and while obviating the need for external bonding means such as adhesives, clips and sutures.

External support for elongated bodily vessels


A method of using a burner-based system to produce diesel exhaust gas that contains particulate matter of a desired composition, to simulate the PM matter in exhaust produced by a production-type diesel internal combustion engine.

Numerous test methods have been used in the past to simulate aging and regeneration of diesel aftertreatment components. The use of production diesel engines for such testing has presented many disadvantages including inconsistent operability, intensive maintenance, and expensive operating costs.
One component of diesel exhaust is unburned carbon particulates. The particulates generally are removed from the exhaust using a diesel particulate filter. In the past, a diesel particulate filter was aged by exposing it to diesel exhaust created by a diesel engine, thereby loading the filter with particulates. The diesel engine could be installed on a test stand in a laboratory or on a motor vehicle. The engine had to be run cyclically at various speed and load conditions to simulate aging of the diesel particulate filter.
Because of difficulties associated with using engines, burner-based systems have been developed to produce exhaust and otherwise simulate the operating conditions for various aftertreatment devices.

Method for producing diesel exhaust with particulate material for testing diesel engine aftertreatment devices


A lens barrel is provided. The lens barrel includes a first cylinder that includes at least one continuous groove on an interior surface thereof. The at least one continuous groove includes a trough of a helicoidal screw and a circumferential groove formed in a circumferential direction with respect to the first cylinder and formed in continuation with the trough of the helicoidal screw. The lens barrel also includes a second cylinder that includes a crest of a helicoidal screw that engages with the trough of the helicoidal screw and the circumferential groove and that is formed on outer circumference of the second cylinder. The crest of the helicoidal screw is formed of first material. A part of the crest of the helicoidal screw includes a reinforcement structure formed of a second material that is a different material from the first material.

1. Field of the Invention
A lens barrel that includes a lens in a body and an associated methodology of actuating the lens barrel in an appointed direction are provided. A camera, a digital camera, a portable information terminal and an image input device including the lens barrel are also provided.
2. Discussion of the Background
Whether a lens barrel is in a state in which it is loaded in a camera body or whether a lens barrel is in a state in which it is divided, as, for example, a single-lens reflex camera, by a camera body, the lens barrel might in either case be shocked if it is dropped by mistake, or if it collides with other things.
In a state in which the lens barrel is configured to photograph, for example, if a cam follower or a crest of a helicoidal screw of the lens barrel are compromised by a shock, or if a cam groove or a groove in a circumferential direction of the lens barrel are transformed by a shock, it may make it more difficult to smoothly operate a transfer of the taking lens which is performed by the cam follower and the cam groove or by the crest of a helicoidal screw and the groove in a circumference direction.
Japanese registration patent 3,288,918 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 09-230192) describes that because an end of side after a cam groove of a cylindrical member has a shocked aspect, a cam follower that is made from a ring member and a metallic pin, it can be prevented from damaging at the time of a shock.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-344744 describes that because a tip inside of a cam groove of a cylindrical member holds a metal reinforcement link, it can be prevented from being damaged at the time of a shock.
Japanese registration patent 2,864,363 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 08-211272) describes that it makes dampen power added to a moving frame through two supporting member and it is includes a guide pin.
However, although the above-noted documents describe the cam follower and the reinforcement of the cam groove, they do not describe a prevention of destruction when a crest of a helicoidal screw on the lens barrel is shocked in an optical axis direction.


An electrical cable includes an insulated electrical conductor having first and second ends. At least one coupler is attached to the insulated electrical conductor between the first and second ends. The coupler includes a body having first and second surfaces. The first surface has a groove defined therein for coupling the cable to a complimentary shaped raised rib, and the second surface has a raised rib located thereon for coupling the cable to a surface defining a complimentary shaped groove.

The interconnection of electrical devices, such as the components of audiovisual systems, has often been a minor headache for the purchasers of such equipment. Often, a significant number of terminals are to be connected, which is confusing to the purchaser, and the resulting plethora of cables is unsightly.
One existing way of dealing with this problem has been through the use of cable ties which are used to group a series of cables together. The use of such cable ties is not particularly efficient, and the cable ties generally need to be cut in order to rearrange the cables.
Accordingly, there is a need for a convenient means of arranging cables. This is particularly true in the home entertainment field, where more and more audio and video components are interconnected to form integrated home entertainment systems.

Electrical cable including stackable couplers


A method of generating three-dimensional nanostructures that includes providing a silicon substrate, creating a porous silicon template from the silicon substrate, wherein the template is created to have a predetermined configuration, depositing a predetermined material on the porous silicon template, and removing the porous silicon template from the deposited material to leave a freestanding nanostructure.

Synthesis of materials using nanostructured templates has emerged as a useful and versatile technique to generate ordered nanostructures. Conventionally, templates consisting of materials such as microporous membranes, zeolites, and crystalline colloidal arrays have been used to construct elaborate electronic, mechanical or optical structures. However, these templates are not amenable to precise and accurate patterning techniques, limiting their respective applications as templates. In addition, to the inventors' knowledge, there is no general, rapid method to construct designed, complicated optical filters such as one-dimensional photonic crystals from common engineering materials such as plastics, polymers, or resins. Most methods used to prepare optical filters such as dielectric stacks rely on lamination or vapor deposition routes, and the complexity of the process increases with the complexity of the desired optical filter characteristics. Self-assembly routes, such as the spontaneous ordering that occurs when colloidal beads are allowed to pack tightly together, do not allow the design of an optical structure with arbitrarily chosen spectral features. Moreover, while silicon, porous silicon, SiO2 and alumina-based materials are readily configured according to precise specifications, the chemical and mechanical stability of porous silicon, SiO2 and alumina for a variety of applications has historically presented a significant problem.

Nanostructured casting of organic and bio-polymers in porous silicon templates


A method of failure detection on an Internet Protocol (IP) forwarding plane, which includes: IP nodes of the two ends obtain Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) identifier information which is used in the BFD, moreover start a BFD session, encapsulate and transport a BFD packet between the IP nodes running the BFD session and implement the failure detection according to the BFD packet transported between the IP nodes. The method of this invention realizes the failure detection via starting the BFD session and via transporting the BFD packet between the inter-domain IP nodes or the intra-domain IP nodes.

Along with the development of communication techniques, how to reliably transmit a data service and how to locate the failure quickly when there is a failure during transmitting the data have become important problems that need to be resolved urgently. Therefore, the BFD has emerged as the time requires as a fast detection mechanism. The BFD detects the links via a fast Hello mechanism with a negotiated speed rate.
The BFD can be used for detecting the correctness of various transmissions, such as an Ethernet, a Multiple Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) path, a common route encapsulation and an Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) tunnel.
The BFD fundamentally develops from basic transport techniques, therefore the BFD can detect the failure on any layer of the network. The objective of the BFD is to provide a failure detection mechanism with a low cost and a short detecting period on the path between adjacent routers. The adjacent routers are the routers that connect with each other via one or several logic links, but not limited to one hop between the routers. The BFD can perform a failure detection of an interface, a data link and an extended forwarding engine itself.
The BFD, as a method of failure detection in a lightweight link or a node or an interface, has great advantages in the failure detection on a data plane. At present, the BFD defines a status machine for implementing the failure detection and some necessary parameters for setting up and maintaining a BFD session, and expresses the status machine and the parameters with a data load, such that diversified protocols and media can use the status machine and the parameters mentioned above as the data load while adopting the BFD as a failure detection mechanism on the data plane. However, the BFD itself does not define a method about how to start the BFD session in any media and protocols. Thereby, if adopting the BFD to implement the failure detection on a data plane, there is no detailed implementation scheme at present.
At present, a method about how to adopt the BFD as a Label Switching Path (LSP) failure detection in the MPLS network and an encapsulating method for a BFD load in the MPLS are defined. Meanwhile for the BFD session startup, a method of failure detection on the MPLS LSP data plane is adopted. The corresponding intra-domain LSP detected is as shown in FIG. 1. The intra-domain LSP can be a path between Label Switching Router (LSR) A and LSR B in Domain A. The corresponding inter-domain LSP detected is as shown in FIG. 2. The inter-domain LSP can be a path between LSR A and LSR B located in Domain A and Domain B respectively. In addition, an encapsulation is defined, in which the BFD load is taken as a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) load.
However, the foregoing technique scheme with regard to a method for the MPLS LSP adopting the BFD to implement the failure detection does not take into account the method for adopting the BFD to implement the failure detection on the IP forwarding plane.

Method of failure detection in an IP forwarding plane


A motor vehicle front end has a heat exchanger and a cooling-air mechanism for controlling a supply of air to the heat exchanger. The cooling-air mechanism includes: a downwardly opening air inlet opening; and an air flap, which corresponds to the air inlet opening, and which, at its top edge, is articulatable on a body part in a pivotable manner via a pivot joint. The air flap is configured such that, in its closed position, it closes off the air inlet opening, and in its operative position, it opens up the air inlet opening, and as seen in a direction of travel of the motor vehicle, is situated in front of the air inlet opening.

The cooling-air mechanism of a motor vehicle front end may have, as a single or additional air inlet, a downwardly opening air inlet opening which is generally arranged beneath a front bumper. A downwardly opening air inlet opening is to be understood in the present case as meaning an air inlet opening which opens in the downward direction to an appreciable extent and not exclusively in the forward direction, that is to say whose opening plane is forwardly inclined at less than 60° with respect to the horizontal.
DE 10 2015 105 567 A1 discloses a cooling-air mechanism with an obliquely downwardly opening lower air inlet opening which is assigned a spoiler, the spoiler, in the rest position, being folded inward and aerodynamically ineffective, and in the operative position, forming a small spoiler lip in the air inlet opening. A disadvantage of this cooling-air mechanism is inter alia that the air inlet opening is open at all times and, according to driving state or incident flow speed of the air, brings about an undesirably high propulsion resistance and/or front axle lift.

Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft


A semiconductor device including a first connecting member including a first electrode; a second connecting member including a second electrode; and an anisotropic conductive film between the first connecting member and the second connecting member, the anisotropic conductive film bonding the first electrode to the second electrode, wherein the anisotropic conductive film exhibits linear indentations in an inter-terminal space of the second connecting member after pre-compression and primary compression of the anisotropic conductive film onto the first and second connecting members.

1. Field
Embodiments relate to a semiconductor device bonded by an anisotropic conductive film.
2. Description of the Related Art
Anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) may refer to film-shaped adhesives in which conductive particles, e.g., metal particles including nickel or gold particles or metal-coated polymer particles, are dispersed in a resin, e.g., an epoxy resin. Anisotropic conductive films, which may be formed of polymer layers having electric anisotropy and adhesiveness, may exhibit conductive properties in a thickness direction of the films and insulating properties in a surface or lateral direction thereof.
When an anisotropic conductive film is disposed between circuit boards and is subjected to heating and compression under certain conditions, circuit terminals of the circuit boards may be electrically connected through conductive particles, and an insulating adhesive resin may fill spaces between adjacent circuit terminals to isolate the conductive particles from each other, thereby providing high insulation performance between the circuit terminals.

Semiconductor device bonded by anisotropic conductive film


For controlling an original interruption request produced in each of peripheral units (12-1 to 12-N), the peripheral units are connected to an interruption control line (20) in common. When the original interruption request is produced, the peripheral unit in question continuously supplies an interruption control signal to the interruption control line unless the interruption control line is already supplied with the interruption control signal from other peripheral units. A timer circuit (23) of the peripheral unit in question times a preselected time interval from a time instant at which the peripheral unit in question begins to supply the interruption control signal to the interruption control line. The timer circuit suspends its operation while an interruption request line (10) is supplied with an interruption request signal from other peripheral units. When the time interval is timed, the peripheral unit in question continuously supplies the interruption request signal to the interruption request line. The time intervals of the timer circuits of the peripheral units are different from each other.

This invention relates to an interruption controlling system for controlling a processing interruption request signal.
An interruption controlling system of the type described, generally comprises an interruption request signal line, a main processor unit connected to the interruption request signal line, and first through N-th peripheral units, each connected to the interruption request signal line, where N represents an integer greater than one. The interruption controlling system is for controlling the processing interruption request signal which is produced by each of the first through the N-th peripheral units for the main processor unit to be supplied to the interruption request signal line.
The main processor unit comprises a main processor connected to the interruption request signal line for accepting, as an accepted interruption request signal, the processing interruption request signal from the interruption request signal line.
The first through the N-th peripheral units are similar in structure to each other. Each of the first through the N-th peripheral units comprises a subsidiary processor for producing an original interruption request signal.
As will later be described, each of the first through the N-th peripheral units has input and output interruption control terminals in a conventional interruption controlling system. The output interruption control terminal of the first peripheral unit is connected to the input interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit. Likewise, the output interruption control terminal of the (N-1)-th peripheral unit is connected to the input interruption control terminal of the N-th peripheral unit.
Merely for brevity of description, it will be assumed that N is equal to four and that the subsidiary processor of a second peripheral unit succeeding the first peripheral unit produces the original interruption request signal. In this case, the second peripheral unit processes the original interruption request signal into an interruption control signal of a low level to continuously supply the interruption control signal to the output interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit unless the input interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit is already supplied with the interruption control signal of the low level.
While a third peripheral unit succeeding the second peripheral unit receives the interruption control signal of the low level through the input interruption control terminal of the third peripheral unit from the output interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit, the third peripheral unit continuously supplies the interruption control signal of the low level to the output interruption control terminal of the third peripheral unit to thereby supply the interruption control signal of the low level to the input interruption control terminal of the fourth peripheral unit.
Thereafter, the second peripheral unit processes the original interruption request signal into the processing interruption request signal to continuously supply the processing interruption request signal to the interruption request signal line unless the input interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit is already supplied with the interruption control signal of the low level.
With this structure, the first peripheral unit has a highest priority of interruption. The second peripheral unit has a highest priority of interruption except the first peripheral unit. The fourth peripheral unit has a lowest priority among the first through the fourth peripheral units. Such priorities of interruption for the peripheral units are determined by connecting relationship among the peripheral units.
Inasmuch as an interruption control signal line is necessary in connecting the output interruption control terminal of the first peripheral unit to the input interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit independently of a different interruption control signal line which is necessary in connecting the output interruption control terminal of the second peripheral unit to the input interruption control terminal of the third peripheral unit, connection between the peripheral units by using the interruption control signal lines is inevitably complicated as the number of the peripheral units increases. From this viewpoint, it is desirable to provide an interruption controlling system wherein the priorities of interruption for the peripheral units are determined independently of the connecting relationship among the peripheral units.

Interruption controlling system using timer circuits


An image forming apparatus which is capable of reducing a color misalignment in a color overlapping process, and a color misalignment due to variation of the circumferential length of an intermediate transfer member due to an environmental change over time during a successive copy operation. The image forming apparatus carries out image formation by primarily transferring an image electrophotographically formed on an image carrier onto the rotatably driven intermediate transfer member, and then secondarily transferring the images on the intermediate transfer member onto a recording medium. An image forming operation of primarily transferring the image onto the intermediate transfer member is controlled according to the length of the intermediate transfer member in a circumferentially moving direction thereof and a variation of a predetermined parameter relating to the intermediate transfer member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, a control method therefor and a program for implementing the control method, and more particularly relates to an image forming apparatus that electrophotographically forms an image on a recording medium, by primarily transferring a toner image formed on a photosensitive member onto an intermediate transfer member, and then secondarily transferring the toner image on the intermediate transfer member onto the recording medium, such as a copying machine, a multifunction apparatus, and a printer, as well as a control method for the image forming apparatus and a program for implementing the control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known an image forming apparatus that electrophotographically forms an image, such as a copying machine, a multifunction apparatus, and a printer, in which a toner image formed on a photosensitive member is once primarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer member, the toner image is then secondarily transferred onto a recording medium such as a recording sheet or an OHP sheet, and the toner image on the recording medium is fixed, thereby forming an image. As the intermediate transfer member used in the above described transfer, a drum-shaped intermediate transfer member and a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member are actually used. The intermediate transfer belt method using the belt-shaped intermediate transfer member is currently attracting attention due to it being advantageous in saving installation space in an image forming apparatus since the miniaturization of image forming apparatuses has been desired these days.
When a full-color image is formed by an image forming apparatus that carries out the transfer using the intermediate transfer belt, since it is difficult to form overlapped toner images on the photosensitive member, toner images of three colors of yellow, cyan, and magenta or those of four colors including black in addition to these three colors are sequentially primarily transferred from the photosensitive member onto the intermediate transfer belt, and the toner images of the full color overlapped on the intermediate transfer belt are secondarily transferred onto a recording medium at once, thereby forming a full-color image.
To achieve a good image quality of the full-color image obtained by the above described process, it is necessary to accurately align the multi-color toner images to be overlapped on the intermediate transfer belt. Specifically, if the toner images in three colors or four colors are slightly displaced from the position in which they are to be overlapped, the resulting image has a color completely different from that of the original image formed on a medium such as an original, which necessitates carrying out the accurate alignment.
Conventionally, to accurately align multi-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt, a reference mark serving as a reference of the image formation timing is provided at a predetermined position on the intermediate transfer belt, the reference mark is detected by an optical sensor or the like provided at a predetermined position on a conveying path for the intermediate transfer belt, and the image forming process is started in predetermined timing after the detection of the reference mark so that the multi-color toner images are primarily transferred and overlapped at a given position on the intermediate transfer belt. In addition, other improved techniques have been proposed for more accurate alignment of multi-color toner images (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (Kokai) No. H7-92763 and No. H7-281536).
However, if the image formation is carried out successively using these conventional methods, a defect may occur in the image due to degradation of the intermediate transfer belt. Specifically, according to these methods, since the toner images are always overlapped at a certain area on the intermediate transfer belt, there occurs such a phenomenon that an aging change of the state of a conducting agent inside the intermediate transfer belt causes a decrease in the resistance value of that area on the intermediate transfer belt. Such decrease in the resistance value of the specific area on the intermediate transfer belt causes a difference in primary and second transferability between the area having the decreased resistance and the other areas, and an image defect such as a void becomes remarkable when a large halftone image is formed across the area having the decreased resistance value and another area.
To solve this problem, there has been proposed a technique that a plurality of reference marks are provided on the intermediate transfer belt, any one of these reference marks is detected by a photo sensor, the timing of exposure on the photosensitive members is controlled to predetermined timing so as to accurately align multi-color toner images formed, and at the same time, primarily transfer the toner images at different positions on the intermediate transfer belt (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H8-146698).
When the timing of the image forming process is controlled based on the plurality of reference marks provided on the intermediate transfer belt as above, an identification mark should be added to each reference mark for identification, and the control should be carried out while the identification mark is identified using a sensor. Specifically, for example, if a yellow toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt with reference to a reference mark "a" provided at a predetermined position on the intermediate transfer belt, the reference mark "a" must be also used as a reference when the next toner image such as a cyan toner image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt to overlap the next toner image on the yellow toner image. If another reference mark "b" is used as a reference, a color misalignment occurs.
However, there is such a case where the sensor cannot identify the identification mark added to the reference mark on the intermediate transfer belt which rotates in synchronism with the speed of image formation on the recording medium. Particularly, recently, high speed image formation has been required, so that it is difficult for the sensor to accurately read the identification marks on the intermediate transfer belt which rotates at a high speed for such high speed image formation. Although this problem can be solved by using a high performance sensor which can accurately read the identification marks even if the intermediate transfer belt is rotating at a high speed, such a sensor is disadvantageous in terms of cost. Apart from this problem, there is a problem that the identification marks disappear when the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is cleaned using a cleaning blade, and consequently the sensor cannot read the identification marks on the intermediate transfer belt. In these cases, the proper timing control cannot be carried out, and as a result, a color misalignment may occur.
Further, if the timing of the image forming process is controlled based on the plurality of reference marks provided on the intermediate transfer belt as described above, after preparation for (toner) image formation for a first color has been completed, a first reference mark is detected and then image formation is started. As a result, at least a wait time period from the completion of preparation for the image formation to the detection of the first reference mark is added to a FCOT (first copy out time) for the full-color image formation.
Therefore, a method for actively reducing the above described wait time has recently been studied. According to this method, the circumferential length in the circumferential direction (rotational direction) of the intermediate transfer member is detected and stored in a RAM or the like in advance. After the preparation for image formation is completed, image formation start signals are generated in arbitrary timing according to a program. Specifically, an image formation start signal for a first color is generated in arbitrary timing, and then a next image formation start signal for a next color is generated upon the lapse of a one-turn time period required for the intermediate transfer member to make one turn, which is calculated from the stored circumferential length and the rotational speed of the intermediate transfer member. As a result, the wait time until the detection of the first reference mark can be eliminated, providing an advantage of reduction of the FCOT for the full-color image formation compared with the method of starting the image formation based on the reference marks (for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H10-20614).
Further, in the case where the image formation start signal is generated using the one-turn time period calculated in advance as described above, when a plurality of full-color images are successively output, there has been the problem that various mechanical shocks or mechanical load fluctuations occur due to contacting and separation of the cleaning blade with and from the intermediate transfer member, that is, a mechanical shock caused by the separation of the cleaning blade from the intermediate transfer member when a toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer member for a first color of a first recording sheet; a mechanical shock caused by contacting of a secondary transfer roller with the recording sheet when a color toner image is secondarily transferred on a recording sheet after a tone image of a fourth color is overlapped on the intermediate transfer member; a mechanical shock caused by contacting of the cleaning blade with the intermediate transfer member for cleaning the same; and other mechanical load fluctuations caused by contacting and separation of the cleaning blade with and from the intermediate transfer member. These mechanical load fluctuations cause variations in the rotational speed of the intermediate transfer member such that the one-turn time period varies between the respective colors. This results in a color misalignment between the first color and second and subsequent colors in the color overlapping process.

Image forming apparatus method and storage device storing a program for controlling image forming operation of primarily transferring an image onto an intermediate transfer member


A process is disclosed for the restrained drying of a paper web in a dryer section of a paper machine. The process includes the steps of wrapping the web with a felt during passage of the web with the felt around a dryer of the dryer section and thereafter wrapping the web around a portion of a guiding device disposed immediately downstream relative to the dryer so that edge curl of the web is minimized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process for the restrained drying of a paper web in a dryer section of a paper machine. More particularly, the present invention relatives to a process which includes restraining the web against cross-machine direction shrinkage so that edge curl of the web is inhibited.
2. Information Disclosure Statement
In the manufacture of a paper web, when a web has been formed, it is thereafter pressed in a press section to remove a substantial portion of the moisture therefrom. The web is then guided through a dryer section in order to remove a further portion of moisture from the web so that the resultant web will attain the required sheet characteristics.
A typical dryer section includes a plurality of dryers arranged as a first and a second tier with the first tier disposed above the lower tier. The web is threaded around alternate upper and lower dryers in serpentine configuration so that alternate sides of the web are sequentially exposed to the external surfaces of the dryers.
In the aforementioned arrangement, the upper tier of dryers is wrapped by an upper dryer felt and the lower tier of dryers is wrapped by a lower dryer felt. The arrangement is such that the upper and lower felts restrain the web against cross-machine direction shrinkage during passage of the web around the respective upper and lower dryers. However, a problem exists in that with the aforementioned arrangement, the web is unsupported by either the upper or the lower felt during transit of the web between the upper and lower dryers. Such unrestrained movement of the web permits cross-machine direction shrinkage with the attendant resultant edge curl.
In an attempt to reduce edge curl and cockle in the resultant web, dryer sections have been installed in which a single dryer felt extends contiguously with the web around respective upper and lower dryers so that no open draw or unsupported passage of the web between dryers is permitted. While the aforementioned single felted or Uno-run dryer sections assist in supporting the web during transit between upper and lower dryers such single felted arrangements suffer from at least the following disadvantages. First, the felt is disposed between the web and the lower dryer thereby rendering the lower dryers redundant. Second, the web is disposed on the outside of the felt during passage around the lower dryers so that there exists a tendency for the web to flutter relative to the felt during passage around the lower dryers. Such fluttering of the web means that the web is unrestrained during passage around the lower dryer drum.
Ideally, the web should be restrained against cross-machine direction shrinkage during the entire passage of the web through the dryer section. Such ideal situation is achieved by the employment of the TOTAL BEL RUN arrangement proposed in copending patent application Ser. No. 014,569 filed Feb. 13, 1987 and assigned to Beloit Corporation.
In Ser. No. 014,569 there is disclosed a single tier dryer section in which the web and felt disposed contiguously relative to each other are guided alternately around dryers and vacuum guide rolls. The guide rolls replace the lower redundant dryer drums of the aforementioned single felt arrangements. The vacuum guide rolls draw the web towards the guide roll during passage of the web around the guide roll such that the web is pressed against the felt during passage around the vacuum guide roll thereby restraining the web against cross-machine direction shrinkage.
Therefore, cross-machine direction shrinkage is not only inhibited during passage of the web around the dryer but also around the vacuum guide roll. Furthermore, the vacuum guide roll being of a diameter considerably less than that of the dryer results in a joint run of the web and felt between the dryers and the guide rolls which is minimal so that the web is restrained against cross-machine direction shrinkage throughout most of the passage through the dryer section.
The aforementioned sheet restraint reduces edge curl and cockle and the graininess of the resultant sheet at the edges thereof. Furthermore, by the provision of such sheet restraint, the slice opening in the headbox is able to be more uniform and the cross direction fiber orientation profile is improved.
More specifically, various laboratory and mill studies have been carried out in order to quantify the nonuniform cross directional sheet shrinkage which occurs during conventional drying processes. The aforementioned nonuniform shrinkage is responsible for nonuniformities in headbox slice profiles, in fiber orientation, and in the sheet elongation and tensile energy absorption.
Tensile energy absorption hereinafter referred to as TEA is defined in "The Dictionary of Paper" Fourth Edition, published 1980, as the energy absorbed when a paper specimen is stressed to rupture under tension. It is expressed in energy units per unit area e.g. kg-cm/cm.sup.2. It is useful in evaluating packaging materials subject to rough handling.
The continuous drying restraint which is applied by a total no-draw dryer section as exemplified in the TOTAL BEL RUN concept of Beloit Corporation, has a direct effect on the finished sheet properties by controlling the cross-directional elongation and TEA profiles. Additionally, such reduced shrinkage reduces the cockles and graininess of the sheet edges.
The aforementioned dictionary defines cockles as "a puckered condition of the sheet resulting from nonuniform drying and shrinking; it usually appears on paper that has had very little restraint during drying."
Furthermore, graininess is defined in the aforementioned dictionary as small variations in the surface appearance of a paper or board, resulting from any of a variety of causes, such as impressions of wires or felts, irregular distribution of color, and uneven shrinkage in drying.
Also, by restraining the sheet from cross direction shrinkage, the opening of the slice lip of the headbox may be maintained more uniform and an improved cross direction fiber orientation profile is obtained as stated more particularly hereinafter.
The aforementioned TOTAL BEL RUN includes the transfer of the web between dryers with positive support and restraining the sheet with fabric pressure and roll vacuum. The combination of the aforementioned arrangement has improved sheet threading, machine runability, and sheet properties.
In a conventional dryer section, the wet paper is dried by intermittent contact with cast-iron, steam heated dryers. The thermal contact between the paper and the dryer is maintained by tensioned dryer fabrics which apply a pressure to the paper as it wraps the dryer. Typical fabric tensions range from 8 to 12 pounds per linear inch (PLI) which depending on the dryer diameter, will apply a fabric pressure which is in the range of 0.25 to 0.35 PSI which is 6 to 10 inches water gauge (WG).
The aforementioned fabric pressure not only improves the drying contact, but also applies a restraint to the paper to prevent shrinkage from occurring. Such restraint, however, is repeatedly released as the sheet passes through the open draws between conventional dryer cylinders as described hereinbefore.
The fabric pressure continues to provide some restraint in the machine direction by maintaining a machine direction draw, but in the cross-machine direction, the paper is virtually unrestrained. The paper shrinks freely in the cross direction particularly at the edges and somewhat less so near the center of the web where the sheet is at least partly restrained by the outer portions.
Such nonuniform cross-machine shrinkage gives rise to nonuniform cross-directional sheet properties such as stretch, TEA and tensile.
Stretch is defined in the aforementioned dictionary as "the elongation corresponding to the point of rupture in a tensile strength measurement; it is usually expressed as a percentage of the original length."
The high cross-directional edge shrinkage also aggravates the susceptibility of the sheet to edge cockle, curl and graininess.
The aforementioned dictionary defines curl as "the curvature developed when one side of a paper specimen is wetted; it was formally used as a measure of the degree of sizing."
The lack of shrinkage restraint also increases the hygroexpansivity and can also have an adverse effect on fiber orientation. Hygroexpansivity is defined in "The Dictionary of Paper" as "the change in dimension of paper that results from a change in the ambient relative humidity; it is commonly expressed as a percentage and is usually several times higher for the cross direction than for the machine direction. This property is of great importance in applications where the dimensions of paper sheets and cards or construction board (wallboard, acoustical tile, etc.) are critical."
In various mill trials, the first phase of such study was directed at quantifying the nonuniformity on commercial paper machines and then determining the effect that the nonuniform shrinkage has on the machine operation and on the finished sheet properties.
The cross-directional sheet shrinkage was determined by metering fine drops of ink onto the stock as it discharged from the slice lip of the headbox. The distances between marks at the wet end were then compared to the distances at the dry end to determine the cross-directional shrinkage profile.
Results for a fine paper machine are discussed hereinafter. The shrinkage was found to be highly nonuniform, and in fact almost parabolic. As expected, the highest shrinkage was found to occur at the edges, where the sheet has the least cross-directional restraint and the sheet shrinkage was the lowest near the center where the paper was at least partly restrained by the outer portions.
A cross-directional paper sample was then tested in the laboratory to determine the variations in sheet properties and these results are discussed in greater detail hereinafter. Such results show the machine direction stretch is very uniform in the cross direction because it is controlled by the machine direction draws. However, the cross-directional stretch is very nonuniform which appears to be a direct reflection of the cross-directional shrinkage. In other words, the highest stretch occurs at the edges where the sheet has experienced the greatest shrinkage.
The machine direction and cross direction tensile strength profiles were also measured for the same sample.
Tensile strength is defined in the aforementioned dictionary as "the maximum tensile stress developed in a specimen before rupture under prescribed conditions; it is usually expressed as force per unit width of the specimen."
As discussed hereinafter the machine direction tensile was fairly uniform, again being affected in part by the machine direction draw which does not vary in the cross direction. However, the cross direction tensile profile is nonuniform and exhibits a slight hyperbolic configuration. The lowest tensile occurs near the sheet edges, again where the cross-direction shrinkage was the greatest.
From the aforementioned tests, it is also evident that an increase in cross-direction restraint, as experienced near the center of the machine, causes a reduction in stretch with a corresponding increase in tensile strength. Since the cross-direction tensile varies in the cross direction, while the machine direction tensile remains fairly uniform, the tensile ratio also varies, with the highest ratio occurring at the edges.
The tensile ratio is the ratio of the tensile in the cross direction to the tensile in the machine direction and will be discussed in detail hereinafter.
The TEA profiles were also measured for the sample. The cross-direction profile reflected the nonuniformity in cross-direction stretch. The TEA profile, however, does not exhibit quite as much variation as the CD stretch, because the loss in stretch near the machine center is greatly offset by the increase in tensile strength.
The increased shrinkage which occurs near the edges also has an adverse effect on headbox performance. In order to produce a level basis weight profile at the reel, the slice opening must be closed down near the edges. Such closing down near the edges of the slice opening reduces the basis weight at the edges to compensate for the higher shrinkage which occurs near the edges. Such reduction in basis weight causes the paper to go through the press section and earlier dryer sections with light edges which eventually heavy up as the edges shrink.
Basis weight is defined in the aforementioned dictionary as "the weight in pounds of a ream cut to a specified basis size. The number of sheets in a ream is usually 500."
The aforementioned nonuniform slice opening is known to cause a distortion of the fiber orientation by inducing cross flows.
The fiber orientation was determined for the aforementioned sample by measuring the sonic modulus profile as discussed hereinafter. The fiber orientation is indicated as the angle of the primary axis of the modulus envelope from the machine direction. A positive angle indicates the fibers are oriented towards the back side of the web and a negative angle indicates the fibers are oriented towards the front side.
The fibers are all oriented towards machine center line as would be expected because the slice opening is closed down near the edges to compensate for edge shrinkage.
The aforementioned advantages obtained by restrained drying of the web are reflected in considerable commercial advantages over webs produced in nonrestrained drying sections.
In order to achieve a level weight profile with a uniform slice opening, it is necessary to control the cross-direction shrinkage. Since this shrinkage occurs as the moisture is removed, the majority of the shrinkage takes place in the open draws where water flashes. In order to reduce the shrinkage, the open draws must be replaced by means of positive restraint.
A common commercial arrangement for eliminating open draws is the single felt or serpentine dryer section. Although such serpentine arrangement does eliminate the open draws, it does not replace the open draws with positive restraint and it dries the sheet from one side only.
The aforementioned TOTAL BEL RUN, however, replaces the bottom ineffective dryers of the serpentine section with vacuum rolls. Two-sided drying is maintained in this arrangement by alternating between top-felted and bottom-felted single tier sections as described in the aforementioned pending patent application Ser. No. 014,569.
The intermediate vacuum roll of the aforementioned single tier section acts much like the fabric vacuum box used in laboratory studies discussed in detail hereinafter. The vacuum maintains the restraint which is applied by the dryer fabric pressure as the sheet is transferred between dryers.
The vacuum induced in conventional serpentine blow boxes is typically only 0.1 to 0.2 inches water column (WC) and this is clearly inadequate to provide significant shrinkage restraint. Additionally, such low level vacuum does not extend around the entire bottom dryer. With the longer sheet length between top dryers, the sheet is left unrestrained for a significant portion of the drying cycle in the conventional serpentine or single felt dryer section.
A vacuum level of 6 to 8 inches water column in the vacuum rolls is essentially equal to the restraint which is applied by the dryer fabric. Such vacuum level is also the level which is required for positive sheet restraint as discussed hereinafter.
The sheet restraint used in the various laboratory studies was applied continuously and in order to achieve the same property improvements on a commercial machine, the drying restraint was also applied continuously or at least in those sections where the sheet is shrinking the most. Very specific laboratory tests were carried out on pilot machine samples in order to determine the natural or unrestrained shrinkage characteristics.
For the furnish used, the machine direction and cross-direction shrinkage is very low as the sheet is dried from 40 to 60 percent dry. Once the sheet reaches 60 percent dry, the shrinkage increases and continues at a high rate until the sheet is essentially dry.
The serpentine and in some cases single-tier dryer sections had been used at the wet end of the dryer section. Such application had been carried out to improve runability. However, in view of the aforementioned increased shrinkage above 60 percent dry, it became evident that the single-tier dryer section should be applied near the dry end of the machine for improved paper properties and for the best runability and sheet quality, the single-tier dryer section configuration should be applied to the entire dryer section as taught in the aforementioned pending patent application Ser. No. 014,569.
Therefore it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a process that overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art drying methods and to provide a process which makes a considerable contribution to the art of paper drying.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a process for restrained drying of a paper web in a dryer section which includes the steps of wrapping the web with a felt during passage of the web with the felt around the dryer of the dryer section and thereafter wrapping the web around a portion of a guiding device disposed immediately downstream relative to the dryer so the edge curl of the web is minimized.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a process which includes restraining the web against cross-machine direction shrinkage during passage of the web past the guiding device so that edge curl of the web is inhibited.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a process for the restrained drying of a paper web which reduces cockle and graininess of the sheet edges.
Another object of the present invention is the provision of a process which allows the slice opening to be more uniform thereby improving the cross-direction fiber orientation profile.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be evident from the detailed description contained hereinafter taken in conjunction with the various figures of the drawings and graphs and from the disclosure of the appended claims.

Process for the restrained drying of a paper web


The bandgap circuit comprising a plurality of cells that are sequentially connected to provide summation of ΔVBE of each cell, with low noise. Each cell is formed of a plurality of NPN bipolar transistors. The transistors form an amplifier that generates a voltage that is proportional to absolute temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic circuits and, more specifically, to bandgap voltage reference circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bandgap voltage regulators are typically used to provide substantially constant reference voltages for circuits that operate in environments subject to temperature fluctuation. Generally, bandgap circuits develop a voltage that consists of a summation of a base emitter voltage and a voltage proportional to the difference between the base-to-emitter voltages, ΔVBE, of two bipolar transistors. This difference is linear with temperature and has a certain positive temperature coefficient +TCΔVBE. On the other hand the base emitter voltage VBE of a bipolar transistor has a negative temperature coefficient −TCVBE. By proper scaling of the ΔVBE and adding it to a VBE, a voltage results that has a zero temperature coefficient. Because TCΔVBE is smaller than TCVBE, the ΔVBE needs to be scaled (amplified) to cancel the TCVBE. A disadvantage of amplifying ΔVBE is that circuit noise is also amplified.
FIG. 1 depicts a prior art circuit 100 for amplifying ΔVBE to create a bandgap reference circuit. The circuit 100 is comprised of four transistors. Two transistors M1 and M2 form a current mirror, forcing the collector currents of the bipolar transistors Q1 and Q2 to be equal. The transistors Q1 and Q2 generate the voltage difference ΔVBE across R1 equal to (kT/q)*ln(M) where M is the ratio in emitter area between Q2 and Q1. The ratio between resistors R1 and R2 determines the scaling factor of ΔVBE. The output voltage is the sum of the scaled ΔVBE and the base emitter voltage VBE of Q1. More specifically, the power supply VDD (e.g., 3.3 volts) is connected to the source terminals of transistors M1 and M2. Transistor M1 has a drain terminal connected to the collector and base terminal of transistor Q1 and the emitter terminal of transistor Q1 is connected to ground through resistor R2. The gate and drain terminals of transistor M2 are connected to one another and the gate terminals of transistors M1 and M2 are connected to one another. The drain and gate terminal of transistor M2 are connected to the collector terminal of transistor Q2 and the emitter terminal of transistor Q2 is connected to ground through both resistors R1 and R2. In this manner, transistors M1 and M2 form a current mirror and transistors Q1 and Q2 generate the voltage difference ΔVBE. For this circuit, the bandgap voltage is given by Vbandgap=VBE+ΔVBE·(R2/R1). Due to the multiplication of ΔVBE,the noise of resistor R1 is multiplied at the output such that its noise power contribution is equivalent to
      4    ·    k    ·    T    ·                            R          1                                  (                                    R              2                                      R              1                                )                    2        ,where k is the Boltzmann constant, T is temperature and R1 and R2 are the resistance values of resistors R1 and R2.
As can be seen by the noise equation, the classic bandgap circuit 100 is very noisy. By reducing the impedance level of resistors R1 and R2 the level of noise can be reduced, but the power consumption of the circuit increases.
In other attempts to reduce the noise of the bandgap circuit, the ΔVBE values of the transistor combinations are stacked to reduce the amount of amplification needed to obtain a reference voltage. Stacking transistors reduces the amplification needed in each amplification stage and thus reduces noise level in the output signal. In the stacked transistor circuit, the ΔVBE values of each transistor combination add directly to one another, while the noise adds on a power basis. Since power is proportional to voltage squared, the ratio of the output voltage (after amplification) to noise voltage decreases by the square root of the number of stacked ΔVBE values. In one known realization, U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,525, the stacked transistor circuit uses both NPN and PNP transistors as well as an operational amplifier. As such, these circuits are less noisy than traditional bandgap circuits, but they are significantly more complex. A further reduction in noise and complexity can be achieved with the present invention.
Therefore there is a need in the art for a low noise bandgap circuit having a relatively simple structure.


A compensator system for a stringed instrument is disclosed. The system includes a plurality of compensator blocks selectively positionable on the fretboard of a stringed instrument between its transverse projections. The compensator blocks extend upwardly in contact with the strings of the instrument. The blocks have a generally rectangular lower planar surface of a first length and first width and an upper planar surface of a second length and a second width. The width of the upper surface of the blocks is less than the width of the lower surface of the blocks thus forming tapered side walls between the upper and lower surfaces to form a trapezoidally-shaped cross-sectional configuration. The length of the lower surface of each block is essentially equal to the length of the fretboard between adjacent projections of the instrument.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a new and improved tonal compensator system for the fretboards of stringed instruments and, more particularly, pertains to improving the sound of a stringed instrument through the use of tonal compensators.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of stringed instruments of various designs and configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, stringed instruments of various designs and configurations heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of modifying the sound of stringed instruments through various methods and apparatuses are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
The prior art discloses a large number of stringed instruments of various designs and configurations. By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,779 to Petillo discloses a substantially T-shaped fret with an elongated stem topped by a triangularly shaped cap.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,143 to Stone discloses a fretted musical instrument with detachable fingerboard for providing multiple tonal scales.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,256 to Smith discloses a manual, mechanical chord or note selecting device mounted on a fretted, stringed musical instrument with a convenient leverage means for faster, easier keying.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,754 to Chapman discloses a fret rod for stringed musical instruments with transverse, shallow U-shape grooves which receive circular metal fret rods which provides an improved playing surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,469 to Vogt discloses a fret for the fingerboard of plucked stringed instruments comprising a metal body including on its side facing the string a structural groove extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fret whereby an insert is placed against which the fingered string presses slightly so as to be held stationarily.
Lastly, U.S. Des. Pat. No. 264,477 to Brent discloses a guitar fretboard or the like.
In this respect, the tonal compensator system for the fretboards of stringed instruments according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of improving the sound of a stringed instrument through the use of tonal compensators.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved tonal compensator system for the fretboards of stringed instruments which can be used for improving the sound of a stringed instrument through the use of tonal compensators. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.

Tonal compensator system for the fretboards of stringed instruments


A distribution system for use with a filtering cell comprising an inlet manifold rotatably mounted concentrically above a stationary separator, at least one separation chamber inside the separator connected to a vacuum source, a downwardly extending first baffle located in the separation chamber and a second baffle located outwardly from the first baffle and extending upwardly to a point above the lowest portion of the first baffle.

This invention relates to separation systems using vacuum filtering cells. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in the distributor valve which is downstream of the vacuum filtering cells.
Vacuum filtering cells are used to filter industrial feed slurry and in the manufacture of phosphoric acid by the wet method. The distributor valve separates gases from liquids and distributes the filtrates to collecting tanks.
Continuous vacuum filtering cells comprise horizontal filtering cells mounted on a carousel or turntable for periodic charging, draining and washing. Feed slurry is fed into the upper surface of the horizontal cell which includes a filtering element to remove solids from the feed slurry. A liquid/gas filtrate passes through the filter element to the bottom of the filtering cell and thereafter, drains out of the filtering cell through a flexible hose into a central distributor valve. In addition, a vacuum, originating in the distributor valve and applied to the bottom of the cell through the flexible hoses, assists in drawing the liquid/gas filtrate through the filtering element toward the central distributor valve. The remaining solids in the filtering cell are vacuum dried and then removed by inverting the filtering cell.
The distributor valve is divided into chambers and compartments which are connected to vacuum and pressurizing sources, respectively. During operation, the filtering cells are cyclically connected to a primary vacuum source to draw the liquid/gas filtrate through the filtering element toward the distributor valve. Next, the filtering cells are cyclically connected to a secondary vacuum source to dry solids remaining in the filtering cells. The filtering cells are then inverted and cyclically connected to the pressuring source to aid removal of the solid filtration cake from the filtering cells. Finally, the cells are washed and prepared for recharging.
The distributor valve achieves separation of the liquid/gas filtrate by drawing the gas component of the filtrate horizontally toward the vacuum source. The liquid component of the filtrate, which is too heavy to be drawn horizontally, falls vertically into downlegs which are connected to seal tanks for collection of the separated liquid. In the conventional design, as shown in FIG. 1, separation chamber 70 is divided into an inner section 72 and an outer section 74 by a vertical arcuate wall 76 extending the full height of the separation chamber 70. The vertical wall 76 typically has small passageways 78 at the top to permit the gas component of the liquid/gas filtrate to enter the outer section 74. The gas component typically follows a path as shown by the arrow. In addition to the gas flowing between the inner section 72 and the outer section 74, however, a certain amount of vapor containing suspended liquid particulates also flows through the dividing wall 76 into the outer section 74.
During the separation process, scaling forms on the inside surfaces of the distributor, thereby reducing its efficiency and requiring frequent stoppages for cleaning. Scaling often occurs in the distributor as a result of the high velocity of the gas and vapor travelling through the small passageways 78 in the dividing wall 76. The high gas and vapor velocity is a result of the narrow dimensions of the separation chamber 70 and passageways 78. The dissolved particulates in the vapor, which are carried into the outer section 74 as a result of the high gas and vapor velocities also contribute to scaling.
Conventional distributor valves also give rise to a large pressure drop reducing their efficiency. Because the vertical wall 76 introduces a blocking effect, the amount of vacuum reaching the filtering cells is significantly less than the amount of vacuum in the outer section 74 of the separation chamber 70. More specifically, if a vacuum source providing a vacuum of twenty (20) inches of mercury is employed at the distributor valve, the resultant vacuum at the filtering cell may be only fifteen (15) inches of mercury.

Distributor valve for multiple cell filter