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(Per)fluoropolyethers (PFPE) are fluorinated polymers comprising a straight or branched fully or partially fluorinated polyoxyalkylene chain that contains recurring units having at least one catenary ether bond and at least one fluorocarbon moiety. The most widespreadly known PFPE can be obtained by homopolymerization of hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) or 2,2,3,3-tetrafluorooxetane and by photooxidation of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) and/or hexafluoropropylene (HFP).
PFPE can be divided into non-functional and functional; the former comprise a PFPE chain whose ends bear (per)haloalkyl groups, while the latter comprise a PFPE chain having at least two ends, wherein at least one end comprises a functional group. Functional PFPEs, in particular mono- and bifunctional PFPE, i.e. those comprising a PFPE chain having two ends, wherein one or both end(s) bear(s) a functional group, have a variety of industrial uses, which depend on the structure and molecular weight of the PFPE chain and on the nature of the functional group. For example, mono- and bifunctional PFPE are used as ingredients or additives in lubricant compositions, coating compositions for imparting hydro-/oleo-repellence to substrates, or as intermediates or building blocks for the manufacture of other polymers.
Among functional PFPE, those bearing zwitterionic groups are known in the art.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,225,367 B (NOVARTIS AG) 1 May 2001 relates to polymers comprising one or more PFPE units, in particular CF2CF2O and CF2O units, and one or more different charged units, including zwitterionic units, a process for their manufacture and mouldings composed of such polymers. The polymers are useful for the manufacture of biomedical devices, in particular for ophthalmic devices. The polymers disclosed in this document are obtained, for example, by copolymerizing one or more macromonomers comprising at least one PFPE unit with at least one polymerizable charged monomer or precursor thereof that may comprise a zwitterionic group. However, the description and the examples refer only to the PFPE macromonomers containing more than one PFPE units.
US 2001037001 A (NOVARTIS AG) 1 Oct. 2011 relates to a cross-linkable copolymers obtainable by:
(a) copolymerizing at least one hydrophilic monomer having one ethylenically unsaturated double bond and at least one crosslinker comprising two or more ethylenically unsaturated double bonds in the presence of a chain transfer agent having a functional group; and(b) reacting one or more functional groups of the resulting copolymer with an organic compound having an ethylenically unsaturated group.
A suitable crosslinker is a perfluoroalkyl polyether, for example a macromer of formula:Q-(PFPE-L)n-1-PFPE-Qwherein: Q is a cross-linkable group; L is a difunctional moiety able to react with hydroxyl; n is equal to or higher than 1; and PFPE is a perfluorinated polyether of formula:—OCH2CF2O(CF2CF2O)x(CF2O)yCF2CH2O—
Suitable hydrophilic monomers to be reacted with the cross-linker include mono-ethylenically unsaturated compounds comprising a zwitterionic substituent.
The cross-linkable copolymers disclosed in this document are said to be useful for the manufacture of biomedical mouldings, in particular ophthalmic mouldings like contact lenses.
US 2005228120 A (COMMW SCIENT & IND RES) 13 Oct. 2013 discloses, inter alia, a polymer comprising one or more macromonomer PFPE units (in particular straight PFPE chains consisting of CF2CF2O and CF2O units) and one or more charged units, including zwitterionic units that can be comprised in aliphatic, cycloaliphatic or heterocylic moieties.
CHAN, G. Y. N., et al. Approaches to improving the biocompatibility of porous perfluoropolyethers for ophthalmic applications. Biomaterials. 2006, vol. 27, no. 8, p. 1287-1295. discloses (page 1288, par. “Perfluoropolyether (PFPE) membrane preparation”) a method for preparing PFPE membranes by photo-copolymerization of a zwitterionic monomer and a PFPE macromonomer comprising polymerizable groups. Thus, the polymer membranes contain more PFPE units and more zwitterionic units.
None of the above documents discloses mono- or bifunctional PFPE comprising one PFPE chain having zwitterionic groups at one or both ends of the chain.
WO 2010/009191 (3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY) discloses compounds that have partially fluorinated polyether groups and/or fully fluorinated polyether groups with a low number (e.g., up to 4) continuous perfluorinated carbon atoms. The compounds may be useful, for example, as surfactants or surface treatments. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention is related to an AC loss measuring device for a high-temperature superconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Superconductors generally have no resistance to direct current (DC), and thus no loss. When alternating current (AC) flows in the superconductor, however, loss occurs in the superconductor if the current changes with time or the magnetic field changes with time.
Measurement of the AC loss is a very important factor in determining the cooling capacity and the heat inside connections. Moreover, since the AC loss is mainly caused by the change in current and external magnetic field, an alternating current is first applied and then the loss thereof is calculated in an AC loss measuring device for a superconductor.
In the conventional AC loss measuring device for a high-temperature superconductor, an electric current having a certain frequency and amplitude is applied to a superconductor, and then the waveform of the received voltage or electric current is measured. In this conventional method, however, the superconductor may be damaged if an electric current of about 35 A is applied to the superconductor for tens of seconds.
Also, in the conventional AC loss measuring device for a high-temperature superconductor, the preparation for normal operations takes tens of seconds. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image reproducing apparatus, an image reproducing method and a computer readable storage medium for receiving input image data, and outputting and reproducing an image having a greater number of gradation levels than that of the above-mentioned image data.
More particularly, the present invention refers to a technique for improving smoothness of an image that is output, by increasing the number of gradation levels of the above-mentioned image data, when carrying out an output process, such as a printing process of an image using a printer.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a printing process of a full color image is performed using a printer, image data having 256 gradation levels for each of four primary colors of C, M, Y and K are usually used as input data. In other words, image data consisting of 8 bits of gradations for each color (thus, image data of 24 bits in total) are usually input. However, when a printing process is actually performed with 256 gradation levels for each color, the step between different gradation levels may sometimes become visible in a highlighted portion in which luminance of image data is relatively high (that is, portion in which density of image data is low). A possible reason for this is that 256 gradation levels may be inadequate for smooth reproduction of an image since the sensitivity of human eye is relatively high in such a highlight portion.
In order to deal with such a situation, a simple solution is to increase the number of gradation levels of input image data, that is, to use a relatively high number of gradation levels, such as 1024 gradation levels or 4096 gradation levels for each color. It is possible to reproduce a smooth image in which the step between different gradation levels is no longer visible by inputting image data having a relatively large number of gradation levels.
However, the total amount of image data will increase with the increase in the number of gradation levels of the input image data.
Further, the increase of total amount of image data gives rise to another problem that memory capacity needs to be increased in order to store the above-mentioned image data, and the processing time required to process the above-mentioned large amount of image data is also increased.
In addition, with the increasing amount of data it will be also required to expand the means for preparing the relatively large amount of image data and the means for developing the above-mentioned image data, correspondingly, so that the overall size of the apparatus for executing data processing will increase, leading to another problem of an increase in the production cost. | {
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Photothermographic film generally comprises a base material, such as a thin polymer or paper, typically coated on one side with an emulsion of heat sensitive materials. Once the film has been subjected to photostimulation, such as via a laser of a laser imager, for example, a thermal processor is typically employed to develop the resulting latent image through application of heat to the film. In general, a thermal processor raises the base material and emulsion to an optimal development temperature and holds the film at the development temperature for a required time period to develop the image. To provide optimal and consistent quality in developed images, a thermal processor must perform this heating operation smoothly and consistently within a single film and between multiple films.
One type of processor for thermally developing photothermographic is typically referred to as a drum processor. One type of drum processor employs an internally heated rotating drum having a series of non-heated pressure rollers positioned around a segment of the drum's surface. During development, rotation of the drum draws the photothermographic film between the drum and the pressure rollers, with the pressure rollers holding the film, typically the emulsion-side, in contact with the drum as the film moves through the processor. As it moves through the processor, heat is transferred to the film and it is heated to an optimal development temperature to develop the latent image.
While heat is transferred to the photothermographic film primarily from the heated drum, some heat is also transferred to the film from the non-heated pressure rollers. During idle times, when film is not being processed, the pressure rollers are in direct contact with and absorb heat from the heated drum. As film passes between the drum and pressure rollers during processing, a portion of this heat is transferred to the film. At low film throughput (i.e. the number of films processed in a given time period), heat transfer from the pressure rollers typically does not pose a problem as heat transferred to given sheet of film is recovered through contact with the drum between sheets so that the temperature of the rollers does not significantly drop.
However, at higher film throughput (such as continuous film feed, for example), the pressure rollers are not able to recover heat from the drum between films, and the temperature of the rollers, particularly those which make first contact with the film, decreases with successive films until an equilibrium or steady state temperature is reached. Consequently, earlier films of a series of films being processed have different temperature profiles and absorb more heat than later films of the series, resulting in uneven densities of the developed images between films of the series.
In view of the above, there is a continuing need for improved photothermographic film developers. In particular, there is a need for a thermal processor that reduces variations in image density resulting from variations in roller temperatures as described above. | {
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for measuring a decentration and tilt of faces of an optical element and to a device for measuring a decentration and tilt of faces of an optical element.
Description of the Background Art
Position errors of optical axes of faces of an optical element generally cause aberrations, which may lead to malfunctions in an application of the element in an optical system. Such aberrations are not correctable, or often only correctable with much outlay. For these reasons, it is necessary, for example within the scope of quality control after production of the optical element, to register such position errors.
DE 10 2006 052 047 A1 has disclosed a method for determining the location of an axis of symmetry of an aspherical lens face relative to a reference axis. The method comprises the following steps:
a) determining a location of a center of curvature of a spherical component of the lens face;
b) determining an inclination of a radial profile of the lens face in a region of the lens face lying within a measurement window;
c) twisting the lens face about an axis of rotation such that another region of the lens face enters the measurement window;
d) determining the inclination of a radial profile of the lens face in the different region of the lens face;
e) repeating steps c) and d) at least twice;
f) establishing the location of the axis of symmetry of the aspherical lens face relative to the axis of rotation from the measurement values determined in steps a) and d).
Furthermore, DE 10 2006 052 047 A1 describes a device for determining the location of the axis of symmetry of an aspherical lens face relative to the reference axis. The device comprises:
a) a rotary table which is rotatable about an axis of rotation and on which a lens carrying the aspherical lens face is arrangeable,
b) a first autocollimator, the optical axis of which is aligned coaxially with the axis of rotation and the image-side focal point of which is positionable at different longitudinal positions along the optical axis thereof,
c) a second autocollimator, the optical axis of which includes an angle with the axis of rotation that differs from zero and the image-side focal point of which is positionable at different longitudinal positions along the optical axis thereof, and
d) an evaluation apparatus, which establishes the location of the axis of symmetry of the aspherical lens face relative to the axis of rotation from the measurement signals supplied by the autocollimators at different angles of rotation of the rotary table. | {
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Three-dimensional vertical NAND strings having one bit per cell are disclosed in an article by T. Endoh et al., titled “Novel Ultra High Density Memory With A Stacked-Surrounding Gate Transistor (S-SGT) Structured Cell”, IEDM Proc. (2001) 33-36. | {
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As used herein, the term “image feature” may refer to one or more picture elements (e.g., one or more pixels) within a field. As used herein, the term “source field” may refer to a field from which information relating to an image feature may be determined or derived. As used herein, the teen “intermediate field” may refer to a field, which may temporally follow or lead a source field in a video sequence, in which information relating to an image feature may be described with reference to the source field. As used herein, the term “disparity estimation” may refer to techniques for computing motion vectors or other parametric values with which motion, e.g., between two or more fields of a video sequence, may efficiently be predicted, modeled or described. An example of disparity estimation can be motion estimation. As used herein, the term “disparity estimate” may refer to a motion vector or another estimated parametric motion related value. As used herein, the term. “disparity compensation” may refer to techniques with which a motion estimate or another parameter may be used to compute a spatial shift in the location of an image feature in a source field to describe the motion or some parameter of the image feature in one or more intermediate fields of a video sequence. Disparity compensation may involve a process of using a disparity estimate to derive the prediction of the current samples and/or regions of interest. A disparity model may include various spatial and/or temporal shift parameters. An example of disparity compensation can be motion compensation. The above terms may also be used in conjunction with various video coding concepts and prediction techniques (e.g., intra prediction and illumination compensation).
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings can indicate like elements. | {
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Press molding of sheet metal is performed by driving a punch against the sheet metal while gripping a grip section that is located on the outer periphery of the sheet metal by upper and lower dies of a vertical forming die. After molding a product portion which is located inner side of the ring shaped grip section, a pressed product is obtained by cutting the grip section from the periphery of the product portion.
During press molding, and in particular during draw molding or draw forming, peripheral sheet metal displaces towards the product portion as a result of the pressing process. This phenomenon is termed blank inflow. It is necessary to retain the grip section in order to control the amount of inflow. An appropriate gripping force is applied by the forming die onto the grip section in order to counteract a detaching force towards the center which acts on the sheet metal gripped by the upper and lower dies.
The gripping force on the grip section applied by the forming die is created by forming a tongue and groove section termed a bead on the grip section. The bead is formed using a bead molding section provided on upper and lower dies of the vertical forming die. Pressing operations are simultaneously or thereafter performed on the product portion using the punch with the vertical forming die gripping the bead.
JP10-005889A published by the Japan Patent Office in 1998 proposes a method of forming the bead on the grip section of the sheet metal. According to this method, a bead being trapezoid in cross section and having rounded corners is formed on the grip section. In this prior art method, the tongue section and the groove section are formed as a bead on the grip section by the upper and lower dies of the forming die. Further, when the vertical forming die molds and retains the bead, it is arranged such that only the tongue section of the forming die abuts with the metal plate. Sections other than the tongue section including the groove section of the forming die do not come into contact with the sheet metal.
As a result, even when the clearance between the upper and lower dies of the vertical forming die is not uniform as a result of, deviation of the core, for example, a stable resistance force which acts on the blank when it surmounts the bead or stable blank inflow amount is produced without the necessity to regulate the clearance. | {
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a duplexing optical scanner having an automatic document feeder (ADF), and, in particular, to a system for calibrating a stationary image capture module in the ADF.
2. Description of the Related Art
An imaging apparatus, such as a copier, scanner, or a multi-function printing device may include a scanning mechanism that operates in an ADF mode and/or a manual mode. In the manual mode, a media sheet is placed on a flatbed for scanning while in the ADF mode, media sheets are sequentially fed for scanning. In some scanning mechanisms, a duplex automatic document feeder (DADF) is employed whereby two scan modules scan both sides of a media sheet as the media sheet is fed in the ADF.
For a DADF to properly scan images, the two scan modules need to be calibrated. Typically, one of these scanning modules is located in a flatbed scanner and scans one side of a media sheet, and the other is a stationary scanner located inside of the DADF and scans the opposite side of the media sheet. A calibration target used for calibrating the scan module within the flatbed scanner is disposed therein such that contamination of the calibration target with dust is prevented or at least reduced. During calibration a scan is made of white calibration target image and typically has a green hue because the green channel on the scan module, such as a CCD scan module, has the highest sensitivity. Also the light source, reflectors, mirrors, etc., can all contribute to the colors being out of balance resulting in white not appearing to be white. In such a situation the output signals of the three uncalibrated channels, red, blue and green with the CCD scan module looking at a white calibration target would be two or more distinct bands. Calibration will adjust the three color channels with the analog front end (AFE) gain and offset settings to balance the three colors and make the target appear white. The AFE gain setting acts as a multiplier on the signal while the AFE offset acts as an addition or subtraction to move the signal up or down. A dark calibration is also done where the light source is turned off to provide a black target. Largely because of thermal drift, the light source and electronics aging, this calibration is checked and updated every so often. After calibration and adjustment of the AFE gain and offset, the output signals of the three color channels will substantially overlap one another.
Another part of scan module calibration is called shading. While the AFE gain and offset settings act on the entire color channel, shading will act on individual pixels. Shading will take each pixel and adjust it to a target. The ideal end result would be a perfectly flat signal output. There are several phenomena shading attempts to compensate for: 1) in the same CCD color channel, there will be a pixel to pixel variation in light sensitivity; 2) the edges of a scan are darker due to the vignetting effect of the lens; 3) any contamination in the optical path can partially block the light from reaching a pixel; and, 4) variation in light output across the scan line. The light source is typically a string of LEDs, and each individual LED's light output will not perfectly match the others. Shading requires a perfect calibration target in order to work properly. Any dust or scratch on the calibration target will cause those pixels to be overcorrected and a vertical band will show up on the scan of a document. In the flatbed scanner this is easy to solve with a moving scan which can be used to filter defects on the calibration target. In the ADF the CCD scan module is stationary, so no compensation is available for any defect on the target.
A calibration target for calibrating the DADF scan module is more susceptible to contaminants because it is typically located along the media path of the ADF, and, thus exposed to contamination such as from media sheets being fed through the media path. For a calibration process to be robust against dust and contamination on the calibration target, a wide area of the calibration target may need to be scanned. Any contamination on the calibration target may then be removed with a filter or averaged with other scan lines of correct data. In the flatbed scanner, this can be accomplished because the flatbed scan module is designed to translate. That is, while the flatbed scanner calibration target is stationary, the flatbed scan module can be moved to scan multiple locations on the flatbed scanner calibration target. In the DADF, however, it is generally difficult to move the DADF scan module to scan multiple locations on the calibration target because of space constraints. In some existing DADFs, stationary calibration targets are used for calibrating the DADF scan module where it scans only one unique location on the calibration target. This calibration process is susceptible to contamination and debris.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system for calibrating a scan module in a DADF that is more robust to dust and contamination. | {
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Over the past half century, effective antibiotic treatment programs have made syphilis relatively uncommon in the United States, with less than 7,100 primary and secondary cases diagnosed in 2003. However, recent data indicates that reported cases are again increasing in subsets of the population, and periodic epidemics of syphilis have occurred for decades. In 1995, the number of new cases of syphilis worldwide was estimated to be 12 million per year. If untreated, syphilis can evolve from localized primary lesions (chancres) to disseminated, chronic infections, including secondary, latent, and tertiary forms.
As a syphilitic infection can produce a variable range of symptoms in humans, laboratory tests are often required to definitively diagnose an infection. Due to the inability to culture the causative organism, Treponema pallidum (T. pallidum) (TP), in vitro, a need exists for the development and optimization of in vitro methods for the detection of T. pallidum in diverse clinical specimens [Morse, Salud Publica Mex 5(Suppl 45):S698-S708, 2003]. While enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for Treponema are commercially available, they exhibit varying efficiencies at different disease stages [Schmidt et al., J Clin Microbiol 38:1279-1282 (2000)]. Several ELISAs based on whole cell lysate were developed which presented sensitivity of 93.3% to 100% and specificity of 95.5% to 99.8% [Castro et al., J Clin Microbiol 41:250-253 (2003)].
In recent years, several immunodominant and putatively pathogen-specific membrane lipoproteins of T. pallidum have been identified in patients with syphilis and in infants with congenital syphilis. These patients and infants developed antigen specific antibodies which could be detected by immunoblot and by enzyme immunoassay. Therefore, recent methods of detection use recombinant antigens, mainly the membrane-integrated proteins 47 kDa, 17 kDa and 15 kDa (TP47, TP17, and TP15, respectively), in treponemal ELISA tests. Although TP47 was the earliest identified, as well as the most abundant and highly immunogenic [Norgard et al., Infect Immun 54:500-506 (1986)], the later identified TP15 and TP17, present in lower amounts, are also strongly immunogenic [Purcell et al., Infect Immun 57:3708-3714 (1989); Akins et al., Infect Immun 61:1202-1210 (1993)].
Given the increase in reported cases of syphilis and the periodic epidemics, as well as the severity of the disease, a need continues to exist for sensitive and specific immunoassays for detection of Treponema pallidum. | {
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The present invention relates to a handle device for an automobile door.
As a prior art, there has been known an automobile handle device in which a handle member is rotated in a horizontal direction to open an automobile door.
As shown in FIG. 6, the handle device is made up of a handle member 2, a first base member 6 for fixing the handle member 2 on an automobile door panel 1, and a second base member 12.
On one end of the handle member 2, there is protrusively provided an arm section 3 having an approximate L shape and which is mounted on the first base member 6. The arm section 3 has a pivot shaft insert groove 4 provided on the top thereof. The pivot shaft insert groove 4 is formed to have an approximate U shape with a unilateral opening section 4a for improving operability in the assembling process. On the end of the handle member 2 opposite the arm section 3, there is protrusively provided a projected section 5 having an approximately lateral concave shape and which is mounted on the second base member 12.
The first base member 6 is to be installed in an edge portion of the handle member 2 on the side of the arm section 3. As shown in FIG. 7, the first base member 6 has a fixed board section 7 disposed along the door panel 1. The fixed board section 7 has an arm section insert hole 8 for inserting the arm section 3 of the handle member 2. On the upper surface of the fixed board section 7, there is provided a fixed section 9 to be positioned and fixed on the door panel 1, while on the lower surface of the fixed board section 7, there is provided a pair of frame board sections 10 extended from the edge of the arm section insert hole 8. These frame board sections 10 are disposed parallel to rotative direction of the arm section 3 in the handle member 2, and their top edges are integrally coupled by a coupling section 10a. On the top edge side of the frame board section 10, there is disposed a pivot shaft 11 across the frame board sections 10 for rotatably supporting the handle member 2 through the arm section 3.
The second base member 12 is to be installed in an edge portion of the handle member 2 on the side of the projected section 5. As shown in FIGS. 8, 9A, and 9B, the second base member 12 has a fixed base section 13 disposed along the door panel 1. The fixed base section 13 has a concave section 14 that matches with the shape of the edge portion of the handle member 2. In this concave section 14, there is provided an insert hole 15 for inserting the projected section 5. Below the insert hole 15, there is placed a lever 16 in a rotatable manner. The lever 16 is pressed downward in FIG. 8 by a spring 20. The fixed base section 13 also has a fixed section 17 to be positioned and fixed on the door panel 1, and a key cylinder mounting section 19 for mounting a key cylinder 18.
In order to mount the handle member 2 on the automobile door panel 1 by using the first base member 6 and the second base member 12, first the arm section 3 of the handle member 2 is inserted into the arm section insert hole 8 of the first base member 6 so that the pivot shaft 11 is fit into the pivot shaft insert groove 4. The projected section 5 of the handle member 2 is inserted into the insert hole 15 of the second base member 12, and after the lever 16 is hooked on the projected section 5 by rotating the lever 16, the lever 16 is rotatably supported together with the spring 20 by a pivot shaft. Then, a fastening section of the spring 20 is fastened to the lever 16, so that the projected section 5 is urged downward in FIGS. 6, 9A and 9B by the lever 16 subjected to restorative force of the spring 20.
In this way, the handle member 2 equipped with the first base member 6 and the second base member 12 is disposed on a mounting section 1a of the door panel 1, where the handle member 2 is fixed on the door panel 1 through the fixed sections 9 and 17 of the base members 6 and 12.
In this mounted state, the movement of the handle member 2 on the right side in FIG. 6 is restricted by the second base member 12. In addition, the lever 16 pressed downward by the spring 20 restricts the vertical movement within a certain extent. This prevents the handle member 2 from departing from the first base member 6 and the second base member 12.
However, in the above-stated automobile handle device, the first base member 6 and the handle member 2 are kept in the mounted state only by the engagement of the pivot shaft 11 in the pivot shaft insert groove 4, so that taking the handle member 2 in hand during mounting operation puts the first base member 6 in a freely rotatable state. Consequently, in the process of mounting the handle member 2 equipped with the first base member 6 and the second base member 12 on the door panel 1, if an X-directional force, shown in FIG. 10, opposite to the direction of the opening section 4a of the pivot shaft insert groove 4 is applied to the handle member 2, or if a Y-directional force, shown in FIG. 10, is applied to the first base member 6, the first base member 6 and the handle member 2 are detached from each other by a release of engagement between the pivot shaft 11 and the pivot shaft insert groove 4.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an automobile handle device which prevents detachment of a base member for fixing a handle member on a door panel and enables to improve operability in the assembling process.
In order to accomplish the above object, an automobile handle device of the present invention comprises: a handle member having an arm section protrusively provided on one end thereof and a pivot shaft insert groove with an opening section on an edge of the arm section; a base member for fixing the handle member on an automobile door panel, made up of a fixed base board section to be fixed on the door panel, an arm section insert hole formed on the fixed base board section for inserting the arm section of the handle member, a pair of frame board sections protrusively provided in parallel from an edge of the arm section insert hole, and a pivot shaft provided across the frame board sections and received in the pivot shaft insert groove to rotatably support the handle member, wherein a cover member is provided which covers the base member and which has a first wall section for restricting the movement of the handle member in such manner that the pivot shaft does not depart from the pivot shaft insert groove within a rotational range of the handle member.
According to the above automobile handle device, the cover member has a first wall section for restricting the movement of the handle member in such manner that the pivot shaft does not depart from the pivot shaft insert groove of the arm section, which prevents detachment of the base member from the handle member.
In the automobile handle device of the invention, it is preferable to provide a step section on a pair of the frame board sections of the base member on the side of the opening section of the handle member, and to provide the cover member with a second wall section to be engaged with the step section. This ensures prevention of detachment of the cover member from the base member.
It is also preferable that an edge of the arm section insert hole of the base member and the first wall section of the cover member constitute a restricting section for restricting a rotational range of the handle member.
Alternatively, it is preferable that the first wall section and the second wall section of the cover member constitute a restricting section for restricting a rotational range of the handle member. | {
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Mobile communication applications have used a variety of frequency bands, and it has been desirable to handle a plurality of applications in radios. Some applications, typified by CDMA, require control of output power, particularly lower power consumption, over a wide dynamic range. Further, smaller radios reduced in weight have been also desired.
A conventional power amplifier will be discussed below in accordance with accompanying drawings.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional power amplifier 700. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 701 denotes a first input terminal, reference numeral 702 denotes a first input-side matching circuit, reference numeral 703 denotes a first input-side DC bias supply circuit, reference numeral 704 denotes a first transistor, reference numeral 705 denotes a first output-side DC bias supply circuit, reference numeral 706 denotes a first output-side matching circuit, reference numeral 707 denotes a first output terminal, reference numeral 708 denotes a second input terminal, reference numeral 709 denotes a second input-side matching circuit, reference numeral 710 denotes a second input-side DC bias supply circuit, reference numeral 711 denotes a second transistor, reference numeral 712 denotes a second output-side DC bias supply circuit, reference numeral 713 denotes a second output-side matching circuit, and reference numeral 714 denotes a second output terminal.
The conventional power amplifier configured in this way performs operations on signals of two kinds of frequencies. The operation is performed as follows. In the case of an operation at a first frequency, a signal inputted to the first input terminal 701 is amplified by the first transistor 704 and is outputted to the first output terminal 707. In the case of an operation at a second frequency, a signal inputted to the second input terminal 708 is amplified by the second transistor 711 and is outputted to the second output terminal 714.
Moreover, for the signal inputs of the two kinds of frequencies, even when a signal with low output is obtained, the signal is passed through the first transistor 704 or the second transistor 712 and an amplifying operation is performed.
However, in such a configuration, there is a problem that the power amplifier is completely independent at each of the frequencies, and the number of components (not shown) between the power amplifier and an antenna is required for two systems, resulting in a large radio.
Furthermore, there is another problem that in use for a multistage amplifier and so on, since a power amplifier is generally adjusted so as to have the highest efficiency at the maximum output, even when output is reduced and a signal of low power is necessary, the power amplifier is operated. Thus, efficiency is degraded overall. | {
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The present invention relates to the making of cheese, and particularly to the making of cheese ripened for two or more months such as Cheddar and Colby cheese.
Milk from many different mammals is used to make cheese, though cow's milk is the most common milk for cheese. Generally, cheese is made by developing acidity in milk and setting the milk with a clotting agent, such as rennet. The set milk is cut and whey is separated from the resulting curd. The curd may be pressed to provide a cheese block. Rennet-based cheeses include cheeses such as mozzarella, Cheddar, Swiss, and Colby cheese. Typical Cheddar cheese has 1.4 g lactate per 100 g and contains 37.5% water.
Curing typically takes place over a lengthy period of time under controlled conditions. Cheddar cheese, for example, is cured for a period of at least four months and may be cured for a period in excess of one year to obtain the full flavor desired in cheddar cheese.
Recently, use of concentrated milk as the base ingredient for making cheese has become more popular. Milk can be concentrated prior to cheese making using a variety of techniques including ultra-filtration, micro-filtration, vacuum condensation, or the addition of dry milk solids such as nonfat dry milk. The use of concentrated milk provides increased efficiency to the cheese-making process. Use of concentrated milk also reduces the amount of whey produced for a given amount of cheese, facilitates standardization of formulation and production, and promotes more consistent quality and yields of the resultant cheese. The use of concentrated milk thus lowers cost and processing times for making cheese, particularly beneficial for semi-continuous cheese manufacturing processes such as utilized in typical large-scale cheese plants. The semi-continuous cheese manufacturing includes numerous cheese vats that sequentially feed a draining/conveying belt and a salting belt. This semi-continuous cheese making system requires consistent and rapid production of acid by starter cultures used in the cheese manufacturing process. The efficiency of semi-continuous cheese manufacturing is substantially improved if the milk is concentrated prior to cheese-making.
During the aging process, calcium lactate crystals can grow within and on the surface of cheese. These crystals are small white spots that can be seen, often without magnification, upon close inspection of the cheese. The crystals are not present in the cheese immediately after manufacture, but typically start to appear between two and six months of aging. While the calcium lactate crystals are not harmful to consumers, they can be perceived in mouthfeel as adding a slight amount of grittiness to the cheese. More importantly for affecting cheese sales, consumers often believe the crystals are mold. The growth of calcium lactate crystals is thus viewed as a defect representing substantial financial loss for cheese manufacturers.
For reasons that are not entirely clear, the use of concentrated milk and a semi-continuous cheese making process in making an aged cheese seems to worsen the calcium lactate crystal problem. Consequently cheese manufacturers have an unenviable choice: they can either use a less efficient cheese-making process, or they can use a more efficient manufacturing process that more likely results in calcium lactate crystals defects.
Factors influencing the formation of calcium lactate crystals have been extensively studied. Concentrations of calcium and lactate ions existing in cheese serum are very close to saturation, and small increases in the concentration of either component could result in super saturation and crystallization. It has also been theorized that milk citrate levels and the subsequent utilization of citrate by microorganisms may play a role in calcium lactate formation. Curd washing, curing, and storage temperature may further contribute to calcium lactate crystal formation. Other studies report that calcium lactate is formed when L(+)-lactate is converted into a racemic mixture of L(+)- and D(−)-lactate, the latter being much more prone to crystallization. The conversion of L(+)-lactate to D(−)-lactate is thought to be carried out by certain strains of bacteria.
Prior art methods for limiting calcium lactate crystal formation in cheese include: 1) reducing the concentration of lactic acid in the final curd, 2) reducing or eliminating undesirable non-starter lactic acid bacteria (“NSLAB”) from the cheese-making process, 3) controlling storage temperature, and 4) vacuum packaging cheese to minimize the airspace around the outer cheese surface. The use of certain starter culture strains may also increase or decrease the presence of calcium lactate crystals, due to post manufacture fermentation by the selected starter culture.
Although progress has been made in developing strategies for prevention of calcium lactate crystals, the defect is still prevalent. Better methods of minimizing calcium lactate crystal formation in aged cheeses are needed. | {
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The present invention relates to computerized speech recognition. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and methods to improve the manner in which speech recognition systems react to recognition errors and/or ambiguity.
Speech recognition is a technology that has a number of useful applications that allow people to interface with computing systems using their voices. These applications include: allowing a user to dictate text into a document; allowing a user to issue commands to one or more computer programs via speech; improving automated telephony systems; and many other applications. Such systems are useful in large centralized-server applications, such as computerized telephony processing systems; user interaction with desktop computing products; and even improved interaction and control of mobile computing devices.
Speech recognition is known and is being actively researched as perhaps the future of human interaction with computing devices. While speech recognition technology has progressed rapidly, it has not been perfected. Speech recognition requires substantial computing resources and has not achieved 100% recognition accuracy. This is partly due to inherent ambiguities in human language, and also due, in part, to varying domains over which user speech may be applied.
Current desktop speech recognition systems typically listen for up to three classes of speech. The first class is free form dictation where the recognized text is simply inserted into the document that currently has focus. An example of dictation might be, “John, have you received the report that I sent you yesterday?” The second class of speech is commands in the form of simple names of menus or buttons. Examples of this class of speech include “File,” “Edit,” View,” “OK” et cetera. When a command word is recognized, the items they represent will be selected or “clicked” by voice (i.e. the File menu would open when “File” is recognized). The third class is commands in the form of verb-plus-object command pairs. Examples of this class of speech include: “Delete report,” “Click OK,” and “Start Calculator.” The “Start Calculator” command, when properly recognized, will launch the application called calculator.
By listening for all three classes, the user need not indicate before they speak whether they want to enter text by voice or give a command by voice. The speech recognition system determines this automatically. Thus, if a user utters “Delete Sentence,” the current sentence will be deleted. Additionally, if the user says, “This is a test,” the words “This is a test” will be inserted into the current document. While this intuitive approach vastly simplifies the user experience, it is not without limitation. Specifically, when a user intends to give a verb-plus-object command, and either the command or object is erroneous or the recognition fails, the verb-plus-object will be treated as dictation and be inserted into a document.
The erroneous insertion of an attempted verb-plus-object command into a document creates a compound error situation. Specifically, the user must now undo the erroneously injected text, and the re-speak their command. The fact that the user has to follow more than one step when the verb-plus-object command is misrecognized is what turns the misrecognition error into a “compound error.” Compound errors quickly frustrate a user and can easily color the user's impression of speech recognition. Thus, a speech recognition system that could reduce or even eliminate such errors would improve users' experience with speech recognition in general. | {
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Fiber optic communications networks are enhanced and made cheaper by increased integration of components, sub-assemblies, modules and systems. At the sub-assembly level, this may entail incorporating several optoelectronic and optical components such that these components share a common optical path. For example, IEEE standard 802.3ae, published on 13 Jun. 2002, relates to 10 gigabit/second optical Ethernet and calls for four wavelengths (˜1275, 1300, 1325 and 1350 nm) of light to be simultaneously transmitted on a single optical fiber. Fiber optic communications networks also desirably have smaller and cheaper components, sub-assemblies and modules. Continuing with the 10 gigabit/second optical Ethernet example, optical transceiver modules, which convert electrical signals to optical signals on a transmit channel and optical signals to electrical signals on a receive channel, compliant with the IEEE 802.3ae standard are further defined by the manufacturers of these transceivers according to multi-source agreements (MSAs). Several of these MSAs (known by various codes: X2, XPAK, XFP) require small optical transmit/receive sub-assemblies, on the order of 1000 mm3 or less for both functions. Moreover, the historical cost trends for Ethernet and the expected future mass deployment (millions of ports) require that the cost of such sub-assemblies be low. Ideally, the manufacture of such sub-assemblies would be automated.
Continuing with the above example, an optical sub-assembly that performs a multiple-wavelength multiplexing and transmit function may include several laser diodes, a lens (at the output of each laser diode) that focuses or collimates the light of each wavelength, a multiplexer that combines the different wavelengths into a combined optical signal, a lens that focuses the light signal output from the multiplexer and an output optical fiber for distance-transmission of the combined optical signal from the optical sub-assembly. In order for the sub-assembly to function properly, the outputs of the laser diodes must be properly aligned with the lenses, which, in turn, must be properly aligned with the inputs to the multiplexer, and the output of the multiplexer must be aligned with the output lens, which, in turn, must be aligned with the output optical fiber. In the case when the optical fiber is single-mode fiber, as is the case in part of the IEEE 802.3ae standard, the tolerances for this alignment approach ±1 μm, since a typical core diameter of the fiber is 9 μm. Those familiar with the art will recognize that the need to align multiple optoelectronic components (laser diodes, in this example) significantly increases the difficulty of manufacture.
It is known in prior art to align one optoelectronic device to one single-mode fiber, possibly including intermediary optical components such as a lens. The most reliable method for such alignment is “active alignment”, practiced for many years, in which the optoelectronic device is energized and the various components are moved relative to each other in order to obtain an acceptable throughput of optical signal, then the components are secured in place. Wang et al teach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,940 an automate-able version of this method, but the method is limited by being applicable to one style of sub-assembly package and is not readily extendable to align multiple optoelectronic components. Another alignment method is “passive alignment”, in which all the components are located by stops, indentations in an optical bench (or substrate), or placed with reference to precision fiducial marks, or other means. By way of example, from among many, Verdiell teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,268 the use of various steps and raised structures to assist in placement of components, and Chang et al teach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,485,198 the use of balls mating with indentations in components and substrates to assist in placement of components. Such methods would be readily extendable to align multiple optoelectronic components, but, along with much prior art involving passive alignment, these methods are of limited applicability because of the mechanical imprecision of the optoelectronic device die themselves. While the semiconductor layers in optoelectronic devices are controlled in thickness to ˜0.001 μm (1 nm) and the lateral semiconductor and metallization features are lithographically defined with a precision of ˜0.1 μm (100 nm), the thickness of the die and the lateral cutting of the die out of a wafer have imprecision of ±10 μm or considerably more. While it might be possible to improve these tolerances to permit passive alignment, the installed base of optoelectronic production equipment, which gives rise to the ±10 μm tolerances, is so large that such a development is thought to be impractical in the next few years. In addition, a problem often encountered is that various optical components have different heights; for example, a typical optical fiber has a diameter of 125 μm with an optical axis at 62.5 μm height, while a laser diode might be 300 μm tall with an optical emission point essentially at 300 μm height. Co-locating these components on a flat optical bench would result in a mis-match of their optical path heights, the typical solution to which is providing “sub-benches” to raise smaller optical components up to a common-height optical plane. A difficulty arises, however, in that the height of the sub-benches themselves can only be controlled to ˜±10 μm using existing high-precision manufacturing techniques.
A hybrid approach, combining passive and active alignment, is widely used in prior art. In this approach, as many components are passively aligned as practical, particularly including the aforementioned intermediary components between the optoelectronic component and the fiber, then a final active alignment step(s) is performed. By way of example, Von Freyhold et al teach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,616,345 one or more assembly holders, which can be moved over one or more bases along various axes, to bring groups of components into alignment, the components within any one group being passively aligned. Bergmann et al teach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,337 an adjustable beam steering device in an otherwise passively aligned optical path. Musk teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,858 a flexural member upon which a component is mounted such that the component can be brought into alignment with an optical path. Caracci et al teach in U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,838 polymer grippers, which allow a component to be moved to change the cavity length of a Fabry-Perot resonator, while keeping the component passively aligned in both axes transverse to the cavity length. None of these hybrid alignment approaches contemplate aligning several optoelectronic components such that these components share a common optical path.
Prior art does exist for limited cases of a few optoelectronic components sharing a common optical path. The most common types are loosely known as bi-directional optical sub-assemblies, in which a laser diode transmits optical signals in one direction in a fiber and a photo diode receives optical signals traveling in the opposite direction in the same fiber. Usually an optical filter arrangement separates the optic signals by wavelength. Ojima et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,716 teach such a bi-directional sub-assembly. Tsumori in U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,989 and Althaus in U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,121 teach alternate arrangements having three optoelectronic components, adding a second photo diode for a second reception channel. Althaus in U.S. Pat. No. 6,493,121 further teaches arrangements with four, five or more optoelectronic components, generally in transmitter/receiver pairs. It is believed that alignment of these sub-assemblies, even in the simpler cases, involves individual active alignment of each optoelectronic component. According to existing art, this alignment can only readily be done if each optoelectronic component is individually pre-packaged in hermetically-sealed, thermally conductive “TO cans”, with each whole can being moved to accomplish the alignment. Since a TO can has a volume of ˜150 mm3, a collection of these plus the common optical housing will quickly exceed the aforementioned space constraints of transceiver MSAs. In addition, upon incorporating four or more optoelectronic components, the alignment procedure becomes correspondingly more tedious and optical losses and cross-talk between channels become increasingly troublesome. | {
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The present invention relates to a method for converting haloacylaryl terminated organosiloxanes to the corresponding carboxyaryl terminated organosiloxanes by employing an aqueous mixture of an organic solvent, such as acetone.
Prior to the present invention, 4,4'-(1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-1,3-disiloxanediyl) bis(benzoic acid) having the formula, ##STR1## was made by the transition metal oxidation of the corresponding 1,3 alkylphenyl terminated tetramethyldisiloxane, or the caustic hydrolysis of the corresponding cyanophenyl terminated tetramethyldisiloxane. Tetramethyldisiloxane bis(benzoic acid) of formula (1) can be used in the preparation of a variety of liquid crystalline silicone polyesters as shown in copending application Ser. No. 319,028, filed Mar. 2, 1989.
As shown by Rich, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,054, which is incorporated herein by reference, the intermediate 2-chlorodimethylsilylbenzoylchloride and 3-chlorodimethylsilylbenzoylchloride can be made by effecting reaction between isophthaloylchloride or terephthaloyl chloride and a chloropolymethylsilane, such as 1,1,2,2-tetradimethyldichlorodisilane in the presence of a transition metal catalyst. Rich by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,604,442 and 4,604,477, which are incorporated herein by reference, shows that the corresponding tetramethyldisiloxane- bis(benzoyl chloride) can be made by hydrolyzing one of the aforementioned chlorodimethylsilylbenzoylchlorides. However, attempts to hydrolyze the aforementioned tetramethyldisiloxane bis(benzoyl chloride) to produce the corresponding diacid of formula (1) by standard means leads to decomposition of the starting material For example, treatment of tetramethyldisiloxane bis(benzoyl chloride) with either a 2% aqueous sodium hydroxide solution, or saturated sodium bicarbonate solution, results in the production of significant amounts of the corresponding cleavage product of the formula, ##STR2## | {
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The present disclosure generally relates to the field of electronics. More particularly, an embodiment of the invention relates to validating continuous signal phase matching in high-speed nets routed as differential pairs.
To reduce costs and delays associated with fabricating circuit boards and packages, designs may be first simulated on a computer. More particularly, computer-aided drafting (CAD) or electronic design automation (EDA) tools may be used to check for design rule violations. Some implementations may provide design rule checks (DRCs) for differential pair signals by end-to-end length matching or length matching per layer. However, differential pair signals may be extensively used in some designs and more accurate and/or efficient DRCs may be required to reduce costs and delays associated with designing such products. | {
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Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to computers, and more particularly to tuning global digests caching in a data deduplication system in a computing environment.
Description of the Related Art
In today's society, computer systems are commonplace. Computer systems may be found in the workplace, at home, or at school. Computer systems may include data storage systems, or disk storage systems, to process and store data. Large amounts of data have to be processed daily and the current trend suggests that these amounts will continue being ever-increasing in the foreseeable future. An efficient way to alleviate the problem is by using deduplication. The idea underlying a deduplication system is to exploit the fact that large parts of the available data are copied again and again, by locating repeated data and storing only its first occurrence. Subsequent copies are replaced with pointers to the stored occurrence, which significantly reduces the storage requirements if the data is indeed repetitive. | {
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1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to selecting multimedia content and, more particularly, to preselecting user collections of multimedia program listings.
2. Description of the Related Art
Subscribers to a multimedia content distribution network (MCDN) are typically provided with a user interface, including an electronic programming guide (EPG), for selecting multimedia content available for viewing. Operating the EPG may involve a series of operations to navigate the EPG and to select a program for immediate viewing. Users may often repeat cumbersome navigation operations when selecting programs with the EPG. Users may also desire to view multimedia content from various other sources, including from the Internet. | {
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This invention relates to engine exhaust emissions measurement methods and equipment, and more particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for correcting sample exhaust gas flow through a mini-diluter.
Accuracy in taking engine exhaust emission measurements has become increasingly important in recent years in view of more stringent vehicle emission standards. Permissible emissions under these standards are very low such that the accuracy currently acceptable emission equipment may not be sufficient to distinguish between a vehicle with acceptable emission levels and a vehicle with unacceptable emission levels.
One system that is frequently used to test emissions is referred to as a mini-diluter in which the exhaust emissions are diluted to a lower sample concentration and then a portion of the sample is either analyzed online or stored in a bag for analysis. The dilution unit must be calibrated so that the exhaust emissions are diluted to obtain a dilution ratio that must remain constant throughout the test. In particular, the flow of a dilution gas (diluent), such as nitrogen or synthetic air, and the exhaust gas is set to obtain a desired dilution ratio in order to avoid water condensation in the sampling system. Typically thermal mass flow controllers are used to control the flow of the diluent and raw exhaust gas. Due to their measurement principle thermal mass flow controllers or meters show a strong dependency of the reading on the chemical composition of the measured gas. However, the exhaust gas has a different density and specific heat than the diluent such that when exhaust gas flows through the metering device in the dilution unit an incorrect dilution ratio is obtained. As a result, the sample collected in the bag does not accurately represent the exhaust gas emissions expelled from the vehicle and an inaccurate result is obtained.
The prior art has masked this inaccuracy by adjusting the amount of sample collected in the bag rather than adjusting the flow rate of exhaust gas emissions to obtain the correct dilution ratio. Data collected on the exhaust gas flow rate is therefore inaccurate. Increased accuracy may be necessary for post-analysis. Another common method is to calibrate the exhaust gas mass flow controller with a mixture of CO2 and Nitrogen; this method does not account for changes of the exhaust gas composition and for the effects of the water content.
Partial flow particulate samplers, which measure the particulates in diesel emissions, also utilize mass flow controllers that are calibrated in a similar manner to that of mini-diluters. As a result, partial flow particulate samplers may also have inaccuracies. Therefore, what is needed is an engine exhaust emission measurement correction that yields a correct dilution ratio.
The present invention provides an exhaust emission analysis system including a dilution gas source respectively providing dilution gas. A dilution unit includes exhaust and dilution gas flow devices, such as mass flow controllers, fluidly connected to the exhaust and dilution gas sources, respectively. The metering devices in the mass flow controllers define a gas flow rate of gas from its respective gas source. The gas flow devices are fluidly connected at a connection that mixes the gases to provide a diluted exhaust gas having an incorrect dilution ratio if no further adjustment was performed. A humidity measurement device such as an analyzer measures the water content of the exhaust gas, preferably subsequent to dilution. A humidity content signal corresponding to the water content in the exhaust gas is sent from the water measurement device to a control device. The CO2 content of the exhaust gas may be calculated using the chemical analysis of the fuel and the air/fuel ratio or by directly measuring the CO2 content. An adjustment factor is calculated by the controller and a flow rate command signal is sent from the controller corresponding to the adjustment factor, preferably, to the exhaust gas mass flow controller to adjust the gas flow rate of the exhaust gas and provide a corrected dilution ratio at the connection.
The present invention also provides a system having a particulate sampler that includes a probe for proving exhaust gas. The particulate sampler has a mixer introducing the dilution gas to the exhaust gas to produce diluted exhaust gas, which has an uncorrected dilution ratio. Diluted exhaust and dilution gas flow devices are fluidly connected to the diluted exhaust and dilution gas sources respectively. The flow devices define a gas flow rate of gas from its respective gas source. Similar to the exhaust emission analysis system described above, a water content and/or carbon dioxide content may be determined which may be used in calculating an adjustment factor to provide a corrected dilution ratio at the mixer.
Accordingly, the above invention provides an engine exhaust emission measurement correction that yields a correct dilution ratio. | {
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In the present telecommunication environment, placing calls and transmitting information between telephony devices is more prevalent than ever. With the growing number of mobile telephones, communication networks have been continually striving to maintain pace with respect to cost, bandwidth, and communication quality. Call quality is a key factor for consumers when deciding which provider to subscribe to or over which network to place a phone call.
In addition to placing calls over a cellular network, consumers are also presented with the option of placing calls over a data connection via a VOIP telephony service provider. VOIP telephony service providers now give consumers more flexibility in how the consumer can place a phone call.
When a customer of an IP telephony system wishes to place a call to a destination telephony device, it is usually necessary to establish communications between a first gateway or proxy server of the IP telephony system which communicates with the customer's telephony device and a second gateway that communicates with the called or destination telephony device. The two gateways communicate with one another to setup the call between the customer's telephony device and the destination telephony device. The setup procedures may include establishing a different path through the data network that will be used to communicate data packets bearing the media of the call. For example, a media relay may be used to relay data packets bearing the media of the call back and forth between the customer's telephony device and the destination telephony device. Thus, various different elements in the data network can become involved in establishing and carrying a VOIP call.
When a new call setup request is received from a customer's telephony device by a proxy server of an IP telephony system, the proxy server typically consults a routing table to determine the identity of a proxy server or a destination gateway that is capable of establishing the call to the called, destination telephony device. The obtained information is typically an IP address of the proxy server or destination gateway, which is the information needed to contact the proxy server or destination gateway. In fact, the proxy server setting up the call may obtain a list of a plurality of IP addresses for a corresponding plurality of proxy servers or gateways that are capable of establishing the requested communication to the called telephony device. The list of IP addresses is provided in a priority order.
Once the proxy server setting up the call has a list of IP addresses of candidate proxy servers or destination gateways, the proxy server sends a call setup request to the device having the first IP address in the list, in an attempt to setup the requested call through the first candidate proxy server or destination gateway. If the first call setup attempt is unsuccessful, the proxy server setting up the call sends a second setup request to the device having the next IP address on the list. This process repeats until the call is established, or until the proxy server runs out of IP addresses to try.
Each time that a VOIP call is placed, a call detail record (CDR) is established for the call. The CDR for a call includes various items of information about the call, such as the originating telephone number, the destination telephone number, the time that the call started and ended, as well as various other items of information. Typically, the proxy server of destination gateways that are contacted to try to setup the call will forward items of information to the IP telephony system, and the IP telephony system uses that information to create a CDR for the call. Once the call is completed, the IP telephony system stores a final CDR that contains a final set of information about the call.
The information in the final CDRs is used by the IP telephony system for billing purposes, and in many cases for quality assurance and troubleshooting. The information in the CDRs may also be used to establish or adjust the routing tables that are consulted by the proxy servers setting up calls. The CDRs may also be used for various other purposes, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.
A CDR for a call may include information that identifies the elements of the data network which were used to setup and carry the call. For example, a CDR may include the IP address of the proxy server or destination gateway that was responsible for setting up the call, and possibly the IP addresses of any media relays that were used to communicate data packets bearing the media of the call.
As explained above, during the initial call setup procedures, it is common for the proxy server setting up a call to make several unsuccessful call setup attempts through multiple candidate proxy servers or destination gateways before the call ultimately is established between the calling telephony device and the called telephony device. While the final CDR for the call may include information identifying the proxy server or destination gateway that ultimately setup the call, the CDR does not presently include information that can be used to determine if other candidate gateways tried and failed to setup the call before the call was ultimately successfully established by the gateway identified in the CDR.
Note, CDRs may be established for each unsuccessful call setup attempt. But the CDR which contains information about the successful attempt, when the call was actually conducted, does not include information about the previous unsuccessful setup attempts.
Thus, there is a need to provide information in CDRs that would allow an IP telephony system to determine when proxy servers and destination gateways are frequently failing to setup requested calls. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The invention relates to the technical field of photorefractive corneal surgery in the case of which corneal tissue is processed by means of laser radiation with the goal of remedying, or at least largely reducing, vision defects. | {
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Color separation scanners are well known and are operative to scan two dimensional color pictures, such as prints or transparencies, and to produce electrical signals which represent color separations thereof for subsequent use in process color printing.
Conventional scanners, such as those manufactured and sold by Hell of Germany and Dainippon Screen Seizo of Japan, typically employ a rotating drum onto which the two dimensional color picture is mounted. The drum rotates past a scanning head, which may comprise a CCD array, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,969. According to that patent, a separate scan is carried out for each separation.
Various techniques are presently known for color separation in array detector based systems. One technique employs three primary Red, Green, and Blue filters installed over the scanning head of a single CCD linear or area array. A color picture can be constructed by repeatedly scanning the picture, each time with a different filter.
A second technique employs three colored fluorescent lamps. The picture is repeatedly scanned, each time under the illumination of a different lamp.
A third technique employs three sensors and dichroic mirrors or filters for separating the three elements of color, each of which is detected by a separate sensor. In its current state of the art, this third technique has not achieved pictures of a high enough quality to fulfill the requirements of pre-press processing.
Another technique employs a single CCD chip including three linear arrays, each having deposited thereon a different color filter. Lines are read in three colors and combined using electronic hardware. A delay of several lines is interposed between the lines read in the different colors.
Summarizing the state of the prior art, it can be said generally that the prior art scanners are relatively slow in operation and do not provide a capability for picture modification and adjustment at the scanning stage. All such image modification, rotation, cropping, adjustment and enhancement must be carried out once the scanned picture is stored in a computer memory, rendering such steps time-consuming and relatively expensive. | {
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(i) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an emulsifying composition and more particularly, to an emulsifying composition which comprises an hydroxyalkyl or alkenyl phosphate or a salt thereof thereby ensuring good feeling to the touch and low irritation when applied to living body and particularly skin withh excellent emulsification stabilizing ability.
(ii) Description of the Prior Art
In general, compounds used as an emulsifier can broadly be classified into two groups including a hydrophilic emulsifier group which shows high solubility in water or has a great HLB value and an oleophilic emulsifier group which shows high solubility in oil or has a small HLB value. The former has conventionally been used for stabilizing mainly O/W type emulsions and the latter used for W/O type emulsions. In this connection, however, oils to be emulsified greatly vary in property depending on the type of oil and thus a required level of HLB also depends on the type of oil. Accordingly, there is little chance of using hydrophilic emulsifiers alone or oleophilic emulsifiers alone and it is general to use a mixture of both the type emulsifiers to have a suitable level of HLB value. Especially when oils to be emulsified are in the form of a mixture, such a general way of the use is the common practice.
Conventionally employed hydrophilic emulsifiers are, for example, surface active agents which include anionic surface active agents such as alkali metal salts of fatty acids, alkylsulfates and the like, and ethylene oxide-added nonionic surface active agents such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene fatty acid esters, polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid esters, and the like. On the other hand, oleophilic emulsifiers include, for example, nonionic surface active agents such as sorbitan-fatty acid esters, glycerine-fatty acid esters and the like.
A method of preparing emulsifier compositions having different HLB values by mixing hydrophilic emulsifiers, which are obtained by combining fatty acid-triethanolamine salts and ethylene oxide-added nonionic surface active agents, with oleophilic emulsifiers such as glycerine-fatty acid esters has been widely utilized for emulsification in order to obtain emulsion-type cosmetics such as creams, lotions and the like.
However, it has been suggested that ethylene oxide-added nonionic surface active agents contain formalin, dioxane and the like as impurities and these impurities have the alergic action on living body. Further, it is known that anionic surface active agents are generally high in skin irritativeness and are thus not favorable as an emulsifier. Accordingly, in case that the anionic surface active agents are employed, alkali metal salts of fatty acids are used by virtue of giving relatively low skin irritativeness, this case however, accompanied by another disadvantage that the resulting emulsion is rendered alkaline.
That is, emulsion-type cosmetics using these known emulsifiers are not fully satisfactory in safety.
On the other hand, it has been known that there are present in living body a group of compound having surface activity and called phospholipids, which play an important role as main components of membranes of living body. Typical examples of the phospholipids include glycerophospholipids such as phosphatidyl choline (lecithin), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (cephalin), phosphatidyl serine and the like. These phospholipids are components in vivo, and are thus surface active materials which are high in safety against living body. For instance, lecithin has been industrially utilized as an emulsifier. However, since these are of natural origin, they have various impurities and suffer deterioration in quality inherent of natural materials as time goes. Furthermore, the structure such as of a fatty acid composition cannot be arbitrarily changed, so that its HLB value cannot be changed freely. Moreover, in order to obtain emulsified cosmetics which ensure good feeling on use, it is known that relatively hydrophilic oils or polar oils are satisfactorily used as the oil phase. However, the emulsification of polar oils is comparatively difficult and sufficient emulsification stability cannot be obtained in case of using weak surface active materials such as lecithin. | {
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Noisy wheel covers are very objectionable to car owners. In order to test wheel covers for noise, the wheel covers must be tested when mounted on a wheel and the wheel is rotating. Wheel covers have been tested in the past but with results that have not been entirely satisfactory. It is important that the testing take place in an environment which is protected from extraneous or random outside noise. It is also desirable that the testing machine be capable of testing wheel covers on wheels of varying sizes and with equipment for detecting and transmitting any noise produced during testing to persons located some distance from the test machine.
In accordance with the present invention, the test wheel is mounted in a compartment and preferably is driven in rotation by a drive wheel mounted outside the compartment but in frictional peripheral contact with a tire on the test wheel through an opening in the compartment. A microphone is supported in the compartment of the test wheel for detecting and transmitting wheel cover noise incident to rotation of the test wheel. Preferably, a support is provided for the microphone comprising a first track extending in one direction and a second track perpendicular to the first track and movable along the first track. The microphone is mounted for movement along the second track so that placement of the microphone in a desired position along the second track and the second track in a desired position along the first track will enable the microphone to be accurately positioned where desired to best monitor noise when the wheel and wheel cover are rotated.
Preferably, the drive wheel is mounted in a separate compartment so that the noise, if any, incidental to operation of the drive wheel will not affect the test results.
It is also preferable that both compartments be mounted within a cage supported on isolator pads so that any vibration occasioned by the operation of the test apparatus will be dampened.
Preferably, the compartment for the test wheel has a door which can be opened to load and unload a test wheel, and a window for viewing which can be opened to adjust the microphone.
One object of this invention is to provide a wheel cover noise testing machine having the foregoing features.
Another object is to provide a wheel cover testing machine which is composed of a relatively few simple parts, is rugged and durable in use, and can be relatively inexpensively manufactured and assembled.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent as the following description proceeds, especially when considered with the accompanying drawings. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pulse signal circuit and further to a parallel processing circuit and a pattern recognition system that use this pulse signal circuit, and an image input system for detecting a specified object etc. by use of the pattern recognition system.
2. Related Background Art
Image and voice recognition implementation systems have hitherto been roughly classified into such a type that a recognition processing algorithm specialized for a specified recognition object is sequentially operated and executed as computer software, and a type in which the same algorithm is executed by a dedicated parallel image processor (such as an SIMD (Single Instruction Multiple Data) processor, an MIMD (Multiple Instruction stream/Multiple Data stream) processor and so on).
Typical examples are given below as exemplifying the image recognition algorithm. At first, the following is methods involving calculating a feature amount relative to a similarity to a recognition object model. One method is a method for representing recognition object model data as a template model, calculating a similarity by template matching etc with an input image (or a feature vector thereof) and calculating a high-order correlation coefficient. Another method is a method (Sirovich, et al., 1987, Low-dimensional procedure for the characterization of human faces, J. Opt. Soc. Am.[A], vol. 3, pp. 519-524) for mapping an input pattern to an intrinsic image function space obtained by analyzing primary components of an object model image, and calculating an intra-feature-space distance from the model. A further method is a method (Lades et al., 1993, Distortion Invariant Object Recognition in the Dynamic Link Architecture, IEEE Trans. on Computers, vol. 42, pp. 300-311) for representing a plurality of feature extraction results (feature vectors) and a spatial arrangement relationship as graphs, and calculating a similarity based on elastic graph matching. A still further method is a method (Seibert, et al., 1992, Learning and recognizing 3D objects from multiple views in a neural system, in Neural Networks for Perception, vol. 1 Human and Machine Perception (H. Wechsler Ed.) Academic Press, pp. 427-444) for obtaining position-, rotation- and scale-invariable representations by executing predetermined conversions with respect to input images and thereafter collating with a model.
The following is exemplifications of a pattern recognition method based on a neural network model of which a hint is acquired from a biological information processing system. One exemplification is a method (Japanese Patent Post-Exam. No. 60-712, Fukushima and Miyake, 1982, Neocognitron: A new algorithm for pattern recognition tolerant of deformation and shifts in position, Pattern Recognition, vol. 15, pp-455-469) for implementing hierarchical template matching. Another exemplification is a method (Anderson, et al., 1995, Routing Networks in Visual Cortex, in Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks (M. Arbib, Ed.), MIT Press, pp. 823-826) for obtaining object-based scale- and position-invariable representations by dynamic routing neural networks. Other exemplifications are methods using multi-layer perceptrons, a radial basis function network and so on.
On the other hand, what is proposed as a scheme for taking an information processing system based on biological neural networks with a higher fidelity, is a neural network model circuit (Murray et al., 1991, Pulse-Stream VLSI Neural Networks Mixing analog and digital Techniques, IEEE Trans. on Neural Networks, vol. 1.2, pp. 193-204; Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 7-262157, 7-334478 and 8-153148, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 2879670) for transmitting and representing information through on a pulse train corresponding to an action potential.
Methods for recognizing and detecting a specified object by a neural network constructed of pulse train generation neurons, are systems (U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,065, and Broussard, et al., 1999, Physiologically Motivated Image Fusion for Object Detection using a Pulse Coupled Neural Network, IEEE Trans. on Neural Networks, vol. 10, pp. 554-563, and so forth) using a pulse coupled neural network (which will hereinafter be abbreviated to PCNN), to be specific, a high-order (second-order or higher) model by Echhorn (Eckhorn, et al., 1990, Feature linking via synchronization among distributed assembles: simulation of results from cat cortex, Neural Computation, vol. 2, pp. 293-307) which is based on the premise of linking inputs and feeding inputs.
Further, a method for relieving a wiring problem in the neural network is an event-driven oriented method (Address Event Representation: this will hereinafter be abbreviated to AER) (Lazzaro, et al., 1993, Silicon Auditory Processors as Computer Peripherals, In Touretzky, D (ed), Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems 5. San Mateo, Calif.: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers) for coding addresses of so-called pulse output neurons. In this case, IDs of pulse train output-sided neurons are coded as binary addresses, whereby even when output signals from the different neurons are arranged in time sequence on a common bus, the input-sided neurons are able to automatically decode the addresses of the source neurons.
On the other hand, the neural network processor related to Japanese Patent Publication No. 2741793 schemes to reduce the number of neurons and to downsize a circuit by configuring multi-layered feedforward oriented networks in a systolic array architecture.
Each of the prior arts described above, however, still entails, as problems to a great extent, a difficulty of downsizing both wiring portions related to inter-neuron connections and a circuit scale of synaptic connection circuit of which the number is by far larger than the number of neurons, and a difficulty of applying a layout of respective components to a general pattern recognition. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a three dimensional shade and particularly to a three dimensional shade that provides a three dimensional layer structure and profile to enhance added value in use.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 for embodiments of conventional window shades 1 and 2. They are simple and practical. By cooperating with different materials and patterns, they also can be matched with overall interior design and color configuration to enhance aesthetic appeal. However these days the window shade has evolved from the simple masking function in the past to become an important element of the overall interior design. While altering the pattern or color can enhance the aesthetic appeal, the structure still is formed in a simple plane fashion, and does not provide three dimensional visual effect and layer structures. | {
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Flow ranges for centrifugal compressors generally, and the ranges over which they may operate specifically, are dictated by the stalling characteristics of the compressor impeller and a diffuser which receives compressed air from the impeller. The stalling characteristics in turn are intrinsically controlled by contours of the impeller blades as well as Mach numbers achieved during operation.
Although various centrifugal compressors may utilize either vaned or vaneless diffuser systems, where maximum efficiency at high Mach numbers is required, the use of vaned diffuser systems becomes almost mandatory. This in turn means that the impeller and diffuser must be matched at peak efficiency flow conditions.
In such cases, the vaned diffuser tends to be the flow controlling component in that the overall Mach number occurring therein generally is higher than that of the compressor inducer which operates with a larger variation of Mach numbers over the radius of the blades extending from a hub of the impeller to the compressor shroud in an axial inflow, radial outflow centrifugal compressor. The diffused flow from the impeller in such a case, and non-uniform entrance conditions which result, further aggravate stalling sensitivity. To attain a large flow range requires that the impeller and the diffuser must be capable of operating into "positive incidence" or stalled regions to flows where compressor surge is eventually triggered. Compressor surge is generally believed to stem from operation on an unstable portion of the overall compressor characteristic (a positive slope portion) where the impeller static pressure ratio decreases with decreasing flow. Thus, one effective method of increasing compressor operating range is to provide sufficient impeller stability so that the downstream diffuser can operate well into its positive incidence zone, even though the diffuser static pressure recovery versus flow characteristic exhibits a positive slope. Impeller stability is conventionally provided by the use of blade tip backsweep since the increased backsweep provides a more negative sloped static pressure rise versus flow characteristic. However, increasing the tip backsweep increases stresses appearing in the impeller blade and/or hub.
Present-day advanced aircraft require auxiliary power units (APUs) as a supply of electrical, hydraulic, and pneumatic power to secondary power systems of the aircraft. Generally speaking, the APUs are gas turbine units and must be highly reliable. In addition, compactness is also required. Most suitably, the APUs are then based upon a single shaft, constant speed, gas turbine having a high specific speed, single stage centrifugal compressor, a reverse flow annular combustor, and a single stage radial or axial inflow turbine. Shaft power is utilized to drive electrical generators and/or pumps and compressor bleed air extracted from the system prior to combustion to provide pneumatic power. For high bleed air output, it is necessary to design the compressor to operate adjacent to its maximum flow point, that is, near a so-called "choke" condition. The extraction of increasing amounts of shaft power at constant speed and constant turbine inlet temperatures from the choke point incrementally displace the compressor operating point to lower flows and are eventually limited by encroachment upon the compressor surge line.
The assignee of the instant invention has in the past embraced the problems as defined herein before and defined a solution as described in now issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,018. This solution called for a compressor construction wherein a compressor hub and associated blades of the impeller formed thereby are surrounded by an annular shroud. Bleed passages in the shroud which are angled in the direction of flow, both axially and radially, have been found to improve efficiency.
While the invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,018 advanced the state of the art, low operating temperature environmental operating conditions conspired to detract from the turbomachine's overall efficiency.
The shroud bleed air which has been warmed during compression is reingested by the compressor at the compressor inlet. This warmed bleed air appears to stratify toward a compressor outer shroud wall. This warmed stratified bleed air enters an outer flow path of the compressor's inducer section and causes performance penalties to the turbomachine.
In cold ambient air during startup, cold air is drawn into the compressor inlet and in so doing cools inlet support struts and related structure in such a manner as to cause the compressor front shroud structure to pull away from the compressor rotor which further deteriorates the turbomachine's performance.
The invention to be described more fully hereinafter solves the problems just enumerated in an exceptionally simple manner. | {
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Cases for medication delivery devices such as auto-injectors used for injection of epinephrine are well-known. However, no known conventional epinephrine auto-injector case provides an insulated chamber that protects the epinephrine from degradation by extreme or prolonged temperature variance from ambient temperature. Also, no known conventional epinephrine auto-injector case provides a spring-loaded, internal container or chamber that forces the contained auto-ejector immediately upon opening an internal, rapid-release cap. Also, no known epinephrine auto-injector case provides for sensing and recording the temperature inside of the case to provide information on degradation or loss of effectiveness of the encased epinephrine due to prolonged storage in high temperature environments. | {
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This invention relates to a drum brake device with a mechanical type actuator and especially relates to a structure wherein a larger space is reserved at a central region of the brake while maintaining the sufficient rigidity so as to extend an effective stroke range of the mechanical type actuator and to maintain the stability of the brake function.
An example of a drum brake device with a mechanical type actuator is disclosed in Publication Number JP09273573, which is hereby incorporated by reference. The structure and action of this type of the drum brake device is disclosed well in JP09273573. Therefore, an explanation here will be limited to a general description as to an overall structure and braking action of the drum brake device with reference to FIGS. 1-3 of this invention employing the same basic structure as in JP09273573.
Terms such as xe2x80x9cupperxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9clowerxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cleftxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9crightxe2x80x9d used herein are explained with reference to FIG. 1. A back plate 10 is a disc-shape as a whole. An axle (not shown in the figures) penetrates into the central hole 10a formed in a center of the back plate 10, and four installation holes 10b are formed around the central hole 10a into which fixing members are inserted to fix the back plate 10 on a stationary part of a vehicle (not shown in the figures).
A pair of brake shoes 20, 30 comprise almost arc-shaped shoe rims 20a, 30a, shoe webs 20b, 30b fixed on inner circumferential surfaces of the shoe rims 20a, 30a designed to make T-shapes when viewed cross-sectionally, and linings 20c, 30c affixed on outer circumferential surfaces of the shoe rims 20a, 30a. One side surface of the shoe rims 20a, 30a is movably put on the back plate 10.
A wheel cylinder 11 of a hydraulic type actuator positioned between upper adjacent ends of the brake shoes 20, 30 is fixed on the back plate 10 by bolts, and a pair of pistons 11a (one in the right side only in FIG. 1) make slight contact with the upper end surfaces of the shoe webs 20b, 30b. Lower ends of the shoe webs 20b, 30b are supported by an anchor 10c fixed on the back plate 10 by a fixing means such as rivets.
A pair of shoe-hold mechanisms 40, 50 comprise shoe-hold pins 41, 51 and shoe-hold springs 42, 52. Top ends of the shoe-hold pins 41 and 51, rising from the back plate 10, retain the shoe-hold springs 42, 52, positioned on shoe webs 20b, 30b so as to contract the same to form almost a U-shape, thereby urging the brake shoes 20, 30 toward the back plate 10. Due to the above configuration, surfaces of the linings 20c, 30c are constantly parallelized, within a certain clearance, to an inner circumferential surface of a brake drum (not shown in the figures). Details of the shoe-hold mechanism 40 at the left side of the figures will be explained later.
A first strut 12 adjacent to the wheel cylinder 11 has a screw mechanism and is extended between both shoe webs 20b, 30b. Extending or shortening the first strut 12 adjusts the clearance between the linings 20c, 30c and the brake drum (not shown in the figures).
A pair of upper and lower shoe-return springs 15, 16 urging the pair of brake shoes 20, 30 to approach each other are stretched between both shoe webs 20b, 30b. This prevents dragging of the linings 20c, 30c when releasing the brake.
The structure of the mechanical type brake mechanism will be explained next.
A brake lever 60 superposed on the shoe web 20b of the left brake shoe 20, positioned between the back plate 10 and the shoe web 20b, but adjacent to the shoe web 20b, has a base portion 60a pivotally supported at a lower end portion of the shoe web 20b by a pin 61.
A free end 60b of the brake lever 60 is connected to a cable end 62a of a brake cable 62 functioning as a remote force transmitting member, and a projection 60c formed on an outer circumferential edge of the brake lever 60 near the free end 60b, just like shown in FIG. 1, abuts against an inner circumferential surface of the shoe rim 20a, thereby restricting a returning position of the brake lever 60.
A cable guide 10d is fixed on the back plate 10 to smoothly guide the brake cable 62, and a guide pipe 10e fixes one end of an outer casing.
The outer casing is a member to protect the brake cable 62 that may be directly exposed to outside air.
A pivot lever 14 superposed on the shoe web 30b of the right brake shoe 30, positioned between the back plate 10 and the shoe web 30b of the brake shoe 30, has a centrally located protuberance 14a pivotally supported at the central location of the shoe web 30b. A second strut 13 is extended between a lower end of the pivot lever 14 and the lower portion of the brake lever 60, and the upper end of the pivot lever 14 engages with a right end portion of the strut 12.
Details of the shoe-hold mechanism 40 at the left side of FIG. 1 will be explained with reference to the FIG. 8.
One end of which has a head 41b wherein the head declines or slopes to meet the stem of the shoe-hold pin in order to allow the pin to swingably move, the other end of which has an enlarged head 41c in order to fix the shoe-hold spring 42.
The head 41b at one end of the shoe-hold pin 41 swingably engages with an engagement hole 10f formed in the back plate 10, and the head 41c at the other end of the shoe-hold pin 41 penetrates through a by-pass hole 20d formed in the shoe web 20b and a by-pass hole 42b formed in a bottom branch 42a of the shoe-hold spring 42, wherein a top branch 42c of the shoe-hold spring 42 facing the bottom branch 42a of the shoe-hold spring 42 is fixed by the shoe-hold pin 41.
As such, the brake shoe 20 is resiliently supported on the back plate 10.
In order to keep a larger space at a central region of the brake, the brake lever 60 is positioned such that its outer circumferential edge is adjacent to the stem 41a of the shoe-hold pin 41.
An explanation as to an automatic shoe clearance adjustment mechanism automatically adjusting a clearance between the linings 20c, 30c and the brake drum (not shown in the figures) and an automatic stroke adjustment mechanism automatically adjusting a stroke of the brake lever 60 according to the lining wear of the linings 20c, 30c is omitted since it is not directly related to the concept of this invention.
In addition, the automatic stroke adjustment mechanism is configured in the second strut 13, and an explanation as to its structure and action is disclosed in Publication Number JP10110758 which is hereby incorporated by reference. Braking action of the brake device with the above-structure will be explained with reference to FIG. 1.
A hydraulic actuator action will be explained first.
If a wheel cylinder 11 is pressurized to push both pistons (where only right half of the wheel cylinder 11 with a piston 11a is shown in FIG. 1), the brake shoes 20, 30 move outward with a point of abutment with the anchor 10c as a pivot point, and the linings 20c, 30c frictionally engage with the brake drum (not shown in FIG. 1).
Either brake shoe 20 or brake shoe 30, where the brake drum moves in a rotational direction about the brake shoe, functions as a leading shoe, and the remaining brake shoe of the two, not positioned in a rotational direction, functions as a trailing shoe, thereby operating and functioning as a leading trailing type drum brake device with a stable braking effect.
A mechanical type actuator action will be explained next. If the free end 60b of the brake lever 60 is pulled via a brake cable 62, the brake lever 60 rotates clockwise with the pin 61 as a pivot point, and the operation force is transmitted to the second strut 13, the pivot lever 14, and the first strut 12 respectively so as to move the left brake shoe 20 outward to cause a frictional engagement with the brake drum.
Simultaneously, the right brake shoe 30 moves outward via the protuberance 14a of the pivot lever 14 to cause a frictional engagement with the brake drum.
An outward force acts on the lower end of the left brake shoe 20 via the pin 61.
A frictional force of either the brake shoe 20 or the brake shoe 30 working as a primary shoe in relation to a rotational direction of the brake drum is transmitted to the remaining brake shoe of the two working as a secondary shoe via the first strut 12 so as to cause a braking force, thereby functioning as a duo servo type drum brake device with a highly effective braking force.
Accordingly, this drum brake device is defined to be a dual mode type drum brake device.
A conventional drum brake device has the following drawbacks: Recently, for safety reasons, the number of vehicles utilizing anti-lock brake control devices, has been increasing.
For a vehicle with the anti-lock brake control device, a sensor wheel rotating together with the brake drum is positioned at the central region of the brake, and a sensor faces an outer circumferential surface of the sensor wheel with a certain clearance. A body of the sensor penetrates through a through hole 10g (see FIG. 1) formed in the back plate 10 to be installed. Accordingly, unless a sufficiently effective brake lever stroke is reserved, the sensor may be damaged.
In a four-wheel drive vehicle, because a hub portion of the brake drum is positioned at the central region of the brake, an insufficient effective brake lever stroke, just like the above case, may damage the hub portion and the brake lever.
If the hub portion of the brake drum is positioned at the central region of the brake, and in order to avoid any interference with the same, pitches of the installation holes on the back plate become wider requiring a sufficient space necessary for installing fixing members. Considering the above drawbacks, it is desirable to keep a larger space at the central region of the brake.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,849 and Publication Number JP58052342U disclose the structure employing a means to keep a larger space at the central region of the brake.
In these configurations, the shoe-hold pin rises from the back plate and freely passes or penetrates through the by-pass hole. A flat brake lever plate is positioned beneath the shoe web and parallel to the back plate with a certain clearance, and the outermost circumferential edge of the brake lever approaches the inner circumferential surface of the shoe rim.
The brake lever disclosed in the drawings of U.S. Pat. No. 3,255,849 only suggests a by-pass hole on a member adjacent to a shoe web, from which a shoe-hold pin is freely penetrated through.
However, the structure of this conventional drum brake device has the following drawbacks:
The shoe-hold pin ha s a semi-sphere head at one end of which is swingably engaged with a back plate. Therefore, there is no guarantee of maintaining a stable condition.
As the lining wears, the shoe-hold pin leans towards the outside of the brake because of the sloped surface of the head. When the brake lever is in operation, if collision of the brake lever collides and the shoe-hold pin cause a serious damage to both. Therefore, in order to satisfy the above requirements, the by-pass hole of the brake lever must be designed to be a sufficient size. As such, an inner circumferential line of the brake lever at the brake center side is necessarily projected resulting in diminishing the space at the central region of the brake.
A large by-pass hole needs to be formed in the flat brake lever, which reduces the strength of the brake lever.
Because of this larger hole, a section of the brake lever surrounding the by-pass hole needs to be wider, which also contributes to the diminished space at the central region of the brake.
A reinforcement plate may be added to the brake lever, or the brake lever may be forged or cast, thus thickening the surrounding portion of the by-pass hole so as to increase the strength of the brake lever. However, this adds an additional member or an additional process, making the processing more complex and increases the manufacturing cost. This invention was made to remove the aforementioned drawbacks. Also this invention was made to increase the rigidity of the brake lever with a simpler structure and to achieve a longer, effective brake lever stroke by way of securing a larger space in the brake.
This invention is a drum brake device comprising a brake shoe being movably disposed parallel to a surface on a fixed back plate, a brake lever superposed on a shoe web of the brake shoe, Positioned between the back plate and the shoe web, but adjacent to the shoe web, a base end of which is pivotally supported at one end of the shoe web, a shoe-hold mechanism, composed of a shoe-hold pin, rising from the back plate, and a shoe-hold spring, laid on the brake shoe, the shoe-hold pin contracting the shoe-hold spring so as to urge the brake shoe toward the back plate and to hold the brake shoe, and a remote control device pulls a free end of the brake lever to cause a frictional engagement between the brake shoe and a brake drum. A by-pass hole is formed in the brake lever through which the shoe-hold pin penetrates and a bending section extending toward the back plate is integrally formed at an outermost circumferential edge of a brake lever surrounding the by-pass hole.
This invention further is the drum brake device as above, wherein the bending section is a substantially L-shaped angle member.
The invention still further is the drum brake device as above, wherein the bending section is a substantially reversed C-shaped sulciform member.
The invention still further is the drum brake device as above, wherein the bending section is a folded and superposed section.
This invention still further is a drum brake device comprising a brake shoe being movably disposed parallel to a surface on a fixed back plate, a brake lever superposed on a shoe web of the brake shoe, positioned between the back plate and the shoe web, but adjacent to the shoe web, a base end of which is pivotally supported at one end of the shoe web, a shoe-hold mechanism, composed of a shoe-hold pin, rising from a back plate, and a shoe-hold spring, laid on the brake shoe, the shoe-hold pin contracting the shoe-hold spring so as to urge the brake shoe toward the back plate and to hold the brake shoe, and a remote control device pulls a free end of the brake lever to cause a frictional engagement between the brake shoe and a brake drum. A tube section, through which the shoe-hold pin penetrates, is integrally formed in the brake lever toward the back plate.
This invention yet further is the drum brake device as above, wherein the tube section of the brake lever is tapered to gradually become narrower toward the back plate. | {
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The present invention is set against a background of change in society's attitudes to how natural resources are used. Petroleum feedstocks are non-renewable and increasingly costly, even impacting significantly on national balances of payment, and supply can be uncertain. There is a perception, increasingly commonly held, that it may be for the general good of society, as well as of the environment, to reduce the reliance of consumer disposable goods manufacturing on such feedstocks. However, a serious response to such notions requires efficient processes for converting locally or regionally available renewable resource feedstocks into desirable consumer goods such as laundry detergents.
The United States produces very considerable tonnages of sugars, such as glucose or corn syrup, as well as of fatty substances. There is a downward trend in traditional patterns of consumption of these particular renewable resources: people are tending to eat less sugars, and also less fatty foods, especially saturated fats, for health-related reasons. This makes their development for other uses, such as laundry detergents, all the more attractive.
A number of years ago, processes were explored for making textile assistants or detergents from fatty acids or their derivatives in combination with N-alkylglucamines, the latter made by reductive amination of glucose. Glucose reductive amination processes are more fully disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,016,962, Flint et al, issued Oct. 8, 1935.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,985,424, Piggott, issued Dec. 25, 1934, discloses manufacturing "textile assistants" by reacting (a) the product of heating glucose and aqueous methylamine in presence of hydrogen and a hydrogenating catalyst under pressure with (b) an organic carboxylic acid such as stearic acid or oleic acid. The condensation product, prepared at about 160.degree. C., is said to be "predominantly, if not exclusively, an amide" and is assertedly of the formula R--CO--NR.sub.1 --CH.sub.2 --(CHOH).sub.4 --CH.sub.2 OH wherein R is an alkyl radical containing at least 3 carbon atoms, while R.sub.1 is hydrogen or an alkyl radical.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,703,798, Schwartz, issued Mar. 8, 1955, asserts that compositions produced by reacting fatty acids or acid anhydrides with N-alkylglucamines (presumably such as the process as taught by Piggott) have poor color and poor detergency properties. It is indeed chemically reasonable that more than one compound can be formed by the Piggott process. Piggott makes no attempt to quantitatively prove the structures of the compounds or mixtures he prepared.
Schwartz ('798) goes on to report an improvement as a result of reacting fatty ester (as distinct from fatty acid or anhydride) with N-alkylglucamines. Although this process may overcome one or another deficiency of the art, such as of Piggott, it now transpires that the Schwartz process still has difficulties, in particular, in that complex mixtures of compounds can be formed even by the Schwartz process. The reaction may take several hours and the process can fail to give high quality product. Neither the process of Piggott not the process of Schwartz is known to have ever borne fruit in commercial practice.
In more detail, Schwartz notes that only one of several possible chemical reactions takes place when N-monoalkylglucamines are condensed with fatty esters or oils. The reaction is said to give compounds formulated as amides, e.g., ##STR1## where R' is fatty alkyl and R is a short-chain alkyl, typically methyl. This structure is apparently the same as the structure proposed by Piggott. Schwartz contrasts the single-product outcome he believes he secures with compounds he asserts are actually produced when acids are reacted with N-alkylglucamines, namely mixtures of the amide (I) with one or more by-products, to which he assigns esteramide and esteramine structures and which assertedly include compounds which are "inert and waxy, impairing the surface activity of" the structure (I) amide.
According to Schwartz, approximately equimolar proportions of N-monoalkylglucamines can be reacted with fatty alkyl esters by heating at 140.degree. C.-230.degree. C., preferably 160.degree. C.-180.degree. C. at normal, reduced or superatmospheric pressures for a period "somewhat in excess of one hour" during which time two initially immiscible phases merge to form a product said to be a useful detergent.
Suitable N-monoalkylglucamines are illustrated by N-methylglucamine, N-ethylglucamine, N-isopropylglucamine and N-butylglucamine. Suitable fatty alkyl esters are illustrated by the product of reacting a C.sub.6 -C.sub.30 fatty acid with an aliphatic alcohol e.g., methyl ester of lauric acid. Mixed glycerides of Manila oil or mixed glycerides of cochin coconut oil can apparently also be used as the fatty ester. When the glucamine is N-methylglucamine, the corresponding products with these fatty esters are characterized as the "fatty acid amides of N-methylglucamine", which are useful detergent surfactants. Another specific composition reported is assertedly "N-isopropylglucamine coconut fatty acid amide".
U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,887, Zech, issued Jul. 25, 1961, reveals there is even more complexity to the reactions of fatty substances with N-methylglucamine. In particular, Zech asserts that the products of high-temperature reaction (180.degree. C.-200.degree. C.) within the range disclosed by Schwartz have cyclic structures. No fewer than four possible structures are given. See '887 at col. 1 line 63-col. 2 line 31.
What is now believed actually to be provided by the fatty ester- N-alkylglucamine process of Schwartz are compositions comprising mixtures of formula (I) compounds together with appreciable proportions (e.g., about 25%, often much more) of several other components, especially cyclic glucamide by-products (including but not limited to the structures proposed by Zech) or related derivatives such as esteramides wherein as compared with formula (I) at least one --OH moiety is esterified.
Moreover, a reinvestigation of Schwartz suggests that there are other significant unsolved problems in the process, including a tendency to form trace materials imparting very unsatisfactory color and/or odor to the product.
More recently, the work of Schwartz notwithstanding, Hildreth has asserted that compounds of formula (I) are new. See Biochem. J., 1982, Vol. 207, pages 363-366. In any event, these compositions are given a new name: "N-D-gluco-N-methylalkanamide detergents", and the acronym "MEGA". Hildreth provides a solvent-assisted process for making the compounds differing seminally from Schwartz in that it returns to the use of a fatty acid reactant, instead of fatty ester. Moreover, Hildreth relies on pyridine/ethyl chloroformate as the solvent/activator. This process is specifically illustrated for octanoyl-N-methylglucamide ("OMEGA"), nonanoyl-N-methylglucamide ("MEGA-9") and decanoyl-N-methylglucamide ("MEGA-10"). The process is said to be cheap and high-yield. One must of course assume that "cheap" is relative and is meant in the sense of specialized biochemical applications of interest to the author: in terms of large-scale detergent manufacture, the use of pyridine and ethyl chloroformate would hardly be viewed as consistent with an economic or environmentally attractive process. Therefore, the Hildreth process is not further considered herein.
Hildreth and other workers have purified certain formula (I) compounds, e.g., by recrystallization, and have described the properties of some of the structure (I) compounds. Recrystallization is, of course, a costly and potentially hazardous (flammable solvents) step in itself, and large-scale detergent manufacture would be more economical and safer without it.
According to Schwartz supra, the products of the Schwartz process can be used for cleaning hard surfaces. According to Thomas Hedley & Co. Ltd. (now Procter & Gamble), British Patent 809,060 published Feb. 18, 1959, formula (I) compounds are useful as a surfactant for laundry detergents such as those having granular form. Hildreth (supra) mentions use of compounds of formula (I) in the biochemistry field as a detergent agent for solubilizing plasma membranes and EP-A 285,768, published Dec. 10, 1988 describes application of formula (I) compounds as a thickener. Thus, these compounds, or compositions containing them, can be highly desirable surfactants.
Yet another process for making compositions comprising formula (I) compounds is included in the above-identified disclosure of improved thickeners. See EP-A 285,768. See also H. Kelkenberg, Tenside Surfactants Detergents 25 (1988) 8-13, inter alia for additional disclosures of processes for making N-alkylglucamines which, along with the above-identified art-disclosed N-alkylglucamine processes can be combined with the instant process for an overall conversion of glucose and fatty materials to useful surfactant compositions.
The relevant disclosures of EP-A 285,768 include a brief statement to the effect that "it is known that the preparation of chemical compounds of formula (I) is done by reacting fatty acids or fatty acid esters in a melt with polyhydroxy alkylamines which can be N-substituted, optionally in the presence of alkaline catalysts". The above-referenced art strongly suggests that this statement is a gross simplification or is inaccurate. EP-A 285,768 does not cite any references in support of the quoted statement, nor has any reference other than EP-A 285,768 been found which actually does disclose any catalytic condensation of N-alkylglucamines with fatty esters or fatty triglycerides.
The European Patent Application contains the following Example entitled "Preparation of N-methyl-coconut fatty acid glucamide" in which "Na methylate" is understood to be synonymous with "sodium methoxide" and which has been translated from the German:
"In a stirred flask 669 g (3.0 mol) of coconut fatty acid methyl ester and 585 g (3.0 mol) of N-methyl glucamine with the addition of 3.3 g Na methylate were gradually heated to 135.degree. C. The methanol formed during the reaction was condensed under increasing vacuum at 100 to 15 mbar in a cooled collector. After the methanol evolution ended the reaction mixture was dissolved in 1.5 l of warm isopropanol, filtered and crystallized. After filtration and drying 882 g (=76% of theoretical) of waxy N-methyl coconut fatty acid glucamide was obtained. Softening point: =80.degree. to 84.degree. C.; Base number: 4 mg. KOH/g."
EP-A 285,768 continues with the following:
"In a similar manner the following fatty acid glucamides were prepared:
______________________________________ Softening Base No. Yield Point (mg. % (.degree.C.) KOH/g) ______________________________________ N-methyl lauric acid glucamide 76 94-96 6 N-methyl myristic acid glucamide 75 98-100 3 N-methyl palmitic acid glucamide 75 103-105 5 N-methyl stearic acid glucamide 84 96-98 6" ______________________________________
To summarize some important points of what can be gleaned from the art, the aforementioned Schwartz patent teaches that the problem of making formula (I) compounds from fatty esters or triglycerides and an N-alkylglucamine is solved by selecting fatty ester (instead of fatty acid) as the fatty reactant, and by doing simple uncatalyzed condensations. Later literature, such as Hildreth, changes direction back to a fatty acid-type synthesis, but does not document either that the teaching of the Schwartz patent is in error or how, short of making highly pure formula (I) compounds, to make such surfactants to detergent formulator's specifications. On the other hand, there has been one disclosure, in a totally different technical field, of sodium methoxidecatalyzed formula (I) compound synthesis. As noted, the procedure involves gradual temperature staging up to 135.degree. C. and recrystallizing the product.
In view of the foregoing observations, it would be very desirable to further improve processes for making surfactant compositions comprising formula (I) compounds. Such processes should be useful on a large scale and should result directly in compositions meeting laundry detergent formulators' specifications without need for recrystallization.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide an improved catalyzed process for manufacturing surfactant compositions by reacting fatty esters and N-alkylglucamines in the presence of particular catalysts.
It is a further object to provide product compositions of the invention for use in laundry detergents, including not only linear glucamide surfactant compositions having excellent quality and color, but also compositions comprising the linear glucamide surfactant in combination with one or more solid-form alkaline laundry detergent builders such as sodium carbonate.
These and other objects are secured, as will be seen from the following disclosure. | {
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In the preparation of dough, such as pizza dough, it is of advantage to knead and deaerate the dough, and various dough preparation apparatus has been proposed utilizing a variety of configurations for such purposes, typical examples being shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 550,337; 730,124; 819,772 and 1,807,009.
Devices known as "dough dockers" may be used in the preparation of pizza dough for kneading and deaerating purposes and such apparatus is of the rolling pin type having radially extending teeth or projections for working and indenting the dough in a predetermined manner to aid in the removal of air. Rolling pin type apparatus pushes and stretches the dough, and when the apparatus includes teeth or projections extending into the dough inconsistencies in the kneading and deaerating process will occur if the operator is not careful to insure an equal extent of lateral rolling pin movement throughout the length of the apparatus during dough working. If one end of the rolling pin rotates faster than the other end, an unequal stretching of the dough will occur which may cause a tear or other imperfection.
When kneading and deaerating dough, optimum results are achieved by closely regulating the depth of dough penetration by the deaerating teeth or projections, and it is known to use gauging rollers with rolling pin type devices to control the thickness of the dough, or the distance of the rolling pin surface from the support surface, typical examples of such apparatus being shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 534,460; 4,435,145 and 4,521,174.
However, previous dough processing apparatus of the dough docker type has not successfully overcome the problems of producing consistent deaeration and dough working without producing tears and other dough imperfections while maintaining a uniform dough thickness and depth of penetration for deaeration purposes.
It is an object of the invention to provide dough preparation apparatus capable of kneading and deaerating dough in a consistent manner wherein uniform working and deaerating of the dough is achieved without requiring special skills by the operator.
A further object of the invention is to provide dough preparation apparatus of an economical construction which consists of a plurality of dough kneading and deaerating rollers each individually rotatably mounted upon a shaft and capable of rotating at that rate which will most advantageously work the dough contacted thereby.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide dough preparation apparatus of economical construction and manufacture which may be readily assembled, is easy to clean and maintain, and will consistently deaerate dough to a predetermined depth under uniform rolling and working conditions.
In the practice of the invention the dough preparation apparatus of the dough docker type includes a plurality of components mounted upon a cylindrical shaft. The shaft includes a central region upon which a plurality of independently rotatable rollers are mounted in side-by-side relationship to form an elongated stack. Each roller includes a plurality of radially extending teeth adapted to penetrate the dough mass being worked. Adjacent each end of the stack a gauging roller of slightly greater diameter than that of the stack rollers engages the surface supporting the dough and determines the depth of roller teeth penetration.
Tubular sleeves mounted upon the shaft end regions abut against the outer sides of the gauging rollers and define handles easily grapsed by the operator. The outer ends of the sleeves are engaged by washers mounted on bolts threaded into holes formed in the shaft ends and the bolts maintain the assembly of the components upon the shaft.
The rollers constituting the stack are independently rotatably mounted upon the shaft and if one end of the shaft is laterally pushed faster or further than the other, or the apparatus is moved through a slight arc, the resulting differences in the rate of roller rotation does not produce an uneven stretching or stressing of the dough in that each roller will automatically adapt itself to the rate of rotation commensurate with the rate of movement of the apparatus at each particular roller location, and accordingly, the apparatus automatically adapts itself to any inconsistency in the operator's handling of the apparatus during use.
Preferably, the rollers of the stack, the gauging rollers, and the handle sleeves, are all formed of a synthetic plastic material which is noncorrosive, easy to clean, and tends to release the dough therefrom. The teeth defined on the rollers of the stack are of a truncated pyramidal configuration which aid in releasing the dough, and apparatus in accord with the invention may be readily utilized by unskilled operators to achieve high quality dough kneading and deaeration without producing imperfections in the dough. | {
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The present invention, in some embodiments thereof, relates to recognizing behavior, and, more specifically, but not exclusively, to recognizing behavior of one or more objects detected in a video stream.
Recognition and classification of behavior and activity patterns of objects captured in video streams for detecting certain actions and/or events may be of great interest for a plurality of applications and has therefore attracted significant research interest in recent years.
Methods and systems for analyzing scenes captured by vision systems are constantly evolving in attempt to improve semantic inference from observed dynamics of moving targets, for example, humans, animals, vehicles and/or the like. Such methods and systems may target multiple applications ranging from surveillance through video content retrieval to human-computer interfaces. | {
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High conductivity of the interconnects or the metal layers of an integrated circuit is important for the efficient operation of such a circuit, particularly at submicron technologies. In previous integrated circuits, aluminum has been utilized to provide the interconnect for the device. However, as standards for speed have increased, i.e., smaller and smaller process technologies (0.18 .mu.m and lower), other metals have been used. In a preferred embodiment, high conductivity metal such as copper, gold and platinum have been used as the interconnect to enhance the speed of the device.
High conductivity interconnects in particular are highly desirable for advanced wirings in logic technology. However, high conductivity metals such as copper, gold and platinum have very high diffusivity through several dielectrics. This high diffusivity is a problem because in a typical processing of the device, the metal will get sputtered from a bottom metal layer onto the sidewall of the device. This elemental layer then has to be removed in order to prevent any diffusion from the walls of the via to minimize poisoning of the junction. Conventional chemical processes employed to remove high conductivity metal from the sidewall of the dielelectric material will also remove/attack high conductivity metal at the base of the via. Accordingly, although the high conductivity interconnects increase the overall performance of the device, they also provide challenges in manufacturing the device.
What is needed, therefore, is a system and method which minimizes the poisoning of associated with high conductivity metals that also have high diffusivity. The system and method should be easy to implement and cost effective. The system and method should also be easily adaptable utilizing conventional processing techniques.
The present invention addresses such a need. | {
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The present invention is related to a method for controlling a safety system in a vehicle and a control device.
Numerous methods and devices for controlling a safety system are known which are predominantly aimed only at the protection of the occupants of a motor vehicle using at least one impact sensor. Accordingly, an accident analysis is also usually conducted only from the standpoint of the timely activation of known occupant-protection equipment with the goal of effective absorbing the impact on occupants resulting from a change in vehicle speed due to an impact or an accident. Therefore, triggering strategies are regularly selected and implemented in the prior art on the basis of measured and/or calculated acceleration vectors in order to avoid, by the purposeful choice of occupant-protection equipment with a specifically directed effect. This is highly inadequate protection for the occupant(s) due to both too early and too late an activation of the appropriate airbags, seat belt tensioners and/or anti-rollover devices, etc. In addition to time-synchronized measurements of the transit time of signals relevant to accidents, approaches are also known for this purpose which use a large number of signal transmitters or sensors arranged in a distributed manner to locate the position of the damage and track the development of damage over time.
The starting point of these diagnoses with secondary strategies for triggering certain components of complex protection equipment is always an impact causing deformations involving at least the outer skin of a vehicle, as disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,445,412 for a motor vehicle, and in German Patent Document DE 40 25 564 C1 for laminated fiber parts of an airplane. Methods are also known in this context in which an output signal of at least one sensor is subjected to frequency analysis, such as, for example, in German Patent Document DE 198 55 452 A1. Depending on an impact location, the spectrums caused by an impact have different effects between the front of the vehicle and the side of the vehicle due to the different bodywork structures. This property can be used for locating the site of an impact. Targeted protective measures are then triggered starting as of a predetermined accident severity that is given by an area of an envelope of the course over time of the sensor signal. In German Patent Document DE 100 34 524 A1, a defined frequency pulse is repeatedly emitted for excitation, with significant changes from a known spectrum being interpreted as an accident-caused deformation of the component or the monitored components of the vehicle. Finally, building on the use of a windowed Fast Fourier transformation for spectral analysis and evaluation of the relevance of a sensor interference signal for vehicle occupants, German Patent Document DE 100 12 434 A1 discloses a frequency analysis of the sensor signal by means of a wavelet transformation. Unlike a Fast Fourier transformation, a wavelet transformation also provides information on the occurrence in time of individual frequencies or frequency ranges.
German Patent Document DE 102 57 125 A1 describes a possible design for a sensor in the form of an piezo-electric film to detect pedestrian impact.
Methods which also offer the possibility of protecting pedestrians and/or bicyclists as early warning systems can be constructed on the basis of the methods and devices described above with only a very significantly limited maximum attainable protective effect. Based on the disclosure of German Patent Document DE 102 06 351 A1, a sensor in a particularly collision-prone area of a vehicle serves to detect a possible collision based on an initial physical contact of the vehicle with the object as a pulse-like excitation. A spectral distribution of the sensor signal with the pertinent amplitudes over the time, which is determined on the basis of a Fast Fourier transformation, can accordingly be used to distinguish between a collision with an human being and a collision with another object. Even this well-known method is not rapid enough with respect to the progress or course of an impact acting on the vehicle involved, and can have substantial weaknesses in terms of its robustness where the vehicle is coated with dirt, ice or snow and/or is hit by road debris.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to create a method with improved reliability for controlling a safety system in a vehicle that is effective for pedestrians and/or bicyclists.
In the method of the present invention for controlling a safety system in a vehicle, in which an output signal from at least one impact sensor is subjected to frequency analysis in an evaluation unit, which is integrated into an electronic control unit, the frequency analysis is performed in at least one predetermined frequency range. The spectrum of the output signal is compared with reference patterns. This takes into account the dependency of the spectrum on the current speed of the vehicle and/or on the current outside temperature of the vehicle. A control signal is generated from the control unit to trigger predetermined protective measures if an impact with a person to be protected (especially pedestrians and/or bicyclists) is detected with at least a predetermined probability.
The current velocity of the vehicle v and the outside temperature of the vehicle θ are given a special value. In both cases this involves easily measurable parameters, which are also conventionally recorded for other electronic control units in the vehicle. Vehicle velocity v is taken into account in the method of the present invention because there is a surprising influence on the sensor signal spectrum when there is a hard on soft and a soft on soft impact. It has also become known that the elements of a vehicle become less elastic as the outside temperature θ of the vehicle drops, so that a material that is soft under normal conditions reacts like a progressively harder material as the temperature drops. This is especially true for a soft outside bumper covering that is relatively soft under normal conditions. Taking at least one of these parameters into account therefore clearly increases the detection reliability of a method according to the present invention.
In a further development of the present invention, piezo-electric elements are used as sensors. The term piezo-electricity is understood to mean the property of some crystal structures to cause a charge separation on their surfaces under the effect of tension and pressure with the result that an electrical voltage can be tapped off via electrodes. With a suitable selection of material and corresponding shaping of the piezo-electric crystals, surface deformation and structure-borne noise effects can be converted over a wide frequency range into electrical signals via the associated mechanical deformations of a piezo-electric element. In addition to the use of piezo-electric crystals which can, for example, be designed as lead zirconium titanate or PZT bodies or as ceramic elements, the use of artificial piezo-electric films is well-known. The synthetics used usually involve highly polar substances which are subjected, as the film is manufactured in the warm state, to a highly static electrical field for uniform orientation of the molecules. In the course of cooling, this forced orientation of the molecules is almost solidly frozen in the film substance.
The materials mentioned above have in common that they can be used as passive sensors, with self-testing also being possible in a simple manner by making use of the reciprocity of piezo-electric materials with external active control and subsequent evaluation by a central system unit. For this purpose, the sensor element is therefore first controlled as an actuator, with the mechanical oscillation thus excited again being sensed as an electrical signal if the element is working without interference. This sensing can be performed by the sensor operated exactly as an actuator just as by at least one adjacently arranged sensor. This makes it possible for each sensor of a sensor field to be checked and monitored at any time for its operating properties with no additional expense for equipment like signal transmitters, etc.
In addition to the self-test of a particular sensor, however, a mechanical oscillation can also be imposed on a system to be safeguarded or monitored by the actuator operation, with an analysis of the oscillation created being subsequently provided by the same element with the properties of this system response being examined in an evaluation unit of the actual safety system. In addition to deformations of the material, cracks and other disturbances can also be detected in this way, especially by a frequency pattern that deviates from this system response. Thus, the present invention provides a method for operating a sensor with a reciprocal mechanism of action in a safety system, and offers the advantages of reliable self-testing. The present invention also provides the advantage of safety testing and system analysis provided at minor expense and with negligible interference in an overall mechanical system to be monitored, and with a diagnosis to complete each test. Prior damage of certain parts inside a motor vehicle can thereby be detected at any time and can be taken into account as well during the analysis of a possibly currently occurring accident, since each type of prior damage causes either a softening of parts of the frame or stiffening but in each case a deviation from unimpaired normal behavior.
In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a safety system comprises a large number of sensors, which are distributed over a structure to be protected as an observation area. The mechanical structure to be observed, such as for example a bumper or fender, can also be covered in a certain sense with a network of sensors, with the shape of the arrangement taking into account the particular type of mechanical structure and the location of the cluster points of possible accidental contacts with pedestrians and/or bicyclists by the way the sensors are distributed and the density of their distribution. Other points of use on a motor vehicle may, for example, also be trim work, especially in the area of the vehicle doors. Also in this arrangement, self-testing is still possible in the way described above via evaluation of a particular oscillatory reaction after an active test excitation by means of a predefined test signal and a recorded measurement signal. It is now also possible, by active excitation via a sensor and evaluation of the measurement signals received from all sensors, to perform a surface-covering evaluation for the analysis of errors and/or interference. All sensors can be constructed and attached in the same way, and can therefore belong to one series or one model of sensors.
Placement of the sensors with a permanently reliable attachment can be done individually or in the form of prefabricated groups at any time, even later, by embedding, adhering, screwing on, or the like, at certain points. To this end, bumpers or fenders, trim work, especially in door areas, roof areas and an engine hood and/or trunk lid are especially suitable locations on a motor vehicle for constructing a system according to the present invention.
In the event that non-harmonic oscillations develop, as, for example, in the case of impact with a foreign object or a pedestrian, precise identification of a particular event and location of its position are possible via the particular sensor elements. Accordingly, an evaluation of the intensity of the particular output signals is performed, which can be linked with a measurement of signal-transit time. Taken together, these rapidly give a reliable picture of an impact with a conclusion about the location or locations of the impact and the type of object or human being with which there has been an impact.
Suitable counter or protective measures can then be specifically triggered by subsystems which are incorporated in the safety system as a whole. This involves a targeted and precisely defined triggering of outside airbags in the area of the front of the vehicle, the windshield wiper mechanisms and/or the roof area near a rain gutter and/or a roof rail. As desired, adjustment of the hood to improve an angle of impact and to create a softer impact area with an enlarged crumple zone may also be considered. The triggering of seatbelt tensioners, various airbag systems or other active safety components can also be provided inside the vehicle in the event that danger to the occupants can no longer be ruled out. This is also regularly the case outside the range between 20 to approx. 50 kilometers an hour, for example, in accidents with wildlife, since the main impact point, especially with deer or elk, but also with large dogs, cows or horses, is still above the hood. This kind of animal therefore hits the windshield usually with no brakes being applied and very often breaks through it due to its own body weight. This poses extreme danger to the driver and any passenger so that active protective measures must be adopted here for occupants as well.
A method according to the invention is therefore also distinguished in its developments in that the use of robust, overload-resistant, cost-effective sensors that can be safely used over a wide temperature range and are capable of self-diagnosis, allows rapid and very reliable recognition of accidents with a pedestrian or bicyclist. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for improving uniformity used in a backlight module and, more particularly, to an apparatus that provides improved illumination uniformity for a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a liquid crystal TV.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, there are two types of lighting module for a flat panel display. One is the back type, and the other is the front type. The backlight module is further classified as a side-light (edge-light) type and a directly-under-light (bottom light) type according to their locations of light sources. The directly-under-light backlight module is mostly used in a stationary product, such as a desktop LCD or an LC TV as it has a heavy appearance. Because the light source of a directly-under-light backlight module is located right under the displaying area, the profile of the light sources easily causes a non-uniformity of brightness, shadows, or line defects to the displaying image. Generally, a light-diffusing sheet is used to uniformly diffuse the illuminating light so that the shadows or line defects are blurred. Additionally, some light diffusing sheets are mounted with micro particles having various sizes and densities for refracting or diffusing the illuminating light as uniformly as possible. However, the illuminating light will be absorbed when passing through the light-diffusing sheet and only about 50% of the original is remains, which leads to a low efficiency of light utility rate.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved an apparatus for improving uniformity used in a backlight module to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementioned problems. | {
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In the related art, there is provided a terminal cover which is attached to a terminal device having screw terminals arranged in upper and lower steps of a stepped portion (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Publication No. S62-195863).
A terminal device will be described in detail by taking a relay 1 shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 as an example. The relay 1 includes a housing 2 which is fixed such that one surface (hereinafter referred to as “lower surface”) of the housing 2 faces toward a fixing target (not shown) such as a distribution board or the like. The housing 2 is made of, e.g., a synthetic resin. The housing 2 has a rectangular shape when viewed at the upper side thereof (at the opposite side to the fixing target). In the vicinity of one end (hereinafter referred to as “front end”) of the housing 2 in a long side direction of the upper surface (hereinafter referred to as a “front-rear direction”), there is provided a stepped portion including an upper step 21 and a lower step 22 which extend along the front end and are provided side by side in the front-rear direction. In the stepped portion, the low step 22 (close to the front end) is more depressed than the upper step 21 (distant from the front end) (In other words, the lower step 22 is smaller in upward protrusion dimension than the upper step 21).
At the upper step 21 and lower step 22, a plurality of (four, in the drawings) screw terminals 31 and a plurality of (four, in the drawings) screw terminals 32 are respectively arranged side by side in a short side direction (hereinafter referred to as “left-right direction”) of the housing 2 along each steps of the stepped portion 21 and 22. In each of the screw terminals 31 and 32, the axial direction of a screw is oriented in an up-down direction and the head portion of the screw is directed upward.
Two screw terminals (hereinafter referred to as “signal terminals”) 33, to which signal lines are connected, are arranged in the rear end portion of the relay 1. In the housing 2 of the relay 1, there is accommodated a switching unit (not shown) which turns on and off the electric conduction between the upper screw terminals 31 of the upper step 21 and the lower screw terminals 32 of the lower step 22 in response to an electric signal inputted to the signal terminals 33. The switching unit may be a mechanical contact point driven by an electromagnet, a semiconductor switch, or the combination of the mechanical contact point and the semiconductor switch which are connected to each other in parallel.
On the upper surface of the housing 2, there are provided partitions 231, 232 and 233 which divide the screw terminals 31, 32 and 33 arranged side by side in the short side direction and a pair of sidewalls 24 which interposes all the screw terminals 31 and 32 arranged at the front end side (i.e., except for the signal terminals 33).
In the aforementioned relay 1, as shown in FIG. 10, it is sometimes the case that electric wires 41 connected to the upper screw terminals (hereinafter referred to as “first screw terminals”) 31 of the upper step 21 of the stepped portion are positioned above the lower screw terminals (hereinafter referred to as “second screw terminals”) 32 of the lower step 22 of the stepped portion. In this case, when electric wires 42 are attached or detached by operating the second screw terminals 32, the electric wires 41 connected to the first screw terminals 31 become obstacles, thereby impairing the workability.
The conventional terminal cover is not designed to solve the aforementioned problem and is not capable of improving the workability. | {
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The present invention is generally directed to toner compositions and processes thereof, and more specifically, to in situ chemical toners wherein there is added to the surface thereof a first layer of metal oxide particles, preferably hydrophilic metal oxide particles, and which particles are substantially buried, or incorporated into the toner surface; and subsequently there is added a second layer thereover of metal oxide particles, wherein the second layer is preferably comprised of hydrophilic metal oxide particles or hydrophobic metal oxide particles, and which second layer particles are dispersed onto the toner surface and over the buried first metal oxide layer. The aforementioned metal oxide particles are available from a number of sources, such as Degussa Chemicals, and the first and second metal oxide particles are present as separate layers on the toner surface. The toners of the present invention can be prepared by chemical methods as indicated herein, and thereafter the first and second metal oxide surface layer additives are included by a two step blending method. With the toners of the present invention there results in embodiments excellent admix characteristics, for example the admix thereof is from about 30 seconds to about 60 seconds. The toner compositions without the additives are prepared by in situ methods, without the utilization of the known pulverization and/or classification methods, and wherein toners with an average volume diameter of from about 1 to about 25, and preferably from 1 to about 10 microns, and narrow GSD can be obtained; followed by the addition of the first metal oxide layer, and then the addition of the second metal oxide layer by, for example, known mixing methods. The resulting toners with the two metal oxide surface additive layers can be selected for known electrophotographic imaging and printing processes, including color processes, and lithography. In embodiments, the present invention is directed to a process comprised of dispersing a pigment and optionally a charge control agent or additive in an aqueous mixture containing an ionic surfactant in an amount of from about 0.5 percent to about 10 percent and shearing this mixture with a latex mixture comprised of suspended resin particles of from about 0.01 micron to about 2 microns in volume average diameter in an aqueous solution containing a counterionic surfactant in amounts of from about 1 percent to about 10 percent with opposite charge to the ionic surfactant of the pigment dispersion, and nonionic surfactant in an amount of from 0 percent to about 5 percent, thereby causing a flocculation of resin particles, pigment particles and optional charge control particles, followed by stirring of the flocculent mixture, which is believed to form statically bound aggregates of from about 1 micron to about 10 microns, comprised of resin, pigment and optionally charge control particles, and thereafter, adding extra anionic or nonionic surfactant solution with a concentration of from about 5 percent to about 30 percent in the controlled amount, which will result in the overall final concentration of this surfactant in the aggregated mixture of from about 0.5 percent to about 10 percent, and preferably from 1 percent to 5 percent (weight percent throughout unless otherwise indicated) to thereby enable any further growth in particle size and GSD during the heating step, which size in embodiments is from about 3 to about 10 microns in average volume diameter, and with a GSD of from about 1.16 to about 1.26; and then heating the mixture above the polymeric resin Tg, which Tg is in range of from between about 45.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C. and preferably between about 50.degree. C. and 80.degree. C., and more preferably the resin Tg is equal to 54.degree. C., to generate toner with an average particle volume diameter of from about 1 to about 10 microns, and wherein the stirring speed in (iii) is reduced from about 300 to about 1,000 to about 100, preferably 150, to about 600 rpm, primarily to substantially eliminate fines of about 1 micron in average volume diameter, which fines can adversely affect toner yield. It is believed that during the heating stage, the components of aggregated particles fuse together to form composite toner particles. Subsequently, there is added in one step to the resulting toner a hydrophobic metal oxide layer and by a second step a top layer of a hydrophilic metal oxide.
In embodiments thereof, the present invention is directed to an in situ process comprised of first dispersing a pigment, such as HELIOGEN BLUE.TM. or HOSTAPERM PINK.TM., in an aqueous mixture containing a cationic surfactant, such as benzalkonium chloride (SANIZOL B-50.TM.), utilizing a high shearing device, such as a Brinkmann Polytron, or microfluidizer or sonicator, thereafter shearing this mixture with a charged latex of suspended resin particles, such as poly(styrene/butadiene/acrylic acid) or poly(styrene/butylacrylate/acrylic acid) or PLIOTONE.TM. of poly(styrene butadiene), and of particle size ranging from about 0.01 to about 0.5 micron as measured by the Brookhaven nanosizer in an aqueous surfactant mixture containing an anionic surfactant, such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (for example NEOGEN R.TM. or NEOGEN SC.TM.) and nonionic surfactant, such as alkyl phenoxy poly(ethylenoxy) ethanol (for example IGEPAL 897.TM. or ANTAROX 897.TM.), thereby resulting in a flocculation, or heterocoagulation of the resin particles with the pigment particles; and which on further stirring for from about 1 hour to about 24 hours with optional heating at from about 5.degree. to about 25.degree. C. below the resin Tg, which Tg is in the range of between 45.degree. to 90.degree. C. and preferably between about 50 and 80.degree. C., results in formation of statically bound aggregates ranging in size of from about 0.5 micron to about 10 microns in average diameter size as measured by the Coulter Counter (Microsizer II); and adding concentrated (from about 5 percent to about 30 percent) aqueous surfactant solution containing an anionic surfactant, such as sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (for example NEOGEN R.TM. or NEOGEN SC.TM.) or nonionic surfactant, such as alkyl phenoxy poly(ethylenoxy) ethanol (for example IGEPAL 897.TM. or ANTAROX 897.TM.), in controlled amounts to prevent any changes in particle size, which can range from 3 to 10 microns in average volume diameter and a GSD which can range from about 1.16 to about 1.28 during the heating step, and thereafter, heating to 10 to 50.degree. C. above the resin Tg to provide for particle fusion or coalescence of the polymer and pigment particles; followed by washing with, for example, hot water to remove surfactants, and drying whereby toner particles comprised of resin and pigment with various particle size diameters can be obtained, such as from 1 to 12 microns in average volume particle diameter, and wherein the stirring speed in (iii) is reduced in (iv) as illustrated herein. Subsequently, there is added in one step to the resulting toner a layer of hydrophilic metal oxide, wherein the layer of metal oxide is substantially buried into the toner surface, and thereafter, a second metal oxide layer is added, and which second layer is comprised of a hydrophobic metal oxide, and wherein the second metal oxide layer is dispersed onto the toner surface on top of the buried first metal oxide layer. The aforementioned toners are especially useful for the development of colored images with excellent line and solid resolution, and wherein substantially no background deposits are present. While it is not desired to be limited by theory, it is believed that the toner particles undergo plastic flow, as a result of the combination of mechanical stress and localized heating, causing the metal oxide layer to be substantially buried. The ability of the toner particles to undergo plastic flow, and thus to allow the additive layer to be buried depends, for example, on the mixing time, the mixing temperature, and on the intensity of mixing, which is controlled with a combination of agitation type, agitation rate, agitation force, and the optional addition of milling material, such as metal, plastic, or ceramic beads, and the like, such that the metal oxide layer is buried, but such that the temperature of the toner particles remains at least 5.degree. C., and preferably more than 10.degree. C. below the toner Tg so that agglomeration of the toner particles is substantially avoided. Thereafter, a second metal oxide layer is added, and which second layer is comprised of a hydrophobic metal oxide, or a hydrophilic metal oxide, and wherein the second metal oxide layer is dispersed onto the toner surface on top of the buried first metal oxide layer. By reducing the blending time, the blending temperature, and optionally reducing the blending intensity, the second additive layer is not substantially buried into the toner surface. While it is not desired to be limited by theory, it is believed that in the second step, that the toner particles do not undergo sufficient plastic flow, as a result of the combination of mechanical stress and localized heating, preventing any substantial amount of metal oxide from being buried into the toner surface. The intensity of mixing is reduced with a combination of reduced agitation rate, reduced agitation force, changing the agitation type, removing or reducing the amount of optional milling material, or the milling material, such as metal, plastic, or ceramic beads, and the like, such that the metal oxide layer is not substantially buried. In addition, it is important that the temperature of the toner particles remains at least 5.degree. C. below the toner Tg, and preferably more than 10.degree. C. below the toner Tg, so that agglomeration of the toner particles, and burying of the additive is substantially avoided.
Toners with fumed silica surface additives are known, reference for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,900,588, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference. Additionally, there are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,983,045 developer compositions comprising toner particles, a friction reducing material, and a finely divided nonsmearable abrasive material, reference column 4, beginning at line 31. Examples of friction reducing materials include saturated or unsaturated, substituted or unsubstituted, fatty acids preferably of from 8 to 35 carbon atoms, or metal salts of such fatty acids; fatty alcohols corresponding to said acids; mono and polyhydric alcohol esters of said acids and corresponding amides; polyethylene glycols and methoxy-polyethylene glycols; terephthalic acids; and the like, reference column 7, lines 13 to 43. Toners with silica like AEROSIL.RTM. are also known.
There is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,996,127 a toner of associated particles of secondary particles comprising primary particles of a polymer having acidic or basic polar groups and a coloring agent. The polymers selected for the toners of this '127 patent can be prepared by an emulsion polymerization method, see for example columns 4 and 5 of this patent. In column 7 of this '127 patent, it is indicated that the toner can be prepared by mixing the required amount of coloring agent and optional charge additive with an emulsion of the polymer having an acidic or basic polar group obtained by emulsion polymerization. Also, note column 9, lines 50 to 55, wherein a polar monomer, such as acrylic acid, in the emulsion resin is necessary, and toner preparation is not obtained without the use, for example, of acrylic acid polar group, see Comparative Example I. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,488, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toners by the polymerization of a polymerizable monomer dispersed by emulsification in the presence of a colorant and/or a magnetic powder to prepare a principal resin component and then effecting coagulation of the resulting polymerization liquid in such a manner that the particles in the liquid after coagulation have diameters suitable for a toner. It is indicated in column 9 of this patent that coagulated particles of 1 to 100, and particularly 3 to 70, are obtained. Similarly, the aforementioned disadvantages are noted in other prior art, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,339, wherein there is disclosed a process for the preparation of toners by resin emulsion polymerization, wherein similar to the '127 patent polar resins of opposite charges are selected.
Illustrated in copending patent applications U.S. Ser. No. 331,444 and U.S. Ser. No. 331,441, now U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,486,443 and 5,482,805, respectively, the disclosures of which are totally incorporated herein by reference, are toners with surface additive mixtures of silica, polyvinylidene fluoride, a KYNAR.RTM., and strontium titanate.
The toner compositions of the present invention, prior to the addition of metal oxide layers, are preferably prepared by chemical methods, and more specifically, by emulsion/aggregation methods as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,418,108; 5,370,963; 5,344,738; 5,403,693; 5,364,729 and 5,405,728, the disclosures of which are totally incorporated herein by reference. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,963, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions with controlled particle size comprising:
(i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of pigment, an ionic surfactant and an optional charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing at high speeds the pigment dispersion with a polymeric latex comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, and a nonionic surfactant thereby forming a uniform homogeneous blend dispersion comprised of resin, pigment, and optional charge agent; PA1 (iii) heating the above sheared homogeneous blend below about the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin while continuously stirring to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; PA1 (iv) heating the statically bound aggregated particles above about the Tg of the resin particles to provide coalesced toner comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent, and subsequently optionally accomplishing (v) and (vi); PA1 (v) separating said toner; and PA1 (vi) drying said toner. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant, and optionally a charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing said pigment dispersion with a latex or emulsion blend comprised of resin, a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant; PA1 (iii) heating the above sheared blend below about the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the resin to form electrostatically bound toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; and PA1 (iv) heating said bound aggregates above about the Tg of the resin. PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant in amounts of from about 0.5 to about 10 percent by weight of water, and an optional charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex mixture comprised of a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, and resin particles, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin, and charge control agent; PA1 (iii) stirring the resulting sheared viscous mixture of (ii) at from about 300 to about 1,000 revolutions per minute to form electrostatically bound substantially stable toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; PA1 (iv) reducing the stirring speed in (iii) to from about 100 to about 600 revolutions per minute, and subsequently adding further anionic or nonionic surfactant in the range of from about 0.1 to about 10 percent by weight of water to control, prevent, or minimize further growth or enlargement of the particles in the coalescence step (iii); PA1 (v) heating and coalescing from about 5 to about 50.degree. C. above about the resin glass transition temperature, Tg, which resin Tg is from between about 45.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C. and preferably from between about 50.degree. C. and about 80.degree. C., the statically bound aggregated particles to form said toner composition comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent; PA1 (vi) washing the aggregated particles at a temperature of from about 15.degree. C. to about 5.degree. C. below the glass transition temperature of the resin, and subsequently filtering the aggregated particles until substantially all of the surfactant has been removed from the aggregated particles, followed by subsequent drying of the particles at a temperature of from about 15.degree. C. to about 5.degree. C. below the glass transition temperature of the resin; and PA1 (vii) subsequently adding to said toner product a first layer of a hydrophilic metal oxide, and a second layer of a hydrophobic metal oxide; and wherein the thickness of the first layer of a hydrophilic metal oxide is from about 10 nanometers to about 200 nanometers, whereby the metal oxide occupies about 10 percent to about 80 percent of the volume of said layer, and the thickness of the second layer of a metal oxide is from about 10 nanometers to about 200 nanometers, whereby the metal oxide covers about 20 percent to about 100 percent of the area of the toner surface; and a process for the preparation of toner compositions with controlled particle size comprising: PA1 (i) preparing a pigment dispersion in water, which dispersion is comprised of a pigment, an ionic surfactant in amounts of from about 0.5 to about 10 percent by weight of water, and an optional charge control agent; PA1 (ii) shearing the pigment dispersion with a latex mixture comprised of a counterionic surfactant with a charge polarity of opposite sign to that of said ionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, and resin particles, thereby causing a flocculation or heterocoagulation of the formed particles of pigment, resin, and charge control agent; PA1 (iii) stirring the resulting sheared viscous mixture of (ii) at from about 300 to about 1,000 revolutions per minute to form electrostatically bound substantially stable toner size aggregates with a narrow particle size distribution; PA1 (iv) reducing the stirring speed in (iii) to from about 100 to about 600 revolutions per minute, and subsequently adding further anionic or nonionic surfactant in the range of from about 0.1 to about 10 percent by weight of water to control, prevent, or minimize further growth or enlargement of the particles in the coalescence step (iii); PA1 (v) heating and coalescing from about 5 to about 50.degree. C. above about the resin glass transition temperature, Tg, which resin Tg is from between about 45.degree. C. to about 90.degree. C., the statically bound aggregated particles to form said toner composition comprised of resin, pigment and optional charge control agent; PA1 (vi) washing the aggregated particles at a temperature of from about 15.degree. C. to about 5.degree. C. below the glass transition temperature of the resin, and subsequently filtering the aggregated particles until substantially all of the surfactant has been removed from the aggregated particles, followed by subsequent drying of the particles at a temperature of from about 15.degree. C. to about 5.degree. C. below the glass transition temperature of the resin; and PA1 (vii) subsequently adding to said toner product a first layer of a hydrophilic oxide, and a second layer of a hydrophobic oxide.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,364,797, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated a process for the preparation of toner compositions comprising: | {
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Currently, mobile communication network operators perform drive tests, often continuously or at least frequently, to collect network performance metrics. The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has begun specifying a minimization of drive test (MDT) framework in which at least some drive test measurements can be collected from commercial user equipment (UE) operating in the network, instead of requiring dedicated drive tests. Through the use of the MDT framework, the need for and number of rigorous drive tests may be reduced, which could significantly decrease network maintenance costs for operators and also decrease carbon emissions, thereby helping to protect the environment. Additionally, by reducing reliance on separate drive tests, faster optimization cycles may be achieved, thereby resulting in higher customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the MDT framework may enable operators to collect measurements from areas that are typically not accessed during drive tests (e.g. such as narrow roads, forests, private land, homes and office, etc.). | {
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As disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, an EGR valve device has one or more exhaust gas inlet ports and one or more exhaust gas outlet ports, and includes: a valve housing forming an exhaust gas passage connected to those exhaust gas inlet ports and exhaust gas outlet ports; valve seats disposed on the inner periphery of the valve housing; a valve shaft assembled to the valve housing; and valves that are mounted to the valve shaft and simultaneously abut against their respective valve seats when the valve shaft moves in a direction; when the valves seated against their respective valve seats are opened, the exhaust gas exhausted from the exhaust gas outlet port is circulated to be aspirated to an engine. As shown in FIG. 7, for example, a valve seat 140 of the EGR valve device is a flat plate made of generally disk-shaped stainless steel or the like having a hole formed at the center thereof, and is secured to a housing 110 made of aluminum or the like by integrally fixing the peripheral portion of the valve seat to the housing by insert-casing or the equivalent method.
In such an EGR valve device, the temperature of an exhaust gas passage sometimes reaches about −40° C. in a low temperature, and reaches from about 100° C. to 700° C. in a high temperature according to the conditions of the engine; there can develop a large gap between components that are insert-cast by materials having a linear expansion coefficient different from each other. For example, in a case where placing the components under a low temperature=−40° C. for one hour and a high temperature=+350° C. for one hour is defined as one cycle, when 100 cycles of this are carried out, there may develop a significant gap s0 of about 100 μm between the insert-cast components employing the materials having a linear expansion coefficient different from each other, and the gap s0 may cause the chatter of the valve seat 140. | {
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The present invention relates to a device and method for removal of rust and paint from a metal surface.
It is estimated that corrosion amounts to 3-4% of the BNP in the western world. Only in Norway millions of square meters are protected by paint each year. In order to achieve good results, the surfaces that are to be painted must be cleaned and pretreated. In industrial applications this is usually done by sandblasting, grinding or jet water washing. Combinations of these methods are also used.
The most frequently used method is sandblasting. Old paint and rust is removed by a blasting the surface with sand or other suitable agents. This is a costly and quite time-consuming process. The advantage of this method is that the blasting process creates a rough surface that gives a good adhesion for new paint. Furthermore, the used equipment is cheap, simple to operate and easy to maintain. The disadvantages with this method is that large quantities of sand are used, which generates a lot of dust, the equipment is heavy and awkward to handle, the method is slow and does not remove grease and other foulings such as water soluble salts, sulfates etc.
Jet water washing is a paint and rust removal method that has become more usual. The advantages of this method are that dust related problems are avoided, there is less waste, and water-soluble foulings are removed. The disadvantages of this method are that the equipment is expensive and difficult to maintain, no roughness is made on the steel surface, a lot of water is spilled, large quantities of water is required (which is a problem on e.g. a ship), and the treated surface must be dried before it can be painted.
Grinding is a method that no longer often is used. The method is mainly used for patchwise repairs.
Most often, the paint is mainly intact on the surface that is to be cleaned. Optimally, the paint only has to be removed, because the roughness on the steel surface is intact. An example is power plants, where the piping is sandblasted even if 95% of the existing paint is intact. The situation is the same in offshore applications.
There are increasing numbers of restrictions on sandblasting and alternative methods have continually been attempted without success.
The present invention aims at avoiding the aforementioned disadvantages, while providing a method and a device that more effectively removes paint and rust.
Further advantages and preferred embodiments are mentioned in the independent claims and in the specification under reference to the enclosed drawing, which shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
According to the present invention, rust and old paint is removed by means of induction heat. In addition, grease and other foulings are removed from the surface. This is a quick and reliable method that does not produce excessive waste.
Induction heat is created in magnetic metals by means of magnetic fields. This is a known principle and is used for heating steel in bending and punching processes, and in welding of steel and pipes, e.g. in connection with production of body details in the car industry.
By induction heating the steel to 250-300xc2x0 C., the steel is heated without heating the rust and paint. The steel will expand and attached rust will peel of due to the much lower expansion coefficient of rust as compared to steel. The paint will peel of as a result of the heated surface. | {
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The subject matter discussed in this section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in this section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in this section or associated with the subject matter provided as background should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in this section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to implementations of the claimed technology.
Our world today is composed of the 1s and 0s that make up the binary code created by the streams of data flowing through every sector of the global economy. How much data is that? According to IBM™, 2.5 exabytes of data were created every day in 2012. That is 2.5 billion gigabytes of data in a single day. Facebook™ alone was responsible for 500,000 gigabytes a day in the same year. The importance of data is becoming so big, even the U.S. Government has launched an initiative, Data.gov, to help access and analyze it. The good news is that data processing and storage costs have decreased by a factor of more than 1,000 over the past decade. But once that data is stored, it is difficult to retrieve and use.
According to The Boston Consulting Group, one third of all bank data is never used. A big part of this is the fact that 75% of the data we generate is unstructured. It is randomly organized, difficult to index, and therefore difficult to retrieve. Where is all of this data coming from? An obvious source is the data that is being generated from legacy systems of record. It is data from cloud software as witnessed by the rapid adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) as the new business application model. It is data being created every second from mobile phones, devices, and sensors that are being placed on just about everything that can be monitored in the physical world. And social media represents the largest data streams, which are being created in astronomical volumes.
Forget about texts, and think of all the photos and videos being uploaded via smartphones to popular services like YouTube™, Facebook™, Instagram™ and Twitter™. The smartphone is currently the major enabler of this data tsunami. PCs and feature phones (mobile phones that are not smartphones) are both in decline while smartphones are growing in the opposite direction, even in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa. And where there is a smartphone, there is an application for practically every human endeavor. Applications are the smartphone control point for all of the real-time data streams being created by our fingers, the camera, the motion sensor, GPS antenna, Bluetooth antenna, and gyroscope. Smartphone manufacturers continue to jam more sensors and capabilities into these devices while developers continue to build applications that delight us all.
According to The Economist, 50% of the adult population in 2015 owns a smartphone. That will grow to 80% in 2020. But as impressive as smartphones are, the biggest ripple is just forming. To use a term coined by Andreessen Horowitz, it is the “sensorification” of the physical world. The combination of cheap, connected, miniaturized computers and sensors will create a world of smart, connected products and industrial equipment. This new technology category is often called the “Internet of Things” (IoT). General Electric goes one step further, with the term “industrial internet”, to include things like jet engines, locomotives and MRI machines. The Internet of Things represents a major and transformational wave of IT innovation. The Harvard Business Review calls this the third wave of IT-driven competition, with the first two waves brought by mainframes and minicomputers, and the rise of the Internet. Needless to say, harnessing and analyzing these data streams will represent the biggest challenge IT and businesses will face over the next decade.
The apt term used to describe this massive volume of data is “Big Data.” For Big Data, traditional data storage technology is inadequate to deal with these large, high-speed volumes. And the challenges do not end there. Enterprises will also need to figure out how to not only capture this data, but how to search, analyze and visualize it as well as connect it with their business and customer data. The ultimate goal is the ability to perform predictive analytics and real-time intelligent decision-making. This is going to require an IT transformation from systems of record to systems of intelligence.
Before the advent of big data, the concept of business intelligence (BI) had already become a commonly used phrase back in the 1990s. A number of newly formed BI software vendors also entered the market at that time. BI provided the methods and tools required for the transformation of data into meaningful and useful information for the business. The functions of BI during this period were fairly basic, namely, to collect and organize the data and visualize it in a presentable way. Innovations continued and the introduction of data warehouses drastically reduced the time it took to access enterprise data from systems of record. Despite these innovations, a core challenge remains. Setting up these data warehouses requires deep expertise and using BI tools requires significant training. The mere mortals in the line of business still cannot use these tools in an accessible way. Most BI tools are pretty good at getting answers when you know ahead of time the questions you are asking. Sometimes you simply do not know what questions to ask. In short, these tools do not enable business users to obtain the insights when, how, and where they need them.
Fortunately, this is all changing. For the first time, data analytics tools are being built that are entirely designed and run in the cloud. There is no need for IT to provision hardware or install and configure the data platform. Performing all the associated integration and schema development has gone from months to days. This newfound agility has allowed innovation in technology to eliminate the traditional two-step service bureau model where every request from the line of business required IT's involvement. These innovations are paving the way for a democratization of data so that business users can not only get access to data but also participate in its analysis. This means a self-service model with direct access to answers without the need for analysts, data scientists or IT. Business users can find and share answers almost instantly. There is no hard requirement of needing to know ahead of time what questions to ask of the data. Business users can quickly bang out questions that allow them to explore and gain insights into the data sets. Furthermore, this democratization is powered by mobile. Using their smartphone, tablets, or wearables, workers can now gain access to data and answers to pressing business questions whenever and wherever they are. The democratization of data has become a necessary phase in the journey toward building systems of intelligence.
While the fruits of data democratization are plenty, the process itself mostly deals with empowering business users with access to and analysis of data from legacy systems of record and cloud-based business applications. At best, some of these new BI tools can provide near real-time access and analysis of data. But they are not engineered for capturing and analyzing actual real-time streams of data emanating from smartphones, wearables and the coming explosion of sensors in the physical world.
Real-time data streams deliver information that is quite different from the backward-looking, historical data most BI tools and platforms harness. Real-time data is perishable. That means it not only needs to be detected, it needs to be acted upon. The concept of “time to insight” emerges as one of the key performance indicators for systems of intelligence. These insights are going to require a whole new of level packaging and consumption. The information needs to be delivered in context, at the right time, and in a way that cuts through the cacophony of data we are exposed to in our daily work lives.
Systems of intelligence require knowing what to do with the data insights and how they should be delivered to the appropriate worker based on their job function and role inside the organization. These systems are every bit as democratic as modern BI tools in that they are easy to configure and get up and running. They are also designed to deal with the daily deluge of data we are confronted with every day at work. Consumer applications such as social media, traffic, and news aggregating applications help us more intelligently deal with the things that matter to us most.
The bar for applications connected to our systems of intelligence is as high as for consumer applications. This means one click installation, a lovely and simple user interface and accessibility via the mobile device of your choosing. The harnessing and analysis of real-time data streams begins to open up not only action in real time, but the ability to anticipate what is going to happen. This has traditionally been the realm of data scientists who handle everything from statistics and computational modeling to visualization and reporting. Models created by data scientists mostly look at past historical trends and use the data to predict patterns and future trends. Trying to build computational models that look at large volumes of real-time data streams presents a significant human resource challenge for enterprises.
The next step beyond this are the systems of intelligence that start to tell customers what questions they need to be asking. Getting there will require a blueprint for systems of intelligence. The source of data streams are the signals emanating in real-time from mobile devices such as smartphones and consumer wearables like the Fitbit™ and Apple Watch™. The control point for these signals is the application. The application is what puts context behind the raw data that gets created by human inputs and the sensors embedded in these devices. According to Wikipedia™, a sensor is a transducer whose purpose is to sense or detect some characteristic of its environs. It detects events or changes in quantities and provides a corresponding output, generally as an electrical or optical signal. Tying all of this together is the digital plumbing, or application programming interfaces (APIs). Along every critical element of the data stream flow represented in this schematic, APIs will enable this end to end transport of high speed and high volume data in the system. Although the term, API, may not be in the common vernacular outside of IT, it will be, much in the same way that terms of art to describe the web and internet are common language in business communication today.
The major gushers of data streams will be the connected consumer products and industrial equipment and machines. These real-time signals will emanate from product sensors inside our automobiles, inside our homes, on our valuables, our security systems, and anywhere in our physical environment that matters. Signals from the industrial Internet will emanate from sensors on any piece of equipment or machine that requires monitoring, maintenance and repair. Anything than can be digitally monitored with sensors in the physical environment will be. Systems of intelligence must be able to identify these signals and harness them.
In order to capture the high-volume and high-speed data signals, a “digital watchdog” is needed to monitor these signal inputs. If anything significant happens with these digital signals, an event is registered. A very simple example of an event is when a temperature sensor goes off in your automobile to warn you of freezing conditions outside. Systems of intelligence will require the technology to ingest and monitor these data streams. The events created by the digital signals get broadcasted via messages and moved through the system so that the digestion process can proceed as planned. This is where filters can begin their job of further analyzing these data streams. For the system to function properly, it must be able to handle growing volumes and increased speeds of data flow and must not be lost if there is a breakdown or crash in that system.
Once data is captured and processed, it moves along into the digestion phase. This is where some of the magic starts to happen. This includes the monitoring and analytical processing of real-time data streams. Once the data is analyzed and processed, it needs to be put somewhere. The data streams flowing in are not suitable for traditional database storage such as relational databases using structured query language. This requires specialized technology that can handle and store very large data sets, an essential element of systems of intelligence.
Currently, stream processing systems that desire to service billions of users are limited by the amount of scalability they can achieve. This limitation is caused primarily by the exhaustion of components that make up the stream processing systems. As a result, it is desired to identify techniques that inject efficiency in the operation of stream processing systems so that their components are not over-used and can deliver the level of super scalability expected from such systems.
Therefore, an opportunity arises to provide systems and methods that process big data for a super scaled stream processing systems in an efficient manner. Increased revenue, higher user retention, improved user engagement and experience may result. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a taped electronic component.
2. Description of the Background Art
FIGS. 6 to 11 illustrate steps of manufacturing a conventional taped electronic component, with FIG. 6 showing a conventional plate type lead terminal structure. The lead terminal structure, which is manufactured by punching a thin metal plate by a press, comprises a long connecting member 1 and a plurality of lead terminals 2 integrally formed on one side of the connecting member 1 at prescribed intervals.
Each of the lead terminals 2 is integrally provided on its forward end with a pair of holding members 3 and 4, which are separated from each other along the horizontal plane of the plate, as shown in FIG. 6. As clearly understood from FIG. 7, each pair of the holding members 3 and 4 are bent in opposite directions in relation to the plate thickness direction.
The aforementioned lead terminals 2 resiliently hold an electronic component body 5 with the pairs of holding members 3 and 4 as shown in FIG. 8, and are soldered to electrodes 6. The body 5, which is adapted to form a hybrid integrated circuit, a C (capacitor) network, an R (resistor) network or the like, is covered with an insulating coating 7 as shown in FIG. 9 after the body 5 is provided with the terminals 2 as shown in FIG. 8.
Thereafter, the connecting member 1 is separated from the respective terminals 2 so as to provide an independent electronic component A, and the ends of the terminals 2 forming this electronic component A are placed on a long base tape 8 and attached to the tape 8 with an adhesive tape 9 from above. A plurality of such electronic components A are thus fixed onto the base tape 8 at prescribed pitches, to form a taped electronic component.
Feed pins (not shown) are engaged with feed holes 10 provided in the base tape 8 and moved so as to introduce the taped electronic component, manufactured in the aforementioned manner, into an automatic inserter, which in turn automatically inserts the respective electronic components A into printed circuit plates.
In each of the electronic components A, which form the conventional taped electronic component, as hereinabove described, the pairs of holding members 3 and 4, which are provided on the forward end of each lead terminal 2, are separated from each other along the horizontal plane of the plate. Further, the holding members 3 and 4 are bent so as to resiliently hold the body 5. Accordingly, each of the bent holding members 3 and 4 exerts a resilient force on the body 5 based on its resilience that tends to twist the body 5.
Thus, the electronic components A could be distorted with respect to the base tape 8 by the concerted twisting of force from the terminals 2, as shown in FIG. 11, and the degrees of such distortion may vary with the various electronic components A. When the taped electronic component is introduced into an automatic inserter, therefore, such distorted electronic components A may be unsatisfactorily chucked so as to cause imperfect insertion in printed wiring boards, leading to a reduction in insertion efficiency. | {
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This invention relates to a battery having a filling part and a pair of tab terminals on a convex portion of an upper surface of a cover so as to enable a connecting operation by mounting a receptacle housing of faston terminal type, and further to a manufacturing method for the cover for use in the battery.
Generally, batteries for use in small motorcycles and domestic electric equipments are made into very compact sizes. A battery having a filling part and terminals on an upper surface of cover, as described in Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-129849 for example, is well known as a battery of such type. In this battery, a terminal wall, in parallel with filling parts arranged in longitudinal direction, is formed, and terminals are installed on a side surface of the terminal wall.
In the above structure, however, it is required to connect a coupler to each terminal. It is difficult to position the coupler so that connecting the coupler is easy.
On the other hand, a charge operation is generally carried out by holding a charge clip to a terminal of cover in the battery. It is hard to hold the charge clip and the terminal can be damaged by operation mistake.
Further, a method using plural molds as illustrated by FIG. 16, is well known a for manufacturing the cover by embedding a part of a terminal shown in FIG. 15 in the cover of battery. In this method, a terminal 9 is supported at its portions 90 and 92 by a movable mold B and a stationary mold D, and is disposed in a space 70 formed by an upper mold A, movable mold B, a vertically movable mold C and a stationary mold D. Synthetic resin, such as polypropylene etc. is filled in space 70 from a resin filling port 71 in the upper mold A.
In the above-mentioned method, however, filling pressure of synthetic resin, during molding, becomes extremely large, as high as 700 to 1,400 kg/cm.sup.2. Consequently, longitudinal portion 91 of terminal 9 deformed to become in contact with an upper part of the stationary mold D and exposed after completion of the cover. Thus it is necessary to resort to other methods in order to prevent the possibility that the exposed portion 91 will come into contact with an electrolyte.
This invention is concerned with solving the above problem encountered in prior arts. A first object of the invention is to provide a battery having a simple positioning of the receptacle housing and allowing an easy connection of the receptacle housing, when connecting the receptacle housing of the faston terminal type to a tab terminal installed on the cover.
A second object of the invention is to provide a battery enabling a charge operation by easily connecting a standard charge clip.
A third object of the invention is to provide a manufacturing method for a battery cover preventing the terminal from being exposed and come into contact with an electrolyte. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to, for example, combustion chambers suitable for relatively small two cycle internal combustion engines which are used for portable machines and the like. In particular, it relates to combustion chambers for two-cycle internal combustion engines having reduced noxious substances in the exhaust gas without impairing output characteristics of the engine.
2. Description of Prior Arts
Exhaust gas is regarded as a principal cause of air pollution which is present in exhaust gas from boilers used in factories and internal combustion engines in automobiles. Various attempts have been made for reducing noxious substances contained in such exhaust gas, i.e., NOx (substances resulting from combustion of fuel), CO (substance resulting from incomplete combustion of fuel), HC (substance of unburnt combustible from fuel), and the like.
However, little attention has been directed toward relatively small (total displacement is about 35 cc or less) general purpose two-cycle gasoline engines which are used for portable machines, and the like, because of their small displacement. Recently, however, in view of increased concern with environmental problems, increased attention is being focused on small two-cycle internal combustion engines with a view to reduce noxious substances in exhaust gas discharged therefrom.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show one illustrative form of a cylinder of a conventional small air-cooled two-cycle gasoline engine, for which it is urgently needed to reduce noxious substances in exhaust gas.
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylinder 50 comprises a cylinder portion 2 having a cylindrical inner wall 5 into which a piston is fit-inserted and a head portion 3 formed with a combustion chamber 7 of so-called squish dome type having a ring-shaped squish surface 7d integrally formed with each other, and having a plurality of cooling fins 12 at its peripheral portion. In the cylinder portion 2, an intake port 14 and an exhaust port 16 are so formed as to open oppositely at different levels, and a pair of scavenging ports 20, 20 formed on opposite sides and which employ a loop scavenging mode symmetrical with respect to the longitudinal section bisecting the exhaust port 16 (the vertical plane passing along the axis CL of the cylinder 1) [Schneule scavenging mode].
In this form, the combustion chamber 7 is formed with an ignition plug mounting opening 8 on the side opposite to the exhaust port 16 as shown in FIG.3, and a top wall surface 7b, which is slightly concave upwardly and is positioned adjacent to the top inner edge of the ignition plug mounting opening 8, and progresses to the end of the top wall surface 7b opposite to the exhaust port 16. A middle wall surface 7c is formed opposite to the ignition plug mounting opening 8, which sharply descends defining a circular arc-like curved surface in its cross-section, and a squish surface 7d extending downwardly is formed into an inclined surface having a relatively gentle gradient relative to the top end 5a of the cylinder portion 2 of the cylinder 1 and skirts the lower edge of the combustion chamber 7. Consequently, a scavenging air stream which has been ascending along an inner wall 5 opposite to the exhaust port 16 in a conventional cylinder 50 cannot effect sufficient scavenging with respect to the inner portion of the combustion chamber 7, because the stream is deflected at the squish surface 7d of an intake 7a to the combustion chamber 7. Further, the peripheral area of the top end 5a of the cylinder portion 2 is likely to be outside the scavenging air stream.
In conventional small two-cycle engine using gasoline as fuel, the presence of noxious substances contained in exhaust gas discharged therefrom such as NOx and CO can be reduced to some extent by optimizing air/fuel ratio or the like. However, no effective measures for reducing HC have been found because of insufficient scavenging performance. | {
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The present technology generally relates to a battery module and a battery device using, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery.
A battery module in which a plurality of unit cells (also referred to as battery cells) are connected in series is known. As a unit cell, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery is used. Furthermore, if the battery modules can be connected in series, the output voltage can be increased.
The battery module is one which outputs a predetermined DC voltage. In the configuration in which a voltage of the battery part formed by connecting the unit cells in series always appears at an output terminal, since there is a danger of electric shock or short circuit, a load switch is inserted between the battery part and the output terminal. When a mechanical switch such as a relay or a tact switch is used as a load switch, reliability concerns such as contact deterioration and mechanical failure are present. For this reason, an FET (Field Effect Transistor) is used as a load switch. | {
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The invention relates to the loading and un-loading of recreational vehicles on to a truck. More particularly, the invention relates to an inclined vehicle receiving ramp that may be raised with the vehicle on the ramp to facilitate loading of the vehicle on to a truck.
Recreational vehicles, including but not limited to snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, motorcycles, garden tractors, and personal water craft, are often used in outdoor locations remote from the dwelling places of their riders. Accordingly, the need exists to transport the vehicles to the location of use. One means of transporting a recreational vehicle is by using a truck, for example a pickup truck, and loading the vehicle on to the bed of the truck. However, modern recreational vehicles are heavy, often in excess of 500 pounds, and usually require some type of vehicle loading means to assist the user in loading the vehicle on to the truck.
One example of a vehicle loading means is an inclined wooden ramp placed against the rear of the truck. The vehicle is then driven up the ramp on to the truck. A disadvantage of such a ramp is that there is little or no room left on the bed of the truck for storage of the ramp. The ramp is heavy and awkward to handle and to place in the correct position, and the ramp may be unsafe if positioned incorrectly. For these reasons and others, various pickup truck mounted apparatus have been developed to assist in the loading of recreational vehicles.
One example of such an apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,357,991 B1, issued Mar. 19, 2002. The apparatus comprises a tillable rail mechanism that may be lowered for loading a recreational vehicle, specifically a personal water craft. The tilting or pivoting of the rail mechanism operates on the same principle as a teeter-totter. As the vehicle is moved forwardly along the rails, the center of gravity shifts to tilt the mechanism, thereby raising the vehicle. To avoid abrupt movement of the rail mechanism, a pneumatic air cylinder is provided between a fixed member of the mechanism and the towing bar. The pneumatic cylinder extends to lower the rail mechanism and retracts to raise the rail mechanism. This allows for the controlled lowering and raising of the rail mechanism in response to the movement of the vehicle along the rails. The pneumatic cylinder is always operable and cannot be selectively operated to raise or lower the load. A disadvantage of this apparatus is that the pneumatic cylinder is sized and positioned for loading only vehicles of a certain weight and center of gravity, reducing the flexibility of the apparatus for loading a variety of types of vehicles. Another disadvantage is that there is no way to selectively release the pneumatic cylinder, making it difficult to tilt the mechanism to the lowered position when no vehicle is loaded.
Another example of a system for loading a recreational vehicle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,380,141, issued Jan. 10, 1995. The system includes a frame member affixed to the transport vehicle, or truck, including rail means and platform means slidable along the rail means. The rail means is deployed rearwardly of the transport vehicle and tilted to load the recreational vehicle. A mechanical lifting means, specifically a winch attached to a vertical standard, is setup adjacent a rearward end of the rail means and connected to the rail means by a flexible steel cable. The lifting means is used to raise the rail means to a horizontal position and the platform with the recreational vehicle is then slid along the rail means for loading the vehicle on to the truck. A disadvantage of the system is that the lifting means is not mounted on the truck and must be setup on the ground in a stable manner each time the apparatus is used. Another disadvantage is that the frame member is affixed to the bed of the transport vehicle, requiring holes to be drilled through the metal bed that could lead to unsightly rust formation.
The need therefore still exists for a recreational vehicle loading and un-loading apparatus that is simple and safe to use with a variety of recreational vehicles.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for loading a recreational vehicle on to a truck, the truck having a front and rear and a longitudinal axis defined therebetween, the apparatus comprising: a vehicle receiving ramp that arcuately moves between a lowered position and a raised position, the ramp longitudinally mobile in the raised position between a rearmost longitudinal position and a foremost longitudinal position; a lifting means engaging the underside of the ramp, the lifting means selectively operable to arcuately move the ramp, the lifting means comprising a mounting means for mounting the lifting means to the rear of the pickup truck.
In one embodiment, the ramp is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis when the ramp is in the lowered position and parallel with the longitudinal axis when the ramp is in the raised position. In another embodiment, the arcuate movement of the ramp can be independent of the longitudinal position of the ramp. In yet another embodiment, the arcuate movement of the ramp occurs at the rearmost longitudinal position of the ramp. In yet another embodiment, the mounting means is removably secured within a hitch means attached to the rear of the pickup truck. In yet another embodiment, the lifting means further comprises a selectively operable locking means for preventing longitudinal mobility of the ramp.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an apparatus for loading a recreational vehicle on to a truck, the truck having a front and rear and a longitudinal axis defined therebetween, the apparatus comprising: a vehicle receiving ramp that arcuately moves between a lowered position that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal axis and a raised position that is parallel with the longitudinal axis, the ramp longitudinally mobile in the raised position between a rearmost longitudinal position and a foremost longitudinal position; a lifting means engaged with the underside of the ramp, the lifting means comprising: a jack mechanism; a scissors linkage engaged with the jack mechanism; a vertical support member forward of the scissors linkage; a pivot axis passing transversely through the vertical support member; and, a mounting means for removably mounting the lifting means to the rear of the pickup truck; wherein the jack mechanism is selectively operable to extend, thereby opening the scissors linkage to arcuately move the ramp from the lowered position to the raised position by pivoting the ramp about the pivot axis.
It will be understood by one skilled in the art that the invention may be used with a variety of types of vehicles having a cargo carrying bed, for example pickup trucks, flatbed trucks, vans, flatbed trailers, and the like. The embodiment of the invention described herein is with reference to a pickup truck, though the invention could be used in conjunction with any appropriate vehicle.
In the lowered position, the vehicle receiving ramp is inclined to receive the recreational vehicle. A variety of types of recreational vehicles may be loaded using the invention; for example, snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, motorcycles, garden tractors, or personal watercraft. The vehicle may, for example, be driven on to the ramp under its own power, pushed on to the ramp, or pulled up the ramp by a cable passing over the forward end of the ramp. A winch may be used with the cable to assist in pulling the vehicle up the ramp.
When in the lowered position, the ramp is preferably locked in the rearmost longitudinal position to prevent longitudinal mobility of the ramp when the vehicle first makes contact with the ramp. To load the vehicle, the ramp and vehicle are arcuately moved to a raised position parallel with the longitudinal axis of the truck. Preferably, the ramp is then un-locked, the ramp and vehicle are moved longitudinally to the foremost longitudinal position, and the ramp is again locked. The longitudinal movement may occur independently of the arcuate movement of the ramp or simultaneously with the arcuate movement of the ramp. For example, to unload the vehicle, the ramp may be un-locked and moved to an intermediate longitudinal position prior to lowering the ramp. The inclination of the ramp then allows the ramp and vehicle to more easily longitudinally move to the rearmost longitudinal position. However, preferably the ramp and vehicle are moved to the rearmost longitudinal position and locked in the rearmost position prior to lowering the ramp as a safety precaution.
The ramp may preferably be locked in a pre-determined longitudinal position, for example, the foremost and rearmost longitudinal position, by a locking means. The locking means may, for example, comprise an elongated locking pin and a corresponding aperture on the underside of the ramp near the end of the ramp. The pin may be concentrically aligned with the aperture and translated into and out of engagement with the aperture to lock and un-lock the ramp, respectively. The pin may be unattached or may, preferably, be journaled to the lifting means to permit transverse translational movement of the pin. The pin is preferably biased towards the aperture, for example, by means of a spring. The locking means may be manually engaged or automatically engaged when the ramp reaches a desired pre-determined longitudinal position. For example, the automatic engagement may occur when the pin is aligned with the aperture and the spring biases the pin into engagement with the aperture. The locking means may optionally be engaged or disengaged remotely by an electric mechanism, for example a solenoid or electromagnet, or by a fluid powered mechanism, for example a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder.
The ramp has longitudinal mobility along the length of the truck. The ramp may be moved longitudinally using rotational elements, for example wheels, engaged with the underside of the ramp. The wheels may be included with the ramp or with the lifting means. The movement of the vehicle along the ramp may be independent of the longitudinal movement of the ramp; for example, the ramp may comprise a series of evenly spaced parallel rollers. These rollers may be used to permit longitudinal movement of the vehicle, the ramp, or both.
The ramp is arcuately moved by selectively operating a lifting means engaged with the underside of the ramp. The lifting means may comprise a jack mechanism such as, for example, a hydraulic bottle jack, a screw jack, or a scissors jack. The jack mechanism may be selectively operated to extend or release by manually manipulating handles connected with the jack. Alternatively, the jack may be remotely operated by, for example, a fluid powered or electrically powered mechanism, such as a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder, an electric screw, or an electric winch. The jack mechanism may be attached directly to the underside of the ramp or preferably connected to a linkage attached to the underside of the ramp. The linkage is used to increase the mechanical advantage of the lifting means and decrease the length of travel of the jack mechanism. Preferably, the linkage comprises a scissors linkage attached at one end to the underside of the ramp, at the other end to the mounting means, and connected to the jack at the fulcrum of the scissors.
The lifting means may also comprise a vertical support member forward of the linkage with a pivot axis passing transversely through the support member. The support member is preferably attached at the lower end to the mounting means and is preferably engaged at the upper end with the underside of the ramp. The ramp preferably arcuately about the pivot axis during operation of the lifting means.
The mounting means is attached to the rear of the truck. Preferably, the mounting means is engaged within a complementary aperture of a trailer hitch receiver attached to the rear of the truck. The mounting means may be removably secured within the hitch receiver by means of a bolt or a pin passing through the receiver and the mounting means. The mounting means may also include a conventional trailer hitch receiving aperture facing rearwardly to allow a trailer to be optionally towed behind the truck. Alternatively, the present invention may be mounted to the rear of the truck using brackets designed for attachment to the truck.
Further features of the invention will be described or will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description. | {
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The present disclosure relates to ink compositions containing an additive and printing processes. More specifically, the present invention relates to aqueous ink compositions comprising a water-compatible or ink-compatible anti-intercolor bleed agent. The inks typically comprise at least water and a colorant of a dye or a pigment or a mixture of dye and pigment. In one embodiment the anti-intercolor bleed agent of the invention comprises a glycine material, particularly fluorinated glycine composition, more particularly a fluoroalkyl glycine salt with high fluorine content. The ink jet ink compositions of the present invention are particularly suitable for ink jet printing processes.
Ink jet printing is a non-impact printing method that produces droplets of ink that are deposited on a substrate such as paper or transparent film in response to an electronic digital signal. Non-impact printing methods (systems) include drop-on-demand ink jet printing and continuous-stream ink jet printing. Drop-on-demand ink jet printing processes include thermal ink jet printing processes, acoustic ink jet printing processes, and piezoelectric ink jet printing processes. Thermal or bubble jet drop-on-demand ink jet printers and piezoelectric ink jet printers have found broad application as output for personal computers in the office and in the home.
In existing thermal ink jet printing processes, the printhead typically comprises one or more ink jet ejectors, each ejector including a channel communicating with an ink supply chamber, or manifold, at one end and having an opening at the opposite end, referred to as a nozzle. A thermal energy generator, usually a resistor, is located in each of the channels, at a predetermined distance from the nozzles. The resistors are individually addressed with a current pulse to momentarily vaporize the ink within the respective channel to form a bubble that expels an ink droplet. As the bubble grows, the ink rapidly bulges from the nozzle and is momentarily contained by the surface tension of the ink as a meniscus. This is a very temporary phenomenon, and the ink is quickly propelled toward a print substrate. As the bubble begins to collapse, the ink still in the channel between the nozzle and bubble starts to move towards the collapsing bubble, causing a volumetric contraction of the ink at the nozzle and resulting in the separation of the bulging ink from the nozzle as a droplet. The acceleration of the ink out of the nozzle while the bubble is growing provides the momentum and velocity for propelling the droplet in a substantially straight line direction towards a print substrate, such as a piece of paper or transparency. Because the droplet of ink is emitted only when the resistor is actuated, this type of thermal ink jet printing is known as "drop-on-demand" printing. Other types of drop-on-demand ink jet printing include piezoelectric and acoustic ink jet printing. Several drop-on demand ink jet printing processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,281,261, 5,693,129, and No. 5,851,274, the disclosures of which are totally incorporated herein by reference.
Continuous-stream ink jet printing is known to print on a substrate by placing ink droplets at desired locations while deflecting ink droplets away from the non-imaging areas. This type of ink jet printing is different from the drop-on-demand method, and is also described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,261, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference.
In an ink jet printing apparatus, the printhead typically comprises a linear array of ejectors. However, for faster ink jet printing, several printheads may be butted together to form a partial-width printhead. The printhead or partial-width printhead is moved relative to the surface of the print substrate, either by moving the print substrate relative to a stationary printhead, or vice-versa, or both. In some types of apparatus, a relatively small printhead moves across a print substrate numerous times in swathes, in order to complete a desired image. A partial image is created with each swath of the printhead movement. This type of ink jet printing is called multi-pass or checkerboard printing process. Ink jet printing processes using the partial-width printhead and checkerboard printing process can improve printing speed and productivity and such processes are incorporated in our invention. Ink jet printers employing the partial-width printhead are called "partial-width" printers.
Alternatively, a printhead (e.g., a full-width printhead or printbar comprising several butted printheads) that consists of an array of ejectors and extends the full width (or any desired length) of the print substrate may be held stationary. An ink may be deposited onto the print substrate one line at a time by the full-width printhead (or partial-width printhead covering a portion of the width of a substrate) as the print substrate passes by, until full-page images are completed. This type of ink jet printing process uses a single pass method and it is carried out in what is usually known as a "full-width array" or "partial-width" printer. When the full-width or partial-width printhead and the print substrate are moved relative to each other, image-wise digital data is used to selectively activate the thermal energy generators in the printhead over time so that the desired image will be created on the print substrate. In a multi-color ink jet printing process several full-width or partial-width printheads are used in a printer to deposit different color inks (e.g., black, cyan, magenta, and yellow inks, as well as other optionally selected inks) onto a print substrate to give full color images. In this so-called "single pass method" the printheads are usually held stationary while the imaging substrate moves by (or move under) the printheads. This type of single pass method often employs the full-width array printheads and different color inks to achieve high-speed ink jet printing for the production of multi-color images on a substrate.
Aqueous inks used in ink jet printing generally have water as a major component. Water has the advantage of being non-toxic, non-combustible and environmentally sound relative to non-aqueous inks, which are largely composed of organic solvents. Water is also an excellent medium for dispersing pigments or dissolving dyes. Water is also used for bubble formation and a propellant for the ink in a thermal ink jet printing process.
In a multi-color ink jet printing process, a phenomenon known as "inter-color bleed" may occur. This effect is described in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,371,531, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference. This phenomenon is the bleed of an ink into another ink of different color resulting in mixing one color portion of the image into another portion of the neighboring image of a different color. This becomes most apparent when a black ink is imaged immediately adjacent to an area printed with a color ink such as cyan, magenta or yellow ink. In such a case, the black ink (usually a slow or medium dry ink which usually exhibits good edges for text and high optical density) will be seen to bleed into the color area or vice versa to create a conspicuous print defect which is called intercolor bleed. In some cases the black ink may generally possess high surface tension, while the color inks are generally fast dry inks with low surface tension. Intercolor bleed can take place quickly once the inks are printed a substrate, e.g., on plain paper or transparency or textile before drying (e.g., before microwave or radiant heating or drying at room temperature). For example, printing a slow dry black ink immediately followed by a color ink (especially a yellow ink before the black ink can completely dry) can show undesired inter-color bleed phenomenon with poor print quality. The intercolor bleed between a black ink and a neighboring yellow ink is especially sensitive to human eyes due to high color contrast. Intercolor bleed between the black ink and cyan or magenta ink as well as the intercolor bleed between two different color inks (e.g. cyan yellow, cyan and magenta, magenta and yellow, etc.) also give poor image quality that is not desirable. | {
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The present invention relates to a fast-fit connecting device for connecting a backflow connector to an internal combustion engine fuel injector.
Fuel injectors normally feature a recirculating conduit integral with the injector body and comprising a normally cylindrical end element. The fuel flowing through the metering valve and any fuel leaking between the various surfaces, e.g. the surfaces of the pin and nozzle, is fed back into the tank along a backflow conduit comprising a backflow connector, which is connected removably to the end element of the recirculating conduit.
Various connecting devices of the above type are known. In one known device, the backflow connector is in the form of a cap, which is fitted onto the end element of the recirculating conduit; the end element comprises an annular groove; the connector comprises an eccentric transverse hole which is positioned tangent to the annular groove; and the connector is locked to the end element by inserting inside the hole a pin which engages the annular groove.
A major drawback of the above type of connecting device is the fairly long time taken to connect and disconnect the connector, due to the pin having to be forced inside the hole, and the ends of the pin having to be bent to prevent the pin from withdrawing accidentally from the hole. Moreover, in the course of servicing or repair work, the pin, when removed from the hole, is detached from the connected parts, and must therefore be put aside until it is needed to re-lock the connector to the injector. This often results in a good deal of time being wasted in the event the pin is mislaid. | {
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The liquid crystal display apparatus of a transmissive type radiates illumination light on a back face of a liquid crystal display element (hereinafter “liquid crystal panel”) by means of an illuminating apparatus (hereinafter “backlight”) and modulates the transmittance of illumination light by means of the liquid crystal display element and changes brightness to display an image. Although some projectors use reflective liquid crystal display elements, the only difference from the transmissive type is that transmittance changes to reflectivity.
A liquid crystal display apparatus generally emits light on the entire screen at a maximum brightness, irrespective of the display content of an input video signal. However, the proportion of backlight power consumption occupies in the power consumption of the entire liquid crystal display apparatus is significant, and a significant amount of power is consumed wastefully. Further, the liquid crystal panel cannot completely block light, and therefore black cannot be fully reproduced and a display image has lower contrast due to impure black.
Although there is a technique of dynamically changing the light emission brightness of a backlight to solve these problems, if there is a little bright part on a screen to display a video signal, the light emission brightness of backlight cannot be decreased, and therefore it is not possible to provide a great effect. Hence, there is a method (hereinafter “local dimming”) of dividing the screen into a plurality of light emitting areas (about two to several hundreds) and changing light emission brightness in these light emitting areas according to display content matching each light emitting area in the input video signal (see, for example, Patent Literature 1).
According to local dimming, as long as there is no bright pixel in a specific light emitting area, even if there are bright pixels in other light emitting areas, the light emission brightness of backlight for this specific light emitting area can be decreased, so that it is possible to reduce power effectively. Further, the light emitting area belonging to a dark area in an image can keep the light emission brightness of backlight lower, so that it is possible to provide an effect of suppressing impure black of pixels in this light emitting area and enabling display of high contrast.
However, this local dimming generally has a problem that changing the light emission brightness of backlight per light emitting area causes change of brightness in a display image. A technique is proposed to solve this problem by predicting the magnitude of change of brightness and correcting image data (see, for example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2).
With the above technique, it is necessary to accurately learn the light emission brightness of backlight per pixel included in a video signal. Illumination light emitted by the backlight is diffused in a wide range, and therefore accurately predicting the light emission brightness of backlight per pixel not only requires a significant amount of computation but also actually has a great difficulty in terms of an algorithm and is not easy to carry out. However, theoretically, this technique is feasible, if cost and labor are spent.
Hereinafter, an operation of correcting the transmittance of each pixel of a video signal when the light emission brightness of backlight can be accurately predicted per pixel will be described. When the light emission brightness of backlight can be estimated per pixel, it is possible to calculate the corrected transmittance according to equation 1.(Corrected transmittance)=(transmittance)*(maximum light amount)/(estimated light emission brightness value of backlight in pixel of interest) (Equation 1)
By the way, the light emission brightness of backlight diffuses to lower brightness areas, and therefore the back face light amount in pixels at ends of high brightness areas decreases. Originally, with pixels of high brightness areas, the transmittance is expected to be set at a value close to the maximum value. In this case, the corrected transmittance is set to 1 or more according to the above equation. However, it is not physically possible to set the transmittance to 1 or more, and therefore the transmittance actually needs to be limited to a predetermined maximum transmittance. Therefore, the brightness decreases in pixels at ends of a high brightness area, thereby causing image deterioration such as unevenness in brightness, a decrease of contrast and halo (shade of a low brightness object produced in high brightness areas around a low brightness object).
Similarly, with pixels at ends of black areas, the light emission brightness of backlight in adjacent light emitting areas diffuses, and therefore the back face light amount of the pixels increases. However, the minimum transmittance has a limit, and it is not physically possible to further decrease and correct transmittance, and therefore the transmittance actually needs to be limited to the minimum transmittance. As a result, the brightness of pixels at ends of black areas increases, thereby causing image deterioration such as unevenness in brightness, impure black, a decrease of contrast and halo (blur of a high brightness object produced in black areas around a high brightness object).
The above problem caused by physical device characteristics is difficult to solve no matter how accurately the light emission brightness of backlight is predicted. | {
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A laser (acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) emits coherent light through a process of optical amplification via the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. Lasers or coherent light sources have many important applications which form the cornerstones of our modern society. These range from fast information processing and telecommunications; optical data storage; bio-imaging; medical diagnostic and phototherapy to scientific research and defense applications. The demands for such applications continue to grow with Mankind's relentless pursuit of sustainable growth.
The heart of a laser is its gain medium—a material that makes light stronger or permits optical amplification to occur. Optical amplification, also known as gain occurs when the gain material transfers part of its energy to light and makes the light more intense and in phase. Typical gain media include crystals (e.g., neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG), titanium doped aluminum oxide (Ti:Sapphire) and neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (Nd:YVO4) etc.) and high quality semiconductors (e.g. gallium arsenide (GaAs) and aluminum gallium arsenide (AlxGa(1-x)As) etc). These gain media typically operate in the infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum. To obtain wavelengths in the ultraviolet (UV) or visible (VIS) region, wavelength conversion of IR photons with nonlinear crystals is performed. For example, in the modest hand-held laser pointer, the green light is generated indirectly—beginning with an AlGaAs laser diode (808 nm) pumping a NdYVO4 crystal to generate 1064 nm photons which are then frequency doubled by a KTP crystal to 532 nm. It is important to note the stringent conditions needed to prepare the high quality, crystalline gain materials, which involve costly high temperature growth and processing. For example, GaAs and AlxGa(1-x)As heterostructures require expensive elevated temperature and high vacuum growth techniques such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). | {
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Techniques disclosed herein relate to microfabrication, and relate in particular to photolithography.
In material processing methodologies (such as photolithography), creating patterned layers typically involves the application of a thin layer of radiation-sensitive material, such as photoresist, to a surface of a substrate. This radiation-sensitive material is transformed into a patterned mask that can be used to etch or transfer a pattern into an underlying layer on a substrate. Patterning of the radiation-sensitive material generally involves exposure by a radiation source through a reticle (and associated optics) onto the radiation-sensitive material using, for example, a photolithographic system. This exposure creates a latent pattern within the radiation-sensitive material which can then be developed. Developing refers to dissolving and removing a portion of the radiation-sensitive material to yield a topographic or physical pattern. For example, developing can include removal of irradiated regions of the radiation-sensitive material (as in the case of positive photoresist), or non-irradiated regions (as in the case of negative resist) using a developing solvent. The topographic pattern can then function as a mask layer for subsequent processing. | {
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Wires and cables extend throughout buildings, houses and other structures to provide power or data to end use devices. Managing a cable system requires various supports to be used to attach and secure cables across a span.
Various devices have been used to support cables. For example, cable tray assemblies are well known for use as a support system for carrying electrical cables, wires, tubing, piping or other conduits over various distances in buildings and other commercial structures. The cable trays do not provide a support for cables from different directions. Traditional cable trays are bulky and cumbersome devices. Cable support is limited to the direction of the run of the trays.
Additionally, various conduit clamping devices are used to attach individual conduit to support structures and electrical boxes. The conduit clamping devices are separate devices that attached to a support plate and also attach to a conduit. The conduit clamping devices include C-clamps, strut straps or minnies which are secured to plates, support structures and conduits by use of nuts and bolts. These devices include many parts that are difficult to install. These devices require assembly of multiple components on-site. Since theses clamping devices are individual pieces that require fasteners to provide attachment to the conduit and the support structure, the fasteners and devices are easily dropped or lost during installation.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a one piece support unit that is able to support cables from various directions without the need to additional fasteners and without the requirement of being assembled together on site. | {
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Road making machines usually have a control platform on which operational controls, and in most cases also a seat for the operator of the machine, are located. In many road making machines, the control platform is comparatively high above the bottom to offer space for machine components and provide an extensive overview over the construction site for the operator. Due to the height of these control platforms, however, a fall protection is required at least at the sides of the control platform to prevent operators from falling down from the control platform. In open control platforms, that means control platforms that are not closed like cabins, rails are always used as fall protection. For road finishing machines, this is known, for example, from DE 200 13 638 U1. | {
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Phthalic esters are widely used as plasticizers for plastics, such as PVC. Plasticizers may be defined as substances which give a material, in particular plastics, increased flexibility, softness, and processability (Alan S. Wilson, Plasticizers, The Institute of Materials, 1995, ISBN 0 901716 76 6, p. 1). The plasticizing of PVC is of particular, although not exclusive, interest.
For over 100 years there has been constant development of new plasticizers, almost always using polyfunctional esters. The esters most frequently used are those of polybasic carboxylic acids and monoalcohols. Examples of polybasic aromatic carboxylic acids or their anhydrides which are used are phthalic acid and isophthalic acid, trimellitic acid, pyromellitic acid, and terephthalic acid. Inorganic acids are also used, the best known example being phosphoric esters. These carboxylic acids or their anhydrides, or in the case of the phosphoric esters also the acid chlorides, such as POCl3, are generally reacted with monoalcohols, such as ethanol, butanol, isobutanol, n-amyl alcohol, isoamyl alcohol, heptanol, 2-ethylhexanol, or 2-propylheptanol. The higher alcohols used preferably include isomer mixtures which are obtained by oligomerizing olefins having from 3 to 5 carbon atoms, with subsequent hydroformylation and hydrogenation of the resultant aldehydes. Industrial examples are isoheptanol, isooctanol, isononanol, isodecanol, and isotridecanol. Oligomerization of ethylene also gives access to linear compounds known as alpha-olefins, which on hydroformylation give a mixture of linear alcohols and alcohols with a low degree of branching. Examples of alcohols prepared industrially in this way are nonanol and undecanol and mixtures of these. Straight-chain alcohols are accessible from the chemistry of fats, or else via synthetic routes which increase molecular weight and start from ethylene, examples being those known as the Ziegler alcohols. Finally, mention may also be made of cyclic alcohols, such as cyclohexanol, benzyl alcohol, phenols, cresols, and xylols, which have been used industrially.
It is also possible to use the opposite approach, reacting polyhydric alcohols with monocarboxylic acids to give plasticizers, rather than polybasic carboxylic acids with monoalcohols. Examples of polyhydric alcohols are neopentyl glycol, trimethylolpropane, pentaerythritol, dipentaerythritol, ethylene glycol and its oligomers di-, tri- and tetraethylene glycol, glycerol, butanediol, hexanediol, etc. Sugar alcohols have also been used for this purpose. The carboxylic acids used here are compounds analogous to the abovementioned alcohols, i.e. carboxylic acids in the range from 2 to about 13 carbon atoms. Examples are acetic acid in triacetin, butyric acids, valeric acids, heptanoic acid, nonanoic acid, and also isomer mixtures, such as isoheptanoic, isooctanoic, isononanoic, isodecanoic, and isotridecanoic acid.
It is also possible to use compounds which have both an acid function and an alcohol function. The best known example is citric acid, which has three carboxylic acid groups and one alcohol group. Esterification of the carboxylic acid groups with monoalcohols gives useful esters, and the alcohol group may then also be esterified with a carboxylic acid, such as butyric acid or acetic acid.
For the sake of completeness mention should be made of the fact that esters of monoalcohols and monocarboxylic acids are also used as plasticizers in specific cases if their boiling point is sufficiently high, examples being stearic or lauric esters.
The above list is not fully comprehensive, however. For example, combinations of polyhydric alcohols with polybasic carboxylic acids have also been used as plasticizers. An example is the linkage of diols and dicarboxylic acids to give low-molecular-weight polyesters, the end groups of which are then esterified using monofunctional alcohols or carboxylic acids. The remaining alcohol groups are then in turn esterified using monocarboxylic acids. Use can also be made of ether bonds to increase the number of esterifiable groups, as in di- and tripentaerythritol, which have 6 and, respectively, 8 esterifiable alcohol groups. This method is used especially when particularly high-molecular-weight plasticizers with high polar content are desired.
Very generally, the aim is to prepare compounds which have sufficient polarity to serve as good plasticizers, have high molar mass in order to have the lowest possible volatility, and exhibit little migration within the material, but are nevertheless liquid and have low viscosity in relation to their molar mass, so that they are easy to process.
Mention should also be made of the fact that compounds or mixtures of compounds which have these properties also have important other application sectors, for example as synthetic lubricants, hydraulic fluids, and also as solvents in ointments, inks, etc. The term functional fluids is often used.
Using the method described above it is possible to tailor esters for almost every conceivable use, but of course there are limits imposed by the resources required and the costs associated therewith, and also by the availability of the raw materials. Many of the possible combinations listed have therefore now disappeared from the market, or have achieved only limited significance in niche applications, or are of merely academic interest. However, the situation can sometimes change rapidly when new processes provide access to low-cost raw materials, or changes in attitude to the environment require that replacements are found for products commonly used hitherto, or new technical requirements demand new solutions.
For the sake of simplicity, the descriptions below are restricted to a few selected examples of particular industrial relevance from the PVC plasticizers application sector. However, the problems described below and their solution are transferable in principle to all of the esters mentioned.
Problems
Easily the most important class of esters for plasticizers is the phthalates. Within these, it is then 2-ethylhexyl (also often known by the abbreviated term “octyl”) phthalate, DOP (dioctyl phthalate) or DEHP (diethylhexyl phthalate), which currently predominate. However, it is increasingly being displaced by DINP (diisononyl phthalate), which has marked performance advantages, such as lower volatility and less migration. Unlike DEHP which, apart from stereoisomers, is a single chemically defined substance with unambiguously determinable properties, DINP is a mixture of many similar isomers of identical molar mass. This is a result of the origin of the isononanol used for the esterification process.
Isononanol is prepared by hydroformylating octenes, which in turn are produced in various ways. The raw material generally used is industrial C4 streams which initially comprise all of the isomeric C4 olefins alongside saturated butanes and, in some cases, contaminants, such as C3 and C5 olefins and acetylenic compounds. Extractive distillation is first used to obtain the useful compound butadiene, for example using NMP (N-methylpyrrolidone). As an alternative, the butadiene may also be converted via selective hydrogenation into 1- and 2-butene, e.g. as in the SHP-CB process of OXENO GmbH. In both cases the product is a C4 stream in which the only olefins substantially still present are isobutene and 1- and 2-butene, often termed “raffinate I”. Oligomerization of this olefin mixture gives mainly octenes, alongside higher oligomers, such as C12 and C16 olefin mixtures. The C8 cut is called “codibutylene” and was previously used for preparing isononanols for plasticizers.
Nowadays, the isobutene is generally removed in a second step of the process by reaction with methanol with acidic catalysis, for example using acidic ion exchangers. This gives the important fuel additive methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and a C4 stream known as “raffinate II” and substantially free from isobutene. It is also possible to use other alcohols, such as ethanol, instead of methanol. In that case ethyl tert-butyl ether, ETBE, is obtained. Selective removal of isobutene is also possible using water instead of alcohols, with formation of tert-butyl alcohol TBA, which again is an important compound utilized by industry. Cleavage of the TBA in a reverse reaction gives high-purity isobutene. In all of the variants discussed, there remains a C4 stream in which the only substantial materials still present are 1- and 2-butene alongside the saturated butanes, known as “raffinate II”.
The useful material 1-butene may optionally be obtained from raffinate II, for example as a comonomer for polyolefins, as can isobutane, which is used as a fuel gas. This then gives a C4 stream impoverished with respect to 1-butene, raffinate III. Either raffinate II or raffinate III may be used as raw material for oligomerization. Here again, there are various approaches utilized industrially. The older oligomerization processes operate with acidic catalysts, such as phosphoric acid, on supports, or acidic zeolites (process variant A). The products here are octenes, essentially consisting of dimethylhexenes. Newer processes, such as the DIMERSOL process, operate with soluble Ni complex catalysts. These give octene mixtures with high proportions of 3- and 5-methylheptenes alongside n-octenes and dimethylhexenes (process variant B). The most modern processes utilize the high selectivity of specific supported Ni catalysts, the OCTOL process from OXENO GmbH being well known. The octene mixtures obtained here have the least branching, a particularly useful factor for plasticizer alcohol applications (process variant C). The table below gives only approximate values for the composition of each of the products obtained, since the precise composition depends on the catalyst, temperature, residence time, degree of conversion, and other conditions employed. However, it can clearly be seen that the isomer compositions obtained differ depending on the process. Raffinate II or III gives
A acidic catalysisB DimersolC Octoln-octenes 0% 6%13%methylheptenes 5%59%62%dimethylhexenes70%34%24%others25% 1% 1%Another way of obtaining octenes is the oligomerization of isobutene. The main product here is a mixture of 2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene and 2,4,4-trimethyl-2-pentene. An oligomerization of ethylene with Ziegler catalysis or by the SHOP process is another route to higher olefins, forming linear terminal olefins with broad carbon number distribution. A C8 cut, inter alia, may be obtained here, and these cuts are also available from Fischer-Tropsch processes. Finally, the opportunity is occasionally utilized of isolating hydrocarbons of suitable carbon number from naphtha streams. These comprise mainly saturated alkanes, which are converted to olefins by dehydrogenation.
An entirely different method is the oligomerization of crude unseparated olefin streams, such as those arising during cracker processes, e.g. cuts which comprise C3, C4, and, where appropriate, C5 olefins. Under acidic oligomerization these streams give a mixture of all conceivable combinations of these olefins, i.e. hexenes, heptenes, octenes, nonenes, decenes, etc., and these are broken down into carbon number cuts, known as polygas olefins. The main products obtained here are relatively highly branched internal olefins.
Overall, there is a wide variety of processes which give olefins of suitable chain length for the oxo reaction/hydrogenation to give plasticizer alcohols. Depending on the process, the isomer mixtures obtained have very different degrees of branching—from unbranched to triply or multiply branched, and have various double bond positions from terminal to almost exclusively internal.
The next step in the process after oligomerization is hydroformylation, i.e. reaction of the olefins with carbon monoxide and hydrogen, known as synthesis gas, to give aldehydes. Here again use is made of a number of industrial variants. Hydroformylation with the catalyst hydridocobalt carbonyl at from 200 to 300 bar and from 170 to 190° C. is commonly used (high-pressure Co process, HPCo). Co catalysts modified with alkyl-phosphines are also used industrially (Co ligand). Another known process operates with rhodium instead of cobalt as catalyst at from 100 to 300 bar and from 120 to 130° C. (HPRh). The three processes differ markedly in the isomeric composition of the products. For example, the HPCo oxo reaction of internal linear octenes gives about 50% of linear n-nonanol alongside the internal isomers from the oxo reaction (n/i˜1), while the oxo reaction using ligand-modified Co gives about 80% (n/i˜4), and the HPRh oxo reaction gives about 20% (n/i˜0.25). Similar considerations also apply to the oxo reaction of branched olefins.
It should also be mentioned that even though the empirical formula is the same, e.g. C8H16 for octenes, the olefin cuts used industrially comprise very different structural and double-bonding isomers. Even when an identical olefin cut is used, the degree of branching in the plasticizer alcohols obtained via oxo reaction/hydrogenation varies widely as a function of the oxo process used. And even where there is a fixed combination of one oligomerization process with one oxo process, variations in isomer composition occur as a result of variations in composition of the raw materials used, such as C4 cut, deriving from variations in operating conditions, from adjustment of conversion to the required production program, and from many other factors.
The isomer composition of the plasticizer alcohols produced may therefore vary within wide limits. However, it is known that the physical properties and performance of plasticizers are highly dependent on their structure. As an example of a physical property, the viscosity of phthalates measured at 20° C. is given below. Specifically, phthalates of isononanol (DINPs), can have viscosities in the range from 50 to 60 mPa*s where linear olefins are used, but there are also known DINP grades with from 160 to 170 mPa*s where codibutylene is used. DINP grades based on polygas octenes have viscosities in the range from 90 to 110 mPa*s. Using raffinate II or III with the octol process, the alcohols obtained have phthalates with viscosities in the range from 72 to 82 mPa*s if the oxo reaction used is the high-pressure Co process. Using Rh catalysts the same starting material gives plasticizers with from 90 to 100 mPa*s.
The remarks below are essentially restricted to some variants of plasticizers based on octenes, but the skilled worker will readily appreciate that the problems are present wherever mixtures, and in particular isomer mixtures, are used to prepare esters which are functional fluids, plasticizers being regarded here as a subgroup of functional fluids.
The performance needed by an ester to fulfill its function is exceptionally complex. For use as a lubricant, for example, viscosity, drop point, dependence of viscosity on temperature, and many other factors play a part. Factors for plasticizers are not only flexibilizing action, in particular at low temperatures, but also plasticizer viscosity and, for use in cable sheathings, electrical properties. All of these properties depend on the structure and therefore on the isomer composition of the substances used.
There are qualitative rules for the dependence of performance on structure. For example, Alan S. Wilson, Plasticizers, The Institute of Materials, 1995, ISBN 0 901716 76 6, pp. 135-136 discusses the properties of phthalates as a function of overall carbon number, i.e. of molar mass, and of degree of branching, i.e. of isomer composition, inter alia. At identical molar mass, for example, an increase in branching brings about, inter alia,
Negative Effects increasing viscosity rising vapor pressure, therefore higher volatility lower level of plasticizing action lower resistance to heat and light
Positive Effects better PVC compatibility less migration greater hydrolysis resistance less biodegradation (during product use) higher electrical resistance
It is immediately apparent that there is no such thing as the best plasticizer, and a compromise has to be arrived at for each application. For example, if plasticizing action is of prime importance a plasticizer with the lowest possible level of branching will be preferred. In contrast, if the intention is to produce PVC cable sheathing use will preferably be made of products with a somewhat higher degree of branching, since they have better electrical insulating action.
Brian L. Wadey, Lucien Thil, Mo A. Khuddus, Hans Reich; The Nonyl Phthalate Ester and its Use in flexible PVC, Journal of Vinyl Technology, 1990, 12 (4), pp. 208-211 demonstrates very clearly with reference to some synthetically prepared single isomers of DINP how important properties depend on the structure of the esters.
In summary, it may be stated that performance depends on the structure of the phthalate, that this is partially dependent on the structure of the alcohol, and that this in turn is partially dependent on the structure of the underlying olefin. Another complicating factor is that these compounds are produced in the form of an isomer mixture. It would therefore be desirable to alter or formulate the composition of the mixture to obtain a mixture with prescribed properties.
The major difficulty is then that a wide variety of tests is needed to assess the performance suitability of the single substances. Taking phthalates as plasticizer for PVC as a simple example, a representative phthalate specimen first has to be prepared in the laboratory from the alcohol mixture available. Test plaques then have to be produced with PVC, frequently with two or more concentrations of plasticizer, the actual standardized tests are carried out on these. This is very complicated and takes days or weeks. For lubricant applications the resources required may be still greater and more expensive, for example if engine tests have to be run over a period of weeks.
Once a mixing specification has been developed, it then has to be ensured that a product with consistent properties is prepared in the production process. For example, the viscosity of lubricants has to be held within narrow limits in order to keep within the desired viscosity classification. Examples for plasticizers are that the plasticizing action has to remain constant so that processors using the plasticizer are not constantly forced to adjust the mixing specification, or that there is a minimum value for electrical resistance. As explained above, however, continuous production control via performance tests is currently not possible, irrespective of the costs which it would incur.
Although in theory it would be possible to solve the problem by keeping the isomer composition precisely constant, this is not achievable in practice. Crackers are not operated with the aim of supplying a constant-composition C4 stream, but to produce ethylene, propylene, petroleum spirit, or other bulk products. In practice the composition of the C4 stream available from the cracker will always vary depending on the composition of the raw material used and the mode of operation. The problem becomes even more intractable if C4 streams are purchased from different crackers, as is generally the case for large-scale production.
The raw material used as a starting point in itself therefore inevitably causes changes in the composition of the product, and therefore changes in isomer distribution, and therefore changes in performance. As discussed above, other changes in product composition take effect in the subsequent steps of oligomerization and hydroformylation, for example through a change in operating conditions or aging of the oligomerization catalyst. The problem is most severe for independent ester producers who purchase the alcohols used, since the products can come from different oligomerization processes and oxo processes. Mention may be made again of the fact that there are DINP grades with viscosities of from ˜50 to 170 mPa*s at 20° C., depending on the raw material, oligomerization process and hydroformylation process used in producing the isononanol used as esterification alcohol. The isolated example DINP demonstrates the fundamental problems, but similar considerations apply, of course, to all esters used as functional fluids, in particular where isomer mixtures of alcohols or carboxylic acids are used.
Although, as discussed above, it is possible in principle to use changes in isomer composition to tailor products for various application sectors, it is desirable for economic reasons to operate plants continuously. Even if we ignore the problem that the desired properties of the product have to be taken into account at the outset, it is very costly and time-consuming here to make frequent production changeovers to produce different product variants. The aim will therefore be to prepare a standard product with the most consistent properties possible, a product which covers the widest possible range of applications. However, customer requirements are becoming more stringent, and increasing customer-orientation requires a response to customers' wishes, and this response inevitably means the preparation of specific products alongside standard product.
Object
The object is therefore to prepare phthalate mixtures with certain properties from alcohol mixtures of very varied composition, where the properties of the phthalates can be controlled by simple means via the composition of the alcohols.
Ideally, a method should be found which permits the performance of the final products (phthalate mixtures) to be predicted before production of the critical precursors has been completed, e.g. during the hydroformylation of aldehydes produced from olefin isomer mixtures. This should be possible without lengthy performance tests on the final product (e.g. preparing the alcohols by hydrogenation and the carboxylic acids by oxidation, preparing the esters, producing test plaques using plasticized PVC, etc.).
Achievement of the Object
The viscosity of phthalate esters depends on the structure and, respectively, on the isomer composition of the alcohols used for esterification. This is correlated with performance variables, such as low-temperature flexibilizing action and electrical resistance. If sufficient measurements are available it can be described using theoretically based equations, or even simple empirical equations.
Measurement of the viscosity of the single phthalic esters, a particularly simple measurement, can therefore provide conclusions concerning other aspects of performance. The problem, however, is that this cannot be measured until the finished ester, for example DINP, becomes available. It is then too late to influence alcohol composition.
In principle, the viscosity of mixtures of isomer compounds can be estimated from the single components, using a simple mixing rule. The VDI-Wärmeatlas [VDI heat atlas], VDI Verlag, seventh extended edition, 194, section Da 30 states thatln(η)=Σxe*ln(ηe)where
η viscosity of mixture
ηe viscosity of single components (phthalates)
xe molar fraction of single component (phthalates)
Determination of the viscosity of the single components (phthalates) and measurement of the isomer composition (phthalates) would therefore be a suitable means for checking that product properties are kept constant. However, this is not possible in practice due to the enormous number of isomers, since the costs for testing these following their synthesis or isolation from reaction mixtures would be unacceptable using currently available means.
The following list gives the most important isomers of an isononanol used for preparing DINP and prepared by an oxo reaction of an octene mixture, in turn prepared by oligomerizing 2-butene. The composition can essentially be stated as follows, and has 14 isomers, ignoring stereoisomers: n-nonanol, 2-methyloctanol, 2-ethylheptanol, 2-propylhexanol, 4-methyloctanol, 3-ethylheptanol, 6-methyloctanol, 2,3-dimethylheptanol, 2-propyl-3-methylpentanol, 2-ethyl4-methylhexanol, 2,5-dimethylheptanol, 4,5-dimethylheptanol, 2,3,4-trimethylhexanol, and 2-ethyl-3-methylhexanol.
If the raw material initially used also comprises isobutene, for example, there are many additional isomers, such as 3,5,5,-trimethylhexanol, 3,4,5-trimethylhexanol, and 3,4,4-trimethylhexanol, and others.
When alcohols are esterified using a dibasic polycarboxylic acid, such as phthalic acid, the only case in which one single compound is produced arises when the alcohol used is composed of one single isomer. For example, when phthalic acid is esterified using n-nonanol, di-n-nonyl phthalate is produced. In contrast, if the esterification alcohol is composed of two or more isomers, the products produced in the esterification of phthalic acid, for example, are phthalates in which the two alkyl radicals are identical or different. Thus when the abovementioned isononanol with 14 isomers is used 14 phthalates can be produced with identical alkyl groups and 91 (14*13/2) phthalates can be produced with two different alkyl groups. If stereoisomers are ignored, a total of 105 different phthalates can therefore be formed.
In the case of compounds such as the esters of trimellitic acid, which is tribasic, or pyromellitic acid, which is tetrabasic, the number of isomers rises enormously. Every one of the isomers will have to be tested, and the analytical separation alone here is complicated and time-consuming, and the production of suitable specimens for viscosity measurement even more so.
Surprisingly, it has now been found that the viscosity of isomer mixtures of this type of esters is correlated with the composition of the esterification alcohols used in the case of polycarboxylic esters and, respectively, with the composition of the carboxylic acids used to esterify polyols.
The mixing rule cited above cannot be employed for the viscosity of the esters, since it is not the true composition of the esters which is inserted but merely the composition of the esterification alcohols, and, respectively, carboxylic acids. The result is viscosity parameters of the single isomers as contribution to the viscosity of the ester mixture obtained by esterification with multiple isomers. These values naturally also include the effects of interaction of the single isomers in the esters.
It could not be foreseen that, if the molar fractions of the single alcohol components used in the alcohol mixture which would be obtained by esterifying the phthalate mixture are identical, an ester mixture composed solely of phthalates whose alkyl radicals are identical would have almost the same viscosity as a phthalate mixture in which, alongside phthalates having identical alkyl radicals, there are also phthalates having isomeric alkyl radicals.
In other words: if every isomer present in an alcohol mixture were isolated and esterified with phthalic acid, and if the various phthalates were then mixed in the ratio in which the alcohols were present in the alcohol mixture, the viscosity of the phthalate mixture obtained would be approximately the same as that of the mixture which would result from direct reaction of the alcohol mixture with phthalic acid.
This result is very surprising, since the number of phthalate isomers which can result during direct esterification of the alcohol mixture with phthalic acid is, as stated above, significantly higher than that which can result during the esterification of the single components followed by mixing in the specified ratio. This means that it is not the actual number of phthalate isomers in the phthalate mixture which is important, but the isomer composition of the underlying alcohol mixture.
The present invention therefore provides mixtures of isomeric dialkyl phthalates with a certain viscosity, prepared by esterifying phthalic acid or phthalic anhydride with a mixture of isomeric alkyl alcohols having a certain number of carbon atoms, wherein the viscosity of the phthalic ester mixture is adjusted via the composition of the isomeric alkyl alcohols and their viscosity parameters in accordance with formula I.ln(η)=Σxi*ln(ηi) equation (I)where η=viscosity of dialkyl phthalate mixture xi=molar fraction of an isomerically pure alcohol ηi=viscosity parameter of an isomerically pure alcohol in a dialkyl phthalate mixture.
The viscosities of the mixtures depend on the number of carbon atoms in the isomeric alkyl alcohols used for esterification. The viscosities or preferred ranges of the invention are the following:
Viscosity of dialkyl phthalate mixtureNumber of carbonin mPa * s (20° C.)atoms in isomericparticularlyalkyl alcoholinventivepreferredpreferred419-4419-4419-44524-5024-5024-50628-8028-7028-607 33-10033-7033-658 39-130 39-110 39-1009 45-200 45-165 45-12010 52-400 52-330 52-20011 61-400 61-380 61-35012 66-400 66-380 66-35013 70-400 70-380 70-35014 74-400 74-380 74-350If a mixture of isomeric dialkyl phthalates is prepared with a certain viscosity η by mixing two dialkyl phthalate mixtures, where in the limiting case it is also possible to use isomerically pure phthalic esters instead of the mixtures, the mixture content of the two components can be calculated in accordance with formula II, if the molar fractions of the isomeric alcohols underlying the phthalate mixtures are known.ln(η)=aΣxi1*ln(ηi)+(1-a)Σxi2*ln(ηi) equation (II)where η=viscosity of dialkyl phthalate mixture after mixing of the two components xi1=molar fraction of an isomer in alcohol mixture 1 which would result from saponification of phthalate mixture 1 xi2=molar fraction of an isomer in alcohol mixture 2 which would result from saponification of phthalate mixture 2 ηi=viscosity parameter of an alcohol isomer a=proportion of phthalate mixture 1 in two-component mixture (1-a)=proportion of phthalate mixture 2 in two-component mixture (a/(1-a)=mixing ratio of the two components)
By analogy with formula II, calculation methods can be set up for the mixing of more than two phthalate mixtures. For example, the equation applicable for the viscosity of a phthalate mixture prepared from three phthalate mixtures isln(η)=aΣxi1*ln(ηi)+bΣxi2*ln(ηi)+cΣxi3*ln(ηa) equation IIIwhere a+b+c=1 and a, b, and c are the proportions of the three components in the entire mixture.
The present invention therefore also provides mixtures of isomeric dialkyl phthalates with a certain viscosity, prepared by mixing of isomerically pure dialkyl phthalates and/or of dialkyl phthalate mixtures, where the alkyl esters have the same carbon number and have a carbon number corresponding to their viscosity, wherein the mixture of isomeric dialkyl phthalates has a viscosity and composition in accordance with formula IV (equations II and III being special cases of the generally applicable equation IV).
ln ( η ) = ∑ j = 1 j = n ∑ i = 1 i = m a j x ij ln ( η i ) where ∑ j = 1 n a j = 1 0 ≤ a j ≤ 1 equation ( IV ) n=number of components in mixture m=number of alcohol isomers underlying the final mixture η=viscosity of dialkyl phthalate mixture after mixing the components xij=molar fraction of a particular isomer i in alcohol mixture j which would result from saponification of phthalate mixture j ηi=viscosity parameter of a particular alcohol isomer i aj=mixture content (proportion by weight) of a component j (phthalate mixture) in final product.
With regard to chain lengths and viscosity and preferred ranges thereof, the statements made above are again applicable.
Equations II-IV are also applicable to calculation of the mixture contents when the intention is to prepare an alcohol mixture from two or more alcohol mixtures (components) with different isomer composition (nature of isomers and also quantitative proportion) for the preparation of a phthalate mixture with specified viscosity.
The present invention also provides processes for preparing the mixtures mentioned of isomeric dialkyl phthalates with the viscosities mentioned by blending of the phthalic esters or of the alcohols prior to esterification.
Isononyl phthalates of the invention prepared from the alkyl alcohols having 9 carbon atoms may be obtained using a mixture of isomeric alkyl alcohols which is a mixture of nonanols prepared by mixing an isomerically pure nonanol or a nonanol mixture with n-nonanol.
As an alternative, it is possible to use a mixture of isomeric alkyl alcohols which is a mixture of nonanols prepared by mixing an isomerically pure nonanol or a nonanol mixture with 3,5,5-trimethylhexanol.
If phthalic esters are mixed, e.g. dinonyl phthalates, an isomerically pure dinonyl phthalate or a dinonyl phthalate mixture may be mixed with di(3,5,5-trimethylhexyl) phthalate or di(isononyl) phthalate.
Suitable blending of the ancillary components permits preparation of any of the products whose viscosity lies between these limits. The alcohols n-nonanol or 3,5,5-trimethylhexanol, for example, can be used to adjust the viscosities of DINP grades in the range from ˜45 to ˜110 mPa*s, in the first instance giving a product with good low-temperature flexibilizing action, and in the second case giving a product with less good low-temperature flexibilizing action but with increased electrical resistance.
Readily adjustable viscosity makes the phthalic ester mixtures of the invention very versatile in use, and they can be used as plasticizers for plastics, in particular PVC, as hydraulic fluid, as lubricant, or as a component in lubricants.
Determination of Viscosity Contributions from Single Components
Firstly, it will seldom be possible or desirable to analyze every isomer including all of the trace constituents, since this would dramatically increase costs. The procedure here is to take any unknown residue in total and treat it as a virtual component. If this unknown residue is not excessively large, e.g. less than 10%, or preferably less than 5%, the error is not unacceptably great. For example, a large number of measurements with unknown residues of a few % are covered by a tolerance of +/−2 mPa*s for the final product.
Secondly, there will also occasionally be problems with autocorrelation of isomers. If, for example, 2-propylhexanol is produced during the oxo reaction of internal n-octenes, there will also always be some content of 2-ethylheptanol and 2-methyloctanol present, resulting in a high level of autocorrelation of these isomers. If these isomers cannot be clearly differentiated even by other measures, such as distillation, these autocorrelated constituents are likewise taken together as a single component. The effect on accuracy here is very small, since if even the measures described cannot remove the autocorrelation, it will be even more strongly present in practical production systems. It is therefore fully acceptable and justified to treat two or more components of this type as a single component.
It is surprising that it is not necessary to separate all of the components in order to determine the fictive contributions to viscosity. Indeed, in the case of isononanol up to three or four components can be taken together without exceeding the permitted tolerance. On the other hand, accuracy can be improved as desired, at correspondingly high cost, if this is rendered essential by particularly stringent requirements. However, it is rarely necessary to incur this cost. In practice a compromise will be sought between cost and accuracy.
As soon as the base data have been determined a solution is available for keeping within the limits. Since the effect of the components is now known, changes to the composition and therefore to the expected properties can be undertaken during the preparation process itself. It is not important that the composition of the products is held precisely constant, and as has been explained this is industrially impossible or possible only at unacceptable cost. Rather, it is important that the performance of the final product is constant. In practice the procedure is to have components, isomer mixtures, or defined alcohols ready for use which deviate markedly from the desired value.
The term isomers used below is for compounds of the same empirical formula but different structure. Isomerically pure means that the ester or alcohol is composed solely of compounds of one isomer (stereoisomers being regarded in this context as one isomer), but impurities of other isomers usually present and/or resulting from industrial processes are ignored.
The inventive phthalates and processes for their preparation permit rapid and automatable control of production at the precursor stage, e.g. of the preparation of isononanol by hydroformylation of complex octene mixtures followed by hydrogenation of the hydroformylation products, the isoindex and the nature of branching in the isomers being maintained during hydrogenation of the aldehydes to give the corresponding alcohols, and conclusions can be reached concerning the properties of the final products to be produced therefrom, DINP plasticizers in the example. An example of a method of control is a process gas chromatograph coupled to automatic calculation of the expected viscosity of the plasticizers. This permits automatic monitoring not only of product quality but even of the performance of the expected final products, in this case monitoring the physical variable of viscosity. Since, however, this has systematic correlation with other aspects of performance, any important variable may in principle be controlled within specified limits. All that is needed here to carry out continuous control is a single determination of the measured values needed.
The procedure in practice is to prepare a series of different mixtures with the greatest possible difference in isomer composition. Here, the problem mentioned at the outset can be utilized systematically for solving the problem by, for example, using octene mixtures of different composition, e.g. commercially available olefins, such as 1-octene, 4-octene, 2-ethyl-1-hexene, or 2,4,4-trimethylpentenes (diisobutene). It is also possible to prepare isomer mixtures by dehydrating alcohols on acidic catalysts, e.g. dehydrating 2-octanol or 2-ethylhexanol. One way of preparing dimethylhexenes is acidic oligomerization of 1- and 2-butene. All of the synthetic routes to preparation of olefins may be utilized in order to obtain starting olefins which are as different as possible.
The olefins are then hydroformylated by various processes, e.g. using HPCo, HPRh, or ligand-modified Rh or Co catalysts. This gives a further differentiation of the isomer composition, even if the starting olefin used is the same. Hydrogenation then gives the desired alcohols, isononanols in the example, with a completely different isomer composition. Further differentiation can be achieved by careful distillation, obtaining isomer cuts with non-natural isomer distribution. Of course, it is also possible to utilize other synthetic methods for preparing alcohols and aldehydes.
Mention should be made of the fact that even at the stage of olefin feed to the hydroformylation it is possible to adjust the viscosity of the final product. For example, an auxiliary, e.g. 1-octene, or a mixture of octenes with low branching levels, may be added to lower the viscosity of the plasticizer subsequently to be prepared from the mixture, or else diisobutene or an octene mixture with a high level of branching may be added to increase the viscosity in an analogous manner. In each case, continuous analysis reveals the isomer distribution established during a hydroformylation step in the oxo process, and this can be converted by calculation to give the required amount of the auxiliary to be added. It also permits calculation of the composition of the isomer distribution modified by the feed, and also in turn permits calculation of the expected viscosity of the plasticizer to be prepared.
The composition of the various alcohol mixtures is determined. It is helpful here, but not essential, to know the structure of each single isomer. However, it is important that the isomers can be distinguished and that their ratio to one another can be determined. Since isomer composition is generally analyzed by gas chromatography, the isomers can be distinguished by their retention indices, if possible determined on two different columns.
The example of nonanol mixtures will be taken below for further illustration of the invention. | {
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This invention relates to a communication and control system, and more particularly to a distributed supervisory control and data acquisition ("SCADA") system.
A SCADA communication and control system is a wide area network of remote terminal units communicating by short bursts at the 900 MHz radio frequency range. The remote terminal units are, e.g., power control stations used by a utility company for controlling power distribution over a specific area. A typical SCADA system 10 is shown in FIG. 1, including a master controller 12 coupled to a master radio unit 14 via modem 16 and microwave link 18. Messages from the master controller 12 are sent to the master radio 14 for broadcast to multiple remote terminal units 22. By including only one master radio 14, however, the network communication distances are limited, especially in rugged terrain. Further, by using telephone-type modems 16, acquisition times are relatively slow. Accordingly, there is a need for systems having enhanced range and throughput. | {
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Field of the Invention
Embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to methods and control devices for production of consistent water quality from membrane-based water treatment for use in improved hydrocarbon recovery operations.
Background Art
Hydrocarbons accumulated within a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation are recovered or produced therefrom through production wells drilled into the subterranean formation. When production of hydrocarbons slows, improved recovery techniques may be used to force the hydrocarbons out of the formation. One of the simplest methods of forcing the hydrocarbons out of the formation is by direct injection of fluid into the formation. This enhances production by displacing or sweeping hydrocarbons through the formation so that they may be produced from production well(s).
As shown in FIG. 1, a prior art system for recovering hydrocarbons from a formation consists of an offshore rig 12 connected to a well 10, which is completed in a subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation 14. Generally, fluid is injected directly into the subterranean hydrocarbon-bearing formation 14 (indicated by the down arrow) and forces the hydrocarbons through the formation and out of the well 10 (indicated by the up arrow) via a production well, which may be the same or a different well. One type of such recovery operation uses water (e.g., seawater, produced water) as the injection fluid, which is referred to as a waterflood. Water is injected, under pressure, into the formation via injection wells, driving the hydrocarbons through the formation toward production wells.
Injection water used in waterflooding for offshore wells is typically seawater and/or produced water because of the low-cost availability of seawater and/or produced water at offshore locations. Another motivation for using produced water as an injection water offshore is the difficulty in some locations in disposing the produced water offshore. In any case, seawater and produced water are generally characterized as saline, having a high ionic content relative to fresh water. For example, the fluids are rich in sodium, chloride, sulfate, magnesium, potassium, and calcium ions, to name a few. Some ions present in injection water can benefit hydrocarbon production. For example, certain combinations of cations and anions, including K+, Na+, Cl−, Br−, and OH−, can stabilize clay to varying degrees in a formation susceptible to clay damage from swelling or particle migration.
However, it has also been found that certain ions, including calcium and/or sulfate, present in the injection water may have harmful effects on the injection wells and production wells and can ultimately diminish the amount or quality of the hydrocarbon product produced from the production wells. Specifically, sulfate ions can form salts in situ when contacted with metal cations such as barium and/or strontium, which may be naturally occurring in the reservoir. Barium and strontium sulfate salts are relatively insoluble and readily precipitate out of solution under ambient reservoir conditions. Solubility of the salts further decreases as the injection water is produced to the surface with the hydrocarbons because of temperature decreases in the production well. The resulting precipitates accumulate as barium sulfate scale in the outlying reservoir, at the wellbore of the hydrocarbon production wells, and downstream thereof (e.g., in flow lines, gas/liquid separators, transportation pipelines, etc). The scale reduces the permeability of the reservoir and reduces the diameter of perforations in wellbores, thereby diminishing hydrocarbon recovery from the hydrocarbon production wells. Divalent cations are particularly effective at stablizing sensitive clays.
It has also been reported that a significant concentration of sulfate ions in injection water promotes reservoir souring. Reservoir souring is an undesirable phenomenon whereby reservoirs are initially sweet upon discovery, but turn sour during the course of waterflooding and attendant hydrocarbon production from the reservoir. Souring contaminates the reservoir with hydrogen sulfide gas or other sulfur-containing species and is evidenced by the production of quantities of hydrogen sulfide gas along with the desired hydrocarbon fluids from the reservoir via the hydrocarbon production wells. The hydrogen sulfide gas causes a number of undesired consequences at the hydrocarbon production wells and downstream of the wells, including excessive degradation and corrosion of the hydrocarbon production well metallurgy and associated production equipment, diminished economic value of the produced hydrocarbon fluids, an environmental hazard to the surroundings, and a health hazard to field personnel.
The hydrogen sulfide is believed to be produced by an anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacteria. The sulfate-reducing bacteria is often indigenous to the reservoir and is also commonly present in the injection water. Sulfate ions and organic carbon are the primary feed reactants used by the sulfate reducing bacteria to produce hydrogen sulfide in situ. The injection water is usually a plentiful source of sulfate ions, while formation water is a plentiful source of organic carbon in the form of naturally-occurring low molecular weight fatty acids. The sulfate reducing bacteria effects reservoir souring by metabolizing the low molecular weight fatty acids in the presence of the sulfate ions, thereby reducing the sulfate to hydrogen sulfide. Stated alternatively, reservoir souring is a reaction carried out by the sulfate reducing bacteria which converts sulfate and organic carbon to hydrogen sulfide and byproducts.
A number of strategies have been employed in the prior art for remediating reservoir souring with limited effectiveness. These prior art strategies have primarily been single pronged attacks against either the sulfate reducing bacteria itself or against a specific food nutrient of the sulfate reducing bacteria. For example, many prior art strategies have focused on killing the sulfate reducing bacteria in the injection water or within the reservoir. Conventional methods for killing the sulfate reducing bacteria or limiting their growth may include ultraviolet light, biocides, and chemicals such as acrolein and nitrates. Other prior art strategies for remediating reservoir souring have focused on limiting the availability of sulfates or organic carbon to the sulfate reducing bacteria.
More recently, strategies for remediating reservoir souring have included the use of membranes to reduce the concentration of sulfate ions in injection water. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,723,603 shows that specific membranes can effectively reduce the concentration of sulfate ions in injection water, thereby inhibiting sulfate scale formation. As taught by the prior art, nanofiltration (NF) membranes are often preferred to reverse osmosis (RO) membranes because nanofiltration membranes generally permit a higher passage of sodium chloride compared to reverse osmosis membranes. Consequently, nanofiltration membranes are advantageously operable at substantially lower pressures and operating costs than reverse osmosis membranes. Furthermore, nanofiltration membranes also maintain the ionic strength of the resulting injection water at a relatively high level, which desirably reduces the risk of clay instability and correspondingly reduces the risk of water permeability loss through the porous substrata of the subterranean formation.
However, in addition to the problems associated with sulfate ions being present in the injection water, it has also been found that the salinity of an injection water can have a major impact on the recovery of hydrocarbons during waterfloods, with increased recovery resulting from the use of injection water of lower salinity than natural seawater but sufficient ionic strength to prevent clay instability. Depending on the type of formation, injection fluids having higher salinity may cause the reservoir wettability to become more oilwet. This is because the multivalent cations in the brine, such as Ca+2 and Mg+2, are believed to act like bridges between the negatively charged oil and the negatively charged clay minerals that typically line the pore walls of the formation. The oil reacts with the clay particles to form organometallic complexes, which results in the clay surface being extremely hydrophobic and oilwet. As the oilwetness of the reservoir rock increases, hydrocarbons will adsorb onto the surface of the rock and thereby flow less easily from the formation, relative to water, which results in less hydrocarbon product being produced.
Lowering the electrolyte content (i.e., lowering the ionic strength) by lowering the overall salinity and especially reducing the concentration of multivalent cations in the formation reduces the screening potential of the cations. This results in increased electrostatic repulsion between the clay particles and the oil. Once the repulsive forces exceed the binding forces via the multivalent cation bridges, the oil particles are desorbed from the clay surfaces and the clay surfaces become increasingly waterwet. If, however, the electrolyte content is reduced too much (i.e., the formation fluid salinity is too low), the clay particles may be stripped from the pore walls (clay deflocculation), which will damage the formation. Thus, although it is desirable to have lower salinity injection water, it is important that the salinity levels be kept within a specified range.
Lower salinity water, however, is not often available at a well site. Lower salinity water is typically prepared, for example, by reducing the total ion concentration of higher salinity water using membrane separation technology (e.g., reverse osmosis). In known seawater desalination plants operating according to the reverse osmosis process, the seawater to be desalinated is subjected to a separation process by means of a semi-permeable membrane. Such a membrane is understood to be a selective membrane, which is permeable to a high degree to the water molecules, but only to a very low extent to the salt ions dissolved therein.
Membrane separation techniques used in the preparation of low salinity injection water use reverse osmosis (RO) membrane elements. Membrane separation techniques used in the preparation of low sulfate injection water and softened water use specialized nanofiltration (NF) membrane elements. The RO and NF processes use hydraulic pressure to produce lower salinity water from feed water through a semipermeable membrane. Depending on the membrane type, pressure and water conditions, an amount of salt also passes across the membrane, but the overall salinity of the product water is less than that of the feed water. Current RO technology can be used for desalinating both seawater and brackish water. The membranes used in the RO process are generally either made from polyamides or from cellulose sources.
The water to be treated is typically pretreated using cartridge filters, media filtration, microfiltration, or ultrafiltration methods, which are known to separate solids/particulates from the water based on their size. The water is then fed to the reverse osmosis and/or nanofiltration vessel using a high-pressure pump. The required pressure from the high-pressure pump is a function of the osmotic pressure, the temperature, the flux (i.e., the rate at which the water passes through a unit area of the membrane), and the volume of the feed water to be produced with a specific membrane area. The product water (i.e., the permeate) is discharged from the membrane module by way of a permeate conduit. A concentrate conduit serves for discharging concentrated ionic water.
Typically, conventional systems are only concerned with producing water having certain characteristics in amounts higher or lower than a predetermined level. Such systems focus only on a maximum allowable limit of a contaminant and treatment occurs as long as, and only if, the amount of the particular characteristic is above the set limit. Otherwise, the water is deemed acceptable for use. Most often, such a treatment plant will include several treatment blocks connected in series and/or parallel. In such systems, water is passed through as many of the multiple blocks, or through a particular block as many times, as is necessary for the particular characteristic in the water to reach the amount deemed acceptable for use. | {
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This invention relates to medical guidewires typically used by physicians to gain access to restricted regions of the body and over which therapeutic devices such as small-diameter interventional catheters are threaded for insertion to a point of interest. The invention also relates to acoustic imaging within the body employing a rotating transducer arrangement.
It has long been recognized that acoustic imaging by a catheter containing a rotating transducer is useful in visualizing conditions of the body. It has been obvious that a therapeutic device, if sufficiently large, could be slid over such a catheter for insertion to a point of interest. However, practical features have not been available to enable realization of an acoustic guidewire, i.e., a true guidewire that contains a rotating transducer and which simultaneously provides the hand with the feel and torquability of a typical guidewire for enabling introduction of small-diameter therapeutic devices in typical guidewire fashion, and which also has a useful acoustic imaging capability. | {
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The invention relates to a surgical mid-foot compression pin for implantation in the first cord of a human foot, said pin comprising a core region having a drive for screwing in and/or unscrewing the pin, a front thread portion having a front outer thread, a rear thread portion having a rear outer thread, and a middle portion arranged between the thread portions, the pitch of the front outer thread being greater than that of the rear outer thread to achieve a compression.
Inter alia, a mid-foot compression pin by Synthes GmbH is known on the market and is used for the treatment of mid-foot/hind foot collapse. The known compression pin has a stepped cylindrical sleeve contour and is provided with a front and a rear outer thread, wherein the pitch of the front outer thread is greater than that of the rear outer thread to achieve a compression. The known compression pin comprises a stepped core region, with an elongate rear cylinder portion and an axially adjoining front, diameter-reduced cylinder portion, wherein the rear cylindrically contoured outer thread is provided at the rear cylinder portion and, at the same time, a thread-free middle portion adjoins the rear outer thread. The known mid-foot compression pin could be improved in terms of its compressive action. | {
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Conventional systems for controlling appliances and devices, such as garage door openers, security gates, home alarms, lighting, computers, etc., use individual wireless handheld transmitters or remote controls to operate the associated appliance and/or device forming a remote electronic system. Most of these wireless remote electronic systems use proprietary remotes or proprietary handheld transmitters that only function with the single device with which they were supplied. Most devices are only supplied with two remotes and if the user has more than two cars, it is likely the user will need to buy additional remote controls. It is also difficult to control multiple devices, much less consolidate operation of the appliances and devices into a single, controllable system. For example, garage door opener mechanisms open and close a garage door in response to a radio frequency control signal. The radio frequency control signal is typically generated and transmitted from a remote control that is sold with the garage opener. Therefore, a user wishing to control multiple appliances and/or devices such as multiple garage doors, or a garage door and a security gate is required to have multiple remote controls. There are few universal remote controls available for electronic devices such as garage doors.
In the field of wireless control of remote electronic systems, including home electronic systems, technological advances have been developed to improve convenience, security, and functionality for the user. One example is a trainable transceiver for use with the various remote electronic systems, capable of receiving a wireless control signal related to a specific function or task. A user trains the trainable transceiver by, for example, transmitting a signal from a third party wireless device, such as, a remote controller in the vicinity of the trainable transceiver. Trainable transceivers typically work by learning and storing a carrier frequency and associated data code used with the third party wireless device. For example, a remote control for a garage door typically has a specific frequency on which it operates as well as a data code, to prevent other devices from operating the garage door. The data code is wirelessly transmitted to an antenna on the garage door opener. The garage door opener may use a rolling code as the data code. A rolling code frequently changes the data code such as after each use or after a specified time interval. Therefore, a trainable transceiver must also learn the algorithm used by the remote electronic device to match the rolling code sent by the remote control. Different devices may work on different carrier frequencies and have different codes as well as different algorithms to create the rolling codes. Therefore, the trainable transceiver must work over a wide range of frequencies as well as be capable of learning a wide variety of algorithms associated with rolling codes and store all for later retransmission.
Various advantages exist with using built-in devices in a vehicle to control multiple remote electronic systems. Unlike your typical garage door remote, the trainable transceiver may be configured to not operate when the power to the ignition of the vehicle is off; the vehicle is locked; or in other selected instances to prevent unauthorized access to areas desired to be secured. In comparison, if an unauthorized person obtains a garage door remote, such as by breaking into a vehicle, that person can easily open the garage door or gain unauthorized entry to secured areas. Therefore, the use of a trainable transceiver improves safety by eliminating any unsecure remote controls. In this manner, the trainable transceiver can be conveniently mounted within a vehicle interior element (e.g., visor, instrument panel, overhead console, etc.) and can be configured to operate one or more remote electronic systems. Therefore, it is desirable to add as much functionality as possible to the trainable transceiver by configuring the trainable transceiver to operate more devices than the number of preset buttons. More specifically, it is desirable to operate numerous remote wireless devices, such as home electronic systems, without adding additional preset buttons to the interface in the vehicle.
Many vehicles already include trainable transceivers for controlling various remote electronic devices. Trainable transceivers in vehicles generally have a set number of physical buttons, which function as preset buttons that perform a single, specific task that has been previously programmed by the user. One such system is Homelink™, owned by Johnson Controls, Inc., in which a trainable transceiver is able to “learn” characteristics of received control signals, such that the trainable transceiver may subsequently generate and transmit a signal having the learned characteristics to a remotely controlled device. An example of a wireless control system having a transceiver circuit 34 and a remote electronic system (remote device) also having a transceiver circuit 33 is illustrated in FIG. 2. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,903,226, hereby incorporated by reference. Typically, the trainable transceiver has at most three buttons, each button allowing the programming of a single function or task. More specifically, the trainable transceiver only stores a specific frequency and a specific code or a rolling code with each preset button. Therefore, the total number of available tasks that a trainable transceiver may perform is limited directly by the number of preset buttons, and a trainable transceiver having three preset buttons allows only for three tasks or functions to be programmed and used. For example, an exemplary trainable transceiver with three preset buttons could control a first garage door, a second garage door, and one set of exterior lights, or any other variety of three specific tasks or functions. However, if the operator of the vehicle has a second home or second location, such as a commercial business where it is desirable to control functions remote from the vehicle and without leaving the vehicle, current devices have no ability to easily add these various functions and tasks, without adding buttons to the device. Even for individuals only concerned with controlling devices at a single location, it still may be desirable to control more than the limited number of tasks individually associated with the preset buttons.
While the trainable transceiver works well for vehicle operators in controlling a limited number of electronic devices, such as home electronic devices remote from the vehicle, the operator may desire to control more devices than the trainable transceiver allows. While it is possible for the manufacturer of the trainable transceiver to add additional preset buttons to the interface of the device, such additions may reduce the aesthetic appeal, and increase the difficulty in the operator easily and efficiently selecting the correct preset button. In addition, the more buttons that are added to the trainable transceiver, the harder it may be for the operator to easily select and control a specific task or function.
Currently, users may forget what preset button is related to a specific task or function if they are not frequently used. Therefore, a user may push the first preset button to open a garage door and accidentally pushes the second preset button performing a task or function that is not desired. The buttons are not specifically named or related to a particular task as different individuals and users may have different desired tasks to be programmed with the buttons. In addition, in some instances, it is difficult to easily determine while the car is in motion if a pressed button has completed its task such as a button associated with opening a security gate that needs to be pressed as the vehicle approaches the drive having this security gate. Furthermore, currently all of the systems require physical interaction and the ability to have hands-free functionality has not been accomplished. In some circumstances, certain people for ventilation or allowing the ingress and egress of pets from secured areas may desire for a garage door to be left partially open such as 12 to 18 inches off of the ground. As part of this, the user must manually start and stop the door in the proper position which at times is difficult due to delays in pressing the button or the system in communication with the remote device.
Further advances are needed in the field of wireless control of home electronic systems, particularly in the case of using automotive electronics to control home electronic systems. As automotive manufacturers are adding increased electronic systems to the vehicle to improve convenience, comfort, and productivity, simplifying the interface and control of these electronic systems is also becoming increasingly important. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a reactor assembly, and more particularly to an overrunning brake, sometimes called a one-way brake, installed in the reactor assembly of a torque converter for use in a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A torque converter is a hydrodynamic drive unit that transmits rotary power and has capacity to amplify torque. A torque converter includes an impeller, stator or reactor, and turbine, all of which are bladed wheels, enclosed within a toroidal cover filled with hydraulic fluid, such as automatic transmission fluid. The stator, located in a fluid path between the exit of the turbine and the inlet of the impeller, redirects fluid onto the impeller, thereby amplifying torque. When the torque converter overruns, it functions as a fluid coupling without amplifying torque.
When used in an automatic transmission for a vehicle, a torque converter includes a one-way brake (OWB) to react torque in the reactor during torque multiplication while the vehicle is accelerating at low speed. The OWB allows the reactor to spin freely, i.e., to overrun, when the vehicle is at constant speed and coasting. Allowing the reactor to spin freely while coasting reduces drag.
A conventional OWB includes at least three major components: steel outer and inner races, and locking elements, which are rollers or sprags located in an annular space between the races. The inner race transfers torque though splines onto a stator shaft, which is fixed against rotation. The outer race is pressed into the reactor, which is usually formed of aluminum or plastic.
The steel of the races and locking elements is of high grade due to the large magnitude of material stresses produced during operation. The races also required numerous machining operations, including drilling lubrication holes, rough and finish turning (generally all surfaces are turned), grinding and polishing for finish and tolerance, and broaching. The number of parts of a conventional roller or sprag OWB further increases their cost and complexity of manufacture. | {
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Motor graders have a longitudinal main frame which has a dirigible wheel assembly at its forward end, an operator's cab at its rearward end portion, and a traction chassis for the motor and power train behind the cab. The motor grader blade is suspended from the main frame by means of a circle draw bar and a circle. The circle draw bar has its front end connected to the front of the main frame by a ball and socket connection, while the rearward portion of the circle draw bar is suspended from the main frame by hydraulic cylinder and piston means which permit the draw bar to swing in a vertical plane about its front end.
The circle is mounted on the rearward portion of the circle draw bar for rotation about a vertical axis, and there is a driving interconnection between a motor on the circle draw bar and a ring gear on the circle to effect such rotary motion of the circle.
The grader blade is mounted upon the circle so that rotation of the circle changes the angle of the blade with reference to the path of travel of the grader, while swinging the circle draw bar in a vertical plane about its forward end changes the vertical position of the grader blade with reference to the ground.
In addition, the grader blade is mounted on a horizontal axis so that it may be tipped with respect to the circle by hydraulic cylinder and piston means to change the angle of attack of the blade and it may also be shifted endwise in its mounting.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,799,099, 3,463,243 and 3,465,829 disclose typical prior art structures for mounting a motor grader blade assembly on the support arms of the circle for tilting movement and for endwise sliding movement. | {
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Electrochemical conversion cells, commonly referred to as fuel cells, produce electrical energy by processing reactants, for example, through the oxidation and reduction of hydrogen and oxygen. A typical polymer electrolyte fuel cell comprises a polymer membrane (e.g., a proton exchange membrane (PEM)) with catalyst layers on both sides. The catalyst coated PEM is positioned between a pair of gas diffusion media layers, and a cathode plate and an anode plate are placed outside the gas diffusion media layers. The components are compressed to form the fuel cell.
The currently widely used fuel cell electrocatalysts are platinum nanoparticles supported on carbon supports. Depending on the catalysts and loading, the electrodes prepared with carbon supported platinum catalysts normally have thickness from several microns to about 10 or 20 microns with porosities varying from 30% to 80%. One of the disadvantages of these carbon supported catalysts is the poor corrosion resistance of carbon under certain fuel cell operating conditions, which results in fast performance degradation.
The catalyst layers can be made of nanostructured thin support materials. The nanostructured thin support materials have particles or thin films of catalyst on them. The nanostructure thin catalytic layers can be made using well known methods. One example of a method for making nanostructured thin catalytic layers is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,352, 4,940,854, 5,039,561, 5,175,030, 5,238,729, 5,336,558, 5,338,430, 5,674,592, 5,879,827, 5,879,828, 6,482,763, 6,770,337, and 7,419,741, and U.S. Publication Nos. 2007/0059452, 2007/0059573, 2007/0082256, 2007/0082814, 2008/0020261, 2008/0020923, 2008/0143061, and 2008/0145712, which are incorporated herein by reference. The basic process involves depositing a material on a substrate, such as polyimide, and annealing the deposited material to form a layer of nanostructured support elements, known as whiskers. One example of a material which can be used to form the nanostructured support elements is “perylene red” (N,N′-di(3,5-xylyl)perylene-3,4,9,10 bis(dicarboximide) (commercially available under the trade designation “C. I. PIGMENT RED 149” from American Hoechst Corp. of Somerset, N.J.)). A catalyst material is then deposited on the surface of nanostructured support elements to form a nanostructured thin film (NSTF) catalyst layer, which is available from 3M.
The nanostructured thin catalytic layers can be transferred directly to a proton exchange membrane, such as a DuPont Nafion® membrane, using a hot press lamination process, for example. The polyimide substrate is then peeled off, leaving the layer of whiskers attached to the membrane.
These types of nanostructured thin catalytic layers have demonstrated high catalytic activity, which is helpful to reduce the platinum utilization in fuel cell stacks. Most importantly, because the supporting layer is not made of carbon as in the traditional platinum catalysts for fuel cell application, the nanostructured thin catalytic layers are more resistant to corrosion under certain fuel cell operating conditions, and thus improve the fuel cell's durability.
However, after the annealing process is completed, a thin layer of residual non-crystallized perylene red remains at the surface of the polyimide substrate. Therefore, when the whiskers have been transferred to the PEM and the polyimide substrate peeled off, the surface of the whiskers that was adjacent to the polyimide substrate is exposed and becomes the surface of membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Consequently, the residual non-crystallized perylene red backing, which originally was adjacent to the polyimide substrate, is exposed. This can be detrimental to the fuel cell operation because it can block water and gas transfer in and out of the electrode.
In addition, an MEA made with this type of whisker catalyst layer has a narrow range of operating conditions (i.e., it cannot be too dry or too wet) to provide good performance. If the fuel cell is operated under wet conditions, the thin layer of whiskers, which is less than 1 μm thick, cannot provide enough storage capacity for the product water, resulting in flooding. Under dry conditions, it is believed that not all portions of the whiskers are utilized to catalyze the reaction due to poor proton transfer characteristics.
Besides the NSTF whisker catalyst described above, there are other uniformly dispersed (or dispersed with a desired pattern) catalytic nanostructured materials prepared on a substrate. For example, aligned carbon nanotubes, aligned carbon nanofibers, or nanoparticles, and the like could be grown on silicon or other substrates. Catalytic materials are then deposited onto the nanostructured materials. Electrocatalyst decals incorporating such materials are described, for example, in Hatanaka et al., PEFC Electrodes Based on Vertically Oriented Carbon Nanotubes, 210th ECS Meeting, Abstract #549 (2006); Sun et al., Ultrafine Platinum Nanoparticles Uniformly Dispersed on Arrayed CNx Nanotubes with High Electrochemical Activity, Chem. Mater. 2005, 17, 3749-3753; Warren et al., Ordered Mesoporous Materials from Metal Nanoparticle-Block Copolymer Self-Assembly, Science Vol. 320, 1748-1752 (27 Jun. 2008).
Therefore, there is a need for processing and constructing an electrode containing catalyst materials which can provide good performance. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Transducers, such as actuators and sensors that perform conversion between mechanical energy and electric energy and speakers and microphones that perform conversion between acoustic energy and electric energy are known. In order to form a highly flexible, compact, and lightweight transducer, polymer materials such as dielectric elastomers are useful.
For example, a flexible actuator can be formed by arranging, on both sides in the thickness direction of a sheet-shaped dielectric layer formed of a dielectric elastomer, a pair of electrodes whose electric resistance does not easily increase even when the electrodes expand and contract. In actuators of this kind, when a voltage applied between the electrodes increases, an electrostatic attraction between the electrodes increases. The dielectric layer interposed between the electrodes is thereby compressed in the thickness direction, leading to a reduced thickness of the dielectric layer. When the film thickness decreases, the dielectric layer accordingly expands in a direction parallel to the electrode surfaces. On the other hand, when the voltage applied between the electrodes is reduced, the electrostatic attraction between the electrodes decreases. A compressive force against the dielectric layer in the thickness direction thereby decreases, and the film thickness increases due to the elastic restoring force of the dielectric layer. When the film thickness increases, the dielectric layer accordingly contracts in a direction parallel to the electrode surfaces. The actuator thus expands and contracts the dielectric layer, thereby driving a member to be driven.
A force and a displacement output from the actuator are determined by the magnitude of the applied voltage and the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer. In other words, the larger the applied voltage and the dielectric constant of the dielectric layer, the larger the generative force and displacement of the actuator. For this reason, materials for use in the dielectric layer include silicone rubber, which has high resistance to dielectric breakdown, and acrylic rubber, nitrile rubber, or the like, each having a high dielectric constant (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to vehicle suspension for driven axles of amphibious vehicles.
In an amphibious vehicle, it is desirable to reduce drag when in marine mode, particularly drag caused by disconformities in those parts of the vehicle in contact with the water. Some such vehicles have retracting wheels with recesses above the water-line for the wheels to retract into. In the case of a planing amphibious vehicle, the hull recesses are generally above the water-line when the vehicle is on the plane; or in the case of our co-pending application no. WO 04/103743A1, plates are fitted to the vehicle's bottom to cover as much as possible of the recesses for the rear driven wheels. Such plates are fixed after assembly of the vehicle suspension during manufacture. Nevertheless, tramping caused by hitting waves or wakes; or alternatively cornering; can cause the wheel recesses to catch the water, which may in turn slow or slew the vehicle. To minimize such effects, it is essential to minimize the length of such recesses in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
The use of upper and lower wishbone suspension has the advantage of bracing the suspension against torque input and vibration. It is also convenient to locate spring and damper units within the wheel retraction recesses; but as can be seen from WO 04/103743A1, both of these measures lead to large recesses in the vehicle hull.
Where an amphibious vehicle is based on passenger car conventions of vehicle packaging, seating across the vehicle will be provided, and wheel arches will be blended into the vehicle bodywork. However, if alternative packaging concepts from lighter and more compact vehicles are considered, different opportunities and challenges arise. Where seating is arranged longitudinally along the vehicle, it can be made narrower than a passenger car. Particularly where the power train is also aligned along the vehicle, a greater hull vee angle can be considered than for a passenger car type body with transverse seating and engine. The large vee angle offers agile marine handling, but requires the use of large diameter road wheels to give adequate ground clearance; which would suggest large wheel arches and bulky suspension.
Should these large wheel arches be integrated into the vehicle body styling, they would tend to negate the compactness and light weight of a narrow amphibious vehicle. This is emphasised with a large hull vee angle, as the wheels must be retracted through large angles to stay above the water-line when the vehicle is canted on water. However, if the wheel arches are allowed to protrude beyond the contours of the rest of the vehicle bodywork, the main structure of the vehicle can still be narrow and light in weight. Hence, a new incentive is found to provide a compact yet sturdy amphibious vehicle retractable suspension which requires minimal hull recesses. Similarly, if seating is provided substantially above the vehicle power train, rather than in front of the power train or behind it, the hull will be relatively short; so it becomes critically important to minimize interruptions to the planing surface. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The manufacture of particulate fertilizers is generally carried out by agglomeration or prilling processes whereby particulates such as prills or granules of the fertilizer are formed. There are numerous agglomeration and prilling processes known for the manufacture of fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, urea, potash, phosphates and mixtures thereof. Agglomeration processes are generally carried out in paddle mixers, pug mills, rotary drums, pans or fluidized beds. Prilling processes are usually carried out in prilling vessels such as prilling towers.
In many cases it is necessary to cool the particulates so formed to a reasonably low temperature to avoid undesirable phenomena such as caking. The cooling of particulates has been conventionally carried out with cooling air in a cooling vessel such as a rotating drum or a fluidized bed. Because of the intense motions and turbulence of the particulates in such vessels, the particulates are subject to attrition and abrasion that result in a breakdown of the particulates with the formation of fines and dust. This breakdown is highly undesirable. Not only does the formation of fines and dust reduce the efficiency of the above-mentioned processes, but the additional treatments that are necessary for the removal of fines and dust from the product add considerably to the costs. The fines and dust must be screened from the product, and the cooling air, which contains a portion of the dust, must be treated for the substantial removal of the dust before the air can be returned to the atmosphere.
In order to reduce attrition and abrasion it would be necessary to avoid the intense motion and turbulence during cooling. Such intense motion appears to have been somewhat reduced in the cooler for hot lime disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3 397 460. The cooler includes an indirect heat exchanger comprising a plurality of horizontal air ducts mounted in tiers to form vertical passages for the lime, the tiers being connected with transfer boxes, and a direct heat exchanger for cooling lime received from the passages with air. This cooler and its tiers of interconnected air ducts is of a rather complex construction and the free falling material and the direct heat exchanger still would cause considerable motion with resultant attrition.
In heat exchange between two liquids, or liquids and gases, use is often made of one or more spaced heat exchanger plates over which one fluid flows and through which the cooling fluid passes in indirect heat exchange. Such plates are used in vaporizers, dryers, heaters, condensers and coolers, and are based on disclosures such as made in U.S. Pat. No. 3 458 917. A heat exchanger plate according to this patent consists of two flat plates that are circumferentially seam-welded together, are provided with a pattern of spot or seam welds or both and are expanded between welds by introducing high-pressure fluid into the spaces between welds. The expanded plate has a smooth outside surface with numerous small pillow-like embossments between spot welds. The pillows are hollow and interconnected to provide flow channels for a cooling fluid. The pattern of seam welds may provide a serpentine passage for the cooling fluid through the plate. An inlet and an outlet for the fluid are attached to the plate. According to a catalogue of the Paul Mueller Company, the plates are used in various shapes and configurations, one of those being in packs of spaced plates with common inlet and outlet headers. No mention is made of cooling solids or particulate materials. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This invention relates to a multilayer packaging film having good barrier characteristics, good printability and the ability to receive a firmly bonded metal layer thereon.
Certain polymeric films e.g., polypropylene, employed for the packaging of foods, inherently permit the transmission of oxygen and water vapor from outside of the film to inside of a package made up of the film. Oxygen and water vapor permits rapid deterioration of foods packaged in containers made from such a film. Metal deposits on such films are desired because of the improvement in appearance and in providing yet another layer which militates against the invasion of oxygen and water vapor.
Thus, it is a principal object of the present invention to present a film which has excellent printability, can have a metal layer firmly bonded thereto and which has significantly decreased oxygen and water vapor transmission rates. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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FIG. 1 shows as an example a hybrid drive having an internal combustion engine ICE, a separating clutch K0, an electric motor EM, another separating clutch K2 and a transmission module TR. Separating clutch K0 is provided to separate internal combustion engine ICE from the drive train or to connect it thereto again. Thus, for example, in a purely electric motor drive using electric motor EM as the drive source, separating clutch K0 is disengaged and internal combustion engine ICE is shut down. In a transition from an electric motor drive to a hybrid drive in which both electric motor EM and internal combustion engine ICE are used as drive sources, internal combustion engine ICE may first be driven mechanically by separating clutch K0 to achieve a predefined rotational speed, for example. Separating clutch K0 is operated in a slip state in which it is not completely engaged. At the same time, separating clutch K0 is connected to the drive train on the side of the electric motor. It is therefore of crucial importance for driving comfort in particular to accurately control the slip of separating clutch K0 in hybrid mode. German Patent Application No. DE 105 40 921 A1 describes in this context a system for controlling a servo clutch, in which the clutch control is optimized.
The developing torque during engagement of separating clutch K0 shown in FIG. 1 may be detected by the method depicted in FIG. 2, for example. FIG. 2A shows a curve of a torque M of an electric motor over time, FIG. 2B shows a curve of a rotational speed of the electric motor over time, and FIG. 2C shows a curve P of the state of separating clutch K0, which may assume any states between a disengaged state and a completely engaged state. Curve P of the state of separating clutch K0 is determined by a curve of the engaged positions of separating clutch K0. Separating clutch K0 is thus in a slip state, for example, when it is only partially engaged and is in a disengaged state when it is completely disengaged.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the torque of the electric motor is increased linearly up to a resulting torque 201 and subsequently reduced again along a ramp. With the increase in torque, the rotational speed of the electric motor illustrated in FIG. 2B drops due to the increase in the clutch transfer torque, but it increases again with a decline in torque. As shown in FIG. 2C, separating clutch K0 is engaged slowly starting from a disengaged state 203 and is therefore in a continuous slip. Separating clutch K0 is engaged until reaching a position 205, in which the resulting developing torque 201 is established.
To detect the developing torque, internal combustion engine ICE is initially shut down and separating clutch K0 is disengaged, the electric motor torque on the main drive axle being kept as constant as possible. The rotational speed of the electric motor is kept constant at 500 rpm, for example, by a speed regulator. At point in time 207, separating clutch K0 is engaged slowly. The speed regulator then attempts to keep the speed of the electric motor constant by generating an additional torque, for example. For detecting the developing torque, at point in time 205 a position of separating clutch K0 is detected at which the electric motor torque has increased by 10 Nm, for example. In this way, the so-called contact point of separating clutch K0, at which the transmitted torque is 0 Nm, may also be detected.
One disadvantage of the method described above is that it may take approximately 3 s to 10 s until the developing torque has been detected during engagement of separating clutch K0. This is due to the fact that the speed of the engaging separating clutch K0 must be lower than the response rate of the speed regulator controlling the electric motor. Consequently, the engaged position of separating clutch K0 at point in time 205 may be detected only as a function of the torque, which has been increased by the speed regulator. In addition, another disadvantage is that separating clutch K0, which is in the slip state for a longer period of time, must withstand higher torques, and it may thus be damaged. For this reason, the learning range to be considered in order to detect the developing torque should have lower torques than these higher torques, so that the torque transmitted via separating clutch K0 is usually less than 10 Nm. It is thus impossible to detect higher rotational speeds and higher torque ranges at 50 Nm, for example, for detecting the developing torque of separating clutch K0. In addition, in the range in which the torque transmitted by separating clutch K0 is low, a higher mechanical tolerance and thus a lower engagement precision of separating clutch K0 are to be expected. For this reason, this method is performed in a mechanically unstable range, so that the developing torque during engagement of separating clutch K0 cannot be detected accurately. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an imaging apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program. More specifically, the invention relates to an information processing apparatus, an imaging apparatus, an information processing method, and a computer program, which have the configuration that is intended to shorten a starting time as well as to reduce power consumption.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general digital cameras, a predetermined time period (a few seconds) is necessary to power a power source on from a power source off state in which a main switch is off and to establish a state to allow actual shooting. This is because a system startup process is necessary such as a process in which information necessary for an imaging process is decompressed over storing means such as an SDRAM as a volatile memory after the main switch is turned on.
Such a state is called as a hot standby state that information necessary for the imaging process is decompressed over the storing means such as an SDRAM to complete a system startup process. After the state is shifted to the hot standby state, an actual imaging process can be conducted.
A reduction in the transition time period from powering the power source to the shootable state is one of problems of the digital camera. For example, JP-A-2000-59675 (Patent Reference 1) disclose a configuration in which in a digital still camera that allows mode settings such as a recording mode and a reproduction mode, the mode is changed to a power saving mode unless otherwise a user makes a manipulation within a mode duration time defined in accordance with each mode, whereas once a mode is set, the mode is continued not to enter the power saving mode within the defined time period set in accordance with each mode, whereby the imaging process can be conducted immediately within the mode duration time.
In addition, for example, JP-A-2005-173620 (Patent Reference 2) discloses a configuration which realizes a reduction in the starting time by maintaining the hot standby state described above. More specifically, Patent Reference 2 discloses a camera configuration having a warm sleep state which continues the hot standby state that information necessary for the imaging process is decompressed over the storing means such as an SDRAM.
According to the configuration described in Patent Reference 2, even though the power source is in an off state, in the warm sleep state, power is continuously supplied to the storing means such as an SDRAM having information necessary for the imaging process stored therein. Accordingly, the hot standby state can be maintained, and shooting can be started immediately when a user intends to start shooting and turns the power source on.
However, in the configurations described in both Patent References, in order to continuously maintain a predetermined mode or the hot standby state, it is necessary to continuously supply power to the storing means (SDRAM) having information necessary for the imaging process therein. Consequently, there is a problem that power consumption becomes great. In both Patent References, the configuration is shown in which a predetermined timeout time period is provided to release a predetermined mode or the hot standby state. However, when a predetermined mode or the hot standby state is released, in the shooting operation after that, the time period from the power source on to the shootable state is the same as the time period in the camera before, causing a problem that a reduction in the starting time can not be exerted. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Targeted gene modification in the mouse (commonly referred to as knockout mouse technology because the goal of many of the modifications is to abolish, or knock out, target gene function) is the most effective method for discovery of mammalian gene function in live animals and for creating genetic models of human disease. Knockout mouse creation typically begins by introducing a targeting vector into mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. The targeting vector is a linear piece of DNA comprising a selection or marker gene (e.g., for drug selection) flanked by mouse DNA sequences—the so-called homology arms—that are similar or identical to the sequences at the target gene and which promote integration into the genomic DNA at the target gene locus by homologous recombination. To create a mouse with an engineered genetic modification, targeted ES cells are introduced into mouse embryos, for example premorula stage (e.g., 8-cell stage) or blastocyst stage embryos, and then the embryos are implanted in the uterus of a surrogate mother (e.g., a pseudopregnant mouse) that will give birth to pups that are partially or fully derived from the genetically modified ES cells. After growing to sexual maturity and breeding with wild type mice some of the pups will transmit the modified gene to their progeny, which will be heterozygous for the mutation. Interbreeding of heterozygous mice will produce progeny that are homozygous for the modified allele and are commonly referred to as knockout mice.
The initial step of creating gene-targeted ES cells is a rare event. Only a small portion of ES cells exposed to the targeting vector will incorporate the vector into their genomes, and only a small fraction of such cells will undergo accurate homologous recombination at the target locus to create the intended modified allele. To enrich for ES cells that have incorporated the targeting vector into their genomes, the targeting vector typically includes a gene or sequence that encodes a protein that imparts resistance to a drug that would otherwise kill an ES cell. The drug resistance gene is referred to as a selectable marker because in the presence of the drug, ES cells that have incorporated and express the resistance gene will survive, that is, be selected, and form clonal colonies, whereas those that do not express the resistance gene will perish. Such a selectable marker is typically present in a selection cassette, which typically includes nucleic acid sequences that will allow for expression of the selectable marker. Molecular assays on drug-resistant ES cell colonies identify those rare clones in which homologous recombination between the targeting vector and the target gene results in the intended modified sequence (e.g., the intended modified allele).
After selection of drug-resistant clones, the selection cassette typically serves no further function for the modified allele. Ideally the cassette should be removed, leaving an allele with only the intended genetic modification, because the selection cassette might interfere with the expression a neighboring gene such as a reporter gene, which is often incorporated adjacent to the selectable marker in many knockout alleles, or might interfere with a nearby endogenous gene (see, e.g., Olsen et al. (1996) Know Your Neighbors: Three Phenotypes of the Myogenic bHLH Gene MRF4. Cell 85:1-4; Strathdee et al. (2006) Expression of Transgenes Targeted to the Gt(ROSA)26S or Locus Is Orientation Dependent, PloS ONE 1(1):e4.). Either event can confound the interpretation of the phenotype of the modified allele. For these reasons selectable markers in knockout alleles are usually flanked by recognition sites for site-specific recombinase enzymes, for example, IoxP sites, which are recognized by the Cre recombinase (see, e.g., Dymecki (1999) Site-specific recombination in cells and mice, in Gene Targeting: A Practical Approach, 2d Ed., 37-99). A typical selection cassette comprises a promoter that is active in ES cells linked to the coding sequence of an enzyme, such as neomycin phosphotransferase, that imparts resistance to a drug, such as G418, followed by a polyadenylation signal, which promotes transcription termination and 3′ end formation and polyadenylation of the transcribed mRNA. This entire unit is flanked by recombinase recognition sites oriented to promote deletion of the selection cassette upon the action of the cognate recombinase.
Recombinase-catalyzed removal of the selection cassette from the knockout allele is typically achieved either in the gene-targeted ES cells by transient expression of an introduced plasmid carrying the recombinase gene or by breeding mice derived from the targeted ES cells with mice that carry a transgenic insertion of the recombinase gene. Either method has its drawbacks. Selection cassette excision by transient transfection of ES cells is not 100% efficient. Incomplete excision necessitates isolating multiple subclones that must be screened for loss of the selectable marker, a process that can take one to two months and subject a targeted clone to high levels of recombinase and a second round of electroporation and plating that can adversely affect the targeted clone's ability to transmit the modified allele through the germline. Consequently, the process might require repetition on multiple targeted clones to ensure the successful creation of knockout mice from the cassette-deleted clones.
The alternative approach of removing the selection cassette in mice requires even more effort. To achieve complete removal of the selection cassette from all tissues and organs, mice that carry the knockout allele must be bred to an effective general recombinase deletor strain. But even the best deletor strains are less than 100% efficient at promoting cassette excision of all knockout alleles in all tissues. Therefore, progeny mice must be screened for correct recombinants in which the cassette has been excised. Because mice that appear to have undergone successful cassette excision may still be mosaic (i.e., cassette deletion was not complete in all cell and tissue types), a second round of breeding is required to pass the cassette-excised allele through the germline and ensure the establishment of a mouse line completely devoid of the selectable marker. In addition to about six months for two generations of breeding and the associated housing costs, this process may introduce undesired mixed strain backgrounds through breeding, which can make interpretation of the knockout phenotype difficult.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for compositions and methods for excising nucleic acid sequences in genetically modified cells and animals. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Buildings are commonly constructed with concrete floors having openings that communicate with a sewer system. A floor opening is commonly referred to as a floor drain when a grate (also known as a strainer) is placed over the opening and is commonly referred to as a cleanout when a solid cover (also known as a plug) is placed over the opening. The primary purpose of a floor drain is to allow water on the floor to escape and the primary purpose of a cleanout is to provide access to the sewer system for cleaning. The term “floor drain” is used herein to refer to both types of floor openings. The parts that typically make up a floor drain consist of a grate (or cover) and a cylindrical body. The cylindrical body fits either directly into a vertical pipe or into a mating, outer cylindrical fitting that is, in turn, attached to a vertical pipe. Floor drains of many different designs and materials are used commercially.
Concrete floors are typically constructed with a slight pitch (or slope) so that water will run to the floor drain. The grate or cover of the floor drain is preferably flush with the finish surface of the floor. During building construction, the vertical pipe and outer cylindrical body that will form parts of the floor opening are typically set in place before the concrete is poured. If the vertical pipe is not set exactly perpendicular to the finished surface of the floor and at exactly the right height, the grate or cover of the floor drain will not be flush. Accordingly, a variety of floor drains have been disclosed that enable the height and pitch of the grate or cover to be adjusted after the floor has been poured.
As one example, Papp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,065, Sep. 30, 1986, discloses a cleanout having an outer cylindrical body that threads down upon an inner cylindrical body to adjust the height. A cap rests upon the outer body. The inner surface of the outer body and the lower surface of the cap contain complementary spherical surfaces that enable the pitch of the cap to be varied. Once the desired pitch is obtained, a bolt is tightened to fix the cap and a cover plate in the desired position.
As a second example, Papp, U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,590, Nov. 28, 1989, discloses a floor drain with an inner cylindrical body that threads down upon an outer cylindrical body to adjust the height. A ring rests upon the inner body. The inner surface of the inner body and the lower surface of the ring contain complementary spherical surfaces that enable the pitch of the ring to be varied. Once the desired pitch is obtained, three screws are tightened to fix the ring in the desired position. The grate is then attached.
Both the Papp cleanout and the Papp floor drain suffer from the same disadvantages. First, they both contain numerous parts. Second, they both require the grate or cover to be removed for adjustment of height and pitch. Third, they both require a multiple-step adjustment process. One body must first be threaded onto a second body to obtain approximately the desired height. The cap (for the cleanout) or the ring (for the drain) must then be moved to a position that is flush with the floor. A readjustment of height is often necessary before the flush position can be attained. The cap or ring must then be secured in position by tightening a bolt or three screws.
Accordingly, there is a demand for an improved floor drain having minimal parts. There is also a demand for a floor drain that enables the height and pitch of the grate or cover to be adjusted while they are in place. There is further a demand for a floor drain that enables the height and pitch of the grate or cover to be adjusted quickly and easily in one step. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to atomic absorption spectroscopy photometers and more particularly to a multi-element simultaneous analysis atomic absorption spectroscopy photometer which analyzes a plurality of elements simultaneously.
A multi-element simultaneous analysis atomic absorption spectroscopy photometer simultaneously impinges light beams from a plurality of hollow cathode lamps (light sources) including the bright lines of elements to be detected on a heating furnace (sample atomizing unit) at a fixed angle to the furnace, selects the absorption wavelengths of the light beams absorbed by the atomic vapor of a sample which occurs during heating using a spectroscope provided after the heating furnace, detects the optical intensities of the selected wavelengths using photodetector systems, and determines the multiple elements contained in the sample from the proportions of absorption by those elements. The same applicant has proposed a photometer for analyzing multiple elements simultaneously, as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication JP-A-63-292040.
However, the proposed photometer has the following drawbacks:
(1) The conventional photometers disposed in the corresponding optical systems each have a single incident slit having a fixed width and a single exit slit having a fixed width, so that they each may not be suitable for an element to be measured and thus the sensitivity of the spectroscope is likely to decrease depending on that element. As the slit width becomes wider, a greater quantity of light is usually obtained, so that a higher S/N ratio signal is obtained and an electric current which lights a lamp is reduced, and the lamp service life is increased advantageously. However, as the slit width increases, a so-called atomic absorption wavelength which absorbs light most efficiently cannot be separated from a neighboring absorption wavelength (neighboring line) close thereto and the absorption sensitivity can decrease depending on an element to be measured, due to the background produced by the neighboring line. FIG. 8 illustrates the state of neighboring lines of an iron cathode lamp, and FIG. 9 illustrates an extraction of some examples of atomic absorption wavelengths of elements, the presence/absence of neighboring lines and recommended slit widths to avoid those neighboring lines. The closer the neighboring line is, the narrower the slit width should be. Since elements such as arsenic having a low melting point have low absorption efficiency, the slit width is required to increase sufficiently. FIG. 10 illustrates the effect of a slit width on an iron working curve having a neighboring line. It will be seen that as the slit width becomes narrower, the absorbency for the same density increases and the sensitivity also increases. As illustrated by the above examples, the sensitivity for some elements decreased when the spectroscope used had a single slit and the entire optical system had the same fixed slit width. For example, among the elements illustrated in Table 9, it was difficult to cope with a combination of iron and nickel for which it is desirable to reduce the slit width because they produce a neighboring line, and arsenic and selenium for which it is desirable to increase the slit width because the lamp used is dark.
(2) Although the respective diffraction gratings of a spectroscope are disposed independently in the corresponding optical systems, they have exactly the same specifications. Therefore, they do not match with the atomic absorption wavelength regions of some elements and do not provide sufficient sensitivities. When the reflective surface constituted by the angle of a roof-like groove constituting a diffraction grating, or a so-called blaze angle, properly faces parallel incident light beams thereon in a Littrow grating spectrograph or when a similar refractive surface of a Czerny-Turner spectrometer is between parallel incident light beams and a dispersive reflective angle, the reflective efficiency becomes maximum on the diffraction grating surface, in which this wavelength is called the "blaze wavelength". FIG. 11 illustrates how the relationship between the diffraction light efficiency and wavelength of a diffraction grating varies with blaze wavelength. If a diffraction grating having a blaze wavelength more suitable for a wavelength or element to be measured can be selected, the sensitivity will be increased greatly.
(3) Also, although photomultipliers each comprising a detector are disposed independently in the corresponding optical systems, they are the same in specifications. Therefore, they have not necessarily suitable for the atomic absorption/wavelengths of some elements to be measured and do not provide enough sensitivity. FIG. 12 shows the sensitivity vs. wavelength characteristics of photomultipliers. The characteristic of the photomultiplier varies depending on the kind of the materials constituting its photoelectric face. All the detectors are fixed to cover the same wavelength range of 190-860 nm serving as an atomic absorption spectroscopy photometer. About half of all the elements have an atomic absorption wavelength of less than 250 nm. If a photomultiplier having a sensitivity characteristic more suitable for a wavelength or element to be measured can be selected, the sensitivity will be improved greatly.
As just described above, although the conventional atomic absorption spectroscopy photometers for multi-element simultaneous analysis have various optimal device conditions such as the slit widths of the spectroscope, the blaze wavelengths of the diffraction gratings, the wavelength characteristics of the detectors, etc., due to atomic absorption wavelengths, they have not taken those conditions into consideration and hence have not derived sufficient device performances. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Current packet-based communication systems generally use particular protocols to communicate. However, such protocols may not be useful in addressing certain issues in systems such as hybrid peer-to-peer systems. Accordingly, an improved method and system are needed to address such issues. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a differential low-noise amplifier that differs from prior art differential low-noise amplifiers in that it includes series resonance and parallel resonance resonators to render it frequency selective.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One prior art differential low-noise amplifier is described in published European patent application EP 1 548 932, for example.
For a differential low-noise amplifier of that kind to be used in a radio signal receiver circuit, it is generally necessary to place it between two filters, an anti-blocking filter being disposed between a receiver antenna and the amplifier itself and an image rejection filter being disposed at the output of the amplifier.
The anti-blocking filter is necessary to prevent the receiver circuit from becoming saturated in the presence of strong out of band interference signals known as blocking signals. The image rejection filter is necessary to reject signals in the image band in the case of a “heterodyne” receiver.
It is also necessary to verify the matching of impedances between the antenna, the filters and the amplifier. The input impedance of the amplifier must correspond to the output impedance of the anti-blocking filter. Similarly, the input impedance of the anti-blocking filter must correspond to the impedance of the antenna and the output impedance of the amplifier must correspond to the input impedance of the image rejection filter.
Thus a radio signal receiver circuit includes a plurality of elements (amplifier, filters) whose input and output impedances must be matched.
The invention aims to solve the problems linked to the complexity of existing receiver circuits by providing a selective differential low-noise amplifier that does not necessitate the addition of antiblocking or image rejection filters on the upstream or downstream side or of impedance matching circuits. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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Many user devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, televisions, game consoles, and so on, are equipped with wireless communication capabilities to wirelessly connect to the Internet or other communication networks. The 802.11 suite of air interface standards (collectively called Wi-Fi) is the most common technology used for wireless connectivity and offers useful connectivity over distances of up to a few hundred feet. With the proliferation of Wi-Fi enabled user devices, the application layer bandwidth available per user device may be unsatisfactory for some use cases.
While wireless standards have made progress to address such limited bandwidth issues, publically available Wi-Fi infrastructures, e.g., the wireless access points or routers that connect the wireless network to the Internet have primarily chosen to use simplistic Wi-Fi technologies.
Improvements to wireless communication techniques are desirable. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
This relates generally to electronic devices and, more particularly, to electronic devices with antennas.
Electronic devices often include antennas. For example, cellular telephones, computers, and other devices often contain antennas for supporting wireless communications.
It can be challenging to form electronic device antenna structures with desired attributes. In some wireless devices, the presence of conductive housing structures can influence antenna performance. Antenna performance may not be satisfactory if the housing structures are not configured properly and interfere with antenna operation. Device size can also affect performance. It can be difficult to achieve desired performance levels in a compact device, particularly when the compact device has conductive housing structures.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved wireless circuitry for electronic devices such as electronic devices that include conductive housing structures. | {
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This disclosure relates to printing systems.
When an image such as a picture or a page of text is to be printed, image data generally is translated by a computer system from one format into another format understandable by a printer and then relayed to a print buffer associated with the printer. The print buffer receives the translated image data and stores at least a portion of the image data for subsequent printing by the printer.
Many printers include multiple discrete print elements (e.g., an inkjet nozzle in an inkjet print module). The print elements can be deployed to print selected components of the image. For example, selected print elements can be deployed to print at selected locations on a workpiece. As another example, in color printing, selected print elements can be deployed to print selected colors. Control electronics can coordinate the printing of images by deploying the print elements to print image data from the print buffer.
The print elements in a printer can be arranged in groups called print modules. The print elements in a module can be grouped according to the deployment of the constituent elements. For example, print elements that print at a selected array of positions can be grouped in a print module. As another example, print elements that print the same color (at a selected array of positions) can be grouped into a print module. | {
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Embodiments herein generally relate to devices that utilize rollers to apply material (such as printing devices) and more particularly to a device that determines the material density between rollers based upon the current flow between the rollers.
Modern printing devices utilize development systems to create markings on different forms of media. However, development systems are sensitive to changes in the amount of marking material passing through various locations, such as the donor loading nips. If there is not enough marking material, one of the first image quality defects seen is a reload defect, which appears as a ghost of a previously developed image. To the contrary, if the amount marking material is too much, the system will experience motor faults or material loss from the housing due to a flow failure.
To prevent these conditions, great effort is spent to achieve the required gaps and material flow. However, the amount of marking material can sometimes be unstable because the material flow varies with changes in toner concentration, toner age, and developer age. The result of this is that gaps and flows need to be selected to prevent failures at the most demanding conditions. Unfortunately, this will deliver poor performance at other noise conditions, particularly very low toner concentrations and low toner ages.
In order to address such situations, with embodiments herein the reload performance can be predicted using a measurement of the current flow through the magnetic roll to donor roll loading nip. Specifically, in one embodiment, a non-printing current measurement is performed during machine cycle-up and cycle-out. The result of the current measurement is then used to change the speed of the material delivery magnetic roll. If the current is below a predetermined amount, the delivery speed is increased slightly, thus increasing the developer density in the loading nips. If the current is above the predetermined limit, the delivery magnetic roll is slowed down. The current measurement performed by embodiments herein is also used in housing build and manufacture to quickly identify incorrect settings and conditions before the housing is installed in a machine.
One exemplary embodiment herein is any form of apparatus that uses a container storing a material and at least one roller (e.g., a “first” roller) that is in the container, a second roller that is adjacent the container, and that receives the material from the first roller. Further, the apparatus includes at least one additional third roller adjacent the second roller. The second roller transfers the material from the first roller to the third roller and the second roller and the third roller form a loading nip at a location where the second roller is closest to the third roller.
With this apparatus, at least one recipient device is adjacent the third roller. The recipient device receives the material from the third roller. A measurement device is also operatively connected to (e.g., electrically connected to) the second roller and the third roller. The measurement device measures current flow between the second roller and the third roller. The current flow between the second roller and the third roller occurs at the loading nip and provides an indication of a measured density of the material at the loading nip.
Further, a controller is operatively connected to the measurement device, the first roller, the second roller, and the third roller. The controller alters the relative rotation rate difference between the first roller and the second roller based on the current flow to maintain a predetermined density of the material at the loading nip. The controller alters the relative rotation rate difference between the first roller and the second roller by changing a rotational speed of the first roller relative to the second roller.
A more specific embodiment herein comprises a developer apparatus that has a container connected to a housing. The container stores a marking material. At least one supply roller is in the container, and at least one magnetic roller is within the housing. The magnetic roller receives the marking material from the supply roller. At least one donor roller is also within the housing adjacent the magnetic roller. The magnetic roller transfers the marking material from the magnetic roller to the donor roller. The magnetic roller and the donor roller form a loading nip at a location where the magnetic roller is closest to the donor roller. The donor roller transfers the marking material to at least one photoconductor adjacent the housing.
A measurement device is operatively connected to the magnetic roller and the donor roller. Again, the measurement device measures current flow between the magnetic roller and the donor roller. Further, a controller is operatively connected to the measurement device, the supply roller, the magnetic roller, and the donor roller. The controller alters the relative rotation rate difference between the supply roller and the magnetic roller based on the current flow to maintain a predetermined density of the marking material at the loading nip.
Another exemplary embodiment is a printing apparatus that comprises a container storing a marking material and at least one rotating brush contacting the marking material. At least one magnetic roller is adjacent the container. The rotating brush or magnetic supply roller transfers the marking material to the magnetic roller. Further, at least one donor roller is adjacent the magnetic roller. The magnetic roller transfers the marking material from the magnetic roller to the donor roller and the magnetic roller and the donor roller form a loading nip at a location where the magnetic roller is closest to the donor roller.
At least one photoconductor is adjacent the donor roller, and the photoconductor receives the marking material from the donor roller. Additionally, at least one charging device is adjacent the photoconductor. The charging device creates a latent electronic image on the photoconductor. The marking material adheres to the photoconductor at locations of the latent electronic image. A media supply path is positioned to supply sheets of media to the photoconductor. The photoconductor transfers the marking material, as patterned by the latent electronic image, to the sheets of media.
A current measurement device is operatively connected to the magnetic roller and the donor roller. The current measurement device measures current flow between the magnetic roller and the donor roller. A controller is operatively connected to the measurement device, the magnetic roller, and the donor roller. The controller alters the relative rotation rate difference between the supply roller and the magnetic roller based on the current flow to maintain a predetermined density of the marking material at the loading nip.
Stated as a method, one embodiment herein transfers a material from a supply roller to at least one second roller, and transfers the material from the second roller to at least one third roller. The second roller and the third roller form a loading nip at a location where the second roller is closest to the third roller. The method transfers the material from the third roller to at least one recipient device, and measures current flow between the second roller and the third roller using a measurement device. Then, the method alters the relative rotation rate difference between the supply roller and the second roller based on the current flow to maintain a predetermined density of the material at the loading nip using a controller.
These and other features are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description. | {
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Elliptic Curve(EC) cryptography over a finite field require arithmetic operations of addition, multiplication, squaring and inversion. Additionally, subtraction operations are also required if the field is not of characteristic two. Modular arithmetic operations are also required, for example in computing signatures, however these operations are required less frequently than the finite field operations. EC cryptography as an example, requires the full complement of modular operations, addition, subtraction, multiplication and inversion.
Field sizes for cryptography tend to be relatively large, requiring fast, dedicated processors to perform the arithmetic operations in an acceptable time. Thus there have been numerous implementations of either fast modular arithmetic processor or dedicated processors for performing arithmetic operations in F.sub.2.sup.m.
Traditionally RSA was the encryption system of choice, however with the advent of superior and more secure EC cryptography the need for processors that perform modular exponentiation exclusively is becoming less imperative. Thus while users are in transition from RSA cryptography to EC cryptography there is a need for an arithmetic processor that supports both these operations, with little or no penalty in performance. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an ultraviolet radiation screening composition for surface impregnating polycarbonate sheet and more particularly relates to an ultraviolet radiation screening composition for on-line surface impregnating hot polycarbonate sheet with an ultraviolet radiation screener.
2. Description of Related Art
The vast majority of all organic polymeric materials undergo some mode of degradation when exposed to the high energy photons of ultraviolet radiation. The degradation manifests itself depending on the polymeric material in yellowing, discoloration, embrittlement and other loss of physical properties. Polycarbonate resin is no exception and it is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a method of producing a polycarbonate resin article which is highly resistant to ultraviolet light degradation.
The use of ultraviolet radiation absorbers with various resins such as polyesters, polyolefins, vinyls, and polystyrene to provide protection against attack by ultraviolet radiation is known in the art. The ultraviolet radiation absorber functions by reason of its ability to screen out the damaging ultraviolet portion of light due to its very high absorptivity relative to that of the polymer. In order to qualify as a successful ultraviolet light absorber for a polymer, particularly for polycarbonate, there are several requirements which the absorber must fulfill. The absorber must have a high specific absorptivity in the range of wave lengths that are most deleterious to the polymer and that are present in the source of the exposure. The absorber must be compatible with the polymer such as polycarbonate and must not degrade the polymer with the loss of properties and increase in color. The absorber must not significantly absorb in the visible region of the spectrum or a color will be imparted to the polymer to which it has been added. The absorber must also have a sufficiently low volatility to permit its continued residence in the polymer.
Several methods are known in the prior art utilizing these ultraviolet radiation absorbers to stabilize various polymers, including polycarbonate, against ultraviolet radiation. These methods include blending the ultraviolet radiation absorbers with the polymer prior to processing, incorporating the absorbers in surface laminating or coating materials which are applied onto the surface of the processed polymer; and impregnating the absorbers in the polymer surface. The surface impregnation techniques known in the prior art include (i) using aggressive solvents to swell or soften the polymer surface thereby allowing the absorber to diffuse into the softened surface of the polymer; (ii) melting the absorber and the polymer surface in order to diffuse the molten absorber into the molten polymer surface; and (iii) partitioning of the absorber between a polymeric surface and a relatively poor solvent for the absorber held at high temperatures whereby the absorber, which is more soluble in the polymer than in the solvent, diffuses into the polymer surface.
While each of these methods can be utilized to impart improved ultraviolet stability to a polymer system, each of them has certain disadvantages. Blending the absorber with the bulk polymer results in the absorber being distributed throughout the entire polymer system. This procedure is both uneconomical, as these absorbers are usually quite expensive, and not completely successful. Since most of the absorber resides in the polymers interior instead of at the surface where it is most needed, much of the harmful ultraviolet radiation penetrates and deteriorates the surface of the polymer structure before reaching the majority of the interiorly distributed absorber. Furthermore, since the concentration of the absorber in the resin is limited by the degree of compatibility of the absorber with the polymer, using sufficiently high concentrations of absorber effective to provide surface protection generally tends to adversely affect the physical properties of the polymer. Incorporating the absorbers in surface laminating or coating materials suffers from the disadvantage of being generally difficult and expensive to use since an extra complicated processing step is required. Furthermore, difficulties are sometimes encountered in adhering the coating or laminating material to the surface of the polymer, or in maintaining continued adequate adhesion, especially after exposure to weathering. Even when the coating or laminating material adheres well, it often cannot be applied without forming unsightly streaks on the polymer surface. An additional drawback to this method is that often the physical properties of the polymer, such as impact strength, are adversely affected by these coating or laminating materials.
The surface impregnation techniques are the most desirable since the ultraviolet radiation absorbers are contained only in the surface regions of the polymer where they are needed, and ideally the surface impregnation step would be part of the on-line process for production of the sheet. Thus, for mass production of ultraviolet radiation stabilized polycarbonate sheet, it would be desirable to be able to surface impregnate the hot polycarbonate sheet as it leaves the sheet producing extrusion die. Prior surface impregnating compositions, however, do not provide an adequate processing window to permit consistant production of on-line, high quality, surface impregnated polycarbonate sheet. Such compositions are either
(i) too volatile at the elevated sheet temperatures, for example temperatures in excess of 180.degree. F., encountered immediately following sheet production downstream from the extruder thus not allowing for adequate surface impregnation thereby leaving excess oily absorber on the surface which will collect dust unless washed off in a subsequent washing step or
(ii) such compositions at elevated temperatures are so aggressive to polycarbonate that they unduly attack the surface of the sheet thereby reducing the optical quality thereof.
Thus, one object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet radiation screener composition for on-line surface impregnating hot polycarbonate sheet as the sheet is produced. | {
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The advantage of CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) is low power consumption and small size, thus allowing the CMOS sensor package module to be integrated into portable electronic devices with smaller sizes such as mobile phones or notebooks. However, when a glass filter is directly fixed on an image sensor through glue, or when the glass filter is separated from the image sensor, the glass filter would be titled relative to the image sensor. | {
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Polyisoprene is a key material for producing a broad range of consumer and industrial products. The two most common forms for polyisoprene are “natural rubber” and “synthetic polyisoprene”. Natural rubber typically is derived from latex produced by Hevea brasiliensis (i.e., the common rubber tree), although a broad range of other plants (e.g., guayule and Taraxacum kok-Saghyz (aka Russian dandelion)) also are known to produce stoichiometrically similar, rubber-like materials. Unlike natural rubber, which is only formally derived from polymerization of isoprene, synthetic polyisoprene is actually produced by large-scale, industrial polymerization of isoprene monomer.
The structures of synthetic polyisoprene (PI) and natural rubber (NR) are similar enough to allow for free substitution of either rubber in many applications, but there are important differences. For example, rubber produced by the rubber tree has a high molecular weight and a tendency to crystallize more completely and faster than commercially available synthetic PI. The high molecular weight is desirable for imparting “green strength” during tire manufacturing. The rapid strain-crystallization of rubber is believed to be responsible for the excellent wear and tear properties of natural rubber—especially under severe conditions.
Early efforts to develop synthetic PI as a replacement for natural rubber elucidated much of the fundamental technology and allowed commercialization of synthetic PI to be achieved in the 1960's. (see e.g. Schoenberg, et al Rubber Chem Tech. 52, 526-604 (1979)) In general, the following characteristics are believed to be desirable in synthetic PI intended for tire applications: high cis-content (vs trans content); high 1,4-addition (vs 3,4-addition); high head-to-tail content; and high molecular weight.
Subsequent efforts to achieve the highest practical level for each characteristic—especially using Neodymium-based Ziegler/Natta-type catalysts have built upon the early work and led to today's best synthetic replacements for NR. (see e.g. Friebe, et al Adv. Polym. Sci. 204, 1 (2006))
For several decades, it was believed that the differences between natural rubber and synthetic rubber were the result of natural rubber having an almost pure cis-1,4 stereochemistry and branched polymer chain structures. The potential role of non-rubber constituents in natural rubber was largely ignored. It now appears from extensive recent work by Prof. Yasuyuki Tanaka and coworkers that the non-rubber components play an essential role in determining the properties and performance of natural rubber. (see e.g., Tanaka, et al Polymer 41, 7483-8 (2000); Rubber Chem. Tech. 74, 355-75 (2001); Biopolymers 2, 1-25 (2001)) This is particularly true for Hevea rubber, which clearly has a structure with nanometer-scale phase domains that can explain many of the property differences between natural rubber and synthetic rubber. In other words, natural rubber is best viewed as a nanostructured elastomer rather than a hydrocarbon polymer with non-hydrocarbon impurities. | {
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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having a certain pattern formed with a phase shifting mask.
2. Related Art
In recent years, miniaturization in a gate interconnect pattern is required under a circumstance of increasing integration of semiconductor chips. A patterning process employing a Levenson phase shifting mask is one of effective measures for achieving the above-described miniaturization. Nevertheless, since an use of a Levenson phase shifting mask can only provides a continuous line and space (line/space) pattern, it is necessary for forming a desired pattern to remove unwanted pattern that is created by a Levenson-exposure process.
Typical processes for manufacturing semiconductor devices in the conventional technology include, for example, a technology described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-227,652. Cross-sectional views of a semiconductor device for illustrating a process for manufacturing the semiconductor device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-227,652 is shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C and FIGS. 11A and 11B.
As shown in FIG. 10A, a gate oxide film 204 is first formed on a silicon substrate 202, and a polycrystalline silicon film 206 are formed thereon. Further, a silicon oxide film 208 for hard mask formation is formed thereon, and then, a positive resist film (not shown) is formed thereon.
A first exposure and developing processes are conducted over such positive resist film through a Levenson phase shifting mask 220. In this case, light is not irradiated over regions of the Levenson phase shifting mask 220 corresponding to an edge of a phase shifter 224 and line-light shielding 222, such that a patterned resist film 210 is formed to have a predetermined geometry (FIG. 10A).
Then, the silicon oxide film 208 is etched through a mask of such resist film 210 to form on polycrystalline silicon film 206 a silicon oxide film 208a, on which a mask pattern is transferred (FIG. 10B). Then, a positive resist film (not shown) is formed so as to cover the polycrystalline silicon film 206 and the silicon oxide film 208a, and then, a second exposure and developing processes are conducted through an exposure mask 226. This provides that only a portion of the silicon oxide film 208a corresponding to the gate pattern to be formed is coated with the protective resist film 212 (FIG. 10C).
Next, rest of the silicon oxide film 208a, which is not coated with the protective resist film 212, is removed via an etch process. Subsequently, the protective resist film 212 is removed to obtain a desired silicon oxide film 208b corresponding to the gate pattern to be formed (FIG. 11A). Then, an etch process for the polycrystalline silicon film 206 is conducted through a mask of such silicon oxide film 208b. This provides a formation of the polycrystalline silicon film 206a, which is a gate pattern corresponding to the silicon oxide film 208b (FIG. 11B).
Nevertheless, there is a room for improvement in the process described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-227,652 that a desired semiconductor device can not obtained since an unexpected pattern is transferred onto the surface of the polycrystalline silicon film 206 in operations illustrated in FIG. 10C and FIG. 11A. This will be further described in reference to FIGS. 12A to 12D.
As shown in FIG. 12A, the second exposure and developing processes are conducted to provide a status, in which only the portions of the silicon oxide film 208a corresponding to the gate pattern to be formed are coated with the protective resist film 212. Next, an etch process for removing unwanted silicon oxide film 208a is conducted. On this occasion, the surface of the exposed polycrystalline silicon film 206 is etched. This causes transferring an unexpected pattern to an exposed portion “A” in the polycrystalline silicon film 206, so that a difference is created in film thickness between the exposed portion “A” and a coated portion “B” with the protective resist film 212 (FIG. 125).
Next, the polycrystalline silicon film 206 is etched through a mask of the silicon oxide film 208b patterned with a desired hard mask pattern. Since the exposed portion A, which is not coated with the protective resist film 212, is thinner than the coated portion B, which is coated with the protective resist film 212, in the second exposure and developing processes on this occasion, the gate oxide film 204 is first exposed at the exposed portion A (FIG. 12C).
The portion of the polycrystalline silicon film 206a is remained in the coated portion B that is coated with the protective resist film 212, as shown in FIG. 12C, and therefore further etch process is conducted until the gate oxide film 204 is exposed. Such etch process causes an excessive etch for the exposed portion A of the polycrystalline silicon film 206a that is not coated with the protective resist film 212, resulting in proceeding the etching until the gate oxide film 204 is etched, and further proceeding the etching until the silicon substrate 202 is exposed (FIG. 12D).
Further, in recent years, requirements in achieving an increasing operation speed and higher performances of the transistors promote further reduction in the film thickness of the gate oxide film, and thus process allowances for etching the gate oxide film is reduced. Therefore, it is manifested that the etching is proceeded until the silicon substrate is etched, causing a gate leakage current and/or a short-circuit in the obtained semiconductor device.
As described above, when a hard mask disposed on a surface of a first film such as a polycrystalline silicon and composed of a silicon oxide film having an unwanted pattern formed thereon is etched off, the first film may be also etched during the etching for the hard mask, thereby forming an unexpected pattern on the first film. Therefore, an unexpected pattern may be transferred onto the silicon substrate in later operations, causing a generation of a gate leakage current or a short-circuit. | {
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Semiconductor devices packaged in plastic or resin packages typically include portions of a lead frame. More specifically, each device includes a plurality of leads electrically coupled to a semiconductor die and a die support member on which the die is mounted. Throughout the industry, the die support member has many names. For the purposes of the present invention, the die support plate will be referred to as a flag. Many existing flags of semiconductor devices are in the form of a solid plate that is slightly larger in area that the semiconductor die and made of the same material as remaining portions of the lead frame, for instance, copper, a copper alloy, iron-nickel alloys, clad materials, and the like.
A problem with conventional plate-type flags is poor adhesion at an interface of the flag and the plastic package material. As a result of this weak interface, the plastic package material can easily separate from the flag leaving an air gap. Such an air gap becomes problematic upon mounting the device to a user substrate using conventional surface mounting techniques. Surface mounting techniques involve elevated temperatures that cause the air gap, which also may contain moisture, to expand. Stress built up in the package as a result of the air and moisture expansion is relieved by way of the formation of cracks in the plastic package body. Cracks in a package body are a path for contaminants to reach the semiconductor die, and therefore are a significant reliability problem.
Another problem associated with conventional plate-type flag is poor adhesion between the flag and conventional adhesive epoxies used to attach a semiconductor die to the flag. A die attach epoxy is generally dispensed onto the flag of a lead frame. Upon bonding a semiconductor die to the flag, the epoxy is dispersed, such that the epoxy forms a thin, continuous region beneath the entire die. While the epoxy typically bonds well to a surface of the die, the adhesion between the epoxy and flag is not as strong. Therefore, under certain stress conditions, there is a tendency for delamination between the die and the flag to occur. Such delamination raises reliability issues.
One solution, or at least improvement, to the package cracking phenomenon and to the problem of delamination between the flag and the die is the use of a window-frame flag. Rather than using a solid plate, a flag is shaped like a window-frame or ring having a central opening. Like the flag, the opening is square or rectangular to match the shape of a semiconductor die. The semiconductor die is mounted onto the frame flag, covering the opening. Ideally, the opening is as large as possible so that a maximum area of a surface of the die is exposed by the opening. Upon encapsulating the die and flag with a plastic package material, the portion of the die exposed through the opening in the flag is in contact with the plastic package material. The conventional lead frame and packaging materials used in semiconductor manufacturing are such that adhesion between a semiconductor die surface and a plastic package material is stronger than adhesion between a lead frame material and the plastic package material. The use of a window-frame flag reduces the possibility of forming an air gap in a package, and hence of forming cracks, since the area of an interface between the flag and package material is reduced in comparison to using a plate-type flag.
Although use of window-frame flags aids in resolving the problem of package cracking, the use of these flags leads to another problem associated with semiconductor packaging. In particular, a conventional window-frame flag creates an unacceptable potential for void formation during the encapsulation process. The voiding problem is explained below in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Illustrated in FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a mold tool 10 having an upper platen 12 and a lower platen 14. Mold tools, such as mold tool 10, are commonly used in the industry to mold a resin or plastic package body around a semiconductor die. When brought together, the upper and lower platens form a cavity 16 that defines what is to be a package body. A lead frame 18 is positioned between the upper and lower platens of mold tool 10 in a conventional manner. Lead frame 18 has a plurality of leads 20 and a window-frame flag 22. Within window-frame flag 22 is an opening 24. Positioned on flag 22 is a semiconductor die 26. Die 26 is typically attached to the flag using an adhesive material (not illustrated), such as a silver-filled epoxy. The die is electrically coupled to lead 20 by conventional wire bonds 28.
Using mold tool 10 during a transfer molding process to form a package body requires introduction of a plastic modling compound, such as a thermosetting epoxy resin, into cavity 16. The resin may be introduced into the cavity either from the top of the mold, the bottom of the mold, or from the side. Respectively, these molding operations are known as top-gating, bottom-gating, and side-gating. Regardless of where the resin is introduced into cavity 16, the resin must flow throughout the cavity in order to completely encapsulate semiconductor die 26, wire bonds 28, flag 22, and inner portions of leads 20. However, the frame shape of flag 22 impedes resin flow. FIG. 2 demonstrates, in an exploded view, resin flow near a flag region of lead frame 18 in mold tool 10 of FIG. 1. As a resin material 29 is introduced into cavity 16, the resin is diverted by die 26 and flag 22 so that a portion of the resin flows above the die and a portion flows below the die. Upon passing flag 22, the resin flowing below die 26 undergoes a boundary-layer separation, resulting in formation of a void or lack of resin in a region 32. The boundary-layer separation is a phenomenon associated with flow of a fluid perpendicular to a flat or sharp object. A void formed in a package body is similar to the delamination between a flag and a plastic package body in that both can lead to package cracking, and therefore both pose reliability concerns.
One method of avoiding void formation near interior edges of window-frame flags is to use a very slow curing, low-viscosity resin molding compound. During transfer molding operation, a mold tool is usually heated such that a thermosetting resin begins to cure and harden before encapsulation is complete. In using a slow-cure, low-viscosity mold compound, flow within a mold tool cavity is less restricted since it hardens gradually. However, a principal manufacturing goal of reducing cycle-time favors the use of fast-cure molding compounds. Therefore, another solution to the problem of void formation associated with using window-frame flags is needed. | {
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In the textile industry, the determination of the amount of the substance of fiber structures, in particular the cross-sectional substance, is very important. The cross-sectional substance of slivers is of considerable importance in the processing thereof to form yarn, because this cross-sectional substance directly influences the fineness of the yarn and the evenness of the cross-sectional regularity thereof.
Primarily, a measurement of the substance or density of a fiber quantity involves a determination of the amount of substance of a fiber structure, without taking into account whether the fiber is moving or stationary. In this regard, the measurement of moving slivers does not differ in principle from the measurement of stationary slivers, only the parts which guide and limit the slivers must be correspondingly adapted.
The determination of substance in a direct manner, such as by weighing, is practically impossible, particularly on running slivers. For this reason, different proposals for the solution of this problem have been advanced which are based on the indirect measurement of cross-sectional substance. Such proposals have involved purely mechanical measurement by means of a grooved roller and a feeler roller, the use of optical measuring devices which utilize the absorption or reflection capacity of the slivers, and acoustic measuring devices. All of these approaches have proven to be undesirable or unsatisfactory for one reason or another.
The so-called active-pneumatic measuring device must also be mentioned as another method of determining the substance cross section of slivers. This measuring device essentially comprises a funnel, to the side of which is connected a pressure measuring device. When a sliver passes through the funnel, pressure variations are caused on this lateral connection, which are transformed into equivalent signals which correspond to the cross section of the sliver. This active-pneumatic measuring device is, in itself, of simple design and very easy to install; however, it has the disadvantage that the measured values are dependent both on the fineness of the fiber (micron-air value) and on the speed of movement of the sliver.
Extensive work has also taken place to determine the elasticity of a sliver passing through a duct having defined dimensions. With this method, the sliver is regarded as a spring, which builds up a system of mechanical oscillations, together with the mass of the sliver. Thus, the resonance frequency of the system on the one hand or the transit time of oscillation pulses on the other hand produce a measure of the substance amount or density of the fibers. A process of this type and the appropriate devices for the determination of the amount of substance or the density of quantities of fibers based on the utilization of the elastic properties of the material have been described, for example, in U.S. Application Ser. No. 384,942, filed June 4, 1982. The disadvantage of this process and the related devices is the high cost of the generator, receiver and the auxiliary equipment for the determination of the amount of substance of the fiber material. | {
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The present invention generally relates to a motor vehicle or the like provided with various switches for automatically actuating a trunk opener, a sun roof, etc. and more particularly, to a switch control device for controlling the switches, which is arranged to regulate input operation of the switches on the basis of whether the motor vehicle is in a stop state or in a running state.
Conventionally, in switch control devices of this kind, a required number of various switches are provided on an instrument panel disposed at a front portion of a cabin of a motor vehicle so as to improve driving efficiency of the motor vehicle and upgrade functions of the motor vehicle.
However, in the known switch control devices, since the switches include stop mode switches permissible to be actuated only at the time of stop of the motor vehicle and running mode switches permissible to be at all times actuated and both the stop mode switches and the running mode switches are provided all together on the instrument panel, it is difficult to select a desired one from among the stop mode switches and the running mode switches, thereby resulting in deterioration of operating efficiency of the switches. Accordingly, the prior art switch control devices have such a drawback that a driver may erroneously operate, during running of the motor vehicle, one stop mode resulting in a fatal accident. Furthermore, the prior art switch control devices have such an inconvenience that since under a poor driving condition, the driver cannot ensure that the switches have been operated, it is impossible to drive the motor vehicle safely. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a pick up cap, and more particularly to a pick up cap for use with a socket connector having lateral shields for preventing contact terminals inside the socket connector from being contaminated, for example particles in air.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic components, such as CPU sockets, are often appropriately positioned on an underlying printed circuit board (PCB) by means of a vacuum suction device. Since the insulative housing of the CPU socket has either a plurality of through holes or a plurality of contact terminals in substantial entire surface thereof, a pick up cap is attached thereon and the vacuum suction device is manipulated on a top flat surface of the pick up cap so as to properly position the CPU socket onto the PCB. Such pick up caps are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,004,768. Refer to FIG. 1, a CPU socket connector 100, configured by insulating housing 110 having a plurality of passageways in which a plurality of contact terminals constrain, a metal stiffener 120, a lever 130 and a metal clip 140, is attached by a pick up cap 150 for being absorbed by a vacuum suction device. The pick up cap 150 has a generally rectangular planar body 152. The planar body 152 defines a smooth flat top surface 1522 and a bottom surface 1524 opposite to the top surface 1522. Two extending portions 154 extend respectively from two opposite ends of the planar body 152. One of the two extending portion 154 forms an uplift 1542, the uplift 1542 also defines top surface and a bottom surface. The uplift 1542 forms a concave 1544 that would provide a sufficient operating space for user's fingertip when the pick up cap 150 is detached from the socket connector 100.
Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,990 issues to Liao on Apr. 12, 2005 discloses a pick up cap 2 for use with a LGA socket connector having clasps 207′ and 208′ as shown in FIG. 2. While the LGA socket connector is transmitted by a vacuum suction equipment, the clasps 207′ and 208′ attach to lateral sidewalls of a metal clip similar with the metal clips 140 illustrated in '768. The pick up cap 2′ further includes openings 202′ and 203′ utilized for heat dissipation during soldering the socket connector on a circuit board. Moreover, a pair of downward convex ribs 209′ departing from the bottom surface of the pick up cap may contact with the upward concave metal clip for securely mounting the pick up cap 2′ on the metal clip.
FIG. 3 displays another socket connector 1′ without engaging with a stiffener and a metal clips comprises a pick up cap 3′ attached thereon. Similar to FIG. 1, the pick up cap 3′ has a plateau 30′ for the absorption by a vacuum equipment to move the socket connector 1′ on a printed circuit board (PCB). At the same time, both sides of the pick up cap 3′ comprise holding portions 31′ on sides of the plateau 30′ and recesses 312′ underneath the holding portions 31′. The holding portions 31′ is used for being taken by a user either to attach to or to remove from the socket connector 1′. Additionally, the pick up cap 3′ further comprises latches 32′ on opposite edges of sidewalls thereof for engaging with an insulative housing 2′ Most importantly, there are seams 314 on the surface outside of the plateau 30′ due to the reason of mass production.
Unfortunately, there is a possibility that the seams 314′ are likely to offer a path to make contact terminals of the socket connector 1′ be contaminated by particles in air or the like. Once the contact is contaminated, it is very much likely that a reliability or open circuit issue may be raised. In the worst scenario, the whole system with contaminated socket connector will be malfunctioned. Such contaminated circumstance in a socket connector is extremely unfavorable to high-end computers systems, for example workstations or servers. | {
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The present invention relates to a device for feeding combustion air into a battery of coke ovens, said device allowing for an even and efficient feed of air to these coke ovens in the area above the oven door opening or in the upper door area and wherein the air feeding device in the oven wall above the door area or in the upper door area is supported by air feeder ducts through the oven top that are provided with an adjusting device for controlling the gas flow, which is not exposed to the high temperatures that usually prevail on coal carbonization and oven charging. The present invention also relates to a method for coal carbonization with the improved air feeding system.
Heating of non-recovery or heat recovery ovens is usually effected by combustion of gas evolving on coal carbonization. Combustion is so controlled that part of the gas is burned above the coal charge with primary air in the oven chamber. This partly burned gas is supplied through ducts, which are also designated as downcomer-channels, to the heating flues in the oven chamber sole and completely burned here by addition of further combustion air, i.e. secondary air.
In this manner, heat is supplied to the coal charge directly from the top and indirectly from the bottom, taking an advantageous effect on the carbonization rate and thus also on the oven performance rate. To carry out the method it is required to exactly measure the supplied primary air and secondary air and to control these variably during the coking time. In prior art technology, flat-type “heat recovery” and “non-recovery” coke ovens have been extensively described. For example, reference is taken to U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,820 A, U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,024 A, U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,542 A, GB 1555400 A or CA 2052177 C.
To implement the method, several ovens charged one after another to bridge the time of the coal charging procedure are usually operated at the same time. When operating several ovens, these ovens are generally built in a series adjacent to each other. In designating combinations of ovens, it is general practice to designate a combination of several coke ovens of the “non-recovery” type or “heat recovery” type as an “oven bank”. A combination of conventional coke ovens, however, is called an “oven battery”.
According to the conventional state of the art in technology, primary air is aspirated from the atmosphere through openings in the doors. Secondary air is aspirated through openings in the bottom plinths of the coke oven chambers and passed via channels into the heating flues which essentially extend horizontally under the coke oven chamber. The openings for primary and secondary air are either opened permanently or provided with adjustment devices to regulate the amount of air to be aspirated.
In operation of coke ovens, it is found that the coke ovens are charged with air in different intensities, depending on the prevailing weather conditions, thus leading to inhomogeneous combustion and a deterioration of the reproducibility of the cokemaking process. With stronger winds, the combustion velocity in the environment of the door rises substantially, while only incomplete combustion is achieved at a slower air velocity. Moreover, combustion achieved in the upper part of the oven is inhomogeneous only. For this reason, openings above the door area would yield a substantial benefit. Openings in this area, however, are difficult to provide because the design and construction of the door area stands in opposition to implementing openings above the door area.
In general, coke oven batteries are operated cyclically. A typical cokemaking cycle generally takes 20 to 96 hrs, whereupon the coke push is taken out from the coke oven chamber on completion of the cokemaking process. It is passed on for further processing, and the coke oven chamber is charged again without being subjected to a cleaning procedure. For this purpose, the coke oven chamber doors existing on either side of the oven are opened and the interior of the coke oven chamber is emptied towards the other side, using a pusher ram. This procedure basically takes just a few minutes. Access to the interior of the coking chamber is afforded by opening the oven doors which are moved to a position above the oven opening to allow for executing the charging procedure. The doors remain in this position for the period of coal charging.
An oven door is usually made of metal and has a thickness of several centimeters. Therefore, the oven door heat up substantially in the course of the cokemaking process. When it is moved into the position envisaged for the charging procedure, the external wall of the oven chamber lying above the oven door heats up very much, because the distance of the door from the oven chamber when being in the charging position is only very small. Existing adjustment devices for the amount of supplied primary air which are located in this area can therefore be deformed due to strong heat. They must then be renewed after some charging cycles. This involves added cost. Moreover, a deformation of the adjustment device would cause it not to be able to perform its regulating function adequately. The consequence is an uneven cokemaking process and a coke product that is marked by worsened quality. | {
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Linear vibration welders are used in the industry to weld two plastic parts, by creating linear oscillatory motion of one part relative to another part. As the parts are pressed together by force, the oscillatory motion generates heat, which melts the adjacent surfaces of the plastic parts and creates a weld after the parts cool.
The vibratory movement of one part relative to another part is generated by two electromagnets positioned between movable and stationary parts of the welder. Both electromagnets apply force along the same coordinate line, but in opposite directions. The electromagnets are energized with a 180° phase shift so that when the first electromagnet is energized, the second electromagnet is de-energized. Conversely, when the second electromagnet is energized, the first electromagnet is de-energized.
It is desirable to maintain the frequency of the energizing cycles at the resonant frequency of the movable mechanical part of the welder; to allow for maximum energy transfer to the parts being welded. It is also desirable to control the energy applied to the electromagnets, to maintain a desired level of the plastic melting during welding.
Previous methods to control the electromagnets achieve 180° phase shift between energizing/de-energizing cycles (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,520,308), but they still have disadvantages. For example, when a three-phase output drive is used to control two electromagnets, two of the phases are used to drive the two electromagnets, and both electromagnets have a common wire connected to the third phase. The third phase is therefore loaded twice as much as either the first or second phase, which stresses the third phase control element (typically an IGBT transistor). Also, the overall timing of energizing and de-energizing is fixed, while PWM is used to control the amount of energy delivered to each electromagnet because a PWM controller is a standard drive solution in a three-phase motor control. But this has the disadvantage of having a slow response time, limited by the frequency of the PWM controller. In addition, use of the PWM controller for this application causes excessive switching of the output power elements (IGBT transistors), which in turn leads to unwanted power losses, excessive electrical noise and lower system reliability.
Previous methods of measuring the resonance frequency of the movable mechanical system involved a frequency sweep. In the sweep mode a fairly low voltage (typically 10%-25% of the maximum) was applied to the electromagnets and the frequency was stepped in small increments (typically 0.1 Hz) from the lowest to the highest frequency of the machine's operating range (typically from 200 Hz to 240 Hz). As the frequency was stepped, the amplitude feedback and/or the drive current output were monitored. The resonant frequency was determined as the one with highest amplitude feedback and/or lowest current output drive. Once the value of the resonant frequency was determined, it was stored in the memory of the control module (typically a Programmable Logic Controller or PLC) and passed on to the drive as its fixed operating frequency. This method of defining the resonant frequency was fairly accurate, but has several inherent shortcomings. Firstly, it required an operator to remember to go to a “Tuning” mode to sweep the frequency, which was frequently forgotten in the manufacturing environment. Secondly, the procedure itself was fairly time consuming and could take up to 3-5 minutes, which was also undesirable in the high volume production environment. Thirdly, the sweep routing did not address the issues of the machine and tooling warm up in high-volume and high-load types of applications. As the machine and its components get warmer, the resonant frequency goes down. If the new resonant frequency was not found, the machine would be running off its optimum mechanical resonance and therefore draw more current, producing more heat and inducing more stress on its critical components. An avalanche effect (or run away condition) could develop. To remedy this, the operator had to run frequency sweep every hour or so, which again compromised the manufacturing efficiency.
Previous methods to control the welding process were based on the use of a PLC. The linear position of the welded parts and the pressure between welded parts during welding were monitored and controlled by the PLC. Based on the information obtained from the sensors, the hydraulic cylinder lifting the table and engaging welded parts was controlled by the PLC. While the PLC had all the necessary input/output channels to provide such control, its response time was fairly slow (typically from 5 ms to 20 ms), which could affect repeatability and accuracy of the welding process. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns energy absorber devices in general and in particular energy absorber devices for use in vehicles, in particular in railroad vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, light impacts to the front of a vehicle, in particular a railroad vehicle, are absorbed by means of a bumper mounted on absorbing members or on a coupling.
Such impacts can also be absorbed by means of buffers which undergo a small displacement in the direction of the impact.
Energy absorber devices must necessarily allow large amplitude displacements to absorb an impact of greater magnitude.
One prior art solution is to use deformable box-sections.
The major drawback of these prior art deformable box-sections is that they cannot be placed at the front of the vehicle because they would constitute an unacceptable increase in the length of the vehicle.
One solution to this technical problem known in itself consists in integrating these deformable box-sections into the chassis under the driver's cab.
A major drawback of this solution is that the deformation of the prior art deformable box-sections leads to deformation of the driver's cab and therefore to greater or lesser deformation of the windshield and the control panel, for example.
The driver in the driver's cab can therefore be injured in the event of a head-on impact.
Accordingly, one aim of the invention is an energy absorber device including an absorber device of the above kind that does not have the drawbacks of the prior art energy absorber devices.
Another aim of the invention is an energy absorber device enabling the driver's cab to remain intact after a head-on or slightly oblique collision. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention pertains generally to devices that test integrated circuits, and more particularly to an improved test socket lid assembly which allows easier multi-site usage, improved thermal testing capabilities, and improved failure analysis testing capabilities. The improved socket and lid are easily adaptable for use with either automated testing or hand testing.
Critical integrated circuits are tested before being installed in a finished product. These integrated circuits are frequently incapsulated in ceramic or plastic packages that have contact pads or leads which are electrically connected to the integrated circuit. To test the integrated circuit, it is necessary to make temporary electrical connections to the contact pads or leads on the integrated circuit package. Test sockets created for this purpose are secured to printed circuit boards (load boards) having the appropriate circuitry for testing a particular integrated circuit.
Much of the testing of the integrated circuits may be done with automated equipment. The body of a test socket may be secured to the printed circuit board, and have a plurality of electrical contacts for making electrical connection between the circuitry of the printed circuit board and the contact pads or leads of the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit device is placed into the socket body such that the pads or leads of the integrated circuit contact the electrical contacts of the socket. Typically, the automated equipment which is used to place an integrated circuit into the socket also provides an actuation force against the integrated circuit to engage the integrated circuit pads or leads with the socket electrical contacts.
Automated testing of integrated circuits is not always feasible. This is particularly true when an automated process is not fully developed, or only a relatively small number of integrated circuits are to be tested and the cost of developing a fully automated system is not justified. Hand testing may also be used for special testing purposes, such as integrated circuit characterization tests, failure analysis tests, or thermal testing. In these situations, a lid must be used with the test socket body. The lid takes the place of the automated handling equipment and presses against the top of the integrated circuit to provide the actuation force for engaging the integrated circuit leads with the socket electrical contacts.
Because a user may desire to use a socket body for either automated or hand testing, it is desirable to have a test socket which is adaptable for use either with automated testing or with hand testing. In particular, it is desirable to have a test socket lid assembly which may be attached to a socket body during hand testing of integrated circuits, and which may be removed from the socket body when automated testing is to be done. In addition, it is desirable to have a test socket lid assembly which permits efficient testing of the integrated circuit for tests such as thermal testing, failure analysis, or integrated circuit characterization, as it is these types of tests which are most likely to be performed by hand.
Often, and particularly in automated testing, a user may test more than one device on a single load board. In such a situation, the test socket bodies may be placed side by side, and access to the outer edges of the socket bodies is restricted. In the future, as the automated testing equipment continues to improve and higher densities are possible, this arrangement will be even more common. To avoid interference between adjacent sockets, it would be desirable for all of the socket lid assembly components to be contained within the socket body footprint. Further, it would be desirable if the lid is attachable to the socket body even when the socket body is immediately adjacent another socket body.
As the number of leads or pads of the integrated circuit device increases, the force required to engage the integrated circuit pads or leads to the electrical contacts of the,socket becomes large and a great deal of force must be applied to the top of the integrated circuit. It would be helpful to provide some means of obtaining a mechanical advantage in forcing the integrated circuit device downwardly into contact with the electrical contacts of the test socket. Depending upon the circumstances of the testing environment, it may be favorable to have two separate mechanisms: one for securing the lid in a closed position, and another for providing a mechanical advantage in forcing the integrated circuit towards the electrical contacts. In this manner, xe2x80x9cpinchingxe2x80x9d of the integrated circuit can be avoided, and a true xe2x80x9cverticalxe2x80x9d actuation force may be applied to the integrated circuit.
Failure analysis is often performed by hand on integrated circuit devices. There are two primary methods of failure analysis: mechanical failure analysis and e-beam failure analysis. Both methods require that the top of the integrated circuit, or at least specific portions of the top of the integrated circuit, be removed to expose the conductive traces of the integrated circuit.
In mechanical failure analysis, the integrated circuit is placed in a test socket and a small probe is placed onto a lead trace. The probe is typically a long wire with a bent tip which tapers down to a very small diameter. To properly analyze the integrated circuit, a square tapered hole through the test socket lid assembly is preferred to provide adequate access to the traces. The hole in the test socket lid preferably is nearly as large as the integrated circuit itself to provide maximum access to the traces, while still providing enough downward force on the integrated circuit to provide secure electrical contact with the socket electrical contacts.
E-beam failure analysis places the integrated circuit in a test socket under an electron microscope. In e-beam analysis, maximum viewing access to the top of the integrated circuit is desired. In addition, the top surface of the lid assembly must be flat, without any portions of the socket or lid protruding above the plane of the lid. For these reasons, it is desirable to provide a lid for the test socket body which provides as large of an opening as possible for failure analysis, while still providing enough contact area against the integrated circuit to activate the device within the test socket.
Thermal testing of integrated circuits is important for properly characterizing the integrated circuits. Most thermal tests performed by hand last only a few minutes, although a small portion may last for several hours. Because most thermal tests last for only a short duration, the ability to bring the integrated circuit to operating temperature as quickly as possible is important. Unfortunately, most test socket designs do not provide adequate thermal air flow over the integrated circuit when the integrated circuit is in the test socket. Once the activation force is applied against the integrated circuit to electrically connect it with the load board, efficient thermal air flow is lost, as the pressure plate of the lid tends to block the air flow over the integrated circuit. This uneven flow of air creates hot and cold spots on the integrated circuit surface. As a result, accurate thermal testing of the integrated circuit is difficult or impossible. It is therefore desirable to have a test socket which provides efficient thermal air flow over the integrated circuit while the device is activated in the test socket.
It is thus desirable to provide a test socket assembly which is adaptable with either automated or hand testing, and which has improved capabilities for multi-site usage, as well as thermal and failure analysis testing.
The present invention is a test socket and lid assembly which provides improved multi-site usage, improved failure analysis capabilities, and improved thermal test capabilities. The test socket includes a socket body for making electrical connection between the leads or pads of the integrated circuit and the load board. A lid assembly utilizes a hinge that is removably attached to the socket body allowing the socket to be used with either automated or hand testing. The lid assembly includes a frame member which is pivotally secured to the hinge, with a pressure plate and actuation mechanism retained within the frame member by a cover plate. A latch member holds the lid assembly in a closed position when the test socket is in use. The pressure plate is actuated by the actuation mechanism to move the pressure plate between an unactivated position and an activated position in which the integrated circuit is urged into the socket body. The bottom surface of the pressure plate includes a plurality of channels extending from a central opening in the pressure plate to the circumference of the pressure plate. The channels allow thermal air flow over the integrated circuit for improved thermal performance and improved access to the integrated circuit.
The lid assembly may be attached to or moved from the socket body without the use of tools, even when a plurality of socket bodies are positioned are positioned immediately adjacent one another. In this manner, socket bodies may easily be adapted from automated testing to hand testing when required by the user.
The lid assembly is preferably provided with an actuation member which provides a visual indication to the user when the pressure plate is in an activated position and the enclosed integrated circuit is undergoing testing. | {
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Conventional tires include a tread with a tread pattern that, when the tire is loaded, defines a footprint providing a frictional engagement with the road. The tread pattern is segmented into a plurality of raised blocks defined and separated by intersecting circumferential and transverse grooves. The grooves are necessary to provide flexibility and water removal while the blocks determine the control, acceleration and braking characteristics of the tire. The circumferential grooves are positioned such that the raised blocks are arranged in columns that extend circumferentially about the tire circumference.
The block dimensions, the number of ribs, and the inclination angle of the transverse grooves cooperate in determining the overall performance of the pneumatic tire. In particular, these factors determine the amount of tread that contacts the road, and hence the traction and control of the vehicle riding on the tires. The nonskid or groove depth determines the ability of the intersecting circumferential and transverse grooves to channel water.
In a new condition, tread patterns are designed with compromises between various design parameters in order to optimize performance. As a tire wears, the parameter choices that optimized performance of the tire's tread pattern in the unworn state may not be optimal at reduced groove depths. For example, a new tire construction may be designed with a tread pattern having raised blocks in which noise reduction, due to the high nonskid, is a controlling factor. However, blocks that provide a balanced tire behavior in the new condition may not exhibit optimized noise reduction and hydroplaning control in a worn condition as the groove depth diminishes. As the tread wears, the noise created by contact between the road-contacting surfaces of the tread blocks and the road diminishes. However, worn tires with conventional blocks are significantly more susceptible to hydroplaning than new tires.
For these and other reasons, it would be desirable to provide a pneumatic tire that addresses these and other deficiencies of conventional pneumatic tires. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates generally to digital imaging devices, including digital cameras, and more particularly to a method and system for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device using dynamic overlay bars.
Most digital cameras today are similar in size to and behave like conventional point-and-shoot cameras. Unlike conventional cameras, however, most digital cameras store digital images in an internal flash memory or on external memory cards, and some are equipped with a liquid-crystal display (LCD) screen on the back of the camera. Through the use of the LCD, most digital cameras operate in two modes, record and play, although some only have a record mode.
In record mode, which is also referred to as capture mode, the LCD acts as a live viewfinder in which the user may view an object or scene before taking a picture, similar to the LCD on a camcorder. When the user presses the shutter button, whatever scene is shown on the LCD is captured as a still image. Besides capturing still images, some digital cameras can be set to capture other image types, such as burst and time-lapse images. A burst image is a series of still images captured in rapid succession, while a time-lapse image is series of still images taken at regular intervals over a longer time period.
In play mode, the LCD acts as a playback screen for reviewing the previously captured images. Typically, several small images are displayed on the LCD at once, and by selecting one of the images the user may then display the full-sized version of the images in the LCD.
Although conventional digital cameras are more convenient for the user to use than film cameras due to instant play back of captured images, there are several drawbacks in the user interface that restrict user interaction with the camera. When capturing images, for example, it is often helpful for the user to be informed about the current settings or operational state of the camera, such as whether the flash is on/off, and the current image type setting, for instance.
In conventional digital cameras, such status information is typically displayed as text blocks or accessed through a status screen or the like. The disadvantage with the text blocks is that they are typically small (10-15 characters in length), and therefore, the amount of status information they can provide is very limited. Typically, text blocks are used to display information such as the current image number. Moreover, when text blocks are displayed with a solid color background, the background obscures that portion of the image. And when text blocks are displayed with no background (only text), the text is difficult to distinguish from the colors comprising the image, making the text hard to read.
The disadvantage with status screens is that in order to view the status information, the image currently displayed on the LCD must be replaced with the status screen, causing the user to loose sight of the image. Another approach would be to shrink the display area of the LCD and add a black status area in the viewfinder, as done in optical viewfinders of film cameras. This, however, would shrink the size of images displayed in the viewfinder.
Another drawback with conventional digital cameras is that as technological advances are made, digital cameras are continually provided with more features and functions, which make them more complex for the user to interact with. This is similar to what occurs with PC software, which increasingly grows larger and harder to use. PC developers attempt to alleviate this problem by providing more and larger help menus. Each help menu usually opens in its own window with paragraphs of scrolling text.
Using PC help menus in a digital camera to guide user interaction through the camera features and functions would be less than ideal because of the limited size of the camera LCD. And assuming help menus were displayed, they would either obscure whatever image was being displayed or otherwise total replace it, which is disadvantageous to the picture taker.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved system and method for displaying status information in a manner that does not obscure the display of the current object in the LCD, and for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device. The present invention addresses such a need.
The present invention provides a method and system for controlling user interaction in a digital imaging device having a display using dynamic overlay bars. The digital imaging device includes at least two operating modes, where each of the operating modes has at least one mode-specific operation that can be performed on images. In response to operating in either of the operating modes, the digital imaging device displays a translucent overlay bar on the display that is dynamically updated with status information and interactive instructions that guide the user through the mode-specific operations.
In a second aspect of the present invention, the interactive instructions are implemented using a script, which is a text-based program that may be easily written by the user and externally loaded into the camera. Once loaded into the camera, the commands comprising the script are translated and executed one-by-one by a script interpreter to guide the user through the newly provided function.
A third aspect of the present invention, provides a method and system for displaying overlay bars on the display. First, text and graphic information to be displayed on the overlay bars are stored in an overlay bar buffer, and then displayed on the display. Thereafter, the current image is displayed on the display line-by-line. The lines of the image that will be displayed within the area of an overlay bar are stored in a backstore buffer. Each line in the backstore buffer is merged with its corresponding lines in the overlay bar buffer and displayed. This aspect of the present invention makes the overlay bars appear translucent, and the image appear as though it is sliding beneath the overlay bars as it is being displayed. When the user turns-off the overlay bars, only the portions of the image stored in the backstore buffer need be re-displayed to provide the original image, thus eliminating the need to re-display the entire image.
Accordingly, the method and system of the present invention provides status information to a user and allows the user to perform complex camera functions and features to the images with minimum effort, while allowing for easy viewing of the images. Displaying interactive instructions on dynamic overlay bars to guide the user through complex tasks in accordance with the present invention eliminates the need for help screens and for the user to remember complicated key sequences, and increases the ease of use and operation of the digital camera. The manner in which the overlay bars and the image is displayed makes the user interface more aesthetically pleasing, while increasing the display speed of the digital imaging device. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Nemesia plant, botanically known as Nemesia hybrid and referred to by the name ‘Intraigold’.
The new Nemesia is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventors in Gensingen, Germany. The objective of the program is to create new strong Nemesia cultivars with numerous flowers and unique flower colors.
The new Nemesia originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventors of an unnamed Nemesia strumosa selection, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed Nemesia fructicans selection, not patented during the summer of 2001. The cultivar ‘Intraigold’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Gensingen, Germany during the summer of 2002.
Asexual reproduction of the new Nemesia by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Gensingen, Germany since June, 2002, has shown that the unique features of this new Nemesia are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
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The present invention relates to a sheet finishing apparatus that creates booklets of sheets formed with images by an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, and then discharges the booklets therefrom, or that folds the sheets twice or three times according to a desired method of filing. The invention also relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with the sheet finishing apparatus.
A sheet processing apparatus, such as the type described above, is generally used as an apparatus for folding sheets discharged from a printing machine or printer, or for conveying the folded sheets to a finishing apparatus for binding. Many of such apparatuses are connected to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer. The apparatuses are widely used as a printing system that can perform continuous operations of processes from printing to booklet-making by discharging sheets after a folding process, or feeding sheets to a finishing apparatus for a binding procedure, such as stapling.
Conventionally, the type of sheet finishing apparatuses described above have a pair of folding rollers in mutual contact in a path for conveying a sheet. The sheet is folded into two by feeding a folding position of the sheet conveyed in the conveyance path nipped between these folding rollers. Still further, the sheet can be folded into three or four by feeding rollers established at a downstream side. When folding a sheet using a pair of folding rollers, it is necessary to accurately calculate the folding position of the sheet. If the sheet folding position is incorrect or skewed, accurate folding is not possible, and the sheet can become wrinkled.
In the prior art, Japanese Patent Publication (JP) 2004-99199 discloses a method of inserting a folding blade at a folding position, while the leading edge of a sheet fed at a conveyance path engages a stopper and is stationary, so as to press the folding position of a sheet into folding rollers. In this method, the sheet is temporarily stopped in the conveyance path, at which point the knife-edge-shaped folding blade presses at a predetermined folding position of the sheet positioned at a stopper. This method for positioning the folding position of a sheet at the folding rollers is comparatively accurate. But, this type of folding process requires additional time because the sheet is temporarily stopped in the conveyance path, and the folding blade must move into a contact position with the folding rollers from a position retracted from the conveyance path.
Also disclosed in JP 2004-99199 is a structure for guiding a sheet with one end folded from the folding rollers into a conveyance path, and for folding the other end of the sheet to form a so-called letter fold at the conveyance path. This structure employs a stopper for engaging an end (i.e., a leading edge) of the sheet in the conveyance path, and two folding rollers for folding the other end of the sheet. With this structure, the leading edge of the sheet folded by a first pair of folding rollers engages the stopper. Then, the trailing edge of the sheet is fed from the first pair of folding rollers into a second pair of folding rollers. That is, the system calculates the folding position by pressing a stationary sheet positioned at a stopper into the first pair of folding rollers using a folding blade, and calculates the folding position by feeding the trailing edge of the sheet to the second pair of folding rollers, while the leading edge is engaged and pressing through a pair of folding rollers.
But, a method that calculates a folding position by engaging a leading edge of a sheet at a stopper requires that the stopper position be moved to adjust both for the sheet length, and for the method of folding the sheet, such as two or three folds.
Japanese Patent Publication (JP) 2003-118932 arranges conveyance rollers separated a distance on a conveyance path, and disposes folding rollers between these rollers in front and behind. Then, while one roller nips and holds the sheet stationary, another roller feeds the sheet into the folding rollers to perform the folding process. To apply a second fold to the sheet, second folding rollers are arranged at a discharge side, and conveyance rollers are arranged at a downstream side of these folding rollers. These conveyance rollers nip and stop a sheet folded by the first folding rollers, and bend to feed the sheet in this state into the second folding rollers. In other words, the first and the second folding rollers are arranged sequentially in the conveyance path. The sheet is fed into the folding rollers while a predetermined position of a leading edge side in a direction of sheet conveyance is nipped and stopped by conveyance rollers, and the sheet is bent. After the folding rollers feed in the sheet, the folding position is formed by reversing the conveyance rollers positioned at a downstream side.
To apply two or three folds to a sheet discharged from an image forming apparatus, such as the apparatus described in JP 2004-99199, a conveyance path normally includes first and second folding rollers. Either a leading edge of the sheet is engaged by a stopper to calculate the folding position, or, as described in JP 2003-118932, forward and reverse driving rollers for nipping a sheet are disposed at a downstream side of first and second folding rollers. The folding position is determined by stopping the rollers.
However, to apply a second or more folds to a sheet, the methods for calculating the folding positions are different, as described below, for the first and the second folding rollers. A method of engaging a leading edge of a sheet at a stopper is used to calculate a folding position for the first folding rollers. In that method, the stopper moves to a prescribed position in the path according to the sheet-length. Then, the folding proceeds, such as, for example, applying two or three folds. Compared to the stopper for calculating the folding position of the second folding rollers where one end is already folded, the stopper for calculating the folding position of the first folding rollers must be movable for a longer distance, making the device more complex. At the same time, the distance between the first folding rollers and stopper change according to the sheet size. When a long sheet is supportingly guided by a conveyance guide for a long distance, it becomes unstable, which invites skewing problems in the folding position (i.e., the position fed into the first folding rollers) or wrinkle formation in the sheet.
Conversely, by using conveyance rollers to position a folding position at the first folding rollers, a comparatively stable folding position can be attained regardless of the length of a sheet. However, the following problems occur when positioning a folding position using conveyance rollers and employing the second folding rollers.
In other words, because one end of a sheet guided to the second folding rollers is already folded, the folded sheet is fed in one direction while conveyance rollers nip the sheet. At a predetermined position these rollers stop, and feed the sheet by reversing when the trailing edge of the sheet is being fed into the second folding rollers. For that reason, the pair of rollers drives in a forward and a reverse direction while nipping the folded sheet. When the folding position of the once folded sheet is nipped by the rollers, a double fold occurs, causing wrinkles to be formed in the sheet fold.
Thus, in the prior art, either a stopper is engaged for the folding position of the first or the second folding rollers, or a sheet is controlled by conveyance rollers. Use of these prior art methods can, however, result in the above-described problems.
In view of the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art, a first object of the present invention is to provide a sheet finishing apparatus having both a compact and simple structure, and having a mechanism for accurately positioning a sheet at the first folding rollers when applying two or three folds to a sheet. A related object of the invention is to provide a sheet finishing apparatus that can apply comparatively accurate folds to the sheet with a mechanism for positioning a folded sheet at the second folding rollers, yet without destroying a previous folded position or causing wrinkles in the fold.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a sheet finishing apparatus that can easily calculate a folding position according to folding conditions, such as, for example, sheet folding procedures or sheet length. A related object of the invention is to provide a sheet finishing apparatus in which discrepancies in sheet or conveyance do not affect the folding position.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with a sheet finishing apparatus that accurately folds sheets.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and the associated drawings. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical subassembly that provides an optical receptacle adhered to an optical device with a transparent resin package.
2. Related Prior Art
The YAG laser welding has been well known in the filed to assemble an optical receptacle with an optical device precisely and firmly. The YAG laser may heat members to be welded so as to melt them locally. Accordingly, the members to be welded are required to have a lesser thermal conductivity to cause the local melting even when they are metallic material.
Recently, an optical subassembly primarily made of resin has been practical by responding to a continuous request to reduce the cost thereof, in particular, the optical subassembly for an application of the short reach has been strongly requested to lower the cost and the price. Such a subassembly often uses a resin package and an adhesive to assemble the subassembly. The optical alignment of the subassembly is required in the alignment between components with the accuracy below several micron-meters, generally smaller than 2 micron-meters for the application using a single mode fiber. Moreover, the optical subassembly with the optical receptacle reiteratively receives an optical plug in the optical receptacle, and is necessary to keep the optical coupling efficiency as withstanding the external stress caused in an insertion/extraction of the optical plug.
To widen an area to be glued and to use an adhesive showing a superior adhesive strength results in a secure adhesion. In the assembly of the optical subassembly, therefore, two types of the adhesive are generally used; one is a type of ultraviolet curable adhesive and the other is a type of thermally curable adhesive. Applying the ultraviolet curable adhesive to members to be attached, aligning the members optically, curing the adhesive by irradiating the ultraviolet rays as the alignment between members are maintained, applying the thermo-curable adhesive and solidifying it by raising an ambient temperature, the optical subassembly primarily with resin bodies is completed.
Japanese Patent Application published as JP-2008-116861A has disclosed an optical subassembly that provides a sleeve member and an optical device each having a resin body and being bonded with the ultraviolet curable resin. The sleeve member has openings or cuttings in a portion to cover the optical device so as to expose the ultraviolet curable resin. The openings or cuttings enhance the hardening of the ultraviolet curable resin. However, openings or cuttings cause a non-uniform thickness of the resin, which results in the optical misalignment between the sleeve member and the optical device during the hardening of the resin. Additionally, although an amount of the curable resin increases, an area to be bonded is not increases, the adhesive strength between the sleeve member and the optical device is not achieved.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,665, has disclosed another optical subassembly, in which a sleeve member and an optical device are attached with an ultraviolet curable resin, in particular, one of the bore of the sleeve member and the periphery of the optical device provides a circumferential hollow and the bore provides a reflective surface for the ultraviolet rays to enhance the hardening of the curable resin by deeply penetrating the ultraviolet rays. | {
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A voice response (VR) system allows a human user to listen to spoken information generated by a computer system. The user enters dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) tones, or speaks commands, to navigate through the functions of such a VR system.
The implementation of VR systems that respond to tones or spoken commands is well known, but these systems are designed with the assumption that humans will be providing the commands to a computer over a communication link. Furthermore, these systems are typically designed to use human speech in the form of stored audio files that are played over the telephone line in order to communicate with the outside world. Communication with VR systems is thus normally via an analog interface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,071,888 and 4,117,263 are representative of basic patents in the field of VR systems. Modern VR systems are largely similar to the centralized systems described in these patents.
In contrast to VR systems, electronic mail (email) employs digital electronic signals for communications between users. Messages are encoded as numbers and sent from place to place over digital computer networks. Furthermore, email can be used to exchange voice messages in the form of digital audio files. However, the interface between email software systems and the underlying network is digital—not analog.
As a result of this analog-digital interface dichotomy, there is currently virtually no integration between voicemail and email. Since voicemail is the most common application of VR systems today, it is the best example. Accessing a voicemail system using a telephone handset, a user may listen to commands and send DTMF (Touchtone®) responses in order to listen to, save, forward, and delete their voicemail messages. However, commercial voicemail systems have a limited message capacity (both in time and space), and the lack of a digital interface in voicemail systems makes integration of voicemail with email and digital audio difficult. Not only is voicemail management using traditional dial-in systems cumbersome, it can be expensive, as cellular and mobile phone users must often incur the user peak-rate phone charges to access their voicemail. In addition, if the user has multiple telephones with voicemail accounts then each voicemail account must be checked with a separate phone call, and the user must manage each voicemail box separately. Voicemail is therefore a transient, untrustworthy, and cumbersome medium for communication.
Note that email and voicemail systems both use a “store & forward” model for message delivery. It would thus be desirable to construct a bridge between them (allowing voicemail to reach the Internet and Internet audio messages to reach the phone system), which should enable a number of applications of great utility to be implemented. For example, if voicemail messages were available on a user's computer in digital form and freely available for distribution via email, then several advantages to users of voicemail systems would result. For example, such a system would enable the following benefits: (1) voicemail messages could be captured securely and permanently, just like any other type of computer file; (2) voicemail messages could be distributed and used wherever digital audio files are used, in particular, for transmission to remote locations via email (note the cost of retrieving email remotely is far lower than the long distance charges or peak roaming charges that may be incurred to make calls to voicemail); and, (3) because no direct connection is required to a modem, except at one location (the server), users would be able to receive voicemail on non-telephone devices, i.e., with the same devices used for email.
The prior art identifies the value of integrating voicemail with computers and in particular, personal computers (PCs). U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,591, for example, describes a system for sending voicemail messages over the Internet, using proprietary methods (i.e., not email). The most likely configuration that might be used to integrate voicemail with the computer network would effect this integration at the centralized voicemail switch. In such a system, because voicemail messages are stored as digital audio files on the voicemail switch and because that switch is on the computer network, those voicemail messages might then be made available to computers on the network.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,405 discloses a method of using a PC or other device equipped with a special modem to retrieve voicemail over a telephone line and store each message in a file on the computer; however, this patent makes no mention of digital distribution of the voicemail messages retrieved. This patent comes close to solving the central problem of interacting between a computer and a VR system, namely the need to use speech recognition in many cases, but room for improvement exists. For example, improvements can be made in the analysis of the audio signals received by a user's computer, and no utility is provided in this prior art patent for the digital distribution of the retrieved messages.
Where voicemail messages are to be saved for later use in a conventional voicemail system, the voicemail messages are kept stored within the voicemail system. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,295,341; 4,327,251; 6,337,977; and 6,341,160 describe such systems. Even when computers are employed, the messages are generally kept in the answering device (as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,442). U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,963 even teaches that email be employed for notifying a user of voicemail, but not for delivery of the messages themselves.
There is much use made of voice recognition in VR applications, but in almost all these applications, voice recognition is used by a computer to recognize the content of a human voice speaking on the telephone (e.g., as taught in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,335,962; 6,330,308; 6,208,966; 5,822,405; and 4,060,694). Such human voice recognition techniques are computationally expensive. Readily available human voice recognition applications compare real-time spoken words against a stored dictionary. Because of variations in the human spoken word and variations in the quality of the communications channels, the comparison of a spoken word with a dictionary of words must take into account variations in both the length and the spectral characteristics of the human speech being recognized. Thus, solving the problem of human speech recognition in real-time consumes significant computational resources, which effectively limits the applications of human speech recognition used in conjunction with fast, relatively expensive, computers. Where non-standard audio recognition methods are used, they are typically restricted to narrow applications, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,324,499; 6,321,194, and 6,327,345.
It should be noted that VR systems often emulate (i.e., “speak”) the human voice, but do not produce it. Instead, they use stored audio files that are played over the telephone communication link. Therefore, the speech that these VR systems produce is identically spoken every time it is played. The recognition of repetitive identical audio signatures is, in fact, a much simpler problem to solve than the problem of recognizing actual spoken human voice produced by a variety of speakers. It would be preferable to provide a system employing such techniques for recognizing stored audio file speech, thereby enhancing computational performance and enabling less expensive processors to be employed.
Another issue with conventional voice-recognition methods applied to VR applications is that the recognition of whole words and phrases can involve considerable latency. In VR applications, it is preferable to keep recognition latency to a minimum to avoid lost audio and poor response. Reduced processing overhead within the application will allow latency to be reduced within the recognition system.
In the prior art, voice recognition is always proceeded by a learning step, where the recognizing computer system processes speech audio to build a recognizer library. Many VR and voice recognition inventions include such a learning process, which may be used to teach the computer what to say, what tones to send, or what words to recognize (e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,345,250; 6,341,264; and 5,822,405). It should be noted that in the prior art, when a system is learning words to be recognized, the learning method is independent of the context of the audio being learned. That is to say, the recognition method stands alone and can distinguish between a word being recognized and all other words (at least theoretically). It would thus be desirable to provide a computer-driven VR system wherein the learning method is simplified to take into account the invariant nature of the messages and the known context of their expression, to require fewer computational resources to be employed.
Much prior art in the field of automatic control of VR systems with a computer depends upon the calling computer knowing the context of the VR system at all times. For example, the application described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,042 assumes that the VR system works identically every time, and that tones can be input to the VR system at any time. The prior art recognizes that the context of recognition is important (e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,254). It would be desirable to provide a programming language to describe VR interactions, which includes a syntax powerful enough to express such context in a general manner.
Many VR control applications (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,405) use some form of interpreted programming language to tell the application how to drive the remote VR system. In the prior art however, the scripting language is of a very restricted syntax, specific to its application (for example, voicemail retrieval). In order to build a general purpose VR response system, it would be helpful to have a programming language that is sufficiently powerful to address a wide range of VR applications (e.g., retrieval of stock quotes, airline times, or data from an online banking application).
Another aspect of the learning process that can have a major impact on its efficiency is the user interface (UI). A UI that is too generalized may result in complex manipulations of the interface being required to achieve full control of the learning process. Such a situation arises often when the learning portion of an invention's embodiment is performed with a general purpose tool, as is in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,405. It would be desirable to provide a computer-driven VR system, wherein the UI is specifically adapted to enable easy navigation and control of all of the aspects of the VR system, including any learning method required.
A different issue with conventional voice recognition methods applied to VR applications, is that the recognition of whole words and phrases can involve considerable latency. It would be desirable to provide a computer-driven VR system, wherein recognition latency is kept to a minimum to avoid lost audio content and poor response.
When designing a VR control application (such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,405) it may be necessary to develop some form of interpreted programming language, to tell the application how to drive the remote VR system. In the prior art, however, the scripting language is of a very restricted syntax, specific to its application (for example, voicemail retrieval). In order to build a general purpose VR response system, it would be desirable to employ a programming language that is sufficiently powerful and more general in nature to address a wide range of VR applications (e.g., retrieval of stock quotes, airline times, or for accessing data in an online banking application). If a bridge such as that noted above can be built between voicemail and the Internet, it would make voicemail as easy to review, author, and send, as email. Voicemail, originating in the telephone system, might be integrated directly with messages created entirely on the Internet using an audio messaging application.
Many integrated messaging systems have been built. These systems seek to integrate some combination of voicemail, text messaging, and email into one interface. However, the prior art with respect to unified messaging (UM) is exclusively concerned with creating a closed universe within which the system operates. Such systems, although at times elegant, do not cater to users who have a need to access voicemail from different voicemail systems (such as from home and from work), through an Internet connection. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,052 archives the voice messages within the voicemail system. It would be desirable to enable the voicemail messages to be available on the computer network, thereby enabling a user to reply to those messages offline, and to forward the reply to the original caller using email, or to make a voicemail response that is delivered by the computer system. If integrated messaging systems could interface directly with any VR system over the public service telephone network (PSTN), then UM would become easier to apply, and would also become more useful.
Often after voicemail messages are received, a user will wish to reply to such messages. It is convenient for the user to be able to reply to the voicemail at their leisure, and have the reply forwarded to the original sender as another voicemail. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,052.
In the prior art it is assumed that if two computers are to communicate with each other they will do so using some form of digital encoding, and that if they are using a telephone line to communicate they will modulate a signal on that line with an audio signal that follows the structure of the digital sequence they wish to communicate. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,196,311 and 3,937,889 are exemplary of such art. On the other hand, humans communicate with each other over the telephone using analog, not digital, communications. However, if two computer systems, each equipped with voice recognition and the ability to communicate using analog voice communications, were placed in communication with each other in a peer-to-peer configuration, a useful form of two-way communication might result. If the recognition of audio from one computer can drive a program on the other computer, which can in turn send audio responses to the first computer, then secure encoded communications might be effected by use of a normal telephone voice call.
Clearly, it would be desirable to provide a software system, running on a suitably equipped computer, which can be flexibly programmed and easily taught to navigate a VR system using audio signature recognition and which can download chosen audio segments to the computer system as digital audio files. Such a system will preferably enable the automatic scheduled retrieval of audio files from the VR system and enable these files to be automatically forwarded via email to the intended recipient, over the Internet.
It would further be desirable for digital audio files to be played over the telephone system and to leave voicemail messages that can be played directly by the recipient. Yet another desirable feature of such a system would be the use of computationally efficient waveform recognition algorithms to maximize the number of telephone lines that can be simultaneously supported by one computer.
It would still be further desirable to provide flexible interfaces, functions, and programming language to enable general purpose applications to interface with the VR retrieval and forwarding system. Such a system would automatically recognize duplicate audio files (i.e., files which have been downloaded twice from the same VR system), and provide means for the user to prepare digital audio files as replies to received messages, or as new voice messages, and to have those digital audio files delivered via email or over the phone line, to the intended recipient.
Further desirable features of such a system would include means for teaching the software to recognize new audio signatures and to incorporate them into a program script, and such learning processes should be enabled both locally (at a computer with a modem), and remotely (by employing a computer and a modem receiving commands via email from a remote computer). It would further be desirable to provide a system that enables two computers to communicate over an audio communications channel, to achieve an audio encoded computer-to-computer communications system. | {
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Information recording disks such as magnetic recording disks used, for example, in "hard disks," compact disks, etc. have a structure where a recording layer is formed on the surface of a substrate which is made of a metal or dielectric material. In one process for making a magnetic disk used in a hard disk, a substrate of aluminum (Al), or other suitable metal or dielectric material is first coated with a nickel-phosphorus (NiP) layer. Next, an undercoat metal film of suitable material (such as CoCrTa) is deposited on a surface of the substrate and then a recording layer made from a thin magnetic film of suitable material is deposited on the metal film layer. The recording disk is completed by the depositing of a protective layer over the recording layer.
The protective layer must be composed of a durable film which has lubricating properties in order to shield the recording layer from impact and harsh environments. For example, sputtered carbon films (carbon films which have been deposited by sputtering) have been commonly used as protective layers. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of carbon has also been used to provide the protective layer. For ease of description, a protective layer consisting of carbon shall be referred to herein as a carbon protective layer.
With the recording density of hard disks continuing to increase, it has become necessary to provide carbon protective layers having a reduced thickness as compared to those conventionally used in the past. Greater recording density means less space between the sectors on the hard disk. When the space between sectors is reduced, the distance between the recording head and the magnetic recording layer must also be reduced. Currently available hard disks have a recording density of 1.6 gigabytes per square inch. Because the carbon protective layer is deposited on the magnetic recording layer, the thickness of the carbon protective layer must be reduced in order to minimize the distance between the recording head and the magnetic recording layer. Current commercial embodiments use films of between about 100-150 A. This is expected to be reduced to 50-100 A.
FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of a conventional plasma CVD film deposition chamber. The deposition chamber 6 is equipped with a pumping system 61, a process gas delivery system 62 for introducing a process gas into the film deposition chamber 6, plasma generating means 63 forming a plasma by providing energy to the process gas which has been introduced by the process gas delivery system, and a transfer system (not shown) used to transfer a substrate 9 inside the deposition chamber 6.
The process gas delivery system 62 is designed to introduce an organic compound gas such as methane (CH.sub.4) into the interior region of the deposition chamber 6. The plasma generating means 63 is designed to form a plasma by providing high frequency rf energy to the process gas, and is comprised of a high frequency power source 633 for supplying high frequency electrical power by way of a matching box 632 to a high frequency electrode 631. When plasma of a gas such as methane is formed, the gas in the plasma decomposes resulting in a thin film of carbon being deposited on the surface of the substrate 9. The deposited layer of carbon is then polished to a prescribed thickness.
Carbon films may be broadly divided into amorphous carbon films and crystallized carbon films. Crystallized carbon films are generally made of graphite, but some have a lattice structure similar to a diamond and are referred to as diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. In the manufacture of carbon films by plasma enhanced CVD using a hydrocarbon compound gas such as methane, when energy is provided by the collision of negative ions, a reduction in C--H bonds and C covalent bonds in the plasma occur which results in more C single bonds thereby resulting in a film having a diamond lattice structure.
A drawback associated with conventional film deposition apparatuses used to form carbon protective layers is that during the deposition process the carbon, used to provide the protective layer on the hard disk, is also deposited on the exposed surfaces inside the deposition chamber. As the carbon film buildup increases within the deposition chamber, the film separates as a result of internal stresses, gravity, etc., resulting in undesirable carbon particles being released inside the deposition chamber. These undesirable particles adhere to the surface of the substrates inside the chamber, forming protrusions on the surface of the protective layer, resulting in local irregularities in film thickness which can cause head crashes or signal errors.
FIG. 14 is an exploded, cross-sectional view of the surface of an information recording disk and a device used to detect defects on the surface of the disk. When the carbon protective layer is deposited with the particles adhering on the substrate surface, protrusions 902 are formed as shown. The particles and the protrusions resulting therefrom can have a diameter in the range of between about 0.1 to 0.5 microns.
To detect the presence of such protrusions, a glide height test is performed after the carbon protective layer is deposited on the magnetic recording layer. The glide height test is a test in which a tip 904 of a detector 903, as shown in the dashed outline in FIG. 14, is used to scan the carbon protective layer 901 while being held a predetermined distance above the surface of the protective layer. In present applications, the distance d is set at 1 micro-inch. When the tip 904 contacts a protrusion 902 a short circuit is generated within a detection circuit (not shown) which provides an indication that the hard disk contains a protrusions of sufficient size to make the hard disk defective.
In conventional film deposition apparatuses, a considerable amount of carbon particles may be produced by the separation of the carbon film deposited on the exposed surfaces in the processing chamber which, in turn, cause many carbon particles to contaminate the surfaces of substrates. It is difficult to remove all the protrusions and smooth the substrate in subsequent processing steps. Furthermore, when large protrusions are deposited by the accumulation of carbon particles, attempts to remove the protrusions can lead to problems such as scratches or pitting on the surface of the substrate. Such scratches or pitting might pass the glide height test, but often are considered defects in subsequent certifying tests (i.e. recording and playback tests). A drawback associated with conventional film deposition apparatuses has thus been the inability to reduce the incidence of product defects. | {
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1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compiler-based techniques for optimizing the performance of computer programs within computer systems. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and an apparatus that uses value speculation to break constraining dependencies in iterative control flow structures, such as loops.
2. Related Art
Advances in semiconductor fabrication technology have given rise to dramatic increases in microprocessor clock speeds. This increase in microprocessor clock speeds has not been matched by a corresponding increase in memory access speeds. Hence, the disparity between microprocessor clock speeds and memory access speeds continues to grow, and is beginning to create significant performance problems. Execution profiles for fast microprocessor systems show that a large fraction of execution time is spent not within the microprocessor core, but within memory structures outside of the microprocessor core. This means that the microprocessor systems spend a large fraction of time waiting for memory references to complete instead of performing computational operations.
Efficient caching schemes can help reduce the number of memory accesses that are performed. However, when a memory reference, such as a load operation generates a cache miss, the subsequent access to memory can take hundreds of clock cycles to complete, during which time the processor is typically idle, performing no useful work.
The majority of the cache misses occur in iterative control flow structures (or simply, loops). Existing hardware and software prefetching techniques can effectively prefetch data and/or instructions for simple counted loops and for regular strided data streams. However, many commercial applications, such as databases, execute more complicated loops, that derive little benefit from conventional prefetching techniques. Inside these more complicated loops, the values of missing loads are often used to determine branch conditions (which creates a control dependence) or to perform other computations (which creates a data dependence). This causes each iteration of the loop to wait until the constraining control/data dependences (from the missing loads to their uses) are resolved, before proceeding with the next iteration. Thus, these circular dependence chains limit how many iterations (and consequently how many cache misses) can be executed in parallel.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for prefetching load values (and for eliminating other constraining control and/or data dependencies) for more complicated loops. | {
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This invention relates generally to a method and system for using touch-sensitive screens, and more specifically, for enabling visually impaired users to use touch-sensitive screens to control various devices.
The modern workplace has become increasingly dependent on electronic devices, such as copy and facsimile machines. Many of these devices have embedded computers to control the functioning of the electronic device. These computers often utilize touch-sensitive screens to input and output information.
A touch-sensitive screen is a display device through which a computer can, in addition to displaying information, receive information by sensing a user""s touch on the touch-sensitive screen. The computer generally displays various objects, such as an icon or a control, on the touch-sensitive screen. These objects typically represent the state of the electronic device and commands that can be performed by the electronic device. For example, an icon representing a selected file may indicate that the file is currently selected to be transmitted by a facsimile machine, and a button, which is a type of control, may represent the command to start sending a document. A user selects an object by touching the displayed object typically with a finger. The computer determines which object is selected by determining which object is displayed at the location the user touched. By selecting an object, the user indicates to the computer that an associated command should be performed. For example, when a xe2x80x9cstartxe2x80x9d button is selected by a user, then a document is sent and when an item in a list is selected, then the item may be highlighted.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional touch-sensitive screen 101 for a copy machine. The touch-sensitive screen displays a message area 104 that displays instructions for operation of the device, such as instructing the user to xe2x80x9cEnter Number of Copies.xe2x80x9d The touch-sensitive screen displays a text box 114 which displays the number of copies to be made. The touch-sensitive screen also displays several controls. The controls shown are buttons 106, 108, 110, and 112, and input controls 116 of the numeric pad. Each of the buttons represents a command to be performed by the copy machine. For example, when a user selects the xe2x80x9cClear Number of Copiesxe2x80x9d button 106, then the copy machine enters zeroes into the text box 104. Also, when the user selects the xe2x80x9cstartxe2x80x9d button 108, then the copy machine starts copying.
An electronic device may also display a list box on a touch-sensitive screen. FIG. 2 illustrates a sample list box. A list box allows a user to view a list consisting of list items. If the list contains more list items than can be displayed in the list box at one time, then the user can xe2x80x9cscrollxe2x80x9d through the list using a scroll bar. A user controls scrolling by touching the scroll bar and controls selecting a list item by touching the list item. For example, the list in FIG. 2 contains the list items xe2x80x9cPaper Tray Selectionxe2x80x9d 202 and xe2x80x9cEnlargement Selectionxe2x80x9d 204. By touching the list item xe2x80x9cPaper Tray Selection,xe2x80x9d the user selects this list item. Typically, the list item is then highlighted to provide a visual cue to the user that the list item has been selected. A user may deselect the list item by touching the list item again. A user scrolls through the list by using the scroll bar 212. The scroll bar has a scroll up arrow 206, a scroll down arrow 208, and a scroll thumb 210 (which is also called a scroll box). When a user touches the scroll up arrow, the list typically scrolls up one list item, and when a user touches the scroll down arrow, the list typically scrolls down one list item. In addition, a user may touch the scroll thumb, and while maintaining contact with the touch-sensitive screen, slide the scroll. thumb along the scroll bar to scroll through the list. If the user does not maintain contact with the scroll thumb, then scrolling stops.
Because a user needs to see a touch-sensitive screen to use it, conventional touch-sensitive screens on electronic devices make the devices virtually inaccessible for visually impaired users. A touch-sensitive screen displays text, which a visually impaired user may not be able to read. In addition, the flat touch-sensitive screen has no physically raised buttons for a visually impaired user to feel. Instead, touch-sensitive screens utilize a graphical symbol to represent a button, so a visually impaired user may not be able to find buttons on a touch-sensitive screen. In addition, a visually impaired user has difficulty selecting list items or scrolling through the list. Using the scroll bar is especially difficult because it requires the user to not only find the scroll thumb but also maintain contact with the scroll thumb to scroll a list, which the visually impaired user may not even be able to see.
Also, many touch-sensitive screens display text and graphical symbols in low contrast relative to the background color of the touch-sensitive screen which makes the use of a touch-sensitive screen challenging even to users who have limited sight. Moreover, different devices typically display text, icons and controls at different locations on their touch-sensitive screens. For instance, one device may place buttons at the top of the touch-sensitive screen and another may place them at the right side of the touch-sensitive screen. Because of the number and variety of these differences, it is not easy for a user who is visually impaired to memorize these differences and thus use these devices. In addition, a single-touch sensitive screen typically displays different text and graphical symbols depending on context, which makes it difficult for a user who is visually impaired to memorize the differences even on a single touch-sensitive screen.
The community of visually impaired users is large, including users who may have limited vision as well as users who have lost all vision. Because of widespread use of touch-sensitive screens on electronic devices in the workplace, visually impaired users are finding it increasingly difficult to find or maintain employment in positions that require use of these electronic devices. In addition, the use of touch-sensitive screens has expanded into areas outside the workplace. For example, touch-sensitive screens are used on microwave ovens and in computerized information guides at airports. As the use of touch-sensitive screens increases, visually impaired users find more devices to be inaccessible to them.
It is an object of the present invention to enable a visually impaired user to explore the objects on a touch-sensitive screen.
It is another object of the present invention to enable a visually impaired user to select controls displayed on a touch-sensitive screen.
It is yet another object of the present invention to enable a visually impaired user to scroll through lists on a touch-sensitive screen by sliding a scroll thumb.
These and other objects, which will become apparent as the invention is more fully described below, are obtained by the interface for the visually impaired (IVI) system. In a preferred embodiment, the IVI system provides a method for selecting a control region that is displayed on a touch-sensitive screen. The touch-sensitive screen has regions, including control regions. Each control region is associated with a command. The IVI system determines whether a user is contacting the touch-sensitive screen over a control region. When the user is contacting the touch-sensitive screen over a control region, the IVI system determines whether the user has terminated contact with the touch-sensitive panel without contacting the touch-sensitive screen outside of the control region. When the user has terminated contact with the touch-sensitive screen, the IVI system selects the control region and performs the command. The IVI system uses a similar method for selecting items in a list.
Another aspect of a preferred embodiment of the IVI system provides a method of scrolling thorough a list of list items. The IVI system defines a scroll bar region with a scroll box for a touch-sensitive screen. The IVI system determines whether the user is contacting the scroll box. If the user is contacting the scroll box, the. IVI system determines the initial position of the scroll box. Then, die IVI system determines whether the user, without contacting the touch-sensitive screen outside of the scroll box, subsequently terminates contact with the touch-sensitive screen. When the user terminates contact with the touch-sensitive screen in such a manner, the IVI system enters a scroll mode. When the user again touches the touch-sensitive screen, the IVI system then scrolls the list based on position of contact with the touch-sensitive screen. In addition, in a preferred embodiment, the IVI system provides audio feedback as to what object a user is touching and as to the number of list items that have been scrolled. | {
"pile_set_name": "USPTO Backgrounds"
} |
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