Machines such as wheeled compactors, loaders, trucks, and other mobile equipment are used to perform many tasks. To effectively perform these tasks, the machines require an engine that provides significant torque through a drive system to one or more ground engaging traction devices (e.g., wheels, tracks, etc.). Drive systems for such machines usually include either a mechanical power-shift transmission that is connected to the engine by way of a mechanical or hydraulic torque converter, or a hydrostatic transmission (hystat) that pressurizes fluid with an engine-driven pump for powering a motor connected to the traction device. Recently, more attention has been given to the use of hystats because hystats are known to achieve higher fuel efficiency and extended functionality when compared with a power-shift transmission. A hystat provides an infinitely variable torque-to-speed output ratio within its overall range through the pairing of a variable displacement pump and a fixed- or variable-displacement motor.
Although higher fuel efficiency and extended functionality can be achieved with hystats, many operators still do not prefer machines equipped with hystats because hystat systems respond to operator commands (e.g., throttle commands, directional shits, shifts to neutral, work tool commands etc.) with different characteristics (e.g., acceleration rates, deceleration rates, rimpull torque, etc.) than the familiar and comfortable characteristics of power-shift systems. For instance, when an operator releases the acceleration pedal or throttle of a machine equipped with a hystat, displacements of the pump and/or motor are immediately neutralized and the machine either continues traveling at about the same speed for an extended period of time (when both the pump and motor are neutralized) or quickly stops (when only one of the pump and motor are neutralized). Therefore, operators must modulate the acceleration lever or pedal to move through intermediate displacement positions in a gradual manner in order to travel at an increasingly slower speed. This can prove very difficult in rough terrain common to many worksites, especially for unskilled operators, and can cause undue operator fatigue.
One attempt to vary the response characteristics of a hystat drive system is described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0104532 (the '532 publication) by Ries et al. that published on May 2, 2013. The '532 publication describes a hystat drive system having a transmission input device that allows an operator to select a transmission setting for operating the machine with a desired virtual gear or range of speed-to-torque ratios. Based on the operator's selection, a controller selects a relationship from an acceleration map that corresponds with the transmission setting. The controller then uses the relationship to adjust the displacement of a pump and/or a motor in the hystat system during an acceleration process. When the operator initiates a coasting or braking operation, the controller selects a coasting deceleration map or a braking deceleration map, respectively, and adjusts the pump and/or motor displacements to slow the vehicle by a desired amount over a desired period of time after initiation of the coasting or braking operation. The desired period of time is a function of the machine's travel speed when the coasting or braking operation was initiated.
Although the system of the '532 publication may be somewhat effective at changing the acceleration rate and deceleration rate of a machine equipped with a hystat, it may not be optimal. In particular, because the speed change characteristics of the '532 publication are based on a gear selection, acceleration and deceleration characteristics of the machine may not be optimal under varying conditions. Further, the single control mode of the '532 publication may not allow the machine to be effectively controlled by operators of varying skill and/or familiarity levels.
The system of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.


Lamps for vehicles are known, designed so that the light emitted or reflected by them to make it possible to recognize a symbol or text.
Patent DE 202005003397 describes a rear lamp for motor vehicles or bicycles provided with a customized reflector designed to highlight its reflections as an illuminated symbol, and in the absence of a light source, the symbol remains visible as a dark shape.
Patent DE 202006008944 relates to a motor vehicle lamp which includes a logo or symbol, evidenced by the intense illumination when the driver of the vehicle brakes or signals change of direction, an effect obtained by using extra-bright LED inside the lamp.
The disadvantages of known solutions is that they require the manufacturing of the complete lamp assembly according to customization requested by the beneficiary, requiring significant resources to prepare the launch of the production; another disadvantage is that personalization is highlighted only at night, in the presence of incident light sources or certain conditions: braking, signaling change direction and so on, without personalizing be easily observed at all times.


Additive manufacturing (AM) techniques such as fused deposition Modeling® (FDM®) and fused filament fabrication (FFF) are rapidly gaining popularity in a variety of manufacturing industries due to AM's ability to create unique geometries and process unique material compositions. In particular, AM can operate on a variety of length scales with a large number of thermoplastic feedstock materials.
An additive manufacturing process includes building parts from selectively dispensing material through a nozzle or orifice. Multiple layers are built on top of each other to create a part or solid object. Material such as polymer is delivered to an extruder as a filament coiled in a spool, and is then melted during extrusion. That is, the polymer, typically held in the machine as spooled filament, is fed by the extruder into the liquefier where it is heated and melted, by receiving heat by conduction with heated walls in the liquefier. The extruder therefore feeds the filament through the liquefier, such that molten polymer is dispensed through the nozzle at the end of the liquefier chamber, which reduces the diameter of the molten polymer at its output. The extruder and liquefier assembly are directed in the X-Y plane using a gantry to build a cross-section of the part. Parts are built on a movable build platform within a chamber designed to control the printing environment. When printing in thermoplastic, the platform and/or its chamber are typically heated to reduce residual stresses, within the part, that arise during cooling after the deposition from the nozzle.
Two important components during the additive manufacturing process are the filament extrusion mechanism and the filament liquefier. Typically, a pinch-wheel mechanism that includes a drive wheel and a pinch or knurled wheel form a filament extrusion mechanism that drives the filament linearly by applying force along the side of the filament. Traction between the drive wheel and filament is provided by the clamping force applied by the pinch wheel. Driving the filament in this way generally causes the filament to be compressed between itself and the drive wheel, particularly when the drive wheel employs knurls, which dig into the filament. A filament fails by shear when an amount of force applied to the filament by the drive wheel exceeds the average shear stress over the area of engagement with the filament. Generally, the filament liquefier heats the polymer by conducting heat energy to the polymer from the liquefier wall and melts the polymer within the cavity before reaching the extrusion nozzle where its cross-section is reduced.
The production of parts using additive manufacturing is limited, for instance, by the design of current extruders, liquefiers, and gantries. For example, traditional extruders inhibit extrusion rates by providing a filament engagement area that limits the force that can be applied or transmitted by the extruder on the filament; traditional liquefiers do not provide an adequate heat rate necessary for expedient extrusion; and traditional gantries are speed and acceleration limited and cannot move with the agility needed to match high-throughput extrusion rates.
That is, in general, extrusion force in current extruders is limited by the filament shear area. Extrusion failure occurs when the extruder stress is greater than the shear stress of the filament shear area but less than the pressure drop caused by the liquefier.
Moreover, current liquefiers are limited by the maximum heat rate into the filament during extrusion, because they generally rely on conduction heat transfer from the heated liquefier walls. Due to the poor thermal conductivity of the filament and the conduction heat transfer rate, filament feed rate must be kept slow to allow full heating of the filament to the required melt temperature. Thus, with increasing extrusion rates, the filament receives less heat from the conduction liquefier. If the filament is not heated to the required temperature, the filament does not melt in the liquefier and instead jams in the nozzle, thereby preventing extrusion.
Current gantries for positioning a nozzle and build platform are effective at low dynamic performance, but traditional stepping motors used with gantries are speed limited due to fundamental operating principles of the actuators and their open-loop control scheme. On the other hand, simply using larger actuators causes an increase in mass and inertia of the gantry, thereby slowing the gantry response time despite having a higher torque capacity.
As a result of the above limitations of current additive manufacturing techniques, including insufficiently heating the filament, a high pressure needs to be exerted on the liquefier in order to properly extrude the filament. However, the high pressure or force on the filament may cause filament shear failure.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems, devices, and methods for high-throughput additive manufacturing that, among other things, are designed to increase the maximum force capable by the extruder, the heat rate into the volume of the filament, and the rate of deposition of the material of the filament. Moreover, there is a need for such systems, devices, and methods to be applicable to polymer resins and high-performance thermoplastic, and adaptable to large scale extrusion AM systems, in a variety of sectors such as medicine, product design, cinematography, education, aerospace, and advanced materials, among other sectors.


The popularity of the Internet, coupled with the increasing capabilities of personal/mobile electronic devices, has provided consumers with the ability to enjoy multimedia content almost anytime and anywhere. For example, live (e.g., sports events) and video on demand (VOD) content (e.g., television shows and movies) can be streamed via the Internet to personal electronic devices (e.g., computers, mobile phones, and Internet-enabled televisions).
In a client-server system, a server may provide a multimedia stream to each client device that requests the stream. However, providing multiple copies of the stream may exhaust available bandwidth at the server. To alleviate the demand on the server, the stream may be syndicated to multiple servers and made available from any of the servers. A load balancing system may be utilized to determine which particular server should provide a stream to a particular destination device.


Bridges, buildings, railroads, pipes, vessels, tanks, and other metal or steel welded structures are a vital part of modern infrastructure. These structures are typically fabricated from sets of discrete metal sub-components that are welded together to form a critical component and/or a total system. Welded seams and other weld joining points must be fused into a welded unit having satisfactory strength to ensure building code compliance and to achieve proper structural integrity of the entire system, and/or to ensure meeting the purpose of the design for which it was intended. For example, a pressure vessel or fluid tank must have water tight exterior as well as provide structural support for the entire vessel or tank system. Pipes and vessels similarly must have water or gas sealed, welded seams to ensure the integrity of the pipe/vessel and to properly isolate the fluid or gas held by the pipe from the environment. In addition, these systems deteriorate over time due to operational and environmental factors such as, residual and applied stresses, vibration, rain, snow, strong winds, temperature variance, earthquakes, oxidation, material fatigue, and other changes that occur over the passage of time. Hence, nondestructive testing of welds and metal structures, and their components, are utilized after initial fabrication, installation, and periodically thereafter, to ensure a structure's integrity. Further, both for new construction and routine periodic maintenance, careful analysis of the weld joints in each structure is necessary to ensure satisfaction of various weld specifications, industry codes, and construction regulations. For example, the American Society Mechanical Engineers (“ASME”), the American Welding Society (“AWS”), and the American Petroleum Institute (“API”), among others, each have their own welding codes, procedures, and specifications.
Modern inspectors use non-destructive test (“NDT”) equipment to inspect constructed metal (e.g. steel) structures and their weld joints. These inspection devices use ultrasonic wave generators to take digital “snap-shots” of welds from which an inspector may verify weld integrity and to ensure compliance with welding codes and specifications. Ultrasonic technology is used to detect internal and surface breaking flaws in the weld and the base metal, which are not visible externally, and is based on the principle that a gap or defect in the weld changes the propagation of ultrasonic sound through the metal. One common method of NDT testing uses conventional, single-probe ultrasonic testing requiring an operator's interpretation of a screen similar to an oscilloscope screen that presents time and amplitude information. Another method uses an array of ultrasonic phased array sensors to test a structure. Such methods can be combined into a single digital piece of inspection equipment that uses phased array (“PA”) and time-of-flight (“TOFD”) diffraction methodologies to provide a three dimensional image of a weld displayed on a color screen. An inspector then evaluates the potential for a flaw or defect in the weld by reviewing the screen. Such ultrasonic testing (“UT”) equipment is typically highly mobile, and allows for the recordation of ultrasonic data for the analysis of welded areas in joined metal pieces. For example, Olympus NDT, Inc. markets and sells ultrasonic units through its OmniScan™ and Epoch™ lines of weld flaw detectors. The Olympus ultrasonic inspection systems include conventional ultrasonic flaw detectors, which use ultrasonic waveforms to detect flaws, and advanced ultrasonic phased array flaw detectors, which create internal cross-section images of the areas being inspected. These ultrasonic flaw detectors may also be configured to do a phased array ultrasonic testing (“PAUT”) inspection that produces encoded digital data points on welds which may be further processed at a later time. The data may also be reviewed later at a time convenient for an inspector and in an environment away from the component or structure's location, which is typically more suitable for detailed analysis work. Such ultrasonic data is recorded and saved in large data files which may be retrieved for evaluation by an inspector using specialized software applications. While these data files are readable by the ultrasonic testing device, software applications also exist that assist in the evaluation and visual display of such inspection data on common computing devices, such as a PC. An example of such applications is the OmniPC™ analysis software also available from Olympus NDT, Inc., along with an additional analysis tool set called TomoView™. Both of these tools allow for a more precise and reliable review of the three dimensional PA data by an inspector.
A phased array data file consists of captured data representative of continuous A-scans along a weld which may be processed to create a three dimensional data set representative of the top, side, and end views of a weld joint. Within each A-scan, a series of recorded data points record an intensity or amplitude value from 0% to 100% of ultrasonic signal reflections. These data points are then saved as OPD, RTD or TV file formats for subsequent analysis. Since the recordation of ultrasonic data is correlated to the exact PA probe position on the structure being tested, the inspector may use the analysis software including various sets of sophisticated analysis tools to review the recorded data in a number of geometric views and orientations (e.g. top view, side view, end view) to improve inspection review accuracy.
Further information regarding the use of phased array UT equipment, configuring such UT equipment, establishing a test scan plan applicable to a particular inspection or weld joint design situation, the recording of that data in various file formats, the physics and geometries of the ultrasonic sound beams and resulting scanning views in UT, the use and applicability of “data” libraries, the storing of testing data files, the usage of different types of scan views, the visual analysis of weld flaw indications, and the generation of inspection reports based upon UT shall not be discussed herein as such information is well known known in the NDT industry and not necessary for a complete understanding of the disclosed invention. However, Applicant references and hereby incorporates by reference the treatise UT Classroom Training Book, Paul T. Marks, ISDN No. 978-1-57117-345-4 (e-book), published by The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, and two treatises published by Olympus NTD, Inc: (1) Introduction to Phased Array Ultrasonic Technology Applications, third printing 2007, ISBN No. 0-9735933-4-2; and (2) Advances in Phased Array Ultrasonic Technology Applications, 2007, ISBN No. 0-9735933-4-2. The books may be obtained at the ASNT website www.asnt.org or the Olympus NDT resources website www.olympus-ims.com. These treatises explain the above subjects in detail and the general theory of UT using modern equipment. Further, Applicant references and hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,156,813B2, 8,577,629B2, 9,032,802B2, 9,081,490B2. These patents discuss and disclose background information regarding the electronics and theory behind PA ultrasonic testing.
Nevertheless, even with modern PA and time-of-flight UT devices, and even when inspection analysis is conducted in an environment conducive for careful study, the data analysis and reporting process can be a tedious and fatiguing task for inspectors. For example, metal pipe and plate structures typically have girth welds and long seams that must be inspected. PA ultrasonic and time-of-flight, diffraction inspection for those welds seams can produce extremely large data files requiring many hours of data review and analysis of all data points along the weld seams by an inspector. Usually most of the data points are nominal, satisfactory welds, creating a monotonous review period and potentially reducing weld flaw recognition by an inspector due to fatigue. Hence, what would enhance the inspection process would be a system for focusing an inspector's attention on actual weld defect indications, by excluding data points that present satisfactory and acceptable weld characteristics. Such a system would improve an inspector's efficiency and accuracy in conducting new or reviewing prior weld inspections, thereby saving time and money.


Governments of nations from all around the world are currently establishing a host of security programs to ensure the protection of their national treasures, infrastructure, citizenry, and to establish social order. One example of such programs is in the detection of illicit and hazardous materials such as drugs, explosives, chemical and biological contaminants.
For the detection of these abovementioned materials, two approaches are normally used. The first approach involves the use of electronics-based detection machines and instruments. These machines and instruments typically operate using methods based on a wide array of spectroscopic, electrical or magnetic principles. From these principles have emerged traditional detection machines based on technologies such as the x-ray, gas chromatographic and nuclear quadruple resonance machines, to emergent detection machines based on chemical and electronic nose nanotechnology based sensors, and non-ionizing terahertz, infrared and fluorescence spectroscopy, interferometry and imaging techniques.
The major advantages of detection machines and instruments include their parts-per-billion sensitivity to vapor detection and the fact that different technologies and principles of operation can be used simultaneously within a singular detection configuration.
However, a disadvantages imposed by the use of machines or instrument detection is that the machine itself is not capable of an autonomous search-and-detect process of detection within a defined space or area. It cannot “see.”
The second approach to detection is of a biological nature and takes advantage of the olfactory capacity of creatures such as canines, bees, rats and fishes such as sharks and the catfish to detect illicit and hazardous materials, specifically employing their capacity to detect sub-parts-per-million amounts of a scent or odor exuded by a material and then trace the odor back to its source, and the fact that they are easy to train by humans in search-and-detect operations.
However, a major limitation of detector creatures is the fact that they cannot communicate to humans the exact nature of the illicit or hazardous material what they are positively alerting to nor can they confirm the nature of the scent trail they are following. Also, their senses of detection are wholly based on principles pertaining to olfaction.
It would be beneficial to have a bio-machine hybrid detector that combines the autonomous search-and-detect capability of a detector creature that is trained in the art of detection of illicit and hazardous materials with the multi-perspective material identification and characterization capability of electronics-based detector machines and instruments, as such a detector will have superb advantages over currently available biological or electronic detection systems in the detection of materials such as explosives, narcotics, laundered currency, fugitives and agricultural produce.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system configured to provide a three-dimensional image to a viewer having liquid crystal shutter glasses or the like mounted thereon, a three-dimensional image correction system applicable to a three-dimensional image display system having a function of correcting a pop-up amount, a pull-in amount, and the like of a three-dimensional image to be perceived by a viewer, a three-dimensional image correction method, a three-dimensional image display device, a three-dimensional image reproduction device, a three-dimensional image provision system, a program, and a recording medium. More specifically, the invention relates to a system provided with a correction computation unit configured to correct a dynamic range on the basis of a disparity amount detected from image information for a three-dimensional image composed of an image for a left eye and an image for a right eye and information on a screen size and the like of a display device configured to display a three-dimensional image, in which the disparity amount is corrected in the corrected dynamic range while corresponding to display device information so as to be able to adjust a pop-up amount, a pull-in amount, and the like of a target object while corresponding to the display device information, and also even in a case where a specification of the display device is varied, not only it is possible to realize the pop-up amount, the pull-in amount, and the like preferred by the viewer, but also it is possible to accurately express the pop-up amount, the pull-in amount, and the like intended by an image creator.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a slimmer television set has been realized with a higher definition and a larger screen. For the next paradigm shift (scientific revolution), researches are actively carried out in the field of three-dimensional display. In a three-dimensional display technology, a method of utilizing a binocular disparity to allow the viewer to perceive a three-dimensional object is generally used, and a large number of achievements have been reported.
For example, a three-dimensional image system is developed which is configured to provide a three-dimensional image to the viewer having the liquid crystal shutter glasses or the like mounted thereon. For a three-dimensional image display device in which the viewer has the liquid crystal shutter glasses mounted thereon and views the three-dimensional image, in order to present the three-dimensional image by utilizing the binocular disparity, a display method is adopted in which different images are arranged to enter into the left eye and the right eye.
According to such a display method, a disparity amount is set between the image for the left eye and the image for the right eye while targeting the same object. The disparity amount herein is a difference between a convergence angle on a display surface and a convergence angle on a three-dimensional surface to be perceived based on image information for a three-dimensional image and is, between a pixel displacement amount of a binocular disparity image on the display surface and a standard visual distance from the display surface to eyes of a viewer, substantially approximated by (the pixel displacement amount)/(the standard visual distance). By adjusting this disparity amount, it is possible to set a pop-up amount, a pull-in amount, and the like of the target image. For example, in a case where three-dimensional images are viewed in a cinema or the like, a screen size is fixed. Thus, the pop-up amount, the pull-in amount, and the like of the object which are intended by an image creator and also with which the viewers do not feel unpleasant sensation or sense of discomfort can be substantially uniquely decided.
In association with this type of the three-dimensional display technology, Japanese Patent No. 3749227 discloses a three-dimensional image processing method and device. This three-dimensional image processing device includes an instruction obtaining unit, a disparity identifying unit, and a disparity control unit. When a three-dimensional image is displayed on the basis of a plurality of viewpoint images corresponding to different disparities, the instruction obtaining unit obtains a response from a user whether or not the three-dimensional image displayed in various disparities is acceptable. On the basis of the obtained response, the disparity identifying unit identifies an appropriate disparity as the disparity acceptable by the user. On the premise of this, when another three-dimensional image different from the three-dimensional image is displayed, in order that the user can accept the other three-dimensional image, the disparity control unit applies a processing on the other three-dimensional image on the basis of the identified appropriate disparity. With the three-dimensional image processing device having the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to generate or display the three-dimensional image and the like suitable to human physiology. Also, the three-dimensional sensitivity can be adjusted through a simple operation.


As one of a method of forming a high quality semiconductor film, there is an epitaxial growth technique of forming a single crystal film on a substrate such as a wafer by vapor phase growth. In a vapor phase growth apparatus using the epitaxial growth technique, a wafer is mounted on a support unit in a reaction chamber which is maintained in a normal pressure or a reduced pressure. Next, while heating the wafer, a process gas such as a source gas which is a raw material for film formation is supplied from, for example, a shower plate in an upper portion of the reaction chamber to a surface of the wafer. Thermal reaction of the source gas occurs on the surface of the wafer, so that a single crystal epitaxial film is formed on the surface of the wafer.
In recent years, as a material for a light emitting device or a power device, a GaN (gallium nitride)-based semiconductor device has attracted attention. As an epitaxial growth technique of forming a GaN-based semiconductor film, there is an organic metal vapor phase growth method (MOCVD method). In the organic metal vapor phase growth method, for example, organic metal such as trimethyl gallium (TMG), trimethyl indium (TMI), and trimethyl aluminum (TMA) or ammonia (NH3) or the like is used as a source gas.
JP-A H10-158843 and JP-A 2002-212735 disclose vapor phase growth apparatuses including a plurality of reaction chambers for improving productivity.


1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for the production of alkali metal phosphates and phosphoric acid by the acidulation of phosphate rock and more particularly to a method for the acidulation of phosphate rock in the substantial absence of fluorine evolution, recovery of the fluorides as useful solid values, and recovery of fluoride-free products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Phosphoric acid plants are currently operated utilizing a basic and well known process for the acidulation of phosphate rock which comprises reaction of the rock with sulfuric acid to form phosphoric acid with subsequent reaction of the phosphoric acid, with for example ammonia to produce monoammonium phosphate (MAP) and diammonium phosphate (DAP). The phosphoric acid formed in this process is called wet process phosphoric acid. In this reaction, a by-product is gypsum having the chemical formula CaSO.sub.4.2H.sub.2 O. Essentially all phosphate rock contains some fluorine, normally in the 3.0 to 4.0% range, and the acidulation reaction usually generates gaseous fluorides.
In recent years, both air and water pollution laws and regulations have become more stringent and are now being enforced more rigorously. Operating companies have had many pollution problems with fluorine emission into the atmosphere and with the by-product gypsum from these phosphoric acid plants. Thus, an important problem in the operation of these wet process phosphoric acid plants has been in the expensive methods for handling the large amounts of fluorine compounds which are liberated in the gaseous and aqueous effluents from such plants. In some phosphate complexes from 10,000 to 30,000 tons per year of fluorine compounds may be liberated by various methods. It is estimated that in a typical wet process phosphoric acid plant, a portion of the fluorides are evolved into the atmosphere in gaseous form, such as hydrogen fluoride and silicon tetrafluoride, which can destroy vegetation and affect other facilities in close proximity to the plant if they are not scrubbed out and such scrubbing systems are not always effective. A second portion of the fluorine is found in the gypsum dumps and is subject to leaching into groundwater and streams. Still another portion of the fluorine remains with the final products and when such products are used as when adding fertilizers to the soil, they change the soluble and insoluble fluoride levels. It is only in recent years that studies have been made on the effects of fluorides contained in the final product and indications seem clear that they may have a deleterious effect on the long range producing ability of the soil. See for example Kudzin et al, Chem. Ab., 73, 870534 (1970).
In these systems, any conventional wet process phosphoric acid technology accomplishes two primary objectives, namely: (1) phosphate rock acidulation, and (2) the growth of readily filterable calcium sulfate crystals either as the dihydrate (gypsum), or as the hemihydrate. Conventional phosphoric acid technology carries out both of these objectives essentially simultaneously which leads to a number of environmental and purification problems almost immediately. The presence of strong sulfuric acid in the acidulation phase releases fluorides as HF, SiF.sub.4, and/or H.sub.2 SiF.sub.6. This poses serious fluoride containment and subsequent recovery problems. Furthermore, unless excess sulfate levels are carefully and closely controlled, minute gypsum crystals can and will blind rock particles and usually result in poor P.sub.2 O.sub.5 recovery. The presence of free H.sub.2 SiF.sub.6 in the acid system leads to severe scaling and excessive maintenance costs even with improved design features to minimize this effect.
There is a great deal of literature and patent art related to attempts to remove the fluoride values from fluorine-containing phosphate rock in the operation of a phosphoric acid plant including methods for suppressing the evolution of fluoride values in the operation of a process and/or attempting to scrub the fluorine from effluent gases and waste water. Two such methods are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,954,275 and 2,976,141 to Carothers et al which use sodium or potassium compounds of suppress the fluorides so that they are concentrated in the gypsum cake. These patents indicate that this is achieved by adding a suppressing amount of an alkali metal salt to the acidulation reaction. However, these processes were conducted in the presence of sulfuric acid in the acidulation reactor and the process had incomplete control on fluoride decomposition and evolution during acidulation.
Other prior art patents have been noted which have also attempted to overcome the problem of fluorine evolution and the reduction of the amount of fluorine contained in final products. A reference of this type is British Pat. No. 735,086 (1955), which discloses the acidulation of phosphate rock by a two step procedure using a strong mineral acid such as nitric acid or hydrochloric acid. According to this patent, an initial low temperature acidulation at 20.degree.-50.degree. C. is carried out with the addition of an alkali, for example, ammonia or lime, as a precipitating agent in a quantity sufficient to precipitate substantially the whole of the fluorine and other impurities but insufficient to precipitate a substantial amount of calcium phosphates. After precipitation and optional removal of this precipitate, indicated as being calcium fluoride by the patentee, the mixture is heated to 75.degree. C. and the acidulation completed by adding a further quantity of alkaline precipitating agent. This patent, however, does not suggest that the use of the strong mineral acid in even the low temperature procedure is going to necessarily provide sufficient reaction to result in at least some fluorine evolution. Moreover, it is doubtful that the precipitate recovered will be in the form of a calcium fluoride. Therefore, while this patentee appreciated the concept of attempting to remove the fluorides prior to the completion of the acidulation reaction, it is clear from a reading of this patent that he did not accomplish the intended purpose.
In a similar process, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,431,096 to Hill et al a process is disclosed for reducing evolution of fluorine values in formation of triple superphosphate fertilizer by reaction of phosphate rock and phosphoric acid wherein ammonia or urea is added to suppress the fluorine evolution. However, in this patent, there is no provision for removal of the fluorine values from the product and therefore even if the fluorine evolution is prevented, the fluorine values will be retained in the resulting product and therefore distributed to the soil when it is used as a fertilizer.
In a series of patents issuing from the mid 1940's to early 1960's there are disclosed processes for the defluorination of phosphate rock and the production of defluorinated calcium phosphates. In these U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,337,498; 2,442,969; 2,893,834; and 2,997,367, the defluorination reaction is carried out by subjecting a mixture of phosphate rock, phosphoric acid and an alkali metal material to calcination, that is by reaction at temperatures as high as 1000.degree. to 2200.degree. C. Obviously, under these conditions the fluorine is going to be rapidly evolved or if not evolved certainly will remain in the final product, said to be an animal feed. Therefore, these patents did not provide a solution to the problem of fluorine evolution and of fluorine remaining in the final product.
Two additional patents of pertinence to processes of this type are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,567,227 and 2,728,635 to Miller which disclose the acidulation of phosphate rock with phosphoric acid to form monocalcium phosphate, cooling to solidify the monocalcium phosphate and then converting it to dicalcium phosphate by hydrolysis. In the earlier patent, it is indicated that the fluorine in the rock is vaporized in the system, circulates throughout the system and/or leaves the system with the calcium phosphate. The later patent indicates that the process of U.S. Pat. No. 2,567,227 provided a final calcium phosphate product having a fluorine content too high to be of animal feed grade. The solution to this problem in the later patent was the addition of some dilute sulfuric acid in the acidulation step which would of course lead to additional fluorine evolution during the first step.
There are also patents known in the art which indicate that it is known to acidulate phosphate rock with phosphoric acid and to then recover solid monocalcium phosphate by cooling of the resulting solution and recovering the monocalcium phosphate. Processes of this type are disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,494,735 and 3,645,676. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,619,136 and 3,792,151 to Case disclose the reaction of phosphate rock with recycle phosphoric acid at temperatures of about 125.degree.-180.degree. F. (52.degree. to 83.degree. C.) to form a solution of monocalcium phosphate, reacting the latter solution with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid and calcium sulfate, precipitating the calcium sulfate, and recycling a portion of the phosphoric acid to the phosphate rock reaction. These patents point out that under the conditions recited, fluorides are not evolved but remain primarily unreacted and may be found with insoluble materials although a portion remains in the phosphoric acid solution product. Thus the products are going to be contaminated with fluorides. It is also known to react phosphate rock or a solubilized form with sulfuric acid and KHSO.sub.4 in combination with other steps and this reaction is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,697,246 and 3,718,253. None of these patents disclose the unique combination of steps and advantages achieved by the process of this invention.
Other patents in the phosphoric acid and fluoride art suggest methods for use of scrubbing and recycling plants in an effort to contain or convert the fluorides evolved so that as much as possible of the fluorine can be recovered. Nevertheless, in all of these earlier approaches to the problem, provisions are never made for disposing of the approximately one-tenth or more of fluoride contained in the final product nor are there provisions made for converting the fluorides to useful products.
German Offenlegungschrift 2,257,948 discloses the reaction of K.sub.2 SiF.sub.6 with KOH and lime to ultimately form calcium fluoride. However, the K.sub.2 SiF.sub.6 is not obtained from the acidulation of phosphate rock.
It is to be appreciated therefore, that the process of the invention provides an improvement over the processes of the references discussed herein and all other references of which applicant is aware. The present invention provides a system which substantially eliminates the problem of the fluorine evolution in the acidulation of fluorine-containing phosphate rock with phosphoric acid, the recovery of useful products from the acidulation reaction and the recovery of the fluorine contained in the rock in a usable form. Therefore, the present invention provides a unique combination of steps and advantages not appreciated heretofore in the prior art as none of these prior references disclose the unique combination of steps and results of this invention.


The present invention relates to microwave radio frequency waveguide feed systems, and more particularly to a high-isolation, broadband, and polarization diverse circular waveguide feed for reception of Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) television and Internet satellite downlink services that operate worldwide.
The widespread demand for high-quality video, audio, and data communications via satellite has resulted in the need for additional bandwidth and better cross polarization rejection as well as reduced interference from noise or adjacent frequency operation. As a result, satellite broadcast systems are operating over broader and higher frequency ranges and implementing sophisticated methods to reduce interference and improve the intelligibility of communication signals that limit their operating capability. However, the radio frequency apparatus that operate at higher frequencies and with broader bandwidth require considerable design attention and often result in multiple and complicated waveguide feeds in order to account for electric and magnetic field behavior that exists inside the microwave waveguides that propagate their signals.
Also, in order to maintain reliable communication, transmit and receive systems must possess polarization compatibility, which is that property of a radiated wave of an antenna that describes the shape and orientation of the electric field vector as a function of time. Polarization compatibility further complicates the waveguide feed design because electromagnetic energy may be transmitted in arbitrary linear, right-hand circular, left-hand circular, or elliptical polarization.
It is well known in the art that square waveguides produce mode patterns that allow high efficiency injection or removal of energy for linear polarized electromagnetic waves using probe coupling, which results in orthogonal linear polarizations of high-isolation needed to reduce noise and unwanted adjacent frequency interference. Satellite systems, however, typically operate with circular polarization, which propagates well in circular waveguides, but generates undesirable cross polarization components and poor isolation when using orthogonal probe coupling methods in planar orientation. To minimize cross polarization components that result in a circular waveguide from the two orthogonal polarizations that comprise the circular polarized wave, elaborate conversion methods are employed to transform circular polarized electromagnetic waves. Polarity converters and filters are methods used to condition the circular polarized wave, but have the disadvantage of being difficult to design and possessing high cost and large size.
The present invention is a microwave feed assembly of simple, elegant, and scalable design that incorporates the desirable characteristics of broadband operation, polarization diversity, high-isolation between the orthogonal linear polarizations, low insertion losses, small size, and applicability to a broad family of antennas.
The present invention relates to a high-isolation, broadband, and polarization diverse circular waveguide feed for microwave frequency antennas. In one aspect of the invention, the waveguide feed supports transmission or reception of any arbitrary linear, right-hand circular, left-hand circular, or elliptical polarized microwave signal while achieving desirable performance over a wide range of frequencies with small size. In another aspect of the invention, the waveguide feed incorporates high cross-polarization rejection of unwanted TE11 Mode components when operating in arbitrary linear mode. In yet another aspect of the invention, the waveguide feed employs high probe-to-probe isolation for rejection of undesired cross-polarization when operating in circular or elliptical polarization mode. A waveguide feed assembly is disclosed, which comprises a combination of symmetrical shaped conical frustrum waveguide and circular waveguide segments together with a novel arrangement of orthogonal and nonplanar electric field probes and radio frequency impedance posts to achieve high-isolation, broad bandwidth, and polarization diversity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a microwave waveguide feed system that can transmit or receive arbitrary linear, right-hand circular, left-hand circular, or elliptically polarized electromagnetic waves.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a microwave waveguide feed system that will support operation over a broad range of frequencies.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a microwave waveguide feed system with cross polarization rejection greater than 20 dB.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a microwave waveguide feed system with probe-to-probe isolation greater than 30 dB when rejecting undesired linear cross polarization of the two orthogonal linear polarizations that comprise circular or elliptical polarized electromagnetic waves.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a waveguide assembly that is polarization diverse for operation with arbitrary linear, right-hand circular, left-hand circular, or elliptically polarized electromagnetic waves.
It is yet another feature of the present invention to provide a compact, reliable, and simple to manufacture waveguide assembly that uses common materials and is suitable for reflector type antennas used to meet minimal radome swept volume applications by reducing the axial length of the waveguide assembly.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a waveguide assembly that is low cost, rugged, and applicable to a broad family of microwave antennas.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a microwave waveguide feed that can operate as a stand-alone microwave antenna system.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a waveguide assembly that incorporates design characteristics that are scalable to any frequency of microwave operation.
These and other objects, features, and advantages are disclosed in the specification, figures, and claims of the present invention.


The present invention relates to a connector for insulation displacing termination of ribbon cable having conductors on close centerline spacing and particularly a cable with conductors on 25 mil center.
Connectors for insulation displacing termination of ribbon cable are well known. These generally employ a housing having a mating face, an opposed cable receiving face, and at least two rows of terminal receiving passages extending between said faces. A plurality of stamped and formed metal terminals are received in respective passages, each terminal having major rolled surfaces and sheared edge surfaces, each terminal having a mating portion toward said mating face and a slotted plate toward said cable receiving face.
The slotted plate behaves like two parallel beams. For a given force at a given point on a beam, the deflection is a function of the width, thickness, and properties of the material. As contacts become smaller, these dimensions must be balanced carefully to attain a desired force/deflection ratio. A 10% decrease in beam width can necessitate a 37% increase in material thickness to retain the same force/deflection ratio. Simply using a thicker or stronger material may lead to difficulties in stamping and forming a terminal of the desired configuration. Thus, as the centerline spacing of ribbon cable has decreased, connector design problems have arisen.
A Microminiature D Connector has recently been developed by ITT Cannon Electric for mass terminating ribbon cable with 30 gage wire conductors on 25 mil centers. See Cabourne, Michael K. "Mass Termination of 25 Mil Planar Cable with Micro D Connectors", a paper presented at the 17th Annual Connectors and Interconnection Technology Symposium in Anaheim, Calif. The disclosed connector has slotted plate terminals each with a conductor receiving portion extending above the cable receiving face and a base portion in a respective passage. The conductor receiving portion extends to a pair of insulation piercing points and mutually opposed outer sheared edge surfaces which extend from respective points as diverging straight lines toward the base portion. The base portion likewise has mutually opposed outer sheared edge surfaces which diverge as straight lines, which straight lines are colinear with the outer edge surfaces of the conductor receiving portion. This yields a tapered beam design which provides a normal contact force of about 21/2 pounds on a 30 gage stranded wire received in the conductor receiving portion. However, the outer sheared edge surfaces at the level of wire termination are considerably wider than the centerline spacing of the cable, with result that insulation of neighboring adjacent wires is displaced. Thus, while desired contact force is achieved, the possibility of short circuiting between conductors is introduced.


Medical electronic apparatus has been employed for many years for many types of diagnosis and treatment. One field in which there has been considerable growth recently is electrosurgery, in which a suitable generator provides a high frequency, high voltage current which is transmitted to a small surgical electrode having a thin knife-like tip to be applied to a patient. The patient sits or lies on a patient plate and is grounded thereto, with the plate being connected by a further conductor back to the generator. The relatively extremely small area of contact by the electrode with the patient provides an intense current in a highly localized area, producing a cutting action. The current passes through the patient's body to the patient plate where the area of contact is so great that no burning effect occurs.
For cutting purposes, the generator is activated to produce a continuous sine wave signal. However, the same instrument may be used to apply to the wound after cutting in order to produce coagulation. For this purpose the generator may be selectively activated to produce a pulsing signal which produces the desired results. Switching means are available for the operator to selectively control an activating means for causing the generator to produce the desired type of current.
In the operating room, a surgeon would like to use the electrosurgical device in a fashion similar to that in which he uses a standard sharp scalpel. The surgeon typically grips the scalpel like a pencil with index finger guiding and hear the cutting tip for precise control. Currently available electrosurgical hand instruments, called "pencils", are not readily gripped this way, because the mode switches are positioned far from the cutting tip, toward the rear of the instrument. This requires the surgeon to grip the pencil far back on the handle in order to have the index finger positioned to activate the mode buttons, resulting in awkward feel and loss of precise control. An additional disadvantage of electrosurgical pencils is the possibility of inadvertent activations of the mode switches by pressures being applied to the unit. If this occurs when the tip is in contact with the patient or with conductive items, a serious burn can result. Another drawback to the use of electrosurgical pencils has been that many surgeons still desire to use a sharp scalpel for incision-making, with coagulation being achieved by the electrosurgical pencil. This requires the surgeon to continually switch from one instrument to the other.
Electrosurgical pencils with a rocker switch for selection of mode of operation are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,800 to Degler, Jr., et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,001 to Anderson, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,443,935 to Zamba, et al, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,801,766 to Morrison, Jr. As is typical among such devices, the pencil in each is connected to an electrosurgical generating apparatus by a cable comprising three conductors: a first signal line, a second signal line, and a common line which serves not only to return the selected control signal to the generator, but also to deliver current to the scalpel electrode. Thus, all three conductors are maintained at high voltage, with the control signal conductors differing in voltage slightly from the common conductor so that a relatively small current will serve to select the mode of operation desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,720,896 to Beierlein discloses a magnetic slide switch with three positions, and appears to provide electrical isolation when in the center position. U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,759 to Garito, et al. also provides electrical isolation.


Internet electronic mail (hereinafter “email”) is growing at a phenomenal rate. Users often have multiple email accounts with multiple post offices and must log into each account to obtain or check email messages residing at each email service provider. Email clients generally handle this task for users. The process of logging into multiple email servers is generally performed as a background task as long as the user's computer is connected to the Internet. However, a user is generally not notified that new email messages exist unless the user is connected to the Internet. Therefore, the user must frequently connect to the Internet in order to receive new email in a timely manner. The task of checking for new email is generally left up to the client email software.
Subscribers and users of wireless networks have an even greater challenge. Setting up the equipment to make a connection is time consuming and, therefore, users generally wait until they have email to send before checking for new email. Once connected to the Internet, the client email software checks for any new email.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a system and method for determining when new email is sent to a subscriber, and for sending an email notification to the subscriber alerting the subscriber of the new email. Furthermore, there is a need in the art for sending a wireless email notification to the subscriber and thus providing the subscriber with quicker and timelier access to email. There is a further need in the art to provide wireless email notification to a subscriber and sending that notification to a device that the subscriber uses to connect to the Internet or an internal network and set up that device to automatically make a connection back to the email server.


The present invention relates in general to telecommunication networks, and is particularly directed to a multi-mode backplane architecture, that is configured to support both multiplexed communication circuits and non-multiplexed (loop repeater) circuits in the same equipment shelf, and thereby provide either or both types of telecommunication connectivity between the network and subscriber circuits served by the network.
Prior to the advent of multiplexedxe2x80x94digital communications, telephony service providers provided telecommunication connectivity to their subscribers by way of dedicated, point-to-point analog copper wire loops, extending from line cards installed in an equipment bank of a service, facility, such as a central office to telephone equipment installed at a customer site. With continuing improvements in digital communication equipment and transport protocols, these conventional point-to-point loops have been augmented by time division multiplexed (TDM) digital circuits, that are capable of transporting a wide variety of communication signals (audio/voice, video and data) to multiple customer premise equipments.
Because multiplexed digital circuits require a backplane architecture different than that employed for legacy loop circuit line card equipment racks, telecommunication service providers currently employ two respectively different types of line card equipment shelvesxe2x80x94one for legacy loop circuits; the other for multiplexed circuits. Now even though it is anticipated that the number of multiplexed equipment installations will continue to grow, and may eventually become the predominant mode of network communication circuit, it is still necessary that each telecommunication equipment installation have the capability of providing service for both types of circuits. This means that each line circuit installation facility must be equipped with both multiplexed and loop repeater mode backplane shelves, irrespective of the degree to which each is populated, which increases both the complexity and cost of the installation.
In accordance with the present invention, the above problem is effectively obviated by a new and improved multi-mode backplane architecture, that is configured to simultaneously support and provide telecommunication connectivity for both multiplexed communication circuits and non-multiplexed (loop repeater) circuits in the same equipment shelf, so that both signalling modes are available in the same equipment shelf between the network and subscriber circuits connected to the backplane. For this purpose, the backplane architecture of the present invention comprises a set of redundant (for improved reliability) network interface multiplexers, each of which provides both time division multiplexing and point-to-point multiplexing connectivity between the network and line access modules to which subscriber circuits served by the network are selectively ported.
On the network side, each redundant network interface multiplexer is ported to a pair of high speed multiplexed network communication links that transport standard high speed multiplexed digital telecommunication signals, such as but not limited to DSX, STS-1, OC-X signals. On the line circuit side, each network interface multiplexer is coupled to a time division multiplexed communication bus, along which a plurality of line access module card slots are distributed, and to a plurality of point-to-point communication links, that are ported to respective ones of the line access module card slots.
Each network interface multiplexer contains a data buffer that is ported between each of the pair of high speed multiplexed network communication links and a signal path routing control processor. The routing control processor is coupled to a data matrix, that is ported to respective ones of the line access modules, and a time division multiplexed port, that is coupled to the time division multiplexed communication bus. The signal path routing control processor and the data matrix are controlled by a multiplexer control digital signal processor. Once provisioned by the system controller unit, the multiplexer control processor is operative to control the execution of the intended multiplexed telecommunication signalling functionality between the high speed multiplexed network communication links and the line access modules.
Each access module card slot is configured to receive a line circuit access module that is programmably configurable to provide a selected mode (multiplexed mode or loop repeater mode) of telecommunication connectivity between the network and a subscriber circuit served by the network. For external loop mode connectivity, a plurality of point-to-point communication links are respectively ported between external loop ports of the access module card slots and associated loop ports of a plurality of non-multiplexed interface connectors. Each non-multiplexed interface connector is configured for connection to non-multiplexed communication links of the network and non-multiplexed communication links (e.g., two-wire loops) of subscriber circuits served by the network.
A system controller unit, such as a desktop computer terminal, is coupled to each of the redundant network multiplexers and the line circuit access modules for allowing network service personnel to program backplane connectivity configuration parameters into the redundant network multiplexers and the line circuit access modules, and thereby enable any line access module to provide either multiplexed or loop repeater mode telecommunication connectivity between the network and subscriber circuit to which that line access module is ported.
In order to provide a selected mode of telecommunication connectivity, such as but not limited to ISDN, HDSL, ADSL, T1 office repeater, fractional T1, optical DS2, DSX-1, DDS, DAML, DAML POTS, etc., between the network and a subscriber circuit served by the network, a respective line circuit signal access module contains a processor controlled input/output multiplexer arrangement, that is buffered between each network interface multiplexer and respective sets of non-multiplexed communication links that are ported to the non-multiplexed interface connectors.
For this purpose, a multiplexed signal input buffer has a set of inputs ported to the TDM bus and point-to-point links from the network interface multiplexers, and a set of outputs ported to multiplexed inputs of an input multiplexer portion of the input/output multiplexer arrangement. On the non-multiplexed signalling side, a non-multiplexed signal input buffer has a set of non-multiplexed signal-associated inputs ported to point-to-point loops of the non-multiplexed interface connectors. On its output side, the non-multiplexed signal input buffer has a set of outputs ported to associated input ports of the input multiplexer portion of the input/output multiplexer arrangement. The input multiplexer has a plurality of outputs associated with respective ones of its multiplexed and non-multiplexed inputs coupled to corresponding inputs of a protocol conversion, network/subscriber circuit connectivity-defining, signal processing circuit.
The signal processing circuit is preferably implemented as a digital signal processor that is programmably configurable by the system controller unit to execute protocol conversion functionality for effecting one of loop repeater and time division multiplex connectivity between selected ones of its input and output ports, so as to provide a selected mode and type of telecommunication connectivity, such as those referenced above. The signal processing circuit has a plurality of output ports coupled to corresponding inputs of an output multiplexer portion of the input/output multiplexer.
On the multiplexed signal side, the line access module""s output multiplexer has TDM output bus ports respectively coupled to TDM bus ports, and point-to-point output bus ports respectively coupled to associated inputs of the multiplexed signal input buffer. Likewise, on the non-multiplexed signal side, the output multiplexer has a set of non-multiplexed output ports coupled to respective non-multiplexed signal-associated input ports of the non-multiplexed signal input buffer. The mode of connectivity through and operation of the line access module""s input/output multiplexer arrangement and its protocol conversion, network/subscriber circuit connectivity-defining, signal processing circuit is controlled by an access module control processor that is coupled to the backplane""s system controller unit. Since each line access module is selectively connectable to and individually programmable for providing connectivity and protocol conversion for either multiplexed or loop mode signalling paths of both network and subscriber connections, the backplane enjoys complete flexibility in terms of types of circuit and mode of operation that may be emulated by each line access module.


Cellular communications systems continue to grow in popularity and have become an integral part of both personal and business communications. Cellular phones allow users to place and receive voice calls most anywhere they travel. Cellular phones and other handheld wireless communication devices typically include a radio, e.g. having a wireless transceiver and associated circuitry connected thereto, and an antenna connected to the radio.
Antenna noise temperature has been discussed in many books and papers, such as John D. Kraus and Ronald J. Marhefka, “Antennas: For all Applications”, McGraw Hill, 2002, ch. 12; Constantine A. Balanis, “Antenna Theory: Analysis and Design” John Wiley & Sons Inc. 1997, ch. 2; David M. Pozar, “Microwave Engineering”, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1993, ch. 12; J. Dijk, MJeuken and E. J. Maanders, “Antenna noise temperature”, Proc. IEEE, Vol. 115, No. 10, October 1968, pp 1403-1409; and Warren L. Flock and Ernest K. Smith, “Natural Radio Noise—a Mini-Review”, IEEE Trans. on AP Vol. Ap-32, No. 7, July 1984 pp 762-767.
The definitions for antenna noise temperature are mainly given based on remote sensing and satellite receiving applications, where antennas are generally physically away or well shielded from radio receivers and high gain antennas are used to capture weak signals. In this case the total noise at the terminal of the receiver antenna is mainly contributed from thermal noise and background noise. In contrast, a wireless handheld antenna is physically very close to its receiver so that the printed circuit board and accessories operate as a part of the antenna. This makes the noise contributions to the handheld wireless device antenna different from the noise contributions to antennas for remote sensing and satellite receiving applications.
This difference makes the standard antenna temperature definition inadequate for explaining the receiver behavior of handheld wireless devices in a noisy environment. A wireless handheld device generally operates in an ever changing noise environment, and the handheld antenna radiation pattern is generally a broad beam antenna pattern. Furthermore, human physical interface and device usage scenarios change constantly in the practical application. For these reasons, antenna noise temperature is constantly changing in the practical sense.


The invention relates to a shooting head for a core shooter for shooting foundry cores or molds, the shooting head having an opening at its inlet end for selective connection to a filling device immersing with a discharge end or outlet member into the shooting head and predetermining the filling level, or to a clamping head serving to sealingly apply compressed air, and a shooting plate arranged at its outlet end and comprising shooting nozzles.
Core shooters with shooting heads of the kind under discussion have been known from practice for a long time. For example, reference may be made to DE 41 28 952 C1.
However, within the scope of an automatic production of core packs, the known shooting heads of the described kind are problematic. Depending on the core being shot, differences in shooting weights from 60 kg to 1 kg occur, the shooting heads being normally capable of receiving core sand in a quantity of at most 70 kg. Regardless of the size of the core being shot, the outside dimensions of the shooting heads are however predetermined, in particular in the automatic production of core packs. This means that the shooting heads in the core shooter must be exchangeable regardless of the cores being shot. Consequently, in the case of shooting very small cores, there is a large supply of sand and binding agents in the interior of the shooting head, the small shooting weight causing only a small throughput of core sand and binding agents. In the presence of large supplies of sand in the shooting head, and in particular as a result of the temperature inside the shooting head, which is about 35.degree. C., this small throughput leads to an ageing of the binding agent that is mixed with the core sand, so that cores shot with a very small throughput of sand often lack adequate strength.
Furthermore, it is necessary that the compressed air required for the shooting penetrate through the entire sand supply within the shooting head, so that a rather considerable compression occurs already in the shooting head, which complicates the shooting of the cores, or makes it even impossible when lumps form in the region upstream of the nozzles.
It has already been proposed in DE 41 28 952 C1 to alleviate the problem of penetrating the sand supply with compressed air inside the shooting head to the extent that a filling device or an outlet member thereof immersing into the shooting head fills the shooting head to a certain, predetermined filling level, thereby filling the shooting head only in part. Furthermore, the filled-in molding sand is flattened more or less by a closing flap of the outlet member, so that the core sand being within the shooting head is quasi evenly distributed. Nonetheless, also in this instance it is necessary to fill in a considerable quantity of core sand, even for shooting very small cores, since the filling with only a small amount of core sand would not supply all shooting nozzles with an adequate amount of sand. A complete filling of the shooting head still leaves, even after a flattening, the aforesaid ageing problem on the one hand and, on the other, the problem of penetrating the total supply of core sand in the shooting head with compressed air, so that the risk of unwanted preliminary compressions within the shooting head is incurred likewise in this instance.
In its not-yet published German Application P 42 08 647.7-24, applicant has already proposed itself a further solution to the problem with respect to the risk of a preliminary compression occurring inside the shooting head. To avoid an unwanted preliminary compression within the shooting head, a device is provided for generating a turbulence or for an even distribution of the compressed air flowing from the air supply into the shooting head, the device being a so-called streamline filter with slot-shaped passages. However, the ageing problem is thereby not solved.
Even a synopsis of the prior art known, on the one hand, from DE 41 28 952 C1 and relating to a filling device, and the turbulence of the compressed air required for the shooting by means of a streamline filter as claimed on the other hand in German Application P 42 08 647.7-24, will be able to alleviate at most, but will not solve the problem that arises in particular with the shooting of very small cores both with respect to the ageing of the binding agent within the shooting head and with respect to an unwanted preliminary compression within the shooting head.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to describe a shooting head for a core shooter for shooting foundry cores or molds, which is also suitable in particular for shooting very small cores.


Switching structures or switching networks operating according to an asynchronous transfer mode are provided for future communication systems, particularly broadband networks. In this asynchronous transfer mode, packets having a fixed length, these being referred to as cells in the technical field, are transmitted in uninterrupted fashion on every transmission section. These cells are composed of 48 octets for the useful information and of 5 octets of cell routing information for the cell header. When no useful information is to be transmitted at the moment, specifically marked idle signals are transmitted.
A switching network operating according to the asynchronous transfer mode is structured into one or more switching stages, similar to the switching network of traditional digital communication systems, whereby the individual switching stages are meshed with one another such that a largely blocking-free switching structure arises. The input and output lines of such a switching structure are identified from the cell routing information recited in the cell header of the cell, i.e. from virtual routing information and virtual channel information. These switching-oriented information are derived from the multi-addressing and destination information signalized by the subscribers of a communication system, i.e. telephone numbers of the destination subscribers.
It is known from the publication "ATM-Technologie fuer zukuenftige Breit-bandnetze" of Siemens AG, page 17, right-hand column, to additionally identify routing information for the switching of a cell through a switching structure from the cell routing information recited in the cell header of the cell and to attach this to the cell. With the assistance of these internal routing information, the respective cell seeks the defined path through an n-stage switching structure under self-control, i.e. without the cooperation of a central communication system controller. As used herein the term "self-control" refers to the self-routing of cells. The additional, internal routing information are inserted into an internal cell header of the communication system and are set in front of the respective cell. After the self-switching of the cell through the switching structure, the internal cell header of the communication system is again removed.
The data scope of the cell routing information or of the internal cell header of the communication system is essentially defined by the plurality of switching stages, whereby one information string, for example, one byte is usually provided for a switching stage, these being compiled to form a block. Internal cell headers of the communication system are being defined to an increasing degree that have a prescribed plurality of information strings matched to the maximum plurality of switching stages, for example 5 bit octets or bytes for 5 switching stages.
In the case of multi-address transmission of cells to a plurality of output lines of the switching structure, the self-control principle of the cells can no longer be maintained without further measures given internal cell headers of the communication system structured in this way.


In commercial kitchens, the steam and vapor carrying latent heat, and the sensible heat produced within the kitchen must be carried off by appropriate ventilating means to maintain reasonable temperature and humidity conditions within the kitchen so that these conditions are tolerable by the kitchen personnel and do not affect adversely the cooking process.
In other words, the ventilation must be so dimensioned that predetermined temperature and moisture levels in the kitchen are not exceeded.
This requires generally a certain air replacement rate with which fresh outside air is supplied to the kitchen and kitchen air with the sensible heat and steam and vapor with the latent heat are withdrawn.
During periods in which the facility must be heated, generally in the winter, the supplied air must be heated to prevent the kitchen personnel from being chilled and to prevent detrimental temperature drops which might interfere with the cooking process. Furthermore, because relatively large amounts of air must be circulated, the heating may be relatively costly with respect to the energy which must be supplied to the air.
In determining the amount of air which must be circulated, therefore, one must consider on the one hand the cooking units which are in operation in the kitchen and may contribute comparatively large amounts of water vapor and hence latent heat, namely, boiling equipment, frying and water baths and steam tables which are commonly present in such kitchens. It is also necessary to consider cooking devices which contribute primarily radiant heat and/or convection heat to the atmosphere in the kitchen, i.e. sensible heat. These can include grills, ovens, tilting pans and the like. The type of heat which makes the most significant contributions to the air circulation, therefore, will depend on the facilities in the kitchen.
To minimize the amount of heat energy which must be supplied for the heating of the cold supplied fresh air, two basically different approaches are employed. In one approach heat is removed from the discharged air and used to preheat the incoming air by heat exchangers. A drawback of this system is that the discharged air normally contains residual grease which can condense in the heat exchangers and requires maintenance thereof at high cost. The other approach utilizes a so-called short circuit or induction hood in which a part of the supplied air is blown via a nozzle directly into the vapor collection space and thus is immediately drawn out in a short circuiting of the fresh air supply. In winter in which less sensible heat must be extracted, this short circuiting allows less flow from the kitchen of already heated air while nevertheless supplying a sufficient velocity with the aid of the unheated external air to permit the grease filter in the hood to remain effective and maintain the high degree of grease removal which is necessary. It should be understood, in this regard that the grease filter generally operates as an impingement or baffle filter in which the relatively high velocity is necessary for a high degree of grease separation.
The drawback of this approach, however, is that the introduction of unheated outside air into the kitchen and hood requires expensive and careful control of the air intake because any of this air which is not immediately discharged will alter the climate within the kitchen.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for sensing a human body that is available, for instance, in an automatic door or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In an automatic door, approach of a human body to the door is sensed, and in response to the sensing of a human body a door opening/closing signal is generated to actuate the door to open and close, and to that end, as a method and an apparatus for sensing a human body, various kinds of methods and apparatus have been known in the prior art.
For example, a method and an apparatus for sensing a human body, in which a projector for projecting infra-red rays and a photo-sensor adapted to receive infra-red rays reflected by a floor surface and a human body are provided and the photosensor generates a sense signal when it senses variation of the amount of reflection of infra-red rays, have been known.
However, these heretofore known methods and apparatus had the following shortcomings:
(1) If rays of sunlight should momentarily enter the photo-sensor as reflected by any moving body, then a sense signal would be incorrectly generated, and hence sometimes, a door may malfunction. PA1 (2) If the infra-red rays projected from the projector should momentarily enter the photo-sensor as reflected by falling snow, then a sense signal would be incorrectly generated, and hence sometimes, a door may malfunction. PA1 (3) Under the condition where a human body stands still, it cannot be sensed.
More particularly, since the amount of reflection from a floor surface of the irradiated infra-red rays would change according to variation in time of a radiation efficiency of the projector and according to variation of the floor surface condition, in the event that a level of the amount of reflection of the infra-red rays is simply used for determination of sensing of a human body, minute variation in time of the level itself of the amount of reflection would be caused by the above-mentioned variation of the amount of reflection, hence it is necessary to inhibit sensing of that variation, consequently a level difference of a minute amount of reflection becomes hard to be senced, and so a sensing distance cannot be chosen long.
In order to resolve this problem, a method in which the amount of variation of the reflection amount is sensed rather than the reflection amount itself and a sense signal is provided depending upon the amount of variation, that is, a method of differential operation type, may be employed, but if such type of method is employed, in the case where a human body stands still, the human body cannot be sensed because the reflection amount does not vary.


As illustrated in FIG. 1, SRAMs (static random access memories) are characterized by having gate patterns 15 aligned, in a broken-line manner, perpendicularly to active regions 18. According to the example of FIG. 1, the SRAM has point-symmetric cell structures, and two transfer transistors and two CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductors) inverters are provided in each cell 100 symmetrically around a point.
In reducing the size of a SRAM, it becomes a key issue of how much a protruding amount B of each gate pattern 15 from the active region 18 can be reduced, as illustrated in the dashed-line box A. Next is described a current problem with a focus on, for example, driver transistors of the SRAM of FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the region A of FIG. 1, and illustrates the setback position of a gate end portion created in a gate etching process. In general, end portions of gates 25 formed by the gate etching process are located in setback positions in resist patterns (gate patterns) 15. Therefore, the gate protruding amount B needs to be sufficiently provided in advance when the resist patterns are formed, in view of the setback amount of the gate etching. This, in turn, requires providing sufficient spacing “d” between the active regions 18 in view of the setback amount of the gate etching, which prevents a reduction in the size of the SRAM device.
FIG. 3 illustrates a setback of the gate end portion after the gate etching and device failure. In the case where the gate protruding amount B (see FIG. 1) is sufficiently provided, the source and the drain are separated by the gate, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, and therefore, a favorable transistor may be formed. However, if the gate protruding amount is insufficient, the gate end is positioned posteriorly by exposure of polysilicon during the patterning process and the gate etching. As a result, as illustrated in FIGS. 3B and 3C, the gate end portion does not sufficiently overlap the active region (the source and drain). In particular, in the case of FIG. 3C, the source and the drain are not separated by the gate, causing a short circuit, and thus, the device is completely defective. In the case of FIG. 3B, although the source and the drain are separated by the gate and the sidewall, the gate length is different from that of the favorable device (FIG. 3A). Accordingly, there are differences in the device properties, and therefore, the device of FIG. 3B is also determined as defective.
The above description is given with an example of a driver transistor near a cell boundary; however, the same problem may occur for the protruding amounts of the transfer gates within the cells of FIG. 1.
Gate double patterning has recently attracted attention as a technology for preventing setbacks of gate etching end portions and decreasing cell sizes of SRAMs by reducing the space “d” between the active regions 18 of FIG. 2 (For example, see M. Kanda, et al, “Highly Stable 65 nm Node (CMOS5) 0.56 μm2 SRAM Cell Design for Very Low Operation Voltage”, 2003 Symposium on VLSI Technology Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 13-14). According to the technology, a single long gate pattern connecting adjacent gates is created first, and then etching is performed using a gate-separating mask 20 having an aperture 21 so as to form separated gates, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A through 4C. The technology does not cause setbacks of the gate end portions, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the space “d” between the active regions 18 of FIG. 2.
However, the inventors of the present disclosure have found a problem associated with the gate double patterning of FIGS. 4A through 4C. If the gate 25 is cut at a position very close to the active region (the source and drain region) due to displacement of the gate-separating mask 20 during the exposure process, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, and a device is then created according to general procedures, changes occur in the current characteristics of the gate end portion.
For example, four-way angled implantation is performed in order to form a pocket 26, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, then a sidewall (SW) 27 is formed by extension implantation, and a source-drain region 28 is formed, as illustrated in FIG. 5C. In this case, ion implantation characteristics are different between a region adjacent to the edge along the gate end portion and the remaining region. Therefore, variation is caused in the current characteristics (the arrow b) close to the edge of the gate and the current characteristics (the arrow a) of the inside the gate.
Devices produced in this manner cause property fluctuations, which become a factor of being defective. In order to prevent such property fluctuations, it is necessary to provide a sufficient amount of spacing “d” between the active regions 18 of FIG. 2 in view of a margin of exposure displacement of the gate-separating mask and an implantation margin even in the case of performing the gate double patterning.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of controlled flow, exhaust manifold systems and, more particularly, to apparatus for controlling the flow of exhaust gases between a plurality of rocket stations and a common exhaust gas manifold or plenum tube connected thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In many military applications, numbers of rockets are stored or disposed in closely adjacent magazine chambers, launch tubes, or the like, hereinafter referred to collectively as chambers. Exhaust gas outlets are normally provided, even from magazine storage chambers, to duct rocket exhaust gases generated during intended or accidental rocket ignitions to a safe location. Where available space is at a premium, for example on ships, manifolding of a number of chambers into a common exhaust duct or plenum tube is often necessary.
Obvious problems exist if ducts connecting the chambers to the common exhaust manifold are always or normally open. When one (or more) of the rockets is intentionally or accidentally ignited, at least portions of the resulting exhaust gases, which may be at about 6000.degree. F., will be circulated through the common manifold and into other chambers through the open connecting ducts. Rockets and rocket warheads in these other chambers are very likely to be ignited or be detonated by these hot exhaust gases. If these other rocket chambers are open at upper ends, as are launch tubes and some storage compartments, exhaust gases entering the chambers through the connecting ducts escape through the open ends and may cause extensive heat damage to adjacent installations.
To prevent such occurrences, some type of safety door or gas valve is normally installed either at the outlet opening of each rocket chamber or in the connecting duct to the exhaust manifold. When a rocket is accidentally or intentionally ignited, the associated safety door or gas valve is caused to open--usually by the exhaust blast--to admit the exhaust gases into the manifold. The doors or valves associated with other chambers are maintained in a closed condition to prevent circulation of the exhaust gases thereinto.
The patent disclosures, for example, of Eastman and Neuman et al. (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,445,423 and 3,228,286, respectively) illustrate use of such doors or valves. Previously available or disclosed apparatus, however, have substantial disadvantages. For example, the patent of Neuman et al discloses at the bottom of each compartment of a multiple rocket storage magazine, a non-hinged, "blow out" door. These doors lead through conducting ducts to a common exhaust manifold. If any of the rockets in the magazine are accidentally ignited (for example by enemy fire), the force exerted by the resulting rocket exhaust gas on the upper surface of an associated door blasts the door out of its opening and admits the gases into the manifold. An associated fire extinguishing system is designed to direct pressurized water through the resulting opening and extinguish the rocket. A major disadvantage, however, is that no means are provided for automatically reclosing the door after the rocket has been extinguished. Unless the blow-out door is manually replaced--for which little provision seems to have been made--hot exhaust gases from subsequent accidental ignition of another rocket would enter the compartment and could cause reignition of the rocket or explosion of its warhead before such next-firing rocket is extinguished. In addition, if the compartments are not sealed in upper regions--which they do not seem to be--hot exhaust gases from the next firing rocket would be conducted through any compartments containing previously ignited rockets and directly to the rocket launching platform positioned just above the magazine.
Another very substantial problem associated with the apparatus disclosed by Neuman et al, and other similar apparatus, is that little consideration appears to have been given to preventing recirculation of exhaust gases back into and through a chamber while a rocket is firing in that chamber. Whatever type of exhaust flow control door or valve is used, it must be suitably configured to prevent exhaust gases emitted therethrough and into the exhaust manifold from flowing around the exhaust stream and back into the rocket compartment. If this occurs, the gases may cause structural damage to portions of the rocket, ignition of other propellants (if the rocket has other stages) or detonation of the rocket warhead. Ignition of these other propellants or detonation of the warhead could ignite or detonate adjacent rockets and warheads, thereby initiating a disastrous chain reaction.
Merely to provide properly opening and closing rocket exhaust gas flow control doors is, therefore, insufficient; the doors must be configured so that at all exhaust flow conditions they will open only that amount which will cause the rocket exhaust stream to function as a complete "gas plug" in the opening to prevent recirculation of exhaust gases back into the chamber.
The patent of Eastman discloses apparatus adapted for storing a number of rockets, wherein exhaust nozzles of the rockets are seated in sealing relationship upon short ducts or nozzle extensions leading to a common exhaust manifold. Toggle clamps are used to hold the noses of the rockets in the storage apparatus and no actual storage compartments are formed. Each nozzle extension has, at its lower end, a pair of hinged doors, spring biased to a normally closed condition. Exhaust gas pressure from an accidentally ignited rocket forces the associated nozzle extension doors to swing open against the springs, thereby admitting the gases to the manifold, from which they are discharged at a remote location. The resulting gas pressure in the manifold acts upon under sides of other closed doors to force them tightly closed and prevent circulation of hot exhaust gases into the other nozzle extensions.
However, the door hinges and biasing springs are positioned directly in the path of hot exhaust gas flow from an above firing rocket and will receive maximum heating and erosion therefrom. As a result of heat and erosion damage, the doors immediately below a firing rocket, even if not burned completely loose, as is likely, would probably fail to return to the closed condition after the firing. Also, very possibly, heat from hot exhaust gases flowing through the manifold would damage the biasing springs of other doors. Even if these doors were kept closed by pressure in the manifold during that particular firing, they might subsequently sag open. Then, upon a next accidental rocket firing, the flow of gases through the manifold could force the sagging doors open, rather than closed, allowing circulation of the hot gases into above nozzle extensions with consequent ignition of the associated rockets.
Even though spring-loaded flow control doors might be satisfactory for use associated with storage of small rockets, wherein firing is unlikely and when it occurs the firing time is short, such doors would be entirely unsatisfactory in applications in which they would be subjected to repeated or sustained rocket exhaust gas flows. They would thus be unsatisfactory for use associated with storing or launching large rockets or with launch tubes from which a large number of even small rockets would be fired.
For these and other reasons, improvements in controlling flow of rocket exhaust gases associated with a plurality of rocket stations and a common exhaust gas manifold are not only desirable, but necessary.


The semiconductor devices that utilize the effect of carrier recombination to produce the electromagnetic radiation are widely used in electronics and optoelectronics. Typically, to achieve efficient carrier recombination, the portions of semiconductor materials are brought in contact that provide two different general conductivity types, known as electron and hole conductivity types. Due to the mutual carrier penetration through the said contact caused by diffusion and/or drift in the externally applied electric field, the two types of carriers are simultaneously present in the region of the semiconductor device adjacent to the said contact, also referred to as active region, where they can recombine with each other under the emission of energy, in a form of either electromagnetic radiation (photon) or elastic crystalline lattice vibration (phonon). For a large class of devices, the said photon generation is the useful output.
In most of the cases, the photons are produced most effectively if the electron and hole interact and recombine as “free” carriers, resulting in so-called band-to-band recombination. This recombination leads to the generation of a photon with energy of (slightly higher than) the electronic bandgap of the portion of semiconductor comprising the said active region of the semiconductor device. This photon can be effectively absorbed by the semiconductor material having the same or lower bandgap as/than the said active region of the device. To prevent this absorption, efficient photon generating semiconductor devices are usually designed in such a way that the active region comprises the semiconductor material of the lowest bandgap all over the said device. The semiconductor device comprising the regions of different semiconductor materials is usually referred to as a heterostructure. Thus, effective photon generation device is usually a heterostructure device.
Exactly one electron and one hole contribute to a single act of recombination with generation of a photon. The probability of the recombination is proportional to both electron and hole concentrations at a given position within the active region of the semiconductor device. The steady-state concentration of the carriers during the device operation is achieved by detailed equilibrium of the electron and hole concentrations vanishing due to recombination and the electron and hole electric currents into and from the said active region.
The narrower bandgap semiconductor material usually has both conduction band and valence band within the energy range of the bandgap of the surrounding higher bandgap semiconductor material. Thus, the active region of a properly designed photon generating semiconductor device normally comprises one or several potential wells for both types of carriers. This helps maintain the carrier confinement within the said active region, increasing the photon generation efficiency of the device. However, the ability of the narrow band gap material comprising the active region to confine the carriers becomes weak with increasing carrier concentrations. This happens mainly because higher electric currents are needed to produce higher steady state carrier concentrations; these higher currents require higher electric fields in and near the active regions; carriers receive extra energy from the higher electric fields and obtain higher probability to drift into higher bandgap regions, thus leaving or passing through the active region. Typically, due to lower effective mass, the electrons gain more energy from the electric fields and are more likely to leave the active region. Due to current continuity, the number of the electrons and holes entering the active region in unit time is equal; as a result of the electrons having higher probability to escape, the symmetry of carrier concentration in the active region vanishes, and the efficiency of photon generation degrades. In addition, at high injection levels, the effect of a limited rate of radiative recombination through any centers involved in the desired radiative recombination may become relevant. This for example includes the considerations of a dipole matrix element reduced by the presence of an electric field within the quantum wells. It also may include the finite rate of excess carrier relaxation and thermalization processes required for carriers to reach the centers of desired radiative recombination.
In order to prevent the carrier escape from the active region, additional barrier regions are sometimes introduced adjacent to the said active region. Those barrier regions are usually designed to block the electron escape more effectively and, therefore, are usually positioned within the portion of the said semiconductor device having hole conductivity type. The pay-off of the barrier regions introduction is usually the degradation of the hole injection into the active region and increase in the electric potential drop across the device necessary to achieve the desired level of photon generation. In addition, as a result of the hole injection degradation, the active region becomes flooded with the electrons and, therefore, is turned into the electron (n-) conductivity type, at least for the conditions corresponding to the photon generation.
In spite of the barrier regions introduction, the carriers' leakage out of the active region still becomes severe at high carrier concentrations in the said active region. It happens mainly because the external electric potential applied to the device drops mostly across the less conductive regions of the device, which are in the case described above the barrier regions. At high enough applied electric potentials, the barriers become punched through for the electrons escape. This limits the efficiency of the photon generation by the semiconductor device at high currents and even leads to the saturation of the total number of photons that the said device is able to produce.
The present invention solves the problems of the electrons leakage from the active region of the photon generating semiconductor device and of balancing the electron and hole concentrations in the active region(s) of the said device by taking independent control of the electric potential applied between the active region of the device and the regions of the said device of different conductivity types.