1. A phase shift apparatus, comprising:
a movable base continuously positionable between at least a base first position and a base second position;
a first idler, the first idler defines a first idler axis of rotation, the first idler disposed about the movable base and adapted to engage a first timing belt segment of a timing belt;
a second idler, the second idler defines a second idler axis of rotation, the second idler disposed about the movable base a fixed idler center-to-center distance from the first idler, the second idler adapted to engage a second timing belt segment of the timing belt; and
a path fixed in space and traversed by the first idler axis of rotation and the second idler axis of rotation as the movable base is positioned between at least the base first position and the base second position, the path configured such that a first segment length of the first timing belt segment changes in correspondence to changes in a second segment length of the second timing belt segment to maintain a constant timing belt length.
2. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 1, further comprising: the movable base slidably engagable with a slot disposed about an internal combustion engine to slide between the base first position and the base second position.
3. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 1, further comprising: a movable base shaft, the movable base shaft adapted to secure the movable base about the engine block of an internal combustion engine, the movable base shaft adapted to allow the movable base to rotate about the movable base shaft as the movable base is positioned between at least the base first position and the base second position.
4. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 1, further comprising:
a driver gear;
a driven gear; and
a timing belt, the timing belt engaged with the driver gear, the driven gear, the first idler, and the second idler.
5. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 4, further comprising: an internal combustion engine with the driver gear in mechanical cooperation with a crankshaft thereof and the driven gear in mechanical cooperation with a camshaft thereof.
6. A phase shift apparatus, comprising:
a first idler adapted to engage a first timing belt segment of a timing belt;
a second idler positioned a fixed distance from the first idler and adapted to engage a second timing belt segment of the timing belt; and,
a path fixedly defined in space such that changes in a first segment length of the first timing belt segment correspond to changes in a second timing belt segment length of the second timing belt segment in a continuous manner to maintain a substantially constant timing belt length of the timing belt when the first idler and the second idler are traversed upon the path between a first position and a second position.
7. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 6, wherein the path is configured as an arc disposed at a pivot radius about an idler pivot point.
8. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 7, further comprising:
a line defined by a driver axis of a driver gear and a driven axis of a driven gear, the pivot radius disposed upon the line exclusive of the driver axis and exclusive of the driven axis.
9. A phase shift apparatus, comprising:
a first idler adapted to engage a first timing belt segment of a timing belt;
a second idler adapted to engage a second timing belt segment of the timing belt and disposed a fixed idler center-to-center distance from the first idler; and
a path configured as an arc fixed in space and disposed at a pivot radius about an idler pivot point, the path defined such that changes in a first segment length of the first timing belt segment correspond to changes in a second segment length of the second timing belt segment in a continuous manner to maintain a substantially constant timing belt length of the timing belt as the first idler and the second idler traverse the path between at least a first position and a second position.
10. A method of phase shifting, comprising the step of:
defining a fixed path in space such that changes in a first segment length of a first timing belt segment of a timing belt correspond continuously to changes in a second timing belt segment length of a second timing belt segment of the timing belt thereby maintaining a constant timing belt length of the timing belt when traversing a first idler engaged with the first timing belt segment and a second idler engaged with a second timing belt segment upon the path, the first idler a fixed distance from the second idler.
11. The method, as in claim 10, wherein the path is defined using an optimization method.
12. The method, as in claim 10, wherein the step of defining a path comprises the steps of:
determining an idler center-to-center distance;
determining a location of the idler pivot point;
determining a pivot radius; and
determining a maximum off-symmetry angle.
13. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the idler center-to-center distance, the location of the idler pivot point, the pivot radius, and the maximum off-symmetry angle are determined using an optimization method.
14. The method, as in claim 10, further comprising the step of:
altering the phase relationship between a driver gear engaged with the timing belt and a driven gear engaged with the timing belt by traversing the first idler and the second idler along the path between at least a first position and a second position.
15. The method, as in claim 14, further comprising the step of:
positioning a movable base between at least a base first position and a base second position thereby traversing the first idler and the second idler along the path, the first idler and the second idler disposed about the moveable base.
16. The method, as in claim 14, wherein the driver gear, the driven gear, the timing belt, the first idler, and the second idler are disposed about an internal combustion engine.
17. The phase shift apparatus, as in claim 14, wherein the driver gear is in communication with a crankshaft of an internal combustion engine and the driven gear is in communication with a camshaft of the internal combustion engine.
18. The method, as in claim 10, wherein the path is configured as an arc disposed at a pivot radius about an idler pivot point.
19. The method, as in claim 18, wherein a driver axis of a driver gear and a driven axis of a driven gear define a line, the pivot radius is disposed upon the line exclusive of the driver axis and exclusive of the driven axis.
20. A phase shift apparatus, comprising:
a path fixed in space and defined such that a first segment length of a first timing belt segment of a timing belt changes continuously in substantial correspondence to changes in a second segment length of a second timing belt segment of the timing belt to maintain a substantially constant timing belt length of the timing belt as the path is traversed by a first idler and a second idler set a fixed distance from one another while engaged with the timing belt.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A RF communication module comprising:
an antenna for receiving a RF signal, the RF signal having been modulated with remote control data and transmitted from a remote control transmitter;
a RF communication circuit unit for demodulating remote control data from the RF signal received by the antenna; and
a communication control unit having:
a UART interface, freely connectable to a device-side microcomputer of a device to be controlled remotely by a remote control transmitter, for outputting the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit as bit stream remote control data, and
a pulse signal interface, freely connectable to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, for outputting a pulse modulated signal that is pulse modulated with the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit;
wherein the remote control data transmitted by the RF signal is output freely, as either a bit stream or pulse modulated signal, to the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device.
2. The RF communication module of claim 1, wherein,
the RF signal is modulated with remote control data containing an output code for selecting either UART output or pulse signal output; and
the communication control unit outputs bit stream remote control data from the UART interface in the case where an output code for selecting UART output is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, and outputs a pulse modulated signal from the pulse signal interface in the case where an output code for selecting pulse signal output is contained therein.
3. The RF communication module of claim 2, wherein,
the communication control unit has a format storage unit for associating each of one or more pulse modulated signal formats with an output code, and for storing the one or more pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices; and
in the case where an output code associated with one of the pulse modulated signal formats is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, the communication control unit reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs a pulse modulated signal having been pulse modulated with the remote control data.
4. The RF communication module of claim 1, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.
5. A RF communication system comprising:
a pair of identically configured RF communication modules each equipped with a communication control unit having:
a UART interface, connectable to a remote control-side microcomputer that generates remote control data for a remote control transmitter and to a device-side microcomputer that operates a controlled device according to the remote control data, for inputting and outputting bit stream remote control data with the remote control-side microcomputer or the device-side microcomputer, and
a pulse signal interface, connectable to a pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer, for outputting a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with the remote control data, to the device-side microcomputer;
an antenna for transmitting and receiving a RF signals modulated with the remote control data; and
a RF communication circuit for outputting, to the antenna, a RF signal modulated with the remote control data to be outputted from the communication control unit and for outputting, to the communication control unit, remote control data demodulated from the RF signal received by the antenna; wherein
the UART interface of one of the RF communication modules connects to the remote control-side microcomputer, and according to an input operation to the remote control transmitter, an RF signal modulated with the remote control data generated at the remote control-side microcomputer is transmitted from the antenna of the one RF communication module;
the UART interface or the pulse signal interface of the other RF communication module connects to the device-side microcomputer or the pulse modulated signal input port of the device-side microcomputer; and
the remote control data to be transmitted with a RF signal from the one RF communication module is outputted as a bit stream or pulse modulated signal to the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device.
6. The RF communication system of claim 5, wherein
an output code for selecting either UART output or pulse signal output is contained in the remote control data generated at the remote control-side microcomputer; and
the communication control unit of the other RF communication module outputs bit stream remote control data from the UART interface in the case where an output code for selecting UART output is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit, and outputs a pulse modulated signal from the pulse signal interface in the case where an output code for selecting pulse signal output is contained therein.
7. The RF communication system of claim 6, wherein
the communication control unit has a format storage unit for associating each pulse modulated signal format with an output code and for storing pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by the device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices; and
in the case where an output code associated with a specific pulse modulated signal format is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF communication circuit unit of the other RF communication module, the communication control unit of the other RF communication module reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs a pulse modulated signal having been pulse modulated with the remote control data.
8. The RF communication module of claim 5, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.
9. A RF communication system comprising:
a remote control-side microcomputer for generating remote control data that includes control data for controlling operation of a controlled device according to an input operation;
a remote control transmitter equipped with a RF transmission circuit unit for modulating a RF signal with remote control data generated by the remote control-side microcomputer and for outputting the modulated signal from a transmission antenna;
a RF reception circuit unit for demodulating remote control data from a RF signal received at a reception antenna;
a device-side microcomputer for demodulating control data from a pulse modulated signal received at a pulse signal input port of the device-side microcomputer;
a format storage unit for associating each of one or more pulse modulated signal formats with an output code and for storing the pulse modulated signal formats that can be demodulated by device-side microcomputers of a plurality of controlled devices; and
a controlled device equipped with a pulse modulation circuit, wherein in the case where an output code associated with a specific pulse modulated signal format is contained in the remote control data demodulated at the RF reception circuit unit, the pulse modulation circuit reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code from the format storage unit, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs to the pulse signal input port of the device-side microcomputer a pulse modulated signal, having been pulse modulated with control data, contained in the remote control data; wherein
the remote control-side microcomputer includes an output code, specifying a pulse modulated signal format that can be demodulated by the device-side microcomputer of the controlled device, together with control data, in the remote control data, and
the pulse modulation circuit of the controlled device reads out the pulse modulated signal format associated with the output code contained in the remote control data, and according to the read-out pulse modulated signal format, outputs to the device-side microcomputer, a pulse modulated signal having been modulated with control data.
10. The RF communication system of claim 9, wherein
the remote control-side microcomputer includes an ID code in the remote control data, the controlled device compares the ID code in the remote control data to an ID code of the controlled device, and the controlled device rejects the remote control data when the ID code in the remote control data and the ID code of the controlled device do not match.
11. The RF communication system of claim 9, further comprising
a plurality of controlled devices, wherein each of the devices in the plurality of controlled devices is controlled by remote control data transmitted by the remote control-side microcomputer.
12. The RF communication module of claim 2, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.
13. The RF communication module of claim 3, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.
14. The RF communication module of claim 6, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.
15. The RF communication module of claim 7, wherein,
the RF communication circuit unit and the communication control unit are formed with IC chips mounted on the same module substrate, and the antenna is formed from a printed antenna that is printed on the module substrate.