Author: claimsbot

1. A water guide for an appliance, comprising:
a case fixed to the appliance, the case enclosing an inner space, having an air inlet communicating with an atmosphere external to the case;
a drain passage, provided in the case, having one end communicating with the external atmosphere and another end communicating with a sump for receiving washing water, at least part of the drain passage being routed via a point higher than a water level in the sump;
a valve assembly, disposed above the drain passage, for selectively introducing external air into the drain passage via the air inlet;
a feed passage, provided in the case, communicating with the sump and a water feed valve, part of the feed passage being higher than the water level in the sump wherein the drain passage is positioned within the appliance such that the entire drain passage is elevated higher than a highest elevation of the drain hose; and
a water level sensor, provided in the case, for sensing a full water level in the sump.
2. The water guide of claim 1, wherein the valve assembly comprises:
a valve chamber, provided above the drain passage and communicating with the drain passage, the valve chamber communicating with the external atmosphere via an aperture formed in an upper side of the valve chamber; and
a valve body, provided inside the valve chamber, for closing and opening the aperture by ascending and descending inside the valve chamber.
3. The water guide of claim 2, wherein the valve assembly further comprises a needle, extending from the valve body through the aperture, for guiding the ascending and descending movement of the valve body inside the valve chamber.
4. The water guide of claim 1, further comprising:
a check valve for preventing a reverse flow of water drained through the drain passage; and
a hinged shutter, provided in the drain passage, for opening and closing the drain passage.
5. The water guide of claim 4, wherein the hinged shutter, when in a closed position, is disposed obliquely to create a self-weighted seal of the drain passage.
6. The water guide of claim 1, wherein the feed passage communicates with the air inlet.
7. The water guide of claim 1, wherein the case has a tub opening formed in one side to communicate with a tub of the appliance, wherein the appliance is a dishwasher.
8. The water guide of claim 1, further comprising a flow meter, disposed in the feed passage, for measuring an amount of water flowing through the feed passage, the flow meter having an inlet disposed at a high point, an outlet disposed at a low point, and an impeller disposed between the inlet and the outlet.
9. The water guide of claim 1, wherein the water level sensor comprises:
a tube, provided in the case, such that an inner water level is varied depending on a water level of the sump;
a floater provided inside the tube; a lever, supported in the tube and spaced a predetermined interval from the floater; and
a switch, disposed on the lever, having a pair of contact terminals that are closed when the lever ascends.
10. The water guide of claim 9, wherein the water level sensor further comprises a partitioning plate, provided in the tube to support the lever, for partitioning an inner space of the tube into an upper space and a lower space, the partitioning plate having a hole for receiving the lever.

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 sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal comprising:
a structure; and
a plurality of cascaded field effect transistors embedded in the structure, the transistor having an associated electrical current that changes with mechanical perturbations in the structure.
2. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the structure is a cantilever.
3. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors are MOSFETs.
4. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors are BiMOS transistors.
5. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors is cascaded in series.
6. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the sensor detects biomolecular interactions.
7. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors are arranged across the length of the structure.
8. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 further comprising readout electronics for measuring the electrical signal.
9. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 8 wherein the readout electronics are passivated with an insulating layer for measuring the electrical signal in fluid.
10. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 8 wherein the readout electronics are integrated with the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors.
11. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein each of the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors is capable of operation together or individually.
12. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the structure is coated in gold.
13. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors is configured for current flow perpendicular to the length of the structure or parallel to the length of the structure.
14. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors is positioned on a high stress region of the structure.
15. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 1 wherein the plurality of cascaded field effect transistors represent a plurality of embedded microcantilevers and wherein the plurality of embedded microcantilevers include at least one reference microcantilever and at least one sense microcantilever.
16. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal comprising:
a plurality of microcantilevers arranged to create an array of microcantilevers, the plurality of microcantilevers including at least one reference microcantilever and at least one sense microcantilever; and
a plurality of cascaded MOSFETs embedded in each of the plurality of microcantilevers, the MOSFETs having an associated electrical current that changes with mechanical perturbations in the microcantilever.
17. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 16 wherein the at least one reference microcantilever comprises at least one SiNx microcantilever and the at least one sense microcantilever comprises at least one gold-coated microcantilever.
18. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 16 wherein a carrier transport direction of the plurality of cascaded MOSFETs is perpendicular to the length of the microcantilever.
19. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 16 wherein a carrier transport direction of the plurality of cascaded MOSFETs is parallel to the length of the microcantilever.
20. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal comprising:
a first microcantilever;
a second microcantilever;
a first series of cascaded MOSFETs embedded along a length of the first microcantilever, the first microcantilever having a surface coated with a material to which a probe molecule will adhere;
a second series of cascaded MOSFET embedded along a length of the second microcantilever; and
a differential amplifier coupled to the first and second series of cascaded MOSFETs to provide an electronic readout.
21. A sensor for detecting mechanical perturbations represented by a change in an electrical signal as recited in claim 20 wherein the MOSFETs in at least one of the first and second series of cascaded MOSFETs are capable of individual or coordinated operation.
22. A hybrid sensor system for performing conductivity measurement, capacitance measurement and cantilever bending measurement using a plurality of MOSFETs embedded on a cantilever, wherein said conductivity measurement is obtained by measuring a change in resistance of finger electrodes on said cantilever to detect a toxic gas or vapor, wherein said capacitance measurement is obtained by detecting an amount of surface charge on the cantilever due to receptor-target interaction and wherein said cantilever bending measurement is obtained using embedded BiMOS technology.
23. An infrared imaging system, said system comprising a cantilever including a MOSFET embedded along a length of said cantilever, wherein said embedded MOSFET cantilever detected infrared-deduction deflection of said cantilever based on a MOSFET drain current signal.
24. An infrared imaging system as recited in claim 23, wherein said embedded MOSFET cantilever includes a microcantilever-based focal plane array with an integrated electronic readout and an infrared imaging lens.

What is claimed is:

1. A circular knitting machine with a device for producing tubular items closed at an axial end, comprising: a needle cylinder which has a vertical axis and has, on a cylindrical wall thereof, a plurality of axial slots, each of which accommodates a needle which is actuatable, by way of actuation cams arranged around the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder, in order to form knitting; lowering sinkers; a sinker ring being arranged proximate to an upper end of the needle cylinder, being rigidly coupled to the needle cylinder and having a plurality of radial slots, each of which accommodates a lowering sinker; sinker actuation cams, which are engageable by said lowering sinkers which face said sinker ring for actuation thereof, said needle cylinder being actuatable with a rotary motion about said vertical axis with respect to said needle actuation cams and to said sinker actuation cams; a diverter, which is accommodated inside the needle cylinder and is disengaged from the rotary motion of the needle cylinder about the vertical axis with respect to said needle and sinker actuation cams; said diverter having a peripheral profile which protrudes from an internal region of the needle cylinder gradually toward the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder, said profile being engageable by an end border portion of the tubular item which lies inside the needle cylinder between two needles which are mutually angularly spaced around the vertical axis of the needle cylinder for actuating sliding of said end portion of the item along said profile as a consequence of the rotation of the needle cylinder about said vertical axis with respect to said diverter; and retention means for retaining said end portion of the tubular item against said profile during sliding thereof along said profile.
2. The machine of claim 1, further comprising: auxiliary means for actuating the sinkers in order to move at least part of the sinkers so that a first portion thereof lies against said peripheral profile in order to contact said end border portion of the item and keep said border portion against said profile during sliding thereof along said profile, said retention means being constituted by at least part of said sinkers.
3. The machine of claim 1, wherein said peripheral profile of the diverter reaches an outside part of the cylindrical surface along which the needles are arranged in order to gradually move said end border portion above the needles.
4. The machine of claim 3, wherein said profile of the diverter is formed by a plate arranged on a plane, which is substantially perpendicular to the vertical axis of the needle cylinder, said plate having a peripheral rim which is directed toward the outside of the needle cylinder and is engageable by the end border portion of the item that rests against the upper face of said plate.
5. The machine of claim 4, wherein said plate has, on a lower face thereof, a protruding rim which protrudes downward and is spaced from said peripheral rim of the plate said protruding rim being shaped so as to match said peripheral rim; said sinkers actuated by said auxiliary actuation means retaining said end border portion of the item in a region between said peripheral border and said protruding rim.
6. The machine of claim 5, wherein the sinkers actuated by said auxiliary actuation means have a beak region which is adapted to contact said end border portion of the item that is engaged with said profile of the diverter.
7. The machine of claim 6, wherein said auxiliary means for the actuation of the sinkers comprise a sinker actuation cam which faces said sinker ring in a region faced by said diverter, said sinker actuation cam forming a path which is engageable by said sinkers; said path being shaped in order to move the sinkers that engage the path toward said diverter and in order to keep the beak of said sinkers adjacent to a region between said peripheral rim and said protruding rim substantially along the entire extension of said peripheral profile of the diverter that is engageable by the item.
8. The machine of claim 7, wherein said diverter is controllably movable, on command, along a direction which is parallel to the axis of the needle cylinder, in order to pass from an active position, in which it is located proximate to the upper end of the needle cylinder, in order to engage said end portion of the item with said peripheral profile, to an inactive position, in which it is lowered inside the needle cylinder with respect to said active position, in order to avoid interfering with the item, and vice versa.
9. The machine of claim 8, wherein said diverter is controllably rotatable, on command, about an axis thereof, which is substantially parallel to the axis of the needle cylinder, and proximate to an end of said peripheral profile that is engaged first by said end portion of the item, for movement of said peripheral profile toward or away from the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder.
10. The machine of claim 9, wherein said diverter has a portion which is directed toward the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder and forms a substantially horizontal supporting surface, said supporting surface being adapted to support in a downward region an end of the sinkers pushed by said auxiliary actuation means toward said diverter.
11. A method for manufacturing tubular items closed at an axial end with a circular hosiery knitting machine or the like, comprising:
a first step for forming a pocket by using the needles of the needle cylinder that belong substantially to one half of the needle cylinder, leaving the initial border of the pocket free inside the needle cylinder, while the final border of the pocket is retained on the needles that formed it;
a second step, in which the initial border of the pocket is transferred to the needles that belong substantially to the other half of the needle cylinder;
a third step, in which the item is completed as a continuation of said pocket;
wherein transfer of the initial border of said pocket is performed by engaging said initial border of the pocket with a diverter which is arranged inside the needle cylinder and has a profile which protrudes from an internal region of the needle cylinder gradually toward the cylindrical wall of the needle cylinder and by retaining, by way of mechanical means, said initial border of the pocket on said profile during its transit along said profile produced by the rotation of the needle cylinder about its own axis with respect to said diverter.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein said transfer is completed by moving said initial border of the pocket outside the cylindrical surface along which the needles that belong to said other half of the needle cylinder are arranged.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein said initial border of the item is moved outside the cylindrical surface along which the needles that belong to said other half of the needle cylinder are arranged by way of said profile of the diverter.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein said initial border of the item is moved outside the cylindrical surface along which the needles that belong to said other half of the needle cylinder are arranged through engagement thereof and lifting on the part of the lowering sinkers arranged in said other half of the needle cylinder.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the retention of the initial border of the pocket on said profile of the diverter is performed by way of the lowering sinkers arranged in said other half of the needle cylinder.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, comprising:
first storage means for storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern; and
pattern matching means for comparing said unit pattern with said first library pattern to conduct pattern matching processing; wherein
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, without coding the bit map, an identification ID of a matching bit map in a library and an identification flag indicating that the number of match error pixels is not more than the prescribed value are coded.
2. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising
updating control means,
said updating control means, when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern by said pattern matching processing and is not the same as said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern at said first storage means.
3. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising
second storage means for storing a second library pattern of a font designated in advance, wherein
said pattern matching means compares said unit pattern with said first library pattern and second library pattern to conduct pattern matching.
4. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, wherein
said updating control means, furthermore, when said unit pattern is determined to unmatch both said first library pattern and second library pattern by said pattern matching processing, newly registers said unit pattern at said first storage means.
5. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, wherein
in said matching processing, comparison between bit map data of said unit pattern and bit map data of said first library pattern and second library pattern is conducted to determine that the unit pattern is matching when a rate of the number of unmatching pixels of these bit maps is lower than a predetermined value and determine that the unit pattern is unmatching when the rate is higher than the value.
6. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, wherein
said updating control means, furthermore, when said unit pattern is determined to unmatch both said first library pattern and second library pattern by said pattern matching processing, newly registers said unit pattern at said first storage means, and
in said matching processing, comparison between bit map data of said unit pattern and bit map data of said first library pattern and second library pattern is conducted to determine that the unit pattern is matching when a rate of the number of unmatching pixels of these bit maps is lower than a predetermined value and determine that the unit pattern is unmatching when the rate is higher than the value.
7. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:
font storage means for storing a plurality of kinds of fonts,
font designating means for designating one of said fonts, and
font development means for developing said designated font into a font bit map to generate said second library pattern.
8. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, wherein
said updating control means, when said unit pattern is determined to unmatch both said first library pattern and second library pattern by said pattern matching processing, newly registers said unit pattern at said first storage means, and which further comprises
font storage means for storing a plurality of kinds of fonts,
font designating means for designating one of said fonts, and
font development means for developing said designated font into a font bit map to generate said second library pattern.
9. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, wherein
in said matching processing, comparison between bit map data of said unit pattern and bit map data of said first library pattern and second library pattern is conducted to determine that the unit pattern is matching when a rate of the number of unmatching pixels of these bit maps is lower than a predetermined value and determine that the unit pattern is unmatching when the rate is higher than the value, and which further comprises
font storage means for storing a plurality of kinds of fonts,
font designating means for designating one of said fonts, and
font development means for developing said designated font into a font bit map to generate said second library pattern.
10. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:
font storage means for storing a plurality of kinds of fonts,
font designating means for designating one of said fonts, and
font development means for developing said designated font into a font bit map to generate said second library pattern, wherein
said font designating means detects a font size and a font type from said unit pattern to designate said font.
11. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 3, further comprising:
font storage means for storing a plurality of kinds of fonts,
font designating means for designating one of said fonts, and
font development means for developing said designated font into a font bit map to generate said second library pattern, wherein
said font designating means is formed of input means for externally designating said font.
12. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 1, wherein
said device codes all said unit patterns within a predetermined coding range, classifies all the unit patterns in said range into types according to degrees of matching and sequentially for each type, successively codes and outputs a code indicative of the degree of matching and all of a unit pattern group of a type corresponding to the code.
13. The pattern matching coding device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising
a Huffman coding unit, wherein
an identification ID of bit map data in a matching library, said identification flag and registration data are coded and output by the Huffman coding unit.
14. A method of extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, comprising the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern;
comparing said unit pattern with the first library pattern; and
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, without coding the bit map, coding an identification ID of a matching bit map in a library and an identification flag indicating that the number of match error pixels is not more than the prescribed value.
15. The coding method as set forth in claim 14, further comprising the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.
16. A method of extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, comprising the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern,
storing a second library pattern of a font designated in advance,
comparing said unit pattern with the first library pattern and the second library pattern,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern, and
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, without coding the bit map, coding an identification ID of a matching bit map in a matching library and an identification flag indicating that the number of match error pixels is not more than the prescribed value.
17. The coding method as set forth in claim 16, further comprising the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern or when said unit pattern unmatches both said first library pattern and second library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.
18. A method of extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, comprising the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern,
storing a second library pattern of a font designated in advance,
comparing said unit pattern in a predetermined coding range with the first library pattern and the second library pattern,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern,
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, correlating an identification ID of a matching library and an identification ID of a bit map of the matching library, and
classifying all the unit patterns in said range into types according to degrees of matching and sequentially for each type, without coding a bit map, successively coding a code indicative of the degree of matching and all of a unit pattern group of a type corresponding to the code.
19. The coding method as set forth in claim 18, further comprising the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern or when said unit pattern unmatches both said first library pattern and second library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.
20. A computer readable memory which stores a coding program for extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, said coding program comprising the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern,
comparing said unit pattern with the first library pattern, and
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, without coding the bit map, coding an identification ID of a matching bit map in a library and an identification flag indicating that the number of match error pixels is not more than the prescribed value.
21. The computer readable memory which stores a coding program as set forth in claim 20, wherein
said coding program further comprises the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.
22. A computer readable memory which stores a coding program for extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, wherein said coding program comprises the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern,
storing a second library pattern of a font designated in advance,
comparing said unit pattern with the first library pattern and the second library pattern, when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern, and
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, without coding the bit map, coding an identification ID of a matching bit map in a library and an identification flag indicating that the number of match error pixels is not more than the prescribed value.
23. The computer readable memory which stores a coding program as set forth in claim 22, wherein said coding program further comprises the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern or when said unit pattern unmatches both said first library pattern and second library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.
24. A computer readable memory which stores a coding program for extracting unit patterns from input binary image data and coding said unit patterns based on a result of sequentially conducted pattern matching with a library pattern, wherein said coding program comprises the steps of:
storing a first library pattern updatable based on said unit pattern,
storing a second library pattern of a font designated in advance,
comparing said unit pattern in a predetermined coding range with the first library pattern and the second library pattern,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern,
as to a mark pattern determined to be matching, when the number of match error pixels of the pattern is not more than a prescribed value, correlating an identification ID of a matching library and an identification ID of a bit map of the matching library, and
classifying all the unit patterns in said range into types according to degrees of matching and sequentially for each type, without coding the bit map, successively coding a code indicative of the degree of matching and all of a unit pattern group of a type corresponding to the code.
25. The computer readable memory which stores a coding program as set forth in claim 24, wherein said coding program further comprises the step of,
when said unit pattern is determined to match said first library pattern and is not the same as said first library pattern or when said unit pattern unmatches both said first library pattern and second library pattern, newly registering said unit pattern as the first library pattern.