ワレン・カウンタの解析

抄録

The first fluidic binary counter was invented by R.W. Warren. This Warren's counter can be constructed very simply by two flip-flop elements. Its mechanism has not yet been sufficiently investigated. Therefore the characteristics required for the control part (FF_c) and the memory part (FF_m), which are most important for its design, have not been known.
In this paper, from the viewpoint of designing an acceptable Warren's counter by choosing the suitable geometries of elements, some investigations are carried out.
The obtained results can be summarized as follows:
1) The flow in FF_c without the input signal must be a branched flow or a reattached flow to the same side as that of FF_m. Further, the input signal must be a reattached flow in FF_c, and it must be sufficient to switch FF_m and keep the initial reattachment even after the switching of FF_m.
2) The characteristics of elements which satisfy the above conditions are clarified. Finally, it is shown that an acceptable Warren's counter can be designed by referring to these results to select suitable geometries for the counter's two elements.