A cylinder-shaped expandable spinal implant is disclosed. The implant is a hollow housing having a cylinder-shaped wall, with a circular sealed distal end, and an opposite proximal circular open end. The open end of the housing has internal threads for securing a cap to it. A removable cap is threaded on the open end of the housing. The housing has two opposite large rectangular openings located longitudinally in the wall of the housing for receiving two arcuate sections. Each arcuate section is positioned in the rectangular opening in the wall of the implant. A locking means for locking the arcuate section in the rectangular opening in the wall is provided. A plurality of small ports are drilled in the wall for allowing bone growth after implantation of said implant in a patient. The arcuate sections have transverse ribs for locking the implant in position are implantation. Openings between the ribs are provided for allowing bone growth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the following areas of technology:
PROSTHESIS (I.E., ARTIFICIAL BODY MEMBERS), PARTS THEREOF OR AIDS AND ACCESSORIES THEREFOR; implantable prosthesis for the spinal column such as vertebrae and spinal discs for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,269 issued to Bagby on Feb. 26, 1985 discloses a basket-type of spinal implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,740 issued on Oct. 9, 1990 to Ray and U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,104 issued on Oct. 8, 1991 also issued to Ray disclose a coil-type of spinal implant.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,247 issued on May 14, 1991 to Michelson discloses a threaded spinal implant.
In the early 1950's an operation was pioneered by Ralph B. Cloward, M.D. for the removal of ruptured cervical disc lesions and osteophytes by an anterior surgical approach. A herniated disc is a rupture or herniation of the intervertebral disc, especially between lumbar vertebrae. This usually causes pain in the affected side. An osteophyte is a bony excrescence or outgrowth, which is usually branched in shape. The anterior surgical approach means that a transverse incision is made on the patient's throat just to the right of the wind pipe. The level of the lesions is identified before the operation either by injecting methylene blue dye into the disc under X-ray control the day before surgery or by a portable X-ray taken in the operating room with the needle inserted into the disc. Endotracheal general anaesthesia is used in most cases. The patient is placed in the supine position with the neck extended over a special neck rest. It is soft but firm and X-ray's can be taken through it. The head is turned to the left and secured to the table with an adhesive band across the forehead.
The location of the transverse incision is determined by the level of the lesion. The C5-6 disc lies beneath the cricoid cartilage and the adjacent disc one centimeter above or below. The various neck muscles and nerves are cut so that the anterior of the spinal cord is eventually exposed. A small rectangular retractor is placed around the disc area so that the surgeon has room within which to work. The disc that has the lesions is removed with a rongeur and a scalpel. The main objective of the Cloward procedure is to make at least one drill hole between the adjoining vertebrae to a sufficient depth but yet to prevent it from damaging any of the nerves contained within the spinal cord. After the drill hole has been completed, a complimentary bone plug is removed from the patient's hip. The bone plug from the patient's hip is then positioned into the drill hole made in the pair of vertebrae. The hip bone plug will then fuse with the two vertebrae to create one vertebra that is fused together.
The guide used for the drill hole is usually placed slightly off center to the right of the midline regardless of lateralization of lesion so the drill will remove more bone on the right side. The bottom of the drill guard has ins which have to be hammered into the surface of the vertebrae to secure the drill guard for the operation. The guard pins on the drill guard do not harm the spinal cord because of the neck rest under the neck. Three drill tip sizes are available in diameters of 11.5 mm, 13.5 mm, and 15.5 mm, to accommodate the variation and the size of the vertebral bodies and the width of the disc spaces. The drill tips are interchangeable on a single drill shaft and are adjustable in length with the guard. A relief opening in the drill guard permits escape of bone dust and prevents the drill from binding. When drilling is complete, the guard and drill are removed and the drill hole immediately fill with a gel foam pad soaked in topical thrombin and packed with a padding.
The dowel is attached to the impactor tip. If the bone graft is too long or too large it can be tailored with a file to the appropriate size. Some surgeons are apprehensive that the dowel may be driven into the spinal canal damaging the spinal cord. This is a serious but avoidable complication. It can be prevented by using a dowel impactor tip larger then the drill hole. This will permit the dowel to be inserted only flush with the vertebra. It must then be recessed slightly with the smaller impactor two millimeters below the outer rim of the drill hole. Heavy pounding is unnecessary and should not be done. The distance between the dura and the inner end of the dowel can be determined by lowering the osteophyte elevator into the interspace lateral to the drill hole. The foot of the elevator is placed beneath the dowel and raised gently up and down.
With the wound closure, the two retractor blades are removed and the longus colli muscle is checked for bleeding points. Any bleeding from the outer margin of the drill hole or the guard pin holes can be arrested with bone wax.
Post operative pain from this operation is minimal and is controlled with mild analgesics. The patient is permitted to be up the day of the operation. Movements of neck are not restricted and no neck brace cast is required. A soft cervical collar is used for multiple level cases.
The patient is usually discharged from the hospital on the third or fourth day. X-rays are taken prior to discharge to determine the position of the bone graft or grafts and for comparison with subsequent follow-up films.
The parts which comprise the Cloward kit include: the skin retractor; cervical muscle retractor; blade retractor; cervical periosteal elevator; cervical retractor (large) with set of seven sharp blades; double hinged retractor handle; cervical retractor with seven blunt blades; rongeur; cervical vertebra spreader; depth gauge; the three drill tips of the three sizes previously mentioned; drill shaft with depth stop and drill guard; guard guide; drill guard cap; cervical hammer; cross bar handle; bone punch; tissue retractor; dowel cutter shaft; dowel cutter center pin; dowel holder; dowel handle and impactor set; and a curved cervical osteotome 4 mm in size.


A headset main body includes a PTT switch, bone conduction speakers, a first connector to be coupled with a microphone, and a second connector to be coupled with a transceiver. A sleeve of the first connector is coupled to a sleeve of the second connector. A ring of the first connector is coupled to a ground. A chip of the first connector is coupled to a ring of the second connector, and the chip of the first connector is further coupled, via the PTT switch, to the ground.

PTL 1 discloses an adapter configured to couple a set of ear pieces and a microphone to a cellular phone. The adapter includes a mute switch and a talk switch. A user can operate the mute switch of the adapter to turn off the microphone, as well as can operate the talk switch to achieve communications.
For communication devices to be coupled to headsets, a half-duplex communication method typically applied in transceivers and a full-duplex communication method typically applied in cellular phones and smartphones are available. Further, transceivers can be divided into two kinds of transceivers different from each other in wiring configured to detect that a PTT switch is pressed. Microphones to be coupled to headsets can also be divided into two kinds of microphones, i.e., bone conduction microphones each equipped with a PTT switch and ordinary sound microphones each not equipped with a PTT switch.

Sound input and output device and bone conduction headset system

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A control system for optimizing the flow of fluid from a plurality of pipelines in communication with a resource field includes a sensor array detecting characteristics of the resource field, the plurality of pipelines, and the flow of fluid through the plurality of pipelines. A first manifold assembly and a second manifold assembly each selectively receives the flow of fluid from any of the plurality of pipelines. A controller is provided to be in communication with the sensor array, the first manifold assembly and the second manifold assembly. The controller selectively diverts the flow of the fluid from a first group of the plurality of pipelines to one of the first and the second manifold assemblies, and diverts a second group of the plurality of pipelines to another of the first and the second manifold assemblies, in dependence upon the characteristics being communicated to the controller.

In oil and gas fields, the extraction of hydrocarbon fluids, such as oil and natural gas, is typically handled through a system of pipelines that transport collected fluids containing the hydrocarbon fluids from the mouth of each well, to a production facility. At the production facility, the collected fluids are processed in order to separate the oil, gas, water and solid sediment, and to prepare the various fluids for export and/or storage.
The collection pipelines from each well in the field are interconnected at a wellhead containing an array of valves. The valves control the flow of collected fluids to a general production line for the process of separation and measurement of the total flow, and, selectively, to a measurement line which deviates the production of each well separately for periodic measurement of the parameters that indicate the operating conditions at each well. These parameters can then be utilized in determining the optimal manner in which to operate each well to maximize production. Typically, such measurement is performed well-by-well such that the flow of fluid from a single well is diverted for measurement while the flow of fluid from all other wells in the oil field are kept aligned towards the head of production.
In both flows (the flow to the measurement head and the flow to the production head), instruments are positioned to measure the pressures and volumes of oil, gas and water handled. The instruments may include pressure gauges, orifice plates and/or other basic measuring instruments known in the art. With existing systems, the valves in the wellhead are controlled manually by personnel at the production facility, in order to divert and route the flow of collected fluid from each well, as desired. After separation, oil is pumped to a central storage station, for the appropriate storage and/or recompression, as needed.
As will be readily appreciated, and even in the case where multiple wells are obtaining fluid from the same underground reservoir, the flow and pressure of each individual well and associated pipeline is dependent upon a variety of factors. For example, alterations in the downhole vicinity of each individual well, as well as any repairs made to each well space, may affect the flow and pressure of a well. In addition, the diameter of the pipelines carrying the collected fluid, which may decrease over time due to the buildup of limescale deposits or other products formed during the production phase of the well, as well as friction losses along the different lengths of discharge lines of each well, may also affect the flow and pressure of each well. As a result, the pressures on arrival at the wellhead may be different for each well, despite being potentially sourced from the same reservoir.
As will be appreciated, wells exhibiting a higher pressure at the wellhead tend to limit or impede the contribution of wells exhibiting lower pressures. That is, the flow of wells exhibiting higher pressures arriving at the wellhead generates a backpressure against the lower pressure wells, thus impeding the flow of the lower-pressure wells and lowering their associated production.
Particularly in mature fields or fields exhibiting rapidly declining production, such backpressures can cause significant disparities in the production rates of each individual well. These disparities often go unrecognized, however, because production of the wellhead is typically viewed as a whole. In any event, the overall production levels for the field suffers because lower pressure wells typically will have much lower production rates than would be possible if the undesirable backpressures were absent or significantly reduced.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system and method to reduce or optimize backpressures between different wells within an oil/natural gas field, to enhance the production levels of the individual wells and, thus, the field as a whole.

System and method for enhancing the production level of wells

SITEPP SISTEMAS Y TECHNOLOGIA PARA EL PETROLEO, S.A. DE C.V.


A user equipment UE selects between a first scanning mode and a second scanning mode using at least inputs of signal quality of a link with an access node and at least one of UE speed and network type of the access node. It then determines a scanning rate using the selected scanning mode and the UE speed, and detects and measures inter-frequency neighbor cells according to the determined scanning rate. In one example both modes the increase scanning rate for increased UE speeds, except that for the first mode speeds above Vt1 yield a zero scanning rate regardless of UE speed and for the second mode speeds above Vt2 yield a constant maximum scanning rate regardless of UE speed. In an embodiment the second mode is selected when the UE speed is >Vt1, and the signal quality is less than a predetermined minimum. Various other examples are detailed.

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the invention that is recited in the claims. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but are not necessarily ones that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated herein, what is described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims in this application and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
The following abbreviations that may be found in the specification and/or the drawing figures are defined as follows:                3GPP third generation partnership project        eNB base station in a LTE network        GPS global positioning system        LTE long term evolution (evolved UTRAN or EUTRAN)        RAT radio access technology        RF radio frequency        UE user equipment        UTRAN universal terrestrial radio access network        WiFi wireless fidelity (IEEE 802.11 family of standards)
Recent progression in the wireless arts include the deployment of smaller cells within the coverage areas (or extending the coverage area) of conventional cells. In at least the LTE system these smaller cells are generally termed pico or femto cells while the conventional cells are distinguished by the term macro cell, with the aggregated deployment referred to as a heterogeneous network or HetNet for short. An exemplary HetNet is shown at FIG. 1, in which there are pico eNBs 16, 18 with control over relatively small cells B, C are within the coverage area of a macro cell A controlled by a macro eNB 12. It is conventional to use the terms cell and eNB or access node interchangeably, so for example the UE 10 with the macro cell 12 as its serving cell will as shown in FIG. 1 see cells 16 and 18 as neighbor cells.
HetNet deployments also provide the opportunity to offload traffic from crowded cellular frequency bands to other non-cellular frequency bands such as for example license-exempt WiFi bands and pico cells operating on license-exempt secondary component carriers. Such interworking in HetNets is not yet fully developed and there are many open issues yet to be worked out. The 3GPP standardization of LTE-Advanced is undergoing some of this development, but one open issue is how to arrange for UEs to scan inter-frequency small neighbor cells in a HetNet that is power efficient for the UE's limited power supply.
Current LTE specifications provide for a UE mobility state estimation (MSE) which is based on the number of cell reselections (for a UE in the idle mode) or handovers (for a UE in the connected mode) the UE has undergone over a predefined period of time. This ratio serves as a proxy for the UE's relative speed. For idle mode UEs having medium and high mobility states, the UE will add an offset to the signaled cell reselection margin (the parameter Qhyst which is a hysteresis value) and scales the value for Treselection by a factor. Treselection is a time value signaled also in system information against which a UE will test the received signal strength (or power) of a best neighbor cell against that of its serving cell; if the received signal strength/power from the neighbor cell exceeds that from the serving cell for the duration Treselection the UE is to reselect to that neighbor cell. The connected mode UE will scale its time-to-trigger by a factor. Time to trigger is a delay period during which a UE having received new parameters is not allowed to change its operational state; introducing this hysteresis prevents the UE from transitioning too quickly from connected to idle and back to connected states again by imposing a minimum time for its transition out of the connected state. These scaling factors are parameters signaled by the network and are used at least in part to optimize mobility for fast moving UEs.
These factors were not designed with HetNets in mind, but rather for the case where the UE in FIG. 1 would see only macro neighbor cells 20, 22; at that time pico neighbor cells 16, 18 were not a part of the radio environment. The addition of all those other pico cells to the radio environment would mean higher power consumption and a faster drawdown of the UE's power supply if the UE were to scan all those small cells, or measure all the small cells it detects, according to the conventional procedure. There is a need for new network scanning schemes for different user velocities to overcome the draining of battery power, as well as to support high-speed mobility as envisioned in LTE-Advanced systems.
One relevant document is U.S. Pat. No. 7,408,506 which proposes a scanning rate control mechanism that increases the scanning rate proportional to the velocity of the mobile terminal. The velocity is measured based on the signal strength data received from a WiFi receiver and a cellular receiver as well as position and velocity data obtained from a GPS receiver. This solution proposes to control the scanning rates of the GPS receiver, the cellular receiver and the WiFi receiver. In the inventors' view, increasing the scanning rate in conjunction with the mobile's velocity as this document sets forth will serve to increase power consumption.
Another relevant document is R2-114005 by Vodafone and entitled IMPROVING MOBILITY TOWARDS SMALL CELLS (3GPP TSG RAN WG2 Meeting #75; Athens, Greece; 22-26 Aug. 2011). This document targets intra-frequency cells, those operating on a same frequency band as the mobile's serving cell. The problem with intra-frequency cells is quite different than that with inter-frequency cells, in that delays in finding small intra-frequency cells can cause severe interference problems since the intra-frequency small cells will act as interferers. That problem is not present in the inter-frequency case in which the goal is to find offloading opportunities in a power efficient manner. Additionally, while document R2-114005 may reduce how often cell changes are triggered via manipulating the Treselection parameter, the UE is still expending large amounts of power in taking those measurements it never sends.
What is needed in the art is a way for the UE to scan for offload opportunities in a power efficient manner, where the offload opportunities are identified by scanning for inter-frequency neighbor cells whether they are operating on the same RAT as the UE's serving cell or on a different RAT.

Device mobility based scanning period control


A device for applying tape from a roll of tape (e.g., masking tape) along a surface to be protected with an edge of the tape extending along a juncture between the surface to be protected and a surface to be treated disposed at about a right angle with respect to the surface to be protected. The device includes a two portion housing around and journaling the tape roll, each portion having a tape contacting part of its inner surface in a first plane, and having in a second plane a guide part of its outer surface adapted to be slid along the surface to be treated. The first and second planes on each of the housing portions can be at a small angle with respect to each other and intersect along an application side of the housing. A pressure application structure is mounted on the housing with an outer edge each end of the pressure application structure at the intersection of the first and second planes for a different adjacent one of the housing portions, and with the generally cylindrically arcuate peripheral surface of the pressure application structure disposed at an angle of no greater than 90 degrees with respect to the second plane and projecting from the housing at the intersections of the first and second planes. Tape from the roll extends around the periphery of the pressure application structure so that the dispenser can be manually positioned with either housing portion against the surface to be treated and moved to apply the tape.

The present invention relates to devices for applying tape from a roll of tape (e.g., masking tape) along a surface to be protected with an edge of the tape extending along a juncture between the surface to be protected and a surface to be treated (e.g., painted) that is disposed at about a right angle with respect to the surface to be protected.
Many devices have been designed for use to apply tape from a roll of tape (e.g., masking tape) along a surface to be protected with an edge of the tape extending along a juncture between the surface to be protected (e.g., a door or window molding) and a surface to be treated (e.g., a wall to be painted) that is disposed at about a right angle with respect to the surface to be protected. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,269,871 (Longworth et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,177 (Gruber) provide illustrative examples. While such prior art devices can be useful for this purpose, all such known prior art devices either are too expensive for use by most homeowners and the like, do not apply the tape at the exact location or with the accuracy that is desired, and/or lack versatility in that the tape can not be applied while moving the device in either of two directions along the surface to be protected without repositioning the roll of tape in the device.
The present invention provides a device for applying tape from a roll of tape (e.g., masking tape) along a surface to be protected with an edge of the tape extending along a juncture between the surface to be protected and a surface to be treated that is disposed at about a right angle with respect to the surface to be protected. The device is sufficiently inexpensive that it can be used by most homeowners and the like, applies the tape at exact desired locations with great accuracy, and can provide versatility in that the tape can be applied while moving the device in either of two directions along the surface to be protected without repositioning the roll of tape in the device.
The device according to the present invention includes a housing around a roll of tape comprising a length of tape wound around a core. That housing can comprise two housing portions, each housing portion having a tape contact part of an inner surface for the housing portion in a first plane along which a side of the tape wound around the core is positioned, and having in a second plane a guide part of an outer surface for the housing portion, which guide part of the outer surface is adapted to be slid along the surface to be treated. The first and second planes on each of the housing portions can be at a small angle with respect to each other (i.e., in the range of about 1 to 4 degrees such as about 1.5 degrees) and disposed to intersect along an application side of the housing. The device can also include a pressure application structure having opposite end portions (e.g., each end portion can comprise a pressure roller), which pressure application structure has a peripheral surface that is generally cylindrically arcuate (e.g., generally cylindrical about an axis when pressure rollers are used), and has outer edges at the ends of its peripheral surface. The pressure application structure is mounted on the housing with the peripheral surfaces of the end portions of pressure application structure generally in alignment, with a part of the peripheral surface of each of the end portions at or closely adjacent to its outer edge at the intersection of the first and second planes for a different adjacent one of the portions of the housing, and with the arcuate peripheral surface of the end portion of the pressure application structure disposed at an angle of no greater than 90 degrees with respect to the adjacent second plane (i.e., disposed at an angle in the range of about 80 to 90 degrees such as 87.5 degrees with respect to that second plane) and projecting from the housing at the intersection of the first and second planes. Means are provided for attaching the portions of the housing together and for journaling the roll of tape between the portions of the housing with the tape contact part of the inner surface for each housing portion along a different one of side surfaces of the wound length of tape included in the roll of tape. Means are also provided for defining a path for the length of tape from the periphery of the roll of tape to the periphery of the pressure application structure with the edges of the tape at or adjacent the intersections of the first and second planes and with adhesive included in the tape on the side of a backing included in the tape opposite the pressure application structure so that the dispenser can be manually positioned with either portion of the housing against the surface to be treated and moved along the surfaces to be treated and protected to accurately apply and press the tape from the roll of tape on the surface to be protected with the peripheral surface of the pressure application structure and with one edge of the tape at a predetermined relationship with respect to the juncture between the surface to be protected and the surface to be treated.
Each end portion of the pressure application structure can have an end surface projecting in the range of about 0.005 to 0.02 inch or 0.01 to 0.05 centimeter beyond the intersection of the first and second planes. That end surface can move along a surface to be treated and provide a predetermined small spacing along the surface to be protected between the surface to be treated and the adjacent edge of the tape being applied to the surface to be protected. That space is useful to insure that the surface to be treated is fully treated (e.g., if the surface to be treated is a wall being painted, the thickness of the edge of the tape will not prevent the paint from extending along the wall to the intersection between the wall and the surface to be protected).
In a similar alternative embodiment of the device, the first and second planes on each of the housing portions can be parallel to each other and spaced closely from each other (e.g., spaced in the range of 0.01 to 0.02 inch or 0.025 to 0.05 centimeter), with the arcuate peripheral surface of the pressure application structure disposed at an angle of no greater than 90 degrees with respect to the first and second planes.
The device according to the present invention can be made so that it will dispense only a single roll of tape, after which the housing is disposed of. If the device is made to be disposable, the means for attaching the portions of the housing together can comprise projections along opposing surfaces of the housing portions that can be mechanically engaged or can be fused together (e.g., with sonic or solvent welding) while the projections deform to allow the housing portions of a device being assembled to be pressed together to positions determined by a thin shim (removed after assembly) between the roll of tape and the housing at which a desired spacing (e.g., 0.010 inch or 0.025 cm) is provided between the side surfaces of the roll of tape and the tape contact parts of the inner surfaces of the housing. Such adjustable assembly of the housing is necessary because of the wide variance in the widths of rolls of masking tape (i.e., rolls of masking tape can have a width tolerance of plus or minus 0.060 inch or 0.15 cm).
Alternatively, the device can be made so that the housing portions are separable by a user to afford removal of an empty core and/or insertion of a new roll of tape, in which case to accommodate the wide variance in the widths of rolls of masking tape, the means for attaching the portions of the housing together can comprise a plurality of releasably engageable fasteners between the housing portions that afford free relative movement of the portions of the housing between a maximum spacing between the parts of the inner surfaces for the housing portions provided by the fasteners at which the widest of rolls of tape in the tolerance range will be received in the device, and an application position with the parts of the inner surfaces for the housing portions in contact with the side surfaces of the roll of tape at which application position the housing portions will be positioned by the user as the user manipulates the device to apply the tape. Alternatively, such releasably engageable fasteners could comprise spaced fasteners (e.g., screws) between the housing portions, and resiliently flexible members (e.g., springs or rubber grommets around the screws) between the housing portions that bias the housing portions to the maximum spacing between the parts of the inner surfaces for the housing portions provided by the fasteners, which maximum spacing could be determined by a shim (removed after assembly) between the roll of tape and the housing.


A temperature-activated valve for a conventional fire sprinkler utilizing a hyperelastic single-crystal shape memory alloy is described. The shape-memory element expands as it is heated, forcing a bolt to break, thereby opening the sprinkler valve. The shape memory element typically communicates with the valve so as to force it open. The devices described are less susceptible to accidental breakage than conventional actuators, and have fewer moving parts. Transition temperature of the shape memory alloy can be tuned to a narrow range.

The present invention relates to fire safety devices, and more particularly to thermally actuated sprinklers commonly used in commercial and residential buildings.
Large numbers of thermally-actuated fire sprinklers are installed in structures every year. These sprinklers, generally installed in the structure's ceiling, are connected to a pressurized water supply and are intended to release the water into the room when the temperature in the room indicates that a fire or conflagration is taking place.
Multiple techniques have been used to actuate prior art fire sprinkler heads. Some prior art sprinkler valves bond two components together with alloys that melt at low temperatures. When heated above the melting temperature of the eutectic alloy, the bond between the two components is released, and a control valve is permitted to open. This type of actuator is subject to failure as the solder ages and crystallizes, thereby weakening the bond.
A second type of prior art sprinkler valve uses a sealed glass tube nearly filled with a liquid that boils at a low temperature. As ambient temperature increases, the liquid boils, thereby raising the pressure inside the tube. At a high enough temperature the tube ruptures, permitting the sprinkler valve to open. Premature failure may occur, however, if the sprinkler head is subjected to mechanical shock and the tube is cracked.
Yet other prior art sprinkler valves incorporate shape memory components that change shape when a transition temperature is reached to actuate the sprinkler valve. Some such thermally actuated valves are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,719; U.S. Pat. No. 4,549,717; U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,483; U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,758; U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,388; U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,728; U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,916; U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,113; U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,225; U.S. Pat. No. 5,924,492; U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,700; U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,329; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,465. However, these devices do not typically control the transition temperature of the shape memory alloy, and the valve structures may therefore be less reliable and overly complex.
False triggering of sprinkler heads can cause damage that is expensive to repair and contributes to the cost of fire insurance. Thermally-actuated fire safety devices must meet strict codes.
A common failure mode for fire sprinklers is the failure of the valve to open even after the trigger mechanism has removed the detent that holds the valve poppet in place. This may result from low pressure in the fluid supply line, corrosion of one or more of the parts that form the seal, or deterioration of the seal, such that the force from the fluid supply line is too small to move the poppet and open the flow path. Conventional fire sprinkler valve release mechanisms cannot be used to force open the valve, since they do not have the excess stroke and force necessary. Furthermore, shape memory alloy actuator mechanisms previously described are typically not designed to force the valve open. The majority of these designs rely on fluid pressure to move the poppet and allow flow.
Described herein are thermally-activated, frangible sprinkler valves including a shape-memory element that may meet these codes and address many of the problems identified above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


Provided are compositions containing a unique combination of vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, magnesium glycinate, ferric glycinate, L cysteine, biotin, Polygonum multiflorum, and Emblica officinalis. Methods of increasing hair volume in a subject by administering to the subject a composition containing vitamin B1, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, magnesium glycinate, ferric glycinate, L cysteine, biotin, Polygonum multiflorum, and Emblica officinalis are also included.

All human hair goes through normal cycles of growth and rest. These phases are termed anagen, catagen, and telogen and they differ in length for different hair types. The growth phase, or anagen phase, in scalp hair lasts between two and eight years whereas the anagen phase in eyebrow hair lasts approximately four to seven months. Differences in the length of the anagen phase result in different hair lengths.
During the anagen phase, cell division at the base of the hair follicle adds cells to the hair shaft and results in hair growth. Hair grows approximately one centimeter, or half an inch, a month. Scalp hair can stay in this active phase of growth for up to seven years, but on average, lasts two to three years. The amount of time the hair follicle stays in the anagen phase is genetically determined.
The anagen phase is followed by a brief two to four week catagen phase or transitional phase. This is part of a renewal process wherein the scalp follicle is degraded and the hair stops growing but does not fall out. The hair follicle shrinks to about ⅙ of the normal length during the catagen phase and a "club hair" is formed.
The scalp follicle then goes into the telogen phase for two to four months. The telogen phase is also called the resting phase. During the telogen phase, the scalp hair still does not grow but remains attached to the follicle. Approximately ten to fifteen percent of all scalp hairs are in this phase at any one time. After the telogen phase, the cycle is complete and the hair follicle goes back into the anagen phase. Formation of the new hair shaft causes the old hair to be pushed out and lost. On average, 50-100 scalp hairs are lost due to this natural growth process every day.
Hair loss only becomes problematic when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of regrowth or when new hair is thinner than the hair shed. A shift in the balance of hair loss and hair regrowth can be caused by many factors. Pattern baldness, or androgenetic alopecia, is likely caused by hereditary factors. Scarring on the scalp caused by inflammation can cause excessive hair loss as can poor nutrition, radiation, chemotherapy, medications, disease, hormonal changes, hair treatments, emotional distress, and sudden or excessive weight loss.
Treatments for baldness and excessive hair loss have been developed. Topical minoxidil and oral finasteride both treat male pattern baldness. A synthetic substance, anthralin, is also used by some doctors to treat cases of alopecia areata, a hair loss condition believed to be associated with autoimmune disease. Corticosteroids may also be injected into the scalp to treat certain types of excessive hair loss.
Despite the many advances in hair loss treatment, these prior treatments are either chemical or hormonal in nature. Adverse side effects such as severe allergic reactions, chest pain, unexplained weight gain, fainting, swollen hands and feet, decreased libido, and erectile dysfunction are associated with many of the hair loss treatments currently available. Accordingly, there remains a need for more natural and effective compositions for the treatment of hair loss.

Compositions and methods for treating hair loss


An embodiment of a semiconductor package apparatus may include technology to determine if one or more co-located radio transmitters and radio receivers are in a tracked area, enable an active tracking mode if one or more of the co-located radio transmitters and radio receivers are determined to be in the tracked area, and periodically transmit identification information from at least one of the radio transmitters if the active tracking mode is enabled. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Identification badges used by corporations and governments may be non-intelligent. They may be encoded with a unique identifier (credential #) and a key that allows the data to be transmitted to devices like security access control badge readers. Moreover, the use of smart phones running applications may be expensive and impractical. For example, the phone may need to be out of the holster, unlocked and the applications running for them to work with devices like security access control badge readers.

Electronic identification badge with location technology


An end effector assembly with increased clamping force for a surgical instrument including a hollow shaft having a proximal end and a distal end, a clevis coupled to the distal end of the hollow shaft, a flat support coupled to the clevis, a deflection member, a procedural member assembly rotatably coupled to the flat support and a pair of actuation means attached to the procedural member assembly and slidable relative to the hollow shaft for rotationally moving the procedural member assembly between a closed and an open position wherein the deflection member engaged the actuation means. The deflection member may be integral with the clevis, coupled to the clevis and the flat support, coupled to just the flat support, may be adjustable or rotatable or coupled to hollow shaft.

Biopsy forceps are commonly used during endoscopic procedures for removing tissue samples for pathological examination or for therapeutic purposes. For effective sampling it is important that a maximum force be transmitted from the handle of the endoscopic instrument to the end effector. Large clamping forces are often difficult to achieve due to the size restrictions of the end effector. Typically the arm of the lever, the dimensions or distances between the jaws or procedural member's pivot axis and the actuating hole are relatively short, which therefore limits the mechanical leverage of the end effector. It is especially evident when the procedural members are in a closed or nearly closed position. The procedural members therefore have small clamping forces resulting in poor grasping and retention of the tissue sample.
An endoscopic end effector with increased clamping force may be achieved by the deflection of the actuation means over the deflection member in the vicinity of the actuating hole. Increased clamping force is most required when the end effector procedural members are in the closed or nearly closed position.
Deflection of the actuation means changes the distribution of the pulling force applied to the handle of the endoscopic tool by the operator and transmitted by the actuation means to the end effector mechanism. The distribution of the forces is such that the clamping force is higher versus a clamping force derived only from the lever arm between the pivot axis of the jaws and the actuating hole.
Typical endoscopic surgical tools comprise of the handle actuating the end effector and end effector with procedural members performing a function. A hollow shaft or member extends between the handle and the end effector. The hollow member houses the actuation means that convert the actuation of the handle into the actuation of the procedural members of the end effector. The end effector is attached to the distal end of the hollow member and the handle is attached to the proximal end of the conduit.
Typical endoscopic end effectors comprise of procedural members and a clevis encompassing the procedural members. Actuation means are rotatably connected to the arms of the procedural members through the actuating holes. Proximal ends of the actuation means are attached to the movable sliding element of the handle. Procedural members are connected together by a rivet passing through the pivot axis holes. Often a flat member is present between the procedural members. The flat member may have a hole that accepts the rivet and is axial or nearly axial with the pivot axis holes of the procedural members. In essence the procedural members and the flat member are sandwiched pivotally together by the encompassing rivet. Often the clevis is also incorporated into this sandwich.
Prior art end effectors have been devised to address the some of the noted problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,668 issued to Macek on Aug. 16, 1988 et al discloses a biopsy forceps jaw assembly utilizing a linkage mechanism for the actuation of the jaws. The linkage mechanism provides increased clamping force. However the assembly process of the jaws and the number of individual components makes the device expensive to manufacture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,612 issued on Dec. 19, 1989 to Esser et al discloses a biopsy forceps jaws mechanism which utilizes a cam linkage to actuate the jaws. In the closed or nearly closed position of the jaws this design does not offer an increased clamping force. Furthermore, the components of the jaws require expensive machining process and are not ideally suited for mass production of the disposable biopsy forceps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,727 issued on Jul. 28, 1992 to Bales et al teaches a simplified construction of the biopsy forceps jaws using two actuating wires for the actuation of the jaws. This construction is suitable for mass production and assembly of the disposable biopsy forceps. However the clamping force of the jaws is less than in the linkage design. This manifests itself specifically when the jaws are in the closed or almost closed position. As noted above the clamping force is determined by the lateral distance between the pivot axis of the jaws and the actuation holes and it is limited by the constraints of the size of the channel that the jaws have to pass through during a procedure.
Referring to FIGS. 5 to 7, Boston Scientific Corporation Radial Jaw® 3 and Radial Jaw® 4 both incorporate a twist in a proximal end of the flat needle in the construction of the jaws. This twist provides for a limited deflection of the actuating wires and increased clamping force of the closing jaws. The twist is located at a distance from the actuating holes of the jaws therefore limiting the deflection angle and the resulting mechanical advantage. Also the twisted wings at the proximal end of flat needle flex back when tensioned by the actuating wires, therefore reducing the deflection angle and reducing the increase of the clamping force of the device. Furthermore, the stainless steel actuating wires rub against stainless steel twist which creates rough feel during the actuation of the jaws. Medical professionals prefer smooth opening and closing of the biopsy forceps.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,860 issued Aug. 14, 2001 to Kostylev et al discloses a design of the jaws assembly providing an increased clamping force of the biopsy forceps, especially as the jaws approach the closed position. The proposed design involves grooves around the back of the jaws and control wires sliding within these grooves. The construction of jaws proposed by Kostylev is expensive to manufacture and therefore not suitable for the mass production of the disposable biopsy forceps.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,105,000 issued Sep. 12, 2006 to McBrayer teaches us that the higher clamping force can be obtained by incorporating a circumferential ridge on the clevis. This ridge allows for an increased spacing between the pivot axis of the jaws and the actuating holes and therefore an increased clamping force of the closing jaws. The ridge however increases the diameter of the clevis. The diameter of the clevis is limited by the diameter of the channel in the endoscope through which the devices has to be pushed. Consequently, the increased clamping force is also limited by the diameter of the channel of the endoscope.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,272 issued May 29, 2007 to Francese et al proposes mounting of the jaws on non-collinear axes. This allows for increased spacing between the pivot axis of the jaws and the actuating holes, without an increase of the diameter of the clevis, and consequently an increased clamping forceps of the closing jaws. This design is however more complicated versus a design having just one pivot axis and therefore more expensive to manufacture.
Thus an end effector for a surgical instrument which has improved clamping force, easily fits within the diameter of the channel of the endoscope, is suited for mass production, is economical to machine process, allows for smooth operation, is disposable, and has an efficient and effective design is desirable.

End effector assembly with increased clamping force for a surgical instrument


An incrementer circuit includes a plurality of input terminals for receiving an address data, having a plurality of bits, to be incremented, a carry signal generating unit for generating a carry signal for each bit of the address data and a plurality of output terminals where an incremented address data appears. The carry signal generating unit includes a detector for detecting whether or not all of a predetermined number of less significant bits of the address data are at high level and outputs a detection signal if so. In response to this detection signal, a carry signal is generated and supplied to a bit which is more significant than the most significant bit of the predetermined number of less significant bits by one bit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an incrementer circuit for use in a semiconductor device, and, in particular, to an incrementer circuit, for example, for use in a microprogram controller.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A microprogram controller for use in a microcomputer or the like is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 62-216229. The microprogram controller disclosed in this publication includes an incrementer circuit which outputs an input address data by adding 1 thereto if a Hi level carry in signal is input; whereas, the address data is output without alteration if a Hi level carry in signal is not input.
FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a typical prior art incrementer circuit for processing an 8-bit address data. In FIG. 2, the respective bits b1 through b8 of an 8-bit address data are supplied to respective second input terminals of exclusive NOR gates XNOR1 through XNOR8 via respective data input terminals DI1 through DI8. The respective bits b1 through b7 of the address data input to the data input terminals DI1 through DI7 are also input into respective first input terminals of NOR gates NOR1 through NOR7 via respective inverters INV11 through INV17. A carry in signal is applied in the form of a carry signal C0 to the second input terminal of the NOR gate NOR1 and also to the first input terminal of the exclusive NOR gate XNOR1 via an input terminal CI and an inverter INV1.
If a Hi level carry in signal has been input and the bit b1 is at Hi level, then the NOR gate NOR1 outputs a Hi level carry signal C1 to the second input terminal of the NOR gate NOR2 and also to the first input terminal of the exclusive NOR gate XNOR2 via an inverter INV2. If the carry signal C1 is at Hi level and the bit b2 is also at Hi level, then the NOR gate NOR2 outputs a Hi level carry signal C2 to the second input terminal of the NOR gate NOR3 and also to the first input terminal of the exclusive NOR gate XNOR3 via an inverter INV3. Similarly, if each of carry signals C2 through C5 is at Hi level and the corresponding one of the bits b3 through b6 is at Hi level, then each of the NOR gates NOR3 through NOR6 outputs a corresponding one of Hi level carry signals C3 through C6 to the second input terminal of a corresponding one of the NOR gates NOR4 through NOR7 and also to the first input terminal of a corresponding one of the exclusive NOR gates XNOR4 through XNOR7 via a corresponding one of inverters INV4 through INV7. In addition, if the carry signal C6 is at Hi level and the bit b7 is at Hi level, then the NOR gate NOR7 outputs a Hi level carry signal C7 to the first input terminal of the exclusive NOR gate XNOR8 via an inverter INV8.
As a result, if a Hi level carry in signal is input, the exclusive NOR gates XNOR1 through XNOR8 increment the address data input into the data input terminals DI1 through DI8 by "1", respectively, and output its result to the data output terminals DO1 through DO8. Thus, with the incrementer circuit having the above-described structure, when a Hi level carry in signal has been input into the input terminal CI, an 8-bit address data b1 through b8 input into the data input terminals DI1 through DI8 is incremented by "1" and output to the data output terminals DO1 through DO8. On the other hand, if a Lo level carry in signal has been input into the input terminal CI, an 8-bit address data b1 through b8 input into the data input terminals DI1 through DI8 is output to the data output terminals DO1 through DO8 without alteration.
In an incrementer circuit as described above, carry signals C1 through C7 are sequentially generated by the NOR gates NOR1 through NOR7 one after another so that it takes a relatively long period of time from the time when an address data has been input to the time when the most significant bit carry signal C7 is produced to obtain an incremented address data.


A vending machine system and its associated method of operation. In the vending machine system, customers are provided with identification cards having statistical information regarding the identity of the card owner. Also contained on the card is a digital data code corresponding to a biometric characteristic of the card owner. Vending machines are provided that contain card readers and biometric characteristic scanners. When a customer wants to use the vending machine, that customer inserts their identification card into the vending machine. That customer also subjects themselves to a biometric scan from the biometric characteristic verifier contained within the vending machine. The vending machine reads both the identification data and the biometric characteristic data from the card. A systems processor in the vending machine compares the biometric characteristic data on the identification card with the biometric characteristic data just gathered.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vending systems that sell or dispense products directly to the public. More particularly, the present invention relates to vending systems having identification verification capabilities to ensure that the person buying a product from the vending machine is authorized to receive the product.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Vending systems are automated systems that provide a product or service to a customer at the convenience of the customer. Many vending systems, such as vending machines, require that the customer pay a fee. However, other vending systems exist, such as ticket kiosks, that vend once a customer verifies their identity.
Vending systems are popular because of convenience. Vending systems are ready for business at all times of the day and night. Furthermore, vending systems can be placed in remote locations, such as train stations, hotel corridors and the like that are convenient to customers. However, most all vending machines are non-discriminating. That is, the vending machines will sell a product or service to anyone who deposits the required fee or provides a proper identification code. This is fine with vending machines that sell unregulated products such as candy or soda. However, if a vending system is dispensing products, such as pharmaceuticals, airline tickets or the like, vending systems cannot verify that the person receiving the vended product is truly the person is authorized to receive that product.
In the prior art, there have been attempts to change the design of vending systems so that the vending machines can only sell products to authorized customers. Such prior art vending machines are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,526 to Sharrard, entitled, Dispensing Security System For A Vending Machine. In the Sharrard patent, a vending machine is disclosed that validates the identity of a consumer through an identification card. The identification card is inserted into the vending machine. If the identification card indicates that the customer is of legal age, the vending machine will vend the regulated product.
Such vending machines have not become successful because of the obvious flaw in the verification system. Any person having a valid identification card can use the vending machine. Accordingly, an underage person can purchase regulated products from a vending machine just by borrowing someone else's card. Since the vending machines verify the card and not the person using the card, the degree of verification is insufficient.
A need therefore exists for a vending system that directly verifies the person using the vending system in a manner that cannot be falsified. This would enable vending machines to vend regulated products directly to customers without the fear of abuse by underage or other unauthorized users. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.

Vending system having biometric verification protocols for user verification


An aseptic packaging machine includes a web-shaped packaging material feed, a sterilizer-filler nozzle assembly with a form section 40, a product supply duct, a sterilization medium supply duct, and an exhaust duct. One or more pre-sterilization medium supply feeds are connectable to a product inlet connector and a sterilization medium inlet connector. A collector cup 70 is movable relative to the nozzle assembly between an inactive and a docking position. The collector cup delimits one or more interior spaces 71a, 72a designed to, in the docking position, enclose a product outlet portion 4 to collect and/or drain away pre-sterilization media during a pre-sterilization of the nozzle assembly get to flow through and along it, and to also enclose the sterilization medium outlet portion 16 and/or exhaust inlet portion 22 in the docking position inside its one or more interior spaces.

The invention relates to an aseptic packaging machine that has one or more sterilizer-filler nozzle assemblies, in particular of a type that comprises a form section that has an outer wall, a proximal end and a distal end, which outer wall is designed to form a packaging tube out of a web-shaped packaging material around the outer wall while the packaging tube moves downstream and while the packaging tube gets sealed along a longitudinal edge.
Such sterilizer-filler nozzle assemblies for example can be used for aseptically packaging quantities of sterile products, like liquid food products, in sterile sealed packaging tubes, for example sticks. With this the packaging material may get sterilized before the packaging tube gets filled with the sterile product.
This sterilization for example can be done by guiding the web-shaped material through a bath filled with sterilization medium and then have the thus wetted packaging material run through the sterile zone of the aseptic packaging machine towards the form section. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,035. A disadvantage hereof was that the relative large sterile zone of such machine needed to be pre-sterilized and kept sterile during the entire packaging process.
From WO 2017/220688 it is known to have the sterilization of the packaging material take place after the forming of the packaging tube. Thus a lot of equipment of the packaging machine no longer had to be pre-sterilized and kept aseptic during the entire packaging process. For being able to perform the sterilization inside the packaging tube, a sterilizer-filler nozzle assembly is provided that comprises a central product dispensing pipe that is partly surrounded by a cylindrical plasma mist dispensing pipe that has an open end adjacent an open end of the dispensing packaging tube. The plasma mist dispensing pipe provides a tapered or stepped construction to a forming pipe about which the packaging material is folded into its packaging tube-shape and is sealed along a longitudinal edge. Cold plasma mist gets dispensed to flow along and sterilize the packaging material right after it has been formed in the packaging tube-shape and just before it comes into contact with the sterile product. The plasma mist dispensing pipe is partly surrounded by the forming pipe that has an open end adjacent the open end of the plasma mist dispensing pipe. The forming pipe here serves the purpose of inlet pipe for extraction of the plasma mist out of the formed packaging tube again.
From U.S. Pat. No. 5,335,479 it is known to perform a pre-sterilization of a form pipe and fill pipe before a filling operation begins. The form pipe and fill pipe then get pre-sterilized by having different kinds of sterilization medium flowing through and around them. For this use is made of a cup-shaped connecting element. During pre-sterilization, the cup-shaped connecting element gets brought in line with and connected to a lower end of the fill pipe. Subsequently, a lower section of a formed packaging tube gets manually pulled down and positioned around an outwardly projecting upper edge of the cup-shaped connecting element. In this docking position the formed packaging tube gets clamped around this edge by means of a tension ring. In this engaged docking position, a cleaning medium, first, and then for a pre-determined period of time a pre-sterilization medium, preferably steam, are carried through the fill pipe, sterilizing the inside thereof. The pre-sterilization medium that emerges from the fill pipe is caught by the cup and removed therefrom via an outlet opening into a drain. A pre-sterilization medium, such as hydrogen peroxide, is introduced through a distal lower end of the form pipe into the packaging tube interior between an outer wall of the fill pipe and an inner wall of the formed packaging tube. The pre-sterilization medium also gets into a gap between the packaging tube and the form pipe through longitudinal grooves that are provided along the form pipe. After a certain period of time, the feed of pre-sterilization medium is switched off, and the fill pipe is moved towards an upper position. Sealing jaws are then pressed together, so that between the fill pipe and the cup, they seal the packaging tube.
A disadvantage herewith is that the pre-sterilization process leaves to be improved. In particular it strongly delimits the type of packaging material and/or pre-sterilization media that can be used. When for example hydrogen peroxide suspended in steam is used as pre-sterilization medium for the pre-sterilization of the outer wall of the fill pipe and of the form pipe, then this hot mixture also gets to flow directly along the inner wall of the formed packaging tube. In order to prevent the formed packaging tube of starting to shrink and/or having the characteristics of its packaging material negatively influenced, it is important not to use too hot or aggressive chemicals in the pre-sterilization medium for pre-sterilizing the outer wall of the fill pipe and of the form pipe, and it is important to use a packaging material of which the inner wall is well able to withstand high temperatures and/or chemicals in the pre-sterilization medium. Another disadvantage is that, when for example hot steam is used as pre-sterilization medium for pre-sterilization of a product supply duct inside the fill pipe, then the fill pipe as well as the cup-shaped connecting element for a long period of time can remain way too hot to be able to manually safely pull a free lower end of a formed packaging tube down along and over the fill pipe and carefully manually position and clamp it around the upper edge of the cup-shaped connecting element. A cooling period might then be required, which may lead to valuable production time getting lost. Yet another disadvantage is that the manually pulling down of the formed packaging tube along the fill pipe and positioning and clamping it around the connection element, brings along risks for an operator to get injured and increases a risk of contamination of the critical filling zone by the operator. Further it is disadvantageous that the manual pulling down of the packaging tube may lead to the packaging tube getting accidentally damaged, which may cause the pre-sterilization medium to leak prematurely away into the machine itself during the pre-sterilization process, that is to say without having been able to sufficiently pre-sterilize the entire critical filling zone. Finally it is also deemed disadvantageous that the pre-sterilization medium that is introduced through the distal lower end of the form pipe into the packaging tube interior between an outer wall of the fill pipe and the inner wall of the formed packaging tube, gets exhausted at the distal end of the form section at substantially the same position as where the pre-sterilization medium has been injected. This may result in either an amount of pre-sterilization medium getting to a standstill inside the lower end of the packaging tube, or in the pre-sterilization medium getting sucked upwards prematurely, that is to say before sufficiently having reached and thus be able to pre-sterilize the lower end of the fill pipe at all.

CSIP-collector with dual docking function


An integrated gasification combined cycle plant is combined with a Kalina bottoming cycle. High thermal energy streams 31, 69, 169 from the gasification system are provided in heat exchange relation with the two component working fluid mixture at appropriate locations along the Kalina bottoming cycle units to supplement the thermal energy from the gas turbine exhaust 28 which heats the working fluid supplied to the vapor turbines. Particularly, low temperature heat recovery fluid from the low temperature cooling section 50b of the gasification system lies in heat exchange relation 27 with the condensed working fluid from the distillation/condensation sub-system of the Kalina cycle to preheat the working fluid prior to entry into the heat recovery vapor generator 12. Heat recovery fluid from the high temperature gas cooling section 50a of the gasification system is placed in heat exchange relation 23 and 65 with the working fluid at an intermediate location along the heat recovery vapor generator 12. By supplementing the heat of the gas turbine exhaust with available heat from the gasification system, and optimal integration, increased power output and improved efficiency are obtained.

Integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power generating plants have demonstrable lower costs, improved reliability and improved efficiencies. The IGCC process relies on two-stage combustion with clean-up between the stages. The first stage includes a gasifier for partial oxidation of fossil fuel, i.e., coal, heavy fuel oils or the like, whereas the second stage utilizes a gas turbine combustor for burning the fuel gas produced by the gasifier to complete the combustion process. For example, it has been demonstrated that inherent fuel processing losses associated with fossil fuel gasification, in conjunction with the combined cycle, can deliver superior cycle efficiency. In a simple combined cycle power generating system, there is provided a gas turbine, one or more steam turbines, one or more generators and a heat recovery steam generator. The gas turbine and steam turbine may be coupled to a single generator in a tandem arrangement or multi-shaft combined cycle systems may be provided having one or more gas turbines, generators and HRSGs for supplying steam through a common header to a separate steam turbine generator unit. In the combined cycle, heat from the gas turbine exhaust is provided in heat exchange relation with a working fluid in the heat recovery steam generator for powering the steam turbines and, hence, generating electricity or mechanical work.
In recent years, there have been substantial improvements in thermodynamic cycles employing multi-component working fluids and a combination of absorption, condensation, evaporation and recuperative heat exchange operations to reduce irreversible losses typical of conventional Rankine cycles. Generally, these improved thermodynamic cycles are known as Kalina cycles and afford demonstrable and substantial improvements in thermodynamic cycle efficiency. Kalina cycles use two interactive subsystems. The first subsystem involves a heat acquisition process for a multi-component working fluid comprising, for example, preheating, evaporating, superheating, regenerative feed heating and power generation. The second subsystem consists of a distillation/condensation subsystem (DCSS). The efficiency improvements of the Kalina cycle over the Rankine cycle are a result of the use of a multi-component working fluid, preferably an ammonia/water mixture, the components of which have different boiling points at the same pressure. The compositions of the vapor and liquid streams change at different points throughout the cycle and the sub-systems enable closer matching of the enthalpy-temperature characteristics of the working fluid and the heat source used to evaporate the working fluid and the heat sink used to condense it.
In the heat acquisition subsystem, the Kalina system closes the mismatch between the enthalpy-temperature characteristics of the heat source and working fluid as the working fluid passes through the boiler. These energy losses, typical of the Rankine cycle, are reduced by taking advantage of the changing temperature-enthalpy characteristics of the multi-component working fluid as it evaporates.
In the second subsystem, i.e., the DCSS of the Kalina cycle, the spent working fluid after expansion through the turbine, is too low in pressure and too high in ammonia concentration to be directly condensed at the temperature of available coolant. The working fluid therefore can only be partially condensed and a lean solution is mixed with a two-phase precondensed flow from a recuperative heat exchanger, thereby forming a lower concentration of ammonia/water mixture which can be fully condensed at available coolant temperature. The lean condensate is subsequently distilled recuperatively against the turbine exhaust to regenerate the working composition for the heat acquisition subsystem. The Kalina cycle has been the subject of a number of patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,586,340; 4,604,867; 5,095,708 and 4,732,005, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference. The continued quest for increased efficiencies in power generation equipment has resulting in combining the Kalina bottoming cycles in an integrated gasification combined cycle power generating system in accordance with the present invention.

Integrated gasification combined cycle power plant with kalina bottoming cycle


A stacked mounting structure includes a first substrate which includes a first electronic component, a second substrate disposed facing the first substrate and including a second electronic component, an intermediate member having a space for accommodating the second electronic component, an electroconductive member provided to the intermediate member, a first electrode for testing electrically connected to the first electronic component, as an electrode for testing an operation of the first electronic component, a connecting electrode toward the second substrate electrically connected to the second electronic component, as an electrode for electrically connecting to the electroconductive member, and a second electrode for testing provided to the first substrate as an electrode for testing an operation of the second electronic component and electrically connected to the second electronic component via the electroconductive member and the connecting electrode toward the second substrate.

A stacked mounting structure which is used in a cellular phone described in Patent Literature 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2004-7469) can be cited as a conventional example of the stacked mounting structure which is provided with an electrode for testing. The stacked mounting structure (electronic component 410) in Patent Literature 1 is a stacked mounting structure having a component (an integrated circuit 415) accommodated at an interior, and substrates 441 to 445 stacked, and by providing the electrode for testing (terminal for testing 431) on one surface 430 other than a mounting surface 420, testing after formation of the stacked mounting structure can be carried out easily (FIG. 18).    Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2004-7469


A method and device for location of pipes is disclosed. The method can comprise mounting one or more centering tools, each having a reflector to a first pipe such that the reflectors are either aligned with, or can be used to determine the location of the center of the first pipe and mounting one or more centering tools, each having a reflector to a second pipe such that the reflectors are either aligned with, or can be used to determine the location of the center of the second pipe. The method can further comprise determining a first distance between the center of the first pipe and a light emitting source at an observation point disposed between the first pipe and the second pipe and determining a second distance between the center of the second pipe and the light emitting source at the observation point.

A considerable amount of effort is required for the correct placement, fabrication, and installation of pipes that convey liquid, gas, and occasionally solid materials. It is important that the location of pipes within an area be determined accurately so that a contractor can use this information to correctly cut and install additional pipes that extend between the pipes. Inaccurate measurements can lead to waste of time, materials, manpower, and a higher cost.


An axially-wound electrical capacitor is composed of at least one capacitor winding arranged on a core tube. A respective metallic lead-through contact element is arranged at each of the two opposite end faces and is connected to a respective schoopage layer carried on the respective end face, the contact element being centered in the core tube. A plastic envelope covers the capacitor up to the lead-through regions for the external connections.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to capacitors and is particularly directed to an axially-wound electrical capacitor, particularly a power capacitor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Capacitors of the type set forth above are constructed of dielectric plastic layers (for example, polypropylene, polycarbonate, polyethyleneterephthalate and other suitable plastics) and have regenerably thin metal layers (for example of aluminum, zinc or alloys of aluminum and zinc) as electrodes that are either applied on the dielectric layers or on carrier layers (for example, paper) arranged in the field-free space. For contacting the electrodes arranged in an offset fashion, contact layers are produced on the end faces of the windings, for example in accordance with schoopage techniques.
If required, a plurality of capacitor windings can also be interconnected with one another.
Furthermore, certain types of capacitors have an impregnation with an insulating, dielectric fluid such as, for example, mineral oil and/or an electronegative gas such as, for example, sulphur hexafluoride.
Such capacitors, particularly the liquid-impregnated capacitors, are integrated in a metal housing.
It is already well known in the art to provide smaller, non-impregnated capacitors with a plastic envelope that provides, for example, enveloping with epoxy resin or extrusion-coating with thermoplastics or, respectively, thermosetting plastics.
In addition to other components, fully-insulated capacitors in an axial structure are required for wiring GTO thyristors.
When the capacitors are manufactured with a known structure having windings tightly assembled in metal housings, there is the possibility of subsequent, full insulation. To that end, for example, the housing can be integrally cast or, respectively, extrusion-coated, and the manufacture becomes involved and expensive as a result thereof.
Given the plastic envelope heretofore known only for small types of capacitors, the envelope material must be joined with adequate tightness in the region of the lead-through of the contacts. Despite the utilization of adhesion promoters and/or despite roughening, fully satisfactory results have not been achieved either in extrusion coating or in integral casting, particularly given thermal cycling.
Given liquid-impregnated capacitor windings, furthermore, an enveloping after the impregnation is not possible due to the parting agent effect of the impregnation fluid. The plastic envelopes known in the art likewise do not provide any measures for making a flow cross-section adequate for the impregnation agent available after the fabrication of the envelope.