text:
US strike kills 17 in Pakistan; 27 hurt
Taliban sites were target, officials say
- |
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - US missiles struck a training facility operated by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud and a militant communication center yesterday, killing 17 people and wounding 27 others, intelligence officials said.
The two attacks by drone aircraft took place in South Waziristan, a Mehsud stronghold close to the Afghan border where Pakistani troops are gearing up for a military offensive, two officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Meanwhile, an army transport helicopter carrying security personnel in the northwest crashed after developing a technical problem, killing 26 people on board, military officials said. An investigation into the cause of the crash not far from the main city of Peshawar was underway, said Major General Athar Abbas.
The drone attacks were the latest of more than 40 believed to have been carried out by the United States against militant targets in the border area since last August. Washington does not directly acknowledge being responsible for the attacks, which kill civilians as well as militants.
Most Pakistanis criticize the drone attacks, and Islamabad officially protests them as violations of its sovereignty. Still, most experts believe the government secretly approves of them and probably provides the United States with intelligence.
In one attack yesterday, two missiles struck an abandoned seminary in the village of Mantoi that was being used by militants from Mehsud's group for training, the officials said. In the other strike, one missile hit an insurgent communications center in the nearby village of Kokat Khel, they said.
In total, 17 people were killed and 27 others were wounded, they said.
However, Maulvi Noor Syed, an aide to Mehsud, said three Taliban fighters died in the strikes.
"We lost only three mujahideen [holy warriors] in today's American missile attack,'' Syed said. "These attacks cannot cause any damage to us.''
Access to the rugged, dangerous region is strictly controlled, and the death toll could not be independently verified.
Also yesterday, US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano met government officials in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad. She discussed topics of "mutual interest'' with them, a US Embassy spokesman said.
The Pakistani military launched an offensive in the Swat region close to the border in early May and is currently gearing up for operations in South Waziristan to eliminate Mehsud, who has been blamed for a string of deadly suicide attacks across the country that have killed more than 100 people in the past month.
In neighboring North Waziristan yesterday, Pakistani warplanes bombed suspected militant hide-outs, killing at least four insurgents and wounding seven others, two more intelligence officials said. Those air strikes hit targets where Taliban fighters killed 16 government troops in an ambush earlier this week, the officials said, also speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The United States appears to be increasing the pressure on Mehsud, who is viewed in Islamabad with growing alarm. Last week, the Taliban leader narrowly escaped a strike on a funeral for militants killed in an earlier drone attack. Eighty people died in the strike, although Mehsud escaped unharmed.


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San Francisco has re-signed LB Takeo Spikes to a two-year contract, a source told FOXSports.com. Financial details weren't immediately available.
Spikes wasn't signed by San Francisco until the 2008 preseason but he became one of the team's most productive defensive players. Starting alongside Patrick Willis at inside linebacker for the final 13 games, Spikes finished the season second on the 49ers in tackles with 122.
Spikes, 32, was a first-round draft pick by Cincinnati in 1998.
— Alex Marvez

subset: commoncrawl


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Still Thinking About Not Getting A Flu Shot? Think Again.
This week, I found myself taking part in something I typically try to avoid: a public debate on Facebook.
It wasn't about politics but another hot topic these days: the flu.
My friend posted that she was still undecided on whether she should get a flu shot. I was surprised. We're in the midst of a flu emergency here in Boston: 700 cases of the flu have been confirmed so far this season — that's 10 times the confirmed cases during last year's entire flu season. My co-workers are dropping like flies. And despite this being only the second year I can remember getting the flu vaccine in my adult life, to me it seemed simple: get the vaccine, reduce your risk of getting sick.
But for some, it's not. Here are some of the arguments I've come across:
Argument 1: "The vaccine isn't all that effective."
Dr. Ben Kruskal, chief of infectious diseases at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, told us last month that while a variety of studies have come out recently looking at this issue, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine is hard to measure.
"There are a lot of studies that came out over the last five to ten years, many of which were not very rigorous methodologically, and showed very rosy numbers for the efficacy of the vaccine. And more rigorous studies came out more recently showing that it's not as good as we thought it might be."
One of those recent studies was a report from the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. It found that while the flu vaccine provides more protection than being unvaccinated, it is less effective than most routinely recommended vaccines. It also asserts that the perception that the current vaccine is highly effective is preventing the development of better flu vaccines.
"The safety profile is actually quite good. But we have oversold it," the center's director Michael Osterholm told the New York Times. "Use it — but just know it's not going to work nearly as well as everyone says."
Argument 2: "It's too late now."
Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Boston Infectious Disease Bureau, says it's not too late to protect yourself.
"There is time for people to still get vaccinated and they should get vaccinated," Barry said. "Even if it doesn't completely prevent you from getting influenza, we know that it will result, in most people, in less severe illness."
Flu levels typically don't peak until mid-February, but know that it takes two weeks for the vaccine to provide protection against the virus.
Argument 3: "I got the flu from the vaccine once."
Though it is common to get muscle aches or a mild fever after your flu shot, you can't catch the flu from it because the injectable vaccine carries dead flu virus. (See argument 5)
Argument 4: "Vaccines contain mercury."
Multiple-dose vials of the flu vaccine do contain thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. While there is a lot of controversy surrounding the use of thimerosal in vaccines, the CDC stands by its safety.
That said, single-dose units of the flu vaccine and the nasal spray are both made without thimerosal.
Argument 5: "I know people that get the shots and still get sick."
It's true: You can still get the flu even if you get the vaccine.
As NPR reports, while the flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself, it's not perfect. It takes two weeks for its protections to kick in and:
The vaccine is only about 60 percent effective. So some people can get the flu even though they were vaccinated because the shot just didn't work for them. The vaccine, for example, tends to work less well in the elderly.
And while the CDC says this year's vaccine is well matched to fight the most common strains circulating this season, Dr. Robin Colgrove of the infectious disease division of Mount Auburn Hospital told us he is seeing more confirmed cases, using the rapid antigen test, in people who've been vaccinated than normal.
"Those cases have been mostly mild cases and it may be they have partial protection from the vaccine," Dr. Colgrove said.
Argument 6: "I'm healthy, I don't need the vaccine."
Anyone who gets the flu can experience complications. And while you might not be concerned about getting the flu, others around you could be — especially if you spend time around those at high risk for getting the flu like, according to the CDC, older people, young children, pregnant women and people with certain medical conditions.
The CDC says the vaccine tends to work less effectively in seniors, who are also at the greatest risk for developing serious complications as a result. Not getting vaccinated means there's a higher chance you could end up spreading the virus to others.
My own take away: While the vaccine isn't perfect, it still lowers your risk of getting or spreading the virus. Either way, getting the vaccine is a personal decision, or as one of my Facebook friends put it: "It's up to flu."
Have any other arguments for or against the flu vaccine? Tell us in the comments.
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PA President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN 370 (R).(Photo by: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)
Abbas vows to continue UN bid for status upgrade
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
PA president claims Pillar of Defense was aimed at thwarting Palestinian effort.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas claimed Friday that the IDF
military offensive
against the Gaza Strip was aimed at thwarting his plan to ask the UN General Assembly to upgrade the status of a Palestinian state to non-member.
Abbas and other senior PA officials have thus far refrained from holding Hamas responsible for the latest round of violence, as they had done in the past. Instead, the PA leadership has directed all its criticism toward Israel.
"All what Israel is doing is aimed at hindering our effort at the UN," Abbas said in a televised speech. He was speaking shortly after returning to Ramallah from Switzerland.
"But we are going on November 29 to the UN to obtain the status of non-member and no one could stop under any circumstances."
Abbas also accused Israel of pursuing a scheme to "destroy the Palestinian national project."
Abbas said that the current Israeli "aggression against the Palestinian people and the ongoing settlement construction show that Israel continues to deny the rights of our people."
Israel, he added, must understand that without peace no one would be able to live in security. Abbas also warned Israel against "perpetrating more massacres against the Palestinians."
Abbas said that he has asked the Arab League to dispatch a ministerial delegation to the Gaza Strip to express solidarity with the Palestinians there.
Abbas revealed that he had tried several times to phone Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to talk to him about the situation in the Gaza Strip, but to no avail.
Abbas, meanwhile, met in Ramallah Saturday with Egyptian envoy Yasser Othman and discussed with him the latest developments.
During the meeting, Abbas praised Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil for visiting the Gaza Strip on Friday and urged Cairo to pursue its efforts to achieve a cease-fire with Israel.
Ahmed Assaf, a Fatah spokesman in the West Bank, said that Abbas's insistence on pursuing the statehood bid was a "victory for the blood of the Palestinian martyrs."
Assaf said that the application to the UN later this month was also designed to foil Israel's plot to "Judaize our land, eliminate our presence in Jerusalem and destroy our national cause."
In a separate development, Abbas's Fatah militiamen announced Saturday that they would participate in the fighting alongside Hamas and other armed groups if the IDF invades the Gaza Strip.
Abu Ahed, spokesman for Fatah's armed wing, Aksa Martyrs Brigades, called on the Israeli public to "topple" the government of Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu.
The spokesman claimed that Netanyahu was waging war on the Gaza Strip to improve his chances of winning the upcoming general election in Israel. The Fatah spokesman threatened to turn the Gaza Strip into a "cemetery for Israeli soldiers."
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About The Moen 8413 M-DURA Single Handle Bathroom Faucet, Chrome
The Moen 8413 M-DURA Single Handle Bathroom Faucet features a beautiful chrome finish and an easy to use one-handle lever design. This great bathroom faucet is vandal resistant and has adjustable temperature limit stops. The Moen 8413 M-DURA Single Handle Bathroom Faucet is ADA compliant and meets sb1953 (California) and s152 (Vermont) legislation. This amazing bathroom faucet has a maximum flow rating of 2.2 gpm (8.3 l/min). The faucet has no lift rod hole, and features a very heavy duty construction. The Moen 8413 M-DURA Single Handle Bathroom Faucet is backed by a limited five year manufacturer warranty.
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• Say multi-billion dollar project would suck nearly all the water out of the Sacramento River
• State is poised to make an enormous mistake ... and potentially drag the American people along with it
In a letter to U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, the group say the canal, or its alternative, a massive tunnel, would suck out most of the water from the Sacramento River before it enters the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The canal or tunnel would move the water into the state and federal irrigation systems.
The government is "poised to make an enormous mistake ... and potentially drag the American people along with it" by backing "construction of a world-record-size tunnel or pipes capable of diverting 15,000 cubic feet per second from the Sacramento River -- nearly all of its average freshwater flow," the letter says.
The coalition sent the letter after the administration of California Gov. Jerry Brown informed them that the state intends to proceed with construction of a peripheral canal or tunnel without a vote of the citizens.
In 1983, Californians soundly rejected a plan for the peripheral canal.
The groups say the "$20 to $50 billion dollar, highly controversial project will primarily serve to deliver Sacramento River water, through State and Federal pumps, to provide subsidized irrigation water to corporate agricultural operations of the western San Joaquin Valley."
The letter was signed by Sierra Club California, Environmental Water Caucus, Friends of the River, California Water Impact Network, Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Food and Water Watch, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, the Planning and Conservation League and the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water, as well as twenty-nine other organizations.
"The Department of the Interior has a duty to protect the largest estuary on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. Diverting its largest fresh water source through a pipe or tunnel will destroy this amazing tapestry of fisheries and family farms, says Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, executive director of Restore the Delta.
Supporting the state of California in its aim of building a $51 billion canal or tunnel and then figuring out how to operate it later simply cannot be defended in the eyes of the public, she says.
The groups call on the Obama Administration to instead invest in more efficient use of water through cost-effective water conservation and recycling.
This will not only protect the pocket books of millions of California ratepayers and U.S. taxpayers, but will help ensure that legally-required salmon doubling goals, estuary restoration, and public trust values are honored for future generations, the letter says.
From its inception, this plan has been crafted by, and for, South-of-Delta exporters. They have used their economic power to influence and rush this half-baked, multi-billion dollar water tunnel," the groups say.
Steve Maniaci 6/14/12 10:06 AM
And the pendulum now swings to the extreme far left. This propaganda should be discounted because we all know that the plan is to move surplus water in times of heavy runoff through this improved conveyance system, and that there are restrictions on the draw to prevent damage to the ecology of the Delta. These statements are mearly scare tactics that, once again, are meant to mis-inform the public. I sure hope that Gov. Jerry Brown and Secretary Salazar see through this and let common sense prevail! We need to foster the American farm, not shut it down so we can build more condo's.
Jim Peck 6/14/12 12:27 PM
Steve - After spending 20 to 50 billion do you really think it will only be used during times of excessive spring runoff? In wet years there is more spring water in the San Joaquin alone than the pumps can divert, so water from the Sacramento cannot be utilized. Sacramento water is needed when the demand from state and federal water projects exceeds the available water in the SJ. As I see it, the state considers it to be an insurance policy against a catastophic failure of delta levies which could bring salt water up to the pumps. The corporate water and ag entities see it as an another source of taxpayer subidized water that they can buy cheaply to grow crops or sell at a profit. If this project is built, I believe that those who use the water should bear all the costs of construction as well as operation so that no taxpayer dollars are used.
Steve Maniaci 6/14/12 1:49 PM
Jim - You make some valid points that have been part of the arguement for years. But please rise above this. Californias have not spent on improvement and additional water conveyance and storage for many years. Doing nothing, except continueing the argument, will solve nothing. Do you really believe that salt water intrusion would ever be allowed to happen? Yes, the project is an insurance policy in many ways, but that is a positive! Yes, water users include corporate entities. Corporations are not the devil, and neither is making a profit. Let's stay focused on solving the water problem and leave the politics out of the arguement. As I see it, your common talking points are blinding your logic and common sense. Please remember that farmers are all environmentalists, and tend to be very good stewards of the land.


text: | Couldn't this be best done with McBride and Patterson's Applicative | idiom notation? | | So the above would become | | [[l m (pure x) n (pure y)]] (or something like that) | | It would have the advantage of being usable with any Applicative, not | just Monads. Does anyone have a pointer to a stand-alone description of "full-scale idiom notation". S


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Once again I've digressed from the five-part series, because spring is in the air! It's been a very, very long winter for most of the country and when the warmer weather and flowers bloom, we all want to get outside and finally have some fun, whether it be through organized sports or some form of recreational activity. Yet, this is when most concussions occur. We are so eager to just get out and have fun that we don't think about helmets and other means of playground and recreational safety.
How many of you have put a helmet on your children to go bike riding, but didn't put one on your own head? How many of you out riding your horse, skateboarding, or rollerblading have not put a helmet on your head? Recently I was driving around and saw dozens of parents with their children riding their bikes, where the children have helmets on and the parents do not. Just stop and think, what will happen to your family if you have an accident and have a concussion? How does that affect your entire family? When I drive through the various local towns, there is a vast number of children of all ages playing on their skateboards without helmets.
Now if you recall in my very first post, I wrote about the difference between a brain injury and a head injury. In that post, I pointed out that when you exceed the speed of what you could possibly run into a wall or tree, you are likely to have a brain injury. If you are riding a bike, skateboarding, or rollerblading you are going much faster than you could on two feet, and if you hit your head at that speed you are likely to have injury to your brain, even if you were not knocked unconscious.
Now let's move on to the local playground, with swings, slides, jungle gyms, etc. Usually the children who play there are ages six and under, and their brains are still developing. All too often children that sustain a concussion on the playground in the Spring, their symptoms are often ignored or dismissed the focus is on the physical injuries that occurred. Often parents do not connect the ongoing symptoms (e.g. not paying attention in class, being anxious, fatigued, or complaining of headaches) to the injury on the playground. It is usually not until the Fall when school starts and a teacher sees these symptoms in the classroom, then these symptoms are often misdiagnosed and the parents are told that their child is having anxiety, discipline problems or has ADD or ADHD. At this point most parents never make the connection to the root cause, which was from a concussion in the Spring.
It is important to know there are specific tests to evaluate for concussions. One such test done by neuropsychologists is the Haltstead-Reitan. A list of all the tests is available in Chapter 5 of my book, Coping with Concussion and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. If your school wants to do any testing, make sure this test is included to rule out the cause was a concussion, rather than ADD or anxiety.
For even younger children the leading cause of concussion is being struck by a car while walking or riding a bicycle or scooter. Seemingly benign, amusement park rides also increase a child's risk. The sudden acceleration and deceleration of roller coasters and other rides are known to cause concussion, particularly if this impact is preceded by other concussions.
It is likely that concussions related to riding toys are underreported, because the parent or caregiver may focus on external injuries such as scrapes or bruises. It is easy to overlook a child's appearing dazed and shaken if her knee is bleeding or his arm is injured. Even when an injury is serious enough to warrant a trip to the emergency room, the focus tends to be on the visible. Medical personnel may overlook that a child seems to be dazed or not thinking clearly, which is why concussion is called "the Silent Epidemic."
By 10 years-old, most children are in some type of organized sport, whether that be tee-ball, little league, soccer, etc. The rate of concussion a few decades ago were down for two reasons. First is that there was an under-reporting, along with a lack of evidence that a concussion truly existed. It has only been in the last 5-10 years that the technology and science has been available to truly detect and assess a concussion. The second is that children in prior decades were not involved in organized sports, rather the child would play with their friend at the local baseball field. There was not the competitive edge that exists today. Parents and local social acceptance now go from general encouragement to often pushing a child to go beyond their physical ability to play that sport, resulting in the risk of injury. Once again, if the child was injured the focus was on the physical injury to the body and all too often the injury to the brain was totally ignored or minimized.
Pre-teens and teenagers are the highest risk, especially males, for having a concussion from a wide variety of sports and recreational activities, such as enjoying jumping on trampolines. The table below presents some of the leading sports and recreational activities that can cause concussion at any age. During the teen years, nutrition frequently becomes worse as parental regulation decreases and the temptation increases to use energy drinks, bodybuilding supplements, alcohol, and drugs. All of this puts the developing brain at risk, because the connective myelin in the prefrontal lobe, which helps regulate how we think, behave, and feel, is just beginning to grow. Yet it is during this time of life that many youths are involved in hard-hitting or risky athletic pursuits.
1. Cycling
2. Boxing
3. Football
4. Wrestling
5. Baseball and softball
6. Basketball
7. Water sports, including diving, scuba diving, surfing, swimming, water polo, water skiing, and water tubing
8. Powered recreational vehicles, including ATVs, dune buggies, go-carts, gas-powered scooters, mini bikes, and dirt bikes
9. Soccer
10. Skateboards and nonpowered scooters
11. Fitness, exercise, and health club participation
12. Winter sports, including skiing, sledding, snowboarding, and snowmobiling
13. Horseback riding
14. Gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading
15. Karate
16. Golf
17. Roller and ice hockey
18. Tennis
19. Racquetball
20. Other unspecified ball sports
21. Trampolines
22. Rugby and lacrosse
23. Roller- and inline skating
24. Ice-skating
The reality here is that you cannot be with your children 24/7. You can't protect them from everything, however, you can educate yourself and them about preventative measures. Please wear a helmet, whether it is a state law or not, when you are riding a bike or a horse, playing football, skateboarding, or roller blading. That includes parents too. If your child isn't quite as physical as others their age, see if there are other activities they can enjoy. Try putting a net around your trampoline, padding on the ground and on the metal strips. If you or your child has had a recent concussion, do NOT go on a roller coaster. If your child is at all bruised or cut up from a slide, playground injury or from sports, please consider they might have hit their head too. Don't minimize their dizziness or headaches. The child might need a day or two of just resting. Avoid sugar, drink lots of water and eat protein!
Having said all this, please be wise, use caution and enjoy the spring days. They go by very fast!
Be sure to read the following responses to this post by our bloggers:


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Series Information: Majipoor Cycle (and Valentine Trilogy)
Rating: Weighted - 7.51 / Average - 7.5 of 10 (29 votes)
Description's Source:
The Valentine trilogy takes place on the planet Majipoor. Several other books take place on the same planet but not at the same time as Valentine.
An example of SFF writing where the setting is really the star attraction. The planet of Majipoor is a Big Planet, long ago colonized by humans and a variety of other species. There are myriads of interesting plants, animals, and cultures, and the mysterious Majipoori natives, the Shapeshifters. Like Jack Vance's writing: a boggle of invention, all described colorfully, with characters romping from one quirky society to the next. Silverberg has revisited Majipoor numerous times, not just directly continuing the saga of Valentine, but filling out the planet's history both before and after his time.
Genre: Fiction→ Fantasy
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August 30, 2016
Sturgeon's EU plans BLOW: Top economic expert brands her Scot pound bid a MISTAKE
Professor Stiglitz said the pound was selected ahead of the 2014 poll because Scottish ministers had wanted "the smoothest transition possible".
He told BBC's Good Morning Scotland: "They wanted to say that we could move from the current economic arrangement to another one while keeping our currency and keeping other forms of institutions.
"I think, in hindsight, that may have been a mistake.
"It would be a mistake to join the euro, by the way, so what they would have needed to do, perhaps, was resurrect the Scottish pound and let it float."


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Frozen waffles, toaster pastries, bagels, homemade breads, toaster hash browns and more...this toaster with frozen, bagel and cancel functions toasts them all. Versatile capabilities and sleek styling make this toaster a real must-have for your kitchen. The extra wide slots with self-centering guides automatically adjust to all types of breads, resulting in even browning on both sides.
- 2-slice toaster with self-centering, extra wide slots
- Browning control knob
- Controls include: frozen, bagel, and cancel functions with indicator lights
- Cord storage
- Note: Product may vary by store.


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INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. (AP) — Officials are warning visitors to stay off the ice in Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.
Ice conditions are rapidly deteriorating in the park along the U.S.-Canadian border, thanks to warm temperatures and sunny weather.
Park staff are concerned the poor ice conditions may make it difficult to quickly rescue someone.
Last weekend, park visitors traveling on the ice escaped serious injury when their all-terrain vehicles broke through the ice.
On Friday, two visitors were traveling on a four-wheeler east of Wolf Island when their ATV broke through the ice. They were able to jump off the ATV and crawl to thicker ice.
Park rangers got a report Saturday that an ATV broke through the ice between Lake Kabetogama and Namakan Lake. The five riders, including three children, jumped off.
(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
Residential Water Demand in the Northwest of Spain
A panel of monthly aggregate data from the Northwest of Spain is used to estimate domestic water demand functions under linear and non-linear tariffs. Price, billing, climatic, and sociodemographic variables are used as explanatory variables. The use of intraannual data constitutes a relevant contribution in the European context. Overall marginal price elasticity estimates lie between −0.12 and −0.17. Summer-only elasticities and elasticities associated with uses beyond the effectively free allowances seem significantly higher. Climatic variables significantly affect monthly use, although probably less than in other wealthier and drier areas. Domestic water use appears to be a normal good. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2002
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Volume (Year): 21 (2002)
Issue (Month): 2 (February)
Pages: 161-187
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- Corral, Leonardo & Fisher, Anthony C. & Hatch, Nile W., 1998. "Price And Non-Price Influences On Water Conservation: An Econometric Model Of Aggregate Demand Under Nonlinear Budget Constraint," 1998 Annual meeting, August 2-5, Salt Lake City, UT 20958, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
- James J. Opaluch, 1982. "Urban Residential Demand for Water in the United States: Further Discussion," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(2), pages 225-227.
- David L. Chicoine & Ganapathi Ramamurthy, 1986. "Evidence on the Specification of Price in the Study of Domestic Water Demand," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 62(1), pages 26-32.
- Hausman, Jerry A & Taylor, William E, 1981.
"Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects,"
Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1377-1398, November.
- Hausman, Jerry A. & Taylor, William E., 1981. "Panel data and unobservable individual effects," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 155-155, May.
- J. A. Hausman & W. E. Taylor, 1980. "Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects," Working papers 255, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
- Mary E. Renwick & Sandra O. Archibald, 1998. "Demand Side Management Policies for Residential Water Use: Who Bears the Conservation Burden?," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 74(3), pages 343-359.
- Hausman, Jerry, 2015. "Specification tests in econometrics," Applied Econometrics, Publishing House "SINERGIA PRESS", vol. 38(2), pages 112-134.
- Hausman, Jerry A, 1978. "Specification Tests in Econometrics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(6), pages 1251-1271, November.
- J. A. Hausman, 1976. "Specification Tests in Econometrics," Working papers 185, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Department of Economics.
- Ellen M. Pint, 1999. "Household Responses to Increased Water Rates during the California Drought," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 75(2), pages 246-266.
- R. Bruce Billings, 1982. "Specification of Block Rate Price Variables in Demand Models," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(3), pages 386-394.
- Breusch, Trevor S & Mizon, Grayham E & Schmidt, Peter, 1989. "Efficient Estimation Using Panel Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 57(3), pages 695-700, May.
- MICHAEL Nieswiadomy & STEVEN L. Cobb, 1993. "Impact Of Pricing Structure Selectivity On Urban Water Demand," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 11(3), pages 101-113, 07.
- Graeme Dandy & Tin Nguyen & Carolyn Davies, 1997. "Estimating Residential Water Demand in the Presence of Free Allowances," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 73(1), pages 125-139.
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text:
|Número de publicación
|Tipo de publicación
|Número de solicitud
|Fecha de publicación
|8 Mar 1994
|Fecha de presentación
|14 Feb 1992
|Fecha de prioridad
|27 Mar 1989
|También publicado como
|Número de publicación
|Arthur H. Liers, Louis J. Principe, James Lagonigro
|Cesionario original
|Sonicor Instrument Corporation
|Exportar cita
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Citas de patentes (5), Otras citas (20), Citada por (27), Clasificaciones (7), Eventos legales (4)
|Enlaces externos: USPTO, Cesión de USPTO, Espacenet
This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending application, Ser. No. 07/781,699, filed Oct. 21, 1991; now U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,506 issued Aug. 31, 1993, which, in turn, is a continuation of application Ser. No. 07/328,953, filed Mar. 27, 1989, which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,611, on Oct. 22, 1991.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a process and apparatus for the ultrasonic cleaning of a cylinder used in a printing press.
More particularly, the present invention provides for the ultrasonic cleaning of a printing cylinder employing rational means for, preferably, the continuous rotation of a printing cylinder in a chamber while exposing such cylinder to sound waves having a frequency which, preferably, is in the range of 20-29 kHz for a period of time which would generally be less than 30 minutes. The means for rotation of the printing cylinder may be either magnetic or non-magnetic; the latter means being preferred. The ultrasonic cleaning of printing cylinders according to the present invention would preferably be carried out in a water-based chemical environment.
2. The Prior Art
Heretofore, the removal of ink residues from engraved printing cylinders has always been a labor-intensive activity which has often yielded less-than-acceptable results. Moreover, if the inks on the printing cylinders were not removed almost immediately from the cylinders and, instead, were allowed to dry, the cleaning of such cylinders became far more difficult, if not impossible. The complete removal of the inks was not always accomplished, resulting in problems concerning the level of the quality of the print obtained when the cylinder was re-used.
In addition to the limited effectiveness of prior processes and means for cleaning printing cylinders, the typical inks which have been used by the printing industry have required a cleaning solution using a toxic, or otherwise flammable, organic solvent base. Such solvents have included, for example, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and trichloroethane, well as various alcohols. The health hazards to personnel working with such chemical cleaning solutions on a day-to-day basis, as well as problems of safe and legal waste disposal, are well known within the industry.
The recognized, and heretofore unfulfilled, need within the printing industry for alternative safe and effective means for the cleaning of printing cylinders has continuously grown more critical. During the past few years, safety and environmental concerns have become far more acute as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and OSHA, as well as various state and local agencies, have begun to strictly enforce laws and regulations governing the safe disposal and use of such potentially hazardous chemical agents.
By way of further background, one solution which has been attempted in order to overcome the foregoing health and safety concerns was the development of water-based inks as a replacement for the organically-based inks in use. Such water-based inks could, conceivably, be cleaned from the printing cylinders with cleaners having water-based solvents which could be handled and disposed of, along with the water-based inks used, in compliance with applicable health and safety requirements. When water-based inks were introduced, more and more printers began to switch to the use of such inks. This cured the problem of the safe and lawful disposal of the inks. However, it was soon realized that once the water-based inks dried on the printing cylinder and other parts of the printing presses used, they became extremely difficult to remove by conventional means.
In one sector of the trade, known as flexographic printing, the printing cylinder was coated with a ceramic. The ceramic would be coated onto the cylinder in a molten form via a process known as plasma coating. The desired printing pattern is then etched into the ceramic using a laser, with the ink cells created by the laser etching. These cells are often too small to be seen with the unaided eye. Laser etchings generally have a length, width and depth in the range of 10-40 microns. Thus, ink which had been dry within these cells became almost impossible to remove.
Cleaning methods, such as high pressure water sprays, soaking and scrubbing with wire brushes, and the use of numerous harsh chemical agents, were all employed in various, less-than-satisfactory attempts to remove such inks. Labor costs were excessive and the result, in most cases, was a residue of dried ink in the cylinder cells, causing an improper printing, and the need to shut down the printing presses from time to time and adjust ink volumes or replace the entire printing cylinder with another. Large inventories of cylinders had to be retained in order to deal with this problem and, in many cases, printing cylinders thought to be defective were returned to suppliers for stripping, re-coating and engraving at very high costs when, in actuality, such procedures were unnecessary: the printing cylinders were merely contaminated with ink trapped in the cells of the cylinders.
The use of ultrasonic energy as a procedure for cleaning a radiator having a header has been disclosed by Fields et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,787, issued Feb. 8, 1983. Nevertheless, the potential benefits of using ultrasonic procedures in the unrelated art of cleaning printing cylinders, in order to overcome the drawbacks otherwise inherent when using organic or water-based inks, as detailed above, were never recognized by the printing industry. This was the fact that there was a widespread recognition that existing methods of effecting the cleaning of printing cylinders were time-consuming, labor-intensive, not particularly effective, and often hazardous from a health and safety standpoint.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus employing ultrasonic energy to remove residual ink from the printing cylinders of printing presses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the uniform cleaning of printing cylinders using ultrasonics which is less time-consuming and more economical than currently employed procedures.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the uniform cleaning of printing cylinders with different diameters.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for the uniform cleaning of printing cylinders using ultrasonics which is safe from both a health and environmental standpoint.
The foregoing and related objects are achieved by an apparatus which introduces ultrasonic waves into a tank having a cleaning liquid in which a printing cylinder to be cleaned can be immersed. The tank may be constructed out of a variety of materials depending, in part, upon the type of cleaning liquid employed. Such materials include, for example, stainless steel. The dimensions of the cleaning, or ultrasonics, tank to be used for the purpose of cleaning a printing cylinder are preferably 96" LR×10" FB×19" D and having a tank capacity of 70 gallons. It should, of course, be recognized that modifications of the foregoing dimensions are, of course, possible and should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
The apparatus of the invention would preferably include means for rotating the printing cylinder in the tank. When the printing cylinder is rotated during introduction of the ultrasonic waves, a continuous and even cleaning of the cylinder from ink and other residue is achieved. The rotation may either be carried out via magnetic or non-magnetic rotational means. Testing has established that non-magnetic rotational means are more efficient and much preferred.
The apparatus of the invention may advantageously include adjusting means which can maintain the proper distance from the printing cylinder to the source of the ultrasonic waves. In this manner, various-sized cylinders can be effectively cleaned by a single apparatus.
The ultrasonic waves used for cleaning should have a sufficient amplitude to cause microscopic voids, or "bubbles," to form throughout a cleaning liquid contained within a cleaning tank. The cleaning liquid is permeated with ultra-high frequency electrical energy which is fed to a converter and changed into mechanical energy by, e.g., a lead-zirconate-titante transducer, piezoelectric-Izt-sandwich construction-type transducer, etc. A series of transducers are preferably mounted on the bottom of the cleaning tank. Subsequent compression portions within the ultrasonic waves cause the voids or bubbles produced by the waves as they collapse at high-intensity levels, thereby creating shock waves which radiate from the nuclei of such voids. In ultrasonic cleaning, this phenomena, known as "cavitation," literally causes a ripping of contaminants from both the surface of the printing cylinder, as well as the most minute recesses of parts of the cylinder immersed in the cleaning liquid.
The ultrasonic cleaning of printing cylinders by way of the present invention is preferably carried out at a frequency range of greater than 20 kHz, preferably in the range of 25-29 kHz, most preferably at about 27 kHz, for between a period of time of 5-30 minutes. It should be recognized that a frequency which is too high will result in a poor cleaning, or excessively long cleaning times, whereas a frequency which is too low may result in cylinders which are only partially cleaned due to a pronounced "banding" of ultrasonic cavitation at the low end of the frequency range.
The ultrasonic cleaning of printing cylinders, according to the present invention, literally causes millions of cavitation bubbles to form and collapse at speeds of anywhere from 20 to 100,000 times per second. It should be recognized that although the engraved cells that hold the ink on the cylinder are themselves of microscopic size, i.e., having dimensions on the order of 10-40 microns, such cells are easily penetrated by cavitation and thus, ink residues can be removed throughout the entire cells with greater effectiveness than would otherwise be possible with presently known, manual methods.
It has been determined that, in most cases, even when printing inks have been allowed to dry, that ultrasonic cleaning successfully and completely removes the dried ink residue within 30 minutes. Thus, chrome-plated gravure cylinders can generally be cleaned in ten minutes or less. In all such instances, no manual labor is required during the cleaning process other than the labor needed to activate the means necessary to place the printing cylinder into the cleaning tank, and later remove it following the cleaning process. By naming the ultrasonic cleaning of printing cylinders in accordance with the present invention, following a printing job, cylinders may be removed from the printing press, placed in a cleaning tank of the present invention, cleaned, usually, in under 30 minutes and immediately thereafter placed back on a printing press for use on a new job.
The cleaning solution employed in combination with the present invention should, preferably, be an alkaline aqueous-based solution, which is preferably biodegradable. Therefore, the solution is capable of a safe and legal disposal so as to avoid the problems generally associated with non-aqueous based, or organic, cleaning solvents. The cleaning chemical may generally contain synthetic detergents, chelates and wetting agents, along with other additives which may perform other specific functions in the cleaning process.
The temperature of the cleaning solution during the ultrasonic cleaning of the printing cylinders should preferably be between 110°-160° F. depending, to some extent, upon the chemical composition of the cleaning agent. This is because it has been discovered that the cavitation levels during cleaning reach their optimum level within the foregoing temperature range. Temperatures in excess of 185° F., by contrast, generally result in a sharp reduction in the level of ultrasonic cavitation.
To ensure a proper ultrasonic cleaning of the printer cylinder within the ultrasonic tank, both the ultrasonic frequency, as briefly discussed above, and the power level within the cleaning tank are important. The ultrasonic power is, preferably, approximately 2,400 watts; the frequency is preferably about 27 kHz.
As will be explained in greater detail with reference being made to the accompanying drawings, an adjustable pillow block is preferably used within the ultrasonic tank as a means for supporting the printing cylinder being cleaned. While being cleaned, the printing cylinder is preferably rotated continuously at a speed which is, preferably, between 1-4 rpm.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent and will be discussed below in combination with a description of the accompanying drawing figures. It should, of course, be recognized that the accompanying drawings are intended solely for purpose of illustration and are not intended as a means for defining the limits and scope of the present invention.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings which disclose several embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the drawings are designed for the purpose of illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.
In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views:
FIG. 1 is a perspective overview of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus of the present invention with a printing cylinder shown atop the cleaning apparatus prior to its placement within said apparatus;
FIG. 2 is a side view, in elevation, of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a detailed side view, in elevation, of a preferred embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the cleaning apparatus of FIG. 2;
FIG. 5 is an elevational view, taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 2, of a preferred means for rotation of a printing cylinder during an ultrasonic cleaning within the cleaning apparatus of the invention;
FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of an alternate embodiment of the positioning fixture;
FIG. 7A is a side elevational view of an adjusting post to be used with the positioning fixture of FIG. 6;
FIG. 7B is a top plan view of the adjusting post in FIG. 7A;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the positioning fixture shown in FIG. 6, detachably coupled to the adjusting post shown in FIG. 7;
FIG. 9 is an elevational end view of the alternate positioning fixture and adjusting post shown in FIG. 8 mounted within the tank of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus; and
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line X--X of FIG. 9.
Turning now in detail to the drawings, and in particular, FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus 10 with a printing cylinder 12 being suspended above apparatus 10 prior to placement of cylinder 12 in the ultrasonic tank 14.
Ultrasonic cleaning tank 14 is preferably made of stainless steel, preferably "300 series" stainless steel. Such a construction is preferred in order to prevent rust and chemical corrosion. Tank 14 is preferably constructed so that its walls 16, which define the length of tank 14, are maintained at a distance of from two inches to four inches from the face of cylinder 12 in order to focus maximum ultrasonic power against the face of the cylinder. It has been discovered during testing that, although cylinders 12 may be cleaned using greater distances between walls 16 of tank 14 and the face of the printing cylinder, the time period necessary for cleaning the cylinder is increased, thereby causing a loss of efficiency in the cleaning process.
This also holds true if the distance of the surface of the printing cylinder is increased from the radiating source of the ultrasonic waves. The distance between the ultrasonic energy source and the surface of the printing cylinder should, preferably, be maintained at from three to five inches. If the distance between the radiating energy source and the printing cylinder surface is not maintained within this range, particularly, if it is greater than five inches, it has been discovered that the time cycle necessary for performing the cleaning is adversely affected due to a loss of ultrasonic energy. Additionally, a distance of less than three inches between the source of the ultrasonic energy and the face of the printing cylinder being cleaned would, adversely, cause ultrasonic radiation to reflect back to the transducers, which initially act to radiate the sound waves into the cleaning liquid. This "reflecting back" of ultrasonic radiation to the transducers of the apparatus can cause electrical spiking to occur in the generator circuits, severely etch the radiating surface, and tend to trap the ultrasonic radiation within the narrow distance between the source of the radiation and the printing cylinder surface, thereby reducing the overall efficiency of the cleaning procedure throughout the remainder of the cleaning tank.
FIGS. 2 and 3 present side views of a preferred embodiment of cleaning apparatus 10 of the present invention, with FIG. 3 showing, in phantom, the internal features of the apparatus. Apparatus 10 includes one or more ultrasonic wave radiating units 26, which are preferably designed to immerse within tank 14. Ultrasonic radiating units 26 are preferably mounted either in the bottom of tank 14, on one side wall, or on both side walls 16 of the tank. Radiating units 26 are preferably designed so that their lengths are approximately equal to the length of the surface of a conventional printing cylinder 12, which is to eventually be cleaned in apparatus 10. The journals, or shafts, at either end of conventional printing cylinders do not ordinarily require cleaning and, in any event, are not difficult to clean via conventional means when desirable.
Testing has indicated that ultrasonic wave frequencies should generally be at least 20 kHz, preferably between 25-29 kHz, and most preferably, approximately 27 kHz, though frequencies as great as 40 kHz may also be utilized. Experience has shown that the lower the frequency of the ultrasonic waves, the more intense the ultrasonic waves are to produce intense cavitation, which speeds along the cleaning process. Higher frequencies, such as those of 40 kHz or greater, have a tendency to produce less intense cavitation. If the cavitation is less intense it will take a greater period of time to perform the cleaning function. While the difference in cleaning times would generally be only a matter of a few minutes, when a large volume of cleaning is required, the distinction is cleaning time may become significant.
Power outputs to ultrasonic wave radiating units 26, which are preferably immersed in the cleaning liquid, were found to be most effective when such immersible units produced a power output level of approximately 5-6 watts per square inch of immersible irradiating surface. Power levels lower than this preferred range were found to increase the cleaning time unnecessarily, while higher power levels were found to increase the cost of operating the apparatus. Moreover, power levels which are too high can cause a cavitation barrier to form on the ultrasonic radiating surface. Severe erosion of the irradiating surface could also occur at power levels which are too high, along with the possibility that the print cycles could be damaged, including a chrome plating over copper or other types of metallic bases.
As previously alluded to, the immersed ultrasonic wave generating units 26 are preferably designed so that the width of the irradiating surface of such units is substantially equal to the diameter of the surface of the printing cylinder to be cleaned. The length of the irradiating surface of the ultrasonic wave generating units 26 is, preferably, substantially equal to, or greater than, the length of the cylinder surface. This preferred construction is designed to create a focused type of ultrasonic field which provides intense and evenly-distributed cavitation against the cylinder surface of printing cylinder 12 as the printing cylinder is preferably rotated in the ultrasonic field, within the cleaning tank.
Based upon the preferred design of the irradiating surfaces of the ultrasonic wave generating units, and the preferred output level of power, it is projected that the total ultrasonic power of apparatus 10 would be approximately 2,400 watts.
Referring, further, to FIG. 3, tank 14 is equipped with one or more heating units 22 in order to maintain the cleaning solution (which is to be discussed in further detail hereinafter) at a temperature which is effective for carrying out the ultrasonic cleaning procedure. The heating units are, preferably, 8-kilowatt units and controlled via a thermostat. The temperature of the cleaning solution should preferably be maintained within the range of 110°-160° F., depending upon the type of cleaning solution employed, and should generally not exceed 185° F. The proper temperature for the cleaning solution is important, both with respect to the effectiveness of the chemical cleaning solution employed and, additionally, with respect to maximizing the production of ultrasonic cavitation.
As an option, tank 14 is further provided with a filtering system 24, which includes a means for recirculating the cleaning solution employed in tank 14, in order to remove particulate matter from the cleaning solution and thereby prolong its effectiveness, as well as to prevent excessive contamination from a reducing formation of ultrasonic cavitation. The filter should preferably have pores sized between 5-50 microns, most preferably about 20 microns.
Tank 14 is also preferably equipped with a drain and inlet water fittings (not shown) for ease of use. The tank solution may either be gravity-drained or pumped from cleaning tank 14. Water may also be pumped into the unit to facilitate the filling of the cleaning tank. An overflow outlet is also, preferably, provided in order to prevent an accidental spill due to the overfilling of the cleaning tank. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is further recommended that a conventional low-level liquid sensor be installed as a means for preventing damage to the ultrasonic wave radiating units 20, immersed in the cleaning solution, and the heating units 22, should the cleaning liquid level drop below a pre-determined level.
Control of low-level sensors, as well as thermostatic means for regulating the temperature of the cleaning solution within tank 14, and means for regulation of the time of the ultrasonic cleaning procedure, may be carried out via conventional controls, designated by reference numeral 25.
FIG. 3 further shows, in a phantom, the location of transducers 26 for radiation of the ultrasonic sound wave into the cleaning liquid within tank 14. Transducers 26 preferably have a piezoelectric-Izt-sandwich construction, though, clearly, it should be understood that a wide variety of transducers may be employed in combination with the inventive apparatus. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in the drawing figures, reference numeral 28 refers to heat exhaust means of apparatus 10.
The chemical cleaning solution employed in the ultrasonic cleaning process of the present invention is, preferably, a biodegradable alkaline detergent solution, which, more particularly, is preferably composed of alkaline phosphates, wetting agents and amines (e.g., 5-10% by volume, mono-ethanol amine) in a water base. One such cleaning solution is sold under the trademark "#116 SONICOR SONIC-STRIP" and is commercially available from Sonicor Instrument Corporation, 100 Wartburg Avenue, Copiague, N.Y. 11726, U.S.A. The chemical cleaning agent employed should be capable of dissolving, or otherwise breaking up, oils, grease, light carbon, as well as many other organic and inorganic contaminants when combined with ultrasonic cavitation.
Apparatus 10 preferably includes positioning fixture 30, with a feeder mechanism, which acts as a means for guiding printing cylinder 12 into tank 14 when the user wishes to clean a printer cylinder. Positioning fixture 30 is preferably made of stainless steel and has a "V"-block arrangement. Once the printing cylinder is within the cleaning tank of the apparatus, in order to clean the cylinder quickly and evenly over the entire print face, printing cylinder 12 should be rotated through the cavitation field within the cleaning solution created by the radiating ultrasonic waves.
Testing done in the early phases of designing the invention indicated that printing cylinders continually rotating through the ultrasonic radiation field, via non-manual means, were cleaned evenly and consistently in approximately 20-30 minutes.
By contrast, cylinders which were not continually rotated through the cavitation field, but rather, were periodically rotated manually, approximately every five minutes, were not evenly cleaned and generally took as much as 20 minutes longer to clean completely. Even in such cases, some streaking was evident on the cylinders' printing surfaces. Cylinders rotated manually with only a part of the cylinder immersed in the cleaning tank were never completely cleaned, since the surfaces of such cylinders tended to flash dry as the hot cleaning solution dried on the surface as the cylinder rotated, partially, outside of the liquid.
A preferred rotation system which may be used in combination with the present invention is shown, in cross-section, in FIG. 5. The rotation means 32 preferably rests, unattached, on top of apparatus 20, has a stainless steel frame, and includes a drive end and an idler. More particularly, rotation means 32, as illustrated in FIG. 5, includes two fixtures 34, 36.
One fixture (34) is simply an idler fixture having, preferably, a stainless steel frame, and two free-spinning wheels 38 One free-spinning wheel being visible (in the cross-sectional view presented), preferably made of polyurethane, upon which the shaft 12a of printing cylinder 12 is to rest within cleaning tank 14.
Rotation means 32, opposite idler fixture 34, includes a drive fixture 36, preferably having a stainless steel frame with two wheels 40 (one visible in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5), preferably made of polyurethane. Wheels 40, like wheels 38, also support shaft 12a of printing cylinder 12; however, wheels 40 include a gear sprocket arrangement 42 and a drive chain 44 driven by an electric motor 46. The sprocket gear arrangement is preferably made of stainless steel, though other materials, such as polyurethane, may be used for this purpose. Upon operation, the electric motor activates gear sprocket arrangement 42 to move drive chain 44, which rotates wheels 40, 38. An endless loop drive belt 80 is placed around and in contact with said pair of wheels 38 and 40, and also contacts shaft 12a of printing cylinder 12, causing rotation of printing cylinder 12 in response to the rotation of the wheels.
Referring now to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8, there is illustrated an alternate embodiment for positioning fixture 30 shown as positioning fixture 60, which includes an adjusting post 62. As can be seen in FIG. 5, fixtures 34 and 36 are outwardly projecting fixed flanges which rest directly on cleaning tank 14 where transducer 26 lies. Shaft 12A of cylinder 12 to be cleaned rests in the bottom center section of the "V"-block arrangement. Thus, printing cylinder 12 rests a certain distance above transducer 26. If a different-sized printing cylinder is to be cleaned, the positioning fixture must be raised or lowered with respect to the bottom of tank 14, so as to maintain the distance between the printing cylinder surface and the transducer at a predetermined fixed distance (i.e., at least 3 inches). The apparatus shown in FIG. 8 is an alternate embodiment of the positioning fixture, provided for this purpose. Adjusting post 62, as seen in FIGS. 6, 7A, 7B and 8, is provided to rest on the upper lip of tank 14. If a large printing cylinder 12, for example, 14 inches in diameter, is to be cleaned, adjusting post 62 can be fastened to positioning fixture 60 at position 68 raising positioning fixture 60 with respect to the bottom of tank 14. If a smaller printing cylinder 12 is to be cleaned, for example, 10 inches in diameter, adjusting post 62 can be placed at position 66 on positioning fixture 60. Thus, positioning fixture 60 will be slightly lowered into the tank to bring printing cylinder 12 closer to the bottom of tank 14, where transducers 26 are located. Also, if a small printing cylinder 12 is to be cleaned, for example, 7 inches in diameter, adjusting post 62 can be fastened to positioning fixture 60 at position 64. Thus, positioning fixture 60 would be lowered still further into the tank, bringing printing cylinder 12 closer to the bottom of tank 14, where the transducers 26 are located.
As can be seen in FIG. 9, adjusting post 62 can be fastened to positioning fixture 60 at positions 64, 66 or 68, for example. In the figure, position 64 in which the positioning fixture 60 is in its lowermost position can clean printing cylinders with diameters of six inches to eight inches, for example. Position 66, where positioning fixture 60 is in its intermediate position, roller diameters of, for example, nine inches to 12 inches can be cleaned. In position 68, positioning fixture 60 can clean printing cylinders with diameters of 13 inches to 16 inches, for example. It should, of course, be recognized that positioning fixture 60 can be modified to accommodate a wide range of roller diameters, all such modifications should be considered within the scope of the present invention.
FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of positioning fixture 60 and adjusting post 62 from FIG. 9. A pair of conventional quick-release pins 70 is provided which secure adjusting post 62 to positioning fixture 60 at positions 64, 66 or 68. In order to move adjusting post 62 to an alternate position, quick-release pins 70 are grasped by a ring 72 and pulled out of the adjusting post 62 and positioning fixture 60. When quick-release pins 70 are removed, a ball bearing 74 is compressed into the shaft of quick-release pins 70, allowing it to disengage from adjusting post 62 and positioning fixture 60. Once adjusting post 62 has been moved to its new location, quick-release pin 74 is reinserted into the holes provided. Positioning fixture 60 may be provided with a tube 76 which guides positioning pin 70 through the holes provided in positioning fixture 60. Quick-release pins 70 will thus be guided straight through the openings. Once fully inserted, the position as shown in FIG. 10, spring loaded ball bearings 70 pop out and keep quick-release pins 70 in place to prevent accidental disengagement. Appropriate force on ring 72 can overcome the force of spring loaded ball bearings 74, pushing it back into the shaft of quick-release pin 70 and allowing pin 70 to be engaged or disengaged.
It should be noted that the positioning fixture 60 and adjusting post 62 combination permit printing cylinder 12 to be raised or lowered in the tank without altering the distance from wheels 40 to gear sprocket arrangement 42. In other words, the entire rotation system remains fixed to positioning fixture 60, even though the entire positioning fixture 60 is moved relative to the bottom of tank 14. In this manner, printing roller 12, regardless of its diameter, always maintains the same number of revolutions per minute and the proper distance between printing roller 12 and transducer 26.
The printing cylinder should preferably be rotated through the generated ultrasonic wave field at a rotation of between 1-4 rpm. Testing has shown these rotation rates to be very effective. A slower rotation speed required, unnecessarily, a greater length of time to effect proper cleaning of the printing cylinder, while a faster rotational velocity did not effectively remove contaminants from the bottom of the ink cells in the face of the printing cylinder.
In designing and testing the apparatus of the invention, the rotation system was initially designed to rotate the cylinder on a roller bearing which rotated it in the printing press. The printing cylinder was turned quite easily as a flexible shaft was attached to one end of the printing cylinder shaft with a large magnet, while the opposite end of the cylinder shaft was driven by an electric motor. The system was cumbersome and worked to eventually clean the printing cylinder, although it had numerous problems. There were many shaft configurations which did not lend themselves to attachment of the magnetic means. In addition, different lengths of different cylinders required a changing of the length of the flexible shaft which, on occasion, would malfunction from too sharp of a bend radius and would sometimes come loose during rotation. This required the operator of the ultrasonic cleaning apparatus to attempt to reattach the magnet to the shaft. Since the shaft was not normally visible when submersed within the cleaning liquid, considerable dexterity and caution was necessary since the liquid temperature of the cleaning liquid was, generally, about 140° F.
The rotation means illustrated in FIG. 5 is non-magnetic, and has been found to overcome many of the drawbacks experienced by the flexible shaft/magnetic rotation means described immediately above. Both the preferred non-magnetic rotation means, and the magnetic means, however, have been found to be effective, albeit to varying degrees, in the apparatus of the present invention, and it should be understood that both are encompassed within the scope of the present invention.
While several embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
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|Exhibit A: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU 9616 HTFR 43, dated Mar. 30, 1988.
|Exhibit A: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU-9616 HTFR-43, dated Mar. 30, 1988.
|Exhibit B: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning Console CU 9310A, dated Dec. 3, 1986.
|Exhibit B: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning Console CU-9310A, dated Dec. 3, 1986.
|Exhibit C: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU 9810A, dated Dec. 4, 1986.
|Exhibit C: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU-9810A, dated Dec. 4, 1986.
|Exhibit E: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System UC 10314 HFTLL 43, dated Nov. 5, 1987.
|Exhibit E: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System UC-10314 HFTLL-43, dated Nov. 5, 1987.
|Exhibit F: Invoice for Sonicor Ultasonic Cleaning System CU 9610 HTFR, dated Aug. 14, 1987.
|Exhibit F: Invoice for Sonicor Ultasonic Cleaning System CU-9610 HTFR, dated Aug. 14, 1987.
|Exhibit G: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU 4808 HTFR, dated Feb. 11, 1988.
|Exhibit G: Invoice for Sonicor Ultrasonic Cleaning System CU-4808 HTFR, dated Feb. 11, 1988.
|Exhibit H: American Printer , p. 153, Jun. 1987.
|Exhibit H: American Printer, p. 153, Jun. 1987.
|Exhibit I: Packaging Printing & Converting , p. 74, Dec. 1988.
|Exhibit I: Packaging Printing & Converting, p. 74, Dec. 1988.
|Exhibit J: Gravure Association of America , Mar. 28, 1988.
|Exhibit J: Gravure Association of America, Mar. 28, 1988.
|Sale Flier for Sonicor, Model No. Cu 9610 HTFR.
|Sale Flier for Sonicor, Model No. Cu-9610 HTFR.
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|Clasificación de EE.UU.
|101/424, 101/425
|Clasificación internacional
|Clasificación cooperativa
|Clasificación europea
|14 Feb 1992
Owner name: SONICOR INSTRUMENT CORPORATION, NEW YORK
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:LIERS, ARTHUR H.;PRINCIPE, LOUIS J.;LAGONIGRO, JAMES;REEL/FRAME:006023/0621
Effective date: 19920212
|14 Oct 1997
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|8 Mar 1998
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|19 May 1998
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19980311


text:
Francesco Bartolozzi
7 of 16 portraits of Francesco Bartolozzi
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Francesco Bartolozzi
by Thomas Watson, after Sir Joshua Reynolds
mezzotint, published 1785
14 5/8 in. x 10 3/4 in. (375 mm x 277 mm) plate size; 14 3/4 in. x 10 7/8 in. (377 mm x 280 mm) paper size
Purchased with help from the Friends of the National Libraries and the Pilgrim Trust, 1966
Reference Collection
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Sitterback to top
- Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), Engraver. Sitter in 16 portraits, Artist associated with 164 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), Painter and first President of the Royal Academy. Artist associated with 1413 portraits, Sitter associated with 38 portraits.
- Thomas Watson (1750-1781), Engraver. Artist associated with 56 portraits.
Portrait setback to top
Subject/Themeback to top
Events of 1785back to top
Current affairsGeorge Prince of Wales secretly marries his mistress Maria Fitzherbert in contravention of the Royal Marriages Act of 1772.
Prime Minister William Pitt introduces a bill proposing parliamentary reform and the abolition of 'rotten boroughs' but is defeated.
Art and scienceWilliam Cowper publishes his best -known poem The Task.
James Boswell publishes The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides, narrating his travels with the late writer Samuel Johnson.
Physician and naturalist James Hutton presents his studies of local rocks to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, launching the era of scientific geology.
InternationalWarren Hastings resigns as Governor-General of Bengal and returns to England. His trial begins on charges of corruption in the administration of India.
French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon crosses the Atlantic to sculpt a statue of George Washington.
British government establishes a permanent land force in the Eastern Caribbean, based in Barbados.
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We plan on visiting Washington, DC in May 2013. Is it wiser as, tourists, to fly into one of the Washington area airports, or drive up from Florida, stop in Washington (I'm sure parking is at a premium) and then continue up to Connecticut?
We have Delta FF miles, so our flight from West Palm Beach is only taxes and fees. We would fly from Washington (choice of airports) into LaGuardia and rent a car for our 3-day visit in CT:
Depart PBI - WAS, 2nd leg is WAS-LGA. The return flight - LGA-PBI direct.
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Washington, DC - Public Transportation or Auto?
We plan on visiting Washington, DC in May 2013. Is it wiser as, tourists, to fly into one of the Washington area airports, or drive up from Florida, stop in Washington (I'm sure parking is at a premium) and then continue up to Connecticut?
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You don't want or need a car in DC. On-street parking is a nightmare, the ticket ladies are merciless, and public transportation is easy and cheap (including getting outto MD and VA).
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Agree largely with the above if your plan is to stay in the city. Absolutely no need for a car.
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Unless you are interested in a road trip where you make stops along the way, I would fly. West Palm Beach to DC is what, a 15 hour drive? Then another 5 to Connecticut? So even if you drive straight through, you are looking at 2-3 days on the road each way. Even if I couldn't buy my flights with miles, I would probably fly to avoid the long drive.
And a car won't really benefit you in DC - I use the Metro whenever I am there and it gets me almost everywhere I want to go in town. When I have had a car in DC, it pretty much stays parked for the duration of my stay. And yes, parking in DC comes at a premium. Driving can be a pain too. Some people who are travelling with cars choose to stay outside the city center at hotels with free parking and then take the Metro in for sightseeing - but I think they pretty much eat up their parking savings with added Metro fares.
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Where in Coonecticut is your final destination? Flying from a DC airport to LGA then renting a car to CT might be inconvenient and take longer in total time than some other options by the time you get to and from both airports, security and checkin allowances at airport etc.
Personally I would see if another airport like Bradley makes more sense or take a train directly from DC to CT and rent a car there or even rent a car in DC and drive to CT--depending on your timing, budget and whether you want to see anything along the way. Train DC to CT would be my choice, again depening on your exact destination.
I would also definitely choose the fly from FL to DC option
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nyer "Coonecticut" is probably 1 of the funniest spellings of Connecticut I have seen in a long time. But other than that, I completely agree with your post and was going to suggest the same thing. Could even arrange it to return the rental car in New Haven and take Metro North to NYC if you want to spend time in NYC at the end of CT visit.
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! If only one could edit one's post after it appears!
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Having just been in DC for three nights last weekend, I'd disagree that using the metro is better.
Now, I'll admit that over Thanksgiving traffic wasn't bad in the city, so perhaps that makes a little bit of difference. But several things I noticed. Our hotel was near Dupont Circle. One night we went to the Kennedy Center --about a 5 to 10 minute drive away. But by Metro, we'd need to walk several blocks to the station, get tickets, wait for the train, take it the "wrong direction", get off, walk to change lines, wait for another train, get on, take it to Foggy Bottom, get off, wait for a shuttle bus, take it to Kennedy Center. One would have to allow at least 45 minutes for that to happen, an hour to be truly safe. Then repeat it all in reverse coming back. We also drove about 5 or 10 minutes to three different restaurants for meals - way easier than trying to do the metro which really wasn't convenient for any of them.
One day we hopped in the car and went to Hillwood, then drove to National Cathedral, then stopped in Georgetown for lunch, then further in Georgetown for some shopping, then stopped at two other sites to take photos. Another day we just drove around, pulling over, and usually parking to do a photo shoot of national landmarks.
I'm sorry, but neither of those last two scenarios is "easy" if even "possible" by metro. Sometimes having a car is just better. And for the record I'm normally a huge fan of public transportation when traveling. For us, however, in DC it just wouldn't have worked.
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NeoPatrick, I don't disagree that having a car in DC, especially over a holiday can work out OK. I've done it too over holiday weekends when staying with friends in the suburbs. But the OP is coming in May which is pretty busy. All bets are off for driving around and parking at that time of the year . And as you mention, it depends where a hotel is located and the places someone wants to visit.
Also, is the advantage of having a car for some scenarios enough that you'd drive from Florida to DC rather than fly? There are taxis in DC of course so for those times that the Metro is inconvenient, that's a good option too.
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I'll agree with NeoPatrick that the destinations of Hillwood, the National Cathedral and Georgetown are not public transportation-friendly, but those sites are not usually at the top of most visitors' sightseeing lists (and even though I enjoy Hillwood, it probably isn't on the list at all).
For the great majority of tourist sites in D.C., public transportation works well and is cost-effective, especially if you are a couple or small group. (With larger groups, Metro fees can outweigh parking garage fees.)
I think using Metro and/or taxis and/or your feet are generally the best options for getting around D.C. If you have a car and use D.C. hotel parking, expect to pay up to $40 per day. If you have a car and park it in Union Station, you'll pay $22 per day. If you stay outside of D.C. (even as close as Arlington), you can find free/cheap hotel parking.
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Oh my, there is so much information from everyone! One question I can answer quickly is that either LGA or Westchester County Airport is convenient, since we are from Fairfield County. New Haven is about 45 min. past our destination. (We do live in FL now though.)
I'll read all the posts carefully and then I'll repost with some comments. Thanks to everyone.
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Neo, Thanksgiving in DC is stunningly quiet compared to May. Also, it seems you overlooked the vast bus system. To get from Dupont Circle to the Kennedy Center on the bus does involve one change, but as the buses come about every 10 minutes, not a big deal. Not saying a car wasn't better for you, but it's really pretty to zip to most places around this city by public transport. And cabs are pretty cheap - about $6 from Dupont to the KC.
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I agree that Hillwood, National Cathedral and Georgetown grouped as a lot to visit in one day would have required significantly more time and a lot more in depth knowledge about DC's public transport to get from one to another.
But individually Gtown and the cathedral are not difficult destinations to reach by bus.
Georgetown - Two routes of the highly tourist friendly Circulator bus runs the length of Gtown on M Street.
National Cathedral - Easy bus ride up Mass Ave with a stop within a block or so of the cathedral.
FWIW, you can walk to the Kennedy Center from Dupont Circle in well under 45 minutes. Or walk to Foggy Bottom in less than 15 minutes time to catch the KC shuttle.
Not everyone wants to or can walk those distances. Weather is a factor. But agree with StCirq, that cabs are relatively inexpensive if walking isn't good.
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You're right, obxgirl, weather WAS a factor for us -- it got pretty darned cold AND windy. If you have plenty of time in May then walking is often a great option. And part of my point was that if you're "touristing" you often want to do several places in one day -- so a car often makes that a lot easier.
I guess I've also gotten spoiled in these days of GPS. It takes a lot of planning to find and plot out bus lines -- where to get them, where to get off, where you might have to transfer, etc. It's just so easy to speak an address into a GPS and have it lead you right there.
But back to the original question, I think the real issue is not having your own car in DC -- but do you really want to drive or fly? There's a big difference in the two.
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I like the fly-to-DC-then-train-to-CT idea.
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I like it, too, but Amtrak fares can be sky high.
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The other option not yet mentioned is the Amtrak Auto Train from Sanford Florida to Lorton Virginia.
Using your own car and staying at a hotel near a Metro stop outside DC would be my choice.
If you do choose to fly to DC Reagan National has its own Metro stop. Dulles is more inconvenient to get into the city.
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This may have already been mentioned, but if you really have your choice of airports, choose DCA over IAD. Direct access to Metro.
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Lots and lots of options. I intend to spend time sorting all this out tomorrow.
Again, many thanks for everyone's input. It is truly appreciated.
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We usually drive to DC, but leave the car parked at the hotel. Other than Udvar-Hazy and Mount Vernon, we use the Metro for transportation in DC . .
We usualy are there for Thanksgiving and traffic is not bad, but in May it will be terrible
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I would also vote for no car-- flight then train. Amtrak fares from DC to CT aren't bad if you purchase them in advance.
It is certainly possible to construct itineraries where a car would be helpful (although from Dupont Circle to the Foggy Bottom shuttle stop for the Kennedy Center is just a 15 min walk), but it general I think it would be more trouble than it's worth. And no one's even mentioned our legendarily bad drivers!
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Not to mention costs. I live in DC suburbs and I often take public transportation to the Kennedy Center rather than drive. First, the parking costs are astronomical at the KC (at least $20), and the lines to get in and out can take forever. If it's nice, I just walk from the Foggy Bottom shuttle to the KC, it isn't that far, but those shuttle buses come very frequently. The traffic is often horrendous in DC anyway, but I think it very unusual if it would take less time to drive from Dupont Circle to the Kennedy Center, and park, than to take the metro and walk/take the shuttle bus. Not to mention cost, of course.
So I might agree for Hillwood or National Cathedral, but not the Kennedy Center in terms of how it would be easier with a car.
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Well, Christina, since it took us almost exactly 10 minutes from getting into our car at The Fairfax until we got out of our car at the Kennedy Center, I'm not sure how it would have been possible to do it in less time any other way -- certainly not including a 15 minute walk to Foggy Bottom, or taking and transfering two Metro lines plus a shuttle. We did have the advantage of attending a 5 PM show, so parking was indeed a breeze -- the place was pretty deserted. And it was also nice to have our car since we were going elsewhere to dinner afterwards and then return to our hotel. You are right -- parking was $22 as I recall -- but we were on a short vacation and sometimes time, comfort, and effort are worth more than money.
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2o4ax, thank you for the lodging tip.
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Something about 2o4ax smells like advertiser.
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Something to consider regarding car vs public transportation is the OP's comfort zone regarding traffic and parking. My frustration threshold is very low in heavy traffic; add scarce parking, and my threshold has been violated. For me, public transportation is the only way to go!
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Good point tenthumbs. Some people don't mind driving in heavy traffic and searching out parking - for others it is a nightmare.
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You know I love these forums because they bring back memories. When my son was in kindergarten we went to DC for spring break. We took public transportation to Georgetown and were worn out. After we finished sighseeing (and eating) it was late and we were ready to be back at the hotel. We considered the reverse journey via bus and metro and decided to hail a cab.
My husband walks to a curb and summons a cab like Moses brought forth water. My kindergartner was amazed. He stayed glued to the car window as we speed toward the hotel. It was the best $10 we spent.
When he got back to school his teacher got him to create a drawing represensting DC. He drew a taxi cab!
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Cute story, pp.
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It's funny what kids find important, isn't it? My daughter was 7 the first time we took her to DC. Her favorite memory was feeding peanuts to a squirrel while we were standing outside one of the museums! She was 12 the next time she went to DC. The highlight this time? Riding the Metro trains.......
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Canada's Glenn Howard defeated Norway's Thomas Ulsrud 8-3 on Monday to remain unbeaten at the world men's curling championship.
Howard scored a pair in the sixth end and added two more points in the eighth end before the teams shook hands. Ulsrud, the 2010 Olympic silver medallist, never got on track and made several uncharacteristic errors.
"We kept putting pressure on him and he was missing," Howard said. "The recipe for a win."
The veteran Ontario skip improved to 4-0 after six draws of round-robin play. Howard, a three-time world champion, will play Jiri Snitil of the Czech Republic in the evening draw.
Two other powerhouse rinks are right behind Canada in the standings. Sweden is undefeated at 3-0 while Scotland is alone in third place at 3-1 after an 8-3 victory over Germany.
In the other early games, the United States edged Denmark 7-6 and New Zealand was given credit for a victory over France. An official score wasn't entered because France ran out of time with two stones left in the 10th end.
New Zealand was ahead 6-5 at the time.
China is in fourth place at 2-1 and Denmark, New Zealand and France are tied at 2-2. The Czechs are 1-2 and Norway is even with Germany and the Americans at 1-3.
Host Switzerland is the only winless rink at 0-3.
Attendance was low once again with only a few hundred people on hand at the 9,000-seat St. Jakobshalle. Official attendance numbers weren't released.
Howard said he and teammates Wayne Middaugh, Brent Laing and Craig Savill are all shooting well and have made the adjustment to the ice and conditions.
"I'm always talking about peaks and valleys," Howard said. "Our valleys aren't too bad and that's the good news. We're always up there pretty high. That was a really good game.
"We came out and were really playing well and caught Norway on an off day. Good timing."
Howard shot 88 per cent for the game, well ahead of Ulsrud at just 56 per cent. Canada shot 91 per cent overall to 77 per cent for Norway.
Round-robin play continues through Thursday night and playoff games are scheduled for the weekend. Teams also have an opportunity to earn Olympic qualifying points for their countries at the competition.
Howard's previous world titles came in 1987, 1993 and 2007. Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton beat Scotland 6-5 in last year's world championship in Regina.