The present invention 10 discloses an improved device for cleaning the inside of vessels 12 which could include truck tankers or rail car tankers. The present invention discloses a generally vertically standing rotatable support member 24 having mounted thereon a parallel pair of lazy tong assemblies or configurations 22 being a series of jointed and pivoted bars or arms, e.g., 28, capable of being extended over a great distance. Mounted on the distal end of the lazy tong assembly 22 is a spray head 32 having multiple spray outlets 42 and being fluidly connected to a supply of cleaning liquid 18 located on the outside of the vessel 12 which is being cleaned. The fluid connecting means comprises a hose 16, 46 along with connecting members being either a rod or a milled shaft 52 having a pair of pivotal centrally located collars 54 having connection means 50 for a hose on each collar 54 and a conduit 68 within the milled shaft 52 creating a passageway between the collars 54 forming a fluid connection from one collar to the next and the spray head 32.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to internal extendable devices and, more specifically, to a device which connects to any vessel having an access cover with fasteners wherein said device comprises a cover which is fastened over the vessel access port thereby sealing said access port and wherein said cover has rotatable means for connecting an external hose to a hose management system consisting of one or more scissor-like device(s) composed of a plurality of connected paired members each paired member being pivotally connected at their midpoints and having an oppositely opposed paired member whereby each paired member is connected at each distal end to another paired member and to the oppositely opposed paired member by a connecting member. Said connecting member being either a rod or a milled shaft having pivotal centrally located collars having connection means for a hose on each collar and a conduit within the milled shaft creating a passageway between the collars for the transference of a fluid from one collar to the next.
The present invention comprises a lazy tong assembly which includes a plurality of jointed extendable arms or bars that are disposed between a vertically standing support member and a spray head. The lazy tong assembly is a paired assembly with the tong arms connected intermediately by pivoting means further having the individual arm members pivotally connected at their ends. Each arm has a closely positioned matching parallel arm connected by pivoting means to form a parallel paired assembly.
Each paired member consists of a first member and a second member constructed of a length of round or bar stock, preferably bar stock. The first paired member and its oppositely opposed paired member form a segment in the scissor-like device. The first segment of said device is connected at one distal end to a shaft having means for increasing or decreasing the distance between the distal ends of the first and second members. The other distal ends of said first segment has connection means consisting of bar stock or milled stock. For the purposes of this description the oppositely opposed distal ends of the first and second members of the first segment will be assigned a specific connecting member but it is to be understood that they could be reversed.
The first member of the first segment has an oppositely opposed first member. Both are connected to distal ends of a shaft whereupon the oppositely opposed first members of the second segment are also attached. Said shaft acting as connection means between segments, a bearing for pivotal movement and as a spacer between the oppositely opposed first members.
The second member of the first segment has an oppositely opposed second member. Both are connected to distal ends of a milled shaft whereupon the oppositely opposed second members of the second segment are also attached. Said milled shaft acting as connection means between segments, a bearing for pivotal movement and as a spacer between the oppositely opposed second members. Said milled shaft further having two independent centrally located collars each having connection means for attaching a hose thereto and said milled shaft having a conduit within said shaft between the collars providing means for fluid transference from one collar to the other.
The scissor-like device is comprised of a plurality of segments having consistent connection means between the segments, oppositely opposed first members being attached to distal ends of a shaft acting as a bearing, a spacer and as connection means for the next segments first members, and oppositely opposed second members being attached to distal ends of a milled shaft acting as a bearing, a spacer, and as connection means for the next segments second members. Further said milled shaft having centrally located collars having means for connecting a hose. One collar acting as the hose terminus point for the segment and the other collar acting as the source for the hose connection of the next segment until at the terminus of the scissor-like device the first and second members converge to a milled shaft having one collar serving as the terminus of the hose connections and the other collar serving as the connection means for a device having one or more nozzles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other extendable spraying apparatus designed for the cleaning and coating of large vessels such as railroad tanker cars and ship holds. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,455 issued to Herbert et al. on Aug. 7, 1979.
Another patent was issued to Bertolazzi on Jan. 31, 1984 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,428,985. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,107,879 was issued to Harvey on Apr. 28, 1992 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 4, 1994 to Moulder as U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,298. Another patent was issued to Hirose on Feb. 28, 1995 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,392,798. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,553 was issued to Moulder on May 21, 1996 and still yet another was issued on Jun. 17, 1997 to Oliver et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,845.
The present invention is an improvement over the prior art as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,845 of which one of the co-applicants was a co-inventor.

Scissor jet cleaning device with hose management system


An apparatus may receive first data, in a first data format, from one or more unmanned aircraft system service suppliers comprising first positions of one or more unmanned aircraft systems, receive second data, in a second data format, from one or more communications systems comprising second positions of one or more manned aircraft, transmit third data, in a third data format, comprising the first positions of the one or more unmanned aircraft systems and the second positions of the one or more manned aircraft, receive a first control signal comprising a control command associated with one or more of the unmanned aircraft systems or one or more of the manned aircraft, and transmit a second control signal comprising the control command to one or more of the unmanned aircraft system service suppliers or to one or more of the communications systems.

Air traffic control systems monitor and coordinate air traffic to ensure safety of aircraft and to expedite the flow of air traffic. Traditional air traffic control systems monitor manned aircraft, such as commercial airliners. Traditional air traffic control systems generally do not monitor smaller unmanned aircraft, such as drones. However, drones have lately become much more pervasive in society and are being used in a variety of commercial applications, as well as by hobbyists and others.
In order to monitor drone traffic, unmanned traffic management systems have been developed and deployed. These systems can manage drone traffic similarly to ways in which traditional air traffic control systems manage air traffic of larger aircraft. However, unmanned traffic management systems and traditional air traffic control systems are not currently integrated with each other. As such, there is a need for a common interface to both of these systems.


A control apparatus for a drive system of a vehicle, provided with a transmission, and an electric motor operable to change an operating speed of the engine during the process of shifting of the transmission. The control apparatus controls a discrete change of the operating speed of said engine, with at least one of torques assigned to be respectively generated by said engine and said electric motor in a discrete shifting operation of the transmission mechanism which is performed in response to an operation of an operator of the vehicle and in which the discrete change of the operating speed of said engine takes place, includes a torque assignment determining portion configured to determine a percentage of the torque assigned to said engine in said discrete shifting operation such that the percentage increases with an increase of an amount of change of the operating speed of the engine.

There is known a control apparatus for a vehicular drive system provided with a transmission mechanism constituting a part of a power transmitting path between an engine and drive wheels, and an electric motor operable to change an operating speed of the engine in the process of shifting of the transmission mechanism. Patent Document 1 discloses an example of such a control apparatus in the form of a drive control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle. The above-indicated transmission mechanism provided in the vehicular drive system disclosed in this Patent Document 1 is an automatic step-variable transmission which includes a plurality of planetary gear sets and a plurality of frictional coupling elements and which performs shifting actions by engaging and releasing actions of the frictional coupling elements. The above-indicated drive control apparatus disclosed in the Patent Document 1 is configured to operate the above-indicated electric motor so as to raise operating speed of the engine during a manual shift-down action of the automatic transmission performed in response to a manual operation of an operator of the vehicle, so that the shift-down action of the automatic transmission can be expedited.

Control apparatus for vehicular drive system


Embodiments are disclosed for a haptic engine module that includes AROD magnets. The AROD magnets comprise two adjacent magnets with opposite polarization and adjacent coils above and/or below the magnets. The magnets and coils are adjacent in along direction, which is the direction that is perpendicular to the vibration direction (the direction of the Lorentz force) and to the polarization direction (the direction of magnetic flux). When in operation, excitation current flows in the two coils in opposite directions. The haptic engine module can be embedded in an electronic device with an extreme aspect ratio (e.g., a touch bar of a notebook computer) to provide haptic force (e.g., vibration, click) that can be felt by a user holding or touching the electronic device.

Electromagnetic actuator technology is widely adopted in a variety of electronic devices (e.g., smartphones, smartwatches, notebook computers, track pads, touch bars). A haptic engine module using electromagnetic actuator technology generates a Lorentz force when magnetic flux is projected perpendicular to a coil. When the haptic engine module has an extreme aspect ratio, such as long and thin, the conventional design methodology is to extend the coil and its corresponding magnet in the long direction up to the ends of the housing. This approach, while straightforward, reduces the contribution of magnetic flux to the Lorentz force due to the impact of different magnetic circuits on the magnetic field distribution.

Haptic engine module with array-riddled-of-dual (AROD) magnets


A method for controlling an electric vehicle drivetrain having least two drive units with wheels located on opposite axles are driven by respective drive units, includes in a first operating mode, the ratio of the torques provided by the drive units in each case for a given torque requirement is set taking into account the efficiency applicable to each drive unit under the given operating conditions, and in a second operating mode, the ratio of the torques provided by the drive units in each case for a given torque requirement is set independently of the efficiency applicable to each drive unit under the given operating conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to controlling the drive train of an electric vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
To increase the range of an electric vehicle, it is particularly important for the drive train to work as efficiently as possible. In a conventional drive train, the traction or electric motor and the transmission are designed such that both the requirements for performance of the electric vehicle and the requirements for efficient energy utilization are fulfilled.
Whereas the performance criteria, i.e. the criteria regarding performance of the drive train, in an exclusively electrically driven motor vehicle require high torque and power values, the typical drive cycle of an electric vehicle takes place in the low torque and low rotation speed range, since in typical urban drive cycles and homologation cycles, the electric motor is usually operated with a comparatively low power and torque profile.
In this low load range, however, a conventional electric motor has low efficiency. To achieve higher efficiencies of the drive train in a typical urban drive cycle and in typical homologation cycles, the design of the electric motor must have nominal values for power and torque corresponding to the respective load cycle. However in these cases, the performance criteria are not fulfilled as these performance criteria require higher nominal values for torque and power.
Designing the electric motor to have the optimum operating or working point in the homologation cycle load path, therefore, leads to a lower starting torque at high engine speeds, which in turn has the consequence that the electric motor is no longer able to deliver sufficiently high torque on a hill start or in scenarios with high rotation speed.
JP 2005161961 A discloses, in a hybrid electric vehicle, by means of an electronic hybrid control unit, increasing the torque distributed to the rear axle relative to the torque distributed to the front axle, in particular on occurrence of irregularities in operation of the electronic brake control, in order to further guarantee a functioning all-wheel drive.
US 2006/0151220 A1 discloses a vehicle with individually electrically driven wheels, wherein the rotation axes of the rotating electric machines used are offset relative to those of the individually electrically driven wheels in order to achieve an increase in drive power without increasing the radial or axial length of the machines.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,549,840 B1 discloses a vehicle control unit to control a motor vehicle with all-wheel drive, by means of which a front drive power to drive the pair of front wheels and a rear drive power to drive the pair of rear wheels are controlled as a function of a static and a dynamic vehicle state such that the sum of the front drive power and the rear drive power is equal to the value of the vehicle drive power desired by the driver.

Method and device for controlling the drive train of an electric vehicle


Disclosed herein is a method for synthesizing a nano-emulsion fuel composition. The method may include forming a water-in-fossil fuel emulsion by dispersing water into a fossil fuel in the presence of a surfactant, synthesizing carbon quantum dots with an average diameter between 0.5 nanometers to 20 nanometers, forming a mixture of the synthesized carbon quantum dots and the water-in-fossil fuel emulsion by dispersing the synthesized carbon quantum dots into the water-in-fossil fuel emulsion; the carbon quantum dots comprising 1 ppm to 10000 ppm of the mixture, and forming a nano-emulsion fuel composition by mixing a biofuel into the mixture of carbon quantum dots and the water-in-fossil fuel emulsion.

The high and growing costs of fossil fuels and the problem of depletion of these non-renewable resources has led to efforts for improving the efficiency of energy-consuming systems. Internal combustion engines that are extensively used nowadays are one of the main consumers of fossil fuels. Most internal combustion engines produce undesirable pollutants during the combustion process. These undesirable pollutants are produced as a result of incomplete combustion, nitrogen separation, and presence of impurities in the fossil fuels and air. Nitrogen oxides (NOx), unburned hydrocarbons (HC), carbon oxides (COx), sulfur oxides (SOx), soot, and other carbon particles are some of the more impactful pollutants emitted by the internal combustion engines. These pollutants have a negative impact on the environment and cause health problems including causing global warming, air pollution, acid rains, breathing problems, etc.
One possible solution to overcome the incomplete combustion process in the internal combustion engines is the upgrading and improving of fuel compositions. Instead of conducting cost prohibitive research on changing the design of internal combustion engines, additives and catalysts may be mixed in with fuel compositions to alter aspects of the combustion process toward a more complete combustion reaction and more efficient fuel consumption.
Different methods may be used for optimizing fuel consumption and reducing the emission of pollutants. For example, fuel-water emulsions may be prepared by mixing water into a fuel composition, which may improve combustion efficiency and pollutants emission. In another example, nanotechnology may be utilized to enhance the properties of the fuel. Specifically, nano-additives can be used for lowering the amount of harmful pollutants emitted during the process of combustion and simultaneously increase the efficiency of the combustion process. Different types of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles such as platinum, cobalt, radium, iridium, nickel, palladium, copper, silver, gold, zinc, aluminum, alumina, calcium oxide, titanium oxide, zirconium oxide, iron oxides, ruthenium oxide, osmium oxide, cobalt oxide, radium oxide, iridium oxide, nickel oxide, silver oxide, gold oxide, zinc oxide, cerium oxide etc. have been studied as additives in fossil fuels. However, there are some concerns regarding the potential harmful effects of the nanoparticles on human health, especially in case of metal and metal oxide nanoparticles. Since metal and metal oxide nanoparticles may have a poisonous impact on living organisms, there is a need in the art to find other biodegradable nano-additives, such as biodegradable carbon nanoparticles to optimize fuel consumption and reduce the emission of pollutants minimizing any harmful impact on human health and environment.


A lithographic apparatus includes a first movable element (such as an immersion liquid supply system), which is in operation in contact with a surface of a second movable element (such as a substrate table). Further, the lithographic apparatus includes a second element controller (such as a substrate table controller) to control a position quantity of the second movable element. Disturbance forces caused by, e.g., movements of the first and second movable elements with respect to each other, due to capillary forces disturb a position of the first and second movable elements. To at least partly correct a position of the second movable element due to such disturbance forces, the lithographic apparatus includes a feedforward control path to provide a disturbance force feedforward signal to the second element controller, the feedforward control path including a disturbance force estimator to estimate a disturbance force from a position quantity of the first movable element.

A lithographic apparatus is a machine that applies a desired pattern onto a substrate, usually onto a target portion of the substrate. A lithographic apparatus can be used, for example, in the manufacture of integrated circuits (ICs). In that circumstance, a patterning device, which is alternatively referred to as a mask or a reticle, may be used to generate a circuit pattern to be formed on an individual layer of the IC. This pattern can be transferred onto a target portion (e.g. including part of, one, or several dies) on a substrate (e.g. a silicon wafer). Transfer of the pattern is typically via imaging onto a layer of radiation-sensitive material (resist) provided on the substrate. In general, a single substrate will contain a network of adjacent target portions that are successively patterned. Conventional lithographic apparatus include so-called steppers, in which each target portion is irradiated by exposing an entire pattern onto the target portion at once, and so-called scanners, in which each target portion is irradiated by scanning the pattern through a radiation beam in a given direction (the "scanning"-direction) while synchronously scanning the substrate parallel or anti-parallel to this direction. It is also possible to transfer the pattern from the patterning device to the substrate by imprinting the pattern onto the substrate.
It has been proposed to immerse the substrate in the lithographic projection apparatus in a liquid having a relatively high refractive index, e.g. water, so as to fill a space between the final element of the projection system and the substrate. The point of this is to enable imaging of smaller features since the exposure radiation will have a shorter wavelength in the liquid. (The effect of the liquid may also be regarded as increasing the effective NA of the system and also increasing the depth of focus.) Other immersion liquids have been proposed, including water with solid particles (e.g. quartz) suspended therein.
However, submersing the substrate or substrate and substrate table in a bath of liquid (see for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,509,852, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference) means that there is a large body of liquid that should be accelerated during a scanning exposure. This may require additional or more powerful motors and turbulence in the liquid may lead to undesirable and unpredictable effects.
One of the solutions proposed is for a liquid supply system to provide liquid on only a localized area of the substrate and in between the final element of the projection system and the substrate using a liquid confinement system (the substrate generally has a larger surface area than the final element of the projection system). One way which has been proposed to arrange for this is disclosed in WO 99/49504, hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference. As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, liquid is supplied by at least one inlet IN onto the substrate, preferably along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, and is removed by at least one outlet OUT after having passed under the projection system. That is, as the substrate is scanned beneath the element in a −X direction, liquid is supplied at the +X side of the element and taken up at the −X side. FIG. 2 schematically shows the arrangement in which liquid is supplied via inlet IN and is taken up on the other side of the element by outlet OUT which is connected to a low pressure source.
In the illustration of FIG. 2, the liquid is supplied along the direction of movement of the substrate relative to the final element, though this does not need to be the case. Various orientations and numbers of in- and out-lets positioned around the final element are possible, one example is illustrated in FIG. 3 in which four sets of an inlet with an outlet on either side are provided in a regular pattern around the final element.
Another solution which has been proposed is to provide the liquid supply system with a seal member which extends along at least a part of a boundary of the space between the final element of the projection system and the substrate table. Such a solution is illustrated in FIG. 4. The seal member is substantially stationary relative to the projection system in the XY plane though there may be some relative movement in the Z direction (in the direction of the optical axis). A seal is formed between the seal member and the surface of the substrate. Preferably the seal is a contactless seal such as a gas seal. Such as system with a gas seal is disclosed in European Patent Application No. 03252955.4 hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.
Still another solution is depicted in FIG. 5. Here, the reservoir 10 forms a contactless seal to the substrate around the image field of the projection system so that liquid is confined to fill a space between the substrate surface and the final element of the projection system. The reservoir is formed by a seal member 12 positioned below and surrounding the final element of the projection system PL. Liquid is brought into the space below the projection system and within the seal member 12. The seal member 12 extends a little above the final element of the projection system and the liquid level rises above the final element so that a buffer of liquid is provided. The seal member 12 has an inner periphery that at the upper end preferably closely conforms to the shape of the projection system or the final element thereof and may, e.g., be round. At the bottom, the inner periphery closely conforms to the shape of the image field, e.g., rectangular though this need not be the case.
The liquid is confined in the reservoir by a gas seal 16 between the bottom of the seal member 12 and the surface of the substrate W. The gas seal is formed by gas, e.g. air or synthetic air but preferably N2 or another inert gas, provided under pressure via inlet 15 to the gap between seal member 12 and substrate and extracted via first outlet 14. The overpressure on the gas inlet 15, vacuum level on the first outlet 14 and geometry of the gap are arranged so that there is a high-velocity air flow inwards that confines the liquid.
In European Patent Application No. 03257072.3 the idea of a twin or dual stage immersion lithography apparatus is disclosed. Such an apparatus is provided with two stages for supporting the substrate. Leveling measurements are carried out with a stage at a first position, without immersion liquid, and exposure is carried out with a stage at a second position, where immersion liquid is present. Alternatively, the apparatus has only one stage.
For each of the solutions as proposed above, the liquid supply system is in contact with a surface of the substrate. In the solutions as shown in FIGS. 2-5, the liquid is in a direct contact with a surface of the substrate, while other constructive elements as shown in the solutions according to FIGS. 2-5 may be in a direct or indirect contact with the surface of the substrate.
Positioning accuracy of the surface of the substrate with respect to a projection system (e.g. a projection lens) of the lithographic apparatus is high, as it is desirable that the surface of the substrate be in a focus plane of the projection system with a high accuracy to achieve an accurate imaging of a pattern to be projected onto the surface of the substrate. In a current implementation, a position error of 10 nm of the surface of the substrate with respect to the projection system is considered critical.
In operation, the liquid supply system moves with respect to the substrate, for example because different portions of the substrate are to be irradiated. The movements of the liquid supply system, as well as the movements of the liquid itself caused thereby, will result in forces acting on the substrate, hence resulting in displacements of the substrate, thus deteriorating an image quality of a projection by the lithographic apparatus onto the substrate.
Attempts have been made to correct such positioning errors of the substrate by a high speed, high accuracy controlling of a position of the substrate (or more specifically, a position of the substrate table), however due to the nature of the disturbance forces and the high requirements on the positioning accuracy, satisfactory results have not yet been obtained.

Lithographic apparatus and device manufacturing method


The present invention relates to a method and a user equipment for use in a wireless communication system that allow for improved uplink transmit diversity performance by using downlink measurements for making informed decisions on whether or not to change precoding vector for uplink transmission. The user equipment measures (32) downlink characteristics, such as received power, on a plurality of antennas of the user equipment. Based on the measured downlink characteristics a precoding vector for unlink transmission is determined (38). The determined precoding vector is then used to perform uplink transmission (31).

Currently the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is evaluating the potential benefits of uplink transmit (Tx) diversity in the context of High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA). With uplink transmit diversity user equipments (UEs) that are equipped with two or more transmit antennas are capable of utilizing all of them for uplink transmissions. This is achieved by multiplying a UE output signal s(t) with a set of complex pre-coding weights wi where i=1 . . . N with N denoting the number of transmit antennas. The rationale behind uplink transmit diversity is to adapt the pre-coding weights so that user and network performance is maximized. Depending on UE implementation the antenna weights may be associated with different constraints. Within 3GPP two classes of transmit diversity are considered:                Switched antenna transmit diversity, where the UE at any given time-instance transmits from one of its antennas only. Thus if wi≠0, wj=0 for all j≠i.        Beamforming where the UE at a given time-instance can transmit from more than one antenna simultaneously. By means of beamforming it is possible to shape an overall antenna beam in the direction of a target receiver.
While switched antenna transmit diversity is possible for UE implementations with a single power amplifier (PA) the beam forming solutions may require one PA for each transmit antenna.
Switched antenna transmit diversity can be seen as a special case of beamforming where one of the antenna weights is 1 (i.e. switched on) and the antenna weight of any other antenna of the UE is 0 (i.e. switched off).
A fundamental idea behind uplink transmit diversity is to exploit variations in the effective channel to improve user and network performance. The term effective channel here incorporates effects of transmit antenna(s), transmit antenna weights, receiving antenna(s), as well as the wireless channel between transmitting and receiving antennas. Selection of appropriate antenna weights is crucial in order to be able to exploit the variations in the effective channel constructively. Furthermore timing of changes in antenna weights is important. When the antenna weights changes the effective channel as perceived by a receiving base station, such as a Node-B, may change abruptly. For instance, in a case of switched antenna transmit diversity with two antennas, if a UE starts transmitting on antenna 2 instead of antenna 1 then the corresponding antenna weights w1/w2 will change from 1/0 to 0/1 in an instant. As a result previous channel estimates become out of date, which may lead to worse effective signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) at the Node-B and packet errors until channel estimates have been updated and the Node-B has adjusted its channel estimates to reflect the new channel. Hence it is beneficial to avoid unnecessary changes of antenna weights or antenna switches.
It has been decided in 3GPP, as mentioned in 3GPP Tdoc RP-090987, 3GPP Work Item Description Uplink Tx Diversity for HSPA, to investigate uplink transmit diversity techniques for HSPA that do not require any newly standardised dynamic feedback signalling between network and UE. According to some suggested schemes the UE should monitor Transmission Power Control (TPC) commands received on the feedback channel F-DPCH (Fractional Dedicated Physical Channel) to select antenna weights. The F-DPCH is an already existing feedback channel and TPC commands is feedback information that is already transmitted for purposes of uplink transmit power control. For example, if a UE operating with switched antenna transmit diversity receives a large number of consecutive TPC UP commands on F-DPCH from the serving cell, the UE may conclude that it is likely to be beneficial to switch to another antenna for transmission.

Method and apparatus for supporting uplink transmit diversity


In one embodiment, a method of generating a circuit design is provided. For each data terminal connecting a plurality of components in a circuit design, a respective list of dimensions of data used by the data terminal are determined. A plurality of exchange orderings are generated that each indicate an order in which dimensions are exchanged between the lists. For each exchange ordering, dimensions are exchanged between the lists according to the exchange ordering to produce a set of supplemented lists of dimensions. A set of buffers for buffering data between the data terminals are determined based on the supplemented lists of dimensions. Memory requirements are determined for each of the set of buffers. The circuit design is modified to include the one of the determined sets of buffers having a lowest memory requirement.

Complex integrated circuits (ICs) can be designed using various levels of abstraction. Using a hardware description language (HDL), circuits can be designed at the gate level, the register transfer level (RTL), and higher logical levels. When designing using an HDL, the designer describes the behavior of a system in terms of signals that are generated and propagated from one set of registers to another set of registers through combinatorial logic modules. HDLs provide a rich set of constructs to describe the functionality of each module. Modules may be combined and augmented to form even higher-level modules.
System-level integration may rely on reuse of previously created designs that have been provided either from within an enterprise or from a commercial provider. Libraries of pre-developed blocks of logic have been developed that can be selected and included in a circuit design. Such logic blocks include, for example, adders, multipliers, filters, and other arithmetic and digital signal processing (DSP) functions from which system designs can be readily constructed. The logic blocks may further include memories and storage elements. The engineering community sometimes refers to these previously created logic blocks as "design modules," "cores," "IP cores" (intellectual property cores), or "logic cores," and such terms may be used interchangeably herein. The use of pre-developed IP cores permits faster design cycles by eliminating the redesign of circuits. Thus, using IP cores from a library may reduce design costs. Such IP cores may often be available for purchase by parties who desire the functionality provided by the IP core. IP cores include a circuit design in the form of source code or a netlist that may be used in implementing the design in a programmable IC, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). The core may be integrated into a design by instantiating the code or netlist. The logic core is then placed and routed along with the rest of the design to provide the desired functionality.
Incorporation of a logic core into a larger design, however, may not be a simple task. For example, different IP cores included in a signal processing design may be configured to operate on different dimensions of a data stream. For instance, in some communication systems, data may be received as codewords over a number of antennas, over a number of channel frequency bands, and/or over a number of time slots, etc. A first component of the signal processing design may be configured to output data as a set of codewords, whereas a next component of the signal processing design may be configured to receive data in the frequency domain as a set of subcarriers.
Due to the mismatch between the components, the components may not be able to be connected together directly without reformatting the data. To accommodate the mismatch in formats between the two components, sets of codewords may be buffered until complete sets of sub-carriers are obtained for input to the second component. Manual implementation of such buffers to perform such reformatting can be an error prone and time-consuming process. Further, such manual implementation requires designers to possess a requisite knowledge of data format requirements of each of the components in the signal processing design, which may be cumbersome to obtain.

Determining efficient buffering for multi-dimensional datastream applications


A catalyst state detector for detecting a state of an exhaust gas purifying catalyst which is capable of accurately detecting the state, including deterioration, of an HC adsorbent contained in the exhaust gas purifying catalyst for adsorbing hydrocarbons in exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, and can be manufactured at a low cost. The exhaust gas purifying catalyst is arranged at an intermediate portion of an exhaust pipe, and the HC adsorbent is capable of adsorbing hydrocarbons and moisture in exhaust gases. The catalyst state detector comprises a downstream humidity sensor arranged at a location downstream of the HC adsorbent in the exhaust pipe for detecting a humidity of the exhaust gases, and an adsorbent state detecting unit (ECU) for detecting the state of the HC adsorbent in accordance with the result of detection made by the downstream humidity sensor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a catalyst state detector for an exhaust gas purifying catalyst which purifies exhaust gases emitted from an internal combustion engine, and more particularly, to a catalyst state detector for an exhaust gas purifying catalyst which purifies exhaust gases using an adsorbent for adsorbing hydrocarbons in exhaust gases.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in an exhaust system of a gasoline engine or the like, a three-way catalyst is arranged in an intermediate portion of an exhaust pipe in order to purify harmful substances (hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and nitrogen compounds) in exhaust gases, the amount of which cannot be reduced sufficiently by engine modifications or EGR (exhaust gas recirculation). The three-way catalyst is heated by exhaust gases or by using additional means, and activated at temperatures equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (300xc2x0 C., for example), thereby purifying harmful substances flowing through the exhaust pipe by oxidation-reduction catalyst actions thereof. However, for approximately 30 to 40 seconds after the cold start of the engine, the temperature of the three-way catalyst is lower than the predetermined temperature, and the catalyst remains inactive, so that among the harmful substance, particularly hydrocarbons are emitted from the engine as they are as unburned combustible components. Therefore, in order to prevent emission of hydrocarbons in the air, there has been proposed an engine which incorporates not only the three-way catalyst but also an adsorbent, which is capable of adsorbing hydrocarbons, in an exhaust pipe of the engine (see, for example, Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 10-153112).
Such an adsorbent is arranged in a bypass exhaust passage branched from a main exhaust passage in which a three-way catalyst is arranged in exhaust pipes. When the three-way catalyst is not activated, for example, upon starting the engine, exhaust gases are introduced into the bypass exhaust passage such that hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases are adsorbed by the adsorbent. On the other hand, after the three-way catalyst is activated by worm-up of the engine, the exhaust gases are introduced into the main exhaust passage such that the exhaust gases are purified by the three-way catalyst. The adsorbent has, for example, zeolite on its surface, so that when the exhaust gases are passing through the bypass exhaust passage, molecules of hydrocarbons are caused to enter small pores of the zeolite, and the hydrocarbons are adsorbed. Also, when such an adsorbent is heated to a temperature equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature (for example, 100 to 250xc2x0 C.) by the exhaust gases, the adsorbent desorbs hydrocarbons once adsorbed thereby. Then, the desorbed hydrocarbons are recirculated to the engine through an EGR pipe or the like.
As described above, while adsorption and desorption of hydrocarbons are repeated in the adsorbent, the amount of undesorbed hydrocarbons remaining in the adsorbent may gradually increase or cause destruction of pores of the adsorbent during a long-term use of the adsorbent. As a result, the adsorbent is deteriorated, i.e., experiences a gradually deteriorated capability of adsorbing hydrocarbons. If the engine is repeatedly started in such a state, hydrocarbons unabsorbed by the adsorbent will be emitted into the air. For this reason, it is required to detect the deterioration of the adsorbent in order to carry out engine control for desorbing hydrocarbons (e.g., by elevating the temperature of the adsorbent) to solve the deterioration of the adsorbent, or to notify the driver of the deterioration of the adsorbent. Among such methods of detecting the deterioration of the adsorbent, there are, by way of example, (1) a method which relies on a hydrocarbon sensor for the detection, (2) a method which relies on temperature sensors for the detection, and so on.
According to the method (1) relying on a hydrocarbon sensor, the hydrocarbon sensor is arranged at a location downstream of the adsorbent in the bypath exhaust passage. Then, the concentrations of hydrocarbons in exhaust gases introduced into the bypass exhaust passage and passing through the adsorbent is directly detected by the hydrocarbon sensor. Then, the deterioration of the adsorbent is detected based on the result of the detection. Specifically, when the concentrations of hydrocarbons in the exhaust gases introduced into the bypass exhaust passage and passing at a location downstream of the adsorbent (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cpost-adsorption exhaust gasesxe2x80x9d in the disclosure), which is active in adsorbing hydrocarbons, exceed a predetermined value or a predetermined allowable range, it is determined that the adsorbent is no longer capable of sufficiently adsorbing hydrocarbons, i.e., in a deteriorated state. Conversely, when the concentrations of hydrocarbons in the post-adsorption exhaust gases are equal to or lower than the predetermined value or within the predetermined allowable range, it is determined that the adsorbent is still capable of properly adsorbing hydrocarbons, i.e., in an undeteriorated or normal state.
According to the method (2) relying on temperature sensors, on the other hand, the temperature sensors are arranged both at locations upstream and downstream of an adsorbent in a bypass exhaust passage, respectively, for example, as described in Laid-open Japanese Patent Application No. 6-229234. These sensors detect the temperatures of the exhaust gases at locations upstream and downstream of the adsorbent to calculate a time period during which moisture in the exhaust gases is in a dew point state (dew point time) based on the result of the detection. Then, the deterioration of the adsorbent is detected based on the resulting dew point time. More specifically, a predefined standard dew point time (standard dew point time) is calculated in accordance with the result of the detection by the upstream temperature sensor and an engine operating condition, and an actual dew point time (actual dew point time) is calculated based on the result of the detection by the downstream temperature sensor. Then, these dew point times are compared with each other to determine that the adsorbent is more deteriorated as the actual dew point time is shorter than the standard dew point time, and conversely to determine that the adsorbent is less deteriorated as the actual dew point time is longer than the standard dew point time.
The foregoing detecting methods suffer from the following problems, respectively. In the method (1) relying on a hydrocarbon sensor, a generally employed hydrocarbon sensor is limited to detection of the concentration of a particular hydrocarbon (one kind of hydrocarbon having a predetermined number of carbons), so that it is difficult to accurately detect as a whole the concentrations of various hydrocarbons respectively having different numbers of carbons by such a hydrocarbon sensor. It is further difficult to correctly detect the deterioration of the adsorbent based on the result of the detection. In addition, the hydrocarbon sensor itself is quite expensive as compared with other sensors.
In the method (2) relying on temperature sensors, on the other hand, the deterioration of the adsorbent is indirectly detected by detecting temperatures of exhaust gases at two different locations, causing a susceptibility to an error in the detection of deterioration and a low detection accuracy. In addition, temperature sensors are expensive as is the case of the hydrocarbon sensor, and the use of two temperature sensors further results in a higher cost of the exhaust system as a whole.
The present invention has been made to solve the problems as mentioned above, and its object is to provide a catalyst state detector for an exhaust gas purifying catalyst, which is capable of accurately detecting a state of an adsorbent of the exhaust gas purifying catalyst for adsorbing hydrocarbons, including deterioration, and which can be manufactured at a low price.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a catalyst state detector for detecting a state of an adsorbent capable of adsorbing hydrocarbons and moisture in exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine. The adsorbent is contained in an exhaust gas purifying catalyst arranged at an intermediate portion of an exhaust pipe in the internal combustion engine. The catalyst state detector includes a downstream humidity sensor arranged at a location downstream of the adsorbent in the exhaust pipe for detecting a humidity of the exhaust gases, and adsorbent state detecting means for detecting a state of the adsorbent in accordance with a result of a detection made by the downstream humidity sensor.
According to this catalyst state detector for an exhaust gas purifying catalyst, the humidity of exhaust gases downstream of the adsorbent (hereinafter referred to as the xe2x80x9cdownstream humidityxe2x80x9d) is detected by the downstream humidity sensor arranged at a location downstream of the adsorbent of the exhaust gas purifying catalyst in the exhaust pipe, and the state of the adsorbent is detected by the adsorbent state detecting means in accordance with the result of the detection. Since the capabilities of the adsorbent for adsorbing hydrocarbons and moisture are in a proportional relationship to each other, the downstream humidity has a high correlation to the amount of hydrocarbons actually adsorbed in the adsorbent. It is therefore possible to accurately detect the state of the adsorbent including adsorption and desorption of hydrocarbons in the adsorbent, deterioration of the adsorbent, and so on by detecting the downstream humidity. Also, since the catalyst state detector employs the humidity sensor cheaper than a hydrocarbon sensor or a temperature sensor, the detector itself can be manufactured at a lower cost.
Preferably, the catalyst state detector further comprises upstream humidity detecting means for detecting a humidity of the exhaust gases at a location upstream of the adsorbent, wherein the adsorbent state detecting means detects the state of the adsorbent in accordance with the upstream humidity detected by the upstream humidity detecting means.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, by detecting the humidity of the exhaust gases at a location upstream of the adsorbent (upstream humidity) by the upstream humidity detecting means, together with the downstream humidity, i.e., by detecting the humidities at locations upstream and downstream of the adsorbent, the state of the adsorbent can be more correctly detected. The detection of the upstream humidity by the upstream humidity detecting means may include estimation of the upstream humidity in addition to the actual detection thereof.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, the upstream humidity detecting means estimates the upstream humidity based on the result of the detection made by the downstream humidity sensor.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, since the upstream humidity is estimated based on the result of the detection made by the downstream humidity sensor, the state of the adsorbent can be detected using only a single humidity sensor (downstream humidity sensor), so that the detector can be manufactured at a lower cost.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, the upstream humidity detecting means is arranged at a location upstream of the adsorbent in the exhaust pipe, and comprises an upstream humidity sensor for detecting the upstream humidity.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, by detecting the actual upstream humidity by the upstream humidity sensor, the state of the adsorbent can be more accurately detected.
Preferably, the catalyst state detector further includes response delay compensating means for compensating at least one of the downstream humidity sensor and the upstream humidity sensor for a response delay.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, at least one of the downstream humidity sensor and the upstream humidity sensor is compensated by the response delay compensating means for a response delay, thereby making it possible to correctly detect the state of adsorbent even with a humidity sensor which exhibits a low responsibility, while properly compensating such a humidity sensor for the response delay.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, each of the downstream humidity sensor and the upstream humidity sensor includes a sensor element exposed to the exhaust gases for detecting the humidity of the exhaust gases, wherein the detector further includes a heater for heating the sensor element of at least one of the downstream humidity sensor and the upstream humidity sensor, operating state detecting means for detecting an operating state of the internal combustion engine, and heater control means for controlling an operation of the heater in accordance with the operating state detected by the operating state detecting means.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, the heater control means operates the heater in accordance with the operating state of the internal combustion engine such that the heater heats the sensor element of at least one of the downstream humidity sensor and the upstream humidity sensor, thereby making it possible to bring the heated sensor element into a state suitable for detecting the humidity. For example, since the sensor element is susceptible to the inability of correctly detecting the humidity due to dew condensation or coke deposition, the sensor element may be heated when the internal combustion engine is likely to produce the dew condensation and coke deposition to avoid such inconveniences, thereby making it possible to correctly detect the humidity.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, the adsorbent state detecting means includes an adsorbent deterioration detecting means for detecting deterioration of the adsorbent as a state of the adsorbent.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, the adsorbent deterioration detecting means is used to detect deterioration of the adsorbent in accordance with the result of detection made by the downstream humidity sensor, i.e., the downstream humidity. In other words, by detecting the humidity of exhaust gases after hydrocarbons and moisture therein have been adsorbed by the adsorbent (post-adsorption exhaust gases), it is possible to detect deteriorated capabilities of adsorbing hydrocarbons and moisture in the adsorbent, i.e., the deterioration of the absorbent. For example, when the adsorbent is not deteriorated, much of moisture in the post-adsorption exhaust gases is adsorbed by the adsorbent, so that the humidity in the post-adsorption exhaust gases is detected to be low. From this result of the detection, it is possible to estimate that the adsorbent is capable of satisfactorily adsorbing hydrocarbons as well as moisture, and therefore determine that the adsorbent is not deteriorated. On the other hand, when the adsorbent is deteriorated, moisture in the post-adsorption exhaust gases is not adsorbed so much, so that the humidity in the post-adsorption exhaust gases is detected to be high. From this result of the detection, it is possible to estimate that the adsorbent is no longer capable of sufficiently adsorbing hydrocarbons as well as moisture, and therefore determine that the adsorbent is deteriorated. In this way, the catalyst state detector according to this preferred embodiment can accurately detect the deterioration of the adsorbent by detecting the downstream humidity which has a high correlation to the deterioration of the adsorbent.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, the adsorbent deterioration detecting means detects the deterioration of the adsorbent based on a transition of a result of detection made by the downstream humidity sensor from a start of the internal combustion engine.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, since the result of the detection by the downstream humidity sensor from the start of the internal combustion engine transitions in accordance with the degree of deterioration of the adsorbent, the deterioration of the adsorbent can be detected reversely based on this transition. As such a transition of the result of the detection made by the downstream humidity sensor, it is possible to use, for example, a time required for the humidity of the post-adsorption exhaust gases to reach a predetermined humidity from the start of the engine, a changing amount of the humidity of the post-adsorbent exhaust gases per unit time, the humidity of the post-adsorption exhaust gases after the lapse of a predetermined time from the start. By comparing these parameters with the counterparts derived by a new adsorbent, which have been previously measured, the deterioration of the adsorbent can be correctly detected based on the magnitude of the difference therebetween.
Preferably, the catalyst state detector further includes atmospheric state detecting means for detecting an atmospheric state, and deterioration detection execution determining means for determining whether or not the adsorbent deterioration detecting means should perform the deterioration detection based on results of detections by the atmospheric state detecting means and the downstream humidity sensor at the start of the internal combustion engine.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, it is determined by the deterioration detection execution determining means whether or not the deterioration detection should be executed by the adsorbent deterioration detecting means based on the atmospheric state detecting means and the result of detection made by the downstream humidity sensor at the start of the internal combustion engine. In this event, assume, for example, that the saturated absolute humidity in the atmosphere at the start of the engine is detected (calculated) as the atmospheric state, and the adsorbent is determined to be deteriorated when the absolute humidity of the post-adsorption exhaust gases has become larger than the initially detected absolute humidity (initial absolute humidity) by a predetermined amount (the sum of the initial absolute humidity and the predetermined amount) until a predetermined time elapses from the start of the engine. When the humidity in the atmosphere is high on a rainy day or the like, the absolute humidity of the post-adsorption exhaust gases may have reached the saturated absolute humidity before the predetermined time elapses from the start of the engine. In this event, since the downstream humidity sensor indicates the value of the saturated absolute humidity afterwards, an erroneous determination could be made that the adsorbent is not deteriorated even though the adsorbent is actually deteriorated. Therefore, by preventing the execution of the deterioration detection for the adsorbent when the sum of the initial absolute humidity and the predetermined amount is equal to or more than the saturated absolute humidity, it is possible to avoid an erroneous determination as to the deterioration of the adsorbent.
Preferably, in the catalyst state detector, the adsorbent includes zeolite.
According to this preferred embodiment of the catalyst state detector, since the adsorbent includes zeolite, it is possible to provide an adsorbent which is highly heat resistant and also invulnerable to deterioration, as compared with, for example, silica gel, active carbon, or the like used as an adsorbent. In addition, such an adsorbent can properly adsorb hydrocarbons in exhaust gases at low temperatures at the start of the internal combustion engine. Also, the adsorbent comprised of zeolite can desorb hydrocarbons once adsorbed thereby at high temperatures without fail. Further, since zeolite exhibits a significantly high correlation of adsorption characteristics for hydrocarbons and moisture, it is possible to improve the accuracy in the detection of deterioration of the adsorbent by the catalyst state detector for an exhaust gas purifying catalyst which acts as a deterioration detector.

Catalyst state detector for exhaust gas purifying catalyst


Aqueous dispersions of artificially synthesized, mussel-inspired polydopamine nanoparticles were inkjet printed on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. Narrow line patterns (4 μm in width) of polydopamine resulted due to evaporatively driven transport (coffee ring effect). The printed patterns were metallized via a site-selective Cu electroless plating process at a controlled temperature (30° C.) for varied bath times. The lowest electrical resistivity value of the plated Cu lines was about 6 times greater than the bulk resistivity of Cu. This process presents an industrially viable way to fabricate Cu conductive fine patterns for flexible electronics at low temperature, and low cost.

Emerging flexible electronic devices have exhibited significant potential for a wide range of applications such as solar cells (1), batteries (2), sensors (3), antennas (4), and displays (5). For any flexible electronic application, an essential characteristic is electrically conductive patterning. Solution-based additive manufacturing techniques such as drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printing (6), slot die coating (7), and gravure printing (8) are being widely investigated to fabricate flexible conductive patterns. DOD inkjet printing is an excellent candidate because it is a material-conservative, low-temperature process and is easily incorporated into large scale roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing infrastructures for flexible polymer substrates.
The commonly used ink materials in DOD inkjet printing processes can be categorized into two types: metal nanoparticle (NP) dispersions and metal precursor solutions (9, 82). NP inks consist of metallic NPs and a carrier liquid solvent. The NPs have specifically designed surface properties which allow them to be stably dispersed in an appropriate solvent. Precursor ink is an inorganic metal salt or organic metal complex that is dissolved in a solvent. After inkjet printing, the solvent undergoes evaporation and metal NP or precursor deposits on the substrate. A post-printing process is typically necessary to render either type of deposited structure electrically conductive. Polymer capping layers and surfactants are employed in the formulation of NP inks to prevent aggregation and particle precipitation; these agents are generally neither conductive nor volatile. The post-printing process removes these agents and initiates sintering, thereby improving the electrical conductivity. For precursor inks, the post-printing process chemically reduces the metal species from its ionic to elemental state which is electrically conductive. The standard post-printing process applies heat that potentially puts substrate materials at risk of thermal degradation/deformation, especially when low-cost polymeric substrates are used (e.g., polyethylene terephthalate (PET), etc.). A few non-thermal or local surface thermal techniques have been reported including plasma (10, 11), laser (12), electrical (13), and photonic (14) methods. However, sophisticated equipment and their associated high-cost processes are inevitable.
Drop-on-demand inkjet printing is a material-conservative deposition process compatible with the low temperature requirements of flexible polymer substrates (81). The implementation of printing within a roll-to-roll (R2R) infrastructure enables continuous, high-speed and large-scale manufacturing.
Electroless plating generally uses a solution of metal salt, reducing agent, a complexing agent, and additive(s) (such as bath stabilizer and plating rate adjusting agent)(20). Metal nucleates on the catalytically active surface and continues to promote further metal reduction and growth. This is the defining characteristic of ELP's autocatalytic nature (20). A pre-patterned catalyst layer on the target substrate will promote site-selective deposition. Hidber et al. (86) utilized microcontact stamping to pattern palladium (Pd) colloids which yielded copper (Cu) patterns after ELP. Harkness et al. (87) used photolithography to pattern a Pd-bonded-organic seed layer (hydrogen silsesquioxane) and achieved site selective ELP of Cu and Ag. The prohibitively large cost of photolithography has prompted research into the use of inkjet printing to directly pattern the catalyst (88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94). Most of the inkjet printing studies exploited Pd-based ink (88, 89, 90, 91, 92) while the investigation of other ink materials is less focused (93, 94). Although Pd-based catalyst is versatile for electroless plating of a wide range of metals, the high cost of Pd limits its use (95).
Silver (Ag) is the most broadly investigated conductive ink material due to its low bulk resistivity (1.6×10−8 Ωm) and resistance to oxidation; however, like other noble metals, it is expensive ($0.708/gram) (15). Copper (Cu) is preferred because it exhibits a bulk resistivity (1.7×10−8 Ωm) comparable to Ag but is significantly cheaper ($0.007/gram) (15). However, the main challenge of using Cu-based raw material for inkjet printing arises from the spontaneous formation of Cu oxides; when synthesized Cu NPs oxidize, both their resistivity and sintering temperature increase dramatically (9). Research efforts to overcome the Cu NP oxidation have taken two directions: utilizing an organic oxygen barrier material as particle capping layers to retard oxidation kinetics (16) and synthesis of Cu-noble metal core-shell NPs to achieve long-term stability (17). Cu precursor inks are usually stable against oxidation under room environment (18). Notwithstanding, the postprinting process for both Cu NP and Cu precursor must be implemented in reductive, inert atmospheres or under vacuum to prevent oxide formation, which inherently increases process complexity (19). Site-selective Cu electroless plating (ELP) is a method that can be used to fabricate conductive patterns on flexible substrates. It is a low temperature process that does not cause substrate damage if a proper plating bath is used. During ELP, formation of Cu oxides is dramatically inhibited. The general ELP uses a solution of metal salt, complexing agent, reducing agent and additive(s) (such as a bath stabilizer and a pH adjusting agent) (20).
Site-selective ELP can be achieved by plating a substrate which has a prepatterned catalyst/seed layer. Studies have been conducted exploring inkjet printing for ELP seed patterning (21, 22, 23). The Pd-based ink is the most widely investigated material due to its well-established catalytic activity for initiation of various metal deposition from a wide range of ELP solutions (24).
Poly(dopamine) (PDA), a marine mussel inspired polymer, was recently found capable of initiating metal ion reduction indicating its potential as an ELP catalyst (26, 67, 96). PDA exhibits universal adhesion as demonstrated for a wide range of both organic and inorganic materials (26). PDA can be synthesized as continuous coatings on any object by inducing dopamine polymerization in a pure water phase (26) or as suspended spherical NPs in water-alcohol mixtures at controlled pH (27).
Poly(dopamine) nanoparticles (PDA-NP) have been inkjet printed on both glass and PET substrates followed by site-selective Ag ELP (28). Results exhibit a substrate-independent method to fabricate highly conductive Ag patterns.
The coffee ring effect is due to capillary flow induced by the differential evaporation rates across the drop: liquid evaporating from the contact line ("CL") region is replenished by liquid from the interior (29). When the CL is pinned and maximum evaporation occurs at or near the CL, the mass flow of solvent causes an accumulation of solute in the CL region. The resulting bulk flow toward the CL can transport nearly all the dispersed material to the CL region. The cooling due to evaporation induces a Marangoni flow inside a droplet opposing the evaporatively-driven flow. The Marangoni flow, if strong, favors particle deposition at the center region of the droplet. Thus, for particles to accumulate in the CL region, the liquid must have a weak Marangoni flow, or something must occur to disrupt the flow. For example, surfactants can be added to reduce the liquid's surface tension gradient, disrupting the Marangoni flow. Water has an intrinsically weak Marangoni flow, a flow that is then reduced significantly by natural surfactants.

Electroless copper plating polydopamine nanoparticles

The Research Foundation for The State University of New York


This invention is a fluid evacuation system used in conjunction with a standard water closet. A wet/dry evacuation motor is used to remove foul air not only from the immediate area of the water closet but from the entire room. Should a liquid overflow occur, part of that fluid can also be removed from the top of the water closet bowl and directed into the sewer system. Additionally, an attachment is provided to allow evacuation of water and other fluids from the floor adjacent to and around the water closet.

Since the advent of indoor plumbing, and particularly bathroom fixtures including water closets, a problem has existed in evacuating foul odors from the room, especially from interior rooms without windows. As building codes have been formulated, they usually require that all interior bathrooms include forced air ventilation means. This usually takes the form of forced air blowers in the ceiling to suck out undesirable odors, moisture, and the like.
It was recognized early on that it was more desirable to exhaust foul odors from adjacent the source rather than from other parts of the room.
Various toilet or water closet ventilation systems have been developed including systems for filtering the air from adjacent the toilet seat and blowing it back into the room to exhausting the same through the wall of the room and out a vent pipe. Also systems for ventilating these toilets or water closets to either the standard sewer system vent pipe or directly into the sewer have been developed.
These art systems, however, have drawbacks including 1. possible electrical hazards if liquid overflow occurs, 2. are ineffective in filtering foul odors, particularly in units that exhaust back into the room, 3. are complicated and expensive to manufacture, install and maintain, and 4. some require specially designed and manufactured water closets which effectively prevents retrofit.


A seat slide apparatus for a vehicle includes a first rail, a second rail, a lock member, a plurality of engagement bores including a rear end engagement bore, a front end portion of the rear end engagement bore being further positioned in a forward direction than a rear end of the second rail in a state where the second rail is positioned at a foremost position, a rear end portion of the rear end engagement bore being exposed to a rear of the rear end of the second rail, a memory member, a holding member holding the memory member to move integrally with the second rail or holding the memory member to engage with one of the engagement bores, and an auxiliary bracket restricting a movement of the memory member that engages with the front end portion of the rear end engagement bore towards the rear end portion thereof.

A known seat slide apparatus for a vehicle is disclosed in JP2008-247143A (which will be hereinafter referred to as Reference 1), for example. The seat slide apparatus disclosed in Reference 1 includes a lower rail fixed to a vehicle floor and an upper rail fixed to a vehicle seat and supported by the lower rail so as to be movable relative to the lower rail. The seat slide apparatus also includes a lock member that restricts a relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail. The restriction of the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail by the lock member (i.e., a locked state of the lock member) is released, for example, by an operation of an operation handle by an occupant seated on the aforementioned vehicle seat.
Further, the seat slide apparatus disclosed in Reference 1 includes a memory member that moves on the lower rail in association with the movement of the upper rail during a normal slide operation where the occupant seated on the vehicle seat, for example, releases the lock member (as a result, the lock member is brought to an unlocked state to thereby permit the relative movement between the lower rail and the upper rail) so as to adjust the position of the vehicle seat. The memory member is accommodated within an inner void formed by the lower rail and the upper rail and having a box shape. The memory member is fixed to the lower rail at a time of a walk-in operation where a seat back of the vehicle seat is folded forward so that a passenger gets in or out of a rear seat in the rear of the vehicle seat, for example, and the lock member is released and locked in association with the forward folding operation of the seat back.
After the passenger gets in or out of the rear seat, the upper rail (i.e., the vehicle seat) is moved to an original position where the upper rail again engages with the memory member (i.e., a memory position) and thereafter the seat back is pulled up from the forwardly folded state. Then, the lock member is again brought to the locked state so that the movement of the upper rail relative to the lower rail is restricted.
Specifically, an arrangement range of the memory member is defined so that the memory member is prevented from being exposed to a rear of the vehicle seat, i.e., beyond a rear end of the upper rail even in a case where the memory member is fixed to a rearmost portion of the lower rail at a time when the upper rail moves to a foremost position relative to the lower rail by the walk-in operation.
According to the seat slide apparatus disclosed in Reference 1, the memory member is assembled in view of an assembly process of the lower rail and the upper rail, which may decrease an assembly performance of the memory member. In order to prevent the memory member from being exposed beyond the rear end of the upper rail, the memory member is assembled in a state where the upper rail is moved further forward than the foremost position where the forward movement of the upper rail is structurally stopped. Thereafter, the upper rail is moved rearward so that the memory member is inserted and positioned within the upper rail. That is, after the upper rail and the lower rail are assembled and therefore the forward movement of the upper rail relative to the lower rail is restricted to the foremost position, it may be impossible to assemble the memory member.
A need thus exists for a seat slide apparatus for a vehicle which is not susceptible to the drawback mentioned above.


An infusion set system includes a base and a fluid connector removably coupleable thereto. The fluid connector includes a fluid path portion and at least one connector latch displaceably connected to the fluid path portion and displaceable to a latching position in which at least a portion of the connector latch extends into the fluid path portion, which includes a cannula extending from a top interior surface thereof, and a plurality of internal sidewalls corresponding to at least two of a plurality of flat side surfaces of at least one of a base section and a base latch, thereby facilitating connection between the base and the fluid connector in a plurality of discrete rotational connecting positions. When the fluid connector is locked to the base, the at least one connector latch engages a base latching portion of the base and restricts proximal displacement of the fluid connector.

One mode of insulin infusion treatment includes infusion pump therapy via a catheter, needle or other type of cannula. Infusion pumps offer the advantages of continuous infusion of insulin, precision dosing, and programmable delivery schedules. Together, these advantages result in more accurate blood glucose control. In this mode of insulin infusion treatment, the infusion pump remains attached to the user and required doses of insulin are delivered to the user via the pump.
One type of cannula is a catheter, which generally is a tube that can be inserted into the body to permit the administration of fluids. In infusion pump therapy, the types and sizes of the catheter may vary, but generally, the catheter is a thin, flexible tube. In some uses, however, it may be larger and/or rigid. A rigid, hollow, metal needle may also be used in place of a soft plastic catheter.
One type of conventional infusion set is sold as the Quick-Set® infusion set by Medtronic. In such devices, the infusion pump includes a catheter assembly connected to a pump via a tubing set, and a separate insertion device inserts and/or attaches the catheter assembly into/to a user via an introducer needle provided as part of the infusion set. The infusion set and insertion device can also be combined, as in the Mio® infusion set sold by Medtronic, which is an "all-in-one" design that combines the infusion set and insertion device into one unit.
Another type of insulin infusion device, known as a "patch pump," has recently become available. Unlike a conventional infusion pump, a patch pump is an integrated device that combines most or all of the fluid components in a single housing that is adhesively attached to an infusion site, and does not require the use of a separate infusion (tubing) set. A patch pump adheres to the skin, contains insulin (or other medication), and delivers the drug over a period of time, either transdermally, or via an integrated subcutaneous mini-catheter. Some patch pumps communicate with a separate controller device wirelessly (such as one sold under the brand name OmniPod®), while others are completely self-contained.
A conventional infusion device can include a fluid connector, which may be releasably attached to a base that can be secured to a user's skin. An infusion pump supplies fluid to a catheter via the fluid connector/base engagement.
With such devices, however, there are concerns over the difficulty of balancing the force required to disconnect the tubing without pulling the catheter from the user's skin versus having enough retention force to secure the infusion components for everyday infusion. Another concern is that there may be a need to design a rotational lock between the fluid connector and the base. Yet another concern is that the separation force needs to be designed such that if a user accidentally snags the extension tubing on an external structure (e.g., a doorknob), the extension tubing will disconnect from the fluid connector without removing the catheter from the user's skin, thus saving the patient from the need to obtain, connect and re-insert a new infusion set.
Additionally, to protect the cannula and/or introducer needle prior to insertion, conventional devices often include a needle guard that is removed prior to use. These needle guards, however, are often very small and may be difficult to grasp, particularly for people with impaired dexterity. Additionally, conventional needle guards are often held in place by friction alone. To remove such needle guards, patients must pull and/or twist the needle guard, and the axial force required to remove such needle guards may vary widely, for example, based on manufacturing tolerances. Further, with such needle guards, once the coefficient of static friction is overcome, the guard may separate quickly, without providing an opportunity for a user to modify the applied force and potentially resulting in a needle-stick injury. Further, there is a risk that the needle guard can contact the needle during removal, potentially dulling the cannula or introducer needle.

Infusion device with releasable fluid connector


When a bias power level of a recording pulse waveform is varied entirely or partially, a shape of the recording pulse wave form is varied according to the variation. For example, when the bias power level is increased, a width or an edge position of a top pulse or a multi-pulse of the recording pulse waveform is varied correspondingly. Thereby, a total heat quantity of a recording laser light is not increased, and a preferable recording characteristic is maintained.

Onto a recordable or rewritable optical disc such as a DVD-R (DVD-Recordable) or a DVD-RW (DVD-Rerecordable), information is recorded thereon by irradiating a laser light on its recording surface. At the areas on the recording surface of the optical disc where the laser light is irradiated, the property of the optical recording medium forming the optical disc is physically changed because of the increased temperature. This produces recording marks on the recording surface.
Namely, the laser light is modulated by recording pulses having time widths corresponding to information to be recorded, so that the laser pulses having lengths corresponding to information to be recorded are generated and irradiated on the optical disc. Thus, recording marks having lengths corresponding to the information to be recorded can be formed on the optical disc.
One approach recently used is to form a recording mark by a pulse train having a plurality of short pulses, rather than by a single laser pulse. This approach, called "write strategy", introduces less heat accumulation on the recording surface of the optical disc compared to the approach irradiating a single recording laser pulse. Therefore, uniform temperature distribution can be achieved on the recording surface on which the recording marks are formed. This can prevent undesired tear drop-shaped recording marks from being formed, and enables the formation of the recording marks of preferred shape.
In the case of DVD-R, for example, the recording pulse train consists of a plurality of pulses which magnitudes varying between a certain bias power level and write power level. That is, based on recording data, the areas on the recording surface of the optical disc where no recording marks are to be formed (referred to as "space periods" hereafter) are irradiated with the laser light of the bias power. The areas on the recording surface of the optical disc where recording marks are to be formed (referred to as "mark periods" hereafter) are irradiated with the laser light of the power corresponding to the recording pulse train having magnitudes varying between the bias power and the write power. Consequently, the recording marks are formed on the recording surface.
Though the bias power level in the recording pulse is prescribed by a DVD-R standard and the like, the bias power level different from a prescribed value may be used in a drive apparatus of the optical disc. For example, at the time of recording the information, during the period in which no recording mark is formed, a gain control of a recording laser power and various kinds of servo controls are executed by using the bias power level. Therefore, it can be thought that the bias power level is set to be higher than the prescribed value in order to stabilize the control of the laser power and the servo control. On the contrary, it is preferable that the bias power level is low in terms of improving the recording characteristic of the information by the recording pulse. Therefore, it can be thought that the bias power level is set to be lower than the prescribed value.
However, when the bias power level is varied, there is such a problem that the optimum recording characteristic cannot problematically be obtained even if the recording is performed by the write strategy designated in advance.

Information recording device and information recording method


A thermal sensor is placed in a low power state. When the sensor is triggered to wake from the low power state, it initiates a thermal sensor scan from the sensor value measured prior to the low power state. The thermal sensor initially adjusts the measured value with a fast count by a configurable adjustment of greater than 1, and after reaching an inflection point performs normal count by adjustments of 1.

Power consumption of thermal sensors in some current processing systems is a significant component of idle power during low power operations. For example, in deepest package C-states, thermal sensor power consumption is significant, and on some products, thermal sensor power consumption during active may even significantly impact power consumption at maximum frequencies. Thermal sensors are typically left running even in idle states, even though the data is not required during idle states when most of the CPU is powered off.
Thermal sensors are typically left running because they take a relatively long time to scan. In traditional systems, a thermal sensor would need to rescan the temperature(s) from scratch upon exit from a low power state. Current thermal sensor design is an up/down counter that steps one code per 640 ns. With a resolution of 9 bits, maximum scan time can be as high as 2^9*640 ns or 327 us. In some traditional systems, the active time in idle scenarios is <100 us, which means that with such a long scan the system could never achieve a full scan before re-entering the low power state. Thermal telemetry (and control) would potentially lag real conditions indefinitely unless the thermal sensors remain active to keep a valid reading.
Descriptions of certain details and implementations follow, including a description of the figures, which may depict some or all of the embodiments described below, as well as discussing other potential embodiments or implementations of the inventive concepts presented herein. An overview of embodiments of the invention is provided below, followed by a more detailed description with reference to the drawings.

Power down and quick start of thermal sensor


A pipette tip rack system is disclosed that includes a plurality of tip racks that may be nested one upon the other with an integrally formed locking mechanism that locks each rack to the one immediately below it. A cover member is also included that acts as a cover for the top rack in the stack. This cover also utilizes the same locking mechanism. Also included is a bottom member that serves as a dust cover and uses the same locking mechanism to permit its fixture to the bottom rack. The whole system when lockingly fixed together forms a relatively secure unit so that if it is upset the tips will not spill out. Further, each element in the stack retains its sterile condition. Finally, the stack of racks may be combined with a box having a top that fits over the cover and a bottom that receives the bottom member and lowest rack. This box may be removed from the stack and assembled so that a single rack may be used remote of the stack.

Pipette tips are small, conically shaped devices that are affixed to the end of a pipetter for use in laboratory analysis. The pipetter is a mechanical device that includes a pump-type action to draw fluid up into the pipette tip in a specified amount so that the fluid can be transferred to another receptacle for the test to take place.
In recent years, the use of pipette tips has grown explosively so that they are sold in packages, usually containing about 100 tips. In one particular version, they are sold with 96 tips to a rack. This has become a common factor as pipetters are now made to handle multiple pipette tips, usually eight or twelve at a time.
Pipette tips are used only once. As indicated above, they are used in great quantities. In light of the use, ordinarily with some kind of medical or biological testing, sterility is of paramount importance. Accordingly, the racks mentioned above come fully equipped with pipette tips that have been sterilized so that the laboratory technician need not go through any particular sterilization step prior to use.
In order to save space, the purveyors of pipette tips generally sell them in nested racks. Such racks are described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,853,217 dated Dec. 10, 1974, and issued to Scordato. Stacking or nesting racks of the type described in Scordato have more recently been replaced by covered racks as represented by the covered rack of U.S. Pat. No. Des. No. 271,239, issued Nov. 1, 1983 to Lemieux et al. The Lemieux type of covered rack is shown in a variant hinged-type box, again with the normal 96 tips to the rack, but with the lower half of the box being the skirt of the Lemieux type rack.
In both the Lemieux rack and the hinged-top box described above, the surface upon which the tips are placed is of necessity reinforced to handle the incumbent force of the pipetter as it is brought down into contact with eight tips at a time. Since the fit of the tip on the pipetter is a friction fit, the top surface of the rack must, of necessity, withstand the pressure imposed by the pipetter so that either all eight or all twelve tips can be picked up at one time.
The nested racks of the Scordato era did not have the reinforcement found in the more recent racks of the '239 reference or the hinged-top boxes. The drawbacks with the Lemieux-type racks and the hinged-top boxes were that they were not nestable in the sense of Scordato and therefore considerably more volume was taken up by these racks.
The problem with nesting racks is that they are easily overturned on the laboratory bench. Thus, if there is a stack of five racks containing upwards of 100 tips per rack, the technician may very well be in the position of having lost 500 pipette tips as the sterilization is lost if the racks are overturned and the tips fall on the bench or floor. While the tips may be reracked (generally by hand), they would still require at least sterilization and, at worst, cleaning and sterilization. Due to the relatively low cost of the racks, they are generally thrown away if sterilization is lost.
In short, the problem with the existing pipette tip racks is that the stand-alone rack takes up too much space in the sale of the rack, while the nesting racks are easily overturned, with the loss of the pipette tips.
Another problem with the existing nesting racks is that when the individual rack is taken off the pile, there is no readily available cover or bottom piece in the rack and contamination can enter into the rack itself.
Accordingly, this invention is for a stacking pipette tip rack that includes an interlock between racks so that a plurality of pipette tip racks can be stacked one atop another. Also included in the invention is a cover piece and a base piece, both of which are adapted to utilize the locking mechanism of the rack. Finally, a separate hinged-top box may be provided with the plurality of racks so that a technician using a small quantity of tips can have at his or her laboratory bench the convenience of the single rack with a cover and a base or alternatively, a hinged-top box. On the other hand, the user of a large quantity of tips may be provided a plurality of tip racks that include a cover and a base member and that are interlocked so that if the stack is overturned only the tips in the top rack are in jeopardy and then only if the top is not in place.
This structure overcomes the shortcomings of the existing pipette tip racks while retaining the conventional multiple tip arrangement in the racks configured to be utilized with the multiple pipetters.


Various disclosed embodiments relate to video content analysis based in part upon the detection of shot transitions. In some embodiments, a process and computer system for detecting shot transitions in a video is used to separate a video sequence into a series of “shots” having multiple frames. These shots may then be used for additional processing, e.g., content detection within the video frames.

With the growth of the Internet, the creation and distribution of video content has increased dramatically. The need to analyze and understand this content has likewise increased. For example, there is an increasing need to identify videos containing illegal material, violations of an artist's copyright, criminals, etc. To perform these detections, the video content must be processed and analyzed. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of video data and the difficulty of identifying relevant portions of the video data often thwart such attempts. In some cases, adequate tools may exist to perform an analysis, but the analysis is only tractable when performed on a handful of image frames. If the tools were applied to entire videos, it would take far too long to receive the results. Furthermore, some tools are more suitable in some contexts than others. When applied indiscriminately to videos of every quality and character these tools may return false positives or misdirect a suite of other analysis tools.
Accordingly, there exists a need for systems and methods to effectively decompose video into manageable units for analysis. Particularly, there is a need to effectively ascertain boundaries in video content, so that subsequently applied tools and analysis techniques may be more efficiently applied. Such tools are needed to remove duplicate videos retrieved from searches, mining the internal structure of video databases, perform automatic video tagging, performed automatic detection of copyright infringements, etc. The need exists for a system that overcomes the above problems, as well as one that provides additional benefits. Overall, the examples herein of some prior or related systems and their associated limitations are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of existing or prior systems will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the following Detailed Description.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the logic illustrated in each of the flow and sequence diagrams discussed herein may be altered in a variety of ways. For example, the order of the logic may be rearranged, sub-blocks may be performed in parallel, illustrated logic may be omitted, other logic may be included, etc. The depicted examples are provided in the depicted manner merely for purposes of explanation and for the convenience of the reader.


A color image processing apparatus includes a first unit that predicts a bleeding occurrence level from input image data, a second unit that replaces pixels in a given area including boundaries between black ink and any of color inks with another pixels in accordance with the bleeding occurrence level, and a third unit that controls switching of multiple printing modes for each main scan in accordance with the bleeding occurrence level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color image processing apparatus and method adaptable to a printing machine that uses black ink and multiple color inks, and more particularly, to a color image processing apparatus and method capable of forming good color images on ordinary or plain paper with reduced ink bleeding.
2. Description of the Related Art
The color inkjet method ejects a drop of ink liquid from a nozzle for recording images. An apparatus that uses the color inkjet method has a simple structure and makes small noise. Generally, the color inkjet method is suitable for compact printing machines. Generally, the color inkjet method needs coated paper having an ink absorption layer in order to form high quality images with small ink bleeding. When images are reproduced on ordinary paper such as copy paper, ink bleeding is likely to occur at boundaries between different colors.
There is known a method of suppressing intercolor bleeding by enhancing the penetrance of ink to paper. However, enhancement of the ink penetrance causes a problem (fethering) of losing the sharpness of edges of printed lines and characters. This problem is conspicuous particularly for black ink. Taking into consideration the above, it is attempted to use a black ink having comparatively low penetrance and color inks having comparatively high penetrance in order to improve the quality of printed images of lines and characters and suppress intercolor bleeding. However, this attempt fails to avoid bleeding between black ink and any of color inks at boundaries therebetween.
A proposal that intends to eliminate the above problem is described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 6-113155 and 10-86503. The proposal employs means for replacing some pixels by other pixels at a boundary between an area formed by black ink and an area formed by color inks. This pixel replacement may suppress bleeding between black ink and color inks so that the image quality can be improved.
However, if the pixel replacement is too much applied at the boundary, another problem may occur. If too many color pixels at the boundary are replaced by blank data, the boundary may be lost. If too many black pixels at the boundary are replaced by color inks, the replaced area will have a brightness lower than that of black ink, so that the image has a higher brightness and does not have an enough density as a whole. This degrades the image quality. As described above, there is a possibility that the image quality may be degraded if the pixel replacement is too much applied at the boundary.
Another proposal to avoid bleeding between black ink and color inks is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-67125. According to this proposal, black ink and color inks are subject to separate scans for printing. There is a time interval between print with black ink and print with color inks. The time interval effectively suppresses bleeding. However, the printing speed is greatly reduced.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-77992 proposes to count a recording density from image data and select a suitable one of recording modes on the basis of the recording density. The recording density is defined as a ratio of the number of data bits to be recorded by once main scan to the maximum number of dots recordable by once main scan. The recording density is compared with given threshold values. The recording mode is switched based on the comparison result. The multiple recording modes may have mutually different recording speeds. When the relatively low recording mode is selected, bleeding may be improved. However, the relatively low recording mode may be selected for image data in which the possibility of occurrence of bleeding is low although the recording density is high (such an image data is, for example, a picture-based image such as a photograph). Thus, the recording speed will be unnecessarily set low, so that the printing time increases.

Color image processing apparatus and method for reducing ink bleeding