Shaped refractory products, particularly in the form of hollow spheres, and a process for their formation. The process involves dispersing particles of silica or a metal oxide, e.g. Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, in an organic polymer, shaping the dispersion into a desired shape, heating the shaped dispersion in a non-oxidizing atmosphere to carbonize the polymer, and heating the carbonized product at high temperature in a non-oxidizing atmosphere containing nitrogen so that some of the oxide is converted to the corresponding nitride and the particles of unreacted oxide sinter together. The ratio of oxide to carbon should be high so that some but not all of the oxide is converted to the nitride and, preferably, only a relatively small amount should be converted. The resulting refractory material is strong and can be used for a variety of uses, e.g. catalyst supports, packing materials and insulating materials.

I. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to shaped refractory products made primarily of silica or refractory metal oxides, e.g. alumina, zirconia, titania, tungsten oxide etc., and more particularly to a process of producing such shaped products.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Shaped refractory products made primarily of refractory oxides have a variety of uses. For example, they may be used as catalyst supports, packing materials and insulating materials. The products are preferably produced in the form of hollow spheres when used for these purposes. Hollow spheres are generally formed by coating a volatile core with a ceramic powder and then heating the coated cores to cause the ceramic powder to sinter and to cause the core to disappear by volatilization (e.g. as disclosed in Watson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,480 issued on Aug. 2, 1977 ). Another method of forming oxide spheres is disclosed in Schmitt U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,136 issued on Feb. 12, 1974. This involves impregnating resinous microspheres with a metallic compound, heating the microspheres slowly to carbonize the resin and igniting the microspheres to remove the carbon and to produce the metal oxide.
These methods are not easy to carry out and tend to be expensive and so an object of the invention is to provide an alternative procedure for forming such products.

Process for producing shaped refractory products


A system through which verbal information can be utilized to create structured data with tags or inserted codes such as an XML code or the like provides hand held capability for easy adoption via CE, cell telephone, or other data entry devices. A visual display at the time of dictation can provide checklists, prompts or otherwise shape the entry to comport to a selected data context. The visual display can also be part of a transcriptionist system. By providing data in a coded fashion, analysis can be easily conducted such that alerts, bioterror alerts (e.g. evolving symptom or trend information for anthrax or the like) can be rapidly and perhaps automatically identified, and acted upon such as in providing health care alerts or locationally oriented statistical analysis information. A central database reporting function to a central authority (e.g., to the CDC or law enforcement) can be included for terrorist and other event management.

Generally, this invention relates to a computer-based system for transcription and related information and other security and data intensive information or the like. Specifically, the invention may focus on applications, methods, software, hardware, services, and even business methods which can provide a variety of functions important in transcribing or handling information, such as medical information, including but not limited to convenient transcription with menu data tailoring as may be of interest to some of the users of the particular information involved. It may involve handling the information through a network such as the global information network or Internet. Specifically, the invention focuses on applications, methods, software, hardware, services, and even business methods which can provide a variety of functions important in the handling of the information, including but not limited to access, research, and other such functions. It can provide a variety of functions important in the dealing with the information, including but not limited to encoding such information with details of interest to some of the users of such information.
One of the more inefficient environments in which to capture data is that from verbal information. Because verbal or perhaps dictated information can use a variety of words or phrases for a singular meaning and because verbal information can be highly originator dependent, it can be challenging to capture in a structured data format. But one example is that of the medical environment. This environment can present not only one for which the need can be acute (such as to help the patient with a potentially fatal complication) but also one in which the structures and formats can range from one of insurance billing to one of a need for immediate correlation of information. This is compounded by the professional not having the time to enter the data manually. Moreover, the threat of bioterrorism has become the reality of a bioterrorist attack. Although the technology used to attack was quite simple, the consequences of the ensuing terror have been far reaching and profound. It has become vividly clear that attacks cannot be entirely prevented. Our best weapon then, is in the rapid collection and sharing of critical information and responding to bioterrorist attacks, a process that is entirely dependent on rapid, accurate and comprehensive data capture.
In but one application, it can be understood that healthcare in general and physician practices in particular, have not kept abreast of dramatic improvements in the technology of data capture and management. As a direct result, all stake holders from patient to providers are suffering. Technology solutions have not been adopted by the vast majority of physicians, who for the most part, function as independent small groups focused on patient interaction and patient care, and have little time or patience with high tech solutions. It is, however, quite clear that this is a fragmented market and a giant of a market waiting breathlessly for a palatable solution.
In the medical example, physicians are sometimes quoted as losing money at the rate of up to $60,000 per physician per year because of the complexity of a reimbursement system that literally forces them to choose from millions of possible coding combinations in order to get paid. Driving the revenue loss is the stern gaze of the government and the threat of monetary and even criminal penalties should physicians err on the side of over-charging for their services. Incomplete fragments of patient information are literally hidden in inaccessible paper files in hospital and physician practices around the country and tens of millions of dollars are wasted annually in trying to manage this paper nightmare. The need for a solution is staggering, and yet no one has yet solved this puzzle. Why? The answer lies in a deep understanding of physician practice mechanics and physician culture. Doctors know they have a problem and are indeed in pain. But the pain of the solutions offered have to date been greater than the pain of the existing problem.
The scope of the problem can be understood by realizing that physicians represent merely one type of service provider that is impossibly busy. In many industries, the service provider sees patients or clients non-stop from the time they arrive at their offices until the time they go home. Sixty hour weeks are the norm and their focus during that time is the patient or client; relating to the patient or client, evaluating the patient or client, determining the patient""s or client""s problems, offering a possible solution, implementing a plan, and explaining this plan with reassurance to the patient or client. In short, the practice of medicine as many other services is very much a relational, interpretive and interpersonal affair. The art of medicine is at least as important as the science which is applied. After each emotionally demanding and intellectually challenging encounter, the physician then must document his thoughts, impression and plan, and justify his reasoning in a legal document. With more patients stacking up to be seen, there is precious little time to accomplish this task, so the vast majority of physicians must dictate the results of the encounter, often very rapidly, with no time left to edit or review before the next patient encounter. Physicians do not, will not, cannot learn new methods of data entry that are less flexible and more time consuming. This is why today, less than 5% use any sort of electronic medical record. Keyboards, pen charts and inaccurate, unedited voice recognition programs cannot serve their needs and so they rely on an existing transcription system and somewhat haphazard coding solution to help them document and justify each encounter. Physicians are willing to pay for this service and pay well to relieve them of the burden of learning a new career, i.e., documentation and coding. They are people oriented, not technology oriented and can and will pay to have someone else manage this aspect of healthcare. Many have mistakenly assumed that if they build a data repository and provide the physicians with a screen and keyboard or a drop list and pen chart, that physicians will flock to them in droves. Many such technologically advanced solutions exist now, and in large part they have been ignored or quickly abandoned. The threshold of entry is simply too great.
The provider will require service as part of the data capture solution. Technology alone is not enough. Furthermore, doctors as well as others often want local service. Someone they or their staff can personally call and hold accountable. Someone who does not hide behind the veil of bureaucracy, but who is available and at risk in the relationship. In the medical application, today, the local medical transcriptionist fills that roll for creating edited paper documents. Mirroring the healthcare industry, medical transcriptionists are also typically small, fragmented, but local accountable shops which serve physician needs. They too, have a need. They realize that eventually technology will replace them, and yet they don""t know when. They realize that their clients, the doctors, needs are only partially served by the paper documents that they, the transcriptionist provide. Their very careers are at stake, but because they are small and fragmented, they do not have the individual resources to solve doctor""s problems alone. Likewise, coding solutions are many, varied and fragmented and likewise, though they are aware of physician suffering; professional coders don""t have the insight or resources to comprehensively address the need.
In the context of sharing information, one of the problems appears to be the fact that healthcare in general and physician practices in particular have not kept abreast of dramatic improvements in the technology of data capture and management. The primary disconnect in our public health surveillance system remains the archaic system of data sharing between and among public health facilities, and as importantly between the public health system and private practicing physician as well as the private system of hospitals and clinics. In September, 1999, the Senate Appropriations Committee requested, and subsequently received a status report on public health""s infrastructure. One of the primary needs identified in this document is the need for robust information and data systems. As a result of that report, the Health Alert Network became a key priority of both the Centers for Disease Control, and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The HAN was designed to meet the goals and recommendations set by the status report. One of three primary goals identified is as follows:
xe2x80x9cGoal number 2, robust information and data systems GOAL: Each health department will be able to electronically access and distribute up-to-date public health information and emergency health alerts, monitoring the health of communities, and assist in the detection of an emerging public health problem.
Recommendation 5: By 2010, ensure that all health departments have continuous high speed access to the internet and standard protocols for data collection, transport, electronic reporting and information exchange that protects privacy and seamlessly connect local, state, and federal data systems.
Recommendation 6: By 2010, ensure that all health departments have immediate online access to current public health recommendations, health and medical data, treatment guidelines and information on the effectiveness of public health interventions.
Recommendation 7: By 2010, ensure that all health departments have the capacity to send and receive sensitive health information via secure electronic systems and to broadcast emergency health alerts among hospitals, medical centers, universities, and local public health systems and agencies.xe2x80x9d
As to the medical application, clearly, these goals must be achieved to successfully leverage currently available technology and protect the public health. The events of September 2001 however, make it equally clear that a fragmented state-by-state approach may get us there by 2010, but we no longer enjoy the luxury of time. There is now an immediate and tangible threat that must be addressed in months, not years. Furthermore, a key component in the electronic chain has not been adequately addressed by these important recommendations or by the health alert network. Namely, successful, accurate data capture by providers in the field, both public and private. Unfortunately, technology solutions have not been adopted by the vast majority of physicians who, for the most part, function independently. They are focused on patient interaction and patient care, and keeping abreast of the rapid evolution of medical knowledge and have had little time or patience for high tech solutions. As a result, incomplete fragments of patient information are buried in inaccessible paper files in hospital and physician practices around the country. Not only are tens of millions of dollars wasted in trying to manage this paper nightmare, but literally billions of dollars are lost due to our inability to capture the data and glean critical information on public health, treatment efficacy and the early detection of health trends so that effective and rapid solutions can be deployed. If the information cannot be captured, it cannot be managed. If it cannot be managed, then care cannot be optimally improved. This simple logic has profound implications for responsiveness to bioterrorist threats as well as the overall public health and safety.
Conceptually, the invention can be presented and understood from a variety of perspectives. With the understanding that such details are not limiting, from one perspective it can be understood by reference to four device-oriented aspects: a CE or other personal computing capability recorder object, a functionality for precision coding through software and applications or the like, a separate CE or other personal computing capability such as an active-synch docking portal station, and even file transfer protocols such as, in a medical application for example, a health insurance portability and accountability act (HIPAA) compliant electronic signature aspect. Each of these aspects can of course be presented and used separately or they may be combined with any combination or permutation of these or other aspects to present an overall system.
From a data creation perspective, the invention can be understood as potentially encompassing a data tagging engine or other functionality, perhaps or even functionality for parsing text to data, an application for dealing with a workflow digital stream such as in one application for a medical transcriptionist or other such user, and a HIPAA compliant electronic note security transfer system. Again, each of these aspects can of course be presented and used separately or they may be combined with any combination or permutation of these or other aspects to present an overall system.
In addition, the invention can also be understood from an information flow or access perspective by reference to a digital stream, an Internet or other access database, an automated patient information services, and an interactive portal-based knowledge delivery system. One more, each of these aspects can of course be presented and used separately or they may be combined with any combination or permutation of these or other aspects to present an overall system.
One task in solving the problem is in simply capturing the data. The invention includes elements designed to tap into the vast amount of data and information that every moment in every office in America is dictated into a hand held portable tape recorder. The invention can many the two concepts of coding and a checklist by placing the custom templates directly on the screen of a hand held device such as a pocket PC. The invention can permit dictation directly xe2x80x9cintoxe2x80x9d a pre-chosen template on a pocket PC, thus creating a digital.wav or other file of structured data that is then sent to a secure site such as via the Internet. An existing network of local independent transcriptionists can be leveraged (in many cases it may be the medical transcriptionist the doctor is already using) to access that structured data via the web and plug it into templated data fields as he or she is transcribing or editing the note. Surprisingly this can be accomplished simply and seamlessly. To the transcriptionist, it is an opportunity to provide a solution to their clients and save their careers doing much the same work they have always done, but they no longer need to drive to the site of practice, pick up tapes and because the technology can interface seamlessly with existing practice management software; they also no longer face the nightmare of matching demographic information to dictated tapes. Now the data (coding, for example) can be shaped, captured, and structured in one seamless process that leverages existing networks and does so without increasing cost to the physician or decreasing compensation to the transcriptionist. In fact, the technology can be further leveraged to save the physician or other person substantial time (through the use of customized macros), money (through more accurate coding) and to relieve the burden of fragmented, inaccessible patient data by collecting the information in a secure site accessible from any Internet portal. Further, using an XML model and leveraging semi-automation, the invention can allow an interface with existing systems. In one embodiment, wireless, portable remote hand held units can function as two-way data and information portals.
The hand held data entry device can be used to record pertinent data of any kind such as disease surveillance data, ICD-9 or CPT coding information, physical examination, history or lab data. Because the system is portable and voice driven, and because the data can be shaped and structured with templates and checklists, there is optimum flexibility and a very flat learning curve (i.e., as easy as dictating into a tape recorder with a checklist at your fingertips) and therefore, should have high adoption rates. The data can also be securely stored in a central database in XML format where it can be aggregated and then queried to serve a variety of needs. Further, the template model can allow any entity to create custom templates and checklists downloaded from the web to shape data entry such that specific critical data elements can be captured and tagged. In addition, the solution can work both ways. Not only can customized templates be deployed via the Internet to all hand held data entry devices, but they can also receive health alerts, updates and pertinent templates immediately in real time, dramatically shortening the information cycle in both directions. Remote systems with radio wireless technology can be used to keep remote sites connected to the central data processing repository and the health alert network in real time.

System for the creation of database and structured information from verbal input


It is an object of the invention to provide a technique for preventing image quality deterioration of a print image involved in adjustment of color conversion parameters in image formation processing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing technique, and, more particularly to a technique for performing color adjustment for images.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for color print because of colorization of documentation application software (word processor, spread sheet, and rendering software) and spread of the same.
When the color print is performed using such application software, a document may be printed in colors undesirable for a user. In particular, when a corporate mark (a logo) or the like for which accurate colors are indispensable is printed, the mark may be printed in colors slightly deviating from desired colors.
This is caused by a design of color conversion parameters of a printer. The color conversion parameters of the printer are basically designed to print accurate colors. On the other hand, since various figures, characters, and natural images are objects of printing, the color conversion parameters are fine tuned such that, when the respective objects are printed, average users feel that colors are preferable. For example, in many cases, the color conversion parameters are fine tuned to be slightly bright or slight strong in contrast such that preferable colors are obtained. Therefore, slight deviation may occur in colors of the print of the corporate mark requiring accurate colors.
Even when the color conversion parameters are designed to print accurate colors, it is difficult to create the color conversion parameters for accurately printing all colors inputted. An error of colors partially occurs. For example, concerning the corporate mark, every company has different colors of a corporate mark. Thus, although a certain corporate mark can be printed in accurate colors, another corporate mark may be printed in colors deviating from accurate colors. Further, printers have individual differences to some extent, even if color conversion parameters set in a printer in advance are used, it is not always possible to print colors as expected from the color conversion parameters.
Users have different tastes of colors individually. Thus, for example, when a usual red character is printed, a user may feel dissatisfied with red by the color conversion parameters.
As measures for coping with such problems, there is color adjustment processing. FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the color adjustment processing. The color adjustment processing is, for example, processing for correcting color conversion parameters stored in a printer such that a print result of desired colors is obtained. First, a color adjustment processing unit 801 reads presently set color conversion parameters from the printer. The color conversion parameters are stored in a color conversion parameter storing unit 802 arranged in the printer. The color adjustment processing unit 801 reads color adjustment image data for correcting the color conversion parameters. This color adjustment image data is usually image data including plural different color patches prepared in advance. These color patches are treated as color data inputted to the printer. The color adjustment processing unit 801 corrects the color conversion parameters to obtain desired colors from this color data. The color conversion parameters corrected are stored in the color conversion parameter storing unit 802 in the printer again.
FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining color conversion paths for performing color conversion processing for an input image using the color conversion parameters adjusted as described above. Conventionally, a color printer often has two color conversion paths. One of the two color conversion paths (a path 1) is used when a color signal inputted is a chromatic color. The path 1 has a role of converting color signals inputted (e.g., RGB signals) into color signals (CMYK) corresponding to a color material of the printer. The other of the two color conversion parameters (a path 2) is a path used only when a color signal inputted is a substantially achromatic color. The path 2 is a path for converting a color inputted such that the color is reproduced with only a black (K) color material of the printer.
Effects of the path 2 will be explained using FIGS. 18 and 19.
FIG. 18 is a color conversion result by the path 1 when a character of a 50% achromatic color (R=G=G=50%) is inputted. The color conversion result is, for example, C=20%, M=10%, Y=10%, and K=30%. These colors are printed by an image forming unit 803. However, since the image forming unit 803 usually has some output position deviation, which is a mechanical instability element, respective data of CMYK are not always outputted to an identical position. In other words, an output result shown in FIG. 19 may be obtained. In this case, in a contour portion of a character outputted, color blurring occurs to deteriorate an image quality.
FIGS. 20 and 21 are diagrams for explaining color conversion processing by the path 2 in the case in which the character of the same 50% achromatic color is inputted. As shown in FIG. 20, since a color conversion result by the path 2 is only the black (K) color material, even if positional deviation occurs in the image forming unit 803, blurring of a contour part of the character does not occur as shown in FIG. 21. Thus, deterioration in an image quality does not occur.
In this way, it is possible to perform color conversion without deteriorating an image quality by using the path 2 when a color signal inputted is a substantially achromatic color. Since the path 2 is effective only when an input is a substantially achromatic color, as shown in FIG. 17, a judging unit 901 is provided to perform processing by a color converting unit 902 using the path 1 when the color signal inputted is a chromatic color and perform processing by an achromatic color gradation adjusting unit 903 using the path 2 when the color signal inputted is an achromatic color.
The conventional color adjustment processing in such a constitution is, as shown in FIG. 22, performed by correcting a color conversion table used in the path 1 using a color conversion table adjusting unit 904.
However, the conventional color adjustment processing described above has the following problems.
FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a result of printing an image without performing the color adjustment processing as described above. FIG. 24 is a diagram indicating which image area is subjected to the color conversion processing by the path 1 and the path 2 in the image of the print result shown in FIG. 23.
As shown in the figures, even when an image including a color signal processed by the path 1 and the path 2 is inputted, since the color conversion table and a TRC (Tone Reproduction Curve) are adjusted in advance, as shown in FIG. 23, it is possible to print an image without a sense of incongruity even in a boundary of the path 1 and the path 2.
In such a state, when a user feels that a color printed (see FIG. 23) undesirable and desires to make the printed image more bright, the color conversion table adjusting unit 904 in the constitution of FIG. 22 is used to correct the conversion table to increase brightness the printed result or to change the color to a favorite color.
However, in the conventional constitution shown in FIG. 22, since the color conversion table of the path 1 is only corrected, in an output result after correcting the color conversion table (after the color adjustment processing), a boundary of processing for an image area subjected to color conversion by the path 2 and an image area subjected to color conversion by the path 1 (a path to which the color adjustment processing is applied) may appear, resulting in an unnatural print result.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and image processing program

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes: a change information acquiring unit that acquires, when first brightness setting information is changed, information on the change, the first brightness setting information defining, in printing a color that can be represented by color materials of plural colors, brightness that should be represented using the color materials; a calculating unit that calculates, on the basis of the change information acquired by the change information acquiring unit, information on second brightness setting information defining, in printing a color represented only by a black color material, brightness that should be represented using the color material, the second brightness setting information making it possible to print an image of substantially the same brightness as an image printed using the first brightness setting information after the change; and a setting information changing unit that changes, on the basis of the information calculated by the calculating unit, setting content of the second brightness setting information.


A powered jar lid remover includes a work table supporting a rotatable platen, an electric motor with associated drive and manual on-off switch, and a clamp disposed above the platen. The platen rides on plungers which, in turn, ride on a cammed track disposed beneath the platen. A jar placed on the platen is urged into progressively tighter engagement of the clamp when the platen rotates, and ascends a ramp formed in the cammed track. The clamp has a friction brake opposing upward movement, so that the jar cannot defeat clamping action by pushing the clamp upwardly. A manual lever releases the brake so that the clamp can be moved upwardly for adjustment, as for accommodating a jar of greater height. The brake opposes upward movement only, and downward movement of the clamp is unopposed by the brake.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a powered machine for automatically removing screw-on lids from jars.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
Jars are commonly employed to contain household materials, particularly foodstuffs, for convenient storage and retrieval. Jars are usually equipped with thin, metallic lids, which attach to the jars by cooperating threads. For many reasons, a lid can be so tightly fitted to its associated jar that removing the same becomes a difficult task for a person attempting to open the jar. For example, a lid may be very tightly installed in the manufacturing process. Also, entrapment of fluent contents on the threads may cause the lid to stick in its tightened position. Corrosion of the lid may also cause sticking.
Even in those cases wherein the effort of unscrewing a lid is within generally accepted limits, some people are not strong enough to accomplish this task. Examples include the very young, persons with arthritis, the elderly, and those with injury to a hand or arm.
To assist persons who for whatever reason need such assistance in opening a jar, machines for unscrewing lids from jars have been proposed in the prior art. As these machines are typically intended for tabletop use, they frequently include a base having a vertical shaft on which is mounted a gripping device for holding a jar by its lid. The gripping device is disposed above a second gripping device located on the base, with the jar sandwiched between opposing gripping devices.
One of the top or bottom gripping devices is provided with rotation means, the other gripping device being immobile, so that a torque is imparted to the jar. This torque is intended to break a seal, or initial resistance, securing the lid to the jar.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,650, issued to John Cardinal on Oct. 23, 1979, discloses a jar lid removing machine wherein operation automatically draws opposing gripping devices toward one another by raising the jar on a movable table. The table has a member threaded to a rotatable screw. As the screw turns, the table rises in response thereto. Excessive clamping force is avoided by a torque clutch disposed in line between the screw and its associated drive motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,742, issued to Emil Polasek on May 28, 1974, discloses another motorized jar opener which holds the jar between a stationary lower friction gripping device and an upper, rotatable gripping device. The upper gripping device is motorized. A pair of lever arms adjustably hold the jar from the sides. A manually operated arm bears down on the upper gripping device, thus assuring that the lid does not slip relative to the upper gripping device.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,795,158, issued to Robert Y. Morita on Mar. 5, 1974, and 3,950,801, issued to Howard J. Morrison on Apr. 20, 1976, disclose typical jar lid removing machines. Each of these two inventions provides a manually operated, vertical locking device holding the jar clamped between upper and lower gripping devices.
A hand held accessory for gripping a jar lid is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,781, issued to Frederick G. J. Grise et al. on Aug. 30, 1988. This device does not support and hold a jar unassisted, and is not powered.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.


A shaft sealing device is provided in an annular space between a rotor and a stator surrounding an outer periphery of the rotor, and divides the annular space in the direction of an axis of the rotor into a high-pressure region and a low-pressure region. The shaft sealing device includes a seal body obtained by stacking a plurality of thin plate sealing pieces in a circumferential direction of the rotor; and a high-pressure side plate that extends from the stator toward the radial inner side so as to run along the high-pressure side of the seal body, and is segmented into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction, and includes a rigidity imparting member configured to impart rigidity in the direction of the axis to a portion of the surface of the high-pressure side plate that faces the high-pressure region.

A shaft sealing device is provided around a rotor in a rotating machine, such as a gas turbine or a steam turbine, in order to reduce the leak amount of a working fluid that flows from a high-pressure side to a low-pressure side. As an example of this shaft sealing device, for example, a shaft sealing device described in the following Patent Document 1 is known.
This shaft sealing device includes a housing provided at the stator, and a seal body including multiple thin plate sealing pieces.
In the seal body, the multiple thin plate sealing pieces are stacked with small clearances between each other such that the thickness direction of each thin plate sealing piece is directed to the circumferential direction of the rotor. The respective thin plate sealing pieces are obliquely arranged so that the end portions (tips) of the thin sealing pieces on a radial inner side are located further toward a forward side in the rotational direction of the rotor than the end portions (rear ends) of the thin sealing pieces on a radial outer side, the rear ends thereof are coupled to each other at the rear ends thereof, and the tips of the thin sealing pieces are free ends.
In the shaft sealing device schematically configured in this way, the tip of each thin plate sealing piece comes into contact with the rotor when the rotor remains stationary. If the rotor rotates, the tips of the thin plate sealing pieces are lifted from the outer periphery of the rotor by a dynamic pressure effect produced by the rotation of the rotor, and are brought into non-contact with the rotor. For this reason, in the shaft sealing device, wear of each thin plate sealing piece is reduced, and the service life of a seal becomes long.
Additionally, in the above-described mechanism, one axial end portion of the seal body on a fluid low-pressure region side in an axial direction is covered with a low-pressure side plate, and the other axial end portion of the seal body on a fluid high-pressure region side in the axial direction is covered with a high-pressure side plate. Also, the flow of the working fluid to the small clearances between the thin plate sealing pieces is regulated by the low-pressure side plate and the high-pressure side plate.
Here, the low-pressure side plate and the high-pressure side plate are usually segmented into a plurality of portions in the circumferential direction and are disposed with segmentation clearances between each other.

Shaft sealing device and rotating machine comprising same


Certain embodiments provide methods that may allow for improvements in performance and power consumption by terminating the turbo decoding process early when one of at least two test criterion is satisfied in communications systems, including UMTS, WCDMA, and TD-DCMA.

1. Field
Certain aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communications and, more particularly, to methods of enforcing early termination of decoding by a receiver in a wireless system.
2. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., bandwidth and transmit power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems (UMTS), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), and Time Division Code Division Multiple Access (TD-CDMA).
Generally, a wireless communication system comprises mobile stations and base stations that can send and receive transmissions containing the various types of communication content mentioned above. Such transmissions are typically sent between a transmitter and a receiver. To efficiently transmit and receive information, signals are usually encoded into a special format before transmission and decoded by a receiver after reception.
Numerous encoding and decoding methods exist, with each presenting advantages and challenges, as well.

Early termination schemes for turbo decoding in a wireless communication system


The present invention presents a method and apparatus for phase hopping and space-time coding signals for transmission on multiple antennas. The method and apparatus provides expansion of a Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space time block code to a Mxc3x97Mxe2x80x2 space time block code, where M greater than N, by using phase hopping on the symbols within the Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space time block code to allow transmission of the space time block code on a number of diversity antennas greater than Nxe2x80x2. A result of M antenna diversity may be achieved for M transmit antennas.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for achieving transmit diversity in telecommunication systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for non-zero complex weighting and space-time coding signals for transmission on multiple antennas.
As wireless communication systems evolve, wireless system design has become increasingly demanding in relation to equipment and performance requirements. Future wireless systems, which will be third and fourth generation systems compared to the first generation analog and second generation digital systems currently in use, will be required to provide high quality high transmission rate data services in addition to high quality voice services. Concurrent with the system service performance requirements there will be equipment design constraints, which will strongly impact the design of mobile terminals. The third and fourth generation wireless mobile terminals will be required to be smaller, lighter, more power-efficient units that are also capable of providing the sophisticated voice and data services required of these future wireless systems.
Time-varying multi-path fading is an effect in wireless systems whereby a transmitted signal propagates along multiple paths to a receiver causing fading of the received signal due to the constructive and destructive summing of the signals at the receiver. Several methods are known for overcoming the effects of multi-path fading, such as time interleaving with error correction coding, implementing frequency diversity by utilizing spread spectrum techniques, or transmitter power control techniques. Each of these techniques, however, has drawbacks in regard to use for third and fourth generation wireless systems. Time interleaving may introduce unnecessary delay, spread spectrum techniques may require large bandwidth allocation to overcome a large coherence bandwidth, and power control techniques may require higher transmitter power than is desirable for sophisticated receiver-to-transmitter feedback techniques that increase mobile terminal complexity. All of these drawbacks have negative impact on achieving the desired characteristics for third and fourth generation mobile terminals.
Antenna diversity is another technique for overcoming the effects of multi-path fading in wireless systems. In diversity reception, two or more physically separated antennas are used to receive a transmitted signal, which is then processed by combining and switching to generate a received signal. A drawback of diversity reception is that the physical separation required between antennas may make diversity reception impractical for use on the forward link in the new wireless systems where small mobile terminal size is desired. A second technique for implementing antenna diversity is transmit diversity. In transmit diversity a signal is transmitted from two or more antennas and then processed at the receiver by using e.g. maximum likelihood sequence estimator (MLSE), minimum mean square error (MMSE) receivers, Maximum-a Posteriori receivers, or their approximations. Transmit diversity has more practical application to the forward link in wireless systems in that it is easier to implement multiple antennas in the base station than in the mobile terminal.
Transmit diversity for the case of two antennas is well studied. Alamouti has proposed a method of transmit diversity for two antennas that offers second order diversity for complex valued signals. S. Alamouti, xe2x80x9cA Simple Transmit Diversity Technique for Wireless Communications,xe2x80x9d IEEE Journal on Selected Areas of Communications, pp. 1451-1458, October 1998. The Alamouti method involves simultaneously transmitting two signals from two antennas during a symbol period. During one symbol period, the signal transmitted from a first antenna is denoted by S0 and the signal transmitted from the second antenna is denoted by S1. During the next symbol period, the signal xe2x88x92S1* is transmitted from the first antenna and the signal S0* is transmitted from the second antenna, where * is the complex conjugate operator. A similar diversity transmission system may also be realized in code domain. As an example, two copies of the same symbol can be transmitted in parallel using two orthogonal Walsh codes. Similar techniques can be also used to construct a space-frequency coding method.
Extension of the Alamouti method to more than two antennas is not straightforward. Tarokh et al. have proposed a method using rate=xc2xd, and xc2xe Space-Time Block codes for transmitting on three and four antennas using complex signal constellations. V. Tarokh, H. Jafarkhani, and A. Calderbank, xe2x80x9cSpace-Time Block Codes from Orthogonal Designs,xe2x80x9d IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, pp. 1456-1467, July 1999. This method has a disadvantage in a loss in transmission rate and the fact that the multi-level nature of the ST coded symbols increases the peak-to-average ratio requirement of the transmitted signal and imposes stringent requirements on the linear power amplifier design. Additional techniques that mitigate these problems are proposed in O. Tirkkonen and A. Hottinen, xe2x80x9cComplex space-time block codes for four Tx antennas,xe2x80x9d Proc. Globecom 2000, November 2000, San Francisco, USA. Other methods proposed include a rate=1, orthogonal transmit diversity (OTD)+space-time transmit diversity scheme (STTD) four antenna method. L. Jalloul, K. Rohani, K. Kuchi, and J. Chen, xe2x80x9cPerformance Analysis of CDMA Transmit Diversity Methods,xe2x80x9d Proceedings of IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Fall 1999, and M. Harrison, K. Kuchi, xe2x80x9cOpen and Closed Loop Transmit Diversity at High Data Rates on 2 and 4 Elements,xe2x80x9d Motorola Contribution to 3GPP-C30-19990817-017. This method requires an outer code and offers second order diversity due to the STTD block (Alamouti block) and a second order interleaving gain from use of the OTD block. The performance of this method depends on the strength of the outer code. Since this method requires an outer code, it is not applicable to uncoded systems. For the case of rate=⅓ convolutional code, the performance of the OTD+STTD method and the Tarokh rate=xc2xe method ST block code methods are about the same. Another rate 1 method is proposed in O. Tirkkonen, A. Boariu, and A. Hottinen, xe2x80x9cMinimal non-orthogonality rate 1 space-time block code for 3+Tx antennas,xe2x80x9d in Proc. ISSSTA 2000, September 2000. The method proposed in this publication attains high performance but requires a complex receiver.
It would be advantageous, therefore, to have a method and apparatus that provided the advantage of transmit diversity on greater than two antennas while at the same time not greatly increasing the complexity of system design.
The present invention presents a method and apparatus for non-zero complex weighting and space-time coding signals for transmission on multiple antennas. The method and apparatus provides expansion of an Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space-time block code, where N is the number of transmit paths and Nxe2x80x2 is the number of output symbols per transmit path, to a Mxc3x97Mxe2x80x2 space-time block code, where M greater than N, generated by using repetition and non-zero complex weighting of the symbols within the Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space time block code, to allow transmission of the space time block code on a number M of diversity transmit paths. The diversity transmit paths may comprise separate antennas or beams. The temporal length of the larger code Mxe2x80x2, may equal the temporal length of the original code, Nxe2x80x2. In the method and apparatus, a transform is performed on an input symbol stream, to generate a transform result comprising a space-time block code. The N output streams of the space-time block code, each consisting of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols, are then repeated and at least one of the repeated streams non-zero complex weighted over time to generate M streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols for transmission on M diversity transmit paths. The non-zero complex weighting may include phase shifting.
In an embodiment, N is at least 2 and M is at least 3. At least two of the N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols, corresponding to the original N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols, are then each transmitted on a first at least one antenna and at least one of the Mxe2x88x92N non-zero complex weighted streams of Nxe2x80x2 symbols are transmitted on one of a second at least one antenna. The first at least one antenna and second at least one antenna may comprise of any one of the M antennas.
In another embodiment, the method and apparatus may be implemented in a transmitter having common or dedicated pilot channels that enable efficient channel estimation of the coefficients that are required to decode the space-time code. In this embodiment the common and dedicated pilot channels may be implemented alone or both together in the transmitter. In one alternative of this embodiment, training symbols are transmitted on N transmit diversity paths, making it possible to estimate the N independent diversity transmit paths. For this, a dedicated pilot channel code sequence may be multiplexed into each of the N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols of the original space-time block code, to generate N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols and pilot channel sequence. Repetition and non-zero complex weighting may then be applied to generate M phase shifted streams of Nxe2x80x2 symbols and pilot channel sequence. At least two of the N original streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols and pilot channel sequence are then transmitted on one of the first at least one antenna and at least one of the Mxe2x88x92N complex weighted streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols and pilot channel sequence are transmitted on one of the second at least one antenna. Another way of enabling estimation of N channels is to transmit common pilot channels so that N common pilot channel are transmitted on each of the first at least one antenna, and Mxe2x88x92N complex weighted copies of some of the N common pilot channels are transmitted on each of the second at least one antenna. The complex weighting factors used for the common channels on each of the second at least one antenna are the same as the ones used to construct the Mxe2x88x92N additional complex weighted streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols from the original N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols. In these embodiments, the receiver may or may not know the method used to expand the Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space-time block code to an Mxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space-time block code, and the temporal weighting sequences employed.
In other embodiments, where N is at least 2 and M may be at least 3, the pilot channels may be arranged to enable estimation of at least N+1 diversity transmit paths. At least one of the N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols, corresponding to the original N streams of Nxe2x80x2 output symbols, are then each transmitted on a first at least one antenna and at least one of the Mxe2x88x92N complex weighted streams of Nxe2x80x2 symbols are each transmitted on one of a second at least one antenna. Different common pilot channels are transmitted on each of the first at least one antenna and on at least one of the second at least one antenna. In these embodiments, the receiver needs at least partial knowledge of the method used to expand the Nxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space-time block code to an Mxc3x97Nxe2x80x2 space-time block code, and the temporal weighting sequences employed.
Complex weighting in the various embodiments may be applied by applying a periodic or random complex weighting pattern to each of the symbol streams that are complex weighted. The relationship between the complex weights of the symbol streams transmitted on the various antennas may also be predefined.

Non-zero complex weighted space-time code for multiple antenna transmission


Exemplary embodiments are disclosed of anti-reflective nanoporous silicon for efficient hydrogen production by photoelectrolysis of water. A nanoporous black Si is disclosed as an efficient photocathode for H2 production from water splitting half-reaction.

The described subject matter relates to anti-reflective nanoporous silicon for photoelectrodes for efficient production of solar fuels, such as hydrogen production by photoelectrolysis of water. In recent years, there has been a great deal of excitement about hydrogen, which is a potentially high-efficiency, environmentally clean fuel. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) production of H2 at a semiconductor/electrolyte interface has drawn much attention as a viable route to direct conversion of solar energy to a storable and clean fuel. Silicon is an earth-abundant element and a promising material for PEC water electrolysis half-reaction to produce hydrogen (H2), because of appropriate conduction band edge position relative to hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) potential, E0 (H2/H2O), and small band gap (Eg=1.12 eV) to absorb most of sunlight. The p-type silicon can be used as a photocathode in a PEC cell in conjunction with an n-type photoanode, i.e., so called photochemical diodes or Z-scheme, for direct photoelectrolysis of water. However, about 25% of incident photons are reflected away at the silicon-water interface. To further maximize conversion and storage of solar energy to H2, therefore, low reflectance silicon (Si) surface is used. Thin films of SiNx and indium tin oxide (ITO) have been adopted as anti-reflection (AR) coatings on Si surface for solid-state photovoltaic (PV) devices. For photoelectrochemical generation of H2, however, the conventional AR coatings used in solid-state PV devices are difficult to implement, since the AR coatings prevent charge transfer from Si to the AR coating/electrolyte interface to produce of H2, due to poor electrical properties of AR coatings (i.e., SiNx) and/or chemical instability associated with corrosion (i.e., ITO and WO3) in contact with the aggressive aqueous electrolytes. Furthermore, such AR coatings generally prevent reflection only in a narrow band of wavelengths and for a narrow range of incident light angles, while efficient photoelectrochemistry in sunlight uses a broadband antireflection that works at all solar angles. Therefore, it is desired to develop a robust and broadband anti-reflective Si structure without heterogeneous AR coatings for reliable and efficient production of H2 at the Si/electrolyte interface by photoelectrolysis of water.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Anti-reflective nanoporous silicon for efficient hydrogen production


The present invention relates to a method of controlling a concentration of a first component of a rectification column for separating a binary mixture of the first component with a second component on the basis of temperature measurements, wherein a control path defined by temperature sensors (T3, T2, T6) arranged in the longitudinal direction of the column is linearized with the aid of an estimated temperature profile, wherein a real temperature profile T*(h), determined by means of the temperature sensors, is approximated by a function T(h) in dependence on a column height h, wherein the column id divided into two sections along the column height h and the function T(h) is defined section by section on the basis, in each case, of a logistical function.

Rectification columns are one of the most important production units in the chemical industry and are used for separation of mixtures of matter. The separation is energy-intensive. Both for economic and environmental reasons, energy consumption should be minimized. At the same time, it is necessary to comply with a specification which may include different aspects of the column. Typical examples are:                product purity of the top product        product purity of the bottom product        withdrawal rate of the top product        withdrawal rate of the bottom product        feed rate of the feed stream.
The specification can arise either from demands imposed by a customer or from environmental regulations or result from later production steps.
Rectification, like distillation, is a thermal separation process. In the simplest case, a binary mixture is separated into its pure components. Separation can be implemented only up to a certain degree. In the case of rectification, the substance having lower vapor pressure is called high boiler, and that having higher vapor pressure low boiler. Rectification exploits the physical principle that the concentration of the low boiler in the vapor phase is higher than in the liquid phase. By contrast with distillation, this process is repeated several times, meaning that only a portion of a condensate formed at the top of the column is drawn off and collected, while a remaining portion of the tops condensate is fed back into the top of the column as what is called reflux. This can achieve a higher purity of the components of the mixture, i.e. the products of rectification. The concept of rectification can be explained by the ideal separation stage. At each separation stage, as in the case of distillation, a respective phase equilibrium is established.
The aim of rectification columns is the separating of the mixture of matter into pure substances or pure components. However, a small portion of the components in the mixture of matter is always present. The specification stipulates how high the concentration of secondary components may be in each case. A lower concentration of the secondary components is always associated with elevated energy expenditure. Therefore, maintaining a desired concentration of at least one of the pure substances or one of the components is the main aim of the control method. Also controlled are a level in a lower region of the column, called the bottom, in which the high boiler collects, a level in the upper region of the column, called the top, namely in a condensate vessel intended for the low boiler, and the pressure. The levels are controlled in order to prevent the column from flooding or running dry, and to maintain the material balance. The following manipulated variables are possible for the controlled variables of concentration, pressure and level:                feed valve        steam valve        coolant valve        distillate valve        bottom product valve        reflux valve.
Assignment of manipulated variables to controlled variables is made under physical/chemical considerations.
DE 39 06 002 A1 describes a model-assisted analysis and control unit for rectification columns, wherein a number of input parameters are predefined, namely temperature in the region where there is a relatively significant change in mass transfer, pressures in the column, feed rate per unit time, concentration of the feed, temperature of the feed, pressure of the feed, fill level of the distillate receiver, fill level in the bottom, and a combination of two parameters from the following four flow rates: reflux rate, distillate rate, heating steam rate and bottom product rate, in order to reduce any time delay between a moment of sampling and a display of the result, wherein the input parameters are processed in a model and with the aid of predefined equations, wherein the resulting output parameters, such as product composition and product rates, are in turn utilized directly for actuation of control elements.
The article "Low-order dynamic models for ideal multicomponent distillation processes using nonlinear wave propagation theory" by Achim Kienle discloses a simplified model for a rectification column, wherein the simplified model is based on a rigorous model from which a reduced "wave model" is derived, but this requires extensive information about substances used and apparatus properties, for example assumption of ideal separation stage at every tray, packing properties etc.
For the measurement of the concentration, it is possible to use a mass spectrometer, for example. However, corresponding instruments are very costly, and so temperature measurements are usually employed for control of concentration. A respective temperature sensor for control of concentration is (usually) not mounted at the top or bottom of the column since sensitivity in these regions is too low. Instead, it is possible to ascertain, using a steady-state model, the point at which sensitivity is at its greatest in relation to the concentration, as described, for example, in Paul S. Fruehauf, PE, Donald P. Mahoney: DISTILLATION COLUMN CONTROL DESIGN USING STEADY STATE MODELS: USEFULNESS AND LIMITATIONS, 1993. The point chosen is that at which the temperature deviation is about the same in both directions and sensitivity is sufficient.
Control of concentration via control of temperature by means of steam (feed in the bottom) and cooling liquid (feed at the top) is often unsatisfactory. Many columns have temperature profiles with a high temperature gradient at the respective mass transfer zones.
W. L. Luyben, in his article "Profile Position Control of Distillation Columns with Sharp Temperature Profiles", describes how the temperature profile is localized with the aid of a multitude of temperature sensors and the position of the temperature profile is used as process variable.

Method for controlling a rectification column


To improve the chemical stability, as well as the critical current density (J.sub.C) of a superconductive material in an external magnetic field, copper-oxide coating materials have been developed. In some embodiments, these coating materials include a composition with the formula R.sub.1-x Ca.sub.x Ba.sub.2-y La.sub.y Cu.sub.3-z M.sub.z O.sub.7-.delta., where R is a rare-earth element (e.g., La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, or Y), M is a transition metal (e.g., Mn, Re, Fe, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd, or Hg), 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.0.4, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.0.4, and 0.ltoreq.z.ltoreq.1.0. These coating materials are preferably used as a surface layer on superconductive materials to impart corrosion resistance and an improved critical current density when the layers are exposed to magnetic fields

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and compositions for relatively high temperature superconductive materials. More particularly, an embodiment of the invention relates to at least partially covering a superconductive material by a coating material, the coating material providing resistance to corrosion and enhanced conductivity to the underlying superconductive material.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Superconductive materials have little or no resistance to a direct current. As defined herein the term "critical temperature" (T.sub.C) refers to the temperature at which a material has substantially no resistance to a direct current. A superconductor is said to exist in its normal state above T.sub.C and be in its superconductive state below T.sub.C ; T.sub.C decreases with increasing applied magnetic field (H). In the superconductive state below T.sub.C, a superconductor excludes a magnetic field and offers no resistance to a direct current. Type I superconductors exclude the magnetic field from the bulk of the material below a critical magnetic field (H.sub.C) that increases with decreasing temperature; however, when H>H.sub.C the material reverts to its normal (i.e., resistive) state. Type II superconductors allow bundles of magnetic flux to penetrate into the bulk without loss of superconductivity in a range of magnetic fields H.sub.C1 <H<H.sub.C2 ; these bundles are referred to as vortices since they are confined by a superconductive vortex current. A type II superconductor remains superconductive below H.sub.C2 and offers no resistance to a direct current so long as the vortices remain stationary. A direct current has a magnetic field associated with it that increases linearly with the current. If this internal field exceeds H.sub.C (Type I) or H.sub.C2 (Type II), then the superconductor reverts to its normal (resistive) state. It follows that there is a critical current density J.sub.C beyond which the material loses its superconductive properties. For direct-current applications, J.sub.C is an important feature. Practical superconductors are Type II with a high H.sub.C2 at a desired operating temperature T.sub.OP <T.sub.C ; Type I superconductors have an H.sub.C which is too low for practical uses. The high-T.sub.C copper-oxide superconductors are Type II with a high H.sub.C2, but their layered structure and high T.sub.C introduce additional problems. The internal magnetic field associated with a direct current exerts a force on the bundles of magnetic flux trapped within vortices; and if this force is strong enough to cause the vortices to move, the current experiences a resistance. It is desired to find a way to pin the vortices to a stationary configuration to prevent resistance, even if H>H.sub.C2. Pinning tends to become more difficult as T.sub.C is raised.
The discovery of copper-oxide superconductors having a T.sub.C.gtoreq.90 K has introduced the possibility of operating superconductive materials in liquid nitrogen, which boils at 77 K. If a flexible, chemically stable wire or tape, with a J.sub.C.gtoreq.10.sup.7 A/cm.sup.2, can be achieved at a T.sub.OP =77 K, then superconductive coils may be used to generate high magnetic fields in liquid nitrogen with minimal resistive loss. Realization of this goal would open up a number of technical applications, including levitated trains, high-capacity electrical storage, low-loss power transmission, electric motors and generators, transformers, and high-field magnets. Unfortunately, the copper-oxides are brittle ceramics that have a large electrical anisotropy owing to their layered structure. This situation tends to restrict the development of magnetic coils to superconductive films deposited on a flexible substrate The films having a relatively high J.sub.C at 77 K tend to corrode on exposure to moist air, and at 77 K the vortices tend to become mobile (i.e., the liquid-vortex state) at a J.sub.C lower than is needed.
In order to improve the resistance of these materials to corrosion, a number of analogs of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta. have been synthesized. The synthesis of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta. analogs that are resistant to corrosion is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,696 to McDevitt et al., which is incorporated by reference as if set forth herein. McDevitt et. al. shows that derivatives of YBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta., in which a portion of the Y, Ba, and/or Cu atoms are replaced by a single rare-earth element (e.g., La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu, or Y) and an alkaline-earth metal (Ca or Sr), show increased resistance to corrosion. The increase in stability in these systems is believed to arise from blocking access of protonic species to the interior of the lattice. The replacement of Y, Ba, and/or Cu by a rare-earth metal may block channels which are typically present in YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta. materials. The blockage of these channels also tends to increase the stability of the corrosion resistant material's lattice. Moreover, changes in the lattice stress and strain factors which accompany the above mentioned substitutions can alter the reactivity characteristics of these technologically important materials, as can alterations in the electrostatic effects caused by the same metal ion replacements. These chemical isomerizations, however, produce compounds having a somewhat lower T.sub.C than the parent YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta.. For example, a sample of Y.sub.0.6 Ca.sub.0.4 Ba.sub.1.6 La.sub.0.4 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.6.96, which exhibited very little corrosion after 2 months, has a T.sub.C of 80 K, as opposed to 92 K for YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta..
McDevitt et al. further describe the use of corrosion resistant materials, such as Y.sub.0.6 Ca.sub.0.4 Ba.sub.1.6 La.sub.0.4 CU.sub.3 O.sub.6.96, to encapsulate a thin layer of YBa.sub.2 Cu.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta.. The corrosion resistant material protects the more chemically reactive superconductive material YBa.sub.2 CU.sub.3 O.sub.7-.delta. from the atmosphere.
The embedded superconductive materials of McDevitt et al., however, do not address the problem in which high T.sub.C superconductive materials tend to lose their superconductivity properties when exposed to strong magnetic fields. Typically, the magnetic response of a type II superconductive material depends on the strength of the applied magnetic field and the temperature. Conventional type II superconductive materials (e.g., superconductive materials having a T.sub.C below about 25 K) tend to show three distinct magnetic states (H<H.sub.C1) 10, (H.sub.C1 <H<H.sub.C2) 20 and (H>H.sub.C2) 30, as depicted in FIG. 1. The first state 10 is called the Meissner state. In the Meissner state 10 the superconductive material expels any applied magnetic field. The superconductive material will tend to remain in this state as long as the applied magnetic field remains below a certain field strength (H.sub.C1) 15. This field strength (H.sub.C1) 15, called the lower critical field strength, is dependent on the temperature of the material.
The second magnetic state 20, the vortex solid state, emerges if an applied magnetic field increases to a value higher than the lower critical field strength (H.sub.C1) 15. At this point, the magnetic field can penetrate the superconductive material, but not completely or uniformly. Instead, discrete magnetic flux lines known as vortices are formed within the superconducting material. Each of these vortex lines includes flowing currents circulating around a non-superconducting core. When an applied current is passed through a type II superconducting material exposed to an applied magnetic field, it adds to the circulating currents on one side of the vortex and subtracts from the current on the other side. As a result of this action, a force acts on the vortex line. The force tends to make the vortex move in a direction at right angles to both the applied current and the vortex line. In conventional type II superconductive materials, the vortex lines are not significantly moved due to the current flow because of the low temperatures at which these materials exhibit superconductivity. The lines are said to be "frozen" within the superconductive material.
The third state 30 occurs if the applied magnetic field strength reaches a second higher critical point. At this second critical point the superconductive material behaves as a normal metal. This loss of superconductive qualities occurs because increases in the strength of the magnetic field force the vortex lines to move closer together. When the vortex cores, which are non-superconductive, overlap too much, there is no longer any room between the vortices to maintain superconductivity.
A problem with high T.sub.C type II superconductive materials is that they exhibit a fourth magnetic state, known as the vortex liquid state 40, as depicted in FIG. 2. As an applied magnetic field strength is increased, the vortex lines begin to appear. However, at the higher temperatures (e.g., above 25 K) typically used for high T.sub.C superconductive materials, the vortex lines begin to orient themselves in a non-rigid lattice. In effect, the vortices "melt" into a "liquid" state. This allows the vortex lines to move about the superconductive material when a current is applied in the presence of a magnetic field. This movement of the vortex lines tends to dissipate the current, and create resistance within the sample. Thus, high T.sub.C superconductive materials tend to lose their superconductivity as the strength of an applied magnetic field is increased.
It is therefore desirable to increase the chemical stability of copper-oxide superconductive films, while simultaneously increasing the strength of the vortex pinning.

Jc in high magnetic field of bi-layer and multi-layer structures for high temperature superconductive materials

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


A preferred embodiment self-retracting lifeline (100) includes a centrifugal clutch assembly (121) having a pawl (128) and a spring (131). The pawl (128) and the spring (131), which do not require any fixed attachment to any other component of the device, are held in place and pivotable within a plate (143). The plate (143) is rotatable within a cavity (120) of a brake hub (118) including teeth (141) extending into the cavity (120). When a centrifugal force is applied, the pawl (128) compresses the spring (131) and moves away from the plate (143) to engage the teeth (141) thereby activating a brake assembly within the self-retracting lifeline (100).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-retracting lifeline for use with fall protection safety equipment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Self-retracting lifelines are well known in the art of fall protection safety equipment for use by workers performing tasks during which there is a risk a fall may occur. Self-retracting lifelines generally include a housing containing a drum around which a cable, rope, or webbing is wound. The drum is spring biased to pay out cable as tension pulling the cable is applied and to retract any of the cable that has been unwound from the drum as the tension on the cable is reduced or released. The housing also includes a brake assembly for stopping rotation of the drum when the cable suddenly unwinds from the drum at a rate greater than a predetermined maximum angular velocity.
A self-retracting lifeline is typically connected to a support structure within the vicinity the worker is performing the task, and the end of the cable is typically connected to a safety harness worn by the worker. The cable is easily drawn out of the self-retracting lifeline housing as the worker moves away from the device, and the cable is automatically drawn back into the housing as the worker moves toward the device. Should a fall occur, the brake assembly within the device is automatically engaged by a centrifugal clutch assembly, which gradually and quickly stops the worker's fall by gradually and quickly stopping the rotation of the drum. As the rotation of the drum is stopped, additional cable is prevented from being paid out of the housing to stop the fall of the worker.


Provided is a method for controlling synchronizing downmix signals and MPEG surround side information signals by controlling a delay according to the kind of downmix audio signals in an MPEG surround decoder. When multi-channel audio signals are restored using an HE-AAC decoder and a low-power MPEG surround decoder and complex QMF signals outputted from the HE-AAC decoder are used as downmix signals, a delay unit compensates for a delay caused in a real-to-complex converter. Anther delay unit delays spatial parameters to compensate for a delay caused in QMF and Nyquist banks when time-domain downmix signals are used. Also, when multi-channel audio signals are restored using an HE-AAC decoder and a high-quality MPEG surround decoder and complex QMF signals outputted from the HE-AAC decoder are used as downmix signals, a delay unit compensates for a delay caused in a real-to-complex converter.

Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) surround technology compresses multi-channel audio signals into downmix signals and side information. The MPEG surround technology can implement a decoder for the downmix signals and the side information bitstream transmitted from an encoder in either high-quality mode or low-power mode. A high-quality MPEG surround decoder provides high audio quality by using a residual signal and a temporal processing (TP) tool, but it requires a high degree of complexity. On the contrary, a low-power MPEG surround decoder reduces the complexity in such a method as changing computation of a Quadrature Mirror Filter (QMF) into a real number computation. Although the audio quality is somewhat degraded, the low-power MPEG surround decoder is appropriate for terminals consuming low power such as mobile phones.
An MPEG surround decoder restores downmix signals compressed with a general mono/stereo audio encoder, e.g., an Advanced Audio Coded (AAC) encoder or a High-Efficiency Advanced Audio Coding (HE-AAC) encoder, into multi-channel audio signals by using side information bitstream. Since the side information bitstream used herein is provided for each frequency band, the downmix signals should be converted to frequency bands using a hybrid filter bank, which consists of a QMF bank and a Nyquist filter bank. This conversion causes a delay. When the downmix signals are acquired after QMF processing of the HE-AAC decoder, as in the MPEG surround decoder, signals of the QMF domain can be directly extracted and applied to the MPEG surround decoder to thereby prevent delay caused by filtering.
The high-quality MPEG surround decoder can use not only the downmix signals of the time domain but also the downmix signals of the QMF domain that are acquired from the HE-AAC decoding process, as shown in FIG. 1. When the downmix signals of the time domain are used, a delay corresponding to 704 samples occurs in the process of executing a QMF analysis filter bank 101 and a Nyquist analysis filter bank 102. Also, a delay corresponding to 0 sample occurs in a Nyquist synthesis filter bank 201 and a delay corresponding to 257 samples occurs in the QMF synthesis filter bank 202 in the synthesis process of multi-channel audio signals shown in FIG. 2. In total, a delay corresponding to 961 samples occurs. When downmix signals encoded with an HE-AAC encoder are used, signals of the QMF domain that can be acquired from the HE-AAC decoding process can be directly used because the QMF of the high-quality MPEG surround decoder and the QMF of the HE-AAC decoder are identical. Also, since look-ahead signals corresponding to 384 samples needed for Nyquist banks is already available in a Spectral Band Replication (SBR) tool of the HE-AAC decoder, there is an advantage that no delay occurs in the filtering process.
However, when the downmix signals encoded with the HE-AAC encoder are applied to the MPEG surround decoder in the time domain, spatial parameters extracted from MPEG surround side information signals are delayed by 961 samples, including the delay corresponding to 257 samples occurring in the QMF synthesis process of the HE-AAC decoder and the delay corresponding to 704 samples occurring in the QMF filtering and the Nyquist filtering processes of the high-quality MPEG surround decoder. Thus, the downmix signals are synchronized between the HE-AAC decoder and the high-quality MPEG surround decoder to thereby be restored to desired multi-channel signals.
References, "ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11 N8177, Study on Text of ISO/IEC FCD 23003-1, MPEG Surround", "Audio Engineering Society Convention Paper presented at the 115th Convention, Oct. 10 through 13, 2003, New York", and "Audio Engineering Society Convention Paper presented at the 119th Convention, Oct. 7 through 10, 2005, New York" are incorporated herein.

Apparatus and method for restoring multi-channel audio signal using HE-AAC decoder and MPEG surround decoder

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Described herein are methods and systems for liquefying natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle; coil wound heat exchanger units suitable for cooling one or more feed streams, such as for example one or more natural gas feed streams, via indirect heat exchange with a gaseous refrigerant; and methods and systems for removing heavy components from a natural gas prior to liquefying the natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle.

The present invention relates generally to methods and systems for liquefying natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle. The present invention also relates to a coil wound heat exchanger unit suitable for cooling one or more feed streams, such as for example one or more natural gas feed streams, via indirect heat exchange with a gaseous refrigerant. The present invention furthermore relates to methods and systems for removing heavy components from a natural gas prior to liquefying the natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle.
The liquefaction of natural gas is an important industrial process. The worldwide production capacity for LNG is more than 300 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). A number of methods and systems for pre-treating, cooling and liquefying natural gas are well known in the art.
In a typical method and system for liquefying natural gas, a natural gas feed stream is cooled and liquefied via indirect heat exchange with one or more refrigerants circulating in open-loop or closed-loop cycles. The cooling and liquefaction of the natural gas takes place in one or more heat exchanger sections, which can be of a number of different types, such as but not limited to heat exchangers of the coil-wound, shell and tube or plate and fin type. Prior to being cooled and liquefied, the natural gas feed stream is treated if and as necessary to reduce the levels of any (relatively) high freezing point components, such as moisture, acid gases, mercury and/or heavier hydrocarbons, down to such levels as are necessary to avoid freezing or other operational problems in the heat exchanger section or sections in which the natural gas is to be cooled and liquefied.
US2017/0167786A1 discloses a method and system for liquefying natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle. With reference in particular to FIG. 6 of this document, a high pressure combined feed stream (formed from combining and compressing a natural gas feed stream and a stream of recycled gas) is expanded to cool the stream and is then divided into a first refrigerant stream, a second refrigerant stream and a first feed stream. The first refrigerant stream is expanded and then passed through and warmed in one of the passages in the cold side of a first heat exchanger. It is not stated whether the first refrigerant stream, after expansion, is gaseous, liquid or two phase. The second refrigerant stream is passed through and cooled in one of the passages in the warm side of the first heat exchanger, and is then expanded to form a two phase stream that is separated to form a gaseous refrigerant stream and a first LNG stream, with the gaseous refrigerant stream being passed through and warmed in another one of the passages in the cold side of the first heat exchanger. The first feed stream is passed through and cooled and liquefied in another one of the passages in the warm side of the first heat exchanger to form a second LNG stream, which is then further cooled in a flash gas heat exchanger. The first and second LNG streams are then flashed and sent to an end flash separator to form a flash gas stream and LNG product stream, with the flash gas stream being warmed in the flash gas heat exchanger and then further warmed in another of the passages in the cold side of the first heat exchanger. The warmed first refrigerant stream, warmed gaseous refrigerant stream and warmed flash gas stream are then compressed and combined to form the stream of recycled gas that is combined with the natural gas feed stream. It should be noted that as the first heat exchanger utilizes three separate streams on the cold side of the heat exchanger to provide cooling duty to the heat exchanger, this effectively precludes the use of a coil wound heat exchanger for this heat exchanger, as a coil wound heat exchanger can only accommodate one refrigerant stream on the shell side (normally the cold side) of the heat exchanger. While in theory it would be possible to allocate one or more of the low-pressure refrigerant streams to one of the passages through the tube side (normally the warm side) of a coil wound exchanger, the high pressure drop losses on the tube side would result in a very high power requirement, rendering this impractical.
US2014/0083132A1 discloses another method and system for liquefying natural gas using an open-loop natural gas refrigeration cycle. With reference in particular to FIG. 1 of this document, a recycled gas stream is split into two parts. One part is expanded to form a first refrigerant stream that is then warmed in first and second pre-cooler heat exchangers. The other part is combined with a natural gas feed stream to form a combined feed stream. The combined feed stream is then cooled in the first pre-cooler heat exchanger, after which heavy components (specifically heavier hydrocarbons) are removed (these being separated as a natural gas liquids (NGL) stream). The heavy component depleted combined stream is then further cooled in the second pre-cooler heat exchanger before being spit into a first feed stream and second feed stream. The first feed stream is cooled and liquefied in a main heat exchanger to for a first LNG stream. The second feed stream is expanded to form a two-phase stream than is then separated to form a second LNG stream and a gaseous refrigerant stream. The gaseous refrigerant stream is warmed in the main heat exchanger and then further warmed in the precooler heat exchangers. The first and second LNG streams are flashed and then separated into a flash gas stream and LNG product, with the flash gas stream being warmed in the main heat exchanger and then further warmed in the pre-cooler heat exchangers. The warmed refrigerant streams and flash gas stream are then compressed and combined to form the recycled gas stream.
US2019/0346203A1 discloses a combined heat exchanger and separator unit suitable for receiving and separating a flashed LNG stream to form a flash gas stream and LNG product, and for warming the separated flash gas via indirect heat exchange with a feed stream to cool the feed stream and recover refrigeration from the flash gas stream. The unit comprises a heat exchanger section and a separation section that are enclosed within the same shell casing, the heat exchanger section being a coil wound heat exchanger section and being located above separation section such that flash gas separated from the flashed LNG stream in the separation section rises through the shell side of the heat exchanger section providing refrigeration to the heat exchanger section.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,310,127 discloses a method for removing heavy components from a natural gas prior to liquefying the natural gas using a closed loop refrigerant cycle. With reference in particular to FIG. 2 of this document, a natural gas feed stream is cooled and expanded and introduced into a distillation column to remove heavy components (specifically heavier hydrocarbons) from the feed stream (the heavier hydrocarbons being separated as a natural gas liquids stream). The heavy component depleted natural gas feed stream is then compressed in a compressor train before being liquefied in a main heat exchanger via indirect heat exchange with a refrigerant circulating in a closed loop circuit. The resulting LNG stream is then flashed to produce an LNG product and a flash gas. A portion of the flash gas may be recycled back into the heavy component depleted natural gas feed stream.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,641,548 discloses a method for removing heavy components from a natural gas and liquefying the natural gas using an open loop refrigeration cycle. With reference in particular to FIG. 1 of this document, a natural gas feed stream is combined with a first recycle stream to produce a first combined feed stream, and the first combined feed stream is then expanded to produce a first cooled combined feed stream. The first cooled combined feed stream is then separated in a separator into a gaseous feed stream depleted in heavy components (specifically heavier hydrocarbons) and a heavy component enriched liquid stream (an NGL stream). The heavy component depleted gaseous feed stream is then warmed in a first heat exchanger and combined and compressed with a second recycle stream to form a second combined feed stream. The second combined feed stream is split to form the first recycle stream and a first feed stream. The first feed stream is cooled in the first heat exchanger and then split to form second and third feed streams. The second feed stream is further cooled in a second heat exchanger to form a first LNG stream. The third feed stream is expanded and separated to form a second LNG stream and a gaseous refrigerant stream. The gaseous refrigerant stream is then warmed in the second heat exchanger and first heat exchanger to form the second recycle stream.


A CSI-RS measurement feedback method and device are provided to optimize analog and digital precoding. A network device sends S CSI-RSs to a terminal device. Each CSI-RS corresponds to one antenna port number. The terminal device sends M antenna port numbers that correspond to M CSI-RSs and sends a PMI that corresponds to a channel matrix H or the quantization result of a channel matrix H to the network device. The terminal device selects the M antenna port numbers that correspond to the M CSI-RSs from the S antenna port numbers that correspond to the S CSI-RSs, and feeds back the M antenna port numbers to the network device.

To meet rapid growth of mobile data, a future wireless communications system needs to further improve system capacity and ensure quality of service (QoS) requirement. Many new technologies and concepts such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and dense network technologies are developed to meet the requirements. In addition, the communication industry also turns to high frequency band communication when large bandwidth in a millimeter wave segment has opened up and millimeter wave communication has become one of the technologies with development potential in future 5G radio communications systems.
In a millimeter wave communications system, digital-analog hybrid precoding is a research focus. A digital-analog hybrid architecture is a compromise between a conventional digital MIMO architecture and a pure analog architecture. One on hand, power loss and hardware costs can be reduced, and on the other hand, a relatively large degree of freedom can be provided to achieve an array gain and a diversity gain, so that system performance can be sustained. However, in the digital-analog hybrid architecture, because the number of digital channels is fewer than the number of antennas, a pilot frequency to be transmitted is weighted through analog precoding whose precoding weight usually remains unchanged, which would adversely affect performance of the digital-analog hybrid architecture.


Large digital displays for entertainment, architectural and advertizing displays have interconnected display panels with pluralities of light emitting elements. To solve calibration problems, each of the display panels stores measured luminance and chromaticity data for each of the light emitting elements of the panel. The luminance data is independent of the chromaticity data. A central controller can then perform calibration procedures so that the light emitting elements are matched across the entire display.

This patent generally relates to displays and particularly to large display systems comprising groups of light emitting elements. The invention discloses improvements in the calibration of the light emitting elements.
Large display systems for entertainment, architectural, and advertising purposes have commonly been constructed of numbers of light emitting elements, such as LEDs or incandescent lamps mounted onto flat tiles. The light emitting elements can be selectively turned on and off to create patterns, graphics and video displays for both informational and aesthetic purposes. It is well known to construct these displays as tiles or large panels which are assembled in position, such as on a stage, for a specific entertainment show or event, or as an architectural or advertising display, such on the tops and sides of buildings.
Many of these systems require large numbers of light emitting elements or pixels acting independently and thus require robust high speed data distribution systems, often driven by computer derived data or video signals.
A requirement of such displays is that the light emitting elements for all pixels on the display be matched within a reasonable tolerance for color and luminance intensity. For example, in a large display comprising many thousands of pixels, each of which may include at least a red, green, and blue LED, an object should appear the same color and brightness wherever it is on the display. Light emitting elements, such as LEDs and their associated drive circuitry, are not manufactured to a close enough tolerance to allow their use uncalibrated in such displays. Although the manufacturers of LEDs sort their production into bins by nominal intensity and color, the tolerance of these bins are not good enough for this demanding application. It is therefore advantageous to adjust or calibrate the output of every LED individually so that an even and cohesive display is produced. Conventional display calibration techniques utilizing colorimeters and luminance meters can be prohibitively expensive and time consuming when applied to a large display having very large numbers of pixels. Such procedures typically use stored CIE chromaticity coordinates and luminance information to calculate the transformation matrices for color calibration. However, such techniques do not allow the display to be operated at different color standards without recalibration, nor do they allow for the differences in photopic (day-time) and scotopic (night-time) vision.
The invention seeks to solve these problems and discloses improvements in the measurement, characterization, and calibration systems for a display comprising groups of light emitting elements so as to provide improved accuracy and flexibility of such calibration across any color space.

Color calibration system for a video display