An organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor in which a plurality of spaced, substantially parallel conductive portions extend between first and second opposed side edges of a sheet made of a material, exhibiting a positive temperature characteristic of resistance, which is composed of conductive particles disposed in an organic polymer material. The conductive portions may also extend between the vicinities of the side edges. A plurality of insulating layers are formed so as to alternately coat the vicinities of respective first ends of the conductive portions at the first or second side edges or in the vicinity of the side edge. First and second power feeding electrodes are respectively formed along the first and second side edges so as to extend on the insulating layers and on the conductive portions located between the insulating layers to electrically connect the respective ends of the conductive portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to organic positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistors used as face-like heating devices, and more particularly, to an organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor which includes an improvement in the structure of electrodes formed on a sheet exhibiting a positive temperature characteristic of the resistance.
2. Description of the Prior Art
For example, a material obtained by thoroughly mixing a polyolefin such as polyethylene with conductive particles such as carbon black, metal powder or carbon graphite exhibits a positive temperature characteristic of resistance. An organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor using a sheet made of this material can be used as a flexible face-like heating device.
An example of the above described organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor is shown in FIG. 1. In an organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor 1, comb-shaped electrodes 3 and 4 are formed on one surface of a sheet 2 obtained by dispersing conductive particles in an organic polymer material such as polyolefin. The comb-shaped electrodes 3 and 4 respectively comprise power feeding electrodes 3a and 4a extending along side edges of the sheet 2 and a plurality of conductive portions 3b and 4b extending from the power feeding electrodes 3a and 4a toward the respective other power feeding electrodes 4a and 3a. The plurality of conductive portions 3b and 4b are arranged so as to be interdigitated.
In the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor 1 shown in FIG. 1, heat is uniformly generated to some extent in the region where the plurality of conductive portions 3b and 4b are interdigitated. However, the region where the power feeding electrodes 3a and 4a are arranged along the side edges of the sheet 2 hardly contributes to heat generation. Consequently, heat cannot be efficiently generated in the entire sheet 2, thereby making it impossible to obtain satisfactory thermal efficiency.
Another organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor, having a structure in which an electrode is formed over both surfaces of a sheet 2 shown in FIG. 1, is known, but is not illustrated herein. In this organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor, heat is uniformly generated on the whole surface of the sheet 2. Consequently, this organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor is superior in thermal efficiency to the positive temperature coefficient thermistor shown in FIG. 1. However, if the whole surface electrode is formed of, for example, a metal foil, there are differences in the coefficient of thermal expansion and in flexibility between the sheet and the metal foil. Accordingly, the flexibility which is an advantage of the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor is lost.
Furthermore, if the whole surface electrode is formed of a conductive paste such as an Ag paste, the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor is substantially increased in cost, although it retains its flexibility.
Another problem is that in the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor with the whole surface electrode, the resistance value of the whole thereof becomes lower than that of the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor in which the comb-shaped electrodes 3 and 4 are formed. Accordingly, the specific resistance of the sheet must be increased by approximately tenfold to hundredfold that of the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor in which the comb-shaped electrodes are formed. If the specific resistance of the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor is thus increased, however, the stability of the specific resistance is lost, resulting in increased variation in specific resistance. As a result, the organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor varies very greatly in characteristics depending on the product.

Organic positive temperature coefficient thermistor


An apparatus and method for the manufacture of composite flywheels. The apparatus includes an inner cylinder, an outer cylinder, a fiber feeding device and a knitting device. The fiber feeding device includes a set of conical feed rollers for feeding hoop fibers to the cylinders. The knitting device employs a circular knitting machine fitted with a radial fiber guide for feeding the radial fibers to the cylinders. The apparatus also includes structure for raising and lowering the needles of the knitting machine at the proper times to effectively feed the radial fibers to the cylinders. The fiber feeding device and knitting device interact to provide layers of hoop and radial fibers to the cylinders to form a flywheel pre-form including a combination of radial and hoop fibers without introducing crimp into the fibers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to fly wheels for energy storage and methods and apparatus for making such flywheels. More particularly, the invention relates to a fiber composite flywheel and a method and apparatus for making it wherein the fiber composite flywheel includes a combination of spiral fibers in the hoop direction with radial fibers in order to optimize strength and stress properties.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
A flywheel is a device for storing energy or momentum in a rotating mass. Large engines require a heavy rotating mass to carry them smoothly through pauses between jerky piston strokes. Automobile engines today have smaller flywheels that perform the same essential task of storing energy. Flywheels convert electrical energy to kinetic energy, and the more energy put into the flywheel, the faster it spins. Increasing a flywheel""s speed increases its energy density, or the amount of energy that can be stored and recovered per unit weight; thereby increasing the efficiency and cost effectiveness of the flywheel.
The strength to density ratio of the material used in a flywheel rotor is critical. Carbon fiber composites are preferred for high performance flywheels because of their high strength and low density. A denser material has more moss packed into a given volume and kinetic energy for a given speed increases with mass. Steel is denser than carbon fibers, so steel molecules have more energy than fiber molecules when they are moving at the same speed.
To maximize the energy storage of a flywheel, it is generally desirable to maximize the ratio of strength (s) to density (r). This ratio (s/r) makes it easy to compare the energy storing potential of different materials. For steel, s/r is at most 966,000. Carbon fibers have a higher tensile strength, up to 1 million psi, and a much lower density, around 0.06 lbs/in3. For these fibers, s/r is 17 million, about 17 times better than steel. This means that although carbon fiber is only 3.6 times stronger than steel, it can store almost 17 times more energy per pound.
Another advantage of fiber-reinforced composite rotors, as compared to metallic rotors, is that they have been shown to fail in a less destructive manner than metallic rotorsxe2x80x94an important factor for safety reasons. Composites offer benign failure modes, which must be considered when addressing flywheels. Other flywheel materials such as steel or ceramics fail by rupturing into large high-energy fragments, which must be contained with shielded canisters. Composites, on the other hand, fail by radial delamination or disintegration, thereby resulting in ejection of short fibers and small matrix particles. This potentially allows for lighter containment vessels to ensure their safety.
One method for making composite flywheels is the cross-ply method. A cross-ply composite flywheel is made from circular shapes cut from a flat woven material. Each layer of material is laid down differently, so that the angles of the fibers are different relative to one another, in order to simulate an isotropic material, like steel. The resulting flywheels are less than ideal. An example of the cross-ply method is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,221.
Another method for making composite flywheels is filament winding. The filament winding process takes bundles of fibers, dips the fibers in a resin bath, then continuously winds the flywheel from the inner diameter to the outer diameter with larger and larger concentric rings of circumferential fibers. The advantage of filament winding is the speed of manufacture. The disadvantage of a filament winding system is the lack of radial fibers in the final product. Filament wound flywheels with no radial reinforcements fail prematurely as the radial stresses encountered in use create delaminations between the concentric rings of circumferential fibers. The individual rings of fiber stretch at different rates, opening space between the rings and stressing the epoxy filler. U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,251 shows an example of a filament winding process.
Another method for the manufacture of composite flywheels is polar weaving. Polar weaving involves the interlacing of two sets of yams, warp and weft, and using a special take-up system to advance the outer diameter yarns at a higher rate than the inner diameter yams to form a circle. The take-up rollers are changed from a straight cylinder to a conical shape. The result is a spiral woven material. When continuously-woven, the plies of material will spiral on top of each other to create a disk.
The primary disadvantages of the polar weaving process are that it is a slow process and the interlacing of the yarns creates crimp in the fiber, which reduces the tenacity (strength) of the fiber and reduces the maximum fiber volume in the flywheel. Crimp reduces the mechanical properties of the fiber because the molecules in the fiber are no longer aligned with the stresses. Also, when the fibers are crimped, the mechanical properties are drastically reduced, particularly when the material is fatigued. U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,350 provides an example of the polar weaving process.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,736 describes a fiber composite flywheel having hoop fibers and radial fibers interwoven with the hoop fibers. However, the flywheel design of this patent suffers from the disadvantage that the interwoven radial fibers are crimped in the manufacturing process thereby detracting from their physical and mechanical properties.
In a first aspect, the present invention relates to an apparatus for the manufacture of composite flywheels. The apparatus includes an inner cylinder, an outer cylinder, a fiber feeding device and a knitting device. The fiber feeding device includes at least a set of conical feed rollers for feeding hoop fibers to the cylinders. The knitting device employs a circular knitting machine fitted with a radial fiber guide for feeding the radial fibers to the cylinders. The apparatus also includes structure for raising and lowering the needles of the knitting machine at the proper times to effectively feed the radial fibers to the cylinders. The fiber feeding device and knitting device interact to provide layers of hoop and radial fibers to the cylinders to form a flywheel pre-form including a combination of radial and hoop fibers without introducing crimp into the fibers.
In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method for the manufacture of composite flywheels. In the method, a coil of spiral fibers is made in the form of a pre-form. During the step of making the coil of spiral fibers, radial fibers are interleaved with the spiral fibers to provide additional reinforcement in the radial direction. The radial fibers are interleaved as a layer between successive layers of hoop fibers to avoid introducing crimp into the radial and/or hoop fibers during the manufacturing process.
In a third aspect, the present invention relates to a fiber composite flywheel having excellent physical properties. More particularly, the fiber composite flywheel of the present invention includes a coil of spiral fibers interleaved with radial fibers to provide excellent strength and stress properties. One advantage of the invention is that the radial fibers are interleaved with the hoop fibers without crimp in the radial fibers thereby avoiding the disadvantages associated with fiber crimp.

Flywheel and method and apparatus for manufacturing flywheels


The present invention relates to an electrode manufacturing method, an electrode manufactured thereby, and a battery comprising the same, the electrode manufacturing method comprising the steps of: applying an electrode active material onto a collector; and radiating a laser such that the end of an electrode active material layer, which has been obtained by applying the electrode active material, becomes straight, thereby removing the electrode active material.

Lithium ion batteries are an important element part of the times of mobile devices and electric cars, and the need for increasing the capacity is constantly raised. In general, a lithium polymer ion battery has a basic structure in which positive electrodes and negative electrodes are stacked while overlapping with each other, and a separation membrane is inserted between the positive electrode and the negative electrode in order to prevent a short-circuit of the electrode. At this time, in order to prevent precipitation of lithium of the battery, the area of the negative electrode has to be wide enough so as to cover that of the positive electrode, and refers to an overhang. Since the capacity of the battery is determined by an area in which the negative and positive electrodes overlap as described above, the difference in area between the negative electrode and the positive electrode has to be minimized in order to increase the capacity in the same battery size, and as a result, when the overhang can be reduced, the capacity of the battery within the same area may be increased.
However, when an active material is coated, there is a problem in that an electrode active material is linearly coated by a coating process, and accordingly, there is a problem in that the overhang tolerance of the positive electrode and the negative electrode is increased for the reason, and the problems bring negative effects on the safety and capacity of the battery. In order to minimize the problems, end portions have to be made straight when coated with an electrode active material, but as the coating thickness becomes large due to high capacity of the battery, it is now becoming difficult to make end portions straight.
In order to solve the problems, for example, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2006-0010650 suggests a method for manufacturing a secondary battery by removing an active material in an area exceeding a reference mass using any one of laser, press, scraper, or ultrasonic wave, but since the method does not minimize the difference in area between active materials applied to the negative and positive electrodes, i.e. an overhang, there is a limitation in improving the capacity of a battery.

Electrode manufacturing method for improving battery capacity and electrode manufactured thereby

Abstract: The present invention is advantageous in that the difference in area between active materials applied to the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, is minimized, thereby increasing the capacity and improving the stability of the battery.


A reverberation suppression device includes an analyzer configured to analyze change over time in the power of an input signal obtained from a microphone in response to sound input, and thereby compute the decrease per unit time in the power of the input signal in a reverb segment following the end of a segment in which the sound is produced; and a suppression controller configured to control a suppression gain which indicates the rate at which the input signal is attenuated, on the basis of analysis results from the analyzer.

When a mobile device is used indoors, sound emitted by the user not only reaches the microphone of the mobile device directly, but also reaches the microphone after reflecting off objects such as the surrounding walls and ceiling. In the following description, sound that reaches a microphone directly will be designated direct sound, while sound that reaches the microphone after reflecting off objects such as the surrounding walls and ceiling will be designated reverb. Also, a signal obtained by the microphone in response to the arrival of sound will be designated an input signal.
For example, in a comparatively small room such as a bathroom, reverb reflected off the surroundings is greater compared to another place such as a living room. For this reason, when the telephony functions of a mobile device are used in a room such as bathroom, it may be difficult in some cases to generate clear sound from the input signal obtained by the microphone because of the superposition of direct sound and reverb.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-58900 proposes a technology that suppresses reverb components included in an input signal obtained by a microphone, in which a reverb power spectrum estimated from the power spectra of past frames is subtracted from the power spectrum of the current frame. This technique attempts reverberation suppression by determining filter coefficients so as to minimize a weighted sum of the residual speech power in a reverb segment at the end of an utterance and the subtracted power in an utterance segment, which are estimated on the basis of change in the input signal over time.

Reverberation suppression device, reverberation suppression method, and computer-readable storage medium storing a reverberation suppression program


An electronic control system for cycles, for use in association to a set of sensors, a set of actuators, and a set of control members associated to the cycle, comprises:

The present invention relates to control systems for cycles and has been developed with particular attention paid to the possible application to competition bicycles. In any case, the reference to this possible application, and in particular the reference to the application to racing bicycles, must not be interpreted as limiting the possible field of application of the invention.
Over the last few years there has developed, in the cycle sector, the tendency to use sensors of various nature so as to be able to acquire information regarding the conditions of use/behaviour of the means, the aim being to be able to intervene through actuators of various nature to modifyxe2x80x94according to certain criteria, and acting both in an automatic way and according to specific commands issued by the user ? the conditions of use/behaviour of the means, in particular as regards its set.
This tendency is expressed in the direction of a continuous increase in the quantity of data picked up and processed, which results in the need to have available increasingly more sophisticated and articulated systems, these being systems which, since they have to be mounted on board the cycle, must not adversely affect the performance of the latter, in particular in terms of weight, overall dimensions, and consumption of electrical energy.
The purpose of the present invention is to meet the ever more demanding needs felt in the sector, overcoming the drawbacks outlined above.
According to the present invention, this purpose is achieved thanks to a system having the characteristics specifically called for in the claims which follow.
In brief, the system according to the invention is based on a multiprocessor electronic structure for controlling and managing operation of a cycle, such as a competition bicycle.
The solution according to the invention is based upon the identification of functional areas to be modularized, with the aim of arriving at an integrated control system for controlling the functions of the cycle and for monitoring the set of the cycle during use, also to obtain an improvement in the overall performance of the system made up of the cycle and its user. In particular, the architecture deriving from the modularization in functional units enables a careful evaluation of the signal-propagation timing to be made in the framework of the system, at the same time achieving a reduction in the number of connections.

Multiprocessor control system for cycles, for example for competition bicycles

Abstract: a first processor unit having the function of processing and displaying information;

Abstract: a second processor unit with the function of communication control unit and of interfacing with said set of control members; and

Abstract: a third processor unit having the function of interfacing with said set of sensors and said set of actuators. The first processor unit, the second processor unit, and the third processor unit are connected together via asynchronous bi-directional communication channels.


A tool retaining device including a strapping material including pliable material which is adapted to be wrapped around a tool to secure the strapping material to the tool. The strapping material is securely retained to a mounting lug, the mounting lug being securable to a tool by a fastener. A securement device has a slot therein for lockingly receiving the lug, and the lug is removably securable to the securement device.

When working with tools it is very common that the tool may be inadvertently separated. This can occur when a user drops it from their hands during use or when it falls from the user's tool belt or other retaining structure on the use. Often times it is during the act or removing and replacing a tool that the tool is accidentally dropped.
Inadvertent separation of a tool from a user can result in damage to the tool and increasing the time it takes to complete the job. Inadvertent separation is especially problematic when a user is working at heights and a falling tool poses a danger to people and property lying below. While devices for securing tools exist, they typically make it difficult for a user to remove and secure the tool.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a tool retaining device that secures the tool against inadvertent separation from a user and also allows for the tool to be easily removed and retained and not impede the work being performed.


An inbred maize line, designated PHOB3, the plants and seeds of inbred maize line PHOB3, methods for producing a maize plant produced by crossing the inbred line PHOB3 with itself or with another maize plant or synthetic population, and hybrid maize seeds and plants produced by crossing the inbred line PHOB3 with another maize line or plant or synthetic population.

The goal of plant breeding is to combine in a single variety or hybrid various desirable traits. For field crops, these traits may include resistance to diseases and insects, tolerance to heat and drought, reducing the time to crop maturity, greater yield, and better agronomic quality. With mechanical harvesting of many crops, uniformity of plant characteristics such as germination and stand establishment, growth rate, maturity, and plant and ear height, is important.
Field crops are bred through techniques that take advantage of the plant's method of pollination. A plant is self-pollinated if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower of the same plant. A plant is cross-pollinated if the pollen comes from a flower on a different plant.
Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for type for many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci and produce a uniform population of true breeding progeny. A cross between two different homozygous lines produces a uniform population of hybrid plants that may be heterozygous for many gene loci. A cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number of gene loci will produce a population of hybrid plants that differ genetically and will not be uniform.
Maize (Zea mays L.), often referred to as corn in the United States, can be bred by both self-pollination and cross-pollination techniques. Maize has separate male and female flowers on the same plant, located on the tassel and the ear, respectively. Natural pollination occurs in maize when wind blows pollen from the tassels to the silks that protrude from the tops of the ears.
A reliable method of controlling male fertility in plants offers the opportunity for improved plant breeding. This is especially true for development of maize hybrids, which relies upon some sort of male sterility system. There are several options for controlling male fertility available to breeders, such as: manual or mechanical emasculation (or detasseling), cytoplasmic male sterility, genetic male sterility, gametocides and the like.
Hybrid maize seed is typically produced by a male sterility system incorporating manual or mechanical detasseling. Alternate strips of two inbreds of maize are planted in a field, and the pollen-bearing tassels are removed from one of the inbreds (female). Providing that there is sufficient isolation from sources of foreign maize pollen, the ears of the detasseled inbred will be fertilized only from the other inbred (male), and the resulting seed is therefore hybrid and will form hybrid plants.
The laborious, and occasionally unreliable, detasseling process can be avoided by using cytoplasmic male-sterile (CMS) inbreds. Plants of a CMS inbred are male sterile as a result of factors resulting from the cytoplasmic, as opposed to the nuclear, genome. Thus, this characteristic is inherited exclusively through the female parent in maize plants, since only the female provides cytoplasm to the fertilized seed. CMS plants are fertilized with pollen from another inbred that is not male-sterile. Pollen from the second inbred may or may not contribute genes that make the hybrid plants male-fertile. Seed from detasseled fertile maize and CMS produced seed of the same hybrid can be blended to insure that adequate pollen loads are available for fertilization when the hybrid plants are grown.
There are several methods of conferring genetic male sterility available, such as multiple mutant genes at separate locations within the genome that confer male sterility, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,654,465 and 4,727,219 to Brar et al. and chromosomal translocations as described by Patterson in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,861,709 and 3,710,511. These and all patents referred to are incorporated by reference. In addition to these methods, Albertsen et al., of Pioneer Hi-Bred, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/848,433, have developed a system of nuclear male sterility which includes: identifying a gene which is critical to male fertility; silencing this native gene which is critical to male fertility; removing the native promoter from the essential male fertility gene and replacing it with an inducible promoter; inserting this genetically engineered gene back into the plant; and thus creating a plant that is male sterile because the inducible promoter is not "on" resulting in the male fertility gene not being transcribed. Fertility is restored by inducing, or turning "on", the promoter, which in turn allows the gene that confers male fertility to be transcribed.
There are many other methods of conferring genetic male sterility in the art, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. These methods use a variety of approaches such as delivering into the plant a gene encoding a cytotoxic substance associated with a male tissue specific promoter or an antisense system in which a gene critical to fertility is identified and an antisense to that gene is inserted in the plant (see: Fabinjanski, et al. EPO 89/3010153.8 publication no. 329,308 and PCT application PCT/CA90/00037 published as WO 90/08828).
Another system useful in controlling male sterility makes use of gametocides. Gametocides are not a genetic system, but rather a topical application of chemicals. These chemicals affect cells that are critical to male fertility. The application of these chemicals affects fertility in the plants only for the growing season in which the gametocide is applied (see Carlson, Glenn R., U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,904). Application of the gametocide, timing of the application and genotype specificity often limit the usefulness of the approach.
Development of Maize Inbred Lines
The use of male sterile inbreds is but one factor in the production of maize hybrids. The development of maize hybrids requires, in general, the development of homozygous inbred lines, the crossing of these lines, and the evaluation of the crosses. Pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods are used to develop inbred lines from breeding populations. Breeding programs combine the genetic backgrounds from two or more inbred lines or various other germplasm sources into breeding pools from which new inbred lines are developed by selfing and selection of desired phenotypes. The new inbreds are crossed with other inbred lines and the hybrids from these crosses are evaluated to determine which of those have commercial potential. Plant breeding and hybrid development are expensive and time consuming processes.
Pedigree breeding starts with the crossing of two genotypes, each of which may have one or more desirable characteristics that is lacking in the other or which complements the other. If the two original parents do not provide all the desired characteristics, other sources can be included in the breeding population. In the pedigree method, superior plants are selfed and selected in successive generations. In the succeeding generations the heterozygous condition gives way to homogeneous lines as a result of self-pollination and selection. Typically in the pedigree method of breeding five or more generations of selfing and selection is practiced: F.sub.1.fwdarw.F.sub.2 ; F.sub.3.fwdarw.F.sub.4 ; F.sub.4.fwdarw.F.sub.5, etc.
Recurrent selection breeding, backcrossing for example, can be used to improve an inbred line. Backcrossing can be used to transfer a specific desirable trait from one inbred or source to an inbred that lacks that trait. This can be accomplished, for example, by first crossing a superior inbred (recurrent parent) to a donor inbred (non-recurrent parent), that carries the appropriate gene(s) for the trait in question. The progeny of this cross is then mated back to the superior recurrent parent followed by selection in the resultant progeny for the desired trait to be transferred from the non-recurrent parent. After five or more backcross generations with selection for the desired trait, the progeny will be heterozygous for loci controlling the characteristic being transferred, but will be like the superior parent for most or almost all other genes. The last backcross generation is then selfed to give pure breeding progeny for the gene(s) being transferred.
Elite inbred lines, that is, pure breeding, homozygous inbred lines, can also be used as starting materials for breeding or source populations from which to develop other inbred lines. These inbred lines derived from elite inbred lines can be developed using the pedigree breeding and recurrent selection breeding methods described earlier.
Development of Maize Hybrids
A single cross maize hybrid results from the cross of two inbred lines, each of which has a genotype that complements the genotype of the other. The hybrid progeny of the first generation is designated F.sub.1. In the development of commercial hybrids only the F.sub.1 hybrid plants are sought. Preferred F.sub.1 hybrids are more vigorous than their inbred parents. This hybrid vigor, or heterosis, can be manifested in many polygenic traits, including increased vegetative growth and increased yield.
The development of a maize hybrid involves three steps: (1) the selection of plants from various germplasm pools for initial breeding crosses; (2) the selfing of the selected plants from the breeding crosses for several generations to produce a series of inbred lines, which, although different from each other, breed true and are highly uniform; and (3) crossing the selected inbred lines with different inbred lines to produce the hybrid progeny (F.sub.1). During the inbreeding process in maize, the vigor of the lines decreases. Vigor is restored when two different inbred lines are crossed to produce the hybrid progeny (F.sub.1). An important consequence of the homozygosity and homogeneity of the inbred lines is that the hybrid between a defined pair of inbreds will always be the same. Once the inbreds that give a superior hybrid have been identified, the hybrid seed can be reproduced indefinitely as long as the homogeneity of the inbred parents is maintained.
A synthetic hybrid consists of an array of similar genotypes that were identified from intercross tests and bulked into a random mating population having a desired phenotype. The intercrosses between two different heterotic groups results in the continuous production of a specific synthetic hybrid of desired phenotype.
A single cross hybrid is produced when two inbred lines are crossed to produce the F.sub.1 progeny. A double cross hybrid is produced from four inbred lines crossed in pairs (A.times.B and C.times.D) and then the two F.sub.1 hybrids are crossed again (A.times.B).times.(C.times.D). Much of the hybrid vigor exhibited by F.sub.1 hybrids is lost in the next generation (F.sub.2). Consequently, seed from hybrids is not used for planting stock.
Hybrid seed production requires elimination or inactivation of pollen produced by the female parent. Incomplete removal or inactivation of the pollen provides the potential for self pollination. This inadvertently self pollinated seed may be unintentionally harvested and packaged with hybrid seed.
Once the seed is planted, it is possible to identify and select these self pollinated plants. These self pollinated plants will be genetically equivalent to the female inbred line used to produce the hybrid.
Typically these self pollinated plants can be identified and selected due to their decreased vigor. Female selfs are identified by their less vigorous appearance for vegetative and/or reproductive characteristics, including shorter plant height, small ear size, ear and kernel shape, cob color, or other characteristics.
Identification of these self pollinated lines can also be accomplished through molecular marker analyses. See, "The Identification of Female Selfs in Hybrid Maize: A Comparison Using Electrophoresis and Morphology", Smith, J. S. C. and Wych, R. D., Seed Science and Technology 14, pp. 1-8 (1995), the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference. Through these technologies, the homozygosity of the self pollinated line can be verified by analyzing allelic composition at various loci along the genome. Those methods allow for rapid identification of the invention disclosed herein. See also, "Identification of Atypical Plants in Hybrid Maize Seed by Postcontrol and Electrophoresis" Sarca, V. et al., Probleme de Genetica Teoritica si Aplicata Vol. 20 (1) p. 29-42.
As is readily apparent to one skilled in the art, the foregoing are only two of the various ways by which the inbred can be obtained by those looking to use the germplasm. Other means are available, and the above examples are illustrative only.
Maize is an important and valuable field crop. Thus, a continuing goal of plant breeders is to develop high-yielding maize hybrids that are agronomically sound based on stable inbred lines. The reasons for this goal are obvious: to maximize the amount of grain produced with the inputs used and minimize susceptibility of the crop to pests and environmental stresses. To accomplish this goal, the maize breeder must select and develop superior inbred parental lines for producing hybrids. This requires identification and selection of genetically unique individuals that occur in a segregating population. The segregating population is the result of a combination of crossover events plus the independent assortment of specific combinations of alleles at many gene loci that results in specific genotypes. The probability of selecting any one individual with a specific genotype from a breeding cross is infinitesimal due to the large number of segregating genes and the unlimited recombinations of these genes, some of which may be closely linked. However, the genetic variation among individual progeny of a breeding cross allows for the identification of rare and valuable new genotypes. These new genotypes are neither predictable nor incremental in value, but rather the result of manifested genetic variation combined with selection methods, environments and the actions of the breeder.
Thus, even if the entire genotypes of the parents of the breeding cross were characterized and a desired genotype known, only a few, if any, individuals having the desired genotype may be found in a large segregating F.sub.2 population. Typically, however, neither the genotypes of the breeding cross parents nor the desired genotype to be selected is known in any detail. In addition, it is not known how the desired genotype would react with the environment. This genotype by environment interaction is an important, yet unpredictable, factor in plant breeding. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art cannot predict the genotype, how that genotype will interact with various climatic conditions or the resulting phenotypes of the developing lines, except perhaps in a very broad and general fashion. A breeder of ordinary skill in the art would also be unable to recreate the same line twice from the very same original parents as the breeder is unable to direct how the genomes combine or how they will interact with the environmental conditions. This unpredictability results in the expenditure of large amounts of research resources in the development of a superior new maize inbred line.
Synthetic Varieties
The objective of typical plant breeding is to combine in a single variety/hybrid the desirable traits of the parental lines. For field crops such as corn, these desirable traits may include resistance to diseases, insects, herbicide tolerance, and tolerance to heat and drought, reducing time to crop maturity, and improved agronomic quality. With mechanical harvesting of many crops, uniformity of plant characteristics such as germination time and stand establishment, growth rate, and fruit/seed size are also desirable.
The problem with conventional breeding techniques is that there are several grain quality traits, such as high oil content, that cannot readily be combined in a high-yielding single cross hybrid. The present invention, when used as an inbred parent for a pollinator, imparts desirable grain quality characteristics through the pollinator, such as high oil content, to the resulting F.sub.1 grain without significant loss of yield. This heretofore was not possible because these desirable grain quality characteristics in hybrids usually have been associated with low yield and poor agronomic characteristics.
Corn has male flowers, located on the tassel, and female flowers, located on the ear, of the same plant. Because of this monoecity, corn plants can be bred by both self-pollination and cross-pollination techniques. Corn is self-pollinated if pollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower on the same plant. Corn is cross-pollinated if the pollen comes from a flower on a different plant.
As stated earlier, natural pollination occurs when wind blows pollen from tassels to silks that protrude from tops of the incipient ears on plants of the same genotype and different genotype, resulting in both self- and cross-pollination. When a population of genotypes are combined from all possible intercrosses among a number of selected genotypes and are allowed to open pollinate, the result is called a synthetic variety. A synthetic variety is made up of genotypes which previously have been tested for their ability to produce a superior progeny when crossed in all combinations.
Corn plants may be maintained as an outcrossing synthetic population that is much less homogeneous than a self-pollinated group. Every plant in such a group is certain to be heterozygous at many or most loci, and this heterozygosity must either be maintained during a breeding program or restored at the end of the program, if productivity is to be satisfactory. The main requirement in maintaining a synthetic line is that a sufficient number of plants of heterozygous background be maintained to recover the gene frequencies that are desired for the synthetic population so as to prevent genetic drift toward undesired gene frequencies.
The desirability of high oil content grain
The concentration of oil in most varieties of corn ranges from less than 3.0 percent to 4.5 percent at 0% moisture. Embryos of ordinary corn can contain 30 percent oil, while embryos of high oil corn strains can contain as much as 50 percent oil and are much larger in size than ordinary corn embryos.
There are several reasons for wanting to develop a method for growing corn that is high in oil content. First, corn oil is a premium oil and regularly more valuable than starch, the other major component of corn kernels. Second, high oil corn possesses a higher available energy content than ordinary corn, and thus is a more valuable feed for poultry and livestock. In animal feeding trials it has been found that less high oil corn is required per unit of gain than is required with ordinary corn. In addition, high oil corn requires substantially less soybean meal to balance a typical animal diet, and may be used to replace oil containing additives in animal feed.
Additional impetus was given to breeding corn for high oil by the development of wide-line nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and near-infrared transmittance spectroscopy (NIT) as analytical tools for the nondestructive analysis of bulk or single kernel samples that can be carried out in as little as six seconds. The development of such tools made it much easier and much quicker to determine the oil content of grain, thereby encouraging experimentation in the area of breeding for high oil.
Thus there exists at present a growing market for corn having high oil, increased protein and other special end-use properties which is not met by corn of standard composition. The diverse types of corn available to plant breeders provides a potential for modification of quality and quantity of grain protein, starch, and oil. Corn now can be developed to more precisely meet the specific nutritional requirements of animals or to meet particular industrial needs.
Unfortunately, high oil is a property that cannot readily be achieved in high yielding single-cross hybrids. This is because oil content, while being a moderately heritable trait, is influenced by a series of oil genes that have additive effects on oil content and occur at a complex of loci in at least eight linkage groups that influence the amount of oil in the grain progeny. Obtaining a hybrid having all or most of these oil genes can take many years of breeding. Further increasing the difficulty of breeding for high oil content is the fact that the grain yield of higher oil hybrids is generally inferior when compared to elite dent corn hybrids.
A method of producing a high yield of corn having high oil content without requiring years of breeding is described in Bergquist et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,706,603. The primary aspect of this method is the interplanting of a pollinator corn plant possessing the characteristics for significantly increasing oil and protein levels in the resulting grain with a male sterile hybrid corn plant. The resulting grain possesses an oil content much higher than would be expected for self- or cross-pollination of the fertile version of the hybrid corn plant.
In practice, the seed of the pollinator with improved grain quality traits is blended in small amounts with seed of an elite male sterile grain parent hybrid, but with sufficient pollinator seed to permit abundant pollen production for fertilization of the male sterile grain parent hybrid. The relatively low ratio of pollinator seed to male sterile grain parent seed (less than one pollinator plant to every nine grain parent plants) takes advantage of the higher grain yield potential of the elite grain parent hybrid while assuring a sufficient population of pollinator plants to pollinate the male sterile grain parent plants.
Need for Superior Pollinators
An important aspect of a pollinator is the use of a pollinator capable of enhancing the grain quality traits of the F1 offspring. To obtain such pollinators, the corn breeder must select and develop corn plants that have the traits that result in superior inbred and synthetic parental lines.
The topcross pollinator need not be genetically homozygous (inbred) or even uniform in appearance, and need not be selected for genetic combining ability with female plants. However, the pollinator should have uniform desirable grain quality characteristics, such as high oil, that will influence the grain quality characteristics of the F1 offspring, and the ability to pollinate the female plants. A hybrid obtained by crossing two synthetic populations of different heterotic backgrounds results in a synthetic hybrid with predictable heterozygosity and genetic variability among plants that is particularly useful as a male pollinator in blends with male sterile hybrid grain parents. Some genetic variability is desirable because it extends the flowering period of the pollinator.
Advantages of synthetic hybrids
The use of synthetic hybrid pollinators affords a number of advantages over the use of hybrids produced from single crosses. For instance, synthetic hybrids can be developed more rapidly than commercial hybrids. Specifically, the use of a synthetic population can more rapidly establish stability of dominant oil genes, thus by-passing the many generations of inbreeding that is required to produce inbreds for making single cross hybrids.
Second, synthetic hybrids often have excellent vigor comparable to that of commercial hybrids. Inbreds, by contrast, typically lose vigor with each successive generation of inbreeding. This is an important advantage of synthetics because pollinator vigor is critical for ample pollen shed at the time of silking. Third, a synthetic variety, utilizing heterosis in which pollination control is a factor, is more likely to disperse pollen over a longer period of time than a single cross hybrid. The predictable greater variability of synthetic varieties as compared with single crosses permits more flexibility to meet the changing growing conditions typical of field production. In addition, because of the longer flowering period, fewer synthetic pollinators need to be developed for use in blends with many different grain parents.


An inkjet ink including water, a pigment, a polymer, and a hydrazine compound. The polymer does not include an anionic unit and includes a first unit having a carbonyl group capable of reacting with a hydrazino group, and a second unit having at least one of an amino group, a dimethylamino group, and a diethylamino group. The content of the first unit is from 40% to 90% by weight based on the weight of the polymer, and the inkjet ink has a pH of not less than 9.

Since inkjet recording methods have advantages over other image forming methods such that the image recording process is simple; full color images can be easily formed; and high resolution images can be easily formed by an image forming apparatus having a simple structure, the inkjet recording methods have become widespread. Inkjet recording methods typically include ejecting ink droplets using an air bubble generated in the ink by heat, or using a pressure generated in the ink by piezoelectricity or electrostatic force, so that the ink droplets are adhered to a recording material such as paper sheets; and then drying the ink droplets, or allowing the ink droplets to penetrate into the recording material so that the ink droplets dry, resulting in formation of an ink image on the recording material. Thus, inkjet recording methods are simple, and can be used not only for personal purposes but also for industrial purposes such as printers and printing machines.
With expansion of industrial applications of inkjet recording, a need exists for an inkjet recording apparatus which can form images on various recording materials (such as various papers) at a high speed. Specifically, a need exists for an inkjet printer having a line recording head to form images at a high speed. In addition, an increasing need exists for an inkjet printer, which uses an aqueous ink from environmental and safety standpoint.
However, image formation using an aqueous ink is considerably affected by the recording material used, and various image problems are caused. Particularly, when a paper having a rough surface is used as a recording material, various problems are remarkably caused. Since aqueous inks have a long drying time while having good affinity for paper, aqueous inks easily penetrate into paper. Particularly, when an aqueous ink image is formed on an uncoated paper having a rough surface, the colorant included in the aqueous ink penetrates into the paper, thereby causing a problem in which a low density image is formed and which is not caused when using a solvent ink.
Particularly, when high speed image formation is performed by using an aqueous ink, a penetrant is typically included in the aqueous ink to shorten the drying time of the ink adhered to a recording material. However, when a penetrant is included in an aqueous ink, not only the permeability of water to recording materials but also the permeability of the colorant included in the aqueous ink are enhanced, thereby decreasing the image density of the resultant images more seriously than in a case where the penetrant is not used for the aqueous ink.
In attempting to solve the low image density problem, there is a proposal for an ink which include a colorant, and a crosslinking component including a urethane acrylic resin having a carbonyl group, and a dihydrazide compound. However, unless water included in the ink penetrates into a recording paper, the urethane acrylic resin is not contacted with the dihydrazide compound, and therefore the crosslinking reaction cannot be induced. Thus, at a time when the ink is adhered to a recording paper, the crosslinking reaction is not induced, and therefore the viscosity of the ink adhered to the recording paper hardly increases. Therefore, most part of the colorant penetrates into the recording paper, and occurrence of the low image density problem cannot be prevented.
In addition, there is a proposal for a combination of a black ink including a polymer dispersant having a cationic group and an anionic color ink. The cationic polymer dispersant is obtained from a cationic monomer, a hydrophobic monomer and another monomer, wherein dimethylacrylamide is exemplified as the cationic monomer, styrene or acrylate is exemplified as the hydrophobic monomer, and diacetone acrylamide is exemplified as the other monomer. In this proposal, by contacting the cationic black ink with the anionic color ink, the inks are agglomerated, thereby preventing formation of a blurred image and occurrence of penetration of the inks into a recording paper. However, when the black ink or the color ink is used alone, it is difficult to avoid the low image density problem.
In addition, there is a proposal for an ink including a colorant which is covered with a polymer having a N-substituted acrylamide unit and a carbonyl group, and a hydrazine compound, wherein dimethylacrylamide is exemplified as the N-substituted acrylamide monomer, and diacetone acrylamide is exemplified as the monomer having a carbonyl group, and wherein the ratio of the N-substituted acrylamide monomer is not less than 50% and the ratio of the monomer having a carbonyl group is not greater than 30%.
However, in this ink, the crosslinking reaction of the colorant with the hydrazine compound proceeds after the ink is dried (i.e., after water therein is evaporated). Therefore, the viscosity of the ink hardly increases at a time the ink is adhered to a recording material, and the low image density problem cannot be avoided. In addition, since the colorant covered with the polymer has poor hydrophilicity, it is necessary to introduce an anionic unit (such as acrylic acid) into the polymer in order to impart good dispersing ability to the colorant. In this case, another problem in that the viscosity of the ink increases is caused. Further, since the N-substituted acrylamide unit is altered by heat so as to be insoluble in water, the ink has poor preservation stability.
For these reasons, the inventors recognized that there is a need for an inkjet ink which has good preservation stability and which can form high density images on both a paper with a smooth surface and a paper with a rough surface.

Inkjet ink, pigment dispersion, image forming method, inkjet recording apparatus, ink cartridge, and print


Two Geothermal energy harnessing devices, steam producing System, electricity production Method and heat energy Method are invented for mining renewable geothermal heat energy within a non-polluting, re-circulating, closed cycle intended for electricity generating applications or for other direct or indirect heat uses. The devices, the “Geothermal Energy Collector” and the “Geothermal Energy Exchanger” can work with a Depressurized Mixing Container and a Pressurized Storage Container the entirety of which comprises “THE GEOTHERMAL FLUID HEATING OR STEAM PRODUCTION SYSTEM. The system serves other equipment, such as a phase separator, steam turbine, generator and condenser, which working together with the system comprises either “THE GEOTHERMAL ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION METHOD” or “THE GEOTHERMAL HEAT ENERGY METHOD”. The GEC or GEE can work alone or within a system to add heat to any fluid and to use the heated fluid to supplement any appropriate technology, to produce electricity or for other direct or indirect uses.

Geothermal energy is defined as "heat from the earth". The earth's heat is a "renewable resource" as defined by The National Energy Policy Act of 1992 and the Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act of 1980 and is estimated by the U.S. Geothermal Industry for the Renewable Energy Task Force (1997) to be "equivalent to 42 million megawatts of power".
The potential for using heat energy found within the earth, sometimes referred to as "heat mining"; either for direct use or for generation of electricity has been a subject of significant interest over the years. If heat mining could be efficiently and safely employed, geothermal resources could represent a nearly inexhaustible source of non-fossil, non-nuclear fuel.
It should be noted that other so called "green" or "clean" alternative technologies tend to have practical limitations. Electrically powered vehicles currently require electricity for recharging to be generated by fossil fuel or nuclear fuel powered generating facilities.
Pollution is therefore not eliminated and if employed on a large scale demand will drive the cost of electricity to unreasonable levels given current technological limitations.
Large scale implementation of solar collector fields or wind turbine fields will at great cost exert their own environmental impacts, which are at this point undetermined. Additionally, there is the unreliability factor in that the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine and certainly doesn't shine at night. Hydrogen powered vehicles are an exciting alternative, but the large volume of fuel storage required per vehicle makes them impractical at present.
Natural gas powered vehicles are a good stop gap, but natural gas is not renewable, it's expensive and burning it does contribute to so-called green house gases. A natural gas distribution network would have to be created as it does not presently exist in a form suitable for safely fueling individual vehicles on a large scale. Ethanol fuels on any large scale are an environmental and economic disaster worse than gasoline or diesel fuel. Ethanol production is already causing food shortages, which will only worsen as production is increased. Ethanol by the time it is actually grown, harvested, processed and used contributes more green house gases to the atmosphere than gasoline or diesel fuel.
Utilization of geothermal energy in North America goes back 10,000 years. The Paleo-Indians were known to use geothermal hot springs for warmth and cleaning by direct use. More recently geothermal energy has been utilized for a number of things such as producing electricity, heating buildings, streets and sidewalks and for food processing.
With regard to generation of electricity the first sizable geothermal electricity generating plant was constructed in Larderello, Italy in 1904. The Larderello plant is still operational today. The first U.S. commercial geothermal power plant, called "The Geysers" in California began operation in the 1960's. The Geysers system is today considered to be the largest single, renewable energy source in the world.
The United States currently adds up to 2,800 megawatts of electricity to the grid annually via geothermal means. This is a small portion of the annual U.S. production. Uncertainty regarding the availability, renewability and cost of conventional fossil fuels along with potential thermal and environmental pollution, in conjunction with national security concerns, makes the production of electricity using geothermal heat an attractive alternative. This alternative has not, unfortunately, been without its own issues and costs.
Generally speaking, the temperature of the earth's crust increases with depth at an average rate of 3° C. per 100 meters of depth. To harness this heat energy at useful temperatures, say higher than 150° C. under normal crust conditions requires drilling to great depth with a significant cost of investment. To reach below ground temperatures of 300° C. to 400° C. is even more costly. There are, however, geographic regions having pronounced geologic, or more importantly, geothermal anomalies, which can provide access to usefully high temperatures at relatively shallow depths. Heat energy can be mined in these areas at significantly reduced cost if done in an appropriate and safe manner.
Employing current relevant art forms geothermal heat energy is typically extracted by pumping directly from an underground geothermal reservoir or indirectly from the geothermal source, say hot dry rock (HDR), by pumping extraneous water under high pressure through the hot rock to create a below ground reservoir. This may involve first fracturing the rock to make it more permeable should the existing rock not be in a sufficiently fractured condition. Water is typically pumped into the reservoir through a supply well. Hot water or steam is removed from the reservoir through a return well. The water is heated by the geothermal source as it passes through the fractured hot rock reservoir from the supply well to the return well. This type of system is currently employed in Iceland.
Via the return well the heated water is pumped or in the case of steam rises convectively to the surface where its useful thermal energy is used directly or can be converted to electrical energy. After using, the water may be re-circulated back to the reservoir to mine more heat or may be wasted. These fluids can be used for direct heating of structures, for food processing or more frequently for the generation of electricity using a steam turbine. Depending primarily on available temperature the type of electric generating plant may be a flash, dry steam or binary plant. The Geysers in California is a dry steam field, which is quite rare. In a dry steam field, steam, not fluid shoots up the well and powers the turbine.
What are some of the issues? A number of patents are referenced at the beginning of this specification. These patents clearly demonstrate the types of difficulties encountered in attempting to mine geothermal heat energy. The references cited are informational only and do not infer any dependent relationship to claims made herein. As mentioned above geologic formations yielding high temperature rock and/or fluids at shallow depths are economically attractive candidates for heat mining. Unfortunately, many, if not most of these formations are found in tectonically active locations, some of which may experience significant faulting along with earthquake activity and in the case of active volcanoes, may experience flows of molten igneous material or airborne ash and debris. Applying the above mentioned technology inappropriately within such a tectonically active area would be unsafe and from an investment standpoint would have to be characterized as high risk. The careful selection of safe geothermally productive sites is critical to the future exploitation of geothermal energy in any form.
A second issue in various locations is a legal one. Some geothermally active formations are located within scenic areas or even within national parks such as Yellowstone National Park. These areas are inviolate. For example per the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 and as amended in 1988 "certain lands, including lands within units of the National Park System are closed to federal geothermal leasing".
Another significant and potentially costly issue involves the direct use of geothermal fluids as is typical today. These below ground geothermal fluids; sometimes called brines due to their high mineral content can contain other potential contaminants such as sulfur, boron, mercury and arsenic. Geothermal fluids can be highly corrosive and the direct use thereof can be damaging to equipment. This has resulted in a number of new patents over the years directly related to improving equipment usability and reliability as well as to develop processes for removing the contaminants prior to use or after using. The direct use of fluids pumped from geothermal reservoirs has been costly from an anti-corrosion standpoint, but perhaps even more so by limitations as to actual extent of "renewability", which in some ways becomes the most significant issue regarding future investment in geothermal energy.
There is no question that underground geothermal reservoirs are completely renewable as long as rain continues to fall above ground and the earth's core remains hot. There are, however, serious limitations on the rate at which these insitu fluids can be removed from the reservoir and replenished. If geothermal fluid is removed from the reservoir at a rate higher than that at which the aquifer can recharge itself; the fluid level within the reservoir will drop over time, resulting in a necessary increase in pumping cost at the least and in the worse case a diminishment of the resource for useful purposes.
The situation described above has occurred at The Geysers in California over the last two decades resulting in less fluid being pumped and less electricity being produced. The Geyser problem was largely resolved by the world's first wastewater-to-electricity system (Southeast Geysers Effluent Pipeline), which conveys water from Clear Lake and wastewater effluent from Lake County, both of which are used to replenish the Geysers underground geothermal reservoir(s) so as to increase electric producing capacity. The Geyser's situation then was dealt with by bringing in an outside water source to replenish the receding reservoir levels. This has been an expensive solution.
Another relevant art form simply fractures the hot dry rock if not already fractured sufficiently and pumps water down into the rock fractures under high pressure to be heated and then extracted. This process was touched on earlier. This has been a successful method, but has raised serious questions regarding potential long term environmental effects of artificially injecting large quantities of water into what has historically been dry rock strata. Such systems are employed in Iceland and have been in use for a long period of time both in the generation of electricity and for direct use in heating and food processing.
The list of problems historically associated with the use and harvesting of geothermal energy sources is not particularly long. It is none-the-less a serious list posing rather costly solutions.
In determining whether a geothermal electric generating plant should be built and in determining the size of the plant to be built; a cost-benefit analysis must be performed. A major component of this analysis is the estimated future revenue to be generated through the sale of electricity produced both to pay back the initial capital investment as well as to provide a reasonable dividend to shareholders. Uncertainty with regard to future reservoir levels means uncertainty with regard to future electricity production, which means uncertainty with regard to future revenue, which in turn means increased risk of investment. The investment required is substantial.
Given the uncertainty of maintaining underground reservoir levels and the high cost of recharging levels with pumped surface water; it would reduce risk significantly if there were a way to by-pass or eliminate the direct use of geothermal brines altogether.
One last complication regarding direct use of geothermal fluids is environmental. Vaporization of these geothermal fluids to drive a steam turbine and subsequent condensation back to liquid tends to bring contaminants out of solution. The direct discharge of this untreated brine back into the reservoir or to a local river or lake can result in environmental pollution. Treatment of this brine then becomes an additional cost.
Direct discharge of un-cooled geothermal brines to a lake or river can result in thermal pollution. This is serious as an increase as small as 4° C. within a water course can be fatal to many fish and harmful to aquatic plants. Some geothermal electricity generating plants reinject the treated brine back into the underground reservoir. Some plants cool and waste the treated brine to a local water course. In either case both treatment and cooling of vast quantities of geothermal fluid add significantly to the cost of electricity production by existing geothermal means. Added cost is always added financial risk.
Environmental concerns regarding the discharge of so-called green house gases to the environment are continuing to increase, at least within developed nations. Jurisdictional regulation continues to impose increasingly rigorous standards intended to reduce these discharges. The electrical power industry is said to contribute approximately ⅓ of these so-called green house gases as a result of fossil fuel combustion. At present, more than fifty percent of electric power generation is fueled by fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas. It would be helpful if an effective means of providing phased improvements were available to assist power generating plants in meeting these more stringent regulatory requirements.

Geothermal electricity production methods and geothermal energy collection systems


A CT scanner (10) generates views of data such as equal angular increment detector fan views (FIG. 2A) which are convolved or filtered by an array processor (24). A combined backprojector and forward projector (28) backprojects the data from the array processor into an output memory (30) and forward projects lines of image representation data from an input memory (26) to the output memory. Each view representation may again be an equal angular increment detector fan format view (FIG. 2A), a parallel ray format view (FIG. 2B), an equal linear increment source fan format view (FIG. 2D), a source fan format view (FIG. 2C), an equal angular incremental detector fan format (FIG. 2E), an equal linear increment detector fan format (FIG. 2F), or an equal angular increment source fan format (FIG. 2G). In a backprojector mode, the projector is addressed by line and row addresses of a pixel of the output memory. A look-up table (76) and a multiplier (82) generate a weighting function W. A multiplier (78 ) and an adding means (80) along with the look-up table convert the memory addresses into an appropriate address for a line of view data stored in a projector memory (60). An element of view data retrieved in response to the received address is multiplied (84) by the weighting function. In a forward projector mode, a parallel ray forward projection configuration (92) is provided. A view format transform assembly (90) transforms other format view designations and addresses into the corresponding parallel ray format view designations and addresses.

The present invention is directed to the art of diagnostic imaging. It finds particular application in conjunction with CT scanners and will be described with particular reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the invention may also find application in conjunction with magnetic resonance, positron emission, and other types of diagnostic imaging.
Heretofore, CT scanners have defined an examination region or scan circle in which the patient or other subject to be imaged was disposed. A beam of radiation was transmitted across the scan circle from an x-ray source to oppositely disposed radiation detectors. The segment of the beam impinging on a sampled detector defines a ray extending between the source and the sampled detector. The source or beam of radiation was rotated around the scan circle such that data from a multiplicity of rays crisscrossing the scan circle were collected.
The sampled data was convolved and backprojected into an image memory which was commonly described as a two dimensional array of memory elements. Each memory element stored a CT number indicative of the transmission or attenuation of the rays attributable to a corresponding incremental element within the scan circle. The data from each ray which crossed a given incremental element of the scan circle contributed to the corresponding CT number, i.e. the CT number for each memory element of the resultant image was the sum of contributions from the multiplicity of rays which passed through the corresponding incremental element of the scan circle.
Most commonly, the x-ray data was transformed into the image representation utilizing filtered backprojection. A family of rays was assembled into a view. Each view was filtered or convolved with a filter function and backprojected into the image memory. Various view geometries have been utilized in this process. As one example, each view was composed of the data corresponding to rays passing parallel to each other through the scan circle, such as from a traverse and rotate type scanner. In a rotating fan beam type scanner in which both the source and detectors rotate, each view could be made up of concurrent samplings of the detectors which span the x-ray beam when the x-ray source was in a given position, i.e. a source fan view. The detector commonly had either an equal linear spacing or an equal angular spacing. Alternately with a stationary detector rotating source geometry, a detector fan view could be formed from the rays received by a single detector as the x-ray source passed in back of the scan circle from that detector.
In forward projection, the image data was processed to synthesize each of the multiplicity of views that went through convolution and backprojection to make the image representation.
Various backprojection and forward projection algorithms have been developed. CT scanner customers normally demand a substantially instantaneous display of the resultant CT image. To obtain the image representation rapidly, the backprojection was normally performed with dedicated backprojection hardware. The many millions of computations required rendered general purpose computers inappropriately slow for backprojection. Various forward projection software routines have been written for general purpose minicomputers. However, the task of breaking the image representation apart into its component parts again requires many millions of computations. The execution time for such programs, commonly on the order of many minutes to hours, render forward projection too slow for many every day clinical applications.
In accordance with the present invention, a high speed backprojection/forward projection method and apparatus are provided.

Combined high speed backprojection and forward projection processor for CT systems


A method of initiating handover of a wireless device includes determining one or more of a low battery condition, a low power headroom, and a high buffer status of a wireless device. The wireless device can be attached to a first access node deploying multiple radio access technologies over a first coverage area. The method further includes identifying a second access node deploying a single radio access technology over a second coverage area encompassing a location of the wireless device, and initiating handover of the wireless device from the first access node to the second access node based at least in part on the one or more of the low battery condition, low power headroom, and high buffer status of the wireless device. Systems and devices relate to initiating handover of a wireless device.

As wireless networks evolve and grow, there are ongoing challenges in providing high-quality service to increasing numbers of wireless devices in various coverage areas of a wireless network. Different wireless devices are configured to use different types of applications (such as voice over IP, streaming, gaming, etc.), and each different application may optimally function with a different channel size or bandwidth. Further, radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR) are being implemented alongside existing RATs such as 3G and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE), and wireless devices are increasingly becoming more capable of connecting to these RATs. Further, different RATs can be associated with different types of data transmissions, such as voice, data, streaming, low-latency, high-latency, etc. In other words, different RATs are utilized for applications that require different quality of service (QoS). These different types of network using various RATs and types of data transmissions may be referred to as heterogeneous networks.
In such heterogeneous networks, additional control signaling may be advantageous or required to effectively integrate use of multiple RATs in heterogeneous networks by a wireless device. As a result, additional resources of the network and/or wireless device may be consumed by additional signaling to coordinate use of the RATs. For example, additional resource blocks (e.g., MAC control elements) and/or additional transmission power of the wireless device may be devoted to signaling requirements to facilitate communicating with the multiple RATs. Such increased signaling requirements may have adverse effects on quality of service and overall user experience, particularly in situations in which various resources of the wireless device and/or network are strained.

Handover of wireless devices based on resource availability


A visual curve fitting method for mathematically modeling the thermal response of an item based upon the generic thermal response equation T2=T1+(Tenv.−T1)×F. Using a spreadsheet application with a graphical user interface (GUI), a graph is displayed with a set of generic thermal response curves and a set of actual thermal response data curves. By manipulating a series of slide bars displayed on the GUI, values are selected and input into the generic equation in order to change the shape and position of the generic curve set. Manipulating the slide bars in combination until the generic curve set overlays the actual curve set results in a set of equations (thermal model) that accurately characterizes the thermal behavior of the item under a reasonable range of temperature changes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mathematical modeling techniques and, more particularly, the process of visually fitting one or more curves to a limited set of empirical data for the interpolation or extrapolation of a complete predictive data set and, even more particularly, to a simplified means for describing and predicting the thermal behavior of an item subjected to conditions meant to induce heat transfer within the item.
2. Description of the Background
The basic concept of a thermal model works through mathematical manipulation of equations with the purpose of matching a predetermined thermal response. Conventional thermal models are based upon the fact that an object at an initial temperature (T1), exposed for predetermined period of time to an environmental temperature (Tenv.), the temperature of the object at the end the time period (T2) will be some temperature between T env. and T1. The basic equation is as follows:T2=T1+(Tenv.−T1)×F Where:
F=constant fraction (a number between 0 and 1)
This basic principle works well to represent the skin (i.e. outer layer) response of any object or to represent objects that are small and have a high thermal conductivity (like a metal wire). However, when the object in question has a large thermal mass and a complicated internal configuration with different materials, the thermal response of the inside parts lags the skin response and the mathematical equations describing the thermal response are not easy to develop.
Previously, an engineer needed to know a great deal about an object in order to generate a mathematical model describing, or predicting, its thermal behavior. The information set had to include the size, shape, and weight of the item, as well as certain material-of-construction properties such as, but not limited to, heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and heat transfer coefficient. Only then could a mathematical model of the item's thermal response be generated. The model then required validation with an instrument-laden version of the item in question. This had to be done to demonstrate the correlation between the values of temperature vs. time predicted by the model as compared to the actual values generated during testing. While the rise of computer technology has aided the process significantly, the creation of the initial model has always been a very cumbersome process requiring a great deal of time.
The present inventor is not the first to address the prediction of thermal behavior in an object. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,816 to Aderhold et al. discloses a technique and system for tuning temperature sensor readings in a thermal processing chamber that includes determining an actual temperature profile for a substrate based on measurements of the substrate. A simulated temperature profile for the substrate is calculated using a respective interim temperature correction value for one or more temperature sensors associated with the chamber. A Gaussian-like distribution for thermal contributions from multiple radiation sources in the chamber is used to simulate the temperature profile. The simulated temperature profile and the actual temperature profile are combined to form an estimated temperature profile. A final value for each respective temperature correction value is determined using an optimization algorithm which results in the estimated temperature profile being substantially uniform across the surface of the substrate. Each final temperature correction value is used as an offset to temperature measurements obtained from the corresponding temperature sensors. Unfortunately, the Aderhold et al. technique/system only generates a series of temperature correction values, it does not provide a thermal behavior model (i.e. each temperature correction value is used as an offset to actual temperature measurements obtained from a series of temperature sensors).
Additionally, generic curve fitting software is well-known. For example, a software application entitled "Curve Fitting Toolbox" is commercially-available from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass. (see "www.mathworks.com/products/curvefitting"). Unfortunately, significant re-programming effort and knowledge would be required to modify/customize a generic software application, such as that identified above, for use in thermal behavior modeling. Even then, the modified/customized application would not readily provide the user-friendly visual controls required to manually approximate non-linear regression by manipulating a set of generic curves to fit a set of actual measured curves.
Therefore, there remains a need for a thermal behavior modeling technique designed to predict the thermal response of an item, subjected to conditions meant to induce heat transfer within the item, via interpolation or extrapolation from a limited set of actual temperature data. The modeling technique should not require the copious amounts of data (e.g. item size, shape, and weight, material-of-construction heat capacity, thermal conductivity, and heat transfer coefficient) needed heretofore. The modeling technique should be simple to use through manipulation of a series of visual controls and sufficiently flexible (mathematically) for use in a variety of thermal response applications. Finally, the modeling technique should not require the use of proprietary software, but be capable of implementation using any readily available spreadsheet software application (e.g. Microsoft® Excel®) to provide for widespread use.

Mathematical model for predicting the thermal behavior of an item

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Provided are novel naphthalocyanine dimer compounds of the general formula: EQU RO--YNc--O--NcY--OR (I). wherein Nc represents a naphthalocyanine moiety, which can be substituted or unsubstituted; Y represents a central hetero atom of the naphthalocyanine moiety; and, OR represents an alkoxide cap bonded to the central hetero atom Y, with the first carbon atom of the alkoxide (OR) capping group being a tertiary carbon. Also provided is a method for preparing the dimer compounds, which method comprises reacting a naphthalocyanine dihalide in solution with a tertiary alcohol and a nucleophile. The process efficiently and reproducibly provides a naphthalocyanine oxo-bridged dimer having terminal alkoxide caps.

The present invention pertains to naphthalocyanine dimer compounds, and their use in optical recording media. More particularly, the present invention relates to naphthalocyanine oxo-bridged dimer compounds represented by the general formula: EQU RO--YNc--O--NcY--OR (I)
and the use of such compounds in the information layer of an optical information recording medium. The present invention also relates to a novel process for the preparation of such naphthalocyanine oxo-bridged dimer compounds.
The recording medium, of course, is one of the key elements in any optical information storage system. The commercial viability of the recording medium depends upon such technical parameters as the sharpness in recording and playback of the information, i.e., a high signal to noise ratio. Dyes and pigments have accordingly been employed in information layers of recording media, often to enhance the sensitivity of the recording layers at the particular wavelength of the laser being used, which results in a much sharper recording and playback of information.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,750 discloses an infrared sensitive optical recording composition containing as a component thereof a dispersion of a resinous binder and a soluble naphthalocyanine substituted on its aromatic rings with hydrogen or alkyl groups containing from 4 to about 8 carbon atoms. The central group of the naphthalocyanine compound is two hydrogen atoms, a divalent, trivalent, or tetravalent metal complex.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,179 discloses a naphthalocyanine compound wherein straight chain or branched chain alkyl groups of 5 to 12 carbon atoms are substituted on its aromatic rings with a metal such as Cu, Ni, Mg, Pb, Pd, V, Co, Nb, Al, Sn, In, Fe, and Ge, or its oxide, chloride or bromide, forming the central group of the naphthalocyanine compound. The use of the naphthalocyanine compound as a dyestuff in optical disks is also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,719,613 discloses a naphthalocyanine compound wherein an oxygen attached to straight chain or branched chain alkyl groups of 4 to 12 carbon atoms are substituted on its aromatic rings with a metal, metal oxide or metal halide forming the central group of the naphthalocyanine compound. The use of the naphthalocyanine compound as a dyestuff in optical disks is also disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,525 discloses a naphthalocyanine chromophore compound, e.g., a sulfonamidonaphthalocyanine having silicon or germanium as the central hetero atom, used as an information layer of the recording medium.
Lee Arnold Schechtman in his thesis Compounds, Poly(metallonaphthalocyanines) and Related Macrocyclic Compounds, August, 1983, Dept. of Chemistry, Case Western Reserve University, discloses a particular chromophore which absorbs light at the wavelength of about 770 nm, i.e., bis-tri-n-hexylsiloxysilicon naphthalocyanine. The suitability of such a chromophore for use in an optical recording medium, however, has heretofore not been suggested or explored.
While dyes or pigments have been employed in information storage layers of optical recording media due to their excellent absorption properties, the search for an improved dye or pigment exhibiting stability and intense absorption, as well as commercial viability due to its ease of preparation and reproducibility in said preparation synthesis, is continuously ongoing.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide naphthalocyanine compounds which can be prepared directly and easily, without the need for extreme precautions.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide dimer naphthalocyanine compounds exhibiting good stability and a usefulness in optical information storage media.
In another object of the present invention, a process for preparing such a dimer naphthalocyanine compound efficiently and inexpensively is provided, whereby the process uses a naphthalocyanine dihalide precursor.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a novel process for efficiently and effectively, as well as reproducibly, preparing a naphthalocyanine compound which is extremely useful in optical recording media applications, which compound absorbs at a wavelength of about 780 nm.
These and other objects, as well as the scope, nature and utilization of the invention, will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description and the appended claims.

Oxygen bridged naphthalocyanine dimers and their use in optical information storage media


A complementary MOS integrated circuit device has an MOS transistor of one conductivity type formed on a semiconductor substrate and an MOS transistor of another conductivity type opposite to the one conductivity type formed on the MOS transistor of one conductivity type through a separate layer. A dissimilar material whose nucleation density is sufficiently larger than that of the material of the separate layer and which is fine enough so that only a single nucleus of a semiconductor layer material grows is provided on the separate layer. The MOS transistor of the opposite conductivity type is formed in a monocrystalline semiconductor layer or substantial monocrystalline semiconductor layer provided by growing around the single nucleus formed on the hetero material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a complementary MOS integrated circuit device and, more particularly, to a complementary MOS integrated circuit device having an MOS transistor of one conductivity type formed on a semiconductor substrate and an MOS transistor of another conductivity type opposite to one conductivity type formed on the MOS transistor of one conductivity type through a separate layer.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, in a complementary MOS integrated circuit device, in general, on a silicon monocrystalline substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a silicon substrate) of the first conductivity type, a diffusion layer of the second conductivity type opposite to the first conductivity type of the silicon substrate is partially formed, an MOS transistor of the first conductivity type is formed on the diffusion layer of the second conductivity type, and an MOS transistor of the second conductivity type is formed on the silicon substrate of the first conductivity type.
An example of a constitution of such a conventional complementary MOS integrated circuit device will be explained. When an N-type silicon substrate is used, a first P-type diffusion layer called a P well is formed in the N-type silicon substrate and thereafter, a second P-type diffusion layer serving as drain/source of the P channel MOS transistor is formed in the N-type silicon substrate, and a first N-type diffusion layer serving as drain/source of an N channel MOS transistor is formed in the first P-type diffusion layer.
The foregoing complementary MOS integrated circuit device has a serious problem such that a latch-up occurs because a thyristor is constituted by a parasitic bipolar transistor which is formed due to the constitution of this device. In addition, this device has a problem such that the degree of integration is small since both of the P channel MOS transistor and the N channel MOS transistor are two-dimensionally laterally arranged. Various studies and improvements have been made to solve such problems. As one of them, there has been proposed a method whereby an N channel MOS transistor is formed on a P-type silicon substrate and thereafter, the N channel MOS transistor is covered by an insulative layer, a P channel MOS transistor is formed on a thin film formed on the insulative layer, and a complementary MOS integrated circuit of a multi-layer is formed. However, in the conventional thin film forming technique, in general, only a thin film of amorphous silicon or polysilicon can be grown on the insulative layer. Therefore, hitherto, there is used a method whereby a P channel MOS transistor is formed on a polysilicon thin film or a silicon thin film which has once grown is dissolved by a laser beam or the like so as to form a monocrystal.
However, the foregoing methods also have the following problems.
First, the method whereby the P channel MOS transistor is formed on the polysilicon thin film has a problem such that the channel mobility is remarkably smaller than that in the case where it is formed on a monocrystal. On the other hand, according to the method whereby the silicon thin film is dissolved to form a monocrystal, after an N channel MOS transistor was formed on the silicon substrate, the silicon thin film is dissolved. Thus, the temperature of the N channel MOS transistor rises and impurities are redistributed in the diffusion layer which has once been formed. Such a redistribution of the impurities which occurs after the N channel MOS transistor was formed causes the characteristic to remarkably deteriorate and becomes a serious problem in the fine MOS transistor which has recently been realized.

Complementary MOS integrated circuit device