A null symbol position detecting method, apparatus, and receiver for quickly and accurately detecting a null symbol from a broadcast signal containing it in any broadcast signal receiving environment. A digital audio broadcast (DAB) signal is received and tuned in and this signal is I/Q-demodulated. The I and Q signal obtained by the I/Q demodulation are delayed by an I-component delay circuit and a Q-component delay circuit respectively by one valid symbol period to form a delay signal Id and a delay signal Qd respectively. Correlation is obtained between the delay signals Id and Qd and the signals I and Q which are not delayed. The peak of this correlation is determined by a peak decision circuit. The level pattern of the peak is detected by a level pattern decision circuit. If a low-level peak is found, the length of the null symbol period is computed by a time interval decision circuit to determine whether the length is the same as that of the null symbol included in the received and tuned-in DAB signal, thereby detecting the null symbol position.

The present invention generally relates to a null symbol position detecting method and a null symbol position detecting apparatus for detecting a null symbol from signals such as DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) signal for example and to a receiver for receiving such a signal including null symbols.
Europe has started the provision of digital audio broadcast services of the European standard (Eureka 147) called DAB. DAB transmits a broadcast signal (or an ensemble signal) formed by multiplexing audio data of plural broadcast programs, various control information, and additional information. In this case, the audio data are encoded highly efficiently (data-compressed) by an international standard MPEG audio scheme to be transmission-line encoded by use of error-correction convolutional coding for example.
The bit streams of the encoded audio data and information are interleaved and modulated by OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex) before being transmitted.
This DAB broadcast signal has a frame structure as shown in FIG. 5. Namely, each frame consists of a synchronization channel, an FIC (Fast Information Channel), and an MSC (Main Service Channel).
As shown in FIG. 5, there are two synchronization symbols. A null symbol, one of the synchronization symbols, indicates the start position of each frame. In this null symbol, a TII (Transmitter Identification Information) is inserted by use of plural carriers. However, the null symbol has no information to be transmitted as data. A synchronization symbol that follows the null symbol provides synchronization information for obtaining frequency offset and time offset in the receiver.
There are three symbols in FIC (block 1 through block 3) for transmitting various pieces of broadcast-associated information if a DAB signal of mode 1 to be described is taken as example. For example, these FIC blocks convey an array of multiplexed broadcast programs, labels such as broadcast station name (ensemble label) and program name (program label), and information indicative of broadcast program type.
The MSC has data fields (transmission symbols) of plural multiplexed broadcast programs as shown in FIG. 5. Namely, plural pieces of audio data multiplexed on a DAB signal are the MSC data fields. Each of the MSC data fields consists of a guard band (or a guard interval) and a valid symbol as shown in FIG. 5.
The information of each guard band period is made equal to a part of the period of each valid symbol, for example, the information of a period indicated by period DK at the end of each valid symbol as shown in FIG. 5. This guard band significantly improves the quality of reception of a DAB signal on a moving vehicle like an automobile in such highly radio-reflective environments as urban and hilly districts, as compared with other modulation schemes. Namely, as long as a time difference between the first and last reflected waves does not exceed the guard band period, no inter-symbol interference takes place and there is no need for waveform equalization.
A DAB receiver uses the above-mentioned FIC-included information for broadcast program identification and the information about the multiplexing to extract and reproduce a user-specified broadcast program from the DAB signal multiplexed with plural broadcast programs, allowing the user to listen to audio broadcast of high sound quality.
In order to receive the above-mentioned DAB signal to tune in to a desired broadcast program, the beginning of each DAB signal frame must be identified to accurately extract the information that follows the synchronization symbol. Therefore, null symbol detection is executed in the receiver.
Normally, a null symbol position is detected by analog signal processing. Namely, when a DAB signal is received and envelope-detected, the level of the envelope waveform becomes low in the null symbol portion. Therefore, by comparing the envelope waveform with a reference voltage, a null detection signal can be generated. FIG. 6A shows a waveform of a received DAB signal, in which the low-level portion indicates the null symbol portion.
As a result of the comparison between the DAB signal (the received signal) and the reference signal shown in FIG. 6A, a null detection signal is formed in which it goes low during the period of the null symbol and high in the other portions as shown in FIG. 6B.
However, if the reference signal is set improperly or if a DAB signal is received on a moving vehicle on which an unwanted phenomenon such as fading takes place, the received signal is disturbed, resulting in poor reception of the DAB signal or causing a null detection signal to occur at positions where it should not.
For example, when a moving vehicle such as an automobile is moving at a high speed and a DAB signal is received on this moving vehicle, the envelope of the received signal becomes broad and narrow as shown in FIG. 7A. Namely, the envelope of the received signal becomes narrow in other portions than the null symbol period.
If this happens, the null detection signal becomes low indicative of the detection of a null symbol also at positions other than where it should be present, thereby causing null symbol erroneous detection, thereby failing quick and correct null symbol detection.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a null symbol position detecting method, a null symbol position detecting apparatus based on this method, and a receiver for receiving a broadcast signal including a null symbol, these being capable of quick and correct null symbol detection in any situation when using the broadcast signal including a null symbol.
In carrying out the invention and according to one aspect thereof, there is provided a null symbol position detecting method for receiving a signal and detecting a null symbol position from the received signal, in the signal of which a unit transmission frame has at least a null symbol at the beginning of the unit transmission frame and a plurality of transmission symbols following the null symbol, each of the plurality of transmission symbols having a guard band and a valid symbol, information included in a period of the guard band is made equal to information included in the valid symbol at an end thereof, and a length of a period of the null symbol is made different from a length of a period of each of the plurality of transmission symbols, the method comprising the steps of computing a correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by a length of a period of the valid symbol, and detecting the null symbol position on the basis of a variation in a period in which the correlation value is computed above a predetermined level.
According to the null symbol position detecting method, a signal multiplexed with a null symbol and one or more transmission symbols in a time division manner is received. A correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by one valid symbol period is computed. Because of the length of null symbol period is different from the length of transmission symbol period, the period in which a correlation value higher than a certain level is computed varies even within a unit transmission section (or a frame). A null symbol position is detected on the basis of this variation.
Thus, a null symbol position is detected on the basis of the variation in the period in which a correlation value higher than a certain level is computed. This permits the quick and accurate detection of null symbol position without being affected by the variation in the reception level of a received signal due to fading for example, always ensuring the quick and accurate null symbol position detection.
In carrying out the invention and according to another aspect thereof, there is provided a null symbol position detecting method, wherein a moving average for a period equal to the period of the guard band is computed for the correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by a length of a period of the valid symbol and the null symbol position is detected on the basis of a variation in a period in which the computed moving average peaks.
According to the null symbol position detecting method, a correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by one valid symbol period is computed. Because of the length of null symbol period is different from the length of transmission symbol period, the correlation value occurrence pattern varies within the unit transmission section in time or in correlation value level. The null symbol position is detected on the basis of this correlation value occurrence pattern.
Thus, a null symbol position is detected on the basis of correlation value occurrence pattern. This permits the quick and accurate detection of null symbol position without being affected by the variation in the reception level of a received signal due to fading for example, always ensuring the quick and accurate null symbol position detection.
In carrying out the invention and according to still another aspect thereof, there is provided a null symbol position detecting method, wherein the null symbol position is detected on the basis of a time interval in which the moving average peaks.
According to the null symbol position detecting method, the information of guard band period is made equal to the information of a portion (end portion) at the end of a valid symbol following that guard band, the portion (period) having the same length as the guard band period.
Therefore, for the correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by the valid symbol period, a moving average is computed for a period equal to the guard band period. Consequently, the value of the moving average of the correlation value is peaked at the end of each transmission symbol (namely, in the boundary between transmission symbols).
In the period in which transmission symbols continue, a peak-to-peak period of moving average correctly matches the transmission symbol period but, in the null symbol period, the peak level goes low. Therefore, the peak variation period and the peak occurrence pattern vary regularly, comparatively facilitating null symbol detection.
Thus, the null symbol position in the received signal can be quickly and accurately detected by use of the peak of the moving average of the correlation value as a correlation value and on the basis of the variation in the period of this peak or on the basis of the peak occurrence pattern.
In carrying out the invention and according to yet another aspect thereof, there is provided a null symbol position detecting method for receiving a signal and detecting a null symbol position from the received signal, in the signal of which a unit transmission frame has at least a null symbol at the beginning of the unit transmission frame and a plurality of transmission symbols following the null symbol, each of the plurality of transmission symbols having a guard band and a valid symbol, information included in a period of the guard band is made equal to information included in the valid symbol at an end thereof, and a length of a period of the null symbol is made different from a length of a period of each of the plurality of transmission symbols, the method comprising the steps of computing a correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by a length of a period of the valid symbol, computing, for the correlation value, a moving average for a period equal to the period of the guard band to detect peaking of the moving average, and detecting the null symbol position on the basis of an occurrence pattern in which the moving average peaks and a time interval in which the moving average peaks.
According to the null symbol position detecting method, the information of guard band period is made equal to the information of a portion (end portion) at the end of a valid symbol following that guard band, the portion (period) having the same length as the guard band period.
Therefore, for the correlation value between the received signal and a signal obtained by delaying the received signal by the valid symbol period, a moving average is computed for a period equal to the guard band period. Consequently, the value of the moving average of the correlation value is peaked at the end of each transmission symbol (namely, in the boundary between transmission symbols).
In the period in which transmission symbols continue, a peak-to-peak period of moving average correctly matches the transmission symbol period but, in the null symbol period, the peak level goes low. Hence, first, the reception of the null symbol is detected on the basis of the occurrence pattern of the moving average peak. Then, the peak-to-peak time interval is obtained. It is determined whether this time interval includes the null symbol period, thereby accurately detecting the null symbol position in the received signal.
The use of the moving average peak of the correlation value between received signals allows the detection of null symbol position without being affected by the reception level of the received signal. And the use of the peak-to-peak time interval allows the accurate detection of null symbol position without involving erroneous detection.

Null symbol position detecting method, null symbol position detecting apparatus, and receiver


A vehicle trailer includes large side panels that are attached to a trailer superstructure. A method and apparatus for making the panels includes forming composite panels that are lightweight and economical to manufacture. In one embodiment, the superstructure has grooves for receiving the composite panels. The composite panels preferably fit together via a tongue and groove configuration. Alternatively, the superstructure has support beams that have threaded receiving holes. Each composite panel then includes threaded inserts aligned with the receiving holes and that attach to the receiving holes. In both embodiments, each composite panel preferably includes at least an outer colored layer, a sheet of polymeric material attached to the colored layer and an inner layer attached to the polymeric material. Other layers can be added depending upon the use of the vehicle. For instance, a layer of insulating foam can be added if the vehicle is to be refrigerated. Further, an additional structural support layer can be added to increase the strength of the walls.

This invention generally relates to lightweight body panels used in vehicles having large generally planar panels.
Many vehicles including large trucks, trailers, vans, etc. have large generally planar side panels. Currently, the panels are made of sheets of metal or perhaps plywood attached to a metal superstructure. The metal sheets are typically galvanized steel or stainless steel. Plastic sheet molding compound may be added to the exterior of the assembled superstructure. However, the plastic sheet molding compound needs to be painted. This added step increases the complexity of the assembly and the cost to manufacture the vehicle.
There are several disadvantages to this current manufacturing process. The process is very labor intensive. Further, the panels are very heavy. The heavier the vehicle, the less cargo that can be hauled since there are weight restrictions to preserve and protect the roads.
Therefore, there is a need for more lightweight panels for vehicles to maximize the quantity of goods that can be hauled. There is also a need to simplify the construction and minimize the cost of producing the vehicles.
A disclosed vehicle uses composite panels to overcome the above problems of standard vehicles made from sheet metal or plywood. In general terms, this invention discloses a lightweight vehicle panel for vehicles having large planar side panels, such as freight trailers, recreational vehicle trailers, step vans, etc. The vehicles preferably include a superstructure and a plurality of layered composite panels that attach to the superstructure.
Each composite panel preferably includes an outer colored layer, a polymeric material attached to the outer colored layer and an inner layer attached to the polymeric material. The panels can also contain more layers as needed for its end use. For instance, a layer of insulating foam can be added. Also, an added layer of structural support can be added anywhere between the outer colored layer and the inner layer. Further, multiple layers of any desired material can be included in each composite panel to meet any required specification.
Preferably, the superstructure includes grooves for receiving the composite panels and the composite panels fit together by a tongue and groove configuration. Alternatively, the superstructure includes support beams having receiving holes. Each composite panel may include threaded inserts aligned with the receiving holes for attachment to the receiving holes.
There are several advantages to using the composite panels of the present invention. Since the panels are made primarily from polymeric materials, they are much lighter than sheet metal. Further, the composite panels do not absorb water like plywood. The panels and superstructure of the present invention are easy to manufacture and assemble compared to the current method of forming the sheet metal and riveting all the pieces together. As a result, the composite panels are less expensive to manufacture. Also, it is less expensive to operate vehicles using the composite panels because the vehicle can haul a heavier load.
These and other features of the invention may be best understood from the following specification and drawings. The following is a brief description of the drawings.

Vehicle with large planar composite panels


A cam device having a drive cam and a driven cam; and a friction engagement device having at least one friction plate and at least one separation plate are provided. The friction engagement device is configured so as to be put into a connected state by pressing the friction plate and the separation plate against each other by the driven cam, and a disconnected state. Also provided are a rotation transmission state switching device having a first member and a second member coaxially arranged, and a mode selecting part configured to rotate or displace in the axial direction according to rotation of the drive cam. The rotation transmission state switching device has at least one mode of a free mode and a lock mode of the first member and the second member, and a one-way clutch mode.

In response to the trend of consumption reduction of fossil fuel in recent years, research on electric automobiles and hybrid automobiles has been progressing, and some of them has been implemented. Because an electric motor which is a power source for electric automobiles and hybrid automobiles is different from an internal combustion engine (engine), which is driven by directly combusting a fossil fuel, in that characteristics of torque and rotation speed of an output shaft are suitable for automobiles (generally, the maximum torque is generated at startup), electric automobiles and hybrid automobiles are not necessarily required to be equipped with a transmission, unlike general automobiles having the internal combustion engine as a drive source. However, even when the electric motor is used as a drive source, acceleration performance and high-speed performance can be improved by providing the transmission. Specifically, by providing the transmission, a relation between the travelling speed and the acceleration of the vehicles can be made smooth to the degree close to that of automobiles equipped with a gasoline engine and including the transmission in a power transmission system. This point will be described with reference to FIG. 39.
When a power transmission device having a large reduction ratio is arranged, for example, at a portion between the output shaft of the electric motor and an input part of a differential gear connected to a drive wheel, a relation between the acceleration (G) and the travelling speed (km/h) of the electric automobile is as indicated by a solid line a in FIG. 39. That is, although acceleration performance at a low speed is excellent, traveling at a high speed is not possible. To the contrary, when a power transmission device having a small reduction ratio is arranged at the portion therebetween, the relation is as indicated by a chain line b in FIG. 39. That is, although traveling at a high speed is possible, acceleration performance at a low speed is deteriorated. On the other hand, when a transmission is provided between the output shaft and the input part so that the reduction ratio of this transmission is changed according to a vehicle speed, characteristics such that a section of the solid line a on the left side of a point P and a section of the chain line b on the right side of the point P are continuously connected to each other is obtained. This characteristic is almost similar to that of gasoline engine automobiles having almost the same output as indicated by a broken line c in FIG. 39, which has revealed that in regard to the acceleration performance and the high-speed performance, performance equivalent to that of gasoline engine automobiles including the transmission in the power transmission system can be obtained.
JP05-116549A discloses the structure of a drive unit for electric automobiles for transmitting torque of the output shaft of the electric motor to the differential gear through a two-speed transmission (with the speed reduced by the two-speed transmission) which is formed by combining a pair of planetary gear mechanisms and a pair of brakes. In this drive unit for electric automobiles, by switching between a state where rotation of the components of the pair of planetary gear mechanisms is possible and a state where the rotation is not possible on the basis of switching a connected/disconnected state of the pair of brakes, the reduction ratio between the output shaft of the electric motor and the differential gear is able to be switched in high and low two speeds.

Motive power transmission route switching device and two-speed transmission


A control system and a method for controlling operation of a wind turbine are disclosed. A first sensor and a second sensor are arranged for sampling or continuously measuring a first physical value and a second physical value being representative of a first physical impact and a second physical impact on components of the wind turbine in order to provide a first and a second control parameter for controlling operation of the wind turbine. The first and second control parameters are distinct. During active generation of energy the control system is adapted to selectively switch between controlling the operation of the wind turbine either on the basis of the first control parameter or on the basis of the second control parameter, i.e. to selectively switch between two different, distinct and independent control strategies. The two control strategies allow redundancy in control of the operation of the wind turbine. Both control strategies are based on measurements of actual physical impacts affecting the components of the wind turbine, thereby making it possible to control the wind turbine in a more optimal manner than when using prior art control systems and methods, regardless of which control strategy is selected.

Wind turbines are normally controlled in accordance with a control strategy based on one or more measured control parameters, such as wind speed, wind direction, etc. Accordingly, a control system used for controlling operation of a wind turbine is normally connected to one or more sensors, each sensor being arranged to measure a specific control parameter.
In most cases the control parameters are measured by means of separate sensors measuring quantities which do not have a direct impact on the components of the wind turbine. For instance, wind speed is often measured by means of a wind speed sensor, such as a cup anemometer or an ultrasonic wind sensor, positioned on top of the nacelle of the wind turbine or at a separate position in the vicinity of the wind turbine. Such a wind speed sensor measures the wind speed in a single point, and therefore such a measurement is not necessarily representative of the wind speed occurring in the wind field of the entire rotational plane of the rotor blades of the wind turbine. Furthermore, in the case that the wind speed sensor is arranged on top of the nacelle, the measured value of the wind speed may be influenced by disturbances in the wind field caused by the rotor blades. Accordingly, relying on such measured values of the wind speed when controlling the operation of the wind turbine introduces a certain level of unreliability, thereby making it difficult, or even impossible, to control the wind turbine optimally.
It is therefore desirable to be able to control the wind turbine based on control parameters obtained in a more reliable manner.
It is sometimes difficult or impossible to obtain reliable values of a preferred control parameter. This may, e.g., be because the sensor used for measuring the control parameter is out of order, or because the operating conditions are such that the sensor does not operate reliably, e.g. due to fog, heavy rain or snow, ice formation, etc. In this case it is desirable to be able to control the operation of the wind turbine in accordance with a control strategy based on another control parameter which can be measured in a reliable manner.
GB 2 067 247 discloses a wind turbine having pressure probes mounted at the surface of the rotor blades for ascertaining the wind energy in the rotor plane. The indications from the pressure probes are used during normal operation of the wind turbine. An anemometer is placed on top of the nacelle for measuring wind speed on top of the nacelle. The anemometer is used for control of the wind turbine outside the operating range of the turbine, when the turbine is on standstill due to absence of wind or in case of a storm. However, the anemometer suffers from the drawbacks described above, i.e. it only measures the wind speed in one point and the measurement may be disturbed by the rotating rotor blades. Accordingly, measured values from the anemometer can not be used for controlling the wind turbine in accordance with a control strategy requiring precise information regarding physical impact on the wind turbine.
WO 2006/069573 discloses a wind turbine comprising equipment under control. The wind turbine comprises at least one control system for one or more of the main components of the wind turbine. The control system is multiplied by at least one further control system for controlling the same of said equipment under control. It is possible to switch between using the first and the second control system, and redundancy is thereby obtained. However, the control systems monitor same the control parameter(s), and the applied control strategy is therefore not changed when a switch from one control system to another is performed, i.e. the operation of the wind turbine is controlled on the basis of a given control parameter, regardless of which of the control systems is used.

Control system and a method for redundant control of a wind turbine


An engine control apparatus includes a target air volume calculator which calculates a target air volume required by an engine, and an actual air volume calculator which calculates an actual air volume inhaled into a cylinder of the engine. The apparatus further includes an estimator which calculates the estimated value of subsequent actual air volume on the basis of a time lag from a time when the target air volume is calculated to a time when the actual air volume reaches the target air volume. The apparatus can accurately estimate an intake air volume inhaled into the cylinder to improve the controllability of the engine.

Typical engine control requires control of fuel injection rate, intake air volume, ignition timing, and other operational parameters in response to output requirements for an engine. The fuel injection rate and intake air volume influence the air-to-fuel ratio, and the timing of ignition influences combustion efficiency and stability in a cylinder. Thus, the accuracy of calculating these control parameters significantly affects the output and emission performance of the engine.
A known calculating method used for such engine control is a differential estimation correction method. The differential estimation correction method extrapolates the slope of a variable actual intake air volume inhaled into a cylinder to estimate the subsequent intake air volume.
For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. HEI-07-259621) discloses a technique which calculates the estimated value of the air volume inhaled into a cylinder, and then calculates the fuel injection rate on the basis of that estimated value for an engine control apparatus which injects fuel before the inlet stroke is finished.
This technique involves calculation of a difference between the latest intake air volume and the second latest intake air volume on the basis of a value detected by an air flow sensor which periodically detects the intake air volume for each engine rotation and estimation of the subsequent intake air volume through addition of the newest intake air volume to a value obtained by multiplying this difference by a predetermined estimation gain. Such a method can estimate an accurate intake air volume, and can prevent the variation of the air-to-fuel ratio and torque through the control of the fuel injection rate on the basis of the estimated intake air volume.
Unfortunately, in this predictive method, the accuracy of the estimated value may be decreased when the slope of the intake air volume varies. For example, FIGS. 4A, 4B are graphs showing examples of the variations of the actual intake air volume (actual air volume) and estimated value. In these graphs, the actual air volume for every stroke is calculated for a four-stroke four-cylinder engine wherein the estimated value is calculated two strokes before the actual air volume is calculated. The estimated value of the actual air volume is obtained by doubling the difference between the latest actual air volume and the second latest actual air volume (estimation gain is two) wherein the fuel injection rate is set on the basis of this estimated value.
FIG. 4A indicates a constant slope of the actual air volume, while FIG. 4B indicates a variable slope of the actual air volume. The horizontal axis of the graph represents time, in which vertical lines drawn for each half rotation (180 degrees) of a crankshaft indicate the boundaries of each stroke. The vertical axis of the graph corresponds to the air volume (the actual air volume, and the estimated value thereof). It should be noted that in the graphs, the thick solid line represents the actual air volume, the dashed line represents the estimated value thereof, and the thin solid line represents the actual air volume after two strokes.
Since the actual air volume does not vary from time S0 to time S2 in the graph, the estimated value is equal to the actual air volume. When the actual air volume varies after time S2, the estimated value is calculated according to the variation. At that time, if the variation of the actual air volume per unit time is fixed, the increment from time S2 to time S3 is equal to the increment from time S3 to time S4 and the actual air volume hereinafter increases at a fixed rate. As a result, a value obtained by doubling the variation of the actual air volume per stroke is substantially equal to an increment of the actual air volume after two strokes at time S2. In this way, the subsequent actual air volume can be estimated at a point two strokes before. In other words, as shown in FIG. 4A, the dashed line varies so as to follow the thin solid line after time S2.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the case that the variation of the actual air volume per unit time is not fixed, a gap is caused between the estimated value and the actual air volume after two strokes, the accuracy of the estimation of the actual air volume depends on the slope of the actual air volume after the actual air is estimated.
For example, between time S2 and time S3 where the slope of the actual air volume increases, a value obtained by doubling the variation, between time S2 and time S3, is calculated as the estimated value regardless of a subsequent increase in the actual intake air volume; hence the dashed line goes below the thin solid line, and the estimated value becomes smaller than the actual air volume after two strokes. A shaded area between time S0 and time S3 corresponds to the shortfall of the air volume as the estimated value. On the contrary, the slope of the actual air volume decreases after time S3, and the dashed line goes over the thin solid line, so that the surplus of the air volume, shown by a shaded area, is included in the estimated value.
As described above, the conventional method in which the intake air volume is estimated on the basis of the slope of the actual air volume inhaled into the cylinder has a large estimation error. Unfortunately it is difficult to accurately estimate the intake air volume in a transient state in which the change rate of the intake air volume increases and decreases. The variation of the air-to-fuel ratio and torque caused by such a low estimation accuracy may result in low controllability of the engine.

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


This invention provides an improved method for stripping hydrocarbons from spent catalyst which has been used in effecting hydrocarbon conversion reactions prior to the regeneration of this catalyst by combustion of carbon deposits upon the catalyst. The invention is described in terms of its use in FCC processes, since such processes are the most common application of the invention. In order to better distribute stripping gas, which is normally steam, so that the gas contacts and passes through substantially all of the catalyst, distribution ports are added to the skirts of the stripper baffles which direct catalyst flow in a generally side-to-side manner as it moves downward through a stripping vessel. The ports are sized to vary penetration of the stripping gas into the stream catalyst that moves past the grids. Use of these ports increases the amount of hydrocarbons removed from the spent catalyst and/or decreases stripping gas requirements.

Fluidized bed catalytic cracking (commonly referred to as FCC) processes were developed during the 1940's to increase the quantity of naphtha boiling range hydrocarbons which could be obtained from crude oil. Fluidized catalytic cracking processes are now in widespread commercial use in petroleum refineries to produce lighter boiling point hydrocarbons from heavier feedstocks such as atmospheric reduced crudes or vacuum gas oils. Such processes are utilized to reduce the average molecular weight of various petroleum-derived feed streams and thereby produce lighter products, which have a higher monetary value than heavy fractions. Though the feed to an FCC process is usually a petroleum-derived material, liquids derived from tar sands, oil shale or coal liquefaction may be charged to an FCC process. Today, FCC processes are also used for the cracking of heavy oil and reduced crudes. Although these processes are often used as reduced crude conversion, use of the term FCC in this description applies to heavy oil cracking processes as well.
Differing designs of FCC units may be seen in the articles at page 102 of the May 15, 1972 edition and at page 65 of the Oct. 8, 1973 edition of "The Oil & Gas Journal".
Other examples of FCC processes can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,364,905 (Fahrig et al); 4,051,013 (Strother); 3,894,932 (Owen); and 4,419,221 (Castagnos, Jr. et al) and the other FCC patent references discussed herein.
An FCC process of the most common design involves contacting a charge stock in a reaction zone with a finely divided solid catalytic material which is pneumatically conveyed through the reaction zone by a fluidizing medium. The fluidizing medium can include steam, light and vaporized feed components which are converted by contact with the catalyst. The catalyst is described as being in a fluidized state because it behaves as a fluid while it is transported by the fluidizing medium. Contact of the catalyst particles with the feed covers the catalyst with a hydrocarbonaceous material referred to as coke. Coke is a by-product of the cracking reaction and is comprised of carbon, hydrogen, and other materials present in the feed, such as sulfur. Coke blocks cracking sites on the catalyst and deactivates the catalyst. Such catalyst is generally referred to as spent catalyst. Therefore, after passage through the reaction zone, spent catalyst is transferred to a regeneration zone where the coke is removed from the catalyst by combustion. An oxygen-containing gas, typically air, is mixed with the catalyst in the regenerator at sufficient temperature to initiate the oxidation of the coke deposits to carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Removal of coke via oxidation reactivates the catalyst which is withdrawn from the regenerator and returned to the reactor to complete the continuous operation of the FCC unit.
A majority of the hydrocarbon vapors that contact the catalyst in the reaction zone are separated from the solid particles by ballistic and/or centrifugal separation methods. However, the catalyst particles employed in an FCC process have a large surface area, which is due to a great multitude of pores located in the particles. As a result, the catalytic materials retain hydrocarbons within their pores and upon the external surface of the catalyst. Although the quantity of hydrocarbon retained on each individual catalyst particle is very small, the large amount of catalyst and the high catalyst circulation rate which is typically used in a modern FCC process results in a significant quantity of hydrocarbons being withdrawn from the reaction zone with the catalyst.
Therefore, it is common practice to remove, or strip, hydrocarbons from spent catalyst prior to passing it into the regeneration zone. It is important to remove retained spent hydrocarbons from the spent catalyst for process and economic reasons. First, hydrocarbons that entered the regenerator increase its carbon-burning load and can result in excessive regenerator temperatures. Stripping hydrocarbons from the catalyst also allows recovery of the hydrocarbons as products. Avoiding the unnecessary burning of hydrocarbons is especially important during the processing of heavy (relatively high molecular weight) feedstocks, since processing these feedstocks increases the deposition of coke on the catalyst during the reaction (in comparison to the coking rate with light feedstocks) and raises the combustion load in the regeneration zone. Higher combustion loads lead to higher temperatures which at some point may damage the catalyst or exceed the metallurgical design limits of the regeneration apparatus.
The most common method of stripping the catalyst passes a stripping gas, usually steam, through a flowing stream of catalyst, countercurrent to its direction of flow. Such steam stripping operations, with varying degrees of efficiency, remove the hydrocarbon vapors which are entrained with the catalyst and hydrocarbons which are adsorbed on the catalyst.
Stripping of hydrocarbon vapors from the catalyst requires only contact of the catalyst with a stripping medium. This contact may be accomplished in a simple open vessel as demonstrated by U.S. Pat. No. 4,481,103.
In the past, the efficiency of catalyst stripping has been increased by using a series of baffles in a stripping apparatus to cascade the catalyst from side to side as it moves down the stripping apparatus. Moving the catalyst horizontally increases contact between it and the stripping medium. Increasing the contact between the stripping medium and catalyst removes more hydrocarbons from the catalyst.
As shown by U.S. Pat. No. 2,440,625, the use of angled guides for increasing contact between the stripping medium and catalyst has been known since 1944. In these arrangements, the catalyst is given a labyrinthine path through a series of baffles located at different levels. Catalyst and gas contact is increased by this arrangement that leaves no open vertical path of significant cross-section through the stripping apparatus. Further examples of similar stripping devices for FCC units are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,440,620; 2,612,438; 3,894,932; 4,414,100; and 4,364,905. These references show the typical stripper arrangement having a stripper vessel, a series of baffles in the form of frustoconical sections that direct the catalyst inward onto a baffle in a series of centrally located conical or frusto-conical baffles that divert the catalyst outward onto the outer baffles. The stripping medium enters from below the lower baffle in the series and continues rising upward from the bottom of one baffle to the bottom of the next succeeding baffle. Variations in the baffles include the addition of skirts about the trailing edge of the baffle as depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 2,994,659 and the use of multiple linear baffle sections at different baffle levels as demonstrated by FIG. 3 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,423. A variation in introducing the stripping medium is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,801 where a quantity of fluidizing gas is admitted at a number of discrete locations.
In another form of gas-solid contact apparatus, presented in U.S. Pat. No. 2,460,151 (Sinclair), it has been shown that upward flowing reactants or vapors can be collected underneath a series of troughs and vented out the sides of the troughs through a series of louvers. However, this apparatus will not function in the manner of the previously described stripping devices since its arrangement provides a checkerboard pattern of open vertical passages through all trough levels. The '151 patent also attaches no particular importance to the design or provision of the louvers in the sides of the troughs.
In order to achieve good stripping of the catalyst and the increased product yield and enhanced regenerator operation associated therewith, relatively large amounts of stripping medium have been required. For the most common stripping medium, steam, the average requirement throughout the industry is well above 1.5 kg of steam per 1000 kg of catalyst for thorough catalyst stripping. The costs associated with this addition of fluidizing medium are significant. In the case of steam, the costs include capital expenses and utility expenses associated with supplying the steam and removing the resulting water via downstream separation facilities. Therefore, any reduction in the amount of steam required to achieve good catalyst stripping will yield substantial economic benefits to the FCC process.
It has now been discovered that good catalyst stripping can be achieved using conventional FCC stripping methods and devices with up to one-half or less of the stripping medium that was formerly used. These results are achieved by modifying the operation of the stripper baffles in accordance with this invention.


Many law enforcement officers have lower back problems arising from the habitual wearing of what is generally known as a “Sam Browne” duty belt. Workmen's Compensation now presumes any lower back ailment suffered by a law enforcement officer was caused by a duty belt; and consequently, automatically covers such back problem. A duty belt seat accessory for minimizing excessive pressure on the lower back of a law enforcement officer when he wears a duty belt is disclosed. The seat accessory comprises: a lower back portion having a minimal thickness; an upper back portion having a thickness generally exceeding the thickness of the lower back portion and the equipped duty belt; and, a strap to maintain the back portion in an upright position adjacent to a seat. When the officer leans back his back is supported largely by the upper back portion of the seat accessory and there is no excessive back pressure on his lower back as a result of the equipped duty belt he is wearing.

One of the inventors is a Doctor of Chiropractic who has treated many law enforcement officers for lower back problems arising from the habitual wearing of what is generally known as a "Sam Browne" duty belt. The other of the inventors is a Police Captain who has field familiarity with his officers who have suffered lower back pain. Officers are required to wear duty belts around their waists to carry handcuffs, flashlights, back up revolvers, and other varying selected equipment. Law enforcement officers expend extensive time periods sitting in and operating patrol vehicles. The relatively non-compressible, bulky, and heavy duty belts are then pressed between the lower backs of the officer's and the seats of the patrol vehicles. Excessive pressure is placed on the lower back and spine.
Not surprisingly, lower back problems are common among law enforcement officers who are required to wear duty belts. In Jan. 1, 2001 Workmen's Compensation introduced a presumption that any lower back ailment suffered by a law enforcement officer who had been employed as such for more than 5 years, presumably was caused by duty belts; and consequently, automatically covered under Workmen's Compensation.

Lumbar support for law enforcement officers


In one aspect, a device may include at least one processor and storage accessible to the at least one processor. The storage may include instructions executable by the at least one processor to access a first frame of RGB video content corresponding to a first time, access a first frame of IR video content corresponding to the first time, and access data from a depth sensor corresponding to the first time. The instructions may also be executable to determine whether at least a portion of the first frame of the RGB video content correlates to at least a portion of the first frame of the IR video content and/or the data from the depth sensor. Responsive to a determination that it does, the instructions may be executable to authenticate the RGB video content and indicate the RGB video content as being authenticated via a graphical user interface.

As recognized herein, so-called "deep fake" technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate real-looking but fictional digital videos that show a certain real-life person as apparently saying things that the person never in fact said. If that were not bad enough, the present disclosure recognizes that the consequences of being duped by a deep fake are particularly acute in video conference settings where, owing to the remote nature of the video conference, a certain person's likeness may be spoofed in real-time without others knowing. This in turn can lead to the disclosure of private, sensitive, and/or confidential information to the unauthorized party doing the spoofing. This can also lead to the person's likeness being abused to convey unauthorize instructions and other information that can have a devastating impact on the person's personal and professional life. Verbal abuse of other video conference participants can also occur. The present disclosure recognizes that there are currently no adequate solutions to the foregoing computer-related, technological problem.

Authentication of RGB video based on infrared and depth sensing


A process and a plant are proposed for producing dark chocolate which make it possible to produce dark chocolate, in particular also single-variety dark chocolate, having a high cocoa content without cocoa powder needing to be produced and/or added. By means of a partial defatting of the cocoa mass in a process step which is connected upstream of the mixing, grinding and/or conching, the fat content in the cocoa mass is reduced to the extent that dark chocolates can be produced having a high cocoa content without cocoa powder needing to be added. The partial defatting of the cocoa mass is preferably carried out using a decanter (50). The cocoa butter fraction (2) according to the invention occurs on decanting as a high-fat fraction which still contains a fraction of 17 to 21% by weight, a maximum of 30% by weight, of fat-free cocoa dry matter. In the novel process according to the present invention, the expenditure for producing a highly defatted cocoa powder is avoided, since the cocoa mass (11) is only defatted to the point that the mass produced therefrom can be comminuted without problem using rollers (30) and can subsequently be conched. The cocoa butter fraction is added during conching after the comminution in a ball mill.

The demand for dark chocolate having a high cocoa content has increased greatly internationally in recent years. Scientific studies in which it has been found that the consumption of dark chocolate protects the cardiovascular system may have contributed to bitter chocolates and refined bitter chocolates, that is to say dark chocolates having high cocoa fractions of greater than 70 to up to 99% by weight being consumed more often.
However, dark chocolate is not experiencing increasing popularity only owing to its high content of antioxidants, such as, for example flavonoids such as epicatechin, but especially because of its intense flavour. Gourmets also value single-variety chocolates, in addition to a high cocoa content. Such chocolates are distinguished in that they are produced from cocoa beans of individual noble cocoa varieties such as, for example, the Criollo or Arriba varieties which are native to Central and South America. Since, as in the cultivation of cocoa, as in viticulture, the position of the cultivation areas has a decisive effect on the quality of the cocoa beans, the single-variety chocolates are preferably produced from beans of known cultivation areas and provenances. A connoisseur who prizes the intense richness of aroma of a noble Arriba cocoa, will prefer a chocolate which originates from beans from the low-lying tropical coastal area of Ecuador. If a chocolate having a milder character is wanted, then, for example cocoa from Madagascar, preferably from the northwest island region Sambirano will be selected, which guarantees a balanced, fruity mild character of the chocolate.
For the understanding of the present invention, it is critical to know the traditional production processes for chocolate. An introduction thereto may be obtained, for example, from the pamphlet Chocologie der Chocosuisse, Münzgraben 6, CH 3000 Bern, of 2001. Therefore, hereinafter, only the essential steps in chocolate production will be briefly considered.
Various cocoa varieties and provenances are blended according to company-specific, and frequently highly secret, recipes from the individual manufacturers. The blending ratios have critical effects on the flavour of the respective chocolate.
The shells are removed from the beans and the beans are broken into medium-size pieces, called nibs. The shells are separated from the cocoa nibs by sieving and suction. In the subsequent roasting, primary refining and intensification of the aroma of the broken cocoa beans is sought.
In the subsequent grinding, the coarse nibs are comminuted in mills and ground to a fine cocoa mass. Known mills are fly cutter and ball mills. By means of the heat formed during grinding and as a result of the mechanical disruption of the fat-containing plant cells, the fat proportion contained in the cocoa beans, called cocoa butter, is released and the cocoa mass liquefies. Depending on cocoa variety, the fraction of cocoa butter present in the beans, the melting range of which is approximately 30 to 37° C., is about 50 to 55% by weight, in exceptional cases up to 56% by weight. Provenance plays an important role in the fat content, wherein customarily for beans of the main harvest fat contents of 51 to 53% by weight can be counted upon.
The cocoa mass formed on grinding is a dark thick mass which solidifies on cooling to room temperature. The Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten applied as early as 1828 for a patent for a hydraulic press for defatting cocoa mass. The cocoa butter fraction of the liquid cocoa mass was able to be reduced thereby to about 27 to 28%. Today, the fat proportion of the cocoa mass, that is to say the cocoa butter, is customarily pressed off in high-performance presses at temperatures of 80° C. and 90° C. and a pressure of 500 bar. The defatted press cake must subsequently be ground in a further processing step to give cocoa powder. The press cake routinely contains a fat proportion of 10 to 12%, or of 20 to 22%. In order that it still may be able to be processed to powder, it must have a maximum fat content of 30%. The liquid fraction which is expressed, that is to say the cocoa butter, is principally used for producing chocolate, but can also be used in cosmetics and pharmaceutical products.
For producing the cocoa butter and the cocoa powder, some of the cocoa mass is fed to hydraulic high-performance presses which, at temperatures of 80° C. to 90° C., and a pressure of 500 bar, reduce the fat content in the cocoa mass to 10 to 22% by weight (hereinafter, all percentages are taken to mean percent by weight, unless explicitly stated otherwise). When the cocoa butter is expressed from the cocoa mass, what is termed "cocoa cake" is formed, almost as a by-product, the fat content of which after pressing varies between 10 and 22%. Alternatively to the known pressing processes, it was proposed in DE 102 53 810 to remove the cocoa butter from finely ground cocoa mass by means of centrifugation and thereby to improve the yield of cocoa butter, that is to say to reduce the fat content of the cocoa powder. Other processes for producing highly defatted cocoa powder are known from US 2006/0198932. Here, it is proposed to process cocoa mass in a continuous extraction process using solvents to give cocoa powder having a fat content of down to below 0.5% by weight. The organic solvents are mixed with the cocoa mass in a tank with supply of heat, and subsequently the solid and liquid phases of the low-viscosity suspension are separated from one another in a horizontal decanter centrifuge. The solid phase or powder phase obtained in this manner is heated further with organic solvent in a second step and fed a second time to the centrifuge. From the solid phase of the second extraction step, the organic solvent must then again be evaporated off. The liquid fractions of cocoa butter and solvent must likewise be post-treated in order to remove the solvent.
The high amount of effort required to obtain the cocoa butter is explained firstly by the value of the noble fat with its distinct aroma which, when filtered and purified is similar to best fresh butter in appearance, but is significantly harder. In the finished chocolate, it has a great share in the structure, gloss and the pleasant melt. Although cocoa butter is traded in great style, single-variety cocoa butter is hardly obtainable on the market at all. In principle, in processes for obtaining cocoa butter, there is always interest in the maximum yield of the liquid cocoa butter phase. In the process for defatting the cocoa mass, the focus correspondingly lies on the maximum yield of the dry phase.
Depending on what chocolate variety is to be produced, in the subsequent process steps the ingredients and their quantitative fractions are selected according to certain base recipes and they are added in a defined sequence.
On a national or regional level, appropriate acts and regulations establish precisely in what limits the blending ratios may vary and what ingredients may be used.
For producing dark chocolate having a high cocoa content, generally, according to the base recipe, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla or vanillin are used. These ingredients are finely divided and kneaded in a mixer until a homogeneous pasty mass has formed which, however, is perceived as sandy, since the cocoa particles and the sugar are still present at a size in the range from 20 to 500 μm. In addition, the mass still contains a number of unwanted constituents which adversely effect the flavour.
In order to optimize the sensory properties, the mass is comminuted in a roll mill under the action of pressure and shear forces down to a particle size of below 20 μm.
The odour and flavour substances which are unwanted and disadvantageous for the aroma of the chocolate, which are present, for example, as volatile acids, and which are still present in the roll-milled mass, are removed in the subsequent conching. The intensive shear and friction forces (internal friction) and the intense aeration to which the roll-milled mass is exposed during conching contribute critically to the improvement in taste and sensory properties of the chocolate. In earlier times, conching was performed for up to several days. Thanks to modern conching processes, the processing time in modern turnover conchees can be reduced to a few hours. Nevertheless this ensures that the highest homogeneity and smoothness are achieved, and the individual components of the chocolate are bound together in flavour. A fine film of cocoa butter deposits around each of the microscopically small sugar and cocoa particles.
After completion of conching, the liquid chocolate mass can be stored temporarily at 45 to 50° C. Immediately before the moulding process it is precrystallized. The precrystallization also called tempering, is a critical process since it is responsible for the soft melt, the silky gloss and the rounded flavour of the solidified chocolate. In addition, it plays an important role for the storage life of the finished chocolate. The dark chocolate mass, during the precrystallization, is warmed with gentle movement to 50° C., then cooled to about 27 to 29° C., and again warmed to about 29 to 32° C. It has then reached the correct flow property and crystallization precursor, and so, after pouring into the moulds and solidification, problem-free removal from the moulds is guaranteed.
According to the known production processes for dark chocolates having a high cocoa content, cocoa powder must be added in the mixer, since the cocoa mass having a customary fat content of greater than 50% by weight cannot be further processed using rolls. If a high cocoa content must be achieved, the fat content may only be reduced to a certain extent by adding sugar, and so efficient rolling is only possible after addition of cocoa powder.


A method and apparatus for positioning and tracking a Random Access Memory (RAM) optical head over an information storage media having a plurality of tracks formed by optically readable deformations ("pits") in the media including, a central controller, a laser diode optical-system carrying head which is movable transversely of the tracks in incremental steps for coarse positioning of the head over a selected band of tracks and a servomechanism which positions the laser's objective lens over a specifically addressed track and maintains it there until another track is addressed. Also discussed is a unique method of generating a tracking error signal as an input to the servomechanism which includes the asynchronous detection of a sector mark and the generation of an independent clocking signal from the synchronous detection of off-track pairs of pits spaced uniformly between other data in the track to produce the tracking error signal.

This invention relates to the positioning and tracking of the read/write head in an information storage system utilizing optically readable media. More specifically, the optical head utilizes a seek system of open loop coarse positioning over a band of tracks on the media disk together with a closed loop servo system to obtain accurate and precise positioning of the head over the desired track within the band. Once the desired track is found, the invention combines a unique media data format with a closed loop error detection circuit to cause the optical head to follow the track during a revolution of the media disk despite track runout and other inherent variations.
It has been known for some time that digital information systems with high storage densities can be achieved through the use of optical storage media. Implementation of this technology has been hindered, however, by a number of technical barriers. In particular, difficulty has been encountered in quickly achieving precise head-to-track alignment when moving along the radial axis of the media disk to find the addressed track, in staying in alignment with the rotating track, and in maintaining synchronization between the data on the various track sectors with the data recovery and decoding circuitry. These difficulties are more pronounced in optical media storage systems because a smaller amount of media area is allocated to each information track and thus more precise head to track alignment is required. A small media disk may contain over 12,500 tracks in a radial space of approximately twenty-three millimeters and have a track to track spacing of less than 2 micrometers. For a high performance system it is necessary to access the addressed track in a short time and then to accurately follow it so that substantive data may be written or read.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide positioning and tracking apparatus for the read/write head of an optically responsive information storage system which will overcome the deficiencies and high cost considerations of past systems and which will rapidly seek, find and follow the addressed track.
A second object of the invention is to create a media storage disk having circular or helical data carrying tracks which are grouped into a number of coarse bands, any one band of which can be accessed by an open loop coarse head positioning apparatus.
A third object of the invention is to provide fine head positioning and tracking apparatus which will seek and follow a single addressed track within the band.
A further object of the invention is to eliminate the cumbersome and duplicative "pre-groove" system of tracking found in the prior art and utilize for such purpose a plurality of fields of off-track center line position (servo) data bits embedded in the media and interspersed at intervals between other data fields.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a track format for the media which will implement the fine positioning and tracking objectives and which at the same time will insure the precise synchronization of the data decoding circuitry with the data recorded on the media disk.
Another object of the invention is to provide a tracking servo system which is invariant (to the first order) to discrepancies in the far field pattern of laser light sources enabling maximum flexibility in laser diode selection and reduced cost and complexity of the read/write optical system.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a head tracking system that substantially reduces the required alignment precision between the light beam and the detector, where the alignment tolerance is now limited only by the photodetector size.
Still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon a reading of the following detailed description of a preferred form of the invention.

RAM head positioning and tracking system


A stand for holding a message or felicitation card vial and flower includes a generally planar base having a front edge and an upright plate extending upwardly from the front edge of the base, and having a top edge and a front face which faces forwardly of the front edge of the base, where the upright plate includes tabs for holding the card flat against the front face of the plate. Extending rearwardly of the top edge of the upright plate is an annulus which defines a circular opening, and on which is mounted a sleeve extending vertically upwardly from about the opening, directly above the base. A vial having an open upper end and a closed lower end is provided for disposition in the sleeve so that the closed lower end rests on the base and the open upper end is directed upwardly to receive and hold the stem of a flower.

This invention relates to a combination message card and stemed-object holder or stand.
It has been tradition since time out of mind to express love, appreciation or sympathy by giving or sending flowers along with a card carrying the desired message. A variety of devices and structures have been devised for holding and presenting either the flowers or a flower, the card, or, in some cases, a combination of the two. An example of the latter device involves a structure having a base plate, a tube extending upwardly from the base plate for holding the stem of a flower, and a card holding plate also extending upwardly from the base plate and spaced from the tube. Such structure, although serving to hold both a card and a single flower, is bulky, difficult to manufacture since it requires assembling and attaching three separate parts together, and is generally aesthetically distracting.

Apparatus for displaying a card and an object having a stem


A micromechanical sensor for measuring at least a first pressure of a first medium, as well as a method for manufacturing such a micromechanical sensor. The micromechanical sensor has at least one substrate having at least two sensor elements, which are preferably made of a semiconductive material. The substrate has at least a first sensor element for measuring an absolute-pressure variable of the first medium and a second sensor element for measuring a relative-pressure variable of the first medium.

German Patent Application No. DE 42 27 893 describes a differential-pressure sensor, which has two semiconductor diaphragms. The semiconductor diaphragms are each provided with interconnected piezoresistive resistors on the upper side. To protect the sensitive sensor elements, the upper sides of the semiconductor diaphragms are situated in a common reference chamber, which can be hermetically sealed.
In addition to the measurement of a differential pressure, the measurement of an absolute pressure with the aid of micromechanical pressure sensors is also known from the related art. Thus, for example, German Patent Application No. DE 100 32 579 describes the manufacture of such an absolute-pressure sensor, where a cavity and a diaphragm situated above the cavity are produced, using variably porosified regions and subsequent thermal treatment. German Patent Application No. DE 101 38 759 describes an elaboration on this principle, where variably doped regions are used for producing the cavity and the diaphragm.
A method, by which both a differential-pressure sensor and an absolute-pressure sensor can be manufactured, is known from German Patent Application No. DE 100 32 579. In a first step, a first porous layer is initially formed in a semiconductor substrate, and in a second step, a hollow space or cavity is formed under or from the first porous layer in the semiconductor substrate, using an external access opening.
In very general terms, the pressure signals of a micromechanical pressure sensor may be acquired on the diaphragm, using both capacitive dielectric layers and piezoresistive resistors. In this context, an evaluation circuit may be mounted in direct proximity to the sensor element necessary for detecting the pressure signal, on the same substrate as the sensor element.

Combined absolute-pressure and relative-pressure sensor


A central stitch length controlling apparatus for simultaneously varying the length of stitch loops being knit and optionally the positioning of the yarn guides (31) in a multi-feed circular knitting machine. The apparatus includes a vertically adjustable inner knitting cam block support ring (6, 47) which supports the knitting cams (7) and optionally the yarn guides (31) thereon. A plurality of sprocket wheels (18, 38) is disposed around the inner knitting cam block support ring (6, 47) and a fixed outer ring (16, 43). Rotation of the sprocket wheels (18, 38) selectively raises and lowers the inner knitting cam block support ring (6, 47). A sprocket chain (19, 46) drivingly interconnects the sprocket wheels (18, 38) to each other and may be manually rotated for simultaneously imparting like rotational movement to each of the sprocket wheels (18, 38) to thereby selectively raise or lower the inner knitting cam block support ring (6, 47) and the knitting cams (7) supported thereby.

It is the usual practice to change the length of stitch loops being formed on a multi-feed circular knitting machine by vertically adjusting the individual stitch cams at each of the yarn feeding and knitting stations to provide a vertical adjustment of the operating paths of the knitting needles to produce a knit fabric of a desired density. Adjusting the vertical position of the individual knitting cams is quite time consuming and requires a highly skilled operator in order to insure that all of the knitting stations are producing stitch loops of the same length.
This type of individual stitch length control adjustment is particularly difficult when using compound needles where the adjustment of the path of travel of the needles may extend beyond the normal feeding position of the yarn guides at the particular knitting station. Therefore, the changing of the stitch density of the fabric also requires individual adjustment of the yarn guide positions to correspond with the change in the path of travel of the needles. This individual adjustment of the position of the yarn guides at each of the knitting stations is also time consuming and requires a skilled operator. The larger the number of yarn feeders and yarn guides associated with the knitting machine, the longer the time required to change the individual stitch cams and the yarn feeding fingers or guides at each knitting station.
In order to solve the problem of providing individual adjustment of the stitch cams and the yarn guides at each knitting station, it has been proposed to provide a central control apparatus for the simultaneous adjustment of the stitch length and the position of the yarn guides at each knitting station by providing a threaded outer peripheral surface on the inner knitting cam block supporting ring, and a threaded adjustment ring surrounding the inner knitting cam block supporting ring. Rotational movement of the adjustment ring imparts corresponding vertical raising and lowering movement to the inner knitting cam block supporting ring to simultaneously adjust the stitch length being formed at each of the knitting stations. When the yarn carrier ring support and the yarn guides are mounted on the inner knitting cam block supporting ring, they are also simultaneously adjusted as the stitch length is adjusted. This arrangement does provide for simultaneous adjustment of the stitch length and adjustment of the yarn guides. However, a large gear-driving apparatus is required in this device to enable the inner knitting cam block supporting ring to be raised or lowered, and this type of large threaded gear-driving apparatus must have the threaded mating parts manufactured to very close tolerances, thereby increasing the manufacturing costs.

Central stitch controlling apparatus for circular knitting machine


An ink jet head includes a head body having a plurality of ejection ports disposed in a nozzle disposition direction and a fluid chamber for ink, a base portion having an ink supply channel and an ink discharge channel communicating with the fluid chamber, a drive circuit configured to drive the head body for ejection, a heat sink configured to radiate heat generated by the drive circuit, a reference plate having both end portions thereof in a plate length direction configured to be fixed to a structure member on a printer body, and a plate holder that has a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the reference plate, positions the head body to cause the nozzle disposition direction thereof to be parallel to a main scanning direction with respect to the reference plate, and couples the heat sink and the base portion to each other.

An ink jet printer body includes an ink jet head, which ejects ink toward paper. One type of ink jet recording apparatus includes a plurality of head bodies arranged in a paper width direction or a paper length direction. In such an apparatus, a position of an ejection port at an end portion where a head body is adjacent to another head body is adjusted. The plurality of head bodies are positioned with respect to a printer body to cause each row of ejection ports to be parallel to a main scanning direction, thereby obtaining an image recording region. An ink jet structure member supporting the head bodies is attached to an attachment plate on the printer body side via a reference plate, and the plurality of head bodies are disposed to be parallel to each other with respect to a position of the reference plate. Nevertheless, if a coefficient of thermal expansion of the reference plate is not considered, with respect to driving the head bodies for ejection, the head bodies and the ink jet structure member thermally expand due to heat generated by a driver integrated circuit (IC). An ink jet printer should prevent deterioration in quality of printing due to an occurrence of relative misalignment or an occurrence of thermal distortion between the heads adjacent to each other caused by thermal expansion thereof when a plurality of the heads are arranged in a longitudinal direction.
When the coefficient of thermal expansion of the reference plate is greater than a coefficient of thermal expansion of the attachment plate, an elongated portion of the reference plate in the longitudinal direction becomes greater than an elongated portion of the attachment plate.


A substrate processing apparatus includes a chamber having an inner space where a process is carried out with respect to a substrate and an exhaust unit for exhausting substance in the inner space to the outside. The exhaust unit includes a first exhaust plate located at an upstream of an exhaust path of the substance, the first exhaust plate having first exhaust holes, and a second exhaust plate located at a downstream of the exhaust path, the first exhaust plate having second exhaust holes. The first exhaust plate is disposed outside a support member, and the second exhaust plate is disposed below the first exhaust plate generally in parallel to the first exhaust plate. The exhaust unit further includes first covers for selectively opening and closing the first exhaust holes and second covers for selectively opening and closing the second exhaust holes.

A semiconductor device has a plurality of layers on a silicon substrate. The layers are deposited on the substrate through a deposition process. The deposition process has several important issues, which are important in evaluating deposited films and selecting a deposition method.
One of the important issues is quality of the deposited films. The quality includes composition, contamination level, defect density, and mechanical and electrical properties. The composition of films may change depending upon deposition conditions, which is very important in obtaining a specific composition.
Another important issue is uniform thickness over a wafer. In particular, the thickness of a film deposited at the top of a nonplanar pattern having a step is very important. Whether the thickness of the deposited film is uniform or not may be determined by a step coverage defined as a value obtained by dividing the minimum thickness of the film deposited at the step part by the thickness of the film deposited at the top of the pattern.
Another issue related to the deposition is space filling, which includes gap filling to fill gaps defined between metal lines with an insulation film including an oxide film. The gaps are provided to physically and electrically insulate the metal lines.
Among the above-described issues, the uniformity is one of the important issues related to the deposition process. A nonuniform film causes high electrical resistance on the metal lines, which increases a possibility of mechanical breakage.

Exhaust unit, exhaust method using the exhaust unit, and substrate processing apparatus including the exhaust unit


A sol-gel sorbent or chromatography stationary phase is a particulate metal oxide gel containing polymeric segments uniformly distributed throughout the metal oxide gel. The metal oxide gel is an oxide from silicone or other metal oxide that can have one of the valence bonds attached to an organic group and the remainder occupied by oxygens that can be provided as an oxide or an alkoxide or aryl oxide of the polymeric segments. The particles are used for an SPE sorbent or as a packing for a reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), a normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) column or a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) column.

Stationary phase is the heart of chromatographic separation process. Due to the absence of suitable common stationary phase immobilization technique, gas chromatography and liquid chromatography utilize completely two different types of materials as the separation media: polymeric stationary phases for gas chromatography and monomeric stationary phases for liquid chromatography. Immobilization of stationary phase in gas chromatography is relatively simple and straightforward and generally involves free radical cross-linking or chemical bonding technique. Unlike gas chromatography, stationary phase in liquid chromatography makes direct contact with the mobile phase in its liquid state, and hence requires strong chemical anchorage with the substrate to prevent from washing away with the mobile phase.
In order to prevent from losing the stationary phase by dissolving in the mobile phase, reversed phase and normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC, NP-HPLC) were evolved with exclusively different combinations of stationary phase and mobile phase. RP-HPLC utilizes non-polar stationary phases and polar mobile phases, whereas NP-HPLC utilizes polar stationary phases and non-polar mobile phases. This artificial classification and exclusivity in stationary phase/mobile phase selection substantially limit the power of high-performance liquid chromatography. As such, a limited number of monomeric nonpolar stationary phases including C4, C8, C18, and C30 are used in RP-HPLC and diol, cyano, and amino polar monomeric ligands are used in NP-HPLC.
The strict restrictions in selecting stationary phase/mobile phase combination has been relaxed to some extent after the introduction of bonded phases where monomeric entities are chemically bonded to the surface silanol groups present on silica substrate via silane chemistry. This approach of creating bonded phases has undoubtedly improved column performance, increased pH stability and prolonged its lifetime. The advent of the bonded phases led to a new direction in liquid chromatography known as hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC). HILIC is a hybrid liquid phase separation approach that combines, to a great extent, reversed phase and normal phase liquid chromatography. HILIC expands the separation power of liquid chromatography towards highly polar analyte(s) that can't be dealt in normal phase chromatography due to the restricted choice of organic solvents (e.g., hexane, isooctane, carbon tetrachloride) in which many of the polar analytes are barely soluble. HILIC employs a polar stationary phase, such as silica, diol, amino, and cyano phases that are used for normal phase liquid chromatography and uses polar organic or organo-aqueous solvent system as the mobile phase, such as those used in as in reversed phase liquid chromatography. Recently, introduction of bonded phases, such as diol, cyano, and amino ligands by bonding to a silica substrate via silane chemistry has allowed polar organic or organo-aqueous mobile phases to be used in hydrophilic interaction chromatography. Unfortunately, due to relatively weak bonding between the silica substrate and the organic ligands in these "so called" bonded phases, phase-bleeding often occurs upon exposure to polar organic solvents or organo-aqueous solvent mobile phases, resulting in a continuous shift in chromatographic retention and selectivity change due to the exposure of free surface silanol groups of the silica support.
Supports for reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) or HILIC are silica particles coated with organic ligands via silane chemistry. As a result, only a very small portion of the stationary phase contributes to retention and selectivity. The current bonded phases in RP-HPLC, NP-HPLC, and HILIC suffer from a number of shortcomings: silica particles limit the loading of organic ligands; silane chemical bonding of target organic ligands to the substrate surface steric limits incorporation of organic ligands leaving many surface silanol groups on the silica surface; and low carbon loading of organic ligands results in chemical instability, particularly using basic solvents.
It is evident that regardless of the separation mode used in high-performance liquid chromatography, all stationary phases are based on monomeric ligands with limited intermolecular interaction capability extended towards the analytes. For example, reversed phase stationary phases interact with the analytes with weak London dispersion forces and normal phases use limited dipole-dipole interaction/hydrogen bonding. Maximum separation/extraction potential of HPLC can only be utilized when all possible intermolecular interactions including London dispersion, dipole-dipole interaction, hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking interactions are exercised.
Unlike high-performance liquid chromatography, solid phase extraction utilized silica particles coated with similar organic ligands as seen in HPLC stationary phases and therefore the choices are limited. Chemical incorporation of various organic polymers into the sol-gel hybrid inorganic-organic matrix would open up the possibility of creating hundreds of novel sorbents with unique selectivity.
Organic polymers/macromeres/dendrimer/biopolymer represent a class of compound possessing versatile surface chemistry with unique and rich functionality. A successful immobilization technique such as sol-gel synthesis can chemically incorporate these polymers in a 3D network of metal oxides e.g., silica, germania, titania backbone. All gas chromatographic stationary phases including polysiloxanes, polyethylene glycols, phenylpolycarborane-siloxanes as well as other polymers not being used as gas chromatographic stationary phases can be readily used as liquid chromatographic stationary phases if they possess at least one terminal hydroxyl functional group. The effective incorporation of flexible organic polymer into rugged inorganic polymeric network may dramatically and synergistically expand the separation power of HPLC as well as the extraction efficiency when used as solid phase extraction sorbents.
Stationary phases for RP-HPLC, NP-HPLC, and HILIC that overcome the inherent shortcomings of the current stationary phase manufacturing technology is the focus of the invention, where a sol-gel synthesis generates the support and the organic functionality simultaneously. Organic units can be included as hydroxyl terminated monomers and polymers, and included by condensation with the sol-precursors, sol, or gel. A method of preparation that separately promotes hydrolysis of sol-precursors to the sol and condensation of the sol to the gel is carried out. Due to the strong chemical bonding between the 3D network of metal oxide and organic monomer/polymer/macromere/dendrimer, the invention opens up the possibility of eliminating artificial classification of reversed phase and normal phase high-performance liquid chromatography into a unified high-performance liquid chromatography that can use any polymeric stationary phase of desired polarity in combination with any organic solvent (nonpolar, medium polar, polar) or organo-aqueous solvent as the mobile phase to achieve the desired separation goal. In addition, the new approach will allow scientists to exploit high chemical stability (pH 1-13) and thermal stability of the sol-gel polymeric stationary phases and solid phase sorbents to maximize the separation potential as well as the extraction efficiency.

Sol-gel polymeric stationary phases for high-performance liquid chromatography and solid phase extraction: their method of making

THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES


The present disclosure provides a method and an apparatus for adjusting luminance of a display device. The method of adjusting luminance of the display device includes: determining a gray scale level interval on a target gray scale curve based on a maximum luminance value and a minimum luminance value to be set; determining a target luminance value for each grayscale level of the display device on the target gray scale curve according to the gray scale level interval; and adjusting luminance of the grayscale level of the display device based on the determined target luminance value.

With continuous development of the display technology, display devices capable of satisfying various performance requirements in various aspects, such as luminance, contrast, resolution, and size etc., can be manufactured. The display device with high performance plays an important role in various fields. However, in some fields, there are still other strict requirements in other aspects, in addition to the above general performance parameters. For example, in the field of medical display devices, the medical display devices need to have better integrity and consistency, in order to, for example, more accurately hold a consultation by images. Specifically, integrity requires that doctors at different consultation locations can see the same image display effect (luminance, gray scale, contrast, etc.) through different displays, so that judgment and communication may be performed based on the same facts. Consistency requires that the medical display device used by the same doctor can present the same display effect for the same display object under different use periods, use locations, and use environments.
In the medical field, in order to achieve the above-mentioned integrity and consistency, a Grayscale Standard Display Function (GSDF) is specified in a Digital Imaging and Communication (DICOM) standard in the medical field, which usually requires adjustment on a grayscale level luminance of the medical display device, so as to be consistent with a curve of the GSDF.
There is a need for a method that may adjust the grayscale level luminance of the display device to be adapted to a specific standard, such as the DICOM standard, quickly and accurately.

Method and apparatus for adjusting luminance of display device