The assembly includes a boil-off gas line that carries storage tank boil-off gas to a condenser that uses condensing liquid from the liquid send-out line to condense the gas. A level control valve on the condensing liquid line actively controls the flow of condensing liquid based on the liquid level in the condenser. A check valve prevents liquid from the send-out line from flowing into the condenser through the condensate line that discharges condensate from the condenser to the send-out line.

This invention relates generally to liquefied natural gas (LNG) systems. More specifically, it relates to arrangements for condensing boil-off gas from an LNG storage tank and condensing the gas into a send-out stream.
LNG is stored in storage tanks throughout the world. It is typically stored in liquid form at low pressure and cold temperatures, and is pumped to a high pressure before being vaporized and sent out through a natural gas pipeline or distribution system. The pumping operation typically involves a set of low-stage pumps (usually located in the storage tank) that pump the liquid to an inter-stage pressure and a set of high-stage booster pumps (located outside the storage tank).
Boil-off gas (BOG) is the result of heat input into a storage tank that causes some of the stored liquid to vaporize. It can also include vapor displaced by liquid when the tank is filled. Boil-off gas can also be generated from an outside source such as a ship. The BOG is generally at low pressure. Several means are available for disposing of the low pressure BOG. It can be vented to atmosphere or flared, although both of these methods are environmentally unfriendly. In addition, these methods waste a valuable commodity.
Preferably, the BOG is routed to the distribution system or pipeline. High pressure, high horsepower compressors would be required to compress the BOG to pipeline pressure, which can be as high as 100 bar. Condensing the BOG into a liquid send-out stream is more efficient.
Several existing LNG import terminals use systems in which the cold LNG send-out is used to condense BOG at an inter-stage pressure. The BOG condensate can then be combined with the liquid send-out flow before it reaches the booster pumps. Granger's U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,576, for example, discloses a system for re-condensing BOG using a mixing device and a separating device. Engdahl's U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,706 discloses a packed-bed condensing system for re-incorporating BOG into a liquid send-out stream. In the arrangement disclosed in FIG. 1 of that patent, all the liquid send-out from the storage tank passes through the BOG condenser, part as condensing fluid and part as pump fluid. The condensing fluid is used to condense compressed BOG, and the condensate is mixed with the pump fluid before being sent to the booster pumps. In other prior art systems, such as the Dabhol Power Company LNG terminal in Dabhol, India, only a portion of the liquid send-out is routed to the condenser. The condensate is returned to the liquid send-out line through a condensate line.
In the arrangement disclosed in the '706 patent, the flow of condensing fluid is varied to try to maintain a relatively constant pressure in the condenser. If pressure increases, the flow of condensing fluid is increased. If increasing the flow of condensing liquid is not sufficient to keep the pressure in the condenser within the desired range, BOG is vented to a flare. If pressure in the condenser decreases, the flow of condensing fluid is decreased. If decreasing the flow of condensing fluid is not sufficient to keep the pressure within the desired range, make-up gas is introduced into the condenser.
The Dabhol facility similarly provides for venting BOG or adding make-up gas if the pressure in the condenser departs from a desired range. The liquid level in the condenser is generally controlled by adjusting the position of two level control valves on a segment of the liquid send-out line that bypasses the condenser and operates in conjunction with an additional valve and flow meter on the condensing liquid line.
In existing systems, pressure fluctuations in the condenser vessel can significantly affect the operation of the booster pumps and general operation of the pump-out and vaporization system. Also, if the BOG condensing system is not operational, the critical pump-out and vaporization system is not operational.
It is believed that an even better arrangement is possible.

Boil-off gas condensing assembly for use with liquid storage tanks


A honeycomb filter includes a honeycomb structure and a zeolite. The honeycomb structure includes cell walls having a porosity of about 55% to about 65% and extending along a longitudinal direction of the honeycomb structure to define cells between the cell walls. Each of the cells is sealed at either end of the cells. The zeolite is supported on the cell walls of the honeycomb structure. An amount of the zeolite supported on the cell walls is from about 80 g/L to about 150 g/L. A thermal conductivity of the cell walls supporting the zeolite is about 3 W/mK or more.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a honeycomb filter and a urea SCR device.
2. Discussion of the Background
Toxic gases such as NOx contained in exhaust gases discharged from internal combustion engines, for example, vehicles such as buses and tracks, construction machines, and the like, and particulate matter (hereinafter, also referred to simply as "PM") have raised problems as contaminants harmful to the environment and the human body.
In order to solve the above problems, there has been developed a urea SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) device including, as a main component, a honeycomb structure (hereinafter also referred to as catalyst carrier) in which a NOx conversion catalyst is supported for converting NOx in exhaust gases (for example, WO02/38922A1).
The urea SCR device includes a catalyst carrier, a holding sealing material which is wound around the periphery of the catalyst carrier for supporting the catalyst carrier, and a casing for placing therein the catalyst carrier and the holding sealing material. The urea SCR device also includes a urea spray nozzle for spraying urea water disposed anterior to the region through which exhaust gases flow into the catalyst carrier (at an upstream side of exhaust gases).
The catalyst carrier has a pillar shape and is made of a porous ceramic. Also, the catalyst carrier has a large number of cells placed in parallel with one another each extending in a longitudinal direction from one end to the other end of the catalyst carrier with a cell wall interposed therebetween. The cell wall supports a zeolite as a NOx conversion catalyst. The ends of the cells are not sealed with a sealing material, and thus each cell is penetrating from one end to the other end of the catalyst carrier.
In conversion of toxic gases with the use of the urea SCR device, urea water is sprayed to the catalyst carrier. This causes thermal decomposition of the urea contained in the urea water by the heat of the exhaust gases to generate ammonia.
When exhaust gases containing NOx are introduced to the cells from one end of the catalyst carrier, NOx in the exhaust gases is reduced to N2 by the effect of the zeolite supported on the cell wall and the ammonia and thus converted.
The exhaust gases in which NOx has been converted are discharged from the other end side of the catalyst carrier.
On the other hands, in order to purify PM in exhaust gases, a various kinds of honeycomb structures (diesel particulate filter (hereinafter also referred to simply as DPF)) in which either one end of each cell is sealed have been proposed (for example, JP-A 2008-272737).
The DPF has a pillar shape and is made of a porous ceramic. Also, in the DPF, a large number of cells are placed in parallel with one another each extending in a longitudinal direction from one end to the other end of the DPF with a cell wall interposed therebetween. Either one end of each cell is sealed with a sealing material.
Therefore, exhaust gases flowing into the cells which are open on one end pass through the cell walls between the adjacent cells, and are then discharged from the cells which are open on the other end. As the exhaust gases pass through the cell walls, PM contained in the exhaust gases is captured by the cell walls so that the exhaust gases are purified.
When the captured PM is accumulated to a predetermined amount and thus the pressure loss reached a given value, a regeneration process for heating a DPF is performed. As a result, PM is burned away and the DPF is regenerated.
The contents of WO02/38922A1 and JP-A 2008-272737 are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.


A sodium-containing glass substrate has a modified surface on which an electroconductive film is to be formed. The modified surface is constituted of a layer of which sodium concentration is lower than the bulk body of the glass substrate, preferably with a sodium content ratio to all the metal elements of not greater than 2 atomic percent. The modified surface may contain a reduced amount of sulfur as compared to the bulk body of the glass substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a substrate for an electron source that can suitably be used for an image-forming apparatus such as a display apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
There have been known two types of electron-emitting devices; the thermionic electron source and the cold cathode electron source. Cold cathode electron sources refer to the field emission type (hereinafter referred to as the FE type), the metal/insulation layer/metal type (hereinafter referred to as the MIM type) and the surface conduction electron-emitting type. Examples of FE type device include those proposed by W. P. Dyke & W. W. Dolan, "Field emission", Advances in Electronics and Physics, 8, 89 (1956) and C. A. Spindt, "Physical Properties of thin-film field emission cathodes with molybdenum cones", J. Appl. Phys., 47, 5248 (1976). Examples of MIM type devices are disclosed in papers including C. A. Mead, "Operation of Tunnel-Emission Devices", J. Appl. Phys., 32, 646 (1961). Examples of surface-conduction electron-emitting devices include the one proposed in M. I. Elinson, Radio Eng. Electron Phys., 10, 1290 (1965).
An surface-conduction electron-emitting device is realized by utilizing the phenomenon that electrons are emitted out of a thin film with a small area formed on a substrate when an electric current is forced to flow in parallel with the film surface. While Elinson proposes the use of SnO.sub.2 thin film for a device of this type, the use of Au thin film [G. Dittmer: "Thin Solid Films", 9, 317 (1972)], the use of In.sub.2 O.sub.3 /SnO.sub.2 thin film [M. Hartwell and C. G. Fonstad: "IEEE Trans. ED Conf.", 519 (1975)] and the use of carbon thin film [H. Araki et al.: "Vacuum", Vol. 26, No. 1, p. 22 (1983)] are also proposed. The applicant of the present patent application has proposed a number of improvements to surface-conduction electron-emitting devices.
FIGS. 19A and 19B of the accompanying drawings schematically illustrate a typical surface conduction electron-emitting device. FIG. 19A is a plan view and FIG. 19B is a cross sectional view. Referring to FIGS. 19A and 19B, it comprises a substrate 1, a pair of device electrodes 2 and 3 oppositely arranged on the substrate and a electroconductive film 4 connecting the device electrodes 2 and 3 and having an electron-emitting region 5 as part thereof. Conventionally, an electron-emitting region 5 is produced in a surface conduction electron-emitting device by subjecting the electroconductive film 4 of the device to an electrically energizing process, which is referred to as energization forming. In the energization forming process, a voltage is applied to the device electrode pair 2 and 3 that are connected by the electroconductive film 4 to partly destroy, deform or transform the film and produce an electron-emitting region 5 which is electrically highly resistive. Thus, the electron-emitting region 5 is part of the electron-emitting region-forming thin film 4 that typically contains a fissure therein so that electrons may be emitted from the fissure and its vicinity. While the voltage used for the energization forming may be a DC voltage or a voltage that gradually rises, a pulse voltage is preferably used to produce a device that operates satisfactorily for electron emission. A pulse voltage may have a constant wave height or a height that gradually rises depending on the circumstances under which the device is prepared.
In order to produce an electron-emitting region by means of energization forming that shows desired electron emitting characteristics, the electroconductive film is preferably made of electroconductive fine particles. While an electroconductive film may be formed from electroconductive fine particles in many different ways, in a known method, a solution containing an organic metal compound is applied to the surface of a substrate to produce a film of the organic metal compound there, which is then subjected to a heat treatment to produce a n electroconductive film comprising fine particles of metal and/or metal compound. This technique is advantageous particularly in terms of manufacturing cost because, unlike a gas deposition method, it does not require the use of a large vacuum system. There is also known a method with which the solution is applied only to areas for forming a film by means of an ink-jet system. This method is advantageous in that it does not require an independent step of patterning the electroconductive film.
The electroconductive film of a surface-conduction electron-emitting device may be made of PdO fine particles prepared by heat treating an organic compound of palladium in the atmosphere. The heat treatment is typically conducted at 300 to 400.degree. C. for a little more than 10 minutes. PdO is a substance that shows an appropriate electroconductivity and hence is suited for an electron-emitting region that is produced by energization forming. Additionally, PdO can easily be reduced to produce Pd when it is heated in a vacuum or exposed to reducing gas. After producing an electron-emitting region in an electroconductive film by energization forming, the electric resistance of the electroconductive film can be lowered by two digits by reducing the PdO to Pd. There are cases where a surface-conduction electron-emitting device having an electron-emitting region operates better when the electroconductive film shows a low electric resistance. The PdO will be reduced advantageously in such a case.
The applicant of the present patent application has also proposed various electron sources prepared by arranging a number of electron-emitting devices of the above described type on a substrate and image-forming apparatus comprising such an electron source. In order to arrange an electron source in a vacuum envelope, the electron source and the envelope have to be firmly bonded with other components. The bonding operation is generally carried out by means of frit glass and by heating them to about 400 to 500.degree. C. for a period between 10 minutes and an hour depending on the size of the envelope and other factors so that the frit glass may be molten to firmly hold them together.
The envelope is preferably made of glass containing sodium such as soda lime glass that can be easily bonded with frit glass. The use of soda lime glass is particularly advantageous because it is not expensive. It is also preferable that the substrate is made of soda lime glass because it has to show a thermal expansion coefficient close to that of the envelope and should be bonded reliably to the envelope.
However, a substrate made of soda lime glass can be accompanied by the following problems.
Firstly, soda lime glass contains alkali metals, particularly sodium (Na) in the form of Na.sub.2 O, to a large extent. Since sodium can be easily diffused by heat, the sodium contained in the substrate of soda lime glass is diffused into various components of the image-forming apparatus during the processes where the substrate is exposed to high temperature to adversely affect the components.
Additionally, the substrate of the electron source is exposed to higher temperature when it is bonded to the envelope by means of frit glass so that the sodium diffusion becomes even more remarkable to aggravate the adverse effect.
However, the use of a material other than soda lime glass, quartz for example, has to be avoided because such a material is costly and provides additional problems including the difficulty of bonding.
A technique that has been proposed to bypass the above problems is to form an SiN (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-162001) or SiO.sub.2 film on the surface of the soda lime glass substrate by means of sputtering. However, stress can be generated between the soda lime glass substrate and the SiN or SiO.sub.2 film that can eventually separate them particularly if the SiN or SiO.sub.2 film is thick. On the other hand, a thin SiN or SiO.sub.2 film cannot satisfactorily suppress the sodium diffusion when it is exposed to high temperature for a long time during the process of manufacturing an electron source.
Additionally, a sputtering operation for forming an SiN or SiO.sub.2 film requires the use of a large sputtering system relative to the size of the substrate and consequently raises the manufacturing cost.
Therefore, there is a strong demand for a technology of effectively avoiding the adverse effect of sodium diffusion.
A smilar problem is caused by diffusion of sulfur from the substrate and measures for preventing sulfur diffusion is also sought.

Electron source substrate with low sodium upper surface


In a heart stimulation device a mode of operation is switched in response to detection of atrial tachyarrhythmia such as atrial fibrillation. The stimulation device may initially operate in a normal mode of pacing then, upon detection of atrial tachyarrhythmia, the stimulation device may change how it senses signals and it may switch to another mode of pacing at one or more sites in the ventricle.

A conventional pacemaker stimulates a patient's heart to maintain regular contractions of the heart thereby promoting blood circulation within the patient. Such stimulation may be prescribed when the patient's heart does not function normally due to, for example, a genetic or acquired condition involving the sinus node or AV conduction system resulting in a symptomatic bardycardia.
In a healthy heart, contractions occur first in the muscles associated with the atrial chambers of the heart, followed by contractions in the muscles associated with the larger ventricular chambers of the heart. In this way, the atria assist in the filling of the ventricular chambers with blood returning from the veins. This increases the end-diastolic volume increasing the stroke volume to enable the ventricles to more efficiently pump blood to the arteries.
Given the interaction of these chambers, efficient operation of the heart is predicated on each of the chambers operating in a proper timing sequence and having contractions that pump a sufficient amount of blood from the chamber. For example, during contraction the right atrium chamber should pump enough blood to optimally "fill" the right ventricle chamber. Moreover, this should occur immediately before the right ventricle begins to contract. In this way, the heart may efficiently pump blood on a repetitive basis.
A healthy heart repetitively contracts in the above described manner in response to the generation and conduction of electrical signals in the heart. These electrical signals are generated in and conducted through the heart during every beat of the heart. A simplified example of these electrical signals follows.
Activity for a given beat begins with the generation of a signal in a sinus node of the heart. This signal causes contraction to begin first in the atria. The signal from the sinus node propagates via a conduction system to an atrioventricular ("A-V") node. The signal is delayed for a very short period of time (usually less than 200 ms) within the AV node allowing the atria to contract to help to fill the ventricles. The signal then propagates from the A-V node through the bundle of His to the left and right ventricles via a specialized conduction system. Contraction in each ventricle commences in a coordinated manner when the signal "reaches" the respective muscle fibers in the ventricle.
In a diseased or otherwise unhealthy heart, there may be a disruption or abnormality in the generation and/or propagation of these signals. For example, in some patients the atria may generate signals in a sporadic manner or there may be a blockage that prevents the signal from the sinus node from reaching the ventricles in a normal manner. In either of these cases, the atrial-ventricular timing may be compromised resulting in inefficient operation or failure of the heart. In other patients, the activation of the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is abnormal compromising the coordination of left ventricular contraction and thus compromising cardiac efficiency.
Under certain circumstances, a pacemaker may compensate for abnormal operation of a heart by pacing (e.g., stimulating) one or more of the atria and/or ventricles. To stimulate the heart, a typical pacemaker generates a series of electrical signals which are applied to the heart via one or more electrodes implanted in the heart (e.g., in ventricular or atrial chambers). These electrical signals cause the heart to contract in much the same way as the native electrical signals discussed above cause the heart to contract.
To provide appropriate timing for the generation of electrical signals, conventional pacemakers may sense signals in the heart. For example, when a heart has a functioning sinus node but has some form of a blockage between the sinus node and the ventricles, a pacemaker may sense electrical signals in the atria to detect when the atria are being activated. The pacemaker may then delay a prescribed period of time after which it applies a stimulus to the ventricles. In this way, the pacemaker may stimulate the ventricles at the appropriate time in an attempt to maintain efficient operation of the heart.
In recent years, it has been recognized that patients with congestive heart failure due to a mechanical problem with the heart muscle may develop a delay in conduction through the left ventricle further compromising overall cardiac function. This is identified on a surface electrocardiogram (ECG) by a widening of the electrical signal from the ventricle (QRS complex) with a pattern known as intraventricular conduction delay (IVCD) or abnormality, the most common of which is left bundle branch block ("LBBB"). In an effort to restore or improve the coordination of the cardiac contraction, two ventricular leads are being utilized, one placed in the right ventricle to stimulate the left ventricular septum and one advanced through the coronary sinus to stimulate the posterior or lateral wall of the left ventricle via a lead located in a cardiac vein. A transthoracic epicardial lead can achieve a similar result. By stimulating both ventricular leads at the same time or in a specified sequence, resynchronization of the left ventricular contraction pattern can be achieved to improve overall cardiac function. Many patients for whom CRT therapy is recommended do not have sinus node dysfunction or AV block.
Many patients with CHF may suffer from a condition known as atrial tachyarrhythmia. This condition may result in sporadic signals being passed through the A-V node which may cause sporadic activation of the ventricles. More importantly, they compromise ventricular filling by compromising the atria's ability to contract in a coordinated manner. As a result, the ventricles may function in a less efficient or ineffective manner in such patients. A standard DDD pacemaker, if it had been implanted for either AV block or sinus node dysfunction, may track these abnormal atrial signals driving the ventricle at a physiologically inappropriate and rapid rate further compromising ventricular function. Automatic mode switch (AMS) algorithms have been developed to recognize the pathologically rapid atrial rates and convert the pacemaker from a tracking to a nontracking mode. In a patient with a CRT stimulation system who does not have a primary need for pacing therapy, development of a pathologic atrial tachyarrhythmia not only forces a loss of AV synchrony and a generally rapid ventricular rate, it also results in the loss of cardiac resynchronization that was the result of the implanted multisite stimulation system.
Pacing techniques have been proposed for managing the implanted device's response to pathologic atrial tachyarrhythmias that have a standard need for pacing therapy. There is a need for more effective techniques for treating patients with atrial tachyarrhythmia who also have congestive heart failure, a disordered ventricular activation sequence associated with intrinsic conduction and in whom multisite ventricular pacing is being utilized in an attempt to restore a left ventricular synchronized contraction pattern. In the presence of standard automatic mode switching algorithms (AMS), switching to a nontracking mode in the presence of an atrial tachyarrhythmia results in the loss of cardiac resynchronization therapy ("CRT").

Mode switching heart stimulation apparatus and method


A support member for a compressor having a shell may include a hub receiving a load from the compressor, at least three spokes radially extending from the hub, and at least three attachment locations attaching the at least three spokes to the shell. The support member may further include at least one connecting portion extending between at least two of the at least three spokes to transmit a load between the at least two spokes, whereby the at least one connecting portion is spaced apart and separated from the shell.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Machines often include components that are rotatably supported by one or more support members. As these components rotate about an axis, radial forces perpendicular to the rotational axis may be generated and transmitted to the surrounding structure via the support members.
One such machine is a scroll machine, which may be used to displace various types of fluids. For example, scroll machines may be configured as an expander, a displacement engine, a pump, or a compressor. A scroll compressor generally includes an orbiting scroll member rotatably supported within the compressor by a drive shaft. When the orbiting scroll member is rotated by the drive shaft, fluid is compressed via interaction between the orbiting scroll member and a non-orbiting scroll member.
During fluid compression, forces are exerted on the orbiting scroll member and may cause the orbiting scroll member to similarly apply forces to the drive shaft. The forces applied to the drive shaft may cause the drive shaft to vibrate, which in turn, may increase the noise associated with operation of the compressor.

Support member for optimizing dynamic load distribution and attenuating vibration


Highly oil-filled ethylene/alpha-olefin/diene (EAODM) polymers in a free flowing powder or pellet form, processes for preparing these polymers, and the use of these polymers to prepare thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPV) are provided. Thermoplastic vulcanizate premixes can be prepared with the EAODM polymers and thermoplastic polymers, the premixes being easily converted into TPVs.

Typically, high Mooney EAODM polymers produced by solution or slurry polymerization processes are sold as bales and with oil already imbibed to allow for easier processing and handling. Generally, if these polymers are to be sold in pellet or powder form they must be coated with a partitioning agent to prevent agglomeration of the particles into a large mass or bale.
EP 0775718A2 teaches the use of gas phase EAODM in TPV's and thermoplastic polyolefins. EAODM is produced by a gas phase process in powder or pellet form. However, these EAODM polymers, in powder or particle form, tend to absorb oil relatively slowly.
TPV's are generally produced by dynamic vulcanization of elastomeric polymers such as EAODM polymers in a thermoplastic matrix polymer. Generally, a thermoplastic polymer and elastomer should be intimately melt mixed prior to vulcanization as discussed in C. P. Rader and S. Abdou-Sabet, "Two-phase elastomer alloys," in S. K. De and A. K. Bhowmick, eds., Thermoplastic Elastomers from Rubber-Plastic Blends, Ellis Horwood, N.Y., 1990, pp 159-197 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,628; Bhowmick A. K. and Inoue T., Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 49 (1993) page 1893. During dynamic vulcanization, the elastomer is converted to a crosslinked material dispersed as small particles in a continuous thermoplastic matrix. The result is a useful composition or TPV having the melt processability of thermoplastics combined with the rubber-like properties of crosslinked elastomers, including elastic recovery, heat resistance, compression set resistance, and softness.
According to Coran A. Y. and Patel R., Rubber and Chemical Technology, Vol. 53, (1980), p. 141 it is preferable to produce a melt dispersion containing the smallest polymer particle size for the rubber phase as possible before crosslinking which yields a TPV with superior physical properties such as tensile strength and elongation.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,535 teaches that a curative is preferably added to a mixture of elastomer, thermoplastic, and filler. The reason for the preference of the first method is not stated, but one possible theory is that the delayed addition of curative allows a finer particle morphology to be developed prior to the onset of crosslinking, which "locks in" the particle size/shape. Thus, by mixing the polymers and optionally added fillers, plasticizers, and other additives first, and only adding the curative after these are well melt-mixed, a small particle size and improved physical properties might be obtained.
It would be beneficial if an improved and easier method could be found for producing finely dispersed elastomer or EAODM particles in a thermoplastic polymer melt mixture, resulting in TPVs with improved physical properties.

Thermoplastic vulcanizates and process to prepare them


An apparatus for pushing hollow glass articles from a depositing plate of an IS glass molding machine onto a belt conveyor comprises a transfer pusher (11), one end of which is rigidly connected to a vertical shaft (10) and the other end of which carries an arrangement of pushing fingers for the glass articles. The shaft (10) is supported in a rotary table (6) and functionally connected to a first rotary drive (13) carried by the rotary table while the rotary plate (6) is mounted on a bell-shaped bearing (24) supported on a console (1) by means of a hollow shaft (22), namely such that it is functionally connected to a second rotary drive (15′). An approximately exponential transfer curve of the pushing fingers that begins at the depositing plate and ends on the belt conveyor and subjects the hollow glass articles to the least possible stress can be realized.

The invention pertains to an apparatus for horizontally pushing articles, particularly hollow glass articles, from a stationary depositing plate of an IS glass molding machine onto a belt conveyor that moves rectilinearly with a uniform speed.
The process of manufacturing hollow glass articles from the molding of a glass gob in a blank mold and the finish mold up to the treatment in a cooling furnace is characterized by numerous transport and manipulation processes, wherein the attainable production yield depends on the speed and reliability of these processes. This applies, among other things, to the process of transferring articles that were removed from a finish mold and deposited on a stationary depositing plate onto a moving belt conveyor, on which the articles need to be positioned successively in the form of a row arrangement. Since such a belt conveyor in IS-machines (individual section) usually cooperates with a plurality of manufacturing stations, each of which is provided with a depositing plate, on which at least two finish-molded articles need to be deposited in a cyclic fashion, the transfer onto the belt conveyor needs to be coordinated with the speed thereof, as well as the operating cycle of the manufacturing stations, in order to form a defined row on the belt.
Various types of transfer pushers are known as manipulation elements that directly cooperate with the hollow glass articles, wherein the ends of the transfer pushers that face the article feature pushing fingers that are in contact with the articles during the transfer process. The transfer process needs to be realized in such a way that it can be carried out quickly within a predetermined time interval. It is also necessary to prevent the article standing on the depositing plate from a toppling over and being damaged; that is the article needs to stands on the belt conveyor in a defined position, namely a transfer point, at the end of the transfer curve and move with the same speed as the belt. Depending on the transfer curve realized between a receiving point on the depositing plate and a transfer point on the belt conveyor, however, the article is subjected to accelerations in the radial and the tangential direction, wherein these accelerations need to be controlled to achieve an accurately positioned and undamaged transfer onto the belt conveyor. However, the control becomes problematic and requires special safety measures at higher speeds.
EP 1 627 858 A1 discloses a transfer apparatus having a lever that can be pivoted about a vertical, stationarily arranged axis on one of its ends. On its other end it carries one end of a second lever such that it can also be pivoted about a vertical axis, wherein a transfer pusher that is equipped with three pushing fingers is supported on the other end of the second lever such that it can be pivoted about a horizontal axis. The rotations of the first lever about the stationary axis, of the second lever relative to the first lever and of the transfer pusher relative to the second lever are realized with drives that can be controlled independently of one another such that a transfer curve from a receiving point on a depositing plate up to a transfer point can be realized in the form of a superposition of three partial movements. At least two of the rotary drives required for realizing these three partial movements are arranged stationarily.
DE 10 2004 010 238 B3 discloses another transfer apparatus, in which the transfer movement of a transfer pusher carrying pushing fingers between a depositing plate and a moving belt conveyor is realized in the form of three rotational movements that can be controlled independently of one another. The superposition of the three movements results in a transfer curve that extends from a receiving point on the depositing plate to a contact point tangentially to the moving direction of the belt conveyor and continues with the same speed and direction as the movement of the belt conveyor by a defined linear path element after this contact point until a separation point is reached, at which the pushing fingers are disengaged. This measure serves for additionally securing the position of the hollow glass articles during the transfer. However, these transfer apparatuses, having three axes to be controlled, are comparatively complex with respect to the control technology, and, in particular their manufacturing design because three stationarily arranged rotary drives are required.
GB 2 435 025 A discloses a comparable apparatus, in which the transfer curve of a transfer pusher between a depositing plate and a moving belt conveyor is realized in the form of a superposition of the rotational movements generated by two rotary drives that are stationarily arranged adjacent to one another. In this case, two gear mechanisms are required, namely for the rotation about a common main axis and for transmitting a rotational movement from the main axis to the rotational axis of the transfer pusher. This means that both gear mechanisms always rotate during a rotation of the transfer pusher.
CH 698 252 B1 discloses another apparatus, in which the transfer curve of a transfer pusher between a depositing plate and a moving belt conveyor is realized in the form of a superposition of the rotational movements generated by two rotary drives that are stationarily arranged in series. In this case, one gear mechanism is required, wherein one of the two rotary drives consists of a hollow shaft motor and the rotational movement also needs to be transmitted to the rotational axis of the transfer pusher. The difficulty in this respect would consist of locating a suitable hollow shaft motor.
Due to a reduction of the number of rotary drives to be used and controlled, the apparatuses disclosed in documents GB 2 435 025 A and CH 698 252 Bi provide certain advantages in comparison with the initially cited state of the art that is characterized by three rotary drives. However, these solutions also have the disadvantage that the two stationarily arranged rotary drives require the use of comparatively complicated gear mechanisms to constructively realize the superposition of two rotational movements. The gear mechanism components that are inevitably moved during each actuation of the transfer pusher increase the inertia of the entire system. In addition, elements are used in the surroundings of a glass molding machine, i.e., in an atmosphere that is characterized by heat, oil, dust and glass fragments and reduces the service life of the gear mechanism components. This is associated with high maintenance expenditures.
Document DE 10 2004 007 507 A1 discloses a device for shifting glass articles that is designed for transferring these glass articles from a first belt, on which they are successively arranged in a row, namely a relatively fast moving transverse belt, onto a second belt that moves relatively slow and perpendicular to the first belt, namely a longitudinal belt, on which they are adjacently arranged in groups transverse to the transport direction. The glass articles are transferred, for example, into a cooling furnace by means of the longitudinal belt, wherein the width of the longitudinal belt depends, among other things, with the width of the cooling furnace. In contrast to the initially cited state of the art, this consequently does not concern a movement from a depositing plate, i.e., a stationary starting point, onto a moving belt such that the kinematical conditions are different in this respect. This apparatus is characterized by a pusher bar that simultaneously takes hold of a certain number of glass articles that depends on the length of the bar on the first belt and transfers said glass articles onto the second belt while realizing an adaptation to the different speeds of the belts, wherein this transfer movement is realized in the form of a superposition of three rotational movements and consequently three rotary drives, one of which is arranged stationarily.

Apparatus for pushing glass articles onto a belt conveyor


A cold-rolled steel sheet has a composition containing, by mass percent, 0.0040% or less of C, 0.02% or less of Si, 0.14% to 0.25% of Mn, 0.020% or less of P, 0.015% or less of S, 0.0040% or less of N, 0.020% to 0.070% of Al, 0.005% to 0.030% of Nb, 0.005% to 0.030% of Ti, (0.0003% to 0.0010% of the equivalent amount of solid solution B (from which the amount of B forming BN has been subtracted)), and the balance composed of Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein even when the rolling reduction of cold rolling is 85% or less, the average grain size of a ferrite structure is reliably 12.0 μm or less, and the relationship −0.20≦Δr≦0.20 can be reliably satisfied and which has an excellent earing property.

As regards a method of working a cold-rolled steel sheet to form a battery case, a method appropriately combining deep drawing with ironing is used. Examples of the method include a DI process in which a steel sheet is deep-drawn to form a drawn cup and ironing is then performed; stretch-draw forming in which a steel sheet is deep-drawn to form a drawn cup, stretching and bending-unbending are then performed, and ironing is further performed, as needed; and a multi-stage drawing process in which drawing is performed in several stages, and ironing is then performed.
In working a battery case, it is desired to suppress the generation of ears (called "earing"), more specifically, to prevent the height of the can after the working from being uneven in the circumferential direction thereof. It is generally known that the height of such an ear significantly correlates with planar anisotropy Δr of the r value (Lankford value) of a steel sheet for a battery case, and that as Δr approaches zero, the height of the ear decreases. Accordingly, to suppress earing, desirably, Δr of the steel sheet for a battery case is controlled to be close to zero.
To reduce Δr of a cold-rolled steel sheet, means for increasing the rolling reduction in cold rolling is usually employed. However, at a-high rolling reduction, the dependency of Δr on the rolling reduction increases, and thus, a variation in Δr is easily generated and an increase in the rolling load due to the high rolling reduction may be caused. Therefore, it is desired that a cold-rolled steel sheet be produced at a rolling reduction of at least 90% or less, and more preferably, 85% or less.
To prevent degradation of a can shape due to wrinkles called "stretcher strain" generated during deep drawing, it is desired that a steel sheet for a battery case have excellent strain aging resistance. In addition, to suppress surface roughening during working, it is also desired that a steel sheet for a battery case have fine crystal grains.
As such a steel sheet for a battery case, hitherto, interstitial free steels (IF steels), which are suitable for deep drawing and to which Nb and/or Ti is added, have been studied. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-81919 discloses a method of producing a steel sheet for a two-piece can having an excellent earing property and surface roughening resistance. In the method, a steel slab containing at least one type of element selected from, by mass percent, 0.0005% to 0.0150% of C, 0.10% or less of Si, 0.1% to 0.6% of Mn, 0.02% or less of P, 0.02% or less of S, 0.015% to 0.15% of Al, 0.02% or less of N, 0.020% or less of Nb, 0.020% or less of Ti, and 0.0001% to 0.0030% of B, and the balance composed of Fe and inevitable impurities is hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and annealed to form recrystallized grains having an ASTM grain size number of 10 or more and a crystal grain axial ratio of 1.2 or less. Subsequently, a secondary cold rolling is performed at a rolling reduction in the range of 0.5% to 40%.
In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 9-310150 discloses a steel sheet for a can having excellent workability, earing property, and surface roughening resistance. The steel sheet for a can contains at least one type of element selected from, by mass percent, 0.0005% to 0.015.0% of C, 0.10% or less of Si, 0.1% to 0.6% of Mn, 0.02% or less of P, 0.02% or less of S, 0.015% to 0.15% of Al, 0.02% or less of N, 0.020% or less of Nb, and 0.020% or less of Ti, and the balance composed of Fe and inevitable impurities, wherein crystal grains in a surface layer region from the surface of the steel sheet to 1/10 of the sheet thickness are composed of fine equiaxed crystal grain structure having an ASTM grain size number of 10 or more and a crystal grain axial ratio of 1.5 or less, and crystal grains in the inner layer of the steel sheet except for this surface layer are composed of coarse equiaxed crystal grain structure having an ASTM grain size number of 9 or less and a crystal grain axial ratio of 1.5 or less.
Furthermore, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 63-310924 discloses a method of producing an ultra-thin steel sheet having small planar anisotropy. In this method, a steel sheet having, a composition containing, by mass percent, 0.004% or less of C, 0.1% or less of Si, 0.5% or less of Mn, 0.025% or less of P, 0.025% or less of S, 0.006% or less of N, 0.001% to 0.100 of Al, 0.01% to 0.10% of Ti wherein the relationship Ti≧{(48/12)C+(48/14)N} is satisfied, 0.003% to 0.03% of Nb, and 0.0001% to 0.0010% of B, and the balance substantially composed of Fe except for inevitable impurities is hot-rolled under the conditions of a hot-rolling finishing temperature in the range of 850° C. to 900° C. and a winding temperature in the range of 300° C. to 600° C., cold-rolled, and then undergoes continuous annealing, followed by skin-pass rolling to reduce the thickness thereof in the range of 0.15 to 0.60 mm, wherein the cold-rolling reduction is controlled to be in the range of 85% to 95%, and the continuous annealing temperature is controlled to be in the range of 650° C. to 750° C.
However, in the steel sheets described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 10-81919, 9-310150, and 63-310924, when the rolling reduction of cold rolling is 85% or less, which is a preferable value, the average grain size of a ferrite structure does not always stably become small (specifically, 12.0 μm or less), and Δr that is sufficiently close to zero (specifically, −0.20≦Δr≦0.20) is not always obtained.
It could therefore be helpful to provide a cold-rolled steel sheet in which even when the rolling reduction of cold rolling is, 85% or less, the average grain size of a ferrite structure can be reliably controlled to be 12.0 μm or less and the relationship −0.20≦Δr≦0.20 can be reliably satisfied and which has an excellent earing property, and a method of producing the same.

Cold-rolled steel sheet, method of producing the same, battery, and method of producing the same


A system and method for linearizing underwater sensor arrays is disclosed. The sensor array comprises slightly positive or negative buoyant sensors that are positioned along a cable. A weight is positioned at a deep end of the cable or a buoyant object is positioned at a shallow end of the cable, but not both. Distributing buoyant elements throughout the length of the array generates more consistent, uniformly distributed tension, enabling the sensor array to maintain a linear shape in currents of all strengths and speeds.

Underwater sensor arrays are important tools with both military and civilian applications. For civilian research purposes, sensor arrays can be used to identify and track sea life and make other scientific measurements. In a military context, sensor arrays can be strategically placed and monitored in order to identify and track all surface ships, submarines, and other waterborne objects. To prevent errors within integrated electronic circuits caused by SEUs and SETs, the current passing through CML gates can be increased. Increasing the current within an integrated circuit, however, increases the circuit's power consumption and requires larger system components. As a result of increasing the current flowing through CML gates, the gates become ineffectual for small technology nodes. Small technology nodes cannot withstand the increased power usage due to the size of node's internal components.
Referring to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B a traditional sensor array system 100 with floating and anchoring application is disclosed. The system 100 is positioned underwater in a vertical orientation and comprises a sensor array 114. The sensor array 114 comprises a plurality of neutrally buoyant sensors 104, 106, 108 and 110 positioned along a cable 116. The deep end 119 of the cable 116 is usually weighted, and a buoyant object 102 is typically attached to the shallow end 117. The acoustic sensors 104, 106, 108 and 110 are neutrally buoyant, thus leaving the bottom weight 112 and shallow buoyant object 102 to create tension and neutralize the distributed weight of the cable 116. Specialized algorithms known as beam forming algorithms use the distributed locations of the acoustic sensors to identify, locate, and track objects in the water.
The traditional sensor array forms a curved shape, when subjected to ocean currents. FIG. 2 shows the curved shape 200 of a traditional sensor array depicted in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B when anchored to the sea floor, and placed in a typical ocean current of fifty eight centimeters per second. This curved geometry significantly complicates beam forming algorithms and signal processing, thereby causing location estimates to be less accurate, impeding identification, and reducing processing efficiency.
A linear shape of sensor arrays is ideal for performance of the beam forming algorithms and accordant signal processing. A need therefore exists for a system and method for linearizing underwater sensor arrays. Also such system and method should generate more consistent and localized tension and enable the acoustic array to maintain a linear shape in ocean currents of varying strengths and speeds.

Underwater sensor arrays linearized by weight and buoyance distribution

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems Integration Inc.


The present invention discloses a method for deactivating ISR and a mobility management unit. Wherein the above method includes: when an ISR deactivation is needed to be performed, the mobility management unit judging whether to perform the following operation by the S-GW according to reasons of the ISR deactivation: the mobility management unit sends a request message of deleting bearer to the S-GW, and carries, in the request message, an identifier which is used to instruct the S-GW to initiate the bearer deletion to the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation; or the mobility management unit notifies the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation to perform the ISR deactivation. The synchronization between the bearer deletion and the network element state in the ISR function deactivation scenarios can be realized by the above technical scheme.

In order to maintain the competitive ability of the 3rd generation mobile communication system in the communication field, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standard workgroup has been focusing on the research on the Evolved Packet System (EPS). FIG. 1 is an architecture diagram of an EPS according to related art. As shown in FIG. 1, the EPS system mainly comprises the two parts: an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) and an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). The EPC of this system can support a user to access via a GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN) and a Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN).
The EPC mainly comprises a Home Subscriber Server (HSS), a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Serving Gateway (S-GW), a Packet Data Network Gateway (PDN Gateway, P-GW), a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) and a Policy and Charging Rules Function Entity.
As shown in FIG. 1, the UTRAN/GERAN and the SGSN are connected to each other via an Iu interface, the SGSN and the HSS are connected to each other via a Gr interface, the MATE and the HSS are connected to each other via an S6a interface, the MME and the SGSN are connected to each other via an S3 interface, the E-UTRAN and the S-GW are connected to each other via an S1-U interface, the S-GW and the P-GW are connected to each other via an S5 interface, the S-GW and the SGSN are connected to each other via an S4 interface, the P-GW and the packet data network are connected to each other via an SGi interface, the E-UTRAN and the MME are connected to each other via an S1-MME interface, the P-GW and the Policy and Charging Rules Function Entity are connected to each other via a Gx interface, the packet data network and the Policy and Charging Rules Function Entity are connected to each other via a Rx+interface.
In particular, the HSS is the permanent storage point of the user subscribed data and is located in the home network subscribed by the user; the MME is the storage point of the user subscribed data in the current network and responsible for a signaling management of the Non-Access Stratum (NAS) from a terminal to the network, tracking and paging management function and bearer management in a user idle mode; the S-GW is the gateway from the core network to the radio system and responsible for the user plane bearer from the radio access network to the core network, data buffering in a terminal idle mode to initiate a service request, legal monitoring, packet data routing and forwarding function; the P-GW is the gateway of the EPS and the external network of this network and responsible for the functions such as charging function, packet filtering, policy application and IP address allocation of the terminal; the SGSN is the service support point for the GERAN and UTRAN user accessing the EPC network, similar to the MME in function, and responsible for the functions such as paging management and bearer management and location updating of the user.
When a change occurs to the coverage region located by a UE, for instance, when traveling from one kind of Radio Access Technology (RAT) coverage region to another kind of RAT coverage region, the UE finds that it enters an unregistered region through monitoring a broadcast channel. In order to ensure the continuity of the service between the UE and the core network, it is necessary to register under the new RAT coverage region, therefore, the UE initiates an inter RAT Tracking Area Update (TAU) or a Routing Area Update (RAU) process.
For a dual-mode UE at the overlapped area or the neighboring region of the UTRAN/GERAN coverage region and the E-UTRAN coverage region, the UE frequently initiates the TAU or RAU process in the two registering region, due to the reasons such as frequently shifting between the two coverage regions or the signal intensity in the overlap area, and it will result in a heavy load of the air interface. Therefore, in the EPS system, the ISR function was introduced to reduce the air interface signaling between the UE and the core network. After this function is activated, the UE which has both the UTRAN/GERAN and the E-UTRAN access function at the same time may register to the MME and the SGSN at the same time, however, the UE registering to the MME and the SGSN via the two access networks respectively are independent. Thus in the above situations, the UE with the activated ISR will not frequently initiate the TAU or RAU process at the neighboring area or the overlapped area of two coverage, thereby, the unnecessary air interface signaling is reduced to save the air interface resource.
In order to ensure the ISR functions properly, the context information of the UE in both the two mobility management units (the MME and the SGSN) need to be kept, and the S-GW is required to save the bearer information of the UE under the two different access technologies. However, when the ISR function can not be kept (i.e., the ISR function is deactivated) due to the reasons such as powering off the UE, detaching from the network, and changing the S-GW, the core network needs a mechanism to ensure that the useless UE context information and the bearer information are released, and to synchronize the ISR states of the UE and the core network side mobility management unit, so as to prevent the information resource from being wasted and avoid the error resulted from the asynchronism of the ISR states.
As to different ISR deactivation scenarios, the prior art employs different treatment modes which are described below.
Scenario 1, when the UE travels to the MME/SGSN which is/are not the two mobility management units with the activated ISR, the TAU/RAU process is needed to be initiated, at this time, the MME/SGSN can only acquire the context information from one of the previously registered mobility management units, it is possible that a activation is needed because the registered context information of the SGSN/MME when ISR function is previously activated cannot be obtained properly which result in that the ISR function can not be kept and is required to deactivated. At this time, one mobility management unit, in which the UE was located previously and whose ISR function is activated, initiates a request for updating or deleting bearer to trigger the S-GW to actively initiate the deleting bearer request to the other mobility management unit with the ISR function being activated.
Scenario 2, when the UE powers off and detaches from the network, the ISR function also needs to be deactivated. In this situation, the mobility management unit in which the UE is located and the ISR function is activated may initiate the deleting bearer request to the S-GW, and may send a detachment instruction to the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation, at this time, the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation is responsible for initiating the deleting bearer request to the S-GW. By this process, both of the two mobility management units associated with the ISR function have deleted the context information of the UE and the bearer information of the S-GW.
Scenario 3, when the network initiates a detachment process which is merely a detachment of an access technology, at this time, the UE may also attach to another access technology. The ISR function also needs to be deactivated in this scenario. But when the S-GW receives a deleting bearer request from a mobility management unit with an ISR function being activated, the deleting bearer request shall not be sent to the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation.
It can be seen from the operation modes of the ISR deactivation of the above first two scenarios, that the behaviors that the S-GW performs towards the deleting bearer request from the mobility management units with the ISR function being activated can not be the same. If Scenario 1 is satisfied, i.e., the S-GW will send the deleting bearer request to the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR activation upon receiving the deleting bearer request from one party; then in Scenario 2, there will be deleting bearer requests in both the direction from the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation to the S-GW and the direction from the S-GW to this mobility management unit, the deleting bearer requests is not only conflict with each other but also redundant.
But in Scenario 3, there is no solution of the ISR deactivation. If the operation mode of Scenario 1 is used, an error operation will occur because the S-GW need not delete the bearer to the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function deactivation. However, if the S-GW does not send the deleting bearer signaling to the mobility management unit, it can not obtain the information of the current deactivated ISR, at this time, the asynchronsim of the ISR deactivation states will bring into a subsequent flow error; if the operation mode of Scenario 2 is used, the other mobility management unit associated with the ISR function activation will acquire the state information of the ISR deactivation, but the detachment will also occur to the UE, which is an error operation.
Therefore, there is a need for a technology which can avoid the error operation of the ISR function deactivation under the above scenarios.

Method for deactivating ISR and a mobility management unit


A fibrinogen receptor antagonist of the formula EQU Ac-Cys-Asn-Pro-(L-AMF)-Gly-Asp-Cys-OH. or EQU Ac-Cys-Asn-(DiMeTzl)-(L-AMF)-Gly-Asp-Cys-OH.

This invention relates to compounds for inhibiting the binding of fibrinogen to blood platelets, and for inhibiting the aggregation of blood platelets.
Fibrinogen is a glycoprotein, present in blood plasma, which participates in platelet aggregation and fibrin formation. Platelets are cell-like anucleated fragments, found in the blood of all mammals, which participate in blood coagulation. Interaction of fibrinogen with a receptor on the platelet membrane glycoprotein complex IIb/IIIa is known to be essential for normal platelet function.
Zimmerman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,683,291, describes peptides having utility in the study of fibrinogen-platelet, platelet-platelet, and cell-cell interactions. The peptides are described as having utility where it is desirable to retard or prevent formation of a thrombus or clot in the blood. The general formula for the peptides is: EQU H.sub.2 N-(Ch)-Arg-Gly-Asp-(Cx)-H
where Ch and Cx are sequences of amino acids.
Pierschbacher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,881, describes the sequence of an 11.5 kDal polypeptide fragment of fibronectin which embodies the cell-attachment-promoting activity of fibronectin. A specifically described fragment is: ##STR1##
Ruoslahti et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,517, describes tetrapeptides which alter cell-attachment activity of cells to various substrates. The peptides are stated to "consist essentially of" the following sequence: EQU X-Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser-Y
wherein X is H or one or more amino acids and Y is OH or one or amino acids. FIG. 1 lists the polypeptides that were synthesized by Ruoslahti et al. in "determining the smallest peptide exhibiting cell attachment activity".
Ruoslahti et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,079, describes similar tetrapeptides having Ser substituted with Thr or Cys.
Pierschbacher et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 81, pp.5985-5988, October 1984 describe variants of the cell recognition site of fibronectin that retain attachment-promoting activity. They assayed the cell attachment-promoting activities of a number of structures closely resembling the Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser peptide, and found "that the arginine, glycine, and aspartate residues cannot be replaced even with closely related amino acids, but that several amino acids can replace serine without loss of activity."
Ruoslahti et al., Science, Vol. 238, pp. 491-497, Oct. 23, 1987, discuss cell adhesion proteins. They specifically state that "[e]lucidation of the amino acid sequence of the cell-attachment domain in fibronectin and its duplication with synthetic peptides establish the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) as the essential structure recognized by cells in fibronectin".
Cheresh, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 84, pp. 6471-6475, September 1987, describes the Arg-Gly-Asp-directed adhesion receptor involved in attachment to fibrinogen and yon Willebrand Factor.
Adams et al., U. S. Pat. No. 4,857,508, describes tetrapeptides which inhibit platelet aggregation and the formation of a thrombus. The tetrapeptides have the formula: EQU X-Gly-Asp-Y
wherein X can be H2NC(.dbd.NH)NH(CH2)nCH(Z)COOH or Ac-Arg, wherein Z=H, NH2, or NH-Acyl and n=1-4, and wherein Y can be Tyr-NH2, Phe-NH2 or a group of a specifically defined formula.
Applicants have discovered fibrinogen receptor antagonists which do not contain the amino acid sequence Arg-Gly-Asp which is taught in the art as specifically required for binding to platelet membrane glycoprotein complex IIb/IIIa.


A bidirectional optical transceiver includes a wavelength-selecting filter, an optical fiber, a transmitting module, and a receiving module. The wavelength-selecting filter is placed on an optical axis, passes a first optical signal therethrough, and reflects a second optical signal perpendicularly to the traveling path of the second optical signal. The optical fiber has a face that is opposite to the wavelength-selecting filter and is inclined at an angle of φ with respect to a normal line perpendicular to the optical axis. The transmitting module is placed on the optical axis in opposition to the optical fiber with respect to the wavelength-selecting filter and has a light source for generating the first optical signal and outputting the generated first optical signal to the wavelength-selecting filter at an inclined angle with respect to the optical axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an optical transceiver, and in particular, to an optical transceiver used in a bidirectional optical communication field.
2. Description of the Related Art
With an increase demand in transmission of high-quality broadcasting, Internet data, and video conferences at individual homes, the establishment of Fiber to the Home (FTTH) networks using optical fibers is being actively carried out.
An economical optical communication solution, i.e., a 1.25 Gbps Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON), includes a single central office (an Optical Line Terminal: OLT) that provides a communication service and a plurality of subscribers including Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) for communication with the central office. In operation, the central office splits an optical signal using a splitter for transmission to the subscribers.
A communication charge imposed on each subscriber includes the cost associated with the maintenance and equipment fees of an ONT and the central office. Thus, it is desirable to minimize the costs of the ONT and the OLT to minimize the communication charge imposed on each subscriber.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,767,171 filed on Feb. 11, 1987 by Siemens Corp. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,075,635 filed on Sep. 4, 1997 by Lucent Technologies Inc. disclose bidirectional optical transceiving modules.
Briefly, the bidirectional optical transceiving module of Siemens Corp. includes three lenses, making its structure complicated and increasing its cost. On the other hand, the bidirectional optical transceiving module of Lucent Technologies Inc. includes two lenses, but the optical axes of an optical fiber and a filter are not easy to arrange and an expensive aspherical lens is additionally required to minimize the occurrence of aberration.
Moreover, the bidirectional optical transceiving module of Lucent Technologies, Inc. has an asymmetric structure in which the incident plane of the optical fiber is arranged remotely from the optical axis to improve the optical coupling efficiency between an optical signal generated from a light source and the optical fiber, causing a tracking error according to a change in temperature or degradation in reliability.


A radiographic imaging apparatus for acquiring a radiographic image includes: a position detector configured to detect a position of an X-ray receiver, in which the X-ray receiver is configured to receive a radiant ray radiated by an X-ray radiator, which radiates a radiant ray, and output an electrical signal in accordance with the received radiant ray; and a display controller configured to display, on a display unit, image data pertaining to the X-ray receiver and image data pertaining to a radiating area of the radiant ray of the X-ray radiator, overlapped with each other based on the position of the X-ray receiver detected by the position detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technology of creating radiographic image data by irradiating an object with a radiant ray.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an X-ray imaging apparatus used such as in a hospital irradiates an object with an X-ray from an X-ray radiator, detects the X-ray that has passed through the object by an X-ray receiver, outputs it as an electrical signal, which is then image-processed, for creating so-called X-ray image data. Therefore, it is necessary that the X-ray radiator and the X-ray receiver be arranged to face each other.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-100948 discloses a technique of detecting a radiating region that has been irradiated with an X-ray, detecting the presence/absence of a relative position shift between an X-ray radiator and an X-ray sensor using position information based on the radiating region, and controlling X-ray radiation by the X-ray radiator. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-135212 discloses a technique of displaying image data acquired by a visible camera overlaid with an external form acquired by a flat surface sensor.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H09-66116 discloses a technique of irradiating a body surface of a subject with a light (an index light) as an index for marking an area of the body surface of the subject to be irradiated with a therapeutic radiant ray.
In a mobile X-ray imaging apparatus or the like, which has an X-ray imaging apparatus installed in a movable carriage for performing X-ray imaging at a destination, the X-ray radiator and the X-ray receiver need to face each other at every imaging opportunity. Nevertheless, it is difficult to cause the X-ray radiator and the X-ray receiver to accurately face each other since the X-ray receiver is hidden behind a subject (patient) to be an object, a bed sheet, clothing, and the like.
Using the techniques disclosed in the above-described three patent documents, a user is still unable to check a radiating area of the X-ray radiator and a position of the X-ray receiver simultaneously, whereby it is difficult to cause the X-ray radiator and the X-ray receiver to accurately face each other.
Therefore, an objective of the present invention is to make it easy for a radiating unit and a receiving unit to face each other.

Radiographic imaging apparatus, control method therefor, and storage medium having stored program


A multi-use support or clamping device and method for supporting at least one hose is mountable to a fixture, such as a sink, toilet, or other waste receptacle, for facilitating discharge of a liquid waste directly into the waste receptacle. The multi-use clamping device includes a clamp, a hose support, an attachment mechanism, and an anchoring mechanism. The clamp is removably securable to the waste receptacle or other fixture. The hose support is an elongated cylindrical member having a bore therethrough sized for disposition of at least one hose, such as a dialysis hose, a cable, tubing, or any other elongated piece of material. The anchoring mechanism may be a U-shaped bracket, a plurality of castellation or slots, a spring mechanism, Velcro, a bladder, or any other suitable type of anchoring device for securely holding the hose.

The invention relates to a clamping device and method and, more particularly, to a clamping device which can be fastened quickly and securely to many types of fixtures for the purpose of holding and controlling hoses, such as those used to discharge medical waste fluids into fixtures in a sanitary manner.
This invention can be utilized in any circumstance in which a person is trying to control hoses or cables, including, but not limited to use in the medical field. Every day a large number of dialysis procedures are performed in the hospital or subacute setting. Dialysis is a medical procedure performed on patients whose kidneys are not functioning properly or at all. Kidney failure results in a build up of wastes within the human body which can seriously endanger the health of a person or be life threatening. Dialysis technology, which is a medically administered process utilizing complex machinery, replicates the function of kidneys by external means and has developed into two types of treatment: Hemodialysis and Peritoneal dialysis.
Hemodialysis is the more common process utilized and involves circulating a patients blood outside of the body through a membrane filter via a medical machine which cleans the blood of wastes and returns the blood to the patient. The machine which is used to filter or treat a patients blood is called a hemodialysis instrument machine. During this process, the machine emits a waste fluid which needs to be safely controlled and disposed of properly. This fluid is conveyed via hoses to a waste receptacle, namely, a suitable sink, toilet, or combination thereof.
The other type of treatment, called peritoneal dialysis, uses the patients own membrane, which is called a peritoneal membrane, as a filter. The peritoneal membrane is a semi-permeable membrane similar to a sac which is located in a persons abdomen area. This membrane allows waste particles to permeate it, but prevents larger blood cells to permeate the membrane. In Peritoneal dialysis, a patient has a catheter surgically implanted into the abdominal wall which is used to transmit necessary fluids into a persons abdomen for the purpose of filtering the blood and is used to transmit waste fluids from the body to a suitable waste receptacle such as a suitable sink, toilet, or combination thereof.
Although both methods offer distinct advantages and disadvantages depending on individual patient circumstances, either method will generate waste fluids which need to be controlled and disposed of in a sanitary way. These fluids can contain pathogenic microorganisms including but not limited to: Hepatitis b, c, d viruses, HIV viruses, and potentially to a variety of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. Spilling of such fluids can contaminate and infect floors, medical equipment, and fixtures. Not only is this unsanitary, but also poses a health risk to other patients and medical personnel. The potential for the spread of disease is profound. These infectious materials can lie dormant or be absorbed into other materials and later transmitted to other areas or people posing a significant health threat. Labor is diverted to clean up and control spills and relations between purveyors of the service and recipients can be strained.
Various solutions have been offered to assist in controlling medical waste hoses. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,180 to DiMaggio presents a waste assembly apparatus utilizing a suction cup for mounting. But with a myriad of designs, shapes, and sizes of bathroom fixtures, there may not be an adequate flat mounting surface in all settings. Also, depending on the weight and angle of the discharge hoses, variable amounts of torque would be applied to the mounting apparatus which could cause the suction cup to become disengaged. Also, suction cups can lose suction when circumstances are not ideal causing failure of the mechanism.
Another apparatus is proposed in U.S. Patent Application No. 2005/0247346 to Pentz entitled "Hose Mount" presents a hose mounting fixture. This fixture, while allowing the operator to hang a hose from a suitable surface such as an attic rafter, does not offer the ability to secure and control hoses adequately to such fixtures like sinks, toilets, and the like. The invention does not offer the ability to quickly and securely mount the unit, and the hoses are not secured in a specific direction at a specific point. This would be problematic in a medical waste discharge situation whereby the discharge hoses would need to be secured in a controlled manner spatially in order to prevent spillage.
Therefore, what is needed is an apparatus and method for quickly and securely mounting hoses or cables to a multitude of surfaces and one which the risk of failure is extraordinarily low due to the health risks associated with a failure. The present invention eliminates the drawbacks associated with prior art and provides a new and alternative apparatus which can be used to quickly attach to a multitude of surfaces and offers a secure mounting mechanism which is unlikely to disengage when mounted and offers the user a means to securely hold hoses or cables in a secure way to prevent their disengagement during use.


The disclosed embodiments relate to a system that selectively drops a prefetch request at a cache. During operation, the system receives the prefetch request at the cache. Next, the system identifies a prefetch source for the prefetch request, and then uses accuracy information for the identified prefetch source to determine whether to drop the prefetch request. In some embodiments, the accuracy information includes accuracy information for different prefetch sources. In this case, determining whether to drop the prefetch request involves first identifying a prefetch source for the prefetch request, and then using accuracy information for the identified prefetch source to determine whether to drop the prefetch request.

1. Field
The disclosed embodiments relate to techniques for improving the performance of computer systems. More specifically, the disclosed embodiments relate to a method and apparatus for using prefetch accuracy information to make decisions about handling prefetches received during program execution.
2. Related Art
Prefetching can significantly improve computer system processor performance by loading cache lines containing instructions or data into a cache memory before the instructions or data are needed. This can prevent the processor from stalling while waiting for the instructions or data. However, prefetches can actually degrade processor performance if they are inaccurate because inaccurate prefetches consume valuable memory bandwidth and also cause cache pollution, both of which can delay actual demand requests.
Some processors attempt to mitigate the problem of prefetches delaying demand requests by implementing a "prefetch-dropping" mechanism. For example, some systems drop prefetch requests directed to a cache if the occupancy of the cache's miss buffer reaches a prescribed threshold. Unfortunately, empirical results show that this type of prefetch-dropping often does not perform well in practice. In fact, system performance can actually be reduced in some cases when prefetch dropping is enabled.
Hence, what is needed is a method and an apparatus for implementing prefetch dropping without the above-described problems.

Selectively dropping prefetch requests based on prefetch accuracy information


A novel thermoplastic resin composition is here provided which contains. (I) 100 parts by weight of a polyoxymethylene resin alone or a mixture of the polyoxymethylene resin and a polycarbonate resin, with PA1 (II) 0.1 to 100 parts by weight of a multi-phase structure thermoplastic resin which is composed of 5 to 95% by weight of an epoxy group-containing olefin copolymer and 95 to 5% by weight of a vinyl polymer or copolymer obtained from at least one kind of vinyl monomer, either of both the components being in the state of a dispersion phase having a particle diameter of 0.001 to 10 .mu.m.. Furthermore, a novel method for preparing the above-mentioned thermoplastic resin composition is also provided here.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermoplastic resin composition having excellent impact resistance, electrical properties, heat resistance, moldability and dimensional stability, and a method for preparing the same. This composition of the present case can be widely utilized as materials for electrical and electronic parts, machine parts, automobile parts and the like.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
A polyoxymethylene resin is excellent in electrical properties, dimensional stability, moldability, sliding properties and mechanical strength, but it has the drawback that its impact properties are poor. On the other hand, a polycarbonate resin has excellent mechanical properties, heat resistance and moldability, but it is poor in chemical resistance and physical properties at low temperatures.
In order to remove this drawback, a method has been suggested in which a certain kind of elastomer is blended with the polyoxymethylene, and this method is relatively excellent in that impact resistance is improved.
However, as the amount of the elastomer is increased so as to improve the impact resistance, other characteristics of the polyoxymethylene resin deteriorate. In consequence, this method is not considered to be satisfactory.
If the drawbacks of the polyoxymethylene resin and the polycarbonate resin can be compensated mutually with the advantages thereof, thermoplastic resins having further improved characteristics will be obtained and new use applications will be developed. However, the polyoxymethylene resin and the polycarbonate resin are different in chemical structures, and affinity between these resins is insufficient. In consequence, the advantages of both the resins can scarcely been utilized.

Thermoplastic resin composition and method for preparing the same


A network system is provided. The network system includes a first network device and a second network device running in data link layer (L2). The first network device includes a first switch and a first PPPoE (Point-to-Point over Ethernet) agent integrally coupled to the first switch. The second network device also includes a second switch and a second PPPoE agent integrally coupled to the second switch. The network system further includes a PPPoE client running in network layer (L3) that communicates to the first PPPoE agent and a PPPoE server in L3 that communicates to the second PPPoE agent. The PPPoE client uses a broadcast (Bcast) MAC address in an initial IPCP (Internet Protocol Control Protocol) negotiation message between the PPPoE client and the PPPoE server.

Request for Comments (RFC) 5578, an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard, defines the Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) with Credit-Based Extensions for Ethernet-based communications between a router and a modem that operates in a variable bandwidth environment and has limited buffering capabilities. To support the credit-based flow control extensions, PPPoE peers can grant each other forwarding credits. The grantee is allowed to forward traffic to the peer only when it has a sufficient number of credits. When credit-based forwarding is used on both sides of the session, the radio client can throttle traffic by limiting the number of credits it grants to the router. RFC 5578 is a promising technology which can serve as a bridge to merge two very different worlds, IP routing and mobile radio, while taking advantage of the strengths of each.
Attempts on using the RFC 5578 with a PPPoE agent embedded into a Layer 2 switch have not been successful. To address this compatibility issue, modifications to the RFC 5578 implementation have been proposed such that the destination MAC (Media Access Control) address of the protocol negotiation message is replaced by the pre-defined MAC address once it is received by the Layer 2 switch. However, this will cause incompatibilities with other RFC 5578 compliant COTS devices. In addition, users may not be able to remotely access the switch because the access requests will be forwarded to the device with the pre-defined MAC address. Furthermore, when the network condition changes, e.g., the destined device is replaced, it requires the system administrators to manually reconfigure the switch at runtime. The reconfiguration process is time-consuming and error-prone which is undesirable.

PPPoE extension over layer 2 switch embedding PPPoE agent


A vulcanizable rubber composition containing (i) (A) a chlorine-containing rubber and (B) a triazinethiol.amine salt or (ii) (a) a chlorine-containing rubber, (b) a triazinethiol as a vulcanization agent, and (c), as a vulcanization agent, (c-1) an aromatic carboxylic acid amine salt, (c-2) an aliphatic carboxylic acid amine salt, and (c-3) a phenolamine salt.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vulcanizable rubber composition of a chlorine-containing rubber such as chlorinated ethylene-.alpha.-olefin copolymer rubber, epichlorohydrin rubber, chlorinated polyethylene.
2. Description of the Related Art
Chlorine-containing rubbers are generally vulcanized and widely used in, for example, automobile parts, electrical parts, construction materials, and general industrial parts.
It is known in the art that the vulcanization of such chlorine-containing rubbers can be conducted by using a triazine derivative as the vulcanization agent (Japanese Pat. Publication (Kokoku) No. 48-36926 and 53-10099). Nevertheless, when a triazine derivative is formulated as the vulcanization agent according to the recipe known in the art, a drawback of storage stability arises wherein a lowering of, for example, the vulcanization rate, occurs and thus a problem arises in that the preparation of rubber products becomes difficult.

Vulcanizable rubber composition with triazine thiols


A secure communication forum is established through use of a network resource that is available to a host user and one or more forum users. The host user is validated and assigned a master key for his or her forum. Individual users who are to participate in the forum are assigned users keys that are validated with the master key. The forum is maintained for ongoing use for the users.

Asymmetric key cryptography enables secure end to end communications using public-private encryption key pairs. Given knowledge of a recipient's public key, a sender can encrypt information in such a way that only the recipient who possesses the corresponding private key may decrypt and view that information. Public keys convey no information that will compromise the confidentiality of the transmission and may be freely shared with anyone. In contrast, private keys must never be shared. The obvious advantage of this system over symmetric key cryptographic systems is that secrets (e.g. passwords or keys) need not be shared between the sender and recipient in order to communicate privately.
To enable asymmetric key cryptography, the following is generally required: (i) the public key must be widely known or available, and (2) the identity associated with a public-private key pair must be trusted. A key certificate encapsulates identity information and binds it to a specific public-private key pair and a Certificate Authority (or CA) asserts the validity of this information. The validity of a given CA may in turn be asserted by another CA and the result is a hierarchical chain of trust that ends with a Root Certificate Authority, the trust of which is asserted by an alternate but definitive source of authority (e.g. MICROSOFT® asserts the validity of Root Certificate Authorities installed on Windows based computers). If the Root CA is trusted and all intermediate CAs are valid then the identity described by the original certificate is valid and the public-private key pair may be trusted. The term Public Key Infrastructure, or PKI, is used to describe the set of technologies needed for distributing and sharing certificates (and public keys) and asserting and verifying the validity of the identity in certificates bound to public-private key pairs.
Asymmetric key cryptography enables assertion and verification of identity in PKI through the use of digital signatures. A digital signature is created by encrypting with a private key instead of a public key; signature verification is performed by decrypting with the public key. Digital signatures preclude forgery and ensure authenticity as a result of two key premises: (1) public-private key pairs are unique and have one to one correspondence—for a given private key there exists only one matching public key and vice versa; (2) cryptographic hash functions used in creating digital signatures (e.g. SHA-256) create very good random numbers. For example, to sign and validate a certificate a CA first hashes the contents of the certificate and encrypts the result with its own private key to create a signature. A system wishing to verify the authenticity of the certificate decrypts the signature with the CA's public key and compares the result to a recomputed hash. If the decrypted signature matches the recomputed hash then the signature is valid and the certificate contains the information the CA intended. Forgery is not practically possible because (1) only the corresponding public key will correctly decrypt the signature for a given private key and (2) guessing the private key is hard because the data that's actually encrypted/signed (the result of the hash) is highly random and consequently, very little information about the private key is exposed even if many signatures are available for analysis.
Digital signatures are also used to bind a certificate to a specific public-private key pair. A request for a certificate includes the requestor's identifying information as well as its public key and the whole structure is signed by the requestor's private key. This signature binds the requestor's identity to its public-private key pair-only the possessor of the private key corresponding to the public key in the request could have signed the request. The CA verifies the requestor's signature and identity information, then creates a certificate from this identity information and the requestor's public key and signs the whole structure with its private key. Now, if the CA is trusted then the identity information in the certificate is trusted and known to correspond to one public-private key pair.
One implicit requirement in PKI systems is that the underlying functional components (e.g. hardware or software) that rely on the certificates and keys to perform cryptographic operations must ensure that certificates and the corresponding public-private key pairs are valid before using them. This is usually done by verifying the content and signature of each certificate in a chain of certificates up to a trusted Root Certificate before performing any operation or relying on a result.
PKI, in its entirety, is a complex technology, and solutions designed to manage this complexity are equally complex and consequently difficult to use and maintain. To encapsulate this complexity, PKI is typically managed separately from the applications that use it. Furthermore, applications that utilize PKI to send and receive encrypted confidential information are difficult to configure. As a result, the powerful combination of these technologies is out of reach for individuals and small business that lack the technical sophistication or resources.
PKI, on a large scale, with its hierarchies and chains of trust can enable secure and trusted communication between a large number of people, machines and services. For example, many online banking sites utilize PKI to manage their customer interactions, such as bill payment or security trades. In some European and Asian countries, government entities issue digital identities to their citizens and enable them to use online services such as filing tax returns that require strong, two-factor authentication. At a large scale, when all of the components are in place and well managed and maintained, PKI works relatively well.
Other data security infrastructures have included Rights of Management Service. Such technology controls access to information embedded in specific documents. In general, the author of a document provisions the recipient's rights to access the information before sending the document and when the recipient attempts to view the document it must first prove its identity to the Rights Management Service before access is granted. Such systems are bound to specific application and document types and like PKI, access rights and policies are typically managed separately from the applications that use them.

Computer-implemented forum for enabling secure exchange of information


A computer-implemented method is provided for designing a restraint layer of an inflatable vessel. The restraint layer is inflatable from an initial uninflated configuration to an inflated configuration and is constructed from a plurality of interfacing longitudinal straps and hoop straps. The method involves providing computer processing means (e.g., to receive user inputs, perform calculations, and output results) and utilizing this computer processing means to implement a plurality of subsequent design steps. The computer processing means is utilized to input the load requirements of the inflated restraint layer and to specify an inflated configuration of the restraint layer. This includes specifying a desired design gap between pairs of adjacent longitudinal or hoop straps, whereby the adjacent straps interface with a plurality of transversely extending hoop or longitudinal straps at a plurality of intersections. Furthermore, an initial uninflated configuration of the restraint layer that is inflatable to achieve the specified inflated configuration is determined. This includes calculating a manufacturing gap between pairs of adjacent longitudinal or hoop straps that correspond to the specified desired gap in the inflated configuration of the restraint layer.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,231,010 and 6,547,189 are directed to the construction of an inflatable hybrid spacecraft module. The spacecraft module is lightweight, collapsible, and compact prior to space flight, but may be inflated and enlarged to provide an adequate volume for human habitation, laboratory work, and/or space flight. The present system and method are particularly applicable to the design and manufacture of a restraint layer for such a module. Accordingly, the specification of each these patents serves well as a source of background information and may be referred to for background.

System and method of designing a load bearing layer of an inflatable vessel

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration