In a process for producing cyclohexylbenzene, hydrogen, and benzene are contacted in a first reaction zone under conditions effective to produce a product effluent containing residual benzene in the vapor phase and cyclohexylbenzene in the liquid phase. The product effluent is separated into a first stream that is rich in residual benzene in the vapor phase as compared to the product effluent and a second stream that is rich in cyclohexylbenzene in the liquid phase as compared to the product effluent. At least a portion of the first stream is cooled to condense at least a portion of the residual benzene in the vapor phase to the liquid phase and produce a condensate stream. At least a portion of the condensate stream is recycled to the first reaction zone.

Phenol is an important product in the chemical industry and is useful in, for example, the production of phenolic resins, bisphenol A, ε-caprolactam, adipic acid, and plasticizers.
Currently, the most common route for the production of phenol is the Hock process. This is a three-step process in which the first step involves alkylation of benzene with propylene to produce cumene, followed by oxidation of the cumene to the corresponding hydroperoxide, and then cleavage of the hydroperoxide to produce equimolar amounts of phenol and acetone. However, the world demand for phenol is growing more rapidly than that for acetone. In addition, due to a developing shortage, the cost of propylene is likely to increase.
Thus, a process that uses higher alkenes instead of propylene as feed and coproduces higher ketones, such as cyclohexanone, rather than acetone may be an attractive alternative route to the production of phenols. For example, there is a growing market for cyclohexanone, which is used as an industrial solvent, as an activator in oxidation reactions, and in the production of adipic acid, cyclohexanone resins, cyclohexanone oxime, caprolactam, and nylon 6.
It is known from, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,513 that cyclohexylbenzene can be produced by contacting benzene with hydrogen in the presence of a bifunctional catalyst comprising a molecular sieve of the MCM-22 family and at least one hydrogenation metal selected from palladium, ruthenium, nickel, cobalt, and mixtures thereof. The contacting is conducted at a temperature of about 50° C. to 350° C., a pressure of about 100 kPa to 7000 kPa, a benzene to hydrogen molar ratio of about 0.01 to 100, and a WHSV of about 0.01 to 100. In addition to cyclohexylbenzene, the product of the hydroalkylation reaction comprises cyclohexane, dicyclohexylbenzene, bicyclohexane, and a significant amount of benzene. The '513 patent also discloses that the resultant cyclohexylbenzene can be oxidized to the corresponding hydroperoxide which is then decomposed to the desired phenol and cyclohexanone co-product.
One problem with producing cyclohexylbenzene by the hydroalkylation of benzene over an acid catalyst, such as MCM-22, is that the reaction is highly exothermic and so it is normally necessary to provide for cooling of the reagents. This is conveniently achieved by recycling at least part of the liquid phase reaction product although, since the product contains high concentrations of cyclohexylbenzene, this has the unintended result of increasing the concentration of unwanted dicyclohexylbenzene and bicyclohexane in the product and hence decreasing the yield of the desired cyclohexylbenzene. There is, therefore, interest in finding alternative processes for cooling the reagents in the hydroalkylation process.
One such process is disclosed in U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2010/0317895, in which (a) hydrogen and a liquid feed comprising benzene are introduced into a reaction zone, where the benzene reacts with the hydrogen to produce cyclohexylbenzene; (b) a liquid effluent stream comprising cyclohexylbenzene and benzene is removed from said reaction zone; (c) the liquid effluent stream is divided into at least first and second portions, wherein the ratio of the mass of the effluent stream first portion to the mass of effluent stream second portion is at least 2:1; (d) the effluent stream first portion is cooled; and (e) the cooled effluent stream first portion is recycled to the reaction zone.
According to the invention, an alternative process for cooling the reagents in the benzene hydroalkylation process is provided, in which the hydroalkylation conditions are adjusted to produce a significant amount of vaporization of the benzene in the reactor. This vaporization not only provides direct cooling but also, since cyclohexylbenzene is much less volatile than benzene and cyclohexane, the vapor phase at the reactor exit contains very little cyclohexylbenzene. Thus, by cooling and condensing the vapor phase effluent and then recycling the condensed stream back to the reactor, additional reactor cooling is achieved while restricting the amount of cyclohexylbenzene fed back to reactor and hence minimizing the production of unwanted dicyclohexylbenzene and bicyclohexane.


An image forming apparatus that prevents adverse effects caused by a transferring device on image formation while no high voltages are being applied to a transferring device includes a transferring device that transfers a developed image resting on an image carrier, to a medium, a high-voltage power supply that applies a high voltage to the transferring device, and a disabling device that disables a flow of current through the transferring device while the high-voltage power supply is not applying any high voltage to the transferring device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a high-voltage power supply.
2. Related Background Art
In FIG. 4, reference numerals 1a to 1d denote photosensitive drums on which toner images are formed on the basis of an electrophotographic process. Reference numeral 2 denotes a transferring belt to which the toner images formed on the photosensitive drums are transferred in the order of 1a to 1d. Reference numerals 3a to 3d denote transferring blades to which predetermined high-voltage outputs are provided using predetermined timings in order to transfer the toner images to the transferring belt 2. Reference numerals 4a to 4d denote transferring high-voltage power supplies that respectively supply predetermined high-voltage outputs to the transferring blades 3a-3d. Reference numeral 5 denotes a cleaner blade that scrapes stains such as toner remaining on the transferring belt 2. Reference numeral 6 denotes a brush provided inside the transferring belt 2 in order to eliminate static electricity from the transferring belt 2 charged by the above described application of the transferring high voltage. Reference numeral 7 denotes a high-voltage power supply that supplies a predetermined static-electricity eliminating high voltage to the brush 6.
In the illustrated configuration, a transferring sheet 8 is supplied from the right of the drawing. The transferring sheet 8 attracted to the transferring belt 2 moves synchronously with rotation of the transferring belt 2 and reaches the photosensitive drum 1a. At this time, a toner image has already been formed on the photosensitive drum 1a and is transferred to the transferring sheet 8 by the transferring blade 3a and a predetermined high-voltage output to the blade 3a supplied from the transferring high-voltage power supply 4a. Subsequently, the transferring sheet 8 is conveyed to the photosensitive drums 1b, 1c, and 1d, where the respective toner images are transferred to the transferring sheet at the respective positions so as to be superimposed on one another. The transferring sheet then passes through a fixer (not shown) provided at the left end of the transferring belt 2, where the toner images superimposed on one another on the transferring sheet are fixed to the transferring sheet 8. On the other hand, the transferring belt 2 continues to rotate after the transferring sheet 8 has been discharged. The cleaner blade 5 scrapes residual toner off. Furthermore, a high-voltage output by the high-voltage power supply 7 supplied to the transferring brush 6 eliminates the charges by the transferring high-voltage output. The transferring belt 2 is weakly negatively charged in order to allow the supplied transferring sheet to be stuck thereto.
FIG. 5 shows an operation of a transferring process on the transferring blade 3a. In the drawing, reference character t denotes the elapse of time counted with reference to the transferring blade 3a. Reference character ta denotes the point of time when the transferring sheet 8 passes through the transferring blade 3. Reference character tb denotes the point of time when the leading end of an image transferred to the transferring sheet 8 reaches the transferring blade. Further, the drawing shows on its axis of ordinates a variation in the voltage of the transferring high-voltage output supplied to the transferring blades. The voltage measured before the transferring sheet 8 reaches the transferring blade 3a is defined as V0. The transferring high-voltage power supply 4a is controlled so that the voltage starts to increase immediately after the transferring sheet 8 has passed through the transferring blade 3a and so that a desired transferring voltage is reached before a toner image on the photosensitive drum 1a reaches the transferring blade 3a.
The above operation of transferring a toner image is similarly repeated for the photosensitive drums 1b, 1c, and 1d to superimpose toner images of four colors including cyan, magenta, yellow, and black on one another on the transferring sheet 8. Thus, a full color image is formed on the transferring sheet 8.
The voltage V0 in the drawing is weakly negative by the output from the above described high-voltage power supply 7. Accordingly, when the transferring sheet 8 is absent, even if the transferring high-voltage output supplied to the transferring blade 3 is set at 0 V, a current flows from the transferring blades 3a to 3d toward the transferring belt 2. This current serves to charge the photosensitive drum 1 via the transferring belt 2 and form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. When toner sticks to the electrostatic latent image, it is transferred to a conveyed transferring sheet 8 and a band-like stain image appears on a transferred image to be primarily formed.
To prevent such a stain image, the transferring high-voltage power supplies 4a to 4d are so structured to allow the output of polarity reverse to the inherent transferring high-voltage output, so that the current from the transferring blades 3a to 3d is controlled to 0 xcexcA at the place where the transferring sheets 8 is absent.
The previously described conventional high-voltage power supply apparatus has the following problems:
As described above, the outputs from the transferring high-voltage power supplies 4a to 4d at the place where the transferring sheets 8 is absent must be controlled to 0 xcexcA. However, a control circuit for the transferring high-voltage power supplies itself has a margin of error, so that the current outputs must have a certain tolerance. However, as previously described, the current flowing from the transferring blades 3a to 3d toward the transferring belt 2 (positive direction) causes stain images and is thus intolerable. Thus, a method has been put to practical use which sets the outputs from the transferring high-voltage power supplies 4a to 4d to be weakly negative where the transferring sheet 8 is absent, so as to allow a very small current to flow from the transferring belt 2 toward the transferring blades 3a to 3d (negative direction). However, with this method, a current of minus several xcexcA, which may include a margin of error, may flow. Accordingly, in order to minimize this current, the magnitude of the error must be reduced, thereby making the configuration of the transferring high-voltage power supplies 4a to 4d difficult. On the other hand, an attempt to tolerate a large current in the negative direction causes the photosensitive drum 1 to be charged with a current flowing in the direction opposite to the one previously described. Then, inversely biased toner may be developed, also staining the transferred image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that solves the above described problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that prevents the adverse effects of a transferring device on image formation while no high voltages are being applied to the transferring device.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus having a transferring device that transfers a developed image resting on an image carrier to a medium, a high-voltage power supply that applies a high voltage to the transferring device, and a disabling device that disables the flow of a current through the transferring device when the above described high-voltage power supply doesn""t apply any high voltage to the above described transferring device.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus having a first high-voltage power supply that applies a high voltage to a load, a second high-voltage power supply that applies a high voltage having an opposite polarity compared to the first high-voltage power supply, and a current disabling device that disables the flow of a current from the second high-voltage power supply.
Other objects and features will be apparent from the following specification and drawings.

Image forming apparatus having high-voltage power supply


A display device comprising a light guide (12), a front plate (14), and an intermediate electromechanically operable foil (16). Two electrode layers (22, 23) are arranged on either side of the foil (16) to induce electrostatic forces on the foil (16) and to bring selected portions of the foil into contact with the light guide (12), thereby extracting light from the light guide (12). The second electrode layer (22) is arranged on the opposite side of the light guide (12) with reference to the foil (16), and separated from the light guide (12) by means of a refractive layer (28). As no electrode layer is required on the light guide itself, the light path of rays extracted from the light guide is cleaner, and the absorption of light is reduced. The light guide can have a thickness such that the light extracted from the light guide per unit length is sufficient to allow for line-at-a-time addressing.

Line-at-a-time addressing is a technique well known in the art (e.g. passive matrix OLED displays), and is based upon selecting one line of the display at a time, consecutively during the frame period, and while each line is selected addressing the pixels in this line. As a consequence, each pixel can only be addressed for a fraction of the frame period (i.e. the frame period divided by number of lines). Therefore, line-at-a-time addressing requires quite a large maximum intensity per pixel, in order to obtain the desired light output.


A system for controlling temperature and humidity of a controlled space includes a supply air path for supplying an outside air stream to the controlled space; an exhaust air path for conveying an exhaust air stream from the controlled space; a total energy recovery device in contact with the outside air stream and the exhaust air stream; a dehumidification wheel in contact with two spaced portions of the outside air stream; and a cooler in contact with the outside air stream between the two spaced portions.

The invention relates to the field of heating, ventilation and air conditioning and, more particularly, to a system and method for controlling temperature and humidity of a controlled space.
Uniform standards have been set for minimum treatment of air for conditioning controlled spaces. Two of these standards are ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 90.1 and ASHRAE/ANSI Standard 62, which prescribe basic energy efficiency requirements and minimum amounts of outside air to maintain acceptable indoor air quality. Standard 90.1 requires the use of a total energy recovery device when more than 5000 CFM (and greater than 70%) of outside air is being introduced into a space. Problems arise in hot and humid climates, where introducing large amounts of outdoor air can actually be detrimental to indoor air quality.
Attempts have been made to address this issue. U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,388 is drawn to a system and method for controlling temperature and humidity in a controlled space. However, other attempts at solving this problem still require excessive amounts of mechanical cooling.
The need remains for a system and method for controlling temperature and humidity in a controlled space with reduced requirements for mechanical cooling.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide such a system and method.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention appear herein.

System and method for controlling temperature and humidity of a controlled space


Disclosed is a negative electrode for a lithium secondary battery which includes: a negative electrode current collector; a first negative electrode mixture layer positioned on at least one surface of the negative electrode current collector and including a first negative electrode active material, a polymer binder and a conductive material; and a second negative electrode mixture layer positioned on the top surface of the first negative electrode mixture layer and including a second negative electrode active material, a polymer binder and a conductive material, wherein the second negative electrode active material has a smaller water contact angle as compared to the first negative electrode active material, and at least one of the first negative electrode active material and the second negative electrode active material is surface-modified.

As technological development and a demand for mobile instruments have been increased, rechargeable secondary batteries have been increasingly in demand as energy sources. In addition, among such secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries having high energy density and voltage, long cycle life and a low discharge rate have been commercialized and used widely. A lithium secondary battery includes a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The electrodes, such as the positive electrode and the negative electrode, are obtained by coating an electrode current collector with electrode slurry containing an electrode active material, binder and a solvent, followed by drying and pressing.
Recently, active studies have been conducted about the manufacture of a multi-layer electrode using two or more types of active materials in order to improve the performance of a battery, such as electrode adhesion, charging speed, or the like. When manufacturing a multi-layer electrode, it is possible to improve the problems of degradation of electrode adhesion and speed charging that may occur in the case of a monolayer electrode, and to improve life characteristics.
However, there are many problems, including a need for a complicated process, such as a coating system, and degradation of interfacial adhesion in a multi-layer electrode, in manufacturing a multi-layer electrode.

Negative electrode for lithium secondary battery and lithium secondary battery including the same


According to one embodiment, a television includes a housing includes a light-transmitting portion, a control part provided on an inner surface of the housing, a first light-emitting diode provided on the inner surface of the housing and configured to emit light towards the light-transmitting portion as controlled by the control part and a wiring provided on the inner surface of the housing and configured to connect the control part and the first light-emitting diode to each other.

For example, a status indicator which employs a lamp such as an LED is provided on an electronic device such as television in many cases to indicate a status of the electronic device such as ON or OFF of the power. Further, such a status indicator is used in some cases to notify a status to the user by lighting up the lamp when, for example, a built-in optical disk drive is being in operation.
As described above, the status indicator is a basic structure employed in a great number of types of electronic devices including televisions. Therefore, there are always the needs of improvements in terms of, for example, a lower cost with regard to the status indicator.


A method for driving a BLDC motor comprising at least three stator windings, comprising: a) determining a time period, and energizing during the time period two of the windings and leaving a third winding un-energized, based on a first motor state; b) measuring a first voltage representative for the back-EMF generated in the un-energized winding shortly before expiry of the time period; c) applying a commutation at expiry of the current time period; d) measuring a second voltage shortly after the commutation, and calculating a subsequent time period; e) repeating steps b) and c). An electrical circuit and a controller are provided for performing these methods.

Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors are a type of electrical motor having multiple status phases (e.g. three or more) and a permanent magnet as a rotor (e.g. a bar magnet or a multi-pole magnet). BLDC motors do not use brushes for commutation, but instead they are electronically commutated. This implies, however, that the drive circuit must know the relative position of the rotor with respect to the stator, in order to direct the magnetic field for exerting torque on the rotor.
One kind of BLDC motors uses sensor devices such as e.g. optical sensor devices or Hall elements positioned around the rotor for determining the relative position using a resolver. This, however, has the disadvantage of increased complexity, extra component cost and decreased reliability, especially in harsh motor environments.
Another kind of BLDC motors does not use such sensors, but uses the back-EMF (BEMF) generated in the windings for determining the rotor position. The shape of BEMF can e.g. be trapezoidal or sinusoidal, depending on how the windings are located on the stator. The working principles of synchronous brushless DC motors based on back-EMF are well known and well described in the art, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,343 (filed in 1978, almost 35 years ago) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,513 (filed in 1982) and many others. Several of these other applications are based on integration of the back-EMF signal, or on the zero-crossing of the back-EMF signal for determining the relative rotor position. A disadvantage of such methods is that they require additional and often complex circuitry, such as e.g. integrators, comparators, filters, etc.
In U.S. Pat. No. 7,737,651B2, De Four discloses a principle for determining the rotor position based on space vector theory. Besides from being highly theoretical and complex, the execution of this algorithm requires a powerful DSP.
US20030062860 describes a control system operating with a PWM speed regulation of a sensorless BLDC motor with a plurality of windings, and a hybrid method utilizing BEMF induced in stator windings to indicate the commutation instant and a falling edge detection method to override PWM chopping and commutation noises. The circuit and software are alleged to be relatively concise and low cost. Yet, the control device includes an analog filter and a comparator for generating the BEMF zero crossing points (ZCP). Other functions such as detecting the falling edge of the generated ZCPs may be implemented in an integrated controller.

Method and apparatus for driving a sensorless BLDC/PMSM motor


An endoscope apparatus includes: a reading unit which reads video data and control data from a recording medium, the recording medium containing the video data including a plurality of image data and the control data used to control a measurement operation; a measuring unit which performs the measurement operation on the basis of the image data of the video data read by the reading unit; and a control unit which controls the measuring unit on the basis of the control data read by the reading unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope apparatus and a method that processes a video signal obtained by imaging a subject.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-011150, filed Jan. 21, 2009, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
An endoscope apparatus has been used in the industrial field. The endoscope apparatus includes a thin and long insertion portion of an endoscope. A user inserts the insertion portion into an internal space of an object to be inspected such as a jet engine or a pipe in a factory, and performs an observation of corrosion or damage of a region of the object to be inspected and various treatments thereon.
Generally, the endoscope apparatus includes an endoscope and an apparatus body to which the endoscope is connected. An imaging unit including an imaging device such as an imaging lens or a CCD is disposed in a distal end of the endoscope. The endoscope includes a thin and long insertion portion provided with an illumination unit having an LED or the like to illuminate the internal space of the object from the distal end of the endoscope. In addition, the apparatus body includes various units. In detail, the apparatus body includes electric parts, such as a driving unit for driving the imaging unit and an image processing unit for processing the image signal output from the imaging unit, and a power supply for the illumination of the light.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. S63-201618 discloses a three-dimensional measurement by using the endoscope. In detail, in a site of observation, when an endoscope image required for measurement is displayed, the endoscope image is frozen (paused), and measurement is performed by using the frozen endoscope image. Alternatively, the endoscope image required for measurement is recorded as a still image, and measurement is performed by using the still image.


An olefin thermoplastic elastomer composition prepared by subjecting a composition comprising (a) 100 parts by weight of an ethylene-.alpha.-olefin-non-conjugated diene copolymer rubber having a high molecular weight, the Mooney viscosity (ML 1+4, at 125.degree. C.) of a composition consisting of 100 parts by weight of the copolymer rubber and 75 parts by weight of a mineral oil-type softening agent being 40 or more, (b) from 10 to 500 parts by weight of a crystalline ethylene-propylene block copolymer resin having a melt flow rate of 10 to 50, (c) from 3 to 300 parts by weight of a mineral oil-type softening agent, and (d) from 5 to 100 parts by weight of a low-molecular-weight propylene homopolymer resin having a number-average molecular weight of 2000 to 20000, the weight ratio of the low-molecular-weight propylene homopolymer resin to the crystalline ethylene-propylene block copolymer resin being 0.8 or less, to dynamic vulcanization using, as a vulcanizing agent, from 0.5 to 15 parts by weight of a reactive alkylphenol-formaldehyde resin to vulcanize the ethylene-.alpha.-olefin-non-conjugated diene copolymer rubber to a high degree.

Olefin thermoplastic elastomer compositions composed of an olefin rubber and a crystalline olefin resin are excellent in flexibility and resistances to thermal aging and weather.
It is, however, unsuitable to use the conventionally known olefin thermoplastic elastomer compositions as high-functional materials. This is because most of the elastomer compositions are materials which are partially vulcanized by an organic peroxide, so that their oil resistance as well as their shape recoverability at high temperatures, such as compression set, are not satisfactorily high. Furthermore, the vulcanization using an organic peroxide brings about not only vulcanization of the olefin rubber but also crosslinking or cleavage of molecules of the crystalline olefin resin. For this reason, it is difficult to vulcanize the olefin rubber to a high degree, and the resulting elastomer composition is to have poor mechanical properties.
To improve the above shortcomings, a method in which a reactive alkylphenol-formaldehyde resin (hereinafter referred to as a phenol-type vulcanizing agent) is employed as a vulcanizing agent has been proposed as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-46138 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 59-91142.
According to the above method, only the double bonds in an ethylene-.alpha.-olefin-non-conjugated diene copolymer rubber are selectively reacted with the phenol-type vulcanizing agent, so that the state of vulcanization can be significantly improved. The copolymer rubber can thus be vulcanized to a high degree which cannot be attained when an organic peroxide is used as a vulcanizing agent, and the resulting elastomer composition has drastically improved oil resistance and shape recoverability at high temperatures.
Thanks to the above method, the olefin thermoplastic elastomer compositions became usable as substitutes for synthetic rubbers, such as chloroprene rubber, chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubber, ethylene-propylenediene copolymer rubber and acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymer rubber, which have been conventionally used in the fields requiring high functionality, such as parts of automobiles and industrial machines.
However, since the olefin thermoplastic elastomer compositions vulcanized by the phenol-type vulcanizing agent have low fluidity, they are poor in injection moldability. In particular, in the production of thin moldings there is a problem of poor filling in a mold.
Moreover, the injection moldings of the above elastomer compositions have high anisotropy in mechanical properties. The moldings therefore tend to have, depending on their shapes, a portion of remarkably inferior properties in terms of, e.g., tensile strength and elongation at break. Such moldings are not suited for practical use.


An inverter device includes an inverter circuit, an inverter driving unit, and a clamp diode. The inverter circuit includes an upper arm unit and a lower arm unit connected in series. The upper arm unit and the lower arm unit include switching elements that drive a load. The inverter driving unit includes a high-withstand-voltage IC that drives the switching elements of the upper arm unit and the lower arm unit. The high-withstand-voltage IC has a first terminal for supplying a reference voltage to the lower arm unit and a second terminal for supplying a high-voltage to the upper arm unit. The clamp diode clamps a potential difference between the first terminal and the second terminal.

In a typical inverter device, a switching element is used to drive a load. Moreover, a high-withstand-voltage IC is used to drive control the switching of the switching element. A negative surge, however, is generated when the switching element performs switching. The negative surge is generated due to a variation in current per unit time (di/dt) and inductance of the wiring. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology for suppressing the generation of the negative surge. Specifically, Patent Document 1 teaches to connect a clamp diode between a low-voltage reference terminal and a high-voltage reference terminal of the high-withstand-voltage IC.
A negative voltage generated due to a small inductance resulting from a chip pattern, wiring, and the like, is the prime cause of the breakdown of the high-withstand-voltage IC. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the negative voltage is clamped by using the clamp diode to prevent the breakdown of the high-withstand-voltage IC.
On the other hand, Patent Document 2 teaches to provide a voltage divider circuit (resistance element) in series with the clamp diode in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1.
Not all the negative voltage, however, can be suppressed with the clamp diode. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 2, the negative voltage, which cannot be suppressed with the clamp diode, is divided by using the clamp diode and the resistance element of the voltage divider circuit to reduce the level of the negative voltage applied to the high-withstand-voltage IC.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-42575
[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent No. 3577478


There is provided a lighting device which emits light with an efficacy of at least 60 lumens per watt. The lighting device comprises at least one solid state light emitter, e.g., one or more light emitting diodes, and optionally further includes one or more lumiphor. In some embodiments, the output light is of a brightness of at least 300 lumens. In some embodiments, the output light has a CRI Ra of at least 90. Also, a method of lighting, comprising supplying electricity to a lighting device which emits light with an efficacy of at least 60 lumens per watt.

A large proportion (some estimates are as high as twenty-five percent) of the electricity generated in the United States each year goes to lighting. Accordingly, there is an ongoing need to provide lighting which is more energy-efficient. It is well-known that incandescent light bulbs are very energy-inefficient light sources—about ninety percent of the electricity they consume is released as heat rather than light. Fluorescent light bulbs are more efficient than incandescent light bulbs (by a factor of about 10) but are still less efficient as compared to solid state light emitters, such as light emitting diodes.
In addition, as compared to the normal lifetimes of solid state light emitters, e.g., light emitting diodes, incandescent light bulbs have relatively short lifetimes, i.e., typically about 750-1000 hours. In comparison, light emitting diodes, for example, have typical lifetimes between 50,000 and 70,000 hours. Fluorescent bulbs have longer lifetimes (e.g., 10,000-20,000 hours) than incandescent lights, but provide less favorable color reproduction.
Color reproduction is typically measured using the Color Rendering Index (CRI Ra). CRI Ra is a modified average of the relative measurement of how the color rendition of an illumination system compares to that of a reference radiator when illuminating eight reference colors, i.e., it is a relative measure of the shift in surface color of an object when lit by a particular lamp. The CRI Ra equals 100 if the color coordinates of a set of test colors being illuminated by the illumination system are the same as the coordinates of the same test colors being irradiated by the reference radiator. Daylight has a high CRI (Ra of approximately 100), with incandescent bulbs also being relatively close (Ra greater than 95), and fluorescent lighting being less accurate (typical Ra of 70-80). Certain types of specialized lighting have very low CRI (e.g., mercury vapor or sodium lamps have Ra as low as about 40 or even lower). Sodium lights are used, e.g., to light highways—driver response time, however, significantly decreases with lower CRI Ra values (for any given brightness, legibility decreases with lower CRI Ra).
Another issue faced by conventional light fixtures is the need to periodically replace the lighting devices (e.g., light bulbs, etc.). Such issues are particularly pronounced where access is difficult (e.g., vaulted ceilings, bridges, high buildings, traffic tunnels) and/or where change-out costs are extremely high. The typical lifetime of conventional fixtures is about 20 years, corresponding to a light-producing device usage of at least about 44,000 hours (based on usage of 6 hours per day for 20 years). Light-producing device lifetime is typically much shorter, thus creating the need for periodic change-outs.
Accordingly, for these and other reasons, efforts have been ongoing to develop ways by which solid state light emitters can be used in place of incandescent lights, fluorescent lights and other light-generating devices in a wide variety of applications. In addition, where light emitting diodes (or other solid state light emitters) are already being used, efforts are ongoing to provide light emitting diodes (or other solid state light emitters) which are improved, e.g., with respect to energy efficiency, color rendering index (CRI Ra), contrast, efficacy (lm/W), and/or duration of service.
A variety of solid state light emitters are well-known. For example, one type of solid state light emitter is a light emitting diode.
Light emitting diodes are semiconductor devices that convert electrical current into light. A wide variety of light emitting diodes are used in increasingly diverse fields for an ever-expanding range of purposes.
More specifically, light emitting diodes are semiconducting devices that emit light (ultraviolet, visible, or infrared) when a potential difference is applied across a p-n junction structure. There are a number of well-known ways to make light emitting diodes and many associated structures, and the present invention can employ any such devices. By way of example, Chapters 12-14 of Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, (2d Ed. 1981) and Chapter 7 of Sze, Modem Semiconductor Device Physics (1998) describe a variety of photonic devices, including light emitting diodes.
The expression "light emitting diode" is used herein to refer to the basic semiconductor diode structure (i.e., the chip). The commonly recognized and commercially available "LED" that is sold (for example) in electronics stores typically represents a "packaged" device made up of a number of parts. These packaged devices typically include a semiconductor based light emitting diode such as (but not limited to) those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,918,487; 5,631,190; and 5,912,477; various wire connections, and a package that encapsulates the light emitting diode.
As is well-known, a light emitting diode produces light by exciting electrons across the band gap between a conduction band and a valence band of a semiconductor active (light-emitting) layer. The electron transition generates light at a wavelength that depends on the band gap. Thus, the color of the light (wavelength) emitted by a light emitting diode depends on the semiconductor materials of the active layers of the light emitting diode.
Although the development of light emitting diodes has in many ways revolutionized the lighting industry, some of the characteristics of light emitting diodes have presented challenges, some of which have not yet been fully met. For example, the emission spectrum of any particular light emitting diode is typically concentrated around a single wavelength (as dictated by the light emitting diode's composition and structure), which is desirable for some applications, but not desirable for others, (e.g., for providing lighting, such an emission spectrum provides a very low CRI Ra).
Because light that is perceived as white is necessarily a blend of light of two or more colors (or wavelengths), no single light emitting diode junction has been developed that can produce white light. "White" LED lamps have been produced which have a light emitting diode pixel/cluster formed of respective red, green and blue light emitting diodes. Another "white" LED lamp which has been produced includes (1) a light emitting diode which generates blue light and (2) a luminescent material (e.g., a phosphor) that emits yellow light in response to excitation by light emitted by the light emitting diode, whereby the blue light and the yellow light, when mixed, produce light that is perceived as white light.
In addition, the blending of primary colors to produce combinations of non-primary colors is generally well understood in this and other arts. In general, the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Diagram (an international standard for primary colors established in 1931), and the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram (similar to the 1931 Diagram but modified such that similar distances on the Diagram represent similar perceived differences in color) provide useful reference for defining colors as weighted sums of primary colors.
The CRI Ra of efficient white LED lamps is generally low (in the range 65-75) as compared to incandescent light sources (CRI Ra of 100). Additionally the color temperature for LEDs is generally "cooler" (˜5500K) and less desirable than the color temperature of incandescent or CCFL bulbs (˜2700K). Both of these deficiencies in LEDs can be improved by the addition of other LEDs or lumiphors of selected saturated colors. As indicated above, light sources according to the present invention can utilize specific color "blending" of light sources of specific (x,y) color chromaticity coordinates (see U.S. Patent Application No. 60/752,555, filed Dec. 21, 2005, entitled "Lighting Device and Lighting Method" (inventors: Antony Paul van de Ven and Gerald H. Negley), the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference). For example, light from additional selected saturated sources can be mixed with the unsaturated broad spectrum source(s) to provide uniform illumination without any areas of discoloration; and if desired, for cosmetic reasons, the individual light emitters can be made to be not visible as discreet devices or discreet color areas when the illumination source or aperture is viewed directly.
Light emitting diodes can thus be used individually or in any combinations, optionally together with one or more luminescent material (e.g., phosphors or scintillators) and/or filters, to generate light of any desired perceived color (including white). Accordingly, the areas in which efforts are being made to replace existing light sources with light emitting diode light sources, e.g., to improve energy efficiency, color rendering index (CRI Ra), efficacy (lm/W), and/or duration of service, are not limited to any particular color or color blends of light.
Aspects related to the present invention can be represented on either the 1931 CIE (Commission International de I'Eclairage) Chromaticity Diagram or the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram. FIG. 1 shows the 1931 CIE Chromaticity Diagram. FIG. 2 shows the 1976 Chromaticity Diagram. FIG. 3 shows an enlarged portion of the 1976 Chromaticity Diagram, in order to show the blackbody locus in more detail. Persons of skill in the art are familiar with these diagrams, and these diagrams are readily available (e.g., by searching "CIE Chromaticity Diagram" on the internet).
The CIE Chromaticity Diagrams map out the human color perception in terms of two CIE parameters x and y (in the case of the 1931 diagram) or u′ and v′ (in the case of the 1976 diagram). For a technical description of CIE chromaticity diagrams, see, for example, "Encyclopedia of Physical Science and Technology", vol. 7, 230-231 (Robert A Meyers ed., 1987). The spectral colors are distributed around the edge of the outlined space, which includes all of the hues perceived by the human eye. The boundary line represents maximum saturation for the spectral colors. As noted above, the 1976 CIE Chromaticity Diagram is similar to the 1931 Diagram, except that the 1976 Diagram has been modified such that similar distances on the Diagram represent similar perceived differences in color.
In the 1931 Diagram, deviation from a point on the Diagram can be expressed either in terms of the coordinates or, alternatively, in order to give an indication as to the extent of the perceived difference in color, in terms of MacAdam ellipses. For example, a locus of points defined as being ten MacAdam ellipses from a specified hue defined by a particular set of coordinates on the 1931 Diagram consists of hues which would each be perceived as differing from the specified hue to a common extent (and likewise for loci of points defined as being spaced from a particular hue by other quantities of MacAdam ellipses).
Since similar distances on the 1976 Diagram represent similar perceived differences in color, deviation from a point on the 1976 Diagram can be expressed in terms of the coordinates, u′ and v′, e.g., distance from the point=(Δu′2+Δv′2)1/2, and the hues defined by a locus of points which are each a common distance from a specified hue consist of hues which would each be perceived as differing from the specified hue to a common extent.
The chromaticity coordinates and the CIE chromaticity diagrams illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 are explained in detail in a number of books and other publications, such as pages 98-107 of K. H. Butler, "Fluorescent Lamp Phosphors" (The Pennsylvania State University Press 1980) and pages 109-110 of G. Blasse et al., "Luminescent Materials" (Springer-Verlag 1994), both incorporated herein by reference.
The chromaticity coordinates (i.e., color points) that lie along the blackbody locus obey Planck's equation: E(λ)=A λ−5/(e(B/T)−1), where E is the emission intensity, λ is the emission wavelength, T the color temperature of the blackbody and A and B are constants. Color coordinates that lie on or near the blackbody locus yield pleasing white light to a human observer. The 1976 CIE Diagram includes temperature listings along the blackbody locus. These temperature listings show the color path of a blackbody radiator that is caused to increase to such temperatures. As a heated object becomes incandescent, it first glows reddish, then yellowish, then white, and finally blueish. This occurs because the wavelength associated with the peak radiation of the blackbody radiator becomes progressively shorter with increased temperature, consistent with the Wien Displacement Law. Illuminants which produce light which is on or near the blackbody locus can thus be described in terms of their color temperature.
Also depicted on the 1976 CIE Diagram are designations A, B, C, D and E, which refer to light produced by several standard illuminants correspondingly identified as illuminants A, B, C, D and E, respectively.
A wide variety of luminescent materials (also known as lumiphors or luminophoric media, e.g., as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,600,175, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference) are well-known and available to persons of skill in the art. For example, a phosphor is a luminescent material that emits a responsive radiation (e.g., visible light) when excited by a source of exciting radiation. In many instances, the responsive radiation has a wavelength which is different from the wavelength of the exciting radiation. Other examples of luminescent materials include scintillators, day glow tapes and inks which glow in the visible spectrum upon illumination with ultraviolet light.
Luminescent materials can be categorized as being down-converting, i.e., a material which converts photons to a lower energy level (longer wavelength) or up-converting, i.e., a material which converts photons to a higher energy level (shorter wavelength).
Inclusion of luminescent materials in LED devices has been accomplished by adding the luminescent materials to a clear or substantially transparent encapsulant material (e.g., epoxy-based, silicone-based, glass-based or metal oxide-based material) as discussed above, for example by a blending or coating process.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,963,166 (Yano '166) discloses that a conventional light emitting diode lamp includes a light emitting diode chip, a bullet-shaped transparent housing to cover the light emitting diode chip, leads to supply current to the light emitting diode chip, and a cup reflector for reflecting the emission of the light emitting diode chip in a uniform direction, in which the light emitting diode chip is encapsulated with a first resin portion, which is further encapsulated with a second resin portion. According to Yano '166, the first resin portion is obtained by filling the cup reflector with a resin material and curing it after the light emitting diode chip has been mounted onto the bottom of the cup reflector and then has had its cathode and anode electrodes electrically connected to the leads by way of wires. According to Yano '166, a phosphor is dispersed in the first resin portion so as to be excited with the light A that has been emitted from the light emitting diode chip, the excited phosphor produces fluorescence ("light B") that has a longer wavelength than the light A, a portion of the light A is transmitted through the first resin portion including the phosphor, and as a result, light C, as a mixture of the light A and light B, is used as illumination.
As noted above, "white LED lights" (i.e., lights which are perceived as being white or near-white) have been investigated as potential replacements for white incandescent lamps. A representative example of a white LED lamp includes a package of a blue light emitting diode chip, made of indium gallium nitride (InGaN) or gallium nitride (GaN), coated with a phosphor such as YAG. In such an LED lamp, the blue light emitting diode chip produces an emission with a peak wavelength of about 450 nm, and the phosphor produces yellow fluorescence with a peak wavelength of about 550 nm on receiving that emission. For instance, in some designs, white light emitting diode lamps are fabricated by forming a ceramic phosphor layer on the output surface of a blue light-emitting semiconductor light emitting diode. Part of the blue ray emitted from the light emitting diode chip passes through the phosphor, while part of the blue ray emitted from the light emitting diode chip is absorbed by the phosphor, which becomes excited and emits a yellow ray. The part of the blue light emitted by the light emitting diode which is transmitted through the phosphor is mixed with the yellow light emitted by the phosphor. The viewer perceives the mixture of blue and yellow light as white light. Another type uses a blue or violet light emitting diode chip which is combined with phosphor materials that produce red or orange and green or yellowish-green light rays. In such a lamp, part of the blue or violet light emitted by the light emitting diode chip excites the phosphors, causing the phosphors to emit red or orange and yellow or green light rays. These rays, combined with the blue or violet rays, can produce the perception of white light.
As also noted above, in another type of LED lamp, a light emitting diode chip that emits an ultraviolet ray is combined with phosphor materials that produce red (R), green (G) and blue (B) light rays. In such an LED lamp, the ultraviolet ray that has been radiated from the light emitting diode chip excites the phosphor, causing the phosphor to emit red, green and blue light rays which, when mixed, are perceived by the human eye as white light. Consequently, white light can also be obtained as a mixture of these light rays.
In substituting light emitting diodes for other light sources, e.g., incandescent light bulbs, packaged LEDs have been used with conventional light fixtures, for example, fixtures which include a hollow lens and a base plate attached to the lens, the base plate having a conventional socket housing with one or more contacts which is electrically coupled to a power source. For example, LED light bulbs have been constructed which comprise an electrical circuit board, a plurality of packaged LEDs mounted to the circuit board, and a connection post attached to the circuit board and adapted to be connected to the socket housing of the light fixture, whereby the plurality of LEDs can be illuminated by the power source.
There exist "white" LED light sources which are relatively efficient but which have poor color rendering, typically having CRI Ra values of less than 75, and which are particularity deficient in the rendering of red colors and also to a significant extent deficient in green. This means that many things, including the typical human complexion, food items, labeling, painting, posters, signs, apparel, home decoration, plants, flowers, automobiles, etc. exhibit odd or wrong color as compared to being illuminated with an incandescent light or natural daylight. Typically, such white LED lamps have a color temperature of approximately 5000K, which is generally not visually comfortable for general illumination, which may, however, be desirable for the illumination of commercial produce or advertising and printed materials.
Colored objects illuminated by RGB LED lamps sometimes do not appear in their true colors. For example, an object that reflects only yellow light, and thus that appears to be yellow when illuminated with white light, may appear de-saturated and grayish when illuminated with light having an apparent yellow color, produced by the red and green LEDs of an RGB LED fixture. Such lamps, therefore, are considered not to provide excellent color rendition, particularly when illuminating various settings such as in general illumination, and particularly with regard to natural sources. In addition, currently available green LEDs are relatively inefficient, and thus limit the efficiency of such lamps.
Some so-called "warm white" LEDs have a more acceptable color temperature (typically 2700 to 3500 K) for indoor use, and in some cases, many (but not all) of such warm white LEDs have good CRI Ra (in the case of a yellow and red phosphor mix, as high as Ra=95), but their efficacy is generally significantly less than that of the standard "cool white" LEDs.
Employing LEDs having a wide variety of hues would similarly necessitate use of LEDs having a variety of efficiencies, including some with low efficiency, thereby reducing the efficiency of such systems and dramatically increase the complexity and cost of the circuitry to control the many different types of LEDs and maintain the color balance of the light.
There is therefore a need for a high efficiency solid-state white light source that combines the efficiency and long life of white LED lamps with an acceptable color temperature and good color rendering index, good contrast, a wide gamut and simple control circuitry.
In the case of conventional LED packages which include a phosphor, a significant proportion (e.g., in many cases, as much as 20% to 25%) of the excitation light (i.e., light from the LED) is reflected (back-scattered) from the phosphor back into the light emitting diode chip/package. Back-scattered light which is scattered back into the light emitting diode chip itself has a very low probability of coming out of the chip, and hence, such back-scattering results in a system loss of energy.
In addition, the phosphor converted light is omnidirectional, so that in general, 50% of the light is directed back to the LED source.
Furthermore, if the luminescent element is too thick, and/or if the luminescent material (e.g., phosphor) content in the luminescent element is too great, "self-absorption" may occur. Self-absorption occurs when light emissions within the packaging layer stay within the packaging layer to excite other phosphor particles and eventually are absorbed or are otherwise prevented from exiting the device, thus reducing performance (intensity) and efficiency. Additionally, if the particle size of the luminescent material (e.g., phosphors) is too large, the particles of luminescent material can cause unwanted scattering of both the excitation source (the LED chip) and the light generated by the phosphor.
There is an ongoing need for ways to use light emitting diodes in a wider variety of applications, with greater energy efficiency, with improved color rendering index (CRI Ra), with improved efficacy (lm/W), lower cost, and/or with longer duration of service.


A method and apparatus for exposing particles to a fluid including the steps of adding fluid and particles to a container having impeller means therein, generating a current with the impeller so as to subject the particles to centrifugal and convective forces resulting in the formation of a well-defined and localized fluidized bed of particles, and maintaining the existence of the current through the fluidized bed so that the particles are thereby exposed to the fluid. The fluidized bed is located in a region removed from the impeller when the particles are more dense than the fluid, and the fluidized bed is located in a region near the impeller when the particles are less dense than the fluid. A method of exposing a first fluid to a second fluid, the second fluid being either a gas or a liquid immiscible in the first fluid is also disclosed. The method includes the steps of adding the first and second fluids to a container having impeller means therein, generating with the impeller a current in the first fluid which subjects the second fluid to centrifugal and convective forces resulting in the formation of a well defined and localized bed of a dispersed phase of the second fluid remaining in a region near the impeller, and maintaining the existence of the current through the region so that the dispersed phase in the fluidized bed is exposed to the first fluid.

Many prior art inventions have been directed to the processing of slurries, fluidized beds, and the like, and especially to the separation of fine particles, sometimes called "fines", from a mixture of such particles and a fluid, for example as a slurry of fine particles in a fluid in which the particles are suspended. It is sometimes desired to remove from particles any film or coating on the particles suspended in a fluid by washing away the material of the film or coating with the fluid from which the particles have been separated. It is also sometimes desired to remove soluble components from particles by leaching the components into a surrounding fluid. Another need which occurs frequently is to contact fluid reactants with catalyst particles for the purpose of promoting chemical or biochemical reactions. Further desires are to be able to pump mixtures of particles and fluid, and to conduct particle formation and growth, such as in crystallization.
Among this prior art is the process and apparatus disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 319,132, of Robert J. Adler, filed Nov. 9, 1981, and the following published articles, copies of which are being supplied under Patent Office Rule 1.56.
1. Article in "Chemical Engineering" for November, 1953, pages 212-213.
2. Article in "Chemical Engineering" for June, 1955, pages 234-238.
3. Mori, Y., et al., "On the Characteristics of a Centriclone" Chem. Eng. Japan 22, 7 (1958). accompanied by nine pages of handwritten translation into English.
4. Description of cyclones and "Dyna Whirlpool", pages 350 to 356, Mineral Processing Technology, 3rd Edition, Pergamon Press (1985).
5. Klumpar, I. V., et al., "Air Classifiers", Chemical Engineering, Mar. 3, 1986, pp. 77-92.
The prior art devices are primarily directed to separation and are not suited to the simultaneous performance of the other functions listed above, which are generally performed by other means. Moreover even the prior art separation apparatus suffers from a number of disadvantages. For example, in the typical centriclone, the slurry must often be pumped in at high speeds, causing wear upon the pumping apparatus, the centriclone, especially its impeller and impeller region, and/or the particulate matter. Wear on apparatus is a problem when the particulate matter is sharp silica or the like; conversely, the centriclone separation process is destructive of softer particles, which may make further concentration or processing difficult.
Another disadvantage of prior art devices is that they are not self-pumping and require external pumps in inflow and/or outflow streams. These additional pumps represent complexity and are subject to wear when abrasive particles are being processed.
There is a need for apparatus which avoids the various disadvantages of the centriclone and similar separation devices, which is simple and robustly constructed, subject to minimum wear, causes minimal particle attrition, is self-pumping, and can be adapted to perform a variety of processing tasks.

Methods and apparatus for treating a mixture of particles and fluids


A supercharging pressure control system for supercharged internal combustion engines includes a supercharging pressure control valve for controlling supercharging pressure of intake air, supplied by a supercharger. A desired value of the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is determined depending on operating conditions of the engine. When the supercharging pressure detected has reached the desired value of the supercharing pressure, a feedback control mode is selected, in which the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is controlled so as to make the supercharging pressure detected equal to the desired value of the supercharging pressure. On the other hand, when an actual value of the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve determined during the feedback control becomes smaller than the desired value of the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve, an open-loop control mode is selected, in which the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is controlled to the desired value of the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a supercharging pressure control system for supercharged internal combustion engines.
2. Prior Art
Conventionally, there has been proposed, e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 58-170825, a supercharging pressure control system for a supercharged internal combustion engine which has a supercharger arranged in the intake passage of the engine, a bypass passage bypassing the supercharger, a supercharging pressure control valve for opening and closing the bypass passage, driving means for driving the supercharing pressure control valve, and a control device for controlling the driving means, wherein a set value of supercharging pressure determined according to the rotational speed of the engine and a signal indicative of a degree of acceleration demanded (i.e. opening of a throttle valve) is compared with an actual value of supercharging pressure detected in the intake passage, and the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is controlled in response to a signal generated based on results of the comparison. That is, according to this prior art system, the opening of the supercharing pressure control valve is feedback-controlled over the whole region of supercharging pressure to make the supercharging pressure equal to the set valve thereof. However, such a feedback control of supercharging pressure over the whole region thereof is slow in control speed in a transient state of supercharging pressure controlled.
To eliminate this inconvenience, a control method may be used in a supercharging pressure control system for a supercharged internal combustion engine, which method comprises feedback-controlling the supercharging pressure (pressure P2 upstream of the throttle valve or pressure PB downstream of same) in a high pressure region alone, and open loop-controlling same in regions outside the high pressure region. More specifically, according to the method, when the engine rotational speed (NE) or the throttle valve opening (.theta.TH) has reached a corresponding set value, the control mode is changed from an open loop control mode in which the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is open loop-controlled to a desired value (map value) dependent on operating conditions of the engine, i.e. the engine rotational speed NE and the throttle valve opening .theta.TH, to a feedback control mode in which the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is feedback-controlled so as to make the supercharging pressure equal to a desired value thereof, whereas when the engine rotational speed NE or the throttle valve opening .theta.TH becomes lower or smaller than the corresponding set value, the control mode is changed from the feedback control mode to the open-loop control mode.
Further, there has also been proposed, e.g. by Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 62-153523, a supercharging pressure control system for a supercharged internal combustion engine, which is adapted to perform the feedback control when the vehicle on which the engine is installed is cruising, and when the vehicle is quickly accelerated, the feedback control is inhibited to perform the open-loop control by the use of a learned value of the opening of the supercharging pressure control valve obtained during the feedback control, to effect smooth transition from the open-loop control to the feedback control.
However, according to the former prior art in which the supercharging pressure is feedback-controlled in the high pressure region alone, and open-loop controlled in the other regions, if the intake air is at normal temperature, there is almost no variation in a value of the supercharging pressure assumed before transition from the open-loop control mode to the feedback control mode, which is carried out when the engine rotational speed NE or the throttle valve opening .theta.TH has reached the corresponding set value, and at the same time this value is approximately equal to the desired value of supercharging pressure used in the feedback control. Therefore, this change in the control mode causes no shocks, such as unexpected disturbing vibrations or noise. However, if the temperature of intake air varies from normal temperature due to a change in the ambient temperature or operating conditions of the engine, such as the speed of the vehicle, the value of the supercharging pressure assumed immediately before the transition varies with this variation in the intake air. For example, when the temperature of intake air is much lower than normal temperature, the supercharging pressure value assumed immediately before the transition becomes much lower than the desired value of supercharging pressure, and the supercharging pressure sharply rises to the desired value of supercharging pressure in the transition from the open-loop control to the feedback control, which results in occurrence of shocks, such as unexpected disturbing vibrations and noise. Even if the desired value of supercharging pressure is corrected based on a signal from an intake air temperature sensor, occurrence of the shocks cannot be avoided due to delayed response of the sensor. On the other hand, when The intake air temperature is much higher than normal temperature, the supercharging pressure value assumed immediately before the transition becomes much higher than the desired value of supercharging pressure, so that the supercharging pressure drastically drops to the desired value in the transition, which similarly causes the above-mentioned shocks.
The same shocks will occur in transition from the feedback control to the open-loop control. More specifically, if the intake air is at normal temperature and the engine is under the same operating conditions, upon transition from the feedback control to the open-loop control after the engine rotational speed NE or the throttle valve opening .theta.TH becomes lower or smaller than the corresponding set value, there is almost no variation in a value of the supercharging pressure assumed immediately after the transition, and at the same time the value of the supercharging pressure is approximately equal to the desired value of supercharging pressure. Therefore, no shocks such as unexpected vibrations and noise will occur. However, if the intake air temperature becomes much lower than normal temperature due to a change in the operating conditions of the engine, the supercharging pressure value to be assumed immediately after the transition also becomes much lower than the desired value of supercharging pressure. Therefore, in the transition from the feedback control to the open-loop control, the supercharging pressure drastically drops from the desired value of supercharging pressure, producing shocks, such as unexpected vibrations and noise. When the intake air temperature is much higher than normal temperature as well, the same shocks are produced, since the supercharging pressure value to be assumed after the transition is much higher than the desired value of supercharging pressure, and hence the supercharging pressure sharply rises from the desired value of supercharging pressure.
According to the latter prior art (Japanese Provisional Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 62-153523), in which the feedback control is inhibited, i.e. the open-loop control is carried out by the use of the learned value of opening of the supercharging pressure control valve obtained during the feedback control, when the engine is quickly accelerated, if there is a large difference in a value of the intake air temperature at which the learned value of opening of the supercharging pressure control valve is calculated and stored, and a value of the intake air temperature at which the control mode is changed from the open-loop control mode to the feedback control mode, the above-mentioned shocks, such as the unexpected disturbing vibrations and noise, are produced during the transition from the open-loop control to the feedback control.

Supercharging pressure control system for supercharged internal combustion engines


A transmission apparatus including: a waveform shaper that performs spectrum correction on an optical signal converted from an electrical signal encoded by OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing); a converter that converts the optical signal on which the waveform shaper has performed the spectrum correction, into the electrical signal; and a nonlinear compensator that compensates for a nonlinear distortion with respect to the electrical signal converted by the converter.

A transmission method of a discrete multi-tone (DMT) modulation scheme is used for a metallic line of an access system such as VDSL (Very high bit rate Digital Subscriber Line). Recently, applying the DMT modulation scheme to an optical transmission technique is researched and developed in accordance with the increase of traffic on a network.
The DMT modulation scheme is a multicarrier transmission technique based on an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFMD) technique. In the DMT modulation scheme, data are allocated to a plurality of subcarriers (SC) having different frequencies, respectively, the allocated data is modulated based on a multilevel degree and a signal power in accordance with a transmission characteristic for each SC, and a result of the modulation is transmitted as a DMT signal. As a multiple-value modulation scheme used for data of each SC, Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) are cited.
However, a dip occurs in a frequency characteristic of the DMT signal due to a chromatic dispersion on a transmission channel or due to interaction of the chromatic dispersion and a frequency chirp of a transmission device. When a specific frequency component of the DMT signal disappears by the dip (hereinafter referred to as "fading"), a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a reception side deteriorates, and hence a transmission capacity and a transmission distance of the DMT signal reduce.
In response, an inventor tried to remove one of sidebands of an optical spectrum waveform of the DMT signal so as to reduce an influence of the fading (see e.g. Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 11-205240), and to compensate for the nonlinearity of a response of an optical device such as an optical transmission device with the use of a digital filter (see e.g. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0272719).

Transmission apparatus and transmission system


Print head jet stack heating and temperature measurement systems and methods are disclosed that both heat the jet stack and determine a temperature of the jet stack. The heating and temperature determination are performed by a flex circuit that includes multiple layers. One of the layers heats the jet stack and another one of the layers provides data that determines the temperature of the jet stack. The heating layer and the temperature sensing layer are separated by an insulative material in the flex circuit. The temperature of the jet stack can be sent to a print head controller that then determines whether to increase or decrease the temperature of the jet stack.

Ink in a print head of a printer is often heated and the temperature of the ink regulated. Temperatures of the ink should be within a recommended range of temperatures to ensure the highest print quality and the minimum risk of damage to the printer's components. Temperature measurement and monitoring is usually performed and incorporated into the print head itself to maintain the temperature of the print head in the recommended temperature range.
Conventional temperature measurement devices include thermistors placed at each side of the jet stack of a print head. Recent changes in high jet density print head designs have adopted flexible or "flex" circuit technology as the preferred method of including electronic components in the print heads. Further, space constraints for new print head designs provide little room for conventional thermistors.
Still further, thermistors experience frequent failure and are a major reason that print heads need maintenance or need to be replaced. Thermistors also are a separate component that needs to be attached to the print head during the manufacturing process, which presents separate failure issues. The failure rate, design and space constraints, cost, and difficult maintenance, make thermistors a poor design choice for the temperature measurement component for print head jet stacks. Embodiments of the disclosure address these and other limitations of the currently available methods and systems of temperature measurement in print head jet stacks.

Systems and methods for heating and measuring temperature of print head jet stacks


Disclosed are an inflation film of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene having an intrinsic viscosity [.eta.] of at least 5 dl/g, a tensile strength at break of at least 800 kg/cm.sup.2 in a machine direction and at least 700 kg/cm.sup.2 in a transverse direction, an impact strength of at least 5000 kg.multidot.cm/cm, a permeability to water vapor of 0.45 g.multidot.mm/m.sup.2 .multidot.24 hr or less, a shrinkage factor in a transverse direction at 130.degree. C. of 10% or more, and a thickness of 10 to 1000 .mu.m, and a method and apparatus for producing the same.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inflation film of an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene. The present invention also relates to a method and apparatus for producing an inflation film from an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene is increasingly used as a so-called engineering plastic because of its excellent impact resistance, abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, tensile strength, and other properties, when compared with conventional polyethylene. However, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene has an extremely high melt viscosity and poor flowability when compared with conventional polyethylene, and thus it is very difficult to mold such a plastic by conventional extrusion molding (e.g., inflation molding) and injection molding. Accordingly, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene is generally molded by compression molding; with the exception of rods and the like, which are partly extrusion molded at a very low extrusion speed.
It has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Examined Patent Publication (Kokoku) No. 48-11576, as a method for producing a film from an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene that, after the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene powder is sintered, the sintered powder be heated between two flat belts at a temperature higher than the melting point of the polyethylene, under pressure and followed by cooling. Alternatively, it has been proposed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 53-45376 that a sintered ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene film be orientated at a temperature of the second-order transition temperature or more to a temperature of less than the melting point thereof by means of press rolls. Although the former method can provide films having good appearance, the production of thinner films is difficult because the melt viscosity of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene is extremely large. Furthermore, the latter method has disadvantages in that, since the viscosity of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene becomes larger at a temperature of less than the melting point, a desirable film cannot be obtained even when the polyethylene is rolled by a compression roller.
Although it seems obvious that, as a method for producing a thin film, the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene can be stretched, the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene alone cannot be stretched at all because the molecular weight thereof is very large. Also, although it appears obvious to heat the polyethylene to the melting point thereof or more during the stretching, in general, this increases the stickness of the crystalline polyolefin and decreases the melt viscosity thereof, upon heating to the melting point thereof or more, so that the rolling becomes difficult. Accordingly, as pointed out in the above-mentioned Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 53-45376, the desired film having a good appearance cannot be obtained at the melting point thereof or more because the molten resin adheres to the compression roller.
Furthermore, the present inventors have proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 59-227420, as an improved method for producing a film of an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene that the ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene is mixed with a large amount of a plasticizer, followed by extruding the mixture to produce a biaxially oriented film. Although the resultant biaxially oriented film has extremely excellent mechanical strength such as tensile strength, impact strength, etc., the permeability thereof to water vapor is larger than that of conventional polyethylene film. Thus, the application in usage thereof is naturally limited.

Inflation film of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene


A virtualization system in which a plurality of virtual machines operate on a single physical machine having a plurality of cores is provided. The virtualization system comprises: a plurality of hardware; a hardware control core that controls operation of the plurality of hardware; a plurality of virtual machine cores each operating a guest OS; and a shared memory that is a memory configured to be accessed by the hardware control core and the plurality of virtual machine cores concurrently and in parallel.

Various virtualization systems have been proposed in which multiple guest OSs (Operating System) are operated on a physical machine, which is a computer having an entity, thereby virtually operating the physical machine as multiple computers. The virtual computer is a computer formed by logically dividing a computer having the entity (so-called physical machine). The virtual computer may also be referred to as a virtual machine or a logical computer. The guest OS is basic software for realizing the virtual machine.

Hardware control core controlling operation of hardware devices by executing device drivers within the hardware control core used by virtual machine cores via shared memory having an uplink and downlink memory


An airfoil adapted for use in a gas turbine engine is disclosed herein. The airfoil includes a spar defining an interior space and a cover sheet extending around at least a portion of the spar. The cover sheet is bonded to the spar to define a cooling cavity between the spar and the cover sheet.

Various techniques are used to construct airfoils to achieve desired geometries at the trailing edges of the airfoils. Airfoil trailing edge thicknesses may impact the performance of gas turbine engine components including the airfoils. Constructing airfoils to achieve desired airfoil thicknesses and thereby improve the performance of such components remains an area of interest.

Dual wall airfoil with stiffened trailing edge

Rolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.


A fuel distributor is provided which is capable of distributing fuel through plural fuel injection lines to the corresponding cylinders of a multicylinder internal combustion engine and which includes a distributor housing including a supply inlet passage, a plurality of fuel injection outlet passages and a plurality of distributor valves for providing sequential periodic fluidic communication between the supply inlet passage and the outlet passages. Each distributor valve, which may be cam-actuated or solenoid-actuated, is adapted to be placed in an open position to define a fuel injection period during which high pressure fuel may flow through the distributor valve to the respective engine cylinder and a closed position blocking fuel flow through the respective fuel injection outlet passage. Each of the distributor valves is adapted to receive a force from the high pressure fuel flowing from the supply inlet passage which urges the distributor valve into the closed position thereby providing an effective seal and minimizing leakage. The distributor may be used in a high pressure fuel system having a control valve positioned between a high pressure accumulator and the fuel distributor for controlling the flow of high pressure fuel to the distributor. The control valve is moveable to define a fuel injection event, occurring within the injection period provided by each distributor valve, during which high pressure fuel may flow from the high pressure supply means through one of the distributor valves to a respective engine cylinder.

Many fuel injection systems for internal combustion engines use a fuel distributor for delivering fuel to fuel injectors associated with respective engine cylinders. The distributor functions to fluidically connect a supply fuel passage to each fuel injector or engine cylinder one at a time through separate fuel injection lines extending from the distributor to each injector. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,480 to Kobayashi et al. discloses a well known and commonly used distributor comprised of a rotating shaft having a radial supply passage which sequentially aligns with fuel delivery passages corresponding to each engine cylinder. Each period of time defined by the alignment of the supply passage with a delivery passage creates a window of opportunity for injection during which a solenoid valve functions to control the actual amount of fuel delivered to the injector. The rotating shaft also reciprocates to pump the supply fuel through the delivery passages.
A similar type of distributor is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,598,507 to Voit wherein a rotating shaft contains radially extending supply passages for sequential alignment with delivery passages formed in the distributor housing to deliver fuel to the engine cylinders based on the position of two solenoid operated control valves. Unlike the distributor disclosed in Kobayashi, fuel is pumped through the aligned passages by pump pistons radially disposed in bores formed in the distributor shaft and positioned against a cam ring such that rotation of the shaft causes the pistons to reciprocate through pumping and suction strokes.
Although the distributors disclosed in Kobayashi and Voit both function adequately to deliver metered quantities of fuel to the engine cylinders at low to medium injection pressures, a small amount of leakage occurs between the radially extending passages during each delivery or injection event in the clearance formed between the rotary shaft and the shaft bore formed in the distributor housing within which the shaft rotates. Although this clearance is necessary to permit the distributor shaft to rotate and, in some designs, reciprocate, high pressure injection fuel leaking through this clearance into the adjacent low pressure delivery passages, or other areas of the distributor, makes accurate control of injection metering difficult and/or contributes to excessive parasitic pumping losses. The leakage not only upsets the predictability of the injection characteristics of the delivery passages in alignment but also the injection characteristics of the adjacent delivery passages by pressurizing the passages to an unknown pressure before the respective injection period. Also, the distance between the adjacent delivery passages around the circumference of the shaft is very small due to the compact nature of the distributor and shaft, thereby undesirably creating very short sealing lengths thus increasing leakage.
Moreover, the aforementioned problems, and other complications, caused by the necessary clearances between the distributor shaft and bore, and the associated short sealing lengths, in the conventional rotary distributor are only exacerbated by higher injection pressures required by modem fuel systems. Recent and upcoming legislation resulting from a concern to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions continues to place strict emissions standards on engine manufacturers. In order for new engines to meet these standards, it is necessary to produce fuel injection systems capable of achieving higher injection pressures while maintaining accurate and reliable control of the metering and timing functions. One such high pressure fuel injection system is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 057,489 entitled Compact High Pressure Fuel System with Accumulator, commonly assigned to the assignee of the present application wherein an accumulator temporarily stores fuel supplied by a high pressure variable displacement pump for delivery to a distributor via a solenoid controlled three-way valve. This system is capable of achieving extremely high injection pressures in excess of 20,000 psi. However, as with the distributor disclosed in Kobayashi and Voit, the distributor is a conventional rotary distributor using the sequential alignment of a supply passage with a plurality of injection passages to allow delivery of fuel to the injectors of corresponding cylinders. As discussed hereinabove, these distributors rely on a clearance fit between the rotary shaft and the bore, and very short sealing lengths, to isolate the high pressure injection occurring in one delivery passage from the remaining passages. At high injection pressures, fuel leakage through the clearance between the shaft and bore becomes unacceptable. Moreover, it has been found that rotary shafts exposed to high injection pressures are prone to seizures during operation especially when using low viscosity and aromatic fuels.
U.S. Pat. No. 2, 105,100 to Starr discloses a fuel injection system including a distributor having poppet-type distributor valves which are sequentially opened and closed by respective cams to deliver premetered fuel to respective fuel delivery lines leading to respective injectors. These poppet-type valves at least partially overcome the above-noted shortcomings associated with a rotary distributor by providing a valve element which abuts a valve seat to create a positive seal having a longer seal length without the need for leakage causing clearances. However, these poppet-type valves are arranged such that pressurized fuel for injection acts on each valve element in an opening direction against the force of a biasing spring which acts on the valve element in the closing direction. As a result, although the fuel pressure may advantageously assist in the opening of the valve associated with the engine cylinder ready for injection, the fuel pressure also undesirably tends to open the remaining valves which must remain in the sealingly closed position to ensure accurate and predictable control of injection. Consequently, the likelihood of leakage through the poppet-type valve is increased. Although the valve element may be designed to be force balanced to some degree in the closed position in an effort to minimize the opening force caused by the fuel pressure, this requires additional design and manufacturing costs. Moreover, as injection pressures increase, any tendency of the valve to open due to fuel pressure acting on the valve element also increases thus increasing the likelihood of leakage through the valve seat. Also, the biasing spring must be stronger, and possibly larger, than necessary to overcome the tendency of the valve to open. The distributor disclosed in Starr also fails to disclose a means for varying the timing of injection and therefore, could not effectively control injection throughout a wide range of operating conditions to meet the recent and upcoming emissions standards. The opening and closing of the poppet-type distributor valves disclosed in Starr defines the beginning and end of injection, respectively. As a result, the biasing spring must also be of sufficient strength to force the valve element into the closed position at the end of injection against the force of the pressurized fuel.
Consequently, there is a need for a fuel distributor for distributing high pressure fuel through a plurality of distributor valves to the cylinders of an engine which effectively controls the flow of fuel through each of the distributor valves.

Distributor for a high pressure fuel system


The present invention provides an apparatus for laser cutting that comprises a rigid support table frame having a X-axis and a Y-axis, and one or more bridge rail modules running across the Y-axis of the table frame, each bridge rail module comprising at least one hold-down device module. The present invention further provides a process for laser cutting a metal plate using this apparatus.

FIG. 1 illustrates a traditional grid table that is used for laser cutting operations. The grids 9 which provide toothed bridges for the blank support that sits across the table, are consumable structures and act only as a bottom support for the blank parts. Other than by the weight of the workpiece and the friction force on the teeth of the grid table, such prior art grids 9 do not hold the material down and in place during the actual cutting of the flat metal plate 10 along the cutting line 11 as the metal plate 10 progresses along the path of cutting 12, as shown in FIG. 2. This can lead to cutting and/or quality issues when, for instance, the material's surface moves during cutting due to residual stress, or mechanical stress and/or thermal stress induced in the material during the actual cutting. Furthermore, the teeth of the support-grid structure are sometimes on the cutting path of the laser beam. As a result, this can sometimes yield cutting quality defects such as burr, dross, loss of cut, gouging, etc. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a support table frame that overcomes these problems encountered in laser cutting operations.

Support table frame for high speed laser blanking


A fan casing assembly, connection assembly and method for moving a fan casing cooler. The fan casing assembly for the turbine engine can include an annular fan casing with a peripheral wall having a flow path defined through the casing. A fan casing cooler can mount along the peripheral wall in order to confront a cooling fluid flow within the flow path in order to cool a fluid through the fan casing cooler.

Contemporary engines used in aircraft produce substantial amounts of heat that must be transferred away from the engine in one way or another. Heat exchangers provide a way to transfer heat away from such engines. For example, heat exchangers can be arranged in a ring about a portion of the engine.
Oil can be used to dissipate heat from engine components, such as engine bearings, electrical generators, and the like. Heat is typically transferred from the oil to air by air-cooled oil coolers, and more particularly, surface air-cooled oil cooler systems to maintain oil temperatures at a desired range from approximately 100° F. to 300° F. In many instances, an environment can be as low as −65° F.
Heat exchangers such as surface air-cooled oil coolers can be placed in a turbine jet engine fan case, using bypass air to remove lube oil energy through forced convection. The coolers can include a plurality of fins through which to achieve the forced convection. The fin geometry and height with respect to the airflow velocity are critical parameters for the transfer of energy and are sized for a maximum engine load. During non-peak demand conditions, the cooler is thermally oversized and is not optimized to minimize aerodynamic drag.


An intraocular lens power determination apparatus for determining a highly precise IOL power, the apparatus including: an anterior segment imaging device for obtaining a cross-sectional image of an anterior segment by detecting reflection from the anterior segment of an examinee's eye; and a power calculation unit obtaining an offset distance from a front surface of a lens to a point of contact of a Zinn's zonule with the lens based on the anterior segment cross-sectional image obtained by the anterior segment imaging device and calculating a prospective postoperative anterior chamber depth by adding the offset distance to an anterior chamber depth of an eye so that the IOL power is calculated by using the prospective postoperative anterior chamber depth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus, a method, and a program for determining a power of an intraocular lens which is injected into an eye in a cataract surgery.
2. Related Art
In a cataract surgery, in order to determine (calculate) a power (diopter) of an intraocular lens (hereinafter, referred to as an IOL) to be injected into an examinee's eye after a nucleus lentis is removed from the eye, the examinee's eye is measured to obtain its specified characteristics data such as corneal refractive power and an ocular axial length. Based on these data, the power of the IOL is calculated according to an IOL calculation formula created by experiences or theories. As the IOL calculation formula, an SRK formula, an SRK/T formula, and others are known (see Patent Document 1).
For each IOL calculation formula, a preset lens constant (for example, A-constant) is used. The lens constant is determined as a design matter according to each IOL model (model number) by an IOL manufacturer.

Intraocular lens power determination apparatus, intraocular lens power determination method, and intraocular lens power determination program