An intake control apparatus of an internal combustion engine including respective intake valves 5 opened when intake air reaching respective branch intake paths r1 from a main intake path Rim of the internal combustion engine is introduced to respective combustion chamber 2, and respective intake control valves 15 respectively arranged upstream from the intake valves on the respective branch intake paths for adjusting an intake introducing time period Tq for introducing intake air into the combustion chamber 2 in which both of the valves are brought into an opened state by controller 17.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an intake control apparatus of an internal combustion engine for controlling amounts of intake flowing to respective combustion chambers by intake control valves respectively provided on upstream sides of intake valves of respective cylinders on branch intake paths communicated with combustion chambers of the respective cylinders.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an engine which is an internal combustion engine mounted to an automobile, an intake path and an exhaust path communicated with a combustion chamber are opened and closed by an intake valve and an exhaust valve provided at a cylinder head. An intake amount of the engine is uniquely determined by an intake air amount adjusting unit of the intake path, for example, an opening degree of a throttle valve and a rotational speed of the engine.
On the other hand, there is known a phase variable apparatus of a cam shaft advance/delay adjusting type for adjusting to advance or delay a rotational phase of a cam shaft of a valve system in accordance with an operating state of an engine. In this case, by adjusting to advance or delay a valve timing of the intake valve, a valve overlap amount of the intake valve and the exhaust valve is controlled. Thus, an amount of air introduced to a combustion chamber, or an amount of exhaust gas temporarily exhausted from the combustion chamber and flowing back to remain in the combustion chamber, that is, an inner EGR amount is made to be proper to thereby achieve an improvement in an output of the engine, emission and fuel cost or the like. JP-A-2000-130200 discloses the phase variable apparatus of the cam shaft advance/delay adjusting type.
In place of the cam advance/delay adjusting type, there is known a phase variable apparatus of an actuator drive type using an electromagnetic actuator or a hydraulic actuator. The apparatus achieves an advantage of capable of ensuring a comparatively large degree of freedom of a phase variable control since the apparatus directly controls an opening/closing timing and an opening/closing time period of the valve.
In place of the phase variable apparatus, there is known an apparatus provided with electromagnetically controlled intake control valves on upstream sides of respective intake valves on respective intake branch paths. When a plurality of the intake control valves are used, as shown in FIG. 11, intake air is made to flow to a corresponding combustion chamber at a region E1 at which an opening/closing lift line Vs of the intake control valve overlaps opening/closing lift lines Ve, Vi of an intake valve and an exhaust valve. That is, when an intake amount to the combustion chamber is adjusted to be increased or decreased, by increasing or decreasing an interval of a valve opening timing t1 and a valve closing timing t2 of the intake control valve, an intake air amount can easily be adjusted to be increased or decreased without controlling to increase or decrease lift amounts of the intake and the exhaust valves. Japanese Patent No. 2734645 discloses an example of the phase variable apparatus of the intake control valve type.
Meanwhile, according to the phase variable apparatus of the cam shaft advance/delay adjusting type, a problem that an advance/delay adjusting width of the cam shaft is comparatively narrow is liable to be posed. According to the phase variable apparatus of the actuator drive type, a problem is liable to be posed in alleviation of impact in valve seating after lifting the valve and high speed following performance. According to the phase variable apparatus of a mechanical type, constituent members tend to be complicated, and a problem is liable to be posed in high speed following performance and ensuring of a mounting space in accordance therewith.
In the case of the apparatus having the plurality of intake control valves of Japanese Patent No. 2734645, electromagnetic actuators independent from each other are used for controlling to open or close the respective intake control valves, and response speeds of the respective intake control valves are determined by functions of the electromagnetic actuators. Further, the response speeds of the respective intake control valves are substantially constant in contrast to a rotational number of an internal combustion engine and therefore, when the rotational number of the internal combustion engine is increased, the response speed in correspondence with a crank angle is reduced. Therefore, when intake introducing timings are controlled by opening or closing the respective intake control valves, delays in response of the intake control valves are liable to be produced on a high rotation side of the internal combustion engine. When the electromagnetic actuator is changed to that of a high output, the response delay is improved and the high speed following performance is promoted, however, there poses a new problem that a space of installing a large-sized electromagnetic actuator needs to be found at inside of a narrow engine room.
According to the internal combustion engine having the phase variable apparatus, by an error in fabricating the respective apparatus or the response delay, a variation is present in the introduced intake amounts to the respective combustion chambers and a technical problem is posed in how to reduce the variation.

Intake control apparatus of internal combustion engine

Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha


A system and method for telemetrically collecting on-road vehicle diagnostic data. In one embodiment, the method includes collecting vehicle diagnostic data from service shops, on-road vehicles and warranty records, aggregating the collected data and extracting knowledge therefrom. The extracted knowledge can be used to enhance algorithms on-board vehicles or at service centers so as to better identify vehicle faults and provide enhanced diagnostics and prognostics. The enhanced algorithms can then be used to provide predictive maintenance suggestions, provide trouble shooting assistance or provide vehicle design improvements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for collecting on-road vehicle data and, more particularly, to a system and method for collecting data from on-road vehicles, providing data aggregation and knowledge extraction from the collected data and providing enhanced fault isolation and predicted maintenance services from the extracted knowledge.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Modern vehicles typically include several systems that are designed to increase vehicle safety, increase driver comfort, increase driver convenience, etc. As more and more such systems are added to vehicles, vehicle electronics, devices and electrical systems are becoming much more complex. Many electrical, control and software related faults associated with vehicle systems are intermittent or may only occur under certain conditions. Thus, a problem that a vehicle customer may experience on the road may not be able to be duplicated when the vehicle is taken to a service provider. This results in vehicle system, sub-system and component diagnosis and prognosis being much more difficult. Because a service technician may not be able to duplicate a problem, it is generally not possible to trouble shoot the problem for these situations. Further, because of the number of components and devices employed in these vehicle systems, it is generally a challenge to define all of the fault conditions for these components and devices that may exist. As a result, there is a significant number of service reports stating no trouble found (NTF) or customer concern not duplicated.

Telematics-enabled aggregated vehicle diagnosis and prognosis


An embodiment of the present invention provides a bonus scheme associated with a feature event, or part thereof, which provides a plurality of feature games. With reference to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4, a first feature event is conducted at Steps S3 to S5, the outcome of which determines a feature event win value. At Step S7 the feature event win value is compared to a threshold value and, if the gaming process win value is less than, or equal to the threshold value, the player becomes eligible to trigger a second feature event at Step S9.

Gaming machines have been a popular form of entertainment for many years. This popularity has been enhanced with the advent of electronic gaming machines and computer-based gaming systems, such as are provided over the Internet.
Many different types of game are playable. They include for example standard slot-machine type games with spinning reels, poker machines, keno, bingo, blackjack, roulette, pachinko and the like.
A user will typically place a bet, press a button or pull a lever to begin a game, and will win or lose based upon the gaming machine's play algorithm and random number generator.
An aim of the present invention is to provide gaming apparatus having novel features for enhancing gameplay interest.

Gaming apparatus and systems with a triggerable feature event


Implementations directed to instantiating adapters for communication between a UAP and one or more RPA platforms, and include receiving, by an intelligent adapter service of the UAP, input representing an RPA platform of a plurality of RPA platforms, querying, by the intelligent adapter service, one or more files of the RPA platform to determine one or more identifiers of the RPA platform, selecting, by the intelligent adapter service, an adapter of a plurality of adapters based on the one or more identifiers of the RPA platform, installing, by the intelligent adapter service, the adapter, and configuring, by the intelligent adapter service, the adapter to be specific to the RPA platform, configuring including setting one or more parameters of the RPA platform.

Robotic process automation (RPA) can be described as the use of software to perform high-volume, repeatable tasks on computer systems. More particularly, RPA includes computer software robots (bots) that are each configured to capture and interpret existing applications to, for example, process a transaction, manipulate data, trigger responses, and/or communicate with other systems. RPA is distinct from automation processes in that RPA is aware of, and can adapt to changing circumstances, exceptions, and new situations. Once an RPA bot has been trained to capture and interpret the actions of specific processes in existing software applications, the bot performs its assigned tasks autonomously. In some examples, RPA can expedite back-office and middle-office tasks in a wide range of industries, which can include, without limitation, manufacturing, health care, telecom, insurance, finance, procurement, supply chain management (SCM), accounting, customer relationship management (CRM), and human resource management (HRM).
Multiple providers provide RPA services through respective RPA platforms. As the number of individual RPA platforms, and the number of bots on respective RPA platforms increase, monitoring, controlling, and managing RPA systems become complex, resource-intensive tasks.

Intelligent adaptor service in unified automation platforms for robotic process automation


A catheter with an elongated catheter body which, with regard to a position of use, has a distal and a proximal end, wherein at the distal end, a sponge- or cushion-like elastic deformation body is arranged which has, in particular, electrically, mechanically or optically acting measuring means or a measuring connection for detecting a pressing force exerted on the deformation body.

In medical practice, a variety of differently designed catheter and/or catheter-like devices (e.g., electrode lines) are known and in widespread use. In some cases, they are used by experienced specialists; however, in some cases, they are used by physicians and/or also medical personnel without special knowledge and experience. Nevertheless, harm and/or impairment in the patient have to be reliably excluded.
When using known catheters having a plastic tip or a metal tip, there is a risk of perforation. In order to keep the surface pressure and, thus, the risk of perforation low, compromises in terms of stiffness of the catheter shaft and the catheter tip have to be accepted. These compromises limit, among other things, the maneuverability and the positional stability of the catheter.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-identified problems.


There is provided a method of operating a communication system, the communication system comprising a user equipment and a receiver, the method in the system comprising generating a random access transmission in a user equipment and transmitting the random access transmission to the receiver in the communication system, the random access transmission including a preamble; receiving the random access transmission from the user equipment at the receiver; processing the random access transmission in the frequency domain to detect the preamble. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the preamble has a cyclic prefix, or is preceded by a plurality of zero-valued symbols.

In modern cellular radio systems, the radio network has a strict control on the behavior of the terminal. Uplink transmission parameters like frequency, timing, and power are regulated via downlink control signaling from the base station to the terminal.
In order for the base station (also called Node B in WCDMA terminology) to control the terminal (also called user equipment, abbreviated to UE in WCDMA terminology), measurements on an uplink signal are required. The determination of timing misalignment requires a comparison of the timing of the received signal with a reference clock in Node B. Timing misalignment is caused by unknown propagation delay and the mutual drift between the clocks in the Node B and in the UE. Likewise, the determination of the transmit power requires a measurement of the received power in Node B in comparison with some threshold. The received power not only depends on the UE transmit power but also on the signal attenuation during propagation. The latter will differ over time.
Uplink measurements are rather straightforward when the UE has established a duplex connection with the Node B. In that case, uplink signals are present for the measurements, whereas downlink signals can carry the control signaling to adjust the UE parameters. However, when the UE is not connected but is in standby, it only listens to the downlink control signal periodically. Thus, there is no uplink signal for the Node B to measure. Before connection establishment, the UE has to carry out a random access (RA) procedure. This is initiated by the UE transmitting a random access burst through a radio interface to the network, which is received by Node B. During the random access procedure, uplink parameters like timing and power are not very accurate. This poses extra challenges to the dimensioning of a random access procedure.
Usually, a physical random access channel (PRACH) is provided for the UE to request access to the network. This means that random access bursts must be detected with good confidence and, when detected, used for propagation delay estimation. The used access burst (AB) contains a preamble with a specific bit sequence that has good auto-correlation properties. The PRACH can be orthogonal to the traffic channels (TCH). For example, in GSM a special PRACH slot is defined. Because multiple UEs can request access at the same time, collisions may occur between requesting UEs. A contention resolution scheme has to be implemented to separate the UE transmissions. This scheme usually includes a random back off procedure. The timing uncertainty is accounted for by extra guard time. The power uncertainty is usually less of a problem as the PRACH is orthogonal to the traffic channels.
In WCDMA, the PRACH is shared with the uplink traffic channels. The uplink channels are not orthogonal. In addition to interference from other requesting UEs, interference is experienced from uplink traffic channels and vice versa. The processing gain provided by the Direct-Sequence spreading will have to cope with the mutual interference. In WCDMA, the transmit power is a shared radio resource. In order to avoid near-far problems, the power received at Node B has to be approximately equal for each UE.
Traffic channels in LTE, i.e. an uplink (UL) basic transmission scheme, are described, e.g., in the document 3GPP TR25.814, v7.1.0 (2006-09), "Physical Layer Aspects for Evolved UTRA", Technical Report, Technical Specification Group Access Network, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (Rel. 7). Here, a cyclic prefix (CP) is inserted in order to enable frequency domain processing. A cyclic prefix (CP) is a sequence of symbols inserted at the start of a block that correspond to a number of symbols at the end of that block. In other words, the cyclic prefix is a repeat of the end of the sequence inserted at the beginning. This means that support for calculating, e.g., Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) is needed in an uplink (UL) receiver side of a communication system.
Whenever a discrete Fourier transform (DFT) implemented as an FFT is used on a time domain signal, this time domain signal is assumed to be periodic with period time equal to the length of the DFT. In order to ensure this for signals subject to dispersive channels, a cyclic prefix can be used.

Method for processing the random access transmission in the frequency domain


An apparatus for communication routing may include a processor. The processor may be configured to receive a packet. In this regard, the packet may include an address of a sending entity. The processor may also be configured to identify the packet as a qualified packet and store a local gateway table entry in a local gateway table to thereby identify a local gateway relationship in response to identifying the qualified packet. In this regard, the local gateway table entry may include the address of the sending entity. The processor may also be configured to update a routing table based on the local gateway table entry. Associated methods and computer program products may also be provided.

The modern communications era has brought about a tremendous expansion of wireline and wireless networks. Networking technologies have experienced an unprecedented technological expansion, fueled by consumer demand. In particular, wireless and mobile networking technologies have addressed related consumer demands, while providing more flexibility and immediacy of information transfer.
With the increased expansion of networking technologies, complexities in networking technologies have also arisen. In particular, due to the expansion of networks and the massive number of devices that may be connected to various networks, complexities in communications routing have arisen. To resolve issues with communications routing, conventional network devices may include communications routing software to facilitate the routing of communications within the network. Often these software implemented routing solutions may come pre-installed on all network devices. The solutions may implement a protocol that provides for determining which devices are currently connected to the network and pathways between these various network entities as well as for sharing this information.
However, complexities can arise when network devices are not pre-installed with communications routing software. In particular, complexities can arise when a device without pre-installed communications routing software desires to communicate through a first network device to a second network device (i.e., multi-hopping). In particular, issues with regard to communication routing when no communication routing software is installed on some or all network devices may pose issues for social proximity network (SPN) environments.
In an SPN environment, network devices, such as, for example, cellular telephones, may communicate with each other when the network devices are within a particular proximity with each other. For example, the proximate area may encompass a shopping mall, a downtown city block, a restaurant, a theme park, or the like. SPNs also add complexity due to the fact that networked devices may be mobile and therefore a device's connection to the network may be dynamic, adding to the complexity of communication routing.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to develop a mechanism that may provide for communications routing on communications networks. In particular, it may be desirable to provide a mechanism for providing communications routing on networks that may include devices that do not include installed communication routing software.

Method, apparatus, and computer program product for communication routing


A rotary tool includes a tool holder, a reversible bit, and an outer rotatable sleeve. The tool holder includes a socket and a shank. The socket includes an opening extending rearwardly from an end thereof. The shank is integral with and extends rearwardly from the socket and includes a non-circular cross-section. The reversible bit includes an inner sleeve, a first reversible bit driver, and a second reversible bit driver. The inner sleeve is disposed within the socket and rotates with the tool holder. One of the first and second bit drivers extends axially out of the socket opening. The outer rotatable sleeve is disposed over at least a portion of the socket and the bit driver extending axially out of the socket opening. The outer rotatable sleeve further includes a magnet in an end proximate the bit driver extending axially out of the socket opening.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
When purchasing various rotary tools, professional tradesmen and do-it-yourselfers are frequently required to purchase several of a series of tool or driver configurations that have different types of driving ends, e.g. Philips®, Torx® and flat head, as well as various hexangle nut driver configurations in metric and English units. The combinations of different tools for a given task may require the use of various different driving ends. Thus, the cost associated with having a complete set of tools is increased since each tool is generally sold separately. Moreover, there is a significant drawback for a user of many different tools in that the user must carry with him or her a specific tool for each task to be accomplished. For example, a user may need to bring multiple screw drivers and nut drivers to accomplish a single task. As a consequence, the user's tool belt or tool box soon becomes cluttered with these various implements resulting in an increase in the weight of the tools the user must carry from one location to another. Likewise, boaters, motorists, bicyclists, and homeowners have a need for a single multipurpose rotary tool that can be stored conveniently and compactly for use in an emergency or otherwise.
Further, when using these rotary tools in a space proximate another wall or other object, the rotating shaft of the tool can be abrasive to the wall or object. Additionally, if a user attempts to guide the shaft with his hand, there is friction present between the hand and shaft, which may result in discomfort.
Further yet, a user is often required to hold a fastener with one hand against a bit of the tool, while operating the tool with his second hand. This can be troublesome, especially in tight spaces and may result in dropped and even lost fasteners.
All of these developments have created a need for a single rotary tool that has a variety of functions and serves as a multiple rotary tool, while eliminating the aforementioned inconveniences. However, this need has not been easily achieved. Hence, there exists a need for a single rotary tool and kit that functions as a multipurpose tool which can be stored and organized in a convenient manner and having the approximate size of a conventional single purpose rotary tool.


The present invention provides a new and distinct variety of hemp designated as ‘NaCl’, which has improved resilience to high salinity soil and drought conditions, as well as tolerance to small rootzone conditions.

Cannabis is the genus of a variety of species—Cannabis sativa, Cannabis ruderalis, and Cannabis indica—which is often used as an umbrella term to refer to them all. This misclassification of the different species has made it difficult to properly distinguish between and understand the best ways to utilize the different varieties of these plants.
According to the 2018 Farm Bill, Hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa that is distinguished by its low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels of less than 0.3%. THC is the only currently known psychoactive compound found in Cannabis, however there are many additional cannabinoid compounds that can be utilized in a variety of ways. The exact concentration results based on lab testing of dried flowers will vary depending on growing conditions of the plant, and sampling, preparation, and testing methods used. THC production, for example, is a natural, chemical defense mechanism for the plant, meaning in high stress or threatening environments the specific plant will produce higher levels of THC. Because of this inconsistency, many state labs are allowing slightly higher levels of THC in the tests as anything under 1% THC has not been proven to have psychoactive effects.
For the purpose of this study on 'NaCl', the cannabinoid percentages are recorded based on a plant grown in a high-stress environment to determine the maximum concentration of THC that will be produced by this specific strain. The results conclude that the 'NaCl' is a type-III hemp cultivar meaning it does not possess the allele to ever make more than 1% THC (and thus is not suitable for marijuana use). Additionally, 'NaCl' is a new, unique variety because it was developed to be a salt tolerant strain and was tested by growing in high salinity, high clay soil with less than optimal nutrient levels and was irrigated with water that had a 300 PPM saline content.
With the recent legalization of hemp in 2018, farmers across the country decided to either convert their old crops or start new fields to grow the more lucrative hemp. In many cases, these farms were established in areas where the soil is less than ideal for hemp. One of the conditions commonly seen is high salinity soil. Having too much salt can cause a number of problems for the plant including but not limited to stunting plant growth, burning root and leaf tips, and blocking uptake of essential nutrients and minerals each of which puts strain on the plants and may even lead to death. Additionally, the environment created by high salinity soil often adds stress to the hemp plants growing in it which creates the risk of increasing THC levels. THC production in Cannabis is a chemical defense mechanism that will be more induced when the plant is grown in less than optimal conditions, experiences competition from pests or weeds, or is subject to too much or too little water, among a number of other stress inducing factors. With the current limited industry regulation and support for farmers, too much salt may destroy their entire crop either directly due to plant death, or indirectly due to testing hot (above 0.3% THC). In either case, it is important for farmers with high salt content in their soil to have a strain that will stay consistent and thrive in these conditions.
'NaCl' was developed in a selective breeding program by performing controlled fertilization of known, high-performing hemp varieties. The purpose of the research was to determine what specific cultivars would be able to complete its life cycle with minimal stress in high salinity soil while maintaining a consistent high CBD and low THC profile. The mother was selected from one of ten cultivars grown on a high salt farm in Sonoma County, Calif. The mother was selected because it showed the most resistance to the soil conditions and still maintained its cannabinoid ratio as compared with its clone grown indoors in controlled conditions. The mother was then crossed with twenty different fathers to determine which would carry the salt tolerant trait and consistent cannabinoid levels or even improve upon it. From the seeds produced, 250 of each cultivar was germinated and planted on the high salt farm in Sonoma County. 'NaCl' was selected as the best phenotype of the 5,000 plants grown because of its improved resilience to the soil and impressive cannabinoid profile. Additionally, when grown indoors 'NaCl' showed resistance to being rootbound and is very hardy in most growing environments, making it a great plant for potentially stress inducing environments. The father that was chosen was a feminized father developed inhouse, which means it was a female plant that was induced to produce pollen sacs in place of typical female buds. The creation of pollen by a female meant that crossing a feminized father with a non-feminized mother would yield 100% feminized plants, meaning they will produce female flowers, because only XX chromosomes were crossed. In addition to its resilience and robust cannabinoid profile, 'NaCl' was developed to be feminized so, even when grown from seeds, will be a female plant and produce flower, reducing the risk of a farmer to accidentally pollinate their crop or for pollen drift to affect surrounding farms.


A conveyor system includes a conveying surface for conveying articles as defined by a plurality of rollers and a frame. Each of the rollers has an axle. The frame is made up of at least two frame members that are spaced apart a distance that corresponds with a length of at least one of the plurality of rollers. A plurality of axle retainers is connected with at least one of the frame members. Each of the axle retainers has a base and a plurality of axle retaining openings that are each adapted to receiving an axle at an end of one of the rollers. At least two of the openings are fixedly at different angles to the base. In this manner, the axle retainers are capable of mounting the rollers at more than one angle with respect to the at least one of the frame members as determined by which of the axle-retaining openings receives the axle. Each roller-mounting angle corresponds to a different orientation of the base with respect to the at least one of the frame members.

The present invention is directed to a conveyor system and axle retainer and, in particular, to a conveyor system having a conveying surface made up of rollers and an axle retainer for retaining an axle of a roller to a frame member at an angle.
Laterally displacing conveyor systems laterally displace articles travelling on a conveying surface. One such conveyor system is a sortation system that diverts articles off the conveying surface to a select spur. The spur can be a powered takeaway conveyor, gravity takeaway conveyor, chute, or the like. One type of sortation system is a positive displacement sorter. A positive displacement sorter utilizes some type of member to affirmatively guide the article being diverted off of the conveying surface in a manner that reduces the likelihood that an article could overshoot the diverter and, therefore, fail to be diverted. Divert failures are detrimental to efficient operation of the sortation system.

Roller conveyor system and axle retainer for use in mounting the rollers


The present invention relates to Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CAR) that are recombinant chimeric proteins able to redirect immune cell specificity and reactivity toward selected membrane antigens, and more particularly in which extracellular ligand binding is a scFV derived from a 5T4 monoclonal antibody, conferring specific immunity against 5T4 positive cells. The engineered immune cells endowed with such CARs are particularly suited for treating lymphomas and leukemia, and for solid tumors such as colon, stomach, and ovarian tumors.

Adoptive immunotherapy, which involves the transfer of autologous antigen-specific T cells generated ex vivo, is a promising strategy to treat viral infections and cancer. The T cells used for adoptive immunotherapy can be generated either by expansion of antigen-specific T cells or redirection of T cells through genetic engineering (Park, Rosenberg et al. 2011). Transfer of viral antigen specific T cells is a well-established procedure used for the treatment of transplant associated viral infections and rare viral-related malignancies. Similarly, isolation and transfer of tumor specific T cells has been shown to be successful in treating melanoma.
Novel specificities in T cells have been successfully generated through the genetic transfer of transgenic T cell receptors or chimeric antigen receptors (CARS) (Jena, Dotti et al. 2010). CARs are synthetic receptors consisting of a targeting moiety that is associated with one or more signaling domains in a single fusion molecule. In general, the binding moiety of a CAR consists of an antigen-binding domain of a single-chain antibody (scFv), comprising the light and variable fragments of a monoclonal antibody joined by a flexible linker. Binding moieties based on receptor or ligand domains have also been used successfully. The signaling domains for first generation CARs are derived from the cytoplasmic region of the CD3zeta or the Fc receptor gamma chains. First generation CARs have been shown to successfully redirect T-cell cytotoxicity. However, they failed to provide prolonged expansion and anti-tumor activity in vivo. Signaling domains from co-stimulatory molecules, as well as transmembrane and hinge domains have been added to form CARs of second and third generations, leading to some successful therapeutic trials in humans, where T-cells could be redirected against malignant cells expressing CD19 (June et al., 2011). However, the particular combination of signaling domains, transmembrane and co-stimulatory domains used with respect to CD19 ScFv, was rather antigen-specific and cannot be expanded to any antigen markers.
According to the data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal/statistics/race.htm], incidence of colorectal cancer in the US population over the year 2011 was about 50 per 100 000 people for women and up to 60 for males in the black people population, leading to 50% mortality. This incidence has only decreased by 10% over the last decade.
One candidate antigen of immunotherapies for solid tumors, including the colorectal, ovarian and gastric and also for non-solid tumors such as childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the trophoblast glycoprotein, also known as TPBG or 5T4 (UniProt: 013641). 5T4 is often referred to as an oncofetal antigen due to its expression in foetal trophoblast (where it was first discovered) or trophoblast glycoprotein (TPBG). 5T4 protein is an N-glycosylated transmembrane 72 kDa glycoprotein containing seven leucine-rich repeat regions (Hole et al, 1988). The 5T4 antigen was found to be expressed in number of carcinoma including gastric (Starzynska et al. 1995), ovarian and carcinoma (Wrigley et al. 1995). Also, 5T4 oncofetal antigen is expressed in high risk of relapse childhood pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Castro et al. 2012). It has very limited expression in normal tissue but is widespread in malignant tumors throughout their development (Cars berg et al. 1995).
The present inventors have thus considered that 5T4 could be a valuable target antigen for treating solid tumors such as colorectal, ovarian and gastric tumors, by using CAR-expressing T cells.
As an alternative to the previous strategies, the present invention provides with 5T4 specific CARs, which can be expressed in immune cells to target 5T4 malignant cells with significant clinical advantage.
There is still the need for the improvement of CAR functionality by designing CAR architecture and using suitable components since these parameters play a role important and a fine tuning may be necessary.
The inventors have found that, by combining CAR architecture to the choice of suitable components, they could obtain specific 5T4 single chain CARs with high cytotoxicity towards cancerous target cells.

Trophoblast glycoprotein (5T4, TPBG) specific chimeric antigen receptors for cancer immunotherapy


A method at a power-limited computing station for communicating in an intelligent transport system, the method including operating the computing station in one of a non-critical radio operating state and a safety-critical radio operating state; receiving a trigger at the computing station; determining whether the trigger should cause the computing station to transition a radio operating state; and if the trigger should cause the computing station to transition the radio operating state, changing the radio operating state to the other of the non-critical radio operating state and the safety-critical radio operating state.

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) are systems in which a plurality of devices communicate to allow for the transportation system to make better informed decisions with regard to transportation and traffic management, as well as allowing for safer and more coordinated decision making in transportation networks. ITS system components may be provided within vehicles, as part of fixed infrastructure, such as on bridges or at intersections, and for other users of the transportation systems including pedestrians or bicyclists.
ITS system deployment is receiving significant focus in many markets around the world, with radio frequency bands being allocated for the communications. In addition to Vehicle to Vehicle communications for safety-critical and non-critical applications, further enhancements to proposed systems or applications are being developed for Vehicle to Infrastructure and Vehicle to Portable or Person scenarios. This includes systems to benefit vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists.
In many cases, a computing station within the ITS system must be capable of reacting quickly. In particular, due to vehicle speeds and range of communications, typically a computing station needs to receive and/or respond to communications with a very low latency. However, to achieve low latency communications, battery intensive radio components on the computing stations generally need to be kept in an active mode of operation, which may be an issue for portable devices having limited power resources.

Pedestrian safety communication system and method


In a method of inputting/outputting data in a semiconductor memory device, first data and second data are buffered and outputted to a first output node and a second output node, respectively, in a normal mode. In a test mode, the first data is buffered through a first transmission line and a second transmission line and outputted to the first output node and the second output node in response to at least one control signal. Also, in the test mode, the second data is buffered through the first transmission line and the second transmission line and outputted to the first output node and the second output node in response to the at least one control signal. Accordingly, test time may be reduced, and variations of operation characteristics caused by merging the data pins may also be reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a method of testing the same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor memory device capable of merging data pins and a method of testing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices are tested after manufacturing the semiconductor memory devices, so as to find defects that may be generated while manufacturing the semiconductor memory device and so as to improve reliability of the semiconductor memory devices. Generally, a tester is used for performing a plurality of test procedures. The tester may be electrically connected to the semiconductor memory device through a plurality of data pins.
When the data pins of the semiconductor memory device are merged, a single tester can be connected to more semiconductor memory devices. That is, more semiconductor memory devices can be tested simultaneously. Therefore, less time is required for testing the semiconductor memory devices, the expanse of carrying out the test is reduced and productivity of the semiconductor memory device is improved.
Conventionally, where at least two of the data pins of the semiconductor memory device are merged for testing the semiconductor memory device, the two data pins are electrically connected at the exterior of the semiconductor package and a data output buffer inside the semiconductor package determines to which data pin data is output.
For example, if an 'X8' memory device having eight data pins is tested based on the conventional method of merging the data pins, a data pin DQ0 and a data pin DQ4 are merged, a data pin DQ1 and a data pin DQ5 are merged, a data pin DQ2 and a data pin DQ6 are merged, and a data pin DQ3 and a data pin DQ7 are merged. After merging the data pins, a data output buffer in the semiconductor package outputs one of either data outputting to the data pin DQ0 or data outputting to the data pin DQ4, one of either data outputting to the data pin DQ1 or data outputting to the data pin DQ5, one of either data outputting to the data pin DQ2 or data outputting to the data pin DQ6, and one of either data outputting to the data pin DQ3 or data outputting to the data pin DQ7, for testing the semiconductor memory device. Accordingly, the number of data pins to be connected to the tester is reduced according to the conventional method of merging the data pins.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a prior art approach for merging data pins of the semiconductor memory device.
An X8 semiconductor memory device having 8 data pins is shown in FIG. 1 as an example. The X8 semiconductor memory device is only illustrated as having four D0 pins (DQ0, DQ1, DQ4, DQ5) and relevant portions thereof and the remaining portions are omitted for the sake of clarity.
Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional semiconductor memory device 100 includes a memory cell array 110, an input/output (I/O) MUX 120, an I/O sense amp (S/A) 130, a DBMUX 140, a data output buffer 150 and data output pins DQ0, DQ1, DQ4 and DQ5. The DBMUX 140 may not be included in the conventional semiconductor memory device depending on the type of semiconductor memory device.
The memory cell array 110 includes a plurality of cells for storing data D0, D1, D4 and D5.
The I/O MUX 120 and the I/O S/A 130 are used to transmit data from the memory cell array 110 and amplify the data.
The DBMUX 140 multiplexes data to output the multiplexed data to a target data output pin.
The data output buffer 150 buffers data and outputs the buffered data to data output pins DQ0, DQ1, DQ4 and DQ5.
In order to reduce the number of data pins, the data output pins DQ0 and DQ4 are electrically connected to each other at an outside of the semiconductor memory device. Further, the data output pins DQ1 and DQ5 are electrically connected to each other at the outside of the conventional semiconductor memory device. When a test is performed on the conventional semiconductor memory device, the tester is electrically connected to one of data output pins DQ0 and DQ4 instead of both of data output pins DQ0 and DQ4. Further, the tester is connected to one of data output pins DQ1 and DQ5 instead of both of data output pins DQ1 and DQ5.
The data output buffer 150 outputs data D0 to the data output pin DQ0 and outputs data D1 to the data output pin DQ1 when a control signal RDM0 is activated. In this circumstance, the control signal RDM1 is inactivated to control the data output buffer 150 so as not to output data D4 to the data output pin DQ4 and so as not to output data D5 to the data output pin DQ5. Accordingly, the data D0 is output to the data output pin DQ0, and the data D1 is output to the data output pin DQ1. Since the data output pin DQ0 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ4, the data D0 may be also output to the data output pin DQ4. Further, since the data output pin DQ1 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ5, the data D1 may be also output to the data output pin DQ5.
The data output buffer 150 outputs data D4 to the data output pin DQ4 and outputs data D5 to the data output pin DQ5 when a control signal RDM1 is activated. In this circumstance, the control signal RDM0 is inactivated to control the data output buffer 150 so as not to output data D0 to the data output pin DQ0 and so as not to output data D1 to the data output pin DQ1. Accordingly, the data D4 is output to the data output pin DQ4, and the data D5 is output to the data output pin DQ5. Since the data output pin DQ4 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ0, the data D4 may be also output to the data output pin DQ0. Since the data output pin DQ5 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ1, the data D5 may be also output to the data output pin DQ1.
That is, if the tester is connected to one of two data output pins DQ0 and DQ4, the tester can read two data D0 and D4 according to the control signals RDM0 and RDM1. Further, if the tester is connected to one of two data output pins DQ1 and DQ5, the tester can read two data D1 and D5 according to the control signals RDM0 and RDM1.
As described above, the conventional semiconductor memory device in FIG. 1 can output two data bits to a single data output pin according to a control signal. Therefore, wiring between the tester and the conventional semiconductor memory device may be reduced.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a method of testing a semiconductor memory device using a prior art approach for merging data pins.
An 8 X device is shown in FIG. 2 as an example of the semiconductor memory device.
Referring to FIG. 2, every two of data output pins DQ0, DQ1, DQ2, DQ3, DQ4, DQ5, DQ6 and DQ7 of the semiconductor memory device are electrically connected. That is, the data output pin DQ0 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ4, the data output pin DQ1 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ5, the data output pin DQ2 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ6, and the data output pin DQ3 is electrically connected to the data output pin DQ7.
The four pairs of data output pins are connected to the tester 210 without connecting the tester 210 to all of the data output pins of the semiconductor memory device. That is, the tester 210 is connected to a pair of the data output pins DQ0 and DQ4, a pair of the data output pins DQ1 and DQ5, a pair of the data output pins DQ2 and DQ6, and a pair of the data output pins DQ3 and DQ7. Accordingly, the tester 210 can be connected to more semiconductor memory devices to enable testing multiple semiconductor memory devices at once.
However, the conventional method of merging data pins of a semiconductor memory device causes a problem such that it is sometimes difficult to correlate operation characteristics of a semiconductor memory device in a test mode to operation characteristics of a semiconductor memory device in a normal mode. That is, it is difficult to ensure that the operation characteristics of the semiconductor memory device in the normal mode are fully reflected by the operation characteristics of the semiconductor memory device obtained from the test.
Since two data output pins are electrically connected at the outside of a package according to the conventional method of merging data pins, it is equivalent to the data output buffer providing a single buffered signal to two data pins. Accordingly, various I/O related parameters may be influenced during the test mode. For example, a load on the data pin may be increased during the test to affect the I/O related parameters. Therefore, a result of the test may show operation characteristics different from the operation characteristics of the semiconductor memory device in the normal mode. Such a problem becomes more serious in a high-speed memory device.

Data input/output method of semiconductor memory device and semiconductor memory device for the same


The present invention is directed to a multi-surface cleaning composition having an anti-bacterial ingredient for cleaning furniture surfaces. The anti-bacterial cleaning component includes a quaternary ammonium chloride compound or combinations thereof. The composition further includes a pH adjuster to provide for a generally neutral pH in the range of about 6 to about 9 including a combination of components, preferably white distilled vinegar and an amine compound. The cleaning composition provides for good cleaning and disinfecting of wood surfaces and other furniture surfaces without leaving streaks.

Multi-surface anti-bacterial cleaning compositions are known in the art. However, most of these cleaning compositions have a harsh pH, either very high or very low, and therefore are not conducive to cleaning furniture, especially wood furniture.
Multi-surface anti-bacterial cleaning compositions generally are required to have low volatile organic compound ("VOC") content, e.g. less than 3%. The formulation of low VOC content multi-surface anti-bacterial cleaning compositions is rendered difficult as the composition must meet the low VOC content requirement and at the same time provide for the optimum cleaning and disinfecting of the furniture surface, as well as not damage the surface being treated.
The present invention provides a new and useful anti-bacterial cleaning composition overcoming the problems of the prior art compositions.


The disclosed data stream optimization process is containing two logical entities, the first being the pre-comparison optimizer component and the second being the comparison component. The pre-comparison optimizer component performs two discrete tasks. First, the input data stream is written into a next state buffer. Second, the elimination of redundancies involves detecting and removing redundant screen attributes, since the terminal's execution time for processing a screen attribute is more than that required for a data character. The comparison component contains three distinct sub-components. First, non-data constructs such as commands and orders are optimized and placed in the outgoing data stream. Second, the screen image that is represented by the data stream is compared to the existing screen image to further reduce the outgoing data stream. This reduced version is further reduced when repeated characters and fields are replaced with repeat orders which take up less space within the outgoing data stream. Lastly, the reduced outgoing data stream is operated on by a post-optimizer sub-component. The post-optimizer sub-component will first determine whether repeated characters existing at the end of the outgoing data stream can be replaced a single repeat order. Then, the sub-component proceeds to remove any unnecessary cursor control orders. Upon completion, the fully optimized data stream is routed to the terminal or conversion facility.

Modern day computer systems often service a significant number of end user devices. Since these end user devices, or terminals, represent an important element of user productivity, efforts are constantly under way to improve their ease of use. Perhaps the most significant measure of a device's "usability" is its response time. Though response time is often perceived to be a function of the end user device itself, the rapidity of response, or lack thereof, is typically a function of the host unit. Therefore, the information sent by the host unit is of particular importance. When discussing the information that is sent from a host unit to a terminal, the nomenclature used is that of a data stream. A data stream can be conceptualized as a "flow" of information. The information flow, usually quantified in bytes, is what a user sees on their terminal's display screen. Beyond the raw information that is to be transmitted to the terminal, specific data stream architectures typically involve commands and orders that facilitate positioning the information on the display screen and/or emphasizing the appearance of the information (e.g., color, highlighting, etc.). Since the amount of information that is sent from the host unit to the terminal has a direct bearing on response time, computer designers are constantly looking for ways to reduce the necessary information flow. One way to reduce the information sent to the terminal is to send only the information that does not already exist on the terminal's display. An example of this reduction technique is to compare the terminal's existing screen image to the next screen image and route only the differences. Another similar technique is to monitor the terminal's existing image and then route only the updates.
While these optimization techniques have reduced response time somewhat, the amount of unnecessary information that is routed to the terminal remains significant. There is time and productivity lost with every unnecessary byte of information that flows to the terminal. This problem becomes even more acute when one considers computer systems that support non-native devices (i.e., terminal devices that were originally designed to operate on a different system). One example is the support of IBM 3270 terminal devices by computer systems that use the IBM 5250 data stream protocol. When a 3270 device is connected to a 5250 system, each and every instruction (e.g., a non-data entity) of the 5250 data stream must be translated into an instruction that can be understood by the 3270 device. In some cases, one 5250 command translates into several 3270 commands. This has the drastic result of increasing response time rather than decreasing response time.

Data stream optimizer utilizing difference coding between a current state buffer and a next state buffer

International Business Machines Corporation


A motorized wheelbarrow with an off-center pivoting Load bucket makes unloading the wheelbarrow easy and quick. The pivot point underneath the bucket is located between a center point of the bottom of the load bucket and a back end of the bucket defined as the end closest to the human operator. A latch holds the bucket in a normal position in which the same is horizontally disposed. Upon release of the latch, since the pivot of the bucket is off-center, gravity will force the bucket to pivot forward into a dumping position, thereby emptying the contents of the wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow is powered by an engine which further drives a generator, thereby providing electrical power at remote locations.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wheelbarrows, and more particularly, to an engine powered wheelbarrow having a gravity tiltable load bucket especially adapted to effect an easy unloading of the bucket's contents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Load carrying wheelbarrows which are pushed by humans to move materials from one location to another are well known and are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,565,453 and 4,921,305. It is also known to add an engine to a wheelbarrow to create a motorized wheelbarrow. See for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,791,470 and 4,589,508.
Thus, while the foregoing body of known prior art indicates it to be well known to use wheelbarrows, including motorized wheelbarrows, for moving materials from place to place, the provision of a more simple and cost effective device is not contemplated. Nor does the prior art described above teach or suggest a wheelbarrow having a gravity tilt load dumping mechanism which may be used by individuals to make unloading the wheelbarrow bucket much easier and quicker.
The foregoing disadvantages are overcome by the unique wheelbarrow of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.


A first heat sinking path formed in a forming direction of a heat sink unit disposed radially in a housing where a light emitting module is mounted. A second heat sinking path is formed along an edge of the light emitting module. By providing a light engine concept in which a light emitting module, an optical member, and a heat sink unit are included and a bottom surface is gradually widened from one side to the other side, an optical semiconductor lighting apparatus can reduce a total weight of a product, can further improve heat dissipation efficiency by inducing natural convection, is simple in the product assembly and installation, and is easy in maintenance, and can provide products with high reliability by increasing the arrangement efficiency of semiconductor optical devices per unit area.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical semiconductor lighting apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Compared with incandescent light and fluorescent light, optical semiconductors, such as LEDs or LDs, consume low power, have a long lifespan, and have high durability and high brightness. Due to these advantages, optical semiconductors have recently attracted much attention as one of components for lighting.
Typically, in the lighting apparatuses using such optical semiconductors, heat is inevitably generated from the optical semiconductors. Therefore, it is necessary to install heat sinks at heat generation sites so as to discharge the generated heat to the outside.
As the optical semiconductors have recently become popular and have been mass-produced, unit costs of the optical semiconductors have also been lowered. Therefore, the lighting apparatuses using the optical semiconductors have tended to be used for high power industrial lighting, such as factory lighting, streetlight, or security light.
In the lighting apparatuses using the optical semiconductors, which are used for the high power industrial lighting, generation of heat increases in proportion to the size and power of the lighting apparatuses. As a result, it is necessary to increase the capacity and volume of the heat sink so as to demonstrate excellent heat dissipation performance.
Generally, heat sinks mounted on the lighting apparatuses using the optical semiconductors are manufactured by die casting or the like, such that the heat sinks are integrally or detachably connected to a housing. However, the heat sinks manufactured in such a manner increase the total weight of the product and increase the manufacturing costs and the amount of raw materials used.
In particular, in the case of the conventional heat sinks manufactured by die casting, heat sink fins cannot be formed to have a thickness below a predetermined reference value due to characteristics of the manufacturing method thereof. Hence, a heat dissipation area intended at a limited site is narrow, and the volume and size of the heat sink is increased if a plurality of heat sink fins are formed for securing a sufficient heat dissipation area.
Meanwhile, in this regard, if a heat sink is manufactured in a shape of a heat sink plate by using a sheet (thin plate), a sufficient heat dissipation area may be secured. However, due to the structural limitation that the heat sink should be arranged in a line contact manner, heat generated from optical semiconductors may not be effectively transferred and discharged to the outside.
Furthermore, in the lighting apparatus using the optical semiconductor, a circuit board, on which the optical semiconductors are disposed, is connected to a heat sink, and the circuit board is embedded in a housing. An optical member, such as a lens, which is installed in the housing, allows light from the optical semiconductors to be irradiated more widely or narrowly.
In most cases, the lighting apparatus using the optical semiconductor is disposed on a rectangular or circular circuit board for convenience of manufacturing, and a housing is also rectangular or circular.
However, in view of the number of the lighting apparatuses arranged per unit area in order for high power, if a large number of lighting apparatuses are arranged, the total weight and volume thereof are increased due to the limitation of the structural shape.

Optical semiconductor lighting apparatus


A perforator has a perforator disk rotatably seated in a U-shaped bearing bracket. The bearing bracket is movable into and out of the path of movement of a piece to be perforated by a piston-cylinder unit which is actuated from either side of the piston. The piston-cylinder unit is housed in a fastening element which can be connected to a machine frame. The bearing bracket has guide bolts which extend into the fastening element to secure the bearing bracket against rotation in respect to the fastening element. The fastening element comprises a cylinder having a blind bore extending from the side of the fastening element facing the U-shaped bearing bracket in which a piston having seal rings is sealingly guided in a displaceable manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a perforator with a perforating disk rotatably seated in a U-shaped bearing bracket. The bearing bracket is moved into and out of the path of movement of a piece to be perforated by a piston-cylinder unit which can be actuated from either side. The piston-cylinder unit is housed in a fastening element which can be connected to a machine frame by guide bolts movably disposed in the bearing bracket which maintain the bearing bracket fixed against rotation in respect to the fastening element.
2. Description of Prior Art
A perforator of this type is disclosed in German Patent DE-PS 34 39 199. As disclosed therein, the fastening element is an open tray, the bottom of which is oriented towards the bearing bracket and which is closed on the side away from the bearing bracket by a cover. A commercially available piston-cylinder unit is used for displacing the bearing bracket with the perforating disk, which consists of a piston with a piston rod housed in a cylinder housing. This piston-cylinder unit is housed in the tray-shaped fastening element. Therefore the guide bolts for the bearing brackets must have a distance larger than the sum of the diameter of the cylinder housing and the diameter of the guide bushings for the bearing bracket. This establishes a minimum size for the perforator.
An object of the invention is to simplify the structure of a perforator of the previously mentioned type and to reduce the size of the perforator in the process.
This object is attained in accordance with the invention where a quadrate fastening element in the form of a cylinder has a blind bore extending from the side facing a bearing bracket, in which a piston, which is provided with seal rings, is sealingly guided in a displaceable manner. The blind bore is closed by means of a seal bushing through which extends a piston rod connected to a piston, which piston is connected to the bearing bracket. The blind bore transforms on the side facing the bearing block into an end section with a larger diameter forming a shoulder against which the seal bushing rests. In another embodiment the cylinder as a fastening element is plate-shaped and oriented to the plane of the perforating disk. A plate-shaped piston is displaceably guided in a quadrate sealed recess of the cylinder and is fixedly connected with the bearing bracket by a sealed piston rod displaceably guided in the cylinder. Both sides of the piston which extend crosswise to the displacement direction of the piston are provided with sealing elements which seal on all sides in the direction of the recess of the cylinder.
In this embodiment the fastening element forms the cylinder housing of the piston-cylinder unit and does not require a cover. It is possible to reduce the length of the two guide bolts of the bearing bracket so that the structural height of the perforator as a whole is reduced. The determining dimension for the length of the guide bolts in this embodiment is the diameter of the blind bore, which corresponds to the interior diameter of the cylinder housing of the known perforator, or the dimension of the quadrate recess in the fastening element as well as the diameter of the guide bushings of the guide bolts of the bearing bracket.
In accordance with an embodiment of this invention the seal bushing is fixed by a retaining ring in the end section of the blind bore and is maintained in contact with the shoulder, limiting the displacement path of the piston and providing the piston rod with additional guidance.
An absolutely straight guidance of the bearing bracket is attained where the guide bolts of the bearing bracket are guided in guide bushings, which are inserted into bores of the quadrate fastening element and are immovably held in the bores at both ends by retaining rings. The installation of the guide bushings is made easier and improved where the bores only extend over part of the thickness of the quadrate fastening element and, on the side facing away from the bearing bracket, transform into end sections with enlarged diameters in which are placed on the receptacle, the retaining ring for securing the guide bushings and are closed by a threaded plug.
Securing the perforator on the machine frame is achieved in a simple manner by the quadrate fastening element comprising a fastening clamp together with an L-shaped part formed of one piece with it, and the leg of the part facing away from the fastening element being provided with a through-bore to receive a fastening screw.
In accordance with one embodiment, the simple manufacture of the fastening element is made possible where the recess is in the form of an opening in the cylinder into which a rectangular tube section is sealingly seated as a piston guidance. The open front ends of the rectangular tube section tightly adjoin the facing sides of the recess in the cylinder. In accordance with a further embodiment of this invention, the free side walls of the rectangular tube section end flush with the facing sides of the plate-shaped cylinder.
In accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, the piston-cylinder unit is designed in such a way that the recess is in the shape of an opening in the cylinder and that after insertion of the piston into the recess the latter is tightly covered by means of two cover plates and the cylinder chamber for the piston is thus complemented.
In both cases it has been advantageously provided that the dimensions of the cylinder in the direction of the axis of rotation of the perforating disk correspond to the associated dimensions of the bearing bracket.
The two-sided actuation of the piston-cylinder unit is provided in a simple manner where the control lines for the piston-cylinder unit enter into the cylinder and end, in the area of the sides oriented crosswise to the direction of movement of the piston, in the recess of the cylinder. The control lines are accessible through threaded connections in a side extending parallel to the displacement direction of the piston.
The sealed displacement of the piston rod in the cylinder is attained in accordance with one embodiment of this invention where the piston rod is sealed by a sealing element which is maintained by a closing element in a widened shoulder of the bore in the cylinder for receiving the piston rod.
The function of the cylinder as a fastening element is simply achieved where the cylinder has, outside of the piston-cylinder unit in the end section facing away from the bearing bracket, a fastening receptacle, T-shaped in cross section, in which a threaded bore for receiving a fastening screw ends.


A cooling system for a Stirling engine which includes a cooler, an ultrasonic wave generator for making cooling fluid into atomized particles, a water tank, a pump and an electric power generator for generating electric power by driving force of the Stirling engine to supply the electric power to the pump and the ultrasonic wave generator, whereby the cooling fluid is converted to atomized particles of cooling fluid and then phase changing latent heat generated by the process of changing the atomized particles of cooling fluid to gas is utilized so that working fluid of Stirling engine is effectively cooled.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cooling system for a Stirling engine and more particularly, to a cooling system for a Stirling engine in which cooling fluid is atomized particles and then phase changing latent heat generated by the process of changing the atomized particles of cooling fluid to gas is utilized to the Stirling engine so that working fluid of the Stirling engine is effectively cooled.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Stirling engine utilizes a principle that the pressure is raised when the working fluid is heated in the Stirling engine while the pressure is dropped when the working fluid is cooled. Accordingly, when a predetermined amount of the working fluid is heated in a heating chamber, the pressure is raised, whereby a power piston inserted in a cylinder is dropped downward. And while the working fluid is cooled, the pressure is dropped, whereby the power piston is lifted upward and the motion of the power piston is repeated so that the power is obtained.
A kind of conventional Stirling engines comprises a cooling system for cooling the working fluid as shown in FIG. 2, which includes a cooler 12 attached to a Stirling engine 11, a pump 13 connected to the cooler 12, and a water tank 14. When the water stored in the water tank 14 is pumped to the cooler 12 by the pump 13, the water circulates around the Stirling engine 11 and the circulated water returns to the cooler 12 and upon cooling the water, the cooled water comes back to the water tank 14 to be flowed to the Stirling engine 11 through the cooler 12. Thus the cooling water repeats to circulate around the Stirling engine 11, whereby the working fluid of the stirling engine 11 is cooled.
As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 15 represents a cylinder, 16 is an expansion space, 17 is a compression space, 18 is a power piston, 19 is a displacer, and 20 represents a wheel, respectively.
Another conventional cooling system, namely an air cooling system for a Stirling engine, utilizes cooling air for cooling by circulating around the Stirling engine 11 with the cooling air.
However, as aforementioned, the case of water cooling system for cooling by circulating directly the cooling fluid around the Stirling engine 11 not only requires large amount of cooling water but also cooling efficiency is reduced and in the case of air cooling system also, there are a lot of disadvantages such as problem for the cooling efficiency as similar as in the water cooling system.


It is an object to effectively reduce minute clearances generated between a heat radiating member and a vehicle body and ensure good cooling performance while avoiding the occurrence of impact and noise caused by the vibration of a vehicle. A circuit unit U is mounted such that an outer surface 11B of the heat radiating member 10 to which the circuit body 30 is fixed faces a body surface S of the vehicle with a clearance. Preferably, the mounting part 12 fixed to the body of the vehicle is extended, the surface 13 of the mounting part 12 which is in contact with the body is positioned to be substantially parallel to the outer surface 11B of the heat radiating member and a step is provided in both surfaces 13, 11B. In a mounted state, the body and the outer surface 11B of the heat radiating member are facing each other in a substantially parallel state and a clearance is formed between the body and the outer surface of the heat radiating member over the entire area excluding the mounting part 12.

Conventionally, circuit units comprising a power distribution circuit configured by stacking a plurality of bus bar boards, and having fuses and relay switches assembled thereon have generally been known as a means for distributing electric power from a common on-vehicle power supply to each on-vehicle device. In order to achieve reduction in size of the circuit unit, it has been proposed to bond a bus bar with a control circuit member, or use semiconductor switching elements such as FETs in place of relays.
However, such a circuit unit is likely to generate heat due to a relatively large current flowing in the bus bars. More particularly, in view of large amounts of heat generated in the switching elements such as FETs or relay switches, it becomes a significant problem how such large amounts of heat are effectively radiated.
As a solution to this problem, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei. 5-343871 discloses in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a control box provided with a circuit pattern including electric parts and electronic parts and arranged on a heat radiating board. The heat radiating board has the shape of a flat plate. Mounting bores are provided at an edge of one side of the heat radiating board and a bolt is inserted into each mounting bore for fixing the heat radiating board to the vehicle body so that the control box is mounted on the vehicle body in a state that substantially the entire area of an outer surface of the heat radiating board is in contact with the vehicle body.

Mounting structure of on-vehicle circuit unit and on-vehicle circuit unit


An air intake assembly includes heating elements. The heating elements include windings arranged in a serpentine configuration and having crest portions and trough portions. At least one crest portion of a first heating element is fastened to a corresponding trough portion of a second heating element. The heating elements are arranged in a honeycomb configuration.

An air-fuel mixture for an internal combustion engine is harder to ignite when cold, leading to less complete combustion and increased emissions. Once the engine has warmed up, the cylinders may warm the air-fuel mixture sufficiently. However, at startup, the engine may have no heat to contribute to the air-fuel mixture. Cold start conditions are especially severe when the ambient air temperature is low. An intake air heating system may be used to heat air arriving at the engine. This system may be located within or prior to the intake manifold. The intake air heating system may be brought up to temperature prior to attempting to start the engine.
Heating the intake air may allow for easier ignition and may hold the fuel in suspension more effectively, leading to fewer fuel droplets falling out of suspension in the air. Intake air heating systems may allow for faster starts of the engine, may reduce startup emissions, reduce engine wear, reduce overall battery consumption during startup, and reduce startup fuel consumption.
The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.


A plate heat exchanger reduces the cross-sectional diameter of channels and suppresses clogging of the channels with a brazing material. First heat transfer plates each include a plurality of rows of inverse V-shaped waves formed on its surface, and second heat transfer plates each include a plurality of rows of V-shaped waves formed on its surface are alternately stacked. The intersections of the waves are joined by brazing. Further, a distance (L) between joint points in the short-axis direction of the heat transfer plates and a fillet dimension (f) in the short-axis direction of the heat transfer plates satisfy a relation 0≤((L−f)/L)×100≤40.

A so-called brazed plate heat exchanger is a multilayer heat exchanger in which a plurality of heat transfer plates are stacked while being clamped between end plates provided on two sides and are joined into one plate by brazing. Adjacent heat transfer plates each have rows of channel forming patterns of projections and recesses formed on their continuous surfaces. Peaks of crests and troughs of the channel forming patterns on the adjacent heat transfer plates abut against each other to form interspaces serving as channels for fluid. Moreover, the abutting support points are joined and fixed by brazing. Each of the end plates has an inlet port and an outlet port for fluid serving as a heat transfer medium, and the heat transfer medium flows through the interspaces to exchange heat.
As the above-described channel forming patterns, a combination of adjacent V-shaped waves and inverse V-shaped waves is known as an example (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). A pattern formed by continuous waves orthogonal to each other is known as another example (see, for example, Patent Literature 2).
In a plate heat exchanger disclosed in Patent Literature 1, waves that form channels have a wave angle θ (inclination angle) of 20° to 70° (preferably 45°), a wave height h of 1 mm or less, and a wave pitch of 4 mm or less.
In Patent Literature 2, a hydraulic diameter Dh (=2×h) is 1 to 3 mm, and a wave height h is 0.5 to 1.5 mm.

Plate heat exchanger and refrigeration cycle apparatus including the same


Reactor membranes for used in oxidation reactions of hydrocarbons involving oxygen comprising a selective oxidation catalyst on a mixed conducting, oxide ion selective ceramic membrane of the composition (Sr1-xCax)1-yAyMn1-zBzO3-xcex4, where

The present invention relates to the field of heterogeneous catalysis. More particularly, the present invention relates to oxidation reactions carried out over a heterogeneous catalyst mounted on a mixed conductive membrane. Such membranes possess electron conductivity as well as selective conductivity for oxygen ions.
Oxygen permeable membranes whereby oxygen may be selectively transported through the membranes are well known. Such membranes make it possible to separate oxygen from oxygen-containing mixtures with other, preferably gaseous, elements. The selectivity is due to the migration of O2xe2x88x92 ions through a layer composed of certain ceramic materials. Before the oxygen passes through the membrane, electrons are transferred to the oxygen on one side of the membrane. After migration through the membrane to the other side, the oxide ions recombine to form oxygen molecules while the electrons migrate in the opposite direction. The ceramic materials mentioned are for instance oxidic compounds of transition metals. These have to have crystallographic vacancies in the lattice for oxygen ion transport to take place.
These lattice vacancies can be produced for example by replacing metal ions in a given oxide with ions of some other valency. This creates in a relatively simple manner O2xe2x88x92 vacancies via which the oxide ions are transported to the other end of the membrane.
The best-known oxygen selective ceramic material is ZrO2, where oxide ion conductivity is generated by partly replacing the tetravalent zirconium with trivalent yttrium or divalent calcium ions. Using such a material as an oxygen selective membrane provides a material enabling the transport of O2xe2x88x92 ions. The material has no electron conductivity. Such a material is accordingly in itself not capable of transporting oxygen. If oxygen is to be transported through a membrane composed of such a material, an external circuit has to be applied to electrodes mounted on both sides of the membrane in order that charge equalization may be ensured.
To eliminate the need to apply external circuitry, it has been proposed to produce membranes that possess electron conductivity as well as oxide ion conductivity. This is generally achieved on adding a second component possessing good electron conductivity to the ceramic membrane. Palladium, platinum, silver or gold or conductive oxidic compounds of these or other metals are frequently used for this purpose. This gives rise to dual phase membranes. These are disclosed for example in EP-A-399 833. EP-A-399 833 describes inter alia electron conducting as well as oxygen selective membranes comprising a mixture of from 25 to 99% by volume of yttrium-doped zirconia and from 1 to 75% by volume of platinum. Such membranes are then used in oxidation reactions in which oxygen is selectively extracted from mixtures by the membrane and fed to the reaction.
A further development of the above-described membranes is mixed conducting membranes. These are made of not two different materials or phases but a single material capable of selectively conducting not only oxide ions but also electrons. These conductor properties are to be found in only a very limited number of materials. The materials used in general are certain perovskites which are generally doped with other cations to increase the conductivity properties and the thermal stability.
There are a number of publications describing such materials and mixed conducting membranes produced therewith.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,079 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,071 describe mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membranes that are comprised of zirconia doped with a metal of group VB, VIB or titanium dioxide. The preferred ceramic material used is zirconia doped with yttria and titania. The membrane supports a porous material containing an oxidation catalyst for hydrocarbons. Depending on the nature of this catalyst, the membranes thus obtained are useful in various oxidation reactions, for example the production of ethylene oxide or propylene oxide from the respective olefin, the oxidative dehydrogenation of monoolefins or the oxidative coupling of methane or other alkanes.
EP-A-663 232 describes a mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membrane comprised of a metal oxide comprising a plurality of different metal ions and of a catalyst applied thereto. The oxide preferably comprises bismuth, barium, vanadium, molybdenum, cerium, ruthenium, manganese, cobalt, rhodium or praseodymium ions. The catalyst is preferably formed of a metal selected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium, gold and silver. The membrane catalysts thus obtained are useful for various oxidations, for example the conversion of methane to syngas, but also the conversion of oxides of, for example, sulfur or nitrogen into the respective elements, for example the conversion of sulfur oxides into sulfur and oxygen.
WO98/41394 teaches an oxide ion selective membrane of the general formula ABO3-xcex4, where A is one or more of calcium, strontium, barium, yttrium and lanthanum, B is one or more of chromium, manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel and copper, and xcex4 ranges from 0 to 0.5.
The membrane has a catalyst on both sides, namely a catalyst for activating oxygen on one side and a hydrocarbon partial oxidation catalyst on the other. A catalyst of such a composition is useful for example for selectively carrying out the partial oxidation of methane to carbon monoxide and hydrogen.
WO 99/21649 describes a reactor membrane comprised of a mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membrane coated with the oxidation catalyst. The membrane is an oxidic compound of a plurality of metals selected from the group consisting of lanthanides, yttrium, 3d transition metals and group 13 metals. A multiplicity of oxidation catalysts, both oxidic and metallic, that can be applied to such membranes are disclosed.
However, all the oxidation reactions mentioned in the above-cited references are generally carried out at high temperatures, generally about 800 to 1000xc2x0 C. This is because prior art mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membranes need such high temperatures to provide an oxygen permeance sufficient for industrial application. Below the temperature range mentioned, the oxygen diffusion coefficient of the above-disclosed materials is so small that insufficient oxygen migrates through the membrane. The use of these mixed conducting membranes in oxidation reactions is thus generally restricted to oxidation reactions that proceed in the temperature range mentioned. It would be desirable, however, to have oxidation catalysts on mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membranes that can also be used at relatively low temperatures.
It is an object of the present invention to provide such a reactor membrane. It shall retain the previously known advantages of oxidation catalysts applied to mixed conducting membranes. This is in particular the elimination of the need for an air separation in those cases where the particular oxidation reaction has to be carried out with pure oxygen. In addition, the selectivity of the oxidation is frequently enhanced by making the oxygen available as lattice oxygen at the catalyst/reaction gas phase boundary. Unwanted secondary reactions taking place homogeneously in the gas phase are suppressed.
We have found that this object is achieved by a reactor membrane comprising a selective oxidation catalyst on a mixed conducting, oxide ion selective ceramic membrane of the composition (Sr1-xCax)1-yAyMn1-zBzO3-xcex4 where
A is Ba, Pb, Na, K, Y, an element of the lanthanide group or a combination thereof,
B is Mg, Al, G, In, Sn, an element of the 3d or 4d series or a combination thereof,
x is from 0.2 to 0.8,
y is from 0 to 0.4,
z is from 0 to 0.6, and
xcex4 is a number, dependent on x, y or z, that renders the composition charge neutral.
This invention further provides for the use of the above-described reactor membrane in oxidation reactions of hydrocarbons using oxygen.
The reactor membrane of the invention or its use in oxidation reactions makes it possible to conduct these reactions at previously impossible temperatures. This temperature range extends in particular from 350 to 450xc2x0 C. A decisive aspect of the reactor membrane according to the invention is the mixed conducting, oxide ion selective membrane.
Useful mixed conducting membranes include the mixed conducting membranes disclosed in German Application 198 26 496.8. They are oxides derived from xcex2-SrMnO3, an ABO3-structured perovskite. This SrMnO3 has added to it certain foreign ions to enhance the thermal stability and the oxide ion permeability.
These foreign ions include, first, a cation having a smaller ionic radius than strontium. If the base material is modified in this way, Ca2+ is added in any case to obtain a compound having the composition Sr1-xCaxMnO3-xcex4. If desired, a further ion smaller than strontium and identified above as A can be incorporated. This further ion A is selected from the group consisting of Ba, Pb, Na, K and Y. The resulting compounds have the general formula (Sr1-xCax)1-yAyMnO3-xcex4, where x, y and xcex4 are each as defined above.
Furthermore, manganese can be replaced with a cation having a larger ionic radius, this cation being referred to as B hereinbelow. B can be an element of the 3rd main group, preferably Al3+, Ga3+ or In3+ or an element of the 3d or 4d series, for example Fe3+, Co2+ or Ni2+. The particular advantage of incorporating a metal of valency  less than 4 is the resulting higher conductivity for the material. Incorporation of cation B gives compounds of the general formula SrMn1-zBzO3-xcex4, where z and xcex4 are each as defined above.
In a further modification, strontium and manganese can be replaced at one and the same time. This produces compounds of the general formula (Sr1-xCax)1-yAyMn1-zBzO3-xcex4, where x, y, z and xcex4 are each as defined above.
One advantage of such mixed conducting membranes is that O2 diffusion coefficients of about 10xe2x88x927 cm2/s are obtained at as low as about 220xc2x0 C. This makes it technologically interesting to use such membranes as part of reactor membranes for selective catalytic oxidations. Prior art mixed conducting membranes have application temperatures  greater than 700xc2x0 C., distinctly too high for such selective catalytic oxidations.
The membranes described may include other materials that conduct oxide ions or electrons. To preserve the advantageous properties of the membrane, however, it should account for more than 10% by volume of the ceramic material according to the invention. Furthermore, the membrane described can be applied to a porous support material whose pore fraction ranges from 10 to 85%.
That content of German Application 198 26 496.8 which refers to the mixed conducting membrane and its preparation forms an important and integral part of the present invention and is incorporated herein by reference.
Selective oxidation catalysts which, according to the invention, can be applied to the above-described membrane include selective oxidation catalysts that are used in the commonly known oxidation reactions of hydrocarbons. Examples of such oxidation reactions and the catalysts used will now be given.
Ammoxidation of Propane to Acrylonitrile
Catalysts used have the composition Moxe2x80x94Vxe2x80x94Texe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94O, for example, where X is Nb, Ta, W, Ti, Al, Zr, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ru, Co, Rh, Ni, Pd, Pt, Sb, Be, B, In, Ce. A description of the catalysts of this type is given in EP-A-603 836.
Ammoxidation of Propene to Acrylonitrile
Mo-, Bi- and Fe-containing catalysts can be used for example. These are described for example in EP-A-807 622.
Ammoxidation of o-m-p-xylene
V- and Sb-containing catalysts can be used for example. Such catalysts are described for example in EP-A-222 249.
Oxidation of n-butane, n-butene or Butadiene to Maleic Anhydride
Oxidic vanadium- and phosphorus-containing catalysts can be used, as described for example in EP-A-646 045.
Oxidation of o-xylene to Phthalic Anhydride
Oxidic vanadium- and titanium-containing catalysts are used for example, and they are described for example in DE-A-197 07 943.
Ammoxidation of o-xylene to Phthalonitrile
V- and Sb-containing catalysts can be used for example, as is described for example in EP-A-222 249.
Oxidation of Propene to Acrolein
Here, oxidic molybdenum-, bismuth- and iron-containing catalysts can be used, as is disclosed for example in EP-A-575 897.
Gas Phase Oxidation of Acrolein to Acrylic Acid
It is advantageous to use Mo- and V-containing catalysts, for example those disclosed in EP-A-17 000 or EP-A-774 297.
Oxidation of Methacrolein to Methacrylic Acid
Cesium-, molybdenum-, phosphorus- and vanadium-containing catalysts are used. This is described for example in EP-A-668 103.
Oxidative Dehydrogenations
In general, all known oxydehydrogenation catalysts can be used.
To dehydrogenate propane to propene, for example, oxidic molybdenum- and cobalt-containing catalysts are used. This is described for example in WO 99/42404.
Butenes can be dehydrogenated to butadiene using for example oxidic antimony- and iron-containing catalysts. This is disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,521.
To dehydrogenate ethylbenzene to styrene all known oxydehydrogenation catalysts can be used.
The oxidative dehydrogenation of methanol to formaldehyde is carried out using oxidic iron- and molybdenum-containing catalysts, as is disclosed for example in DE-A-24 42 311, EP-A-423 692 or EP-A-591 572.
The membrane-mounted oxidation catalyst is most simply porous and/or has been applied to a porous material. In a preferred embodiment, the oxidation catalyst is a material which is itself mixed conducting and oxide ion selective. The advantage of such an embodiment is that in this case the catalyst can be applied to the actual mixed conducting membrane without through connected pores. As a result, the reaction gas can be protected if the membrane material has an undesirable catalytic effect on it.
The thickness of the catalyst layer is from 10 xc3x85 to 1 mm. The catalyst layer may for example have an asymmetrical construction such that the zone adjoining the mixed conducting layer is pore free. This zone is in turn adjoined by a zone that has an open porosity toward the reaction mixture.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there is an oxidic interlayer from 10 xc3x85 to 10 xcexcm in thickness between the mixed conducting membrane and the oxidation catalyst. This layer serves to enhance the mechanical strength and/or to facilitate the passage of the charged species from the membrane into the catalyst layer and vice versa.
The reactor membrane of the invention, comprising an oxidation catalyst, can have different configurations. In one embodiment the membrane is flat and the catalyst is applied to one side of the membrane. In another embodiment, the membrane has a tube geometry with diameters from 4 to 100 mm. Depending on the envisioned use, the catalyst layer is applied to the outer surface or to the inner surface. It will be appreciated that the form of the reactor membrane with the oxidation catalyst is not restricted to the geometries described above, but that the membrane can also be present in other geometries and forms known to one skilled in the art.
The oxidation catalyst is applied to the membrane using customary methods known to one skilled in the art. These methods include for example sol-gel deposition, sputtering, precipitation, crystallization, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition or slip coating. After this catalyst has been applied to the membrane, the product obtained is brought into the ready-to-use state by customary methods, for example by heat treatment, at high temperatures which lead to sintering, including in specific gas atmospheres, for example inert gas, oxygen or air.
The ready-produced reactor membrane according to the invention is then used in the particular oxidation reaction where an oxygen-containing fluid will contact the membrane on that side which is not coated with catalyst. The oxygen-containing fluid used is air or air with modified oxygen fraction, although in each case further components, which may be vaporizable, can be present. The pressure acting on this fluid is from 0.1 to 100 bar, preferably from 0.6 to 50 bar, most preferably from 0.6 to 30 bar.
That side of the membrane supporting the oxidation catalyst is then during the reaction the location for the mixture containing the component to be oxidized. This mixture can be gaseous, liquid or a mixture of gaseous and liquid components. This mixture is under the same pressures as the oxygen-containing fluid, namely from 0.1 to 100 bar, preferably from 0.6 to 50 bar, most preferably from 0.6 to 30 bar.
In one embodiment of the reactor membrane, the side facing the oxygen-containing fluid supports a redox catalyst that catalyzes the conversion of molecular oxygen into oxide ions and hence facilitates the entry of the oxygen into the membrane. Such redox catalysts are described for example in Solid State Ionics 113 to 115 (1998), p. 639 ff.
Owing to the considerable evolution of heat, the oxidation reaction is advantageously conducted in such a way that cooling is applied between a plurality of zones disposed along the direction of flow of the reaction gas. This cooling is effected in a customary manner known to one skilled in the art. For example, the reaction can be carried out in such a way that a fluid is introduced between a plurality of zones disposed along the direction of flow of the reaction mixture, the temperature of this fluid being below that of the reaction gas entering the zone. In many cases this provides an adequate cooling effect. Useful fluid media include for example water or water vapor, oxygen, air or air having a modified oxygen fraction, nitrogen or ammonia.
A cooling effect can also be provided by providing a boiling medium on one side of the membrane. Boiling will in many cases provide effective cooling to the membrane. It is also possible to cool by heat transfer between either or both streams leaving the reactor and the corresponding streams entering the reactor. Such an embodiment has the advantage that the excess heat evolved in the oxidation reaction can be used for heating the reactant mixture.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oxidation reaction takes place in a tubular reactor, in which case the reactor membrane of the invention has to have the appropriate shape, of course. Some of the tubes are used for cooling, according to the above-explained methods. Preferably, such cooling in a tubular reactor takes the form of evaporating a suitable medium.
The reactor membrane of the invention can be used in customary reactors made of materials known to one skilled in the art. Examples of such materials are carbon steel, stainless steel or Hastelloy. It is particularly advantageous for the membrane to be used in a reactor made entirely of ceramic materials. This eliminates any problems due to differences in the expansion coefficients of the reactor material and of the membrane material.
The inventive reactor membranes with the applied oxidation catalyst can be used with advantage in oxidations in the temperature range from 200 to 600xc2x0 C., preferably from 300 to 500xc2x0 C. This is not possible with prior art membranes. The reactor membranes according to the present invention, however, are also useful, it will be appreciated, in oxidations at temperatures higher than indicated, for example up to 1200xc2x0 C. The reactor membranes of the invention can be used in all oxidation reactions that take place in the temperature range from 200 to 1200xc2x0 C.
The example hereinbelow illustrates the invention.

Oxidative reactions using membranes that selectively conduct oxygen

Abstract: B is Mg, Al, Ga, In, Sn, an element of the 3d or 4d period or a combination thereof,

Abstract: x is from 0.2 to 0.8,

Abstract: y is from 0 to 0.4,

Abstract: z is from 0 to 0.6, and

Abstract: xcex4 is a number, dependent on x, y and z, that renders the composition charge neutral.