An NMR angiogram is produced using a line scan data acquisition. Each line of NMR data is acquired twice, once with a velocity sensitizing gradient having a positive first moment and once with a velocity sensitizing gradient having a negative first moment. The two signals from the acquisition are subtracted to cancel signals from stationary spins while enhancing signals from flowing spins. The magnitude of the velocity sensitizing gradient moment is changed during the cardiac cycle so that aliasing does not occur at high blood velocities and the signal strength does not drop too low at low blood velocities. An angiogram is produced by reconstructing an image from line scan data acquired from a series of slices.

The field of the invention is nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques for producing angiograms.
Any nucleus which possesses a magnetic moment attempts to align itself with the direction of the magnetic field in which it is located. In doing so, however, the nucleus precesses around this direction at a characteristic angular frequency (Larmor Frequency) which is dependent on the strength of the magnetic field and on the properties of the specific nuclear species (the magnetogyric constant .gamma. of the nucleus).
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B.sub.0), the individual magnetic moments of the paramagnetic nuclei in the tissue attempt to align with this field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. A net magnetic moment M.sub.z is produced in the direction of the polarizing field, but the randomly oriented components in the perpendicular plane (x-y plane) cancel one another. If, however, the substance, or tissue, is irradiated with a magnetic field (RF excitation field B.sub.1) which is in the x-y plane and which is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment M.sub.z can be rotated into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment M.sub.1 which is rotating in the x-y plane at the Larmor frequency.
The practical value of this gyromagnetic phenomena resides in the radio signal which is emitted after the RF excitation signal is terminated. When the excitation signal is removed, an oscillating sine wave is induced in a receiving coil by the rotating field produced by the transverse magnetic moment M.sub.1. The frequency of this signal is the Larmor frequency, and its initial amplitude, A.sub.0, is determined by the magnitude of M.sub.1.
The measurements described above are called "pulsed NMR measurements." They are divided into a period of excitation and a period of emission. As will be discussed in more detail below, this measurement cycle may be repeated many times to accumulate different data during each cycle or to make the same measurement at different locations in the subject.
Although NMR measurements are useful in many scientific and engineering fields, an important use is in the field of medicine. NMR measurements provide a contrast mechanism which is quite different from X-rays, and this enables difference between soft tissues to be observed with NMR which are completely indiscernible with X-rays. In addition, physiological differences can be observed with NMR measurements, whereas X-rays are limited particularly to anatomical studies.
For most medical applications utilizing NMR, an imaging technique must be employed to obtain information at specific locations in the subject. The foremost NMR imaging technique is referred to as "zeugmatography" and was first proposed by P. C. Lauterbur in a publication "Image Formation by Induced Local Interactions: Examples Employing Nuclear Magnetic Resonance", Nature Vol. 242, Mar. 16, 1973, pp. 190-191. Zeugmatography employs one or more additional magnetic fields which have the same direction as the polarizing field B.sub.0, but which have a nonzero gradient. By varying the strength (G) of these gradients, the net strength of the polarizing field B.sub.0 =B.sub.z +G.sub.x X+G.sub.y Y+G.sub.z Z at any location can be varied. As a result, if the frequency response of the receiver coil and circuitry is narrowed to respond to a single frequency .omega..sub.0, then gyromagnetic phenomena will be observed only at a location where the net polarizing field B.sub.0 is of the proper strength to satisfy the Larmor equation; .omega..sub.0 =.gamma.B.sub.0 : where .omega..sub.0 is the Larmor frequency at that location.
By "linking" the resulting NMR signal with the strengths of the gradients (G=G.sub.x, G.sub.y, G.sub.z) at the moment the signal is generated, the NMR signal is "tagged", or "sensitized", with position information. Such position sensitizing of the NMR signal enables an NMR image to be reconstructed from a series of measurements. Such NMR imaging methods have been classified as point methods, line methods, plane methods and three dimensional methods. These are discussed, for example, by P. Mansfield and P. G. Morris in their book NMR Imaging in Biomedicine published in 1982 by Academic Press, New York.
The NMR scanners which implement these techniques are constructed in a variety of sizes. Small, specially designed machines are employed to examine laboratory animals or to provide images of specific parts of the human body. On the other hand, "whole body" NMR scanners are sufficiently large to receive an entire human body and produce an image of any portion thereof.
An angiogram is a visualization of blood vessels. Traditionally, angiograms are produced by injecting the patient with a radiopaque substance and then taking an X-ray of the patient from the desired projection angle. The radiopaque substance flowing in the blood vessels is opaque to the X-rays, and the cardiovascular system appears brighter than the surrounding tissues in the resulting image. While high resolution angiograms may be produced with this conventional method, the patient is subjected to ionizing radiation.
Two methods have been used to produce angiograms by exploiting the NMR phenomenon. One of these is referred to as the "time of flight" or "inflow enhancement" method for contrasting flowing spins from the surrounding stationary spins, and the other is referred to as the "phase contrast" method.
Inflow enhancement occurs when unsaturated spins flow into a slice which has been excited by many radiofrequency (RF) pulses. If the time between RF pulses is much shorter than the T.sub.1 relaxation rate of the tissues, the longitudinal magnetization does not have time to recover before the next RF pulse is applied. This results in reduced transverse magnetization and reduced signal when the magnetization is again tipped into the transverse plane by the next RF excitation pulse. The in-flowing blood, on the other hand, will have seen no prior RF pulses and will therefore have a large longitudinal component of magnetization, which produces a larger transverse magnetization and a larger NMR signal. As a result, the flowing blood appears brighter in the reconstructed image.
In order to produce an angiogram, using the time-of-flight method, a series of contiguous thin slices oriented perpendicular to the direction of primary blood flow is collected. The slices can be collected sequentially in a 2D fashion or simultaneously in a 3D fashion. If 3D acquisition is used, the slice must be on the order of a few centimeters thick and the flip angle of the excitation pulses must be reduced. These measures are necessary to prevent saturation of the blood as it traverses the slice. Once the NMR data from the slices is collected, a projection is produced using a ray tracing technique. The most commonly used technique involves tracing a ray through the slice data and retaining the value of the most intense pixel encountered. The pixel associated with each ray is then mapped to its corresponding position in the projection image.
In phase contrast angiography, the mechanism for flow contrast is modulation of the phase of the transverse magnetization. The objective is to alter the phase of the NMR signal produced by the moving spins, while at the same time leaving the net phase of the NMR signal produced by the stationary spins unchanged. This result can be achieved through the use of a bipolar gradient waveform.
For a bipolar gradient waveform such as that shown in FIG. 3B, with first moment M.sub.1 =At, it is well known that the NMR signal produced by a spin moving with velocity v along the axis containing the bipolar gradient will accumulate a phase given by the following equation: EQU .phi.=.gamma.M.sub.1 v (1)
where .phi. is the phase accumulation and .gamma. is the gyromagnetic constant of the spins.
Because stationary spins have velocity equal to zero, the phase change imparted to these spins will be zero. The sign of the phase change acquired by a moving spin is dependent on the sign of the amplitude of the lobes of the bipolar gradient. Therefore, if two excitation sequences are performed, each containing a bipolar gradient of opposite sign, each will impart equal but opposite phase shifts to the moving spin. Upon subtraction of the NMR data obtained using these two sequences, signal from stationary tissues will be cancelled whereas signal from moving spins will be reinforced to enhance the image.
As with the time of flight methods, phase contrast angiograms can be obtained using 2D or 3D acquisition schemes. Because with phase contrast techniques, the contrast does not rely solely on inflow phenomenon, a much larger volume is usually imaged in a single acquisition. In order to prevent saturation of the blood, a tip angle of approximately 30.degree. is used. The smaller tip angle results in less blood signal than is obtainable with the 60.degree. flip angle used in the time of flight technique, but because phase contrast is a subtraction method, the elimination of signals from stationary tissues makes the contrast associated with this technique far superior to that associated with the time of flight techniques.
The above described sequences work well in regions void of respiratory motion and vessel motion caused by cardiac pulsatility. However, when these techniques are applied to the abdomen or extremities where respiration and/or pulsatility are present, they yield images which are far from acceptable. One problem is image artifacts caused by the motion of spins. As indicated above, movement of the spins imparts a phase change to the NMR signal and this is indistinguishable from the phase imparted to the NMR signal due to the phase encoding gradient. As a result, when the image is reconstructed the position of the spins are misplaced in the phase encoding direction to produce ghosting or blurring in the image. A common solution to this problem is to employ respiratory or cardiac gating to the data acquisition procedure so that NMR data is acquired at times during the cycle when movement of the vessels is at a minimum.
Another problem with angiograms produced by the phase contrast method is that the image contrast varies as a function of blood velocity. Thus, NMR data acquired during the diastolic portion of the cardiac cycle when blood velocity is low will lack contrast. As a result, the blood vessels may not differ at all from the stationary background tissues. On the other hand, if the first moment M.sub.1 of the bipolar gradient is increased to improve contrast at low velocities, then signal strength is lost at high blood velocities due to an excessive phase accumulation (i.e. aliasing). As a result, the angiogram will show parts of the vascular system very brightly and other parts will fade into the background. This problem is particularly acute at the extremities where blood velocity varies considerably during the cardiac cycle.

Phase contrast, line-scanned method for NMR angiography


A memory device according to an embodiment includes: a plurality of memory cells including a storage element having a first and second terminals; a reference resistor having a third and fourth terminals; a first current source electrically connected to the first terminal of the storage element in the selected memory cell; a second current source electrically connected to the third terminal; and a determination circuit that determines the greater one among a resistance value of a storage element of selected one and a resistance value of the reference resistor, the resistance value of the reference resistor being smaller than a middle value between a mean value of first resistance values obtained from the storage elements in the high-resistance state and a mean value of second resistance values obtained from the storage elements in the low-resistance state, and greater than the mean value of the second resistance values.

Existing memories may be classified into volatile working memories such as static random access memories (SRAMs) and dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), and nonvolatile storage memories such as NAND flash memories and hard disk drives (HDDs).
The volatile memories operate at a high speed but consume large power in a standby state due to leakage current. In order to solve this problem, various nonvolatile memories have been studied. Magnetic random access memories (MRAMs) including magnetoresistance devices used as storage elements are nonvolatile memories and may operate at a high speed. Therefore, they are expected to replace the existing working memories.
Magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) elements are widely used as the magnetoresistance devices. An MTJ element has two state, namely low-resistance state and high-resistance state. Depending on the state of the MTJ element, the resistance of the MTJ element becomes a low resistance or a high resistance state. In a reading operation of the memory, the resistance of the MTJ element is compared with that of a reference resistor, which is between the resistance value of the MTJ element in the low-resistance state and the resistance value of the MTJ element in the high-resistance state. The resistance state of the MTJ element is determined in this manner.
The reference resistor has a resistance value that is intermediate between a mean value of the resistance values of the MTJ elements in the low-resistance state and a mean value of the resistance values of the MTJ elements in the high-resistance state. The resistance value of each MTJ element in the low-resistance state needs to be smaller than the resistance value of the reference resistor and the resistance value of each MTJ element in the high-resistance state needs to be greater than the resistance value of the reference resistor. Most of the MTJ elements meet the two conditions, but in a large-capacity memory device, the two conditions may not be met due to variations in resistance value of the MTJ element.


A continuous caster vibrating mold assembly having lever arms each with a pivot pin including a hollow tubular sleeve having open ends for encircling a removable load cell having strain gauges attached thereto for measuring loads on a pivot joint. When loads are placed on a pivot joint the load cell will deflect and its deflections are detected by a strain gauge which measures the axial deflection of the load cell.

Load cells capable of sensing and measuring forces are known in the art. Force measurement may be accomplished by using a strain gauge which converts mechanical motion to an electrical signal. By forming a pattern of resistor elements on the exterior surface of a load sensing device, deformation of the device as a result of applied load can be measured as a function of the change in resistance of the resistor elements as they are stretched or compressed. The change in resistance is measured by a Wheatstone bridge circuit which maY be formed on the surface of the load sensing device.


A method is provided, including the following method operations: accessing a first web page associated with a first domain using a browser of a device; in response to the accessing the first web page, accessing an identity server to retrieve an identifier for the browser that accessed the first web page, the identifier being stored to a local storage of the device; accessing a second web page associated with a second domain using the browser; in response to the accessing the second page, accessing the local storage of the device to retrieve the identifier; wherein accessing the first web page and accessing the second web page are associated to the identifier.

In recent years, the growth of the Internet has given rise to numerous online opportunities whereby marketers may market their goods or services. Examples of web-based properties which may be utilized for such purposes include social media sites, landing pages (which a visitor may arrive at through some other mechanism, such as an advertisement or an e-mail), corporate web sites, mobile sites, shopping carts, etc. These properties typically exist on different websites or domains. However, because some modern browser technologies do not allow cookies to be directly used across domains, there are limits on the ability to identify users across multiple domains.
For example, it is not uncommon for a given company's corporate web site to be hosted at a domain that is different from that of the company's e-commerce site. Or in another scenario, a company may market goods on multiple sites, each of which having a different domain. In the absence of some identifying information provided by the user, it can be difficult or not possible to track the user across these different domains. However, without such an ability, it is difficult to understand the effect that interactions occurring on one site may have on another. This information is especially useful to entities that market or assist others to market goods and services to individuals online.
It is in this context that embodiments of the invention arise.


A magnetic composite for AC applications with improved magnetic properties (i.e. low hysteresis losses and low eddy current losses) is disclosed. The composite comprises a consolidation of magnetizable metallic microlamellar particles each having a top and bottom surfaces and opposite ends. The top and bottom surfaces are coated with a dielectric coating for increasing the resistivity of the composite and reducing eddy current losses. The dielectric coating is made of a refractory material and the ends of the lamellar particles are metallurgically bonded to each other to reduce hysteresis losses of the composite. A process for manufacturing the same is also disclosed. The composite is suitable for manufacturing devices for AC applications such as transformers, stator and rotor of motors, generators, alternators, field concentrators, chokes, relays, electromechanical actuators, synchroresolvers, etc.

Magnetic materials can be divided into two major classes: permanent magnetic materials (also referred to as hard magnetic materials) and temporary magnetic materials (also referred to as soft magnetic materials).
The permanent magnets are characterized by a large remanence, so that after removal of a magnetizing force, a high flux density remains. The permanent magnets tend toward large hysteresis loops, which are the closed curves showing the variation of the magnetic induction of a magnetic material with the external magnetic field producing it, when this field is changed through a complete cycle. Permanent magnets are commonly physically hard substances and are, therefore, called hard magnets.
The temporary or soft magnets have low values of remanence and small hysteresis loops. They are commonly physically softer than the hard magnets and are known as soft magnets. Ideally, the soft magnets should have large values of permeability (μ) up to a high saturated flux density. The value of the permeability (μ) is the ratio B/H, where H represents the applied magnetic field, or magnetic force, expressed in amperes per meter (A/M) and B is the magnetic flux density induced in the material, and it is expressed in teslas (one tesla being equal to one weber per meter square (W/m2)).
Soft magnetic materials are usually for applications where they have to canalize a varying magnetic flux. They are conventionally used for manufacturing transformers, inductance for electronic circuits, magnetic screens, stator and rotor of motors, generators, alternators, field concentrators, synchroresolver, etc. A soft magnetic material has to rapidly react to the small variations of an external inducing magnetic field, and that, without heating and without affecting the frequency of the external field.
Therefore, soft magnets are usually used with alternating currents, and for maximum efficiency, it is essential to minimize the energy losses associated with the changing electric field. The energy losses, or core losses, as they are sometimes called, result in conversion of electric energy to thermal energy. The losses are usually expressed in terms of watts/kg (W/kg) for a given flux density (in teslas) at a given frequency (in Hertz). There are two principal mechanisms by which energy or core losses occur. These are hysteresis losses and eddy current losses. Soft magnetic materials have to have a small hysteresis loop (a small coercive field HC) and a high flux density (B) at saturation.
As well explained in U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,012, hysteresis losses are due to the energy dissipated by the wall domain movement and they are proportional to the frequency. They are influenced by the chemical composition and the structure of the material.
Eddy currents are induced when a magnetic field is exposed to an alternating magnetic field. These currents which travel normal to the direction of the magnetic flux lead to an energy loss through Joule (resistance) heating. Eddy current losses are expected to vary with the square of the frequency, and inversely with the resistivity. The relative importance of the eddy current losses thus depends on the electrical resistivity of the material.
In prior art, soft magnetic parts for alternative current of low and medium frequency applications (between 50 Hz and 50 000 Hz) have been produced using basically two different technologies, each having their advantages and limitations.
The first and widely used, since the end of the 19th century, consists of punching and stacking steel laminations. This well-known process involves material loss since scrap material is generated from notches and edges of the laminations when stamping. This material loss could be very costly with some specific alloys. This process also requires a default free roll of material of dimensions greater than the dimensions of the part to be produced. The laminations have the final geometry or a subdivision of the final geometry of the parts and can be coated with an organic and/or inorganic insulating material. Every imperfection on the laminations like edges burr decreases the stacking factor of the final part and thus its maximum induction. Also, mass production of laminations prevents design with rounded edges to help copper wire winding. Due to the planar nature of the laminations, their use limits the design of devices with 2 dimensions distribution of the magnetic field. Indeed, the field is limited to travel only in the plane of the laminations.
The cost of the laminations is related to their thickness. To limit energy losses generated by eddy currents, as the magnetic field frequency of the application increases, laminations thickness must be decreased. This increases the rolling cost of the material and decreases the stacking factor of the final part due to imperfect surface finish of the laminations and burrs and the relative importance of the insulating coating. Laminations are thus well suited but limited to low frequency applications.
The second process for the production of soft magnetic parts for AC applications, well-known since the beginning of the 20th century, is a variant of the mass production powder metallurgy process where particles used are electrically isolated from each other by a coating (U.S. Pat. Nos. 421,067; 1,669,649; 1,789,477; 1,850,181; 1,859,067; 1,878,589; 2,330,590; 2,783,208; 4,543,208; 5,063,011; 5,211,896). To prevent the formation of electrical contacts between the powder particles, and thus to reduce the eddy current losses, the powder particles are not sintered for AC applications. Parts issued from this process are commonly named "soft magnetic composites or SMC". Obviously, this process has the advantage of eliminating material loss.
SMC are isotropic and thus offer the possibility of designing components which allow the magnetic fields to move in the three dimensions. SMC allow also the production of rounded edges with conventional powder metallurgy pressing techniques. As mentioned above, those rounded edges help winding the electric conductors. Due to the higher curvature radius of the rounded edges, the electrical conductors require less insulation. Furthermore, a reduction in the length of the conductors due to the rounded edges of the soft magnetic part is a great advantage, since it allows the amount of copper used to be minimized as well as the copper loss (loss due to the electrical resistivity of the electrical conductor carrying the current in the electromagnetic device).
With rounded edges, the overall dimension of the electrical component could be reduced, since electrical winding could be partially inlaid within the volume normally occupied by the soft magnetic part. In addition, due to the isotropy of the material and the gain of freedom of the pressing process, new designs that increase total yield, decrease the volume or the weight for the same power output of electric machines are possible, since a better distribution or movement of the magnetic field in the three dimensions is possible.
Another advantage of the powder metallurgy process is the elimination of the clamping mean needed to secure laminations together in the final part. With laminations, clamping is sometimes replaced by a welding of the edges of laminations. Using the later approach, the eddy currents are considerably increased, and the total yield of the device or its frequency range application is decreased.
The limitation of the SMC is their high hysteresis losses and low permeability compared to steel laminations. Since particles must be insulated from each other to limit eddy currents induction, there is a distributed air gap in the material that decreases significantly the magnetic permeability and increases the coercive field. Additionally, to prevent the destruction of the insulation or coating, SMC can very hardly be fully annealed or achieve a complete recrystallisation with grain coarsening. The temperatures reported for annealing SMC without loosing insulation are about 600° C. in a non-reducing atmosphere and with the use of partially or totally inorganic coating (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,230,228; 4,601,765; 4,602,957; 5,595,609; 5,754,936; 6,251,514; 6,331,270 B1; PCT/SE96/00397). Although the annealing temperature commonly used is not sufficient to completely remove residual strain in the particles or to cause recrystallisation or grain growth, a substantial amelioration of the hysteresis losses is observed.
Ultimately, for all the soft magnetic composites with irregular or spherical particles developed for AC applications until now, even if residual strain would have been removed and grain growth would have been possible at temperatures used for the annealing cycle of finished parts, metallic grain dimension is limited to the size of the particles. This small grain size limits the possibility of increasing the permeability, decreasing the coercive field or simply, the hysteresis losses in the material. Indeed, the smaller the metallic grains are, the higher is the number of grain boundaries, and more energy is required for moving the magnetic domain walls and increasing the induction of the material in one direction. Therefore, the resulting total energy losses (or core losses) of SMC parts at low frequency (below 400 Hz) is greater than the total energy losses obtained with laminations. The low permeability values require also more copper wire to achieve the same induction or torque in the electromagnetic device. An optimized three dimensions and rounded winding edges design of the part made with the SMC with irregular or spherical particles can partially or completely compensate those higher hysteresis losses and low permeability values encountered with SMC material at low frequency.
Some attempts have been made to develop more performing inorganic coatings and processes for conventional soft magnetic composites that would allow a full annealing of compacts and even recrystallisation without losing too much electrical insulation between particles (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,937,964; 5,352,522; EP 0 088 992 A2; WO 02/058865). These prior art documents teach a heat treatment at around 1000° C. or less to consolidate particles by the diffusion or interaction of the insulating material of each particle. In all these cases, the goal is to produce a soft magnetic composite with discontinuous, separated soft magnetic particles joined by a continuous electrical insulating medium. The DC magnetic properties (coercive field and maximum permeability) of the produced composite are far inferior to those of the main wrought soft magnetic constituting material in the form of lamination, and thus, hysteresis losses in an AC magnetic field are higher and the electrical current or the number of turns of copper wire required to reach the same torque must be higher. Properties of those composites are well suited for applications frequency above 10 KHz to 1 MHz. If power frequencies are targeted (US Patents EP 0 088 992 A2 and WO 02/058865), the design of the component must compensate for the lower permeability and higher hysteresis losses of the material.
Finally, some people who have discovered the benefit of using lamellar particles for doing soft magnetic components have developed coating able to sustain annealing temperature, that is to say temperatures which are high enough to remove the major part of the remaining strain in the parts (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,255,052; 3,848,331; 4,158,580; 4,158,582; 4,265,681). Once again, magnetic properties and energetic losses in an AC magnetic field at frequencies under 400 Hz are not those reached with good lamination steel or silicon steel used commercially, since metallic diffusion between soft magnetic particles is avoided to keep high electrical resistivity in the composite.
Since all the actual soft magnetic composite are discontinuous metallic media, the mechanical strength of the material is limited to the strength of the insulating coating. When the material breaks, it is de-cohesion that occurs between metallic particles, in the organic or inorganic (vitrous/ceramic) coating. The mechanical behavior of the SMC is thus fragile with no possibility of plastic deformation and the strength is always far lower than that of metallurgically bonded materials. It is an important limitation of the SMC.
Also known in the prior art are the sintered iron non coated powder components currently used to make parts for DC magnetic applications. These sintered parts have low resistivity and are generally not used in AC applications. In the literature or patents, when sintering treatments (metal to metal) or metallic diffusion are involved, soft magnetic parts produced are for DC applications where eddy currents are not a concern (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,158,581; 5,594,186; 5,925,836; 6,117,205 for example) or for non-magnetic applications like structural parts.

High performance magnetic composite for AC applications and a process for manufacturing the same


A coreless rubber crawler which cancels the difference in the amounts of deformation strains in the main body to improve the durability and which ensures transverse rigidity to prevent coming off of wheels, wherein a peripheral main cord and a reinforcing cord disposed on an outer periphery thereof are embedded in a main body having a thickness T, wherein an embedded depth H of the cord embedded in an outermost peripheral layer of the main body, the depth being measured from an inner peripheral surface of the main body, satisfies Hxe2x89xa7xc2xdxc3x97T.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coreless rubber crawler having a peripheral main cord and a reinforcing cord disposed on an outer periphery thereof embedded in a main body.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a crawler belt that enables a vehicle to run on a muddy road without slipping by decreasing a grounding pressure (pressure from ground) on the road where the vehicle runs, rubber crawlers that do not damage the road have been frequently employed in recent years.
Such rubber crawlers are roughly classified into a rubber crawler having cores that are widthwise disposed in an endless rubber crawler at some intervals along its longitudinal direction to be embedded in the endless rubber crawler, and a coreless rubber crawler having only reinforcing cords embedded in an endless rubber crawler. A snowmobile, agricultural vehicle (machine) or relatively small vehicle (machine) for construction adopts mainly the latter coreless rubber crawler. FIG. 5 shows an example of the structures of the coreless rubber crawler.
In the coreless rubber crawler, a peripheral main cord 22 has been embedded in a main body 21 excluding grounding lugs 25 and guide projections for wheel rotation (or driving projections) 24 at the shallow location (about 10 mm or less) with respect to the inner peripheral surface.
Bias cords 23 are disposed in the inner or outer side of the main cord 22 (outer side in case of the figure) to enhance the transverse rigidity of the rubber crawler 21, and further a cord (layer) crossing at right angle (cord layer having a cord angle crossing with the peripheral direction at right angle) is provided.
In the coreless rubber crawler, there has been no example of studying deeply the depths of theses cords embedded in the main body.
Generally, the main cord embedded in the main body of the rubber crawler scarcely extends in the peripheral direction, and therefore the main cord constitutes a neutral line of the main body of the rubber crawler.
In case the main cord (i.e., neutral line) is embedded at a shallow location with respect to the inner periphery, a grounding portion corresponding to the outer periphery is remote from the neutral line. Therefore when the crawler is rounded (entrained) about driving wheels and idlers to conduct a rotation driving, an amount of deformation strain of the main cord is apt to increase to promote deterioration of the rubber by its use for a long period.
The object of the present invention is to provide a rubber crawler which solves the above-mentioned problems relating to the conventional coreless rubber crawler and which is capable of enhancing the durability by canceling the difference between amounts of deformation strains in the rubber main body and capable of controlling separation from the crawler of the wheels by maintaining the transverse rigidity.
The present invention is provided by a coreless rubber crawler having a peripheral main cord and a reinforcing cord disposed on an outer periphery thereof embedded in a main body having a thickness T, wherein an embedded depth H of the cord embedded in an outermost peripheral layer of the main body satisfies Hxe2x89xa7xc2xdxc3x97T, the depth being measured from an inner peripheral surface of the main body.
Further, the invention is provided by the coreless rubber crawler wherein the main cord is embedded in the main body such that the embedded depth H of the main cord, which is measured from an inner peripheral surface of the main body, satisfies H greater than xc2xdxc3x97T.
Furthermore, the invention is provided by the coreless rubber crawler wherein the main cord is embedded in the main body such that the embedded depth H of the main cord, which is measured from an inner peripheral surface of the main body, satisfies H=xc2xdxc3x97T.
Moreover, the invention is provided by the coreless rubber crawler wherein the location of xc2xdxc3x97T is present between the main cord and the cord of the outermost layer.


The subject invention provides materials and methods wherein unique and advantageous combinations of gene mutations are used to direct carbon flow from sugars to a single product. The techniques of the subject invention can be used to obtain products from native pathways as well as from recombinant pathways. In preferred embodiments, the subject invention provides new materials and methods for the efficient production of acetate and pyruvic acid.

Recent trends toward the production of "green" chemicals will require development of innovative synthesis techniques that are highly efficient and cost effective.
Throughout the past decade, a number of traditional chemical companies in the United States and Europe have begun to develop infrastructures for the production of compounds using biocatalytic processes. Considerable progress has been reported toward new processes for commodity chemicals such as ethanol (Ingram, L. O., H. C. Aldrich, A. C. C. Borges, T. B. Causey, A. Martinez, F. Morales, A. Saleh, S. A. Underwood, L. P. Yomano, S. W. York, J. Zaldivar, and S. Zhou, 1999 "Enteric bacterial catalyst for fuel ethanol production" Biotechnol. Prog. 15:855-866; Underwood, S. A., S. Zhou, T. B. Causey, L. P. Yomano, K. T. Shanmugam, and L. O. Ingram, 2002 "Genetic changes to optimize carbon partitioning between ethanol and biosynthesis in ethanologenic Escherichia coli." Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68:6263-6272), lactic acid (Zhou, S., T. B. Causey, A. Hasona, K. T. Shanmugam and L. O. Ingram, 2003 "Production of optically pure D-lactic acid in mineral salts medium by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli W3110" Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69:399-407; Chang, D., S. Shin, J. Rhee, and J. Pan, 1999 "Homofermentative production of D- or L-lactate in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli RR1" Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:1384-1389; Dien, B. S., N. N. Nichols, and R. J. Bothast, 2001 "Recombinant Escherichia coli engineered for the production of L-lactic acid from hexose and pentose sugars" J. Ind Microbiol. Biotechnol. 27:259-264), 1,3-propanediol (Nakamura, U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,494; Tong, I., H. H. Liao, and D. C. Cameron, 1991 "1,3-propanediol production by Escherichia coli expressing genes from the Klebsiella-pneumoniae-DHA regulon" App. Env. Microbiol. 57:3541-3546), and adipic acid (Niu, W., K. M. Draths, and J. W. Frost, 2002 "Benzene-free synthesis of adipic acid" Biotechnol. Prog. 18:201-211).
In addition, advances have been made in the genetic engineering of microbes for higher value specialty compounds such as acetate, polyketides (Beck, B. J., C. C. Aldrich, R. A. Fecik, K. A. Reynolds, and D. H. Sherman, 2003 "Iterative chain elongation by a pikromycin monomodular polyketide synthase" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125:4682-4683; Dayem, L. C., J. R. Carney, D. V. Santi, B. A. Pfeifer, C. Khosla, and J. T. Kealey, 2002 "Metabolic engineering of a methylmalonyl-CoA mutase—epimerase pathway for complex polyketide biosynthesis in Escherichia coli." Biochem. 41:5193-5201) and carotenoids (Wang, Chia-wei, Min-Kyu Oh, J. C. Liao, 2000 "Directed evolution of metabolically engineered Escherichia coli for carotenoid production" Biotechnol. Prog. 16:922-926).
Acetic acid, a widely used specialty chemical in the food industry, has recently emerged as a potential bulk chemical for the production of plastics and solvents. Acetic acid has been produced using microbial systems; however, the production of acetic acid in microbial systems competes with the production of CO2 and cell mass. Thus, while efficient acetate-producing microbial systems are important for industrial uses, the systems must have an increased output of acetate with a decreased input of expensive microbial nutrients.
The biological production of acetic acid has been largely displaced by petrochemical routes as the uses for this commodity chemical have expanded from food products to plastics, solvents, and road de-icers (Freer, S. N., 2002 "Acetic acid production by Dekkera/Brettanomyces yeasts" World J. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 18:271-275). In 2001, the world production of acetic acid reached an estimated 6.8 million metric tons, half of which was produced in the United States.
Previously, three microbial approaches have been explored for acetic acid production. In the two-step commercial process, sugars are fermented to ethanol by Saccharomyces yeast. Then, the resulting beers are oxidized to acetic acid by Acetobacter under aerobic conditions (Berraud, C., 2000 "Production of highly concentrated vinegar in fed-batch culture" Biotechnol. Lett. 22:451-454; Cheryan, M., S. Parekh, M. Shah, and K. Witjitra, 1997 "Production of acetic acid by Clostridium thermoaceticum" Adv. Appl. Microbial. 43:1-33). Using this process, acetic acid titres of around 650 mM are typically produced; however, higher titres can be readily achieved by the addition of complex nutrients in fed-batch processes requiring 60-120 hours. Overall yields for this commercial process have been estimated to be 76% of the theoretical maximum (2 acetate per glucose; 0.67 g acetic acid per g glucose).
Under a second approach, carbohydrates can be anaerobically metabolized to acetic acid at substantially higher yields (3 acetates per glucose) by Clostridia that contain the Ljungdahl-Wood pathway for acetogenesis (Berraud, C., 2000 "Production of highly concentrated vinegar in fed-batch culture" Biotechnol. Lett. 22:451-454; Ljungdahl, L. G., 1986 "The autotrophic pathway of acetate synthesis in acetogenic bacteria" Ann. Rev. Microbiol. 40:415-450). In particular, Clostridium thermoaceticum containing the Ljungdahl-Wood pathway produces high yields of acetic acid (Cheryan, M., S. Parekh, M. Shah, and K. Witjitra, 1997 "Production of acetic acid by Clostridium thermoaceticum" Adv. Appl. Microbial. 43:1-33).
Recently, Freer (Freer, S. N., 2002 "Acetic acid production by Dekkera/Brettanomyces yeasts" World J. Microbial. Biotechnol. 18:271-275) identified yeast strains (Dekkera and Brettanomyces) that produce acetic acid as a primary product from glucose for potential use in acetic acid production. All three of these current microbial acetic acid production systems require complex nutrients, which increase the cost of materials, acetate purification, and waste disposal.
Escherichia coli is widely used as a biocatalyst for high value products such as recombinant proteins (Akesson, M., P. Hagander, and J. P. Axelsson, 2001 "Avoiding acetate accumulation in Escherichia coli cultures using feedback control of glucose feeding" Biotechnol. Bioeng. 73:223-230; Aristidou, A. A., K. San, and G. N. Bennett, 1995 "Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli to enhance recombinant protein production through acetate reduction" Biotechnol. Prog. 11:475-478; Contiero, J., C. Beatty, S. Kumar, C. L. DeSanti, W. R. Strohl, and A. Wolfe, 2000 "Effects of mutations in acetate metabolism on high-cell-density growth of Escherichia coli" J. Ind. Microbiol. 24:421-430; Luli, G. W. and R. Strohl, 1990 "Comparison of growth, acetate production and acetate inhibition of Escherichia coli strains in batch and fed-batch fermentations" Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 56:1004-1011) and amino acids (Chotani, G., T. Dodge, A. Hsu, M. Kumar, R. LaDuca, D. Trimbur, W. Weyler, and K. Sanford, 2000 "The commercial production of chemicals using pathway engineering" Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1543:434-455; Eggeling, L., W. Pfefferle, and H. Sahm, 2001 "Amino acids," p. 281-304 in C. Ratledge and B. Kristiansen (ed.), Basic Biotechnology, 2″ edition. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, U.K.).
Escherichia coli generate acetyl˜CoA during fermentative and oxidative metabolism, which the cell then uses to produce small amounts of acetate (Akesson, M., P. Hagander, and J. P. Axelsson, 2001 "Avoiding acetate accumulation in Escherichia coli cultures using feedback control of glucose feeding" Biotechnol. Bioeng. 73:223-230; Contiero, J., C. Beatty, S. Kumar, C. L. DeSanti, W. R. Strohl, and A. Wolfe, 2000 "Effects of mutations in acetate metabolism on high-cell-density growth of Escherichia coli" J. Ind. Microbiol. 24:421-430).
Many E. coli strains grow well in simple mineral salts medium and readily metabolize all of the hexose and pentose sugar constituents of plant biomass (Ingram, L. O., H. C. Aldrich, A. C. C. Borges, T. B. Causey, A. Martinez, F. Morales, A. Saleh, S. A. Underwood, L. P. Yomano, S. W. York, J. Zaldivar, and S. Zhou, 1999 "Enteric bacterial catalyst for fuel ethanol production" Biotechnol. Prog. 15:855-866). During aerobic and anaerobic carbohydrate metabolism, acetate is typically produced as a minor product. Recent successes have been reported in the engineering of E. coli strains for commodity chemicals such as propanediol (Nakamura, C. E., A. A. Gatenby, Hsu, A. K.-H., R. D. LaReau, S. L. Haynie, M. Diaz-Torres, D. E. Trimbur, G. M. Whited, V. Nagarajan, M. S. Payne, S. K. Picataggio, and R. V. Nair, 2000 "Method for the production of 1,3-propanediol by recombinant microorganisms" U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,494; Tong, I., H. H. Liao, and D. C. Cameron, 1991 "1,3-propanediol production by Escherichia coli expressing genes from the Klebsiella-pneumoniae-DHA regulon" App. Env. Microbiol. 57:3541-3546), adipic acid (Niu, W., K. M. Draths, and J. W. Frost, 2002 "Benzene-free synthesis of adipic acid" Biotechnol. Prog. 18:201-211), lactic acid (Chang, D., S. Shin, J. Rhee, and J. Pan, 1999 "Homofermentative production of D- or L-lactate in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli RR1" Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:1384-1389; Dien, B. S., N. N. Nichols, and R. J. Bothast, 2001 "Recombinant Escherichia coli engineered for the production of L-lactic acid from hexose and pentose sugars" J. Ind Microbiol. Biotechnol. 27:259-264), succinic acid (Donnelly, M. I., C. Sanville-Millard, and R. Chatterjee, 1998 "Method for construction of bacterial strains with increased succinic acid production" U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,738; Vemuri, G. N., M. A. Altman, and E. Altman, 2002 "Effects of growth mode and pyruvate carboxylase on succinic acid production by metabolically engineered strains of Escherichia coli" J. Bacteria 68:1715-1727), and ethanol (Ingram, L. O., H. C. Aldrich, A. C. C. Borges, T. B. Causey, A. Martinez, F. Morales, A. Saleh, S. A. Underwood, L. P. Yomano, S. W. York, J. Zaldivar, and S. Zhou, 1999 "Enteric bacterial catalyst for fuel ethanol production" Biotechnol. Prog. 15:855-866). In using these aerobic and anaerobic processes, the resultant production of acetate by the native pathway (phosphotransacetylase and acetate kinase) has generally been regarded as an undesirable consequence of excessive glycolytic flux (Akesson, M., P. Hagander, and J. P. Axelsson, 2001 "Avoiding acetate accumulation in Escherichia coli cultures using feedback control of glucose feeding" Biotechnol. Bioeng. 73:223-230; Aristidou, A. A., K. San, and G. N. Bennett, 1995 "Metabolic engineering of Escherichia coli to enhance recombinant protein production through acetate reduction" Biotechnol. Prog. 11:475-478; Contiero, J., C. Beatty, S. Kumar, C. L. DeSanti, W. R. Strohl, and A. Wolfe, 2000 "Effects of mutations in acetate metabolism on high-cell-density growth of Escherichia coli" J. Ind, Microbiol. 24:421-430; Farmer, W. R., and J. C. Liao, 1997 "Reduction of aerobic acetate production by Escherichia coli 1997" Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 63:3205-3210).
Chao and Liao (Chao, Y., and J. C. Liao, 1994 "Metabolic responses to substrate futile cycling in Escherichia coli" J. Biol. Chem. 269:5122-5126) and Patnaik et al. (Patnaik, R., W. D. Roof, R. F. Young, and J. C. Liao, 1992 "Stimulation of glucose catabolism in Escherichia coli by a potential futile cycle" J. Bacteriol. 174:7525-7532) demonstrated a 2-fold stimulation of glycolytic flux in E. coli using plasmids to express genes that created futile cycles to consume ATP.
Recently, Koebmann et al. (Koebmann, B. J., H. V. Westerhoff, J. L. Snoep, D. Nilsson, and P. R. Jensen, 2002 "The glycolytic flux in Escherichia coli is controlled by the demand for ATP" J. Bacteriol. 184:3909-3916) independently concluded that glycolytic flux is limited by ATP utilization during the oxidative metabolism of glucose. In their studies, flux increased in a dose-dependent manner with controlled expression of F1 ATPase from a plasmid. Thus glycolytic flux appears to be regulated by the economy of supply and demand as proposed by Hofmeyer and Cornish-Bowden (Hofmeyer, J.-H. S., and A. Cornish-Bowden, 2000 "Regulating the cellular economy of supply and demand" FEBS Lett. 467:47-51).
Currently, only the two-part commercial process, the Ljungdahl-Wood pathway-containing Clostridia, as well as special yeast strains have been investigated as potential biocatalysts for the production of acetate. Due to the competing production of dicarboxylic acids and cell mass from glucose, the level of acetate production using these methods has been relatively low. Indeed, none of these methods have been reported to grow and produce acetate efficiently in mineral salts media containing sugar. In fact, each of these methods requires the use of complex nutrients, which ultimately increases the cost of materials, acetate purification, and waste disposal. Therefore, a need remains for better biocatalysts that efficiently produce acetate and other fermentation products using a mineral salts medium.
Pyruvic acid is currently manufactured for use as a food additive, nutriceutical, and weight control supplement (Li, Y., J. Chen, and S.-Y. Lun, 2001 "Biotechnological production of pyruvic acid" Appl. Microbiol, Biotechnol. 57:451-459). Pyruvic acid can also be used as a starting material for the synthesis of amino acids such as alanine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan and for acetaldehyde production.
Pyruvate is produced commercially by both chemical and microbial processes. Chemical synthesis involves the decarboxylation and dehydration of calcium tartrate, a by-product of the wine industry. This process involves toxic solvents and is energy intensive with an estimated production cost of $8,650 per ton of pyruvate. Microbial pyruvate production is based primarily on two microorganisms, a multi-vitamin auxotroph of the yeast Torulopsis glabrata (Li, Y., J. Chen, and S.-Y. Lun, and X. S. Rui, 2001 "Efficient pyruvate production by a multi-vitamin auxotroph of Torulopsis glabrata: key role and optimization of vitamin levels" Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 55:680-68) and a lipoic acid auxotroph of Escherichia coli containing a mutation in the F1 ATPase component of (F1F0)H+-ATP synthase (Yokota, A., Y. Terasawa, N. Takaoka, H. Shimizu, and F. Tomita, 1994 "Pyruvic acid production by an F1-ATPase-defective mutant of Escherichia coli W1485lip2" Biosci. Biotech, Biochem. 58:2164-2167). Both of these production strains require precise regulation of media composition during fermentation and complex supplements. The estimated production costs of pyruvate production by microbial fermentation with these strains is estimated to be 14.5% ($1,255 per ton pyruvate) of that for chemical synthesis.
Recently, Tomar et al. (Tomar, A., M. A. Eiteman, and E. Altman, 2003 "The effect of acetate pathway mutations on the production of pyruvate in Escherichia coli." Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 62:76-82.2003) have described a new mutant strain of E. coli for pyruvate production. This strain contains three mutations, ppc (phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase), aceF (pyruvate dehydrogenase), and adhE (alcohol dehydrogenase) and is capable of producing 0.65 grams pyruvate per gram of glucose using complex media supplemented with acetate.
Typical production rates of pyruvate for biocatalysts are around 1 g L−1 h−1 with yields exceeding half the weight of substrate. Torulopsis glabrata, the yeast strain currently used for the commercial production of pyruvate, can achieve pyruvate titers of 69 g L−1. As noted above, T. glabrata strains used in the commercial process are multivitamin auxotrophs requiring tight regulation of vitamin concentrations which result in complex vitamin feeding strategies during fermentation (Li, Y., J. Chen, and S.-Y. Lun, 2001 "Biotechnological production of pyruvic acid" Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 57:451-459). Previous E. coli strains constructed for pyruvate production were cultured in complex media and have been plagued by low titers and yields (Tomar, A. et al. 2003, "The effect of acetate pathway mutations on the production of pyruvate in Escherichia coli." Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 62:76-82; Yokota A. et al., 1994 "Pyruvic acid production by an F1-ATPase-defective mutant of Escherichia coli W1485lip2." Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 58:2164-6167).
Nutrients in culture medium often represent a major cost associated with commercial fermentations. The use of a mineral salts medium and inexpensive carbon source offers the potential to improve the economics of many biological processes by reducing the costs of materials, product purification, and waste disposal (Zhang, J. and R. Greasham, 1999. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 51:407-421).
There is a need in the art to identify and develop new, efficient, and environmentally friendly processes for producing specialty compounds.

Materials and methods for the efficient production of acetate and other products

University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc.


A system and method are provided for boosting power for a communications link between a base station and a user device, or user equipment, over a communications link channel in a cellular communications network. In one embodiment, the base station determines whether a communications link for a user device located within a sector of a cell served by the base station needs a power boost. If a power boost is needed, the base station provides a power boost for the communications link for the user device and, for each of one or more neighboring sectors that neighbor the sector in which the user device is located, coordinates the power boost in both frequency and time with a power backoff for a downlink to another user device located in a cell center area of the neighboring sector.

In all cellular communications networks there are opposing requirements for high spectrum efficiency and high area availability, or coverage. As a Fourth Generation (4G) technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is expected to provide high spectrum efficiency. Namely, LTE is expected to provide three to four times higher spectrum efficiency than High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) Release 6 for the downlink, and two to three times higher spectrum efficiency than High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) Release 6 for the uplink. In addition, as with any cellular communications network, LTE must provide 90%-95% coverage, which is referred to as Carrier Grade of Service (CGoS) for coverage. The requirements for high spectrum efficiency and coverage are opposing in that a small frequency reuse factor (N) is desired in order to achieve high spectrum efficiency but, in general, a high frequency reuse factor (N) is desired in order to decrease out-of-cell interference and therefore increase coverage. A maximum spectrum efficiency is achieved when the frequency reuse factor (N) is 1, such that the entire spectrum is reused in each cell of the cellular communications network. However, when the frequency reuse factor (N) is 1, out-of-cell interference is at its maximum and, therefore, coverage is at its worst.
Spectrum efficiency can be roughly determined by a minimum Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise (SINR) needed for a wireless communication link, or airlink, to survive in the cellular communications network. For example, an Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) typically requires a SINR of greater than or equal to +18 decibels (dB). Thus, in order to achieve the CGoS in AMPS, a very large frequency reuse factor of N=21 is needed in order to achieve the needed SINR. As another example, a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system can operate with SINR values as low as −14 dB as a result of the processing gain due to the spreading and dispreading process. Therefore, a frequency reuse factor of N=1 can be used in the CDMA system.
For LTE, a minimum SINR needed to maintain a wireless communication link is approximately −5 dB. However, for a fully loaded LTE network having a frequency reuse factor of N=1, test results show that the SINR at cell edges can be lower than −12 dB. Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for improving coverage in an LTE cellular communications network while maintaining high frequency reuse.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Coordinated power boost and power back-off


A navigation apparatus utilizing a global positioning system having at least first and second satellite reception antennas installed on a navigation vehicle with a predetermined distance therebetween, a first azimuth computing unit for computing a first azimuth angle of the navigation vehicle from satellite radio waves received at the first and second antennas and a phase difference therebetween, a second azimuth computing unit for computing a second azimuth angle from a time change of antenna positions calculated from the satellite radio wave received at the first or second reception antenna, first and second multiplying units for multiplying outputs of the first and second azimuth computing units with predetermined coefficients respectively, an adding unit for adding outputs of the first and second multiplying units to produce a third azimuth angle, and a coefficient control unit for varying coefficient values of the first and second multiplying units in accordance with either the satellite arrangement or turning frequency of the navigation vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to navigation apparatus and, more particularly, is directed to a navigation apparatus which makes effective use of a global positioning system (GPS) to detect an azimuth angle, a position, a velocity and so on of navigation vehicles, such as ships, automobiles or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As is conventional, a ship or the like is provided with a gyro compass and a magnetic compass as an apparatus for measuring its azimuth so that, under any conditions, she can sail safely while measuring its own azimuth constantly.
However, the gyro compass has the disadvantage such that it needs an actuation time as long as one hour or more. Also, the magnetic compass points to the north of terrestrial magnetism so that the ship's azimuth pointed by the magnetic compass is unavoidably deviated from the true north.
Recently, a global positioning system (hereinafter simply referred to as a GPS) navigation system is proposed to obviate the aforesaid disadvantages and shortcomings of the prior art and which can constantly detect the position of a navigation vehicle such as a ship or the like. The GPS system can measure the position of the navigation vehicle in a three-dimensional fashion on the basis of data supplied thereto from three GPS satellites or more. It is expected that this GPS system will be able to be employed by using a commercially available code, a so-called C/A code in the 1990s until which the launch of the GPS satellite is finished.
In the GPS signal processing based on the above ordinary measuring process, only the position of the navigation vehicle can be measured and a large error occurs in the position measuring process. As a consequence, the azimuth of the navigation vehicle cannot be measured according to the GPS. On the other hand, a method of calculating the azimuth angle of navigation vehicle is presented. According to this method, the azimuth angle of navigation vehicle is calculated by a two-position difference high accuracy simultaneous measuring method which measures a phase difference of GPS satellite radio waves used in the measuring called a differential GPS system.
A principle of this measuring method will be described below with reference to FIG. 1.
In FIG. 1, reference numerals 1 and 2 depict reception antennas installed on a navigation vehicle (not shown) such as a ship, an automobile, an airplane or the like, for example. A base line length, i.e., a distance L between the two antennas 1 and 2 is known. Radio waves from these antennas 1 and 2 are supplied to a GPS azimuth computing unit 3 which calculates an azimuth angle component .phi. of the navigation vehicle on the basis of the following processing.
As shown in FIG. 1, let it be assumed that a radio wave from a single GPS satellite 5 is simultaneously received by the antennas 1 and 2, At that time, due to the distance L between the antennas 1, 2 and the position of the GPS satellite 5, a distance difference shown by reference letter D in FIG. 1 is provided between the radio wave received at the antenna 1 and the radio wave received at the antenna 2. If a particular radio wave of a carrier is noticed, then this distance difference D can be measured as the phase difference (time lag). Accordingly, the distance difference D can be obtained by multiplying the phase difference with a wavelength of the radio wave. If the distance difference D is obtained, then the distance L is already known so that the azimuth angle .phi. of the navigation vehicle relative to the GPS satellite 5 can be calculated as: EQU .phi.=COS.sup.-1 (D/L) (1)
In this measuring process, a reception code is not always decoded.
An azimuth angle formed by a line connecting the GPS satellite 5 and the antennas 1, 2 and the true north (N) is calculated as follows:
After the radio wave from the GPS satellite 5 is received at the antenna 1, radio waves from at least other two GPS satellites or more (not shown) are received. Then, the C/A codes of the received radio waves are decoded and a transmission time and a reception time of the radio wave from the GPS satellite are calculated to thereby obtain a propagation time of radio wave from the GPS satellite. Then, a distance from the antenna 1 to the GPS satellite, accordingly, the distance from the GPS satellite to the navigation vehicle is calculated by multiplying the calculated propagation time with a wavelength of the radio wave. Since the equidistant position from one GPS satellite exists on the spherical surface whose radius is equal to that distance, three spherical surfaces from the three GPS satellites are calculated and an intersection point of the three spherical surfaces is calculated, thereby the position of the reception antenna 1 being determined. If the position of the reception antenna 1 is obtained, then the position of the GPS satellite 5 is already known so that the azimuth angle .theta. can be calculated by a directional cosine of a position vector between the antenna 1 to the GPS satellite 5.
The element for executing the position calculating process from the received radio waves in order to obtain the position of the antenna 1 is the GPS position computing unit 4 which receives the radio wave from the antenna 1. Further, the element for performing the aforementioned calculation of .phi. and the calculation of (.phi.+.theta.) on the basis of the position data from the GPS computing unit 4 and the data received from the antennas 1, 2 is the GPS azimuth computing unit 3.
As described above, the azimuth angle to the base line length L and accordingly, the azimuth angle of the navigation vehicle calculated at the GPS azimuth computing unit 3 is presented as (.theta.+.phi.), which is then output as a digital signal therefrom.
However, in the conventional azimuth angle measuring apparatus which makes effective use of the GPS satellite, the measuring process of azimuth angle takes plenty of calculation time and consequently the azimuth angle cannot be measured continuously. As a consequence, when a ship, for example, turns, an error occurs in the azimuth angle measuring process because of a delay of time.
Further, the GPS radio wave has an area and a time in which a measuring error is increased from a GPS satellite location standpoint. In addition, due to a magnetic abnormality caused by the activity of sun, the measuring process becomes difficult.
As a method for obviating the aforesaid shortcomings, an azimuth angle measuring method is proposed, in which an angular velocity sensor (e.g., rate gyro) and an azimuth angle measuring apparatus employing the aforementioned GPS are combined. However, according to the azimuth angle measuring method in which the above-mentioned angular velocity sensor and the GPS azimuth angle measuring apparatus are combined, when an angular velocity detection axis (hereinafter referred to as an input axis) of the angular velocity sensor is inclined during the ship turns, there is then the disadvantage such that an error occurs in the azimuth angle detected by the angular velocity sensor.
Further, in the GPS azimuth angle computing apparatus, there is then the disadvantage such that a signal is suddenly fluctuated considerably by the influence of a multipath of radio wave and a propagation state of radio wave.

Navigation apparatus using a global positioning system


The improved billiard ball rack positioning system is an invention that allows a user to quickly and easily position a billiard ball type rack. The rack of the system includes a plurality of position indicating LEDs and a plurality of proximity sensors mounted thereon. Proper positioning of the rack at a predetermined location on a playing surface or table causes actuation of the proximity sensors and consequently lighting of the indication lights. Lighting of all of the indication lights functions as an indication to the user that the rack is properly positioned. In contrast to prior art devices, the improved billiard ball rack positioning system provides for a “go/no-go” type of position indication means.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to racks and like devices for use in "racking" or position balls such as billiard balls into a proper formation and position such as a triangular formation properly positioned on a billiard table in preparation to initiate a game such as a game of billiards.
2. Description of the Related Art
In playing the game of billiards or pool or the like, it is important to achieve not only a "tight rack" of balls or balls that have been tightly racked, so that when breaking the rack of balls such as with a cue ball, the balls will efficiently transmit energy into surrounding balls and achieve a good break, but it is also important to properly position the set of racked balls to as to provide for consistent and fair play. Heretofore such proper positioning of a set of racked balls was commonly achieved by attempting to position the lead ball over a point marked on a billiard table. When the point marked on the table is covered by a ball, the user is left to estimate the proper position of the racked balls. Billiard tables commonly have marks on the sides of the tables that further assist in positioning the balls but such marks still require signification estimation on the part of the user. The disclosed invention seeks to overcome the noted problems with positioning racked balls.
Many improvements to racks or rack like devices have been devised to improve the racking of balls. For instance, the following list of US patents and applications all disclose inventions related to positioning of billiard type racks and are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,422,637, 4,553,750, 6,024,649, 6,609,307, 7,063,620, 7,118,486, 7,165,332, 20030059752, 20040132535, 20050239566 and 20060042105. However, the inventive concepts disclosed in the preceding list of patents include several deficiencies. Problems with the prior art include for instance complicated racks having moving parts, racks that require the user to estimate when the rack is properly positioned, and the absence of a sure go/no-go type positioning indication means.

Billiard ball rack positioning system and use thereof


Compositions and methods that are useful for treating a subject suffering from one or more cancers are provided herein. Such compositions and methods can contain an effective amount of magnesium threonate to be used to support or improve the mental state of a subject. The composition and methods comprising magnesium threonate can also be used to support a cancer treatment.

It has been reported that a person would exhibit an altered or declined mental state when the person is suffering from cancer (Tuma et al., Altered Mental Status in Patients With Cancer, Arch Neurol. 2000;57(12):1727-1731). Depression, anxiety, delirium, impaired cognitive functions, and other mental health declines are found to be closely associated with cancer. For example, delirium, one condition that is associated with a decline of mental state as measured by the mental state examination (MSE), is reported to be present in about 14% to 40% of patients hospitalized with cancer, and appears to be associated with an increased mortality rate. About 25% of cancer patients meet the criteria for an anxiety disorder, with about 3% suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (Fletcher et al., Clinical Oncological Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting, 2010). A cancer diagnosis is often accompanied with swift and aggressive anti-cancer treatment, and a person may be overwhelmed, worried, fearful, and anxious under the treatment. Decline of the mental state can prolong hospital stay, may make the patient less engaged in anti-cancer treatments, and can cause morbidity.
Decline of mental state in cancer patients has poor prognosis. However, early recognition of declined mental state and proper treatment to restore the mental status can be beneficial to the recovery of the cancer patients. In some cases, hospital time can be shortened, and patients may recover remarkably. Depression, for example, is strongly associated with reduced cancer survival (Cancer Council Australia. Depression Associated With Reduced Cancer Survival. Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 10 Nov. 2010). Studies have described that those who were not depressed, but actually felt hopeful, were more likely to recover than those who were depressed. Improving the mental state of the patients can encourage the patients to take an active role in their treatment decisions and be more engaged in their recovery. In current anti-cancer treatments, medical doctors focus heavily and primarily on the anti-cancer medical treatment of a cancer patient, and treating the mental state decline is often neglected or under-addressed. Currently, it appears that there has not been an effective treatment course targeting improvement of the mental state of cancer patients to support them through the anti-cancer treatment. Effective and reliable treatment methods to improve the mental state of persons suffering from cancer or to support their anti-cancer treatments appear to be in clinical mandate as indicated in Weinberger et al, Women at a Dangerous Intersection: Diagnosis and Treatment of Depression and Related Disorders in Patients with Breast Cancer. Psychiatric Clinics of North America 33.2 (2010): 409-22, and Artherholt et al., Psychosocial Care in Cancer Patients. Curr. Psychiatry Rep (2012): 14:23-29.

Magnesium compositions and uses thereof for cancers


An exemplary thermal management system includes, among other things, a valve, a radiator loop configured to be connected to the valve, a power electronics loop configured to be connected to the valve, a heater loop configured to be connected to the valve, and a battery loop configured to be connected to the valve. The valve is configured to connect one or more of the radiator, power electronics, heater, and battery loops together and the valve is configured to isolate at least one of the radiator, power electronics, heater, and battery loops from any remaining loops of the radiator, power electronics, heater, and battery loops.

An electrified vehicle includes a high voltage traction battery pack that powers electric machines and other electrical loads of the electrified vehicle. It is challenging to manage heat transfer between different groups of components in the electrified vehicle without the addition of costly heat exchangers and/or a plurality of valve systems.

Thermal management system for electrified vehicle


An arrangement for data transfer between a desk top personal computer (1) and a peripheral or other data processing device (7) comprises a transfer pad (5) which comprises two conductive plates (8, 9) which is connected to the personal computer (1) via a lead (6). The peripheral or other data processing device (7) has a transfer pad (11) which comprises two conductive pads (12, 13) attached to or forming part of the lower wall of its housing. For data transfer to occur the two transfer pads are brought into close proximity so that they provide a capacitative coupling between the personal computer (1) and the peripheral or other data processing device (7).

The invention relates to an arrangement for transferring data between a desk top computer and a peripheral device or other data processing device, particularly, but not exclusively, portable data processing devices such as personal digital assistants and lap top computers. The invention further relates to a computer mouse mat which includes data transfer means.
There are an increasing number of portable and peripheral devices that provide a need for data transfer between them and a desk top computer. Such devices include lap top computers, personal digital assistants (PDA) communications equipment containing modems for accessing databases etc. While these devices are designed to be used mainly in a stand-alone mode for use when the user is away from a permanent location, they often need to be connected to a fixed computer system at the user""s base. For example the user may wish to download data or files from a lap top computer or PDA on to the fixed computer system.
Such a requirement gives rise to the need for simple and reliable data transfer between the devices, preferably at high speed. A number of possibilities have been proposed and implemented but they all have specific limitations. Plug and socket arrangements require standardisation between the various components which is largely been achieved. They also, however, suffer some reliability problems. The projections in the male section of a typical data connector are subject to damage by contamination, by misaligned insertions and by physical impacts (for example when dropped). The female section may also be damaged by contamination (which can be alleviated by appropriate hinged covers but at extra cost) and by misaligned insertions.
An alternative approach is wireless transfer using either radio waves or infra-red radiation. The former has regulatory restrictions which vary from country to country and which may cause problems for travellers and the latter requires line of sight between the infra red transmitter and receiver. In both cases a relatively expensive transmitter and receiver is required and the transmitter will also consume significant power, which is particular disadvantage for battery powered equipment. Simple infra-red data links also tend to have a limited speed of data transfer.
EP-A-0676710 discloses portable computing and communications devices which are connected with other typically fixed devices via the use of a capacitative data connector. Each of the two mating sections of the connector include a set of coupling plates. When the two sections are brought into contact the coupling plates form capacitors across which data signals can be passed. Circuitry driving each section of the data connector is such as to create a bi-directional signalling path, thereby providing a connection, which is functionally equivalent to an ohmic connection. Signals that are typically passed across data connectors on individual parallel leads are in the disclosed data connector serialised, passed across the connector in that form and connected back to parallel form on the other side of the connection. Each section of the connector illustratively includes a permanent magnet to draw and hold the two sections in alignment, thereby providing a connector, which is self aligning.
The connector disclosed in EP-A-0676710 overcomes some of the disadvantages disclosed above in that physical contact between the coupling plates is not made, there is a gap left to form a dielectric of the capacitor. The connector disclosed in this patent application does, however, suffer from some disadvantages in that it is a relatively expensive construction and it is necessary to accurately locate the two parts of the connector together.
It is an object of the invention to enable the transfer of data between a desk top computer and a peripheral device or other data processing device which mitigates at least some of the disadvantages of the prior art arrangement set out above.
The invention provides an arrangement for transferring data between a computer and peripheral device or other data processing device, the arrangement comprising a first pair of conductive plates connected to said computer and a second pair of conductive plates, said second pair being carried on or formed as part of a wall of the housing of said peripheral device or other data processing device, means for bringing the first and second conductive plates into close proximity so as to form a pair of capacitors: wherein for transmitting data from the computer to the peripheral device or other data processing device the computer includes means for applying the data to be transferred in the form of a differential pulse voltage to the first pair of conductive plates and the peripheral device or other data processing device includes means for detecting the differential voltage impressed on the second pair of conductive plates by that applied to the first pair of conductive plates and converting the detected differential voltage to appropriate data pulses for use by and/or storage in the peripheral device or other data processing device, and/or wherein for transmitting data from the peripheral device or other data processing device to the computer the peripheral device or other data processing device includes means for applying the data to be transferred in the form of a differential pulse voltage to the second pair of conductive plates and the computer includes means for detecting the differential voltage impressed on the first pair of conductive plates by that applied to the second pair of conductive plates and converting the detected differential voltage to the appropriate data pulses for use by and/or storage in the computer.
By this means a simple low cost data transfer between a computer and portable data processing devices can be achieved. The alignment between the first and second pairs of plates does not have to be exact and a simple placing of the second pair in proximity to the first is sufficient. The power consumption associated with infra red or radio transmitters is avoided and no costly plug and socket connectors are required.
In a first embodiment the first pair of conductive plates may be external to the computer and connected to the housing of the computer by a twisted pair of conductors or by a screened pair of conductors. In this case the first pair of conductive plates are, in effect, on a flying lead and the peripheral device or other data processing device may be placed directly on top of the first pairs of plates so that the second pair of plates is brought into proximity with the first. Alternatively, of course the first pair of plates could be placed on top of the peripheral device or other data processing device.
In a second embodiment the first pair of conductive plates is carried on or formed as part of a wall of the housing of the computer. This eliminates the potentially vulnerable flying leads but requires at least a portion of one surface, normally a horizontal upper surface, to be left uncovered to accommodate the peripheral device or other data processing device when data transfer is required. Thus it may not be possible to place a monitor on top of the computer housing if this arrangement is adopted. This has the potential disadvantage of requiring a larger desk space to accommodate the computer.
As a further optional refinement of the second embodiment the first pair of conductive plates may be surrounded by an electromagnetic shield. This reduces any problems of electromagnetic interference, which may arise during data transfer. It is also possible to use the electromagnetic shield as a means of locating the peripheral device or other data processing device with its (second) pair of conductive plates in proximity to the (first) pair of conductive plates formed on the computer.
The peripheral devices or other data processing devices may take many forms. Examples are lap top computers, personal digital assistants, modems, printers, scanners etc.
The pair of conductive plates in the peripheral device of other data processing device may be formed in many ways. Inexpensive constructions are metal foils attached by adhesives to the inside of a wall of the housing containing the device or a conductive paint sprayed on the inside of the wall of the housing.
The invention further relates to a mouse mat having formed therein two conductive plates covered by an insulating layer on which a mouse may be manoeuvred and comprising means for coupling the two conductive plates to a data transfer port of a computer.
This has the advantage that the transfer pad attached to the computer is formed in an article which is normally associated with a desk top computer and will normally be present on a desk adjacent to the computer. In addition a mouse mat will usually be kept clear of any equipment or papers to enable a mouse to be used. Consequently, for data transfer, it is merely necessary to move the mouse and replace it on the mat by the portable device.
The mouse mat may carry a printed indicator of the centre line between the two conductive plates. This enables the portable equipment to be located easily into a position where its conductive plates are aligned with those in the mouse mat, and is particularly useful where the portable equipment is very different in size from the mat.
The coupling means may comprise a pair of conductors, each pair having one end connected to a respective one of the plates and the other end connected to one part of a plug and socket arrangement. The other part of which is mounted on the computer.
This gives an arrangement of a mouse mat with a flying lead for coupling to the computer in a manner similar to that by which a mouse is coupled to the computer. An alternative arrangement would be to have fixed pins on the perimeter of the mouse mat to which a connector was coupled.

Arrangement for data transfer between a computer and peripheral device or other data processing device


The present invention relates to a method for preparing a fluorinated methacrylate compound which can be used as a fluorine monomer for synthesizing a functional polymer having high oxygen permeability, water repellency and stain resistance. Specifically, the method can be carried out by a process of reacting an alcohol derivative and methacrylic acid anhydride in the presence of an imidazole-based base to obtain a fluorinated methacrylate. According to the preparation method of the present invention, since the reaction is carried out at room temperature and there is no process of removing the byproducts formed during the reaction, a high yield of fluorinated methacrylate can be obtained by a simple method within a short period of time.

Methacrylate monomer containing fluorine is used to synthesize a functional polymer having characteristics such as water repellency, oil repellency, heat resistance, chemical resistance, weather resistance and low refractive index. Such a functional polymer is used for various applications such as paints that require water repellency and stain resistance, fabric base materials, optical materials, plastic optical materials and contact lenses that require oil repellency and water repellency.
In connection with the method of synthesizing fluorinated methacrylates, a conventional technique uses sulfolane as a solvent, and carries out the reaction by injecting potassium methacrylate and gaseous 2-chloro-1,1,1-trifluoroethane under the conditions of 210° C. and atmospheric pressure. However, since it is necessary to carry out the reaction under high temperature conditions and deal with the gaseous reactant, there is a problem that a special device is necessary.
In another conventional technique, the reaction is carried out by using alcohol and methacrylic acid as a reactant, and fuming sulfuric acid as a solvent under a temperature condition of 95° C. or higher. Thus, there is a problem that the reaction is carried out at a high temperature, and fuming sulfuric acid, which is a strong acid, is used as a solvent and catalyst.
As described above, with respect to the method for preparing fluorinated methacrylates, the conventional techniques have disadvantages that not only vigorous reaction conditions are required, but also even in the separation and purification of the product, the difference in boiling point between the solvent and the product to be used is small, making it difficult to separate.

Method for preparing fluorinated methacrylate compound


A method, system and program for architecturally identifying data processor implementations are provided. The invention comprises assigning a plurality of least significant bits in a processor""s identification register to a unique value. This value can be assigned to these bits permanently during manufacture and is used to identify the bit specification for a specific processor implementation. The present invention can be generalized to include any processor architecture that comprises a plurality of instruction subsets for different bit specifications.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to data processors. More specifically, the present invention relates to identifying processor implementations.
2. Description of Related Art
Processor architecture defines a Central Processing Unit ID (CPUID) or processor version number (PVR) to identify the specific hardware implementation of the architecture. Identifying the hardware implementation allows software developers to find out what the capabilities and performance level of the current machine are, in order to optimize software development. Bit specifications describe the amount of data that a CPU can compute at the same time, known as the register width. For example, if the clock rates are the same (300 MHz, 500 MHz, etc.) and the basic architectures are equal, a 64-bit computer works twice as fast internally as a 32-bit computer.
Current architectures may define an instruction set for 32-bit and 64-bit implementations within a given processor. For example, if a software developer wants to write a portable software which fully utilizes 64-bit subset instructions for the 64-bit implementation of the architecture, the developer may have to account for all existing 64-bit processors. The software developer may also have to make changes to support any new processor implementations when they become available. The developer accomplishes this task by obtaining the list of PVRs for all 64-bit processors, and then checking the PVR of the current processor running the software to see if the PVR is on the list. The software developer only knows the list of announced processors or pre-announced processors. If the processor developer comes up with a new generation chip in the future, the software developer will need an updated list.
The software developer needs to maintain the list of all existing 64-bit processors of the architecture to utilize any 64-bit feature of the 64-bit implementation. If an architecture defines both 32-bit and 64-bit implementations, and a processor is not on the 64-bit list, then it is a 32-bit processor implementation. All implementations of the architecture always support the lowest common set of instruction, in this case, the 32-bit instruction set. Therefore, if a processor is a 64-bit implementation, it must support the 32-bit instructions as the base subset. With only 32-bit or 64-bit width, one 64-bit list is sufficient. If there are four widths (i.e. 32-, 64-, 128-, and 256-bit), then three lists may be needed for the higher bit-width processors (64-, 128-, and 256-bit).
Currently, there is no permanent way to query the implementation of any existing processor. Instead, software developers have to maintain the list of CPUIDs or PVRs and update the code for future processors. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus for architecturally identifying which implementation is being used in a processor.
The present invention provides a method, system and program for architecturally identifying data processor implementations. The invention comprises assigning a plurality of least significant bits in a processor""s identification register to a unique value. This value can be assigned to these bits permanently during manufacture and is used to identify the bit specification for a specific processor implementation. The present invention can be generalized to include any processor architecture that comprises a plurality of instruction subsets for different bit specifications.

Identifying architecture and bit specification of processor implementation using bits in identification register

International Business Machines Corporation


Method and apparatus for providing electrical insulation and hydrogen leakage resistance functions required on a radial lead portion of a field winding assembly for rotors of hydrogen cooled turbine-generators. A glass cloth tube impregnated with an epoxy resin binder is machined to desired tolerances to provide a controlled interference fit over the radial lead conductor outer surface. A coating of the epoxy resin or insulating varnish may be brushed on the interface surface. The pre-machined insulating tube not only prevents hydrogen gas from entering the rotor bore area, but also electrically insulates the rotor field windings from the rotor shaft.

Dynamoelectric machines, such as turbine/generators, typically have a rotor that is axially positioned within a stator core. The core comprises a plurality of axially thin annular laminations that are assembled together to form a cylindrical stator core. This core is supported within a stationary frame or housing, with the rotor disposed within the core. The rotor is formed as a cylindrical member having a central portion facing the stator core, and end shafts. An end face of the central portion is formed at the location of the shaft.
Field windings of the generator are mounted in slots machined in the body of the rotor, radially spaced from the shaft, the windings carrying DC (direct current) electricity. This current comes from a collector or exciter which is located at one end of the rotor and flows in axial leads that are positioned in a bore at the center of the generator shaft. The current is transmitted to the outer surface of the rotor shaft by a radial lead that is threaded into the axial lead. Attached to the top of the radial lead is a conductive member which transmits current from the radial lead to the field windings, which are held under retaining rings which support the windings on the rotor. One design of the conductive member is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,308 issued on Sept. 26, 1989, which patent is assigned to the present assignee and is incorporated herein by reference.
Because the atmosphere surrounding the outer radial extremity of the radial lead conductor within the containment of the generator frame is a high pressure gas, typically hydrogen, used to cool the generator during its operation, it is necessary that a gas tight and leak resistant seal be provided. This is normally done where the radial lead conductor penetrates the rotor shaft to connect with the axial conductor. Also, because there is an electrical potential difference between the shaft and the field winding, this gas seal must also have certain minimum dielectric properties to minimize electrical leakage current flow from the field winding potential to the shaft ground potential.
A conventional method of insulating the radial lead conductor is performed by wrapping a glass cloth around the conductor until the required total electrical insulation thickness has been obtained. Typically, this glass cloth is impregnated with a "B" stage resin. Heat shrinkable material is then applied over the insulation to consolidate the insulation during the subsequent oven cure that chemically changes the B-stage resin and glass material into a consolidated structure around the radial lead conductor. An example of the use of a heat shrinkable insulation method can be found in application Pat. Ser. No. 147,703 filed on Jan. 25, 1988 and which is assigned to the present assignee. Such a typical insulation means for the radial lead conductor is shown in FIG. 1. The outside diameter of the consolidated insulation is then machined to required dimension and surface finish. As can be seen in FIG. 1, a void may occur with the insulation wrapping method due to the discontinuity formed at the area adjacent the beginning of the insulation wrap and the subsequent covering layers of insulation. Moreover, a required pre-tension of the wrap layers for the insulation is needed around the radial lead conductor to prevent hydrogen leakage. Furthermore, the outer surface of the insulation wrap may contain wrinkles after the oven cure due to the interaction of the heat shrinkable material wrapped over the insulation, causing a non-uniform inelastic compression across the thickness of the insulation wrap. Whereas such minor abnormalities may be acceptable in certain processes, the radial lead conductor insulation requires more exacting tolerances.

Insulated, gas tight electrical lead conductor