The present invention provides a method for controlling an ink cartridge chip, the ink cartridge chip and an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge chip comprises an interface unit and a control unit, wherein the interface unit is connected to an image forming apparatus and used for receiving a light control instruction sent by the image forming apparatus; the light control instruction includes a light-on instruction used for indicating the illumination of a light-emitting unit on the ink cartridge chip; and the control unit is used for controlling whether to execute the light control instruction according to the state of the ink cartridge chip when the interface unit receives the light control instruction, and updating the state of the ink cartridge chip according to the light control instruction. The present invention also provides a corresponding control method and an ink cartridge.

Inkjet image forming apparatuses are widely used in offices, and the style has become increasingly diverse. FIG. 1 illustrates the internal structure of an inkjet printer. As shown in the figure, an ink cartridge 1 is interposed into a mounting portion 200 and fixed on the mounting portion 200 through a locking fastener 105; a cavity 101 is formed by the enclosure of an ink cartridge housing 103; ink in the cavity 101 is supplied to an ink inlet 202 through an ink outlet 102 on the bottom side of the ink cartridge and conveyed to a print head 203; the ink is sprayed on a paper medium by the print head to form text and images; the ink cartridge of the printer is generally arranged on a movable carriage; and an ink cartridge chip 100 is obliquely arranged at a junction of a front side and a bottom side of the ink cartridge 1 and electrically connected with a contact part 220 of the mounting portion. As the ink cartridge chip 100 is arranged at the junction of the front side face and the bottom side face, the light emitted by a light-emitting portion 110 of the ink cartridge chip is blocked by a mounting handle 106 and the mounting portion of the ink cartridge and is hard to be seen by an eye 2 of a user and sensed by a light receiver of the printer, arranged on the front of the front side face and adjacent to the upper side face (not illustrated in the figure). Therefore, a light guide 104 is disposed on the front side face and used for guiding the light emitted by the light-emitting portion 110 on the ink cartridge chip 100 to the upper side face of the ink cartridge, so as to be seen by the user and sensed by the light receiver. FIGS. 2a and 2b illustrate the external structure of the ink cartridge chip 100. As shown in the figure, the ink cartridge chip 100 further comprises an integrated circuit 130 and a plurality of electric contacts 120 electrically connected with the printer, wherein a control unit and a storage unit are usually arranged inside the integrated circuit 130.
The inkjet printer may be provided with a plurality of ink cartridges for the convenience of long-term use or may have different colors. In order to ensure the correct mounting positions of various ink cartridges, the ink cartridge position detection technology is provided.
The ink cartridge position detection may be based on light emitting and receiving. In the prior art, in general, a light source is disposed on an ink cartridge and a light receiver is arranged inside a main body of an image forming apparatus. During the detection of the position of an ink cartridge, the ink cartridge is driven to the position which is directly opposite to the light receiver; the light source of the ink cartridge is controlled to emit light; and the light receiver receives the light and detects and records the luminous quantity. Subsequently, an adjacent ink cartridge is controlled to emit light, and the light receiver receives the light and detects and records the luminous quantity. As the receiver is directly opposite to the ink cartridge to be detected, the luminous quantity of the light received from the ink cartridge to be detected is more than that of the adjacent ink cartridge and may be more than a predetermined threshold value. Therefore, the main body of the image forming apparatus can identify that the position of the ink cartridge is correct, and the detection method of other ink cartridges is the same.
However, the ink cartridge position detection method has the defects that: in the actual manufacturing process, the manufacturing deviation tends to occur inevitably, namely the luminous quantity of the light sources on various ink cartridges cannot be strictly kept equal, the luminous quantity of the adjacent ink cartridge may be equal to or more than the luminous quantity of the ink cartridge to be detected, and thus the conclusion that the position of the ink cartridge is not correct can be obtained, and consequently the rate of false alarm of the image forming apparatus can be increased.

Method for controlling ink cartridge chip, ink cartridge chip and ink cartridge


A porting system for a turbo-charged loop scavenged two-stroke engine includes a cylinder including a cylinder wall and a cylinder head. At least one inlet port is provided in the cylinder wall. The at least one inlet port is arranged a first distance from the cylinder head and fluidically connected to a compressor portion of a turbo-charger. A first exhaust port is provided in the cylinder wall. The first exhaust port is arranged a second distance from the cylinder head and is fluidically connected to a turbine portion of the turbo-charger through first exhaust passage. A second exhaust port is provided in the cylinder wall. The second exhaust port is arranged a third distance from the cylinder head that is greater than the second distance and the second exhaust passage is fluidically connected to a second exhaust passage bypassing the turbine portion.

Generally, internal combustion engines take two forms, four-stroke systems or two-stroke systems. In a four stroke system, a combustion process occurs through four piston strokes. Namely, (1) an intake stroke during which a piston moves within a cylinder to draw in an air/fuel mixture, (2) a compression stroke during which the air/fuel mixture is compressed between the piston and a cylinder head, (3) a power stroke during which combustion of the air/fuel mixture drives the piston along the cylinder to create work, and (4) an exhaust stroke during which exhaust gases resulting from combustion are expelled from the cylinder. In contrast, in a two-stroke system, the four parts of the combustion process are condensed to two piston strokes, (1) an intake/compression stroke and (2) a power/exhaust stroke. Two-stroke petrol (gas) engines are generally employed with high-power, handheld applications such as lawn mowers, trimmers, outboard motors, motorcycles and chain saws. Diesel engines rely on heat produced during compression to ignite a fuel/air mixture. Two stroke diesel engines are used in many large industrial and marine applications
Loop scavenged two-stroke diesel engines employ transfer ports that are shaped and positioned to direct a fresh mixture of air/fuel toward the combustion chamber. The air/fuel mixture strikes the cylinder head, follows a curvature of the combustion chamber, and is then deflected downward. The downward deflection prevents the fuel/air mixture from traveling directly out of the exhaust port along with the exhaust gases and also creates a swirling turbulence that improves combustion efficiency, power and economy. In a turbo-charged loop scavenged two-stroke diesel engine, during the power/exhaust stroke, compressed air from a compressor portion of a turbocharger is guided into the combustion chamber through an inlet port. The compressed air helps drive exhaust gases through an exhaust port as well as mixing with fuel during the intake/compression stroke to contribute to the combustion process.
During a portion of the power/exhaust stroke, the exhaust gases loose pressure and thus contribute very little to driving the turbine portion of the turbocharger. Further, at the lower pressure, the exhaust gases often times may reduce turbine/engine operational efficiency. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system that redirects exhaust gases from the turbine portion of the turbo-charger during a portion of the power/exhaust stroke of the piston.

Porting system for a turbo-charged loop scavenged two-stroked engine


A multiband antenna with removed coupling includes a radiator formed as a meander line bent zigzag several times and having a gap filling part in at least one area between neighboring meander lines. The gap filling part interconnects the neighboring meander lines. The multiband antenna further includes a ground connected with the radiator and at least one switch element mounted in an area along the longitudinal direction of the radiator and configured to alternately short or open an area of the radiator. Accordingly, two different resonance frequencies can be tuned using the single antenna, and the antenna efficiency can be enhanced by removing the coupling between the resonant frequencies that are tuned through the gap filling.

1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to a multiband antenna with removed coupling. More particularly, the present invention relates to a multiband antenna with removed coupling, which can operate in a plurality of service bands and improve antenna efficiency by removing the coupling.
2. Description of the Related Art
With recent on-going developments of various wireless communication services available through wireless terminals, such as GSM, PSC, WLAN, WiBro, and Bluetooth, reconfigurable antennas are required to enjoy the wireless communication services at one wireless terminal.
To this end, antennas with a very wide frequency band covering a plurality of service bands have been developed. However, an antenna operating in the wide frequency band can reduce the antenna size but may cause noise and interference because of unused bands.
Alternatively, multiband antennas operating in double or multiple frequency bands are under development. Among them, a multiband antenna, which is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2005-0174294, changes the operating frequency of the antenna by loading a series of PIN diodes in a slot line at intervals and electrically adjusting the length of the radiator through on or off of the PIN diodes. However, such a multiband antenna is relatively large because the slot line is used. To prevent this, the antenna line can be bent in a meander line shape. In this case, the resonant frequency of parasitic effects is generated due to the coupling between the meander lines. The parasitic resonant frequency causes the degradation of the antenna efficiency.
Therefore, what is needed is a solution that can reduce the size of the multiband antenna and/or eliminate the parasitic resonant frequency resulting from the coupling between strip lines.


A replaceable work part which has a base and a tooth portion provided on an upper side of the base. A plurality of mounting legs extend downward from the base. Each mounting leg defines a recess and is configured to engage a corresponding mounting structure formed on a jaw of the jaw assembly. The replaceable work part is mounted to the jaw by being inserted into the same from above and sliding the same onto the jaw in a sliding direction to engage the mounting legs with the mounting structures of the jaw. In this state, locking members are inserted between the replaceable work part and the jaw and secured to the replaceable work part to restrict movement of the replaceable work part in the direction opposite to the mounting direction.

Demolition tools for crushing and/or cutting materials are generally known. Typically, a demolition tool comprises a jaw assembly having a lower jaw and an upper jaw. The upper and lower jaws are pivotably connected and movable relative to each other. Work parts such as blades or teeth are provided on both the upper jaw and the lower jaw. A work material is crushed or cut by closing the upper jaw and the lower jaw using, for example, hydraulic actuators. The demolition tool further comprises a frame that connects the jaws to a jib of a machine.
For example, a demolition tool may have a jaw assembly that is suitable for crushing concrete and the like. The jaw assembly may be adapted for crushing or cutting other materials, for example, scrap iron and the like. The abrasive nature and hardness of some of these materials may cause a relatively rapid wear of the surfaces of the work parts that engage the materials.
Accordingly, a demolition tool is generally provided with replaceable work parts having wear surfaces. The work parts are connected to the jaw assembly using conventional techniques using, for example, fasteners and the like. The work parts may be provided both on the upper jaw and the lower jaw of the jaw assembly.
The present disclosure is directed, at least in part, to improving or overcoming one or more aspects of prior systems.

Replaceable work part for a demolition tool


A method and corresponding system remotely communicate and interface with an Aircraft Condition Monitoring System (ACMS) on an aircraft. The method and system offer a global communication architecture that can be implemented with existing ACMS devices and with any flight data acquisition unit (FDAU) equipped with a storage card, such as a Personal Computer Memory Card. International Association (PCMCIA) card. In a preferred embodiment, the method and system offer real-time wireless communication between the ACMS on an aircraft and a ground station without any hardware and/or software modifications to the ACMS.

Aircraft Condition Monitoring Systems (ACMS) are used by commercial airlines to provide flight performance data for aircrafts to monitor aircraft engine performance. FIG. 1 illustrates a current communication schema of an ACMS 110. A flight data acquisition unit (FDAU) 100 collects Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) §121.344 parameters for maintenance and engineering. The FDAU 100 includes an ACMS 110 that records flight performance data from a plurality of acquisition equipments, such as sensors on an aircraft. The acquisition equipments monitor signals supplied from a variety of transducers distributed throughout the aircraft and provide digital data representative of the aircraft's flight performance based upon such transducer inputs. The ACMS 110 uses the flight performance data to generate real-time ACMS reports based on FAR §121.344 parameters. As flight performance data is obtained by the acquisition equipments, the flight performance data is stored in an attendant, physically robust, flight data recorder (FDR) 114.
The flight performance data may be transmitted to an aircraft communication and reporting system (ACARS) management unit 116 for real-time transmission of, for example, snapshot position parameters, to the ground. The flight performance data is also provided to a pilot interface, such as a multifunction condition and display unit (MCDU) 118. The MCDU 118 can display real-time parameters for maintenance and piloting. The MCDU 118 may include a cockpit printer and an interface display unit (not shown).
The flight performance data are typically recorded back to a quick access recorder (QAR) 117. The QAR records the flight performance data on a data media, such as a PCMCIA card 130. The PCMCIA card 130 can be plugged into a slot 135 on the ACMS 110. The PCMCIA card 130 is then taken to a ground station 160 for engine performance monitoring and flight performance data analysis. The ground station 160 includes a ground support equipment (GSE) 145 and an analysis ground station (AGS) 140. A data loader 122 uses a disk to load software upgrades onto the ACMS 110 from the GSE 145. An Ethernet connection 120 may be provided to the FDAU 100 to connect the ACMS 110 to a aircraft network (not shown).
To improve aircraft safety, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends that the airlines check the information provided by the FDAU 100 at regular intervals. One approach is to allow aircraft safety personnel to gain access to the flight performance data by physically removing the PCMCIA card 130. In other words, a mechanic needs to go on board an aircraft to load new software or to retrieve flight performance data from the ACMS 110. Communication of the flight performance data is deferred because no remote real-time access is possible. In addition, with the large volume of aircraft traffic, manual retrieval and replacement of the PCMCIA card 130 is very time and manpower intensive. In addition, this approach is prone to substantial misidentification and aircraft association errors.

Method and system for remotely communicating and interfacing with aircraft condition monitoring systems


An automated waste scaling system and method of weighing and documenting waste data is disclosed. A waste container box is rolled onto an approach ramp of a scaling pod to place each box caster wheel on a weighing area plate. A shear beam load cell beneath each weighing area plate provides a weight reading to a summing box, which combines weight readings to provide total weight. Total weight and other data, such as date and time of weight measurement, can be sent either by hard wiring or wireless technology to a display, printing, or electronic or digital storage device. Overload stops or check rods prevent load cells from being overloaded by weight in excess of load cell capacity. In a three-point scaling system, weight from two box rear wheel casters resting on weighing area plates and a box guide rail resting on a compression pad is combined for total weight.

A variety of load weighing systems are known in the art. On-board truck load weighing systems using hydraulic load sensors or air pressure sensors connected to the suspension system between the frame of a truck and a load platform or cargo container of a truck and to a dial pressure indicator are previously known, but are considered to be highly inaccurate. On-board beam-type load weighing systems using beam-type load cells mounted between a truck frame and load platform or cargo container of the vehicle with strain gauges mounted on the load cells and connected to electrical monitoring equipment have also been previously provided. While the beam-type system increased the accuracy and dependability of on-board load weighing systems, calibration to determine the weight was time-consuming and required an experienced and skilled operator to perform the calibration. In addition, electrical cables had to be run from the cab of the truck to each load cell on the truck and trailer to measure the weight. Such electrical cables increased the complexity of the system and were prone to physical damage in the harsh environments in which trucks operated. Long lengths of electrical cable were prone to signal loss and induced electrical noise creasing inaccuracies in weight measurements. Improvements to on-board load weighing systems have been provided. However, all of these systems have a number of shortfalls in addition to those discussed heretofore. For example, many on-board transmitters can only handle a limited number of load cells per transmitter and are not easily expanded or reconfigured to account for the use of additional load cells. Also, if a truck-trailer arrangement is altered to replace or add a trailer, the entire load weight system must be reconfigured and recalibrated. The on-board systems are designed to weigh loads when being carried by a truck-trailer system and do not weigh waste at its original source, such as in a waste container box.
Photodetectors connected to a microprocessor controlled circuit have also been provided to compute the volume of an article and the weight of such article. However, such photodetector-microprocessor weighing devices are typically used in a packaging process and are not designed to calculate the aggregate weight of a large number of articles contained in a large waste container box. A review of prior art reveals that a highly accurate, sturdy, and versatile device is needed to weigh items contained in a large-capacity container box, such as a dumpster or roll off container.

Automated waste scaling system and method of weighing and documenting waste data


Provided herein is a jounce bumper (18) for mounting in a vehicle suspension system (2) comprising a shock absorber (6), the jounce bumper (18) having a central bore (20) extending in an axial direction (A). The jounce bumper (18) comprises an elastically compressible bumper portion (24) comprising a plurality of convolutes stacked in an axial direction (A) of the jounce bumper (18), each convolute comprising a crest (26) and a root (28). A cross-section of the compressible portion (24) perpendicular to the axial direction (A) is non-circular, the non-circular shape being configured to provide a variable compression resistance in relation to an axial compression displacement (Cd) of the jounce bumper (18).

Several patents and publications are cited in this description in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains. The entire disclosure of each of these patents and publications is incorporated by reference herein.
Jounce bumpers are found in vehicle suspension systems and typically comprise an elastic body mounted around a shock absorber rod and fixed to a structural element of the vehicle. The jounce bumper provides an elastic cushion for the end of travel of the shock absorber and coil spring under compression. The effect of the jounce bumper is to absorb impact, and it dampens noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) by preventing the articulated suspension components from fully compacting during shock impacts caused by heavy loads, potholes, curbs or objects in the road. In general, it is desired to maximize the absorption of energy in a jounce bumper in order to provide a progressive compression resistance and achieve a smoother ride over a wide range of driving and load conditions.
The energy absorption behavior of a jounce bumper can be measured by a compression test, where a plotted result of applied force and compression displacement (i.e. deformation) illustrates the elastic behavior of the jounce bumper. Usually deformation is plotted on the x-axis (in mm), and applied load (force) is plotted on the y-axis. Specifically, the area under the plotted curve represents the energy absorbed by the jounce bumper.
If the thickness profile of the wall of a jounce bumper is increased, the level of force required to compress the jounce bumper is also increased. However, this results in a stiffer jounce bumper but with reduced compression displacement, whereby less energy is absorbed in the jounce bumper.
An example of a jounce bumper with a non-uniform wall thickness is disclosed in US2014183804. Specifically, the wall thickness of the jounce bumper is non-uniform, such that the wall thickness in a root and a crest are different. The effect of the non-uniform wall thickness is a superior absorption of energy in relation to the applied force and axial deformation of the jounce bumper.


A measurement device for measuring water concentration in an oil water mixture has a transmitter that is used to transmit a designated spectrum of microwave frequencies to a transmitting antenna and then through the oil water mixture. A separate receiving antenna is used to detect the amplitude of each frequency of the transmitted spectrum after it has interacted with the oil water mixture. The detected signal from each microwave frequency that has interacted with the fluid mixture is digitized and sent to a processing unit. The processing unit receives the digitized frequencies and identifies the microwave frequency having the lowest amplitude, or amplitudinal nadir. The microwave frequency having the lowest amplitude is then used to calculate the percentage of water in the oil water mixture.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to a method and apparatus for determining the concentration of water in an oil water fluid mixture. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the concentration of water within an oil water mixture based on the identification of a specific frequency transmitted to the fluid mixture that results in the lowest frequency signal after reacting with the fluid mixture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Knowledge of accurate water content in a petroleum fluid mixture is important for oilfield reservoir management, royalty allocation, buying and selling, corrosion management, refining, chemical processing, and aviation safety.
Current oil water measurement devices typically measure the ratio of fluids in an oil water fluid sample using radio frequency (RE) or microwave energy to determine the capacitance or permittivity of a fluid sample consisting of oil and water. Because permittivity is the measurement of a fluid's ability to resist an electronic field, the power required to maintain a specific frequency within that fluid is a function of permittivity.
In one embodiment of the currently available microwave systems, the oil water measurement device is emerged in a fluid emulsion of oil and water. Within the oil water measurement device an oscillator is connected to a single antenna. The antenna transmits one or more specific frequencies to the fluid emulsion and receives the load change in the current consumption of the oscillator. The current consumption of the oscillator is dependent on the composition of the mixture since various components have different dielectric constants, which are proportionally related to the overall impedance of the mixture.
The complex permittivity of many materials changes with the frequency used for the permittivity measurement. Thus, as the oscillator frequency is changed, the complex permittivity also changes and the resulting system of mathematical equations used to describe and solve for the component concentrations become increasingly non-linear. If, however, the permittivity measurements can be made at accurate and repeatable frequencies, the fluid system components could be determined hour simple linear equations.
Some of the newer microwave apparatus use multiple oscillators or voltage-controlled-oscillators (VCOs) to measure water concentrations in oil water mixtures at one or more specific frequencies. As with any electronics, these oscillators are subject to drift due to the temperature of the ambient surroundings or from self-heating and aging of the components. It is difficult, or impossible, to separate drifts in the oscillator from actual impedance changes in the fluid medium and as explained previously, non-linear dielectric constants tend to magnify the measurement errors.
A few of the systems include a reference oscillator calibrated to provide a specific frequency for a known impedance, but the reference oscillator is subject to the same thermal and aging errors. In fact, component aging and thermal effects might have offsetting effects and move the reference frequency in the opposite direction from the measurement frequency. Thus, the reference and measurement oscillators require frequent calibration and recalibration.
The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,135,870 measures the power consumed by the crystal oscillating loop and uses that measurement to determine the permittivity of the fluid which is related to the water content in the fluid. Signals, such as radio frequency or microwave, are sequentially transmitted at multiple, known, constant frequencies to and reflected from both a reference sensor and a measurement sensor. Permittivities of the individual components are determined from these transmitted and reflected signals and information about the concentration of the components of the fluid mixture is calculated.
There is an existing need for a simple automated device for accurately measuring water content in petroleum fluids containing low concentrations of water.

Method and apparatus for determining the water concentration in a fluid mixture


Described are mobile phones that incorporate radiation detectors formed using commonly available semiconductor memories. The radiation detectors require little or no additional hardware over what is available in a conventional phone, and can thus be integrated with little expense or packaging modifications. The low cost supports a broad distribution of detectors. Data collected from constellations of detector-equipped mobile phones can be used to locate mislaid or stolen nuclear materials or other potentially dangerous radiation sources. Phone users can be alerted to radiation dangers in their vicinity, and aggregated phone-specific error data can serve as user-specific dosimeters.

Governments and their associated first responders are increasingly interested in protecting their citizenry from exposure to dangerous levels of radiation that might result from accidental or purposeful release of nuclear materials. In a current high-profile example from recent media reports, the United States Department of Homeland Security suspects terrorist organizations of planning to build and explode a so-called "dirty bomb" in the United States. Less newsworthy, but nevertheless troubling, dangerous nuclear materials are commonly lost or stolen.

Methods and circuits for detecting and reporting high-energy particles using mobile phones and other portable computing devices


Methods and systems for extracting formation properties from formation logging data is disclosed. A method includes obtaining a deconvolution filter; and processing the formation logging data using the deconvolution filter to produce estimates of the formation properties. The estimates of the formation properties may be further processed with a diffusion filter, which may be an anisotropic diffusion filter. A system for extracting formation properties from formation logging data includes a central processing unit and a memory, wherein the memory stores a program having instructions for performing a method that includes designing a deconvolution filter; and processing the formation logging data using the deconvolution filter to produce estimates of the formation properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to oil and gas exploration, particularly to methods and systems for deriving formation properties from formation logging data.
2. Background Art
Various well logging techniques are known in the field of hydrocarbon and water exploration and production. These techniques typically employ logging or downhole tools (sondes) equipped with sources adapted to emit energy through a borehole traversing the subsurface formation. The emitted energy interacts with the surrounding formation to produce signals that are detected and measured by one or more sensors on the instrument. By processing the detected signal data, a profile of the formation properties is obtained.
Subsurface or downhole logging techniques are realized in different ways as known in the art. A well tool, comprising a number of transmitting and detecting devices for measuring various parameters, can be lowered into a borehole on the end of a cable or wireline. The cable, which is attached to some mobile processing center at the surface, is the means by which parameter data may be sent up to the surface. With this type of logging, it becomes possible to measure borehole and formation parameters as a function of depth, i.e., while the tool is being pulled uphole.
An alternative to wireline logging techniques is the collection of data on downhole conditions during the drilling process. By collecting and processing such information during the drilling process, the driller can modify or correct key steps in the operation to optimize performance. Schemes for collecting data of downhole conditions and movement of the drilling assembly during the drilling operation are known as measurement-while-drilling (MWD) techniques. Similar techniques focusing more on measurement of formation parameters than on movement of the drilling assembly are known as logging-while-drilling (LWD). Note that drilling operations may also use casings or coil tubings instead of conventional drill strings. Casing drilling and coil tubing drilling are well known in the art. In these situations, logging operations may be similarly performed as in conventional MWD or LWD. In this description, "logging-while-drilling" will be generally used to include the use of a drill string, a casing, or a coil tubing, and hence MWD and LWD are intended to include operations using casings or coil tubings. Logging-while-tripping (LWT) is an alternative to LWD and MWD techniques. In LWT, a small diameter "run-in" tool is sent downhole through the drill pipe, at the end of a bit run, just before the drill pipe is pulled. The run-in tool is used to measure the donwhole physical quantities as the drill string is extracted or tripped out of the hole. Measured data is recorded into tool memory versus time during the trip out. At the surface, a second set of equipment records bit depth versus time for the trip out, and this allows the measurements to be placed on depth. Sensors or tools permanently placed in a wellbore may also be used to obtain log data. Embodiments of the invention may use data obtained with any of these different logging methods.
FIG. 1 shows a typical LWD system that includes a derrick 10 positioned over a borehole 11. A drilling tool assembly, which includes a drill string 12 and drill bit 15, is disposed in the borehole 11. The drill string 12 and bit 15 are turned by rotation of a Kelly 17 coupled to the upper end of the drill string 12. The Kelly 17 is rotated by engagement with a rotary table 16 or the like forming part of the rig 10. The Kelly 17 and drill string 12 are suspended by a hook 18 coupled to the Kelly 17 by a rotatable swivel 19. Drilling fluid (mud) 6 is stored in a pit 7 and is pumped through the center of the drill string 12 by a mud pump 9 to flow downwardly. After circulation through the bit 15, the drilling fluid circulates upwardly through an annular space between the borehole 11 and the outside of the drill string 12. Flow of the drilling mud 6 lubricates and cools the bit 15 and lifts drill cuttings made by the bit 15 to the surface for collection and disposal. As shown, a logging tool 14 is connected to the drill string 12. Signals measured by the logging tool 14 may be transmitted to the surface computer system 13 or stored in memory (not shown) onboard the tool 14. The logging tool 14 may include any number of conventional sources and/or sensors known in the art.
Formation logging data, whether from wireline, LWD, MWD, or LWT operations, are then processed to derive formation properties (formation profiles). Various techniques are known for deriving formation properties from the measurement data. Some of these techniques are specific to the types of measurement data (e.g., sonic data, resistivity data, NMR data, neutron data, gamma ray data, etc.). A common technique used to extract formation properties from measurement data involves an inversion process, which in essence attempts to find an inverse response function of the tool used in the measurements.
Formation logging data acquired with a sensor depends on not only the formation properties (profiles), but also the response function of the sensor. If the sensor response function, or its inverse (i.e., the inverse sensor response function), is known, then the formation profile may be deconvolved from the measurement data. Such a process of deriving formation properties directly from the measurement data is referred to as an inversion process.
An alternative to the inversion process is sometimes called "forward modeling." In this approach, a particular formation model is assumed. The formation model includes various layers, each having a set of properties (parameters). The tool responses are then calculated based on the formation model. The computed tool responses are then compared with the actual tool responses. An iterative process is then used to alter formation model parameters in order to minimize the difference between the computed tool responses and the actual tool responses. The modeling method is efficient when only a limited parameters are to be optimized. However, this approach can become very inefficient and time consuming when a large number of formation parameters are to be derived.
While the above described methods are useful in deriving formation properties from measurement data, there still exists a need for other methods and systems that can efficiently provide estimates of formation properties from the measurement data.

Estimating formation properties from downhole data


A reformer tube for producing synthesis gas by steam reforming of hydrocarbon-containing input gases is proposed where                an outer shell tube is divided by means of a separating tray into a reaction chamber and an exit chamber,        a dumped bed of a steam-reforming-active solid catalyst is arranged in the reaction chamber,        at least one heat exchanger tube is arranged inside the reaction chamber and inside the dumped catalyst bed, whose entry end is in fluid connection with the dumped catalyst bed and whose exit end is in fluid connection with the exit chamber,        the exit end of the heat exchanger tube is fed through the separating tray and opens out into a corrosion-protected inner tube which is disposed in the interior of the shell tube and is in fluid connection with a collection conduit for the synthesis gas product, and        a gas-permeable thermal insulation layer is arranged between the inner wall of the shell tube and the outer wall of the inner tube.

Hydrocarbons may be catalytically reacted with steam to afford synthesis gas, i.e. mixtures of hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO). As is explained in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Sixth Edition, 1998 Electronic Release, keyword "Gas Production", this so-called steam reforming is the most commonly employed method of producing synthesis gas, which may then be converted into further important commodity chemicals such as methanol or ammonia. While different hydrocarbons, such as for example naphtha, liquid gas or refinery gases, may be converted, it is steam reforming of methane-containing natural gas that dominates.
Steam reforming of natural gas is highly endothermic. It is therefore performed in a reformer furnace in which numerous catalyst-containing reformer tubes in which the steam reforming reaction takes place are arranged in parallel. The outer walls of the reformer furnace and its ceiling and floor are faced or lined with a plurality of layers of refractory material which withstands temperatures of up to 1200° C. The reformer tubes are usually fired with burners which are mounted on the top or bottom or on the side walls of the reformer furnace and directly heat the interspace between the reformer tubes. Heat transfer to the reformer tubes is effected by heat radiation and convective heat transfer from the hot flue gases.
After pre-heating by heat exchangers or fired heaters to about 500° C., the hydrocarbon-steam mixture enters the reformer tubes after end-heating to about 500° C. to 800° C. and is therein converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen over the reforming catalyst. Nickel-based reforming catalysts are widespread. While higher hydrocarbons are fully converted into carbon monoxide and hydrogen, in the case of methane partial conversion is typical. The composition of the product gas is determined by the reaction equilibrium; the product gas thus comprises not only carbon monoxide and hydrogen but also carbon dioxide, unconverted methane and water vapour. For energy optimization or for input materials comprising higher hydrocarbons, a so-called pre-reformer for precracking the input material may be employed downstream of the pre-heater. The pre-cracked input material is then heated to the desired reformer tube entry temperature in a further heater.
The hot synthesis-gas product gas is partially cooled in one or more heat exchangers after leaving the reformer furnace. The partially cooled synthesis-gas product gas then passes through further conditioning steps dependent on the type of the desired product or of the downstream process.
Steam reforming of natural gas is notable for its high energy requirements. The prior art therefore already contains proposals which aim to minimize external energy requirements through optimized process design, for example through energy recovery. For instance, Higman demonstrated a so-called HCT reformer tube with internal heat exchange at the EUROGAS-90 conference, Trondheim, June 1990, also disclosed at http://www.higman.de/gasification/papers/eurogas.pdf (Retrieved 27 Sep. 2011). This tube comprises an outer catalyst-filled and externally heated reformer tube where the input gas flows through the catalyst bed from top to bottom. Inside the catalyst bed are two coiled double-helix heat exchanger tubes, made of a suitable material, through which the partially reformed gas flows after leaving the catalyst bed, thus transferring a portion of its sensible heat to the steam reforming process taking place over the catalyst. However a disadvantage here is the higher pressure drop on account of the longer route of the gas through the coiled heat exchanger tubes. Furthermore, a type of corrosion elucidated hereinbelow and referred to as "metal dusting" becomes more markedly apparent since longer sections of the heat exchanger tubes are subject to the temperature range relevant for metal dusting corrosion.
As is taught in the paper "Metal Dusting Protective Coatings. A Literature Review", A. Agüero et al., Oxid Met (2011) 76:23-42, metal dusting is a type of corrosive disintegration of metals and alloys into fine particles. Materials susceptible to this form of corrosive attack include in particular iron, nickel, cobalt and alloys thereof. Metal dusting occurs at high temperatures of approximately 400 to 800° C. and in gas atmospheres comprising in particular carbon monoxide (CO) or hydrocarbons. In actual fact below 400° C. the thermodynamic potential for the metal dusting reaction is high but the reaction rate low. Above 800° C. the thermodynamic potential for metal dusting is so low that it does not occur to any appreciable extent. Metal dusting is therefore often observed in steam reforming processes affecting all plant parts, in particular equipment parts in the waste heat section, that come into contact with the generated synthesis gas in the recited temperature range.
At high temperatures CO and hydrocarbons have a propensity for dissociating on metal and thereby depositing carbon on the metal surface. The carbon is then converted into the solid phase and extracts the susceptible metals from their homogeneous solid matrix, thus resulting in pitting and finally in mechanical collapse of the materials. This results in high maintenance costs and can cause serious safety problems, for example through bursting of pressurized conduits and apparatuses and/or through escape of toxic carbon monoxide.
The incidence of metal dusting may be prevented or at least retarded by means of the following measures:
a) Altering the operating conditions of the basic process, especially temperature and pressure,
b) Deliberately poisoning the metal surfaces with sulphur compounds, for example,
c) Altering the alloy composition and/or using corrosion-resistant materials,
d) Modifying the surface properties by chemical, thermal or mechanical treatment,
e) Applying a corrosion-inhibiting coating on the alloy surface.
Measures under a) often fail because the basic process under consideration requires these very temperatures and pressures. The same is true of measure c), since the process conditions of the basic process require a particular selection of materials and hence a particular alloy composition. Furthermore, the efficacy of the measures under b) and d) is often time-limited.
With regard to measure e), there are usually either diffusion coatings or coverings or outer layers employed that are based on the formation of a thin, stable, protective and adhering oxide scale layer, based on the elements aluminium, chromium or silicon. The most frequently employed in the chemical industry at present at high temperatures for protection from oxidation and corrosion are aluminium diffusion coatings.
Diffusion coatings are formed when an alloy is coated with a metal or metal mixture at a temperature high enough to enable diffusion of the metal or metals into the substrate. The result is a metallurgical bond with the substrate material, with the coating then becoming an integral part of the substrate material. Disadvantages arising here are the high production cost and complexity and the limited lifetime of diffusion coatings, as a result of volatilization of the protective metal or abrasion, for example.
Also affording protection from metal dusting corrosion is the fabrication of complete sections of plant, such as pipelines, for example, from ceramic materials. A disadvantage in that case, however, is the lower pressure resistance and/or, generally, the reduced formability and elasticity as compared with metallic materials.

Corrosion-protected reformer tube with internal heat exchange

L'Air Liquide Societe Anonyme Pour L'Etude Et L'Exploitation Des Procedes Georqes Claude


A patty-forming apparatus includes a mold plate having patty-forming cavities and a breather plate arranged over the mold plate. A fill slot is arranged below or above the mold cavities to fill food product into the mold cavity when the mold plate is in a fill position. The breather plate, arranged on a side of the mold plate opposite the fill slot, includes a fill recess open toward the mold plate and arranged to be in registry with the cavities when the mold plate is in the fill position to increase a transverse food product flow area along the longitudinal direction to assist filling of the cavity with food product.

The present invention relates to food patty-forming machines. The invention particularly relates to an improved filling arrangement for a food patty-forming machine.
Food patty-forming, or patty-molding, machines are described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,952,478; 4,054,967; 4,182,003; and 4,329,828, and PCT published application WO 99/62344, herein incorporated by reference.
In one type of food patty-forming machine a mold plate, having patty-shaped cavities, is reciprocated between a fill position and a knock out position. The cavities are located above or below a food product delivery apparatus. Within the food product delivery apparatus, the food product, such as ground beef or ground poultry, is pumped by a plunger through a manifold and then upwardly or downwardly through a fill slot and eventually into the mold cavities. When the mold plate is in the fill position, food product is delivered under pressure through the fill slot into the cavities, forming patties.
A breather plate is arranged above or below the mold plate. The breather plate includes breather holes that communicate or express air out of the mold cavities while food product is being filled into the cavities from below or above. The breather holes are typically located at a position above the cavities being filled that is distant from the position of the fill slot, so that a uniform patty shape can be achieved as the air within the mold cavities and within the food product is expelled through the breather holes. During filling, the food product delivered through the fill slot advances through a transverse flow area defined by a width and height of the cavity, through the cavity toward the breather holes. After filling of the cavities, the mold plate is then shifted to the knock out position where the mold cavities are extended forward of the breather plate. The patties are then knocked out of the cavities by a knockout mechanism.
The present inventor has recognized that when the formed patties are thin, i.e., formed within cavities of a thin mold plate, such as 0.25 inch thick or thinner mold plates, extreme product pressure is required to fill the cavities. Particularly, the present inventor has recognized that extreme product pressure is required to force cold and stiff food product, particularly ground or whole muscle poultry, through the thin passage provided by the thickness of the thin mold plate. Elevated pressures increase forces on machine components, which in turn increases friction of sliding components. Elevated pressures also contribute to increased occurrence of leaks and spraying.
The present inventor has recognized that it would be advantageous to provide a food patty-forming machine which overcame the above-mentioned drawbacks and produced a food patty having a uniform food density and thickness.
The invention contemplates an improved food patty-forming machine of the type having a reciprocating mold plate having at least one cavity, the mold plate reciprocated between a fill position and a knock-out position, the cavity filled with food product from a fill slot open to one side of the cavity when the cavity is in the fill position. The improvement comprises the use of a fill recess in registry with the cavity in the fill position, the fill recess allowing an increased flow area for food product to advance within the cavity during filling. Preferably, the fill recess is formed into a face of a breather plate, the breather plate also having breather holes for expelling air from within the cavity during filling.
Preferably, the mold plate includes multiple cavities arranged side-by-side in the transverse direction. The fill slot and fill recess can be common to the cavities.
As the mold plate is moved into its fill position, with the fill slot in registry with the cavities, food product held in the fill recess is forced from the fill recess into the cavities. Further food product is forced through the fill recess, and directly through the cavities, into the cavities until the cavities are filled. As food product is filled into the mold cavities, air is expelled through both the breather holes.
The invention is particularly suitable for machines wherein the breather plate and the fill slot are on opposite sides of the mold plate, although not limited to such machines. Such machines typically utilize the mold plate to seal off the fill slot from atmosphere as the mold plate moves back and forth between the fill position and the knock out position. By forming the fill recess into the breather plate, the advantage of using the mold plate to seal off the fill slot is retained.
Numerous other advantages and features of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof, from the claims and from the accompanying drawings.


Compositions and methods for the intranasal or respiratory administration of ciliary neurotrophic factor proteins, especially in the treatment of obesity and gestational or adult onset diabetes.

The present invention relates to ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and CNTF-related polypeptides useful for the treatment of neurological diseases, obesity and other diseases or disorders.
CNTF is a protein that is required for the survival of embryonic chick ciliary ganglion neurons in vitro (Manthorpe et al., 1980, J. Neurochem. 34:69-75). The ciliary ganglion is anatomically located within the orbital cavity, lying between the lateral rectus and the sheath of the optic nerve; it receives parasympathetic nerve fibers from the oculomotor nerve which innervates the ciliary muscle and sphincter pupillae.
Over the past decade, a number of biological effects have been ascribed to CNTF in addition to its ability to support the survival of ciliary ganglion neurons. CNTF is believed to induce the differentiation of bipotential glial progenitor cells in the perinatal rat optic nerve and brain (Hughes et al., 1988, Nature 335:70-73). Furthermore, it has been observed to promote the survival of embryonic chick dorsal root ganglion sensory neurons (Skaper and Varon, 1986, Brain Res. 389:39 46). In addition, CNTF supports the survival and differentiation of motor neurons, hippocampal neurons and presympathetic spinal cord neurons (Sendtner, et al., 1990, Nature 345: 440-441; Ip, et al. 1991, J. Neurosci. 11:3124-3134; Blottner, et al. 1989, Neurosci. Lett. 105:316 320).
CNTF has been cloned and synthesized in bacterial expression systems, as described by Masiakowski, et al., 1991, J. Neurosci. 57:1003-1012 and in International Publication No. WO 91/04316, published on Apr. 4, 1991, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
In addition to human CNTF, the corresponding rat (Stxc3x6ckli et al., 1989, Nature 342:920-923), and rabbit (Lin et al., 1989, J. Biol. Chem. 265:8942-8947) genes have been cloned and found to encode a protein of 200 amino acids, which share about 80% sequence identity with the human gene. Both the human and rat recombinant proteins have been expressed at exceptionally high levels (up to 70% of total protein) and purified to near homogeneity.
Despite their structural and functional similarity, recombinant human and rat CNTF differ in several respects. The biological activity of recombinant rat CNTF in supporting survival and neurite outgrowth from embryonic chick ciliary neurons in culture is four times better than that of recombinant human CNTF (rHCNTF) (Masiakowski et al., 1991, J. Neurochem. 57:1003-1012). Further, rat CNTF has a higher affinity for the human CNTF receptor than does human CNTF (Davis et al., 1991, Science 253: 59-63).
A surprising difference in the physical properties of human and rat CNTF, which are identical in size, is their different mobility on SDS gels. This difference in behavior suggests the presence of an unusual structural feature in one of the two molecules that persists even in the denatured state (Masiakowski et al., 1991, J. Neurochem. 57:1003 1012).
To better understand the physical, biochemical and pharmacological properties of rHCNTF, applicants undertook rational mutagenesis of the human and rat CNTF genes based on the different biological and physical properties of their corresponding recombinant proteins (See Masiakowski, P., et al., 1991, J. Neurochem., 57:1003 1012). Mutagenesis by genetic engineering has been used extensively in order to elucidate the structural organization of functional domains of recombinant proteins. Several different approaches have been described in the literature for carrying out deletion or substitution mutagenesis. The most successful appear to be alanine scanning mutagenesis (Cunningham and Wells 1989, Science 244: 1081-1085) and homolog-scanning mutagenesis (Cunningham et al., 1989, Science 243:1330-1336). These approaches helped identify the receptor binding domains of growth hormone and create hybrid proteins with altered binding properties to their cognate receptors.
Applicants have found that the nature of the amino acid at position 63 could greatly enhance the affinity of human CNTF for soluble CNTFRxcex1 and its biological potency in vitro (Panayotatos, N., et al., J. Biol. Chem., 1993, 268:19000-19003; Panayotatos, N., et al., Biochemistry, 1994, 33: 5813-5818).
The CNTF receptor complex contains three proteins: a specificity determining xcex1 component that directly binds to CNTF, as well as two signal transducing xcex2 components (LIFRxcex2 and gp130) that cannot bind CNTF on their own, but are required to initiate signaling in response to CNTF. The xcex2 component of the CNTFR complex is more widely distributed throughout the body than the xcex1 component. The 3 components of the CNTFR complex are normally unassociated on the cell surface; 0CNTF induces the stepwise assembly of a complete receptor complex by first binding to CNTFR xcex1, then engaging gp130, and finally recruiting LIFRxcex2. When this final step in receptor assembly occurs (heterodimerization of the xcex2 components), intracellular signaling is initiated by activating non-receptor tyrosine kinases (JAK kinases) associated with the xcex2 components. JAK kinases respond by phosphorylating each other and also tyrosine residues on the receptor cytoplasmic domains, creating phosphotyrosine docking sites for the Src homology 2 domains of STAT proteins. After their phosphorylation, bound STAT proteins dissociate from the receptor, dimerize, arid translocate to the nucleus where they bind DNA and activate transcription (reviews: Frank, D. and Greenberg, M. (1996) Perspectives on Developmental Neurobiology 4: 3-18; Stahl, N. and Yancopoulos, G. (1997) Growth factors and cytokines in health and disease 2B, 777-809). Axokine(trademark) (rHCNTF, C17A, Q63 Rxcex94C15) (xe2x80x9cAx-15xe2x80x9d) is a mutant CNTF molecule with improved physical and chemical properties, which retains the ability to interact with and activate the CNTF receptor. (Panayotatos, N., et al. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268: 19000-19003).
Leptin, the product of the ob gene, is secreted by adipocytes and functions as a peripheral signal to the brain to regulate food intake and energy metabolism (Zhang, et al. (1994) Nature 372: 425-431). Interestingly, leptin receptor (OB-R), a single membrane-spanning receptor, has considerable sequence similarities to gp130 (Tartaglia, L., et al. (1995) Cell 83: 1263-1271). Both CNTF and leptin each signals through the JAK/STAT pathway (Baumann, H., et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 8374-8378; Ghilardi, N., et al. (1996) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 93: 6231-6235). Systemic administration of both CNTF and leptin results in induction of tis-11 (Gloaguen, I., et al. (1997) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 94: 6456-6461) and STAT3 (Vaisse, C., et al. (1996) Nature Gen. 14: 95-97) in the hypothalamic satiety center, indicating their roles in the regulation of body weight and feeding behavior. Indeed, in a clinical trial testing the use of CNTF for treating ALS, it was found that administration of CNTF to humans reduced food intake and resulted in weight loss (Group, A. C. T. S. (1996) Neurology 46:1244-1249.).
An object of the present invention is to provide CNTF and CNTF-related proteins, collectively referred to herein as CNTF proteins, for the treatment of diseases or disorders including, but not limited to, obesity and diabetes.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method for administering CNTF or CNTF-related proteins and maintaining biological activity. A preferred embodiment of this invention is the administration of CNTF or a CNTF related protein to the nasal or respiratory system of a mammal to produce an increase in the level of the protein in the systemic blood circulation of the mammal. A particularly preferred embodiment comprises the administration of the modified CNTF molecule, designated herein as AX-15, to the nasal passages of a patient for the treatment of obesity or diabetes.


In a method of producing a .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating, a positive type photoresist is applied to a substrate so that the surface level of the photoresist is in the vicinity of the node of the nodes in a standing wave light intensity distribution in the thickness direction of the photoresist that is nearest to the substrate, the light intensity distribution is produced by interference between incident light in the film and light reflected by the substrate. Then, the photoresist is subjected to two-luminous-flux interference exposure, followed by development, providing a pattern of photoresist films regions each having an over-hanging portion. Thereafter, an insulating film is deposited on the photoresist and exposed parts of the substrate, a first protective resist is selectively formed on the photoresist, the insulating film which is not covered with the first resist is removed, the substrate is etched using the photoresist, which is not covered with the first resist, as a mask, the photoresist is removed together with the first resist and the insulating film on the photoresist by lift-off, leaving the insulating film on the substrate, a second protective resist is selectively formed on the etched surface of the substrate, and the substrate is etched using the insulating film on the substrate as a mask, whereby two regions of grooves in the substrate having reversed phase are produced.

Optical fibers used in optical communications have wavelength dispersion characteristics in which the transmission speed varies according to the wavelength of light which is transmitted. Therefore, when lasers oscillating at a plurality of wavelengths are used as light sources, the signal waveforms unfavorably vary during the transmission.
As lasers used in the optical transmissions, DFB-LDs (Distributed Feedback Laser Diodes) having a diffraction grating in the vicinity of an active layer are known. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the conventional DFB-LDs. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 1 denotes an n type semiconductor substrate. A diffraction grating 8 is formed on the n type semiconductor substrate 1. An n type waveguide layer 9, an active layer 10, a p type cladding layer 11, and a cap layer 12 are successively grown on the diffraction grating 8. A DFB laser thus produced achieves single mode oscillation.
When the diffraction grating is uniform in the DFB laser, however, the laser fundamentally oscillates in two longitudinal modes, and the intensity ratio of the two modes varies according to the phase of the diffraction grating at the laser facet. Therefore, whether a laser oscillating at a single wavelength is achieved or not becomes a matter of probability.
On the other hand, a DFB laser with a .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating, in which the phase of the diffraction grating is shifted by .lambda./4 in the center of the laser resonator, stably oscillates at a single wavelength regardless of the phase of the diffraction grating at the laser facet.
Such a .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating is usually formed by a two-luminous-flux interference exposure method.
The two-luminous-flux interference exposure method will be described with reference to FIG. 9.
In FIG. 9, laser light 14 is emitted from a light source, for example, an Ar laser 13. The laser light 14 is reflected by a mirror 15, expanded by a beam expander 16, and divided into two light fluxes by a beam splitter 17. The two light fluxes are reflected by movable mirrors 18 and strike a substrate 1 at an angle .theta.. At this time, interference fringes are generated on the substrate 1 due to the incident light, and a period cycle .LAMBDA. of the interference fringe is defined by .LAMBDA.=.lambda./2sin.theta., where .lambda. is a wavelength of the light source.
FIGS. 10(a)-10(k) are cross-sectional views schematically illustrating process steps in a method of producing the conventional .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating. In the figures, a positive type photoresist 2, which is patterned into a form of a diffraction grating, is disposed on the substrate 1. The thickness of the photoresist 2 is below 100 nm and this is thinner than the height of a node relative to the substrate (about 120 nm) in the thickness direction, in the light intensity distribution generated in the photoresist used in the conventional production of the diffraction grating. Reference numeral 4 designates an SiNx film and reference numeral 3 designates a photoresist for protection. Reference numeral 5a designates a region where a diffraction grating, whose phase is opposite to the diffraction grating formed using the photoresist 2 as a mask, is produced. Reference numeral 5b designates a region where a diffraction grating, whose phase is the same as that of the diffraction grating formed using the photoresist 2 as a mask, is produced. Reference numeral 6 designates a phase shift region.
A description is given of the method of producing the .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating.
Initially, a positive type photoresist is applied to the semiconductor substrate to a thickness below 100 nm. Then, the photoresist is exposed by the two-luminous-flux interference exposure, followed by development, resulting in the photoresist 2 patterned into the form of a diffraction grating (FIG. 10(a)). The pattern of diffraction grating has a period of about 0.2 micron.
Then, an SiNx film 4 about 30 nm thick is formed on the substrate 1 by chemical vapor deposition utilizing electron cyclotron resonance (hereinafter referred to as ECR-CVD) (FIG. 10(b)).
Then, a protective resist 3 is selectively formed on the SiNx film 4 in an opposite-phase region 5a, i.e., a region where a diffraction grating whose phase is opposite to the diffraction grating pattern of the photoresist 2 is produced (FIG. 10(c)). Then, using the protective resist 3 as a mask, the SiNx film 4 in a same-phase region 5b, i.e., a region where a diffraction grating whose phase is the same as the diffraction grating pattern of the photoresist 2 is produced, is selectively removed (figure 10(d)). Then, the substrate 1 is etched using the photoresist 2 patterned into the form of diffraction grating as a mask (FIG. 10(e)).
After removing the protective resist 3 (FIG. 10(f)), the SiNx film 4 on the photoresist 2 is selectively etched away with hydrofluoric acid, utilizing a characteristic that the etching rate of the SiNx film 4 on the photoresist 2 is higher than the etching rate of the SiNx film 4 on the substrate 1 (FIG. 10(g)). After the etching, the photoresist 2 is removed (FIG. 10(h)).
Then, a protective resist 3 is selectively formed on the substrate 1 in the same-phase region 5b (FIG. 10(i)). Then, the substrate 1 in the opposite-phase region 5a is etched using the SiNx film 4 which is formed in the step of FIG. 10(h) as a mask (FIG. 10(j)). Finally, the protective resist 3 and the SiNx film 4 are removed (figure 10(k)). In this way, a region 6 where a phase of the diffraction grating is shifted by .pi. is produced.
In the conventional method of producing the .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating, when the SiNx film 4 is formed on the photoresist 2 in the step of FIG. 10(b), the photoresist 2 is completely covered by the SiNx film 4, so that it is impossible to remove the photoresist 2 together with the SiNx film 4 disposed thereon by a lift-off technique. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 10(f) and 10(g), the SiNx film 4 on the photoresist 2 is selectively removed by etching utilizing a difference in etching rates between the SiNx on the photoresist 2 and the SiNx on the substrate 1, whereby the reversal of the phase is achieved.
The conventional method of producing the .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating requires a lot of process steps, i.e., several resist applying steps, photolithographic steps, etching steps, film forming steps, and the like as illustrated in FIGS. 10(a)-10(k), which cause the disadvantage that the production process is complicated. In addition, since the difference in the etching rates between the SiNx on the photoresist 2 and the SiNx on the substrate 1 is utilized when the SiNx on the photoresist 2 is selectively removed, the production process is unstable.
Meanwhile, Japanese Published Patent Application No. 124767 discloses another method of producing a .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating. In this method, a positive type photoresist capable of image reversal is applied to a substrate and a light shielding plate is formed on a prescribed portion of the photoresist. Then, the photoresist with the light shielding plate is subjected to two-luminous-flux interference exposure and reversal baking. Then, the light shielding plate is removed and the photoresist is subjected to two-luminous-flux interference exposure again, resulting in a diffraction grating in which the phase is shifted by .lambda./4 with the light shielding plate as a boundary. In this method, however, the step of reversal baking complicates the production process.
Japanese Published Patent Application No. 61-292923 discloses still another method of producing a .lambda./4-shifted diffraction grating. In this method, a photoresist obtained by mixing a positive type photoresist with a negative type photoresist is applied to a substrate, and a material that suppresses radiation sensitivity is implanted into a prescribed region of the photoresist. Then, the photoresist is subjected to two-luminous-flux interference exposure, resulting in a diffraction grating in which the phase is shifted by .lambda./4 with the implanted region as a boundary. In this method, however, the step of implanting the material that suppresses radiation sensitivity complicates the production process.


A container positioning device includes a stop mechanism for stopping a carrier moving along a conveyor, the carrier supporting a container thereon. A pair of arms are pivotally mounted to move between an open position permitting the container to pass along the conveyor track, and a centering position with forward ends in contact with the container and positioning the container in a centering location. A forward end of the downstream arm is operable to move upstream and contact the container to move the container upstream to the centering location, where the second arm will contact the container to retain it in place.

Automated laboratory systems utilize standardized carrier units which travel about conveyors or are otherwise transported throughout a laboratory, to convey individual specimen containers to various testing apparatus. Examples of such specimen carriers may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,137 to Markin et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,922 to Markin et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,743 to Markin. Each of the specimen carriers noted above includes a plurality of openings having various depths and sizes for the receipt of a variety of sizes of specimen containers, including test tubes, vials and the like.
Robotic equipment utilized to retrieve an individual specimen container from a specimen carrier unit is programmed to move a pair of grasping jaws to a predetermine location, clamp the jaws together about the specimen container located at the location, and then raising and transporting the specimen container to the desired location. However, the use of a specimen carrier which provides a plurality of locations in which the specimen container may be located and/or a plurality of sizes of specimen container, causes a problem for such robotic equipment. It is difficult and complicated to program a piece of robotic equipment to detect the specific location of a specimen container within a specimen carrier, center the grasping arms at the sensed location of the container, and then grasp and remove the container. In order to assure that the robotic arm will securely grasp and remove the specimen container, the container must be precisely positioned at a single predetermined location programmed into the robotic arm.
This also can be a problem with a specimen carrier having only a single opening for a specimen container. If the carrier is not stopped and positioned precisely, the robotic arm may not properly grasp and remove a specimen container from the carrier, or may completely miss the container.


A bottom-to-surface connection installation having a floating support and a turret and having: a plurality of risers having their top ends secured to a carrier structure a plurality of flexible pipes extending from the turret to the top ends of the risers; the flexible pipes including at least two first flexible pipes with positive buoyancy positioned at different heights; and guide modules secured to a tension leg and suitable for sliding along floats of the risers.

In general, a floating support has anchor means to enable it to remain in position in spite of the effects of current, wind, and swell. It generally also includes means for storing and processing oil and off-loading means for use with off-loading tankers, where such tankers call at regular intervals to remove the production. Such floating supports are commonly referred to as floating production storage off-loading (FPSO) units.
Floating supports are:                either of constant heading type, i.e. they possess a plurality of anchors, generally situated at each of the corners of said floating support and serving to keep it on a heading that cannot vary, leaving it free to move only in roll and in pitching and limiting any movement in surge and yaw;        or else of the turret type, i.e. all of the anchors converge on a cylindrical structure secured to the vessel, but free to rotate about a vertical axis ZZ′, thus leaving the floating support free to turn around said turret and position itself in the direction of least resistance for the resultant of the effects of wind, current, and swell on the floating support and its super-structures.
The floating support is thus either anchored at its four corners so that it retains a heading that is substantially constant throughout the lifetime of the installations, or else it is anchored at a single point referred to as a "turret" that is generally situated towards the front of the vessel, generally in the front third, or indeed outside the vessel several meters from the stem of the vessel. The FPSO then swings about its turret and naturally takes up a position in the direction of least resistance relative to the forces created by swell, wind, and current. The bottom-to-surface connections are connected to the internal portion of the turret that is substantially stationary relative to the earth and rotary joints known to the person skilled in the art serve to transfer fluids to the FPSO together with electrical power or electric signals between said bottom-to-surface connections and said FPSO. Thus, for an FPSO on a turret, the FPSO can swing through 360° around the axis of its turret, which itself remains substantially stationary relative to the earth.
When conditions are severe, or indeed extreme as in the North Sea, an advantageous floating support is of the turret type in which all of the bottom-to-surface connections converge on a turret prior to reaching the FPSO proper, via a rotary joint coupling situated on the axis of said turret. In general, the pipes of bottom-to-surface connections are constituted by flexible pipes directly connecting the pipes that rest on the sea bed to the turret, with said flexible pipes generally being organized radially or in a star configuration in a uniform distribution around the axis of said turret. That type of bottom-to-surface connection is more particularly for use in depths in the range 200 meters (m) to 750 m.
The present invention relates more particularly to a bottom-to-surface connection installation between a plurality of undersea pipes resting on the sea bottom and a floating support on the surface comprising a hybrid tower constituted by a plurality of flexible pipes connected to rigid riser pipes, or vertical risers, with the top ends of said flexible pipes being secured to a turret pivoting freely in front of the vessel or within the vessel, generally in the front third of said vessel.
A large variety of bottom-to-surface connections are in existence that enable undersea well heads to be connected to an FPSO type floating support, and in certain oil field developments certain fields, a plurality of well heads are connected in parallel to a common bottom-to-surface connection so as to limit the number of pipes that are connected to the turret of the FPSO, thereby simplifying the design of the turret, which is designed mainly to take up the forces for anchoring the FPSO, which is itself subjected to the effects of swell, wind, and current.
Numerous configurations have been developed, and reference may be made to patent WO 2009/122098 in the name of the Applicant, which describes an FPSO fitted with such a turret and associated flexible pipes, more particularly for use in the extreme conditions that are to be encountered in the Arctic. Such a configuration is advantageous for medium depths of water, i.e. lying in the range 100 meters (m) to 350 m, or indeed in the range 500 m to 600 m. In particular, using flexible pipes over the full depth of the body of water between the rigid pipes resting on the sea bottom and the floating support allows the floating supports to move more than would be possible if rigid pipes were used. Nevertheless, with that type of bottom-to-surface connection between the turret of a floating support and pipes resting on the sea bottom, it is not possible to use said flexible pipes in a dipping catenary configuration, i.e. with a low point of inflection as described for hybrid tower type bottom-to-surface connections that comprise:                a vertical riser having its bottom end anchored to the sea bottom via a flexible hinge and connected to a said pipe resting on the sea bottom, and having its top end connected to a float immersed in the subsurface and serving to tension the riser; and        a connecting flexible pipe between the top end of said riser and a floating support on the surface, said connecting flexible pipe possibly taking up under the effect of its own weight the shape of a dipping catenary curve, i.e. a curve that goes down well below the float and subsequently rises up to said floating support, which dipping catenary is capable of accommodating large amounts of movement of the floating support, with this being absorbed by deformation of the flexible pipe, in particular by raising or lowering said low point of inflection of the dipping catenary.
It should be recalled that the essential function of dipping flexible pipes is to absorb at least part of the movements of the top ends of the rigid pipes to which one of their ends is connected and/or the movements of the floating support to which their other end is connected, by mechanically decoupling the respective movements of the top ends of the rigid pipes to which they are connected from the movements of the floating supports to which they are also connected at their other ends.
In known manner, a said flexible connection pipe takes the shape of a dipping catenary curve under the effect of its own weight, i.e. it goes down well below its attachment points at each of its ends, respectively with the floating support and with the top end of the rigid pipe to which it is connected, providing the length of said flexible pipe is longer than the distance between its attachment point to the floating support and the top end of said rigid pipe to which it is connected.
In order to connect the flexible pipes to said rigid pipes or "risers", gooseneck type devices known to the person skilled in the art are interposed between them, with an improved example of such a device being described in FR 2 809 136 in the name of the Applicant.
However, as soon as the water reaches a depth lying in the range 1000 m to 1500 m, or indeed 2000 m to 3000 m, the cost of such a multitude of flexible pipes becomes very high because of the developed length of each of said flexible pipes, since such flexible pipes are very complex and very difficult to fabricate if they are to achieve the levels of safety in operation that are required to enable them to remain in operation over periods of time that may reach or exceed 20 years to 25 years, or even more.
In particular, the flexible pipes run the risk of interfering with one another and striking against one another.
WO 2011/144864 describes a bottom-to-surface connection installation for a floating support having a turret to which the flexible pipes are fastened and secured via a guide structure. That type of bottom-to-surface connection is simultaneously compact, mechanically reliable in terms of being long-lasting, while also being relatively inexpensive and simple to make.
In WO 2011/144864, said guide structure is held in the subsurface between said turret and said carrier structure and it enables a plurality of dipping catenaries to be created that extend (concerning the center of the pipe) in planes that are substantially vertical and that intersect the vertical axis Z1Z1 of said guide structure, while also enabling said dipping catenaries to be spaced apart laterally from one another in a perpendicular plane that is horizontal.
Furthermore, the guide structure serves to guarantee the curvature of said dipping catenaries at their bottom points of inflection, ensuring that they always have a radius of curvature greater than a minimum radius of curvature beyond which deformation to the flexible pipe will become irreversible and/or damaging.
In all, said guide structure of WO 2011/144864 enables a larger number of flexible pipes to be used in optimized reduced space without those pipes interfering with one another and in particular without them striking one another, in the event of said floating support moving because of swell, current, and/or waves.
Nevertheless, in certain oil field developments, it is necessary to connect each of the well heads individually to said FPSO, which means that there are very many bottom-to-surface connections, thereby requiring the dimensions of the turret and/or of the guide structure as described in WO 2011/144864 to be increased in order to be capable of containing all of the flexible connections without them interfering with one another, and above all enabling the multiple pipe riser columns to be arranged so that any two said riser columns are spaced sufficiently far apart to avoid interfering with each other.

Installation comprising seabed-to-surface connections of the multi-riser hybrid tower type, including positive-buoyancy flexible pipes


An array substrate, a display panel and a display apparatus, used to improve crosstalk and afterimage, and increase display quality. The array substrate comprises a base substrate, several gate lines located on the base substrate, and several first common electrode lines, several second common electrode lines and several third common electrode lines located on the base substrate. The first common electrode lines are arranged in a parallel manner with respect to the gate lines, each first common electrode line being located in an area between two adjacent gate lines. The second common electrode lines are arranged in an insulated and intersecting manner with respect to the first common electrode lines, and the second common electrode lines are electrically connected to one portion of the first common electrode lines. The third common electrode lines are arranged in an insulated and intersecting manner with respect to the first common electrode lines.

Liquid-crystal display technology is widely used on products such as TV sets, mobile phones, and public information displays, and is the most widely applied display technology among present technologies. Image quality of a liquid-crystal display is an important factor for success of the abovementioned products. Liquid-crystal displays are commonly used flat panel displays, and a thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT-LCD) is a predominant product among liquid-crystal displays. A liquid-crystal display panel has the advantages of a small size, low power consumption, no radiation, high resolution, and etc.
An array substrate is an important component of a liquid crystal display device, and common electrode lines are typically arranged in the array substrate in related art, where the common electrode lines can provide common voltage required for the liquid crystal display device. However, a crosstalk and an afterimage tend to occur in a display panel due to the design of the common electrode lines, thus degrading the display quality of the display panel.

Array substrate, display panel and display apparatus


Methods and devices are disclosed for determining chemical and/or physical properties of working substances in a machine system, particularly in a floating device. In at least one embodiment, the working substance is irradiated with light, wherein the working substance has at least one temperature from a defined temperature range during irradiation; and the light penetrating the working substance or reflected by the working substance is spectrally analyzed.

A method and a device are known e.g. from WO 2009/037089 A1.
Accurate monitoring of chemical and/or physical properties of operating substances in machine installations is becoming increasingly important. This applies in particular to machine installations on board floating entities such as, e.g., ships or offshore platforms. For example, new EU directives have led to the introduction of sulfur limit values for ship fuels that must be complied with by ships in ports or in certain maritime or inland waterways. When traveling in said waters, ships can be subject to inspections to verify whether only fuel having a sulfur content below the prescribed limit value is being used.
On the world's oceans outside of these waters it continues to be permissible to burn fuel having any sulfur content. Low-sulfur fuel is more expensive than fuel with a high sulfur content, so ships are operated over the greatest part of the route with cheap sulfur-containing fuel and low-sulfur fuels are used only in areas subject to special limit values. This means that in the future ships will bunker fuels of different qualities and that said fuels will also be mixed with one another as necessary (a process referred to as "blending").
The new EU directives make the proper keeping of logbooks with details of fuel changeover a condition for ships being able to enter ports of the EU community. Samples of ship fuels can be taken during inspections and analyzed to determine their sulfur content. Ship personnel are therefore required not only to monitor the fuel supplied to the machines during operation, but also to check beforehand the quality of the fuel at the time of refueling.
A fuel system having a measuring and evaluation device for online determination of the sulfur content of the fuel with the aid of infrared spectroscopy is already known from WO 2009/037089 A1. For this purpose the fuel is irradiated in a measuring cell with light from an infrared (IR) light source. The spectrum of the light transmitted through the fuel or reflected by the fuel is measured by means of a spectrometer and the measured spectrum analyzed with the aid of algorithms and using a calibration model.
Already known from WO 2007/093500 A1 is a measuring system in which the sulfur content of a ship fuel is determined with the aid of IR spectroscopy and the lubricant supply to the cylinders of a combustion engine driven by means of said fuel is controlled as a function thereof.
In addition to determining the sulfur content in fuels there exists a need in many machine installations to determine chemical and/or physical properties of a plurality of other operating substances such as e.g. lubricants in bearings or hydraulic fluids as part of preventive maintenance measures or in order to optimize operation.

Method and device for determining chemical and/or physical properties of working substances in a machine system


A small field radiation therapy machine having an aperture diameter of 30 cm or less provides improved ray definition for specialized treatment of portions of the human body such as head a breast.

The present invention relates to radiation therapy machines for treatment of tumors and the like and in particular to an intensity modulated radiation (IMRT) therapy machine for specialized treatment of portions of the body.
In external beam radiation therapy, high-energy radiation is directed through a patient to the site of a tumor. Multiple beams intersecting at site of a tumor may be used to reduce the dose to the skin and other intervening tissue. The individual beams may be collimated to the outline of the tumor to further reduce exposure of healthy tissue surrounding the tumor.
In intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) the intensity of individual rays within the beams is adjusted to produce more complex dose patterns resulting not simply from the juxtaposed outlines of the beams but from the additive overlay of the rays of different intensities within the beams.
In Tomotherapy, an extremely large number of beams are directed through 360 degrees toward the patient from the rotation plane and the patient is treated in a series of slices. Individually modulated rays within each beam provide precise irradiation of irregular tumor shapes at greater speed and accuracy than conventional IMRT designs.
Tomotherapy machines and techniques are described in U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 6,636,622 "Method and apparatus for calibration of radiation therapy equipment and verification of radiation treatment; U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,467 "Megavoltage computed tomography during radiotherapy"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,560,311 "Method for preparing a radiation therapy plan"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,438,202 "Method using post-patient radiation monitor to verify entrance radiation and dose in a radiation therapy machine"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,286 "Delivery modification system for radiation therapy"; U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,114 "Method and apparatus for calibration of radiation therapy equipment and verification of radiation treatment"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,724,400 Radiation therapy system with constrained rotational freedom"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,300 "Method of registering a radiation treatment plan to a patient"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,773 "Interface for radiation therapy machine"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,625,663 "Dynamic beam flattening apparatus for radiation therapy"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,548,627 "Radiation therapy system with constrained rotational freedom"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,675 "Dynamic collimator for radiation therapy"; U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,452 Verification system for radiation therapy"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,616 "Method and apparatus for radiation therapy"; all assigned to the assignee of the present invention and hereby incorporated by reference.
While Tomotherapy provides for a high degree of accuracy and precision in the placement of dose, standard radiation therapy gantries, moveable in multiple dimensions, may be preferred for certain treatments, for example, treatments of breast tumors, where out-of-plane gantry locations may limit exposure of the patient's chest cavity. In this case, precision of dose placement is traded off against the ability to limit dose to other body structures.
The increased accuracy of current Tomotherapy systems is limited by physical constraints related to creating narrower occluding leaves, such as define the width of the modulated rays within each radiation beam, accurately locating the tumor, accommodating a range of patient body sizes, and controlling for patient motion.

Small field intensity modulated radiation therapy machine


A bin for collecting refuse, the bin comprising a container having a transponder secured thereto by fixing means. The fixing means are arranged to come into direct contact with the transponder.

The transponder is designed, for example, to enable the bin to be identified by a refuse collection vehicle by interchanging data in manner known per se.
By weighing the bin before emptying, the use can be billed as a function of the quantity of refuse removed.
Various solutions have been proposed for securing the transponder to the bin.
It has been proposed in German utility model (Gebrauchsmuster) 92 12243 to house the transponder, embedded in a block of resin, in a box comprising two shells respectively fastened to opposite faces of a stiffening rib of the bin, each of the shells being provided with a first fixing element passing through the rib via a hole and becoming lodged in a complementary second fixing element made in the other shell.
It has also been proposed in German utility model 94 02392 to insert the transponder in a slot made in the wall of the handling collar of the bin, immediately after the plastics material constituting the container has been molded, and while said plastics material is still soft.
It has also been proposed in European patent 495 947 to dispose the transponder, embedded in a block of resin, in a housing in the bin that is closed by means of a snap-fastened or riveted plate.
The various known solutions are not entirely satisfactory.
In particular, putting the transponder in place in the bin while its constituent plastics material is still fluid requires relatively costly additional equipment to be used in association with the molds used for manufacturing the bin.
In addition, when the transponder is embedded in a block of resin, it is necessary to extract it from the bin before grinding up said bin with a view to recycling, thereby running the risk of mixing together plastics materials that are incompatible from the recycling point of view.


A catalyst composition for the condensation of alcohols with amines to produce an enhanced ratio of acyclic polyamines to other reaction products, comprising a reaction product of: (a) high surface area metal oxides or metal oxide precursors, or mixtures thereof, of metals selected from the group consisting of Groups 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Periodic Table, (b) a phosphorus component, and (c) metal oxides or metal oxide precursors, or mixtures thereof, of metals selected from the group consisting of Groups 1, 2, and 3 of the Periodic Table.. Also disclosed are methods for making the catalyst and for using it to manufacture predominantly linear polyamines.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the catalytic condensation reaction of alcohols, e.g., monoethanolamine, with amines, e.g., ethyleneamine, to form predominantly acyclic polyethyleneamines at high levels of selectivity and conversion, and to the particular catalyst used.
2. Prior Art
The reaction of ethylene dichloride (EDC) with aqueous ammonia, followed by neutralization of the amine hydrochlorides formed with caustic, represents the predominant manufacturing process for making ethyleneamines for the last sixty years. Separation of the ethyleneamines products from the brine solution by extraction, dehydration, or evaporative crystallization, followed by separation and purification of the amines, can be an energy- and maintenance-intensive, corrosive process. Further, the co-production of salt requires an environmentally responsible method of disposal. This process produces the whole range of commercially acceptable ethyleneamines products, from ethylenediamine (EDA) to DETA, TETA, TEPA, PEHA, and the higher polyethylenepolyamines. Product distribution is controlled mainly by varying the ammonia:EDC mole ratio and/or the product recycle in the reactor feed.
A second commercially practiced process involves the reaction of ammonia and ethylene oxide to make monoethanolamine, followed by reductive amination to produce mainly the lower molecular weight ethyleneamines, EDA, DETA, etc. This process tends to produce a much higher level of unwanted cyclic ethyleneamines in comparison to the EDC-based process.
Monoethanolamine (MEA) can also be reacted with ethyleneamines such as EDA to produce the higher ethyleneamines. This newer process technology produces a highly acyclic product composition in comparison to the EDC-based process. Phosphorus-containing, acidic catalysts for the reaction of EDA and MEA are well known. Representative of the prior art are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,806,517; 4,588,842; 4,540,822; 2,824,073; and the references cited in them. The art is also extensively discussed in co-pending, co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 390,706, filed Aug. 8, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,492; 390,829, filed Aug. 8, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,202,489; and 742,731, filed Aug. 6, 1991, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,225,660 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The '517 and '842 patents represent versions of phosphorus-containing catalysts in which the phosphorus compound is "thermally chemically" bonded to a "thermally activated," pelletized group IVb metal oxide (e.g., titania) by treating preferably pre-formed pellets with the liquid phosphorus compound in solution form, and thereafter subjecting the pellets to a thermal process. The catalysts so produced are deficient, however, in that under typical commercial reaction conditions, the amines formed tend to leach critical catalytic elements, such as phosphorus, from the catalyst composition, or otherwise adversely affect the structural integrity of the pellets. As stated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,517, "in an extreme instance, catalyst pellets having good initial crush strength and surface hardness will be reduced to fines very rapidly," and/or will lose their activity or selectivity, under reaction conditions. Significant loss of structural integrity results in plugging downstream of the reactor and catalyst leaching may cause reforming in the later stages of product refining. The affected catalysts typically tend to age rapidly.
Co-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,983,736, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, describes catalysts related to those of the present invention; however, the patented catalysts are disclosed as calcined at significantly lower temperatures.

Catalysts and process of making same for the production of linear polyamines

Union Carbide Chemicals & Plastics Technology Corporation