An ink composition incorporating a water reducible resin which is water insoluble under certain conditions and selectively water washable under certain other conditions. The method aspect of the present invention relates to a method of making, using and recovering the ink composition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of ink compositions and more particularly to the field of lithographic compositions or oil based compositions usable in lithography in which the relationship of such composition with aqueous solutions, including its solubility, can be selectively controlled. The compositions of the present invention are unaffected by water, and thus generally water insoluble, at certain selected acidic pH levels and water washable at certain other selected alkaline pH levels. The present invention also relates to associated solutions usable with the compositions in a lithographic system and a method of making, using and recovering such compositions.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
A wide variety of printing processes currently exist in the art. Although it is contemplated that the ink composition and method of the present invention will have applicability to most if not all of these prior processes, it has particular applicability to a lithographic printing process commonly referred to as lithography. Lithography is a method of printing which relies on differences in solubility and surface wetability between an oil based component and an aqueous or aqueous based component to effectively transfer the printing ink to the desired image area and prevent it from transferring to the nonimage areas.
The printing apparatus commonly used in a lithographic process includes a printing plate which is treated to provide an oleophilic ink-accepting image area and an oleophobic ink-repelling nonimage area. Generally, the oleophilic or oil attracting image areas are hydrophobic or water repelling, and the oleophobic or oil repelling nonimage areas are hydrophilic or water attracting.
During a conventional lithographic printing process, an oil based ink composition and an aqueous fountain solution are applied to the printing plate. Because of the solubility and the wetability differences of the oil based and aqueous compositions, the fountain solution is preferentially attracted to and preferentially wets the oleophobic nonimage areas, while the ink is preferentially attracted to and preferentially wets the oleophilic image areas. It is well known and accepted in the art that successful lithographic printing requires inks which exhibit stability relative to water and thus remain water insoluble. Absence of this characteristic will result in poor print quality, poor edge definition, dot gain and various other print deficiencies. Thus, lithographic inks are selected and formulated for their ability to remain stable, cohesive and insoluble when contacted with water. The simultaneous feeding of the ink composition and fountain solution to the print plate is accomplished through a variety of methods and roller configurations known in the art.
After the ink composition and fountain solution have been applied to the printing plate and allowed to gravitate to their respective oleophilic and oleophobic areas, they are transferred either directly to an image receiving paper or other print substrate or to an intermediate blanket cylinder which then subsequently transfers the ink to the paper. The former is known in the industry as direct plate to paper lithographic printing, while the latter is generally referred to as offset lithography. In offset lithography, the blanket cylinder is covered with a transfer substrate typically made of rubber which receives the ink from the printing plate and transfers it to the print substrate.
In the typical lithographic printing system described above, the ink pigment is carried by the oil based component while the fountain solution comprises the aqueous component. Although there has been little commercial application to date, the opposite could also be used. In other words, the image areas could be oleophobic (or hydrophilic) with the ink pigment being carried by the aqueous component and the nonimage areas could be oleophilic (or hydrophobic) with the fountain solution being oil based. In either system, the lithographic process, by definition, must include both an oil based or water insoluble component and an aqueous component. Certain aspects of the present invention are applicable to either system. Thus, the present invention relates broadly to an improved oil based or water insoluble component or composition for use in a lithographic or other printing process.
During the course of lithographic printing, the printing plates are periodically changed as one job is completed and another started. Whenever this occurs, the blanket cylinder in an offset process must be cleaned to remove ink residue which is present from the previous job. Further, if a change of ink is desired, the entire print train including the application rollers, the print plate and the blanket must be cleaned. Such cleaning is commonly accomplished using an appropriately formulated wash solvent. To be effective as a wash solvent, the wash must be compatible with, or be able to dissolve or sufficiently disperse the ink. Since the inks are oil based or water insoluble, this necessitates the use of organic or petroleum based or other non-aqueous wash solvents to effectively remove the ink from the rollers, printing plates, blanket cylinder, etc.
These organic wash solvents can give rise to employee safety concerns and are a large source of both air and water pollution as volatile organic compounds (VOC's) are dispersed into the atmosphere or disposal systems. Such pollution is due to evaporation into the ambient air or into a venting system during the washing of the print components as well as the disposal or laundering of shop towels and rags used in the cleaning process. Attempts to develop water based wash or cleaning solutions have not been successful due to the inherent ability of the ink to resist water. Attempts have also been made to use water/solvent mixtures by emulsifying petroleum-based solvents into water through the use of emulsifiers and surfactants, but these products suffer from inherent instabilities due to immiscibility of water and the solvents and perform slowly. Further, such mixtures do not completely eliminate the use of petroleum solvents which are still commonly present in an amount of about 30-80%. Other industry trends include the use of solvents such as terpenes. While not petroleum based, their performance has been marginal and they are costly and in short supply. In addition, their use and disposal also pose environmental concerns.
Thus, although offset lithography is recognized and established as a dominant printing process for certain applications, drawbacks exist because of the pollution problems referred to above. These are becoming more of a drawback and more of a problem as new pollution control regulations and standards are mandated. In fact, because of the very nature of the lithographic process at least one of the components (either the ink composition or the fountain solution) must be oil based or water insoluble. This in turn necessitates the use of an organic or petroleum based solvent to wash the apparatus. This is generally accepted as a necessary limitation of the lithographic process about which little can be done.
For nonlithographic applications, certain water based or water soluble inks are currently available. Some of these utilize water dispersible or soluble resins which have been preneutralized to provide such properties. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,966,628 issued on Oct. 20, 1990 to Amos et al. While these inks can be cleaned up with water or water solutions and thus reduce pollution concerns, it is generally recognized that existing water soluble or dispersible inks exhibit inferior water and alkaline resistance as well as inferior drying, adhesion and gloss properties when compared to conventional oil based inks.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art to address the above problems and to substantially reduce if not eliminate these pollution concerns.

Ink composition and method of making, using and recovering such composition


A portable device may be roamed from one host to another. In one example, the portable device stores software that is to be executed by a host. The host may maintain a policy that governs which software may be executed on the host. When the portable device is connected to a host, the host checks the software version installed on the guest to determine whether that software version is compatible with the host's policy. If the guest's software does not comply with the host's policy, then the host installs a compatible version. If the guest's version complies with the policy and is newer than the host's version, then the host copies the guest's version to the host and propagates it to other guests. In this way, newer versions of software propagate between hosts and guests, while also respecting specific execution policies of the various hosts.

Certain types of devices can be communicatively connected to a host computer. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) external hard drive, a USB flash drive, and an MP3 player are examples of devices that can be connected to a computer. When connected, it is possible for the host to read data from the device and/or to execute software stored on the device. Some devices may have software related to the function of a device. For example, an MP3 player might have a device driver that allows the computer to transfer music files between the host and the device. Or, a USB flash drive might have an encrypted volume that stores files, and may also have software that allows the computer to read the encrypted files.
When a host executes software stored on an external device, the safety of the software is an issue. For example, a device could be used to deliver malware to the host that would damage the host in some way. Even if the software on the device can be presumed to be from a benevolent source, the host could have compatibility problems with the software, or the software could have vulnerabilities.
The operators of different hosts may have different assessments of the risks of using a particular piece of software. For example, some hosts may want to use the newest version of software on the theory that the newest version provides the greatest security and has the fewest bugs. Other hosts may want to use a specific older version, since that version may have been tested for compatibility with the host. Some hosts may want to use the newest version of the software, but may not have a copy of the software. In general, there are various differences among hosts in terms of what software they will accept from a portable device.


The invention provides diagnostic and therapeutic methods for the treatment of hematological proliferative disorders.

EphA3 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is expressed on the surface of certain solid tumors and on the vasculature of solid tumors (see, WO 2008/112192). In addition, EphA3 has been reported to be overexpressed on CD34+ cells in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in the accelerated phase and blast crisis stage (Cilloni et al., American Society of Hematology, Abstract 1092, 2008). EphA3 is also expressed on the surface of neoplastic myeloid cells, including neoplastic myeloid stem cells, in the bone marrow and peripheral blood samples obtained from patients that have chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML), juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET), or idiopathic myelofibrosis (IM) (see, WO 2010/102244).
Angiogenesis is increased in bone marrow of AML and myelofibrosis patients (see, e.g., Padro et al., Blood 95:2637, 2000; Gianelli et al, Am. J. Clin. Path. 128:966, 2007) and high microvessel density is a poor prognostic factor in AML (e.g., Kukzu et al, Leukemia and Lymphoma 45:1185, 2004). Anti-angiogenic treatment with endostatin inhibits progression of AML in a mouse model (Schuch et al., Leukemia 19:1312, 2005). Further, new blood vessel formation is also observed in other hematological malignancies such as multiple myeloma, acute leukemias, and hematological proliferative neoplasms (see, e.g., Medinger & Mross, J. Angiogenesis Res. 2:10, 2010; and Frater et al., Diagnostic Pathol. 3:16, 2008).

Methods of treating hematological proliferative disorders by targeting EphA3 expressed on aberrant vasculature in bone marrow


An apparatus and method for separating hydrophobic materials in liquid state from an aqueous liquid or hydrophilic liquid, for separating debris from such liquid, or for purifying hydrophobic materials in liquid state are disclosed. An improved strainer for such apparatus and method is also disclosed. The apparatus and method employ at least one rotatable disk to which hydrophobic materials are attracted and retained; scraper blades to scrape the hydrophobic materials from the disk into a discharge tube from which said materials flow to a pump situated in the apparatus. The pump pumps the materials out of the apparatus. The pump is preferably driven by the same motor which rotates the disk. The strainer has an upper mesh portion and a lower portion where the walls and bottom are solid. The strainer also has an internal diverter plate. Influent containing debris strikes the plate and debris settles in the strainer and is retained in the non-mesh portion thereof. Alternatively, the strainer can be a removable, flexible strainer which, when full of debris, is emptied.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for recovering oil, grease, and like hydrophobic materials from a water bath. This invention can be used for the recovery of oil, grease, and petroleum products, or for the recovery of cooking (vegetable or animal) oil or grease, or for the recovery and/or purification of hydrophobic materials including solid materials such as lard, bacon fat, and the like. Further, this invention relates to the apparatus and methods of commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,051,024 and 4,268,396, each of which being incorporated herein by reference. Familiarity with these patents and the references cited therein is assumed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lowe U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024 relates to employing at least one rotatable plastic disk, partly immersed in the contaminated (oil-containing) fluid bath. The disk is rotated at a slow speed and the oil sticks to the disk. A scraper blade removes the oil stuck on the disk and it flows, by gravity, into an oil collector. The disk is motor driven. The accumulating system shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024 consists of conductor channels which, by gravity, feed the oil to a collector.
In a publicly available embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024, an eccentric was connected to the shaft which rotated the disk. The eccentric drove a pivot arm in an up and down motion to drive the piston of a stroke pump, i.e., the embodiment had a stroke pump. This pump pumped out an oil collector (sump) which collected the oil fed by gravity discharge from the scraper assembly. In this embodiment, the pump needed to be primed and the disk moved slowly; not fast enough to prime the pump. The thought behind making that embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024 was to provide a mechanism to recover oil from oil spills. However, it was learned that for an embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024 to be used with oil spills, required a large disk, 4' to 8' in diameter, and the plastic disc required a metal back-up disk (otherwise the plastic disk would bend and warp). Not only was such an embodiment, big, bulky and plagued with problems, but it was costly and required a large capital investment. Thus, that embodiment was unsuccessful, and is believed to be of no practical utility, although about a handful of such mechanisms may still be in use.
Neither this publicly available embodiment, nor U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024, teaches or suggests the present invention, particularly, the pump system and the elimination of the sump.
Lowe U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,396 is like U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,024 in some respects. However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,396 relates to an oil recovery apparatus and method for use with restaurant dishwashing apparatus. It separated grease and/or oil from the restaurant dishes and/or utensils. In this patent, the disk is also rotated by a motor. As to collection of the recovered grease or oil, this patent merely provides a gravity discharge tube. Since the contaminated fluid in this setting contains debris such as cigarette butts, food particles, and the like, a strainer is provided before the oil recovery bath.
Currently there is much attention being directed to preserving the environment by both social and legal action, e.g., environmental laws and enforcement. For example, commercial quantities of waste liquids often cannot be simply dumped into the public sewer system. Hydrophobic materials (oil and grease) in waste water must be separated from the water. Many local sewer authorities require users to remove hydrophobic materials such as oil and grease from waste water before it is dumped into the sewer system. However, even if the waste oil and grease is separated, often the waste cannot be burned because large amounts of hydrophobic materials are dangerous to incinerators. Further, debris, including sand, silt and the like must also be separated from such waste water and hydrophobic materials.
It is thus desirable to make the apparatus and methods of the aforementioned Lowe et al patents simpler, inexpensive, easier to install, more efficient and easier to perform in order to produce waste water relatively free of oil, grease and debris, so that the waste water may be dumped into a public sewer system. In general, it is desirable to improve the apparatus and methods of the aforementioned Lowe et al Patents. It is further desirable to provide improvements in, inter alia, the collection of the recovered oil or the strainer of the apparatus and methods of Lowe et al. In addition, it is desirable to improve the strainer of Lowe et al so that the apparatus and methods of Lowe et al can be employed for different uses, such as purifying hydrophobic materials.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for recovering hydrophobic materials such as oil, grease, etc. from a water bath or pool. It is also an object of this invention to provide improvements on the methods and apparatus of the previous Lowe et al Patents. Further it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method of recovering hydrophobic materials wherein the collection of the recovered materials and the straining of contaminated fluid are improved. It is also an object to provide such an apparatus and method having an improved strainer. Further, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved strainer, which may be used in other devices.

Oil/grease recovery method and apparatus


The invention discloses an indoor tent encompassing the space in a room designed to change the atmosphere of a child""s room or play room having preprinted characters and the ability whereby users can create interchangeable themes. The room-tent has a zippered access panel functioning as a door that functions from the interior and the exterior. A window is provided to allow air and sunlight to enter the structure and has attached curtains. An opening is also provided for either a viewing port or access port and can also be provided with curtains. A cargo net is attached to the ceiling portion of the interior of the tent. Objects such as clothes, books, magazines, towels and other goods are stored away and easily access. Hook and loop attachable picture frames are also provided. The frames are designed so that the pictures can be interchangeable with the design of the tent. The picture frames are fixedly attached to the tent wall by means of hook and loop fasteners.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to tents and, more specifically, to tents that are designed for interior use to change the atmosphere of a child""s room or play room.
The motivation for the invention comes from my own feelings extending from childhood of a very comfortable, secure and happy feeling when I go into a tent and now having children of my own and seeing them at home or in the car using a blanket to make a cave and further considering psychological studies that find that men, women and children want to go back to the mothers womb. There is a continual fascination with totally encompassing enclosures such as tents that can be closed to provide an atmosphere of security and comfort.
Therefore it is felt that there is a need to provide this calm and playful feeling of security by providing a new and novel use for tent-like structures by creating a tent-like structure within a home whereby the user can create interchangeable themes with the room-tent.
Furthermore, the concept of bringing the tent into the house is a new concept with special characteristics which can be designed in more ways than one. The room tent is designed for interior activities while tent are primarily designed for outdoor activities. Some of the advantages are as follows.
The invention is not a permanent product while rooms have to be painted or wallpapered, this invention can change the atmosphere can easily be assembled and disassembled.
The room tent installed in a child""s room gives the illusion that they are camping and because of the options to have preprinted characters like Snow White, Little Mermaid, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc, or prints, it would be like being in a different world. The room tent can also be decorated according to the holiday such as stringing Christmas lights on the interior or exterior. Glow in the dark novelties such as stars and planets can be placed on the interior walls for an outdoorish mood.
The design of the tent can be rectangular to encompass the entire room area on an igloo. The present invention can be designed to fit the size of any room.
The room tent can also serve as a spare bedroom when company comes the room tent can be set up in the living room to afford privacy to guests. In large open areas like schools and churches, the room tent can be setup to serve as classrooms or playrooms. Additionally, in the armed forces large tents can be subdivided by a plurality of room tents providing privacy to personnel.
Another advantage of the room-tent is that you can easily change the theme of the room simply by attaching new themes using the provided hook and loop strips to the existing room-tent. It can also be easily assembled and disassembled. Since there is no floor member to the room-tent, wires can be run to the existing wall receptacles. Additionally, it eliminates the need to paint a room to change its appearance and themes can be changed to suit the age group or time of year such as holidays and birthdays.
The room-tent encompasses the entire room floor area and can be constructed in a rectangular shape having tie straps that can be attached to ceiling corner fasteners or dome shaped having a primary tent structure of four walls supported by a tubular framework of interconnecting bungee type tent poles that pass through a plurality of pole pockets located on the exterior portion of the tent structure.
In all cases the room-tent has no floor, which allows for the running of wires from the exterior of the tent to the interior of the room-tent. The interior of the room-tent provides a variety of designs depicting favorite characters, movie themes or other themes. The room-tent is provided in three different choices, one choice is providing characters and pictures on the inside walls, choosing from a variety of characters. Another choice is with hook and loop fasteners and attachable pictures that allow the user to change as frequently as desired. The third choice is a plain, colorful material without any characters or pictures on the inside walls.
A large entrance is provided having a zippered access panel functioning as a door and is accessible from the interior and the exterior. A window is provided to allow air and sunlight to enter the structure and has attached curtains. An opening is also provided for either a viewing port or access port and can also be provided with curtains. A cargo net is attached to the ceiling portion of the interior of the tent. Objects such as clothes, books, magazines, towels and other goods are stored away and easily access. Hook and loop attachable picture frames are also provided. The frames are designed so that the pictures can be interchangeable with the design of the tent. The picture frames are fixedly attached to the tent wall by means of hook and loop fasteners.
As additional elements other options may be added to the interior and exterior structure such as extension tunnels or subdividing the interior of a larger tent with the smaller room-tents.
The new concept of the room-tent and its special characteristics, allows the room-tent to be designed to the custom needs of the user, such as location of windows and portals, designer doors and much more.
Until now, tents have been made primarily for outdoor activities and mainly for sleeping, but the present invention is designed for inside the house and contains the bed, dresser, desk and computer, lamp, etc.
Another advantage of the room-tent is it allows the air conditioning in the summer to flow evenly and not directly out of the vent and hitting the user immediately. This method is healthier than being hit directly by the air conditioning. In the winter the heat flows evenly. It also holds in the heat. The room-tent can also serve as a spare bedroom for guests and can be set up in the living room, giving the guest privacy.
The design for the inside walls varies. The user may choose any character that their children like to completely change the atmosphere of the room-tent and the tent can additionally be provided with the characters preprinted on the interior of the tent walls or fixedly attached to the walls of the tent by the use of hook and loop fasteners.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other tents designed for living quarters or cover protection and privacy. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 144,193 issued to Elliott on Nov. 4, 1873.
Another patent was issued to Johnson on Jul. 24, 1900 as U.S. Pat. No. 654,156. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 671,912 was issued to Woodward on Apr. 9, 1901 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 26, 1918 to Martin as U.S. Pat. No. 1,285,766.
Another patent was issued to Power on Apr. 27, 1948 as U.S. Pat. No. 2,440,557. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 3,368,575 was issued to Besonen on Feb. 13, 1968 Another was issued to Vargas on May 18, 1976 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,784 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 22, 1988 to Hansen et al. as U.S. Pat. No. 4,785,837.
Another patent was issued to Guerin on Nov. 9, 1993 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,408. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 5,394,897 was issued to Ritchey et al. on Mar. 7, 1995 Another was issued to McMahan on Feb. 27, 1996 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,066 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 17, 1998 to Franklin as U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,330.
Another was issued to Schaefer on Aug. 14, 2001 as U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,114 and still yet another was issued on Nov. 20, 2001 to Wilson as U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,910.
This invention relates to wheel carriage covers having collapsing-tackle consisting of lines and pulleys and the supporting and lifting tackle consisting of lines and lifting tackle all arranged and operating simultaneously.
This invention is a canopy frame or support, the combination of foldable sections adapted to be suspended in a horizontal position exclusively from a point above the same and having hinge connections at their inner terminals which permit the sections to fold upwardly and prevent movement thereof below a horizontal plane when open, the hinge connections having stops for engagement with each other, a transversely-extending rod projecting across the width of the sections and disposed in the same plane as the latter, the opposite extremities of the said rod serving as pintels for pivotally connecting the hinge-sections, the said rod being in central position relatively to the sections, and the sections normally extended from the rod in a longitudinal direction an equal distance.
This invention is a mosquito-canopy, comprising a frame of detachable members, and a canopy or netting held and supported by two opposite members of the frame and secured thereon by the detachable intermediate members of the frame.
This invention is a housing including a top, ends and side ends and sides having weighted members extending respectively therealong at their lower portions, clips secured to their weighted members with their open sides upward to receive between them said sides and ends as said housing is raised, a rope extending longitudinally of the top and above the same, the rope having a pendent portion, a ring to which the lower end of said pendent portion is connected, downwardly diverging ropes connected with the ring and also with the front end weighted member, a second rope. A ring connected with the second rope, downwardly diverging ropes connected with the second ring and also with the rear weighted member, and means for effecting the simultaneous action of the two ropes to raise or lower the housing.
This invention relates to a fabric building comprising means providing corner posts, an assemblable roof frame slidable upon said corner posts, means for hoisting the roof frame upwardly on the corner posts and holding it in elevated position thereon, and a tent having a roof and side walls, the tent having means by which its roof may be suspended from said roof frame.
A portable collapsible shelter comprises a plurality of general inverted l-shaped support frames which are pivotally connected so that they can be folded and unfolded to be radially disposed with respect to the other.
A portable bed canopy adjustable for any size bed and includes four floor mounted support posts which are spring loaded to engage the ceiling for substantially rigid support of the light weight canopy elements.
An arched body portion is supported by line means to hang from a ceiling over a bed so as to form a canopy independent of the bed. The body portion preferably is constructed of rigid board material having novel joint sections forming the arched configuration.
The invention relates to apparatus for providing protection against insects. The apparatus comprises a support device (10), a framework (20) carried by the support device, and netting carried by the framework for the purpose of surrounding a protected zone. The framework comprises a central pivot (22) about which a plurality of arms are capable of pivoting about practically the same axis, said axis being designed to be substantially vertical. The arms (24, 26) can pivot about said axis between a working position in which they are distributed around the axis and a rest position in which they are all placed on the same side of a vertical plane including the pivot. The invention is applicable to mosquito nets.
A tent system interconnects any number of stand-alone tents (12) to form a tent network (10). The tents (12) are interconnected through connection modules (14). The tents (12) include at least two and preferably three openings (30) which serve as doorways. Various fasteners attach to the tents (12) near each opening (30). One fastener (54) removably couples to a complimentary fastener (34, 36) on the connection module. Another fastener (72) mates with a complimentary fastener (74) on a door panel (76), and yet another fastener (78) mates with a complimentary fastener (80) on a screen panel (82). The openings (30) are formed in tent panels (26) that slope downward and outward from the top of the tent (12). The connection modules (14) have flexible sheet material (32) sides (38, 40) with ends configured with a downward and inward slope that allows them to mate with the tent panels (26).
A tethered, bridle supported insect proof protective enclosure having top side and end walls composed of insect proof net fabric with the walls having bottom weighting for establishing insect sealed engagement with the ground, floor or other surface on which the apparatus is installed. The top wall is provided with an integrated supporting framework composed of a plurality of jointed support rods having ends thereof received within support pockets attached to the top wall and supported at intermediate portions thereof by means of support rings extending from reinforced support patches that are attached to the top wall. An embodiment may be provided having a floor and being of a single or double bed width and having ingress and egress through closures such as zippers or releasable fastener material that are used at wall openings. The insect proof protective enclosure is intended to be positioned with the walls thereof disposed in significantly spaced relation with the sides and ends of the cot or bed that in located within the enclosure. After installation of the insect proof enclosure its position may be readily changed to suit the needs and comfort of the user without requiring any disassembly for such purpose.
A canopy assembly available in a wide range of configurations, sizes and decor. The canopy assembly of the present invention consists of several components. These components include an easily fabricated canopy cover. The assembly also includes suspension frame members for forming a suspension frame which is affixed to the canopy cover. Surface mounts are included for insertion into an overhead structure. Suspension line is included to suspend the suspension on frame from the surface mounts.
A modular tent system that supports a number of detachable, weatherproof, self-supporting living quarter or storage pods. In a wall tent configuration, a primary tent is supported from a tubular framework. Each pod mounts to a covered access port of the primary tent. Each pod includes a separate support framework, sidewalls, floor and roof. Fasteners bordering the peripheral edges of the pod door flap and access port flap interconnect and secure the pod to the walls of the primary tent. Separate fasteners at the pod door flap and access port flap independently control access to the living space of the primary tent.
A suspended bed canopy for suspending a canopy over a bed without supports being attached to and extending from the bed. The suspended bed canopy includes a suspension assembly comprising a plate member and a frame. The plate member has a topside, a bottom side and a peripheral edge extending therebetween. The topside has a plurality of bores therein. The frame generally has a length and width greater than a length and width of the plate member. The frame has an inner surface and an outer surface. A plurality of hanging means is insertable in the bores and removably hangs the plate from the ceiling. A panel is removably coupled to the plate and the frame such that the panel secures the plate to the frame.
While these tents may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.
The present invention, a room-tent, is designed for indoor use having a primary tent structure of four walls supported by a tubular framework of interconnecting bungee type tent poles that pass through a plurality of pole pockets located on the exterior portion of the tent structure. The room-tent has no floor, which allows for the running of wires from the exterior of the tent to the interior of the room-tent. The interior of the room-tent structure provides a variety of designs depicting favorite characters, movie themes or other themes. The room-tent is available in three different choices, one choice is providing characters and pictures on the inside walls, choosing from a variety of famous characters. Another choice is with hook and loop fasteners and attachable pictures that allow the user to change as frequently as desired. The third choice is a plain, colorful material without any characters or pictures on the inside walls. A large entrance is provided consisting of a zippered flap accessible from the interior and the exterior. A window is provided to allow air and sunlight to enter the structure and has attached curtains. An opening is also provided for either a viewing port or access port to a closet and is also provided with curtains. A cargo net is suspended from the ceiling portion of the interior of the tent. Objects such as clothes, books, magazines, towels and other goods are stored away and easily access. Hook and loop attachable picture frames are also provided. The frames are designed so that the pictures can be interchangeable with the design of the tent. The picture frames are fixedly attached to the tent wall by means of hook and loop fasteners. Other options may be added to the interior and exterior structure such as extension tunnels or subdividing the interior of a larger tent with the smaller room-tents.
The new concept of the room-tent and its special characteristics, allows the room- tent to be designed to the custom needs of the user, such as location of windows and portals, designer doors and much more.
While tents have been made primarily for outdoor activities and mainly for sleeping, the present invention is designed for interior use and can change the atmosphere of a child""s bedroom. It covers the entire room from all four corners of the ceiling to all four corners of the floor including the bed, dresser, desk and computer, lamp, etc. The room-tent can be set up in two different ways, by the provided tent poles or tied to all four corners of the room.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that is designed for indoor use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that is designed for interior use having a tent-like structure suspended by straps fastened to the ceiling corners or supported by a tubular framework of interconnecting bungee type tent poles that pass through a plurality of pole pockets located on the exterior portion of the tent structure.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent where the interior of the room-tent structure provides a variety of designs depicting favorite characters, movie themes or other themes and can be replaced by other themes as frequently as desired to change the mood of the room-tent and are fixedly attached to hook and loop fasteners located within the wall tent.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that has a large zippered entrance accessible from the interior and the exterior.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that has a window with attached curtains to selectively allow air and sunlight to enter the structure.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that has an opening for either a viewing port or access port and is also provided with curtains.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a room-tent that has a cargo net attached to the ceiling portion of the interior of the tent.
Additional objects of the present invention will appear as the description proceeds.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a room-tent designed for indoor use suspended by straps fixedly attached to fasteners positioned in the ceiling corners or having a tubular framework of interconnecting bungee type tent poles passing through a plurality of pole pockets located on the exterior portion of the tent structure. The room-tent has no floor, which allows for the running of wires from the exterior of the tent to the interior of the room-tent. The interior of the room-tent provides a variety of designs depicting favorite characters, movie themes or other themes. It is available in three different choices, one choice is characters and pictures on the inside walls, choosing from a variety of famous characters. Another is with hook and loop fasteners and attachable pictures that allow the user to change as frequently as desired. The third choice is a plain, colorful material without any characters or pictures on the inside walls. A large zippered entrance is provided accessible from the interior and the exterior. A window is provided to allow air and sunlight to enter the structure and is provided with attached curtains. An opening is also provided for either a viewing port or access port and is also provided with curtains. A cargo net is provided and attaches to the ceiling portion of the interior of the tent. Objects such as clothes, books, magazines, towels and other goods are stored away and easily access. Hook and loop attachable picture frames are also provided. The frames are designed so that the pictures can be interchangeable with the design of the tent and are fixedly attached to the tent wall by means of hook and loop fasteners. Other options may be added to the interior and exterior structure such as extension tunnels or subdividing the interior of a larger tent with the smaller room-tents.
The new concept of the room-tent and its special characteristics, allows the room-tent to be designed to the custom needs of the user, such as location of windows and portals, designer doors and much more.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages will appear from the description to follow. In the description reference is made to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawing, like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views.
The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is best defined by the appended claims.
10 room tent
12 room
14 room ceiling
16 room walls
16 room closet
18 room window
22 room entrance
24 room furniture
26 room ceiling fastener
30 fabric
32 tent pole channel
34 tent pole
36 tent pole male connector
38 tent pole female connector
40 tent pole retaining member
42 tent door
44 tent door fastener
46 tent door fastener handle
48 attachabledetachable panel
50 corner strap
52 ceiling strap
54 access portal
56 access portal curtain
58 access portal curtain fasteners
60 room tent window
62 room tent window curtain
64 panel fasteners
66 cargo net
68 cargo net fasteners
70 picture frames
72 picture frame fasteners
74 inflatable wall bed
76 inflatable wall bed access panel
78 inflatable wall bed access panel fasteners
80 inflatable wall bed inflation valve
82 inflatable wall bed deflation valve


The liquid crystal display is a xe2x80x9cCs on Gate typexe2x80x9d active matrix liquid crystal display in which an auxiliary capacitor is formed by each pixel electrode and an adjacent gate line. By driving gate lines sequentially line by line to control the potential of the pixel electrode through the auxiliary capacitor Cs at a predetermined time before one frame period ends, a blanking (BL) writing is performed, thereby for forcedly blanking a display.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for driving a liquid crystal display, and more particularly, to a driving method which enables the after-image phenomenon to be reduced.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Recently, active matrix liquid crystal displays are widely used in which switching elements such as thin film transistors (TFTs) and pixel electrodes are arranged in a matrix. However, since the liquid crystal display is capacitive, it has a hold type luminous characteristic, and data once written into a pixel is held until it is rewritten after one frame period. Thus, it has a problem that after-image is conspicuous as compared with the inpulse type luminous display such as the CRT display, which instantaneously emits light within one frame period, and in particular, the display characteristics degrade when displaying a motion picture.
As a countermeasure for the after-image problem, Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 64-82019 proposes to control backlight. The illuminating equipment for backlight consists of an array of a plurality of lamps, which are sequentially turned on and off according to the timing of line scanning of liquid crystal display. Each lamp covers a group of a predetermined number of (e.g. 44) scanning lines. Each lamp lights up when all the scanning lines of the associated group are driven, and goes out after the elapse of a fixed time. However, in this case, since blanking (erasure of a display) is performed on a group-by-group basis, there is a problem that blanking cannot be controlled for each scanning line.
To solve the problem of the Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 64-82019, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 150,975 filed on Sep. 11, 1998 and entitled xe2x80x9cA METHOD OF DISPLAYING AN IMAGE ON LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY AND A LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAYxe2x80x9d assigned to the assignee of the present invention discloses a method in which the liquid crystal panel is divided into the upper half and the lower half. The liquid crystal panel is controlled to simultaneously drive a pair of gate lines (one from the upper half and one from the lower half). The upper and lower half gate lines are sequentially driven line by line as a pair to display data for one frame in a predetermined period of one frame period (for instance, the first half of one frame), and in the remaining period of one frame (for instance, the latter half of one frame), they are sequentially re-driven line by line as a pair to forcedly write a blanking image (black image). This method is to shorten the lighting time or display time by forcedly writing black in the same frame period, whereby the after-image problem can be properly solved. However, the liquid crystal panel needs to be divided into two, and a special gate line driver circuit for simultaneously driving the panel halves and two data line driver circuits for independently driving each panel half are required, which leads to a problem that the panel structure and the driver circuits become complicated. Further, since one frame period is divided into two, the first one assigned to displaying and the second one assigned to blanking, the blanking time cannot be changed without changing the display time. Accordingly, there is a problem that the blanking time cannot be freely set without affecting the displaying of an image.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for driving a liquid crystal display, which can advantageously solve the after-image problem by controlling the blanking on a scanning line-by-scanning line basis, without requiring any special panel structure or driver circuit.
The present invention is a method for driving an active matrix liquid crystal display having thin film transistors and pixel electrodes at the intersections of gate lines receiving a scanning signal and data lines receiving a data signal, each pixel electrode and an adjacent gate line forming an auxiliary capacitor. The driving method of the present invention comprises a step of writing data into the pixel electrode sequentially line by line in response to the scanning signal and the data signal to display an image for a frame, and a step of driving the gate lines sequentially line by line at a predetermined time before the period of a frame ends to control the potential of the pixel electrodes through the auxiliary capacitors thereby for forcedly blanking a display. Preferably, the blanking is performed by writing a black level, and the auxiliary capacitor is formed by the associated pixel electrode and the preceding gate line.
The after-image problem can advantageously be solved by controlling the blanking on a scanning line-by-scanning line basis, without requiring any special panel structure. Further, optimization can be made by freely setting the blanking time, without affecting the image display.

Method for driving a liquid crystal display

International Business Machines Corporation


An electric connector is provided to ensure reliable termination of cable wires having different sizes. The electric connector can include a housing, a plurality of contacts, and a wire holder. The wire holder includes a wire support extension configured to be at least partially inserted into the housing. The wire support extension defines a plurality of wire receiving passages configured to arrange a plurality of first wires thereon and align the first wires with contact insert slots of the housing, respectively, when the wire support extension is inserted to the housing. The wire holder further includes a plurality of wire support ribs configured to centralize second wires smaller than the first wires.

Electric connectors, such as modular plugs, are typically used to transmit digital signals in telephonic and other data communication systems where high performance through reduced electromagnetic interference between conductors (i.e., crosstalk) is desirable and necessary. Modular plugs, one type of electric connectors, are typically terminated by technicians in the field, or prepared in assembly lines of a factory. In certain examples, a cable that is to be terminated in the modular plug includes insulated, multi-colored wires wrapped by an insulating cable jacket. The cable typically includes eight wires that are made into a bundle of four twisted pairs. The bundle may optionally include a drain wire or surrounding shield for use in a shielded plug.
To prepare the cable for termination in the plug, the cable jacket is first peeled back to expose the insulated pairs. After that, with the several insulated wires exposed, the wires can be untwisted and arranged in the desired order, generally in a side-by-side fashion. The wires can then be individually inserted into a plug housing and terminated by an insulation piercing blade. The wires can be misaligned and unsecured within the plug housing because the wires need to be independently engaged into the plug housing.
Some modular plugs employ a load bar or wire holder configured to hold the wires in an array and be inserted into the housing. The wire holder allows the wires to be presented in alignment below insulation piercing contacts when the wire holder is placed into the housing. The wire holder can define a plurality of wire support passages to arrange the wires in a side-by-side manner thereon and provide a lateral alignment of the wires below the insulation piercing contacts when the wire holder is received into the housing. The wire support passages of the wire holder operate to centralize the wires with the insulation piercing contacts so that the insulation piercing contacts properly pierce the wires to make contact with the conductors within the wires. However, the wire support passages are dimensioned to fit wires of a particular size, and thus cannot function to centralize and align wires of different sizes with the insulation piercing contacts.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A terminal apparatus, and associated method, stores in memory a plurality of application programs. A controller executes the plurality of application programs in a multi-tasking arrangement. When one of the application programs is replaced in the foreground with another application program, an image of the former application program while in an active state is stored in memory. That image is then used as part of a graphical user interface to provide an indication to a user of the other applications that are presently running, and the state of execution of the other application programs when last operating in the foreground.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a terminal apparatus and a control method thereof suitably applied to a terminal apparatus provided with a display panel, for example a mobile-telephone terminal apparatus, etc. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique to be applied to a terminal apparatus including a plurality of applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mobile-telephone terminal apparatuses tend to have multiple functions more and more these days, and one terminal apparatus includes many application programs, allowing a user to perform the many application programs. For example, the application programs include a standby-screen display application program, a telephone-directory display application program, an electronic-mail display application program, an application program connecting to and displaying an Internet site, etc. Moreover, these application programs are sometimes downloaded by a user in addition to the application programs that are provided in the terminal apparatus in advance.
When these application programs are executed, a multi-tasking function is sometimes performed. That is to say, a plurality of application programs are started at the same time, and multi-tasking processing, in which a program to be displayed is changed among the plurality of application programs started simultaneously, is performed.
At the time of multi-tasking processing, for example an icon indicating that the multi-tasking function that is in execution is displayed on a screen, and a change is made to display a display screen of another application program by a predetermined operation, such as selection of the icon, etc. Alternatively, a proposal has been made that a list of names of started applications is displayed, and an application to be changed is selected by a user operation from the list.
A description is given of an example of the case where an application being paused is iconized and displayed when multi-tasking processing is performed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-165735.

Terminal apparatus and method of controlling terminal apparatus with multi-tasking features


A self-supporting, submersible generating plant for producing electricity from ocean currents, consisting of two counter-rotating, rear-facing turbines with a plurality of rotor blades extending radially outward from two separate horizontal axis that convey the kinetic energy from the two side-by-side, counter-rotating turbine rotors through separate gearboxes to separate generators that are housed in two watertight nacelles that are located sufficiently far apart to provide clearance for the turbine rotors. The two generators and their gearboxes serve as ballast and are located far below a streamlined buoyancy tank that extends fore and aft above and between them. A combination of a leverage system and a pressure-controlled system adjusts the hydrodynamic lifting forces to maintain constant depths. There are systems to purge the ballast water to facilitate the recovery of both individual submersible power plants and a group of many submersible power plants.

1. Field of the Invention
The presently disclosed invention generally relates to improvements on a submersible electrical power generating plant. More specifically, the presently disclosed invention is primarily intended for providing an improved electrical power generating plant that is able to generate electricity from the kinetic energy contained in steady ocean currents.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Perhaps the most frightening aspect about the approaching energy crisis is that so few are aware of the seriousness of the problem and the devastating impact that the worsening shortages of oil and natural gas will have upon our industrialized society, upon our nation, and upon our lives. The decline in the production of both world oil and North American natural gas—combined with catastrophic global warming—have created an urgent need to switch from fossil fuels to those energy sources that are sustainable and non-polluting. Oceans' currents flow at all depths, with the strongest usually occurring in the upper layer, which is shallow compared to the depth of the oceans. The main cause of surface currents in the open ocean is the action of the wind on the sea surface.
Winds of high constancy, blowing over great stretches of an ocean, have the greatest effect on producing current. It is for this reason that the northwest and southeast trade winds of the two hemispheres are the mainsprings of the ocean's surface current circulation. In the Atlantic and Pacific oceans the two trade winds drive an immense body of water westwards over a width of some 50 degrees of latitude, broken only by the narrow belt of the east-going Equatorial Counter-current, which is found a few degrees north of the equator in both of these oceans. A similar westward flow of water occurs in the South Indian Ocean, driven by the southeast trade wind. These westward surface currents produce giant eddies that are centered in latitudes of approximately 30 degrees N. and S. that rotate clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counter-clockwise in the southern hemisphere. Currents of over 3.5 mph are confined to very restricted regions. They have been recorded in the equatorial regions of the oceans, and in the warm currents flowing to higher latitudes in the western sides of the oceans. Ocean Passages of the World (published by the Hydrographic Department of the British Admiralty, 1950), lists 14 currents that exceed 3 knots (3.45 mph), a few of which are in the open ocean.
The Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio are the only two currents that the book lists having velocities above 3 knots that flow throughout the year. The book states the strongest currents recorded for the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio in nautical miles per day. These speeds are equivalent to 156.5 statute miles per day (6.52 mph) for the Gulf Stream, and 133 statute miles per day (6.375 mph) for the Kuroshio. Because these speeds were determined by how far the current carried floating objects in 24 hours, they do not reflect the maximum current speeds at specific times or places. Both the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio are currents that are driven by the Coriolis force that is produced by the earth's eastward rotation acting upon the ocean currents produced by the trade winds. Because these currents are caused by the earth's eastward rotation, they will continue flowing through the Straits of Florida for as long as our planet continues to turn on its axis.
In addition to producing the Coriolis Effect that produces the oceans' gyres, another consequence of the earth's eastward rotation is that the center of each of those gyres is offset toward the western edge of the ocean basin that confines it. Because the volume of water flowing toward the poles along the narrower western sides of the gyres is the same as that circulating back toward the Equator down the much broader eastern expanses, the constricted western currents are forced to flow much faster than their eastern counterparts. This is what makes the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio such powerful currents. Because the Gulf Stream's current is relatively consistent, well-placed turbines powered by that current should generate usable electricity virtually one hundred percent of the time.
The Gulf Stream starts roughly where the Gulf of Mexico narrows to form a channel between Cuba and the Florida Keys. From there the current flows northeast through the Straits of Florida between the mainland and the Bahamas, flowing at a substantial speed for some 400 miles. It hits peak velocity off Miami, where the Gulf Stream is about 45 miles wide and 1,500 feet deep. There the current has reached a speed of as much as 7.75 mph in its narrow central axis. Although the peak current velocity of the Gulf Stream may at times exceed 7 mph in its narrow axis off of Miami, the most likely velocities for those turbines placed in its central axis would most probably be between 4.75 and 6 mph.
As previously stated, the Kuroshio's maximum flow rate is only slightly slower than that of the Gulf Stream. Although turbines designed for the Gulf Stream can also generate low-cost electricity from the Kuroshio, they would probably not operate at quite the same high capacity factors in that current as they would in the Gulf Stream. This is because the velocity of the Kuroshio fluctuates more due to both seasonal and tidal effects, flowing slower in the fall and with rising tides. The current has two stable path patterns south of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It has a straight path that flows eastward, after passing the tip of the Kii Peninsula, and it has a large meandering path that flows around a large coldwater mass that can form to the southwest of that peninsula Either pattern can persist for periods ranging from several months to several years. Because of the Kuroshio's changing paths and the extreme water depths in the area, there is only one location where the turbines can consistently produce power. That is just south of the Izu Peninsula and Sagami Bay, where both current paths pass over the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge, where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Philippine Sea Plate.
Other possible sites for submersible power plants include the East Australian Coast current, which flows at a top rate of 110.47 statute miles per day (4.6 mph), and the Agulhas current off the tip of South Africa, which flows at a top rate of 139.2 statute miles per day (5.8 mph). Oceanographic current data will suggest other potential sites. Tidal currents are of interest—not because a tethered submersible power generator would be well suited for harvesting their kinetic energy—but because they also involve the generation of electricity underwater, the transmission of that power to shore, and because serious money is being invested in their development, even though their capacity factors are very low. The tides are the periodic motion of the water caused by the differences in the gravitational attractive forces of the moon and the sun acting on all the different parts of the rotating Earth. As the tides rise and fall, periodic horizontal movements of water accompany them: the tidal currents. The variations in the speed of the tidal currents from place to place are not consistent with the range of the tides and, depending on the shape of the coastline; they can even be the reverse.
Although there is presently no interest in producing more power from a tide's changing water level, there is a growing interest in the tidal currents. As with all turbine power plants, the ability to produce electricity depends on the efficiency of the design and on the speed and steadiness of the fluid driving it. Although the usable current velocities that drive the tidal turbines can be about the same as those that would drive turbines placed in the Gulf Stream, the tidal currents oscillate and can produce power only between the high and low tides. The strengths of the tidal currents will also vary greatly depending the phases of the moon and whether the current is being produced by a spring tide or by a neap tide. As a result of the tidal current's oscillations and variations, the capacity factors for these tidal systems would almost certainly be less than 10 percent of the system's theoretical generating capacities. Because the capacity factors for the turbines operating in the Gulf Stream would be seven to ten times those of the tidal-powered turbines, they would produce seven to ten times as much power, and—unlike that wildly oscillating power produced by the tidal turbines—that power would be almost as steady as that power produced by many fossil-fuel plants. Although there will be some changes in the current's velocity, caused by the moon's tidal effects and the steadiness of the trade winds, the only renewable energy source that would have higher capacity factors than those of well-placed turbines in the Gulf Stream would be the conventional hydroelectric power plants that have sufficient water in their reservoirs.
Well-placed turbines in the Gulf Stream will spin whether or not there is any demand for their electricity. Because they would operate best under steady loads and because their operating costs would be virtually zero that power they produce that is in excess of that required by the grid can be used to produce energy in other forms. This can include the charging of batteries to power vehicles and the production of hydrogen. Common energy efficiencies for the electrolysis of water are at about 65%. However, by using catalysts in the water electrolyte, efficiencies of 80% to 85% are possible. The amount of hydrogen that can be produced by this method is directly proportional to the amount of electricity used. Instead of adding more gas-fired generating capacity to handle the periods of peak demand, we should strive to generate more than enough power from the water turbines' free energy to cover the peak loads and then add additional loads to fully utilize the surplus generating capacity during periods of low demand from the grid.
In this way, not only can these submersible turbines eliminate the need for fossil fuels to produce electricity, they can produce electricity for recharging the batteries of "plug-in" hybrid vehicles and hydrogen to power fuel-cell vehicles. Producing hydrogen by electrolysis can eliminate the need for a hydrogen transportation infrastructure because the hydrogen can be produced from water at local fueling stations during off-peak periods. Every kilowatt-hour of electricity that is generated by water, wind, and other renewable-energy sources can replace the same unit of electricity that is presently being generated by burning fossil fuels. Based on a study in the UK, that determined the carbon dioxide emission of their fossil-fuel plants, each of the submersible electrical power generating plants, having a design capacity of 1200 kilowatts and operating with a 90 percent capacity factor, would reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 8,100 US tons per year from that produced by the fossil-fuel plants producing the same amount of electricity.
Water has much more mass than air and would be moving more slowly. A cubic unit of water weighs about 854 times the same cubic unit of air at sea level. The amount of kinetic energy that passes through a turbine can be calculated using the formula:KE=½×M×V2 M=mass V=velocityThe mass is the weight of the fluid that passes through the turbine's rotor per second. This can be obtained by calculating the blades' sweep area and multiplying that quantity by the distance the fluid travels in one second. This volume is then multiplied by the weight of the fluid per cubic unit to get the mass. Because the mass passing through the blades in one second is a factor of the current's velocity, the power produced by the current does not increase by the square of its velocity, but by its cube. Therefore, the equation for the kinetic energy passing through a turbine can also be written:(KE=½×A×D×V3 A=area swept D=density/cu.m. V=velocity)
Rotor Diameters to Generate 600 Kilowatts of Electricityin Currents of Different Velocities in MPHAssuming 45%Efficiencycurrentrotorvelocitydiameter7.034.16.538.16.043.05.549.05.056.54.566.24.079.03.596.53.0110.0
To increase the RPM and reduce the torque to manageable levels, the power from the hubs is transferred in either three or four stages to the shaft powering the generator. The first stage consists of a strongly built planetary gear system. A second planetary gear system is either attached to a third planetary gear system or to helical gears, depending on the revolutions and torque of the shaft coming from the first stage. The last stage consists of helical gears—and, depending on the sizing of the gears in the first two or three stages, a fourth stage of helical gears could be required to increase the generators' shaft speeds to the 1,200 RPM required by the 6-pole generators and the 1,800 RPM required by the 4-pole generators to produce electricity that is compatible with the 60 Hz current used in the US. The technology to generate electric power from the kinetic energy contained in the moving water can be virtually identical to that used by the wind-power industry.
Wind turbines that generate electric power usually have two or three long, narrow rotor blades. The have these long blades—not because they can capture the most energy from the wind—but because the blades must be able to survive violent wind conditions. A wind turbine with many blades or very wide blades (turbines with a solid rotor) would be subject to extremely large forces when the wind blows at hurricane velocities because the energy increases with the cube of its velocity. To limit the impact from these extreme conditions, the manufacturers of the wind machines prefer that their turbines have only two or three long narrow rotor blades that can be feathered and locked. Because most of the force driving the Gulf Stream portion of the North Atlantic's gyre is produced by the steady eastward rotation of our planet, the current's speeds tend to remain within a narrow range. Very rarely do they exceed 7 mph or drop below 4 mph in the current's central axis off South Florida. Because the water would be nearly a thousand times denser than the air and would be flowing at a much more constant velocity, instead of their rotors having just two or three narrow blades to absorb the kinetic energy from a small percentage of the fluid passing through the sweep area, they can have more or wider blades.
All generators produce heat. The electric current flowing through the conductors, both the stator and rotor, produces heat because of resistance. In addition, heat is generated in the steel of the rotor armature core by the changing of magnetic lines. Although the amount of heat from all the losses in large generators is only about one percent of the output, it can be numerically great. For example, a pair of generators producing a total of 1,200 kW might have a loss of 12 kW—equivalent to 40,973 Btu per hour. Unlike the wind turbines that can operate on hot summer days, the water turbines would operate in water having temperatures of about 70° Fahrenheit. However, because plastics do not have the same ability to transfer heat as do the metal housings used on the wind turbines, and because there will be no outside source of air for cooling, some type of external cooling system will be required to dissipate the heat produced by the generators and gearboxes.
A major concern for any tethered submersible power plant is the downward vector force that is produced by the horizontal-drag force acting through the downward-angled anchor line. That downward force will equal the horizontal drag, multiplied by the tangent of the anchor line's downward angle where it attaches to the generating plant. If a tethered generating power plant is to maintain a uniform depth, any changes in the downward vector forces must be balanced be equal opposing forces. If the increasing downward vector force is not equalized, the downward vector forces will pull the submersible power plant down to that depth where the angle of the anchor chains' pull would be reduced sufficiently that the tangent of the attachment angle will be reduced enough that the resulting downward-vectored forces will again balance the reduced lifting forces. The forces would again be in equilibrium and the unit would remain at that depth as long as there were no further changes in the horizontal drag. Because the downward forces increase at an increasing rate as the angle of the downward pull increases, the angle of the anchor chain where it attaches to the unit should be kept reasonably small. That angle should also be kept small because the forces pulling on the anchor line will increase with the reciprocal of the cosine (the secant) of the angle—and as that angle increases, increasing the pull on the anchor chain, the anchor's holding ability is decreasing.
Most of the prior art for generating electricity from ocean currents can be grouped into a few categories. There are the water wheels and rotating canisters that are mounted on vertical shafts that have V-shaped, cupped or articulated buckets, fins, or flippers to reduce the resistance to the water when the periphery of the wheels are moving toward the current. U.S. patents in this group include U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,864 issued to Atherton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,821 issued to Black, U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,710 issued to Atherton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,066 issued to Frisz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,748,808 issued to Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,888 issued to Lenoir, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,518 issued to Geary. There are patents for devices having vertical turbines that are mounted on horizontal shafts that do not use shrouds or other devices that surround the rotors. These patents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,023,041 issued to Chappell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,137,005 issued to Comstock and U.S. Pat. No. 5,440,176 issued to Haining. Then there are more U.S. patents that use turbines mounted on horizontal shafts in which the rotors are enclosed in shrouds, flarings, hollow tubes, Venturi-shaped tubes, or have funnel-shaped intakes for the purpose of increasing the water velocity through the turbine. Examples of these include U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,894 issued to Vary, U.S. Pat. No. 3,986,787 issued to Mouton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,918 issued to Mouton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,904 issued to Skendrovic, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,943 issued to Vauthier, U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,137 issued to Wracsaricht, U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,319 issued to Mattersheimer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,520,273 issued to Rowe, U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,123 issued to Gislason. Counter-rotating impellers are used in U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,702 issued to Williamson. The blades on these devices overlap and there are V-shaped diverters located ahead of the turbines force the fluid to the outside of the turbines.
All the inventions mentioned above are devices that are mounted on underwater structures or are suspended from barges, pontoons, or platforms on pylons at the surface. The problem with mounting the generating devices on platforms is that the strongest currents are located near the surface where the depths are usually greater than 1,200 feet and mounting the generating devices high above the ocean floor on giant structures would be extremely costly. Because the turbines would be producing their drag forces far from the ocean floor, they would produce huge tipping moments that would equal the horizontal drag of the structure, multiplied by height of those drag forces above the ocean floor. If the structures had shorter towers, the submersible power plants would be much more difficult to install and service and the turbines would be beneath the stronger current flow. The problem with suspending the turbines from barges or pontoons is that they would interfere with ship traffic, be vulnerable to violent storms, and be unsightly.
Among the patented inventions to generate electricity from ocean currents, there are tethered devices that rely on hydrofoils and/or ballast tanks to provide lifting forces to keep the devices at the desired depths. U.S. Pat. No. 6,091,161 issued to Delhsen uses variable-pitch rotor blades to limit the drag force. Although this patent may have things in common with the presently disclosed invention in that they are both tethered and have counter-rotating, rear-facing turbines, the inventions are very different. The Delhsen's submersible underwater generating device would have little or no stability because, with the buoyancy tank being between the heavy elements and not above them, its center of buoyancy is not above the center of gravity.
Also the lifting force provided by the hydrofoil that joins the nacelles is at the same level as the heavy elements, further adding to a lack of stability. The upward canted hydrofoil wing tips that supposedly provide roll stability would have little or no effect unless the hitch points to the two anchor lines were lower. Because the anchor lines attach directly ahead of the center of drag, the canted wing tips would have little effect on stability. The resistance to roll is further decreased in the Delhsen invention by the anchor line's attachment point being at the same height as the center of buoyancy rather than below it. With the attachment point located at the center of buoyancy, if the device should have positive buoyancy, the canted wing tips would decrease stability. The placement of the stabilizer fin forward of the hydrofoil makes no sense. With the anchor attachment points being behind this "stabilizing fin," the fin would make the device more unstable. The device uses two anchors, each connected to capstans that are located at the front of each nacelle to adjust the anchor chains to eliminate yaw.
The hydrofoil between the nacelles contains separate ballast tank compartments that are capable of being filled with fluid or purged to control buoyancy and the shift the center of buoyancy. The nacelles also contain buoyancy tanks that can be independently filled or purged to compensate for roll of the device. The Delhsen invention utilizes a computer system to balance those forces produced by the hydrofoil, buoyancy and drag to allow the device to seek that current that will allow for an even production of electric power. The drag force on the rotors is controlled by adjusting the pitch of the rotor blades so that the device seeks an initial equilibrium velocity of water current that will allow the tethered device to stay within a chosen predetermined depth range. A problem with this approach is that, although the purpose of the generator is to capture kinetic energy to maximize power output, it controls the depth by reducing that output.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,863 issued to Milliken is another tethered unit that consists of a buoyant device that contains two counter-rotating water wheels or turbines that are mounted side-by-side on vertical shafts. The vanes of the turbine have sub-vanes that open when the large vanes are moving toward the current to allow the water to pass through them. Although these are counter-rotating turbines are side-by-side, because they are mounted on vertical shafts, their counter rotation has no effect on the device's stability. In this and all other devices that use turbines mounted on vertical shafts—not only are the areas for capturing the energy of the moving fluid small in proportion to the frontal area of the device, they waste additional energy because—even though the fins on the reverse side of the vertical turbine may fold or open to allow water to have much less resistance as they rotate toward the front of the turbine—they still produce some drag that must be subtracted from the power produced by that side of the turbine that is being pushed by the kinetic energy of the flowing water.
The inefficiencies of all these vertical shafted turbines can be compared to using paddle wheels for propelling boats rather than modern propellers, except they would be worse because the top blades of a boat's paddle wheel meets far less resistance when moving forward through the air than would those blades of a vertical-shafted water turbine blades moving against the much denser water. Also the invention has no means of balancing changing downward vector forces that would result from changes in drag, caused by changes in either the current velocity or changes in the generator loads acting on the downward angled anchor line.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,303 issued to Mouton is a tethered unit with a pair of axle-less, counter-rotating, co-axial turbine wheels having ring rims that bear against friction drive wheels which turn one or more electrical generators that are contained in water-tight rooms within the wall of a nozzle or shroud that surround the periphery of the turbines. To increase the velocity of the water through the turbines, the device has an opening nozzle in the front that directs the water into a narrowing vena contracta, through the two counter-rotating, co-axial turbines and then on to an expanding shroud downstream that is for the purpose of increasing the water's velocity. This device depends on buoyancy and a weight on the bottom to maintain the proper depth. Many devices use vertical turbines mounted radially on horizontal shafts that are enclosed in shrouds, hollow tubes, Venturi-shaped tubes, or have funnel-shaped intakes to increase the fluid velocity through the turbines. Although it is possible for the velocity of a fluid passing through a vertical turbine's sweep area to be increased somewhat by using these devices, tests have shown that the turbines' input can be increased at much lower cost by simply increasing the rotors' diameters. Shrouds and Venturi-shaped tubes are not used on commercial wind-powered turbines because they do not increase the velocities enough to justify their cost. Instead of using such devices, the manufacturers of the wind machines increase the diameters of the turbine rotors.
A key consideration when designing a tethered submersible generator is that of stability. A fully submerged object that is floating freely in a liquid will float with its center of buoyancy (the center of gravity of the fluid that the object is displacing) directly above the objects center of gravity. The prior art does not show tethered submersible electrical power plants that utilized this principal of physics, except for U.S. Pat. No. 6,531,788 ('788 patent), which is issued to the author and discloses a first submersible generating plant for producing electricity from ocean currents, as briefly described hereinafter.
The '788 patent teaches an apparatus comprising two counter-rotating, rear-facing turbines with a plurality of rotor blades extending radially outward from two separate horizontal axis that convey the kinetic energy from the two side-by-side turbine rotors through separate gearboxes to separate generators that are housed in two watertight nacelles that are located sufficiently far apart to provide clearance for the turbine rotors. The two generators and their gearboxes serve as ballast and are located below a streamlined buoyancy tank that extends fore and aft above and between them. A leverage system having no moving parts adjusts lifting forces to balance changing downward vector forces that result from changes in drag acting on the downward angled anchor line.
Although previous inventions may also generate electric power with low operating costs, none can produce as much power at such low cost per kilowatt-hour as the currently disclosed invention because of its highly efficient energy-collecting design and its extremely low maintenance requirements. Thus, it is a principal object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant that is capable of being free of service or replacement for many years. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a stable submersible electrical power generating plant that has its center of buoyancy located above its center of gravity. It is a still further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant that has an adjustable center of gravity. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant that is capable of generating electrical power from low speed current flow when equipped with turbines, generators, and gearing are properly sized for the slow current.
Still further, it is an object of the current invention to provide a non-polluting means of producing steady, low-cost electric power than can be used to cover both base and peak load requirements. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a tethered submersible electrical power generating plant that will remain within any pre-set range of depths without requiring a line being attached to a weight on the ocean floor. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant designed to facilitate the efficient simultaneous submersions of many of the submersible electric power generating plants that have been assembled into strings while floating on the surface by throwing an electric switch. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant with a simple and efficient method for bringing an individual submersible power generating plant to the surface and of removing the ballast water. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method for simultaneously raising a group of many power plants to the surface without being disconnected from the electricity collecting table.
It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant having low parasite drag (that drag that does not contribute to the capturing of energy or providing lift) and which a high percentage of the horizontal drag forces are from that kinetic energy that is actually converted into electricity. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant that is made of carbon fiber composites and other plastics to minimize displacement and eliminate corrosion. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant that has improved directional stability. It is a further object of the current invention to utilize the same changes in the current's kinetic energy that changes the downward vector forces to adjust the lifting forces to balance those downward forces.
It is a further object of the current invention to utilize those unchanging lifting forces produced by displacement to support the unchanging weight of the submersible electrical power generating plant, and to utilize those changing lifting forces produced by the hydrofoils to balance the changing downward vector forces. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a submersible electrical power generating plant capable of using hydrostatic pressures to control the hydrodynamic lifting forces to accurately and reliably control operating depths. It is a further object of the current invention to provide a means for bringing the submersible electrical generating structures quickly to the surface and to purge the buoyancy tank of ballast water with pressurized air.
Other objects of the current invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.

Submersible electrical power generating plant


A merchandising system for generating and redeeming product discount coupons prints coupons for a selected consumer from a group of consumers by selecting particular coupons from a group of coupons to provide to the selected consumer and printing the coupons. Both the consumer and coupon identifications are encoded on the coupon in machine-readable form whereby the machine-readable code may be read at a point-of-sale terminal using a code reading apparatus. The portion of the read code corresponding to the consumer identification is replaced with a generic code to provide a substitute code. The substitute code is applied to a look-up table in order to determine coupon parameters related to the coupon identification. The entire machine-readable code may also be captured and uploaded to a central database for determining the coupon identification and consumer identification in order to update the database of consumers and coupons. In this manner, coupons redeemed by a consumer may be used in selecting future coupons for that consumer. The system may provide for coupon redemption by providing sufficient information to a manufacturer in order to generate a rebate to the retailer.

This invention relates generally to merchandising systems and more particularly to systems for generating and redeeming product discount coupons.
Discount coupons have long been distributed by manufacturers to merchandise their products and by retail stores to attract consumers to their particular stores. Both coupon types are typically distributed on a large scale basis as free-standing inserts in newspapers and other forms of mass distribution. Such coupons are effective only if used by a sufficiently high percentage of consumers. Using this gage, free-standing inserts are not very effective. Their redemption rate is presently approximately 2.8 percent and going down. Accordingly, alternatives are sought to such mass marketing techniques. Coupons are collected at stores and credit is provided to the customer purchasing the corresponding product. The coupons are bundled and forwarded to a clearing house and then to a redemption center for sorting and counting. Reports are then forwarded to the manufacturers issuing the coupons in order to generate a credit to the stores redeeming the coupons. Another problem with coupons is a significant misredemption rate of between 20 and 30 percent as a result of misidentification and outright fraud. The misredemption problem is exacerbated by the enormous amount of time, usually a number of months, that it takes to reimburse the retail stores for the discount given the consumer.
A new form of merchandising has evolved and has come to be known as micromarketing. Micro marketing is the tailoring of a message to a particular consumer based upon unique characteristics of that consumer. In order to effect such micromarketing, it is necessary to identify particular characteristics, such as the shopping habits, of particular consumers. One technique for identifying such characteristics is to match particular consumers with their purchases. Large retailers install systems based upon electronic customer-cards, provided to customers who pass a credit screen, in order to allow that consumer to cash checks or to debit purchases against their bank accounts. The electronic customer-card is passed through a special code reading device at the point-of-sale terminal in order to capture a personal identification number (PIN). The point-of-sale terminal also includes a laser scanner which identifies standard uniform product code (UPC) bar codes, applied to all products, in order to enter purchases into the in-store system. Purchases are matched to the customer through the PIN number. Because the file of the customer identified with the PIN code contains information regarding the income, demographic data, and the like, for that customer, an impressive data base may be established relating consumer characteristics to purchasing habits.
The problem with such customer-card based systems are many. The system is intrusive of the consumers' privacy expectations and tends to collect more data than is necessary to target merchandising to that customer. Furthermore, the large mass of data in the system makes it difficult for an individual product manufacturer to identify the consuming habits of its customers and, even if such information may be obtained, there is no efficient mechanism for converting this information into enhanced product sales. Furthermore, such systems tend to discriminate against low income individuals, and minority groups, because the electronic customer-cards are given only to credit-worthy customers. Furthermore, the electronic customer-card must be scanned by a separate reader at the point-of-sale terminal, which requires special equipment and a separate step on behalf of the cashier.
Coupons are currently being encoded with bar codes, such as UPC codes, which are provided for the purpose of identifying the manufacturer and brand of the product being discounted, the family of goods to which the product belongs and the value of the discount. A UPC standard coupon code has been established for this purpose. Additionally, a UPC standard has been established for "in-store" use by individual retailers. Such "in-store" codes have digits available that could be used by the retailer to identify a set of coupon parameters, similar to the standard coupon code. Coupons encoded with the UPC bar code may be scanned by the same scanner at the point-of-sale terminal which scans the UPC bar code of individual products being purchased. In this manner, the point-of-sale terminal may verify that a product matching the coupon has been purchased and properly credit the coupon value against the total amount of the purchase.
Systems have been proposed that combine a consumer identification code, or PIN, with a manufacturers' coupon in order to determine that a particular consumer has purchased a particular product for marketing research purpose. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,908,761 entitled SYSTEM FOR IDENTIFYING HEAVY PURCHASERS WHO REGULARLY USE MANUFACTURERS PURCHASE INCENTIVES AND PREDICTING CONSUMER PROMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR RESPONSE PATTERNS. Both the consumer I.D., or PIN, number and the coupon parameters may be applied on the coupon in some fashion. While such systems achieve the purpose of matching particular consumers with particular purchases, they have failed to provide a means for effectively applying this information to the merchandising of products. Furthermore, such systems have not gained acceptance because they require separate scanning of the consumer I.D. code and the coupon I.D. code, which is a procedure which must be carried on separately from the redemption of the coupon. Conventional point-of-sale laser scanners will read only one UPC bar code field. If a coupon is encoded with more than one field, the scanner will read only the first field encountered and ignore the rest. This has made point-of-sale scanning of coupons, bearing a customer I.D. code, impractical. An additional problem with scanning coupons bearing a consumer I.D. code is a result of the need for a Product Look-up (PLU) record of each unique code to be identified in the point-of-sale system. Because a coupon bearing a particular customer I.D. number is a different (PLU) from the precise same coupon bearing a different customer I.D. number, the system would require a prohibitively large number of records in order to accommodate both consumer I.D. numbers and coupon parameter numbers in a point-of-sale terminal redemption scheme.


A system for driving a torsion based on frequency, amplitude and offset control signals includes a pulse width modulator subsystem configured to generate output pulses having controlled pulse durations alternately to each of two channels, the output pulses encoding the frequency, amplitude and offset control signals. A driver circuit is configured for driving the torsion oscillator with a voltage of one polarity during a pulse output to the one of the channels, and a voltage of opposite polarity during a pulse output to the other of the channels.

The invention relates generally to torsion oscillators, also termed resonant galvanometers, as well as to bidirectional scanning and imaging apparatuses including such torsion oscillators, and, more particularly, to systems for driving torsion oscillators.
Torsion oscillators which include an oscillating mirror may be employed in bidirectional scanning and imaging devices, such as laser printers, as an alternative to a rotating polygonal mirror.
As disclosed in Klement U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/093,754, filed Mar. 8, 2002, and published as No. US 2003/0169055 A1 on Sep. 11, 2003, titled "Torsion Oscillator Stabilization," a torsion oscillator having an oscillating mirrored surface may be employed as a laser scanner when a laser is directed at the oscillating mirrored surface. A scan path which corresponds to motion of the oscillating mirror is thereby defined. The mirror angle changes sinusoidally with respect to time at a certain amount of sweep or scan angle (termed amplitude), at a certain repetition rate (termed frequency) and with a potential lack of symmetry with respect to the using apparatus (termed median offset or simply offset). Amplitude, frequency and offset are stabilized and controlled for useful operation, employing feedback from sensors which sense the light beam at predetermined positions in the scan path. More particularly, amplitude, frequency and offset are controlled such that the time interval during which the scanned beam traverses an imaging window is kept constant, and the offset is kept constant.

Torsion oscillator voltage control driver with each of dual voltage polarity for each of dual channel