Monitoring and control apparatus for fail-safe monitoring for normal operation of traffic signal lights provided at an intersection or the like where a plurality of roads intersect. The illumination conditions of respective signal lights are detected using as sensor device, and when the number of illuminated or non-illuminated signal lights is a predetermined number, a normal judgment output of logic value 1 corresponding to a high energy condition is generated while, when the number of illuminated or non-illuminated signal lights is not the predetermined number, an abnormal judgment output of logic value 0 corresponding to a low energy condition is generated. As a result, when a fault in the monitoring apparatus stops the output, the resultant output condition is the same as for a danger condition due to a signal light abnormality, resulting in an extremely safe signal light monitoring and control with excellent fail-safe characteristics.

With traffic signal units provided for example at a road intersection or the like, if an illumination condition of the signal lights is abnormal, then a traffic conflict can result. In particular, if the green lights (referred to hereunder as G lights) for permitting people and vehicles to proceed, are simultaneously illuminated for the respective directions of the intersecting roads, an extremely dangerous situation results. To avoid this situation, monitoring for simultaneous illumination of the G lights for the respective directions of the intersecting roads has heretofore mainly involved using a hard logic, for example to detect the terminal voltage of the signal lights via a voltage transformer or the like.
With conventional simultaneous G light illumination detection methods, voltage transformers are connected across the terminals of the G lights, so that a voltage is produced in the respective voltage transformers when the G lights illuminate, the arrangement being such that when a G light pair for the respective directions of the intersecting roads are illuminated simultaneously, G light simultaneous illumination (danger condition) is advised by the presence of a voltage (corresponding to a high energy condition). That is to say, the arrangement is such that a danger condition is advised by a high energy condition. In this case, if a fault occurs where the output to the monitoring circuit itself, which includes for example the voltage transformer, has a fault giving zero, then there is a problem in that if a simultaneous illumination of the G light pair for the respective intersecting roads occurs, this cannot be advised.
Moreover, in most cases it has not been possible to reach a stage where the illumination condition of a plurality of signal lights is monitored by only monitoring for simultaneous illumination of a G light pair for respective intersecting roads.
In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a monitoring apparatus for fail-safe monitoring for abnormal conditions such as, simultaneous illumination of traffic proceed permit signal lights, or signal light burn-out. Moreover, it is an object of the invention to provide a signal light control apparatus, which uses such a fail-safe monitoring apparatus.

Monitoring apparatus and control apparatus for traffic signal lights


A process and system for desalting crude oil includes delivering a stream of salty crude oil and wash water into a mixing valve, mixing the stream of salty crude oil and wash water through the mixing valve to create a mixed stream of desalted crude oil and salty wash water, delivering the mixed stream of desalted crude oil and salty wash water to a static mixer, and mixing the mixed stream of crude oil and wash water in the static mixer. Within the static mixer, the mixed stream is mixed in a coalescing regime to coalesce smaller droplets of water into larger droplets of water. The mixed stream is then directed to a desalter where the salty wash water is separated from the desalted crude oil.

Raw crude oil generally contains salts, such as calcium, sodium and magnesium chlorides. Salts cause corrosion in refinery systems that are expensive to repair and require more frequent shutdown and longer turn-around before profitable operation resumes. Corrosion is caused primarily by hydrochloric acid (produced from the hydrolysis of salts at high temperatures) in crude oil distillation columns and overhead systems. Since salts in crude oils are a significant problem and concern, removing such salts is an important operational process in a refinery.
Typically, desalting crude oil involves adding water to the incoming crude oil emulsifying the water and oil by shearing across a globe valve, which is also known as a mix-valve and allowing the oil and water to separate in a desalter settling vessel. The salt preferentially and fairly rapidly dissolves into the water immediately following the mix-valve so the remaining step is to separate the water from the oil. The oil and water are separated based on their density differences. Desalted crude exits from the top of the desalter settling vessel to the crude distillation tower while effluent water or brine exits from the bottom. However, desalting heavy crude oil in a refinery desalter system is challenge due to relatively high viscosity of heavy crude and relatively high densities of heavy crude oil relative to the water that captures the salt and is then separated from the crude oil based on density differences. Moreover, water and oil emulsions for heavy crude oil tend to be more stable than for light oil and stable emulsions make desalting less successful or at least more difficult.
In a typical desalting process, raw crude oil containing salt is mixed with water and raises the water content to a range of about 3% to 10%. The mixing of the oil phase and the water phase is carried out using a single mix valve which creates the water and oil emulsion. With other process parameters remaining similar, the pressure drop across the mix valve determines the size of the water droplets in the emulsion. Poor mixing across the mix valve allows salt to carry-over with the crude and over-mixing results in the formation of a stable emulsion which is difficult to break in the refinery desalter.
Within the desalter settling vessel, water droplets undergo coalescence under the influence of electrical and gravitational fields. In a traditional desalter, large water droplets settle down to the bottom of the desalter tank whereas smaller drops have a low settling velocity and tend to become entrained with the crude oil and exit the desalter into a stream that is a hazard to refinery systems as described above. The size of the droplets which actually settle downward within the desalter can be estimated based on the centerline velocity of the crude oil.
For those that have studied and designed desalting systems, desalting efficiency is generally defined in Equation (1) as:Desalting Efficiency (%)=(Salt In−Salt Out)/Salt In×100  Equation (1)
Desalting efficiency may be described as the product of the mixing efficiency and the dehydration efficiency. "Salt In" may be described as the salt content of the incoming oil, and "Salt Out" may be described as the salt content of the exiting oil. The mixing efficiency, while not commonly measured, is the percentage of salt transferred to the bulk water phase. The dehydration efficiency is described in Equation (2) as:Dehydration Efficiency (%)=(Water In−Water Out)/Water In×100  Equation (2)
"Water In" is the combined contribution of added water and the inlet percent of basic sediments and water ("% BS&W") in raw crude oil. "Water Out" may be described as the percent of basic sediments and water ("% BS&W") in desalted crude oil.
Due to constantly changing operating conditions, operation of the mixing valve is often constrained by the rate of water separation in desalter vessel. Excessive pressure drop across mixing valve promotes mixing and salt transfer, but such intense mixing creates an emulsion with relatively smaller average water drop size. Such an emulsion is difficult to break and separate and it lowers the dehydration efficiency.
Dehydration (water separation) in a desalter depends on the net velocity ("UNet") of water drops is given in Equation (3) as:UNet=(r2×(ρw−ρo)×g/3μo)−(Qo/(L×D))  Equation (3)
The second term on the right-hand side "QO/(L×D)" is the settling velocity of a water drop of radius "r", viscosity "μo," and density "ρw" in oil of density "ρo" and viscosity "μo." The pre-factor of one-third (⅓) is appropriate for a viscous water drop as opposed to a rigid spherical particle. The second term is (approximately) the centerline velocity arising from the upward oil flow (Qo) in the desalter of diameter D and length L. Simply put, factors that increase the net positive (i.e. downward) velocity of the water drops improve dehydration in a desalter.
The ratio of the water oil density differential to oil phase viscosity ((ρw−ρo)/μo), which is referred to as Stokes' parameter, depends on the water, crude oil, and operating temperature, whereas the drop size, r, is a function of the shear rate and flow geometry at the mixing valve (and subsequent pipe and fittings) and the water-oil interfacial properties.
There is a difficult trade-off between high shear which captures more salt in the water but allows more of the water to go into the refinery and low shear which prevents water from passing along into the refinery, but captures less of the salt in the crude. Adding to this challenge, the viscosity of the heavier crude oils tends to slow the settling velocity of all water droplets. The density difference between water and heavy crude oil is less than lighter crude oils further slowing settling velocity. Thus, as the worlds' production of crude oils tends to get heavier and denser, refineries will need to deal with the challenges within the desalters.
What is needed then are improved methods, processes and apparatuses to improve desalting of crude oil in an oil refinery.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Sequential mixing process for improved desalting


An apparatus for the refrigerated drying of gases, more particularly of compressed air, has at least one gas supply system, with a refrigerating device which has a heat exchanger unit through which a refrigerant carrier is passed, a cooling assembly for cooling down the refrigerant to such a temperature that the liquid contained in the gas or the vapour contained in the gas is deposited in ice form, and a de-icing unit. In addition to a main gas supply system there is a further gas supply system which comprises the de-icing unit and to which hot refrigerant can be supplied from the main gas supply system wherein at least two de-icers are provided for the de-icing unit of which at least one can selectively undergo regeneration, and that downstream of the de-icer in the second gas supply system there is a collecting container which is connected to each of the de-icers and from which the refrigerant consumers can be supplied straightaway.

During compression, refrigerating machines produce hot gaseous refrigerants which are generally called hot gas refrigerants. In the condenser which is connected at the output side this refrigerant discharges a large part of its heat to the atmospheric air or to cooling water and thereby becomes liquid. It is expanded in an evaporator through expansion valves and thereby absorbs heat from an area which is to be cooled whereby it again becomes gaseous. This heating and cooling effect is utilized for example in air-conditioning systems wherein the condenser and evaporator are interchangeable in their function and either heat or cool on the same outer side.
Ice which stems from the dampness of the surrounding air deposited in the evaporator on the ribs or in the pipes. In order to remove the ice and heat up the components again hot-gas refrigerant is supplied to the iced-up components for a certain time inside the refrigerating cycle. The normal operating process is thereby interrupted. The refrigerant is then drawn in from the compressor and only then is ready again for renewed use as a refrigerant. The hot-gas refrigerant can also serve to regulate the pressure on the operating side of the unit whereby use is made of the fact that in the case of gases a change in temperature is also always associated with a corresponding change in pressure.
Heating up or mixing is solely undertaken within the standard cycle by changing over to other components or by redirection.
The problems described above occur to a greater extent in apparatus used for the refrigerating drying of gases whereby moisture is to be drawn off from a surrounding gas such as compressed air. There are particular difficulties where the pressure thaw point lies below 0.degree. C. since then hoarfrost or ice forms on the components provided for dehumidifying. At low temperatures which are produced by cold brine or the refrigerant of a cooling assembly, this hoarfrost or ice attaches itself to the surfaces designed specifically for this purpose. After a greater or lesser length of service life this covering becomes so thick that it has to be removed for economy reasons or in order to maintain the efficiency of the apparatus.
An apparatus for the refrigerating drying of gases of the kind mentioned at the beginning is known from DE-A 39 41 713 whereby the removal of the ice crystals is carried out by heat shocks by means of electro impulses, by pressure shocks, for example by means of ultrasound, or by thawing processes. These are relatively expensive measures wherein in the case of thawing there are still the additional problems described in connection with the air-conditioning systems.
It is an object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for the refrigerating drying of gases wherein de-icing can be carried out in a simple way without interrupting the refrigerant production operation.

Apparatus for the defrosting of refrigerating driers below 0 degrees celsius


A roller-shaped rotator includes an endless belt and a roller-shaped base member. The roller-shaped base member is formed by winding a thin plate material plural times through elastic deformation into a roller shape. The roller-shaped base member is inserted into the endless belt, and brought into press contact with an inner peripheral surface of the belt by an elastic repulsive force due to the deformation. The roller-shaped base member is supported at both end portions in an axial direction so as to be rotatable about an axis of the roller-shaped base member.

(i) Technical Field
The present invention relates to a roller-shaped rotator, a fixing device, and an image forming apparatus.
(ii) Related Art
In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner is applied to a latent image formed by a difference in electrostatic potential to be visualized, and the formed toner image is transferred to a recording sheet. Then, the toner image is fixed to the recording sheet by a fixing device. As the fixing device, a device which has a heated fixing member and a pressurizing member to be brought into press contact with the fixing member and in which a recording sheet retaining a toner image is interposed between the fixing member and the pressurizing member to be heated and pressurized is widely used. As the fixing member and the pressurizing member, roller-shaped members are used and pressed against each other to be rotationally driven. Besides, use of an endless belt is also proposed.
In order for the fixing device to sufficiently heat and pressurize a recording sheet retaining a toner, it is desired to efficiently heat the fixing member, and to bring the fixing member and the pressurizing member into press contact with each other over a wide range in the circumferential direction. In addition, it is desired to reduce a heat capacity in order to reduce the time required to heat the fixing member to a temperature that enables fixation when starting fixing operation. In order to address such issues, an endless belt is occasionally used as the fixing member or the pressurizing member.

Roller-shaped rotator, fixing device, and image forming apparatus


Disclosed herein are an autonomous emergency braking system and a method of controlling the same, capable of autonomously performing emergency braking using information detected by a radar sensor. The autonomous emergency braking system includes a radar sensor and an ECU. The radar sensor transmits a radio wave and receives a wave reflected from an object in front of a vehicle, so as to detect the object in front of the vehicle. The ECU receives object detection information from the radar sensor, and stops or puts off autonomous emergency braking when the number of times the object is detected within a predetermined distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times, based on the received object detection information.

Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an autonomous emergency braking system and a method of controlling the same, and more particularly, to an autonomous emergency braking system and a method of controlling the same, capable of autonomously performing emergency braking using information detected by a radar sensor.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, vehicles equipped with radar sensors have been increased. Vehicle electronic control units may provide a variety of safety or convenience functions using the distance between a vehicle and an object around the vehicle, the relative speed of the vehicle, the angle thereof, etc., based on information output from radar sensors mounted in the vehicle.
An autonomous emergency braking system is a system which prevents a rear-end collision or reduces damage even in the rear-end collision by autonomously operating an emergency brake, as well as warning a driver by sound or lighting, in the event of emergency situations that a preceding vehicle decelerates or stops or obstacles such as a pedestrian suddenly appear, by checking the distance between a vehicle and an object around the vehicle, the angle of the vehicle, or the relative speed thereof, based on information input from a radar sensor mounted in the vehicle.
In order to perform an autonomous emergency braking function in this autonomous emergency braking system, the reliability of information input from the radar sensor mounted in the vehicle is important. However, since the radar sensor is mounted in the vehicle, the radar sensor is shocked by the traveling of the vehicle or various causes. For this reason, the radar sensor is deviated from an initial mounted position, and the mounting angle of the radar sensor may be out of the normal range.
When the mounting position of the radar sensor is out of the normal range, the mounting angle of the radar sensor may be erroneous. Hence, the information output from the radar sensor has low reliability, in which case the autonomous emergency braking may malfunction.

Autonomous emergency braking system and method of controlling the same


A composite part made from a sheet molding compound is disclosed as having improved characteristics over traditional sheet molding compound composite parts. The fibrous material is introduced as a veil layer adjacent a paste layer, the veil flows well during the molding process. The improved flow and surface characteristics of a composite part are attributed to the elongation of the veil during molding and to the improved filling capabilities.

In the manufacture of fiber reinforced resin products, sheet molding compounds are frequently used. Sheet molding compounds offer an appealing solution for the production of Class A surface parts compared to steel in terms of cost, weight, styling flexibility and corrosion resistance.
Sheet molding compounds consist of a mixture of a thermosetting resin, a thermoplastic (typically dissolved in styrene) and catalyst, particulate filler and chopped reinforcement fibers, such as glass fibers. In most cases, the resin and chopped fibers are sandwiched between films of plastic material to form a laminated sheet that is wound in rolled form or festooned for storage. The laminated sheet is stored under conditions that will not result in final curing of the resin, but will allow the paste to thicken from typically a 10,000 to 40,000 centipoise (milliPascal seconds-mPa·s) range to a desired molding viscosity range, typically between 30,000,000 and 50,000,000 centipoise (mPa·s). At the time of use, the protective carrier film is removed and the laminated sheet is cut into blanks, or plies, of a desired shape and size. The plies are then molded to form a cured composite part. In most applications, multiple plies of the laminated sheets are used in the composite structure and typically comprise between 25 and 50% of the die/tool's surface area. When the laminated sheets are molded, the resin and glass flow within the mold under heat and pressure to cover the entire surface of the mold. Sheet molding compounds are used in a variety of applications that require aesthetic appeal, corrosion resistance, lighter weight dimensional control and high strength.
One deficiency with currently available sheet molding compounds is that the charge may not form a Class A type surface part when molded and cured. This is due to the fact that sometimes the chopped fibers move to the surface of the sheet molding compound to form surface imperfections. Further, the sheet molding compound sometimes does not flow well in the mold, especially if it is loaded incorrectly, and this creates surface imperfections such as surface pores. Thus, some SMC composite parts may be scrapped, or require sanding and repair, or must otherwise be reworked to be used in applications requiring a desired surface appearance.
Yet another problem with surface characteristics occurs when these composite parts formed from the sheet molding plies are painted. Paint pops may be caused by the release of volatile liquids (such as water, styrene or di-vinyl benzene monomer) from the sheet molding paste or by the release of moisture or solvents contained in the resin or within/around fiber bundles during the curing process. These are quite common, typically affecting 5–10% or more of painted SMC composite parts, leading to substantial cost in terms of rework and waste.
In addition, to allow a long and uniform flow that will produce a wave-free surface, the fibers used in sheet molding compounds are typically provided by the glass manufacturer as bundles or "splits" of multiple filaments. The act of impregnating the bed of chopped fibers between two layers of sheet molding compound paste often leaves air trapped within the composite sheet, often beside or between the bundles, where small differences in surface tension adversely affects the wetting of the bundles or splits. Unfortunately, this bundling may also include entrapped air which, when released during the flow, produces tiny bubbles which travel slowly under a pressure gradient. To evacuate these bubbles, it is useful to have the molding compound flow to fill out the tool to allow the action of the pressure gradients to move those air bubbles towards the edge of the flow front and thus towards the edge of the part. Such large flow typically calls for loading the tool by a charge representing 50% or less of the area of the part. Others have shown that molding under vacuum may aid in the removal of extraneous gases.
In addition, the flow of the various stacked sheets in the charge is not homogeneous. The sheets in the center of the stack flow more slowly than those in contact with the tool (mold). This does not allow the use of special treatment to the top layer to solve the problem of paint popping.
Another problem with currently available sheet molding compounds is that they are difficult to paint along with steel parts in a conventional assembly line painting system. Typically, composite parts require the use of a conductive primer applied prior to the application of an ornamental surface paint. To improve electrostatic sprayability, conductive materials have been introduced to sheet molding compounds. However, typical sheet molding compounds require large amounts of conductive materials to be introduced in order to improve surface conductivity enough to be effectively electrostatically sprayable. This increases raw material costs and can decrease surface quality associated with increased fiber loading.
One potential way to produce sheet molding compounds has been to locally sandwich a small piece of wet process textile mat, instead of chopped fibers, in a localized area between layers of sheet molding compound paste and molding the resultant laminate into a composite part. However, the fiber contained within a conventional wet process textile veil mat does not flow well under pressure, and is not intended to do so. Thus, the composite parts formed by this process have similar poor surface characteristics as composite parts formed with chopped fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,302,499 illustrates a method of making a moldable composite, including the steps of providing a fabric material on the outside of an SMC sheet, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 of the '499 patent, to provide corrosion resistance and avoid fiber read-through. In the '499 patent, the resin flows through the veil during molding to form a resin-rich layer on the outside of the veil, but no resin is provided on the outside of the veil. Additionally, the '499 patent indicates the properties of the veil are critical, and describes these properties to include that the veil must be permeable so the resin flows through the veil during the molding process and that the veil must posses a grab break strength of at least ten pounds per inch in both longitudinal and transverse directions so as to avoid tearing during compression molding. Thus, the '499 patent includes a system as shown in FIG. 2, where the veil is draped over the entire tool surface, and the veil is strong enough to remain intact without tearing, while the veil does not apparently flow with the resin during molding. The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is further described in Example 1, and uses a synthetic fabric (Nexus), capable of substantial elongation, but which is molded at relatively low temperature (275 F), and which provides the fabric on the outer surface of the resin, and where the resin flows through the veil during molding. The '499 patent does not teach a method for making a Class A surface part.
A further deficiency in the current technology is that sheet weight is limited due to the currently available manufacturing techniques. Typically resin, or sheet molding paste, is applied to two carrier film layers using a doctor blade, and a layer of chopped glass or glass mat is sandwiched between the two resin-coated layers to form a composite sheet. One such sheet molding compounding line is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,974 to Rossi et al., which is herein incorporated by reference. Another such sheet molding compounding line is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,103,032 and 6,119,750 to Greve, assigned to the Budd Company, which are herein incorporated by reference. The use of doctor blades, usually an upside down weir blade, to apply the sheet molding paste allows only two layers of sheet molding paste to be used, since the prior art teaches that a carrier film passes below the doctor blade to form each layer of paste, and this carrier film must be at the outside of the sheet to be removed and disposed prior to molding. Accordingly, because there is only two resin layers, the need to penetrate the sheet molding paste through the fiber package while maintaining proper paste/fiber distribution limits the thickness achievable. Thus, in the prior art, several layers of the composite sheet are required to be placed in a tool to provide a charge having the desired amount of material for the composite part.
Yet another deficiency in the current technology is that sheet weight is inconsistent. This is attributed to the viscosity changes in the sheet molding paste attributed to thickening and the use of doctor blade or other paste dispensing devices as metering tools whose throughput rates are dependent upon the viscosity of the metered media. Consequently, in order to manufacture a part having a constant weight and volume, the charge size must be adjusted from part to part, which leads to inconsistencies in flow and performance of composite parts.
It is therefore highly desirable to improve the characteristics of sheet molding compound. This would allow sheet molding compound parts to be used in a wider variety of composite applications wherein surface quality as well as scrap and rework is a concern.
It is thus also highly desirable to improve the electrostatic sprayability of composite parts made of sheet molding compounds.

Sheet molding compound having improved characteristics


A reduced order model of an integrally bladed turbine disk (IBD) is used with experimental vibrational test data to modify a finite element model (FEM) of the IBD so that the FEM more accurately predicts the vibrational mistuning of the disk. The refined FEM can be used to evaluate a proposed modification of the IBD before the hardware is actually modified, and to evaluate the actual modification if there is a difference between the proposed and actual modifications.

Integrally bladed disks (IBDs) are a relatively recent development in gas turbine engine technology. IBDs are bladed disks in which the blades and disk (or hub) form one continuous structure. The blades may be welded to the disk or formed integrally with the disk by being milled from a single block of material. IBDs are also referred to in the aerospace industry as blisks or as integrally bladed rotors (IBRs). While IBDs are becoming more popular in gas turbine aero engines, earlier traditional aero engine designs as well as many current industrial turbine and compressor designs have individual blades that are held in place by inserting them into slots in the disk.
Turbine blades on a bladed disk are part of a dynamic system with a complex vibratory response. For example, consider the difference in the vibratory response of a single turbine blade in isolation and a set of turbine blades mounted to a disk. A single turbine blade in isolation has mode shapes such as first bending and first torsion that generally have broadly spaced natural frequencies, resulting in a relatively simple vibratory response. However, when a set of turbine blades are mounted on a disk, they interact with each other, producing large numbers of modes with closely spaced frequencies and more complex dynamics. A disk with N blades will have N modes with similar frequencies in which the airfoils deflect in a first bending shape, and N modes with similar frequencies in which the airfoils deflect in a first torsion shape. These sets of modes with similar airfoil deflection patterns are referred to as mode families.
Ideally, all of the blades on a single disk are identical to each other, but this is not the case in reality. When it comes to vibration, no two IBDs are alike. Every IBD has a unique set of properties that causes it to vibrate differently from all other bladed disks, even those of the same design. Differences in individual blades due to manufacturing tolerances, wear, damage or repairs will cause them to vibrate at slightly different frequencies. This phenomenon of blades having different frequencies from each other is called mistuning. Because of mistuning and the associated complex vibrational behavior, some blades of an IBD can vibrate strongly while others are not vibrating at all. Blades with a higher vibratory response are more susceptible to high cycle fatigue damage, and because mechanical failure of a bladed disk is such a catastrophic event, there has been a long felt need by operators of turbine engines to be able to predict, and thereby to prevent, vibration-induced damage and associated failures.
Because manufacturing tolerances create part-to-part dimensional variations that have significance regarding an IBD's vibrational performance, it is known to adjust a finite element model (FEM) of an IBD to reflect the actual dimensions of a particular part; i.e. to construct a digital twin of a particular part. Such FEM built to measured dimensions is referred to as a Geometrically Mistuned FEM model. For example, the United States Air Force Research Laboratory presented a paper titled "Automated Finite Element Model Mesh Updating Scheme Applicable to Mistuning Analysis" at the 2014 ASME Turbine Technical Conference and Exposition describing a process for morphing the structured mesh of a nominal finite element model to reflect geometric data collected during an optical scan of an IBD. Other publications addressing this problem include: 1) GT2013-95320 "Uncertainties of an Automated Optical 3D Geometry Measurement, Modeling, and Analysis Process for Mistuned IBR Reverse Engineering", ASME Turbo Expo 2013; 2) GT2014-26925 "Automated Finite Element Model Mesh Updating Scheme Applicable to Mistuning Analysis", ASME Turbo Expo 2014; 3) 10.2514/6.2016-1371 "Experimental Validation of an Optically Measured Digital Replica of a Mistuned Rotor Using a System ID Approach", AAIA SciTech Forum, January 2015; and 4) GT2015-43150 "Experimental Validation of a Mesh Quality Optimized Morphed Geometric Mistuning Model" ASME Turbo Expo 2015. However, when the vibrational behavior predictions of such geometrically mistuned models are compared with experimental results, there remains a difference, most likely due to small residual dimensional measurement errors and possibly also due to small as-built material property variations.
A related problem has been addressed in the medical field where finite element models are used to evaluate how injuries occur in the human body, as discussed in paper IRC-17-107 titled "Development of Morphed Ribcage Finite Element Models for Comparison with PMHS Data" presented at the 2017 International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury conference. U.S. Pat. No. 9,710,880 B2 titled "User Guided Shape Morphing in Bone Segmentation for Medical Imaging" issued on Jul. 18, 2017. However, the medical field is concerned about static loads on the human body, not high order dynamic loading.
Morphing of models is also useful when identifying objects in an image, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,590,261 titled "Finite-Element Method for Image Alignment and Morphing" issued on Dec. 31, 1996. Imaging applications are not concerned with high order vibrational motion.
Process and model refinements over the past few years have continued to improve the correspondence between geometrically mistuned FEM predictions and experimental results for IBD's, but recent evaluations have found that even geometrically mistuned models are unable to predict blade mistuning frequencies for some mode families with a desired degree of accuracy. Because blade vibratory response is so highly sensitive to blade frequency, continued improvement in the analytical modeling of IBDs is desired.

Refinement of finite element model of integrally bladed disk


Hydrodesulfurization of a cracked naphtha is effected in the presence of a transition alumina support bearing a Group VIII non-noble metal oxide and a Group VI-B metal oxide, the atom ratio of Group VIII metal to Group VI-B metal being 1-8. The process of the instant invention gives high levels of hydrodesulfurization compared to prior art magnesia-containing catalysts and lower levels of olefin saturation, and less octane reduction in the desulfurized gasoline.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, cracked naphtha (obtained as product of a cracking operation or a coking operation) may contain a significant quantity of sulfur--up to as much as 13,000 wppm; and this material contributes a substantial quantity of undesired sulfur to the gasoline pool to which it is commonly passed. It is possible to decrease the sulfur content by (i) hydrotreating the whole feedstock to the cracking/coker unit or (ii) hydrotreating the product naphtha from these units.
The first noted alternative is a "brute force" effort that is very expensive in that it requires a large hydrotreater and it consumes significant quantities of hydrogen. The second-noted alternative is a more direct approach--but unfortunately it results in undesirable saturation of the olefins (typically originally present in amount of 20 w %-50 w %) down to levels as low as 4 w %-30 w %; and this reduces the octane number of the product gasoline by as much as 1-14 units. Prior art desulfurization of full range FCC naphtha from 13,000 wppm down to 20 wppm results in a typical decrease in octane number by about 14 units. This loss in octane number associated with desulfurization has a significant impact on the octane number of the refinery gasoline pool.
Typical prior art disclosures which are directed to hydrodesulfurization include
U.S. Pat. No. 4,140,626 Bertolacini and Sue-A-Quan) describe a selective hydrodesulfurization process employing a catalyst with a Group VI-B metal and a Group VIII metal deposited on a support consisting of at least 70 wt % magnesium oxide (MgO). Preferably, the Group VI-B metal is molybdenum and the Group VIII metal is cobalt. Catalyst A (a catalyst of the invention of this patent) is 3 wt % CoO/.about.16 wt % MoO3 on a pure MgO support. Catalyst B is a sample of commercial Criterion HDS-2A CoMo on alumina hydrotreating catalyst (with similar levels of CoO and MoO3). Catalyst A is better than Catalyst B for hydrodesulfurization (HDS). In addition, catalyst A produces better octane numbers than Catalyst B at equivalent values of HDS (in the range of 75-85% HDS); however, the improvement is only .about.1.5 octane numbers. Surprisingly, for both catalysts, olefin saturation is fairly low (<.about.40 wt %) and octane penalties are fairly insignificant (<.about.2 octane numbers) for the ranges of HDS studied. Other catalysts of the invention (prepared on supports with at least 70 wt % magnesium oxide) show HDS improvements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,632 (Yu and Myers) is very similar to the above described patent except that the metals loadings are restricted to 4-6 wt % for the Group VIB metal and 0.5-2 wt % for the Group VIII metal. Again, preferably, the Group VI-B metal is molybdenum and the Group VIII metal is cobalt. Catalyst I (a catalyst of the invention of this patent) is .about.1 wt % CoO/.about.5 wt % MoO.sub.3 on a pure MgO support. Catalyst II is .about.3 wt % CoO/.about.17 wt % MoO.sub.3 on a support comprising 80 wt % MgO (i.e. a catalyst of Bertolacini, described above). Catalyst I generally gives poorer HDS than Catalyst II, but, Catalyst I gives less olefin saturation and better octane numbers at around the same level of HDS (.about.82-84%). The incremental octane improvement is small (.about.1.6 octane numbers). Again, for both catalysts, olefin saturation is fairly low (<.about.40 wt %) and octane penalties are fairly insignificant(<.about.2.6 octane numbers) for the ranges of HDS studied.
A paper entitled "DESULFURIZATION OF CAT CRACKED NAPHTHAS WITH MINIMUM OCTANE LOSS" was presented at the 1978 NPRA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas by Coates, Myers and Sue-A-Quan. This paper presents a good overview of the development of what Amoco called their "Selective Ultrafining Process." The paper presented about one year before the above described patents issued, mentions two catalysts (presumably from the two patents). Sulfiding technique was mentioned as a major concern. Amoco claimed that the new catalysts showed lower rates of deactivation than standard hydrotreating catalysts for HDS. Incremental octane improvements were claimed to be 4 MON and 4.5 RON at 90% HDS. The incremental octane improvements of the presentation were much larger than those shown in the subsequent patents.
The conventional catalysts for naphtha hydro- treating include CoMo, NiMo, NiW, CoMoP, and NiMoP metal oxides supported on alumina such as the commercial Criterion C-444. Magnesia supported catalysts and silica-magnesia supported catalysts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,429 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,938, respectively. The commercial BASF K8-11 catalyst, used in the water gas shift conversion, generally contains 4 wt % CoO and 10 wt % MoO.sub.3 on a magnesia-alumina-silica support. One of the common drawback of catalysts on magnesia-containing supports is the low HDS activity compared to alumina supported catalysts. It is believed that poor dispersion of MoO.sub.3 on magnesia supports and low surface area of magnesia supports contribute to the low HDS activity. British patent 2,225,731 discloses hydrotreating catalysts comprising Group VI-B and Group VIII metal hydrogenation components on a support which comprises magnesia and alumina in a homogeneous phase--which catalyst is said to have an activity comparable to similar catalysts based on alumina. U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,237 issued Oct. 9, 1990 to Dow Chemical Company as assignee of D. E. Laycock is of interest.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved hydrodesulfurization process accompanied with minimum olefin saturation. Other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Hydrodesulfurization of cracked naphtha with low levels of olefin saturation


A method foamed fracturing may include providing a wellbore that extends into a subterranean formation and introducing a foamed fracturing fluid into the subterranean formation at a pressure sufficient to create or enhance at least one fracture in at least a portion of the subterranean formation. The foamed fracturing fluid may generally include an aqueous base fluid, a sugar derivative foaming agent, and a gas.

The invention relates generally to environmentally-friendly, nonionic foaming agents that produce foams with an increased thermal tolerance for use in subterranean formations.
The treatment of subterranean formations penetrated by a wellbore to stimulate the production of hydrocarbons therefrom or to enhance the ability of the formation to accept injected fluids has long been known in the art. One of the most common methods is to subject the formation to a fracturing treatment. This treatment is conducted by injecting a liquid, gas, or two-phase fluid, which generally is referred to as a fracturing fluid, down the wellbore at sufficient pressure and flow rate to fracture the subterranean formation. A proppant material such as sand, fine gravel, sintered bauxite, glass beads, or the like may also be introduced into the fractures to keep the fractures at least somewhat open ("propped") once the fracturing pressure is released. Propped fractures provide larger flow channels through which an increased quantity of a hydrocarbon may flow, thereby increasing the productive rate of a well.
The rheological requirements of a fracture fluid are highly constraining. To adequately propagate fractures in the subterranean formation, a fracturing fluid should exhibit a low leakage rate of liquids into the formation during the fracturing operation. Also, the fracturing fluid should have sufficient body and viscosity to transport and deposit proppant into the cracks in the formation formed during fracturing. The fracturing fluid should readily flow back into the wellbore after the fracturing is complete and leave minimal residue that could impair permeability and conductivity of the formation. Finally, the fracturing fluid should have rheological characteristics that permit it to be formulated and pumped down the wellbore without excessive difficulty or pressure drop friction losses.
The most commonly used fracturing fluids are water-based compositions containing a hydratable high molecular weight polymeric gelling material that increases the viscosity of the fluid. Thickening the fluid reduces leakage of liquids from the fracture fissures into the formation during fracturing and increases proppant suspension capability.
However, a significant number of hydrocarbon bearing subterranean formations do not respond to conventional fracturing fluids. These problematic formations include hydrocarbon reservoirs that are under low pressure, subterranean formations that exhibit low permeability to fluid flow, and formations in which permeability is reduced when exposed to water. For example, clay in formations swells when it absorbs water that reduces permeability. Also, fracturing fluids do not readily flow back out of these difficult formations when the fracturing operation is complete; the fluids remain in the formations and tend to impede the flow of hydrocarbons to the wellbore.
Foamed fracturing fluids are known as an alternative to the conventional all-liquid fracturing fluids and can be designed to meet the desired rheological requirements and to be effective for problematical formations. Foamed fracturing fluids are media in which a relatively large volume of gas is dispersed in a relatively small volume of liquid, usually with the aid of a foaming agent that reduces the surface tension of the fluids and stabilizes small bubbles. The most commonly used gases for foamed fracture fluids, nitrogen and carbon dioxide, are noncombustible, readily available, and relatively cheap. Most commonly used foamed fracturing fluids are water based, although oil and alcohol based foams are known.
Foamed fracture fluids may be superior to conventional liquid fracturing fluids for problematic formations because foams contain less liquid than traditional fracturing fluids and thus have less liquid to retrieve after the fracturing operation is complete. Moreover, the expansion of the gas in the foamed fluid when fracturing pressure in the wellbore is relieved promotes flow of residual fracture fluid liquid back into the wellbore. Moreover, foamed fracturing fluids exhibit low liquid leakage into the formation because they inherently have low liquid concentrations, and the stable two-phase structure characteristic of foams minimizes leakage and promotes proppant transport and placement capability,
The most common foaming agents are ionic surfactants. However, ionic surfactants can have compatibility issues with both problematic formations and other additives within a foamed fracturing fluid or subsequent treatment fluid. For example, sandstone and limestone formations have negative surface charges. Thus, when a cationic foaming agent is used in a foamed fracturing operation, the cationic foaming agent may coat the surfaces of the formation leaving the formation oil-wet and/or adversely affect subsequent operations like consolidation and scale-inhibiting operations. In addition, ionic surfactants may be rendered ineffective in the presence of high salt concentrations, and thus are incompatible with brine treatment fluids.
While nonionic foaming agents may be used to overcome incompatibility issues, they tend to be substantially less thermally stable than their ionic counterparts. Further, foams produced from nonionic foaming agents are typically intolerant of oil even at low concentrations, i.e., less than 0.1% in the treatment fluid. This low oil-tolerance can be limiting as many gelling agents, a common additive in foamed fracturing fluids, often contain a hydrocarbon component at significant enough concentration to be incompatible with many nonionic foaming agents.
Thus, there is a need for environmentally-friendly foaming agents compatible with problematic formations that can produce foams with thermal stabilities comparable to the thermal stability of an ionic foam.

Thermally stable, nonionic foaming agent for foam fracturing fluids


Applicants have discovered a method for the stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of 3α-hydroxy, 3β-methyl-5α-pregnan-20-one (ganaxolone) comprising reacting 5α-pregnane-3,20-dione; with an organometallic methylating agent in an inert solvent to provide a compound of the formula

A number of 3α-hydroxy, 3β-substituted-5α-pregnan-20-ones steroid derivatives have proven effective in modulating the GABA receptor chloride ionophore complex (GR complex) in vitro and exhibit useful therapeutic effects in animal models of human CNS disorders. Foremost among them is 3α-hydroxy, 3β-methyl-5α-pregnan-20-one (Ganaxolone, GNX, 1) which has been shown to stimulate the GR complex and demonstrates a variety of beneficial physiological effects in vivo. Ganaxolone 1 is being tested in advanced clinical trials for epilepsy and may have utility in a number of other CNS disorders. The high doses of ganaxolone required for efficacious treatment in humans (>1 g/day) necessitate the need for an efficient and low cost manufacturing process (Nohria and Giller, J. Am. Soc. Exp. Neurotherapeutics, (2007) 4: 102-105).

The most direct approach to the synthesis of ganaxolone is via regioselective and stereoselective attack at the C-3 carbonyl of 5α-pregnane 3,20-dione (Dione 2) by an organometallic methylating agents such as methyl Grignard or methyllithium. Direct methylation of 5α-pregnane 3,20-dione with methyllithium or methyl Grignard to prepare ganaxolone has not been possible as irreversible attack of both the C3 and C20 carbonyl groups by carbon anions yields complex mixtures of products.

As the undesired products from methylation of dione 2 have similar physical properties to of ganaxolone, one must obtain ganaxolone from an organometallic methylation reaction of Dione 2 with less than 10% of any single impurity to avoid multiple purification steps which also lower the effective yield and increase the manufacturing costs to obtain pharmaceutically pure ganaxolone (no single impurity >0.1%).
The standard approach to the synthesis of Ganaxolone 1 involves protection of the C-20 carbonyl of 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnane 20-one prior to oxidation to react with an organometallic methylating agent at position 3 to introduce the 3β-methyl group followed by hydrolysis of the ketal at C-20 (Hogenkamp et al., J. Med. Chem., (1997) 40: 61-72). The disadvantage of this approach is that it adds at least two additional steps to the overall synthesis, first protection of the C20 carbonyl, removal of the protecting group after introduction of the 3β-methyl group.
More importantly, the stereoselectivity is quite poor resulting in nearly equal amount of the 3α and 3β isomers. This increases the cost and complexity of the synthesis and lowers the overall yield for the process.
Another method for the synthesis of ganaxolone (1) is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,115 and the literature (He et. al., Zhongguo Xinyao Zazhi (2005), 14(8), 1025-1026) wherein dione 2 is reacted with Corey's Reagent (trimethylsulfoxonium iodide) and potassium t-butoxide in tetrahydrofuran via a reversible thermodynamically controlled reaction (Johnson et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., (1973), 95 (22), 7424-7431) to generate the more stable epoxide isomer (1-((2′R,5S,8R,9S,10S,13S,14S,17S)-10,13-dimethylhexadecahydrospiro [cyclopenta[a]phenanthrene-3,2′-oxirane]-17-yl)ethanone) at C3. The epoxide is reduced under a variety of conditions including nucleophilic opening of the epoxide with potassium iodide and reducing the resulting iodide via hydrogenation to afford ganaxolone 1. This synthesis requires isolation and purification of the intermediate epoxide as well as many manipulations and an expensive hydrogenation step all of which contribute to a more expensive and lengthy process. The reaction of Corey's reagent with Dione 2 followed by reduction of the epoxide yields a by-product 17-hydroxyganaxolone 8 which is difficult to remove. Obtaining purified ganaxolone via the Corey reagent route has often produced levels of 17-hydroxyganaxolone >0.1% by HPLC.
There remains a need for an efficient and cost effect ganaxolone synthesis, which provides high purity ganaxolone.

Method for making 3α-hydroxy, 3β- substituted-5α-pregnan-20-ones


A signaling assembly is described which includes a semitransparent mirror, an opaque layer attached to the semitransparent mirror, a reflector member positioned within an aperture defined by the opaque layer; a circuit board defining an aperture through which visible light can pass, and which is positioned in spaced relation relative to the semitransparent mirror; and an electromagnetic radiation emitter mounted on the rear surface of the circuit board and which emits visible light which is passed by the circuit board and an opaque layer and which is reflected from the reflector member so as to form a visibly discernable signal which is passed by the semitransparent mirror.

The inventor, and the assignee of the present application have endeavored to develop a wide variety of different signaling assemblies which may be utilized on overland vehicles of associated designs, and which are effective to provide a visual signal which indicates to adjoining vehicles that the overland vehicle is about ready to change lanes, brake or otherwise engage in maneuvers which might effect the adjoining vehicle. Prior art devices which were mounted on an overland vehicle, and which achieved the benefits described above, as well as providing auxiliary lighting which could be used by an operator during periods of darkness, to light the region adjacent to the vehicle, have found wide acceptance on many overland vehicle platforms. The prior art further discloses, the use of various types of semitransparent mirrors including neutrally chromatic, dichroic, and electrochromic type mirrors as well as assorted schemes for transmitting emitted visibly discernable electromagnetic radiation into given angulated orientations relative to the semitransparent mirror so as to achieve the benefits described, above. As a general matter, the prior art assemblies have all endeavored to provide an acceptable amount of light reflectivity while simultaneously passing electromagnetic radiation in an acceptable amount which forms a visual signal that can be seen by adjacent drivers, or which further can illuminate a region of the overland vehicle, or the underlying ground which is adjacent thereto.
As a general matter, the prior art devices have worked with varying degrees of success. However, the inventor has endeavored to develop a new signaling assembly which is light weight, has a reduced thickness dimension, and which can utilize a light emitting device to provide a number of benefits which were heretofore unknown. Those skilled in the art have long recognized that the space available to position a visual signaling assembly within a mirror housing, for example, is quite limited. Further, dissipation of heat generated by any light emitting assembly within a mirror housing continues to be a concern in the design of such assemblies. Furthermore, repair and/or replacement of such assemblies has sometimes been difficult.
Therefore, a visual signaling assembly which avoids the shortcomings attendant with the prior art assemblies utilized heretofore is the subject matter of the present application.


A method of monitoring a process of powering an electronic device through a cable assembly is proposed. The cable assembly comprises a cable which is connected between a power supply and the electronic device. The method comprises generating a synchronization signal, generating a test signal based on the synchronization signal and applying the test signal to one end of the cable, detecting a response signal at the one end of the cable, the response signal resulting from applying the test signal to the cable assembly, and determining, based on the response signal and the synchronization signal, a first and a second quantity indicative of a real part and an imaginary part of the impedance of the cable assembly, respectively. Further, an apparatus for monitoring a process of powering an electronic device through a cable assembly is proposed.

Methods for powering portable devices through cables are known in the art. For instance, a battery-powered device may be charged by connecting it to a wall-plug adaptor including a power converter through a pluggable (removable) standardized cable, such as a Universal Serial Bus USB cable. A charger circuit in the battery-powered device is responsible for limiting the current delivered over the standardized cable in order to prevent over-heating of connectors and the cable itself. Being standardized, the cable connecting the wall-plug adaptor to the mobile device can be replaced with any other cable the connectors of which seem to conform to the same standard, but which is of lower quality (sub-standard cable). Therefore, the current limit has to be set low enough so that low-quality cables or an increased connector impedance, caused by connector wear over time or dirt caught between the plug and the receptacle, will not present a safety risk during charging. Other safety critical situations may arise if the power pins of two connectors are not properly connected to each other.
In existing solutions, the current limit is based on specifications of the relevant standard, e.g. specifications of the USB standard, and evaluations done by the device manufacturer.
However, such existing solutions do not account for removable cables of low quality, the connectors of which only seem to conform to the given standard (i.e. fit physically into respective receptacles of the mobile device and the wall-plug adaptor), but which themselves do not meet the specifications of the given standard (i.e. substandard cables). Using such removable cables may result in damage to the wall-plug adaptor or the battery-powered device. In the worst case, the wall-plug adapter, the cable, one of the connectors, or the charger circuit within the battery-powered device may be thermally destroyed. Moreover, such existing solutions do not account for an increase of the impedance of a cable caused by dust or by wear and tear. Also, fixedly setting the current limit on the basis of specifications of the relevant standard may not allow charging the battery-powered device with the highest possible current under all circumstances, in particular when taking into account safety margins. Thus, state of the art solutions may not be able to achieve the shortest possible charging time for the battery-powered device.

Method and apparatus for powering an electronic device


It is disclosed that there is a sustaining pulse generator of a plasma display panel capable of simplifying a circuit configuration thereof.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a sustaining pulse generator of a plasma display panel, and more particularly to a sustaining pulse generator of a plasma display panel that is capable of simplifying a circuit configuration thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a plasma display panel (PDP) radiates a fluorescent body by an ultraviolet with a wavelength of 147 nm generated during a discharge of He+Xe or Ne+Xe gas to thereby display a picture including characters and graphics. Such a PDP is easy to be made into a thin-film and large-dimension type. Moreover, the PDP provides a very much improved picture quality owing to a recent technical development.
Such a PDP drives one frame, which is divided into various sub-fields having a different emission frequency, so as to realize gray levels of a picture. Each sub-field is again divided into a reset interval for uniformly causing a discharge, an address interval for selecting the discharge cell and a sustaining interval for realizing the gray levels depending on the discharge frequency. When it is intended to display a picture of 256 gray levels, a frame interval equal to 1/60 second (i.e. 16.67 msec) in each discharge cell is divided into 8 sub-fields SF1 to SF8. Each of the 8 sub-fields SF1 to SF8 is divided into a reset interval, an address interval and a sustaining interval.
The reset interval and the address interval of each sub-field are equal every sub-field. A voltage difference between a data electrode and a scanning electrode causes an address discharge to select cells. The sustaining interval increases in proportion of 2n (wherein n=0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) at each sub-field. The gray levels necessary for displaying a picture can be realized by controlling the sustaining discharge frequency of the sustaining interval in each sub-field. The sustaining discharge is caused by a sustaining pulse of high voltage alternately applied to the scanning electrode and a sustaining electrode.
Referring to FIG. 1, a sustaining pulse generator for generating a sustaining pulse of a PDP according to the related art includes an AC input unit 1 supplying AC voltage, a Power Factor Correction PFC unit 10 improving the power factor of the voltage applied from the AC input unit 1 and eliminating harmonics, a DC/DC converter 20 converting DC voltage generated at the PFC unit 10 into square wave and at the same time transforming it, and a sustaining pulse supplier 30 applying the square wave of the transformed DC voltage to a PDP panel 40.
The PFC unit 10 controls input current from the AC input unit to generate sine waves with the same phases, improve power factor and at the same time eliminate harmonics noise.
To this end, the PFC unit 10, as in FIG. 2, includes a rectifying circuit 12 rectifying the AC inputted from the AC input unit 1 to DC, and a power factor correction circuit 14 improving the power factor of the DC rectified at the rectifying circuit 12.
The rectifying circuit 12 includes a first diode DF1 and a second diode DF2 arranged in a full bridge type and being forward biased during a positive (+) half period of the inputted AC, and a third diode DF3 and a fourth diode DF4 being forward biased during a negative (−) half period. The rectifying circuit 12 does full wave rectification to the AC inputted from the AC input unit 1 and stores the produced DC at a smoothing capacitor 2C.
The power factor correction circuit 14 includes a coil 2L being charged with a current component of the DC stored at the smoothing capacitor 2C of the rectifying circuit 12, a first transistor 2T1 installed between the coil 2L and the rectifying circuit 12 and switching for the current component of the DC to be stored at the coil 2L, and a first capacitor Cdc1 being charged with a voltage component of the DC applied from the smoothing capacitor 2C by switching of the first transistor 2T1.
When a control signal (not shown) turns on the first transistor 2T1, there is a loop formed between the smoothing capacitor 2C, the first transistor 2T1 and the coil 2L and the current component of the DC is stored at the coil 2L. Further, when the control signal (not shown) turns off the first transistor 2T1, the voltage component of the DC stored at the smoothing capacitor 2C is stored at the first capacitor Cdc1.
There is a diode Do installed between the coil 2L and the first capacitor Cdc1 in the power factor correction circuit 14 for shutting off reverse current from the first capacitor Cdc1 to the coil 2L.
Referring to FIG. 3, the DC/DC converter 20 includes a bridge switch 22 connected to both ends of the first capacitor Cdc1 of the PFC unit 10, a center tap transformer 3T transforming the voltage applied by the switching of the bridge switch 22, a second capacitor 3C2 and a first inductor 3L1 connected in series between the center tap transformer 3T and the bridge switch 22, a full wave rectifier 24 connected to a secondary winding of the center tap transformer 3T and rectifying the voltage induced to the center tap transformer 3T, a smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 being charged with the voltage outputted from the full wave rectifier 24, and the second inductor 3L2 arranged in series between the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 and the full wave rectifier 24.
The bridge switch 22 consists of a first to a fourth switches 3Q1, 3Q2, 3Q3 and 3Q4 arranged in a full bridge type at both ends of the first capacitor Cdc1.
The first and third switches 3Q1 and 3Q3 are connected in parallel with one end of the first capacitor Cdc1, and the second and fourth switches 3Q2 and 3Q4 are connected in parallel with the other end of the first capacitor Cdc1. Herein, the first to fourth switches 3Q1, 3Q2, 3Q3 and 3Q4 are Field Effect Transistors FET.
There are a first node 3N1 connected to the first and fourth switches 3Q1 and 3Q4, and a second node 3N2 connected to the second and third switches 3Q2 and 3Q3. The first node 3N1 is connected to the upper end of a primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T through the second capacitor 3C2 and the first inductor 3L1, and the second node 3N2 is connected to the lower end of the primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T. The bridge switch 22 converts the voltage applied from the first capacitor Cdc1 by the alternate switching of the first to fourth switches 3Q1, 3Q2, 3Q3 and 3Q4 to apply to the primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T.
The second capacitor 3C2 is a DC blocking capacitor for preventing a current with a DC component applied to the center tap transformer 3T via the bridge switch 22.
The first inductor 3L1 is a resonant coil for eliminating switching loss of the first to fourth switches 3Q1, 3Q2, 3Q3 and 3Q4 of the bridge switch 22.
The center tap transformer 3T insulates the primary winding and the secondary winding and converts the input voltage. In other words, the center tap transformer 3T transforms the voltage applied from the primary winding to the secondary winding by a turn-ratio between the primary winding and the secondary winding. The center tap transformer 3T induces the voltage from the primary winding to the secondary winding by the turn-ratio between the primary winding and the secondary winding The one end of the primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T is connected to the first inductor 3L1, the other end of the primary winding to the second node 3N2.
The full wave rectifier 24 includes a first diode 3D1 arranged between both ends of the secondary winding of the center tap transformer 3T and a second diode 3D2 arranged between the first diode 3D1 and a positive (+) terminal of the center tap transformer 3T in order to rectify the AC pulse induced to the secondary winding of the center tap transformer 3T.
The second diode 3D2 rectifies the positive square wave induced between the positive (+) terminal and a center tap of the secondary winding and applies it to the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 through the second inductor 3L2. The first diode 3D1 rectifies the negative square wave induced between the center tap and the negative (−) terminal of the secondary winding and applies it to the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 through the second inductor 3L2. Herein, the second inductor 3L2 acts to smooth the square wave, which is rectified by the first and second diodes 3D1 and 3D2, to DC.
The DC/DC converter 20 has the same circuit configuration as an ordinary DC/DC converter, and the voltage stored at the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 of the DC/DC converter 20 is applied to the sustaining pulse supplier 30.
The sustaining pulse supplier 30 includes a third capacitor 3C3 for eliminating ripple of the voltage applied from the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2, and a fifth switch 3Q5 and a sixth switch 3Q6 connected in parallel with both ends of the third capacitor 3C3.
The third capacitor 3C3 is connected in parallel with the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 of the DC/DC converter 20. The third capacitor 3C3 compensates the ripple generated by line resistance when the voltage is applied from the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2.
The fifth and sixth switches 3Q5 and 3Q6 switches to allow the DC voltage stored at the third capacitor 3C3 to be applied to a panel capacitor Cp. Herein, the fifth and sixth switches 3Q5 and 3Q6 are Field Effect Transistors FET.
In the sustaining pulse generator according to the related art, after the first switch 3Q1 is turned on by the switching control signal (not shown), the second switch 3Q2 is turned on so that the voltage of the first capacitor Cdc1 flows via the first switch 3Q1, the second capacitor 3C2, the first inductor 3L1, the primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T and the second switch 3Q2. Accordingly, the voltage stored at the first capacitor Cdc1 is made to induce a positive voltage +SUS to the secondary winding of the center tap transformer 3T. The positive voltage +SUS induced to the secondary winding is rectified into a positive sustaining pulse by the second diode 3D2 and stored at the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 and the third capacitor 3C3 to be applied to the panel capacitor Cp.
Subsequently, the first and second switches 3Q1 and 3Q2 are turned off, then the third switch 3Q3 is turned on by a switching control signal (not shown), then the fourth switch 3Q4 is turned on. With this, the voltage of the first capacitor Cdc1 flows the third switch 3Q3, the primary winding of the center tap transformer 3T, the first inductor 3L1, the second capacitor 3C2, the fourth switch 3Q4. Accordingly, the voltage stored at the first capacitor Cdc1 is made to induce a negative voltage −SUS to the secondary winding of the center tap transformer 3T. The negative voltage −SUS induced to the secondary winding is rectified into a positive sustaining pulse by the first diode 3D1 and applied to the panel capacitor Cp through the smoothing capacitor 3Cdc2 and the third capacitor 3C3.
In this way, because the conventional sustaining pulse generator converts the AC input voltage into the sustaining pulse through the PFC unit 10, the DC/DC converter 20 and the sustaining pulse supplier 30, it increases circuit loss such as conduction loss and switching loss etc in many circuit devices in the course of conversion. In addition, a cost for fabricating the circuit increases due to the complexity of the circuit.

Generator for sustaining pulse of plasma display panel

Abstract: A sustaining pulse generator of a plasma display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a DC converter for converting AC voltage to DC voltage; a switching part for switching the DC voltage to convert into square wave; a transformer for inducing the square wave to an output terminal thereof connected to a panel; and a rectifier for rectifying the square wave induced to the output terminal to apply to the panel.


The present invention provides a solution that automatically detects and connects the properly terminated line pair and then allows modem training to proceed. The present invention can set a control parameter at the physical layer that establishes a training “state” for the modem (115). Training states can determine whether or not automatic line detection (375) is utilized. Automatic line detection (375) can be accomplished by measuring the power levels (345, 350) on each of the line pairs (145, 150) and then selecting the line pair (145, 150) that has the highest power level measurement (345, 350) as the line on which to continue training the modem (115). The selected line pair (355) can be stored for use as the properly terminated line pair.

The increased use of telephone twisted pair wiring for data communications has resulted in a push for faster modems and improved signaling protocols compatible with the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Examples of these improved protocols include a variety of digital subscriber line (DSL) communications such as asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL), hi-bit rate digital subscriber line (HDSL) and very high rate digital subscriber line (VDSL). Each DSL variant represents a different transmission speed over a different distance of copper pair wiring.
ADSL offers differing upload and download speeds and can be configured to deliver in excess of eight (8) megabits of data per second (8000K) from the network to the customer. This is more than 120 times faster than dial-up service and 100 times faster than integrated services digital network (ISDN). ADSL enables voice and high speed data to be sent simultaneously over the existing telephone line. ADSL uses the existing analog local loop lines for digital data transfer (to and from the remote location). It shares the bandwidth of the local loop with the existing phone system and does not require modification to the central office (CO) switch. It is asymmetrical because the upstream transfer rate is slower than the downstream data rate. This means that the data transfer from the remote location to the CO is a different rate than the data transfer rate from the CO to the remote location.
For an ADSL based service, ADSL modems at the CO exchange data through telephone wiring with compatible ADSL modems at remote locations. The ADSL modems at the CO also exchange data with servers. The central office modem is sometimes referred to as an ADSL Transceiver Unit-Central Office or "ATU-C." The remotely located ADSL modem is sometimes referred to as an ADSL Transceiver UNIT-Remote or "ATU-R." Any telephone equipment that may be in use at the remote location is connected to the same telephone wiring as the ATU-R. An ATU-R is usually connected to the CO on two (2) line pairs, an outer pair and an inner pair. FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates an inner line pair 145 and an outer line pair 150 of an exemplary ADSL system. At CO 120, splitter 135 combines information from digital subscriber line access module (DSLAM) ATU-C 125 with analog data associated with plain old telephone service (POTS) switch 130. Data is sent from CO 120 through local loop 140 to ATU-R 115, which is controlled by Host 110. Data enters ATU-R 115 from CO 120 as an ADSL signal which ATU-R 115 decodes. Data is sent from ATU-R 115 to CO 120 as an upstream ADSL signal. The upstream ADSL signal is sent to DSLAM ATU-C 125 and then out to servers (not shown). Either inner line pair 145 or outer line pair 150, but not both, is properly terminated into DSLAM ATU-C 125 at CO 120. ATU-R 115 either has to know before hand or has to be able to detect which is the properly terminated line pair. Without this information, ATU-R 115 either cannot be trained or will be trained at significantly reduced data rates and therefore will not operate optimally.
Currently, there is no method for automatically detecting and connecting the properly terminated line pair in order to start modem training; user intervention is required. Remote modems that can connect on either the inner or outer pair of wires have a manual switch or a relay to switch between the two (2) line pairs. In the past, the switch or relay had to be preset by someone (either the modem distributor or the user) who knew which of the pairs would be properly terminated to the CO modem. This could have been set in the management software or in the driver software for the remote modem. However, the proper setting is still not detected automatically; data identifying the properly terminated line pair must be manually entered. Modem users must have prior knowledge regarding which is the properly terminated line pair. This knowledge can come either from the CO or from manually testing both line pairs. The user must manually change the modem to the properly terminated line pair (if the modem has the ability to switch pairs). In general, the user must make sure that the modem is connected to the correct pair and, if not, make the change manually.
It is therefore desirable to provide a solution that automatically detects and connects the properly terminated line pair and then allows modem training to proceed. The present invention can set a control parameter at the physical layer that establishes a training "state" for the modem. Training states can determine whether or not automatic line detection is utilized. Automatic line detection can be accomplished by measuring the power levels on each of the line pairs and then selecting the line pair that has the highest power level measurement as the line on which to continue modem training. The selected line pair can be stored for use as the properly terminated line pair.

Automatic line pair detection in a modem


A developing apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image, which includes an electrostatic latent image holding member for holding an electrostatic latent image, a developing material support member provided to confront the electrostatic latent image holding member, and an electric field curtain generating device which functions as a developing material supply device for supplying the developing material to the developing material support member, and also causes an electric field curtain force in a form of a travelling wave travelling in terms of time, to act on the developing material.

The present invention generally relates to electrophotography and more particularly, to a developing apparatus for use in an electrophotographic apparatus and the like.
Conventionally, in a developing apparatus to be used in an electrophotographic apparatuses, etc., for electrically charging uncharged toner supplied into a developing apparatus thereof, it has been a common practice to charge the toner through depression thereof by a blade or the like, or through friction thereof with carrier and the like.
However, in the case where toner is adapted to be charged through contact by the blade or friction with respect to carrier, etc. as described above, there have been such problems that the toner may be crushed in some cases or that a considerable time is required for rising in the charging speed of toner, with a consequent poor response characteristic, while the charge amount of the toner is not stabilized in a proper range, thus resulting in fogging in the image to be formed or giving rise to scattering of toner.
In the arrangements which employ the electric field curtain device as referred to above, however, charging characteristics of toner have not yet been fully improved, with such problems as scattering of toner fogging due to insufficiently charged toner, etc. still being left unsolved.

Developing device provided with electrodes for inducing a traveling wave on the developing material


Embodiments relate to moving an object between pages of an editable document. An aspect includes determining that the object in an edit page of the editable document has been dragged to a target page thumbnail of the editable document. Another aspect include zooming in the target page thumbnail. Yet another aspect includes moving the object in the zoomed-in target page thumbnail.

The present disclosure relates generally to moving an object between pages, and more particularly, to moving an object between pages of an editable document.
Editor software, such as text editor software and photo editor software, is usually used to create an object and edit the object's information such as shape, graphic, link, etc. When using the editor software to generate or process an editable document, a user often needs to move objects between different pages.
When the user wants to move an object from one page to another, the user typically copies or cuts the object in a source page, and then switches from the source page to a target page and pastes the object at a desired position of the target page. Thus, when the object is moved between different pages, it is necessary to switch between the source page and the target page. In this way, if the target page is far away from the source page, a longer time is required to move the object, which renders the user's operation inconvenient. Especially when the user operates on a mobile device without a mouse, it may be difficult to move an object from one page to another. Moreover, after the object is moved to the target page, as the current edit page becomes the target page, if the user wants to continue to edit the source page, the user has to switch back to the source page, further resulting in an increased time for moving the object.

Move of object between pages of editable document

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The cooking oven may have a rotating floor for cooking food items. An insulation structure may be supported on a bottom floor and have a floor positioned above the bottom floor with the floor rotatable. An infrared heating element may be positioned below the floor and be oriented to radiate the floor. A rear heating element may be positioned in a rear portion of the insulation structure in a horizontal plane with the floor and intermediate the insulation structure and the floor. The insulation structure and the floor may define a cavity and the insulation structure may have an access opening to the cavity. A vent system may be positioned above the access opening and there may be an outer enclosure.

This invention relates to apparatus for cooking of food items. The new cooking oven may have infrared heating under a rotatable floor and a gas rear heating element to direct heat to a cavity dome. There may be an open access opening in combination with a dual hood vent system.
Cooking ovens using convection, conduction and radiant heating have been known in the art. Cooking ovens that include a rotatable cooking floor have also been developed in the art. The particular arrangement of the oven enclosure or insulation structure, the cooking floor and the heating elements may determine the cooking quality and efficiency of a particular oven. Also, the desire to have an oven access opening that does not require closure for efficient oven operation may determine the structure of the oven elements. Known ovens for cooking food items such a pizza that may include a rotatable floor have not optimized the use of infrared heating elements positioned under the cooking floor or positioned a rear gas heating element structured to convection heat the oven cavity by directing flame to heat a cavity dome.
The present invention is directed to cooking ovens for food items. An insulation structure may be supported on a bottom floor and have a floor positioned above the bottom floor with the floor rotatable. An infrared heating element may be positioned below the floor and be oriented to radiate the floor. A rear heating element may be positioned in a rear portion of the insulation structure in a horizontal plane with the floor and intermediate the insulation structure and the floor. The insulation structure and the floor may define a cavity and the insulation structure may have an access opening to the cavity. A vent system may be positioned above the access opening and there may be an outer enclosure.


A telephone dialing system includes a memory unit for storing a dialed telephone number, a comparator for comparing first digit data of the dialed telephone number stored in the memory unit and second digit data of a telephone number presently being manually dialed and providing a first output when more than half of the digits of the first and second digit data coincide with each other while less than half of the digits of the first and second digit data do not coincide with each other so that the presently dialed number is an incorrectly dialed number and a second output when more than half of the digits of the first and second digit data do not coincide with each other so that the presently dialed number is a new number. An alarm unit issues an alarm in response to the first output. A speech output unit generates a speech output announcing the dialed telephone number stored in the memory unit. A confirmed dialed telephone number sending unit sends out the dialed telephone number announced by the speech output unit in response to a selection input generated by a user via manipulation of a specified special function key. A display unit provides a luminous or flickering display in response to the first output from the comparator unit. A comparative display distinguishably displays the coincidence part and the non-coincidence part of the first and second individual digit data.

This invention relates to a dialing system for use in, for example, a telephone system connected to a telephone line.
A prior art dialing system of this kind is provided with a re-dialing function so that a telephone number dialed before and stored can be sent out again to a central office line in response to a selection input applied by manipulation of a specified special key.
However, in the prior art dialing system described above, the number of telephone numbers that can be registered for the utilization of the re-dialing function was limited. Therefore, the prior art dialing system had such a problem that, when a telephone number that had been dialed before but not registered in the re-dialing function was manually dialed again by the subscriber, the subscriber would not become aware of having dialed a wrong telephone number even if he dialed such a wrong telephone number.

Telephone dialing system with error indicating function

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A construction beam includes a pair of lateral members and a resilient web extending therebetween, so as to present a cross-sectional profile corresponding to commonly used construction beam members. The resilience of the web helps to attenuate sound transmission through the beam from one lateral member to the other. Ends of the resilient web are fixed to respective ones of the lateral members on opposite sides of an imaginary reference plane passing orthogonally through both of the lateral members. In particular, in a wall frame, the lateral members are mounted at opposite ends thereof to end plates consisting of other construction beams according to the present invention. When used in a frame of a building structure, the lateral members of the end plates on the same side are attached to the surrounding structure, leaving the other side of the frame resiliently free floating.

The present invention relates to members used in construction, especially in applications where the importance of sound attenuation and isolation is significant. In particular, the present invention relates to construction members used to construct building structures in which sound transmission from one room to another is to be prevented or reduced.
In general, it is conventionally known to resiliently mount a wall or ceiling in order to isolate sound or attenuate transmission therethrough.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,975 to Nelsson discloses a partition in which first and second lath panels are held against a metallic stud, channel, or furring member by a clip fastener. One portion of the stud, channel, or furring member is cantilevered away from the portion at which the lath panels are clipped thereto. According to Nelsson, this permits the free portion of the stud, channel, or furring member to flex as the lath panels mechanically respond to sound waves incident thereon. The remainder of the structure dampens this surface movement, reducing sound transmission to the opposite surface of the partition.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,324,615 to Zinn discloses a construction member having a plurality of laterally extending supporting tabs by which wallboard segments are resiliently mounted.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,046,620 to Tvorik et al. discloses a ceiling hanger member whereby a furring strip (to which a ceiling member is attached) is resiliently attached to a joist, such that the weight of the furring strip and ceiling member resiliently separates the furring strip from the joist.
Another known method of sound attenuation is to build a wall frame in which studs are laterally staggered relative to a toe plate and head plate. Therefore, alternate studs are used to mount wall board on respective sides of the frame so that a given stud is spaced away from one of wall boards.
Unfortunately, the foregoing conventional methods of noise attenuation are problematic in that they generally move away from basic construction methods and thereby increase complexity and cost. For example, they require additional parts (such as Tvorik et al. and Nelsson) or specially made parts (such as the channel member with specially formed support tabs, as in Zinn). The staggered stud arrangement necessarily results in a thicker wall partition which reduces the area of the room whose walls are framed in this manner, and increases the cost of the toe and head plates.
In addition, nail fasteners generally cannot be used with metal members, thereby undesirably restricting available construction methods.
In addition to the devices for sound attenuation described hereinabove, a wood I-beam is commercially available (e.g., under the brand name xe2x80x9cBCI Advantagexe2x80x9d from Boise Cascade Corporation) that comprises a pair of wood members with a rigid wooden panel extending therebetween. However, because the wooden panel is essentially non-resilient, this I-beam offers little or no sound attenuation benefit.
The present invention is therefore directed to a construction member that relies on resilient flexibility in order to attenuate sound transmission therethrough, but also more closely conforms to conventional building members in order to minimize or eliminate the need for any special handling or the like in use.
In particular, the present invention is directed to a construction beam member sized comparably to conventional wood beams (for example, 2xe2x80x3xc3x974xe2x80x3 or 2xe2x80x3xc3x976xe2x80x3). The beam comprises a pair of spaced of lateral members having a resilient web extending therebetween. Ends of the resilient web are fixed to respective ones of the lateral members on opposite sides of an imaginary reference plane passing orthogonally through both of the lateral members. The web is preferably relatively stiff, but permits a slight flexure between the lateral members. The lateral members are preferably made from an easily workable material such as wood.

Owens Corning Fiberglas Technology, Inc.


A removable apparatus being configured for mounting to a hitch behind a vehicle which enables an individual to load and unload a canoe atop a vehicle. The apparatus includes a base which is adapted to rotate 360-degrees perpendicular of horizontal of the vehicle and includes a tube which is adapted to lock upright or pivot downwardly 30-degrees away from vertical of the vehicle. The apparatus includes a mechanism to position a receiving device configured to mate to a device mounted to the canoe.

The present invention is in the technical field of sporting goods. More particularly the field of canoe loading devices, more particularly portable canoe loading devices, more particularly individual portable canoe loading devices.
Conventional canoe loading devices to assist in loading a canoe to the roof of a vehicle for transport exist as a series of pulley's and cables attached to an overhead support such as a garage ceiling, or a semi-rigid pipe with a roller atop mounted to a trailer hitch tongue. Using these devices typically requires an assistant, which is not always available, are cumbersome to use and a garage ceiling is not portable.


A computer-implemented method of generating recipients while composing electronic emails includes identifying a trigger from a user in response to the user composing an electronic mail (email). The computer-implemented method also includes receiving one or more alphabets subsequent to the trigger. The alphabets imply a recipient of the email. Further, the computer-implemented method includes fetching email addresses comprising the one or more alphabets from an address book corresponding to the user. Furthermore, the computer-implemented method includes displaying a list of the email addresses to the user. Moreover, the computer-implemented method includes filling appropriate fields in response to the user selecting one of the email addresses.

An essential mode of communication today is by electronic mails (emails). Typically, while a user composes an email, the user is asked to key in email addresses related to recipients in different fields, for example To, Cc, Bcc and a subject of the email. Subsequently, the user composes a message in a body of the email.
Often, the user is observed to spend time in keying the email addresses. Time and again, the user ensures that the email addresses are accurate. Consequently, attention of the user is diverted towards the email addresses when essentially the message is important. Moreover, composing the emails become tedious and complicated for the user when the emails are to be sent to groups of recipients.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there is a need for an efficient method and system for generating recipients while composing emails.

Method and system for generating recipients while composing electronic mails


The present disclosure relates to a process for recovering a polyester component and products of a non-polyester component from a fabric containing a polyester blend. The polyester component of the present disclosure is polyethylene terephthalate and the non-polyester component is wool. The process includes hydrolyzing the article using at least one hydrolyzing agent to convert the non-polyester component into products of the non-polyester component and release the polyester component.

Polyesters and its blends with various substances such as wool and silk find applications in various articles such as apparel, home furnishings, upholstery, containers, carpets and the like owing to their flexibility and a range of desirable properties.
Waste or used polyester is either burned or buried in landfills. These methods, although common in practice, are immensely detrimental to the environment. This is because the microorganisms present in the soil are unable to degrade the polyester which causes its accumulation in the soil. Such accumulated polyester mars the growth and development of the flora and fauna present in the sub-soil environment thereby disturbing the ecological balance.
Attempts have been made by the scientific community to tackle the afore-stated dilemma. The conventional methods, however, are associated with certain drawbacks such as use of expensive hydrolyzing agents and complex methods which render the process of recycling cumbersome. Therefore, there exists a need to provide a simple and effective process which facilitates easy separation of the polyester from the blend and which renders the polyester and the other hydrolysis products suitable for recycling or reuse.

Process for recovering polyester from polyester/wool blend


A ramp generator includes a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), a sampling capacitor, an integrator circuit, a polarity reversing switch selectively coupling first and second outputs of the DAC to a first side of the sampling capacitor, a first switch coupling a second side of the sampling capacitor to a reference voltage source, and a second switch coupling the second side of the sampling capacitor to an input of the integrator circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to a ramp generator for an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).
2. Description of the Related Art
Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.
In a single-slope analog-to-digital converter (ADC), an integrator generates a decrementing or incrementing waveform that is compared against an analog input by a comparator. The time it takes for the waveform to exceed the analog input voltage level is measured by a digital counter. A digital ramp ADC is similar to the single-slope ADC except a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) generates the waveform to the comparator.

Integrator ramp generator with DAC and switched capacitors


A process for extruding polypropylene comprising extruding a composition comprising a polypropylene and a second acid scavenger and less than about 10 ppm of a nucleating agent.

There are some non-nucleated polypropylene (PP) grades, for example biaxially oriented polyproplylene (BOPP), where a consistent base-line crystallization temperature is required. In BOPP, changes in crystallization rates may affect several processing variables—the point in the process where the film is quenched (or freezes), the temperature at which the film is successfully oriented, and the amount of orientation that can be achieved under standard processing conditions. If a BOPP film becomes inadvertently nucleated, it is well known in the industry that processing problems may be encountered—chief among these is for the film to tear or split in the machine direction as it is being oriented transversally.
Likewise if an injection molding polypropylene grade becomes inadvertently nucleated, it is possible that the shrinkage characteristics may be altered. Therefore, an injection molded article having demanding dimensional tolerances may shrink too much and fall out of specification if made with the inadvertently nucleated composition.
Similar processing problems and/or physical property problems may exist with a wide variety of part fabrications when the incoming polypropylene becomes inadvertently nucleated if the part fabrication was initially established with non-nucleated polypropylene.
A need therefore exists for additives and processes that can reduce or eliminate any residual nucleation in non-nucleated polypropylene grades.