A safety device for a microwave oven capable of improving the assembly of the microwave oven by reducing a length of a door latch and thus securing more spacious assembly space for other parts of microwave oven. The safety device for the microwave oven includes a door key movably mounted on a door of the microwave oven and having a key switch portion protruding toward the front side of the cabinet; and a plurality of switches to be turned on/off in accordance with the reception/withdrawal of the key switch portion to selectively connect a power supply with a driving circuit, and one of the plurality of switches that is arranged in the innermost position of the device chamber is operated directly by the key switch portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a microwave oven, and more particularly to a safety device for a microwave oven which is operated in accordance with the opening/closing status of a door of the microwave oven to selectively connect a power supply with a driving circuit.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, a microwave oven is a device for cooking/warming food by using microwaves, and has the advantage that it cooks various kinds of foods within a short period of time while keeping the original texture of the foods.
A conventional microwave oven is shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, the conventional microwave oven has a cabinet 10 which is divided into a cooking chamber 10a and a device chamber 10b. The cooking chamber 10a receives the food to be cooked therein, and a door 30 is mounted on the front side of the cooking chamber 10a. Various electric components 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d are arranged in the device chamber 10b for generating the microwaves for cooking the desired food, and a control panel 40 is formed on the front side of the device chamber 10b.
However, there is the possibility that the microwave oven can be operated without the door 30 being completely closed, and the microwaves radiated into the cooking chamber 10a may leak outside, harming the user. In order to prevent such a dangerous use, a safety device is essentially required for the microwave oven to selectively control the operation of the microwave oven by detecting the opening/closing status of the door 30. FIG. 2A shows the safety device of a conventional microwave oven.
Referring to FIG. 2A, the safety device of the subject conventional microwave oven includes a first switch 41, a second switch 42, and a third switch 43, all of which are formed on a door latch 12 of the device chamber 10b, and a door key 37 having a pair of key switch portions 37a and 37b formed on the door 30 for operating the contact points of the first, second, and third switches 41,42, and 43.
The first switch 41 is arranged near the end of a first guide portion 13a, and the second and third switches 42 and 43 are arranged near the end of a second guide portion 13b. Between the second guide portion 13b and the third switch 43, a switch lever 44 is disposed such that it is pivoted on a hinge axis 44a. The first, second, and third switches 41, 42, and 43 selectively connect a power supply (not shown) with a driving circuit (not shown) of the microwave oven.
As the user closes the door 30, the pair of key switch portions 37a and 37b of the door key 37 are inserted into a pair of insert holes 12a and 12b of the door latch 12, and are guided along the guide portions 13a and 13b, respectively. Accordingly, by the second key switch portion 37b, the switch lever 44 is pivoted, and the contact point of the third switch 43 is operated. When the door 30 is completely closed, as shown in FIG. 2B, the pair of key switch portions 37a and 37b are moved downward by a spring 37c, so that the contact points of the first and second switches 41 and 42 are operated. Only when the contact points of the first, second, and third switches 41, 42, and 43 are operated, the power supply (not shown) is connected to the driving circuit (not shown).
In the event that the door 30 is incompletely closed and any contact point of the first, second, and third switches 41, 42, and 43 is not in operation, the power supply (not shown) can not make contact with the driving circuit (not shown), and as a result, the microwave oven can not be turned on.
According to the safety device of the subject conventional microwave oven, however, the third switch 43, which is located in the innermost part of the device chamber 10b, is positioned to be operated indirectly via the switch lever 44. Therefore, a space for the switch lever 44 between the second key switch portion 37b and the third switch 43 is needed, and the length L of the door latch 12 is lengthened.
As the length L of the door latch 14 is lengthened, the total available space in the device chamber 10b is relatively reduced, and the space for the various operational components 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d is reduced. Accordingly, the efficient assembly of the microwave oven is deteriorated.
Further, according to the safety device of the conventional microwave oven, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, wiring pins 41a and 42a of the first and second switches 41 and 42 are extended inward in the device chamber 10b, while the wiring pin 43a of the third switch 43 is extended toward the door 30. Accordingly, the wiring structure becomes complex, and the assembly of the microwave oven is deteriorated due to the complex wiring process.


Embodiments may provide a pressure module, a transceiver module, a control module, methods and computer programs for providing information related to a tire pressure. The pressure module is configured to provide information related to a pressure of a tire in a vehicle, comprises a pressure determiner configured to determine the information related to the pressure of the tire, and further comprises a transceiver configured to wirelessly receive information related to an instruction to provide the information related to the pressure of the tire and to wirelessly transmit the information related to the tire pressure. The transceiver is configured to wirelessly transmit and receive in the same frequency band. The transceiver module is configured to wirelessly transmit information related to an instruction to provide information related to a pressure of a tire to the tire pressure module and to wirelessly receive the information related to the tire pressure.

Embodiments relate to a pressure module, a transceiver module, a control module, methods and computer programs for providing information related to a tire pressure of a wheel of a vehicle.
Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems (TPMS) are designed to monitor the air pressure inside of pneumatic tires on various types of vehicles. Therefore pressure sensors are used in the tires and the system may report the tire pressure information to the driver of the vehicle. Wireless transmission can be used to transmit information on the pressure data to a centralized receiver component in the vehicle. Such a configuration can enable the system to report or signal pressure losses of the tires to the driver. Some known TPMS provide localization information on the tire or wheel on top of pressure information so as to indicate to a driver of a vehicle the position of a wheel having a pressure loss. Examples are indications on whether a pressure loss of a tire of a wheel of a car is on the Front Left (FL) tire, the Front Right (FR) tire, the Rear Left (RL) tire, and/or the Rear Right (RR) tire. After replacement of a wheel or tire, assignment or re-assignment of the sensor signals to the positions on the vehicle may be necessary. Such assignment can be carried out manually, for example, by using a Low-Frequency (LF) initializer, which is used to initialize each individual sensor upon indication from a system receiver. The initialization can be affected by sequentially activating an LF-initiator in the proximity of the respective sensor and receiving an according response with a unique identification from the sensor.
Some known TPMS systems utilize multiple LF-initializers, e.g. in terms of transmitter coils or inductors, for initialization of each individual sensor or wheel, for example, they can be mounted in the wheel housing of each wheel. The number of involved LF-initializers may render such an approach uneconomic. For example, an identification of the sensor may then be assigned to an initialized position on the vehicle, which assumes that the according initialization procedure is carried out correctly after a change of tires, replacement of a wheel, etc. Other concepts make use of different reception levels of the LF-radio signals using transmitter coils at different locations asymmetric to the wheels, e.g. one in the front and one in the back. These concepts may be extensive and unsuitable for after-market installation. Further concepts make use of the varying reception power of the RF-signals transmitted by the sensors. The reception power of such an RF-signal can be measured and the different locations may be distinguished by the different reception levels, e.g. evoked by different distances of the wheels. The larger the distance between a wheel and the corresponding receiver the lower the reception power. In some cars a distinction between the signals from the front and the signals from the back may be possible, as the receiver is located at an asymmetric position, e.g. close to a rear axis, a distinction between signals from the left and right may be rather difficult. Some concepts may use a set of acceleration sensors, which are installed in orthogonal manner in each wheel to determine the rotational direction of the wheels to distinguish left and right wheels. This concept may suffer from the complex propagation paths of the wireless signals, which may render an assignment of a reception level of a signal to a certain wheel difficult.
Another concept uses ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) signals to determine rotational frequencies of the wheels and relate or correlate them to rotational frequencies determined based on TPMS signals, which may make use of acceleration sensors determining the acceleration changes as the sensor rotates with the wheel in gravitation. This concept, however, may be difficult to establish if the signals of the ABS system cannot be made available. This may render the concept unsuitable for after-market systems.
Furthermore, the size of a TPMS module may be considered contributor to the overall cost and efficiency of such a module. The size of a pressure module may be determined by a battery or energy provider, which is used to power the sensor and the cost of such an energy provider further influences the overall cost and efficiency of the module. In addition there may be certain boundary conditions with respect to the lifetime of such a pressure module, its energy provider, respectively. For example, it an automotive application an expected lifetime or operational time of a pressure module may range at about seven to ten years.

Pressure module, transceiver module, control module, methods and computer programs for providing information related to a tire pressure


Novel implantable tissue repair medical devices are disclosed. The devices have a central fabric member having anti-adhesion films on both opposed sides. The films have pores, and are arranged such that the pores on the opposed films are offset. The devices are useful in hernia repair procedures.

Tissue repair or reinforcing implants, such as meshes, may be designed to enable tissue in-growth on one side (e.g., by having open pores or interstices) and resist tissue in-growth on the opposing side (e.g., by having a smooth surface such as a film or non-porous layer, conventionally referred to in this art as an adhesion barrier). This is important when the mesh implants are used or implanted in the abdominal area, for example in hernia repair procedures, where adhesion of the peritoneum (i.e., tissue ingrowth) to the implant is desired while tissue in-growth or adhesions on the visceral side is unwanted (i.e., anti-adhesion). Several conventional products are known in this art and commercially available having one basically smooth side which is an adhesion barrier and one porous or rough side for tissue in-growth. The products may be completely absorbable, completely non-absorbable, or partially absorbable and partially non-absorbable. The products may be composites of multiple mesh layers and adhesion resistant barriers. Certain implants are ready for use out of the package (e.g., Proceed® Hernia Mesh, Gore DualMesh®, and Bard Composix® Mesh) and other mesh implants are required to be pre-soaked for several minutes in water or saline solution prior to implantation in order to swell the adhesion barrier and make the implant sufficiently soft for implantation and placement in the patient (e.g., Sepramesh®; Parietex® Composite).
In certain surgical applications, it is desirable for these implants to deliver a dose of therapeutic or active agent to the tissues surrounding or adjacent to the implant. To achieve this, the implant may be preloaded by coating or otherwise impregnating with the desired active agent by the manufacturer prior to packaging. However, preloading an implant with an active agent can be difficult. In addition, the amount of active agent that can be added to the implant is limited unless the active agent is delivered in a controlled release manner by the implant for controlled release to the adjacent tissues. To enable the release of stored active agent on both sides of an implant, the implant's active agent reservoir must have fluid communication with each side of the implant. In the case of an implant consisting of a mesh contained between opposed outer film layers, this can be made possible by including pores within the films on both sides of the mesh. However, providing such pores may allow tissue-to-tissue contact through the pores located in the films in those areas where the films are laminated to each other and the pores are in alignment. Tissue-to-tissue contact will encourage or permit unwanted tissue adhesions. If pores are present in only one film layer of the implant, the therapeutic fluid may not be effectively exposed to the side without any pores. It is also believed that having pores on only one side will limit tissue fluid flow between the two sides of the implant. This may result in seroma formation.
A conventional way to deliver active agents in conjunction with implanted medical devices is for the surgeon or assistant to dip or soak the medical device in a solution of the active agent prior to implantation. As an example, dipping surgical hernia mesh film constructs in active agent solutions is important to provide an active-loaded mesh that may also be placed in contact with the viscera to prevent adhesions. In other applications there may be a need to place the fabric in contact with the vaginal wall (e.g., a pelvic mesh) or in contact with the urethra such as with the GYNECARE® TVT system from Ethicon, Inc., wherein a perforated film assembly could be beneficial to prevent erosion of structures like the bladder, vaginal wall, etc. by a part of the implant. Currently marketed and commercially available products that are coated with collagen films (e.g., Parietex®Composite (PCO) MESH) have to be incubated for 5-10 minutes in a solution of active agent, which is relatively time consuming task to perform when in an operating room (OR) setting and while the patient is under anesthesia during a procedure. A further drawback with current commercially available products is that the active agent coatings are very sensitive to mechanical forces during handling in the operating room, and using forceps to manipulate or place the implants can easily destroy such coatings and may lead to disintegration of the product. Certain commercially available mesh composite implants such as Composix® mesh, have a polypropylene mesh with an ePTFE layer on one side of the mesh. Since both polypropylene and ePTFE both do not accept hydrophilic liquids very well, it is anticipated that the delivery of such meshes along with a coating solution of active ingredient through a trocar to the surgical site would be difficult.
WO2003041613 A1 describes meshes having two synthetic polymer films on each side, wherein the films are glued or welded in the pores of the mesh together; neither perforated pore-containing films on both sides nor offset pore-containing films are described.
EP1237588 B1 describes a non-absorbable mesh implant covered on one side with an absorbable film made from natural (hyaluronic acid) or natural-derived (CMC) materials which may have pores, and in between an adhesive such as a polylactide co-polymer. A drug may be incorporated in any portion of the prosthesis to provide for controlled release of the drug into the body.
WO2003099160 A1 describes knobbed films that may be present on both sides of a fabric implant, wherein both films can have holes that are arranged in a pattern. Filling the knobs with an active agent is taught, however dipping or filling the area outside the knobs is not indicated.
EP 1541183 A1 describes a mesh having absorbable polymer films with two different absorption times. US20030017775 A1 describes a composite intraluminal prosthesis which is preferably used as a vascular prosthesis and includes a layer of ePTFE and a layer of textile material, which are secured together by an elastomeric bonding agent. The ePTFE layer includes a porous microstructure defined by nodes interconnected by fibrils. The adhesive bonding agent is preferably applied in solution so that the bonding agent enters the pores of the microstructure of the ePTFE.
There is a need in this art for tissue implant devices that offer advantages over the tissue devices of the prior art, including providing a device that permits rapid absorption of active agents while providing tissue separating properties at least for a certain period of time. In particular, tissue implants are needed that are well suited to fast dip coating processes for providing active implants with effective amounts of active agents in a quick and efficient manner, particularly for dipping in the operating room. Also needed are fast, dippable mesh-laminate implants suitable for an inline process (pulling through a coating bath), wherein the impregnation time of the active agent into the mesh implant is reduced.

Tissue repair devices of rapid therapeutic absorbency


A container for enclosing the box of a pick-up truck that includes a pair of sidewalls, a front wall, a rear wall and a roof having two panels connected by hinges to the outer side edges of the sidewalls to permit each of the panels to be pivoted approximately 270.degree. from a closed position to an open position.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to enclosures for the boxes of pick-up trucks and more specifically relates to such enclosures that include a roof that can be opened.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of devices are known in the art for covering the top of a pick-up box or for providing a container employable with a pick-up box and having a roof that can be opened. Such constructions are employed so that the pick-up can be utilized in conventional fashion for hauling large objects without removing the box cover or the container from the pick-up. This is particularly true when the container on the pick-up box is relatively large such as those commonly referred to in the art as a "topper." Usually toppers are relatively heavy and are awkward for removing or installing. Consequently, it is highly desirable to have an adaptable construction for a topper so that the roof will open so the pick-up box can be employed for normal usage.
A known structure for enclosing pick-up boxes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,890 issued to Fletcher. The Fletcher structure includes a roof formed in two sections that are pivotally secured to the sidewalls by elongated lever arms that are associated with hydraulic rams for opening and closing the roof sections. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,744 issued to Garvert, a cover structure is disclosed that includes a pair of panels hinged to sidewall portions of a pick-up box. An associated brace structure is utilized for holding the cover panels in a vertical position, and a strut and a second brace for holding the cover in an outer horizontal position to thus open the box. Various other types of pick-up box enclosures are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,284,303, 4,832,394, and 3,861,737.
Although the above prior art structures provide cover arrangements for pick-up boxes, they are all deficient in the aspect that they do not provide a cover of relatively simplistic construction and operability to permit the cover portions to be readily moved from a closed position to an opened position secured against the sidewalls of the pick-up box.


A method for performing application and task discovery in a network of computer devices. The method includes broadcasting a request for application data, such as a multicast request, over a communications network. Responses are received from agents on the computer devices and include application data such as an application name or identifier and an application launch point. A list of tasks that each application can run is also typically included in the application data, and associated with each task is a task entry point and a list of elements the task can be run against. Additional element information may be provided for each application including a list of elements managed by each application. The method continues with generating link and launch lists for the network such as a list that includes task identifiers with task entry points or a list that provides application names with launch points.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to discovering and managing applications in a distributed computing environment and in networked computer systems, and, more particularly, a method and corresponding system for discovering applications in a manner that enables an applications manager to manage applications by the tasks they perform and also to provide unique link and launch capabilities such as launching applications at task entry points and at contextualized launch points in management domains.
2. Relevant Background
The growth in networked computers and distributed computing environments has led to a parallel need for mechanisms for managing the operation of these computer networks and environments. Specifically, there are many ongoing developments in the computer industry related to managing the operation of network devices, such as storage arrays, and also to manage the operation and use of software applications performing varied tasks in these networked and distributed computing environments. It often is difficult for a network or system administrator to know what applications are available on a system let alone to fully understand on which physical devices the applications are located and what tasks the applications are capable of performing.
For example, application and/or device management software is rapidly being developed in an attempt to support the changing needs of the data storage industry. Storage and system management software products often are designed to provide a human system administrator with the ability to link to an application and to launch the application, i.e., a "link and launch" function. For example, a topology management product for a storage network may provide an administrator the ability to launch element manager software or applications that relate to various elements, e.g., storage devices or storage services in the storage network(s), that were "found" through an element discovery process. Unfortunately, the existing management products require the administrator to perform guess work and to manually intervene to get the link and launch capabilities working for all the elements or devices in the managed storage network(s). Further, if an element manager or other application that operates to manipulate a number of hardware elements or devices is not co-resident with the managed elements or devices or if the element manager or other application manages more than one element or device, the amount of intervention required of the system administrator to properly manage applications in the network (e.g., to connect applications to devices or features) significantly increases.
Another difficulty for system administrators is related to the fact that most systems and storage management products discover hardware and data services in a network and then, attempt to find a single application that manages all the discovered hardware and data services. However, as applications within a system or network become more and more complex and overlap in their functionality, the concept of finding such a single application becomes increasingly less likely. For example, many products require an administrator to request a customization screen or port and then, to manually type in the location, such as Uniform Resource Locator (URL), for a particular application. The management product may then act to show a link to the application which the administrator can select to link and launch to the application at the location they previously entered. This requires the administrator to utilize discovery tools to find the application or to already know its location.
While some tools exist for assisting in the discovery of applications, these tools each have deficiencies that do not address the problems discussed above. For example, the storage industry developed the Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) which facilitates defining a point of connection or "Service Access Point" that a software client can use to connect to a service over a network. However, SMI-S based management products still require discovery of an element or device and then, getting the element's software access point. In other words, SMI-S models generally concentrate on discovery devices in a network and then, looking for an application that manages that device. SMI-S also is typically only effective if all devices are configured to support it and many network devices are not, and additionally, SMI-S does not address problems associated with discovering applications not just discovering elements or devices.
The Service Locator Protocol (SLP) is an industry standard protocol which simplifies in many ways the discovery of devices and applications. SLP provides a framework to allow networking applications to discover the existence, location, and configuration of networked services in enterprise networks. For example, SLP uses the multicast networking protocol over a communications network to advertise services, and these multicast advertisements can be received and processed by agents that understand the service advertisements. In order to locate services on a given network using SLP, users of network applications are required to supply the host name or network address of the machine that provides a desired service. However, ensuring that users and applications are supplied with correct information to locate services can cause many administrative problems. Further, many applications that need to be discovered are not "visual" or advertised in the sense required for discovery by SLP and similar protocols. SLP and other protocols often provide only one-to-one mapping between a published or advertised service and a single element or network device but do not provide for an application that manages or is related to more than one network element such as an element manager application.
Due to the limitations of existing discovery tools and location protocols and the deficiencies with management software, there remains a need for an improved method and corresponding system for enabling a system administrator to manage elements of a computer system or network and also to manage applications running in such a system or network. Preferably, such a method would provide an administrator improved discovery capabilities and enhanced link and launch capabilities while also providing the administrator to better understand the tasks performed by applications in a system or network.

Application discovery method including identifying task entry points and launch points


Disclosed are a dynamic lightning protection method and system. The method includes detecting lightning in real time and tracking a position of a thunderstorm; and performing dynamic lightning protection and control on an electrical grid according to an electrical grid control strategy before the thunderstorm reaches or affects the electrical grid. Further disclosed is a dynamic lightning protection system.

Lightning is always a major factor that jeopardizes the safety of electrical grids. More than a half of the electrical grid accidents in the coastal areas of China are caused by lightning. Traditional lightning protection technologies can minimize lightning damage but cannot eliminate it completely. This is also a worldwide problem.
In recent years, the global climate has changed obviously, and the frequent extreme weather has made the lightning activities become more intense. According to a research published by international authorities, global thunderstorm activities will continue to increase substantially in the foreseeable future decades.
With the development of power systems, lightning has always been a major natural factor that jeopardizes the safety of electrical grids and causes power outages in a certain region. Each year, more than 30% power outages in the US and more than 50% power outages in Europe are caused by lightning. More than half of the electrical grid accidents in the coastal areas of China are caused by lightning. With the construction and development of smart electrical grids, various challenges will come out, including the access of a large quantity of new energy, the transmission of large-scale cross-regional electrical energy, and the increasing complexity. In an extreme condition, the lightning may still trigger electrical grid cascading accidents, causing the power outages in local or larger area.
In traditional lightning protection mode, the protected target is a single device or installation such as transmission lines, transformers, electronic devices, substations, and so on. Relatively fixed protection measures are used, such as overhead ground wires, lightning rods, lightning arresters, and surge protection device, etc. Its main principle is to introduce the destructive energy of lightning into earth or improve the protection level and insulation strength. The focus lies on the designing and installation stage.
Analysis of common lightning protection technologies for electrical grids is as follows:
(1) Lightning Rods and Overhead Ground Wires:
In principle, the lightning rods or the ground wires guide the lightning stroke that occurs near the protected target to themselves and then introduce the energy generated by the lightning stroke into the earth, thereby protecting the protected target from the direct lightning stroke. However, referring to relevant international standards like IEEE Std 1243-1997 and IEEE Std 1313.2-1999 (R2005), etc., it can be found that when this method is adopted, two situations, namely "shielding failure" and "back flashover", can still cause lightning damage.
"Shielding failure" means that the direct lightning flash gets around the lightning rod or the overhead ground wire to directly strike the protected target such as a transmission line. A large number of studies have shown that an incidence rate of shielding failure increases in complex terrain. Additionally, one direct lightning flash usually includes 3 to 5 return strokes (in which the first is called the first stroke and the rest are called subsequent return strokes). Protection is usually effective to the first stroke and ineffective to the subsequent return strokes, which makes the subsequent lightning discharge directly strikes on the protected target. Optimizing the protective angle of the ground wire can reduce the incidence rate of shielding failure. However, due to the limitations of the tower height and construction conditions, the preceding situation cannot be avoided in reality.
"Back flashover" means that, when the direct lightning flash occurs on the lightning rod or the overhead ground wire, high potential is generated at the grounding point since energy cannot be released in time, which causes flashover occurred between the ground wire and the phase line or damage on the related protected target due to the increase of ground potential. According to relevant international standards CEI/IEC 60826:2003 and IEEE Std 1313.2-1999 (R2005), an incidence rate of Back Flashover is closely related to a ground resistance. However, on some terrain such as mountain land, it is difficult to effectively reduce the ground resistance for a long term due to the limitation of soil resistance. As the electrical grid is usually featured by a long distance and a wide span and is deployed on various terrain, it is impossible to effectively ensure that the ground resistances of the towers can reach a safe value.
(2) Insulation Level
Increasing the insulation level of the power line can improve the lightning protection performance correspondingly. According to relevant IEC international insulation coordination standard IEC 60071-2:1996 and IEEE international standard Std 1313.2-1999 (R2005), the insulation level of the power line cannot be increased without limit and should be set within a relatively reasonable range based on reasonable and economical design and construction principles, and actual construction, maintenance restrictions, as well as overall consideration of switching overvoltage, pollution flashover, should also be considered. According to relevant international standards, it is impossible to reasonably and economically maximize the insulation levels of all power lines in actual operation of the electrical grid. The lightning stroke in nature has a strong randomness and in many cases exceeds the insulation level of the line.
(3) Lightning Arrester
The arrester is in principle a surge protection device. The installation of a lightning arrester on the phase line of the power line can effectively limit the transient overvoltage. For the sake of principle, the lightning arrester itself has a leakage current and thereby must be monitored and maintained for long terms. It is not reasonable or economical to install arresters on each tower and phase line, and if so, heavy maintenance work will be generated in the later stage. Additionally, according to international standards such as IEEE Std 1243-1997, factors such as failure or malfunction of the arrester must also be taken into account.
Since millions of devices are in the entire electrical grid, it is difficult to ensure that the lightning protection performance of each device and each component is in an optimal state due to the huge base. Meanwhile, according to reasonable and economical construction principles, it is difficult to ensure that the lightning protection performance of each line and each component can be maximized. The electrical grid is huge in scale so that the number of small probability events is still considerable. The traditional lightning protection technologies can minimize lightning damages but it is difficult to eliminate them completely. In the actual operation, a large number of power outages caused by lightning strokes still occur in the electrical grid and cannot be solved by the traditional lightning protection technologies.

Dynamic thunder and lightning protection method and system

STATE GRID JIANGSU ELECTRIC POWER CO., LTD SUZHOU


A sensorless control method and an apparatus for a three-phase switched reluctance motor. The sensorless control method obtains line inductances of three phases according to real-time phase inductances of the three-phase switched reluctance motor and then determines feature points of the line inductances of the three phases. A position angle of the rotor at any time in the next corresponding region is calculated according to an average rotation speed of the rotor in the region corresponding to two adjacent feature points. A control signal is output to realize a precise sensorless control for the three-phase switched reluctance motor. The control apparatus includes a microcontroller, a power conversion circuit, a drive module for the power conversion circuit, a current detection module, a voltage detection module, an input and output module and a direct current regulated power supply.

Switched reluctance motors have small starting current, large starting torque and high efficiency. In addition, they have simple and firm structures, high fault tolerunsce and wide speed runsge, among other things. Therefore, the switched reluctance motors have been widely used in electric vehicles, aviation and mining. A real-time acquisition of the accurate position of the rotor is the key link to control the switched reluctance motors. A position sensor is typically used to obtain the rotor position information. However, the introduction of the position sensor increases the cost and complexity of speed control systems of the motors, but also reduce the system reliability and environmental adaptability. The sensorless control of the three-phase switched reluctance motor is of great importance.
The three-phase switched reluctance motors are the most widely used switched reluctance motors, and the sensorless control methods therefor include inductance model method, intelligent control method and flux linkage/current method. The inductance model method stores the inductances, currents and the corresponding rotor positions in a three-dimensional table in advance, and then collects the real-time currents and carries out simple calculations during the running of the motor is running, and the corresponding position angles of the rotor can be obtained according to the three-dimensional table. The algorithm of this method is simple; however, the methods consumes a large number of system resources and lacks in flexibility. The intelligent control method establishes a nonlinear-mapping model that inputs flux linkages and currents to output value of rotor positions in term of angle, and then estimate the position angles of the rotor through the model according to the real-time currents and flux linkages. This method provides high accuracy, but requires a complicated algorithm and large-scale computation, and the real-time acquisition of the rotor position is less preferred. The flux linkage/current method applies a chopping control current to the conducting phase of the switched reluctance motor and applies a high-frequency pulse to the non-conducting phase, and then estimate the rotor position according to the position angle of the intersection point of the conducting phase inductance and non-conducting phase inductance. This method consumes less system resources and needs medium-scale computation, but when the current of the conducting phase exceeds the critical saturation current, the position of the intersection points of the phase inductances will shift with the increase of the current of the conducting phase, and thus the estimation of the rotor position will have an offset, which is an obstacle to improve the control accuracy of the motor.

Sensorless control method and apparatus for a three-phase switched reluctance motor

Hunan University of Science and Technology


An apparatus for abrading articles. The abrading apparatus includes a number of abrading stations located adjacent to one another so that as an article is abraded at one station, a previously abraded article will be redundantly abraded at the adjacent station. The apparatus further includes fixtures having non-clamping holders which gravitationally retain the articles. The fixtures also allow the articles to be manipulated about an axis so that all surfaces of the articles can be abraded and so that abrasive materials which have collected in surface irregularities of the articles can be emptied therefrom.

This invention relates generally to article abrading and more particularly to a multi-station shot blasting machine.
During the production of various metal articles, such as engine blocks, it is necessary to clean the article so as to remove scale, encrusted sand, rough metal burrs, flash and other remnants from the formation process.
Previous shot blasting machines have exhibited various limitations. One limitation arises because the articles themselves often have cavities, depressions, openings, corners and other surface irregularities. With articles of this type, the shot particles tend to collect within the various internal cavities and surface irregularities thus requiring that an additional production step, to remove the particles, be provided.
Another limitation of prior shot blasting machines is that they do not readily permit exposure and cleaning of all article surfaces, including those of the internal cavities. Typically, these machines employ holders which grip or clamp directly onto the surfaces of the article which are to be cleaned. These clamping-type holders prevent the surfaces of the article immediately thereunder from being cleaned. Another limitation associated with the clamping-type holders is that being within the harsh environment of the shot blaststream, these holders are subject to frequent mechanical malfunctioning. Also, to ensure that all sides of the article are abraded, the abrasive material must be applied from numerous blast wheels located around the article. Another limitation with prior machines is that often, the articles are not sufficiently cleaned by a single cleaning cycle.
With these and other limitations in mind, the present invention seeks to provide an apparatus which cleans all the surfaces of the article, including those associated with surface irregularities and internal cavities.
In furthering this object, the invention seeks to ensure that the article is fully cleaned after one full cycle through the abrading apparatus while reducing the number of blast wheels used to discharge the shot.
Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for a separate production step to remove any shot which has collected in the surface irregularities and internal cavities of the article.
In achieving the above objects, the invention provides for a shot blast machine having a multiple number of blast wheel stations or locations. The stations are adjacently positioned relative to one another to allow for one of the articles to be primarily shot blasted while the adjacent article, having already been primarily shot blasted, is incidently or redundantly cleaned by the shot being projected against the primary article.
The articles are successively advanced through the blast stations by an endless conveyor having fixtures for individually carrying the articles. The articles are held by gravity in inclined holders which support the articles during blast cleaning such that no clamp-type gripping of the articles is required. The holders are mounted to the fixtures so that the articles may be manipulated as they are transferred through the blast stations. The combination of the non-clamping holder and manipulation of the article allows for all the surfaces of the articles to be exposed to the abrading material and allows for a decreased number of blast wheels. The manipulation of the article also causes any abrading material which has accumulated within the surface irregularities of the article to be removed or dumped therefrom.
The result of the above invention is a simplified abrading apparatus that ensures efficient and complete cleaning of all of the surfaces of the article, while eliminating a production step for removing deposits of abrading material from the cleaned article.
Additional benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which this invention relates from the subsequent description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.


A hydrocarbon conversion catalyst contains at least one silica-alumina having the following characteristics: A content by weight of silica SiO2 of between 10 and 60% by weight; an Na content less than 300 ppm by weight; a total pore volume of between 0.5 and 1.2 m/g measured by mercury porosimetry; a porosity of said silica-alumina wherein: the volume of mesopores whose diameter is between 40 xc3x85 and 150 xc3x85, and whose mean diameter varies between 80 and 120 xc3x85 represents between 30 and 80% of the total pore volume, and (ii) the volume of macropores, whose diameter is greater than 500 xc3x85 and preferably between 1000 xc3x85 and 10,000 xc3x85 represents between 20 and 80% of the total pore volume; a specific surface area greater than 200 m2/g, and at least one hydro-dehydrogenating element selected metals of group VIB and group VIII, and optionally phosphorus, boron, silicon, or elements of group VIIA, VIIB or VB.

This invention relates to a catalyst that comprises at least one silica-alumina, at least one hydro-dehydrogenating element, generally selected from among the metals of group VIB and group VIII of the periodic table (preferably molybdenum and tungsten, cobalt, nickel and iron) and optionally at least one oxide-type binder. The catalyst can also optionally contain at least one element that is selected from the group P, B, Si and optionally at least one element of group VIIA (group 17 of halogens), such as, for example, fluorine, and optionally at least one element of group VIIb (manganese, ruthenium, for example).
This invention also relates to the use of said catalyst for the hydrocracking of hydrocarbon feedstocks such as petroleum fractions, fractions that are obtained from carbon containing aromatic and/or olefinic and/or naphthenic and/or paraffinic compounds, whereby said feedstocks can contain nitrogen and/or oxygen and/or sulfur in the form of organic compounds and optionally heavy metals.
The hydrocracking of heavy petroleum fractions is a very important refining process that makes it possible to produce, from excess heavy feedstocks that cannot be readily upgraded, lighter fractions such as gasolines, jet fuels and light gas oils that the refiner seeks to adapt his production to the structure of the demand. Some hydrocracking processes make it possible also to obtain a greatly purified residue that can constitute an excellent base for oils. Relative to the catalytic cracking, the advantage of catalytic hydrocracking is to provide middle distillates, jet fuels and gas oils of very good quality. The gasoline that is produced has an octane number that is much lower than the one that is obtained from catalytic cracking.
The catalysts that are used in hydrocracking are all of the bifunctional type combining an acid function with a hydrogenating function. The acid function is provided by large-surface substrates (150 to 800 m2.gxe2x88x921 generally) that have a superficial acidity, such as halogenated aluminas (chlorinated or fluorinated in particular), combinations of boron and aluminum oxides, silica-aluminas and zeolites. The hydrogenating function is provided either by one or more metals of group VIII of the periodic table, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium and platinum, or by a combination of at least one metal of group VI of the periodic table, such as molybdenum and tungsten and at least one metal of group VIII.
The balance between the two acid and hydrogenating functions is the basic parameter that governs the activity and the selectivity of the catalyst. A weak acid function and a strong hydrogenating function provide catalysts that are not very active but that work at a temperature that is generally high (greater than or equal to 390-400xc2x0 C.) and at a low feed volumetric flow rate (the VVH that is expressed by volume of feedstock to be treated per unit of volume of catalyst and per hour is generally less than or equal to 2) but endowed with a very good selectivity of middle distillates. Conversely, a strong acid function and a weak hydrogenating function provide active catalysts but exhibit less favorable selectivities of middle distillates (jet fuels and gas oils). The search for an improved catalyst will therefore be centered on a judicious choice of each of the functions to adjust the activity/selectivity pair of the catalyst.
In the substrates that are not very acidic, the family of silica-aluminas is found. Many hydrocracking catalysts with a silica-alumina base are combined either with a metal of group VIII or, preferably when the contents of heteroatomic poisons of the feedstock to be treated exceed 0.5% by weight, a combination of metal sulfides of groups VIB and VIII).
Patent EP-666894-B2 teaches us that the use of a catalyst that comprises a hydrogenation component that is supported by a silica-alumina having a macroporosity (pore diameter of greater than 100 nm) that varies from 5% to 50% of the total pore volume, a total pore volume that fluctuates from 0.6 ml/g to 1.2 ml/g and an alumina content that is located in the range of 5 to 75% by weight makes it possible, in the presence of hydrogen, to treat particular feedstocks so as to obtain lubricating base oils that have a viscosity number of greater than 135. The hydrocarbon feedstock is selected from among (i) sludges, (ii) synthetic paraffin waxes and (iii) feedstocks that are obtained from a paraffinic crude that contains at least 30% by weight of wax or paraffin and that has at least 80% by weight of compounds that boil above 300xc2x0 C. and at most 30% by weight of compounds that boil above 540xc2x0 C.
The research work carried out by the applicant on many acidic solids and on the hydrogenating active phases led him to discover that, in a surprising way, selectivities of middle distillates (kerosene+ gas oil) that are higher than with the catalysts that contain a silica-alumina and that are known in the prior art are obtained with the catalyst according to the invention. Furthermore, very advantageously, this catalyst makes it possible to obtain higher gas oil selectivities than those of kerosene. Said catalyst comprises at least one particular silica-alumina, optionally at least one binder (generally porous, such as alumina), at least one element of group VIB of said classification (such as chromium, molybdenum or tungsten, preferably molybdenum or tungsten), even more preferably tungsten, optionally an element of group VIII (i.e., an element that is selected from the group that consists of: Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Nl, Pd, Pt, preferably iron, cobalt or nickel), optionally at least one element that is selected from the group that is formed by P, B and Si (preferably B and/or Si), optionally one element of group VIIA (and preferably fluorine) and optionally at least one element of group VIIB (and preferably manganese, ruthenium).
It was possible to observe that in hydrocracking, this catalyst has an activity that is at least equal and a middle distillate selectivity that is greater relative to the catalytic formulas that are known from the prior art.
The invention has as its object a catalyst that comprises at least one hydro-dehydrogenating element (preferably deposited on the substrate), and a substrate that comprises (or preferably is constituted by) at least one silica-alumina, whereby said silica-alumina has the following characteristics:
a content by weight of silica SiO2 of between 10 and 60%, preferably between 20 and 60%, and even more preferably between 30 and 50% by weight,
an Na content that is less than 300 ppm by weight and preferably less than 200 ppm by weight,
a total pore volume of between 0.5 and 1.2 ml/g that is measured by mercury porosimetry,
whereby the porosity of said silica-alumina is as follows:
i/ The volume of mesopores whose diameter is between 40 xc3x85 and 150 xc3x85 and whose mean diameter varies between 80 and 120 xc3x85 represents between 30 and 80% of the total pore volume that is defined above and preferably between 40 and 70%.
ii/ The volume of the macropores, whose diameter is greater than 500 xc3x85 and preferably between 1000 xc3x85 and 10,000 xc3x85, represents between 20 and 80% of the total pore volume and preferably between 30 and 60% of the total pore volume, and even more preferably the volume of the macropores represents at least 35% of the total pore volume.
A specific surface area that is greater than 200 m2/g and preferably greater than 250 m2/g.
The following measurements have also been carried out on the silica-alumina:
The diffractograms of the silica-aluminas of the invention, obtained by x-ray diffractions, correspond to a mixture of the silica and alumina with a certain evolution between gamma alumina and the silica based on the SiO2 content of the samples. In these silica-aluminas, a less well crystallized alumina relative to the alumina by itself is observed,
The spectra of the NMR of 27Al of the silica-aluminas show two solid masses with separate peaks. Each solid mass can be decomposed into at least two species. We observe extensive domination of the species whose maxima resonate toward 10 ppm and which extends between 10 and 60 ppm. The position of the maxima suggests that these species are essentially of AlVI type (octahedral). In all of the spectra, we observe a second species type that resonates toward 80-110 ppm. These species would correspond to AlIV atoms (tetrahedral). For silica contents of this invention (between 10 and 60%), the tetrahedral AlIV proportions are close and are established around 20 to 40% and preferably between 24 and 31%.
The environment of the silicon of the silica-aluminas studied by the NMR of 29Si show the chemical shifts of various silicon species such as O4 (xe2x88x92105 ppm to 120 ppm), Q3 (xe2x88x9290 ppm to xe2x88x92102 ppm) and Q2 (xe2x88x9275 ppm to xe2x88x9293 ppm). The sites with a chemical shift at xe2x88x92102 ppm can be sites of Q3 or Q4 type; in this work we will call them sites Q3-4. The silica-aluminas the invention are composed of silicon of types Q2, Q3, Q3-4 and Q4. Many species would be of type Q2, approximately on the order of 30 to 50%. The proportion of species Q3 is also significant, approximately on the order of 10 to 30%. The definitions of the sites are as follows:
Q4 sites: Si linked to 4 Si (or Al)
Q3 sites: Si linked to 3 Si (or Al) and 1 OH
Q2 sites: Si linked to 2 Si (or Al) and 2 OH;
The homogeneity of the substrates was evaluated by Transmission Electron Microscopy. By this method, we seek to verify the homogeneity of the distribution of Si and Al on the nanometric scale. The analyses are carried out on ultrafine fractions of the substrates by probes of different size, 50 nm or 15 nm. For each solid studied, 32 spectra are recorded, including 16 with a 50 nm probe and 16 with a 15 nm probe. For each spectrum, Si/Al atomic ratios are then calculated with the means of ratios, the minimum ratio, the maximum ratio and the standard deviation of the series. The mean of the Si/Al ratios measured by Transmission Electron Microscopy for the various silica-aluminas are close to the Si/Al ratio that is obtained by X-fluorescence. The evaluation of the homogeneity criterion is done on the standard deviation value. According to these criteria, a large number of silica-aluminas of this invention can be considered as heterogeneous because they have Si/Al atomic ratios with standard deviations on the order of 30-40%.
The substrate can consist of pure silica-alumina or results from the mixing with said silica-alumina with a binder such as silica (SiO2), alumina (Al2O3), clays, titanium oxide (TiO2), boron oxide (B2O3) and zirconium (ZrO2) and any mixture of the binders cited above. The preferred binders are silica and alumina and even more preferably alumina in all of these forms that are known to one skilled in the art, for example gamma-alumina. The content by weight of binder in the substrate of the catalyst is between 0 and 40%, more particularly between 1 and 40% and even more preferably between 5% and 20%. The result is that the content by weight of silica-alumina is 60-100%. The catalysts according to the invention, however, whose substrate consists only of silica-alumina without any binder, are preferred.
The substrate can be prepared by shaping the silica-alumina in the presence or the absence of binder by any technique that is known to one skilled in the art. The shaping can be carried out, for example, by extrusion, by pelletizing, by the drop (oil-drop) coagulation method, by turntable granulation or by any other method that is known to one skilled in the art. At least one calcination can be carried out after any one of the stages of the preparation; it is usually carried out in air at a temperature of at least 150xc2x0 C., preferably at least 300xc2x0 C.
The catalyst of this invention, in addition to the substrate constituted by the silica-alumina and optionally a binder, also contains, generally in % by weight relative to the total mass of the catalyst:
1 to 60%, advantageously 2 to 60%, preferably 2 to 50% and even more preferably 2 to 40% of at least one hydro-dehydrogenating metal that is preferably selected from among the elements of group VIII and group VIB,
0 to 20%, preferably 0.1 to 15%, and even more preferably 0.1 to 10% of at least one promoter element that is selected from the group that consists of silicon, boron and phosphorus, not including the silicon that is obtained from the silica-alumina of the substrate, preferably the element is boron and/or silicon,
0 to 20%, preferably 0.1 to 15% and even more preferably 0.1 to 10% of at least one element that is selected from the group VIIA, preferably fluorine,
0 to 20%, preferably 0.1 to 15%, or else 0.1) 10% of at least one element that is selected from the group VIIB, preferably manganese, rhenium,
0 to 20%, preferably 0.1 to 15% or else 0.1 to 10% of at least one element that is selected from group VB, preferably niobium.
The catalyst that comprises at least one silica-aluminum as described above in the Patent, also comprises a hydrogenating function that is generally preferably ensured by at least one metal that is selected from the group that is formed by the metals of group VIB and group VIII of the periodic table.
In an implementation of the invention, the catalyst preferably comprises at least one element that is selected from the group that is formed by boron, silicon and phosphorus. The catalyst optionally contains at least one element of group VIIA, preferably chlorine and fluorine, and also optionally at least one element of group VIIB.
The boron, silicon and/or phosphorus are preferably located on the silica-alumina and/or the substrate in the case where a binder was used for the shaping of the silica-alumina.
The element that is introduced, and in particular silicon, is primarily located on the silica-alumina and/or the substrate and can be characterized by techniques such as the Casting microprobe (distribution profile of various salts), transmission electron microscopy, combined with an X analysis of the components of catalysts, or else by combining distribution mapping of the elements that are present in the catalyst by electronic microprobe.
The metals of group VIB and of group VIII of the catalyst of this invention can be present completely or partially in metallic form and/or oxide form and/or sulfide form.
The catalysts according to the invention can be prepared according to all of the methods that are well known to one skilled in the art.
A preferred process for preparation of the catalyst according to this invention comprises the following stages:
a) A solid that is referred to below as the precursor is dried and weighed, whereby this solid contains at least the following compounds: optionally at least one matrix, at least one silica-alumina that has the characteristics described above, optionally at least one element that is selected by the elements of group VIB and group VIII, optionally at least one element that is selected from the group of phosphorus, boron and silicon, optionally at least one element of group VIIA, optionally at least one element of group VB, whereby the whole is preferably shaped,
b) the dry solid that is obtained in stage a) is calcined at a temperature of at least 150xc2x0 C.,
c) the moist solid is left under a moist atmosphere at a temperature of between 10 and 120xc2x0 C.,
d) the moist solid that is obtained in stage c) is dried at a temperature of between 60 and 150xc2x0 C.
The preparation of the precursor of stage a) above can be carried out according to all of the standard methods of one skilled in the art. According to another preferred process for preparation, the precursor is obtained by direct shaping of the silica-alumina by itself or by shaping of the silica-alumina with at least one binder, then drying and calcination. The elements of groups VIB and/or VIII, and optionally those that are selected from among phosphorus, boron, silicon and optionally the elements of groups VIIA, VB, and VIIB are then optionally introduced by any methods that are known to one skilled in the art at any of stages a) to d) before or after the shaping and before or after the calcination of the precursor or the catalyst.
The hydrogenating element can be introduced at any stage of the preparation, preferably during the mixing, or very preferably after shaping. The shaping is followed by a calcination, and the hydrogenating element can also be introduced before or after this calcination. The preparation generally ends by a calcination at a temperature of 250 to 600xc2x0 C. Another one of the preferred methods according to this invention consists in shaping the silica-alumina without a binder by carrying out a mixing of the latter in the presence of, for example, a peptizing agent for several tens of minutes then in passing the paste that is thus obtained through a die to form extrudates with a diameter of between 0.4 and 4 mm. The hydrogenating function can then be introduced in part only (case, for example, of combinations of metal oxides of groups VIB and VIII), or completely, at the time of the mixing. It can also be introduced by one or more ion exchange operations on the calcined substrate that consists of at least one silica-alumina, optionally shaped with a binder, with the aid of solutions that contain the precursor salts of metals that are selected when the latter belong to group VIII. It can also be introduced by one or more operations for impregnation of the substrate that is shaped and calcined by a solution of the precursors of the metal oxides of groups VIII (in particular the cobalt and nickel) when the precursors of the metal oxides of group VIB (in particular molybdenum or tungsten) were previously introduced at the time of mixing of the substrate. It can finally also be introduced by one or more operations for impregnation of the calcined substrate that consists of at least one silica-alumina according to the invention and optionally at least one binder, by solutions that contain the precursors of metal oxides of groups VI and/or VIII, whereby the precursors of the metal oxides of group VIII are preferably introduced after those of group VIB or at the same time as the latter.
In a preferred way, the substrate is impregnated by an aqueous solution. The impregnation of the substrate is preferably carried out by the so-called xe2x80x9cdryxe2x80x9d impregnation method that is well known to one skilled in the art. The impregnation can be carried out in a single stage by a solution that contains all of the constituent elements of the final catalyst.
The catalyst of this invention can therefore contain at least one element of group VIII, such as iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium or platinum. Among the metals of group VIII, it is preferred to use a metal that is selected from the group that is formed by iron, cobalt, nickel and ruthenium. The catalyst according to the invention can also contain at least one element of group VIB, preferably tungsten and molybdenum. In an advantageous manner, the following metal combinations are used: nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-molybdenum, iron-molybdenum, iron-tungsten, nickel-tungsten, cobalt-tungsten; the preferred combinations are: nickel-molybdenum, cobalt-molybdenum, nickel-tungsten and cobalt-tungsten. It is also possible to use three-metal combinations, for example nickel-cobalt-molybdenum and nickel-cobalt-tungsten. In an advantageous manner, the following metal combinations are used: nickel-niobium-molybdenum, cobalt-niobium-molybdenum, iron-niobium-molybdenum, nickel -niobium-tungsten, cobalt-niobium-tungsten, iron-niobium-tungsten, whereby the preferred combinations are: nickel-niobium-molybdenum, and cobalt-niobium-molybdenum. It is also possible to use combinations of four metals, for example nickel-cobalt-niobium-molybdenum. It is also possible to use combinations that contain a noble metal, such as ruthenium-niobium-molybdenum or else ruthenium-nickel-niobium-molybdenum.
The following elements: boron and/or silicon and/or phosphorus and optionally (the) element(s) that are selected in group(s) VIIA, VIIB and VB can be introduced into the catalyst at any level of the preparation and according to any technique that is known to one skilled in the art.
A preferred method according to the invention consists in placing the promoter element or elements that are selected, for example the boron-silicon pair, on the precursor which may or may not be calcined, but preferably is calcined. For this, an aqueous solution is prepared with at least one boron salt such as ammonium biborate or ammonium pentaborate in an alkaline medium and in the presence of oxidized water, and a so-called dry impregnation is initiated, in which the volume of the pores of the precursor is filled by the solution that contains, for example, boron. In the case where silicon is also deposited, for example, a solution of a compound of the silicone-type silicon or the emulsion type of silicone oil will be used.
The deposition of boron and silicon can also be carried out simultaneously by using, for example, a solution that contains a boron salt and a silicone-type silicon compound. Thus, for example, in the case where the precursor is a nickel-tungsten-type catalyst supported on silica-alumina, it is possible to impregnate this precursor by the aqueous solution of ammonium biborate and Rhodorsil E1P silicon from the Rhodia Company, to initiate a drying, for example, at 120xc2x0 C., then to impregnate by an ammonium fluoride solution, to initiate a drying, for example, at 120xc2x0 C., and to initiate a calcination, for example, and preferably in air in a flushed bed, for example at 500xc2x0 C. for 4 hours.
The promoter element that is selected from the group that is formed by silicon, boron and phosphorus, and the element that is selected from among the halide ions of group VIIA as well as the elements of groups VIIB and VB can be introduced by one or more impregnation operations with excess solution on the calcined precursor.
Thus, for example, it is possible to impregnate the precursor by an aqueous solution of ammonium biborate or Rhodorsil ElP silicone of the Rhxc3x4ne Poulenc Company to initiate drying at, for example, 120xc2x0 C., and then to impregnate by an ammonium fluoride solution, to initiate drying at, for example, 120xc2x0 C., and to initiate calcination, for example and preferably in air in a flushed bed, for example at 500xc2x0 C. for 4 hours. The element of group VB and/or VIIB is then deposited according to any method that is known to one skilled in the art.
Other impregnation sequences can be used to obtain the catalyst according to the invention.
It is possible, for example, to impregnate the precursor with a solution that contains one of the promoter elements (P, B, Si), to dry, to calcine and then to impregnate the solid that is obtained with the solution that contains another promoter element, to dry, to calcine. It is also possible to impregnate the precursor with a solution that contains two of the promoter elements, to dry, to calcine and then to impregnate the solid that is obtained with the solution that contains another promoter element, to dry, and to initiate a final calcination.
In the case where the elements are introduced into several impregnations of corresponding precursor salts, an intermediate calcination stage of the catalyst should be carried out at a temperature of, for example and preferably, between 250 and 600xc2x0 C.
The impregnation of the molybdenum can be facilitated by the addition of phosphoric acid into ammonium paramolybdate solutions, which makes it possible also to introduce the phosphorus so as to promote catalytic activity. Other phosphorus compounds can be used as is well known to one skilled in the art.
The impregnation of niobium can be facilitated by the addition of oxalic acid and optionally ammonium oxalate in the niobium oxalate solutions. Other compounds can be used to improve the solubility and to facilitate the impregnation of niobium as is well known to one skilled in the art.
The preferred phosphorus source is orthophosphoric acid H3PO4, but its salts and esters, such as the ammonium phosphates, are also suitable. The phosphorus can, for example, be introduced in the form of a mixture of phosphoric acid and a basic organic compound that contains nitrogen, such as ammonia, primary and secondary amines, cyclic amines, compounds of the pyridine family and quinolines and compounds of the pyrrole family.
Many silicon sources can be used. Thus, it is possible to use ethyl orthosilicate Si(OEt)4, siloxanes, polysiloxanes, silicones, silicone emulsions, halide silicates such as ammonium fluorosilicate (NH4)2SiF6 or sodium fluorosilicate Na2SiF6. The silicomolybdic acid and its salts, and the silicotungstic acid and its salts can also be used advantageously. The silicon can be added by, for example, impregnation of ethyl silicate in solution in a water/alcohol mixture. The silicon can be added by, for example, impregnation of a silicon compound of silicone type or the silicic acid that is suspended in water.
The boron source may be boric acid, preferably orthoboric acid H3BO3, ammonium biborate or ammonium pentaborate, boron oxide, or boric esters. Boron can be introduced, for example, in the form of a mixture of boric acid, oxidized water and a basic organic compound that contains nitrogen, such as ammonia, primary and secondary amines, cyclic amines, the compounds of the pyridine family and quinolines, and the compounds of the pyrrole family. Boron may be introduced by, for example, a solution of boric acid in a water/alcohol mixture.
The sources of elements of group VIIA that can be used are well known to one skilled in the art. For example, the fluoride anions can be introduced in the form of hydrofluoric acid or its salts. These salts are formed with alkaline metals, ammonium or an organic compound. In the latter case, the salt is advantageously formed in the reaction mixture by reaction between the organic compound and the hydrofluoric acid. It is also possible to use hydrolyzable compounds that can release fluoride anions into the water, such as ammonium fluorosilicate (NH4)2SiF6, silicon tetrafluoride SiF4 or sodium tetrafluoride Na2SiF6. Fluorine may be introduced by, for example, impregnation of an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid or ammonium fluoride.
The sources of elements of group VIB that can be used are well known to one skilled in the art. For example, among the sources of molybdenum and tungsten, it is possible to use oxides and hydroxides, molybdic and tungstic acids and their salts, in particular the ammonium salts such as ammonium molybdate, ammonium heptamolybdate, ammonium tungstate, phosphomolybdic acid, phosphotungstic acid and their salts, silicomolybdic acid, silicotungstic acid and their salts. Ammonium oxides and salts such as ammonium molybdate, ammonium heptamolybdate and ammonium metatungstate are preferably used.
The sources of elements of group VIII that can be used are well known to one skilled in the art. For example, for the non-noble metals, nitrates, sulfates, phosphates, halides, for example chlorides, bromides and fluorides, and carboxylates, for example acetates and carbonates, will be used. For noble metals, halides, for example chlorides, nitrates, acids such as chloroplatinic acids, and oxychlorides, such as ammoniacal ruthenium oxychloride, will be used.
In a general way, the catalysts according to the invention are used for the treatment of hydrocarbon fractions.
The catalysts that are thus obtained are advantageously used for hydrocracking, in particular hydrocarbon fractions (for example of vacuum distillate type, deasphalted or hydrotreated residues or the equivalent). The heavy fractions preferably comprise at least 80% by volume of compounds whose boiling points are at least 350xc2x0 C. and preferably between 350 and about 600xc2x0 C. They generally contain heteroatoms, such as sulfur and nitrogen. The nitrogen content is usually between 100 and 5000 ppm by weight, and the sulfur content is between 0.01 and 5% by weight.
The catalyst of this invention can be used alone, in a single or several catalytic beds in a one-stage hydrocracking arrangement, with or without liquid recycling in the hydrocracking of the unconverted fraction, preferably combined with a hydrotreatment catalyst that is located upstream from the catalyst of this invention. In a two-stage hydrocracking arrangement with intermediate separation between the two hydrocracking reactors, the catalyst of this invention can be used in one or in two reactors that may or may not be combined with a hydrotreatment catalyst that is located upstream from the catalyst of this invention.
The feedstocks that are used in the process are most often heavy gas oils, vacuum gas oils, atmospheric residues, vacuum residues, atmospheric distillates, vacuum distillates, heavy fuels, oils, (waxes and paraffins), waste oils, residues or deasphalted crudes, feedstocks that are obtained from thermal or catalytic conversion processes and their mixtures. They can contain heteroatoms such as sulfur, oxygen and nitrogen and optionally metals or can have been probably pretreated (hydrorefining/hydrotreatment) to reduce the heteroatom content. The feedstocks preferably contain less than 30% by weight of paraffins and, better, less than 25% or else less than 20%.
The hydrocracking conditions such as temperature, pressure, hydrogen recycling rate, hourly volumetric flow rate, can be very variable based on the nature of the feedstock, the quality of the desired products and installations used by the refiner. The temperature is generally greater than 200xc2x0 C. and often between 250xc2x0 C. and 480xc2x0 C. The pressure is greater than 0.1 MPa and often greater than 1 MPa. The amount of hydrogen is at least 50 liters of hydrogen per liter of feedstock and often between 80 and 5000 liters of hydrogen per liter of feedstock. The hourly volumetric flow rate is generally between 0.1 and 20 volumes of feedstock per volume of catalyst and per hour (hxe2x88x921).
The catalysts of this invention are preferably subjected to a sulfurization treatment that makes it possible to transform, at least in part, the metallic or oxide species (elements of the catalyst) into sulfur before they are brought into contact with the feedstock to be treated. This treatment of activation by sulfurization is well known to one skilled in the art and can be carried out by any method that is already described in the literature.
The sulfurization can be done by any method that is known to one skilled in the art and at any stage of the preparation. The preferred method according to the invention consists in heating the uncalcined catalyst under a stream of a hydrogen-hydrogen sulfide mixture or under a stream of a nitrogen-hydrogen sulfide mixture or else under pure hydrogen sulfide at a temperature of between 150 and 800xc2x0 C., preferably between 250 and 600xc2x0 C., generally in a reaction zone with a flushed bed.
The sulfur source can be elementary sulfur, carbon sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur-containing hydrocarbons such as dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide, mercaptans, thiophene compounds, thiols, polysulfides such as, for example, di-tert-nonylpolysulfide or TPS-37 of the ATOCHEM Company, the petroleum fractions that are high in sulfur, such as gasoline, kerosene, gas oil, by themselves or in mixtures with one of the sulfur-containing compounds cited above. The preferred sulfur source is carbon sulfide or hydrogen sulfide.
In a general way, the middle distillate selectivities that are obtained are at least 65% or greater than 65% by weight, and the gas oil/kerosene ratios are at least 1.3 and most often greater than 1.3 or at least 1.4 (% by weight/% by weight).
The following examples illustrate the invention without, however, limiting its scope.

Hydrocracking catalyst having a unique silica-alumina substrate


Decorative or display device for game-playing, amusement or aesthetic purposes comprises a three-dimensional array of switchable indicators in a transparent matrix. The indicators may be light sources e.g. led's and may be used to play games such as noughts and crosses in 3-dimensions. A non-electric version has a stack of separable layers with beads insertable in recesses.

This invention relates to decorative or display devices for game-playing, amusement or aesthetic purposes.
The simple game of noughts and crosses can be played with pencil and paper, but, notionally, in three dimensions by having three 3.times.3 grids. Whilst this may be intellectually stimulating, and whilst the "equipment" cost is practically zero, there is nothing very attractive about the game, as, for example, there is, on the contrary, about chess played on a proper board with nicely-made pieces.
The present invention provides, inter alia, a device by which such a game can be played more interestingly, but which will also, gratuitously, have other uses and applications.


An apparatus including a main processing unit. The apparatus further including a precordial patch coupled to the main processing unit, the precordial patch having a plurality of sensors for detecting heart sounds and cardiac electrical signals (ECG). The apparatus further including a probe coupled to the main processing unit, the probe having a sensor for detecting oxygen saturation of blood circulating through a human. A method is further described including simultaneously measuring and analyzing heart sounds, cardiac electrical signals (ECG) and oxygen saturation of blood circulating through a human. The method further includes performing an algorithm to determine the presence of a significant congenital heart disease and displaying management recommendations based on results of the algorithm.

Congenital malformations are responsible for 40 percent (%) of neonatal mortality in term infants. Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects eight out of every 1000 live-born infants and accounts for the majority of death due to congenital malformation in the first year of life. Many infants born with CHD are discharged from the hospital after birth without being diagnosed. Infants with undiagnosed CHD are at very high risk for dying at home or returning to the emergency department with cardiovascular collapse. Such delayed CHD diagnosis and treatment often results in life-threatening events and significant morbidities in these infants. Thus, early CHD diagnosis using screening techniques can be life-saving.
Clinical examination of the cardiovascular system at the time of routine newborn examination has been practiced for more than 30 years. Current guidelines recommend a routine clinical examination for all newborns at the time of discharge and again at two weeks of age in the pediatrician's office. However, research studies have shown that more than half of babies with CHD are missed by routine neonatal examination. Universal newborn screening for CHD has not been a part of routine practice because of the lack of effective screening technology.
In view of these findings, researchers have searched for techniques to aid in detection of CHD. One technique currently used to screen for CHD is pulse oximetry. Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive technique which allows a healthcare provider to monitor the percent of the patient's hemoglobin saturated with oxygen. Abnormal oxygen saturation may suggest the presence of a CHD. A second technique used may be an electrocardiogram (ECG). An ECG is a graphic or waveform produced by an electrocardiograph machine which records the changes in electrical voltage in the heart. However, each screening technique alone (pulse oximetry or ECG) has its limitations and potential for missing significant CHDs. Echocardiography has been considered for use in CHD screening, however, due to the significant costs and personnel requirements associated with echocardiography, its use for universal screening is impractical.

Device and method for screening congenital heart disease

Los Angeles Biomedial Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center


The time and labor required to set an extraction region of point cloud data is decreased. A shape measuring apparatus includes a projecting unit that projects a measurement beam onto a measurement region of a measurement target, an imaging unit that captures an image of the measurement target onto which the measurement beam is projected, a movement mechanism that relatively moves the projecting unit or the imaging unit with respect to the measurement target so that a position of the measurement region of the measurement target changes, and an extraction region setting unit that sets an extraction region for image information used for calculating a position of the measurement target from capture images captured by the imaging unit, on the basis of positions of images of the measurement beam captured by the imaging unit when the measurement beam is projected onto different measurement regions.

The present invention relates to a shape measuring apparatus, a structure manufacturing system, a shape measuring method, a structure manufacturing method, and a shape measuring program for measuring a shape by non-contact optical scanning.
Methods for measuring a three-dimensional shape of a measurement target in a non-contact manner include a light-section method of projecting a slit-shaped light flux onto the measurement target, capturing a line-shaped image (hereinafter referred to as "light-section line") made of curves and lines corresponding to a contour shape of the measurement target from the slit-shaped light flux, and generating point cloud data of the measurement target from the image data in which an image of this light-section line is captured (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2009-534969A, for example).

Shape measurement device, structure production system, shape measurement method, structure production method, and shape measurement program