A homopolar multi-core energy conversion device is an apparatus that uses magnetic flux commutation instead of a combination of electrical current commutation and brushes. The apparatus includes a first discontinuous annular stator core, a second discontinuous annular stator core, and a rotor core. The first discontinuous annular stator core is configured to generate a circumferentially-segmented clockwise magnetic flux around the rotor core, while second discontinuous annular stator core is configured to generate a circumferentially-segmented counter-clockwise magnetic flux around the rotor core. The rotor core is configured to radially partition a traversing magnetic flux. The circumferentially-segmented clockwise magnetic flux, the circumferentially-segmented counter-clockwise magnetic flux, and the traversing magnetic flux interact with each other so that the apparatus can function either as a motor or as a generator. The aforementioned components of the apparatus can be configured into different embodiment to achieve the same function.

A battery for an electric vehicle is a direct-current (DC) energy storage device. In order to use a battery to run a motor, there are two existing options: one option is to use an older-style electric current commutator with brushes motor; and the other option is to use a power-electronic inverter to change the DC power to a multi-phase alternating-current (AC) power and then use this multi-phase alternating-current (AC) electrical power to run an induction motor or a synchronous motor that has a rotor with field-excitation coil, slip-rings, and brushes or has a permanent-magnet rotor without slip-rings. The current technology for battery-powered motors relies heavily on getting rid of the brushes and using an external power-electronic inverter.
The present invention is different from either using the older changing DC current path commutation or the newer power-electronic inverter approaches. The present invention addresses a brushless magnetic-flux commutation (not the electric DC current commutation) in order to improve the performance of DC-current motor drive systems at a lower cost. The present invention also opens up new efficiency improvement opportunities. For example, when a vehicle is going downhill, the fixed excitation flux disables the control of the back-emf that may be used directly to slow down the vehicle and to recharge the battery for energy recovery, while the current technology uses a rotor with the expensive high-strength rare-earth permanent magnets without brushes. Because the excitation field is fixed by the permanent magnets, it is impossible to directly improve its performance by adjusting the excitation field. Thus, the present invention as a proposed homopolar separation unification (HSU) DC motor/generator with a novel approach for magnetic flux commutation can further increase the reliability and efficiency of a drive system due to its simpler arrangement of components and can reduce both air pollution and system cost.
During development of the present invention, in order to realize the full potential of the "Homopolar-Separation" concept, a new approach to include the "Unification" with two opposite bi-polar stator cores, one core for each homopolar rotor was created. Additionally, the rotor with magnetic flux barriers was developed. Thus, the present invention was created as an HSU permanent-magnet-less, adjustable-excitation-field, brushless, current-commutator-less, DC motor/generator with natural-magnetic-flux commutation. An objective of the present invention is to provide a natural brush-less magnetic-flux commutation feature, which cannot be provided by any other types of battery-fed motors/generators.

Homopolar multi-core energy conversion device


A radar system includes an arithmetic processing unit, which calculates the second derivative of the intensity of a reflected wave and determines whether a target is an upper structure or a vehicle, based on the second derivative. Alternatively, the arithmetic processing unit decomposes the waveform of the intensity of the reflected wave into frequency components and determines whether the target is an upper structure or a vehicle, based on the intensity of a predetermined frequency component.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a radar system that is mounted on a vehicle, or the like and detects an obstacle and/or a preceding vehicle ahead and to a detection method.
2. Description of Related Art
A vehicle has already been available, on which a radar system is mounted to detect obstacles and/or preceding vehicles ahead of the vehicle and determine the relative distance to the obstacles and/or the preceding vehicles.
The radar system is mounted in a front portion of the vehicle and a transmitting antenna of the radar system outputs a transmitted wave ahead of the vehicle. When the transmitted wave hits the obstacles, the preceding vehicles, etc. and is reflected therefrom, the reflected wave is received by a receiving antenna of the radar system. The reflection source, such as the preceding vehicles and the obstacles, is herein collectively referred to as the target.
After the reflected wave is received by the receiving antenna, an arithmetic processing unit in the radar system calculates the relative distance between the vehicle and the target based on the time lag (delay time) between the transmitted wave and the reflected wave. In addition, the arithmetic processing unit is connected to the warning device and when, based on the result of calculation of the relative distance, it is determined that the target can approach the vehicle and collide with the vehicle, the arithmetic processing unit sends a warning command to the warning device. The warning device that has received the warning command sounds the alarm or displays a warning message to prompt the driver to decelerate the vehicle and/or avoid the obstacles and/or the preceding vehicles.
For the purpose of sending a warning command, the arithmetic processing unit determines the height of the target. When the height of the target is low and the vehicle can easily run over the target, the vehicle would not collide with the target and therefore, there is no need to send the warning command to the warning device. Thus, when a target is detected, the height of the target is determined and it is determined whether it is necessary to send a warning command.
As a method of determining the height of the target, a method that utilizes the intensity (amplitude) of the reflected wave has already been available. It is known that the intensity of the reflected wave varies depending on the relative distance between the vehicle and the target and that the trend of the variation depends on the height of the target. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-122391 (JP-A-2008-122391) describes that a curve of the intensity of the reflected wave in relation to the relative distance between a radar system and a target is obtained through experiments or the like, the curve is obtained for each height of the target, and the curves for the respective heights are stored in a memory of the radar system. The curve of the intensity of the reflected wave that is detected by the radar system while the vehicle is driven and the plurality of curves for the respective heights that are stored in the memory are compared with each other (subjected to the pattern matching), the curve that is minimum in the difference from the curve of the reflected wave that is detected by the radar system is extracted from among the curves for the respective heights stored in the memory, and the height of the target corresponding to the extracted curve is assumed to be the height of the target that is detected by the radar system.
For the purpose of improving safety, it is desirable that the target be detected as early as possible, that is, while the target is still distant from the vehicle. This is accomplished by increasing the detectable range of the radar system by increasing the power of the oscillator that generates the transmitted wave. By increasing the power of the oscillator, it becomes possible to increase the detectable range that has been approximately 50 m, to approximately 150 m.
Meanwhile, because of the propagation characteristics of the transmitted wave, the detectable range of the radar system is increased not only in the travel direction but also in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. As a result, the transmitted wave is reflected by the upper structures, such as the road signs and overpasses, that were not reached by the transmitted wave. Because there is no fear that the upper structures hit the vehicle, it should be avoided that a warning command is sent in response to detection of the upper structures. For this reason, after the target is detected, it is necessary to determine the height of the target to determine whether the target is an upper structure or a preceding vehicle, and to determine whether it is required to send a warning command.
When the detectable range is increased, however, the reflected wave that is received by the receiving antenna contains much noise and as a result, although the height of a preceding vehicle and the height of an upper structure differ from each other, the difference between the intensities of the reflected waves therefrom becomes unclear. The waveform of the intensity of the reflected wave from an upper structure and the waveform of the intensity of the reflected wave from a preceding vehicle when a conventional radar system is used are shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, respectively. As apparent from these diagrams, there was no clear difference between an upper structure and a preceding vehicle in the case of the conventional technology and it has been difficult to determine whether the target is a preceding vehicle or an upper structure, based on the intensity of the reflected wave.


In the hydroformylation of olefins having 6 to 20 carbon atoms in the presence of a cobalt catalyst in the presence of an aqueous phase with thorough mixing in a reactor, a hydroformylation products-containing first stream is withdrawn at the top of the reactor and an aqueous phase-containing second stream is withdrawn from the bottom of the reactor. The flow rate of the second stream is controlled in accordance with a temperature which is measured at a point in the bottom of the reactor or in a line leading out of the bottom of the reactor. The yield of crude hydroformylation product is increased as a result of stable sustained operation.

Hydroformylation or the oxo process is an important large-scale industrial process for preparing aldehydes from olefins, carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These aldehydes can optionally be hydrogenated with hydrogen in the same operation or subsequently in a separate hydrogenation step, to produce the corresponding alcohols. Hydroformylation is carried out in the presence of catalysts which are homogeneously dissolved in the reaction medium. Catalysts used are generally the carbonyl complexes of metals of transition group VIII, in particular Co, Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt or Ru, which may be unmodified or modified with, for example, amine-containing or phosphine-containing ligands. A summarizing account of the processes practiced on a large scale in industry is found in J. Falbe, "New Syntheses with Carbon Monoxide", Springer Verlag 1980, p. 162 ff.
While short-chain olefins with up to 5 carbon atoms are currently predominantly hydroformylated using ligand-modified rhodium carbonyls as the catalyst, cobalt remains the dominant catalytically active central atom for longer-chained olefins. This is due, firstly, to the high catalytic activity of the cobalt carbonyl catalyst irrespective of the position of the olefinic double bonds, the branch structure and the purity of the olefin to be reacted. Secondly, the cobalt catalyst can be separated off from the hydroformylation products and recycled into the hydroformylation reaction relatively easily. Additionally, catalyst losses during working up can be tolerated more easily owing to the lower price of cobalt.
In one customary process for separating off and recycling the cobalt catalyst, the organic phase of the reactor affluent is freed of cobalt carbonyl complexes by treatment with oxygen or air in the presence of weakly acidic water (cf. DE-AS 24 04 855). In the treatment, the cobalt catalyst is destroyed by oxidation and the central atom is formally converted from the oxidation state −1 to +2 and can then be removed by extraction with the aqueous solution (decobalting). The catalyst complex required for hydroformylation can be re-formed from the cobalt(II) salt solution by reaction with carbon monoxide and hydrogen (carbonyl formation). The re-formed cobalt catalyst is then extracted from the aqueous phase with an organic phase, preferably the olefin to be hydroformylated (catalyst extraction). Besides the olefin, the reaction products and by-products of the hydroformylation can also be used for catalyst extraction. The olefins loaded with the cobalt catalyst are then hydroformylated in a reactor at elevated pressure and elevated temperature (olefin hydroformylation).
The reaction output is customarily withdrawn at the top of the reactor, in particular when a vertical tubular reactor is used. Particularly with higher olefins having 8 carbon atoms or more, the aqueous phase supplied to the reaction zone and necessary to achieve a sufficient catalyst concentration in the reaction zone is not entirely discharged in dissolved or suspended form with the reaction mixture removed from the top. Therefore, reaction output is preferably removed not only at the top, but also from the bottom space.
The uncontrolled or insufficiently controlled withdrawal of aqueous phase from the bottom space leads to operational disruption. An excess of aqueous phase can lead to a decrease in conversion. A deficiency of aqueous phase can lead to local temperature spikes which cause decomposition of the cobalt catalyst.
In the prior art, the amount of reaction output withdrawn from the bottom space is determined in accordance with the level of the aqueous bottom phase in the reactor.
EP 1 204 624 B1 discloses a continuous process for hydroformylation of olefins having 6 to 20 carbon atoms wherein a cobalt catalyst-containing aqueous phase is brought into intimate contact with olefins, hydrogen and carbon monoxide in at least one reaction zone (e.g. in a vertical tubular reactor). Reaction output can be withdrawn not only at the top of the reactor but also from the bottom space of the reactor. The withdrawal of reaction output from the bottom space of the reactor is preferably phase regulated.
EP 1 279 658 B1 discloses a process for hydroformylation of olefins having 5 to 24 carbon atoms to produce the corresponding aldehydes and/or alcohols having 6 to 25 carbon atoms in the presence of unmodified cobalt catalysts in a single-step process wherein the aqueous bottom phase is thoroughly mixed in the reactor with the organic phase, the concentration of cobalt compounds in the aqueous bottom phase is in the range from 0.4 to 1.7% by weight and the level of the aqueous bottom phase is kept constant at a steady state.
However, the level of the aqueous bottom phase often cannot be determined accurately under the conditions prevailing in the reactor.
Radiometric measurement of the level of the aqueous bottom phase is imprecise. The γ-radiation is attenuated by passage through the 30 cm-thick steel walls. Additionally, the calibration of the radiometric measurement is difficult since the level of the aqueous bottom phase in the reactor is, as a rule, not known precisely even at calibration.
Further, the maintenance of apparatuses for determining the level of the aqueous bottom phase is very costly and inconvenient when they are disposed inside the reactor and therefore only accessible at great cost and inconvenience by interrupting the process.
The imprecise determination of the level of the aqueous bottom phase leads to an insufficiently precisely controllable withdrawal of aqueous phase from the bottom space and thereby to operational disruptions that ultimately also lower the yield of crude hydroformylation product.


A disk drive is disclosed comprising a head actuated over a disk comprising a sector including a periodic pattern and sector data. The sector is read with the head to generate a read signal which is sampled at a sampling frequency with a signal sampler to generate signal samples. The signal samples representing the periodic pattern are processed to measure a frequency induced phase error based on kδ where k represents a signal sample index and δ is a fraction of 2π. The signal samples representing the sector data are processed to generate a data phase error. The data phase error is adjusted in response to the frequency induced phase error to generate an adjusted data phase error, and the signal sampler is controlled in response to the adjusted data phase error.

Disk drives comprise a disk and a head connected to a distal end of an actuator arm which is rotated about a pivot by a voice coil motor (VCM) to position the head radially over the disk. The disk comprises a plurality of radially spaced, concentric tracks for recording user data sectors and servo sectors. The servo sectors comprise head positioning information (e.g., a track address) which is read by the head and processed by a servo control system to control the actuator arm as it seeks from track to track.
FIG. 1 shows a prior art disk format comprising a number of servo sectors 6O-6N recorded around the circumference of the disk 2 that define a plurality of servo tracks 4, wherein data tracks are defined relative to the servo tracks (at the same or different radial density). Each servo sector 6, may comprise a preamble 8 for storing a periodic pattern, which allows proper gain adjustment and timing synchronization of the read signal, and a sync mark 10 for storing a special pattern used to symbol synchronize to a servo data field 12. The servo data field 12 stores coarse head positioning information, such as a track address, used to position the head over a target data track during a seek operation. Each servo sector 6, may further comprise groups of servo bursts 14 (e.g., A, B, C and D bursts), which comprise a number of consecutive transitions recorded at precise intervals and offsets with respect to a servo track centerline. The groups of servo bursts 14 provide fine head position information used for centerline tracking while accessing a data track during write/read operations.

Disk drive adjusting digital phase locked loop over sector data with frequency induced phase error measured over preamble


Disclosed is an Internet protocol television (IPTV) data collection apparatus including: a transmission path setting unit acquiring a transmission path of an IPTV provider and setting a communication path with respect to a terminal of the transmission path; a message transmitting and receiving unit transmitting a multicast message to at least one terminal belonging to the transmission path and receiving a response message including information related to the IPTV provider and corresponding to the transmitted multicast message; and a data storing unit storing the information related to the IPTV provider, and a method thereof.

A broadcasting network according to the related art is divided into a terrestrial broadcasting network and a cable broadcasting network, and information on a specific broadcasting channel is very important in these broadcastings. For example, as an existing audience rating research method used to obtain information on an audience rating, there are a diary method of distributing a booklet in which research contents are printed to viewers to allow the viewers to write their exposure record, an interview research method subdivided into a visiting research method and a telephone research method, a meter research method of attaching a device such as a people meter, an audiometer, or the like, to a television under the consent of a subscriber to automatically record viewing behavior and transmitting the recorded data to a research center through a telephone line, and the like.
In the cases of the diary research and the interview research of the above-mentioned research methods, the research is dependent on a memory of human, such that reliability of the research may be deteriorated, and in the case of the meter research method, installation of the meter may be complicated and expensive, absolute cooperation of a responder is required, data on all of customers receiving services can not be collected, such that reliability of statistical data may be deteriorated.
Korean Patent Application No. 1997-0041880 disclosed a technology of automatically researching the audience rating at each TV broadcasting station. According to this technology, when the TV broadcasting station vertical blanking interval (VBI)-encodes a viewing channel searching command in a TV broadcasting signal to broadcast the TV broadcasting signal and the VBI that is the viewing channel searching command is decoded in a step in which a television receives the TV broadcasting signal, electronic mail (E-mail) including information on currently viewed channels are written and are transmitted to the TV broadcasting station, such that the TV broadcasting station may collect and analyze the received e-mail to utilize the information as sources of the audience rating research.
However, since this method also depends on hands of an operator in collecting and analyzing the e-mail information transmitted from each TV to the TV broadcasting station, this method may also be significantly difficult and troublesome.
The TV broadcasting station should VBI-encode a separate channel searching command in each of broadcasting program data. Therefore, data loss of regular broadcasting may be generated.
Although a sample research may also be conducted by installing a measuring device to a specific subscriber group using the existing method in the Internet protocol television (IPTV) broadcasting, a complete research rather than the sample research may be conducted using more advanced Internet technology without installation of the measuring device to obtain the information in the IPTV broadcasting.
For example, in the case of an audience rating research of a multicast based IPTV, on the assumption that a single IPTV broadcasting channel corresponds to a single multicast group, an audience rating of the corresponding IPTV broadcasting channel may be recognized by recognizing the number of members included in the related multicast group.
However, a current multicast technology recognizes only whether or not a member of the corresponding multicast group is present, but may not recognize how many members are present. Therefore, the present invention suggests an apparatus and method of collecting an audience rating of a specific IPTV broadcasting channel and additional information thereof using a method of recognizing the member of source based multicast tree.

IPTV data collection apparatus and method based on multi-cast

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


An assembly for mounting a transformer in a tank, comprising a top and bottom frame, the transformer being located between the top and bottom frames. A plurality of slots are disposed in a row in the top frame. L-shaped brackets are provided for securing the transformer to the tank. The brackets include a toggled end disposed on one end and a shear lug located interior of the toggled end. The toggled end and the shear lug are each disposed in one of the plurality of slots to secure the transformer with the tank. The plurality of slots allow relocation of the brackets along the top frame. A bore is also disposed in the L-shaped bracket. A mounting screw extends through the bore and through one of the plurality of slots in the top frame to further secure the top frame to the tank, the mounting screw maintaining electrical continuity between the top frame and the tank. The shear lug bears any lateral forces which would be otherwise received by the ground screw.

1. Field of the Invention
The present Invention relates to a mounting assembly for mounting a transformer in a tank, and more particularly to a mounting assembly using a minimum number of parts for a large range of transformer sizes, and which provides stress relief.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been known to mount a transformer on a mounting plate which is in turn secured to a wall of the transformer tank. U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,509 discloses an upper mounting plate upon which an electrical induction apparatus is mounted. The mounting plate is then secured to the inner wall of a casing. Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,883,206, and 4,260,975 disclose mounting a transformer core and coil assembly onto the interior of a tank.
These types of mounting assemblies use mounting plates which are permanently affixed to the transformers and the brackets or other mounting means are permanently affixed to the inner tank walls. Because the transformers are ordinarily affixed to the mounting plates only in the center, the coupling of the mounting plate and the transformer is unstable in the presence of lateral forces.
Moreover, since the brackets are permanently affixed to the tank, normally only a single size mounting frame can be used within a particular size or style of tank.
Also, the known mounting arrangements require a plurality of different parts, leading to increased mounting time and higher manufacturing expenses.


Various embodiments of an optical transmitter and a method of operating an optical transmitter are disclosed. In one embodiment, the optical transmitter includes a laser and a laser driver configured to drive the laser using either a voltage driving topology (CDT) or a current-driving topology (VDT). The laser driver includes a switch that is configured to switch between the CDT and the CDT based on an operating frequency of the optical transmitter.

This section introduces aspects that may be helpful in facilitating a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
An optical transceiver is an integrated circuit that uses fiber optic technology to communicate among devices such as Digital Video Disc players and optical local area networks. An optical transceiver includes a transmitter that encodes a message into optical signal and a receiver that reproduces the message from the received optical signal. In an access network, an optical transceiver consumes a significant amount of power. It has been recognized that more than half of the power consumed by an optical transceiver is consumed by its transmitter.

Method and circuit to reduce power consumption of optical transmitter


The invention relates to a hair brush having a dual shaped head for effectively managing baby and mature hair for the purpose of grooming and styling hair. The hair brush includes a dual shaped head having a first section with a first shape and a second section with a second shape. The first section with the first shape includes a cluster of bristles of a first type and the second section with the second shape includes a cluster of bristles of a second type. The cluster of bristles of the first type positioned adjacent to the cluster of bristles of the second type. The dual shaped head further includes a rotatable base that allows the sections to be positioned according to grooming and styling needs. The hair brush further includes a handle with a hollow cavity for storing hair products.

For most people, especially celebrities and professionals, having properly groomed and styled hair is very important in personal and professional life. A problem for most people is how to tame and style baby hair, i.e. the hair that defines the hairline edge along a person's scalp, in addition to taming and styling more mature hair around the baby that in combination with baby hair provides for a unique groomed and styled look when properly managed. In the current state of the art, however, the tools necessary to manage the baby hair and the mature hair are not readily available or are limited. It is not uncommon to see people managing this part of their hair using a tooth brush; which for most people, this practice is not desirable, especially in public. Although there are styling products that can help assist in managing and styling baby hair and the more mature hair, there are no styling hairbrushes designed specifically to address this need.
As such, there is a need for a hairbrush that provides a person with the ability to style their baby hair as well as style their more mature hair.

Hair brush with dual shaped head for managing baby and mature hair


A method of producing thin cast strip by continuous casting having a two-piece side dam assembly. The side dam assembly includes a side dam having an upper portion positioned adjacent to a lower portion. The upper and lower side dam portions each have opposite outer surfaces, one surface capable of contacting molten metal and the opposite outer surface having at least one fastening portion capable of attaching the side dam portions to a corresponding side dam holder, in order to hold the side dam portions in place during casting without exposed portions of the side dam holders extending substantially beyond the opposite outer surfaces toward the outer surfaces capable of contacting molten metal, and without the side dam holders preventing the upper side dam portion from being properly positioned adjacent to the lower side dam portion.

In the continuous casting of steel, molten metal is cast directly into thin strip by a casting machine. The shape of the strip is determined by the mold of the casting machine, which receives the molten metal from a tundish and casts the metal into a generally thin strip. The strip may be further subjected to cooling and processing upon exit from the casting rolls.
In a twin roll caster, molten metal is introduced between a pair of counter-rotated horizontal casting rolls which are internally cooled so that metal shells solidify on the moving casting roll surfaces, and are brought together at the nip between the casting rolls to produce a thin cast strip product. The thin cast strip is delivered downwardly from the nip between the casting rolls. The term "nip" is used herein to refer to the general region at which the casting rolls are closest together. The molten metal may be poured from a ladle through a metal delivery system comprised of a tundish and a core nozzle located above the nip, to form a casting pool of molten metal supported on the casting surfaces of the rolls above the nip and extending along the length of the nip. This casting pool is usually confined between refractory side plates or dams held in sliding engagement with the end surfaces of the casting rolls so as to restrain the two ends of the casting pool.
When casting steel strip in a twin roll caster, the thin cast strip leaves the nip at very high temperatures, of the order of 1400° C. If exposed to normal atmosphere, it will suffer very rapid scaling due to oxidation at such high temperatures. A sealed enclosure that contains an atmosphere that inhibits oxidation of the strip is therefore provided beneath the casting rolls to receive the thin cast strip, and through which the strip passes away from the strip caster.
The length of a casting campaign of a twin roll caster has been generally determined in the past by the wear cycle on the core nozzle, tundish and side dams. Therefore, the focus of attention in the casting has been to extend the life cycle of the core nozzle, tundish and side dams, and thereby reducing the cost per ton of casting thin strip. When a nozzle, tundish or side dam wears to the point that one of them has to be replaced, the casting campaign has to be stopped, and the worn out component replaced. This generally involves replacing other unworn components as well, otherwise the length of the next campaign would be limited by the remaining useful life of the worn but not replaced refractory components. Graphite alumina, boron nitride and boron nitride-zirconia composites are examples of suitable refractory materials for the side dams, tundish and core nozzle components. Since the core nozzle, tundish and side dams all have to be preheated to very high temperatures approaching that of the molten steel, there is considerable waste of casting time between campaigns. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,184,668 and 5,277,243.
The side dams wear independently of the core nozzles and tundish, and independently of each other. During casting the side dams are initially urged against the ends of the casting rolls under applied forces, and "bedded in" by wear so as to ensure adequate seating against outflow of molten steel from the casting pool. The forces applied to the side dams are then reduced after an initial bedding-in period, however there is significant wear of the side dams throughout the casting operation. The core nozzle and tundish components in the metal delivery system usually have a longer potential life than the side dams, and could normally continue in service through several more ladles of molten steel if the useful life of the side dams could be extended. However, the tundish and core nozzle components, which still have useful life, are changed when the side dams are changed to increase the production capacity of the caster.
Previously, each side dam was generally held in place during casting by a side dam holder. The side dam typically included a V-shaped beveled bottom portion and the side dam holder typically included a V-shaped receptacle into which the V-shaped beveled bottom portion of the side dam was seated. The V-shape configuration served to position and hold the side dam in place during casting. However, such side dam assemblies limited the useful life of the side dams before causing serious damage to the casting equipment as well as adversely impacting the edges of the cast strip. Specifically, the degree of side dam wear had to be limited to prevent the clashing of the side dam holder V shaped receptacle with the casting roll edge, limiting the service life of the side dam. Therefore, the side dams were always replaced before such damage to casting equipment could occur, limiting the duration of the casting campaign. As explained above, when the side dams were changed, the removable tundish and core nozzle were generally also changed and a new casting campaign started. The casting costs per ton of thin strip cast thus could be considerably reduced if the useful life of the side dams could be extended.
In summary, no matter which refractory component has worn out first, a casting campaign will need to be terminated to replace the worn out component. Since the cost of thin cast strip production is directly related to the length of the casting time, unworn components in the metal delivery system are generally replaced before the end of their useful life as a precaution to avoid further disruption of the next casting campaign. This results in attendant waste of useful life of refractory components.
Further limitations and disadvantages of previously used and proposed thin strip casting systems and methods will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of such systems and methods with the present invention as set forth in this present application.

Method and apparatus for continuously casting thin strip


The present invention relates to radiation curable coating composition (I) consisting essentially of: —from 20 to 95 wt % of one or more (meth)acrylated compounds (a), from 5 to 80 wt % of one or more metal salts of a C10 to C22 fatty acid (b), and—optionally, from 0 to 10 wt % of one or more additives (c), wherein the wt % of compounds (a) to (c) add up to at least 95%, preferably add up to 100%. Compositions of the invention are compatible with a whole range of radiation curable materials and with the standard additives like the standard matting agents. Compositions of the invention permit to obtain a dead matt effect using lower amounts of matting agents like silica and/or waxes. Dead matt effects can be obtained over a wide range of coating thicknesses.

Radiation curable coating compositions have long been used to produce coatings having certain desired coating characteristics. Low gloss coatings that produce less image impairment are often more pleasing aesthetically.
With conventional techniques such as solvent-borne or water-borne resin compositions a low gloss coating is easily achieved by adding small amounts of matting agents (for instance 1 to 5 wt % of silica).
In general, however, 100% UV radiation curable resin compositions are difficult to matt. There is typically no solvent or other diluent to evaporate and aid in the transport of the matting agents to the surface, so typically twice as much matting agent is required.
Often, in 100% UV radiation curable resin compositions more than 15 wt %, often more than 20 wt % of matting agents are required to obtain a low gloss, and even then it is very difficult to achieve gloss values below 15 at 60° angle. The result thereof is that the viscosity of the resin composition increases significantly. Very high viscosities can be detrimental to a good flow and to other desired properties.
Other disadvantages that result from high amounts of matting agents include coagulation of the composition resulting in a seedy appearance, an increased brittleness of the coating, and a settling out of the matting agents often resulting in an inconsistent mixing before application. The latter can lead to variations in gloss over the coating. Other downsides include a reduction in the general resistance and the performance of the coating. The change in general appearance can be measured as the change in gloss level of a coating. Very low gloss coatings are wanted for many market segments.
From cosmetic packaging to cars, smartphones and snack food packaging, consumer interest in matte finishes in growing. There is e.g. a big demand for very low gloss coatings in the wood (furniture, parquet, kitchens, construction) industry, as well as in the plastics, metal and concrete (consumer electronics, automotive, construction) industry and in the graphic arts (printing inks, overprint varnishes) industry.
EP2534208 (DSM) discloses low gloss coatings that contain C8-C20 mono-functional aliphatic alkyl (meth)acrylates. A high level of lauryl acrylate and octyl decyl acrylate (ODA) was found to have a negative impact on the resin's UV reactivity though, plus they induce a bad smell. Such compounds were further found to have a negative impact on performances like scratch and coin resistance etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,672 (SARTOMER) discloses radiation curable compositions for coatings, adhesives, inks and molded articles that contain oil-soluble metal-containing compounds. Standard zinc di(meth)acrylate is a solid fine white powder that can significantly reduce gloss of the coated and cured formulations (an effect that is not desired in U.S. Pat. No. 6,399,672). In contrast, the gloss of the coatings containing a soluble variant remained unchanged.
Heavy metal soaps exist since long (see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 2,416,074, GB2134517). The term "heavy metal soap" covers a broad range of compounds with different uses. U.S. Pat. No. 2,416,074 describes the preparation of heavy metal salts of a variety of organic acid esters. Listed herein as organic acid esters used in the preparation of heavy metal soaps are: the esters of fatty acids of varying length, mono and polyesters of polycarboxylic acids, the esters of unsaturated acids and the esters of certain aromatic acids (column 2, lines 1-34). GB2134517 describes a process for the preparing of metal soaps of at least one aliphatic monocaboxylic acid. Again, various types of compounds of varying length are described (page 1, lines 45-60). There is no link in these documents to the matting of coating compositions, let alone 100% UV coating compositions. Vold and Hattiangdi (1949) list as possible uses of heavy metal soaps the manufacture of lubricating greases, the use as driers in paints, the use as flatting agents and the use as thickening agents for the production of jellied gasoline. No reference in this document to the use of heavy metal soaps in radiation curable materials.
An efficient and long lasting matting effect is not obtained with just any type of matting agent. 100% UV radiation curable resin compositions are not only difficult to matt, the results could not be predicted.

Radiation curable compositions for low gloss coatings


The present invention relates to a compound for treating a degenerative disease of central nervous system or a brain tumor, a composition and a use thereof, wherein the compound has the structure of Formula I.

Serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase1 (SGK1) is a serine-threonine kinase which was identified by Webster et al. through a differential expression screen of the glucocorticoid-induced rat mammary tumor cell. When the cell was stimulated by glucocorticoid or serum, the transcription level of SGK1 was rapidly elevated within 30 min. It is thus referred to as serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase. SKG1 shares high homology with second messengers such as protein kinase B (PKB/Akt). In addition to the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation regulation mechanism as similar to most protein kinases, SGK1 is also regulated in rapid transcript phase. According to reports in the literature, SGK1 is regulated by a plurality of hormones and growth factors, such as glucocorticoid, serum, mineralocorticoid, polypeptide hormone CRH and the like, which can rapidly induce the expression of SGK1. More and more studies indicate that SGK1 is a functional intersection between a plurality of cellular signal transduction pathways and cellular phosphorylation cascade, which involves with a variety of physiological functions such as signal transduction of regulation of ion channel, cell survival, differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis, and the like. Recent work has found that it is closely related to cerebral degenerative disease such as cerebral ischemia, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), brain tumor, and the like. It plays an important role in central nervous system development, neuronal degeneration and apoptosis, and the occurrence and development of brain tumors. Abnormal increases in the expression and activity of SGK1 are involved in the development and progression of various diseases, and inhibitors of SGK1 are considered to be potential drugs for the treatment of these diseases.
The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) family is one of the members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily discovered in 1990, and is evolutionarily conserved serine/threonine protein kinase. The JNK signaling pathway is activated by various factors such as cytokines, growth factors, stress and the like, and plays a predominant role in cell regulation such as cell proliferation and differentiation, cell apoptosis and stress response. Dysfunction of JNK signaling pathway may result in various diseases such as ischemia-reperfusion injury, chronic inflammation, neurodegeneration, diabetes, tumors and the like. Recent studies have found that the over-activated JNK signaling pathway is closely related to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, while knockout of JNK or JNK inhibitors can ameliorate the symptoms of AD and PD disease models. Certain studies have discovered that overexpression of JNK was shown in patients suffering from glioma, and the expression level of JUK is highly related to the grade malignancy of glioma and prognosis of the patients suffering from glioma. In addition, JNK inhibitors have been found to suppress the self-renewal capacity of glioma stem cells and to promote the differentiation of glioma stem cells into glia-like or neuron-like cells which are not tumorigenic. Therefore, JNK inhibitors are considered to be potential drugs for diseases such as neurodegenerative disease and brain tumor.
Lipoic acid (LA) is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants and known as the universal antioxidant. It is a cofactor for pyruvate dehydrogenase, and also a metabolism antioxidant. In the organism, LA can be transformed into the reduced dihydrolipoic acid (DHLA). Antioxidant effect can be obtained by scavenging free radicals and reactive oxygen, chelating metal ion and interacting with other antioxidants. Lipoic acid has the characteristics of low molecular weight and amphiphilicity, which make it easy to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, such that it can exert anti-oxidation effect in the central nervous system. Therefore, it is considered to be an effective way to treat neurodegenerative diseases. However, lipoic acid is not stable enough in the body, and is simply single targeted. LA with single anti-oxidation effect is difficult to be used alone in CNS diseases with complicated pathogenesis. Clinically, it is mainly used in combination with other drugs, or used as a pharmacophore for multi-target drug development.
As describe above, both SGK1 and JNK are highly expressed in diseases such as degenerative diseases of central nervous system or brain tumor. The suppression of SGK1 or JNK would improve the progress of diseases (such as degenerative diseases of central nervous system, brain tumor and the like) to some extent. The antioxidants also play a positive role in the treatment of the degenerative diseases of central nervous system. Complex diseases (such as degenerative diseases of central nervous system, tumors and the like) with a complicated pathogenesis and pathogenic factors interacted with each other is difficult to be treated or improved by a single drug. With the development of system biology and network pharmacology, multi-target drugs that can simultaneously act on multiple targets associated with pathogenesis is increasingly expected to be applied to the treatment of such diseases. On this basis, the present invention aims to develop a small molecule compound having dual inhibition of SGK1 and JNK and an anti-oxidation effect, thereby obtaining additive or synergistic effects in the treatment of diseases such as degenerative diseases of central nervous system and brain tumor. At the same time it can reduce inconvenience of drug combination, drug-drug interaction and other adverse factors.

Compounds for treating degenerative diseases of central nervous system or brain tumor, and uses thereof

Abstract: These compounds can be used as SGK1 and JNK dual inhibitors with antioxidant effect, which can be formulated into suitable formulations for treating a degenerative disease of central nervous system or a brain tumor.


Disclosed is a system and method for treating and preventing skin disorders. More particularly, the disclosed invention is directed toward the prevention of acne and acne scarring by treating sebaceous oil glands and the surrounding tissue with an exogenous chromophore composition and then exposing the target tissue to visible, infrared, or ultraviolet light to inhibit the activity of the oil gland and eliminate acne bacteria. The method of the present invention may be further augmented by enhancing the penetration of the topical composition into the oil gland and surrounding tissue through the use of procedures including enzyme peeling, microderm abrasion, or ultrasound.

There are several known techniques for attempting to reduce or eliminate the skin disorders associated with the activity of sebaceous oil glands. The primary disorder is acne with an associated disorder of acne scarring. A few of these known techniques are scientifically proven and widely accepted as effective. However, their degree of efficacy varies greatly.
There are several processes which may be used for inhibiting the activity of sebaceous oil glands. In one process the target may be duct of the gland and the treatment focuses on the treatment of sebaceous follicles to eliminate the associated disorders. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,773, to Anderson, which is hereby incorporated by reference, an attempt is made to treat sebaceous gland disorders using lasers which irradiate energy activatable material, primarily laser sensitive dyes, that have been applied to the skin.
Anderson teaches a method for treating skin disorders associated with sebaceous follicles by topically applying an energy activatable material to a section of skin afflicted with a sebaceous gland disorder, wherein the material is activated by energy which penetrates outer layers of epidermis. A sufficient amount of the material infiltrates the afflicted section of skin and is exposed to sufficient energy to cause the material to become photochemically or photothermally activated, thereby treating the sebaceous gland disorder. In one embodiment, the sebaceous gland disorder is acne. Suitable energy sources for use in accordance with Anderson's invention include flash lamp based sources and lasers, such as Nd:YAG, Alexandrite, flash lamp-pumped dyes and diodes. The energy source can be a continuous wave energy source or pulsed. In the preferred embodiment, the energy activatable material is a laser sensitive chromophore, e.g., a chromophore which is capable of being photoactived by a laser, e.g., a dye. Anderson describes a particularly preferred embodiment, wherein the chromophore is methylene blue.
Anderson's method, however, fails to take advantage of the recent developments in light emitting diode technology that permits the use of LEDs for dermatological use in place of much more expensive lasers. Further, due to the high-intensity nature of lasers, severe skin damage or other injury can occur when the light source is improperly operated. Further, the laser dyes and other topical compositions described by Anderson are expensive and require FDA approval for their intended use, making the invention expensive and time consuming to implement. Further, because of Anderson's focus on the oil gland itself, rather than the elimination of the acne bacteria, suitable results may not be achieved in all cases.
In WO 00/02491, to Harth et al., a method and apparatus are disclosed for eliminating acne bacteria through photothermal means by exposing the bacteria to a narrow band light source in the range of 405 nm to 440 nm. Harth et al., as well, failed to appreciate the opportunity for current LED technology to be applied to dermatologic treatment and, like Anderson, do not disclose means for treating sebaceous oil gland disorders without the high cost and time commitment necessary to receive FDA approval require for high-intensity light therapies with topical compositions such as methylene blue.
In each of the known attempts to treat sebaceous gland disorders, extensive investment in expensive light sources and topical drug composition testing is required. Moreover, none of these attempts addresses the secondary disorder associated with acne—acne scarring.
Consequently, it would be desirable to prevent and treat sebaceous gland disorders and, in particular, acne in a way that addresses, prevents and treats acne scarring without the need for expensive, potentially dangerous high-intensity light sources. Further, it would be beneficial for such a prevention or treatment regiment to include the use of naturally occurring compositions that fall into the category of cosmetics and cosmeceuticals that are generally recognized as safe and that do not require FDA approval, thereby eliminating the time and resource expenditures associated with the commercial implementation of such a prevention or treatment regime.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for acne prevention


An exhaust manifold for an internal combustion engine has at least one exhaust pipe and a flange which can be fastened to an engine block of the internal combustion engine. On the side facing away from the engine block, the flange is provided with a channel which is connected to a fluid line and which is in fluid communication with the interior of the exhaust pipe via a lateral opening in the exhaust pipe. The fluid line opens into the channel on the side of the flange that faces away from the engine block.

The invention relates to an exhaust manifold for an internal combustion engine, having at least one exhaust pipe and a flange which can be fastened to an engine block of the internal combustion engine. On the side facing away from the engine block, the flange is provided with a channel which is connected to a fluid line and which is in fluid communication with the interior of the exhaust pipe via a lateral opening in the exhaust pipe.
It is often desirable to feed secondary air to an exhaust system of the internal combustion engine, for the purpose of which an introduction of fluid into the exhaust pipes of the internal combustion engine is required. Because of the high temperature differences existing between the individual components, especially between the engine block and the exhaust pipes, high technical expenditures are required for creating a tight long-lasting connection.
An above-described exhaust manifold is known, for example, from German Patent document DE 43 15 086 A1. In the case of the exhaust manifold shown in DE 43 15 086 A1, the secondary air is introduced by way of the engine block into the flange and from there into the exhaust pipes. For this purpose, corresponding fluid connections have to be created between the engine block and the flange. This approach requires high technical expenditures and costs.
It is an object of the invention to present a cost-effective alternative for the introduction of fluid into the exhaust system.
In the case of an exhaust manifold of the above-mentioned type, it is provided for this purpose according to the invention that the fluid line leads into the channel on the side of the flange facing away from the engine block. In this manner, connections from the channel to the interior of the engine block will no longer be necessary. With the exception of the lead-through openings of the exhaust pipes, the flange can therefore be constructed to be closed on the engine block side. The introduction of fluid, for example, secondary air, into the channel as well as the introduction of the fluid from the channel into the exhaust pipe or the exhaust pipes takes place on the side of the flange facing away from the engine block.
The channel may be in direct fluid communication with the interior of the exhaust pipes. As an alternative, the fluid may first flow into the air gap of an LSI manifold and then into the exhaust pipes.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the channel is formed by a sheet metal component and extends along a flange surface, which is situated opposite the flange surface that rests on the engine block. The sheet metal preferably is a separate second part which is connected with the flange, for example, by welding or the like. Since the flange rests against the engine block, thus, for example, against the cooled cylinder head, the temperature differences occurring there during operation are clearly lower than in the area of the exhaust pipes. For this reason, a connection of the sheet metal component with the flange is subjected to less severe temperature fluctuations and is therefore subject to different, less extensive, thermal expansions. The use of an otherwise customary compensation element between the individual components will therefore not be necessary.
The sheet metal component forming the channel preferably has an essentially U-shaped cross-sectional profile, the legs of the profile pointing to the flange surface. The volume of the channel can be defined in a simple manner by way of the length of the legs and the width of the preferably flat connecting web between the latter, in which case a relatively large volume requiring little space can also be implemented.
The sheet metal component forming the channel preferably has an attachment for the connection to the fluid line, for example, in the form of a molded-on connecting piece.
The channel can be constructed such that all exhaust pipes extending through the flange lead through the channel or, in other words, are at least partially surrounded by the channel. The channel may extend along the entire width of the cylinder head. As a result, each of the exhaust pipes can easily be supplied with the fluid, for example, with secondary air.
The opening in the exhaust pipe is, for example, formed by a lateral slot.
The exhaust pipes may be surrounded by an outer shell of an air gap insulation, which also takes place in the case of a known LSI manifold. However, the invention can also be used in exactly the same manner in the case of exhaust manifolds without any air gap insulation.
When an air gap insulation is used, the sheet metal component forming the channel is preferably arranged within the outer shell.
The exhaust pipe or pipes may extend through the flange.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Exhaust manifold for an internal combustion engine

Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft


A method for manufacturing a lithium ion capacitor, and a lithium ion capacitor manufactured using the method are provided. The method for manufacturing a lithium ion capacitor includes: disposing a lithium metal on a capacitor cell including a cathode, a separation film, and an anode; impregnating the capacitor cell with electrolyte including a lithium salt; changing the cathode and the anode to allow lithium ions within the electrolyte to be occluded into the anode; performing a primary reaction in which the cathode and the lithium metal are short-circuited to emit anions from the cathode and lithium ions from the lithium metal and a secondary reaction that the lithium ions emitted from the lithium metal are occluded into the cathode; and recharging the cathode and the anode to allow the lithium ions, which have been occluded into the cathode and the lithium ions within the electrolyte, to be occluded into the anode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a lithium ion capacitor and a lithium ion capacitor manufactured using the same and, more particularly, to a method for manufacturing a lithium ion capacitor capable of obtaining a high output density and excellent capacity and reducing a manufacturing process time, and a lithium ion capacitor manufactured using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In various electronic products such as an information communication device, and the like, a stable energy supply is an important factor. In general, such a function is performed by a capacitor. Namely, the capacitor serves to collect electricity in circuits of the information communication device and various electronic products and output it, thus stabilizing the flow of electricity within the circuits. A general capacitor has a very short charging and discharging time and a high output density, but because it has a low energy density, it has limitations in being used as an energy storage device.
Thus, in order to overcome such limitations of a general capacitor, recently, a novel capacitor such as an electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) has been developed, which has come into prominence as a next-generation energy device along with a rechargeable battery or a secondary battery.
Also, recently, diverse electrochemical elements, whose operating principles are based on similar principles to those of an ELDC, have been developed, and an energy storage device called a hybrid capacitor, formed by combining power storage principles of a lithium ion secondary battery and the ELDC, has come into prominence. As a hybrid capacitor, a lithium ion capacitor, in which a hole is formed to penetrate both surfaces (i.e., front and rear surfaces) of a cathode current collector and those of an anode current collector, a material which can reversibly carry lithium ions is used as an anode electrode material, a lithium metal is disposed to oppose an anode (negative electrode) or a cathode (positive electrode), and lithium ions are carried to the anode according to electrochemical contact between the lithium metal and the anode or the cathode, has been proposed.
In order to dope the anode of the lithium ion capacitor with lithium ions, various methods have been attempted. For example, cathodes and anodes are formed on the collector including the hole penetrating the both surfaces thereof, and the lithium metal is disposed on a laminated body formed as the plurality of cathodes and the plurality of anodes are laminated. The anodes are doped with lithium ions emitted from the lithium metal. In this case, because lithium ions can be moved without being interrupted within the electrode current collector, the lithium ions can be electrochemically carried to the plurality of laminated anodes even in a power storage device including a large number of laminated cells.

Method for manufacturing lithium ion capacitor and lithium ion capacitor manufactured using the same


In a dot image discrimination circuit, a dot image in an area composed of many multi-tone pixels including a central pixel is discriminated. A pixel (change point) at which the density of the image data is prominent in a first direction is detected in a plurality of pixels. Then, it is inspected if change points exist continuously in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The change points are counted in an area of a prescribed size around the central pixel, but some change points existing continuously in the second direction are not counted. Thus, a pixel in an image made of regular dots can be discriminated from a pixel in another type of image such as a character image. The discrimination of a dot image can be performed fast and precisely.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a circuit for discriminating a dot image area from digital image data of a document read by a facsimile apparatus or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most prints of a half-tone image and of a color image available today include a dot image photograph. A dot image is composed of dots arranged regularly and usually it has various spatial frequencies . When such a dot image is read with an image sensor in a digital copying machine, a facsimile apparatus or the like, if the fundamental and a higher harmonic frequency of the dots in a dot image is similar to the sampling frequency of an image sensor used for reading the dot image, a beat of a low frequency happens and it can be detected with naked eyes. This is a sampling Moire pattern which degrades the image quality. Further, especially for a facsimile apparatus, if the frequency of the dots is higher than the sampling frequency, the gradation of the read image data may be changed largely each pixel and this decreases the compression ratio remarkably when an ordinary coding method suitable for a character image is used.
In order to solve this problem, high frequency components have to be reduced by smoothing the dot image data. However, for an image composed of both a dot image and a character image, the smoothing is performed even on the character image. Thus, the resolution in the character image area decreases to degrade the image quality.
Therefore, a method was proposed to discriminate a dot image area from a character image area in order to change the processing according to the discrimination of a dot image area and a character image area. For example, in an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent laid open Publication No. 194,968/1986, the number of change points, at which the density level changes largely, is counted in successive pixels in a block of pixels both in the main scan direction and in the subscan direction, and a dot image area is discriminated according to the sum of the count values in each block.
However, this method needs two independent counters for counting change points both in the main scan direction and in the subscan direction, in order to discriminate dots from characters having lines extending in the subscan direction correctly. Therefore, it is difficult to process at a fast rate and to reduce the cost simultaneously.

Dot image discrimination circuit for discriminating a dot image from other types of images


Various systems, methods, and devices are provided for focusing particles suspended within a moving fluid into one or more localized stream lines. The system can include a substrate and at least one channel provided on the substrate having an inlet and an outlet. The system can further include a fluid moving along the channel in a laminar flow having suspended particles and a pumping element driving the laminar flow of the fluid. The fluid, the channel, and the pumping element can be configured to cause inertial forces to act on the particles and to focus the particles into one or more stream lines.

Particle separation and filtration has been applied for numerous technological solutions in industry, medicine, and research. Industrial applications include chemical process and fermentation filtration, water purification for the microelectronics industry, and wastewater treatment. Biomedical applications focus around counting, sorting and filtering various components of blood and preparing safely sized micro-bubble ultrasound contrast agents. Applications in basic and applied research include concentrating colloid solutions, purifying colloidal reaction products, and purifying and concentrating environmental samples.
Various macroscale techniques have been developed for particle separation to address these applications. Centrifugation and filter-based techniques are most common in current industrial applications because of the large scale of material that can be processed, but these systems are bulky, expensive, and may contain complex moving components. More recently, techniques based on the concept of field-flow fractionation (FFF) have been developed for a variety of applications. In these techniques, particle separation is due to either varied equilibrium positions within a channel in an applied force field or different transport rates. Various external fields have been implemented including gravitational, electrical, magnetic, and centrifugal, allowing successful separation of blood components, emulsions, and various colloids. A closely related technique, hydrodynamic chromatography, is also widely used in analytical separations and depends on size-dependent variation in the ability of particles to access low-drag regions of the flow. In most cases, the maximum flow through these systems is limited since sufficient time for forces to interact with particles or particles to sample the flow field is required. Flow cytometers are often used in sorting applications and allow sorting based on different parameters than other techniques (e.g., protein content, granularity); however, they have higher complexity than most sorting systems.
Microscale techniques offer advantages, in that scaling down allows the use of unique hydrodynamic effects and intensifies electromagnetic separation forces. Dielectrophoretic forces have been used to discriminate particles based on size or some dielectric tag. Other techniques for continuous separation rely on the laminar flow profile and different intersected cross sections of the flow for particles of varied sizes aligned at a wall. Further microscale techniques involve precisely designed filters or post arrays that create a bifurcation in particle direction based on size. These techniques can produce very accurate separations based on size or the dielectric properties of particles. For example, for deterministic displacement by asymmetrically aligned obstacles, a resolution of less than 20 nm is reported for particles of ˜1 μm in diameter. Additionally, complexity can be low in these systems.
A disadvantage of current microscale separations is that scaling usually limits the throughput of these techniques. In most cases, particle volume fractions are maintained well below 1%, since particle-particle interactions can drastically affect performance. Additionally, small volumetric flow rates can lead to large average fluid velocities in microchannels leading to insufficient time for separation forces to act on particles. Flow rates usually range from 1 to 50 μL/min for these systems, insufficient for many preparative applications (e.g., concentration of rare cells in large volumes of blood, filtration of ultrasound contrast agents, or preparation of large amounts of colloids/emulsions). In these applications, it would be beneficial to process volumes of 3-20 mL within several minutes. For example, 2-6 mL of micro-bubble contrast agent is often injected for ultrasound imaging.
Accordingly, there is a need for a continuous particle sorting, separation, enumerating, or separation system that can take advantage of microscale physics but with throughput comparable to macroscale systems.

Systems and methods for particle focusing in microchannels


The invention addresses a novel system and devices for remote control of wearable computers. In one embodiment the remote control is incorporated in a piece clothing or jewelry, for example a ring, a bracelet, a watch. In another embodiment, it is part of a user's mobile device. The system comprises hardware, accompanied by software running on two or more devices, and allowing for device interoperability over a wireless connection, e.g., Bluetooth. The invention further comprises novel software systems which improve usability of remote control devices disclosed herein and in other patent documents. The invention also presents solutions for combining software and device markets which are continuously introducing new products and more complex software systems.

Wearable computers, also known as body-borne computers, are miniature electronic devices that are worn by a user underneath, with, or on top of clothing, or as head mounted devices, including but not limited to those types disclosed in the above-reference Provisional Application and in Patent Publication Nos. US 20070052672, US 20140045547, WO 2001007993, U.S. Pat. No. 7,605,714, WO 2012128824, U.S. Pat. No. 8,508,472, US 20060164383, and US 20120050144, each of which is incorporated fully by reference herein. Such wearable technology has been and continues to be developed for uses including but not limited to general or special daily purposes, information technologies, and media development. Wearable computers include but are not limited to smart glasses, augmented reality glasses, smart lenses, smart rings, and mobile devices.
An application store or marketplace, a type of digital distribution platform for application software, is often provided as a component of an operating system (or an application pre-installed by a vendor, or a 3rd party application) on a personal computer, smartphone, wearable devices, or tablet. Application stores typically take the form of an online store, where users may browse through different categories and genres of applications (for example, productivity apps, multimedia apps, games, etc.), view information and reviews of the apps, make purchases, and automatically download and install the application on their device. Many application stores, curated and regulated by their owners, require that submissions go through an approval process where applications are inspected for compliance with certain guidelines (such as those for quality and content). They also require that a commission be collected on each sale of a paid application, such as that adopted by the iOS and Android mobile operating systems. Despite this, similar systems for application distribution exist in some operating systems (particularly Linux distributions) through graphical front-ends to their package management systems.
Currently available software markets typically operate in the granularity of a single application software. Thus, currently available markets do not support installation, updating, discovery, or removing a software system, written by external developers, which operates on several devices (possibly with different user identity) and allows for device interoperability among two or more smart devices. Currently available markets also assume that the device on which a user installs, updates, or removes an application is somehow connected to the internet, thus creating a serious inconvenience for users operating devices that do not have an internet connection.
Furthermore, additional definitions, terminology, examples of prior art, and general information is incorporated herein fully by reference from the following patents and publications: US 20130201316, EP 0789320 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 7,932,893, EP 2367339 A1, WO 2014012486 A1, US 20070052672, US 20140045547, WO 2001007993, U.S. Pat. No. 7,605,714, WO 2012128824, U.S. Pat. No. 8,508,472, US 20060164383, US 20120050144, U.S. Pat. No. 8,212,859, US 20130201316, US 20130044042, U.S. Pat. No. 8,177,182 B1, US 20130201316 A1, US8612136 B2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,460 A, US20120262463 A1, Ashbrook et al., "Nenya: Subtle and Eyes-Free Mobile Input with a Magnetically-Tracked Finger Ring," CHI 2011, Session: Touch 1: Tactile & Haptics, 2011, "Blink behaviour based drowsiness detection—method development and validation" Ulrika Svensson LiTH-IMT/BIT20-EX-04/369-Linköping 2004 (note: "behavior" stands for behavior—mistake in original text), "Tizen® 2.2.1 Compliance Specification for Mobile Profile", "Android 4.4 Compatibility Definition Revision 1 Last updated: Nov. 27, 2013" by Google Inc., "ARM c7-M Architecture Reference Manual" by ARM, "TrackPoint System Version 4.0 Engineering Specification" by IBM, "Guide to Bluetooth Security" by National Institute of Standards and Technology, "Bluetooth wireless technology basics: by HP, "Internet of Things: Converging Technologies for Smart Environments and Integrated Ecosystems" by Dr. Ovidiu Vermesan SINTEF, Norway Dr. Peter Friess EU, Belgium, "For the Win: How Game Thinking May Revolutionize Your Business Paperback" by Kevin Werbach and Dan Hunter, "3D Computer Graphics—Alan Watt—3th Edition", "Digital Image Processing" (3rd Edition) by Rafael C. Gonzalez and Richard E. Woods, "Computer Vision: Algorithms and Applications" by Richard Szeliski, "3D Reconstruction from Multiple Images Part 1: Principles" by Theo Moons, Luc Van Gool, and Maarten Vergauwen, "3D Reconstruction: of human/object using a network of cameras and inertial sensors. Including GPU-based real-time implementation", May 15, 2013, by Hadi AliAkbarpour, Hassan Aliakbarpour, and Hajar Naseh, "Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C", by Bruce Schneier, "Linux Security Cookbook", by Daniel J. Barrett, Richard E. Silverman, and Robert G. Byrnes, "TCP/IP Illustrated, Vol. 1: The Protocols (Addison-Wesley Professional Computing Series)", by W. Richard Stevens, "ZigBee Network Protocols and Applications Hardcover", edited by Chonggang Wang, Tao Jiang, and Qian Zhang, "Zigbee Wireless Networking", by Drew Gislason, "Bluetooth Low Energy: The Developer's Handbook", by Robin Heydon, and "Inside Bluetooth Low Energy (Artech House Remote Sensing Library)", by Naresh Gupta.

Smart wearable devices and system therefor


Systems and methods are disclosed to provide an upstream rate between 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps in a cost effective manner in a 10 GEPON. In an embodiment, an optical network unit (ONU) transmitter includes a burst transceiver and a physical layer (PHY) including a high performance digital to analog converter (DAC), a pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) module configured to encode end user data using a modulation scheme having more than two levels, and a laser. The ONU transmitter transmits the encoded end user data to an optical line terminal (OLT) receiver, which demodulates the data using a PAM demodulator and sends it to a service provider.

Previous passive optical network implementations include upstream and downstream data rate combinations that do not cost effectively fit the evolving and changing upstream and downstream bandwidth ratios demanded by changing end user applications.
What is needed are methods and systems for providing an upstream rate between 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps in a 10GEPON system in a cost effective manner.
Features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description set forth below when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which like reference characters identify corresponding elements throughout. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.

Cost-effective multi-rate upstream for 10GEPON based on high efficiency coding


A plasma processing system includes an automated electrode retention mechanism (130) for providing automated engagement of a source electrode (152) with a drive electrode (154). In addition, an automated electrode handling system (320) is provided that has the ability to remove a source electrode (152) from the electrode retention mechanism and replace it with a second source electrode (152xe2x80x2) that is stored in a staging area (340) outside the plasma processing system vacuum chamber. The system may operate automatically under program control of a computer system (200) coupled thereto.

The present invention relates to the field of plasma processing of silicon wafers and more particularly to plasma processing equipment having automated electrode handling capabilities.
As is known in the art, a fundamental step in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits (ICs), is the process of forming electrical interconnections. The formation of electrical circuits containing components such as semiconductor transistors, involves a series of steps starting with the formation of a blank silicon wafer. The blank silicon wafer or substrate is then processed using successive steps of depositing to and etching away various materials to form the proper interconnections and therefore the electrical circuits.
Such depositing and etching operations may be performed in a plasma reactor system. In semiconductor manufacturing, plasma reactor systems are used to remove or deposit material to or from a workpiece (e.g., semiconductor substrate) in the process of making integrated circuit (IC) devices. A key factor in obtaining the highest yield and overall quality of ICs is the uniformity of the etching and deposition processes.
When it is desired to deposit materials onto the wafer, a plasma reactor system may be used to sputter a variety of materials, one of which could be silicon, onto semiconductor wafers. In these sputtering applications, a silicon disk, or silicon dioxide disk or doped-silicon disk is used as a facing on the metal drive electrode to provide a source of material to be deposited on the semiconductor wafers to form variety of circuit patterns. This silicon disk is herein referred to as the source electrode or target.
There are several different kinds of plasma processes used during wafer processing. These processes include (1) plasma etching, (2) plasma deposition, (3) plasma assisted photo resist stripping and (4) in situ plasma chamber cleaning. One artifact of these plasma processes is the erosion of the source electrode as it is consumed during the formation of plasma, hence, a purpose for the source electrode is to serve as a protective barrier between the driven RF electrode and the plasma. Furthermore, each of these plasma processes has associated plasma density non-uniformities, for example, due to the generation of harmonics of the plasma excitation frequency. These non-uniform plasmas erode the plasma system silicon source electrode non-uniformly. The non-uniformly etched silicon electrode in turn exacerbates the non-uniformity of the plasma. To ensure uniform plasmas, these silicon electrodes are changed frequently. Otherwise, if a system with a non-uniform plasma is used for semiconductor wafer processing, the non-uniform plasma discharge can produce non-uniform etching or deposition on the surface of the semiconductor wafers. Thus, the control of the uniform etching or erosion of the silicon electrode directly affects the quality of integrated semiconductor chips manufactured by the semiconductor industry.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a typical prior art plasma reactor system 10 includes, a plasma chamber 11 in which a wafer 18 is processed. Wafer 18 is placed on a chuck 16 and exposed to various plasmas depending on whether the wafer is undergoing an etch or deposition step. The plasma formed in plasma chamber 11 also varies depending on the material being deposited or etched on wafer 18. The plasma within chamber 11 is formed by electro-mechanically coupling a source electrode 14 to the metal drive electrode 12 and driving a RF signal through the metal electrode 12 and consequently through source electrode 14. Source electrode 14, in effect, becomes the electrode in direct physical and electrical contact with plasma. The plasma formed within chamber 11 depends on a variety of factors including the RF power magnitude, the RF drive frequency, the chamber gas pressure and the composition of gases residing in the chamber. As described above, during processing of silicon wafers, a silicon electrode may be used as the source electrode.
As also described above, during silicon wafer processing, the silicon electrode is consumed and thus must be changed periodically in order to maintain consistent processing conditions within the plasma chamber. In prior art systems such as that shown in FIG. 1, the silicon source electrode 14 is attached to the metal electrode 12 by means of metal screws 23 which pass through clearance holes in the silicon electrode and mate with threaded holes in the metal electrode or metal nuts 25 on the back side of metal drive electrode 12. The clearance holes in the silicon electrode are countersunk to assure that the heads of the attachment screws do not protrude beyond the surface of the silicon electrode.
Due to the electrical, thermal and physical contact requirements between the silicon disk and the drive electrode, there is a need to insure proper electrical and mechanical connection between the silicon electrode 14 and the metal electrode 12. Even when an initial proper contact is established between metal drive electrode 12 and silicon source electrode 14, as plasma processing proceeds and the silicon drive electrode is consumed, the plasma changes. However, systems currently available, such as plasma system 10 shown in FIG. 1, provide no means of adjusting the source electrode/metal drive electrode contact during processing. There is therefore a need to provide a way to adjust the contact of the silicon disk to the electrode in real time during a wafer processing step and/or between wafer processing steps in order to fine-tune plasma uniformity.
Furthermore, since the silicon source electrode described above is consumed during use, it must be changed on a relatively frequent basis. Even when the silicon source electrode is not consumed, it may be desirable to change a source electrode to one made of a different material or one having a different shape to produce a different plasma in plasma chamber 11. Unfortunately, in prior art plasma processing systems, changing the source electrode 14 requires shutting down the plasma process, venting the chamber, opening the chamber, removing the attachment screws, replacing the consumed silicon electrode manually with a new one and putting everything back together again. This process is time consuming, reduces wafer throughput, and may create added defects through contamination.
It would be advantageous therefore to provide a plasma processing system where the source electrode could be replaced automatically without opening the plasma chamber. It would be further advantageous to provide an apparatus for plasma processing of semiconductor wafers which allows for secure, repeatable attachment of a source electrode to the metal drive electrode where the contact between the source electrode and metal drive electrode is dynamically adjustable during operation of the plasma processing system.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a plasma processing system is provided that includes an automated electrode retention mechanism as well as an automated electrode handling system. The retention mechanism includes an elevator system that raises and lowers a source electrode in order to dynamically couple and decouple the source electrode from the drive electrode. In one embodiment the automated retention mechanism includes a plurality of lift arms coupled to associated drive units. Activating the drive units causes the lift arms to move in a vertical direction within the plasma processing system vacuum chamber. Coupled to the lower end of the lift arms is an electrode shelf that supports the source electrode while it is being raised and lowered as well as retaining the source electrode to the drive electrode. The shelf is generally ring-shaped and supports the source electrode about the perimeter of its lower face. That is, the interior diameter of the shelf is slightly less than the diameter of the source electrode. In the preferred embodiment, the shelf is made of quartz.
According to another aspect of the present invention, in addition to providing the ability to raise and lower the source electrode, the retention mechanism also functions to provide dynamic control of the contact force between the source electrode and the drive electrode. With such an arrangement, a change in the contact forces can be made to eliminate plasma nonuniformities associated with a slowly eroding electrode.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, an automated electrode handling system is provided that allows a source electrode to be changed in a plasma processing system without the need to dismantle the system. The automated electrode handling system includes a robotic arm that is capable of retrieving a used source electrode from the automated electrode retention mechanism and placing it in a discard station within the system. Additionally, the automated electrode handling system is capable of retrieving a new source electrode from a staging area within the plasma processing system and placing it on the automated electrode retention mechanism such that it can be brought into contact with the drive electrode. Preferably, the automated electrode handling system is configured to work in conjunction with a load-lock system in order to isolate the working mechanisms of an automated electrode handling system from the plasma processing vacuum chamber during processing of wafers. With such an arrangement, a source electrode can be replaced in a plasma processing system without having to fully shut down the system or dismantle the system. As such workflow throughput in a plasma processing system so equipped dramatically increases.

Automated electrode replacement apparatus for a plasma processing system


An apparatus, systems comprising the apparatus, and methods of using and making the apparatus are disclosed, with the apparatus comprising an inlet, at least one oxygen membrane separator in communication with the inlet and in communication with an ambient airflow, with the ambient airflow comprising an ambient oxygen concentration, at least one piezoelectric pump in communication with the at least one oxygen membrane separator, and an outlet for emitting an enhanced oxygen concentration airflow.

In various environments, the oxygen content in ambient air is altered just enough to have a perceptible effect on a human. For example, at higher altitudes on land, performance levels during physical exertion or even when a body is at rest may be impacted by a drop in oxygen concentration in ambient air of even less than 1 percent. Further, in enclosed spaces where air is conditioned and circulated, including, buses, trains, buildings, etc., minor fluctuations in oxygen content can occur. In addition, during air travel, cabin pressurization and ambient air circulation is optimized to deliver oxygen content to passengers approaching or substantially approximating oxygen levels on land. In most instances, such minor variations in air component composition and, in particular, oxygen concentration are not noticed by, or otherwise do not adversely impact, air passengers. Some passengers, however, have experienced so-called "jet lag", typically on longer flights that may be exacerbated in individuals having a physiological sensitivity to oxygen concentration changes in their environment.

Personal oxygen enhanced breathing system


Embodiments provide a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier (PA) circuit having a high-power mode and a low-power mode. The RF PA circuit may include a high-power amplifier to provide an amplified RF signal on a first path, and a low-power amplifier to provide an amplified RF signal on a second path. The first path and second path may intersect at a junction node. A switch may be coupled between the low-power amplifier and the junction node to switch the circuit between the high-power mode and the low-power mode. A matching circuit may be coupled on the second path to match an output impedance of the low-power amplifier to a junction impedance of the junction node at a fundamental frequency of the RF signal, and to present an open circuit at a third harmonic of the RF signal. The matching circuit may facilitate high efficiency for the RF PA circuit.

Radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers are used to amplify an RF signal, such as for transmission over a wireless network. Some RF power amplifiers are switchable between a low-power mode and a high-power mode that provide different amplification gain. A switch is typically placed at the output of the low power mode to provide isolation during the high power mode and to pass the RF signal during the low power mode. However, the switch provides low isolation and a variable impedance at the third harmonic of the RF signal, which causes the RF power amplifier to have a low efficiency.


A plasma reactor that generates plasma in workpiece processing chamber by a electron beam, has an electron beam source chamber and an array of plasma sources facing the electron beam source chamber for affecting plasma electron density in different portions of the processing chamber. In another embodiment, an array of separately controlled electron beam source chambers is provided.

A plasma reactor for processing a workpiece can employ an electron beam as a plasma source. Such a plasma reactor can exhibit non-uniform distribution of processing results (e.g., distribution of etch rate across the surface of a workpiece) due to non-uniform distribution of electron density and/or kinetic energy within the electron beam. Such non-uniformities can be distributed along the direction of beam propagation and can also be distributed in a direction transverse to the beam propagation direction.

Electron beam plasma source with arrayed plasma sources for uniform plasma generation


The present disclosure is directed to a child-resistant container which includes a lid having a peripheral flange which defines a lifting tab having top and bottom surfaces. The lid includes a protrusion extending downwardly from the bottom surface of the lifting tab. The container includes a base having an upper peripheral rim and a surface formed in a corner portion of the base between two adjacent sides of the base. The surface includes an aperture to receive the downwardly extending protrusion of the lid when the container is closed forming a child-resistant opening mechanism. The surface is uninterrupted but for the aperture.

1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention is directed to containers and packaging, and more particularly, to containers and packaging that incorporate child-resistant features.
2. Background of the Related Art
Disposable containers for packaging, distributing, displaying or otherwise housing consumer items, some of which are not safe for use by children, are becoming increasingly important. The advent of plastics resulted in many products being wrapped or packaged in plastic, both in the form of flexible plastic bags and rigid plastic containers. The use of plastics in the modern-day convenience food industry has significantly improved the "shelf life" of perishable products, allowing both merchants and their customers to store the products for longer periods of time, resulting in substantial savings.
It has been found that consumers like reclosable packages, particularly for comestible products, especially in circumstances where more than one serving of a comestible product is contained therein, in order to reduce drying out or other deterioration of the comestible food product. In addition, consumers prefer to visually inspect the product within such containers prior to purchase. Thus, fabricating containers from clear see-through plastics is desirable. In addition to the aforementioned consumer design preferences, it is desirable to fabricate containers that include features which either deter unauthorized tampering or clearly indicate whether unauthorized tampering has occurred, or both.
Thus, there is a need for containers having design elements, such as recloseability features which are reliable and easy to operate, along with child-resistant features that deter children from gaining access to the contents of the container. Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a container that meets these needs.