Magnetorheological materials having a supramolecular polymer gel as a component of the carrier are disclosed. Useful supramolecular polymers for gels include those having terpyridine ligands which can participate in metal coordination bonding. The magnetizable particles of magnetorheological materials can have supramolecular surfactant-polymer coatings.

This invention is in the field of magnetorheological materials, in particular magnetorheological materials comprising a supramolecular polymer gel and/or magnetizable particles coated with a supramolecular layer.
Magnetorheological materials are typically comprised of magnetizable particles suspended in a carrier material. A magnetorheological material exhibits rapid and reversible changes that are controllable by an applied magnetic field. The shear stress and viscosity of such a material is related to whether the material is in the presence of a magnetic field, termed the on-state, or the absence of a magnetic field, termed the off-state. In the on-state, the magnetizable particles align with the magnetic field and increase the shear yield stress and viscosity of the material over its off-state value.
Typical state-of-the-art magnetorheological (MR) fluids are multiphase materials consisting of magnetizable particles suspended in a liquid carrier fluid. These MR fluids exhibit properties typical of a viscoelastic material. In addition to the magnetizable particles, the carrier fluid serves as a continuous insulating material. Some of the carrier fluids typically utilized are silicone, hydrocarbon, and synthetic oils. An additional component that is often present in MR fluids is a stabilizer, which serves to keep the particles suspended in the fluid. MR fluids demonstrate non-Newtonian fluid behavior when exposed to a magnetic field.
Magnetorheological materials containing chemically cross-linked gels have been reported. U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,972, to Fuchs et al. discloses magnetorheological polymeric gels (MRPGs) comprising magnetic particles and a carrier material comprising a partially covalently-crosslinked polymeric gel.
Magnetorheological materials containing materials with some non-covalent bonding or cross-linking have also been reported. U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,752, to Weiss et al. reports hydrogen-bonding thixotropic agents including silicone oligomers, organic oligomers, and organo-silicon oligomers. WO 97/02580 to Zrinyi et al. reports magnetic field sensitive gels wherein the gels comprise a polymer cross-linked by physical and/or chemical means. JP410296074A to Zuriini et al. reports polymer substances with a cross-linking structure and a magnetic colloidal particle dispersed in the cross-linking structure, where the polymer substances include agar and gelatin.
Ginder et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,837) and Foister (U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,715) report MR fluids with magnetic particles of more than one size range in a carrier fluid. Ginder et al. disclose a MR fluid composition comprising a magnetizable carrier fluid and a multiplicity of magnetizable particles loaded within the magnetizable carrier fluid. The magnetizable carrier fluid can be a ferrofluid. Foister discloses a MR fluid employing a mixture of a first component of relatively large particles and a second component of relatively small particles, dispersed in a liquid vehicle.
Coating of iron and/or iron oxide particles with monolayers of long chain thiols or imidazolines is reported by Kataby et al. (G. Kataby et al., Langmuir, (1997), 13, 6161-6158; G. Kataby et al., (1998), Thin Solid Films, 333, 41-49). Self-assembled coatings of iron nanoparticles by carboxylic acids and long-chain alcohols have also been reported (G. Kataby et al., "Coating carboxylic acids on amorphous iron nanoparticles," (1999) Langmuir, 15, 1703-1708; G. Kataby et al., (1997)—Langmuir 14, 1512 (1998).
Use of surfactant bilayers for stabilization of magnetic fluids was reported by Shen et al. (Shen, L. et al., (1999), Langmuir, 15, 447-453). Polymerization of olefin-terminated surfactant bilayers on magnetic fluid nanoparticles has also been reported (Shen, L. et al., 2000, Langmuir, 16, 9907-0011). U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,927, to Fuchs et al. discloses magnetorheological materials comprising magnetic particles coated with surfactant bilayers and a carrier material comprising a polymeric gel.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,106,691 to Harwell et al. reports a method for producing polymeric films from a surfactant template. Experiments were reported for sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant, styrene (with ethanol) as monomer and alumina powder as substrate. Polymerization of monomers adsolubilized within bilayers formed on particles is reported by Megure et al. and Wu et al. (Megure, et al (1986), Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 59, 3019; Wu et al., (1987), Langmuir, 3, 531, Wu et al., (1987), J. Phys. Chem. 91, 623).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,927, to Fuchs et al. discloses magnetorheological materials comprising magnetic particles coated with monolayers, self-assembling monolayers, bilayers or multiple layers of a polymeric gel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,985,168 describes the use of a bridging polymer to modify the surface of the iron particles. This approach is reported to lead to improved stability and redispersibility. In this patent three thermoset polymers are described: polyvinylpyrollidone, polyethyleneamine and poly(4-vinlypyridine). Organic polymers have also been reported as coatings for iron particles, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,447. This patent describes many families of polymers which are used and exhibit reduced abrasiveness and produce high stability with regard to settling. The use of polyelectrolytes to coat magnetic particles is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,508,880.
Kormann et al. (Kormann, Cl., Laun, H. M., and Richter, H. J., "MR Fluids with Nano-sized Magnetic Particles", Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Electrorheological Fluids, Magnetorheological Suspensions and Associated Technology, World Scientific, Publisher, pp. 362-367, Jul. 10-14, 1995) have synthesized and characterized MR fluids containing nanosized magnetic particles. Because of the presence of the nanoparticles, these fluids exhibited very low shear stress.
Several hydrogen bonded supramolecular polymer systems have been reported. Hydrogen bonding of polystyrene-b-poly(4vinylpyridine) has been reported with nonadecylphenol (NDP) (J. Ruokolainen et al., Advanced Materials (1999), 11, 777-78) and pentadecylphenol (PDP) (J. Ruokolainen et al., Science (1998), 280, 557-560). Ikkala and coworkers (J. Ruokolainen et al., Advanced Materials (1999), 11, 777-78) reported supramolecular polymers forming hierarchical morphologies like lamellar-within lamellar, lamellar-within-cylindrical, cylindrical-within-lamellar, spherical-within-lamellar, and lamellar-within-spherical. A comb copolymer supramolecular system was reported to be formed by either Poly4VP(NDP)1.0 or Poly4VP(PDP)1.0 complex (J. Ruokolainen et al., Science (1998), 280, 557-560). Hydrogen bonding of polyaniline with 4-hexylresorcinol (Hres) has been reported (H. Kosonen, et al., Macromolecules (2000), 33, 8671-8675). Hydrogen-bonding of poly(2,5-pyridinediyl) with alkylphenols has been reported (Ikkala O., et al. Advanced. Materials (1999) 11, 1206-1210). Hydrogen bonding of diacid bipyridal ethylene has been reported (Jianwei Xu, Macromolecules (2002),35, 8846-8851). Pourcain and his coworker used the hydrogen bond between carboxylic acid and pyridines to self assemble an extended chain (C. B. St. Pourcain; A. C. Griffin; (1995), Macromolecules, 28, 4116-4121).
Several supramolecular systems involving electrostatic interactions have been reported. Supramolecular systems based on electrostatic interactions between poly(styrenesulfonate) and n-alkyltrimethylammonium surfactants have been reported (Charl F. J. Faul and Markus Antonietti Advanced Materials (2003), 15, 673-683). Cohesive coatings with low surface tensions were reportedly formed through electrostatic interactions of polyelectrolyte and diverse fluorinated surfactant complex (Faul and Antionietti, 2003 supra). Supramolecular interactions between poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMACI) and sodium dodecyl sulfate have also been reported (Fengji Yeh, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., (1996), 118, 6615-6618).
Several supramolecular systems involving hydrophobic/hydrophilic interaction have been reported. Nanophase-segregated graft copolymers of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) backbones branched with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) or poly(styrene) (PS) have been reported (Heather D. Maynard et al., Polymer 42 (2001) 7567-7574). Supramolecular behavior of block copolymers (AB diblock or AGA, ABC triblock) has been reported (Frank S. Bates, Glenn H. Fredickson, Annu. Rev. Phys. Chem. (1990) 41 525-55). In the phase diagram of poly(oxyethylene)alkyl ether and poly(oxyethylene)-poly(dimethylsiloxane) diblock copolymers, two lamellar phases were reported to coexist, one containing surfactant rich thin bilayers and the other copolymer-rich thick bilayers (Aramaki, Md. et al. Macromolecules 36 (2003) 9443-9450). Block copolymers dissolved in block-selective solvents also self-assemble into a variety of morphologies including spheres, cylinders, and vesicles.
Several supramolecular systems involving metal coordination bonding have been reported. Terpyridine-terminated polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene oxide) coordinated with transition metal chlorides (i.e. ruthenium ions) have been reported (M. Al-Hussein et al. Macromolecules (2003), 36, 9281-9284). Poly(4-vinylpyridine) coordinated with 2,6-bis(octylaminomethyl)-pyridine and Zn(dodecylbenzenesulfonate) Zn(DBS)2 has been reported (Sami Valkama, et al. Macromolecular Rapid Communications (2003) 24 556-560) Systems based on 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine based polymer have also been reported (Ulich S. Schubert, Macrolol. Symp. (2001), 163 177-187; Ulrich S. Schubert, Macromol. Rapid Commun. (2000), 21, 1156-1161).
Systems based on liquid crystal interactions and π-π stacking have also been reported. A poly(9,9 bis(ethylhexyl)-fluorene-2,7-diyl) system has been reported (Matti Knaapila et al., J. Phys. Chem. B (2004), 108, 10711-10720). Polyimide systems have also been reported (Hans R. Kricheldorf and Volker Linzer, (1995), Polymer Vol. 9, 1893-1902; T. I Kaneko et al.,", Macromolecules (1997), 30, 4224-4246; H. W. Huanga, et al. (1999), Polymer 40, 3821{umlaut over ( )}C3828; S.-J. Sung, et al., Synthetic Metals 117 (2001) 277-279).
A polymer containing 3,4-dichloro-2,5-diamido-substituted pyrrole anion dimer forming a supramolecular system via anion-anion assembly has also been reported (Philip A. Gale "Anion-anion assembly: A new class of anionic supramolecular polymer containing 3,4-dichloro-2,5-diamido-substituted pyrrole anion dime" J. Am. Chem. Soc. (2002), 124, 11228-11229).
Supramolecular polymer gel systems have been reported. Chujo et al. report syntheses of metal induced gelation of polyoxazolines containing bipyridyl units. .(Chujo, Y.; Sada, K.; Safgusa, T. Macromolecules (1993), 26, 6320-6323; Chujo, Y.; Sada, K.; Safgusa, T. Macromolecules (1993), 26, 6315-631). Yeh et al. report nanoscale supramolecular structures in the gels of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) interacting with sodium dodecyl sulfate (F. Yeh, et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. (1996) 118 6615-6618).
Shear yield stress and off-state viscosity are important design parameters for MR materials utilized in MR devices that are used for vibration control such as in dampers, shock absorbers, clutches and engine mounts. A material with high shear yield stress permits the development of high torque output devices. High yield stress also permits the development of micromechanical devices. The present invention describes a class of MR materials with high shear yield stress, controllable off-state viscosity and fluid stability. The viscoelastic properties of this material can be designed through control of their storage and loss moduli.

Nanostructured magnetorheological fluids and gels

The Board of Regents of the University and Community College System of Nevada


A method and apparatus for visualizing results from a text search engine are described. A query term is first received. A first set of results is generated based on the query term using a database storing documents, and an index of documents, each document having at least one structural element. Structural elements associated with the first set of results are retrieved. A second set of results is generated based a predefined relationship between the structure elements and the query term. A visualization of the second set of results is displayed.

Desktop search technology has gained a lot of interest in recent years. Standard technology behind desktop search engines is a text retrieval engine. That means text is extracted from files, this text indexed and a search of a query term against indexed terms is performed. Text is typically extracted without pagination information (this may be due to historical adaptation of web search technology to desktop files). In a typical search scenario, a list of matched results is returned, sorted in order of the score assigned by the search engine, alphabetically by file name or by application. With increasing amounts of files on a personal desktop, the lists of returned results can become less informative. Often the user asks the question "why was this document received" without getting an answer to this question through the representation of the search results.
One important class of documents includes paginated documents (i.e. formatted documents), represented by file formats such as "pdf" or "doc". Those documents may have been created electronically or may be sent to the desktop or a local file storage system through a scanner. In this case, an optical character recognition (OCR) process may have to be performed in order to be able to create a searchable index.
Furthermore, navigation through multi-page documents that are displayed in a list as a result of a search query is currently not possible without selecting a document, opening up the application in which the document was written or formatted, and navigating through pages using the application controls, perhaps performing a second search for the same term inside the application. For a search engine embedded into a multi-function peripheral (MFP) that would mean that state-of-the-art document processing applications would have to be implemented in addition to a search engine.

Coarse-to-fine navigation through paginated documents retrieved by a text search engine


Method and system for measuring a physical parameter of a target region of a medium are provided, wherein: an excitation wave having a periodic modulation over time of a physical characteristic is emitted, a return wave is periodically deflected with a controllable deflecting element so that the deflected wave scans a transducer array, each transducer being associated with a predefined phase range of the periodic modulation, a phase image is recorded during at least one period of the periodic modulation, a phase shift between a periodic modulation of the return wave and the periodic modulation of the excitation wave is determined from the phase image, a physical parameter of the target region is determined from the phase shift.

One super-resolution optical microscopy technique, called super-resolution fluorescence optical microscopy, consists in measuring the position and the physical characteristics of fluorophores incorporated into the observed medium.
The fluorophores are excitable nanoscopic light emitters that, when they are excited by incident light, emit a certain number of photons before self-destructing. The objective of super-resolution optical methods is to capture these photons so as to locate and/or characterize the fluorophores before the latter self-destruct.
For example, the PALM (acronym of Photo-Activation Localization Microscopy) and STORM (acronym of Stochastic Optical Reconstruction Microscopy) methods are known super-localization microscopy techniques.
One common point of these techniques is that a small number of fluorophores are activated in the medium so as to be able to greatly zoom in onto a single fluorophore and to determine the center of the focal spot generated by said fluorophore.
These observation techniques thus allow intracellular structures to be observed with a precision of about ten nanometers.
These techniques however have drawbacks.
Thus the precision of the position obtained by measuring the center of the focal spot is limited and dependent on the square root of the number of photons received from the fluorophore. Moreover, the emission originating from a rotationally immobile dipolar emitter, such as certain fluorophores, is anisotropic and dependent on the polarization of the exciting light. This creates uncertainty in the obtained position of the fluorophore. Moreover, the need to zoom in onto the fluorophore in order to view the focal spot substantially limits the size of the field of observation.

System and method for measuring a physical parameter of a medium

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE

ECOLE SUPÉRIEURE DE PHYSIQUE ET DE CHIMIE INDUSTRIELLES DE LA VILLE DE PARIS


A monitored felon warning system has a police computer having a felon data base. The system also has a global positioning system, also known as GPS, and a sending subassembly having a circuit, with the transmitter being capable of transmitting a first signal to a receiver. The receiver gives off an alarm and also causes a display of warning material, such as a photograph to be displayed on the cell phone screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a monitored felon warning system and more particularly pertains to monitoring felons and persons under court order.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of monitoring devices of known configurations is known in the prior art. More specifically, monitoring devices of known configurations previously devised and utilized for the purpose of monitoring the location of persons are known to consist basically of familiar, expected, and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which has been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
By way of example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,778 issued on Jul. 21, 1998 to De Briere et al discloses an apparatus and method for detecting and monitoring the sexual arousal of an individual. U.S. Pat. No. 6,359,579 issued to Adcox et al on Mar. 19, 2002 discloses a vehicle-status device and system for remotely updating and locally indicating the status of a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,567,504 issued to Kercheval et al on May 20, 2003 discloses an automated calling system with database updating. Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,606,304 issued to Grinter et al on Aug. 12, 2003 discloses a system for real-time monitor and response.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a monitored felon warning system that allows monitoring felons and persons under court order.
In this respect, the monitored felon warning system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of monitoring felons and persons under court order.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved monitored felon warning system which can be used for monitoring felons and persons under court order. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A work machine with a boom that can be derricked, includes: a first derricking angle detector that detects a derricking angle of the boom at a base end of the boom; a second derricking angle detector that detects a derricking angle of the boom at a front end of the boom; a first flexible volume acquisition part that acquires a flexible volume of the boom based on a detected angle by the first derricking angle detector and a detected angle by the second derricking angle detector; a second flexible volume acquisition part that acquires a flexible volume of the boom based on the detected angle by the first derricking angle detector; and a switching part that switches between acquisition of the flexible volume of the boom by the first flexible volume acquisition part and acquisition of the flexible volume of the boom by the second flexible volume acquisition part.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a work machine having a boom that can be derricked, such as a mobile crane and an aerial work platform.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, a work machine having a boom that can be derricked has been known, which includes a first derricking angle detector that detects the derricking angle of a boom at the base end and a second derricking angle detector that detects the derricking angle of the boom at the front end, and calculates the flexible volume of the boom based on the detected angle by the first derricking angle detector and the detected angle by the second derricking angle detector (for example, see Patent Literature 1).
This work machine acquires the correct working radius by calculating the flexible volume of the boom, and controls the operation of the boom which is working, based on the load factor obtained by the rated load for the acquired working radius and the load acting on the front end of the boom.    Patent literature 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-240392
Here, with the above-described work machine, when the second derricking angle detector fails due to the breaking of the electric circuit of the second derricking angle detector, which is constituted by a potentiometer and so forth, it is not possible to acquire the flexible volume of the boom, and therefore the operation of the boom is halted in order to ensure safety. In this case of the work machine, even if the first derricking angle detector normally works, the boom cannot be operated until the failure of the second derricking angle detector is resolved, and therefore the working efficiency of the work machine deteriorates significantly.


The present invention relates to a solid oxide fuel cell, which includes a plurality of unit cells and a connection layer between the plurality of unit cells, wherein each of the unit cells includes an anode, a cathode and a solid electrolyte between the anode and the cathode, and the connection layer includes i) a first layer containing La-ferrite including one or more selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ca and Ba; and ii) a second layer containing La-ferrite including one or more selected from the group consisting of Sr, Ca and Ba, and one or more cerias selected from the group consisting of GDC (Gd doped ceria), LDC (La-doped ceria) and SDC (Sm-doped ceria), wherein the first layer is in contact with the cathode of each of the unit cells and the second layer is in contact with the anode of each of the unit cells.

Each unit cell of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) includes an electrolyte having oxygen ion conductivity and an anode and a cathode disposed on both surfaces thereof. When oxygen and hydrogen are supplied to respective electrodes, the oxygen ion produced by a reduction reaction of oxygen at the cathode is transported to the cathode through the electrolyte and then reacts with hydrogen supplied to the anode, thus forming water. As such, in the course of the electrons produced at the anode being transported to the cathode and consumed, the electrons flow to external circuits, thereby producing electric energy.
The unit cells are connected by means of a connector. More specifically, the connector typically functions to electrically connect the anode of one cell and the cathode of a neighboring cell to each other. Also, the connector should play a role in physically preventing mixing between air gas supplied to the anode and fuel gas supplied to the cathode. As the connector, a metal connector and a ceramic connector are mainly used.
The ceramic connector has good mechanical properties at high temperature, but is not dense, so gas may leak, a reaction with an electrode may occur, or stripping from an electrode may take place during operation of the fuel cell.

Flat tubular or plate type solid oxide fuel cell


A configuration in which usage control that is substantially similar to content usage control in a copy source medium can be performed in a content copy destination is implemented. A data processing unit that performs a copy process of recording data recorded on a first medium on a second medium records encrypted content in the first medium on the second medium, without decrypting the encrypted content. In addition, the data processing unit converts a CPS unit key file recorded on the first medium to generate a converted CPS unit key file and records the converted CPS unit key file on the second medium. Further, the data processing unit acquires an MKB not requiring KCD, which is capable of directly calculating a media key using only a device key, without using key conversion data (KCD) recorded on the first medium, from a server and records the MKB not requiring KCD on the second medium.

Various types of information recording media, such as a digital versatile disc (DVD), a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc (BD), a flash memory, have been used as information recording media (media) on which various types of content, such as a movie and music, are recorded. In general, for example, the creator or the distributor of content, such as music data or image data, recorded on the information recording media has a copyright or a distribution right to the content. Therefore, the user who has purchased the disk also has limits in the use of content recorded on the disk. For example, the unrestricted copy of the content recorded on the disk to other media is not permitted.
As a copy management configuration for the content stored in a medium, there is a configuration in which copy is permitted on condition that copy management information is received from a management server.
Specifically, for example, a process is performed in the following sequence.
A user inserts a first medium which is a copy source, such as a content-stored disk, into a user device, such as a PC or a recording/reproducing device, and the user device is connected to the management server through a network. Then, the user device transmits predetermined information, such as a disk identifier (ID) of the first medium, to the server.
The server checks, for example, the validity of the received information and transmits copy management information in which, for example, copy permission data has been recorded to the user device. The user device can check the copy permission data recorded in the copy management information transmitted from the server, read out the copy permission data from the first medium, and copy the copy permission data to the second medium which is a copy destination.
The copy management configuration is referred to as managed copy (MC) and has been described in detail in, for example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-98765).
In a case where the user device copies content stored in a medium, such as a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc (BD) storing, for example, a movie which is a copyright management target, to another medium, such as a flash memory, or another medium, such as another disk, the user device needs to perform a process according to the managed copy (MC). That is, copy is permitted on condition that copy management information is received from the management server.
In general, much of content, such as a movie, recorded on a general content-recorded disk, such as a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc (BD), is encrypted and recorded in order to prevent illegal use such as an illegal copy.
Content encrypted according to an advanced access content system (AACS) standard which is a standard related to a content copyright protection technique is recorded as encrypted data which is divided into units and in which different encryption keys are applied to the units. The configuration in which each unit is encrypted makes it possible to perform usage control for each unit and various kinds of content usage control are strictly implemented.
However, the current AACS standard is mainly a standard for usage control for content that has been recorded on a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disc (BD) in advance and has the problem that copy content usage control needs to be improved in a case where content recorded on the BD is copied to another medium and is then used.

Information processing device and information processing method


A rotate then operate instruction having a T bit is fetched and executed wherein a first operand in a first register is rotated by an amount and a Boolean operation is performed on a selected portion of the rotated first operand and a second operand in of a second register. If the T bit is ‘0’ the selected portion of the result of the Boolean operation is inserted into corresponding bits of a second operand of a second register. If the T bit is ‘1’, in addition to the inserted bits, the bits other than the selected portion of the rotated first operand are saved in the second register.

Trademarks: IBM® is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., U.S.A. S/390, z900 and z990 and other product names may be registered trademarks or product names of International Business Machines Corporation or other companies.
Before our invention IBM has created through the work of many highly talented engineers beginning with machines known as the IBM® System/360 in the 1960s to the present, a special architecture which, because of its essential nature to a computing system, became known as "the mainframe" whose principles of operation state the architecture of the machine by describing the instructions which may be executed upon the "mainframe" implementation of the instructions which had been invented by IBM inventors and adopted, because of their significant contribution to improving the state of the computing machine represented by "the mainframe", as significant contributions by inclusion in IBM's Principles of Operation as stated over the years. The Sixth Edition of the IBM® z/Architecture® Principles of Operation which was published April, 2007 has become the standard published reference as SA22-7832-05 and is incorporated in IBM's z9® mainframe servers. The IBM z/Architecture® Principles of Operation, Publication SA22-7832-05 is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
Referring to FIG. 1A, representative components of a prior art Host Computer system 50 are portrayed. Other arrangements of components may also be employed in a computer system, which are well known in the art. The representative Host Computer 50 comprises one or more CPUs 1 in communication with main store (Computer Memory 2) as well as I/O interfaces to storage devices 11 and networks 10 for communicating with other computers or SANs and the like. The CPU 1 is compliant with an architecture having an architected instruction set and architected functionality. The CPU 1 may have Dynamic Address Translation (DAT) 3 for transforming program addresses (virtual addresses) into real address of memory. A DAT typically includes a Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) 7 for caching translations so that later accesses to the block of computer memory 2 do not require the delay of address translation. Typically a cache 9 is employed between Computer Memory 2 and the Processor 1. The cache 9 may be hierarchical having a large cache available to more than one CPU and smaller, faster (lower level) caches between the large cache and each CPU. In some implementations the lower level caches are split to provide separate low level caches for instruction fetching and data accesses. In an embodiment, an instruction is fetched from memory 2 by an instruction fetch unit 4 via a cache 9. The instruction is decoded in an instruction decode unit (6) and dispatched (with other instructions in some embodiments) to instruction execution units 8. Typically several execution units 8 are employed, for example an arithmetic execution unit, a floating point execution unit and a branch instruction execution unit. The instruction is executed by the execution unit, accessing operands from instruction specified registers or memory as needed. If an operand is to be accessed (loaded or stored) from memory 2, a load store unit 5 typically handles the access under control of the instruction being executed. Instructions may be executed in hardware circuits or in internal microcode (firmware) or by a combination of both.
In FIG. 1B, an example of a prior art emulated Host Computer system 21 is provided that emulates a Host computer system 50 of a Host architecture. In the emulated Host Computer system 21, the Host processor (CPU) 1 is an emulated Host processor (or virtual Host processor) and comprises an emulation processor 27 having a different native instruction set architecture than that of the processor 1 of the Host Computer 50. The emulated Host Computer system 21 has memory 22 accessible to the emulation processor 27. In the example embodiment, the Memory 27 is partitioned into a Host Computer Memory 2 portion and an Emulation Routines 23 portion. The Host Computer Memory 2 is available to programs of the emulated Host Computer 21 according to Host Computer Architecture. The emulation Processor 27 executes native instructions of an architected instruction set of an architecture other than that of the emulated processor 1, the native instructions obtained from Emulation Routines memory 23, and may access a Host instruction for execution from a program in Host Computer Memory 2 by employing one or more instruction(s) obtained in a Sequence & Access/Decode routine which may decode the Host instruction(s) accessed to determine a native instruction execution routine for emulating the function of the Host instruction accessed. Other facilities that are defined for the Host Computer System 50 architecture may be emulated by Architected Facilities Routines, including such facilities as General Purpose Registers. Control Registers. Dynamic Address Translation and I/O Subsystem support and processor cache for example. The Emulation Routines may also take advantage of function available in the emulation Processor 27 (such as general registers and dynamic translation of virtual addresses) to improve performance of the Emulation Routines. Special Hardware and Off-Load Engines may also be provided to assist the processor 27 in emulating the function of the Host Computer 50.
In a mainframe, architected machine instructions are used by programmers, usually today "C" programmers often by way of a compiler application. These instructions stored in the storage medium may be executed natively in a z/Architecture IBM Server, or alternatively in machines executing other architectures. They can be emulated in the existing and in future IBM mainframe servers and on other machines of IBM (e.g. pSeries® Servers and xSeries® Servers). They can be executed in machines running Linux on a wide variety of machines using hardware manufactured by IBM®, Intel®, AMD™, Sun Microsystems and others. Besides execution on that hardware under a z/Architecture®, Linux can be used as well as machines which use emulation by Hercules, UMX, FSI (Fundamental Software, Inc) or Platform Solutions, Inc. (PSI), where generally execution is in an emulation mode. In emulation mode, emulation software is executed by a native processor to emulate the architecture of an emulated processor.
The native processor 27 typically executes emulation software 23 comprising either firmware or a native operating system to perform emulation of the emulated processor. The emulation software 23 is responsible for fetching and executing instructions of the emulated processor architecture. The emulation software 23 maintains an emulated program counter to keep track of instruction boundaries. The emulation software 23 may fetch one or more emulated machine instructions at a time and convert the one or more emulated machine instructions to a corresponding group of native machine instructions for execution by the native processor 27. These converted instructions may be cached such that a faster conversion can be accomplished. Not withstanding, the emulation software must maintain the architecture rules of the emulated processor architecture so as to assure operating systems and applications written for the emulated processor operate correctly. Furthermore the emulation software must provide resources identified by the emulated processor 1 architecture including, but not limited to control registers, general purpose registers, floating point registers, dynamic address translation function including segment tables and page tables for example, interrupt mechanisms, context switch mechanisms, Time of Day (TOD) clocks and architected interfaces to I/O subsystems such that an operating system or an application program designed to run on the emulated processor, can be run on the native processor having the emulation software.
A specific instruction being emulated is decoded, and a subroutine called to perform the function of the individual instruction. An emulation software function 23 emulating a function of an emulated processor 1 is implemented, for example, in a "C" subroutine or driver, or some other method of providing a driver for the specific hardware as will be within the skill of those in the art after understanding the description of the preferred embodiment. Various software and hardware emulation patents including, but not limited to U.S. Pat. No. 5,551,013 for a "Multiprocessor for hardware emulation" of Beausoleil et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,261: Preprocessing of stored target routines for emulating incompatible instructions on a target processor" of Scalzi et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,873; Decoding guest instruction to directly access emulation routines that emulate the guest instructions, of Davidian et al; U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,255: Symmetrical multiprocessing bus and chipset used for coprocessor support allowing non-native code to run in a system, of Gorishek et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,582; Dynamic optimizing object code translator for architecture emulation and dynamic optimizing object code translation method of Lethin et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,825: Method for emulating guest instructions on a host computer through dynamic recompilation of host instructions of Eric Traut; and many others, illustrate the a variety of known ways to achieve emulation of an instruction format architected for a different machine for a target machine available to those skilled in the art, as well as those commercial software techniques used by those referenced above.
What is needed is new instruction functionality consistent with existing architecture that relieves dependency on architecture resources such as general registers, improves functionality and performance of software versions employing the new instruction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Rotate then operate on selected bits facility and instructions therefor


The invention discloses an apparatus for using regulating components for communicating radio frequency signals. The apparatus is equipped with a plurality of regulating components. At least two of the regulating components are connected through a connecting part, and one of the connected regulating components is in a feed connection with the circuit board. In use, the regulating components are used for communicating radio frequency signals.

The statement herein only provides background information relating to the invention and does not necessarily constitute the prior art.
With the rapid development of science and technology, smart wearable devices are becoming increasingly mainstream, wherein antennas are indispensable elements of the smart wearable devices for realizing untethered and tethered to smart phone wireless communication. For example, multi-band antennas covering GPS/BT/UWB/Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz (1500-6000 MHz) are basic elements of smart watches.
Antenna radiators configured in the wearable devices as independent parts occupy a large space in the wearable devices and affect the overall design of the wearable devices. To fulfill larger displays and greater battery capacity, it still remains a challenge to reserve the space for the antennas.

Apparatus for utilizing a plurality of regulating components for communicating radio frequency signals


The present invention provides a power supply suitable for a neon light, which power supply has a continuous output and a high power factor in excess of 0.9. The present invention does not require a front-end boost converter.

The present invention relates to a power supply with a high power factor suitable for a neon light, and more particularly to a high power factor power supply which outputs a non-discontinuous waveform.
Neon power supplies are generally designed to be as simple and inexpensive as possible. It is also desirable that they have a high power factor when operated from a normal AC source. As used herein, the term "high power factor" means a power factor of at least 0.9. Some designs use a rectifier-capacitor input filter to convert the incoming AC to DC to power the output high frequency converter, but such designs result in a low power factor, typically of the order of 0.6. The output waveform is, however, continuous (or to put it another way, non-discontinuous). In order to improve the power factor, some designs run from unfiltered full wave rectified AC. This gives a power factor in excess of 0.9, but the penalty is that the output waveform is discontinuous, as it goes to zero at the end of each half cycle. For a neon lamp load, the lamp must therefore re-strike every half cycle. In a normal situation this does not present a problem. However, there are disadvantages in not having a continuous output from the power supply, including (1) the re-striking of the neon lamp load generates more EMI than one operating continuously, and (2) with incompletely processed electrodes it is possible that the repetitive re-striking when using mercury-argon lamps can result in mercury being pumped away from the ends of the lamps. This then results in dimming of the end of the lamps. Typically this occurs when lamp makers use large diameter electrodes with small diameter glass, and the electrode conversion process cannot be adequately controlled.
One way of achieving a high power factor with a continuous output waveform is by utilizing a front-end boost converter, followed by an inverter to produce the output high frequency power. While this produces a high power factor and low harmonic distortion, the additional cost of the front-end converter makes the product less competitive in the market place.
There is a need for a neon power supply having a high power factor and which outputs a continuous waveform, without the additional cost of having a front-end boost converter.

Non-discontinuous neon power supply with high power factor


Techniques are described for obtaining user activity information and navigational mnemonic information. The activity information and navigational mnemonic information can be used to control information presented in displays in a manner that can assist a user in locating an activity using displayed navigational mnemonics. User activity information can include an application identifier and a content identifier. Navigational mnemonic information can include a resource identifier and a relevance identifier. A user can search for activities based on a relationship between a navigational mnemonic and an activity, such as a temporal relationship. Applications can register both activity information and navigational mnemonic information through an interface, and a navigational mnemonic feed service can provide navigation mnemonics that are not directly related to user activity on user computer devices.

Computer devices are becoming ever more ubiquitous, and more and more of people's day-to-day activities involve computer devices. During the course of a day, a user may carry out many activities using one or more computer devices—such as watching videos, listening to music, browsing the web, using a chat or communication program, working on a document or presentation, or playing a game, among others. Over time, a user may wish to resume or revisit an activity they previously engaged in. However, it may be difficult for a user to remember all of the details necessary to resume that activity.
In many cases, a user may be concurrently carrying out multiple activities using even a single computer device. Increasingly, people desire and need to carry out activities involving, and between, multiple computer devices. For example, a user may work on a single task, or multiple interrelated tasks, such as a work project, using multiple different computer devices, such as a smartphone, work desktop computer, laptop computer, and home desktop computer. A user may start watching an entertainment program or playing a game on their laptop computer, but may wish to continue watching or playing on their smartphone or tablet computer at a later time. A user may start researching a topic on the web at work on their desktop computer, and continue their research on a smartphone or tablet computer during their commute home.
As computer devices are used for a larger number of tasks, and become more integrated into people's lives, it can become challenging for a user to track their activities and associated content. For example, a user may wish to access a web page the user browsed two days earlier, but may not remember the address of the web page, or how they found it, or even which browser or device they were using to view the page. A user may have been listening to a song on their computer device, or watching a video, but may no longer remember the title of the song or video. A user may have been working on a document, but may no longer remember where that document was stored, or how to access it again.
In some cases, a computer device, such as an individual application running on the computer device or an operating system of the computer device, may provide some limited functionality for a user to try and trace their activity. For example, an operating system component may allow the user to view of a list of recently created or modified files. A web browser may allow a user to access a history of web pages visited by the user. However, such functionality is typically limited to a single application or domain.
However, at least certain information regarding activities, such as files opened by a user, but not modified by the user, may not be available to the user. Even when information is available, the specific information in which the user is interested may be intermixed with voluminous amounts of other information. For instance, the address of a web page a user wants to find may be intermixed with information for scores of other web pages the user visited on a particular day. If the user cannot remember the particular day they visited the web page, the task becomes even more challenging and frustrating. Thus, room for improvement remains for tracking a user's activities on one or more computer devices and making the information easily and intelligently accessible to the user.

Control of displayed activity information using navigational mnemonics


Here we present an eyewear temple assembly that provides the flexibility to add thermal regulation to eyewear in an integrated and concealed manner. Our eyewear temple assembly is comprised of a temple tip, temple, cartridge compartment(s), detachable cover(s), and removable cartridge(s). The presented eyewear temple assembly also 1) accommodates, secures, and conceals said cartridge(s), 2) exchanges heat between said cartridge(s) and the wearer and/or environment, and 3) modulates the rate of thermal exchange between said cartridge(s) and the user or environment.

Current eyewear serves to correct vision or to provide protection for the eyes, such as against UV radiation or physical injuries. However, as demonstrated by sunglasses that provide music playing and cell phone capabilities, consumer interest is growing in augmented eyewear, which offers functionalities that go beyond the obvious features. One way to accomplish this is for eyewear to incorporate detachable parts and concealable compartments, which can store or hold additional functional components. For convenience, eyewear parts should be easily disassembled and reassembled. Therefore, the integration of temple assemblies containing cartridge compartment(s) and installable functional cartridge(s) would allow for convenient modification and enhancement of existing eyewear capabilities without sacrificing style.
Although related prior works of art exist, these inventions have not met all of the needs mentioned above and, instead, have incorporated numerous significant shortcomings. For example, with respect to temples containing compartments or that also can be disassembled and reassembled, U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,798 describes the integration of a hinge repair kit, consisting of loose parts like screws, within a temple compartment. U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,442 presents sunglasses consisting of a base eyewear assembly with detachable components. With respect to the temples, snap-on attachments allow a user to add differently styled temple sidebars. U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,008 presents eyeglasses with temples having small recess area(s) containing identification tag(s). Transparent window(s) allow the tag(s) to be visible while acting as lid(s) to keep the tag(s) within the recess area(s). Thus, the inventions suggested heretofore typically include temples 1) containing components that are not fully secured in compartments, 2) having obtrusive temple attachments, or 3) incorporating transparent compartment covers that do not fully conceal the contents of the recessed area(s).
In regards to the integration of additional eyewear functionalities, U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,480 presents sunglasses that incorporate an unwieldy sunscreen dispenser. Eyewear with integrated electronic components have also been described recently. U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,365 describes a Bluetooth component being integrally embedded into the temple whereas U.S. Pat. No. 5,455,638 describes a micro-electronics power and control system for battery-powered, electrochromic eyewear. However, if any electronic component malfunctions, then the user will have to replace a significant portion of the eyewear, such as a whole temple, rather than the individual defective component. In addition, aromatic dispensing applications have been described. U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,787 presents an aromatic dispensing device attached to a pair of eyeglasses. Similarly, U.S. simply dispense but are difficult to adjust the amount or the rate of aromatics being released. Therefore, the inventions suggested heretofore typically include eyewear assemblies that 1) are unwieldy and potentially messy because of an accident, 2) are costly to own due to the requirement of replacing an entire temple, or 3) lack the ability to regulate the interaction between the functional module and the user or environment.
Furthermore, a particular function that is not being addressed in current eyewear relates to the field of thermal regulation. Many eyewear users, like athletes or construction workers, live and work in harsh thermal conditions, such as summers and winters in the Southwest. For example, heat exhaustion, which includes important symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, and headaches, often occurs above an internal body temperature of 40° C. (104° F.). Any body temperature above 41° C. becomes a critical condition that will lead to heat stroke, which can cause disorientation, convulsions, and unconsciousness. Such heat conditions highlight the thermal sensitivity of the brain; consequently, regulating head temperature is important. An elegant solution would be to have protective eyewear with additional thermal regulation capabilities.
Others have tried to regulate head temperature. U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,834 describes the incorporation of "heat pipes" into a bonnet that is worn on the head. However, this invention does not cover eyewear. U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,446 presents an unwieldy heat transfer device for regulating the temperature of the scalp. Thus, the inventions suggested heretofore typically include thermal regulating systems that 1) are not integrated into convenient, stylish eyewear or 2) are cumbersome for the user to wear.


A semiconductor memory device includes memory cells, a memory cell array, word lines, a first charge pump circuit, and a discharge circuit. The memory cell has a first MOS transistor with a stacked gate including a floating gate and a control gate. The memory cell array includes the memory cells arranged in a matrix. The word line connects commonly the control gates of the first MOS transistors in a same row. The first charge pump circuit is activated and generates a first voltage in a write operation and erase operation. The first voltage is supplied with either the well region or the word lines. The discharge circuit, when the first charge pump circuit is deactivated, discharges the charge generated by the first charge pump circuit to ground or to a power-supply potential, while causing current to flow to an output node of the first voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, a control method for the semiconductor memory device, and a memory card including the semiconductor memory device. More particularly, this invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device including MOS transistors, each having a floating gate and a control gate.
2. Description of the Related Art
NOR flash memories and NAND flash memories have been widely used as nonvolatile semiconductor memories.
In recent years, a flash memory combining the features of the NOR flash memory and the NAND flash memory has been proposed in, for example, Wei-Hua Liu, "A 2-Transistor Source-select (2TS) Flash EEPROM for 1.8-V-Only Application," Non-Volatile Semiconductor Memory Workshop 4.1, 1997. A flash memory of this type has memory cells, each including two MOS transistors (hereinafter, a flash memory including such memory cells is referred to as a 2Tr flash memory). In a memory cell of a 2Tr flash memory, one MOS transistor functioning as a nonvolatile memory section has a structure including a control gate and a floating gate and is connected to a bit line. The other MOS transistor, which is connected to a source line, is used to select a memory cell.
In flash memories, when the voltages of the word lines and others are reset at the end of a write, read, or erase operation, an adverse effect of coupling must be taken into consideration. Related techniques have been described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,373,749 and in Shigeru Atsumi et al., "A Channel-Erasing 1.8-V-Only 32 Mb NOR Flash EEPROM with a Bit-Line Direct-Sensing Scheme," IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference/SESSION 16/NON-VOLATILE and SRAM/PAPER TP 16.7, February, 2000.

Semiconductor memory device including floating gates and control gates, control method for the same, and memory card including the same


A refrigeration apparatus includes a heat source-side unit and a utilization-side unit that are connected to each other, and performs a refrigeration cycle in which a high pressure of a refrigerant reaches or exceeds a critical pressure. The refrigeration apparatus also includes a control unit configured to perform a first action of returning the refrigerant to the heat source-side unit when a stop condition of the utilization-side unit is satisfied, and a second action of prohibiting the first action when a pressure at the heat source-side unit is equal to or more than the critical pressure of the refrigerant. This configuration suppresses damage to a refrigerant storage reservoir and the like in returning the refrigerant to the heat source-side unit.

There are refrigeration apparatuses including a heat source-side unit installed outdoors, the heat source-side including a gas-liquid separator (a refrigerant storage reservoir), and a utilization-side unit connected to the heat source-side unit. As disclosed in, for example, Patent Literature 1, in some of these refrigeration apparatuses, a refrigerant in a refrigerant circuit is returned to a refrigerant storage reservoir or a heat source-side heat exchanger of a heat source-side unit in stopping an action of a utilization-side unit.


A food slicer adapter is provided for securement in combination with a food slicer containing an underlying hopper with relatively movable blades mounted therewithin. The adapter is provided for sliding inter-engagement with one of a plurality of feed hoppers contained within the food slicer and contains a central feed tube formed with a feed opening overlying a transparent shield. The shield overlies a plurality of diametrically opposed spacer flanges defining a diameter essentially equal to that of an internal diameter defined by the feed hopper. The flanges are formed with leg members with a slot defined within the leg members and the flanges for interfitting within diametrically opposed slots within the feed hopper. A ram directs food positioned within the feed opening and directs such food past diametrically positioned and orthogonally oriented blades secured at a lowermost end of the adapter.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to food slicing, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved food slicer adapter arranged to interfit within a feed hopper to diametrically reduce a feed diameter to accommodate foods of smaller cross-sectional areas, such as peppers and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of food slicers of various types is well known in the prior art. Particularly in the slicing of various vegetables, such as lettuce and cabbage, a food slicing machine is provided formed with a series of hoppers overlying rotating blades. However, when attempting to slice foods of smaller cross-sectional areas, such as green peppers and the like as compared to lettuce heads for example, the feed hoppers are of a diameter to effect undesirable slicing due to the diminished cross-sectional area relative to the feed hopper cross-sectional area. In this vein, the instant invention attempts to provide an adapter to effectively direct food in a desired orientation relative to the rotating blades. Examples of the prior art include U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,023 to Bringard, et al., illustrating a rotary blade cutting arrangement relative to food hoppers utilized in a conventional vegetable cutting arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,319 to Taniyama sets forth a vegetable cutter arrangement utilizing a grid pattern of slicers with an overlying pivoted member to direct foods past the slicer blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,578,388 to Sullivan, et al., sets forth a pizza dough perforating device wherein a dough member is directed past cooperating rotating blades.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,084 to Gomez sets forth a cookie machine formed with forming and cutting apparatus for the creation of cookie arrangements.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,904 to Rayment provides a food cutter wherein strips are cut by means of reciprocating blades mounted orthogonally relative to potato portions being directed relative to the blades.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved food slicer adapter arrangement to enable orientation and preslicing of various vegetables, such as peppers, of diminished cross-sectional area relative to larger cross-sectional area vegetables, such as cabbage and lettuce heads, within a vegetable cutting arrangement.


Quantifying an amount of sulfur in a petroleum sample includes sequential extraction and quantification of inorganic and organic sulfur species. An exemplary process includes extracting inorganic sulfur components from the sample to yield extracted inorganic sulfur components and a residual sample, and reducing the sulfur in the extracted inorganic sulfur components to yield a first quantity of hydrogen sulfide. The organic sulfur components are extracted from the residual sample to yield extracted organic sulfur components, and the sulfur in the extracted organic sulfur components is reduced to yield a second quantity of hydrogen sulfide. The amount of sulfur in the first quantity of hydrogen sulfide and the amount of sulfur in the second quantity of hydrogen sulfide are combined to yield a total amount of sulfur in the sample.

Sulfur is the third most abundant element in petroleum, occurring in certain heavy oils at concentrations of over 12 weight percent (wt %). Reserves of low sulfur crude oils are depleting worldwide, necessitating the identification of reservoirs of crude oils with high sulfur content. The abundance of sulfur species in hydrocarbon products causes corrosion to infrastructure, health exposure risks, and higher operational and production costs. As a result, environmental regulatory agencies in the world continue to promulgate more stringent regulations towards sulfur emission from fuels and sulfur gases emanating from oil and gas industries.
Methods employed in the petroleum industry to quantify sulfur typically include bulk sample analysis via oxidation, combustion, and other chemical reactions that yield erroneous results caused by masking and matrix effects of other compounds in the samples. In addition, reproducibility and precision of these methods are impractical for quantifying specific sulfur species expected to affect both upstream and downstream operations. Thus, these methods have limited use in hydrocarbon industries for proper characterization and quantification of sulfur content in petroleum products.

Quantifying organic and inorganic sulfur components in petroleum material


A drill-guide device is for use in establishing alignments for bone screws driven into the neck of a femur, for bone immobilization following a femoral-neck fracture, particularly in the circumstance of an intramedullary nail already installed in the shaft of the same femur. The device provides a drill template with at least one pair of horizontally spaced guide bores, which are sufficiently spaced to straddle opposite sides of the intramedullary nail and which can be oriented to produce drilled holes which pass up the femoral neck and into the head of a the femur. The axes of the guide bores converge to a point of their geometric intersection beyond the femoral head. Provision is made for detachably connecting the template to the proximal end of the intramedullary nail and for releasably fixing the vertical position and the elevationally tilted position of the template, for a range of adjustments to adapt the device to the differing sizes and proportions of individual patients.

The invention relates to a drill-guide device, for use in establishing alignments for bone screws driven into the neck of a femur. The device has particular application to the repair of a petrochanteric fracture of the neck of a femur, as when installing a reinforcing side plate of the nature described in my copending patent application Ser. No. 08/075,495, filed Jun. 8, 1993.
A guide device for drilling into the neck of a femur is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,654, which discloses a drill template adapted to be placed on a proximal-end part of an intramedullary nail; the device is completely rigid, so that neither turning nor swinging movements are possible. Therefore, the alignment of holes to be drilled is determined once and for all, and adaptation to different conditions of an individual person are not possible.

Drill-device for alignment of a bone screw driven into the neck of a femur


There is presented a method for controlling an activation threshold of a safety system of a vehicle. The method comprises receiving map data from a remote data repository, said map data comprising a geographical location of a dynamic object located in a surrounding area of an expected path of the vehicle, determining a geographical location of the vehicle by means of a localization system of the vehicle, and lowering an activation threshold value of the safety system when the geographical location of the vehicle is within a predefined distance from the dynamic object. The presented method provides for an efficient means for preparing e.g. an emergency brake assist system of a vehicle in potentially critical situations.

Today, many vehicles have a variety of driver support functions in the form of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). Also, many of these support function form a basis for current and future autonomous drive (AD) functions. Examples of ADAS features or functions include lane departure warning systems, lane change assistance, parking sensors, pedestrian protection systems, blind spot monitors, adaptive cruise control (ACC), anti-lock braking systems, and so forth. These functions supplement the traditional driver control of the vehicle with one or more warnings or automated actions in response to certain scenarios.
Furthermore, some of these features may be labelled as vehicle safety systems whose purpose is mainly related to increasing passenger safety by reducing the risk of accidents as well as the severity of accidents.
One such example is emergency brake assist (EBA) systems, which provide for carrying out an automated emergency braking when a driver-controlled use of brakes is considered to be too poor. Some EBA systems are triggered by detecting a speed with which the brake pedal is depressed, alternatively one can take into account the rapidity of which the accelerator pedal is released. In more detail, many drivers are not prepared for the relatively high efforts required to achieve maximum braking, nor are they prepared for the "buzzing" feedback through the brake pedal during ABS operation. Thus, if an emergency develops, a slow reaction and less than maximum braking input could result in insufficient time or distance to stop before an accident occurs. The EBA system is designed to detect such behaviour and overrides and fully applies the brakes.
However, the continuous development of ADAS and AD features and functions are important factors not only in terms of increasing road safety, but also in terms of reducing the cognitive burden for vehicle users and improving the overall user experience in vehicles.

Control of activation threshold for vehicle safety systems


Golf balls having a multi-layered core made of a foamed composition are provided. The core preferably has a foam inner core (center) and surrounding thermoset or thermoplastic outer core layer. Preferably, a polyurethane foam composition is used to form the foam center. The foam inner core preferably includes a fully-foamed center region and a partially or completely-collapsed foam outer region. The hardness of the fully-foamed region is different than the hardness of the collapsed foam region. Non-foamed thermoset or thermoplastic materials such as polybutadiene rubbers or ethylene acid copolymer ionomer may be used to form the outer core layer. The ball further includes a cover that may be multi-layered. The foam cores have good resiliency.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to multi-layered, golf balls having a foam core with regions of different hardness. A dual-layered core having an inner core (center) and surrounding thermoset or thermoplastic outer core layer is preferably prepared. The foam center preferably includes a fully-foamed region and a partially or completely-collapsed foam region. The hardness of the fully-foamed region is different than the hardness of the collapsed foam region. The ball further includes a cover having at least one layer.
Brief Review of the Related Art
Both professional and amateur golfer use multi-piece, solid golf balls today. Basically, a two-piece solid golf ball includes a solid inner core protected by an outer cover. The inner core is made of a natural or synthetic rubber such as polybutadiene, styrene butadiene, or polyisoprene. The cover surrounds the inner core and may be made of a variety of materials including, for example, ethylene acid copolymer ionomers, polyamides, polyesters, polyurethanes, and polyureas.
In recent years, three-piece, four-piece, and even five-piece balls have become more popular. New manufacturing technologies, lower material costs, and desirable performance properties have contributed to these multi-piece balls becoming more popular. Many golf balls used today have multi-layered cores comprising an inner core and at least one surrounding outer core layer. For example, the inner core may be made of a relatively soft and resilient material, while the outer core may be made of a harder and more rigid material. The "dual-core" sub-assembly is encapsulated by a cover having at least one layer to provide a final ball assembly. Different materials can be used to manufacture the core and cover thus imparting desirable properties to the final ball.
In general, dual-cores comprising an inner core (or center) and a surrounding outer core layer are known in the industry. For example, Sugimoto, U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,935 discloses a three-piece golf ball comprising a core having a center and outer shell and a cover disposed about the core. The specific gravity of the outer shell is greater than the specific gravity of the center. The center has a JIS-C hardness (X) at the center point thereof and a JIS-C hardness (Y) at a surface thereof satisfying the equation: (Y−X)≥8. The core structure (center and outer shell) has a JIS-C hardness (Z) at a surface of 80 or greater. The cover has a Shore D hardness of less than 60.
Endo, U.S. Pat. No. 6,520,872 discloses a three-piece golf ball comprising a center, an intermediate layer formed over the center, and a cover formed over the intermediate layer. The center is preferably made of high-cis polybutadiene rubber; and the intermediate and cover layers are preferably made of an ionomer resin such as an ethylene acid copolymer.
Watanabe, U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,208 discloses a three-piece golf ball comprising a rubber-based inner core; a rubber-based outer core layer; and a polyurethane elastomer-based cover. The inner core layer has a JIS-C hardness of 50 to 85; the outer core layer has a JIS-C hardness of 70 to 90; and the cover has a Shore D hardness of 46 to 55. Also, the inner core has a specific gravity of more than 1.0, and the core outer layer has a specific gravity equal to or greater than that of that of the inner core.
The core sub-structure located inside of the golf ball acts as an engine or spring for the ball. Thus, the composition and construction of the core is a key factor in determining the resiliency and rebounding performance of the ball. In general, the rebounding performance of the ball is determined by calculating its initial velocity after being struck by the face of the golf club and its outgoing velocity after making impact with a hard surface. More particularly, the "Coefficient of Restitution" or "COR" of a golf ball refers to the ratio of a ball's rebound velocity to its initial incoming velocity when the ball is fired out of an air cannon into a rigid vertical plate. The COR for a golf ball is written as a decimal value between zero and one. A golf ball may have different COR values at different initial velocities. The United States Golf Association (USGA) sets limits on the initial velocity of the ball so one objective of golf ball manufacturers is to maximize COR under such conditions. Balls with a higher rebound velocity have a higher COR value. Such golf balls rebound faster, retain more total energy when struck with a club, and have longer flight distance versus balls with low COR values. These properties are particularly important for long distance shots. For example, balls having high resiliency and COR values tend to travel a relatively far distance when struck by a driver club from a tee.
The durability, spin rate, and feel of the ball also are important properties. In general, the durability of the ball refers to the impact-resistance of the ball. Balls having low durability appear worn and damaged even when such balls are used only for brief time periods. In some instances, the cover may be cracked or torn. The spin rate refers to the ball's rate of rotation after it is hit by a club. Balls having a relatively high spin rate are advantageous for short distance shots made with irons and wedges. Professional and highly skilled amateur golfers can place a back spin more easily on such balls. This helps a player better control the ball and improves shot accuracy and placement. By placing the right amount of spin on the ball, the player can get the ball to stop precisely on the green or place a fade on the ball during approach shots. On the other hand, recreational players who cannot intentionally control the spin of the ball when hitting it with a club are less likely to use high spin balls. For such players, the ball can spin sideways more easily and drift far-off the course, especially if the ball is hooked or sliced. Meanwhile, the "feel" of the ball generally refers to the sensation that a player experiences when striking the ball with the club and it is a difficult property to quantify. Most players prefer balls having a soft feel, because the player experience a more natural and comfortable sensation when their club face makes contact with these balls. Balls having a softer feel are particularly desirable when making short shots around the green, because the player senses more with such balls. The feel of the ball primarily depends upon the hardness and compression of the ball.
Manufacturers of golf balls are constantly looking to different materials for improving the playing performance and other properties of the ball. For example, golf balls containing cores made from foam compositions are generally known in the industry. Puckett and Cadorniga, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,836,552 and 4,839,116 disclose one-piece, short distance golf balls made of a foam composition comprising a thermoplastic polymer (ethylene acid copolymer ionomer such as Surlyn®) and filler material (microscopic glass bubbles). The density of the composition increases from the center to the surface of the ball. Thus, the ball has relatively dense outer skin and a cellular inner core. According to the '552 and '116 Patents, by providing a short distance golf ball, which will play approximately 50% of the distance of a conventional golf ball, the land requirements for a golf course can be reduced 67% to 50%.
Gentiluomo, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,126 discloses a three-piece golf ball (FIG. 2) containing a high density center (3) made of steel, surrounded by an outer core (4) of low density resilient syntactic foam composition, and encapsulated by an ethylene acid copolymer ionomer (Surlyn®) cover (5). The '126 Patent defines the syntactic foam as being a low density composition consisting of granulated cork or hollow spheres of either phenolic, epoxy, ceramic or glass, dispersed within a resilient elastomer.
Aoyama, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,688,192 and 5,823,889 disclose a golf ball containing a core, wherein the core comprising an inner and outer portion, and a cover made of a material such as balata rubber or ethylene acid copolymer ionomer. The core is made by foaming, injecting a compressible material, gasses, blowing agents, or gas-containing microspheres into polybutadiene or other core material. According to the '889 Patent, polyurethane compositions may be used. The compressible material, for example, gas-containing compressible cells may be dispersed in a limited part of the core so that the portion containing the compressible material has a specific gravity of greater than 1.00. Alternatively, the compressible material may be dispersed throughout the entire core. In one embodiment, the core comprises an inner and outer portion. In another embodiment, the core comprises inner and outer layers.
Sullivan and Ladd, U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,991 discloses a golf ball containing a low specific gravity core, optional intermediate layer, and high specific gravity cover with Shore D hardness in the range of about 40 to about 80. The core is preferably made from a highly neutralized thermoplastic polymer such as ethylene acid copolymer which has been foamed.
Nesbitt, U.S. Pat. No. 6,767,294 discloses a golf ball comprising: i) a pressurized foamed inner center formed from a thermoset material, a thermoplastic material, or combinations thereof, a blowing agent and a cross-linking agent and, ii) an outer core layer formed from a second thermoset material, a thermoplastic material, or combinations thereof. Additionally, a barrier resin or film can be applied over the outer core layer to reduce the diffusion of the internal gas and pressure from the nucleus (center and outer core layer). Preferred polymers for the barrier layer have low permeability such as Saran® film (poly (vinylidene chloride), Barex® resin (acyrlonitrile-co-methyl acrylate), poly (vinyl alcohol), and PET film (polyethylene terephthalate). The '294 Patent does not disclose core layers having different hardness gradients.
Sullivan, Ladd, and Hebert, U.S. Pat. No. 7,708,654 discloses a golf ball having a foamed intermediate layer. Referring to FIG. 1 in the '654 Patent, the golf ball includes a core (12), an intermediate layer (14) made of a highly neutralized polymer having a reduced specific gravity (less than 0.95), and a cover (16). According to the '654 Patent, the intermediate layer can be an outer core, a mantle layer, or an inner cover. The reduction in specific gravity of the intermediate layer is caused by foaming the composition of the layer and this reduction can be as high as 30%. The '654 Patent discloses that other foamed compositions such as foamed polyurethanes and polyureas may be used to form the intermediate layer.
Tutmark, U.S. Pat. No. 8,272,971 is directed to golf balls containing an element that reduces the distance of the ball's flight path. In one embodiment, the ball includes a core and cover. A cavity is formed between core and cover and this may be filled by a foamed polyurethane "middle layer" in order to dampen the ball's flight properties. The foam of the middle layer is relatively light in weight; and the core is relatively heavy and dense. According to the '971 Patent, when a golfer strikes the ball with a club, the foam in the middle layer actuates and compresses, thereby absorbing much of the impact from the impact of the ball.
Although some foam core constructions for golf balls have been considered over the years, there are drawbacks with using such foam materials. For example, one disadvantage with golf balls having a foam core is the ball tends to have low resiliency (rebounding performance). That is, the velocity of the ball tends to be low after being hit by a club and the ball generally travels short distances. There is a need for new balls having a foam core with improved resiliency that will allow players to generate higher initial ball speed. This will allow players to make longer distance shots. The present invention provides new foam core constructions having improved resiliency and durability and other advantageous properties; and new methods for making such cores. The invention also encompasses new golf balls containing the improved core construction.

Golf balls having a foam center with regions of different hardness


A fluid shock absorber assembly having a shut-off valve, a water hammer arrester device and a water inlet. The assembly is comprised of a low profile adaptor structure constructed and arranged to permit the assembly to be mounted in a housing enclosure for aligning and joining water lines to form washing machine and icemaker connection structures. The housing enclosure which mounts to a building structure is designed to further allow the fluid shock absorber assembly components to be installed, maintained and replaced therein.

This invention relates generally to a fluid shock absorber assembly. Particularly, the invention relates to a water shock absorber assembly comprising a low profile adapter structure having a water hammer arrester device, valve means and a water inlet. The assembly is constructed and arranged for mounting in a housing enclosure for aligning and connecting water lines to form washing machine and icemaker connection structures, for example. More particularly, the invention provides a versatile shock absorber plumbing fitting for water systems. The versatile plumbing fitting comprises a low profile adapter structure having a water inlet, valve means and a water hammer arrester device for mounting in a housing for connection to appliances and having means to mount the housing within a building wall, for example.
The fluid shock absorber assembly of the invention includes a water hammer arrester device. Water hammer arrester devices are constructed and arranged to absorb fluid forces that result when fluid flow in a pipe is quickly abrupted, i.e., by a water shut-off valve in a washing machine or icemaker, for example. Commonly referred to as xe2x80x9chammeringxe2x80x9d, pipe movement and resultant noises are generated when fluid flow is abruptly stopped. Repeated xe2x80x9chammeringxe2x80x9d is both aggravating to the homeowner and may damage water lines over a period of time. As a result, plumbing codes have been promulgated to require the utilization of water hammer arrester devices in plumbing systems that are subject to the quick interruption of water flow. For example, the International Plumbing Code (IPC) as well as other plumbing codes require the use of water hammer arrester devices in connection with quick closing valves where water flow is rapidly abrupted, i.e., in connection with washing machines.
A water hammer arrester device is typically constructed of a cylinder and piston arrangement in communication with a water line. A compressible fluid, such as a gas, is trapped between the piston and the cylinder end to create a pressure chamber so that forces directed to the piston are absorbed as the piston compresses the gas within the cylinder. Water hammer arrester devices are incorporated in the plumbing fixture enclosure assemblies of the present invention. The adapter structure of the invention permits the water hammer arrester devices to be mounted adjacent and in proximity to the valve structure. This proximate mounting of the arrester to the valve has been found to be most effective in dealing with water shock that results in water hammering.
Although water hammer arresters are known in connection with water lines, the installation and use of these devices have been time consuming and limited. The assemblies of the present invention overcome these difficulties and limitations by providing ease and versatility in installation, use and maintenance.
It is an object of the invention to provide a fluid shock absorber assembly which utilizes a low profile adapter structure having means to replacably receive a water hammer arrester device, a shut off valve and which has means to connect the assembly to a water supply line.
It is another object of the invention to provide a fluid shock absorber assembly utilizing water arrester devices which meet the requirements of ASSE 1010 and ANSI A 111.26.1M.
It is another object to provide an economical and effective water shock absorber assembly which is versatile in use and easy to install.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a fluid shock absorber assembly which may be mounted in a housing to form connecting boxes for washing machines and ice makers, for example.
The fluid shock absorber assembly of the invention comprises a low profile adapter having a water inlet, a water hammer arrester device and a valve structure mounted thereto. The assembly is constructed and arranged for mounting within a housing enclosure whereby various water lines may be connected and the water hammer arrester devices and valve structures may be easily replaced within the housing cavity.
Plumbing fixture enclosure assemblies are further provided utilizing the fluid shock absorber assembly of the invention. The enclosure assemblies comprise housing enclosure structures with openings to provide access for the connection and replacement of the fluid shock absorber assemblies. The housing structures have means to mount the housing enclosures to building structures, such as between vertical wall studs. Various enclosure assembly embodiments are constructed and arranged to form washing machine and icemaker connection structures or outlet boxes.
Further provided by the invention are enclosure assemblies which have raised bottom portions which are constructed and arranged to funnel any water or drainage into the drain portion positioned in the bottom panel of the housing.
In summary, enclosure assemblies are provided which are mountable within a wall and constructed and arranged to align and join with water lines and drain lines within the wall of a building structure and which allows easy access to the fluid shock absorber and valve assemblies in the housing enclosure for connection and operation with the water and drain lines of a washing machine or icemaker, for example.
These and other benefits of this invention will become apparent from the following description by reference to the drawings.


A method of establishing fluid communication between a well pair in an oil-sand reservoir, where dilatable oil sands in the reservoir form a barrier to fluid communication between the well pair. Steam or water is circulated within at least one well to a region of the oil sands adjacent to the well. The steam or water pressure is increased to a dilation pressure sufficient to dilate the oil sands in the region. While circulating steam or water within the well at a substantially steady state, the steam or water pressure is maintained at a level sufficient to enlarge the dilated region, until detection of a signal indicative of fluid communication between the well pair. The rates and pressures of steam or water injection and production may be monitored and adjusted to vary a bottom-hole pressure in the well.

Some subterranean deposits of viscous petroleum can be extracted in situ by lowering the viscosity of the petroleum to mobilize it so that it can be moved to, and recovered from, a production well. Reservoirs of such deposits may be referred to as reservoirs of heavy hydrocarbon, heavy oil, bitumen, tar sands, or oil sands. The in situ processes for recovering oil from oil sands typically involve the use of multiple wells drilled into the reservoir, and are assisted or aided by injecting a heated fluid such as steam into the reservoir formation from an injection well. In some in situ recovery processes, it is necessary or desirable to establish fluid communication between different wells. For example, in a steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) process, fluid communication between an injection and production well pair is typically established as part of the start-up operation before a steam chamber is developed above the injection well.
A typical SAGD process is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,485 to Butler ("Butler"). In the process disclosed in Butler, two wells are drilled into the deposit, one for injection of steam and one for production of oil and water. Steam is injected via the injection well to heat the formation. As the steam condenses and gives up its heat to the formation, the viscous hydrocarbons are mobilized and drain by gravity toward the production well. Mobilized viscous hydrocarbons are recovered continuously through the production well. The conditions are chosen so that a very large steam saturated volume known as a steam chamber is formed in the formation adjacent to the injection well. The injection well is connected to this chamber and steam is injected continuously so as to maintain pressure in the steam chamber. At the boundary of the chamber, steam condenses and heat is transferred by conduction into the cooler surrounding regions. The temperature of the oil adjacent to the chamber is increased and it drains downwards continuously by gravity, along with the hot steam condensate, to the production well. In Butler, thermal communication between the injection and production wells is established before commencing production of oil. According to Butler, thermal communication is established when a relatively high permeability path from the injection well to the production well is established so that liquids heated by injected steam can drain continuously to the production well. Butler teaches that thermal communication between the wells can be established quickly by fracturing, i.e., forming a vertical fracture between the injection and production well pair by employing steam pressure above the fracture pressure, or by hydraulically fracturing the reservoir and propping it using appropriate proppants. For example, where the fracture pressure of the formation is 1200 psig (about 8.4 MPa), steam is introduced at 1300 psig (about 9.1 MPa). A vertical fracture is formed in the deposit extending above and below each well. After the drainage process has begun and a steam chamber has formed, the steam injection rate is reduced and the steam chamber pressure is allowed fall to the desired operating value, typically in the range of 100-500 psig.
Another SAGD process is described in CA 1,304,287 to Edmunds et al. ("Edmunds"). In this process, a pair of horizontal parallel co-extensive wells, one spaced closely above the other, are completed so that they extend through a heavy oil reservoir in close proximity to its base. The upper well is referred to as the injector and the lower as the producer. Each well has a screened liner and an inner tubing string extending the length of the well. Steam is circulated separately through each of the wells to heat by conduction the span of formation extending between the wells, to establish fluid communication between them. The circulation is conducted in through the tubing and out through the annulus at a pressure that is below the fracture pressure. The rate of production of effluent from each well is controlled to maintain its temperature at about 10-40° C. below the saturated steam temperature. Once communication is established, steam circulation in the producer is discontinued and the well is produced through the tubing. Steam is then injected through both the annulus and tubing of the injector. Steam condensate and oil are produced through the lower well. Steam-assisted gravity drainage is the mechanism thereafter used to heat the reservoir and produce oil.
A further SAGD process is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,146 to Sanchez ("Sanchez"). Sanchez notes that steam breakthrough between the well pair in a SAGD process is more likely to occur at the point of closest spacing of the two wells. After the initial breakthrough, two very long horizontal wells (say 500 meters) could have a short section of only 1 or 2 meters having steam communication. As a result, the steam chamber can now grow only slowly along the length of the well. For long wells a complete formation of a steam chamber along the length of the wellbore may take several months, thereby reducing the effectiveness of the long wellbore. To solve this problem, Sanchez proposes adding foam while injecting steam into the injection well once steam breakthrough occurs in an inter-well region between the injection and production well pair. Foam enters the inter-well region thereby causing an increased pressure gradient. This increased pressure gradient adds to the gravity force thereby providing a greater interstitial oil velocity which increases oil drainage between wells during startup. According to Sanchez, adding form can reduce the time during which steam moves in a lateral direction between the well pair.
Jian-Yang Yuan and Richard McFarlane reviewed various techniques for start-up procedure in SAGD processes in a paper entitled "Evaluation of Steam Circulation Strategies for SAGD Start-Up," Proceedings of the Canadian International Petroleum Conference (CIPC) 2009, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 16-18 Jun., 2009, paper 2009-14 ("Yuan"). According to Yuan, the start-up procedure for SAGD requires the establishment of oil mobility between the well pair and requires that the intervening fluid between the well pair be heated to a temperature sufficiently high to cause the oil to flow from the injector to the producer. This is normally achieved by initially circulating steam in each well. The horizontal portion of each well can consist of tubing and liner, which provides two possible channels for fluid flow. In the simplest case, hot fluid can be injected into a steel tubing at the heel, flow from the heel to toe through the tubing, and then out through the annular space between tubing and liner from the toe towards the heel. The rate of heat transfer and fluid convection into the reservoir formation determine how communication is established along the length of the well pair. Once communication is established in a certain region along the well pair, drainage can be initiated in that region and subsequent steam injection will mainly be consumed by the steam chamber development around that region having the highest drainage rate. Ideally, it is desirable that this drainage region cover the entire length of the well pair. Depending on reservoir characteristics, this initial communication and drainage impact early production rate and even ultimate recovery. It is expected that steam injection rate, steam quality and the pressure drop between the two wells (ΔP) play critical roles. They also note that according to previous studies by others, no pressure differential between the well pair is required for start-up. When thermal conduction via steam circulation has heated the bitumen to between 50 and 100° C., the bitumen is sufficiently mobile so that it can be displaced by hot water and rapid convectional heating can occur. Under these conditions, and a small ΔP, steam breakthrough to the producer will take only a few days. Increasing the ΔP can increase fluid transport and convection; however this solution is not applicable once breakthrough has occurred anywhere along the well pair. Yuan notes that it is suggested by others that hot water injection could provide a better solution. The water will flow downwards, under gravity, from injector to producer more easily than water and bitumen resulting in a faster rate of heat transfer and communication. Yuan further notes that simulation analysis indicates that, for given tubing and liner sizes and reservoir properties, relatively lower circulation rates at high steam quality are more favorable for faster initialization and development of uniform temperature between the horizontal well pair; the use of high steam quality in combination with high circulation rates leads to slower rates of initialization, less uniform heating along the length of the wells, and possibility of premature steam breakthrough at the heel; and a small pressure difference (ΔP) between the well pair, offsetting the natural hydraulic pressure (50 kPa), appears to be more favorable for faster and more uniform initialization. They state that while a higher pressure difference can result in faster initialization, it can also result in less uniform heating and increasing the potential for premature steam breakthrough at the heel.
CA 2,240,786 to Lesage ("Lesage") discloses heating an oil-sand formation by injecting steam into a horizontal section of a well and circulating it back to the surface. In the Lesage process, steam is initially continuously circulated in and out of the horizontal wellbore at a pressure below the formation's fracture pressure thereby heating the formation surrounding the horizontal wellbore by conduction to reduce the viscosity of the viscous oil. This step is continued until the temperature of the horizontal wellbore reaches the saturation temperature of steam at the horizontal wellbore pressure. Thereafter, the production is ceased and a slug of steam is injected and accumulated in and around the horizontal section, still at a pressure below the formation's fracture pressure. The well is then shut-in and is allowed to soak for a period of time, preferably from 1 to 7 days. After the soak period, the well is then opened for production and the continuous injection of steam is resumed soon after oil appears in the produced fluids. Lesage teaches that it is important not to fracture the formation because once fractured, most of the injected steam will flow into the fracture thereby making it very difficult to heat the formation along the length of the horizontal wellbore. While circulating steam, the steam injection pressure and the steam circulation rate can be controlled by adjusting chokes positioned in injection tubing at the surface. Conditioning of the formation is considered complete when the temperature within the horizontal wellbore reaches the saturation temperature of the steam at horizontal wellbore pressure as measured at the surface. Another indicator of completion is when the produced steam contains substantial amounts of produced oil. This step of heating the formation can typically take from about 20 to 100 days or longer, depending on well and/or formation parameters, injection and production pressures, steam quality, and circulation rates. Lesage further teaches that after the formation surrounding horizontal wellbore has been conditioned (i.e. heated) and some voidage has been created in the formation, the production tubing is closed and the injection of steam is continued through injection tubing. This injected steam now has no way to return to the surface, and accumulates as a "slug" within and around the horizontal wellbore. Injection of steam continues until the bottom-hole pressure in the wellbore approaches (i.e. nearly equals) the fracture pressure of the formation. At this time, the injection of steam is ceased, the well is shut-in, and the formation is allowed to "soak" for a period of time. Allowing the formation to soak results in heat being transferred from the steam by convective heating in addition to conductive heating. Although steam is injected below the fracture pressure of the formation, some degree of local failure of sand in shear (dilation) takes place and is advantageous to the process as it facilitates the entering of steam into the formation, thus resulting in convective heating.

Establishing communication between well pairs in oil sands by dilation with steam or water circulation at elevated pressures